Disclosed is a turning tool for cutting circumferential grooves into a surface of a polishing pad formed of a resin material and utilized for polishing semiconductor devices. The turning tool comprising a cutting part arranged to have a tooth width within a range of 0.005–1.0 mm, a wedge angle within a range of 15–35 degrees, and a front clearance angle within a range of 65–45 degrees. A polishing pad effectively formed by using the turning tool, and an apparatus and a method of producing such a polishing pad by utilizing the turning tool are also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a turning tool for producing a polishing pad made of a resin material and usable in the fabrication of semiconductor devices, especially for chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) executed for planaraizing surfaces of semiconductor wafers or devices. The present invention further relates to a polishing pad effectively formed by using the turning tool, and an apparatus and a method of producing such a polishing pad by utilizing the turning tool.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the semiconductor fabrication processes, a substrate, e.g., a silicon wafer, may undergo multiple masking, etching, implantation, and dielectric and conductor deposition processes, to thereby form a lamination of various kinds of thin layers such as metallic layers and insulative layers. Between each processing steps, it is usually necessary to polish or planarize an outer or upper most surface of the wafer to obtain a substrate surface having a high degree of planarity. Chemical mechanical polishing (hereinafter referred to as "CMP") is one of known methods of planarization. CMP typically involves placing the wafer mounted on and rotated about an axis of a carrier against a polishing pad mounted on and rotated about an axis of a platen, and pushing the wafer against the polishing pad while supplying a polishing slurry at an interface between the upper most surface of the wafer and the polishing pad. The polishing slurry consists of fine abrasive particles and suitable kind of liquid in which the abrasive particles are dispersed. Typically, the polishing pad is made of a foamed rigid-resin material, so that a surface of the polishing pad has a cellular structure of independent-cell type in which cells are independent of each other or of open-cell type in which cells are communicated with each other, in order to facilitate conditioning of the slurry distribution between the wafer and the polishing pad.
Namely, the polishing pad for CMP is required to be capable of evenly distributing the slurry over a substantially entire area of the upper most surface of the wafer that is to be polished, while preventing a stay or clogging of the slurry at a local portion of the upper most surface of the wafer. The polishing pad for CMP is further required to be capable of promoting renewal of the slurry.
To meet these requirements, conventionally employed polishing pads for CMP are arranged to have polishing surfaces formed with respective predetermined patterns, e.g., a pattern of recess or a pattern of checked grooves intersecting at right rights. After a number of polishing runs, the polishing pad having the pattern of recesses may suffer from variation of diameter of the recesses, whereby the pad suffers from difficulty in exhibiting a desired chemical mechanical polishing effect with high stability. In the case of the polishing pad having the pattern of checked grooves, a polishing condition is likely to vary in the radial direction of the polishing pad, whereby the pad suffers from a high tendency of occurrence of uneven wearing of its surface, resulting in uneven polishing.
Another known example of conventionally employed polishing pad for CMP is disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication Nos. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,921,855 and 5,984,769. The disclosed polishing pad is provided with a plurality of annular grooves open in its polishing surface. The plurality of annular grooves are arranged in a generally concentric or coaxial relationship with each other, and are dimensioned to have a width of not smaller than 0.38 mm and a depth of not smaller than 0.51 mm, and are uniformly spaced with a pitch of 2.29 mm in a radial direction of the polishing pad. However, the disclosed polishing pad suffers from inherent structural problems, namely, difficulty in forming grooves extending in a circumferential direction in the polishing pad and difficulty in ensuring a sufficient dimensional accuracy of the grooves.
More specifically described, the annular grooves may be formed on the polishing surface of the polishing pad by embossing with a die, or alternatively may be formed by milling with a saw blade on a mill. In the former case, each of the formed annular grooves is prone to have a dull shape, especially at its open-end edge portions, so that the width of the groove varies in its depth direction. This causes undesirable variation of the groove width, especially when the polishing surface of the polishing pad is worn or is conditioned by the dressing process, resulting in unstable polishing conditions. In the latter case, since the annular grooves are formed by milling of the saw blade on the mill, the formed annular grooves is likely to extend straightly to some extent, making it difficult to form a groove having a small width and a small radius of curvature. This makes it impossible to form a desired polishing pad in which annular grooves having a relatively small width are formed on a radially inner portion of its polishing surface as well as a radially intermediate and a radially outer portion of its polishing surface. In view of a recent tendency of employing a large-diameter wafer, e.g., a wafer having a diameter within a range of 200 mm–300 mm or more, the presence of useless area in the radially inner portion of the polishing surface of the polishing pad undesirably causes an enlargement in size of the polishing pad. Therefore, the problem of the radially inner useless area of the polishing pad becomes very significant.
Alternatively, the annular grooves may possibly be formed by turning with a turning tool. However, since the polishing pad is formed of a specific material having somewhat elasticity, e.g., a foamed rigid-resin material, it is significantly difficult to cut an annular groove having a relatively small width and having a relatively small radius of curvature into the polishing pad, with high dimensional accuracy. In the light of the physical property of the polishing pad, conventionally available tool for cutting a work piece made of metal or a rigid-resin material, are not suitable to cut the polishing pad. For instance, the tools for cutting the metallic or rigid-resin working piece are likely to interfere with the walls of each groove, thereby possibly producing burrs or other defects in the walls of the grooves. Thus, the conventionally available tools are incapable of cutting the small-width and small-radius grooves into the surface of the polishing pad having the somewhat elasticity, like the foamed rigid-resin members.
Moreover, the conventionally employed polishing pad disclosed in the above-mentioned U.S. Patents has the generally concentric annular grooves that have a relatively large width and are uniformly spaced at the relatively large pitch. Further, the disclosed polishing pad includes a backside pad made of a compressed felt fibers leached with urethane, which has an elasticity larger than that of the polishing pad and which is fixed the backside of the urethane pad. Thus, the disclosed polishing pad is mounted on a platen of an optional CMP system via the backside pad. This type of conventional polishing pad has been developed to be applied to planarization of a substrate having multilevel interconnections in which metallic interconnect has a width of 0.25 μm, that is a most advanced technology at the time when applications for the above-mentioned U.S. Patents were filed (i.e., 1997–1998). Namely, the type of polishing pad has been developed to provide the substrate surface having a planarity at a level of 0.3 μm. In the light of the fact that the substrates having multilevel interconnections whose metallic interconnect has a width approximately of 0.18 μm, 0.15 μm and 0.1 μm dominate the recent market, it is apparent that the CMP is now required very sophisticated techniques, i.e., to provide the substrate surface having a high planarity at a level of 0.25 μm or lower. Thus, the conventional polishing pad disclosed in the above U.S. Patents is insufficient for ensuring currently required polishing accuracy and polishing efficiency, and accordingly is unsuitable to be used for CMP for a planarization of a currently developed substrate of multilevel interconnection, which includes interconnect metal layers made of a soft cupper or gold.
In the conventional polishing pad disclosed in the above-indicated U.S. Patents, the grooves having a relatively large width and the backside pad cooperate to allow a deformation of the polishing surface, whereby the polishing surface of the polishing pad is likely to be deformed according to peaks and valleys in a surface of a substrate to be polished, i.e., along with topography of upper most surface of the substrate. However, this surface deformation mechanism of the conventional polishing pad is insufficient to keep pace with the currently required level of polishing accuracy. In addition, the use of the backside pad, which is formed differently from the polishing pad, evidently has pushed up a manufacturing cost of the polishing pad.

