A DC-DC converter comprising a soft-magnetic, multi-layer substrate provided with a laminated coil constituted by connecting pluralities of conductor lines, and a semiconductor integrated circuit device comprising a switching device and a control circuit, which are mounted on the soft-magnetic, multi-layer substrate; the semiconductor integrated circuit device comprising an input terminal, an output terminal, a first control terminal for controlling the ON/OFF of the switching device, a second control terminal for variably controlling output voltage, and pluralities of ground terminals; the soft-magnetic, multi-layer substrate comprising first external terminals formed on a first main surface, first connecting wires formed on the first main surface and/or on nearby layers, second connecting wires formed between the side surface of the multi-layer substrate and a periphery of the laminated coil, and second external terminals formed on a second main surface; and terminals of the semiconductor integrated circuit device being connected to the first external terminals on the multi-layer substrate, at least part of the first external terminals being electrically connected to the second external terminals through the first and second connecting wires, and the input or output terminal being connected to the second external terminals via the laminated coil.

Many of various mobile electronics equipments such as cell phones, mobile information terminals PDA, note PCs, mobile audio/video players, digital cameras, video cameras, etc. have DC-DC converters as devices for converting power source voltage to operation voltage. As one example of the DC-DC converter circuits, FIG. 26 shows a step-down DC-DC converter circuit comprising an input capacitor Cin, an output capacitor Cout, an output inductor Lout, and a semiconductor integrated circuit IC comprising a control circuit CC, etc. In the step-down DC-DC converter, switching devices (for instance, field effect transistors) in the semiconductor integrated circuit IC are switched according to a control signal, to lower a DC input voltage Vin to an output voltage Vout [=Ton/(Ton+Toff)×Vin], wherein Ton is a time period in which the switching devices are turned on, and Toff is a time period in which the switching devices are turned off. The control of a Ton/Toff ratio makes it possible to stably provide a constant output voltage Vout even from the varying input voltage Vin.
FIG. 27 shows one example of switching circuits in the semiconductor integrated circuit IC. A control circuit CC for controlling the switching operation of alternately turning on and off MOS transistors SW1, SW2 is formed on a silicon semiconductor substrate. Because the control circuit CC per se is known, its explanation will be omitted. The input capacitor Cin stabilizes the input voltage Vin in a transient state while preventing spike voltage, though it may be omitted. A filter circuit (smoothing circuit) for outputting the DC voltage Vout is a combination of an output inductor Lout for storing and discharging current energy, and an output capacitor Cout for storing and discharging voltage energy.
To reduce the size of DC-DC converters, increasing higher switching frequencies have been getting used, and DC-DC converters switched at a frequency of 1 MHz are now used. Also, higher speed and function as well as lower operation voltage and higher current have been getting used for semiconductor devices such as CPUs, requiring that DC-DC converters provide lower-voltage, higher-current output. However, lower operation voltage makes the semiconductor devices susceptible to the output voltage fluctuation (ripple) of the DC-DC converters. Proposed to prevent this are DC-DC converters having switching frequencies further increased to about 2-10 MHz.
FIG. 28 shows one example of step-up DC-DC converter circuits. This DC-DC converter comprises an input inductor Lin, an output capacitor Cout, and a semiconductor integrated circuit IC comprising a control circuit CC. By controlling time periods of turning on and off switching devices, a high output voltage Vout is obtained from an input voltage Vin.
As another example of DC-DC converters, FIG. 29 shows a multi-phase, step-down DC-DC converter comprising an input capacitor Cin, an output capacitor Cout, output inductors Lout1, Lout2, and a semiconductor integrated circuit IC comprising a control circuit CC. The multi-phase DC-DC converter comprises pluralities of switching circuits, which are operated with different phases lest that their switching periods overlap, current outputs from the switching circuits being combined by a smoothing circuit. This flows low current in each path and suppresses the ripple.
Because such a circuit has as large an apparent operation frequency as n times the switching frequency, the switching frequency can be made 1/n. Accordingly, output inductors Lout1, Lout2 having excellent high-frequency characteristics need not be used, but high-Q-value inductors may be used, expanding the freedom of selecting devices. Multi-phase DC-DC converters are operated with a phase difference of 180° in the case of a two-phase type, and with a phase difference of 120° in the case of a three-phase type. Increase in the number m of phases increases the number of inductors, while reducing inductance necessary for each inductor to 1/m. As a result, small inductors and high-Q-value inductors can be used, thereby avoiding the DC-DC converters from becoming extremely large.
Such a DC-DC converter is generally constituted by a semiconductor integrated circuit IC (active element) comprising switching devices and a control circuit CC, and passive elements such as an inductor and a capacitor, etc., which are mounted on a circuit board such as a printed circuit board having connecting lines, etc. as a discrete circuit. Among the passive elements, an inductor that should have inductance of at least several μH is large, occupying a large area of the circuit board, and it is not easy to reduce its size. Further, because the circuit board should have a line pattern connecting the active element and the passive elements, there is a limit to miniaturize the DC-DC converter constituted as a discrete circuit.
For size reduction, the integration of a semiconductor integrated circuit and inductors was proposed. For instance, JP 2004-063676 A discloses a DC-DC converter comprising a printed circuit board PB having connecting terminals (stud terminals) ST, a chip inductor CI connected to the terminals ST, and a semiconductor integrated circuit IC mounted on the printed circuit board PB, the chip inductor CI and the semiconductor integrated circuit IC being vertically overlapping (see FIG. 30). JP 2005-124271 A discloses a DC-DC converter comprising a semiconductor integrated circuit IC and a smoothing capacitor SC disposed on an upper surface of a glass-epoxy, multi-layer substrate MS containing a smoothing inductor SI, the smoothing inductor SI, the smoothing capacitor SC and the semiconductor integrated circuit IC being connected by wiring on the multi-layer substrate MS (see FIG. 31).
Having no wiring patterns for connecting the active elements and passive elements, the DC-DC converters of JP 2004-063676 A and JP 2005-124271 A need only small mounting areas, but they suffer the following problems.
The first problem is that a chip inductor CI that should have inductance of several μH cannot be miniaturized like a semiconductor integrated circuit IC. Because the DC-DC converter of JP 2004-063676 A should have a slightly larger printed circuit board PB than a large chip inductor CI, it cannot be made small, but is thick due to the printed circuit board PB and the stud terminals ST. In the DC-DC converter of JP 2005-124271 A, the inductor SI generating a magnetic flux in a transverse direction of the glass-epoxy, multi-layer substrate MS should have a large number of laminated coil turns to have a desired inductance because of a small magnetic path cross section, resulting in difficulty in its miniaturization. Also, increase in the number of laminated coil turns results in larger DC resistance, which decreases an output voltage Vout. Thus, the DC-DC converter has low conversion efficiency.
The second problem is a magnetic flux leaking from an inductor. Because the semiconductor integrated circuit is disposed close to the inductor in the DC-DC converters of JP 2004-063676 A and JP 2005-124271 A, a magnetic flux leaking from the inductor should be reduced sufficiently. FIG. 32 shows a magnetic flux generated from a laminated inductor comprising electric insulating layers (dummy insulating layers) and coil patterns alternately laminated, ends of the coil patterns being successively connected to form the laminated coil, and the outermost end being connected to an external electrode. The magnetic flux generated from the laminated coil passes through the dummy insulating layers, and partially leaks when the dummy insulating layers are non-magnetic or not sufficiently thick. The leaked magnetic flux acts as noise to nearby electronic parts such as a semiconductor integrated circuit, etc. When the multi-layer substrate has line patterns connecting an active element to passive elements as in JP 2005-124271 A, the leaked magnetic flux induces current in the connecting patterns, thereby generating noise.
To prevent the magnetic flux leakage, the dummy insulating layer is made thicker. Also, to prevent a magnetic flux from leaking to side surfaces, the laminated coil should be provided with a smaller diameter, the dummy insulating layer should be thicker, or the laminated coil should have a larger surrounding region. However, when the laminated coil has a smaller diameter, the number of layers for coil patterns should be larger accordingly, resulting in a thicker laminated inductor, a larger number of steps, and larger DC resistance. A thicker dummy insulating layer leads to a thicker laminated inductor. Also, a larger region around the laminated coil makes a multi-layer substrate larger.
The third problem is the parasitic inductance. Connecting lines of circuit elements per se have parasitic inductance. In the step-down DC-DC converter shown in FIG. 27, for instance, parasitic inductance series-connected to a source of a transistor switch SW1 generates a counter electromotive force in a connecting line having parasitic inductance when the transistor switch SW1 is OFF, increasing voltage at a source terminal of the transistor switch SW1. This results in a large turn-on loss, which leads to lower conversion efficiency. When a line pattern is formed on a printed circuit board as in JP 2004-063676 A and JP 2005-124271 A, as large inductance as to lower conversion efficiency is not generated. But when line pattern is formed on the multi-layer substrate 10 using a magnetic material, large parasitic inductance is likely generated.
The fourth problem is heat generated by a semiconductor integrated circuit. Insufficient heat dissipation is likely to cause thermal runaway in the transistor switch. Also, when a magnetic material is used for insulating layers constituting an inductor, the inductance varies, resulting in lower conversion efficiency.


