The invention relates to a self-expandable medical instrument (100) for treating defects in a patient's heart, in particular for the transvascular implantation of a prosthetic heart valve (30), wherein the medical instrument (100) is introducible into the body of a patient in a minimally-invasive procedure using a catheter system (40) and comprises a stent (1) made of a flexible mesh (2) of thin wires or filaments (2′). In order to realize a positioning of medical instrument (100) in the patient's heart which is as precise as possible and to securely anchor same there, it is provided for the stent (1) composed of the flexible mesh (2) to exhibit in the expanded state of the medical instrument (100) a distal retention area (10) with a laterally-inverted beaded portion (12) which is engageable in at least one pocket (51) of the patient's defective heart valve (50), a proximal retention area (20), and a center area (15) positioned between the distal and the proximal retention area (10, 20).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a self-expandable medical instrument for treating defects in a patient's heart, in particular for the transvascular implantation of a prosthetic heart valve, whereby the medical instrument can be introduced via a catheter system into the patient's body in a minimally-invasive procedure. In particular, the invention relates to a device for the transvascular replacement of diseased heart valves.
2. Background Information
A device of this type is known in principle to medical technology. At present, biological or mechanical valve models are available to substitute for human heart valves which are usually fixedly sewn into the bed of the heart valve during a surgical procedure through an opening in the thorax after removal of the diseased heart valve. In this surgical procedure, the patient's circulation must be maintained by a heart-lung machine, whereby cardiac arrest is induced during the implantation of the prosthetic heart valve. This consequently makes the surgical procedure a risky one coupled with the associated risks for the patients and a lengthy post-operative treatment phase. In particular, the risks of such a surgical procedure are often no longer justifiable in the case of multimorbid patients.
Minimally-invasive treatment procedures of recent development are characterized in particular by the surgery being able to be performed under local anesthesia. One approach provides for implanting a self-expanding stent connected to a collapsible heart valve into the human body by means of an appropriate catheter system. The catheter systems is used to guide such a self-expanding prosthetic heart valve through the inguinal artery or vein to its site of implantation at the heart. After reaching the site of implantation, the stent, consisting for example of a plurality of self-expanding stent segments which can be bent relative one another in its longitudinal direction, can then be successively expanded. Following this expansion, anchoring hooks can for example support the anchoring of the prosthetic heart valve at least in the respective blood vessel close to the heart. The actual prosthetic heart valve itself is thereby in the direct proximal area of the stent.
Known for example from the DE 100 10 074 A1 printed publication is a device for fastening and anchoring prosthetic heart valves, which is essentially formed from wire-shaped interconnected elements. The device thereby provides for using various different arched elements in order to attain a secure fixation of and support for the prosthetic heart valve. To this end, the device described in this printed publication makes use of three identical pairs of arched elements, arranged to be offset from one another by 120°. These arched elements are interconnected by means of solid articulations, whereby the solid articulations fulfill the function of pivot bearings. Additional arched elements bent opposite to each other are furthermore provided which form rocker arms as equal in length as possible in order to achieve a secure placement of the arched elements even when subject to peristaltic actions on the heart and blood vessels and a solid sealing for an implanted and anchored prosthetic heart valve.
In the known solutions, however, there is a risk of heart valve implant malalignment. This essentially relates to the exact positioning and longitudinal orientation of the prosthetic heart valve to be implanted. In particular, it is only with immense skill on the part of the attending surgeon—if at all—that a stent with the prosthetic heart valve at its proximal end winds up being positioned so precisely in the proximity of the patient's diseased heart valve that both sufficient lateral positioning accuracy as well as a suitable longitudinal placement to the prosthetic heart valve can be optimally ensured.
Among other complications, an implantation malalignment of a less than optimally positioned prosthetic heart valve can lead to, for example, leakage or valvular regurgitation, which puts a substantial burden on the ventricle. Should, for example, a prosthetic heart valve be implanted too far above the actual heart valve plane, this can lead to occlusion of the coronary artery origination (coronaries) and thus to a fatal coronary ischemia with myocardial infarction. It is therefore imperative for an implanted prosthetic heart valve to meet all the respective requirements for both the accuracy of the lateral positioning as well as the longitudinal placement.
In conventional implantation techniques in which self-expandable prosthetic heart valves are, for example, guided through a patient's inguinal artery to the site of deployment at the heart in a minimally-invasive procedure, the prosthesis is usually introduced using a guide wire and catheters, whereby conventional balloon catheters can also be used. Although such a surgical introduction can be monitored and controlled, for example with fluoroscopy (Cardiac Catheterization Laboratory=CCL) or with ultrasound (Transesophageal Echocardiogram=TEE), oftentimes—due to the limited maneuverability of the prosthetic heart valve which is still in a collapsed state during the introduction procedure and despite being in the collapsed state is still of relatively large size—it is not possible to ensure the required positioning accuracy and especially the longitudinal placement to the prosthetic heart valve implant with the corresponding anchoring elements affixed thereto. In particular—as a result of a possible coronary artery occlusion—an angle misalignment to the implanted prosthetic heart valve from the optimum site of deployment can pose a threat to the respective patient.
In designing a prosthetic heart valve, special consideration must in particular be given to the substantial forces also acting on the prosthetic during the filling period of the cardiac cycle (diastole), necessitating a secure anchorage in order to prevent the implanted prosthetic heart valve from dislodging.
Hence on the one hand, the prosthetic heart valve must be able to be maneuvered to the greatest extent possible in the respective coronary artery during the implantation procedure so as to ensure optimum positioning accuracy and, on the other hand, the implanted prosthesis must be able to be firmly anchored at its site of implantation in order to effectively prevent subsequent prosthesis misalignment.
The present invention addresses the problem that the known devices for transvascular implantation and fixation of prosthetic heart valves are often not suitable for a simple implantation of a prosthetic heart valve with the required positioning accuracy. Moreover, explanting a previously implanted prosthetic heart valve in a minimally-invasive procedure or accordingly correcting an incorrectly positioned prosthetic heart valve has to date often only been possible with great effort, if at all.
On the basis of the problems as set forth, one task on which the present invention is based is that of providing a device for the transvascular implantation and fixation of prosthetic heart valves which remedies the above-described disadvantages inherent to conventional implantation systems.

Self-expandable medical instrument for treating defects in a patient's heart


A laser light source (100) includes a laser element (102) that emits a fundamental wave, a wavelength converting element (104) that performs wavelength conversion on the fundamental wave emitted from the laser element (102) and outputs the converted wave, and an optical waveguide (103) that guides the light output from the wavelength converting element (104). The optical waveguide (103) has a direction changing portion (113) that changes the travel direction of the guided light. The direction changing portion (113) has a function of transmitting the converted wave alone and of not transmitting the fundamental wave.

A conventional laser source that has an optical waveguide formed on a substrate, such as a semiconductor substrate, as well as a laser element and an optical element arranged on the substrate, outputs laser light of a given wavelength (see, for example, Patent Document 1). A wavelength converting element that converts wavelengths in the optical waveguide by polarization inversion is used as an optical element. The laser element, for example, emits the fundamental wave (1060 nm) of the infrared region (IR) and via the wavelength converting element, emits green laser light of the second order harmonic (530 nm). Using this green laser light in addition to red and blue laser light, RGB light can be emitted.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2009-259914


File systems which provide several different and improved locking capabilities. An application on a client workstation communicates through a client driver to a server which interfaces with a metadata database, which contains locking information about the files. Applications perform as normal. The client driver provides lock and unlock requests to the server when a write lock or a read with intent to write lock is required. If only a read lock is considered appropriate, the client driver does not provide a lock request. The server transparently performs read operations and read locking using the metadata database without specific requests from the client driver. When a read with intent to write or write lock is required, the lock ownership is placed with a given expiration time. When the time expires the lock is not automatically released but remains with the particular requesting client driver until another client driver requests it.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to file operations and more particularly to locked file operations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Collaboration is increasing in the modern computing age. To this end many different users may try to access a given file from a common file server. This creates problems when the file is downloaded by two local clients for operation and one of the clients' requests or performs a write operation, with either the write operation being prohibited or the other client operating using a stale file version.
In this multi-user collaborative environment techniques have been developed to provide control or ownership of the data. For example, in most prior art database systems, a database client creates a transaction with an operation to the database. The client then selects particular rows or pages. In response, the database locks the particular row, table or page, depending upon the database. The database client then inserts, updates or deletes the particular table entries as desired. The database client then performs a commit transaction operation, at which time the database will unlock the particular items which were locked. By providing the lock, the database prevents other users from accessing or overriding the particular rows, tables, and so on, which will be accessed by the first database client.
Similarly, file systems such as CIFS as provided by Microsoft will provide a read lock on a file server when an application on a client workstation reads the particular file. This can be done by as many clients as desired, but in some circumstances only the first client has the possibility of performing write operations. In other cases, CIFS will allow read locks to be broken to allow a particular party to write if desired. Further, CIFS is a stateful operation and if a particular workstation loses its connection to the server, the lock will be lost.
This losing of the connection brings up a second class of clients, those that are connected remotely, rather than over a local area network. WebDAV has attempted to address this problem by providing explicit locking mechanisms. A particular client requests a lock and receives it for a given duration. If the time passes, the lock is released if the client has not re-specified the lock. While this does provide advantages in a remote operation, it still has disadvantages in that all operations must be explicit from the client and are entirely time based.
It is desirable to have an improved file sharing mechanism with improved locking capability, particularly for use with remote clients, to better optimize a file locking operation.

