A system is provided for detecting or locating an edge of a workpiece in a processing path. The system includes a reflector which can be positioned at an elevation higher than the workpiece in the processing path. According to one aspect of the invention, the reflector can be mounted in a recess of a clamp which can be moved to engage the workpiece. The system also includes a light beam source and reflected light beam sensor located along one side of the processing path. According to another aspect of the invention, the light beam can be directed at an oblique angle through a corner of the processing path to the reflector. Interruption of the light beam changes the state of the sensor which indicates the location of the workpiece edge relative to the location of the light beam source along one axis of a mutually orthogonal three-axis coordinate system.

Fabrication of a structural workpiece (such as, for example, a structural steel I-beam, wide flange beam, angle, channel, flat plate, etc.) may require cutting, drilling, punching, and severing portions of the workpiece. Conventional machines perform these processing operations. For example, a machine can be used to drill holes in a workpiece (e.g., a structural beam).
In one type of machine, a workpiece, such as a structural beam, is supported lengthwise on, and clamped to, a table adjacent a drill carriage which supports a drill spindle so that a drill mounted thereto can be moved to desired locations along the length of the beam, along the height of the beam, and toward or away from the beam.
In some machines, the drill spindle can also be tilted (angled) in a plane that is perpendicular to the length of the beam support table and/or can be tilted (angled) in a plane that is parallel to the horizontal support surface of the beam support table.
In another type of machine, the beam or other workpiece is moved through an assembly of tools (e.g., punches, drills, etc.) which are at fixed locations along the length of the machine.
Structural beams may have to be provided in appropriate lengths for being erected in specific structures. Methods for creating one or more shorter segments or beams from a length of stock include severing the shorter segments from the length of stock with a cutting torch or with a shearing apparatus.
When beams are erected in structures, the ends of the beams and/or other portions of the beams are typically connected together with bolts. The bolts are received in holes provided in the webs and flanges of the beams.
Conventional methods for providing the bolt holes in a beam include drilling the holes with one or more drill spindles, or punching the holes with one or more punch presses. For example, "web" punch presses may be used to provide holes in the beam web, and "flange" punch presses may be used to provide holes in the beam flanges. Such punch presses may have conventional designs well-known to those skilled in the art. Various designs are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,631,996, 3,722,337, and 3,720,125.
Other systems for processing a beam or other workpiece may include apparatus having cutting torches for cutting the workpiece to length or cutting a profile in the workpiece. Various processes may be combined in one machine, or in one processing line having a number of different machines.
There is typically a need, at some point in the process (usually at an initial stage of the process), to determine the location of the workpiece relative to the process line or path (i.e., relative to the various tools that cut, shear, punch, drill, or otherwise operate on the workpiece at the desired locations along the workpiece). Typically, a leading end edge of a workpiece is determined (i.e., established or located) relative to a predetermined position of the operating tool or tools and/or relative to a fixed portion of the process line or machine in the process line so that subsequent processing operations can be programmed and/or performed relative to the initial location data of the leading end edge of the workpiece. In some processes, the trailing end edge of a workpiece may instead, or subsequently, be located (i.e., determined relative to the operating tools). In some other processes, a lateral edge or edges of a workpiece must be located.
In a typical workpiece processing apparatus or processing line, the ambient environment or atmosphere may be relatively dirty as a result of sloughing of rust or scale from the workpiece and/or as a result of the production of the chips and smoke from drilling and/or cutting operations. In addition, the ambient atmosphere can typically include spray mist coolant from coolant liquids that are used during drilling or cutting operations. The relatively dirty ambient atmosphere around the workpiece must be accommodated by any system employed for determining or locating an edge of a workpiece.
Mechanical systems for detecting the edge of a workpiece have been used in the past and continue to be used today. Such mechanical systems do not need to "see" through the dirty ambient atmosphere that envelopes the workpiece, but such mechanical systems are nevertheless subject to the effects of particulates, gases, and liquid materials that are present in the environment around the workpiece and that may over time foul operating components.
A typical mechanical system for locating an edge of a workpiece includes a spring-loaded mechanical switch that physically engages the workpiece. However, this subjects the switch component or components to physical wear and to potential physical damage. Such a mechanical system also requires a significant amount of room (typically for accommodating a support arm, springs, electronic switches to sense motion, etc.). Such a mechanical system thus typically needs to be offset from the operating tool (e.g., drill, cutting torch, etc.). This may require the machine to be longer and/or to require the workpiece or tool to undergo extra travel.
Some of the above-discussed disadvantages of a mechanical system for locating the edge of a workpiece can be eliminated or minimized by using an optical system employing a light beam directed transversely into the processing path of the workpiece so that the beam is perpendicular to the length of the workpiece and parallel to the width direction of the workpiece. When the light beam is interrupted by the leading edge of the workpiece, the light beam is reflected by the surface of the workpiece back to a photoelectric cell switch near the light source. This actuates the switch for indicating the location of the workpiece leading edge. In such a system, the light emitting source must be very near the workpiece path because smoke, mist, and chips can interfere with the transmission of the light beam that is directed at, and reflected from, the workpiece. Further, color and/or texture changes in the workpiece materials, along with changes in the distance between the workpiece and the switch, can cause problems in actuating the switch with the reflected light beam. Such a reflected light beam type of switching system may thus be somewhat inaccurate and/or unreliable.
It would be desirable to provide an improved system for locating an edge of a workpiece wherein the above-discussed problems could be eliminated, or at least substantially minimized.
It would be especially beneficial if such an improved system could operate effectively to locate the edge of a workpiece in an environment that is dirty, and wherein drill chips and spray mist coolant might be thrown or dispersed around the workpiece.
Such an improved system should preferably eliminate or minimize the likelihood of the workpiece or other objects in the environment from physically impacting or engaging the edge locator system in a way that could have a deleterious effect on the system.
It would also be desirable if such an improved system could be readily operated by an appropriate control system, could accommodate a variety of different types of workpieces (e.g., flat plates, channels, angles, beams, etc.), could produce accurate and repeatable results, and could relatively easily accommodate changes in the types and sizes of the workpieces being processed.
Also, it would be beneficial if such an improved system could employ components that are relatively small and that are relatively easy to fit in an existing processing machine or line.
Further, it would be advantageous if the improved system could be manufactured, installed, and operated without incurring excessive costs or expenses.

Light beam switch system for locating the edge of a workpiece


A foot screening system configured to aid in screening a plantar surface of a foot of a user for sores, ulcers, and other signs of diseases. The foot screening system including a foot platform including a foot contacting surface configured to serve as a foot stabilizing device during a screening of a plantar surface of a foot of a user, a camera stabilizer platform configured to support a mobile computing device at a desired angle and distance from the foot platform, and a user interface configured to aid a user in capturing one or more images of the plantar surface of the foot of the user, flagging the one or more images for additional review, and uploading the one or more images to a network for access by a healthcare provider.

Diabetic foot ulcers are a major cause of morbidity, and their treatment is a financial burden on society. The longer patients live with diabetes, the more likely they are to develop peripheral neuropathy. Diabetics with peripheral neuropathy do not feel cuts or blisters; vascular and immunological insufficiencies impede wound healing and hasten progression of minor injuries to ulcers. Detecting and treating diabetic foot ulcers at an early stage is crucial for successful outcomes. However, many elderly, overweight, or inflexible patients cannot examine the soles of their feet and do not have anyone to check their soles regularly. Many diabetics can only realize they have a foot ulcer when the ulcer starts to drain into their socks.
Over 30 million Americans suffer from diabetes; this number is projected to reach 55 million by 2030. Up to 25% of diabetics will develop at least one ulcer; 6% of patients with ulcers will be hospitalized to treat an ulcer infection; and 20% of hospitalized patients will require amputation. Annual per-patient incremental health care expenditures for diabetic foot ulcers range from $12,000 to $17,000 (2014), and diabetics with foot ulcers utilize significantly more medical resource than those without ulcers. The vast majority of diabetes-related amputations are preceded by a foot ulcer. Thus, there is an important unmet need to diagnose diabetic foot ulcers early and monitor the effects of therapy efficiently.
Over the years various approaches to screening the bottom of a diabetic patient's foot have been developed. One such approach involves the use of a digital camera mounted in a box with a plurality of LEDs to illuminate and capture images of the bottom of the patient's foot. The images are then automatically sent on to a clinician for evaluation. This approach is generally disclosed in U.S. Patent Publ. No. 2005/0097762. Another approach involves the use of a patient standing on a glass platform while a scanner scans the bottom of the patient's foot. This approach is generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,068,379. One notable drawback of this approach is that the plantar tissues are pressed against the glass, thereby producing artifacts that can be misinterpreted as callous tissue, or that can obscure the visualization of the earliest signs of skin breakdown (e.g., discoloration).
Another approach involves the use of a support frame configured to position a camera, smart phone, or other camera enabled tablet that captures images of the bottom of their foot which are sent to a separate display screen. This approach is generally disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 9,301,688. One drawback of this approach is the need for two electronic components; notably a camera and a separate screen to view images. Further, without the use of a remote controller, operation of the camera is at best difficult.

