The invention relates to a method for thermal control of the profile of a roll in a mill by spraying, over a cooled zone (4) of the roll (1), a series of jets of fluid (J), each forming an oblong impact surface (S). According to the invention, the distance (a) between the middle axes of the impact surfaces (S) is caused to vary in relation to the position of the said impact surfaces over the length of the cooled zone (4) so that the said zone comprises a central zone (41, 43) with a substantially constant pitch and whereas two transition zones (44) extend on either side of the central zone at least up to two edges (13) of the band (M) and in which the spacing between the middle axes of the impact surfaces (S) is reduced with respect to the constant pitch (a) of the central zone (41, 43).

This invention relates to a method and a device for thermal control of a roll profile in a rolling mill.
A metallic band rolling installation comprises, generally, one or several roll stands each containing at least two working rolls and associated with means for controlling the passage of a band to be rolled between the said rolls.
Usually, each roll stand comprises two supporting stanchions, spread apart and connected by crossbeams between which is mounted a set of superimposed rolls with axes parallel and placed substantially on the same clamping plane substantially perpendicular to the feeding direction of the product.
Rolling mills of different types can be made. Generally, in a rolling mill, the product to be rolled passes between two working rolls that delineate the rolling plane; the diameter of these rolls is preferably reduced in comparison to the loads to which they are exposed and these rolls rest respectively on at least two back-up rolls between which the rolling load is applied.
The so-called xe2x80x98quartoxe2x80x99-type rolling mills comprise therefore four superimposed rolls, respectively two working rolls associated, respectively, to two back-up rolls of larger diameter.
In xe2x80x98sextoxe2x80x99-type rolling mills, intermediate rolls are interposed between each working roll and the corresponding back-up roll.
Other types of rolling mill, comprising more or fewer rolls are known and used in the industry.
The rolls rest on one another along back-up lines substantially parallel and directed according to a generatrix whose profile, normally rectilinear, depends on the loads applied and on the resistance of the rolls. Generally, the clamping load is applied by screws or actuators interposed between the roll stand and the ends of the shaft of the upper back-up roll, whereas the lower back-up roll rests by its ends directly on the roll stand.
The clamping loads are applied between both ends of both back-up rolls. Since the rolled product, variable in length, does not cover the whole length of the working rolls, each roll may sag under the action of the loads applied and the thickness of the feeding space of the band between the working rolls may therefore vary, since the edges of the band could hence be thinner than the central part. These thickness defects also lead to flatness defects of the rolled band, particularly in the case of cold rolling and with thin thicknesses.
For quite a long time, one has tried to correct these thickness defects on the profile across the rolled product and various means have been used to that purpose. For example, it has been suggested to compensate for the deformation of the rolls caused by the rolling action, by cambering their surface thanks to machining to a particular profile. Its has also been suggested to perform continuous adjustable correction, by cambering the working rolls, generally small in diameter, while applying controlled deflection loads on both ends of their shaft.
More recently, it was suggested to distribute the loads on the width of the rolls by giving an adjustable profile to at least one of the back-up rolls. Such a roll comprises a deformable shell mounted rotatable around a fixed shaft on which the clamping load is applied and resting on this shaft via a set of actuators whose position and/or pressure are adjustable individually thanks to a regulation system, according to the flatness measured on the band, downstream of the rolling stand, whereas the thickness defects thus determined are compensated for by acting on the distribution of the loads over the width of the band.
These thickness defects are caused essentially by the rolls that are flattened by the load applied and the actuators suggested act on the profile of the back-up generatrix in order to modify the general aspect of the deformation, but do not allow local correction of the roll profile in cross section, at a given place.
It has also been suggested to compensate for the flattened rolls or at least the irregular flattening over the whole width, by varying the diameter obtained locally by thermal expansion.
Indeed, rolling generally produces a lot of heat due to the friction of the band rolled between the working rolls and it is therefore necessary to cool them down. In this view, at least one of the rolls, normally a working roll, is associated with a spray ramp with a heat exchanging fluid and comprising a plurality of spraying members spaced apart from another along a direction parallel to the axis of the roll and each provided with a spray nozzle with a jet of fluid directed towards one face of the roll turned to the ramp and whose flow rate is determined, for each spraying member, via a valve controlled individually by an adjustment system.
This thermal effect must be limited to the portion of the roll that covers the running band and it is the reason why the adjustment system of the flow rates determines the opening of the valve of the spraying members over a limited portion of the ramp that determines the spraying of the fluid over a cooled zone of the roll corresponding to the width of the rolled band and the closing of the valves over the remaining portions of the ramp.
Each spray nozzle is usually provided with a slot enabling to deliver a flat jet centred on a middle plane that cuts transversally the axis of the roll in order to form an oblong impact surface with a small width and extending over a portion of the height of the roll.
The cooled zone therefore consists of a series of impact surfaces substantially parallel and spaced apart from one another by a distance slightly greater than the width of each surface.
Preferably, the middle planes of the flat jets, in which are placed the greater axes of the impact surfaces are tilted with respect to the axis of the roll, so that the impact is spread, on the left and on the right, on either side of the centre of the jet, while covering a width that protrudes slightly above and beneath the centres of the adjacent jets, without interference between the impact surfaces.
Moreover, the average flow rate, per time unit, of the jet of sprayed fluid onto each impact surface can be adjusted individually by the flow rate adjustment system. It is thus possible to control accurately, per truncated zones, any variation of the profile, in cross section, of the roll over the whole length of the cooled zone, in order to modify the distribution of the loads in order to correct the flatness defects detected downstream.
Such systems have proven their efficiency, particularly for rolling thin bands and very thin bands. They have been used, initially, for rolling non ferrous metals, in particular, aluminium, owing to the low thermal inertia due to the small thickness and the malleability of the metal. However, more recently, it has been sought to apply this thermal control method to the rolling of ferrous metals.
Thanks to all these new means, the flatness quality of the rolled sheets could be improved. However, because of this improvement, residual defects, which had not been taken into account previously, have been put in evidence on the edge of the rolled bands, especially the thinnest bands.
The invention obviates this shortcoming while making improvements to the systems used until now for controlling mill rolls that enable to obtain as perfect as possible a flatness quality.
In this view, the invention uses a thermal control system of conventional type, in which at least one roll of the mill is associated with at least one spray ramp with a fluid to control, per truncated zones, the effect of the fluid jets over a cooled zone of the roll.
According to the invention, the distance between the middle axes of the impact surfaces is caused to vary in relation to the position of the said impact surfaces of the fluid jets over the length of the cooled zone so that the said zone comprises a central zone in which the middle axes of the impact surfaces are spaced by a substantially constant pitch and whereas two transition zones extend on either side of the central zone at least up to two edges of the band and in which the spacing between the middle axes of the impact surfaces is reduced with respect to the pitch of the central zone.
According to a particularly advantageous embodiment of the invention, the spraying ramp comprises a central portion with constant pitch, corresponding to the central zone of the cooled zone, in which each fluid jet is directed along an injection axis perpendicular to the axis of the roll and two lateral portions with reduced pitch, in which the orientations of the axes of the jets with respect to the axis of the roll are caused to vary, so that they may converge respectively toward two transition zones on either side of the central zone of the roll, whereby the number of convergent jet nozzles is such that, taking into account their distribution on the ramp, each lateral portion of the ramp covers a length greater than that of the corresponding transition zone of the roll.
Preferably, the middle planes of the jets directed to the central zone of the roll are tilted by a same non-zero angle with respect to the axis of the roll and the tilting angle of the middle planes of the jets directed respectively to both transition zones is increased progressively, as the corresponding impact surface is spread away from the central zone.
The invention applies therefore to a thermal control device comprising, in a known fashion, at least one spray ramp consisting of a plurality of spraying members spaced apart and fed with a heat exchanging fluid and each provided with a valve associated with an individual adjustment system of the flow rate sprayed by each spraying member.
According to the invention, as the width of the product to be rolled can vary between a minimum width and a maximum width, the spraying ramp comprises at least three series of spraying members, respectively, a central series covering a central portion of the cooled zone over a length not exceeding the minimum width of the product and in which the spraying members have fixed directions so that the axes of the corresponding impact surfaces are spaced by a constant pitch in the said central portion of the cooled zone and two lateral series extending on either side of the central series to cover, in total, a length at least equal to the maximum width of the product and in which the spraying members are mounted pivoting on the ramp, whereas each lateral series is associated with a means for adjusting the orientation of at least one group of pivoting spraying members, in order to reduce the spaces between the axes of the impact surfaces in a transition zone at each end of the cooled zone of the roll.
According to a preferred embodiment, as the band to be rolled is centred in a longitudinal plane of symmetry of the mill, each lateral series of spraying members comprises, considered from the inner side to the outer side, a first section in which the axes of the jets are at right angle to the axis of the roll and that covers a first lateral portion of the cooled zone of the roll over a length such that the total length of the central portion of the cooled zone, increased by the said first lateral portions is smaller than the width of the band, and a second section in which the axes of the jets are tilted inwardly with respect to the axis of the roll and that covers a second lateral portion of the cooled zone over a length such that the total length of the said cooled zone is at least equal to the width of the band, whereas each second section of a lateral series covers, at one end of the cooled zone, a transition zone corresponding to an edge of the band and in which the middle axes of the impact surfaces are spaced by a distance smaller than the spacing pitch of the said surfaces, respectively in the central portion and the first lateral portions of the cooled zone.
According to a particularly advantageous embodiment, the adjustment means for orienting the jets comprise two means for controlling the pivoting of one group of spraying members, respectively on each lateral series, whereas each control means is moveable along the ramp and associated with a means for adjusting its position in relation to the width of the band and with a means for selective engagement of the said control means with a group of spraying members making up a second section of each lateral series to cover a transition zone, at each end of the cooled zone.
Usually, each spraying member comprises a tubular body exhibiting an outlet end provided with a jet formation nozzle and an inlet end connected to the duct via a connection piece delineating a junction channel between the inner side of the duct and the inlet end of the tubular body, on which is placed a valve connected individually to the adjustment system.
According to the invention, in each lateral series of the ramp, each spraying member comprises a tubular body mounted pivoting on the connection piece around at least one axis orthogonal to the axis of the roll.
To adjust the orientations of the jets, each lateral series of spraying members is associated with a means for selective control of the pivoting of a group of spraying members comprising a cursor provided with fingers spaced apart and mounted to slide on a support, along an axis parallel to the feeding duct of the ramp, a means to control the sliding motion of the cursor on its support for adjusting the position of the cursor along the ramp and a means to control the rotation of the cursor around its axis into two opposite directions, respectively, an engagement and a disengagement directions of the cursor fingers between the tubular bodies of a group of spraying members of the ramp.
According to a preferred embodiment, the fingers of the cursor are spaced apart by a constant distance that is slightly smaller than the distance between the axes of the tubular bodies of two neighbouring spraying members, whereby the said fingers of the cursor rest one after the other on the said tubular bodies as the cursor is sliding, in order to determine progressive variation of the tilting angles of the jets with respect to the axis of the roll.

