A power semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the same are provided. The power semiconductor device includes a source structure having a projected portion with a tip-shaped end portion on its center and formed so as to surround a predetermined region of right and left and upper portions of the projected portion. Two drain structures are formed in a predetermined region surrounded by the source structure. Extended drain structures are formed around the drain structures and the extended drain structures function as a channel with a field effect channel between sides of the projected portion of the source structure. Accordingly, since there are no drain structures on the tip of the projected portion of the source structure, although a radius of curvature of the tip of the projected portion is small, a decrease in a breakdown voltage of a device due to the small radius of curvature of the tip of the projected portion can be suppressed. As a result, a power semiconductor device having a small radius of curvature of the source structure and a high breakdown voltage can be provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a power semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the same, and more particularly, to a power semiconductor device having a source structure of a narrow radius of curvature and a high breakdown voltage and a method for fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a power semiconductor device, a radius of curvature of a source region or a drain region has a close relation with a breakdown voltage of a device. In particular, the radius of curvature of the source region which is relatively small, is one of main causes for decreasing the breakdown voltage of the device. As well known, this is the reason why a field crowding phenomenon occurs in a junction of a narrow radius of curvature.
FIG. 1 is a lay-out view of a conventional power semiconductor device, for example, a field effect transistor (FET). FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-IIxe2x80x2 of FIG. 1. Same reference numerals in FIGS. 1 and 2 denote the same region or layer.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional FET 1 includes a source structure 10 having a line segment-shaped projected portion 10xe2x80x2 on its center, formed so as to surround a predetermined region of right and left and upper portions of the projected portion 10xe2x80x2. The FET 1 includes a drain structure 20 formed so as to surround the projected portion 10xe2x80x2 of the source structure 10 in a region surrounded by the source structure 10. The drain structure 20 is spaced-apart from the source structure 10.
The source structure 10 includes a source electrode 11 on the surface of a semiconductor substrate 2, a region of first conductivity type impurities, for example, a p-type well region 12 formed in the semiconductor substrate 2 under the source electrode 11, and a region having a high concentration of second conductivity type impurities, for example, a n+-type source region 13, and a region having a high concentration of first conductivity type impurities, for example, a p+-type region 14, which are formed under the surface of the p-type well region 12.
The drain structure 20 includes a drain electrode 21 on the surface of the semiconductor substrate 2 and a n-type well region 22 formed in the semiconductor substrate 2 under the drain electrode 21. The n-type well region 22, as known from a sectional structure of FIG. 2, is connected to an extended drain structure 23 of a second conductivity type which is not surrounded by the drain electrode 21. The drain structure 20 also includes a n+-type drain region 24 formed under the surface of the n-type well region 22. The extended drain structure 23 includes a p-type top region 25 formed under the surface of the n-type well region 22.
A gate electrode 30 is formed so as to be insulated from a channel region by a gate dielectric layer 40. The source electrode 11, the drain electrode 21, and the gate electrode 30 are insulated one another by an interdielectric layer 50.
In the conventional FET, a channel is uniformly formed between the source structure 10 and the drain structure 20. Thus, a channel current is nearly uniformly distributed. In this case, a breakdown current is generated by the field crowding phenomenon in a tip 10t of the projected portion 10xe2x80x2 of the source structure 10. To prevent the phenomenon, a radius of curvature of the tip 10t must be increased, however, in that case, the area of the transistor is increased.
To solve the above problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a power semiconductor device having a source structure of a small radius of curvature and a small area of a transistor and a high breakdown voltage.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for fabricating the power semiconductor device.
Accordingly, to achieve the above object, there is provided a power semiconductor device. The power semiconductor device includes a source structure having a projected portion with a tip-shaped end portion on its center, formed so as to surround a predetermined region of right and left and upper portions of the projected portion, and containing a source electrode formed so as to contact extended regions of first and second conductivity types with high concentration in a well region of a first conductivity type, drain structures formed so that two drain structures are separated each other in a predetermined region surrounded by the source structure and each of the two drain structures is spaced-apart from the side of the projected portion of the source structure and does not exist on the end portion of the projected portion, and containing a drain electrode formed so as to contact an extended region of a second conductivity type with high concentration in a well region of a second conductivity type, extended drain structures formed so as to be connected to the well region of a second conductivity type and extend from the drain structures to a predetermined distance, and forming a channel with a field effect channel between sides of the projected portion of the source structure and the extended drain structures, and not forming a channel in an upper portion of the projected portion of the source structure, and a gate structure arranged on the field effect channel between the source structure and the extended drain structures.
Preferably, the extended drain structures contain the extended well region of the second conductivity type connected to the second conductivity type well region and a top region of a first conductivity type formed under the surface of the extended well region of the second conductivity type.
Preferably, the drain structures are connected to the drain electrode in an adjacent drain structure.
In order to achieve another object, there is provided a method for fabricating a power semiconductor device. The method comprises the steps of: forming so that two well regions of a second conductivity type under the surface of a semiconductor substrate of a first conductivity type are spaced-apart from each other; forming a well region of a first conductivity type so as to surround the well region of a second conductivity type, and having a projected portion with a tip-shaped end portion so as to be in line with the well regions of a second conductivity type between adjacent well regions of a second conductivity type; forming drain and source regions of a second conductivity type with high concentration, respectively, in the well regions of a second conductivity type and a first conductivity type; forming a gate dielectric layer on the surface of the semiconductor substrate between the well regions of a second conductivity type and a first conductivity type; forming a gate electrode on the gate dielectric layer; forming a drain electrode on the drain region of a second conductivity type with high concentration; and forming a source electrode on the source region of a second conductivity type with high concentration.
The method further comprises the step of forming a top region of a first conductivity type around the drain region in the well region of a second conductivity type.
The method further comprises the step of forming a first conductive region with high concentration so as to be adjacent to the source region in the well region of a first conductivity type.
Preferably, the drain electrode is formed so as to connect adjacent drain electrodes each other.

Power semiconductor device having high breakdown voltage and method for fabricating the same


A filling machine for filling product into a packaging container comprises;                at least one filling nozzle for ejection of liquid in a first general direction into the packaging container, wherein the filling nozzle is arranged in a dishbox having an opening through which the product may be ejected towards a package provided in a volume,        wherein the opening may selectively be sealed by a sealing valve having a valve body with a portion dimensioned to be inserted in said opening. In the inventive filling machine a recess is arranged in an upper surface of the volume such that the valve body is at least partly insertable in the recess in the rest position.

When filling product into packaging containers there are several different approaches to consider, and in many approaches packaging containers are filled using a filling nozzle through which the product is ejected into the packaging container. There are instances where it may be beneficial to dish and sterilize the filling nozzle and associated fluid passages without affecting the rest of the filling machine. In such a situation there are examples of a cup-like arrangement being arranged to enclose and outlet end of the filling nozzle. The present invention aims at providing a filling machine having a new and improved arrangement for isolation of the filling nozzles.
A sealing system according to the preamble of the present invention is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,494.


A method for magnetic resonance elastography (“MRE”) is described, in which an MRE inversion that accounts for waves propagating in a finite, bounded media is employed. A vibratory motion is induced in a subject and MRE is performed to measure one or more components of the resulting displacement produced in the subject. This displacement data is subsequently filtered to provide a more accurate and computationally efficient method of inversion. Wave equations based on the geometry of the bounded media are then utilized to calculate the material properties of the subject. Such a method allows for the performance of MRE on tissues such as the heart, eye, bladder, and prostate with more accurate results.

The field of the invention is magnetic resonance imaging ("MRI") methods and systems. More particularly, the invention relates to magnetic resonance elastography ("MRE") inversion methods and systems.
When a substance such as human tissue is subjected to a uniform magnetic field (polarizing field B0), the individual magnetic moments of the nuclei in the tissue attempt to align with this polarizing field, but precess about it in random order at their characteristic Larmor frequency. If the substance, or tissue, is subjected to a magnetic field (excitation field B1) that is in the x-y plane and that is near the Larmor frequency, the net aligned moment, Mz, may be rotated, or "tipped", into the x-y plane to produce a net transverse magnetic moment Mxy. A signal is emitted by the excited nuclei or "spins", after the excitation signal B1 is terminated, and this signal may be received and processed to form an image.
When utilizing these "MR" signals to produce images, magnetic field gradients (Gx, Gy, and Gz) are employed. Typically, the region to be imaged is scanned by a sequence of measurement cycles in which these gradients vary according to the particular localization method being used. The resulting set of received MR signals are digitized and processed to reconstruct the image using one of many well known reconstruction techniques.
It has been found that MR imaging can be enhanced when an oscillating stress is applied to the object being imaged in a method called MR elastography ("MRE"). The method uses the oscillating stress to produce shear waves that propagate through the organ, or tissues, to be imaged. These shear waves alter the phase of the MR signals, and from this the material properties of the subject can be determined. In many applications, the production of shear waves in the tissues is a matter of physically vibrating the surface of the subject with a device referred to as an "MRE driver." Shear waves may also be produced, for example, in the breast and prostate by direct contact with the oscillatory device. Also, with organs like the liver, the oscillatory force can be directly applied by means of an applicator that is inserted into the organ.
It has been suggested that cardiac dysfunction is related to the mechanical properties of the myocardium and that knowledge of these parameters could provide insight into a variety of diseases. Exemplary diseases include diastolic dysfunction, hypertension, and myocardial ischemia. To date, however, the application of MRE to quantify myocardial tissue mechanical properties has provided inaccurate results.
Like the heart and many organs in the body, disease states of the eye, such as macular degeneration, myopia, and cancer are also often indicated by changes in the mechanical properties of its constituent tissues. Assessments of ocular, intraocular, and orbital rigidity, however, are currently limited to qualitative assessment by direct palpation, more invasive methods, or other conventional methods such as tonometry. Yet, these methods may yield indirect or inaccurate results. As with the heart, to date, MRE has yet to be applied to determine the material properties of the eye in an accurate manner.
It would therefore be desirable to have a system and method for non-invasively analyzing the mechanical properties of organs such as the heart and eye.

