An image forming apparatus includes a controller having an integrated circuit for image processing. The controller is connected to an engine via a peripheral component interconnect (PCI). The engine includes a plotter and a scanner. The controller includes a central processing unit (CPU) to which a chip-set is connected via an accelerated graphics port (AGP). The controller also includes an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC) that controls whether to output scanner image data, which is data acquired by the scanner, to the PCI as plotter data for the plotter, or to output the scanner image data to the AGP, or to output image data input through the AGP to the PCI as plotter data for the plotter. The ASIC includes a combiner that combines a plurality of image data.

1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus that has an engine section having a scanner, a plotter, and a CPU, connected to a controller having an integrated circuit for image processing, thereby to carry out image formation processing under the control of the CPU.
2) Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, in many cases, an image forming apparatus such as a printer or a copying machine has an engine section connected with a controller that includes an application specific IC (ASIC) for image processing and a central processing unit (CPU), and carries out an image formation processing by using this controller.
For example, in the copying machine, the ASIC that has a plurality of hardware elements for image processing is mounted on the controller, and this ASIC and the engine are connected to each other via a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) interface. A CPU and the ASIC are connected to each other. The copying machine carries out copying under the control of the CPU.
If an image forming apparatus with excellent performance is to be manufactured, the controller that executes drawing and control is replaced with a high-speed controller for each unit.
However, interfaces of conventional CPUs are made open, but interfaces of recently available reduced instructions set computer (RISC)-type general-purpose CPUs are not made open. Therefore, it is necessary to connect the ASIC with the CPU via a chip-set, which restricts the performance of the CPU.
Specifically, when the CPU is connected with an external device via the chip-set, a PCI bus is usually used. However, the PCI that passes through the chip-set has low performance. Therefore, the PCI is not suitable for structuring an image forming apparatus such as a printer and a copying machine.
Consequently, when the CPU whose interface is not made open is utilized for the controller of the image forming apparatus, how properly data is to be transferred between the chip-set of the CPU and the engine and how best to execute a high-speed image formation processing are extremely important issues.
Particularly, some of recently available multi-function machines have functions of a copying processing, a printer processing, and a facsimile processing that are not controlled by individual CPUs mounted on separate boards unlike the conventional technology, but controlled by one and the same CPU. Therefore, how to solve the reduction in performance is an extremely important issue.
Further, these multi-function machines have a function of combining a plurality of scanned image data or a plurality of image data to be printed, and outputting a combined one image data, based on the instruction from a user, at the time of forming images for a copier or a printer. When the image data combining function is executed, how to achieve a high-speed image formation processing is an extremely important issue as well.


Disclosed is a system and method for treatment of cells and, in particular, visual pathway disorders. More particularly, the disclosed invention is directed toward the photomodulation and/or photorejuvenation of retinal epithelial cells, to treat a variety of vision disorders. The process of treating retinal cells to reduce or reverse the effects of visual pathway disorders employs a narrowband source of multichromatic light applied to the retinal cells to deliver a very low energy fluence.

Low-level light therapy has become an alternative to many types of treatments previously thought to be best-effected by high-energy methods, such as those using lasers, flashlamps, etc. For example, photodynamic therapies, lasers and other high-energy light treatments were believe to be an effective treatment method to reduce or eliminate the skin disorders associated with the activity of sebaceous oil glands, hair growth, wound healing and treating dermatological conditions, such as the reduction of wrinkles and fine lines, scar removal, etc.
Those skilled in the art speculate that oxidative stress and mitochondrial function or dysfunction are involved in the pathogenesis of numerous retinal, visual pathway, and optic nerve diseases, including age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, as well as Leber's hereditary optic neuropathy and many other disorders of the visual pathway. Decreasing mitochondrial function has also been asserted to be related to methanol intoxication. It has been noted that Methanol intoxication produces toxic injury to the retina and optic nerve, frequently resulting in blindness. A toxic exposure to methanol may result in the development of formic acidosis, metabolic acidosis, visual toxicity, coma, and, in extreme cases, death. Visual impairment may develop between 18 and 48 hours after methanol ingestion. Symptoms may range from misty or blurred vision to complete blindness. Both acute and chronic methanol exposure have been shown to produce retinal dysfunction and optic nerve damage clinically. Other chemical agents can produce similar disorders
Formic acid is a toxic metabolite responsible for the retinal and optic nerve toxicity produced in methanol intoxication. Formic acid is a known mitochondrial toxin that may inhibit cytochrome c oxidase, the terminal enzyme of the mitochondrial electron transport chain of all eukaryotes. Cytochrome oxidase is an important energy-generating enzyme critical for the proper functioning of almost all cells, especially those of highly oxidative organs, including the retina and brain.
Photomodulation using narrowband, multichromatic light using low-energy sources, such as light-emitting diode (LED) arrays have been shown to accelerate wound healing, improve recovery from ischemic injury in the heart, and improve many skin-related disorders as illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,663,659 (McDaniel) which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. Further, at the cellular level, the use of light at low energy fluences may generate significant biological effects, including cellular proliferation, collagen synthesis, and the release of growth factors from cells, alteration of gene expression and even repair of DNA damage.
Studies have demonstrated that LED photomodulation at 660 nm (<4 J/cm2) may stimulate cellular proliferation in cultured cells and significantly improves wound healing. However, despite widespread clinical application, the mechanisms responsible for the beneficial actions of photomodulation are not fully understood. A possible explanation for this may be that mitochondrial cytochromes could act as photoacceptors for light energy; and, further, other receptors may act as mediators for the biological effects of this light.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Low intensity light therapy for treatment of retinal, macular, and visual pathway disorders


While a plurality of physical address memories are provided with respect to one logical address of a non-volatile memory device, an empty physical address memory contained in the plural physical address memories is searched with respect to a writing operation for one logical address, and then, data is written in this empty physical address memory. With respect to a reading operation for one logical address, such a physical address memory to which data has been written at last is searched, and the storage content of this memory is read out. As a result, the data rewriting operation to a non-volatile memory can be carried out with employment of the simple circuit arrangement with respect to one logical address, while an erasing operation is not performed, and an area of a memory device is not increased but also a total number of data rewriting operation is not limited to a number defined in a specification of the memory device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a semiconductor memory device on which an electrically writable non-volatile memory is mounted.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, non-volatile memories have been necessarily employed as memories for storing thereinto system control programs, and memories used to store thereinto either parameters or data. Among these non-volatile memories, such memories which can be manufactured in the lowest cost are mask ROMs. However, data must be previously and physically formed in such mask ROMs in manufacturing steps of semiconductor memory devices, and thus, delivery appointed dates from definitions of ROM data up to product shipment become longer.
On the other hand, EPROMs are electrically-writable and ultraviolet-erasable memories. Since arbitrary values can be written at arbitrary addresses only one time, short appointed dates of delivery can be realized after ROM data has been defined. Also, all memory areas of such an EPROM can be erased by utilizing ultraviolet rays. However, when EPROMs are assembled in packages made of materials through which ultraviolet rays can not penetrate, ROM data may be merely written in EPROM, but cannot be erased.
Under such a circumstance, electrically writable/erasable programmable read-only memories (EEPROMs) have been recently used as major semiconductor memory devices. In memories which are writable/erasable in the unit of a word among EEPROMs, memory cell arrays must be subdivided every erase unit, areas of these memories are increased and these memories are not properly manufactured with large storage capacities in view of manufacturing cost thereof. Therefore, flash EEPROMs are presently utilized in many fields, since these flash EEPROMs are writable in the word unit and predetermined regions thereof are erased in a batch manner.
Since other EPROMs or flash EEPROMs are employed, short appointed delivery dates can be realized, and moreover, these memories may be employed so as to adjust production in the case that ROM data are required to be changed, depending upon shipping destinations. As a consequence, either EPROMs or flash EEPROMs have been mounted in most of the electronic appliances.
However, there are other memory utilities such as EEPROMs, namely rewriting operations are required plural times in the word unit. There are many possibilities that EEPROMs are mounted on systems in combination with either EPROMs or flash EEPROMs. For instance, this EEPROM is used in order to store there into an individual serial number, or an individual security code.
Data must be rewritten in a small unit, for instance, a serial number must be rewritten every time the present user is replaced by a new user, and a security code is rewritten in a periodic manner so as to increase a security level. In the case that EEPROMs are employed in such a memory utility, there are many opposites that necessary storage capacities of these EEPROMs are very small, for example, a flash EEPROM requires 8 Mbits, and an EEPROM requires 512 bits. When both a flash EEPROM and an EEPROM are mounted on the same chip, a substrate of a memory cell must be subdivided in order that this EEPROM can be individually erased in a small unit irrespective of the flash EEPROM. Both the EEPROM and flash EEPROM memories cannot be arranged within the same memory cell array, so that an area of a memory device is increased (refer to, for example, "Advanced Electronics I-9 VLSI memory" written by ITO Kiyoo, pages 23 to 24, No. 6 print in first version published by BAIFUKAN, Feb. 20, 2000.).
Under such a circumstance, there are some cases that the above-explained erasing operation may be realized by a computer program capable of controlling a flash EEPROM without mounting such an EEPROM. FIG. 18 indicates a process flow operation as to this computer program. In this process flow operation, a relevant erase block is firstly calculated from a rewriting address (step 131), and then, all of data of the erase block where the data which should be rewritten are present are stored in a RAM, or the like (step 132). An erasing operation of the above-described erase block is executed (step 133), and the data which have been stored in the RAM and correspond to the data to be rewritten are rewritten (step 134). Then, all of the data stored in the RAM are again written into the flash EEPROM (step 135). As a result, the rewriting operation can be carried out in the arbitrary word unit.
As previously explained, when the flash EEPROM and the EEPROM having the small storage capacity are mounted at the same time, if these flash EEPROM and EEPROM are mounted on the same chip in the mixing manner, then there is such a problem that the area of the memory device is increased. Also, in the case that the EEPROM having the small storage capacity is realized by the program control, lengthy time is required in the rewriting operation, and the erasing operation is required every time the rewriting operation is carried out. In a flash EEPROM whose rewriting time is limited, the following problem occurs. That is, the writing times of the region which is employed as the EEPROM are restricted to such value smaller than, or equal to the rewriting times of the flash EEPROM.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An electroluminescent display substrate and a manufacturing method thereof, a display panel and a display apparatus are disclosed. The electroluminescent display substrate includes: a base substrate including a display area and a peripheral area surrounding the display area, wherein at least one OLED device is in the display area; a pixel defining layer in the display area and the peripheral area; at least one groove in the pixel defining layer in the peripheral area; wherein the at least one OLED device has a first electrode, the first electrode is on a side of the pixel defining layer away from the base substrate and extends to cover the groove.

