A watercraft propelled by a water jet includes an sealed hull portion including an upper deck and a bottom surface, an engine compartment located behind the sealed hull portion and containing a propulsion and steering system including an engine, a bladed impeller driven by the engine for inducting water and forcing the inducted water away from the craft through a directionally displaceable nozzle, and a control lever located on the upper deck including an engine throttle control and a steering control for adjusting the directionally displacement of the nozzle.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a boat propelled by a water jet. In particular, the invention pertains to a kayak-like watercraft powered by an engine, and having a hull on which the rider sits and controls speed and direction.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Traditional kayaks typically accommodate one, two or occasionally three riders who sit facing forward in one or more cockpits below the deck of the boat and propel the craft by paddling. A waterproof cover attaches securely to the edges of the cockpit, preventing entry of water, and making it possible for the boat to roll upright again without the boat filling with water after tipping over.
Increasingly, manufacturers are building leisure "sit-on-top" variants of the traditional kayak with a fixed rudder for directional stability. Water that enters the cockpit drains out through holes or tubes that run from the cockpit to the bottom of the hull. Sit-on-top kayaks usually come in single and double paddler designs and are particularly popular for fishing and SCUBA diving, since such riders must easily enter and exit the water, change seating positions, and access hatches and storage wells. Ordinarily the seat of a sit-on-top is slightly above water level, so that the center of gravity of the paddler is higher than in a traditional kayak. To compensate for the center of gravity, a sit-on-top is often wider than a traditional kayak of the same length, and is slower.
Attempts have been made to provide a power source to propel kayaks, but the inherent instability of the hull and the susceptibility of the engine to damage in the event of a tip over is a serious consideration.
A need exists for a powered "sit-on-top kayak that provides simple, convenient, intuitive control of the engine and steering. The hull and engine compartment should be sealed against entry of water when the craft is upright or tipped over, yet provide for air to enter the engine through the engine compartment. The craft should have high strength, low weight, little vibration and provide excellent floatation.


A tray includes a paint roller including a handle, a shaft conjoined thereto and a padded applicator positioned about the shaft. A pan includes front and rear sections, an opening for receiving paint and the roller therein, a flange portion protruding about a perimeter thereof, and a notch formed medially of a top surface of the front section. The notch has an arcuate lower edge. A lid is included to cover the opening of the pan and forms an air tight seal around a perimeter of the pan opening. The lid includes a lip portion extending downward from the lid and about a perimeter thereof, and has planar top and bottom surfaces. A proximal portion of the shaft is telescopically positional through the notch so that the user can house the roller within the pan while the lid is attached thereto.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to a paint trays and, more particularly, to a paint tray with a lid for preventing paint from prematurely drying.
2. Prior Art
During extended painting of wall surfaces with a roller brush, the paint is commonly applied from a paint tray well known in the prior art. Typically the painter must expend a considerable amount of time in applying the paint over a number of shifts of several hours each. If the time between shifts is extended, such as overnight, the paint must be delicately poured back into the original can and then the brush and tray are thereafter washed so that the brush and paint do not become dry and therefore unusable. Such cleaning operations normally take a while, and for the typical homeowner involved in a number of household tasks, the repeated cleaning of the tray causes a time burden. The cleaning of the containers is simply inconvenient to carry out.
In addition to the time inconvenience, the user often gets paint upon his or her hands while cleaning the tray and roller. Moreover, the cleaned brush and roller become unusable until time for them to completely dry has elapsed. If the tray and roller is left without cleaning, the roller may become brittle or become accumulated with coagulated paint, making smooth application of subsequent paint layers both inconvenient and untidy.
Attempts have been made to address the above disadvantages but none to our knowledge has been sufficiently successful to go into widespread commercial use. For example, a number of proposals have been made involving a mating cover for a paint tray but many, and possibly a majority, of the proposed structures attempt to make provision to also contain the roller in the closed space formed by the tray and associated cover. Such a construction does however have inherent disadvantages in that all, or nearly all, paint trays include an inclined ramp near the rear thereof for the purpose of "rolling out" or distributing a fresh roller load of paint after dipping into the paint pool so that the paint is evenly distributed on the roller prior to application to a receiving surface.
The surface of the inclined ramp becomes coated with wet and sticky paint during use and hence if the brush handle is laid thereon preparatory to closing the cover on the tray, the handle becomes sticky and unusable thereby requiring cleaning prior to recommencing use. To overcome this drawback additional structure has been proposed to hold the handle away from the wet ramp. While such an arrangement may be functional, the resultant structure is impractical in that, by and large, the lid and/or tray, and particularly the lid, may not then be manufactured by the conventional thermoform process due to the structural complexity of the structure.
Accordingly, a need remains for a paint tray with lid in order to overcome the above-noted shortcomings. The present invention satisfies such a need by providing a paint tray with a lid that is easy and convenient to use, prevents unsightly spills, preserves and conserves paint and results in considerable time savings. Such an apparatus eliminates the need for the tray to be cleaned after each painting session. The apparatus conveniently allows the paint roller to be stored overnight in the tray without the handle thereof coming in contact with the remaining paint in the tray. The lid also has an easy lift-off design that allows the tray to be used by young and old persons alike. Such a tray is especially appealing to commercial and do-it-yourself painters that are attempting a painting project that will require more than one day's worth of painting.


A wide-angle lens includes a front group, an aperture, a rear group, and an infrared cut filter. The front group includes a first lens and a second lens arranged in order from a side closest to an object to an image side. In the wide-angle lens, an anti-reflection layer having a reflectance of 1.5% or less in a wavelength range from nm to 850 nm is provided on a lens surface of the first lens on the image side to suppress an occurrence of a ghost caused by light passing through a peripheral portion of the lens surface. Therefore, even if a film forming the anti-reflection layer is thinner than an appropriate value at the peripheral portion of the lens surface, the anti-reflection layer appropriately prevents reflection of light in a long wavelength range.

