A cardiovascular electrode catheter for use in arrhythmia ablation procedures has a dumbbell-shaped large-tip electrode having an annular recess or indentation. The annular recess divides the electrode into a ball-shaped distal portion and a generally cylindrical proximal portion. Both the distal and proximal portions of the electrode have a diameter substantially the same as that of the catheter body. The recess enables the electrode to grip the mitral or tricuspid annulus or the atrial or ventricular myocardial wall to improve ablation procedures.

Electrode catheters are used to apply RF current (or other forms of electrical energy) within the heart to destroy (ablate) accessory atrioventricular pathways which provide an abnormal electrical connection between the atria and ventricles and produce arrhythmias (heart rhythm disorders). Ablation of the accessory pathway eliminates the arrhythmias.
In such an ablation procedure, the electrode tip of the catheter is brought into and maintained in contact with the endocardium (inner lining of the heart) close to the site of the accessory electrical pathway. When RF current is delivered through the catheter, a small lesion is created by the production of heat due to current passing through the heart tissue, ablating the accessory pathway and a small region of adjacent heart tissue.
In this procedure, the electrode must remain in firm, steady contact with the endocardium. Present catheter electrodes used for electrophysiologic studies of the heart and for ablation procedures in the heart have a generally cylindrical shape with a smooth, rounded distal tip 1, as shown in FIG. 1, or have a smooth, oval-shaped tip 1a, as shown in FIG. 2. Such rounded tip catheters are designed to minimize trauma to the heart. The oval-shaped electrode of FIG. 2 is designed primarily for ablation procedures using high voltage, short duration, direct current shocks, and this shape eliminates the proximate edge of the electrode which otherwise would have a high current density, yet not be in contact with the endocardium. However, both electrode shapes tend to slide along the heart surface. This tendency makes it difficult, in some locations of the heart, such as the mitral annulus and tricuspid annulus, to maintain steady contact between the electrode and the endocardium to adequately deliver the required RF current.

Catheter having electrode with annular recess and method of using same


The present invention provides compounds of formula (I), pharmaceutically acceptable salts thereof, and pharmaceutical compositions thereof. Compounds of the present invention are useful in treating central nervous system disorders, such as anxiety disorders or depression.

The most widely studied and characterised class of allosteric modulators of the GABA-GABAA receptor complex are a class of compounds known as benzodiazepines (an example of which is diazepam, a 1,4-benzodiazepine, commonly known as Valium®) which interact with the benzodiazepine (BZ)-site on the GABAA receptor. Possession of a γ subunit and a particular type of α subunit (1, 2, 3, or 5) is required to confer sensitivity to this class of compounds.

Classical benzodiazepines do not directly open the ion channel, rather they allosterically modify the GABAA receptor upon binding, potentiating the effect of GABA binding when there is a submaximal concentration of GABA present and thereby increasing hyperpolarizing responses and neuronal inhibition. Benzodiazepines produce systemic effects that include sedation, amnesia, muscle relaxation, and anxiolysis. Hence, these compounds are widely used as anxiolytics, sedative-hypnotics, muscle relaxants, and anti-convulsants. Although the GABAA binding site is called the benzodiazepine site, drugs of other types can also bind and allosterically modify the receptor at that site. These include drugs with β-carboline, imidazopyridine, and triazolopyridazine structures. It is believed that compounds acting as BZ agonists at α1βγ2, α2βγ2 or α3βγ2 subtypes will possess desirable anxiolytic activity. Such modulators of the BZ binding site of GABAA are known herein as "GABAA receptor agonists".
However, while the 1,4-benzodiazepines are an effective class of anxiolytics they possess the often unwanted side-effect of sedation, ataxia, tolerance, withdrawal, memory impairment and addiction. It is postulated that at least some of the unwanted sedation experienced by known anxiolytic drugs which act through the BZ binding site is mediated through GABAA receptors containing the α1-subunit. This has been determined primarily from the effects displayed by the well studied hypnotic agents Alpidem and Zolpidem which are α1-selective GABAA receptor agonists.


An analog video bus architecture that utilizes the column parallel nature of CMOS imagers and more specifically Active Column Sensors, that eliminates the need for multi-port imagers, by increasing the useable bandwidth of single port imagers. An adaptation of this invention allows for either binning or interpolation of pixel information for increased or decreased resolution along the columns and more specifically for ACS imagers binning or interpolation along the rows. In this bus, the single video bus is replaced by multiple video buses and instead of selecting only one column for reading multiple columns are also pre-selected in-order to pre-charge the video bus. The video buses are then de-multiplexed back on to one port at the desired element rate. This architecture utilizes the column oriented video bus of CMOS imagers. It divides the large video bus capacitance by the number of video buses used. In addition, it allows multiple pixel time constants to precharge the video bus. The best commercially available imager designs now claim 40 MHz per analog port and suffer from reduced signal to noise ratios. To overcome this fundamental bandwidth limitation, imager designs in the past have had to increase the number of video ports per imager to achieve high frame rates. Multiple ports per imager breaks the focal plane into segments that are typically reassembled via post processing in a host computer. The other problem with multiple ports is each segment of the imager will have its own offsets and resultant Fixed Pattern Noise (FPN). PVS-Bus(trademark) eliminates the objectionable segmentation and simplifies high-speed system design. Also, by utilizing the column parallel nature of CMOS video buses a method and improved method of using the PVS-Bus of binning and interpolation is described which results in increased frame rate, and for decreased or increased resolution.

This invention relates generally to busses and, more particularly, to a video bus for high speed multi-resolution imagers.
An active pixel is a semiconductor device capable of converting an optical image into an electronic signal. Active pixels can be arranged in a matrix and utilized to generate video signals for video cameras, still photography, or anywhere incident radiation needs to be quantified. When incident radiation interacts with a photosite, charge carriers are liberated and can be collected for sensing. The number of carriers collected in a photosite represents the amount of incident light impinging on the site in a given time-period.
There are two basic devices with many variants, employed to collect and sense, charge carriers in a photosite. The two basic devices are photodiodes and photogates. Variants of photodiodes include, but are not limited to: Pinned, P-I-N, Metal-Semiconductor, Heterojunction, and Avalanche. Photogate structures include: Charge Couple Devices (CCD), Charge Injection Devices (CID) and their variants that include virtual phase, buried channel and other variations that utilize selective dopants. The selective dopants are used to control charge collection and transfer underneath and between the photogate(s) and the sense node.
The solid state imagers heretofore used have been dominated by CCD""s because of their low noise as compared to Photodiodes and CIDs. The low noise advantage of CCD imagers is the result of collecting the photon generated charge at the pixel site and then coupling or shifting the actual charge to an amplifier at the periphery of the array. This eliminates the need for the long polysilicon and metal busses that degrade the signal with their associated resistance and capacitance. However, the low noise of the CCD requires the imager to be read in a fixed format and once the charge is read it is destroyed. The requirement of coupling the collected photon charge from the pixel to the periphery amplifier (a.k.a. CTE), requires proprietary processing steps not compatible with industry standards CMOS or BiCMOS processes.
Solid state imaging devices have developed in parallel with CMOS technology and as a result all imager manufacturers developed their own proprietary processes to maximize imager performance characteristics and wafer yield. Specialized silicon wafer processing kept imager prices relatively high. Linear active pixel sensors have been commercially produced since 1985. Beginning in the early 90""s the move to transfer the proprietary processes to an industry standard CMOS processes was on. The advantages of using an industry standard process include: competitive wafer processing pricing, and the ability to provide on chip timing, control and processing electronics. By the end of the year 1992 a 512xc3x97512 CMOS compatible, CID imager with a preamplifier and CDS per column had been fabricated. The imager could either be operated as a random access 512xc3x97512 CID, or all the columns could be summed together and operated as a linear active pixel sensor.
Area arrays utilizing active pixel sensors in which a photodiode or photogate is coupled to an output source follower amplifier which in turn drives a Correlated Double Sampling (CDS) circuit, where the two outputs of the CDS cell then drives two more source followers circuits that in turn are fed into a differential amplifier are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,471,515. This uses source follower circuits, that typically have gains less than unity that vary from one source follower to another. The source follower gain variation is due to variations of FET thresholds. The source follower gain variation results in a pixel to pixel gain mismatch. Also, the active pixel sensors suffer gain variations due to the CDS circuit per column, when the CDS employs a source follower pair to drive its output. The resulting CDS signal and its corresponding offset can have different gains that are not correctable by the differential amplifier. Also, the source follower configuration of active pixel doesn""t allow for binning of pixels.
The voltage mode of operation of prior art does not allow for binning, which, is the summation to two or more pixel signals at once.
What is needed is an imager device which has the low noise level of a CCD, the random access, and binning of a CID, and uniform gain and response from all pixels.
The CCD sensor and camera electronics technology has evolved over the last 30 years to meet most of these demands. However the resulting cameras require a state-of-the-art, large pixel, multi-port CCD chip plus several extra chips and usually several circuit boards filled with electronics to accomplish this. Thus, the cameras cannot physically fit in certain applications, the power consumed is significant, and last but not least, the resulting cameras are far too expensive for many applications. The necessary recombination of the video data from several ports, further increases the video processing complexity and ultimately drives-up the cost and size of the video system.
Over the past several years, thanks to design rule shrinkage, image sensors using sub-micron CMOS process technology have become practical. By using CMOS technology for the sensor array itself, the problem of integrating extra circuitry on chip becomes straightforward. Elements such as A/D converters, timing generators, control circuitry and interface circuitry can easily be added. In addition, the operation of CMOS imagers is simplified by the elimination of the need for precise timing and level control of multiple clock required to drive the large capacitance transfer gates inherent in CCD""s. Even with all of these factors, including the exceptional speed and pico-second gate delays of sub-micron processes, the analog video bandwidth per port hasn""t changed much over the past 20 years.
Active pixel sensors (APS) have been proposed as the means to achieve the flexible benefits of CMOS cameras on a chip. Unfortunately, there are performance issues with the fundamental APS approach that limit its performance and functionality. While these limitations may be acceptable for consumer imaging applications, the demands of scientific and industrial applications have, up until now, been largely unmet by CMOS image sensors.