File operations with persistent file locking techniques


A method is provided for patterning a layered substrate that includes loading a substrate into a coater-developer processing system; coating the substrate with a photoresist material layer; patterning the photoresist material layer to form a photoresist pattern; transferring the substrate to a deposition processing system; and depositing a neutral layer over the photoresist pattern and exposed portions of the substrate. The neutral layer can deposited using a gas cluster ion beam (GCIB) process, or an atomic layer deposition (ALD) process, which has minimal topography. The method may further include lifting off a portion of the neutral layer deposited over the photoresist pattern to expose a neutral layer template for subsequent directed self-assembly (DSA) patterning; depositing a DSA material layer over the neutral layer template; baking the DSA material layer to form a DSA pattern; and developing the DSA material layer to expose the final DSA pattern for subsequent feature etching.

Directed self-assembly ("DSA") processes use block copolymers to form lithographic structures, which are formed by the rearrangement of the block copolymer from a random, unordered state to a structured, ordered state. The morphology of the ordered state is variable and depends on a number of factors, including the relative molecular weight ratios of the block polymers, as well as the surrounding chemical and physical environment. Common morphologies include line-space and cylindrical, although other structures may also be used. For example, other ordered morphologies include spherical, lamellar, bicontinuousgyroid, or miktoarm star microdomains.
Two common methods used to guide self-assembly in BCP thin films are grapho-epitaxy and chemo-epitaxy. In the grapho-epitaxy method, self-organization of block copolymers is guided by pre-patterned substrates. Self-aligned lamellar BCPs can form parallel line-space patterns of different domains in topographical trenches and enhance pattern resolution by subdividing the space of topographical patterns. However, defects and line-edge roughness are easily induced in this grapho-epitaxy directed self-assembly scheme. For example, if the sidewalls are neutral, the lamellae tend to orient perpendicular to the sidewalls and will not subdivide the pitch along the desired direction.
In the chemical epitaxy method, the self-assembly of BCP domains is guided by chemical patterns having pitch dimensions commensurate with the domain size or pitch period (L0) of the self-assembled BCP morphology. The affinity between the chemical patterns and at least one of the types of BCP domains results in the precise placement of the different BCP domains on respective corresponding regions of the chemical patterns, i.e., a pinning region. The affinity for the one type of domain (for example the A domains of an A-B diblock copolymer assembly) dominates the interaction of the other domain(s) (for example the B domains) with the non-patterned regions of the surface, which can be selective or non-selective (or neutral) towards the other type(s) of domains. As a result, the pattern formation in the resulting BCP assembly can directly mirror the underlying chemical pattern (i.e., can be a one-for-one reproduction of the features of the chemical pre-pattern). Moreover, depending on the domain size or pitch period (L0) of the self-assembled BCP morphology and the critical dimension (CD) of the pinning regions and the non-patterned regions, frequency multiplication can be achieved. However, dimension control and line-edge roughness can be negatively affected in chemo-epitaxy methods by topographical variations in the chemical pre-pattern.
One commonly observed variation in chemical pre-patterns is introduced when forming a neutral layer over the prepattern, which is not resolved in the subsequent lift-off step. Referring to FIGS. 1A-1E, a layered substrate 100 of the prior art is provided having a substrate 101 coated with an under-layer 102 and an imaged layer of photoresist 103, wherein exposed regions 104 and unexposed regions 105 are shown after exposure to radiation 106. Where the layer of photoresist 103 is a positive tone photoresist comprising a photoacid generator, exposed regions 104 are rendered soluble to positive tone developing chemistry, such as aqueous tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH), upon performing a post-exposure bake. As shown in FIG. 1B, exposure of layer of photoresist 103 to a developing chemistry removes exposed regions 104 to provide openings 107. A flood exposure step shown in FIG. 1C, followed by a bake step provides positive resist lines 108. Coating the positive resist lines 108 with a thin uncross-linked neutral layer, which is subsequently baked to cross-link the thin neutral layer, forms a cross-linked neutral layer 110. However, as shown in FIG. 1D, the application of the neutral layer 110 has traditionally been plagued by pooling regions 110a of the neutral layer 110 against the sides 108a of the positive resist lines 108. These pooling regions can be seen in the scanning electron micrograph (SEM) shown in FIG. 2A.
The underlying positive tone resist lines 108 are then lifted off by exposure to a developer solution (such as a tetramethyl ammonium hydroxide (TMAH) solution), which penetrates the thin cross-linked neutral layer 110, and then dissolves the underlying positive tone resist lines 108. As the positive tone resist lines 108 dissolves, the cross-linked neutral layer 110 attached to the lines 108 is essentially lifted off the layered substrate 100 because it has lost its underlying support, i.e., the positive tone resist lines 108. Unfortunately, the pooling regions 110a of the neutral layer 110 are not removed in this subsequent developing step. Accordingly, this pre-pattern variation 112a remains in the patterned neutral layer 112. In the SEMs shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the retained pooling regions are prominently evident in the bulbous edges. The increased variations in neutral layer topography can lower the propensity of an overlying layer of BCP to undergo DSA, which in turn causes an increase in defects.
Therefore, due to the aforementioned limitations, methods to improve neutral layer topography would therefore be highly desirable for improved directed self-assembly processes.

Topography minimization of neutral layer overcoats in directed self-assembly applications


In one embodiment, a method includes accessing data encoding a response shift in a signal received through an antenna of a mobile device. The signal corresponds to wireless communication to the mobile device from another device. The response shift is detected and encoded by a modem of the mobile device coupled to the antenna. The method also includes determining an environmental or operational state of the mobile device based at least in part on the response shift encoded in the data.

A mobile electronic device, such as a smartphone, tablet device, laptop computer, etc., may be a hand-held computing device with a display screen. The mobile device may provide touch input or a miniature keyboard. Mobile devices may have general computing capabilities for executing one or more applications such as for example, short-message service (SMS), multimedia-messaging service (MMS), e-mail, Internet access, short-range wireless communications (infrared, Bluetooth®), business applications, gaming, or photography. A smartphone is a particular class of mobile device with general computing and telephony capabilities provided through a radio-frequency (RF) communication link whilst moving within a geographic area. The smartphone connects to a cellular network for access to the public telephone network and mobile Internet access.

Data exchange between antenna and modem of mobile device


An optical fiber sensor for inducing a microbend in an optical fiber in the presence of the liquid phase as distinguished from the vapor phase of a fluid such as water. The sensor includes a chamber with an expansible block located therein, and a thin band is provided about the block of a dimension and tensile strength such that any increase in outward expansive force in the block due to an increase in the presence of the fluid in its vapor phase only will not cause the band to rupture; however, when any liquid enters the chamber, the band will rupture to allow the block to expand in a particular direction to move a pusher bar which, in turn, moves a puller wire to bend the fiber at a location remote from the chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to optical fiber sensors for sensing fluid substances, such as water, and more particularly, it pertains to optical fiber sensors which utilize a swellable material in the presence of the fluid substance to be detected which swelling is arranged to mechanically cause a microbending in the optical fiber that can readily be detected and analyzed by conventional monitoring devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Optical fiber sensors for sensing the presence of a particular fluid substance such as water vapor, water, petrochemicals, etc., are well-known in the prior art. The presence of the fluid substance at a remote location, such as a buried telecommunications box, is sensed by a carefully chosen substance which is caused to thereby swell and mechanically create a stress in or, particularly, a microbending in the optical fiber which condition can then be readily detected by the attenuation in the signal transmitted by the fiber or by optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) circuitry which reacts to the signal loss at the microbend and accurately pinpoints its location along the length of the optical fiber.
Prior United States patents which disclose the use of a fluid sensor employing the microbending of an optical fiber include the Pat. No. 5,243,670 to Bonicel wherein the presence of moisture is detected within a closed chamber; U.S. Pat. No. 4,596,443 to Diemeer et al disclosing a fiberoptic sensor for detecting the presence of a liquid such as ground water within a multiconductor cable; U.S. Pat. No. 5,378,889 to Lawrence disclosing a fiberoptic sensor for the detection of hydrocarbon fuels; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,815 to Shen et al which discloses an optical fiber sensor for detecting the presence of water wherein a swellable material forces the optical fiber to be bent about a curved mandrel. Optical fiber sensors utilizing the microbending of the fiber for detection purposes have also been used to detect shockwaves as shown, for example, in the prior patent to Sargoytchev, U.S. Pat. No. 5,220,160.
While in the foregoing patents the swellable material directly impacts upon the fiberoptic cable, the location for detecting the presence of particular fluid substance may be separated from the location of the fiber attenuation imparting means so as to prevent any contact therebetween with a mechanical connection being provided to impart a bending to the fiber upon the remote sensing of the fluid substance as shown, for example, in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,590,462 to Moorehead disclosing an optical fiber sensor for the detection of hydrocarbons.
A particular industry which has utilized optical fiber sensors in the past is the telecommunications industry wherein fiberoptic splice cases are used at remote locations as junctions or splice points for the fiberoptic cables. Typically, these splice cases are buried underground and are thereby subject to water intrusion, for example, as a result of physical damage, improper sealing or direct leakage through a cut in the cable sheath. Since such water instrusion can damage the optical fibers and the cladding thereof and can therefore have significant consequences on the accuracy and reliability of the information communicated over the fiberoptic cables, it is imperative that the presence of water in the splice case be communicated to some remote operating point as soon as possible.
A particular problem with prior art optical fiber sensors in dealing with the presence of water in splice cases is the lack of discrimination in the sensor in distinguishing between free water (which can produce the adverse consequences as pointed above) and water vapor (which will unavoidably occur and which is generally much less harmful). It is understandable that a high humidity can build up in objects like buried splice cases over time particularly during the wet seasons. If the cumulative effects of the continued presence of a highly humid atmosphere causes the sensor to be triggered even though no free water is present, unnecessary and costly replacements or repairs may occur.

