A device for attaching a chemical illumination device to the tip area of a fishing rod. The device includes a hollow body with a first end, a mid portion, and a second end. The first end of the hollow body includes an aperture which has been adapted for receiving the tip of the fishing rod, and the second end of the hollow body includes an aperture which has been adapted for receiving the chemical illumination device. A line guide loop is attached near the second end of the hollow body, so that the tip of the fishing rod may serve as a line guide while holding the chemical illumination device.

(a) Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to field of fishing rod mounted fishing equipment, and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to an apparatus for attaching a chemical illumination device to the tip area of a fishing rod.
(b) Discussion of Prior Art
The advantages of night fishing have long been recognized since many species of fish feed well into the night or early in the morning before the sun rises. The absence of light during night fishing introduces problems which are not experienced during daylight fishing. Unfortunately, most popular fishing equipment is designed for fishing in daylight and does not address the problems encountered by people who fish at night.
One of the most significant problems has to do with the detection of a bite or a nibble on the bait. The problem arises due to the fact that most commercially available fishing poles do not include devices that facilitate the observation of the fishing rod tip at night. An examination of the known prior art reveals that there have been several attempts at solving the problems associated with detecting a bite or nibble while fishing at night. Most known approaches, however, are directed at attaching or incorporating some sort of battery powered light or light emitting diode (LED) at the tip of the pole. This approach was taken in U.S. Pat. Nos. Des. D316,302, D299,377, as well as in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,697,375, 4,479,321, and 4,117,618. This approach was also taken in the inventions disclosed in British patents 2,052,231 to Pavey and 1,118,237 to Ilsen, and in German patent number 2,836,769 to Lorenz.
There are many problems associated with devices that rely on electrical devices for illumination of the fishing rod or rod tip. Perhaps the most glaring problem is that electrical devices are vulnerable to short circuiting in damp environments, such as the areas in which fishing poles are used. Also, these devices require the use of wiring and circuitry to operate the light bulb or LED. This wiring has to be incorporated into the body of the fishing rod, which results in a device that is seriously disadvantaged by the fact that these imbedded wires and components are nearly impossible to maintain without having to destroy the fishing rod.
Also, many of the known devices simply mount a battery powered light on to the tip area of the fishing rod. This approach solves many of the maintainability problems associated with fishing poles that incorporate wiring along the length of the rod, but greatly reduce the sensitivity of the fishing rod due to the mass of the lighting device attached to the tip of the fishing rod.
The problems associated with the sensitivity of the fishing pole are important since fish frequently simply take the bait and hold the bait in their mouths to feel or taste it before actually taking or swallowing the bait. To hook a fish that is simply mouthing the bait, the fisherman must become aware of the fact that the fish is mouthing the bait and then jerk the fishing rod to get the fishing hook to sink into the fish's mouth. If the fisherman jerks the fishing rod at the wrong instant, the jerking motion may cause the bait to fall off the hook or the sudden motion may frighten an indecisive fish that had been spying the bait. If the fisherman does not notice that a fish is playing with the bait, and he does not jerk the rod at all, then the fisherman gives the fish the opportunity to steal the bait without getting hooked.
Thus, the fisherman must pay close attention to the tip of the rod to determine whether a fish is mouthing or playing with the bait, so that he may jerk the rod at the most opportune instant. It is a difficult task to determine the right instant to jerk on the rod, however. This is due to the fact that the water being fished is likely to impart some motion to the fishing line and fishing rod tip, and the fisherman must be able to distinguish between the subtle motion imparted by the water and the subtle motion induced by a fish who is mouthing the bait.
Thus it can be appreciated that devices which attach bulky battery operated lighting devices on to the tip of the fishing rod are likely to severely impair the fisherman's ability to detect subtle nibbling or mouthing of the bait. This problem is not solved by devices which have motion actuated switches that cause the light to flicker whenever a fish begins to tug on the line. This is because many fish will impart such subtle motion on the line that this motion will be indistinguishable to the mechanical triggering mechanism from motion imparted by the wind or water. It takes the observation of the experienced fisherman to be able to distinguish the regular motion imparted by the water from the tugging motion imparted by the fish.
Thus there remains a need for a system for assisting the fisherman, who is fishing at night, in determining when a fish is nibbling or mouthing the bait. There remains a need for such a device which does not weigh the tip of the rod to the point of reducing the sensitivity of the rod and preventing the fisherman from observing the characteristic tugging motion imparted by a nibbling fish.
There remains a need for a device that can be used to allow night fishermen to observe the motion of the tip of their fishing rods, and which can be maintained without the need of wiring or batteries.
There remains a need lightweight illumination device attachment for the tip of a fishing pole so that the weight of the device does not dampen the motion of the tip of the fishing rod.
There remains a need for a low maintenance device for illuminating the tip of a fishing pole in a manner that is not susceptible to failure due to its immersion in water.

Fishing pole tip illumination attachment


A retainer package is provided for receiving, and maintaining for ready removal, at least one resilient surgical suture in a coiled configuration. The package includes a plurality of interconnected panels which may be folded upon one another to form a means for housing the resilient sutures. The package is formed with a loading port defining a radially unobstructed passageway for receiving the resilient sutures coils. Structure may be associated with the package for securely maintaining surgical needles for ready removal.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a new and useful suture retainer package and more particularly to a package for retaining at least one resilient surgical suture in a manner for ready removal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many monofilament surgical sutures possess certain mechanical characteristics such as stiffness and a tendency to be wire-like and resilient. In the past, such sutures have been retained in packages manufactured in such a manner so as to enable the formation of upstanding projections within the package body around which the sutures could be wound in a peripheral storage channel. Examples of this type of package include: U.S. Pat. No. 4,424,898; U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,498; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,967,902. Retainers wherein a suture may be automatically fed through a notch provided in a partially assembled package, are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,142,628.
These prior art suture retainer packages have not taken advantage of the resiliency of certain suture materials to aid in the loading of the package. Instead, prior art retainers have employed winding projections which may cause sutures to take an undesirable set when loaded into the package body.
It has been found that when a resilient monofilament surgical suture such as, for example, catgut or a similar material, is inserted into a package in a coil configuration the resilient suture will tend to uncoil within the package and expand radially outward so as to conform generally to the shape of the package. In accordance with this principle, it is desired to provide a suture retainer package with an internal cavity or retaining area which does not necessitate the formation of upstanding projections around which sutures must be wound to be loaded into the package. Such a suture retainer package permits a resilient surgical suture to be essentially self-loaded into an unrestricted retaining area.
Stated differently, it is an object of the subject invention to provide a suture retainer package into which a resilient suture coil may be loaded and thereafter caused to uncoil and expand radially outward within the package so as to be retained therein for ready removal.
It is another object of the subject invention to provide a suture retainer package which can be manufactured relatively inexpensively.
It is still another object of the subject invention to provide a suture retainer package for retaining a plurality of resilient surgical sutures.
It is yet another object of the subject invention to provide a suture retainer package which enables a plurality of resilient suture coils each having a needle affixed to one end to be loaded into the package in such a manner to enable ready removal.
It is yet a further object of the subject invention to provide a package for retaining a plurality of resilient surgical suture coils without taking an undesirable set.
It is still a further object of the subject invention to provide a new and useful needle park member which may be employed in the suture retainer package described herein.

Retainer package for resilient surgical sutures


The invention relates to a device for measuring current in an inductor and being connected in parallel with said inductor. The device includes a network in parallel with the inductor and connected to the terminals A and B comprising a resistor R2 in series with a resistor R1 in parallel with a capacitor C1; a voltage offset circuit having a DC voltage generator E connected in parallel with an offset resistor (Roffset) in series with two parallel resistors R3 and R4, the positive pole of the voltage source being connected to terminal B of the inductor; a temperature compensation circuit comprising a current source controlled as a function of the temperature, one of the two terminals of the current source being connected to the negative pole of the generator E, the other terminal of the current source being connected to different points of the measurement device.