An organic light emitting diode (OLED) is an organic thin film electroluminescent device, which has attracted more and more attention, due to its advantages such as simple preparation process, low cost, low power consumption, high brightness, large viewing angle, high contrast and flexible display. As a new generation of display methods, OLED display apparatuses have begun to take the place of traditional liquid crystal display apparatuses, and been widely used in electronic apparatuses such as mobile phones, computers, full-color televisions, digital video cameras, and personal digital assistants.
OLED display technology is different from traditional liquid crystal display technology. An OLED device on an electroluminescent display substrate includes an anode, a cathode, and a light emitting layer disposed between the anode and the cathode. When a voltage is applied between the anode and the cathode, holes and electrons move to the light emitting layer, and recombine in the light emitting layer. However, the cathode or anode in the OLED device is an active metal, which is very sensitive to water vapor and oxygen in the air, and is very likely to react with the water vapor or the oxygen having infiltrated from outside, resulting in deterioration of the electrode and affecting charge injection. In addition, the water vapor or the oxygen having infiltrated may also chemically react with organic light emitting materials in the light emitting layer, which will damage the organic light emitting materials, greatly reduce luminous efficiency of the organic light emitting materials, resulting in performance degradation and service life reduction of the OLED device.

Electroluminescent display substrate and manufacturing method thereof, display panel and display apparatus


An aircraft cabin construction includes a cart-storage compartment in the space between the ceiling of the passenger compartment and the upper fuselage wall for storing food-serving wheeled carts; and an elevator having a platform and a drive for lowering the carts from the cart-storage compartment to the deck of the passenger compartment, and for raising the carts from the deck to the cart-storage compartment.

The present invention relates to an aircraft cabin construction, and particularly to a passenger aircraft construction which efficiently exploits the space within the aircraft such as to enable the cabin to accommodate additional passenger seats.
The operating revenue of a passenger aircraft depends to a large extent on the seating capacity of its cabin. Many proposals have been made in order to maximize the use of floor space in the passenger cabin of the aircraft to increase the seating capacity and thereby to increase operating revenue.
As one example for increasing seating capacity, U.S. Pat. No. 3,517,899 proposes to dispose all or a portion of the galley in the lower cargo deck of a two-deck aircraft. However, such a construction, while possibly increasing passenger seating, decreases cargo space and therefore decreases cargo revenue.
Another proposed arrangement, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,404, discloses a construction wherein an upper deck galley is located in the aft portion of the upper lobe of a three-deck aircraft. However, such an arrangement takes up space which could otherwise be used for passenger seats or as a resting cabin for the crew.
A further construction, proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,055,317, locates the galley adjacent an aft pressure bulkhead defining a concave recess in the rearward direction, but such an arrangement also requires significant modifications in the construction of the aircraft fuselage; in addition it takes up space which could be used, e.g., toilets.
In a still further arrangement, described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,787, a pantry is located on the upper deck of a two-deck aircraft, and the food supply carts are supported on a platform arranged on the lower deck, which platform is lifted by a lifting mechanism to the pantry on the upper deck. Such an arrangement, however, utilizes the lower, deck for storing the food supply carts, and therefore decreases the available cargo capacity.
Other examples of attempts to exploit the upper space of the fuselage are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,066,227 and 4,925,132.


A non-volatile memory device and a method of manufacturing the non-volatile memory device are provided. At least one first semiconductor layer and at least one second semiconductor layer are disposed. At least one control gate electrode is disposed between the at least one first semiconductor layer and the at least one second semiconductor layer. At least one first layer selection line is capacitively coupled to the at least one first semiconductor layer. At least one second layer selection line is capacitively coupled to the at least one second semiconductor layer.

1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to a semiconductor device and, more particularly, to a non-volatile memory device and a method of manufacturing the non-volatile memory device.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are demands for semiconductor products to be not only smaller but also to have larger capacity to process data. Therefore, it is necessary to increase integration of non-volatile memory devices used in such semiconductor products. In this regard, since non-volatile memory devices having a multi-layer structure can stack a plurality of memory cells vertically, they are more highly integrated than conventional non-volatile devices having a single layer structure.
However, non-volatile memory devices having a multi-layer structure do not easily perform a selective operation with respect to a memory cell of each layer. Furthermore, a method of manufacturing non-volatile memory devices having a multi-layer structure is complicated.

Non-volatile memory device and method of manufacturing same


A pneumatic mattress system includes a plurality of rigid ribs position side-by-side and hingedly interconnected so as to form a continuous overlay basis which is flexible in one direction. A plurality of pneumatic cushions is attached to each rib so as to provide a cushioned surface. The pressure of the pneumatic cushions is controlled by a main pressure control system which includes a main supply conduit with a pressurized inlet and an exhaust, both controlled by a control unit, and a pressure sensor. The pneumatic cushions are connected through a number of tubes located within the ribs to a rib control system which selectively connects them to the main supply conduit. By synchronized control of the pressure of the main supply conduit and the rib control system, the pressure within each cushion can be measured and controlled independently. The system may be used to provide a localized water-bed-type effect over zones defined in relation to a subject's body position, and to superimpose a floating hole effect for cyclic pressure release of selected areas.

The present invention relates to air-filled mattresses and, in particular, it concerns a system and method employing a pneumatic mattress for the prevention and treatment of bed sores and the like.
It is known that local pressure applied to the skin disrupts the local circulatory system and can, when prolonged, lead to risk of bed sores. In healthy people, frequent body movements during even deep sleep serve to prevent prolonged application of pressure to any one site. For sick and elderly people, on the other hand, reduced mobility increases the risk of developing sores. The risks are further aggravated in people with poor circulation.
Many systems have been suggested for prevention and treatment of bed sores. One type of system employs fluid-filled cushions to distribute pressure evenly over an increased area. An example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,949,412 to Goode. Goode discloses a closed loop feedback-controlled air supply system for air support convalescent beds. The bed is disclosed to have between 15 and 30 air cells divided along the length of the bed into five regions. Each region is maintained at a preset constant pressure value.
A similar system constructed as an overlay for a box-spring foundation is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,012 to Torbet. In this case, the mattress has about twenty rows of air cells divided into four zones. The cells in each zone are interconnected so as to be held at equal pressure. The overlay itself is flexible and is intended to distort as the springs give under localized pressure.
These systems have a number of major disadvantages. Firstly, they rely on a priori or manually input data in order to fix suitable pressure values. Secondly, the response of the systems is over predefined large regions, thereby precluding localized responses to specific medical conditions or body positions. Thirdly, no diagnostic information can be recovered from these systems. And finally, it is impossible to completely relieve pressure from any point of contact with the bed. The prior art overlay-type constructions suffer from the additional shortcoming that they have an inconsistent correlation between inflation pressure and body contour dependent on the properties of the underlying surface.
A second type of system uses alternate inflation and deflation of different fluid-filled support elements to cyclically relieve pressure from each point on the skin. An example of such a system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,518 to Gilroy et al. Gilroy et al. disclose an alternating pressure pad as an overlay for a conventional mattress. The pad includes two sets of interspaced transverse inflatable elements which are alternately inflated and deflated. A similar system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,195 to Schulman. In this case, the elements are arranged in three sets with hexagonal symmetry.
These systems also have a number of disadvantages. Firstly, the inflation pressure of all the elements is a fixed value irrespective of the part of the body being supported. Secondly, since the pressure alternates over the entire body area, discomfort may be caused to certain parts of the body which are not at risk. Thirdly, where a wound or sore already exists, the period of pressure release provided may be insufficient. And, as with the first type of system, no diagnostic information can be recovered.
There have also been attempts to produce a controllable mattress with capabilities for physical contour measurements and localized response. Examples of proposed systems of this type are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,547 to Sato and U.S. Pat. No. 4,799,276 to Kadish. U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,283 to Krouskop relates to a method of control for a system of this type in which the height of each cell is measured. However, these systems, if at all operable, are both over-complex and prohibitively costly to produce. Specifically, they suffer from high sensitivity to humidity and temperature leading to inaccuracy and unrepeatability of results. In addition, the use of pistons suggested by Kadish is very sensitive to transverse forces.
There is therefore a need for a pneumatic mattress providing a high resolution intelligent response to local pressure maxima, allowing complete relief of contact pressure from critical areas of the body, and generating useful diagnostic information. It would also be highly advantageous to provide a low-cost versatile pneumatic mattress system for use as part of a bed or as an overlay which is capable of providing a wide range of diagnostic, preventative and therapeutic functions.


