According to one embodiment, a method for manufacturing a hollow needlelike object including a hollow part inside includes: a step of preparing a first needlelike-object base having a face comprising a groove forming at least a part of the hollow part; and a step of covering the face of the needlelike-object base with a covering member.

Percutaneous absorption is method of delivering a material, such as a medicine, by permeating such through skin into a human body. In this method, the medication to be delivered to a human body can be delivered easily and without causing pain.
In the field of percutaneous medication, there has been proposed a method for delivering a medicine by puncturing skin with a needlelike object having a needle of the micrometer order (refer to Japanese Patent Application KOKAI Publication No. 48-93192).
There has also been proposed delivering a medication material through a hollow part by forming the hollow part in a needlelike object having a needle of the micrometer order (refer to the specification of U.S. Pat. No. 3,964,482).
There has also been proposed a method for manufacturing a needlelike object, which includes preparing an original plate through machining, forming a transfer plate from the original plate, and performing transfer process molding with use of the transfer plate (refer to the pamphlet of International Publication No. 2008/013282).
There has also been proposed another method for manufacturing a needlelike object, which includes manufacturing an original plate by an etching method, forming a transfer plate from the original plate, and performing transfer process molding with use of the transfer plate (refer to the pamphlet of International Publication No. 2008/004597).
The material forming a needlelike object is desirably a material which may not affect a human body even if the needlelike object should be broken and remain in a human body. Therefore, a biocompatible material, such as chitin or chitosan, has been proposed as the material of the needlelike object (refer to the pamphlet of International Publication No. 2008/020632).

Hollow needlelike object and method for manufacturing hollow needlelike object


A white light quantum dot complex particle, comprising a seed particle (1) in the core, and a first shell layer (2), a second shell layer (3) and a third shell layer (4) wrapped around the seed particle (1) in order; in the first shell layer (2), the second shell layer (3) and the third shell layer (4) are one of a red light quantum dot layer, a green light quantum dot layer and a blue light quantum dot layer respectively, and are different from one another. Also disclosed is the process for preparing the white light quantum dot complex particle.

Great progress has been achieved for the organic light-emitting diode (OLED) technique in recent years. Since OLED has the advantages of low cost, short response time, high brightness, wide visual angle, low driving voltage and capacity of flexible display, etc., it has become a flat panel full color display technique with great prospect of development. Along with single color OLED having more and more mature properties, white light OLED (WOLED), as a novel solid state light source, has exhibited good prospect of application in illumination and flat panel display backlight source and elicited wide attention, whose efficiency and performance have been rapidly improved. The emission spectra of most fluorescent and phosphorescent organic light emitting materials can only cover about one third of the spectrum of the visible light. Therefore, organic light emitting materials capable of emitting red light, green light, and blue light can be mixed together to combine their emission spectra to white light. For light emitting materials used for WOLED, presence of impurities will cause quenching of excitons and increase of the resistance of the device, resulting in low light emitting efficiency and shorter life. Purification of the organic materials accounts for a large portion in the cost control of WOLED. Currently, WOLED are all prepared by vacuum evaporation process of small molecular organic materials which has high process cost and severe waste of raw materials. The goal for WOLED development is a real low cost, high efficiency, and long lasting flat panel white light source.
Quantum dots, also called semiconductor nano crystals, belong to a new kind of semiconductor nanomaterials with a size of 1-10 nm. The quantum size effect and quantum confinement effect enable them to have unique photoluminescent and electroluminescent performance. Compared with traditional organic fluorescent dyes, the quantum dots have high quantum yield, high photochemical stability, resistance to photolysis, as well as excellent optical properties such as wide excitation, narrow emission, high color purity, and adjustability of light color by controlling the size of the quantum dots, etc. WOLEDs prepared using quantum dots in place of small molecular organic materials have the advantages of high luminescent efficiency, good stability, long life, high brightness, wide color range, etc.
The usual process for making a white light source using quantum dots is to mix RGB three colored quantum dots in a certain ratio. The process has the following disadvantages: the three kinds of RGB quantum dots are prone to agglomeration, leading to poor stability; the mixing ratio of the three base colors is hard to control; the emission spectrum is not stable, the light is not even and the process is complicated. Therefore, the aforesaid technical problems are in urgent need to be solved.

White light quantum dot complex particle and process for preparing same


A process is provided for purifying macromolecular chromophores (MMCs), which are pigments that have been surface-treated to be water-soluble. In the surface treatment, anionic or cationic functional groups are covalently bonded onto the surface, these functional groups have undesirable counter-ions associated with them that adversely affect the properties of ink-jet inks in which the MMCs are incorporated. The purification process comprises: (a) forming an aqueous solution of the macro-molecular chromophore; (b) adding to the aqueous solution an amount of a liquid containing a desirable counter-ion; (c) subjecting the aqueous solution to membrane filtration; and (d) repeating steps (b) and (c). Inks prepared from MMCs that are purified as described above evidence significant improvement in reliability, which includes reduced crusting, reduced kogation, and improved long term ink stability.

It is well-known that the purity of water-soluble dyes are paramount toward the reliability performance of ink-jet inks. Commercially-available dyes often contain significant amounts of organic and inorganic impurities which are undesirable for digital printing applications, such as thermal ink-jet printers. Residual impurities degrade reliability performance by kogating on the resistor surface as well as crusting at nozzles. Some of the impurities found in water-soluble dyes are sodium chloride and sodium sulfate.
Macromolecular chromophores (MMCs) are derived through chemical treatment of pigments, whereby water-solubilizing groups are bonded covalently on the pigment particle. Colorants of this type are water-soluble and self-dispersible without requiring the use of dispersing agents.
Two commercial suppliers of these MMCs are Orient Chemicals and Cabot Corporation. During the chemical treatment, unreacted starting materials and by-products are found to remain on the MMCs. Through chemical analysis, it has been determined that the amounts of impurities exceed those of ink-jet grade dyes. Crusting is particularly evident in commercially-available MMCs.
At least two processes are presently known for modifying ink-jet grade dyes. These include (1) reverse osmosis, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,968, issued Aug. 11, 1987, to Donald J. Palmer and assigned to the same assignee as the present application, and (2) ion exchange, as disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,786,327, issued Nov. 22, 1988, to Donald E. Wenzel et al and assigned to the same assignee as the present application. In both instances, the primary purpose of the respective process is to effect a change of the counter-ion associated with the dye. However, both patents suggest the use of reverse osmosis to purify the dye.
While the foregoing references are certainly useful for purifying dyes used in ink-jet inks, more recent advances have resulted in the use of pigments, particularly pigments modified in some fashion, to produce MMCs. A process is required for purifying MMCs to a purity level acceptable for ink-jet applications.

Purification of macromolecular chromophores (MMCs) using membrane processes for ink-jet inks


Methods, computer program products, and systems are presented. The methods include, for instance: generating a drift annealed time series prediction model based on training data. In one embodiment the generating may include: recording an ensemble of candidate models for at least one predictor variable of the training data responsive to creating the ensemble based on the training data by machine learning. The ensemble includes three candidate models represented by respective prediction function to formulate a potentially predictive relationship between a target variable and predictor variables in the training data. Respective candidate models in the ensemble is manipulated to adjust degrees associated with predictor variables such that respective new models take relative importance of predictor variables into account and the drift annealed time series prediction model based on the new models is produced.

Traditional forecasting on time series is modeled by use of training data, which have been collected from occurrences in the past, based on various degrees of predictor functions. The training data include one or more independent predictor variables and at least one dependent variable determined as a predictor function of the one or more independent predictor variables, such that resulting time series forecasting models are enabled to estimate an unknown dependent variable from the one or more dependent predictor variables. Based on the degrees of the predictor functions, the time series forecasting models may be, but are not limited to, a linear curve regression model, a quadratic regression model, or a cubic regression model that displays respective characteristics in forecasting and varying accuracies. Many automated statistical software packages and programming languages, such as R, S, SAS® software, SPSS®, Minitab®, etc., are available for time series forecasting. (SAS is a registered trademark of SAS Institute Inc., Cary, N.C., USA; SPSS is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporation, Armonk, N.Y., USA; Minitab is a registered trademark of Minitab, Inc., in the United States and other countries.)

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A suspension of a chip-scale device is accomplished using a suspension frame and at least one first tether. The chip-scale suspension frame defines a first plane and an opening through the suspension frame. At least one first tether crosses the opening at a first angle relative to the first plane and can be used to position the chip-scale device at least partially within the opening.

