A spring system arrangement and a related connector are disclosed. The purpose is to allow the use of contact springs, such as coil contact springs, with relatively large size body, to be located on a small center distance, i.e. pitch, and to electrically connect with contact pads of high density electronic devices, having a small device pitch. The device pitch can be smaller than the diameter of the spring body itself. In order to achieve this desired small spring pitch and high density, the contact springs are located in a nested head-to-toe and/or staggered orientation. Furthermore, the connectors utilize guide plates, referred to as combs, to accurately control the alignment of the contact springs tips to the contact pads of the electronic devices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to electrical connectors, and more particularly relates to high-density electrical connectors used in test and burn-in done on miniaturized electrical components.
This invention is a technology platform that enables the interconnection between high-density electronic devices. It covers the springs and springs arrangements that represent the modular building block of devices to achieve high density interconnection.
2. Background Information
It is standard procedure to test chips or integrated circuits at different production stages to cull out the defective ones. Such tests are often done on printed circuit boards circuits, substrates and similar electronic devices as well. This is done to avoid putting extra time, money and effort into a defective component only to end up having to scrap the component at the end of the production process.
In addition, sockets and connectors are used to mount electronic packages and devices onto substrates, instead of soldering them directly onto those substrates. These connectors and sockets need to have their contact springs located on small center distance, which is usually referred to as pitch, so as to match the pitch of those devices, which are usually referred to as High-Density devices.
3. Prior Art
There exist a number of prior art devices of the type in consideration herein. I will explain in the following paragraphs how each of these prior art devices have addressed some of the problems, but left some other issues unanswered and unresolved. I will explain how my present invention addresses and solves these issues.
1. Force-Deflection Curve and Damage to the Device Contacted by the Springs.
A potential user of my devices complained that his present supplier provides him with test heads, which utilize contact springs similar to the IBM Buckling Beam contact springs. He stated to me that the springs apply such a high force that sometimes they damage the substrate that are tested. So, they start with potentially good substrates, test them and during the test process, the substrates get damaged and become defective. It is almost like testing matchsticks. After each one gets tested, you determine that it "was" a good one.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,622,514, the IBM "Multiple Mode Buckling Beam Probe Assembly", the contact springs are basically straight columns of wires, which get compressed by an external force to provide the contact pressure and contact force. There are basically two reasons why any electrical interconnection device needs springs and needs forces applied on to these springs. The first reason is to break through the layers of dirt and oxides that form on the contact surfaces and to reach the pure contact metal. In some cases the required force is only a few grams, in other cases it can be considerably higher. The second reason is to accommodate non-planarity of the contacts on the surface of the device to be contacted. For example, if the device has a non-planarity of say several thousands of an inch between any two adjacent contact pads, then one spring would have this much more deflection than the adjacent spring. The effect of this additional deflection is that the spring with more deflection will exert more force on the contact pad. This higher force could reach a level, where the contact spring would then damage the contact pad and render it defective.
So, in order to prevent any damages to the contact pads, the contact forces need to be kept within tight limits. For this reason, it is customary to select contact springs that are "soft" and have a shallow "force-deflection" curve, also called "spring index". With a soft spring, you start by applying a small force and gently, gradually increase the force until you reach the desired force level that is enough to break through the layers. Ideally you should stop there. If the device was perfectly flat and the non-planarity was zero, then all the springs should have the same deflection and thus the same contact force. But if one contact pad is lower than the others, then the spring touching this pad would not have been deflected as much as the other springs, consequently the force provided by this spring would be smaller than the force provided by the other springs. So, the force on that low pad would be below the desired level. In order to make this force higher and to make it reach the desired level, the spring working on this low pad needs to be deflected more.
But we cannot selectively deflect each individual spring on its own. All the springs have to be pushed down and deflected equally, by the same amount. So, we push down on all the springs, until the spring acting on the lowest pad reaches a deflection that would provide the desired force. But the springs acting on the higher pads, because of their larger deflection, are now providing a much higher force. The amount of this additional force can be calculated from the force-deflection curve, or the stiffness of the spring.
If the springs used are relatively stiff, this can have a detrimental effect. The excessive down-push on the springs can make the force of the high pads reach a level, where the pads can be damaged. A secondary bad effect of this situation is the total force required to be applied on the device. If we have a device that has a high number of contact pads, and the force per pad to reach a satisfactory electrical connection, the total mechanical force can damage the device physically. For all the above reasons, designers put a lot of effort in designing soft contact springs. The ideal spring would have a force-deflection curve that starts at zero force for zero deflection and then slopes upward gradually.
Now, if we look at the force-deflection curve of a column, unfortunately it has the opposite shape, or general slope, compared with the desirable/ideal springs. A column stays straight under an increasing force and when the force reaches a critical level, the column buckles and gives way very rapidly. If we study the force-deflection curve of a column, we will see that basically it has a shape and slope contrary to the ideal contact spring. At the beginning, when a force is applied to a column, we see no deflection. Even after increasing the force to a high level, there would still be no deflection. The force-deflection curve is practically a straight vertical line with zero deflection. After the force reaches the buckling level or limit, the column buckles and practically collapses down. The force-deflection curve drops down almost exponentially until it reaches a point where the structure converts to a beam mode under axial loading. The slope of the curve after the initial buckling usually becomes negative. Such a condition is not desirable, especially with any appreciable non-planarity. To reduce this undesirable effect, IBM has opted to provide several steps of buckling, to accommodate more non-planarity than is available with one level. But, in spite of that, the basic force-deflection curve is the same. The only difference is that with the multi-level buckling, we would get a curve that would look like a saw tooth. The force would increase to the buckling limit then collapse at the first buckling, then the force would increase again to a similar buckling level and then collapse at the second buckling and so on.
The contact springs according to the present invention provide the more desirable force-deflection curves as will be describes later. This means that they would not have the tendency of damaging the contact pads of the device under test.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,385,477, the CK Technology "Contactor with Elastomer Encapsulated Probes" has modified the design of the IBM Buckling Beam slightly. Instead of relying only on the applied force to buckle the beam, CKT has provided means to "nudge" the column to collapse more easily. However, the force-deflection curve is still basically that of a column and it would have a similar vertical spike, for one column segment, and if more than one segment, then the saw tooth shape, as described above. Hence, no drastic improvement.
As mentioned above, the contact springs according to the present invention provide the more desirable force-deflection curves as will be describes later. And again, this means that they would not have the tendency of damaging the contact pads of the device under test.
2. High-Density or Small Pitch.
All the patents listed below in this section have been invented by the present inventor, Gabe Cherian, either solely by him or together with other co-inventors. The reason for listing them is to show that each one of them has one or more features which make them not compatible with the present needs of the industry, from the point of view high density. This is the reason the inventor was motivated to update his old inventions and to address the present market needs.
G. B. Cherian, W. S. Scheingold and S. J. Kandybowski, "Electrical Interconnect Device", AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa., U.S. Pat. No. 4,262,986, Apr. 21, 1981. Shows a large footprint compared to the height (excluding the soldertail). Totally opposite of what is being achieved in this invention.
G. B. Cherian, W. S. Scheingold and L. D. Wulf, "Zero Insertion Force Connector", AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa., U.S. Pat. No. 4,080,032, Mar. 21, 1978. Only 2 rows of contacts, then we can use the space between the rows or outside the rows.
E. J. Bright, G. B. Cherian and W. S. Scheingold, "Ejection Device for a Electronic Package Connector", AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa., U.S. Pat. No. 4,190,310, Feb. 26, 1980. Same. Only 2 rows of contacts, then we can use the space between the rows or outside the rows.
G. B. Cherian, W. S. Scheingold and F. C. Youngfleish, "Active Device Substrate Connector", AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa., U.S. Pat. No. 4,341,433, Jul. 27, 1982. Perimeter. Almost like the 2 rows, except at the corners. 2 rows or perimeter: Worry about the center distance only in one direction, but have more room in the direction perpendicular to the former.
G. B. Cherian, W. S. Scheingold, "Connecting Element for Surface To Surface Connectors", AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa., U.S. Pat. No. 4,161,346, Jul. 17, 1979. Close but too difficult for real small pitch
G. B. Cherian, W. S. Scheingold and R. D. Zimmeran, "Electrical Interconnection Device", AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa., U.S. Pat. No. 4,199,209, Apr. 22, 1980. Close but too difficult for real small pitch
Cherian, Gabe, "Heat Recoverable Connecting Device", Raychem Corporation, Menlo Park, Calif., U.S. Pat. No. 4,487,465, Dec. 11, 1984 . . . . Close but too difficult for real small pitch.
The IBM "COBRA" has one advantage over the Buckling Beam, but it has a major drawback. It can not be parallel nested close enough to accommodate high-density in both the x- and the y-directions. FIG. 12.A shows the general configuration of the IBM Cobra Spring or Needle. If we place such springs next to each other, but without allowing them to touch, in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the belly, which we would arbitrarily call the y-direction, the center distance between any two adjacent springs would depend on the diameter of the spring. For example, if we want the clearance between any two adjacent springs to be equal to one diameter of the springs, then the center distance would be equal to two diameters. But on the other hand, if we try to parallel nest two or more such springs, in the direction shown in FIG. 12A, which would be in this case the x-direction, the center distance will be considerably larger. The reason is because the C-Shape belly of the IBM Cobra Springs is almost a half circle. In order to prevent the springs from touching, and thus shorting electrically, and have a similar clearance of one diameter between any two adjacent springs, as in the previous case, the springs will have to be placed at a much larger center distance.
In the present invention, we present ways to decrease the center distances between springs, thus accommodating higher densities of contacts pads.
3. Impedance Control
In all the above prior art, the contact springs are bare, i.e. not covered by any insulation or the like. If the spring is long, then its length may affect the quality of the electrical transmission. In the present invention, we present ways to control the impedance of the contact springs and improve their electrical performance.
4. Wipe or Scrub
In all the above prior art, as well as in the Charles Everett "POGO" pins and all similar contact springs, the tips of the springs apply the force at one point of the contact pad. They do not provide "wipe" or "scrub". If a contact spring provides wipe or scrub, it help in removing the undesirable layers of dirt and/or oxides from the space under the spring and allows the spring to make metal contact under a smaller force, than when there is no wipe or scrub. So, all the prior art mentioned above, by not providing wipe or scrub, require a comparatively high force to make a good electrical connection, compared with a contact spring that does provide the desirable wipe or scrub. The present invention does provide means to have wipe or scrub as will be describes later.
5. TCE Matching
In all the above art and in most sockets or connectors, the springs are located in housings, usually made of plastic. Then the sockets or connectors are mounted on boards, which are usually made of FR4 or glass-filled epoxy material or the like. Then the device under test, for example, a BGA package is placed on top of the socket or connector, and the whole stack would be placed in a thermal cycling oven. The TCE (Thermal Coefficient of Expansion) of these material can vary dramatically. During thermal cycling, these different materials would expand and shrink at different rates. The effect of this can be detrimental, especially for large temperature variations, and for the materials in contact with each other. There would be a "relative motion" between the tips of the springs and the contact pads, both at the socket/board interface, as well as at the socket/package interface.
The present invention covers improvements to this undesirable condition as will be explained later.
6. Elastomer with Dispersed V Springs
U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,165, for the Shin-Etsu "Press-Contact Type Interconnectors" rely on the elastomer to provide some of the contact force. This is not what I am doing here in my invention. Wherever I use an elastomer, it is simply as a means to hold the springs together to facilitate the assembly process. As I have explained in the description, I can use a wax to hold the springs together and after the assembly is done, I can melt the wax away and the socket would work just as well without the wax or the elastomer.