The flexibility of the attachment angle and attachment interval of the member (e.g., injector) attached to the joint member is increased to improve the flexibility of layout even in the case of the forged rail for high-pressure direct injection. In addition, the manufacturing cost can be reduced while keeping high strength of the joint portion. A rail body 1 manufactured by forging, the rail body 1 having a through hole 4 opened on a wall surface 3 for communicating a fuel passage 2 extending in an axial direction with an outside; and

The fuel pressure of the conventionally and generally known gasoline direct injection system is 20 MPa or less. In general, a rail body having a fuel passage inside is used by connecting an injector holder, a mounting boss and the like with the rail body by brazing. When the fuel pressure is within the above described range, sufficient pressure resistant strength can be obtained by increasing the thickness of the rail body. Thus, an injector and an injector holder can be connected with each other sufficiently by the sealing using an O-ring. Accordingly, it is not particularly necessary to use a high strength material.
On the other hand, in the fuel direct injection system using higher fuel pressure, it is general to manufacture the rail body itself by forging and cutting for ensuring high pressure resistance. In the high-pressure system, different from the above described case of using relatively low pressure (i.e., 20 MPa), it is difficult to connect the injector with the injector holder only by the O-ring since they receive the influence of high pressure. As an example of the above described rail for high-pressure direct injection, it is conventionally known that a joint portion of the injector holder or the like is integrally manufactured with the rail body by forging or other methods as shown in Patent Document 1.    Patent Document 1: WO2016/042897

Abstract: a tubular joint member 6 manufactured separately from the rail 1 body and fixed to the rail body 1 at a position of the through hole 4 for allowing a fuel to flow from the fuel passage 2 through the through hole 4 are provided.


An alternating pole electromagnetic rotary motor is presented. The alternating pole electromagnetic rotary motor contains a ring gear housing, a rotor assembly, a plurality of electromagnets, and a processing unit. The rotor assembly contains a gear carrier, at least one planet gear, and at least one permanent magnet. The rotor assembly is concentrically and rotatably mounted within the ring gear housing. The at least one planet gear and the at least one permanent magnet is rotatably connected and radially distributed about the gear carrier. The plurality of electromagnets is operatively coupled with the at least one permanent magnet, where the plurality of electromagnetics is used to attract and repulse at least one permanent magnet in order to generate a torque on the rotor assembly.

The relationship between electricity and magnetism has been explored through countless experiments, and several theories and equations have been developed to explore their interaction. The discovery that electricity could create magnetic fields, which could in turn create electrical currents, was among the greatest scientific breakthroughs of the past century. Following that discovery, induced electricity and magnetism have contributed to the skyrocketing of electronics production. Development of precision in controlling these principles has further resulted in an explosion of products and devices that exploit the relationship between magnetism and mechanical energy. This results in items which can translate or rotate as a response to the input of electrical energy and the conversion of that energy into magnetism. In particular, electric motors have been developed to fill this very need on a larger power production scale.
Such devices, however, have not yet been optimized for general use. Many of the motors developed using these principles rely on heavy rotors to generate large amounts of torque. These rotors tend to be heavy or sporting poor form factors, resulting in uneven motion and general inefficiency. Often, these motors are further specialized for use in vehicles and automobiles. Many motors that utilize electromagnetic induction are inaccessible for usage on small projects or items. What is needed is a motor capable of efficiently converting electrical energy into mechanical energy.
The present invention aims to solve these problems. The present invention utilizes a planetary gear track, a plurality of electromagnets, and a plurality of permanent magnets. The motor is operated using attraction and repulsions forces, where a permanent magnet pole is attracted to a opposite and corresponding electromagnet pole and where the permanent magnet pole pushes against a same and corresponding electromagnet pole. The permanent magnet can also be switched to a similarly sized piece of soft iron. The motor uses a combination of attraction and repulsion forces by reversing the current flow direction-which reverses the poles of the electromagnet. This happens when the permanent magnet rotates by the electromagnet. The electromagnet pulls the south pole of the permanent magnet when the permanent magnet assembly approaches the electromagnet. When the permanent magnet assembly gets approximately halfway past the electromagnet, the CPU reverses the polarity of the electromagnet, repulsing the permanent magnet, generating mechanical torque along the permanent magnet assembly.
The electromagnets are controlled by the computer. A rotary encoder tells the computer exactly where each permanent magnet assembly is. The computer turns on the corresponding electromagnet and changes the polarity of each corresponding electromagnet. With this, the motor can be tuned to turn on the electromagnets every 2nd, 3rd, 4th pass, etc. This allows the motor to be tuned to the highest efficiency. A planetary gear track can be mounted on the inside or outside of the permanent magnet assembly gear. When the track is mounted on the inside, the permanent magnet assemblies rotate in the same direction as the spindle. When the planetary gear track is mounted on the outside, the permanent magnet assembly rotates in the opposite direction as the spindle.

Alternating pole electromagnetic rotary motor


A system for cooling the skin of a human or animal user includes thermally conductive elements (120) with fluid-wicking surfaces (124), ways to flexibly interconnect the elements, methods for storing a cooling fluid and distributing it to elements (120), and ways to maintain elements (120) in contact with a user's skin. When at least portions of the elements (120) are in contact with a user's skin and at least portions of the element surfaces are wet with fluid, the evaporation of fluid from the surfaces transports heat from the user's skin into the surrounding air, thereby cooling the user. More powerful embodiments further include an air space (165) parallel and adjacent to the user's skin into which elements (120) penetrate, and a fan for moving air through the air space (165), thereby speeding the evaporation of fluid from the surfaces of the elements (120). Thermostatic or electronic means can be added to control the fan, thereby automatically cooling the user when the fan activated, and warming the user when the fan is deactivated by using the materials and air spaces in the device as thermal insulation.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to the field of personal comfort devices, specifically, evaporative personal cooling devices that can be worn by humans or animals.
2. Prior Art
Throughout history, people have used various methods in attempts to keep themselves cool on hot days and in hot environments, especially when engaged in strenuous activities. Simple methods of personal cooling include wearing a moistened bandanna around one's neck, shading oneself with a hat or parasol, manually fanning oneself, using portable fans and/or misting devices, wetting or removing one's clothing, and changing into lighter clothing. All of these attempts have at least one of the following disadvantages:                The user must hold a device or take some action to derive a benefit (which is not only bothersome but may be tiring and self defeating, since such activity can generate more internal heat than it dissipates).        Removing clothing is often inappropriate or undesirable.        Changing into lighter clothing is often inconvenient or inappropriate.        Wetting the body and/or clothing can be uncomfortable, unaesthetic, or even embarrassing.        They provide only short-term relief.        They provide relatively ineffective cooling.        They are impossible or impractical to implement when wearing heavy or protective clothing or equipment.        They do not cover as large an area as needed.
With the development of modern technologies, new ways have been found to produce a portable cooling effect, including:                Pumping cool gels or fluids through a vest or other garment        Creating portable refrigerators with chlorofluorocarbon coolants        Transferring coolness from a refrigerator or freezer to the body through liquids, gels, or solid materials        Using compressed gas to create a stream of cool air or vapor across the skin        Employing Peltier (thermoelectric) cells
Still, each of these methods has serious drawbacks for the average user, due to cost, complexity, lack of portability, discomfort, difficulty of use, and/or lack of effectiveness. Most of these applications are ineffective because they require more energy than today's batteries can deliver beyond a brief period.
Because the evaporative cooling effect of water is simple and economical to harness, many personal evaporative cooling systems have been developed and refined over the years. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,775,590 by Utter (Jul. 7, 1998) and 5,671,884 by Restive (Sep. 30, 1997) describe devices consisting of a portable water reservoir that, when pressurized by a user, propels water through a hose and out through a tiny nozzle, spraying the user with a fine water mist. By securing the device to the user's body with a belt or strap and by providing a clip that allows the user to direct the mist, these devices create a portable hands-free evaporative cooling effect. The disadvantages of this approach include: 1) the effect is very localized, 2) they wet the user's body and clothing, 3) they require the user to manually pressurize the bottle at intervals, 4) they require the user to move the nozzle to cool other areas of the body, and 5) because they do not use a fan, the cooling effect is minimal and inconsistent (a breeze is necessary for maximum effectiveness).
In an attempt to provide the needed moving air, there are a number of devices that allow the user to mist himself or herself while also employing a fan to move air across the moistened skin. U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,731 by Junket, et al. (Sep. 16, 1997) discloses a combination spray bottle and fan. It allows the user to spray himself with water while simultaneously directing the fan across the dampened skin. While this device makes up for the lack of moving air in the previously mentioned devices, it suffers from the remaining disadvantages already mentioned and additionally requires the user to hold the bottle and squeeze the trigger at intervals.
My U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,865 (Sep. 8, 1998) discloses a cooler that uses a fan to evaporate water from a powder-coated heat sink within the device and delivers the resulting coolness to the neck or forehead of the user without requiring the user to hold anything, do anything, or get wet. However, because this device is not flexible, it must be made to fit specific neck or head sizes and is not appropriate for other applications. The lack of flexibility also prevents this device from being used on a larger area of the body, and therefore does not cool the user nearly as much as would be desirable.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,371,388 by Utter, et. al (Apr. 16, 2002) discloses a device is that is strapped to the front of a user's body, and blows air mixed with a water mist up the front of the user's body. This approach has several disadvantages: 1) it wets the user's shirt, 2) because it blows over the user's shirt, it has little effect on cooling the user's torso, 3) it destroys the user's hairdo, 4) it requires the user to manually trigger the water spray, and 5) it is bulky, unattractive, and relatively expensive.
My U.S. Pat. No. 6,543,247 (Apr. 8, 2003) discloses a device that is strapped to the front or rear of a user's body and blows air mixed with a water mist up the front or back of a user's body under his or her shirt or blouse. This approach has the advantages of not wetting the user's clothes and, because the air/water stream is moving directly against the skin, produces a reasonable cooling effect over a larger area than most evaporative cooling devices. But this technique still has certain disadvantages, such as: 1) it does not cool the torso as much as desired, 2) it wets the user's skin, 3) inexpensive embodiments require the user to trigger the water spray manually, 4) it cannot cool the back of a hiker wearing a backpack, and 5) it cannot cool users who are wearing motorcycle leathers, protective suits, or tightly fitting clothing.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,257,011 by Siman-Tov, et al. (Jul. 10, 2001) reveals a portable lightweight cooling garment having a channeled sheet that absorbs sweat and/or evaporative liquid, a layer of highly conductive fibers adjacent to the channeled sheet and a device for moving air through the sheet. U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,714 by Uglene (Oct. 24, 2000) discloses a personal cooling garment with inner and outer layers defining a confined space for containing liquid that can evaporate to create a cooling effect. The drawback of both approaches is that they do not increase the surface area beyond what is provided by the user's skin, and therefore can only make the evaporative cooling effect somewhat more consistent, but not more cooling than perspiring on a breezy day.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,755,110 by Silvas (May 26, 1998) describes a cooling vest having a plurality of elongated pocket partitions containing beads of polyacrylamide. These absorb liquid to form a gel that may be chilled or frozen to provide a cooling effect on the upper torso of a human wearer. The problem in all such approaches is that the cooling effect is neither as strong as desired nor as long-lasting as users would wish.

