A ceramic body that includes between about 15 volume percent and about 35 volume percent of a boron carbide irregular-shaped phase, and at least about 50 volume percent alumina, and the ceramic body has a fracture toughness (KIC, 18.5 Kg Load E&C) greater than or equal to about 4.5 MPa·m0.5.

The disclosure of the present patent application pertains to a ceramic body that contains alumina and boron carbide, as well as a method of making the same and a method of using the same. More specifically, the disclosure of the present patent application pertains to a ceramic body (for use as a ceramic cutting insert or a substrate for a coated ceramic cutting insert or a ceramic wear part) that contains alumina and a boron carbide phase, as well as a method (e.g., hot pressing method or a pressureless sintering-HIPping method) of making the same and a method of using the same.
Ceramic materials have been used as cutting inserts and as wear members for a number of years. These ceramic materials include silicon nitride or silicon nitride-based ceramics, SiAlON or SiAlON-based ceramics, and alumina or alumina-based ceramics. One of the first ceramic cutting inserts was an alumina cutting insert. See Dörre et al., "Alumina, Processing, Properties, and Applications", Springer-Verlag (1984), pages 254-265. The alumina cutting insert was essentially over 99.7 percent alumina. Later on, the alumina ceramic was modified by the addition of titanium carbide. See Whitney, "Modern Ceramic Cutting Tool Materials", Presentation at October, 1982 ASM Metals Congress in St. Louis, Mo.
Over the passage of time, there have been a number of other additives used in conjunction with alumina to form an alumina-based ceramic cutting insert. Examples of the additives include the use of silicon carbide whiskers such as the ceramics that appear to be disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,277 to Rhodes et al. and U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,757 to Rhodes et al. In an alumina-SiC whisker ceramic, the Rhodes et al. patents appears to show that the (KIC) fracture toughness increased (4.15 to 8.9 MPa·m0.5) as the SiC whisker content increased from 0 to 24 volume percent. The Rhodes et al. patents then appear to show that the fracture toughness decreased (8.9 to 7.6 MPa·m0.5) as the SiC whisker content increased from 24 to 35 volume percent. European Patent No. 0 335 602 B1 to Lauder appears to disclose the use of silicon carbide whiskers in alumina along with the addition of additives like zirconia, yttria, hafnia, magnesia, lanthana or other rare earth oxides, silicon nitride, titanium carbide, titanium nitride or mixtures thereof. The use of silicon carbide whiskers along with alumina is described in Billman et al., "Machining with Al2O3—SiC Whisker Cutting Tools", Ceramic Bulletin, Vol. 67, No. 6 (1988) pages 1016-1019U.S. Pat. No. 4,343,909 to Adams et al. appears to disclose the use of zirconia and titanium diboride along with alumina (and a sintering aid). U.S. Pat. No. 4,543,343 to Iyori et al. discloses the use of titanium boride and zirconia along with alumina.
In the article written by Liu and Ownby (Liu et al. entitled "Physical Properties of Alumina-Boron Carbide Whisker/Particle Composites" Ceramic Eng. Sci. Proc. 12 (7-8) pp. 1245-1253 (1991) there is a disclosure of a ceramic comprising alumina and boron carbide particles. In this regard, the Liu et al. composites appear to disclose alumina (A16SG from Alcoa)-boron carbide particle (0.2 to 7 μm particles size) composites along with boron carbide that is present in amounts of 5.0, 10.0, 15.0 and 20.0 volume percent (the balance equals alumina). The examples were either sintered at 1500° C. or 1600° C. for 3 hours or hot-pressed under the hot pressing parameters that comprised a temperature equal to 1520° C. for a duration equal to 20 minutes. The sintered composites had a density less than 80 percent of the theoretical density. The hot pressed ceramics had a density of greater than 98 percent of the theoretical density. The hot pressing pressure seems to be absent from the disclosures of this Liu et al. article.
This Liu et al. article appears to show that the fracture toughness (measured by the Chevron Notched Short Rod (CNSR) technique) improves from 0 volume percent boron carbide particles to 5.0 volume percent boron carbide particles wherein the fracture toughness of the 5.0 volume percent boron carbide particle-alumina ceramic equals about 5.2 MPa·m0.5. However, the fracture toughness drops off at boron carbide particle contents greater than 5.0 volume percent. More specifically, the fracture toughness diminishes at boron carbide particle contents of 10.0, 15.0 and 20.0 volume percent. The fracture toughness of the 20.0 volume percent boron carbide particle-alumina ceramic appears to equal about 4.5 MPa·m0.5. Liu et al also shows that the flexural strength improves from 0 volume percent boron carbide particles to 5.0 volume percent boron carbide particles. The 5.0 volume percent boron carbide particle-alumina material has a flexural strength equal to about 575 MPa. The flexural strength levels off (i.e., remains essentially the same) at boron carbide particle contents greater than 5.0 volume percent (i.e., boron carbide particle contents of 10.0, 15.0 and 20.0 volume percent). The 20.0 volume percent boron carbide particle-alumina material has a flexural strength equal to about 590 MPa.
In the article (1991—American Institute of Physics) written by Liu et al. entitled "Boron Containing Ceramic Particulate and Whisker Enhancement of the Fracture Toughness of Ceramic Matrix Composites" there is a disclosure of a ceramic comprising alumina and boron carbide particles. These Liu et al composites appear to disclose α-alumina-boron carbide particle composites wherein the boron carbide is present in amounts of 5.0, 10.0, 15.0 and 20.0 volume percent (the balance equals alumina). The examples were hot-pressed under the hot pressing parameters that comprised a temperature equal to 1480° C. so that the ceramic had a density of greater than 98 percent of the theoretical density. The hot pressing duration and the hot pressing pressure appear to be absent from the disclosure of this Liu et al. article.
The Liu et al. articles show that the fracture toughness (CNSR technique) improves from 0 volume percent boron carbide particles to 5.0 volume percent boron carbide particles wherein the fracture toughness of the 5.0 volume percent boron carbide particle-alumina ceramic equals about 5.5 MPa·m0.5. However, the fracture toughness drops off at boron carbide particle contents greater than 5.0 volume percent. More specifically, the fracture toughness diminishes at boron carbide particle contents of 10.0, 15.0 and 20.0 volume percent. The fracture toughness of the 20.0 volume percent boron carbide particle-alumina ceramic appears to equal about 4.6 MPa·m0.5.
In the article written by Liu et al. entitled "Boron Carbide Reinforced Alumina Composites" Journal American Ceramic Society 74 (3) pp. 674-677 (1991)) there is a disclosure of a ceramic comprising alumina and boron carbide particles. The Liu et al. composites appear to disclose fine α-alumina (A16SG from Alcoa)-boron carbide "shard like" particle (0.2 to 7 μm particles size) composites along with boron carbide that is present in amounts of 5.0, 10.0, 15.0 and 20.0 volume percent (the balance equals alumina). The examples were hot-pressed under the hot pressing parameters that comprised a temperature equal to 1520° C. for duration equal to 20 minutes so that the ceramic had a density of greater than 98 percent of the theoretical density. The hot pressing pressure seems to be absent from the disclosures of the Liu et al. articles.
This Liu et al. article appears to show that the fracture toughness (CNSR technique) improves from 0 volume percent boron carbide particles to 5.0 volume percent boron carbide particles wherein the fracture toughness of the 5.0 volume percent boron carbide particle-alumina ceramic equals about 5.3 MPa·m0.5. However, the fracture toughness drops off at boron carbide particle contents greater than 5.0 volume percent. More specifically, the fracture toughness diminishes at boron carbide particle contents of 10.0, 15.0 and 20.0 volume percent. The fracture toughness of the 20.0 volume percent boron carbide particle-alumina ceramic appears to equal about 4.6 MPa·m0.5. Liu et al also shows that the flexural strength improves from 0 volume percent boron carbide particles to 5.0 volume percent boron carbide particles. The 5.0 volume percent boron carbide particle-alumina material has a flexural strength equal to about 580 MPa. The flexural strength levels off (i.e., remains essentially the same) at boron carbide particle contents greater than 5.0 volume percent (i.e., boron carbide particle contents of 10.0, 15.0 and 20.0 volume percent). The 20.0 volume percent boron carbide particle-alumina material has a flexural strength equal to about 600 MPa.
The Jung and Kim article entitled "Sintering and Characterization of Al2O3—B4C composites", Journal of Material Science 26 (1991) pp. 5037-5040 concerns the sintering of alumina-boron carbide composites. According to the article, for composites sintered at 1850° for 60 minutes the density was about 97 percent for a boron carbide content that ranged between 5 to 20 volume percent boron carbide. According to the Jung et al. article, the flexural strength had a maximum value of 550 MPa for an alumina-20 volume percent boron carbide composite that had been sintered at 1850° for 60 minutes. According to the Jung et al. article, for a composite sintered at 1850° for 60 minutes. The Vickers micro-hardness increased with increasing boron carbide content to 30 volume percent. For this same composite, the fracture toughness slightly increases with increasing boron carbide contents up to 20 volume percent. The maximum fracture toughness is 4 MPa·1/2.
In the article entitled "Microstructural Coarsening During Sintering of Boron Carbide" by Dole et al. (J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 72 (6) pages 958-966 (1989), it was reported that pressureless sintering of boron carbide at 2300° C. produced only limited densification due to microstructural coarsening. According to the article entitled "Pressureless Sintering of Boron Carbide" by Lee et al., J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 86(9) pages 1468-1473 (2003), improved densities for pressureless sintered boron carbide bodies were obtained via rapid heating to liquid phase sintering temperatures so as to shorten the time for coarsening to occur. Further, the addition of carbon apparently caused a reaction with the boron oxide (B2O3) coating so as to improve densification. According to the article entitled "Sintering of Boron Carbide Heat-Treated with Hydrogen" by Lee et al., J. Am. Ceram. Soc. 85(8) pages 2131-2133 (2002), hydrogen gas in the sintering atmosphere was used to extract the boron oxide coating on the boron carbide particles, and as a result, the process achieved a pressureless sintered boron carbide body that exhibited a theoretical density equal to 94.7 percent.
