Apparatus and methods for partial evaluation of synaptic updates in neural networks. In one embodiment, a pre-synaptic unit is connected to a several post synaptic units via communication channels. Information related to a plurality of post-synaptic pulses generated by the post-synaptic units is stored by the network in response to a system event. Synaptic channel updates are performed by the network using the time intervals between a pre-synaptic pulse, which is being generated prior to the system event, and at least a portion of the plurality of the post synaptic pulses. The system event enables removal of the information related to the portion of the post-synaptic pulses from the storage device. A shared memory block within the storage device is used to store data related to post-synaptic pulses generated by different post-synaptic nodes. This configuration enables memory use optimization of post-synaptic units with different firing rates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present innovation relates generally to artificial neural networks, and more particularly in one exemplary aspect to computer apparatus and methods for efficient operation of spiking neural networks.
2. Description of Related Art
Artificial spiking neural networks are frequently used to gain an understanding of biological neural networks, and for solving artificial intelligence problems. These networks typically employ a pulse-coded mechanism, which relies on encoding information using timing of the pulses. Such pulses (also referred to as "spikes" or 'impulses') are short-lasting (typically on the order of 1-2 ms) discrete temporal events and are used, inter alia, to encode information. Several exemplary embodiments of such encoding are described in a commonly owned and co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/152,084 entitled APPARATUS AND METHODS FOR PULSE-CODE INVARIANT OBJECT RECOGNITION", and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/152,119 entitled "SENSORY INPUT PROCESSING APPARATUS AND METHODS", each incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
A typical artificial spiking neural network includes a plurality of units (or nodes), which correspond to neurons in a biological neural network. A single unit may be connected to many other units via connections, also referred to as communications channels, or synaptic connections. Those units providing inputs to any given unit are commonly referred to as the pre-synaptic units, while the units receiving the inputs from the synaptic connections are referred to as the post-synaptic units.
Each of the unit-to-unit connections is assigned, inter alia, a connection strength (also referred to as the synaptic weight). During operation of the pulse-coded network, synaptic weights are dynamically adjusted using what is referred to as the spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) in order to implement, among other things, network learning. Typically, each unit may receive inputs from a large number (up to 10,000) of pre-synaptic units having associated pre-synaptic weights, and provides outputs to a similar number of downstream units via post-synaptic connections (having associated post-synaptic weights). Such network topography therefore comprises several millions of connections (channels), hence requiring access, modification, and storing of a large number of synaptic variables for each unit in order to process each of the incoming and outgoing pulse through the unit.
Various techniques for accessing the synaptic variables from the synaptic memory exist. The synaptic weights are typically stored in the synaptic memory using two approaches: (i) post-synaptically indexed: that is, based on the identification (ID) of the destination unit, e.g., the post-synaptic unit; and (ii) pre-synaptically indexed: that is based on the source unit ID, e.g., the pre-synaptic unit.
When the synaptic data are stored according to the pre-synaptic index, then access based on the post-synaptic index is inefficient. That is, a unit receiving input from in pre-synaptic units and providing n outputs via n post-synaptic channels, requires n reads and n writes of a one-weight block (scattered access) to process the pre-synaptic inputs, and one read, one write of a m-weight block to process the post-synaptic outputs. Similarly, the post-synaptic index based storage scheme results in one read, one write of an in-weight block to process the pre-synaptic inputs, and n reads and n writes of a one-weight block to process the post-synaptic outputs, because one or the other lookup would require a scattered traverse of non-contiguous areas of synaptic memory.
One approach to implement efficient memory access of both pre-synaptic and post-synaptic weights is proposed by Jin et al, and is referred to as the "pre-synaptic sensitive scheme with an associated deferred event-driven model". In the model of Jin, synaptic variable modification is triggered during a pre-synaptic spike event (no synaptic variables access during post-synaptic spike event), and hence the synaptic information is stored based only on the pre-synaptic index (see Jin, X., Rast, A., F. Galluppi, F., S. Davies., S., and Furber, S. (2010) "Implementing Spike-Timing-Dependent Plasticity on SpiNNaker Neuromorphic Hardware", WCCI 2010, IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. In addition, the actual update of synaptic variables is deferred until a certain time window expires.
However, this approach has several limitations. For a typical STDP window of 100 ins, the corresponding firing rate of the pre-synaptic neuron needs to be greater than 10 Hz for the scheme of Jin et al. (2010) to work properly. Furthermore, the deferred approach of Jin et al. (2010) does not provide immediate update for the synaptic weights, because the approach waits for the time window to expire before modifying the synaptic weight, thereby adversely affecting the accuracy of post-synaptic pulse generation by the unit.
Existing synaptic update approaches do not provide synaptic memory access mechanisms that are efficient for a large category of spiking neural networks. Such approaches also do not provide up-to-date synaptic variables for different kind of learning rules, and are limited by the firing rate of the pre-synaptic and post-synaptic units.
Furthermore, existing synaptic weight update schemes are not applicable to different plasticity models, such as the nearest-neighbor, all-to-all etc. See Izhikevich and Desai 2003, entitled "Relating STDP to BCM", Neural Computation 15, 1511-1523, incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, relating to various plasticity rules such as STDP, inverse STDP, and "bump" STDP. See also Abbott L. F. and Nelson S. B. (2000), "Synaptic plasticity: taming the beast", Nature Neuroscience, 3, 1178-1183, also incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
Accordingly, there is a salient need for a more efficient, timely, and scalable synaptic variable update mechanism that is applicable to many different types of plasticity models and different plasticity rules.

Apparatus and method for partial evaluation of synaptic updates based on system events


A fluid leakage control apparatus has at least one primary sensor (3), and at least one secondary sensor (5) connected together to communicate with a computer processor unit (13), to open at least one fluid flow valve (such as a solenoid valve), through which fluid such as water or gas can flow. It can be made using flow sensors connected to one or more of motion and sound sensors, and powered by AC mains power or batteries, to form a communication network with a computer or microcomputer. The apparatus may be installed along domestic or industrial piping systems, to monitor and prevent water wastage in the event of a burst pipe by closing off a mains valve (2). Also disclosed is a method of fluid leakage control to monitor sensors to ascertain a burst state, and close off a mains valve (2), preventing fluid wastage.