Method and a device for thermal control of the profile of a roll in a mill


A solenoid valve has a biasing member for generating biasing force and a permanent magnet for generating magnetic force. When both the biasing force and the magnetic force act on a movable member, the direction of the biasing force opposes the direction of the magnetic force. Therefore, the position of the movable member is determined based on the balance between the biasing force and the magnetic force. As a result, even when the solenoid coil is not excited, a valve member moving together with the movable member stays apart from the valve seat by a predetermined distance to maintain an open fluid channel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solenoid valve apparatus which opens or closes a fluid channel.
2. Related Art
Conventionally, it has been known that a solenoid valve is used as an idle-speed control valve (hereinafter, referred to as ISC valve) for controlling the flow rate of intake air flowing through an intake air bypass when an engine is idling. The solenoid valve used as the ISC valve closes the intake air bypass when a valve member as a movable member is biased by the biasing force of a spring in a direction of a valve closing position during non-excitation of a coil. On the other hand, the intake air bypass is opened when the coil is excited and electromagnetic force generated by the coil attracts the valve member against the elastic force of the spring.
In the ISC valve utilizing the solenoid valve having the structure as described above, however, if a current providing source providing current to the coil has failed or breaking of the coil or the like has occured, because the coil does not generate the electromagnetic force to attract the valve member in the direction of the valve closing position, the ISC valve remains, closing the intake air bypass. When the ISC valve closes the intake air bypass, flow rate of intake air introduced to an engine becomes zero at the time of an idling operation of the engine. As a result, there arises a problem that the engine stops. In accompaniment to the engine stop, a power steering apparatus driven by power from the engine does not operate, either. Therefore, for the sake of a fail-safe to prevent the engine stop at the time of the idling operation of the engine, even if the coil cannot be excited due to failure of the current providing source, breaking of the coil or the like, a predetermined flow rate of air must be introduced into the engine by causing the ISC valve to open.


The apparatus includes a first variable delay circuit that delays a data signal from a device under test (DUT) to output a delay data signal; a second variable delay circuit that delays a clock signal to output a first delay clock signal; a first FF that acquires the delay data signal based on a reference clock; a second FF that acquires the first delay clock signal based on the clock; a first delay adjusting section that adjusts a delay amount of at least one of the first and second variable delay circuits so that the first and second FFs acquire the delay data signal and the first delay clock signal when the signals are changed; a third variable delay circuit that delays the clock signal to output a second delay clock signal; a second delay adjusting section that adjusts a delay amount of the third variable delay circuit based on the acquired first delay clock signal of which a phase is adjusted by the first delay adjusting section when the second delay clock is changed, in order to adjust a phase difference between the first and second delay clock signals to a desired phase difference; a deciding section that decides the quality of the data signal from the DUT based on a result obtained by acquiring the delay data signal when the second delay clock signal is changed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a test apparatus and a test method. More particularly, the present invention relates to a test apparatus and a test method for adjusting a delay amount of a clock signal by reason of a test.
2. Related Art
Recently, a semiconductor memory capable of being fast accessed has adopted source synchronous clocking. Such a semiconductor memory personally generates a clock signal synchronized with a data signal in addition to the data signal. An outside device can read the data signal in synchronization with this clock signal to access the semiconductor memory at high speed and effectively.
A conventional test apparatus adjusts a reference clock signal for test so as to synchronize the reference clock signal with the clock signal acquired from the semiconductor memory in order to test such a semiconductor memory. Then, the test apparatus tests whether the data signal can be read based on this adjusted reference clock signal. The test apparatus generates an artificial delay for the reference clock signal by means of a strobe signal, and also tests whether data can be read if the delay is within a reference range.
The data signal generated from the semiconductor memory may have a jitter. When the data signal has a jitter, the clock signal generated from the semiconductor memory may have a similar jitter in many cases. On the other hand, the reference clock signal in the conventional test apparatus is not affected by the jitter produced in the clock signal once the clock signal has been adjusted. For this reason, since a phase difference by the generation of jitter occurs between the reference clock signal and the data signal, this may cause the decrease of the precision of test.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Test apparatus and test method with features of adjusting phase difference between data and reference clock and acquiring adjusted data


A holographic recording system (1) includes a transparent or semi-transparent holographic recording medium (6), a source of coherent optical radiation (7), and an optical system (10). The recording medium has a first side (25) presented toward the radiation source, a second side (26) opposite to the first side and presented toward the optical system, and a recording volume (30) between the two sides. The radiation source is arranged to project incident optical radiation (20) onto the first side and through the recording volume towards the optical system, which is arranged to redirect (32) the optical radiation back onto the second side and into the recording volume so that the incident and redirected radiation intersect within the recording volume at an obtuse angle (34) to create an interference pattern (38) from which a holographic recording may be made.

a. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for producing a hologram, in particular a dot matrix reflection volume hologram.
b. Related Art
Holograms are used widely as security features. Credit cards normally have an embossed hologram laminated in the credit card structure, for example on the surface by a hot-foiling technique. An embossed hologram is in fact a thin transmission hologram with reflective metallization. On the other hand, transmission holograms recorded in silver halide film are often referred to as "thick" or "volume" transmission holograms. Embossed holograms are relatively inexpensive to mass produce, and provide a bright, visible three-dimensional image when viewed by eye under good lighting conditions at the correct viewing angle. A limitation of such holograms is that diffraction effects cause the colouration of the holographic image to vary sharply with viewing angle, which is undesirable for some images, for which fixed or nearly fixed colours would be more appropriate, for example the image of a user's face or the image of a trademark, for which colour is an important feature.
In recent years, it has also become easier for criminals to make convincing copies of embossed holograms, partly because the hologram is encoded in a surface relief pattern on a reflective substrate from which it is possible to make a copy by illuminating the hologram with a laser, so as to transfer the image into a holographic recording material, which could later be used to produce multiple unauthorized copies.
In some cases, it is also possible to mimic the visible colouration effects of an embossed hologram by using suitable inks which present different colours across a range of viewing angles. Under casual inspection, a forged security device using colour variable inks may pass for a genuine embossed hologram security device.
In a further counterfeiting technique, simple diffractive hot foils may be used in multiple passes of a hot foiling system to simulate the multi-angle diffractive effects of a complex hologram.
It is an object of the present invention to address these issues.

Apparatus and method for producing a hologram


Shown are a device (26) and a method for detecting the deflection of a plurality of elastic elements (22), wherein the elastic elements (22) can be deflected out of a rest position against a restoring force and are suitable as resonators and/or for measuring a force acting on a respective elastic element (22). The elastic elements (22) are arranged periodically, The arrangement of the elastic elements (22) is illuminated using light, the coherence length of which is larger than the average spacing of adjacent elastic elements (22). A diffraction image is hereby created of the illuminating light scattered on the arrangement of elastic elements (22), and at least a portion of the diffraction image is detected by an optical sensor (32) directly or after interaction with further optical components. The detected image or image signal is subsequently analyzed in order to determine information relating to the deflection state of the elastic elements (22) therefrom.