In certain electronic applications it is necessary to measure the value of the current in the inductors with good accuracy and while disturbing as little as possible the device in which the inductor is inserted. We may cite for example the measurement of the current in the inductors of switched mode power supplies, among other things, voltage step-down or step-up switched mode serial choppers (respectively known as "buck converters" and "boost converters").
The conventional method which is most used consists in placing a measurement shunt in series with the inductor, thereby making it possible to obtain the image of the current in the inductor by measuring the voltage across the terminals of the shunt. This solution has the advantage of being simple to implement, on the other hand it has a major drawback. Specifically, the power dissipated in the shunt contributes to a degradation in the overall efficiency of the converter, which is not always acceptable, this being all the more true when the output voltage of the energy conversion device is low. To avoid this constraint, a non-dissipative solution for measuring current, presented in FIG. 1, is used.
FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a device 10 for measuring the current I passing through an inductor 12. The inductor 12 is represented by its equivalent diagram comprising a pure reactive part, i.e. the inductive part L in series with a resistor RL. The inductor comprises a terminal A and a terminal B.
The inexpensive and very non-dissipative measurement device 10 is placed in parallel with the terminals A and B of the inductor 12. The measurement device 10 comprises a resistor R2 in series with a resistor R1 in parallel with a capacitor C1, the resistor R2 being connected to the terminal A, the resistor R1 to the terminal B.
The aim of this arrangement of the state of the art is to obtain a voltage across the terminals of the capacitor C1 proportional to the voltage across the terminals of the resistor RL of the inductor 12 hence proportional to the current I in the inductor 12 (or in the inductor L). The currents in the resistors R2 and R1 are negligible compared with the current I in the inductor 12.
To size the elements of the device, it is important to comply with the following constraint:
                              L          RL                =                                                            R                                                                                1                  ·                  R                                                                                2                                                              R                                                                                1                                +                                  R                                                                                2                                                      ⨯            C                                                                        1                                    equation                                                            (          1          )
If the condition expressed by equation (1) is satisfied, VC1 is the image of the current in the inductor. The voltage VC1 across the terminals of C1 is given by the following relation:
                              V                      C                                                                          1                          =                              (                                          R                                                                                1                  ·                  RL                                                                              R                                                                                1                                +                                  R                                                                                2                                                      )                    ·          I                                    equation                                                            (          2          )
The device of FIG. 1 therefore makes it possible to obtain the image of a current passing through an inductor on condition that the value of the intrinsic resistance RL of the inductor is known.
It may be pointed out that the image of the current is given by an equation of the type: VC1(I)=a.I with "a" the proportionality coefficient.
For certain applications, it is necessary that the measurement exhibit an offset voltage, that is to say that contrary to the above equation (2), when the current I is zero the voltage VC1 is not zero. The equation which conveys this behavior is of the form VC1(I)=a.I+b with:
"a" the proportionality coefficient and "b" the ordinate at the origin (offset voltage in our case).
To produce this offset in the measurement, it suffices to join an additional arrangement to the device of FIG. 1.
FIG. 2 shows a device for measuring the current I in the inductor 12 with a voltage offset Voffset.
In the device for measuring the current of FIG. 2, the voltage which is the image of the current in the inductor is no longer VC1, as in the device of FIG. 1, but becomes the voltage Vmes.
The measurement circuit of FIG. 2 furthermore comprises elements of FIG. 1, an offset circuit 14 having a DC voltage Vout generator E connected in parallel, with an offset resistor Roffset in series with two resistors in parallel R3 and R4. The positive pole of the generator being connected to the common point of the two resistors R3 and R4 and to the terminal B of the inductor 12, the negative pole of the generator being connected to the resistor Roffset. The voltage generator E may be the output capacitor of a converter, this being the case for a Buck type chopper, for example.
It is also possible to place a capacitor C′1 in parallel with R3 and R4 so as to balance the impedances on the two branches of the measurement device.
The voltage Vmes is measured between the common point ca between the two resistors R2 and R1 and the common point cb between the resistor Roffset and the two resistors R3 and R4 in parallel.
The expression for Vmes relating to the device of FIG. 2 may be written:
                    Vmes        =                                            (                                                R                                                                                1                    ·                    RL                                                                                R                                                                                1                                    +                                      R                                                                                2                                                              )                        ·            I                    +                      Vout            ·                          (                              1                -                                  Roffset                                                                                R                                                                                3                          ·                          R                                                                                4                                                                                R                                                                                3                                                +                                                  R                                                                                4                                                                                +                    Roffset                                                              )                                                          equation                                                            (          3          )
The voltage Vout being constant, the voltage Voffset is therefore also constant, the equation obtained is therefore of the form: Vmes(I)=a.l+b, with:
  a  =                    (                              R                                                                                1              ·              RL                                                          R                                                                                1                        +                          R                                                                                2                                      )                                            and                                      b        =          Vout      ·              (                  1          -                      Roffset                                                            R                                                                                3                    ·                    R                                                                                4                                                                      R                                                                                3                                    +                                      R                                                                                4                                                              +              Roffset                                      )
This type of measurement is used in devices such as the switched mode converters of power electronics, for which it is necessary to limit the current passing through the inductors. For this purpose, the measurement voltage Vmes is compared, with the aid of a threshold-based comparator, with a threshold voltage Vthreshold corresponding to a maximum current Imax.
However the device of the prior art represented in FIG. 2, has a major drawback since the value of the resistance RL of the inductor depends on the temperature to which it is subjected, the current measurement which is obtained therefore exhibits an error related to the temperature. The consequence is that the measurement of the current in the inductor and therefore the limitation of current Ilim depends on the temperature.
FIG. 3 shows a curve of variation of the limitation current Ilim as a function of the temperature T of a current limiting circuit comprising a threshold-based comparator and the measurement device of FIG. 2. The variation in the limitation current as a function of the temperature is 60% between −40° C and 100° C. Such a scatter in the value of the limiting current gives rise to an oversizing of the power circuit so that it can withstand the limiting current at low temperature, this representing a major drawback.

Device for non-dissipative measurement of the current in an inductor


Lighting apparatus or luminaires for use in wet, humid, or underwater environments are disclosed. The luminaire may include a plastic housing block, port assembly including a copper or copper alloy fitting and transparent port window disposed within the housing block, and a compound LED light-engine unit.

Environmental lighting is widely used in domestic, commercial and public environments. In marine environments such as marinas, docks, and the like, underwater lighting provides enhanced visibility for dockside operations and near-shore navigation, as well as providing aesthetic improvements to the look of dock areas. However, the marine boundary region is a harsh environment chemically and mechanically due to the effects of tides, weather, salt water, and other marine conditions, thereby requiring non-standard lighting devices and systems.

LED lighting devices and systems for marine and shoreline environments


The invention concerns a method and an apparatus for field-oriented control of a permanent-magnet-excited synchronous machine. Conversion of an ascertained longitudinal voltage component and an ascertained transverse voltage component into triggering pulses for the synchronous machine is accomplished in a low rotation speed range using a pulse-width-modulated inverter, and in a high rotation speed range using a block switching mechanism or a software program functionally corresponding to a block switching mechanism. The invention reduces output oscillations in the upper rotation speed range that occur in known systems as a result of angular inaccuracies with respect to the target voltage zero transition and the voltage zero transition that is actually implemented.