Many modern electronic applications require an ultra-stable frequency reference and/or an ultra-stable time reference for proper operation. For example, Global Positioning System ("GPS") applications in general, and jam-resistant GPS receivers in particular, devices for wireless network time synchronization, for distributed network communications, and/or for distributed network position localization, and a host of military systems and platforms having sophisticated ultra-high frequency communication and/or navigation requirements all require such references.
Typically, in order to provide the necessary ultra-stable frequency and/or time reference an atomic clock is employed. As readily understood by skilled artisans, an atomic clock is an electronic timing device whose frequency is governed by the natural resonance frequencies of atoms or molecules of suitable elements. Although there are different types of known atomic clocks, the basic principle behind them uses the common property of atoms, set in a suitable environment, to absorb and to emit electromagnetic radiation at one frequency that is extremely stable over time.
The major differences relate to the element used and the means of detecting when the energy level changes. Some types of atomic clocks known in the art include cesium atomic clocks, hydrogen atomic clocks, and rubidium atomic clocks. Cesium clocks employ a beam of cesium atoms, in which cesium atoms of different energy levels are separated by a magnetic field. Hydrogen atomic clocks function in a similar manner, but they require a container with walls of a special material so that the atoms do not lose the high-energy state too rapidly. Rubidium clocks are the simplest and most compact of all atomic clocks and use a glass cell of rubidium gas that changes its light absorption when exposed to the proper microwave frequency.
For proper operation, an atomic clock's temperature needs to be precisely controlled. Preferably, an atomic clock should be kept substantially in thermal isolation, minimizing thermal conductance between components of the atomic clock system, to facilitate its stable operation. In addition, it is also important to provide vibration isolation of the clock, minimizing the relative displacements between its components under acceleration, in order to maintain the clock's mechanical stability.
Over the years, several approaches have been suggested for mounting, as well as for thermally isolating and/or controlling the temperature of an atomic clock. Some techniques employ a bridge made of thermally insulating material to suspend and isolate the clock cell from a substrate. The bridge is fabricated either from the substrate material itself, such as PYREX, or using a material deposited on the substrate, such as silicon nitride. A common feature of these approaches is that the bridge in its nominal configuration is in the plane, or parallel to the plane, of the substrate. Other techniques rely on thermally insulating posts extending from a substrate to support a clock cell and other clock components. In summary, many of known approaches utilize materials that are not of suitably low thermal conductivity and/or emissivity, materials that provide relatively poor heat-sensing sensitivity, and/or materials that are not mechanically robust, as well as suspension geometries that are not sufficiently stiff. Finally, known techniques typically rely on fabrication processes that are not amenable to low-cost parallel production.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for an apparatus for thermally isolating electronic devices, such as, for example, atomic clocks, with improved mechanical stability and temperature control.

Apparatus and system for suspending a chip-scale device and related methods

Charles Stark Draper Laboratory, Inc., The


A basic input output system (BIOS) setting method is applicable to a BIOS setting procedure of a data processing unit having a display unit and an input unit. After the data processing unit is turned on and a power on self test (POST) procedure of the BIOS is being executed, messages of a first function key and a second function key are displayed on the display unit. If the first function key is pressed, a first BIOS setting mode is entered. After the first BIOS setting mode is entered, whether any setting contents of the first BIOS setting mode are revised and saved in the data processing unit is determined, and the corresponding POST is executed based on the revised setting contents of the first BIOS setting mode, or the first BIOS setting mode is skipped and the continuing POST procedure continues to be executed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to data processing techniques, and more specifically, to a basic input output system (BIOS) setting method.
2. Description of Related Art
A basic input output system (BIOS) is an embedded software and is stored in the form of a firmware in varieties of hardware and systems, such as information, telecommunication, consumer electronic products. The BIOS is in charge of driving, control management, and interfacing between human and machine, and can be applied to programs. BIOS is a software, but it is capable of adding functions and value to hardware thus saving production cost by making a hardware capable of software functions, compared with an operating system or an applied software, it has closer relationship with hardware and is in charge of the setting of central processing unit, memory, and boot order, etc. and it is the key that determines if the hardware functions can be brought into full performances. In addition, BIOS provides the most reliable security protection mechanism to prevent any unauthorized users from accessing computers.
When a computer is turned on, BIOS is executed by the flash memory of the circuit board, and the subsystems of chip sets and memory are sequentially displaying on and disappearing from the display unit, and then the BIOS itself decompresses from the flash memory to the system main memory and begins to execute therefrom. The BIOS codes of PC also has diagnostic functions in order to ensure some important hardware elements, such as keyboard, disk device, and input/output ports etc. can function and be initialized normally. Almost all of the BIOSs are capable of selectively executing the preset programs of a complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) memory; in other words, the BIOS is capable of saving users' preset information of time, date, and hard disc's details, etc.
In the BIOS implementations of nowadays, after getting into a BIOS setting mode, user is allowed to selectively set fan speed, control energy saving, set over clocking, and decide which device to be turned on first, devices such as video disc player, hard disk, floppy disk, flash, and others, this function provides special advantage for installing operating system. However, in the aforementioned BIOSs, after the boot order or any other related configurations have been set, the system will restart no matter the aforementioned BIOS setting is saved or not, all the related boot procedure, such as the power on self test and the initiation option ROM execution will reprocess again, and then proceed to the operating system for loading operations. As a matter of fact, for some of the setting contents, even after they have been revised and skipping out of the BIOS setting mode, the POST procedure can be continued without the need of restarting computer. However, in the BIOS setting mechanism of prior art, after revise and save any BIOS setting contents, the data processing unit must restart as soon as it skips the BIOS setting mode, for any revised BIOS setting that do not effect the continuing POST procedure, apparently it wastes time to go over the boot order again.
In view of the above, it is a highly urgent issue in the industry for how to provide a basic input output system setting method, which can effectively solve the drawback that it has to restart the data processing unit for any revised BIOS setting contents and thus wastes time in the boot order as in the prior art.