Sensors with microscopic or nanoscopic elastic elements are known from the prior art allowing for measuring the smallest forces or resonances up to the GHz range.
If the elastic elements are constructed as resonators, they can be used as a mass detector. The detection principle is based on the detection of a shift of the resonant frequency when particles are deposited on the resonator. The extent of the shift is a measure for the mass of the deposited particle. Due to the extremely small dimensions of the currently producible resonators, even the smallest mass deposits lead to a measurable shift of the resonant frequency, so that by now even the depositing of individual atoms can be measured, cf. "An atomic-resolution nanomechanical mass sensor", K. Jensen, Nature Nanotechnology, 3, 533, 2008.
However, suitable reading methods are required for sensors of this type, by which the deflection of the elastic elements can be measured. For resonators clamped on one side, as are used for example in the atomic force microscope (AFM), the deflection of a laser beam in total reflection from the AFM bar, the so-called cantilever, is measured. This type of detection of the deflection is here termed "external deflection", as the detection device, i.e. the illumination source and the optical detector for receiving the reflected light, is structurally separated from the actual sensor.
Alternatively, so-called internal detection methods are known, which are also termed "on-chip" methods and in which an integrated tension sensor on the cantilever detects the movement or deformation of the cantilever, cf. "A Review of Microcantilevers for Sensing Applications", S. Vashist, A. Zojono, 2007, Medical News TODAY, Jun. 24, 2007.
The dimensions of conventional cantilevers lie in the micrometer range. However, if the sensor is to be reduced in size to the nanometer range, the reflection measurement of the laser beam is no longer practically possible on the cantilever, and the only remaining option for the person skilled in the art is electronic on-chip detection, which necessitates complex and expensive reading electronics. However, this must result in the surrendering of a significant advantage of external detection, namely that the sensors, which are subject to wear, can be exchanged simply in the case of a design with external detection, while the detection device itself can be retained.
Cell force sensors are a further class of sensors in which the deflection of microscopic or nanoscopic elastic elements is detected and by use of which the forces exerted by biological cells shall be measured. A force sensor of this type is known from Olivia du Roure et al., "Force mapping in epithelial cell migration", Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 102(7):2390-2395, 2005. The force sensor comprises a multitude of vertical columns which are fastened with a lower end on a horizontal substrate and have an upper free end. The columns and the substrate consist of polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), i.e. an elastomeric material. During the force measurements, the cells are located on the surfaces of a plurality of adjacent columns. The forces exerted by the cells lead to a deflection of the columns out of their rest positions, which can be detected optically. In the case of a known spring constant of the columns, it is then possible to deduce the cell force from the deflection.
Also with this type of sensor, the currently known type of detection of the deflection of the elastic elements places limits on miniaturisation, as the optical resolution of a typically used microscope is limited by diffraction effects.
Furthermore, it is barely possible from a practical point of view to detect the cell forces of more than a few individual cells at the same time using current force sensors. This means that with currently available methods and devices, it is very complex to obtain significant statistics about cell forces.
In summary, it is therefore seen that in the case of both the described mass sensors and force sensors, the detection of the deflection of the elastic elements becomes more difficult, the more the elastic elements are miniaturised and the greater the number of elastic elements is, whose deflection shall be detected.

Apparatus and method for detecting the deflection of elastic elements


A collective connection device for wire conductors of electrical power distribution systems accommodates a compact arrangement of a multiple number of smaller and larger terminal blocks on a busbar. The busbar of the device is divided into two primary decks respectively located at the first and second ends of the busbar and upper and lower centrally located decks which form an electrical bridge between the primary end decks.

The invention relates to a collective connection device for wire conductors of electrical power distribution systems.
Such collective connection devices are common for ground wires, neutral conductors, or other conductors of the same potential in industrial distribution plants, in household distributing systems, and also in industrial control structures. They all have a current collecting busbar, in which a plurality of terminal blocks are integrated or are fitted onto or placed onto separately manufactured terminal blocks, so that they are mechanically and electrically connected with the current collecting busbar. The terminal blocks themselves can be used for the wiring of flexible and/or rigid conductors, and they are commonly in the form of spring couplings or screw clips.
The German Industrial Standard (DIN 43-871) requires that such collective connection devices must have a multiple number of smaller terminal blocks for wire conductors of a smaller cross section (e.g. 14 terminal blocks with a terminal region of 1.5-4 mm.sup.2) and a lesser number of larger terminal blocks for wire conductors of a larger cross section (e.g., one input terminal and two output terminals, each with a terminal region of 6-16 mm.sup.2).
This multiple number of terminal blocks per collective connection device requires a considerable length of the current collecting busbar if the terminal blocks are tightly arranged right next to one another on the collecting busbar. In electrical power distribution systems, this often leads to place or space problems, especially since in the crosswise extent to the longitudinal direction of the busbar, the space required for the collective connection device, e.g., in a service cabinet, is always determined by the larger terminal blocks for the wire conductors of the greatest cross section.

Collective conenction device for wire conductors


A semiconductor chip package structure for achieving flip-chip electrical connection without using a wire-bonding process includes a package unit, a semiconductor chip, a first insulative layer, first conductive layers, a second insulative layer, and second conductive layers. The package unit has a receiving groove. The semiconductor chip is received in the receiving groove and has a plurality of conductive pads disposed on its top surface. The first insulative layer is formed between the conductive pads to insulate the conductive pads. The first conductive layers are formed on the first insulative layer and the package unit, and one side of each first conductive layer is electrically connected to the corresponding conductive pad. The second insulative layer is formed between the first conductive layers in order to insulate the first conductive layers from each other. The second conductive layers are respectively formed on the other opposite sides of the first conductive layers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor chip package structure and a method for making the same, in particular, to a semiconductor chip package structure for achieving flip-chip type electrical connection without using wire-bonding process and a method for making the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 1, a known LED package structure is packaged via a wire-bonding process. The known LED package structure includes a substrate 1a, an LED (light emitting diode) 2a disposed on the substrate, two wires 3a, and a phosphor resin body 4a.
The LED 2a has a light-emitting surface 20a opposite to the substrate 1a. The LED 2a has a positive pole area 21a and a negative pole area 22a electrically connected to two corresponding positive and negative pole areas 11a, 12a of the substrate 1a via the two wires 3a respectively. Moreover, the LED 2a and the two wires 3a are covered with the phosphor resin body 4a for protecting the LED 2a.
However, the method of the prior art not only increases manufacture time and cost, but also leads to uncertainty about the occurrence of bad electrical connections in the LED package structure of the prior art resulting from the wire-bonding process. Moreover, the two sides of the two wires 3a are respectively disposed on the positive and negative pole areas 21a, 22a. Hence, when the light source of the LED 2a is projected outwardly from the light-emitting surface 20a and through the phosphor resin body 4a, the two wires 3a would produce two shadow lines within the light emitted by the LED 2a and thus affect the LED's light-emitting efficiency.

Semiconductor chip package structure for achieving flip-chip type electrical connection without using wire-bonding process and method for making same


An imager, an image sensor included in the imager and a method of fabricating the image sensor are provided. The image sensor having a substrate with front and back sides to produce image data, includes a transparent conductive coating arranged on the back side of the substrate, a first well region of a first conductive type having first and second opposite sides, the first side being arranged adjacent with the front side of the image sensor; and a second well region of a second conductive type, different from the first conductive type and having a deep well region provided adjacent with the second side of the first well region, the transparent conductive coating configured to develop or to receive a first potential and the first well region configured to receive a second potential to substantially deplete a region between the transparent conductive coating and the first well region.

For over 20 years, charge-coupled devices (CCDs) have dominated digital imaging applications and markets. State of the art CCDs exhibit very few performance deficiencies. A combination of near-ideal performance and implementation has made the CCD a highly successful imaging sensor. There are, however, specific fundamental weaknesses associated with this technology. First, it is difficult to design CCD imagers (also sometimes referred to as an array of image sensors) that operate well in high-energy radiation environments. Second, CCD imagers typically require significant external support electronics for operation. Third, high-speed readout of signal charges of the CCD imagers is difficult because signal charges, for the most part, must be readout in a serial fashion as opposed to parallel or random access pixel acquisition.
Because of the deficiencies in CCD imagers, complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) imagers (i.e., arrays of image sensors with accompanying interface electronics) are displacing CCD imagers in some imaging applications, and this trend is expected to continue. The CCD imager deficiencies listed above are main strengths for CMOS imagers. CMOS technology including CMOS imagers is considerably more tolerant to high-energy radiation environments. CMOS technology, inherently, allows on-chip system integration designs that reduce size, power, weight and cost of devices, for example, of cameras while increasing reliability and lifetime of the devices. Lastly, CMOS arrays can be designed to be read in a parallel, random access fashion while allowing high-speed operation and low noise performance of the CMOS arrays. Current CMOS technology, however, is lacking in nearly every performance category compared to CCD technology.
What is needed is a CMOS image sensor with improved performance.