Turning tool for grooving polishing pad, apparatus and method of producing polishing pad using the tool, and polishing pad produced by using the tool


A fiber optic organizer includes a mounting bracket and a plurality of organizer trays having proximal and distal ends. The organizer trays are pivotally connected at their proximal ends to the mounting bracket and are movable between a stacked position and a raised position to facilitate access to an underlying organizer tray. A locking mechanism is positioned on the distal end of each tray and locks at least two adjacent organizer trays together in a raised position when the organizer trays are lifted to a predetermined angle, and disengages the locked organizer trays when the organizer trays are lifted beyond the predetermined angle. The locking mechanism on each organizer tray includes a slot and an upstanding tab that is received within a slot on an overlying organizer tray when the organizer trays are raised to a predetermined angle. The tab and slot can be angled to assist in pushing an overlying organizer tray into its raised position and also assist in retaining the organizer trays in a locked position if the locked organizer trays are jarred. When raised beyond the predetermined angle, the organizer trays can separate from each other. As the organizer trays are lowered into the stacked position, the organizer trays are maintained separate from each other.

Optical fiber communications systems typically use fiber optic cables and associated digital electronics to transmit large volumes of data and voice signals over relatively long unrepeated distances, while being virtually noise free. An optical fiber communications system typically includes optical connectors, and in some instances, fusion splices between individual fibers, such as to connect one cable to an adjacent cable, or to terminate the cable to be connected to associated electronics. These optical connectors can be at drop points for fiber optic cables as required in a large optical fiber communications system, for example. The optical connectors can be part of a building network, and mounted to an equipment rack where a plurality of accessible organizer trays each hold a number of optical connectors. When the optical connectors are to be changed or repaired, the requisite organizer trays are raised to an elevated position and locked to expose the underlying organizer tray having the particular optical connector to be changed or repaired.
An example of a closure used in such communications systems is a model FOSC 100, manufactured by the assignee of the present invention, which typically includes one or more fiber optic organizers having organizer trays disposed in stacked arrangement within a protective housing. Another example is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,323,480 assigned to the present assignee, the disclosure which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety. As disclosed in the '480 patent, the organizer trays are pivotally connected at one end to a mounting bracket, which is typically connected to the inside face of a closure end cap. This pivotal connection permits individual organizer trays to be temporarily moved to a raised position while allowing access to an underlying organizer tray to check fiber routing, reposition an optical connector or perform other maintenance. The organizer trays are held in a raised position on a relatively complicated series of cammed surfaces having detents that work in conjunction with a detent bar. A hinged pin mounting bracket carries the detent bar in spaced relation from a hinge pin. This type of locking mechanism may add to the overall end cost of each fiber optic organizer.
In other prior art devices, the organizer trays have been held in a raised position by a separate kick stand arrangement, which holds one or more trays in an elevated position, or by detents formed on the hinge of the tray. In some instances, organizer trays have been held in position by using any available prop, such as a roll of electrical tape. The kick stand support is not an integral part of the tray and can be misplaced. It is also relatively expensive and takes up valuable organizer tray space, and may decrease the density of optical connectors that can be placed on an organizer tray. Detents are not always reliable because they often are not formed as an integral part of the tray, and may sometimes break. Any other field improvised support, such as a roll of electrical tape, may be inefficient and impractical.
It would be advantageous if a support mechanism for holding organizer trays could be inexpensively formed, and remain simple in design compared to a separate kick stand or detents. An improved support for locking elevated organizers trays may also increase the optical connector capacity of a tray and increase the density of optical connectors without increasing the physical area of the tray.

Fiber optic organizer with lockable trays and method of accessing a tray


The present general inventive concept discloses a ceramic composite substrate that, with proper construction and proper excitation, can generate uniform plasma throughout the substrate for fluid flow treatment to influence a change in its chemical, electrical or physical properties, and method for generating plasma throughout the substrate. The ceramic substrate can include fibrous or sintered semiconducting material, and can include optional structural fiber for support of the semiconducting materials, as well as an optional auxiliary thermal heating source for cleaning excess particulate matter.

The present general inventive concept relates generally to a ceramic substrate, and more particularly, to ceramic composite substrate that, with proper construction and proper excitation, can generate uniform plasma throughout the substrate for fluid flow treatment to influence a change in its chemical, electrical or physical properties, and method for generating plasma through the substrate.
Air pollution controls typically involve the filtering out of particulate matter as well as gas phase chemical pollutant treatments. Common methods of particulate removal employed today include candle filters, cyclone separators, electrostatic precipitators, and membrane filters. Gas phase pollution controls include packed beds, scrubbers, absorbers, capturers, incinerators, and condensers. All of these techniques are designed to be implemented at a few hundred degrees C. or less, which is fine for most air pollution sources in operation today. However, emerging technologies and power plant methods such as the production of syngas through gasification of various feedstocks would optimally require syngas filtering at temperatures around 1000 C. None of the above techniques can accomplish this, and there is no established technology that has been implemented on a wide-scale basis that can meet this need.
The present general inventive concept can meet the need of both particular removal and gas phase chemical treatment, all while being self-cleaning at these temperatures. Further, unlike and superior to the known prior art, the present general inventive concept is operational at room temperature and above, including temperatures around 1000 C. A hot syngas stream filtering technique that is both effective and has long term reliability, such as the present general inventive concept, will enable emerging gasification processes to become economically competitive to traditional energy sources.

Plasma generation through ceramic substrate


Improved operation can be achieved from an enhanced gas turbine engine having a segmented annular shroud which radially expands and contracts to match the expansion and contraction of engine rotor blades. The segmented annular shroud is supported by a structure which includes an annular ring having two radially outwardly extending flanges, and forward and aft annular segmented brackets which attach the segmented shroud to the forward and aft side of the ring respectively. In a preferred embodiment of the invention, two circumferentially extending separate and distinct air impingement manifolds surrounds each of the outwardly extending flanges. Each manifold is provided with a valve for controlling the amount and temperature of the airflow entering each manifold. The air from each manifold then impinges upon each of the outwardly extending flanges, thereby controlling the radial movement of the corresponding shroud segments and the associated clearances with the rotor blade tips. The use of separate and distinct manifolds and the corresponding values which regulate the amount and temperature of airflow to each manifold allows individual shroud portions to be separately expanded or contracted.

In an effort to maintain a high degree of efficiency, manufacturers of turbine engines have strived to maintain the closest possible clearance between a rotor blade tip and the surrounding stationary shroud structure, because any gas which passes therebetween represents a loss of energy to the system. If a system were to operate only under steady-state maximum power conditions, it would be a simple matter to establish the desired close clearance relationship between the rotor blades and the surrounding stationary shroud. However, in reality, all turbine engines must initially be brought from a standstill condition up to steady-stat speed and then eventually decelerate to the standstill condition.
This transitional operation is not completed with the ideal low clearance condition just described. The problems in maintaining the desired clearance between the rotor and shrouds under these transitional conditions are caused by first, the mechanical expansion and shrinkage of the rotating rotor disk and blades as brought about by changes in speed, and secondly, by the relative thermal growth between the rotating rotor and surrounding stationary shroud support structure caused by differences in thermal expansion between the two structures. One commonly used method of decreasing the tip clearance between the rotor blades and the surrounding shroud has been to direct and modulate variable temperature air or variable cooling airflow rates along the entire outer circumference of the stationary shroud support structure. In this method, the air is directed on the turbine section during appropriate stages of engine operation to change the radial growth or shrinkage rate of the entire turbine shroud support in an effort to match the growth or shrinkage of the rotating turbine parts.
However, additional problems occur during an aircraft maneuver, such as during takeoff and landing. During these maneuvers, engine loadings develop that become eccentric to the engine centerline. One common method of minimizing the clearance effects of eccentric loadings is to eccentrically grind the stationary surrounding shroud, as is shown in FIG. 3. However, this method results in additional airflow leakage around the rotor blades during steady-state, low maneuver load conditions as a result of the added clearance between the rotor blades and a portion of the surrounding shroud.

