The present disclosure provides a system and method for cutting a flap in laser ophthalmic surgery using polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography (PS-OCT). The system includes a PS-OCT system, a femtosecond laser, control device, and processor. The PS-OCT system includes a PS-OCT source, a polarization component, a reference reflector, a beam splitter, a wave plate, and a detector. The processor receives data relating to an interference pattern of a reflected PS-OCT beam, received at the detector, determines a relative fiber orientation of the sample, determines whether a photodisruption pattern generated by the femtosecond laser to cut the flap should be adjusted horizontally or vertically, based on the relative fiber orientation, and may generate a control signal to adjust the photodisruption pattern generated by the femtosecond laser. The disclosure further provides a method for cutting a flap on an eye using PS-OCT.

In ophthalmology, ophthalmic surgery is performed on the eye and accessory visual structures to save and improve the vision of tens of thousands of patients every year. However, given the sensitivity of vision to even small changes in the eye and the minute and delicate nature of many eye structures, ophthalmic surgery is difficult to perform and the reduction of even minor or uncommon surgical errors or modest improvements in precision or accuracy of surgical techniques can make a tremendous difference in the patient's vision after the surgery.
One type of ophthalmic surgery, refractive eye surgery, is used to correct a variety of vision problems. One common type of refractive surgery is known as LASIK (laser-assisted in situ keratomileusis) and is used to correct myopia and hyperopia, astigmatism, or more complex refractive errors. Other ophthalmic surgeries may correct corneal defects or other problems. For instance, phototherapeutic keratectomy ("PTK") may be used to remove diseased corneal tissue or corneal irregularities either alone or in combination with LASIK. Another common ophthalmic surgery is the removal of cataracts.
During LASIK, PTK, cataract surgery, and other ophthalmic surgeries, corrective procedures are commonly performed on interior parts of the eye, such as the corneal stroma or the lens, rather than on the eye surface. This practice tends to improve surgical outcomes by allowing the corrective procedure to be targeted to the most effective part of the eye, by keeping the outer, protective parts of the cornea largely intact, and for other reasons.
The interior part of the eye may be accessed in a variety of manners, but frequently access involves cutting a flap in the cornea or otherwise cutting the cornea. Corneal cutting is often performed by a femtosecond laser that uses photodisruption to create incisions, eliminating collateral damage of surrounding tissues associated with slower lasers and complications associated with mechanical cutting instruments, such as blades. The pulsed nature of the femtosecond laser causes it to vaporize corneal tissue in an interspersed pattern, corresponding to the location of the beam focus when the laser is pulsed on, leaving intact corneal tissue corresponding to the location of the beam focus when the femtosecond laser is off between pulses. Typically the pulsed femtosecond laser is only on for a very short pulse time. The beam focus then moves to a new location within the cornea before the femtosecond laser is pulsed on again. This produces a series of small photodisruptions, typically a few micrometers in average size. The small photodisruptions are typically also spaced a few micrometers apart. The interspersed pattern (a "photodisruption pattern") thus formed is such that the corneal tissue is effectively cut, allowing, for instance, the flap to be detached and lifted, while decreasing damage to the corneal tissue by the femtosecond laser.
Femtosecond lasers can therefore be used to dissect tissue on a microscopic level. When cutting a flap, it is important for the surgeon to have additional information about the tissues to be cut and internal structures of the eye that cannot effectively be seen using only the surgical microscope.

System and method for cutting a flap using polarization sensitive optical coherence tomography


The process chamber of a thermal CVD apparatus for a semiconductor wafer W has flooring and ceiling plates made of quartz. Lower and upper heaters are arranged behind the flooring and ceiling plates. The supply for supplying a process gas into the process chamber has a shower head directly under the ceiling plate, an outer tube surrounding the shower head, and radial tubes connecting the outer tube and the shower head. The shower head is made of quartz, and its top bottom and top plates can transmit radiation heat from the upper heater.