An implantable infusion device includes a voltage boost circuit configured to selectively generate an output voltage from a first voltage provided by a battery. The voltage boost circuit includes a signal generation circuit configured to generate control signals and a charge pump circuit configured to generate the output voltage in response to the control signals. In response to a request for a predetermined voltage, the signal generation circuit generates the control signals using a first profile for a first period of time, and generates the control signals using a second profile for a second period of time subsequent to the first period. The charge pump circuit increases the output voltage to (i) an intermediate voltage less than the predetermined voltage in response to the first profile of the control signals, and (ii) the predetermined voltage in response to the second profile of the control signals.

Implantable drug pumps allow drug therapies to be administered to a patient outside of a clinical setting. Smaller amounts of the drug can therefore be administered over long periods of time. In addition, implantable infusion pumps may inject drugs into areas such as the intrathecal space surrounding the spinal cord, where a drug is much more effective. For example, when administering a drug such as morphine intravenously instead of orally, only one-third of that drug may be needed. In other words, the drug is three times as effective when administered intravenously. Morphine may generally be ten times as effective when administered epidurally as compared to intravenously. Further, such a drug may be ten times as effective when being administered intrathecally as compared to epidurally.
Because an implantable drug pump is surgically implanted, the operating life of the implanted device needs to be as long as possible. Referring now to FIG. 1, an example implantable infusion device 100 is shown. The device 100 includes a reservoir 104 holding the drug to be administered. A pump 108 pumps drug from the reservoir 104 into the patient's body. A control circuit 112 drives the pump 108 and is powered by a battery 116.
The operating life of the device 100 may be governed by factors including the amount of drug stored in the reservoir 104 and the dosage rate, the life of the battery 116, and the mechanical longevity of the pump 108. In various implementations, the reservoir 104 may be replenished with additional quantities of the drug while the device 100 remains implanted in a patient. In such implementations, the battery 116 is even more important in determining the lifetime of the device 100. Improving battery life may allow implanted devices to be replaced less often.

Implantable infusion device having selective voltage boost circuit with charge pump circuit for generating control signals using first and second profiles


The present invention relates to a surface interaction type multimode optical fiber coupler. A representative embodiment of the present invention comprises a plurality of optical fibers with at least one having an expanded core section. Sections of the optical fibers including at least a portion of the expanded core sections are fused together forming a fused section. At least one of the optical fibers is suitable for multimode operations. According to an embodiment of the present invention, a method of fabrication an optical fiber coupler comprises: providing a plurality of optical fibers with at least one having an expanded core section; and maintaining sections of the optical fibers including at least a portion of the expanded core sections in contact and simultaneously heating at least a portion of the sections that are in contact to form a fused section until a predetermined end condition is reached.

