The present technology provides robust, high quality expansion of the speech within a narrow bandwidth acoustic signal which can overcome or substantially alleviate problems associated with expanding the bandwidth of the noise within the acoustic signal. The present technology carries out a multi-faceted analysis to accurately identify noise within the narrow bandwidth acoustic signal. Noise classification information regarding the noise within the narrow bandwidth acoustic signal is used to determine whether to expand the bandwidth of the narrow bandwidth acoustic signal. By expanding the bandwidth based on the noise classification information, the present technology can expand the speech bandwidth of the narrow bandwidth acoustic signal and prevent or limit the bandwidth expansion of the noise.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to audio processing, and more particularly to techniques for expanding the speech bandwidth of an acoustic signal.
2. Description of Related Art
Various types of audio devices such as cellular phones, laptop computers and conferencing systems present an acoustic signal through one or more speakers, so that a person using the audio device can hear the acoustic signal. In a typical conversation, a far-end acoustic signal of a remote person speaking at the "far-end" is transmitted over a communication network to an audio device of a person listening at the "near-end."
These communication networks often have bandwidth limitations that impact the speech quality of the acoustic signal when compared to other audio sources such as CD and DVD. For example, telephone networks typically limit the bandwidth of an acoustic signal to frequencies between 300 Hz and 3500 Hz, although speech may contain frequency components up to 10 kHz. As a result, speech transmitted using only this limited bandwidth sounds thin and dull due to the lack of low and high frequency components in the acoustic signal, which limits speech quality. In addition, this limited bandwidth can adversely impact the intelligibility of the speech, which can interfere with normal communication and is annoying.
Bandwidth expansion techniques can be used to reconstruct missing frequency components to artificially increase the bandwidth of the narrow band acoustic signal in an attempt to improve speech quality. Typically the missing frequency components are reconstructed by performing frequency folding, whereby the narrow-band acoustic signal is upsampled and filtered to form an expanded wide band acoustic signal.
A specific issue arising in bandwidth expansion concerns the bandwidth expansion of the noise within the acoustic signal. Specifically, since speech is typically a non-stationary signal which changes and contains pauses over time, the upsampling can also result in the bandwidth expansion of the noise present in the narrow band acoustic signal. This expansion of the noise is undesirable for a number of reasons. For example, the noise bandwidth expansion can result in audible artifacts which degrade the intelligibility of speech in the expanded wide band acoustic signal. In addition, in some instances the expansion of the noise may degrade the intelligibility of speech to below the intelligibility of the narrow band acoustic signal, which causes the speech quality to worsen rather than improve.
It is therefore desirable to provide systems and methods for expanding the speech bandwidth of an acoustic signal which can overcome or substantially alleviate problems associated with expanding the noise bandwidth.

Bandwidth enhancement of speech signals assisted by noise reduction


A heterostructure insulated-gate field effect transistor comprises a channel layer, barrier layer and a contact layer. The barrier layer is made of a material having an electron affinity smaller than that of the channel layer and equal to that of the contact layer. Due to the single heterostructure, the series resistance between the channel layer and the source (drain) electrode can be decreased without employing complicated selective ion implanting or selective epitaxial growing method.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a field effect transistor, and more particularly to a heterostructure insulated-gate field effect transistor.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been increasing in recent years a demand for field effect transistors of high performances. In order to improve the performance of a field effect transistor, it is generally required that a channel layer of a field effect transistor be thinner and have a higher carrier concentration. However, in the case where a channel layer is made thinner with a higher carrier concentration in a conventional field effect transistor having a structure in which a channel layer is disposed immediately under a gate electrode, the gate breakdown voltage becomes lower due to the higher carrier concentration, thereby restricting an improvement in the performance of the transistor.
In order to overcome the above drawback, a heterostructure insulated-gate field effect transistor 1 (HIGFET) shown in FIG. 7 has been proposed. The field effect transistor 1 has a stacked structure formed by an epitaxial growing method. More specifically, in the field effect transistor 1, a high-resistance semiconductor buffer layer 3 is formed on a GaAs semi-insulating substrate 2. An n-GaAs low-resistance channel layer 4 is formed on the buffer layer 3, and a high-resistance barrier layer 5 made from and undoped high-bandgap material, for example, i-AlGaAs, is disposed on the channel layer 4. Moreover, an n-GaAs low-resistance contact layer 6 is formed on the barrier layer 5.
A source electrode 7 and a drain electrode 8, both of which are formed of ohmic electrodes, are disposed on the surface of the contact layer 6, thereby forming a source region and a drain region, respectively. Moreover, the contact layer 6 is partially removed to expose the barrier layer 5. A gate electrode 9 made of a Schottky electrode is disposed on the surface of the barrier layer 5, thereby forming a gate region.
According to the structure, the barrier layer 5 is disposed on the channel layer 4. Thus, the channel layer 4 can further be made thinner with high carrier concentration without seriously impairing a reduction in the gate breakdown voltage, which has been discussed above, thereby enhancing the performance of the field effect transistor 1.
In the field effect transistor 1 shown in FIG. 7, however, the barrier layer 5, which is made from a high-resistance and high-bandgap material, is provided between the contact layer 6 and the channel layer 4. This disadvantageously increases the access resistance from each of the source and drain regions to the channel layer 4 (the series resistance between the source/gate or the drain/gate).
As the method for overcoming the above drawbacks, the following methods for reducing the series resistance components of the source and drain regions have been proposed: (1) the method for selectively implanting ions into the source and drain electrodes (DMT: Doped channel hetero Mis-FET); and (2) the method for regrowing a low-resistance crystal in the source and drain regions (DC-HIGFET: Doped Channel Heterostructure Insulated-Gate FET).
FIG. 8 illustrates an insulated-gate field effect transistor 10 obtained by using the above selective ion-implanting method (1). A low-resistance Si-doped ion-implanted layer 11 is formed in each of the source region and the drain region. Although the series resistance components of the source and drain region can be reduced in the insulated-gate field effect transistor 10, the selective ion-implanting method shown in FIG. 8 requires complicated and time-consuming process steps, such as ion implantation, the formation of a protective film (plasma process at approximately 300.degree. C.), heat treatment (approximately 800.degree. C.) for activating the implanted ions, and the removal of the protective film, after completing the epitaxially growing step. This increases the manufacturing cost and also deteriorates the characteristics of the field effect transistor 10, such as reproducibility and uniformity.
Moreover, during the high-temperature heat treatment process step, the impurity distribution which is precontrolled by the epitaxial growing may be disordered. Additionally, since the plasma process is performed to form the protective film, the GaAs substrate 2 and the semiconductor layers 3 through 5 may be seriously damaged.
FIG. 9 shows an insulated-gate field effect transistor 12 obtained by using the above selective regrowing method (2). A low-resistance n-GaAs regrown layer 13 obtained by regrowing a low-resistance crystal region is disposed in each of the source region and the drain region.
The selective regrowing method illustrated in FIG. 9 also requires a complicated process. More specifically, after the semiconductor layers 3 through 5 are epitaxially grown on the GaAs substrate 2, a pattern of, for example, a protective film, is made. Then, portions of the semiconductor layers 3 through 5 are etched by using the protective film as a mask, and the n-GaAs regrown layer 13 is epitaxially grown. Accordingly, in this regrowing method, as well as in the foregoing ion implanting method, the process is complicated and time-consuming. This increases the manufacturing cost and also deteriorates the characteristics of the field effect transistor 12, such as reproducibility and uniformity.
Further, in the selective regrowing method, growing selectivity requires a protective film pattern, and a large amount of impurity remains on the regrowing interface, which adversely influences the reliability and characteristics of the field effect transistor 12.
As is seen from the foregoing description, the field effect transistors 10 and 12 having the structures shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, respectively, present the problems of a complicated manufacturing process, poor reproducibility and reliability, which further deteriorates the characteristics of the transistor. Both the field effect transistors 10 and 12 also need the patterning spaces between the gate electrode and the source or drain electrode so as to allow a photolithographic process to be performed. This means that a longer distance between the gate electrode and the source or drain electrode is required, which results in an increase of series resistance adversely. That is, the series resistance cannot be reduced in spite of requiring a complicated process.
For the reasons explained above, a heterostructure insulated-gate field effect transistor having an excellent performance has not been realized commercially, and there is a need for a field effect transistor which has a low series resistance and can be produced by a simple production process.


An A/D converter includes a low-bit resolution A/D which converts an input signal into a digital value of 4 bits or less, and a low-pass digital filter which suppresses a high-frequency-band component in an output from the low-bit resolution A/D, and extracts phase information contained in the input signal as amplitude information. A digital PLL circuit and information recording apparatus are also disclosed.