Method for magnetic resonance elastography inversion using a finite medium model

Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research


An apparatus to tie concrete or masonry forms to existing concrete, block, or masonry structures, comprising an elongate, generally cylindrical bar. Said bar comprises, at one end, a means for anchoring the apparatus into an existing structure, at the other end, a means for coupling said apparatus to a form, and, connecting the ends to each other, a shank.

Poured concrete walls have been used in structures for many years, particularly to form the exterior walls of residential basements. It is well known to the art to use ties to support the forms in which the concrete forming such walls is initially poured. A typical concrete wall form system consists of a series of panels configured to face each other, creating a void adapted to "form" wet concrete into a wall of desired length, width, and height. The materials used for forms have evolved over time, and can include wood, sheet metal, foams, or plastics. Ties are used to secure opposing form panels to each other to support the form structure while the concrete is drying. Using an adequate number of ties of sufficient strength is important, since the weight of wet concrete creates a significant outward force against the form panels. Ties, when used properly, keep the form panels in position and prevent the form panels from bowing or separating during the pouring, setting, and curing of concrete.
Ties known to the art are inserted at regular intervals through each form panel prior to the pouring of concrete. Such ties are fastened on each side of opposing form panels, and, thus fastened, apply inward tension to prevent the form panels from parting or bowing during the pour. Such ties ran through the void formed by the space between opposing form panels, into which concrete will be poured. During the pour, the ties become surrounded on all sides by concrete. As the concrete sets and cures, the ties become part of the concrete structure. After the form panels are removed, the ends of the ties protrude from the concrete wall, and are typically broken off or cut.
Problems arise, however, when it is desirable to tie a concrete form panel to an existing concrete wall, as is often required during a remodeling or addition project. Ties known to the art are designed to fasten form panels to each other, and then to become part of a concrete wall after it is poured. Ties known to the art are not designed, nor are they adaptable, to fasten a form panel to an existing concrete wall. Attempting to use ties known to the art in this application can result a number of undesirable results, including an undesired gap between an existing concrete wall and a concrete wall intended to be poured adjacent to it.

Apparatus to tie forms to existing structures


Controlled depositing of a printing material on a substrate is provided. A stencil is disposed adjacent to the substrate. The stencil includes a number of apertures to allow printing material to pass therethrough. Printing material is deposited onto and spread across the stencil with a squeegee blade. To increase the volume of printing material over a set of selected apertures, the squeegee blade includes a printing edge having a profile feature.

In general, the greater the number of circuit components that may be placed on a chip, the better the performance. Thus, the density of integrated circuit components in a semiconductor device is closely related to the processing speed of the device. To improve the density, researchers are constantly striving to develop semiconductor chip designs that allow for a decrease in the space between circuit components. Unfortunately, as semiconductor chips become more compact, they also become much more delicate to manufacture and handle.
In most computer systems, these state of the art fine pitch semiconductor chips are mounted to and supported by PCBs. Examples of PCBs include motherboards, graphics, video, and local area network cards. PCBs are also used to support conventional electronic components, such as connectors, capacitors, resistors, and diodes.
Unlike semiconductor chips however, these "old technology" or large pitch electronic components have not been miniaturized, primarily because the components must remain large enough to be installed, removed, or otherwise manipulated by human hands. In addition, connectors must meet agreed upon industrial standards to ensure compatibility between parts manufactured by different parties.
One method for attaching chips and electronic components to the PCB involves the use of printing material or a conductive paste, such as solder paste. In a process commonly referred to as stencil or screen-printing, the paste is deposited or printed onto the PCB through a stencil having a number of apertures in a pre-designed pattern. The stencil is positioned above the PCB so that each aperture exposes areas on the PCB pad intended to receive the paste. After the solder paste is deposited onto the stencil, a squeegee assembly having a squeegee blade is used to push the paste across the surface of the stencil. The blade is typically formed from either polyurethane or metal.
During the printing of the solder paste, the squeegee blade is pressed by the squeegee assembly into contact with and dragged across the surface of the stencil. In some assemblies, the movement of the blade may be controlled not only by direction and speed, but also by rotation and stroke length. The motion of the blade forces the paste through each aperture to print onto the PCB. Because the paste is still wet after it has been deposited onto the PCB, electrical components are easily mounted onto the PCB to complete the circuit design. Finally, the PCB undergoes a reflow process, during which the solder paste is heated and melted to form solder joints.
One of the problems with the previous printed circuit board assembly (PCBA) process is that it is difficult to deposit the right amount of solder paste for all of the different components supported by a PCB. As described above, with the advance of semiconductor technology, not only are chip designs becoming more and more compact, space between the components on a PCB is also rapidly diminishing.
If too much paste is deposited, it may result in a short circuit between nearby components on the PCB. On the other hand, if not enough paste is deposited, the component may not be properly secured to the PCB when it is mounted. Either of these conditions will lead to a greater probability of error, which is conventionally measured by defect parts per million (DPPM).
Because the amount of solder paste depends on the volume of each stencil aperture (length multiplied by width and depth), solder paste volume could traditionally be controlled, simply by varying the width of a stencil aperture. Unfortunately, to achieve satisfactory results for the fine pitch printing required by state of the art components, this method is ineffective. If the width of an aperture is too small relative to its depth, solder paste may stick to aperture walls instead of depositing onto the PCB, resulting in inadequate solder deposit.
Another method of reducing solder paste volume is to decrease the depth of the aperture by reducing the thickness of the stencil. However, in contrast with changing the width of a single aperture, changing the thickness of the stencil would necessarily change the depth of all other apertures on the stencil. If the thickness of a stencil is reduced to accommodate fine pitch components, then it is likely that the stencil will not be able to print enough solder paste to secure large pitch components.
As described previously, there is a tremendous size difference between the largest pitch components and the smallest pitch components that must be mounted on a single PCB. For example, connector pads and capacitor pads have a relatively large surface area from about 10,000 mils2 to about 25,000 mils2. In contrast, the surface area of quad flat packages (QFP) and synchronous dynamic random access memory (SDRAM) pads currently range only from about 300 mils2 to about 600 mils2.
It may be possible to overcome the size difference between the different electrical components by using more than one stencil. However, to avoid complicating the process and incurring extreme costs (e.g. requiring the use of an additional printing machine), it is extremely important for the PCBA process to deposit adequate solder paste volume within a single operation.
In view of the foregoing, it is desirable to have a method and apparatus for increasing solder deposition without increasing the thickness of a stencil. It is also desirable to selectively increase solder deposition while reducing the thickness of a stencil to reduce defects during fabrication of PCBs.

Controlled deposition of printing material


A noise filter can reliably reject an in-phase component included in a differential signal without generating anti-resonance at a target frequency reject and, a transmission device including such a noise filter.