The present invention relates to a single-substrate-processing apparatus in a semiconductor processing system, and, particularly, to an improvement in a shower head used in the single-substrate-processing apparatus. The term "semiconductor processing" used herein includes various kinds of processes which are performed to manufacture a semiconductor device or a structure having wiring layers, electrodes, and the like to be connected to a semiconductor device, on a target substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer or an LCD substrate, by forming semiconductor layers, insulating layers, and conductive layers in predetermined patterns on the target substrate.
There are CVD (Chemical Vapor Deposition) methods known as semiconductor processing methods of forming a film on a target substrate. Single-substrate-processing CVD apparatuses for processing semiconductor wafers one by one include a single-side-heating type of heating each wafer from the bottom side, and a double-side-heating type of heating each wafer from both the top and bottom sides.
Generally, a CVD apparatus of the single-side-heating type has a resistance heating body incorporated within a worktable, for heating a wafer only from the bottom side. Accordingly, there is a certain space above the wafer, large enough to arrange therein a shower head having a thickness of about 60 mm for supplying a process gas. The shower head has a void space in which a plurality of horizontal distribution plates are arranged, for uniformly distributing the process gas. A gas supply pipe is connected to the top of the shower head to communicate with the void space. There are a number of gas supply holes formed on the bottom of the shower head. The process gas is uniformly distributed in the void space by the horizontal distribution plates while it flows from the gas supply pipe to the gas supply holes.
On the other hand, a conventional CVD apparatus of the double-side-heating type has a structure as shown in FIG. 6. The apparatus is provided with a resistance heating body 11 arranged in a worktable 10 and heating means 12 arranged above the worktable 10 to face a wafer W. The wafer W is heated from both the top and bottom sides by the resistance heating body 11 and the heating means 12. Two gas supply pipes 13 and 14 are arranged to penetrate the left and right side walls of a process chamber and to have openings between the worktable 10 and the heating means 12. A process gas is supplied through the gas supply pipes 13 and 14, while the wafer W is heated from the top and bottom sides and the process chamber is exhausted through an exhaust pipe 15, so that a predetermined thin film is formed on the wafer W.
Sine the CVD apparatus of the double-side-heating type has the heating means 12 above the wafer W, it is difficult to use a shower head for the process gas, such as one used in the CVD apparatus of the single-side-heating type, in light of limits in space and in heat transmission. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 6, the process gas is supplied through the gas supply pipes 13 and 14 arranged at two positions above the peripheral portion of the wafer W. However, there is no means for uniformly distributing the process, and thus the process gas is apt to be supplied from the gas supply pipes 13 and 14 to the wafer W less uniformly.
Besides, the process gas is supplied in the process chamber at room temperature and hinders the surface of the wafer W in being heated by the heating means 12. Where the process gas is less uniformly distributed, so is a degree of hindering the heating of the wafer W, thereby lowering planar uniformity of the temperature of the wafer. As a result, a film formation process performed by the apparatus shown in FIG. 6 ends up as a less uniform process.
In order to solve this problem, there are ideas such that the gas supply pipes 13 and 14 are alternately caused to supply the process gas, and/or the wafer W is rotated during the process, so that the process gas is uniformly distributed. However, these ideas cannot increase uniformity in distribution of the gas so much. Further, these ideas require the gas supply pipes 13 and 14 to be provided with control valves for controlling their opening/closing, and/or the worktable to be provided with a rotating mechanism for rotating the wafer W, thereby making the apparatus complicated.

Single-substrate-processing apparatus in semiconductor processing system


An embroidering machine comprises a body including a bed and an arm which is formed on the bed, a frame for holding a work, a movement device for moving the frame along the bed in the horizontal direction, an embroidering device set in the body for embroidering the work, a detecting device for detecting a pattern which is drawn on the work, and a controller for controlling the movement means based on an information which is detected by the detecting device.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an embroidering machine.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventionally, it is well known that an embroidering machine does embroidery on a work based on embroidering data. The embroidering data which indicates embroidering designs to the embroidering machine is previously inputted in a floppy disk by an embroidering data generating device such as a digitizer. The resulting floppy disk is inserted into the embroidering machine and then various designs are embroidered on the work while the embroidering machine reads data from the floppy disk.
However, the embroidering data generating device per se is very expensive. In addition, the preparation of the foregoing embroidering data is cumbersome.


