An apparatus and method attaching a heatsink to a surface of an electronic package comprising a substrate, an integrated circuit chip attached to the surface of the substrate, an encapsulant encapsulating the integrated circuit chip and contacting at least a portion of the surface of the substrate, and an orifice formed in the top portion of the encapsulant to attach the heatsink to the surface of the electronic package. The heatsink may be attached and removed as desired to allow for package identification or rework.

Advances in microelectronics technology tend to develop chips which occupy less physical space while performing more electronic functions. Conventionally, the chips are packaged for use in housings which protect the chip from its environment and provide input/output communication between the chip and external circuitry through sockets or solder connections to a circuit board or the like. Miniaturization results in the generation of more heat in less physical space and with less structure for transferring heat from the package.
It is generally desirable to optimize an electronic assembly by providing a maximum number of packages in a minimum amount of space. Similarly, the development of electronic circuits using compound semiconductors further expands the packaging requirements to control device temperatures by heat dissipation for devices which operate at higher temperatures.
One type of semiconductor chip package includes one or more semiconductor chips mounted on a circuitized surface of a substrate, e.g., a ceramic substrate or a plastic substrate. Such a semiconductor chip package, conventionally termed a chip carrier, is usually intended for mounting on a printed circuit card or printed circuit board. In the case of a Ball Grid Array (BGA) package, the chip carrier will include a second circuitized surface opposite the surface to which the chip is attached, which is in turn connected to the printed circuit card or printed circuit board.
One way to obtain a relatively high density of chip connections is readily achieved by mounting one or more semiconductor chips on the circuitized surface of a chip carrier substrate in the so-called flip chip configuration. In this configuration, the chip or chips are mounted active side-down on solderable metal pads on the substrate using solder balls, a controlled collapse chip connection (C4), a gold bump, or a conductive epoxy. Unfortunately, the coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) of, for example, a silicon chip is significantly different from the CTE of a plastic substrate. As a consequence, if a chip carrier is subjected to thermal fluctuations, then the solder ball connections will be subjected to significant stresses, which tend to weaken, and reduce the fatigue life of, the solder ball connections.
Another way to mount a chip to a substrate is to use a wirebond attachment. Cost is one of the primary considerations when choosing a wirebond chip carrier package. Plastic flatpacks and plastic ball grid array (PBGA) chip overmolded packages are often chosen as possible chip carrier solutions because of their low cost. One major problem with these chip carriers is, however, that they are inherently poor thermal performers because they are plastic. With the common trend in electronic packaging of increasing chip powers, compounded with competitive pricing, packaging engineers are pushing the thermal threshold of these packages. These higher power chips are beginning to require enhanced thermal solutions, but the cost of these thermal solutions adds significant development and manufacturing costs and, thus, increases the overall price of the product.
In order to conduct heat from the chip to the exterior of the package, many device packages include a high thermal conductivity transfer medium which is in thermal communication with the chip and has a dissipation surface adjacent to the surface of the package. Other packages merely conduct the heat through the material of the package itself. In order to further dissipate heat from the package, an external heatsink may be attached to the device package. Typically, the heatsink is a body of material such as metal which has a relatively high thermal conductivity. The heatsink ordinarily has at least one flat face for positioning adjacent to a face of the device package and may include fins, pins, or other structures for dissipating thermal energy into the surrounding atmosphere.
FIGS. 1A and 1B illustrate a prior art method for attaching a heatsink 100 to plastic package 102 (comprising laminate 106 and overmold 108). The prior art consists of epoxy attach 104 as shown in FIG. 1A (which tends to be expensive and adds extra processing steps) or a clip 110(as shown in FIG. 1B) around the edge of laminate 106 which causes laminate 106 to separate or warp resulting in intermittent contact with the circuit board as a result of the force exerted on plastic package 102.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,510,956 issued to Suzuki discloses a device for attaching a heatsink to an integrated circuit chip. As shown in FIG. 1C, circuit chip 120 is attached to substrate 122. Resin 124 insulates circuit chip 120 from metal encapsulant 126. Heatsink 128 is then attached to metal encapsulant 126 by soldering heatsink 128 to metal encapsulant 126. This is a labor-intensive process and does not allow simple detachment of heatsink 128.

Integral design features for heatsink attach for electronic packages

International Business Machines Corporation


A photoelectric conversion device, comprising a photoelectric conversion portion, provided in a semiconductor substrate, including a first semiconductor region of a first conductivity type, a second semiconductor region of the first conductivity type provided adjacent to the first semiconductor region, a third semiconductor region of the first conductivity type provided at a position away from the second semiconductor region, and a gate electrode provided between the second semiconductor region and the third semiconductor region, wherein the second semiconductor region is provided at a position away from the gate electrode, and the semiconductor substrate includes a region of a second conductivity type within a region extending from an edge of the second semiconductor region to below the gate electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photoelectric conversion device, a method of manufacturing the same, and a camera.
2. Description of the Related Art
A photoelectric conversion device can include a photoelectric conversion portion and a transistor connected to the photoelectric conversion portion. The transistor charges a charge holding portion such as a capacitive element with the electric charges accumulated by the photoelectric conversion portion, in response to the activation of a control signal supplied to the gate. In a photoelectric conversion device having such a structure, it is important to suppress a dark current in order to suppress the occurrence of noise. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-223146 discloses a technique of suppressing a dark current generated at a diffusion layer end of a reset element contacting a photodiode by covering an impurity region and an element isolation region on the photodiode side of the reset element adjacent to the photodiode with a lightly doped diffusion layer.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-223146 does not disclose anything about the suppression of a dark current generated by the operation of a transistor placed adjacent to a photoelectric conversion portion.

Photoelectric conversion device, method of manufacturing the same, and camera


A system for controlling a process of restoration from a failure in a queue structure of control data used in computer equipment. The system includes an identifier table having identifiers for indicating the contents of control data and individual pointers with respect to the control data, a queue restoration processing unit for restoring a control data queue based on queue pointers when the content of the control data is destroyed by a failure, a control data normality deciding unit for separating correct control data from abnormal control data based on the identifier table, and a control data restoration processing unit for re-connecting normal control data which is not connected in a queue structure, into a queue structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for controlling a process of restoration from a failure of control data used in computer equipment and provided in a queue structure. The computer equipment which controls a control data group having a queue structure connected by pointers. The system according to the present invention can be used for restoring the queue structure of control data when a failure occurs in the queue structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
A queue is one of the structural data types for control data for computer programs. The queue type data structure is used to provide a sequence of operations arranged to form a data queue. In operation of the queue type data structure, different kinds of operations are provided, for example NEW, FRONT, DELETE, ADD, ISNEW, etc.
In general, in the handling of control data, identifiers are provided in the control data, the control data are chained by forward and backward pointers, and the first group of control data and the last group of control data are connected by pointers to a main control table.
In the prior art, when a failure occurs in the control data in a queue structure and the queue structure is resultingly destroyed, the control data queue is inspected along the forward direction represented by a sequence of the forward queue pointers, as well as along the backward direction represented by a sequence of the backward queue pointers to detect the location of the failure. Based on the detection of the failure, connections of the control data are changed. By changing the connections, the control data are connected by forward queue pointers and backward queue pointers, and accordingly the queue structure is restored at least for the time being. In the conventional restoration process, however there is a problem that, the inspection of the queue pointer is interrupted at the time when the failed control data is found, and accordingly it happens that the control data which has not failed, i.e., the normal control data which neighbors the failed control data, is excluded from the queue structure causing the excluded control data to be lost.
Also in the conventional restoration process, there is a problem that a control data identifier is provided in the control data, and therefore, once the identifier itself is destroyed, it becomes impossible to identify the failed control data.

System for controlling restoration from failure in queue structure of control data


Provided is a method for producing biodiesel fuel having an excellent oxidative stability and fluidity at low temperature, wherein the method provides selective hydrogenation of a poly-unsaturated fatty acid alkyl ester to the mono-unsaturated fatty acid alkyl ester while inhibiting the formation of the trans-isomer, and a biodiesel fuel composition. In the method for producing biodiesel fuel, a fatty acid alkyl ester prepared from fat and/or waste edible oil by transesterification reaction, and/or (2) a fatty acid alkyl ester treated by esterification reaction of a fatty acid is hydrogenated in the presence of a hydrogenation catalyst containing at least one of noble metals selected from those of Groups 8-10 in the periodic table under low hydrogen pressure.

