A process comprising removing surface layer materials from the wafer by inducing micro-fractures in the surface using a rotating pad and an abrasive slurry until all of the surface layer materials are removed; and chemically etching the surfaces of the wafer until all micro-fractures are removed therefrom. Edge materials are removed by abrasive tape. Wafer thickness reduction during recycling is less than 30 microns per cycle. One of the front and back surfaces of the wafer substrate is polished, any dots or grooves being on the non-polished side. The abrasive slurry contains more than 6 volume percent abrasive particles, and the abrasive slurry has a viscosity greater than about 2 cP at ambient temperature. The preferred pad comprises an organic polymer having a hardness greater than about 40 on the Shore D scale, optimally a polyurethane. The pressure of the pad against the wafer surface preferably does not exceed about 3 psi. Preferably, the chemical etching solution contains potassium hydroxide. An acidic solution can then be applied to the wafer surface. The reclaimed semiconductor wafer can be a silicon wafer having a matted side having etch pits which does not exceed 20 microns in width, an average roughness not exceeding 0.5 microns and a peak-to-valley roughness not exceeding 5 microns. Any laser markings from the original wafer are present on the matted side of the wafer.

Semiconductor circuit manufacturers require two qualities of crystalline silicon wafers to satisfy their production requirements: "prime" quality wafers for use in constructing actual semiconductor products; and "test" quality wafers for use to pre-qualify manufacturing processes for their satisfactory performance. "Prime" wafers are sold to satisfy higher quality standards than "test" wafers. "Test" wafers that exhibit quality standards close to that of "prime" wafers are preferred by semiconductor companies and are sold at a higher price than standard quality "test" wafers. A typical used semiconductor wafer comprises a silicon substrate wafer with semiconducting components implanted and/or diffused into one wafer surface (hereinafter called active surface). Layers of conducting and insulating materials are then formed on the implanted or diffused surfaces of the wafer.
The term "surface layers" as used herein refers both to the portion of the original wafer having implanted and/or diffused components and to the layers formed or deposited on the surface of the original wafer. The term "side" with reference to a wafer refers to a top or bottom surface. The term "edge" with reference to a wafer refers to the surfaces at the outer perimeter or edge of the wafer.
Reclaiming involves removing the layers and portions of the underlying wafer which have been implanted or diffused. Used wafers sent to a reclaim service company have a variety of surface and subsurface structures made from a diverse selection of materials. Some wafers have been used for film thickness monitoring and have several layers of film materials on the surface. Others may be rejects from product wafer manufacturing and have layered structures, sequences and compositions and implanted materials which differ from one wafer to another.
There are several methods in the prior art for reclaiming substrate wafers from used semiconductor wafers. Prior to this invention, these methods weakened the wafers, making them more susceptible to breakage. They furthermore removed such a large amount of material that only from one to three recycles per wafer were obtainable.
Chemical etching is one of the most common techniques used in prior art reclamation processes. Chemical etching for smaller wafers could be batch processes because of the relative uniformity and simplicity of the wafer layers. The process has serious disadvantages and is unsuitable for removing surface layers from larger diameter wafers because of their more complicated surface structures, both in layer sequences and compositions of the layers. The removal of multi-layered films by chemical etching is difficult because each layer of material requires a different etching chemical, leading to a multiple step process uniquely designed for each wafer construction and unsuitable for another wafer with a different structural order and composition. Etching procedures for large wafers are thus sequenced wafer-by-wafer and cannot be conducted in a batch operation with large sized (six inch and larger) wafers.
Furthermore, each of the layers can be patterned, leading to a rate of removal from one portion of a layer which is different from another. This ultimately produces an irregular surface pattern in the surface of the base layer which cannot be avoided. Tungsten silicide (WSi), for example, is extremely difficult to remove by chemical etching.
A mixture of nitric acid (HNO.sub.3) and hydrofluoric acid (HF) is one of the etching compositions used for the reclamation of silicon wafers. Acetic acid is often added to the acid mixture as a buffer to reduce the etching rate for better control of layer removal. Although the mixture is effective for the removal of most film and implant materials, it also etches the substrate silicon wafer rapidly and in a non-uniform manner. Diffusion governs the reaction rate between silicon and the acid mixture, causing non-uniform etching. The acids are consumed more rapidly than they are replaced by the diffusion. When the diameter of the wafer is large, the solution in the central area of the disk is depleted since the acids moieties diffusing from the outer circumference of the disk are depleted before they reach the center of the wafer. Etching at the center is thus slower than at the circumference, leaving the center thicker than the outer portions.
This non-uniformity is even greater if the acid mixture is used for removing foreign materials from a used silicon wafer. Most foreign materials, such as oxide films and nitrides, are etched more slowly than silicon. When a used silicon wafer is submerged in the acid mixture, the acid mixture begins removing material near the circumference first, and by the time the materials at the center are removed, the substrate silicon is exposed to the chemical and etched more rapidly, making the circumferential area of the reclaimed product thinner than the center. The thickness variation can be as large as 20 to 40 microns for eight inch wafers. The product does not satisfy the customer's needs for a wafer of uniform thickness.
Lapping has been applied to removal of surface layers in preparing wafers. In this method, a work surface is pressed against a rotating metal plate while a slurry of abrasive particles is passed between the work surface and the plate. For double side lapping, the wafer is pressed between a pair of opposed metal plates, rotating in opposite directions. Surface removal proceeds as the metal lapping plates, most commonly cast iron plates, move the slurry across the work surface, causing impingement of the work surface by the abrasive particles, and causing micro-fractures of the work's subsurface layers. This process is called "lapping mode surface removal" in this application. The severe impingement occurring using a rigid plate causes deep micro-cracks of subsurface damage on the work's surface.
For semiconductor wafers, the subsurface damage caused by lapping is detrimental to the quality of the wafers if it remains in the final product because micro-cracks can be a source of particles and contamination. Removal of the micro-cracks from the work surface by chemical etching and polishing is required to present an acceptable surface. The amount of material removed in this step is determined by the depth of the deepest micro-cracks.
Lapping is commonly used in prime silicon wafer manufacture where it is used to reduce the thickness of a slice from a single crystal ingot to a specified thickness. Thickness reduction at a cutting rate as high as 5 to 10 microns/min is required for efficient production.
Wafers can also, in principal, be reclaimed by lapping. Unlike chemical etching, lapping removes various foreign materials on the wafer surface in a single step which is independent of the structure, pattern and composition of the layers. However, deep subsurface damage is caused during conventional lapping removal of surface layers, leading to excessive thickness reduction which, because it reduces the number of cycles obtained for each wafer, is not commercially desirable. The industry requirements are only satisfied by wafers having a certain minimum thickness.
Lapping removes materials from the top and bottom surfaces of the wafer, leaving layered materials on the wafer edge. Removal of the edge materials by chemical etching after lapping is undesirable because of the shortcomings of chemical etching processes noted above.
Polishing is a surface removal method which, for single side polishing, involves pressing a work surface against a rotating pad while a slurry of abrasive particles is fed between the pad and the work surface. For double-sided polishing, the wafer is pressed between a pair of opposed pads rotating in opposite directions. The pad holds small abrasive particles in its surface texture and transfers the particles to the work surface through the rotary motion. The work surface is removed by the abrasive particles as they "shave off" the work's surface. This is referred to as "polishing mode surface removal" in this application. The shaving action of the abrasive causes a shallower subsurface damage than lapping abrasive action.
Mechano-chemical polishing involves the addition of various chemicals to the abrasive polishing slurry. These chemicals are matched to the materials being polished to break or weaken atomic bonding at the work's surface and promote the shaving action of the particles. Polishing of silicon wafers employ very small, less than one micron, particles of colloidal silica along with various chemicals including potassium hydroxide (KOH), ammonium hydroxide (NH.sub.4 OH) and alkaloids. Single-side polishing is a common practice for polishing silicon wafers. The function of polishing is to remove the subsurface damage caused by the preceding lapping step and smooth the surface to a mirror finish.
Polishing is used as a final step in wafer reclaiming for the same purpose as for manufacturing prime wafers, that is, to smooth the surface of a lapped and/or etched wafer to a mirror finish. Prior to this invention, removal of foreign materials from used wafers was not used because the conventional polishing processes were not sufficiently aggressive to remove the variety of layers currently presented by used wafers. Polishing to a mirror finish is a conventional final step for preparing prime silicon working surfaces for deposition and implantation.
We have observed that removal of the deeper lattice defects introduced by grinding and lapping require substantial reduction of wafer thickness. Chemical etching to remove these deep lattice defects introduces large, geometrically shaped depressions (called "etch pits") because of etching rate differentials between the different facets of the silicon crystal. The large etch pit size is a result of deep subsurface damage caused by lapping or grinding. A lapped or ground wafer is etched to a depth which removes the subsurface damage or micro-fractures. The resulting wafer has large etch pits on both sides. At least one of the etch pitted surfaces is polished to a mirror finish in the subsequent polishing step. The polish removal must remove sufficient material to exceed the depth of the etch pits. The pit size thus determines the thickness reduction during the polishing step. With the reclaiming processes known prior to this invention, the etch pits have a width above about 20 microns and a corresponding undesirable depth.
Prime wafers are manufactured from thicker blanks or crude wafers sliced from an ingot by sawing, causing unavoidable deep subsurface damage. The etch pit size is not a major concern in prime wafer manufacture because the crude wafers are therefore prepared with sufficient thickness to produce a desired final thickness after the grinding, etching and polishing operations removing all subsurface defects are completed.
In the reclaimed wafer, however, deep etch pits on one side mean a large amount of material must be removed to provide a polished surface on the opposite side. If both sides are polished, the thickness loss is doubled. This severely limits the number of recycles obtained by reclaiming.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,559,281 discloses a method of chemical etching to remove conducting and insulating layers overlying an epitaxial base layer and preparation of the back side of the wafer for use as a working surface by chemical etching followed by polishing. Mechanical removal of the unwanted layers is discouraged as tending to "mechanically stress and weaken the wafer and epitaxial layer."
U.S. Pat. No. 3,923,567 also discloses a wafer reclaiming process comprising chemical etching to remove surface layers. This is followed by surface grinding to introduce lattice defects for gettering purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 3,905,162 discloses grinding processes for introducing lattice defects into finished wafers for gettering purposes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,869,779 discloses a wafer polishing apparatus and its mode of operation.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,131,979 discloses a wafer reclaiming process comprising stripping away the layers to expose the original wafer surface by chemical etching, alone, or mechanical grinding followed by chemical etching. The wafer edge is removed by edge rounding. The surface is then polished smooth and thermally treated to free the surface of lattice defects and to leave interior lattice defect getter sites.
Grinding is used to remove surface layers and deliberately introduce deep lattice defects for gettering in the silicon structure. With the higher purity of presently available silicon wafers, gettering is no longer required, and the lattice defects are undesirable.


