An automated toilet cleaning system includes at least one cleaning assembly communicatively connected to a control device. The cleaning assembly includes a positioning assembly and at least one cleaning end, wherein the positioning assembly has at least one positioning arm structured to movably dispose the cleaning end relative to the toilet. A cleaning solution chamber is included for retaining an amount of cleaning solution, and for fluidically delivering the cleaning solution chamber being to a nozzle or dispenser. When the automated toilet cleaning system is activated, the control device operates to movably position the positioning assembly to orient the cleaning end toward the toilet, and to direct a flow of water from and a flow of cleaning solution to and out of the cleaning end directed toward the toilet.

Many people truly dislike using public facilities, such as public restrooms, bathrooms or toilets, and often only do so out of necessity. One of the most common reasons for this dislike is due to a lack of cleanliness and the prolific spread of bacteria. For instance, many public restrooms are cleaned by a cleaning staff member who may wipe down the counters, mop, and in some cases, clean the toilets. In many settings, public bathrooms are cleaned once per day or sometimes less than once per day, particularly public restrooms in parks and other outdoor locations.
There is thus a need in the art for a system and method for automating the cleaning process in a bathroom, and particularly, the toilets. The proposed system should be easy to manufacture and easy to install in existing bathrooms or bathrooms of new construction. For example, a cleaning assembly can be mounted above the toilet which includes automated arms and/or rods to position one or more cleaning devices or apparatuses, such as a toilet brush, water or fluid distribution nozzle, cleaning pad, brush, cleaning solution dispenser, and air blower or drier in a manner to automatically scrub, clean and rinse the toilet when activated.
The proposed automated cleaning system can also be installed at home or in a private bathroom to reduce the time and effort often needed to maintain a clean and spotless toilet. The automated toilet cleaning system can be used to automatically clean virtually any toilet, whether in public or private bathrooms, and can be activated by voice command, by the push of an activation button, or it can be automatically activated on a preset schedule or after each time the toilet is used.

Automated toilet cleaning assembly and shower assembly


A roller for rolling an electrode composite plate of a storage cell, including a cylindrical body having an inner space and a heater installed in the body for heating the electrode composite plate is provided.. According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent stress concentrations and to easily perform thickness control and winding by heating and rolling the electrode composite plate during manufacturing of a cylindrical electrical storage cell.

The present invention relates to a roller for rolling an electrode composite plate of an electrical storage cell, and more particularly, to a roller for rolling an electrode composite plate having a heater to easily control the thickness of the electrode composite plate and to easily perform winding during rolling of the electrode composite plate.
An electrode composite plate 10 which is wound into a roll, as shown in FIG. 1, is installed inside a cylindrical case (not shown) of a cylindrical storage cell such as a nickel-hydrogen storage cell. The electrode composite plate 10 includes an anode electrode plate 11, a cathode electrode plate 12, and an insulating separator 13 disposed between the electrode plates 11 and 12.
The above electrode composite plate 10, as shown in FIG. 2, is manufactured by rolling and winding a plurality of rollers 21. The electrode composite plate 10 is pressed by the rollers 21, rolled to an appropriate thickness and then wound.
Active material layers (not shown) coated on the anode and cathode electrode composite plates 11 and 12 (FIG. 1) may crack or break during the performance of the above operations, thus deteriorating the performance and life of the cell. Such cracking and breaking are caused by the uneven speeds at which the electrode composite plate 10 is wound and at which the electrode composite plate 10 is supplied. The cracking and breaking is more severe as the winding diameter of the electrode composite plate 10 increases. In particular, when there is a difference in the speed at which the electrode composite plate 10 is supplied and the speed at which the electrode composite plate 10 is wound, different stresses are distributed in the respective portions of the electrode composite plate 10. Consequently, wrinkled or elongated portions may be generated due to the difference in stress distribution. It is hard to compensate for such non-uniform portions during rolling.
Also, the thickness of the electrode composite plate 10 should be controlled to be less than a certain range in order to increase the capacity of the cell and the overall thickness of the electrode composite plate 10 should be uniform by rolling of the electrode composite plate 10. If the thickness of the electrode composite plate 10 varies at different portions, the cracking and breaking of the active material becomes more serious during winding the electrode composite plate 10 and the electrode composite plate 10 cannot be tightly wound, thus reducing the capacity of the cell.
Means for correcting the difference of the stress distribution and facilitating control the thickness of the electrode composite plate are not provided in a conventional roller for rolling an electrode composite plate for a cell.

Roller having heater for rolling electrode composite plate of electrical storage cell


A preparation method of a highland barley tea includes stir-frying highland barley; after immersing the same in water, performing extraction at a temperature of 95±1° C., and filtering the extracted product to obtain a highland barley tea.

Highland barley is a cereal crop of hordeum of gramineae, and as the internal and external glumes thereof are separated, and the kernel is naked, it is also called as hulless barley, mainly produced in Tibet, Qinghai, Sichuan, Yunnan and other places in China, and it is main food of Tibetan people. The highland barley is rich in nutrition and has an outstanding medical health-care function, and related products thereof are gradually developed.
However, the existing processing method for highland barley products is simple, and the mouthfeel and the nutritional value of the products need to be improved.

Highland barley tea and preparation method thereof, and related product


Disclosed herein as a preferred embodiment is an image forming apparatus for printing data requested to be printed from a client apparatus via a network. The image forming apparatus comprising determination means for determining whether or not an instruction string is described in the body portion of e-mail sent from the client apparatus and controlling means for, in the case where the determination means determines that the instruction string is described, printing the data contained in an attached file according to the instruction string. And a control program, a method and a system for controlling these are also disclosed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing control technology for an image forming apparatus such as a printer on a network to perform printing based on an instruction from a client apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
In the past, there were printers for receiving e-mail via a network, extracting a script for performing printing if it exists in the received e-mail, and performing the printing by executing the script as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-212891. However, such a script did not allow a process to be flexibly described. In addition, as for the scripts, there were a save command for storing printing data on a printing apparatus, a printing command and so on. Nevertheless, there has been no configuration so far, wherein an image processing apparatus attached to the e-mail flexibly performs various processes by using information included in the e-mail.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method and control program


A connector includes a housing and a contact. The contact includes a first part including a first terminal part and a first connection part; a second part including a second terminal part and a second connection part, and a third part including an elastic part having a first end and a second end connected to the first part and the second part, respectively. The first connection part and the second connection part face each other across a gap. The second terminal part is configured to come into press contact with an electrode in response to fixation of the housing to a board. The third part is configured to elastically deform in response to attachment of a plug to the housing and/or the fixation of the housing to the board, so as to cause the first connection part and the second connection part to come into contact and be electrically connected.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to connectors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent developments in communications technologies have aroused a demand for connectors that enable transmission of signals at ultra-high speed. This type of connector has multiple signal contacts and multiple ground contacts, and shields the signal contacts by surrounding them with the corresponding ground contacts, thereby preventing noise from entering the signal contacts. (See, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2-223172.)
This type of connector is mounted on a board. Surface mounting, which makes it possible to reduce size, increase density, and lower cost, has become a mainstream method of mounting electronic components on boards. This has also promoted surface mounting of connectors on boards. For example, the contacts of a connector and corresponding interconnects (lands) of a wiring board are temporarily joined with solder cream and thereafter subjected to a reflow process so as to be soldered.


A belt scraper mounting for belt conveyors with a conveyor frame/stringer includes a scraper blade module assembly and a scraper fixing mount. The scraper fixing mount holds the blade module assembly with the conveyor frame/stringer on both sides of the scraper blade module assembly and functions in an auto adjusting mode.