In the past, multimode optical fibers are employed primarily for short distance or low data rate communications. High data rate communications primarily employ single mode optical fibers. A representative optical fiber has a core surrounded by at least one cladding. When the optical fiber is packaged into an optical fiber cable, it may have a jacket or a coating for protecting the core and the cladding. Because the jacket and the coating are not related to the function of the present invention, they will not be included in the specification. One skilled in the art understands that the jacket or the coating may have to be removed before processing an optical fiber cable. For International Telecommunication Union (ITU) data communication and telecommunication applications, a representative industry standard single mode optical fiber has a core diameter or a mode field diameter in the neighborhood of 9 μm and a cladding outer diameter in the neighborhood of 125 μm, and a representative industry standard multimode mode optical fiber has a core diameter in the neighborhood of 50 μm to 62.5 μm and a cladding outer diameter in the neighborhood of 125 μm. These representative industrial standard optical fibers are made from silica. The ITU industry standard single mode optical fiber is suitable for single mode operations and supports a single propagation mode for light of wavelengths defined by ITU for data communication and telecommunication systems. The industry standard multimode optical fiber is suitable for multimode operations and supports multiple propagation modes for light of wavelengths defined by ITU for data communication and telecommunication systems. Light generally propagates through a multimode optical fiber at different speeds in different propagation modes. Consequently, light disperses over a relatively short distance when propagating in multiple propagation modes through a multimode optical fiber when compared to propagating in a single propagation mode through a single mode optical fiber. One skilled in the art understands that for different wavelengths, optical fiber materials, and applications, the core diameters and the cladding diameters of a single mode optical fiber and a multimode optical fiber may be different from those of the representative ITU industry standard single mode optical fiber and multimode optical fiber.
The costs of multimode optical components and multimode optical communication systems are generally lower than the costs of the corresponding single mode optical components and single mode optical communication systems. Recently, cost concerns have driven up the use of multimode optical components and multimode communication systems in high data rate communication applications in place of single mode optical components and single mode optical communication systems. One of the high volume optical components in optical communication applications is the optical fiber coupler, particularly the fused optical fiber coupler. Technologies for fabricating a high performance single mode fused optical fiber coupler are understood by many skilled in the art. Fabricating a high performance multimode fused optical fiber coupler, which is suitable for demanding communication applications, however, is a challenge.
There are two major types of fused optical fiber couplers, the surface interaction type and the core interaction type. A representative fabrication method of the core interaction type fused optical fiber coupler includes the step of maintaining the ends of a plurality of optical fibers in contact and fusing the ends of optical fibers together. In a core interaction type fused optical fiber coupler, light propagates from a core end of an optical fiber to a core end of another optical fiber through butt coupling. Core interaction type fused optical fiber couplers are not related to the present invention.
The optical fibers in a surface interaction type fused optical fiber coupler primarily couple through the sides of the optical fibers. Selected side surfaces of the optical fibers are placed in close proximity and fused. The present invention relates to a surface interaction type fused optical fiber coupler. A representative conventional surface interaction type multimode optical fiber coupler is the fused biconical taper multimode optical fiber coupler. The fused biconical taper multimode optical fiber coupler is fabricated according to the fused biconical tapering method. A representative fused biconical tapering method comprises the steps of: twisting a section of a first multimode optical fiber with a section of a second multimode optical fiber and setting up to monitor the optical characteristic of the multimode optical fibers; heating at least a portion of the twisted section to form a fused section and tapering the fused section by pulling the two multimode optical fibers from both sides of the fused section to elongate the fused section until a predetermined optical characteristic is obtained or a predetermined end condition is reached. According to the fused biconical tapering method, a high degree of tapering is important to the fabrication of a high performance optical fiber coupler. Tapering promotes the escape of light propagating in the core of an optical fiber to the cladding and the conversion of light propagating in the cladding of an optical fiber to light propagating in the core. As a result of a high degree of tapering, the cross-sectional area of the fused section of a fused biconical taper optical fiber coupler is typically much smaller than the sum of the cross-sectional areas of the optical fibers. The heating is typically accomplished with an oxyhydrogen flame.
FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a representative conventional fused biconical taper multimode optical fiber coupler. Referring to FIG. 1, the representative conventional fused biconical taper multimode optical fiber coupler comprises a first multimode optical fiber 1 and a second multimode optical fiber 2. First multimode optical fiber 1 and second multimode optical fiber 2 share a fused section 3. Section X–X′ is a representative cross-sectional view of first multimode optical fiber 1 and second multimode optical fiber 2. First multimode optical fiber 1 has a first core 11 and a first cladding 12. Second multimode optical fiber 2 has a second core 21 and a second cladding 22. Section Y–Y′ is a representative cross-sectional view of fused section 3. The total cross-sectional area at section X–X′ is the sum of the cross-sectional areas of first multimode optical fiber 1 and second multimode optical fiber 2. The cross-sectional area at section Y–Y′ is the cross-sectional area of fused section 3. The cross-sectional area at section Y–Y′ is much smaller than the total cross-sectional area at sectional X–X′ because of the high degree of tapering of fused section 3 during fabrication. For many representative conventional fused biconical taper multimode optical fiber couplers, the cross-sectional area at section Y–Y′ is typically about ten percent of the total cross-sectional area at sectional X–X′. While test data indicate that fused biconical taper single mode optical fiber couplers enjoy superb performance, test data show that the representative conventional fused biconical taper multimode optical fiber couplers are less than desirable in some demanding applications.
There are numerous technical challenges in fabricating a multimode optical fiber coupler. One of the technical challenges that is unique to fabricating a multimode optical fiber coupler and have no equivalence in fabricating a single mode optical fiber coupler is overcoming mode sensitivity with little added insertion loss. Many multimode optical fiber couplers exhibit mode sensitivity in key optical parameters, including, for example, insertion loss and coupling ratio. Consequently, the optical parameters of a multimode optical fiber coupler may depend on the mode distribution profile of the multimode light source that provides the light propagating in the multimode optical fiber coupler and the launch method for launching light from the multimode light source into the multimode optical fiber coupler. Therefore, mode sensitivity in a multimode optical fiber coupler is undesirable for many applications. An approach for reducing the mode sensitivity of a multimode optical fiber coupler is to over-fuse the fused section and form an over-fused multimode optical fiber coupler. In an over-fused multimode optical fiber coupler, the cores of the optical fibers are very close together or fused together in the over-fused fused section. Unfortunately, the over-fused fused sections of many representative conventional over-fused fused biconical taper multimode optical fiber couplers are highly tapered. Highly tapered fused biconical taper multimode optical fiber couplers are likely to exhibit high insertion loss.
The second technical challenge is fabricating a mode-insensitive or reduced-mode-sensitivity multimode optical fiber coupler with uneven optical coupling between its optical fibers. Many representative over-fused fused biconical taper multimode optical fiber couplers have even optical coupling, that is, 50/50 coupling ratio for a 2×2 multimode optical fiber coupler. Many applications, however, demand multimode optical fiber couplers with uneven optical coupling, including, for example, 60/40, 70/30, 80/20, 90/10, 95/5, and 99/1 coupling ratios for a 2×2 multimode optical fiber coupler.

Multimode optical fiber coupler and fabrication method


When a user selects a topic tag included in a posted article on a display of a timeline obtained from an SNS server, an SNS client looks up an information channel related word table registering correspondence between a TV channel and a term related to the TV channel, searches a TV channel registering correspondence with a term and the topic tag, and causes the TV control to receive the searched TV channel and display and output the received program.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for supporting use of information related to a posted article in a posting system for disclosing posted articles.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technique for supporting use of information related to a posted article in a posting system for disclosing posted articles such as SNS (social networking service) includes, for example, as disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2012-150662, a technique for searching other articles including a keyword using, as the keyword, a partially matching portion where a word included in a posted article matches a word included in a TV program table.
Another technique includes, for example, as disclosed by Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-65266, a technique used by a TV apparatus to automatically switch the reception channel to a channel broadcasting a program related to a keyword designated by a user.
When a user viewing a posted article that is posted to a posting system obtains information which is discussed in the posted article, the user himself/herself needs to identify an information channel in which the information is provided, access the identified information channel, and do complicated work of obtaining the information.
More specifically, for example, when information which is discussed in the posted article is a TV program, the user must check the TV channel on which the TV program is broadcast by referring to the TV program table and do complicated work of switching to the TV channel which the user has checked the reception TV channel of the TV apparatus in order to view the TV program.
Therefore, it is an object of embodiments of the present invention to allow a user to easily obtain information discussed in a posted article that is posted to a posting system.


A non-reusable syringe is provided which has an interchangeable needle, and, further, which has very low residual medication in the syringe after use. Devices for achieving the interchangeable needles while maintaining low residual medication are disclosed.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a syringe device and, more particularly, to a disposable syringe having an interchangeable needle arrangement while retaining very little fluid following an injection.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
The increasing costs of health care have generated many efforts to reduce the cost of devices used to deliver those services. In the case of syringes, a major component of the cost of delivering an injection is often the medication involved. This cost typically far exceeds the purchase price of the syringe itself.
Most of the prior art in the United States utilizes an interchangeable needle assembly known as a "Luer" fitting. This fitting consists of a tapered conical nozzle at the distal end of the barrel, and is most often accompanied by a threaded collar to secure a mating needle assembly to the nozzle. Without the threaded collar the assembly is referred to as a "slip tip", and with the threaded collar the assembly is referred to as a "Luer lock" tip.
Because of the shape of this conical fitting, and the mating recess on the needle assembly, significant amounts of medication are still present in the mating assembly following an injection. It is not uncommon for there to be 0.08 milliliters of medication still in the assembly following an injection. For a 1.00 milliliter injection, this amounts to an extra 8% medication consumed unnecessarily.
An alternative arrangement currently marketed in the United States forgoes the interchangeable needle assembly and permanently attaches the needle to the syringe in such a way that there is very little residual medication. However, this is less desirable because there are a large number of combinations of barrel capacities, needle diameters and needle lengths in use today. For a healthcare facility to carry all permutations in fixed needle format is very expensive. Most healthcare facilities would prefer to carry the components and then mate them as needed.
There is a need to provide healthcare workers with "the best of both worlds"--low residual medication and needle interchangeability.

Low dead space, interchangeable needle syringe


An implantable microporous ePTFE tubular vascular graft exhibits long term patency, superior radial tensile strength and suture hole elongation resistance. The graft includes a first ePTFE tube and a second ePTFE tube circumferentially disposed over the first tube. The first ePTFE tube exhibits a porosity sufficient to promote cell endothelization tissue ingrowth and healing. The second ePTFE tube exhibits enhanced radial strength in excess of the radial tensile strength of the first tube. The stent provides patency to the endoprosthesis.