In automotive engineering, it is already known to incorporate a permanent-magnet-excited synchronous machine (PM synchronous machine) into the drive train of a vehicle, between the internal combustion engine and the transmission, as an integrated crankshaft starter/generator.
A PM synchronous machine of this kind is controlled in a rotor-field-oriented coordinate system. An example of a field-oriented current control system for a PM synchronous machine having a pulse-width-modulated inverter is shown in FIG. 1. It is based on an actual-value measurement of the phase currents of a three-phase current system and on a determination, based on the measured actual values, of a longitudinal and a transverse component of the control voltage with respect to the rotor position. The transverse current is proportional to the desired torque.
In this control system, the phase currents ia, ib, ic derived from the three-phase system of the PM machine are converted, in a Park transformer 13, into currents Id_actual and Iq_actual of a rectangular coordinate system. Current Id_actual represents the actual value for the machine's longitudinal current. Current Iq_actual designates the actual value for the machine's transverse current.
Actual longitudinal current value Id_actual is conveyed via a superimposition element 12 to a longitudinal current controller 1, and actual transverse current value Iq_actual as the actual value to a transverse current controller 2. Superimposition element 12 receives, as a further input signal, a feedback signal that is obtained from output variable uq′ of a steady-state decoupling network 5. In addition to providing the decoupling that is important for the control system, steady-state decoupling network 5 also performs the task of achieving, in coaction with output limiters 3 and 4 and an anti-windup procedure at longitudinal current controller 1, a field attenuation in the upper rotation speed range. This field attenuation of the PM synchronous machine at higher rotation speeds is necessary because otherwise the induced machine voltage would be greater than the maximum power converter output voltage. The latter voltage is limited by the supply voltage, which is the motor vehicle's electrical system voltage. In this field attenuation mode, the power converter is operated in an overmodulated state so that the power converter output voltage is no longer sinusoidal.
A setpoint signal generated by a longitudinal current setpoint generator 9 is conveyed to the setpoint input of longitudinal current controller 1, and a setpoint signal generated by a transverse current setpoint generator 14 is conveyed to the setpoint input of transverse current controller 2. Transverse current setpoint generator 14 generates the transverse current setpoint signal as a function of the output signal of a battery voltage sensor.
A control variable Id* for the longitudinal current is made available at the output of longitudinal current controller 1, and a control variable Iq* for the transverse current at the output of transverse current controller 2. These control variables are conveyed to steady-state decoupling network 5 which, using the aforesaid control variables, ascertains a longitudinal voltage component ud′ and a transverse voltage component uq′ for the control voltage of the PM synchronous machine.
These control voltage components ud′ and uq′, which are control voltage components in the rectangular coordinate system, are conveyed via respective output limiters 3 and 4 to an inverse Park transformer 6. The purpose of the latter is to convert the limited control voltage components ud and uq, present in the rectangular coordinate system, into control voltage components ua, ub, and uc of the three-phase system. These are converted, in a pulse-width-modulated inverter 7, into triggering pulses for PM synchronous machine 8.
Transverse voltage component uq′ of the control voltage, which is outputted at the output of steady-state decoupling network 5, is conveyed to absolute value generator 10, which ascertains the absolute value |uq′| of the aforesaid transverse voltage component.
The output signal of absolute value generator 10 is used as the input signal for a threshold value switch 11. If the absolute value |uq′| exceeds a predefined threshold value, a value of 0 is then outputted at the output of threshold value switch 11. If the absolute value |uq′| falls below the predefined threshold value, a value of 1 is then outputted at the output of threshold value switch 11.
Exemplified embodiments for the configuration of a decoupling network in which a steady-state machine model is stored are described in the Applicant's DE 100 44 181.5.
DE 100 23 908 A1 discloses a method for ascertaining the magnet wheel position of an electrical machine (which is, for example, a three-phase generator with pulse-width-modulated inverter), a rotor winding, a stator equipped with inductances, and a voltage source disposed between two phase terminals additionally being provided. With this method, circuit elements can be used to branch into two phases, in which the respective phase voltage profiles are measured. Superimposing them allows an unequivocal determination of the magnet wheel position. With the known method, the rotor positions for each of the voltage profiles are stored in table form.
The periodical ETEP, Vol. 8, No. 3, May/June 1998, pp. 157–166, furthermore describes a permanent-magnet-excited synchronous machine with a field attenuation mode, in which a large ratio exactuals between the maximum and basic speeds. This is achieved by way of an additional negative D component of the stator current. In the context of regulation of the known synchronous machine, a measurement of the rotor position is performed using the output signals of three Hall sensors, one Hall sensor being associated with each of the phases U, V, W.
DE 199 28 481 A1 discloses a method for generating control variables for the longitudinal and transverse voltage to represent respectively the flux-forming current and torque-forming current in a field-oriented control system for rotating-field machines in consideration of the stator voltage drop and the steady-state internal voltage, in which the steady-state internal voltage is calculated on the basis of setpoint variables of the currents. Also known from this document are a method for ascertaining the angular rotor frequency of an asynchronous machine controlled in field-oriented fashion, and a method for sensing and pairing at least two phase currents of an asynchronous machine in order to implement a field-oriented control system.

Method and device for the regulation of permanent-magnet excited synchronous machine having reduced power oscillations in the higher rotational speed range


A method and system for aiding user alignment of two or more partially overlapping digital images. A first image is captured. A portion of a first image is displayed with a preview of a portion of a second image. The second image is adjusted by movement of an used to capture the first image and generate the preview of the second image). Once satisfactory alignment is achieved, the second image is captured.

Solid state imagers typically consist of an array of pixel cells containing photosensors. Each pixel cell produces a signal corresponding to the intensity of light impinging on its photosensor when an image of a scene is focused on the array by one or more lenses. These signals may be stored in a memory and displayed on a monitor, manipulated by software, printed, or otherwise used to provide information about the scene.
Several kinds of imagers are generally known. Complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor ("CMOS") imagers and charge coupled device ("CCD") imagers are among the most common. CMOS imagers are discussed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,140,630, U.S. Pat. No. 6,376,868, U.S. Pat. No. 6,310,366, U.S. Pat. No. 6,326,652, U.S. Pat. No. 6,204,524, and U.S. Pat. No. 6,333,205, which are all assigned to Micron Technology, Inc.
To image a large scene (e.g., a panorama scene), a plurality of smaller images can be captured and later stitched together using software. FIG. 1 depicts an arrangement of three smaller images 101, 102, 103 which can be combined to form a larger composite image. The overlap areas 104, 105 of the smaller images are shaded with diagonal lines. Overlap area 104 corresponds to an area of the scene included in both image 101 and image 102. Similarly, overlap area 105 corresponds to an area of the scene included in both image 102 and image 103.
Smaller images must be carefully aligned to yield a satisfactory composite image. For example and again with reference to FIG. 1, if image 101 were not aligned with image 102, then an abrupt transition would be evident within overlap area 104 and image compositing software would have a difficult time properly stitching the images together. Conventionally, images are aligned to form a larger composite image after all of the smaller images have been captured, typically by software on a computer separate from the imager used to capture the smaller images. If adjacent smaller images cannot be sufficiently aligned (e.g., because the as-captured smaller images were vastly askew or do not share a sufficient overlap area), the resulting composite image may be unsatisfactory. Therefore, a method and system enabling a user to better align small images used to form a composite image is desirable.

Method and system for aiding user alignment for capturing partially overlapping digital images


Lens assemblies comprising, from an object side to an image side, a positive first lens element L1 with a first optical axis and a first lens width W1, a light folding element, a negative second lens element L2 and a plurality of additional lens elements L3-LN with a common second optical axis, and an image sensor having a sensor diagonal length (SDL), wherein the light folding element is configured to fold light from the first optical axis to the second optical axis, wherein the folded lens has an optical height OH, wherein SDL/OH>0.7 and wherein OH/W1<1.1.

Cameras with folded optics (or simply "folded camera modules" or "folded cameras") are known. In particular, such folded camera modules have been proposed for incorporation in electronic mobile devices such as cellphones or smartphones, e.g. as part of a multiple-camera structure that comprises two or more lens modules, where at least one of the lens modules is "folded". One example is a two-camera structure (also referred to as "dual-camera" or "dual-aperture camera") that may include one or two folded camera modules.
In a folded camera module structure, an optical path folding element (referred to hereinafter as "OPFE"), e.g. a prism or a mirror, is added to tilt the light propagation direction from a first direction (e.g. the direction perpendicular to the phone back surface) to a second direction (e.g. parallel to the phone back surface). If the folded camera module is part of a dual-aperture camera, this provides a folded optical path through one lens module (normally a "Tele" lens module). Such a camera is referred to herein as folded-lens dual-aperture camera or dual-aperture camera with folded lens.
As the dimensions of mobile devices (and in particular the thickness of devices such as smartphones) are being constantly reduced, compact camera dimensions are becoming an increasingly limiting factor on device thickness. Therefore, camera dimensions and in particular folded camera heights and lengths need to be further reduced.

