Ultra-miniature electrical contacts are provided with the strength and resilience necessary to give stable low resistance connection, to minute areas of a device, such as a thousand or so closely spaced surface pads of an integrated circuit. Each contact is initially formed on a substrate as a thin, narrow elongated flat body comprised of selectively deposited layers of metal. Depending on the final configuration desired for the contact, the metal of one metal layer has a coefficient of thermal expansion such as chromium (Cr), and the metal of another layer has a coefficient of thermal expansion such as copper (Cu). Each contact is permanently formed (by differential expansion of the metal layers when heated) into a three-dimensional structure and is then made xe2x80x9crobustxe2x80x9d by a covering of a specialized stiffening metal plating which adds substantial strength to the contact. This also makes the contact xe2x80x9cspringyxe2x80x9d and enables the contact to be deformed substantially without permanent deformation or xe2x80x9csetxe2x80x9d. Such ultra-miniature contacts are made using photolithography and techniques for deposition of metals and other materials onto a substrate, as commonly used in the semiconductor industry.

This invention relates to ultra-miniature electrical contacts which are small enough and robust enough to make contact directly and reliably to micron size areas at any of numerous contact points on the face of an integrated circuit (IC), for example.
As integrated circuits (ICs) become denser and denser with thousands and even millions of devices (e.g., memory cells, gates, etc.) on a single chip, the problem of making connections between external circuits and the devices on the chip becomes increasingly difficult. Frequently, a chip is encapsulated in a package with contacts on the chip permanently connected (e.g., by wire bonding, or otherwise), to relatively large external contacts on the package, such as the pins on a dual in-line package (DIP). Especially where the devices on an IC operate at speeds in the gigahertz (GHz) range, this method of connecting the internal devices on the chip to external circuits can cause impedance mismatching and imposes undesirable restraints on the overall speed of operation as well as significant added costs. It would therefore be highly desirable to be able to make connections directly to the devices on the chip with minimal physical separation from other devices, or from one chip to another.
Another widely used way to make connections to an IC is by means of solder xe2x80x9cbumpsxe2x80x9d positioned in a pattern either on a substrate that matches the locations of the solder bumps to respective locations of small surface pads on the IC, or on the IC itself. The solder bumps are pressed against the pads and then reflowed thereby making permanent interconnections all at once. However, one disadvantage with this way of interconnection is that it results in a very rigid composite structure. The IC and substrate are held closely together with perhaps a thousand soldered joints. Unless the coefficients of thermal expansion of the IC and of the substrate are closely matched, differential expansion of the members when temperature changes during operation can cause rupture of an interconnection or fracture of the IC or substrate. It is highly desirable therefore that interconnections between an IC and a substrate be at least somewhat mechanically compliant. The present invention provides interconnections which while stable and low in resistance are also compliant.
From a cost standpoint, it would also be highly desirable in order to meet any particular or specific application to be able to assemble into an overall circuit individual off-the-shelf chips before they are sealed into separate packages. In order to do this to do this it must be possible to test the operation of the circuit and its individual chips before final packaging. Testing should be under conditions as nearly as possible equal to actual operating conditions. This also means as a practical matter that one or more individual ICs in the overall circuit, in the event the circuit does not operate properly for a particular application, should be easily replaceable even though the individual IC has met general specifications for itself alone.
In the past there have been various attempts to provide electrical contacts which meet the needs outlined above. Most if not all such attempts have been not entirely successful because of one or more shortcomings such as: not sufficiently small in size; or without adequate robustness to make stable electrical connections directly to contact pads on the face of an IC, or without adequate compliance to repeatedly make contact to surface pads without permanent deformation or xe2x80x9csetxe2x80x9d, or without ease of manufacturing and of assembly with the necessary high degrees of mechanical precision and electrical performance.
As is well known in the art of electrical connections, a prime requirement for an electrical contact is that it be able to make a stable and low resistance connection. To do this a contact should itself have high conductivity and enough physical strength (i.e., be robust enough) to exert adequate force against the member it is contacting. A contact should also act against the member to break through or scrape away any oxide (or high resistance film) on the surface between contact and member. These requirements for stability and low resistance are extremely difficult to meet when it is also necessary that the size of contacts be minute enough to make simultaneous electrical connections to a thousand or so micron-size contact pads (e.g., 80 or so microns square) on an IC.
The present invention provides ultra-miniature electrical contacts which are strong yet compliant, together with an efficient method of manufacturing and of precision assembly into electrical connectors, especially suitable for stable, low resistance temporary and/or permanent connections to the closely spaced area array and/or edge array contact pods of very dense ICs. The present invention is an important improvement upon that described now U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,444 in U.S. Pat. No. 6,245,444, filed Oct. 2, 1997, in the names of Robert B. Marcus and Yanwei Zhang. The disclosure in said patent application is referred to herein and is explicitly incorporated by reference into the present application.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention there are provided ultra-miniature electrical contacts having improved performance and versatility. The design of one such contact insures that when it is pressed down against a surface pad on an IC for example, the contact wipes against the pad and breaks through or scrapes away oxide or other high resistance film on the face of the pad. The contact is of high-conductivity material and has ample strength and resilience to bear against the pad with enough force to insure stable, low resistance electrical contact Each contact is initially formed on a substrate as a thin, narrow elongated flat body comprised of selectively deposited layers of metal. Depending on the final configuration desired for the contact, as illustrated hereinafter, the metal of a first metal layer has a first coefficient of thermal expansion (xcex11), and the metal of another layer has a second thermal coefficient (xcex12), which is different from xcex11. Each contact is formed into a three-dimensional structure (as will be explained hereinafter) and is then made strong by a covering of a specialized metal plating which adds substantial stiffness and strength to the contact. This also makes the contact xe2x80x9cspringyxe2x80x9d (compliant) and enables the contact to be deformed substantially without permanent deformation or xe2x80x9csetxe2x80x9d, a characteristic highly important to multiple electrical contacts making connections to a large number of surface pads on a chip or to the surface pads on many chips in a planar array. This is especially so when making repeated connections to one IC after another, as with a probe card for example.
Electrical contacts according to the invention are advantageously fabricated en masse on closely spaced and precisely located centers by photolithography, and selective deposition of metals and other materials through a series of process steps akin to ones employed in semiconductor manufacturing and which are well known. By way of example, ultra-miniature electrical contacts in accordance with the present invention are produced by: (a) providing a substrate, such as a silicon wafer, and depositing a thin insulating layer thereon, such as silicon nitride (Si3N4); (b) depositing a thin sacrificial layer, such as SiO2; (c) patterning the sacrificial layer using photolithography, so that strips of the sacrificial layer left after patterning define, at least roughly, the outline in planar form of each such electrical contact; (d) defining photographically the regions for metal deposition with photo resist thicker than the thickness of the metal to be deposited; (e) depositing (e.g., by sputtering) a layer of metal having a first coefficient of thermal expansion; (f) removing the resist along with unwanted metal; (g) depositing and patterning photoresist for a second layer of metal; (h) selectively depositing (e.g., by sputtering) a layer of metal having a thermal coefficient of expansion different from the first; (i) removing the resist along with unwanted portions of metal; (j) removing the sacrificial layer (e.g., using hydroflouric acid); (k) heating the planar contacts to xe2x80x9ccurlxe2x80x9d or form them into three-dimensional shapes of desired configuration; and (1) substantially strengthening the contacts by electroplating over them specialized stiffening metal. In addition special contact areas may be applied to each electrical contact to provide a surface-scraping action when pressed against another contact member, such as a surface pad on an integrated circuit (IC).
In accordance with another apparatus aspect, the present invention is directed to an ultra-miniature electrical contact which has an elongated conductive body formed of at least two layers of different metals selectively deposited upon each other, a portion of the contact being adapted to be fixed to a substrate, another portion of the contact being permanently bent above the substrate as a result of differential expansion of metal layers, and an outer stiffening metal layer being deposited over the plurality of metal layers, such that the contact has sufficient strength and resilience to effect stable low-resistance connection to another contact member.
Viewed from another apparatus aspect, the present invention is directed to an ultra-miniature electrical contact comprising an elongated conductive body having two ends and formed of at least three layers of metals selectively deposited upon each other. The layers comprise an inner layer, a middle layer, and an outer layer with the middle layer being located between at least one portion of each of the inner and outer layers, the middle metal layer having a coefficient of thermal expansion that is different from that of other layers. One end of the body of the contact is adapted to be affixed to a substrate. The body of the contact is bent above the one end of the contact and the substrate. At least a portion of the body of the contact near its other end is bent down toward the substrate by differential expansion of metal layers.
Viewed from another apparatus aspect, the present invention is directed to an ultra-miniature electrical contact comprising an elongated conductive body formed of a plurality of two or more layers of different metals selectively deposited upon each other and an outer stiffening metal layer. A portion of the contact is adapted to be fixed to a substrate. Another portion of the contact is permanently bent above the substrate as a result of differential expansion of metal layers. An outer stiffening metal layer is deposited over the plurality of metal layers such that the contact has sufficient strength and resilience to effect stable low-resistance connection to another contact member.
Viewed from another apparatus aspect, the present invention is directed to an assembly of ultra-miniature electrical contacts mounted on a substrate and suitable for contacting contact areas of a device such as an integrated circuit. At least one of the ultra-miniature electrical contacts comprises an elongated conductive body having two ends and formed of at least three layers of metals selectively deposited upon each other. One inner metal layer has a coefficient of thermal expansion that is different from that of other layers. One end of the body of the contact is adapted to be affixed to the substrate, the body of the contact by differential expansion of metal layers being bent above the one fixed end of the contact and the substrate. At least a portion of the body of the contact near its other end is bent down toward the substrate as a result of differential expansion of metal layers. An outer stiffening metal layer is electrodeposited on the other layers to give substantial strength and resiliency to the contact.
Viewed from another apparatus aspect, the present invention is directed to an assembly of ultra-miniature electrical contacts mounted on a substrate and suitable for contacting surface pads of a device such as an integrated circuit (IC). The assembly comprises a substrate with an elongated conductive body formed on the substrate as a plurality of layers of different metals selectively deposited upon each other. A portion of the contact is affixed to the substrate. A remaining portion of the contact is permanently bent into a three-dimensional shape above the substrate as a result of differential expansion of metal layers. An outer stiffening metal layer is deposited over the plurality of metal layers such that the contact has sufficient strength and resilience to effect stable low-resistance connection to a surface pad of an IC device.
Viewed from a method aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of forming ultra-miniature electrical contacts. The method comprises the steps of: defining by photolithography an elongated area or areas on a substrate; selectively depositing within each area an inner layer, a middle layer, and an outer layer of metals deposited upon each other to form a conductive body of the contact with the middle metal layer having a coefficient of thermal expansion higher than that of other layers and one end of the contact being fixed to the substrate; and heating the body of the contact so that by differential expansion of the metal layers the contact for most of its length beyond its fixed end is bent above the substrate, and at least a portion of the body near its other end is bent down toward the substrate.
Viewed from another method aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of forming ultra-miniature electrical contacts. The method comprises the steps of: defining by photolithography an elongated area or areas on a substrate; selectively depositing within each area a plurality of layers of metal upon each other to form a conductive body of a contact with one metal layer having a coefficient of thermal expansion higher than that of another layer and one end of the contact being fixed to the substrate; heating the body of the contact so that by differential expansion of metal layers the contact for most of its length beyond its fixed end is bent above the substrate, and at least a portion of the body near its other end is bent down toward the substrate; and over-plating with an outer stiffening metal layer the other metal layers to give substantial strength and resiliency to the contact.
In accordance with yet another method aspect, the present invention is directed to a method of forming an assembly of ultra-miniature electrical contacts mounted on a substrate and suitable for contacting contact areas of a device such as surface pads of an integrated circuit (IC). The method comprises the steps of: providing an insulated substrate on which a pattern of conductive circuit traces can be deposited; defining by photolithography elongated areas on the substrate where contacts are to be located; depositing in each of the defined areas an elongated conductive body of a contact having a plurality of layers of different metals selectively plated upon each other, an end portion of one metal layer being connected to a portion of conductive traces on the substrate; heating each contact body so that by differential expansion of the metal layers the contact is permanently bent into a three-dimensional shape above the substrate; and depositing an outer stiffening metal layer over the plurality of metal layers so that the contacts have sufficient strength and resilience to effect stable low-resistance connection to contact areas of a device such as surface pads of an IC.
A better understanding of the invention together with a fuller appreciation of its many advantages will best be gained from a study of the following description given in connection with the accompanying drawing and claims.