It is well known to use extruded tubes of polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) as implantable intraluminal prosthesis, particularly vascular grafts. PTFE is particularly suitable as an implantable prosthesis as it exhibits superior biocompatibility. PTFE tubes may be used as vascular grafts in the replacement or repair of a blood vessel as PTFE exhibits low thrombogenicity. In vascular applications, the grafts are manufactured from expanded polytetrafluorethylene (ePTFE) tubes. These tubes have a microporous structure which allows natural tissue ingrowth and cell endothelization once implanted in the vascular system. This contributes to long term healing and patency of the graft.
Grafts formed of ePTFE have a fibrous state which is defined by interspaced nodes interconnected by elongated fibrils. The spaces between the node surfaces that is spanned by the fibrils is defined as the internodal distance (IND). A graft having a large IND enhances tissue ingrowth and cell endothelization as the graft is inherently more porous.
The porosity of an ePTFE vascular graft can be controlled by controlling the IND of the microporous structure of the tube. An increase in the IND within a given structure results in enhanced tissue ingrowth as well as cell endothelization along the inner surface thereof. However, such increase in the porosity of the tubular structure also results in reducing the overall radial tensile strength of the tube as well as reducing the ability for the graft to retain a suture placed therein during implantation. Also, such microporous tubular structures tend to exhibit low axial tear strength, so that a small tear or nick will tend to propagate along the length of the tube.
Attempts to increase the radial tensile, as well as axial tear strength of a microporous ePTFE tube include forming the tubular graft of multiple layers placed over one another. Examples of multi-layered ePTFE tubular structures useful as implantable prostheses are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,816,338; 4,478,898 and 5,001,276. Other examples of multi-layered structures are shown in Japanese Patent Publication nos. 6-343,688 and 0-022,792.
While each of the above enumerated patents provides tubular graft structures exhibiting enhanced radial tensile strength, as well as enhanced axial tear strength, these structures all result in tubes exhibiting lower porosity. More specifically, the multi-layered ePTFE tubular structures of the prior art exhibit a smaller microporous structure overall, especially at the inner surface, and accordingly, a reduction in the ability of the graft or stent/graft composite to promote endothelization along the inner surface.
Another endoprosthesis commonly used for the treatment of diseases of various body vessels is a stent. A stent is a generally longitudinal tubular device formed of biocompatible material which is useful to open and support various lumens in the body. For example, stents may be used in the vascular system, urogenital tract and bile duct, as well as in a variety of other applications in the body. Endovascular stents have become widely used for the treatment of stenosis, strictures, and aneurysms in various blood vessels. These devices are implanted within the vessel to open and/or reinforce collapsing or partially occluded sections of the vessel.
Stents are generally open ended and are radially expandable between a generally unexpanded insertion diameter and an expanded implantation diameter which is greater than the unexpanded insertion diameter. Stents are often flexible in configuration, which allows them to be inserted through and conform to tortuous pathways in the blood vessels. The stent is generally inserted in a radially compressed state and expanded either through a self-expanding mechanism, or through the use of balloon catheters.
A stent may be used in combination with a graft. Such a composite medical device would provide additional support for blood flow through weakened sections of a blood vessel. In endovascular applications the use of stent/graft combinations is becoming increasingly important because the combination not only effectively allows the passage of blood therethrough, but also ensures the implant will remain open.
As may be appreciated with stent/graft configurations, expansion and contraction of the stent exerts a radially tensile force against the graft structure supported thereon. This outward force maintains the stent/graft configuration open once implanted so as to assure patency of the vessel. Where the graft is found having a large IND which enhances tissue ingrowth and cell endothelization, such a graft structure may not possess sufficient strength to retain the expanded stent.
It is therefore desirable to provide an ePTFE vascular graft/stent which exhibits increased porosity especially at the inner surface thereof while retaining a high degree of radial strength especially at the external surface thereof in order to retain the expandable stent.

PTFE vascular prosthesis and method of manufacture


An aspect of the invention provides an image forming unit that comprises: a developer container configured to contain a developer; and a developer supplier including at least a developer carrier configured to supply the developer, contained in the developer container, to a latent image formed on an image carrier, wherein: the glass transition temperature of a first developer initially contained in the developer supplier is higher than the glass transition temperature of a second developer contained in the developer container; and the glass transition temperature of the first developer is equal to or lower than 75° C.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an image forming apparatus using an electro-photographic process, such as a printer or a copying machine. In particular, the invention relates to an image forming unit for forming a developed image by supplying toner to an electrostatic latent image formed on a surface of an image carrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a toner for developing an electrostatic latent image formed on the surface of an image carrier is formulated to have a predetermined glass transition temperature. This glass transition temperature is set to ensure melting of the toner by heat supplied from a fixing unit. In a case where an image forming unit filled with a toner having such a predetermined glass transition temperature is stored for a long period of time, the toner may soften or melt and thus form an adhering or clumping together in a nip formed between a development roller and a development blade, another nip formed between the development roller and a supply roller, or other similar parts. Such a situation may occur, for example, during a period starting with the post-manufacturing quality inspection of the image forming unit, through shipment from the plant, and ending with a user's actual use of the image forming unit.
If an adhering or clumping formed from a softened or melted part of the toner enters a nip formed between, for example, the development roller and the development blade, such material makes a gap between the developing roller and the developing blade. Leakage of the toner from the gap thus formed produces a defective image.
An image forming unit according to the related art includes: a toner container for containing toner; a development roller rotatably supported by this toner container; a sealing member for sealing a longitudinal end portion of a circumferential surface of the development roller by being in contact with the longitudinal end portion of the circumferential surface of the development roller. In this image forming unit, a sealing toner having a glass transition temperature higher than a toner used for development is applied to a contact area between the development roller and the sealing member.

Image forming unit and image forming apparatus


An aspect of the disclosure is to determine a watch face image, and an operation method of an electronic device according to various embodiments may include: acquiring an image using a camera of the electronic device; displaying a watch face preview matching the acquired image on a display of the electronic device; determining a watch face image from the watch face preview; controlling a transceiver of the electronic device to transmit the watch face image to a smart watch; and applying the watch face image to the smart watch.

1) Field
The disclosure relates to a method for determining a watch face image and an electronic device therefor.
2) Description of Related Art
As technology advances, wearable devices and related accessories are being developed. In particular, smart watches among wearable devices are closely related to fashion of users, and markets in the field of smart watches and accessories (e.g., straps) thereof are emerging.
Smart watches, among other wearable devices, include many fashion-related elements. For example, elements of a smart watch, which are related to fashion, may include a watch face image displayed via the smart watch and a strap of the smart watch. However, if a watch face image and a strap are set manually, the watch face image and the strap may not adequately reflect a user's fashion preferences.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the disclosure.

Method for determining watch face image and electronic device therefor


The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for determining the order of wagons in a train. The invention configures a plurality of wagons of a train to sense at least one environmental condition that the wagons are respectively exposed to when the train is moving. The invention configures the wagons to generate a corresponding announcement message in response to a change in state of the environmental condition. The invention configures the first wagon of the train to listen for the announcement message generated by any of the plurality of wagons. The invention configures the first wagon to compute a sequence of the announcement messages from an order in which the wagons have been heard.

It is typically the case for passenger trains that all of the wagons of the train have the same origin and end destination. Even at the end destination, it is rarely the case that disassembling of the wagons, except for probably the end wagons, is done. In contrast, freight trains are better thought of as a temporary grouping of wagons coming from different origins and going to different end destinations. In accordance with the logistics planned for the cargo that they transport, freight trains are assembled and disassembled in locations called shunting yards. Thus, any given wagon may be part of different freight trains during its journey from its origin to its end destination.
In the shunting yards, the assembling of trains is done using appropriate algorithms such that all of the wagons in the train have the same next hop and that wagons with closer deadlines for their end destinations are put before those with longer ones. This scenario is, however, a simplification since also to be taken into account are factors such as, for example, the availability and the number of turning tables at the shunting yard, the space available for the disassembling/assembling and the time slots allocated for such purposes for any given train, etc. Currently, decisions on how to best satisfy all such conditions is made locally by staff at shunting yards. Thus, whilst a freight train may be assembled such that all the wagons of the train have the same next hop, it is usually not possible to compile them in accordance with the timetable of their respective end-destinations, i.e. that wagons with closer deadlines to their end destinations are placed before those with later ones may not be achieved.
When a freight train arrives in the next shunting yard, the structure of the train should be known before it is disassembled and before its associated wagons are assembled into other freight trains. A course of action for achieving this may be that the staff responsible for assembling the train record the order of its wagon compilation before the train leaves and transmit this information to the next shunting yard. However, this may not always be feasible since assembling of the trains is typically done in parallel and in an optimistic fashion with staff at the shunting yards applying local decisions as to the wagon order. A further reason why this is not done is because wagons may be added or removed outside of the shunting yard from and to the back of the train or even in the middle.
The problems associated to the manual assembling and disassembling of freight trains is further exacerbated by the fact that such trains are typically very long, for example, in the United States, freight trains may contain hundreds of wagons and may span over several kilometers.
Attempts have been made to use radio frequency identification (RFID) technology to identify wagons and thereby determine the composition of a train. However, problems due to RFID tags getting lost or deteriorated due to the extreme environmental conditions that the train may be exposed to during its journey has meant that these attempts have not always been successful.
Accordingly, it is a challenge to determine if and how the order of wagons in a train, particularly a freight train, is changed in a more reliable manner than is presently the case.

Method and apparatus for determining wagon order in a train

International Business Machines Corporation


The number of liquid droplets ejected toward a region outside a medium, which becomes a necessary evil when forming dots all the way to the edges of the medium by ejecting liquid droplets, can be decreased without greatly impairing the formation of dots at the edges. A liquid ejection apparatus for ejecting a liquid, includes: a liquid ejection section for ejecting liquid droplets toward a medium in order to form dots on the medium; wherein the liquid ejection section ejects, toward a vicinity of an edge of the medium, the liquid droplets of a number that has been thinned out by a suitable number; and wherein at least a portion of the liquid droplets ejected after thinning does not land on the medium.