System and method for screening a patient's foot


There is provided an organic EL element including a light emitting unit including at least a plurality of light emitting layers each containing an organic compound and emitting light when a predetermined potential difference is supplied and an intermediate layer that is arranged between the light emitting layers to inject electric charge into the light emitting layers, an anode and a cathode between which the light emitting unit is interposed in a stacking direction and which supply the predetermined potential difference to the light emitting unit, and a potential control mechanism configured to control potential of the intermediate layer in a manner that the potential is set to potential between potential of the anode and potential of the cathode.

The present disclosure relates to an organic EL element, a display device, and an illuminating device.
In recent years, as a light emitting element driven at a lower voltage, an organic electro-luminescence (EL) element that has a light emitting layer that contains an organic compound (which will also be referred to hereinafter as an organic light emitting layer) has been noticed. In addition, various technologies relating to a display device and an illuminating device that use such organic EL elements (which will also be referred to hereinafter respectively as an organic EL display device and an organic EL illuminating device) have been developed.
In such an element, a wavelength band of light emitted from an organic light emitting layer composed of a single material is limited to a given range, and thus it is difficult to cause the organic light emitting layer composed of a single material to emit white light. Thus, an organic EL element in which a plurality of organic light emitting layers that emit light having different wavelength bands are arranged in an in-plane direction or in a stacking direction and the organic light emitting layers are caused to emit light at the same time to generate white light has been proposed. For example, JP 2003-272860A discloses a technology for realizing higher light emission efficiency of an organic EL element in which a plurality of organic light emitting layers are arranged in a stacking direction (which will also be referred to hereinafter as a stacking-type organic EL element or a tandem-type organic EL element) by adjusting a specific resistance value of an intermediate layer such as a charge generation layer inserted between the organic light emitting layers.
On the other hand, it is not easy in a stacking-type organic EL element to maintain a uniform light emission ratio of each organic light emitting layer over a wide range of light emission luminance levels. Thus, chromaticity of light emitted from a stacking-type organic EL element changes, for example, as light emission luminance changes, and thus it is difficult to stably emit uniform white light. There is a concern of occurrence of such a change in chromaticity, which leads to deterioration in image quality of a display device in which such stacking-type organic EL elements are mounted. Thus, for example, JP 2012-194256A discloses a technology with respect to a display device that has pixels constituted by sub pixels which emit light of colors including red, green, blue, and white for suppressing a change in chromaticity of light emitted from the pixels over a wide range of light emission luminance levels by adjusting luminance of each sub pixel.

Organic EL element, display device, and illuminating device


A multichannel communication system carries signals having a different frequency range in each channel. In order to achieve a particular output power level from each channel, an amplifier is associated with each channel to boost the signal level. For reliability, a switching arrangement switches amplifiers among the channels in accordance with a priority, or substitutes a redundant amplifier for a degraded or failed unit in a channel. The amplifier is subject to distortion at the desired output level, and is cascaded with a distortion equalizer or linearizer for reducing the total distortion. In accordance with the invention, each distortion equalizer is fixedly connected in one channel, and is optimized for the relatively narrow frequency range of that channel, rather than being switched together with the amplifier and being optimized over the total or cumulative bandwidth of all the channels.

This invention relates to multichannel communication systems including power amplifiers, and more particularly to distortion correction in a multichannel system.
Modern communication satellites provide several broadband repeater channels, which receive from an Earth station a plurality of signals within a cumulative frequency band, process the received signals, as by low-noise amplification, filtration and block conversion to another frequency, for retransmission to the same or another location. While the description of the invention is couched in terms of a communications satellite, the invention may also be used for terrestrial or other uses.
FIG. 1a illustrates, in simplified block diagram form, a satellite body 6 in accordance with the prior art, upon which are mounted a polarizing grid arrangement 8, vertically polarized receiving antenna 12V and horizontally polarized receiving antenna 12H. Receiving antennas 12V and 12H are coupled to vertical and horizontal signal processing arrangements 10V and 10H, respectively, located within body 6. Signal processing arrangements 10V and 10H process the received signals to produce signals to be retransmitted, which are broadcast by transmitting antennas 32V and 32H, respectively. Signal processing arrangement 10H is similar to vertical processing unit 10V, so only processing unit 10V is described.
The nature of the signals arriving at the satellite may be understood by reference to FIG. 1b. The vertically-polarized signals arriving at antenna 12V by way of polarizing grid 8 includes a plurality of signals centered at different frequencies f1, f2, f3. The amplitude spectra of various signals are designated V1, V2, V3 in FIG. 1b. Some of the signals arriving with horizontal polarization (at antenna 12H) are illustrated (in dashed lines) as H1, H2 in FIG. 1b. In a typical satellite system, there may be as many as 10 or more vertical (V) and 10 or more horizontal (H) channels, with their frequencies of operation interleaved as shown in FIG. 1b. The bandwidth of a signal such as signal V2 may be sufficient to carry a television channel, or more. Thus, the bandwidth of a signal such as V2 may be 6 MHz or more. Vertical processing channel 10V of FIG. 1a may, as a consequence, receive 10 or more signals V1, V2, V3 . . . V.sub.N, each six or more MHz wide, which are separated from each other by a like amount. Thus, the total frequency bandwidth occupied by the vertical signals may be 120 MHz or more, calculated as [10(v)+10(H)].times.6. The center frequency of the 120 MHz band may be, for example, at 14 GHz.
The 10 or more vertical signals V1, V2 . . . received by antenna 12V of FIG. 1a are coupled to an input filter 14 of channel 10V, for reducing noise and preventing interference. Filter 14 is a bandpass filter with a bandwidth substantially equal to the total bandwidth of the vertical signals. The filtered signals are coupled from input filter 14 to a low noise amplifier (not illustrated) if required, and then to a block converter including a mixer 16 and a local oscillator 18. The frequency of local oscillator 18 is selected to convert the 14 GHz center frequency to some other center frequency, such as 12 GHz. The downconverted 12 GHz signals are applied over a transmission path 20 to a multiplexing (MUX) filter 22. Multiplexing filter 22 separates signals V1, V2, V3 . . . from each other in accordance with their frequencies. Multiplexing filter 22 is the starting point for a plurality of separate channels designated generally as 1, 2, . . . 3, 4. If there are 10 vertical signals V1, V2, V3 . . . , then the number of channels in signal processor 10V is also 10. The signal in each of channels 1, 2, . . . 3, 4 is one of the signals V1, V2, . . . . In effect, filter 22 is a source of signals at a plurality of different frequencies, driving a like plurality of separate channels.
In general, the signals on channels 1, 2, . . . 3, 4 in FIG. 1a are amplified, the distortion generated due to the amplification is compensated, and the amplified and distortion corrected signals are applied to a combiner or demultiplexer 30, which may be a filter similar to filter 22 operated in reverse, or it might be a group of hybrid combiners which do not discriminate based upon frequency. The combined signals at the output of combiner 30 are applied to a transmitting antenna 32V for transmission back to an Earth station, or possibly to another satellite.
System considerations such as the signal strength of the signal available at the satellite, the receiving antenna gain, and the transmitting antenna gain and field strength required to reach the ground station establish the overall power gain which must be provided in each channel between receiving antenna 12V and transmitting antenna 32V.
Within any channel 1, 2, . . . 3, 4 of FIG. 1a, the signal is processed by the cascade of a driver amplifier (DA) 34, a distortion linearizer such as a predistortion equalizer (PDL) 36, and a power amplifier or final amplifier (FA) 38. For example, as illustrated in FIG. 1a, the cascade of a DA 34.sup.1, PDL 36.sup.1 and FA 38.sup.1 processes the channel 1 signals, and a DA 34.sup.2, PDL 36.sup.2, and FA 38.sup.2 amplifies the signals for channel 2. As illustrated in FIG. 1a, an additional cascade of a DA 34.sup.5, PDL 36.sup.5, and FA 38.sup.5 is connected in cascade, to define a supernumerary "channel" designated 5. Channel 5 is not connected for handling signal, but instead represents a reserve cascade which may be substituted into any of the other channels in which the cascade may become defective. To this end, connection between input filter 22 and the inputs of the various channel cascades 34, 36, 38 is provided by means of an input switch arrangement designated 24, and connection between the outputs of final amplifiers 38 and combiner 30 is provided by an output switch arrangement designated as 28. A switch control arrangement illustrated as 26 gangs the input and output switches for simultaneous operation, and responds to signals in response to evidence of failure, generated on the ground or autonomously by control circuits within the spacecraft itself. Thus, in the event that the cascade of DA 34.sup.1, PDL 36.sup.1 1, and FA 38.sup.1 fails completely or becomes degraded, the reserve cascade including DA 34.sup.5, PDL 36.sup.5, and FA 38.sup.5 can be substituted therefor, with the cascade of DA 34.sup.1, PDL 36.sup.1, and FA 38.sup.1 being removed from on-line use. Naturally, additional redundant units may be provided, and if the number of failures should exceed the number of redundant units, the switching arrangement including 24, 26 and 28 may move operable cascades from lower-priority uses to higher-priority uses. In order to be switchable to obtain this level of reliability, each cascade must have an instantaneous frequency bandwidth covering the cumulative or total bandwidth of the vertical signals V1, V2, V3, . . . .
An improved communications system is desired.