Image sensor with deep well region and method of fabricating the image sensor


An embodiment of the instant invention is a method of forming a conductive structure over a semiconductor wafer, the method comprising the steps of: forming a first aluminum layer (14, 24) of a thickness; forming a conductive layer (18,28) of a material which is not readily etched by aluminum-etching etchants on the first aluminum layer, the conuctive layer having a thickness; forming a second aluminum layer (20, 30) on the conductive layer, the second aluminum layer having a thickness; patterning and etching the second aluminum layer thereby exposing a portion of the conductive layer; etching the exposed portion of the conductive layer thereby exposing a portion of the first aluminum layer; etching the exposed portion of the first aluminum layer; subjecting semiconductor wafer to a thermal step thereby diffusing the material in the conductive layer from the conductive layer into the first and second aluminum layers; and wherein the thickness of the conductive layer is much thinner than the thicknesses of the first and second aluminum layers. A plurality of aluminum/conductive/aluminum layers may be formed prior to patterning and etching. Preferably, the material of the conductive layer is comprised of: copper, scandium, tantalum, or vanadium, and the conductive layer is approximately 10 to 30 .ANG. thick and comprised of copper. More preferably, the copper layer is approximately 20 .ANG. thick. Preferably, the first aluminum layer is approximately 1500 to 3000 .ANG. thick, and the second aluminum layer is approximately 1500 to 3000 .ANG. thick.

Interconnects for future generations of integrated microcircuits need to be both highly conductive and electromigration resistant. Copper doping of aluminum interconnects significantly improves electromigration resistance due to the precipitation of CuAl.sub.2, or a sub-stoichiometric alloy along the grain boundaries. These grain boundary precipitates retard grain boundary diffusion in the thin films, thereby reducing total mass transport and improving electromigration resistance. The CuAl.sub.2 precipitates at grain boundaries and triple points are formed after annealing Al--Cu films at 425.degree. C. Similarly Al--Cu thin films annealed at 200.degree. to 300.degree. C. are enriched with copper at the aluminum grain boundaries.
Copper doping can be achieved by sputtering an Al--Cu film or by annealing a sandwiched stack of Al and a pure Cu or Cu containing film. In situ sputtered copper-containing films have been used as copper doping sources for chemical vapor deposited (CVD) aluminum at temperatures as low as 230.degree. C. Diffusion of copper from the copper containing film can result in a copper concentration in the CVD Al approaching solid solubility limits. From a sputtered pure copper source a maximum of 0.37 wt. % of copper is incorporated into the aluminum film. The copper containing film may also be deposited using metal-organic CVD (MOCVD) precursors. A small amount of copper diffuses into the aluminum layer during deposition, and complete diffusion of the copper into the aluminum is achieved by a rapid thermal anneal at a higher temperature.
Typically, electromigration characteristics improve with increasing copper doping in the range of zero to two weight percent. However Al--Cu alloys with copper levels above one weight percent are difficult to etch. This is due to the fact that copper byproducts formed during the etch have extremely low vapor pressure and form residues during the etch. These residues can make the etched surface rough as well as result in micromasking and uneven etching.
It is, therefore, an object of the instant invention to provide a method for introducing copper into an aluminum film and still being able to effectively and efficiently etch the Al--Cu film.

Method for copper doping of aluminum films


A weight can be reduced, and a desired bent shape can be easily obtained with the shielded pipe of the present application. An electric wire that connects a battery and an inverter is inserted into a shielded pipe arranged underneath a floor of a vehicle. The shielded pipe has a pipe body that is made of a synthetic resin material and shaped into a predetermined shape. After the pipe body is shaped, a shielding portion is formed by spirally winding a ribbon-shaped metal foil around the outer circumferential surface of the pipe body. Furthermore, the shielding portion is inserted into a heat-shrinkable tube. The heat-shrinkable tube is heated and covers the outer circumferential surface of the shielding portion in a tight contact state, thus constituting a protective portion for protecting the shielding portion.

In hybrid vehicles, for example, a battery that is mounted in a rear portion of the vehicle and an inverter that is mounted in an engine room of the vehicle are connected to each other using an electric wire. This electric wire is inserted into a shielded pipe to prevent noises superposed on the electric wire from adversely affecting the outside.
As disclosed in JP-A-2007-81158, such a shielded pipe is generally made of metal (such as aluminum alloy, for example). The shielded pipe is arranged along the lower surface of the vehicle and bent into a predetermined shape. Because the two end portions of the shielded pipe should be able to be freely bent, braided wires are connected to the two end portions of the shielded pipe. The electric wire is connected to the battery and the inverter through the braided wires.


A first dielectric layer is formed on a mold having a surface and protruding components and covers the protruding components. At least one electronic component having an active surface, a back surface, and contacts formed on the active surface is disposed on the first dielectric layer. The active surface is faced to the first dielectric layer, and the contacts are corresponding to the protruding components. A second dielectric layer is formed on the first dielectric layer and a carrier is disposed on the back surface of the electronic component. Openings located corresponding to the contacts are further formed within the first dielectric layer by the protruding components in an imprinting step, such that when the mold is removed, the contacts are exposed from the openings.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate process, and particularly to a substrate process for an embedded component.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a flow chart of a conventional substrate process for an embedded component, including: Step 1 of providing a stage, Step 2 of forming at least an electronic component on the stage, Step 3 of forming a first dielectric layer on the stage, Step 4 of disposing a carrier on the first dielectric layer, Step 5 of removing the stage, Step 6 of reversing the carrier, Step 7 of eliminating residual glue, Step 8 of forming a second dielectric layer on the first dielectric layer, Step 9 of forming a plurality of openings by a microlithography process, and Step 10 of forming a redistribution layer on the second dielectric layer.
Please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2A. First, in Step 1, a stage 110 is provided. One surface 111 of the stage 110 is coated with a glue layer 112. Next, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2B, in Step 2, a plurality of electronic components 210 are disposed on the stage 110. Each electronic component 210 has an active surface 211, a back surface 212, and a plurality of contacts 213. The active surface 211 is faced to the surface 111 of the stage 110. The contacts 213 are formed on the active surface 211. Thereafter, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2C, in Step 3, a first dielectric layer 220 is formed on the stage 110. The first dielectric layer 220 covers the electronic component 210. The first dielectric layer 220 exposes the back surfaces 212 of the electronic components 210 by a planarization step. Thereafter, please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2D. In Step 4, a carrier 230 is disposed on the first dielectric layer 220. The carrier 230 is attached to the first dielectric layer 220 and the back surfaces 212 of the electronic components 210 using an adhesive tape 231. Thereafter, please refer to FIGS. 1 and 2E. In Step 5, the stage 110 is removed. Residual glue 112′ remains on the electronic components 210 during the removal of the stage 110 since the electronic components 210 are previously fixed on the stage 110 by the glue layer 112. Thereafter, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2F, in Step 6, the carrier is reversed to allow the active surfaces 211 of the electronic components 210 face up. Thereafter, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2G, in Step 7, the residual glue 112′ on the active surfaces 211 of the electronic components 210 is eliminated. Thereafter, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2H, in Step 8, a second dielectric layer 240 is formed on the first dielectric layer 220 and covers the active surfaces 211 of the electronic components 210. Thereafter, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2I, in Step 9, a plurality of openings 241 are formed on the second dielectric layer 240 by a microlithography and etching process to expose the contacts 213 of the electronic components 210. Finally, referring to FIGS. 1 and 2J, in Step 10, a redistribution layer 250 is formed on the second dielectric layer 240 to form a substrate for an embedded component 200. The redistribution layer 250 comprises a plurality of redistribution contacts 251. The redistribution contacts 251 are electrically connected to the contacts 213 of the electronic components 210. However, the conventional substrate process for an embedded component is complicated, and the active surfaces 211 tend to be contaminated by the glue layer 112 when the stage 110 is removed, because the electronic components 210 are previously attached to the stage 110. Furthermore, the openings 241 are formed by a microlithography and etching process, and accordingly the contacts 213 also tend to be contaminated by chemicals or residual chemicals tend to remain on the contacts 213 or the second dielectric layer 240.

Substrate process for an embedded component

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc.