A method of preparation of a cardo polyetherketone structural foam material, including the following steps: 1) performing a mould pressing on a cardo polyetherketone resin by a high-temperature vulcanizing machine to prepare a foaming billet; 2) placing the foaming billet in a foaming cavity of a mould-pressing machine, performing a penetration and a swelling by introducing a supercritical fluid to achieve diffusion equilibrium, forming a polymer-supercritical fluid homogeneous solution, and 3) making the polymer-supercritical fluid homogeneous solution supersaturated through a sudden release of the inner pressure of the system, thereby inducing nucleation and foaming, and finally forming a structural foam having a closed pore structure with a uniform pore size and an adjustable pore density. The production process of the present invention is clean, environmentally friendly, and has relatively high efficiency. The obtained structural foam has good mechanical properties.

High-performance thermoplastic polyaryletherketone (PEK) has the characteristics such as good flame retardancy, radiation resistance, high level of heat resistance, excellent dielectric properties, perfect impact properties, etc. The high-performance thermoplastic PEK is obtained by high-temperature polycondensation between difluorobenzophenone and aromatic dihydric phenol, and can also be a special type of engineering plastic formed by polycondensation between aromatic dihalogen and 4,4′-dihydroxybenzophenone. The high-performance thermoplastic PEK has high thermal oxidation stability and high mechanical properties. A relatively large proportion of ring structures, such as aromatic rings and heterocycles, are introduced into the polymer main chain, increasing the thermal stability of the polymer. Polymers with a "trapezoidal", "spiral" or "sheet" structure have extremely excellent heat resistance, but the disadvantage thereof is that the processing and moulding are difficult. The PEK has the structural characteristics of these high temperature resistant polymer materials, and these structures greatly increase the glass transition temperatures and melting temperatures of the polymers. The PEK was once known as super heat-resistant polymer material, and has been successfully applied in the fields such as aerospace, electronic information, energy, food, medical, etc.
Supercritical fluid (SCF) refers to a fluid at a temperature and a pressure above its critical temperature and critical pressure. Since the viscosity and diffusion coefficient of the SCF are close to that of gas, and the density and solvation ability of the SCF are close to that of liquid, the supercritical fluid can be utilized to prepare the polymer foam material. The technologies of supercritical extrusion foaming, supercritical injection foaming, supercritical solid-state intermittent foaming, and supercritical mould-pressing foaming are formed by combining supercritical fluid technology with various polymer moulding equipment, which are collectively known as supercritical fluid foaming technology. Compared with the traditional foaming technology, the supercritical fluid foaming technology is no longer limited by the decomposition temperature of the foaming agent, which can be used not only in the foaming of the general polymer material, but also in the foaming of the special engineering plastic with higher heat resistance temperature.
The current supercritical foaming process includes a supercritical injection foaming process or a supercritical extrusion foaming process, having a high efficiency of continuous production. However, many problems still exist. For example, the processing temperature of this kind of process is higher than the melting temperature of the polymer, the polymer is required to have a relatively high melt strength, the rate of pressure reduction during the foaming process is relatively low, and the foamed product obtained generally has a large foam structure, an uneven cell size distribution, and a small expansion ratio. The supercritical solid-state intermittent foaming process generally has a relatively low saturation temperature, requires several hours or even tens of hours for saturation, and has relatively low production efficiency, which greatly limits the large-scale industrialization of the process.
Changchun Institute of Applied Chemistry, Chinese Academy of Sciences, provides a cardo polyetherketone (PEK-C) in CN 102875800 B. A phenolphthalein functional group is introduced into the main chain of the cardo polyetherketone to impart higher heat resistance to the material. However, since the development of the cardo polyetherketone, no literature has reported a related successful foaming at home and abroad. In the present invention, the supercritical mould-pressing foaming technology is used in the foaming of the cardo polyetherketone (PEK-C), overcoming the conflict of high melt strength requirements under high fluidity in the supercritical injection foaming or the supercritical extrusion foaming. The preparation of a cardo polyetherketone structural foam material with a small foam size and a high foam strength is expected to have a great effect on material weight reduction and application cost reduction.

Method of preparation of cardo polyetherketone (PEK-C) structural foam material

JIANGSU SINC-TECH POLYMERIZATION NEW MATERIALS INDUSTRY TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE

CHANG CHUN INSTITUTE OF APPLIED CHEMISTRY CHINESE ACADEMY OF SCIENCES


A monitoring system in a motor vehicle, for detecting an incorrectly locked detent connection between a gas bag module and a vehicle-fixed component, includes first and second detent elements complementary to each other. A signal circuit is provided, having first and second contact elements which are part of a switch arranged in the signal circuit, a monitoring signal being generated when the switch is closed. The contact elements are in electrical contact with each other, with the switch being closed, only in an incorrectly locked state of the first and second detent elements only.

A monitoring system of the type in question serves to detect an incorrectly locked detent connection between a gas bag module and a vehicle-fixed component, including first and second detent elements which are complementary to each other.
During the installation of gas bag modules, to accelerate the installation process, detent connections are being used increasingly frequently to fasten the gas bag module to the steering wheel, for example. Here, it is essential that incorrectly locked detent connections are reliably detected and can be eliminated. Identifying an incorrectly locked detent connection is visually often possible with difficulty, because the two detent elements which are to be brought into engagement with each other are already in immediate proximity to each other.

Monitoring system for detent connections


A portable electronic device includes a battery and an electricity generating device. The electricity generating device includes at least one solar receiving board, at least one controller, a voltage transducer and an accumulator. The solar receiving board is mounted on the outer surface of the portable electronic device to absorb solar energy and convert solar energy into electric energy. The controller is electrically connected with solar receiving board and the voltage transducer to control the electricity generating device. The voltage transducer electrically connected with the controller to transduce the voltage of the generated electricity into a voltage suitable for operating the portable electronic device. The accumulator stores the electric energy and charges the battery when the electrical quantity of the battery becomes low.

1. Technical Field
The exemplary disclosure generally relates to a portable electronic device, and particularly to a portable electronic device with a self-charging function using solar energy.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
With the development of wireless communication and information processing technologies, sliding portable electronic devices such as mobile phones and personal digital assistants (PDAs) are now in widespread use, and consumers may now enjoy the full convenience of high technology products almost anytime and anywhere.
The portable electronic device usually includes a battery for supplying power. However, batteries are easily run down over a period of time after heavy usage and need to be charged by a charging device or replaced with a charged battery. In the conditions where electric outlets, charging devices and charged batteries are unavailable, power cannot be supplied to the portable electronic devices, thus cause inconvenience to the users.
Therefore, there is room for improvement within the art.

Shenzhen Futaihong Precision Industry Co., Ltd.


A system for stimulating a multi-zone well includes a tubular body apportioned into at least a first zone and a second zone. The system has a first set of plugs placed in pre-drilled holes along the tubular body within the first zone. The plugs in the first set of plugs are fabricated to substantially dissolve upon contact with an acidic stimulation fluid within a first selected time. The system also has a second set of plugs placed in pre-drilled holes along the tubular body within the second zone. The plugs in the second set of plugs are fabricated to substantially dissolve upon contact with the acidic fluid within a second selected time that is greater than the first selected time.