Recently, the use of alternative fuel other than conventional petroleum-based fuel, in particular, biomass fuel is attracting attention in order to address diversification of energy sources and prevention of global warming. Of the biomass fuel, those made from animal or vegetable fat or waste edible oil, such as rapeseed oil, soybean oil, palm oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, Jatropha oil, beef tallow, lard, and fish oil, have such characteristics as containing less sulphur and being a carbon neutral fuel, so that these fuels are attracting attention as alternative fuel for petroleum-based diesel.
Triglycerides, which are main ingredient of fat such as rapeseed oil, soybean oil, palm oil, coconut oil, sunflower oil, Jatropha oil, have a high viscosity. When the untreated triglycerides are used to a diesel engine, they tend to form a deposit in an engine or an injection valve. In contrast, fatty acid alkyl esters, which are obtained by transesterificating the triglyceride with a lower alcohol such as methanol or ethanol in the presence of homogeneous catalyst such as potassium hydrate, are called as biodiesel oil. Biodiesel oil has a low viscosity, and is used as alternative fuel for petroleum in diesel engine. In addition, there is an application to add and mix a certain amount of biodiesel oil with petroleum-based diesel engine fuel.
Standards for the properties of 100% biodiesel fuel used as the alternative fuel for petroleum are JIS K2391 (Japan), EN14214 (Europe), and ASTM D6751-09 (USA). In contrast, for mixed oil of biodiesel fuel and petroleum diesel (hereinafter, sometimes referred as biodiesel mixed or blended fuel), Act on the Quality Control of Gasoline and Other Fuels was revised (hereinafter, referred as revised Act on the Quality Control) and fully implemented in 25 Feb. 2009 in order to ensure the quality.
The standard is strict in that the increment of acids by oxidation of biodiesel mixed fuel (the mixed ratio of biodiesel is at most 5 percent by weight) is below 0.12 mgKOH/g under more strict oxidation condition than that as defined in ISO Standard (ISO12205) for oxidative stability of middle distillate, i.e. under a forced oxidation condition of blowing pure oxygen gas at 115° C. for 16 hours, the increment of acids is evaluated the amount of potassium hydrate required to neutralize the acid with basic potassium hydrate.
In order to improve oxidative stability of biodiesel fuel, technologies of adding some antioxidant to the fuel are known. Several technologies, such as adding propyl gallate as an antioxidant (Patent literature 1), adding a quinoline antioxidant or a phenylenediamine antioxidant (Patent literature 2), and adding a hindered amine antioxidant and a hindered phenol antioxidant (Patent literature 3) are reported.
Biodiesel fuel is easily oxidizable because it contains an easily autooxidizable unsaturated fatty acid. In particular, a polyunsaturated fatty acid having two or more carbon-carbon double bonds is extremely oxidizable, which causes formation of acids or sludge. Therefore, in the case of biodiesel fuel containing a large amount of unsaturated fatty acid, adding antioxidants to biodiesel fuel is not sufficient to improve oxidative stability so as to meet the standard within an economical range of additive amount.
Additionally, even if antioxidants are added to biodiesel fuel, the problem forming sludge due to polymerization of unsaturated bonds still can't be solved. There is a need of further technologies to improve oxidative stability of biodiesel fuel.
One method of decreasing the polyunsaturated fatty acid in biodiesel fuel with a poor oxidative stability is a method to hydrogenate its unsaturated bond with a hydrogenation catalyst. Generally, hydrogenation of fuel oil is often carried out under high hydrogen pressure. For example, hydrogenation catalysts for hydrocarbon oil and the method for producing and activating thereof are proposed in Patent literatures 4 and 5. However, extremely high pressure, for example 3.9 MPa, is required to hydrogenate in these technologies. In addition, Patent literature 6 describes a method for partial hydrogenating fatty acid alkyl ester oils. However, in the method, hydrogenation is carried out under extremely high pressure of 10 MPa, and used a combination of surfactant and homogeneous catalyst, which causes a problem of separating them from the product.
However, hydrogenation under high pressure is expensive to introduce and maintain the facility. Therefore, there is a need to develop a hydrogenation method without the need of pressure resistant facilities. Because local governments or small manufacturers often produce biodiesel oil, and they don't possess such a high pressure facilities, the hydrogenation under low pressure is particularly required. Additionally, it is also advantageous that realization of hydrogenation under low pressure allows resolving the difficulty in dealing with High Pressure Gas Safety Act.
Also, in terms of variation of the fatty acid component in biodiesel fuel due to hydrogenation, when the reaction of the fuel is carried out under high hydrogen pressure, the reaction can't stop at the mono-unsaturated fatty acid alkyl ester, and the ester is further hydrogenated to its saturated fatty acid alkyl ester. Saturated fatty acid alkyl esters have higher melting point than unsaturated fatty acid alkyl esters, so they have a poor fluidity at low temperature, they can't be used as fuel.
In order to address these problems, the inventors propose a hydrogenation catalyst capable of obtaining biodiesel fuel having an excellent oxidative stability by hydrogenating selectively a polyunsaturated fatty acid alkyl ester having two or more double bonds with a poor oxidative stability in the fatty acid alkyl ester contained in biodiesel fuel to obtain the mono-unsaturated fatty acid alkyl ester with relatively good fluidity at low temperature and oxidative stability (Patent literature 7).

Method for producing biodiesel fuel and biodiesel fuel composition

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


An electronic device includes a first silicon-based circuit carrying substrate and a die carried by the first silicon-based circuit carrying substrate. The silicon-based circuit carrying substrate is configured to electrically connect the die to other die. The device may include a second silicon-based circuit carrying substrate. The second silicon circuit carrying substrate may be closely coupled to the first silicon-based circuit carrying substrate. The device may also include a second die carried by the second silicon-based circuit carrying substrate.

Individual die packaged as separate components offer little inherent anti-tamper protection when sensitive information needs to be passed between the components. In the past, to improve the protection of the die and the interfaces between the die, individual die have been directly applied to a single substrate and packaged as a multi-chip module (MCM) system-in-package (SiP). Next an over-coating or over-mold was applied to the MCM to improve the security of the sensitive data internal to the MCM (on-die and between the die). In some instances these over-coatings and over-molds detrimentally impacted the cost, manufacturability and reliability of the MCM. In other instances these over-coatings and over-molds did not significantly improve the security of the MCM. Additionally, this packaging technique could result in a rather large module ranging in size from over a square inch to several square inches.
An alternate approach is to combine all of the individual die into a single ASIC as a system-on-chip (SoC) design. SoC designs offer a high degree of inherent anti-tamper protection and size reduction, but may present significant risk to the design and development team. The combination of all the functions needed to create the SoC may be extremely complex. There may be incompatibilities between the memory needed or other features of the die, and the die manufacturers capabilities. Additionally, a single error in the ASIC may cost $250,000 (for a metalization layer change) to $1,000,000 (for a complete respin) to correct.
Another alternative approach is to stack the die within a single package. Current stacked die packaging techniques address size reduction, but most offer little inherent anti-tamper protection. Packaging options for stacked die packages come in many forms. The two basic options for intra-package interconnect is bond wiring and bumping (flip chip packaging). Wire-bonding may connect the die to a laminate substrate using small wires, from the top, active face of the die down to the substrate. Multiple die are then stacked on top of each other and wire bonded down to a substrate. A flip chip package may basically include a thin core laminate substrate with the die inverted and soldered down using solder bumps on the die. The active face of the die may be directly connected to the substrate using a small solder bump. Multiple substrates are then stacked on top of each other either by ball grid array attachment or by wire bonding them down to a single bottom substrate. Wafer level flip chip technology is being developed. This technique refers to the direct attaching of a flip chip die to the active surface of a custom designed ASIC.

Silicon-based packaging for electronic devices


The present invention relates to a system and methodology to facilitate automatic generation of mnemonic audio portions or segments referred to as audio thumbnails. A system is provided for summarizing audio information. The system includes an analysis component to determine common features in an audio file and a mnemonic detector to extract fingerprint portions of the audio file based in part on the common features in order to generate a thumbnail of the audio file. The generated thumbnails can then be employed to facilitate browsing or searching audio files in order to mitigate listening to longer portions or segments of such files.

One of the current features supported by many modern software systems is the ability to store and play audio files. Many of these systems enable users to store and manage differing collections of audio files. As time passes however, many users become frustrated with the large amount of data that inevitably takes up larger amounts of storage space. Also, as collections become larger, it becomes more difficult and time consuming to retrieve and play desired audio information. Many systems offer software to help users manage these ever increasing volumes of audio information. For example, these systems may include an audio manager that supports popular audio file formats, including MP3, Ogg Vorbis (OGG), Windows Media Audio (WMA), MPC and MP+ files, and so forth. This enables users to catalog their entire collection of audio files and instantly search for favorite songs, browsing albums using the album cover as a thumbnail, creating reports and other useful features.
In addition to organizing audio files, these systems provide a set of tools to manage files by editing tags, changing names, editing lyrics, creating CDs, and looking up artist information, for example. Users can work with audio files stored on hard discs, CD-ROMs, network drives, ZIP drives or any other removable media. This includes tools that allow users to play multiple play lists and display images associated with each title. Additional features include automatically generated database statistics, personal ratings, sorting by genre, mood, year, and custom database queries.
Audio fingerprinting (AFP) has recently emerged as a powerful method for identifying audio, either in streams or in files. Several companies now offer music services based on audio fingerprinting. These services require that one or more fingerprints be extracted from the audio to be identified, and that these fingerprints be checked against a large database of previously-computed fingerprints.
Managing large audio collections is difficult, however, since it's not currently possible to quickly parse audio files (as opposed to images, for which thumbnails can be used). Users generally must rely on labeling, but even that is of limited help: often the labeling is inaccurate, but even with accurate labeling, users may not remember a given song until they hear it. If a user can't remember what a song sounds like, they usually must play it, and then stop play when they have recognized the music. In addition, some scenarios require a 'hands-off' approach to music selection: for example, one may desire to browse an audio collection, while driving, to select a song.
Previous efforts have attempted to summarize music to alleviate the problem of music browsing. However, these previous efforts have concentrated on computing features from single frames of audio. These frames are typically 16-30 milliseconds long. The previous efforts compute similarity between such frames. This similarity will necessarily be crude, due to the inadequate information available to the similarity metric.