The present invention relates to an A/D converter, digital PLL circuit, and information recording apparatus and, more particularly, to a digital PLL circuit which generates a recording clock, is suitably integrated into an LSI, and utilized in an information recording apparatus for an optical disk, and an information recording apparatus using the same.
Recording media represented by a CD (Compact Disc) and DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) can hold a large amount of information and process so-called AV (Audio-Visual) information. In recent years, information recording/playback apparatuses using such recording media have rapidly prevailed as a peripheral device of a personal computer and the like. In this situation, a recordable disk standard for a CD-R/RW, DVD-R/RW and DVD−R/RW must keep continuity between a recorded pit string and a newly recorded pit string in order to enable playback by a ROM player after recording.
For this purpose, tracking guide grooves which wobble at a specific frequency are formed in advance as pregrooves on such recording medium. In recording information, a wobble signal obtained from a wobbling tracking guide groove is read out, a recording clock phase-locked with the wobble signal is generated, and information is recorded. The wobble signal frequency is set in a high band exceeding the servo band of an optical head actuator and a band lower than the frequency band of recording information. This setting allows detecting a wobble signal even during tracking, and can increase the wobble signal quality.
For example, a DVD+R/RW has a wobble signal cycle 32 times longer than the recording clock cycle, and a DVD−R/RW has a wobble signal cycle 186 times longer than the recording clock cycle. By recording information by a recording clock synchronized with a wobble signal, information can be recorded at a correct position even with decentering of the disk. Even in sequential write, the phase precision of a wobble signal at the link can fall within a cycle of several recording clocks.
However, the quality of a wobble signal degrades owing to the presence/absence of information pit recording, contamination of the disk surface, and deterioration of the optical head. There has been proposed a digital signal processing technique of extracting a high-precision clock while compensating for degradation of the quality.
More specifically, the center frequency of a VCO (Voltage Controlled Oscillator) in a PLL (Phase Locked Loop) circuit is changed in accordance with externally supplied frequency information and timing information. The center frequency of a narrow-band BPF (Band Pass Filter) for limiting the band of an input signal is changed on the basis of a sync clock output from the PLL circuit. There has also been proposed a method of increasing the SNR (Signal-to-Noise Ratio) of a wobble signal by applying a digital signal process to the above-described technique (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-115174). The PLL circuit which generates a recording clock from a wobble signal is important because it determines the information recording quality of the disk.
In order to downsize the drive device and improve its reliability, the number of components must be decreased. At present, circuits which are distributed to several LSI (Large Scale Integrated circuit) chip sets have been developed to shrink into one chip set in the future. In this case, high stability, high yield, and low power consumption are important. When a full-digital PLL is integrated into an LSI, the same characteristic can be attained. However, a conventional configuration using an analog PLL suffers a change in PLL loop characteristic depending on the temperature characteristic or the like, and it is difficult to decrease the difference between LSIS. Thus, when an analog PLL is employed, for example, a PLL loop is constructed by adding a function of correcting the VCO temperature characteristic which is known in advance from an output from the temperature sensor (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-217720).
A digital PLL including a digital VCO requires a high-frequency operating clock because the digital PLL cannot obtain a phase resolution equal to or lower than the operating clock cycle. To avoid this, there have been proposed a configuration using a D/A converter and analog VCO (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-217720), and a method using a D/A converter and a DDS (Direct Digital frequency Synthesizer) by an SIN table (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-31924).
However, a full-digital PLL using only an A/D converter and digital circuit, as shown in FIG. 8, is becoming feasible because of the following two reasons. First, the circuit operating speed increases with the advance of the LSI process technique. Second, a technique of increasing the phase precision by modulating the phase of an output clock edge without increasing the VCO operating clock has been developed (see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-209468). As shown in FIG. 8, a conventionally proposed digital PLL circuit is formed from a high-bit resolution A/D (high-bit RAD) 100 with a bit width of 8 bits or the like, a low-pass digital filter 2, a sampler 3, a digital phase comparator 5, a digital loop filter 6, and a digital VCO 7. The high-bit resolution A/D 100 operates on the basis of a signal output from the digital VCO 7 or its frequency-divided signal as a clock.
Speedup competition for recording in a recordable DVD heats up now. For an N-time speed, the rotational speed of the disk is N times, and the digital circuit system must also operate at the N-time speed. This is inhibited by particularly the operation of the A/D converter in the above-mentioned digital PLL circuit. For example, for a DVD+R of 12×CAV (Constant Angular Velocity) operation, the wobble frequency at the outermost track is 24 MHz. A process such as digital BPF requires sampling of at least 96 Msps (sampling per second) which is four times higher than the wobble frequency. Thus, the circuit of the A/D converter comes to large scale because of digitization at about 8 bits.
The first problem to be solved is that when a digital PLL is mounted on an LSI, a high-speed A/D converter with a large circuit scale is necessary, and it is difficult to lay out the A/D converter together with another block. The second problem is that power consumption increases, it becomes difficult to dissipate heat, and the yield decreases because a high-speed A/D converter is necessary.

A/D converter, digital PLL circuit using the same, and information recording apparatus using the same


An anti-snoring composition especially effective in the form of a throat spray is disclosed, the composition comprising an aqueous ethanolic solution of seven homeopathic ingredients.

Snoring is a sleep disorder that can range from mild to severe in humans. Mild cases may result in no more than fitful sleep by the sufferer, while severe cases at the minimum cause disturbance of the sleep of others, and may result in insufficient inhalation of oxygen by the sufferer, apnea and, in extreme cases, death.
Many attempts have been made to devise remedies to alleviate the symptoms of snoring, ranging from surgery to a variety of medicaments. Although surgery has been proven to be somewhat effective, it is a radical and expensive approach that is subject to all the usual risks associated with surgery. There are a few effective drugs available for the treatment of the symptoms of snoring, but these are typically available only by way of prescription. There is therefore a need for an inexpensive non-prescription anti-snoring composition that is safe and effective. This need is fulfilled by the present invention, which is summarized and described in detail below.
The invention comprises an anti-snoring composition made up of an aqueous ethanolic solution of seven active homeopathic ingredients, namely (i) Belladonna, (ii) Ephedra vulgaris, (iii) Histamine hydrochloride, (iv) Hydrastis canadensis, (v) Potassium dichromate, (vi) Nux vomica and (vii) Teucrim marum.
According to the present invention the composition is made by combining equal parts by weight of eight aqueous ethanolic solutions of the aforementioned seven active homeopathic ingredients. Each ingredient is diluted in accordance with conventional homeopathic formulation procedures using an aqueous solution containing 20 vol % of 95 vol % ethanol.
Active ingredients (iii) (Histamine hydrochloride) and (v) (Potassium dichromate) are organic and inorganic chemicals, respectively, and are commercially available in 20 vol % aqueous ethanolic solutions from Boericke and Tafel, Inc. of Santa Rosa, Calif. The remainder of the active ingredients are all derived from plants as follows: (i) Belladonnaxe2x80x94an alkaloid extracted from the entire plant from roots to flower of Deadly Nightshade plant, commercially available in 20 vol % aqueous ethanolic solutions from Boericke and Tafel; (ii) Ephedra vulgarisxe2x80x94a decongestant extracted from the stems and branches of the Ma huang or Mormon tea plant, commercially available in 20 vol % aqueous ethanolic solutions from Boericke and Tafel; (iv) Hydrastis canadensisxe2x80x94the active ingredient comprises three isoquinoline alkaloids extracted from the air-dried rhizome and roots of the herb Golden seal, commercially available in 20 vol % aqueous ethanolic solutions from Boericke and Tafel; (vi) Nux vomicaxe2x80x94the active ingredient extracted from coarsely powdered seeds of the Poison nut or Quaker buttons plant, commercially available in 20 vol % aqueous ethanolic solutions from Boericke and Tafel; and (vii) Teucrim marumxe2x80x94the active ingredient extracted from the entire plant Cat thyme, commercially available in 20 vol % aqueous ethanolic solutions from Boericke and Tafel.
In a preferred formulation, most of the active ingredients are diluted 6xc3x97 in accordance with the standard homeopathic dilution procedures, with one of the ingredients being diluted 12xc3x97 and one diluted both 4xc3x97 and 6xc3x97. By xe2x80x9cstandard homeopathic dilution proceduresxe2x80x9d is meant that a dilution of 1=1 part by weight active to 9 parts by weight diluent or, in other words, a 10 wt % solution; a 2xc3x97 dilution=1 part by weight of a 1xc3x97 solution to 9 parts by weight of diluent dilution, or a 1 wt % solution; a 3xc3x97 dilution=1 part by weight of a 2xc3x97 solution to 9 parts by weight of diluent, or a 0.1 wt % solution; and so on. All dilutions may vary with a tolerance of xc2x110%, preferably xc2x12%.
Ingredients (i)-(ii) and (iv)-(vii) are preferably diluted 6xc3x97, while ingredient (iii) is preferably diluted 12xc3x97. In addition to the 6xc3x97 dilution, ingredient (vi) is also preferably diluted 4xc3x97. The solutions of actives may form from about 75 to about 95 wt % of the composition, preferably about 90 wt %. A carrier liquid such as glycerin or other compatible adjuvant may be included in the composition from about 5 to about 15 wt %, preferably about 10 wt %. A preservative may be present in a relatively small amount, say from about 0.05 to about 1 wt %, preferably 0.1 wt %; a preferred preservative is potassium sorbate.
While the composition may be formulated into a wide variety of administration forms such as drops or sprays, the most preferred form is throat spray, as this form has been shown to be effective at quick adsorption into the bloodstream through the mucous membranes of the mouth and throat passageways. The following example demonstrates how to formulate an exemplary embodiment of the invention.