In the article by Dongsheng et al. entitled "Control of Boron Content During Sintering of B4C-dispersed Al2O3 Pellets" in Journal of Central South Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (October 1994) carbon is added to alumina (Al2O3) and boron carbide (B4C) to reduce the loss of boron during sintering, and thereby achieve precise control of the boron content in B4C—Al2O3 pellets. According to this article, these B4C—Al2O3 are used in nuclear reactor cores and the boron content in these pellets affects the magnitude of neutron flux in the core. The article states that the reason the carbon controls the boron content is that microparticles of carbon contained in the pellets oxidize before the B4C, and can even reduce and carbonize the B2O3 to B4C.
The article by Donsheng et al. entitled "Sintering behavior of B4C-dispersed Al2O3 Pellets" in Journal of Central South Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (February 1989) also concerned Al2O3—B4C pellets used in nuclear reactors. This article looked at the impact of particle sizes, as well as other factors, on properties of the sintered pellets.
Air Force Report AFML-TR-69-50 by E. Dow Whitney entitled "New and Improved Cutting Tool Materials" (1969) discloses an alumina-boron carbide composite. At page 119, the Report reads:                The metal carbides, WC, TaC, TiC, B4C and SiC were selected as additives for improving the general properties of hot presses alumina. Mixtures of Al2O3 containing 1.25 wt. % of each additive were hot pressed at 1600° C., 2600 psi, for 30 minutes in a nitrogen atmosphere. In FIGS. 147 to 149 are shown the heating densification curves of these systems. Density increased rapidly from about 1200° C. and reached almost 100% relative density at temperatures below 1600° C.Table 52 of the Air Force Report appears to show that the addition of 1.25 weight percent boron carbide to alumina increased the MOR from 30,700 psi (for alumina) to 42,500 psi (alumina+1.25 weight percent boron carbide), but the hardness decreased from 94.2 (RN15) to 93.7 (RN15).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,271,758 to Buljan et al. pertains to an alumina-based composite that can include boron carbide and a Ni—Al metallic phase. Example 20 comprises" 8v/o (Ni,Al), 27.6 v/o B4C and 64.4 v/o Al2O3. U.S. Pat. No. '758 does not appear to specifically recite a hot pressing process for Example 20. PCT Patent Publication WO 92/07102 to Buljan et al. published Apr. 30, 1992) appears to be related to U.S. Pat No. '758. U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,191 to Buljan appears to disclose an alumina-based ceramic that may include boron carbide. U.S. Pat. No. '191 requires the use of SiC reinforcement and a Ni—Al metal phase.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,270 to Ownby et al. pertains to an alumina ceramic that has boron carbide whisker reinforcement. FIG. 1 appears to show specific compositions in which the boron carbide whiskers appear to comprise 0, 5.0, 10.0, 15.0, 20.0 and 30.0 volume percent of the composite (the balance alumina). These samples were hot pressed at 1520° C. under a pressure equal to 7500 psi to achieve a density equal to greater than abut 98 percent of theoretical density. The maximum fracture toughness (about 7.1 MPa·m0.5) occurs at 15.0 volume percent boron carbide whiskers. There is a slight decrease in the fracture toughness (about 7.1 MPa·m0.5 to about 7.0 MPa·m0.5) when boron carbide whisker content exceeds 15 volume percent. U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,858 to Dugan et al. mentions the use of boron carbide whiskers to reinforce alumina. The specific application for the ceramic is in a roller guide.
The article by Liu and Ownby entitled "Densification of B4C Whisker Reinforced Al2O3 Matrix Composites", Proceedings of the First China International Conference on High-Performance Ceramics (October, 1998, Beijing) pp. 415-419 pertains to the sintering of boron carbide whisker-alumina composites. The boron carbide whisker contents were (in volume percent): 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40.
The article by Liu et al. entitled "Enhanced Mechanical Properties of Alumina by Dispersed Titanium Diboride Particulate Inclusions", Journal American Ceramic Society 74(1) pp. 241-243 (1991) discloses the use of titanium diboride particles to improve mechanical properties of alumina. FIG. 2 shows the impact of the boron carbide particle content in an alumina-based ceramic on the flexural strength wherein the boron carbide content ranges from 0 to 20.0 volume percent. Like in the other articles to Liu et al., the flexural strength appears to level off (or remain steady) for boron carbide contents that exceed 5.0 volume percent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,091 to Landingham discloses an alumina-based ceramic that has a nitride modifier (e.g. AlN or Si3N4) and dispersion particles. A listing of the dispersion particles mentions boron carbide. According to the '091 Patent, the nitride modifier can range from 0.1 to 15.0 weight percent, and the dispersion particles can range between 0.1 and 40.0 weight percent. There do not appear to be any actual examples that use boron carbide as dispersion particles.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,417,126 B1 to Yang discloses an alumina-based composite with a boride (e.g., boron carbide) and metal carbide (e.g., silicon carbide). The examples appear to disclose compositions comprising alumina, silicon carbide, and boron carbide wherein the boron carbide ranges between 0.5 and 5.4 weight percent. U.S. Pat. No. '126 appears to disclose that the principal use of the ceramic is an industrial blast nozzle. U.S. Pat. Application Publication US2002/0195752 A2 to Yang appears to be related to U.S. Pat. No. '126. European Pat. 0 208 910 to Suzuki et al. appears to disclose the use of boron carbide along with SiC whiskers in an alumina composite.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,164,345 to Rice et al. relates to an alumina-boron carbide-silicon carbide composite. The end product is the result of heating silicon dioxide, boron oxide, aluminum and carbon.
The article by Sato et al., "Sintering and Fracture Behavior of Composites Based on Alumina-Zirconia (Yttria)-Nonoxides", Journal de Physique, Colloque Cl, Supplement No.2, Tome 47, February 1986 pp. C1-733 through C 1-737 pertains to the sintering of alumina-containing composites including an alumina-zirconia-boron carbide composite. Table 1 of Sato et al. shows various properties of a 50 volume percent Al2O3—40 volume percent ZrO2 (no yttria)—10 volume B4C composite, and an 80 volume percent Al2O3-10 volume percent ZrO2 (no yttria)—10 volume percent B4C composite. Each composite was hot pressed at 1500° C. and 2 GPa for a duration of 30 minutes.
The article by Becher entitled "Microstructural Design of Toughened Ceramics" Journal American Ceramic Society 74(2) pp. 255-269 (1991) discusses toughening mechanisms. The principal toughening mechanism is crack-bridging. Additives include silicon carbide whiskers, tetragonal zirconia and monoclinic zirconia.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,474,728 to Radford and U.S. Pat. No. 4,826,630 to Radford each discloses pellets that comprise alumina and boron carbide. These pellets appear to be useful as neutron absorbers.
While there have been ceramic bodies that comprise alumina and boron carbide, there remains a need to provide an improved ceramic body that contains alumina and a boron carbide phase. There also remains the need to provide a method of making, as well as a method of using such an improved ceramic body that contains alumina and boron carbide. Further, there also remains the need to provide such a ceramic body of alumina and boron carbide that exhibits properties that are especially useful for metalcutting. In addition, there remains a need to provide a method of making (and a method of using) such a ceramic body of alumina and boron carbide that exhibits properties especially useful for metal cutting.
Exemplary of these properties is the ability of the ceramic body to maintain its hardness even at higher operating temperatures, especially those temperatures associated with higher cutting speeds. Another exemplary property is the ability of the ceramic body to exhibit good chemical resistance with respect to the workpiece material even at high operating temperatures, especially those associated with higher cutting speeds.
Each one of these properties by itself, and especially when combined together, provide for a ceramic body that is particularly useful as a ceramic cutting insert for applications at higher cutting speeds wherein there are generated higher operating temperatures. For example, a higher cutting speed contemplated by applicants for ductile cast iron could be a speed equal to or greater than about 1500 surface feet per minute (about 457 surface meters per minute), and more preferably, a higher cutting speed equal to or greater than about 2000 surface feet per minute (610 surface meters per minute).
We have found that hot pressing is one method that has been used to make the above ceramic body containing alumina and boron carbide. Hot pressing has produced ceramic bodies, which contain alumina and boron carbide, that exhibit acceptable properties including properties that make the ceramic body particularly useful for metalcutting.
While the hot-pressing process has produced an acceptable ceramic material, the hot-pressing process typically has experienced drawbacks. One of these drawbacks is associated with the high cost to perform the hot-pressing process. Such a high cost increases the overall cost to produce the ceramic body, and especially a ceramic used as a metalcutting insert. Another of these drawbacks was the inability of the hot-pressing process to permit the cost-effective fabrication of parts that presented a complicated or complex shape or geometry. Such hot pressing is thus not cost-effective for the fabrication of parts with a complicated or complex shape. It would be advantageous if the scope of applicable products for the alumina-boron carbide ceramic would be such to include being fabricated by cost-effective methods.
Thus, another process to densify a powder compact would be sintering including pressureless sintering. Pressureless sintering would be a more desirable process as compared to hot-pressing because of the lower cost associated therewith, as well as the ability of the pressureless sintering process to fabricate in a cost-effective fashion parts with a complicated or complex shape or geometry. However, heretofore, the pressureless sintering of alumina-boron carbide powder compacts had difficulty in achieving closed porosity due to the loss of boron during sintering.
It is apparent that it would be highly desirable to provide an alumina-boron carbide ceramic and a process of making the same that is not as expensive to perform as compared to hot-pressing. If such a process were available, there would be expected to be a decrease in the overall cost to produce the ceramic body.
It is also apparent that it would be highly desirable to provide an alumina-boron carbide ceramic and a process of making the same wherein the process provides for the ability to fabricate in a cost-effective fashion parts with a complicated or complex shape or geometry. If such a process were available, there would be an increase in the scope of applicable products for the alumina-boron carbide ceramic.
It becomes apparent that it would be highly desirable to provide a sintered alumina-boron carbide ceramic body, as well as a sintering process to make an alumina-boron carbide ceramic body that exhibits acceptable properties including acceptable properties that make it suitable for use as a metalcutting insert.