Inkjet printers are known as one type of liquid ejection apparatus for ejecting droplets of a liquid toward a medium. Such inkjet printers eject droplets of ink, as the liquid droplets, toward print paper (hereinafter also referred to as paper) serving as a medium to form a multitude dots on the print paper, thereby printing a macroscopic image with these dots.
Such inkjet printers are provided with a print function known as "borderless printing." This is the function of printing an image on paper without forming margins by forming dots over the entire paper up to its edges. Ordinarily, by using image data that is larger in size than the paper, liquid droplets are ejected toward regions outside the paper so that there are no areas at the edges in which, unintentionally, no dots are formed due to, for example, the position of the paper being misaligned during carrying.
However, almost all of the liquid droplets that are ejected to this outside area are abandoned without forming dots on the paper, leading to an increased amount of ink that is used.
In view of these circumstances, it is an object of the present invention to achieve a liquid ejection apparatus and a liquid ejection method with which the number of liquid droplets ejected toward the region outside the medium, which becomes a necessary evil when trying to form dots all the way to the edges of the medium by ejecting liquid droplets, can be decreased without greatly impairing the formation of dots at the edges.

Liquid ejection apparatus and liquid ejection method


An information processing apparatus includes an output unit for outputting information. A first recording unit records first information for causing the output unit to output predetermined information. An analysis unit analyzes the first information. A determination unit determines whether to obtain second information that is referenced by the first information in accordance with an analysis result. An obtaining unit obtains the second information in accordance with a determination result. A second recording unit records the second information. A generation unit generates third information that is output from the output unit in accordance with the analysis result. The first information includes fourth information indicating a condition for obtaining the second information. The determination unit determines whether the condition is satisfied based on the fourth information. The obtaining unit obtains the second information when the condition is satisfied.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to information processing apparatuses, information processing methods, recording media, and programs, and more particularly relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a recording medium, and a program suitable for use in reading electronic books (hereinafter referred to as e-books).
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, publishing has been done using paper as a primary medium, such as books, newspaper, and magazines. Recently, publishing using media other than paper, namely, electronic publishing (hereinafter referred to as e-publishing), has become widespread as computers have advanced, the use thereof has been expanded, and the network infrastructure has been developed.
In electronic publications (hereinafter referred to as e-publications) or in e-books, books that used to be printed on paper and published are digitized. Digital data includes text, images, audio data, and video data. A user can download an e-book from a predetermined web server through the Internet and store the downloaded e-book in a predetermined storage medium, a personal computer, or a predetermined player. Alternatively, the user can purchase, for example, a CD-ROM (Compact Disk Read Only Memory) that has recorded therein beforehand an e-book, thus allowing the user to read the e-book. The user can use a PC or a predetermined player in which e-book data is recorded or a recording medium having e-book data recorded therein is loaded to play the e-book.
In e-books, a link is placed at a predetermined word. When the user selects the link, the display screen jumps to a related portion of the same file, or alternatively, another file for another related book is opened and displayed on the display screen.
In e-books downloaded through the Internet or distributed using recording media, when a revised version is put on sale, the entire data for the revised version needs to be downloaded or a recording medium having the revised version recorded therein needs to be purchased.
Although technology has been developed to display predetermined data for another file when a link included in a file is selected, thus allowing a user to reference a plurality of related books, no technology has been developed to simultaneously display all pieces of related information on one page.
In other words, technology related to e-publication is based on replacing the paper medium by the electronic medium, in which searching and linking technology is used. Therefore, although e-publication uses digital data, the advantages of digital data are not fully utilized.

Information processing apparatus, information processing method, recording medium, and program


The present invention aims to provide a biodegradable particle capable of being molded without an aggregation or cohesion of the particles, capable of being carried or injected without clogging by an aggregation in a micro diameter tube such as of a catheter, needle or syringe mainly used in pharmaceutical and medical applications of which inner diameter is smaller than the particle size or in a blood vessel and capable of being smoothly degraded in a specified period of time so that degraded component can finally be absorbed or discharged in vitro. As means for solving the problem, the present invention provides a biodegradable particle characterized in that a compressive modulus of the particle in water saturated state is 10 MPa or less.

In medical field, safety of therapy or minimum invasive therapy which is light in patient's pain has become important. Along with that, techniques for designing or synthesizing safer materials or techniques for administration in vivo have been developed. One of them is technique of therapy or administration of drug through a tube of small inner diameter. By being the inner diameter of the tube small, it became unnecessary to incise patient's body, and a pain accompanied by inserting the tube into body was also greatly reduced. Therapy by catheter is a marked example of that. Another one is a technology relating to a biodegradable or bioabsorbable material which is not left in the body. A sewing thread or orthopaedic material made such as of polylactic acid, polyglycolic acid or polycaprolactone is used also in clinical site, and recently, many research results of regenerative medicine in which these materials were applied were reported. As to polymer particle which is degradable or absorbable in the body is also known mainly as a carrier of drugs (refer to Patent references 1 and 2).
Furthermore, at an incision accompanied by a surgical operation such as of liver, by injecting an embolization material into blood vessel beforehand, it is possible to firmly and quickly stanch to minimize bleeding. And, as a technique or therapy in which such embolization material is used, other applications than the prevention of bleeding, an application to an artery embolization in which nutrition for an unrecectable tumor is intercepted by hemostasis, and further, a chemical embolization therapy in which an anticancer drug and an embolization material are administrated together to maintain the anticancer drug concentration in the tumor high, are known. On the other hand, by development of catheter and its operation method, it has become possible to carry the microparticle carrier or embolization material to a specific site selectively and precisely.
As embolization materials, so far a gelatin sponge, polyvinyl alcohol, a degradable starch particle (DSM), an iodine addition products obtained from poppy seed oil, a cross-linked collagen fiber, an ethyl cellulose microcapsule, cyanoacrylate, stainless coil, etc., have been used. Among them, embolization material consisting of polymer particle can be, in a dispersed state in such as contrast agent, introduced into the body by injecting to an affected region by such as microsyringe via a microcatheter arranged in the body. Such embolization material of polymer particle can form an embolization by arriving at an affected region located in a deep portion.
However, there are following problems in the microparticle carrier consisting of polymer particle or the embolization material.
(1) Since its shape is irregular and particle size distribution is wide, there may be cases where its function cannot be exhibited at desired portion.
(2) In a tube of pharmaceutical and medical application devices such as catheter, needle or syringe, it may aggregate or its viscosity may increase to clog the tube. In particular, the clogging frequently occurs when a particle smaller than inner diameter of the catheter is passed through.
(3) It may not be able to be carried to a desired site since it aggregates or its viscosity increases in a normal blood vessel on the way to an affected region.
(4) In case where it is used as an embolization material, since its material quality is hard and does not fit to cross-sectional shape of a blood vessel, although it may decrease blood flow, it may not be able to perfectly embolize.
(5) Furthermore, as a degradable material in vivo, depending on a slight difference of environment where it is placed, such as whether it is a site contacting with blood or not, its degrading rate may change greatly.
(6) Since particle diameter is not appropriate, it may not be able to be indwelled at a desired site.
(7) In particular, in case of a particle which is smaller than inner diameter of the catheter, after passing through the catheter, since it is carried to an affected region in a crushed condition without recovering to its original shape, it may embolize at a farther site than desired.
As prior arts, particles consisting of polylactic acid (hereafter, referred to as PLA) or poly (lactic acid/glycolic acid) copolymer (hereafter, referred to as PLGA) which are biodegradable polymers (refer to Nonpatent reference 1), or a biodegradable material containing a specified agent are disclosed (refer to Patent reference 3), but since hydrophobicity of the these substrates are high, and there were problems of the above-mentioned (2) to (5).
On the other hand, an application to drug manufacturing or to veterinary drug of a technique in which a drug is mixed to a substrate polymer consisting of a structure such as PLA-PEG, PLA-PEG-PLA or PLGA-PEG-PLGA, as a block copolymer consisting of polyethylene glycol (hereafter, referred to as PEG) and PLA or PLGA, to sustain release the drug, is disclosed (refer to Patent reference 4). However, in this technique, it was impossible to control softness and necessary strength for molding of the substrate polymer, and there were problems in at least one of the above-mentioned (1) to (5).
Furthermore, an embolization material consisting of a water insoluble PEG-based copolymer is disclosed (Patent reference 5). However, in this case, too, it was impossible to control softness and necessary strength for molding of the substrate polymer, and there were problems in at least one of the above-mentioned (1) to (5) and (7).
As a technique for improving clogging in catheter tube when the above-mentioned biodegradable particle is carried by an injection from the catheter, a particle consisting of water insoluble polymer such as polyethylene glycol-based copolymer of which film tensile modulus is 1500 MPa or less, is disclosed (Patent reference 6). However, the technique disclosed here is, as indicated in the examples of the reference, nothing more than a technique of improving passing ability through catheter of a particle size smaller than inner diameter of the catheter tube, and since it is not an invention of improving passing ability of a particle of which diameter is larger than inner diameter of the catheter tube, a molecular weight range, composition or the like of the copolymer necessary for preventing clogging in the catheter tube of a particle having a diameter larger than inner diameter of the catheter tube, has not been found.
Furthermore, in Patent references 5 and 6, no reference is made about the problem (7) which relates to a recovery after passing catheter, i.e., molecular weight range, composition or the like of the copolymer necessary for the recovery, has not been found.    [Patent reference 1] JP-3242118C    [Patent reference 2] JP-3428972C    [Patent reference 3] JP-H5-969A    [Patent reference 4] JP-H5-17245B    [Patent reference 5] JP2004-167229A    [Patent reference 6] JP2004-313759A    [Nonpatent reference 1] Bastian P, Bartkowski R et al., Chemo-embolization of experimental liver metastases, European Journal of Pharmaceutics and Biopharmaceutics, 1998, vol. 43, p 243-254.