A garment hanger carrier comprising an elongated body having a top and bottom and two sides, a channel provided proximate the bottom of the body and extending from side to side for receiving the garment hangers, a rail disposed proximate the bottom of the body and extending from side to side thereof below the channel for supporting the garment hangers and a carrying device for suspending the garment hanger carrier from a rail, rod or bracket wherein the garment hanger carrier may be used to carry and support a plurality of garment hangers.

The carrying of garment hangers can be a particularly cumbersome task especially if the hangers are laden with heavy coats or other clothes. Compounding the difficulty is if several hangers need to be transported. These problems are encountered often by individuals who need to travel with a number of hanging garments or who carry clothes to and from dry cleaners or laundromats.
A number of devices for organizing and carrying clothes hangers have been reported in the prior art. All employ some sort method for comfortably carrying several clothes hangers:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,524,948 describes a C-shaped clothes hanger carrier that can be carried by hand. The carrier is constructed in two pieces. The operation of the carrier involves the tilting of the carrier to allow the tips of the clothes hangers to be inserted into the carrier. The main drawbacks with this device are the need to tilt the device in order to insert the clothes hangers which can be cumbersome, particularly if the hangers are laden with heavy clothes, and the two-piece construction complicates manufacturing and assembly of such a device.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,633,802 describes a clothes hanger carrier which has a finite number of holes to accommodate individual clothes hanger hooks. The main drawbacks of this device are the need to tilt the device in order to insert the clothes hangers, which can be cumbersome, and the multi-piece construction would make manufacturing complicated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,156 describes a wire loop having a hand grip for carrying clothes hangers. The main drawbacks are the circular holder will allow the clothes hangers to bunch up and potentially wrinkle whatever clothes are on them, and the multi-piece construction complicates its manufacture. In addition, the use of a traditional handle precludes the device from being hanged from a standard clothes hanger rod.
It is therefore an object of this invention to provide a garment hanger carrier for organizing and carrying one or a plurality of garment hangers.
It is another object of this invention is to provide a one-piece garment hanger carrier made from inexpensive, light-weight material.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a garment hanger carrier in which a single or plurality of garment hangers can be inserted and easily carried.
Further and other objects will be apparent to those skilled in the art when considering the following summary of the invention and the preferred embodiments thereof illustrated herein.


A semiconductor device includes a circuit device on a substrate and a first insulating interlayer on the substrate and covering the circuit device. An electrode structure extends through the first insulating interlayer and at least partially through the substrate. An etch-stop layer pattern is disposed on a sidewall of the electrode structure on a side of the first insulating layer opposite the substrate. A blocking layer pattern is disposed on the etch-stop layer pattern. The device further includes an interconnection structure including a via portion passing through the blocking layer pattern to contact the through electrode structure and a wiring portion on the via portion and having a different width than the via portion. The semiconductor device may further include a contact plug electrically connected to the circuit device through the first insulating interlayer. The contact plug and the through electrode structure may include different metals.

Embodiments of the inventive subject matter relate to semiconductor devices and methods of manufacturing the same and, more particularly, to semiconductor devices having through silicon vias and methods of manufacturing the same.
As the degree of integration of semiconductor devices has increased, new packaging technologies have been developed for mounting a plurality of individual chips. Such packaging technologies may include formation of a through electrode, such as a through silicon via (TSV), which may be formed through a semiconductor substrate. Such a technique may decrease the space needed to mount chips.
After the formation of the through electrode, a pre-treatment including a polish process or a cleaning process may be performed before forming wiring electrically connected to a circuit device and the through electrode. Reliability of the through electrode or the circuit device may be reduced by the pre-treatment.

Methods of fabricating semiconductor devices with blocking layer patterns


A medical device for delivering a drug internally to a patient's body. The medical device includes a catheter with a catheter shaft and a balloon attached to a distal end of the catheter shaft and a flexible, thin-walled sheath extending over the balloon. The sheath includes a balloon-enveloping portion having an inner diameter sized to fit closely around the balloon and a collar distal to, and having an inner diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the balloon-enveloping portion. The collar terminates in an opening, and a tab extends distally from a wall of the sheath.

Balloon catheters may be used to deliver drugs to tissue at a desired location of a body lumen or cavity. Typically, the balloon is positioned at the desired location for drug delivery by sliding it through portions of the body lumen or cavity where no drug delivery is desired. Consequently, it may be difficult to avoid undesired drug release during the positioning of the balloon, particularly when the body lumen or cavity transports bodily fluids into which the drug may be released.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,121 describes a drug delivery system that uses a hydrogel coating. The '121 patent discloses a rigid sheath member extendable over the hydrogel coating to help prevent the release of the drug into bodily fluids. The entire disclosure of the '121 patent is hereby incorporated herein by reference.


A vehicle comprises a motor configured to output a power for driving; a power storage device configured to supply electric power to the motor; a main relay provided between the motor and the power storage device; a power receiving connector configured to be connectable with a power feed connector of an external charger; and a charging relay connected with the power receiving connector and connected with the power storage device via the main relay. This vehicle further comprises a control device configured to determine whether electric power from the external charger is supplied to the power receiving connector during charging of the power storage device with the electric power from the external charger in closed positions of the main relay and the charging relay and to open the main relay when it is determined that the electric power from the external charger is not supplied to the power receiving connector.

A proposed configuration of this vehicle includes a system main relay provided between a motor and a power storage device; a power receiving connector placed in a charging port provided in a vehicle body and configured to be connectable with a power feed connector of an external charger; and a charging relay connected with the power receiving connector and connected with the power storage device via the system main relay (as described in, for example, JP 2016-101032A). This proposed vehicle performs failure diagnosis of the charging relay after completion of charging of the power storage device using the external charger, such as to determine presence or absence of a closing failure due to adhesion of the charging relay or the like.


Methods and systems for executing a copy-offload operation are provided. The method includes determining if content of a source data container can be changed, after the source data container is opened for a copy-offload operation to copy the source data container from a source location to a destination location. The method further includes using a direct copy mode for generating a token for the copy-offload operation, without taking a point in time image of the source data container, when the content cannot be changed based on a mode in which the source data container is opened; and selecting a point in time copy mode by taking the point in time image of the source data container for generating the token, when the content can be changed.

Various forms of storage systems are used today. These forms include direct attached storage (DAS), network attached storage (NAS) systems, storage area networks (SANs), and others. Storage systems are commonly used for a variety of purposes, such as providing multiple users with access to shared data, backing up data and others.
A storage system typically includes at least a computing system (may also be referred to as a "server" or "storage server"), which is a processing system configured to store and retrieve data on behalf of one or more client computing systems ("clients"). The storage system may be presented to a client system for storing information.
Traditionally, when a client system intends to copy data from a source storage location to a destination storage location, the storage system retrieves the data, provides the data to the client system, the client system saves the data at a memory location and then data is transferred to the destination storage location. The source and the destination storage locations may be within a same storage device or different storage devices.
The traditional client centric copy approach described above has shortcomings because it consumes processing resources as well as network bandwidth. To alleviate the shortcomings of the traditional approach, a token based "copy-offload" process is one technique that is used to copy a source data container from a source location to a destination location without having to send the actual data to the client.
The following process steps are typically used in a conventional method to copy a source data container from a source location to a destination location, using a copy-offload operation: (a) In response to a copy-offload request, a source data container is opened and then read. (b) A token that represents information of the source data container at any given time is generated. A point in time copy (or a snapshot) of the data container is taken to generate the token. (c) The token is provided to the client and the client then sends an offload write request. (d) A destination data container is opened and then using the token, the data container is copied from the source location. Generating the token by taking the snapshot is undesirable since it uses processing time and may limit a size of the token. Continuous efforts are being made to efficiently perform copy-offload operations, preferably without taking a point in time copy of the data container that is being copied.