Systems and methods for generating audio thumbnails


An optical head includes a blue color laser beam sources, a red color laser beam sources, a dichroic prism, a collimator lens, a beam splitter, an objective lens, a photo detector element, a detection lens, and a hologram element having a first hologram and a second hologram and the first hologram changes a phase of a +1st order diffraction light of a blue color laser beam so that its condensing point falls on a second photo detecting portion and the second hologram changes a phase of a −1st order diffraction light of a red color laser beam so that its condensing point falls on a third photo detecting portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical head that is provided to an optical disc device for recording information on an optical disc or reading information from an optical disc, and the optical head being capable of obtaining an appropriate signal by projecting a laser beam to the optical disc.
2. Description of Related Art
Optical discs that can reproduce information when a laser beam is projected are used as recording media for storing information such as pictures and sounds. As such optical discs, a DVD (Digital Versatile Disc) is used, and a BD (Blu-ray Disc) having higher density (more storing capacity) than a DVD becomes available in the market recently. The optical disc device that uses these optical discs as a recording medium reproduces information recorded on the optical disc by rotating the optical disc and by projecting a laser beam to a recording surface of the optical disc.
Usually, a single optical head supports reproduction of information from a DVD and a BD for saving space and cost of the optical disc device. In addition, since laser beams corresponding to a DVD and a BD have different wavelengths, the optical head has laser beam sources that can emit laser beams having corresponding wavelengths. The optical head is provided with an objective lens facing the optical disc, and the laser beam that was emitted from the laser beam sources and passed through an optical system of the optical head is condensed on a recording layer of the optical disc after passing through the objective lens.
When the laser beam passes through the objective lens, aberration is generated in the laser beam. In addition, since the optical disc has a structure including a substrate that is a protection layer disposed on the recording layer, another aberration is generated when the laser beam passes through the substrate. Usually, the objective lens is designed to support one type of optical disc (a BD in many cases), so the aberration generated in the laser beam after passing through the objective lens is canceled with aberration generated by the substrate of the BD. Thus, the laser beam becomes with little wave aberration when it is condensed on the recording layer.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of an optical head. The optical head B shown in FIG. 6 includes a blue color laser beam sources 101 that emits a blue color laser beam, a red color laser beam sources 102 that emits a red color laser beam, a dichroic prism 103 that permits the blue color laser beam to pass through and reflects the red color laser beam, a collimator lens 104 that converts divergent rays into parallel rays, a beam splitter 105 as an optical element that reflects a part of an incident laser beam and permits the rest of the same to pass through, an objective lens 106 that condenses the laser beam at a predetermined position on an optical disc Ds, a photo detector element 107 that detects the laser beam reflected by the optical disc Ds, and a detection lens 108 that condenses the laser beam on the photo detector element 107.
The laser beam emitted from the blue color laser beam sources 101 passes through the dichroic prism 103, enters the collimator lens 104, and is converted into parallel rays when it passes through the collimator lens 104. The laser beam converted into parallel rays enters the beam splitter 105, and a half of the incident light passes through the beam splitter 105 and enters the objective lens 106. The laser beam that enters the objective lens 106 is condensed to be a laser spot that is projected to the optical disc Ds.
In addition, the laser beam reflected by the optical disc Ds goes back to the objective lens 106 and becomes substantially parallel rays, which enters the beam splitter 105. A half of the laser beam that enters the beam splitter 105 is reflected and enters the detection lens 108. Then, it is condensed and enters the photo detector element 107. The laser beam is converted by the photo detector element 107 into an electric signal, and information recorded on the optical disc is detected in accordance with the converted electric signal.
In addition, the optical head B is provided with a diffraction grating 109 that separates the 0 order diffraction light and 1st order diffraction light from the laser beam reflected by the optical disc Ds. The photo detector element 107 has a first photo detecting portion 1071 in the middle and two second photo detecting portion 1072 sandwiching the first photo detecting portion 1071. The 0 order diffraction light of the light diffracted by the diffraction grating 109 is detected by the first photo detecting portion 1071, while the 1st order diffraction light is detected by the second photo detecting portion 1072. The first photo detecting portion 1071 detects an RF signal that is a data signal and a focus error signal. The second photo detecting portion 1072 detects a control signal (e.g., a tracking error signal) for drive control of the optical head B.
However, thickness of a disc substrate, wavelength of a corresponding laser beam, and a numerical aperture NA of the objective lens for a DVD medium are different from those for a BD. Therefore, if an objective lens for a BD is used for condensing the laser beam on the recording layer of a DVD, wave aberration with a large aberration component is generated in the laser beam that is projected to the recording layer of the DVD medium.
If wave aberration with a large aberration component is generated, a condensing point of the laser beam that is condensed on the recording surface of the optical disc (hereinafter referred to as a laser spot) may have a large spot diameter, or a dim circular light (a halo) may be formed around the laser spot. As a result, cross talk or jitter may be increased, and accuracy in reproducing information from the optical disc or recording information on the optical disc may be lowered.
In order to suppress generation of this wave aberration, the following method is adopted in the optical head shown in FIG. 6. A distance between the red color laser beam sources 102 and the collimator lens 104 (including a portion bent by the dichroic prism 103) is adjusted (usually, it is shorter than a distance between the blue color laser beam sources 101 and the collimator lens 104), so that the red color laser beam sources 102 is disposed at a position of a distance that makes the red color laser beam be not parallel rays. A condensing point of the red color laser beam condensed by the objective lens 106 is shifted from a condensing point of the blue color laser beam (the condensing point of the red color laser beam is farther). In this way, since the blue color laser beam sources 101 and the red color laser beam sources 102 are arranged so that their condensing points are shifted from each other, generation of aberration in the laser beam that is condensed on the optical disc Ds is suppressed.
In addition, JP-A-2003-223728 discloses a structure in which a single optical pickup is used for reading optical discs having different substrate thickness, corresponding wavelengths and numerical apertures, and an objective lens having a special shape is provided.
Moreover, JP-A-2001-222838 discloses an invention in which aberration of a laser beam projected to each optical disc is corrected by using a liquid crystal element.
However, since there is a difference between distances of the blue color laser beam sources 101 and the red color laser beam sources 102 from the collimator lens 104 (hereinafter referred to as a light emission point difference), the condensing point where the light beam is condensed by the detection lens 108 is also different between the blue color laser beam and the red color laser beam. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 6, the condensing point of the blue color laser beam is farther than the condensing point of the red color laser beam from the detection lens.
For example, if the first photo detecting portion 1071 of the photo detector element 107 is disposed at the condensing point of the blue color laser beam, the 0 order diffraction light of the blue color laser beam is detected by the first photo detecting portion 1071, and the 1st order diffraction light of the same is detected by the second photo detecting portion 1072. However, the 0 order diffraction light of the red color laser beam becomes dim so that it is not condensed by the first photo detecting portion 1071 and is not detected with sufficient accuracy. In the same manner, the 1st order diffraction light of the red color laser beam is not condensed by the second photo detecting portion 1072 and becomes dim so that it is not detected with sufficient accuracy.
In this way, if the 0 order diffraction light and the 1st order diffraction light projected to the first photo detecting portion 1071 and the second photo detecting portion 1072 are not detected sufficiently, the optical disc Ds cannot be read with sufficient accuracy, and accuracy in drive control of the optical head B is decreased.
In addition, since the invention disclosed in JP-A-2003-223728 uses the objective lens having the special shape, a lot of labor and time are necessary for manufacturing the objective lens having a special shape. As a result, manufacturing cost of the optical pickup (an optical head) increases.
In addition, since the invention disclosed in JP-A-2001-222838 uses the liquid crystal element for correcting the aberration, the liquid crystal element and other components for a drive mechanism that drives the liquid crystal element should be added. Therefore, dimensions and cost of the optical head may be increased.


One or more embodiments may provide an apparatus, a computer readable medium, a non-transitory computer readable medium, and a method for operating in a non-sharing capture mode, receiving an indication associated with joining a capture share group, the capture share group comprising at least one other apparatus, transitioning from the non-sharing capture mode to a sharing capture mode associated with the capture share group, based, at least in part, on the indication, causing capturing of a captured image, and sending a representational image indicative of the captured image to the at least one other apparatus.

As electronic apparatuses have expanded their capabilities, as well as the number and types of operations they perform, interaction has become increasingly complex and time consuming. For example, apparatus interaction may be prone to errors, confusion, and delay. In some circumstances, a user may miss an opportunity to do something, such as capture an image of an event, due to delays associated with interaction. In other circumstances, a user may avoid utilizing an apparatus capability due to a desire to avoid errors, confusion, or delay. These problems may be more pronounced with regard to a user performing operations associated with capturing and sharing images. Under such circumstances, it may be desirable for a user to be able to capture and share images in a simple, quick, and intuitive manner.