Video bus for high speed multi-resolution imagers


The invention provides a double-side polishing method including first polishing at a high polishing rate, second polishing at a low polishing rate, dividing a straight line extending between the outermost circumferences of the wafer through the center into prescribed sections, and optically measuring a cross-sectional shape of the sections; applying a weight predetermined for each section to the cross-sectional shape to quantify flatness of each section; and determining polishing conditions of the first and second polishing in subsequent polishing on a basis of the quantified flatness, wherein a beam diameter of a measurement apparatus used to measure the cross-sectional shape of outermost sections is smaller than that used to measure the cross-sectional shape of the other section. The method can measure the shape of the wafer up to its outermost circumference with high precision without reducing productivity, and improve the flatness of the entire wafer including its outermost circumference.

The shrinkage of semiconductor devices increases a need for highly flat semiconductor wafers used as their substrate with improved productivity. In such circumstances, double-side polishing has been used for polishing wafers instead of conventional single-side polishing because of higher precision.
FIG. 8 shows a schematic diagram of a common double-side polishing apparatus of a planetary gear type. The double-side polishing apparatus 101 includes upper and lower turn tables. The upper turn table is movable upward and downward and can apply a load against a wafer interposed between the upper and lower turn tables by pressing the lower turn table. As shown in FIG. 8, the double-side polishing apparatus 101 includes a sun gear 107 disposed inside the lower turn table and an internal gear 108 disposed outside the lower turn table.
A carrier 105 to hold the wafer is disposed between the upper and lower turn tables, and can rotate with its outer circumference engaged with the sun gear 107 and the internal gear 108. The carrier 105 is rotated and revolved between the upper and lower turn tables according to the rotational speed of the sun gear 107 and the internal gear 108. The wafer, which is a subject to be polished, is inserted into a holding hole 106 formed in the carrier and held, so the wafer can be polished without coming off from the double-side polishing apparatus.
With regard to the planetary gear type of double-side polishing apparatus, it has been known that because the relation between the thickness of a carrier and the thickness of a polished wafer, a wafer finishing thickness, affects the flatness of the polished wafer, the flatness is controlled by adjusting the ratio of the finishing thickness to the thickness of the carrier (See Patent Document 1, for example).
In general, an improvement of the precision of flatness needs a decrease in polishing rate; an improvement of the productivity needs an increase in polishing rate. The polishing process is accordingly divided into two steps of a first polishing step and a second polishing step. The first polishing step performs rough polishing at a high polishing rate; the second polishing step performs precise polishing at a low polishing rate. In other words, the first polishing step contributes efficient polishing and the second polishing step contributes the achievement of precise flatness, so the flatness can be improved without reducing the productivity.
The finishing thickness is adjusted by changing the polishing time in the first polishing step. The above conventional method needs to finish a wafer with the optimal thickness depending on the carrier thickness to polish the wafer into a flat wafer.


A polystyrene type monodispersion polymer having at least a monomer unit represented by the following general formula (I), and having a molecular weight which lies in the range 500-500,000 and manufacturing process thereof are disclosed; ##STR1## where R is a hydrogen atom or methyl group, and the R in the molecule may be identical or different.

Functional polymers are widely employed as resist materials for high resolution lithography in the manufacture of LSI (Large Scale Integrated Circuits) used in computers.
In recent years, with the growth of LSI manufacturing technology, LSI circuits are achieving even higher densities, and a demand has emerged for resist materials having high resolution and high reproducibility suitable for these densities.
It is theoretically known that an effective way of increasing the resolution of resist materials is to narrow the molecular weight distribution of the polymer used in the resist (monodispersion type polymer).
Conventionally, novolac resins were used as polymers for monodispersion type resist materials, and fractionation was used to control their molecular weight distribution (e.g. Japanese Tokkai Sho 62-121754).
This fractionation operation is however difficult to carry out, requires much time, and does not fully meet stringent performance requirements. A satisfactory solution to this problem was therefore desired.
Chemical amplifier type resist materials having functional groups which can easily be removed by acids and different solubility before and after removal of these functional groups, have been studied due to their excellent workability with a view to improving the manufacturing efficiency of LSI.
Styrene derivative polymers having excellent plasma resistance are examples of such chemical amplifier resist materials.
However, as styrene derivative polymers used as resist materials are conventionally manufactured by radical polymerization or condensation polymerization, it is difficult to control their molecular weight and molecular weight distribution. It was thus difficult to manufacture a styrene derivative polymer of monodispersion type which could fully satisfy the performance requirements of a resist material.
After intensive studies of styrene derivative polymers, the Inventors discovered a novel polymer of the monodispersion type having the performance requirements of a resist material and its method of manufacture, Which led to the present invention.

Polymer having a narrow dispersion of molecular weight and a manufacturing process thereof


Systems, apparatuses, and methods for implementing a non-shifting reservation station. A dispatch unit may write an operation into any entry of a reservation station. The reservation station may include an age matrix for determining the relative ages of the operations stored in the entries of the reservation station. The reservation station may include selection logic which is configured to pick the oldest ready operation from the reservation station based on the values stored in the age matrix. The selection logic may utilize control logic to mask off columns of an age matrix corresponding to non-ready operation so as to determine which operation is the oldest ready operation in the reservation station. Also, the reservation station may be configured to dequeue operations early when these operations do not have load dependency.

Technical Field
Embodiments described herein relate to the field of processors and more particularly, to implementing non-shifting reservation stations.
Description of the Related Art
A processor is generally hardware circuitry designed to execute instructions defined by a particular instruction set architecture. While the instructions are being processed, the processor may store the instructions in one or more reservation stations. Each reservation station may be coupled to a respective execution unit and may be configured to schedule instruction operations for execution in the respective execution unit.
Many types of processors include reservation stations for storing operations to be executed. A reservation station holds state information about a number of operations waiting to be issued to the processor's execution unit(s). Most reservation stations are shifting structures, with operations coming into one side (e.g., the bottom) of the reservation station with existing operations shifted up as new operations come into the reservation station. Shifting reservation stations write the same operation multiple times as it shifts through the structure, burning power unnecessarily. This shifting results in a lot of extra writes and wasted power as the operations are moved through the reservation station. For example, if three operations are shifted into the reservation station in a given clock cycle, this results in three writes, plus potentially three more writes as three existing operations are shifted up to higher slots in the reservation station. Further, for a shifting reservation station, the fuller the reservation station becomes, the more power it consumes, since a single operation written into the reservation station can cause an almost full reservation station to shift up multiple entries to make room for the new operation.


An input unit inputs input data. A priority determination unit determines priority of the data input by the input unit. A speed control unit sets the communication speed of the wireless communication of the data to be output from an output unit according to the priority of the data determined by the priority determination unit, and also, when input of the data is not detected, sets the communication speed of the wireless communication of the data to be output from the output unit to be lower than the communication speed when the input of the data is detected. The output unit outputs output data by the wireless communication at the set communication speed.

