In a memory rewriting apparatus, it is confirmed first that a check program is present at a head address of a storage area in a flash ROM of a microcomputer in an ECU for storing an application program, when it is determined by a boot program in the flash ROM that the application program is to be executed. The processing proceeds to the application program after the execution of the check program. Thus, it will not occur that the processing jumps to the application program when the application program is not present. As a result, erroneous operation of the ECU due to an erroneous execution of the program can be prevented.

This application relates to and incorporates herein by reference Japanese Patent Application No. 10-198253 filed on Jul. 14, 1998.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic control apparatus, which has a function of control based on an application program stored in a rewritable nonvolatile memory and a function of rewriting the application program.
2. Description of Related Art
An electronic control apparatus conventionally has a rewritable nonvolatile memory such as a flash ROM, which stores a control program for controlling a predetermined control object such as an internal combustion engine. It is known that the electronic control apparatus executes a predetermined control by jumping to the control program when a request of rewriting the control program stored in the rewritable nonvolatile memory is issued.
If the control program has not been written into the rewritable nonvolatile memory or has been written incompletely only partly in the electronic control apparatus for some reason, such an incomplete operation occurs that the control object can not be controlled normally even when the electronic control apparatus executes the control program. This problem may be countered by providing data, which indicate whether the control program is written, in a specified address in the rewritable nonvolatile memory, and waiting for a rewriting request in a boot program (starting program) stored in the rewritable nonvolatile memory along with the control program when it is determined with the data that the control program has not been written.
It is only required in the above apparatus that the data indicative of the presence/absence of the control program is provided in the specified address to determine the presence/absence of the control program for controlling the predetermined control object, and that the boot program is required to check the data in that address. The control program, however, is required to have its own data to indicate its own presence/absence. This disables changing an address construction.
That is, in the conventional determination of the presence and absence of an application program, the presence/absence of the application program is determined by providing 00h as the specific data at the specified address of the application program, for instance at the last of the application program, and by reading the data in that address by the boot program and determining whether it is 00h. Here, h of 00h denotes the hexadecimal number (in hexadecimal notation), and 00h (hexadecimal notation) indicates 0 (decimal notation) in which all 8 bits (1 byte) are 0.
Thus, when the application program is altered to cause a change in its size, the address for the data which indicates the presence/absence of the application program also changes. As a result, the boot program is also required to be changed. Further, when the program in other storage areas has been altered in part erroneously although the data which indicates the presence/absence of the application program indicates the presence of data, the program runs erroneously and causes erroneous operation when the processing jumps to the application program.
Therefore, processing may be held in an endless wait condition (e.g., for a rewriting command) by an erroneous determination of the presence/absence of the control program such that the control object can not be controlled normally when only the data is present but the program has been erased. This problem may be countered by providing boot program logic for determining the presence/absence of the control program in more detail. However, the boot program (which will not be rewritten again in general) would then be made complicated and large sized. In addition, flexible counter measures can not be taken against the control program, which requires different determination logic for determining its presence or absence to cope with different constructions.
The present invention has been attained to solve the above problems and has an object to provide an electronic control apparatus, which has a control program for controlling a predetermined control object and a determination logic for determining its presence/absence in a rewritable nonvolatile memory and proceeds to execute the control program to control the control object only when the control program has been written.
According to an electronic control apparatus of the present invention, when it is determined by a determination program in a rewritable nonvolatile memory that a control program for controlling a predetermined object is to be executed, it is confirmed first that a check program is present in a predetermined address area in a storage area for storing the control program, and then the processing proceeds to the control program after an execution of the check program. The control program is executed actually only when the presence of the control program is confirmed by the check program beforehand. Thus, it will not occur that the processing jumps erroneously to the control program when the control program is not present, and an erroneous operation due to erroneous execution of the program can be restricted. Further, the check program for confirming the presence/absence of the control program is set in a predetermined address in the storage area of the control program. Thus, the address. of the data, which indicates the presence/absence of the control program, does not change even when the control program is altered and its size is changed. As a result, a determination program e a small one which is simple and does not require changes, thus providing flexibility against changes in the control program.

Electronic control apparatus having rewritable nonvolatile memory


A contrast enhancement (CE) agent is infused into blood flowing through a site that is to be imaged with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Two double inversion procedures are carried out, forming a quadruple inversion recovery (QIR) pulse sequence. Each double inversion procedure comprises a non-selective and slice-selective inversion RF pulse. The first double inversion procedure is followed by a first predefined inversion delay period, TI1, and the second procedure by a second predefined inversion delay period, TI2. A black-blood image can thus be produced in which blood appears consistently black and tissues surrounding the blood, such as a vessel wall, heart, atherosclerotic plaque, or thrombus, are clearly visible. Unlike the prior art black-blood imaging technique, the QIR method does not require a precise knowledge of the T1 of the blood carrying the CE agent in order to suppress the signal and artifacts caused by the blood flowing through the site.