Ceramic body containing alumina and boron carbide


The storage system of the present invention comprises a plurality of physical storage regions comprising a physical storage region having one or more attributes, and a physical storage region having a plurality of attributes. A prescribed attribute is allocated for each pool constituted from two or more physical storage regions, and each such pool has overlapping physical storage regions, which overlap one another, and non-overlapping physical storage regions, which do not overlap one another. The overlapping physical storage region constitutes two or more pools of the plurality of pools because it has the same plurality of attributes as the plurality of attributes respectively allocated to the plurality of pools, but the non-overlapping physical storage region is not like this, and constitutes only one pool. A controller allocates, to a certain VOL, a non-overlapping physical storage region which is not allocated to this VOL from among a certain pool which is associated to the certain VOL, migrates data inside an overlapping physical storage region which is allocated to this VOL, to the non-overlapping physical storage region, and releases the allocation of the migration-source overlapping physical storage region from this VOL.

The present invention relates to storage control technology.
For example, the storage system disclosed in Japanese Laid-open Patent No. 2003-015915 is known. This storage system can expand the storage capacity of a logical volume by dynamically allocating an unused physical storage region of the storage system to a logical volume in accordance with an I/O request from a host.

Storage system and storage control method


A coil device includes first and second coils and a package for sealing the first and second coil. The first coil has a first winding including a first conductor wire wound about a first winding axis, and first and second ends which are both ends of the first conductor wire. The second coil has a second winding including a second conductor wire wound about a second winding axis, and third and fourth ends which are both ends of the second conductor wire. The second winding axis is arranged with the first winding axis. The second end of the first coil is connected with the third end of the second coil. The first end of the first coil and the fourth end of the second coil are adapted to be connected to an outside of the package. This coil device reduces magnetic flux leakage to outside of the package.

FIG. 16 is a perspective view of conventional coil device 1. FIGS. 17 and 18 are sectional views of coil device 1. Coil device 1 includes winding 3, package 2A for sealing winding 3, and external terminals 4A electrically connected to winding 3. Respective portions of external terminals 4A are exposed to the outside of package 2A.
In coil device 1, upon having a current supplied, winding 3 generates magnetic flux 5, which may leak outside package 2A, i.e., coil device 1 while being emitted from winding 3. In the case that coil device 1 is mounted with other devices highly-densely, effects of coil device 1 on the devices are considered. Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose conventional coil devices preventing the leakage of magnetic flux.
Package 2A may be made of magnetic material to reduce the effects. In order to increase the reduction of the leakage of the magnetic flux with the magnetic material, package 2A is generally made of magnetic material having a high magnetic permeability, has a large size, or includes shields 6A having a magnetic shielding effect.
These approaches, however, have the following problems. Package 2A made of the magnetic material having the high magnetic permeability can hardly be molded, thus having its cost increase. More specifically, package 2A can hardly be molded with a high-pressure pressing machine, which increases the density of the magnetic material of package 2A. In addition, the magnetic material having the high magnetic permeability containing amorphous magnetic powder or Ni is expensive. Package 2A having a large size increases the size of coil device 1, and accordingly causes other devices to be arranged less densely. Further, shields 6A attached to package 2A causes energy loss due to eddy currents generated in shields 6A and increases material cost.
Patent Document 1: JP 2003-168610A
Patent Document 2: JP 2004-266120A


A lock device which includes a bolt actuated by a flexible shape memory element. The memory element can assume an extended or a shortened configuration as a result of heating. A constraining element which includes two points between which an intermediate portion of the shape memory extends is also provided. At least of the two points belongs to a moveable transmission element which moves when the shape memory element extends. As a result, a controlled element is moved from between an operating position and a non-operating position.

This is a National Stage of Application No. PCT/IB2004/000760 filed Mar. 12, 2004; the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
The present invention relates to a lock device comprising                at least a first controlled element, in particular a bolt, which can be shifted with respect to a stationary structure between an operating and a non-operating position,        actuating means which can be actuated in order to shift the first controlled element from its operating to its non-operating position, comprising a flexible shape memory element that can take an extended and a shortened configuration,        constraint means for determining the arrangement of at least a first intermediate portion of the shape memory element, within which portion said element is operatively associated to the first controlled element,        means for obtaining the heating up the shape memory element, so as to cause its passage from the extended configuration to the shortened configuration and thus shift the first controlled element from its operating to its non-operating position.

Lock device with shape memory actuating means


An electrochemical sensor for analyzing a liquid sample, which is adapted to be connected with an electrochemical meter, comprises a channel for delivering the liquid sample; and a first conducting portion and a second conducting portion separated and exposed in the channel; wherein the first conducting portion generates a first pulse signal when it is contacted by the liquid sample, and the second conducting portion generates a second pulse signal when it is contacted by the liquid sample. The electrochemical meter obtains viscosity of the liquid sample according to a time difference between the first and second pulse signals.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to an electrochemical sensor for analyzing a liquid sample, and more particularly to an electrochemical sensor capable of measuring viscosity of a liquid sample.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electrochemical biosensors have been widely used to determine the concentrations of various analytes in liquid samples, e.g. blood and urine. There are already various electrochemical biosensors, e.g. blood glucose biosensors, cholesterol biosensors, uric acid biosensors and lactic acid biosensors, on the market. In particular, blood glucose biosensors are in widespread use and have become daily necessities for diabetics. Generally, a blood glucose biosensor is formed in a strip shape and uses at least two electrodes, e.g. a working electrode and a counter electrode, for generating an electrical signal, which is proportional to the amount of glucose in a blood sample, and transmitting the electrical signal to a blood glucose meter for showing the blood glucose level.
In recent years, there are many companies, e.g. Roche, LifeScan (Johnson & Johnson), Bayer, TheraSense and MediSense (Abbott), producing blood glucose biosensors and meters such as Roche's Accu-Chek, which is the largest market share, LifeScan's OneTouch, TheraSense's FreeStyle and MediSense's Precision. These products require only a blood sample of less than 3 microliters and take only around five to fifteen seconds to show a reading corresponding to the glucose level in the blood sample. However, none of these products can measure viscosity of a blood sample.
In many researches and clinical practices, it has been presented that many diseases such as high blood pressure, heart attack, coronary heart disease, myocardial infarction, diabetes, malignancy, and chronic hepatitis, etc., are all related to elevated blood viscosity. Accordingly, blood viscosity has become an important index for monitoring disease progression.
In the prior art, blood viscosity can be measured by a blood diluting pipette. However, the blood diluting pipette generally requires a blood sample of at least 1 cc or even more and takes at least six minutes or even more to obtain the viscosity of blood. Further, this blood sample of at least 1 cc can only be obtained from a patient, for example, using a needle and syringe to obtain a useful sample volume. Therefore, these procedures are inconvenient and often painful for the patient, particularly, when frequent samples are required.
In addition, various viscometers can be commercially obtained from the market. However, these viscometers still require at least a liquid sample of several hundred microliters or even more to obtain the viscosity.
Accordingly, the present invention provides an electrochemical sensor capable of measuring viscosity of a liquid sample with a small sample volume.

Electrochemical sensor and method for analyzing liquid sample


The instant invention relates to a controller for a fishing boat trolling motor wherein the controller comprehends a transmitter so configured as to be capable of being releasably affixed to a member such as a finger or fishing pole thereby allowing an angler to simultaneously move about the fishing boat and perform various sundry tasks requiring use of both hands while maintaining continuous control of the boat; thereby allowing for greater concentration to be applied to the task at hand while maintaining such control.

Trolling motors have been long used by anglers to move their skiffs slowly through the water in search of fish. These motors, which are usually electric, are adapted to move a fishing skiff, bass boat or the like at a speed conducive to the use of triling lures such as "spinners" or other such lures which are designed to be pulled through the water.
Accurate control of these motors is essential for both the safety of the angler as well as to correctly poisition the lure so as to maximize the anglers take of fish. Previous controllers have been made so as to allow the angler to control the direction of the craft from a location remote from the trolling motor. U.S. Pat. No. 4,614,900 to Young discloses a remote control for a boat motor which is, in the first embodiment, activated by a foot pedal. The pedal allows for an up-and-down as well as left-and-right motion which corresponds to a like action of the trolling motor; in another embodiment, the controller is hand-held and discloses a switch to change direction as well as a second switch to turn the motor on or off.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,824,408 toAertker et al discloses a trolling motor controller having an analog control mechanism which is contained in a foot pedal. This device is adapted to be placed in a position in the boat and operated by the angler from such placed position.
Both Aertker and Young describe controllers which either occupy the use of a hand, thereby inhibiting the use of the hand for other uses without first putting down the controller, or conversely are operated by a foot pedal which essentially fixes the location of the angler within the boat. It is therefore apparent that these devices do not allow true freedom of the angler to perform the various tasks necessary or desired during fishing without, for a tiome, leaving the boat uncontrolled.


A method for the prophylaxis and treatment of irritable bowel syndrome, which comprises administering a pharmaceutically effective amount of at least one compound selected from the group consisting of (.+-.)-2-(4-chlorophenyl)-5,6-dihydro-[1]benzothiepino [5,4-c]pyridazin-3(2H)-one 7-oxide, optical isomers thereof and 2-(4-chlorophenyl)-5,6-dihydro-[1]benzothiepino[5,4-c]pyridazin-3(2H)-one 7,7-dioxide to a subject in need of such prophylaxis or treatment.

Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 5-55509 discloses compounds, such as 2-(4-chlorophenyl)-5,6-dihydro-[1]benzothiepino[5,4-c]pyridazin-3(2H)-one 7-oxide, which have high affinity for a benzodiazepine receptor, which are highly safe, and which are useful as selective antianxiety drugs. These compounds are taught to be applicable for the prophylaxis, alleviation and treatment of autonomic imbalance, neurotic emesis, neurotic dermatitis, neurotic angina pectoris, neurotic respiratory distress and the like, as well as psychosomatic diseases and anxiety neurosis, such as anxiety and tension, which are induced by various diseases; useful as neutralizers of overdose and intoxication of existing antianxiety drugs such as diazepam; and useful as promoters of biophylaxis due to the pharmacological activity of the compounds, such as phylaxis and promotion of phagocytic activity of leukocyte and macrophage.
Incidentally, irritable bowel syndrome has been drawing attention as a disease presenting intestinal symptoms, such as altered bowel habits, abdominal pain, abdominal distension, abdominal dysphoria, borborygmus and the like, due to motility disorder and abnormal secretion of the colon, which are caused by dystonia of autonomic nervous system. These symptoms can be improved by normalizing the time of passage through the large intestine, and a medicament having a prokinetic activity has been used in clinical situations.

Method for prophylaxis and treatment of irritable bowel syndrome

Yoshitomi Pharmaceuticals Industries, Ltd.


Inspection a is executed between a step B of mounting a chip component by a high-speed mounter and a step C of mounting a odd-shaped component by a odd-shape mounter. The inspection a executes not only mounted component inspection for determining a mounted state of a chip component mounted in the preceding step but also component fly inspection for determining whether a chip component is flown to a position where a odd-shaped component is mounted in the next step C. It is possible to execute the component fly inspection in accordance with a condition corresponding to the situation of an actual spot such as a case in which it is detected that a component is missing in mounted component inspection or a case in which the replacement date of an attracting nozzle in a high-speed mounter is approaching.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technical field for inspecting a printed circuit board (hereafter referred to as "component mounting substrate" or simply referred to as "substrate") with components mounted. Particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus having a function for executing an inspecting method to be executed between a first component mounting step and a second component mounting step in a fabricating line in which mounting a component is executed in two separate stages and a function for executing the inspecting method.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A component mounting machine referred to as "mounter" has been used so far in order to automate high-density component mounting. Conventional mounters include a mounter (generally referred to as "high-speed mounter") having a function for mounting a small component such as a chip component at a high speed and a mounter (generally referred to as "odd-shape mounter") for mounting odd-shaped components such as BGA, CSP, and IC.
In the case of a conventional general substrate fabricating line, processing of printing cream solder on a bare substrate is first performed in a solder printing machine and then the substrate is sent to a high-speed mounter and an odd-shape mounter in order to mount the above various components. Moreover, the substrate after mounting components is sent to a reflow furnace to undergo soldering.
A substrate inspecting apparatus is properly set to the rear stage of each mounter. The substrate inspecting apparatus inspects a cream-solder printed state on a substrate and whether components are correctly mounted on component mounting positions and only substrates passing the inspection are sent to the reflow furnace.
For example, a technique is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-183712 as a prior art showing this type of inspection. In Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-183712, an image of a character string printed on the main portion of a component is extracted from an image obtained by imaging a substrate to be inspected to recognize the characters and thereby it is determined whether a correct component is mounted.
The high-speed mounter repeatedly executes processing of attracting a component supplied from a component supplying device by an attracting nozzle, processing of carrying the attracted component up to a component mounting position, and processing of releasing the attracted component at the component mounting position. A component may be flown to a position different from the original mounting position (this phenomenon is hereafter referred to as "component fly").
A component is flown due to various factors. It is considered as the most possible factor that a component is attracted in an unstable state due to abrasion of an attracting nozzle and dropped before it reaches a mounting position. Moreover, two components are simultaneously attracted by an attracting nozzle and one of them may be dropped to a position different from the original mounting position or while the attracting nozzle carries a component or when mounting the component, the component may contact with other component and the other component may fly to other position.
Furthermore, component fly may occur also when an air pressure or attraction time for attracting a component is incorrectly set and thereby the timing for canceling the attraction of the component becomes incorrect or a component size is not fitted to the diameter of a nozzle because an incorrect component is supplied to a component supplying device.
Furthermore, when cream solder falls short because a mask clogs or a squeezee is abraded, the adhesive strength of the solder decreases. Therefore, when a component is carried to the next step after mounted, the component may fly due to the force of carrying the component.
Thus, when component fly occurs in a high-speed mounter, the flown component drops to a mounting position of the odd-shaped component, and under this state, a substrate is sent to a odd-shape mounter, the odd-shaped component is mounted on the flown component and thereby, a trouble may occur.