Multichannel communication system with an amplifier in each channel


A coding apparatus, a program and a data processing method capable of attaining a high speed and a reduction of a computation amount in coding processing is provided, wherein coding portions for performing a left shift operation on a range and a lower limit value until the range exceeds a predetermined value and performing coding in accordance with the lower limit value before performing the left shift operation comprise a bit position specifying portion for specifying a bit position indicating a first logic value being closest to the MSB in a range; a shift amount specifying portion for specifying a shift amount immediately before the range exceeds a predetermined value by a left shift operation based on the bit position; a judging portion for judging whether there is a free space exceeding the shift amount in a predetermined bit length of extended region data added to the MSB side of the lower limit value, wherein bit data is carried from the lower limit value by the left shift operation; and an extended data coding portion for generating coding data of data stored in the extended region data by the left shift operation when there is not a free space.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a coding apparatus, a program and a data processing method for performing arithmetic encoding and other encoding processing on data, such as image data and audio data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, apparatuses for handling image data in a digital form and conforming to the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) and other method for performing compression by orthogonal transformation, such as discrete cosine transformation, and motion compensation by using redundancy peculiar to image information on an object of attaining highly efficient information transmission and storage have been widespread both in information distribution by broadcast stations and information receiving in households.
The MPEG system is followed by a coding method called JVT (Joint Video Team) proposed for realizing a still higher compression rate. For example, refer overview of the H.264/AVC Video Coding Standard, "IEEE Transactions Circuits and Systems for Video Technology", the U.S.A., July 2003, by Thomas Wiegand, Gary J. Sullivan, Gisle Bjontegaard, and Ajay Luthra.
In the JVT system, two types of coding processing, which are CAVLC (Context Based Adaptive Variable Length Coding) and CABAC (Context Adaptive Binary Arithmetic Coding), are regulated as coding processing of a syntax element (SE).
For example, in the above coding processing, massive data is input and an enormous amount of arithmetic processing has to be performed, and there is a demand for coding processing at a higher speed with a reduced computation amount.

Coding apparatus, program and data processing method


A sliding member held by a movable case is interposed between the movable case and a stopper plate. During opening and closing operations, the movable case does not wear because the stopper plate and the sliding member slidably contact.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to opening and closing mechanisms used in hinge joints of electronic devices adopting a folding design such as mobile phones.
2. Background Art
FIG. 6 is a sectional view of conventional opening and closing mechanism 30, and FIG. 7 is its exploded perspective view. Fixed member 31 has fixed cam 32 with sloped portions 32B and 32C.
Movable member 33 is disposed in a rotatable fashion and also axially-movable fashion relative to fixed member 31. Movable member 33 has a pair of movable cams 34 which engage with cam 32.
Fixed member 31, movable member 33, spring 36, and fixed shaft 37 are housed in cylindrical movable case 35 made of a metal sheet. Movable member 33 and movable case 35 are coupled via spring 36. Each of the tips of cams 34 is resiliently contacted against sloped portion 32B of cam 32 by the force of spring 36.
Fixed member 31 is secured to a left end of fixed shaft 37. Movable member 33 and movable case 35 are rotatably installed on fixed shaft 37. A right end of fixed shaft 37 protrudes outward from movable case 35. Ring-shaped stopper plate 38 made of metal is secured to the right end of fixed shaft 37 so as to retain movable case 35, configuring opening and closing mechanism 30.
This opening and closing mechanism 30 is, for example, employed in a hinge joint of a folding mobile phone as shown in FIG. 8. Though not illustrated in FIG. 8, opening and closing mechanism 30 acts as a hinge between fixed housing 42 and movable housing 43 by coupling fixed member 31 to fixed housing 42, and movable case 35 to movable housing 43, respectively.
In the above structure, a force in a closing direction is applied to movable member 33 when each of the tips of movable cams 34 is resiliently contacting sloped portion 32B of fixed cam 32, as shown in FIG. 6, and thus the force in the closing direction relative to fixed housing 42 is applied to movable housing 43.
When movable housing 43 is opened by hand from this closed state, movable case 35 coupled to movable housing 43 rotates, and each of the tips of movable cams 34 rides over a tip of fixed cam 32, and resiliently contacts sloped portion 32C. Now, a force in an opening direction is applied to movable member 33, and thus the force in the opening direction relative to fixed housing 42 is applied to movable housing 43.
Movable case 35 is pressed against stopper plate 38 by a counteraction of the force of spring 36 toward movable member 33. Accordingly, a friction occurs between movable case 35 and stopper plate 38 when movable housing 43 is opened and closed, as described above.
Stopper plate 38 is made by punching out a relatively hard metal sheet. On the other hand, movable case 35 is made by drawing a relatively soft metal sheet. Accordingly, movable case 35 wears and a smooth operation feeling is degraded on repeating opening and closing operations.
One prior art device related to the present invention is disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 2005-346992.


A side mounted storage device is provided for an agricultural applicator having a frame assembly in support of a drive unit or engine configured to drive the agricultural applicator on a plurality of wheel assemblies in a forward direction of travel. The storage device includes a fixed storage compartment and a pivotal storage compartment. The pivotal storage compartment is pivotally attached at the forward end of the fixed storage compartment with respect to the forward direction of travel of the agricultural applicator. From a closed position, the pivotal storage compartment is coupled to swing in a radially outward direction with respect to the frame assembly of the agricultural applicator. In a preferred embodiment, the pivotal storage compartment in the open position provides an operator on the ground with ready access to the engine.

Numerous types of agricultural applicators are available today. These can include a pull-type unit or a self-propelled unit. A certain known agricultural applicator is also referred to a "floater." The floater is a large vehicle that uses large, oversized floatation tires to carry the vehicle across firm to muddy agricultural fields. The chassis assembly of the floater includes three or more floatation tires. The typical chassis includes a pair of rear floatation tires and a front floatation tire. The chassis assembly is configured to support one or more bulk storage tanks or bins of product for application in an agricultural environment usually before planting in the spring or after harvest in the fall. The types of agricultural products e.g., fertilizer, herbicide, pesticide, nutrients, etc. can vary. The floater can also be utilized to tow various agricultural implements. The oversized-tired agricultural applicators are generally desired for their ability to maneuver heavy loads over extremely rough and difficult agricultural terrain without substantial compaction of the soil.
However, these certain floater-type agricultural applicators have drawbacks. For optimum performance, floaters are generally designed so that the front floatation tire is positioned as far forward as possible, and the engine is positioned as far rearward from the front floatation tire as far as possible. Moreover, there is a desire to limit the wheel base between the front floatation tire and the rear floatation tires so that the frame assembly is as short as possible. This leaves little space on the frame assembly to mount the engine, the battery, storage compartments, etc. between the front and rear floatation tires. Due to this premium on frame capacity between the front and rear floatation tires, these certain known floaters include "side-mounted" compartments or storage boxes for storing various items (e.g., personal protective equipment, tools, etc.) associated with operation of the floater, or for mounting ladders to access the elevated cab. Certain known storage compartments that extend alongside the drive unit limit access to the drive unit or engine to only from above, via the hood assembly or from below the frame assembly. Other known storage compartments have limited storage capacity because further extension would interfere with an operator standing on the ground from accessing the drive unit.
Thus, there is a need for an agricultural applicator with a side-mounted storage device that provides additional storage space for miscellaneous items associated with operation of the agricultural applicator. There is also a need for a side-mounted storage device that also allows an operator standing on the ground to access and service the engine. Furthermore, there is a need for a side-mounted storage device that allows an operator to access the miscellaneous items located or stored inside the side-mounted storage device.


The invention describes materials useful for calibrating methods, and standards, calibration verification, linearity, and quality control materials for any method used to detect lipids and/or lipoproteins. This invention describes methods for producing, and compositions produced thereby, stable lipid controls, standards, and reagents including a stabilizing amount of TDPA, and further including a known amount of a substantially pure constituent of interest, including total cholesterol (CHOL), triglycerides (TRIG), high density lipoprotein (HDL), APO lipoprotein A (APO-A), APO Lipoprotein B (APO-B), low density lipoprotein (LDL), apolipoprotein a Lp(a) and other lipoprotein moieties useful for calibrating, standardizing, verifying, quality control, and the like, relating to use of an instrument for assessing the level of such constituents in a sample.