Ultra-miniature electrical contacts and method of manufacture


The control of an inductive load is implemented by a control strategy to generate a control signal for a switching element on the basis of a setpoint datum, with a mechanism defining a maximum permitted value (Imax) of the current in the load as a function of the temperature at the level of the switching element. The mechanism exhibits a temperature threshold (Tshd). The maximum permitted value (Imax) of the current is held constant, equal to an upper limit value (Isup), during a temperature climb phase for all the temperatures which are lower than the threshold. The maximum permitted value of the current is abruptly rendered equal to a lower limit value (Iinf) as soon as the temperature reaches the threshold. Finally, during a temperature descent phase, the maximum permitted value of the current gradually climbs back to the upper limit value as the temperature decreases.

The invention finds applications, in particular, in the automotive sector, for example in systems for electronic control of an actuator, such as a device for electronic control of the throttle (or ETC device, the abbreviation standing for "Electronic Throttle Control") or of the burnt gases recirculation valve (or EGR device, the abbreviation standing for "Exhaust Gas Recirculation"), or of any other valve used in engine monitoring or the like, or more generally of any other item of equipment actuated by electric motor, such as a window winder, for example.
The control of inductive loads by pulse width modulation may in general be performed by a switching structure such as an H-bridge. This structure comprises four power switches, namely two "high" switches on the side of a positive power supply and two "low" switches on the side of a negative power supply or the ground.
A first pair formed of a first high switch and of a first low switch enables, when they are both closed, current to flow in the load in a certain direction. A second pair formed of the other high switch and of the other low switch enables conversely, when they are both closed, current to flow in the load in the opposite direction. The two low switches, or the two high switches, when they are both closed, allow the flow of a freewheeling current.
Each switch generally comprises a power MOS transistor (the acronym standing for "Metal Oxide Semiconductor". A sequence of analog control signals for the four MOS transistors is produced, according to a determined strategy, on the basis of a setpoint control signal. This setpoint control signal can be pulse width modulated, with a duty ratio making it possible to control the quantity of current injected into the load and therefore, on average, the intensity of the current in the inductive load.
For this purpose, the switching structure is alternately positioned in a certain state in which the flow in the load of a current of determined value is controlled in one or the other direction, and in another state in which a freewheeling current is permitted to flow in the load, through two transistors which are closed.
Gentle variations in voltage and current (called "Slew-Rate") are effected at the level of the control gates of the MOS transistors, so as to avoid sudden switchings that generate electromagnetic disturbances.
Energy losses at the level of the switches are of two different kinds: static losses, produced through the Joule effect when the switches are closed, and dynamic losses related to the switching of the switches. The former losses are related to the internal resistance RdsON of the MOS transistors. The latter losses are related to the switching speed of the MOS transistors. The slower the variations in current and voltage, the more significant the dynamic losses.
The dynamic losses are essentially localized at the level of the transistors which do not participate in the freewheeling. They depend on the sweep rate (Slew-Rate) in voltage and in current.
In case of a spike in the current absorbed in the load, of insufficient cooling, and/or of too high an ambient temperature, the temperature at the level of the junctions of the MOS transistors, termed the "junction temperature", may rise beyond acceptable limits, which depend on the technology used.
This is why, in order to limit the rise in the junction temperature of the transistors and to thus avoid their destruction, it is possible to implement a temperature-sensitive current reduction mechanism or TDCR mechanism.
The effect of such a mechanism is to automatically reduce the current in the load when the junction temperature of the "low" transistors exceeds a first threshold (called the warning or "alert" threshold), lower than a second threshold (called the cutout or "Shutdown" threshold) beyond which the flow of current in the MOS transistors is interrupted so as to avoid their destruction. Such a TDCR mechanism intervenes on a maximum permitted value for the current in the load, which is used as high stop in the strategy for controlling the current in the transistors. The permitted maximum current is reduced, and then optionally increased again, in both cases in a linear manner, until a temperature-current equilibrium is reached. At this equilibrium point, the junction temperature and the maximum current permitted in the load are stabilized.

Control of an inductive load with temperature-sensitive current reduction mechanism


Lift cage for a lift, which is movable upon vertical guide rails by a lifting device, has walls assembled from sheet metal members, a cage ceiling and a cage base. Some of the wall-forming profile members form supporting frame members which together with horizontal base beams, form a cantilever sling for the lift cage. The supporting frame members serve both as the cage body wall elements as well as cage support members.

German Utility Model No. 1 851 338 describes and shows a cage construction of The aforesaid kind. Individual wall members for the side walls have longer limbs and extend as so-called side panel profile sections beyond the upper edge of the lift cage and form, together with similar enlarged ceiling profile sections, an upper carrier yoke. A suspension bracket for the carrying elements can be incorporated into this carrier yoke.
The teaching of this Utility Model is confined to the formation of an upper carrier yoke by means of sheet metal profile sections and the side panel profile sections connected therewith, whereby an upper suspension point for a lift cage is provided. The construction of the overall cage body is not disclosed or evident therefrom, and thus it is not known how the rigidity of the overall lift cage with this suspension construction is insured. A suspension of the illustrated kind has to be arranged as centrally as possible so as to avoid distortion of the cage body.