Belt Scrapers are used in bulk material handling belt conveyors to avoid material carry back, reduce spillage and keep belt clean. Clean belts help prevent material build up on snub pulley and return rollers and increase its life, thereby reducing cleaning cost, downtime cost and mis-tracking of the belt.
In first generation Counter weight belt scraper, single blade design is made from thick, rubber strip (wider than belt width) under the return belt and the counter weight provided at the side of the belt scraper with a pivot point to provide contact with the belt. The initial load exerted to the belt is approximately 80-90 Kgs. With time when the cleaning effectiveness reduces, the weight is increased and it can go up to 150 Kgs.
Cleaning efficiency is approx 60-68% and always, it is needed to increase counter weight load on a regular basis against blade wear. It is very less effective and high maintenance is involved.
Second generation fixed mount belt scraper's segmented blades module are made of hard alloy steel with rubber cushion at the bottom of blade mounted on a steel tube with both end fixed mount. It does not have automatic adjustments against blade wear. It provides inconsistent contact pressure to the belt which is approximately 100-125 Kgs.
Cleaning efficiency is approx 70-85% and always, there is need to lift-up of the fixed mount on a regular basis against blade wear. It is less effective and high maintenance involved.
Pneumatically operated third generation belt scraper having segmented blades module are made of hard alloy steel with or without polymer cushion at the bottom mounted of blade on a steel tube with ratchet and pinion mount and adjustment done through compressed air at 7-10 bars pneumatically. They provide inconsistent load to the belt of approximately 90-110 Kgs.
Cleaning efficiency is approx 75-85%. There is a need to pump air periodically to maintain the blade to belt contact due to drop in air pressure/leakage/chocking of air. Maintenance requirement is high.
In fourth generation belt scrapers with shock absorber which acts as semi automatic adjustments to some extent but, there is a need for periodic manual adjustments against blade wear in every 3-4 weeks interval. This type of belt scrapers have segmented type metallic blades module with pivot point below the scraping edge mounted on a steel tube with both ends rubber shock absorber. It provides comparatively less load to the belt, which is approximately 24-80 Kgs.
Cleaning efficiency is approx 92-95%. It provides less consistency against heavy duty, high speed, vibration and bi-directional belt operation.
Accordingly there was a long felt need to design belt scraper mountings which are maintenance free and long lasting and facilitates automatic adjustment in the field of bulk material handling conveyor systems to meet the increasing belt capacity (tonnages), higher belt speed and heavy duty of belt with wider belt conveying system.
The present invention meets the aforesaid long felt need.
All through out the specification including the claims, the words "conveyor belt", "scraper blade" "scraper holding arm", "spring", "washer", "stud", and "nut" are to be interpreted in the broadest sense of the respective terms and includes all similar items in the field known by other terms, as may be clear to persons skilled in the art. Restriction/Limitation if any, referred to the specification, is solely by way of example and understanding the present invention.


Methods for making biomaterials for use as a tissue sealant, kits containing precursors for forming the biomaterials, and the resulting biomaterials are described herein. The biomaterials are formed from a composition comprising at least a first and a second precursor molecule, wherein:                i) the first precursor molecule is a poly(ethylene glycol) based polymer having x nucleophilic groups selected from the group consisting of thiol or amino groups, wherein x is greater than or equal to 2        ii) the second precursor molecule is of the general formula:A-[(C3H6O)n—(C2H4O)m—B]i         wherein m and n are integers from 1 to 200        i is greater than 2        A is a branch point        B is a conjugated unsaturated group

While performing medical procedures as part of a surgical intervention or treatment of injury, a physician must often deal with extravasation of body fluids, such as cerebrospinal fluids during brain or spinal surgery, or blood resulting from an injury, a disease or disorder, or from a surgical procedure. Restoring tissue and circulation integrity is important for a positive outcome of a treatment regardless of whether the damage was the result of an injury or a surgical procedure.
The oldest method of joining damaged tissues is the use of mechanical fasteners such as clamps, staples or sutures. Mechanical tissue fasteners suffer from a variety of limitations. Mechanical fasteners require significant skill, are time consuming to apply and can leak along the line of joinder, which can itself cause additional trauma to surrounding tissue. Also, mechanical fasteners can be ineffective in a number of highly vascularized organs. These disadvantages further slow the surgical procedure and healing time.
Attempts to overcome these disadvantages have resulted in the development of adhesives, glues or sealants capable of bonding tissue surfaces together rapidly, either alone, or in combination with mechanical fastening while promoting, or at least not inhibiting, normal healing and reducing or preventing the loss of body fluids.
A common class of tissue adhesives is fibrin-based materials, which contain a concentrate of fibrinogen and thrombin. The fibrin adhesives are typically two-component adhesives that when mixed together with a calcium source react to simulate the last stages of the naturally occurring blood clot-forming cascade. The resulting clot adheres to tissue and bridges tissue, gaps and seals tissue until healing can occur. However, fibrin-based adhesives have met with limited success owing to low strength of the sealing materials and the risk associated with using human blood derived products which may be contaminated.
Glues based on gelatin cross-linked with an aldehyde have also met with limited success. Representative of this class of glues are gelatin-resorcinol cross-linked with formaldehyde (GRF) or glutaraldehyde (GRFG). While gelatin-based glues have been extensively studied and shown to generally be effective, these compositions have met with limited success owing to the use of hot gelatin solutions, tissue irritation associated with the aldehyde, and the criticality of the handling procedures needed to obtain proper cross-linking at the joinder site.
Due to the above-described limitations, considerable development effort has been directed towards finding a suitable synthetic composition which can be used as tissue glues or sealants. To this end, cyanoacrylates, polyurethanes, polymethylmethacrylates and polyethylene glycols, among other synthetic polymers, have been investigated as tissue glues or sealants with limited success. There are few available tissue glues or sealant compositions that meet the requirements of sufficient mechanical strength and biocompatibility, in addition to handling properties consistent with a wide variety of surgical settings.
However, these compositions show disadvantages with regard to handling and mechanical properties such as swelling of the biomaterial. Thus, there exists a need for a biomaterial that can be applied as a tissue glue or sealant that is not only biocompatible, but also has a well-defined cure and shows a combination of the required mechanical properties.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide compositions, methods and kits suitable for forming synthetic biomaterials for use as tissue sealant.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a synthetic biomaterial for use as tissue sealant which presents low increase in volume owing to water uptake.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a synthetic biomaterial for use as tissue sealant which is completely resorbable over time.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a synthetic biomaterial with good mechanical strength for use as tissue sealant.
It is a further object of the invention to provide a synthetic biomaterial that can potentially serve as an adjunct to sutured dural repair during cranial surgery and reduces or prevents leakage of cerebrospinal fluid into the external environment.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Abstract: The precursors are selected based on the desired properties of the biomaterial. Optionally, the biomaterials contain additives, such as thixotropic agents, radiopaque agents, or bioactive agents. In the preferred embodiment, the biomaterials are used to reduce, inhibit, or contain loss of a biological fluid or gas in a patient.


A single action mop wringer which is formed of a housing having oppositely disposed sidewalls therein which have a pair of aligned spaced apart tracks in each sidewall which provide a guide for pins rollably supporting a pair of spaced apart rollers to come together at a desired distance to wring water from a mop on a single pass.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of mop wringers which are used to wring water out of a mop which has threads of yarn. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of hand-operated mop wringers which are used to wring water out of yarn mops.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Mop wringers are used for wringing mops. The majority of mop wringers currently used in general households and ordinary businesses or institutions are hand operated. A hand-operated mop wringer is usually mounted on top of a small water bucket or basket. A user can rinse a mop in the water basket and then drain the mop with the mop wringer.
A conventional hand-operated mop wringer typically includes a housing which can be mounted on top of the small water basket. The housing supports two wringer plates. The two wringer plates are oppositely disposed and spring biased in a spaced apart relationship. Each wringer plate has a plurality of small apertures for draining the water. The housing further supports a mechanism which can drive the two wringer plates moving toward each other.
The driving mechanism can be operated through a wringer handle. The wringer handle is pivotably mounted at its lower end to the housing.
To drain a mop with the mop wringer, a user first places the mop between the two wringer plates, then pushes down the upper end of the wringer handle. Each time the upper end of the wringer handle is pressed, the two wringer plates will move towards each other and squeeze the mop. When the upper end of the wringer handle is released the two wringer plates will separate and the wringer handle swings back. The user can then remove the mop from the wringer.
A significant disadvantage of mop wringers known in the prior art is that the effectiveness of the conventional hand-operated mop wringer depends on the strength of the user. To drain the mop more effectively, the user needs to push the wringer handle down harder. How hard the wringer plates squeeze the mop depends on how hard the user pushes the wringer handle. A user with less strength often has to repeat the operation several times as desired. Furthermore, the user often needs to operate the wringer handle repeatedly to drain the mop as desired.
These drawbacks of the conventional mop wringer are very undesirable for people with less physical strength, especially elderly people. Even for people with normal strength, the awkward and laborious operation of the mop wringer increases their fatigue very rapidly.
The present inventor Fred I. Morad attempted to address these issues by the creation of a semi-automatic mop wringer which was disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,274,877 which issued on Jan. 4, 1994. While the invention was a very fine innovation, the complicated mechanism was expensive to produce and was not commercially viable.
Therefore, there is a significant need for improvements in mop wringers which address the problems discussed above but at the same time is embodied in a simpler mechanical device which will be commercially viable to manufacture and sell.