Optical fiber sensor for distinguishing between the presence of liquid and vapor phases of a substance


Raising the T-cell count in an HIV positive patient having a low T-cell count by orally administering an effective amount of a composition containing a material obtained by treating whole human blood or white cells obtained from HIV positive patients with cold aqueous carbon dioxide, heating to evolve carbon dioxide gas, allowing a precipitate to form, and collecting and drying the precipitate.

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome, or AIDS, is an infectious disease which weakens the immune system to the point that the body cannot defend itself against diseases and infections that it can normally resist. In some cases, it is these Opportunistic disease, as they are called, that cause the fatalities. AIDS is caused by an infection brought on by the human immune deficiency virus (HIV) that scientists have identified as a retrovirus.
In the immune system of healthy people, white blood cells and antibodies attack and destroy germs and other foreign organism as they enter the body. The T-cell lymphocyte, also known as T-helper, T-4 or CD4, is one of the white blood cells that assist in destroying foreign proteins, an immune system response that prevents people from getting sick. Unfortunately, these are the cells HIV targets.
HIV cannot live independently. It attaches and enters the T-helper lymphocytes so that it will be able to multiply. HIV incorporates its HIV genes into the host cells and then replicates within the T-helper lymphocytes. When the newly-formed viruses break out of their cells, they continue the cycle by infecting more T-helper lymphocytes.
At some point, the body's own defenses contribute to the problem, as the immune system tries to overcome the infection by producing additional helper cells, providing yet more hosts for the virus. Eventually the system can no longer produce enough white blood cells to ward off other infections.
When the disease progresses from HIV infection to full-blown AIDS, it is because the number of T-cells has dropped to dangerous levels. AIDS is heralded by a total lymphocyte count of less than 500/mm3 and a dangerously low T-cell count of below 200. With the immune system so depleted, the body becomes highly vulnerable to opportunistic diseases. As the term suggests, these are infections and other diseases that seize the opportunity presented by a weakened defense system. They commonly include herpes simplex infection and other herpes conditions such as shingles and the oral yeast infection, thrush; Kaposi's sarcoma, characterized by the dark lesions; CKV retinitis, a herpes virus that can bring blindness; meningitis, an infection of the spinal cord and brain; cervical cancer; and a formerly rare type of pneumonia.
The Department of Health & Human Services ("DHHS") has issued guidelines recommending certain antiretroviral agents for treatment of established HIV infection. The DHHS panel recommended that all patients with less than 500 CD4 T cells/mm, and a viral load greater than 10,000 (bDNA) or 20,000 (RT-PCR) copies of HIV RNA/ml, of plasma should be offered antiviral therapy. The use of various combinations of antiretroviral agents represents the current state of the art and significant benefits have been observed in many cases although the long term results remain to be established. The patients presently must adhere to complex dosage regimens and tolerate significant drug side effects and adverse reactions.


AM and LM parameters to be used for adapting an ASR model are derived for each audio segment of an audio stream comprising multiple audio programs. A set of identifiers, including a speaker identifier, a speaker domain identifier and a program domain identifier, is obtained for each audio segment. The set of identifiers are used to select most suitable AM and LM parameters for the particular audio segment. The embodiments enable provision of maximum constraints on the AMs and LMs and enable adaptation of the ASR model on the fly for audio streams of multiple audio programs, such as broadcast audio. This means that the embodiments enable selecting AM and LM parameters that are most suitable in terms of ASR performance for each audio segment.

ASR, also referred to as speech recognition (SR), computer speech recognition or simply speech to text (STT), is the machine- or computer-based method of converting speech into readable text, typically in real time.
ASR systems are generally classified as speaker independent ASR systems or speaker dependent ASR systems. The latter ASR systems use ASR models trained for a given speaker and thereby fine tune the recognition of the enrolled speaker's speech and voice. Such ASR systems typically have relatively high accuracy but are mainly restricted to a single user case. This is in clear contrast to speaker independent ASR systems, which are invariant to the speaker. Speaker independent ASR systems generally have a lower accuracy as compared to speaker dependent ASR systems but are more flexible by allowing multiple users.
An ASR system uses an acoustic model (AM) and a language model (LM) in speech recognition. The AM represents the relationship between an audio signal and the phenomes or other linguistic units that make up the speech. Hence, an acoustic model is a statistical model that estimates the probability that a certain phoneme has been uttered in an audio segment. A language model is a probability distribution over sequences of words. In speech recognition, the ASR system tries to match sounds with word sequences. The language model provides context to distinguish between words and phrases that sound similar.
ASR systems are today used in, among others, computers and mobile telephones. ASR systems in computers are often used for dictation and/or to control the computer. The user will upfront speak to the computer and the ASR system, which is used by the ASR system to transcribe the speech into text or into control commands. On mobile phones, an ASR system is used to perform tasks on the mobile phone or to ask questions. In both application cases, the ASR system can often adapt the speaker independent AM as the user uses the ASR system.
There are, however, problems with the prior art ASR systems and solutions in transcribing audio streams comprising different audio programs and different speakers. The genre or topic may change many times and multiple speakers are present in the different audio programs. In such a situation, the accuracy of the ASR system may drop significantly as compared to a situation with a single speaker in a given topical context. A typical example of a multi-topic and multi-speaker situation is broadcasting audio and media.
There is therefore a need for improvements within the field of ASR and in particular for audio streams comprising multiple audio programs and multiple speakers.


First and second boosters are attached to a holder in the following manner to prevent a portion between the first and second boosters from being curved. The outer side surface of a projecting portion on the outer peripheral surface of a second booster is pressed toward the inward of the holder by a stopper attached to the holder so that a stepped portion formed in the interior surface of the holder is pressed by the projecting portion through a bridge member and a projecting portion on the outer peripheral surface of the first booster.

1. Field of the Invention!
This invention relates to an unit for supporting an ultrasonic vibration resonator.
2. Description of the Prior Art!
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. Hei 7-33910, for example, discloses an unit for supporting an ultrasonic vibration resonator in which a first coupling horn called booster and a second coupling horn also called booster are connected in series to an ultrasonic head which is a transducer installed in a cylindrical casing of an ultrasonic processing machine.
In this conventional resonator supporting unit, the first coupling horn is stored in the cylindrical casing and a flange constituting a support portion projecting outward from the second coupling horn is fixed in the cylindrical casing so that the flange which is a support portion projecting outward from the first coupling horn is in contact with the interior wall of the cylindrical casing as a holder. Therefore, when ultrasonic vibration from the ultrasonic head is transmitted to a processing tool attached to the second coupling horn attached to the second coupling horn through the first coupling horn and the second coupling horn and the exterior surface of the processing tool is pressed against a workpiece to machine the workpiece, a portion between the flange of the first coupling and the flange of the second coupling horn is curved with the flange of the second coupling horn fixed in the cylindrical casing as a center by force received by the processing tool from the workpiece which is perpendicular to an axial direction with the result that a loss of ultrasonic vibration energy transmitted from the ultrasonic head to the processing tool is increased by internal stress generated thereby and also the contact position of the processing tool with respect to the workpiece becomes inaccurate inevitably.

Support unit for ultrasonic vibration resonator


A process for preparing a sulfonate terminated polyarylate comprises blending a polyarylate resin with an organic compound to form a reaction mixture, wherein the organic compound contains at least one aliphatic primary amine functional group and at least one other functional group selected from the group consisting of sulfonic acids, sulfonic acid salts, and mixtures thereof, and heating the reaction mixture to a temperature of 225 to 400° C. The temperature of heating is above the glass transition temperature of the polyarylate resin. Sulfonate terminated polyarylates and compositions prepared using the above process, and articles comprising the sulfonate terminated polyarylate compositions, are also disclosed.

This disclosure relates to a process for preparing sulfonate and sulfonate salt capped polyarylate resins, and specifically to a process for preparing sulfonate and sulfonate salt capped polyarylate resins having improved flow, compositions thereof, and articles formed therefrom.
Polyarylates are well known engineering thermoplastics made by condensation polymerization, typically by either solution or melt polymerizing an aromatic diacid compound (a diester in the case of a melt polymerization, or a diacid chloride in the case of a solution polymerization) and a diol, such as an aromatic diol (e.g., a diphenol compound). Polyarylates typically have high thermal and chemical stability, and can also have photolytic stability and are desirable for use in weatherable compositions. However, due to their high Tg and relatively stiff backbone these polymers are difficult to melt process.
There accordingly remains a need in the art for polyarylate resins and thermoplastic compositions comprising such resins, which have improved melt flow.