Method and apparatus for a sharing capture mode


The present invention relates to a method for structure-based prediction of properties of peptides and peptide analogs in complex with major histocompatibility (MHC) class I and class II molecules. The properties mainly relate to the three-dimensional structure of an MHC/peptide complex and the binding affinity of a peptide for an MHC receptor. The invention further relates to a computer program and a device therefor. The invention further relates to data produced by a method of the invention. The invention further relates to peptides and peptide analogs predicted to bind to target-MHC molecules. The present invention thus relates to the field of immunology, with possible applications in manufacture of vaccinates, de-immunization of proteins, and manufacture of therapeutic agents, especially immunotherapeutic agents.

Cytotoxic T-cells (TC or CD8-T lymphocytes) and helper T-cells (TH or CD4-T lymphocytes) have the capability of recognizing short, processed fragments of a protein antigen, referred to as antigenic peptides or T-cell epitopes. However, recognition does not occur by direct binding to free peptides. Specific receptor molecules on T-cells (T-cell receptors or TCRs) recognize a peptide antigen only when it is bound to another receptor known as a major histocompatibility complex (MHC) molecule. Such MHC-peptide complexes serve the role of cell markers: when the MHC contains an endogenous (self) peptide, it marks the cell as "healthy"; when it contains a foreign peptide, the cell is marked as "infected". The MHC-mediated presentation of antigenic peptides to the repertoire of T-cells can thus be seen as the primary stimulus to elicit an immune response. Depending on the type of MHC presenting an antigen, which is correlated with the type of cell expressing it, the immune system is triggered to either destroy the antigen presenting cell or to produce antibodies directed against the infectious agent.
MHC molecules are subdivided into classes I and II. While their general function is the same (presenting antigen), they differ in a number of aspects. MHC class I is expressed on the cell surface as a heterodimeric complex between a 46-kDa heavy chain (the a-chain) and a 12 kDa light chain (the β2-microglobulin or β2m chain). The α-chain consists of three domains, α1, α2 and α3; the α1 and α2 domains are responsible for binding of a peptide ligand, while the α3 domain is membrane-bound and involved in CD8 co-receptor binding. Class II MHC molecules have the same overall shape, although they are constituted of two membrane-bound chains: an α chain of ˜35 kDa and a β chain of ˜28 kDa. Both the α and the β chain form two domains (α1 and α2 on the one hand and β1 and β2 on the other). The α1 and β1 domain jointly form the peptide binding domain. The β2 domain is involved in CD4 co-receptor binding.
Both MHC class I and class II molecules show a high degree of polymorphism. They have been further subdivided into different subtypes. The existence of different MHC allotypes lies at the basis of the capacity of MHCs to bind a broad range of peptides while still preserving some specificity. Given this polymorphism, being able to predict which peptides specifically bind to which MHC subtypes, is thought to be of great value in vaccination strategies and de-immunization programs. Thanks to the recent burst of information derived from experimentally determined 3D-structures, valuable insights about the determinants of peptide binding specificity have been obtained. This, in turn, has led to the idea that a structure-based prediction of potentially antigenic peptides (or T-cell epitopes) is within reach.
Functional human leukocyte antigens (HLAs or human MHCs) are characterized by a deep binding groove to which endogenous as well as potentially antigenic peptides bind. The groove is further characterized by a well-defined shape and physico-chemical properties. HLA class I binding sites are closed, in that the peptide termini are pinned down into the ends of the groove. They are also involved in a network of hydrogen bonds with conserved HLA residues (Madden, D. R. et al., (1992) Cell 70, 1035-1048). In view of these restraints, the length of bound peptides is limited to 8-10 residues. Superposition of the structures of different HLA complexes confirmed a general mode of binding wherein peptides adopt a relatively linear, extended conformation. At the same time, a significant variability in the conformation of different peptides was observed also. This variability ranges from minor structural differences to notably different binding modes. Such variation is not unexpected in view of the fact that class I molecules can bind thousands of different peptides, varying in length (8-10 residues) and in amino acid sequence. The different class I allotypes bind peptides sharing one or two conserved amino acid residues at specific positions. These residues are referred to as anchor residues and are accommodated in complementary pockets (Falk, K. et al., (1991) Nature 351, 290-296). Besides primary anchors, there are also secondary anchor residues occupied in more shallow pockets (Matsumura, M. et al., (1992) Science 257, 927-934). In total, six allele-specific pockets termed A-F have been characterized (Saper, M. A. et al., (1991) J. Mol. Biol. 219, 277-312; Latron, F. et al., (1992) Science 257, 964-967). The constitution of these pockets varies in accordance with the polymorphism of class I molecules, giving rise to both a high degree of specificity (limited cross reactivity) while preserving a broad binding capacity.
In contrast to HLA class I binding sites, class II sites are open at both ends. This allows peptides to extend from the actual region of binding, thereby "hanging out" at both ends (Brown. J. et al., (1993) Nature 364, 33-39). Class II HLAs can therefore bind peptide ligands of variable length, ranging from 9 to more than 25 amino acid residues. Similar to HLA class I, the affinity of a class II ligand is determined by a "constant" and a "variable" component. The constant part again results from a network of hydrogen bonds formed between conserved residues in the HLA class II groove and the main-chain of a bound peptide. However, this hydrogen bond pattern is not confined to the N- and C-terminal residues of the peptide but distributed over the whole of the chain. The latter is important because it restricts the conformation of complexed peptides to a strictly linear mode of binding. This is common for all class II allotypes. The second component determining the binding affinity of a peptide is variable due to certain positions of polymorphism within class II binding sites. Different allotypes form different complementary pockets within the groove, thereby accounting for subtype-dependent selection of peptides, or specificity. Importantly, the constraints on the amino acid residues held within class II pockets are in general "softer" than for class I. There is much more cross reactivity of peptides among different HLA class II allotypes. Unlike for class I, it has been impossible to identify highly conserved residue patterns in peptide ligands (so-called motifs) that correlate with the class II allotypes.
The different characteristics of class I and class II MHC molecules are responsible for specific problems associated with the prediction of potential T-cell epitopes. As discussed before, class I molecules bind short peptides that exhibit well-defined residue type patterns. This has led to various prediction methods that are based on experimentally determined statistical preferences for particular residue types at specific positions in the peptide. Although these methods work relatively well, uncertainties associated with non-conserved positions limit their accuracy. Prediction methods for MHC class II-mediated T-cell epitopes essentially follow the same strategy, but are hampered by the fact that the binding groove is open. The latter makes it difficult to locate, in a pool of peptides identified as binders, the 9-residue segment that is actually responsible for the binding. This fact, combined with the intrinsically weaker constraints of the complementary pockets in class II binding grooves, makes the establishment of (pseudo-) motifs very difficult (Mallios, R. R. (2001) Bioinformatics 17, 942-948). On the other hand, class II peptide binding motifs generally include more anchor residues than class I motifs.
Methods for MHC/peptide binding prediction can grossly be subdivided into two categories: "statistical methods" that are driven by experimentally obtained affinity data and "structure-related methods" that are based on available 3D structural information of MHC molecules.
Statistical methods have been promoted under the impulse of a growing amount of binding data. Sources of binding information are, typically, elution and pool sequencing of peptides bound naturally to MHC molecules inside cells (Falk, K. et al., (1994) Immunogenetics 39, 230-242), phage display of peptide libraries (Hammer, J. et al., (1993) Cell 74, 197-203. Fleckenstein, B. et al., (1999) Sem. Immunol. 11, 405-416), data sets compiled from reports in the literature (Brusic, V. et al., (1998) Nucleic Acids Res. 26, 368-371, Rammensee, H. G. et al., (1999) Immunogenetics 50, 213-219). A common approach is to decompose, in a statistical way, the available experimental information into MHC type-specific and peptide residue position-specific numerical values reflecting the preference for individual amino acid types at that position (Parker, K. C. et al., (1994) J. Immunol. 152, 163-175). The matrices obtained in this way may then serve as profiles from which the binding affinity of a peptide sequence of interest can be estimated.
Structure-based methods generally include a first step wherein the structure of a specific MHC/peptide complex is modeled and a second step wherein the binding strength of the peptide is estimated from the modeled complex in accordance with an empirical scoring function. Examples include WO 98/59244, Altuvia, Y. et al., (1995) J. Mol. Biol. 249, 244-250; Doytchinova, I. A. and Flower, D. R. (2001) J. Med. Chem. 44, 3572-3581). Alternatively, a molecular dynamics simulation is sometimes performed to model a peptide within an MHC binding groove (Lim, J. S. et al. (1996) Mol. Immunol. 33, 221-230). Another approach is to combine loop modeling with simulated annealing (Rognan, D. et al., (1999) J. Med. Chem. 42, 4650-4658). Most research groups emphasize the importance of the scoring function used in the affinity prediction step. Schueler-Furman et al. (Schueler-Furman, O. et al., (2000) Prot. Sci. 9, 1838-1864) apply a statistical potential to evaluate the contacts between the peptide and the MHC receptor. Rognan et al. (1999) rely on a quantification of physicochemical effects (like H-bond formation, lipophilic contacts, desolvation, etc.). Swain et al. (Swain, M. T., et al., (2001) Proceedings of the second IEEE International Symposium on Bioinformatics and Biomedical Engineering. IEEE computer Society Press, Bethesda, Md., pp. 81-88) also apply a heuristic scoring function based on inter-atomic contacts, electrostatic interactions and H-bond formation. Doytchinova and Flower (2001) consider essentially the same contributions but follow a quantitative structure-affinity relationship (QSAR) method to assess the binding affinity. Logean et al. (Logean, A., et al., (2001) Bioinorg. & Med. Chem. Letters 11, 675-679) have analyzed the performance of 7 universal scoring functions. They found that many of these scoring functions yield poor correlation with experiment, in contrast to their "Fresno" scoring function. However, it was also recognized that the Fresno function cannot be universally applied but requires recalibration for different protein-ligand systems.
There is a need to substantially improve both the structure prediction and the affinity assessment steps of methods which predict the affinity of a peptide for a major histocompatibility (MHC) class I or class II molecule. The main problem encountered in this field is the poor performance of prediction algorithms with respect to MHC alleles for which experimentally determined data (both binding and structural information) are scarce. It is an aim of the present invention to provide a novel method for predicting the affinity of a peptide for a major histocompatibility (MHC) class I or class II molecule, also in cases where experimental information is rare.