A method of determining associated network resources from a plurality of network resources available on a network, the method executable by a server that is communicatively coupled to the network. The method comprises: scanning, by the server, the network to identify a first network resource and a second network resource of the plurality of network resources; retrieving, by the server, information associated with the first network resource and the second network resource, the information comprising at least one parameter of the first network resource and at least one parameter of the second network resource; in response to a match between the at least one parameter of the first network resource and at least one parameter of the second network resource, determining a connection between the first network resource and the second network resource.

One of examples of an area where searching for associated objects in a network can be useful is searching for malicious infrastructure detection, used by malicious individuals (such as intruders). There are many ways of the intruder's host concealment: use of "hacked" routers, proxy servers layered systems, malicious data transmission channel encryption, malicious data encryption, tunneling and others. That is why effective and versatile cyber security tools are necessary, allowing for quick detection of an object associated with a network infrastructure of interest.
Connection between the network resources can be detected by their unique identifiers. One example of such identifiers is a cryptographic protocol. They are widely used protecting data transmitted by various networks and provide the data source, data transmission parties authentication functions, data confidentiality and integrity, impossibility of access denial and privileges. One of approaches to the botnets concealed nodes is based on the assumption that the intruders use the standard cryptographic protocols. Such protocols are implemented above any other application level protocol.
The SSL and SSH cryptographic protocols are widely used these days, often used together with the HTTP protocol. These protocols are configured to establish secure communication channel for confidential or sensitive information transmission. Both protocols use the Public Key Infrastructure—set of tools, distributed services and components cumulatively used for private and public keys based crypto-tasks supporting.
The SSH (Secure Shell) protocol allows to establish a secure communication channel for the remote authentication using the login and password for secure transmission of data. The SSH protocol can provide the client authentication by the client's IP-address, by the client's public key or by the password entry. After passing the authentication by one of methods from available at the client and the server pairs of keys the symmetrical encryption key is generated. All subsequent transmitted via the SSH data are encrypted with this key.
The SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) protocol provides the data protection during their transmission in the network. The SSL-certificate includes information about the key owner, certification center, public key and other information. The server and the client certification process includes at least exchange of handshake messages, containing data on the protocol version, session identifier, encryption and compression method, the certificate and key sending to the client. Together with the key, a key fingerprint is transmitted, the key identifier, which uniquely determines the matched keys pair. The fingerprint may be, for example, calculated based on the public key the hash function value.
For using the SSL/SSH certificates based data transmission organizations, the authentication keys change is quite resource-intensive, since it involves the large number of manually performed operations. Coding proprietary cryptographic protocols (i.e. those different from the issued by the certificate authorities) is a difficult task. The proprietary cryptographic protocols often contain large number of vulnerabilities and errors. Thus, many organizations use the same certificates issued by the certification center certificates for a long time.

Method of and server for detecting associated web resources


A chiral polarization UWB slot antenna comprises a feed region and opposing tapered slot lines along an arcuate path of angle measure 360° or less. Opposing tapered slot lines may terminate in bulbous ends and may be characterized by an impedance profile such as an exponential or a Klopfenstein impedance profile. In alternate embodiments, an arcuate path has an arc length substantially equal to a half wavelength at a frequency of interest and an angle measure substantially equal to 180°. In still further alternate embodiments an arcuate path is substantially described by a radial variation with respect to angle of r(φ)=R sin φ where R is a constant that in some embodiments is substantially equal to ½π times wavelength (R=λ/(2π)) at a particular frequency of interest. In some embodiments, a frequency of interest lies substantially within the range defined by 3.1 GHz to 10.6 GHz.

The present invention is directed to antennas for use with ultrawideband (UWB) systems, particularly spiral type antennas. Spiral antennas have long been used as frequency independent, "dc-to-daylight" ultrawideband (UWB) antennas. By scaling the spiral geometry over an arbitrarily large range, a spiral antenna may be made sensitive to an arbitrarily large bandwidth.
More recently, there has been interest in ultrawideband antennas to meet the needs of commercial UWB systems compliant with the 3.1-to-10.6 GHz authorization by the Federal Communication Commission. More modern UWB antennas suitable for use with these commercial UWB systems differ from classical "dc-to-daylight" UWB in two important regards.
First, commercial UWB systems must meet a well-defined mask covering about a 3:1 range of frequencies. Unlike classical "dc-to-daylight" UWB antennas for which more bandwidth is always better, modern UWB antennas need just enough bandwidth to enable their corresponding system to meet the regulatory mask. Excessive bandwidth can be detrimental for modern UWB antennas because it opens the RF front end to out of band emitters and worse, makes it more difficult for an associated UWB system to meet the desired mask.
Second, commercial UWB systems should ideally use low dispersion antennas. Classical frequency independent antennas radiate low frequency signals from a large scale section and high frequency signals from a small scale section. This variation in the location of the effective source of radiation can cause dispersion. A dispersive antenna radiates a different signal with different frequency components and phase relationships in different directions. This dispersion can have serious negative impacts on the performance of a UWB system.
At the same time though, spiral antennas have certain characteristics that make them of value for the transmission and reception of UWB signals. Spiral antennas are relatively compact and also radiate and receive mixed or chiral polarization signals.
Thus, there is a need for a spiral antenna with an ultrawideband response but not so broadband as to make compliance with a regulatory mask difficult. There is a further need for a low dispersion spiral antenna.

Chiral polarization ultrawideband slot antenna


A system and method for producing solid pellets from a slurry HDC pitch is disclosed which utilizes a polymer additive that is mixed with the pitch to increase the softening point of the solid pellets.

Slurry HDC provides a method for the conversion of high boiling, low value petroleum fractions into higher value liquid products. Slurry HDC technology can process difficult feeds, such as feeds with high Conradson carbon residue (CCR), while still maintaining high liquid yields. In addition to resid feeds, slurry HDC units have been used to process other challenging streams present in refinery/petrochemical complexes such as deasphalted rock, steam cracked tar, and visbreaker tar.
Slurry HDC can be performed by processing a feed in one or more slurry HDC reactors. The reaction conditions in a slurry HDC reactor can vary based on the nature of the catalyst, the nature of the feed, the desired products, and/or the desired amount of conversion. The processing conditions in a slurry HDC reactor can be selected to achieve a desired level of conversion of a heavy oil feedstock, such as at least about 80% conversion of the feedstock to products boiling below 975° F. (or another conversion temperature), or at least about 85% conversion, or at least about 90% conversion, or at least about 95% conversion, or at least about 97.5% conversion. The remaining unconverted portion of the feed from slurry HDC represents an unconverted bottoms or "pitch" product.
The pitch generated during slurry HDC is often a challenging product to handle within a refinery. The pitch from a slurry HDC reactor tends to have both a high metals content and a high CCR weight percentage.
Pitch disposition from slurry HDC technologies (e.g. VCC®, Uniflex®, and Microcat) is problematic. Pitch disposition in a liquid form has storage, shipping, and stability issues. The liquid pitch cannot be fluxed economically with a reasonable amount of flux such that it can be sold and/or used as fuel oil. Furthermore, the liquid pitch may contain solids preventing fluxing, which may prevent the liquid pitch from meeting the solids specifications for fuel oils. As such, both producer and purchaser of the pitch are likely to require dedicated facilities to handle the liquid pitch.
Commonly assigned co-pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/837,330, filed on Jun. 20, 2013, entitled "Slurry Hydroconversion and Coking of Heavy Oils" discloses various options for disposing of slurry HDC pitch, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated herein by its entirety. The slurry HDC pitch can be used as a filler material for another application (e.g., the pitch can potentially be used as additional material for asphalt production). Another option for handling the slurry HDC pitch is to attempt to coke the pitch from a slurry HDC. Using the pitch as a portion of a feed to a coker can pose a variety of challenges. An option for processing the pitch that avoids a possible intermediate upgrading step is to use the pitch as at least a portion of a feed to a partial oxidation (POX) process.
The pitch can be used as a fuel in a cement production plant and other production facilities. However, due to the high metals content, the pitch may require further processing in order to be suitable for use even in this application. Additionally, in order to send the material off-site may require the pitch to undergo an additional treatment to solidify or pelletize to make the molecules more transportable. The pelletized HDC pitch could be sold as a free flowing solid having a greater heating power than conventional petcoke or coal.
The pelletization of HDC pitch requires a certain softening point (as measured, for example, by ASTM D36 (Ring and Ball) or ASTM D3461 (Cup and Ball)) to prevent agglomeration when pellets are subjected to load stresses during transport to the end user. Achieving a desired or target softening point can be accomplished in part by having relatively deep cuts and a high initial boiling points of the pitch. However, in order to accomplish this for certain feedstocks, especially those used in connection slurry HDC processing, the reaction conditions in slurry HDC process may need to be altered, which may adversely impact the slate of products produced from the slurry HDC process. There is a need to adjust the softening point of pellets produced from slurry HDC pitch without altering the slurry HDC process or the product slate resulting therefrom.