In recent years, since the demand for high speed processing and high definition content is high, digital MFPs and digital cameras are required to be able to transmit a great number of digital signals at a high speed while satisfying the waveform quality. In order to transmit such high-volume data at a high speed, it is necessary to increase the number of transmission lines or increase the transmission speed. However, since electronic substrates are miniaturized and are extremely dense, it is difficult to increase the number of transmission lines.
Further, when data is transmitted via a cable, the number of cable cores directly affects the cost. Further, according to the increase in the transmission speed, variation in timing of signals due to skew is increased. Accordingly, keeping the set up/hold time becomes difficult. Thus, serial transmission which can transmit large volumes of data at high speed with a small number of transmission lines is widely used.
According to the serial transmission system, low-speed parallel signals such as data signals, address signals, and control signals are serialized and are differentially output to the transmission line. The transmitted serial signals are deserialized on the receiving side so that parallel signals are obtained. As the serial transmission system, US2009-0240994 discusses two types of transmission methods.
The first transmission method is clock synchronous serial transmission. A reference clock signal is transmitted along with several pieces of serialized data. According to this system, since the reference clock signal is transmitted along with the serialized data, synchronization of the reference clock signal and each data signal is very important. Thus, skew of each signal pair needs to be minimized.
The second method is clock-embedded serial transmission. According to this method, a clock bit is added to a serialized data stream and a clock signal is embedded in the data stream. The clock signal and the data signal are recovered on the receiving side. According to this transmission system, since the clock signal is embedded in the data stream, the synchronization condition will be more flexible compared to the condition of the clock signal for the data signal of the clock synchronous serial transmission.
If a high speed signal is transmitted through a long transmission cable that produces power loss, a portion of the signal component may be radiated, having the cable working as an antenna, and affect operations of other apparatuses. Thus, it is necessary to reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) of the apparatus.
Especially, regarding differential transmission, in some cases, an in-phase component, which is generated according to the waveform difference at the rising edge and the falling edge of the transmitted differential signal, passes through the system ground when it returns. In such a case, a large loop antenna, which causes problems, is generated. Since rejecting of the in-phase component of the differential signal on the driver side leads to small antenna size, it is important to reject the in-phase component in suppressing EMI in the differential transmission.
EMI suppression of clock embedded serial transmission includes the following features. First, a capacitor is inserted in series with the differential transmission line and AC coupling is performed. If a driver and a receiver are connected by a cable, AC coupling is effective in removing the DC electric potential difference of the ground electric potential between the systems. Further, the AC coupling can reduce the threshold difference when the driver and the receiver are products of different manufacturers.
It is important that DC level is kept constant when the AC coupling is performed. Thus, data which is transmitted is coded according to conversion table or by a mathematical expression. This is to set the logical transition data rate between the high level and the low level to 50%. Accordingly, the serial data to be transmitted at the low level or at the high level is not continued for 3 to 4 bits or more.
Thus, regarding EMI from a serial transmission system including a differential transmission line, the level transition of the differential signal is likely to occur in 1 bit period. If such level transition occurs, since an in-phase component, having an integral multiple of 1 bit period, is generated, greater EMI is observed at a frequency of one bit period.
Further, data spectrum transmitted in a square wave is expressed by a sinc function. It is known that a frequency of an integral multiple of one bit period does not have a spectrum. In other words, strong EMI is generated at a frequency where a spectrum of an opposite-phase component of a differential signal is null. For example, if the transmission data rate is 400 Mbps, 1 bit period will be 400 MHz, and no transmission signal spectrum will be seen at the integral multiple. Accordingly, strong EMI is generated.
As an EMI suppression method for the clock embedded serial transmission system, since the EMI occurs at the frequency where an opposite phase signal spectrum necessary in the transmission is null, for example, a band elimination filter or a notch filter is added to the differential transmission line. Since the band elimination filter and the notch filter are useful in rejecting the frequency band where the opposite phase signal spectrum necessary in the differential transmission does not exist, it can efficiently reject the in-phase component which causes EMI with a minimal effect on the transmission signal spectrum.
Thus, conventionally, a band elimination filter which includes a series circuit of an inductor and a capacitor and is connected in parallel with the transmission line is used. To be more specific, as illustrated in FIG. 6A, a pair of transmission lines 107a and 107b is connected to series circuits 1061 and 1062 including inductors 1021 and 1022 and capacitors 1031 and 1032. According to each of the series circuits 1061, 1062, LC resonant circuits are formed. "Microwave Filters, Impedance-Matching Networks, and Coupling Structures" (G. Matthaei/L. Young E. M. T. Jones ISBN: 0-89006-099-1, P725 to P772))

Abstract: Ends of a pair of coils are connected to a pair of transmission lines in the vicinity of the transmitting circuit, and other ends are short-circuited. The coils are magnetically coupled so that the magnetic flux is cancelled regarding the in-phase component that transmits the pair of transmission lines, and the magnetic flux is increased regarding an opposite-phase component that transmits the pair of transmission lines. A series circuit, which includes an inductor and a capacitor connected in series, is connected to the pair of coils and ground. Each value of the pair of coils, the inductor, and the capacitor is set so that a resonance frequency of the in-phase component is a target frequency.


A pressure head (10) for contacting a workpiece (230) through relative movement in the vertical Z-direction includes a frame (20), a horn (100) for contacting the workpiece (230) and a gimbal (40) connected to the frame (20). The gimbal (40) supports the horn (100) such that the horn (100) can rotate about orthogonal X and Y rotation axes and can translate in the Z-direction relative to the frame (20). Three adjustment arms (170) movably connected to the frame (20) each apply a force on the horn (100) at points determining a plane for rotating the horn (100) about the X-axis or the Y-axis to a fixed position before contact with the workpiece (230). The adjustment arms (170) also provide electrical connection to electrical devices (136, 138) on the horn (100). A movable contact arm (190) connected to the frame (20) also contacts the horn (100) for providing an electrical connection.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to a pressure head for bonding parts with heat and pressure and more specifically to a pressure head having a gimbaled horn that pivots on its push rod and having an adjustable zero-pressure position.
2. Description of the Related Art
A thrust head or head is commonly used to attach one item to another. The head must move relative to the workpiece. In some applications the workpiece is moved into contact with the head. In other applications, the head is moved by a thruster, such as a pneumatic cylinder. The horn, that is the working element of the head, may be heated for bonding work pieces together, that is one article to another with heat and pressure. For example, a ribbon cable circuit may be bonded to an electronic component or a flip chip may be bonded to the electronic package circuitry.
In many applications, but particularly when heat and pressure are to be applied in the bonding, it is imperative that the horn face, that is the pressure surface of the horn, align perfectly with the surface of the work pieces. One method of horn alignment to solve this problem has been to gimbal the horn such that, upon encountering the workpiece, the horn rotates to alignment.
In many applications with work pieces requiring very close bonding tolerances, it imperative that the force exerted on the horn by the workpiece required to align the gimbaled horn with the workpiece be extremely small. This is necessitated because the gimbaled horn not only rotates as it is aligned but also moves sideways thereby producing shear forces on the workpiece. If the rotational force is more than de minimis, then the shear force created in the rotation will disrupt the workpiece. Consequently, the mass of the gimbaled head needs to be minimized and the lever arm from the point of alignment force to the gimbal point or axis need to be maximized. Even the forces required to overcome the static friction of bearings in many conventional gimbaled horns or to overcome the moment and resistance to rotation created by wires leading to the heating element and thermocouple on the gimbaled horn are too large for use in some high tolerance applications.
Additionally, if the amount of necessary alignment rotation or average alignment rotation is known beforehand, it would be advantageous to pre-align, that is "zero", the horn beforehand as this would diminish or eliminate shear forces on the workpieces.
Therefore, there has been a need for a thrust head including apparatus for zero adjusting the gimbaled horn.
It is further desirable that the gimbaled horn is not fixed in the head in the up/down direction, such that, upon first encountering the workpiece the horn can move within the head such that much lower shear forces are generated on the workpiece.
It is further desirable that the gimbaled horn requires minimal force to align the horn face with the workpiece.

Pressure head with pivot rod gimbal horn with zero adjust


A method of automatically processing e-mails wherein the e-mail is tagged by the sender with a unique identifier so that the e-mail can be automatically routed or filed. The unique identifier is encrypted to protect it from unauthorized tampering or decoding to avoid misidentification or fraudulent labelling of the e-mails.

Currently when an e-mail is received by a receiving e-mail account, the recipient can open the e-mail and view its contents. The e-mail can then be saved to a file, re-routed by forwarding to another e-mail address, or deleted. Some systems, called Automated Responders, exist which analyze the contents of the e-mail and automatically perform a task, such as an automated response to a question sent to a technical support line. In these cases, the e-mail may be filed, routed or deleted automatically by the Automated Responder based on a pre-programmed set of rules that relate to the contents of the e-mail.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,732,101 Cook, 6,732,273 Byers and 5,509,000 Oberlander disclose systems in which e-mails are handled or routed according to certain rules or preferences. A problem with existing systems is that the e-mail being received must be filed or deleted based upon actions taken by the recipient, whether by a person, an expert system or a software component resident on the recipient's server. In the event that a person does the opening and filing process, labor costs are incurred and the potential for user error exists. In the event an expert system does the opening and filing, there is a high probability of error as most expert systems are prone to misinterpret the data in the e-mail. In some systems the sender must interact with a software tool on the recipient's server prior to sending the e-mail, which causes inconvenience or obstacles for the sender.
There is therefore a need for a system in which the e-mail can be composed by the sender asynchronously, without concurrently contacting the recipient, so that the e-mail can be automatically processed. It would be additionally useful if the system of identifying the e-mail for automatic routing or filing is impervious to tampering or decoding by unauthorized personnel, so that e-mails can be automatically filed with the certainty that they have not been misidentified or fraudulently labeled.