A preferred embodiment, a ball launcher/catcher for a stick and ball game, including: an elongate base member having proximal and distal ends and an upper surface; a handle portion disposed at the proximal end of the base member; a first part of a hook-and-loop fabric system disposed on at least the upper surface of the distal end of the base member; and a padded intermediate portion disposed on the upper surface of the base member intermediate the proximal and distal ends of the base member. The game is played by adhering to the distal end of the base member a ball covered with a second part of the hook-and-loop fabric system; then, a first player grasping the handle portion in one hand and rotating the first ball launcher/catcher rearwardly; and then, the first player rapidly rotating the first ball launcher/catcher forwardly and whacking the intermediate portion against the heel of the first player's other hand, such as to transfer momentum to the ball, thereby separating the ball from the distal end of the first ball launcher/catcher and launching the ball in the air.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to games generally and, more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a novel stick and ball game.
2. Background Art
Games involving various types of sticks (or bats) and balls have been played for centuries and they are of continuing popularity. Especially popular are those games which can be played by a small number of people in an informal setting.
Accordingly, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide a stick and ball game that is interesting and challenging.
It is a further object of the invention to provide such a stick and ball game the apparatus of which is economically and easily constructed.
It is another object of the invention to provide such a stick and ball game that can be played by one or any number of more players.
Other objects of the present invention, as well as particular features, elements, and advantages thereof, will be elucidated in, or be apparent from, the following description and the accompanying drawing figures.


The present invention implements detailed access control according to access rights granted to users, by a simple configuration. A communication system includes: a plurality of forwarding nodes that process a received packet in accordance with a processing rule (packet handling operation) associating a matching rule for identifying a flow and processing content to be applied to a packet that conforms with the matching rule; a policy management apparatus provided with an access control policy storage unit that associates roles assigned to users and access rights set for each role, the policy management apparatus providing information related to access rights associated with a role of a user who is successfully authenticated, to a control apparatus; and the control apparatus that creates a path between a terminal of the user who is successfully authenticated and a resource that the user can access, based on information related to access rights received from the policy management apparatus, and sets a processing rule in a forwarding node in the path in question.

Recently, technology known as OpenFlow has been proposed (see Patent Literature 1 and Non Patent Literatures 1 and 2). In OpenFlow, communication is taken as end-to-end flow, and path control, failure recovery, load balancing, and optimization are performed on a per-flow basis. An OpenFlow switch as specified in Non Patent Literature 2 is provided with a secure channel for communication with an OpenFlow controller positioned as a control apparatus, and operates according to a flow table to which information is added and whose content is rewritten as necessary, according to an instruction from the OpenFlow controller. In the flow table, a set of the following is defined for each flow: matching rule (Header fields) against which a packet header is matched, flow statistical information (Counters), and actions (Actions) that define processing content (see FIG. 12).
For example, when a packet is received, the OpenFlow switch searches the flow table for an entry that has a matching rule (refer to the header fields in FIG. 12) conforming to header information of the received packet. If an entry conforming to the received packet is found as a result of the search, the OpenFlow switch updates the flow statistical information (Counters) and also implements processing content (packet transmission from a specified port, flooding, dropping, and the like) described in the Actions field of the entry in question, for the received packet. On the other hand, if an entry conforming to the received packet is not found as a result of the search, the OpenFlow switch forwards the received packet to the OpenFlow controller via a secure channel, requests determination of a path of the packet based on transmission source and destination of the received packet, receives a flow entry implementing this, and updates the flow table. In this way, the OpenFlow switch uses the entry stored in the flow table as a processing rule (packet handling operation) to perform packet forwarding.

Communication system, control apparatus, policy management apparatus, communication method, and program


A transtibial patellar tendon bearing (PTB) prosthesis for below the knee amputees is disclosed. The prosthesis includes a socket, and a foot prosthesis attached to a modular shank component using a foot rotator device. Using the rotator device, the foot component of the prosthesis may be smoothly and axially rotated internally or externally ±150° with respect to the shank component about the axis of the shank component. The wide range of axial rotation enables a more even load distribution on the whole lower limb of an amputee and enables an amputee to comfortably assume a wide range of biomechanical positions, such as sitting or kneeling. A recoil spring, having a selectable tension, is positioned within the rotatable component and selectively limits and retains the relative rotation of the upper portion and the lower portions. A locking mechanism selectively prevents rotation when the foot component is engaged.

The disclosure relates to modular prosthesis assemblies, and more specifically, to prosthesis assemblies for transtibial, or below the knee, amputees.
Prosthetic assemblies for transtibial amputees may limit or constrain the flexibility or range of lower body movement particularly during difficult biomechanical positions including, but not limited to, kneeling, squatting, sitting, i.e. kneeling while sitting back on the heels, and the transitions between such positions.
These biomechanical positions may cause discomfort to an amputee or may induce pain or strains in the knees, hip and/or back. In the prior art, various prosthetic assemblies exist but very few specifically address the range of motion and position difficulties experienced by transtibial amputees that assume the positions of kneeling, squatting, sitting, or transitioning between these positions.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,052,519 to Gramnäs entitled Prosthetic Leg and Foot Apparatus discloses an arrangement for a leg prosthesis provided with a foot which is connected to the leg prosthesis via an articulated axle. However, Gramnäs does not address the positional problems experienced by transtibial amputees.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,038,705 to Owens et al. entitled Rotational Joint Assembly For the Prosthetic Leg discloses a rotational joint assembly for a prosthetic leg which enables an artificial foot to rotate slightly which a person is walking, running, or turning. However, Owens et al. does not disclose a solution to the physical position problem experienced by transtibial amputees.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,112,227 to Doddroe et al., entitled Multi-axis Prosthetic Ankle Joint discloses a multi-axis prosthetic ankle for connection of a prosthetic lower leg to a prosthetic foot. However, Doddroe et al. does not disclose a solution to the physical position problems experienced by transtibial amputees.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,187,052 to Molino et al. entitled Prosthetic Ankle Joint discloses a prosthetic ankle joint that mimics natural ankle motion but does not specifically address the positional position problems experienced by transtibial amputees.
WO2005/037151 discloses an artificial multi-axes knee joint which does not address the positional problems experienced by transtibial amputees.
However, U.S. Pat. No. 4,865,611 issued to Al-Turaiki entitled Lockable Rotating Ankle Joint for Modular Below-Knee Prosthesis addresses the flexibility for the difficult biomechanical positions for a transtibial amputee. Al-Turaiki discloses a patellar tendon bearing (PTB) prosthesis that has a socket, a modular shank component, and a foot component which is rotatably attached to the shank component. The rotatable foot attachment allows the foot component to be axially rotated inwardly or outwardly at ±90° angles with respect to the shank component of the prosthesis.

Adjustable tension prosthetic ankle rotatory device for lower limb apparatus


A pouch member is arranged to include a plurality of pockets therewithin, with each of the pockets having a climbing step member therewithin. Each step member having foldable first and second legs displaced to an orthogonal orientation relative to one another for permitting securement within a tree, as each first leg includes a spike member arranged for projection into an associated tree for a climbing procedure.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of invention relates to tree climbing apparatus, and more particularly pertains to a new and improved tree climbing kit apparatus wherein the same is arranged to include a pouch assembly having a plurality of step members therewithin for projection into an associated tree for climbing the tree structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Tree climbing members of various types are utilized throughout the prior art, wherein U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,030 indicates the use of a spike member arranged for threaded directing into a tree.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,697,669 to Bergsten is arranged to include a foldable tree step member.
Further, U.S. Pat. No. 4,000,788 sets forth a tree step member of unitary construction.
The instant invention attempts to overcome deficiencies of the prior art by providing for the organization arranged in a transportable pouch structure permitting the ease of assembly and removal of the step structure relative to the associated tree and in this respect, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


Disclosed are a method for performing communication between devices in a wireless access system supporting device-to-device communication, and a device for same. More particularly, the method comprises the steps of: transmitting, from a first device to a base station, instruction information on whether or not device-to-device communication is supported by the first device; receiving, by the first device, group information for grouping devices which support device-to-device communication, from the base station using mobility information and position information on the devices supporting device-to-device communication; selecting, by the first device using the group information, a second device that is to perform device-to-device communication between devices; and performing device-to-device communication with the second device selected by the first device.

In cellular communication, a UE in a cell accesses a base station (BS) to receive control information for transmitting/receiving data to/from the BS and then transmits/receives the data to perform communication. That is, since the UE transmits/receives data through the BS, the UE transmits data thereof to the BS in order to transmit the data to another cellular UE such that the BS delivers the data received from the UE to the other UE. Since the UE can transmit data to another UE only through the BS in this manner, the BS schedules channels and resources for data transmission and reception and transmits channel and resource scheduling information to each UE. To perform communication between UEs through the BS, each UE requires channel and resource allocation for data transmission/reception to/from the BS. However, D2D communication directly transmits/receives a signal to/from a UE that wants to transmit data without a BS or a relay.

Method for performing communication between devices in a wireless access system, and device for same


A drug delivery device for setting and dispensing a dose of a drug is presented having a support body having a first end defining a first opening and a second end defining a second opening and a centered outer indicator ring. A syringe barrel sealed by a stopper is slidably diposed therein along an axial direction and adapted to have an integrated needle or to be coupled with a needle assembly, wherein the syringe barrel is positioned within the support body. A needle shield is adapted to be coupled to one of the ends of the support body and slidably disposed thereon. An outer body is adapted to be coupled to the other end of the support body and slidably disposed thereon, wherein the outer indicator ring limits the movement of the outer body as well as of the needle shield.