Every year burst pipes are responsible for leakages, flooding and/or accidents that cause serious damage to buildings and/or their contents all over the world. Historically, such types of damage undesirably influence home insurance premiums, especially in countries which experience hostile weather and/or sub-zero temperatures during the winter months, as insurers are obligated to pay out huge sums against "Buildings/Home" and "Contents" insurance claims. Further, in terms of gas leakages, the leaking of gas can sometimes continue to occur once it has begun and it has not yet been detected, and such gas leaks have been known to go undetected even until an undesirable event occurs such as a fatality or injury from an explosion or suffocation from inhalation of leaking gas.
It is known to provide fluid flow sensing devices that actuate valves in an attempt to prevent leakages or flooding from water as a result of burst pipes. Such devices may incorporate pressure absorbers, temperature sensors, timers and counters, valve combinations (some of which may be electrically operated), heating or insulation periphery and suchlike—all or some of which may be adapted to open or close valves, redirect fluid, sound alarms, detect and dislodge excess fluid pressure, or prevent water in pipes from freezing. Such actions are desirable for a number of reasons, one of which is to counteract water's thermal expansion, because as ambient temperatures begin to drop below freezing point, water inherently expands, causing an increase of pressure in the pipes in which it is contained. Even in the presence of a pressure relief valve, this slow build-up of pressure can place undue burden on the pipes in which the water flows—some of which may be made from metals, for example copper, which under intense mechanical stress are susceptible to deformation, forcing weak points on the pipes to expand, crack and rupture or burst. When the temperatures subsequently return to normal (i.e. above freezing point) and the frozen water within the pipes melt, water will leak through such cracks or "bursts", causing flooding as the pressurized water from the mains water supply is dissipated from the burst cracks, leading to the aforementioned damage to property and/or building contents.
GB2235490A discloses a burst pipe prevention system for a domestic water supply comprising a three-way valve that is actuated by a thermostat when the temperature approaches 0° C. so as to shut off the supply pipe and connect the upstream portion of the supply pipe to the drain pipe. It has a non-return valve that allows air into the system when the three-way valve is in the drain position, so as to enable water to automatically drain from the upstream portion of the supply pipe.
GB2472678A discloses an apparatus for preventing fluid leaking from a fluid system. It comprises a mains inlet pipe, a plurality of distribution pipes, a control valve positioned on the mains pipe and a timer set with a predetermined time, e.g. 6 minutes. The valve is controlled by a timer to shut off the mains supply in the event that fluid passes through the pipe for longer than the specified time. A remote control device is also provided to reset the valve once it has shut.
WO03/091669A discloses a household fluid flow-rate monitor and control system to prevent flood damage, fluid leakage and loss of fluid. It comprises: a plurality of alarm units for monitoring fluid flow in the system; an automatic electrically operated valve for shutting off the fluid flow to prevent damage; a fluid meter for sending to a monitor an electrical signal for every unit of fluid flowing through the system; and a controller unit including a microprocessor unit and a memory unit connected to the automatic valve to shut off the system. The monitor receives input from the fluid meter or from a flood sensor and sends alarm signals for several types of events, such as burst flow, leakage, flood, etc, to the controller unit. The unit is also provided with a manual override switch to bypass the electronics.
EP0051874A discloses an automatic controlling apparatus for a domestic water supply system having a detecting and impulse fitting for determining water flow, and a shut-off valve of an electromagnetic type which is connected with said fitting to constitute an integral unit. It has unions for connection to the water conduit, an adjustable timing relay is connected electrically to the detecting and impulse fitting and to the shut-off valve; a stub pipe of the detecting and impulse fitting accommodates a magnetic floating element which is held by the influence of forces on an inlet aperture and is lifted off by the pressure of water flowing therethrough, and in the lifted-off position it actuates a magnetic switch arranged externally on the stub pipe.
GB2179425A discloses a valve for use in a domestic water system. It has a flow passage closure member which is normally held in a valve-open position. A control means, including a timer, is responsive to flow through the flow passage and if flow continues for a predetermined time this control means operates to release the closure member to close the flow passage. The control means also includes a solenoid, the plunger of which normally holds the closure open but is actuated by the timer to release the closure, and a reed switch sensor activated by the flow through the passage and which triggers the timer to begin its counting. It also has a manual override that comprises a pin for retaining the closure open.
GB2368703A discloses a system which senses a flood or leak, including a flip-flop element which activates an electrical solenoid to close a valve upon reception of a signal from a detector sensing the leak or flood condition and remains closed if the solenoid is no longer energized, which may occur in the event of loss of the electricity supply. The valve may be subsequently re-opened by operating a resetting device.
However, the devices disclosed in the prior art documents discussed above are not ideally suited for preventing flooding as a result of bursting of pipes and the like for a number of reasons. Firstly, some of such devices tend to be solely reliant on electrical power and may be beset by electrical problems in the event of a power/electricity failure, which is common in the winter months in some areas experiencing hostile weather, as hail and snow storms bring down electrical distribution pylons, thereby cutting out power supply. This means that if these devices fail, the result is either a complete cut-off of water supply (if the mains supply valve is usually shut in standby position, or configured to shut in the event of power failure), or flooding if any cracks occur in the system during or within the period when there is power failure.
Additionally, most such devices are incapable of detecting or distinguishing between a tap that has been purposely opened on low flow (for example when it is desirable to moisten a piece of cloth), and water escape as a result of a burst pipe.
Furthermore, since some of the known devices work by detecting water pressure, they may be unable to distinguish between a leak and low pressure within the water pipe network as a result of genuine usage of water at more than one outlet (typically in a family home, when e.g. a shower is running while a washing machine in the kitchen is using the kitchen water outlet, perhaps simultaneously with water being drawn out of a garden tap, for example while watering the lawn or garden or washing a car). Thus, in such an instance there may be an undesirable intermittent interruption of water flow as a device according to the teaching of various prior art disclosures may wrongly perceive low pressure levels as equating to the presence of a burst pipe and thus reacts (wrongly) to cut off the water supply.
Further still, considering some the devices that operate using timers which detect the length of time of continuous flow, or the volume of water dispensed per unit time, it appears that they may be unable to distinguish between unauthorised water escape from continuous water usage, for example a user who is having a long shower, or during the warm summer months a lengthy garden watering session, both of which may trigger the flood prevention mechanism and (wrongly) cut-off or interrupt the water supply. Furthermore, it would not make a difference if a water leak prevention system were to take six minutes from the time of detection of a potential leak to activating and shutting off the mains supply valve, because in the presence of a burst pipe six minutes is a long time, since the water from the mains supply is usually pressurized, and in six minutes a large volume of water would have already squirted through the ruptured or broken pipe causing considerable damage to the building and contents.
Finally, some of the known devices of the prior art are not user-friendly, and they cannot be used on other types of fluid system, for example gas pipes. Indeed, in many cases they are costly to manufacture, and may entail a complicated installation procedure, all of which may add further cost to the overall cost of adopting the technology, thereby putting off potential customers.
Accordingly, there remains in the art a need for a "smart" and robust system for detecting leaks, bursts and pressure surges within a domestic or industrial water or gas supply system.
In addition, there remains a need for a cost-effective and functional, easily optimized, efficient, highly accurate burst prevention system capable of distinguishing between a desired fluid flow and an undesired fluid flow, and that can be implemented on both domestic and industrial water or gas supply systems.
It is thus an object of the present invention to obviate or ameliorate the above problems and provide an improved apparatus, system and method of fluid escape detection and control.

Fluid leakage control apparatus, system and method


An abrasive sheet having improved properties which enable precise polishing and finishing is prepared by (1) coating an abrasive material-containing slurry on a concave face of an embossed first substrate and then UV-curing or pre-drying with heat the coating layer to form an abrasive material coating layer on the embossed first substrate; (2) coating an adhesive on one side of a second substrate to form an adhesive layer thereon; (3) combining the first and second substrates such that the abrasive material coating layer is bonded to the adhesive layer to form a laminate; and (4) separating the first substrate from the laminate formed in step (3), to obtain an abrasive sheet having an embossed abrasive material coating layer.

A conventional abrasive sheet is generally prepared by coating a first adhesive (a make-coat adhesive) on one side of a substrate such as a cloth, paper, and film; electrostatic-coating an abrasive material thereon, followed by pre-curing; coating a second adhesive (a size-coat adhesive) thereon, followed by pre-curing; winding the resulting laminate; and subjecting the jumbo roll-type product to final curing. A cross-sectional view of a conventional abrasive sheet thus prepared is shown in FIG. 1.
However, the use in such a process of an abrasive material having a particle size of #2000 or less (10 μm or less) is difficult due to its inconsistent behavior during the electrostatic- or gravity-coating, especially under a high humid condition.
In addition, an abrasive sheet comprising a micro-sized and fine abrasive material tends to generate frequent scratches on the work piece during a polishing operation and also forms a water membrane thereon when applied to wet polishing, which causes insufficient polishing. Therefore, an embossed abrasive sheet is preferred: An embossed-type abrasive sheet comprising a micro-sized abrasive material does not suffer from the above-mentioned problems due to the presence of grooves. Generally, the embossing of a particular dimension enhances the grinding speed and surface roughness (Ra and Rmax values) of the work piece, and therefore, it is important to control the size and shape of the embossing pattern.

Method for preparing an abrasive sheet using an embossed substrate


An external-control-type fan coupling device is provided and has no restriction on the layout or positional relationship of an electromagnetic coil and a valve element of the device. As a result, the casing and the valve structure of the device can be simplified. Additionally, the design prevents leaking of oil and leaking of magnetism without adversely affecting performance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an external control type fan-coupling device of a system for controlling the rotation of a fan for cooling an engine in an automobile, etc. by following-up a temperature change of the external circumference or a rotation change.
2. Description of Related Art
The following fan-coupling device is conventionally known as the fan-coupling device of this kind. Namely, in this fan-coupling device, a drive disk is fixedly attached to the tip of a rotating shaft body (drive shaft). A seal device housing is constructed by a case of a nonmagnetic material supported on the rotating shaft body through a bearing, and a cover attached to this case. The interior of the seal device housing is partitioned into an oil reservoir chamber and a torque transmitting chamber for internally mounting the drive disk by a partition plate having a supply adjusting hole of oil. A valve member having a magnetic property opening and closing an oil circulating flow passage formed between the above torque transmitting chamber and the oil reservoir chamber is arranged within the oil reservoir chamber. The opening and closing of the above oil circulating flow passage are mechanically controlled by operating the valve member by an actuator. The transmission of rotation torque from the drive side to the driven side is controlled by increasing and decreasing an effective contact area of the oil in a torque transmitting clearance portion formed by the drive side and the driven side.
As the external control type fan-coupling device of this kind, there is an external control type fan-coupling device of a system for operating the actuator within the coupling device by magnetizing an electromagnetic coil fixed to the engine or the vehicle body side, and controlling the fan rotation from the exterior (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,443,283). Its structure is set to a system constituting a magnetic loop for transmitting a magnetic flux using the magnetization of the electromagnetic coil to the valve member through a magnetic path of a magnetic material (a shaft and a valve member) of high magnetic permeability, and again returning the magnetic flux to the electromagnetic coil. A voltage is applied to the electromagnetic coil by an input signal from ECU. The flow rate of the torque transmitting oil is controlled by opening and closing the valve member within the coupling device by this electromagnetic force.
However, there are defects described below in the case of the above conventional external control type fan-coupling device.
Namely, in the case of the system for performing an operation by transmitting the magnetic flux for magnetizing the electromagnetic coil fixed to the exterior to the valve member within the coupling device, it is necessary to construct the magnetic loop for transmitting the magnetic flux using the magnetization of the electromagnetic coil to the valve member through the magnetic path of the magnetic material (a shaft and the valve member) of high magnetic permeability, and again returning the magnetic flux to the electromagnetic coil. Therefore, there are the following defects, etc. Namely, there is a restriction of a layout in the position relation of the electromagnetic coil and the valve member. The case and the valve structure become complicated. There is a fear that the oil is leaked by assembling magnetic material parts for constructing the magnetic loop into the coupling device. Magnetic leakage is much since a magnetic circuit is long. The general purpose property of the system with respect to the fan-coupling device different in size is poor.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

External control type fan-coupling device


The present invention relates in part to isolated nucleic acid molecules (polynucleotides) which encode Drosophila melanogaster ligand-gated ion channel proteins. The present invention also relates to recombinant vectors and recombinant hosts which contain a DNA fragment encoding Drosophila ligand-gated ion channel proteins, substantially purified forms of associated Drosophila ligand-gated ion channel proteins and recombinant membrane fractions comprising these proteins, associated mutant proteins, and methods associated with identifying compounds which modulate associated Drosophila melanogaster ligand-gated ion channel proteins, which will be useful as insecticides.