Asynchronous tamper-proof tag for routing e-mails and e-mail attachments


A boom lift vehicle includes a tower boom pivotally coupled at one end to a vehicle base for tower lift function and rotatable relative to the vehicle base for swing function. A main boom is pivotally coupled to an opposite end of the tower boom for main lift function. A tower boom elevation angle is defined as a maximum allowable tower boom angle relative to the vehicle base for transport. When the tower boom is below the tower boom elevation angle, the main boom angle relative to gravity is maintained at a set point angle, which is determined as the main boom angle (1) at the start of the swing function or vehicle drive, or (2) at a conclusion of the main lift function when combined with at least one of the swing function or vehicle drive. Additional control of the tower boom is effected when the tower boom is above the tower boom elevation angle. In this manner, stability profiles are facilitated while expanding slope requirements of a similar weight vehicle or while maintaining existing slope requirements with a lighter vehicle. The improved boom control additionally provides for safer and smoother operation.

The present invention relates to boom lift vehicles and, more particularly, to a boom lift vehicle including a tower boom pivotally coupled with a main boom and a method of controlling lifting functions of the boom lift vehicle.
In designing a boom lift vehicle, vehicle weight is an important consideration affecting manufacturing costs, vehicle maneuverability, safety factors and the like. Boom lift vehicles including one or more articulated booms typically include a strategically-placed counterweight in order to balance moment loads resulting from positions attainable by the boom arms.
Boom lift vehicles are known that include a tower boom pivotally coupled to a vehicle base. The tower boom may also be capable of expansion and retraction via telescope sections. Typically, with conventional arrangements, when raising the tower boom, the tower boom with its telescoped sections fully retracted is first pivoted to a max angle and subsequently extended from the max angle to a max position by extending the telescope sections. By raising the tower boom in this manner, a main boom supporting a platform and pivotally coupled to an upper end of the tower boom may be placed in positions that create a large turning moment. To accommodate such moments, the vehicle must include a large mass counterweight to stabilize the machine. Such larger counterweights, however, increase manufacturing costs and may have a detrimental affect on operating envelopes, for example, when the vehicle is operated on an incline. Additionally, vehicles exceeding a certain weight limit require special permits for transporting via public roads. This added consideration results in still higher costs to the vehicle purchaser.
In previous arrangements, forward stability positions are most critical when the main boom is extended near a horizontal angle and when the tower is fully raised in angle but fully retracted in length. Backward stability conditions are most critical when the main boom is fully raised when the tower is lowered and retracted or when the tower is fully raised and fully extended. Allowable positions of the tower other than these end points gain backward stability margin at the expense of forward stability margin as described above.
An articulated machine typically includes an upright and a means to maintain the upright in the vertical position when raising the tower either by an upright level cylinder or mechanical linkages. This is done to transfer the reference angle of the turntable or ground for platform leveling, to reduce the total stroke of the main boom lift cylinder and to avoid the main boom lift cylinder from having the capability of positioning the main boom into positions of backward instability.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,488,161 describes advantages of using the tower and main boom as counterweight by limiting the positions of both forward and backward stability, particularly when the tower is raised from 68 to 72 degrees when the main boom is raised from 15 to 55 degrees. By reducing the horizontal outreach of the machine, a destabilizing moment of the upper boom and platform load is reduced. Such a construction also enables the weight of the boom structure to be in the most favorable position to aid in the counterbalancing of the upper boom and platform load destabilizing moment.
In previous machines, the working envelopes of the booms were mechanically limited. When these machines were operated on sloping ground, the ultimate angle of the booms was a function of the mechanical limits of the machine and the angle of the ground. This effectively tilts the working envelope by the actual ground slope, increasing and decreasing the reach of the platform from the base of the machine. The increased angles of the boom detracted from the stability of the machine and therefore resulted in the addition of counterweight.

Boom lift vehicle and method of controlling boom angles


A voice synthesizing apparatus comprises: a storage device that stores a first database storing a first parameter obtained by analyzing a voice and a second database storing a second parameter obtained by analyzing a voice with vibrato; an input device that inputs information for a voice to be synthesized; a generating device that generates a third parameter based on the first parameter read from the first database and the second parameter read from the second database in accordance with the input information; and a synthesizing device that synthesizes the voice in accordance with the third parameter. A very real vibrato effect can be added to a synthesized voice.

A) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a voice synthesizing apparatus, and more in detail, relates to a voice synthesizing apparatus that can synthesize a singing voice with vibrato.
B) Description of the Related Art
Vibrato that is one of singing techniques is a technique that gives vibration to amplitude and a pitch in cycle to a singing voice Especially, when a long musical note is used, a variation of a voice tends to be poor, and the song tends to be monotonous unless vibrato is added, therefore, the vibrato is used for giving an expression to this.
The vibrato is a high-grade singing technique, and it is difficult to sing with the beautiful vibrato. For this reason, a device as a karaoke device that adds vibrato automatically for a song that is sung by a singer who is not good at singing very much is suggested.
For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-044158, as a vibrato adding technique, vibrato is added by generating a tone changing signal according to a condition such as a pitch, a volume and the same tone duration of an input singing voice signal, and tone-changing of the pitch and the amplitude of the input singing voice signal by this tone changing signal.
The vibrato adding technique described above is generally used also in a singing voice synthesis.
However, in the technique described above, because the tone changing signal is generated based on a synthesizing signal such as a sine wave and a triangle wave generated by a low frequency oscillator (LFO), a delicate pitch and a vibration of amplitude of vibrato sung by an actual singer cannot be reproduced, and also a natural change of the tone cannot be added with vibrato.
Also, in the prior art, although a wave sampled from a real vibrato wave is used instead of the sine wave, it is difficult to reproduce the natural pitch, amplitude and tone vibrations from one wave to all waves.

Voice synthesizing apparatus capable of adding vibrato effect to synthesized voice


The carrying case-wearing vest which is convertible between a carrying case for fishing rods, guns and hunting and fishing accessories and a vest garment configuration includes a unit of material having two mirror image panels (a right and left panel) which may be folded together and releasably connected by a full perimeter zipper to form a carrying case configuration which may support the transportation of a fishing pole or hunting artillery. The upper corner of the front right panel may be fastened by a buckle to the back side of the left lower panel and the upper corner of the left front panel may be fastened by a buckle to the back side of the lower corner of the right panel to form a vest for wearing the carrying case in a vest garment configuration.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a carrying case-wearable vest, which is convertible between a carrying case configuration and a vest garment configuration.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A. Lapham, U.S. Pat. No. 1,879,341. Discloses a vest having pockets, an attachable neck strap, and straps which extend around the waist to prevent the vest from shifting. Although the Lapham vest is designed to support a rod and reel, its construction is quite different than the present invention in that it does not suggest a vest which is convertible to a hand or shoulder carrying case configuration which can be used for transporting fishing as well as hunting articles.
B. Altick, U.S. Pat. No. 2,864,541. Discloses a shell retainer and dispenser consisting of elongated containers which attach to a hunting vest.
C. DeSpain, U.S. Pat. No. 3,848,267. Discloses a vest having two identical front and back sections each having a large pocket which can be used for transporting articles in a balanced load between the front and back pockets. In addition, a removable cushion may be placed in the pockets to form a seat cushion.
D. Arisland, U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,469. Discloses a vest having a pair of pouches which are connected at the lower edge of each front panel of the vest and strapped to the wearer around the waist. The pouches may be connected by a zipper along juxtaposed edges so that they may be fastened together to provide a storage department.
E. Tartt, U.S. Pat. No. 4,637,076. Discloses a vest which is convertible to a purse configuration. The construction of the Tartt patent is different from the present invention. The Tartt patent comprises of a unit of material having a lower portion sectioned into laterally contiguous rectangular panels and an upper portion extending upwardly from the lower portion and divided into a central back panel and a pair of side panels having snap fasteners at the upper ends. The side panels may be fastened to the back panels to form a vest garment configuration. The back panel and one side panel may also be folded onto the contiguous panels which may then be folded one upon another and releasably connected by the vertical fasteners to form a purse configuration.


A process of producing graphite fiber which includes the generation of the fiber by chemical vapor deposition using an organo metal compound which includes a metal catalyst and the use of a less reactive substance as a substrate to adhere carbon or metal at specific positions on the substrate. And a process of producing graphite fibers by chemical vapor deposition of fine particles of nickel, iron or cobalt as catalyst and use of an organic compound as a source of carbon which includes generating the fibers at a temperature between 650.degree. C. and 800.degree. C.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process of producing fine graphic fiber and particularly to a process of selectively generating graphite fiber at a desired position on a substrate.
2. Disclosure of the Prior Art
Very fine cylindrical graphite fiber having around a 10.sup.-9 m diameter which is generally called carbon nano-tube, is characterized having a feature of wound sheets of graphite nets like a concentric column. Therefore, regarding a feature of electric conductivity, the graphite fiber is predicted to have a broadly extended feature from that of metal to that of semiconductor which is originated in the minute structural difference of it, and accordingly, the newly developed applications are expected.
The following two described techniques are known conventional methods for producing graphite fiber. That is, a process of heat treating with high temperature the fibrous product prepared by spinning an organic compound, and a process of growing fibrous product by chemical vapor deposition using an iron catalyst. Further, recently, a process of generating fibers by arc discharge using carbon electrode has been reported. However, in the heat treating method of spun organic compound fibers it is difficult to control the structure of carbon material and it is therefore difficult to obtain a product having good crystallization. On the other hand, referring to the process which uses iron catalyst, it is reported that a fiber having a structure in which the surface of graphite crystal is wound to form a concentric column can be obtained.
Consequently, among the conventional processes for producing graphite fiber, a process using iron catalyst and a process using arc discharge can be selected to produce the so called graphite nano-tube having the structure feature of wound sheets of graphite crystal nets like a concentric column. The process using iron catalyst is explained as follows. An organo metal compound starting material vapor which includes iron, e.g. ferrocene (dicyclopentadienyl iron) is used as the starting material to generate fine iron particles by chemical vapor deposition and produce the graphite fiber by using the iron particles as a catalyst in a reaction vessel. This process must be carried out in the temperature of higher than 1000.degree. C. to generate graphite fibers. The graphite fibers are generated at any location and on any wall surface of the reaction vessel. It is difficult to limit the location on which graphite fiber is generated to any specified location in the reactor. In the case of the process using arc discharge method, graphite fiber is generated on cathode alone like a lump. It is necessary to use a special apparatus for arc discharge, and even using the arc discharge process, it is difficult to generate fiber on a desired position.