Substrate inspecting method and substrate inspecting apparatus using the method


A first interlayer insulating film having a second contact hole is formed on a main surface of a semiconductor substrate 1 in a peripheral circuitry. A second plug electrode of the same material as a first plug electrode in a memory cell array is formed in the second contact hole. A pad layer is formed over the second plug electrode and a top surface of the first interlayer insulating film. The pad layer and a capacitor lower electrode are made of the same material. The pad layer is covered with the second interlayer insulating film. A third contact hole is formed at a portion of the second interlayer insulating film located above the pad layer. A first aluminum interconnection layer is formed in the third contact hole. Thereby, a contact can be formed easily between the interconnection layer and the main surface of the semiconductor substrate in the peripheral circuitry of a DRAM, and a manufacturing process can be simplified.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device and a method of manufacturing the same, and in particular to a structure of a DRAM (dynamic random access memory) and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A demand for semiconductor memory devices is rapidly increased owing to wide use of information equipment such as computers. From a functional standpoint, devices having a large scale storage capacity and capable of operating at a high speed are in great demand. Correspondingly, technology has been developed for improving the degree of integration, speed and reliability of the semiconductor memory device.
DRAMs (Dynamic Random Access Memories) are well known as semiconductor memory devices which allow random input and output of storage information. In general, the DRAM is formed of a memory cell array which is a storage region storing a large number of storage information and a peripheral circuitry for controlling an operation of the memory cell array.
FIG. 28 is a block diagram showing structures of a conventional DRAM. Referring to FIG. 28, a DRAM 150 includes memory cell array 151 for storing data signals of storage information, row and column address buffer 152 for externally receiving an address signal which is used for selecting a memory cell forming a unit storage circuit, row and column decoders 153 and 154 for decoding the address signal and thereby designating a memory cell, sense refresh amplifier 155 for amplifying and reading a signal stored in the designated memory cell, data-in and data-out buffers 156 and 157 for input and output of data, and clock generator 158 for generating a clock signal.
The memory cell array 151 which occupies a large area on the semiconductor chip is formed of a plurality of memory cells which are arranged in a matrix form and each are adapted to store the unit storage information. Each memory cell is formed of one MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistor and one capacitor connected thereto. The memory of the above structure is called a memory cell of one-transistor/one-capacitor type. Since the memory cell of this type has a simple structure, degree of integration of the memory cell array can be easily increased. By this reason, they are widely used in DRAMs of a large capacity.
The memory cells of the DRAMs are classified into several types in a accordance with structures of capacitors. In a stacked type capacitor memory cell, a major portion of the capacitor is extended up to positions above a gate electrode and a field isolating film for increasing an area of opposed portions of electrodes in the capacitor.
This can increase a capacitor capacitance. The stacked type capacitor having the above feature can ensure a sufficient capacitor capacitance even if elements are miniaturized in accordance with high integration of the semiconductor device. Consequently, the stacked type capacitors have been widely used in accordance with high integration of the semiconductor memory devices.
However, it is difficult to ensure an intended capacitor capacitance in the stacked type capacitor described above, if elements are further miniaturized for forming a DRAM, e.g., of 256 Mbits.
In order to increase the capacitor capacitance, it has been attempted to use a high dielectric film such as PZT (lead zirconate titanate ceramics). FIGS. 29A and 29B show an example of a DRAM in which the high dielectric film such as PZT is used as the dielectric film of capacitor.
Referring to FIGS. 29A and 29B, the DRAM includes a memory cell array and a peripheral circuitry as described above. A structure of the memory cell array of the conventional DRAM will now be described below. In the memory cell array, a p-type semiconductor substrate 201 is provided at its main surface with an element isolating region, at which a field oxide film 202 is formed. Semiconductor substrate 201 is also provided at its main surface with an element forming region, at which transfer gate transistors 204a and 204b are formed.
Transfer gate transistor 204a includes n-type impurity regions 203a and 203b, which are formed at the main surface of semiconductor substrate 201 with a space between each other for forming source/drain regions, and a gate electrode (word line) 207a formed on a channel region between impurity regions 203a and 203b with a gate insulating film 206a therebetween.
Transfer gate transistor 204b includes n-type impurity regions 203b and 203c forming source/drain regions, and a gate electrode 207b formed on a channel region between impurity regions 203b and 203c with a gate insulating film 206b therebetween.
Gate electrodes 207c and 207d of another transfer gate transistor are extended over field oxide film 202. Gate electrodes 207a, 207b, 207c, and 207d are covered with oxide film 209. A buried bit line 210 is formed on impurity region 203b and is electrically connected thereto. Buried bit line 210 is covered with an insulating layer 212.
Insulating layer 212 and oxide films 209 are covered with a first interlayer insulating film 214 having a flattened top surface. First interlayer insulating film 214 is provided with first contact holes 215 located above impurity regions 203a, 203c and 203d.
In contact holes 215 are formed first plug electrodes 216 electrically connected to impurity regions 203a, 2023c and 203d, respectively. Capacitor lower electrodes 217 are formed on first plug electrodes 216 with barrier layers 229 interposed therebetween and are electrically connected thereto. Capacitor lower electrodes 217 may be formed of platinum (Pt). Barrier layers 229 prevent diffusion between the material of capacitor lower electrode 217 and the material of first plug electrode 216.
Capacitor lower electrodes 217 are covered with a capacitor dielectric film 218, which is formed of high dielectric material such as SrTiO.sub.3. Capacitor dielectric film 218 is covered with a capacitor upper electrode 219, which is formed of material such as platinum (Pt).
Capacitor upper electrode 219 is covered with a second interlayer insulating film 220 having a flattened top surface. A distance D between the top surface of second interlayer insulating film 220 and the main surface of semiconductor substrate 201 is about 1.7 .mu.m.
First aluminum interconnection layers 221 are formed on second interlayer insulating film 220 with a space between each other. First aluminum interconnection layers 221 are covered with a protective film 222, on which second aluminum interconnection layer 223 is formed. Capacitor lower electrodes 217, capacitor dielectric film 218 and capacitor upper electrode 219 form a capacitor 224.
Now, a structure of the peripheral circuitry of the conventional DRAM will be described below. In the peripheral circuitry shown in FIG. 29B, field oxide films 202 which are spaced from each other are formed at the element isolating regions in the main surface of p-type semiconductor substrate 201. A MOS transistor 205 is formed at the element forming region in the main surface of semiconductor substrate 210.
MOS transistor 203 includes n-type impurity regions 203f and 203g forming source/drain regions, and a gate electrode 208 formed on a channel region between impurity regions 203f and 203g with a gate insulating film 206c therebetween. An impurity region 203e of another transistor is formed at the element forming region in the main surface of semiconductor substrate 201.
A polysilicon pad 211a is formed on impurity region 203f and is electrically connected thereof. A polysilicon pad 211b is formed on impurity region 203g and is electrically connected thereto. Polysilicon pad 211a is covered with an insulating layer 213. Gate electrode 208 is covered with an oxide film 209a.
A first interlayer insulating film 214a is formed over the main surface of semiconductor substrate 201. A second interlayer insulating film 220a is formed on first interlayer insulating film 214a. Second interlayer insulating film 220a is formed at the peripheral circuitry when second interlayer insulating film 220 is formed at the memory cell array. Second interlayer insulating film 220a contributes to ensure insulation between first aluminum interconnection layer 221a, which will be described later, and conductive layer formed on semiconductor substrate 210. However, even if second interlayer insulating 220a were eliminated, insulation between first aluminum interconnection layer 221a and the conductive layers on semiconductor substrate 210 would be ensured by first interlayer insulating film 214a.
There are formed second contact holes 215a penetrating first and second interlayer insulating films 214a and 220a. A depth D2 of second contact holes 215a varies depending on a position of them, and is in a range from about 0.8 .mu.m to about 2.0 .mu.m. The depth specifically varies in accordance with variation of film thicknesses of first and second interlayer insulating films 214a and 220a due to irregular or stepped shape of the bases of them.
Second plug electrodes 216a made of, e.g., polysilicon are formed in second contact holes 215a. First aluminum interconnection layers 221a are formed on second plug electrodes 216a. First aluminum interconnection layers 221a are covered with a protection layer 222a, on which second aluminum interconnection layer 223a is formed.
A method manufacturing the conventional DRAM having the above structure will be described below. FIGS. 30A and 30B to 36A and 36B are fragmentary cross sections showing 1st to 7th steps in the process of manufacturing the conventional DRAM.
Referring first FIGS. 30A and 30B, field oxide films 202 are formed at the elements isolating regions on the main surface of semiconductor substrate 201, e.g., by a LOCOS (Local Oxidation Of Silicon) method. Then, gate insulating films 206a, 206b and 206c are formed, e.g., by a thermal oxidation method. In the memory cell array, gate electrodes (word lines) 207a, 207b, 207c and 207d are selectively formed on gate insulating films 206a and 206b as well as field oxide films 202. At the same time, gate electrode 208 is formed on gate insulating film 206c in the peripheral circuitry.
Then, impurity is implanted into the main surface of semiconductor substrate 201 using gate electrodes 207a, 207b and 208 and field oxide films 202 as a mask. Thereby, impurity regions 203a, 203b, 203c and 203d are formed in the memory cell array, and impurity regions 203e, 203f and 203g are formed in the peripheral circuitry.
Then, oxide films 209 and 209a are formed over gate electrodes 207a, 207b, 207c and 208. A polysilicon layer is formed over the whole main surface of semiconductor substrate 201, and then is patterned into a predetermined configuration. Thereby, buried bit line 210, which is electrically connected to impurity region 203b, is formed on impurity region 203b in the memory cell array. At the same time, polysilicon pad 211a electrically connected to impurity region 203f is formed on impurity region 203f in the peripheral circuitry.
Insulating layers 212 and 213 are formed to cover buried bit line 210 and polysilicon pad 211a. Then, a polysilicon layer is deposited over the whole main surface of semiconductor substrate 201. The polysilicon layer is patterned to form polysilicon pad 211b on impurity region 203g electrical connected thereto.
Then, a CVD method or the like is used to form first interlayer insulating films 214 and 214a made of e.g., BPSG (Boro-Phospho Silicate Glass) on the whole main surface of semiconductor substrate 201. Flattening processing is effected on first interlayer insulating films 214 and 214a.
Referring to FIGS. 31A and 31B, first contact holes 215 reaching the surfaces of impurity regions 203a, 203c and 203d are formed at first interlayer insulating film 214 in the memory cell array. A polysilicon layer (not shown) filling first contact holes 215 is formed over first interlayer insulating film 214 to fill first contact holes 215. Etchback is effected on the polysilicon layer to form first plug electrodes 216 made of polysilicon in first contact holes 215.
Referring to FIGS. 32A and 32B, barrier layers 229 made of TiN and capacitor lower electrodes 217 made of, e.g., platinum (Pt) are formed on plugs 216 by a sputtering method or the like. Capacitor dielectric film 218 made of high dielectric material is formed to cover capacitor lower electrode 217 by a sputtering method or the like.
Capacitor dielectric film 218 may be made of tantalum oxide (TaO.sub.2), lead zirconate titanate (PZT), lead lanthanum zirconate titanate (PLZT), strontium titanate (STO) or barium titanate (BTO).
Capacitor upper electrode 219 made of, e.g., platinum (Pt) is formed on capacitor dielectric film 218 by a sputtering method or the like. Thereby, capacitors 224 each including capacitor lower electrode 217, capacitor dielectric film 218 and capacitor upper electrode 219 are formed on first interlayer insulating film 214.
Referring to FIGS. 33A and 33B, second interlayer insulating film 220 made of, e.g., a BPSG film is formed on capacitor upper electrode 219 in the memory cell array by a CVD method or the like. At the same time, second interlayer insulating film 220a is formed on first interlayer insulating film 214 in the peripheral circuitry. Flattening processing is effected on second interlayer insulating films 220 and 220a.
Referring to FIGS. 34A and 34B, second contact holes 215a penetrating first and second interlayer insulating films 214a and 220a are formed in the peripheral circuitry. Depth D2 of second contact holes 215 thus formed in the peripheral circuitry varies within a large range from about 0.8 .mu.m to about 2.0 .mu.m.
Second contact holes 215a have depth D2 of various values due to the fact that film thicknesses of first and second interlayer insulating films 214a and 220a varies depending on their position on semiconductor substrate 201 due to irregular or stepped shaped of their bases.
Referring now FIGS 35A and 35B, second plug electrodes 216a made of, e.g., polysilicon are formed in second contact holes 215a formed in the peripheral circuitry. Second plug electrodes 216a are required due to the fact that second contact holes 215a have the depth of various values from about 0.8 .mu.m to about 2.0 .mu.m as described above.
Referring to FIGS 36A and 36B, first aluminum interconnection layers 221 which are spaced from each other are formed on second interlayer insulating film 220 in the memory cell array by sputtering method or the like. At the same time, first aluminum interconnection layers 221a are formed on the top surfaces of second plug electrodes 216a in the peripheral circuitry.
Thereafter, protective films 222 and 222a are formed to cover first aluminum interconnection layers 221 and 221a, and second aluminum interconnection layers 223 and 223a are formed over protective films 222 and 222a, respectively. Through the steps described above, the conventional DRAM shown in FIGS. 29A and 29B is completed.
The conventional DRAM described above, however, has problems which will be described below with reference to FIGS. 37 and 38. FIG. 37 shows a first problem of the convention DRAM, and is a fragmentary cross section of the peripheral circuitry at a 5th step in the process of manufacturing the conventional DRAM. FIG. 38 shows a third problem of the conventional DRAM, and is a fragmentary cross section of the peripheral circuitry at a 7th step in the process of manufacturing the conventional DRAM.
The first problem of the conventional DRAM will now be described below with reference to FIG. 37. As shown in FIG. 37, depth D2 of second contact holes 215a formed at the peripheral circuitry in the conventional DRAM varies within a range from a small value less than about 1 .mu.m to large values of about 1.8 .mu.m to about 2.0 .mu.m. Thus, depth D2 of second contact holes 215a varies to a relatively large extent.
Meanwhile, second contact holes 215a generally have an open width W of a substantially constant value from about 0.6 .mu.m to about 0.8 .mu.m. Therefore, the aspect ratio of second contact holes 215a varies within a range from a small value of about 1 to a large value from 2 to 3 or more. Thus, the aspect ratio varies to a relatively large extent.
In accordance with higher integration, however, open width W of second contact holes 215a is reduced. This further increases the value of aspect ratio of contact holes 215a. In other words, in accordance with higher integration, the value of aspect ration further increases. As a result, higher integration makes it extremely difficult to form second contact holes 215a in the peripheral circuitry.
Now, a second problem of the conventional DRAM will be described below. This problem is caused by the above increase of aspect ration of second contact holes 215a in accordance with higher integration.
The increase of aspect ratio of second contact holes 215a in accordance with the integration causes the following necessity. Second contact holes 215a must be filled, e.g., with second plug electrodes 216a so as to make contact between first aluminum interconnection layers 221a and impurity regions 203e, 203f and 203g.
More specifically, extra steps must be employed for forming second plug electrodes 216a within second contact holes 215a so as to make contact between first aluminum interconnection layer 221a and impurity regions 203e, 203f and 203g in the peripheral circuitry. This increases a manufacturing cost and complicates the manufacturing process.
The third problem of the conventional DRAM will be described below with reference to FIG. 38. As already described, open width W of second contact holes 215a in the peripheral circuitry decreases in accordance with higher integration as shown in FIG. 38. A plan width W1 of first aluminum interconnection layers 221a formed on second contact holes 215a also decreases.
This reduces a maximum allowable magnitude of dislocation of the mask used for pattering first aluminum interconnection layers 221a. As a result, the structure of conventional DRAM causes the problem that formation of first aluminum interconnection layers 221a becomes difficult in accordance with higher integration.

