A rotary fluid machine is provided that includes a rotor chamber (14), a rotor (41), vanes (48) guided by vane channels formed in the rotor (41), and pistons (47) slidably fitted in cylinders (44) provided in the rotor (41). Rollers (71) provided on support shafts (48d) of the vane (48) are rollably engaged with annular channels (74) of a casing (11) so as to interconvert reciprocation of the pistons (47) and rotational movement of the rotor (41). By capturing water of a hydrostatic bearing, which supports the vane (48) in the vane channel in a floating state, by a U-shaped lubricating water guide channel (43g) formed on the end face of a rotor segment (43) and discharging it into the annular channels (74), the water is prevented from flowing into the rotor chamber (14) and decreasing the temperature of steam, thereby preventing the output of the rotary fluid machine from being degraded.

A rotary fluid machine disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-320543 is equipped with a vane piston unit in which a vane and a piston are combined; the piston, which is slidably fitted in a cylinder provided radially in a rotor, interconverts the pressure energy of a gas-phase working medium and the rotational energy of the rotor via a power conversion device comprising an annular channel and a roller, and the vane, which is radially and slidably supported in the rotor, interconverts the pressure energy of the gas-phase working medium and the rotational energy of the rotor.
The vane of such a rotary fluid machine is slidably supported in a vane channel formed radially in the rotor, and by supplying a high pressure liquid-phase working medium to sliding surfaces thereof so as to form a hydrostatic bearing, the vane is floatingly supported, thus greatly reducing the sliding resistance. However, if the liquid-phase working medium, which is used for the hydrostatic bearing and is supplied between the vane and the vane channel, flows into a vane chamber defined by the rotor, the casing, and the vanes, a high temperature gas-phase working medium within the vane chamber is cooled by the low temperature liquid-phase working medium for the hydrostatic bearing, thus giving rise to the problem that the rotary fluid machine cannot exhibit its full performance.


This is a FET device and the device comprises: a buffer layer 30; a channel layer 32 of doped narrow bandgap material over the buffer layer; and a resistive layer 34 of low doped wide bandgap material over the channel layer, the doping of the channel layer and the resistive layer being such that no significant transfer of electrons occurs between the resistive layer and the channel layer. This is also a method of making a FET device.

A popular microwave transistor technology is MESFET technology. A common feature of this technology is that a Schottky barrier metal is used as the gate. The channel will typically be a doped GaAs semiconductor layer which overlies a semi-insulating substrate. Leakage along the surface from gate to drain is a common problem, and since reduction of series resistance in the channel is also highly desirable, the gate is commonly recessed. That is, the gate Schottky-barrier metallization is not deposited directly on the top surface of the semiconductor, but a recess is etched before the gate is deposited. This means that the electron population in the channel is slightly removed from the adverse effects of the surface states normally found at the semiconductor surface, and also means that the surface leakage path from gate to drain is longer. This technology suffers from: several very important limitations. The output power capability of a MESFET is limited by the gate-drain breakdown voltage and the conduction current through the channel. To improve the breakdown voltage, either a low carrier concentration buffer layer between the gate metal and the channel, or a graded channel approach can be used. By employing either an insulating or a semi-insulating buffer layer, the breakdown voltage can be greatly increased, due to the much higher breakdown field of the layer, while the current level is maintained. This should result in a device with improved output power. Unfortunately, it has proven difficult to fabricate metal-insulator-semiconductor or insulated gate FET from III-V compound semiconductors. This is largely due to the large lattice mismatch at the insulator interface and the difficulty in growing a good oxide layer.
There are FETs with GaAs (which is low doped or undoped) and highly doped AlGaAs, referred to (among other names) as HEMTs. The HEMT device structure has a GaAs channel layer which is either undoped or very lightly doped, under a doped AlGaAs layer. This provides very high channel mobilities, but results in very low current levels and high parasitic resistances. These devices were primarily intended for low voltage operation. HEMT devices are extremely sensitive to the quality of the interface between the GaAs and AlGaAs layers. In a HEMT structure, the active carrier population is very narrowly confined to a shallow layer underneath this heterojunction. This means that any degradation in the quality of this interface will drastically degrade the device characteristics.
A type of MISFET, using an undoped AlGaAs layer as an insulator over an n-type GaAs channel, has shown to be more applicable for microwave uses. The high breakdown field of the wide bandgap AlGaAs results in a very high gate breakdown voltage and a low prebreakdown gate leakage current. The presence of the gate insulator also reduces the gate capacitance. Moreover, the electron density in the channel is not all concentrated next to the heterojunction, which means that the series resistance of the channel is low, and also means that channel mobility will not be degraded by a less-than-perfect interface at the heterojunction.


A 3D semiconductor integrated circuit having a gate pick-up line and a method of manufacturing the same, wherein the semiconductor integrated circuit includes a plurality of active pillars formed in a gate pick-up region, buffer layers formed on the respective active pillars in the gate pick-up region, gates each surrounding an outer circumference of the corresponding active pillar and the corresponding buffer layer, and a gate pick-up line electrically coupled to the gates.

1. Technical Field
Various embodiments of the present invention relate to a three-dimensional (3D) semiconductor integrated circuit and a method of manufacturing the same, and more particularly, to a 3D semiconductor integrated circuit capable of improving gate pick-up failures, and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Related Art
With the rapid development of mobile and digital information communication and the consumer-electronic industry, studies on existing electronic charge controlled-devices may encounter limitations. To overcome the limitations, new functional memory devices having novel designs need to be developed. Particularly, next-generation memory devices with large capacities, ultra-high speed and ultra-low power need to be developed to satisfy demands of large capacity memories used in main information devices.
Resistive memory devices using a resistance material as a memory medium have been suggested as the next-generation memory devices, and typical examples of resistive memory devices are phase-change random access memories (PCRAMs), resistance RAMS (ReRAMs), or magnetic RAMS (MRAMs).
A resistive memory device may be typically formed of a switching device and a resistance device and may store data "0" or "1," according to a state of the resistance device.
A final target of the resistive memory devices is to improve integration density and to integrate as many memory cells as possible in a limited small area. In recent years, methods of forming the resistive memory devices into 3D structures have been also suggested, and there is a growing need for a method of stably stacking a plurality of memory cells having narrower line width.
A typical method of manufacturing a resistive memory device having a 3D structure includes a method of forming a switching device using a vertical pillar as a vertical channel layer.
The 3D channel structure having a vertical pillar, has a vertical surround gate. The vertical surround gate structure may be formed to surround a lower region of the pillar. The vertical surround gates may form a gate pick-up in a predetermined region. The gate pick-up line may be electrically contacted to the gate using a general contact process. Since the gate is formed to surround a circumference of a lower portion of the pillar, an over-etching process is used to form a contact hole (hereinafter, referred to as a gate pick-up hole) for forming the gate pick-up line.
However, when using the over-etching process, the contact hole may penetrate a substrate region (for example, source region) located below the pillar, and thus a short circuit between the gate pick-up line and the substrate portion (for example, source region) of the pillar, may be caused.
As described above, as the gate is formed to surround the circumference of the lower portion of the pillar, the contact hole for forming the gate pick-up line also has a depth approaching a height of the pillar. Therefore, an aspect ratio of the contact hole in which the gate pick-up line is formed is increased, and thus a void may occur in the gate pick-up line.

Three dimensional semiconductor integrated circuit having gate pick-up line and method of manufacturing the same


A pill or tablet crusher and splitter using a combination lever and screw action. A lever attached to a ring having an internal screw thread advances a transversely movable platen towards a transversely fixed or placed anvil crushing a pill or tablet placed between the platen and anvil. The anvil may be removable for easy cleaning. A pill or tablet splitter may be placed in a sunken area beneath an intermediate portion of the lever. The pill or tablet splitter has a tray with a plurality of slopped bottom V-shaped pill or tablet holding clamps. A blade attached to a cover-cutter is placed over the tray. The cover-cutter is forced downward by the movement of the lever splitting or cutting the pills or tablets.