In the drilling of oil and gas wells, a wellbore is formed using a drill bit that is urged downwardly at a lower end of a drill string. After drilling to a predetermined depth, the drill string and bit are removed and the wellbore is lined with a string of casing. An annular area is thus formed between the string of casing and the formation.
A cementing operation is typically conducted in order to fill or "squeeze" the annular area with cement. This serves to form a cement sheath. The combination of cement and casing strengthens the wellbore and facilitates the isolation of the formations behind the casing.
It is common to place several strings of casing having progressively smaller outer diameters into the wellbore. Thus, the process of drilling and then cementing progressively smaller strings of casing is repeated several or even multiple times until the well has reached total depth. The final string of casing, referred to as a production casing, is cemented into place. In some instances, the final string of casing is a liner, that is, a string of casing that is not tied back to the surface, but is hung from the lower end of the preceding string of casing.
In some instances, a well may be completed as an open-hole completion. This means that the final tubular body run into the wellbore is not cemented into place; instead, a perforated liner may be installed. Where the producing formation is located in a sandstone or other loose or unconsolidated formation, a sand screen may alternatively be used. A production string or "tubing" is then positioned inside the wellbore extending down to the last string of casing.
There are certain advantages to open-hole completions versus cased hole completions. First, because open-hole completions have no perforation tunnels, formation fluids can converge on the wellbore radially 360 degrees. This has the benefit of eliminating the additional pressure drop associated with converging radial flow and then linear flow through particle-filled perforation tunnels. The reduced pressure drop associated with an open-hole completion virtually guarantees that it will be more productive than an unstimulated, cased hole in the same formation.
Second, open-hole completions, including gravel pack techniques, are oftentimes less expensive than cased hole completions. For example, the use of perforated liners and gravel packs eliminates the need for cementing, perforating, and post-perforation clean-up operations.
As an additional step in the wellbore completion process, production equipment such as tubing, packers and pumps may be installed within the wellbore. A wellhead (or "tree") is installed at the surface along with fluid gathering and processing equipment. Production operations may then commence.
Before beginning production, it is sometimes desirable for the drilling company to "stimulate" the formation by injecting an acid solution through the casing. This is particularly true when the formation comprises carbonate rock. In operation, the drilling company injects a concentrated formic acid or other acidic composition into the wellbore, and directs the fluid along and even into the near-wellbore region. This is known as acidizing. The acid helps to dissolve carbonate material, thereby opening up porous channels through which hydrocarbon fluids may flow into the wellbore. In addition, the acid helps to dissolve drilling mud that may have invaded the formation. Acid stimulation as described above is a routine part of petroleum industry operations.
In many wellbores, it is now common to complete a well through multiple zones of interest. Such zones may represent up to about 30 meters (100 feet) of gross, vertical thickness of subterranean formation. When there are multiple or layered reservoirs to be hydraulically fractured, or a very thick hydrocarbon-bearing formation, then more complex treatment techniques may be required to obtain treatment of the entire target zone. In this respect, the drilling company must isolate various zones to ensure that each separate zone is adequately treated. In this way the operator is sure that stimulation fluid is being injected into each zone of interest or along the entire zone of interest to effectively increase the flow capacity at each desired depth.
To do this, various fluid diversion techniques may be employed. Two general categories of fluid diversion have been developed to help ensure that the acid reaches the desired rock matrix—mechanical and chemical. Mechanical diversion involves the use of a physical or mechanical diverter that is placed within the wellbore. Chemical diversion, on the other hand, involves the injection of a fluid or particles along and into the formation itself.
Referring first to chemical diverters, chemical diverters include foams, particulates, gels, and viscosified fluids. Foam commonly comprises a dispersion of gas and liquid wherein a gas is in a non-continuous phase and liquid is in a continuous phase. Where acid is used as the liquid phase, the mixture is referred to as a foamed acid. In either event, as the foam mixture is pumped downhole and into the porous medium that comprises the original, more permeable formation, additional foam is generated. The foam initially builds up in the areas of high permeability until it provides enough resistance to force the acid into the new zone of interest having a lower permeability. The acid is then able to open up pores and channels in the new formation.
Particulate diverters consist of fine particles. Examples of known particulate diverters are cellophane flakes, oyster shells, crushed limestone, gilsonite, oil-soluble naphthalenes, and even chicken feed. Within the last several years, solid organic acids such as lactic acid flakes have been used. As the particles are injected, they form a low permeability filter-cake on the face of wormholes and other areas of high permeability in the original formation. This then forces acid treatment to enter the new zone(s) of interest. After the acidizing treatment is completed, the particulates hydrolyze in the presence of water and are converted into acid.
Viscous diverters are highly viscous materials, sometimes referred to as gels. Gels use either a polymer or a viscoelastic surfactant (VES) to provide the needed viscosity. Polymer-based diverters crosslink to form a viscous network upon reaction with the formation. The crosslink breaks upon continued reaction and/or with an internal breaker. VES-based diverters increase viscosity by a change in micelle structure upon reaction with the formation. As the high-viscosity material is injected into the formation, it fills existing wormholes. This allows acid to be injected into areas of lower permeability higher in the wellbore. The viscosity of the gel breaks upon exposure to hydrocarbons (on flowback) or upon contact with a solvent.
Chemical diverters may have limited effectiveness in certain situations. For example, if the density of the acid and the diverting fluid is considerably different, or if the wellbore significantly deviates from vertical, the interface of the acid with the diverter may break down or experience distortion while traveling down the wellbore. In some cases, this distortion may involve the mixing of acid and an acid-containing diverter. This, in turn, reduces the viscosity of the diverter, thereby reducing the diverter effectiveness and the overall performance of the stimulation job. Depending on stage size, fluid density, fluid viscosity, and pumping rate, the interface distortion may be severe.
Referring now to mechanical diverters, various types of mechanical diverters have been employed. These generally include ball sealers, plugs, and straddle packers. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,289,762 uses a ball that seats in a baffle to cause mechanical isolation. U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,763 uses a wireline to set and then to retrieve a baffle. The baffle isolates a portion of a formation for the injection of fluids. U.S. Pat. No. 6,491,116 provides a fracturing plug, or "frac plug." Frac plugs are common in the industry and rely upon a ball that is either dropped from the surface to land on a seat, or that is integral to the plug itself. Frac plugs generally require a wireline for setting. Frac plugs may also be retrieved via wireline, although in some instances frac plugs have been fabricated from materials that can be drilled out. Drilling out the material adds time and expense to the stimulation operation.
Mechanical plugs are used to isolate an interval after successfully stimulating each zone. Although the stimulation of each zone separately can be very effective, multiple electric line runs and acid stimulations may be required to fully stimulate a long interval, increasing the time and cost of the acid treatment. Further, while mechanical plugs can provide high confidence that formation treatment fluid is being diverted, there is a risk of incurring high costs due to mechanical and operational complexity of the plugs. Plugs may become stuck in the casing resulting in a lengthy and costly fishing operation. If unsuccessful, a drill rig may be needed to be brought on-sight to drill the plug out. Drilling out the plug is not preferred due to the time and cost associated with mobilizing a drill rig on location. In some situations, the well may have to be sidetracked or even abandoned. Mechanical plugs particularly have a history of reliability issues in large diameter wells. In this respect, it can be difficult to locate a plug suitable for a large borehole, and those that are available have a history of failures.
A need therefore exists for an acid diverting system and method that offers the reliability of a mechanical plug without the risk of mechanical failure or sticking. Further, a need exists for a system that optimizes the acid circulation process by removing the need for a wireline, and yet has greater reliability than a viscous chemical diverter. A need further exists for a system that improves the stimulation of a formation along the entire length of a deviated, open-hole wellbore.

System and method for stimulating a multi-zone well


A combination pile wall is formed of beam elements (12), particularly T-beams and double-T-beams (I-beams), and shaped connection strips (16) directly or indirectly connecting the beam elements (12), whereby each shaped connection strip (16) that is coupled directly with one of the beam elements (12) is engaged with one of the locking elements (30) formed on the respective beam element (12). The two mutually-engaged locking elements (24, 26) of the shaped connection strip (16) and of the beam element (12) are configured with a cross section such that the two locking elements (24, 26) may pivot with respect to each other through an angular range of a minimum ±3° to a maximum ±10°.

The invention concerns a combination pile wall, and more particularly a pile wall comprising a plurality of adjacent pile wall beam elements interconnected by connecting elements and possibly also sheet pile elements.
Combination pile walls of the aforesaid type are known from DE 297 18 052 U1, EP 0 072 118 A1, or also DE 103 18 769 A1; they are used to reinforce banks of harbors and rivers, to support a dam, or to erect quay walls and the like. The known combination pile walls are formed of beam elements such as double-T beams (I-beams), with connection shaped strips (connecting elements) connected directly to them which are intended to ensure at least an approximately watertight seal between the beam elements. The shaped connection strips are equipped with locking elements that engage with matching locking elements on the beam elements. If the loads on the combination pile walls from the soil are moderate, at least one sheet pile, called a "fill pile", is positioned between each pair of adjacent beam elements so that the number of beam elements used in the pile wall, that are responsible for the resistance moment of the wall, may be reduced. In order to form a locked, water-tight pile wall, the sheet piles are also coupled together along their longitudinal edges by locking elements such as hook or claw strips, while the sheet piles positioned directly adjacent to the beam elements are connected with the beam elements by means of the shaped connection strips. The shaped connection strips are also equipped with suitable locking elements for this purpose.
The problem with known combination pile walls is that the locking elements engaged with one another are either so manufactured that they may hardly move with respect to one another, or the locking elements are so shaped that they may pivot over a wide angular range of up to ±45°. If the individual beam elements between which sheet piles are positioned as necessary are driven into the ground, there is a danger that, for those joints in which the locking elements allow practically no movement with respect to one another, the locking elements will become disengaged at least in sections or that the joints will break completely. On the one hand, this causes the vertical stability and stiffness of the overall combination pile wall to be negatively influenced while, on the other, it allows passage of water through the combination pile wall because the sections are damaged or are no longer engaged. If, in contrast, combination pile walls are used where the locking elements allow large pivot angles, the beam elements and sheet piles may deviate from each other when driven into the ground, moving out of their intended positions, so that an exact positioning of the combination pile wall is made more difficult.