Semiconductor memory device and method of manufacturing the same


Systems and processes for filtering network traffic. In one example, an event based flow record aging process may be used to identify flow records to be removed from memory to provide space for newer flow records. In this example, a new incoming network packet may trigger a determination of the flow record to be removed from memory based on the hardware time stamps of the flow records stored in memory. Determining aging flow records in this way may advantageously reduce the amount of computer resources required to manage flow record aging when compared to traditional techniques that require keeping a timer and periodically performing a cleanup process to check the freshness date of each flow record.

1. Field
This disclosure relates generally to computer network security and, more specifically, to filtering network traffic into a secured network.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
While the Internet has allowed computer users to easily access large volumes of information from all over the world, it has also made computers that are universally linked to the Internet vulnerable to hacking or unauthorized access to the users' computers and their stored data. For example, Internet-connected computers are vulnerable to online theft of credit card numbers, personal information theft, hijacking of websites, and malicious viruses, Trojans, worms, and other malicious programming that either steals the user's data, misdirects other users from intended websites, or destroys data and installed software. Such unauthorized access to computer data and systems is illegal in the U.S. and in most countries. The offenders, however, are usually located offshore and only the most egregious violations that involve national security or large sums of money are pursued by law enforcement officials. Additionally, the offenders are becoming increasingly savvy in overcoming security measures that are being put in place, making the cost of protecting networks more of a burden on businesses and government agencies that are increasingly reliant on network systems to accomplish their goals. Increasing reliance on networks of servers and computers, sometimes linking thousands of users over several continents within one organization, makes intrusions of those networks even more insidious. It is therefore a requirement that users protect their own systems and networks with even more sophistication than the tools used by hackers.
Networks owned by governments and institutions handling large amounts of credit card transactions are heavily targeted by hackers for various reasons. Hardware and software designed to act as a "firewall" to prevent users outside a network from illegally accessing a network, along with other measures, such as antivirus software, antispyware programs, and password protected compartmentalization of systems, are often defeated by highly experienced hackers with the time and the will to intrude on a computer system. Usually, the user is not aware of an intrusion onto their systems, with stealthy online criminals stealing sensitive data, launching denial of service attacks, and using the email addresses of hacked systems to send spam and unwanted emails to unsuspecting contacts of the infected users. Government agencies tasked with national security missions and the contractors with whom they work have networks that are often targeted with malicious intent by entities wishing to disrupt the systems for political reasons or in association with hostilities or terrorist activities directed against the targeted governments.
Traditional network security measures include, in the most basic form, authentication of authorized users requiring the use of usernames and passwords to enter the system. Additional security measures can also include a key card, biometrics, such as iris scans or finger prints, or additional personalized information, known as a "security question." While these measures help to prevent unauthorized users from accessing the system, they do not prevent access to the network through emails, instant messaging, or other network-based intrusions.
Currently, filtering of data from the Internet requires maintaining flow records that track incoming network traffic. Due to limited computing resources, the memory used to store flow records needs to be maintained by keeping a timer and periodically executing a cleanup process to evaluate every flow record to see if the freshness date, or flow age, has expired. Executing this cleanup process is computationally expensive in memory cycles at very high speeds. Thus, there exists a need to save memory, enhance speed, and reduce storage requirements when filtering Internet traffic into a secure network.

Packet capture deep packet inspection sensor


A flexible article of manufacture especially suitable for use as a ballistic resistant body armor which comprises at least one substrate, said layers being a fibrous layer, and at least one layer having a plurality of bodies sewn to at least one surface of said substrate layer, said bodies having one or more flexible seams which allow portions of said body to flex along said seam.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to flexible composites and to articles fabricated therefrom. A more preferred aspect of this invention relates to flexible composites and articles having improved penetration resistance.
2. Prior Art
Since the beginning of recorded history, a combination of rigid plates or panels affixed to a flexible backing, usually fabric or leather, has been used extensively as body armor in diverse areas of the world. (Charles Ffoulkes, Armour and Weapons Oxford at the Clarendar Press, 1909; H. Russell Ribinson, Armour, London: Hebert Jenkins, 1967; A. M. Snodgrass, Arms and Armour of the Greeks, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York, 1967; Vesey Norman, Arms and Armor. G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York and Claude Blair, European Armour, The McMillan Company, New York, 1959. During the 14th century a cloth or leather garment lined with metal plates, known as a coat of plates, was the most widely used type of body defence. It appears that the plates were rectangular in shape and their arrangement prevented draping of the armor or flexing on the bias. Almost certainly, this armor limited the mobility of the wearer. A development from the coat of plates was the brigandine which remained in general use until the 17th century. In the 15th century and later the brigandine consisted of a coat of plates made of small lames which could work over each other, thus producing a flexible protection. A variant of the brigandine, the jack, (15th century) consisted of many small plates of iron or horn secured between layers of canvass by a trellis-work of stitches. A variant of the jack was the "pennyplate coat" and was constructed from small overlapping iron discs with each disc riveted to a canvas backing. (See Claude Blair, European Armour, The MacMillan Company, New York 1959).
Roy C. Laible, Ballistic Materials and Penetration Mechanics, Elsevier Scientific Publishing Co. Amsterdam Oxford-New York, 1980 describes an infantry vest utilizing 149 titanium plates attached to four layers of nylon ballistic fabric backing. The plates overlapped and incorporated three slits to allow them to slide, thus providing flexibility. The plates were rectangular or square in shape and appear to be curved in plane.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,251 describes bullet-proof assemblies, utilizing hinged plates but such assemblies utilize relatively large roughly rectangular shaped panels. Such an approach is unlikely to lead to flexibility required for an infantry vest. U.S. Pat. No. 4,559,251 describes a material for protective clothing based on an assembly of hexagonal rigid plates. Although such a construction is an improvement over a single rigid panel it appears that the structure will have inherent limitations in flexibility, contrary to claims in the patent, which would limit its usefulness as infantry body armor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,020 describes a ballistic vest which incorporates essentially square plates which interlock when flexed inward. It is claimed that such an arrangement reduces blunt trauma. A similar vest is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,660,223 which incorporates multiple titanium panels with each titanium panel bonded to aramid fabric. The panels are arranged in overlapping and abutting relationship but not connected to each other except by overlying and underlying felted material. In this disclosure all panels appear to be based on square or rectangular considerations.
A design for body armor has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,478 in which modular panels have been incorporated into a carrier garment. No unusual geometric consideration were disclosed.
Multiple plate body armor has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,680,812 which allows flexibility but protects the body from hyper-extension, thus protecting against spinal injury.
Flexible body armor has been disclosed U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,472 which has a central support sheet with the plates arranged in a checkerboard pattern. The pattern of the plates on one face are the reverse of the pattern on the opposite face. This approach claims complete coverage by rigid plates, coupled with appropriate flexibility.
An infantry body armor system has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,557,384 which provides protection against both fragments and small arms fire. This system describes the use of a single plate on the front of the torso and a single plate on the back of the torso to provide protection against small arms fire and illustrates that relatively large plates may be utilized on a limited and specific portions of the torso.
A complex body armor system has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,577,836 which incorporates multiple Telflon discs which are circular when viewed from the front but are elliptical in cross-section. It is claimed that the low coefficient of friction facilitates the deflection of projectiles and the elliptical cross-section minimizes the number of projectiles which can impact normal to the disc surface.
Ballistic articles such as bulletproof vests, helmets, structural members of helicopters and other military equipment, vehicle panels, briefcases, raincoats and umbrellas containing high strength fibers are known. Fibers conventionally used include aramid fibers such as poly(phenylenediamine terephthalamide), graphite fibers, nylon fibers, ceramic fibers, glass fibers and the like. For many applications, such as vests or parts of vests, the fibers are used in a woven or knitted fabric. For many of the applications, the fibers are encapsulated or embedded in a matrix material.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,623,574 and 4,748,064 disclose a simple composite structure comprising high strength fibers embedded in an elastomeric matrix. The simple composite structure exhibits outstanding ballistic protection as compared to simple composites utilizing rigid matrices, the results of which are disclosed in the patents. Particularly effective are simple composites employing ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene and polypropylene such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,110.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,737,402 and 4,613,535 disclose complex rigid composite articles having improved impact resistance which comprise a network of high strength fibers such as the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene and polypropylene disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,413,110 embedded in an elastomeric matrix material and at least one additional rigid layer on a major surface of the fibers in the matrix. It is disclosed that the composites have improved resistance to environmental hazards, improved impact resistance and are unexpectedly effective as ballistic resistant articles such as armor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,710 discloses a flexible article of manufacture comprising a plurality of first flexible layers arranged in a first portion of the article, each of said first layers consisting essentially of fibers having a tensile modulus of at least about 300 g/denier and a tenacity of at least about 15 g/denier and a tenacity of at least about 15 g/denier and a plurality of a second flexible layers arranged in a second portion of said article, each of said second flexible layers comprising fibers, the resistance to displacement of fibers in each of said second flexible layers being greater than the resistance to displacement in each of said first flexible layers.
Other ballistic resistant articles are described in U.S Pat. Nos. 4,916,000; 4,403,012, 4,457,985; 4,737,401; 4,543,286; 4,563,392 and 4,501,856.