In wide-angle lenses, a lens configuration of six elements in five groups has been proposed to achieve high resolution (see Patent Literature 1). In the wide-angle lens described in Patent Literature 1, a front group, an aperture, a rear group, and an infrared cut filter are arranged in order from an object side to an image side, and in the front group, at least a first lens and a second lens are arranged in order from a side closest to an object to the image side. Here, the first lens is a negative meniscus lens of which a lens surface on the image side is a concave curved surface. The second lens is a negative meniscus lens of which a lens surface on the image side is a concave curved surface.
On the other hand, in wide-angle lenses used in image pickup systems, it is necessary to suppress a ghost from occurring due to multiple reflection between a lens surface and another lens surface, and thus, an anti-reflection layer with an appropriate layer structure is often formed on the lens surface to prevent reflection of visible light.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A wavelength conversion apparatus capable of stably providing high output harmonic laser light is provided. The wavelength conversion apparatus comprises an end pump fiber laser 3 containing a laser activating substance, and including a reflecting surface at one end thereof and a fiber grating in the vicinity of the reflecting surface; an excitation laser light source 1 for outputting excitation laser light; an excitation laser light introduction section 4 for introducing the excitation laser light from the excitation laser light source to the fiber laser; a wavelength conversion element 5 for converting a fundamental wave generated by the fiber laser to a harmonic; and a rear reflecting surface 6 located outside the fiber laser and forming a laser cavity together with the fiber grating.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wavelength conversion apparatus and a two-dimensional image display apparatus, and more specifically to a wavelength conversion apparatus capable of stably providing high output harmonic laser light by a combination of a fiber laser and a wavelength conversion element, and a two-dimensional image display apparatus using the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
A visible-light source providing a high, strongly monochromatic output of class W is necessary to realize large displays, high luminance displays and the like. For a red light source among RGB (red, green and blue) light sources, a red high output semiconductor laser used in DVD recorders and the like is usable as a highly productive compact light source. However, it is difficult to realize green and blue light sources with a semiconductor laser. A highly productive compact light source is demanded for these colors.
For a green or blue light source, a wavelength conversion apparatus obtained by combining a fiber laser and a wavelength conversion element is conventionally realized as a low output visible-light source. Such a wavelength conversion apparatus uses a semiconductor laser as a light source of excitation light for exciting a fiber laser and uses a nonlinear optical crystal as a wavelength conversion element.
FIG. 10 schematically shows a structure of a conventional wavelength conversion apparatus. In this example, green output light is obtained using the wavelength conversion apparatus shown in FIG. 10. As shown in FIG. 10, the conventional wavelength conversion apparatus includes a fiber laser 40 for outputting a fundamental wave, a wavelength conversion element 41 for converting the fundamental wave to green laser light, and a lens 42 for collecting the fundamental wave on an end surface of the wavelength conversion element 41.
First, a basic operation of the fiber laser 40 will be described. Excitation light (excitation laser light) output from an excitation laser light source 43 is incident on a fiber 44 from an end 44 thereof. The excitation light incident on the fiber 44 is absorbed by a laser activating substance contained in the fiber 44 and then converted to seed light of the fundamental wave inside the fiber 44. The seed light of the fundamental wave is repeatedly reciprocated in a laser cavity. The laser cavity includes a fiber grating 44b formed in the fiber 44 and a fiber grating 45b formed in a fiber 45 as a pair of reflecting mirrors, and the seed light is reflected by, and reciprocated between, the fiber grating 44b and the fiber grating 45b. Concurrently, the seed light of the fundamental wave is amplified by a gain provided by the laser activating substance contained in the fiber 44. Thus, the light intensity is increased and also wavelength selection is performed. As a result, laser oscillation occurs. The fiber 44 and the fiber 45 are connected to each other at a connection section 46. The excitation laser light source 43 is current-driven by an excitation laser light current source 47.
The fundamental wave which is output from the fiber laser 40 is incident on the wavelength conversion element 41 via the lens 42, and is converted into a harmonic by a nonlinear optical effect of the wavelength conversion element 41. The obtained harmonic is partially reflected by a beam splitter 48, but the rest of the harmonic is transmitted through the beam splitter 48 and becomes green laser light. This green laser light is the output light from the wavelength conversion apparatus.
The part of the harmonic reflected by the beam splitter 48 is received by a receiving element 49 for monitoring the output light from the wavelength conversion apparatus and converted into an electric signal to be used. An output control section 50 controls the excitation laser light current source 47 such that the electric signal obtained by the receiving element 49 has a desired strength, and thus adjusts the driving current of the excitation laser light source 43. In this manner, the conventional wavelength conversion apparatus adjusts the intensity of the excitation light which is output from the excitation laser light source 43 and also adjusts the intensity of the fundamental wave which is output from the fiber laser 40, and thus can provide stable output light.
As another light source, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2006-19603 (hereinafter, referred to as "patent document 1") proposes a wavelength conversion apparatus capable of stably providing output light by fixing the wavelength of the fundamental wave. FIG. 11 schematically shows a structure of the conventional wavelength conversion apparatus described in patent document 1. Referring to FIG. 11, a reflecting film is provided on one end surface of a laser medium 51, and a reflection preventing film is provided on an outgoing end of the laser medium 51. A fundamental wave which is output from the laser medium 51 is collected inside a wavelength conversion element 53 by a lens 56, and a part of the collected fundamental wave is wavelength-converted and output as a harmonic. The fundamental wave and the harmonic output from the wavelength conversion element 53 are collected on a surface of a wavelength selection mirror 55 by a lens 57. The wavelength selection mirror 55 reflects the fundamental wave and transmits the harmonic. The fundamental wave selectively reflected by the wavelength selection mirror 55 is fed back to the laser medium 51 via the opposite path. In this manner, the oscillation wavelength of the laser medium 51 can be fixed to the wavelength of the fed-back light. Namely, the conventional wavelength conversion apparatus can automatically fix the oscillation wavelength of the laser medium 51 to the phase-matching wavelength of the wavelength conversion element 53 and thus can provide stable output light.
The conventional wavelength conversion apparatuses shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 are capable of stably providing relatively low output harmonic laser light, but have a problem of not capable of easily providing high output harmonic laser light of class W.
In addition, the conventional wavelength conversion apparatuses shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11 occasionally cause the following phenomenon. When LiNbO3 or LiTaO3 with a polarized inversion structure is used for the wavelength conversion element 41 or 53, a third harmonic is generated in addition to a second harmonic due to the large nonlinear optical constant of the wavelength conversion element 41 or 53, and the third harmonic causes the second harmonic to be absorbed. Therefore, in the case where a fundamental wave of a certain power density and a second harmonic both exist, the temperature rises on and in the vicinity of an outgoing surface of the wavelength conversion element 41 or 53. This causes a problem that the phase-matching condition is destroyed (i.e., thermal dephasing occurs) and as a result, the light emitting efficiency is lowered.

Wavelength conversion apparatus and two-dimensional image display apparatus


According to an example, a Port Extender (PE) device is bundled with a Core Backbone (CB) device to prevent a loop in a vertical stack network including the PE device and the CD device.

Stacking of network switching devices can bring together and closely integrate computation, storage and networking, enabling a more seamless approach to management and configuration. A stack system comprises a plurality of network switching devices which are connected together. The network switching devices in the stack system may be referred to as "member devices" of the stack system. In some cases the member devices may be configured to act as a single virtual device when receiving and forwarding packets to devices outside the stack system.
A two-level vertical stack network architecture is used in some data centers. The vertical stack network may include first and second levels as follows.
A first level comprises a stack system of connected member devices, which may be referred to as Core Backbone (CB) devices. In some examples the CB devices are connected in a ring topology. The links connecting the CB devices to each other are referred to as "stack links".
A second level comprises Port Extender (PE) devices which are connected to the CB devices in the first level. In the two-level vertical stack network, these PE devices are not connected to each other on the second level through stack links, but are indirectly connected to each other via the CB devices.

Preventing a loop in a vertical stack network

HEWLETT PACKARD ENTERPRISE DEVELOPMENT LP


2,6-Diarylpiperidin-1-yl substituted 2-butene stabilizers of the formula I or II EQU T--CH.sub.2 --CH.dbd.CH--CH.sub.2 --T (I) EQU T--CH.sub.2 --CH.dbd.CH--CH.sub.2 --N(E.sub.1)(E.sub.2) (II). where T is a 2,6-diarylpiperidin-1-yl moiety and E.sub.1 and E.sub.2 are independently alkyl, cycloalkyl, aralkyl or aryl, are effective in stabilizing organic materials against the deleterious effects of oxygen, heat and actinic radiation.

Substituted 1,4-diamino-2-butene compounds are known in the art where the substitution on the N-atoms is alkyl or benzyl, but their use as stabilizers is not disclosed or suggested.
When such substitution is aryl, British Patent No. 1,438,482 generically describes N,N,N',N'-tetraaryl-2-butene-1,4-diamine as stabilizers for lubricant compositions, but does not specifically disclose such compounds. British 1,438,482 does not suggest that such aryl substituted compounds can provide effective antioxidant protection to synthetic polymers.
The compounds of this invention and their use as stabilizers for organic materials subject to degradation by oxygen, heat or light are not disclosed or suggested in the prior art.

2,6-diarylpiperidin-1-yl substituted 2-butene stabilizers


Systems and methods are provided for positioning determination for mobile devices. A system includes: a database configured to store positioning data associated with one or more base stations in a network, and a data management component configured to compare the parameters with one or more parameter thresholds, and update the positioning data based at least in part on the comparison of the parameters and the parameter thresholds. The updated positioning data is used for positioning determination of a mobile device.

A modern wireless device can incorporate functions of a satellite positioning system receiver, a cellular transceiver, or a wireless transceiver. When a wireless device functions as a cellular transceiver and/or a wireless transceiver, the device can communicate wirelessly with a wireless communication network by employing radio frequency (RF) field propagation. The radio frequency, a frequency within the electromagnetic spectrum associated with radio wave propagation, is supplied to an antenna that creates an electromagnetic field that propagates through space. A component of a wireless communication network can be a wireless station, for example, a cellular base station of a cellular network, or an access point of a wireless local area network (LAN) or a wireless personal area network (PAN). The wireless station can allow a wireless device to communicate with a wired network through an access gateway. Oftentimes, the wireless station broadcasts a beacon signal that provides key information for wireless connections with wireless devices.

