A 4-Terminal JFET includes a substrate having a first conduction type and an upper layer having a second, opposite, conduction type over the substrate. A gate and a source are embedded in the upper layer. A gate pad is electrically connected to the gate. A region, which has a first conduction type, is formed in the upper layer and separates the upper layer into two sections. This region reduces the overall capacitance between the gate pad and the source. Reduced overall gate to source capacitance can result in reduced noise amplification in the JFET.

In FIGS. 1 and 2, a four-terminal JFET 10 is shown. Four-terminal JFETs are comprised of the following terminals: a substrate 14, a gate 11c, a first channel terminal 13c, and a second channel terminal 16c. Usually, the first channel terminal 13c is the source and the second channel terminal 16c is the drain. Typically the substrate 14 and the gate 11c will be made of a first conduction type, such as p, and are usually highly doped. The source 13c and drain 16c are usually made of a second conduction type, which is opposite of the conduction type of the gate 11c, such as n, and are also highly doped. The gate 11c and source 13c are usually embedded in an upper layer 15a-c that is the same conduction type as the source 13c, such as n, but is usually not highly doped. This upper layer 15a-c is often an epitaxial layer.
A gate pad 11a, used for making an external connection to the gate 11c, may be attached to the gate through a gate trace 11b. The gate pad 11a and/or gate trace 11b may be situated over, and electrically isolated from, the source 13c. An insulating material 12, such as an oxide may be used to isolate the source 13c from the gate pad 11a and/or gate trace 11b. Similarly, a source pad 13a is connected to the source 13c via a source trace 13b, and a drain pad 16a is connected to the drain 16c via a drain trace 16b.
The upper layer 15a-c may be divided into three different sections. There may be no actual separation between the sections, but such a division may aid in description of the device. Section one 15c of the upper layer is the section that is disposed at least partly beneath the gate 11c. Section two 15a of the upper layer is the section that is disposed beneath the gate pad 11a. Section three 15b of the upper layer is the section that is disposed at least partly beneath the gate trace 11b. Section one 15c may also be disposed between the source 13c and the gate 11c, although the source 13c and the gate 11c may also touch each other with no such section between.
For optimal JFET performance, it is usually desirable to reduce the capacitance between the gate 11c and any other component because such capacitance can magnify undesirable noise in the device. The upper layer 15a-c may reduce the capacitance between the gate, gate trace, and gate pad 11a-c and the substrate 14. The insulating layer 12 may reduce the capacitance between the gate, gate trace, and gate pad 11a-c and the source 13c. Because the upper layer 15 is of the same conduction type as the source 13c, this upper layer is not very effective at reducing the capacitance between the source 13c and the gate pad 11a.
As noted by dashed lines 17a-c, there are various capacitance paths between the gate, gate trace, and gate pad 11a-c and the source 13c. One capacitance path 17c is between the gate 13c and the source 11c. A second capacitance path 17b is between the gate trace 11b and the source 13c. Another capacitance path 17a is between the gate pad 11a and the source 13c. Because sections two and three 15a and 15b of the layer are electrically connected to the source 13c and because of the large size of the gate pad 11a, the capacitance through this path is significant. The combined capacitance of these three capacitance paths has a significant effect on noise amplification of the device. It would be beneficial to reduce this capacitance.

Alternate 4-terminal JFET geometry to reduce gate to source capacitance


In a plasma display device, a source of a first transistor S1 is coupled to an X electrode, and a drain thereof is coupled to a cathode of a diode D1. An anode of the diode D1 is coupled to a first power source for supplying a first voltage V1. A drain of the first transistor S1 is coupled to a drain of a second transistor S2 through a capacitor, and a source of the second transistor S2 is coupled to a ground source for supplying a second voltage of 0 V. A third transistor S3 has a source coupled to the drain of the second transistor S2 and a drain coupled to a third power source for supplying a third voltage V2, and a fourth transistor S4 has a drain coupled to the X electrode and a source coupled to the drain of the second transistor S2.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma display device, driving device and a method of driving the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A plasma display device is a display device using a plasma display panel that displays characters or images using plasma generated by a gas discharge. In the plasma display panel, a plurality of discharge cells are arranged in a matrix.
In the plasma display device, one frame is divided into a plurality of subfields each having a weight value, and each of the subfields includes a reset period, an address period and a sustain period. In the reset period the discharge cells are initialized in order to stably perform an address discharge. In the address period, cells to be turned on and cells not to be turned on are selected from the plurality of discharge cells. In the sustain period, a sustain discharge is performed on the cells to be turned on in order to actually display an image.
In order to perform these operations, sustain pulses are alternately supplied to scan electrodes and sustain electrodes in the sustain period, and reset waveforms and scanning waveforms are applied to the scan electrodes during the reset period and the address period. Therefore, a scanning driving board for driving the scan electrodes and a sustain driving board for driving the sustain electrodes are separately needed. The structure in which the driving boards are separately provided has a problem in that the driving boards are mounted on a chassis base, and the two driving boards cause an increase in manufacturing cost.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Plasma display device, and driving device and method thereof


Methods, non-transitory computer readable media, and resource management apparatuses that assist with sharing an input/output device for process automation on a computing machine includes receiving a plurality of surface automation requests to use an input device or an output device for surface automation. A priority is assigned to each of the received plurality of surface automation requests based on one or more characteristics associated with each of the plurality of surface automation requests. A surface automation request with a highest priority from the received plurality of surface automation requests is identified. An access to use the input device or the output device is provided to the identified surface automation request from the received plurality of surface automation requests.

Robotic process automation is a technology that is used to automate structured business processes. Existing automation technologies claim support for automation of target applications from access to user interface (UI) control identifiers. However, given the heterogeneity of UI technologies, existing technologies fails to effectively deploy control identifiers based automation for all applications.
As a fallback solution, automation tools allow surface automation based solutions to handle automation requirements for these applications. This allows automation process designers to design process automation using an image, by way of an example, snapshot of the target application and play mouse and keyboard interactions over specific areas of the image. At runtime the tool plays back mouse and keyboard interactions on the actual application as against target image used during automation design.
Image based automation, however, has several disadvantages including but not limited to issues due to screen resolution changes, application UI theme changes, etc. However, the most important drawback for image based automations is the constraint to have the target application in focus at the time of execution of automation process thereby severely constraining its ability to scale or execute automation processes concurrently.

Methods for sharing input-output device for process automation on a computing machine and devices thereof


A tension mask frame assembly for a color CRT includes a pair of first and second support members separated a predetermined distance from each other, first and second elastic members installed at end portions of the first and second support members to support the first and second support members, a tension mask installed at the first and second support members such that a tensile force is applied to the first and second support member and having a plurality of electronic beam passing holes formed therein, and a compensation portion installed at the end portions of the first and second support members to make the tensile force applied to the tension mask after heat treatment distributed such that tension at a central portion is greater than that at a surrounding portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a color cathode ray tube (CRT), and more particularly to a tension mask frame assembly for a color CRT having an improved frame for supporting a mask to which a tensile force is applied.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a typical color CRT, three electron beams emitted from an electron gun pass through electron beam passing holes of a shadow mask having a color selection function and land on phosphors of red, green, and blue of a fluorescent film formed on a screen surface of a panel so that the fluorescent substances are excited to form an image.
In a color CRT forming an image, the mask having a color selection function is classified as a dot mask used in a monitor of a computer or a slot mask (or a slit mask) used in a television. The mask is fixed to the frame and installed to the panel of the CRT.
The slot mask is further classified as a forming mask designed to have a curvature corresponding to that of the screen surface considering the screen surface and the landing of the deflected electron beams, or a tension mask supported so that a tensile force can be applied considering a flat screen surface of a panel to correct distortion of an image and enlarge a view angle of the screen.
A coupling structure of the mask and the frame in which a tensile force is applied to the mask is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication Nos. sho 59-18825 (1984) and sho 59-16626 (1984).
A mask frame assembly to prevent the amount of expansion of the frame in a direction in which a tensile force is applied to the mask is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,111,107.
The disclosed mask frame assembly is shown in FIG. 1. As shown in the drawing, the mask frame assembly includes a pair of support bars 11 installed to face each other, a pair of elastic support members 12 installed between the support bars 11 to support the support bars 11, a mask 13 supported by the support bars 11, and metal members 14 attached to surfaces of the respective elastic support members 12 opposite to the side where the mask 13 is installed and having a thermal expansion coefficient greater than that of the elastic support members 12.
In the mask frame assembly 10, even though metal members 14 are attached, deterioration of tensile forces occurs in the mask 13 after heat treatment so that the effect of the metal members 14 varies according to the distribution of tension in the x- and y-directions.
A color CRT having a mask frame assembly to reduce the decrease of tension of a mask during a blackening process and a heat treatment is disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. hei 11-317176.
The color CRT includes a pair of support bodies facing each other and a color selection electrode where a grid is suspended on a frame made of a pair of elastic support members installed between the support bodies. A control member having a lower thermal expansion coefficient in a low temperature area and a higher thermal expansion coefficient in a high temperature area, compared to the thermal expansion coefficient of the elastic support body, is fixed to a surface opposite to the grid of the elastic support member, or a control member having features opposite to the above control member is fixed to the elastic support member at the side corresponding to the grid.
The color selection apparatus of a color CRT having the above structure cannot solve the above problem of properly supporting a mask because the control member is attached to the elastic support member having a different thermal expansion coefficient.
Another conventional tension mask frame assembly attempting to solve the above problem of properly supporting a mask discloses a pair of first and second support members separated by a predetermined distance, first and second elastic members installed between the first and second support members to support the first and second support members and having support portions fixed to the first and second support members and connection portions connecting the support portions. The mask is installed such that tension is applied to the first and second support members and has a plurality of electron beam passing holes. A compensation member is installed to connect the first and second support members or support portions between the connection portions and the mask and is made of a material having a thermal expansion coefficient lower than that of the first and second elastic members.
In the above tension mask frame assembly, by installing the compensation member so as to connect both end portions of the first and second elastic members or end portions of the first and second support members between the upper portion of the connection portions of the first and second elastic members and the lower portion of the mask, the thermal expansion of the first and second elastic members acts as a tensile force to the mask so that the mask is prevented from being plastically deformed.
However, in the tension mask frame assembly having the above structure, the tension of the tension mask changes due to differences in the thermal expansion amounts of the frame, the support portion, and the tension mask occurring after heat treatment. The tension of this conventional deformed tension mask cannot be adjusted after the heat treatment.