The shoe with interchangeable covers is a modified pair of women's shoes consisting of a base, a sole with a removable heel, and a cover which is attached to the base and the sole with two sets of straps joining under the sole and fastened together with hook and loop type fasteners. The base of the shoe features a layer of padding for extra comfort and low rising vertical sides for supporting the interchangeable cover. The sole of the shoe is formed with a pair of notches on the bottom, one in the toe area and one in the arch area. These notches serve as guides into which the straps are placed and secured to one another. The cover can be made in various styles from dressy and elegant to casual and sporty by adding decorative items, such as zippers, buttons, bows, and the like and by varying the heel height and width. The interchangeable covers and heels allow the owner to have numerous pairs of shoes for the price of one. Thus any woman could save money through the purchase of one pair of shoes as opposed to purchasing shoes to coordinate with every outfit in her wardrobe. Additionally, the female traveler could pack a single pair of shoes to complete a number of ensembles, thereby reducing the load with which she travels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to footwear, more particularly to a woman's shoe with interchangeable covers. The shoe with interchangeable covers has particular utility in connection with providing an easy and affordable way to accessorize a single pair of women's shoes to match multiple outfits.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Fashion dictates that a woman's outfit coordinates with her handbag and shoes. Owning a sufficient number of shoes to complete a matching ensemble for each outfit in her wardrobe is extremely costly for most women. Additionally, since shoe fashions rapidly change, there is an ever present need to update the shoe wardrobe to complement the clothing wardrobe. Shoes with interchangeable covers are desirable for allowing a single pair of shoes to be modified with various styles and colors so that they match multiple outfits. This would save the owner a tremendous a mount of money over the years, especially if new covers matching the latest fashions were manufactured to fit the same base pair of shoes.
In addition to being costly, an updated shoe wardrobe can be hard to transport if one is traveling on business or vacation. In order to dress fashionably, women tend to travel with a different pair of shoes for each outfit that has been packed. Not only could shoes with interchangeable covers save the owner vast amounts of money, but they could also eliminate the need to pack and transport multiple pairs of shoes during travel.
The use of shoe covers is known in the prior art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,778,564 to Mark Kettner discloses an athletic or sport shoe having a removable cover for the upper that is removably secured to the unfinished shoe upper by hook and loop fastener strips on the lower parts of the cover and shoe upper adjacent to the line where the upper joins the sole of the shoe. However, since the Kettner '564 patent focuses on athletic shoes, it does not make any provision for covering the heel of a woman's high-heeled shoe. Additionally, the Kettner '564 patent would not be suitable for most women's dress shoes since it provides for a tongue and eyelets found in lace-up style shoes. Furthermore, since the Kettner '564 patent proposes covering the original shoe upper with a second layer, the user's feet would heat up quickly and possibly be uncomfortable while pursuing athletic endeavors. Finally, the cover of the Kettner '564 patent is only secured around the edges of the shoe; in athletic endeavors, this could easily be knocked loose, and the cover would disengage from the upper of the shoe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,850,122 to Robert L. Schwab, Jr. discloses a shoe cover, probably made of a stretch fabric, comprising a pouch with two lobes, one for covering the outside of the shoe and one for covering the inside of the shoe. The pouch is closed with the exception of an opening at the area of the heel of the shoe into which the toe of the shoe is inserted for proper fitment of the cover. However, the cover of the Schwab, Jr. '122 patent would not effectively cover the heel portion of a ladies high-heeled shoe, leaving it a different color than the remainder of the shoe. An additional deficiency is that the Schwab, Jr. '122 patent proposes using a stretchable material to implement the shoe cover. Stretchable material would not make a suitable cover because it would tear more easily and be less durable than typical shoe covering material. Furthermore, should dress material be used to make matching shoe covers, it could be difficult, if not impossible, to clean if spotted or soiled. Lastly, since the Schwab, Jr. '122 patent discloses a shoe cover to be placed over an existing shoe, the wearer's foot could become overheated from the dual covering.
Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,270,442 to Jack S. Liebmann and Ralph Memole discloses a decorative cover for women's high-heeled pumps comprising a shoe upper member secured to a soft leather sole, the whole of which is secured to the shoe along the inner edges adjacent to the foot. A hollow cup with an opening at the bottom would be fitted over the heel for matching purposes. However, the Liebmann, et al. '442 patent is designed to fit only pumps having an eggshell throat and a long, slender heel. These types of pumps are not always fashionable, thus the Liebmann, et al. '442 device would not always be useful. Additionally, depending on the type of adhesive used to secure the Liebmann, et al. '442 device, the original shoe material could be ruined. Finally, the Liebmann, et al. '442 patent proposes a cover to fit over an existing shoe, which could cause a higher degree of heat for the wearer's feet.
Likewise, U.S. Pat. No. 2,013,700 to Rosilda C. Savale discloses a dress shoe cover that consists of an upper open at the top and bottom, an elastic member about the open bottom of the upper and so formed as to fit a shoe above the sole, and means of passing the elastic member between the sole and shrank of the shoe for securement. However, the Savale '700 patent does not cover the heel of the shoe, leaving it a different color than the remainder of the shoe. Furthermore, the securement of the shoe cover in the Savale '700 patent is not sufficient, making it possible that the cover might slide at the toe or heel section and reveal the old shoe beneath. If the Savale '700 device is constructed from dress type material, it would not be durable, leaving it vulnerable to wear and tear due to everyday wear and the elements. Finally, the Savale '700 patent discloses a covering for a shoe, which would place two layers on the wearer's feet and could cause discomfort from a buildup of heat.
Lastly, U.S. Pat. No. Des. 322,152 to Stephen G. Irons discloses the ornamental design for a shoe protector that is placed on the front of the shoe and covers the toe and tongue area of the shoe. However, the Irons '152 patent protects only the front portion of the shoe, causing an uneven wear pattern between the front and rear portions of the shoe. Additionally, the Irons '152 device would not be useful for accessorizing an outfit, changing only the color of the front portion of the shoe while leaving the rear portion the original color. Finally, it is not obvious how the Irons '152 device would be secured to the shoe, but the securement means indicated seems insufficient since the shoe protector could slip off the shoe during the course of normal usage.
While the above-described devices fulfill their respective, particular objectives and requirements, the aforementioned patents do not describe a shoe with interchangeable covers that allows the wearer to easily and comfortably update a single pair of shoes to coordinate with multiple outfits. The Kettner '564 device would not be suitable for most women's dress shoes since it provides for a tongue and eyelets found in lace-up style shoes, and the Irons '152 patent would not be useful for accessorizing an outfit, changing only the color of the front portion of the shoe while leaving the rear portion the original color. Moreover, the covers proposed by the Kettner '564, Schwab, Jr. '122, Savale '700, and Irons '152 patents do not sufficiently cover the heel of the shoe, leaving it a different color than the remainder of the shoe. While the Liebmann, et al. '442 device does cover the heel of the shoe, it is designed to fit only pumps having an eggshell throat and a long, slender heel. These types of pumps are not always fashionable, thus the Liebmann, et al. '442 device would not always be useful. The Kettner '564, Liebmann, et al. '442, Savale '700, and Irons '152 patents all have securement deficiencies. The Kettner '564, Savale '700, and Irons '152 devices could all come loose from the shoe they are covering during the course of normal usage, and the type of adhesive used to secure the Liebmann, et al. '442 device might ruin the original shoe material. Furthermore, the Schwab, Jr. '122 and Savale '700 patents propose using fabric type material for shoe covers, which would be less durable than typical shoe covering material, tearing more easily, wearing more quickly, and posing cleaning difficulties. Finally, the Kettner '564, Schwab, Jr. '122, Liebmann, et al. '442, and Savale '700 patents all propose a cover to fit over an existing shoe, which could cause foot discomfort from a buildup of heat.
Therefore, a need exists for a new and improved shoe with interchangeable covers that can be used for easily and comfortably updating a single pair of shoes to coordinate with multiple outfits. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need. In this respect, the shoe with interchangeable covers according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in doing so provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of allowing the wearer to easily and comfortably update a single pair of shoes to coordinate with a variety of outfits, eliminating the need to transport multiple pairs of shoes while traveling.


