An image processing apparatus stores image data according to color constituent, sets an order of correction value data to correct input image data for each color constituent according to a command that specifies an output order of the color constituents, performs color correction in a color correction operation circuit using the specified correction value data, and outputs the image data. Without an output order change circuit, it is possible to perform the color correction and output image data of the color constituents according to an output device, resulting in a compact apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, which applies color correction processing to original image data read by a photoelectric conversion device in an image scanner, facsimile machine, digital copier, and the like, and outputs it to a display device such as CRT, a printer device, or other output devices.
2. Prior Art
Generally, an image processing apparatus applies color correction processing to image data read by a photoelectric conversion device for each of colors, for example the three primary colors, i.e. RGB (red, green, and blue), and outputs the image data after correction to a display device such as a CRT or an output device such as a printer. A computer performs this correction with correction values according to characteristics of the output device so that a most faithful image to the original is obtained.
Meanwhile, for outputting the image data, it needs to be output in the order of the color constituents according to output information from the application software of the computer, and the like. That is, for image information that is read in the order of RGB, the output order of the RGB must be consistent with the reading format of the application software, for example TIFF, BMP, JPEG, and the like.
A conventional image reading apparatus is shown in FIG. 11. In the past, in this kind of image reading apparatus, a light source 104 irradiates a document 100, and the reflected light is separated into the three primary colors (constituents) of R, G, and B by passing through respective filters of R (red), G (green), and B (blue). They are incident to a photoelectric conversion element CCD 101, for example such as a CCD. The light (analog data) of each color constituent incident to the CCD 101 is input respectively into an A/D converter (analog to digital converter) 102 and digitized.
Data of digitized R, G, and B is corrected respectively in a shading correction component 302, a gamma correction component 303, and a line space correction component 304, and is temporarily stored in a regisLer 305, then it is input into a matrix operation circuit of a color correction component 306. In the shading correction component 302, shading correction processing, which corrects non-uniformity of the light intensity of the light source and irregularity of the sensitivity of the CCD image elements, is applied. In the gamma correction component 303, gamma correction processing, which corrects resolution of the respective R, G, and B data such that the output data resolution matches the resolution of the input data, is applied. In the line space correction component 304, line space correction processing, which adjusts shifting of the CCD read positions for R, G, and B, is applied.
Also, in the matrix operation circuit 306 of the color correction component, color correction processing such as a matrix operation shown below is performed using correction values for each color.
      Color                          Correction                          Matrix                                A                                                          (                                                  R              ′                                                                          G              ′                                                                          B              ′                                          )        =            [                                                                            K              11                                                          K              12                                                          K              13                                                                          K              21                                                          K              22                                                          K              23                                                                          K              31                                                          K              32                                                          K              33                                                                    ]                  [                                    R                                                G                                                B                              ]
An original image and an output image have different characteristics in color, density, and the like, because of errors in filters that separate the colors into the three primary colors, spectral sensitivity characteristics of the CCD, and image generation characteristics of each output device (for example, printer, CRT, and the like). Thus, the image data from the CCD must be corrected by correction values. Generally, correction values R′, G′, and B′ are obtained by a matrix operation, which operates on input image data using a color correction matrix A. A method of this matrix operation is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. H5-122455.
Specifically, as shown in FIG. 11, the color correction matrix A specified according to the output device from color correction matrices stored in lookup tables 403 is temporarily stored in register 502. This color correction matrix A and the image data of R, G, and B are input into the matrix operation circuit 306, and color correction processing is performed electronically by matrix operations. Also, the image data corrected in this manner is transferred to a computer (PC 8) via an image data bus 9 and an I/F IC, and is output to an output device via an image handling application software, or is directly output to an output component like a facsimile or a digital copy machine, or the like.
At this time, the order of processing of each color constituent in the output device depends on specifications of an image processing software in the PC, or a printer engine of a facsimile or a digital copy machine. Thus, an order of each color constituent read by CCD needs to match to an order for image processing.
Conventionally, final data after color correction is converted to an order of color constituents according to an output device by a switching circuit (an output order changing component 600) provided in an output interface component. The output order changing component 600 comprises an output order changing circuit that changes (switches) an output order based on each output device, and this output order changing component 600 requires a switching controller device.
Accordingly, the apparatus and methods of the prior art require special electrical devices for changing the output order such as a switching circuit, and its controller, as well as a memory for switching, and the like. The apparatus tends to be complex and large, and furthermore it takes longer processing time.

Image processing, image reading apparatus and image processing method


A central processing unit (CPU) is reset during the removal of a battery or the voltage drop, while, in an electrically erasable/programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), there is stored and held information of the camera operation immediately before the reset and the number of film frames. Then, when the CPU becomes operable by the exchange of batteries and the like, the information of camera operation immediately before the reset and the number of film frames are read out from the EEPROM during the processing at the initial stage thereafter, the operations corresponding to the information of camera operation is continued and the number of film frames thus read out is changed by one and set as the film count value when the information of camera operation indicates one frame delivery. With this arrangement, the interrupted frame delivery is also counted as one frame, so that the final frame is prevented from entering a photographing preventing region of a film.

This invention relates to a camera, and more particularly to processing of the number of film frames in a camera incorporating therein an electrically erasable/ programmable read-only memory (hereafter referred to as a "EEPROM"). 2. Description of the Related Art
There has heretofore been provided a so-called preparatory winding type camera wherein, after a film as a whole in a patrone is previously wound up, the film is automatically delivered frame after frame each time a shutter release is performed. In the camera of this type, a film count value (the number of film frames) is counted up at the time of the preparatory winding and the count value thereof is counted down by delivery of each frame. Then, when the count value becomes zero, the film is unwound by continuing one frame delivery operation, considering that the photographings by the whole film are completed.
On the other hand, information of camera operation (during the preparatory winding, during one frame delivery, during the unwinding, during the standly and so forth) immediately before the start of the film delivery and immediately after the ending of the film delivery and the number of film frames at the time of the change of the film count value are written into the EEPROM.
The information of the camera operation and the number of film frames which are written into this EEPROM are read out during the processing at the initial stage after the camera becomes operable by the exchange of batteries and the like, whereby the film count value is set and it becomes possible to continue the operations interrupted by the exchange of batteries and the like.
However, in the case of the above-described conventional camera of the preparatory winding type, when the battery is taken out in the middle of one of the frame delivery after the photographing or the film delivery is interrupted due to the wear of the battery, there is a possibility that the final frame enters a photographing preventing region ("S" in the film).
That is, when the shutter release is performed in a state where the film count value showing the remaining amount of the film is "34" for example as shown in FIG. 4, after the photographing is made in this frame, one frame delivery is automatically performed, whereby normally, the count value is counted down to "33" after delivery of one frame.
However, during this one frame delivery, if the battery is withdrawn for example, then one frame delivery is interrupted. At this time, the information of the camera operation stored in the EEPROM indicates "during one frame delivery" and the number of film frames remains as "34".
Thereafter, when the batteries are exchanged, the information of camera operation and the number of film frames, which are stored in the EEPROM, are read out, "34" is set in the film count value and one frame delivery processing interrupted on the basis of the information of camera operation is restarted from the beginning. Then, when one frame delivery processing is completed, the film count value is counted down to be set at "33".
As apparent from FIG. 4, an interval having a length L is formed between the numbers of film frames "34" and "33" due to the above-described frame delivery. As the result, the frame of the film frame number "1" enters "S" of the film. Accordingly, such a problem is presented that, when the film is developed and printed, the frame of the film frame number "1" is cut.


A bedside flashlight cradle for supporting a flashlight from the side of a bed frame for ready access. The cradle includes a grasper end for connection to the bed frame, a middle section, and a cradle. The grasper end may attach to the bed frame without fastener, for example, by sliding over the vertical side wall of the bed frame. The middle section may cant backward in order to support the flashlight flush with the edge of the bed frame. The cradle may be provided in spaced apart pairs to support the flash light or in other configurations such as an integral unit that has sufficient width to support a flashlight or an integral unit that has a single grasper end of sufficient width with a pair of spaced-apart cradles.

Many flashlight owners choose to keep their flashlight in their bedroom so that it is accessible in the event of a power failure or other emergency. However, a 3 or 4 D battery flashlight is hard to find a safe place for, because of its weight and length. In the bedroom, because one will be looking for the flashlight in the dark when needed, it is important that the flashlight be easily accessible when needed, i.e. that it be located within arms length.
Flashlight owners often have a nightstand near their bed. However, it is undesirable to simply lay the flashlight on the nightstand because it may roll off, or may be covered with other items. It is also impractical to stand the flashlight on end, on the nightstand, because it is easily knocked over. Of course, when a drawer is available, it may be possible to store the flashlight in the drawer. However, the owner may forget where it is, or even if the owner remembers, she may have difficultly finding it amongst the other items in the drawer when needed.
Some flashlight brackets are commercially available, but the ones known to the present inventor are generally designed for screw mounting to the wall of a garage or utility room, and are not well suited for use in the bedroom. For bedroom purposes, such a bracket could be screwed to the bedroom wall near the bed, or perhaps, to the side of the nightstand, but neither option is very desirable from an aesthetic point of view.
There remains a need, therefore, for a bedside flashlight cradle.


A semiconductor quantum dot device converts spin information to charge information utilizing an elongated quantum dot having an asymmetric confining potential along its length so that charge movement occurs during orbital excitation. A single electron sensitive electrometer is utilized to detect the charge movement. Initialization and readout can be carried out rapidly utilizing RF fields at appropriate frequencies.