Pre-filled syringes that are filled with a selected dosage of a medicament are well known injection devices for administering the medicament to a patient. Drug delivery devices comprising a needle shield for covering a needle of a pre-filled syringe before and after use are also well known. Typically, the needle shield is either manually moved or moved by the action of a relaxing spring to surround the needle.
A different type of drug delivery device known in the state of the art solves the object of providing needle safety by arranging the pre-filled syringe movable relative to a body, whereas the pre-filled syringe is retracted into the body after the injection.


A golf club with less limitations to materials usable for a balance weight on a outer face of a sole, having a structure for the balance weight to be easily fixed to a head body. A hollow head body 16 of a long iron has an outer shell formed with a through-hole 21, corresponding to the sole 4 portion. A projection 34 is formed on an upper face of the balance weight 31 so that the projection 34 is inserted into the through-hole 21. Another through-hole 35 is formed in the projection 34, into which is pressed a taper pin 36 to be anchored there. As a result, the balance weight 31 is securely fixed to the head body 16. Unlike the fixing by caulking a balance weight itself, the invention does not need the extensibility of the material of the weight 31. Accordingly, tungsten-based materials, for example, are also made usable.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a golf club, particularly to its structure for securing a balance weight thereto.
2. Prior Art
It is a known art to provide a golf club head with a balance weight secured to a sole. FIG. 4 through FIG. 6 illustrate one example of such conventional golf club head 1, which is a long iron club in this example. The head 1 is hollow and metallic, having a face 2 at its front side, a back 3 at its back side, a sole 4 at its lower side, a top 5 at its upper side, a heel 6 at its proximal side and a toe 7 at its distal side, respectively. The heel 6 is formed with a neck 8, from which extends upwardly a hosel 9. The hosel 9 serves as a shaft connector for connecting a shaft 10 thereto. Incidentally, a plurality of nearly horizontal concave grooves 11, which are called score lines, are formed on said face 2.
The head body 16 forming the majority portion of said head 1 is constructed by for example joining a plurality of metallic plate members together by welding or the like, said metallic plate members being forged for example, so that it is made hollow thereinside. A plurality of metallic balance weights 17 are fixed securely to the outer surface of the sole 4 of the head body 16, projecting downward therefrom. While the material of said head body 16 is either iron-based or titanium-based, the material of each balance weight 17 is beryllium copper for example, so that the specific gravity of the latter is larger than that of the former.
In other words, one of the objects of the balance weight 17 is to lower the center of gravity of the whole head 1. With the center of gravity thus lowered, balls are made easier to raise when they are struck, thus resulting in elongated travelling distances thereof. On the other hand, each balance weight 17 is formed slender, elongated in the back-to-front direction, having beveled portions 18 on its lower face on all sides, and thus, it is another object of the balance weight 17 to reduce a contacting area with the ground at the time of striking balls so as to lessen the resistance of the head 1 against the ground.
Whereas, there is illustrated in FIG. 6 a conventional method of fixing the balance weight 17 to the head body 16. According to the conventional method, a through-hole 21 is defined through an outer shell corresponding to the sole 4 of the head body 16, into which is inserted a projection 22 formed on an upper face of the balance weight 17, as illustrated in FIG. 6A. Thereafter, the projection 22 is caulked using a press device or the like in order to form a caulked portion 23, thereby fixing the balance weight 17 to the head body 16, as illustrated in FIG. 6B. It is to be noted that the caulked portion 23 is located inside the head 1, when the head 1 is finished. Incidentally, reference numeral 24 indicated in FIGS. 6A and 6B designates a weight plate provided on an inner face of the outer shell, corresponding to the sole 4 of the head body 16.
According to the conventional fixing method using caulking, however, there are limitations to the materials which can be used for the balance weight 17. Materials with less extensibility are unsuitable for caulking. Taking tungsten for example, it has insufficient extensibility, and unsuitable for caulking, although it is suitable as a material for a balance weight due to its relatively large specific gravity.


A computer-implemented method for normalizing data-loss-prevention categorization information, at least a portion of the method being performed by a computing system comprising at least one processor, may identify a data object at a first time. The method may apply a first version of a set of data-loss-prevention rules to the data object to determine a set of categorizations of the data object. The method may distinguish a set of content-based categorizations in the set of categorizations from a set of context-based categorizations in the set of categorizations. The method may apply, based on the set of categorizations, a first data-loss-prevention policy to the data object. The method may identify the data object at a second time, and apply, based on the set of content-based categorizations, a second data-loss-prevention policy to the data object. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

In the electronic information age, people may share, access, and disseminate information in seemingly unlimited volume. The ability to disseminate information in electronic format is enormously empowering. At the same time, the workforce has become increasingly mobile, and the ubiquity of high-speed Internet access, smart mobile devices, and portable storage means that "the office" may be anywhere. As a consequence, it has become more difficult than ever for organizations to prevent the loss of sensitive data. Organizations are therefore increasingly looking to Data Loss Prevention ("DLP") solutions to protect their sensitive data.
A typical DLP system may include a data-protocol parser, a textual-content extractor, a content-matching engine, and a rules-enforcement engine. Data analyzed by a DLP system may be processed by each of these engines to determine whether an enforcement action, such as blocking transmission of a file, quarantining a file, or creating a security violation, should occur. The two most computationally expensive stages in DLP may be content extraction and content matching. These DLP stages may tax numerous resources, causing application timeouts, higher load on network processors, and central-processing-unit spikes on local systems. Because of the cost of content extraction and matching, efficient and thorough DLP may not be possible using traditional DLP systems in some situations.

Methods and systems for normalizing data loss prevention categorization information


This disclosure describes a more efficient and configurable power allocation scheme for redundant power supply (RPS) systems used in network switches. This allocation scheme allows the system owner to assign power from a shared RPS unit to higher priority devices in any network switch in the system. This permits more granularity in assigning the RPS with backup power available to devices such as ports residing within individual switches in a multiple switch network. An efficient power allocation scheme for RPS allows the user to define the system priority of various devices for backup power according to the user's preferences. The user may assign the RPS to user-defined high priority devices in any piece of equipment. This makes RPS power allocation more flexible by offering the user more setup options for backup power.

Network switches are used for data centers and large corporate offices and provide a number of services, such as 1 gigabit Ethernet (GbE), 10 GbE, and optical network links. These applications often require high availability (HA) features such as two or more redundant power supplies (RPSs) for each network switch to provide maximum uptime for the network. RPS units may be mounted internally or externally and can be load-sharing, hot-swappable, and field-replaceable to maintain uninterrupted operation. In the case of multiple network switches mounted together or a reasonable distance apart, the RPS power budget, i.e., the total backup power that the RPS units may sustain, may be pooled and shared over the multiple switches.
The total available RPS power is typically pooled in a central RPS which provides backup power to a group of the switches within a multi-switch network. Usually, there is not enough backup power from the RPS to drive all of the network switches in the event of a power failure of one or more of the power supplies. When needed, backup power is allocated first to the highest priority switches and on down to the lowest priority switches. In this case, power is typically allocated to the switches based on a total power requirement for each of the switches. That is, the total required power for each switch in a multi-switch network is typically used to determine the priority levels in assigning backup power to the network switches in the event of a power failure. The highest power switches and devices are often granted the highest priority for backup power. For example, the different switches within the multi-switch network may have dissimilar power budgets, typically ranging from 200 W for basic network switches up to 1400 W for more complex switches. As a result, the network switches with the lowest power requirements may be prevented from receiving power from the RPS during times of high demand for backup power. There may also be low priority switches with high priority ports, such as critical network equipment, security cameras, or important telephone equipment, that do not receive power in the event of a power failure.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Efficient power allocation for redundant power supply with system priority


A vehicle electric power distribution apparatus is provided which includes a plurality of vertically stacked conductive circuit layers, each layer including an array of contact pads, a layer of electrically insulating plastic material between each of the conductive circuit layers, at least some of the contact pads are electrically connected to selected other contact pads of the same conductive circuit layer via integrally formed conductive traces. In addition to the stacked circuit layers the apparatus includes a plurality of conductive pins providing electrical contact between selected contact pads of different selected conductive circuit layers.