Method, computing routine, device for predicting properties of MHC/peptide complexes, and data and peptides produced therefrom


An improved method and devices for preventing restenosis are provided. The method may include delivering a stent configured to contain a stenosis to a body vessel. The method may also include using atherectomy at the site prior to stent delivery. In one embodiment, the stent has a proximal end, a distal end, and a center portion arranged such that the diameters of the proximal and distal ends are greater than the diameter of the center portion. In one embodiment, the atherectomy device includes a housing to prevent injury to the unaffected areas of the body vessels but the cutter is extendible beyond the housing. In one embodiment, the stent may be impregnated with at least one drug after stent deployment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to medical devices and, in particular, to methods and devices of preventing restenosis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many causes of restenosis in angioplasty have been theorized among health care professionals. Many diseases cause body lumens to undergo stenosis or a narrowing of a canal within the body. The resulting reduced blood flow can permanently damage tissue and organs. Stenotic regions that limit or obstruct coronary blood flow are a major cause of ischemic heart disease related mortality.
The therapeutic alternatives generally used for treatment of stenosis involve intervention (alone or in combination of therapeutic agents) to remove the blockage, replacement of the blocked segment with a new segment of artery, or the use of catheter-mounted devices such as a balloon catheter to dilate the artery. The dilation of an artery with a balloon catheter is called percutaneous transluminal angioplasty (PTA). A stent may also be delivered, as known in the art.
Often angioplasty permanently opens previously occluded blood vessels; however, restenosis thrombosis, or vessel collapse may occur following angioplasty. A major difficulty with PTA is the problem of post-angioplasty closure of the vessel, both immediately after PTA (acute reocclusion) and in the long term (restenosis).
Re-narrowing (restenosis) of an artery after angioplasty occurs in 10-50% of patients undergoing this procedure and subsequently requires either further angioplasty or other procedures. Restenosis (chronic reclosure) after angioplasty is a more gradual process than acute reocclusion: 30% of patients with subtotal lesions and 50% of patients with chronic total lesions will go on to restenosis after angioplasty. Because 30-50% of patients undergoing PTCA will experience restenosis, restenosis has limited the success of PTCA as a therapeutic approach to coronary artery disease.
Recently, intravascular stents have been the focus of substantial attention as a means of preventing acute reclosure after PTA. Most stents are delivered to the desired implantation site percutaneously via a catheter or similar transluminal device. Once at the treatment site, the compressed stent is expanded to fit within or expand the lumen of the passageway. Stents are typically either self-expanding or are expanded by inflating a balloon that is positioned inside the compressed stent at the end of the catheter. Intravascular stents are often deployed after coronary angioplasty procedures to reduce complications, such as the collapse of arterial lining, associated with the procedure.
However, stents do not entirely reduce the occurrence of thrombotic abrupt closure due to clotting; stents with rough surfaces exposed to blood flow may actually increase thrombosis, and restenosis may still occur because tissue may grow through and around the stent and the lattice of the stent.


The textile material is a woven fabric made of multifilament aramid yarns. When used in conjunction with a firefighter protective garment, the lining increases wearer comfort, reduces metabolic energy requirements, decreases metabolic heat build-up, and the weight of a fire-protective garment including this textile material.

(a) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a textile material for use as the inner lining of a fire-protective garment. Wherein the inner lining material increases wearer comfort and mobility, reduces metabolic energy requirements and decreases metabolic heat build-up as well as reducing weight and overcoming the problem of decreasing mechanical resistance as fabric weight decreases. More particularly, the invention is concerned with the material of a firefighter protective garment.
(b) Description of Prior Art
Firefighter protective garments usually consist of three or more discrete layers of fire-resistant materials. The various layer are normally:
1) The outer shell which provides protection against puncture, cuts , flame and heat;
2) the moisture barrier substrate moisture barrier polymer which, although fire-resistant, have as their principal purpose protection against water penetration (in certain cases they are permeable to perspiration vapor to increase wearer comfort);
3) the thermal barrier insulation whose principal function is to provide protection against heat transfer; and
4) the inner lining or face cloth (which is normally quilted to the thermal barrier insulation) which protects the thermal barrier from wear from the inside of the garment, and provides a last layer of heat and flame protection.
All fabrics used in the construction firefighter's protective clothing must pass minimum performance requirements for flame, heat and tear resistance, as well as for thermal protection in the ensemble. The inner lining is most often constructed of spun aramid yarns. These spun yarn fabrics do not slide easily on themselves or on surfaces inside or outside the garment (e.g. pants, shirt, skin, or boots) with which they come into contact. The resistance of spun yarn fabrics to sliding is further exacerbated by the fact that these inner lining fabrics are most often of a ripstop weave construction. As a result, a certain amount of body energy is required to move in the garments, flex joints and to otherwise perform functions associated with the job of the wearer. Even donning and doffing of the garment can be arduous because of the difficulty of inserting a shirt arm or a leg already in a pant let, into the garment.
One of the leading causes of firefighter injury and mortality is stress. Stress may be caused by metabolic heat build-up and retention which in turn may be partly caused by the weight of the garment, the insulation properties of the garment, or the impediments to movement that the garment may present.
Even if circumstances are not severe enough to make heat stress a threat, wearer comfort is decreased as the garment becomes heavier and more constricting. In addressing any of the causes of heat stress, care must be taken not to fall below the minimum performance requirements of the various national standards. For example, a garment could be made lighter by simply employing lighter weight fabrics, however, as fabric weight drops, so does its mechanical resistance and its insulating value.
In the design of an inner lining, care must be taken not to fall below the minimum performance requirements of the various national standards. For example, a garment could be made lighter by simply employing lighter weight outer shell fabrics, however, as fabric weight drops, so does its mechanical resistance. As a result inner lining fabrics of firefighter garments do not weigh less than 3.0-3.3 ounces per square yard. In addition, these inner lining fabrics are most often of a ripstop (a.k.a. pajama check) weave construction so as to meet the tear resistance requirements of the various national standards.
One method for overcoming the decrease in mechanical resistance as fabric weight decreases is to use filament instead of spun yarns, the former having very high tensile and abrasion strength. Similarly, filament yarns are more slippery than spun yarns thereby reducing friction between the filament fabric and any other fabric with which may come in contact. This slipperiness increases the flexibility and mobility of the garment thereby reducing metabolic heat build-up.
One of the leading causes of firefighter injury and mortality is stress. Stress may be caused by metabolic heat build-up and retention which in turn may be partly caused by the weight of the garment, the insulation properties of the garment, or the impediments to movement that the garment may present. Even if circumstances are not severe enough to make heat stress a threat, wearer comfort is decreased if the garment is heavy and constricting.
The use of spun aramid yarns in a ripstop weave construction renders the inner lining textile material susceptible to pilling. This pilling is not only esthetically unpleasing but may also increase the resistance to movement of the garment.
U S. Pat. No. 4,583,247 describes a heat insulating garment made of a composite interlining sheet of porous material having low heat conductivity and high resilience. A layer of flexible reflective material is bonded to the outside of the porous material.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,897,886 describes a firefighter's garment having an outer layer, an intermediate layer, and an inner layer. Spacer elements are disposed between two of the layers of the garment to provide air spaces between layers of the garment. This design seeks to enhance thermal protective performance without significantly increasing garment weight. Its primary objectives are not:
reduction in garment weight PA1 nor enhanced mobility PA1 nor equal or superior heat and mechanical resistance at lower fabric weights.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,922,522 describes a design which seeks to increase flexibility at certain places in the garment by reducing the fabric thickness in these specific areas. Coincidentally, this would provide a very small reduction in garment weight.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,136,723 discloses a firefighter garment including an outer shell, a moisture barrier within the shell and an inner thermal barrier. The outer shell may be made of NOMEX.RTM. or KEVLAR.RTM. fibers. The moisture barrier may be made of NOMEX.RTM. fibers and the thermal barrier may have a face cloth of NOMEX.RTM. or KEVLAR.RTM.. The aim of this Patent is the promotion of moisture vapor (perspiration) transmission from the inside to the outside of the garment without sacrificing thermal protective performance.
It is a feature of the present invention to provide a textile material for the inner lining of a firefighter garment that increases wearer comfort, reduces metabolic energy requirements and decreases metabolic heat build-up.
It is another feature of the present invention to reduce the overall weight of the inner lining and hence the firefighter garment without compromising the mechanical resistance of the inner lining while also maintaining the required mechanical and thermal characteristics.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide an inner lining for firefighter garments that reduces the coefficients of static and sliding friction between the layers of the garment and between the garment and other interior or exterior surfaces which it may contact.
It is another feature of the present invention to provide an inner lining for firefighter protective garments that is less susceptible to pilling.