Research Development Corporation of Japan


A diaphragm pump with a flat diaphragm which is held between the face surface of a pump head and the corresponding face surface of a hydraulic block is improved in that the annular clamping region has an angling step such that the clamped-in diaphragm is bent in its outer annular border region. In this way, a sealed tightness is achieved over long time periods, as well as inducing a uniform diaphragm tension which effects performance of the pump advantageously. Inventive valve designs are provided which allow removal for cleaning from outside the assembled pump and also allows manual /pening of the valves for unclogging. An efficient design is provided for a pump head.

Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a diaphragm pump with a hydraulic component, a pump head and a flat diaphragm which is clamped between facing border regions or faces of the hydraulic component and the pump head. The pump head comprises a paint chamber bordering the diaphragm having paint inlet and outlet valves. The hydraulic component comprises a piston or ram oscillating in a direction normal to a plane of the diaphragm and acting on a propulsion fluid which fills a propulsion chamber located between a piston front and the diaphragm. Such diaphragm pumps have been known and have been on the market for a long time.
In the case of these known diaphragm pumps, the diaphragm is clamped between the flat face edges of the pump head and the hydraulic block. It has the disadvantage that when the axial bracing or damping tightness between the pump head and the hydraulic block decreases, the clamped-in diaphragm becomes permeable or by-passable very rapidly and leads to considerable washouts of the flow in one of the two parts of the pump. Although sealing channels integrated in both housing parts are a certain improvement, it is necessary after comparatively short operating times of the pump to take off the pump head in order to either exchange the diaphragm and/or the mentioned border regions of the two pump parts.


The maximum principal ray incident angle to an image surface is reduced in an image pickup device provided with an image pickup element. The image pickup device includes an image pickup lens, the image pickup element, and a cover glass. In the image pickup device, the cover glass is stuck on the image pickup element without containing air between them. In addition, in the image pickup device, the maximum incident angle of principal rays from the image pickup lens, to the cover glass is larger than 35 degrees. Furthermore, in the image pickup device, the refractive angle of the cover glass is at least 5 degrees smaller than the maximum incident angle.

Conventionally, a wide-angle lens having a relatively wide field angle is used for various electronic apparatuses, such as an image pickup apparatus. For example, a wide-angle lens referred to as Super Angulon (registered trademark) of Schneider Optics Inc. is used in a film camera. In addition, a lens having a configuration resembling the wide-angle lens of Schneider Optics Inc. has been proposed, the lens having one less lens element (e.g., refer to Patent Document 1). Typically, a cover glass for protecting a film from, for example, dust is arranged between each of the wide-angle lenses and an image surface. The cover glass is arranged slightly away from the film so as not to damage the film. In addition, in each of the wide-angle lenses, a negative meniscus lens having a convex face facing the image surface side is arranged closest to the image surface side, so that the incident angle of rays to the image surface increases due to the arrangement of the meniscus lens. The rays pass through the cover glass and are incident on the image surface of the film, for example, at an incident angle of 45 degrees at a maximum.

Image pickup device and image pickup apparatus

SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION


Methods of determining an orthodontic treatment comprising: obtaining 3D model of simulated position of teeth following proposed orthodontic treatment; the 3D model comprising a point cloud representation having vector points representative of teeth surface; generating an axis aligned boundary box around each tooth; identifying a pair of tooth-tooth bounding boxes of adjacent teeth that intersect; defining an area of overlap of the pair of tooth-tooth bounding boxes; mapping the area of overlap onto the plurality of vector points, the plurality of vector points populating a 3D grid, having cells, of a simulation space; identifying a subset of the cells including the mapped overlap area, and for only the subset of the cells determining a distance between the vector points relating to adjacent teeth; and determining the proposed orthodontic treatment as the determined orthodontic treatment if the determined distance is more than a predetermined distance.

In orthodontics, treatments for achieving alignment of malposed teeth in a subject include applying orthodontic appliances to the subject's teeth. One type of orthodontic appliance comprises pre-shaped orthodontic wires attached to brackets which are themselves attached to the teeth of the subject. The wires, also known as archwires, are typically made from shape memory alloys which have the ability to recover their shape after being deformed. Another type of orthodontic appliance comprises orthodontic aligners which are typically worn over the teeth of the top and/or bottom archforms in order to exert loads to the teeth to induce tooth movements or to retain tooth positions. Although they are removable, aligners are typically arranged to be worn for extended periods during the day and/or night.
A typical orthodontic treatment comprises a number of consecutive treatment steps in which different orthodontic appliances are consecutively used to apply different forces to the teeth as the alignment progresses. In the case of archwires and brackets used as the orthodontic appliance, archwires of different shapes and/or stiffness may be used. In the case of aligners, the aligners may have different shapes for applying different forces to the teeth.
In some cases, the treatment steps may be classified as an aligning stage, a levelling stage, a working stage, a finishing stage and a settling stage. In some cases, the treatment steps comprise an initial stage, a transitional stage and a finishing stage. The treatment stages may include an imposed orthodontic action such as rotation or linear movement of one or more teeth, development of the archform, a levelling of the arches, torque control or retention of the position. Generally, the earlier treatment stages apply more gentle forces compared to the later treatment stages.
Computer simulation of the movement of the subject's teeth may be used for planning one or more of the orthodontic treatment steps. During such simulation, movement of the teeth between a start position and a desired position is simulated. However, the simulated movement may prove inaccurate compared to the actual physical movement of the teeth because of potential collisions between the teeth during the movement. This means that the simulated orthodontic treatment does not reflect accurately the actual effect of the orthodontic treatment, making the planning of orthodontic treatments difficult.
Some prior art methods use Bounding Volume Hierarchies algorithms to reduce the number of operations required for collision detection, and for rendering the simulation more cost effective in terms of processing requirements, using 3D models of the teeth represented by polygonal meshes.
In U.S. Pat. No. 9,848,958, three dimensional (3D) mesh model object of teeth of a patient are generated, and bounding boxes are generated around each tooth. Overlapping bounding boxes are taken as an indication of potential occlusion of those teeth.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,334,853 describes a method for obtaining a dental occlusion map of a 3D virtual computer model of teeth of upper and lower jaws of a mouth. The occlusion map indicates the distances between opposite regions on facing surfaces of opposite teeth of the upper and lower jaws of the mouth. The method includes the steps of determining the distances between opposite regions on opposite teeth of the upper and lower jaws of the mouth, and setting up a correspondence between the determined distances and regions on a mapping surface.
It is desired to provide improved methods and systems for determining orthodontic treatments.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems and methods for determining orthodontic treatments


Management of datastream construction prior to transmission of the datastream across a channel of a communications system by providing for data blocking while reducing movement or copying of the data improves the performance in a communications system. Multiple header segments received from a higher layer in the communications stack are copied into the datastream header area of a datastream such that the header segments are sequentially stored in the datastream header area. A datastream buffer list having entries referencing the datastream header area is generated. Buffer list entries referencing data segments received from higher layers in the communications stack are also stored in the datastream buffer list. The data segments are not physically moved or copied into the datastream during processing by the communications stack. Rather, a "virtual" datastream is generated by the communications stack for transmission without physically moving or copying the data segment. The datastream is transmitted across the channel by the system input/output interface by first writing the datastream header area referenced by the datastream buffer list directly into the channel, and the data segments directly from their original storage location into the channel of the communications system using the datastream buffer list entries.