An expandable bifurcated stent comprising a proximal end and a distal end in communication with one another. The proximal end comprises a primary passageway and the distal end comprises a pair of secondary passageways. The stent is expandable from a first, contracted position to a second, expanded position upon the application of a radially outward force exerted on the stent. Each of the primary passageway and the secondary passageway being constructed of has a porous surface. A method for production of a bifurcated stent is also described. Preferably, the method comprises the step of connecting a first stent section to a second stent section, the first stent section having an end thereof adapted for connection to an opening disposed along the length of a second stent section.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bifurcated stent and to a method for the manufacture and delivery of a bifurcated stent.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Stents are generally known. Indeed, the term "stent" has been used interchangeably with terms such as "intraluminal vascular graft" and "expansible prosthesis". As used throughout this specification the term "stent" is intended to have a broad meaning and encompasses any expandable prosthetic device for implantation in a body passageway (e.g., a lumen or artery).
In the past six to eight years, the use of stents has attracted an increasing amount of attention due the potential of these devices to be used, in certain cases, as an alternative to surgery. Generally, a stent is used to obtain and maintain the patency of the body passageway while maintaining the integrity of the passageway. As used in this specification, the term "body passageway" is intended to have a broad meaning and encompasses any duct (e.g., natural or iatrogenic) within the human body and can include a member selected from the group comprising: blood vessels, respiratory ducts, gastrointestinal ducts and the like.
Initial stents were self-expanding, spring-like devices which were inserted in the body passageway in a contracted state. When released, the stent would automatically expand and increase to a final diameter dependent on the size of the stent and the elasticity of the body passageway. Such stents are known in the art as the Wallstent.TM..
The self-expanding stents were found by some investigators to be deficient since, when deployed, they could place undue, permanent stress on the walls of the body passageway. This lead to the development of various stents which were controllably expandable at the target body passageway so that only sufficient force to maintain the patency of the body passageway was applied in expanding the stent.
Generally, in these later systems, a stent, in association with a balloon, is delivered to the target area of the body passageway by a catheter system. Once the stent has been properly located (the target area of the body passageway can be filled with a contrast medium to facilitate visualization during fluoroscopy), the balloon is expanded thereby expanding the stent, e.g. by plastic deformation of the stent structure, so that the latter is urged in place against the body passageway. As indicated above, the amount of force applied is at least that necessary to maintain the patency of the body passageway. At this point, the balloon is deflated and withdrawn within the catheter, and subsequently removed. Ideally, the stent will remain in place and maintain the target area of the body passageway substantially free of blockage (or narrowing).
A stent which has gained some notoriety in the art is known as the Palmaz-Schatz.TM. Balloon Expandable Stent (hereinafter referred to as "the Palmaz-Schatz stent"). This stent is discussed in a number of patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,733,665, 4,739,762, 5,102,417 and 5,316,023, the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Another stent which has gained some notoriety in the art is known as Gianturco-Roubin Flex-Stent.TM. (hereinafter referred to as "the Gianturco-Roubin stent"). This stent is discussed in a number of patents including U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,800,882, 4,907,336 and 5,041,126, the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Other types of stents are disclosed in the following patents:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,035,706 (Gianturco et al.), PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,037,392 (Hillstead), PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,385 (Beck et al.), PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,282,824 (Gianturco), PA1 Canadian patent 1,239,755 (Wallsten), and PA1 Canadian patent 1,245,527 (Gianturco et al.), PA1 ". . . no attempt should be made following placement of a PALMAZ-SCHATZ stent to access the side branch with a guide wire or a balloon, as such attempts may result in additional damage to the target vessel or the stent. Attempts to treat obstructed side branches within stented segments can result in balloon entrapment, necessitating emergency bypass surgery." PA1 1. Interventional Cardiovascular Medicine: Principles and Practice (1994); Publisher: Churchill Livingstone Inc.; pages 221-223 (Ohman et al.), 487-488 (Labinaz et al.), 667-668 (Bashore et al.) and 897 (Bailey et al.), including references cited therein; PA1 2. Gianturco-Roubin Flex-Stent.TM. Coronary Stent: Physician's Guide; page 2, Paragraph 3 under WARNINGS; PA1 3. Circulation, Vol. 83, No. 1, January 1991 (Schatz et al.); entitled "Clinical Experience With the Palmaz-Schatz Coronary Stent"; pages 148-161 at page 149; and PA1 4. American Heart Journal, Vol. 127, No. 2, February 1994 (Eeckhout et al.); entitled "Complications and follow-up after intracoronary stenting: Critical analysis of a 6-year single-center experience"; pages 262-272 at page 263, PA1 Canadian patent application number 2,134,997 (filed Nov. 3, 1994); PA1 Canadian patent application number 2,171,047 (filed Mar. 5, 1996); PA1 Canadian patent application number 2,175,722 (filed May 3, 1996); PA1 Canadian patent application number 2,185,740 (filed Sep. 17, 1996); PA1 International patent application PCT/CA97/00151 (filed Mar. 5, 1997); and PA1 International patent application PCT/CA97/00152 (filed Mar. 5, 1997);
the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
All of the stents described in the above-identified patents share the common design of being mono-tubular and thus, are best suited to be delivered and implanted in-line in the body passageway. These known stents are inappropriate for use in a bifurcated body passageway (e.g. a body passageway comprising a parent passageway that splits into a pair of passageways). Further, these stents are inappropriate for use in a body passageway having side branches since: (i) accurate placement of the stent substantially increases the risk to the patient, (ii) the risk of passageway closure in the side branches is increased, and (iii) the side branches will be substantially inaccessible.
Indeed the Physician Guide published in support of the Palmaz-Schatz stent states on page 32 (the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference):
Thus, when installed, the Palmaz-Schatz stent admittedly shields side branches emanating from the target area of the body passageway effectively permanently. This can be problematic since the only way to treat blockage or other problems associated with the side branches is to perform the type of surgery which installation of the stent was intended to avoid.
This contraindication for conventional mono-tubular stents is corroborated by a number of investigators. See, for example, the following:
the contents of each of which are hereby incorporated by reference.
Further, some investigators have attempted to install individual stents in each branch of the bifurcated body passageway. However, this approach is fraught with at least two significant problems. First, implantation of three individual stents, together with the expansive forces generated upon implantation results in subjecting the central walls of the bifurcated body passageway to undue stress which may lead to post-procedural complications. Second, since the central walls of the bifurcated body passageway are not supported by the individual stents, this area of the passageway is left substantially unprotected and susceptible to blockage.
One particular problem area with bifurcated body passageways is the occurrence of bifurcation lesions within the coronary circulation. Generally, these legions may be classified as follows:
______________________________________ Type Characteristic ______________________________________ A Prebranch stenosis not involving the ostium of the side branch; B Postbranch stenosis of the parent vessel not involving the origin of the side branch; C Stenosis encompassing the side branch but not involving the ostium; D Stenosis involving the parent vessel and ostium of the side branch; E Stenosis involving the ostium of the side branch only; and F Stenosis discretly involving the parent vessel and ostium of the side branch. ______________________________________
See Atlas of Interventional Cardiology (Popma et al.), 1994, pages 77-79, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. The presence of bifurcation lesions is predictive of increased procedural complications including acute vessel closure.
Detailed classification of other bifurcated body passageways is relatively undeveloped given the lack of non-surgical treatment approaches.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,071 (MacGregor) discloses a bifurcating stent apparatus. The particular design incorporates a series of generally parallel oriented loops interconnected by a sequence of "half-birch" connections. The lattice structure of the illustrated stent is constructed of wire. The use of such wire is important to obtain the loop structure of the illustrated design. The use of a wire loop construction is disadvantageous since it is complicated to manufacture and the resulting stent is subject to expansion variability (e.g. variable post-expansion distortion and the like).
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,993,078 (Bergentz et al.) and 5,342,387 (Summers) also disclose and illustrate a bifurcated stent design constructed of wire. These designs suffer from the same disadvantages as the design described in the previous paragraph.
It would be desirable to have a reliable, expandable bifurcated stent since this would be useful in treating aneurysms, blockages and other ailments. It would be further desirable to have a practical method for producing such a stent. It would also be desirable if such a stent was relatively easy to install.

Bifurcated stent and method for the manufacture and delivery of same


Damage to tissue, such as ischemic damage, can cause the release of mitochondrial proteins. The released proteins can be detected in a sample taken from a subject, indicating that the subject has suffered damage.

Cardiac markers serve an important role in the early detection and monitoring of cardiovascular disease. Markers of disease are typically substances found in a bodily sample that can be easily measured. The measured amount can correlate to underlying disease pathophysiology, presence or absence of a current or imminent cardiac event, probability of a cardiac event in the future. In patients receiving treatment for their condition, the measured amount will also correlate with responsiveness to therapy. Markers can include elevated levels of blood pressure, cholesterol, blood sugar, homocysteine and C-reactive protein (CRP). However, current markers, even in combination with other measurements or risk factors, do not adequately identify patients at risk, accurately detect events (i.e., heart attacks), or correlate with therapy. For example, half of patients do not have elevated serum cholesterol or other traditional risk factors.
Myocardial ischemia can be a main cause of the acute coronary syndromes (ACS), a continuum of disease that spans from unstable angina (characterized by reversible cardiac ischemia) to myocardial infarction with large areas of necrosis. Myocardial ischemia can result from thrombus formation after plaque rupture in a coronary artery. The acute coronary syndromes represent a complex and heterogeneous physiological condition. Although remarkable therapeutic and technological advances over the past 20 years have reduced the in-hospital mortality of acute myocardial infarction, this progress has been limited to patients who display ST-elevation on their electrocardiogram (ECG). ST-elevation is an indicator of myocardial infarction, and treatment within 12 hours of symptoms onset will improve the outcome. However, only about 50% of myocardial infarction patients have diagnostic ECG changes. The remaining patients must be observed for clinical monitoring signs and biochemical markers such as cardiac troponin T or 1.
Cardiac troponin has become the cornerstone for diagnosis of myocardial infarction. Markers such as CK-MB and myoglobin can be useful for assessment and risk stratification of suspected ACS patients. Compelling evidence indicates that an elevated cardiac troponin can identify high-risk ACS patients that benefit from treatment with antiplatelet agents including; inhibitors of the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa platelet receptor (such as abciximab, eptifibatide, lamifiban and tirofiban), COX II inhibitors (such as acetylsalycilic acid) and ADP receptor antagonists (such as clopidogrel and ticlopidine). However, troponin, CK-MB and myoglobin are markers of necrosis and therefore offer no information regarding myocardial ischemia that occurred before cell death. A test that can accurately detect the presence or absence of myocardial ischemia allowing treatment decisions to be made at an earlier stage of the ACS continuum will have significant clinical utility. Further, therapeutic options specifically targeting this early stage of ACS has the potential to significantly improve patient prognosis.