Quantum computing utilizes quantum particles to carry out computational processes. The fundamental unit of quantum information is called a quantum bit or qubit. A qubit can be both a zero and a one at the same time. An example is the spin of an electron, wherein the up or down spin can correspond to a zero, a one, or a superposition of states in which it is both up and down at the same time. Performing a calculation using the electron essentially performs the operation simultaneously for both a zero and a one. Experimental advances in quantum computation have come most rapidly in nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) and ion-trap systems. The success of few-qubit quantum computation in such systems demonstrates an urgent need for a quantum computing scheme that is scaleable to a large number of qubits. Solid-state qubits are one of the primary candidates. Numerous proposals have been made for solid-state quantum computers. These proposals include the use of nuclear spins as qubits, B. E. Kane, "A Silicon-Based Nuclear Spin Quantum Computer," Nature, Vol. 393 (6681), (1998), pp. 133–137; and the use of electronic spins as quantum dots, DiVincenzo, et al., "Quantum Computers and Quantum Coherence," J. of Magnetism and Magnetic Materials, Vol. 200, (1–3), 1999, pp. 202–218. Potential issues with such proposed systems include individual impurity spins, as well as gate operation and readout methods for the quantum dots.
Spins can be manipulated using a strong DC magnetic field combined with a spatially uniform radio frequency field (e.g., at GHz frequencies). In the presence of a small g-factor gradient, the spins can be addressed individually. Entanglement of one spin with another proceeds by gating the barrier between spins. This gives rise to a time-dependent exchange interaction, H(t)=J(t)S1S2. A combination of these operations acting in the proper sequence on two qubits will produce a controlled-NOT gate (C-NOT). See, e.g., R. Vrijen, et al., "Electron-Spin Resonance Transistors for Quantum Computing and Silicon-Germanium Heterostructures," Physical Review A, Atomic, Molecular, and Optical Physics, Vol. 62(1), 2000, pp. 012306/1–10.
Quantum computation also can be performed without g-factor tuning and the individual spin rotations via high frequency radiation that g-factor tuning allows. Instead, the time-dependent exchange interaction, H(t)=J(t)S1S2, can be used in combination with coded qubits, as described in D. P. DiVencenzo, D. Bacon, J. Kempe, G. Burkard, K. B. Whaley, Nature (London) 408, 339 (2002), in which a single qubit is represented by the total wave function of several individual spins. In this way, the exchange interaction alone enables universal quantum computation.
Several approaches have been proposed for the implementation of spin qubits in semiconductors. See, D. Loss, et al., Phys. Rev. A57, 120, (1998); B. E. Kane, Nature (London) 393, 133, (1998); R. Vrijen, et al., Phys. Rev. A62, 012306 (2000); J. Levy, Phys. Rev. A64, 052306 (2001); M. Friesen, et al., Phys. Rev. B 67, 121301-1–4 (2003). Several components of qubit technology have been demonstrated, as discussed in J. M. Elzerman, et al., Phys. Rev. B 67, 161308(R) (2003). However, the combined challenge of preparing, storing and measuring spins is formidable. The measurement of spin qubits is a particular challenge. On the one hand, qubits should be well isolated from their environment to avoid decoherence, and on the other hand, it is necessary to individually couple the qubits to an external measurement device. Qubit initialization involves an additional dissipative coupling to the environment. For quantum computing, it is necessary to initiate such coupling selectively, and with sufficient strength to perform the operations quickly. Indeed, scalable quantum computing relies on fault-tolerant quantum error correction algorithms, involving frequent, parallel measurements, and a steady supply of initialized qubits. P. W. Shor, Proceedings of the 35th Annual Symposium on Foundations of Computer Science, S. Goldwasser, Ed., IEEE Computer Society Press, Los Alamitos, Calif., 1994, pp. 124 et seq.; A. M. Steane, Phys. Rev. A 68, 042322 (2003). Rapid and sensitive quantum measurement techniques involving radio frequency single electron transistors (rf-SETs) have been developed. K. W. Lehnert, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 027002 (2003). Rf-SETs have been used to detect the tunneling of individual electrons in semiconductor devices, as discussed in L. Lu, et al., Nature (London) 423, 422 (2003).
Quantum dot architectures have been developed specifically for the purpose of manipulating electron spins for fast and accurate two-qubit operations that serve as universal gates for quantum computations. M. Friesen, et al., (2003) supra. See, also, U.S. Pat. No. 6,597,010. Recent experimental results have shown that decoherence does not pose a fundamental problem for such gate operations. A. M. Tyryshkin, et al., Phys. Rev. B 68, 193207 (2003). Using special qubit geometries as discussed in M. Friesen, et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 81, 4619 (2002), it should be possible to perform reliable gate operations in silicon quantum dots at rates between about 1 MHz and 1 GHz. It would be desirable to be able to achieve similar speeds and reliable operation for measurement and initialization operations. One technique for converting spin information to charge information is discussed in D. Loss, et al., supra, and the use of single electron transistors to read out the resulting spin state has been proposed by Kane, et al., (1998) supra, who posit spin-dependent charge motion onto impurities in silicon. In I. Martin, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 018301 (2003), a scheme is proposed for single spin readout that also converts spin information into charge information in an electron trap near a conducting channel. Resistance of the channel depends on the occupation of the trap, which in turn can be made to depend on the spin.

Spin readout and initialization in semiconductor quantum dots


A generator for driving an ultrasonic transducer for use in ultrasonic cleaning. The generator is based on a voltage controlled oscillator which drives an output circuit which includes the ultrasonic transducer. The output circuit has a resonant frequency, and a resonance follower produces a control voltage which tunes the voltage controlled oscillator to the resonant frequency. Operating in conjunction with the automatic tuning elements is a constant power control which allows the user to set a desired power level, and monitors the actual output power by means of an output wattmeter circuit, to cause the actual output power to match the level selected by the user. The constant output power circuit is effective even during resonance tracking of the system, or during frequency modulation of the ultrasonic output energy.

In ultrasonic cleaning, a transducer, usually piezoelectric but sometimes magnetostrictive, is secured to a cleaning tank to controllably impart ultrasonic vibrations to the tank. The tank is filled with a cleaning liquid and parts are immersed into the liquid to be cleaned by ultrasonic agitation and cavitation. Interaction between the ultrasonically agitated liquid and the contaminants carried by parts immersed in the liquid causes the contaminants to be dislodged.
Various circuits have been configured for driving the ultrasonic transducer and have provided a variety of features. Parameters which are available for adjustment or control are the ultrasonic frequency, the power level, amplitude or frequency modulation, and duty cycle control of power bursts, among others.
In ultrasonic cleaning, it is known that the output circuit, which usually includes a driver, the ultrasonic transducer, and the mechanical system which it drives have a resonant frequency. The mechanical system, of course, includes the liquid in the tank and the parts immersed in the liquid. Quite clearly, the mass and shape of the parts, the temperature of the liquid, and other factors, all influence the resonant frequency of the output circuit. In some cases, the driver circuit is tuned to the approximate resonant frequency of the load by selection of inductance and capacitance values, and in other cases, the driver can drive the load either on or off resonance.
The art has developed to allow users various controls over the frequency of the ultrasonic generator in an effort to match the resonant frequency of the generator to that of the mechanical system. Indeed, it has been proposed to allow the system to automatically tune to the resonant frequency of the system, but such automatic resonance tuning has not been entirely satisfactory, particularly when combined with other forms of ultrasonic generator control. In Ratcliff U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,477, for example, the output circuit which includes the driver and the load is tuned for automatic resonance tracking, but the power output is intentionally varied or modulated to produce peak power which is substantially higher than the average power output.
It has been proposed to allow the user to adjust a sweep frequency, i.e., a cyclical change in output frequency with respect to time. The aforementioned Ratcliff patent includes a sweep feature to allow sequential resonating of a number of ultrasonic transducers driven in series. Other controls which have been proposed include duty cycle control of the output frequency (bursts of ultrasonic pulses with duty cycle controlled on and off intervals), amplitude modulation of the ultrasonic pulses, and the like. Various forms of power controls have also been proposed. Krsna U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,547 exemplifies a typical approach of using a shunt resistor in one of the main power supply circuits as a general indicator of power delivered to the load. But the measure is indirect and inaccurate because it relates primarily to input power and does not take account of output efficiency.
A further example of an ultrasonic generator including multiple controlled parameters can be found in William Puskas, U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,130. That patent discusses adjustments for the center frequency of the ultrasonic drive, the on and off time of power bursts of the ultrasonic pulses, degas on and off time, as well as amplitude modulation of the ultrasonic power bursts.
It is understood that there is a relationship between the output frequency of the generator, its relationship to the resonant frequency of the system, and the power delivered to the output circuit. Various systems have attempted to monitor power by, in effect, measuring input power to the generator. Thus, ultrasonic controls have been available which claim to be constant power, but which simply include a shunt resistor in the input power circuit which is, at best, a crude indicator of output power, since efficiency and the like are dependent upon the degree to which the system is on or off resonance. It is known, for example, that as the frequency varies from a resonance point to an off resonance point the efficiency of the system decreases, and the power delivered to the load is also reduced.
Thus, it is not a simple matter to propose a multiply controlled ultrasonic generator which is capable of producing constant power, because variation of the frequency parameters, for example, has a direct impact upon the power delivered to the output. Nor is it possible to simply measure input current to the system, and use that as a basis for suggesting constant output power, particularly in systems which allow the variation of center frequency of the ultrasonic drive or its sweep.
Thus, while it has been thought desirable to provide the user with features such as automatic resonance seeking, constant and adjustable power output, and the like, it has not been possible heretofore to provide those features in the same ultrasonic generator. Tradeoffs were necessary due at least in part to the state of the art.

