A method for adjusting a rhythm of music to match a running rhythm of a person's steps. Even if a running rhythm changes during the same run, the rhythm of the music is changed without changing the sound and the key or the pitch of the music. A music file is converted into a universal PCM format and the fingerprint function is calculated. Repeating patterns are detected in the fingerprint function. Music tempo is estimated using data about repeating patterns. Runner's steps are analyzed using an accelerometer. Then, a special coefficient is calculated in order to either speed up or slow down the music for matching it to the rhythm of the runner's steps.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for processing music and, more particularly, for matching a rhythm of the music to a rhythm of steps of a running or walking person.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many people like to walk or run while listening to music of their choice. However, to run or walk while using a rhythm of the music is more pleasant and more effective in terms of exercise benefit. A person gets distracted from tiredness by the music, and can run for a longer distance. Typically, a runner or a walker subconsciously attempts to match a rhythm of his movements to the music (similar to dancing or marching).
However, people run (or walk) under different conditions at various speeds. Thus, it is desired to have a rhythm of the steps always matching the music regardless of changes in tempo of the runner or changes of one song to another. The runner wants to have any music (or song) to match his running tempo. Also, if the rhythm of the music changes within the same song, it needs to be adjusted to match the rhythm of the runner.
A runner can select some music or a song, which "more or less" fits his running style. However, the runner always has to adjust his steps to match the music. This also does not work well, if a runner attempts to run intervals at various speeds. Simply slowing down or speeding up the music does not work—it produces a broken unpleasant sound similar to an old tape recorder having a stuck tape. While many people run listening to some music, none of the conventional players allow for adjusting the playback to a rhythm of the runner's steps.
Thus, it is desired to have a method for processing music in order to adjust it to a rhythm of a runner without any unpleasant sound effects. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method for matching a rhythm of the music to a rhythm of steps of a runner or a walker.

Method for processing music to match runners tempo


A continuously variable transmission device of the type having planetary members in rolling contact with radially inner and outer races each comprising axially spaced relatively axially movable parts, and control means for determining the axial separation of the parts of one of the two races, in which the planets are connected for planetary motion to a planet carrier by connection means which allows the radial position of the planets to vary in response to variation in the axial separation of the parts of the said one of the two races while maintaining the circumferential connection.

In particular, the present invention relates to a continuously variable transmission device of the type having planetary members in rolling contact with radially inner and outer races each comprising two axially spaced parts, with control means for selectively varying the axial separation of the two parts of one race and thus the radial position of the planetary members in rolling contact therewith. Such a transmission device may have means sensitive to the torque applied to one of two drive-transmitting members of the transmission (namely the input and output shafts) to determine the compensating variation in the separation of the two parts of the other race and thus the transmission ratio of the device, and also to vary the forces exchanged between the planets and the races normal to the interface between them. The rolling contact between the planetary members and the races is lubricated by means of a very thin film of lubricant. It is essential that this thin film of lubricant be present in order to prevent dry frictional contact between the members in relative motion, which would lead to premature wear, but also that such film should be extremely thin in order to avoid relative slippage.
It is an important design criterion that a transmission device should be most efficient in the transmission ratio most used, that is used for the greatest amount of the time. All transmission devices involve certain losses to friction, and thus heat, and the design resulting in greatest efficiency is usually applied to the so-called "top" transmission ratio, that is the ratio in which the output shaft rotates fastest for a given speed of rotation of the input shaft. In conventional incremental ratio gearboxes the greatest efficiency is usually achieved when the output shaft is travelling at the same speed as the input shaft to provide a 1:1 or "straight through" transmission ratio. There are, however, circumstances where the transmission ratio at greatest efficiency may be less than 1:1 and, correspondingly situations where a ratio of greater than 1:1 may be desirable.
In a continuously variable rolling contact transmission device of the type defined above the input to the device may be applied via the radially inner races and the output from the device taken from the planets via planet followers or a planet carrier, with the outer race constituting the stationary component. The high gear ratio is then achieved with the two components of the radially outer race located at their position of maximum spacing whilst the parts of the inner race are located as close to one another as possible so that the planets are, effectively, "squeezed" to their greatest radial position. Of course, it will be appreciated that the roles of input and output shaft can be reversed and, in the design in question, the roles of the three components, namely radially inner races, planets assembly, which includes planet followers and planet carriers, and radially outer races are all interchangeable so that any one of them may be held stationary and the other two used either as the input or the output member. It has been found, however, that a configuration as defined above with the outer race stationary has particular advantages from a constructional point of view.
One of the disadvantages arising from this configuration, however, if the planet is a ball, is that in order to obtain the highest ratio possible the patches where rolling contact takes place between the planets and the races are close to their end-of-range positions (closest to the axis of the ball in the case of the radially inner race and furthest from the axis of the ball in the case of the radially outer race). At the end-of-range positions the rolling of the planets over one or the other of the races involves a significant amount of "spin" at the contact patch between the planet and the race, and this generates considerable heat.

Continuously variable transmission device


A radiometer system includes a housing and an RF board contained within the housing. Balanced radiometer channels receive an unknown signal and known reference. Each balanced radiometer channel includes at least one quadrature hybrid and amplifier circuit to provide distributed gain and an amplified output signal. A detection circuit receives and detects the amplified output signal forming a detected signal. A controller board is contained within the housing and has an integration circuit and microcontroller that receives the detected signal and performs video signal digitization and conditioning and real-time corrections on any radiometer channels to account for changes in temperature or gain.

Since radio waves may be considered infrared radiation of long wave, a hot body would be expected to radiate microwave energy thermally. In order to be a good radiator of microwave energy, a body must be a good absorber. The best thermal radiator is a "black body." The amount of radiation emitted in the MMW range is 108 times smaller than the amount emitted in the infrared range. Current MMW receivers, however, have at least 105 times better noise performance than infrared detectors, and with some temperature contrast, the remaining 103 may be recovered. This makes passive MMW imaging comparable in performance with current infrared systems. This unique characteristic makes MMW radiometers a popular choice for sensing thermal radiation. MMW radiometers have been used in many different applications such as remote terrestrial and extra-terrestrial sensing, medical diagnostics and defense applications. MMW electromagnetic radiation windows occur at 35 GHz, 94 GHz, 140 GHz and 220 GHz. The choice of frequency depends on specific applications.
Focal plane arrays are used to form images from radiation received by a reflector antenna. Millimeter wave (MMW) focal plane array radiometers also have been used in many applications to form images based on thermal sensing of radiated microwave energy. The sensitivity of existing radiometer designs, however, has been limited to about 1 deg K, resulting in poor images.
The principle of operation of the radiometric technique is fully described in the literature. The design of a typical radiometer is based on the technique of comparing the level of electromagnetic noise emitted by an unknown source to a reference or stable noise source. This technique and devices were initially proposed by Dicke [R. H. Dicke, "The Measurement of Thermal Radiation at Microwave Frequencies," The Review of Scientific Instruments, Vol. 17, No. 7, July 1946].
In a Dicke radiometer circuit, the signals from an antenna are sampled and compared with signals from a reference source maintained at a known constant temperature. This overcomes some of the problems of amplifier instability, but in general does not alter effects resulting from imperfect components and thermal gradients.
While other types of radiometric devices have been used with some success, the Dicke (or comparison) type of radiometer has been the most widely used for the study of relatively low level noise-like MMW signals, especially where the noise signals to be examined are often small in comparison to the internally generated noise level within the radiometer receiver. While there are several types of comparison radiometers, one popular type of radiometer for use in the microwave/millimeter wave frequency bands is that in which an incoming signal to be measured and a standard or calibrated reference noise signal are compared. This type of radiometer consists essentially of the comparison of the amplitude of an unknown noise signal coming from the source to be examined with a known amplitude of a noise signal from a calibration source. This method has been found useful in measuring with considerable accuracy the effective temperature of an unknown source.
In the Dicke or comparison type radiometer, the receiver input is switched between the antenna and a local reference signal noise generator. The detected and amplified receiver output is coupled to a phase-sensing detector operated in synchronism with the input switching. The output signal from such a radiometer receiver is proportionate to the difference between the temperature of the reference signal source and the temperature of the source viewed by the antenna inasmuch as the phase-sensing detector acts to subtract the background or internal noise of the receiver.
A Dicke radiometer uses an RF switch coupled between an antenna and a radiometer receiver, allowing the receiver to alternate between the antenna and a known reference load termination. The receiver output is connected to a synchronous detector that produces an output voltage proportional to a difference between the antenna and the reference temperature. Null balance operation for the Dicke radiometer has been achieved by coupling in noise from a hot noise diode to the antenna port of the RF switch thereby enabling matching the temperature from standard reference loads
The sensitivity of radiometer measurements are also often limited by random gain fluctuations in the RF front end, low frequency noise (1/f), and bias in the detector circuits. Over the last decades many special techniques, including Dicke switching, have been implemented to reduce measurement errors. Many of these proposals do not yield a true solution that will allow MMW radiometers to be commercially viable. In addition, the high cost of MMW RF receivers has limited the number of channels in the radiometer to a low number, resulting in a requirement to scan both azimuth and elevation to create an image.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method of connecting a substrate to a semiconductor chip and component therefor to allow for the packaging of a chip even after successive die shrinks. The method compensates for successive die shrinks by providing a substrate that has connection sections of electrical leads that are releasable and/or be displaceable from a surface of the substrate as a result of a force from a bonding tool on the connection sections through at least one substrate aperture. A contact bearing surface of a semiconductor chip may then be aligned with the substrate so that the connection sections are in general alignment with the chip contacts. The connection sections may then be displaced and bonded to respective chip contacts. Other methods may be used to ensure that the chip, after die shrink, fits within the same package such as aligning the chip asymmetrically with the substrate and designing the location and dimensions of the substrate apertures so that the connection sections can be in alignment with the chip contacts.