A lighting system for a towed off-highway vehicle has a left and right hazard warning lamps that flash in unison when the vehicle is not turning. When the vehicle is turning, the hazard warning lamp on the side of the turn flashes, while the other hazard warning lamp is illuminated steadily. Left and right turn indicator lamps are operated by a control circuit that receives signals which operate the hazard warning lamps. The control circuit responds to those signals by rendering the turn indicator lamps inactive when the vehicle is not turning, and operates the left and right turn indicator lamps in the same manner as the left and right hazard warning lamps, respectively, when the vehicle is turning.

The present invention relates to warning light systems for off-highway vehicles, and more particularly to control systems for operating such warning lights.
Occasionally agricultural and construction equipment which is primarily intended for off-road use has to be driven on a highway between work locations. Because these vehicles move at relatively slow speed compared to highway vehicles, hazard warning lights are located at both the front and rear the vehicle. For example the American Society of Agriculture Engineers (ASAE) has promulgated standards which state that self-propelled equipment, for example a farm tractor or combine, have rear and forward facing amber lamps to provide a hazard warning. These lamps flash at a rate of 70 pulses per minute in unison while the equipment is moving in a straight path. The lamps also are utilized as turn indicators in which case the lamps on the side of the equipment in the direction of the turn flash at 100 pulses per minute and the lamps in the direction opposite to the turn are illuminated steadily. The tractor contains a circuitry which governs the operation of these lamps according to this standard.
It is quite common for such self-propelled equipment to pull an implement such as a wagon, manure spreader, hay bailer or other vehicle. The ASAE standards also dictate that the non-self propelled, or towed, vehicles have warning lights at its rear. In particular the towed implement must have a pair of tail lamps as well as left and right amber hazard warning lamps that function in unison with the corresponding hazard warning lamps on the tractor. The power signals for operating these lights on the towed vehicle are supplied through a standard electrical connector on the back of the tractor. The connector provides terminals for the signals from the right and left hazard lamps, tail lights and vehicle ground.
The ASAE standards require that an additional red or amber rear facing lamp be positioned on each side of the vehicle. When the equipment is not turning, the additional red or amber lamps are inactive and during a turn the additional lamps operate unison with the hazard lamps. Specifically the additional lamp on the side of the turn flashes at 100 pulses per minute while the opposite lamp is steadily illuminated. Because these additional lamps must remain inactive when a turn is not occurring, they cannot simply be connected in parallel with the other hazard lamps on the towed vehicle, but must be controlled separately. However, the connection between the tractor and the towed vehicle does not provide additional connection for these lamps. Therefore, control logic must be provided on the towed vehicle to derive signals from the hazard lamp signals in order to drive the turning lamps.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,498,929 describes one type of such control logic which employs a diode-resistor circuit to operate a relay that controls the flow of electricity through the additional turn indicator lamps on the towed vehicle. However, this circuit places the relay in the connection of the lamps to vehicle ground. This precludes the use of standard lamp assemblies on the towed vehicle. Such lamp assemblies have tail lamps, regular hazard warning lamps and the additional turn indicator lamps in a common housing with the grounds for all the lamps connected in common. With this previous control logic, a separate ground connection has to be provided for the additional turn indicator lamps, thereby requiring non-standard lamp assemblies.


The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a system and method for determining a sufficiency of measurements for locating positions. In one example, although claimed subject matter is not so limited, a process to improve accuracy of pseudorange measurements may be terminated in response to a weighting of quantitative assessments of at least some of such pseudorange measurements.

1. Field
The subject matter disclosed herein relates to determining a location of a position based upon signals received from geo-location satellites.
2. Information
A satellite positioning system (SPS) typically comprises a system of earth orbiting satellites enabling entities to determine their location on the earth based, at least in part, on signals received from the satellites. Each such SPS satellite typically transmits a signal marked with a repeating pseudo-random noise (PN) code of 1,023 chips distinguishing the satellite from other SPS satellites where the 1,023 chips repeat every millisecond. The signal is also typically modulated with data bits, where each data bit has a 20 ms duration in the modulated signal.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical application of a geo-location system, whereby a subscriber station 100 in a wireless communications system receives transmissions from satellites 102a, 102b, 102c, 102d in the line of sight to subscriber station 100, and derives time measurements from four or more of the transmissions. Subscriber station 100 provides the measurements to position determination entity (PDE) 104, which determines the position of the station from the measurements. Alternatively, the subscriber station 100 may determine its own position from this information.
Subscriber station 100 may search for a transmission from a particular satellite by correlating the PN code for the satellite with a received signal. The received signal typically comprises a composite of transmissions from one or more satellites within a line of sight to a receiver at station 100 in the presence of noise. A correlation may be performed over a range of code phase hypotheses known as the code phase search window WCP, and over a range of Doppler frequency hypotheses known as the Doppler search window WDOPP. Such code phase hypotheses are typically represented as a range of PN code shifts while such Doppler frequency hypotheses are typically represented as Doppler frequency bins.
A correlation is typically performed over an integration time "I" which may be expressed as the product of Nc and M, where Nc is the coherent integration time, and M is number of coherent integrations which are non-coherently combined. For a particular PN code, correlation values are typically associated with corresponding PN code shifts and Doppler bins to define a two-dimensional correlation function. Peaks of the correlation function are located and compared to a predetermined noise threshold. The threshold is typically selected so that the false alarm probability, the probability of falsely detecting a satellite transmission, is at or below a predetermined value. A time measurement for the satellite is typically derived from a location of an earliest non-side lobe peak along the code phase dimension which equals or exceeds the threshold. A Doppler measurement for the subscriber station may be derived from the location of the earliest non-side lobe peak along the Doppler frequency dimension which equals or exceeds the threshold.
Current subscriber station architectures place significant constraints on the process of searching for location determination signals. In a shared RF architecture, for example, core RF circuitry in the subscriber station is typically shared between a location determination receive path, and voice/data communication transmit and receive paths. Accordingly, employing such a shared RF architecture in an SPS function may diminish an ability of such a shared architecture to perform a voice/data communication function or other function sharing common resources. Accordingly, there is a desire to reduce use of such common resources for determining locations of position.

System and/or method for determining sufficiency of pseudorange measurements


A raster device such as a digital printer or the like which sequentially compares input image data with each element in a threshold matrix to convert the input image data into binary or multi-level pixel data. For providing both a higher resolution and a larger number of halftone levels for an output image at a low cost, an input image is decomposed into four color planes as CMYK data, and data on each color plane is compared with a dither matrix in a binarization circuit to be converted to binary data. The dither matrix generates a dither pattern composed of eight clusters having substantially the same shape as a kernel cluster capable of expressing 15 or more halftone levels. In this way, a smooth gradation having 120 or more halftone levels is realized by repetitively applying a small pattern having approximately 15 halftone levels.