Variable frequency ultrasonic generator with constant power output


A computer Input/Output (I/O) assembly including a stand for supporting an I/O device, such as a display or the like. The stand includes a main support member and an auxiliary support member offset from the main support member. A mechanism providing swivel and rotational motions coupled the main support member to a base and another mechanism providing swivel, rotation, and tilt motions couples the auxiliary support member to the I/O device. The total rotational motion provided by the mechanisms is greater than 360.degree..

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computing systems in general and in particular to sub-assemblies for use in said computing systems.
2. Prior Art
Display sub-assemblies for use as computer I/O devices are well-known in the prior art. The prior art display sub-assemblies usually include a support stand on which the display is mounted. The display could be a cathode ray tube (CRT) or other types of displays. Cables for transmitting power signals and/or data signals interconnect the display to the control unit of the computing assembly. Examples of prior art sub-assemblies are set forth in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,304,385, 4,738,422, 4,880,191 and 5,024,415. The patents provide tilt, swivel and vertical motion to the displays which they support. The respective motions are necessary so that viewers can adjust the monitor to a position with which they are comfortable.
Even though the prior art devices work well for the intended purpose, they do not provide rotational motion. The need for rotational motion is particularly needed in certain environments, such as point of sale, where it is often required for the display subsystem to be mounted on different sides of the point of sale terminal or be rotated for the customer to view the screen. Even in a regular workstation or other computing environment, the rotational feature gives a user more option to adjust the monitor. The rotational feature tends to improve productivity in that the monitor has a wide range of adjustment and the user can find a position most comfortable. In addition, it may be possible to have more than one user using a single monitor.

I/O assembly for use with point of sale terminals and other computing systems

International Business Machines Corporation


A drive device for opening and closing a slide body includes: a drum mating with a secondary cable end portion of a first cable and a secondary cable end portion of a second cable. The drum includes; a main drum mating with the secondary cable end portion of one of the first cable and the second cable, and a sub-drum mating with the secondary cable end portion of the other of the first cable and the second cable. An inner gear is formed on an inner face of one of the main drum and the sub-drum. An outer gear is formed on an outer face of the other of the main drum and the sub-drum. The inner gear meshing with the outer gear for adjusting a cable length of the first cable and a cable length of the second cable.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a drive device for opening and closing a slide body, in accordance with a rotational direction of a drum, by winding in one of a first cable and a second cable {the first cable and the second cable connecting to the slide body} while winding out the other of the first cable and the second cable.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Heisei 11 (1999)-091355 (=JP11091355) discloses a drive device for a slide door of this type. The drive device according to Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Heisei 11 (1999)-091355 (=JP11091355) has the following constitution:
A first cable and a second cable connecting to a slide door are in a state of winding around a main drum. Rotating the main drum in a first direction by winding in one of the first cable and the second cable while winding out the other of the first cable and the second cable can open the slide door. Contrary to this, rotating the main drum in a second direction opposite to the first direction by winding in the other of the first cable and the second cable while winding out the one of the first cable and the second cable can close the slide door.
Moreover, the drive device according to the Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Heisei 11 (1999)-091355 (=JP11091355) is provided with an adjuster drum coupled with the main drum. In accordance with a coupling position for coupling the adjuster drum with the main drum, the first cable and the second cable are adjustable in length.
More specifically, one of the first cable and the second cable has a cable end portion mating with the main drum, while the other of the first cable and the second cable has a cable end portion mating with the adjuster drum. In accordance with the coupling position for coupling the adjuster drum with the main drum, the first cable and the second cable are adjustable in length.
Around a shaft, the adjuster drum is rotatable coaxially with the main drum. In a direction along the shaft, the main drum and the adjuster drum are opposed to each other. The main drum has ratchet teeth arranged circumferentially, while the adjuster drum has ratchet teeth arranged circumferentially. Setting the main drum is before setting the adjuster drum. Pushing the adjuster drum toward the pre-set main drum in the direction of the shaft can mesh the ratchet teeth of the adjuster drum with the ratchet teeth of the main drum. In accordance with a meshing position for meshing the ratchet teeth of the adjuster drum with the ratchet teeth of the main drum, in other words, in accordance with the coupling position for coupling the adjuster drum with the main drum, the first cable and the second cable are adjusted in length.
The thus obtained coupling state of the adjuster drum with the main drum can be kept by means of a spring for biasing the adjuster drum to the main drum.
For keeping the coupling state of the adjuster drum coupled with the main drum, however, the drive device according to the Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Heisei 11 (1999)-091355 (=JP11091355) is expected to have the spring. Moreover, coupling portions where the ratchet teeth of the adjuster drum meshing with the ratchet teeth of the main drum formed on axially opposing faces of the main drum and the adjuster drum may hinder visual inspection in adjusting the coupling position, thus deteriorating workability in assembling the adjuster drum to the main drum.

Drive device having a cable adjusting feature for a sliding body


A visible-light photopolymerizable composition comprising a) a cationically polymerizable epoxy resin, b) a hydroxyl-containing material c) an aryliodonium salt and d) a visible light sensitizer that is an alpha-dicarbonyl compound having an extinction coefficient less than about 1000. Particularly preferred compositions of the present invention are dental materials.

Epoxy compounds have previously been cured by various cationic initiator systems. U.S. Pat. No. 4,256,828 describes photocopolymerizable compositions containing epoxides, organic material with hydroxyl functionality, and a photosensitive aromatic sulfonium or iodonium salt of a halogen-containing complex ion. This patent also describes coated substrates. U.S. Pat. No. 4,250,053 describes sensitized aromatic iodonium or aromatic sulfonium salt photoinitiator systems for cationic reactions. U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,705 describes epoxy compositions that can be cured with visible radiant energy based on the use of certain organic dyes in combination with diarylhalonium salts. Cationic polymerization of various olefinic and cyclic organic compounds and organosilicon cyclics is also described.

Dental visible light curable epoxy system with enhanced depth of cure

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


A switched capacitor decimator circuit (20) is shown to be useful in a cellular telephone that operates in accordance with a subaudible signalling protocol. The switched capacitor decimator circuit has an input node for inputting a received signal that includes a subaudible signalling component and an interfering voice component. The switched capacitor decimator circuit further has an output node for outputting a signal having an amplified subaudible signalling component and voice component. The circuit includes an operational amplifier (22) having an input and an output and a characteristic DC offset voltage. A first capacitance (Cint) is switchably coupled, at a rate equal to a first frequency, between the input and the output of the operational amplifier. A second capacitance (Cin) is coupled between the input node and the input of the operational amplifier. A gain (G) of the circuit is given by Ncin/Cint, where n is a ratio of the first frequency to a second, lower frequency. The circuit further includes circuitry (C3, C4) for DC offset compensating the switched capacitor decimator circuit such that the DC offset voltage of the operational amplifier appears at the output node amplified only with a gain of unity.