A message routing system for use in a mobile packet communication system where communication between mobile terminals is conducted by evaluating headers of data messages. The source and destination of each data message is determined by evaluating the inherent address and position address of each data message without each header containing any association data relating the inherent address and the position address. By facilitating such a message routing process, the amount of communications between mobile terminals is reduced.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile packet communication system for supporting mobile terminals in a network which is composed of a plurality of auxiliary networks interconnected by routers, and more particularly to a mobile packet communication system for transmitting packets of data that are encapsulated by a maximum of N headers of the-same format.
2. Description of the Related Art
In computer networks which support mobile terminals, it has been known to effect routing to a mobile terminal by defining an inherent address which represents the mobile terminal itself, rather than depending on the position thereof, and a positional address which varies depending on the position of the mobile terminal, and then determining an association between the inherent and positional addresses.
When mobile terminals are supported using the above process, no communications can be carried out unless a database giving an association between the inherent and positional addresses of the mobile terminals is properly maintained. One example of a packet format which is described in Document 1: Fumio Teraoka, "VIP: Protocol which provides host movement transparency", Computer Software, Vol. 10, No. 4 (1993), pp. 22-38, is shown in FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings.
In FIG. 1, IP (Internet Protocol) addresses that are widely used in computer networks are employed as inherent and positional addresses.
In FIG. 1, the reference numeral 1000 pointing to a solid-line frame represents a packet header based on positional addresses, and the reference numerals 1001, 1002 represent positional addresses of a source and a destination in the packet header 1000 based on positional addresses. The reference numeral 1010 pointing to a broken-line frame represents a packet header based on inherent addresses, the reference numerals 1011, 1012 represent version information of inherent and positional addresses of a source and version information of inherent and positional addresses of a destination, the version information being indicated by time, and the reference numerals 1013, 1014 represent inherent addresses of a source and a destination.
The association between the inherent and positional addresses of respective mobile terminals is managed in all routers on paths of communications effected by the mobile terminals, as shown in FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings.
In FIG. 2, the reference numerals 1100-1104 represent auxiliary networks Net-0-Net-5, the reference numerals 1105-1108 represent routers Router1-Router4, and the reference numerals 1110-1112 represent mobile terminals Host-1-Host-3.
In the example shown in FIG. 2, the mobile terminal Host-1 (1110) is communicating with the mobile terminals Host-2 (1111), Host-3 (1112), and a home network for the mobile terminals Host-1 (1110), Host-2 (1111), Host-3 (1112) is the auxiliary network Net-0 (1100). Therefore, the mobile terminals Host-1 (1110), Host-2 (1111), Host-3 (1112) have respective inherent addresses depending on the auxiliary network Net-0 (1100). Since the mobile terminals Host-1 (1110), Host-2 (1111), Host-3 (1112) are connected respectively to the auxiliary networks Net-0 (1100), Net-1 (1101), Net-4 (1104), the mobile terminals Host-1 (1110), Host-2 (1111), Host-3 (1112) have respective positional addresses depending on the respective auxiliary networks Net-0 (1100), Net-1 (1101), Net-4 (1104).
For communications between the mobile terminals Host-1 (1110), Host-2 (1111) existing on communication paths, address association information relative to the mobile terminals is maintained in the routers Router1 (1105), Router2 (1106). For communications between the mobile terminals Host-1 (1110), Host-3 (1112) existing on communication paths, address association information relative to the mobile terminals is maintained in the routers Router1 (1105), Router3 (1107), Router4 (1108). While the router Router3 (1107) is not directly involved in communications between the mobile terminals Host-1 (1110), Host-2 (1111), the router Router3 (1107) maintains address association information relative to the mobile terminal Host-2 (1111) because it can peek at packets transmitted between the mobile terminals Host-1 (1110), Host-2 (1111). The router Router1 (1105) which is connected to the home network Net-0 (1100) for the mobile terminals Host-1 (1110), Host-2 (1111), Host-3 (1112) necessarily maintains address association information of these mobile terminals Host-1 (1110), Host-2 (1111), Host-3 (1112). Each of the mobile terminals Host-1 (1110), Host-2 (1111), Host-3 (1112) maintains address association information of the mobile terminal which it is presently communicating with.
To keep consistent a database of address association information of the mobile terminals in the routers Router1 (1105)-Router4 (1108), each data packet which is transmitted contains the version information of inherent and positional addresses of a source and a destination as indicated by the packet format shown in FIG. 1. Each of the routers Router1 (1105)-Router4 (1108) compares the version information of inherent and positional addresses of a source and a destination contained in all packets which are received with corresponding version information of inherent and positional addresses entered in its own database. If the compared items of version information differ from each other, then each of the routers Router1 (1105)-Router4 (1108) recognizes that the inherent and positional addresses are inconsistent, and effects a control process to eliminate the inconsistency.
FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings shows headers and transmission data separately. In FIG. 3, the reference numeral 3000 represents a header containing information of a present position, the reference numeral 3001 represents a header containing information that indicates a mobile terminal itself, and the reference numeral 3002 represents transmission data.
According to Document 1, referred to above, a new value VIPprot is defined to indicate that the transmission data is encapsulated by the two headers, i.e., as shown in FIG. 3, the header 300 containing information of a present position and the header 3001 containing information that indicates a mobile terminal itself. The new value VIPprot thus defined is inserted in a field (Protocol field) indicating a higher protocol of the header 3000.
A transmission system described in Document 1 will be described below.
According to the process disclosed in Document 1, routing to a mobile terminal in a computer network which support mobile terminals is effected by defining an inherent address which represents the mobile terminal itself, rather than depending on the position thereof, and a positional address which varies depending on the position of the mobile terminal, and then determining an association between the inherent and positional addresses. The process is based on the assumption that all the mobile terminals are capable of processing a packet having two addresses, i.e., an inherent address and a positional address. Under transient conditions, however, there may be situations in which mobile terminals are capable of processing packets having two such addresses and fixed terminals are capable of processing packets having only inherent addresses.
To cope with the above situation, Document 1 discloses a system for determining whether a terminal which a mobile terminal is to communicate with is a mobile terminal or a fixed terminal, transmitting packets having two addresses, i.e., an inherent address and a positional address, to the terminal if it is a mobile terminal, and transmitting packets having only inherent addresses to the terminal if it is a fixed terminal.
Such a packet transmitting system of a mobile terminal is shown in FIG. 4 of the accompanying drawings. As shown FIG. 4, the packet transmitting system has an input terminal 2100', an output terminal 2105', an inherent address header generator 2101', a mobile terminal/fixed terminal decision unit 2102', a positional address header generator 2103', and a switch 2104'.
For transmitting a packet, the inherent address header generator 2101' generates an inherent address header. At the same time, the inherent address header generator 2101' supplies a destination address to the mobile terminal/fixed terminal decision unit 2102'. The mobile terminal/fixed terminal decision unit 2102' determines whether the destination indicated by the destination address from the inherent address header generator 2101' indicates a mobile terminal or not.
If the destination is a mobile terminal, then the mobile terminal/fixed terminal decision unit 2102' indicates a positional address of the destination to the positional address header generator 2103', and controls the switch 2104' to output a positional address header generated by the positional address header generator 2103' to the output terminal 2105'.
If the destination is a mobile terminal, then the mobile terminal/fixed terminal decision unit 2102' controls the switch 2104' to output the inherent address header generated by the inherent address header generator 2101' to the output terminal 2105'.
Consequently, if the destination is a mobile terminal, then the packet transmission system transmits a packet based on two addresses, i.e., a positional address and an inherent address, and if the destination is a mobile terminal, then the packet transmission system transmits a packet based on only an inherent address.
In the conventional arrangement shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each router compares the version information of inherent and positional addresses of a source and a destination contained in all packets which are passing with corresponding version information of inherent and positional addresses entered in its own database in order to effect a control process to eliminate any inconsistency. Therefore, the system is subjected to an undue burden. Furthermore, since there is a possibility that corresponding data of inherent and positional addresses of a certain terminal exist in many routers, the control process to eliminate any inconsistency requires an unduly large amount of communications. In addition, the data of a header is large because each packet contains version information for mapping inherent and positional addresses of a source and a destination.
In the conventional format shown in FIG. 3, when a new value VIPprot is defined which indicates that transmission data is encapsulated by the two headers, i.e., the header 300 containing information of a present position and the header 3001 containing information that indicates a mobile terminal itself, any existing network device which does not incorporate the new value VIPprot that is defined cannot process encapsulated transmission data, and hence compatibility with existing systems is greatly impaired. Specifically, when an existing network device which does not incorporate the new value VIPprot that is defined receives a packet of transmission data encapsulated with the field value of VIPprot, the network device cannot interpret the value of VIPprot, and will discard the packet.
In the packet transmission system shown in FIG. 4, each mobile terminal determines whether the destination of a packet is a mobile terminal or a fixed terminal, changes the format of the packet depending on the determined result, and then transmits the packet. It is desirable that any processing in mobile terminals be minimized in view of needs for smaller and lighter mobile terminals and the period of time for which batteries are connected to mobile terminals. The conventional packet transmission system cannot meet such demands because packet processing in mobile terminals places an increased burden on the mobile terminals.
Packets transmitted from mobile terminals to fixed terminals are required to use a format which is inconsistent with a protocol hierarchy which supports packet movement, for the reception of the packets at the fixed terminals. The use of such a format is disclosed in Document 2 given below:
Document 2: Fumio Teraoka, "Protocol Transition from IP to VIP", Japan Software Science Society, Collected articles of 9th Conference, pp. 505-508.


A gated electron-emitter is fabricated by a process in which particles (26) are deposited over an insulating layer (24). Gate material is provided over the insulating layer in the space between the particles after which the particles and any overlying material are removed. The remaining gate material forms a gate layer (28A or 48A) through which gate openings (30 or 50) extend at the locations of the removed particles. When the gate material deposition is performed so that part of the gate material extends into the spaces below the particles, the gate openings are beveled. The insulating layer is etched through the gate openings to form dielectric openings (32 or 52). Electron-emissive elements (36A or 56A) are formed in the dielectric openings. This typically involves introducing emitter material through the gate openings into the dielectric openings and using a lift-off layer (34), or an electrochemical technique, to remove excess emitter material.

A field-emission cathode (or field emitter) emits electrons upon being subjected to an electric field of sufficient strength. The electric field is produced by applying a suitable voltage between the cathode and an electrode, typically referred to as the anode or gate electrode, situated a short distance away from the cathode.
When a field-emission cathode is utilized in a flat-panel CRT display, electron emission from the cathode occurs across a sizable area. The electron-emitting area is commonly divided into a two-dimensional array of electron-emitting portions, each situated across from a corresponding light-emitting portion to form part or all of a picture element (or pixel). The electrons emitted by each electron-emitting portion strike the corresponding light-emitting portion and cause it to emit visible light.
It is generally desirable that the illumination be uniform (constant) across the area of each light-emitting portion. One method for achieving uniform illumination is to arrange for electrons to be emitted uniformly across the area of the corresponding electron-emitting portion. This typically involves fabricating the electron-emitting portion as a group of small, closely spaced electron-emissive elements.
Various techniques have been investigated for manufacturing electron-emitting devices that contain small, closely spaced electron-emissive elements. Spindt et al, "Research in Micron-Sized Field-Emission Tubes," IEEE Conf. Rec. 1966 Eighth Conf. Tube Techniques, 20 Sep., 1966, pp. 143-147, describes how small randomly distributed spherical particles are employed to define the locations for conical electron-emissive elements in a flat field-emission cathode. The size of the spherical particles strongly controls the base diameter of the conical electron-emissive elements.
In fabricating an electron-emitting diode having a thick anode, Spindt et al first creates a structure in which an upper molybdenum layer overlies an intermediate dielectric layer situated on a lower molybdenum layer. Spherical polystyrene particles are scattered across the upper molybdenum layer after which "resist", typically alumina, is deposited on top of the structure. Openings are created through the resist by removing the spheres, thereby lifting off portions of the resist situated on the spheres.
The upper molybdenum is etched through the resist openings to create openings through the upper molybdenum. The intermediate dielectric layer is etched through the openings in the resist and upper molybdenum to form cavities through the dielectric layer down to the lower molybdenum. The resist is removed, typically during the cavity formation.
Finally, molybdenum is evaporatively deposited on top of the structure and into the cavities in the intermediate dielectric layer. The evaporation is performed in such a way that the openings through which the molybdenum accumulates in the dielectric cavities progressively close. Conical molybdenum electron-emissive elements are formed in the dielectric cavities, while a continuous molybdenum layer that combines with the upper molybdenum layer to form the anode for the diode simultaneously accumulates on the upper molybdenum.
The utilization of spherical particles to establish the locations, and base dimensions, of electron-emissive elements in Spindt et al is a creative approach to creating an electron-emitting device. However, the electrons emitted by the electron-emissive cones are collected by the directly overlying anode and thus are not utilized to directly activate light-emitting areas. It would be desirable to utilize spherical particles to define the locations for small, closely spaced electron-emissive elements that emit electrons which can be employed to directly activate light-emissive elements in a flat-panel device in a highly uniform manner.