A low impedance interconnection assembly for use with high frequency switching power semiconductor devices includes a modular capacitor, multi-layer bus structure and semiconductor switching devices assembled as a laminated unitary structure. Terminals electrically and physically connect the positive electrode of the modular capacitor to the positive DC voltage potential carried by the bus structure and the positive DC input of the semiconductor switch and other terminals electrically and mechanically couple the negative electrode of the modular capacitor to the negative DC voltage potential layer of the bus structure and the negative DC input of the switching device. The modular capacitor is made of a number of capacitor elements having their respective positive electrodes bonded to a copper foil pattern strip to define a positive electrode and their respective negative electrode terminals to a second copper foil strip to define the negative electrode. All capacitors share in supplying high slew rate current to the semiconductor switching devices to reduce losses in the capacitor.

The present invention relates generally to assemblies for the interconnection of high frequency switching power semiconductor devices and deals more specifically with an assembly for providing low impedance interconnection between high frequency switching power semiconductor devices and a low inductance modular capacitor to minimize the development of high voltage transient spikes across the semiconductor devices during rapid turn-on/turn-off switching.
Higher power switching applications such as those found in high power multi-phase DC to AC converters which generate multi-phase AC voltages for powering multi-phase motors and the like are generally limited in performance due to limitation in switching high DC currents at high frequencies to produce a desired AC voltage signal output with a desired magnitude and harmonic content. Often, the switching power semiconductor devices are subjected to voltage transient spikes during switching which, without suppression, destroy the semiconductor device. There are a number of known techniques for reducing the development of high voltage transient spikes on high frequency switching power semiconductor devices during rapid turn-on/turnoff switching. Typically, two different types of capacitors are utilized in such switching circuits to reduce the switching frequency voltage. A relatively large storage capacitor is coupled to the voltage distribution bus which supplies power to the semiconductor switching devices. This capacitor provides low frequency current filtering. Smaller, fast switching capacitors are located in as close proximity as possible to the semiconductor switching devices to filter high amplitude transient currents which occur during the switching process. The smaller faster switching capacitors are characterized by a high current handling capacity and typically are either coupled directly to the DC voltage power bus or form a part of various snubber circuits which are coupled to the semiconductor switching devices and which snubber circuits and techniques are well known to those skilled in the art.
It is desirable therefore to reduce the time and effort required to assemble and interconnect high frequency switching power semiconductor devices and current filtering and voltage transient suppression devices.
It is a general aim of the present invention therefore to provide a packaging assembly which facilitates a low impedance interconnection between high frequency switching power semiconductor devices and low inductance capacitors and a DC voltage potential applied to and switched by the semiconductor devices.
It is a further aim of the present invention to provide a low impedance modular capacitor for use with the assembly of the present invention.

Low impedance interconnection assembly for high frequency switching power semiconductor devices and low inductance modular capacitor


A method and apparatus for natural language parsing are described. The invention includes the steps of retrieving an input string, and performing a dictionary look-up for each word in the input string to form a correspondence between each word and a dictionary entry. The dictionary entry provides lexical features of the word. The invention includes the additional step of processing the words in the input string beginning with a last word in the input string and continuing toward the first word in the input string. This step includes the step of associating a selected word in the input string with a word located to the left of the selected word in the input string to form a word phrase. The associating step is performed according to predetermined selection restriction rules. The steps of processing the words and associating a selected word are repeated until all words of the input string have been processed.

The present invention relates generally to language parsers and more specifically to a method and apparatus for natural language parsing of sentences in real time that is universally applicable to other languages and is capable of analyzing the full range of grammar and syntax, manipulating sentences to create other structures, and engaging in question/answer and statement/response repartee in real time.
Since Chomsky (Syntactic Structures. The Hague/Paris: Mouton, 1957), linguists have been grappling with the problem of providing a generative theory of syntax to describe the structure of human language. This endeavor has resulted in a proliferation of syntactic theories, each with a slightly different set of assumptions about the correct characterization of syntax. Such known methods are described in publications such as Government and Binding, Chomsky (1981, 1986), Lexical Functional Grammar, Bresnan (1982) and Kaplan and Bresnan (1982), Categorial Grammar, Oehrle, Bach, and Wheeler (1988), Lexicase of Starosta (1988), Generalized Phrase Structure Grammar, Gazdar, Klein, Pullum, and Sag (1985), and Head-driven Phrase Structure Grammar, Pollard (1984, 1985). (Generalized phrase structure grammars, head grammars, and natural language. Stanford University dissertation. "Phrase structure grammar without metarules." In J. Goldberg, S. Mackaye, and M. Wescoat eds., Proceedings of WCCFL 4. Stanford linguistics association, 246-261.)
However, no theory or method has emerged as a widely accepted formulation that strictly conforms to the requirements of an explicit, generative grammar, nor has any theory or method gained wide acceptance as a truly representative model of the human faculty of language. Furthermore, none of these theories or methods have resulted in framework that can be fully implemented in a computer programming language to produce a viable natural language parser.
In the 1960's Noam Chomsky (Aspects of the Theory of Syntax) argued that it was possible to arrive at a scientific description of human language that was based on empirical investigations and which was based on the same principles as the sciences of chemistry, botany and so on. To do this he proposed a theory of syntax based on the structure of English. He further argued that once one had determined the basic nature of the syntax of one language, it would be possible to apply that theory to the languages of the world and arrive at equally descriptive and scientifically falsifiable descriptions as with those of the original language. Of course, there would be language specific variations that would account for the differences we all perceive in the different languages of the world, but the underlying theory would be one of a "universal grammar" from which all other grammars were derived.
It was subsequently argued that the theories of syntax that were proposed by Chomsky and others could be implemented in a computer program to create a "parser," a grammar analysis device, thereby giving computers many (though not all) of the language abilities possessed by people. It is important to point out the meanings of the words "grammar" and "syntax" as used hereinafter. In some cases the words "grammar" and "syntax" overlap in that they both refer to the structural relationship of words and parts of words that result in phrases, clauses, and sentences. However, in general, "linguistics" refers to formal scientific descriptions of these structural relationships while "grammar" refers to the more ordinary English text book style description of these relationships.
Following Chomsky's lead, since the 1960's and continuing to the present, linguists and computer scientists at major universities and institutions around the world have been struggling to arrive at a theory of syntax that is both capable of fully describing the structures of a language and capable of being implemented in a programming language. To date, the success on both counts has been meager at best. There is currently no single parser or method and no theory of syntax that can adequately accomplish the task. In fact, in judging the known methods based on the actual parsers that have been developed, one can conclude that they are still in their infancy. Known parsers and methods can only handle the simplest sentences and are only applicable to a very small subset of the syntactic and grammatical functions that comprise even one language of the world. In spite of the millions of dollars and hundreds of thousands of man hours that have been spent to solve this problem, computers implementing such known methods can only respond to basic commands. Such grammar checkers and translation devices have only the most rudimentary grammatical abilities. The ability to perform question/answer and statement/response repartee with computers and computer applications is unattainable using known methods. The current inventive method and apparatus, interchangeably referred to as "Attach Alpha" (also referred to as "Attach .alpha.") or the theory of Attach Alpha, is a solution to the above-described problem.
Some of the problems that underlie the lack of success of known methods are due to the fact that no theory of syntax has yet been able to claim wide acceptance as a thorough and complete theory. Known theories and methods are either to complex or too poorly or too vaguely formulated to be implemented in a programming language. Finally, a significant obstacle to the implementation of a theory of grammar in a computer program is the fact that such known theories typically generate hundreds, thousands, and even hundreds of thousands of possible parses of one sentence, leaving the computer and the user unable to choose a correct analysis of a sentence.
Known parsers are severely limited since they cannot sufficiently limit the number of possible parses that they produce. If the number of possible parses are too great, processing time increases to a point where real-time output is impossible. In many known parsers, ambiguity in the input string results in an exponential increase in the number of possible output sentences. For example, the sentence "john does like to put the book in the garage", although quite simple in comparison with common English sentences, can produce over 3,000 parses or combinations of sentences. This can be computed by finding the number of possible interpretations of each of the items in the string and counting the number of sentence combinations. In the above-described sentence, "john", "does", and "to" each have two possible meanings, and "like" has four possible meanings, and so on. The combination of possible parsed sentences quickly increases rendering known parsers essentially inoperative.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to substantially overcome the above-described problems.
It is another object of thc present invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for parsing sentences that is universally applicable to all languages of the world.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for parsing sentences that is implemented on a known digital computer and operates in real time to analyze and parse complex sentences.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a novel method and apparatus for parsing sentences that significantly reduces the number of parse combinations analyzed, rendering such analysis feasible on a computer.
It is still an object of the present invention to provide a novel method for parsing sentences that strictly limits all structure to that which can be stated in terms of the attachment of two items proceeding from the smallest items upwards toward the completed sentence.