As described in an article entitled "Integrated Switched-Capacitor Low-Pass Filter with Combined Anti-Aliasing Decimation Filter for Low Frequencies", IEEE J. Solid-State Circuits, vol. SC-17, PP. 1024-1028 (12/82), by D. C. von Grunigen et al., a SC filter operates as a sampled-data network. As a result, the input signal must be band limited to prevent aliasing. A technique presented by von Grunigen et al. uses a SC prefilter (referred to as a decimation filter) that provides zeros at integer multiples of a clock frequency f.sub.c. This is accomplished by sampling the SC prefilter at a higher clock rate nf.sub.c. FIG. 3 of this article shows such an SC prefilter.
One of a number of uses for a SC filter is in a baseband signalling circuit of a cellular telephone.
One problem that arises in the use of a cellular telephone is when it is desired to employ two different signalling protocols, such as a wide bandwidth signalling protocol and a narrow bandwidth signalling protocol.
For example, one wide bandwidth voice channel protocol is known as Advanced Mobile Phone Service (AMPS). AMPS is used in parts of North and South America. Another wide bandwidth voice channel protocol is known as Total Access Communication System (TACS), which is used in, by example, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain. Two Narrow bandwidth voice channel protocols are known as NAMPS and NTACS, both of which employ subaudible signalling.
Difficulties arise in that the NAMPS/NTACS signalling protocols are quite different from that of the AMPS/TACS signalling protocols. The most significant differences include the following.
In AMPS/TACS the signalling is a "blank-and-burst" type; i.e., the voice signal is muted during signalling. However, in the NAMPS/NTACS system the signalling is accomplished by continuous subaudible signalling below the voice band. As a result, in NAMPS/NTACS the voice signal acts as an interference signal for the subaudible signalling.
The effective bit rate for the signalling circuit is 10 Kbit/s and 8 Kbit/s for AMPS and TACS, respectively, but only 100 bit/s for NAMPS/NTACS.
The deviation for signalling is .+-.8 Khz/.+-.6.4 Khz in AMPS/TACS, and .+-.700 Hz in NAMPS/NTACS. If it is desired to maintain the same demodulation sensitivity of the RF receiver for both protocols, a problem arises in that the input signal level of the signalling circuit will be reduced by the same ratio in NAMPS/NTACS, as compared to AMPS/TACS.
Furthermore, when employing the NAMPS/NTACS protocols the interfering voice signal must be attenuated during signalling data reception.
One method of solving this problem is to employ the SC technique described by von Grunigen et al. to convert the effective input sampling frequency to a higher frequency in order to ease the anti-aliasing filtering requirements.
A main function of an analog front end of the signalling circuit, in addition to filtering noise and interference, is to detect the zero crossings of the incoming data signal by converting the signal to a square wave signal to be used in subsequent digital data processing circuitry. In this process, the difference between the DC level of the signal at the input to comparator and a DC comparison level becomes critical. Thus, any additional DC voltage added to the signal distorts the detection of the zero crossings of the input data signal, resulting in an increase in the Bit Error Rate (BER) of the detected subaudible signalling data.
One major source of this DC level shift is the offset voltages of the operational amplifiers (opamps) in the signal filters. In that a significant amount of amplification is required, due to the low input signal levels (nominally 35 mVpp for NAMPS); with conventional circuit structures the offset voltages of the opamps are also amplified. As a result, the DC offset of the signal is increased, leading to the above described difficulties in extracting the signalling data.
A straightforward solution to this problem is to provide a DC blocking capacitor and a DC biasing resistor at the input of the data comparator. However, the corner frequency of the DC blocking components must be very low (less than 2 Hz) when operating with the NAMPS/NTACS protocols, due to the low signalling frequency. This would require a large RC constant, which is extremely difficult or impossible to provide within a typical integrated circuit structure. One solution would be to implement the DC blocking function with external components. However, this approach would require additional interface pins for the integrated circuit. Furthermore, the use of external components would increase both the total cost and the area required for a printed circuit board.
In an article entitled "Improved Offset-Compensation Schemes For Switched-Capacitor Circuits", (ISCAS '84), pages 1054-1057, by K. Haug et al., techniques are described for compensating offset voltages of the opamps in SC circuits. FIG. 2 of this article shows an offset-free non-inverting SC integrator wherein an input-referred DC offset voltage of an operational amplifier is cancelled during the period (phi 1=1). This phase should thus be used for sampling by a subsequent stage. Eq. 5 describes a change in the output voltage during the period (phi 2=1), compared to the period (phi 1=1), and shows that the change is small, and that the opamp slew requirements are relaxed (FIG. 5). Although the opamp offset is totally compensated, this article describes an integrator, and not a decimator.
An article entitled "Spike-Free Switched-Capacitor Circuits", Electronics Letters 9th, Vol. 23 No. 8, (4/87), pages 428-429, by H. Matsumoto et al., describes an improvement to these structures, and shows the use of capacitance multiplier (CM) feedback.


A stent is described comprising a unit cell having a negative spring rate and a bistable function. The unit cell comprises first and second segments, the first segment being more rigid than the second segment. The second segment is coupled to the first segment, and the first segment comprises a substantially fixed sinusoidal shape. In the contracted state, the second segment is held stable in a sinusoidal shape, but when a force is applied the second segment bends out to a stable, convex-shaped deployed state. The second segments withstand the application of radial forces in the convex-shaped deployed state, and diametral recoil of the stent is minimized.

There are several kinds of stents on the market with either balloon expandable or self-expanding function. Balloon expandable stents are generally made from a material that can easily be plastically deformed into two directions. Before insertion, the stent is placed around the balloon section at the distal end of a catheter and pressed together to reduce the outer dimensions.
When the stent is delivered into the body in a desired location, it is expanded and thereby plastically deformed to a larger diameter by inflating the balloon. Once expanded, the stent supports the surrounding tissue and prevents at least local narrowing of the vessel.
Such plastically deformable stents need to have sufficient rigidity in the radial direction, but also some flexibility in the axial direction to enable delivery through tortuous anatomy. Furthermore, the amount of material should be as small as possible and the inner surface of the stent should not obstruct the flow through the channel (e.g., for blood) or cause too much turbulence.
Problems that generally occur after stent implantation are several: After crimping the stent onto the balloon of the delivery catheter, the stent experiences some elastic recoil to a slightly larger diameter, which can cause problems, e.g., snagging, when the catheter is advanced through the patient's vasculature. In addition, the engagement forces between the balloon and stent can become so small that the stent slips off the catheter. Moreover, a large stent delivery profile reduces the number of situations in which the stent can be used.
Another problem with balloon expandable stents is recoil of these stents after deployment. In this case, after expansion by the balloon of the delivery catheter, the stent outer diameter will shrink slightly once the balloon is deflated. The percentage change in deployed stent diameter due to recoil can be as much as 10%, and can cause migration of the stent.
A self-expanding stent typically is made of a more or less elastically expanding structure, which is affixed to the delivery catheter by some external means. For example, this type of stent is held in its constrained state by a delivery sheath that is removed at the moment of stent deployment, so that the stent self-expands to its preferred expanded form. Some of these stents are made of shape memory material with either superelastic behavior or temperature sensitive triggering of the expansion function.
A disadvantage of self-expanding stents is the need for the delivery sheath, thus resulting in a larger delivery profile. The removal of the sheath also requires a sheath retraction mechanism, which has to be activated at the proximal end.
Most balloon expandable and self expanding stents further have the disadvantage of that they experience large length changes during expansion and exhibit a poor hydrodynamic behavior because of the shape of the metal wires or struts.
Still further balloon expandable stents exhibit a positive spring rate, which means that further diametral expansion can only be achieved by higher balloon pressure. Moreover, previously-known stents typically are constructed so that external forces, working on the stent in the radial direction, may cause bending forces on the struts or wires of the structure.
For example, a unit cell of a Palmaz-Schatz stent, as produced by the Cordis division of Johnson & Johnson, or the ACT One Coronary stent, produced by Progressive Angioplasty Systems, Inc. have in their contracted delivery state a flat, rectangular shape and in their expanded condition a more or less diamond-shaped form with almost straight struts (Palmaz-Schatz) or more curved struts (ACT-One).
The shape of the unit cell of such stents is typically symmetrical with four struts each having the same cross section. In addition, the loading of the cell in the axial direction will typically cause an elastic or plastic deformation of all of the struts, resulting in an elongation of the unit cell in the axial direction. These unit cells have a positive spring rate. For stents based upon these unit cells, the stability against radial pressure is merely dependent on the bending strength of the struts and their connections.
In view of these drawbacks of previously known stents, it would be desirable to provide a stent having minimal elastic spring back upon being compressed onto a balloon catheter.
It also would be desirable to provide a stent having minimal recoil so that the stent remains at its selected deployed diameter after expansion.
It further would be desirable to provide a stent having a minimal length change during deployment of the stent.
It still further would be desirable to provide a stent that is not characterized by a positive spring rate, so that achieving further expansion does not require continually increasing balloon pressure.

Apparatus for a stent or other medical device having a bistable spring construction


An amorphous amide compound of the formula

Disclosed herein are amorphous amide compounds, particularly amorphous monoamide and amorphous bisamide compounds which are particularly suited for use in phase change ink applications.
Crystalline-amorphous inks have been described which display improved robustness over previous inks, particularly on coated substrates, and particularly with respect to scratch, fold and fold offset.
U.S. Patent Publication 2012/0274699, which is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety, describes a phase change ink composition comprising an amorphous component, a crystalline component, and, optionally, a colorant.
In general, phase change inks (sometimes referred to as solid inks or "hot melt inks") are in the solid phase at ambient temperature, but exist in the liquid phase at the elevated operating temperature of an ink jet printing device. At the jet operating temperature, droplets of liquid ink are ejected from the printing device and, when the ink droplets contact the surface of the recording substrate, either directly or via an intermediate heated transfer belt or drum, they quickly solidify to form a predetermined pattern of solidified ink drops. Phase change inks have also been used in other printing technologies, such as gravure printing.
Phase change inks for color printing typically comprise a phase change ink carrier composition which is combined with a phase change ink compatible colorant. In a specific embodiment, a series of colored phase change inks can be formed by combining ink carrier compositions with compatible subtractive primary colorants. The subtractive primary colored phase change inks can comprise four component dyes, namely, cyan, magenta, yellow and black, although the inks are not limited to these four colors. These subtractive primary colored inks can be formed by using a single dye or a mixture of dyes. For example, magenta can be obtained by using a mixture of Solvent Red Dyes or a composite black can be obtained by mixing several dyes. U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,560, U.S. Pat. No. 4,889,761, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,372,852, the disclosures of each of which are totally incorporated herein by reference, teach that the subtractive primary colorants employed can comprise dyes from the classes of Color Index (C.I.) Solvent Dyes, Disperse Dyes, modified Acid and Direct Dyes, and Basic Dyes.
The colorants can also include pigments, as disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,335, the disclosure of which is totally incorporated herein by reference.
Phase change inks are desirable for ink jet printers because they remain in a solid phase at room temperature during shipping, long term storage, and the like. In addition, the problems associated with nozzle clogging as a result of ink evaporation with liquid ink jet inks are largely eliminated, thereby improving the reliability of the ink jet printing. Further, in phase change ink jet printers wherein the ink droplets are applied directly onto the final recording substrate (for example, paper, transparency material, and the like), the droplets solidify immediately upon contact with the substrate, so that migration of ink along the printing medium is prevented and dot quality is improved.
While known compositions and processes are suitable for their intended purposes, a need remains for improved materials that can provide improved thermal stability during synthesis and variation in product distributions and for composition whose synthesis can be successfully scaled up. There further remains a need for new amorphous materials that have improved properties over current materials.
The appropriate components and process aspects of the each of the foregoing U.S. Patents and Patent Publications may be selected for the present disclosure in embodiments thereof. Further, throughout this application, various publications, patents, and published patent applications are referred to by an identifying citation. The disclosures of the publications, patents, and published patent applications referenced in this application are hereby incorporated by reference into the present disclosure to more fully describe the state of the art to which this invention pertains.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Abstract: wherein R is selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group, an aryl group, an alkylaryl group, an arylalkyl group, and combinations thereof. An amorphous diamide compound of the formula

Abstract: wherein R1 is selected from the group consisting of an alkylene group, an arylene group, an alkylarylene group, an arylalkylene group, and combinations thereof.