The present invention relates to components useful in making electrical connections to microelectronic elements such as semiconductor chips, and to methods of manufacturing such components.
FIG. 1 shows a specific semiconductor package marketed by the present assignee under the registered trademark xcexcBGA. In short, the figure shows semiconductor chip having contacts 110 on a face surface 120. A flexible, dielectric substrate 130 overlies and is juxtaposed with the face surface 120 of the chip 100. The substrate 130 has a first surface 150 facing away from the chip 100, and a second surface 160, facing towards the chip 100. The substrate 130 further has conductive leads 170 running along the second surface 160. Each lead has a connection section 180 extending across a bonding window 190. The connection sections 180 are releasably attached to the substrate, as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,489,749 and 5,629,239 hereby incorporated by reference herein. Each lead terminates in a conductive terminal 200 which is exposed at or overlies the first surface 150 of the substrate 130. A compliant layer 140 is disposed between the substrate 130 and the face surface 120 of the chip 100. In this embodiment, the compliant layer 140 takes the form of a plurality of compliant pads 140, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,952 hereby incorporated by reference herein. The leads are detached and bonded to respective chip contacts 110, such as by thermocompression or ultrasonic bonding techniques. The bond windows are then covered by a coverlay or soldermask (not shown) and a liquid encapsulant 210 is dispensed or injected into and between the substrate 130 and the chip 100, as described more fully in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/726,697 incorporated by reference herein. The encapsulant 210 is then cured and solder balls 220 are connected to the terminals 200 and the package is cut to size, as shown, for future connection to a printed wiring board (xe2x80x9cPWBxe2x80x9d).
As the chip 100 heats up and cools down in operation, it expands and contracts at an inherent rate, called its coefficient of expansion (xe2x80x9cCTExe2x80x9d). The CTE of silicon is approximately 2.7 to 3.0 parts per million per degree Celsius. As the chip heats up and cools down in operation, the underlying PWB also heats up and cools down (and thereby expands and contracts) in response to the chip 100. However, the CTE of standard epoxy/fiberglass PWBs is approximately 15 to 20 parts per million per degree Celsius causing a mismatch in the expansion and contraction between the chip and the PWB. The construction of the package shown in FIG. 1 mechanically decouples the chip from the underlying PWB to allow for movement of the terminals 200/solder balls 220 with respect to the chip contacts 110 thereby allowing the chip to expand and contract at one rate and the PWB to expand and contract at another rate without the mechanical connection fatiguing and becoming unreliable due to the thermal mismatch, as explained more fully in U.S. Pat. No. 5,679,977 hereby incorporated by reference herein. In this type of chip package construction, it is typically better, from a reliability stand-point, for the connection section 180 of the leads 170 to have a gradual radius of curvature both at the heel of the connection section 180 (near where it connects to the chip contact 110) and at the shoulder of the connection section 180 (near where it connects to the substrate 130). Such a gradual radius of curvature better ensures that the connection section 180 does not hinge about a single point or area as it is flexing in response to the thermal mismatch phenomenon described above. To create such a gradual radius of curvature for the connection sections 180, the connection sections 180 must be a certain minimum length which depends on the stand-off (or vertical height) from the face surface 120 of the chip 100 to the second surface 160 of the substrate 130. This connection section 180 minimum length also sets the allowable minimum dimension (DW) for the bonding window 190. Likewise, the minimum dimension DW for the bonding window 190 limits the amount of area (DS) on the first surface 150 of the substrate 130 that is available for terminals 200. Typically, the preferred terminal 200 center to center distance (or xe2x80x9cpitchxe2x80x9d) is somewhere between 0.8 and 0.65 millimeters with a typical terminal size of 275 xcexcm to 300 xcexcm and a solder ball 220 diameter of approximately 300 xcexcm to 350 xcexcm. On some package designs, it is permissible to use a terminal pitch of 0.5 millimeters which allows more terminals to be placed in the same substrate area Ds. The major constraint on using a pitch of 0.5 millimeters or below is that most inexpensive PWBs cannot be wired to receive contacts at such a fine pitch so more expensive substrates must be used.
FIGS. 2 and 3 show fragmentary side views of a chip package similar to the package shown in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, the length of the bonding window 190a and therefore the connection section 180a have been shortened to DW1 when compared to the bonding window 190b (DW2) and connection section 180b of FIG. 3. As explained above, this shorter connection section 180a has a larger radius of curvature at the heel and shoulder of the connection section 180a and may also have a less reliable response to thermal cycling. In many packaging applications, the shorter connection section shown in FIG. 2 may have acceptable reliability characteristics. However, it is preferred to have the longer connection section 180b of the type shown in FIG. 3 because it has been found that such leads are more reliable over a longer period of time and/or under greater thermal mismatch conditions.
Another issue with respect to a larger bonding window 190b (DW2) is that the bonding window 190 may get in the way of the locations of the terminals 200 as the semiconductor manufacturer shrinks the size of its chips which causes the locations of the chip contacts to move. Semiconductor manufacturers fabricate a plurality of semiconductor chips en mass in a unitary, planar structure called a wafer. The chips are typically separated from each other later prior to the packaging operation. Typically, a semiconductor manufacturer will endeavor to take its original design for a particular semiconductor chip 100 and change it so that the same or better functionality are placed into a smaller first surface 120 area. This allows the semiconductor manufacturer to fit more chips into a single wafer. Since the cost of processing wafers is approximately constant, this process of reducing the chip size provides more chips for less manufacturing cost per chip. As a general rule of thumb, most chip shrinks are about 20% (or more) smaller than the size of the original chip and typically the chip manufacturers only perform two or three chip shrinks before discontinuing a particular chip type in favor of a new design or technology; although, some chip makers perform more chip shrinks before going to a completely new chip design depending on the aggressiveness of the chip maker and the type of die.
As the chip shrinks and the chip contacts move inward from their original locations, the bonding windows 190 and connection sections 180 in the chip package shown in FIG. 1 also have to move to compensate for the chip contact 110 movement. If the bonding windows need to be moved into the area DS on the first surface 150 of the substrate 130 that is occupied by the terminals 200, the terminal pitch and arrangement may no longer be uniform with the last version of the chip package. This causes the PWB manufacturer to have to re-design the PWB to account for the movement of the terminals 200/solder balls 220. One method of compensating for the problems that are encountered because of a chip shrink is to place the chip face up on the supporting substrate so that the chip contacts face away from the package terminals and are connected to the substrate terminals by standard wire-bonds and routing leads on a surface of the substrate. Such a face-up package variation has many useful attributes (as are described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/962,988 incorporated by reference herein); however, the resulting package is generally larger and thicker than the package shown in FIG. 1. Therefore, while the above mentioned package designs are important improvements to packaging technology, it is desirable to find a method of shortening the bonding window 190 and/or otherwise compensating for the problems encountered because of chip shrink without negatively affecting the reliability of the connection sections 180 of the leads 170 or the pitch and arrangement of the exterior package terminals.
The present invention discloses a method of connecting a substrate to a semiconductor chip and component therefor to allow for the packaging of a chip even after successive die shrinks.
The method includes providing a chip having contacts on a face surface and a dielectric substrate having a top surface facing away and a bottom surface facing towards the face surface of the chip and at least one aperture therethrough. The substrate may be rigid or flexible and has terminals exposed at its top surface. The substrate further has conductive connection sections adjacent a portion of the bottom surface of the substrate and being releasably connected thereto. Each connection section extending at least partially across the substrate aperture. The connection sections further being a substrate terminal by a conductive lead on said substrate. The chip face surface and the substrate bottom surface are then aligned so that the chip contacts are disposed within the at least one substrate aperture and displacing and bonding said connection section to a chip contact, wherein the connection section is moved away from said substrate bottom surface toward the face surface of the chip during the displacement operation. In some embodiments, the chip and the substrate may be juxtaposed with one another so that they are in an asymmetrical relationship.
Typically, the substrate connection sections are made releasable by removing or degrading a portion of material from between the connection section and the substrate bottom surface. This may be accomplished by directly etching the substrate bottom surface. In some embodiments, a technique such as plasma etching can be used to preferentially etch the substrate beneath and around the connection sections. In alternate embodiments, a separate layer may be disposed between the substrate bottom surface and the connection sections. This separate layer may then be etched such that the adherence of the connection sections is removed or degraded. The separate layer may be a conductive layer such as copper, or may be a dielectric layer, such as an adhesive layer.
The present invention further contemplates a component for manufacturing a semiconductor package. This component includes a dielectric substrate having a top surface and a bottom surface and at least one aperture therethrough. The substrate further has terminals exposed at its top surface and connection sections adjacent a portion of the bottom surface of the substrate. The connection sections are releasably connected to the substrate bottom surface. The connection sections further extend at least partially across the at least one substrate aperture and are connected to said terminals by conductive leads. In certain embodiments, the substrate may have an anchor portion between said leads and said connection sections where the anchor portion has a greater adherence to the surface of the substrate than the connection section. The anchor may have greater adherence to the substrate because it has a larger surface area per unit length than the connection section. In an alternative embodiment, the anchor may be a conductive via extending from the bottom surface to the top surface of the substrate.