Positioning database management applied to server-based positioning system


A tool and method allow cooking a tortilla in a generally flat state, in a shallow amount of oil. A central strip is held out of the oil and isn't fried. Side strips to the central strip are less fried. This produces a taco shell that is flexible at the bottom, allowing a living hinge, while crispy in its main portions. A raising bar and left and right hold-downs comprise described tools.

Taco shells are U-shaped fried tortillas to be filled with a variety of foodstuffs and eaten. While they have been made for many, many years there is still no convenient way, outside of a production environment, to take a soft, pliable tortilla and turn it into fried U-shaped hard shell taco. If it is formed in a U before being fried, a tall, narrow very deep container of hot oil might be used. This type of container, including a way to keep its oil uniformly hot, is not a standard household item. If only a shallow layer of hot oil is available, then the U-shaped tortilla would need to be set in the oil twice, once per side.
Alternatively if the tortilla is fried flat then it will become stiff and brittle throughout and not amenable to be bent into a U-shape unless it is manipulated in a complex manner while frying. However it is produced, the result is a U-shaped brittle taco shell that is likely to crack when foodstuffs are added or when the first bite is taken.

Tool for frying a tortilla with a semi-pliable center


An apparatus and a method are disclosed for producing an electric terminal contact on a coated sheet, whose coating has at least one electric conductor path covered by an electrical insulation layer, in which apparatus and method a recess is produced extending through the insulation layer at least to the electrical conductor path and in this recess, an electrically conductive contact element is provided, one end of which is electrically connected to the conductor path and at the other end of which forms the electrical terminal contact. In order to increase the reproducibility, the proposal is made for the recess to be produced with the aid of a hollow needle, which is advanced in the direction toward the conductor path and which, as it is withdrawn from the recess, introduces an electrically conductive, viscous compound into this recess in order to produce the contact element.

In order to be able to electrically connect a conductor path, which is embedded in a coating on a metal sheet, it is known from the prior art (EP1517597A2) to push a contact pin through the electrical insulation of the coating until it reaches the electrical conductor path. As a result, one end of the contact pin electrically contacts the conductor path and its other end forms the electrical terminal contact. Such a push-in installation of a contact pin can disadvantageously turn out to be comparatively difficult and imprecise to reproduce—moreover, impact-caused deformations in the contact pin can make it more difficult to achieve a precise contacting. Methods from the prior art are therefore comparatively susceptible to error.

Device and method for producing an electrical connecting contact on a coated metal sheet


The present invention is intended to provide a communication apparatus with high versatility and multiple functions to which an optional color recording function can be added, and disclose the communication apparatus which has a recording means and is connected to a data terminal to transmit the data prepared or stored by the data terminal to a communication line according to a control commands from the data terminal whereby the image data is recorded by the recording means according to a specific command of the above control commands.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication apparatus which has an interface for data terminals.
2. Related Background Art
A reference example according to the related art is disadvantageous in that the control software for read and write operations of the communication apparatus is specific to the communication apparatus and lacks versatility.
If this type of communication apparatus is used as a printer or a scanner, specific control software of one communication apparatus is incorporated in the data terminals to carry out write and read operations.
In view of the above problem, for example, another application (U.S. Ser. No. 889,199, filed on May 28, 1992) has proposed a configuration in which a facsimile unit is controlled from a host computer.
In such proposed configuration, however, there is room for improvement since a dedicated command system such as firmware is required to control the facsimile unit from the host computer.

Communication apparatus prints or transmits received data depending on whether a predetermined number is included in a received command or not


An aspect of the disclosure provides for a method for user equipment (UE) internet protocol (IP) address management. The method includes sending by an application function (AF), a request to a policy control function (PCF), the request including information identifying traffic and an indication that a UE IP address associated with the traffic should be preserved. The method further includes sending by the PCF, to a session management function (SMF) being responsible for managing a Protocol Data Unit (PDU) session associated with the traffic, a policy and charging control (PCC) rule including the indication. In some embodiments, the request is sent by the AF to the PCF via a network exposure function (NEF). In some embodiments, the method further includes managing, by the SMF, the UE IP address according to the PCC rule. In some embodiments, the managing includes preserving the UE IP address for a PDU session associated with the traffic. In some embodiments, the preserving includes preventing reselection of a protocol data unit (PDU) session anchor (PSA) to which the UE IP address is associated.

In Release 15 of Technical Standard 3GPP TS23.501, individual Protocol Data Unit (PDU) sessions are managed independently, potentially by multiple Session Management Functions (SMFs) that have no relation with one another. The independent management of PDU sessions implies a lack of correlation among the PDU sessions. Similarly, the SMFs will typically select the User Plane (UP) path of a particular PDU session independently of the UP paths selected by other SMFs. In some scenarios, this may result in inefficient end-to-end UP paths. For example, IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) scenarios may involve an end-to-end UP path between a pair of User Equipment (UE), via either a local User Plane Function (UPF) or a Data Network Access Identifier (DNAI). The respective UP paths between each UE and the involved UPF or DNAI will typically be independently selected by different SMFs, and this may result in an inefficient end-to-end UP path.
This background information is provided to reveal information believed by the applicant to be of possible relevance to the present invention. No admission is necessarily intended, nor should be construed, that any of the preceding information constitutes prior art against the present invention.

Message and system for application function influence on traffic routing


The compact carrier is a compact, lightweight carrier for personal articles such as a child's book bag or backpack. The compact carrier comprises an open base cradle adapted for carrying heavy personal articles. A pair of wheels are disposed on opposing ends of the open base cradle, and a tether is coupled to the base cradle 20 for pulling the compact carrier. The base cradle is formed of two semi-cylindrical half members that are slidably joined together such that the base cradle bay be extended in width for use, or compacted in width for storage. In use, heavy personal articles such as a child's book bag or backpack are placed on or within the base cradle, and secured in place by straps disposed along the tether.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wheeled carriers for luggage, personal articles, and the like. More specifically, the invention is a compact carrier for transporting personal items such as a child's backpack or book bag. When not in use, the compact carrier collapses to a compact configuration for storage.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wheeled hand-carts and other devices for transporting luggage and other heavy personal effects have been known in various forms and, configurations for a relatively long time. Collapsible wheeled carts provide the utility of a wheeled cart with the convenience that the cart may be collapsed in size for storage when not in use. Such carts are typically constructed of rigid frame members, such as metal or plastic tubular members. Typically, however, rigid frame and handle members limit the degree to which the cart may be compacted. Reducing the size or number of frame members also risks a reduction in the cart's sturdiness, and capacity for weight carrying.
U.S. Patent Application Publication 2002/0041084, published on Apr. 11, 2002 for C. Darling III, discloses a versatile portable cart useful for numerous carrying or hauling applications. The cart is readily assembled and disassembled, the disassembled cart being stored in a carry-bag.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,841, issued on Jun. 10, 1986 to R. Lange, discloses a pack cart comprising a lightweight tubular frame having removable wheels. The cart frame is adapted to have a pack bag secured thereon, the bag being releasably attached to the cart frame.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,820,141, issued on Oct. 13, 1998 to C. Wilkerson et al., discloses a one-man carrier and back pack comprising a collapsible frame fashioned from lightweight tubular material. The frame is supported by a single wide, inflatable roller for rolling the carrier over terrain.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,984,154, issued on Nov. 16, 1999 to P. Scicluna, discloses a wheeled backpack. The wheeled backpack has a pair of wheels, located on a bottom rear portion of the backpack, and a rigid frame supporting the wheels and including a pull-handle comprising tubular members that telescope from a pocket on the rear of the backpack. While the wheeled backpack provides the capability to wheel the backpack when filled with heavy contents such as school books, the backpack is rendered less suitable for other activities such as a hike outdoors where light weight is preferred.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,070,906, issued on Jun. 6, 2000 to T. Allen, discloses a wheeled ski and equipment carrying device comprising a pair of wheels supported by a rigid axle, the axle having a support means to retain at least one pair of skis.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,561,395, issued on May 13, 2003 to M. Lim et al., discloses a backpack structure comprising a horizontally positioned, wheeled base member having a sliding front portion. An expandable and compressible backpack is mounted on the base member.
German patent 443,498, dated Apr. 30, 1927, illustrates a carrier for skis comprising a pair of wheels supported by a rigid axle, the axle having means for retaining the tips of a pair of skis.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus a compact carrier solving the aforementioned problems is desired.