Clearance control system for separately expanding or contracting individual portions of an annular shroud


Through the use of an allocation logic unit with a Flash controller, a single primary chip enable is de-multiplexed into a multiple secondary chip enables for multiple Flash memory dies or chips. In so doing, Flash storage device capacity is greatly expanded. In a first aspect, a memory package includes a plurality of memories; and an allocation logic unit coupled to the plurality of memories for receiving a single chip enable signal. The allocation logic unit de-multiplexes the single chip enable signal to a plurality of chip enable signals. Each of the plurality of chip enable signals access to one of the plurality of memories.

The nature of non-volatile, vibration-free, small size and low power consumption has made the Flash memory an excellent component to be utilized in various Flash storage devices. Flash storage devices are widely used as memory storage for computer and consumer system products such as notebook, desktop computer, set top box, digital camera, mobile phone, PDA and GPS etc. The increasing demand for more storage in these products has driven the need to expand the capacity of the Flash storage devices.
There are two types of Flash storage devices. The first type has a pre-defined mechanical dimension. This type includes: (a) Secure Digital (SD) card, (b) Multi Media Card (MMC), (c) Memory Stick (MS) card, (d) Compact Flash (CF) card, (e) Express Flash card, (f) Serial ATA Flash disk, (g) IDE Flash disk, (h) SCSI Flash disk, etc.
The second type of Flash storage devices has no pre-defined physical dimension, which includes USB Flash disk, Disk On Module (DOM), MP3 player etc. However, corresponding based upon the need for the system compactness, it is generally desirable to make this type of Flash storage device as small in size and as high in capacity as possible.
Space constraints and available Flash memory density are the major obstacles in expanding the capacity of the Flash storage devices. FIG. 1 illustrates top, bottom, short side lateral and long side lateral views of a secure digital (SD) card 10. The SD card 10 is defined with a form factor of 32×24×2.1 mm (length×width×thick). This fixed dimension restricts the number of components populated on a printed circuit board (PCB) 12. For instance, if TSOP type of Flash memory is used, only a Flash memory chip 14 and a Flash controller 16 can be placed in the space constraint. The available Flash memory density further limits the overall SD card capacity. For instance, if the highest Flash memory is 4 Gb, the maximum SD card capacity is then limited to 512 MB.
A Flash memory die is the basic element of Flash memory. A typical Flash memory chip comprises a Flash memory die mounted on a substrate within an enclosure and the electrical signals are bonded out to the metal contacts of the package. FIG. 2 illustrates a Flash memory chip 50 in a thin, small out-line package (TSOP). The popular package types for flash memory chip are TSOP (Thin Small Out-line Package), WSOP (Very Very Thin Small Out-line Package) and BGA (Ball Grid Array) etc. For the purposes of this application, Flash memory will be used to describe both a Flash memory die and a Flash memory chip.
Besides power and ground, a flash memory includes the following electrical signals:
(a) Bidirectional signals: I/O (Input/Output) bus. It is a bidirectional bus. Flash memory uses this bus to input command, address and data, and to output data during read operation. Multiple Flash memories can share this bus with a Flash controller.
(b) Common Input Control Signals: ALE (Address Latch Enable), CLE (Command Latch Enable), RE- (Read Enable), WE- (Write Enable), WP- (Write Protect). Driven by Flash controller for various operations to Flash memory. These signals are shared among multiple Flash memories connected to a single I/O bus.
(c) Exclusive Input Control Signal: CE- (Chip Enable). Driven by Flash memory controller to enable the Flash memory for access. To ensure only one of them is enabled at a time, each Flash memory is connected to a unique CE-.
(d) Output Status Signals: R/B- (Ready/Busy-). Driven by Flash memory when it is busy, not ready to accept command from the Flash controller. It is an open-drain signal that can be shared among multiple Flash memories connecting to a single I/O bus.
The typical functional block diagram of a Flash storage device 80 is shown in FIG. 3. It comprises a Flash controller 82 and at least a Flash memory 84. One end of the Flash controller 82 interfaces to the host while the other end controls the access to Flash memory 84.
In many instances, due to cost and pin count considerations, a Flash controller has a limited number of chip enable signals. This limitation imposes a restriction on capacity expansion.
Furthermore, as the demand for Flash storage devices has increased, a shortage of certain types of Flash memory occurs during the course of a year. Flash types of the most popular density are typically out of supply during the peak seasons.
Accordingly it is desirable to provide ways to expand the capacity of Flash storage devices. The present invention addresses such a need.

Method and system for expanding flash storage device capacity

Abstract: In a second aspect, a printed circuit board (PCB) includes a Flash controller for providing at least one primary chip enable signal. The PCB also includes a plurality of Flash memory chips and at least one allocation logic unit coupled to at least a portion of the plurality of Flash memory chips and the Flash controller. The allocation logic unit receives the at least one chip enable signal and de-multiplexes the at least one chip enable signal to a plurality of secondary chip enable signals. Each of the plurality of chip enable signals controls access to one of the Flash memory chips.


A fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin filament is obtained by impregnating a continuous reinforcing fiber with a thermoplastic resin, and satisfies all of conditions (a) to (c).    (a) The volume ratio of a reinforcing fiber in a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin filament is 30 to 80%; and the volume ratio of a thermoplastic resin in a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin filament is 70 to 20%.    (b) The thickness of a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin filament is 0.01 to 3 mm.    (c) The length of a filament contained in a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin filament is 1 m or more.

Fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin base materials made of continuous reinforcing fiber impregnated with thermoplastic resin are excellent in specific strength, specific rigidity, lightweight effect, heat resistance and chemical resistance so that they are suitably used for transportation equipment such as airplanes and automobiles or various products such as sports gear and electric/electronic components. Because of recent increasing in demand of lightweight for airplanes and automobiles, metal parts have been replaced by resin parts while components have been downsized and modularized so that developments of material excellent in formability and mechanical property have been expected.
Recently, fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin base materials have focused on laminating molten thermoplastic resin such as fused deposition modeling used for 3D printing method. JP 2009-500194 A discloses a deposition modeling of molten thermoplastic resin being developed in each field because of advantageous cost. The fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin base material applied to such a forming method has typically been produced by extruding reinforcing fibers cut into short fibers together with thermoplastic resin to make a strand of fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin. However, the short fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin base material can hardly be improved in fiber content while such a short fiber length has only a limited reinforcing ability.
JP 2017-128072 A discloses a continuous fiber-reinforcing thermoplastic resin base material employed to exhibit a high reinforcing ability.
The base material before the forming process disclosed in JP 2017-128072 A having many voids inside which should be removed at the time of forming has to be improved in quality and productivity of the shaped product.
In view of the above-described background technologies, it could be helpful to provide a fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin filament excellent in quality such as void and reinforcing fiber dispersion and handling ability during the forming process.

Fiber-reinforced thermoplastic resin filament and shaped product of same


An Electro-Static Discharge (ESD) protection circuit is disclosed. In some implementations, the ESD protection circuit includes a first ESD diode, a second ESD diode, a passive equalization network and a programmable resistor network. The first ESD diode is coupled to the passive equalization network. The programmable resistor network is coupled between the passive equalization network and the second ESD diode. The programmable resistor network can be programmed to place the ESD protection circuit in one of a plurality of receiver modes based on a type of a transmitter from which the receiver is receiving signals.