A communications system or network may be generally defined as a collection of computers or computing systems which interact and transmit data from one computer (i.e., node) on the network to another. The functional capabilities of the nodes may range from terminals with minimal local processing capability to complex multiprocessors capable of high speed local processing. A node incorporates a set of control functions required to ensure that network interfaces comply with networking standards or architectures. These control functions may be grouped into sets based on function. For example, in the Systems Network Architecture ("SNA") developed by International Business Machines Corporation ("IBM"), the assignee of the present invention, SNA defines a Physical Unit ("PU"), which controls operation of real network resources such as links, and a Logical Unit ("LU") which controls logical software based entities such as applications. Other networking architectures define similar functional groupings.
The communications facilities which interconnect the nodes also may vary, ranging from high speed input/output ("I/O") channels to low speed, point-to-point telephone lines. By way of example, the media used to implement the communications facilities may include satellite links or wide band optical fibers.
Referring to FIG. 1, a high level block diagram illustrating the components of an application-to-application communications network with two nodes, in this case, host computers, in a direct-attach environment is illustrated at 10. This type of view of the application-to-application communications network is sometimes referred to as an "end-to-end" view. The two host computers are illustrated at 12 and 14, respectively. The host computers, for example, may be IBM 390 Mainframe computers manufactured by International Business Machines Corporation ("IBM"), the assignee of the present invention. Each host computer has an "outbound" side 16 for sending data across the network and an "inbound" side 18 for receiving data transmitted across the network. In addition, applications execute on the host computers as illustrated at 20 and 22. Once an application has processed data and requests that data is to be sent to another node on the network, the data to be transmitted is then processed in the communications stacks 24 and 26 at the node on which the application is executing and transmitted via the system input/output ("I/O") interface 28. System I/O interface 28 also serves to assist in the receiving of data transmitted across the network.
By way of example, the present invention may also function in the communications network environment similar to that illustrated at 10' in FIG. 2. In the communications network illustrated in FIG. 2, two host computers are illustrated at 50 and 52. Host computer 50 as illustrated has the capability for managing relatively large data objects in a communications stack in accordance with the present invention. Computer 54 is a controller which simply is used as a router in the network for routing data which has been processed for transmission by host computer 50 across network 60. Applications execute on host computer 50 as illustrated at 62. Once an application has processed data and requests the data to be sent to another node on the network, the data to be transmitted is then processed in the communications stack 64.
Communications across a communications system such as that illustrated in FIGS. 1 or 2 may be controlled by a network architecture. One network architecture which may be implemented on a communications system such as that illustrated in FIGS. 1 or 2 is the Systems Network Architecture ("SNA") developed by IBM, the assignee of the present invention. SNA is a network architecture intended to allow users to construct their own private network on a communications system. An SNA network may be defined as a collection of machines or computers (i.e., nodes). There are several different types of nodes in an SNA network, including terminals, controllers that supervise the behavior of terminals and other peripherals, front-end processors which relieve the main central processing unit of the work and interrupt handling associated with data communications, and the main host computers. In essence, SNA specifies how nodes connect and communicate with one another. Moreover, SNA enables the system to share network resources by avoiding the necessity to install separate communication links for different types of workstations or dissimilar applications, and reducing the number of programs and devices.
The functions of the communications stack in an SNA network may be organized into several layers. Referring to FIG. 3, one manner of illustrating the hierarchial layers of SNA at a given node on a communications system implementing the SNA architecture (i.e., the communications stack) is shown generally at 100. Each node in the communications network operating under the SNA architecture generally has the same hierarchial software structure so as to enable communications between the nodes. In the illustration shown in FIG. 3, these layers of the communications stack include the physical control layer 102 which connects adjacent nodes physically and electrically for physically transporting bits from one machine to another, the data link control layer 104 which constructs frames from the raw bit stream for transmitting data between adjacent nodes and detecting and recovering from transmission errors in a way transparent to higher layers, the path control layer 106 (sometimes referred to as the network layer) which routes data between source and destination nodes and controls data traffic in the network, and the transmission control layer 108 (sometimes referred to as the transport layer) which creates, manages and deletes transport connections (i.e., sessions). The SNA layers also include the data flow control layer 110 (sometimes referred to as the session layer) which synchronizes data flow between end points of a session so as to establish and control a session between two end users for conversation purposes, the presentation services layer 112 which formats data for different presentation media and coordinates the sharing of resources, the transaction services layer 114 which provides application services such as distributed database access and document interchange, and finally, the network user or application layer 116 which relates to the conversation per se between two end users.
The physical control 102, data link control 104, path control 106 and transmission control 108 layers may be referred to as the "lower" layers 120 of the SNA model as it relates to the Open Systems Interface Reference Model ("OSI"). The data flow control 110, presentation services 112 and transaction services 114 layers may be referred to as the "upper" layers 122 of the architecture. Finally, the combination of the upper layers 122 and the lower layers 120 may be viewed as the communications stack 124.
The access methods which reside on the host processors provide a source of control for an SNA network. One such access method is the Virtual Telecommunications Access Method ("VTAM") which provides the interface between applications programs and a host processor and other resources in an SNA network. In essence, VTAM is a program that controls communication between terminals and application programs, and between applications, within the same or different SNA nodes. Communication between VTAM applications programs and the host and network terminals can generally occur only through VTAM. VTAM also monitors the performance of a network, identifies locations for potential problems, and assists in recovery from network failures. VTAM runs under the control of a virtual operating system such as the Multiple Virtual Storage ("MVS"), Virtual Machine/System Product ("VM/SP"), and Virtual Storage Extended ("VSE") operating systems. When operating in the MVS environment, VTAM enables independent SNA networks to communicate with each other.
VTAM application programs run under control of the operating system similar to any other programs. However, a VTAM applications program is generally connected to VTAM before it communicates with terminals or other applications in the network. A VTAM applications program uses VTAM macro instructions to communicate with terminals. An applications program within a host processor can be used at any location in the network without the program having any awareness of the organization of the network. VTAM provides the following major functions: starting and stopping the network; dynamically changing the configuration of the network; allocation of network resources; and control of input/output processing.
Referring to FIG. 4, the major components of a communications system 200 operating under VTAM including the host computer 202 containing VTAM 206 and VTAM applications programs 204 are illustrated. The host computer 202 is connected to secondary storage (i.e., auxiliary storage) 208 as well as the telecommunications network 210. The telecommunications network 210 may be divided into the SNA Terminal Environment 212 and Local 3270, BSC and Start/Stop Terminal Environment 214. In particular, the host computer is connected to the local computers and terminals such as a Local 3790 terminal 216 and a Local 3270 terminal 218. In addition, VTAM is also connected to the local communications controller 220 which may be referred to as NCP which in turn is connected to remote communications controllers 222, terminals on switched lines 224 and terminals on nonswitched lines 226.
The SNA network architecture and VTAM are described in detail in "Systems Network Architecture," Concepts and Products, IBM, GC30-3072-3, "VTAM Concepts," Independent Study Program, IBM, 1982; and Chapter 1 of the textbook entitled "Computer Networks" by Tanenbaum, Prentice Hall, Inc. (2d ed., 1988), all of which are incorporated herein by reference. VTAM also is described in detail in U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,134 entitled "Computer Network Systems and Its Use for Information Unit Transmission" and U.S. Pat. No. 5,027,269 entitled "Method and Apparatus for Providing Continuous Availability of Applications in a Computer Network," both of which are also incorporated herein by reference.
The movement of data in most communications systems can have a severe impact on the efficiency of the system. As the number and frequency of data transmissions increase, the utilization of components of a processor, such as a memory bus and central processing unit, significantly increase. The total throughput supported by the communications system may be severely limited when the inefficient use of a component causes the utilization of that component to reach maximum capacity.
Notwithstanding the negative effect on system performance caused by the transmission of large data objects, the industry trend is to transmit these large objects across a communications system using a single transmit operation whenever possible. Transmission of large objects occurs particularly in applications relating to multimedia, image and large file transfer. Once an application designates a relatively large data object to be transmitted to another node in the communications system, the relatively large data object is processed through the communications stack as a single large buffer for transmission across the network and may contain one or more network packets. Utilization of a single transmit buffer for multiple network packets allows for transmission of multiple network packets via a single transmit operation.
During processing of the relatively large data object in the communications stack from the transaction services layer 114 through the physical control layer 102 (see FIG. 3), the relatively large data object may be segmented into smaller data objects due to network restrictions on maximum transmission sizes. In addition, headers containing protocol specific information may be added at the different layers of the communications stack to the relatively large data object and/or to the newly created segments of relatively smaller data objects. Each newly created header and associated data segment are passed down to the next layer in the communications stack separate and apart from other headers and data segments. One method and system for segmenting relatively large data objects into relatively small data objects and associated headers is that described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/802,597 filed concurrently with the present application and entitled "Systems and Methods for Managing the Processing of Relatively Large Data Objects in a Communications Stack," which is assigned to IBM, the assignee of the present invention, and incorporated herein by reference.
In order to accomplish the goal of transmitting large data objects (e.g., multiple data segments and associated headers) across a channel of the communications system, the headers and associated data segments may be combined into a large datastream for transmission across a channel of the communications system once the headers and associated data segments reach the physical control layer 102 (see FIG. 3). This requires loading a write transmit buffer to maximum capacity by moving or copying the headers and associated data segments into the write transmit buffer and utilizing the system I/O interface 28 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) in order to send as much data as possible across the channel of the communications system using a single write command. Thus, for those data segments and associated headers which originated from the same relatively large data objects, data blocking in a single write transmit buffer in an attempt to maximize use of system resources results in data movement or copying.
Resource sharing is another current trend used in an attempt to improve system performance when supporting multiple users. Resource sharing for supporting multiple users is often implemented through multiplexing and de-multiplexing of datastreams at the system I/O interface 28 (see FIGS. 1 and 2). An example of a system I/O interface is the IBM 390 system I/O interface developed by IBM, the assignee of the present invention.
Complications arise, however, as a result of efforts to share resources. Data obtained from different sources which is to be transmitted across a channel of a communications system is combined by copying the data into a single write transmit buffer or input/output operation buffer to allow for more efficient use of both the central processing unit and the input/output facilities. This is often achieved through the use of "multiplexing." Typically, multiplexing requires that the data be moved or copied into a single data buffer that is used to construct a single datastream for transmission across a channel of the communications system. This data movement is sometimes referred to as "data blocking." Numerous data movements occur during "data blocking," which may severely impact the performance level in the communications stack and the communications system.
In order to improve the performance of applications, such as multimedia applications, which process and transmit large data objects between nodes in a communications system, data movement and copying during processing in the communications stack and between nodes in the communications system should be eliminated, or at least significantly reduced. One solution for avoiding, or at least reducing, data movement and copying is to transmit the separate headers and associated data segments as individual headers and data segments across a channel of the communications system. Similarly, it is known to build datastreams by moving the separate header and data segments into a datastream in a sequential fashion such that each header segment is contiguous with its corresponding data segment. However, many communications systems have restrictions on memory addressing in an attempt to maintain optimal performance in a communications system.
An example of a restriction on memory addressing is a restriction on addressing "boundary" requirements. For example, there may be a 2K byte boundary requirement. In this example, assume a header having a length of 50 bytes is stored at Address 1000. The corresponding data having a length of 20K bytes is stored at Address 5000. Separate buffer list entries are required to reference the header and the data. The possible restrictions that may exist in a communications system for this example are as follows: The buffer list of pointers to the actual data must point to data having a length of 20K bytes in 2K byte increments, with the 20K byte long data segment being aligned on 2K byte boundaries. The only exceptions to this boundary requirement are that the first entry does not have to be 2K bytes in length and does not have to start on a 2K byte boundary, but must end on a 2K byte boundary; and the last entry does not have to be 2K bytes in length and does not have to end on a 2K byte boundary, but must start on a 2K byte boundary. If the header is stored separately from its corresponding data segment, a separate buffer list for the header segment is required because a separate buffer list is required for every different address area.
In the above example, if two segments are to be transmitted across the communications system, with each segment containing a header and corresponding data, avoidance of data moves to construct a single list with all four entries (i.e., header segment no. 1, data segment no. 1, header segment no. 2, and data segment no. 2) generally cannot be accomplished without violating the buffer list address rules (i.e., the 2K byte boundary restrictions).
One prior art alternative is to copy all of the header and data segments into a single transmission buffer such that the transmission buffer contains: header segment no. 1; data segment no. 1; header segment no. 2; data segment no. 2; . . . header segment no. n; data segment no. n. The single transmission buffer is then transmitted across the channel.
Another alternative approach for reducing data movement while taking into account communications system's address restrictions is to provide a separate buffer list for each segment containing a header and associated data that is to be transmitted across a channel of the communications system. As a result, no copying or movement of the data occurs. This, however, results in excessive waste of storage and space in buffers being transmitted across a channel and in possible excessive utilization of input/output procedures since no data blocking occurs.
Still another alternative approach previously used in an attempt to implement data blocking without moving or copying data and preparing the data for transmission across a channel is to copy the header, regardless of its size, into 2K byte storage areas separate and apart from the associated data segment. As a result, the storage area containing the header also contains a large amount of "garbage" data. The header along with the "garbage" data is transmitted across the channel separate from the data in order to maintain the boundary alignment.
Unfortunately, these prior art alternatives may still fall short of solving the data copy and movement problem while adhering to communications system's memory restrictions. For example, these prior art alternatives may require additional buffer lists which result in additional write operations. Furthermore, these prior alternatives also may cause large amounts of "garbage" data to be transmitted in order to maintain alignment in accordance with address boundary restrictions. Thus, storage is wasted. Still further, transmission of "garbage" data may generally have a negative impact on node and communications system performance.
In addition, the prior art may require the communications stack to get new storage units or buffers during processing without regard to the size of the data segments and headers. This, however, may result not only in excessive waste of storage since the segment sizes may bear no relationship to the overall size of the relatively large data object, but also may severely impact the performance in the communications stack due to the numerous data copies and movements.