Fabrication of gated electron-emitting device utilizing distributed particles to form gate openings typically beveled and/or combined with lift-off or electrochemical removal of excess emitter material


The process is provided involving formation of multilayer components in which a photoresist-type material is used not only as a conventional patterning material, but also as an insulating and/or planarizing material between magnetic or electrically conductive layers. A variety of integrated CMOS/micromagnetic components are thereby capable of being formed, including components containing planar inductors and transformers. Additionally, a particular technique is used to etch gold-containing seed layers from a substrate surface without damaging an electroplated copper coil. Also provided is a magnetic material particularly useful in devices such as inductors and transformers. The material is an amorphous iron-cobalt-phosphorus alloy having a composition of CoxPyFez, where x+y+z=100, x is 5 to 15, y is 13 to 20, and z is the remainder. The alloy typically exhibits a coercivity of 0.1 to 0.5 Oe, an electrical resistivity of 100 to 150 xcexcxcexa9-cm, and a saturation magnetization of about 16 to about 19 kG, all of which represent improvements over Permalloy.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to micromagnetic components for power applications.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
There is an increasing market for compact and efficient portable electronic devices such as notebook computers and cellular telephones. This increasing market has established the need for both a reduction in size and an improvement in efficiency in the associated power integrated circuits. Specifically, to reduce power consumption and increase battery life, integrated power management is being sought, e.g., single-chip power components such as on-chip DC-DC converters. An essential aspect of such integration is the merging of CMOS and magnetic elements onto a single chip. In particular, planar inductors and transformers, operated at high frequencies, are the fundamental magnetic elements of such DC-DC converters. In addition, current magnetic materials used in inductors and transformers, e.g., Permalloy, suffer from some limitations that would be undesirable for such on-chip power devices. For example, Permalloy""s adherence tends to be less than desired, and the alloy has some limitations in frequency range due to its electrical conductivity.
Thus, improved techniques for forming micromagnetic components for integrated CMOS/power applications, as well as improved materials for such components, are desired.
The process of the invention involves forming multilayer components in which a photoresist-type material is used not only as a conventional patterning material, but also as an insulating and/or planarizing material between magnetic or electrically conductive layers. This use of photoresist as part of the overall component structure is unique to LIGA-type processes. (LIGA is a German acronym that stands for, in English, lithography, plating, molding. See, e.g., H. Guckel, xe2x80x9cMicromechanics for x-ray lithography and x-ray lithography for micromechanics,xe2x80x9d Precision Engineering and Opto-Mechanics, SPIE, Vol. 1167, 151-158 (1989) for a general discussion of LIGA processes.) According to the invention, a variety of integrated CMOS/micromagnetic components are capable of being formed, including components containing planar inductors and transformers. Additionally, in one embodiment of the process, a particular technique is used to etch gold-containing seed layers from a substrate surface without damaging an electroplated copper coil. Such a technique is useful when electroplating copper onto such a seed layer, because most chemicals used to etch away the gold will, in the absence of such a technique, damage the copper coil.
The invention also relates to a magnetic material particularly useful in devices such as inductors and transformers. The material is an amorphous iron-cobalt-phosphorus alloy having a composition of CoxPyFez, where x+y+z=100, x is 5 to 15, y is 13 to 20, and z is the remainder. In one useful embodiment, x is 11 and y is 17. The cobalt and iron provide relatively high saturation magnetization and low coercivity, while the phosphorus is present in an amount that provides an amorphous structure, but does not unacceptably lower the saturation magnetization. The alloy typically exhibits a coercivity of 0.1 to 0.5 Oe, an electrical resistivity of 100 to 150 xcexcxcexa9-cm, and a saturation magnetization of about 16 to about 19 kG, all of which represent improvements over Permalloy.

Device comprising micromagnetic components for power applications and process for forming device


A power supply device has first and second terminals, a transformer, a switching element and an auxiliary power supply element. The first and second terminals receive input power having an input voltage. The transformer has a primary winding and a secondary winding. The primary winding has a pair of winding terminals. One of the pair of winding terminals is connected to the first terminal. The switching element is connected between the second terminal and the other of the pair of winding terminals of the primary winding. The auxiliary power supply element feeds electric power to the transformer when the input voltage decreases to or less than a predetermined value. The auxiliary power supply element has a capacitor and a second switching element for storing energy from the primary winding into the first capacitor during a normal operation of the power supply device.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a power supply device. The present invention relates to a power supply device used for a back light of a liquid crystal display device, and an electronic device such as a personal computer. Particularly, the present invention relates to an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) which supplies power when an input voltage from a power supply accidentally drops below a predetermined value.
2. Related Art
A power supply circuit used for an electronic device is required to maintain feeding electric power for a predetermined time period after an electric failure such as an abrupt voltage drop and/or an instantaneous interruption occurs. If the electronic device is fed at least for the predetermined time period after the above electric failure, malfunction and/or breakdown of the electronic device caused due to the above electric failure can be prevented. Hence, installation of an auxiliary power supply is indispensable for protecting the electric device from the electric failure.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Publication HEI 08-298769 (JP 08-298769) discloses a switching power supply having an auxiliary power supply. The power supply device is proposed in which a secondary winding is added to a reactor constituting an active filter in a step-up chopper, and a higher frequency AC voltage is taken out from the secondary winding as an input of the auxiliary power supply. The switching power supply includes the auxiliary power supply so that activation and suspension of the power supply can be controllable from an external device.
However, the power supply device does not have any mechanism for ensuring the sufficient holding time to maintain the feed of the electric power by the power supply device. As a result, a problem may arise that the feed from the power supply device is stopped.
On the other hand, an insulation type of power supply device is disclosed for insulating an input side from an output side through a transformer provided therebetween. This power supply device includes a capacitor on a secondary side of the transformer for storing electric energy and ensuring feed of electric power to a load for a certain time period after an instantaneous interruption, i.e., a holding time period.
However, the insulation type of power supply device has the following possible disadvantages. Generally, the secondary side of the transformer in the power supply device has a lower voltage than a voltage of the primary side. Energy stored in the capacitor is expressed by CV2/2 (C is a capacitance of the capacitor, and V is a voltage across the capacitor), and is proportional to the square of the voltage across the capacitor. Since the voltage of the secondary side is generally low, a larger capacitance of the capacitor is required to ensure the desired holding time period. This structure results in upsizing of the power supply device.
An object of the present invention is to provide a power supply device which ensure sufficient feed of electric power to an electric and/or electronics device connected thereto for a certain time period after an input voltage to the power supply device falls to or less than a predetermined value.


An articulable elbow spacer includes a humeral component, an ulnar component, and a tie. The humeral component includes a proximal end having a rod for insertion into a humeral canal and a distal end including a first joint member, the first joint member including antibiotic cement and one or more tunnels. The ulnar component includes a proximal end including a second joint member, the second joint member including antibiotic cement and including one or more tunnels, and configured to receive the first joint member and a distal end having a rod for insertion into an ulnar canal. The tie is configured to link the humeral component to the ulnar component and is configured for insertion into the one or more tunnels of the first joint member and the one or more tunnels of the second joint member.

This invention relates to an antibiotic spacer element for treating deep infection about the elbow joint.
It is well accepted to use an antibiotic cement spacer in the treatment of deep infection following total elbow arthroplasty. Known descriptions of elbow devices for deep infection include static spacers meant to maintain the soft tissue envelope or space.
Conventional antibiotic cement elbow spacers generally include a piece of cement in each of the intramedullary canals including the humerus and ulna, as well as a block of cement between the two bones. This model allows for direct treatment or delivery of antibiotics to the humerus, ulna, and the soft tissue envelope previously affected by a deep infection. Motion is permitted but unstable and often requires full time splinting to allow for more stability and to control for pain during activities of daily living.


Temperature measurement of an integrated circuit may be made using a bandgap voltage reference. In one example, a circuit includes a bandgap reference, a first output terminal, a second output terminal, and a calculation circuit. The bandgap reference includes a first amplifier having a first amplifier input coupled to a first transistor and a second amplifier input coupled to a second transistor. The first output terminal is coupled to the first and second transistors and is operable to provide a temperature independent voltage. The second output terminal is operable to provide a temperature dependent voltage. The calculation circuit is coupled to the first output terminal and the second output terminal and is configured to subtract from the temperature dependent voltage a difference between the temperature independent voltage and a nominal temperature independent voltage.