Electrostatic discharge (ESD) is a common problem in semiconductor applications. Electrical shorts or dielectric breakdown caused by ESD can lead to damages of semiconductor chips. To protect semiconductor chips from damages caused by ESD, some form of ESD protection scheme is typically included in a semiconductor chip. In a semiconductor chip having a signal receiver (e.g., Serializer/Deserializer (SerDes) receiver), a conventional ESD protection scheme comprising a set of primary diodes and a set of secondary diodes is usually included in an analog front end (AFE) of the receiver, such as the one illustrated in FIG. 1. The semiconductor device 100 shown in FIG. 1 includes an input/output (I/O) pad 101, primary diodes 110, secondary diodes 120, a charge device model (CDM) resistor 130, and receiver circuits 150.
The primary diodes 110 can handle a slower human body model (HBM) transient while the secondary diodes 120 can handle CDM transient. In cases where the CDM transient is faster and/or larger, the CDM resistor 130 can be added in between the primary diodes 110 and the secondary diodes 120 to provide impedance division to lower the voltage at transistor gate. However, addition of the CDM resistor 130 can lead to signal loss. Such signal loss is particularly problematic in high speed receivers. Therefore, a more efficient ESD protection scheme for high speed receiver is desired.

T-coil enhanced ESD protection with passive equalization


A method for providing data to a user comprising communicating, from a radio access network to a Minimization of Drive Tests (“MDT”)-channel-communicative sensor device, at least one MDT signal selected from the group consisting of an MDT configuration signal and an MDT control signal. The method also comprises generating, at least in part in response to the MDT signal and using an onboard sensor of the MDT-channel-communicative sensor device, sensor data comprising non-MDT data. The method also comprises receiving at least a portion of the sensor data into the radio access network over an MDT channel and communicating at least the portion of the sensor data from the radio access network to the user.

Historically, drive testing (or a "drive test," or "DT") has involved loading radio frequency ("RF") test equipment into a car, truck, or other vehicle, driving the vehicle around and about a cellular communication network service area, and operating the test equipment to assess the performance of the network at various different locations. Drive testing has been expensive and time consuming. To reduce the burdens of drive testing, the 3rd Generation Partnership Project ("3GPP") has promulgated Minimization of Drive Tests ("MDT") standards. These standards, namely, the 3GPP TS 37.320 version 12.2.0 Release 12 a/k/a ETSI TS 137 320 V12.2.0 (2014-09) technical specification and all documents referenced therein, are incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein. As used herein, the term "MDT data" means data specified in the MDT standards for use in MDT, while data not so specified is herein referred to as "non-MDT data."
For MDT, cellular-communicative user equipment ("UE") associated with a cellular communication network may collect some of the MDT data. Further, MDT provides a bi-directional logical communication channel ("MDT channel") between such UE and an associated cell site or other radio access network ("RAN"). Over the MDT channel, the RAN may transmit MDT configuration and/or control signals to the UE, and the UE may transmit MDT data to the RAN.

Method and system for sensing-data collection and transport from minimization-of-drive-tests device


A mobile terminal having a pivoting design includes an earpiece (receiver unit) and a separate, dedicated loudspeaker and loudspeaker port that may direct sound toward a user when the terminal is in the open position and ports the sound in a different direction when the terminal is in a closed position. This separate, dedicated loudspeaker transducer and loudspeaker porting may provide separate, hands-free voice and alert signals from a position spaced from that of a conventional receiver (or earpiece), which may contribute to appropriately adjusted acoustic levels for a user.

Cellular phones and other like products often use two devices for generation of sound to be heard by a user. A transducer acts as a receiver. A separate unit, such as a buzzer, functions to provide "alert signals" to the user. Alert signals include ring tones when a call is being received, system signals such as to indicate a low battery, and other sounds such as tones for electronic games. These alert tones generally need to be of sufficient volume to be heard in a noisy environment. In some cases the buzzer may instead be a second speaker. Similar functions may be provided by the two speakers in this configuration: One speaker generally acts to provide sound for a user to hear in a phone call, and the other speaker provides sound for alert functions. This type of design, involving a receiver or earpiece speaker, and a separate, high-output, loudspeaker allows for appropriate sound output levels and frequency responses to be set for handheld use and use at a distance, respectively.
In some designs of clamshell-style and jackknife-style mobile handsets it is desirable to have sound projected from the handset when the handset is in the open, extended position and when the handset is in the closed position. In addition, many modern mobile handsets offer a type of handheld "walkie-talkie" type of audio known as Push-to-Talk (PTT). One reason for PTT's popularity is that as a matter of convenience a user need not hold the handset close to the ear. There are technical requirements, however, placed on mobile handsets that result from PTT functionality.
In order to provide acceptable audio levels at a distance of up to arm's length away from the ear, even, for example, in noisy environments such as construction sites, factories, highways, or city streets, PTT devices must be capable of producing very high sound pressure levels without excessive distortion. To do so, a relatively large acoustic transducer is needed. Further, in some mobile handsets having a clamshell design or jack-knife design with a flip attached to a base, the handset opens and closes around a hinge near the midpoint of the handset. Audio is preferably clearly audible in either position of the flip because users often want to access the PTT function without having their phone in the open position. Some mobile handsets with PTT functionality also include speakerphone capability that allows use without holding the handset, which may require clear audio at distances greater than arms' length.
Accordingly, there is a need for a mobile handset configuration that provides appropriately adjusted acoustic levels and frequency characteristics at the handset's earpiece via the use of a traditional acoustic receiver unit, provides polyphonic and/or loudspeaking functionality using a separate, remotely mounted loudspeaker, and directs the audio alert and loudspeaker acoustic output generally toward a user in order to provide clear audio whether in the open or closed position. There is also a need for the handset configuration to provide speakerphone capability.

Mobile terminal with loudspeaker sound redirection


Compounds useful as luminescent labelling reagents or reagents for determining hydrogen peroxide of the following formula: ##STR1## Wherein R is selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, amino, carboxyl, thiol, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, sec-butyl, benzyl, carboxyethyl, tert-butyl, and. --(CH.sub.2).sub.n1 CH.sub.3 wherein n.sub. is 0 or an integer of 1-15; PA1 --(CH.sub.2).sub.n2 COOH wherein n.sub.2 is 0 or an integer of 1-5; PA1 --CH.sub.2 SH; --CH.sub.2 X.sub.1 wherein X is Br, Cl or F; PA1 --(CH.sub.2).sub.n3 NH.sub.2 wherein n.sub.3 is an integer of 1-5; ##STR2## wherein n.sub.4 is 0 or 1 and n.sub.5 is 0 or ##STR3## wherein n.sub.6 is 0 or 1 and X.sub.2 is H, Br, Cl, F or I; and --(CH.sub.2).sub.n7 R.sub.1 wherein n.sub.7 is 0 or an integer of 1-5 and R.sub.1 is selected from COCl, CON.sub.3, CONHNH.sub.2 or ##STR4##