System and methods for slurry hydroconversion pitch disposition as solid pellets and composition of the same

ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Company


The invention is directed to a pony tail holder including a friction member for more effectively engaging the strands of hair in the pony tail to prevent slippage of the pony tail holder during use. The pony tail holder may include a fabric ring having an annular area at least a portion of which comprises a tubular annulus around a central hole in which a pony tail is to be gripped by the pony tail holder, and an elastic core disposed within the tubular annulus of the fabric ring and extending around the central hole. The pony tail holder may further include a friction member woven into the fabric ring proximate an inner edge of the fabric ring such that at least a portion of the friction member is exposed through the outer surface of the fabric ring and engages the pony tail when the pony tail holder is disposed thereon, with the coefficient of friction of the friction member being greater than the coefficient of friction of the outer surface of the fabric ring.

Pony tail holders and scruchies in particular are generally know in the art, and typically include an elastic core that is covered by a cloth or other material. Upon restriction of the elastic core on the strands of hair, the cloth or material bunches around the strands of hair.
One such example is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,156,171 which discloses a pony tail holder having a relatively wide fabric ring having a tubular annulus around a central hole. An elastic ring is disposed in the tubular annulus and includes a portion that is readily grasped, such as a knob or bead. By pulling the elastic ring outside of the fabric ring, the elastic ring can encircle and grip the pony tail separately from the tubular annulus.
In another example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,301,696 discloses a decorative pony tail holder for securely holding the hair of a user. The pony tail holder includes a band of elastic material with fabric surrounding the band and forming a plurality of radial projections extending circumferentially around a portion of the band. The pony tail holder may thus be secured to the hair by twisting the elastic band into a generally figure-eight configuration and folding it over itself to provide a tight band securing the hair with the radial projections extending circumferentially around the held hair of the user.
These pony tail holders or scrunchie-type devices have opportunities for improvement. For example, because of the fabric that surrounds the elastic core, the strands of hair have contact with the cloth portion of the holder which may provide less than optimal frictional engagement between the hair and holder to prevent the holder from slipping from the hair in certain situations. Similarly, because of the large amount the cloth that is being bunched between the hair and the elastic core, the retaining force of the elastic compresses the cloth in addition to retaining the hair.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Hair holder with elastic friction member


A solid oxide electrolyte material comprising an electrolyte material 50 using oxygen ions as carriers as a base material and a lithium-containing compound 60 added to the base material as a sintering additive is sintered at a sintering temperature of 1300° C. or lower to produce a solid oxide electrolyte 100. This solid oxide electrolyte material can reduce the sintering temperature to extend the range of choices of components of a solid oxide fuel cell and suppress reactions between other components to reduce the manufacturing cost. This solid oxide electrolyte material further can produce a solid oxide electrolyte with sufficient denseness and high gas tightness capable of suppressing fuel leak to improve the electromotive force and output.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid oxide electrolyte material and a method of producing a solid oxide electrolyte.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, a solid oxide fuel cell using an electrolyte material with oxygen ion as carriers comprises an electrolyte consisting of an ion conductor, and a fuel electrode and an oxidizer electrode disposed on both sides thereof by baking, or further comprises a metallic or ceramic porous support base disposed on one side of the fuel electrode and/or the oxidizer electrode.
It is general to use a zirconia (ZrO2) stabilized with yttria (Y2O3) (hereinafter often referred to as YSZ) as the electrolyte material, a nickel (Ni)-YSZ cermet produced by sintering NiO powder and the yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) powder at a high temperature as the fuel electrode material, and a lanthanum-based perovskite composite oxide (LSM) as the oxidizer electrode material.
However, the high sintering temperature of the above-mentioned electrolyte material of about 1400° C. caused problems such as narrowing of the range of choices for components of the solid oxide fuel cell, reactions between other components, and an increase in cost due to limitation of an electric furnace or the like usable to the high-temperature process.
Conventionally, the following related arts are disclosed: A stabilized zirconia-alumina powder for solid oxide fuel cell including 5 wt % or less of high purity alumina dispersed to YSZ with a YSZ grain size/alumina grain size of 0.63 or more, a grain size of YSZ of 0.3 μm or less, and a grain size of alumina of 0.7 μm or less, which can be made to a solid electrolyte by sintering at about 1400° C. (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-170444); a solid oxide fuel cell comprising a solid electrolyte consisting of a dense sintered body, comprising 1-15 atm % of at least one metal selected from manganese, iron, cobalt, nickel, copper, and zinc included in a solid electrolyte (YSZ) as an ion conductor (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-103988); a ScSZ having a cubic phase as the dominant phase, which is obtained by adding 0.3-0.5 wt % of Al2O3 as a stabilizer to 8 mol % or more of ScSZ (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-6622); a zirconia electrolyte powder capable of accelerating a solid phase reaction, which comprises 5 wt % or less of high-purity alumina powder added to a zirconia electrolytic powder including a dopant and having a sodium or sodium-based compound content of 2 wt % or less (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-149522); a starting material for sintering consisting of a powder obtained by mixing a low-melting point material with a high-melting point material hardly forming a compound followed by fusing, solidifying and pulverizing (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-73275); a cell for a solid oxide fuel cell having a solid electrolyte containing an oxidizer consisting of at least either one of Al2O3 and Bi2O3 (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-86885); a magnetic composition including a ferrite and a sintering additive free from boron such as silicate glass, which can be sintered at a low temperature (refer to Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-164417); and a ScSZ including Bi2O3 added as sintering additive (a solid electrolyte material with low-temperature sintering property) (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-51321).

Solid oxide electrolyte material and method of producing solid oxide electrolyte


A method can include identifying a geolocation of an object in an image, the method comprising receiving data indicating a pixel coordinate of the image selected by a user, identifying a data point in a targetable three-dimensional (3D) data set corresponding to the selected pixel coordinate, and providing a 3D location of the identified data point.

Currently, there is no known automated process for deriving a targeting coordinate. The current process for deriving a targeting coordinate includes a human picking conjugate points between a set of images. The conjugate point selection controls a new image to digital point positioning database (DPPDB) stereo imagery. DPPDB is required for all known targeting applications, whether it is used for targeting or as a control for another image.


An indexer is used on or in combination with a sheet bending brake to cut or bend a piece of sheet metal at a predetermined location without having to make pre-measurements and marks. The indexer comprises a scale and a rotable shaft having a handle. A first bending arm with a gauge and opposed second and third bending arms are connected to the shaft. Second and third arms each have a stop that positions the sheet metal to make a cut or bend at the predetermined location. An example of a method of using the indexer is also discussed.

Conventional sheet metal brakes require an operator of the device to use a writing instrument and a hand-held ruler or the like to make marks along the length of a piece of sheet metal to indicate where cuts and/or bends should be made to the piece of sheet metal when forming the sheet metal into building trims. Many trim pieces require that multiple cuts and/or bends be made to the piece of sheet metal in order to achieve the final product. In such situations the operator frequently has to mark a first side of the piece of sheet metal for one bend or cut and then flip the sheet metal from face-up to face-down or vice versa to mark and bend or cut the second side.
Not only is this a time-consuming process, but any incorrect measurements lead to incorrect cuts and/or bends and thus increase the production of scrap or waste materials. Furthermore, operators of conventional sheet metal brakes must be trained on how to position the sheet metal in the brake for a given cut or bend, such as whether to position the sheet metal face-up or face-down. Another problem associated with conventional sheet metal brakes is that operation is generally easier with two operators rather than a single operator, because holding the sheet metal for accurate measurements and flipping the sheet metal for additional cuts or bends is difficult and cumbersome, particularly for a sole operator. Furthermore, a novice cannot use conventional sheet bending brakes without some training as to how to measure and cut or bend sheet metal. Finally, an understanding of how to position a piece of sheet metal in the brake to make a given cut or bend requires training or experience.
Thus there is a need for a device that can be used with conventional sheet bending brakes that requires minimal training and that increases productivity and efficiency. Several devices in the prior art have attempted to address this need but these prior art devices are heavy, expensive, and stationary, and often rely on electrical power for operation. The present invention meets this need by providing an indexer that is lightweight, portable, and cost- and energy-efficient.