Method and apparatus for universal parsing of language


A diagnostic method and apparatus for self-diagnosis a load side of an electric device to detect the occurrence of the abnormal electricity usage at the load using a simple apparatus based on a current sensor includes checking rated power consumption of a load, measuring power consumption of the load in operation, calculating a change in the power consumption by comparing the rated power consumption of the load with the power consumption of the load in operation, and determining that an abnormal power consumption occurs at the load when the change in the power consumption is outside a predetermined range.

1. Field
One or more embodiments relate to a self-diagnostic apparatus and a method for an electric device configured to diagnose whether abnormal power consumption has occurred in the electric device.
2. Description of the Related Art
A self-diagnostic apparatus and a method for an electric device are configured to diagnose and determine by the electric device itself whether the electric device is operating normally. For example, through the detection of an abnormal output at one or more sensors, the detection of a feedback voltage at a direct current (DC) load, and the detection of a zero cross at an alternating current (AC) load, the determination is made whether the electric device, that is, the load, is normal.
As for a heater, which is one of the loads that are commonly used in an electric device, a defect of the heater is difficult to diagnose immediately, and an early completion of a timed operation or a time-out of an operation is detected as an error of the heater. Because of the above, in a case when a defect of the heater is to be corrected, the defect is confirmed by disconnecting the electric device and re-measuring the load of the heater. In such a case, diagnosis takes additional time, and when the characteristics of the heater are changed it is difficult to locate the defect.

Self-diagnostic apparatus and method for electric device


Certain example embodiments of this invention relate to picture frames with glass mats that have patterns painted and/or screen printed thereon, and/or methods of making the same. The patterns may include large blocks of one or more solid colors, textures, images, logos, licensed images/designs, arbitrary designs, and/or the like, in different example instances. The painted glass matting materials of certain example embodiments have been found to provide unique, aesthetically appealing framing-related products that enhance the quality of the original art in desirable ways.

Picture frames have been around for centuries. Indeed, long before the advent of modern photography (including more recent digital photography), artists sought to improve, accent, or otherwise create a desired aesthetic appearance for a painting through the use of framing. Wood, metal, plastic, composite, and other frames have been used, with and without different style mats of or including different materials.
Mats have become a standard part of picture framing. Single, double, and triple mats; box mats; and the like have become common over the years, e.g., to "pick up on," match, complement, or otherwise "interact with" colors in the underlying main image. The art and framing industry currently uses traditional fiber-based materials in matting applications in many instances.
Although the art and framing industry is large and very successful, and although traditional fiber-based materials are desirable for many matting applications, people are virtually always looking for new and creative ways to accent their artwork—regardless of whether the artwork is a photographic picture, painting, mixed media creation, or the like.
Certain example embodiments provide a new and interesting aesthetic design through the use of painted glass mats. These glass mats sometimes may also convey an interesting texture, in some instances. As an example advantage, the overall impression may help enhance the overall aesthetic appeal of the artwork and the frame.
One aspect of certain example embodiments of this invention therefore relates to glass mats that have patterns painted and/or screen printed thereon, and/or methods of making the same, e.g., for use in framing-type applications. The patterns may include large blocks of one or more solid colors, textures, images, logos, licensed images/designs, arbitrary designs, and/or the like, in different example instances. The painted glass matting materials of certain example embodiments have been found to provide unique, aesthetically appealing framing-related products that enhance the quality of the original art in desirable ways.
In certain example embodiments, a method of making a frame is provided. A water-inclusive paint is screen printed, directly or indirectly, on a major surface of a first glass substrate in a desired pattern in connection with a screen mesh that has at least 100 threads per inch and while maintaining an environment that has a relative humidity of at least 80% over and/or proximate to the screen mesh. The water-inclusive paint at least initially comprises 20-50 wt. % sodium silicate inclusive material(s). The paint is bonded to the first glass substrate in the desired pattern by heating the first glass substrate to a peak temperature that is no higher than 400 degrees C. The first glass substrate is heat treated, following the bonding, at a temperature of at least 580 degrees C., with the paint remaining on the first glass substrate in the desired pattern and with a desired coloration following said heat treating.
In certain example embodiments, a method of making a glass mat inclusive picture frame is provided. The method includes applying, in connection with one more materials chosen from enamels, lacquers, and paints, a desired pattern on a first major surface of a glass substrate. The one or more materials on the first major surface of the glass substrate may be cured. Following the curing, a central portion of the glass substrate may be cut out to create a hole having a size and shape selected to accommodate a picture of a defined size and form a glass mat. A cover substrate is coupled to the glass mat in making the picture frame.
In certain example embodiments, a method of making a plurality of picture frame products is provided. One or more desired patterns is/are screen printed, in connection with one more paints, on a first major surface of a large area glass substrate. The one or more paints is/are cured. Following the curing, the large area glass substrate is cut into a plurality of glass blanks of one or more predetermined sizes, with each said glass blank having a desired pattern registered thereon. Central portions of each of the glass blanks are cut out to create holes having respective sizes and shapes selected to accommodate pictures of defined sizes and to form corresponding glass mats.
In certain example embodiments, a method of making a picture frame product comprising a glass substrate and a colored film is provided. A paint is screen printed, directly or indirectly, on a major surface of the substrate in a desired pattern, while maintaining an environment with a relative humidity of at least 80% over and/or proximate to a screen mesh used in the screen printing. The substrate with the paint thereon is heated. The paint is (a) fully cured when heated to a first temperature of 250-400 degrees C., and (b) substantially fully cured when heated to a second temperature below 175 degrees C., in making the coated article.
In certain example embodiments, a method of making a picture frame is provided. A colored paint material is printed, directly or indirectly, on a major surface of a first glass substrate in a desired pattern in connection with a mesh that has at least 100 threads per inch, with the colored paint material being pushed through the mesh in connection with hydraulic forces that account for a sheer thinning property of the colored paint material by balancing (a) squeegee speed, (b) squeegee angle relative to the mesh, and (c) hardness of the squeegee. The first glass substrate with the colored paint material thereon is heated to a first temperature sufficient to at least partially cure the colored paint material. The colored paint material is bonded to the first glass substrate in the desired pattern by heating the first glass substrate to a peak temperature that is no higher than 400 degrees C.
In certain example embodiments, a picture frame may be made according to a method described herein.
In certain example embodiments, a method of making a laminated picture frame product is provided, with the method comprising (for example) booking together a second glass substrate and a picture frame product made according to a method described herein.
The features, aspects, advantages, and example embodiments described herein may be combined to realize yet further embodiments.