The present invention relates generally to an image output device referred to as a raster device which represents images provided by a printer, facsimile, CRT and like, as a set of dots or pixels, and more particularly to digital halftoning techniques for realizing image representations in a higher resolution and with a larger number of halftone levels of gradation.
Conventionally, raster devices having a small number of halftone levels expressible by one pixel, such as a digital printer, have utilized for many cases halftone representation measures known as a dither method, an error diffusion method, or the like to simulatively compensate for halftones.
Within these conventional methods, the dither method is widely utilized since it is easily implemented and provides a relatively uniform image quality although it is inferior to the error diffusion method in terms of the gradation and resolution.
The dither method sequentially compares each point in an input image matrix with each element in a threshold matrix referred to as a dither matrix to determine an actual output halftone level of a corresponding pixel. Particularly, a device, which provides an output image at two levels of gradation, determines whether a pixel corresponding to a point is on or off.
As an example of such a dither matrix, an article "An Optimum Method For Two-level Rendition Of Continuous-halftone Pictures" by B. E. Bayer (ICC Conf. Rec. 26-11.about.15), 1973 discloses patterns shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B. The dither pattern shown in FIG. 1A is a distribution type dither pattern commonly known as a Bayer-type pattern. The pattern shown in FIG. 1B is employed by a dot concentration type dither method which utilizes a plurality of dots to simulate fat dots, the diameter of which is increased corresponding to a halftone level.
The application of the dither pattern shown in FIG. 1A will result in an output image, though its resolution is high, having a pattern giving a peculiar coarse feeling which is highly prominent. On the other hand, in an output image generated by the application of the dither pattern shown in FIG. 1B, an eyesore characteristic pattern will not be produced in the output image since fat dots having diameters corresponding to halftones are orderly arranged at regular intervals. However, since the resolution of the output image is determined by the intervals of the fat dots, the interval of the fat dots becomes wider if a larger number of halftone levels are provided for images, and a sufficient number of halftone levels cannot be ensured for images if the fat dots are to be arranged at narrower intervals.
To cope with the problems mentioned above, there has conventionally been proposed a method for arranging a plurality of fat dots in a sequence of threshold values in a dither matrix. For generating such a dither matrix, methods for applying a Bayer pattern generation algorithm shown in FIG. 1A to a dot concentration type dither have been often utilized, as described in a report entitled "Threshold Arranging Method in Dot Concentration Type Dither Method" by Ueno et al. in 1980 General National Meeting of Japanese Institute of Electronics, Information and Communication Engineers.
Specifically, the above-mentioned Bayer's extension algorithm generates n patterns of the same form nD+0, nD+1, . . . , nD+(n-1) (generally, n=2 or 4) from a basic dot concentration type dither pattern D, and combines the thus generated patterns to extend the dither pattern.
Actually, dither patterns disclosed as FIGS. 16 and 17 in JP-A-61-125264, and many dither patterns shown in Japanese article by Kawamura et al. "Halftone Reproducing Method for Digital Color Printing in Electronic Photography (III)", in Transactions of The Institute of Image Electronics Engineers of Japan, Vol 25, No. 1 (1986) are generated by methods as mentioned above. In addition, JP-A-58-173973 discloses a rather irregular method.
A fat dot density of the dot concentration type dither pattern is measured in lines per inch (lpi). When a human observes an output image at a distance of approximately 30 cm, the fat dot density in a range from 100 lpi to 120 lpi exceeds the resolution of human so that an image having this range of fat dot density is recognized as a smooth image. Stated another way, a sudden qualitative change occurs in an output image with the fat dot density ranging between 100 lpi and 120 lpi.
Correspondingly, since discontinuous halftones are more likely to be prominent in a smooth image corresponding to the fat dot density of approximately 120 lpi, the application of a dither pattern having a less number of halftone levels will result in a rather unnatural image. A number of halftone levels required in this case is also considered based on approximately 120.
Therefore, if a density of fat dots equal to 120 lpi is to be ensured in a binary raster device having a resolution of 600 dpi (dot per inch) such as a high definition laser beam printer or the like, which is commonly available at present, a fat dot is composed of 5 by 5 pixels (25 halftone levels) or less, so that a dither pattern must be composed of five or more fat dots.
Conversely, however, as the number of fat dots simulated in a dither pattern is increased, an irregular and coarse dot arrangement may be generated in a lower halftone level representation, that is, an area of highlight, where the centers of all dots are not aligned, thus, damaging the quality of a resulting output image, as described in JP-A-58-173973.
As is understood from the above, the smoothness of images is more or less sacrificed in the prior art. Specifically, the number of fat dots in a dither pattern is limited to two-four, as disclosed in the Kawamura's article and JP-A-61-1255264. Alternatively, a plurality of dither matrices are prepared such that a different matrix is used for inputted pixels in a lower halftone area, as disclosed in JP-A-58-173973.
The method described in JP-A-58-173973, however, has a problem that complicated memories, associated circuits and programs must be configured for preparing a plurality of dither matrices, thus causing a lower processing speed and an increased cost. Particularly, it has been found that the continuity of halftone or gradation is degraded.
The method described in JP-A-61-125264 also has a problem that the number of fat dots set to four may cause a prominent degradation in image quality due to irregular dots in a lower halftone area, and that the number of fat dots set to two may result in a largely damaged gradation. Conversely, if a number of halftone levels equal to or more than 120 is to be ensured using two fat dots, an 8.times.8 image is required for one fat dot, so that a coarse image having a density of fat dots equal to 75 lpi will be generated.
In view of an improvement in the resolution of an output device, assuming that a number of halftone levels equal to or more than 120 is to be realized with four fat dots, as disclosed in JP-A-61-1255264, even if a fat dot is composed of 6.times.6 pixels, the output device is required to have a resolution of 720 dpi (120.times.6=120) in order to produce images having a screen line number of 120 lpi. With a device, for example, a page printer, which temporarily stores a complete output image in a buffer, an increase in memory buffer capacity of as much as 20% will give rise to a seriously increased cost.


A gyrotron providing first and second microwave frequencies comprises a dual frequency cavity coupled between an electron gun and a waveguide. The electron gun, the dual frequency cavity and a segment of the waveguide are surrounded by a variable magnetic source having first and second operating states. The first state provides microwaves at the first frequency, while the second state produces microwaves at the second frequency.

Cyclotron masers, commonly referred to as gyrotrons, are used to produce high power, narrow bandwidth, modally pure microwaves. Conventional cavity structures used in gyrotrons limit the operating frequency range of the gyrotron to a single frequency, or a very narrow frequency range. Gyrotrons with operating frequencies of 35 gigahertz (GHz) and 94 Ghz are common, since these frequencies produce low attenuation in the atmosphere. Producing two or more widely separated microwave frequencies normally requires using two or more independent gyrotrons, which greatly increases system costs due to the need for redundant components including electron guns, power supplies and magnets. Some reduction in cost is achieved by the use of two separate cavities, which is offset by an increased number of man hours needed to replace the various cavities.

Dual cavity for a dual frequency gyrotron

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


The object of the present invention is to provide a masking member which has good heat resistance and can be used repeatedly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a masking member used to protect a part of an article from being coated.
2. Prior Art
A masking member is attached to a part of an article (a masking part) to which coating should not be applied. Said masking member can be removed from said part after curing of coating film on said article by heating to lose the fluidity of said coating film. Accordingly, said masking member can resist said heat-treatment in the coating process.
Hitherto, material consisting of thermoplastic resin mixed with inorganic filler has been provided for such masking members (TOKKAIHEI 2-126966).
Among the thermoplastic resin materials, polyolefin especially has strong solvent resistance and is mechanically reinforced by mixing with inorganic filler, so that thermal conductivity of which will increase and thermal resistance of which will also increase; therefore, said masking members can be used repeatedly.
However, with respect to the above mentioned conventional masking members, thermal resistance of which is about 100° C. at the highest even mixed with inorganic filler, and in a process of surface treatment which requires a temperature higher than that, the masking members are deformed.
As a means to solve the above described problem in the prior art, the present invention provides a masking member which is made of an engineering plastic (TOKKAIHEI 5-261323).
Said engineering plastic has high heat resistance and the masking member made of said engineering plastic has a high level of mechanical strength and said masking member does not soften or deform even at a temperature higher than 150° C.
Accordingly, in the present invention, the masking member can be used repeatedly even in the surface treatment having a heating process at a high temperature.

Abstract: To attain this object, the present invention provide a masking member made of a polymer alloy including one or more kinds of engineering plastics selected from a group consisting of methylpentene copolymer, polysulphone, polyethersulphone, polyphenylene, sulphide, polyphenylene ether, polyamideimide, polyetherimide, polyether-etherketone; and polyamide and/or polystyrene, and styrenic thermoplastic elastomer wherein said engineering plastics and said polyamide and/or polystyrene are mixed together in a weight ratio between 30:70 to 70:30, and 2 to 20 parts by weight of said styrenic thermoplastic elastomer is added in 100 parts by weight of said engineering plastics and polyamide and/or polystyrene.

Abstract: Said masking member has excellent moldability, a high level of mechanical strength and a good affinity with the coating film.


An apparatus for destroying compact discs includes a base and a cover. The base has a mounting fixture capable of holding a CD and an anvil projecting upwardly from the base bottom panel. The cover is hingedly attached to one of the base walls such that the cover can assume an open position in which the apparatus interior is accessible and a closed position in which the apparatus interior is inaccessible. The cover has one or more scatter shields projecting downwardly from the cover such that, in the cover's closed position, the scatter shields prevent the apparatus interior contents from escaping. The cover further includes a compressor projecting downwardly from the cover top panel. In operation, mounting a CD in the mounting fixture and urging the cover from the open position to the closed position induces the compressor to urge the CD against the anvil to shatter the CD.