Flexible composites having flexing rigid panels and articles fabricated from same


A Bayesian belief network-based architecture for multimodal biometric fusion is disclosed. Bayesian networks are a theoretically sound, probabilistic framework for information fusion. The architecture incorporates prior knowledge of each modality's capabilities, quality estimates for each sample, and relationships or dependencies between these variables. A global quality estimate is introduced to support decision making.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to the field of biometrics and, more particularly, to the field of fusing multi-modal biometrics.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Biometrics is the study of using intrinsic physical characteristics of a human being to identify or verify the identity of an individual human. Examples of these physical or biometric characteristics include fingerprints (more generally, friction ridges), speaker (voice) identification, iris matching, hand geometry or hand vein comparison, and DNA testing. Each specific biometric measurement type is typically termed a "modality". Multi-biometric fusion is the action of combining the results of multiple measurements of the same (e.g., left and right iris) or differing (e.g., thumbprint, iris, and voice patterns) modalities to increase the identification performance of a biometric identification or verification system over that of a single measurement or single modality system.
One problem with combining biometric information from multiple sources is that typically the scoring methods and units used with a one type of biometric sample differ from that of another. For example, a device used for scanning irises for identity verification might compare a particular scanned iris with a database of known identified irises and generate a "match/no match" score of 70 on a scale of 1-100, with a higher number indicating a higher likelihood of there being a match. Another sample, e.g., a fingerprint sample taken by a particular device, may generate a match/no match score of 0.9, on a scale of 0-1, with the higher number indicating a higher likelihood of a match. Since different units and different scales may be used, difficulties obviously arise when trying to combine the data into a meaningful and useful result.
Current multi-biometric systems tend to treat each modality equally using simple score summing or binary decision-level fusion, and these systems have error rates that make large-scale operation difficult. Even a 1/1000 chance of an incorrect identity results in thousands of erroneous matches when querying databases with millions of entries. This can be particularly troublesome in high security applications that require extremely high precision (e.g., a false alarm rate less than one percent) (See A. K. Jain, S. Prabhakar, and S. Chen, Combining multiple matchers for a high security fingerprint verification system, Pattern Recognition Letters 20 (1999) 1371-1379).
To address the high-precision needs of high security applications, fusing multiple biometrics has been considered to help lower error rates (See A. Ross, A. K. Jain, Information Fusion in Biometrics, Pattern Recognition Letters 24, (2003) 2115-2125). Some fingerprint systems, for example, use all available impressions sequentially until an acceptable match is obtained, while others include logical (AND, OR) operations, summation of similarity scores, or can be viewed as a consensus of experts. More sophisticated methods have been considered for combining scores from separate classifiers for each biometric modality using different feature extraction and matching algorithms to generate their scores (Jain et al., supra; J. Kittler, et al., On combining classifiers, IEEE Trans. Pattern Anal. and Mach. Intell., 20(3) (1998) 226-239; J. Bigun, et al., Multimodal Biometric Authentication using Quality Signals in Mobile Communications, in: Proc. of IAPR Intl. Conf. on Image Analysis and Processing (ICIAP), IEEE CS Press, (2003) 2-13).
Recently, Rukhin and Malioutov (A. L. Rukhin, and I. Malioutov, Fusion of biometric algorithms in the recognition problem, Pattern Recognition Letters, 26 (2005) 679-684) proposed fusion based on a minimum distance method for combining rankings from several biometric algorithms. Researchers have also developed quality metrics which are often used as weights for optimally combining scores generated by multiple classifiers (J. Fierrez-Aguilar, et al., Kernel-based multimodal biometric verification using quality signals, in: Biometric Technology for Human Identification, Jain, A. K., and N. K. Ratha (Eds.), Proc. SPIE Vol. 5404, 2004, pp. 544-554; E. Tabassi, C. Wilson, C. Watson, Fingerprint Image Quality, Technical Report 7151, 2004; Bigun et al., supra; Y. Chen, S. Dass, and A. J. Jain, Fingerprint Quality Indices for Predicting Authentication Performance, AVBPA 2005, LNCS 3546 (2005) 160-170; L. M. Wein, and M. Baveja, Using Fingerprint Image Quality To Improve The Identification Performance Of The U.S. Visitor And Immigrant Status Indicator Technology Program, Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, 102(21) (2005) 7772-7775).
While each of the above techniques provide some beneficial results, they do not effectively utilize all of the information available to a score-level fusion system, including score values, quality estimates, and score distribution statistics.

Fusing multimodal biometrics with quality estimates via a bayesian belief network


The embodiment relates to a rear view mirror, a monitoring apparatus and a monitoring method. The monitoring apparatus comprises a mirror for showing an object; a camera module obtaining image data from the object and processing the image data; and a display module for displaying the image data processed by the camera module.

Generally, a vehicle is equipped with two external rear view mirrors and one internal rear view mirror to allow a driver to recognize the situation behind the vehicle. The external rear view mirrors are installed at left and right sides of the vehicle to show the objects appearing behind the left and right sides of the vehicle. The internal rear view mirror is installed in the vehicle to show the objects appearing behind the vehicle. A driver can freely adjust the tilting angle of the rear view mirrors, but the rear view mirrors locally show the region behind the vehicle.
In addition, when monitoring the rear region using the rear view mirrors while driving the vehicle at night, the driver may not easily recognize the traffic situation and the shape of the object appearing behind the vehicle. In this case, the driver may feel inconvenienced.

Rear view mirror, monitoring apparatus and monitoring method


An integrated circuit is described as having one or more contact regions to provide one or more interconnections between one or more transistors of the integrated circuit and another integrated circuit. The one or more contact regions represent a self-aligned contact (SAC) whose positioning is determined through one or more patterning processes of a semiconductor fabrication process. The one or more contact regions include one or more contact discontinuities to allow the integrated circuit to accommodate for a wide range of the manufacturing variations and/or the misalignment tolerances by preventing the one or more contact regions from physically contacting other regions, such as gate regions to provide an example, of the one or more transistors. As such, the one or more contact discontinuities have a dynamic size, such as a dynamic area to provide an example, which is dependent upon the manufacturing variations and/or the misalignment tolerances.

Field of Disclosure
The present disclosure relates generally to a semiconductor device having air-gap spacer regions, and including a contact region having one or more discontinuities to accommodate for manufacturing variations and/or misalignment tolerances present within a semiconductor fabrication process.
Related Art
The continued improvement of semiconductor fabrication processes has allowed manufacturers and designers to create a smaller and a more powerful electronic device. The semiconductor fabrication process has progressed from a 10 μm semiconductor fabrication process that was reached around 1971 to a 22 nm semiconductor fabrication process that was reached around 2012. The semiconductor fabrication process is expected to further progress onto a 5 nm semiconductor fabrication process around 2019. With each progression of the semiconductor fabrication process, components of the integrated circuits have become smaller to allow more components to be fabricated onto the semiconductor substrate. However, with each progression of the semiconductor fabrication process, new challenges in creating integrated circuits have been uncovered.
The manufacturers and designers are presently manufacturing and designing integrated circuits with self-aligned components, such as self-aligned gates (SAG) and self-aligned contacts (SAC) to provide some examples. The positioning of these self-aligned components is determined through patterning of various dielectric regions within the integrated circuits. However, one challenge in creating self-aligned components with each progression of the semiconductor fabrication process relates to manufacturing variations and/or misalignment tolerances present within the semiconductor fabrication process. These manufacturing variations and/or misalignment tolerances can cause these self-aligned components to be displaced from their intended position in the integrated circuits which can lead to catastrophic failure of the integrated circuits.
The disclosure will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numbers generally indicate identical, functionally similar, and/or structurally similar elements. The drawing in which an element first appears is indicated by the leftmost digit(s) in the reference number.

Discontinuities in a semiconductor device to accommodate for manufacturing variations and/or misalignment tolerances


A closure and container combination where the closure has flanges that define a channel capable of receiving a portion of the neck of a container and forming a surface seal therewith.

Many different kinds of packaged products, such as food, beverages and pharmaceuticals, can be adversely impacted through exposure to oxygen. The presence of oxygen in a package can cause oxygen contamination of the product being stored therein. The reaction of oxygen with chemicals present in foods and beverages can impact their odor and flavor. The reaction of oxygen with pharmaceuticals can impact their efficacy.
Molecular oxygen (O2) can react with a number of different compounds that are found in a number of foods and beverages. Molecular oxygen can be reduced by other molecules through the addition of electrons to form, e.g., a superoxide, a hydroxyl radical, or hydrogen peroxide. Each of these reduced forms of oxygen is very reactive and is thus likely to react with a number of products in the food and beverage industry. The reduced forms of oxygen are especially likely to react with the carbon-carbon double bonds found in almost all products with complex organic components. This reaction can cause the rapid degradation of the product. For example, the oxidated product may have an altered odor or flavor.
During storage of containers, particularly after any initial seal has been ruptured by a first opening of a container, often air, including oxygen, can leak and migrate into an ostensibly closed container through gaps between the container and the closure. This influx of oxygen and other airborne contaminants can be detrimental to the materials stored in the container. For this and other reasons, it is preferable to have a container and closure combination that forms a good seal.