Indexer for use with a sheet bending brake


The present invention provides a system and method for providing Customized Applications for Mobile network Enhanced Logic (CAMEL) Subscription Information (CSI) of an outbound roamer of a Home Public Mobile Network (HPMN) such that the outbound roamer is roaming in a Visited Public Mobile Network (VPMN). The system comprises a roamers database storing an outbound roamer record of at least one outbound roamer, wherein the outbound roamer record comprises at least the International Mobile Subscriber Identity (IMSI) of the outbound roamer. The system further comprises a detection block to detect whether provisioning of the CSI is required for the outbound roamer and a CSI generation block to generate the CSI of the outbound roamer based on at least the IMSI of the outbound roamer, if the provisioning of the CSI is required. The system further comprises a provisioning block to provision the generated CSI of the outbound roamer to at least one CSI storing node.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to outbound roamers. More specifically, the invention relates to dynamic provisioning of Customized Applications for Mobile network Enhanced Logic (CAMEL) Subscription Information (CSI) of the outbound roamers.
2. Background of the Technology
Various operators offer international roaming to their users utilizing mobile communication systems employed worldwide. One of the most lucrative aspects of international roaming for an operator is the revenue generated by outbound roaming. The operator generates revenue from outbound roaming when a subscriber of the operator's own home network, visits another network and makes calls. To increase outbound roaming revenue, many operators offer various value-added call control services to the outbound roamers.
These value added services may be provided both for Mobile Originated (MO) and Mobile Terminated (MT) outbound roamer calls. Some of these value added services for the MO calls include, but are not limited to, roaming home short-code, optimal routing, misdialed digit correction, prepaid roaming, Calling Line Identification (CLI) guarantee, and roaming fraud control. Value added services for the MT call for an outbound roamer include, but are not limited to; optimal routing for late call forwarding, incoming call screening and MT prepaid roaming. Roaming home short-code for a MO call from the outbound roamer allows the outbound roamer to dial a home network short-code, such as, customer care, or emergency at the visited network. This service then translates the short-code into the home or visited network long number. In case of an MT call for an outbound roamer, the incoming call screening service allows the outbound roamer to screen only selected callers to get through to the outbound roamer. Further, in case the outbound roamer misdials a number, i.e., a MO call, due to a wrong or missing international dialing prefix, the call may be intelligently corrected using the misdialed digits correction service.
Generally, implementing one or more of the above-mentioned value added services can include Customized Application for Mobile network Enhanced Logic (CAMEL). In that case, when the outbound roamer registers at the visiting network and initiates a call, an Originating CAMEL Subscription Information (O-CSI) is sent from a Home Location Register (HLR) of the home network of the roamer to a Visited Location Register (VLR) of the visiting network. The O-CSI enables the call control for the MO call from a VPMN VMSC to pass to a HPMN GSM Service Control Function (SCF). Similarly, for a MT call, the HLR sends a T-CSI to a HPMN GMSC, which in turn passes the call control to the HPMN gsmSCF. Therefore, for the MO call, the O-CSI is provisioned at the VLR, while for the MT call the T-CSI is provisioned at the HLR.
HLR is provisioned with the O-CSI and the T-CSI for the MO-call and the MT-call irrespective of whether the subscriber is outbound roaming or not. Further, the HLR is provisioned irrespective of whether the subscriber is currently outbound roaming on the CAMEL network or not. Moreover, the license cost of CAMEL subscription for the CSI by an HLR vendor is usually linked to the number of O-CSI or T-CSI or the number of subscribers defined with a CSI that are statically provisioned at the HLR. This static provisioning is irrespective of the number of O-CSI or T-CSI subscribers outbound roaming at any given time. Thus, subscriber-based charging by the HLR vendor often proves to be expensive for the operator.
On the other hand, certain HLR vendors have an upper-limit on the number of T-CSI and O-CSI to be provisioned at the HLR. In this case, the limit for storing the CSI in the HLR becomes a bottleneck for the operator.
One or more of the above-mentioned approaches suffer from the problem of static provisioning of the CSI at the HLR irrespective of the number of outbound roaming subscribers at a given time. This increases the cost for supporting the CAMEL subscribers. Thus, there is a need for an alternative approach that is cost-effective by keeping the number of CSI provisioned at the HLR low at any time.

Dynamic generation of CSI for outbound roamers


A system and method to expose a material to an ion beam during a continuous material production process may include a vacuum fixture to form the ion beam and a slit in the fixture to allow at least a portion of the ion beam to exit the fixture through the slit. The material can be placed in contact with an exterior area of the fixture so as to cover the slit. With the material in place, the vacuum within the fixture may be maintained and the ion beam formed. The material over the slit can be exposed to the ion beam. As the continuous process moves material past the slit, the vacuum within the vacuum fixture may help to maintain the material in contact with the fixture.

The alignment of liquid crystals, such as required for operation of a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD), can be influenced by the walls of the container holding the liquid crystals. Currently available LCDs may have thin polymer films that cover the side of the glass substrate in contact with the liquid crystal, which influence the orientation of the liquid crystals. The direction of the polymer chains in these films can be defined by rubbing the surface with a velvet-like cloth.
This process introduces debris, making it more difficult to maintain the clean room environment required for making the LCDs. Rubbing can also leave streaks and produce electrostatic charge, which degrade image quality. A contact-free, or minimal contact process would provide a higher quality product and may significantly reduce costs associated with maintaining the clean room environment.
It has been found that liquid crystals can be aligned on polymer films or amorphous solids when the surface is exposed to an ion beam. The ion beam exposure alters the optical properties of the polymer film or amorphous solid so as to facilitate the alignment of the liquid crystals. A large variety of industrial applications, such as fiber optics manufacturing and thin film processing, may also benefit from the altered or enhanced optical properties of such polymer films and amorphous solids.
The polymer films that may be used in these applications normally can be produced in a continuous production process. It would be advantageous to provide an ion beam exposure system and method, which can align the polymeric chains of such films during production of the polymer film.
In the production of typical LCDs, i.e., those on substrates about 1 m2 or less, the substrates can be mounted on a moving stage within an ion beam fixture and linearly scanned beneath the ion source in a batch processing mode. For larger substrates, it may be impractical to place the substrate within the ion beam fixture. Thus, there is a further need to provide a system and method for ion beam exposure for larger substrates.

Ion beam for enhancing optical properties of materials

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates Inc.


A liquid crystal display is configured such that a composite layer thereof is transparent to incident light in one voltage condition (e.g., in the absence of an applied voltage) and scatters incident light out of the display in another voltage condition (e.g., when a voltage is applied). The liquid crystal display does not need polarizers or color filters.

The present disclosure relates to liquid crystal displays. In particular, the displays are configured such that a composite layer thereof is transparent when no voltage is applied and scatters incident light when a voltage is applied.
State-of-the art liquid crystal displays for flat panel display applications (e.g., televisions, computer monitors, and smart phones) typically include a light source and a liquid crystal layer. Light is emitted by the light source and the liquid crystal modulates the light intensity. The displays need two polarizers in order for the liquid crystal to operate properly. The liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between the polarizers. Voltages are applied to the liquid crystal to vary its optical retardation, and thus change the emitted light intensity. The displays also need color filters to display colored images. The polarizers and color filters absorb light, and therefore the displays usually have poor light efficiencies (e.g., less than 10%).
It would be desirable to develop new liquid crystal displays that do not require polarizers or color filters.


A molding material for use with carbon dioxde, which comprises chlorinated polyethylene having a chlorine content of 25–47% by weight or a blend of chlorinated polyethylene with vinyl chloride-based resin, can be used as a suitable material for sealing materials in carbon dioxide-contacting apparatuses using carbon dioxide as a refrigerant. Addition of a specific silane coupling agent to the molding material can effectively prevent vulcanization moldings from blister generation.

Freon R-134a (1,1,1,2-tetrafluoroethane) called a new refrigerant is now mainly used in refrigerators, etc., but it is expected that its use would be prohibited in future in view of problems of environmental control, etc. Hydrocarbon gases and carbon dioxide are now regarded as important substitutes for such a refrigerant. Hydrocarbon gases have a considerably high risk of explosion or combustion and the world trend toward the next generation refrigerant is shifting to carbon dioxide.
Carbon dioxide requires a higher pressure than freon and also has higher permeability and solubility into ordinary polymer materials and thus has a higher chance of blister (foaming) generation. Even if there is no blister generation, carbon dioxide gas permeates through the polymer materials, resulting in failure of pressure maintenance or tight sealing.
Even rubber materials have a high carbon dioxide gas permeability in general, and the permeability is considerably high particularly under pressure of 10 atm or higher, resulting in failure of tight sealing of carbon dioxide gas. Furthermore, carbon dioxide is very soluble into polymers, giving rise to considerable polymer swelling. Thus, no rubber material parts have been actually applied to apparatuses using carbon dioxide.
In case of the conventional freon gas refrigerants, hydrogenated NBR, EPDM, etc. have been used as molding materials for sealing materials, but these rubber materials considerably swell or blister through contact with carbon dioxide as disadvantages.

Molding material for use with carbon dioxide


Methods and systems for static multimode multiplex spectroscopy are disclosed. According to a method for static multimode multiplex spectroscopy, spectral energy emanating from different points of a diffuse source is simultaneously received. Different multi-peak filter functions are applied to the spectral energy emanating from the different points to produce a multi-channel spectral measurement for each point. The multi-channel spectral measurements are combined to estimate a property of the diffuse source.