Compact folded lenses with large apertures


A gain control circuit capable of keeping a constant gain without being affected by ambient temperature includes a variable resistor element connected to a power supply terminal, a control unit for controlling the resistance value of the variable resistor element on the basis of a gain control voltage, an amplifying transistor that is supplied with a power supply voltage through the variable resistor element, a current detecting resistor that is interposed between the variable resistor element and a collector of the amplifying transistor, and a voltage detecting unit that detects a drop dropped by the current detecting resistor. The dropped voltage detected by the voltage detecting unit is fed back to the control unit to control the resistance value of the variable resistor element such that a current flowing through the current detecting resistor does not vary.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gain control circuit suitable for, for example, a power amplifier of a mobile phone.
2. Description of the Related Art
A conventional gain control circuit shown in FIG. 3 has a differential circuit, which is an amplifying circuit having an emitter connected to the ground, incorporated thereinto. The amplifying circuit having the emitter connected to the ground includes a transistor 1, a variable resistor element 5, which is a PIN diode, and a resistor 7. Of a current flowing through an emitter of the transistor, a DC bias current is differentially branched to transistors 2 and 3. The emitter current depends on a transistor 4. An input signal is amplified by the transistor 1. Since the branch of signals at the emitter of the transistor 1 is prevented by a transistor 6, the gain is determined by the ratio of the resistor 7 on the collector side to the AC resistance of the variable resistor element 5.
The AC resistance of the variable resistor element 5 is changed in inverse proportion to a DC bias current flowing through the variable resistor element 5. Therefore, it is possible to change the gain of the transistor 1 with the DC bias current flowing through the variable resistor element 5.
The DC bias current flowing through the variable resistor element 5 is determined by a different between a control voltage applied to the base of the transistor 2 and the voltage of the base of the transistor 3 set by resistors 10 and 11. Even when the DC bias current flowing through the variable resistor element 5 is varied by the control voltage, the DC bias current flowing through the transistor 1, which is the sum of currents flowing through the transistors 2 and 3, is kept constant by resistors 12, 13, and 14 connected to the transistor 4.
According to the convention structure, it is possible to change the gain by varying the control voltage.
However, in this case, although the control voltage is constant, a variation in ambient temperature causes the DC bias current flowing through the variable resistor element 5 to be changed, resulting in a variation in the gain of the transistor 1.

Gain control circuit capable of reducing change in gain due to variation of ambient temperature


A pouring spout is mounted within an opening in a container. The spout includes an open channel or trough dimensioned for slidable engagement within the opening. The open channel is defined by a u-shaped wall extending between a mounting end and a discharge end. An end wall is formed at the discharge end, adjacent a discharge opening formed in the bottom surface of the u-shaped wall. A visible flow path is formed along the open channel, between the inlet to the discharge opening.

A number of forms of spouts are known for dispensing a flowable product from containers. For example, Anfossi U.S. Pat. No. 3,315,848 shows a dispensing cap that fits within the opening of a bottle. The cap includes an elongated tubular body and is moveable from a first position where the cap seals the bottle opening. A secondary discharge position is created when the cap is pulled partially out from the bottle opening. A flow channel is formed between an inlet on the side wall of the tube at the rear end of the cap and an outlet formed in the side of the tube at the projected end of the cap. The inlet and outlet are formed on opposite sides of a centerline of the tubular cap. A third position is also defined where the cap is extended to engage a stop on the rear end of the cap body with the inside wall of the bottle opening. In the third position the flow channel is closed.
Rochester U.S. Pat. No. 2,059,608 shows a dispensing can having a moveable carrier provided within a channel in the can. The carrier is normally positioned within the can and includes a central compartment that is open at the top to receive product. The compartment holds a single discharge dose. Movement of the carrier within the channel extends the carrier to a position outside of the can. When the compartment is extended outside of the channel, product is discharged through a bottom opening. The compartment is slid back inside the can for receiving a product refill.
Agerell et al U.S. Pat. No. 2,083,135 shows a slidable tray or trough member retained in a channel formed within the body of a container. In the retracted position, the tray is open to receive a measured product dose. Extending the tray from the channel exposes the product within the tray, while sealing the container opening by means of a rear wall on the tray.
Rieke U.S. Pat. No. 2,772,037 shows a container closure that extends to form a pouring spout. The closure fits within a fitment mounted in an opening within the container wall. The closure includes an end wall having a gripping flange thereon, an elongated tubular body and an open rear end. A circular discharge opening is provided in the wall of the body and is positioned adjacent the end wall. In the retracted position, the end wall seals the fitment and the container. In the extended position, a flow channel is formed from the rear opening, through the hollow body, to discharge opening. The circular wall of the body member is closed except for the discharge opening.
Banker U.S. Pat. No. 430,820 shows a spout structure similar in function to that in Rieke. A valve member is positioned at the end of the tapered hollow body for opening and closing the discharge opening.


A semiconductor device is provided, which may include: a well of a first conductivity type located within a substrate of a second conductivity type; a well terminal electrically coupled to the well; a floating gate disposed over the well; a floating gate terminal electrically coupled to the floating gate; a control gate disposed over the floating gate and electrically coupled to the well; and a control gate terminal electrically coupled to the control gate; wherein the floating gate terminal is configured to receive a first voltage; wherein the control gate terminal and the well terminal are configured to receive a second voltage.

Many integrated circuits may require capacitors for storing electric charge. The capacitors may for example be used for bridging gaps in supply with electricity, e.g. in a case of wireless devices, a lack of an electric field. An increasing number of applications may require storing electric charge, and the amount of charges to be stored may be increasing.

Semiconductor device and method of forming a semiconductor device


A technique is provided in which a shoe is decorated by placing a stick-on tattoo on the outer surface of the shoe. The present invention also provides a shoe having an outer portion made from one or more base materials, as well as a plain smooth plastic strip which is stitched around its entire circumference to the one or more base materials, so as to be surrounded on all edges by the one or more base materials. The present invention still further provides a method for decorating a shoe in which a first decal is applied to an outer surface the shoe, the first decal is then removed from the shoe, and a second decal is applied to the outer surface of the shoe. According to this aspect of the invention, the first decal is less than one millimeter thick, adheres well to smooth portions of the shoe, and can be removed with no more than moderate effort by only scratching with a fingernail even after adhering to a smooth portion of the shoe for more than one month.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to decorating shoes, such as sports shoes or children's shoes, and is specifically concerned with decorating a shoe with removable decals such as stick-on tattoos.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is quite common for manufacturers to include various decorative designs on the shoes that they manufacture. For example, children's shoes typically are available with designs on their uppers and/or on visible portions of their heels. Such designs frequently include one or more decorative patterns, cartoon characters, sports team logos, or the like. Shoes having such designs are frequently quite popular, as they allow children to express their individual tastes.
Unfortunately, most such designs are permanently printed or sewn onto the shoe. As a result, if the wearer wishes to display a different design on his shoes, he must then purchase a different shoe bearing the desired design. However, this can be costly and often impractical. Consequently, it would be desirable to have a technique that would permit a pair of shoes to be decorated once, and then when the owner's taste changes or when the owner merely tires of that design, he could remove the design and replace it with another.
In the past, various attempts have been made to achieve this goal. However, each of these conventional attempts has had problems that made them largely impractical. For instance, U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,276 concerns a shoe in which an insert having a design or logo is inserted in a frame on the shoe. Specifically, with this technique the insert is held in place using a combination of a lip portion of the frame and a pressure sensitive adhesive. However, this conventional technique has the disadvantage that the insert can be difficult for a child to place underneath the frame's lip. Furthermore, with this conventional technique the owner is constrained to use only inserts that are specifically sized for the shoe's insert frame.
Other techniques have used magnetic material (U.S. Pat. No. 5,740,557), velcro (U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,477), a combination of a frame having a lip and velcro (U.S. Pat. No. 5,800,900) and snaps (U.S. Pat. No. 5,673,501) to attach decorative articles to a shoe. However, magnetic material frequently does not hold well; a frame with a lip can be difficult to use, as noted above; and using velcro or snaps tends to make the decorative article protrude too far away from the shoe, increasing the likelihood that the decorative article will be pulled off if another object rubs against the shoe.
As a further alternative conventional attempt, U.S. Pat. No. 5,209,900 describes a shoe having a removable decorated shoelace cover, which is attached to the shoe by looping shoelaces through slots in the shoelace cover. However, with this technique the decorative article generally can only be placed over the shoelaces, thus severely limiting the shoe owner's ability to creatively decorate his shoes.
What is needed, therefore, is a more practical and easier to use technique for decorating and re-decorating shoes as desired.

Technique for decorating a shoe and a shoe decorated using the technique


The pattern line width of a coil is partially widened in a predetermined dimension and wiring patterns of a coil on the surface side and a coil on the rear side are arranged so as not to be in overlapped positions. Consequently, a direct current resistance of the coil can be reduced and an adverse influence by a self resonance of the coil on a communication can be reduced.