An apparatus for maintaining an enclosed space proximate a selected comfort range, and for conserving utilities, the apparatus comprising a housing in communicating relation with the enclosed space and the external environment and having an evaporative cooler for cooling the enclosed space and having a predetermined operating efficiency, and a spaced apart air conditioner for either selectively cooling or heating the enclosed space and having an operating efficiency different from the evaporative cooler, and a control mechanism for automatically and selectively switching back and forth from operation of the evaporative cooler to the air conditioner.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to heating and cooling apparatus.
More particularly, this invention relates to heating and cooling apparatus for use in combination with structures.
In a further and more specific aspect, the instant invention relates to a heating and cooling unit for maintaining an environment enclosed by a structure at a selectively desired comfort range.
2. Prior Art
Air-conditioning is normally defined as the control of temperature, humidity, purity, and motion of air in an enclosed space, independent of outside conditions. There exist a variety of apparatus and methods to control the environmental conditions of an enclosed space, stemming from the primitive means of hanging wet grass mats over windows for cooling air by evaporation, to more advanced techniques that employ more sophisticated air-conditioning technology.
For instance, in a simple air conditioner, a refrigerant, normally consisting of Freons (carbon compounds containing fluorine and chlorine or bromine), in a volatile liquid form, is passed through a set of evaporator coils across which air inside a room or enclosed space is passed. The refrigerant evaporates and, in the process, absorbs the heat contained in the air. When the cooled air reaches its saturation point, its moisture content condenses on fins placed over the coils. The water runs down the fins and drains. The cooled and dehumidified air is returned into the room by means of a blower. During this process, the vaporized refrigerant passes into a compressor where it is pressurized and forced through condenser coils, which are in contact with the outside air. Under these conditions, the refrigerant condenses back into a liquid form and gives off the heat it absorbed inside the enclosed space. This heated air is expelled to the outside, and the liquid recirculates to the evaporator coils to continue the cooling process. In some units, the two sets of coils can reverse functions so that in winter, the inside coils condense the refrigerant and heat rather than cool the room or enclosed space. Such a unit is typically referred to as a heat pump.
Although air-conditioning units of these types are exemplary, they are expensive to operate as they use a tremendous amount of electrical power, and the refrigerant must be periodically replaced or replenished. Furthermore, the chemicals used in air conditioners contain chlorofluorocarbons, which are proven harmful to humans and the environment. Additionally, air-conditioner units typically recirculate the air in an enclosed structure, and the recirculated air eventually becomes stale and impure over time.
Another system of cooling air in an enclosed space is simply by means of passing air through water for cooling the air by means of evaporation. The apparatus used for accomplishing this method of cooling are normally referred to as evaporative coolers. Although evaporative coolers are less expensive to operate than the air conditioners that use refrigerant as discussed above, and they do not recirculate the air as do the air conditioners, they are not very effective when the 1% coincident wet bulb temperatures are high. Thus, although evaporative coolers are less costly to operate, air-conditioning units are more effective at higher 1% coincident wet bulb temperatures. Furthermore, over time, evaporative coolers tend to use lots of water, and provide a buildup of humidity within the structure which can lead to mildew buildup, and an annoying mildew smell. In order to attain relief, windows in the structure must be opened to release the humid air, or relief vents can be provided for expelling the humid air.