Flexible personal evaporative cooling system with warming potential


In order to provide a semiconductor device that includes a conductive layer on one surface of a semiconductor substrate with an insulating layer therebetween, a bump on the other surface of the semiconductor substrate, and a through-electrode through the semiconductor substrate connecting the conductive layer with the bump, a through-hole is formed from the other surface of the semiconductor substrate to be connected to the conductive layer, a seed metal film is formed on the through-hole and the other surface, a photoresist is formed thereon, a mask layer is formed by processing the photoresist with a pattern larger than the through-hole, a plated film is grown by electrolytic plating so as to integrally form the through-electrode and a part of the bump.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device including a through-electrode connecting conductive layers formed on one and the other surfaces of a semiconductor substrate, and a method for forming the through-electrode.
Related Art
As a technology for achieving additional high integration and high performance of semiconductor integrated circuits, there is a technology of stacking semiconductor chips with which a conductive layer provided on the main surface of the upper semiconductor chip is electrically connected to a conductive layer provided on the main surface of the lower semiconductor chip by a through-electrode formed in the upper semiconductor chip and in contact with the conductive layer of the upper semiconductor chip, and a bump between the through-electrode and the conductive layer of the lower semiconductor chip. Since the conductive layers are connected in the thickness direction of the semiconductor chip through the through-electrode and the bump, it is possible to greatly reduce the wiring length in comparison to outer wire connection and to transmit/receive a large number of signals by micro-fabrication, so that this technology is advantageous to achieve high performance.
The following technologies are known in the art, for a method of forming a through-electrode and the structure of the through-electrode.
Patent Document 1: JP-A-2009-124087
Patent Document 2: JP-A-2009-295851
Patent Document 3: JP-A-2008-53568
The technology described in Patent Document 1 includes forming a through-hole in a semiconductor substrate, plating copper in the through-hole, removing the copper on the surface of the semiconductor substrate by using a CMP method to complete a through-electrode, and then separately forming a bump by using a resist as a mask. The through-electrode is formed to have a plane shape or size in the view point of prevention of internal stress independently of the shape and size of the bump that is necessary for stacking the semiconductor chips. As a result, it is possible to completely individually adjust them. In generally, it is preferable to make the bump having a footprint larger than that of the through-electrode and thus an individual photolithography is generally used.
In the technologies described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, a conductive layer on an insulating film formed on the surface of a semiconductor chip and a through-electrode formed in the chip are connected through an opening formed in the insulating film, but the opening is smaller in diameter of the through-electrode, and the through-electrode and the bump are integrally formed. The through-electrode and the bump are formed by electroless plating, using a metal layer (conductive layer) exposed by the opening as a seed layer or using a seed layer covering the bottom of a through-hole. As a result, a plated layer is selectively formed in the through-hole without depositing a plated layer on the chip. Therefore, the number of manufacturing processes is less than the case of Patent Document 1. In addition, since the through-electrode and the bump are integrally formed, it is possible to accomplish low electric resistance.
In the technology described in Patent Document 1, the through-electrode and the bump are individually formed so that the processing of these components is long. Particularly, since it is necessary to remove the plated metal (copper) on the chip surface when forming the through-electrode, a CMP process that is expensive is necessary, which is economically unfavorable. Further, a barrier layer and a seed layer which have relatively large resistance are disposed between the through-electrode and the bump and the interface resistance is generated between the layers, such that it is difficult to sufficiently reduce electric resistance.
The through-electrode and the bump are formed by electroless plating after exposing the metal layer by the opening as a seed layer in the technology described in Patent Document 2, while after forming a seed layer on the bottom of the through-hole in contact with a contact plug connected to the metal layer through the insulating layer in the technology described in Patent Document 3. According to the electroless plating, the shape and size of them depend on the shape of the through-hole and cannot be individually adjusted. In Patent Documents 2 and 3, the diameters of the through-electrode and the bump are substantially the same, and accordingly, large internal stress is exerted in the wider through-electrode, such that a void may be generated by stress migration. Further, the speed forming a film is low in electroless plating, which cannot be considered as a preferable method for the productivity.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor device


The SiC semiconductor device includes a substrate of a first conduction type made of silicon carbide, a drift layer of the first conduction type made of silicon carbide, the drift layer being less doped than the substrate, a cell portion constituted by a part of the substrate and a part of the drift layer, a circumferential portion constituted by another part of the substrate and another part of the drift layer, the circumferential portion being formed so as to surround the cell portion, and a RESURF layer of a second conduction type formed in a surface portion of the drift layer so as to be located in the circumferential portion. The RESURF layer is constituted by first and second RESURF layers having different impurity concentrations, the second RESURF layer being in contact with an outer circumference of the first RESURF layer and extending to a circumference of the cell portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a SiC (Silicon Carbide) semiconductor device having a RESURF (Reduced Surface Field) structure at its circumferential portion.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known to provide a silicon power device having a withstand voltage of about 1000 V with a RESURF structure in order to maintain voltage resistance of its circumferential portion. Such a RESURF structure has a cross-section as shown in FIG. 11A. This RESURF structure is made by extending, from a cell portion, a P layer (RESURF layer) J3 doped to 1×1017/cm3 over the surface of an N− drift layer J2 doped to 1×1015/cm3 and formed on an n+-type substrate J1. In the power device provided with the RESURF structure, as shown in FIG. 11B, when a voltage is applied between its circumferential side and the back surface of the substrate, a depletion layer largely extends from the RESURF layer J3 located on the surface of the N− drift layer J2 formed on the substrate J1. This acts to lessen the electric field to maintain voltage resistance of the circumferential portion.
In recent years, SiC is gathering attention as material of power devices due to its high electric field breakdown strength. SiC that has a higher electric field breakdown strength than silicon makes it possible to control a large current. For example, SiC semiconductor devices are expected to be used in motor control for a hybrid vehicle. Devices provided in a hybrid vehicle are required to operate normally in a temperature range from −50 degrees C. to 200 degrees C., assuming that the hybrid vehicle is used under atmospheric temperature of −50 degrees C. to 50 degrees C.
Since SiC is a semiconductor as well as silicon, it is possible to form a RESURF structure of SiC. However, forming a RESURF structure by SiC involves the following problems.
The activation ratio of p-type impurities (the ratio indicating what percentage of doped p-type impurities actually behaves as p-type impurities) has a high temperature-dependence. More specifically, although the activation ratio is almost 100 percent at a temperature of 200 degrees C., it becomes about 1 percent at a temperature of −50 degrees C. Accordingly, if a SiC semiconductor device is designed to have a p-type impurity concentration of 1×1017/cm3, although it performs normally at a temperature of 200 degrees C., punch-through phenomenon may be caused at a temperature of −50 degrees C. when the p-type impurity concentration becomes substantially 1×1015/cm3. On the other hand, if the SiC semiconductor device is designed to have a p-type impurity concentration of 1×1019/cm3 so that it performs normally at a temperature of −50 degrees C., the depletion layer does not extend sufficiently at a temperature of 200 degrees C., causing the voltage resistance to be lowered, because the p-type impurity concentration becomes too high.
Incidentally, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-101039 discloses a structure for preventing lowering of the voltage resistance of a power device. In this structure, a highly doped guard ring layer is formed inside a RESURF layer, and another guard ring layer having about the same impurity concentration as the RESURF layer is formed outside the RESURF layer, so that the voltage resistance of a circumferential RESURF portion is stabilized.
However, although the structure disclosed in this patent document provides the effect of stabilizing the voltage resistance against mask deviation and ion injection variation, it cannot stabilize the voltage resistance against a temperature change in the range between −50 degrees C. and 200 degrees C.