An auditory prosthesis includes a sound sensor that senses both ambient sounds and sounds uttered by the patient. The prosthesis includes a monitor that senses a physiological parameter indicative of the intensity of the sounds as perceived by the patient and/or the onset of a prospective speech episode during which the patient utters sounds. For example, the monitor may detect the activity of the stapedius muscle. This muscle contracts in the presence of subjectively perceived high level sounds or just prior to and during a speech episode. This parameter is used dynamically by the prosthesis to process the received sounds, for example, by changing the amplification level of these sounds dependent on the activity.

A. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to auditory prostheses, including both cochlear implants and hearing aids More specifically, the present invention pertains to an auditory prosthesis in which the natural stapedius muscle reflex is used to modulate automatically the amplification of the audio channel in the system just prior to, and during an interval when the patient utters sounds, as well as when the patient subjectively perceives loud sounds.
B. Description of the Prior Art
The present invention relates generally to auditory prostheses, such as multi-channel cochlear implants and hearing aids. A cochlear implant conventionally consists of three componentsxe2x80x94an implanted electrode array, an implanted receiver/stimulator unit (RSU) and an externally worn speech processor (WP). The speech processor receives ambient sound signals, for example, via a microphone, processes them so as to produce a set of signals corresponding to stimuli, and communicates these signals to the RSU. Communication between the speech processor and the RSU may be provided by an inductive link, a direct cable, or any other suitable means. The RSU, in accordance with the received signals, provides electrical stimulation signals to the electrode array.
Since the patient is exposed to various sound levels an AGC feedback circuit is normally used to keep the level of signals within a predetermined relatively constant range. Typically, this circuitry detects an objective or absolute measure of loudness of the ambient sounds, and not the patient""s subjective perception of the intensity of these sounds. Therefore a problem associated with present cochlear implant systems is that they do not have the capability of responding to the patient""s own subjective perception of sound intensities. This problem is particularly pronounced when a patient starts speaking, because these sounds are subjectively intrinsically louder than ambient sounds but are not treated differently by standard AGC circuitry. This latter situation is somewhat ameliorated by the use in existing systems of unidirectional microphones which are less sensitive to sounds spoken by the patient. However future systems will make use of other schemes, including, for instance, fully implanted systems with implanted microphones. In these fully implanted systems the above mentioned problem will be much more pronounced because implanted microphones are inherently much less directional than the external microphones presently in use and because direct bone conduction will conduct sounds produced by the patient very efficiently to the implanted microphones.
The problem of distinguishing between auditory signals produced by a prosthesis patient and signals produced externally is also present in hearing aids, especially implantable hearing aids. An implantable hearing aid is described, for instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,814,095.
The present invention takes advantage of naturally occurring stapedius reflex. This reflex is commonly observed by measuring the acoustic impedance in the middle ear. The acoustic impedance is primarily modulated by the action of the tensor timpani muscle acting on the eardrum, but the action of both the tensor timpani and stapedius muscle is commonly referred to as the stapedius reflex. The following discussion deals with monitoring the stapedius reflex by means of the electrical signal emanating from the stapedius muscle or stapedius nerve. It will be readily understood that the invention can equally be implemented by monitoring the electrical signal emanating from the tensor timpani muscle or tensor timpani nerve.
The stapedius muscle, when contracted, acts as a dampening mechanism on the ossicular chain within the ear. In the normally functioning ear, contraction of the stapedius muscle attenuates the vibration transmitted through the malleus, incus and stapes to the oval window, so as to prevent overstimulation of the auditory system. In a paper by Jerger et al, in Ear and Hearing, vol 9, No 1(1988), entitled xe2x80x9cPrediction of dynamic range for the stapedius reflex in cochlear implant patientsxe2x80x9d, amplitude growth functions for an electrically-elicited stapedius reflex were compared with behavioral estimates of dynamic range. This paper concluded that comfort levels are typically greater than or equal to the saturation or plateau level of stapedius response. The stapedius reflex, whilst electrically elicited, was measured using an external acoustic probe arrangement. The onset of the stapedius reflex is conventionally determined in this manner.
It has been found that most people, even candidates for cochlear implants, have a stapedius reflex. As demonstrated above, this reflex is the intrinsic or natural way in which a body protects itself against loud noises. Importantly, it is the same reflex which is also used to suppress a person""s perception of his own voice.
It has been suggested that the stapedius reflex be used to determine the stimulation comfort and threshold levels of a patient. See, for instance, commonly assigned PCT publication WO97/09863, corresponding to U.S. application Ser. No. 09/029,365 filed Mar. 4, 1998, entitled DERIVED THRESHOLD AND COMFORT LEVEL FOR AUDITORY PROSTHESIS, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,205,360; and PCT International Publication No. WO97/48447 published on Dec. 24, 1997 and entitled SELF-ADJUSTING COCHLEAR IMPLANT SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR FITTING THE SAME. However in both of these references the stapedius reflex is used only to calculate the above-mentioned parameters while the cochlear implant system is fitted. The references do not suggest the use of the stapedius reflex xe2x80x98on the flyxe2x80x99, i.e., during the normal use of a cochlear system to determine a physiological control parameter indicative of the patient""s subjective perception of sound levels, or to detect sounds uttered by or about to be uttered by the patient,
The present inventor has discovered that the stapedius reflex is an ideal parameter to measure a person""s subjective perception of the loudness or intensity of ambient sounds and that this parameter can be used as a gain control parameter during the normal operation of an auditory prosthesis such as a cochlear implant system or a hearing aid. The present inventor has also discovered that this reflex is an ideal indication of when a patient is speaking since the reflex sets in just before a speaking episode.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an arrangement in which a dynamic physiological parameter indicative of the subjective perception to a patient of sound levels is derived automatically in a prosthesis.
A further objective is to provide an auditory prosthesis in which the stapedius reflex is detected and used to control the output signals generated by the prosthesis.
Yet another objective is to provide an auditory prosthesis in which means are provided to differentiate between sounds generated by the patient and ambient sounds.
A further objective is to provide an implantable auditory prosthesis system which selectively and automatically alters the gain of the system in anticipation of a patient""s own voice and subsequent to the resultant utterance.
Yet another objective is to provide an auditory prosthesis system in which the stapedius reflex is used to automatically adjust the system for the perceived loudness of sounds.
Other objectives and advantages of the invention shall become apparent from the following description.
Briefly, the present invention provides an auditory prosthesis which may be, for instance, a cochlear implant including processing means for providing electrical stimulus signals to an implanted stimulation device, said prosthesis including a sensor means adapted to sense the stapedius reflex. The prosthesis also includes a microphone, wherein signals from said microphone are processed by said processing means in accordance with a pre-determined algorithm, so as to define a stimulation sequence to be applied to the patient""s auditory nerve. The intensity of the sounds detected by the microphone is monitored and an AGC circuit is used to maintain said intensity in a predetermined range, the output of the AGC circuit being fed to the processing means. A physiological parameter is determined from the sensor means which is indicative of the subjective perception of the patient of said sound intensity. This physiological parameter is used to adjust the operation of the AGC circuit thereby automatically and dynamically compensating for the sound intensity perceived or anticipated by the patient. Preferably this physiological parameter is derived from the stapedius reflex. An advantage of using the stapedius reflex is that physiological parameter derived from it is indicative of loud ambient sounds and it also comprises a precursor for speech uttered by the patient.
In an alternate embodiment, the physiological parameter is fed to the processing means which modifies its operation in the presence of the physiological parameter. For example, signals received by the signal processing means following the stapedius reflex event are processed differently than signals received prior to the stapedius reflex.
The sensor means for the stapedius reflex may include any means which detects either a tightening of the stapedius muscle itself, or a nervous signal associated with the activation of the muscle. A preferred method is to detect electrically the depolarization of the nerve fiber which initiates the contraction leading to the stapedius reflex. Other methods include measuring the electrical signals generated by the stapedius muscle as it contracts, detecting said contraction mechanically, or detecting consequences of the muscular contraction, such as changes in the acoustic impedance of the middle ear. The sensor means may generate a binary signal indicating the activation of the stapedius reflex, or may be multi-valued indicating the intensity of the reflex.
The principles described above are also applicable to a hearing aid as well, including an external hearing aid or fully implanted hearing aid. In an external hearing aid, the amplified signals, attenuated in the present invention in accordance with the signals received from the stapedius reflex monitor, are fed to an output transducer (known as a receiver) inserted into the patient""s ear. In a fully implanted hearing aid, the amplified signals are fed to a transducer which transmits corresponding vibrations mechanically to the ossicular chain or directly to the footplate.