Accordingly, many structures have both an air-conditioning apparatus, and an evaporative cooling apparatus, both of which are used for cooling the internal areas of the structure. However, in order to have both an air-conditioning unit and an evaporative cooler, both must be separately purchased, which is not only very expensive, but also inconvenient and time consuming to install. Additionally, when both an air-conditioning unit and an evaporative cooler unit are installed in combination with a structure, two penetrations into the structure are required which lead into two different sets of duct systems which also must be constructed at considerable cost. A further inconvenience of having both an air-conditioning unit and an evaporative cooler unit is that in order to switch use from one or the other as selectively desired, it must be done manually by either physically adjusting the individual units, or by means of a manual switch located apart from the individual units and normally within the structure.
Some cooling units include both an air-conditioning unit and an evaporative cooler unit that contains a damper and actuator mechanism that moves the damper back and forth from operation of the air-conditioning unit and the evaporative cooler unit, and through the manual operation of a remote control position switch. However, not only is it inconvenient to have to manually operate the remote control position switch, it is not always readily apparent to the user when it is more cost effective and efficient to switch to from either the air-conditioner unit or the evaporative cooler to the other.
Alternate systems of cooling include the use of chilled water. Water may be cooled by refrigerant at a central location and run through coils at other places. Water may be sprayed over glass fibers and air blown through it. Dehumidification is achieved in some systems by passing the air through silica gel which absorbs the moisture, and in others, liquid absorbents cause dehydration. Although these systems are exemplary, they use a tremendous amount of water, which can not only be expensive, but not very practical for dryer regions where water is less abundant.
The specific design of air-conditioning systems normally requires the consideration of a variety of variables and circumstances. For instance, some of the self-contained units, described above, serve an enclosed space directly. More complex systems, as in tall or large buildings, use ducts to deliver the cooled air. In the induction system, air is cooled once at a central plant, and then conveyed to individual units, where water is used to adjust the air temperature according to such variables as sunlight exposure and shade. In the dual-duct system, warm air and cool air travel through separate ducts and are mixed to reach a desired temperature. A simpler means of controlling temperature is to regulate the amount of cold air supplied, cutting it off once a desired temperature is reached. Since these types of systems require two distinct sets of ducts, one for carrying cool air and one for carrying warm air, they are normally very expensive to manufacture as a result of the requirement of having two sets of ducts, and very expensive to maintain.
It would be highly advantageous, therefore, to remedy the foregoing and other deficiencies inherent in the prior art.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a new and improved apparatus for heating and cooling.
Another object of the present invention is to conserve utilities.
And another object of the present invention is apparatus for heating and cooling that is relatively inexpensive to manufacture.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for heating and cooling having an automatic switching mechanism for selectively and automatically switching operation of the unit between air conditioning and evaporative cooling when the environmental conditions provide use of one is more efficient and cost effective than the other.
Yet another object of the instant invention is to eliminate the need for multiple penetrations through a structure, and the need for multiple duct systems.
Yet still another object of the instant invention is to eliminate the need for a user to purchase separate air conditioning and evaporative cooler units.
And a further object of the invention is eliminate the need for opening windows for relieving a structure of humid or stale air.
Still a further object of the immediate invention is to provide a heating and cooling unit that uses a common duct system.
Yet a further object of the invention is reduce energy costs associated with heating and cooling.
And still a further object of the invention is to provide a heating and cooling unit that is easily installed, and easily accessible for servicing and repair.