Integrated circuit devices, such as processors, microcontrollers, application specific integrated circuits (ASICs), programmable logic devices (PLDs), programmable logic arrays (PLAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), can include numerous types of discrete circuit components, including transistors, resistors, and capacitors, as well as other components or circuit structures. Device designers and manufacturers routinely attempt to increase the speed and performance of such integrated circuit devices while at the same time reducing die and/or package size and maintaining device reliability. However, the presence of hundreds of thousands or millions of closely-spaced transistors and other discrete components exhibiting sub-micron dimensions and operating at high clock rates inevitably causes the device to exhibit high power dissipation and heating.
High temperatures can damage or destroy integrated circuit components, and operation of an integrated circuit at a temperature above a certain level can be indicative of design or manufacturing defects in the device. Consequently, many systems, devices, and techniques exist for measuring and monitoring integrated circuit temperature.
FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified block diagram of prior art integrated circuitry temperature monitoring devices and techniques. In this example, the integrated circuit 100 (shown as an FPGA in the figure) includes a simple diode structure 105 fabricated on its die. The anode and cathode of diode 105 (shown here as corresponding to the base and the emitter of the pnp device) are bonded out to external pins of integrated circuit 100, which in turn are coupled to diode current source and sink pins of temperature sensor integrated circuit 110. Temperature sensor integrated circuit 110 typically measures the change in diode 105's base-emitter voltage (VBE) at two different operating points. For a bias current ratio of N:1, the difference between the two voltage measurements is given by:
  Δ                  V    BE      η              k                                      T        q                ln                    [        N        ]              .
With the measured value of ΔVBE, temperature sensor integrated circuit 110 can determine the temperature T of the diode from the constants k (Boltzmann's constant) and q (electron charge), as well as the known value of the bias current ration N. The only remaining parameter, η (the non-ideality factor of the process on which the diode was manufactured) can be specified using information from the device manufacturer. An example of temperature sensor integrated circuit 110 is the LM83 Triple-Diode Input and Local Digital Temperature Sensor with Two-Wire Interface from National Semiconductor Corporation. Numerous other similar devices will be well known to those having ordinary skill in the art. Once a device temperature is determined, it can be reported, logged, or compared to a threshold value. In the example illustrated, temperature sensor integrated circuit 110 compares the measured temperature to a threshold value, and signals some other device, e.g., hardware shutdown circuitry, when the measured value exceeds the threshold.
While the devices and techniques shown in FIG. 1 offer the advantages of relative simplicity and accuracy, they offer a number of disadvantages. For example, in order to reduce parasitic resistances in series with the diode 105, the diode is manufactured in such a way that it consumes a large area on the die of integrated circuit 100. Because die real estate can be very valuable, this often restricts implementation to one diode, and thus one measuring point, per die. Additionally, diode 105 typically needs to be located close to the edge of the die to further reduce parasitic effects in the signal from the device. Unfortunately, the edge of the die is not necessarily the best (or most representative) location to measure temperature, e.g., the center of the die is typically better. As illustrated, both the anode and cathode have to be bonded to dedicated pins of integrated circuit 100, thereby adding to packaging costs. Moreover, the temperature measurement system uses a specialized external device (circuit 110). Finally, additional parasitic effects can impact device signals because temperature sensor integrated circuit 110 is not connected directly into diode 105, but is instead connected through PCB traces, to package pins, through packaging, along bond wires to die bond pads.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have integrated circuit temperature measurement devices and techniques that reduce or eliminate many of the deficiencies of the prior art.

Apparatus and method for temperature measurement using a bandgap voltage reference


A lens is manufactured by hardening soft material filled inside a molding tool by cooling. The lens includes a convex lens portion having an optical axis, and a marking portion located outside of an effective diameter of the lens portion. The shape or the position of the marking portion is set to prevent deformation of the marking portion by contact with the molding tool due to shrinkage of the material during cooling.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a molded lens and a molding tool.
2. Description of Related Art
Optical disc apparatus for performing recording and playback of various information on optical recording media such as CD and DVD have been widely used. An optical disc apparatus includes an optical pickup device for reading information recorded on an optical recording medium. An optical pickup device includes a pickup lens for focusing light from a light source on an optical recording medium.
A pickup lens is generally composed of a convex lens. A pickup lens may be fabricated by molding glass material. A glass pickup lens may be fabricated by injection molding or transfer molding with use of a molding die. For example, the injection molding process supplies glass material into a cavity in a molding die and heats to soften the glass material. It then cools the glass material, thereby producing a pickup lens.
Pickup lenses are produced in large quantities in order to reduce a unit price. A plurality of pickup lenses are manufactured at a time with use of a molding die having a plurality of cavities. For example, a molding die having eight cavities may be used for manufacturing eight pickup lenses at a time. In such a case, it is desired to manufacture pickup lenses having the same quality in each cavity. However, in actuality, manufacturing quality can vary from cavity to cavity. Further, manufacturing quality can also vary from molding die to molding die. In light of this, a technique of providing a marking on a lens is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2002-122711, for example.
A method of manufacturing a glass lens on which a marking is made is described hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14. FIG. 13 is a side view showing a manufacturing method of a glass lens 4 on which a marking is made. FIG. 14 is an enlarged side view of a marking portion 3 on the glass lens 4. In this example, the glass lens 4 which has the marking portion 3 that is integrally formed on the top surface of a flange portion 2 is described by way of illustration.
Firstly, glass material is supplied to a cavity in a molding die 10. Then, the glass material and the molding die 10 are heated to soften the glass material. The molding die 10 has a shape that corresponds to a shape of a molded item (the glass lens 4). In this example, a concave portion is formed in a part of an upper mold 10a of the molding die 10 which corresponds to the marking portion 3 as shown in FIG. 13. After that, pressure is applied to the glass material by the upper mold 10a and a lower mold 10b of the molding die 10, and the glass material is then cooled. The glass lens 4 which has the marking portion 3 in a shape that protrudes from the top surface of the flange portion 2 is thereby formed.
However, if the marking portion 3 is formed by the above method, the marking portion 3 and the concave portion of the upper mold 10a come into contact to cause chipping of the marking portion 3. This is because the degree of shrinkage during cooling of the glass material is larger than that of the molding die 10 and, consequently, the glass material shrinks toward the center more significantly than the molding die 10 does. In other words, due to a large difference in the coefficient of thermal expansion between the glass material and the molding die 10, the marking portion 3 can get chipped by contact with the upper mold 10a. If the marking portion 3 of the glass lens 4 and the concave portion of the upper mold 10a of the molding die 10 come into contact as shown in FIG. 14, the marking portion 3 can get chipped. The above drawback can occur in a molded lens which uses lens material having a larger coefficient of thermal expansion than a molding die. Specifically, the above drawback can occur not only in the glass lens 4 but also in a plastic molded lens.
Besides the above method, as other methods of forming a marking portion on the glass lens 4, there are techniques of performing processing afterward, such as writing a marking by a marker pen, changing a deposition mask shape, and performing additional processing. However, those methods require additional work because they cause a trace (marking) error, need cleaning, and so on. In the method using a marker pen, there is the possibility that a marking disappears.


The present invention provides a culture container and a cap for a container having a ventilation filter medium or a medium similar thereto that can exchange carbon dioxide gas in the culture container with atmospheric air, and prevent the contamination of sterilized culture medium inside the culture container with fungi, mites, and the like. A culture bottle includes a bottle unit, and a cap that is mounted on an opening. The cap includes a cap unit, and a ventilation filter medium. A hole is provided in the cap unit. The ventilation filter medium includes a plurality of micropores having a pore diameter between 0.1 and 50 micrometers, and is mounted on the hole.

Wide mouth plastic culture bottles or plastic bags are employed as containers for culturing edible mushrooms such as enoki mushrooms, beech mushrooms (bunashimeji), shiitake mushrooms, and the like.
When culture bottles are employed, these mushrooms can be cultured in the following way. First, the culture bottles are filled with culture medium, a cap having a filter is mounted on each culture bottle, and the bottles are then subjected to high-temperature sterilization. After the sterilization process, the culture bottles are cooled, the caps are removed after cooling and the culture medium is inoculated with inoculum, and the caps are again mounted on the bottles and the inoculum is cultured for a predetermined period of time. The caps are removed at the end of the culturing period, fruiting bodies are allowed to grow from the culture medium, and the mushrooms are harvested at the point in which they have attained a predetermined size.
A ventilation filter is placed in the cap mounted on the culture bottle or in the culture bag. The ventilation filter functions to prevent other fungi from contaminating the culture medium inside the culture container, and to exchange the carbon dioxide gas (CO2) generated from the mushrooms during the cultivation period with atmospheric air. The gas exchange characteristics of the ventilation filter is a big problem, particularly with respect to enoki mushrooms and the like, because they have a low tolerance to carbon dioxide gas and the ventilatory frequency of the carbon dioxide gas will have a conspicuous impact on culture quality.
When considered from this viewpoint, non-woven fabrics having comparatively good ventilation characteristics and low pressure drop are conventionally used as the ventilation filter medium.
However, ventilation filter media formed from a non-woven fabric or the like has an 80% collection efficiency with respect to 0.1 micrometer particles, and because the pore size thereof is large, cannot completely prevent fungal contamination even if the filter is mounted after the culture medium is sterilized, and in particular cannot completely prevent fungus such as Trichoderma from being propagated.
In addition, when other fungi have propagated inside the culture container, the other fungi propagated inside the culture container will pass through the ventilation filter media and leak out into the outside air and contaminate other nearby containers, mites propagated inside culture containers contaminated with other fungi will enter other culture containers, and other fungi, mites, and the like in the other culture containers will continue to spread.