Methods and systems for a copy-offload operation


An air spring bedding system includes a mattress matrix assembly and a box spring assembly. The mattress matrix assembly comprises first and second air support structures. Each support structure has alternating offset air springs and connecting tubes which interconnect to two adjacent alternating offset air springs for distributing air between them. One of the two support structures also has alternating offset apertures. A respective one of the alternating air springs of the second support structure are respectively aligned with and inserted into a respective one of the alternating offset apertures of the first support structure such that the two support structures abut against each other to form the mattress matrix assembly. The alternating air springs of the two support structures are arranged in a matrix arrangement. The box spring assembly includes upper and lower support structures. Each support structure has a plenum and hollow cylinders which are arranged in a matrix arrangement. The hollow cylinders of the upper and lower support structures are offset from one another. The hollow cylinders of the upper support structure are respectively inserted in-between the hollow cylinders of the lower support structure such that the hollow cylinders of the upper and lower support structures are located adjacent to one another, and thereby form the box spring assembly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of bed systems. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of adjustable air mattresses for beds.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Air bed systems are well known in the art. Many of the prior art air bed systems include an air mattress and a box spring. The prior art air mattress construction have problems which can cause discomfort and disruption to the sleeping process. One of the prior art mattresses is a conventional air mattress which comprises simply a flexible enclosure filled with air. When depressed, the enclosure depresses slightly in the vicinity of the loading and also increases pressure in the remaining volume of the enclosure. The response is both resistive and bouncy, which are undesirable characteristics as far as the comfort of the user is concerned.
The following ten (10) prior art patents are found to be pertinent to the field of the present invention:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,776 issued to Solen on Apr. 29, 1996 for "Variable Tension Fluid Mattress" (hereafter the "Solen Patent");
2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,005,236 issued to Graebe on Jan. 25, 1977 for "Expandable Multicelled Cushioning Structure" (hereafter the "Graebe Patent");
3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,061 issued to Clark on Oct. 17, 1978 for "Pneumatic Mattress With Valved Cylinders Of Variable Diameter" (hereafter the "Clark Patent");
4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,454,615 issued to Whitney on Jun. 19, 1984 for "Air Pad With Integral Securement Straps" (hereafter the "Whitney Patent");
5. U.S. Pat. No. 4,629,253 issued to Williams on Dec. 16, 1986 for "Seat Occupant-Activated Underseat Support Air-Cushion" (hereafter the "Williams Patent");
6. U.S. Pat. No. 4,631,767 issued to Carr et al. on Dec. 30, 1986 for "Air Flotation Mattress" (hereafter the "Carr Patent");
7. U.S. Pat. No. 4,827,546 issued to Cvetkovic on May 9, 1989 for "Fluid Mattress" (hereafter the "Cvetkovic Patent");
8. U.S. Pat. No. 4,895,352 issued to Stumpf on Jan. 23, 1990 for "Mattress Or Cushion Spring Array" (hereafter the "Stumpf Patent");
9. U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,431 issued to Hargest et al. on Nov. 6, 1990 for "Fluidized Bed With Modular Fluidizable Portion" (hereafter the "Hargest Patent"); and
10. U.S. Pat. No. 5,097,552 issued to Viesturs on Mar. 24, 1992 for "Inflatable Air Mattress With Straps To Attach It To A Conventional Mattress" (hereafter the "Viesturs Patent").
The Solen Patent discloses a variable tension fluid mattress. It comprises a fluid chamber defined by an upper wall and a bottom wall which form a base. The fluid chamber can be compartmentalized by a longitudinal divider and cross dividers to provide individual zones of the fluid chamber. A plurality of pressure expandable pads are clamped to the upper wall by a disc which is secured to a hollow stem which communicates with the fluid chamber. A restraining chain is mounted within each pad and merely serves to limit the upward expansion of the pad regardless of the internal pressure.
The Graebe Patent discloses an expandable multicelled cushioning structure. It comprises a common base and a plurality of cells which are attached to the base, and are initially in a configuration so that the cells when formed are spaced apart but when later expanded by a pressurized fluid, will contact or be closely spaced to one another at their sidewalls.
The Clark Patent discloses a pneumatic mattress with valved cylinders of variable diameter. It comprises a plurality of valved cylinder cells held by a cover in a side-by-side relationship. Each cell comprises upper and lower cylindrical sections of equal diameter interconnected by a corrugated cylindrical section which has a smaller diameter. Each lower cylindrical section has an orifice which connects the interior of the cell with an air plenum that extends along the entire underside of the mattress. Each orifice registers with a valve that projects from the inner surface of the plenum opposite the cell orifice and is supported by a small, collapsible section of the cell in a normally open position, so that when a load is applied to the top of the cell it automatically closes the orifice against the registering valve.
The Whitney Patent discloses an air pad with integral securement straps. It comprises an upper layer and a lower layer which are joined together at a heat seal extending around the entire periphery of the pad. The pad is filled with air, water, a gel or the like. Securement straps are provided on the pad and fitted around and under the corners of a standard bed mattress to hold the pad in position on the mattress.
The Williams Patent discloses a seat occupant-activated underseat support air-cushion. It comprises a support base and an airtight expandable air cushion which rests on the support base. The top of the air-cushion is pressed upward against the bottom side of the vehicle seat cushion. A bellows type air pump is disposed within the air cushion and provides an outside air-intake.
The Carr Patent discloses an air flotation mattress. It comprises a lower inflatable chamber with a series of side-by-side air supply channels and an air-pervious upper wall. An inflatable compartment is overlaid on the chamber and forms a secondary air-pervious wall. A fan assembly is operatively coupled with the lower inflatable chamber to supply pressurized air.
The Cvetkovic Patent discloses a fluid mattress. It comprises side frames, a bottom support, and flexible and contractible bellows distributed over the bottom support. Connecting tubings are connected from the bellows to adjacent bellows to permit fluid flow therebetween. A top cover is extended over the bellows. Coil springs are mounted on top of the bellows to support the top cover.
The Stumpf Patent discloses a mattress or cushion spring array. It comprises a plurality of spring units. Each spring unit has a body, a top deformable end, and a bottom deformable end, where the ends are free for axial compression. The spring units are interconnected together by connecting fins which extend from the body of each spring unit.
The Hargest Patent discloses a fluidized bed with a modular fluidizable portion. A plurality of fluidizable cells are disposed and attached atop of an air permeable support. Each cell contains a discrete mass of fluidizable material which can be manually detachable and removable from the support for ease of cleaning and replacement.
The Viesturs Patent discloses an inflatable air mattress with straps to attach it to a conventional mattress. It comprises an upper air impervious flexible layer and a lower air impervious flexible layer. The peripheries of the first and second layers are joined together in an air impervious sealed relationship.
None of these prior art patents teach an air spring bedding system, resting or therapeutic structure to provide a matrix surface that is both supportive and pliable with minimal surface tension. It is desirable to have a very efficient and also very effective design and construction of an air spring bedding system for providing comfort and tranquillity to a user during his or her sleep by two different air support structures to create a matrix surface that is both supportive and pliable with minimal surface tension.