Recently, energy saving is generally required for various apparatuses such as Energy Star according to a rise in the awareness of the global environmental issue and the energy issue. This is not exceptional for wireless communication apparatuses and reduction of power consumption is required during wireless communication.
Here, in a wireless communication method such as a Wireless LAN (Wireless Local Area Network), for example, it is generally possible to perform connection always at a possible highest speed by dynamically changing communication speed according to a radio wave state.
PTL 1: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2003-169363
PTL 2: Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2004-356855
The power consumption during wireless communication, however, is generally different depending on a communication standard, a communication mode, a wireless transmission rate, and the like. For example, in the high speed communication of IEEE 802.11n using a MIMO (Multi Input Multi Output) technique, power consumption of a control chip is increased by several hundred milli-watts during wireless communication compared with conventional IEEE 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, and the like. In addition, the power consumption is further increased in the operation of the high-throughput mode (HT40) using a bandwidth of 40 MHz which is twice the conventional bandwidth.
Here, when high-speed communication is always required, it is effective to always use such a high-speed technique. However, there is a problem that it consumes useless power and is not preferable from the viewpoint of energy saving to keep a state in which high-speed communication with a high power consumption is possible, although such a communication method does not always provide high-speed data communication and communication in which high-quality assurance is required (further, data communication itself) in a network using wireless communication.

Wireless communication apparatus, information processing apparatus, and wireless communication control method


A thin, flat, multi-laminate resistance heater structure including a pair of spaced laminates of dielectric material with opposing inner surfaces, an elongate resistance element arranged between and extending throughout the major surface areas of said opposing surfaces, bonding material about the element and between the element and between the laminates and a filler in the bonding material comprising a multiplicity of strong dimensionally stable particulate components of a dielectric material having a lower dielectric constant than the bonding material.

In the art of resistance heaters, there are a considerable number of forms of resistance heaters which are established of laminates of conductive and dielectric materials bonded together by suitable cements.
The most common and well-known form of laminate heater of the general character referred to above are flexible or semi-flexible blanket-type heaters such as are used in combination with and between water bed frame platforms and flotation mattresses to temper or control the temperature of the water in the mattresses.
The ordinary blanket-type heater is a thin, flat, horizontal unit of rectangular or other desired plan configuration and includes a central elongate heater element of a suitable metal arranged in a zig-zag, serpentine or other suitable pattern throughout the major portion of the plane of the heater; thin, flat, top and bottom laminates of a suitable dielectric material, such as flexible polyvinylchloride sheet stock; and a flexible heat resistance cement about the element and between the laminates, securely bonding the several parts together in tight, sealed relationship with each other. In addition to the above, such heaters include electric coupling means to connect ends of the heater elements with the conductors of power supply cables extending from the heaters to suitable power sources.
The above noted type of heaters are most often operated on or powered with commercial alternating current.
The above noted type of heaters are intended to heat a related piece of work and are commonly arranged with the outer surface of one laminate in substantially uniform heat conducting contact with an opposing surface of the work. Still further, it is not uncommon that the heaters are held in contact with their related work by supporting or backup structures which establish substantial uniform heat conducting contact with the outer surfaces of the other laminates. When heaters of the character referred to above are arranged in contact with their related work and/or supporting structures and are energized with alternating current, the resulting combination and relationship of parts establish capacitor structures which function to cause notable current leakage.
For example, in the case of the typical blanket-type heater noted above, when the heater is arranged with its top and bottom surfaces in substantial uniform contact with and between opposing surfaces of a piece of related work and with a supporting structure, the heater element and the work establish the equivalents of the plates and the top laminate establishes the dielectric of a capacitor structure, while the heat element and the supporting structure establish the equivalent of the plates and the bottom laminate establishes the dielectric of a second capacitor structure. One or the other, or both, of the above noted capacitor structures induces and/or results in current leakage from the heater to the work and/or to supporting structure. The current leakage which occurs can vary widely and is dependent upon dielectric constant of the materials of which the laminates and cement are established, the thickness of those materials and resulting spacing of the capacitor plate-like parts of the construction and the conductivity of the work and/or the supporting structures.
In the case of the ordinary water bed which includes a lower bed frame with mattress supporting wood platform having low electric conductivity, an upper flotation mattress filled with a large volume of mineral-ladened water having high electric conductivity and between which the heater is arranged, the capacitor structure established by the capacitor plate-like mattress and heating element and the capacitor dielectric-like top laminate has far greater capacitance and results in far greater current leakage than does the capacitor structure established by the capacitor plate-like platform and heating element and the capacitor dielectric-like bottom laminate.
In order to limit and/or better control current leakage in blanket type heaters of the character referred to above, principal attention had been given to the dielectric constant of the materials used to establish the laminates and the thickness of those laminates. Notably less attention has been given to the cements that are used to bond the parts of such heaters together. As a rule, the cements used are selected from those commercially available cements which have suitable bonding, curing, heat resistive and elastic characteristics to meet the manufacturer's requirements and the cost of which is minimal.
In practice, the above noted cements are really fair conductors of electricity and the effects of their conductive characteristics are reduced to a minimum by using the cements sparingly; that is, by applying them in very thin, sparsely distributed layers or coats.
It has been determined that the dielectric constants of commercially available cements suitable for bonding the laminates or laminated blanket-type heaters together are oftentimes excessively high and that the fluid and/or plastic nature of those cements is such that the thickness and uniform or even distribution of those cements, between adjacent laminates of heater structures, cannot be effectively controlled. As a result of the foregoing, the capacitance of the capacitor structures defined by the heaters, when in use, is not uniform or predeterminable within desirable limits.
Tests conducted with heaters of the character referred to above show that most heaters have spots or portions where the cement is thick and the heaters have what can be termed low capacitance where little current leakage occurs; and have spots and/or portions where the cement has been substantially displaced during manufacture of the heaters and where capacitance and resulting current leakage is relatively high and oftentimes excessive.
As a result of the foregoing, I have determined that there existed a great need for a way and/or means whereby the electric conductivity and/or dielectric constant of the cements employed in the manufacture of laminated blanket-type heaters and similar electrical structures can be notably reduced; and a great need for a way and/or means whereby the thickness of such cements and the resulting spacing of parts bonded together thereby can be effectively controlled, whereby, for example, the capacitance of those structures can be made uniform and within predetermined, narrow limits.

Electrically insulated resistance heater


An apparatus device for ripping woven textile goods has a table having an upper surface, near and far longitudinal edges, and a transversely elongated slot extending between the edges and having transversely spaced near and far slot ends, the goods normally lying on the table extending across the slot. At least one outer rail extends transversely along the slot and at least one inner rail riding on the outer rail is displaceable therealong between a far end position projecting past the far slot end and a near end position projecting past the near slot end. A carriage displaceable substantially the full length of the inner rail is also displaceable between a far end position past the far slot end and a near end position past the near slot end. A ripping element on the carriage can be displaced on displacement of the carriage and inner rail between their end positions fully across the goods lying on the table across the slot to tear them weftwise.

In the manufacture of articles made of woven textile fabric, a first stage in the production is normally the cutting of the textile that is delivered to the factory on rolled-up bolts up into standard-size sections . The standard-size sections are stacked up and gang cut into the individual pattern pieces, then the individual pieces are separated and sewn together.
The initial longitudinal subdivision of the elongated textile web into rectangular sections must be done perfectly parallel to the weft of the goods. Thus it is standard for the goods to be unrolled on a cutting table and for the worker to notch one of the selvedges and then rip the goods across, forming a perfect weft-wise tear.
Such a procedure must be done by expert skilled operators to avoid ruining valuable goods. It also is a bottleneck in a highly automated operation.
Thus devices have been proposed that facilitate the tearing operation. They typically must be built into a special-duty cutting table that is so very large that it extends at both longitudinal edges past the longitudinal selvedges of the fabric, making it hard for the operator to work at the table, especially when narrow goods need to be ripped.


A CMOS power amplifier is disclosed having a differential input amplifying stage for amplifying differential input signals, a high-gain amplifying stage, and an output stage. The high-gain amplifying stage includes a first amplifying section and a second amplifying section. The first amplifying section drives a first output section of the output stage when the voltage difference between the two inputs of the differential input amplifying stage exceeds a certain voltage value. The second amplifying section drives a second output section of the output stage when the voltage difference between the two inputs is below a certain voltage value. The output stage includes a first output section and a second output section, and the first output section consists of plural pairs of transistors for receiving the output signals of the first amplifying section of the high-gain amplifying stage, and serves as a class B push-pull amplifier. The second output section has pairs of transistors for receiving output signals of the second amplifying section of the high-gain amplifying stage to their gates, and serves as a class AB push-pull amplifier. According to the present invention, DC operating point current is decreased, and an output power equal to the supply voltage swing is produced to a low-impedance load at low current.