Systems and methods for transmitting and receiving data in connection with a communications stack in a communications system


A magnetic circuit that forms an arc-shaped magnetic field space is provided. Of two magnets constituting a first magnetic circuit 10, a first magnetic pole 1 is provided with a first yoke 11 that is arc-shaped in planar view, a first magnet 13 that is arc-shaped in planar view and a magnetic pole piece 15. On the other hand, a second magnetic pole 2 is provided with a second yoke 21 that is arc-shaped in planar view, a second magnet 23 that is arc-shaped in planar view and a magnetic pole piece 25. The first magnetic pole piece 15 and the second magnetic pole piece 25 are disposed so as to be opposed to each other while being separated from each other. The first magnet 13 and the second magnet 23 are formed by arranging a plurality of small magnets.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic circuit that generates magnetic resonance in an object.
2. Description of the Related Art
Within a living body, reactive oxygen species are generated due to external factors such as radiation and ultraviolet rays or internal factors such as hypoxia and inflammation. Therefore, precisely measuring free radicals such as reactive oxygen species in the body are important for the people's health and welfare such as evaluation and creation of antioxidant medicines and the like.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-204551 (Patent Document 1, hereinafter) describes a measurement instrument that performs a measurement necessary for obtaining information on free radicals within an animal body. In the measurement instrument, a first external magnetic field generation device for ESR (Electron Spin Resonance) excitation and a second external magnetic field generation device for MRI (Magnetic Resonance Imaging system) excitation apply a magnetic field to a coil that moves in a linear direction. The ESR is a method of obtaining information on free radicals within a living body accommodated in a coil by measuring a signal generated by electron spin resonance. On the other hand, the MRI is a method of obtaining information on the form of a living body by measuring a signal generated by nuclear magnetic resonance. Thereby, the measurement instrument supplements the functional information on free radicals obtained by the ESR with the information obtained by the MRI and obtains information on free radicals in the animal body. Moreover, the measurement instrument of Patent Document 1 is used also as a nuclear-electron multiple magnetic resonance measurement instrument that causes a transition of the electron spin in a living body by the Overhauser effect, causes an energy transition on the nuclear spin and displays a functional image and a morphological image of each part within the living body.
In addition, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2010-227247 (Patent Document 2, hereinafter) discloses a technology of applying a first magnetic field for ESR measurement and a second magnetic field for MRI measurement to a moving coil mounted on a rotary table.
In order for a measurement instrument to perform ESR measurement with high sensitivity, it is desired to apply a uniform magnetic field for a rather long time and sufficiently excite the electron spin in the living body. However, when the relaxation time after the electron spin excitation is considered, since it is more desirable to perform the MRI excitation at a short time interval after the ESR excitation, the rotation speed of the rotary table cannot be decreased. Therefore, since it is necessary that the uniform magnetic field space be large, a plurality of disk-shaped magnets are provided so as to be juxtaposed to each other in the first external magnetic field generation device.

Magnetic circuit for magnetic field generator


In a method for operating a power plant by means of a CO2 process, isentropic compression first takes place, subsequently an isobaric heat supply, then isentropic expansion, and finally isobaric heat discharge. The CO2 process broken down here takes place with internal combustion, a fuel (21) and the oxygen (18) necessary for oxidization being supplied. After the charging of the CO2 circuit (23) has been carried out, the excess CO2 formed from combustion is discharged continuously, in that this gas is led through a cooler (14), in which said gas is condensed. In order to dispose of this condensed CO2 (15), there are available here, for example, the possibilities of storing this CO2 on the ocean floor or of introducing the condensed CO2 into a worked-out deposit of natural gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for operating a CO2 plant according to the preamble of claim 1. The invention also relates to setups for carrying out this method.
2. Discussion of Background
Internal combustion engines burn their fuel in compressed atmospheric air and mix their combustion gases intimately with this air and with the residual oxygen which has not been utilized. At the same time, the fuels, which almost always contain carbon, generate, inter alia, CO2 which is a greenhouse gas. Extended use of fossil fuels nowadays releases CO2 quantities which are internationally recognized as a risk to the world climate. An intensive search for CO2-free technologies is therefore already in progress.
The supply of energy is, at the present time, determined by the use of fossil fuel energies in internal combustion engines, the highly diluted CO2 being disposed of into the atmosphere.
It would be obvious to separate the CO2 from the exhaust gases and dispose of it by condensation, separation and sealing it off from the atmosphere. However, the large volume flow makes it impossible to put such a procedure into practice.
Another known possibility is for cooled exhaust gases to be recirculated into the intake of internal combustion engines. This can be carried out to such an extent that the oxygen in the air is just used up. In this case, however, the exhaust gas still remains mixed with the atmospheric nitrogen and the CO2 separation problem is therefore only marginally reduced.
Furthermore, all air-operated internal combustion engines also generate nitric oxides which act as air pollutants and the production of which requires costly measures to combat it.