In some embodiments, a network node for securing physical assets may be provided. The network node may include a processor and a memory storing instructions. The network may be configured to: receive, from a first entity, a cryptographic data structure configured to identify a physical item stored in a secured location; in response to receiving the cryptographic data structure, generate and transmit to the first entity a plurality of fungible cryptographic items; secure the cryptographic data structure on a public data structure, such that the cryptographic data structure cannot be released unless the plurality of fungible cryptographic items are received; receive, from a second entity, the plurality of fungible cryptographic items; and in response to receiving the plurality of fungible cryptographic items, transmit to the second entity the cryptographic data structure.

Physical items can be held in safe deposit boxes or in other custodial relationships. However, the entity that controls the physical item generally cannot be verified by third parties. Further, there is no adequate mechanism for control of the physical to be fractionally transferred.
Accordingly, there is a need for systems and methods that allow physical items to be securely stored, registered in a decentralized ledger, and for fractionalized control of the physical item to be transferrable while the physical item remains securely stored.

Network node for securing physical items using cryptograhic data structures


A subscriber""s telephone installation comprises a plurality of telephone sets coupled in parallel to a subscriber loop so as to provide a voice facility, and a data modern coupled to the subscriber loop so as to provide data facilities at a frequency above that employed for said voice facility. Some or preferably all telephone sets are provided with a respective filter arrangement incorporating series connected inductive and parallel connected capacitive elements for rejecting selected frequencies from the telephone set. The filter also incorporates a switch responsive to current drawn from the line for selectively enabling and disabling the filter arrangement when the telephone set is respectively in its off-hook condition or in its on-hook condition.

This invention relates to communications networks and in particular to the construction and use of filters for coupling telephone sets to a subscriber loop. The invention further relates to a method of interference suppression in a subscriber""s telephone installation.
Many telephone subscribers have a number of telephone sets coupled in parallel to a single subscriber loop so that the subscriber can make and receive calls at a number of locations within his premises. In normal use, only one telephone set will be in use at any one time, the other sets remaining on hook.
Many telephone subscribers now have data facilities, for example ADSL or VDSL services coupled to the subscriber loop via a modern at the subscriber station. These moderns use frequencies above the normal voice or POTS frequencies so that normal telephony can co-exist on the subscriber loop with the data service. It will, of course, be appreciated that telephone designs take no account of input impedance above the normal POTS frequency of about 4 kHz. This has been found to present problems when the phone is used on a line carrying data traffic. When the telephone is off-hook, the data signal can get into the telephone and, as a result of non-linearity, be converted down into the voice band so as to appear as noise on the line. Further, the impedance of the line changes at these higher frequencies altering the telephone hybrid balance and hence the near end cross-talk (NEXT) response. In addition, in the process of going from on-hook to off-hook, the current drawn from the line can cause a high frequency transient that causes errors in the data transmission.
To address these problems, it has been proposed to provide a telephone set with a filter, typically an LC filter, to remove or block unwanted voice band frequencies. It will be appreciated, however, that the characteristics of such a filter are dependent upon the on-hook or off-hook condition of the telephone set to which that filter is connected. When the telephone set is off-hook, the low impedance of the telephone set correctly terminates the filter which can then perform its intended function of blocking data signals from the telephone voice circuits. However, when the telephone set is in its on-hook condition, the filter is presented with a very high terminating impedance. This introduces the undesirable characteristic of very low input impedances at frequencies determined by the values of the inductors and capacitors used to construct the filter. This has now become a significant problem because of the increasingly common practice of coupling a number of telephone sets to a subscriber loop in parallel in a subscriber installation. The filters coupled between each telephone and the subscriber loop will also be effectively arranged in parallel and, apart from the particular telephone set that is currently in use in its off-hook condition, the remaining filters will be effectively unterminated. These unterminated filters will thus present very low impedances at voice frequencies thus impairing the effective operation of the off hook telephone set currently in use.
An object of the invention is to minimise or to overcome the above disadvantage.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved filter arrangement whereby to facilitate the parallel operation of a number of telephone sets.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved method of interference suppression in a telephone subscriber""s installation.
According to a first aspect of the invention, there is provided a filter arrangement for coupling a telephone set to a subscriber loop, the arrangement comprising a filter circuit for rejecting selected frequencies from the telephone set, said filter being so constructed as to perform its filtering function only when the telephone set to which it is connected is in its off-hook low impedance condition.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a filter arrangement for coupling a telephone set to a subscriber loop, the arrangement comprising a filter circuit incorporating series connected inductive and parallel connected capacitive elements for rejecting selected frequencies from the telephone set, and switch means responsive to current drawn from the line for selectively enabling and disabling the filter arrangement when the telephone set is respectively in its off-hook condition or in its on-hook condition.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a subscriber""s telephone installation, comprising a plurality of telephone sets coupled in parallel to a subscriber loop so as to provide a voice facility, and a data modern coupled to the subscriber loop so as to provide data facilities at a frequency above that employed for said voice facility, wherein some or all said telephone sets are provided each with a respective filter arrangement for rejecting selected frequencies, each said filter arrangement being so constructed as to perform its filtering function only when the telephone set to which it is connected is in its off-hook low impedance condition.
According to another aspect of the invention, there is provided a subscriber""s telephone installation, comprising a plurality of telephone sets coupled in parallel to a subscriber loop so as to provide a voice facility, and a data modern coupled to the subscriber loop so as to provide data facilities at a frequency above that employed for said voice facility, wherein some or all said telephone sets are provided eachwith a respective filter arrangement incorporating series connected inductive and parallel connected capacitive elements for rejecting selected frequencies from the telephone set, and switch means responsive to current drawn from the line for selectively enabling and disabling the filter arrangement when the telephone set is respectively in its off-hook condition or in its on-hook condition.
According to a further aspect of the invention, there is provided a method of interference suppression in a subscriber""s telephone installation, comprising a plurality of telephone sets coupled in parallel to a subscriber loop so as to provide a voice facility, and a data modern coupled to the subscriber loop so as to provide data facilities at a frequency above that employed for said voice facility, wherein some or all said telephone sets are provided each with a respective filter arrangement for rejecting selected frequencies; the method comprising enabling that filter associated with a said telephone only when that telephone is in use its off-hook low impedance condition.


The invention relates to a drilling rig comprising: a tubular stand support tower, tubular stand storage rack, slip device for supporting multiple tubular stands, and a tubular stand connecting device. According to the invention the rig is provided with a tubular stand handling system, adapted to move a tubular stand between the storage rack and a position in the firing line above the tubular string slip device, and adapted to rotatable support the tubular stand in the firing line during spinning in, to allow for connecting the tubular stand with the tubular string, and during spinning out, to allow for disconnecting the tubular stand from the tubular string, the tubular stand handling system comprising. The tubular stand handling system comprises vertical rails and a lower motion arm assembly and an upper motion arm assembly comprising grippers, mounted on said vertical rails. Also provided is a weight compensation control system.