Arithmetic amplifiers are extensively used in order to amplify signals in all kinds of circuits. When many such arithmetic amplifiers are concentrated in high density applications, power amplifiers are required which are capable of driving a load using a low DC operating current and a low impedance value.
As the density of semiconductor integrated circuits increases, multiple high-density analog circuits and digital circuits are formed through a single process within a single chip. Analog circuits made using CMOS manufacturing techniques are used in various applications, such as vocal band-pass filters, analog-digital converters, and digital-analog converters.
Three types of power amplifiers are well known in the art and are commonly known as types A, B and AB. In a type A amplifier, the collector current of the output stage is continuously conducting, imposing a constant drain on the power source. When a low-impedance load is driven, output transistors of class A amplifiers must have high power ratings since considerable current and power is developed across the transistor.
In a conventional class B push-pull transistor-pair amplifier, conduction is not maintained over the complete output cycle. Class AB amplifiers are a hybrid of types A and B.
Class A output stages and class AB output stages are limited in their output voltage swings, as is known in the art. Therefore, when a low impedance load is driven, the transistors of the output stage must be large in size. Conventional class B output stages have the advantage that output voltage swing is higher than comparable class A and class AB output stages. But Class B amps have the disadvantages that crossover distortion is increased, and that control of DC operating current becomes difficult. These disadvantages render known Class A, B and AB amplifiers unsuited to CMOS applications requiring the amplifier to drive a low-impedance load at low DC operating current.


A progressive-lens designing system includes a manufacturer-side terminal installed in a lens manufacturer connected to a shop-side terminal installed in a spectacle shop or any other location via a network. The manufacturer-side terminal includes an optimization coefficient setting section that uses a variety of data received from the shop-side terminal to set an optimization coefficient for each target object in specific work, a dioptric power computing section that computes target dioptric power for each target object, a lens designing section that performs lens design, and an order processing section that performs order processing when receiving an order placed from the shop-side terminal.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method for designing a progressive-power lens used in specific work, a progressive-power lens designing system, and a progressive-power lens.
2. Related Art
A progressive-power lens typically includes a near region corresponding to near vision, a far region disposed above the near region and corresponding to far vision, a progressive region which is disposed between the far and near regions and where the power continuously changes, and intermediate side regions provided on both sides of the progressive region.
The near region, the far region, and the progressive region are distinct vision regions through which target objects are distinctly viewed, whereas the intermediate side regions located on both sides of the progressive region are not used to distinctly view the target objects. Therefore, when a spectacle wearer moves the line of sight into any of the intermediate side regions, the wearer senses blurring due to astigmatism or a dioptric power error.
There has been a proposed progressive-power spectacle lens suitable for car driving, a lens suitable for personal computer operation, and lenses dedicated to other applications. A spectacle lens of this type is so designed that the sizes of the far and near regions, the length of a progressive corridor, and aspheric coefficients are appropriately adjusted.
To increase the width of the field of view perceived by the spectacle wearer, there is a spectacle lens designed by determining a deviation of a saggital plane of the spectacle wearer from a standard saggital plane, selecting an optimization target as the function of the deviation, and performing optimization based on the target (JP-T-2008-511033).
There is also a known method for designing a progressive-power lens suitable for a specific application by setting the distances to objects in a far field and a near field and the ability of accommodation for the objects (see JP-T-2005-500585).
There is another known method for providing a progressive-power lens suitable for the wearer in a specific application by checking how a lens fits the wearer based on a scene object image appropriately representing the intended use of the lens and selecting an optimum lens (see JP-A-2008-39997).
In a progressive-power lens of related art, in which the far and near regions are used to distinctly view a target object, when a spectacle wearer moves the line of sight from these regions to any of the intermediate side regions located to the right and left thereof, the spectacle wearer suffers from blurring due to astigmatism or a dioptric power error. For example, a spectacle wearer who is driving a car uses the far region when directing the line of sight toward a car running in front of the car driven by the wearer, a traffic light, or any other object, whereas using the near region when directing the line of sight toward an on-vehicle indicator immediately in front of the wearer. On the other hand, when the wearer moves the line of sight toward a side-view mirror provided on a side of the car, the wearer suffers from blurring because the line of sight passes through the corresponding intermediate side region. To avoid the blurring, the wearer needs to turn his or her head rightward or leftward toward the side-view mirror.
There is a progressive-power lens optimized for car driving by adjusting the sizes of the near and far regions and aspheric coefficients. Using the lens, however, still cannot sufficiently enlarge a distinct vision area and the wearer suffers from blurring when moving the line of sight into any of the intermediate side regions, resulting in difficulty distinctly viewing an object.
The related art described in JP-T-2008-511033 only considers the dominant eye but does not enlarge the distinct vision area for a specific application. That is, when the wearer does not turn his or her head but moves the line of sight, the wearer suffers from blurring, as in the case of the progressive-power lens of related art described above.
The progressive-power lenses described in JP-T-2005-500585 and JP-A-2008-39997 similarly cause the wearer to suffer from blurring when the wearer does not turn his or her head but moves the line of sight.
The problem with the spectacle lens described above occurs not only in car driving but also in personal computer operation and other applications.

Progressive-power lens designing method, progressive power lens designing system, and progressive-power lens

Hoya Lens Manufacturing Philippines Inc.


An excrement collection and disposal apparatus for use with supine patients includes a flexibly resilient scoop which is configured to fit under the buttocks of the patient over an extended period of time with a minimum of discomfort. A liner is fitted over a portion of the scoop for minimizing contact between excrement and the scoop. In use, the excrement collection and disposal apparatus is placed beneath the patient such that excrement will be deposited onto the liner, and a handle portion of the scoop extends away from the buttocks between the patient's legs. Following a bowel movement, the apparatus is removed from beneath the patient and the liner is then removed from the scoop and discarded. Immediately thereafter a new liner is placed onto the scoop and the apparatus is replaced beneath the buttocks of the patient.

This invention relates generally to bedpan-type devices utilized to collect excrement from bed-ridden patients. More specifically, the present invention relates to an excrement collection and disposal apparatus for use with bed-ridden patients, and a related process for collecting excrement from such a patient lying in a supine position.
Some types of illnesses and disabilities require that a patient be confined to a bed. This condition is commonly found among patients admitted to hospitals and convalescent homes, and even by those who have been discharged from such institutions to further convalesce at home. Although a patient may be confined to a bed, it is usually desirable that, if possible, the patient be able to take care of his or her own bladder and bowel movements. Traditionally, a bedpan has been provided to such patients which, when needed, the patient utilizes to collect urine and/or excrement in as sanitary a manner as is possible under the circumstances.
The use of a typical bedpan is not possible, however, by all patients. Some bed-ridden patients are too weak to properly use the bedpan, or are unable to control urination and bowel movements. Although most incontinent patients are catheterized to take care of urination, the patient too weak to use a traditional bedpan is left to simply defecate in bed. For many patients this is an uncomfortable and distasteful alternative which, in the past, could not be avoided.
In the hospital setting, such incontinent patients must be thoroughly cleaned three or four times a day. Moreover, even though disposable shields may be provided over a portion of the bed, the bed linen must also be changed regularly. Since many hospitals are financially strapped and understaffed, it is often the case that the incontinent patient must wait as much as two or three hours for assistance.
Accordingly, there has been a need for a novel device for collecting excrement from a bed-ridden patient lying in a supine position, who may be incapable of utilizing a traditional bedpan. Such a novel excrement collection device should be able to be placed under the buttocks of the patient in order to collect and confine excrement expelled from the patient during a bowel movement. Further, the novel collection device should be comfortable when so placed, easily removed from beneath the patient following a bowel movement, and provide for the convenient and sanitary disposal of the excrement. Moreover, a novel excrement collection and disposal apparatus is needed which can be left beneath the patient for long periods of time, is of sturdy construction, and can be manufactured inexpensively. The present invention fulfills these needs and provides other related advantages.

Excrement collection and disposal device and method


A system for performing frequency division of a high frequency signal by intermittent operation of a frequency dividing counter circuit and by a phase lock loop circuit, in which phase lock is periodically achieved with an output of the counter circuit. Phase lock loop circuit is of novel design which provides exact phase lock without cyclic variations from the reference phase.