In many cases, medicines come in the form of pills or tablets. Often, neither of these forms meets clinical application requirements. In some cases, the sizes of the pills or tablets are too big to easily swallow in their whole form or are too strong a dosage in some cases. For example, many patients such as children, some geriatrics, or other patients with particular diseases have difficulty swallowing whole pills or tablets. Hence it has been recognized that there is a need in these circumstances to crush pills or tablets medicines into powder and then mix them with food, such as applesauce or jelly or added to a liquid in order to be easily swallowed or better digested.
The need to sometimes split pills or tablets is also long established. According to the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy, pill splitting is a viable means of reducing the cost of the medicine while maintaining the desired therapy when those medications with multiple dosage strengths are priced essentially the same (Policy Digest and Practice Advisory, April 2001). In sum, some people/patients prefer to break "larger size" pills like vitamin into "small" pieces to swallow easier, while some patients would like to order a larger size of the tablets or pills and then split them simply for economic considerations.
A number of "pill crushers" and "pill splitters" are currently available on the marketplace. Generally speaking, the two functions, crushing and splitting, are provided separately. Most of the splitters are portable and designed for individual usage, while various designs of pill crushers are provided to both professional healthcare providers and to the general population for personal use.
Conventional pill crushers rely on various mechanisms including the use of a mortar and pestle for grinding or impacting. Additionally, there have been used various manual or motor driven devices to abrade, compress, fracture or crush the pills or tablets into either fragments or powder. However, all of the current commercial products have certain weaknesses in terms of reliability and efficacy of crushing pills or tablets, particularly for professional care providers which require heavy duty solutions.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,915,637, issued on Jun. 29, 1999 to J. Stuart Parsons, discloses a pill crusher whose operating mechanism is to convert the rotational movement of the handle into the "V" movement of the plates that is pivotally connected with the handle and the base for crushing pills between the plates and the anvil which is vertically fixed to the elongated base. A pouch for receiving the pills to be crushed has also been provided with the apparatus. In this prior apparatus, the crushing action from the "V" movement of the plates to the anvil is not sufficient to pulverize the pills into desired powders in a single action. Repetition is inevitable to get the desired powder. In addition, it is difficult to clean the crushing area during regular maintenances or if the pill pouches are accidentally opened or split. As a result, cross contamination of medicines is possible due to the difficulty in cleaning.
Most of the pill splitters on the market are portable designs for individual and home usage. Some of them rely on impact forces on the blade via pivot connections or simply by manual pressure. Some of them are universal designs adapted for use with the diverse shapes of pills. Known examples of prior art pill splitting devices include U.S. Pat. No. 5,038,475; U.S. Pat. No. 4,763,986; U.S. Pat. No. 6,474,525; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,243.
However, there is still a need for a durable commercially oriented pill splitter that can split numerous varieties of pills and tablets in a fast, easy to operate, strength saving, accurate and reliable manner. For example, care providers in nursing homes may need an efficient and reliable way to split various pills or tablets for geriatrics with different medical conditions. In such a situation there is a need for a device designed for large-scale or large volume pill splitting. A multi tablet cutter is currently available on the market for the fast cutting of pills. This multi tablet cutter is sold under the trademark TRU-CUT and is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,527,155. Its principal design is simply like a "hay cutter" with a tablet-holding tray. However, this sequential cutting action of the pills may potentially results in a cut that is not precise. In addition, pieces of a pill may split during this "fast" cutting action, which is less than ideal in therapeutic terms. It is a difficult problem to balance between accuracy and the speed of cutting.
The two significant functions, crushing and splitting, are provided separately in most of the available apparatus. Only few portable devices have the two-in-one design such as a device sold by Med Sun as a deluxe cutter/crusher. However, the personal use design of this product limits its application in high volume commercial use.
Therefore, with consideration to the previous discussion of the prior art, there is a need for a device that is compact and universal in design for crushing and splitting the various shapes of pills or tablets, and operates in an easy but reliable, quiet, strength saving, and efficient manner, and is easy to maintain and clean, and is suitable for both individual and institutional usage, and effectively reduces the likelihood of the contamination of the pills or tablets.
In summary, there is a need for a pill crusher to overcome most of the shortcomings of existing devices. There is a need for an apparatus that is easy to use, strong, reliable, and easy to clean and maintain.


Soft packs for cigarettes, especially soft-cup packs, acquire an additional reinforcement in the region of a bottom wall (20) by means of a two-layer or multi-design layer design of a cup blank (21, 22) in the region of the bottom wall (20). The two-layer or multi-layer reinforcement of the cup blank (22) can also extend into the region of adjoining pack walls.

The invention relates to a soft pack for cigarettes, especially soft-cup pack, with a cup-shaped container, formed from a blank of foldable packaging material, for the reception of a cigarette group.
Soft packs for cigarettes are mainly known as soft-cup packs. In this type of pack, a cigarette group is wrapped completely in an inner blank consisting of tin foil or of paper. A cigarette block thus formed sits in the cup-shaped container open at the top. The latter conventionally consists of paper, but can also be formed from foil, multi-layer if appropriate.
A disadvantage of soft packs of this type, especially of soft-cup packs, is the lack of dimensional stability. Above all after some of the cigarettes have been extracted, the external shape of the soft-cup packs becomes unsightly, since the dimensionally stabilizing effect is no longer afforded by the pack content.
The object on which the invention is based is to design soft packs for cigarettes, especially soft-cup packs, in such a way that, whilst preserving the external appearance and functionality, they have increased dimensional stability.
To achieve this object, the soft pack or cup-shaped container according to the invention is characterized in that the blank is made multi-layer, especially two-layer, at least in the region of a bottom wall of the soft pack or of the cup-shaped container.
Accordingly, in the soft pack according to the invention, the packaging material itself is provided with a reinforcement increasing dimensional stability, as a result of a partially double-layer or multi-layer design of the blank. In an especially advantageous version, a blank of appropriate dimensions for the soft pack or for the cup-shaped container is two-layer or multi-layer in a part region as a result of folding. The blank thereby acquires a strip-shaped reinforcement which, during the production of the soft pack or container, brings about a local reinforcement of the pack. The reinforcement can also extend beyond the bottom wall in the region of adjoining pack walls.
According to a further proposal of the invention, the soft pack or cup-shaped container can be provided with reinforcements in a plurality of regions as a result of a double-layer or multi-layer design of the blank, especially in the region of the bottom wall on the one hand and in the region of an upper edge on the other hand.
According to the invention, during the production of the packaging material, the procedure is such that a continuous material web for the blanks is provided with a continuous reinforcing strip which is obtained particularly as a result of the folding round or Z-shaped folding of the material web. The blanks, together with the finished reinforcement, are separated from this material web.
Further particulars of the invention are explained in more detail below by means of exemplary embodiments illustrated in the drawings. In these:


The invention describes a method of preparing magnetic ferrites from layered precursors in which Fe2+ is first introduced into the layers of layered double hydroxides (LDHs) in order to prepare Me-Fe2+—Fe3+ LDHs, and then by utilizing the easily oxidized nature of Fe2+, binary or multi-component ferrite materials containing Fe3+ in a single crystalline phase can be prepared. Values of the saturation magnetization of ferrites prepared by the method are significantly increased compared with ferrites prepared by traditional methods. Because the metal elements in the layered precursor have the characteristics of a high degree of dispersion, high activity and small particle size (average particle size 40-200 nm), no milling is required before calcination, thus simplifying the production process, shortening the production period, reducing capital investment in equipment and economizing on energy costs. In addition, the method does not corrode production equipment and does not pollute the environment.

Ferrites are a type of novel non-metallic magnetic materials, widely used in areas such as broadcasting communication, navigation radar, cosmic navigation, medicine and biology. Since the 1940's, knowledge of the materials has developed rapidly and they have been widely applied. Ferrites are mixed oxides composed of iron and other one or two metals, such as spinel ferrites with the chemical formula MeFe2O4, wherein Me is a divalent ion (Mn2+, Zn2+, Cu2+, Ni2+, Mg2+, Co2+, etc.) which has similar ionic radius to the divalent iron ion. Therefore, various spinel ferrites with binary- or multi-component ions can be obtained by changing the identity and amount of metal ions.
At present, ferrites are synthesized mainly via the calcination of mixtures of metal oxides or hydroxides or other precipitated mixtures. Because of poor activity, low mixture uniformity and large particle sizes in the cases of these raw materials as calcination precursors, there are some shortcomings in this preparation process such as it being difficult to ensure complete reaction and poor sample uniformity. Faced with this situation, others have modified the preparation art. In the papers of C. Jovalekic, M. Zdujic, A. Radakovic, and M. Mitic., Mater. Lett. 24, 365 (1995) and J. Ding, H. Yang, W. F. Miao, P. G. McCormick, and R. Street., J. Alloys Compd. 221, 959 (1995), nano spinel ferrites with dispersion of cations differing from that obtained by traditional methods were synthesized through high energy grinding. However, due to use of mixtures of materials as calcination precursors and the lack of mixture uniformity it is very difficult to further improve the magnetic properties of the ferrites.