A high-power acceptable optical fiber comprises a core and cladding provided on the outer peripheral surface of the core. The dopant concentrations in the core and cladding each change in the axial direction of the optical fiber. The core has a same relative refractive index profile in any cross section thereof taken in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction thereof. The relative refractive index profile is normalized by a maximum refractive index of the core.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a high-power acceptable optical fiber and a method for fabricating the optical fiber.
2. Description of the Related Art
To accomplish super-long-distance optical transmission by using an optical fiber, it is necessary not only to reduce transmission loss of the optical fiber, but also to increase the intensity of signal light launched to the optical fiber.
As regards decreases in the transmission loss of an optical fiber, practical studies are being conducted. At present, in the case of optical fibers having GeO.sub.2 -doped silica cores, a fiber with a low transmission loss of 0.2 dB/km or less has been developed, while in the case of optical fibers having silica core and F-doped silica cladding, a fiber with a low transmission loss of 0.18 dB/km or less has been developed.
As regards increases in the intensity of light input to optical fibers, there have been significant advances in techniques, for example, the output-enhanced semiconductor laser and the erbium-doped optical fiber amplifier. However, it is known that the intensity of light which can be launched into an optical fiber is limited. If too intensive light of, for example, about 7 dBm or more is launched to an optical fiber, non-linear optical phenomenon will occur in which acoustic waves will be created in the fiber and will scatter lightwaves. Due to this phenomenon, known as "stimulated Brillouin scattering", most of the input light is reflected toward the light-input end of the fiber, not reaching the light-receiving end of the fiber. The phenomenon is explained in D. Cotter, "Observation of Stimulated Brillouin Scattering in Low-Loss Silica Fiber at 1.3 .mu.m" (Electronics Letters, vol. 18, No. 12, pages 495-496, 1982).
As is explained above, the amount of light which can be launched into an optical fiber is limited. To increase the transmission distance, it is necessary to suppress the stimulated Brillouin scattering. To suppress the scattering, it is necessary to increase the gain bandwidth of the stimulated Brillouin scattering spectrum, i.e., to cause nonuniform Brillouin frequency shift (the difference between the frequency of the input light and that of the scattered light).
A method for causing strain in an optical fiber is reported as a conventional technique for suppressing stimulated Brillouin scattering. This method utilizes the fact that application of strain to the optical fiber changes the Brillouin frequency shift.
This fact is disclosed in Kurashima Horiguchi, and Tateda, "Tensile Strain Effects on Brillouin Frequency Shift in Single-Mode Fibers Having Pure Silica and GeO.sub.2 -doped Cores" (IOOC' 89, 21C4-2). Further, as a method for utilizing the fact to increase the threshold value for the amount of light input to an optical fiber, over which the stimulated Brillouin scattering will occur, a technique for enlarging the gain bandwidth of the Brillouin scattering spectrum is reported in N. Yoshizawa, T. Horiguchi, T. Kurashima, "Proposal for Stimulated Brillouin Scattering Suppression by Fiber Cabling" (Electronics Letters, Vol. 27, No. 12, pages 1100-1101, 1991). In the method, optical fibers are helically stranded in a cable so as to change the strain caused in the axial direction of the fibers.
As is shown in FIG. 1, for example, the above-reported optical fiber cable employs optical fibers 11 of a double helix structure, extending in the axial direction, and the strain applied to the fibers 11 alternately changes from compressive strain to tensile strain, and vice versa. Thus, the Brillouin frequency shift varies in different portions of the fibers, increasing the gain bandwidth of the Brillouin scattering spectrum. Consequently, the threshold value for the amount of light increases, over which the stimulated Brillouin scattering will occur.
Moreover, a method for changing a residual stress in the axial direction of an optical fiber by changing the tension of the fiber during drawing the same is explained in Nozawa, Sakai, Wada, and Yamauchi, "Optical Fiber With Suppressed Stimulated Brillouin Scattering" (Proceedings of the 1991 of Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers of Japan Fall Conference, B-546). FIG. 2 shows an axial profile of tension on a Brillouin scattering-suppressed optical fiber consisting of a SiO.sub.2 core and an F-doped SiO.sub.2 cladding.
However, an optical fiber fabricated by the conventional methods for applying axial-directional strain to an optical fiber is liable to break. If the strain applied to a usual optical fiber increases from 0.1% to 0.2%, the factor of breakage per 1 km will become 10.sup.7 times higher. This is indicated in Yutaka Mitsunaga, Yutaka Katsuyama, Takakazu Kobayashi, Yukinori Ishida, "Method for Securing the Rigidity of Optical Fiber by Screening Test" (Transactions of the Institute of Electronics and Communication Engineers of Japan, Vol. J66-B, No. 7, 1983). To avoid such breakage, a technique for increasing the rigidity of an optical fiber by coating the fiber with a carbon film, must be employed in the conventional methods. In addition, since the optical fiber is kept in a particular strained state in the conventional method shown in FIG. 1, the cable structure is inevitably limited. It is therefore very difficult to employ the structure in the actual optical fiber line.

High power acceptable optical fiber and fabrication method thereof

Nippon Telegraph & Telephone Corporation


A method of forming a tantalum nitride layer for integrated circuit fabrication is disclosed. In one embodiment, the method includes forming a tantalum nitride layer by chemisorbing a tantalum precursor and a nitrogen precursor on a substrate disposed in a process chamber. A nitrogen concentration of the tantalum nitride layer is reduced by exposing the substrate to a plasma annealing process. A metal-containing layer is then deposited on the tantalum nitride layer by a deposition process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to formation of one or more barrier layers and, more particularly to one or more barrier layers formed using chemisorption techniques.
2. Description of the Related Art
In manufacturing integrated circuits, one or more barrier layers are often used to inhibit diffusion of one or more materials in metal layers, as well as other impurities from intermediate dielectric layers, into elements underlying such barrier layers, such as transistor gates, capacitor dielectrics, transistor wells, transistor channels, electrical barrier regions, interconnects, among other known elements of integrated circuits.
Though a barrier layer may limit to prevent migration of unwanted materials into such elements, its introduction creates an interface at least in part between itself and one or more metal layers. For sub half-micron (0.5 μm) semiconductor devices, microscopic reaction at an interface between metal and barrier layers can cause degradation of integrated circuits, including but not limited to increased electrical resistance of such metal layers. Accordingly, though barrier layers have become a component for improving reliability of interconnect metallization schemes, it is desirable to mitigate "side effects" caused by introduction of such barrier layers.
Compounds of refractory metals such as, for example, nitrides, borides, and carbides are targets as diffusion barriers because of their chemical inertness and low resistivities (e.g., sheet resistivities typically less than about 200 μΩ-cm). In particular, borides such as, including but not limited to titanium diboride (TiB2), have been used as a barrier material owing to their low sheet resistivities (e.g., resistivities less than about 150 μΩ-cm).
Boride barrier layers are conventionally formed using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) techniques. For example, titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) may be reacted with diborane (B2H6) to form titanium diboride (TiB2) using CVD. However, when Cl-based chemistries are used to form boride barrier layers, reliability problems can occur. In particular, boride layers formed using CVD chlorine-based chemistries typically have a relatively high chlorine (Cl) content, namely, chlorine content greater than about 3 percent. A high chlorine content is undesirable because migrating chlorine from a boride barrier layer into adjacent interconnection layer may increase contact resistance of such interconnection layer and potentially change one or more characteristics of integrated circuits made therewith.
Therefore, a need exists for barrier layers for integrated circuit fabrication with little to no side effects owing to their introduction. Particularly desirable would be a barrier layer useful for interconnect structures.


A radial magnetic bearing assembly having an unsymmetrical stator. The assembly comprises fewer or smaller electromagnets, and thus capacity, in the two lower quadrants below the rotor in use, in comparison to the electromagnets, and thus capacity, in the two upper quadrants above the rotor in use. This creates space in the two lower quadrants that can advantageously be used to move for example instrumentation and cooling from other places of the assembly to make the bearing assembly compactor, and also to be able to put instrumentation and cooling where it is best needed, close to the rotor.

Magnetic bearings can be integrated with rotating apparatuses, such as flywheels, turbo molecular pumps, turbo expanders, turbo compressors, air blowers, spindles, chillers, etc. For instance, flywheels are designed to store rotational energy. Flywheels equipped with conventional bearings are limited to a revolution rate of a few thousand RPM (revolutions per minute), while flywheels equipped with magnetic bearings can reach up to hundred thousand RPM. Magnetic bearings can be used to support and position rotating machinery for applications requiring one or more of low mechanical wear, no lubrication, relatively high rotational speeds, operation in harsh environments, and/or relatively low frictional losses.
A magnetic bearing comprises a rotor and a stator. The rotor is coupled with a shaft of a rotating machine that the magnetic bearing is to support. The stator structure of a radial magnetic bearing is commonly made of four quadrants equally distributed in 90° sectors around the rotor, each sector having the same shape and characteristic. Two are located on the top of the bearing and two are located at the bottom of the bearing. Each sector is characterized by its force capability similar in all four quadrants. Each quadrant is fed by one or more current power amplifiers characterized by their supply voltage and their maximum current.
In addition, a radial magnetic bearing will have sensors and auxiliary bearings. The sensors are position sensors and also in most applications rotation speed and temperature sensors. The position sensors measure the position of the rotor/shaft, which measurements are used in a control loop to make sure that the rotor/shaft is in the correct position. The auxiliary bearing(s) support the rotor/shaft when the magnetic bearing is either powered down or has failed.
The sensors and the auxiliary bearings have to be located next to the stator along the rotor/shaft making the extension of the magnetic bearing along the shaft quite extensive. There is still room for improvements.