Process for the preparation of sulfonate and sulfonate salt capped polyarylate resins with improved flow


A solid state relay includes a light emitting diode receiving an input signal for emitting light, a photodiode array located to receive the emitted light for generating a photo voltage, a MOSFET having its gate connected to an anode of the photodiode array so as to receive the photo voltage. A source and a drain of the MOSFET are connected to a pair of output terminals, respectively, and an anode and a cathode of a thyristor are connected to the anode and a cathode of the photodiode array, respectively. A phototransistor is located to receive the emitted light. A collector and an emitter of the first phototransistor are connected to the cathode of the photodiode array and a positive gate of the thyristor, respectively. When the light emitting element is energized to emit the light, the phototransistor is turned on so as to turn off the thyristor. When the light emitting element is deenergized to emit no light, the phototransistor is turned off so as to turn on the thyristor.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a solid state relay, and more specifically to a solid state relay having a MOSFET (metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor) output circuit and a thyristor discharge circuit.
2. Description of related art
One typical example of conventional solid state relays have been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,175. For example, FIG. 3 of this U.S. patent shows a solid state relay including a light emitting diode (abbreviated "LED" hereinafter) 2, which has its anode and its cathode connected to a pair of input terminals 3 and 4, respectively, so that when an input electric signal is applied between the input terminals 3 and 4, the LED 2 emits light. In addition, there is provided an array 5 of series-connected photodiodes 6 located to receive the light emitted from the LED 2 so as to generate a photo voltage corresponding to the received light. An anode 7 of the photodiode at one end of the photodiode array 5 (simply called an "anode of the photodiode array 5" hereinafter) is connected to an anode of a diode 17, which in turn has its cathode connected to a gate of a MOSFET 9+10, so that the photo voltage generated by the photodiode array 5 is supplied through the diode 17 to the gate of the MOSFET. A source and a drain of the MOSFET are connected to a pair of output terminals 15 and 16, respectively.
The gate of the MOSFET is also connected to an anode 19 of a thyristor 18, which has its cathode 20 connected to a back gate of the MOSFET. In addition, a negative gate 21 of the thyristor 18 is connected to the anode of the diode 17, and a positive gate 22 of the thyristor 18 is connected to a cathode 8 of the photodiode at the other end of the photodiode array 5 (simply called a "cathode of the photodiode array 5" hereinafter). The cathode of the photodiode array 5 is also connected to a cathode of another diode 30, which has its anode connected to the cathode 20 of the thyristor 18. In this construction, the thyristor 18 and the diodes 17 and 30 cooperate to constitute a discharge circuit for discharging an electric charge accumulated on the gate of the MOSFET when the LED 2 is deenergized.
This solid state relay operates as follows: When the input voltage signal is applied between the input terminals 3 and 4, the LED 2 emits the light corresponding to the applied input signal. In response to the light emitted from the LED 2, the photodiode array 5 generates a corresponding photo voltage between its anode 7 and its cathode 8. With this photo voltage, a photo current flows through the diode 17 to the gate of the MOSFET, so that an electric charge is accumulated on the gate of the MSOFET. Thus, the MOSFET is turned on, so that a conductive path is formed between the output terminals 15 and 16.
On the other hand, if the LED 2 is deenergized, the voltage between the anode 7 and the cathode 8 of the photodiode array 5 drops due to a self discharge of the photodiode array 5, thereby to bias the positive gate 22 and the negative gate 21 in a forward direction. As a result, the thyristor 18 is turned on, so that the electric charge accumulated on the gate of the MSOFET is discharged through the thyristor 18, and therefore, the MOSFET is turned off.
Thus, this solid state relay can realize a high speed turning-off operation, since the electric charge accumulated on the gate of the MSOFET is discharged through the thyristor 18. In addition, an energy loss is small within the solid state relay circuit.
FIG. 5 of the above referred U.S. Pat. No. 4,754,175 also discloses another solid state relay in which the above mentioned diodes 17 and 30 are replaced with a pair of phototransistors 50 and 51, respectively, which are located to receive the light emitted from the LED 2. This modified solid state relay has not only the same advantage as that of the first mentioned solid state relay, but also another advantage in which the characteristics of the solid state relay can be modified by adjusting the photo sensitivity of the phototransistors 50 and 51.
In both of the above mentioned solid state relays, however, since the diode 17 or the phototransistor 50 are connected between the anode 7 of the photodiode array 5 and the gate of the MOSFET, a voltage drop occurs in the diode 17 or the phototransistor 50. Namely, a part of the photo voltage is lost in the diode 17 or the phototransistor 50.
In addition, when the amount of light received by the photodiode array 5 is small, the photo voltage generated between the anode 7 and the cathode 8 of the photodiode array 5 is correspondingly low. In this case, when the MOSFET is brought from the on condition into the off condition, the self discharge of the photodiode array 5 becomes slow, and therefore, a substantial time is required until the MOSFET is turned off.
Furthermore, the self discharge of the photodiode array 5 is dependent upon an internal resistance of the photodiode array 5. Therefore, the turning-off time greatly varies dependently upon variation in the internal resistance of the photodiode array 5.

Quick response solid state relay having a thyristor discharge circuit and a phototransistor


An information processing method, a server, and an intelligent mobile robot, so that when the intelligent mobile robot encounters a danger, the intelligent mobile robot exchanges information with the server to achieve a purpose of escaping from a scene to a safe place. The method includes: receiving, by a server, a danger alarm sent by an intelligent mobile robot, where the danger alarm is used to indicate that the intelligent mobile robot detects a dangerous event; determining, by the server, a safe position for the intelligent mobile robot, where the safe position is a position in which the dangerous event does not occur currently; and sending, by the server, an escape instruction to the intelligent mobile robot, where the escape instruction includes the safe position.

An intelligent mobile robot is a robot with embedded artificial intelligence and a mobility capability. The embedded artificial intelligence of the intelligent mobile robot may be implemented by an intelligent system including a sensor, a processor, a remote operator, and an automatic control mobile carrier. Through artificial intelligence, the intelligent mobile robot may have a plurality of functions, such as environment perception, dynamic decision-making and planning, and behavior control and execution. Due to the mobility capability of the intelligent mobile robot, the intelligent mobile robot has greater motility and flexibility than a general robot in work in a dangerous and harsh (such as radiation or toxic) environment and an environment (such as cosmic or underwater) that people cannot reach.
In some feasible embodiments, intelligent mobile robots may be categorized into a wheeled mobile robot (such as a self-driving car), a walking mobile robot (with one leg, two legs, or a plurality of legs), a tracked mobile robot, a crawling robot, a peristaltic robot, a flying robot (such as a self-flying unmanned aerial vehicle), a swimming robot, and the like according to a movement mode. The self-driving car is used as an example. The self-driving car may automatically plan a driving route, sense a road environment by using a vehicle-mounted sensing system, and control steering and a speed of the car according to road information, vehicle position information, and obstacle information that are obtained through the sensing, so that the car can drive safely and reliably on a road until a predetermined destination is reached.
Since the self-driving car goes on a road, more and more research has been made on self-driving, such as research from a perspective of artificial intelligence. At the same time, conventional car manufacturers and Internet companies have set up mobile service companies in succession to explore a passenger service of the self-driving car and provide a competitive mobile travel service. At present, the self-driving car may not only drive automatically, but also automatically search for a parking space, automatically search for a charging pile, automatically pick up people, or the like. However, in a case of fire or the like that may cause damage to the self-driving car, the self-driving car has no corresponding coping mechanism.

Information processing method, server, and intelligent mobile robot


Headphones are provided that can be formed into one or more loops of sufficient size to be worn as an accessory when the headphones are not in use. The one or loops can be formed by a magnetic closure. The headphones can be worn as a necklace, a bracelet, or around the waist. The cord of the headphones can be accessorized with one or more additional components including a chain, a thread, multiple threads, a wire, a string of beads, or a string of charms.

For busy people who are constantly on the phone, one of the largest frustrations is the time wasted finding their earbud headphones, untangling them and then plugging the earbud headphones into their phone for a call. There is a need for a product that will allow easy access to their earbud headphones and limit wasted time.

Earbud headphones that convert into an accessory


A liquid distiller device. The device includes a dome impermeable to steam, configured to host the liquid to be distilled in an inferior part of its volume; a heat pump arranged in the interior of the dome and provided with a condenser which releases heat and an evaporator which absorbs heat, respectively conforming a hot part and a cold part of the heat pump; a radiator connected to the hot part of the heat pump, suitable for evaporating the liquid to be distilled; a condenser deposit connected to the cold part of the heat pump and suitable for condensing the evaporated liquid and collecting the distillate and; a collector tube, connected to the condenser deposit for the exit of the distillate.