The present invention relates to a contactless IC card for receiving power and for receiving/transmitting signals from/to a reader/writer as an upper terminal by electromagnetic coupling. More particularly, the invention relates to the structure of an antenna coil in the contactless IC card.
In recent years, attention has been paid to an IC card having therein an IC such as a processor as a storage medium of electronic money or the like. There are two types of IC cards according to different signal transmitting methods. One is a contact IC card which receives power and clocks from a reader/writer as an upper terminal by using a contact point and processes a command from the reader/writer. The other is a contactless IC card 32 in which, as shown in FIG. 3, a coil 321 receives radio waves (electromagnetic waves) generated from a reader/writer 31 through a coil 311, transmitting and receiving data signals are generated, and a command transmitted from the reader/writer 31 is processed.
The contactless IC card includes a contact type having the communication distance of about few mm to 10 mm, a proximity type having the communication distance of tens mm, and a remote type having the communication distance of tens cm to few m. Among them, the contact IC card has the international standard ISO10536-2 in which the location and shape of the coils and the electric characteristics are defined.
According to the standard ISO10536-2, as shown in FIG. 3, page 2, ISO/IEC 10536-2:1995(E), two coils are arranged at an interval of 22 mm in a card and the inner size of the coils is defined as (11.6 mm.times.4 mm).
In order to reduce thickness, an IC card in which antenna coils are formed by printing a conductive paste (for example, silver paste) or the like on a PET film is used. As conventional techniques of the IC card obtained by printing the conductive paste, there are techniques described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-216570, Japanese Patent Application No. 7-120237, and the like.
The method of forming the antenna coil of the IC card by printing the conductive paste (for example, a silver paste) or the like on a PET (polyethylene terephthalate) film of the conventional techniques have a problem that the conductance, that is, the value of resistance of the coil is larger than that of a coil made of a general copper wire and that of an etching coil on a printed board by one digit or more.
Specifically, in a coil having about 20 turns, although a direct current resistance of a coil formed by copper foil etching is 10 .OMEGA. or less, the resistance of a thick film printed coil formed by printing the silver paste or the like is 100 to 200 .OMEGA.. When power is received and a current flows, if the direct current resistance of the coil is large, the coil itself consumes the power. Consequently, a loss occurs and power efficiency deteriorates. It is therefore important to reduce the resistance of the thick film printed coil by widening the pattern line width of the coil as much as possible.
The coil is printed on the PET film in order to reduce the thickness of the card in the conventional techniques. When coils are printed on both of the surface and rear surface in order to increase the number of turns of the coils, there is a problem such that the antenna coils themselves have a self resonant frequency by a floating capacity (capacitor) occurring between the coils on the surface and rear surface and L (reactance) of the coils and an adverse influence may be exerted on a transmission frequency band. Specifically, the self resonant frequency by the floating capacity when the silver paste coils each having about 20 turns are formed on the PET film having the thickness of 50 .mu.m is few MHz to tens MHz. Since the power and the communication frequency of the contact IC card conforming to ISO10536 are defined as 4.91 MHz, the self resonant frequency is a problem.


A DVD auto-changer includes a controller, and in the DVD auto-changer, an all-repeat-mode that a plurality of disks stocked are exchanged to be successively reproduced can be set. The controller determines whether the all-repeat-mode is set or not, and unconditionally reproduces a story portion upon exchanging the disks when the all-repeat-mode is set. In other words, the controller obtains a start address of the story portion, and reproduces it from the start address.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to DVD auto-changers, more particularly, to a DVD auto-changer capable of setting an all-repeat-mode in which a plurality of disks stocked are exchanged to be successively reproduced.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An example of this kind of a conventional DVD auto-changer is disclosed in a Japanese Patent Laying-open No.8-45250 (G 11B 27/10, 17/24, 19/02) laid-open on Feb. 16, 1996. In this DVD auto-changer, by previously reading-in management information of all the disks stocked, the kind of disks is identified, and when a story portion of one work is divided among a plurality of disks, for example, these disks are automatically exchanged in a proper order, and reproduced.
However, there are some disks set to make a user select a reproducing method, etc. by displaying a menu screen at first. In the case of these disks, upon exchanging the disks, since the menu screen is displayed, reproduction of the story portion is stopped along the way. Accordingly, each time the disks are exchanged, the user has to execute a select operation, and it gives the user a bother in operating. Since the reproduction of the story portion is stopped along the way upon exchanging the disks, in the case the story portion of one work is divided into two or more sheets of disk, ease of viewing is remarkably impaired.

DVD auto-changer capable of setting all-repeat-mode


A method and apparatus for interfacing includes outputting at least one object to a display embodying a three-dimensional space and determining a radius of rotation of the at least one object, based on a distance between the at least one object and a rotation axis in the three-dimensional space. The method and apparatus further include controlling the at least one object to rotate around the rotation axis based on the radius of rotation when a rotation command for the at least one object is received.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and an apparatus for interfacing, and more particularly, to a method and an apparatus for interfacing, which supports rotation of objects in a three-dimensional space.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the conventional art, icons are generally shown on a display representing a two-dimensional space and are moved in the two-dimensional space of the display.
However, as displays representing a three-dimensional space come into wide use, a technology for moving icons in a three-dimensional space is required.


An improved handgrip and stirrup support device for bareback horse riding. The device comprises a handgrip having opposing arms to which are attached at an angle side members having openings therein. The handgrip is improved by being made generally straight and elongated and by having ridges formed into the handgrip. The handgrip is further improved by having opposing arms to increase the elevation of the handgrip over the side members. The side members are improved by having a greater surface area. The openings in the side members are improved so that a hand can enter the openings to adjust a girth and so that a breastplate can be attached to the device. The improvements enable the device to be used with any horse and increase the security and comfort of the device for both the horse and the rider. In another embodiment, the rigid handgrip is removably secured to the flexible riding pad by the stirrup straps wherein the assembled combination can be integrally manipulated as a unit like a more traditional saddle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to an improved handgrip and stirrup support device for bareback horse riding.
2. Discussion of the Background
Horseback riding has long enjoyed wide popularity. Those who ride for leisure or for sport often prefer the challenge and the feel of riding "bareback." However, while riding without a saddle makes riding more enjoyable to many, it poses certain difficulties for the horse and rider that can be disadvantageous. Typically, a rider with no stirrups or handgrip must grip the horse very tightly with his legs in order to maintain his balance. While this gripping helps to keep the rider from falling off the horse, or from being thrown, it can be very tiring after sustained periods of riding. In addition, it can be uncomfortable for the horse. Nor does it provide complete security to even the most experienced riders, should the horse buck or rear unexpectedly. Stability for the rider is particularly important, and especially where the safety of a novice, a child, or a handicapped person is concerned.
The type of apparatus that has been previously used to help surmount some of these problems associated with bareback riding is shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,506,496, 4,905,458, 5,048,272, 5,187,924, and 6,568,940.

Handgrip and stirrup support for bareback horse riding


One embodiment of the present invention relates to a network system having a first device, a second device, and a third device. The first device is coupled to a far end of a first network. The second device coupled to a far end of a second network. The third device is coupled to a near end of the second network. The third device provides a state transition request via the second network to the second device and the second device causes a transition of state in the first device.

Broadband communication services are increasingly present in households. Such services provide high speed Internet services, high speed video services, streaming audio services, and/or telephone services. Generally speaking, digital subscriber lines (DSL) facilitates deliver of these and other services to subscribers in various households. The DSL services are typically deployed using legacy/conventional twisted pair cables that were installed over the last few decades as part of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) that were, originally, designed to carry plain old telephone services (POTS).
DSL services typically involve a central office (CO) that provides communication services with subscribers via customer premise equipment (CPE) located at individual households. The CO equipment or modem communicates with the CPE modem in order to provide the DSL services. Subscribers are then able to receive DSL services via their home based CPE modem. In many cases, these DSL services include voice-telephony services and the subscribers no longer utilize POTS.

Methods for controlling a power state of a network entity


The invention relates to an electronic arrangement for dynamically and automatically controlling the usage of software components in connection with a network function virtualization (NFV) platform in a communications network comprising a mobile network, the arrangement comprising at least one data interface for transferring data, at least one processing unit for processing instructions and other data, and memory for storing the instructions and other data, said at least one processing unit being configured, in accordance with the stored instructions, to cause: obtaining first information indicative of instantiated virtualized network functions (VNF) and licences associated therewith, and second information indicative of a VNF licence that is available for allocation to an instance of a related VNF in accordance with terms and conditions as stipulated by the VNF licence; determining, based on the obtained first and second information, whether a licence currently allocated to an existing instance of a VNF, or the existing VNF instance itself, is to be replaced with the available licence, or with a new instance of said related VNF associated with the available licence, respectively, wherein a number of selected criteria are utilized to compare the currently allocated licence with the available licence having regard to the concerned terms and conditions as well as network resource information including usage information regarding the existing instance of the VNF based on data obtained from the network; and responsive to a positive determination, allocating the available licence to the existing VNF instance or to said new instance of said related VNF that is instantiated, the licence currently allocated to the existing VNF instance being released and in the latter case also the existing VNF instance being de-instantiated.