Black-blood imaging is a technique developed to improve the visualization of blood vessels and the heart in magnetic resonance images so as to more clearly reveal pathologic tissues and morphologic abnormalities, which appear close to the blood-wall interface. (See Edelman R. R., Chien D., and Kim D., "Fast Selective Black Blood MR Imaging," Radiology 1991; 181:655-660.) These improvements in visualization include the elimination of image artifacts arising from flowing blood and a reduction in the residual blood signal, which may mask pathologic conditions such as atherosclerotic plaque or thrombus formation. The combination of black-blood imaging with contrast enhancement (CE) offers a high potential for various cardiovascular applications, and in particular, for improved high-resolution MRI of atherosclerotic plaque. (See Yuan C. et al., "Contrast-Enhanced High Resolution MRI for Atherosclerotic Carotid Artery Tissue Characterization," Journal of Magnetic Resonance Imaging, 2002; 15:62-67.) The ability to provide high resolution images of plaque in the carotid arteries and other vessels is becoming increasingly important in assessing the potential vulnerability and risk of patients to stroke and other cardiovascular diseases. However, due to the significant shortening of T1 in blood and the variability of T1 caused by the use of a contrast enhancement (CE) agent, a traditional method for achieving black-blood imaging, such as double inversion-recovery (DIR) cannot guarantee effective blood suppression on post-contrast images. This issue is especially important for quantitative image analysis, such as the calculation of contrast enhancement and morphological measurements. The crucial problem of DIR is that it is necessary to know the relaxation time, T1, of blood in order to calculate the inversion time (TI). The DIR method can effectively suppress the blood signal if and only if TI is determined so as to allow the magnetization of blood to approach zero. However, the use of CE agent decreases the T1 parameter of blood by an unpredictable amount. Uncertainties in the effect of CE on T1 arise from various factors related to the injection technique, flow dynamics, concentration, and time between injection and imaging. Determining the proper TI is therefore uncertain. Accordingly, it would be critical to employ an MRI technique that provides the benefits of DIR in achieving black-blood images, but is much less sensitive to variations in the T1 parameter of blood due to application of a CE agent.

Quadruple inversion recovery for quantitative contrast-enhanced black blood imaging


A method for preparing a dispersion of conductive carbon materials is provided. The method includes dissolving a sulfonated chitosan in an aqueous solution, wherein the amount of the sulfonated chitosan of the solution is about 0.1-3 wt %. Then, a conductive carbon material is added into the solution, and the conductive carbon material in the solution is dispersed across the solution. The conductive carbon material can be carbon black or carbon nanotube.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to dispersions of conductive carbon material and method for preparing the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to carbon black dispersion and carbon nanotube dispersion and method for preparing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
There are several allotropes of carbon of which the best known are graphite, diamond, and amorphous carbon. The physical properties of carbon vary widely with the allotropic form. For example, diamond is highly transparent, while graphite is opaque and black. Diamond is among the hardest materials known, while graphite or carbon black is soft enough to form a streak on paper. Diamond has a very low electrical conductivity, while graphite or carbon black is a very good conductor.
Accordingly, carbon black is used as filler in rubber products; thereby the rubber products may act as antistatic material. Moreover, carbon black is also used as filler in electrodes of methanol fuel cell; thereby the electrodes have a very good electrical conductivity.
Many believe that carbon nanotube is discovered in 1991 is of particular importance because it brought carbon nanotubes into the awareness of the scientific community as a whole. Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) are allotropes of carbon with a nanostructure that can have an aspect ratio greater than 10,000,000 and as high as 40,000,000. These cylindrical carbon molecules have novel properties that make them potentially useful in many applications in nanotechnology, electronics, optics and other fields of materials science, as well as potential uses in architectural fields. They exhibit extraordinary strength and unique electrical properties, and are efficient conductors of heat.
Based upon experience, conductive carbon materials shall disperses to form suspension or dispersion, without respect to carbon nanotube or carbon black. However, it is difficult to make a solution of these conductive carbon is materials served as suspension or dispersion; alternatively, the suspension or dispersion is unstable.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a new dispersion of conductive carbon materials and method for preparing the same. The present disclosure meets this need.

Dispersions of conductive carbon materials and methods for preparing the same


An apparatus for continuously feeding the wire to a wire cutting apparatus. The present invention provides a pair of mandrels provided in an in-line configuration and provided on a turntable. An active coil is loaded onto one of the mandrels while a idle coil is loaded onto the other mandrel. As the wire is being pulled to the wire cutting apparatus from the active coil the tail end of the active coil is bent into abutting relationship with the lead end of the idle coil and welded together. As a result, when the active coil is exhausted, the pulling force of the cutting machine enables the carousel to rotate so that the idle coil assumes the active position and the new coil can be loaded onto the now idle coil for a continuous feed of wire to the wire cutting apparatus.

Wire or cable is typically provided from a foundry in a form of a spool or coil having a predetermined number of lineal feet. Such a configuration allows for relatively easy storage and transportation of the wire, but it is often necessary to reduce the coil wire into individual lengths of straight wire for commercial purposes and ultimate use. The coils of wire are therefore often fed into a machine which not only cuts the wire into shorter strips, but also reduces the twist or curvilinear shape which the wire tends to assume due to being coiled. Such a system is disclosed in copending application Ser. No. 08/627935, which has been allowed but currently no patent number has been assigned, to the present assignee, and expressly incorporated by reference herein.
With such a system, the coil is placed onto an uncoiling mechanism which is either driven to feed the lead end of the coil to the wire cutting apparatus, or which is rotatable to allow the lead end of the coil to be pulled to the wire cutting machine, and thereby allow the coil to rotate on the uncoiler. With many systems, once the coil is exhausted, the wire cutting machine is temporarily inoperable as a new coil must be loaded onto the uncoiler.
As with many volume production processes, this period of downtime directly relates to a loss in production and thus loss in profits. Various attempts have been devised to provide a means of continuously feeding the wire to a wire cutting apparatus and thereby avoiding downtime. One such example is provided in a Z-shaped configuration having parallel mandrels mounted on a turntable. A wire coil is placed on one mandrel and the lead end of the coil is pulled to a wire cutting apparatus. As the wire is being pulled, the tail end of the active coil is positioned to be in abutting relationship with the lead end of the idle coil placed on the other mandrel. The tail end of the active coil and the lead end of the idle coil are then welded together and when the active coil is exhausted, the pulling force of the cutting machine causes the carousel to rotate and thereby makes the idle mandrel the active mandrel when the active coil is exhausted. The process then can be continued by loading another coil onto the now idle mandrel and continuing the welding process.
Although such a system successfully avoids periods of downtime, it necessarily requires a means by which the tail end of the active coil and lead end of the idle coil can be physically manipulated to be in abutting relationship for the welding to take place. Given the fact that these coils are often in excess of 2 tons in weight, and the coils are often exhausted in a period of twenty minutes, the operators of the system are forced to manually position the coils which is often beyond the physical abilities of the average operator. Even if the operator is extraordinarily strong and quick, periods of downtime can be encountered if the slightest of delays are allowed to occur or if an operator of less extraordinary strength is operating the machine.