Currently different techniques exist for liquid treatment, such as water, the final purpose of which is the purification of the liquid in question, and the elimination of organic substances such as micropollutants and multivalent ions. Amongst these techniques it is appropriate mentioning for example: microfiltration, ultrafiltration, nanofiltration, and distillation.
In the distillation of liquids, which is the technique that holds a greater relationship with the present invention, domestic utensils are used, which consist of a recipient in which the evaporation of a liquid occurs by heat contribution, said recipient having a cover in which the steam condenses, and an outlet conduit for the condensed and distilled liquid.
A disadvantage of this type of distillers is that the heat necessary for the evaporation is applied to the exterior of the recipient, which entails a waste of a significant part of the utilized energy and consequently a low energy efficiency.
Another known device for the distillation of liquids, for example saltwater or drinking water, is a solar distiller which consists of a deposit inside of which the evaporation of the liquid to be distilled is produced by solar energy heating; said deposit having an inclined cover through which the drops of the condensed steam, on the internal surface of the same, descend towards an evacuation conduit for the distilled liquid.
This type of device has the advantage of using solar energy for its operation, but under the influence of atmospheric conditions it may have a very low production of distilled liquid.
Therefore, the technical problem that arises is the development of a liquid distiller device which guarantees a high production of distilled liquid independently of the external conditions and with a greater energy efficiency than the distillation equipment existing in the market.


In a telephony communication system, mobile devices request access to packet-based networks using network access requests that identify access point names associated with the networks. The mobile devices and an operator network providing access to the networks support the use of virtual access point names within network access requests. These virtual access point names need not correspond to any existing networks. Rather, network access requests incorporating virtual access point names indicate actually requested access point names within other fields of the network access requests.

As wireless devices become increasingly sophisticated, protocols and network equipment have evolved to support enhanced services, such as packet-based communications with data networks. However, portions of the telephony infrastructure remain reliant upon outdated protocols and equipment that are ill-prepared to handle the dynamic and rapid pace of today's networks. For example, the home location register (HLR) governs, in part, the ability of wireless devices to access packet-based networks. However, because of the ever-changing array of available data networks, it can be extremely difficult to maintain home location registers properly configured.

Virtual address translation to support wireless access to data networks


A graphical navigation user interface for enabling user control of a computer system may incorporate navigation levels. Each navigation level is based on a physical real-word metaphor. The navigation system includes a three four levels: a individual object level, a room level, a building level, a town level. An individual object level is the lowest navigation level and corresponds to specific function. The room level provides a user with options of specific functions. The building level includes a hallway metaphor where the user has options of choosing room objects through a doorway. The town level provides the user with options of choosing various building objects connect by a street metaphor.

The present invention relates to systems for navigating within a computer system and more particularly to graphical user interface navigation systems for intuitively navigating within a personal computer system.
Personal computers, originally developed in the 1970's, gave a large population access to computers The original personal computers were controlled by operating systems such as the CP/M operating system supplied by Digital Research and similar to the Disc Operating System (DOS) supplied by Microsoft. A user interacted with these computers by typing purely verbal predetermined commands into the computer. A user accessed information within the computer system (i.e., navigated through the system) by typing commands which instructed the computer run software programs, to change directories and to view directories.
In response to these systems and in,an attempt to make computer use more intuitive, graphical user interfaces (GUI) operating systems which included personal computer navigation systems were developed. These GUI systems are exemplified by the System 7 operating system which runs on Apple Macintosh computers and by the Microsoft Windows operating environment which runs on IBM compatible personal computers. These GUI systems use navigation systems which include iconic representations of files and programs. These programs also include representations of virtual file systems to metaphorically represent files which are stored in the computer. For example, the Apple Macintosh system uses files inside of folders inside of other folders or disks to represent applications and documents; a user navigates between these folders by clicking on these folders with a cursor positioning device such as a mouse.
Handheld personal computer systems such as the Sony Palmtop system, available from Sony Corporation, having an office located in Tokyo, Japan or the Go PenPoint system, available from Go Corporation having an office located in Foster City, Calif., have evolved as the next generation of personal computers. In these handheld personal computer systems, operating systems allow a user to navigate within the system by providing a metaphor of a notebook having pages which are separated by dividers. The dividers are used to section off parts of the notebook from other parts of the notebook. A user navigates through such a system by touching the area of the screen that has the representation of the divider that the user wants to access.
Other programs which run on personal computers use physical representations of objects to allow a user to navigate among the objects. For example, these programs use a metaphor of doors to allow a user to enter a room containing objects. Once within a room, the objects may be viewed more closely by focusing attention on the object, e.g., by clicking on the object using a cursor manipulation device. In these programs, the physical representations represent the logical movement of the user within the program. These programs tend to fall into two categories: the adventure game category and the educational category.
For example, in the adventure game category, a user maneuvers through a representation of a physical space which might include buildings, hallways and rooms. The physical space representation represents the arena in which the game is being played. When maneuvering through this space, a user enters a room by performing some action on the doorway representing the entrance to the room. When the user enters the room, objects which are used in playing the game may be present in the room as set forth by the program.
In the educational category, a user maneuvers through a physical space that is a representation of an actual physical space. For example, a user might navigate through a museum. As the user moves through the hallways of the museum, the user may enter a room by performing an action on the door to the room. Once in the room, the user may view more information about an object within the room by performing an action on the object.
These programs are generally non-extensible as a user cannot add more objects or rooms to the program. Additionally, while these programs graphically represent objects within the program, they are not, a comprehensive representation of objects that are stored within the computer or accessible by the computer. Additionally, because these are programs that run on a computer, and not a high level navigation system which is part of the system software of the computer system, a user must still navigate through the computer system to access the program which includes the physical representations of objects.

Graphical user interface for navigating between street, hallway, room, and function metaphors


A method of forming an integrated circuit structure includes providing a substrate; forming a first hard mask layer over the substrate; forming a second hard mask layer over the first hard mask layer; patterning the second hard mask layer to form a hard mask; and, after the step of patterning the second hard mask layer, baking the substrate, the first hard mask layer, and the hard mask. After the step of baking, a spacer layer is formed, which includes a first portion on a top of the hard mask, and a second portion and a third portion on opposite sidewalls of the hard mask. The method further includes removing the first portion of the spacer layer; removing the hard mask; and using the second portion and the third portion of the spacer layer as masks to pattern the first hard mask layer.

The reduction in the scale of integrated circuits requires the reduction of lithograph resolution limits. Generally speaking, the minimum pitch of integrated circuits cannot be less than the lithograph resolution limit. However, there are exceptions. By adopting certain techniques, it is possible to reduce the pitch of integrated circuits below the lithograph resolution limit, although such techniques typically require more process steps.
FIGS. 1 through 3 illustrate cross-sectional views of intermediate stages in a conventional process for achieving a below-lithograph-limitation pitch. Referring to FIG. 1, silicon substrate 10 is provided, which will be etched to form patterns, such as fins, in subsequent process steps. The formation of the fins requires the help of the overlying layers that are used for lithography purposes. The overlying layers include a first ashing removable dielectric (ARD) 12, silicon oxynitride 14, a second ARD 16, silicon oxynitride 18, and photo resist 20. Photo resist 20 is patterned.
Referring to FIG. 2, the patterns of photo resist 20 are transferred to the underlying silicon oxynitride 18 and second ARD 16 by dry etching. Typically, silicon oxynitride 18 will have remaining portions left over second ARD 16. Next, as shown in FIG. 3, spacer layer 22 is formed using plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD). In technical generations with large pitches, for example, greater than about 50 nm, spacer layer 22 is relatively conformal. However, for integrated circuits formed using 50 nm technology and below, the method is no longer usable. The reason is that PECVD is sensitive to surface conditions. The resulting spacer layer 22 is thus highly non-conformal, and for below 50 nm technologies, such non-conformity becomes too significant. It was noted that the thickness of the cap portions of spacer layer 22 is significantly greater than the thickness of the sidewall portions of spacer layer 22 on the sidewalls of second ARD 16. In subsequent steps, second ARD 16 needs to be removed from between the sidewall portions of spacer layer 22. Therefore, the increased thickness of the cap portions of spacer layer 22 adversely affects the subsequent process steps.
On the other hand, deposition methods for forming conformal films, such as atomic layer deposition (ALD), cannot be used to solve the above-discussed problem. It has been found that when ALD is used to form spacer layer 22, second ARD 16 as shown in FIG. 2 peels off. New methods are thus needed to solve the above-discussed problems.