Method for creating a die shrink insensitive semiconductor package and component therefor


In a muffler for internal combustion engine which is provided with a valve capable of closing and opening an open end of by-pass inner pipe, the opening and closing operation of the valve is performed via the exhaust gas pressure, without being affected by external factors. Also, the structure is simple and easy to be assembled. On a fixed shaft (36) supported in the vicinity of an open end (28a) of a by-pass inner pipe (28) is a valve (32) rotatably mounted. The valve (32) is urged against the open end (28a) by a coil spring (42), and when fitted in a flange part (38), it closes the open end (28a). When the revolving speed of the internal combustion engine is low, the pressure inside the by-pass inner pipe (28) is smaller than the operative force which is an addition of the urging force by the coil spring (42) and the external pressure. The open end (28a) is therefore closed. On the other hand, when the revolving speed rises and the pressure has increased to a predetermined pressure, their relation is reversed. Specifically, the valve retracts from the open end (28a) thereby placing the by-pass inner pipe (28) in a communicated condition.

Known mufflers for internal combustion engines have a valve capable of closing and opening an open end of by-pass inner pipe. When the revolving speed of internal combustion engine is high, the open end of the muffler is opened to reduce exhaust resistance, thereby mitigating back pressure. When the revolving speed is low, the open end is closed to increase the muffling effect.
For instance, a Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 5-98930 proposes an arrangement shown in FIG. 6. In that figure, a valve 103 is fixed at the foot of an open end 101a of a by-pass inner pipe 101, and is pivotable with respect to a connection plate 104 serving as a fulcrum. The connection plate 104 is made of flexible metal and has a bimetal 105 attached to its outer surface. In assembly, the valve 103 is positioned at the position indicated by the bold line in FIG. 6.
In this arrangement, when the revolving speed of internal combustion engine is high and the exhaust gas becomes hot, the bimetal 105 is heated and bends as a result of the temperature change. Responsively, the valve 103 opens wide and reaches the position indicated by a dot-dash line in FIG. 6, thereby reducing back pressure. On the other hand, when the revolving speed is low and the exhaust gas is of a lower temperature, the valve 103 reaches the position indicated by a broken line in FIG. 6 and closes the open end 101a, thereby providing an increased muffling effect. In such arrangement, even if the temperature of the exhaust gas is relatively low, it is still higher compared to the temperature during the assembly of the valve 103. In order to allow for the bending degree of the bimetal 105 which varies according to temperatures, in the arrangement the open end 101a projects forward in a predetermined angle.
Meanwhile, it has also been proposed to utilize means other than temperature in controlling the valve.
For instance, a Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 2-3009 controls closing and opening of an open end by means of pressure. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7(a), the prior art suggests a muffler having a housing 116 the inner space of which is divided into three chambers. Into separate expansion chambers 112, 114 are inlet pipe 118 and an outlet pipe 120 inserted. The expansion chambers 112, 114 communicate with one another via two parallel inner pipes 126, 128, one 128 (hereinafter referred to as "by-pass inner pipe") of which has an open end 128a, at the lower reaches of the exhaust gas stream, which is provided with a valve 132 for a valve mechanism 130.
In such a muffler, the by-pass inner pipe 128 opens, at the upper reaches of exhaust gas stream, into the first expansion chamber 112. When the pressure inside the first expansion chamber 112 is equal to or below a predetermined value, the urging force from a spring 142, shown in FIG. 7(b), of the valve mechanism 130 and the pressure inside the second expansion chamber 114 are together acting on the valve 132 to keep the open end 128a closed. On the other hand, when the pressure becomes equal to or above a predetermined value, the valve 132 resists the urging force from the spring 142 of the valve mechanism 130 and other pressures, and retracts away from the open end 128a, thereby opening the open end 128a. Thus, when the revolving speed is low and so is the pressure, the open end 128a is closed by the urging force from the spring 142 and other pressures, and an enhanced muffling effect is provided. On the other hand, when the revolving speed is high and the pressure is high enough to open the open end 128a, further rise of the back pressure is prevented. Since the closing and opening of the open end 128a by the valve 132 occurs in a quick response to the shift of the exhaust gas pressure, it is enabled to control the valve 132 appropriately in accordance with the revolving speed of internal combustion engine.
However, as previously described, the former type of muffler utilizes the property of the bimetal 105 which bends in a varied degree according to temperatures. Since this method has a problematic time lag intrinsic to the bimetal 105 in responding to the shift of the exhaust gas temperature and reaching a critical temperature, it is quite difficult to have the revolving speed of internal combustion engine appropriately reflected upon the control of the valve 103 to be closed or opened, and an inappropriate control is resulted.
On the other hand, the latter type of muffler requires a number of components other than the valve 132 and the spring 142 urging the valve 132 against the open end 128a. Such components include, as shown in FIG. 7(b), a shaft 140 to support the valve 132, and a piston 144 and cylinder 146 which are connected to the shaft 140. The numerous components add to cost and because, as shown in FIG. 7(a), they need to be assembled to the exterior of the housing 116, the assembly is laborious and needs protective measures against external factors, such as smash of stones and salt injury.


A system for the connection of an annular tire (1) to a rotary drum (10) comprising blocks (2a, 2b) bearing upon the side faces of the tire and held in place by retaining elements fastened to the drum, said blocks comprising a portion (8) inserted underneath the tire, the blocks being connected in pairs by clamping means (13) independent of the tire and extending through the block portions inserted under the tire, the clamping control means (4) of the successive pairs of blocks being arranged alternately on either side of the tire.

One already knows fastening systems applicable to tires or hoops the inner surface of which is provided with teeth (DE-A-4,312,508). The object of the teeth or cogs is to take up the tangential forces bound to the rotation of the drum and of the tire and to avoid the slipping between the inner surface of the tire and the outer circumference of the drum, this in order to avoid wearing and damaging the blocks of these drums through sliding and friction. These teeth are wearing away, thereby resulting in the need to stop the kiln wherefrom result a production loss and very expensive repairs.
To avoid the problems encountered with the cogged tires or hoops and to limit the high cost of these tires or hoops, there has been proposed to use annular tires or hoops of which the inner surface is smooth, devoid of cogs; blocks are interposed between the tire and the rotary kiln. According to this conceptual design, the tire has the possibility of sliding on these blocks if it is not fastened onto the latter. This tire or hoop of the floating type is more economical but it exhibits some inconveniencies, mainly of permitting an ovalization of the rotary furnace resulting in wears of fireproof bricks constituting its inner insulation and moreover in problems of wears and maintenance of these tires.
The document WO-95/34792 provides to use an annular tire the inner surface of which is smooth and which is provided with blocks fastened to the side walls of the tire, thereby requiring the boring of the tire at many points, thereby resulting in a considerable work and reduction of the mechanical strength of the tire. Many weldings have to be carried out on the drum during the mounting to avoid the tangential and axial displacement of the blocks during operation, thereby complicating the change of the blocks when this becomes necessary. In this system, no block portion is located underneath the tire.