Picture frame with glass mat, and/or method of making the same


Apparatus to widely change the control amount used for of mixing control in an audio mixer and to momentarily change a knob to a desired setting can be reproduced by selecting a mode in which the control amount for controlling the mixing of audio signals is continuously output and a mode in which the temporarily the stored control amount is output.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an operating apparatus of an audio mixer which is used for mixing audio signals.
2. Prior Art
There have been conventional audio signal editing mixers which can store the operations which have been performed by an operator and can subsequently reproduce these operations. For example, in a case in which the setting of an equalizer is carried out in a rehearsal, the operations of operating knobs of the equalizer which the operator performed are sorted and the operation knobs will be subsequently operated in accordance with the stored operation data upon going on the air so that the equalizing operations performed by the operator will be able to be reproduced.
However, settings cannot be widely changed as is done in the case when a momentary operation is performed from boost to cut on setting the equalizer in the audio mixer which can store the operations performed by an operator as mentioned above. That is, duplication of the momentary operation of operation knobs of the equalizer from boost to cut as performed by an operator per se is impossible. An operation to stop the operation knob of the equalizer in a desired position also cannot be performed. In other words, momentary adjusting of setting of an equalizer from boost to cut and an operation to momentarily stop the operation knobs in a desired position cannot be reproduced on going upon the air. In the conventional audio mixer, the process from boost to cut is all stored.
The present invention was made under the above mentioned circumstances.
It is an object to provide an operating apparatus of an audio mixer, which is capable of storing and reproducing an operation to largely change the setting of mixing and an operation to stop an operation knob in a desired position.


In one embodiment, a method for forming a tungsten-containing material on a substrate is provided which includes forming a tungsten-containing layer by sequentially exposing a substrate to a processing gas and a tungsten-containing gas during an atomic layer deposition process, wherein the processing gas comprises a boron-containing gas and a nitrogen-containing gas, and forming a tungsten bulk layer over the tungsten-containing layer by exposing the substrate to a deposition gas comprising the tungsten-containing gas and a reactive precursor gas during a chemical vapor deposition process. In one example, the tungsten-containing layer and the tungsten bulk layer are deposited within the same processing chamber.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the processing of semiconductor substrates. More particularly, this invention relates to improvements in the process of depositing refractory metal layers on semiconductor substrates.
2. Description of the Related Art
The semiconductor processing industry continues to strive for larger production yields while increasing the uniformity of layers deposited on substrates having larger surface areas. These same factors in combination with new materials also provide higher integration of circuits per unit area of the substrate. As circuit integration increases, the need for greater uniformity and process control regarding layer thickness rises. As a result, various technologies have been developed to deposit layers on substrates in a cost-effective manner, while maintaining control over the characteristics of the layer. Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) is one of the most common deposition processes employed for depositing layers on a substrate. CVD is a flux-dependent deposition technique that requires precise control of the substrate temperature and precursors introduced into the processing chamber in order to produce a desired layer of uniform thickness. These requirements become more critical as substrate size increases, creating a need for more complexity in chamber design and gas flow technique to maintain adequate uniformity.
A variant of CVD that demonstrates superior step coverage, compared to CVD, and is Atomic Layer Deposition (ALD). ALD is based upon Atomic Layer Epitaxy (ALE) that was employed originally to fabricate electroluminescent displays. ALD employs chemisorption to deposit a saturated monolayer of reactive precursor molecules on a substrate surface. This is achieved by alternatingly pulsing an appropriate reactive precursor into a deposition chamber. Each injection of a reactive precursor is separated by an inert gas purge to provide a new atomic layer additive to previously deposited layers to form a uniform layer on the substrate. The cycle is repeated to form the layer to a desired thickness. A drawback with ALD techniques is that the deposition rate is much lower than typical CVD techniques by at least one order of magnitude.
Formation of film layers at a high deposition rate while providing adequate step coverage are conflicting characteristics often necessitating sacrificing one to obtain the other. This conflict is true particularly when refractory metal layers are deposited to cover gaps or vias during formation of contacts that interconnect adjacent metallic layers separated by dielectric layers. Historically, CVD techniques have been employed to deposit conductive material such as refractory metals in order to inexpensively and quickly form contacts. Due to the increasing integration of semiconductor circuitry, tungsten has been used based upon superior step coverage. As a result, deposition of tungsten employing CVD techniques enjoys wide application in semiconductor processing due to the high throughput of the process.
Depositing tungsten by traditional CVD methods, however, is attendant with several disadvantages. For example, blanket deposition of a tungsten layer on a semiconductor wafer is time-consuming at temperatures below 400° C. The deposition rate of tungsten may be improved by increasing the deposition temperature to, e.g., about 500° C. to about 550° C.; however, temperatures in this higher range may compromise the structural and operational integrity of the underlying portions of the integrated circuit being formed. Use of tungsten has also frustrated photolithography steps during the manufacturing process as it results in a relatively rough surface having a reflectivity of 20% or less than that of a silicon substrate. Finally, tungsten has proven difficult to deposit uniformly. Variance in film thickness of greater than 1% has been shown with tungsten, thereby frustrating control of the resistivity of the layer. Several prior attempts to overcome the aforementioned drawbacks have been attempted.
For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,028,565 to Chang et al., which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, a method is disclosed to improve, inter alia, uniformity of tungsten layers by varying the deposition chemistry. The method includes, in pertinent part, formation of a nucleation layer over an intermediate barrier, layer before depositing the tungsten layer via bulk deposition. The nucleation layer is formed from a gaseous mixture of tungsten hexafluoride, hydrogen, silane, and argon. The nucleation layer is described as providing a layer of growth sites to promote uniform deposition of a tungsten layer thereon. The benefits provided by the nucleation layer are described as being dependent upon the barrier layer present. For example, were the barrier layer formed from titanium nitride the tungsten layer's thickness uniformity is improved as much as 15%. Were the barrier layer formed from sputtered tungsten or sputtered titanium tungsten, the benefits provided by the nucleation layer are not as pronounced.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,879,459 to Gadgil et al. discloses an apparatus that takes advantage of ALD. To that end, the apparatus, a low profile, compact atomic layer deposition reactor (LP-CAR), has a body with a substrate processing region adapted to serve a single substrate or a planar array of substrates, as well as a valve, and a port for substrate loading and unloading. In some embodiments multiple reactors are stacked vertically and share a common robotic handler interface with a CVD system. In this manner, the robotic handler may manipulate substrates associated with both the CVD system and the LP-CAR. The compact reactor is distinguished by having individual injectors, each of which comprises a charge tube formed between a charge valve and an injection valve. The charge valve connects the charge tube to a pressure regulated supply, and the injection valve opens the charge tube into the compact reactor. Rapidly cycling the valves injects fixed mass-charges of gas or vapor into the compact reactor.
What is needed, however, is a technique to deposit conductive layers having a deposition rate comparable to CVD techniques while providing the step coverage associated with ALD techniques.

Method for depositing tungsten-containing layers by vapor deposition techniques


A tape printer (100) capable of, as necessary, installing, therein, a print medium cartridge for storing print medium of different lengths, wherein a cartridge storage area (120) is formed in the tape printer (100) by recessing inward the surface of the printer. The size of the cartridge storage area (120) is so formed that a larger cartridge (200) in a contour shape wider than a standard cartridge (1) can be installed therein. A fixed print head (102) and drive shafts (100a, 100b) are disposed on the bottom surface of a cartridge installation part (140).

A conventional strip-shaped print medium (e.g., print tape) is often wound and contained in a print medium cartridge. Such a print medium cartridge is configured to be installed in a printer having a printing head. A user of the printer can select a print medium cartridge containing a print medium having a specific width to install it into the printer. Assume that print medium having different widths need to be used with respective cartridges that are different from each other. Then, the cartridges can be formed on the same basic design concept if they are made to have a large height as viewed in the winding direction of the print medium, although the widths of the print medium contained in the respective cartridges may be different from each other. As a result, alterations that need to be made to the design of the cartridge for containing a print medium having a specific width can be minimized, if necessary. Therefore, as general practice, the cross sections of cartridges for containing print medium having different widths as taken in a direction perpendicular to the axis of winding of the print medium are made to show a substantially same contour.
Thus, printers are designed to have an inner space for mounting a print medium cartridge on the assumption that the cross sections of cartridges containing respective print medium having different widths are made to show the substantially same contour for the purpose of downsizing the printers, although the widths of the print medium may be taken into consideration.
However, as a result of making the cross sections of print medium cartridges show the same contour, the size of the print medium is subjected to limitations when it is wound up due to the contour of the cross section (the radius of the wound print medium). Then, the length of the print medium needs to be limited. Besides, cartridges are made to have an only limited space for containing the print medium in the inside as a result of the efforts paid for downsizing the printer and the print medium cartridge. Therefore, the length of the wound print medium is limited also for this reason. Thus, the print medium cartridge needs to be replaced frequently when a printing operation needs to be conducted on a large scale.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a printer for which the user can select one of print medium cartridges containing respective print medium having different lengths or different thickness per unit length and in which the user can install the selected print medium, and also a print medium cartridge that can be used with such a printer.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a printer in which some different kinds of print medium cartridges can be installed.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an non-standard cartridge that can be installed in a printer in place of a standard cartridge.