Textile material for inner lining of firefighter protective garment


A film-on-wire spacer covers an entire upper surface of a lower electronic component. Accordingly, an upper electronic component is supported above bond pads and lower bond wires of the lower electronic component. This decreases the stress on the upper electronic component, e.g., during wirebonding, and thus decreases the chance of cracking the upper electronic component. Further, the lower bond wires are enclosed in and protected by the film-on-wire spacer. Further, the film-on-wire spacer is thin resulting in a minimum height of the stacked electronic component package.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the packaging of electronic components. More particularly, the present invention relates to a stacked electronic component package and method for fabricating the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
To reduce the size of electronic component packages, electronic components such as semiconductor dies were stacked one upon another within a stacked electronic component package. To space the upper electronic component above the lower bond wires connected to the bond pads of the lower electronic component, a spacer was used.
The spacer was mounted to the upper surface of the lower electronic component inward of the bond pads on the upper surface of the lower electronic component. The lower bond wires were connected to the bond pads on the upper surface of the lower electronic component. The lower surface of the upper electronic component was mounted to the spacer, which spaced the lower surface of the upper electronic component away from the upper surface of the lower electronic component and the lower bond wires.
A spacer made of silicon, i.e., a silicon spacer, was used. As a silicon spacer is nonadhesive, use of the silicon spacer required an upper and lower adhesive. The lower adhesive mounted the lower surface of the silicon spacer to the upper surface of the lower electronic component inward of the bond pads of the lower electronic component. The upper adhesive, e.g., a film adhesive, was applied to the entire lower surface of the upper electronic component. The upper electronic component having the upper adhesive applied to the entire lower surface of the upper electronic component was then mounted to the silicon spacer.
An alternative to the silicon spacer was a double-sided film spacer. A double-sided film spacer had adhesive on both the upper and lower surfaces of the double-sided film spacer. This allowed the double-sided film spacer to be mounted directly to the upper surface of the lower electronic component inward of the bond pads of the lower electronic component and the upper electronic component to be directly mounted to the double-sided film spacer with or without the application of additional adhesives. This simplified manufacturing resulting in a lower manufacturing cost of the stacked electronic component package. Further, a double-sided film spacer was less expensive than a silicon spacer again resulting in a lower manufacturing cost of the stacked electronic component package.
One problem associated with both the silicon spacer and the double-sided film spacer was that the spacer was mounted directly to the upper surface of the lower electronic component inward of the bond pads of the lower electronic component. Accordingly, the upper electronic component was unsupported above the bond pads and bond wires of the lower electronic component. This increased the stress on the upper electronic component, e.g., during wirebonding, and thus increased the chance of cracking the upper electronic component. Further, both the silicon spacer and the double-sided film spacer were relatively thick resulting in a relatively tall stacked electronic component package.

Stacked electronic component package having film-on-wire spacer


A medical device such as a catheter, stent or balloon, is formed by depositing a radiation curable composition on a form made of ice or wax. The deposited composition may be cured by irradiation, suitably with UV light. Complex structures can be built up if the deposition or curing is achieved imagewise. Compositions which photocure to polyester, polyamide or polyimide may be employed. A particular structure is a balloon for a rapid exchange catheter which has a guide wire lumen passing through the balloon cone walls.

Many medical devices comprising polymers, such as diagnostic and balloon catheters, are currently being manufactured utilizing conventional thermoplastic polymer thermoforming techniques such as extrusion, injection molding, stretch blow molding, and the like. Within these processes, one softens or melts the polymer and reshapes it into the desired shape. Although these thermoforming processes are well developed, pressures exist to shrink the size of such medical products. At the same time the diversity of local functional properties within the device is increasing. Consequently, an increasing number of complex processing steps have to be taken to get to the desired result.
Balloon molding from thermoplastic polymer compositions comprising reinforcements is difficult due to the fact that most types of reinforcing agents are unlikely to deform during the blow molding process. Dip molding balloons is possible, but due to the fact the inner shape has to be removed from within the balloon, this is not the most suitable way to produce a reinforced balloon.
High tensile strengths are important in angioplasty balloons because they allow for the use of high pressure in a balloon having a relatively small wall thickness. High pressure is often needed to treat some forms of stenosis. Small wall thicknesses enable the deflated balloon to remain narrow, making it easier to advance the balloon through the arterial system. Similar factors are important in catheter shaft materials.
One of the disadvantages of blow molding balloons is that the cone sections have a thicker wall than the central section. This results in a large balloon profile during folding. A variety of techniques have been offered to reduce cone thickness, but they are not always suitable for a given balloon.
Because of these factors, fabrication techniques for such device components are not adequate to keep reducing size, increasing device complexity, and/or implementing new devices. Consequently there is a need for new fabrication techniques to provide a wider range of local functional properties at the same time allow further size reductions.
Curable compositions, dispensed or applied in liquid form, and subsequently cured have some uses in conventional fabrication of catheter devices, typically in adhesive or coating applications. However, prior to the inventions described herein they have not obtained widespread use.
Devices formed of cured polyimide materials have been described in several documents. Polyimide polymers, known for their high strength at very high temperatures are typically formed by heating polyamide-acid precursor polymer material to a curing temperature where amide and acid groups along the polymer condense to form cyclic imide groups in the backbone polymer chain. This technique is used to form balloons in Euteneuer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,952,357. This fabrication method, however, is unsuited to many device forming applications because of the high temperatures required for curing the polyimide. Further, while polyimide has excellent strength properties, the resulting polymers have relatively poor flexibility, elongation and softness. Still further, the manufacturing procedure uses HF to dissolve a glass substrate upon which the polyamide-acid is formed by deposition from solution. The glass substrate formation and subsequent HF destruction thereof is a relatively dangerous and expensive process. Polyimide tubing used for catheter shafts is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,976,720, Machold et al, but with no discussion of how it is made.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,381, Burns, describes angioplasty catheters with shaft portions made of polyimide or polyimide-polytetrafluoroethylene composite material.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,024,722, Rau et al, applies thermoplastic polyimide to the art of balloon catheter construction, i.e., to catheter shafts, guide catheters, infusion catheters and balloons. Use of this material, however, is subject to the same limitations already recognized for the general class of thermoplastic polymers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,145,942, Hergenrother, et al, describes methyl-substituted polyimide polymers which are thermoplastic, but curable to a crosslinked state by irradiation with UV or exposure to temperatures in excess of 275° C. The UV irradiation process, however, appears to be very slow (100 hrs at 0.21 watts/cm2 to cure films of 1.7 and 2.4 mils (0.04-0.06 mm). Thus use of this material for forming medical devices appears to offer few or no benefits compared to other polyimides, while at the same time incurring further processing disadvantages.
In addition to condensation from polyamide-acid polymers, it has been proposed to form a polyimide from a bis-maleimide compound by Diels Alder cycloaddition, however these reactions are also run at temperatures in excess of 200° C. More recently it has been proposed to prepare polyimides by diene cycloadditions which are catalyzed by UV irradiation, near or even below ambient temperatures.

Medical balloons and processes for preparing same


In varying embodiments, the present inventive concepts relate to a notch filter for quadrature and differential signaling. No inductor is used in this notch filter, thus the integrated circuits silicon die area is small. In addition, the linearity of the notch filter is excellent because of the linearity of the resistors and capacitors in integrated circuits.

A notch filter is a band elimination or band stop filter, for attenuating or damping a part of a frequency band centered on a center frequency. Stated otherwise, the transfer function of a notch filter is flat at all frequencies except for the stop band on either side of the center frequency. The drastic attenuation of the filter response around the targeted frequency is called the notch.
Notch filters have been used for years in the signal processing of signals in a reverberant or high clutter background. A biquad notch filter is a notch filter with a two pole and two zero filter topology, i.e. with a s-domain transfer function with 2 as the highest exponent both in the numerator or denominator. Such a filter is characterized by the 2 poles and 2 zeros of its transfer function. The zeroes are directly linked to the band elimination capacities of the biquad notch filter. In quadrature signaling, in-phase (I) path and quadrature-phase (Q) path need two differential twin-T RC filters.
Series LC, Twin-T RC or differential twin-T RC filters are typically used to notch undesired tones in an RF system. FIGS. 1(a), 1(b), 1(c) respectively, show a series LC filter 110, a Twin-T RC filter 120 and a differential twin-T RC filter 130. However, these conventional implementations require an integrated inductor or a considerable number of components and consequently require a significant amount of area on the silicon die.