System for connection of an annular tire or hoop and a rotary drum or tube, such as a rotary kiln or furnace


A circuit board for detecting disconnection of a bonding wire, includes a circuit board body; a pattern layer having a die pad region formed on an upper surface of the circuit board body for mounting a semiconductor chip thereon, and respective conductive wire patterns formed on the upper surface and an opposite lower surface of the circuit board body for electrically connecting the semiconductor chip; and via holes perforating through the circuit board body for connecting the conductive wire patterns. The pattern layer further includes bonding leads formed at one end of the conductive wire patterns and connected to the semiconductor chip by bonding wires for electrical connection between the semiconductor chip and the circuit board, and earth terminals formed outside of the die pad region and connected to a device for clamping the circuit board during electrical connection between the semiconductor chip and the circuit board by wire bonding. A detecting device detects a bonding wire disconnection by measuring an electrical resistance at the same time that the wire is bonded on a bonding pad of the semiconductor chip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a semiconductor chip package, and in particular to a circuit board having earth terminals for detecting the disconnection of bonding wires during a wire bonding process and a wire bonding apparatus using such a circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Wire bonding is the most widely used technology for chip interconnection in the plastic chip assembly process. A semiconductor chip and a board are connected to each other with wires using thermo-compression bonding, ultrasonic bonding or thermo-sonic bonding processes. The thermo-sonic bonding and thermo-compression bonding processes comprise a ball-wedge bonding step using gold wires. The processes employ a capillary that is driven upon an application of an ultrasonic-wave during every wire bonding process to improve an adhesion force between the gold wires and the aluminum bonding pads.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a conventional wire bonding process between a lead of a lead frame and a semiconductor chip. Referring to FIG. 1, bonding pads (23) of a board (21) are connected to bonding pads (34) of a semiconductor chip (33) by wires in a BGA (Ball Grid Array) package (20).
The BGA package (20) comprises the circuit board (21) and the semiconductor chip (33). The circuit board (21) is composed of BT resin(Bismaleimide Triazine resin) and has a conductive pattern layer (22). After the wire bonding process, chip (33) is encapsulated with a thermosetting molding resin to create a package body (not shown). A chip-mounting part (31) for mounting the semiconductor chip (33) by adhesives (32) thereon, and bonding pads (23) for wedge bonding are formed on the upper surface of the circuit board (21). Solder ball pads (24) for mounting a plurality of solder balls (28) are formed and attached to a bottom surface of the circuit board (21) opposite to the surface where the bonding pads (23) are formed. The whole bottom surface of the circuit board (21), except the solder ball pads (24), is covered with a solder resist (27) in order to increase adhesion between the solder balls (28) and the board (21). The bonding pads (23) are electrically connected to the solder ball pads (24) through signal via (25). Heat-emitting via (26) releases heat generated from semiconductor chip (33) to the outside of the package body.
After mounting the semiconductor chip (33) on the circuit board (21), dampers (30) hold and fix the board (21). The surface of the board (21) to be held by the damper is first covered with a protective layer (29). The positions of the bonding pads (34) of the chip (33) and the positions of the bonding pads (23) of the board (21) are recognized and aligned by the bonding head (10) using a CCD camera (not shown).
The bonding head (10) comprises a spool unit (18) wound by wire (15) for the bonding process, a capillary (12) and a torch electrode (16). When the switch (19) of the spool unit (18) is turned on, the wire (15) has constant tension and is connected to the capillary (12) through a transducer (14).
The wire bonding process comprises a first ball bonding step for the aluminum bonding pad (34) of the semiconductor chip (33), and a second wedge bonding step for the bonding pad (23) of the board (21). A ball is formed at the end of the wire (15) when a high voltage, for example, over 5,000 Volts, is instantaneously applied to the end of the wire (15) from the capillary (12) by torch electrode (16). As shown in FIG. 2, the first ball bonding step is performed on the aluminum bonding pad (34) by pressing and heating the wire ball (35) on the bonding pad (34), thereby bonding the wire ball (35) on the bonding pad (34) of the semiconductor chip (33). Adhesion between the two metals may be increased by applying ultrasonic power at the time of the bonding process.
After the first ball bonding step, the wire (38) is guided to the bonding pad (23) of the board (21) by the capillary (12) and then the second wedge bonding step is performed on the bonding pad (23) as shown in FIG. 2. After the second wedge bonding step, the rest of the wire is cut, thereby completing one wire bonding cycle. This wire bonding process is repeated for every bonding pad to be connected.
The wire bonding process as described above is essential to ensure that power is input to the semiconductor integrated circuit and information is output from the semiconductor integrated circuit to an external terminal. However, as semiconductor devices become denser and more integrated, the number of input/output terminals to be bonded increases, and the need for a more advanced bonding technique is evident. However, a good wire connection, performed by the bonding process, can be still only be detected by visual inspection and reliability tests. If there are errors in the wire bonding process or impurities on the aluminum bonding pads (34), the wire may be disconnected. This problem is compounded in the case of highly-integrated semiconductor devices, which may have numerous wire disconnections, and where it is impossible to detect these disconnections during the wire bonding process. As a result, substandard articles are produced.

Circuit board having a terminal for detecting disconnection of a bonding wire and a wire bonding apparatus using such a board


Compositions, methods, and coating composition using a curing agent are provided herein. In one embodiment, a curing agent for epoxy resins may be prepared using a formulation including: (a) an adduct of: (i) a diglycidyl ether of a bisphenol, and (ii) a first polyamine; (b) a second polyamine; and (c) water; wherein the composition has an amine hydrogen equivalent weight, based on solids, of less than or equal to 105.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to epoxy coatings. The present invention particularly relates to curing agents for epoxy coatings.
Background of the Art
Historically, epoxy coatings are well known in the art for many end-use applications. One component necessary to preparing an epoxy coating is a curing agent. The curing agent is the component which is employed to render precursor resins into hardened coatings, often by pushing to completion the reaction of residual reactive species.
Typical commercially available waterborne curing agents based on polymeric adducts of polyamines with an epoxy resin have an amine hydrogen equivalent weight (AHEW), based on solids, of greater than 105. The consequence of this is that it requires high amine loadings in the coating formulation. Typical curing agent loadings are 1:1 to 4:1 epoxy:amine loading ratio (by weight) to form these coatings. The high amine loading ratio is necessary to achieve the appropriate equivalent ratio of epoxy to amine in the formulation in order to achieve proper cure of the coating by the adducts.
Further, a large amount of curing agent, typically at least 25% of the epoxy component weight, is required when grinding the pigmented side of a coatings formulation with the amine, in order to achieve adequate wetting of the pigment during the grind. High amine loadings result in greater hydrophilicity in the cured coating network due to the presence of high amounts of amine nitrogen and other hydrophilic components in the curing agent composition, leading to reduced corrosion resistance and greater water penetration. It would be desirable in the art to provide curing agents with low AHEW, which would allow for low amine loading in the hardenable film forming composition, resulting in lower hydrophilicity and improved corrosion resistance, as well as less color transfer from the curing agent to the cured film.
The low loading of the amine would also contribute to less blushing in a clear formulation, particularly for curing agents with primary amine nitrogen groups. It would be desirable in the art to provide curing agents which allow adequate pigment wetting at low loading levels when grinding the pigmented side of a paint formulation. The low amine loading would further offer a cost advantage, due to decreased demand for the curing agent component. There is a need for low color amine curing agents, which offer advantages in paint formulations which are color sensitive. There is a need for reduced cycle time of curing agent preparation, primarily for reduction in fixed costs during manufacture.


Carbon fiber reinforced metal matrix composite gears include a planar carbon fiber structure fully encapsulated within a metal matrix formed of sintered metal nanoparticles. The metal nanoparticles can be composed of a metal having a high sintering temperature that would ordinarily destroy the carbon fiber. Novel techniques for making small uniform nanoparticles for sintering lowers the sintering temperature to a level that can accommodate carbon fiber. The composite gears possess high strength to weight ratio.

The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it may be described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present technology.
Reduction in the weight of automotive vehicles has the potential to improve performance, including fuel efficiency and acceleration. It is partly for this reason that plastics and aluminum have replaced steel and other heavy materials in areas such as bumpers, cabin materials, and even in the engine compartment. It is of course important that such weight diminishing substitutions can be made while maintaining structural integrity and durability.
Transmission gears for automotive vehicles are typically formed of bulk metal, most commonly, steel. Because of this, gears typically have the density of iron, and a transmission can weigh from nearly 200 pounds to nearly 300 pounds. An automotive transmission, equipped with gears of lower density but undiminished or even improved physical robustness, thus provides an opportunity for vehicle weight diminishment and the attendant benefits.
Automotive gears of course are exposed to considerable strains for long durations, and must possess considerable tensile strength, ultimate strength, and so forth. Depending on the gear composition (e.g. S45C carbon steel vs. SCM440 chrome/molybdenum steel) and heat treatment during manufacture (e.g. thermal refining vs. induction hardening), the hardness of the bulk metal from which an automotive gear is formed can vary, but rarely exceeds a tensile strength of about 880 N/mm2. Titanium alloys could potentially provide tensile strength as high as about 1100 N/mm2 with a 40% weight reduction, but would incur substantial cost increase.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide automotive gears formed of metal matrix composites having lower density and equal or greater strength compared to the base metals themselves.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A system and method for generating new musical improvisations, based on a database of existing improvisations. An automated method for converting the existing improvisations to a database and generating a new improvisation from the database. Musical improvisations are performed by musicians and stored in MIDI Data format. The Chord symbols used and key signature are input, and added to the improvisation. The system analyzes the performances, and information about sections and phrases of the solo are stored in a "Riffs" file. The musicians' original performances, the chord symbols and the Riffs files are combined into a Soloist Database File, consisting of one or more improvisations. An Options file is created by the user to control parameters about the solo to be generated. The system then generates a new improvisation based on any input chord progression and key, and the Options file, by choosing portions of the Soloist Database to construct the new improvisation.