Method for preparation of magnetic spinel ferrites from layered double hydroxide precursors

Beijing University of Chemical Technology


An apparatus to improve the speed of handling of denormal numbers in a computer system, the apparatus comprising a mode bit and a selector, the mode bit set when denormals are to be replaced by zero, the selector having a first input and an output, the first input comprising a floating point number, the selector selecting zero to become the output when the floating point number is denormal and the mode bit is set, the selector selecting the floating point number to become the output otherwise.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of floating point numbers, and more particularly to processing of denormal floating point numbers in a digital computer system.
2. Art Background
An exemplary microprocessor, such as the Pentium.TM. brand processor which is a product of Intel.RTM. Corporation, Santa Clara, Calif., represents real numbers of the form (-1)s2E(b0. b1b2b3 . . . bp-1) where:
s=0 or 1 PA1 E=any integer between Emin and Emax, inclusive PA1 bi=0 or 1 PA1 p=number of bits of precision PA1 1.fff . . . ff PA1 The biased floating-point exponent is stored at its smallest value. For single precision numbers, this minimum exponent value is -126. For double precision, the minimum exponent value is -1022. For the extended precision format, the minimum exponent value is -16382. For all formats, when the number is denormal the minimum exponent is encoded with a bit pattern of all zeros. PA1 The integer bit of the significand (whether explicit or implicit) is zero. PA1 The processor avoids creating denormals whenever possible. In other words, it always normalizes real numbers except in the case of tiny numbers. PA1 The processor provides the unmasked underflow exception to permit programmers to detect cases when denormals would be created. PA1 The processor provides the unmasked denormal operand exception to permit programmers to provide a tailored response in the presence of denormal operands. PA1 Detection of denormal numbers in the originating format. PA1 Generating an exception when the input operand is a denormal number and the denormal exception is unmasked. PA1 Normalization of the denormal number in the event that the input operand is a denormal number and the denormal exception is masked. PA1 Examination of the input operand to check whether it is encoded to have a special interpretation, such as a signaling Not-A-Number (NaN) encoding. If this is true, the FPU delivers an interrupt for the invalid operation exception when the invalid operation exception is unmasked.
Table 1a summarizes the parameters for each of the three real-number formats. The Pentium brand processor stores real numbers in three-field binary format that resembles scientific, or exponential notation. The significand field, b0b1b2b3 . . . bp-1, is the number's significant digits. (The term "significand" is analogous to the term "significand" used to describe floating-point numbers on some computers.) The exponent field, e+E=bias, locates the binary point within the significant digits (and therefore determines the number's magnitude). (The term "exponent" is analogous to the term "characteristic" used to describe floating-point numbers on some conventional computers.) A 1-bit sign field indicates whether the number is positive or negative. Negative numbers differ from positive numbers only in the sign bits of their significands.
TABLE 1a ______________________________________ Single Double Extended ______________________________________ Total Format Width 32 64 80 p (bits of precision) 23 53 64 Exponent bits 8 111 15 Emax +127 +1023 +16383 Emin -126 -1022 -16382 Exponent Bias +127 +1023 +16383 ______________________________________
The single real format is appropriate for applications that are constrained by memory, but it should be recognized that this format provides a smaller margin of safety. It is useful for the debugging of algorithms, because roundoff problems will manifest themselves more quickly in this format. It is often used in graphics applications as well. For most microcomputer applications over the last decade, the double real format has provided sufficient range and precision to return correct results with a minimum of programmer attention. Most processors have optimized their computational paths to provide the maximum performance on operations on the double real format. The extended real format was originally developed with an intent to hold intermediate results, loop accumulations, and constants. Its extra length was designed to shield final results from the effects of rounding and overflow/underflow in intermediate calculations.
As microprocessor performance increases (by taking advantage of the improvements in the technology of Very Large Scale Integration), applications develop that exploit this increase in performance to deliver more utility. These new applications operate on larger data sets and invoke more complex calculations that are more prone to roundoff errors. The extended format is useful in these applications, not just as an intermediate format, but also as a format for input and output operands. With the need to support the extended format as outlined above, future processors must now be designed to support computation on three real number floating point formats in their computational paths.
The floating point unit (FPU) of the processor usually retains floating point numbers in normalized form. This means that, except for the value zero, the significand contains an integer bit and fraction bits as follows :
where "." indicates an assumed binary point. The number of fraction bits varies according to the real format: 23 for single, 52 for double, and 63 for extended real. By normalizing real numbers so that their integer bit is always a 1, the processor eliminates leading zeros in small values. This technique maximizes the number of significant digits that can be accommodated in a significand of a given width. Note that, in the single and double formats, the integer bit is implicit and is not actually stored in memory; the integer bit is physically present (explicit) in the extended format only.
If one were to examine only the significand with its assumed binary point, all normalized real numbers would have values greater than or equal to one and less than two. The exponent field locates the actual binary point in the significant digits. Just as in decimal scientific notation, a positive exponent has the effect of moving the binary point to the right, and a negative exponent effectively moves the binary point to the left, inserting leading zeros as necessary. An unbiased exponent of zero indicates that the position of the assumed binary point is also the position of the actual binary point.
The exponent field, then, determines a real number's magnitude. In order to simplify comparing real numbers (e.g., for sorting), the processor stores exponents in a biased form. This means that a constant, called a bias, is added to the true exponent described above. As Table la shows, the value of this bias is different for each real format. The bias is chosen so as to force the biased exponent to be a positive value. A number's true exponent can be determined simply by subtracting the bias value of its format. In the 80.times.86.TM. family of processors, a product of Intel Corporation, the single and double real formats exist in memory only. If a number in one of these formats is loaded into an FPU register, is automatically converted to extended format, the format used for all internal operations. Likewise, data in registers can be converted to single or double real for storage in memory.
When a numeric value becomes very close to zero, normalized floating-point storage cannot be used to express the value accurately. A number R is said to be tiny (also commonly referred to as subnormal) when -2.sup.Emin <R<0 or 0<R<+2.sup.Emin. (For a typical case, Emin is -126 for single format, -1022 for double format, and -16382 for extended format.) In other words, a nonzero number is tiny if its exponent would be too negative to store in the destination format, while retaining the number in normalized form.
To accommodate these instances, the processor can store and operate on real numbers that are not normalized, i.e., whose significands contain one or more leading zeros. Denormals arise when the result of a calculation yields a value that is tiny.
Denormal values have the following properties:
It is important to note that interpretation of the exponent encoding for denormal numbers differs from the interpretation of the exponent encoding for normalized numbers. For denormalized numbers, the exponent is encoded with the bit pattern of all zeros, although this pattern is interpreted to have a value which is the minimum exponent value (which is -126 for single format, -1022 for double real format, and -16382 for the extended real format). Hence, interpreting such denormal numbers by merely adding the bias of the format to the exponent encoding of the denormal number will produce an exponent value that is off by one. Denormals and true zeros both have exponents encoded with all zeros, although the interpretation of these encodings differ.
As a number becomes smaller, it gradually transitions from a normal representation to a denormal representation. Table 1b below illustrates this process for a single precision number.
TABLE 1b __________________________________________________________________________ Significand Value Significand Exponent (includes explicit Encoding Encoding Description of Value bit) Exponent (no explicit bit) number __________________________________________________________________________ 1. 0x3f81 1.0000000 . . . 01 00000001 0000000 . . . 01 Smallest single precision normal 2. 0x3f81 1.0000000 . . . 00 00000001 0000000 . . . 00 Largest single precision denormal 3. 0x3f81 0.1111111 . . . 11 00000000 1111111 . . . 11 4. 0x3f81 0.1111111 . . . 10 00000000 1111111 . . . 10 Smallest single precision denormal 5. 0x3f81 0.0000000 . . . 01 00000000 0000000 . . . 01 True Zero 6. 0x0000 0.0000000 . . . 00 00000000 0000000 . . . 00 __________________________________________________________________________
Entry one in Table 1b shows a normal number which is very close to becoming denormal. Entry two shows the smallest possible normal number which can be stored in the single format. Entry three shows the denormal number which results when the normal number in entry two loses a value equal to one digit in the last place. The exponent of the number is encoded as zero, although its value remains at the minimum exponent for a single precision number. The significand bits are set to all ones. Entry five shows the smallest denormal number which can be represented by the single precision format.
Denormals typically receive special treatment by processors in three respects:
Denormalizing means incrementing the true result's exponent by a certain amount, and inserting a corresponding number of leading zeros in the significand, shifting the rest of the significand by the same amount to the right. The denormalization process causes loss of precision if significant low-order bits are shifted off the right end of the significand field. In a severe case, all the significant bits of the true results are shifted off and replaced by the leading zeros. In this case, the result of denormalization yields a zero. Clearly, a significant amount of processing is required to handle denormal numbers in a computer system. When applications generate a large number of denormals, they can often tolerate a loss of precision while benefitting from increased performance due to faster denormal processing. For these applications, it is advantageous from a performance standpoint if the processing of denormal numbers is made faster, even at the cost of some loss in precision.
Typical prior art implementations map floating point data loaded from memory to the FPU from the originating format in memory to the extended format in the FPU registers. This mapping in the prior art has entailed, on a load instruction, a full conversion of the data from the originating format into the extended precision format. Likewise, on the store instruction, this has entailed a complete conversion of the data from the extended precision format (in the FPU register file) to the destination format of the result in memory.
In the prior art, conversion of the data on the load instruction typically includes the following:
As can be seen from the above, implementations on the prior art must examine the input operand being loaded in order to determine whether there will be any exceptions. Exceptions include the denormal operand exception response and the invalid operation exception response. Thus, implementations on the prior art incur data-related exceptions upon the loading of floating point operands.
In the event that the denormal operand exception is masked, prior art processors must normalize input operands which are denormal numbers. This normalization operation requires, among other circuits, a hardware shifter. Modem processors typically execute several load instructions in parallel, requiring potentially several dedicated shifters on the chip. Since dedicated hardware for multiple shifters is expensive in terms of silicon die cost, some implementations may use schemes by which several load paths to the FPU arbitrate for a single shifter, adding design complexity. A more common alternative is to complete the normalization process by invoking on-chip microcode. Upon determining that the data being loaded is denormal, a micro-exception delivers control to a microcode handler. The microcode handler uses existing shifters in the FPU (shifters necessary for supporting the floating point add operation, for example) to execute the normalization of the loaded operand. Thus, implementations on the prior art need to provide either dedicated shifters for each load path, added design complexity to arbitrate for a single shifter, or take a micro-exception to enable microcode to complete the normalization.
Modem pipelines processors employ techniques that include deep pipelining, as well as parallel instruction execution. These modem processors execute several instructions concurrently at each stage of the pipeline. Typically, a load operation on these processors takes several cycles to complete its execution. A common prior art technique is to enable execution of instructions following a load instruction even before the loaded data is returned, as long as the subsequent instructions do not depend upon the loaded data. To complete the execution of these subsequent instructions, and to update the architectural state of the FPU with the result of these instructions, it is important to determine that there are no exceptions or micro-exceptions on all prior instructions.
Because the FPU takes several cycles to complete a load instruction, and because the load instruction may incur data-related exceptions or micro-exceptions, it is necessary to temporarily retain the execution results of instructions following the load instruction in a buffer (sometimes called a retirement buffer). The results are retained until such time as any data-related exceptions or micro-exceptions incurred by the load instruction are determined. Because it takes several cycles to make this determination, and because modern processors execute several instructions in parallel, the number of instructions subsequent to the load that will execute before the determination is made may be very large. A very large retirement buffer is then required to store these pending results. The size of this buffer poses an appreciable cost both in terms of silicon die cost as well as design complexity.
Especially with applications that generate a large number of denormals, it would be advantageous from a performance and hardware complexity standpoint to eliminate the need to take denormal exceptions on operand load, or during operand execution, even at the cost of some precision.
Some specialized numerical applications generate a great many denormals. Denormals are likely to arise when an application generates a great many intermediate computational values. In some parallel processing applications, a computational task is often divided into subtasks to execute on multiple processors in parallel. If one subtask produces a disproportionate quantity of denormals, and the other subtasks depend upon its timely completion, the subtask with more denormals may become a bottleneck to the completion of the overall task at hand. Especially in these applications, improvements in the speed of the handling of denormals by the processor can produce substantial performance benefits.