Auditory prosthesis with automated voice muting using the stapedius muscle reflex


A voltage reference generator generates a stable reference voltage that is less than the bandgap voltage of silicon for power supply voltages less than 2V, yet provides sufficient voltage headroom to operate a current mirror. In one embodiment, the voltage reference generator has a power supply rejection ratio of at least 60 dB and has comparable noise performance as compared to traditional bandgap cirucits. These advantages are achieved by subtracting a current proportional to a complement of an absolute temperature from a current proportional to the absolute temperature to generate a voltage having a positive temperature coefficient, which is then added to a voltage that is a complement of the absolute temperature to achieve a voltage that has a low temperature coefficient.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to generating a reference voltage in integrated circuits, and more particularly to reference voltage circuits for low-power applications.
2. Description of the Related Art
A bangap reference circuit has improved temperature stability and is less dependent on power supply voltage than other known voltage reference circuits. Bandgap reference circuits typically generate a reference voltage approximately equal to the bandgap voltage of silicon extrapolated to zero degrees Kelvin, i.e., VG0=1.205V. Typical voltage reference circuits include a current mirror coupled to the power supply and the voltage reference node to provide a current proportional to the absolute temperature to the voltage reference node.
Integrated circuits having 3V power supplies can easily meet the demands of operating devices included in a cascoded current mirror and generate the reference voltage without compromising stability of the reference voltage. For example, a voltage reference generator with a power supply of 3V provides a reference voltage of 1.2V. The VDS of a MOSFET included in the current mirror has a magnitude of 3V−1.2V=1.8V, which is sufficient to operate the device under typical conditions with an acceptable power supply rejection ratio (PSRR) (i.e., the ability of the voltage reference generator to reject noise on the power supply). However, as the power supply voltage drops, e.g., for low-power applications, available voltage headroom required to operate the devices included in the current mirror is reduced, the PSRR becomes more critical, and the voltage reference generator is less likely to provide a sufficiently stable reference voltage with respect to variations on the power supply.
Accordingly, improved techniques for generating stable reference voltages for low-power applications are desired.

Voltage reference generator circuit subtracting CTAT current from PTAT current


This invention is a trough solar collector that uses inexpensive aluminized plastic films as the reflecting surface. The films are held in proper shape by stretching them between rigid ribs that are spaced apart along the length of the collector. The structure of the trough is held rigid by a unique sun-tracking system that not only guides a whole of array of troughs on a field to point them toward the sun, but also maintains the whole length of each trough in rigid configuration. It is not necessary to extend rigid metal beams along the trough to maintain the rigidity of the trough. Small-diameter cables are wrapped around rotatable pipes that extend along the east and west sides of the field. The cables extend over the field of the troughs and are attached to connecting points above the troughs in such a way that when the rotatable pipes rotate, the cables move, the troughs move with them, and the cables provide the rigidity of the troughs. The troughs are supported by support posts that are driven into the ground. Since the support posts do not have to supply torque to rotate the troughs, no concrete foundations are necessary.

Regular parabolic trough solar collectors are typically built with rugged structural members to provide rigidity so that when one part of the trough is rotated by a sun-tracking mechanism, the whole trough rotates together. The parabolic reflectors are typically glass or highly polished metal. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,114,694 and 5,058,565 show trough structures that can be rotated by external means, but the troughs have to be rotationally rigid.
The rigid structures of these troughs are expensive, and the reflecting surfaces are expensive.
The tubes that carry the cooling fluid are typically located somewhat above the parabolic reflector. These designs are typically quite sensitive to the accuracy of the sun-tracking system. That is, if the troughs are not pointed fairly accurately toward the sun, the reflected rays tend to miss the target (the pipe carrying the cooling fluid). U.S. patents such as U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,923,381 and 6,676,263 overcome this problem by having a fairly narrow channel for concentrating the sunrays, and the fluid pipe is located deep within the cavity. These troughs also require rigid and expensive structures to maintain the geometry of the troughs.


Time magnification and heterodyning are combined to allow the single-shot characterization of the electric field of optical waveforms. The electric field of the source under test is obtained by Fourier processing of the magnified temporal intensity of the source heterodyned with a monochromatic source. An experimental implementation of this technique is characterized and used to measure various optical signals.

The ability to measure time-varying fields has led to significant advances in a number of technological fields including optical chirped pulse amplification, pump-probe spectroscopy, coherent control, optical telecommunications and radar. Additionally, the temporal resolution of measurement systems is practically limited by many factors such as the bandwidth of any photodetectors used and electronics employed, consequently indirect approaches have been developed to characterize high speed electrical and optical signals.
Performing measurements in a single shot, e.g., to temporally resolve non-repetitive events, is more challenging than measuring merely repetitive signals. The equivalence between spatial diffraction and chromatic dispersion on the one hand, and the effect of a spatial lens and a quadratic temporal phase modulation on the other hand, can be used to provide temporal magnification of optical waveforms (See, e.g.,W. J. Caputi, "Stretch: a time transformation technique", IEEE Trans. Aerosp. Electron. Syst. AES-7, 269-278 (1971); B. H. Kolner, "Space-time duality and the theory of temporal imaging", IEEE J Quantum Electron. 30, 1951-1963 (1994)).
As is known in the art, the intensity of a signal under test can be measured in a single shot using low-speed photodetection and conventional electronics after the measured signal interacts with a chirped optical pulse for which there is a mapping between time and frequencies (See, e.g.,C. V. Bennet, E. P. Scott, and B. H. Kolner, "Temporal magnification and reversal of 100 Gb/s optical data with an up-conversion time microscope", Appl. Phys. Lett. 65 , 2515 (1994); F. G. Sun, Z. Jiang, and X.-C. Zhang, "Analysis of terahertz pulse measurement with a chirped probe beam", Appl. Phys. Lett. 73, 2233-2235 (1998); L. Kh. Mouradian, F. Louradour, V. Messager, A. Barthélémy, and C. Froehly, "Spectro-temporal imaging of femtosecond events", IEEE J. Quantum Electron. 36, 795-801 (2000); and A. S. Bhushan, P. V. Kelkar, B. Jalai, O. Boyraz, and M. Islam, "130-GSa/s photonic analog-to-digital converter with time stretch processor", IEEE Photon. Technol. Lett. 14, 684-686 (2002). Unfortunately however, none of these techniques provide phase information.

Electric field measurement of optical waveforms


A method of distinguishing an object in an image. The method including the steps of detecting an image with an optical device where the image includes at least one object. Identifying at least one object using a central processing unit (CPU) that includes a central processing algorithm (CPA) and uses a majority voting analysis of multiple inputs to analyze at lest one object with the CPA. The image selected by the CPU is then displayed on the optical device.

The invention relates to identifying and distinguishing observed objects by analyzing the image with a plurality of independent data inputs.
In E. Steinberg, P. Bigioli, and I. Raducan, U.S. Pat. No. 6,904,168, Oct. 22, 2001, "Workflow system for detection and classification of images suspected as pornographic," the application involved detection and classification of images being suspected as being pornographic. This method employed shape, texture, curvature and pose characteristics of the images to rank certain pictures as high probability of being pornographic.
In D. A. Goldberg, U.S. Pat. No. 6,526,158, Feb. 25, 2003, "Method and system for obtaining person-specific images in a public venue," facial recognition systems were used to find a specific person in an audience. A face recognition system was employed as well as other meta-information about that person.
In H. Nobuta, Y. Ueno, S. Matsuzaki, T. Toyama, M. Nakao, and N. Sugawara, U.S. Pat. No. 6,775,033, Aug. 10, 2004, "Image communication apparatus and communication control method thereof," an image communication apparatus and control method of sending and receiving pictures was discussed.
In D. Lu, C. T. Shagrin, W. L. Thomas, M. Lee, B. Bernard, and J. Zhang, U.S. Pat. No. 5,550,928, Aug. 27, 1996, "Audience measurement system and method," the goal was to find a particular member in the audience. A template matching scheme was presented, but it differs from the methodology presented in this patent application.
In S. M. Hoffberg, and L. I. Hoffberg-Borghesani, U.S. Pat. No. 5,774,357, Jun. 6, 1998, "Human-factored interface incorporating adaptive pattern recognition based controller apparatus," an adaptive pattern recognition scheme was presented which used both temporal and spatial user characteristics, but differs from the material presented in the sequel in this patent application.
In D. A. Goldberg, M. B. Goldberg, M. D. Goldberg and B. M. Goldberg, U.S. Pat. No. 6,819,783, Nov. 14, 2003, "Obtaining person-specific images in a public venue," disclosed a method and system for identifying images of people in a public venue by electronically merging identification information into the image information. This procedure provides a "tag" to identify the image with a marker to keep track of the person of interest.
In R. D. Sorkin and H. Dai, "Signal Detection Analysis of the Ideal Group," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 60, 1994, pp. 1-13 signal detection theory was used with analysis of the ideal group. It showed that the signal to noise ratio of certain key variables increased with the square root of the number of the constituent voters provided they were independent. An efficiency measure of performance of the observed group to decision making was identified.
In R. D. Sorkin, R. West, and D. E. Robinson, "Group Performance Depends on the Majority Rule," Psychological Science, Vol. 9, No. 6, November, 1998, pp. 456-463, the majority rule was investigated when it may not be a simple majority in the decision process (for example two-thirds or three-fourths of the majority).
In R. D. Sorkin, C. J. Hays, and R. West, "Signal-Detection Analysis of Group Decision Making," Psychological Review, Vol. 108, No. 1, 2001, pp. 183-203, signal detection theory was employed for groups of decision makers to examine their efficacy. As the group size changed, how this modified decision-making ability was studied.
Performance is examined in R. D. Sorkin, S. Luan, and J. Itzkowitz, "Group Decision and Deliberation: A Distributed Detection Process," Book Chapter, Chapter 23, pp. 464-484, for a distributed framework for group decision where deliberation was performed. Investigation of the bias (used in the individual decision rules of each voter) was determined and its relationship to the likelihood ratios of the binary choices.
All references made in the present specification are herein incorporated by reference.