Method of reducing delamination in the fabrication of small-pitch devices

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for communicating pharmaceutical verification information between a server and a node using a network. A node includes a pharmaceutical identification and verification system. The verification information includes a known spectral signature of a known pharmaceutical and a corresponding known pharmaceutical name and dosage strength of the known pharmaceutical. The server stores the verification information in a server database. The node receives the verification information from the server, stores the verification information in the client database, reads a pharmaceutical name and dosage strength from a container enclosing a pharmaceutical, obtains a detected spectral signature for the pharmaceutical, and compares the detected spectral signature to the at least one known spectral signature. The pharmaceutical identification and verification system includes a static multimodal multiplex spectrometer. The verification information can also include a spectral signature of a known container.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for prescription or pharmaceutical compound verification. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to systems and methods for communicating with pharmaceutical identification and verification systems across a network.
2. Background Information
Most states in the U.S. require that a registered pharmacist confirm whether a pharmaceutical delivered to a customer is indeed the pharmaceutical prescribed by the physician. A part of this confirmation is accomplished by the pharmacist visually inspecting the dispensed pharmaceutical to verify its correctness. In fact, pharmacists can spend as much as 50% of their time verifying prescriptions.
Despite the verification process, errors are not uncommon, especially during peak operating hours. For example, according to the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, as many as 5% of the 3 billion prescriptions filled each year are incorrect. These erroneous prescriptions are responsible for as many as 7,000 deaths annually in the United States. Further, due to a steadily decreasing number of pharmacists, and an expected increase in the annual demand for prescriptions to nearly 5 billion, the number of instances in which a customer receives the wrong medication is anticipated to increase.
Not surprisingly, increasing prescription errors have resulted in a growing collection of consumer complaints about potentially serious errors such as wrong counts, wrong drugs, and/or wrong dosages. Thus, there is a strong need for a system to replace the present manual verification technique and to allow the verification and validation steps to be performed automatically and more reliably. A by-product of such an automatic verification system is freeing up pharmacists' time so they can provide better service to their customers.
Several conventional automated prescription verification techniques have been developed to minimize errors associated with manual prescription verification. For example, conventional automatic visual verification techniques rely on the pharmacists comparing an electronic image of the prescribed medication, i.e., a picture of the prescribed medication retrieved from a data library, to the actual medication that is to be dispensed to a customer. These visual identification methods rely on the incorrect assumption that all pharmaceuticals are visually very distinct. In fact the visual difference between pharmaceuticals may be so subtle that errors are likely to occur even when comparing the contents of the prescription vial to a picture on a computer screen.
Spectroscopic analysis is a more reliable method of validating dispensed pharmaceuticals than using subjective visual techniques. Spectroscopic techniques rely on the unique spectral signature exhibited by each pharmaceutical, such as a pill, tablet, capsule, gelcap, gel, and liquid. Representative, non-limiting spectroscopic techniques for pharmaceutical verification include Near-Infrared (NIR) spectroscopy, ultraviolet (UV) and visible spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy.
In order for a spectroscopic system to be able to verify a large number of prescriptions, the database of the spectroscopic system must contain a large amount of information about a large number of known pharmaceuticals. In view of the foregoing, it can be appreciated that a substantial need exists for systems and methods that can communicate with pharmaceutical identification and verification systems across a network.


A new and distinct cultivar of Sedum spurium plant named ‘TAT1801’ is disclosed, characterized light green foliage with a distinct creamy margin. Plants are low growing, having a groundcover habit. This is a low maintenance plant with drought and heat resistance. The new variety is a Sedum, plants are useful for a variety of ornamental purposes, including outdoor containers and landscape.

The new Sedum cultivar is the product of chance discovery. The new variety was discovered as a naturally occurring branch mutation of the parent variety, Sedum spurium 'Tricolor', unpatented.
The discovery was made in the inventor's garden in Aichi-prefecture, Japan, during May of 2016.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar 'TAT1801' was first performed in Aichi-prefecture, Japan by terminal vegetative cuttings in the Summer of 2016. 'TAT1801' has since produced multiple generations and has shown that the unique features of this cultivar are stable and reproduced true to type.


The invention provides a magnetic recording medium substrate product which enables enhancement of contact strength between a substrate end surface and a soft magnetic layer, as well as suppression of occurrence of corrosion, a magnetic recording medium including the substrate product, which exhibits no deterioration of electromagnetic conversion characteristics and has excellent durability and a magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus including the magnetic recording medium. The magnetic recording medium substrate product includes a disk-shaped non-magnetic substrate having a circular hole in a center portion thereof, and having a chamfer formed at least one of a portion between a main surface on which a magnetic layer is to be formed and an outer end surface and a portion between the main surface and an inner end surface defining the circular hole, wherein the chamfer has a surface roughness (Ra) falling within a range of 4.0 Å≦Ra≦100 Å, preferably 4.0 Å≦Ra≦50 Å, as measured by means of an AFM.

In recent years, with the progress of various information devices, the storage capacity of magnetic recording media has increased more and more. Particularly, the recording capacity and recording density of magnetic disks, which play a central role as external memories in computers, have been increasing year by year. Under such circumstances, there is a need for development of a magnetic disk which enables higher-density recording. For example, development of laptop and palmtop personal computers has required a small-sized recording apparatus with high impact resistance, and therefore, demand has arisen for a small-sized magnetic recording medium which enables higher-density recording and has high mechanical strength. Recently, navigation systems and portable music playback devices have also employed a recording apparatus incorporating an ultra small magnetic recording medium.
Conventionally, such a magnetic recording medium (i.e., magnetic disk) has employed an aluminum alloy substrate having an NiP-plated surface, or a glass substrate, which satisfies strict requirements, including higher impact resistance, rigidity, hardness, and chemical durability. Such a glass substrate is advantageous in that it enables easy formation of a flat surface suitable for reduction of the flying height of a magnetic head flying above a magnetic recording surface, the flying height reduction being important for attaining high-density magnetic recording.
In recent years, the flying height of a magnetic head flying above a magnetic recording medium has been reduced more and more for attaining high-density recording, and in accordance with this tendency, a substrate for forming a magnetic recording medium (hereinafter may be referred to as a "magnetic recording medium substrate" or a "magnetic recording medium substrate product") has been required to have a flat surface with small surface roughness (e.g., a mirror surface) and to have minimized surface defects such as microscratches and micropits.
A magnetic recording medium substrate (e.g., a hard disk (HD) substrate) is produced through the following steps: a step of roughly polishing (lapping) the surface of a substrate body which has been formed to have desired dimensions; a step of chamfering the inner and outer end surfaces of the substrate body through grinding; and a step of subjecting the substrate body surface to final polishing. Subsequently, layers are formed atop the substrate body surface through, for example, the following steps: a texturing step in which the substrate body surface is moderately roughened; a step of forming an underlayer on the surface of the substrate; a step of forming a magnetic layer on the surface of the underlayer; a step of forming a protective layer on the magnetic layer; and a step of forming a lubrication layer on the protective layer. Thereafter, irregular protrusions formed on the layer surface are removed through a burnishing step, to thereby yield a magnetic recording medium as a final product.
The thus-produced substrate may cause a problem in that exfoliation of the underlayer or the magnetic layer occurs at a chamfered portion of the substrate body, resulting in production of defective products. In order to solve this problem, there has been proposed means for enhancing the durability of the layers formed atop the substrate body, in which the average surface roughness (Ra) of the chamfered portion is regulated to less than 0.20 μm (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
In the case where the flying height of a magnetoresistive head is reduced for enhancing recording density, when data recorded on a magnetic recording medium are reproduced by the head, a reproduction error may occur, or the data may fail to be reproduced. Such a phenomenon is caused by the following mechanism: projections formed of particles deposited on the surface of the magnetic recording medium induce thermal asperity and generate heat in the magnetoresistive head, and such heat generation varies the resistance of the head, which adversely affects electromagnetic conversion characteristics. Particles which adversely affect flying of the head (e.g., angular particles or particles which rise relatively sharply with respect to the medium (disk) surface) were found to be generated through unintentional rubbing of the end surfaces of a magnetic recording medium substrate with a storage cassette when the substrate is stored in the cassette and conveyed during production of the magnetic recording medium. Conceivably, when the substrate, whose end surfaces (including a chamfered portion and a substrate side wall) do not assume mirror surfaces, is placed into or removed from the storage cassette formed of polycarbonate or a similar material, the substrate end surfaces come into contact with the inner wall of the storage cassette, and the aforementioned particles are generated from the end surfaces and are deposited on the surface of the magnetic recording medium. In order to solve such a problem, there has been proposed a technique for regulating the average surface roughness (Ra) of the surface of at least one of the chamfered portion and the side wall of the substrate to less than 1 μm; i.e., a technique for forming a mirror surface (see, for example, Patent Document 2).    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 09-102120    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 10-154321

Substrate for magnetic recording medium, magnetic recording medium, and magnetic recording and reproducing apparatus


The present invention relates to a vacuum evacuation system used to evacuate a processing gas from one or more process chambers for use in, for example, a semiconductor-device manufacturing apparatus. The vacuum evacuation system is a vacuum apparatus for evacuating a gas from a plurality of process chambers (1). The vacuum evacuation system includes a plurality of first vacuum pumps (5) coupled to the plurality of process chambers (1) respectively, a collecting pipe (7) coupled to the plurality of first vacuum pumps (5), and a second vacuum pump (8) coupled to the collecting pipe (7).