This invention relates generally to a distribution system for electrical signals, and in particular to an electrical power distribution system, and is more particularly directed toward distribution of electrical power in a vehicle.
The first motorized vehicles had little in the way of an electrical system. All that was required was some way to generate and distribute an ignition potential to each of the cylinders of the small, internal combustion engine that powered these early vehicles.
The need to see the road ahead during nighttime operation gave rise to the first electrical accessory: headlights. Interior illumination was added for the operator""s convenience, and a single tail light was considered adequate. Turn signal lights followed, but the simple vehicle radio receiver did not make its appearance until a number of years later.
The modern automobile is an impressive collection of electrical hardware: from stereo sound equipment to air conditioning; from power windows, mirrors and seats to keyless entry systems; from vehicle alarms to seat position memory to electrically heated seats. The complexity of vehicle electrical systems has grown almost exponentially since the automobile""s introduction.
An automotive electrical system is a formidable combination of high-current and low-current circuitry. In many cases, relays are required for control purposes, and all circuits must be adequately fused to protect expensive components and to guard against the danger of fire. In order to facilitate the replacement of fuses and relays, and to simplify interconnection of electrical hardware, many different electric power distribution systems have been tried.
One approach that has been tried with fair consistency is to centralize fuse and relay mounting, then route input and output connections from this central location. The first systems built using this approach included a great deal of point-to-point wiring. Hand wiring is very costly, and manual wiring operations are a source of wiring errors that negatively impact product quality.
Another approach has been the construction of customized distribution networks stamped from thin metal sheets. These stampings are then contorted so that contact tabs protrude through openings in custom designed plastic shells. Although this approach yields a higher quality product, tooling costs are very high, since virtually every automobile model requires a unique distribution system. At least some of this uniqueness aspect is driven by the proliferation of fuse and relay packages. A distribution product must be able to accommodate the fuse and relay components selected by the manufacturer.
Yet another approach has centered around the use of flexible circuit board technology, or xe2x80x9cflex circuits.xe2x80x9d Flex circuits are constructed by depositing conductive material between two flexible insulating layers. Although the unique distribution requirements of each vehicle model would require unique flex circuits for each application, tooling costs are much lower than the metal stamping/custom plastic housing approach described previously. The principal disadvantage of the flex circuit approach is that the conductive layers are very thin, and the high current densities required in vehicle power distribution lead to overheating and eventual failure.
Consequently, a need arises for a vehicle electric power distribution system that can be customized for a particular vehicle with relative ease, that avoids high tooling costs for custom designed components, that is reliable in a high current environment, that will accommodate a wide range of fuse and relay packages, and that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
These needs and others are satisfied by the vehicle electric power distribution apparatus of the present invention. The apparatus includes a plurality of vertically stacked conductive plates, each plate including an arrangement of contact pads, wherein at least some of the contact pads are electrically connected to selected other contact pads of the same conductive plate via integrally formed conductive traces. The inventive apparatus further includes a plurality of conductive pins providing electrical contact between selected contact pads of different selected conductive plates.

Vehicle electric power distribution system


The present invention provides devices, methods and kits for detecting the presence of an analyte in a liquid sample and indicating to the user the presence or absence of the analyte through the formation of a recognizable symbol during the assay. In one embodiment, the present invention provides test strips having a matrix including a sample application zone, a reagent zone, and a detection zone. Within the detection zone are located positive and negative control areas, and an analyte binding area. The positive control area contains one or more components that exhibit a first color when dry and a second color when wetted. When the assay is conducted, the positive control area is wetted by the assay fluids and turns to a second color, thereby functioning as a positive procedural control. When analyte is present in the sample, it binds at the analyte binding area, which interacts with the positive control area to form a second recognizable symbol at the detection zone.

The following Background of the Invention is intended to aid the reader in understanding the invention and is not admitted to be prior art.
The inclusion of positive and negative control tests in the performance of an assay is considered an important component of any assay. In immunological tests, these control tests are often performed by including an analyte binding control test in the assay, which may appear as a colored line on the test strip. These types of control tests are effective for verifying that the assay device is functioning correctly, but they also result in added expense in making the device and performing the assay, particularly when the specific binding molecules used in the control test are produced as a result of elaborate procedures. Additionally, these types of controls can be confusing for the untrained general consumer and lead to improper test interpretation. There is therefore a need for better methods and apparatuses for performing sample collection and testing.

Devices and methods for analyte assays with built-in result reporting using recognizable symbols


Nickel films 22, 25 are formed on copper pads 21, 24 on a substrate 11, and gold layers 23, 26 are further formed on the nickel films 22, 25. To suppress formation of compound of gold and tin which spoils reliability of soldering, formation of gold layers 23, 26 on the nickel films 22, 25 is effected by very thin substitutional plating method. As a result, a solder bump 17 is formed favorably. Besides, an nickel oxide film 32 formed on the surface of the gold layer 23 is removed by plasma etching. As a result, bonding of wire 15 is also excellent.

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing an electronic component.
As an assembly structure of an electronic component, it is known to bond a wire for connecting a substrate and a semiconductor element on an electrode on the surface of the substrate and to form a bump as a protruding electrode on other electrode. As such electronic component, a BGA (ball grid array) package is known. As the wire, a gold wire is used widely, and as the bump, a solder is used widely.
FIG. 17 is a sectional view of a conventional substrate. In the diagram, reference numeral 1 denotes a substrate such as glass epoxy substrate, and copper pads 2, 3 of circuit patterns are formed on its upper and lower surfaces. Nickel layers 4, 5 are formed on the copper pads 2, 3, and gold layers 6, 7 are formed on the nickel layers 4, 5. The upper side copper pad 2 and lower side copper pad 3 are connected by an internal wiring 8. On the gold layer 6 of one copper pad 2, the end of a gold wire 9 for connecting a semiconductor element (not shown) mounted on the substrate 1 is bonded, and a solder bump 10 is formed on the gold layer 7 of other copper pad 3, thereby assembling an electronic component.
The nickel layers 4, 5 and gold layers 6, 7 are generally formed by plating method. The gold layers 6, 7 are formed for enhancing bonding performance of the gold wire 9. Conventionally, the thickness of the gold layers 6, 7 was about 0.2 to 1 micron, and they were considerably thick. The nickel layers 4, 5 are formed as barrier metal for preventing the material copper of the copper pads 2, 3 from diffusing into the gold layers 6, 7.
In such conventional method, when plating with gold, the component nickel of nickel layers 4, 5 is melted into the plating solution, and the nickel mixes into gold plating layers. The nickel positioned on the surface of the gold layers 6, 7 forms a compound such as oxide and hydroxide by heating in the process of fixing the semiconductor element. This compound blocks bonding of gold wire 9. As the gold layer becomes thicker, an amount of nickel positioned on the surface is reduced, and in order not to form this oxide as far as possible, the thickness of the gold layers 6, 7 must be greater than a certain thickness.
However, if the gold layers 6, 7 are too thick, bonding force of solder bump 10 drops. This is because, when forming the solder bump 10, the gold in the gold layer 7 is melted into the solder bump 10 and is combined with tin in the solder to form a brittle compound. Thus, for the purpose of bonding of gold wire 9, one gold layer 6 is preferred to be thick, while the other gold layer 7 is preferred to be thin for forming and soldering the solder bump 10. It is hence difficult to solve these contradictory problems.
It may be also considered to apply gold plating only on the electrode for bonding the gold wire 9, but it requires a process of covering the non-plating electrode with a mask, and a process of removing this mask after plating, and the manufacturing cost is much increased.
It is hence an object of the invention to present a method of manufacturing an electronic component capable of bonding a gold wire favorably on an electrode on a substrate and soldering favorably.

Method of manufacturing an electronic component

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present disclosure provides oral pharmaceutical compositions comprising: 1) metronidazole or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof; and magnesium aluminum silicate; or 2) metronidazole or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof; magnesium aluminum silicate; and a flavoring agent. Methods of treating infection utilizing the oral pharmaceutical compositions are also provided.