Determination of lipid levels in a body fluid, particularly determination of total cholesterol, high density lipoprotein (HDL), low density lipoprotein (LDL), triglycerides, apolipoprotein, phospholipids, sphingolipids and cholesteryl esters levels, collectively referred to as "lipids", has rapidly come into wide use with the recent development of enzymatic, immunologic, electrophoretic and ultracentrifugation determination processes. As a result, the utility of these lipids in the field of clinical diagnosis has been increasing. Therefore, a proper standard solution for determination of lipid levels is required.
Most cholesterol analyses comprise mixing a chromogenic working reagent with the sample to be analyzed and, after color development, observing color intensity on a spectrophotometer. The working reagent generally contains cholesterol esterase in order to convert cholesterol esters to free cholesterol, and cholesterol oxidase to oxidize free cholesterol yielding cholestenone, simultaneously liberating hydrogen peroxide. The amount of cholesterol present is then determined by measuring the amount of hydrogen peroxide liberated using the peroxidase/phenol/4-aminoantipyrine system, also present in the working reagent. This analysis is also run on calibrator solutions, which are prepared by adding the working reagent to standard solutions containing known concentrations of cholesterol, so that meaningful quantitative information can be obtained.
Most HDL Cholesterol analyses are performed by homogeneous assays without the need for pretreatment of centrifugation steps. The method depends on a unique detergent which solubilizes only the HDL lipoprotein particles and releases HDL cholesterol to react with the enzymatic assay described above to produce a color product. The same detergent also inhibits the reaction of the cholesterol enzymes with LDL, very-low-density lipoproteins (VLDL) and chylomicrons lipoproteins by adsorbing to their surfaces. Furthermore, a polyanion contained in the reagent enhances the selectivity for HDL cholesterol by complexing the LDL, VLDL and chylomicron proteins (see Beckman Synchron CX Systems Chemistry Information Manual No. 249595, May 2000).
HDL Cholesterol analyses are also measured via a direct method using polyethylene glycol (PEG)-modified enzymes and dextran sulfate. When cholesterol esterase and cholesterol oxidase enzymes are modified by PEG, they demonstrate selective catalytic activities toward lipoprotein fractions, with the reactivity increasing in the order: LDL<VLDL<chylomicrons<HDL. In the presence of magnesium ions, sulfated α-cyclodextrin reduces the reactivity of cholesterol, especially in chylomicrons and VLDL, without the need for precipitation of lipoprotein aggregates. (See Roche Diagnostics Corporation, GmbH, 2002, No. 05453101, Mannheim, Germany.) This allows for the selective determination of HDL cholesterol in serum.
To date, LDL Cholesterol assays have been performed taking advantage of the selected micellary solubilization of LDL-cholesterol by a nonionic detergent and the interaction of a sugar compound with lipoproteins (VLDL and chylomicrons). When a detergent is included in the enzymatic method for cholesterol determination, the relative reactivities of cholesterol in the lipoprotein fractions increases in this order: HDL<chylomicrons<VLDL<LDL. In the presence of magnesium cations, a sugar compound markedly reduces the enzymatic reaction for the cholesterol measurement in VLDL and chylomicrons. The combination of a sugar compound with detergent enables the selective determination of LDL cholesterol in serum. (See Roche Diagnostics Corporation, GmbH, 2002, Technical Publication No. 054565801, Mannheim, Germany). LDL cholesterol is also determined using procedures described in technical bulletins available from, among others, Genzyme Corporation, Beckman Coulter, and the like.
Most triglycerides assays comprise mixing a chromogenic working reagent with the sample to be analyzed and, after color development, observing color intensity on a spectrophotometer. The working reagent generally contains lipase to convert triglycerides to glycerol and fatty acids, followed by the reaction of glycerol and ATP catalyzed by glycerol kinase to produce glycerol-3-phosphate and ADP. The glycerol-3-phosphate is then catalyzed with glycerophosphate oxidase to form dihydroxyacetone phosphate plus hydrogen peroxide. The amount of triglycerides present is then determined by measuring the amount of color from the reaction of peroxidase converting chromogenic substances such as 4-aminophenazone and 4-chlorophenol or 4-aminoantipyrine and 3,5-dichloro-2-hydroxybenzenesulfonic acid to form the end product for photometric measurement. This analysis is also run on calibrator solutions, which are prepared by adding the working reagent to standard solutions containing known concentrations of triglycerides, so that meaningful quantitative information can be obtained.
Apolipoprotein A-1 (APO-A1) is measured using immuno-turbidimetric assay techniques wherein sample is added to a Tris buffer followed by addition of an anti-lipoprotein A-1 antibody. Anti-lipoprotein A-1 antibodies react with the antigen in the sample to form antigen/antibody complexes which, following agglutination, are measured turbidimetrically. (See Roche Diagnostics Corporation, GmbH, 2002, Technical Publication No. 03032612, Mannheim, Germany).
Apolipoprotein B (APO B) is often measured using immuno-turbidimetric assay techniques wherein sample is added to a Tris buffer followed by addition of an anti-lipoprotein B antibody. Anti-lipoprotein B antibodies react with the antigen in the sample to form antigen/antibody complexes which, following agglutination, are measured turbidimetrically. (See Roche Diagnostics Corporation, GmbH, 2002, Technical Publication No. 03032639, Mannheim, Germany).
These procedures, whether enzymatic, immunologic or turbidimetric, all require that the working reagent, calibrators, quality control (QC) materials and samples be of an aqueous matrix, such as, but not limited to, serum, plasma, and the like. The need for this specific matrix presents a problem with respect to the preparation of calibrator solutions, since cholesterol, and most other components commonly referred to as "lipids", are substantially insoluble in water. For example, a cholesterol standard solution made in alcohol, which when combined with the aqueous working reagents, can produce precipitation of cholesterol. This yields an unacceptable calibrator solution. Such precipitation can lead to uncertain or incompatible color development in the calibrator, QC or calibration verification and/or linearity materials and generally makes the selected specimen useless for reliably correlating color intensity with cholesterol concentration. In a second example, measurement of triglycerides with a reference method uses a triglycerides standard made up of triolein and/or tripalmitin in an alcohol matrix.
Due to their hydrophobicity, lipids are generally dissolved in an organic solvent. These solutions can then be used in the Abell-Kendall reference method for cholesterol determination. In this technique, the solvent solubilized cholesterol is compatible with the assay methodology. However, the lipids in these standard solutions differ in their existing state and fluid property from those found in serum. Thereby, the reactivity between the standard solution and the body fluid (e.g., serum) differ, resulting in errors in the determined values.
Therefore, human- or animal-derived serum or purified lipoprotein cholesterol has been used as the standard solution. Triglycerides may alternately be calibrated using materials such as an artificial water-soluble glycerol, water insoluble animal egg yolk extracts, endogenous triglycerides or water-insoluble solvent-based (alcohol) triolein/tripalmitin standards. For triglyceride calibration, the use of glycerol is not preferred in cases where free glycerol may be present in the sample thus necessitating a "glycerol blanking" prior to lipase conversion of the triglycerides to glycerol in the reaction scheme. The National Institute for Standards and Technology (NIST) has Standard Reference Materials (SRM) available for Total Cholesterol, Total Glycerides, Triglycerides, HDL-Cholesterol and LDL-Cholesterol. These SRMs (SRM 1951a and 1951b) consist of reference concentration values that are lot-specific. The matrixes for these SRMs consists of "Lipids in Frozen Human Serum", shipped under dry ice and are stable for only one (1) week at −20° C. and at −80° C. for longer periods of time. These media all present high costs, difficult shipping conditions, requirements for a −80° C. storage freezer upon receipt, can contain unknown impurities that can influence the determined values, and present technical difficulties relating the potential presence of infectious agents. Additionally, processes for purifying lipoproteins are technically complex and costly to perform for routine analyses of vast numbers of samples.
Consequently, lipids and/or lipoproteins and other constituents of interest, have been solubilized in water containing a surfactant and used as the standard/reference solution. However, a large amount of surfactant is required for the solubilization of lipids in water. This, in turn, increases the viscosity of the solution making its handling sometimes difficult. Moreover, samples comprising of solubilized lipids, and/or lipoproteins are unstable and demonstrate short shelf life upon storage. To combat this issue, solubilized lipid solutions have been lyophilized. However, post reconstitution of these samples, there is subsequent loss of constituent activity.
Despite the difficulties in preparing known standards for use in various assays, in order to convert a detectable assay signal to a quantitative result (e.g., concentration of the constituent), the assay must first be calibrated. Calibration is performed by running the assay first with a series of samples of predetermined concentrations following instructions from the manufacturer of the assay method used. These samples are referred to as "calibrators." The results obtained by reading the signals from the calibrators are used to generate, by using various curve fit models, a calibration curve spanning the entire assay range. The calibration curve can then be used to determine the concentration of an unknown sample of QC, calibration verification/linearity, or unknown sample from the signal it produces. Since the calibrator often responds differently than patient serum or other test sample, changes in the calibrator with time may render it ineffective or cause erroneous or inaccurate test results. In the art, there is a need for more stable aqueous calibrators and calibration curves, as well as for quality control and calibration verification/linearity materials to assess the continued accuracy of an assay. The present invention meets these needs.