Tension mask frame assembly for color CRT


A tool that can be used in connection with a programming or modeling environment is disclosed. The tool can be incorporated into the programming or modeling environment or implemented separately from the programming or modeling environment. The tool receives the execution or simulation results data of the programs or models from the programming or modeling environment, and analyzes the data to provide information on the execution results of the programs or models to a user, such as a programmer and a designer. The information is provided to the user in such a manner that the user can perceive the execution results easily.

Various classes of block diagram models describe computations that can be performed on application-specific computing hardware, such as a computer, microcontroller, FPGA, and custom hardware. Classes of such block diagram models may include time-based block diagrams such as those found within Simulink® from The MathWorks, Inc. of Natick, Mass., state-based and flow diagrams such as those found within Stateflow® from The MathWorks, Inc. of Natick, Mass., entity flow network diagrams such as SimEvents from The MathWorks, Inc. of Natick, Mass., and data-flow diagrams such as those found with LabView from National Instruments of Austin, Tex. A common characteristic among these various forms of block diagrams is that they define semantics on how to execute the diagram.
Historically, engineers and scientists have utilized time-based block diagram models in numerous scientific areas such as Feedback Control Theory and Signal Processing to study, design, debug, and refine dynamic systems. Dynamic systems, which are characterized by the fact that their behaviors change over time, are representative of many real-world systems. Time-based block diagram modeling has become particularly attractive over the last few years with the advent of software packages such as Simulink from The MathWorks, Inc. Such packages provide sophisticated software platforms with a rich suite of support tools that makes the analysis and design of dynamic systems efficient, methodical, and cost-effective.
The block diagrams are not exclusively used for representing time-based dynamic systems but also for other models of computation. For instance, flow-charts are block diagrams used to capture process flow and are not generally suitable for describing dynamic system behavior. Data flow block diagrams are block diagrams that describe a graphical programming paradigm where the availability of data (often thought of as tokens) is used to initiate the execution of blocks, where a block represents an operation and a line represents execution dependency describing the direction of data flowing between blocks.
After executing or simulating the block diagrams, information on the execution or simulation results of the block diagrams needs to be provided to the designer or programmer of the block diagrams. In particular, the designer or programmer can use the information on the execution results of the block diagrams to correct the undesirable or unintended behavior of the block diagrams. In the conventional block diagram environments, the designer or programmer analyses the information on the execution results of the block diagrams, and determines, for example, which portion of the block diagram contributes to the undesirable or unintended behavior of the block diagram. The analysis process, however, is time-consuming. Therefore, it is desired to provide a visual representation of execution results of the block diagrams to the designer or programmer so that the designer or programmer can perceive the execution results easily.

Visual representation of model execution results contributing to a failure condition in a model


A multi-shot three-dimensional (3D) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data view-ordering strategy for uniform or variable density k-space sampling schemes is presented. The ky-kz plane is partitioned into multiple wedge-shaped “blades” (or radial fan beams). The angular size of individual blades may be adjusted according to the desired number of views for each blade. Each blade includes views near the origin that contain low-frequency information about the imaged object such that views having the most desirable characteristics may be used to fill the central portions of k-space.

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is a medical imaging modality that can create images of the inside of a human body without using x-rays or other ionizing radiation. MRI uses a powerful magnet to create a strong, uniform, static magnetic field (i.e., the "main magnetic field"). When a human body, or part of a human body, is placed in the main magnetic field, the nuclear spins that are associated with the hydrogen nuclei in tissue water become polarized. This means that the magnetic moments that are associated with these spins become preferentially aligned along the direction of the main magnetic field, resulting in a small net tissue magnetization along that axis (the "z axis," by convention). A MRI system also comprises components called gradient coils that produce smaller amplitude, spatially varying magnetic fields when current is applied to them. Typically, gradient coils are designed to produce a magnetic field component that is aligned along the z axis and that varies linearly in amplitude with position along one of the x, y or z axes. The effect of a gradient coil is to create a small ramp on the magnetic field strength, and concomitantly on the resonance frequency of the nuclear spins, along a single axis. Three gradient coils with orthogonal axes are used to "spatially encode" the MR signal by creating a signature resonance frequency at each location in the body. Radio frequency (RF) coils are used to create pulses of RF energy at or near the resonance frequency of the hydrogen nuclei. These coils are used to add energy to the nuclear spin system in a controlled fashion. As the nuclear spins then relax back to their rest energy state, they give up energy in the form of an RF signal. This signal is detected by the MRI system and is transformed into an image using a computer and known reconstruction algorithms.
MRI data may be acquired using a three-dimensional (3D) acquisition strategy, the most common of which is a rectilinear sampling that fills a 3D Cartesian grid with Fourier reciprocal space (i.e., "k-space") data. The data may be collected with Nyquist frequency sampling to provide unique location encoding of the MRI signals and thereby prevent aliasing in the reconstructed images. The 3D data is spatially encoded using phase encoding along two perpendicular spatial directions (the y and z directions) and frequency encoding along the third (the x direction). Usually, the secondary phase encoding is referred to as "slice encoding," to distinguish it from the primary phase-encoding. The resultant raw data fills a 3D k-space matrix which is then "reconstructed" using Fourier transformation techniques, resulting in a stack of two-dimensional images.
To reduce acquisition time for 3D imaging, "parallel imaging" techniques (also known as "partially parallel imaging") may be used in which k-space is undersampled (i.e., the Nyquist criteria is not met) and the signals from multiple receiver coils are combined to provide aliasing free images. Other techniques, such as auto-calibrated (or self-calibrated) parallel imaging techniques, homodyne techniques, and zero-filling techniques may be used, all of which use non-uniform sampling in the ky-kz plane, i.e., while some portions of k-space may be fully sampled at the Nyquist frequency, other portions may be undersampled or not sampled at all. Techniques such as auto-calibrated parallel imaging techniques, homodyne techniques, and zero-filling techniques may be referred to as "variable density" techniques, in which k-space is not sampled with uniform density of acquired views throughout. Variable density techniques may also be used for motion artifact reduction schemes or other purposes.
MRI data is typically collected in frames that are referred to as "views." Each view corresponds to a single ky and kz value, but contains data for the full range of kx values that are required to reconstruct an image. Multiple view-ordering schemes are known in the art for determining how ky, kz encoding is performed for each view. For example, in a "nested" view-ordering scheme, all of the views corresponding to one phase-encoding axis (kz, for example) are acquired before incrementing the value on the other phase-encoding axis (ky, for example). An "elliptical centric" view-ordering scheme replaces the two nested loops with a single loop that steps through ky, kz pairs according to their distance from the origin in the ky-kz plane. The choice of a view-ordering scheme often depends on how the imaged object or its corresponding magnetization is expected to change during the data acquisition. Views near the center of k-space have the strongest effect on the overall image appearance, because most of the k-space information about an object is contained near the center of k-space. It is desirable to obtain the low-frequency views near the center of k-space when the imaged object or its magnetization is in a preferred state, for example, when an imaged object is relatively motionless or when the magnetization of the imaged object has evolved such that image contrast between two tissues of interest is near its maximum.
For most practical 3D imaging applications, it is not possible to obtain all of the views necessary to reconstruct an image in a single, uninterrupted acquisition. It is therefore frequently necessary to acquire 3D MRI data using multiple "shots," each of which acquires a subset of the total required views. In a multi-shot acquisition, each shot may be preceded by a triggering event, such as by the playing out of a magnetization preparation (e.g., an inversion RF pulse or a fat suppression RF pulse) or by the receipt of a cardiac or respiratory trigger. Views obtained during one particular time window of the shot may be preferred to other views. For example, it may be desirable to use cardiac gating techniques to time the MRI data acquisition to diastole, when the heart muscle is more quiescent. In this example, a cardiac gating pulse triggers the start of each shot and views acquired during diastole are preferred. In another example, a fat-selective inversion RF pulse may precede each shot and invert the longitudinal magnetization from fat. Views acquired in a window around the null point of fat are preferred because the signal from fat in the acquired data is at a minimum with respect to other views in the shot. View-ordering within each shot is usually determined such that the views having the most desirable characteristics are used to fill the central portions of k-space and such that signal modulations, e.g., that may be due to the evolution of magnetization throughout the shot, occur smoothly in k-space. For a multi-shot technique, most conventional 3D view-ordering schemes are not compatible with the need to arrange the views from each shot such that the more desirable views are encoded for the center of k-space. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a view-ordering strategy for a multi-shot 3D MRI data acquisition that encodes the more desirable views from each shot into the center of k-space and that is compatible with uniform parallel imaging, variable density (e.g., self-calibrated) parallel imaging, other variable density k-space sampling schemes and multi-shot pulse sequences having a transient signal, i.e., signal varies from shot to shot.