When dividing a video signal composed of horizontal H pixels and vertical V pixels into blocks of (m.times.n) pixels composed of horizontal m pixels and vertical n pixels, when the number of horizontal pixels or the number of vertical pixels is not equal to an integer multiple of m or n, respectively, the video signal is first divided into blocks of (m.times.n) pixels and sub-blocks of a smaller size. Then, a plurality of sub-blocks are put together to make up a block of (m.times.n) pixels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a video signal block forming method for forming a video signal in blocks and for processing signals in block units.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally a video signal has an extremely large quantity of information, and a method of curtailing the quantity of information by high efficiency coding is employed as an effective means when recording or transmitting. One of such means is a method of dividing the image into blocks, and performing high efficiency coding in block units, and a representative coding method is an orthogonal transformation coding. Explained below is a method of dividing the video signal into blocks by referring to an example of applying the orthogonal transformation coding to components signals of the existing method.
As the sampling frequency for handling the conventional component signals,
Y :fs =13.5 MHz PA1 R-Y:fs/2 =6.75 MHz PA1 B-Y:fs/2 =6.75 MHz
are standardized. If a signal is composed of 525 vertical lines, then the number of active pixels and the number of active lines in one field are as shown in Table 1.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Number of active pixels Number of active lines ______________________________________ Y 720 240 R - Y 360 240 B - Y 360 240 ______________________________________
The signal sampled as shown in Table 1 is an integer multiple of 8 in both number of active pixels and number of active lines, and can be divided into blocks of 8 pixels .times.8 lines, and in this case the number of blocks is as shown in Table 2.
TABLE 2 ______________________________________ Number of horizontal blocks Number of vertical blocks ______________________________________ Y 90 30 R - Y 45 30 B - Y 45 30 ______________________________________
In such block forming method, however, the following problems are present.
The signal sampled at the above sampling frequency is an integer multiple of 8 in the number of horizontal pixels, in both luminance signal (Y) and color difference signals (R-Y, B-Y), and it was easily possible to divide into blocks composed of 8 horizontal pixels and 8 vertical pixels. However, if the number of pixels is different, for example, when the color difference signal sampled at 6.75 MHz is decimated to reduce the number of pixels in the horizontal direction in half, the number of horizontal pixels is 180, which does not agree with a multiple of 8. Therefore, when the number of active pixels in the horizontal direction is not an integer multiple of the number of horizontal pixels composing one block, conventionally, the number of active pixels in the horizontal direction was enlarged or reduced before dividing then into blocks. In other words, it was necessary to code the portion that was actually not necessary to transmit, or to code by cutting off the active pixels that should be transmitted. Besides, if the number of pixels in the vertical direction was not an integer multiple of the number of vertical pixels composing one block, a similar processing was required.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A pair of eyeglasses adjustable in wearing angle includes a lens body with two side walls extending rear-ward, two connecters fixed movably with the two side sides walls of the lens body, and two temples fixed with the two connecters in such a way that angles of the temples relative to the lens body can be adjusted so as to enable this eyeglasses worn comfortably by persons having differently sized faces.

The eyeglasses adjustable in wearing angle disclosed in the above patent includes a lens body, two connecters, and two temples.
The lens body has an upper side extending rearward from an upper end, and two side walls respectively having a continual position holes and a notch in a rear end.
The two connecters are made of plastics, respectively having two vertical walls, a center aperture defined by the two walls, a small pin extending sidewise from one of the two walls, a projection between the two walls extending forward from a rear side of the two walls, and an ear with a hole extending rearward from the rear side of the two walls. The small pin fits in one of the continual holes and the projection fits in the notch of the two walls.
The two temples have respectively a front connecting means provided with a center groove opening to the inner side and a screw hole. The center groove fits with the ear of the connecters, when the temples are combined with the connecters.
The two temples are adjusted in its angle relative to the lens body by a wearer, by means of changeable engagement of the small pins with one of the continual holes and constant engagement of the projections with the notches functioning as fulcrums. Then the front ends of the connecters are able to be adjusted to move up and down to let the temples adjusted in their angles to the lens body. Or the lens body can be moved for changing the angles of the two temples relative to the lens body, suiting to wearers having different sized faces.


Application of content and associated functionality from multiple content sources to an electronic content item is provided. Content from a first document may be displayed over a second document via a user interface component. If desired, such content may be inserted into the second document, and application functionality associated with the inserted content may be retained after it is inserted into the second document. One or more navigation means may be provided for conveniently navigating inside a content item (e.g., a document) for adding new content or for reviewing or editing existing content. In addition, a number of content views and content mappings may be provided.

Since the advent of computers and computer systems, a multitude of software applications have been developed to allow users to create and utilize a variety of electronic content items. For example, users create and utilize word processing documents, spreadsheet documents, presentation documents, Internet-based content, and the like. Often, a user desires to mix or combine content from a variety of application functionality sources in a single document. For example, a user may want to add a spreadsheet chart to a word processing-based letter or memo, or the user may want to incorporate information from an Internet-based web site into the example letter or memo. Typically, the user must launch a first document, copy or cut content from the first document and associated application and functionality, followed by pasting the content into a second document. For example, the user may copy a chart from a spreadsheet application into a word processing document. Such a process is time consuming and cumbersome, and the functionality associated with the first application/document content item may be limited when the content item is copied to or pasted into the second document and associated application functionality.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has been made.

Application of multiple content items and functionality to an electronic content item