End-mill machining control method and apparatus in which cutting forces tangential and normal to tool motion are detected and machining is controlled based on the detected cutting force values. A primary component Ft and motion axis components Fx, Fy of a cutting force are determined from current values of a spindle motor and motion axis motors for tool feed. A cutting-engaged angle αen is determined from a radius R of a tool and a depth of cut I into a workpiece. A motion direction angle β is determined from distribution motion amounts ΔX, ΔY to the axes. The cutting forces Fm, Fs tangential and normal to tool motion are determined from the primary component Ft and a motion axis component Fx or Fy whichever is the largest, the cutting-engaged angle αen, the motion direction angle β. The accuracy of the determined cutting forces Fm, Fs is high since they are determined from the primary component Ft less affected by disturbance and the largest axis component of the cutting force. By controlling the cutting forces Fm, Fs tangential and normal to the tool motion, machining accuracy can be improved and tool life can be extended.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a machine tool, and more particularly, to detection of a cutting force, and control method and apparatus based on use of the detected cutting force.
2. Description of Related Art
Known in machine tools are a detection method in which load on a main spindle or a motion axis is monitored to detect abnormal machining, tool wear, tool life, etc., a cutting control method in which deceleration control of feed speed of a motion axis is made based on a detected load, and a control method in which an alarm output and a machine stop ate effected when a detected load exceeds a preset reference value (see for example, JP 9-76144A).
For load detection, a known method detects a driving current of a main spindle motor or a motion axis motor and determines load based on the detected driving current (see for example, JP 8-323585A). Also known is a method in which a load torque is estimated by a disturbance observer that is installed in a control system for a main spindle motor or a motion axis motor (JP 9-76144A and JP 7-51976A).
Also in end-mill machining, a cutting force can be monitored during the machining to carry out various controls such as tool wear detection, adaptive control to enhance the machining accuracy and efficiency, whereby improved machining can be realized. In end milling, however, a small cutting force in the order of several tens of N must be monitored. With recently developed digital control techniques, it becomes possible to monitor a considerably small cutting force based on a value of spindle motor current, but still impossible to separately detect cutting forces exerted in the directions tangential and normal to the tool motion that are important for control of the end milling process. Separate monitoring of the tangential and normal cutting forces based on driving currents of motion axis motors for tool feed is also quite difficult in machine tools such as a general machining center. This is because of the presence of frictional resistance generated in a guide and ball screw system for relative motion of a workpiece and a tool, which resistance is in the order of several hundreds of N and constitutes disturbance. Aside from an axis which is large in motion amount, it is therefore extremely difficult to detect a small cutting force acting in the direction of an axis, which is small in motion amount, on the basis of a value of driving current of a motion axis motor concerned.

Cutting force detection method and machining control method and apparatus based on detected cutting force


A method for presenting contact information that includes receiving a search request for the contact information and retrieving a result set comprising a plurality of contacts corresponding to the search request, wherein each contact comprises a plurality of common contact data fields. The method also includes, for each common contact data field in the result set, determining a differentiating factor for the common contact data field, and selectively displaying at least one value of the common contact data field based on the differentiating factor.

A typical organization website likely includes a page listing the contact information for individuals within the organization. The contacts page normally includes information related to individuals within the organization. For example, such contact information might include the name, phone number, department, and position of each contact. The contact information page usually displays the contact information in a table, with each column representing a field of contact information (e.g., name, telephone number, address, email address, title, and/or other relevant information).
When contact information is presented on a typical contact information page, much of the information is repeated. For example, if there are multiple contacts named John Smith within an organization, a standard tabular representation shows a row for each John Smith. Further, organizations may have contacts that occupy the same role. For example, a company may have multiple individuals with the title of "Software Developer." The overlap of data within contact information fields leads to repetition of contact information. Repetition of the same information from contact data fields places a burden on the user to sift through table rows to find the specific row containing the contact information sought.


A data transmission device for reducing power consumption includes a data source configured to provide data, a data transmission line having a plurality of data transmission sections, and data storage units respectively coupled to the data transmission sections. The respective data storage units determine whether the data storage units store the provided data, and store the provided data based on the determination result. The provided data is sequentially stored into the data storage units, from one end of the data storage units to the other end of the data storage units. A data transmission controller is configured to control the data transmission sections and to transmit the provided data to one of the data storage units. Therefore, the data transmission device may reduce electromagnetic interference (EMI) that is proportional to the current in the source driver.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to transmitting data, and more particularly to devices and methods of transmitting data, source drivers using methods for transmitting data, and liquid crystal display (LCD) devices having devices for transmitting data.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A liquid crystal display (LCD) device is a flat display device that uses liquid crystal to display images. Sizes of LCD devices are gradually increasing according to user demand. As the display sizes are increased, the numbers of pixels representing the images are increased and power consumption of the LCD devices is increased.
LCD devices generate electromagnetic noise as an unintended consequence of consuming power, and the electromagnetic noise is emitted as a form of electromagnetic radiation. The electromagnetic noise is often called electromagnetic interference (EMI).
FIG. 1 illustrates an environment for measuring electromagnetic interference (EMI) of an LCD device, and FIG. 2 is a graph illustrating international standards related to EMI.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, a method of measuring the EMI includes displaying H patterns on a panel of the LCD device and measuring the EMI level at a distance of about 3 or 10 meters from the LCD device using an antenna.
As illustrated in FIG. 2, the EMI level according to the CISPR 22 standard of the International Special Committee on Radio Interference is measured at a distance of about 3 meters from the LCD device. In a frequency bandwidth from 30 MHz to 238 MHz, the EMI level of the LCD device should not exceed 40 dB, and in a frequency bandwidth from 238 MHz to 1,000 MHz, the EMI level of the LCD device should not exceed 49.8 dB.
Also, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the EMI level according to the CISPR 22-B standard is measured at a distance of about 10 meters from the LCD device. In a frequency bandwidth from 30 MHz to 238 MHz, the EMI level of the LCD device should not exceed 30 dB, and in a frequency bandwidth from 238 MHz to 1,000 MHz, the EMI level of the LCD device should not exceed 37 dB.
The EMI level of the LCD device is important because the LCD device is considered to be defective if the EMI level of the LCD device does not satisfy the CISPR 22 and CISPR 22-B standards.
Generally, EMI is represented as an electric field intensity E that is calculated by Equation 1.
                              E          =                                    kIlf              r                                                  (                              uVm                                  -                  1                                            )                                      ,                            [                  Equation                                                              1                ]
where k indicates a constant, I indicates a current, l indicates a conducting wire length, f indicates a frequency and r indicates a distance.
Referring to Equation 1, the electric field intensity E is proportional to the current I, the conducting wire length l and the frequency f, and is inversely proportional to the distance r. The LCD device has a relatively high power consumption since a large amount of data is transmitted, line by line, over a relatively short time period. Therefore, a method of reducing the EMI level includes reducing the current I and the conducting wire length l.