Optical spectroscopy may be used to detect and quantify characteristics of a source, such as the average spectrum of the source or the density of chemical and biological species of the source. As used herein, the term "source" refers to the object being spectrally analyzed. In determining chemical composition of a source, the spectral signature of the target species may be encoded on the optical field by mechanisms including absorption, admission, inelastic scattering, fluorescence, and wave mixing. Many sources are referred to as large etendue because they reflect or scatter light in a large solid angle over a large area. The etendue of a source is a measure of both the spatial extent of the source and the solid angle in to which it radiates. Large etendue sources are also referred to as incoherent or diffuse sources because low spatial coherence is implicit in a large solid angle radiated over a large area. An example of a large etendue source is laser-illuminated biological tissue.
One problem with measuring light radiated from large etendue sources using conventional spectrometers is that conventional spectrometers use filters that decrease optical throughput. For example, a conventional multiplex spectrometer measures light emanating from a source using elemental detectors with a narrowband color filter placed over each detector. Using narrowband color filters over each detector reduces the optical throughput of the conventional spectrometer. As a result, conventional multiplex spectrometers that utilize narrowband filters are incapable of accurately determining the optical properties of diffuse sources.
In another type of conventional spectrometer, multimodal measurements are taken in series and the measurements are combined to estimate the optical properties of a diffuse source. The spectrometers that perform such measurements are referred to as scanning spectrometers. Using scanning spectrometers to measure diffuse sources is disadvantages because such detectors require microelectromechanical and/or piezoelectric components in order to successively apply different spectral filters to the detectors, and such components are expensive and difficult to fabricate.
A further disadvantage of scanning spectrometers is that taking multiple measurements in series increases measurement time. Increasing measurement time may be undesirable for some types of measurements, such as in vivo tissue measurements.
Yet another disadvantage of scanning spectrometers is lack of intelligent spectral filters. Conventional scanning spectrometers typically capture the full spectrum of electromagnetic radiation. Capturing the full spectrum is inefficient because some measurements contain radiation bands that are not of interest to analyzing a particular source.
Accordingly, in light of the difficulties associated with conventional spectroscopy, there exists a need for improved methods and systems for multimode multiplex spectroscopy capable of accurately and efficiently measuring characteristics of large etendue sources.


A projection-type image display apparatus includes a first reflecting optical element and a second reflecting optical element that are retained on a base. A base-side first positioning unit and a base-side second positioning unit are formed integrally with the base. The base-side first positioning unit abuts against the first reflecting optical element to define a position of the first reflecting optical element. The base-side second positioning unit abuts against the second reflecting optical element to define a position of the second reflecting optical element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a projection-type image display apparatus such as a rear-projection-type television or a video projector that includes a reflection-type image forming element or a transmission-type image forming element.
2. Description of the Related Art
To improve the image quality of a projection-type image display apparatus, it is necessary to achieve high positional accuracy in the arrangement of optical elements such as a lens and a mirror that constitute a projection optical system in the apparatus. It is also important to reduce a deformation in the optical elements caused by thermal expansion or thermal contraction. Particularly, when the optical length between adjacent optical elements in a projection optical system is short, as in the projection-type image display apparatuses, position misalignment or thermal deformation of the optical elements significantly affects the image quality. That is why it is necessary to enhance the positional accuracy and control the thermal deformation of the optical elements.
For example, Japanese Patent No. 3643810 discloses a mirror retention mechanism that is used in retaining a resin mirror in a rear-projection-type graphic display apparatus. In the mirror retention mechanism, a supporting frame supports the resin mirror so that the resin mirror can radially expand or contract with respect to the central portion of its bottom end. Moreover, to reduce the thermal deformation of the resin mirror, a rear-side member is arranged at a distance behind the supporting frame and biasing members are used to elastically bias the resin mirror in an anterior direction of the rear-side member.
To retain a resin mirror at high positional accuracy by using the abovementioned mirror retention mechanism, it is necessary to achieve high manufacturing accuracy for the supporting frame and high assembly accuracy for the mirror retention mechanism. Thus, such a configuration causes an increase in the manufacturing cost of a projection-type image display apparatus, such as a rear-projection-type graphic display apparatus.

Projection-type image display apparatus having a planar reflecting element and an aspherical reflecting element with base-side positioning units integrally formed on a base


A reporting server receives reports on unicast and/or broadcast multimedia content items being accessed by respective user equipment (UE) devices through a network. The reporting server determines, for each multimedia content item, a number of UE devices that are accessing the multimedia content item and whether it is being unicast or broadcast. The reporting server ranks the multimedia content items by the number of UE devices accessing each item. In several disclosed examples, a broadcast video provisioning system switches unicast transmissions to broadcast transmissions based on the ranked list, based on this ranking and possibly on the available unicast and broadcast bandwidth.

Electronic programming may include multimedia content that is either unicast or broadcast to mobile devices in a particular geographic area, using one or more channels in a wireless network. In a sporting venue, for example, many viewers may want to watch television coverage of the game being played to be able to see additional content, such as another camera angle or the game broadcast of a rival team, which is not available to those actually attending the event. This content may be broadcast or multicast to the viewers who want to watch it in a single channel, allowing the remaining bandwidth to be used for telephone calls or for unicast transmissions to individual attendees.

Dynamic splitting of evolved multicast broadcast multimedia service (EMBMS)


A gas turbine engine compressor has a number of shroud rings, at least a bleed one of which defines a number of bleed ports. A structural hub is downstream of the shroud rings and secured relative to the shroud rings. A structural hub case extends from an aft joint with the structural hub to a fore joint with a joined one of the shroud rings and has a number of valve ports. At least a portion of the structural case extends structurally between the fore and aft joints. A valve element is shiftable between first and second conditions for respectively blocking and not blocking communication through the valve ports.

(1) Field of the Invention
The invention relates to turbomachinery. More particularly, the invention relates to gas turbine engines having compressor bleeds.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Axial flow gas turbine engines include a compressor, a combustor and a turbine. A core flowpath for medium gases extends through these portions of the engine. During operation, the gases are pressurized in the compressor and fuel is added in the combustor. The fuel is burned to add energy to the pressurized gases. The hot, pressurized gases are expanded through the turbine to provide the work of hot, high pressure gases for subsequent use. Common gas turbine engine configurations divide the combustor and turbine into high and low speed/pressure sections whose blades are mounted on respective high and low speed spools. Additionally, a broad spectrum of turbine engines provide a bypass wherein the turbine (typically the low speed section) drives a fan which, in turn, propels gas along a flowpath bypassing the core flowpath.
Under certain conditions, air is bled from a compressor section for one or more purposes. The air may be bled for use such as in cooling. Alternatively, however, the air may be bled to reduce the load on the associated turbine section under certain operating conditions. An exemplary such operating condition is a transient startup condition. Such load-reducing bleeds may be controlled by a bleed valve. U.S. Pat. No. 6,092,987 of Honda et al., the disclosure which is incorporated by reference herein, discloses a stator assembly having a valve ring moveable between first and second conditions in which the ring respectively blocks and opens communication through bleed openings in a stator housing. Shifting between the first and second conditions is via a combination of rotation and longitudinal translation so as to provide a mechanical advantage. Nevertheless, there remains room for further improvement in bleed valve technology.


A power supply apparatus includes an input terminal to be connected to a DC power supply, a DC-DC converter connected to the input terminal, a first capacitor, a second capacitor, an output terminal, a first switch connected between an output port of the DC-DC converter to charge the first capacitor, a second switch connected between the first capacitor and the output terminal to discharge the first capacitor, a third switch connected between the output port of the DC-DC converter and the second capacitor to charge the second capacitor, a fourth switch connected between the second capacitor and the output terminal to discharge the second capacitor, and a switch controller. The switch controller is operable to charge the first capacitor and the second capacitor alternately charged, discharge the first capacitor and the second capacitor alternately, and prevent the output port of the DC-DC converter from being connected to the first output terminal. This power supply apparatus has a small power consumption, and does not generate noises.

FIG. 9 is a circuit block diagram of conventional power supply apparatus 3 and electronic device 2 disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-291172. Battery 1 outputs a voltage ranging from 3.0V to 4.2V. A negative electrode of battery 1 is connected to a ground, and a positive electrode of battery 1 is connected to mobile phone 2, an electronic device, and input terminal 4 of power supply apparatus 3.
Integrated circuits (ICs) used for the electronic device having fine patterns have a small power source voltage ranging from 1.2V to 1.8V. In order to supply the voltage, power supply apparatus 3 converts an output voltage of battery 1 into the voltage ranging from 1.2V to 1.8V. A large current flows in mobile phone 2, and accordingly adds a ripple to a power source applied to input terminal 4. Power supply apparatus 3 removes the ripple in order to supply a power source to a circuit, such as an analog circuit, which is easily influenced by the ripple.
Power supply apparatus 3 includes DC-DC converter 5 for converting a power source voltage applied to input terminal 4 to a voltage of 1.2V, output terminal 6 connected to an output of DC-DC converter 5, regulator 7 for converting the power source voltage applied to input terminal 4 to a voltage of 1.2V, filter 8 connected to an output of regulator 7 to remove a ripple in the output, output terminal 9 connected to an output of filter 8, regulator 10 for converting the power source voltage applied to input terminal 4 to a voltage of 1.8V or 2.8V; and output terminal 11 connected to an output of regulator 10. Filter 8 further removes a ripple that has not been removed by regulator 7, and supplies a more stable voltage to output terminal 9.
Output terminal 9 is connected with analog circuit 13 that is influenced most easily by noises. Output terminal 11 is connected with high-frequency circuit 14 that is influenced next most easily by the noises. Output terminal 6 is connected with logic circuit 12 that is not relatively influenced by the noises.
DC-DC converter 5 converts a voltage, and simultaneously generates high-frequency noises. However, DC-DC converter 5 has a high conversion efficiency, and supplies a power source preferably to logic circuit 12 that is not relatively influenced by the noises, thus reducing a power consumption.
Analog circuit 13 and high-frequency circuit 14 are influenced easily by the noises, and regulators 7 and 10 that do not generate noises supply a power source to circuits 13 and 14. Analog circuit 13 is influenced by the noises, and filter 8 reduces the noises.
Conventional power supply apparatus 3 includes regulators 7 and 10 having high power consumption, thus not being suitable for reducing power. In FIG. 10, battery 1 outputs a voltage of 3.6V. A current of 20 mA flows in regulator 7 and analog circuit 13. A voltage of 1.2V is applied to analog circuit 13. Regulator 7 has an input port and an output port which have a potential difference of 2.4V(=3.6V−1.2V) between the ports. Analog circuit 13 consumes a power of 24 mW while regulator 7 itself consumes a power of 48 mW, which is larger than the power consumed by analog circuit 13.