A computer system comprising at least one processor and associated cache memory, and a plurality of registers to keep track of the number of cache memory lines associated with each process thread running in the computer system. Each process thread is assigned to one of the plurality of registers of each level of cache that is being monitored. The number of cache memory lines associated with each process thread in a particular level of the cache is stored as a number value in the assigned register and will increment as more cache memory lines are used for the process thread and will decrement as less cache memory lines are used. The number value in the register is defined as the "process thread temperature." Larger number values indicate warmer process thread temperature and smaller number values indicate cooler process thread temperature. Process thread temperatures are relative and indicate the cache memory line usage by the process threads running in the computer system at a particular level of cache. By keeping track or "score" of the number values (temperatures) in each of these registers called "scoreboard registers," the scheduler algorithm of the computer operating system may objectively determine the most advantageous order for the process threads to run and which of the processors in a multi-processor system should execute these process threads. A scoreboard register may be reassigned to a new process thread when its associated process thread has been discontinued.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cache memory utilization in a single or multi-processor computer system, and more particularly in determining the order of execution of multiple program process threads and the association of computer processors therewith.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Use of computers in business and at home is becoming more and more pervasive because the computer has become an integral tool of most information workers who work in the fields of accounting, law, engineering, insurance, services, sales and the like. Rapid technological improvements in the field of computers have opened up many new applications heretofore unavailable or too expensive for the use of older technology computers. A significant part of the ever increasing popularity of the computer, besides its low cost relative to just a few years ago, is its ability to run multiple application programs which appear to the user to be running concurrently. In a multi-processor computer system some of the application programs may run concurrently.
These application programs may be word processing, spreadsheet, database, graphics, computer aided design and engineering, and telecommunications to name a few. In the computer system there is a software operating system ("OS") that controls the functions of the computer processor(s) and peripheral components which make up the computer system. The OS program includes routines or an algorithm called a "scheduler" that decides which application program(s) is running on a processor(s), and what application program(s) will be running next.
The scheduler algorithm defines each part of the application program that is being executed on a processor as a "process" or "process thread." When a process thread is interrupted for what ever reason, the register values and unexecuted instructions of that process thread are saved and the scheduler tells the processor to restore the register values from a different process and start execution of another process thread. This is called a "Context Switch." In a multiprocessor computer system, multiple process threads may be executed on the multiple processors at the same time. However, only one process thread can run on one processor at any given time. Multiple processors can run multiple process threads up to the number of processors running concurrently in the computer system. The application programs can appear to the user to be running concurrently because the processor(s) switch(es) between the different threads very quickly, thus giving the impression that the application programs are running simultaneously.
The processor or plurality of processors in a computer system run in conjunction with a high capacity, low-speed (relative to the processor speed) main memory, and a low capacity, high-speed (comparable to the main memory speed) cache memory or memories (one or more cache memories associated with each of the plurality of processors).
Cache memory is used to reduce memory access time in mainframe computers, minicomputers, and microprocessors. The cache memory provides a relatively high speed memory interposed between the slower main memory and the processor to improve effective memory access rates, thus improving the overall performance and processing speed of the computer system by decreasing the apparent amount of time required to fetch information from main memory.
In today's single and multi-processor computer systems, there is typically at least one level of cache memory for each of the processors. The latest microprocessor integrated circuits may have a first level cache memory located in the integrated circuit package and closely coupled with the central processing unit ("CPU") of the microprocessor. Additional levels of cache may also be implemented by adding fast static random access memory (SRAM) integrated circuits and a cache controller. Typical secondary cache size may be any where from 64 kilobytes to 8 megabytes and the cache SRAM has an access time comparable with the processor clock speed.
In common usage, the term "cache" refers to a hiding place. The name "cache memory" is an appropriate term for this high speed memory that is interposed between the processor and main memory because cache memory is hidden from the user or programmer, and thus appears to be transparent. Cache memory, serving as a fast storage buffer between the processor and main memory, is not user addressable. The user is only aware of the apparently higher-speed memory accesses because the cache memory is satisfying many of the is requests instead of the slower main memory.
Cache memory is smaller than main memory because cache memory employs relatively expensive high speed memory devices, such as static random access memory ("SRAM"). Therefore, cache memory typically will not be large enough to hold all of the information needed during program execution. As a process executes, information in the cache memory must be replaced, or "overwritten" with new information from main memory that is necessary for executing the process thread. The information in main memory is typically updated each time a "dirty" cache line is evicted from the cache memory (a process called "write back"). As a result, changes made to information in cache memory will not be lost when new information enters cache memory and overwrites information which may have been changed by the processor.
Information is only temporarily stored in cache memory during execution of the process thread. When process thread data is referenced by a processor, the cache controller will determine if the required data is currently stored in the cache memory. If the required information is found in cache memory, this is referred to as a "cache hit." A cache hit allows the required information to be quickly retrieved from or modified in the high speed cache memory without having to access the much slower main memory, thus resulting in a significant savings in program execution time. When the required information is not found in the cache memory, this is referred to as a "cache miss." A cache miss indicates that the desired information must be retrieved from the relatively slow main memory and then placed into the cache memory. Cache memory updating and replacement schemes attempt to maximize the number of cache hits, and to minimize the number of cache misses.
Information from main memory for a process thread is typically stored in "lines" of cache memory which contain a plurality of bytes or words from the main memory such as, for example, 16, 32 or 64 bytes of information. The plurality of bytes from main memory are stored sequentially in a line of cache memory. The cache memory comprises a plurality of lines of information that may store information for a plurality of process threads. Each line of cache memory has an associated "tag" that stores the physical addresses of main memory containing the information in the cache line as well as other things such as "MESI" state information for the cache line. From the example above, if 16 bytes of information are stored in a cache line, the least significant 4 bits of the physical address of main memory are dropped from the main memory address stored in the tag register. In addition, the tag register may contain a cache consistency protocol such as "MESI" (Modified, Exclusive, Shared and Invalid) to ensure data consistency in a multi-processor or bus master environment.
A cache memory is said to be "direct mapped" if each byte of information can only be written to one place in the cache memory. The cache memory is said to be "fully associative" if a byte of information can be placed anywhere in the cache memory. The cache memory is said to be "set associative" if a group of blocks of information from main memory can only be placed in a restricted set of places in the cache memory, namely, in a specified "set" of the cache memory. Computer systems ordinarily utilize a variation of set associative mapping to keep track of the bytes of information that have been copied from main memory into cache memory.
The hierarchy of a set associative cache memory resembles a matrix. That is, a set associative cache memory is divided into different "sets" (such as the rows of a matrix) and different "ways" (such as the columns of a matrix). Thus, each line of a set associative cache memory is mapped or placed within a given set (row) and within a given way (column). The is number of columns, i.e., the number of lines in each set, determine the number of "ways" of the cache memory. Thus, a cache memory with four columns (four lines within each set) is deemed to be "4-way set associative."
Set associative cache memories include addresses for each line in the cache memory. Addresses may be divided into three different fields. First, a "block-offset field" is utilized to select the desired information from a line. Second, an "index field" specifies the set of cache memory where a line is mapped. Third, a "tag field" is used for purposes of comparison. When a request originates from a processor for new information, the index field selects a set of cache memory. The tag field of every line in the selected set is compared to the tag field sought by the processor. If the tag field of some line matches the tag field sought by the processor, a "cache hit" is detected and information from the block is obtained directly from or modified in the high speed cache memory. If no match occurs, a "cache miss" occurs and the cache memory is typically updated. Cache memory is updated by retrieving the desired information from main memory and then mapping this information into a line of the set associative cache. When the "cache miss" occurs, a line is first mapped with respect to a set (row), and then mapped with respect to a way (column). That is, the index field of a line of information retrieved from main memory specifies the set of cache memory wherein this line will be mapped. A "replacement scheme" is then relied upon to choose the particular line of the set that will be replaced. In other words, a replacement scheme determines the way (column) where the line will be located. The object of a replacement scheme is to select for replacement the line of the set that is least likely to be needed in the near future so as to minimize further cache misses.
Several factors contribute to the optimal utilization of cache memory in computer systems: cache memory hit ratio (probability of finding a requested item in cache), cache memory access time, delay incurred due to a cache memory miss, and time required to synchronize main memory with cache memory (write back or write through). In order to minimize delays incurred when a cache miss is encountered, as well as improve cache memory hit rates, an appropriate cache memory replacement scheme is used.
Set associative cache memory replacement schemes may be divided into two basic categories: non-usage based and usage based. Non-usage based replacement schemes, which include first in, first out ("FIFO") and "random" replacement schemes, make replacement selections on some basis other than memory usage. The FIFO replacement scheme replaces the line of a given set of cache memory which has been contained in the given set for the longest period of time. The random replacement scheme randomly replaces a line of a given set.
Usage based schemes, which include the least recently used ("LRU") replacement scheme, take into account the history of memory usage. In the LRU replacement scheme the least recently used line of information in cache memory is overwritten by the newest entry into cache memory. An LRU replacement scheme assumes that the least recently used line of a given set is the line that is least likely to be reused again in the immediate future. An LRU replacement scheme thus replaces the least recently used line of a given set with a new line of information that must be copied from main memory.
Regardless of the replacement scheme used, the scheduler algorithm will decide what process thread will be executed next in a single processor computer. In a multi-processor computer system, the scheduler algorithm decides what process threads are to run concurrently, and which processor will execute each of these process threads. The scheduler then determines the next appropriate process thread to be executed, etc. The scheduler may cause the process threads to be executed in order of occurrence, or the order of execution may be determined by some software or hardware priority paradigm. The scheduler cannot determine, however, what the likely cache hit or miss outcome will be during execution of any given process thread. Some operating systems use a concept called "Strong Affinity" when scheduling threads. "Strong Affinity" schedulers attempt to execute a thread on the same processor it last ran on. The reason for doing this is because the same processor's cache is more likely to contain data that is relevant to the process than some other processor in the system.
What is needed is a method and apparatus to improve the likelihood of cache hits during execution of a process thread. It is desired to improve the computer system efficiency by having the scheduler algorithm make an informed decision on which program thread would be most appropriate to run next and on what processor. In addition, it is desired to improve usage of cache memory by selecting locations to be written to that contain no longer needed process thread information.