A fishing reel body includes a first side; a second line retrieval handle side opposite the first side; a bridge extending between the first and second sides, the bridge supporting a thumb rest portion; a convex surface on the second side configured to extend into the user's palm and an arcuate elevated contour on the second side and configured to extend within the notch between the user's thumb and index finger. The arcuate elevated contour preferably extends substantially adjacent to the thumb rest portion so as to support the user's thumb on the thumb rest portion away from the user's fingers.

Bait cast fishing reel bodies typically include a first handle side on which a line retrieval handle or crank is exposed, a second side opposite the first side, a spool rotatably supported between the first and second side and a strut or bridge interconnecting the first and second sides forward the spool. To retrieve fishing line using a right handed reel, the user will typically grasp the second side of the reel with his or her left hand while rotating the handle with his or her right hand. With left handed reels, the user's hands are reversed.
Although extremely popular, conventional bait cast fishing reels are often difficult and fatiguing to grasp and hold, especially after prolonged use or when fighting and reeling in a fish. In an attempt to reduce this fatigue and to improve the user's grasp, some fishing reel bodies include a thumb rest portion supported by the strut or bridge. In an attempt to further reduce fatigue and improve the user's grasp, some fishing reel bodies additionally form the thumb rest portion as well as the second side from soft material. An example of such a fishing reel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,821,978. However, neither providing a thumb rest portion nor forming the thumb rest portion and the second side out of a soft material adequately reduce fatigue or improve the user's grasp of the reel body.
Thus, there is a continuing need for a fishing reel body and, in particular, a side of a fishing reel body opposite the handle side which is easy to grasp and which is less fatiguing on the user's hand, thumb and fingers.


To provide a toner for developing an electrostatic charge image, which has a good low temperature fixing property whereby it is useful for an image-forming device of a low temperature heat fixing system using a heat roll having a surface temperature of at most 150° C. and it does not fuse to a blade or a toner transport roller, and which is excellent in durability with little change in the image quality in a continuous copying operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a toner for developing an electrostatic charge image which is useful for electrography, particularly for a printer or the like employing a developing method of a one component system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a toner for developing an electrostatic image, which has a low softening point required for a low temperature fixing property and which is substantially free from fusion to a developing blade or other components of a developing apparatus even when it is applied to a developing system where durability is required and substantially free from a change in image quality caused by such fusion.
2. Discussion of Background
Dry developing systems to be used for electrography generally include a two component developing system employing a carrier and a toner as mixed, and a one component developing system employing no carrier. Among them, the two component developing system employs a carrier such as iron powder, ferrite powder, or the like, whereby a so-called toner concentration control mechanism is required to supplement a necessary amount of the toner as the toner is consumed. Therefore, the two component developing system has had problems with respect to the large size of the apparatus and the high cost. On the other hand, the one component developing system includes a magnetic one component system and a non-magnetic one component system, and an apparatus for either system can be made to be small-sized. Accordingly, in recent years, this system has been employed in many cases including personal type and full color type copying machines and printers which have been increasingly popular.
In recent years, copying machines, printers, etc. are required to have a high performance. The performance which a toner is required to have, may, for example, be such that when an image is formed, the image density is sufficient, and the image has no defect, that it can be used constantly for a long period of time, that it will sufficiently fix to paper, and that it is free from blocking during the process for its production or during its storage for transportation, and thus covers various requirements from the process for production of the toner to the image forming. Among such requirements, there are some which tend to be opposing to each other and tend to be hardly satisfied simultaneously, like the requirement that it can be used constantly for a long period of time and that it will sufficiently fix to paper. To cope with such requirements, many proposals have been made with respect to the natures of the respective components constituting the toner, the blend formulation, the production method, the production conditions, etc.
However, depending upon various phenomena and transfer systems employed for image-forming devices, there have been cases where conventional toners can provide no adequate effects to the required performances. Especially when it is attempted to lower the energy (the temperature) of the fixing device in order to reduce the power consumption or to accomplish high speed printing, if the toner fails to melt sufficiently at the low temperature, the fixing failure will result. Accordingly, it has been common to lower the softening point or the glass transition point of the binder resin. However, in a one component developing system wherein a substantial load is exerted to a toner, such a method brings about fusion to a blade for regulating the toner layer on a developing roll during a continuous copying operation or to a toner transport roller or a fixing roller and thus has been a cause for e.g. deterioration in the uniformity in the image quality or formation of stria. Further, in the production of the toner containing a binder resin with a low softening point or glass transition point, its fusion to the production apparatus, or the like, is likely to take place, whereby there has been a problem such as a decrease in the yield of the toner as a product, or necessity of a step of cleaning the apparatus.
Such problems have been distinct particularly in copying machines or printers for high speed printing or large size printing. For example, it has been difficult to obtain a toner which can be used for an image-forming device of a low temperature heat fixing system employing a heat roll with a surface temperature of at most 150° C. and which sufficiently satisfies a performance not to fuse to a blade or a toner transport roller, and it has been unknown how to obtain such a toner.

Toner for developing an electrostatic charge image and method for its production

Abstract: A toner for developing an electrostatic charge image, having base toner particles comprising at least a binder resin and a coloring agent, wherein the base toner particles contain an oil having a surface tension of at most 30 mN/m at 25° C., and the toner has a softening point of at most 100° C.


A semiconductor chip dual-sided assembly which has a higher degree of reliability of connections between semiconductor chips and a circuit substrate is realized. This is achieved by the assembly including a plurality of upper side pads (2a) provided on a substrate upper surface (1a); a plurality of lower side pads (2b) provided on a substrate lower surface (1b) corresponding to the upper side pads (2a) across the substrate (1), respectively; a first semiconductor chip (4) having first bumps (8a) joined to the upper side pads (2a), respectively; and a second semiconductor chip (5) having second bumps (8b) joined to the lower side pads (2b), respectively.

Technological advancement of semiconductor processes toward finer design rules has made progress in realizing memory devices with higher capacities. In such a background, some solid-state memories such as flash memories are now available in place of magnetic recording media or optical recording media, which have been conventionally employed as recording media. Their example applications include IC cards or memory cards such as for digital cameras as well as secure SD (Secure Digital) cards, which have become widespread. These memory cards are increasingly demanded for higher capacities toward the future in order to record more information such as music or video images.
The memory cards are compact and thin in size. Thus, to accommodate a high-capacity memory therein, semiconductor chips are mounted by three-dimensional mounting or double-side bare chip mounting. Now, an example of such an assembly (for example, see Patent Document 1) will be described with reference to FIGS. 8A to 8G and FIG. 9.
FIGS. 8A to 8G are longitudinal sectional side views illustrating a fabrication method for dual-side mounting of semiconductor chips using the conventional flip-chip mounting technology. In addition, FIG. 9 is a longitudinal sectional front view illustrating an assembly with semiconductor chips mounted onto both surfaces of a circuit substrate using the flip-chip mounting technology. Note that in FIG. 8A to FIG. 8G and FIG. 9, like components are indicated with like symbols.
To begin with, as shown in FIG. 8A, a thermosetting adhesive 3 comprising epoxy is applied onto an upper surface 1a of a circuit substrate 1 which has a plurality of substrate electrodes 2 formed at their respective predetermined positions in the circuit on both the surfaces thereof.
At this time, the thermosetting adhesive 3 is applied so as to cover the plurality of substrate electrodes 2 on the upper surface 1a. On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 8B, a semiconductor chip 4 to be mounted has a plurality of electrode pads 7 provided on its bottom surface. On the electrode pads 7, bumps 8 are formed which melt together with the raw material thereof into an alloy to be thereby firmly fixed thereto. The semiconductor chip 4, which is securely vacuumed with a vacuum suction head 10, is fed onto the circuit substrate 1, and then pushed slightly against the thermosetting adhesive 3 with the bumps 8 aligned with the substrate electrodes 2, thereby being temporarily fixed onto the upper surface 1a via the adhesive 3 as shown in FIG. 8C.
As shown in FIG. 8D, the circuit substrate 1 having the aforementioned semiconductor chip 4 temporarily fixed to the upper surface 1a is turned upside down in the same step, and then the thermosetting adhesive 3 is applied to a lower surface 1b that faces upwardly. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 8E, another semiconductor chip 4, which is securely vacuumed with the vacuum suction head 10, is fed onto the lower surface 1b of the circuit substrate 1. This semiconductor chip 4 is pushed slightly against the thermosetting adhesive 3 with the bumps 8 aligned with the substrate electrodes 2, thereby being temporarily fixed onto the lower surface 1b via the adhesive 3.
The circuit substrate 1 which has the semiconductor chips 4 temporarily fixed to the upper surface 1a and the lower surface 1b respectively as described above is fed to the next step. Then, as shown in FIG. 8F, the two semiconductor chips 4 temporarily fixed to the upper surface 1a and the lower surface 1b of the circuit substrate 1 are pressed under heat for approximately 30 seconds with heating and pressing heads 11 toward both the upper and lower surfaces of the circuit substrate 1. As shown in FIG. 8G, this causes the thermosetting adhesive 3 applied to both the mount surfaces 1a and 1b of the circuit substrate 1 to be simultaneously hardened under heat and contracted. This contractive force causes the two semiconductor chips 4 to be entirely pulled toward the opposing mount surfaces 1a and 1b of the circuit substrate 1, thus allowing each of the bumps 8 to be fixedly attached under pressure to the corresponding substrate electrodes 2, respectively, and thereby electrically connected thereto. In addition to this, each of the semiconductor chips 4 is firmly adhered to the mount surfaces 1a and 1b with the adhesive 3 which has been filled and hardened under heat in the entire gap between the opposing mount surfaces 1a and 1b of the circuit substrate 1. As such, the assembly is completed as shown in FIG. 9.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2003-197853