Glutamate-gated chloride channels, or H-receptors, have been identified in arthropod nerve and muscle (Lingle et al, 1981, Brain Res. 212: 481–488; Horseman et al., 1988, Neurosci. Lett. 85: 65–70; Wafford and Sattelle, 1989, J. Exp. Bio. 144: 449–462; Lea and Usherwood, 1973, Comp. Gen. Parmacol. 4: 333–350; and Cull-Candy, 1976, J. Physiol. 255: 449–464).
Invertebrate glutamate-gated chloride channels are important targets for the widely used avermectin class of anthelmintic and insecticidal compounds. The avermectins are a family of macrocyclic lactones originally isolated from the actinomycete Streptomyces avermitilis. The semisynthetic avermectin derivative, ivermectin (22,23-dihydro-avermectin B1a), is used throughout the world to treat parasitic helminths and insect pests of man and animals. The avermectins remain the most potent broad spectrum endectocides exhibiting low toxicity to the host. After many years of use in the field, there remains little resistance to avermectin in the insect population. The combination of good therapeutic index and low resistance strongly suggests that the glutamate-gated chloride (GluCl) channels remain good targets for insecticide development.
Glutamate-gated chloride channels have been cloned from the soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans (Cully et al., 1994, Nature 371: 707–711; see also U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,703 and Arena et al., 1992, Molecular Brain Research. 15: 339–348) and Ctenocephalides felis (flea; see WO 99/07828).
In addition, a gene encoding a glutamate-gated chloride channel from Drosophila melanogaster was previously identified (Cully et al., 1996, J. Biol. Chem. 271: 20187–20191; see also U.S. Pat. No.5,693,492).
O'Tousa et al. (1989, J. Neurogenetics 6: 41–52) map photoreceptor mutations to the ChIII 92B region of the Droshphila genome.
Stuart, 1999, Neuron 22:431–433 reviews the art which suggests that histamine is an invertrbrate nuerotransmitter.
Despite the identification of the aforementioned cDNA clones encoding GluCls, including a previous identification of a Drosophila GluCl gene (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,693,492), it would be advantageous to identify additional genes which encode invertebrate ligand-gated ion channels, including but not limited to additional GluCls or other ligand-gated channels, such as a ligand-gated ion channel (LGIC) which is activated by histamine, which may provide additional targets for effective insecticides, in turn allowing for improved screening to identify novel LGIC modulators that may have insecticidal, mitacidal and/or nematocidal activity for animal health or crop protection. The present invention addresses and meets these needs by disclosing novel genes which express a Drosophila melanogaster ligand-gated ion channel, wherein expression of the respective Drosophila gene in Xenopus oocytes or other appropriate host cell results in an active LGIC. Heterologous expression of a respective LGIC(s) of the present invention will allow the pharmacological analysis of compounds active against parasitic invertebrate species relevant to animal and human health. Such species include worms, fleas, tick, and lice. Heterologous cell lines expressing an active LGIC can be used to establish functional or binding assays to identify novel LGIC modulators that may be useful in control of the aforementioned species groups.

DNA molecules encoding ligand-gated ion channels from


A method for controlling access to computer memory, the method including communicating work queue elements with an application layer and with a verb layer, and indicating completion of the work queue elements, wherein both the application layer and the verb layer are capable of checking if at least one of the work queue elements is completed, independently of each other.

Remote Direct Memory Access (RDMA) is a technique for efficient movement of data over high-speed transports. RDMA enables a computer to directly place information in another computer's memory with minimal demands on memory bus bandwidth and CPU processing overhead, while preserving memory protection semantics. It facilitates data movement via direct memory access by hardware, yielding faster transfers of data over a network while reducing host CPU overhead.
Different forms of RDMA are known and used (all of which are referred to herein as RDMA), such as but not limited to, VIA (Virtual Interface Architecture), InfiniBand, iWARP and RNIC. In simplistic terms, VIA specifies RDMA capabilities without specifying underlying transport. InfiniBand specifies an underlying transport and a physical layer. RDMA over TCP/IP (transport control protocol/Internet protocol) specifies an RDMA layer that interoperates over a standard TCP/IP transport layer. RDMA over TCP does not specify a physical layer; and works over Ethernet, wide area networks (WAN) or any other network where TCP/IP is used. RNIC is an RDMA-enabled NIC (Network Interface Controller). The RNIC provides support for the RDMA over TCP and can include a combination of TCP offload and RDMA functions in the same network adapter.
RDMA protocols allow a direct access to the application buffers. Hardware interfaces with software using so-called Work Queues (WQ). Work queues are created in pairs, called a Queue Pair (QP), one for send operations (Send Queue) and one for receive operations (Receive Queue). The send work queue (SWQ) holds instructions that cause data to be transferred between one consumer's memory and another consumer's memory, and the receive work queue (RWQ) holds instructions about where to place data that is received from another consumer. The consumer submits a work request, which a Work Queue Element (WQE) to be placed on the appropriate work queue. A channel adapter executes WQEs in the order that they were placed on the work queue.
The abovementioned queues are managed by a so-called verb layer. This layer is a software library residing in the consumer memory space, and providing different RDMA services, like post send and receive request.
Application (wherein the term application encompasses, but is not limited to, user and kernel space; the term "consumer" is also used to denote "application") posts its buffers for RDMA NIC processing using PostSend/PostRecv verbs. Once the buffers are posted by an application, ownership of the buffers passes to the RDMA NIC. An application is prohibited from accessing the buffers after they have been posted for RDMA processing. Application buffers remain in RDMA NIC possession till RDMA NIC completes their processing (finishes sending the data posted in those buffers, or receives the data destined for those buffers). RDMA NIC provides a way for an application to query for completed requests, herein referred to as a PollCompletion verb.
The prior art has different approaches to the problem of managing application buffers posted via Work Requests (WR) and verb resources (WQs).
Once the RDMA NIC has completed processing the posted WR, the application buffers consumed by this request can be reused by an application and WQEs can be reused by the verb layer.
An application uses PollCompletion verb to query the next completed WR (if any), and given information provided by this verb, the application can manage the buffers consumed by this WR. The decisions how to manage the buffers and when to query for completion of posted requests depend upon the application.
Not every posted request requires report of its completion. It is up to the application to select requests requiring completion report, so-called signaled requests.
There are several completion-reporting mechanisms used in the prior art, two basic ones being described with reference to FIGS. 1A-2B.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 1A and 1B, which illustrate a Write-back Status Approach used in the prior art to report completion of a WR.
As shown in FIG. 1A, a PostSend verb uses a send queue element SQE 10 for a send WR, and a PostReceive verb uses a receive queue element RQE 12 for a receive WR. When a WR is completed, an indication of the WR completion is written in a status field 14 of the WQE (i.e., SQE 10 or RQE 12). A PollCompletion verb is used to query the status field 14 of the WQE to found out if the corresponding WR is completed. Update of the status field in the WQE not only indicates completion of the consumer WR, but also indicates that this WQE can be reused by the verb layer.
It is noted that the PostSend/PostRecv and PollCompletion verbs all operate on the same WQ structure. The same status field 14 of the WQE is used for management of the application layer and the verb layer resources.
As shown in FIG. 1B, the verb layer can reuse a particular WQE only after the application layer has been informed that the status field of that WQE is checked as completed.
The Write-back Status Approach for querying completed requests by the application assumes use of the same data structure for posting new requests, deallocation of completed WQEs, and query on completed requests. In this approach, the application manages its own and verb layer resources.
Reference is now made to FIGS. 2A and 2B, which illustrate a Completion Queue Approach used in the prior art to report completion of a WR. For example, protocols like InfiniBand and iWARP use a completion queue approach. This approach introduces a new term of completion queue (CQ), wherein each entry of such a queue describes a single signaled WR that has been completed.
When the channel adapter completes a WR, a Completion Queue Element (CQE) 16 is placed on the CQ. Each CQE 16 specifies all the information necessary for a work completion, and either contains that information directly or points to other structures, for example, the associated WQE, that contain the information. In this approach, the PollCompletion verb is used to query the CQE 16 to found out if a particular WQE is now available.
As shown in FIG. 2B, the verb layer can reuse a particular WQE only after the application layer has queried the CQE 16 and been informed that the corresponding WR is completed.
This method allows much more flexible mechanism for managing of application resources:                a. sharing of the same completion queue between different WQs        b. use a different data structures to post requests, and poll for completions
A disadvantage of this approach is that the release of WQEs is done again upon poll for completion. This forces the application protocol from time to time to post signaled WQEs to the CQE 16 allow WQE deallocation, even if their completion is not important from the protocol perspective. Another disadvantage is that the WQ address space must be accessible by the PollCompletion verb, and the CQ and QP must reside in the same memory space. Another disadvantage is the need to synchronize between PollCompletion and PostSend execution. For example, since PostSend consumes WQEs and PollCompletion releases WQEs, the update of the total number of WQEs needs to be synchronized.