Power supply apparatus, method of controlling the apparatus, and electronic device using the apparatus

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A coupling has respective support elements extending respectively from each coupling end toward the other, but not directly connected to each other. Radially oriented ends of these elements define a pocket capturing a cushion therein. A non-metallic bellows operably covers the coupling. An optional thermal shield is disposed between the bellows and the support element.

It is known to operatively couple together pipes or conduits which carry combustion exhausts away from an internal combustion engine such as in an automobile environment. Typical would be the use of a coupling to couple an outlet end of an exhaust manifold to an exhaust pipe, for example.
In the past, such couplings have been designed in an effort to compensate for thermal influences of the system, motion (such as bending or torsion), noise, vibration and harshness ("NVH") and other parameters. In the past, such couplings have including a metallic bellows applied around the coupled joint.
The disadvantage of certain prior devices is they require a metal bellows to achieve a gas tight or semi-gas tight performance, and to resist the heat inherent in an exhaust system. The metal bellows has limited motion capabilities and increases the overall length and weight of the product to achieve the necessary motion compensation, in particular, bending and torsion. The metal bellows is not able to accept high torsion environments and must resist the torsion when the torsion would create deformation of the bellows. This adds cost and/or weight to the bellows and transfers the torsion strains downstream into the exhaust system for other portions of the exhaust system to compensate for them.
Also, the disadvantage of the prior device is that metal bellows are very expensive and must use high nickel alloys in the stainless steel material to achieve the desired performance.

Sealed flexible coupling with torsion acceptance


A method of forming a connection hole, which includes the steps of: laminating an etching stopper film made of a SiN based material and an interlayer insulating film made of a SiOx based material on a substrate in this order; forming an organic film pattern on the interlayer insulating film on the basis of a connection hole pattern; dry-etching the interlayer insulating film using the organic film pattern as a mask while keeping a selection ratio to the etching stopper film; a fourth step of removing a carbon based protective film which is deposited on an exposed surface of the etching stopper film by the dry etching, using an etching reactive system including an oxygen based chemical species; and a fifth step of completing a connection hole by selectively etching the etching stopper film.

The present invention relates to a method of forming a connection hole, which is applied to the field of a fine device processing in manufacture of semiconductor devices and the like, and particularly to a method of easily ensuring a sufficient etching selection ratio in a self-aligned contact process using an etching stopper film.
In a manufacturing process for semiconductor devices to which a design rule since the level of 0.3 .mu.m is applied, there occurs a problem that a design size (=hole diameter+design allowance) of a connection hole becomes excessively large when the design allowance of the connection hole is determined in consideration of a variation in alignment with a lower interconnection. The variation in alignment is due to shortage of an aligning performance of a reduction profile exposure system used for lithography. Such a variation is a factor particularly difficult in scale-down among various scaling factors included in semiconductor manufacturing processes, and it is often regarded as the factor exerting an effect on the limitation of the exposure technique more than the resolution.
In view of the foregoing, various kinds of self-aligned contact (SAC) processes capable of eliminating a design allowance for alignment on a photomask have been proposed. In particular, a process using a silicon nitride (SiN) film as an etching stopper film has been mostly examined in terms of an advantage in that an additional exposure process is not required.
This process will be described with reference to FIG. 11.
FIG. 11 shows a state in which a contact hole for bringing an upper interconnection (bit line) in contact with a substrate between adjacent gate electrodes (word lines) is partially opened in an SRAM memory. The steps until the state shown in FIG. 11 is obtained will be briefly described. Gate electrodes 83 (poly Si/WSix) are formed through a thermal oxidized gate oxide film 82 (SiO.sub.2) on the surface of a silicon substrate 81 (Si) previously processed in well formation and element isolation. An upper surface and side surfaces of each gate electrode 83 are respectively covered with an offset oxide film 84 (SiOx) and a side wall 85 (SiOx). Source/drain regions 86 having an LDD structure are formed in surface layer portions of the silicon substrate 81 in self-alignment with the gate electrode 83 and the side wall 85.
A SiN etching stopper film 87 is formed on the entire surface of such a substrate in a conformal manner, and a SiOx interlayer insulating film 88 is deposited thereon and is substantially surface-planarized. A resist pattern 89 (PR) is formed on the SiOx interlayer insulating film 88 by photolithography. The opening of the resist pattern 89 is sufficiently larger than an interconnection space between the adjacent gate electrodes 83.
The SiOx interlayer insulating film 88 is then dry-etched using the resist pattern 89 as a mask in a condition capable of ensuring a sufficient selective ratio to the SiN etching stopper film 87. Here, the etching characteristic of the SiN film will be compared with that of the SiOx film. Both the films are not different so much in energy of chemical bonding of crystal lattices, and they use the basically common species. Moreover, the etching rate by F* (fluorine radical) is slightly larger in the underlying SiN film. For this reason, it has been regarded that highly selective etching of the SiOx film on the SiN film is extremely difficult. In recent years, however, so-called high density plasma sources capable of achieving an ion current density of 5 mA/cm.sup.2 or more, such as an ECR plasma, induction coupling plasma (ICP) and helicon wave plasma have been variously proposed, and the above highly selective etching of the SiOx film has been performed using such a high density plasma source. Specifically, the above dry etching is performed using a plasma of a fluorocarbon based gas and the selection ratio is ensured by depositing a fluorocarbon (FC) based polymer on the surface of the underlying layer so as to form a FC based protective film 91. The reduction in etching rate due to deposition of the FC protective film is compensated by production of a large amount of an etching species in the high density plasma.
In the case where the etching selection ratio in the above dry etching is sufficiently large, the etching of the SiOx interlayer insulating film 88 is rapidly reduced in its etching rate when reaching the SiN etching stopper film 87, so that the erosion of the offset oxide film 84 and the side wall 85 is prevented. FIG. 11 shows the state in which the above steps are completed. After that, the SiN etching stopper film 87 is selectively etched in an etching condition switched for the SiN film, to complete a contact hole 90.
However, if the dry etching for the SiOx interlayer insulating film 88 is desirably performed, it is very difficult to desirably perform the subsequent dry etching for the SiN etching stopper film 87, and in most cases, an etching residue 87r remains on the bottom surface of the contact hole 90. This is because the FC based protective film 91 deposited on the surface of the SiN etching stopper film 87 has a resistance against etching and it functions as a non-uniform etching mask. Such an insulating etching residue 87r reduces an effective contact area and causes a rise in contact resistance or a contact failure, and accordingly it must be removed before formation of an upper interconnection.
To solve such a problem, there may be considered a method of physically removing the FC based protective film 91 by increasing the ion-sputter function upon dry etching of the SiN etching stopper film 87 or removing the etching residue 87r by excessive over-etching. Such a method, however, is disadvantageous in that the offset SiOx film 84 and the side wall 85 are eroded as shown in FIG. 13, to cause a fear that the gate electrode 83 is partially exposed in the contact hole 90. When the contact hole 90 is covered with an upper interconnection 92 (Al) in such a state, the upper interconnection 92 is short-circuited with the gate electrode 83 as shown in FIG. 14.
In the related art SAC process using an SiN based film as the etching stopper film, as described above, it degrades the reliability of the process that the FC based protective film having a high resistance against etching and necessary for ensuring a high selection ratio to the SiN film cannot be sufficiently removed in the subsequent process.


A method is provided for generating a correspondence table suitable for use in a cryptographic processing method and comprising storing a plurality of input data and of output data in the table, each input datum being associated with at least one output datum in the table. For each input datum, at least one of the output data is obtained by applying a coding function to a first subsidiary datum and to an encrypted intermediate datum depending on the input datum. Also provided are a corresponding encryption method, a storage unit suitable for storing the correspondence table generated by the above generation method, a device for physically implementing such a correspondence table, a decryption device including such a storage unit, and a computer program product suitable for implementing the above generation method.