In a firing method of a phase change memory device and a phase change memory capable of effectively performing a firing operation, the phase change memory device includes a plurality of memory cell array blocks, a counter clock generation unit, a decoding unit, and a driving unit. Each memory cell array block has phase change memory cells. The counter clock generation unit outputs first through third counter clock signals in response to an external clock signal and a firing mode signal, wherein the first through third counter clock signals have different cycles. The decoding unit, in response to the first through third counter clock signals, outputs a block address which selects one of the plurality of memory cell array blocks, word line addresses which enable word lines of the selected memory cell array block, and a redundant word line address which enables a redundant word line of the selected memory cell array block. The driving unit applies a firing current to the memory cell array blocks in response to the firing mode signal. According to the phase change memory device and the initial firing method, the time taken to perform the initial firing operation can be reduced. In addition, since the numbers of the needed signals are minimized, a large number of chips on a single wafer can be simultaneously tested.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an initial firing method and a phase change memory device, and more particularly, to an initial firing method and a phase change memory device capable of effectively performing an initial firing operation in order to perform a stable read-out operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
An "initial firing" operation is an operation for initially applying a high current to a phase change memory device having phase change materials after its production. The initial firing generates sufficient heat at a contact interface between the phase change materials, so that the phase change materials have a uniform resistance distribution.
FIG. 1 is a view illustrating a set resistance distribution of a phase change material before it is subjected to the initial firing operation
Referring to FIG. 1, in the range (i), the set resistance values are widely distributed and the average set resistance value is high. Therefore, at the time of the read-out operation, defects may occur, and thus, the yield may be reduced.
FIG. 2 is a view illustrating the set resistance distribution of a phase change material after it is subjected to the initial firing operation.
Referring to FIG. 2, in the range (ii), the set resistance values are narrowly and uniformly distributed and the average set resistance value is lower than that of the phase change material before it is subjected to the initial firing operation.
The initial firing operation is needed in order to perform the stable read-out operation of the phase change memory device. The initial firing operation is a mandatory test operation that is performed on a wafer only once.
Conventionally, the initial firing operation is performed on each phase change memory cell individually. Therefore, there is a problem that, as the number of phase change memory cells on the wafer increases, testing becomes more time-consuming.

Initial firing method and phase change memory device for performing firing effectively


The invention relates to a fluid-actuable releaser in which an annular piston (6) is guided in a casing (3) which is provided with a sleeve (10) for guiding the annular piston (6) radially internally and for sealing purposes, the sleeve (10) being axially fixed by partial plastic deformation after insertion into the casing (3) with its external diameter in a bore (16) in the casing (3).

The invention relates to a fluid-actuable releaser for a friction clutch of a motor vehicle.
An annular cylindrical clutch releaser is known from EP-B-168 932 in which an annular piston is movably guided with its external diameter in a bore of a casing. With its internal diameter, the annular piston is guided on a sleeve which passes at one end into a radially outwardly projecting annular flange with which it is fastened in a sealed manner on the casing. The casing forms a pressure chamber together with one face end of the annular piston as well as the sleeve and the annular flange projecting from the sleeve. The piston carries a release bearing at the end remote from the pressure chamber. Although the known releaser can be produced with few constructional elements, it poses production problems as the sleeve guiding the annular piston radially internally has to be machined precisely close to its radially projecting annular flange and exact centering of the annular flange and adequate sealing of the annular flange relative to the casing have to be ensured.

Fluid-actuable releaser for a friction clutch


A device for transferring heat between a panel heated by solar radiation and a wall surface, including an insulating plate mounted parallel between the panel and the wall surface, to define a closed external space between the panel and the insulating plate, and a closed internal space between the insulating plate and the wall. An air circulator is interposed between the external space and the internal space and can be put selectively in an open state allowing circulation of air between the external space and the internal space, and thus allowing thermal transfer between the panel and the wall, and a closed state preventing circulation of air between the external space and the internal space, and thus preventing thermal transfer between the panel and the wall.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a device for transferring heat between a panel designed to be heated by solar radiation and a wall, such as for example the wall of a building.
2. Description of the Related Art
There are already known arrangements applied to the face of a building for capturing solar energy and heating a receiving medium such as, for example, an outside wall of the building or a volume of air inside the building.
These arrangements for capturing solar energy are sometimes also called xe2x80x9csolar panelsxe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9ctransparent insulationxe2x80x9d.
An arrangement of this type is described for example in French Patent No. 92 03962.
This known device comprises a number of substantially horizontal shaped elements spaced apart and superposed to form a curtain having an external face designed to be exposed to solar radiation and an internal face designed to be arranged facing the receiving medium which is to be heated. This device thus permits the transfer of the heat while at the same time constituting an efficient insulation.
In such a device there is normally provided a conversion plate which forms part of the panel and which ensures the conversion of the solar energy into heat.
The transfer devices of the solar panel type are generally applied directly to the face of the building to allow not only a transfer of heat derived from the solar radiation collected, but also a thermal insulation when the solar radiation is absent.
The invention takes as its starting point an appreciation of the fact that the solar panels known at present are not able to deal with all the situations which are encountered in practice.
The applicants have come to appreciate that in fact four different situations exist and need to be dealt with:
a) the heat provided by the solar radiation is welcome and it needs to be transferred to the surface, for example a wall, to be heated.
b) an excess of solar heat is present and it is therefore necessary to avoid any transfer of heat between the panel and the surface to be heated.
c) there is no solar heat available and it is necessary it to avoid any loss of heat from the surface, for example the wall, towards the outside.
d) there is no incoming solar heat present but there is an excess of heat present in the surface. It is therefore necessary, to the extent possible, to reject this heat to atmosphere.
The principal aim of the invention is to provide a heat transfer device of the type defined in the introduction which is capable of handling in priority the first three situations (a, b, c).The fourth situation (d: cooling at night) demands in principle a supplementary logic and the handling of this situation is only really needed in certain climates.
The device according to the invention comprises, for this purpose, an insulating plate designed to be mounted between the panel and the wall surface, parallel to these, in such a way as to define a closed external space between the panel and the insulating plate and a closed internal space between the insulating plate and the wall, as well as air circulating means interposed between the external space and the internal space and capable of being put selectively in at least one of the following states:
an open state allowing circulation of air between the external space and the internal space and thus allowing thermal transfer between the panel and the wall;
a closed state preventing circulation of air between the external space and the internal space and thus preventing thermal transfer between the panel and the wall.
Thus, depending on the state (open or closed) of the air circulating means, it is possible to cause or on the contrary to prevent a transfer of heat between the panel and the wall. When the air circulating means are in an open state, a transfer of heat takes place between the panel and the wall. By contrast, when the air circulating means are in the closed state, there is no transfer of heat but on the contrary a good thermal insulation.
The invention thus achieves mastery over the transfer of heat by convection while preventing the direct conductive and/or radiative contact between the panel and the wall by interposing a particular device. This device, with its two empty spaces and its insulating plate between the panel and the wall, guarantees low conduction of heat as well as low transfer by radiation, while allowing the transfer of heat by convection.
The panel to which the invention is applied could be in any position: vertical, inclined or horizontal.
In principle the wall surface to which the heat is to be transferred is a masonry wall, but it could also take the form of a flat roof or even a vessel containing a liquid.
In one preferred embodiment of the invention the air circulating means comprise at least two openings provided in the insulating plate and each designed to provide communication between the external and internal space.
In practice it has been found that a single opening allows only very limited exchange of air.
The term xe2x80x9copeningxe2x80x9d such as is used here is intended to designate generally any passage, possibly including restrictions or bends, providing communication between the internal and external spaces of the device.
Preferably the air circulating means comprise two openings positioned substantially at the same height with respect to one wall of the device such as to allow limitation of the flow of air passing from one opening to another. By contrast, if the openings are not at the same height it is necessary to be able to block the natural flow of air, for example by means of a flap valve.
Preferably a partition or dividing wall is arranged in each of the external space and the internal space to define, in each of the said spaces, at least one path for circulation of generally U shape having two branches, one on each side of the partition.
This arrangement of U-shaped circuits consists essentially of vertical walls. It ensures good scouring of the surfaces and facilitates the circulation of the air in each of the external and internal spaces, as well as a circulation of the air from one to the other. An effect analogous to scouring could be obtained by other means, for example by bends or diversions, or even by other types of circuit for circulating air between the two above-mentioned spaces.
Preferably the said air circulating means comprise at least one first opening providing communication between a first branch of the external space and a first branch of the internal space, and at least one second opening providing communication between a second branch of the external space and a second branch of the internal space.
According to another feature of the invention the air circulating means comprise at least two openings extending through the insulating plate and of which at least one is provided with a flow regulating member designed to adopt one or the other of the open and closed conditions.
In one embodiment of the invention the control member comprises an electric or similar fan designed to be put into operation or out of operation corresponding respectively to the open condition and the closed condition.
Thus, when the fan is in operation a circulation of the air is obtained simultaneously in each of the external and internal spaces and from one space to the other. By contrast, when the fan is out of action the circulation of air is stopped.
In another embodiment the control member comprises an electric fan and a flap valve which is situated in the same opening as the electric fan and/or in another opening.
Preferably use is made of a gravity-operated flap which opens under the pressure of the air and closes under gravity. This valve is closed by gravity when the fan is not providing the pressure necessary to open it. When the fan and the valve are placed in two different openings, these latter are not necessarily at the same height. This valve could even be omitted if the two openings are situated at the same height, preferably high up or low down.
When the device is to used on a flat roof it is preferable to provide, in addition to the fan, a flap valve in each opening.
In place of a gravity-operated valve it is possible also to make use of a flap operated by a bimetal strip heated by the solar radiation or an electro-magnetically controlled flap. In certain versions one could even accept having a flap controlled manually by mechanical means.
When insolation is present and the transfer of heat to the wall surface is closed off, the temperature could attain levels which, for certain materials, in particular insulation, are excessive.
With this in mind, the invention provides means for protection against the occurrence of excessive temperatures.
One measure for this purpose consists in positioning a supplementary plate, which we call a stopper plate, between the panel and the insulating plate in order to create a closed blocking space between the external space and the insulating plate. If necessary this blocking space could be ventilated, preferably by a flow of atmospheric air through a fixed opening low down and another opening with- a valve higher up. This valve could be operated by a bimetallic strip when the temperature reaches a certain predetermined threshold. Should the occasion arise, the excess heat is removed to atmosphere.
Another step consists in placing an intermediate plate, which we call a conversion plate, between the panel and the insulating plate to create a first air circuit (or heating circuit) designed to transfer the heat between the intermediate plate and the wall surface or vice versa, and to create a second air circuit (or cooling circuit) designed to reject the heat to the outside. Equally it is provided that the first air circuit and the second air circuit have respectively first air circulating means and second air circulating means which are capable of being placed selectively and independently of one another in an open condition or a closed condition.
The conversion plate transforms the solar energy into heat and it then replaces that which normally comprises the panel.
The first circuit allows the transfer of the heat from the conversion plate to the wall surface or vice versa, depending on whether one is in a winter or a summer regime. The second circuit is designed to reject the heat to the outside: to evacuate the heat from the wall surface to the outside and/or extract the excess heat from the intermediate plate to the outside.
Preferably the first air circuit is a closed circuit capable of communicating with the outside through a small pressure-equalising opening, whereas the second air circuit is a closed circuit or is open to the outside.
By the expressions xe2x80x9cclosed circuitxe2x80x9d and xe2x80x9copen circuitxe2x80x9d it is intended to make clear that the circulation of the air takes place in one or several spaces or volumes, respectively without communication with the outside and with communication with the outside.
The device of the invention furthermore includes control means designed to control the flow regulating member, for example the fan.
In one embodiment of the invention these control means comprise manual control means.
In another embodiment these control means comprises at least two temperature sensors designed to detect the temperatures respectively of the panel (or of a conversion plate) and of the wall surface, and to control the flow regulating member as a function of the difference in temperature between the panel (or conversion plate) and the wall surface.
In one embodiment which has been developed, these control means comprise electronic means.
Preferably the control means comprises at least one photo-responsive component designed to detect the insolation on a panel and to generate an electrical voltage representative of the insolation.
The photo-responsive component could be a photo-voltaic cell which will allow the generation of energy which can be used directly to drive the fan. However one could also make use of photo-transistors, photo-diodes or photo-resistances which provide a signal which can be used directly (through the intermediary of an amplifier) to operate the fan, or indirectly as data for a calculation by a logic circuit.
By way of example, one could make use of a photo-transistor coupled to a xe2x80x9cDarlingtonxe2x80x9d type of circuit which delivers an output power sufficient to drive a fan operating on a direct voltage of 12 volts.
The electrical voltage thus generated could be used either directly as energy for driving the flow regulating member or in the form of a signal for initiating or halting the operation of the flow regulating member.
In place of a photo-responsive component it is possible to envisage making use of at least one thermo-sensing component, for example a detector of the temperature or of the difference in temperature, a thermostat or a bimetallic strip.
The device according to the invention is preferably in the form of a module of standard or specific dimensions having a frame which supports the components of the device.