Method and apparatus for trading performance for precision when processing denormal numbers in a computer system


A tamper evident smart label with an RFID or RF transponder. Use of tamper evident label materials in the layered construction of the smart label prevents removal, transferal, replacement and or alteration of the smart label without noticeable evidence of tampering. Propagation cuts in the RF Transponder substrate, adhesive that separates into visible patterns, holograms and or microprinting may be used to increase label tampering visibility.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to "smart labels" or RFID tags, specifically RFID tags with a tamper evident or tamper indicating feature.
2. Description of the Related Art
Prior smart labels in the Automatic Identification Industry do not display evidence of tampering when removed or peeled away from a substrate. Most common paper or film labels with a pressure sensitive adhesive can easily be peeled up from a surface without tearing or damaging the label stock. Therefore, there is a need for a label that is made from a tamper-indicating material that would prevent access to the embedded RFID transponder without noticeable damage to the label stock. This security feature would prevent the RFID transponder from being removed, altered, replaced, or transferred to another label or substrate.
Radio frequency transponders (also known as "RFID tags") generally include an antenna and integrated memory circuit with read/write capability used to store digital information, such as an electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) or similar electronic device. Active RFID tags include their own radio transceiver and power source (battery) and are generally sealed within a molded plastic housing or "button". Passive RFID tags are energized to transmit and receive data by an electromagnetic field and do not include a radio transceiver or power source. As a result, they are small and inexpensive with limited range, resolution, and data storage capacity. Some common passive RFID tags include the Intermec Intellitag 500 ™ and Texas Instruments' TagIt ™. Passive RFID tags used in the Automatic Identification Industry are typically laminated or inserted into a paper or synthetic label stock backed with pressure sensitive adhesive for applying the printed label to a carton, automobile, pallet, airline baggage, parcel, or other article to be tracked. These labels are commonly referred to as "smart labels".

Tamper evident smart label with RF transponder


A system for providing irrigation control is provided. The system includes a number of non-local data sources for providing data, a processor and an irrigation system. The processor is configured to receive data from one or more of the non-local data sources and calculate an evapotranspiration (ET) value for an irrigation area that is non-local with respect to the non-local data sources. The processor is further configured to create or alter an irrigation program based on the ET value. The irrigation system is configured to receive the irrigation program from the processor and provide appropriate irrigation control for the irrigation area using the irrigation program.

The present invention generally relates to irrigation control and, more specifically, to methods and systems for controlling an irrigation scheduling engine using computed evapotranspiration (ET) values in a remote manner.
Typically, irrigation control information is manually input by an user to an irrigation system in order to allow the irrigation system to provide an appropriate amount of irrigation. Such irrigation control information is generally based on measurements obtained by the user from other equipment and/or data collected by a weather station. The irrigation system, in turn, provides an appropriate amount of irrigation based on the input information.
The foregoing irrigation arrangement has a number of shortcomings. For example, the user has to first obtain the requisite irrigation control information and then manually input such information into the irrigation system. Furthermore, such information does not necessarily accurately reflect the local weather conditions that are applicable to the areas covered by the irrigation system. This is because the irrigation control information may be generated based on data collected by a distant or non-local weather station that is located some distance away from the areas covered by the irrigation system. The weather station may be located in an area where the weather conditions vary quite significantly from those of the areas covered by the irrigation system. As a result, the irrigation control information (which is based on data collected from the distant weather station) may cause the irrigation system to provide irrigation that is substantially different from what is required for the areas covered by the irrigation system.
Hence, it would be desirable to provide a system that is capable of providing accurate irrigation control information using non-local data sources.

Method and system for controlling an irrigation scheduling engine using computed evapotranspiration values


Embodiments of the present invention address deficiencies of the art in respect to templated application deployment and provide a novel and non-obvious method, system and computer program product for the uniform specification of the creation and management of an application template. In one embodiment, a method for creating and managing application templates utilizing assets can be provided. The method can include grouping templated application components as assets described by a profile, building a manifest for the grouped assets, and packaging the grouped assets and the manifest in an archive. In this regard, grouping templated application components as assets described by a profile, can include grouping templated application components as Reusable Asset Specification (RAS) assets described by an RAS profile.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of component-based computing and more particularly to templated application construction.
Description of the Related Art
Computer software applications justify the globally ravenous appetite for expensive computing technology. As the utility of computer software becomes more apparent to the least technically inclined, computing technology becomes more of a natural element of life without which productivity seemingly would grind to a halt much as would be the case without the benefit of telecommunications. Along with enhanced productivity associated with computer software, so too has the demand for more end-user specific applications increased. In this regard, no longer will it suffice that a single embodiment of a computer program solves a general problem. Rather, end-users have come to expect more particular configurations for computer software to address unpredictable end-user problem spaces.
The distribution of enterprise-wide computing applications has rested largely upon the shoulders of distributable computing components which once retrieved from a network code base can execute within the virtual environment of the conventional content browsing client. More particularly, applications can be formed through the unique arrangement of discrete application components which can be distributed on demand to client computing devices scattered about the enterprise. To support the on demand distribution of the discrete application components, application servers have formed the backbone of the distributed application and function to manage the arrangement and distribution of application components to form a highly customized enterprise application.
Despite the flexibility of the modern application server, however, the end user configuration of an enterprise application through the combination of discrete application components can involve a requisite level of computing expertise not prevalent throughout each enterprise. Consequently, the customization of an enterprise application can involve the expenditure of vast sums in order to support the development and maintenance of a customized enterprise computing application. The expenditure of vast sums to support the development and maintenance of a customized enterprise computing application, however, represents a substantial departure from the notion of ages gone by that an application can be customized by an unsophisticated end user through the generation of a document template as had been the case in the venerable spreadsheet.
Templated application technology provides for the customization of an enterprise application without requiring an end user level of expertise of a software developer. Rather, as described in Unites States Patent Application Publication No. US 2005 0085937 A1 by James Goodwin of Beverly, Mass., U.S. entitled CREATING CUSTOMIZED APPLICATIONS USING TEMPLATES HAVING POINTS OF VARIABILITY, in a templated application, a markup language specified document can specify the assembly of different application component. The markup language specified document, in turn, can be processed into application logic for the enterprise application. In this way, an end user need only edit a markup language document in order to produce a highly customized end user application. Commercial embodiments of development tools enabled for templated application development include the Lotus™ Workplace Builder™ product manufactured by International Business Machines Corporation of Armonk, N.Y., United States.
The end user application development model enabled by Workplace Builder is predicated on the assembly and customization of extensible markup language (XML) based application templates. In this regard, the XML specified application templates of Workplace Builder can define an application and all corresponding subcomponents. Each XML specified application template further can include points of variability which can be configured by end users when creating an application instance from the XML specified template. Notwithstanding, end user applied changes to the application templates are not easily reflected in the resulting application instance which can result in a disconnect between the application specified by the end user in the application templates and the resulting application instance.
Deploying templated applications has proven to be challenging, even for the most sophisticated of information technologists. Generally, templated applications follow proprietary formats and can be quite complicated in form. Several technologies have been developed to address the complicated nature of deploying templated applications; however, conventional auto-deployment technologies for templated applications only provide for the packaging and deployment of a specific type of component "family" for a templated application. For instance, Microsoft™ Windows™ based application installers cannot deploy Java 2™ Enterprise Edition (J2EE) components. Consequently, each different component family type requires a different installer.