Printer, and print medium cartridge used for the printer


The systems and methods described herein enable reliable estimation of cardiovascular indices on real-time, non-invasive or minimally-invasive, and beat-to-beat basis. Cardiovascular indices which can be estimated include: stroke volume (SV), which being limited to, cardiac output (CO) and total peripheral resistance (TPR). In various embodiments, one or more of these indices are estimated continuously, on a beat-to-beat basis, using peripheral arterial blood pressure (ABP) waveforms and certain parameters derived from the peripheral ABP waveforms. The derived parameters are substantially insensitive to distortions of the ABP waveform arising from tapered arterial branches throughout the arterial tree. The methods describe herein can provide a more accurate and reliable estimate of hemodynamic parameters than existing techniques.

Cardiac output (CO), stroke volume (SV), and total peripheral resistance (TPR) are among important hemodynamic parameters to be monitored and assessed in critically ill patients, ambulatory patients, as well as patients undergoing surgical procedures. CO and SV are valuable indicators of mechanical/pathological/physiological status of a subject's heart. TPR is a measure of a subject's vascoconstriction ability associated with certain pathophysiological conditions. Several techniques have been developed to measure or estimate one or more of these hemodynamic parameters. (See for example R. Mukkamala et al., "Continuous cardiac output monitoring by peripheral blood pressure waveform analysis," IEEE Trans Biomed Eng, vol. 53, pp. 459-67, Market 2006; W. Ganz et al., "A new technique for measurement of cardiac output by thermodilution in man," Am J Cardiol, vol. 27, pp. 392-6, April 1971; M. J. Bourgeois et al., "Continuous determination of beat to beat stroke volume from aortic pressure pulses in the dog," Circ Research, vol. 39, pp. 15-24, July 1976.) Estimation of cardiovascular indices on real-time, non-invasive or minimally-invasive, and beat-to-beat basis would be a useful diagnostic tool for clinical and scientific applications, e.g., in hospital stings for patient care or research settings for determining the efficacy of certain medications.

Method for estimating changes of cardiovascular indices using peripheal arterial blood pressure waveform


Disclosed is a semiconductor device whose reliability can be improved. The semiconductor device includes: first wiring formed over a semiconductor substrate via a first insulating film; a second insulating film that includes an inorganic film covering the first wiring and that has a flat surface on which CMP processing has been performed; a third insulating film that is formed over the second insulating film and includes an inorganic film having moisture resistance higher than that of the second insulating film; and second wiring formed over the third insulating film. The thickness of the second wiring is 10 times or more larger than that of the first wiring, and the second wiring is located over the third insulating film without an organic insulating film being interposed between itself and the third insulating film.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof, and a mounting method of a semiconductor device, and the invention can be preferably applied to a semiconductor device including thick uppermost layer wiring containing, for example, Cu, and a manufacturing method thereof, and a mounting method of a semiconductor device.
In recent years, there is a demand for making one semiconductor chip to be compatible with various mounting configurations. For example, when external terminals arranged at small pitches for wire bonding are converted into those arranged at relatively large pitches for bump electrodes, such as WPP, thick rewiring (rewiring layer, uppermost layer wiring) containing Cu is used over the top surface of a semiconductor chip.
This rewiring layer is also used in other applications besides the aforementioned one in which the pitches of external terminals are converted, and, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2007-73611 (Patent Document 1), a technique is disclosed, in which passive elements and wiring coupled thereto are formed over a semiconductor wafer (substrate) by using rewiring. Specifically, a three-layer insulating film including a silicon oxide film, a silicon nitride film, and a polyimide resin film, is formed so as to cover lower layer wiring containing aluminum (Al) that is formed over a substrate. The lower layer wiring has a pad part at the bottom of an opening formed in the three-layer insulating film, and one end of the rewiring containing Cu is coupled to the pad part, while the other end extends over the three-layer insulating film to be coupled to a bump electrode. In order to reduce the stress applied to the bump electrode, the thickness of the polyimide film, formed over a laminated structure including the silicon oxide film and the silicon nitride film, is relatively larger than that of the laminated structure.
Also, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 1998-92817 (Patent Document 2), it is disclosed that an embedded insulating film having a low dielectric constant and a passivation film having a high dielectric constant and high moisture absorption resistance are sequentially deposited and a surface protective film for the wiring is formed by a composite film of the above two films. It is also disclosed that: a TEOS film deposited by a plasma CVD method is used as the embedded insulating film having a low dielectric constant and a silicon nitride film deposited by a plasma CVD method is used as the passivation film; and the TEOS film is flattened by performing CMP processing before the deposition of the silicon nitride film. In Patent Document 2, it is described that: in a passivation film, it is not necessary to take into consideration poor coverage of a stepped portion, occurrence of a pinhole or a crack, an increase in local stress, or the like; and hence the thickness of the passivation film can be set to a requisite minimum. That is, the flattening of the TEOS film by CMP processing is performed to make the thickness of the passivation film formed thereover to be small.
The present inventors are studying how to improve the operation speed of a semiconductor device by using a rewiring layer as wiring. According to the study by the inventors, it has been revealed that a high-density arrangement of a rewiring layer is difficult in a structure in which a polyimide resin film is provided under rewiring, as described in Patent Document 1. It has also been revealed that, if a structure in which a polyimide resin film, is simply omitted is adopted, a crack is generated in an insulating film under a rewiring layer, and hence the reliability of a semiconductor device is decreased in terms of moisture resistance, etc.
Other problems and new features will become clear from the description and accompanying drawings of the present specification.
A semiconductor device according to an embodiment includes: first wiring formed over a semiconductor substrate via a first insulating film; a second insulating film that includes an inorganic film covering the first wiring and that has a flat upper surface on which CMP processing has been performed; a third insulating film that is formed over the second insulating film and includes an inorganic film having moisture resistance higher than that of the second insulating film; and second wiring formed over the third insulating film. The thickness of the second wiring is 10 times or more larger than that of the first wiring, and the second wiring is located over the third insulating film without an organic insulating film being interposed between itself and the third insulating film.
According to the embodiment, the reliability of a semiconductor device can be improved.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof, and mounting method of semiconductor device


The present disclosure discloses a control device of data storage system, including a host interface, a peer interface, a storage unit interface, a processor and a local data management module. The host interface is connected and communicated with a storage server for data interaction with the storage server. The peer interface is configured for data communication connection with a storage unit of an adjacent control device in the data storage system. The storage unit interface is configured to connect a storage unit. The local data management module is configured for local data management of the data in the storage unit according to the data management instruction via the processor. The host interface is configured to send result data of local data management to the storage server.

With the popularity of the Internet, and the rapid development of science and technology in various fields, such as Internet of Things (IoT) and Big Data Computing, the generation of data is also growing explosively, which makes the performance and efficiency of data storage systems in prior art unable to meet current demands gradually.
Specifically, the current data storage system needs to process an increasing amount of data, and the efficiency requirements for data processing are also increasing. In prior art, the data storage system is able to control the access and management of the data of the storage device in the whole data storage system through a control device set in a specific storage server.
Through research, the inventor of this application has found that prior art has at least the following limitation.
The performance and efficiency of data storage system is constantly decreasing as the amount of data is constantly growing

SHENZHEN DAPU MICROELECTRONICS CO., LTD.


The invention relates to a total temperature probe for an aircraft and to a method of determining temperature by means of such a probe. The total temperature measurement probe comprises a base, an external face of which is intended to be mounted so as to be substantially coplanar with a skin of the aircraft, and a mast that projects from the base and supports an active part of the probe. The probe furthermore includes several temperature sensors placed on, the external face of the base and distributed around the mast. The method consists in determining the total temperature of the air surrounding the probe on the basis of the temperature measurement carried out in the active part (4) of the probe and on the basis of the maximum difference that exists between the measurements made by the temperature sensors.