Devices and methods of transmitting data, source drivers using the same, and liquid crystal display (LCD) devices having the same


The object of the present invention is to enhance the device yield of SiC epitaxial wafers. The SiC epitaxial wafer includes a drift layer which is a SiC epitaxial layer. The drift layer has a film thickness of 18 μm or more and 350 μm or less and has arithmetic average roughness of 0.60 nm or more and 3.00 nm or less, and the impurity concentration thereof is 1×1014/cm3 or more and 5×1015/cm3 or less.

Silicon carbide (SiC) has a larger band gap than silicon (Si), and is excellent in physical properties such as dielectric breakdown electric field strength, saturated electron velocity and thermal conductivity, and has excellent properties as a material for semiconductor power device. In particular, with the power device using the SiC, downsizing and a significant reduction of power loss is achievable, and energy saving at the time of power source power conversion can be realized. Accordingly the power device using the SiC (hereinafter, referred to as "SiC power device") contributes to improvement in electric cars and enhancement in solar cell systems, in this manner, such a SiC power device has potential as a prime device for realizing a low carbon society.
For manufacturing a SiC power device, a drift layer of a semiconductor device needs to be formed on a SiC substrate in advance. The drift layer is elaborately formed by controlling the film thickness and the carrier concentration in the crystal precisely by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method or the like. The drift layer is additionally formed by epitaxial growth on the substrate, because the film thickness and carrier concentration of the draft layer are substantially defined by the design specification of the device, and, further, because the carrier concentration of the drift layer is required to be controlled even more precisely than the substrate.
Hereinafter, a wafer in which an epitaxial growth layer is formed on a SiC substrate is referred to as an epitaxial wafer. A SiC power device is manufactured by subjecting the epitaxial wafer to various processes. Therefore, the proportion of devices having desired characteristics among devices fabricated from one wafer, that is, the device yield, heavily depends on the uniformity of the electrical characteristics of the epitaxial growth layer.
Accordingly, if a local region in the plane of the epitaxial wafer where the dielectric breakdown electric field is weaker than that of other regions or where a relatively large current flows when a constant voltage is applied exists, the electrical characteristics of a device including such a region is regarded as inferior. For example, poor breakdown voltage characteristics cause a leakage current even if the applied voltage is relatively small. In other words, the primary factor defining the device yield is the crystal uniformity of the epitaxial wafer. As a factor hampering the crystal uniformity of the epitaxial wafer, the existence of device-killer defects such as triangular defects or downfalls observed on the surface of the epitaxial wafer is known due to a defect at the time of epitaxial growth.
In order to improve the device yield, some methods for obtaining high quality SiC epitaxial growth layers have been proposed.
For example, a technique to form a high quality SiC epitaxial film in which, with one of pressure and substrate temperature conditions fixed, the other condition is switched between a high setting condition and a low setting condition during the film formation is described in Patent Document 1.
Further, a technique in which, in a vertical hot-wall type CVD epitaxial device, a susceptor that suppresses the occurrence of peeling or cracking of a coating material on the surface of the susceptor is used is described in Patent Document 2. This vertical hot-wall CVD epitaxial device can form a flat and high purity SiC epitaxial growth layer at high-speed.
Further, Non-Patent Document 1 describes that manufacturing a device using an epitaxial growth layer in which step bunching exits causes non-uniformity of the gate oxide film, adversely affecting the reliability thereof.