Method and apparatus for acquiring magnetic resonance imaging data


A system and method for determining entitlement to content residing on a server. A subscriber account with a multi-channel video program distributor (MVPD) includes subscription information indicative of the services provided by the MVPD to the subscriber. A computing device operated by the subscriber sends a request for access to content controlled by the MVPD. The request is received by the MVPD and forwarded to an entitlements server. The entitlement server sends an access granted message to the MVPD when the subscriber is entitled to receive the requested content. The IP address of the subscriber computing device is used to determine whether the computing device is connected to the network via a network access device authorized by the MVPD. The “on-net” or “off-net” status of the computing device may be used to determine whether the subscriber receives the requested content and/or a quality of service level applied to the content.

Data in the form of graphics, text, video, and audio (collectively, "content") is provided to subscribers over shared access networks. The data may be stored and retrieved as a file or it may be provided as a video stream. For example video programming and live programming are typically provided as a video stream. Cable, satellite and fiber networks are examples of shared networks that are used to deliver content.
Shared networks may be operated by multi-channel video programming distributors (MVPDs) provided to subscribers for a fee. Typically, the MVPDs obtain content from programmers. Content may be classified in tiers, as for example, basic, standard and premium. The subscriber subscribes to a service package with a tier and receives the content associated with that tier. The subscriber may be allowed to add "premium" channels to a particular tier.
The Internet is another potential delivery mechanism of data, particularly content provided as video stream. A subscriber who obtains content from a particular programmer from an MVPD may desire to obtain content of the programmer via the Internet. This access may be provided via a web server operated by a content access provider (CAP). For example, the CAP may be the content provider, a third party who has acquired rights from a content provider, or the MVPD. Access to content via the Internet represents an additional revenue opportunity to MVPD and content providers.
A subscriber who is entitled to access content over a shared network based on an existing relationship with an MVPD is not necessarily entitled to access the same or similar content from a CAP. At least one impediment to leveraging the MVPD relationship to obtain access to content provided by a CAP is the need to share subscriber information between the MVPD and the various CAPs. Subscriber information held by an MVPD is a valuable asset of the MVPD. Subscribers also consider such information as private. Thus, sharing of subscriber information held by MVPDs represents a significant deterrent to providing access to Web-based content based on a subscriber's relationship with a MVPD.

System and method for managing entitlements to data over a network


A transmission for a vehicle includes a fixed displacement pump operable to produce a high pressure flow and a fixed displacement motor. A fluid flow path is disposed between the pump and the motor. The fluid flow path is integrated into a housing containing at least one of the pump and the motor. A single control valve controls the direction and the speed of the motor.

The present invention relates to hydrostatic transmissions.
Hydrostatic transmissions are commonly used in lawn tractors and other small vehicles to cause movement of the drive wheels. Hydrostatic drive trains often typically include a number of components, such as a hydraulic motor, a reduction unit, a clutch unit, an oil pump and an oil reservoir.


An apparatus and method for initiating discontinuous reception (DRX) operation in a user equipment (UE) are disclosed herein. Applications running on the UE are monitored by the UE to identify one or more inactivity trigger events associated with the application(s). The UE includes an application-radio cross layer to process the application information, including the inactivity trigger event, for use by a radio layer. The radio layer of the UE determines initiation of the DRX operation in accordance with the application information, including the inactivity trigger event, provided by the application-radio cross layer and device characteristics information.

Devices operating within a wireless data communications network expend significant power to receive instructions and data and perform associated signal processing. As wireless data communications networks increase data rates, the power consumption of devices is also increasing. For mobile devices, which are typically powered by a limited power source in the form of batteries, a design goal is to achieve battery power conservation without adversely affecting active operation requirements.
One way for devices to conserve power (and reduce signaling overhead) in current 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE)-Advanced systems is to implement discontinuous reception (DRX) operation. DRX operation involves reducing the transceiver duty cycle of the device. An enhanced node B (eNodeB) within a 3GPP-LTE system instructs one or more devices within its serving area to initiate DRX operation based on meeting a pre-determined inactivity timer value specified by the eNodeB. The eNodeB also instructs the device(s) as to a particular DRX duty cycle (e.g., when a device should be "on" to receive scheduling and paging information and/or data, and when the device should be "off" to conserve power usage). Only the eNodeB can initiate DRX operation. Current 3GPP LTE-Advanced systems do not support initiation of DRX operation by user equipment (UE) devices.

User equipment initiated discontinuous operation in a wireless communications network


A magnetic head supporting apparatus includes a magnetic head for reading and writing information on a magnetic disc, a slider having the magnetic head, and a suspension for supporting the slider. An IC chip for controlling a signal of the magnetic head is mounted on a first surface of a heat insulating substrate, and a second surface of the heat insulating substrate opposite to the first surface thereof is mounted to the suspension.

The present invention relates to a head supporting mechanism portion of a magnetic disc apparatus, and particularly to a head supporting apparatus in which an IC chip is mounted on an arm portion thereof and a magnetic disc apparatus using such a head supporting apparatus.
In the conventional magnetic disc apparatus, when improving a transfer speed, an impedance reduction occurs in a wire extending from a -read/write IC for controlling read/write signals to a magnetic read/write head. When the reduction occurs impedance, a distortion is generated in the signal and it is impossible to accurately read/write from or to the magnetic disc. Then, it is necessary to mount the read/write IC for amplifying the read/write signal as close to the magnetic head as possible.
Then, in JP-A-3-187295, there is disclosed a structure such that the read/write IC is directly mounted on the arm portion for supporting the magnetic head.
In this structure, heat radiating fins are formed in an arm portion (suspension) for supporting the head, thereby radiating heat from the read/write IC.
In the arm portion for supporting the magnetic head, it is necessary to make the mass thereof as light as possible and to make the moment of inertia thereof as small as possible for performing a high speed seeking operation. Further, in order to accurately position the magnetic head, the arm portion requires a suitable rigidity and should be substantially vibration proof. Accordingly, it is necessary to employ a compact and light weight IC for the read/write IC to be mounted on the arm portion for supporting the magnetic head on the other hand, it is necessary to make the magnetic head also compact and particularly it is necessary to supply a large amount of electric power at a time of writing information. As a result, since the read/write IC mounted on the arm for supporting the magnetic head consumes a large amount of electric power with a little volume, a temperature of the IC itself becomes very high is and there is a possibility that a thermal fracture will occur. Therefore, it is necessary to radiate the heat of the IC.
In the case of a structure for radiating the heat of the read/write IC by means of the radiating fins provided in the arm portion for supporting the head, there are the following problems.
Firstly, the arm portion for supporting the head is designed so as to make it compact and light, and therefore, when the heat is directly radiated to the arm portion, the arm itself is deformed due to a thermal expansion. As a result, an angle of attitude of the head is changed and a positioning accuracy is deteriorated Accordingly, the IC is mounted near a root portion of the arm where the thermal expansion of the arm can be ignored. However, this structure limits the degree to which the wire between the read/write IC and magnetic head can be shortened and thus runs counter to an original object thereof.
As mentioned above, in accordance with the conventional method of radiating the heat of the read/write IC by means of the radiating fins provided in the arm portion for supporting the magnetic head, there is a problem that the positioning accuracy of the magnetic head is deteriorated due to the deformation caused by the thermal expansion of the arm itself.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a head supporting apparatus which is structured so as to mount a read/write IC in an arm portion for supporting a head, radiate the heat of the read/write IC and generate no thermal expansion of the arm itself, and can be easily mounted.
In the head supporting apparatus of the present invention, a read/write IC chip is mounted on a heat insulating substrate, and the heat insulating substrate is mounted on a suspension and a heat radiating plate is mounted on a surface of the IC chip opposite to a surface toward the heat insulating substrate.
Further, bent portions are provided in the heat radiating plate and a bent portion in an upstream side, in which an air flow resulting from rotation of a magnetic disc collides with the heat radiating plate, is made longer than a bent portion in a downstream side, whereby air turbulence associated with the rotation of the disc is prevented.

Magnetic head supporting apparatus having thermally insulated read/write IC mounted on arm portions thereof


A positive electrode for a secondary battery includes a positive electrode current collector and a positive electrode active material layer that contains a positive electrode active material particle and that is disposed on the surface of the positive electrode current collector. The positive electrode active material particle includes a positive electrode active material particle, a first coating that contains oxide X of metal element M1 and that is attached to the surface of the positive electrode active material particle, and a second coating having lithium-ion permeability that is attached to the surface of the first coating. The second coating contains oxide Y represented by LixM2Oy (0.5≤x<4, 1≤y<6), M2 being at least one selected from a group consisting of B, Al, Si, P, S, Ti, V, Zr, Nb, Ta, and La.

On the surface of positive and negative electrode active materials of secondary batteries typified by lithium ion batteries, an electrolyte containing a solvent and a lithium salt partially reacts irreversibly during charging/discharging.
To suppress side reactions in batteries, a method for uniformly covering positive and negative electrodes containing active materials by using a protective layer is proposed. PTL 1 discloses a method for covering a positive electrode with a lithium-ion conductive glass by a sol-gel method to suppress side reactions particularly on the positive-electrode side.