Device for transferring heat between a panel heated by solar radiation and a wall

43bis, avenue du Gxc3xa9nxc3xa9ral Leclerc -


The present invention provides an aqueous composition comprising (i) a fluorochemical compound and (ii) an ester derivative of an alpha-hydroxy acid, the ester derivative having a melting point of not more than 35° C. and a water solubility of not more than 10% by weight at 25° C. The fluorochemical compound is typically dispersed or emulsified in the aqueous composition. The aqueous compositions may provide such advantages as providing good oil- and/or water repellency properties to a substrate upon application at ambient conditions, without the need for a heat treatment. Thus, the aqueous compositions may be used to provide oil- and/or water repellency properties to a substrate such as for example a fibrous substrate, e.g., leather or textile. In particular, repellency properties comparable to those achieved with a heat treatment step may be achieved.

Compositions for making substrates, e.g., fibrous substrates such as leather and textiles, oil- and water repellent and/or to provide other properties such as stain repellency and/or stain release to the substrate have been long known in the art. Fluorochemical compounds have been well known as being highly effective in providing oil and water repellency to substrates and in particular textile and leather substrates. A variety of fluorochemical compositions are known and have been used to render substrates oil- and/or water repellent as well as to provide stain resistance or stain release properties thereto. For example, the fluorochemical composition may be based on fluorochemical acrylates or methacrylates that are derived from the polymerization of an acrylate or methacrylate monomer that has a fluorinated group and optionally one or more non-fluorinated monomers. Such compositions have been described in for example U.S. Pat. No. 3,660,360, U.S. Pat. No. 5,876,617, U.S. Pat. No. 4,742,140, U.S. Pat. No. 6,121,372 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,849 and EP 1 329 548.
Alternatively, the fluorochemical compound contained in the fluorochemical composition may be derived from a condensation reaction of a fluorochemical compound having an isocyanate reactive group such as, e.g., a hydroxy group and a polyisocyanate compound and optional non-fluorinated co-reactants as disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,910,557.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,525,127 discloses fluorochemical compositions that are based on a fluorochemical compound comprising: a fluorochemical oligomeric portion comprising an aliphatic backbone with a plurality of pendant fluoroaliphatic groups, each fluoroaliphatic group having a fully fluorinated terminal group and each independently linked to a carbon atom of the aliphatic backbone through an organic linking group; an aliphatic moiety; and a linking group which links the fluorochemical oligomeric portion to the aliphatic moiety. The compositions are taught to provide desirable oil, water and stain repellency to fibrous substrates.
The known fluorochemical compositions are available both as solutions or dispersions in an organic solvent as well as aqueous based compositions wherein the fluorochemical composition is typically dispersed in an aqueous medium. Water based compositions are generally preferred from an environmental point of view.
One of the disadvantages of water based compositions is that they typically require a heat treatment at elevated temperature of, e.g., 60° C. or more upon application on a substrate to achieve optimal properties such as oil- and/or water repellency properties. Accordingly, such aqueous compositions are not very suitable for use by a consumer that wants to treat a substrate such as for example a leather jacket or a garment. Treatments carried out by consumers are typically done at room temperature, e.g., by spraying the composition on the substrate desired to be treated and then leaving that substrate to dry at ambient conditions.
It would now be desirable to improve aqueous based fluorochemical compositions. In particular it would be desired to develop aqueous compositions having a fluorochemical compound that can be applied at ambient conditions without the need of a heat treatment step while still achieving good repellency properties such as oil and/or water repellency properties on the substrate. Preferably the obtained repellency properties would be comparable to those achieved upon heat treatment. Desirably the composition is environmentally friendly and is substantially free of flammable compounds. It would furthermore be desirable that the compositions can be manufactured in an easy and convenient way and at economically favorable conditions. Desirably, the composition can be easily applied by a consumer such as for example by spraying, wiping or foaming the composition on a substrate. Desirably, the compositions are effective for treating fibrous substrates such as textiles and leathers.