Ventilation filter medium for container, and container and container cap equipped with ventilation filter medium


A system and method for displaying an electronic mail message related to a statement submitted in an online chat session. Statements submitted by participants in the online chat session are searched for a specified keyword. When the keyword is detected in a statement submitted by a first participant in the chat session, mail boxes of the first participant and a specified second participant are searched for electronic mail messages related to the specified keyword. The related electronic mail messages are read from the respective mail boxes and displayed on a terminal unit of the second participant.

The present invention relates to an electronic mail display method for causing a chat system and an electronic mail center to link with each other to present a received electronic mail during a chat. The invention further provides an information communication system, an electronic mail center, a chat server and a recording medium for performing the method.
Electronic mail provides a means for information communication structured as follows: An electronic mail center comprising a host computer has storage regions called mail boxes and provided to correspond to a number of receivers. The electronic mail center receives document information whose receiver is appointed from a terminal unit connected to a public telephone network through the same. In the electronic mail center, the received document information is written to a mail box corresponding to the appointed receiver. Then, the receiver reads the document information from the mail box into the receiver's terminal unit.
The receiver of the electronic mail is able to receive the electronic mail at a time convenient for the receiver. Therefore, the receiver is provided with convenience because the work being conducted by the receiver is not interrupted by the received (supplied) electronic mail, as would be the case by a call on the telephone. A sender is able to easily use the electronic mail without considering the time at which the mail is received, because thus the mail does not interrupt the receiver.
A chat system is, on the other hand, known as a means for communicating information. The chat system has a chat server which is a host computer and a plurality of terminal units connected to the same through the public telephone line. A message received by the chat server from a terminal unit is immediately transmitted to another terminal unit so that a chat between operators of the terminal units is realized by using characters.
In the chat system, on the terminal units, a content of a statement is displayed in correspondence with the name of a person who made the statement. Therefore, even if a plurality of statements are made simultaneously, confusion as to the person who made a given statement can be prevented. Moreover, the contents of the statements can reliably be communicated to other operators. Consequently, exchange of opinions is performed smoothly. Since the contents of the statements displayed on the terminal unit can be stored in the form of text data, minutes of proceedings can easily be made on the basis of the text data.
Therefore, such a chat system is suitable to allow participants to give their opinions to each other to decide their policy. However, a problem, similar to that experienced with the telephone system, arises in that the participants encounter time constraints. In a case where the contents to be communicated are brought to a conclusion, electronic mail is sometimes a more suitable method.
Accordingly, the two methods are selectively employed. That is, electronic mail is employed in a usual information exchange, and the chat system is employed when a simple communication is performed or policy is decided.
It also follows that the contents of electronic mail received previously are frequently a subject of the chat. In a case where the participants of the chat, other than the person who presented the contents of the chat, have no idea of the contents, smooth communication of opinions is difficult.

System and method for displaying an electronic mail containing a keyword detected in a chat session message


An organic compound represented by General Formula (G100) is provided. A novel liquid crystal composition containing the organic compound is provided.

In recent years, liquid crystals have been used in a variety of devices; in particular, liquid crystal display devices (liquid crystal displays) having advantages of thinness and lightness have been used for displays in a wide range of fields.
Low power consumption is an added value required of a liquid crystal display device. For example, in an active matrix liquid crystal display device, a transistor with low off-state current is used as a transistor having a function of applying voltage to a liquid crystal element; thus, data is rewritten at longer time intervals (a refresh rate is reduced) in a period during which one image (still image) is displayed, and power consumption is reduced (Patent Document 1).

Organic compound, liquid crystal composition, liquid crystal element, and liquid crystal display device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., LTD.


Several local databases may be linked together to form a large database. Each database may share a common type definition, but may contain only a portion of the large database. When a local database queries information from another database, the result may be stored locally using the type system. Across the entire database, items may be identified as their local or home database along with an identifier provided by that database. Cached information may be stored locally and may refer to the source for that information through the identifier. Once the cached information is present, queries that reference the record may be satisfied by the cached information. The cached information may be refreshed from the source database or may expire to avoid stale or changed data in the cache.

Some applications may manage and manipulate very large amounts of data. In many cases, the data may be organized into different data sets for security, performance, and other reasons.
Accessing the data in a timely manner, including geographically dispersed data sets, can be difficult as the amount of data gets very large.


A content addressable memory (CAM) device can include a plurality CAM cell groups. The CAM cells of each group can be commonly connected to at least one local compare data line. A mask value circuit can be provided corresponding to each CAM cell group. Each mask value circuit can provide a mask value. At least a first logic circuit corresponding to each CAM cell group can have a first input coupled to at least a first global compare data line, a second input coupled to receive the mask value of the corresponding mask value circuit, and an output coupled to the corresponding at least first local compare data line.

Content addressable memory (CAM) devices are widely used in networking and communications applications. A content addressable memory is one where the contents of the memory are searched by a 'key', which relates to the content of each memory location, rather than by an address, as in a conventional memory device.
Conventional CAM devices can include binary CAM devices and ternary CAM (TCAM) devices. Binary CAM devices can provide a match result based on a bit-by-bit comparison between bits of a compare data value and a stored data value. Full TCAM devices can enable a bit-by-bit masking of compare results for each data value. "Pseudo" TCAM (PTCAM) devices can provide masking on a multiple bitwise basis. In particular, matching can be masked on a columnwise basis, with a same bit location within multiple stored data values being masked from a compare operation.
A conventional PTCAM device will now be described with reference to FIG. 12. Conventional PTCAM 1200 includes CAM cells 1202-0 and 1202-1 arranged in a first column, and CAM cells 1202-2 and 1202-3 arranged into a second column. CAM cells (1202-0 and 1202-1) of a first column can receive a first complementary compare data values CD0/BCD0 by way of compare data lines 1204-0 and 1204-1. In the same way, CAM cells (1202-2 and 1202-3) of a second column can receive a second complementary compare data values CD1/BCD1 by way of compare data lines 1204-2 and 1204-3.
In a row direction, CAM cells 1202-0 and 1202-2 can be commonly connected to one match line 1206-0, while CAM cells 1202-1 and 1202-3 can be commonly connected to another match line 1206-1.
In the conventional PTCAM 1200, each column can have a corresponding mask value storage circuit 1208-0 and 1208-1. A mask value storage circuit (1208-0 and 1208-1) can provide a mask value (M0/M1) to CAM cells of the corresponding column.
Referring still to FIG. 12, in the conventional arrangement each CAM cell (1202-0 to 1202-3) can include a storage circuit 1210 and a compare circuit 1212. Each compare circuit 1212 can include six transistors N0 to N5. Transistors N0-N2 and N3-N5 can have source-drain paths arranged in series between a match line (1206-0 or 1206-1) and a low power supply Vss. Transistors N0/N3 can receive complementary compare data values CD0/BCD0 or CD1/BCD1 at their respective gates. Transistors N1/N4 can receive the same mask value M0/M1 for the column at their respective gates. Transistors N2/N5 can receive complementary stored data values V/BV, at their respective gates.
In such a conventional arrangement, a mask value M0/M1 can dictate a match result for the corresponding column. More particularly, if a mask value M0/M1 is low, CAM cells of the corresponding column will not be capable of forming a discharge path for their corresponding match lines, as transistors N1 and N4 can be placed in a high impedance state. However, if a mask value M0/M1 is high, CAM cells of the corresponding column may or may not form a discharge path for their corresponding match lines depending upon a comparison between a stored data value V/BV and applied compare data value CD/BCD.
In this way, in a conventional TCAM, masking of bit compare operations can be performed on a columnwise basis according to a mask value for each column.


A technique configures data storage equipment to (i) allow host I/O operations to start on storage devices while a credit tally is less than a predefined credit quota and (ii) block host I/O operations from starting on the storage devices while the tally is greater than the quota. The technique further involves, while a rebuild procedure is not being performed on the storage devices, (i) allocating host I/O credits at equal weight to the tally upon starting host I/O operations and (ii) de-allocating the credits at equal weight from the tally upon completion of the operations. The technique further involves, while the rebuild procedure is being performed on the storage devices, (i) allocating host I/O credits at greater than equal weight to the tally upon starting host I/O operations and (ii) de-allocating the credits at greater than equal weight from the tally upon completion of the operations.

There is a limit to the number of input/output (I/O) accesses that can be effectively performed by a RAID (redundant array of inexpensive disks) group of disks at any one time. One conventional data storage system controls the number of I/O accesses that are currently performed on a RAID group of disks using credits. That is, each I/O request is considered to consume a certain number of credits depending on a type of the I/O request (e.g., a read request, a write request, a read-modify-write request, etc.) and the particular RAID level for the RAID group. When the system begins processing an I/O request, the system increases an overall credit count by the particular number of credits associated with that I/O request. Similarly, when the system finishes processing that I/O request, the system decreases the overall credit count by the particular number of credits associated with that I/O request.
To impose a limit on the number of I/O accesses that are currently performed on a RAID group, the system processes new I/O requests only when the overall credit count does not exceed a predefined credit threshold. If the overall credit count exceeds the predefined credit threshold, the system considers the RAID group to be fully loaded and temporarily blocks processing of new I/O requests. Once the overall credit count drops below the predefined credit threshold due to completion of one or more previously started I/O requests, the system allows processing of new I/O requests.