For use with computerized electronic devices, music may be described with data representing the pitch value of each note, the timing of each note, and the sound character of each note. The standard of such data representation is known as MIDI. Such data representations of music are used to record performances by musicians, typically performed at electronic keyboards. The sequences of notes with timing information may be stored in computer-readable media for subsequent electronic generation of music. When the music is generated, each note may be converted to sound by playing back a recorded snippet of the sound of an acoustic musical instrument. Similarly, sequences of many notes played on an acoustic instrument may be recorded for such assembly and playback.
Whether the sound data is stored as a MIDI sequence or as a recording from a musical instrument, the sequence may represent an entire performance or may be a short pattern that is repeated as accompaniment for simultaneous performance by a user, typically called a "style". A style is selected by a user and the system then generates the sequence of notes based on a particular rhythm and a particular chord. Styles typically contain one or two or four bars based on a single chord selected by the user and are endlessly repeated and transposed when the user selects a different chord. Such systems do not generate a melody or a "solo".
Computer systems are known which generate melodies or solos based on numeric rules for rhythm and a numerically generated melody, such as U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,547. However, melodies or solos generated by such methods do not sound like they are generated by humans and are seldom attractive to humans.

Automatic improvisation system and method


A modified polymer which can serve as a raw material of novel reverse dispersion retardation films is provided, the modified polymer having no need to select a plurality of monomers or polymers in order to realize a reverse dispersion and having no problems concerning glass transition temperature or the like in drawing treatment. A polymer having a polyol skeleton as its main chain is caused to react with a compound for modification such as an aromatic carboxylic acid hydride. Through this reaction, a modified polymer in which a chemical group such as an aromatic carbonyl group is bonded to an oxygen atom in a side chain of the polyol skeleton is prepared. For example, polyvinyl alcohols and benzoyl chloride can be used as the polymer and the compound for modification, respectively. The chemical group may be a benzoyl group. When this modified polymer is formed into a film and then subjected to drawing treatment, a retardation film which exhibits a reverse wavelength dispersion characteristic can be obtained.

In image display devices such as liquid crystal display devices, retardation films are usually widely used for improving viewing angle characteristics of display screens.
Although λ/2 plates and λ/4 plates are known as the aforesaid retardation films, many of them have a characteristic that absorption is greater on a short wavelength side and the retardation increases as the wavelength becomes shorter. Such a characteristic is generally called a positive wavelength dispersion characteristic (henceforth referred to as "positive dispersion"). However, retardation films which exhibit positive dispersion have some problems such as those shown below.
The retardation of a retardation film usually is adjusted to ½ of a wavelength in a case of a λ/2 plate and to ¼ of a wavelength in a case of a λ/4 plate. Ideally, a characteristic curve of the retardation film with wavelength as an abscissa and retardation as an ordinate is demanded to show a straight line with a shift rising steadily from left to right. This is because if such a characteristic curve is shown, the retardation increases with increase in wavelength and, therefore, retardations near values of ¼ or ½ of a wavelength are obtained for any wavelength. However, a retardation film with a positive dispersion actually shows a curve with a shift rising steadily from right to left, which behaves differently from an ideal straight line, because such a film exhibits a larger retardation as the wavelength becomes shorter as described above. In other words, although a desired retardation is satisfied for some wavelengths, it is impossible to obtain a desired retardation in a wide wavelength band. For this reason, it is difficult for retardation films with a positive dispersion to convert light into linearly polarized light over a wide wavelength band.
For such a reason, retardation films which exhibit wavelength dispersion characteristics different from positive dispersion have recently been attracting attentions. They are retardation films which exhibit characteristics such that the retardation increases as the wavelength becomes longer, namely, wavelength dispersion characteristics with reverse dispersion (henceforth, referred to as "reverse dispersion"). In such retardation films, the retardation becomes larger as the wavelength becomes longer. Therefore, the aforesaid characteristic curve of the retardation shows a curve with a shift rising steadily from left to right and approximates an ideal behavior. In other words, in the case of a λ/4 plate for example, a retardation near a value of ¼ of a wavelength is obtained in a wide wavelength band. Therefore, it becomes possible to convert light into polarized light as a λ/4 plate in a wide wavelength band. In a case of a retardation film which exhibits a larger reverse dispersion, it can be used in a wide wavelength band as a λ/2 plate whose ideal retardation is a value of ½ of a wavelength. Regarding the "amplitude of reverse dispersion", in the aforesaid characteristic curve for example, the relatively greater the slope, the larger the reverse dispersion; whereas the relatively smaller the slope, the smaller the reverse dispersion. Therefore, in the case of a λ/2 plate, what is required is that the slope of the aforesaid characteristic curve is larger (a larger retardation is shown for every wavelength), in other words, there is a large reverse dispersion, in comparison to a λ/4 plate, because ½ of a wavelength is the ideal retardation of the λ/2 plate.
The reverse dispersion characteristics mentioned above usually depend upon a kind of the polymer used as a raw material of the retardation film. However, there are very few reports about polymer which can realize reverse dispersion.
Specifically, for example, a method has been reported in which a retardation film with a reverse dispersion is formed by forming a film from a polymer resulting from polymerization of two kinds of monomers and drawing the film, thereby causing the film to express retardation (JP-A 2002-221622). The two kinds of monomers in this method are of a combination in which one shows a positive birefringent property (monomer 1) and another shows a negative birefringent property (monomer 2), wherein the wavelength dispersion characteristics of both monomers satisfy monomer 1<monomer 2. On the other hand, a method has been reported in which a retardation film with a reverse dispersion is formed by blending two kinds of polymers differing in retardation polarity and wavelength dispersion characteristics (JP-A 2002-14234). Further, a method for producing a retardation film with a reverse dispersion from a mixture of a liquid crystal molecule and a polymer has also been reported (JP-A 2002-48919).
However, a polycarbonate having a fluorene skeleton disclosed in the above-cited JP-A 2002-221622 has a very high glass transition point due to its structure. Therefore, there is a problem that the drawing temperature must be set at a very high temperature in a drawing treatment for expressing retardation. In addition, when such an undrawn film of polycarbonate is subjected to shrinking treatment in order to increase a refractive index in a thickness direction, there also arises a problem described below. The shrinking treatment is a method in which an undrawn film is stuck to a film capable of shrinking on heating and the resulting laminate is heated and drawn (JP-A 5-157911). In this case, it is difficult to produce a retardation film with a high refractive index in the thickness direction in an industrial scale because the drawing temperature of the undrawn film of polycarbonate is too high in comparison to the shrinking temperature of the shrinking film.
The method disclosed in JP-A 2002-14234 has a problem that when dissolving two kinds of polymers together it is difficult to maintain transparency of a resulting blend polymer and alternatives of the combination of the polymers are limited. Moreover, also in the method disclosed in JP-A 2002-48919, it is difficult to choose a combination of a polymer and a liquid crystal molecule which are compatible with each other. For example, in some combinations, liquid crystal molecules dispersed in a polymer change into liquid during the heating and drawing treatment of a film. This may cause the resulting retardation film to have a high haze, which may result in reduction in transparency.

Retardation film, use of said retardation film, and novel modified polymer


In one embodiment of the invention, a seal device is provided with an integrated sensor including: a seal member, having at least two sealing contact surfaces and a sensing member, wherein the sensing member detects the pressure on the seal member in at least one location from a seal formed from at least one of the sealing contact surfaces and a member against which the sealing contact surface is sealed. The seal member can include conductive particles, and the conductivity of the seal member may increase under an increase in pressure. The sensing member can also include a capacitive element the capacitance of which varies under pressure.