The concepts of software-defined networking (SDN) and NFV have gained severe interest during the past few years as they enable creating software-based networks that are more programmable, scalable, and affordable than traditional networks based on more or less specialized hardware.
NFV is basically about virtualizing tasks previously done in hardware by translating various networking tasks as load balancing, routing, and intrusion detection and prevention into software executable in a cloud on virtual machines using commodity hardware, whereas SDN is, in turn, about translating the associated control plane for managing virtualized network functions (VNF) into software. NFV and SDN are often considered as mutually exclusive, but also combined solutions incorporating aspects of both concepts have been set forth.
ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute) has established standards for designing and implementing NFV systems. For example, ETSI GS NFV-MAN 001 NFV; Management and Orchestration, V1.1.1 (2014-12), incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, describes the management and orchestration framework required for the provisioning of VNFs and related operations.
In traditional networks, network function (NF) implementations are usually tightly coupled with the infrastructure they run on, while NFV decouples software implementations of NF's from the computation, storage, and networking resources used for their realization. The virtualisation environment insulates the NFs from those resources through a virtualisation layer.
FIG. 2 represents, at 200, Network Functions Virtualisation Management and Orchestration (NFV-MANO) architectural framework as defined by the ETSI for managing the resources of NFVI (NFV Infrastructure) and orchestrating their allocation as needed by various network services (NS) and VNFs 210 used to implement them. One or more VNFs and/or Physical Network Functions (PNFs) may be connected to realize an NS. The framework includes computing, networking, storage, and virtual machine (VM) resources. The VNF Manager (VNFM) 208 manages the life cycles of VNFs. In addition, the NFV Orchestrator (NFVO) 204 manages the life cycles of network services utilizing the VNFs.
In more detail, VIM (Virtualized Infrastructure Manager) 212 takes care of managing NFVI resources in its target domain (there may be many in the overall NFV architecture) by creating, maintaining and deleting virtual machines (VM) from available physical resources, creating and maintaining virtual links, virtual networks, sub-nets, and ports to support the management of VNFFGs (VNF Forwarding Graph, chaining VNFs to establish desired end-to-end services), maintaining software images for VNFs 210, collecting performance and fault data, and managing catalogs of virtualized resources, resource configurations (e.g. virtual CPU configurations, types of network connectivity, etc.) or templates, for example.
NFVI 214 encompasses the actual hardware (e.g. compute, storage, and networking) and software (e.g. hypervisors) components that together provide the infrastructure resources where VNFs 210 are ultimately deployed for execution. The NFVI 214 may also include partially virtualised NFs. Examples of such partially virtualised network functions are related to "white box" switches, hardware load balancers, DSL Access Multiplexers (DSLAMs), Broadband Remote Access Server (BRAS), Wi-Fi access points, CPEs, etc., for which a certain part of the functionality is virtualised and may thus be in the scope of NFV-MANO 200 while other parts can be built in silicon (PNF, physical network function) due to e.g. physical constraints (e.g. digital interfaces to analogue physical channels) or vendor design choices.
Element Management (EM) 206 is responsible for the FCAPS (Fault, Configuration, Accounting, Performance and Security management) for a VNF 210. The EM 206 may collaborate with a VNF Manager (VNFM) 208 to perform those functions that require exchange of information regarding the NFVI resources associated with the VNF 210.
The VNFM 208 manages the life cycle of VNFs 210 by setting them up, maintaining, scaling and ultimately terminating them, for instance. It 208 also takes care of FCAPs of VNFs for the virtual part. A single VNFM 208 may manage multiple VNFs or just one. For example, when a VNF is to be instantiated (or scaled), the VNFM consults a corresponding VNF Descriptor (VNFD), to perform the following:                allocate and configure NFVI resources (compute, storage and network resources);        load or install the software components of the VNF; for example, using a repository of software images provided in a VNF Package;        set up virtualized network connectivity between the VNF components and other network elements; and        connect the VNF to the operations support system (OSS) layer and manage and monitor it during its lifetime.
OSS/BSS 202 refers to the combination of the operator's other operations and e.g. business support functions that are not otherwise explicitly captured in the shown architectural framework 200, but are expected to have information exchanges therewith. OSS/BSS functions 202 may provide management and orchestration of legacy systems and may have full end to end visibility of services provided by legacy network functions in an operator's network.
NFV Orchestrator (NFVO) 204 handles the automatic management of network services' life cycle and of global NFV Infrastructure resources potentially across multiple data centers.
The NFVO 204 may connect, or chain together, different functions to create end-to-end services in the NFV environment. In addition, the NFV Orchestrator manages NFV infrastructures e.g. among multiple VIMs 212 and coordinates resource requests. In practice, the NFVO 204 generates, maintains and deletes network services of one or more VNFs through communication with VNFM 208 and VIM 212. An end-to-end service of multiple VNFs from one or more vendors may be thereby created by communicating with the respective VNFMs 208.
The NFVO 204 on-boards various descriptors. For example, so-called NSDs, VNFFGDs, and VLDs, which are described in more detail hereinbelow, are "on-boarded" into the NS Catalog 204a, whereas VNFD is on-boarded in the VNF Catalog 204b, as part of a VNF Package including the VNFD and e.g. software images. Also PNFDs (physical network function descriptor) can be on-boarded.
In connection with NFV, on-boarding may, as a term, generally refer herein to registering a target entity such as a network service in a corresponding catalog, typically incorporating storing a related indication such as a deployment template (e.g. NSD) therein, and ensuring that the necessary related templates describing the entity such as NS are on-boarded (duly received and registered) as well. On-boarding may further involve e.g. data validation and/or harmonization, or "normalization". Responsive to receipt of an actual service order, actual instantiation of the on-boarded entity may be then then triggered.
Network Services (NS) Catalog 204a indeed refers to a repository of all on-boarded Network Services, enabling the creation and management of the NS deployment templates with reference to e.g. a Network Service Descriptor (NSD) including a plurality of information elements that enable the NFVO 204 to instantiate (deploy) the concerned NS formed by VNFFG(s), VNF(s), PNF(s), and/or VL(s). The information elements of the descriptor contain references other descriptors, which describe components that are part of that Network Service, including e.g. VNFFGD(s), VNFD(s), possible PNFD(s) and VLD(s) utilized by the NS.
A VNFFGD (VNFG Forwarding Graph Descriptor) is a deployment template which describes a topology (VNFFG) of the Network Service, or a portion of the Network Service, by referencing VNFs and PNFs and Virtual Links that connect them, i.e. it defines a service chain of VNFs to determine the service. VNFs contain connection points by which VNFs may be connected together by establishing virtual links (VL) therebetween. The VNFFG defined by the VNFFGD contains a Network Forwarding Path (NFP) element that defines a sequence of actions that are to be performed, for example, by a collection of VNFs, to provide the requested service.
A Virtual Link Descriptor (VLD) describes in more detail e.g. the resource requirements that are needed for a link between VNFs, PNFs and endpoints of the Network Service, which could be met by various link options that are available in the NFVI).
Onboarding of an NS thus incorporates registering the NS, based on the obtained service specification data, in the catalog 204a. For example, instantiation of a network service is described by a related VNFFG, which defines the set of network functions that are required to execute the requested service.
A VNFD is a deployment template which describes a VNF in terms of its deployment and operational behaviour requirements. It is used e.g. by the VNFM in the process of VNF instantiation and lifecycle management of a VNF instance. The information provided in the VNFD is also used by the NFVO to manage and orchestrate Network Services and virtualised resources on the NFVI. The VNFD may also contain connectivity, interface and KPIs requirement information. As mentioned above, the VNFD is on-boarded in a VNF Catalog, as part of a VNF Package.
VNF Catalog 204b represents the repository of (all) on-boarded VNFs in terms of VNF Packages, thus supporting the creation and management of the VNF Package (including e.g. VNF Descriptor (VNFD), software images, manifest files, etc.) via interface operations provided by the NFVO 204. Both NFVO 204 and VNFM 208 can query the VNF Catalog 204b for finding and retrieving a VNFD, to support different operations (e.g. validation or checking instantiation feasibility).
FIG. 3 illustrates the structure of one example of an end-to-end service incorporating at least one network service, NS 304, wherein the related VNFFG(s) 308 defined by corresponding VNFFGD(s) describe a topology of the NS or at least a portion of the NS, by referencing VNFs 210, possible PNFs 302 and Virtual Links 310 that connect them between the end points 306.
To construct a desired end-to-end, E2E, service, multiple Network Services can be combined with reference to combining e.g. mobile radio access network service with mobile core network service. For clarity reasons, only a single NS has been depicted in the figure but there could thus be several interconnected, even nested, network services in a common service chain to establish the desired E2E service.
Reverting to FIG. 2, NFV Instances repository 204c may hold information of all VNF instances and Network Service instances deployed (realized). Each VNF instance is represented by a VNF record, and each NS instance is represented by an NS record. Those records are updated during the lifecycle of the respective instances, reflecting changes resulting from execution of NS lifecycle management operations and/or VNF lifecycle management operations. This supports NFVO's and VNFM's responsibilities in maintaining the integrity and visibility of the NS instances, respectively VNF instances, and the relationship between them.
NFVI Resources repository 204d may hold information about available/reserved/allocated NFVI resources as abstracted by the VIM across operator's Infrastructure Domains, thus supporting information useful for resources reservation, allocation and monitoring purposes. As such, the NFVI Resources repository plays an important role in supporting NFVO's Resource Orchestration and governance role, by allowing NFVI reserved/allocated resources to be tracked against the NS and VNF instances associated with those resources (e.g. number of VMs used by a certain VNF instance at any time during its lifecycle).
In the light of the foregoing, onset of virtualisation in telecommunication networks will drive the proliferation of software assets deployed into data centers through new real-time automated processes. High levels of automation and scale are necessary to meet the elastic nature of the network as it meets the demands of the consumer/corporate services.
As being appreciated by a person skilled in the art, software licences are generally applicable in various functional domains of network architectures based on NFV with reference e.g. to the MANO, VNF, and NFVI.
A service provider may be deploying VNFs from many VNF providers, or VNF/software vendors, with various terms and agreement for use, for instance. Runtime VNFs instances are thus to be automatically managed and orchestrated by the MANO, preferably based on applicable licensing policies and business models. As the NFV generally aims for flexibility, scalability and resulting benefits in terms of e.g. cost savings, intelligent, rapid management of VNF licences is of major importance. Such management should advantageously not negatively affect the service availability or continuity, not beyond the constraints set by the concerned licence terms anyway.
While actual procurement or management of NFV related licences is not within the scope of e.g. general ETSI standardization regarding the NFV MANO, they have still published a document ETSI GR NFV-EVE 010 "NFV Licensing Management; Report on Licence Management for NFV", which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety, discussing the features usually considered advantageous if not mandatory within the MANO framework to support harmonized licence management for NFV, including recommendations by way of VNF licence use cases regarding support for licence management within the NFV architectural and NFV-MANO frameworks. Functional components in charge of licence management such as specifically VNF licence management should be provided in the network and exploited, e.g. by the MANO, to enable the life cycle of each VNF instance to be managed also according to the licence management policies applicable in addition to further requirements, objectives, and constraints.
NFV licences such as VNF licences will impact on-boarding and subsequent management of concerned VNF Packages. The effect of VNF licences needs to be considered in various VNF instance related operations, such as life cycle management, including instantiation (deployment) and de-instantiation. VNF licence information will thus translate into runtime policies for operations of VNF instances.
Publicly available commercial solutions and even research papers for managing NFV licences such as VNF licences are very limited or basically non-existent. Features going beyond basic licence allocation or deallocation have not been suggested in more detail.
Accordingly, in order to manage NFV infrastructure including NS's and VNFs a service provider would appreciate having an accurate record of e.g. the assets and licences deployed, the software vendors/assets available, commercial contracts and procurement procedures, audit/settlement processes, support/maintenance agreements, migration, and real-time insight/optimisation tools for successfully dealing with such.