This invention relates to systems for performing frequency division of a high frequency signal with a very low level of power consumption, and in particular to a system for frequency division of a high frequency signal by employing intermittent operation of a phase lock loop, for use in a portable electronic timepiece.
At the present invention, there are various types of electronic devices of miniaturized portable type, such as electronic wristwatches and pocket calculators, for which the level of power consumption should be as low as possible, in order to ensure the maximum possible battery lifetime. Electronic wristwatches which are manufactured at present generally utilize complementary metal oxide silicon field effect transistor circuitry, which ensures a very low degree of power consumption. This is due to the fact that such devices have an extremely high impedance with respect to DC applied voltage when in the biased-off state. However, when such devices are used for switching, as in the case of the flip-flops in a frequency divider circuit for example, then as the frequency of operation is increased, the level of power consumption of the circuitry begins to increase sharply. For this reason, a major part of the power consumption of an electronic timepiece is due to the initial stages of frequency division of the high frequency output signal from the quartz crystal standard frequency oscillator circuit of the timepiece.
It is possible to operate these initial stages of frequency division in an intermittent manner, as will be described in the present disclosure, by producing a phase locked signal from a phase locked loop which is periodically locked into frequency and phase synchronism with the output of the initial frequency divider stages. After phase lock has been confirmed, the initial frequency divider stages are made inoperative, and the timekeeping circuits of the timepiece are supplied with the output signal from the variable frequency oscillator of the phase locked loop, either directly or through a frequency divider. After a predetermined period of time has elapsed, during which a slight degree of phase shift may have occurred in the signal from the variable frequency oscillator, the variable frequency oscillator is again locked into synchronism with the output signal from the initial stages of frequency division, which are again made operable at that time. However, it is difficult to implement such a system and to ensure reliable and precise operation, if a phase locked loop of conventional type is utilized. This is due to the fact that such a device does not actually provide continuous and exact phase lock with respect to the phase of a reference frequency. Instead, the phase of the signal from the variable frequency oscillator of a conventional phase lock loop cyclically varies with respect to the reference frequency phase. Over the long term, this variation in phase is generally unimportant for many applications. However, for the type of application toward which the present invention is directed, such as the frequency divider system of an electronic timepiece, it is essential to utilize a phase lock loop which provides exact phase lock.
Another disadvantage of a conventional type of phase lock loop is that it is often necessary to adjust the circuit so as to ensure that phase lock occurs at the desired reference frequency, and not at some harmonic or submultiple of the reference frequency. Providing automatic means for ensuring that phase lock occurs only at the reference frequency, for example when power is first switched on to the circuit, would be difficult and complex to implement with a conventional type of phase lock loop.
With a frequency divider system in accordance with the present invention, the above disadvantages of a conventional type of phase lock loop are eliminated. Precise locking into synchronism in phase and frequency with a reference frequency signal is ensured, without periodic variations in phase of the signal provided by the phase lock loop. In addition, recovery of phase lock in the event of temperary loss of lock due to a transient disturbance is accomplished rapidly and along an exponential curve with respect to time. Furthermore, means can be provided whereby an initial condition can be established after, for example, applying power to the circuit, whereby the signal provided by the phase lock loop becomes locked into synchronism in frequency and phase with the reference frequency in an automatic and reliable manner.


The present invention relates to a method for fabricating interconnecting lines and vias in a layer of insulating material. A via is formed in the layer of insulating material. A protective material is formed so as to be conformal to at least edges and sidewalls of the via, the protective material facilitating shielding of at least the edges and sidewalls of the via from a trench etch step. The trench etch step is performed to form a trench opening in the insulating material. The via and trench are filled with a conductive metal.

The escalating requirements for density and performance associated with ultra large scale integration (ULSI) circuits require responsive changes in interconnection technology which is considered a very demanding aspect of ULSI technology. High density demands for ULSI integration require planarizing layers with minimal spacing between conductive lines.
Single damascene is a technique developed to address disadvantages (e.g., poor metal step coverage, residual metal shorts, low yields, uncertain reliability, and poor ULSI integration extendability) associated with traditional etch back methods. Damascene, an art which has been employed for centuries in the fabrication of jewelry, has been adapted for application in the semiconductor industry. Damascene basically involves the formation of a trench which is filled with a metal. Thus, damascene differs from traditional etch back methods which involve building up a metal wiring layer and filling the interwiring spaces with a dielectric material.
Single damascene techniques offer the advantage of improved planarization as compared to etch back methods; however, single damascene is time consuming in that numerous process steps are required. Undesirably, an interface exists between the conductive via and conductive wiring. Moreover, adequate planarization layers containing an interwiring spacing less than 0.35 .mu.m are difficult to achieve.
An improvement to single damascene is dual damascene which involves substantially simultaneous formation of a conductive via and conductive wiring. The dual damascene technique requires less manipulative steps than the single damascene technique and eliminates the interface between the conductive via and conductive wiring which is typically formed by the single damascene technique. In very and ultra large scale integration (VLSI and ULSI) circuits, an insulating or dielectric material, such as silicon oxide, of the semiconductor device in the dual damascene process is patterned with several thousand openings for the conductive lines and vias which are filled with metal, such as aluminum, and serve to interconnect active and/or passive elements of the integrated circuit. The dual damascene process also is used for forming multilevel signal lines of metal, such as copper, in the insulating layers, such as polyimide, of multilayer substrate on which semiconductor devices are mounted.
A conventional dual damascene process is illustrated in FIGS. 1a-1h in connection with a semiconductor structure 18. FIG. 1a illustrates an insulative layer 20 formed on a semiconductor substrate (not shown). A photoresist layer 22a is formed on the insulative layer 20. The photoresist layer 22a is patterned using conventional techniques to form a first opening 30 (FIG. 1b). Anisotropic reactive ion etching (RIE) is performed to form a via 40 (FIG. 1c) in the insulative layer 20. Subsequently, a second layer of photoresist 22b (FIG. 1d) is formed over the structure 18.
The second photoresist layer 22b is patterned to form a second opening 48 (FIG. 1e) about the size of the ultimate trench. Anisotropic RIE is again performed to form a trench 50 (FIG. 1f) in the insulative layer 20. Although this standard dual damascene technique offers advantages over other processes for forming interconnections, it has a number of disadvantages, such as the edges of the via openings and the sidewalls of the via 40 in the lower half of the insulating layer 20 are poorly defined because of the two etchings and the via edges and sidewalls being unprotected during the second etching. More particularly, gases from the second etch step leak under photoresist portion 22c and damage edges and sidewalls of the via 40 as illustrated in FIGS. 1g and 1h.
In view of the above, improvements are needed to mitigate poor edge and sidewall definition of vias associated with conventional dual damascene processes.

CVD plasma process to fill contact hole in damascene process


A ventilation system is provided including a blower assembly mounted within the air space in the upper portion of a toilet flush tank, which air space is communicated with the upper and interior portion of the associated toilet bowl through an overflow pipe disposed in the water tank, and the blower assembly includes an inlet opening into the air space and a air outlet with which the inlet end of conduit structure is sealingly communicated. The conduit structure extends downwardly through the interior of the flush tank, out through the bottom of the flush tank and then downwardly into the base of the toilet bowl through an individual passage formed therein with the outlet end of the passage opening lengthwise outwardly through one peripheral wall portion of a thick-walled outlet nipple for the discharge outlet from the toilet bowl, the bottom wall of the toilet flush tank being spaced above and underlying top wall portion of the toilet base and the spacing between the flush tank bottom wall and toilet base being bridged by a sleeve telescoped into diametrically enlarged adjacent ends of the corresponding passage sections. The intermediate length portion of the sleeve includes a resilient seal ring disposed thereabout and compressed between the bottom of the tank and the upper surface of the toilet base.

1. Field of the Invention
A ventilation system is provided including a blower assembly mounted within the air space in the upper portion of a toilet flush tank, which air space is communicated with the upper interior portion of the associated toilet bowl through an overflow pipe disposed in the toilet flush tank, and the blower assembly includes an air inlet opening into the air space and an air outlet with which the inlet end of conduit structure is sealing communicated. The conduit structure includes an inlet end portion formed integrally with the rear wall of the toilet flush tank and an outlet portion thereof formed integrally with the base of the associated toilet (which base defines the toilet bowl). The inlet end portion of the conduit structure opens downwardly through the bottom of the flush tank in vertically spaced relation above and registered with the outlet end of the conduit structure. The latter opens upwardly through the rear portion of the toilet base and seal structure is disposed between the bottom of the toilet flush tank and the toilet base sealingly communicating the inlet and outlet end portions of the conduit structure. The base of the toilet includes a thick-walled tubular outlet neck for registry and sealed communication with the inlet end of an associated soil pipe and the outlet end portion of the conduit means opens downwardly through the rear peripheral portion of the tubular outlet neck between the inner and outer walls thereof. Communication structure communicates the outlet of the blower assembly with the inlet end of the conduit structure in sealed relation therewith and includes a one way air flow controlling valve normally biased to a closed position to prevent reverse flow of air through the conduit structure from the tubular outlet neck of the toilet to the blower structure and is openable, responsive to operation of the blower assembly and the resultant increase in air pressure within the communicating structure upstream from the valve, to allow the flow of air from the outlet of the blower assembly, through the communication structure and thereafter downwardly through the conduit structure for discharge from the tubular outlet neck of the toilet base.
2. Description of Related Art
My prior U.S. Pat. No. 4,933,996 discloses a toilet deodorizer which includes the basic structure of the instant invention, but which utilizes an exterior ventilation pipe and a solenoid valve serially connected therein adjacent the outlet end of the ventilation pipe which opens into the outlet siphon passage of the toilet base.
However, this exterior structure is objectionable to some persons and I have found that it is more economically feasible and more desirable from an aesthetic standpoint to build the ventilation passage into the rear wall structure of the flush tank and the rear portion of the base of the toilet.