With the arrival of digital technology and communications networks, the distribution of audiovisual contents can take place in multiple forms and in novel distribution contexts that used not to exist.
The massive distribution of such contents raises the problem of protecting those contents: although they are now easy to distribute, they are also relatively easy to copy, rapidly and massively.
In order to protect such contents, the technical utilization of cryptography has become widespread with some degree of success. An application of cryptography lies in making transactions between two or more entities secure, by applying a cryptographic task. Such cryptographic tasks include encrypting messages, electronic signatures, or indeed authenticating messages. One encryption method consists essentially in encrypting a message so that only a legitimate destination can decrypt it using software and cryptographic equipment that the user has obtained legally.
The problem with such an encryption technique is that the legitimate user possessing the decryption software may attempt to understand how the software works by performing various so-called "reverse engineering" operations.
Such reverse engineering operations seek to identify the algorithms used in the software, or indeed to recover the keys or the cryptographic secrets that are distributed to the legitimate user and that are used by the decryption software.
Identifying the algorithms and recovering the massively-distributed keys or cryptographic secrets for the purpose of obtaining the cryptographic methods used for encryption thus destroys the efforts made at achieving protection.
In order to combat this reverse-engineering threat to cryptographic algorithms incorporated in consumer software for rendering multimedia contents, proposals have been made for a new cryptographic attack model known as a "white box attack" and for a strategy for protecting the model in the article "A white-box DES implementation for DRM applications" by Chow et al. The cryptographic algorithms described in that article are constituted by affine applications and by non-linear applications using a very small number of variables in the form of stored tables. It thus becomes much more difficult to identify the cryptographic algorithm used, and it is possible to hide certain steps and/or values during the execution of the decryption algorithm.
In particular, variables that pass between the various tables and that are observable to a user, which variables correspond to transition variables between the various individual operations of the cryptographic algorithm for decryption, are themselves coded by a secret coding function. Thus, since the values that can be observed are not directly the values that are used for the individual cryptographic operations, but coded versions of them, reverse engineering is made more difficult.
Nevertheless, cryptanalysts have succeeded in overcoming that protection strategy, as set out in the article "Cryptanalysis of a white box AES implementation" by Billet et al. It has thus been shown that that strategy does not satisfy the intended security objectives, in particular because the protection of the transition variables that are observable by an attacker is not sufficient.

Method of generating a correspondence table for a cryptographic white box


A hub assembly for an electric machine includes a rotor hub and a machine rotor. Rotation of the machine rotor generates an electromagnetic (EM) field. The hub assembly includes a resolver rotor that encodes an angular position of the machine rotor as a set of resolver signals. An EM field barrier ring between the resolver rotor and the rotor hub adds a magnetic barrier between the machine rotor and the resolver rotor to reduce noise in the resolver signals. The resolver rotor may be bonded to the EM field barrier ring. The EM field barrier ring may have an L-shaped cross section, and may be press-fitted into a pocket of the rotor hub. A vehicle includes a transmission having an input member and an electric machine having a rotor shaft connected to the input member of the transmission. The electric machine includes the hub assembly noted above.

Electric machines in the form of motors and/or generators can be used in a wide variety of applications. For instance, in hybrid electric, battery electric, or extended range electric vehicles an electric traction motor may be used to provide output torque to a transmission. The relatively high DC voltage stored in a typical battery module of such vehicles may be reduced to more suitable levels via an auxiliary power module (APM). APM output, typically 12 VDC, may be used to power smaller drive motors throughout the vehicle.
In electric machines of various sizes, a rotor hub assembly may be used to house a rotor. In applications in which motor positional and speed data is required, a motor resolver may be positioned with respect to a rotor hub. The resolver measures and converts the angular position of the rotor into an electrical signal that is useable by a controller. The controller processes the received resolver signals to precisely determine the output torque and relative rotational speed of the motor. Such values may then be used in feedback control of the motor and/or other devices that may be connected to the motor.

Rotor hub assembly with non-magnetic resolver shielding ring


A gym machine comprising a ground resting base, a structure for supporting a user which is associated with the resting base so that it can rotate about a rotation axis, at least one maneuvering body which is associated movably with the supporting structure and flexible elements which are stretched between the maneuvering body and the ground resting base, the supporting structure rotating about the rotation axis between a first configuration and a second configuration when a user supported by the structure moves the maneuvering body, applying to the maneuvering body an action which is opposite with respect to the action applied thereto by the flexible elements.

Gym machines or implements are known which allow the movement of the user in space while performing an exercise.
For example, the rowing machine allows, by using a slide, the horizontal translational motion of the user during exercise of the dorsal muscles.
Machines are also known which allow to facilitate the vertical traction exercise by using a lightening platform on which the user stands. In this case, the user is moved only in a vertical direction.


An intraoocular lens implant (10) including an optic (12) and a haptic (20). The haptic (20) includes a first portion (22) extending outwardly in a first direction from the optic (12), a second portion (26) which has an outermost end (32), extending outwardly in a second opposing direction to the first portion (22), and a bend member (24) intermediate and interconnecting the first portion (22) and the second portion (26). An end of the first portion (22) remote from the bend member (24) is connected to the optic (12) at a haptic optic junction (29) and the outermost end (32) of the second portion (26) is located on a side of the haptic optic junction (29) opposite to the side on which the bend member (24) is located.

The present invention relates to an intraocular lens implant.
The crystalline lens is a transparent structure that focuses light in the human eye. Opacification of the lens known as cataract formation is a common cause of poor vision in the elderly, and can be corrected surgically.
Modern cataract surgery is performed by manual extracapsular cataract extraction, or by phacoemulsification. Manual extracapsular cataract extraction involves expressing the hard nucleus of the cataract through a 10 mm to 12 mm incision. Phacoemulsification utilises ultrasonic energy transmitted by a needle to fragment the nucleus and allow aspiration of the cataract through a 2.8 mm to 3.2 mm incision. In both operations an opening is made in the anterior capsule to allow removal of the lens contents. The capsular bag remnant, however, is left in situ to provide support for an intraocular lens implant which is inserted following removal of the cataract to replace the focussing power of the natural crystalline lens.
It is known to provide an intraocular lens implant which typically comprises a central focusing element, known as the optic, and a peripheral support structure, known as the haptic. The optic and the haptic of the intraocular lens may be manufactured from transparent rigid plastics material such as polymethyl methacrylate, or from flexible plastics material such as silicone or hydrogel. Intraocular lens implants manufactured from flexible material are preferable to those made of rigid material because the lens may be folded to allow insertion through a small incision in the sclera or outercoat of the eye and is then required to unfold to its original dimension.
The optic and haptic of the intraocular lens may be manufactured from the same material as a single piece unit or the haptic may be attached to the optic by a variety of mechanisms. There may be one or a plurality of haptics attached to the optic, although the most common configuration includes an optic with two outwardly extending haptics. The purpose of the haptic is to provide optimal centration of the optic as well as a means of fixation of the implant within a capsular bag remnant of the original lens following cataract or lens extraction. It is preferable that the haptics conform to the periphery of the capsular bag to provide a larger surface area of contact between the intraocular lens implant and the capsular bag and to ensure centration of the optic. It is also possible to implant a lens in front of the anterior capsule behind the iris with the haptics resting in the region between the root of the iris and cilairy processes, known as the cilairy sulcus. Intraocular lenses may also be inserted in phakic eyes to correct refractive errors, such as myopia or hyperopia, in front of the crystalline lens behind the iris with the haptic providing support in the cilairy sulcus. Furthermore, as an alternative site of implantation in phakic eyes, intraocular lenses may be inserted in front of the iris in the anterior chamber with the haptics resting in the angle of the anterior chamber.
In all these instances it is preferable that the haptics conform to the periphery of the capsular bag or to the cilairy sulcus, phakic eye or the angle of the anterior chamber. The prior art discloses several haptic designs, including a flange style or loop style, which seek to maximise the surface area of contact between the intraocular lens implant and the capsular bag. The most common design includes two loop style haptics attached at diametrically opposed points of an optic wherein terminal ends of the haptics extend arcuately towards the periphery of the capsular bag.
The fixation and stability of the intraocular lens implant is not solely dependent on the rigidity of the supporting haptics of an intraocular lens, but is also dependent on fusion of leaflets of anterior and posterior capsule in the interval between the optic of the implant and the terminal of the haptic in contact with the periphery of the capsular bag. It is preferable to maintain as large an interval as possible to provide maximum opportunity for fusion to occur.
Post-operative shrinkage of the capsular bag is not an unusual occurrence. The aforementioned interval may be maintained by a rigid haptic which resists shrinkage of the capsular bag, or by a design for haptics manufactured from flexible plastics which maintains an interval between the terminal of the haptic and the optic in the event of shrinkage of the capsular bag. In order that the design should accommodate the various sizes of capsular bag that will be encountered in different individuals as well as the varying degrees of shrinkage that would occur during the post-operative phase, it is preferable that the haptics should be compressible.
A distinct disadvantage, however, of the current haptic designs is that the haptic terminal may be flexed at any point between the haptic terminal and the haptic optic junction towards the optic such that the interval between the haptic terminal and the optic is reduced to the extent where migratory fusion of the leaflets of the anterior and posterior capsule fails to occur.
The present invention seeks to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages and provide better conformity of the terminal of the haptic with the periphery of the capsular bag, or to the cilairy sulcus, or to the angle of the anterior chamber. Since the greatest proportion of the intraocular lens implants are made with respect to a capsular bag remnant it is preferable that a haptic design should allow the terminal of the haptic to conform to the periphery of the capsular bag.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention there is provided an intraocular lens implant including an optic and a haptic, the haptic including a first portion extending outwardly in a first direction from the optic, a second portion which has an outermost end, extending outwardly in a second opposing direction to the first portion, and a bend member intermediate the first portion and the second portion, the bend member interconnecting the first portion and second portion, an end of the first portion remote from the bend member being connected to the optic at a haptic optic junction and the outermost end of the second portion being located on a side of the haptic optic junction opposite to the side on which the bend member is located.