Performing input/output operations on a set of storage devices based on scalable input/output credits


An electrode assembly and a secondary battery including the same. The electrode assembly includes a plurality of alternately disposed positive electrode plates and negative electrode plates, separators disposed between the positive electrode plates and the negative electrode plates, a plurality of positive electrode tabs formed in the plurality of positive electrode plates, a plurality of negative electrode tabs formed in the plurality of negative electrode plates, a positive electrode lead including a clip accommodating the plurality of positive electrode tabs and a lead line coupled to the clip, and a negative electrode lead including a clip accommodating the plurality of negative electrode tabs and a lead line coupled to the clip.

Field of the Invention
An embodiment of the present invention relates to an electrode assembly and a secondary battery including the same, and more particularly, to an electrode assembly generating a large capacity of current and a secondary battery including the same.
Description of the Related Art
As the use of portable electronic apparatus increases, the use of a rechargeable secondary battery is increasing. In accordance with the request of a user, researches on making a secondary battery small and light are being performed.
Since a lithium (Li) battery as a representative secondary battery has higher operation voltage and energy density per unit weight than a nickel-cadmium (Ni—Cd) battery or a nickel-hydrogen (NI-MH) battery, the use of the Li battery is increasing.
The lithium battery is divided into a lithium-ion battery for which liquid electrolyte is used and a lithium-polymer battery for which high molecular electrolyte is used. The lithium battery may have various shapes such as a cylinder type, a prismatic type, and a pouched type in accordance with the shape of a case.

Electrode assembly and secondary battery including the same


A concentric nebulizer having applicability in inductively coupled plasma spectrometry is disclosed. The device features a nebulizer tube with a tapered front open end and mechanism for removing, replacing, and adjusting the position of central sample capillaries with respect to the opening in the front end to adjust such parameters as gas pressure, sample flow rates, and aerosol formation over a wide range. Devices constructed in accordance with the invention may operate at low gas pressure and are physically compatible to glass concentric nebulizers.

Sample introduction systems have been the weak link of ICP spectrometry. In ICP spectrometry, a liquid sample solution typically is converted into a form of aerosol, carried by an inert gas such as argon, and then injected into an ICP spectrometer for analysis. The converting of the liquid sample is normally accomplished through use of a nebulizer. Prior to the aerosol's being injected into the ICP spectrometer, large droplets of sample are removed by means of a spray chamber, for example. Only the smaller, useful particles are introduced into the ICP spectrometer. "Nebulization efficiency" is a relevant factor in this process and is defined as the amount of sample introduced into the ICP spectrometer after the removal of large droplets (i.e., useful aerosol) divided by the total amount of sample initially delivered to the nebulizer. Problems associate with low nebulization efficiency and current devices, which are generally of low nebulization efficiency, are unsuitable for analysis of samples introduced over a wide range of flow rates, and often require the use of a high pressure pump or other mechanism to introduce an adequate volume of sample for experimental purposes. In general, there are two types of sample introduction systems, ultrasonic nebulizers and pneumatic nebulizers. Less common devices include thermospray and direct injection nebulizers. A brief discussion of various relevant nebulizers is presented below. A more detailed and thorough discussion of various nebulizers and of nebulization generally is presented in the specification and drawings of U.S. Pat. No. 5,411,208 issued to John A. Burgener on May 2, 1995 and the text and drawings of that patent are incorporated herein by reference for purposes of clarification where necessary.
Ultrasonic nebulizers typically offer 10 times the nebulization efficiency of pneumatic nebulizers. However, ultrasonic nebulizers are more complicated to operate than pneumatic nebulizers. Also there have been reports regarding interferences due to nebulization desolvation for the ultrasonic nebulizer. "Nebulization desolvation" is a process used to remove water vapor and large particles prior to aerosol injection into the ICP spectrometer. Less complicated pneumatic nebulizers can be classified as cross-flow and concentric nebulizers. Among all sample introduction systems, glass concentric nebulizers are the most popular due to their simplicity in design and operation. The current invention relates closely with glass concentric nebulizers.
The basic operating principle of a glass concentric nebulizer is simple and is explained with the aid of FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 depicts the structure of a typical glass concentric nebulizer. The nebulizer is a single piece formed from glass. The nebulizer has an elongated hollow main tube with a rear end and a front end. The front end is tapered down in roughly the shape of a cone and terminates in an opening. Coming off the side of the main tube is a gas tube for feeding gas into the main tube for expulsion through the opening in the front end of the main tube. The main tube carries in its interior an integrally formed central capillary which extends from the rear end of the main tube to the front open end of the main tube and is aligned in concentric fashion with respect the main tube. The outside of the central capillary and the inside of the rear end of the main tube are sealed together as shown in FIG. 1 so that gas being fed into the main tube from the gas tube cannot escape through the rear end of the main tube, but instead, is forced to escape through the opening in the front end of the main tube. The inner diameter of the main tube is larger at all points along its length than the outer diameter of the central capillary so that gas can escape through the space between the two at the front end of the main tube. The space between the capillary and the front end of the main tube is referred to as the gas annulus.
In operation, a liquid sample is fed into the rearward end of the central capillary and is expelled through the forward end of the capillary. At the same time, gas is fed into the main tube from the gas tube. The liquid sample may be moved through the central capillary by free suction created by the partial vacuum at the forward end of the capillary due to the rapidly exiting gas or by pumping it into the rearward end of the capillary or both. The sample flow rate created by free suction at given gas flow rates is known as the "natural aspiration rate." As the liquid exits the capillary, it interacts with the gas being expelled under pressure through the gas annulus in the main tube and forms an aerosol. Typically, inert gases such as argon are used, but any gas may be used that is consistent with protocol for a particular experiment. As can be seen in FIG. 1, the forward end of the capillary cooperates with the opening in the main tube to form a nozzle. The translational position of the capillary's forward end with respect to the opening in the main tube is critical in aerosol formation. There are typically three configurations for these types of nozzles. In one configuration, the capillary's forward end extends outside the glass tube, beyond the opening in the main tube. In a second configuration, the capillary's forward end is flush with the opening in the glass tube. In a third configuration, the forward end of the capillary is recessed with respect to the opening in the glass tube. It is easy to appreciate based on how these nebulizers are manufactured that the nozzle configuration is fixed permanently for any single glass concentric nebulizer. Not only is the position of the forward end of the capillary fixed with respect to the opening in the front of the main tube, but other parameters critical to aerosol formation are fixed as well such as the inner and outer diameters of the central capillary, the inner diameter of the main glass tube at its front end opening, the size of the opening at the front end of the main tube, and the cross-sectional area of the gas annulus. All of these parameters play a central role in the formation of aerosol and, because they are fixed for any given single-piece nebulizer, frequent changing of entire nebulizers during experimentation is necessary where different analytical applications (e.g. different flow rates) are desired.
At present, there are generally two types of glass concentric nebulizers, one for regular sample flow rates and the other for micro-volume sample flow rates. "Regular sample flow rate" is on the order of milliliters of sample per minute (mL/min) flowing through the capillary while "micro-volume sample flow rate" is on the order of microliters of sample per minute (.mu.L/min) flowing through the capillary. For best results, the sample flow rate used should be close to the natural aspiration rate. If the sample flow rate is much lower than the natural aspiration rate, pulsation in nebulization occurs due to the sudden burst of sample aerosol created by free suction which is followed by a bubble at the capillary tip. This phenomenon is referred to as the "nebulization starvation effect." For example, the regular MEINHARD glass concentric nebulizer (FIG. 2) passes anywhere from 0.5 to 2 mL/min. of sample through its capillary at the natural aspiration rate and the MEINHARD glass concentric High Efficiency Nebulizer (FIG. 3) typically passes less than 100 .mu.L/min of sample through its capillary at the natural aspiration rate under typical conditions. These two nebulizers are almost identical except for the nozzle opening and the capillary. The inner diameter of the sample capillary is the primary factor that determines the sample flow rates of the two nebulizers. A regular flow rate device such as that in FIG. 2 possesses a capillary with a larger inner diameter ranging from 220-320 plus microns as compared to approximately 100 microns for the micro-volume device of FIG. 3. Because of their larger capillary inner diameters, regular concentric nebulizers are not suitable for micro-volume sample analysis due to the "nebulization starvation effect" under the typical operating conditions. Relatedly, use of the micro-volume devices at an increased sample flow rate (e.g., greater than 0.5 mL/min) is difficult because the reduced inner diameter of the capillary limits the volume of sample that can flow through the capillary per unit time. To increase the sample flow rate through these micro-volume nebulizers, a high pressure pump is required to pump the sample through the capillary. However, use of a low pressure sample pump (e.g., a peristaltic pump) is preferable in ICP spectrochemical analysis because it allows easy cleaning and rapid sample switch over.
Another difference between the regular and high efficiency nebulizers is the gas operating pressure. Because the gas annulus for the high efficiency nebulizer is typically on the order of 5 times smaller in area than that of the regular concentric nebulizer, the gas operating pressure is about 180 psi as compared to 20 to 60 psi for the regular nebulizer. The nebulizing gas flow rate for both nebulizers under normal conditions is around 1 liter per minute. Because of the small gas annulus, higher pressure is needed to force gas through the gas annulus of the high efficiency nebulizer than the gas annulus of the regular nebulizer. Again, low operating pressure is desirable for normal analytical applications.
As for sample flow rates, to pump sample through the capillary of a regular nebulizer at a rate of 1-2 mL/min, only a low pressure pump (e.g. a peristaltic pump) is required. However, for a high efficiency nebulizer, a high pressure pump is required due to the smaller inner diameter of the sample capillary.
In the cases of both gas and sample solution, low operating pressure is preferred because it makes conducting experiments simpler and safer.
An alternative to the nebulizers currently used to analyze samples at different sample flow rates is to use just one nebulizer with a replaceable capillary and a replaceable main tube with a tapered open front end. This is not possible with the glass concentric nebulizers commonly in use because the entire device is sealed by glass-blowing various components together to form a single, inseparable article of manufacture. To remove a capillary from the single piece glass concentric nebulizer would require the destruction of the entire device. Similarly, replacing other individual parts of these nebulizers, such as the gas tube, is not possible for the same obvious reason. Presented below are the details of the present invention which, among other things, permit a user to change capillaries, adjust the position of capillaries with respect to the opening at the front end of the glass tube, and interchange the functional equivalent of the main glass tubes to vary the size of the front end opening.
Other, less relevant, devices related to the field of the current invention include the micro concentric nebulizer and the oscillating concentric nebulizer.
The micro concentric nebulizer, developed at CETAC Technology, Inc. (Omaha,Nebr.), is made of various materials, PVDF(Kynar), sapphire, polyimide, PEEK, and TEFLON among them. It is also a concentric nebulizer that applies principles of pneumatic nebulization. The nebulizer is designed for low sample flow rates similar to those of the high efficiency nebulizer discussed earlier with the exception that the device can be operated at reduced gas pressure. Because the outer diameter of this nebulizer body is much greater than that of the glass concentric nebulizer, this nebulizer requires its own mount to the spray chamber of ICP. In addition, the CETAC device does not permit a user to simply interchange capillaries of different inner and outer diameters nor does it allow a user to vary the gas pressure over a continuum because it lacks a tapered front end in which the position of the capillary with respect to the front end may be adjusted.
The oscillating capillary nebulizer, developed at Georgia Institute of Technology (Atlanta, Ga.), is made by forming a nebulizer nozzle with a pair of chromatograph columns. The operating principle of this nebulizer combines pneumatic effect and center capillary oscillation. Oscillation occurs when sample and gas are introduced and is in the range of 200 Hertz to 1400 Hertz. The oscillation begins in the inner capillary which in turn induces oscillations in the outer capillary. Typical inner diameters for the inside and outside capillaries are 50 microns and 250 microns, respectively. In the device as actually constructed, the outer diameters would typically be 142 microns and 440 microns, respectively. The positions of the capillaries are fixed by using stainless steel nuts and PEEK tubing ferrules. The entire nebulizer body is constructed of stainless steel. The nozzle configuration (i.e., the position of the inner capillary with respect to the outer capillary) is adjusted through a rotating connecting ring. An O-ring seal is applied in the connection. The preferable nozzle configuration for this nebulizer is to have the inner capillary extend outside of the outer capillary. This design allows replacement of various parts including the capillary pair for the nozzle. However, because the outer capillary is too small and not as strong as the outer shell of the main tube of a glass concentric nebulizer, a special mount is also required for using the Georgia Institute of Technology nebulizer with a common spray chamber of an ICP spectrometer. In addition, because this device uses two commercially available capillaries for nozzle fabrication, the gap for the gas passage (gas annulus) between two capillaries can not be varied continuously because the capillaries have constant radii over their entire lengths. The ability to vary the ratio of the radii is necessary to obtain different nebulizing gas pressures. For example, for a given sample capillary, a continuous increase of the inner diameter of the outside capillary (or main tube) results in a gradual decrease of nebulizing gas pressure and vice versa. This adjustment capability is preferable to operate nebulizers at different gas pressures. As will be seen, the present invention achieves this feature of variable gas pressure by permitting linear movement of the central capillary within a tapered (conic) main tube front end which varies the ratio of the inner diameter of the main outer tube and the outer diameter of the central capillary.