There have been reported several derivatization regents for use in determination of .alpha.-keto acids by spectroscopic or fluorescent methods in connection with liquid chromatography.
C. Hemming and C. J. Gubler proposed to determine an .alpha.-keto acid by a spectroscopic method using 2,4-dinitrophenylhydrazine (Anal. Biochem. 92:31, 1979). Regarding the determination of keto acids by a fluorescent method, on the other hand, some workers have reported using 4'-hydrazino-2-stilbazole (cf. T. Hirata, M. Kai, K. Kohashi and Y. Ohkura, J. Chromatogr. 226:25, 1981) and o-phenylenediamine (cf. J. C. Liao, N. E. Hoffman, J. J. Barboriak and D. A. Roth, Clin. Chem. 2:802, 1977; and T. Hayashi, H,. Tsuchiya and H. Naruse, J. Chromatogr. 273:245, 1983). Although each of these reported methods fives a substantially high sensitivity, it is impossible thereby to determine an .alpha.-keto acid at a femtomol (fmcl: 10.sup.-15 mol) level.
The present inventors formerly synthesized 1,2-diamino-4,5-dimethoxybenzene and 1,2-diamino-4,5-methylenedioxybenzene each as a fluorescent analysis reagent for .alpha.-keto acids having a high sensitivity and a high selectivity. For the former reagent, refer to S. Hara, Y. Takemori, T. Iwata, M. Yamaguchi, M. Nakamura and Y. Ohkura, Anal. Chem. Acta. 172:167, 1985; and S. Hara, M. Yaaguchi, M. Nakamura and Y. Ohkura, Chem. Pharm. Bull. 33:3493, 1985. For the latter reagent, reference is made to M. Nakamura, S. Hara, M. Yamaguchi, Y. Takemori and Y. Ohkura, Chem. Pharm. Bull. 35:687, 1985. The present inventors have attempted to apply these reagents to liquid chromatography and have thus succeeded in determining .alpha.-keto acids at a femtomol level. These reagents have been used for determining .alpha.-keto acids contained in human urine and serum, as disclosed in S. Hara, Y. Takemori, M. Yamaguchi, N. Nakamura and Y. Ohkura, J. Chromatog. 344:33, 1985.
Recently, techniques for chemiluminescent detection have been introduced into liquid chromatographic analyses. As a result, there have been reported several reagents which react with amino acids, amine or carboxylic acids and thus convert these compounds into chemiluminescent derivatives. For reagents for amino acids, refer to S. R. Spurlin and M. M. Cooper, Anal. Lett. 19:2277, 1986; reagents for amines, T. Kawasaki, M. Maeda and A. Tsuji, J. Chromatogr. 328:121, 1985. For reagents for carboxylic acids, refer to T. Kawasaki, M. Maeda, and A. Tsuji, J. Chromatogr. 328:121, 1985; H. Yuki, H. Azuma, M. Maeda and H Kawasaki, Chem. Pharm. Bull. 36:1905, 1988; and H. Karatani, J. Takano, S. Morishita, M. Yoshida and M. Sato, Bunseki Kagaku 38:59, 1989.
As described above, attempts have been recently made to determine .alpha.-keto acids by spectroscopic or fluorescent methods. However, there has been reported hitherto no reagent required for sensitively and selectively determining a trace amount of an .alpha.-keto acid by using chemiluminescence.
The present inventor has conducted extensive studies on a reagent whereby a trace amount of an .alpha.-keto acid can be selectively determined by taking advantage of chemiluminescence. As a result, he has discovered that intense chemiluminescence is generated by reacting a quinoxalinone compound, which is obtained by the reaction of an keto acid with 4,5-diaminophthalhydrazide dihydrochloride (hereinafter referred to simply as 4,5-DPJ:2HCl), with hydrogen peroxide in an alkaline polar medium in the presence of potassium hexacyanoferrate (III). Thus, he has separately applied for a patent based upon this finding, on the same date as the parent of the present application, as a novel process for determining an keto acid.
The above chemical reaction may be represented by the following formula: ##STR9## Note: *:R represents a group selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, amino, carboxyl, thiol, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, sec-butyl, benzyl, carboxyethyl, tert-butyl, and
wherein
wherein
wherein
wherein