The present invention relates to drilling rig comprising tubular stand handling system. More particularly the invention relates to an apparatus and a method for connecting tubular stands to compose a tubular string for use in a wellbore. More particularly the invention relates to an apparatus and method for supporting and compensating a tubular stand during connection.
In the construction and completion of oil and gas wells, a drilling rig is used to enable insertion and removal of a tubular string into a wellbore.
The tubular strings are constructed by combining tubular stands, which are sets of combined threaded tubulars, e.g. drilling tubulars, casing. The tubulars typically have a tubular section with a pin end and a box end, the pin end being provided with outside wire, the box end with inside wire. The tubulars, and thus the tubular stands, are connected, or made-up, by screwing the pin end of one tubular into the box end of another tubular. Alternatively, already made-up tubulars may be unthreaded, also known as break-out, to disassemble a tubular string.
Typically, the tubular stand to be connected is supported at its top end by a top drive in the firing line of a drilling tower. The tubular stand is than lowered until the lower end of the tubular stand is landed on the top end of a tubular stand supported in a slip device. The pin end is inserted in the box end while the tubular stand is rotated to make-up the connection. The tubular stand may be turned by using the top drive and may be lowered using the drawworks, or by using a power tong or pipe spinners in conjunction with the pipe handling system.
Prior art publication WO2015/133895 relates to a racking device. The publication discloses a vessel with a drilling tower mounted on the hull above a moonpool. The drilling tower is associated with drawworks, the drawworks forming a firing line along and on the outside of the drilling tower. The firing line is designed for performing drilling, and includes a top drive adapted for rotary driving a drill string, and a slip device adapted to support the weight of a tubulars string, suspended therefrom along a firing line. The vessel is also equipped with two drilling tubulars rotary storage racks, adapted to store multiple drilling tubulars in vertical orientation, preferably multi-jointed tubular stands.
The drilling tower supports a racking device that is adapted to move a tubular between a storage rack and a position in the firing line above the tubulars string slip device. The racking device is furthermore adapted to bring a tubular retrieved from the storage rack into a vertical motion towards the tubulars string supported by the slip device, thereby allowing for the connection of the tubular to the suspended tubulars string.
The disclosure provides a racking device that has three motion arm assemblies, which motion arm assemblies are arranged on a common vertical rails that is fixed to the drilling tower. The three motion arm assemblies comprise a well center tool motion arm assembly, a lower racker motion arm assembly and an upper motion arm assembly. The two racker motion arm assemblies are arranged, one above the other, on the vertical rails above the tool motion arm assembly.
The publication further discloses the handling of a drill pipe multi-joint tubular by means of racker assemblies, wherein each of the racker motion arm assemblies carries a tubular gripper member, to support a drill pipe multi-joint tubular in the firing line above the well center, while the well center tool motion arm assembly carries an iron roughneck device, with a spinner thereon as well, to connect the tubular to a drill string supported by a drill string slip device.
It is critical not to damage the threads when the pin end is stabbed into the box end, or when torque is applied to overcome the weight of the second tubular resting on the threads.
In the prior art, it is common to let the pipe stand rest with all its weight against the corresponding threads in the pipe string during the entire make-up operation. During the screwing operation, it is further common to control the relative rate of displacement between the machines holding the pipe and the pipe string, at a rate corresponding to the rotational speed multiplied by the pitch of the threads.
The problem is increased with mechanized handling of the pipes, in which the pipe to be assembled is positioned against the pipe string In a relatively rigid way compared with earlier practice. A large axial force, and thereby large friction, on the threads further entails the need for a greater torque in order to assemble or disassemble the threaded pipes.
In order to facilitate tubular connection compensators have been used to prevent damage to the threads. During makeup of the connections compensators support the weight of the tubular being lowered to minimize the axial load transferred from the pin end to the box end during makeup.
For example, prior art publication US2014/0283653 discloses a power tong that includes a fixed back-up jaw and a rotor. The backup jaw section is adapted to hold the threaded tapered male end, or pin, of a tubular. The rotor section is adapted to hold the threaded tapered female end, or box, of a tubular. The rotor is rotated to rotate the pin end relative to the box end held in the fixed back-up jaw section to make up or break out threaded joints between tubulars.
The disclosed power tong is provided with thread compensator pistons, to selectively adjust the vertical spacing between the rotor section and the backup jaw section. Thus, the rotor and back-up jaw may be drawn towards one another by the retraction of rods into thread compensator pistons, or alternately, separated from one another by the extension of rods from cylinders. This action serves to compensate for the axial thread advance of the tubular as it is screwed in or out and avoids excessive axial forces on the tubular threads.
The combined upward force exerted by the thread compensators is controlled via hydraulic pressure to approximately equal the weight of the upper tubular. Tubular thread wear is thus reduced, because the threads are "unweighted" when spinning in or out.
Thus, with the prior art power tong, the rotor section supports the weight of the tubular as it is screwed in or out.
The invention has for its object to remedy or reduce at least one of the drawbacks of the prior art.
A further object of the invention is to provide an improved tubular stand handling system for facilitating connecting or disconnecting a tubular stand to or from a tubular string.

Drilling rig comprising tubular stand handling system


A removable cover for use with a clipboard, the cover comprising a transparent dome, the dome having two ends and two sides, each side of the dome meeting opposite sides of the clipboard, a closure at the spring-biased end of the clipboard, an aperture in the closure, a coverlet affixed to the aperture, the coverlet covering the spring-biased clip, an opening in a bottom of the coverlet, battery powered LED's illuminating the clipboard via low light sensors, a track around the sides and closure end of the cover providing slideably removable attachment to the clipboard.

A clipboard is typically comprised of a planar surface of plastic, wood, or similarly rigid materials to which a spring-biased clip is attached to one end. Papers, documents and other materials are held to the clipboard by the clip. Clipboards are used both professionally and recreationally in a wide variety of pursuits. Inclement weather, though, can prohibit the use of clipboards due to wind, wet conditions, or low light conditions or a combination thereof. An ideal solution is a cover which removably attaches to a typical clipboard and provides for relief of these problems such that the clipboard can be used in virtually any situation.


Amphiphilic oligo(p-phenylene vinylene) compounds and methods of use en route to self-assembled composites and device fabrication.

Previous research efforts have led to the synthesis of many conjugated polymers, particularly derivatives of poly(phenylene vinylene) (PPV), soluble in organic solvents and easily processed into films with great promise as organic electronic materials. π-Conjugated oligomers, first investigated as model compounds for conjugated polymers, are now widely studied for use in optoelectronic devices because their well-defined chemical structure facilitates tuning of electronic properties. Use of well-defined oligomers reduces defect density while enabling more control over the effective conjugation length. In particular, oligo(p-phenylene vinylene)s (OPVs) are being investigated for use in solar cells and light emitting diodes (LEDs) due to their stability, high luminescent efficiency and ease of synthesis. OPVs with solubilizing substituents combine the low-cost, solution-based processing of conjugated polymers with the improved structural control inherent to oligomers.
Controlling the nanoscale structure of rod-like conjugated polymers has proven difficult. Supramolecular order plays a critical role in device performance, as both charge mobility and luminescent efficiency are influenced by molecular aggregation and structural defects. One approach to control nanostructure has been to design polymers that could exhibit thermotropic or lyotropic liquid crystalline (LC) behavior. Among these are the "hairy-rod" type liquid crystalline polymers (LCPs), in which flexible alkyl side chains added for solubility induce nanophase separation of the rigid, conjugated polymer backbone. A more direct approach is to incorporate calamitic mesogens as side chains on a conjugated polymer backbone. Both methods can result in layered, smectic ordering of the polymer, but only micron-sized domains are generally obtained due to the viscosity and rigidity of the polymer's extended backbone conjugation, which inhibits formation of the large monodomains needed in device applications.
Use of conjugated, liquid crystalline oligomers can improve ordering, and several LC oligomers based on substituted OPV rods have been reported. Many are analogs of conjugated LCPs, with flexible alkyl chains grafted laterally onto the molecule. However, such substituent configurations transverse to a longitudinal molecular axis introduce bulky, sterically hindering groups that disrupt co-planarity within the π-conjugated system.

Oligo(p-phenylene vinylene) amphiphiles and methods for self-assembly


A microelectronic package includes a first microelectronic element comprising logic circuitry which is flip-chip mounted to a substrate, the substrate having terminals for connection with a circuit panel or other external component. A second microelectronic element overlies a rear surface of the first microelectronic element and has contacts electrically coupled with the substrate through electrically conductive interconnects extending through a region of the first microelectronic element. A heat spreader is thermally coupled with the rear surface of the substrate, either directly or through an additional element overlying the rear surface. Additional contacts of the second microelectronic element may be coupled with contacts of the substrate through electrically conductive structure disposed beyond an edge surface of the first microelectronic element.