Visual object identification by computational majority voting

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


Generally, a substrate support member for supporting a substrate is provided. In one embodiment, a substrate support member for supporting a substrate includes a body coupled to a lower shield. The body has an upper surface adapted to support the substrate and a lower surface. The lower shield has a center portion and a lip. The lip is disposed radially outward of the body and projects towards a plane defined by the first surface. The lip is disposed in a spaced-apart relation from the body. The lower shield is adapted to interface with an upper shield disposed in a processing chamber to define a labyrinth gap that substantially prevents plasma from migrating below the member. The lower shield, in another embodiment, provides the plasma with a short RF ground return path.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention generally relate to a pedestal having a shield for supporting a substrate in a semiconductor processing chamber.
2. Description of the Related Art
In semiconductor substrate processing, the trend towards increasingly smaller feature sizes and linewidths has placed a premium on the ability to mask, etch, and deposit material on a semiconductor workpiece, or substrate, with greater precision. Plasma etching is of particular importance in obtaining critical dimensions less than 0.25 micron.
Typically, etching is accomplished by applying RF power to a working gas supplied to a low pressure processing region over a substrate supported by a support member. The resulting electric field creates a reaction zone in the processing region that excites the working gas into a plasma. The support member is biased to attract ions within the plasma towards the substrate supported thereon. Ions migrate towards a boundary of the plasma adjacent the substrate and accelerate upon leaving the boundary layer. The accelerated ions produce the energy required to remove, or etch, the material from the surface of the substrate. As the accelerated ions can etch other items within the processing chamber, it is important that the plasma be confined to the processing region above the substrate.
FIG. 1 illustrates an exemplary processing chamber 100 that provides for plasma confinement. The processing chamber 100 includes a chamber body 102 having a vertically movable substrate support member 104 disposed therein. The support member 104 generally includes one or more electrodes for biasing the substrate. The chamber body 102 generally includes a lid 106, a bottom 108 and sidewall 110. Coils 112 are disposed proximate the lid 106 and are coupled to a power source 114. An annular shield 116 is coupled to the sidewalls 110 or lid 106 and circumscribes the support member 104. A cover ring 118 is suspended from a J-section 120 of the shield 116 when the support member 104 is in a lowered position.
As the support member 104 is elevated to a processing position as depicted in FIG. 1, the perimeter of the support member contacts the cover ring 118, lifting the cover ring 118 off the shield 116. Since the cover ring 118 and J-section 120 of the shield 116 remain interleaved creating a labyrinth or gap, plasma formed in a process region 122 defined between the support member 104 and the lid 106 does not migrate to a region 124 below the support member 104 where ions leaving the plasma may etch chamber components proximate thereto.
Although utilization of a cover ring lifted by a support member has been successfully commercialized, the use of cover rings in processing chambers utilizing ceramic support members is generally not preferred. Generally, each time the ceramic support member is raised to the processing position, the cover ring impacts the ceramic support member. The repeated impact of the cover ring with a ceramic support member over the course of processing a number of substrates is undesirable due to the brittle nature of ceramic. The ceramic support member is often damaged after repeated impact and may chip, break or generate particles. This leads to premature replacement of the ceramic support member and causes poor processing and increased defect rates.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus for supporting a substrate on a ceramic support member in a processing chamber.


A silver halide photographic light-sensitive material is disclosed. The light-sensitive material comprises a transparent support having thereon a hydrophilic colloid layer comprising a silver halide emulsion layer and an electric conductive layer, in which the electric conductive layer contains colloidal particles of a kind of metal oxide and at least one layer of the hydrophilic colloid layer contains a leucocompound of a blue dye.

Recently, a time for access to an image is considerably shortened as a result of progress in electronics technology, and a rapidity of processing is increasingly demanded to a light-sensitive material. Consequently, many serious requirements are made on the light-sensitive material. Among them a requirement of anti-static property is particularly serious.
A high-molecular electrolyte or a surfactant has be usually used as an antistatic agent. These compounds, however, have a drawback that the developing solution is made turbid or a sludge is formed in the developing solution since the compounds are water-soluble and dissolved out into the developing solution at the time of processing.
Consequently, selection of a high-molecular electrolyte or a surfactant each having a high water solubility, or making cross-link the high-molecular electrolyte has been taken as the countermeasure for such the drawback.
However, it is required to reduce an amount of the waste liquid of a processing solution since an environmental regulation is made serious. The problems of the turbid and the sludge cannot be solved by the foregoing countermeasure when the processing is carried out with a reduced replenishing.
Japanese Patent (JP) No. 6-49894 discloses the use of an electric conductive layer comprised of water-insoluble crystalline metal oxide particles together with a hydrophobic binder such as polyvinylidene for avoiding such the problems. In this case, it is necessary to raise the filling ratio of the crystalline metal oxide particles to obtain a sufficient electric conductivity by the metal oxide because the hydrophobic binder is not electric conductive. In this publication, a filling ratio of not less than 80% is required. However, when the metal oxide particles are added in an amount of not less than 80%, the transparency of the processed film is lowered since the crystalline metal oxide particle scatters light.
As a countermeasure against such the problem, Japanese Patent Publication Open to Public Inspection (JP O.P.I.) No. 3-24656 discloses use of a hydrophilic binder and a nonionic surfactant having polyoxyethylene group together with the crystalline metal oxide. Moreover, JP O.P.I. No. 3-24957 proposes using a hydrophilic binder and a fluorinated surfactant.
However, the filling ratio of the metal oxide particles of not less than 50% is necessary for making a sufficient conductivity even when such the technique is applied. Consequently, the problem of turbid is not solved yet.
On the other hand, a tabular silver halide grain emulsion is well known as an emulsion having a high spectral sensitization efficiency and a high resolving power. However, the tabular silver halide grain has a drawback that the tone of a silver image formed from the tabular silver halide grains is yellowish black, not pure black tone, and the yellowish black ton image gives an unpleasant feeling to the observer in the case of a light-sensitive material for medical use. Such the phenomenon is often occurred in an emulsion of fine grains or that of the tabular grains having a small thickness, and a countermeasure using a toning agent has been disclosed.
However, the know toning agents (for example, a certain kind of mercapto compound) are hardly put practical use by the reason of that the application of the toning agent to a high-sensitive emulsion causes a considerable desensitization.
Recently, it is become essential to shorten the time for processing and drying for a ultra-rapid processing. For example, a rapid drying by a heating roller is applied.
The application of the ultra-rapid processing or rapid drying to the light-sensitive material causes an unevenness of development or drying, which results an unevenness of the glossiness of the surface of the light-sensitive material. The unevenness of the glossiness of the surface causes, together with the tone of silver image, considerable degradation of the image quality. Accordingly, further development has been demanded.

Silver halide photographic light-sensitive material


An optical transmitter apparatus for use in an optical communications network has a polarization dithering unit, an optical transmitter unit, and a transmission fiber. The polarization dithering unit is connected in series between an output of the optical transmitter unit and the transmission fiber.

Polarization Mode Dispersion (PMD) of transmission fibers is likely the most limiting effect for deploying high-speed optical communications systems at 40 Gbit/s per channel and above. PMD arises from random birefringence in fibers and network devices, which gives rise to a differential group delay (DGD) between the two principal states of polarization (PSPs), and manifests as random pulse distortion and performance degradation in optical fiber transmission systems. PMD is a stochastic phenomenon whose DGD value changes with time, temperature, wavelength and deployment condition.
In an ideal situation, light with different polarizations travels at the same speed in a waveguide (optical fiber). Due to random imperfections and asymmetries that cause random spreading of optical pulses, which are present in real life optical fiber, two different polarizations of light travel across the waveguide with different speeds. This phenomenon is called Polarization Mode Dispersion.
To mitigate the effect of PMD, optical systems must include some form of PMD compensation. In Wavelength Division Multiplex (WDM) systems, one such compensator for each channel must normally be employed to achieve satisfactory performance. To effectively mitigate the PMD effects, the temporal drift of the PMD characteristics forces any active compensation technique to dynamically adapt while the system is in operation and the fiber PMD evolves. A number of optical and electronic PMD compensators were proposed. Among them the solutions in the electrical domain are generally faster and more flexible, but they are intrinsically limited to low PMD. Therefore, the optical PMD compensators, which are much more complex, have larger potential as the PMD (at least in theory) can be completely compensated in the optical domain.
The basic blocks of a typical PMD compensator are a number of high-birefringence elements (e.g. Polarization Maintaining Fibers, PMF, elements), a feedback signal and an optimization algorithm that dynamically drives the PMDC.
A disadvantage of the solutions known in the art is that the effectiveness of PMD-Compensators (PMDCs) is often estimated through a static or quasi-static procedure: since the penalty depends on both input signal State Of Polarization (SOP) and the fiber PMD, one can use a PMD-emulator and fix the input signal SOP to measure the effectiveness of the PMDC. Then either SOP or PMD are changed and the PMDC optimized again (this corresponds, at the theoretical level, to the outage probability approach). In both cases, one neglects what may happen during transients from one operating condition to the next. In principle, any change of the input state of polarization (SOP) and/or of the fiber PMD corresponds to a time-dependant trajectory of the PMDC variable parameters. Therefore this quasi-static approach might be correct only if these trajectories had no discontinuity. This has been proven not true.
Most Polarization Mode Dispersion Compensators can use one out of two different compensation strategies. System impairments only depend on  where  and  are the Stokes vectors of the signal SOP and overall 1st order PMD, respectively. Hence, a PMDC works effectively if either  is parallel to  or if  is simply minimized. If the PMDC starts in the "parallel" mode, after some time, the PMDC may have to instantaneously switch to the "minimization" mode.
Since there is a nonzero time needed for switching the PMDC and then iteratively finding the new optimum operation point, the PMDC may produce eye closure and error bursts during these time windows, which cannot be tolerated by system and network architectures.
From the PMDC it is therefore mandatory that it cannot ever use the "parallel" strategy. However this cannot be easily avoided: the signal characteristics do not allow separating these two operation modes. Thus, the usual feedback signals provide basically the same results in the two operation modes, and different types of feedback cannot be used to discriminate between the two modes. Therefore, current optical PMDCs are prone to lock to unstable conditions, and may produce ineffective compensation with low signal quality and unacceptable error bursts.
As is known in the art, a technique known as polarization scrambling, which is currently used in long-haul optical transmission systems, may not be suitable for application in compensation of polarization mode dispersion.
Hence, an improved apparatus and method for compensating polarization mode dispersion would be advantageous. Such a method and apparatus should be easily applicable to methods of compensating a broad range of PMD (including high polarization mode dispersion), as well as to situations with variable state of polarization.