Pyridazinoquinoxalinones for use as chemiluminescent agents


A method of increasing the tack of a pressure sensitive adhesive by exposing a polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive to an activating treatment, activatable articles containing such an adhesive and adhesive compositions resulting from such an activating treatment. The activatable, polymeric, pressure sensitive adhesive is preferably a water based adhesive prepared by free radical polymerization of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, acrylate, or methacrylate monomers having from 1 to about 12 carbon atoms. The activating treatment is preferably corona charging or corona charging in combination with uv light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polymeric adhesive that is capable of being made more tacky by exposure to an activating treatment, such as ultraviolet light, corona charging, etc. More specifically, the invention relates to a method of increasing the tack of a pressure sensitive adhesive by exposing an activatable, polymeric, pressure sensitive adhesive to an activating treatment. The invention also relates to activatable articles of manufacture containing such an adhesive and adhesive compositions resulting from such an activating treatment. The invention is particularly related to use of such activatable adhesives with linerless labels, enabling a user to adjust the aggressiveness of the label to meet the requirements of a particular application.
2. Description of Related Art
Pressure sensitive adhesives capable of being made more tacky by exposure to an activating treatment are known in the art. However, the adhesives described in the art are typically monomers or prepolymers that polymerize upon exposure to ultraviolet light or electron beam radiation. These monomers or prepolymers are typically applied and cured immediately on press and are not provided to the user in an uncured form. Adhesive systems using such adhesives suffer from several drawbacks.
One disadvantage of adhesive systems produced by activation of monomers or prepolymers via polymerization is the fact that the monomers or polymers are typically low viscosity fluids that are difficult to bind to a substrate, such as paper, without the use of special binders. As such, when coated onto paper these materials have a tendency to become offset onto equipment, or during handling, onto a user""s hands. This can result in a loss of the adhesive material, and can create housekeeping, health and safety problems.
A second disadvantage is that applying such adhesive coatings to substrates in either a continuous or cut sheet format can cause sticking between subsequent sheets in a stack or layers in a roll, making the substrate difficult to separate.
A third disadvantage of such prior art adhesive systems is that they may have a tendency to prematurely polymerize and become undesirably tacky during storage upon exposure to light, heat, and the like.
Other adhesives described by the prior art include hot melt adhesives, which are non-tacky or slightly tacky until activated by heat. These hot melt adhesives suffer from the problem of premature activation by, for example, non-impact printing means, causing the substrate to stick to the printing apparatus or adjacent substrates to stick together.
Also known in the art are rewettable adhesives, which are non-tacky until activated by the application of moisture. Rewettable adhesives suffer from various problems, including that insufficient moisture will result in a faulty or incomplete seal, compromising the integrity of the mailer or business form with which it is used, and that substrates coated with rewettable adhesives have a tendency to curl, a phenomenon known as hygroexpansivity.
Pressure sensitive adhesives in general suffer from the problem of the adhesive having a tendency to migrate off a substrate or form and onto printing equipment. This can cause significant printer downtime for periodic cleaning to remove the adhesive.
The pressure sensitive adhesive of the invention, on the other hand, is a polymer that has sufficient viscosity and stability to be coated onto paper, stored for long periods of time, and subsequently processed by passing through a copier, non-impact printer, printing press, and the like. When desired, the paper coated with the activatable polymer can then be passed through a uv light or corona charging device to activate the adhesive. The paper can then be used, for example, as a label and can be applied to a variety of substrates by light pressure.
Another advantage of the invention is that the use of a liner can be eliminated. As a result, adhesive labels using the activatable adhesive are non-toxic and environmentally friendly, because no liner material has to be sent to a landfill, and also more cost effective because less material is used, shipped and inventoried.
An additional advantage of the invention is that, compared to traditional labels using an adhesive liner, a label incorporating the activatable adhesive of the invention achieves superior performance in a non-impact printer with respect to curl, feeding and toner adhesion.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the written description that follows, and in part will be apparent from the examples and written description or may be learned from the practice of the invention. The advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the method of increasing the tack of a pressure sensitive adhesive, the activatable article of manufacture, and the pressure sensitive adhesive composition, particularly pointed out in the examples, written description and claims hereof.
To achieve these and other advantages, and in accordance with the purpose of the invention as embodied and broadly described herein, the present invention, in one aspect, provides a method for increasing the tack of a pressure sensitive adhesive. The method involves introducing a substrate coated over at least a portion of at least one side thereof with a polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive capable of being activated upon exposure to an activating treatment. The coated substrate is then exposed to an activating treatment to activate the polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive, thereby increasing the tack of the adhesive.
The present invention, in accordance with another aspect, provides an activatable article of manufacture. The article comprises a substrate and a polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive coated onto at least a portion of the substrate. The polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive is capable of being activated upon exposure to an activating treatment to become more tacky.
The present invention, in accordance with a further aspect, provides a pressure sensitive adhesive composition. The adhesive composition comprises the reaction product of an activatable, polymeric, pressure sensitive adhesive obtained after exposure to an activating treatment.
The above and other advantages and features of this invention will become apparent upon review of the following description in conjunction with the examples.
In accordance with the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, a method is provided for increasing the tack of a pressure sensitive adhesive. The method involves introducing a substrate coated over at least a portion of at least one side thereof with a polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive that is capable of being activated upon exposure to an activating treatment. The substrate may be paper, vinyl, foil, films, i.e., acetate polyester, polyethylene, high molecular weight polymers, or any other synthetic label stock, but is preferably paper. Paper having a basis weight of up to 100 lb/ft2 can be used as the substrate, but 20 to 24 lb/ft2 is preferred. The adhesive can be coated over a portion or all of one or both sides of the substrate, but is preferably coated on one side for use as a label. While it is preferable to coat the adhesive over the entire face of the substrate, the substrate may also be spot coated. For example, it is preferred that the receipt portion of a label not be coated with adhesive. The adhesive can be coated on the substrate by any means known in the art, such as wire wound rod, gravure, reverse roll, hot melt, and the like.
The polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive can be any polymer adhesive that is capable of being activated upon exposure to an activating treatment. As used herein, the terms xe2x80x9cactivatexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cactivatedxe2x80x9d refers to increasing the tackiness of an adhesive by mechanisms other than polymerization, such as, for example, an oxidation or chain scission reaction. Polymeric pressure sensitive adhesives that can be used in accordance with the invention include, for example, homopolymers or copolymers of acrylic acid, acrylates, methacrylic acid, methacrylates, natural rubbers or polyethers; and preferably is a water based adhesive prepared by free radical polymerization of acrylic acid, methacrylic acid, acrylate, or methacrylate monomers having from 1 to about 12 carbon atoms. Non-activatable materials may also be present in combination with the activatable adhesive. These non-activatable materials are preferably polymeric and act as binders and/or matrices for the activatable adhesive. Preferably, the polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive of the invention includes a polymer or copolymer made from 70 to 100% of a soft monomer, such as 2-ethylhexyl acrylate, isooctyl acrylate, isodecyl acrylate, and the like, 0 to 6% of a functional monomer, such as acrylic acid, and the like, and 0-30% of a hard monomer, such as vinyl acetate, and the like. The activatable polymer may be crosslinked with a crosslinking agent such as, for example, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate. Other additives, such as sensitizers, tackifiers, slip agents, pigments, offset material, and the like, may also be present in the adhesive of the invention.
The activatable, polymeric, pressure sensitive adhesive of the invention may be produced by, for example, free radical polymerization of the monomer(s) in aqueous polyvinyl alcohol in the presence of an initiator or a crosslinking agent. It is preferred that the monomer and aqueous polyvinyl alcohol phases be present in approximately equal parts by weight. The initiator may be any initiator capable of initiating free radical polymerization including, for example, benzoyl peroxide (BPO), azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN), ammonium persulfate/sodium metabisulfite, t-amyl peroxypivalate or t-amyl peroxy(2-ethylhexanoate). The initiator should be present in amounts sufficient to promote free radical polymerization. The initiator may also promote formation of an emulsion. Crosslinking agents that may be used in the invention include any of those crosslinking agents known in the art, such as, for example, trimethylolpropane trimethacrylate. The crosslinking agent(s) may be present at levels ranging from 300 to 3,000 ppm, based on the weight of the monomer. To produce the activatable, polymeric, pressure sensitive adhesive of the invention, the monomer(s) are first mixed together with the initiator and either emulsified or suspended in the aqueous polyvinyl alcohol. Next, the solution is heated to initiate the reaction and held at elevated temperatures, followed by cooling.
In accordance with the invention, the coated substrate is exposed to an activating treatment to activate the polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive material, thereby increasing the tack of the adhesive material. The activating treatment of the invention may be, for example, ultraviolet light, corona charging, ultrasound, or combinations thereof. A preferred activating treatment is corona charging or corona charging in combination with ultraviolet light. Heating may also be used to accelerate the activation treatment. Nickel flake and/or titanium dioxide may be added to the adhesive material to improve the charging of the corona, decreasing exposure time. The nickel flake/titanium dioxide improves charging by facilitating the absorption of the activation energy at greater rates through the adhesive.
In accordance with the invention, the polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive material may be non-tacky prior to the activation treatment, but is preferably lightly tacky. Thus, the user could purchase both a non-tacky or lightly tacky facestock that could be used as a plain sheet of paper, i.e., for instance, it could be passed through a photocopier, non-impact printer or printing press. After processing by the user and just prior to application, the sheet could be passed through the corona charging and/or uv light device to activate the adhesive. The sheet could then be used as a label and applied to a variety of substrates with light pressure.
An example of a corona charging treatment that can be used to activate the polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive material of the invention is exposure to an Enercon Dyne-A-Mite electrical discharge treater at a speed of, for example, one inch per second, at a distance of, for example, xc2xc inch to {fraction (1/16)} inch, preferably xe2x85x9 inch, from the sheet surface.
An example of a uv light treatment that can be used to activate the polymeric, pressure sensitive adhesive material of the invention is exposure to a 30 watt/in., 365 wavelength uv lamp (available from Cole-Parmer Instrument Company, Niles, Ill.) for a period of 30 seconds to 10 minutes at, for example, one to two inches from the sheet surface.
The present inventors have found that the amount of uv energy that is able to penetrate the adhesive coating layer decreases exponentially with the depth of the layer. For example, if 90% of the uv energy is absorbed in the top mil of the adhesive coating, then only about 9% will be initially absorbed in the second mil. In order to increase the energy provided to the second mil of the coating, it would be necessary to increase the amount of the initial radiation on the order of 10 times. However, there is a limit on the amount the rate of activation can be increased by increasing the amount of energy supplied. Therefore, it is preferable, particularly in label applications, to utilize a relatively thin coating, on the order of about 0.01 to 2 mil, more preferably about 1 mil.
Although applicants do not wish to be bound by any theory of the invention, it is believed that the activation upon corona exposure is a result of surface modification of the adhesive material via generation of polar surface active groups. These surface active groups undergo oxidation, which increases the surface energy, allowing better wetting and promoting adhesion. The corona treatment also is believed to have the effect of breaking down crosslinking of the polymer. It is further believed by the applicants that the activation upon exposure to UV is caused by the breaking of polymer chains to form reactive free radicals, which can react to form polar carboxyl or hydroxyl groups, thus increasing wetting tension.
In accordance with the present invention, as embodied and broadly described herein, an activatable article of manufacture is provided. The activatable article includes a substrate, as described earlier herein, and coated onto at least a portion of the substrate, a polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive. The polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive, also described earlier herein, is capable of being activated upon exposure to an activating treatment to become more tacky. The polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive may be non-tacky prior to exposure to the activating treatment or may be initially tacky and rendered more tacky by the activating treatment.
The activatable article of the invention is particularly useful as an activatable label. The polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive may be coated onto a portion of a substrate such as paper to produce the activatable label. The user of the activatable label could purchase a non-tacky, slightly tacky or moderately tacky facestock that could be altered by exposure to the activating treatment to render the facestock tacky or more tacky. Thus, by the use of the activating treatment, the tack or peel strength can be adjusted so that, for example, a non-tacky sheet of paper could be converted into a repositionable label, a removable label or a permanent label; a repositionable label could be converted into a removable or permanent label; or a removable label could be converted into a permanent label. The amount of increase in tack is determined by the intensity of the corona charge or uv light treatment, the duration of exposure to the treatment, the type of adhesive materials used, speed of the substrate through the activating equipment, distance of the activating source from the substrate, porosity of the substrate, etc. Obviously, the longer the exposure time and the greater the intensity of the treatment, the more tacky the adhesive becomes.
The activatable article of the invention may also include a release compound coated onto the side of the substrate opposite to the polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive, often called the xe2x80x9cface.xe2x80x9d The release coating is a material that imparts a lower surface energy to the face of the label. Any of those release materials commonly used in the art can be utilized with the activatable article of the invention. Preferred release materials include, for example, silicone resins and chrome complexes of fatty acids. The use of a release material would be appropriate in those instances where the activatable adhesive is initially tacky.
The activatable article of the invention may also include a tie coating interposed between the substrate and the polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive. This tie coating improves the adhesion of the polymeric pressure sensitive adhesive to the substrate. The tie coat may include, for example, an aqueous dispersion of a pigment, such as silica, with a binder material, such as a polyvinyl alcohol.