SiC epitaxial wafer and manufacturing method of the same


Methods for ablating tissue in a patient having atrial fibrillation comprise advancing an elongate flexible shaft through a patient's vasculature into a chamber of a heart. The elongate flexible shaft has an energy source and a sensor. Tissue in the heart is scanned with the sensor and data about the tissue is captured. The captured data is grouped into one of a plurality of tissue classifications and an anatomical map of the tissue showing the grouped data is displayed. At least a portion of the tissue is ablated so as to form a conduction block that blocks aberrant electrical pathways in the heart. The ablated tissue is grouped into one or more predefined tissue classifications during or prior to the ablation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present application generally relates to systems and methods for creating ablation zones in human tissue. More specifically, the present application relates to systems and methods for mapping tissue and planning ablation paths therein as a treatment for atrial fibrillation of the heart using ultrasound energy.
The condition of atrial fibrillation (AF) is characterized by the abnormal (usually very rapid) beating of the left atrium of the heart which is out of synch with the normal synchronous movement ('normal sinus rhythm') of the heart muscle. In normal sinus rhythm, the electrical impulses originate in the sino-atrial node ('SA node') which resides in the right atrium. The abnormal beating of the atrial heart muscle is known as 'fibrillation' and is caused by electrical impulses originating instead at points other than the SA node, for example, in the pulmonary veins (PV).
There are pharmacological treatments for this condition with varying degree of success. In addition, there are surgical interventions aimed at removing the aberrant electrical pathways from PV to the left atrium ('LA') such as the 'Cox-Maze III Procedure'. This procedure has been shown to be 99% effective but requires special surgical skills and is time consuming. Thus, there has been considerable effort to copy the Cox-Maze procedure using a less invasive percutaneous catheter-based approach. Less invasive treatments have been developed which involve use of some form of energy to ablate (or kill) the tissue surrounding the aberrant focal point where the abnormal signals originate in PV. The most common methodology is the use of radio-frequency ('RF') electrical energy to heat the muscle tissue and thereby ablate it. The aberrant electrical impulses are then prevented from traveling from PV to the atrium (achieving the 'conduction block') and thus avoiding the fibrillation of the atrial muscle. Other energy sources, such as microwave, laser, and ultrasound have been utilized to achieve the conduction block. In addition, techniques such as cryoablation, administration of ethanol, and the like have also been used. Some of these methods and devices are described below.
There has been considerable effort in developing catheter based systems for the treatment of AF using radiofrequency (RF) energy. One such method includes a catheter having distal and proximal electrodes at the catheter tip. The catheter can be bent in a coil shape, and positioned inside a pulmonary vein. The tissue of the inner wall of the PV is ablated in an attempt to kill the source of the aberrant heart activity.
Another source used in ablation is microwave energy. One such intraoperative device consists of a probe with a malleable antenna which has the ability to ablate the atrial tissue.
Still another catheter based method utilizes the cryogenic technique where the tissue of the atrium is frozen below a temperature of −60 degrees C. This results in killing of the tissue in the vicinity of the PV thereby eliminating the pathway for the aberrant signals causing the AF. Cryo-based techniques have also been a part of the partial Maze procedures described above. More recently, Dr. Cox and his group have used cryoprobes (cryo-Maze) to duplicate the essentials of the Cox-Maze III procedure.
More recent approaches for the treatment of AF involve the use of ultrasound energy. The target tissue of the region surrounding the pulmonary vein is heated with ultrasound energy emitted by one or more ultrasound transducers. One such approach includes a catheter distal tip portion equipped with a balloon and containing an ultrasound element. The balloon serves as an anchoring means to secure the tip of the catheter in the pulmonary vein. The balloon portion of the catheter is positioned in the selected pulmonary vein and the balloon is inflated with a fluid which is transparent to ultrasound energy. The transducer emits the ultrasound energy which travels to the target tissue in or near the pulmonary vein and ablates it. The intended therapy is to destroy the electrical conduction path around a pulmonary vein and thereby restore the normal sinus rhythm. The therapy involves the creation of a multiplicity of lesions around individual pulmonary veins as required.
Yet another catheter device using ultrasound energy includes a catheter having a tip with an array of ultrasound elements in a grid pattern for the purpose of creating a three dimensional image of the target tissue. An ablating ultrasound transducer is provided which is in the shape of a ring which encircles the imaging grid. The ablating transducer emits a ring of ultrasound energy at 10 MHz frequency.
In all above approaches, the inventions involve the ablation of tissue inside a pulmonary vein or of the tissue at the location of the ostium. This may require complex positioning and guiding of the treatment devices to the target site. The ablation is achieved by means of contact between the device and the tissue. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide an ablation system that does not require such precise positioning and tissue contact and that can create a conduction block in the atrium adjacent the pulmonary vein or around a plurality of pulmonary veins in a single treatment. Moreover, it would be desirable to provide a device and methods of ablation where three dimensional movement of the tip is controlled such that one can create a contiguous lesion in the tissue of desired shape in the wall of the chamber, e.g. the atrium of the heart. Furthermore, the movement of the ultrasound beam is controlled in a manner such that the beam is presented to the target tissue substantially at a right angle to maximize the efficiency of the ablation process. It would also be desirable to provide an ablation system that is easy to use, easy to manufacture and that is lower in cost than current commercial systems.
Furthermore, when delivering energy to tissue, in particular when ablating tissue with ultrasound to treat atrial-fibrillation, the doctor or operator must insure proper alignment of the energy-delivering device. If the transducer is too far away, the ultrasound energy reaching the tissue will not be enough to create a transmural lesion. If the transducer is too close, the ultrasound energy may damage the tissue or cause the transducer of the ultrasound device to overheat. Other factors such as incident angle of the beam and tissue thickness further complicate the task of ablating tissue. Thus, there is a need for systems and methods that provide a user interface during tissue ablation. It would be desirable if such user interfaces provided an anatomical map of the tissue to be ablated that can be used to visually characterize the tissue and also that can be used to help plan an ablation path in the tissue. At least some of these challenges are met by the systems and methods described below.
2. Description of Background Art
Patents related to the treatment of atrial fibrillation include, but are not limited to the following: U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,997,925; 6,996,908; 6,966,908; 6,964,660; 6,955,173; 6,954,977; 6,953,460; 6,949,097; 6,929,639; 6,872,205; 6,814,733; 6,780,183; 6,666,858; 6,652,515; 6,635,054; 6,605,084; 6,547,788; 6,514,249; 6,502,576; 6,416,511; 6,383,151; 6,305,378; 6,254,599; 6,245,064; 6,164,283; 6,161,543; 6,117,101; 6,064,902; 6,052,576; 6,024,740; 6,012,457; 5,405,346; 5,314,466; 5,295,484; 5,246,438; and 4,641,649.
Patent Publications related to the treatment of atrial fibrillation include, but are not limited to International PCT Publication No. WO 99/02096; and U.S. Patent Publication No. 2005/0267453.
Scientific publications related to the treatment of atrial fibrillation include, but are not limited to: Haissaguerre, M. et al., Spontaneous Initiation of Atrial Fibrillation by Ectopic Beats Originating in the Pulmonary Veins, New England J. Med., Vol. 339:659-666; J. L. Cox et al., The Development of the Maze Procedure for the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation, Seminars in Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, 2000; 12: 2-14; J. L. Cox et al., Electrophysiologic Basis, Surgical Development, and Clinical Results of the Maze Procedure for Atrial Flutter and Atrial Fibrillation, Advances in Cardiac Surgery, 1995; 6: 1-67; J. L. Cox et al., Modification of the Maze Procedure for Atrial Flutter and Atrial Fibrillation. II, Surgical Technique of the Maze III Procedure, Journal of Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, 1995; 110:485-95; J. L. Cox, N. Ad, T. Palazzo, et al. Current Status of the Maze Procedure for the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation, Seminars in Thoracic & Cardiovascular Surgery, 2000; 12: 15-19; M. Levinson, Endocardial Microwave Ablation: A New Surgical Approach for Atrial Fibrillation; The Heart Surgery Forum, 2006; Maessen et al., Beating Heart Surgical Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation with Microwave Ablation, Ann Thorac Surg 74: 1160-8, 2002; A. M. Gillinov, E. H. Blackstone and P. M. McCarthy, Atrial Fibrillation: Current Surgical Options and their Assessment, Annals of Thoracic Surgery 2002; 74:2210-7; Sueda T., Nagata H., Orihashi K., et al., Efficacy of a Simple Left Atrial Procedure for Chronic Atrial Fibrillation in Mitral Valve Operations, Ann Thorac Surg 1997; 63:1070-1075; Sueda T., Nagata H., Shikata H., et al.; Simple Left Atrial Procedure for Chronic Atrial Fibrillation Associated with Mitral Valve Disease, Ann Thorac Surg 1996; 62:1796-1800; Nathan H., Eliakim M., The Junction Between the Left Atrium and the Pulmonary Veins, An Anatomic Study of Human Hearts, Circulation 1966; 34:412-422; Cox J. L., Schuessler R. B., Boineau J. P., The Development of the Maze Procedure for the Treatment of Atrial Fibrillation, Semin Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2000; 12:2-14; and Gentry et al., Integrated Catheter for 3-D Intracardiac Echocardiography and Ultrasound Ablation, IEEE Transactions on Ultrasonics, Ferroelectrics, and Frequency Control, Vol. 51, No. 7, pp 799-807.