Biodegradable particle and method for producing the same


A clad member is made up of a plate-like clad base material having on its surface a recessed portion, and solidified portions of a metallic material which is different in kind from the clad base material. The solidified portions are disposed in the recessed portion at a distance from each other and are bonded with the clad base material through melting. The clad member is manufactured by forming an elongated recessed portion on a surface of a plate-like clad base material. The recessed portion is filled with a comminuted metallic material which is different in kind from the clad base material. A laser beam is irradiated onto a plurality of regions which are separated from each other in a longitudinal direction of the recessed portion such that partly melted portions of the comminuted metallic material are generated to thereby bond the comminuted metallic material with the clad base material. The melted portions are solidified. The remaining non-molten portions of the comminuted metallic material are removed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a clad member in which a different kind of material is partly embedded in a clad base material. It also relates to a method of manufacturing the clad member.
In this specification, the term "clad member" means a "metal-clad semimanufacture" which is made by cladding or overlaying a specified metal on a surface of a "clad base material" which means a base material (i.e., a metal or a ceramic) on which the specified metal is clad or overlaid.
2. Description of the Related Art
As this kind of clad member, there is conventionally known one which is manufactured by the following steps Namely, as shown in FIG. 1, a groove b is formed, by means of rolling or the like, in a clad base material "a" of an elongated copper plate. A strip-like material c, such as nickel, which is different in kind from that of the clad base material is fitted into the groove b, and the assembly thus obtained is rolled together to thereby obtain a clad member in which the different kind of material is embedded in the longitudinal direction of the clad base material. This kind of clad member is then sliced into pieces to use each of these sliced pieces as a component part for electrical contact of a bimetal, or the like.
The above-described clad member can be manufactured relatively cheaply However, the strip-like material to be embedded into the clad base material extends in the longitudinal direction of the clad base material "a." Therefore, if an electrical component part such as shown in FIG. 2 is manufactured by means, e.g., of pressing the assembly, there is a disadvantage in that the embedded strip-like material c will be partly wasted as a trash. In case the strip-like material c is made of a rare metal or a noble metal, the loss by this waste becomes enormous. Even if the trash is recovered for reuse, the increase in the product cost is inevitable

Clad member and method of manufacturing same


A method and apparatus are provided by which one device (12) can be used to control another device (11) without any requirement that the controlling device (12) has any knowledge of the nature or functionality of the controlled device (11). The controlled device (11) transmits to the controlling device (12) a set of possible parameter choices, together with information identifying the possible parameter choices. The controlling device (12) then displays (or otherwise provides to the user) both the set of parameter choices and the information so that a user (13) is able to select a set of actual parameter choices through the user interface of the controlling device (12). The set of actual parameter choices is then transmitted back to the controlled device (11), whose operational parameters are then modified in accordance with the set of actual parameter choices. The controlling device (12) thus needs no knowledge of the nature of the controlled device (11), as it only has to present the information and choices provided by the controlled device itself to the user (13). The nature of this presentation can be determined by the display and user interface capabilities of the controlling device.

The invention relates to a method and apparatus for device control. In particular, the invention relates to a method for control of one device through another device with which a user can interact, and to apparatus with which the method can be employed.
It is common for a user to use one device with convenient interaction features to control another device with less convenient interaction features. For example, a remote control unit is frequently used for control of a television. The remote control unit is convenient for the user to use: it is portable, while the user interface attached to the television itself is less convenient to use (as it is fixed at the television). Computers are similarly often used to control other equipment, as the user interface of a computer is well understood by the user and in many cases interaction between the equipment and the computer is required anyway (for example, if data is to be passed to or received from the equipment).
A variety of approaches are provided for control of equipment by computers in the different programming options for different computer operating systems. In Microsoft Windows, for example, devices must either conform to a pre-defined generic model (for which an API is provided) under which a set of control commands deemed appropriate to the device class must be understood, or else must be supplied with a device-specific control program, or driver, which must be loaded into the computer before control can take place. In the API case, for example, a TV API might have function calls to turn the TV on or off, change the channel to a specific set of values and set the volume, all televisions being able to offer those and only those controls through the API. In either case, if Microsoft Windows is to be used for control of, say, a fax machine by a personal computer, it is necessary for the functionality of the fax machine to be xe2x80x9cknownxe2x80x9d by the personal computer. User events are sensed by the personal computer and then interpreted in the context of the controls required by the fax machine.
Another example is provided by X-Windows, which is a GUI built (typically) on Unix and can be used for control of other devices. X-Windows recognises a variety of input devices, such as mouse and keyboard. It is adapted to provide applications with events which describe what is happening to those input devices (e.g. right mouse button pressed at co-ordinate 345,678). The application then decides how to interpret this action (e.g. turn TV on). The control program therefore involves both the functionality of the controlled device and user interface features of the controlling device.
Although such control approaches can be very powerful, they are not flexible. Either a discrete control program must be devised for every device combination (or at any rate for any controlled device for a class of controlling devicexe2x80x94such as a personal computer running a version of the Windows operating system) or the device""s functionality must conform to a predetermined generic model of the device""s type. It is therefore desirable to achieve more flexible control methods, in which fully featured control could be achieved without extensive re-work in devising control programs for new devices and maintaining the highest level effectiveness achievable with a given device combination.
The present inventors realised that these goals could be reached through removing the need for the controlling device to have specific knowledge of the controlled device.
Accordingly, the invention provides in a first aspect a method for the control of a controlled device by means of a controlling device, comprising; establishment of a means for transmitting signals between the controlling device and the controlled device; provision by the controlled device of a set of possible parameter choices and information identifying said possible parameter choices and transmission thereof to the controlling device; display at the controlling device of the set of possible parameter choices and of information identifying possible parameter choices to enable user selection of a set of actual parameter choices with a user selection means; transmission of the set of actual parameter choices to the controlled device; and modification of operational parameters of the controlled device in accordance with the set of actual parameter choices; wherein the set of possible parameter choices and set of actual parameter choices are provided in a form independent of the user selection means.
Where the controlled device provides to the controlling device only a set of choices and information relating to those choices, that leaves the controlling device free to display the set of choices and the information relating to them in any way that it chooses, or that is convenient for it. This means that the same approach can be used for interaction between essentially any controlling device and the controlled device. If the controlling device has only limited user interaction capabilities, a very limited user interface for the controlled device can be constructed. However, if the controlling device has rich possibilities for user interaction, these can be exploited to create a rich user interface for the controlled device at the controlling device.
This arrangement divides responsibility for the process of control and device operation ideally between the controlled device and the controlling device. The functionality of the controlled device, and how that functionality may be changed, only needs to be understood by the controlled device instead. The controlling device needs to understand nothing of the functionality of the controlled device, but is instead left to determine how it should display the available parameter choices: this allows the display options to be matched to the capabilities of the controlling device.
In a second aspect the invention provides an information handling device adapted for the function of a controlling device in the method indicated above, the information handling device comprising: means for communication of information with a controlled device; user interface means for displaying information to a user and for returning values derived from a user input; and means for presenting the set of possible parameter choices and associated information received from the controlled device through the user interface means, and for returning the set of actual parameter choices from the user interface means to the controlled device.
In a third aspect, the invention provides a control script to enable provision by a controlled device of a set of possible parameter choices and information identifying said possible parameter choices and transmission thereof to a controlling device, comprising for each parameter the possible parameter choices, a type for that parameter, and user interpretable parameter information.


A method may include applying periodically a data validation rule to data transformed through a data processing system, wherein the data validation rule applies aspects selected from a group consisting of data value range, specific data values, and relationship with other data entries; responsive to detecting a violation of the data validation rule, identifying a portion of the transformed data for lineage assessment; examining the identified transformed data iteratively upstream at a previous transformation node in a lineage graph, until the method detects a node where the violation of the data validation rule can't be reproduced; creating a separate node in a distributed network for each of the previous transformation nodes in the lineage graph; and identifying the separate node in the distributed network introducing the violation of the data validation rule.