Positive electrode for secondary battery, secondary battery, and method for producing positive electrode for secondary battery

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


A food product recommendation system may include a camera configured to obtain an image of a food product area having available food products and a remote device associated with a given user. The system may also include a recommendation server configured to cooperate with the remote device to obtain a desired food product characteristic from the given user and determine recommended food products from the available food products based upon the desired food product characteristic. The recommendation server may also be configured to associate a corresponding food product identifier to each recommended food product and communicate the recommended food products to the remote device. The remote device may display the image of the food product area with the recommended food products augmented with the corresponding food product identifiers and obtain user selection for purchase of at least one of the recommended food products based upon the corresponding food product identifier.

Fresh or perishable food for sale is typically presented in a display case. The display case may be climate controlled, for example, and permit a shopper to pick a package of the fresh food (e.g., meat, vegetables, prepared foods, etc.) from the display case. Some display cases are closed to the shopper, but permit the shopper to view the contents of the display case. Where the display case is closed to the shopper, a sales clerk typically selects the fresh food for preparation or the fresh food package at the direction of the shopper.
Sales of a particular product or service may be based upon how well that product or service is marketed to a consumer. One form of marketing is a coupon, typically in paper form, for a discount toward the product or service. Some coupons may be retailer-specific, for example, only redeemable for the discount at a particular retailer, while other coupons may be product-specific from a manufacturer and redeemable at any retailer.
A coupon, while typically in paper form, may be in digital form and may be referred to a digital promotion. A digital promotion may be selected or "clipped" via a mobile phone and saved to a digital wallet for redemption at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, for example. A typical coupon is applicable to a given product and has a redeemable value that may vary based upon the quantity of a given item, for example, brand of item, size of the product in terms of packaging, and/or the price point of the given item. A typical coupon may also be redeemable only at a given retailer and/or within a threshold time period.
An electronic messenger program or instant messenger is a computer program that permits real time text transmission over a computer network, for example, the Internet. One type of electronic messenger program or instant messenger is a chat or messenger bot, which is a computer program that provides conversation, for example, by way of text. The conversation may mimic human conversation. A messenger bot may be particularly useful for customer service or information acquisition applications.

Food product recommendation system and related methods


In a jig for press-fitting a divided sealing ring, while a sleeve is attached to a first rod head, a guide region leading to a recess is defined between an inner circumferential surface of the sleeve and a rod. When a divided sealing ring attached to an outer circumferential surface of the rod is press-fitted to a prescribed position in the recess by passing the divided sealing ring through the guide region by using a plunger, positioning engagement regions engaged with each other are provided between the sleeve and the plunger.

A sealing ring is used for preventing leakage of oil in a hydraulic elevator jack, a hydraulic cylinder, and other fluid transmission apparatuses. The sealing ring is formed from an annular member, and such a structure that a part in a circumferential direction is cut and opposing end surfaces abut on each other is adopted.
By using such a divided sealing ring, the sealing ring can be replaced without disassembling a fluid transmission apparatus. Therefore, the number of man-hours and cost for maintenance of the fluid transmission apparatus can be reduced.
Such a divided sealing ring is disclosed in International Publication WO2008/013281 (PTL 1), Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2005-308002 (PTL 2), Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 11-325259 (PTL 3), Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 11-218219 (PTL 4), and Japanese Utility Model Laying-Open No. 64-48475 (PTL 5).

Jig for press-fitting divided sealing ring


A tip mounting position, an aliquoting position, a dispensing position, and a tip casting position are circumferentially arranged around a rotating shaft, and a plurality of aliquoting/dispensing mechanisms are circumferentially arranged corresponding to the plurality of operating positions around the rotating shaft. Each aliquoting/dispensing mechanism is provided with a nozzle lift mechanism and a nozzle mechanism that includes a nozzle lift mechanism and a nozzle portion. The rotating shaft is intermittently rotated to locate the aliquoting/dispensing mechanisms individually in the positions whereupon tip mounting, aliquoting, dispensing, and tip casting operations are performed continuously.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a specimen aliquoting/dispensing device for aliquoting a specimen, such as blood, from a test tube or some other specimen container that contains the specimen and dispensing the specimen into another specimen container.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pretreatment is performed before various blood tests, such as a biochemical analysis, are conducted. In this pretreatment, a test tube that contains a blood specimen is set in a centrifuge, whereby the specimen is centrifuged. Then, the blood serum in the test tube is aliquoted, and the aliquoted blood specimen is dispensed to a test container.
In general, the serum and clot of the centrifuged blood specimen in the test tube are generally separated in the test tube with use of a separating agent, such as silicone, so that an interface between the serum and clot portions can be clearly distinguished. Specifically, the centrifuged blood specimen is divided into three layers, the serum, separating agent, and clot, which are sequentially arranged from top to bottom in the test tube.
In aliquoting the serum in the test tube that is supported vertically, therefore, a tapered aliquoting/dispensing nozzle in the form of a hollow cone is inserted into the test tube, and only the serum is aliquoted by air suction by the nozzle. Then, the aliquoting/dispensing nozzle having aliquoted the serum is moved to another place, and the serum is dispensed to the test container.
Conventionally, an aliquoting/dispensing device for a specimen such as blood is known from Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 6-323964. In this device, a head member is provided on the distal end portion of a sample supply/discharge pipe. The head member is provided with a balloon that is connected to a fluid supply/discharge pipe. This balloon is configured to be inflated or deflated with a fluid that is supplied or discharged through the fluid supply/discharge pipe.
The aliquoting/dispensing device is provided with an aliquoting/dispensing nozzle. A barrel portion is provided at the proximal end portion of the nozzle. If the fluid is supplied to the balloon through the fluid supply/discharge pipe with the head member including the balloon inserted in the barrel portion, the balloon is inflated and brought into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the barrel portion of the nozzle. If the fluid in the balloon is discharged through the fluid supply/discharge pipe, on the other hand, the balloon is deflated and separated from the inner peripheral surface of the barrel portion of the nozzle. Thus, the head member and the aliquoting/dispensing nozzle can be attached to or detached from each other by inflating or deflating the balloon.
Further, a specimen aliquoting/dispensing device with an elastic bag is known from Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 9-127130. The elastic bag is attached to the distal end portion of a body of an aliquoting/dispensing nozzle, and a fluid can be supplied to and discharged from it. If the fluid is supplied to the bag through a fluid supply/discharge pipe with the nozzle body including the bag inserted in a barrel portion at the proximal end portion of the nozzle, the bag is inflated and brought into close contact with the inner peripheral surface of the barrel portion of the nozzle. If the fluid in the bag is discharged through the fluid supply/discharge pipe, on the other hand, the bag is deflated and separated from the inner peripheral surface of the barrel portion of the nozzle. Thus, the nozzle body and the aliquoting/dispensing nozzle can be attached to or detached from each other by inflating or deflating the elastic bag.
In either of the devices described in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publications Nos. 6-323964 and 9-127130, however, the balloon is inflated or deflated by supplying or discharging the fluid so that it is pressed against or separated from the inner peripheral surface of the barrel portion of the aliquoting/dispensing nozzle, whereby the nozzle body and the nozzle are attached to or detached from each other. Since an additional device is needed to supply and discharge the fluid to and from the balloon, therefore, the construction of the nozzle device is complicated. Further, the balloon is expected to be inflated and deflated by the fluid supply and discharge, so that it should be formed thin-walled. Since the balloon is bound to rub repeatedly against the inner peripheral surface of the barrel portion of the nozzle, however, it is easily damaged by abrasion. Thus, the balloon requires troublesome maintenance work including frequency replacement.
Furthermore, the aliquoting/dispensing nozzle is attached to the nozzle body in a process for aliquoting the blood specimen in the test tube by means of the aliquoting/dispensing nozzle and dispensing the aliquoted specimen to another test container. Then, the blood specimen is aliquoted and dispensed by means of the nozzle. In doing this, however, the aliquoting/dispensing nozzle must be removed from the nozzle body and cast away every time the specimen is aliquoted and dispensed. This operation is so troublesome or complicated that the operating efficiency is poor, thus requiring automation.