An electronic device is equipped with a wireless unit board for transmitting and receiving a radio signal to and from external equipment, where an accommodation space for the wireless unit board is enclosed by a side plate of a casing of the electronic device, a first shield plate covering a circuit board, and a second shield plate holding a main control board thereupon and disposed substantially horizontally above the first shield plate. The wireless unit board is disposed in the accommodation space with one of opposed major surfaces thereof facing to the side plate of the casing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a construction of an electronic device such as an image-forming device equipped with a wireless unit board, such as a wireless LAN board, for transmitting and receiving a radio signal to and from external equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, with progress of networking in offices and homes, and with realization of wireless data communication as fast as wired data communication or even faster by adopting IEEE 802.11 as a standard specification for a wireless LAN system, development of electronic devices, such as personal computers (hereinafter referred to as PCs), that can conduct data communication using the wireless LAN system is feverishly conducted.
An example of methods for using a wireless LAN is to externally connect an adapter provided as a wireless LAN card disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-344172 (see FIG. 1) to an electronic device such as a PC or a printer. Another example is to provide a wireless LAN board in the electronic device. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-290558 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) discloses that a wireless LAN board (also called as a wireless LAN unit) is provided on a rear side of a front panel of a main unit case of an electronic device so as to reduce time and effort for external wiring as well as an installation space. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-184316 (see FIGS. 2, 4, and 9) discloses a wireless LAN board (also called as a wireless LAN card) provided inside a main unit case of a projection display apparatus (projector).
Radio waves to be used for the IEEE 802.11a/g standard are in a 2.4 GHz band, and those to be used for the IEEE 802.11a standard are in a 5 GHz band. Accordingly, a circuit unit such as a CPU operating at maximum frequencies and mounted on a main control board of the electronic device is susceptible to electromagnetic noise caused by such radio waves transmitted from an antenna of the wireless LAN board. There has also been a problem that a circuit unit (wireless module) on the wireless LAN board and a harness (wiring) connecting the wireless LAN board to the main control board are subject to electromagnetic noise, when they are in the vicinity of a power board with strong magnetic field lines.
Therefore, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-344172, a circumference of the wireless LAN board is shielded with upper and lower plate covers, and in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-290558, a through hole is provided at a portion of a substrate of the wireless LAN board, in a thickness direction of the substrate, where no ground pattern is formed, and a conductor in the through hole is connected to one end of a wire line which passes through the substrate and is connected to the circuit unit (wireless module) of the wire line. Further, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-184316, a plating film is formed on an area of an inner surface of an upper cover of the electronic device so as to face a part of the wireless LAN board excluding the antenna, and the remaining area of the inner surface of the upper cover that faces the antenna constitutes an uncovered area as an area through which radio waves pass.


A chamber that communicates with a viscous material reservoir has a flexible resilient diaphragm which forms an exterior wall thereof. An impact mechanism, which may comprise a solenoid actuated hammer, applies a predetermined momentum to the diaphragm for rapidly metering a predetermined minute blob of the viscous material from the chamber through a nozzle. The reservoir is pressurized with gas to force the viscous material into the chamber to refill the same. The chamber is heated to control the viscosity of the material. Dispensing rates in excess of four blobs per second can be achieved. Variations in the height of the nozzle from the surface of the workpiece are not critical to uniform rapid dispensing. An alternate embodiment eliminates the diaphragm and instead rapidly retracts a nozzle relative to a fluid feed conduit to eject very small blobs of viscous material. A strain gauge detects refill of the chamber inside the nozzle and sends a signal to control refill logic circuitry. A fiber optic droplet detector is utilized to correct dispensing defects.

The present invention relates to the dispensing of viscous materials, and more particularly, to the rapid dispensing of minute amounts of adhesives in mounting electronic components on circuit boards prior to solder reflow.
In the manufacture of circuit boards it is frequently necessary to apply small amounts of viscous materials, i.e those with a viscosity greater than fifty centipoise. Such materials include adhesives, solder paste, solder flux, solder mask, grease, oil, encapsulants, potting compounds, inks, silicones, RTV and cyanoacrylates. Heretofore the common methods of application have included screening, pin transfer and dispensing from a syringe or valve. Screening requires a template and is not readily adaptable to changing application patterns. Pin transfer is relatively fast but the tooling is intensive and inflexible. Syringe dispensing is widely used and is accomplished with pneumatic mechanisms or positive displacement valves. It is difficult to dispense more than four dots of viscous material per second with a syringe dispenser. It is critical to such dispensers that the height of the needle or other dispensing tip be carefully adjusted relative to the work piece or else the blob of viscous material will be misformed or will not break away from the needle tip. Thus complex height sensing mechanisms are required as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,661,368 of Rhode et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,578 of Burgin, Jr. et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,933 of Maiorca et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 5,110,615 of Maiorca et al.
Syringe dispensers usually place the tip very close to the substrate, i.e. 0.005 inches for a very small dot and 0.060 inches for a large dot. The viscous material is pushed out of the tip and contacts the substrate while it is still connected to the tip. If the viscous material fails to contact the substrate, it will not adhere to the substrate and a poorly formed dot will result. The contacting with the substrate is called "wetting." After the viscous material contacts the surface of the substrate, the tip is pulled back and the resulting string is broken to form a dot.
Prior viscous material dispensers have typically included a reservoir, feedpath, pinch points, gates or check valves, a chamber and an exit port. These can prevent rapid flow of viscous materials. They can also become clogged.
It would therefore be desirable to provide a method for rapidly dispensing precisely formed minute quantities of adhesive and other viscous materials, particularly in connection with the attachment of surface mounted electronic components to PC boards prior to solder reflow. This would enable variable patterns of adhesive, such as lines of dots, to be rapidly laid down before placement of the components thereon. It would be further desirable to provide a method for rapidly dispensing minute quantities of adhesive and other viscous materials, particularly in connection with the attachment of surface mounted electronic components to PC boards, that would be insensitive to height variations in the workpiece, such as those attributable to warpage in the PC boards.

Method for rapid dispensing of minute quantities of viscous material


An improved bracing bracket for arched window blinds includes a protrusive seat which has a wedge notch on the top rim to couple with a mating plank so that the coupled protrusive seat and the plank may serve as the installation basis. A left material and a right material may be bonded to two sides of the plank. The protrusive seat has a mark in the center of the front side and the rear side to align with a window sill to bond the bracing bracket to the window sill without skewing to facilitate fast installation.