A display screen for a cathode ray tube has an adjustable transmission curve in the visible spectral range of (.lambda.) between 380 to 780 nm. The display screen includes: a glass containing an oxide compound and being recyclable by melting under oxidizing conditions and without changing its characteristics and its color; the display screen having a transmission between 70% and 90% and at least one coating applied to the glass; the coating including the oxide compound; and/or, the coating including a component which forms an oxide compound in a melt of coated display screens which oxide component is likewise contained in the glass; and/or, the coating further including TiQ.sub.2 ; and/or, the coating further including titanium or compounds of titanium from which TiO.sub.2 is formed when the display screen is melted; and/or, the coating forming volatile compounds in the melt which escape from the melt in gaseous form when compounds forming in the melt contain components other than titanium oxide or the glass of the display screen.

For many years, the demand has been made to participate actively in avoiding refuse, more particularly to recycle useful materials contained therein. The continuously appearing press reports with respect to the subject of recycling have characterized this demand. However, and when examined closely, the press reports cannot hide the fact that, in many cases, there are no solutions for a recycling of materials. The main problem is a strict separation of materials in the case of plastics as well as in the case of metals or glass.
The German electronic scrap ordinance emphasizes recycling in the context of a dual system. Consensus has been achieved with respect to many groups of materials, however, that, for the most part, only down-recycling is possible, more particularly, use in alternate products.
In this context, it can be assumed that manufacturers of intermediate products for electrical components such as television tubes will be addressed with respect to recycling.
The glass of a television tube is of special concern because of its weight during recycling of television apparatus.
The reasons for the difficulties of recycling television glass will now be explained. Often, comparisons are presented to recycling in the glass vessel industry. The example is suitable to clarify the different conditions which are present for possible modes of recycling. The glass vessel industry in Europe has, for a long time, at least with reference to the different countries, a substantially unified glass composition as a consequence of making processing similar and having the same suppliers of raw materials. Differences with respect to the chemical composition of glasses from neighboring countries however make recycling of imported products difficult. The recycling quota in Germany lies on average at approximately 53%. An increase is only possible by a still stricter separation of colored glasses.
The differences of only a few percent in the chemical composition between imported and domestic products with respect to glass for making vessels make recycling difficult; however, these differences are much greater for television glass because the European manufacturers of tubes and apparatus are supplied with glass from all over the world. Also, and for various technical reasons, the differences in the chemical composition of television glasses are increased.
The differences in the transmission and color of the screen glass make matters even more difficult. Apparatus have been and are being offered having screens of different transmissions. If, in the manufacture of television tube glass, greater quantities of fragments with different transmissions are used, then the color of the glass in the melt trough can no longer be controlled. A sorting of television glass is however almost impossible. In no case can one assume glass to be strictly separated by type after a separation of the display screen and funnel because a multiplicity of different glass compositions is still present behind the screen glass and funnel glass obtained. The separation nonetheless makes sense because basically, lead containing glass and glass which is substantially free of lead is separated. With reference to the composition of the funnel glass, only slight differences have been determined from one manufacturer to the other. This affords the possibility to return glass in the direct loop with reduced risk. However, the spread of the composition only allows a very limited fragment admixture so that critical characteristics of the glass can be controlled within tolerances. The critical characteristics are, for example: X-ray absorption, color, transmission, sight errors, electrical breakdown strength and thermal expansion.
These characteristics are already influenced by changing the glass composition by a few tenth of a percent. A change of the thermal coefficient leads to stresses in the screen-funnel bond and endangers, for example, the implosion stability.
The requirements as to the constancy of the characteristics can only be satisfied when the glass is melted with clearly defined raw materials. With respect to its sequence and its control possibilities, the melting process is not comparable to the processing operation. Processing is characterized by rapid control of the dimensional stability and corresponding feedback when errors occur. The melting process is a lethargic process having a very long reaction time of approximately 40 hours starting from the weigh-in of the raw materials to the finished product. A control operation is therefore not possible. If a raw material is used, such as the recycled glass having a high spread and fluctuation in the composition, then the controllability of the process is reduced and therefore, inter alia, the reliability which the product must have.
The sorting possibilities of television tube refuse do not today correspond to the requirements necessary for a trouble-free melting process. The recycling use is therefore today only possible for a small portion of present day production.
Display screen glasses contain as essential constituents the following: SiO.sub.2, Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, BaO, Na.sub.2 O, K.sub.2 O and additional absorbing admixtures. In this way, the contrast of the television image is increased.
Depending upon the manufacturer of the apparatus and apparatus type, the display screen glass can exhibit a different spectral transmission so that a great many display screen glasses having different spectral transmissions are to be melted and stored.
The manufacture of display screen glasses having different spectral transmission takes place in that the glass, depending upon requirement, is either melted discontinuously from different raw material compositions sequentially in a crucible or in several crucibles simultaneously and continuously.
Fragments are added to the melt in order to melt the particular glass mixture easier and at lower energy cost and in order to also be able to economically reuse the fragments. The manufacture of a display screen glass with a spectral transmission which cannot be precisely defined is to be absolutely avoided. Only such fragments can be added which exhibit the same spectral transmission as the glass to be melted.
For this reason, fragments must be sorted according to spectral transmission and stored before adding to the glass melt. This is very costly.
A still more complex storage can be expected when a statutory requirement is imposed which requires the manufacturer to take back used apparatus and apparatus for which no service life remains. The manufacturers of cathode ray tubes will receive very different types of display screen glasses which, if they are to be used again for display screens, must be separately collected and separately stored at great expense.
Accordingly, satisfying the demand for new cathode ray tubes having different spectral transmission, on the one hand, and, on the other hand, to collect the used cathode ray tubes comprising different glasses and to separate therefrom that glass which can be reused, is associated with great complexity and high cost.