A trolley assembled by a snap-fit structure is provided. The trolley comprises a first carrying basket, a second carrying basket, a third carrying basket each having a carrying space, and an assembly support frame arranged at both sides of the first, second and third carrying baskets. The carrying baskets are respectively provided with a snap-fit assembly component for assembling onto or disassembling from the assembly support frame. The assembly support frame is provided with a clamping groove which is matched with corresponding support crossbar for a snap-fit assembly or disassembly. The disclosed trolley has a simple structure but high structural stability and can be assembled arbitrarily in a snap-fit manner and disassembled into different components which then be receipted without tools. Moreover, the disclosed trolley is convenient for packaging, storage and transport, and has strong applicability and reduced usage cost.

The existing trolley generally includes a support frame and a tray with two or more layers arranged on the support frame in an integrated way. Such trolley is simple in structure and convenient for loading goods, so is widely used in various service industry places, such as families and restaurants.
However, in practical application, the trolley with the above structure has the following shortcomings.                1) The support frame and tray are fixed together to occupy a large volume, which is difficult to adapt to the application place with a small space, so the application scope is relatively small. At the same time, during the packaging and transport periods, due to occupying a large volume, the trolley is inconvenient to carry, and the cost of packaging and transport is high.        2) The traditional trolley generally has one or two integral support frames installed on the left and right sides of the tray. These support frames cannot be withdrawn, so that they occupy a large volume. In additional, they have a low compressive strength and are easy to be deformed, thus affecting the beauty and reducing the use effect of the product.

GUANGDONG WIREKING HOUSEWARES AND HARDWARE CO., LTD.


The present invention discloses a numerical simulation method for proppant transport considering wall-retardation effect, comprising the followings: establish a physical model of laboratory experiment on proppant transport with a large flat-panel device; establish a drag coefficient model considering wall-retardation effect according to the numerical simulation experiment; establish a computational geometric model; set boundary conditions and physical parameters of the geometric model according to the two-fluid simulation method for solid proppant quasi-fluidization; verify the grid independence of the computational geometric model to obtain the transport characteristics and placement pattern of the proppant in fractures. The present invention employs a numerical simulation method to study the migration and distribution patterns of proppant under the retardation effect of narrow walls during the hydraulic fracturing. The method is reliable in principle and can accurately predict proppant transport in subsurface hydraulic fractures with consideration of the wall-retardation effect on proppant transport.

According to data from the National Bureau of Statistics, the productions of crude oil and natural gas in China in 2019 were 1.91×108 t and 1,761.70×108 m3 respectively, with foreign-trade dependence as high as 73.8% and 47.7% respectively, making the energy security become increasingly serious and critical. Unconventional oil and gas resources such as tight oil and gas and shale oil and gas account for half of remaining oil and gas resources in China, and are an important strategic alternative for the national energy demand. In addition, hydraulic fracturing is one of the "three powerful tools" for effective stimulation and development of such oil and gas resources. With hydraulic fracturing technology, high-pressure fluid carrying proppant is used to build a subsurface "highway" for oil and gas flow, increasing the area of oil and gas discharge, reducing the differential pressure of fluid flow in the formation, and effectively improving the productivity of oil and gas wells. The establishment of long-term effective flow channels in fractures is one of the key elements of successful fracturing. Therefore, the migration and distribution patterns of proppant in the fractures are crucial to the construction effect. For unconventional oil and gas reservoirs represented by shale, the width of subsurface hydraulic fractures generally varies from a few millimeters to one centimeter. The solid volume ratio of the proppant slug in sand-carrying fluid with the lowest sand concentration used in construction is much greater than 1‰. The migration and settlement of proppant in fractures with sand-carrying fluid is related to dense liquid-solid flow in narrow space. Therefore, the fracture wall plays an important role in the transport of proppant. In the laboratory experiments on proppant transport with a large flat-panel device, it is found that the horizontal velocity of the particles near the wall is significantly lower than that of the particles gradually approaching the center of the fracture width, which is due to the increased drag of the particles near the wall and the slow settling in the longitudinal direction, but also increases the resistance to fluid flow and the weakened ability of the particles to move in the lateral direction, which is manifested as the retardation of the proppant particles by the wall. This is manifested in the retardation effect of the wall on proppant particles. In order to break the limitations of physical simulation experiments in terms of scale, cost and operation conditions by means of numerical simulation and then accurately predict the transport of proppant in subsurface hydraulic fractures, the simulation model needs to be refined and improved. However, the influence of narrow walls on proppant transport is ignored in the existing inventive technologies, which easily leads to deviations in the understanding of proppant migration laws and placement patterns, and affects the design and construction effect of hydraulic fracturing in unconventional oil and gas reservoirs.

Numerical simulation method for proppant transport considering wall-retardation effect


Sense amplifiers for integrated circuit memory devices including a bipolar transistor voltage gain input buffer and a first effect transistor latch circuit. The bipolar transistor voltage gain input buffer is responsive to a pair of complementary input signals from a memory cell, to amplify the voltage differential between the pair of complementary input signals. The field effect transistor latch circuit is responsive to the bipolar transistor voltage gain input buffer, to latch the voltage differential so amplified, and thereby produce a pair of complementary output signals.

Sense amplifiers are widely used in integrated circuit memory devices to sense a small voltage difference from a memory cell that is being read and to amplify the small difference to one of two binary logic levels. In general, it is desirable for the sense amplifier to sense this voltage difference rapidly and accurately, so that high speed and reliable read operations may be provided in integrated circuit memory devices.
As integrated circuit memory devices become more highly integrated, and are capable of storing more information in a single integrated circuit, the output of the individual memory cells may be reduced. For example, outputs of 20-100 mV may be provided. It is desirable for the sense amplifier to sense these microvoltage differentials rapidly and reliably.
FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional CMOS differential sense amplifier. As shown in FIG. 1, the sense amplifier employs both n-type and p-type metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs), also referred to as complementary MOSFETs or CMOS.
Referring now to FIG. 1, input signals IN and INB which correspond to the small voltage differential that is obtained from a sensed memory cell, are respectively provided to first and second input paths. These signals are applied to respective gates of n-type MOSFETs (referred to as NMOS) transistors 6 and 8. A pair of cross-coupled p-type MOSFET transistors (referred to as PMOS) 2 and 4 provide a latch. In particular, the sources of PMOS transistors 2 and 4 are commonly connected to a power supply node and the drains of the respective cross-coupled PMOS transistors 2 and 4 are connected to the drains of NMOS FETs 6 and 8. The drains and gates of PMOS transistors 2 and 4 are cross-coupled to provide a latch. Complementary output signals OUT and OUTB are obtained from the common drain node of MOSFETs 2 and 6 and from the common drain node of MOSFETs 4 and 8.
In operation, a small difference of voltage between the two input nodes IN and INB are amplified and output to the first and second output terminals OUT and OUTB. In particular, in response to a pre-sense amp enable signal PSE, transistors 10 and 12 are activated. Upon sensing a minute differential between input signals IN and INB, the latch comprising cross-coupled transistors 2 and 4 latches to one of two binary values and thereby provides complementary output signals on output terminals OUT and OUTB.
CMOS differential sense amplifiers as shown in FIG. 1 are described in more detail in U.S. Pat. No. 5,155,397 to Fassino et al. entitled "CMOS Differential Sense Amplifier". CMOS differential sense amplifiers as described in FIG. 1 can rapidly perform a sensing operation and can dissipate little power in standby mode. Unfortunately, if a signal is erroneously sensed, the sense amplifier may continuously repeat the erroneous sensing even though proper input signals are provided to the sense amplifier. Moreover, the minimum voltage differential which can be sensed reliably may be a function of the threshold voltage variations between the latch PMOS transistors 2 and 4. In order to overcome threshold voltage mismatches that may occur, sensing of the inputs may be delayed by delaying application of the pre-sense amp enable signal PSE. Thus, it may take an undesirably long time to reliably sense the input signal differential.