Fluorochemical composition and method for treating a substrate therewith


A polyimide layer is formed over a semiconductor chip, a rewiring to be connected to each of the electrode pads of the semiconductor chip is formed over the polyimide layer, and a post serving as a terminal is connected to each of the electrode pads via the rewiring, thereby redisposing the electrode pads. A resin for encapsulating the rewirings and the posts is formed on the surface of the semiconductor chip to the extent equivalent to the dimension of the semiconductor chip, and in a groove formed in portions of the resin, around the respective posts, the topmost surface and the sidewall face of the respective posts are exposed out of the resin.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of fabricating same, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device which is resin-encapsulated in a semiconductor wafer state and a method of fabricating the semiconductor device. Thus, the invention deals with such a semiconductor device as described above having high reliability for interconnection and a method of fabricating the semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable equipment have lately come into widespread use at a rapid pace, and this has been accompanied by increasing demands calling for semiconductor devices mounted therein that are thinner in thickness, smaller in size, and lighter in weight than conventional ones. Thereupon, a number of packaging technologies have been proposed in order to cope with such demands.
As one of such technologies, a chip size package (referred to hereinafter as CSP) equivalent or substantially equivalent in size to a semiconductor chip with an integrated circuit formed thereon has been developed.
There has been available a conventional CSP wherein a rewiring made of Cu, to be connected to each of electrode pads of a semiconductor chip, is formed, a terminal called a post, to be connected to the rewiring, is formed for redisposing the electrode pads, the surface of the semiconductor chip is encapsulated with resin to a height of the terminals, and a metallic electrode such as a solder ball etc. is provided at the tip of the respective terminals, exposed out of the resin.
In a method of fabricating the CSP, a polyimide layer is first formed over a semiconductor wafer, a rewiring pattern made of Cu, to be connected to an electrode pad of a plurality of semiconductor chips formed on the semiconductor wafer, is formed, and a terminal called a post, to be connected to respective rewirings, is formed, thereby redisposing the electrode pads. Subsequently, the entire surface of the semiconductor wafer with the terminals formed thereon is resin-encapsulated, and after curing of resin the resin is abraded to the extent that the tip of the respective terminals is exposed. And the exposed tip of the respective terminals is provided with a metallic electrode such as a solder ball etc. before dicing the semiconductor wafer into separated pieces for individual semiconductor chips.
However, when a temperature cycle test is repeatedly conducted on such a CSP as described above after it is mounted on a substrate, there arises a possibility of cracks occurring to the metallic electrodes such as the solder balls etc. This is attributable to a large difference in thermal expansivity between the CSP and the substrate, and also to a small area of bonding between the respective metallic electrodes and the respective terminals of the CSP due to a narrow spacing between the terminals.
It is an object of the invention to provide a semiconductor device having high reliability for interconnection and a method of fabricating the semiconductor device. To this end, the invention provides a semiconductor device comprising a semiconductor chip having a plurality of electrode pads formed on the upper surface thereof, a terminal formed on the upper surface of the semiconductor chip, electrically connected to each of the electrode pads, and a resin formed on the upper surface of the semiconductor chip, encapsulating the terminals such that the terminals are exposed out of the resin to the extent of a predetermined height. Further, the present invention provides a method of fabricating the semiconductor device comprising a step of forming a terminal on a plurality of chips formed on a semiconductor wafer, respectively, said terminal being electrically connected to an electrode pad of the respective chips, a step of forming a resin on the upper surface of the semiconductor wafer, on the side of the terminals, so as to encapsulate the terminals, a step of abrading the resin to the extent that the respective terminals is exposed out of the resin, a step of exposing the side wall face of the respective terminals by removing a portion of the resin, around the respective terminals, and a step of dicing the semiconductor wafer into separated pieces for the respective chips.


A bipolar forceps includes a mechanical forceps including first and second shafts each having a jaw member extending from a distal end thereof and a handle disposed at a proximal end thereof for effecting movement of the jaw members relative to one another about a pivot. A disposable housing is configured to releasably couple to at least one of the shafts and an electrode assembly has electrodes releasably coupleable to the jaw members and adapted to connect to a source of electrosurgical energy to allow selective conduction of electrosurgical energy through tissue held therebetween to effect a tissue seal. An electrically conductive cutting element is disposed on at least one of the electrodes and is adapted to connect to the source of electrosurgical energy to allow selective conduction of electrosurgical energy through tissue held between the electrodes to effect a tissue cut.

1. Background of Related Art
The present disclosure relates to forceps used for open surgical procedures. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a bipolar forceps for treating tissue that is capable of sealing and cutting tissue.
2. Technical Field
A hemostat or forceps is a simple plier-like tool which uses mechanical action between its jaws to constrict vessels and is commonly used in open surgical procedures to grasp, dissect and/or clamp tissue. Electrosurgical forceps utilize both mechanical clamping action and electrical energy to effect hemostasis by heating the tissue and blood vessels to coagulate, cauterize and/or seal tissue.
Certain surgical procedures require sealing and cutting blood vessels or vascular tissue. Several journal articles have disclosed methods for sealing small blood vessels using electrosurgery. An article entitled Studies on Coagulation and the Development of an Automatic Computerized Bipolar Coagulator, J. Neurosurg., Volume 75, July 1991, describes a bipolar coagulator which is used to seal small blood vessels. The article states that it is not possible to safely coagulate arteries with a diameter larger than 2 to 2.5 mm. A second article is entitled Automatically Controlled Bipolar Electrocoagulation—"COA-COMP", Neurosurg. Rev. (1984), pp. 187-190, describes a method for terminating electrosurgical power to the vessel so that charring of the vessel walls can be avoided.
By utilizing an electrosurgical forceps, a surgeon can either cauterize, coagulate/desiccate, reduce or slow bleeding and/or seal vessels by controlling the intensity, frequency and duration of the electrosurgical energy applied to the tissue. Generally, the electrical configuration of electrosurgical forceps can be categorized in two classifications: 1) monopolar electrosurgical forceps; and 2) bipolar electrosurgical forceps.
Monopolar forceps utilize one active electrode associated with the clamping end effector and a remote patient return electrode or pad which is typically attached externally to the patient. When the electrosurgical energy is applied, the energy travels from the active electrode, to the surgical site, through the patient and to the return electrode.
Bipolar electrosurgical forceps utilize two generally opposing electrodes which are disposed on the inner opposing surfaces of the end effectors and which are both electrically coupled to an electrosurgical generator. Each electrode is charged to a different electric potential. Since tissue is a conductor of electrical energy, when the effectors are utilized to grasp tissue therebetween, the electrical energy can be selectively transferred through the tissue.