Application and verb resource management

International Business Machines Corporation


Household appliance including an electronic board, and a receptacle which receives the electronic board and a cover for closing the receptacle. In an assembled state, the cover is connected to said the receptacle and a screw provides connection between the receptacle and the cover. A sealing element is also provided for providing a sealed connection between the receptacle and the cover in the assembled state.

Known household appliances such as laundry machines, i.e. washing machines, driers, and combined washer/driers, are usually provided with a user interface comprising a dashboard or control panel with input devices, knobs, buttons, etc., allowing the user to select or set washing and/or drying programs. The dashboards are typically provided also with output devices such as displays, LEDs, etc. for giving a feedback to the user related to the settings/status of the machine.
Some of these dashboards are provided with capacitive touch sensitive input devices that detect the contact of the user by means of capacitive change. An electronic board, which can comprise controls to be operated on the user interface, is provided for, as way of example, receiving the user input, sending signals to a display to show information to the user on the current running or selected program and/or parameters thereof, and to operate valves for water supply or drain, to operate a motor for rotating a drum etc.
In order to ensure proper operation of the electronic board and to arrange it close to the user interface, it can be arranged in a receptacle which is then closed by a cover.
Disadvantageous of such a solution is the difficult replacement of the electronic board.
The EP 2 876 196 A1 discloses a household appliance with a front panel, whereby on the rear side of the front panel a receptacle is arranged which receives an electronic board. A cover for closing the receptacle is not provided thus the electronic board can be subject to moist, steam, water or particles which can lead to malfunctioning of the electronic board.
The aim of the invention is to provide a household appliance with at least one control circuit board comprising peripheral contacts that is easy to replace and reliably protected against moist and dirt.
Another aim of the invention is to provide a household appliance which is easy to assemble and has an optimized reduced number of components.
Another aim of the invention is to provide a method for assembling a household appliance.

Household appliance with an electronic board and method for manufacturing a household appliance


A synthesizer arrangement includes an oscillator, a phase detector, and a loop filter that form a phase-locked loop. The loop filter is coupled to a control unit to activate a respective set of internal states out of a plurality of sets of internal states.

In mobile communication systems, a frequency-hopping technique may be used. For example, the transmit-receive frequency changes dynamically when using frequency division. In applications like ultra-wide band (UWB), a change of frequency and/or a change of channel should be completed within nanoseconds. However, in a phase-locked loop a settling process on a new channel usually takes several microseconds, so that a single PLL is less suited for frequency synthesis for a frequency-hopping system.
Conventional fast frequency-hopping synthesizers generate a basic frequency using conventional PLL techniques. The signal thus generated is mixed with a low-frequency signal in a mixer and is filtered subsequently. The basic frequency can be varied by an offset, achieving different frequency channels. The low-frequency signal can be generated using a periodically addressed read-only memory (ROM) with subsequent digital-to-analog conversion.
As an alternative, conventional frequency-hopping synthesizers may use a single-sideband mixer architecture.
The generation of additional low-frequency signals consumes more power and occupies additional chip area when implemented with integrated circuit technology.


A sling including a material having a plurality of edges. At least one of the edges of the material has a pattern of projections.

Surgical prosthetic mesh has been used to treat or reinforce tissues or organs which have been damaged, prolapsed, weakened, or otherwise herniated, such as in the conditions rectocele, cystocele, enterocele, vaginal prolapse, and protocele, for example. A prolapse refers to the slipping of an organ, or organ part, from its normal position. For example, a prolapse of the rectum refers to the protrusion of the rectum through the anus. Rectocele is the prolapse of the rectum into the perineum. A prolapse of the uterus refers to the falling of the uterus into the vagina due to stretching and laxity of its supporting structures. Vaginal vault prolapse refers to the prolapse of the cephalad extreme of the vaginal wall toward, through, and beyond the introitus. Cystocele (i.e., vesicocele) is a hernia formed by the downward and backward displacement of the urinary bladder toward the vaginal orifice, due most commonly to weakening of the musculature during childbirth. However, any abnormal descent of the anterior vaginal wall and bladder base at rest or with strain is considered cystocele. Enterocele is a hernia of the intestine, though the term is also used to refer specifically to herniation of the pelvic peritoneum through the rectouterine pouch (i.e., posterior vaginal, rectovaginal, cul-de-sac, or Douglas' pouch hernia).
Stress urinary incontinence (SUI), which primarily affects women, is a condition that is also successfully treated using surgical slings. Stress urinary incontinence is generally caused by two conditions that may occur independently or in combination, namely, intrinsic sphincter deficiency (ISD) and hypermobility. In ISD, the urinary sphincter valve, located within the urethra, fails to close properly, causing urine to leak out of the urethra during stressful actions. Hypermobility is a condition in which the pelvic floor is distended, weakened or damaged, causing the bladder neck and proximal urethra to rotate and descend in response to increases in intra-abdominal pressure (e.g., due to sneezing, coughing, straining, etc.), resulting in insufficient response time to promote urethral closure and, consequently, in urine leakage and/or flow.
Biological factors that may affect hypermobility include: poor endopelvic fascia muscle tone (from age or limited activity), endopelvic fascia muscle stretch/tear from trauma (e.g. childbirth), endopelvic fascia/arcus tendenious (muscle/ligament) separation (lateral defect), hormone deficiency (estrogen), concombinant defects (cystocele, enterocele, ureteral prolapse), and vaginal prolapse. Traditional treatment methods include urethra or bladder neck stabilization slings in which a sling is placed under the urethra or bladder neck to provide a platform preventing over distention. An emerging alternative treatment is the placement of a mid-urethral sling. Such a sling placement takes advantage of the hypermobility condition by providing a fulcrum about which the urethra and bladder neck will rotate and provide a "urethral kink" to assist normal urethral closure.
Slings are traditionally placed under the urethra or bladder neck to provide a urethral platform limiting endopelvic fascia drop while providing compression to the urethral sphincter to improve coaptation. The mid-urethral placement location provides mechanical stability to a less moveable anatomical structure. Bladder neck slings have traditionally been affixed in the desired location using a bone anchoring method. Mid-urethral slings, being placed in a low mobility area, have demonstrated the effectiveness of an anchorless approach. Recognizing that minimal tension, if any, is necessary, a physician need only place the sling under the mid-urethra secured through the endopelvic fascia to permanently secure the sling in position. The sling permits immediate tissue security through the mesh openings and mesh cavities to initially maintain sling stabilization. As healing occurs, the endopelvic fascia and rectus fascia tissue re-establish vascularity and regrow into and around the knit pattern of the mesh. The sling in this procedure provides a fulcrum about which the pelvic floor will drop (taking advantage of the hypermobility condition of the patient) and a urethral "kink" or higher resistance to obstruct urine flow during high stress conditions.
Problems associated with the use of mid-urethral slings include a tendency to move once positioned in the body because the slings are not anchored well. Furthermore, mid-urethral slings are known in the art to have a tendency to become stretched or misshapen during surgical placement. These problems can result in the sling not being anchored appropriately to the tissue when placed in the body, thus reducing the sling's functional effectiveness. Thus, there is a need to produce a sling which lessens the chance of the sling shifting once positioned in the body, there is also a need to prevent the sling from becoming misshapen during handling.