The present invention pertains to a compressible sealing ring, and in particular, to a compressible sealing ring which functions as a pressure sensor.
Fluid seals are made of a variety of materials and have a multitude of design configurations that include, but are not limited to, (i) a circular conformable elastomer O-ring seated in a channel (gland) of a metallic or plastic fitting, (ii) circular washer made of soft conformable metallic or plastic material, (iii) flat gasket of various flat patterns made with conformable fibrous, cellulous, particulate, or polymeric material, (iv) circular compression fittings with off-set tapered mating surfaces, (v) circular flared fittings with conformable flared tubings, and (vi) circular threaded pipe fittings with off-set tapers, etc.
It is known that sealing using conformable materials is achieved when such material is placed between relatively rigid mating surfaces and that sealing occurs when the material is put under pressure and displaces to conform to and fill the space between the mating surfaces.
It is also known that sealing of relatively rigid mating surfaces is achieved when such surfaces are in full or partial and often tight contact. Examples of such sealing are compression fittings and threaded pipefittings that often have tapered mating surfaces that are offset to create tight contact during rotational tightening.
It would be advantageous, however, to be able to determine the pressure that the seal is under, and in particular, to determine any pressure variance around the course of the seal. This could be used to determine if the seal member is unseated, seated properly and evenly, and tightened under the appropriate torque. In addition, it would be advantageous to be able to sense the contained fluid pressure being exerted onto the seal to ascertain if a leak path has been initiated therethrough.
Most pressure sensors, however, function by converting mechanical movement of a diaphragm to an electrical change in resistance or capacitance. This is achieved through the use of active materials like piezo film. However, such sensors are fairly costly, and in addition, it would be difficult to use such sensors to determine if a seal is under uniform pressure and seated properly. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a seal member having both sealing and sensing functionality that is capable of sealing and determining if the seal is under proper compression or torque load, and that is also capable of sensing contained fluid pressure and pressure variation indicating leakage across the sealing member.


The present invention provides stabilizing formulations for maintaining and preserving the integrity of proteins and polypeptides present in a body fluid sample obtained ex-vivo and to be evaluated as a test specimen for either clinical, therapeutic, or research purposes. The stabilizing formulations may be prepared alternatively either as a dry, anhydrous mixture of powders or as an aqueous based liquid containing the dissolved ingredients in admixture. The invention also provides minimalist stabilizing formulations as well as fortified stabilizing formulations which meet specific uses and applications and may be advantageously employed over a wide variety of different time, temperature, and severity of conditions.

A common and recurring problem in both the research laboratory and the clinical testing laboratory is the maintenance of the test specimen in a manner which prevents degradation, alteration, or destruction of essential test materials. The need for preservation of the test specimen is particularly great when the sample is a body fluid taken from an animal or human patient and from which an analytical determination and measurement must be made in order to evaluate and understand the subject's medical status. Typically, the first question is which fraction of the body fluid sample is of interest for analytical or evaluation purposes? Thus, either the cellular fraction comprising whole cells, cell fragments, and the like is of primary interest; or the non-cellular solubilized fraction containing all the dissolved chemical constituents and components presents the specific entities to be detected, identified, and analyzed. The process of separating the cellular components from the solubilized liquid fraction is easily achieved using the conventional techniques of centrifugation, filtration, precipitation, sedimentation, and the like. In addition, a number of other classical means have been developed for removal of interfering substances from the sample in order to assure specificity of an analytical method. Among the conventional approaches typically used are dialysis, a process by which constituents of low molecular weight are separated across a semi-permeable membrane from compounds having a high molecular weight; column chromatography, which remove compounds that would adversely affect test reactions using gel filters, ion exchangers, or chemical resins; as well as other separation systems in which a layer of material separates or excludes compounds of low molecular weight from interference of large molecular weight.
It has long been recognized that the body fluid sample must be maintained and preserved during the manipulations and preparations preceeding analysis as a test specimen. For these reasons, a number of different compositions have been developed for maintaining the stability of the cellular fraction or the non-cellular components of a test sample during the preparatory stages. Merely illustrating and exemplifying such stabilizing compositions are the following: The use of two protease inhibitors, anastatin and leupeptin, in combination with EDTA for stabilizing peptides in whole blood, serum, or plasma samples [U.S. Pat. No. 5,541,116]; the use of a water-soluble phosphate such as ATP and a chelating agent for the preservation of whole cells or cellular components [Publication EP 431385-A]; the use of an acid, anti-bacterial drug, and fluorine compound in combination for stabilization of cells in urine [Japanese Patent Publication 05249104-A]; the use of an aqueous solution of ethanol, aliphatic diol and polyethylene glycol for preserving cell or blood fluid components [Japanese Patent Publication 03295465-A]; a reagent composition for biological assays which contains a reducible water-soluble trivalent cobalt complex, metallisable dye, and water-soluble polymer [U.S. Pat. No. 5,171,669]; a stability control solution for determination of urobilinogen in urine samples [U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,677,075 and 4,703,013]; the use of an aqueous solution containing phosphate buffer, albumin, glycine, and cysteine for stabilizing dehydrogenases [German Patent Publication DE2629808-A]; a stabilizing composition comprising a buffer, alanine and mannitol for stabilization of freeze-dried protein compositions [Publication EP682944-A1]; the use of cationic poly-electrolyte and cyclic polyiol in aqueous solutions to stabilize proteins against denaturation on drying [U.S. Pat. No. 5,240,843]. In addition, a number of stabilizing preparations have been commercially manufactured and sold, a notable example being the COMPLETE protease inhibitor cocktail tablets for the inhibition of proteases during extractions from animal and plant tissues.
Despite the development and commercial availability of stabilizing preparations and compositions, the overwhelming majority of these are quite limited as to their usefulness and efficacy; and do not lend themselves without major modification and alterations to specific clinical problems or a broad variety of different clinical and analytical settings. A particular example will illustrate the deficiency. The example involves the treatment of human bladder cancer using the immunotherapeutic agent Bacillis Calmette-Guerin (BCG) as an intravesical agent.
The BCG Example
Since its isolation from Mycobacterium bovis, a form of cow tuberculosis, in 1921 by co-workers Calmette and Gue rin at the Pasteur Institute, BCG has found widespread medicinal use. As an anti-tuberculosis vaccine, it has been administered successfully to over 2.5 billion people worldwide, conferring a protection rate of between 70% to 80% [Lvelmo, F., Am. Rev. ResPir. Dis. 125: 70 (1982)]. Its potential use as an anti-cancer agent was suggested by the work on bacterial toxins by Coley in the late 1890s, as well as by the observation of Perle in 1929 that patients with tuberculosis had a lower incidence of cancer [Nauts et al., Acta Medica Scand. 276: 5 (1953); Perle, R., Am. J. Hygiene 9: 97 (1929)]. The first use of BCG against human cancer was reported in 1935, and its immunostimulatory properties were realized later that decade [Holmgnen, I., Schwerz. Med. Wochenschr 65: 1203 (1935); Van der Meidjer et al., Proa. Clin. Biol. Res. Bio.: 11 (1959)]. However, it was not until the late 1950s and 1960s that experimental and clinical studies generated enthusiasm for its use against cancer.
BCG's potential use in bladder cancer was encouraged by the work of Coe and Feldman demonstrating the immunocompetence of the bladder; and by the observations of Zbar and his colleagues that close contact between BCG and tumors was required for efficacy [Coe, J. E. and J. D. Feldman, Immunol. 10: 27 (1966); Zbar et al., J. NatI. Cancer Inst. 49: 119 (1972)]. The 1980 controlled study by the Southwest Oncology Group confirming BCG's efficacy against superficial bladder cancer ushered forth the modern era of BCC immunotherapy for bladder cancer [Lamm et al., J. Urol. 124: 38 (1980)]. Not only was BCG established as an effective intravesical agent for bladder cancer, but it also came to be regarded, in many cases, as the agent of choice.
BCG has been used successfully in superficial transitional cell carcinoma (TCC) of the bladder as a prophylactic agent to reduce tumor recurrence and as a therapeutic agent to treat unresectable residual disease or carcinoma in situ (CIS). Its superiority to transurethral resection of bladder tumors in reducing tumor recurrence has been documented by several independent studies. With the possible exception of mitomycin C usage, BCG has also proved to be more effective in reducing tumor recurrence than all other forms of conventional intravesical therapy. Possibly because of its intrinsic tendency to remain on the most accessible surface of the bladder, CIS particularly has proved to be responsive to BCG therapy with complete response rates ranging between 70% to 80%. This is especially noteworthy as CIS is not accessible to local surgical management and carries an 80% chance of disease progression if left untreated. Compared with CIS, the response rate of more bulky residual superficial bladder cancer to BCG is lower but still is a respectable 50% to 60% rate.
The successful application of BCG immunotherapy to bladder cancer proceeds through at least two phases: (1) an initiation phase and (2) an effector phase. During the initiation phase BCG attaches to and is retained by the bladder in an immunologically active form; and it is now clear that a significant portion of BCG attachment to the bladder is fibronectin dependent. After fibronectin attachment, BCG is phagocytosed by macrophages and bladder epithelial cells. The latter process is mediated by integrin receptors. Also, after ingesting BCG, bladder epithelial cells have the capacity to present BCG derived antigens on their cell surface for immune recognition.
Analysis of the effector phase of BCG therapy is complicated by the ability of BCG to activate multiple cellular compartments including macrophages, natural killer (NK) cells, B cells, and various T cells (helper, cytotoxic, and gamma-delta). Clinically, this is manifested by marked pyuria soon after BCG installation that reaches its height during the last two of the usual six treatments. During this same period, potent biologic proteins termed cytokines are measurable in the urine--with interleukin 2 (IL-2), tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-.alpha.), and interferon gamma (IFN-.gamma.) peaking during later instillations. Progressive resolution of positive urinary cytologies, indicative of tumor presence, parallels these late cytokine responses. A general review of these events and the future prospects for BCG therapy is provided by O'Donnell, M. A. and W. C. DeWolf, Surgical Oncology Clinics of North America 4: 189 (1995) and the references cited therein.
Substantial research interest and clinical experimentation has centered on the accurate detection and quantitation of various cytokines in the urine of patients with superficial bladder tumors who have undergone treatment with intravesical BCG. In the main, two goals are sought. The first broad purpose is to understand and describe the presence of these urinary cytokines as consequences of antitumor activity of intravesical BCG treatments. Merely representative of such research investigations are the following scientific reports: Haaff et al., J. Urol. 136: 970 (1986); Bohle et al., J Urol. 144: 59 (1990); Balbay et al., Urology 43: 187 (1994); Prescott et al., J. Urol. 144: 1248 (1990); Jackson et al., J. Urol. 148: 1583 (1992) and the references cited within these individual publications. The second broadly stated goal is the potential use of these urinary cytokines as in-vivo prognosticators of intravesical BCG treatment efficacy. This area of research is representated by: Thalmann et al., J. Urol. 155: 34A (1996); O'Donnell et al., J. Urol. 155: 1030A (1996); DeReijke et al., J. Urol. 155: 477 (1996). and the references cited within each of these individual publications.
A major problem, however, in all the reported investigations is that the cytokines in the urine samples are highly unstable. Many interleukins were found degraded and/or lost in urine samples held at 4.degree. C. and 20.degree. C., while all cytokines were found to be destroyed at 37.degree. C. Moreover, other individual cytokines such as interferon-gamma could only be detected in immediately dialyzed urine; no freezing, preparation, or known stabilizing agent served adequately to prevent degradation and destruction of these proteins. In fact, the only reliable means of stabilizing and maintaining the protein integrity of the individual cytokines was immediate dialysis of the samples directly after the urine was voided by the living patient. Insofar as is known to date, no preservative, stabilizer, or maintenance composition has been effective to prevent the degradation and destruction of cytokines present in a body fluid sample intended for evaluation as a clinical or analytical test specimen.
Accordingly, from the specific BCG example described as well as from the general history of stabilizing or maintenance preparations previously known and conventionally used in this field, there remains a long standing need for a broadly effective stabilizing medium which will truly maintain and preserve the integrity of solubilized proteins such as cytokines from deterioration, alteration and destruction in a test specimen. Should such a stabilizing formula be developed, this preparation and formulation would be seen as a major advance in this technical area; and would provide substantive advantages and benefits to research investigators and clinical practitioners who routinely evaluate body fluid samples taken ex-vivo from living humans and animal patients.