A method of manufacturing a monolithic ceramic electronic device includes the following steps: forming a first metal film on a PET film; forming a multilayered metal film by forming a second metal film on a part of the first metal film, the second metal film being thicker than the first metal film; forming a monolithic ceramic structure including the multilayered metal film; forming the first metal film, which is partially overlain by the second metal film in the monolithic ceramic structure, into an insulating structure in such a manner that metal components forming the first metal film are diffused into the ceramics; and firing the ceramics. Disclosed also is a monolithic ceramic electronic device manufactured by the method. As a result, a stepped portion between a portion in which the internal electrodes overlap one another and a portion in which the internal electrodes do not overlap can be prevented from being formed, and delamination can effectively be prevented, whereby a monolithic ceramic electronic device exhibiting stable characteristics and a method for manufacturing the monolithic ceramic electronic device can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic part and a method of manufacturing same, and more particularly to a monolithic ceramic electronic device and a method of manufacturing same.
The present invention can be adapted to a variety of electronic devices, e.g. a monolithic capacitor, a monolithic piezoelectric device or a multilayered ceramic substrate, and a method of manufacturing such devices.
2. Related Background Art
Methods are known of integrally firing metal elements and ceramic elements for manufacturing a monolithic ceramic electronic device, such as a monolithic capacitor, having internal electrodes.
For example, a pattern made of conductive paste is printed on a ceramic green sheet to form internal electrodes. Then, a plurality of the ceramic green sheets each having the internal electrodes are laminated, and then an appropriate number of ceramic green sheets having no internal electrodes are laminated on both sides of the stack of green sheets to form a monolithic ceramic structure. Alternatively, predetermined patterns of ceramic paste and conductive paste may be sequentially printed to form a monolithic ceramic structure.
Then, the monolithic ceramic structure is pressed in a direction of its thickness so that the ceramic layers are brought into tight contact with each other. Further, the monolithic ceramic structure is fired to obtain a sintered structure. Appropriate external electrodes are formed on the outer surface of the sintered structure to produce a monolithic ceramic electronic part.
In recent years it has been required to reduce the sizes of electronic parts, as well as the sizes and thicknesses of monolithic ceramic electronic devices. When the monolithic ceramic electronic device is intended to be reduced in size and thickness, the ceramic layers, each of which is held between the internal electrodes, are required to be made thinner. Accordingly, thinner green sheets are required when the monolithic ceramic structure is manufactured.
However, it is difficult to handle excessively thin ceramic green sheets. Moreover, the portions including the internal electrodes, which overlap one another, are thicker than the portions not including internal electrode in a monolithic ceramic structure. As a result, steps have been inevitably formed between these portions.
In particular, since the steps are formed when the monolithic ceramic structure is pressed in the direction of its thickness prior to the firing process, the pressure is mainly applied onto the portions where the internal electrodes overlap one another. Accordingly, the pressure is insufficient in the other portions. As a result, there is a possibility that a layer-separating phenomenon called delamination may occur. Also, there is a possibility that solvent in the ceramic green sheet may cause the internal electrodes to be swelled. If that occurs, the internal electrodes cannot accurately be formed into desired shapes.
Therefore, it has been extremely difficult to reduce the thickness of a ceramic green sheet to about 6 .mu.m or thinner.
Such problems may arise in making a monolithic ceramic structure in which ceramic paste and conductive paste are alternately laminated.
To overcome these problems, a method has been suggested in which a metal film, formed by a thin film forming method, is used as the internal electrodes, the method being exemplified by the following first to third methods.
The first method, shown in FIG. 1, begins with the step of forming a metal film over the entire surface of a supporting member 1 by using a thin film forming method, such as a sputtering method. Then, a resist layer having openings corresponding to the shapes of the electrodes is formed on the metal film, and then the metal film is patterned by photolithography. Thus, a metal film 2 is formed as shown in FIG. 1. Then, a ceramic green sheet 3 is formed on the metal film 2. By repeating the steps of forming the metal film 2 and forming the ceramic green sheet 3, a monolithic structure 4 is formed.
In the second method, which is disclosed in JP-A-64-42809, a ceramic green sheet is formed on a first film made of synthetic resin; and a metal film is formed on a second supporting film by a thin film forming method. Then, the metal film supported by the second supporting film is transferred to the ceramic green sheet on the first supporting film so that the green sheet has the metal film thereon. A monolithic ceramic structure is obtained by laminating a plurality of such green sheets.
The third method begins with the step of forming a metal film on the entire surface of a supporting film by a thin film forming method. Then, the metal film is patterned by a photolithography method. Next, a ceramic green sheet is formed on the supporting film having the patterned metal film thereon so that the green sheet is combined with the metal film. Then, the green sheet supported by the supporting film is transferred onto a substrate by using a thermal transfer method so that a monolithic ceramic structure is obtained.
The first to third methods, in each of which metal films formed by a thin film forming method are used as the internal electrodes, are able to make the internal electrodes thinner as compared with the method of forming the internal electrodes by using conductive paste.
However, past attempts to make each layer thinner have resulted in an increase in the number of laminated layers, thus causing the internal electrodes to be thickened in comparison with the thickness of the ceramic layer held between the internal electrodes. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the first method results in a difference in thickness between a portion 6, in which only the ceramic green sheets are laminated, and a portion 7, in which internal electrodes 8 overlap one another. Therefore, when the laminated structure is pressed in the direction of its thickness, the pressure is primarily applied only to the portion in which the internal electrodes 8 overlap one another. Thus, the strength of adhesion between the ceramic layers may be reduced in the region 6 in which the internal electrodes do not overlap. As a result, delamination may easily take place when the laminated structure is sintered.
Moreover, the first method requires further process steps after the metal film has been formed on the supporting member, such as a step of forming patterns of a resist layer, a step of etching the pattern and a step of stripping the resist layer off.
The second method also encounters the problem of thickening of the portion in which the internal electrodes overlap one another, as compared with the region having no internal electrodes. Therefore, the second method also may suffer from the delamination problem. Further, in the case where the ceramic green sheets are made extremely thin, it would be difficult to handle such green sheets. Moreover, it would be difficult to position the metal film on a green sheet with high accuracy because a transferring process is involved.
And, in the transferring process, the ceramic green sheet must be brought into contact with the second supporting film in order to make the portion having no metal film. The second supporting film must be stripped from the green sheet having the metal film after the transferring process. Therefore, both the metal film and the ceramic green sheet must be able to be easily stripped from the second supporting film. However, this requirement can not easily be satisfied. Thus, there is a possibility that a portion of a ceramic green sheet may be destroyed when stripping off the second supporting film.
Since the third method has the steps of forming the metal film by the thin film forming method and then performing the patterning process by the photolithography method, this manufacturing process tends to become complicated. Moreover, making the structure in which the metal film and the ceramic green sheet are in contact with the supporting film requires both the metal film and the ceramic green sheet to be easily stripped from the supporting film when transference from the supporting film is performed. However, this requirement cannot easily be satisfied.

Method of manufacturing a monolithic ceramic electronic device


An amplifier device includes a substrate, a composite packaged amplifier having a bottom plate and an output plate, a first amplifier and a second amplifier provided on the bottom plate, a combining node that combines an output of the first amplifier with an output of the second amplifier, an output matching circuits provided on the bottom plate, that has a first transmission line provided between the first amplifier and the combining node, and a second transmission line provided between the combining node and the second amplifier, a third transmission line having one transmission line on which the output plate is mounted and other transmission line that connects the one transmission line to the external port, and wirings connecting to one terminal of the output plate and the combining node. A length of the output plate and the other transmission line is equal or less than π/4 radian for a signal.

Using a standard Doherty amplifier with identically sized active devices as an example, in particular the output λ/4 transformers as illustrated in FIG. 4. Table 1 shows a list of associated impedance matches required for different transformer profiles.
TABLE 1TX1TX2MainPeak(Ω)(Ω)TerminationTerminationClassic Approach #135.3535.355050Classic Approach #235.355010050Alternate Approach #1505050100Alternate Approach #240507864Alternate Approach #3504032100
Based on the design constraints, one can therefore correlate Tables 1 to determine the most suitable substrate and impedances necessary to design a composite packaged Doherty amplifier.
The demands for compact amplifier designs and transmitting solutions necessitate a more elegant yet integrated solution.
In conventional amplifier designs in FIG. 5, a packaged transistor forms the active device with the associated input and output matching networks forming the passive components. However, as demand for transmitting power increases in addition to a smaller design footprint, it becomes necessary to desegregate these elements and combine them into a single entity.

SUMITOMO ELECTRIC DEVICE INNOVATIONS, INC.


A lighting device for use in combination with a nail clipper and cutting pliers is disclosed. The lighting device comprises a casing defining an angular front wall having an electric power source, a switch and a light-emitting element all integrally assembled and electrically connected within the casing. A radiation surface is mounted within the angular front wall for transmitting illumination light emitted from the light-emitting element wherein means for removably attaching the casing to either the nail clipper or cutting pliers are provided whereby the angle defined by the front wall positions the illumination light emitted from the light-emitting element for illuminating a blood vein or nerve through the animals nail such that the user does not strike or nick the blood vein or nerve during a cutting operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lighting device attachment to a cutter useful as a nail clipper for trimming nails of an animal, such as a dog or cat. More particularly, it relates to a lighting device configured for use in combination with a nail clipper that provides a light source to illuminate the blood vein of the animal's nail providing a visual means for cutting the nail at a length that avoids nicking the blood vein which may result in bleeding and/or injury to the animal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most animals dislike having their nails clipped. Many dogs object to nail cutting because someone has clipped their nails too short in the past and hurt them. Unlike human toenails, dogs' toenails have a nerve and a blood vein inside them. Often-times the animals squirm and move around making it difficult to clip off the desired amount. When cut too short, it causes pain and bleeding thus injuring the animal.
Therefore, it is desirable to have a tool or tools to easily and safely trim constantly elongating nails on animals that require such trimming without cutting into the blood vein or nerve. The tool of choice in most cases is the conventional nail clipper which conventionally features two opposing blades biased away from each other and which communicate when the bias is overcome by activation of a lever attached thereto. The blade surfaces meet and cut the nail which is first inserted in between the two blades.
Currently, conventionally used nail clippers depend upon the natural vision of the user to see the nail which is intended for cutting, and place it properly in the very small area in between the two opposing cutting blades of the clipper. Placing the nail too far into the blades will cause too much to be removed resulting in injury. Conversely, placing too little of the nail to be cut into the clipper causes too little to be cut away requiring a second and more detailed cut placing the blades closer to the blood vein or nerve creating a greater risk of injury to the animal.
As is obvious, it is imperative for the user to be able to see the nail and surrounding surface clearly, to determine the amount to be cut from the nail and to determine what areas not to cut which would result in injury. It is equally imperative for the clipper user to be able to clearly view the blood vein and nerve within the nail when inserted into the nail clipper to determine that the proper amount is placed into the jaws of the clipper. Currently, the user must depend on his good vision and ability to focus on the nail and work area of the clipper to reach the proper conclusion on cutting.
However, current nail clipping devices only provide a cutting area activated by a lever wherein the user must attempt to see what is being cut unaided. As such, there exists a need for an easily and inexpensively manufactured lighting device that is attachable during manufacture of nail clippers, or with an attachment means allowing the lighting device to be attached to conventionally used and owned nail clippers.