System and method for anatomical mapping of tissue and planning ablation paths therein


Programs for executing downloading of a program are stored in an area, i.e a non-rewritable boot area, of a rewritable flash EEPROM. Control programs for the apparatus are stored in the remaining area of the EEPROM. The programs for executing the downloading of the program, which are in the boot area, will not be lost, even if a power disconnection occurs during rewriting of the control program(s) and thus redownloading can be carried out. Information, regarding whether the downloading has failed or how far the program has been downloaded before it failed, is stored. Redownloading can be executed automatically when the power is turned on based on the stored information.

An information apparatus such as the printer and the copier is equipped with a group of control programs for executing control of the operation of the apparatus. These programs are generally called a "firmware" in that they lie somewhere between a hardware and a software. It is not as easy to change or modify these programs, as it is to upgrade a program in an information apparatus such as the personal computer.
Thus, the only way to change or modify the "firmware" conventionally, was to remove the EPROM (erasable and programmable read only memory) which is on the board inside the apparatus such as the printer or the copier and stores the control programs, and replace the EPROM with another EPROM that stores new control programs.
However, replacing the ROM is troublesome in that the housing of the apparatus has to be removed. As a result, a new method has become more popular, which is a method of storing the control programs beforehand onto an EEPROM (electrically erasable and programmable read only memory) that is electrically rewritable byte by byte or onto a flash EEPROM that is rewritable by all bits or block by block, and, if an update is required, obtaining the latest program(s) from, an IC card installed in an IC card slot, or a host computer connected via a network such as the Internet.
In this method, firstly the CPU in the apparatus reads the programs stored for example in the flash EEPROM out onto a RAM and executes them sequentially to clear the programs stored in the flash EEPROM. Secondly, new control programs are received from an IC card or a host computer and written onto the cleared flash EEPROM.
Examples of the above method are disclosed in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications Nos. 07-073042, 08-101794, 08-123235, 08-166883, 08-305561, and 11-184708.
Unfortunately, in the above-described conventional method, if there is a system crash due to an electric power failure or because the power is turned off by mistake, after erasing the programs in the flash EEPROM and before writing a program onto the flash EEPROM completely to the end, the once cleared flash EEPROM is left with no program or at least no complete program.
The only way to fix the system crash is to get a technical service man to replace the flash EEPROM directly mounted on the board, together with the board itself. This results in extra costs, which are spent on the service and components required for the replacement, also at the cost of not being able to use the apparatus while the system is out of order.

System and apparatus for and method of downloading a program, image formation apparatus, and computer product