Metronidazole is a synthetic nitroimidazole antimicrobial that is used for treating a variety of infections. For example, metronidazole has been shown to be effective in the treatment of bacterial infections (including Gram-positive and Gram-negative infections), fungal infections, and protozoal infections. Approved indications for metronidazole include bacterial vaginosis, trichomoniasis, and amebiasis (in which oral metronidazole is a first line therapy) as well as anaerobic bacterial infections and bacterial infections of specific organ systems (in which intravenous (IV) metronidazole is a first line therapy with a step-down approach to oral formulations). There are also several off-label uses of metronidazole. Metronidazole is an effective treatment option for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and is a first-line therapy for treatment of mild-to-moderate CDI in pediatric patients.
An oral formulation of metronidazole tablets is sold under the trade name Flagyl™ An extended release metronidazole tablet is sold under the trade name Flagyl™ ER. A metronidazole capsule is sold under the trade name Flagyl™ Capsule.
For some patients, administration of metronidazole tablets and/or capsules is difficult or impossible for one or more reasons. For example, metronidazole is bitter and may leave a user with an unpleasant metallic aftertaste. The bitterness and/or aftertaste of metronidazole may be sufficient to deter a patient from complying with their dosing regimen. Some patients encounter compliance issues with metronidazole tablets and/or capsules due to dysphagia, which is a difficulty swallowing. Dysphagia is common in pediatric and geriatric patients in particular. One recommendation for administering drugs to dysphagic patients involves crushing solid-form dosages or opening capsules to access the capsule contents and administering same to the patient. Optionally, the crushed tablet or capsule contents may be combined with food or drink to make the drug more palatable. For example, a survey of over 250 pediatricians and primary care physicians indicated that metronidazole is frequently prescribed as a first-line therapy for mild to moderate C. difficile infections in children between the ages of 1 and 16 and that most physicians recommended that metronidazole be crushed and resuspended in juice or other liquid. Over half of the physicians surveyed experienced problems with children taking metronidazole in tablet or capsule form, including problems with both unpleasant taste and swallowing the medication. Similarly, a recent survey of family practice physicians, general practitioners, geriatricians, and internal medicine physicians that had prescribed metronidazole in the past year to adults age 65 and over who have trouble swallowing showed that the main recommendation for administering metronidazole to this patient population is to crush and suspend the drug in liquid or to mix the drug with food (recommended 79% of the time).
In general, oral liquid dosage forms may be used to address drug non-compliance due to dysphagia; however, it is difficult to formulate bitter drugs into palatable oral liquid dosage forms. The primary strategies used to improve drug palatability include masking the taste of drugs by adding sweeteners, flavors, and/or effervescent agents, or implementing a mechanism to limit or delay the contact between the bitter drugs and a patient's taste buds (e.g. using coatings, microencapsulation, adsorbant additives, ion exchange resins, or viscous delivery vehicles). These strategies are often used in combination, and the approach to taste masking is tailored to each individual drug. The choice of taste-masking strategy depends on several factors such as the extent of the bitter taste of the Active Pharmaceutical Ingredient (API), dose levels, solubility and ionic characteristics, desired bioavailability, and required dosage form (Kalaskar 2014, Bhattacharjee 2016). Although understanding these characteristics is useful in formulating a taste-masked formulation, finding an appropriate taste-masking approach is not straight-forward.
Efforts have been made to compound metronidazole into a more palatable formulation by using suspending and sweetening agents, but the bitter, pungent aftertaste remains (Gee 2007). One option for administration of bad-tasting drugs is to compound the drug in a vehicle that is palatable or favored by the patient (e.g., chocolate sauce, apple sauce, ice cream, juice). This can be performed at a compounding pharmacy or by a caregiver. The challenge with this option is that pharmacist or caregiver compounding of current formulations may result in loss of API, which may lead to under-dosed finished drug products, thereby annulling any beneficiary therapeutic effects for the patient (D'Hondt 2014).
Another strategy for taste-masking is altering the molecular structure of an API to change its taste. This strategy has been applied to metronidazole and results in metronidazole benzoate (also called benzoyl metronidazole), which is available in some countries in a suspension marketed as Flagyl™ S Suspension or Norzol™ Oral suspension. The molecular difference between metronidazole and metronidazole benzoate is the addition of an ester group in the metronidazole benzoate; the bland taste of the ester is predicted to mask the bitter aftertaste that is commonly associated with metronidazole, thereby making the suspension more palatable and easier to administer to specific populations (i.e., pediatrics) (Matthew 1994, Bempong 2005). Substitution of the metronidazole benzoate suspension for the metronidazole tablet may not be appropriate in many instances, at least because there is evidence to suggest that metronidazole benzoate is absorbed at a slower rate, resulting in delayed peak plasma concentrations, which makes it inappropriate for use in various patients and infections, including, for example, acute infections.
For example, Houghton et al. (1982) compared the pharmacokinetics of metronidazole and its principle oxidative metabolites after administration of benzoyl metronidazole (equivalent to 2 g or 400 mg of metronidazole) or a 400 mg dose of metronidazole and concluded that the absorption of metronidazole into systemic circulation was markedly slower following treatment with benzoyl metronidazole than after dosing with metronidazole. Moreover, given the difference in observed Cmax between metronidazole and benzoyl metronidazole, and the difference in the time to achieve Cmax between the two formulations, the use of benzoyl metronidazole would not be sufficient for use in the case of acute microbial infections, and therefore cannot be considered a therapeutically equivalent substitution for the oral tablet form of metronidazole.
Matthew et al. (1994) examined the stability of two suspensions (16.0 mg/ml) of metronidazole benzoate in two commercially available products and found that metronidazole benzoate was not hydrolyzed in the gut through an acidic/hydrolysis reaction and thus suggested that the metronidazole benzoate suspension should not be readily substituted for metronidazole tablets in the treatment of local gastrointestinal infections. This study was substantiated by similar results reported from others (e.g., Bempong 2005).
These caveats have made their way to the label of the Flagyl™ S Suspension marketed under the Therapeutic Goods Administration in Australia. The label (Sanofi Aventis 2016) in this regulatory jurisdiction specifically states that metronidazole benzoate is not systemically available following oral administration. The overview of pharmacokinetics caution that total absorption from metronidazole benzoate suspension is somewhat lower than from tablets, and the time to reach peak serum level is quite variable (3.6 to 5.1 hours), particularly in children. The label also states that because of the slow absorption and delayed peak plasma level, Flagyl S Suspension™ is not recommended for use in the acute situation of anaerobic infection.
It is an object of the present disclosure to mitigate and/or obviate one or more of the above deficiencies.

Oral formulations of metronidazole and methods of treating an infection using same


A photographic film cassette has a spool for winding photographic film in a roll. A film leader is caused to advance outward from a cassette shell through a film passageway, when the spool rotates in an unwinding direction. A circumferential lip is formed around a first spool flange, projects toward the roll, and has a bevelled face for contact with a first lateral edge of the film along outer turns. A cam mechanism associated with two spool pieces shortens the spool while rotating the spool in the unwinding direction, and lengthens the spool while rotating the spool in the wind-up direction. When shortened, an interval between two flanges is reduced enough to firmly clamp lateral sides of the roll between the flanges. When lengthened, the flange interval is enlarged enough to release the lateral sides from the clamping force. The film is wound up without lateral flexure.

1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a photographic film cassette of which rotation of a spool causes a film leader to advance to the outside of a cassette shell, more particularly to an improvement of a construction for advancing the leader.
2. Description of the Related Art:
A known photographic film cassette includes a photographic filmstrip (hereinafter referred to as film) positioned so that a film leader does not protrude from a cassette shell prior to loading the cassette in a camera, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,887,776. Simple film-advancing mechanisms of the camera are used with the type of cassette and include a construction which rotates a spool to unwind the film, thereby causing the leader to move through a film passageway and exit from the cassette.
In this construction, a roll of the film wound about the spool is prevented from loosening in order to transmit rotation of the spool to the leader. The spool is constituted of a pair of spool pieces slidable relative to each other. A first spool piece is associated with a first flange, whereas the second spool piece is associated with a second flange. When a predetermined one of the spool pieces is rotated, a cam mechanism associated with both spool pieces operates so as to shorten the interval between the flanges by sliding the spool pieces.
The first flange is provided with a circumferential lip which projects from its periphery and has a bevelled lip inclined on its inside face for contact with a side of the outermost turn of the roll of film in order to prevent the roll from loosening. When sliding the spool pieces, the outermost turn of the roll is clamped between the second flange and the bevelled lip so that the roll is rotatable integrally with the spool and is kept from loosening. A spring washer is disposed between the first flange and a lateral inside surface of the roll chamber of the cassette shell for biasing the first flange in a direction tending to clamp the roll in the widthwise direction of the film.
There is, however, a problem in such a cassette in that the filmstrip may have an unusually small width due to shrinkage over time or a change in ambient conditions. Also, the cutting process, during manufacture of the film, may yield errors in size. In conventional cassettes, it has been impossible to firmly clamp the roll of an unusually narrow film between the flanges. This causes the likelihood of a failure in advancing the leader of such a film.
Another disadvantage of this type of cassette is that when the film is wound up into the cassette shell, its lateral edge is successively pressed and flexed by the lip. The lateral flexure of the lateral edge causes a large resistance to transportation of the film, so that a torque necessary for rotating the spool is excessively enlarged.
Because the roll becomes larger during wind-up, it is possible that flexure at one portion along the lateral edge may cause a downstream portion of film to turn around the outer periphery of the flange and thus be trapped between the flange and the cylindrical surface of the roll chamber of the cassette shell. The lateral edge, thus, would fail to be in contact with the bevelled lip. Such a difficulty is particularly likely because the spring washer constantly presses on the flange inward.


A protective apparatus for protecting electric device connected to an AC circuit from being damaged at a time of misconnection between a live line and a neutral line thereof. The protective apparatus includes a detector, a controller, and an alarm. The detector is connected between the neutral line and the earth line. The controller is connected between the live line and the neutral line and includes a DPDT switch. Two blades of the switch switchably connected to the electric device and the alarm. The detector includes a voltage grading circuit, a rectifier-filter, a detect circuit, and an isolating circuit. Once misconnection between the live line and the neutral line occurs, an abnormal voltage is transformed by the detector to a stable DC power output, which drives the controller to disconnect the device from the live line and the neutral line and activate the alarm.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to protective apparatuses, and particularly to a protective apparatus that protects device connected to an AC circuit from being damaged if there is a misconnections between a live line and an earth line.
2. General Background
Most electric equipment, such as household appliances and factory machines, are generally powered by a three-phase AC power system. The AC power system generally includes a live (hot) line, a neutral line, and an earth line. The live line and the neutral line are for providing power to the electric equipment. The earth line is grounded.
It is known that line mismatches in a circuit may happen, and equipment connected to the circuit may be damaged. Conventionally, safe fuses are connected to the live line and the neutral line. If too much power is drawn by the circuit, the safe fuse is melted to break the circuit so that the equipment connected to the circuit is protected. It is simple but costly to use safe fuses to protect the equipment, and the safe fuses may have a slow response time and lack the necessary sensitivity required for proper protection of the circuit and the attached equipment. Additionally, it is costly and troublesome to replace melted fuses with new ones.
What is desired, therefore, is a protective apparatus which sensitively and conveniently protects device connected to an AC circuit.