A device that when fitted to a motor vessel's existing propulsion gear improves the performance and reduces potential damage and wear of underwater propeller shaft bearings, commonly referred to as “cutlass bearings” that are used on boats, ships, etc. Designed with radially mounted impeller blades around the periphery of the propeller shaft, the device creates a forced flow of water by centrifugal pumping action, which creates suction along the shaft abaft the cutlass bearing, thereby increasing the flow of water through the cutlass bearing. The device also greatly diminishes the probability that fouling around a propeller shaft will severely restrict water flow through the cutlass bearing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices and methods for marine propulsion and liquid pumping, and, more particularly, to such devices and methods for improving a performance of marine propulsion and pumping systems.
2. Description of Related Art
A cutlass bearing (common usage) is a special type of bearing used extensively in marine and industrial applications for bearings operating under water or in other liquids. Cutlass bearings have no moving parts, and the bearing material is usually composed of a type of synthetic rubber and/or polymer, which supports the propeller shaft. Cutlass bearings are designed to utilize the lubricating properties of a hydraulic film of the surrounding water/fluid in which the bearing is operating. For this reason channels are designed within the bearing surface to promote the flow of liquids through the bearing, assuring proper lubrication while cooling the bearing and shaft surfaces at the same time.
A common problem in propeller-driven vessels is fouling of the propeller and shaft with lines, rope, netting, plastic bags, etc. When propeller shafts are fouled, often the fouling material is wound around the shaft in the section between the cutlass bearing and propeller hub. When this happens, the flow of water through the cutlass bearing is restricted and, in some cases, is cut off entirely. A vessel operator is sometimes made aware of a fouling condition because of vibration in the propulsion gear and diminished performance. If he is aware of the fouling, the operator will usually attempt to clear it by reversing the propulsion gear in an attempt to release the wound-up fouling, or, when that is not successful, someone may go overboard to clear the fouled propulsion gear. Even a small amount of fouling right next to the cutlass bearing will severely impede the flow of lubricating water because the cross-sectional area of the water channels in the bearing is relatively small. Small amounts of fouling around a propeller shaft, however, often goes unnoticed for extended periods. In this situation, the cutlass bearing suffers premature wear because of starvation of lubricating water. Furthermore, it is fairly common to have the aft ends of bearings and bearing housings physically damaged and abraded when fouling materials are tightly wrapped around the propeller shaft for an extended period.
Several devices have been designed and marketed for the purpose of preventing propeller and shaft fouling. They are generally based on rotary cutters that are attached to the shaft and act to cut the fouling materials as they begin to wrap around the shaft. Although some of these devices work well under the ideal conditions for which they were designed, they are not as effective in extreme conditions. These cutting devices generally require frequent repair and replacement in heavy use applications such as those experienced by vessels operating in the commercial sector. These devices also are not specifically designed to increase the flow of water through the cutlass bearing.
Therefore, it would be beneficial to provide a simple, robust, and dependable device and method of manufacture and use for substantially preventing fouling of propellers, shafts, and cutlass bearings in marine vehicles.

Underwater propulsion apparatus performance enhancement device and associated methods


A print control device is capable of processing print job data having a first file format and print job data having a second file format which is different from the first file format. The print control device includes a judging unit configured to judge whether the print data has the first file format or second file format, a converting unit configured to convert the print data having the first file format to the print data having the second file format, an adjusting unit configured to apply a print area adjustment to the print job data converted by the converting unit only when the judging unit judges that the print job data has the first file format, and a data processing unit configured to apply a data processing to the print job data having the second file format.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a print control device and a recording medium containing a printer driver, which is a program for controlling a printer. Specifically, the invention relates to a print control device and a printer driver configured to process print job data with use of functional filters.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, there has been known a print control device which is configured to control an image forming device. Such a print control device is typically configured to generate an EMF (Enhanced Meta File), which is a vector type intermediate file, based on document data created by an application (such an application is generally referred to as an EMF application). The print control device making use of the EMF file is configured to convert the EMF file to PDL (Page Description Language) data suitable to a printer and then transmits the converted data to the printer.
Recently, print control devices capable of using a file described with a markup language such as an XML (Extensible Markup Language) in addition to the EMF file have been developed. In the following description, the intermediate file described with the markup language will be referred to as an XML file, and applications capable of generating XML files will be referred to as XML applications.
The printer driver for the XML file, which is installed in the print control device has a function of converting the EMF file to the XML file in order to maintain compatibility with the EMF applications, which are mainstream nowadays. In other words, generally, the printer driver for the XML is provided with the function of converting the EMF file to the XML file so that the compatibility with the EMF applications is maintained.
An example of the print control device which is configured to process both the EMF files and XML files is disclosed in Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2006-285870 (hereinafter, referred to '870 publication).

Print control device and recording medium containing printer driver for adjusting print area based on converted file format


The device for detecting the presence of smoke includes a dark chamber which receives the smoke to be detected, a source suitable for emitting into said chamber a light pencil made up of short duration pulses spaced apart from one another by identical much longer periods, a detector suitable for generating response signals associated with the smoke reflecting part of the successive light pulses, and means for comparing said signals with a threshold and for triggering an alarm in the event of said threshold being exceeded by a plurality of said successive signals. The device further comprises means for automatically increasing the frequency at which said pulses are emitted from the first occasion on which a signal exceeding said threshold is detected, the alarm then possibly being triggered, as a function of the signals generated by the detector in response to a plurality of successive pulses emitted at the higher frequency.

Amongst such detectors, the invention relates more particularly to those which use an appropriate detector to take advantage of an optical effect that relies on a relatively intense light pencil being reflected by some of the particles making up the smoke to be monitored, which smoke passes through a dark chamber containing said detector.
Given the intensity of the light pencil, if it were to be emitted continuously, the resulting electricity consumption of the device would be very large.
To avoid that drawback, proposals have already been made to emit said pencil in the form of light pulses of short duration t that are spaced apart from one another by identical much longer periods T, where the durations t are of the order or 1 millisecond or 100 microseconds, for example, while the periods T are of the order of 5 seconds to 10 seconds, detection then being performed on the basis of electrical response signals generated by the detector solely during the durations t, with the values of said signals being compared in turn with a value representing the above threshold so as to trigger the alarm if the threshold is exceeded.
To create said pulses of duration t, it is preferable to act as follows: a capacitor is charged during the periods T by means of a small electrical current, and at the end of each of said periods the capacitor is discharged during times t, and the current pulses of duration t generated in this way are applied to a light source, which current pulses give rise to light pulses of the same duration and forming the light pencil.
In general, in order to avoid untimely triggering of the alarm, as could be set off by the detector being suddenly illuminated, e.g. due to the device being scanned by an intense light beam itself created directly from a hand-held flashlight or indirectly by reflection of the sun on a glossy surface moving in view of the device, an alarm indicating a risk of fire is triggered only after verifying that the previously programmed trigger threshold has continued to be exceeded for a plurality of successive light pulses (see document EP-A-0 011 205).
If the spacing between said successive light pulses reaches or exceeds 5 or 10 seconds, the duration of such a safety check can run to half a minute or more, and that is prohibitive.


An indicia-reading device including an indicia-capturing subsystem for acquiring information about indicia within the indicia-capturing subsystem's field of view and an indicia-decoding module configured for decoding indicia information within the indicia-capturing subsystem's field of view. The device also includes a hand-supportable housing, a battery compartment, an end cap for holding the battery compartment in place, and a locking mechanism for securing the end cap to the battery compartment during use.

Indicia readers, such as barcode scanners, are typically configured to acquire information from indicia and then decode that information for use in data systems. Indicia-reading systems may embrace various kinds of devices used to read indicia, including handheld barcode scanners.
Indicia-reading systems, such as handheld barcode scanners, can be optimized through the application of human factors and ergonomics. Generally speaking, human factors and ergonomics is a discipline that focuses on those variables that affect the performance of individuals using devices. The discipline is applied to achieve highly usable devices.
If a device, such as a handheld bar code scanner, is not designed to achieve high usability in its environment, then errors and delays can occur, even during operation by skilled users. A device with a high level of usability accommodates users with a wide range of skill levels working under variable conditions, is less prone to user error, and requires less user training.
As one example, in battery powered devices it is desirable to be able to remove the battery for replacement or recharging. In the case of handheld scanning devices, for instance, an end cap may lock a battery in place when it is secured within the handle portion of the handheld scanner's housing, and the end cap may be removed in order to access the battery compartment and remove, recharge, and/or replace the battery when the device is not in use.
During use of a hand held scanner, or a similar battery powered device, the device is often jostled such that the battery is subject to motion within the battery compartment. As a result, if a conventional fastener (e.g., a conventional screw) is used to secure the end cap, over time the jostling of the device may loosen the fastener securing the end cap. Accordingly, the use of conventional fasteners that are easily removable creates problems because the ability to properly secure the end cap is dependent upon proper torque being applied to prevent the end cap from loosening. In this regard, the strength of the operator may have a significant impact on the ability for the fastener to remain secure during use.
Therefore, a need exists for improved devices and for securing an end cap of a handheld battery powered device, such as a handheld scanner, to the battery compartment of the device so that the end cap will not become unsecured during use. More particularly, there exists a need for a highly usable device that locks a battery compartment in place when it is secured within the handle portion of a handheld battery powered device such as a handheld indicia reader (e.g., a handheld scanner).