Stabilizing formulation for preserving the integrity of proteins present in a body fluid sampled ex-vivo for evaluation as a specimen


A data processing apparatus and method are provided for performing rearrangement operations. The data processing apparatus has a register data store with a plurality of registers, each register storing a plurality of data elements. Processing circuitry is responsive to control signals to perform processing operations on the data elements. An instruction decoder is responsive to at least one but no more than N rearrangement instructions, where N is an odd plural number, to generate control signals to control the processing circuitry to perform a rearrangement process at least equivalent to: obtaining as source data elements the data elements stored in N registers of said register data store as identified by the at least one re-arrangement instruction; performing a rearrangement operation to rearrange the source data elements between a regular N-way interleaved order and a de-interleaved order in order to produce a sequence of result data elements; and outputting the sequence of result data elements for storing in the register data store. This provides a particularly efficient technique for performing N-way interleave and de-interleave operations, where N is an odd number, resulting in high performance, low energy consumption, and reduced register use when compared with known prior art techniques.

Data processing applications such as signal processing applications typically require data rearrangement to be performed at high data rates. When data processing is sufficiently accelerated, for example when using a single instruction multiple data (SIMD) data processing unit, then data rearrangements can become a bottleneck in performing the computations.
In SIMD processors, a data processing operation performed upon one or more specified registers results in parallel operations being performed upon multiple data elements stored within the data registers. The SIMD approach hence allows the data processing operation to be performed in a number of parallel lanes of processing on respective data elements from a source register so as to generate respective data elements for storing within a destination register.
An example of a signal processing application where the use of such SIMD processing is beneficial is in the processing of radio signals. In signal processing applications such as those used in radio standards, it is commonly required to perform rearrangement operations in the form of de-interleave operations and interleave operations. These operations are performed in order to separate two or more channels in the case of de-interleaving or to combine two or more channels in the case of interleaving. One example is the separation of data channels from pilot channels (i.e. control channels). Another area where such interleave and de-interleave operations are required is in the area of graphics processing, and again it is common for such graphics processing applications to be run within a SIMD processor.
In applications such as radio and graphics, there is often a need to perform a three way interleave or de-interleave operation. For example, in graphics, such operations may be used to interleave or de-interleave x, y and z components. However, processors typically execute instructions which operate on two source registers, and hence interleave and de-interleave instructions typically specify interleaving and de-interleaving operations that are two way, or a multiple thereof such as four way or eight way. For example, the NEON instruction set developed by ARM Limited, Cambridge, United Kingdom, provides zip and unzip instructions for performing two way interleave and de-interleave operations (ZIP is a name of an interleave instruction and UNZIP is a name of a de-interleave instruction). However, it is very difficult to synthesise a three way interleave or de-interleave using such operations. In particular, whilst it is possible to construct code sequences that involve multiple uses of such instructions along with extract/shift instructions in order to perform a three way interleave or de-interleave in respect of data elements stored in registers, such an approach takes many clock cycles, having a significant impact on performance.
Some data processing systems provide generically programmable hardware forming a programmable permute network to enable arbitrary permutations to be performed. One or more control instructions are then executed to set up programmable masks whereafter selected permutations can be performed under the control of further instructions. Commonly owned, co-pending, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/314,760, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference, describes one arrangement of such a permute network.
The following papers described general bit permutation instructions:                1. Dimitrakopoulos et al "Sorter based permutation units for media-enhanced microprocessors". IEEE Tran on VLSI systems Vol 15 No 6 Jun. 2007. pp 711-715        2. Y. Hilewitz, Z. J. Shi and R. B. Lee "Comparing fast implementations of bit permutation instructions" Proc. Asilomar Conf. Signals, Syst. Comput. 2004. pp 1856-1863        3. Z. J. Shi and R. B. Lee "Implementation complexity of bit permutation instructions" Proc. Asilomar Conf. Signals, Syst. Comput. 2003 pp 879-886        4. X. Yang, M. Vachharajani, R. B. Lee, "Fast Subword Permutation Instructions Based on Butterfly Networks" Proc SPIE, Media Proc 2000, Jan. 27-28, 2000, San Jose, pp 80-86.
These articles generally concern the programming of permute networks to perform general permutations.
Whilst appropriate programming of a generic permute network would allow three way interleave and de-interleave operations to be performed, such an approach requires a significant amount of hardware not only to provide the programmable permute network itself, but also in respect of the registers required to store masks, etc. Several instructions are needed to program the permute network for particular operations, and accordingly there is significant overhead in using such an approach to perform the required three way interleaving and de-interleaving operations that signal processing applications such as radio and graphics require.
The NEON instruction set developed by ARM Limited, Cambridge, United Kingdom, provides load and store instructions which can perform rearrangement operations as the data is loaded from memory into a register, or stored from a register back to memory. One particular instantiation of those load and store instructions can provide three way interleaving and de-interleaving. Execution of these instructions causes the transfer of the data elements within multiple registers between memory and the register bank in a sequential manner, and these instructions can be used to achieve a three way interleave or de-interleave on register contents, but only with high latency due to the latency of the transfer between memory. For example, a rearranging store instruction could be executed to cause a three way de-interleave of the data elements in multiple registers as they are stored from those registers out to memory. A normal load instruction could then be used to retrieve the rearranged data elements back into the registers, thereby resulting in a three way de-interleave having been performed on the content of those registers. However, this is a high latency and high energy consumption approach, and hence gives rise to considerable power and cycle cost due to the need to go via memory, if a rearrangement within registers in the course of an algorithm is needed.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved technique for performing three way interleave and de-interleave operations on register contents, or more generally n-way interleave and de-interleave operations, where n is a plural odd number.

Data processing apparatus and method for performing N-way interleaving and de-interleaving operations where N is an odd plural number


Systems and methods for assisting a first participant to a synchronous communication in communicating with a second participant to the synchronous communication involves automatically obtaining metadata or other information relevant to the synchronous communication, and providing the metadata or other information to the first participant. In some instances, a draft communication from the first participant to the second participant may be generated based on the content of the synchronous communication, and that draft communication may be provided to the first participant.