A processing system comprises a primary storage system and a plurality of secondary storage systems. The primary storage system is managed by a contents manager that keeps a file system used to make file level I/O accesses to a controller that translates the file access to block I/O to access the magnetic media for the data. The secondary storage systems are available to and accessed by application servers, also using file level I/O. The content manager may change a file or data on the primary storage system and, if so, will also change the file system accordingly. The file system is then made available to the application servers, after the controller transfers changed files to the secondary storage systems using block level I/O.

The present invention relates generally to a data processing system, and more particularly to a storage system capable of transferring block level I/O data from a primary storage system to a number of secondary storage systems. The data location information, in the form of a file system, is transferred separately to the users of the secondary storage systems.
Today's availability of massive storage systems, and the ready access to such storage systems though the Internet, has created a demand for such applications as, for example, video viewing on a real-time basis for both entertainment and education. Use of the Internet, for example, as the communicative medium allows video files to be transferred for viewing virtually anywhere in the world. However, making even large storage systems available to large numbers of users carries with it certain problems, not the least of which is the degradation in performance that can result from the bottleneck that most likely will arise when many users attempt to access the same file at about the same time.
One solution is to provide multiple data centers at different locations to distribute the access load that can be expected from the users. This would allow multiple users to access (video) files at one of a number locations. A primary location, such as a movie studio in the case of video files (motion pictures) can distribute the file to all data centers.
Video files are, however, usually managed by a file system of an operating system. Applications, such as a video server running on the operating system, will treat a video as a file due to ease of access. Generally, transfers of video files use file level I/O such as the File Transfer Protocol (FTP) to copy a file from one server to another server via a TCP/IP network. This protocol assumes that data is stored on a file system.
However, data transfer methods based on a file suffer from low data transfer rates that result from the often large overhead of a file system. File systems often employ a logical file management system in which logical "volumes" map to predetermined portions of a storage space, usually implemented with a number of disk devices. To read and/or write a file, the file system also reads and writes the meta data of the file, the information describing the file which often identifies where the file is stored on the volume and its related properties such as the file's name, its size, its last accessed time, and so on. The meta data is also stored on the volume, so the meta data operations accompanying a read and/or write operation on a file can be a drain on CPU power and an I/O bandwidth. This is why the transfer rate based on a file transfer is slow.
There are services capable of providing a file distribution service. Akamai and Digital Island are a few examples of such services, and usually use a file-based data transfer method such as described above and, therefore, suffer the problems mentioned. There is also a remote copy method that provides a block level data transfer. This transfer method is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,742,792. But, the transfer methods used are not structured for use by applications employing file systems. This means even if the data copy was performed, no application or file system can work with the transferred data.


In order to form a torque transmission coupling to be compact, the present invention provides a torque transmission coupling (1) comprising input-output rotary members (57, 59) rotatably supported to perform input-output transmission of torque; a frictional engagement section (79) provided between the input-output rotary members to perform torque transmission between the input-output rotary members by enforcing frictional engagement; a compression member set (87) that comprises a pair of members (89, 91)capable of performing relative rotation and that generates thrust through the relative rotation between the members to thereby cause the frictional engagement section to perform the frictional engagement; and a rotary actuator (121) that causes both of the members of the compression member set to perform engagement-rotational driving whereby to cause the relative rotation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a torque transmission coupling for an automobile.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional torque transmission couplings include a torque transmission coupling incorporated with, for example, a transfer device as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2715340.
The transfer device has a torque transmission coupling. The torque transmission coupling has a clutch cage and a sleeve. A friction clutch is provided between the clutch cage and the sleeve. The friction clutch has outer plates and inner plates. The outer plates engage the clutch cage and the inner plates engage the sleeve.
A compression ring is disposed in opposition to the friction clutch. The compression ring engages a transfer case in the rotational direction, and is movable along the center axis of rotation. A support ring is disposed in opposition to the compression ring. A cam mechanism is provided between the support ring and the compression ring.
A gear engages the support ring. The gear is co-rotatably coupled to an shaft. The shaft is co-rotatably coupled to a driving shaft of a servomotor through an other gear and a pinion.
An output shaft for outputting torque to the sides of rear wheels is coupled to the clutch cage. The output shaft is co-rotatably coupled to an input shaft. The input shaft is transmitted a torque from an engine that receives a rotational input from the engine.
As such is the construction, the torque is transmitted to the input shaft from the engine. The torque transmitted to the input shaft is transferred, as it is, to the sides of the rear wheels through the output shaft. On the other hand, the torque is transferred to the sides of front wheels in response to the engagement of the friction clutch.
The engagement of the friction clutch is conducted by driving the servomotor. With the servomotor being driven, the pinion is rotated with the driving shaft of the servomotor, and the gear is rotated through the other gear and the shaft. With the rotation, the support ring is rotated within a range of 180 degrees, and rotates relative rotation with respect to the compression ring. The relative rotation causes the cam mechanism to function, and a thrust of the cam mechanism causes movement of the compression ring toward the friction clutch. This movement causes the engagement of the friction clutch.
However, according to the construction described above, a decelerating mechanism using the support ring, the gear, the other gear, and the pinion is large, so that it is hard to install the decelerating mechanism in a narrow spacing in the transfer device.


A method for manufacturing a blood pressure measurement cuff includes preparing an outer cloth, preparing an inner cloth, and forming a bag-shaped portion. The bag-shaped portion has an opening on a peripheral edge of the bag-shaped portion. A curler is inserted into the bag-shaped portion through the opening, the curler being flexible and configured to curve and conform to the measurement site. An air bladder is formed by welding the opening of the bag-shaped portion such that the air bladder surrounds an inner side and an outer side of the curler thereby containing the curler. The outer cloth is attached to an outer surface on a first side of the air bladder configured to be opposite to the measurement site, and the inner cloth is attached to an outer surface on a second side of the air bladder configured to be towards the measurement site.

Conventionally as this type of device, there have been blood pressure measurement cuffs that include a curler between an outer cloth (outer cover) and an air bladder, as shown in Patent Document 1 (WO 2011/081029A1), for example. This curler has a shape that naturally conforms to a measurement site such as an arm. Accordingly, it is easy to attach the cuff to the measurement site.
FIG. 29 is a plan view of an expanded state of the cuff indicated in Patent Document 1, and FIG. 30 shows a cross-sectional view taken along line A-A′ in FIG. 29.
With reference to FIGS. 29 and 30, a cuff 900 is such that at a region R1 at which a fluid bladder (air bladder) is formed, an air bladder 903 and a curler 904 are contained in a bag-shaped outer cover formed by a first outer cloth 901a and a first inner cloth 901b.
In the cuff 900, low-friction inner sheets 905a and 905b are added respectively between the first outer cloth 901a and the curler 904 and between the curler 904 and the air bladder 903.
The two inner sheets 905a and 905b are added in the cuff 900 for the following reason. Accompanying supply of air to or discharge of air from the air bladder 903, the air bladder 903 begins to deform. However, this deformation is sometimes hindered due to friction generated at the point of contact between the air bladder 903 and another member.
Then, the deformation is obstructed until the friction becomes equal to the maximum static friction at the point of contact, that is, until the size of the shearing stress becomes equal to the size of the maximum static friction. Then, as soon as the amount of the shearing stress acting at the point of contact exceeds the amount of the maximum static friction, sudden deformation occurs in the air bladder 903, which causes a relatively loud noise to be generated. This relatively loud noise sometimes adversely affects blood pressure measurement.
For this reason, in the cuff 900, in order to prevent noise that adversely affects blood pressure measurement from being generated, the two inner sheets 905a and 905b are provided between members that are thought to generate noise.

Blood pressure measurement cuff and method for manufacturing blood pressure measurement cuff


In one aspect this invention provides a computer program embodied on a computer readable medium that is executed by at least one data processor of a policy management system. The computer program includes first computer program instructions for implementing a user interface and second computer program instructions for implementing a policy manager that is coupled to the user interface via a policy repository for introducing a new attribute, using the first computer program instructions, into a policy for a policy-managed system, without requiring a change to (e.g., without having to re-write or re-compile) the second computer program instructions.