Application template creation and management


A tool of the manual pliers type has a pair of levers pivotally joined for moving the levers into abutment wherein terminal ends of the levers form a continuous screwdriver blade, a stripping aperture, a cutting enablement, a crimping enablement, and further provides a pair of opposing gripping notches, one of the notches terminating in the screwdriver blade.

1. Field of the Present Disclosure
This disclosure relates generally to hand tools of the pliers type, i.e., with jaws that may be used for gripping, cutting and stripping a wire.
2. Description of Related Art
Muirhead, U.S. Pat. No. 2003/0,150,062, discloses a wire stripper with integral screwdriver that has a pair of levers pivotally connected at a fulcrum point to each other. Each lever has a handle and a jaw on opposite sides of the fulcrum point. The jaws have a plurality of notches of different curvatures, which come together in a closed state for stripping insulation from electrical wires of different gauges, and also have a scissors area for cutting electrical wires. One of the jaws is extended and includes an integral screwdriver tip. In a preferred embodiment, when the tool is in a closed position, the handles are closed together to form a single integral screwdriver handle. The tool can be used for stripping wire and screwing down electrical connections. Collins, U.S. Pat. No. 744,167, discloses a tool comprising pivotally-connected levers, jaws that have cooperating straight clamping-surfaces, one jaw having a segmental notch and the other jaw further having ratchet-like teeth, the points of which teeth extend approximately in the same plane as the clamping-surface of the jaw and the faces of which teeth extend parallel to each other and longitudinally of the first lever. Smith, U.S. Pat. No. 815,755, discloses a wire-splicer comprising a shank having a return-bend or hook for holding or seating the dormant wire therein, a lateral shoulder or projection for engaging the wire to be coiled or wound around the dormant wire, and means for opposing the strain exerted upon the dormant wire by the coiling operation and holding the dormant wire firmly seated in the hook. Berg, U.S. Pat. No. 1,364,829, discloses a tool comprising handless and gripping jaws at the end of the handles, one of the jaws formed with a curved outer face and a recess at the inner terminal of the curved face, to form a cutting edge substantially coequal with the width of the jaw, the curved face of the jaw and the recess extending substantially in the direction of but obliquely to the longitudinal axis of the tool to form a plane or draw-knife cutting edge with a curved bearing surface back thereof. Bowen, U.S. Pat. No. 2,153,510, discloses a BX cable cutter comprising two levers pivoted together intermediate of their ends to provide long and short portions, the longer portions being used as handles and the shorter portions being sharpened to be used as handles and the shorter portions being sharpened to be used as shear jaws, one jaw being longer than the other and having a blunt end portion extending beyond the end of the shorter jaw, and the longer jaw being provided with a notch in its cutting face to locate the end of the shorter jaw. Schoenwald, U.S. Pat. No. 2,729,996, discloses a hand tool comprising a primary handle of appreciable cross-section having its outward end centrally and longitudinally bifurcated, the furcations and the intervening space providing a fork-like sheath, a first implement embodying a first jaw and a shank, the latter in alignment with and fixedly joined to the outer end of one furcation, an auxiliary handle superimposed against and pivoted to the shank and foldable in part into the sheath, the auxiliary handle having an offset second jaw opposed to, coplanar with and movable toward and from the first jaw, the primary handle having a first recess in one side aligned with and constituting a pocket-like tension of the sheath, the second jaw being wholly foldable into an out-of-the-way position in the extension, and the primary handle having a second recess in a side opposite to the first named side and providing a second extension of the sheath and the auxiliary handle being foldable in part into the second extension. Epstein, U.S. Pat. No. 3,733,627, discloses a Combination tool of particular utility to electricians or other craftsmen, handymen, mechanics or the like, for performing any of a plurality of operations involved in terminating electrical wires including cutting of wires, stripping of insulation therefrom, crimping solderless terminals, forming screw connection loops and turning screws. Evling et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,918,337, discloses a multi-purpose tool comprising a fish hook screwdriver to quickly and accurately trace electrical wires. The user-friendly fish hook screwdriver has a screwdriver blade to move, separate or spread a bundle or harness of wires and has a hook which can conveniently slide along the wire being traced. Advantageously, the hook can also hook, pull and lift the wires being traced, as desired. The hook can be an internal hook which extends into the blade or shank. The hook can also be an external hook which extends outwardly from the blade or shank. The hook can have different configurations and sizes to accommodate different size wires. Chao-Chin Yen, G. B. 2392318, discloses a wire stripping tool that is mounted within two attached handles. A catch releasably secures the two handles together against the action of a spring. Another tool, preferably a screwdriver, peeling hook or peeling knife, is attached to one handle. Preferably a cutting blade is received within one handle or stripping blades are received within both handles. The preferred stripping blades include rows of semi-cylindrical cutting edges.
Our prior art search with abstracts described above teaches pliers type tools with cutting and gripping surfaces, spaced openings between jaws for clearance of gripped objects, sharpened front edges, hooked features, hammer features, screwdriver attachments, gauged spacing for stripping insulation, and snap-in replacement elements. However, the prior art fails to teach the combination of features taught in the present apparatus which combination is of particular importance for the specialty work of telephone line hookup and repair service personnel. The present disclosure distinguishes over the prior art providing heretofore unknown advantages as described in the following summary.

Combination hand tool for wire bundle maintenance


A light guide for an optical device, notably for lighting and/or signaling, comprising:                at least one light output portion having a top face and a bottom face linked together by a light output rim,        at least one collimation subassembly suitable for receiving light emitted by a light source and for directing at least a part of this light toward the light output portion, the collimation subassembly having a top face and a bottom face linked together by a rim, and        a coupling portion coupling the light output portion to the subassembly, the coupling portion having a top face and a bottom face,        the bottom and top faces of the collimation subassembly extend substantially in mutually parallel planes, and in that the top face of the coupling portion and at least one of the top face of the collimation subassembly and of the top face of the light output portion meet at an edge.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a light guide for an optical device, notably a lighting or signaling or interior lighting device.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is known practice to provide the lighting and/or signaling devices with a light guide in the form of a non-planar sheet and light-emitting diodes whose light rays are guided by the light guide to the output of the device. A light beam is thus created using a light guide whose appearance when switched on is curved.
In order to direct the light beam emitted by the guide in certain directions, it is known practice to provide such guides with collimation subassemblies suitable for receiving light emitted by a light-emitting diode and for directing a part of this light toward the output of the device.
Now, the form of such subassemblies has to be adapted to the curvature of the sheet, for example by bending the subassemblies.
This adaptation leads to the drawback of degrading the appearance of the light guide when switched on, which can appear uneven, even discontinuous along the curved profile.
In addition, such curved subassemblies are complicated to design.

Light guide for an optical device, notably for lighting and/or signaling


A transport and storage container for goods including a system for maintaining goods contained in the transport container within a preselected temperature range. The container may include an exterior support shell having a plurality of support members attached to and extending from an upper surface of the exterior support shell. An interior shell is attached to and supported by the support members and is offset from the exterior support shell forming a passage between the exterior support shell and the structural wall. The container for transport and storage of goods also includes a climate control device pneumatically connected to the passage for effecting a transfer of a thermal potential from the climate control device through the passage and through the interior shell, to and through the goods.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates generally to transport and storage containers for shipped goods, and more specifically to a container including a system for maintaining goods within the container within a preselected temperature range.
2. Background of the Invention
A wide variety of containers are employed in the shipping and transport of goods. Among these are a variety of both open, closed and encloseable containers. Some containers may include a means for loading the container that includes a generally open top or upper side which may be encloseable following loading. Some containers may include a means for unloading freight following transport. In general these types of containers are referred to as self-unloading trailers. Self-unloaders may be manufactured in a variety of configurations.
One embodiment of the self-unloader includes a generally flat floor and a pair of upright wall panels extending from the floor. A reciprocating conveyor includes a plurality of load-supporting slats which are mounted on a conveyor frame for reciprocating movement relative to the frame. The conveyor system releaseably engages the load-supporting slats for reciprocating the load-supporting slats on a predetermined sequence for moving a load in an off-loading or on-loading direction.
Another embodiment of the self-unloader includes a generally flat bottom panel and a pair of sloped sides extending from the bottom to a pair of upright wall panels. The overall configuration presents a generally "V" shaped configuration. The sloping configuration of the trailer walls provide a means by which the load contained within the trailer will tend to continuously feed to the bottom panel of the trailer. The bottom panel of this self-unloader may include a continuous conveyor which extends the length of the bottom panel of the container. The continuous conveyor may include a continuous conveyor belt or a chain with sectioned belts which loop from the front to the rear of the unit. The conveyor may be driven by chains, sprockets and/or pulleys. The conveyor may vary in width depending on the application and material to be unloaded.
Oftentimes during the transport and/or storage of goods or materials, it is desirable to maintain the goods or materials at a preselected temperature, or within a preselected temperature range, within the transport and storage container. For instance, it may be desirable to maintain fresh perishable goods at a temperature that may be lower than ambient conditions. Similarly, it may be desirable to maintain goods, including bulk agricultural products, feed products, road base containing oil or asphaltic constituents, or bulk or waste products, at a temperature that may be higher than ambient conditions, particularly in frigid climates.
What is needed is a system for maintaining goods or materials at a preselected temperature or within a preselected temperature range within a transport and storage container.
What is also needed is a system for maintaining goods or materials at a preselected temperature, or within a preselected temperature range within a self-unloading transport and storage container.