As shown in a patent document 1, a typical semiconductor-device manufacturing apparatus includes a plurality of process chambers each for processing a wafer. In these process chambers, a process, such as a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process, an etching process, or the like, is performed on a plurality of wafers. A processing gas, such as a raw material gas, an etching gas or the like, is used for processing the wafers, and the processing gas is evacuated from the process chambers by a vacuum evacuation system.
As shown in the above-mentioned patent document 1, a conventional vacuum evacuation system has a structure in which a plurality of vacuum pump units are coupled to the plurality of process chambers, respectively. These days, the number of process chambers tends to increase in order to process more wafers. Such a tendency entails an increase in the number of vacuum pumps used in the vacuum evacuation system, thus resulting in an increase in an installation space and a cost of the vacuum evacuation system.
Generally, a spare pump (which will be hereinafter referred to as a backup pump) is provided for backup of the vacuum pump that is coupled to the semiconductor-device manufacturing apparatus. The purpose of using this backup pump is to evacuate the process chamber during maintenance of the vacuum pump, and to evacuate the process chamber during malfunction of the vacuum pump.
The vacuum pump has a function to emit a speed drop signal when a rotational speed of the vacuum pump is lowered to a preset speed lower limit. This speed drop signal indicates an extraordinary decrease in the rotational speed. The extraordinary decrease in the rotational speed may be caused by a solidification of the processing gas that has been sucked from the process chamber. The solidified processing gas forms depositions in the vacuum pump, and such depositions prevent a rotation of a pump rotor. When such an extraordinary decrease in the rotational speed occurs, a pressure in the process chamber increases, and the semiconductor-device manufacturing apparatus detects an extraordinary pressure, thus stopping its operation.
Thus, in order to evacuate the process chamber during malfunction of the vacuum pump, the above-described backup pump is provided. When the above-described speed drop signal is sent from the vacuum pump to a controller, the controller couples the backup pump to the process chamber, so that the backup pump can evacuate the processing gas from the process chamber.
However, as shown in FIG. 22, when the above-described speed drop signal is emitted from the vacuum pump, the rotational speed of the vacuum pump has already been decreased significantly. As a result, the pressure in the process chamber may exceed an upper limit of a threshold value for a processable pressure, causing the semiconductor-device manufacturing apparatus to stop its operation.


A portable test device (1) can be configured as a rotor conductivity anomaly tester, a magnetic core anomaly tester, or a rotational eccentricity fault tester for a multiphasic motive force electrical machine (6) by providing an immotive multiphasic motive force electrical machine test signal from a plurality of multiphasic motive force electrical machine signal generators (4) through a detachable electrical power connectivity (2) and by having a multiphasic motive force electrical machine fault analyzer (16) that can sense responses and discern the existence of a fault. Control of the test signal can be accomplished by an immotive multiphasic test signal controller (3) that varies frequency and achieves incremental movement or to achieve stator magnetization plane angle changes or movement that tests angular relationships.

Electric machines, such as electric motors or the like play a critical role in our society. They often provide operations which many times cannot be interrupted. Continued, uninterrupted operation is often critical to the devices for which they are a component. Oftentimes, they cannot be permitted to fail. Unfortunately, their operation can at times be attended by internal faults and weakened components. These weaknesses can exist in a stator, in a rotor or other moving component, or in the configuration of a rotating device.
Considering the stator of an induction machine as one example, it can be understood that the stator core of an induction machine is often built from thin insulated, silicon-steel (Si—Fe) laminations to minimize the hysteresis and eddy current losses for high efficiency operation. The individual lamination sheets are usually deburred and coated with insulation material to prevent conduction between the sheets to reduce the risk of inter-laminar eddy currents. The laminations are usually held tightly together and shorted to the frame for structural rigidity (prevention of vibration) and safety. The laminations may be welded together for small machines, and may be interlocked with the axial frame bars and clamped, for larger machines.
The stator core loss can account for roughly 20% of induction machine losses at rated load. It can increase due to any type of defect in the stator core caused by excessive thermal, electrical, mechanical, or environmental stresses. Since the interlaminar insulation material is subject to deterioration and damage, shorts between laminations can be introduced due to a number of reasons listed including:                Stator-rotor contact due to machine mechanical defects,        Core overheating during rewind (burnout oven), or due to ground current flow or cooling defects,        Defects, damage, or foreign materials introduced during manufacturing, inspection, or repair, and        Abrasion due to vibration (core looseness or machine vibration).If the laminations are shorted for any reason such as those listed above, a circulating interlaminar eddy current larger than that compared to normal operation can be induced in the core. The increase in eddy current can result in additional losses and can decrease the efficiency of the machine. Localized heating due to the fault current can also damage the stator winding insulation leading to ground failure. For large machines, the core fault can gradually progress in severity and can even result in melting of the stator core. In addition to the increase in eddy current losses, thermal stress or mechanical stress on the laminations due to compressive stress/physical abuse can increase the hysteresis losses. Exposure to excessive thermal or mechanical stresses can alter the magnetic properties of the lamination (decrease in permeability), and can result in an increase in hysteresis losses.
When motors are operated with pulse width modulated (PWM) inverters, the stator core and inter laminar insulation can be exposed to higher thermal and electrical stresses. The high frequency voltage and current harmonic components due to PWM switching operation can cause higher capacitive leakage and can cause circulating eddy currents to flow in the stator core, which may result in additional heating. The cooling efficiency of the motor can also be reduced under low speed operation since the cooling fan speed can be reduced. This can result in operation at a higher temperature when the motor is driven with an inverter. The electrical (high dv/dt) and thermal (increased temperature) stresses can accelerate the degradation of the stator interlaminar insulation and core, and can increase the chances of failure. Although the above relates primarily to stator failures, it can be extended to rotor and other failures.
It can be seen from the discussion above that any type of defect in the stator core can increase the core losses (decrease in efficiency) and can increase the chances of machine failure (decrease in reliability). Since increase in core loss can be a symptom of stator core degradation leading to failure, it is important to monitor the core quality (losses) for reliable and efficient motor operation. It can also be seen that stator core condition monitoring is even more important for inverter-fed machines, since they are exposed to increased thermal and electrical stresses.
Unfortunately the available means of detecting core problems when the machine is in service has been to use chemical monitoring such as core monitors or tagging compounds to detect hot spots in the stator core. Although chemical monitoring is effective for detecting core problems on-line, it is only considered cost-effective for very large machines.
The most effective tests for detecting local damage in the stator core due to inter laminar insulation failure are the core ring test (loop test) and the low energy core tests. In the core ring test, an external winding is formed around the yoke of the core after rotor removal to excite the yoke of the stator core at 80˜100% of rated flux. After core excitation, an infrared IR thermal imaging camera is usually used to detect hot spots in the stator bore due to interlaminar fault currents. Low energy core tests can use the same excitation configuration, but may allow testing at 3˜4% rated flux level. In these tests, a flux sensing probe is scanned in the axial direction along the inner surface of the core to detect irregular flux patterns caused by inter laminar fault current. Although these tests are effective for detecting and locating local core problems, they require rotor removal and specialized test equipment. These tests are usually applied to generators or large motors rated above tens of megawatts. Tests may also use a probe such as described in a patent of one of the current inventors, U.S. Pat. No. 6,847,224, hereby incorporated by reference.
For motors rated up to several megawatts, which often fall in the range of inverter-fed induction machines, the core loss test is the most commonly used test for stator core quality assessment. The stator core loss test setup is often identical to the core ring test above, where the yoke of the stator core is excited at near rated flux (often ≈1.32 T). The power input (stator core loss) may be measured to monitor problems in the stator core and its insulation that result in an increase in core losses. This test can provide a good indication of the overall stator core condition, but it usually requires motor disassembly and rotor removal for testing.
The core loss can also be measured without motor disassembly if the loss segregation test procedure in IEEE STD. 112B is used. In this test method, the no load loss, which consists of the stator I2R loss, Ps, stator core loss, Pc,s and friction & windage loss, Pf&w, is measured at a number of input voltages, often up to about 125% rated voltage. If the no load loss minus Ps is plotted as a function of the voltage squared at a number of voltage levels and the curve is extrapolated to zero voltage, the intercept of the curve at zero voltage represents Pf&w. The stator core loss, Ps,c, can be obtained by subtracting Ps and Pf&w from the no load loss measurement. This test is also effective for monitoring the overall (average) condition of the core, but, it requires the motor to be operated at no load with a variable sinusoidal voltage source.
From the existing techniques, it can be seen that there are limitations to applying the currently available on-line and off-line core test methods to inverter-fed machines. On-line chemical monitoring cannot be justified for use in inverter-fed machines due to the cost involved in implementation. The off-line core ring test or low energy core tests could be used, but are not considered cost-effective for the machines rated below several megawatts. The core loss test is relatively simple and effective for monitoring core problems, but it usually can only be performed during a major outage since it requires machine disassembly and rotor removal. The no load loss segregation method does not require motor disassembly, but usually requires the motor to be run with the load removed at a number of voltage levels. It can be seen that all the core test methods are off-line tests that do not allow frequent monitoring of the core, and usually require motor disassembly or operation at no load. In addition, the tests suitable for inverter-fed machines can require specialized equipment for testing and may be only capable of testing the overall (or average) condition of the core.
Another type of fault is that of a rotor conductivity fault. Broken rotor bars (as one type of rotor conductivity fault), can account for 5˜10% of induction machine failures. These can be caused by gradual deterioration due to a combination of thermal, mechanical, electromagnetic, dynamic, environmental operating stresses or design/manufacturing defects. Often a crack is usually initiated between the bar and end ring connection. If a bar beaks, the rotor becomes electromagnetically asymmetric due to the absence of current in the broken bar.
There are both off-line and on-line methods available for detecting broken bars and some methods available include the single phase rotation test, growler test, magnetic imaging test, fluorescent dye penetration test, rated flux test, and the hot spot methods. The single phase rotation test is the only off-line method which does not require motor disassembly. In this test, though, two phases of the motor are excited with a single phase supply to produce a fluctuating field. The rotor is gradually rotated and the variation of the stator current is observed to detect the presence of rotor bars. This test is inconvenient because it requires proximity to the motor and the rotor shaft to be rotated, which could be very difficult depending on the motor and its operating environment.
The on-line methods analyze the spectrum of the speed, vibration, torque, flux, or current measurement to observe a particular speed dependent roto bar characteristic frequency to detect asymmetry in the flux pattern due to asymmetric rotor current. On-line methods are convenient since bars can be monitored when the motor is energized. However, the cost is high because dedicated monitoring equipment must be installed for each motor. Since it relies on the speed dependent frequency, a speed measurement or estimate is required and it is difficult to use in applications where the speed varies rapidly due to variable load or speed command. Broken bar signatures can also be confused with load problems, and it is difficult to detect this frequency for low slip (light load/high efficiency) applications. Therefore, it is desirable to have a new method that can detect broken bars off-line remotely without disassembling the machine. Thus, it is desirable to test both stator core and rotor components more frequently without motor disassembly, motor operation, or specialized equipment. It is also desired to have improved sensitivity to detect local core and other problems. Given the importance of stator core, rotor, or other monitoring for inverter-fed machines, and the limitations of applying the existing techniques, it is a goal of the present invention to provide new testing approaches suitable for inverter-fed machines and that may provide a sensitive stator core and rotor quality assessment technique that can be implemented for frequent monitoring without motor disassembly/operation, or additional hardware. Unfortunately none of the above techniques fulfill these criteria.