Method and arrangement for licence management in NFV network environment


A method, computer program product and system for restoring previously un-backed up data during a system restore. A computing system may include a locked partition in its storage medium to store an alternate operating system and backed-up files. The alternate operating system may determine which files have been modified since the most recent backup and run a virus scan on those modified files. The alternate operating system may copy the modified files with no detected viruses as well as those modified files with a detected virus but cleaned by the virus scan. The backup files in the locked partition that have been modified since the most recent backup operation may be replaced with these uncorrupted modified files. In this manner, the system may be able to recover files since the most recent backup while ensuring at least in part that the restored files do not contain any viruses.

To protect data information in a data processing system from being lost, there is a need for a regular process in which the data is saved or backed up on a data storage media where the data storage media may be located either internally or externally from the data processing system. This regular process of saving data is often referred to as performing a "backup."
In the case of files being corrupted due to hardware trouble and malfunctions or accidental infection by a computer virus or a computer worm, the data processing system may be restored to the state of the last backup using the back up files. However, upon restoring the data processing system to the state of the last backup, any files that have been modified since the last backup may not be able to be recovered.
Further, it is possible that one of the backed up files unknowingly contained a virus or a worm. Consequently, when the data processing system is restored using the backed up files, the system may still be contaminated and the files may still be corrupted.
Therefore, there is a need in the art to be able to recover files that have been modified since the last backup as well as a need in the art to ensure at least in part that the restored files do not contain any viruses or worms.

Safely restoring previously un-backed up data during system restore of a failing system


An apparatus and method for controlling wafer temperature and environment is provided. The apparatus includes a batch processing fixture for batch processing wafers at a first elevated temperature. The batch of wafers is not substantially ramped in temperature within the batch processing fixture. The apparatus also includes a single wafer processing apparatus for rapidly ramping temperature of a wafer of the batch from the first elevated temperature wherein a uniform temperature across the wafer is maintained during the ramping. Another embodiment of the apparatus (10) includes an RTP chamber (20) having an inert or reducing environment and that includes a pedestal (24) for holding a single wafer (16) and a heater unit (22) arranged so as to uniformly and rapidly heat the single wafer. The apparatus also includes a cooling chamber (30) having an inert or reducing environment and located adjacent the RTP chamber and selectively open thereto, and includes a pedestal (34) for holding the single wafer, a first loading chamber (40) having an inert or reducing environment and located adjacent the cooling chamber and selectively opened thereto, and having a cassette (44) for holding one or more wafers. The apparatus also includes a thermal processing chamber (50), such as an LPCVD furnace, located adjacent the loading chamber and arranged to receive the cassette so as to perform a thermal process of the wafers in the cassette.