Specimen aliquoting/dispensing device incorporated reference


A Raman amplification repeater using the amplification function of a signal light caused by Raman scattering which occurs when a pumping light is applied to a transmission path fiber, in which signal light power is monitored by means of a plurality of PDs by using wavelengths for monitoring whose number is larger than the number of pumping light wavelengths to control output power of a pumping light LD which emits the pumping light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Raman amplification repeater using the amplification function of a signal light caused by Raman scattering which occurs when a pumping light LD is applied to a transmission path fiber and, more particularly, a Raman amplification repeater which enables control of Raman amplification.
2. Description of the Related Art
For meeting an increasing demand for communication created as the Internet has been widely used, transmission capacities of optical transmission systems forming a basic communication network have been recently increased at a surprising speed.
In order to cope with such a rapid increase in transmission capacity, optical wavelength division multiplexing techniques (WDM technique) have been established to enable transmission data capacities to be increased. In a long-distance transmission system, however, expansion of a repeating interval is a target which is hard to achieve as well as scale-up of a transmission capacity.
Under these circumstances, for ensuring a signal to noise power ratio (optical SN ratio) per one wavelength and mitigating transmission waveform distortion caused by the fiber nonlinear effect, proposed is a transmission method, called Raman amplification, of canceling a loss of a transmission path. In this method, in order to realize long-distance transmission, required is flat gain characteristics as well as reduction in the fiber nonlinear effect and reduction in noise.
Structure and operation of a conventional repeater using Raman amplification will be described with reference to FIG. 8.
In FIG. 8, wavelengths of pumping light LDs (Laser Diode) 13a, 13b and 13c are 1462.4 nm, 1475.0 nm and 1503.1 nm, respectively, and a signal wavelength band ranges from 1574 to 1609 nm. After being multiplexed by WDM (Wavelength Division Multiplex) couplers 12a and 12b, pumping lights are multiplexed by a pumping light WDM coupler 11 with a signal light on an optical transmission path in the reverse direction to each other. Pumping light output from a pumping light output point onto the optical transmission path amplifies, in the optical transmission path, a signal light band which is about 13.2 THz apart from the pumping light.
First, by using an appropriate transmission path fiber, obtain output power of the pumping light LDs 13a, 13b and 13c having different wavelengths so as to have a flat gain spectrum after, for example, 10 dB Raman amplification.
Next, make connection to an actual transmission path fiber and operate the respective pumping light LDs 13a, 13b and 13c by the pumping light output power obtained before the connection to the transmission path to conduct Raman amplification. FIG. 9 shows a gain spectrum obtained when Raman amplification is conducted by the above-described conventional Raman amplification repeater.
As shown in FIG. 9, with the Raman amplification repeater having such a structure as shown in FIG. 8, even when the output power of the pumping light LDs 13a, 13b and 13c having different wavelengths is obtained so as to have a flat gain spectrum after Raman amplification, it is difficult to keep the gain spectrum within a signal band be flat because of a difference in transmission path fibers or in intra-office losses or the like.
In order to solve such a problem, the wavelength characteristic control method of optical transmission power by Raman amplification disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open (Kokai) No. 2001-7768 (Literature 1), for example, shows a technique of controlling gain wavelength characteristics of Raman amplification by monitoring wavelength characteristics of optical transmission power as of after Raman amplification by two PDs (Photo Diode). Use of such a method aims at keeping a gain spectrum be flat by mitigating effects produced by a difference in transmission path fibers or in intra-office losses or the like.
As described in the foregoing, conventional Raman amplification repeaters have the difficulty in keeping a gain spectrum within a signal band be flat due to a difference in a transmission path fiber or in intra-office losses or the like.
On the other hand, the wavelength characteristic control method of optical transmission power by Raman amplification as disclosed in Literature 1, which controls only an inclination of a wavelength spectrum by monitoring only the opposite sides of the wavelength spectrum or controls only a wavelength at the top (a part having high power) of the wavelength spectrum, has a shortcoming that flatness of an output spectrum can not be satisfactorily maintained in a case, for example, where a signal light whose spectrum has an inclination is applied.


An equipment for calcination for precalcining of powdered materials before their burning in a sintering equipment is inserted between the last but one cyclone (72) of connected cyclone exchanger (7) and the mixing channel (2), arranged over the input chamber (31) of connected rotary kiln (3) and connected to the input to the last cyclone (71) of cyclone exchanger (7) and it is composed from calcinating chamber (1), which have three partsxe2x80x94a working part (10), to which are connected the at least one air tube (6) and the at least one fuel input (5) and where this working part (10) and/or air tube (6) are further provided with input (4) of powdered material, and the upper part (11), which is provided with at least one interconnecting tube (110) serving for interconnecting with mixing channel (2) and lower part (12), which is provided with a removal tube (120) for interconnecting with the mixing channel (2). There is an input (4) of powdered material into the air tube (6) close to its mouth (600) to the calcinating chamber (1), eventually there is an auxiliary input (41) of powdered material and an auxiliary fuel input (51) additionally added into the air tube (6). Also the mixing channel (2) is advantageously equipped with additional input (42) of powdered material and with it connected additional fuel input (52) and with additional air tube (62).

The invention deals with an equipment for calcination for precalcining of powdered materials before their burning in a sintering equipment, namely of cement raw material farina before its burning in a rotary kiln, composed from a calcinating chamber, which is provided with means for input of powdered material and input of fuel with a simultaneous input of burning air and which is interconnected with a mixing channel, which is arranged between the input chamber of rotary kiln and the last cyclone of cyclone heat exchanger which is arranged before the rotary kiln.
Recently the material at a lot of used equipment with calcinating chambers for calcination of powdered materials, for instance of cement raw material farina, led usually to the lower part of calcinating chamber. To this area also the hot gases from one or more heat sources are led, for instance for clinker cooler, or from the rotary kiln. The powdered material is by the influence of the entering gases kinetic energy dispersed to the volume of calcinating chamber, whereas the desired endothermic reactionsxe2x80x94as for instance the dissociation of calcium carbonatexe2x80x94of the powdered material components are running at mixing of powdered material with the added fuel and burning air, or at mixing with the entering hot exhaust gases, The mixture of gases and of powdered material eventually also of particles of unburned fuel then flows upwards the calcinating chamber and it is led with a tube to a channel located between the rotary kiln and the lower cyclone of on after the kiln connected heat exchanger. In this channel then the finishing of the phase of thermal process for powdered material preparation before its entering into the rotary kiln.
The disadvantage of such type of calcinating equipment is the relatively high pressure energy loss of entering gases, caused by the necessity of sometimes multifold lifting of powdered material, especially in case when in the calcinating chamber a greater amount of material is retained, as it would be necessary for the desired calcination level. At not perfect adjusting of operational parameters there it appears additionally a falling down of entering powdered material downwards and subsequently directly into the rotary kiln, without passing the thermal process in the calcinating chamber.
There are known construction versions of calcinating chambers at which the powdered material and also the hot burning air with the fuel are led into the upper part of calcinating chamber. The arising mixture is then flowing downwards and from the bottom part of calcinating chamber is then it is transported through the tube into the gas channel, which connects the rotary kiln, respectively its input chamber with the lower cyclone of the to the chamber antecedent system of cyclone heat exchanger. But the powdered material at this construction version has not an other possibility, as to fall in direction of the gravitation forces that means downwards. So the time of staying of powdered material in the calcinating chamber of this type is relatively short, what deteriorates the possibility of its thermal processing that means the level of calcination. The effort for intensive swirling of powdered material leads additionally to increase of the pressure loss of hot burning air, which is led into the calcinating chamber for instance from the following clinker cooler.
The mentioned disadvantages have as consequence the worsening of technological process effectiveness and the increasing of investment and operation costs for unit of production.
The above mentioned disadvantages of construction solutions are in a considerable extent decreased by the object of this invention, which is a calcinating equipment for precalcination of powdered materials before their burning in a sintering equipment, namely cement raw material farina before burning in rotary kiln, composed from a calcinating chamber provided with means for input of powdered material and input of fuel with simultaneous input of burning air and where it is connected with the mixing chamber, which is arranged between the input chamber of rotary kiln and the last cyclone of cyclone heat exchanger which is arranged before the rotary kiln.
The essence of the invention is that the calcinating chamber is connected to the mixing channel one the one hand with aid of the removing tube arranged in its lower part and on the other hand with at least one interconnecting tube, which is led out from its upper part, whereas the air tube for input of burning air is connected to the middlexe2x80x94working part of calcinating chamber, where this working part and/or the air tube are further provided with at least one input of powdered material and an input of fuel, whereas the working pail, the upper and lower part of calcinating chamber are advantageously coaxial.
An other essence of the invention is that the all parts of calcinating chamber have a circle cross-section, whereas the diameter of calcinating chamber upper part is lesser as the diameter of its working part.
The essence of the invention is also, that the mouth of removing tube is ended into the mixing channel closer to its lower part as the mouth of interconnecting tube.
An other essence of the invention is that into the air tube a regulating member is inserted eventually that into the air tube before its mouth into the calcinating chamber an auxiliary input of powdered material and an auxiliary fuel input are inserted.
At the and the essence of the invention is that the mixing channel is provided with additional input of powdered material, with additional fuel input and with an additional air input.
Using a construction according to the invention a better efficiency of calcinating equipment in whole is achieved and this at a lesser energy consumption. This is then manifested in decreasing investment and operation costs to unit of production.


Exemplary embodiments provide systems, devices and methods for simultaneously measuring mechanical and electrophysiological tissue responses (e.g., contractile function, or the like).

Identification and evaluation of new therapeutic agents or identification of suspect disease associated targets typically employ animal models which are expensive, time consuming, require skilled animal-trained staff and utilize large numbers of animals. Because many therapeutic agents are frequency-dependent, in vitro cardiotoxicity alternatives need to measure frequency-dependent mechanical and electrophysiological therapeutic agent responses of tissue, e.g., cardiac tissue, or the like. As an example, many anti-arrhythmia drugs are known to be use-dependent (e.g., frequency-dependent). As a further example, calcium handling activities (e.g., SERCA2 calcium pump activity) are frequency-dependent.
Conventional in vitro assays generally utilize electrical stimulation for testing responses of tissue. For example, frequency-dependent drug response has been measured by sweeping frequencies with a single electrical stimulator in cardiac tissue. However, high-pacing frequency can generate arrhythmia, resulting in damage to the tissue. Thus, alternative in vitro assays utilize multiple electrical stimulators with multiple frequencies (See, e.g., Huang, C. et al., "Characterization of voltage-gated sodium-channel blockers by electrical stimulation and fluorescence detection of member potential", Nature Biotechnology, Vol. 24, pp. 439-446 (2006)). However, each electrical stimulator necessitates an isolated chamber due to interference produced between electrical fields generated with multiple electrodes in a single chamber.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for improved systems, devices and methods for simultaneously measuring mechanical and electrophysiological tissue responses with reduced negative effects on the tissue.