Transport and storage container climate control


An equipment assembly for preparing, harvesting and collecting particles is disclosed. The assembly comprises a tandem filter system with one or more high pressure filters, one or more low pressure filters and one or more collection vessel. Particles can be prepared, harvested and collected continuously, semi-continuously or in a batch-type operation. A tandem filter system and its method of use are also disclosed. Particles made with the assembly and according the instant methods are also disclosed. The assembly provides improved particle harvesting and collection over other systems and permits continuous particle formation, in particular by dispersion of a solute-containing process fluid within a supercritical anti-solvent.

Particles can be prepared by adding a solubilized compound, i.e. a compound dissolved in one or more solvents, to an anti-solvent. Such a process can be used to prepare particles in many different size distributions. A key drawback of such a process, however, is the entrapment of solvent and/or anti-solvent within and/or on the surface of the particles.
Removal of solvent from the particles typically involves washing of the particles with additional amounts of anti-solvent, which unfortunately results in saturation of the particles with anti-solvent, unless the anti-solvent is very volatile. For this reason, supercritical fluid (SCF) is often employed as the anti-solvent. SCF, in particular supercritical carbon dioxide, is very volatile and easily removed from the particles. Solvents, however, are less volatile than the SCF and thus are more difficult to remove.
Due to the extreme volatility of supercritical carbon dioxide, it is a challenge to effectively harvest particles from it unless the particles are first physically separated from it. Filtration is the most common approach used for affecting separation of particles from SCF while still permitting repeated wash cycles. When microparticles or nanoparticles are being processed, however, it is more difficult to separate the particles from the SCF due to fouling of filters, and it is difficult to unfoul filters when a process is running. Moreover, typical filters used to separate the particles are flat dead-end filters, which must be opened to harvest the particles. These challenges make continuous processing and harvesting of particles extremely difficult to achieve.
Numerous such processes and apparatuses for the processing of drug, mineral, metal or toner particles in supercritical fluid have been disclosed: U.S. Pat. No. 6,270,732, U.S. Pat. No. 5,584,913, U.S. Pat. No. 5,571,299, U.S. Pat. No. 5,460,701, U.S. Pat. No. 4,881,722, U.S. Pat. No. 5,874,029, U.S. Pat. No. 5,874,684, U.S. Pat. No. 6,113,795, U.S. Pat. No. 5,961,835, U.S. Pat. No. 5,527,466, U.S. Pat. No. 7,740,775, U.S. Pat. No. 7,635,442, U.S. Pat. No. 7,175,886, U.S. Pat. No. 7,250,152, U.S. Pat. No. 7,279,181, U.S. Pat. No. 7,449,136, U.S. Pat. No. 6,916,389, U.S. Pat. No. 7,291,296, U.S. Pat. No. 7,332,111, U.S. Pat. No. 7,150,766, U.S. Pat. No. 6,860,907, U.S. Pat. No. 6,440,337, U.S. Pat. No. 6,830,714, U.S. Pat. No. 6,620,351, U.S. Pat. No. 5,981,474, U.S. Pat. No. 8,323,685, U.S. Pat. No. 8,323,615, U.S. Pat. No. 8,215,489, U.S. Pat. No. 6,998,051, U.S. Pat. No. 5,864,923, U.S. Pat. No. 7,455,797, U.S. 20020010982, and U.S. 20010051118. These systems typically employ dead-end filters, cyclones, bag filters, depth filters or other such types. Many of these systems cannot be operated continually since they require halting of operations and opening of components in the process stream in order to remove particles. An important aspect of supercritical fluid based processes is that supercritical pressure and temperature must be maintained throughout the filtration step to avoid phase separation of solvent from the SCF and avoid redissolution of the solute back into the solvent. This is particularly difficult to achieve when particle formation is conducted continuously.
A need remains for improved equipment and processes for the preparation, harvesting and collection of small particles, especially those prepared in SCF. In particular, there remains a need for a higher throughput system that can be operated continuously or semi-continuously and that permits particle collection with minimal or no cessation of the particle formation step.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Equipment assembly for and method of processing particles


A method is described by which the mechanical strength of chips of semiconductor devices can be controlled by appropriate wafer finishing and sorted by knowledge of the finishing method and chip and wafer geometry. The control and sorting derive from a knowledge of the geometry of the striations remaining on the back of chips after the wafer-grinding finishing step.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to semiconductor chip manufacture and more particularly to the prevention of chip breakage during manufacturing process steps.
2. Background Description
The production of an individual semiconductor device involves four stages prior to assembly into an electronic component, as shown in prior art FIG. 1.
The first stage is front end of line (FEOL 11), in which dopants and materials are implanted into, or deposited onto, the semiconducting material--usually silicon--of the substrate wafer and heat treated. The FEOL 11 generates many individual logic gates, memory cells or other discrete circuit elements over the wafer surface.
The next stage is back end of line (BEOL 12), in which successive layers of conductors and insulators are deposited onto the wafer to make a three-dimensional structure interconnecting the individual elements. The BEOL 12 generates very-large-scale integrated (VLSI) circuits patterned in a rectangular array over the wafer as individual devices. After BEOL 12 processing the VLSI devices are probed or tested 13 for speed or quality and a map 14 is generated of the electrical performance of the devices on the wafer.
The third stage, wafer finishing, consists of two sub-stages: back-side grind (BSG 15) and dice, sort and pick (DSP 16). In the BSG 15 operation the wafers are ground on the back (non-device) side using a grinding wheel to generate a wafer of appropriate thickness and back-side surface finish. In the DSP 16 operation the individual devices (dice or chips) are separated via a dicing or sawing operation along the intervening scribe lines and then picked from the structure used to support the wafer during the dicing operation, using 17 the performance map 14 created at the end of the BEOL 12 stage to sort the picked chips for placement in containers suitable for packaging operations.
The fourth and final stage is packaging (PKG 18), in which an individual chip is mounted onto a larger carrier, electrical connections are made between the chip and the electrical circuitry of the carrier, and then the whole finally sealed or encapsulated and tested. The mechanical yield and reliability of a finished device is determined by the mechanical performance of the chip, set during the BSG 15 and DSP 16 stages.
Improper FEOL 11 or BEOL 12 processing or electrical mis-sorting during DSP 16 leads to devices that fail to perform with the appropriate electrical characteristics. Analogously, improper BSG/DSP/PKG processing or mechanical mis-sorting or non-sorting leads to devices that fail mechanically. Many PKG 18 schemes impose significant stresses on the contained die (i.e. the chip which has been diced from a wafer in the manufacturing process), the most damaging being tensile stresses leading to fracture of the brittle semiconducting material. The strength of the chips is critical to acceptable mechanical yield during and after PKG 18, just as appropriate FEOL 11 and BEOL 12 processing is critical to acceptable electrical yield prior to wafer finishing. Obviously, greater strength chips are more resistant to fracture and can therefore lead to smaller yield losses and greater reliability. The strength of a die set by the BSG 15 and DSP 16 operations can be enhanced by attention to these operations, but usually at the expense of increased processing time and increased cost.
Currently, in contrast to the electrical performance, no sorting is done of the mechanical strength of a die to match it to the requirements set by the PKG 18 stress. For example, turning to prior art FIG. 3, mounting of a chip onto a metallic leadframe 31 (FIG. 3A) imposes greater tensile stress 34 on the backface of the chip than the tensile stress 35 from mounting onto a fiberglass-polymer composite laminate 32 (FIG. 3B), which in turn imposes greater stress 36 than does mounting onto a ceramic substrate 33 (FIG. 3C). A lack of mechanical sorting would lead to increasing yield loss at the packaging stage PKG 18, for use of substrates made of ceramic, polymer composite, and metal, respectively. All yield losses could be reduced to a minimum by sorting the highest strength chips into the highest stress packages.