Portable system for immotive multiphasic motive force electrical machine testing


A device may receive, from an access network, a mobile device identifier. The mobile device identifier may identify a mobile device that is connected to the access network. The device may receive or determine subscriber information associated with the mobile device identifier. The subscriber information may identify one or more users associated with the mobile device. The device may provide the mobile device identifier and the subscriber information for determination of an action indicator. The action indicator may indicate an action to perform with respect to the mobile device identifier. The device may receive the action indicator based on providing the mobile device identifier and the subscriber information. The device may provide the action indicator for routing toward the mobile device for performance of the action.

A mobile device may be identified by a mobile device identifier. A network operator may wish to control access to a network and/or a network service based on authentication of the mobile device identifier and/or based on an identity of a subscriber associated with the mobile device (e.g., a user of the mobile device).

Controlling access to a long term evolution network via a non-long term evolution access network


A custom moldable insole comprising a first chamber containing a silicone base and a second chamber containing a catalyst. Both fluids are forced to pass though a shared static mixing channel where they will thoroughly mix and flow into a third chamber. The third chamber is a continuation of the mixer that opens up into a bag to hold the silicone as it flows to the arch and metatarsal areas of the foot in the upper layer of the insole. Within a few minutes as the user stands wearing the shoe the silicone cures to the shape of the bottom of the wearers foot providing increase support and comfort.

Various shoe inserts are used to provide comfort, support, cushioning, and/or stability to the foot. For individuals suffering from serious podiatric conditions, such as abnormal walking patterns, custom orthotics prescribed by a physician are necessary. One drawback of custom orthotics is that they are generally expensive and time-consuming to fabricate. For other individuals, off-the-shelf, pre-formed, shoe inserts provide sufficient support and comfort.
An intermediary option where an off-the-shelf insert that is conformed to an individual's foot either at the time of purchase of the insert or thereafter, without the participation of a physician has been taught in various manners and is generally known in the prior art. Such instant moldable orthotic insoles need no mold, lab, weeks of waiting and are available at a greatly reduced cost.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,203,793, 5,101,580, and 4,674,206 to Lynden, teach several sole insert devices containing conformable material substantially comprising fluid matter which forms a resilient material substantially comprising solid matter after a working time. In more specific examples, Lynden teaches a personalized insert containing a resilient material, which comprises at least two compartments separated by a restraining pin or one or more membranes, which compartments separate two reagents that, when mixed, catalyze to form an insert resilient material. Removal of restraining pin(s), and/or the rupture of the membranes isolating the reagents, permits fluid communication and proper mixing of the reagents to form the resilient material. The resilient material then sets in conformance with the wearer's foot when the insert is secured within an article of footwear.
The sole insert devices taught by Lynden have the two reagents separated from each other using a pin dividing a bag. This is a very ineffective means to mix the silicone thoroughly and quickly.
To overcome the shortcomings in the Lynden devices, the present invention uses a static mixer with the strong force of the weight of the wearer pushing it though the mixer. This allows the use of a higher viscosity silicone, which helps to fit the wearers fit without requiring the user to sit still for more than a few minutes.
A common problem in the prior art is the use of lower viscosity fluids are likely to escape into areas at the edge of the bag that make it much harder to receive a complete mixing and therefore do not provide even support throughout the insole. The present invention overcomes this shortcoming by using a static mixing device built into the arch of the shoe and limiting the areas to which the silicone can flow. The advantage is that the silicone will completely mix before even entering the area under the arch and therefore cure very quickly while the user can still stand still. This can only be achieved with high viscosity silicone because low viscosity silicones will otherwise return to a neutral position until the silicone is more advanced in it's curing.
Still another disadvantage of Lynden's system is that the bag lies flat under the insole providing very little support other than that shaped by the silicone.
It is therefore an objective of the present invention to build the silicone injection system into an already supportive insole so that the silicone will provide only the amount needed for customization above the minimum that most wearer's will likely need. This is achieved by housing the static mixer in the arch of the sole that is already providing some support while hiding the mixer.
Yet another shortcoming in Lynden's system is its complicated use. A user needs to access the insole outside of the shoe, remove the pin and while the fluid is beginning to cure, put it in the shoe and stand in the right position on both feet. This process is confusing and difficult for the average user. It is therefore an objective of the present invention to teach a device that is less complex in its use.
The present invention is designed without the need for a pin, tab or key of any sort to initiate activation. To use, a user simply stands in the shoe and the fluid is injected and mixed. This insures that the exact timing of the curing and shaping of the silicone is always the same because no delay is possible between activating the curing and standing on the insole.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,958,546 to Mardix, et al., teaches a method for producing a custom insole including the steps of providing a preformed insole precursor, the precursor being constructed of a solid material which is storable in an unreformed state and which is compressible to a deformed configuration under pressure substantially at room temperature and which retains the deformed configuration after removal of the pressure, and pressing the foot on the insole precursor, thereby compressing the insole precursor and forming an insole with a configuration in accordance with the configuration of the foot.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,042,100 and 5,095,570 to Bar et al. teaches techniques for producing an insole for a foot, including defining a flexible insole housing in which is disposed a deformable material impregnated with an uncured resin, activating the resin for initiating curing thereof, locating the foot on the insole housing and allowing the resin to harden and to therefore preserve the configuration defined by the bottom of the foot. Bar's device is impractical as an off the shelf product. It still has the same problems as the Lynden Devices, problems of even mixing and control of timing from the point of being put on a user's foot.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,385,024, 4,128,95 to Tansill, teach a moldable article, such as an insole, which comprises a formable material that is a moldable polymeric or prepolymeric substance that can be cured to a form stable state and a curing agent, in close proximity to the curable substance but isolated there from, in a frangible container. The container containing the curing agent is initially flexible and is rendered frangible by treatment. In use, the frangible container is ruptured to release the curing agent, and the moldable article, in a first configuration, can be shaped to a second configuration in which it is maintained until the formable material is cured sufficiently for it to be form-stable in the second configuration.
Tansill suffers from the same disadvantages as Lynden since no static mixer. In Tansill's device, a user first needs to rupture the bag containing the catalyst that then needs to be shaken up resulting in a delay. Although with better mixing then Lynden, Tansill's device can't be compare to an internal static mixer and the pressure of someone standing on the heel to push the fluid through at equal ratio.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,098,315 to Hoffmann, III, teaches an insert for a shoe comprising a pouch having a moldable, thixotropic material and a shell having a catalyst. The shell is capable of being ruptured by massaging the pouch to allow the catalyst to be released from the shell and mixed with the material. In use, the pouch is massaged to mix the catalyst and moldable material and is then placed in a shoe. The user places a foot in the shoe and applies a lightweight to the foot so that the pouch assumes the shape of the foot bottom and fills that space between the foot and the shoe. The foot is then removed to allow the material to cure.
The device of Hoffmann requires puncturing, massaging, and manual injection of catalyst, massaging again to mix properly, insertion into a user's shoe and then removal from shoe in order to cure. The process is much too slow and risky due to its complexity, timing of wearing the insole from the point of mixing the catalysts, and risk of shape changing at the beginning of curing process. It is therefore an objective of the present invention to provide an apparatus that is quick and simple to use.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,083,910 to Abshire, et al., teaches a custom fitted insole assembly for use in a shoe directly under a wearer's foot. The assembly includes a heel-cupping and arch-supporting base component custom contoured to fit the heel and arch of the wearer's foot, a heel stabilizing component attached to an underside heel region of the base component, and a shock-absorbing top sheet component sized to underlie the bottom of the wearer's foot and at its rear half to overlie and conform to the contour of the base component.