Field of the Invention
The subject matter of this application relates to microelectronic packages which comprise both logic and memory die and more particularly to packages in which enhanced heat transfer is provided.
Description of the Related Art
Semiconductor die or chips are flat bodies with contacts disposed on the front surface that are connected to the internal electrical circuitry of the chip itself. Semiconductor chips are typically packaged with substrates to form microelectronic packages having terminals that are electrically connected to the chip contacts. The package may then be connected to test equipment to determine whether the packaged device conforms to a desired performance standard. Once tested, the package may be connected to a larger circuit, e.g., a circuit in an electronic product such as a computer or a cell phone.
In order to save space certain conventional designs have stacked multiple microelectronic elements or semiconductor chips within a package. This allows the package to occupy a surface area on a substrate that is less than the total surface area of the chips in the stack. However, conventional stacked packages have disadvantages of complexity, cost, thickness and testability.
Microelectronic elements of different types can be combined within the same package to provide faster and higher bandwidth connections between them. Combining semiconductor chips which have logic circuitry thereon with other types of chips can pose particular challenges. High bandwidth logic circuitry may require that connections between the logic chip and the substrate be in large numbers and as short as possible, favoring a flip-chip connection between the logic chip and the substrate. Chips within the package which implement other functions can be placed at other positions in the package so as not to interfere with the high bandwidth requirements of the logic chip. However, logic chips can generate much heat which needs to be shed to permit proper operation. Heat transfer from the logic chip to the outside can be impeded when another chip in the assembly substantially or completely covers an area of the logic chip, and can be further impeded when the another chip in the package is also operating, such that that heat is an even greater challenge to address.
For example, as seen in FIG. 1, in a prior art assembly including a microelectronic package 10, a logic chip 12 is flip-chip mounted to a substrate 14 in the microelectronic package, and the package 10 in turn is surface mounted to a circuit panel 20, such as through a ball grid array 22. As further seen in FIG. 1, another component 30 such as a chip or packaged chip of a different type than the logic chip 12 can be positioned above the logic chip 12 and electrically interconnected with the package 10, either through circuitry internal to or external to the package 10. Component 30 is provided within the same or a different microelectronic package as the logic chip. Lower bandwidth connections may be provided between the other component 30 and the substrate 14 than as provided between the logic chip 12 and the substrate 14. The assembly may be additionally coupled with a heat spreader 32 as seen in FIG. 1 or other component disposed above the component 30.
The assembly shown in FIG. 1 faces a particular challenge in shedding heat from the logic chip 12. The presence of the other component 30 can impede the transfer of heat to the heat spreader 32 as it may not be a very good thermal conductor, and the heat generated within the other component 30 may decrease the heat gradient between the logic chip 14 and the heat spreader 32, causing the rate of heat transfer between them to decrease. Excessive heat can decrease the performance of chips in a microelectronic package and can impact short term operation and long-term reliability.
In light of the foregoing, it would be desirable to provide a multi-chip microelectronic package which has features which facilitate high bandwidth connections between a logic chip and a substrate, and permit another type of chip to be positioned within the package and interconnected with the logic chip without sacrificing the thermal performance of the package.
Size is a significant consideration in any physical arrangement of chips. The demand for more compact physical arrangements of chips has become even more intense with the rapid progress of portable electronic devices. Merely by way of example, devices commonly referred to as "smart phones" integrate the functions of a cellular telephone with powerful data processors, memory and ancillary devices such as global positioning system receivers, electronic cameras, and local area network connections along with high-resolution displays and associated image processing chips. Such devices can provide capabilities such as full internet connectivity, entertainment including full-resolution video, navigation, electronic banking and more, all in a pocket-size device. Complex portable devices require packing numerous chips into a small space. Moreover, some of the chips have many input and output connections, commonly referred to as "I/Os." These I/Os must be interconnected with the I/Os of other chips. The components which form the interconnections should not greatly increase the size of the assembly. Similar needs arise in other applications as, for example, in data servers such as those used in internet search engines where increased performance and size reduction are needed.
Semiconductor chips are commonly packaged in single- or multiple-chip packages and assemblies. Each package has many electrical connections for carrying signals, power and ground between terminals and the chips therein. The electrical connections can include different kinds of conductors such as horizontal conductors, e.g., traces, beam leads, etc., which extend in a horizontal direction relative to a contact-bearing surface of a chip, vertical conductors such as vias, which extend in a vertical direction relative to the surface of the chip, and wire bonds which extend in both horizontal and vertical directions relative to the surface of the chip.
As manufacturers of smartphones, tablets and other devices constantly seek increased performance and greater circuit density the trend for these devices is to provide ever greater functional capabilities in an amount of space on a circuit panel that may stay the same or decrease over time. In light of the foregoing, certain improvements can be made in the structure of microelectronic packages and assemblies which comprise a microelectronic package.
In spite of the above advances, there remains a need for improved multi-chip packages and especially multi-chip packages which incorporate a logic chip and another type of chip such as dynamic random access memory ("DRAM") chip which provide high logic bandwidth and improved thermal characteristics.

Multi-chip package with interconnects extending through logic chip


A method for operating a supersonic hybrid jet power plant during various flight operations. The power plant includes a jet engine and a reciprocating internal combustion engine, the jet engine having a housing defining an inlet for receiving air, an afterburner section, and a nozzle for expelling air and combustion byproducts. The reciprocating internal combustion engine is disposed in the housing, has an intake manifold located at the inlet, and is operatively coupled to a fan rotationally mounted adjacent to the afterburner section of the jet engine. The fan is preferably operated during subsonic flight operations to boost air pressure to the afterburner. In this manner, suitable air flow at the inlet is maintained with the assistance of the reciprocating internal combustion engine during subsonic flight operations, but assistance is reduced or eliminated during supersonic flight operations so that a pressure build-up ratio of close to one is maintained.

The present invention relates to mechanical engineering, particularly, to designing engines, and more particularly, to a method for operating supersonic power plants for aircraft.
A method of operating a supersonic jet power plant, including dynamically compressing air in an inlet, feeding the pressurized air into a combustor, promoting turbulence in and adding heat to the air, and expanding combustion products in a jet nozzle is known in the prior art. See Inozemtsev N.V., Aircraft Gas Turbine Engines, Moscow, State Publishing House of Defense Industry, 1949, page 50.
The problems with the prior art method of operating a ramjet engine include its low efficiency at subsonic flight speeds, insufficient dynamics of the flight speed modulation and considerable hydraulic-pressure losses caused by great extension of the engine.
Another conventional method of operating a supersonic jet power plant comprising a turbojet, includes dynamically compressing air in an inlet, boosting the total air by a compressor which is rotationally driven by the engine, feeding the pressurized air into a combustion chamber and adding heat to the air, and expanding combustion products in the driving engine and a jet nozzle (Inozemtsev N.V. Aircraft Gas Turbine Engines, Moscow, State Publishing House of Defense Industry, 194, page 55).
Disadvantages of the prior art method include low efficiency of the power plant at Mach numbers under 1 and above 3 and insufficient dynamics when it is required to change drastically the flight speed.
Also known is a method of operating a supersonic hybrid jet power plant comprising a ducted turbojet and a ramjet, including dynamically compressing air in an inlet, boosting the air by a fan which is rotationally driven by an engine, feeding the pressurized air into a combustor, providing turbulence in and adding heat to the air, and expanding combustion products in a jet nozzle, wherein a portion of the pressurized air is fed to an intake manifold of the driving engine (Kurziner R.I. Jet Engines for High Supersonic Flight Speeds, Moscow, Mashinostroyenie, 1977, page 141).
The above referenced most pertinent prior art suffers low efficiency of the power plant at subsonic flight speeds, caused by inferior turbogenerator efficiency, and low dynamics of a vehicle both at subsonic and supersonic flight speeds.
It is an object of the present invention to improve efficiency of both a power plant and an aircraft, and to provide superior vehicle dynamics, thereby enhancing the aircraft reliability and flight safety.
The above object is attained in a method of operating a supersonic hybrid jet power plant, including dynamically compressing air in an inlet, boosting the air by a fan which is rotationally driven by an engine equipped with an intake manifold, feeding the pressurized air into a combustor, promoting turbulence in and supplying heat to the air, and expanding combustion products in a jet nozzle, a portion of the pressurized air being fed to the intake manifold of the driving engine, wherein the driving engine is a reciprocating two-stroke engine, a power supplied to the fan being reduced at supersonic flight regime, while maintaining the fan pressure ratio close to one.
To achieve the object of the invention, the heat addition to the pressurized air in the combustor is cut-off at subsonic flight regime.
The turbulence may be promoted in the pressurized air by the fan, turbulence conditions being varied by adjusting the rotation speed of the fan.
Alternatively, the turbulence may be promoted in the pressurized air by straightener blades of the fan, turbulence conditions being varied by adjusting an incidence angle of the straightener blades.
The power supplied to the fan may be reduced by throttling the intake manifold of the engine.
The drawing presents a schematic diagram of a power plant for implementing the method in accordance with the invention.

Method for the operation of a supersonic jet-engine combined power unit


A video image processing system, which determines a type of a video image scene and processes the video image based on a processing method corresponding to the type of the video image scene, is provided. A landmark feature variable obtaining section calculates the landmark feature variable on the basis of the photographing direction, the photographing position, and the landmark information. A moving feature variable obtaining section calculates a moving feature variable on the basis of the photographing position, the moving speed and route information. A video image type determining section determines a type of the video image scene on the basis of the landmark feature variable and the moving feature variable. A video image processing section determines a processing method of the video image on the basis of the type of the video image scene and a usage purpose, and processes the video image on the basis of the determined processing method. A display section displays the processed video image.