Method and apparatus for preventing chip breakage during semiconductor manufacturing using wafer grinding striation information

International Business Machines Corporation


The present invention relates to a method for producing flexible polyurethane foams based on polyoxymethylene-polyoxyalkylene block copolymers. The invention also relates to the use of the flexible polyurethane foams thus produced and their use for producing furniture upholstery, textile inlays, mattresses, automobile seats, headrests, armrests, sponges, foam sheets for use in automobile parts such as roof linings, door panel upholstery, seat covers and technical components. The invention finally relates to a two-component system for producing flexible polyurethane foams.

There is a need in the field of flexible polyurethane foams to produce more sustainable flexible polyurethane foams that are employable in automotive interiors. To be suitable for use in automotive interiors the foams require a good flame resistance and further may exhibit only a certain emission of volatile hydrocarbons (VOC) (standard FMVSS 302).
The inventors of the present invention have therefore sought to find a composition in which C2- and C3-units are replaceable by readily available C1-units.
WO 2004/096746 A1 experimentally describes isocyanate-reactive diols having OH numbers of 685 to 868 mg KOH/g based on polyoxymethylene (POM) and the document generally states that these could be suitable for producing prepolymers and flexible foams. However, a specific composition or a working example were not described.

Flexible polyurethane foams based on polyoxymethylene-polyoxyalkylene block copolymers

Covestro Intellectual Property GmbH & Co. KG


An apparatus is provided for removing airborne moisture from a designated area. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a bucket, a liquid absorption medium (such as ground corn cobs) placed in the bottom of the bucket to form a media bed, a tray placed over the absorption media bed, and a moisture absorption medium (such as calcium chloride) placed in the bucket over the tray. A method is also provided for absorbing moisture from a humid environment using the apparatus. When the apparatus is exposed to humid conditions, the CaCl2 will absorb moisture and become hardened. As the CaCl2 media hardens, it will expand. However, its lateral expansion is restricted by a side wall of the tray. Over further time, the CaCl2 will begin to dissolve into a brine. The brine will gravitationally seep through the through-openings in the tray and be captured by the corn cob medium.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the absorption of moisture. More specifically, the invention relates to an apparatus and method for removing airborne moisture from a designated area.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many areas of the United States experience periods of heavy rainfall or periods of high humidity. Such conditions may create a condition of high airborne moisture in indoor environments, particularly in environments that are not air conditioned. High humidity levels in such an area can cause mold spores to be generated. Mold can cause a deterioration of contents in the structure or even the structure itself. Of even greater concern, the presence of mold spores may cause health problems to individuals that remain in the area for any length of time. At the least, high humidity levels can create a stale and musty odor that is unpleasant.
In order to remove moisture from an indoor environment, it is known to employ a motorized de-humidifier. However, such de-humidifiers are expensive to purchase and heavy to move. In addition, de-humidifiers require electricity and create noise when running. A less expensive and less intrusive way to remove moisture is provided by DampRid, Inc., which operates under the trade name DampRid®. Operating out of Orlando, Fla., DampRid® provides an approximately four to five quart bucket that contains calcium chloride crystals. The CaCl2 crystals have deliquescent qualities, enabling an individual to place a bucket of the crystals in an area of high humidity for moisture absorption. Depending upon the ambient conditions, the crystals may be activated for up to six months. Moreover, the DampRid® product may be readily located in a boat, a garage, a camper, a basement, a second home or other area prone to humid conditions.
In operation, the CaCl2 crystals will harden as they absorb moisture. As the reaction continues, the crystals will begin to dissolve, slowly forming a brine soup. When the crystals of the DampRid® product have completely dissolved, the product can be discarded without harm to the environment. The DampRid® product thus helps to eliminate excess moisture in the air, helps to prevent stains and damage caused by mold and mildew, and helps to eliminate odors caused by mold and mildew forming from airborne moisture.
In order to improve the efficiency of the CaCl2/moisture reaction, it is desirable to wick away the dissolved brine as it forms. Therefore, a need exists for an apparatus that enables the dissolved and liquefied portion of a moisture absorbing material to be wicked away during the absorption reaction. Further, there is a need for a method for absorbing moisture that employs such an apparatus.

Apparatus and method for removing airborne moisture


A drill chuck has a chuck body centered on and rotatable about an axis and formed with angled guides and respective jaws slidable in the guides axially forward and radially toward each other and axially rearward and radially away from each other. An annular tightening element is limitedly axially shiftable on the sleeve between a front position and a rear position. Screwthreads engaged between the element and the jaws axially displace the jaws forward on rotation of the element in a tightening direction and axially displace the jaws rearward on rotation of the element in an opposite loosening direction. Respective annular arrays of teeth angularly fixed on the element and the body are interengaged and prevent relative rotation of the element and body in the rear position of the element and are spaced and permit relative rotation of the element and body in the front position of the element.

A drill chuck described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,839 has a body provided centered on an axis with an annular array of teeth and a plurality of jaws radially displaceable relative to the body between inner and outer positions. A tightening ring is axially fixed but rotatable about the axis on the body in a tightening direction and in an opposite loosening direction and a pair of screwthread formations between the tightening ring and the jaws move the jaws radially together on rotation of the tightening ring in the tightening direction and radially apart on rotation of the tightening ring in the loosening direction. A locking member engageable with the teeth and angularly fixed on the tightening ring is radially displaceable between a locking position engaging the teeth and preventing rotation of the ring in the loosening direction and a freeing position permitting free relative rotation of the body and the ring. A setting ring angularly displaceable on the tightening ring is formed with a pair of angularly spaced and radially open seats. A pair of angularly spaced abutments between the setting ring and the tightening ring limit angular movement of the sleeve on the ring. A cam on the setting ring is engageable with the locking member for displacing the locking member into the locking position when the setting ring is in one of its end positions and for displacing the locking member into the freeing position when the setting ring is in the other of its end positions.
Such a drill chuck has proven very satisfactory in practice, and consequently has been manufactured and marketed in very high volume. However, due to the presence of a locking device this drill chuck also has a relatively complex design that is costly to manufacture for use on a high-powered hammer drill.


A thixotropic composition having a cross-linkable polymer, cross-linking agent, initiator and a thixotropic agent. The thixotropic agent may be a clay or a saccharide polymer. The thixotropic composition may be introduced into a drill string via a batch or on-the-fly process to prevent loss of drilling fluid into the surrounding formation.

In order to access subterranean hydrocarbons drilling is typically carried out deep within the earth. A drill is employed made up of a long tubular string having a drill bit at the end which is lowered in to the earth to form a wellbore. During drilling a drilling fluid is typically provided from the surface through the drill string and through the bottom portion of the drill, which typically exits the drill bit. The drilling fluid exiting the drill is typically used to remove undesirable components such as cuttings, which is the solid subterranean material cut by the drill, as well as lubricate components of the drill.
The drilling fluid is generally circulated back to the surface of the annulus between the drill string and the surface to the wellbore. Occasionally the drilling fluid may be lost to the surrounding formation for various reasons such as openings or cavities, also known as vugs, in the wellbore.

Thixotropic sealing composition and injection thereof for use during drilling


A catalytic process for the metal-free functionalization of sp2-carbons is described herein. The catalytic process is suitable for forming borylated alkenes, arenes and heteroarenes and comprises the use of catalysts comprising a Frustrated Lewis Pair (FLP).

Transition-metal catalyzed reactions are nowadays ubiquitous tools in the pharmaceutical and agrochemical industries. Indeed, many transition metal complexes are efficient catalysts for the C—H bond functionalization of heteroarenes to generate useful products for the pharmaceutical and agricultural industries. However, the need to remove potentially toxic trace metals from the end products is costly and prohibitive. Moreover, trace metals in products for human consumption are heavily regulated by international instances.
Similar concerns have been noted in the modern electronic industry where metals need to be removed from organic electronic devices to avoid loss of efficiency.[1] Nevertheless, the importance of selectively forming bonds between carbon and other elements using transition metals has been acknowledged by three Nobel Prizes in Chemistry in the past 15 years, including one in 2010 for the discovery of the cross-coupling reaction. This widely used reaction generates bonds between carbon, usually sp2-hybridized (Csp2), and other elements.[2]
The catalytic functionalization of C—H bonds using transition metals has had a significant impact on synthetic chemistry as a green and atom economical way to generate new bonds without the need of activated precursors.[3-4] The catalytic Csp2—H borylation of aromatic molecules uses such an activation process to generate organoboranes,[5-7] species of importance in both the pharmaceutical industry as well as in modern organic materials.[8] In addition, organoboranes are building blocks for the creation of new C—C bonds such as in the Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction.[9] Although some base metal complexes have been used as catalysts for the borylation of arenes under photocatalytic conditions[10-11] and the borenium species generated in situ by highly reactive precursors in presence of basic additives[12-13] can borylate arenes, the most efficient systems to date rely on expensive metals, most notably iridium.[6,7]
Noble metals are well suited to cleave aromatic C—H bonds since they can easily perform two-electron transfer processes. In this often rate-limiting transition state, two electrons from one metal orbital can be transferred in the anti-bonding orbital of the C—H bond with simultaneous transfer of the electrons of the C—H bond to an empty orbital on the metal center (FIG. 1A).[14] A recent alternative is the direct arylation through palladium carboxylate complexes where the electron transfer is facilitated by the basic carboxylate group abstracting the proton on the aromatic molecule while the aryl group coordinates the metallic centre (FIG. 1B).[15-16]
The metal-free activation of hydrogen using the concept of "Frustrated Lewis Pairs" (FLPs),[17-18] led to an important breakthrough in the metal-free hydrogenation reaction.[19] In this process, cleavage of H2 occurs during the transition state via the cooperation of a Lewis acid and a Lewis base that are prevented to form a Lewis pair by steric or geometry constraints. Adapting this concept for the cleavage of Csp2—H bonds would make 2-electron transfer processes accessible for FLP chemistry: a Lewis base could abstract a proton while the electron density of the Csp2—H would be transferred to a Lewis acid (FIG. 1C). Such a process would be similar to the transformations observed with palladium carboxylate complexes.
The present disclosure refers to a number of documents, the contents of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.