In the general residential houses or buildings, many people like to set up arched window blinds on the upper side of the windows to enhance ornamental effect. Most people also set up window coverings on the inner side of the windows and arched transoms to block sunshine and protect privacy. To set up window coverings on a window and an arched window, a bracing bracket has to be installed first. FIG. 1 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,145,569) illustrates an arched window blind which has an one-way extendable blind B mounted on one side of a window sill A and a bracing bracket C to hold the blind B. The bracket C includes a base C1 and arched tracks C2 and C3 to guide extension of the blind B. Although it can hold the blind B, the bracket C is difficult to install. It also is more costly.
FIG. 2 shows U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,939 which is a blind for arched windows. It includes a bracing bracket D containing a center axle D1 to couple with two sets of blinds E and F on the periphery. While it is relatively easy to install on the window sill of an arched window, the coupling locations in the center of the blinds B and F are remote from the axle D1. The extended blinds E and F do not have a coupling basis. As a result, coupling of the blinds E and F cannot be done smoothly.
FIG. 3 shows another conventional bracket structure disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,112. The bracing bracket G has an arched seat G1 and a center plank G2 and two side planks G3 and G4. The side planks G3 and G4 are respectively coupled with an inset plank G5 and G6. A window shade H has a hollow material H1 to couple on the center plank G2. Then two sides H2 and H3 of the window shade H are bonded to the side planks G3 and G4 to brace the window shade H on the bracing bracket G. Installation involves assembly and bonding of the window shade, and is more complicated.
In view of the aforesaid disadvantages occurred to the conventional bracing brackets such as more expensive and difficult to install, applicant discovers that most arched window blinds are seldom opened once set up. Hence to install a window blind that may be opened one-way or two-way, or closed is a waste of construction and cost. Moreover, most conventional arched window blinds cannot be trimmed to fit different types of arched windows. There are still rooms for improvement.

Bracing bracket for arched window blinds


The disclosed embodiments relate to systems and methods for secure and efficient resource access using distributed directory caching techniques. Techniques include obtaining, from a directory service, client directory data associated with a client; providing the client directory data to a computing device associated with the client for caching on the computing device; identifying a request from the client; receiving, from the computing device, the client directory data that was cached on the computing device; and evaluating the request based on the received client directory data.

Modern computer systems may include a variety of resources such as services, users, programs, networks, and the like. To manage these various resources, the system may implement a directory service to store information related to the resources within the network. The information stored by the directory service may be used by users to access various resources.
Some larger systems may implement a third-party security service to manage access to the system. However, this requires giving a security service agent access to the directory service (e.g., Microsoft Active Directory™). Accordingly, the information of the directory service is often stored in a central location of the security service in order for the security service to effectively manage the system. Not only does this centralized storage location increase the potential attack surface of the system, but it may also result in inefficiencies and require management of separate privileged accounts for each user of the system. In some cases, the central storage location may become overloaded with requests from a large number of users, which can result in additional inefficiencies, slow speeds, and unreliability.
Accordingly, in view of these and other deficiencies leading to system inefficiency and security vulnerabilities, technological solutions are needed for secure and efficient resource access. Solutions should permit users or other clients to gain access to resources on a system while distributing the storage of directory data. Solutions should advantageously permit directory data to be cached locally on a client device for later use to access system resources. Solutions should advantageously minimize the directory data stored by a central security agent.

Distributed directory caching techniques for secure and efficient resource access


An aerated frozen confection having reduced ice crystal growth after heat shock, and being prepared from a mixture of ingredients suitable for forming the confection and at least one emulsifier for reducing ice crystal growth after heat shock. Advantageously, the emulsifier facilitates formation and stabilization of fat alpha crystals, the confection having an overrun of about 20% to about 250%, uniformly distributed small air cells having an average size of less than about 50 microns, ice crystals having a size of 30 microns or less after heat shock, and a smooth texture.

Frozen confections are particularly appreciated for their creamy and smooth characteristics. In order preserve the optimum organoleptic characteristics of smoothness, however, the frozen confections need to be stored and handled with care as even small temperature variations can be observed during storage, distribution, or handling. This is particularly the case when a consumer purchases a frozen confectionery and does not consume it quickly. When there is a gap between the time the frozen product is taken from the deep frozen section and placed in a domestic freezer, a partial thawing of the frozen product occurs before it is refrozen. Such cycles of temperature variation, which is known as "heat shock" cause the formation and growth of ice crystals in the product. The formation and growth of ice crystals in the product cause an undesirable crystallized texture in the frozen confectionery. The crystallized texture and the icy mouth feel, as well as the impaired appearance, reduces the overall quality of the frozen confection as perceived by the consumer.
Various gums and emulsifiers have been used as additives to the frozen confection with the aim of improving the stability, smoothness, and the heat shock resistance of aerated frozen confections. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,553 to Liggett discloses that a gum stabilizer in combination with a monosaccharide and disaccharide sweeteners contributes to limiting the growth of ice crystals upon freezing and storage of frozen confection. In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,035 to Huang discloses that adding to the product an edible multivalent cationic electrolyte such as calcium, magnesium, aluminum, iron, manganese and the like improve stability of the frozen product.
Traditionally, molded aerated frozen bars, ice cream, or water ice are manufactured by partially freezing an ice cream mix, ice milk mix, frozen yogurt mix, water ice mix, or fruit juice mix in conventional batch or continuous freezers followed by pumping and filling the mix into molds of different shapes and sizes. During the last decade, a new generation of freezers has been developed which are equipped with pre-whippers that enable the mix to be pre-aerated before being partially frozen in the freezer. The molded products are usually quiescently frozen using a cold brine system at −30° C. to −40° C. If desired, after demolding, the molded products may be coated with chocolate or compound coating. Finally, the products are usually packaged and stored at about −30° C. until transport and distribution.
This traditional process for manufacturing molded aerated frozen bars, ice milk, yogurt, ice cream, or water ice is not without limitations. One such limitation, for example, is the formation of an icy texture due to the partial freezing of the mix in the freezer, followed by quiescent freezing in the molds. This also is known to lead to loss of air, and the formation of large air cells in the product having a size range of about 110-185 microns. Arbuckle, W. S. Ice Cream, Fourth Edition, 1986, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, p 234.
In addition, shrinkage of the product is often a problem, and when eating the product, a very cold feeling in the mouth is experienced. Furthermore, it is difficult to achieve more than 20% overrun in water ice, a typical overrun is from 0% to 20% and usually is about 5%. Also, it is difficult to achieve more than 80% overrun and quite difficult to achieve an overrun of 120% or higher in finished ice cream products using conventional manufacturing.
Non-molded products have similar problems. Air cells and ice crystals start growing immediately after production of non-molded products. Significant air cell and ice crystal growth occurs during transportation, storage at the grocery store or during transportation and storage of the products by the consumer. There is a need for inhibiting or delaying air cell or ice crystal growth after production or during hardening, transportation, or distribution.
Currently, there is no method that satisfactorily regulates the formation and growth of ice crystals in an aerated frozen confection and no process that can produce very stable finely aerated frozen ice cream, ice milk, yogurt, or water ice having an average air cell size of less than 50 microns and an average ice crystal size of 25 microns or that are heat shock resistant for a period of time after production. Thus, there is a need for finely aerated ice cream, ice milk, yogurt or water ice that maintain a smooth texture, do not suffer from growth of ice crystals, shrinkage, do not give a very cold feeling in the mouth, have an uniform appearance without large air pockets on the surface and have a significantly higher heat shock resistance. The present invention provides products and processes which overcome these disadvantages.

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