The present invention provides a long-length multilayer film including a long-length optical film and a long-length protective, film that is releasable from the long-length optical film, wherein a three-dimensional center-line average roughness R1 of a surface of the optical film opposite to a surface on a side of the protective film, a three-dimensional center-line average roughness R2 of a surface of the protective film opposite to a surface on a side of the optical film, a tensile elastic modulus M1 in a lengthwise direction of the optical film, and a tensile elastic modulus M2 in a lengthwise direction of the protective film satisfy predetermined relationships: and a wound body of the multilayer film.

It has been known to provide an optical film such as a phase difference film, a polarizing film, and a brightness enhancing film to a display device such as a liquid crystal display device. Such an optical film is produced collectively in a certain amount into a long-length shape from the viewpoint of production efficiency, and the long-length film is stored as a wound bode. After storage for a fixed period, the long-length film is unrolled from the wound body. If necessary, the long-length film is bonded to another long-length film by a roll-to-roll method or the like, and later subjected to shaping such as punching. The long-length film is then incorporated into a liquid crystal display device or the like, and used.
A technique of bonding a protective film to a long-length optical film has been known for improvement of protection and handling properties of the optical film during winding of the long-length optical film (see Patent Literature 1). The protective film is bonded to the optical film to form a multilayer film, and the multilayer film is wound to form a wound body, with which an advantageous effect can be obtained. For example, the handleability during winding and unrolling can be improved, damage caused by sticking of the optical film to another optical film can be prevented, and the optical film can be protected against dust and the like. The protective film used in such applications is often prepared as a long-length film before bonding to the optical film for convenience of operation. Such a long-length film is usually wound and stored as a wound body, and unrolled from the wound body before bonding to the optical film, and then used.


A package container fabricated from plastic-coated packaging material includes an upper end wall and a sealing fin that extends across the upper end wall of the container. The sealing fin includes mutually facing material layers between which is located an opening strip. The opening strip includes an inner layer positioned between outer layers that are sealed to plastic coatings of the packaging material, and an intermediate layer positioned between the inner layer and each of the outer layers. The intermediate layer is fabricated from a material whose properties are such that the adhesive bonding strength between all material layers of the opening strip and between the outer layers of the opening strip and the plastic coating of the packaging material is greater than the internally cohesive bonding strength of the intermediate layer.

Within the field of packaging technology and engineering, use is often made of single-use disposable packages or cartons produced from plastic-coated packaging material for packing and transporting liquid foods such as milk, juice, wine etc. The exact structure of such a packaging material varies depending upon what product is to be packed, but generally includes one or more body or carrier layers of paper or cardboard which impart to the package the requisite rigidity and configurational stability, and outer coatings of a thermoplastic, preferably polythene, which not only make the package liquid-tight but also make it possible to give the package its permanent desired geometric final form by means of so-called heat sealing.
Nowadays, disposable packages of the type contemplated here are most generally produced by means of modern, rational packaging machines which, either from a web or from prefabricated blanks of the packaging material, forms, fills and seals finished packages. For example from a web, packages of the Tetra Brik.RTM. type are produced in that the Web is first formed into a tube by the longitudinal edges of the web being united to one another in a longitudinal overlap seal or splice. The tube is filled with the desired contents and divided into closed package units by repeated transverse seals of the tube along mutually spaced-apart transverse tube zones beneath the level of the contents of the tube. The particular cushion-like packages are thereafter given their desired geometic final form (in this specific case parallel-epipedic) by an additional fold forming and sealing operation during which four double-walled triangular tabs or flaps occur at the corners of the package. Of these flaps, both of the upper corner flaps of the package are folded down and sealed to adjacent vertical side walls, while both of the lower corner flaps of the package are folded in and sealed against the planar bottom wall of the package.
The described prior art parallelepipedic package thus displays two sealing fins occasioned by transverse sealing of the tube, in which fins opposing material layers of the packaging material are united to one another inside-to-inside in a sealing splice formed by surface fusion. One of these two sealing fins is, in such instance, located at the planar upper wall of the package, transversely over which it extends from tip to tip of both of the upper corner flaps folded down towards the side walls of the package and sealed. The other sealing fin is correspondingly located at the bottom wall of the package across which it extends from tip to tip of both of the lower corner flaps folded in towards the bottom wall of the package and sealed. Moreover, the package has a longitudinal sealing splice which constitutes a part of the longitudinal overlap splice of the produced tube and which intersects the above-mentioned transverse sealing fins at a point between both of the corner flaps at the upper and lower end walls of the package, respectively.
The demands placed on a disposable package of the type described here are, of course, that it must provide as good protection as possible to the packed product, but also that it must be easy to handle during both transport and use. In order to make the package easy to handle when using, it is often provided with some type of opening arrangement with the aid of which the contents of the package must be made easily accessible and easy to pour from the package in a single, well-directed stream.
In the above-described package of the Tetra Brik.RTM. type, use is here most generally made of one of the two upper triangular corner tabs or flaps of the package as the pour aperture or spout, the package proper being normally opened in that this corner flap is released and raised from its position folded down towards the side wall of the package and that the sealing fin extending over the corner flap is torn or cut off so that a communication channel is established with the interior of the package.
Since a certain degree of difficulty may be experienced in tearing the above-mentioned triangular flap along a prepared tear indication or perforation, and since cutting off the sealing fin presupposes access to some form of utensil, a solution to the problem of opening such packages has instead been proposed in the art, using a tear thread or tear strip of the type described, for example, in Swedish Patent Specification 402,899. In such instance, the tear thread or tear strip is inlaid in the sealing fin from the tip of the triangular corner flap which serves as the pouring aperture or spout, up to and past the point of intersection of the sealing fin with the longitudinal overlap splice of the package so that the tear thread or tear strip becomes accessible from the outside of the package. When the package is to be opened, the exteriorly accessible portion of the tear thread or tear strip is drawn upwardly and rearwardly, whereby the sealing splice in the sealing fin between the above-mentioned point of intersection and the tip of the triangular corner flap is severed, for the formation of a corresponding pour aperture.
However, this prior art thread- or strip-assisted opening form of package has proved to function less satisfactorily, primarily because the thread or strip seldom cuts directly in the sealing splice but instead cuts between the paper material and the plastic coating on one of the material layers. As a result the paper or cardboard layer of the packaging material is exposed so that the contents of the package come into contact with the absorbent, exposed fiber surface which rapidly becomes soggy and loses rigidity.
Another prior art solution to the problem of opening packages of the type comtemplated here is described in, for example, European Patent Application carrying Publication Number 0083441. In this case, the opening arrangement consists of a strip of laminated material which is inlaid in the sealing fin and comprises partly an inner layer of a material of high tensile strength and tearing resistance, eg. oriented polyester, nylon, metal foil, etc., and partly outer coatings of a heat sealable plastic material, preferably polythene, disposed on either side of the inner layer. In such instance, the opening strip extends, like the above-described tear thread or tear strip, from the tip of the corner flap serving as the pouring aperture or spout, up to and past the point of intersection between the sealing fin and the longitudinal overlap splice of the package and is, by means of the outer thermoplastic coatings of the opening strip, fixedly sealed to the opposing thermoplastic coatings of the package within the region of that portion of the sealing fin accommodating the strip. Since, in sealing terms, the material in the inner layer of the opening strip is hardly compatible, or totally incompatible, with the outer thermoplastic coatings of the opening strip, the inner layer of the opening strip is subjected to some form of adhesion-improving pretreatment, so-called priming, and/or a suitable sealing temperature is selected, to achieve the desired sealing strength or bond between the inner layer of the opening strip and its outer thermoplastic coatings. The demand placed in this instance is that the sealing strength between the inner layer of the opening strip and its outer thermoplastic coatings must be weaker than the sealing strength between the outer thermoplastic coatings of the opening strip and the thermoplastic coatings of the packaging material proper, while at the same time the sealing strength must be sufficiently great to prevent spontaneous delamination of the opening strip when the package is subjected to external stresses during normal transport and handling.
The opening procedure in a package with a laminated opening strip of the above-described type is based on the concept that the opening strip, on tearing of the sealing fin, is to delaminate in the interface layer between the inner layer and the outer thermoplastic coatings, for exposing the inner layer which is pulled off, at the same time as both of the outer thermoplastic coatings are left adhered against the packaging material in the region of the pouring aperture created. The problem in this prior art form of opening strip is that, in practice, it has proved difficult to optimize the adhesion strength between the inner layer of the opening strip and its outer thermoplastic coatings, and, in order to avoid an excessively low adhesive strength and consequentiaI risk of spontaneous or unintentional delamination of the opening strip, the adhesion pretreatment or priming of the inner layer of the opening strip and/or the sealing temperature governing the adhesion strength are often intentionally selected such that an excessively great binding strength between the inner layer and the outer thermoplastic coatings becomes inevitable. This in turn entails that the opening strip becomes difficult to pull off without applying extreme tensile forces and/or that pulling-off of the opening strip not uncommonly results in the inner thermoplastic coatings of the packaging material proper also being pulled-off, whereby the fiber layers of the packaging material are exposed within the region of the pouring aperture or spout.
Swedish Patent Specification 459,916 describes another prior art opening principle using a laminated opening strip which, in analogy with the previously described opening strip, includes an inner layer of a material of good tensile strength and tearing resistance, preferably polyester, and outer coatings of sealable plastic material, preferably polythene. In such instance, the adhesion strength between all of the material layers included in the opening strip is intentionally high, with a view to making possible pulling-off of the opening strip Without delamination between the layers in the opening strip. Instead, easy pull-off of the opening strip is ensured without requiring the employment of excessive physical force in that the packaging material, in that portion of the sealing fin accommodating the strip, has been provided with a seal-weakening agent, eg. water glass, localized between the fiber layers of the packaging material and its inner thermoplastic coating, whereby the sealing strength between the packaging material layers is reduced in such a manner that the bonding strength between the outer thermoplastic coatings of the opening strip and the inner thermoplastic coatings of the packaging material is higher than the bonding strength between the fiber layers of the packaging material and its inner thermoplastic coating. Thus, on pulling-off of the opening strip, the plastic coatings within the seal-weakened region of the sealing fin will also be torn off and accompany the opening strip, at the same time as the fiber layer at least partly impregnated with the water glass is exposed within the region of the pouring aperture. In order to function well, this opening arrangement presupposes that at least the major portion of the thus exposed fiber surface is impregnated with the moisture and liquid-protective water glass film, but in practice it has proved difficult to satisfy this requirement and it is not uncommon that the fiber surface, after tearing-off of the opening strip, is left without adequate protection.