Scoreboard for cached multi-thread processes


In one aspect, the present invention provides implantable or insertable medical devices, which contain at least one polymeric region. The polymeric region contains at least one fluorocarbon-containing block copolymer, which, in turn, contains (a) at least one fluorocarbon-containing, low glass transition temperature (low Tg) copolymer chain and (b) at least one glass transition temperature (high Tg) polymer chain.

In the past several years, stents have emerged as a prime therapy for atherosclerosis, because they counteract the effects of intimal hyperplasia from balloon injury. Unfortunately, in-stent restenosis can occur as a result of stent injury to the vessel wall. In response, drug eluting stents have been developed, which have a polymeric coating that releases a drug at a rate and for a duration that is effective to counteract the effects of in-stent restenosis. Examples of such devices include drug eluting coronary stents, which are commercially available from Boston Scientific Corp. (TAXUS), Johnson & Johnson (CYPHER), and others. The polymeric coating on the stent is in contact with the delivery system (e.g., balloon) on its inner diameter and in contact with the vessel wall on its outer diameter. It is therefore advantageous to optimize the properties of the polymeric coating so as to control the release of drug, to have optimum biocompatibility against the vessel wall, and to be compatible with the surface of the balloon.
Poly(styrene-isobutylene-styrene) triblock copolymers (SIBS), described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,545,097 to Pinchuk et al., are thermoplastic elastomers in which the poly(isobutylene) mid-block is elastomeric and the styrene end blocks form physical crosslinks. This polymer is used in drug-releasing polymeric coatings for coronary stents. The polymeric coating has good integrity and, being elastomeric, is able to expand as the stent is expanded. SIBS also has excellent biocompatibility, particularly within the vasculature.
SIBS is made by a living cationic polymerization process, which must be conducted at low temperatures and under stringent conditions. If possible, it would be advantageous to manufacture polymers that are analogous to SIBS polymers using less stringent processes, such as such as free radical polymerization.
Furthermore, there are a limited number of monomers that can be polymerized by living cationic polymerization, restricting one's ability to vary the chemical composition of polymers made by this process. Because the chemical and physical characteristics of polymers are strongly influenced by the monomers that are used to form them, it would be advantageous to employ other processes besides living cationic polymerization. For example, the number and chemical variety of the monomers that can be polymerized by free radical processes are considerably broader that those that can be polymerized by cationic methods. The ability to use free radical processes would therefore allow one to tailor the properties of the polymer with greater flexibility as compared to cationic polymerization methods.

Medical devices having polymeric regions that contain fluorocarbon-containing block copolymers


Portable fitness monitoring systems with displays, and applications thereof, are disclosed. In an embodiment, a method of providing performance feedback to an individual using a portable fitness monitoring device is provided. The method may include sensing performance parameter information during the physical activity, generating a first visual output that includes an indication of the intensity level that the individual should be performing at, and generating a second visual output that includes an indication of the intensity level that the individual is currently performing at.

Exercise is important to maintaining a healthy lifestyle and individual well-being. Accordingly, many individuals want to participate in an exercise program. The most successful exercise programs may be ones tailored to a fitness level of an individual and aimed at assisting the individual to achieve one or more specific fitness or exercise goals. Information about the individual's progress toward achieving their goals may be collected using sensors for measuring various physical and/or physiological parameters associated with the individual's physical activity.
Amateur and professional athletes alike have begun paying greater attention to specific heart rates (i.e. heart beats per minute) achieved during exercise, as recommended by their trainers and other programs. While in some cases it may not be critical that the exercising individual establish a precise heart rate, the individual may want to maintain their heart rate within desired ranges throughout their physical activity to achieve specific fitness goals. Technology has resulted in the development of portable heart rate monitors that can detect the individual's heart rate and provide a variety of outputs indicative thereof.
What is needed are new portable fitness monitoring systems that have displays with improved aesthetics and functionalities that enable the individual to exercise at intensities appropriate for their current fitness level and goals.

Portable fitness monitoring systems with displays and applications thereof


The present invention relates to novel active compound combinations comprising at least one known compound of the formula (I)

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to novel active compound combinations comprising firstly at least one known compound of the formula (I) and secondly at least one further active compound from the class of tetronic and tetramic acid derivatives, diacylhydrazines, benzoylureas and further classes, which combinations are highly suitable for controlling animal pests, such as insects and unwanted acarids.
Description of Related Art
It is known that phthalic acid amides (Ryanodine receptor inhibitors class) have insecticidal activity (see, e.g., EP 0 919 542, W0 2004/018410 or W0 2010/012442). Cyano group containing phthalic acid amide-based compounds and their preparation are further disclosed in WO 2012/034472.
Furthermore, it is already known that numerous heterocycles, organotin compounds, benzoylureas, pyrethroids and other classes have insecticidal and acaricidal properties. However, the activity of these compounds is not always satisfactory.

Active compound combinations having insecticidal properties

Abstract: in which X, R1 to R4, A, n, Y, and m are as defined in the description, and at least one further known active compound from the class of the of tetronic and tetramic acid derivatives, diacylhydrazines, benzoylureas and further classes, which combinations are highly suitable for controlling animal pests such as insects and unwanted acarids.


A device is provided for treating waste water, the device including a closed housing containing at least one stack of disks through which waste water can flow. A circulating pump is provided for pumping the fluid, the pump forming a structural unit including the housing and the stack of disks arranged therein.

The invention relates to a device for fluid treatment, in particular to waste water treatment, having a circulation pump and a closed housing, in which is arranged at least one disk stack through which waste water may flow.
Such devices for waste water treatment, in which at least one disk stack, through which waste water flows, is arranged in a closed housing and in which the waste water is circulated by way of a circulation pump, is known from International Publication No. WO 02/094724 A1, for example. There, two disk stacks which mesh with one another and which many be moved relative to one another by way of a drive motor, in order to remove the biological coating growing on the surfaced sides of the disks to a desired extent, are arranged within a housing. Waste water flows radially through the disk stacks, which thereby is purified by the biological coating in the form of the microorganisms, adhering to the disks, i.e. the substances located in the waste water are broken down biologically. In order to convey the water through these biological filters, a circulation pump in the form of a centrifugal pump is provided, with which the waste water may be circulated within the biological filter, as well as being able to be delivered in and out of this.
With this known device, the disk stacks are arranged within a closed housing, wherein a drive shaft is led out to one side, via which a drive of a disk stack is effected. Pipe connections are provided at the other side, to which a circulation pump is to be connected.
The disadvantage with the designs described there, is the fact that they are not only expensive with regard to their construction, but furthermore also require a stationary assembly, since apart from the actual bio-filter, one also needs to provide the circulation pump assembly as well as the associated piping, which takes up much space and requires some effort with regard to construction.

Device for treating fluids, especially waste water, comprising a stack of disks


An article 10 is provided with an adhesive layer 14 that includes an adhesive, a release layer 12 that is stacked on the adhesive layer 14, and an air layer 16 that is interposed between the adhesive layer 14 and the release layer 12. On a surface 12a of the release layer 12 that opposes the adhesive layer 14, microprotrusions 20 that contact the adhesive layer 14 with tips 20a are provided. The microprotrusions 20 are provided with a wall-shaped portion 22 having a shape that at least partially surrounds the air layer 16 between the adhesive layer 14 and the release layer 12. The wall-shaped portion 22 protects a main portion 14a of the adhesive layer 14 that is adjacent to the air layer 16 from contamination. By selecting a shape, dimensions, and the like of the micro protrusions 20, a release force of the release layer 12 can be adjusted to a desired range.