Semiconductor chip assembly and fabrication method therefor


A polarizer includes a light uniformizing structure. The light uniformizing structure includes a light-diffusion particle layer. The light-diffusion particle layer is configured to improve uniformity of light rays passing through the polarizer.

A liquid crystal display panel is formed by two substrates arranged oppositely and a liquid crystal layer encapsulated between the two substrates. Display light rays emitted from the liquid crystal display panel need to pass through a multilayer structure, so that the uniformity of the emitted light rays is low. Similarly, a backlight module that provides a backlight source comprises multiple layers of optical films that are stacked, so that the uniformity of the emitted light rays therefrom is also low.

BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A straw accessible compartmented container is provided which consists of a beverage container having a plurality of compartments, each outer compartment individually accessed by drinking straws contained within concave bowl shaped depressions located in container shoulder portions. The bowl shaped depressions have centrally located apertures to receive the drinking straws. The drinking straws have corrugated middle portions that are located adjacent to and are larger in diameter than the apertures so that the drinking straws are anchored within the bowl shaped depressions and can pop outward when a depression covering cap is opened.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to beverage containers having internal drinking straw access, mainly, a compartmented beverage container having individual compartment drinking straw means so that more than one user can drink from the same container in a convenient, clean and sanitary manner. In addition, this straw accessible compartmented beverage container can provide small quantities of different beverages, each beverage to be consumed at the desire of the user. Each beverage can remain pressurized and sanitary until accessed by drinking straw means.
2. Prior Art
Currently, a combination comprising a beverage container equipped to hold more than one beverage with each beverage having individual drinking straw access does not exist. Various designs have been proposed in the prior art for straw equipped beverage containers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,448,316 granted to Hiroshige, describes a single compartment liquid container with a spring activated straw designed to pop out of a container mouth when a container seal is removed. The present invention has no spring requirement. U.S. Pat. No. 5,172,827 discloses a single compartment beverage container with a rotatable tab designed to pull up and release a drinking straw. There is no rotatable tab in the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 5,848,721 granted to Cornell, et at, describes a two straw equipped single compartment beverage container. In this case, a straw dispensing mechanism employs a float. U.S. Pat. No. 6,010,034 granted to Walthers discloses a combination outer drink container designed to deliver a drink by straw means and an inner sports spray bottle container designed to spray a cooling liquid. While a dual chambered container is disclosed, each chamber has an entirely separate structure and function. None of the references cited above suggest or teach a compartmented container holding distinctive beverages, each beverage having easily accessed drinking straw means.
The present invention addresses a need for a multi liquid container where each liquid can be separately, sanitarily and safely accessed by drinking straw means. At present, one, two and three liter beverage containers contain one liquid each. They are not compartmented. Once opened, if pressurized, the liquid can lose carbonation and become stale. Also, these one, two and three liter beverage containers have single openings without self contained straw access means. If more than one user drinks directly from the container, disease organism transmission is a threat.
A primary objective of the present invention is to provide a single container having a plurality of beverage containing compartments, each compartment having an independent means for quick drinking straw beverage delivery.
Another primary objective of the present invention is to provide a means for sanitary and safe beverage drinking from one container by two or more individuals.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide a compartmented container having separate compartment drinking straws wherein the drinking straws come in a variety of sizes.
Still another objective of the present invention is to provide a compartment container having separate drinking straw means for each compartment so that a beverage can be consumed from one compartment while another or the same beverage remains pressurized and sealed in another compartment.
Another objective of the present invention is to provide an attractive, convenient easily handled container for sanitary drinking by more than one individual.
The foregoing objectives and advantages are achieved by the present invention comprising a multi compartmented container as described in patent Application Ser. No. 09/933,703, incorporated herein by reference. In the present invention, each compartment has a shoulder located concave depression and each depression houses a compressed partially corrugated straw held in place by hinged cap means. Upon cap opening and straw release, the corrugated straw springs forth to enable a user to enjoy a beverage contained within the compartment. A straw access assembly is provided for each outer container compartment. If a drinking straw is damaged, easy one step replacement is possible. Drinking straws can vary in size depending on the thickness of a beverage within a compartment.
The above mentioned objectives and features of the present invention along with novel features that characterize the present invention will become apparent and better understood by those skilled in the art from the subsequent description, appended claims and accompanying drawings in which are illustrated the preferred embodiment of the invention.

Straw accessible compartmented container


A Multicast-Enabled Address Resolution Protocol (ME-ARP) is disclosed. This ME-ARP allows the building of independent IP based Virtual Private LAN segments (VPLS) over a multicast enabled IP backbone using stateless tunnels and optimal VPLS traffic forwarding. Each VPLS has an associated IP subnet which is completely independent from other VPLS or the underlying IP backbone itself. Each Customer Premises Equipment (CPE) device needs only to be configured with a VPLS identifier and its serving IP subnet per VPLS designated interface.

The popularity of the Internet is driving requirements for secure and segregated IP interconnection of remote sites. One solution is to use the underlying network supporting virtual connections i.e. Frame Relay or ATM. These virtual connections can be separated by provisioning to form a Virtual Private Network which is Layer 3 protocol transparent. However if the underlying network is IP itself, as is the case with the Internet then IP tunnels can be used to interconnect two or more sites. Any other known layer 2 VPN (Virtual Private Network) solution used in the prior art requires a centralized server where all CPE (Customer Premises Equipment) and IP devices have to be statically or dynamically registered, like LANE (Local-Area-Network Emulation), NHRP (Next-Hop-Routing-Protocol) or Classical IP.
A need exists for building IP based virtual private LAN segments (sharing one IP subnet) with complete transparency regarding TCP/IP, site-independent CPE configuration and with dynamic stateless tunnels to optimally forward unicast traffic based on routing and policy per VPLS. VPLS with different Identifiers can use overlapping IP subnets. With the method of the present invention, a centralized server or a list of CPE devices configured for each VPN is not required.

Multi-case enabled address resolution protocol


A removable media tray for an imaging device having a rear media restraint coupled to a media length sensing system. A rear media restraint, slideably latchable to a track in the tray, has a rack that engages with a gear train that drives an encoder gear. As the rear media restraint is adjusted for different media lengths, the rack and gear train rotate the encoder gear. The encoder gear has a plurality of encoder tracks each track having a unique binary pattern. A sensor array of a plurality of sensors corresponding to the plurality of encoder tracks has a plurality of outputs that combine to form a digital signal fed to a controller in the imaging device allowing the controller to determine a media length based in the position of the rear media restraint.

Field of the Invention
The field relates generally to media input feed systems for an imaging device having a removable media tray with a media length sensing mechanism.
Description of the Related Art
Imaging devices utilize removable media trays for holding stack of media to be processed by the imaging device. The removable media tray is designed to handle a variety of different length media, such as A6, Letter, A4 and Legal media having lengths of 148 mm, 279 mm, 297 mm and 356 mm, respectively. To determine the length of the selected media, sensors may be provided in the removable media tray at each media length and then polled by a controller to determine the selected media length. Another approach is to use a bank of switches connected to a controller that are actuated by a series of levers that are controlled using a series of linear openings in a rectangular linear encoder plate. The encoder plate is translated by one end of a pivoting link, mounted to an undersurface of the removable media tray. The other end of the link is attached to the rear media restraint via a slot in the bottom of the removable media tray. As the media restraint is moved, the link pivots, in turn sliding the encoder plate. However, this mechanism is bulky and requires a large footprint within the removable media tray to accommodate the encoder plate and the pivoting arm.
It would be advantageous to have a mechanism that would allowing for media length sensing that is more compact than the prior art design. It would be further advantageous that the mechanism for operating the encoder or the switches be contained within the interior of the media tray.