Contractile function measuring devices, systems, and methods of use thereof

President and Fellows of Harvard College


A method is disclosed for obtaining improved oxide layers and resulting improved performance from oxide based devices. The method comprises exposing an oxide layer on a silicon carbide layer to an oxidizing source gas at a temperature below the temperature at which SiC would begin to oxidize at a significant rate, while high enough to enable the oxidizing source gas to diffuse into the oxide layer, and while avoiding any substantial additional oxidation of the silicon carbide, and for a time sufficient to densify the oxide layer and improve the interface between the oxide layer and the silicon carbide layer.

Silicon carbide (SiC) has a combination of electrical and physical properties that make it attractive for a semiconductor material for high temperature, high voltage, high frequency and high power electronic devices. These properties include a 3.0 electron-volt (eV) bandgap, a 4 millivolt per centimeter (MV/cm) electric field breakdown, a 4.9 W/cm.multidot.K thermal conductivity, and a 2.0.times.10.sup.7 centimeter per second (cm/s) electron drift velocity. Furthermore, because SiC will grow thermal oxides, it offers significant advantages over other compound semiconductors. In particular, the ability to form a thermal oxide raises the corresponding ability to form metal-oxide-semiconductor (MOS) devices, including MOS field-effect transistors (MOSFETS) insulated gate bipolar transistors (IGBT's), MOS-controlled thyristors (MCTs), and other related devices. In turn, MOSFETs are extremely important devices in large scale integrated circuits. Accordingly, taking full advantage of SiC's electronic properties in MOS devices and resulting integrated circuits requires appropriate SiC oxidation technology.
In spite of these advantageous characteristics, the quality of oxides on silicon carbide (SiC) has been a major obstacle to developing silicon carbide MOS devices. Oxide charge and interface states in particular, have an adverse effect on MOS device performance. Indeed, with the exception of substrate crystal growth, oxide quality is perhaps the largest barrier to advanced SiC MOS power devices and MOS integrated circuits. Oxides on SiC have been widely reported to have unacceptably high interface state densities and fixed oxide charge for MOS applications.
As used herein, the term "state" refers to a characteristic of a material, such as an available energy level position, and often defined using quantum mechanics. The existence of "states" in materials is not necessarily good or bad, and their presence or absence is probably better defined as desired or undesired. In the case of oxide layers on silicon carbide, the states appear to produce undesired operating characteristics in resulting devices, and thus are desirably minimized whenever possible.
Previous work comparing thermal oxidation techniques and investigating SiC/SiO.sub.2 defects have led to only a few general observations: (1) wet oxides (i.e. those thermally grown in the presence of water vapor) have lower oxide charge and interface state densities than dry oxides (S. M. Tang, W. B. Berry, R. Kwor, M. V. Zeller and L. G. Matus, J. Electrochem. Soc., 137(1) p.221 (1990); S. Zaima, K. Onoda, Y. Koide, and Y. Yasuda, J. Appl. Phys., 68(12) p. 6304 (1990)); (2) the Si-face of SiC wafers oxidizes more slowly, but has lower oxide charge densities, than the carbon (C) face (Nitya N. Singh and Andrew Rys, Inst. Phys. Conf. Ser. No 137: Chapter 3, p. 325 (1993)); (3) oxides grown on n-type wafers have fewer interface states (Dale M. Brown, Mario Ghezzo, James Kretchmer, Evan Downey, Joseph Pimbley, and John Palmour, IEEE Trans on Electron Devices, Vol. 41, No. 4, p. 618 (1994)); T. Ouisse, N. Becourt, F. Templier, C. Jaussaud, J. Appl. Phys. 75(1) (1994); Singh, supra) and lower oxide charge densities (Brown, supra; M. Shinohara, M. Yamanoka, S. Misawa, H. Okumura, S. Yoshida, Jap.J.Appl.Phys. 30(2) p.240 (1991); Singh, supra) than those grown on p-type wafers; and (4) contrary to early projections (Brown, supra), there is no difference between boron (B) and aluminum (Al) as a p-type dopant in SiC (J. N. Shenoy, L. A. Lipkin, G. L. Chindalore, J. Pan, J. A. Cooper, Jr., J. W. Palmour, and M. R. Melloch, Inst. Phys. Conf. Ser. No 141: Chapter 4, p. 449 (1994)).
It will be understood that for the most part, the accuracy of these measurements and the resulting conclusions can vary to a greater or lesser extent, and should be evaluated and understood in that light.
Although these particular conclusions are widely accepted, the quantification of the net oxide charge (Q.sub.ox) and interface state densities (D.sub.it) has varied widely, even when measuring the same crystal orientation, oxide thickness, dopant type and dopant species. These variations are demonstrated in Table 1, which summarizes the oxide charge and interface state densities of SiO.sub.2 on SiC as reported by various authors. The reported oxide thicknesses range from 500-600 .ANG., except for the 200 .ANG. oxides on n-type samples of reference reported by Weiss, supra.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Substrate/ Q.sub.ox D.sub.it Oxide (cm.sup.-2) (cm.sup.-2 eV.sup.-1) ______________________________________ N-6H/dry 0-1 .times. 10.sup.11 0.5-5 .times. 10.sup.12 N-6H/wet negligible 0-2 .times. 10.sup.11 p-6H/wet mid 10.sup.12 0.15-5 .times. 10.sup.12 ______________________________________
These seemingly inconsistent results probably reflect the variety of measurement techniques used. As Table 1 demonstrates, the largest variations are in the reported interface state densities. The net oxide charge is straightforward to measure with a standard capacitance-voltage (CV) sweep at room temperature. Accurately calculating the interface state density, however, can be quite challenging. Raynoud et al. (Christophe Raynoud, Jean-Lun Autran, Bernard Balland, Gerard Guillot, Claude Jaussaud and Thierry Billon, J. Appl. Phys. 76 (2) p. 993 (1994)); Shenoy, supra; and Ouisse, supra; have discussed the various methods that can be used and the assumptions and limitations that must be taken into account when determining interface state densities. Of all the different techniques, the conductance and high-low techniques seem to be the most consistent and repeatable.
Although the reported quantities of oxide defects vary significantly from group to group, the goals for high quality MOS applications are fairly well defined: Oxide charge less than 1.times.10.sup.11 cm.sup.-2 and interface states less than 5.times.10.sup.10 cm.sup.-2 eV.sup.-1. As Table 1 demonstrates, the quality of thermal oxides on SiC needs dramatic improvement. There are, however, few reported techniques for improving oxide quality. To date, the largest improvements result from varying the insert/withdrawal conditions of the oxidation and the oxidation pre-clean. Shenoy et al. (J. N. Shenoy, G. L. Chindalore, M. R. Melloch, J. A. Cooper, Jr., J. W. Palmour, and K. G. Irvine Inst. Phys. Conf. Ser. No 141: Chapter 4, p. 449 (1994)) also report a minimum net oxide charge density of 9.times.10 cm.sup.-2, and a interface state density of 1.5.times.10.sup.11 cm.sup.-2 eV.sup.-1, which are 3-4 times lower than their earlier oxidation conditions.

Process for reducing defects in oxide layers on silicon carbide


A method of treating an elastomer packaging element (10), in particular a stopper for medical or pharmaceutical use, the packaging element (10) having a bottom portion (11) that is to penetrate into a neck (21) of a container (20) and a top portion (12) that is to co-operate in sealed manner with a top surface (22) of said neck (21) of the container (20). The top surface of the top portion (12) is treated by a plasma-assisted polymerization method at atmospheric pressure using a plasma flame created at atmospheric pressure and into which a monomer is injected, the monomer polymerizing on the top surface in order to form a coating (18).

Elastomer packaging elements, such as rubber stoppers, in particular those for containers of injectable medication, present the risk of allowing extractable substances in the rubber migrating to the medication: these may be polymerization residues, anti-oxidants, curing agents, ions resulting from mineral fillers, etc. The quality of available raw materials, and the chemistry of rubber vulcanization, do not enable this level of extractable substances to be properly reduced.
In order to reduce or indeed eliminate this phenomenon, one solution consists in interposing an inert polymer film between the surface of the rubber in contact with the inside of the container and the medication, which film is generally made of a fluorinated polymer of the PTFE (polytetrafluoroethylene), ETFE (ethylene tetrafluoroethylene), ECTFE (ethylene chlorotrifluoroethylene), or FEP (fluorinated ethylene propylene) etc. type. This solution also has the advantage of conferring slippery and non-stick properties on the stopper portion coated in film in this way, thereby enabling the stopper to be inserted easily in the neck of the container, and also enabling stoppers to slide appropriately on packaging lines, in particular on vibrating bowls and rails.
In contrast, the portion of the stopper that is not coated in film, in particular the top portion also known as the "plateau", is not coated in a non-stick fluorine film. This leads to a risk of parts sticking together while in storage, and of sliding that is not sufficient when the parts are being conveyed on packaging lines.
It is common practice to mitigate this drawback by coating rubber parts in silicone oil, either with pure oil or with a silicone emulsion. Under such circumstances, the part ends up being completely covered in a fine layer of silicone oil, which acts as a lubricant. This presence of silicone, in particular on the portion of the stopper that comes into contact with the injectable medication, can lead to problems of compatibility with certain medications, e.g. proteins.
An alternative solution has been to treat such rubber stoppers with a barrier film by polymerized deposition of a monomer injected into a cold plasma in a vacuum. A method of that type is described in Document WO 96/34926. It enables the external surface of the rubber part to be treated with a non-stick coating, and thus replaces silicone oil. Nevertheless, that technology has two drawbacks:                the reaction is performed in an evacuated enclosure, which requires a specific installation of small working volume together with materials and a pumping system that are expensive; in addition the productivity of such a method is limited, since it requires the vacuum to be reestablished within the treatment enclosure each time parts for treatment are unloaded/loaded; and        in the same manner as with coating in silicone oil, the entire surface of the stopper is treated, thus leading to a pointless deposit of additional non-stick polymer being deposited on the barrier film as well; in addition, by being deposited on a non-stick fluorinated polymer film, this second deposit will not bond sufficiently with the substrate, and runs the risk of separating from the fluorinated film, thereby creating particles that might pollute the injectable medication.
Consequently, one idea has been to leave the film-coated portion of the stopper without any additional treatment or material, since the polymer performs the barrier and sliding functions sufficiently well, and to treat independently the portion of the stopper that is not coated in film.