Package container provided with a strip-type opening arrangement


A board-to-board connector assembly is used to electrically connect a first circuit board and a second circuit board and has a receptacle connector and an engaging element assembled together. The receptacle connector includes an insulative housing and a plurality of conductive terminals received in the insulative housing. An engaging groove is defined in the receptacle connector and has the same shape as the engaging element for receiving the engaging element therein. The engaging element forms positioning portions thereon for guiding the receptacle connector to mate with a circuit board accurately and facilitating the terminals to contact electrodes on the circuit board firmly. The engaging element is firmly and accurately retained in the receptacle connector to assure reliable signal transmission between the first circuit board and the second circuit board. Simultaneously the overall height of the board-to-board connector assembly is effectively decreased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a board-to-board connector assembly, and particularly to a board-to-board connector assembly, which has low profile and which electrically, connects a PCB and a flexible circuit board to assure reliable signal transmission therebetween.
2. Related Art
A connector assembly, which is adapted to electrically connect with a PCB and a flexible circuit board, generally comprises a plug and a receptacle connector connected together. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,224,866, 5,639,248, 5,800,186, 6,036504, 6,036549, 6,296,524 and 6,729,890 disclose such a structure. This conventional structure, however, has some deficiencies as following:
Firstly, in the conventional connector assembly, terminals of the plug and terminals of the receptacle connector electrically connect with each other for signal transmission. At the same time the conductive terminals of the plug and the conductive terminals of the receptacle connector have to be soldered to the PCB and the flexible circuit board, respectively. The height of the connector assembly is equal to the sum of height of the plug and the receptacle connector, which hinders development of connector assembly with low profile.
Secondly, conducive terminals of the plug and conducive terminals of the receptacle connector contact each other side by side. That is, the plug and the receptacle connector mate with each other in the same direction as the direction of the conducive terminals thereof mating with each other. Thus the conducive terminals of the plug and the receptacle connector tend to contact unreliably. Additionally, the conducive terminals are apt to abrade, especially for the conductive terminals having a portion below a contact portion made of strips.


Apparatus and method for a traction device utilizes a traction bed freely slidable on a base which is liftable at one end by a remote controlled motorized winch. The person lying on the traction bed controls the winch. The person is tethered to one end of the base by, for example, metal cuffs around the ankles which hook on to a bar on the base. Thus, when the base is lifted, it tilts the traction bed which gradually slides on the base away from the tethered extremity, along with the person who is fastened thereon, to provide a precisely desired amount of tractive force.

Traction is frequently prescribed to treat people suffering from pain in the back, neck or other parts of the body. This pain is often caused by abnormalities of the spinal column, such as misalignment of the vertebrae, slipping or rupture or erosion of the discs betwen the vertebrae, etc., all causing pinching or impingement on the nerves running through the vertebrae and resulting in intense and continuous pain. The proper application of tractive force on the spinal column whereby the vertebrae are eased apart slightly is known to relieve this pressure on the nerves thereby reducing the pain and, in some instances, aiding in curing the underlying cause of the pain.
Various mechanical and electrical devices have been used to apply tractive force to the spinal column of patients in sitting, standing or reclining positions. One way of applying such tractive force to a patient is to tether him at one end or the other of his body, depending on where in his spinal column it is desired to apply the traction, and allowing the weight of his body, through gravity, to provide the tractive force. For example, if it is desired to apply traction to the cervical (neck) vertebrae, the patient is tethered by the chin and suspended therefrom, whereas, if it is desired to apply traction to the lumbar (lower back) vertebrae, he is tethered by the ankles and suspended upside down.
Maximum gravitational tractive force is obtained by suspending the patient in a vertical position. However, not only do most people find the upside-down position (when suspended by the ankles) disorienting and unsettling but, also, the application of 100% of a patient's body weight as a tractive force on his spinal column can be excessive and itself cause pain and even harm. It is necessary, therefore, to find a way of reducing the gravitational tractive force on the patient. This can be done by supporting the patient on an inclinable plane surface while suspending him from one end or the other of his body. The amount of gravitational force can then be adjusted by varying the angle of inclination of the supporting surface. When the inclinable surface is horizontal, the gravitational tractive force is 0% of body weight; i.e., there is no traction. When the inclinable surface is vertical, the gravitational tractive force is 100% of the patient's body weight.
Another force that has to be taken into account when applying gravitational traction in the way outlined above is the friction between the patient and the inclinable surface on which he is lying. At low angles of inclination, this frictional force is greater than the gravitational force so that the patient does not slide down the inclined surface and, therefore, no traction is exerted on his spinal column. It is not until the gravitational force, increased by increasing the angle of inclination of the supporting surface, is greater than the frictional force holding the patient to that surface that the patient can slide down the inclined surface away from the tether to which he is attached and, thus, get the benefit of his body weight as a tractive force on his spinal column. However, it is essential that, when the gravitational force overcomes the frictional force, it does not do so suddenly or else the patient will be subjected to an abrupt and possibly painful or harmful jerk.
A device that applies gravitational principles is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,205,665 to Burton. This device comprises an adjustable inclined hospital bed, rotating hoops, and a traction bar. A chest harness is wrapped around the patient's thorax and connected to the traction bar by straps and a tethering cable. The patient is thereby suspended by the rib cage from above his shoulders. The force of gravity on the lower body provides the tractive force on the lower back. This combination of a hospital bed and an elaborate framework is appropriate for use in a hospital, but it is not ideal for use in the home. Moreover, as explained above, the friction caused by contact of the patient with the bed tends to counteract the gravitational pull, particularly at low angles of inclination. As the bed is raised towards the vertical the overcoming of this friction can cause uncomfortable jarring to the patient.


A valve member fitting utilizing a frangible closure wherein the fitting may be used with precharged conduits such as employed in the refrigeration arts. Additionally, the invention relates to fitting for precharged conduit systems utilizing frangible closure elements. A frangible valve element seals the passage of a valve, or conduit, and includes an axial portion engagable by a radially movable actuator capable of engaging the valve element and shearing a frangible web to completely remove the valve element from the flow passage, and a valve element receptacle retains the severed valve element. The valve is characterized by its economy of manufacture and absence of flow restriction.