Compact RC notch filter for quadrature and differential signaling


In response to a metric (e.g., Doppler metric) exceeding a threshold, a network node device can facilitate transmitting a message instructing a user equipment to enable reception of transmission signals having a precoding rank value of one. The network node device can send a reference signal having the precoding rank value of one, and receive feedback from the user equipment comprising an indicator of channel quality. Optionally, in response to the metric exceeding a threshold, the network node device can facilitate transmitting a message instructing the user equipment to respond to a reference signal by providing feedback comprising a first indicator of rank having a value of one, and a second indicator of channel quality.

Radio technologies in cellular communications have grown rapidly and evolved since the launch of analog cellular systems in the 1980s, starting from the First Generation (1G) in 1980s, Second Generation (2G) in 1990s, Third Generation (3G) in 2000s, and Fourth Generation (4G) in 2010s (including variants of LTE such as TD-LTE, AXGP, LTE-A and TD-LTE-A and other releases). The amount of traffic in cellular networks has experienced a tremendous amount of growth and expansion, and there are no indications that such growth will decelerate. It is expected that this growth will include use of the network not only by humans, but also by an increasing number of machines that communicate with each other, for example, surveillance cameras, smart electrical grids, sensors, home appliances and other technologies in connected homes, and intelligent transportation systems (e.g., the Internet of Things (IOT)). Additional technological growth includes 4K video, augmented reality, cloud computing, industrial automation, and V2V.
Consequently, advancement in future networks are driven by the need to provide and account for massive connectivity and volume, expanded throughput and capacity, and ultra-low latency. Fifth generation (5G) access networks, which can also be referred to as New Radio (NR) access networks, are currently being developed and expected to handle a very wide range of use cases and requirements, including among others mobile broadband (MBB) and machine type communications (e.g., involving IOT devices). For mobile broadband, 5G wireless communication networks are expected to fulfill the demand of exponentially increasing data traffic and to allow people and machines to enjoy gigabit data rates with virtually zero latency. Compared to existing fourth generation (4G) technologies, such as long-term evolution (LTE) networks and advanced LTE networks, 5G provides better speeds and coverage than the existing 4G network, targeting much higher throughput with low latency and utilizing higher carrier frequencies (e.g., higher than 6 Ghz) and wider bandwidths. A 5G network also increases network expandability up to hundreds of thousands of connections.
The above-described background relating to wireless networks is merely intended to provide a contextual overview of some current issues, and is not intended to be exhaustive. Other contextual information may become further apparent upon review of the following detailed description.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Multi-antenna transmission protocols for high doppler conditions


A broadcast signal receiver comprises a text data receiver for receiving broadcast text data for display to a user in relation to a user interface; a text-to-speech (TTS) converter for converting received text data into an audio speech signal, the TTS converter being operable to detect whether a word for conversion is included in a stored list of words for conversion and, if so, to convert that word according to a conversion defined by the stored list; and if not, to convert that word according to a set of predetermined conversion rules; a conversion memory storing the list of words for conversion by the TTS converter; and an update receiver for receiving additional words and associated conversions for storage in the conversion memory.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to broadcast systems using text-to-speech (TTS) conversion.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The invention is applicable to broadcast transmission and to various types of broadcast signal receiver, such as a television receiver or a mobile telephone handset. A problem will be described below in the context of television receivers merely in order to explain the technical background of the invention.
Television receivers have been proposed which make use of TTS conversion to assist blind or partially-sighted users. Two examples are disclosed in GB-A-2 405 018 and GB-A-2 395 388. In these examples, TTS techniques are used to reproduce data such as electronic programme guide (EPG) data and teletext data in an audible form.
EPG data in this context means programme listings provided in advance by the broadcaster, to allow a user to select a programme for viewing and/or recording, and data defining a current and a next programme being broadcast on a particular channel. Teletext data refers to textual data provided by the broadcaster as part of an information service. Examples of teletext data might include pages of news text, weather information, cinema listings and the like. All of these data have features in common: they are normally made available to the user by displaying the text on the television screen, and in practical terms they have an unlimited lexicon (vocabulary; set of available words). It is this feature of an unlimited lexicon can cause difficulties for a TTS system.
TTS techniques rely either on replaying pre-recorded voices relating to the words to be converted into speech by the TTS device, or by building full words from sub-elements of pronunciation known as phonemes. Phonemes are the basic units of speech sound, and basically represent the smallest phonetic units in a language that are capable of expressing a difference in meaning. TTS systems use sets of rules to generate successions of phonemes from the spellings of words to be converted into speech. In languages such as English, which contain many irregular pronunciations, these rules can be complex, especially when similar spellings have different pronunciations (for example: the set of characters "ough" in the English words "through", "though", "cough", "rough", "plough", "ought", "borough", "lough" etc, all of which have different pronunciations of those four characters). But despite these complications, TTS systems based on phonemes or on pre-recorded voices are generally arranged to cope with the complexities of words that are known in advance to the system designers.
However, it is practically impossible to predict in advance what words will appear in EPG data, teletext data and the like. For example, a broadcaster may introduce an abbreviation (for example "Spts" for a "sports" channel). In another example, a name of a programme presenter or a personality in the news may move into common use but might not normally have been included in the lexicon of a TTS system—for example "George Papandreou", "Lembit Opik", "Albus Dumbledore".
The Adobe® Captivate 4 TTS system provides the facility to customise TTS pronunciations, by the user rewriting a difficult-to-pronounce word in a more phonetic form which the TTS system can recognise and pronounce. But in the context of TTS conversion of EPG or teletext data, this arrangement would be of little use to a phoneme-based TTS system. Firstly, the EPG or teletext data is transient; the user might access it once only, and so the user would not choose to spend time designing and entering a replacement phonetic spelling to assist the TTS system. Secondly, the user might not even know how a particular word—for example an abbreviation such as "Spts"—should be pronounced. Thirdly, in a system aimed at the partially sighted or blind user, it would be an undue burden to expect the user to retype replacement phonetic spellings.
The arrangement of Adobe Captivate 4 is not relevant to a TTS system based on pre-recorded pronunciations.

Broadcast system using text to speech conversion


A Data Storage Device (DSD) includes at least one non-volatile storage media. A command is received to modify a portion of a data object or file, with the command being byte-addressable for overwriting, deleting or adding the modified portion. The modified portion of the data object or file is written with an indication of a page container entry at a storage location in the at least one non-volatile storage media. The page container points to a previous storage location for previously written data for the data object or file that was most recently written before writing the modified portion. A mapping or data container entry in a container data structure is updated for the data object or file to point to the storage location storing the modified portion of the data object or file and the indication of the page container entry.

Data stored in Data Storage Devices (DSDs) is conventionally accessed using a block interface based on a logical block size (e.g., 512 Bytes or 4K) or a transaction size of a file system executed by a host accessing the data. However, such conventional block interfaces can duplicate functions performed by the DSD and reduce performance of the system including the DSD and the host (e.g., less Input/Output Operations Per Second (IOPS)). For example, by using a flash DSD including flash memory as a block device, host software is unable to leverage capabilities of dynamic logical to physical remapping, space management, and Garbage Collection (GC) that may already exist within a Flash Translation Layer (FTL) of the DSD. Similar issues exist in cases of a host managed Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) Translation Layer (STL) that enable writes to non-sequential Logical Block Addresses (LBAs) on an SMR disk in the DSD.
There is a duplication of these functions of address remapping, space management, and data compaction or GC in object storage engines, such as LevelDB, RocksDB, and Cassandra. Log structured file systems, such as WAFL, HDFS, and BtrFS, similarly duplicate these functions at the host level.

Container key value store for data storage devices


An architecture for surveillance of hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) 5th generation (5G) Long Term Evolution (LTE) small cell devices using mobile edge computing techniques hosted by a HFC device is disclosed. A method can comprise receiving first data representing a quality of service value associated with a small cell device of a first group of 5G small cell devices; retrieving second data representing a historical quality of service value associated with a second group of 5G small cell devices; as a function of the first data and the second data, generating a change value for the small cell device; and based on the change value, facilitating an adjustment in an operation of the small cell device.

As the 5th generation (5G) Long Term Evolution paradigm comes to fruition, cable operators are expanding their fiber optic networks for macrosites and/or sites that will employ large swaths of bandwidth in the centimeter (cm) and/or millimeter (mm) waveband spectrum, as well as use a hybrid fiber coaxial (HFC) infrastructure to provide power, attachment, and/or connectivity (PAC) for cellular connectivity in legacy cellular radio spectra.

Hybrid fiber coaxial fed 5G small cell surveillance with hybrid fiber coaxial hosted mobile edge computing


The invention relates to platinum-metal oxide composite particles and their use as electrocatalysts in oxygen-reducing cathodes and fuel cells. The invention particularly relates to methods for preventing the oxidation of the platinum electrocatalyst in the cathodes of fuel cells by use of these platinum-metal oxide composite particles. The invention additionally relates to methods for producing electrical energy by supplying such a fuel cell with an oxidant, such as oxygen, and a fuel source, such as hydrogen.