A mobile camera such as a ubiquitous camera is always carried by a photographer or mounted on a vehicle. In this case, video images are not intentionally taken by the photographer, but sequence video images of ordinary actions of the photographer are unintentionally taken. Therefore, the video images taken by the mobile camera often contains scenes which are not considered as important to a user. It is demanded to realize a system for effectively browsing the video images taken by the mobile camera.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application JP-P2000-92386A discloses a browsing system for video images of a mobile camera. FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an example of a configuration of the browsing system for the video images of the mobile camera according to conventional technique. As shown in FIG. 1, this browsing system includes a video image replay section 902, a current position control section 903, an area importance level control section 904, a video image omission section 905 and an video image display section 906. The video image replay section 902 replays the video images of the mobile camera. The current position control section 903 controls where the current position of the replayed video image is located in a moving space. The moving space is divided into a couple of areas, in which the importance level is provided for each area. The area importance level control section 904 controls how important the respective areas are and calculates the importance level of the area to which the current position belongs. The video image omission section 905 omits the video image in accordance with the importance level of a unit area when the video image is replayed. The video image display section 906 displays the video images which is normally replayed or replayed through the omission.
Another browsing system is also disclosed in "T. Ueda et al., "Digest Creation of Video Data recorded by Wearable Camera using Location and Geographical Information", Technical Report of the Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers, Vol. 101, No. 193 (DE2001-101), pp. 175-182, July 2001". According to this video image processing system, the importance level of a scene is calculated by a distance and a direction between a photographing position and a landmark so that a scene whose importance level is higher than a predetermined threshold value is exclusively extracted and provided.
According to the above mentioned conventional browsing system, the importance level of the video image is detected on the basis of the photographing position. Consequently, a scene with the high importance level is exclusively extracted, and the replay speed is changed in accordance with the importance level.
In the case of using the ubiquitous camera and the like, the video image is not intentionally taken by the photographer, but sequence video image of the ordinary actions of the photographer are unintentionally taken. Therefore, when the unedited video image is replayed, a person browsing the video image may have an unpleasant impression. For example, in the video image which was taken when the photographer significantly changed a line of sight leftward and rightward or when a car was turning to right or left, there is a large sway of the video images between left and right. Such a video image scene may give an unpleasant impression to the browsing person when it is replayed at high speed. There is also a case that a scene having no variations such as a traveling scene in traffic congestion makes the browsing person feel bored when it is replayed at low speed.
An important scene in the video image by the mobile camera is not determined only by a relative position against an object. Since a photographic device itself is moving, there is a case that moving information itself has a profound relationship with the important scene. Because actions such as turning and making a stop on the street contain an intention of a walker or a car driver, the importance level of the video image is increased in the case of turning and making a stop on the street.
However, in the above described conventional browsing system, the importance level is determined simply on the basis of the distance/direction between the photographing position and the landmark. Therefore, it is impossible for the conventional browsing system to appropriately determine a detailed type of the video image scene. It is impossible to appropriately replay the video image in accordance with the type of the video image scene either.
Moreover, the criteria of the importance level in the moving video image is changed based on the purpose to browse the video image by the browsing person. Since the criteria to determine the importance level is fixed in the conventional browsing system, it is difficult to correspond to the change of the purpose by the browsing person. For example, when the purpose is to confirm a route to reach a destination, the video image of a whole route is important and a scene to turn the corner and the like is particularly the most important. Meanwhile, when the purpose is to review the video image of a drive in the past, the landmark such as a mountain and a building which were along the road is important.
The following techniques are known as conventional techniques related to the process of the video images.
An video image processing device disclosed in Japanese Laid Open Patent Application JP-P2002-142189A includes an input means, an evaluation means and a processing means. The input means inputs a data stream having moving video image data. The evaluation means divides the moving video image data into a plurality of scenes and evaluates the moving video image data in the respective scenes according to a plurality of conditions which are mutually different. The processing means selects the scenes based on the evaluation result by the evaluation means.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application JP-P2002-271733A discloses a device to generate a digested video image of a soccer game. This digest generating device divides the video image of a soccer game into a plurality of time zones and determines the state of each team (offensive state, defensive state, etc.) in each time zone to generate information indicating the progress of a match. The digest generating device then extracts the video image scene by using the generated information and the importance level.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application JP-P2002-330393A discloses a video image digest generating method to determine importance of significance at a point of time on the video image of a program and dynamically calculate the importance level while receiving information additive to the program. Japanese Laid Open Patent Application JP-P2003-87712A also discloses a method for generating a digested sports video image which is capable of capturing a progress of the match and determining the importance level of phenomena.
Japanese Laid Open Patent Application JP-P, Heisei 08-95596A discloses a method capable of grasping the outer shell and the atmosphere of the video image and sound in a short period of time by using sound information. This method includes step for inputting video image information composed of video image information and sound information, step for extracting various kinds of feature variables from the sound information among the inputted video image information, step for processing the video image information based on the extracted feature variables, and step for outputting the generated video image information by the processing.

Video image type determination system, video image processing system, video image processing method and video image processing program


A laser beam mixing apparatus to convert a laser beam bundle into a single laser beam having a uniform energy density. The laser beam mixing apparatus includes: a barrel to adjust a distance between a multi-core optical cable and an optical lens included therein, to convert a laser beam bundle into a single beam; and a stage to adjust the position and angle a single-core optical cable with respect to the optical lens, to align the core of the single-core optical cable with the center of the single beam.

1. Field of the Invention
Aspects of the present invention relate to a laser beam mixing apparatus, and a method of sealing an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display using the laser beam mixing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lasers are being increasingly used for fine-patterning and sealing semiconductors, because lasers can highly concentrate energy in a narrow region. A laser beam does not have uniform energy over the entire cross-section thereof, although the laser beam is barely diffused while traveling. That is, energy flow in the cross-section of the laser beam is concentrated in the center, according to a Gaussian distribution.
Optical cables for transmitting laser beams include multi-core optical cables and single-core optical cables. A multi-core optical cable may be required to be connected to a single-core optical cable, in some applications. When laser light is transmitted through a multi-core optical cable, a dispersed beam pattern is produced, and thus, the multi-core optical cable has lower beam quality than that of the single-core optical cable, which transmits a more coherent beam pattern.

Laser beam mixing apparatus and method of sealing organic light emitting diode display using the same

Samsung-ro, Giheung-Gu, Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-Do


A system and method for analyzing a gas in a drilling fluid involves a degasser operable to separate the gas from the drilling fluid. A gas analyzer in fluid communication with the degasser receives a sample of the separated gas and determines a property of the gas. A controller in communication with the gas analyzer automates the operation of the gas analyzer by adjusting a parameter of the separated gas sample as the gas sample is supplied to the gas analyzer.

This section is intended to provide relevant background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the described embodiments. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light and not as admissions of prior art.
Modern petroleum drilling and production operations demand a great quantity of data and information relating to downhole conditions and drilling and production parameters. Such information typically includes characteristics of the earth formations traversed by a wellbore, as well as data relating to the size and configuration of the borehole itself. The collection of information relating to downhole conditions, commonly referred to as "logging", can be performed by a variety of methods.
During drilling operations, a fluid known as drilling mud or drilling fluid is normally pumped down drill string, and circulated up the annular space which is formed between drill string and the internal surface of the wellbore. The basic functions of drilling mud are: (1) to cool and lubricate the drill bit and downhole equipment during drilling operations; (2) to transport pieces of drilled-up rock and other debris from the bottom of the hole to the surface; (3) to suspend such rock and debris during periods when circulation is stopped; (4) to provide hydrostatic pressure to control encountered subsurface pressures; and (5) to seal the porous rock in the well with an impermeable filter cake.
As circulated drilling mud returns to the Earth's surface and is pumped out of a well, the mud often contains pieces of broken, drilled-up rock and other solid debris known as "cuttings" or "drill cuttings". In most cases, an effluent mud stream flowing out of a well, together with associated drill cuttings, is directed to one or more devices which are specifically designed to separate such drill cuttings from the mud. Such devices include, but are not limited to, "shale shakers," desanders, desilters, hydrocyclones and centrifuges.
"Mud logging" involves the monitoring and assessment of downhole conditions derived from analyzing cuttings and formation fluids (e.g., brine, water, hydrocarbon gas, or oil) carried with the drilling fluid from the formation up to the surface. Once at the surface, the formation cuttings and formation fluids may be separated from the drilling fluid for analysis, which is generally performed by personnel stationed at the rig site to continuously monitor and execute the maintenance and adjust the operations of the gas analysis. The drilling fluid may be recirculated in the wellbore.


A switching device for an irrigation line includes two flexible supply tubes (4a, 4b), each of the tubes connecting a flask containing an irrigation fluid to a handpiece via a peristaltic pump. The device includes at least one compression element (34a, 34b) and control members (32) which can apply the compression element alternatively to each of the flexible supply tubes (4a, 4b) in such a way as to squeeze and block the tube. The control members (32) are designed such that, when one of the tubes is being squeezed in order to block the passage of the fluid through same, the other tube is not being squeezed so that the fluid can flow through the other tube.

It is known that, during certain interventions, it is advantageous for a practitioner to have the possibility of supplying his handpiece alternately with different irrigation liquids.
In the devices of the prior state of the art, the "irrigation lines", i.e. the flexible tubes which connect the storage flasks to the handpiece via a peristaltic pump, are provided with a switching valve making it possible to connect the inlet of the pump successively to each of the flasks containing various irrigation liquids.
It will be understood that, in such devices, the irrigation line assembly cannot be of disposable type, unless the switching means are discarded with it, which, due to the costs involved, is difficult to envisage.
In certain devices of the prior state of the art, only that part of the irrigation line constituted by the flexible tubes is disposable, the switching means remaining, for their part, fast with the control apparatus. It will be understood that, under these conditions, the exchange of this disposable part of the irrigation line does not solve the problem of the sterility of the overall line.

Switching device for irrigation fluids in a dental handpiece

Societe Pour la Conception des Applications des Techniques Electroniques - Satelec