Removable media tray having a rack and pinion media length sensing mechanism operable by a rear restraint


Dynamic release control is performed by identifying a plurality of software application instances installed on a mainframe system, identifying a compatibility level for each software application instance, designating a common execution level based upon a lowest one of the identified compatibility levels, configuring each software application instance to conform to the common execution level, receiving a software update indication that at least one software application instance has been updated and performing a compatibility level switch across the plurality of software application instances after receiving the software update indication if a lowest one of the compatibility levels is different from the common execution level by adjusting the common execution level based upon the lowest one of the compatibility levels and by reconfiguring each software application instance to operate in a mode that constrains the corresponding software application instance to conform to the adjusted common execution level.

The present disclosure relates in general to computer systems and in particular, to the dynamic control and management of software application version changes on a mainframe system.
Mainframe systems are computer platforms used primarily by business and governmental organizations to support large scale computing operations. Notably, mainframe systems often find favor in activities that require access to large volumes of data and in applications that impose large data transfer requirements. Mainframe systems also often find favor in applications that generate high transaction volumes and in applications that require high speed data processing. Mainframe systems are also used primarily in activities requiring a high level of security, scalability, reliability, etc.
System programmers are employed to manage the mainframe operations and networking capabilities. In this regard, system programmer duties include testing the mainframe software, troubleshooting mainframe system and networking operations, defining functional specifications, performing software updates, and performing research related to these duties.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Dynamic release control of software application version changes


An electronic bill presentation and payment (EBPP) system that is able to obtain bills for its customers from scrape-enabled biller Web sites. The EBPP system has an interface which permits a customer to specify that the customer wishes the EBPP system to retrieve a customer's bills from a biller Web site at which the customer may access them. The customer provides his or her access information for the biller Web site to the EBPP system, which then uses a software agent to make scheduled scrapes of the biller Web site to obtain the customer's bill. The software agent scrapes not only bill summary information such as the account number, the statement date, the bill amount, the payment due date, the minimum amount and/or total amount due from the biller Web site, but also scrapes display information for the bill. The display information is the HTML that the biller Web site itself uses to display the bill. The agent cleans the HTML so that it can be displayed in the environment provided by the EBPP system. Both the bill summary information and the display information are incorporated into databases maintained by the EBPP system, which treats bills obtained from scrape-enabled Web sites in the same fashion as bills obtained from other sources.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to electronic bill presentation and payment (EBPP) systems and more particularly to EBPP systems that aggregate items of bill data for a user from a number of different kinds of sources. The invention further relates to techniques for obtaining data from Web pages.
2. Description of Related Art
Electronic Bill Presentation and Payment Systems
Electronic bill presentation and payment systems are systems that automate bill paying for users of networked computers. An example of such a system is the Paytrust EBPP system, operated under the trademark Paytrust.com™ by Paytru$t, Inc., 101 Grover's Mill Rd., Lawrenceville, N.J. 08648.
In the Paytrust EBPP system as it existed before the invention described in the present patent application was incorporated into it, a Paytrust customer directed his or her billers to send the customer's bills to Paytrust instead of to the customer. For most billers, this simply means mailing the bill to Paytrust instead of to the customer. When Paytrust receives a customer's bill in the mail, Paytrust scans the bill to obtain an image of the bill and applies optical character recognition (OCR) technology to the scanned bill to read an item of bill data from the image. An item of bill data will typically include the account number, the statement date, the bill amount, the payment due date, minimum amount due, and/or total amount due. The image and the item of bill data are then input to the Paytrust EBPP system, which adds the image and the item of bill data to a database of bills that is maintained by the Paytrust EBPP system. The bills in the database are locatable by the name of the customer who received the bill and the name of the biller who sent the bill. The database also includes information about the billers including the address to which payment is to be sent and information about the customers including the bank or other accounts from which the customer's bills are to be paid. Some billers are able to provide their bills to Paytrust electronically, either directly or via a biller service provider. The electronic bill includes an image of the bill and the item of bill data. With these bills, the steps of scanning the bill and using OCR to obtain the bill information are not necessary; instead the electronic bills are added directly to the database.
Paytrust customers interact with the Paytrust EBPP system by means of the World Wide Web. The system maintains a Web site to which the customer has secure access. Using the secure access, the customer can request that Paytrust display a Web page that contains a list of the bills presently owed by the customer. The customer can use a pointing device to see the image of a bill on the list and to select a bill from the list for payment. When a bill has been selected, Paytrust pays the biller from the bank account specified by the customer. Other features of the Paytrust EBPP system include notification of the customer by email of the arrival of a bill, notification by email that an unpaid bill has come due, tracking of bill payment history, customer-specified reports based on the bill history, and the SmartBalance™ bank account balance feature, which will be explained in detail below.
An assumption made in the original design of the Paytrust EBPP system was that many billers would change their billing procedures so that they could provide either electronic bills or paper bills. That has not happened as quickly as originally anticipated. On the other hand, many billers are now maintaining Web sites at which their customers can access their current statements. These Web sites provide the customer with "electronic bills", albeit in the form of information contained in HTML pages rather than in the form used in the standard electronic bills for which the Paytrust system was originally designed. What was needed was a way of obtaining the HTML forms of the electronic bills from the billers' Web sites, extracting an image of the bill and the item of bill datafrom the HTML forms, and adding this information to the Paytrust system's bill databases.
"Scraping" Data from HTML Pages
The information which a user receives from a Web site is in the form of an HTML page. The user's Web browser interprets the HTML page to produce the display that appears on the user's display device. The HTML page is made up of a sequence of elements which may be nested. Each element has the form:                <html_tag> element content </html_tag>
The tags determine how the browser displays the content of the element. The tags' meanings are defined in the HTML standard. As is apparent from the foregoing description of an HTML page, if one knows the location of an element in the HTML page, one can go to that location in the page and read the content of the element. What's more, a program can be written that will do the same thing. The technique of using a program to locate an element on an HTML page and read that element's content is termed screen scraping. Of course, the program that does the screen scraping is specific to the HTML page or pages from which the content is being read.
One example of the use of screen scraping is Paytrust's SmartBalance feature. The feature provides Paytrust customers with bank balances that take into account the bills that the customer has selected for payment. SmartBalance takes advantage of the fact that many financial institutions now have Web sites where their customers can securely access their account balances. The Paytrust interactive display that displays the lists of bills and payments includes a button that takes the customer to a page of banks. The page includes a list of banks for which Paytrust has developed scraping programs to read the banks' account balance Web pages. The SmartBalance feature only works with these banks. When the Paytrust customer enters his or her user identification and clicks on a login button, the Paytrust system acts as a proxy for the Paytrust customer: it employs the customer's user identification to access the customer's account balance information at the financial institution's Web site, scrapes the HTML page on which the balance information occurs, and returns the scraped data to the Paytrust System. The scraped data includes the time and date at which the account balance on the Web site was last updated and the balance. Using this information, the Paytrust system then computes a current balance (the SmartBalance) by subtracting from the account balance the amounts of bills paid using Paytrust since the last time the account balance was updated. Finally, the Paytrust system displays the SmartBalance to the customer.
Another use of screen scraping is aggregation of account balances for all of a user's accounts at a single site. Yodlee.com, Inc., of Sunnyvale, Calif. is a provider of one such services, called My Yodlee. Techniques used in the My Yodlee service are further the subject of U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,077B12, Inala, et al., Server-side Web summary generation and presentation, issued Mar. 6, 2001. My Yodlee aggregates account information from a large number of financial institutions. When a user wishes to use the My Yodlee service, he or she provides the service with account identification and user identification information for each of the accounts whose balances the user wants to appear on the Web page that My Yodlee provides to the user. The My Yodlee services includes a software agent, familiarly terms a bot, for each of the financial institutions from which My Yodlee aggregates account information. The bot does the scraping on the HTML provided by the financial institution's Web site.
A bot for a given financial institution is run periodically. On each run, the bot has the user identification information for all of the users for which My Yodlee is aggregating account information from that financial institution. The bot uses the user identification information to access the Web page for each user on the list, scrapes the account balance information from the Web page, and returns it to My Yodlee's Web site, which stores it in a database under the user's name. When the user wishes to see his or her account balances, My Yodlee creates a Web page for the user upon which the balances currently listed in the database for the user are displayed.
The techniques of screen scraping may be employed generally to make an HTML page a source of "electronic data", Paytrust's SmartBalance technique shows how a system may use account and user identification information provided by a user to gain access to a Web page for purposes of screen scraping, and My Yodlee's software agents show how screen scraping may be done without direct user intervention. However, none of these techniques are applicable as they stand to the problem of integrating statement information that is available to a customer of an EBPP system at the biller's Web site with the statement information that is available to the EBPP system from sources such as mailed paper bills or bills provided directly to the EBPP system in electronic form. It is an object of the present invention to provide methods and apparatus for integrating statement information from biller Web sites with statement information available to the EBPP from other sources. It is a further object of the invention to provide a technique for obtaining information from a biller Web site that permits display of a bill by the EBPP system.