A method and apparatus of delivery of a drug (or substance) is disclosed which involves (1) injecting a drug into the tissue of the blood vessel; (2) maintaining the delivery system as symmetrical as possible in tortuous blood vessels, and (3) providing a preferably constant flow of blood during the drug treatment.

For treatment of various diseases in the body, catheters and cannulas are widely used. Using cannulas, a drug can be injected into the tissue whereby the drug is placed in the tissue to be absorbed by diffusion into the tissue cells and subsequently distributed throughout the body using blood as a carrier. Often it is necessary to infuse a drug or substance into the vascular system of the body to treat a specific area of the vascular system. For example, after balloon angioplasty, certain drugs are infused to reduce the risk of re-stenosis of the lesion. These drugs are placed around the lesion to be absorbed by diffusion to the tissue around the lesion. Due to the constant flow of blood in the vessel, the drug infused often gets washed away and only a small amount of the drug is absorbed by the tissue.
In the past, many inventors have tried to solve this problem by providing different solutions. One such method is to use two balloons to occlude the vessel on either side of the lesion (the area of interest) and provide a pool of the drug at the lesion to be absorbed by the tissue by diffusion. This method has the drawback that during balloon inflation, the blood supply is stopped and causes ischemic manifestation to the organ that is supplied by the blood vessel that is to be treated.
Several other devices have also been developed where the drug is infused under pressure to the issue, using balloons.
In another invention, the balloon has small microscopic holes and the balloon is inflated using the drug. The drug is then injected to the tissue through the holes after inflating the balloon.
Others include double-wall balloon where the inner balloon is inflated using an inflation medium while the drug is infused through microscopic holes that are in between in the outer and inner balloon walls.
Various such devices are described in the article by Dr. Steve Bailey in THE JOURNAL OF SEMINARS IN INTERVENTION CARDIOLOGY--LOCAL DRUG DELIVERY, Vol. 1, Issue 1, March 1996, pp. 17-23; by Christine Enger on pp. 27-33; by Mun Hong, pp. 34-35; by Aaron Kaplan, pp. 36-38; by Edoardo Camerzind, pp. 39-40; and by Peter Barath, p. 43.
In most or all of the above cases, a balloon is involved in the delivery of the drug. As a balloon is used as the tool, it invariably causes the occlusion of the artery, which causes ischemic conditions in the organ that is supplied by the blood vessel. This means that the balloon must be deflated quickly after inflation to cause injection of the drug. In all these instances, the drug absorption takes place by diffusion, which is a very slow process.
Another method developed is the needle catheter. The needle catheter is a device having four needles that can be advanced through a tube to protrude outwards to inject the drug into the wall of the blood vessel. These catheters are often bulky and, due to the fact that the needles are metal and stiff, cause damage to the blood vessel wall during the procedure.


A power conversion device includes input terminals, first output terminals, second output terminals, and an insulation transformer. The insulation transformer includes a primary coil and a secondary coil of equal inductance. The polarity of one end of the primary coil is same as the polarity of the other end of the secondary coil. One of the first output terminals is connected to an input terminal and the one end of the primary coil. The other of the first output terminals is connected to an input terminal and one end of the secondary coil. One of the second output terminals is connected to the other end of the primary coil and the other end of the secondary coil. The other of the second output terminals is connected to an input terminal.

For conversion of three-phase power to dc power, power conversion devices adopt active converters or matrix converters in order to reduce harmonics generated in the power supplies.
Techniques related to the present invention are shown below.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-215406    Patent Document 2: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-215408    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-215407    Patent Document 4: U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,022    Patent Document 5: U.S. Pat. No. 6,580,621
Non-Patent Document 1: Boon Tech OOI and three others, "An Integrated AC Drive System Using a Controlled-Current PWM Rectifier/Inverter Link", IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON POWER ELECTRONICS, pp. 64-71, VOL3, NO1, Jan. 1988
Non-Patent Document 2: E. R. Motto and five others, "Application Characteristics of an Experimental RB-IGBT (Reverse Blocking IGBT) Module", Industry Applications Conference, 2004. 39th IAS Annual Meeting. Conference Record of the 2004 IEEE, Volume 3, 3-7 Oct. 2004 Page(s): 1540-1544 vol. 3

Power conversion device and power conversion system


This invention relates to a pre-treatment composition comprising at least one organopolysiloxane especially polysilicone-9 and to a process for application of the said composition, which has an acidic pH and is applied to hair, especially damaged hair, prior to hair colouration in order to improve the color intensity and at the same time to achieve durable hair color. pH of the pre-treatment compositions is from 2 to 7.

Hair colouring is a common practice for ages. Oxidative colouration has been widely used for achieving durable, brilliant hair colour. Direct dyes, either of cationic or of anionic character, have also found their applications for colouring hair.
In practice, number of difficulties are observed when colouring human hair. One of them is variation in resulting hair colour with physical status of the hair. Good colouring performance is usually obtained with healthy, natural hair, whereas the colouring performance is not always found to be satisfactory in cases of damaged, chemically processed hair and especially with those of bleached hair. The reason underlying in performance difference may be that, penetration of the dyestuffs is varied with the degree of damages previously caused to the hair fibre. In daily hair colouring practice, this results in uneven colourations, colours lacking brilliance and durability.

Pre-treatment composition for colouring hair

KPSS - KAO Professional Salon Services GmbH


A frameless battery cavity formed in a device enclosure retains a battery housing. Cantilever tabs on a battery end of a wall of the device housing have detents that forcibly engage the battery housing when the battery housing is fully inserted into the battery cavity. The detents are restrained from springing away from the battery housing when it is fully inserted by notches in a battery cover. The notches engage the detents after the battery has been fully inserted. The battery cover is secured in the opening to the battery cavity so that the detents are prevented from expanding away from the battery, and thus releasing the battery from the cavity, unless the cover is removed by a user. A guiding mechanism guides the battery housing into the cavity to facilitate electrical engagement of a connection between the battery housing and the device housing.

Community antenna television ("CATV") networks have been used for more than four decades to deliver television programming to a large number of subscribers. Increasingly, CATV networks are used by providers to provide data services to subscribers. For example, cable modems used in a broadband cable modem termination system ("CMTS") compete with digital subscriber lines ("DSL") and DSL modems used therein, which are typically implemented and supported by telephone companies. DSL service is typically provided over the same wires as a residence's telephone service.
Cable modems, on the other hand, use the CATV cabling over which CATV programming is provided. Some cable television and cable data providers compete with telephone companies by offering telephony services over the CATV network using Internet protocol. This is known in the art as 'voice over IP' ("VoIP").
Conventional telephony networks provide electrical current from a central location to a user's telephony equipment for dial tone and off-hook signaling, for example. The power supplied from the telephone company's central location is provided from a utility company's power lines at the central office location under normal conditions, and is typically supplemented by a diesel generator in case off site power from the power company is interrupted. Thus, power for telephony service is always available; in an emergency, the local 911 operator can always be reached.
Although a CATV network often supplies some AC power for network devices, a subscriber's device or devices are typically powered by household AC current. Since most consumers do not have a diesel generator to back up off-site power supplied by a local utility company, batteries are typically used to provide a backup in case off-site power is lost. This allows a VoIP-over-CATV subscriber to place a telephone call during a power outage, including placing a call to a 911 operator in case an emergency situation requires contacting police, fire, paramedic, or medical personnel.
To increase reliability and reduce physical size, cable modem and other devices that support VoIP-over-CATV do not use the standard dry-cell batteries widely known to consumers in the familiar AAA, AA, C, D and 9-volt configurations. This is because rechargeable batteries are used so that immediately following a power outage, reasonable assurances are provided that the batteries will be operative. While power is being supplied from an off-site utility company, charge on the back-up batteries is being maintained or recharged. However, to maintain quality control and to facilitate particular size and shapes of devices, proprietary battery packs, preferably lithium ion, are provided by equipment manufactures to cable operators.
Depending on the price point of a given communication device, different size batteries may be specified. Typically, a device's housing is designed based on a particular battery configuration of a given size. Therefore, the device is typically constrained to always using the same battery size and configuration.
Communication device housings, as well as electronic device houses generally, typically include a compartment or well that receives and locates a battery or battery pack. Typically, the battery is inserted into the compartment/well and retaining 'door' or cover is placed over the compartment. The door/cover typically is snapped or screwed into place over the compartment and serves to retain the battery in the battery compartment. However, with respect to a snap-in door, if the device is dropped, and the door pops open, the battery may pop out of the device's battery compartment and become electrically disconnected. This scenario could present a problem if the user of the electrical device is in the middle of a critical operation.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for a device housing that can accept multiple battery sizes so that a user can specify the battery size based on his or her needs. Furthermore, there is a need for a battery compartment that does not require a frame, which is an extra structure within a electronics device housing, housings which are typically molded plastic or formed metal, to locate and retain a battery.

Frameless multi-size battery compartment with passive capture mechanism


An apparatus and method for creating a personal sound zone are provided. The personal sound zone creating apparatus increases directivity in a horizontal direction by including a broadside array adapted to generate a sound beam perpendicularly to an arrangement of an array constituted by at least three transducers in a personal audio device. Also, the personal sound zone creating apparatus controls back radiation by including an end-fire array by arranging at least two arrays.

1. Field
Example embodiments of the following description relate to a method and apparatus for creating a personal sound zone.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technology for creating a personal sound zone enables delivery of a sound to only a designated listener without dedicated devices such as an earphone or a headset, without inducing noise to other people around the listener. Directivity of a sound generated by driving a plurality of sound transducers may be used to create the personal sound zone. However, when sending a sound to, or collecting a sound from a specific zone such as the personal sound zone through arrays of the sound transducers, the sound is able to be dispersed to other zones in a low frequency band. Especially in a small personal electronic device such as a mobile device, creation of the personal sound zone is more difficult because of a limited array size and a limited number of installable transducers.

Method and apparatus for creating personal sound zone