An optical pickup includes a polarization component separation element which is formed as a unit or single piece of birefringence material. The separation element is not laminated obviating the need to carefully match the optical axes of the laminated pieces. Multiple reflections within the birefringent crystal which comprises the separation element improves the separation and resolution of the polarized components which are extracted from a laser beam reflected back off the media surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical pickup. More particularly, the present invention relates to an optical pick-up for an opto-magnetic signal reproducing apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 shows an optical pickup for an opto-magnetic disc apparatus which is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,479,387 issued on Dec. 26, 1995 in the name of Ando et al. The optical pickup 1 is composed of a plurality of optical components 2 to 10. The optical pickup 1 condenses a laser beam emitted from a laser diode 2 and reflected from a opto-magnetic disc 11, via a grating element 3, a beam splitter 4, a collimator lens 5 and an objective lens 6, to form an image on a photodetector 9 via a Wollaston prism 7 and a multi-lens 8.
However, this type of optical pickup suffers from a drawback that miniaturization of the overall apparatus is difficult. This arrangement also suffers from the drawback that improvement in reliability is difficult because a plurality of optical components must be individually assembled. This renders the arrangement unsuitable for use in compact opto-magnetic disc types of reproducing apparatus wherein a small-sized highly reliable optical pickup is vital.
FIGS. 2A and 2B show a structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,429 issued on Oct. 10, 1989 in the name of Kume et al., which has been proposed for use as an optical pickup in a compact disc player arrangement. This optical pickup 21 incorporates a laser diode LD, a glass beam splitter element 23, a semiconductor substrate 24 which on which photodetectors PD1 and PD2 and the like of elements are provided. As shown, these elements are enclosed in a housing 22.
The optical pickup 21 is arranged so that an opening in the housing 22 is sealed with a transparent member 25, and so that a non-polarizing semi-transparent film 26 is provided on an inclined surface of the trapezoidally sectioned glass beam splitter element 23. An second adhesive film 27 is disposed between the beam splitter 23 and photodetector PD1 while a reflective film 28, which reflects the laser light reflected in the glass, is provided on the upper surface of the glass beam splitter element 23.
However, this optical pickup 21 cannot used for the reproduction of the opto-magnetic signals because the optical pickup 21 is a non-polarization type optical system.

Optical pickup and opto-magnetic signal reproducing apparatus


Performing electronic voting by utilizing the ATM network and ATM machines; issuing voter cards to voters; modifying existing ATM software to recognize the voter card; maintaining a voter registration database; and making the voter registration database available to the ATM network. In use, the voter is matched to the database, and to voting options, and is restricted options specified by the database. A voting record, such as record, photo and verification, is stored in the database. A paper receipt is issued to the voter for verification.

The present invention relates to method and apparatus for electronic voting.
As it has been apparent observing recent events, the voting process in the United States is non-standardized, full of flaws and subject to possible errors and vote tampering. The recent (2004) election showed many possible solutions, some electronic, but even the electronic voting method was felt to be non-secure and flawed. Other methods such as paper, machines, etc., also result in many votes not being properly counted or the actual tally (and possible challenges) could take a very long time.
Another flaw in the system is the concern of people voting multiple times, of Deceased Voting (dead or non-existent people voting), of Unregistered/Unqualified Voters voting, etc. This is mainly a result of the local voting personnel using archaic methods for verifying the voter. Various techniques are used, but it is relatively easy to fake ID or possibly vote in multiple locations.
Other issues such as absentee ballots, receipts verifying electronic votes, etc, confuse the issue even further.
The article "Analysis of an Electronic Voting System", by Kohno et al., IEEE Symposium on Security and Privacy 2004. IEEE Computer Society Press, May 2004 (This paper previously appeared as Johns Hopkins University Information Security Institute Technical Report TR-2003-19, Jul. 23, 2003) (hereinafter, "IEEE Article") describes an electronic voting system.
Elections allow the populace to choose their representatives and express their preferences for how they will be governed. Naturally, the integrity of the election process is fundamental to the integrity of democracy itself. The election system must be sufficiently robust to withstand a variety of fraudulent behaviors and must be sufficiently transparent and comprehensible that voters and candidates can accept the results of an election. Unsurprisingly, history is littered with examples of elections being manipulated in order to influence their outcome. (source, IEEE Article)
The design of a "good" voting system, whether electronic or using traditional paper ballots or mechanical devices, must satisfy a number of sometimes competing criteria. The anonymity of a voter's ballot must be preserved, both to guarantee the voter's safety when voting against a malevolent candidate, and to guarantee that voters have no evidence that proves which candidates received their votes. The existence of such evidence would allow votes to be purchased by a candidate. The voting system must also be tamper-resistant to thwart a wide range of attacks, including ballot stuffing by voters and incorrect tallying by insiders. (source, IEEE Article)
As a result of the Florida 2000 presidential election, the inadequacies of widely-used punch card voting systems have become well understood by the general population. Despite the opposition of computer scientists, this has led to increasingly widespread adoption of "direct recording electronic" (DRE) voting systems. DRE systems, generally speaking, completely eliminate paper ballots from the voting process. As with traditional elections, voters go to their home precinct and prove that they are allowed to vote there, perhaps by presenting an ID card, although some states allow voters to cast votes without any identification at all. After this, the voter is typically given a PIN, a smartcard, or some other token that allows them to approach a voting terminal, enter the token, and then vote for their candidates of choice. When the voter's selection is complete, DRE systems will typically present a summary of the voter's selections, giving them a final chance to make changes. Subsequent to this, the ballot is "cast" and the voter is free to leave. (source, IEEE Article)
The most fundamental problem with such a voting system is that the entire election hinges on the correctness, robustness, and security of the software within the voting terminal. Should that code have security-relevant flaws, they might be exploitable either by unscrupulous voters or by malicious insiders. Such insiders include election officials, the developers of the voting system, and the developers of the embedded operating system on which the voting system runs. If any party introduces flaws into the voting system software or takes advantage of pre-existing flaws, then the results of the election cannot be assured to accurately reflect the votes legally cast by the voters. (source, IEEE Article)
Currently the most viable solution for securing electronic voting machines is to introduce a "voter-verifiable audit trail". A DRE system with a printer attachment, or even a traditional optical scan system (e.g., one where a voter fills in a printed bubble next to their chosen candidates), will satisfy this requirement by having a piece of paper for voters to read and verify that their intent is correct reflected. This paper is stored in ballot boxes and is considered to be the primary record of a voter's intent. If, for some reason, the printed paper has some kind of error, it is considered to be a "spoiled ballot" and can be mechanically destroyed, giving the voter the chance to vote again. As a result, the correctness of any voting software no longer matters; either a voting terminal prints correct ballots or it is taken out of service. If there is any discrepancy in the vote tally, the paper ballots will be available to be recounted, either mechanically or by hand. (A verifiable audit trail does not, by itself, address voter privacy concerns, ballot stuffing, or numerous other attacks on elections.) (source, IEEE Article)
The IEEE Article analyzes the Diebold AccuVote-TS 4.3.1 electronic voting system and found significant security flaws: voters can trivially cast multiple ballots with no built-in traceability, administrative functions can be performed by regular voters, and the threats posed by insiders such as poll workers, software developers, and janitors is even greater.
US Patent Publication No. 20030006282 discloses systems and methods for electronic voting. An electronic voting system has a voting administrative module connected to a plurality of voting modules connected via a network. A voter initiates the voting process by inserting a voting key into a voting key reader of a voting module. The voter then makes voting selections, which include casting votes, on a touch screen display of the voting module. Alternatively, the voting module may verbally guide the voter through the voting process using an audio headphone. The voter may also make voting selections verbally through a microphone using voice recognition technology, or by using a tactile keypad. After the voter is finished casting votes, a voter verifiable paper ballot is printed and an electronic ballot is saved on the electronic voting system. The voter can review the paper ballot. If the voter is not satisfied with the voting selections reflected on the paper ballot, then the paper ballot and the electronic ballot may be spoiled and the voter given a new voting key to use to re-cast the votes on the electronic voting system.

System for secure and accurate electronic voting