Handheld indicia reader having locking endcap


One method disclosed includes, among other things, forming a plurality of laterally spaced-apart source/drain trenches and a gate trench in a layer of material above an active region, performing at least one process operation through the spaced-apart source/drain trenches to form doped source/drain regions, forming a gate structure within the gate trench, and forming a gate cap layer above the gate structure positioned within the gate trench.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure generally relates to the fabrication of integrated circuits, and, more particularly, to various methods of forming a semiconductor device using a layer of material having a plurality of trenches formed therein and the resulting semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In modern integrated circuits, such as microprocessors, storage devices and the like, a very large number of circuit elements, especially transistors, are provided and operated on a restricted chip area. In integrated circuits fabricated using metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) technology, field effect transistors (FETs) (both NMOS and PMOS transistors) are provided that are typically operated in a switching mode. That is, these transistor devices exhibit a highly conductive state (on-state) and a high impedance state (off-state). FETs may take a variety of forms and configurations. For example, among other configurations, FETs may be either so-called planar FET devices or three-dimensional (3D) devices, such as FinFET devices.
A field effect transistor (FET), irrespective of whether an NMOS transistor or a PMOS transistor is considered, and irrespective of whether it is a planar or 3D FinFET device, typically comprises doped source/drain regions that are formed in a semiconductor substrate that are separated by a channel region. A gate insulation layer is positioned above the channel region and a conductive gate electrode is positioned above the gate insulation layer. The gate insulation layer and the gate electrode may sometimes be referred to as the gate structure for the device. By applying an appropriate voltage to the gate electrode, the channel region becomes conductive and current is allowed to flow from the source region to the drain region. In a planar FET device, the gate structure is formed above a substantially planar upper surface of the substrate. In some cases, one or more epitaxial growth processes are performed to form epi semiconductor material in recesses formed in the source/drain regions of the planar FET device. In some cases, the epi material may be formed in the source/drain regions without forming any recesses in the substrate for a planar FET device. The gate structures for such planar FET devices may be manufactured using so-called "gate-first" or "replacement gate" (gate-last) manufacturing techniques.
To improve the operating speed of FETs, and to increase the density of FETs on an integrated circuit device, device designers have greatly reduced the physical size of FETs over the years. More specifically, the channel length of FETs has been significantly decreased, which has resulted in improving the switching speed of FETs. However, decreasing the channel length of a FET also decreases the distance between the source region and the drain region. In some cases, this decrease in the separation between the source and the drain makes it difficult to efficiently inhibit the electrical potential of the source region and the channel from being adversely affected by the electrical potential of the drain. This is sometimes referred to as a so-called short channel effect, wherein the characteristic of the FET as an active switch is degraded.
In contrast to a FET, which has a planar structure, a so-called FinFET device has a three-dimensional (3D) structure. FIG. 1A is a perspective view of an illustrative prior art FinFET semiconductor device "A" that is formed above a semiconductor substrate B that will be referenced so as to explain, at a very high level, some basic features of a FinFET device. In this example, the FinFET device A includes three illustrative fins C, a gate structure D, sidewall spacers E and a gate cap F. The gate structure D is typically comprised of a layer of insulating material (not separately shown), e.g., a layer of high-k insulating material or silicon dioxide, and one or more conductive material layers (e.g., metal and/or polysilicon) that serve as the gate electrode for the device A. The fins C have a three-dimensional configuration: a height H, a width W and an axial length L. The axial length L corresponds to the direction of current travel in the device A when it is operational. The portions of the fins C covered by the gate structure D is the channel region of the FinFET device A. In a conventional process flow, the portions of the fins C that are positioned outside of the spacers E, i.e., in the source/drain regions of the device A, may be increased in size or even merged together (a situation not shown in FIG. 1A) by performing one or more epitaxial growth processes. The process of increasing the size of or merging the fins C in the source/drain regions of the device A is performed to reduce the resistance of source/drain regions and/or make it easier to establish electrical contact to the source/drain regions. Even if an epi "merger" process is not performed, an epi growth process will typically be performed on the fins C to increase their physical size. In the FinFET device A, the gate structure D may enclose both sides and the upper surface of all or a portion of the fins C to form a tri-gate structure so as to use a channel having a three-dimensional structure instead of a planar structure. In some cases, an insulating cap layer (not shown), e.g., silicon nitride, is positioned at the top of the fins C and the FinFET device only has a dual-gate structure (sidewalls only). The gate structures D for such FinFET devices may be manufactured using so-called "gate-first" or "replacement gate" (gate-last) manufacturing techniques.
Unlike a planar FET, in a FinFET device, a channel is formed perpendicular to a surface of the semiconducting substrate so as to reduce the physical size of the semiconductor device. Also, in a FinFET, the junction capacitance at the drain region of the device is greatly reduced, which tends to significantly reduce short channel effects. When an appropriate voltage is applied to the gate electrode of a FinFET device, the surfaces (and the inner portion near the surface) of the fins C, i.e., the vertically oriented sidewalls and the top upper surface of the fin, form a surface inversion layer or a volume inversion layer that contributes to current conduction. In a FinFET device, the "channel-width" is estimated to be about two times (2×) the vertical fin-height plus the width of the top surface of the fin, i.e., the fin width (for a tri-gate device). Multiple fins can be formed in the same foot-print as that of a planar transistor device. Accordingly, for a given plot space (or foot-print), FinFETs tend to be able to generate significantly higher drive current density than planar transistor devices. Additionally, the leakage current of FinFET devices after the device is turned "OFF" is significantly reduced as compared to the leakage current of planar FETs, due to the superior gate electrostatic control of the "fin" channel on FinFET devices. In short, the 3D structure of a FinFET device is a superior MOSFET structure as compared to that of a planar FET, especially in the 20 nm CMOS technology node and beyond.
As device dimensions continue to shrink, the physical size of the fins (width and height) of a FinFET device are also reduced. As a result, the fins are very small structures in the world of semiconductor processing. Moreover, due to the prior art manner in which FinFET devices are made, the fins are subjected to numerous cleaning and etching processes that undesirably remove portions of the fin structures in the source/drain regions of the device despite best efforts to use highly selective etch/cleaning chemistries. Traditionally, the fins are the first components of a FinFET device that are formed. They are formed by performing an etching process through a patterned etch mask to define the fins in the substrate. Thereafter, a gate structure (either a final gate structure or a sacrificial gate structure) is formed above the channel region of the fins, by performing one or more reactive ion etching processes to pattern the gate materials and a gate cap layer. Thereafter, sidewall spacers are formed adjacent the gate structure by depositing a layer of spacer material and performing another reactive ion etching process to remove desired portions of the layer of spacer material, leaving sidewall spacers formed adjacent the gate structure. Later in the processing operation, an epi pre-clean process will be performed on the fins in the source/drain region of the device prior to forming an epi semiconductor material on the fins in the source/drain regions. From the brief explanation above, the fins in the source/drain regions are subjected to at least two reactive ion etching processes (gate patterning and spacer formation), as well as the epi pre-clean process, all of which tend to undesirably remove fin material.
In some cases, damage to the fin structures in the source/drain regions of the device may not be a significant concern, i.e., an application in which there may be significant growth of epi material in the source/drain regions. Nevertheless, even in those situations, problems can occur if too much of the epi material is grown in the source/drain regions of the device, e.g., epi-to-epi shorting between adjacent devices or around the end of the gate structure on a single device.
Another area of potential concern is related to the formation of so-called self-aligned contacts. The typical process flow for forming such contacts involves forming an opening in a layer of silicon dioxide that is supposed to stop on a silicon nitride gate cap layer and a silicon nitride sidewall spacer (that are formed to protect the gate materials). Unfortunately, there is a risk of consuming too much of the gate cap layer and/or the sidewall spacer during the contact opening etching process which can lead to exposure of the gate materials. When the contact is formed in the contact opening, there is a chance of creating a contact-to-gate electrical short due to the loss of the cap and/or spacer material.
FIG. 1B is a simplistic plan view of an illustrative transistor device (which can be either a planar or FinFET device). As depicted, the transistor is comprised of source and drain regions that are formed in an active region surrounded by isolation material, typically silicon dioxide. The gate structure ("gate") of the device is formed above the active region and one or more sidewall spacers are formed adjacent the gate structure using a variety of known processing techniques. Typically the spacers are formed by conformably depositing a layer of spacer material, e.g., silicon nitride, and thereafter performing an anisotropic etching process. Note that the spacer is formed around the entire perimeter of the gate structure and that the spacer is formed with the intent that it has a substantially uniform thickness at all locations around the perimeter of the gate structure.
The present disclosure is directed to various methods of forming a semiconductor device using a layer of material having a plurality of trenches formed therein and the resulting semiconductor device that may avoid, or at least reduce, the effects of one or more of the problems identified above.

Methods of forming semiconductor devices using a layer of material having a plurality of trenches formed therein


The invention relates to the methods which make it possible to establish contacts between two conductive layers separated by an insulating layer.