Method for treating an elastomer packaging element, and packaging element thus treated


The present invention implements open fiber control in an optical transceiver. During normal operation, the transceiver transmits signals through a connection to an optical network. When the connection is intact, the total power transmitted can be greater than the eye-safety limit. When the connection breaks, the transceiver detects the loss of signal and disables transmissions over all channels except for one. The transceiver continues transmission on the single enabled channel at an eye-safe level. When the connection is fixed and a signal reappears, the transceiver detects the signal reappearance and re-enables all channels that had previously been disabled. By allowing the transceiver to transmit with greater optical power when the connection is intact, an increased data rate and longer transmission distances can be achieved. At the same time, safety is preserved, because transmissions drop to acceptable power levels whenever a break is detected.

Optical transceivers must be designed to transmit signals with sufficient power to meet the transmission distance and performance requirements of the system. At the same time, standard bodies such as the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) and the Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH) have imposed limits on the magnitude of optical power that can be transmitted in a link between two transceivers, to protect the human eye in case of an open fiber. An open fiber is any discontinuity in the signal path that causes the signal light to escape into the open, e.g. a physical break in the optical fiber or an unplugged connector. Usually, an open fiber is the result of an unplugged connector. Unfortunately, these safety constraints limit the usefulness of multi-channel optical transceivers, which employ techniques such as multi-channel parallel transmission or wavelength division multiplexing (WDM).
Multiple fibers in a single ribbon cable are used to transmit data in multi-channel parallel transmission. The greater the number of fiber-optic cables used, the greater the amount of data can be transmitted. The fiber-optic cables are normally packed closely together in the ribbon cable, each fiber-optic cable constituting a single channel for signal transmission. Since the fiber-optic cables are closely packed, the optical power emitted from an end of an unconnected ribbon cable can be the optical power of several fiber-optic cables combined.
WDM combines multiple signals of different wavelengths into a single fiber for transmission. Using WDM, several signals can be transmitted at the same time along a single fiber, thus allowing a single fiber to transmit multiple channels of data. The optical power of the combined, transmitted signal is the sum of the power of each constituent signal.
These techniques enable transceivers to transmit at higher data rates by using multiple channels, but the total power transmitted still cannot exceed the eye-safety limits. The safeguards require that the combined power of the multiple channels be kept below the eye-safety limit. For example, if there are N channels in a multi-channel transceiver, and the power distribution between each channel is identical, each channel can operate at approximately only 1/Nth of the maximum eye safe power level. In this way, the combined power of the N channels does not exceed the maximum eye-safety level. However, reducing the power of the signals in each channel also reduces the distance the signals can travel without losing integrity. An optical network using reduced power signals will require more repeaters or higher sensitivity receivers to compensate for a weaker signal.
Open Fiber Control (OFC) is one way to circumvent the eye-safety constraints without endangering the human eye. OFC is a method for enabling and disabling laser transmissions in optical transceivers. When two transceivers are properly connected, each channel in a multiple channel application can be operated at eye-safety limits. Although the total optical power transmitted exceeds the eye-safety limits, there is no possibility of injury since no light escapes into the open. When an open fiber is detected, the transmissions must be either reduced to safe levels or shut down completely.
OFC may be implemented using software to control the optical transceivers. When an open fiber is detected, the software immediately shuts down transmissions from the transceiver. To re-establish the link, the software instructs each transceiver to periodically send out coded signal pulses in a handshake routine. However, it is difficult to synchronize and decode these signals, especially given varying link lengths and longer distances between transceivers. Therefore, OFC implemented in software is not widely adopted despite its advantages.
Recently, however, bandwidth requirements have increased to the point where multiple channel techniques like the ones described earlier are needed to accommodate the higher data rates. 1 Gigabit per second (Gbps) and 10 Gbps data rates are common now, and are sure to increase in the future. However, without using complicated OFC software routines, optical transceivers cannot currently transmit over multiple channels at high power without exceeding eye-safe levels.

Open fiber control for optical transceivers

Avago Technologies Fiber IP(Singapore) Ptd. Ltd.


Methods and systems for unified HSM and key management services are disclosed. According to certain embodiments, an encryption service request is issued by a client instance to a key management service (KMS) logic in a KMS cloud instance. The KMS logic parses the request to verify authorization for the request, identify the instance ID, and provide additional information to the request needed by hardware security management (HSM) middleware and hardware. A router receives the request from the KMS logic and routes the request to a service based on the instance ID, that transfers the request to HSM middleware. The HSM middleware parses HSM type from the request, translates the request to HSM vendor-specific instructions and routes the translated request to an HSM. The HSM according to certain embodiments is in a cloud computing environment separate from the KMS cloud instance, and in some embodiments the HSM is on-prem at a physical client site.

The present invention relates to encryption key management, and more specifically, to key management for multiple hardware security modules (HSMs).
In a multi-tenant cloud environment, to access an encrypted service or to perform encryption operations, each client instance requires encrypted keys. Because a typical hardware security module (HSM) cannot store all keys for all clients and services that they may request, keys may be stored outside of the HSM in a key store management (KSM) database in a wrapped (i.e., encrypted) form. Root keys required to decrypt instance and service-related keys are stored in the HSM, which is done in the HSM.

International Business Machines Corporation


A determination apparatus includes a keyword extraction unit that extracts keywords characterizing a vulnerability from known vulnerability information, and a 0-day attack determination unit that compares the keywords characterizing the vulnerability and keywords included in a request used for an attack, and when a value of a score indicating a degree of inclusion of same keywords as the keywords characterizing the vulnerability in the request is smaller than a predetermined threshold, determines that the request is a 0-day attack that is neither a known attack nor an attack similar to the known attack.

As a conventional attack detection technique and vulnerability determination technique for web applications, an anomaly detection technique, a vulnerability management technique, and the like have been known. The anomaly detection technique is a technique of learning models indicating normal accesses in advance, and detecting abnormal accesses by comparison with the models. Further, the vulnerability management technique is a technique of determining presence or absence of a vulnerability from versions or the like of systems or applications.

Determination apparatus, determination method, and determination program

NIPPON TELEGRAPH AND TELEPHONE CORPORATION


The present disclosure provides methods for the treatment of neurological diseases/disorders using neural stem cells (NSCs) obtained from a spinal cord tissue. The methods may include the use of a NSC population to treat a neurological disease/disorder of the brain. Such methods may include introducing exogenously cultured and expanded NSCs into the brain, which differentiate into neurons capable of integrating in vivo into the brain tissue in a sufficient manner to ameliorate the symptoms associated with the neurological disease/disorder.

A stroke is the sudden death of brain cells in a localized area due to inadequate blood flow. A stroke occurs when blood flow is interrupted to part of the brain. Without blood to supply oxygen and nutrients and to remove waste products, brain cells quickly begin to die. Depending on the region of the brain affected, a stroke may cause paralysis, speech impairment, loss of memory and reasoning ability, coma, or death.

Methods for treating and/or reversing neurodegenerative diseases and/or disorders


A methods for re-utilizing, for example, scrap steels are provided. A method is provided for separating Sn-containing oxides from steel by blowing Sn-containing oxides away from a steel using a gas. Also provided is a method of making a reclaimed steel by. (a) heating a coated steel having an Sn-containing surface layer to oxidize at least a portion of the surface layer; PA1 (b) separating at least a portion of the surface layer from the coated steel to produce Sn-containing oxides and an uncoated steel; PA1 (c) blowing the Sn-containing oxides away from the uncoated steel using an exhaust gas, PA1 (d) melting the steel in a second reaction zone to produce the reclaimed steel and an exhaust gas; and PA1 (e) recycling at least a portion of the exhaust gas produced in the second reaction zone to the first reaction zone for use in the blowing step,. where steps (a), (b), and (c) are conducted in a first reaction zone;. where steps (a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) are conducted simultaneously.