Electronic bill presentment and payment system that obtains user bill information from biller web sites


A sound field offset device having two channels, each of which includes a frequency selection filter for dividing a stereophonic input signal into two frequency bands by a given frequency falling within an audio frequency, at least one digital filter for performing sound field offsetting within a lower frequency band, and at least one loudspeaker assembly for a higher frequency band having a sharp directivity pattern and capable of defining an area to which acoustic power is emitted. This device allows a sound field to be offset in a cost effective and simple manner, by improving the frequency characteristic of a sound field space and by clarifying the sense of locality of acoustic images.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a sound field offset device which is applied, in sound reproducing, to a sound field where reflected sound waves and the like may adversely affect frequency characteristics and locality of acoustic images sensed at a listening position.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In sound reproducing, reflected sounds may occasionally be a major cause disturbing the frequency characteristic at a listening position, and impeding a sense of locality of acoustic images. In a car's closed space, in particular, direct sound waves are greatly disturbed by first or second reflected sounds existing in a sound field inside a car, because the size of the car's space is small, and reflector walls such as glass windows usually exist nearby the listening position.
FIG. 1 shows a calculated value of an echo pattern changing with time in the sound field of the car's internal space. It can be seen that a major group of reflected sound waves concentrates with a delay of 2 ms to 3 ms in succession to the direct sound wave. The order of the delay time noticed in the above response is similar to the one derived from the spatial separation between both ears. These reflected sound waves interfere with the direct sound wave in phase, disturb the frequency characteristics at the listening point, and destroy the sense of locality of acoustic images. A graphic equalizer employing analog filters which has been conventionally used as a sound field offset device cannot improve the sense of locality of acoustic images. The reason for this is that although the graphic equalizer can offset the amplitude characteristic of sounds up to a flat or any required characteristic, it cannot control the phase characteristic of sounds. Recently, an attempt to offset sound field has been made by controlling the phase characteristic of sounds by means of a digital filter technique. Such a technique has achieved an improvement in the frequency characteristic of a sound field where the effect of reflected sound waves is noticeably strong and an improvement in the sense of locality of acoustic images in an asymmetrical sound field such as the sound field in the car's space.
Since high frequency response plays an important role in the locality of acoustic images, this response should also be subjected to the sound field offset even when the sound field offset is performed by means of the digital filter technique. Signal processing up to the audio frequency band, however, requires a higher sampling frequency and fast arithmetic speed in the filter, thus increasing a burden on hardware design. Although it may be theoretically possible to handle the entire audio frequency band with the digital filter, a great deal of difficulty may arise in implementing such a scheme from the standpoint of cost and feasibility.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A method and system for performing network merge testing are disclosed. In one embodiment, the network merge testing method comprises: (i) gathering configuration information from at least two networks; (ii) comparing the configuration information; and (iii) displaying a report that indicates whether an attempted merge of the at least two networks would succeed. The report preferably identifies conflicts between the network configurations, and the method may further include automatic or guided resolution of the conflicts. The configuration information may include: zone names and memberships; domain and port names; security settings; inter-op modes; and long distance modes. A system for implementing the method is also disclosed herein. The system and method may advantageously prevent or diagnose causes of network segmentation.

Computer networks facilitate communication between computers, and between computers and stand-alone peripherals. They make possible large scale computing systems, distributed service systems, and a whole host of applications that would otherwise be infeasible. Thus, incentives exist for the use and enhancement of computer network technology. As computer networks increase in speed and size, they require more sophisticated protocols to ensure fast and reliable communications. Network configuration and supervision are increasingly important parts of these protocols.
Storage area networks (SANs) are a popular type of computer network. SANs are networks of stand-alone data storage devices (e.g. disk drives). The SAN is usually a subnetwork of a larger computer network that includes servers and personal computers. The advantages of SANs include having a large, shared storage capacity that has a high bandwidth access and does not have to be accessed through a server.
Many SANs rely on the Fibre Channel (FC) protocol. A single FC link can carry data at rates exceeding 2 gigabits per second (Gb/s) in both directions simultaneously. The FC protocol defines standard media and signaling conventions for transporting data in a serial fashion. It also provides an error correcting channel code and a frame structure for transporting the data. Further, the FC protocol sets out a buffer-credit-based flow control methodology, and creates some common services (e.g. fabric controller, name server). The FC protocol can be applied to various network topologies including point-to-point, ring, and switched fabric. Further details regarding the FC protocol can be found online at www.fibrechannel.org.
Switched fabric topologies are networks of switches that interconnect end-node devices. Well-designed switches provide at least some degree of automatic configurability. For example, they may automatically sense when a new link is connected to the switch, and may initiate an initialization process to discover what the link connects to. The switch may automatically determine various parameters for the link (e.g. link speed). Other parameters, however, have a more global effect and may not be automatically configurable by the switch. Examples may include zone names, domain names, port names, port identifier lengths, time-out values, security settings, inter-op modes, and long-distance modes. When the link connects switches in two otherwise separately operating fabrics, a mismatch in any of these parameters will prevent communication over the link. Network segmentation is the term for this phenomena: a physically connected network operating as multiple, separate networks.
Of course, network segmentation is undesirable when one wishes to merge the separate networks into a single unified network. It would be desirable to have a tool that determines whether a network merge will be successful and/or determines the causes of existing network segmentation.


According to the invention, a wireless device communicates with a base station by applying a first downlink-uplink (DL-UL) setting that sets a plurality of downlink subframes and a plurality of uplink subframes at different times. The wireless device communicates with the base station by using at least one auxiliary subframe when receiving a second UL-DL setting from the base station.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communications, and more particularly, to a communication method and device in a wireless communication system in which a downlink-uplink configuration is changed.
2. Related Art
Long term evolution (LTE) based on 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) technical specification (TS) release 8 is a promising next-generation mobile communication standard.
As disclosed in 3GPP TS 36.211 V8.7.0 (2009 May) "Evolved Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (E-UTRA); Physical Channels and Modulation (Release 8)", a physical channel of the LTE can be classified into a downlink channel, i.e., a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) and a physical downlink control channel (PDCCH), and an uplink channel, i.e., a physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) and a physical uplink control channel (PUCCH).
The 3GPP LTE supports both frequency division duplex (FDD) and time division duplex (TDD). In the FDD, uplink (UL) transmission and downlink (DL) transmission use different frequencies. In the TDD, UL transmission and DL transmission use the same frequency. A user equipment supporting full duplex-FDD can simultaneously perform UL transmission and DL reception at a specific time. A user equipment supporting half-duplex-FDD (HD-FDD) and TDD can perform UL transmission and DL reception at different times.
In the TDD of 3GPP LTE, a DL subframe and a UL subframe coexist in one radio frame. When locations of the DL subframe and the UL subframe are predefined in the radio frame, it is called a DL-UL configuration.
In general, a wireless communication system has been designed by considering that there is almost no change when a base station uses a specific DL-UL configuration. This is because normal communication may be difficult when a mismatch occurs in the DL-UL configuration between the user equipment and the base station.
However, with the diversification of a type of a required service and with the increase in traffic, the base station needs to change the DL-UL configuration in a more flexible manner.

Communication method and device in a wireless communication system


The invention is directed to a method and kit to control and modify the status of cells, such as human stem cells, by changing their glycosylation, in particular sialylation and fucosylation, levels in a reaction condition where culture medium reagents, such as divalent cations, are present and cells are kept non-adherent. The invention is further directed to novel stem cells, the glycosylation of which has been specifically altered.