A semiconductor device with dummy patterns for alleviating micro-loading effect includes a semiconductor substrate having thereon a middle annular region between an inner region and an outer region; a SiGe device on the semiconductor substrate within the inner region; and a plurality of dummy patterns provided on the semiconductor substrate within the middle annular region. At least one of the dummy patterns contains SiGe.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of semiconductor integrated circuits and, more particularly, to an improved SiGe device with SiGe-embedded dummy pattern that encircles the SiGe device, which is capable of alleviating the micro-loading effect during the epitaxial growth of SiGe.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As known in the art, stress can be introduced in the channel region of a MOS transistor to increase carrier mobility, thereby enhancing the performance of the MOS transistor. Generally, it is desirable to induce tensile stress in the channel region of an NMOS device in a source-to-drain direction, and to induce compressive stress in the channel region of a PMOS device in a source-to-drain direction. Typically, to induce compressive stress in the channel region of a PMOS transistor, epitaxially grown SiGe (also referred to as SiGe stressor) is formed in the source and drain regions of the PMOS devices. Since SiGe has a greater lattice constant than silicon, it expands after annealing and induces compressive stress to the channel region in a source-to-drain direction.
However, the conventional SiGe technology suffers from the influence of micro-loading effect, which occurs due to a difference in pattern densities on a single die. The micro-loading effect leads to variation of epitaxial growth rates between a region of a higher density and a region of a lower density. Due to the difference in growth rates, the thickness of the resulting SiGe film becomes non-uniform. In addition, the composition of the epitaxial SiGe stressor in an isolated active region usually differs from that in a densely packed active region. Such non-uniformities may alter the stress level of the epitaxial SiGe stressor and adversely affect device performance.
Accordingly, there is a strong need in this industry to provide an improved SiGe device and method for alleviating the micro-loading effect, while at the same time overcoming the deficiencies of the prior art.

SiGe device with SiGe-embedded dummy pattern for alleviating micro-loading effect


An FCC process uses a tube sheet arrangement and a multiplicity of centrifugal separation devices in an FCC reactor to reduce the volume of the reactor vessel thereby minimizing uncontrolled reaction of feed hydrocarbons and the production of riser by-products. The separation arrangement encloses an upwardly directed outlet end of a ballistic separation device in a low volume disengaging vessel that transfers dilute catalyst and product vapors to a tube sheet arrangement of swirl tubes that removes catalyst and directs it downwardly into a stripper arrangement.