An article provided with an adhesive layer that includes an adhesive and a release layer that is releasably stacked on the adhesive layer is known as an adhesive tape product or the like. For example, JP 2003-342533A (Claims, par. 0012, par. 0014, par. 0015) discloses an adhesive sheet that has a substrate sheet, an adhesive layer, and a release sheet in that order. The following descriptions are in JP 2003-342533A: "An adhesive sheet of the present invention is made by, for example, stacking an adhesive layer on an uneven release surface of a release sheet that has an uneven release surface. The release sheet having the uneven surface can be manufactured by, for example, providing a release-treated layer by coating a release agent such as a silicone resin as necessary on a release sheet substrate and applying thereto a desired uneven shape processing by a known method such as embossing processing"; "By stacking the adhesive layer on the release sheet that has the above uneven shape, this uneven shape is transferred to an adhesive layer surface, and concave portions and convex portions thereof respectively form convex portions and concave portions corresponding to these shapes in the adhesive layer"; "After peeling the above release sheet, the adhesive layer is abutted to an adherend, and by affixing by applying pressure by a squeegee or a finger, the convex portions of an uneven portion formed in the adhesive layer surface by being transferred from the release sheet bonds to the adherend while maintaining the contact area ratio of 30 to 90% described above; at this time, because the concave portions become airflow channels, air escapes, and swelling due to air accumulation does not arise, affixing can be performed with favorable adhesion, easily, and cleanly."
WO 2009/069445 (Claims, par. 0007) discloses a release sheet provided with a substrate, an undercoat layer formed on the substrate, and a release agent layer formed on the undercoat layer. The following descriptions are in WO 2009/069445: "As illustrated in FIG. 2, an adhesive body 20 is configured by affixing an adhesive sheet 23, which is formed by stacking an adhesive layer 22 on one surface of an adhesive sheet substrate 21, to a release sheet 10 so the adhesive layer 22 adheres to a surface 13A of a release agent layer 13"; "The release agent layer 13 has unevenness formed on the surface 13A thereof, and by this, a release force of when releasing the release sheet 10 can be set to an appropriate value"; "As an adhesive that forms the adhesive layer 22, a non-silicone adhesive can be used without any limitations in particular; for example, an acrylic adhesive or the like is used. In the present embodiment, the release agent layer 13 and the undercoat layer 12 are formed by a polyolefin resin; moreover, by the adhesive layer 22 being formed by the non-silicone resin, the release sheet 10 and the adhesive body 20 can be made to substantially not include silicone compounds." Moreover, JP 2003-080638A discloses a release liner provided with a release liner substrate and a silicone release layer formed on the release liner substrate.

Article provided with adhesive layer and release layer


A multilevel high density interconnect structure of a semiconductor device or package including a substrate having at least one conductive feature therein, a film of a polyimide composition on the substrate and selected from the group consisting of a cured product of a polyamic acid and a cured product of a polyamic ester. The polyamic acid is prepared by reacting a stoichiometric excess of a linear aromatic diamine and aromatic dianhydride to form a first reaction product where the molar ratio of said diamine to said aromatic anhydride is in the range from 100:97 to 100:99.5 and then reacting the first reaction product with an aromatic anhydride. The polyamic ester is prepared by reacting a stoichiometric excess of a linear aromatic diamine and an aromatic diester diacyl chloride to form a second reaction product where the molar ratio of said diamine to said diester diacyl chloride is in the range from 100:97 to 100:99.5 and then reacting the second reaction product with aromatic anhydride. There is at least one interconnective conductive metallurgical feature in the film a polyimide composition in contact with said conductive feature in said substrate.

Polyimides have been recognized as polymers of choice for passivation and interlayer dielectric in microelectronics for improving the electrical performance characteristics of high density IC devices partly because the organic polymer based insulators have lower dielectric constant compared to the commonly employed inorganic dielectric materials. Use of polyimide insulator also provides process simplification and advantages of having a wide selection of material properties available to meet specific requirements. In high density integrated circuits, faster signal propagation and low cross-talk levels are among some of the important considerations and thus polyimides which have relatively lower dielectric constant and which exhibit many excellent thermal and mechanical properties would be preferred over inorganic dielectrics.
However, the conventional polyimides derived from non-linear aromatic diamine and/or dianhydride precursors such as pyromellitic dianhydride-4,4'-oxydianiline (PMDA-ODA), 3,3'-4,4'-biphenicdianhydride-4,4'-oxydianiline (BPDA-ODA), 3,3',4,4'-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride-4,4'-oxydianiline (BTDA-ODA), or 3,3',4,4'-benzophenone tetracarboxylic dianhydride-bis aminophenoxy benzene-3-amino-phenyl-acetylene (BTDA-APB-APA) (THERMID*-Isoimide type--trademark of National Starch and Chemical Co.) have relatively high thermal coefficient of expansion (TCE), typically in the range of 30-60 ppm deg.sup.-1 compared to 2-3 ppm deg.sup.-1 in the case of inorganic materials (non-metallics) used in devices, substrates or packages such as silicon, ceramic, silicon oxide and silicon nitride, and 5-25 ppm deg.sup.-1 in the case of commonly employed metallurgy. This TCE mismatch between the polyimide insulator and inorganic materials in device and packaging thin film multilayer structures results in the development of thermal stresses during high temperature processes in the fabrication cycle resulting in occasional problems of film cracking/delamination which presents a concern as to the performance reliability of end product. Yet another problem with the flexible chain polyimides is excessive swelling in polar solvents such as N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP) which can be a source of stress concentration at critical geometries such as sharp corners resulting in cracking/crazing phenomenon. The polyimide swelling has been found to be highly detrimental during thin film fabrication process especially when a non-compliant, rigid layer such as silicon nitride or silicon oxide is in contact with the underlying polyimide. It has been observed that in such cases, the inorganic film cracks due to excessive swelling of the polyimide underneath causing replication of the crack pattern into the polyimide as it has been observed after the silicon nitride is removed. Also, the flexible chain polyimides show relatively higher moisture uptake (up to 2-3%) which results in performance degradation, which may cause metal/insulator delamination and contributes to corrosion of contacting metallurgy.
Because of such limitations in the use of commonly known polyimides, there has been a great deal of interest recently in the development of low TCE/low stress polyimides for the purpose of generating stress-free multilevel interconnect structures in microelectronics in addition to other applications of these materials.
Y. Misawa et al., IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. ED-34, No. 3, March 1987, describe a multilevel interconnection system for submicron VLSI's using multilayered dielectric of plasma silicon oxide and low thermal expansion polyimide, PIQ-L100, which is used in conjunction with plasma CVD SiO.sub.2. For surface planarization, an etch-back technique is described. The low TCE polyimide PIQ-L100 used in this application has been described to have the properties as listed in Table 1 in comparison to a flexible chain polyimide.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,690,999 (Hitachi) discloses uniaxially oriented low thermal expansion polyimides with special properties and a composite shaped article using the same.
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Low TCE-PI Conv-PI Property Unit (PIQ L100) (PIQ) ______________________________________ Density (g/cm.sup.2) 1.47 1.38 Coefficient of (.times. 10-5 K-1) 0.3 4.5 Thermal Expansion Tensile Strength (Kg/cm) 39 13 Tensile Elongation (%) 22 30 Young's Modulus (Kg/cm.sup.2) 1100 330 Decomposition (.degree. C.) 510 440 Temperature in Air Activation Energy (kcal/Mol) 50 35 of Thermal Decomposition in Air Absorbed Moisture (%) 1.3 2.3 Content ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. No. 4,880,684 (IBM) discloses multilevel structure using glass-ceramic substrate which has capture pads on both sides to provide hermiticity. Multiple layers of flexible chain polyimides PMDA-ODA and BTDA-APB and interconnection metallurgy are formed on glass-ceramic such that capture pads formed on both sides of substrate are in alignment with the substrate vias and thru polyimide overlayers with the interconnection metallurgy between the underlying pad metallurgy, device chip, or pin bonded to surface of the layer.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,789,648 (IBM) discloses a method of producing multilevel metal/polyimide insulator films on a substrate and forming patterned conductive lines simultaneously with stud vias.
In the use of flexible chain polyimide insulators in microelectronics fabrication, it has been recognized that due to large differences in thermal expansion, there is fundamental incompatibility of these polymers with the inorganic and metal contacting materials in device structures. Therefore, frequent problems of cracking/crazing and/or delamination are encountered during the fabrication cycle or when the finished device is subjected to reliability testing conditions involving thermal excursions and T/H (temperature/humidity) or solvent exposures. From consideration of product performance including interface integrity at all levels of processing and end use, it is important that the polyimide insulator has the optimum functional characteristics in terms of thermal expansion match, thermal stability, mechanical properties, adhesion with contacting layers, lower dielectric constant, lower moisture uptake, minimal swelling in NMP, and other desirable features. In addition, successful fabrication of multilevel-metal structure using polyimides in conjunction with contacting materials of diverse properties requires that optimum set of process conditions be developed to provide problem-free fabrication and consistent product performance.