Sense amplifiers including bipolar transistor input buffers and field effect transistor latch circuits


A method for the synthesis of multi-level combinational circuits with cyclic topologies. The techniques, applicable in logic synthesis, and in particular in the structuring phase of logic synthesis, optimize a multi-level description, introducing feedback and potentially optimizing the network.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to logic synthesis, and more particularly, to the synthesis of combinational circuits with cycles.
2. Description of the Related Art
Increased complexity in digital logic circuits make the use of logic synthesis essential for all but the simplest designs. Conventional logic circuits are made up of combinational and sequential circuits. A type of logic circuit, referred to as a combinational circuit, has outputs that depend only on the current values of the circuit's inputs. Because their outputs depend only on the current values of their inputs, combinational circuits are referred to as being "memoryless". Another type of logic circuit, referred to as a sequential circuit, has outputs that may depend upon past as well as current values of the circuit's inputs, in other words a sequential circuits has "memory". Combinational circuits are generally thought of as acyclic, that is as feed-forward or loop-free, structures while sequential circuits are thought of as cyclic structures that include loops. In fact, "combinational" and "sequential" are often defined in this way.
In a conventional logic synthesis system, a front-end process accepts a high level description of the design, such as a hardware description language (HDL) design that typically specifies input variables, internal variables, and output variables, and converts the high level description into a set of boolean equations that describe the system. The logic synthesis system, or tool, then optimizes a multilevel network description of the design that generally includes both combinational and sequential circuits. The optimization procedures generally are applied to produce smaller, faster representations of the design. A back-end process produces a final circuit design based on the technology of the target device in which the design will be implemented.
As designs become larger and more complex, synthesis tools need to design circuits that are optimized according to a number of possible criteria. Minimization of the area that a circuit occupies on a target device allows for more complex designs to be implemented on a device of a given size. Also, reducing the area required to implement an existing design may allow it to be implemented on a smaller target device. Minimizing the delay of a circuit allows for a higher clock speed, resulting in a faster, more efficient circuit. Other optimization criteria can include reducing power consumption, increased fault tolerance, and increased testability.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved method and apparatus for synthesis of circuits.

Synthesis of cyclic combinational circuits


An exchangeable capsule for preparing a predetermined quantity of beverage suitable for consumption is disclosed. The exchangeable capsule comprises a circumferential wall, a bottom, closing the circumferential wall at a first end, and a lid closing the circumferential wall at a second end opposite the bottom. The wall, the bottom and the lid enclose an inner space comprising beverage ingredient for preparing the beverage. The bottom comprises an entrance area for supplying fluid to the ingredient, wherein the lid comprises an exit area for draining beverage from the capsule. The beverage ingredient comprises at least a soluble substance. The exit area comprises an exit filter that is adapted to substantially prevent non-dissolved soluble substance from leaving the capsule. A system for preparing a beverage comprising such a capsule and a method for preparing a beverage is also disclosed.

The invention relates to an exchangeable capsule for preparing a predetermined quantity of beverage suitable for consumption, comprising a circumferential wall, a bottom, closing the circumferential wall at a first end, and a lid closing the circumferential wall at a second end opposite the bottom, wherein the wall, the bottom and the lid enclose an inner space comprising beverage ingredient for preparing the beverage, wherein the bottom comprises an entrance area for supplying fluid to the ingredient, wherein the lid comprises an exit area for draining beverage from the capsule.
The invention further relates to a system for preparing a predetermined quantity of beverage suitable for consumption comprising such an exchangeable capsule.
Such systems are known per se. Such a known system can for instance comprise an espresso-type coffee machine and a closed capsule comprising the beverage ingredient. The system is intended for extraction under pressure, wherein the beverage ingredient can contain a substance for the preparation of a drink chosen from roasted and ground coffee, tea and soluble coffee. A special class of these known systems is used for preparing the beverage using a hermetically sealed capsule comprising the extractable product. During beverage preparation the entrance area of such hermetically sealed capsule is pierced, hence providing at least one entrance opening for supplying the fluid under pressure to the beverage ingredient in the inner space of the capsule through the entrance opening. Providing the fluid under pressure to the inner space causes the pressure in the inner space of the capsule to rise. This, in turn, causes the exit area of the capsule to be pressed against lid piercing means present in the receptacle. When the exit area is pressed against the lid piercing means with sufficient force, the exit area tears against the lid piercing means creating at least one exit opening through which the beverage can drain from the capsule. Such capsules can contain a substance for the preparation of a beverage chosen from ground roasted coffee, tea, instant coffee, a mixture of ground coffee and of instant coffee, a chocolate base product and the like.
It has been found, however, that in the above known systems preparing of a beverage using a capsule containing soluble beverage ingredients results in uncontrolled preparing of the beverage. Due to the build up pressure inside the capsule the exit area from the hermetically sealed capsule is pressed against the lid piercing means. This results in tearing of the outlet side of the capsule in an uncontrolled manner, which can result in a beverage of inferior quality since the soluble beverage ingredient might not be dissolved completely when the prepared beverage leaves the capsule. Furthermore, due to the torn exit area non-dissolved beverage ingredient can leave the capsule at the same time as prepared beverage from dissolved beverage ingredient and the fluid. This can lead to undesired non-dissolved beverage ingredient flowing into the container of prepared beverage thereby influencing the quality of the prepared beverage.

Capsule and system for preparing a beverage comprising soluble substance


A method of fabricating an exterior part of a camera is disclosed. The exterior part has an arcuate recess for finger gripping during photography and an arcuately bent portion. The method of fabricating the exterior part includes laminating a plastic protective layer to a surface of a substantially flat stainless steel sheet. An arcuate recess is then formed in the laminated sheet to create a finger grip area. Next, a peripheral flange is formed along a part of the periphery of the sheet, leaving an end portion of the sheet unflanged. The unflanged end portion is manually bent to form an arcuately curved portion with a preliminary curvature. A press die is used to impart a sharper curvature to the curved surface and to perform flanging on the unflanged end portion so as to extend the existing flange along the periphery of the sheet. The extended flange is then ironed to remove any wrinkle.

Traditionally, plastics have been used to form exterior casing parts of cameras, e.g. front covers and rear covers. Plastics provide the flexibility for manufacturing parts with complicated three-dimensional shapes. However, plastic exterior parts give the cameras a fragile and low-quality appearance. Recently, some cameras are constructed such that an exterior member, e.g. front cover, is made of metal in order to add a high-quality impression to the cameras. Aluminum has been the preferred material for exterior parts because of its ductility. Furthermore, aluminum can be easily anodized and textured to produce a variety of colors and textures. Although aluminum has its advantages, there exists a need for a method of fabricating cameras' exterior parts using another metal with higher strength, and to give a different look and feel to the cameras.

Method for fabricating an exterior part of a camera

Hewlett-Packard Deveopment Company, L.P.


A battery charging system and method for charging a plug-in electric vehicle with power from an external power source, such as a standard 110 volt or 220 volt AC wall outlet. The method senses various internal and external conditions and uses this information to charge the plug-in electric vehicle in an optimum fashion that reduces charging time yet avoids damage to components of the charging system. In one embodiment, the battery charging system includes an external power source, a battery charger with sensors for monitoring the external power source and the charger, a battery unit with sensors for monitoring the battery, a battery charging control module for processing the information, and a user interface that allows user-specified custom charging constraints. All of these components, with the exception of external power source, may be located on the vehicle.

A plug-in electrical vehicle may require electricity in between vehicle operation in order to charge a rechargeable battery pack. In most applications, a battery charger receives power from a power source such as a 110 v AC outlet, and then rectifies and/or transforms the power to a form and level that is suitable for charging the battery pack that resides on the vehicle. The charging conditions within the system, such as the temperature of the battery charger, the amount of charge on the battery, etc., can affect the charging process.

System and method for charging a plug-in electric vehicle


A counter track joint having an outer joint part (10), inner joint part (20), a ball cage (30) and torque transmitting balls. First outer tracks and first inner tracks form first pairs of tracks which widen in a first direction, and second outer tracks and second inner tracks form second pairs of tracks which widen in an opposed second direction. The annular cage (30) includes four first and four second circumferentially distributed cage windows which each accommodate one of the balls and which hold the balls in one plane. The second outer ball tracks (12), at one end, include widened, non-contacting assembly portions (13) for inserting balls (32) into the second cage windows from the radial outside, with all the first cage windows already having balls, and with the second cage windows axially projecting from the outer joint part (10) as a result of the joint being over-articulated.