Method for operating a power plant by means of a CO


Embodiments of the invention provide a perpendicular magnetic writing head with a suppressed effective track width to be written on a magnetic medium while increasing writing magnetic field gradient. In one embodiment a trailing side shield is disposed by way of a gap film to a main pole of a perpendicular writing magnetic head. A gap distance (Gt) on a trailing side of the main pole and a gap distance (Gs) on a lateral side of the main pole is defined as Gt<Gt, and a thickness (Gd) from an air bearing surface of the shield is made equal to or less than a throat height. Alternatively, the thickness of Gd on the side of the main pole is reduced to less than that on the trailing side of the main pole. Further, for preventing defoliation of the shield upon fabrication of the air bearing surface, a thickness for a portion away from the main pole is increased.

The present invention relates to a magnetic head used for writing and reading to and from a magnetic recording medium and a magnetic recording apparatus mounting the magnetic head.
In a magnetic disk apparatus, data on a recording medium is written and read by a magnetic head. For increasing the recording capacity of a magnetic disk per unit area, it is necessary to increase the areal density. However, the current longitudinal recording system involves a problem that the areal density cannot be increased due to thermal fluctuation of magnetization of a magnetic medium as the recorded bit length is smaller. A method capable of overcoming the problem includes a perpendicular recording method of recording magnetization signals in the direction perpendicular to the magnetic medium. The perpendicular recording system can use a giant magneto-resistive head (GMR head), a tunneling magneto-resistive head (TMR head) having higher read output and a CPP (current perpendicular to the plane) type GMR head of flowing current perpendicular to the film plane for reading. On the other hand, it is necessary to use a single pole head for writing. Also in the perpendicular recording, it is necessary to improve the track density and the linear recording density in order to improve the longitudinal recording density. In order to improve the linear recording density, it is necessary to improve the recording magnetic field gradient of the recording head. For this purpose, a dual layered structure is adopted for a recording medium in which a soft underlayer (SUL) is disposed as a lower layer. However, for attaining higher recording density above 200 Gb/in2, further improvement of the magnetic field gradient from the recording head is also necessary. Moreover, for improving the track density, the track width of the magnetic head has to be made finer and more accurate. However, as the track is made narrower, a problem that an effective track width to be written into a magnetic medium is larger than the geometric track width becomes conspicuous and this imposes a significant restriction on the improvement of the track density. For overcoming the problem, U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/0176214A1 or "The Magnetic Recording Conference (TMRC) 2003" (abstract No. E6), for example, disclose an example of a perpendicular recording head provided with a side shield as shown in FIG. 20. A view from an air bearing surface (ABS) is shown on the left and a cross-sectional view perpendicular to the air bearing surface is shown on the right of FIG. 20. A read head is also shown in the drawing.
The documents described above state that a side shield is provided for controlling the track width to be written into a magnetic medium, but the gap distance on the trailing side is larger than the gap distance on the side, and the recording magnetic field gradient which is important in the recording process together with the magnetic field intensity is insufficient. Further, while the magnetic field intensity decreases greatly when the side shield is provided, a structure for not decreasing the magnetic field intensity is insufficient.

Magnetic recording head for perpendicular recording, fabrication process, and magnetic disk storage apparatus mounting the magnetic head

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies Netherlands B.V.


According to one embodiment of the present invention, a method for creating bit planes from frame data for a digital mirror device is disclosed including forming data elements comprising bits of equal significance from a plurality of pixel data in the frame data, the forming including using dual index direct memory address operations.

A digital micromirror device (DMD), such as a Texas Instruments DLP™ micromirror device, can be used as part of an image projection system to create visual images using microscopically small mirrors laid out in a matrix on a semiconductor chip. Each mirror represents one or more pixels in a projected image. The number of mirrors corresponds to the resolution of the projected image. These mirrors can be repositioned rapidly to reflect light either through a lens or on to a heatsink. The data that is received by the DMD and that indicates the position of each of the mirrors at points in time is called a "bit plane." For example, consider an array filled with 1000 elements of 8-bit data. Each element can represent the position of a mirror or group of mirrors at a point in time. This array can be divided into eight 1000-bit arrays, the first of which would have all of bits for bit-position 0, the next would have all of the bits for bit-position 1, etc. Each of these eight 1000-bit arrays is a bit plane.
Image data from a video source often is not in bit-plane format. Image data from a video source may be in a frame by frame format, for instance. In order for a DMD to display frame data, the frame data must be converted into a bit-plane format. This conversion is called "corner turning." The term corner turning refers to the fact that the transformation from frame data to bit plane data resembles turning the frame data on a corner. The corner turn function can be accomplished by executing a code sequence in a DSP that converts a sequence of N bit numbers and produces a set of N bitmaps. The N bits of each number are generally stored together in a single storage unit such as a single memory location. Each bitmap contains one bit plane from the original data set.
The corner turning function can be a feature of a digital signal processor (DSP), a chip that can perform digital signal processing. In this context, the DSP formats data for the DMD by performing the "corner turn" function, which creates bit planes from frame data. A feature of some DSPs includes DSP operation codes (op-codes) that can be used to perform the corner turn function for DMD image projection systems.
Bit-plane oriented schemes usually make poor use of memory bandwidth. To read a given bit position across an entire data set, prior art schemes read the entire data set, extract the bit of interest and discard the other bits. This process must be repeated for each bit plane. These prior art schemes read about N times as much data as actually used for N-bit data elements.
Traditional solutions to planarization can only effectively process one bit-plane at a time. The straightforward implementation reads the data N times. Even if all N bit planes are extracted the first time the data is read, the extraction process usually operates only one bit at a time.

Method for creating bit planes using a digital signal processor and double index addressing direct memory access


Methods, digital systems, and computer readable media are provided for determining a predominant fundamental frequency of a frame of an audio signal by finding a maximum absolute signal value in history data for the frame, determining a number of bits for downshifting based on the maximum absolute signal value, computing autocorrelations for the frame using signal values downshifted by the number of bits, and determining the predominant fundamental frequency using the computed autocorrelations.

Fundamental frequency (F0) estimation, also referred to as pitch detection, is an important component in a variety of speech processing systems, especially in the context of speech recognition, synthesis, and coding. The basic problem in fundamental frequency (F0) estimation is extraction of the fundamental frequency (F0) from a sound signal. The fundamental frequency (F0) is usually the lowest frequency component, or partial, which relates well to most of the other partials. In a periodic waveform, most partials are harmonically related, meaning that the frequencies of most of the partials are related to the frequency of the lowest partial by a small whole-number ratio. The frequency of this lowest partial is the fundamental frequency (F0) of the waveform.
Approaches to fundamental frequency (F0) estimation typically fall in one of three broad categories: approaches that principally utilize the time-domain properties of an audio signal, approaches that principally utilize the frequency-domain properties of an audio signal, and approaches that utilize both the frequency-domain and time-domain properties. In general, time-domain approaches operate directly on the audio waveform to estimate the pitch period. Peak and valley measurements, zero-crossing measurements, and autocorrelation measurements are the measurements most commonly used in the time-domain approaches. The basic assumption underlying these measurements is that simple time-domain measurements will provide good estimates of the period if a quasi-periodic signal is suitably processed to minimize the effects of the formant structure.
In general, frequency-domain approaches are based on the property that when an audio signal is periodic in the time domain, the frequency spectrum of the signal will consist of a series of impulses at the fundamental frequency and its harmonics. Thus, simple measurements can be made on the frequency spectrum of the signal (or a nonlinearly transformed version of the signal) to estimate the period of the signal. Further, approaches based on frequency-domain processing perform relatively well for non-speech audio signals as such signals do not require spectral flattening. However, these approaches are easily influenced by the presence of low-energy tonal components that are difficult to separate in the frequency domain. Moreover, they may be computation intensive.
The hybrid approaches may incorporate features of both time-domain and frequency-domain approaches. For example, a hybrid approach may use frequency-domain techniques to provide a spectrally flattened time waveform and then apply autocorrelation measurements to estimate the pitch period. More specifically, the autocorrelation of a spectrum-flattened signal is calculated where spectral flattening may be performed using, for example, cepstrum or LPC analysis, or by means of non-linear processing. The peaks of the autocorrelation function are separated by an amount that is approximately equal to the fundamental period. Hybrid approaches perform relatively well for clean speech but performance tends to degrade for speech corrupted by noise, speech mixed with music, and most types of music signals.

Method and system for determining predominant fundamental frequency