Optical transmitter, optical network and method for compensation of polarization mode dispersion


A medical device and method for its use in the digestive system of a mammalian patient is provided. The medical device includes a stent and a retrieval device. The stent has a magnetic element connected to an end of the stent. The retrieval device includes a magnetic member, and the retrieval device is sized to be ingested by the patient. The magnetic member is capable of being magnetically coupled to the magnetic element of the stent for removal of the stent through the natural forces of the digestive system.

Stents used within the gastrointestinal system, such as biliary stents or pancreatic stents, are generally tubular plastic structures, although metal stents and expandable stents are also sometimes employed. Delivery of these stents is usually accomplished in an endoscopic procedure (e.g. see U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,450). Likewise, retrieval of such stents is accomplished in a separate endoscopic procedure. Retrieval may be accomplished using specialized retrieval devices such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,334,208 and 5,643,277, or more conventional devices such as grasping forceps or snares. Some degree of direct visualization of both the stent and device are required in order to retrieve the stents, thus giving rise to the need for the separate endoscopic procedure for removal.
Unfortunately, these stents can sometimes migrate up a patients duct, rendering them difficult to remove. As endoscopic stenting procedures in the biliary and pancreatic ducts become more prevalent, the medical challenge in retrieving these stents will increase. Accordingly, there exists a need to provide devices and methods for retrieval of gastrointestinal stents which improve the ability to remove the stent, including once the stent has migrated up a patient's duct or which otherwise does not require direct visualization of the stent and retrieval device.


A driver has a tip that enables it to engage each one of a conventional hexagonal-head fastener and a conventional lobed-head fastener. The tip includes alternating flutes and crests. The crests are substantially flat to engage straight walls of a hexagonal-head. The flutes engage the lobed head of the fastener. A socket-type driver engages each type of conventional fastener. A fastener and a pair of socket-type fasteners have alternating flutes, which can be engaged by a conventional lobed-head driver, and crests or sidewall surfaces, which can be engaged by a conventional hexagonal-head driver.

This invention relates to fasteners and drivers for fasteners, and more particularly to combination fasteners that can be driven by more than one configuration of driver head and combination drivers that can drive more than one configuration of fastener head.
Combination drivers capable of engaging and driving more than one configuration of threaded fastener can be useful while assembling parts. For example, numerous prior art drivers combine a slotted-head and a cruciform-head, such as a Phillips-type screwdriver, onto a single shaft to enable the single, combination driver to engage both a screw having a single-slotted head and a screw having a Phillips-type head. Also, prior art combination drivers include configurations that mate with conventional hexagonal head fasteners, such as the combination driver disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,367,664. Combination fasteners, such as hexagonal-head fasteners having a slot for a standard screw driver also are well-known.
For orthopedic or other surgeries in which threaded fasteners are affixed to part of a body, the fastener's head type and size are often recorded on an x-ray record of the body. Accordingly, in a subsequent surgery to remove or otherwise access the fasteners, the same x-ray record used for medical analysis identifies the proper type and size of driver to engage the fasteners. Sometimes, however, the subsequent surgery to remove or otherwise access the fasteners occurs without the use of the identifying information, such as when the information is not entered onto the original x-ray record or the original record is not available. Identifying the type and size of the fastener in order to choose the appropriate driver during surgery is otherwise difficult without open dissection because of the position of the fasteners in the body and because fluid may obscure the fastener.

Combination driver and combination fastener


Disclosed herein is an integrated bonding mid clamp device for solar panel mounting and grounding, as well as a related system and method. The integrated bonding mid clamp includes a deformable toothed washer for breaking an anodized layer of a solar panel frame. The deformable toothed washer is capable of deforming to avoid obstructing proper contact between the mid clamp and the solar panel frame.

Renewable energy sources are becoming more popular with the rising cost of oil and other non-renewable energy resources. Solar energy is one of these renewable energy sources, and has proven desirable to harness in many circumstances. One method of harnessing solar energy is to install a structural array of solar panels, or a solar array, such that the solar panels each face the sun to achieve sunlight absorption.
In order to comply with the National Electrical Code (NEC) and other safety regulations, the solar panels and solar arrays must be properly grounded. Typically, solar panels are grounded by attachment to an equipment grounding conductor, such as a heavy gauge copper wire or the like. Solar panels are often surrounded by an aluminum frame having an anodized layer. In many cases, the ground path runs through this anodized aluminum frame, into a support rail, and then into the copper wire or the like. The anodized layer is insulative; therefore when the ground path runs through the anodized aluminum frame, the anodized layer of the frame must be broken to allow electricity to be conducted. Other components, for example, a support rail, may also have an anodized layer. The anodized layer of the support rail may also need to be removed before the ground path runs through the support rail.
Improved mid clamps capable of scratching or otherwise breaking the anodized layer of the panel frame and providing increased contact area between the mid clamp and the solar panel frames would be well received in the art.

Integrated bonding mid clamp device, system, and method for solar panel mounting and grounding


In one embodiment, an apparatus includes an insert for an evaporator coil. The insert is located within the evaporator coil. The insert for the evaporator coil reduces refrigerant charge in the evaporator coil and causes refrigerant flowing through the evaporator coil to change direction. The insert for the evaporator coil includes a solid core and a plurality of support legs.

Certain refrigerants used in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems raise environmental concerns. For example, Class I and II refrigerants have substances that may deplete the ozone layer. Due to these environmental concerns, legislation is phasing out certain refrigerants and recommending other natural, non-toxic refrigerants such as hydrocarbon that are free of ozone-depleting properties.


To a ferrite composition of ferric oxide and divalent metal oxides are added 0.01-5.0 mol % of Li.sub.2 O and 0.01-0.5 mol % of TiO.sub.2, SnO.sub.2, and/or GeO.sub.2. The ferrite has sufficiently high density, mechanical strength and electromagnetic properties even when it is sintered at a relatively low temperature of up to 950.degree. C.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to sintered ferrite materials useful as various magnetic materials, and more particularly, to sintered ferrite materials which can be produced by sintering at relatively low temperatures. It also relates to chip parts using the same.
2. Prior Art
A variety of sintered ferrites have been used as various magnetic cores, magnetic shields, electromagnetic wave shields, attenuators and the like because of their magnetic properties. Among others, nickel base ferrites including Ni ferrites, Ni-Zn ferrites, and Ni-Cu-Zn ferrites have been widely used as low-temperature sinterable material to which printing and green sheet techniques are applicable.
These sintered ferrite materials are required to have a low sintering temperature, high density, high mechanical strength, and improved electromagnetic properties including magnetic permeability. Prior art ferrite materials, however, must be sintered at a very high temperature of at least about 1,100.degree. C. in order that they reach a sufficient density. High temperature heating undesirably increases the manufacturing expense. If the sintering temperature is not high enough, there results a sintered ferrite material having a commercially unsatisfactory level of density and mechanical strength as well as poor electromagnetic properties including magnetic permeability.
For example, chip inductors are often prepared by simultaneously sintering ferrite and electrode material, and silver is used as the electrode material. Sintering at a temperature in excess of 950.degree. C. would melt silver. This is a serious barrier to the manufacture of chip parts.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 62-29374 (published Jun. 25, 1987) discloses a magnetically soft material exhibiting a consistent, low temperature coefficient and having a spinel type ferrite composition consisting essentially of 45 to 64 mol % of ferric oxide, 10 to 50 mol % of nickel oxide, up to 40 mol % of zinc oxide, and 0.1 to 7 mol % of lithium oxide, said composition ranging from its stoichiometry to a composition having a 5 mol % short of ferric oxide. This material cannot be sintered at relatively low temperatures probably because of the absence of a tetravalent metal oxide requisite to the present invention as will be described below.

Sintered ferrite materials and chip parts