The invention is related to tools used by sales agents and customer service agents to facilitate interactions with clients.
Many sales agents routinely place telephone calls to present and potential clients. Likewise, sales agents frequently receive telephone calls from present and potential clients. During such phone calls, the sales agent may learn from the client the information the client is most interested in hearing before agreeing to a sale. In some instances, the client could request specific information. The sales agent could agree to forward such information to the client at a later date. In addition, the sales agent and the client could agree to another meeting or call to be conducted in the future, after the sales agent has forwarded such information to the client, and after the client has had an opportunity to review the information.
Typically, the sales agent will take notes during such a call so that after the call is completed, the sales agent will know what information to send to the client. Such notes may also indicate when the next agreed upon meeting or call is to occur. In some instances, the sales agent may record the call, and then later review the recording to determine what information the sales agent promised to send, or when the parties agreed to next meet or conduct a call.
After such a call has been completed, the sales agent must then assemble the information to be sent to the client, and transmit that information to the client. This could involve reviewing existing stores of information, or existing documentation to obtain the information to be sent to the client. In some instances, the sales agent may need to conduct research or perform a significant amount of work to format the information into documentation that can be easily sent to the client, and that can be easily understood and digested by the client. Ultimately, the sales agent could send the information to the client via email, via the postal system or a courier, or in some other fashion.
If the sales agent and the client agreed to another meeting or call, the sales agent may send an email or some other form of message to the client to remind them of the meeting or call. In some instances, the sales agent may send to the client an electronic meeting or call invitation that can be easily recorded in an electronic calendar maintained by the client.
Unfortunately, all of the above actions which must be performed by the sales agent after the call has been completed can be time consuming. It would be desirable to automate these actions, as much as possible, to reduce the amount of time that the sales agent must spend to fully service the client's needs.

Systems and methods for automating post communications activity


The present invention discloses an apparatus for measuring spectrum and image with high spatial resolution and spectral resolution. The apparatus comprises an imaging side telecentric lens for collecting light from an object, an optical slit positioned behind the imaging side telecentric lens, an aspheric lens for collimating lights from the optical slits, a dispersing device for separating the lights of different wavelengths into a plurality of sub-rays of different entrance angle, an achromatic lens for focusing the sub-rays, and an optical sensor for detecting the optical intensity of the sub-rays. The dispersing device can be a transmission or reflection diffraction grating, and the optical sensor may consist of a plurality of photo-detectors positioned in a two dimensional array.

(A) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for measuring spectrographic images, and more particularly, to an apparatus for measuring spectrum and image with high spatial resolution and spectral resolution.
(B) Description of the Related Art
Generally speaking, an optical image technique can only measure spatial information of an object, i.e., the image of the object, but cannot acquire spectral information. To acquire both spatial and spectral information, the optical image technique needs extra spectral measuring technique. In other words, the spectral information can only be obtained when an additional light-splitting device is incorporated into an optical imaging system.
Conventional spectrographic images measuring technique can be classified as a point scanning and a global imaging. The point scanning take a relatively long measuring time for moving the probe or the object in two-dimensional manner and the measured data needs to be combined point by point, so the obtained image tends to distort. On the contrary, the wavelength resolution of the global imaging is limited for using light-splitting devices such as the optical filter. Consequently, the above-mentioned two methods are not suitable for measuring an object with a larger area rapidly and at high spatial/spectral resolution. Particularly, to measure an object with large area rapidly at high spatial/spectral resolution can be realized only by line scanning. The line scanning method allows acquiring the spectrographic images of the object just by moving in a single direction. Therefore, it has advantage of rapid measuring speed and the image mapping is simpler without distortion. In addition, the line scanning possesses a higher spectral resolution due to the dispersing device.
Conventional spectral image measuring apparatus possesses a line-shaped field of view (FOV), and the light spot of the object in the field of view after passing lens, reflecting mirror and dispersion device causes great aberration such as spherical aberration, coma aberration, and chromatic aberration. Theses aberration results in severe expansion and distortion of imaging light spots on 2D sensor, and adjacent imaging light spots is not distinguishable due to overlapping. Consequently, neither the spatial nor spectral resolution cannot be improved. Hence, it needs a new design for improving the resolution to develop the spectral machine vision.
FIG. 1 is an apparatus 10 for measuring spectrographic images according to the prior art. The apparatus 10 uses an optical collector 30 to guide optical energy 14 from points on the Y axis in the field of view of an object 12 to a spherical lens 18 after penetrating through a optical slit 16. The optical energy 14 is collimated by the spherical lens 18, and then enters into a diffraction grating 20 to disperse into rays 22 with different wavelengths and take-off angles. The ray 22 is focused on a charge-coupled device (CCD) 26 by a focusing lens 24 to simultaneously pick up the spatial and spectral information of the object 12. The opening of the slit 16 in FIG. 1 is parallel to Y-axis by the long side, and to X-axis by the short side.
FIG. 2(a) is a schematic diagram of the collector 30 according to the prior art. The collector 30 uses a multi-track fiber head 40 including several fibers 42 for close measurement of the object 12. The multi-track fiber 40 is inserted into an F-number matcher 43, and the optical energy in the three fibers 42 can present three light spot 46 as shown in FIG. 2 (b) at the optical slit 16 by the convergence of the reflecting mirror 44 and the concave reflecting mirror 45. However, the size and spatial resolution of the analyzable field of view on the object 12 depend on the arrangement, the diameter and quantity of the fiber 42 of the multi-track fiber 40. Consequently, available channels are limited, and the channel of the collector 30 in FIG. 2 is only 3. In addition, the optical energy 14 can be collected from the object 12 only by closing the multi-track fiber 40 to the object 12, which results in difficulty in measuring. Therefore, such a design is mainly used to measure the spectrographic images in an experiment at a lower resolution requirement.
FIG. 3 shows the operation of the optical collector 30 using an imaging lens 50 according to another embodiment of the prior art. The imaging lens 50 collects the optical energy 14 to the optical slit 16, and guides the optical energy 14 to a grating 56 via a spherical lens 54. The width of the optical slit 16 and the size of the CCD 26 determine the size of analyzable FOV of the object 12. However, off-axis light beams of the object 12 enter into the optical slit 16 via the imaging lens 50, and the principle ray and optical axis 58 form an included angle θ1, i.e., the principle ray is not parallel to the optical axis 58. As a result, the off-axis light beam causes a great de-collimation after passing the spherical lens 54, which cannot meet the requirement that the light beam enters into the grating 56 at a collimated manner, and the spectrum resolution present on CCD 26 is reduces. In addition, such a de-collimation will also cause extra aberration, which further reduces the spectral resolution on the CCD 26. Therefore, the channels available to measure cannot be increased due to the limitation of the spectral/spatial resolution. Hence, such a design can only be used in the comparison with low resolution, and cannot generate the spectrographic images with real high spatial/spectral resolution.

Apparatus for measuring spectrographic images


A valve device formed of MEMS devices includes a generally-planar semiconductor substrate having one or more apertures to provide passages for fluids, gases, or light. Movable gate elements alternately cover or expose such apertures to either block or open such passages. Actuators in the form of miniature electromagnets repel or attract the gate elements to open or close the passages. The valve device may be used to control fluid delivery systems dispensing pressurized fluid, or in aspiration systems used to suction fluids. Alternatively, the gate elements may serve as light valves for selectively passing light from a light source through the substrate to a light-responsive surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to light valves and fluid valves, and more particularly, to such valve devices using one or more micro electromechanical system ("MEMS") elements.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
In Applicant's parent application referenced above, Applicant discloses a MEMS maskless photoresist exposure system for selectively exposing a pattern of light to a photosensitive layer, such as a photoresist layer on a semiconductor wafer, without the use of a mask. The basic MEMS light shutter structure disclosed within Applicant's parent application has additional valve applications beyond exposing photosensitive layers to a predetermined pattern of light.
Fluid control valves have countless uses in controlling fluid delivery and fluid aspiration. Automotive fuel injectors are but one example of such fluid valves. Likewise, light valves which selectively pass or block a beam of light also find many applications. Indeed, a camera lens shutter, or other light shutter, may be regarded as such a light valve. There is often a need for a valve that can be opened and closed very quickly, and which can respond quickly to rapidly changing conditions. Valves typically require moving elements, and the movable elements often present inertial limitations that restrict the response time of such valves. In some instances, it is desirable to implement a valve function inside a rather small, confined space that is not large enough to contain a typical mechanical valve.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a valve device which can be used to selectively control the passage of fluid or light through such valve, and wherein the position of the valve can be rapidly adjusted to account for changed conditions.
Another object of the present invention is to provide such a valve that has very little inertial mass for allowing such valve to be opened or closed relatively quickly.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a valve device that can be provided in a highly compact form for use within confined spaces.
A further object of the present invention is to provide such a valve device that can be controlled electronically, as by a microprocessor.
A yet further object of the present invention is to provide such a valve which itself can be formed easily and inexpensively using known photolithographic semiconductor processing techniques.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art as the description of the present invention proceeds.