Display screen for a cathode ray tube of glass having an adjustable spectral transmission curve and a method for producing the same


An azimuth processing device is designed for outputting azimuth data based on measurement data sequentially output from a compass sensor. In the device, an accumulation section selectively accumulates substantially new pieces of the measurement data. An offset data updating section updates offset data of the compass sensor based on plural pieces of the measurement data accumulated by said accumulation section. An azimuth data output section outputs the azimuth data based on substantially newest measurement data and the offset data.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an azimuth processing device, an azimuth processing method, an azimuth processing program, a direction finding device, a tilt offset correcting method, azimuth measuring method, a compass sensor unit, and a portable electronic device. In particular, the present invention relates to estimating and updating of an offset of the compass sensor.
2. Background Art
Some recent portable information terminals, such as cellular phones and PDAs, have a function for displaying geographic information using GPS and a compass sensor. For example, a portable information terminal is known, which determines its current position using GPS, downloads map information around the current position from a server via a communication line, determines azimuth heading with a built-in compass sensor, and displays the map information on a screen in such a manner to orient the map heading to the actual azimuth heading. The compass sensor detects a magnetic field of the Earth to measure an azimuth angle, but the fact is that it detects a mixture of the Earth's geomagnetic field and noise magnetic fields leaked from a loudspeaker, a microphone, a metallic package for electronic parts, etc. mounted in the portable information terminal. Therefore, in order to determine the azimuth angle accurately, it is necessary to determine the noise magnetic fields (offset) other than the magnetic field of the Earth and correct measurement data from the compass sensor by the determined offset.
Patent Document 1 discloses a method of estimating and updating the offset of a compass sensor. An offset updating method disclosed in this publication is to acquire measurement data output from the compass sensor at intervals of 90 or 180 degrees while a user rotates the compass sensor more than 90 or 180 degrees about a specific axis so as to calculate the offset of the compass sensor based on the acquired measurement data. To calculate the offset of the compass sensor accurately, the user has to, for example, rotate on a horizontal plane the equipment with the compass sensor in it, or heavily shake it up and down and left and right, so that measurement data upon which the calculation is made will be output from the compass sensor. The operation for allowing the compass sensor to output measurement data necessary to update the offset of the compass sensor is called calibration. It is ideal that the calibration is performed by changing the attitude, or position, of the equipment to a large degree at a constant angular speed. Hereafter, the term "calibration" specifically means the steps of calculating an offset based on measurement data acquired from a compass sensor, and updating a previous offset of the compass sensor by the calculated new offset data.
However, the user might drop the equipment during the calibration. Further, even when the user completed calibration, accurate offset might not be able to be calculated from measurement data from the compass sensor accumulated during the calibration. Furthermore, the calibration procedure is hard to perform correctly without reading the manual or the like. Since the procedure is necessary only to update the offset of the compass sensor, it is burdensome for the user to follow. Accurate geographic information based on accurate azimuth data cannot be displayed unless the offset of the compass sensor is updated correctly.
Further, in order to find an accurate direction, it is desirable to consider the inclination of the geomagnetic sensor itself. Although a tilt sensor for measuring the inclination of the geomagnetic sensor is used, the sensitivity of the tilt sensor varies from chip to chip. Therefore, it requires much effort to check and correct sensitivity in a product line.
Patent Document 1: Japanese patent laid-open No. 2004-012416.

Azimuth processing device, azimuth processing method, azimuth processing program, direction finding device, tilt offset correcting method, azimuth measuring method, compass sensor unit, and portable electronic device


Provided are a beam combining and hybrid beam selection method that can improve digital broadcasting reception performance by combining more than two beam output signals (beam combination type) instead of simply selecting one of beam output signals (beam selection type), or even selecting an optimal method between the beam selection type and the beam combination type, and a digital broadcasting receiving apparatus using the same.