The present invention relates to the processing of wafers in semiconductor manufacturing. More particularly it relates to apparatus and methods for eliminating unwanted native oxide growth when transporting wafers in a semiconductor manufacturing line. It also relates to preventing wafer slip during heating or cooling steps.
The manufacturing of semiconductor devices, such as integrated circuits and the like, involves subjecting a silicon wafer to numerous process steps using a variety of different apparatus. Great care is required to ensure that the wafer is not exposed to unwanted influences, like dust particles, particular chemical reactants, or unwanted extremes in temperature and humidity. Accordingly, the wafer is typically transported in a box to each different apparatus in a clean-room environment which has a controlled atmosphere.
One of the more daunting problems in the processing of silicon wafers in semiconductor manufacturing is the growth of unwanted oxide on the wafer surface while the wafer is being transported between processing apparatus. For many of the process steps, a pure silicon surface is required. Yet, when such a surface is exposed to air, a native oxide layer inevitably forms thereon.
This problem is presently addressed by subjecting a wafer either to a dry thermal process in a reducing environment or a wet chemical dip immediately before the processing step which requires an oxide free wafer surface. However, in the case of a dry thermal reduction, the process is typically performed at temperatures of about 1000xc2x0 C. or greater.
Unfortunately, such prolonged exposure to high temperature can result in excess diffusion of the structures formed in or on the silicon, and prevents the formation of shallow junctions, which are desirable in state-of-the-art devices. In other cases, when the next process is an LPCVD furnace deposition or anneal, there is presently no way to perform the oxide reducing step and then transport the wafer to the LPCVD furnace without exposing the wafer to air. Accordingly, during the transportation step, an oxide layer, whose thickness is proportional to the amount of time exposed to air, is formed.
Correspondingly, in the case of wet surface cleaning, a time window must be imposed between the wet process and the subsequent processing step requiring the clean surface in order to avoid formation of a native oxide.
Another problem associated with wafer processing is called xe2x80x9cwafer slip,xe2x80x9d which is a displacement of the crystal planes when a sufficiently large thermal gradient is created across a wafer. As LPCVD and oxidation/anneal furnaces are batch systems, there is no active cross-wafer temperature control. During a heating step of a batch of wafers, because heat flows from heating coils located outside the batch of wafers, outside edges of the wafers heat up before center regions of the wafers. Similarly, during cooling, outside edges of the wafers cool before center regions. The uneven heating or cooling provides the thermal stress which can induce wafer slip if the magnitude of thermal stress is sufficient. Therefore, batch apparatus can induce wafer slip if ramping up or ramping down the temperature is performed at too high a rate of temperature change. Certain single wafer rapid thermal process tools (RTP) address this problem by providing cross-wafer temperature control during temperature ramp-up and ramp-down. In some cases this is accomplished with a thermal chuck contacting the entire back surface of the wafer that provides for more uniform heating or cooling. Alternatively, individual lamps or groups of lamps can be controlled to provide for more uniform cross wafer heating or cooling. However, as mentioned above, the RTP tools are single wafer tools which can greatly reduce wafer throughput for processes that require a very long hot process step, such as a long anneal, deposition, or oxidation.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,380,682 and 5,259,881 issued to Edwards et al. (xe2x80x9cthe Edwards patentsxe2x80x9d) disclose a wafer processing cluster tool having a wafer batch pre-heating module that preheats all wafers in a batch. At the completion of the pre-heating, the wafers are transported through a load-lock one by one. A rapid thermal anneal station then heats the wafer to high temperature.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,732 to Yokokawa (the ""732 patent) discloses a heat treatment apparatus for wafers which includes a load-lock chamber, and which allows for flow of treatment gas within the environment.
The present invention relates to the processing of wafers in semiconductor manufacturing, and in particular relates to apparatus and methods for eliminating unwanted native oxide growth when transporting wafers in a semiconductor manufacturing line and preventing wafer slip during heating or cooling steps of a particular process. This is accomplished in this invention by processing at fixed temperature in a batch mode and ramping temperature in a single wafer processing mode. In one embodiment a rapid thermal cleaning process is combined with a batch oxidation, deposition, or anneal process.
Accordingly, a first aspect of the invention is a multi-chamber tool comprising a first hot process chamber and a second hot process chamber. The tool also includes a temperature controlled wafer handler for transporting a wafer from the first hot process chamber to the second hot process chamber.
A second aspect of the invention is a system for processing wafers comprising a first chamber for single wafer processing and a second chamber for batch processing. The tool also includes a wafer handler system for moving a wafer from the first chamber to the second chamber.
A third aspect of the invention is a wafer processing tool, comprising a batch processing fixture for batch processing a plurality of wafers at a first elevated temperature. The batch of wafers is not cooled from that elevated temperature within the batch processing fixture. The tool also includes a first single wafer processing apparatus for rapidly cooling a wafer of the batch of wafers without first heating the wafer from the first elevated temperature. The single wafer processing apparatus includes a chuck to maintain a uniform temperature across the wafer during cooling.
A fourth aspect of the invention is a wafer processing tool, comprising a batch processing fixture for batch processing a plurality of wafers at a first elevated temperature. The batch of wafers is not substantially ramped in temperature within the batch processing fixture. The tool also includes a single wafer processing apparatus for rapidly ramping temperature of a wafer of the batch of wafers from the first elevated temperature. The single wafer processing apparatus also includes a chuck to maintain a uniform temperature across the wafer during the ramping.
A fifth aspect of the invention is a method of processing wafers. The method includes the step of providing a batch of wafers in a batch processing fixture for batch processing the wafers at a first elevated temperature. The next step is moving a wafer of the batch to a single wafer processing apparatus. The next step is rapidly cooling the wafer, wherein a uniform temperature across the wafer is maintained during the cooling. There is no rapid heating step between the batch processing step and the rapid cooling step.
A sixth aspect of the invention is a method of processing wafers. The method includes the step of providing a batch of wafers in a batch processing fixture for batch processing the wafers at a first elevated temperature. The batch of wafers is not substantially ramped in temperature within the batch processing fixture. Next a wafer of the batch is moved to a single wafer processing apparatus for ramping in temperature from the elevated temperature. The next step is rapidly ramping the temperature of the wafer from the first elevated temperature, wherein a uniform temperature across the wafer is maintained during the ramping.
A seventh aspect of the invention is a method of processing wafers. The method comprises the steps of first, placing a wafer on a pedestal and rapidly heating the wafer in a reducing environment to remove oxide from the wafer, then removing the wafer from the pedestal and placing the wafer in an inert or reducing environment in a cassette surrounded by an isothermal chamber, then, when the cassette has a desired number of wafers stored therein, thermally processing the wafers stored therein, then removing the wafers from the cassette and placing each wafer in an inert or reducing environment on a pedestal pre-heated to match the temperature of the wafer, and then finally rapidly cooling the wafer.
An eighth aspect of the invention is a method of processing wafers. The method comprises the step of placing each wafer one at a time on a pedestal and rapidly heating the wafer in a reducing environment to remove oxide from the wafer. Next cooling each wafer one at a time to a predetermined temperature in an inert or reducing environment. Then transferring each wafer one at a time to a cassette located in an inert or reducing environment so that each wafer in the cassette is at substantially the same temperature. Then thermally processing the wafers in the cassette.

Apparatus and method for controlling wafer environment between thermal clean and thermal processing

International Business Machines Corporation


The fading correlation monitor 103 detects an angle spread of the communication terminal apparatus 200-1 and decides whether the angle spread has a larger or smaller relationship with a preset threshold value. When the estimated angle spread is smaller than the threshold value, the interference wave is suppressed by carrying out directive reception which is carried out by an AAA receiver 106 as well as performing directive transmission which is carried out in a transmitting circuit 122.While, when the estimated angle spread is larger than the predetermined value, the distortion of the signals due to the fading is compensated by carrying out diversity receiving which is carried out in a diversity receiver 107 as well as performing diversity transmission which is carried out in a diversity transmitter 123.On account of this, even when the fading correlation is small, it is possible to carry out a radio communication with a satisfactory communication quality.

In digital radio communication, adaptive array antenna (hereinafter, referred to as "AAA") technology which adaptively controls the directivity of a plurality of antenna elements by adding weight to the antenna output is used. In the AAA technology, it is possible to suppress the interfering waves by adaptively controlling the directivity utilizing the fact that the directions of arrival of signals are different from each other. Accordingly, the AAA technology is preferred as a method for suppressing the interfering waves.
Referring to FIG. 1, the formation of directivity pattern in a radio base station apparatus which utilizes the AAA technology will be described. FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a transmitted radio wave which is transmitted from a communication terminal apparatus arrives at a radio base station apparatus provided by two antenna elements.
The radio wave transmitted from communication terminal apparatus is received by radio base station apparatus via its respective antenna elements 31 and 32. In this case, the received radio wave 34 which is received by the antenna element 32 introduces a larger phase rotation compared with the received radio wave 33 which is received by the antenna element 31, since the former travels through path difference L longer than that of the latter.
The radio base station apparatus monitors and measures the difference between the phase rotation of the received radio wave 33 and the phase rotation of the received radio wave 34 (difference in phase rotation). Since the difference in phase rotation and the direction of arrival of the received radio wave always related to each other when the fading correlation is high, the radio base station apparatus estimates the direction of arrival of the received radio wave based on the measured difference in phase rotation, and generates a directivity pattern for suppressing the multi-path and other users interference.
However, when the fading correlation between the received radio wave 33 and the received radio wave 34 is small and therefore the fading itself to which the received radio wave 33 and the received radio wave 34 are subjected to in the respective paths is different, the difference in phase rotation measured by the radio base station apparatus includes not only the difference due to the difference in the travelling paths but also the difference due to the difference of the fading itself. Consequently, when the fading correlation is small, the difference in phase rotation measured by the radio base station apparatus and the direction of arrival of the received radio wave do not always related to each other. Thus, since the direction of arrival (direction of angle . in FIG. 1) of the received radio wave can not be estimated correctly when the fading correlation is small, there exists a problem that desired directivity can not be correctly generated leading to deterioration of the communication quality.

Radio base station apparatus and radio communication method

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.