In the refrigeration arts it is common to utilize refrigeration circuit components which are precharged with refrigerant. For instance, in a central air conditioning system consisting of an evaporator coil unit and a compressor-condensor coil unit which are remotely spaced, such coil units are interconnected by conduits, and for ease of installation the coil units and conduits are precharged with refrigerant and the components handled and shipped separately. The coil units and conduits are provided with fittings having rupturable diaphragms which are pierced by fitting structure as the components are interconnected and are commonly called "one-shot" couplings. Examples are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,933,333 and the assignee's U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,442.
Prior rupturable diaphragm "one-shot" couplings have the disadvantage of being relatively expensive to manufacture, require special manufacturing techniques, produce loose fragments or have poor fluid flow characteristics producing relatively high restriction to fluid flow therethrough. As the sealing of conventional "one-shot" couplings is accomplished by a thin diaphragm, and as the diaphragm is pierced by a member on the mating coupling parts, the ruptured diaphragm includes ragged and sharp edges, deformed severed diaphragm segments, a loose fragment which may interfere with flow and often an irregularly shaped flow orifice. Further, the piercing implement often remains centrally located in the flow path. Thus, considerable restriction and turbulence is created by known "one-shot" couplings and fittings.
It is an object of the invention to provide a valved fitting for use with precharged conduit systems which may be economically manufactured, and is capable of permitting full unrestricted fluid flow therethrough.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a valve member for conduit systems utilizing a frangible valve element wherein positive sealing is assured, and complete opening of the valve element readily accomplished.
A further object of the invention is to provide a valve member fitting utilizing a frangible valve element wherein removal of the valve element may be readily produced by unskilled personnel, and wherein the valve element may be retained in place until a full interconnection between the fitting coupling parts is achieved to prevent leakage and spillage.
An additional object of the invention is to provide a valve member fitting which may be used with a sealed precharged conduit wherein operation of a single actuator removes valve elements from the passages of both fitting and conduit to simultaneously establish communication between the conduit systems of the coupled parts.
A further object of the invention is to provide a valve member fitting for a refrigeration system wherein the valve fitting functions as a mounted base valve, as well as serving to seal the conduit system associated with the base valve.
Yet an additional object of the invention is to provide a sealed plug for a precharged conduit which is of a diameter no larger than the conduit diameter, which is economical to produce and install, leak proof, and readily associated with a valve member having an actuator for removing a valve element from the conduit plug.
In the practice of the invention a valve member body, preferably constituting a base valve for a refrigeration system, includes an axial passage having a plug sealed therein which includes a valve element extending over the passage to close the same. The valve element is attached to a sleeve by means of a frangible web. The valve body includes a radially movable actuator or ram in the form of a screw wherein radial displacement thereof engages the valve element and forces the same in a radial direction fracturing the web. The severed valve element falls into a retainer defined on the valve body offset with respect to the passage wherein the valve element does not interfere with the fluid flow through the valve body. The valve body includes conduit attachment means wherein a conduit is mounted thereon in communication with the body passage.
Preferably, a precharged conduit is associated with the valve body, and sealingly connected thereto. The conduit end is sealed by a plug of a diameter no greater than that of the conduit and including an axially extending valve element connected by a frangible web to a sleeve portion. When fully attached to the valve body, the conduit valve element aligns with the valve body actuator, and the valve elements of the valve body and conduit are removed with a single operation of the valve element actuator.


System and method for the localization of functional activity in the human brain during neurosurgery. The system includes an electronic flash illuminator for illuminating the surface of the exposed portion of the patient's brain, optical bandpass filters for sequentially illuminating the exposed brain surface with monochromatic light of a number of predetermined wavelengths, a positioning mechanism for rapid positioning of the optical filters in the path of illumination, a video camera for acquiring an image of the exposed brain surface during illumination with each wavelength of monochromatic light, a circuit for converting the linear output signal of the video camera into a logarithmic signal in video format, a digitizer and frame storage memory for digitizing the logarithmic video signal to obtain multiple two-dimensional matrices. Each matrix represents the magnitude of light reflected at a particular wavelength from a regular grid of points over the exposed brain surface. The system also includes a video frame arithmetic circuit for computing two-dimensional matrices of regional total hemoglobin concentration utilizing the two-dimensional matrices of reflectance data and for transforming the computed matrices into gray-scale or color-scale maps representing total hemoglobin concentration at the grid of points on the exposed brain surface, and a circuit for displaying, on a high-resolution RGB color video monitor, gray-scale or color-scale maps representing either absolute total hemoglobin concentration over the exposed brain surface at a single point in time or the difference between total hemoglobin concentration on the exposed brain surface before and after functional activation of the brain. Functional activation of the brain is accomplished by applying a sensory stimulus to the patient or by having the patient perform a cognitive task in a neuropsychological paradigm appropriately modified for the neurosurgical setting.

This invention relates to neurosurgery in general, and in particular to a method and system for the accurate anatomical localization of functional activity in the human brain during a neurosurgical procedure. It has been long known that the sensory, motor, and cognitive functions of the brain are organized in anatomically distinct locations. However, with respect to any particular brain function there is considerable variation in anatomical localization between individuals. During a neurosurgical procedure it would be of obvious value to be able to reliably determine whether complete or partial removal of a particular region of the brain would cause a subsequent functional deficit in the patient. For example, before surgical resection, or removal, of a region of abnormal tissue in a patient's temporal lobe causing repeated epileptic seizures, it would be desirable to localize the language region of the particular patient's brain in order not to damage or destroy the subsequent ability of the patient to speak because of inadvertent resection of a functionally active region of tissue in the temporal lobe. Other types of neurosurgical procedures, such as tumor resection, would also benefit from a precise method for functional localization before the neurosurgical procedure is actually performed.
Current methods for localization of brain function may be divided into two general types: invasive and noninvasive. While noninvasive methods of imaging such as positron emission tomography, regional cerebral blood flow, magnetoencephalography, and brain electrical activity mapping have been used for general anatomical localization of brain function, each of these methods has a significant flaw precluding accurate and effective use for localization in the neurosurgical setting. Positron emission tomography, which uses radioactive positron-emitting isotopes such as .sup.18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose to create functional maps of brain metabolism and blood flow, does not possess the spatial resolution necessary for precise neurosurgical localization. Likewise, the measurement of regional cerebral blood flow using .sup.133 xenon is implemented using large crystal detectors and thus provides very low spatial resolution. The anatomical relationship of non-invasively generated brain electrical and magnetic activity maps to the underlying electrophysiological generators is variable and may be confounded by differences in the spatial orientation of the underlying generators.
There are, however, two invasive methods which are currently used for functional localization in the brain during neurosurgery. These are a) electrocorticographic recording of the electroencephalogram (EEG) and a sensory evoked potentials, and b) electrical stimulation of the brain. During electrocorticography the spontaneous ongoing electrical activity of the brain is monitored using an array of electrodes placed on the surface of the brain and the extremely low-amplitude analog signals, on the order of microvolts, are recorded with galvanometric pens on continuous chart paper. The traces are then analyzed visually and the location of maximum activity or of particular EEG patterns is estimated. Evoked potentials are recorded by monitoring the EEG with an array of electrodes, time-locking digitization of the analog EEG signals to the presentation of a repetitive sensory stimulus, and averaging multiple stimulus trials to reduce background noise. Components of the EEG signal which are temporally synchronized with the stimulus are augmented by the signal averaging process, while components of the EEG which are not temporally synchronized are largely eliminated by the averaging process. Multiple channels of averaged signals are then presented on a video monitor or on chart paper, the traces are analyzed visually, and the location of maximum electrical activity evoked by the sensory stimulus is estimated.
The disadvantage of electrocorticography is that while some spontaneous EEG patterns are well correlated with anatomical landmarks, these patterns may not be present in all patients. Also, for most brain functions of interest no specific EEG pattern has been identified. The disadvantage of recording evoked potentials for neurosurgical localization is that these potentials are mainly useful in defining the somatosensory region, and are of limited use in the localization of other higher brain functions. In addition, both electrocorticography and evoked potential measurements are susceptible to volume conduction effects, in which activity may be recorded at sites relatively distant from the actual electrophysiological generators.
Localization of brain function using electrical stimulation is implemented through the direct application of short current pulses of alternating polarity to different regions of the brain and observing effects of the stimulation on the patient such as muscle twitching during stimulation of the motor region, or obliteration of the ability to speak during stimulation of the language region. Electrical stimulation is useful in the localization of the somatosensory, language, and other regions of higher brain function, but is very time-consuming, and the resolving power of the technique is limited by the size and number of the stimulating electrodes. In addition, the technique of electrical stimulation has been criticized as physiologically artificial, in the sense that being subjected to externally applied electrical current is obviously not a normal physiological condition of the brain. Also, the possibility of current leakage to tissue other than that which is being stimulated cannot be excluded. Finally, the possibility exists that repetitive electrical stimulation of the brain may induce harmful seizures or cause permanent damage to brain tissue.
It is thus obvious that the present state of the neurosurgical art does not offer a dependable, accurate system for localization of brain function which can be used during a neurosurgical procedure. It follows that a system and method for functional localization which combined high spatial resolution, anatomical accuracy, and real time data acquisition and analysis would satisfy an urgent need in current neurosurgical practice. It is the object of the present invention to provide such a system and method.

System and method for localization of functional activity in the human brain