Advanced Television Systems Committee (ATSC) digital TV (DTV) transmission scheme can transmit high quality of image at a high data rate, but is greatly dependent on multipath signals with large amplitude or characteristics of Doppler shift. Therefore, in poor channel environments, such as indoor reception environment or mobile reception environment, an equalizer of a DTV receiver does not completely compensate for channel distortion, thus greatly degrading reception performance. To solve this limitation, channel distortion that must be compensated by the equalizer is reduced by performing signal processing in spatial domain as well as time domain.
Conventional beamforming techniques that can achieve a spatial signal processing are classified into an adaptive beamforming signal processing and a selective beamforming signal processing.
The adaptive beamforming method calculates beamforming weight coefficients in real time and adaptively. On the contrary, the selective beamforming method forms several beams using weight coefficients fixed in a designated direction and selects a signal having the highest reception performance among several beam outputs. Consequently, the selective beamforming method can be implemented more easily than the adaptive beamforming method and has a high applicability to the DTV system.
That is, the selective beamforming method draws attraction because it can improve the reception performance in a relatively simple way by the combination with the DTV receiver. Regarding a received signal passing through the selective beamforming system, multipath signals are somewhat removed and then inputted to the DTV receiver. Therefore, the equalizer of the DTV receiver can compensate for the distorted channels in a relatively simple way.
However, since the conventional selective beamforming method also selects only one of several beam output signals, there exists the limitation in improving the reception performance. Therefore, there is a demand for calculating beams with channel characteristic improved much more than the selective beamforming method by selecting more than two beams satisfying a criteria condition of channel characteristic, instead of selecting only one beam output signal, and combining selected beam output signals.

Beam combining and hybrid beam selection method for improving digital broadcasting reception performance, and digital broadcasting receiving apparatus using the same

Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute


Disclosed herewithin is a method of fabricating a stent which involves processing a tubular member whereby no connection points to join the edges of a flat pattern are necessary. The method includes the steps of a) removing contaminates from a tubular member, b) coating the outside surface of the tubular member with a photo-sensitive resist material, c) placing the tubular member in an apparatus designed to simultaneously rotate the tubular member while passing a specially configured photographic frame negative between a UV light source and the tubular member, thereby exposing a specified pattern of UV light to the resist coated tubular member, d) exposing the outside surface of the tubular member to a photoresist developer for a specified period of time, e) rinsing the excess developer and uncured resist from the outside surface of the tubular member, f) treating the tubular member with a electro-chemical process to remove uncovered metal. This process can lend itself to virtually an unlimited number of stent designs and configurations. By modifying the photographic frame negative, the same process can be employed to fabricate various stent designs from a tubular structure.