PCT/FI2006/050323 published 18.1.2007, describes a modification of glycosylation of stem cells. The examples show reaction of human cord blood mononuclear cells, comprising hematopoietic stem cells, with sialyltransferase and fucosyltransferases in MOPS buffer and 150 mM NaCl and by sialidases in acetate buffer.
The "Sackstein" application (WO 2007/143204) indicates, and their corresponding publication in Nature Medicine, filed after the priority date of the above application, claims specifically reaction conditions without any divalent cations and the application specifically shows toxicity of MnCl2. Based on the prior art it would not appear useful to use toxic Mn2+ or other divalent cations Mg2+ or Ca2+-ions in the reactions.
WO 2008/011094 also by Sackstein describes the use of cytokines to stimulate glycosylation enzymes on hematopoietic stem cells. The present invention is directed to the use of non-toxic divalent cations, small molecules and supporting non-glycoprotein albumin in context of in vitro modification of especially adherent cell. It is realized that activation of cells by cytokines may also produce undesired differentiation or cell activation leading to negative activities in context of in vivo or ex vivo uses of the cell.
PCT/FI2008/050015, filed 18.1.2008, by the present inventors indicates that the reactions even with the adherent cells can be performed in the presence of Mg2+, which would be preferred for the activity of modification enzymes, especially sialyltransferase and fucosyltransferase. The example includes reactions to mesenchymal stem cells in α-MEM, which contains also other factors revealed useful by present invention. The present invention revealed that use of both Mg2+ and Ca2+ ions preferably with supporting factors is especially useful for producing optimally viable cells. The preferred conditions further include conditions to prevent aggregation and surface binding of cells, especially preferred shear force conditions.
PCT/FI2008/050015, filed 18.1.2008, includes enzyme tagging technologies. The present invention provides specific forms and methods for the tagging, including glycan tagging with multiple tags and limited lysine-specific tagging by biotinylation.
It is realised that previously published cell modification conditions without divalent cations are not optimal for cell status. It was revealed that the condition induced morphological changes of cells, including non-natural granularity of the cells which are likely to reduce the viability of the cells, though the cells were indicated to be alive according to Sackstein et al.
The present invention is further directed to the use of strong protease conditions producing unicellular cell suspension. It is realized that this is needed to produce effective glycosylation and optimal unicellular product for subsequent in vivo use. It is realized that the cell population produced under the Sackstein conditions with a low amount of protease might not result in a unicellular preparation.
The process described by Sackstein and colleagues produces an N-glycan-linked sialyl Lewis x (sLex) epitope, but essentially no other selectin ligands structures (Sackstein et al. Nature Med 2008, 14(2):181-187). The present invention, including a reaction condition with divalent cations, effectively produced the sLex on O-glycan type structures different from the modification indicated by Sackstein.
The present invention further provides methods for specific tagging and washing cells with glycosyltransferase inhibitors to remove the enzymes from cell preparations after modification reactions.
Changes of sialylation by desialylation and resialylation with specific sialyltransferases has been reported for red cells in order to analyze binding specificities of influenza virus (Paulson, J. et al.).
Partial desialylation and alpha-6-resialylation of human peripheral blood and bone marrow CD34+ cells, both non-adherent blood cells, has been reported, the peripheral blood cells having been released by GM-CSF and most of the subjects being under cancer therapy (Schwarz-Albiez, Reihard et al., 2004, Glycoconj. J. 21:451-459). The large variations in results may be due to therapy and GM-CSF. The method used did not reveal quantitation of sialic acid types, due to a limited specificity of the sialyltransferase used. The modifications of sialic acid would likely further affect the acceptor specificity of the sialyltransferase used and thus the structures labelled. The present invention is especially directed to α3-sialylation of the specific carrier structures.
Removal of NeuGc from pig xenotransplant tissue and resialylation by NeuAc and sialyltransferase has been also suggested (WO 2002/088351). That work was not directed to stem cells, nor human stem cells directed methods, nor were the methods used specified, although this is essential for applications in these cells. The xenotransplantation idea is not relevant to present invention due to tissue and species specificity of glycosylation. A patent application (WO 2003/105908) describes possible sialidase and sialyltransferase reactions for certain NK or lymphocyte cell lines. The results revealed that the reactions varied between the cell lines and were not predictable under the conditions used in the work. Further, the reaction conditions of sialyltransferase without CMP-sialic acid were not described by the inventors.
Use of an inhibitor after glycomodification reaction has been indicated, but the chemical nature of the inhibitors was not indicated (WO 2004/072306). There is no indication of use of an inhibitor, especially soluble acceptor which mimics competitive inhibitor in context of cells and sialidase reactions or glycosyltransferase reactions. Furthermore, no useful concentration ranges for the substrates has been indicated and the present inventors were first to reveal the need of removal of bound glycosyltransferases from enzymes.
Xia et al. (2004) Blood 104 (10) 3091-9 describes changing fucosylation of cord blood cell population without changing sialylation levels and possible usefulness of the modification in targeting of the cells to the bone marrow.

Enzymatical modification of cell glycosylation using serum albumin and divalent cations


A dual clock interface for an integrated circuit is described. An integrated circuit includes interface circuitry. The interface circuitry has a hardwired logic block. The hardwired logic block has a clock divider circuit coupled to receive a user clock signal and a core clock signal for dividing the core clock signal responsive to a frequency of the user clock signal to provide a divided clock signal with edges aligned to the core clock signal. The divided clock signal has the frequency of the user clock signal and a phase relationship of the user clock signal. User-side logic is coupled to receive the divided clock signal for the controlled passing of information responsive to the divided clock signal. Core-side logic is coupled to receive the core clock signal for the controlled passing of information responsive to the core clock signal.

Programmable logic devices ("PLDs") are a well-known type of integrated circuit that can be programmed to perform specified logic functions. One type of PLD, the field programmable gate array ("FPGA"), typically includes an array of programmable tiles. These programmable tiles can include, for example, input/output blocks ("IOBs"), configurable logic blocks ("CLBs"), dedicated random access memory blocks ("BRAMs"), multipliers, digital signal processing blocks ("DSPs"), processors, clock managers, delay lock loops ("DLLs"), and so forth. Notably, as used herein, "include" and "including" mean including without limitation. One such FPGA is the Xilinx Virtex® FPGA available from Xilinx, Inc., 2100 Logic Drive, San Jose, Calif. 95124.
Another type of PLD is the Complex Programmable Logic Device ("CPLD"). A CPLD includes two or more "function blocks" connected together and to input/output ("I/O") resources by an interconnect switch matrix. Each function block of the CPLD includes a two-level AND/OR structure similar to those used in Programmable Logic Arrays ("PLAs") and Programmable Array Logic ("PAL") devices. Other PLDs are programmed by applying a processing layer, such as a metal layer, that programmably interconnects the various elements on the device. These PLDs are known as mask programmable devices. PLDs can also be implemented in other ways, for example, using fuse or antifuse technology. The terms "PLD" and "programmable logic device" include but are not limited to these exemplary devices, as well as encompassing devices that are only partially programmable.
For purposes of clarity, FPGAs are described below though other types of PLDs may be used. FPGAs may include one or more embedded microprocessors. For example, a microprocessor may be located in an area reserved for it, generally referred to as a "processor block."
An integrated circuit, such as an FPGA, may include one or more interfaces for communicating information. There are many known types of interfaces, such as a Peripheral Component Interconnect ("PCI"), a Universal Serial Bus ("USB"), and Ethernet, among other known interfaces. For purposes of clarity, by way of example it shall be assumed that a PCI Express ("PCIe") interface is used for an integrated circuit, although it shall be appreciated from the following description that other types of known interfaces may be used.
For operation of a PCIe interface, a user clock and a core clock are supplied. Conventionally, the user clock and the core clock are synchronous with respect to one another and are edge-aligned with some uncertainty. For example, the user clock may be rising edge-aligned to rising edges of the core clock with some uncertainty. Furthermore, for a PCI, the core clock signal is provided at a standard specified frequency, which for a PCIe is presently approximately 250 MHz. However, uncertainty with respect to such edge alignment translates into having to have larger timing margins. In short, this means that the "windows of operation" have to be increased to accommodate such uncertainty, which generally slows performance.
Accordingly, it would be desirable and useful to provide a dual clock interface that at least reduces the above-described uncertainty such that performance may be enhanced with narrower timing margins.

Dual clock interface for an integrated circuit


A data capturing method of near-field communication (NFC) protocol and an NFC electronic device thereof are provided. The method can be applied to an NFC electronic device with an operation system, and the operation system includes a kernel mode and a user mode. The method includes following steps: detecting a readable element by an interface drive module in the kernel mode to obtain NFC original data transferred by the readable element; capturing the NFC original data from the interface drive module by a capturing module and outputting the NFC original data to an analyzing module in the user mode; and analyzing the NFC original data by the analyzing module to obtain NFC target data.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a data capturing method and an electronic device and, more particularly, to a data capturing method of near-field communication (NFC) protocol and an NFC electronic device using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic devices communicates with each other in a near-field can be archived via Near field communication (NFC) which is a principle of magnetic induction that developed from an integration of radio frequency identification (RFID) and interconnection technology. The NFC technology permits two electronic devices to execute a point-to-point connection and a communication protocol when the devices exist nearby or close contact with each other, so as to perform data exchange.
The NFC technology can achieve data exchange without a cable, and additionally, it also has many advantageous in application. Since two devices can communicate with each other in a close proximity under NFC, data exchange becomes more intuitive and rapid. Furthermore, since a physical connection is not needed in the NFC, the transmission security is relatively high, which is a better choice in electronic payment and ticket payment.
However, application programs in a user mode cannot get detailed information relating to the NFC protocol, such as a unique identification (UID) or types of an NFC smart card, via a proximity application programming interface (APIs) provided in the Windows operation system.

Data capturing method of NFC protocol and NFC electronic device using the same


A score display assembly for pool tables having a front wall and a rear wall that are detachably secured together to form a housing. There are 15 vertically oriented discs rotatably mounted in the housing and their upper perimeter extends through their respective slots in the top of the housing. Each disc has a window in the front wall for identifying indicia on the front surface of the respective discs. A plurality of suction cups are secured to the rear wall of the score display assembly for detachably securing it to the side wall of a pool table immediately above a ball return chamber.

The invention relates to pool tables and more specifically to a score display assembly that is detachably secured to the side wall of a coin-operated pool table.
Conventional pool tables allow a player who has put a particular ball in a pool table pocket to place it on a shelf or rack structure reserved entirely for that player. This allows all of the players to have a clear view as to who has pocketed each of the particular balls.
In a coin-operated pool table, the only ball that can be retrieved from the table after it has gone into a pocket is the cue-ball. The numbered balls are all directed to a ball return chamber that is often visible along one of the side walls of the table. It is thus difficult to remember what balls were pocketed by the pool players unless the players keep track on a chalkboard or pad of paper.
It is an object of the invention to provide a novel score display assembly that can be detachably secured to the side wall of a coin-operated table immediately above the window covering the pool ball return chamber.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel score display assembly for coin-operated pool tables that is easy to install and remove from a pool table.
It is another object of the invention to provide a novel score display assembly for coin-operated pool tables that is economical to manufacture and market.
It is an additional object of the invention to provide a novel score display assembly for coin-operated pool tables that allows all of the players to easily remember who has pocketed each of the fifteen balls just by looking at the score display assembly.