The present invention relates to the methods which make it possible to produce contacts between two conductive layers separated by an insulating layer.
More particularly, the invention concerns a simple, quick and very low cost method of producing ohmic or thermal contacts between two conductive layers separated by a less conductive layer.
Contact, in the context of the following description, must be taken to mean any area of connection between two layers which preferentially allows the passage of a current (ohmic contact) or heat (thermal contact) between these two more conductive layers separated by an intermediate layer of lower conductivity, the set of all the layers being referred to hereinafter as the system and the intermediate layer being referred to hereinafter as the support.
The more conductive layers can for example be metallic multilayers, or films, or metallic patterns, made of aluminium, copper or an alloy.
The intermediate layer can for example be an adhesive film, a dielectric, an insulating film, an extruded layer, a polymer or any other material having dielectric and/or conductive properties, any layer of lower resistivity providing insulation between the two more conductive layers, or a set of a number of layers of this type.
The present application more particularly concerns the double-sided flexible printed circuit type multilayer systems which comprise metallic patterns on either side of a support dielectric, it being necessary to connect said patterns ohmically at certain points in order to provide the functionality of the circuit.
The simplest contact methods, for example by stamping, just consist of a physical (mechanical) contact between the conductive layers.
These quick and inexpensive methods are generally sufficient for systems which are not greatly stressed mechanically or those requiring a low reliability or little constrained as regards thickness, or mechanically robust, operating at low current intensity, or at high frequency, or whose functionality tolerates variation in the ohmic characteristics of the contact, or whose composition favours the relative good quality of the contact.
The contact is produced by tearing of the support and deformation of the layers. This is for example the case of the method of producing contacts used in the antitheft circuits which are found in stores. The dielectric is highly elastic and has contraction effects favourable to maintaining the physical or proximity contact of the metallic films.
Among the more complex and costly methods, there can be cited the case of the mechanical methods of contact by riveting which consist in adding a part which will make the mechanical connection by clamping. The contact is produced by tearing of the support and contact is made by an added element.
For the most complex, and the most costly, methods, contacts of good ohmic quality are obtained, but at the price of a method which is elaborate and constraining as regards the chronological sequence of the steps constituting the system itself, and the choice of materials for this system. The contact is produced by opening of the support and formation of intermetallic compounds. The principle of these methods is adhesive force.
This is for example the case of semiconductor or hybrid multilayer type contact methods, which consist in opening vias in the intermediate support of the system, these vias opening out on to the first metallic layer, and in there depositing a metallic alloy constituting the second conductive layer of the system, these steps often being supplemented by a heat treatment allowing optimization of the intermetallic connection in the via.
Among these complex and costly methods, there are also those which make it possible to obtain contacts of good ohmic quality on contactless prefabricated systems, but at the price of additional, often costly and difficult, steps and a supply of additional intermediate material making it possible to provide the inter-layer connection, the performance of this connection, its preservation over time and its reliability. The contact is produced by cutting of the support and addition of an intermediate material. The principle of these methods is gluing.
This is for example the case of the methods of manufacturing contacts in printed circuits, which consist in opening vias in the support separating the conductive layers and in there depositing a metallic alloy forming the contact; the method often being supplemented by a heat treatment allowing optimization of the intermetallic connection between the conductive layers. There will also be cited for example the solutions used for the most recent flexible printed circuit systems, for which cutting is used for opening vias, and conductive glues are used as intermediate material, the overflows of this material providing the contact.
A major problem of the xe2x80x9cmechanical contactxe2x80x9d methods or those of the xe2x80x9cintermetallic compound contactxe2x80x9d type is the impossibility of simultaneously obtaining good ohmic contacts and very low production costs, essential for certain applications or for certain products.
The weakness of purely mechanical contacts lies in the transience of the contact, dependent on the quality of the stamping or the xe2x80x9crivetingxe2x80x9d. Pressure is the basic principle of these methods. The presence of an intermediate initially with no via reduces the quality of the contact. Environmental constraints, like for example a subsequent lamination, are also detrimental to the reliability of these contacts. Finally, the choice of the support material is one of the limiting factors and the key to the reliability of this type of contact.
In the prior art, the low cost/performance duality of the contact was not accessible until now.
The invention proposes a production method making it possible to obtain good reliable contacts on multilayer systems having at least two conductive layers separated by at least one intermediate layer of lower conductivity (like for example an insulating support), while keeping very low production costs.
The object of the present invention is more particularly a method of producing at least one contact between two conductive layers separated by an insulating layer, principally characterised in that the complex formed by these layers is pressed between a means excited by ultrasound applied perpendicular to the face of the complex, and a fixed means whose face resting on the complex has at least one protruding part capable of deforming the complex during application of the ultrasound in order to allow flowing and opening of the insulating layer in the region of each protruding part, and then bringing into contact and welding of the metallic layers in the region of this same protruding part.
According to another characteristic, pressure is maintained between the means excited by the ultrasound and the fixed means after stopping of the application of the ultrasound which allowed the flowing of the insulating layer, until the insulating layer has cooled and solidified.
According to another characteristic, the surface of the fixed means bearing each protruding part has radial triangular channels joined by protruding ridges.
According to another characteristic, the method consists in transferring the complex between a delivery roller and a receiver roller, the fixed means having the form of a rotary roller whose axis is parallel to that of the delivery rollers and winders and whose lateral face is etched and turns at the same speed adapted to that at which the complex travels past.
The invention brings together the advantages of the mechanical methods, since no material is supplied and the method is quick, and the advantages of the intermetallic compound contact methods, since it results in a metallic interpenetration of the layers to be connected.
The invention, particularly well adapted for keyboards produced with flexible printed circuits, or for micro-electronic chip transponders based on printed circuit type resonant circuits, applies to any type of system.
The invention opens possibilities of simultaneous and direct contacts between electronic devices and conductive film systems.
The object of the invention is a method of localized shearing of the system to be provided with contacts, followed by heating and the formation of an ultrasonic weld type contact in the areas where the conductive layers are in physical contact. The form of the tool and its material are carefully designed to allow all the following: cutting, heating of the support, bringing the conductive layers situated on either side of the support to face one another, and their welding.
Preferentially, the system has a thermoplastic support of thickness less than 100 micrometers (typically 25 micrometers) and metallic patterns made of aluminium, copper, or metallic alloy, of thickness less than a few tens of micrometers (typically between 10 and 50 micrometers), situated on either side of the support.
In a preferred embodiment, the method is implemented on a single item of equipment which makes it possible to produce a number of contacts simultaneously, in step by step mode. A variant embodiment consists in producing the contacts continuously on roller or cut sheet systems.
The production of welded contacts through an insulating support has many advantages, making it possible to eliminate all or some of the problems cited previously. This is because, in this case, the contact is completely ohmic (resistance less than 0.1 milliohm), and mechanically resistant to lamination, thermal cycling, and the mechanical constraints of the products cited above (keyboard, etc.).
Thus, the problem of contact reliability is solved.
Another advantage is the fineness of the contact, the localized deformation of which can be reduced to minimum values, less than for example 200 micrometers.
In a more complex case, the multilayer system has two metallic layers, for example made of aluminium, separated by an insulating layer, for example made of PET.

Method for producing contact between two circuit layers separated by an insulating layer

Abstract: It consists in pressing the complex (101) formed by these three layers between a sonotrode (105) excited by ultrasound perpendicular to the plane of the complex and an anvil (106) whose face in contact with the complex has protruding ridges (107). Under the effect of the pressure and the ultrasound, the ridges deform the complex and make the insulating layer flow. When the conductive layers come into contact, after contraction of the insulating layer, they become welded to one another under the effect of the ultrasound.

Abstract: It makes it possible to obtain, at low cost, completely ohmic contacts between these two conductive layers.


An embroidery decoration has an outer frame and a stitching plate. The stitching plate is detachably mounted in the outer frame. An outer periphery of the stitching plate abuts an inner periphery of the outer frame. The stitching plate has multiple through holes formed through the plate surfaces for needles and threads to directly pass through for stitching on the stitching plate. After stitching, the outer frame, the stitching plate and the thread on the stitching plate form the end product. The stitching plate is solid in a fixed shape, thereby eliminating the problem of loosening and facilitating convenience in stitching. The embroidery decoration is mainly composed of two components made by plastic injection molding, such that the manufacturing cost is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a decoration having embroidery stitched on it.
2. Description of the Prior Arts
With reference to FIG. 6, a conventional embroidery decoration has an inner frame 91, an outer frame 92 and a piece of cloth 93. The inner frame 91 and the outer frame 92 are both circular. An outer diameter of the inner frame 91 corresponds to an inner diameter of the outer frame 92. The outer frame 92 is made of an elastic material, and the inner frame 91 is made of a material that is tougher than the outer frame 92. The outer frame 92 has a hanging segment 921 formed on an outer wall of the outer frame 92. When the embroidery decoration is in use, the cloth 93 is put on the inner frame 91, and then the outer frame 92 is pressed downward to be tightly mounted on the inner frame 91. Thus, the cloth 93 is tightly clamped between the inner frame 91 and the outer frame 92 and kept tightly braced. At this time, a user can conveniently stitch on the cloth 93 without worrying about the loosening of the cloth 93. After stitching, superfluous part of the cloth 93 is cut off along the outer wall of the outer frame 92, and then the embroidery decoration can be hung up via the hanging segment 921.
However, the conventional embroidery decoration has the following shortcomings:
First, during the stitching, a needle would prick through the cloth 93 again and again, which means force is continuously applied on the cloth 93. Therefore, the cloth 93 may be gradually separated from the inner frame 91 and the outer frame 92 and loosened instead of retaining a tightened status.
Second, the superfluous part of the cloth 93 requires further cutting off after stitching. The cutting not only takes time and effort, but also wastes material.
Third, the conventional embroidery decoration comprises three components in total, i.e. the inner frame 91, the outer frame 92, and the cloth 93. Too many components increase the manufacturing cost. In particular, the cloth 93 costs higher in manufacturing than the frames 91, 92, which can be made by plastic injection molding.
Fourth, there is no structure on the frames 91, 92 or the cloth 93 that can assist the user with aiming and determining the stitching position. Therefore, it is hard for children or beginners of embroidery to accurately stitch and complete a pattern that is exactly the same as the example pattern.
To overcome the shortcomings, the present invention provides an embroidery decoration to mitigate or obviate the aforementioned problems.