1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to a method for re-utilizing steels, especially scrap steels, and more particularly, to a method for making a reclaimed steel by providing scrap steels formed thereon with a Sn surface layer mainly composed of Sn, removing the Sn surface layer from the scrap steels, and then refining the scrap steels by melting.
2. Description of the Background Art
Sn-plated steels are formed with a stable oxide film on the surface thereof, and thus, have a beautiful gloss. These steels are widely used as containers for foods and as cans for beverage products. Recently, much progress has been made in recycling steel beverage containers from the standpoint of effective utilization of resources. In this manner, steels can be re-used. For the re-utilization, i.e., recycling, of scrap steels, the usual practice is to initially charge a scrap steel into a melting furnace and then melt the steel, where a flux is added in order to collect and remove impurity elements as a slag. However, Sn is an element which is difficult to remove under the steel making conditions currently used, and is thus liable to remain in the molten steel. If Sn is present in the steel, not only is the quality of the steel degraded, but also Sn segregates in the grain boundary at the time of heating for rolling during the course of steel making, so that the hot workability of the steel is considerably reduced. In fact, if the amount of Sn in the molten steel is high enough, then it may be impossible to obtain a reclaimed steel having the desired physical properties. Accordingly, where Sn is present in molten steel in amounts exceeding its tolerance limit, it is usual to dilute the molten steel with a molten steel having a reduced amount of Sn in order to obtain a steel having the tolerance limit of Sn.
Many methods have been hitherto proposed for removing a Sn surface layer from Sn-coated steels and these methods include, in addition to the above-mentioned method using fluxes, a method wherein Sn is removed from a molten steel by evacuating a melting furnace under vacuum, thereby permitting low melting Sn to be converted to and evaporated as a gaseous component. However, leaving molten steel under vacuum leads to poor production efficiency and is, therefore, generally not suitable for industrial operations.
Several attempts have been made to remove the Sn surface layer prior to the melting of scrap steels, including (1) an alkali electrolytic method wherein a scrap steel is immersed in an alkali aqueous solution, to which a potential is applied thereby causing Fe to be passivated and Sn to be acceleratedly dissolved, and (2) a sulfurization method wherein an Sn-plated steel sheet is sulfurized in the presence of sulfur thereby causing Sn to be separated as SnS. The former alkali electrolytic method (1) is poor in efficiency, with the attendant problem that the production cost is too high. The latter sulfurization method (2) suffer from the problem of how to treat the sulfur-containing waste gases, and this method has not been put into practice.
In order to provide a method for efficiently removing an Sn surface layer in a solid state without involving any treatment of waste gases and incurring high costs, we have already proposed, in Japanese Laid-open Patent Application Hei 7-145431, a method wherein Sn-plated scrap steels are heated in an oxidative atmosphere at 500 to 1000.degree. C. to convert the Sn surface layer to corresponding oxides, followed by mechanical separation of the oxides.
This method requires a large amount of heat energy. In this process, and a large amount of a hot exhaust gas is produced in the melting furnace. This exhaust has is discharged from a melting furnace, to the outside environment. Therefore, the thermal energy contained in this exhaust gas is wasted. Accordingly, this process may be improved upon by effectively utilizing the heat energy of the exhaust gas. In other words, in order to further improve the production efficiency of this method, it is important that the heat loss is reduced to an extent as small as possible by combining the Sn-removing step and the melting step. In addition, the removal rate of Sn to be removed by the method is as low as about 40 to 50%. Accordingly, there is a demand of improving the Sn removal rate.


An earpiece suitable for use with two-way radios is configured to be captured at least partially within the conchae of an ear. The earpiece is configured for use in either ear. The earpiece is particularly suited for use by police and security personnel because it reduces costs associated with the manufacture, purchase, and inventory thereof, while allowing both the radio and ambient sound to be readily heard through both ears.

Earpieces for use by police and security personnel are well known. Such earpieces are used to facilitate listening to two-way radios and the like. Thus, such earpieces allow the police or security personnel to hear important communications that may affect their safety and/or the safety of others.
An earpiece is typically connected to a radio by a communications link, which typically comprises the combination of a length of acoustic tubing and a length of electrical cable. The acoustic tubing extends from the earpiece to a transducer, such as a small speaker. The electrical cable extends from the transducer to the radio.
Thus, electrical signals from the radio travel via the electrical cable to the transducer, where they are converted into acoustic signals. The acoustic signals then travel via the acoustic tubing from the transducer to the earpiece, where they can be heard.
Generally, the acoustic tubing proximate the earpiece will be coiled, so as to readily provide a desired length of tubing, while at the same time taking up any slack.
Typically, a single earpiece is worn in a selected ear. The selected ear may be chosen such that routing of the communications link is convenient in light of the placement of the radio and/or other gear. The selected ear may also be chosen merely as a matter of personal preference.
That is, in some instances the overall configuration of a person's gear may make it more convenient to wear the radio on the right side. In this instance it is generally preferred that the communications link be routed along the right side, thus generally making it preferably to wear the earpiece on the right side.
However, in other instances the overall configuration of the person's gear may make it more convenient to wear the radio on the left side. In this instance it is generally preferred that the communications link be routed along the left side, thus generally making it preferably to wear the earpiece on the left side.
Occasionally, it is desirable to change the ear in which the earpiece is worn. This may be necessitated by a change in the configuration of the wearer's gear, or again may merely be a matter of personal preference.
Contemporary earpieces that are used by police and security personnel with two-way radios are dedicated to either the right or left ear. That is, a user must select and wear an earpiece that is specifically constructed for use with a particular ear. A contemporary conchae bowl worn earpiece made for use in the right ear cannot be properly worn in the left ear and visa-versa.
As long as a dedicated earpiece is worn in the correct ear, then it is generally acceptably comfortable and will generally tend to stay in place. However, there is room for improvement in both the comfort and ability to remain in place associated with such contemporary earpieces.
It is particularly important that such earpieces remain securely in place within the ear during vigorous use. Frequently, it is during such vigorous use that communications provided by two-way radio are most critical.
It is also important that an earpiece be comfortable to wear. An uncomfortable earpiece can be a distraction. An attempt by a police officer or security person to adjust an earpiece, so as to make it more comfortable, may result in a missed communication or may be a distraction in itself that results in an unsafe situation.
If an attempt is made to use a contemporary earpiece in the wrong ear, it will not fit properly and therefore will be uncomfortable and subject to falling out. Thus, contemporary earpieces can only be used in the ear for which they were intended.
Of course, the use of such dedicated earpieces necessitates that separate left and right earpieces be purchased, maintained in inventory, and carried into the field by police and security personal. Purchasing and maintaining separate left and right earpieces in inventory is both costly and inconvenient.
Requiring that separate left and right earpieces be carried by police and security personnel in the field is undesirable. Such personnel have a strictly limited capacity to carry gear in the field. They can only carry a certain amount of gear and still remain effective in the performance of their duties.
Thus, although such contemporary dedicated earpieces have proven generally suitable for their intended purposes, they possess inherent deficiencies that detract from their overall effectiveness and desirability. To date, no contemporary earpiece can be worn in the conchae of either ear while allowing the wearer to adequately hear outside or ambient sound.
As such, although the prior art has recognized, to a limited extent, the need to provide earpieces for two-way radios, the proposed solutions have, to date, been ineffective in providing a satisfactory remedy. Therefore, it is desirable to provide a single earpiece that can be used in either ear, which is comfortable to wear, and which remains securely in place within the ear during vigorous use.


A mounting structure includes a substrate, a first terminal, a first flexible circuit board, and a second terminal. The first terminal is arranged in a first region of a first face of the substrate. The first flexible circuit board is connected to the first terminal through an anisotropic conductive film. The second terminal is arranged in a second region of a second face, which is a rear face relative to the first face of the substrate, wherein the second region does not overlap the first region in plan view. A region of the second face of the substrate, which overlaps the first region in plan view, is formed to be a smooth face.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electronic apparatus, such as a personal computer, a cellular phone or a touch panel, and also to a mounting structure, an electro-optical device and an input device that are used for the above electronic apparatus, and further to a method of manufacturing the mounting structure.
2. Related Art
In an existing art, an electro-optical device, such as a liquid crystal device, is used as a display device of an electronic apparatus, such as a personal computer, a cellular phone or a touch panel. The above liquid crystal device, or the like, for example, is configured so that a liquid crystal panel that holds a liquid crystal is compression bonded with a flexible printed board on which an IC chip is mounted and, in addition, the flexible printed board is compression bonded with a printed board. The flexible printed board may possibly have terminals formed on a face (front face or first face) of a portion, which is compression bonded with the printed board, on a side adjacent to the printed board and a rear face (second face) of the compression bonded portion. In this case, for example, when the flexible printed board is thermally compression bonded with the printed board, the thermocompression bonding cannot be performed uniformly because of the terminals formed on the rear face side of the flexible printed board. For this reason, there has been a problem in which reliability of connection between the terminals formed on the front face side of the flexible printed board and the terminals of the printed board decreases.
In order to solve the above problem, JP-A-2004-87940 (particularly, at paragraph [0052], FIG. 2 and FIG. 4), for example, describes a technology for improving an electrical connection in such a manner that a front face, on which a thermocompression bonding head of a compression bonding jig used for thermocompression bonding contacts a printed board, that is, a non-bonded side of a thermally compression bonded region, is formed to be flat.
However, in the above described technology, for example, it is possible to improve reliability of connection between the terminals formed on the front face (first face) of the flexible printed board and the terminals formed on the printed board, but it is necessary to ensure flatness of the printed board. Thus, there is, for example, a problem in which an additional board cannot be connected to the front face side of the printed board. In addition, there is another problem in which, when another board is connected to the rear face (second face) of the flexible printed board as well, thermocompression bonding cannot be performed uniformly because of the terminals formed on the front face of the flexible printed board, resulting in a decrease in reliability of connection.

Mounting structure, electro-optical device, input device, method of manufacturing mounting structure, and electronic apparatus