Constant velocity fixed ball joints in the form of counter track joints, have an outer joint part with outer tracks, an inner joint part with inner tracks, torque transmitting balls which are received in pairs of tracks consisting of outer tracks and inner tracks, and a ball cage with cage windows in which the balls are held in a common plane and are guided on to the angle-bisecting plane when the joint is articulated. In such joints, first outer tracks, together with first inner tracks, form first pairs of tracks whose control angles open in a first axial direction, and second outer tracks, together with second inner tracks, form second pairs of tracks whose control angles open in a second axial direction. The control angles are defined as angles between the tangents at the ball contact points in the tracks when the joint is in the aligned condition. The present invention concerns counter track joints having four first outer tracks and four second outer tracks which alternate and are uniformly circumferentially distributed. In the inner joint part, there are provided four first inner tracks and four second inner tracks which alternate and are uniformly circumferentially distributed. The first outer tracks and the first inner tracks, together, form first pairs of tracks which, when the joint is in the aligned condition, widen in a first direction. The second outer tracks and the second inner tracks, together, form second pairs of tracks which, when the joint is in the aligned condition, widen in an opposite direction. A ball is held in each of the pairs of tracks. The annular cage comprises eight circumferentially distributed cage windows which each accommodate one of the balls and hold the balls, in their entirety, in a common plane by means of their centers.
Counter track joints, in general, are known from DE 100 60 119 A1 of the applicant, wherein the counter track joints are illustrated and described as having six torque transmitting balls. Rzeppa fixed joints with identical pairs of tracks with six torque transmitting balls wherein, for assembly reasons, the cage windows have different circumferential lengths, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,509,856 also owned by the applicant herein. From JP 2001 232 945 A, there are known Rzeppa fixed joints with identical pairs of tracks which comprise eight balls and wherein at the outer ball tracks, at the aperture end, there are provided assembly pockets for inserting balls when the joint is over-articulated.
There are certain disadvantages associated with the assembly of constant velocity joints wherein first the outer joint part, cage and inner joint part are joined in one of the ways commonly known. That is, typically, the balls are inserted by over-articulating the joint, i.e. articulating the inner joint part and cage relative to the outer joint part, thus enabling a cage window of the ball cage to project from the outer joint part and permitting a ball to be inserted into the cage window from the radial outside. When the cage windows are already largely filled with balls, the so-called method of over-articulating—because of the relative circumferential movement of the balls in the cage relative to one another—requires a circumferential cage window length which is needed during assembly only, but not under operational conditions of the joint. In other words, the maximum operating angle of articulation does not dictate the cage window length. Rather, the extended cage window length is necessary only for assembly. Such lengthening of the cage windows in the circumferential direction leads to a reduction in the web width between the cage windows in the circumferential direction, and thus to a weakening of the ball cage. Experience shows that, in operation, the cage constitutes a potentially frangible component which should be designed so as to be as strong as possible. Thus, there exists a need for an eight-ball counter track joint having improved cage strength or durability.


A decorative pin having a surface made of metal for displaying a high quality color photographic image having a high degree of image resolution reproduced directly onto a metal surface and a method for reproducing a high quality photographic image directly onto a metal surface are disclosed. The decorative pin of the present invention comprises a base member made of brass having an upper surface for displaying a photographic image that is reproduced directly onto the upper surface and a lower surface having means for removably attaching the decorative pin to a garment.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to metal decorative pins having a photographic image reproduced directly onto a surface of the metal pin and a method for reproducing the color photographic image directly onto a metal surface.
2. Description of the Related Art
Decorative pins and buttons displaying names, logos, symbols and images of products are an interesting part of popular culture in many countries and have been worn and collected by people for decades. In the past it has been popular to collect an assortment of decorative pins displaying a variety of images ranging from anti-war slogans to diagrammatic images of rock stars.
However, the decorative pins of the past, especially those made of metal, were limited in that there was no known process for reproducing a high-quality photographic image having a high degree of image resolution directly onto the surface of the metal used to make the pin. Instead, a photographic image was first printed onto a piece of paper or similar porous material which was subsequently laminated onto the metal surface with an adhesive material. As a result, there was a detectable border from the paper underlying the image surrounding the perimeter of the photographic image which detracted from the aesthetic appeal of the ultimate product. Moreover, because the image was first printed onto paper, even if photography paper was used, the resolution of the image was not as high as that of an image which is printed directly onto a metal surface.
Therefore, there exists a need for a method for producing a high quality photographic image directly onto the surface of a metal pin that is inexpensive and easy to manufacture.

Method for reproducing a photographic image directly onto a metal surface


Methods and systems for assigning time-division multiplexed (TDM) slots in a multi-channel TDM system are presented. Preferably, a radio access network (RAN) assigns forward link and reverse link transmissions between the RAN and one or more wireless communication devices (WCDs) to TDM slots on various wireless channels. When making these assignments, the RAN may take into account (i) the priority of data that the RAN queues for the WCDs, and (ii) the signal quality at which the WCDs can receive the various wireless channels.

Wireless communication systems include so-called third generation (3G) and fourth generation (4G) networks. These systems may support multimedia services via high capacity data rates to and from wireless communication devices (WCDs). Some commercial wireless communication systems utilize multi-channel time division multiplexing (TDM), wherein a radio access network (RAN) may schedule transmissions to and from WCDs in timeslots on two or more wireless channels. However, performing this scheduling purely based on known techniques, such as first-come-first-served services or weighted fair queuing services, may result in inefficient use of the system's wireless capacity.

Methods and devices for scheduling transmissions in a wireless network based on traffic priority and channel conditions


A dental handpiece having a turbine rotatable in reverse contains a main handpiece body, a turbine head mounted at a distal end of the main handpiece body, a plurality of turbine vanes for rotatably driving a dental tool romovably mounted within the turbine head, a first air supply passage for ejecting compressed air to one surface of each of the turbine vanes for rotating the turbine vanes in one direction, a second air supply passage for ejecting compressed air to the other surface of each of the turbine vanes for rotating the turbine vanes in the other direction, and an air discharge passage for discharging the compressed air.

This invention relates to a dental handpiece having a turbine rotatable in reverse direction, whereby a dental tool attached to the handpiece may be driven in forward and reverse directions for dental treatment.
A dental handpiece having attached thereto a dental tool for grinding a tooth or a metal prosthetic material has been used extensively. A driving device such as an impeller driven under an air pressure, a water conduit and air supply/discharge conduits are provided within the inside of the dental handpiece. The dental tool having a grinding tip end is adapted for being rotated by the driving device. In dental treatment, dental tools having a grinding ends suited to the positions or shapes of the sites of treatment or to the objectives of treatment are selected and selectively attached to a tool head such as turbine head.
FIG. 7 is a front view showing a conventional dental handpiece. An air supply conduit 2 and an air discharge conduit 3 are separately formed within a handle part 1 of the handpiece, as shown in FIG. 8, and compressed air is supplied from an air tube 4 into the air supply conduit 2. The air supply conduit 2 and the air discharge conduit 3 are separated from each other by a partition 5 within the handle part 1. A turbine blade 7 is rotatably mounted within a turbine head 6. A central shaft 8 of the turbine blade 7 is rotatably supported by bearings, not shown. A dental tool 9 is attached to the central shaft 8 by, e.g. a chucking unit, not shown, for grinding the tooth or the metal prosthetic material.
With the above-described dental handpiece, compressed air is supplied from the air tube 4 via the air supply conduit 2 to the turbine head 6 so as to impinge via the end of the conduit 2 onto the turbine blade 7 for rotating the turbine blade 7 about the central shaft 8 as the center of rotation. By the rotation of the turbine blade 7, the air is discharged from the space between vanes 7a via the discharge conduit 3. The turbine blade 7 is rotated at an elevated speed by the compressed air to cause rotation of the dental tool 9 in a predetermined direction for grinding the tool.
Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 9, when the marginal edge of a metal prosthetic material 11 such as an inlay filled in tooth is cut by the above-described dental handpiece, it is preferred that rotation of the dental tool 9 be in a direction of from the metal prosthetic material 11 towards the tooth surface, so that a part of the metal prosthetic material 11 is not extended from the tooth surface, that is, in order to prevent irregularities from being produced on the edges of the metal prosthetic material 11 or to prevent a gap from being produced between the metal prosthetic material 11 and the tooth.
Besides, for adapting the metal prosthetic material 11 to the defect portion of the tooth 12 after removal of the site of lesion in the course of treatment of tooth caries, and for retaining the metal prosthetic material 11 against the biting force, it is necessary to cut a basically rectangular tooth cavity 13 to attach the prosthetic material 11 in the so-formed cavity 13, as shown in FIG. 10. At this time, the fundamental procedure is to rotate the dental tool 9 in a direction proceeding from the tooth towards outside, that is in a direction of flying the debris towards outside, because otherwise a smooth marginal edge cannot be obtained.
However, with the conventional dental handpiece, the direction of flow of compressed air through the air supply conduit 2 and the air discharge conduit 3 is constant, so that the dental tool 9 can be rotated only in one direction. Consequently, for cutting left and right teeth or cutting left and right sides of the same tooth, the edge portions of the tooth cannot be cut from the metal material towards the tooth surface, insofar as one of the teeth or one of the left and right sides of the same tooth are concerned. On the other hand, it becomes impossible from time to time to cut the tooth from the tooth towards outside during formation of the tooth cavity, as a result of which a gap tending to produce secondary caries may be produced between the metal prosthetic material and the tooth or a smooth edge portion cannot be produced by cutting.

Dental handpiece having turbine rotatable in reverse direction

Nakanishi Dental Manufacturing Co., Ltd.