Pneumatic concentric nebulizer with adjustable and capillaries


An intermittent contact connector device including a frame having a first frame section movably connected to a second frame section; two electrical contacts connected to the second frame section, and an electrical shorting member connected to the first frame section. At least one of the contacts is an insulation displacement contact (IDC) member. The shorting member is adapted to contact the two electrical contacts to thereby electrically connect the two electrical contacts to each other when the first frame section is moved towards the second frame section.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an intermittent connection device and, more particularly, to an intermittent connection device having insulation displacement contacts connected to each other by an electrical shorting member.
2. Brief Description of Prior Developments
U.S. Pat. No. 5,593,178 discloses a steering wheel with an air bag and a horn switch. U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2001/0035631 A1 discloses an airbag apparatus and horn switches on a steering wheel.
There is a need for an electrical connector which can make a connection for a short user controlled duration, but in a limited space and with a reasonable cost. One such application is in the limited space of a vehicle steering wheel, such as a horn actuator in an automobile. Space in the center hub or spokes of the steering wheel is limited; especially with other components perhaps being located on the steering wheel such as sound system controls, navigation center controls, mobile telephone controls, heating and air conditioning system controls, and the driver's front vehicle air bag. Thus, an intermittent contact connector device is needed which has a small size, but can still be easily actuated by a vehicle operator. In addition, as mentioned above, the cost of the intermittent contact connector device must be reasonable for application in the competitive vehicle/automobile manufacturing market.


A vehicle body rear structure includes an upper back cross-sectional portion which forms a skeleton frame cross member that is elongated in a vehicle width direction, a bracket package tray which is located on a vehicle rear side of the upper back cross-sectional portion and joined to the upper back cross-sectional portion, a roof side inner which is located on a vehicle top side of a wheel house, a roof side outer which is located outside an extended portion and the roof side inner in a vehicle width direction and which has a front end portion which is joined to the upper back cross-sectional portion and a rear end portion which is joined to a bracket package tray, and a bulk connector which couples the roof side outer and the upper back cross-sectional portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle body rear part structure.
2. Description of Related Art
An upper back structure for a vehicle which includes a pair of strainers, each of which has a lower end portion which is joined to a longitudinal end of a rear floor cross member and an upper end portion that is located on an upper edge of an opening that communicates the cabin with the trunk room, a pair of package tray brackets that are supported by the pair of strainers, and an upper back side panel that are joined to upper end portion of the package tray brackets is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2003-312544 (JP 2003-312544 A), for example.
In some of upper back structures for a vehicle of this type, the strainers and the upper back side panel are joined to a roof side outer that is located outside, the strainers and the upper back side panel in a vehicle width direction. Examples of related documents that disclose an upper back structure for a vehicle of this type include JP 2003-312544 A, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-307993 (JP 2007-307993 A), Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2001-39341 (JP 2001-39341 A), Japanese Utility Model Application Publication No. 6-10079 (JP 6-10079 U), Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-68017 (JP 2002-68017 A) and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-6843 (JP 2000-6843 A).
However, in such an upper back structure for a vehicle, when a load toward the top of the vehicle is transmitted from a suspension that supports a rear wheel to a suspension tower, the vehicle body undergoes torsional deformation. In such a case, the junction between the roof side outer and the strainers and the junction between the roof side outer and the upper back side panel may undergo deformation which tends to cause separation thereof.


A polymer-catalyst assembly includes polarized polymeric nanofibers retaining a plurality of catalytic metallic nanoparticles. A method of making the polarized polymer-catalyst assembly may include providing a fiber mat having polymeric nanofibers retaining a plurality of catalytic metallic nanoparticles, stretching the fiber mat in a uniaxial direction, simultaneous with the step of stretching, thermally heating the fiber mat, simultaneous with the steps of stretching and thermally heating, subjecting the fiber mat to an electric field, whereby the simultaneous steps of stretching, thermally heating, and subjecting thereby form a polarized fiber mat.

Metal and metal oxide nanoparticles have excellent catalytic properties. However, when utilized independently as catalysts, these nanoparticles generally do not possess good mechanical strength and chemical stability. This independent use also suffers from extremely high pressure drop, particularly when utilized within fixed-bed columns, and aggregation of the nanoparticles, which decreases their high surface area to volume ratio and reduces their effectiveness.
To overcome these detriments, the metal and metal oxide nanoparticles have been distributed into natural and synthetic polymers. This has overcome many of the identified problems without affecting their characteristics. Examples include palladium nanoparticles on polyaniline polymer support for particular use with the Suzuki reaction and platinum nanoparticles on polyetherimide polymer support for particular use with the hydrogenation of soybean oil.
Other known examples of utilizing catalyst particles include platinum nanoparticles supported on mesoporous silica (MS), titanate nanotubes (TNT); palladium particles on carbon nanotubes; and palladium and platinum nanoparticles supported on poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene) oxide electrospun membranes. However, these examples suffer from one or more disadvantages, such as requiring modifying the surface of the support with oxygen-containing groups to change the catalytic support properties.
Thus, there remains a need in the art for an improved mechanism for utilizing catalyst particles.

Polarized fiber mats for catalyst support structures