The present invention generally relates to data quality. More particularly, the present invention relates to determining quality of data at a destination.
Data can contain errors after arriving at a destination from a source. It is important to determine the quality of data that has arrived at a destination.
As can be seen, there is a need for a method for determining quality of data at a destination.

Systematic approach to determine source of data quality issue in data flow in an enterprise

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


Various examples are provided related to boat loaders for trailers. In one example, a boat loader includes a primary tube extending between a first end and a second end and a light tube that can move within the primary tube. The light tube can include light elements extending along a portion of the light tube at a first end and a float attached to the light tube at a second end. The primary tube can be coupled to a trailer at the second end and the first end of the light tube can extend outward from the first end of the primary tube exposing the light elements as the primary tube is submerged in water and can retract into the primary tube as the primary tube is removed from the water.

Marine trailers are used to transport a wide range of watercraft such as boats, jet skis or other types of watercraft. In general, the marine trailers include a frame supported by an axle assembly with bunks comprising rails and/or rollers to support the watercraft. However, as the trailer is backed into the water it is difficult to know where the end of the trailer is located for loading the boat or other watercraft onto the trailer.


This invention presents the high throughput (HT) analysis technology for molecular fractions employing micro-array format. Molecules are fractionated according to the properties of molecules and are assigned primary designated orders while their tissue origins are assigned secondary designated orders such that each fractionated molecules become addressable and traceable. Fractionated molecules are recovered, arrayed, and analyzed according to the same primary designated orders and secondary designated order in a high throughput manner. The above properties of molecules can be measured and predicted.

Analyses of molecular fractions of biologically significant molecules in desirable forms from biological origins have always been an important task for biochemical research. Molecules, such as ribonucleic acid (RNA), deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) or cDNA, protein, peptide, lipids or polysaccharides, are usually required to be fractionated based on their biochemical properties such as size and charge before further accurate or meaningful analyses. Fractionating methods are those that can fractionate molecules and generate a spectrum or a serial fractions of molecules based on one or more properties of molecules, which methods include agarose gel electrophoresis, polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (PAGE), two-dimensions PAGE, isoelectrical focusing, ion exchange chromatography, filtration chromatography, hydrophobic chromatography, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), thin layer chromatography (TLC), gas chromatography, atomic absorption, affinity chromatography or gradient centrifugation. With above fractioning methods, molecules can be fractionated according to their properties, such as molecular size, charges, organic phase solubility, affinity, mass, shape, density or color.
For examples, the conventional Northern blot analysis and Western analysis are the most widely used and vital techniques for analyzing sizes and amounts of RNA or protein molecules from biological origins. Northern blot (for RNA analysis) and Western blot (for protein analysis) are named after Southern blot (for DNA analysis), (Southern, E. M. 1975. Detection of specific sequences among DNA fragments separated by gel electrophoresis. J. Mol. Biol. 98:503-517, which is incorporated herein by reference). They have been the must or ultimate assays of choice to detect the sizes and expression level of certain genes in some cell populations or tissues. Although there are some other methods, such as differential display, RT-PCR or RNA protection assay (RPA) that can be used for part of this purpose, Northern blot analysis and Western blot analysis are the distinguished assays that can determine the molecular size or weight of the target gene or protein. The other methods are generally less favorable and more disadvantageous as they tend to produce unreliable results introduced as a result of complicated or enzymatic manipulation. Since Northern blot analysis and Western blot analysis are the closest methods to confirm real-life situation of gene or protein expression because they are rather direct measurement than other methods, they are ultimately important tools in determining sizes of alternative spliced gene, post translational modification of proteins as well as levels of gene or protein expression.
It has been many years for people to make and use conventional Northern blot and Western blot. Up to today, the ways to make conventional Northern blot analysis and Western blot are still the same as many years ago. When making Northern blot, RNA electrophoresis is performed using agarose gel with denaturing agents such as formaldehyde and formamide. Since RNA molecules carry one negative charge per molecule, their migration in agarose gel depends on the length of nucleic acids or the size of the molecules. Fractionated nucleic acids on the gel can be blotted to nylon or nitrocellulose membranes to make Northern blot. Probes that contain labeled nucleotides and are complementary to the target nucleic acid chain can be added for hybridization and detection of specific RNA fraction in Northern blot. It is Northern blot analysis to make it possible for estimating the size and the relative amount of a fraction of RNA simultaneously.
It is different to make Western blot from Northern blot because properties of protein are different from RNA. Proteins may carry negative or positive charges, depending on their amino acid compositions. In order to generate a uniform spectrum or serial fractions of proteins based on the molecular weight, sodium dodecyl sulphate (SDS), dithiothreitol (DTT) and β-mecarptoethanol are added to protein loading buffer and the gel. SDS is an anionic detergent that binds to proteins fairly specifically in a mass ratio of 1.4:1 and confers a negative charge to the protein in proportion to its length. All protein molecules become negative charged uniformly in present of SDS. In addition, reducing reagents such as dithiothreitol (DTT) and β-mecarptoethanol can disrupt the disulfide bonds of protein molecules to overcome the affect on gel electrophoresis by non-uniformed structures of protein. After gel electrophoresis, the gel can be stained or the protein can be transferred to a membrane to make Western blot. To detect particular fractions of proteins on Western blot, antibodies specific for the target proteins (antigens) are incubated with the membrane. The bound antigen-antibody complex is further detected by chemiluminescent, fluorescence or radioactive method. As Northern blot analysis, Western blot analysis is also capable of determining the size and relative amount of target proteins simultaneously.
While the conventional Northern blot analysis and Western blot analysis are the major tools for the afore-mentioned purposes, they are nevertheless limited as to the number of samples that can be applied on one membrane. It is generally agreed that fewer than ten samples can be accommodated on one membrane, which limitation renders the use of Northern or Western blot analysis for a large-scale, high throughput analysis of molecular fractions unfeasible.
The demands for high throughput analysis of molecular fractions become urgent with the discovery of more than 30,000 new genes due to the completion of the human genome project. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,582,969 and 6,576,478 (Wagner et al) disclose a method and microdevices for high throughput screening of biomolecules. These microdevices comprise a certain arrayed of specially micromachined or microfabricated channels with a plurality of built-in noncontiguous reactive sites that are provided with biological moieties immobilized on a monolayer via an affinity tag linked to a substrate. These microdevices are capable of screening functionality or structurally related components passing through the channels. U.S. Pat. No. 6,537,749 (Kuimelis et al) discloses addressable protein arrays in which arrays of nucleic acid-protein fusions are immobilized to a solid surface through a linker layer that is provided with a spacer group on one end and an oligonucleotide sequences on the other end for interacting with an addressable array of molecules complementary to the immobilized oligonucleotide sequences.
While these arrayed techniques may be sufficient to provide high throughput screening of biomolecules, they have to be specially constructed with desirable immobilizing agents and affinity groups. In addition, none of these techniques aims at the incorporation of the advantages of conventional Northern blot analysis and Western blot analysis as described above, such as size of mRNA or protein molecules, while improving their shortcomings to develop a high throughput screening system capable of screening a substantial amount of samples with more detection sensitive and consuming less treasured materials.
For the foregoing reasons, there is an apparent need for a method and device for high throughput screening of molecular fractions that combines the unique features of molecular fractionating technique and the power of micro-array.
There is a further need for a method and device for high throughput screening of molecular fractions that creates a more sensitive method in detection of certain desirable biological activity while consuming less treasured materials
Accordingly, this present invention provides a solution to create a high throughput screening system, such as incorporating both Northern blot analysis and Western blot analysis as illustrated above, while provided with molecular fractionating methods and properties based to fractionate molecules fundamentally different.

High throughput analysis for molecular fractions


A process for forming a local interconnect includes applying a layer of metal over a semiconductor layer. A layer of metal silicide is formed over the layer of metal. The layer of metal silicide is patterned to define the boundaries of the local interconnect. The metal silicide is reacted with the layer of metal to form a composite structure. The composite structure includes the metal silicide, another metal silicide formed as silicon from the metal silicide reacts with the underlying layer of metal and an intermetallic compound of the metal from the layer of metal and metal from the layer of metal silicide. The unreacted layer of metal is removed with the composite structure remaining as the local interconnect.