Downhole positioning systems and associated methods are disclosed. In some embodiments, the system comprises a downhole source, an array of receivers, and a data hub. The downhole source transmits an electromagnetic positioning signal that is received by the array of receivers. The data hub collects amplitude and/or phase measurements of the electromagnetic positioning signal from receivers in the array and combines these measurements to determine the position of the downhole source. The position may be tracked over time to determine the source's path. The position calculation may take various forms, including determination of a source-to-receiver distance for multiple receivers in the array, coupled with geometric analysis of the distances to determine source position. The electromagnetic positioning signal may be in the sub-hertz frequency range.

A number of costly and/or hazardous situations can arise from positional uncertainties along a well bore trajectory and from uncertainties of the locations along that trajectory relative to logs of formation properties taken in the same well. In particular, the following are examples of problems that may result from positional errors:
In highly developed fields, positional errors may result in well bore collisions. The intersecting of different well bores may result in undesirable interactions between the activities in different well bores, including damage to tubing strings, and unexpected fluid exchange.
When geosteered drilling is employed in fields with a known geological model, positional errors may result in drilling decision errors. Measured formation properties may be associated with incorrect beds in the model, causing the drillers to steer the well bore trajectory along a misidentified bed or into a misidentified area.
Positional errors can further make operators unable to determine the cause of discrepancies between a geologic model and logs. When such discrepancies are attributable to positional errors, the operator cannot determine whether the model itself is incorrect. (As a byproduct, the difference in resolution between available position measurement techniques and the vertical resolution of most logging while drilling ("LWD") sensors makes it difficult to correlate logs with formation evaluation data used to create the geologic models.)
Most fundamentally, positional errors can prevent a driller from achieving optimal placement of well completions, and may even result in wandering from lease lines. Each of the foregoing issues may reduce the efficiency with which petroleum can be produced from a reservoir.


The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a polyimide-based film and a polyimide-based film manufactured thereby and, particularly, to a method for manufacturing a polyimide-based film and a polyimide-based film manufactured thereby, wherein the polyimide-based film is useful as a cover substrate for a flexible electronic device since flexure characteristics thereof, represented by yield elongation, are excellent.

Recently, bendable or foldable electronic devices including flexible electronic devices such as flexible photoelectric devices including flexible OLEDs, lightweight displays, flexible encapsulants, color EPDs, plastic LCDs, TSPs and OPVs have attracted attention as next-generation displays. In particular, devices such as foldable or rollable devices are developed so that flexible displays can be realized and at the same time, a new type of flexible substrate that can protect a lower element is required.
Various high-hardness plastic substrates are considered as candidates of materials for flexible display substrates. Thereamong, a transparent polyimide film capable of realizing high hardness at a small thickness is considered as a major candidate for a cover substrate. However, the substrate for the display cover basically needs to maintain high hardness, low moisture permeability, chemical resistance and light transmittance to protect components included in the display device. However, conventional transparent plastic substrates have a limitation in securing abrasion resistance as well as low surface hardness compared to glass. For this purpose, a number of technologies have been developed to improve the surface hardness of polymer films. However, the technologies have difficulty in realizing bending characteristics of a curvature radius of 1 mm or less, while securing surface hardness.
Meanwhile, in order to improve the surface hardness of a plastic substrate, Korean Patent Laid-open No. 2010-0041992 provides a high-hardness hard coating film composition containing an ultraviolet curable polyurethane acrylate oligomer, and International Publication No. WO 2013-187699 suggests a high-hardness siloxane resin composition containing an alicyclic epoxy group, a method for preparing the same, and an optical film including the cured product.
As described above, techniques for improving the hardness of substrate materials for display covers have been actively proposed, but these techniques have limitations in improving the bending characteristics of films. Moreover, manufacturing technologies that can significantly improve the bending characteristics of films while securing low water permeability and abrasion resistance required for plastic substrates to be utilized in a wider range of applications, in addition to the cover substrate, remain incomplete.

Method for manufacturing polyimide-based film and polyimide-based film manufactured thereby


A display apparatus includes a display panel including an upper substrate and a lower substrate coupled to a rear surface of the upper substrate; a guide frame supporting the display panel, and a coupling member coupling the guide frame to the display panel. The coupling includes a main adhesive adhering the guide frame to the display panel, and a sub adhesive adhered to the guide frame adjacent to the main adhesive. Accordingly, the display panel can more readily absorb an impact applied thereto, thus enhancing the stability of the display panel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Recently, flat panel display devices that can decrease weight and volume compared to cathode ray tubes (CRTs) are being developed. Liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, plasma display panels (PDPs), field emission display (FED) devices, and light emitting display devices are actively being researched as flat type display devices. However, among such flat panel display devices, LCD devices are easily manufactured, have good drivability, realize a high-quality image, and thus are attracting much attention.
In terms of technology and design interesting to consumers, research and development of flat panel display devices are increasingly required. Therefore, efforts are being continuously made for minimizing (slimming) the thicknesses of display devices, and research is increasingly conducted on designs with enhanced aesthetic appearance that can induce consumers to buy by appealing to the consumers' sense of style.
However, in design development for enhancing style or slimming of display devices that have been made to date, elements configuring a related art display device have been applied as is, and the structures of the elements have been changed. Due to these reasons, there are limitations in slimming display devices and developing the new designs of the display devices.
For example, in LCD devices of the related art, a lower case and a front case are necessarily used for housing and protecting a liquid crystal display panel and a backlight unit. Moreover, a separate front set cover and rear set cover are additionally used for assembling the LCD devices into notebook computers, monitors, mobile devices, televisions, etc.
As described above, display devices of the related art necessarily use the front set cover and rear set cover as well as the lower case and front case, and consequently, there are limitations in reducing the thicknesses of LCD devices or changing their designs. Particularly, the front set cover and rear set cover necessarily cover a top edge of a liquid crystal display panel. For this reason, the thicknesses of display devices inevitably become thicker, and moreover, the border widths of the display devices enlarge. In addition, it is difficult to realize various innovative designs due to a step height in a border portion between a cover and the display panel. Hereinafter, a related art LCD device will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is a sectional view schematically illustrating a related art LCD device.
As seen in FIG. 1, the related art LCD device includes an upper substrate 10, a lower substrate 20, a driver 30, a guide frame 41, a support case 42, a backlight unit 50, a lower cover 61, and an upper cover 62.
The upper substrate 10 and the lower substrate 20 are coupled to each other by a sealant, and a liquid crystal layer (not shown) is disposed between the two substrates 10 and 20.
Although not shown, a black matrix and a color filter are disposed on the upper substrate 10, and a gate line, a data line, a thin film transistor (TFT), and a pixel electrode are disposed on the lower substrate 20. Here, each of these elements are formed in plurality.
The driver 30 applies respective signals to the gate lines and data lines disposed on the lower substrate 20 to drive the LCD device. In order to apply the respective signals to the gate lines and data lines disposed on the lower substrate 20, a peripheral portion of one side of the lower substrate 20 is extended longer than a peripheral portion of one side of the upper substrate 10, and the driver 30 is connected to the long-extended peripheral portion of one side of the lower substrate 20.
The guide frame 41 orients respective positions of the coupled substrates 10 and 20 and the backlight unit 50, and the support case 42 supports the backlight unit 50.
The backlight unit 50 includes a light source 51, a light guide plate 52, an optical sheet 53, and a reflective sheet 54.
The lower cover 61 and the upper cover 62 surround all of the above-described elements, and cover the LCD device.
In this example, the upper cover 62 covers a peripheral portion of a top of the upper substrate 10; thus, preventing the driver 30 from being exposed to the outside and preventing light from the backlight leaking around or from the peripheral portions of the upper substrate 10. However, as described above, because the upper cover 62 surrounds all of the peripheral portions of the upper substrate 10, step heights respectively occur where the upper cover meets the upper substrate and bezel widths along all four border of the LCD device are enlarged, causing a decrease in the aesthetic appearance of the LCD device.

Display apparatus and method for manufacturing the same