The problem the present device is directed to overcoming is the prevention of unauthorized access to data on discarded discs with a magnetic medium on their surface(s) for the storage of digital information. Such discs include compact discs (CDs), digital video discs (DVDs; sometimes referred to as digital versatile discs), and compact minidiscs (smaller in diameter than conventional CDs; used in digital photography and other end uses in which a smaller digital storage medium is desired). Herein, the term "compact disc" and the abbreviation "CD" should be understood to encompass these and other shatterable discs on or in which some perceivable information has been imparted. Such discs are most often formed from plastic material, but the discs could conceivably formed from other suitable materials having the capability of shattering like CDs.
One prior, conventional solution to this problem involved obliterating the data stored on compact discs by imposing magnetic fields upon the surface of the discs, thereby affecting the electromagnetic properties of the disc and the data stored thereon. The disadvantage of the magnetization approach is the uncertainty as to whether the data has been completely obliterated rather than rendered only partially unreadable, in which case some of the data stored on the CD could still be retrieved.
Another prior, conventional solution involved scratching or otherwise physically marring the readable surface of the CD, thereby rendering the scratched or marred portions of the surface unreadable. Like the prior magnetization approach, the disadvantage of the physical marring approach is also that the data could have been rendered only partially unreadable rather than completely obliterated, in which case some of the data stored on the CD could still be retrieved, especially from the unmarred portions.
Solutions involving the melting or burning to destroy of a CD to render the data thereon inaccessible are also disadvantageous. In this regard, the melting or burning cannot normally be accomplished in the workplace, but is more often carried out by an outside service. Entrusting a CD with sensitive data to an outsider for destruction also carries with it a finite risk that the secrecy of the data will be compromised, either accidentally or perhaps by subversive means.


A bacterial α1,2-fucosyltransferase gene and deduced amino acid sequence is provided. The gene is useful for preparing α1,2-fucosyltransferase polypeptide, and active fragment thereof, which can be used in the production of oligosaccharides such as Lewis X, Lewis Y, Lewis B and H type 1, which are structurally similar to certain tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens found in mammals. These product glycoconjugates also have research and diagnostic utility in the development of assays to detect mammalian tumors.

Helicobacter pylori is an important human pathogen which causes both gastric and duodenal ulcers and has also been associated with gastric cancer and lymphoma. This microorganism has been shown to express cell surface glycoconjugates including Lewis X, Lewis Y, and sialyl Lewis X. These bacterial oligosaccharides are structurally similar to tumor-associated carbohydrate antigens found in mammals.
The presence of H. pylori isolate has been associated with an increased risk for development of gastric cancer (Wirth, H.-P., Yang, M., Karita, M., and Blaser, M. J. (1996) Infect. Immun. 64, 4598–4605). This pathogen is highly adapted to colonize human gastric mucosa and may remain in the stomach with or without causing symptoms for many years. Although H. pylori elicits local as well as systemic antibody responses, it escapes elimination by the host immune response due to its sequestered habitation within human gastric mucosa. Another mechanism by which H. pylori may protect itself from the action of the host immune response is the production of surface antigens mimicking those in the host.
In mammalian cells the enzyme fucosyltransferase (namely FucT) catalyzes the last step in the synthesis of two carbohydrate structures, Galβ 1–4[Fucα1–3] GlcNAc (Lewis X, Lex for short) or NeuAcα2–3-Galβ 1–4[Fucα1–3]GlcNAc (sialyl Lewis X, sLex for short). (Lowe et al., 1990, Cell 57: 475–484.; Kukowska-Latallo et al., 1990, Genes & Development 4:1288–1303.) Cell surface α(1,3)- and α(1,2)-fucosylated oligosaccharides, that is, Lewis X (Lex), sialyl Lewis X (sLex) and Lewis Y (Ley), are present on both eukaryotic and microbial cell surfaces. In mammals, Lex is a stage-specific embryonic antigen, however, Lex, sLex and Ley are also regarded as tumor-associated markers. The biological functions of these bacterial oligosaccharide structures are not fully understood. It has been suggested that such glycoconjugates produced by H. pylori, may mimic host cell antigens and could mask the bacterium from the host immune response. It is also possible that these bacterial Lewis antigens could down regulate the host T-cell response. Therefore, production of such antigens may contribute to colonization and long-term infection of the stomach by H. pylori.
Presently, use of carbohydrates as potential therapeutic drugs has become popular in the field of medical chemistry. In addition, qualitative and quantitative carbohydrates including Lex, Ley and sLex are also required as reagents for assaying the enzymes which are involved in the biosynthesis of glycoconjugates in cells. Lex, Ley and sLex products which are commercially available are chemically synthesized. However, synthesis of these products gives rise to several limitations such as time-consuming, complicated procedures and low yields. Although several mammalian fucosyltransferases have been cloned and expressed, enzymatic synthesis of Lex, Ley and sLex products for a commercial purpose has not been reported.
The whole genome sequence of H. pylori 26695 had been published, which will undoubtedly facilitate the genetic studies of H. pylori. H. pylori genome sequence revealed the existence of two copies of α(1,3)fucT gene, whereas no putative α(1,2) fucT gene had been annotated.


An ultrasonic processing apparatus is provided. The ultrasonic processing apparatus comprises an ultrasonic therapy transducer (ATA) adapted to generate focused ultrasonic waves; an ultrasonic imaging transducer (UID) connected to the ultrasonic therapy transducer; and an electronic system configured to control the ultrasonic therapy transducer so as to emit a pulse train of ultrasonic waves generating a cloud of cavitation bubbles (BC); control the ultrasonic imaging transducer so as to acquire at least one image of the region to be processed; acquire a plurality of echo signals of ultrasonic wave pulses emitted by the ultrasonic therapy transducer captured by the ultrasonic imaging transducer; process the plurality of echo signals so as to reconstruct an image of the cloud of cavitation bubbles; and display said image of the cloud of cavitation bubbles superposed on said image of the region to be processed. The processing includes spatio-temporal filtering.

Histotripsy is a technique for mechanically fragmenting tissues by means of focused ultrasonic pulses that generate clouds of cavitation bubbles (also called "cavitation clouds" for the sake of simplicity). The use of histotripsy to treat various pathologies is a promising approach that could replace high-risk surgery. The cavitation allows undesirable tissues in a highly controlled focal region to be destroyed noninvasively and without thermal effects. However, the human body is a very heterogeneous medium and the fact that the therapy takes place inside the body with no direct visual feedback makes it crucial to precisely monitor the cavitation region. In particular, in cardiac applications, the rib cage may cause substantial aberrations in the therapeutic path of the ultrasound.
Similar considerations apply to techniques that are conceptually similar to histotripsy, such as lithotripsy (fragmentation of kidney stones) and thrombotripsy (fragmentation of blood clots), or even to the field of therapy by high-intensity focused ultrasound.
Analysis of the harmonics of the frequency of backscattered ultrasound echoes allows the cavitation to be detected passively, but does not allow the cloud of bubbles to be precisely located.
It is possible to use conventional B-mode ultrasonic imaging techniques that allow the cavitation effect and the anatomical structures being treated to be viewed in real-time. This approach is however not entirely satisfactory. Specifically, since the bubbles are generated within heterogeneous biological tissues, their echoes may be difficult to detect among all of the echoes from the tissue. The identification of bubbles therefore remains very subjective, non-quantitative, and the definition of the outlines of the cavitation cloud is problematic.
Article [1] teaches that a better discrimination of the cavitation bubbles may be obtained by employing a parallel (or "ultra-rapid") ultrasonic imaging technique associated with spatio-temporal filtering. However, this approach proves not to be very suitable in the case where the treated tissues are constantly moving, such as for example in the case of the heart, the liver or the kidneys. Specifically, the ultrasonic waves used for the imaging insonify all of the region of interest (or even a region larger than the region of interest), and their echo signals are very sensitive to any spatio-temporal variations that occur in this region, and not solely those due to the cavitation. This is acceptable when the tissues are static or quasi-static but, in the presence of moving tissues, spatio-temporal filtering becomes a much less effective way of identifying the echo signals coming from the cavitation bubbles. However, it is precisely in the latter case that is particularly important to be able to view the cavitation cloud and its position with respect to the tissues with precision.
Passive detecting methods have also been used to estimate the position of cavitation bubbles. For example:                [2] describes a passive method for acoustically mapping bubbles generated by a thermal-ablation therapy transducer. This method allows the bubbles produced by continuous-wave emissions or emissions of wave trains of long duration (several hundred oscillations) to be mapped. Because of the duration of the wave trains, it is not possible to precisely identify the position of the cloud of bubbles. [2] proposes a method for computing a map of backscattered energy with a resolution equivalent to the wavelength used, but this does not allow the boundaries of the cloud to be precisely identified.        [3] describes an alternative method to [2] for solving the same problem of monitoring continuous emissions.        [4] describes the application of the method [2] to histotripsy without particular modifications.        [5] describes a method that applies time reversal to the ultrasonic pulses. As in references [2], [3] and [4], this method uses long pulses and does not allow the boundaries of the cloud of cavitation bubbles to be precisely identified.

Ultrasonic processing apparatus comprising means for imaging cavitation bubbles

INSTITUT NATIONAL DE LA SANTE ET DE LA RECHERCHE MEDICALE

CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE

ECOLE SUPERIEURE DE PHYSIQUE ET DE CHIMIE INDUSTRIELLES DE LA VILLE DE PARIS