Low TCE polyimides as improved insulator in multilayer interconnect structures

International Business Machines Corporation


Energy polymerizable compositions comprising at least one cyanate monomer and as curing agent an organometallic compound are disclosed. The compositions are useful in applications requiring high performance, such as high temperature performance; in composites, particularly structural composities; structural adhesives; tooling for structural composities; electronic applications such as printed wiring boards and semiconductor encapsulants; graphic arts; injection molding and prepregs; and high performance binders.

Industry is constantly searching for lighter, stronger, and more resistant materials to replace those in present use Cyanate ester resins are known for their thermal stability, chemical inertness, solvent resistance, and dielectric properties. Thus, more and more uses are being found in a variety of fields which demand high performance materials, such as structural composites, printed wiring boards, semiconductor encapsulants, structural adhesives, graphic arts, injection molding and prepregs, and high performance binders.
Cyanate ester resins are formed from polyfunctional cyanate monomers (see U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,852). Generally, because it is desirable to achieve lower curing temperatures and faster curing times, a catalyst is employed. Catalysts which are effective include acids, bases, salts, nitrogen and phosphorus compounds, for example, Lewis acids such as AlCl.sub.3, BF.sub.3, FeCl.sub.3, TiCl.sub.4, ZnCl.sub.2, SnCl.sub.4 ; Bronsted acids such as HCl, H.sub.3 PO.sub.4 ; aromatic hydroxy compounds such as phenol, p-nitrophenol, pyrocatechol, dihydroxynaphthalene; various other compounds such as sodium hydroxide, sodium methoxide, sodium phenoxide, trimethylamine, triethylamine, tributylamine, diazabicyclo[2.2.2]octane, quinoline, isoquinoline, tetrahydroquinoline, tetraethylammonium chloride, pyridine-N-oxide, tributylphosphine, zinc octoate, tin octoate, zinc naphthenate, and mixtures thereof.
Oehmke (U.S. Pat. No. 3,694,410) teaches that chelates of metal ions of the nonionic type or ionic type, with 1 to 6 or more chelate rings, can catalyze the formation of polytriazines from aromatic polyfunctional cyanates. Similarly, Woo and Deller (U.S. Pat. No. 4,528,366) have shown that cobalt salts of C.sub.6-20 carboxylic acids are useful catalysts for polytriazine formation, preferably cobalt octoate and cobalt naphthenate. Shimp (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,604,452 and 4,608,434) has shown that alcoholic solutions of metal carboxylates are effective catalyst compositions for polytriazine formation. Organometallic cobalt compounds have been used to catalyze the trimerization of acetylenes (U.S. Pat. No. 4,183,864) and the co-trimerization of acetylenes and nitriles (U.S. Pat. No. 4,328,343). The photocatalyzed cyclotrimerization of aryl isocyanates using metal carbonyl complexes has also been taught (E. Martelli, C. Pellizzi, and G. Predieri, J. Molec. Catalysis 22, 89-91 (1983)).
Energy polymerizable compositions comprising ionic salts of organometallic complex cations and cationically sensitive materials and the curing thereof has been taught [see European Patent Nos. 109,851, 1984; 094,914, 1983 and Derwent Abstract; and 094,915, 1983 and Derwent Abstract (English language equivalent So. Afr. 837966)]. EP 094,915 and EP 109,851 disclose curing in one and two stages. Energy polymerizable compositions comprising ionic salts of organometallic complex cations and polyurethane precursors or isocyanates has also been taught (U.S. Pat. No. 4,740,577 which also discloses during in one and two stages; European Patent Nos. 265,373, 1988, Derwent Abstract; and 250,364, 1987, Derwent Abstract).
In certain applications, advantages in terms of improved potlife, physical properties of the cured material, and flexibility with respect to process parameters, particularly temperature, can be achieved with the use of photocatalysts. Gaku, Kimbura, and Yokoi (U.S. Pat. No. 4,554,346) disclosed (photo)curable resins from cyanate ester compounds. The inventors acknowledged that "the degree of radical-polymerizability or photo polymerizability of the cyanate ester itself is small," resulting in poorly cured materials. Instead, Gaku, et al., used mixtures of polyfunctional cyanate esters with at least one compound having hydroxy group(s) and radical-polymerizable unsaturated double bonds, the compounds used in quantities such that the ratio of cyanato groups to the hydroxy groups is in the range from 1:0.1 to about 1:2, and a radical polymerization (photo)initiator, at elevated temperature. These materials would not be expected to yield the same polytriazine materials obtainable from direct polymerization of the polyfunctional cyanates to polytriazines. To our knowledge, no other photoinitiators or photocatalysts for polyfunctional cyanate curing to polytriazines have been disclosed.
What the prior art has not taught, but what the present invention teaches is the use of organometallic compounds for the curing of cyanate monomers.

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


Contactless extremely high frequency connector assemblies, passive cable connector assemblies, and active cable connector assemblies are disclosed herein. In one embodiment, a contactless connector assembly can include several (EHF) contactless communication units operable to selectively transmit and receive EHF signals, and several signal directing structures coupled to the EHF CCUs. The signal directing structures can direct the EHF signals along a plurality of EHF signal pathways.

Advances in semiconductor manufacturing and circuit design technologies have enabled the development and production of integrated circuits (ICs) with increasingly higher operational frequencies. In turn, electronic products and systems incorporating such integrated circuits are able to provide much greater functionality than previous generations of products. This additional functionality has generally included the processing of increasingly larger amounts of data at increasingly higher speeds.

Contactless communication unit connector assemblies


A battery module including a plurality of battery cells that prevents the movement of the battery cells due to impact and has excellent cooling performance of the battery cells includes a battery cell group including a laminate of a plurality of flattened rectangular battery cells stacked in a thickness direction of the battery cells, and a housing storing the battery cell group. The battery cell group includes a plurality of cell holders configured to hold the individual battery cells from both sides in the thickness direction, and a plurality of side plates disposed at both ends of the plurality of battery cells in a width direction via the plurality of cell holders. Each of the cell holders has a restriction portion configured to restrict movement of the corresponding battery cell in a direction intersecting the thickness direction, and fixing portions that engage with the side plates.

Conventionally inventions about an assembled battery including the laminate of a desired number of secondary batteries have been known (see Patent Literature 1 described below). The invention described in Patent Literature 1 discloses an assembled battery having the following configuration to provide an assembled battery with improved reliability against an impact from an external force.
The assembled battery of Patent Literature 1 includes a battery cell group, a pair of first cover members, and a pair of second cover members. The battery cell group includes the laminate of a plurality of batter cells stacked in the thickness direction, each battery cell having a flattened battery body including a power-generating element and an electrode tab extending from the battery body. This assembled battery includes a heatsink disposed at least at one place between adjacent battery cells to radiate heat generated during the operation of the battery cells. The pair of first cover members covers the battery cell group from both sides in the stacking direction of the battery cells.
The pair of second cover members covers the battery cell group from both sides in the direction intersecting the stacking direction and the extending direction of the electrode tabs. This pair of second cover members joins to the pair of first cover members that presses the battery cell group in the stacking direction. Between at least one of the second cover members and the heatsink, the assembled battery has a restriction portion that restricts movement of the heatsink in a planar direction where the battery cells extend.