A "fuel cell" is a device which converts chemical energy into electrical energy. In a typical fuel cell, a gaseous fuel such as hydrogen is fed to an anode (the negative electrode), while an oxidant such as oxygen is fed to a cathode (the positive electrode). Oxidation of the fuel at the anode causes a release of electrons from the fuel into an electrically conducting external circuit which connects the anode and cathode. In turn, the oxidant is reduced at the cathode using the electrons provided by the oxidized fuel.
The electrical circuit is completed by the flow of ions through an electrolyte that allows chemical interaction between the electrodes. The electrolyte is typically in the form of a proton-conducting polymer membrane. The proton-conducting membrane separates the anode and cathode compartments while allowing the flow of protons between them. A well-known example of such a proton-conducting membrane is NAFION®.
A fuel cell, although having components and characteristics similar to those of a typical battery, differs in several respects. A battery is an energy storage device whose available energy is determined by the amount of chemical reactant stored within the battery itself. The battery will cease to produce electrical energy when the stored chemical reactants are consumed. In contrast, the fuel cell is an energy conversion device that theoretically has the capability of producing electrical energy for as long as the fuel and oxidant are supplied to the electrodes.
In a hydrogen/oxygen fuel cell, hydrogen is supplied to the anode and oxygen is supplied to the cathode. Hydrogen molecules are oxidized to form protons while releasing electrons into the external circuit. Oxygen molecules are reduced at the cathode to form reduced oxygen species. Protons travel across the proton-conducting membrane to the cathode compartment to react with reduced oxygen species, thereby forming water. The reactions in a typical hydrogen/oxygen fuel cell are as follows:Anode: 2H2→4H++4e−  (1)Cathode: O2+4H++4e−→2H2O  (2)Net Reaction: 2H2+O2→2H2O  (3)
In many fuel cell systems, a hydrogen fuel is produced by converting a hydrocarbon-based fuel such as methane, or an oxygenated hydrocarbon fuel such as methanol, to hydrogen in a process known as "reforming". The reforming process typically involves the reaction of such fuels with water along with the application of heat. By this reaction, hydrogen is produced. The byproducts of carbon dioxide and carbon monoxide typically accompany the production of hydrogen by reforming processes.
Other fuel cells, known as "direct" or "non-reformed" fuel cells, oxidize fuels high in hydrogen content directly, without the need for hydrogen to be produced by a reforming process. For example, it has been known since the 1950's that lower primary alcohols, particularly methanol, can be oxidized directly. Due to the advantage of bypassing the reformation step, a substantial effort has gone into the development of so-called "direct methanol oxidation" fuel cells.
In order for the oxidation and reduction reactions in a fuel cell to occur at useful rates and at desired potentials, electrocatalysts are required. Electrocatalysts are catalysts that promote the rates of electrochemical reactions, and thus, allow fuel cells to operate at lower potentials. Accordingly, in the absence of an electrocatalyst, a typical electrode reaction would occur, if at all, only at very high potentials. Due to the high catalytic nature of platinum, supported platinum and platinum alloy materials are preferred as electrocatalysts in the anodes and cathodes of fuel cells.
However, a significant obstacle in commercializing fuel cells is the lack of stability of platinum electrocatalysts in the cathode during operation of the fuel cell. Typically, during operation of a fuel cell, the cathode potential will vary between approximately 0.5 and 1 V. The cathode potential variation is caused by the fluctuating power requirements of a machine driven by the fuel cell. For example, an automobile operated by a fuel cell requires stopping and starting.
During the higher cathode potentials, circa one volt, a portion of the platinum electrocatalyst has a tendency to oxidize, thereby causing the concomitant dissolution of platinum ions. The platinum ions are able to migrate at least as far as the proton conducting membrane. Hydrogen crossing through the proton conducting membrane from the anode causes the subsequent reduction of the platinum ions into platinum nanoparticles. Accordingly, platinum is depleted from the cathode while the build up of platinum on the proton conducting membrane impedes the transport of hydrogen to the cathode. Both of the foregoing effects cause a large loss in potential during operation of the fuel cell. This loss in potential is the source of a major decline in the fuel cell's efficiency.
Accordingly, there is a need for new platinum-based electrocatalysts which are resistant to the oxidation and dissolution effects described above. Such platinum electrocatalysts would greatly further the commercialization of fuel cells. The present invention relates to such platinum electrocatalysts.

Electrocatalyst for oxygen reduction with reduced platinum oxidation and dissolution rates


A combustion power-operated setting tool has a propellant-driven setting mechanism, (12) an ignition device (18) for igniting a propellant, a receptacle (15) for receiving a propellant holder (20) and a device (30) for sensing presence of the propellant holder (20) in the receptacle (15) and which blocks ignition of the propellant by the ignition device in absence of the propellant holder in the receptacle (15) and provides for the ignition of the propellant by the ignition device upon sensing the presence of the propellant holder (20) in the receptacle (15).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a combustion power-operated setting tool including a propellant-operated setting mechanism, an ignition device for igniting the propellant, and a receptacle for a propellant holder. The present invention also relates to a propellant holder for a combustion power-operated setting tool.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Setting tools of the type described above can be operated with liquid or gaseous fuels that act as propellants and are generally stored in propellant holders.
German Publication DE-42 43 617 A1 discloses a combustion power-operated setting tool in which during an operational cycle, a gas inlet valve mechanically opens to provide for flow of fuel from a propellant holder into a storage chamber. From the storage chamber, the fuel flows into a combustion chamber before an ignition process is initiated. The propellant holder is formed as a cartridge with a liquefied gas and which is replaceably received in a receptacle of the setting tool.
The drawback of the disclosed setting tool consists in that in case of absence of the propellant holder in the receptacle, the residual fuel in the storage chamber can be still available, and an unintended actuation of a setting process by the tool user can take place, while the user believes that the setting tool is not operation-ready because of the absence of the propellant holder in the tool receptacle.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is a setting tool of the type described above in which the foregoing drawback of the known setting tool is eliminated.

Combustion power-operated setting tool and a propellant holder for a combustion power-operated setting tool


An electrical distribution system includes an electrical distribution harness having a generally C-shaped channel with a keying arrangement formed therein, and an electrical connector with at least one electrical terminal array within the channel. A modular electrical component includes a mating keying arrangement complimentary to the keying arrangement in the channel, and thereby only allows the modular electrical component to be insertable into the channel and coupled with a corresponding electrical terminal array in a preselected orientation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical distribution systems used in modular office furniture, and, more particularly, to an electrical distribution system having an electrical distribution harness which couples with modular electrical components.
2. Description of the Related Art
Modular office furniture may include modular wall panel assemblies, desks, tables, etc. Modular wall panel assemblies are used to separate one work space from another, and route electrical power and data from one work station to another. A modular wall panel assembly typically includes a modular wall panel having a raceway formed at the lower end thereof. An electrical distribution system is positioned within the raceway and distributes electrical power and/or data to selected work stations. The electrical distribution system may include a plurality of electrical distribution harnesses which are respectively suspended from the bottom of the wall panels within each corresponding raceway. End connectors and/or jumper cables connect the electrical distribution harnesses together in a parallel or series manner.
Typically, each electrical distribution harness includes a center section with a housing in which a plurality of electrical conductors are disposed. The housing may be in the form of stamped metal or molded plastic. Although suitable for distributing electrical power, stamped metal housings and molded plastic housings are relatively expensive.
What is needed in the art is an electrical distribution harness for use within modular office furniture, which is simple and easy to manufacture while at the same time ensuring quick and reliable assembly for original and retrofit installations.
The present invention provides an electrical distribution system for use in a modular wall panel assembly which includes an electrical distribution harness having a generally C-shaped channel with a keying arrangement which mates with a corresponding mating keying arrangement of a modular electrical component such as an electrical receptacle.
The invention comprises, in one form thereof, an electrical distribution system including an electrical distribution harness having a generally C-shaped channel with a keying arrangement formed therein, and an electrical connector with at least one electrical terminal array within the channel. A modular electrical component includes a mating keying arrangement complimentary to the keying arrangement in the channel, and thereby only allows the modular electrical component to be insertable into the channel and coupled with a corresponding electrical terminal array in a preselected orientation.
An advantage of the present invention is that the electrical distribution harness is formed from a pair of generally C-shaped channels which may be formed by an extrusion process and coupled in a back-to-back manner.
Another advantage is that the extrusions formed in the C-shaped channels are easily coupled together using a snap-lock arrangement therebetween.
Yet another advantage is that the C-shaped channels are monolithically formed with latches which retain the modular electrical component therein.
Yet another advantage is that the pair of feet at the bottom of the legs extending from the C-shaped channels interconnect with a trough in the cover assembly.
A further advantage is that the slots in the L-shaped legs may be formed with any size and shape corresponding to the outwardly extending lugs of the modular electrical component.

Electrical distribution system with keyed channel arrangement