There have been significant developments in the area of policy-based computing. The development of policy-based computing is expected to simplify and reduce the cost of system administration, while increasing the quality of service. Policy-based computing allows an administrator to specify a set of rules to guide the operations of a computer system. The techniques of policy-based computing are especially applicable to the area of autonomic computing.
Some examples of policies include a policy that would re-allocate storage and notify the user when specific performance requirements are not met; and a policy that specifies a specific type of service be assigned to a user with specific attributes, e.g. a user associated with a specific company or a specific IP address.
Currently existing efforts in this area include "Policy-Based Networking: Architecture and Algorithms" (New Riders publishing, 2001) by Dinesh C. Verma, which discusses the application of policy-based computing to networking; and "A Framework for Policy-Based Storage Management" by Murthy Devarakonda, Jack Gelb, Avi Saha, and Jimmy Strickland (Proceedings of Policy 2002 Intl. Workshop on Policies for Distributed Systems and Networks, Monterrey, Calif., June 2002), which discusses policy-based storage management. Also, the document available from the Distributed Management Task Force (DMTF), entitled "IETF/DMTF policy framework", http://www.dmtf.org/download/presentations/junedev01/track/0613-01_policy.pdf, represents an attempt to develop standards in policy-based computing.
In currently-existing approaches that are known to the inventors the policy attributes are static, which makes it necessary to change the policy-processing code whenever there is a change in the policy requirements. For example, a designer of a storage system may decide that most users would prefer to measure the quality of service in terms of throughput and response time. Such a system can allow the user to define a quality of service policy that requests a storage re-allocation whenever the throughput falls below some desirable number. The storage system may have much more information available, but the user is not able to use all of the available metrics in the policies. Yet, it may be the case that in some enterprise it is desirable to define a policy that would trigger storage re-allocation whenever the transfer rate and some combination of other values, e.g., average of the transfer rate and the throughput, do not meet some criteria. While all of these various metrics may be available via low-level system commands, they are not currently available to be used in policies, either because the system (policy) designer did not initially consider them to be important, or because the policy system was migrated to a different storage system that has different characteristics.
The ability to dynamically introduce the new attributes could be especially important in the area of electronic business (e-business) on demand, or in autonomic computing where it would be desirable to employ standard policies for different system configurations. For example, a database system may use the storage provided by any one of several different data storage systems that each provide different metrics.
Another example of a policy where the dynamic introduction of attributes is desirable is the assignment of a specific class of service or priority, or one that allocates resources based on specific requester characteristics. For example, a system may allow the specification of policies that assign a highest priority to requests that originate from a company A. At some future time it may become necessary to add additional parameters to such requests: for example, to vary the priority between different applications of company A as identified by requests from a programmer with a specific ID, or from different servers. Some of these "requester attributes", such as ID and/or originating server, may not be known at the time the system is created. In this case it would clearly be advantageous to allow the addition of these attributes during system operations.
However, prior to this invention a capability to dynamically introduce attributes for a policy was not available.

Method and apparatus for the dynamic introduction of new attributes into policies

International Business Machines Corporation


Disclosed herein are embodiments of nanohoop compounds and conjugates thereof that can be used myriad biological applications. The nanohoop compounds described herein can exhibit beneficial properties that are useful in biotechnology, such as a fluorescent tag, probe, or label.

The use of fluorescent dyes is prevalent throughout a variety of applications, such as biological assays, bio-imaging, sensor chemistry, dye chemistry, and the like. Several conventional dyes, however, exhibit reactivity, photoinstability, and/or low intensity fluorescence that limits their applicability across the scope of applications using dyes. For example, many conventional dyes exhibit low quantum yields that limits their intensity and/or are reactive towards nucleophiles, which can interfere with their fluorescence. New dyes are needed that avoid these disadvantages and that can be used across all applications utilizing dyes. Also needed are compounds that can be used as signal-generating species for use in biotechnological applications (e.g., immunoassays, flow cytometry, and the like) and other applications (e.g., super-resolution microscopy, data storage, and the like).

Nanohoop compounds for use in biotechnology and methods of making and using the same


A camera phone and photographing method for a camera phone is provided which allows a camera phone to easily and precisely set a composition of a subject to be photographed. If a standard, preset composition guideline is not appropriate for a particular subject to be photographed, a user may select from a plurality of additional composition guidelines stored in a memory portion of the camera phone. These selections may be altered to select a particular subject by varying characteristics such as type, shape, and color, and may be further altered by adjusting coordinate values of the related composition guideline to further suit the particular subject to be photographed. This camera phone and photographing method provide enhanced precision and ease of use when both photographing with a camera phone and editing using various computer-related tools.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a camera phone, and more particularly, to a photographing method for a camera phone.
2. Background of the Related Art
In general, a camera is designed to focus on a subject to be photographed and then photograph the subject. Due to advances in technology, the industry has gone from a camera that photographs a subject and records the photographed subject on a film, which may then be developed to produce prints, to a digital camera that records a photographed subject as data in a memory, from which the stored data may be stored, edited, and printed using a PC (Personal Computer).
More recently, a camera phone has been developed. That is, a camera is attached to a mobile communication terminal, or installed in the mobile communication terminal itself In either instance, the camera phone allows a user to easily carry a camera, and photograph a subject anytime and anywhere. Hereinafter, a photographing method for a conventional art camera phone will be described.
In order to set up a composition of a subject to be photographed, a user must first set up a rough composition. In a conventional art camera phone, this is done by moving the camera phone to and fro. The camera photographs the subject displayed on a display unit of the camera phone according to a set up composition, and stores the photographed subject in a memory in the camera phone. Thereafter, the user edits the stored file using a PC (Personal Computer).
However, the conventional art camera phone has at least the following problems. In the conventional art camera phone, it takes a long time to set up a composition of a subject because the user must move the camera phone to and fro in order to set up the composition of the subject. Thus, it is difficult to set up a composition of a subject. Additionally, it is difficult and takes a long time to edit a photograph of a subject, which has been taken with a conventional art camera phone, using, for example, a graphic tool associated with a PC.
A mobile communication terminal in accordance with the conventional art is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 6,148,215 issued on Nov. 14, 2000 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,317,614 issued on Nov. 13, 2001. These references are incorporated by reference herein where appropriate for appropriate teachings of additional or alternative details, features and/or technical background.

Camera phone and photographing method for a camera phone


An athletic support short is made of resilient, stretchable fabric and has an interior pouch extending between a waistband and the bottom of the crotch to receive a hard, protective cup. The pouch has an opening at its top and a releasable closure for retaining the cup. The top and bottom of the pouch are secured to the rest of the short, but the pouch is free of attachment to the rest of the short between the top and the bottom of the pouch.

The present invention relates to athletic shorts for men and, more particularly, an athletic short which accommodates a hard protective cup and is suitable to be worn as outerwear as well as to be worn under other clothing or equipment.
Athletic supporters of resilient material, often called "jock straps", have long been known, and it is also well known to use a hard, protective cup in connection with such a supporter. Other clothing or equipment has been required over the supporter and cup, so that two or more layers of clothing or equipment have been needed.
Athletic garments are known which provide a releasably closeable pouch to receive a protective cup, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,788,314 to Noreen which discloses such a pouch in a long leg garment for hockey players and football players. In the garment, the pouch is relatively short, only slightly greater than the height of a protective cup, and is shown attached to the remainder of the garment at the top and bottom, and along the sides. Accordingly, no movement between the pouch and the remainder of the garment is possible.


Disclosed is a method of manufacturing a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor device. The method includes the steps of: forming a plurality of field oxide layers; forming a screen oxide film on each surface of the first, second, third and fourth active regions; forming a first mask pattern for exposing first and second active regions; forming a N-type well to a selected depth from each surface of the exposed first and second active regions; forming a N-type ion implanted layer right beneath each surface of the first and second active regions; removing the first mask pattern; forming a second mask pattern for exposing the third active region; forming a P-type well to a selected depth from the surface of the exposed third active region; forming a first P-type ion implanted layer right beneath the surface of the third active region; removing the second mask pattern; forming a third mask pattern for exposing first and fourth active regions; forming a second P-type ion implanted layer for controlling a third threshold voltage right beneath each surface of the first and fourth active regions; and forming a gate electrode including a gate oxide film on the first, second, third and fourth active regions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor device, and more particularly to a method of manufacturing a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor(hereinafter simply referred to as "CMOS" device) for a n-channel element and a p-channel element respectively having a low threshold voltage in a semiconductor device, which is convenient to manufacture.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, it is required to provide special performances to an integrated circuit due the high integration and increased complex functionality of semiconductor devices. For this purpose, a CMOS transistor having an improved N-type MOS transistor and an improved P-type MOS transistor has been developed. The improved N-type MOS transistor and P-type MOS transistor have a relatively low threshold voltage in regard to a specific region in the semiconductor device, and are respectively named Low Vt N-type MOS transistor and Low Vt P-type MOS transistor. The Low Vt N-type MOS transistor and the Low Vt P-type MOS transistor minimize voltage drop between a source and a drain in the MOS transistor. Consequently, the characteristic of the semiconductor device employing the CMOS transistor is enhanced.
In order to form the Low Vt N-type MOS transistor and the Low Vt P-type MOS transistor, however, an additional mask forming process and an additional ion implantation process must be applied to a region of the Low Vt N-type MOS transistor and a region of the Low Vt P-type MOS transistor, respectively. Consequently, the yield of the CMOS transistor is decreased, the manufacturing cost of the CMOS transistor is highly increased.

Method of manufacturing a complementary metal-oxide semiconductor device

Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.