A coated cutting tool includes a substrate and a hard film on coated on the substrate. The hard film contains a complex nitride of Al and Cr. The hard film includes aggregates of columnar grains grown on the substrate along the thickness of the film. The nitride has an Al content of 60 atom % or more, a Cr content of 10 atom % or more, and a total content of Al and Cr of 90 atom % or more relative to the total amount of metal and metalloid elements. The complex nitride has the highest peak intensity assigned to crystal plane (311) of an fcc structure in X-ray diffractometry. In the hard film, the ratio of an X-ray diffraction intensity of plane (311) to the intensities of the other planes is 1.30 or more. A method and a system are also provided for manufacturing the coated cutting tool by chemical vapor deposition.

In order to extend the lifetimes, traditional cutting tools are coated with hard films formed by physical or chemical vapor deposition. Among such hard films, those including a complex nitride of Al and Ti and those including a complex nitride of Al and Cr have high wear resistance and high thermal resistance and have been widely used in cutting tools.
The hard films including a complex nitride of Al and Ti are generally formed on commercially available cutting tools by physical or chemical vapor deposition. In contrast, the hard films including a complex nitride of Al and Cr are formed on commercially available cutting tools by only physical vapor deposition, but not by chemical vapor deposition.
Formation of hard films by chemical vapor deposition, however, has been studied. For example, Patent Literature 1 discloses separate supply of a gas group A consisting of NH3, N2, and H2 and a gas group B consisting of CrCl3, AlCl3, Al(CH3)3, N2, and H2 to coat the substrate of a cutting tool with a hard film including a complex nitride of Al and Cr and having a cubic structure.

Coated cutting tool, and method and system for manufacturing the same by chemical vapor deposition


A flexible sheet storage device includes a releasable holder located within a container to receive the leading edge of each sheet as it is inserted via a slot into the container, and an angularly displaceable mounting for a releasable holder effective to angularly displace the releasable holder, and the leading edge of the sheet held thereby, a sufficient angular distance until the leading edge of the inserted sheet passes the trailing edge of any previously inserted sheets before the holder releases the leading edge of the inserted sheet and permits the inserted sheet to fall by gravity on top of previously inserted sheets.

The present invention relates to flexible sheet storage devices. The invention is particularly applicable for storing the negatives generated by a laser plotter, and is therefore described below with respect to such an application, but it will be appreciated that the invention could advantageously be used in other flexible sheet storage devices.
Negatives generated by a laser plotter are commonly stored in sheet form in an optically sealed container or cassette. Thus, the negative is inserted through an inlet slot formed in the top wall of the cassette and drops by gravity to rest against the bottom and side walls. However, the negatives are of different lengths and widths, and therefore some may come to rest in the container with their trailing edges located so as to interfere with subsequently-inserted negatives. Thus, the leading edge of a subsequently-inserted negative may engage the trailing edge of a previously-inserted negative preventing the subsequently-inserted one from completely entering the cassette or from falling freely by gravity to the bottom of the cassette, thereby not only jamming the cassette, but also kinking the negative and possibly even scratching it.


The present invention provides sensitivity enhancement for a single antenna RFID interrogating device by separately coupling a nulling signal formed using a portion of a transmit signal into a receiver. The phase and amplitude of nulling signal can be adjusted so that the nulling signal cancels that a reflected transmit signal from the antenna, resulting in the small backscattered signal from the distant RFID tag to be more easily detected, and improving the sensitivity of the RFID receiver.

RFID technologies are widely used for automatic identification. A basic RFID system includes an RFID tag or transponder carrying identification data and an RFID interrogator or reader that reads and/or writes the identification data. An RFID tag typically includes a microchip for data storage and processing, and a coupling element, such as an antenna coil, for communication. Tags may be classified as active or passive. Active tags have built-in power sources while passive tags are powered by radio waves received from the reader and thus cannot initiate any communications.
An RFID reader operates by writing data into the tags or interrogating tags for their data through a radio-frequency (RF) interface. During interrogation, the reader forms and transmits RF waves, which are used by tags to generate response data according to information stored therein. The reader also detects reflected or backscattered signals from the tags at the same frequency, or, in the case of a chirped interrogation waveform, at a slightly different frequency.
The reader may detect the reflected or backscattered signal by mixing this signal with a local oscillator signal. This detection mechanism is known as homodyne architecture. Separate antennas for transmission and reception can be used, as discussed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,114,971. In this case effective isolation of the received signal from the transmitter can be easily obtained, but two antennas separated by a significant distance or a shielding structure of some kind must be used. Efficient antennas are physically large, particularly at low frequencies such as c. 450 MHz or c. 900 MHz, and the use of two antennas necessitates a large interrogating device, which is incompatible with the portability and versatility features desirable in many RFID applications.
RFID readers using only one antenna are also known in the art, as described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,107,910. RFID readers with a single antenna for both transmit and receive functions are developed by employing a microwave circulator or directional coupler to separate the received signal from the transmitted signal. A tapped transmission line serves as both a phase shifter and directional coupler alternatively may be used, such as the one described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,850,187. Such devices, however, are not capable of distinguishing between the modulated reflected signal from the RFID tag, placed typically at a distance of some meters from the antenna, and the reflection of the transmitted signal from the antenna structure itself. The reflection is typically caused by the inevitably imperfect match of the antenna input impedance to the transmission line impedance of the antenna feed connection.
The reflection of the transmitted signal can present significant impediment to achieving good sensitivity in the detection of backscattered signal the passive RFID tag. This can be explained further using the example illustrated in FIG. 1, which shows an RF transmitter 110 connected to an antenna 120 via a coupler or isolator 130. The transmitter 110 is shown to comprise a microprocessor system controller 112, a frequency synthesizer 114, an optional modulator 116, and an amplifier 118. An RF receiver (not shown) is also coupled to the antenna 120 through the coupler 130. If the transmitter has a 1 watt or 30 dBm output power at 925 MHz and the antenna, being very well matched, has a return loss of −15 dB, the reflected transmit power captured by the coupler or isolator will be (30−15)=15 dBm, ignoring incidental losses in the circuitry. The coupler removes only a portion of the reflected signal, for example, 10% of the reflected power for a 10 dB coupler. So, the resulting reflected power into the receiver will be approximately 5 dBm. Such a large signal creates significant obstacles in the attempt to detect the tiny backscattered signal from the RFID tag, which may be as small as −90 to −100 dBm.
DC offsets due to second-order distortion of the large reflected signal in the receive chain will occur in a homodyne radio, in which the LO and received/reflected signals are at the same frequency. AC coupling of the amplifier chain may be prohibited due to loss of information near zero frequency, depending on the protocol; in this case, the DC offsets will be multiplied by the gain of the chain, which may be as high as 100 dB in order to detect small backscattered signals, leading to saturation of the downstream amplifiers and desensitization to the wanted signal. Even in the case where DC signals are not of consequence, as for example when the RFID tag is modulated at a subcarrier frequency of a few MHz, the large reflected signal is present in all the amplifier stages prior to channel filtering, and can lead to saturation, desensitization, and recovery problems in the transition from the modulated transmitted signal to the continuous wave (CW) receive state which is typically employed in passive tag interrogation. For all these reasons it would be desirable to remove as much of the reflected signal as possible from the receiver input.
A perfectly matched antenna structure cannot be guaranteed by design or manufacture, due to the variability in the near-antenna environment, which is encountered during actual use of the reader. An adaptive antenna tuning circuit, combined with appropriate optimization/calibration algorithms, could be considered for this purpose. However, mechanical tuners cannot respond on the sub-millisecond time scale required in frequency-hopping systems typically used for RFID applications in unlicensed bands. Electrical tuning elements have sufficiently fast response times to retune rapidly after a frequency hop, but are typically constructed using, as their variable elements, voltage-sensitive devices such as voltage-variable capacitors (varactors), which change their impedance in a complex fashion when exposed to the large RF transmit voltages, giving rise to unacceptable transmit distortion, degraded return loss, and spurious radiated output frequencies.
What is needed is an adaptive method of removing all or most of the antenna reflected signal from the receiver signal.

System and method for sensitivity optimization of RF receiver using adaptive nulling