The fluidized catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons is the main stay process for the production of gasoline and light hydrocarbon products from heavy hydrocarbon charge stocks such as vacuum gas oils or residual feeds. Large hydrocarbon molecules, associated with the heavy hydrocarbon feed, are cracked to break the large hydrocarbon chains thereby producing lighter hydrocarbons. These lighter hydrocarbons are recovered as product and can be used directly or further processed to raise the octane barrel yield relative to the heavy hydrocarbon feed.
The basic equipment or apparatus for the fluidized catalytic cracking of hydrocarbons has been in existence since the early 1940's. The basic components of the FCC process include a reactor, a regenerator and a catalyst stripper. The reactor includes a contact zone where the hydrocarbon feed is contacted with a particulate catalyst and a separation zone where product vapors from the cracking reaction are separated from the catalyst. Further product separation takes place in a catalyst stripper that receives catalyst from the separation zone and removes entrained hydrocarbons from the catalyst by counter-current contact with stream or another stripping medium. The FCC process is carried out by contacting the starting material whether it be vacuum gas oil, reduced crude, or another source of relatively high boiling hydrocarbons with a catalyst made up of a finely divided or particulate solid material. The catalyst is transported like a fluid by passing gas or vapor through it at sufficient velocity to produce a desired regime of fluid transport. Contact of the oil with the fluidized material catalyzes the cracking reaction. During the cracking reaction, coke will be deposited on the catalyst. Coke is comprised of hydrogen and carbon and can include other materials in trace quantities such as sulfur and metals that enter the process with the starting material. Coke interferes with the catalytic activity of the catalyst by blocking active sites on the catalyst surface where the cracking reactions take place. Catalyst is traditionally transferred from the stripper to a regenerator for purposes or removing the coke by oxidation with an oxygen-containing gas. An inventory of catalyst having a reduced coke content, relative to the catalyst in the stripper, hereinafter referred to as regenerated catalyst, is collected for return to the reaction zone. Oxidizing the coke from the catalyst surface releases a large amount of heat, a portion of which escapes the regenerator with gaseous products of coke oxidation generally referred to as flue gas. The balance of the heat leaves the regenerator with the regenerated catalyst. The fluidized catalyst is continuously circulated from the reaction zone to the regeneration zone and then again to the reduction zone. The fluidized catalyst, as well as providing a catalytic function, acts as a vehicle for the transfer of heat from zone to zone. Catalyst exiting the reaction zone is spoken of as being spent, i.e., partially deactivated by the deposition of coke upon the catalyst. Specific details of the various contact zones, regeneration zones, and stripping zones along with arrangements for conveying the catalyst between the various zones are well known to those skilled in the art.
The rate of conversion of the feedstock within the reaction zone is controlled by regulation of the temperature of the catalyst, activity of the catalyst, quantity of the catalyst (i.e., catalyst to oil ratio) and contact time between the catalyst and feedstock. The most common method of regulating the reaction temperature is by regulating the rate of circulation of catalyst from the regeneration zone to the reaction zone which simultaneously produces a variation in the catalyst to oil ratio as the reaction temperatures change. That is, if it is desired to increase the conversion rate, an increase in the rate of flow of circulating fluid catalyst from the regenerator to the reactor is effected.
The hydrocarbon product of the FCC reaction is recovered in vapor form and transferred to product recovery facilities. These facilities normally comprise a main column for cooling the hydrocarbon vapor from the reactor and recovering a series of heavy cracked products which usually include bottom materials, cycle oil, and heavy gasoline. Lighter materials from the main column enter a concentration section for further separation into additional product streams.
As the development of FCC units has advanced, temperatures within the reaction zone were gradually raised. It is now commonplace to employ temperatures of about 525.degree. C. (975.degree. F.). At higher temperatures, there is generally a loss of gasoline components as these materials crack to lighter components by both catalytic and strictly thermal mechanisms. At 1025.degree. F. (550.degree. C.), it is typical to lose 1% on the potential gasoline yield due to gasoline components thermally cracking into lighter hydrocarbon gases. As temperatures increase, to say 1075.degree. F. (580.degree. C.), most feedstocks lose up to 6% or more of the gasoline yield due to thermal cracking of gasoline components. Quench systems have been used to reduce the temperature of the cracked vapors downstream of an FCC reaction zone.
One improvement to FCC units, that has reduced the product loss by thermal cracking, is the use of riser cracking. In riser cracking, regenerated catalyst and starting materials enter a pipe reactor and are transported upward by the expansion of the gases that result from the vaporization of the hydrocarbons, and other fluidizing mediums if present, upon contact with the hot catalyst. Riser cracking provides good initial catalyst and oil contact and also allows the time of contact between the catalyst and oil to be more closely controlled by eliminating turbulence and backmixing that can vary the catalyst residence time. An average riser cracking zone today will have a catalyst to oil contact time of 1 to 5 seconds. A number of riser designs use a lift gas as a further means of providing a uniform catalyst flow. Lift gas is used to accelerate catalyst in a first section of the riser before introduction of the feed and thereby reduces the turbulence which can vary the contact time between the catalyst and hydrocarbons.
Riser cracking whether with or without the use of lift gas has provided substantial benefits to the operation of the FCC unit. These can be summarized as a short contact time in the reactor riser to control the degree of cracking that takes place in the riser and improved mixing to give a more homogeneous mixture of catalyst and feed. A more complete distribution prevents different times for the contact between the catalyst and feed over the cross-section of the riser such that some of the feed contacts the catalyst for a longer time than other portions of the feed. Both the short contact time and a more uniform average contact time for all of the feed with the catalyst has allowed overcracking to be controlled or eliminated in the reactor riser.
Unfortunately, much of what can be accomplished in the reactor riser in terms of uniformity of feed contact and controlled contact time can be lost when the catalyst is separated from the hydrocarbon vapors. As the catalyst and hydrocarbons are discharged from the riser, they must be separated. In early riser cracking operations, the output from the riser was discharged into a large vessel. This vessel serves as a disengaging chamber and is still referred to as a reactor vessel, although most of the reaction takes place in the reactor riser. The reactor vessel has a large volume. Vapors that enter the reactor vessel are well mixed in the large volume and therefore have a wide residence time distribution that results in relatively long residence times for a significant portion of the product fraction. Product fractions that encounter extended residence times can undergo additional catalytic and thermal cracking to less desirable lower molecular weight products.
In an effort to further control the contact time between catalyst and feed vapors, there has been continued investigation into the use of cyclones that are directly coupled to the end of the reactor riser. This direct coupling of cyclones to the riser provides a quick separation of most of the product vapors from the catalyst. Therefore, contact time for a large portion of the feed vapors can be closely controlled. One problem with directly coupling cyclones to outlet of the reactor riser is the need for a system that can handle pressure surges from the riser. These pressure surges and the resulting transient increase in catalyst loading inside the cyclones can overload the cyclones such that an unacceptable amount of fine catalyst particles are carried over with the reactor vapor into downstream separation facilities. Therefore, a number of apparatus arrangements have been proposed for direct coupled cyclones that significantly complicate the arrangement and apparatus for the direct coupled cyclones, and either provide an arrangement where a significant amount of reactor vapor can enter the open volume of the reactor/vessel or compromise the satisfactory operation of the cyclone system by subjecting it to the possibility of temporary catalyst overloads.
Although direct coupled cyclone systems can help to control contact time between catalyst and feed vapors, they will not completely eliminate the presence of hydrocarbon vapors in the open space of a reactor vessel. Product vapors are still present in this open space from the stripped hydrocarbon vapors that are removed from the catalyst and pass upwardly into an open space above the stripping zone. The residence time of hydrocarbon vapors is also increased by direct coupled cyclone arrangements that allow feed vapors or product vapors to enter the open space that houses the cyclones. Since the dilute phase volume of the reactor vessel remains unchanged when direct coupled cyclones are used and less hydrocarbon vapors enter the dilute phase volume from the riser, the hydrocarbon vapors that do enter the dilute phase volume will be there for much longer periods of time when a direct coupled cyclone system is used. (The terms "dense phase" and "dilute phase" catalysts as used in this application are meant to refer to the density of the catalyst in a particular zone. The term "dilute phase" generally refers to a catalyst density of less than 20 lbs/ft.sup.3 and the term "dense phase" refers to catalyst densities above 30 lbs/ft.sup.3. Catalyst densities in the range of 20 to 30 lbs/ft.sup.3 can be considered either dense or dilute depending on the density of the catalyst in adjacent zones or regions.) In other words, when a direct coupled cyclone system is used, less product vapors may enter the open space of the reactor vessel, but these vapors will have a much longer residence time in the reactor vessel. As a result, any feed components left in the reactor vessel are substantially lost to overcracking.
The very low gas flow rate through the reactor vessel can also promote coke deposition on the interior of the vessel. The long residence time of heavy hydrocarbons at relatively high temperature in the upper section of the reactor vessel promotes the formation of coke. These coke deposits interfere with the function of the reactor vessel by forming thick deposits on the interior of the vessel thereby insulating and locally cooling portions of the metal shell. Such locally cooled portions promote the condensation of corrosive materials that can damage the reactor vessel. In addition, other problems are created by the large coke deposits which can, from time to time, break off in large chunks and block the flow of catalyst through the vessels or conduits.
One apparatus that has been known to promote quick separation between the catalyst and the vapors in the reactor vessels is known as a ballistic separation device which is also referred to as a vented riser. The structure of the vented riser in its basic form consists of a straight portion of conduit at the end of the riser and an opening that is directed upwardly into the reactor vessel with a number of cyclone inlets surrounding the outer periphery of the riser near the open end. The apparatus functions by shooting the high momentum catalyst particles past the open end of the riser where the gas collection takes place. A quick separation between the gas and the vapors occurs due to the relatively low density of the gas which can quickly change directions and turn to enter the inlets near the periphery of the riser while the heavier catalyst particles continue along a straight trajectory that is imparted by the straight section of riser conduit. The vented riser has the advantage of eliminating any dead area in the reactor vessel where coke can form while providing a quick separation between the catalyst and the vapors. However, the vented riser still has the drawback of operating within a large open volume in the reactor vessel.