It is possible to correct the measurement error due to the influence of the heating by means of calibrations and by modeling, taking into account several parameters such as the heating power dissipated in the probe and the speed of the flow, which also has to be measured, or by the probe itself in the case of a multifunction probe, such as that disclosed in French patent application FR 2 802 647 filed on Dec. 17, 1999.
Such modeling does not take into account the rise in temperature of the probe that is caused by solar radiation. More precisely, when an aircraft on which the probe is mounted is in flight phase, the speed of the flow of air surrounding the probe is sufficient for the effect of solar radiation to be negligible and the modeling described above is sufficient. However, when the aircraft is placed on the ground, the effect of solar radiation becomes important and the temperature measurement is impaired.
A first solution for avoiding the effect of solar radiation consists in fitting the probe in a region protected from sunshine, for example under the fuselage. As a result, the installation constraints may be contradictory with in-flight use of the probe. The regions protected from sunshine are, in general, aerodynamically disturbed by the landing gear.

Total temperature probe and method of determining total temperature


The objective of the present invention is to provide method for acrylic acid in which a generation of polymerized substance is prevented while acrylic acid is stored in a storage tank. A method of the present invention for producing acrylic acid, comprising storing acrylic acid in a storage tank, wherein a process liquid containing 50 mass % or more of acrylic acid is subjected to at least one filtering operation at 15 to 70° C. when the process liquid is supplied to the storage tank.

Acrylic acid is a very easily polymerized substance, and a variety of methods are used to prevent the polymerization during the production of acrylic acid. Most of them are associated with polymerization prevention by the addition of a stabilizer. In each step of the production, the addition of a stabilizer can prevent the polymerization to the extent that no hindrances are caused during the operation of apparatuses. However, the polymerization cannot completely be prevented, thereby causing a trace amount of polymerized substances to be present in the acrylic acid. The presence of these polymerized substances is a factor of causing further polymerization even if a sufficient amount of a stabilizer is present. That is, such a slight amount of polymer causes the polymerization of acrylic acid while acrylic acid is stored.
Hence, in the production of acrylic acid, it is important to remove this polymerized substance. Some methods of removing the polymerized substance are disclosed in, for example, Published Japanese Translation of PCT International Publication Nos. 2004-528370, 2004-528371 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-129388. For example, in the publication No. 2004-528370, crude acrylic acid melt to be supplied to a step of crystallization is filtered through a filter to remove an adhesive polymer that does not have a high molecular weight. In the publication No. 2004-528371, filtration through a filter is carried out to remove an adhesive polymer just before a mother liquor or suspended crystal of suspension crystallization of acrylic acid is re-crystallized. In the publication No. 2001-129388, filtration through a strainer or the like is carried out in a circular pathway outside of a distillation column, a fractionation column and the like, to remove solid impurities.
However, as the methods described in the publications Nos. 2004-528370, 2004-528371 and 2001-129388, even if polymerized substances are removed in the production process of acrylic acid, the increase of polymerized substances in purified acrylic acid is seen with a time lapse, which causes the problem of decreasing the purity of the purified acrylic acid. Moreover, the method of carrying out filtration prior to purification as described above sometimes stores crude acrylic acid in a storage tank prior to purification. In this case, the amount of polymerized substance is increased during the storage. As a result, there is the problem of frequent clogging of the filter caused by the polymerized substance when filtration processing is performed prior to the purification step.


Apparatus and methods for spray coating selected areas of a circuit board with an insulative coating material without coating regions of the circuit board to be left uncoated. A liquid spray device emits the coating material and an air assist attachment connected to the liquid spray device directs jets of air into impinging relation with the coating material emitted therefrom to transform the coating material into an atomized, shaped spray pattern for coating the selected areas. The air assist attachment can be disabled so that the spray device transforms the coating material into a non-atomized, shaped spray pattern for coating selected areas without coating regions of the circuit board to be left uncoated.

Typically, printed circuit boards that require protection from moisture, electric leakage and dust are coated with moisture proof insulative films, known as conformal coatings, such as, acrylic, polyurethane, silicone or epoxy synthetic resins dissolved in a volatile solvent. One conformal coating found satisfactory is available from Humiseal Division, Columbia Chase Corp., Woodside, N.Y., under the trademark "HumiSeal 1B31". When applied to clean circuit boards, an insulative resin film of uniform thickness and without pinholes, is formed as the solvent evaporates.
In the past, five principal methods have been used to apply coatings of moisture proof, insulative material to printed circuit boards. These included the following:
(a) The immersion method, in which packaged circuit boards are immersed in an immersion tank containing the moistureproof insulative material.
(b) The brush-coating method, in which the moisture proof insulative material is applied by a brush to the printed circuit board surface to be coated.
(c) The roller method, in which a sheep's wool roll impregnated with the moisture proof insulative material is rolled on the surface of the printed circuit board to provide the insulative coating thereon.
(d) The spray method, in which the moisture proof insulative material is applied to the printed circuit board by spraying techniques.
(e) The slit die method, in which the moisture proof insulative material is pressurized and extruded from a slit die to eject a film for coating the printed circuit board surface.
Each of the foregoing methods have certain advantages and disadvantages. For example, all methods except brush-coating and certain spraying techniques require masking for those parts and regions on the circuit board to be left uncoated. The masking operations, that is, mounting and removal of the masks, must be done manually, causing a bottleneck in the mass production process. Brush-coating, while not requiring masking, is labor intensive, and otherwise unsuitable for mass production.
Spraying is the most commonly used insulative coating method employed in mass production. Spraying can be categorized as either air spraying in which an air stream is impinged against the stream of liquid coating material after leaving the spray nozzle to atomize it, and airless spraying in which the coating material is dispensed in a low pressure, unatomized flat film pattern, as is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,663, assigned to Nordson Corp., which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety.
With air spraying of conformal material onto a circuit board, the air, at a pressure of generally about 30 to 40 pounds per square inch (psi), is projected in the form of opposed air jets against a stream of liquid conformal coating material which is dispensed at a pressure of generally about 20 to 100 psi from a spray nozzle. The required pressures are dependent upon a number of factors including the viscosity of the conformal coating material, the temperature of the conformal coating material and the size of the nozzle. With air spraying, a high flow rate results in thick coatings, which are undesirable, and relatively uncontrolled spray patterns requiring hand masking of components which are to be free of spray, prior to spraying. For these reasons, air spraying is not particularly suitable for modern, automated production facilities.
In airless spraying of conformal coating material, as described in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,663 patent, the coating material is sprayed onto a printed circuit board in a flat unatomized pattern. Relative movement is effected between the nozzle and the circuit board in a direction transverse to the plane of the flat pattern discharged from the nozzle. The supply of coating material to the nozzle is intermittently interrupted so as to prevent a deposit of liquid coating on regions of the printed circuit board and/or circuit components which are left to be uncoated. Airless spray coating of conformal coatings on printed circuit boards by this technique, however, was typically accomplished with solvent based, lower viscosity (under about 60 centipoise) coating materials. When these materials were applied at a pressure of about 20 to 30 pounds per square inch (psi), a high quality coating was achieved. A high quality coating is typically characterized by a relatively uniform thickness and an absence of overspray and liquid splatter.
Recently, because of environmental concerns, there has been a trend to reduce or eliminate the use of solvents, previously used to lower the viscosity of the otherwise high viscosity, i.e., above about 60 centipoise (cps), coating materials. To apply a high viscosity conformal material with the described airless technique, a higher application pressure (generally above about 100 psi) is required to drive the viscous material through the nozzle and cause it to form the desired film pattern. These higher pressures, however, cause a higher flow rate and result in a thicker coating (typically above about 7 mils) on the circuit board. Because of the high cost for conformal material and industry standards requiring a coating thickness of preferably about 1 to 3 mils for urethanes, acrylics and epoxies and about 2-8 mils for silicones, simply applying these low solvent coatings at a higher pressure is unsatisfactory.

Air assisted apparatus and method for selective coating