The present invention relates in general to a local interconnect, and, more particularly, to a low resistance local interconnect having a refractory metal silicide, and a process of making the same.
In the manufacture of integrated circuits used in the construction of dynamic random access memories (DRAMs), static random access memories (SRAMs), and the like, interconnects are required to provide the necessary electrical paths between field effect transistors and other devices fabricated on the semiconductor substrate and the external circuitry used to pass data to and from these devices. Polycide structures are commonly used to form the gate of a metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistor (MOSFET). Polycide structures are especially attractive for self-aligned gates. A polycide structure is formed by depositing a layer of doped polysilicon over the gate insulation layer. The polysilicon is then etched to define the gate electrode. A refractory metal, such as titanium, is then formed over the remaining polysilicon and silicon substrate. A metal silicide is formed by annealing the polysilicon and the refractory metal with the polysilicon supplying the source of silicon for the silicide. The unreacted refractory metal is etched, with the remaining polysilicon and metal silicide forming the polycide gate.
A local interconnect is typically used to connect the polycide gate to certain active semiconductor areas, such as the drain or source of another MOSFET. A local interconnect may also be used to connect active semiconductor areas to other active semiconductor areas which are separated by an insulating region, such as a field oxide region. Titanium silicide (TiSi2) is commonly used as a local interconnect for connecting desired polycide gates and active semiconductor areas. TiSi2 may be formed through physical vapor deposition (PVD) or chemical vapor deposition (CVD). PVD entails sputtering titanium followed by a layer of silicon. The titanium and silicon are reacted to form TiSi2. Silicon from the underlying areas also reacts with the titanium to form TiSi2. CVD typically entails reacting titanium tetrachloride (TiCl4) and silane (SiH4) in the gas phase to form TiSi2. Silicon from the underlying areas is also consumed in the CVD reaction to form TiSi2.
While TiSi2 is a relatively low resistive conductor, the titanium is susceptible to oxidation during and after its formation. The resultant titanium dioxide (TiO2) increases the sheet resistance of the interconnect thereby increasing power dissipation and reducing the speed of the device. As used herein, sheet resistance is an electrical quantity measured on a thin layer and has the units of ohms/square. Further, a layer of TiO2 makes it difficult to form good electrical contacts on the TiSi2 interconnect and poses adhesion problems when subsequent layers are deposited on top of the interconnect line. Further, TiSi2 is susceptible to damage during subsequent contact formation as the typical contact etch also consumes TiSi2. Typically, the size of the interconnect must be increased in order to compensate for damage caused by the contact etch.
Accordingly, there is a need for a local interconnect having a lower resistance and one in which the effects of oxidation are reduced. Preferably, the local interconnect is smaller in width and thickness. There is also a need for a method of forming such a local interconnect. Preferably, such a method would be inexpensive, easy to implement and would not entail excess processing steps.

Low resistance metal silicide local interconnects and a method of making


A coated ceramic member includes a silicon nitride- or silicon carbide-based ceramic base material, a silicon nitride or silicon carbide film formed on the base material by CVD, and an oxide film formed on the film of CVD, and a process for producing the ceramic-coated member. This coated ceramic member maintains excellent durability under severe conditions, for example, in a high-speed combustion gas.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coated ceramic member having excellent heat resistance, thermal shock resistance and corrosion resistance, as well as to a process for production of said member. More particularly, the present invention relates to a coated ceramic member having excellent durability under severe conditions, for example, in a high-speed combustion gas, as well as to a process for production of said member.
(2) Prior Art
As the high-temperature structural material used at high temperatures under severe conditions, ceramic materials such as silicon nitride, silicon carbide and the like have hitherto been known. As the ceramic material of good heat resistance, there is known, for example, a sintered silicon nitride member having a zirconia coating film formed thereon, disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Kokai (Laid-Open) No. 72582/1987.
Such silicon nitride or silicon carbide is a high-temperature-resistant material; however, it often thins owing to the high-temperature oxidation, high-temperature corrosion, etc. Hence, with respect to the member which is exposed to a high-speed combustion gas, there is an important task of improved oxidation resistance for improved durability.
In order to satisfy this task, there was proposed a method of forming an oxide ceramic film on the surface of a base material. In the thus-obtained member comprising a base material and an oxide ceramic film simply formed thereon, when the member is used at high temperatures for a long period of time, the difference in thermal expansion coefficient between the base material and the oxide ceramic film invites a very large stress-induced strain at their boundary, allowing the oxide film to peel from the base material easily.
In order to solve this problem, the present applicant proposed, in Japanese Patent Application Kokai (Laid-Open) No. 238859/-1993, a coated ceramic member comprising a base material and an oxide film formed thereon, wherein the oxide film consisted of an underlayer, an intermediate layer and a surface layer all formed by plasma spraying and wherein the thermal expansion coefficients of the three layers were made larger in the order of the underlayer, the intermediate layer and the surface layer.
The present applicant made further study and found out the following. The oxide film formed by plasma spraying was not sufficiently dense, inviting the oxidation of the base material; as a result, an oxidized layer generates between the base material and the underlayer, reducing the adhesivity between them and allowing the member to have inferior durability.

Process for production of coated ceramic member


A plant and method for coagulating, pasteurizing and cooking food having a liquid or pasty base including a plurality of stations, devices for implementing a processing step on the food in each station, at least one container into which the food to be processed is initially placed, and devices for enabling the container(s) to be successively positioned in the stations to thereby subject the food in the container(s) to processing by the processing devices in the stations. The processing device in at least one station includes a variable-speed dynamic radial heat exchanger for affecting the temperature of the food.

Various types of batch or continuous coagulation plants are known, each being designed specifically for a particular type of cheese. A typical example of this specialization is a plant for producing grana cheese DOC (controlled origin name) such as reggiano parmesan, grana padano and the like which, being obtained from crude milk, does not require a milk pasteurization section upstream, as in the case of a plant for mozzarella, stracchino or taleggio production. Other examples are the various plants for producing cooked or raw cheeses. In the case of reggiano parmesan, montasio, pecorino sardo, provolone and similar cheeses, the curd, after coagulation and cutting, has to be cooked at various temperatures and for various times depending on the type of cheese. Other examples are specific plants for mozzarella, taleggio, stracchino and the like, in which there is no cooking section.
Even today, specific plants for each individual type of cheese are built and used. Hence a cheese dairy is able to produce only those types of cheese allowed by the installed plants, so that if a cheese dairy contains only plants for reggiano parmesan production it is unable to produce mozzarella, stracchino or taleggio, and likewise a taleggio cheese dairy can never produce reggiano parmesan or gran padano cheese because its plants and equipment do not allow it. Consequently a characteristic of cheese dairy plants of the known art is their production rigidity. Even continuous coagulation plants, of more recent appearance on the market, have the same limitation, which in fact is even more restrictive as they possess no flexibility at all. In this respect, in addition to being able to produce only the specific type of cheese for which they have been designed, they have a rigid hourly productivity. Such plants are also limited to coagulation plus cutting and partial drainage of the curd.
An example of the known continuous plants for producing soft cheese is the apparatus for coagulating liquid-milk products as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,356. The apparatus comprises: a circular trackway having smoothy surfaced rails; a plurality of wheel frames positioned on wheels that overlie and travel on said circular trackway, said wheel frames being rigidly linked to each other; a corresponding number of identical container or vats that are pivotally mounted to said wheel frames and a tipping means intermediate said wheel frames and said vats to allow each vat to be independently tipped relative to the respective wheel frame; a filling station comprising overhead means relative to said vats for the addition of liquid milk product and coagulations agents to said vats; a cutting station comprising overhead cutting means relative to said vats that is moveable and insertable into each vat for cutting curd as it coagulates; a discharge station comprising a discharge chute positioned circumferentially about said circular trackway for receiving the whey and coagulated curd formed from at least two adjacent vats, said chute extending in a downwardly direction from an upper end where the whey and curd are received from said vats, to a lower end to which the whey and curd is transported; and a drive means for sequentially displacing said wheel frames over said circular trackway in predetermined spaced time relationship at constant velocity from said filling station to said cutting station to said discharge station.
An example of the known continuous plants for producing soft cheese is the apparatus for coagulating liquid-milk products as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,918,356. The apparatus comprises: a circular trackway having smoothy surfaced rails; a plurality of wheel frames positioned on wheels that overlie and travel on said circular trackway, said wheel frames being rigidly linked to each other; a corresponding number of identical container or vats that are pivotally mounted to said wheel frames and a tipping means intermediate said wheel frames and said vats to allow each vat to be independently tipped relative to the respective wheel frame; a filling station comprising overhead means relative to said vats for the addition of liquid milk product and coagulations agents to said vats; a cutting station comprising overhead cutting means relative to said vats that is moveable and insertable into each vat for cutting curd as it coagulates; a discharge station comprising a discharge chute positioned circumferentially about said circular trackway for receiving the whey and coagulated curd formed from at least two adjacent vats, said chute extending in a downwardly direction from an upper end where the whey and curd are received from said vats, to a lower end to which the whey and curd is transported; and a drive means for sequentially displacing said wheel frames over said circular trackway in predetermined spaced time relationship at constant velocity from said filling station to said cutting station to said discharge station.

Plant and method for coagulting pasteurizing and cooking food