Cardiovascular disease is commonly accepted as being one of the most serious health risks facing our society today. Diseased and obstructed coronary arteries can restrict the flow of blood and cause tissue ischemia and necrosis. While the exact etiology of sclerotic cardiovascular disease is still in question, the treatment of narrowed coronary arteries is more defined. Surgical construction of coronary artery bypass grafts (CABG) is often the method of choice when there are several diseased segments in one or multiple arteries. Conventional open heart surgery is, of course, very invasive and traumatic for patients undergoing such treatment. In many cases, less traumatic, alternative methods are available for treating cardiovascular disease percutaneously. These alternate treatment methods generally employ various types of balloons (angioplasty) or excising devices (atherectomy) to remodel or debulk diseased vessel segments. A further alternative treatment method involves percutaneous, intraluminal installation of one or more expandable, tubular stents or prostheses in sclerotic lesions. Intraluminal endovascular prosthetic grafting is an alternative to conventional vascular surgery. Intraluminal endovascular grafting involves the percutaneous insertion into a blood vessel of a tubular prosthetic graft and its delivery via a catheter to the desired location within the vascular system. The alternative approach to percutaneous revascularization is the surgical placement of vein, artery, or other by-pass segments from the aorta onto the coronary artery, requiring open heart surgery, and significant morbidity and mortality. Advantages of the percutaneous revascularization method over conventional vascular surgery include obviating the need for surgically exposing, removing, replacing, or by-passing the defective blood vessel, including heart-lung by-pass, opening the chest, and general anesthesia.
Stents or prostheses are known in the art as implants which function to maintain patency of a body lumen in humans and especially to such implants for use in blood vessels. They are typically formed of a cylindrical metal mesh which can expand when pressure is internally applied. Alternatively, they can be formed of wire wrapped into a cylindrical shape. The present invention relates to an improved method of manufacturing stents.
Stents or prostheses can be used in a variety of tubular structures in the body including, but not limited to, arteries and veins, ureters, common bile ducts, and the like. Stents are used to expand a vascular lumen or to maintain its patency after angioplasty or atherectomy procedures, overlie an aortic dissecting aneurysm, tack dissections to the vessel wall, eliminate the risk of occlusion caused by flaps resulting from the intimal tears associated with primary interventional procedure, or prevent elastic recoil of the vessel.
Stents may be utilized after atherectomy, which excises plaque, or cutting balloon angioplasty, which scores the arterial wall prior to dilatation, to maintain acute and long-term patency of the vessel.
Stents may be utilized in by-pass grafts as well, to maintain vessel patency. Stents can also be used to reinforce collapsing structures in the respiratory, biliary, urological, and other tracts.
As described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,337 issued to Palmaz, the cylindrical metal mesh shape is produced by laser cutting a thin walled metal tube. A laser is used to cut away all but the lines and curves of the mesh. The method of U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,337 is applicable for relatively large mesh shapes and for meshes whose lines are relatively wide. However, for more delicate and/or intricate shapes, the spot size of the laser is too large.
European Patent Application EP 0 709 067 A2 describes a stent fabrication method of preparing a flat pattern design, cutting the pattern in the flat sheet, deforming the sheet to cause the edges to touch, connecting at least the edges at least one point usually by a welding process, and then polish the finished product. The disadvantage of this process is that flat sheet must be deformed to form the final tubular configuration, and that there is a longitudinal attachment point which provides a discontinuous outer contour and a potential weak point for failure. Furthermore, the weld is metallurgically and chemically unstable and will degrade in the human body. In addition, this process requires several critical manufacturing steps which are eliminated by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,514,154 and 5,421,955 describe a stent manufacturing process utilizing a computer controlled laser to selectively remove an etchant-resistant coating form a design resembling a stent. The use of a laser to selectively remove the etchant-resistant coating is a relatively expensive and complicated process. The laser must be linked to a computer controlled X-Y movement system that must precisely control the rotation and movement of the laser for stent fabrication. Variances in this process will transcend into variability in the fabricated stent. The present invention neither requires the use of an expensive laser system nor the complex movement system.
It is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a stent fabrication method which can produce stents with relatively intricate, delicate and detailed designs from a tubular member which negates the disadvantages of the prior designs.
In addition, it is a further object of the present invention to provide a method of fabricating a stent which involves processing a tubular member whereby no connection points to join the edges of a flat pattern are necessary.


A portable information terminal has a first casing with operating buttons primarily mounted thereupon, and a second casing with primarily an output screen exposed. A sliding supporting member and casing turning supporting member are provided which realize a state wherein the first casing and second casing are overlapped, a state of mutually sliding, and a state wherein the first casing and second casing are turned to do away with any mutually overlapped portions. The sliding supporting members are positioned on both sides of the first casing and the casing turning supporting member is positioned on the central portion of the first casing. Thus, a sliding-type portable information terminal is provided with an expanded operating face and output face by doing away with any overlapped portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable telephone terminal, and specifically relates to a portable information terminal such as a portable telephone terminal, portable gaming device, or palm-size personal computer which can be altered between a portable state and usable state.
2. Description of the Related Art
Portable information terminals which are represented by a portable telephone terminal or the like are being developed in various forms so as to be more compact in a portable state than in a usable state. Representative forms thereof include a so-called "shell-form" (flip-phone) which employs a configuration which opens and closes similar to that of a clam-shell, and a "sliding form" wherein an upper casing slides as to a lower casing.
The related art described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2006-93999 is exemplified in FIG. 13 as an example of a sliding-type portable telephone, i.e. a sliding-type portable telephone which is formed with an upper casing 1 having a display unit 3 and receiver 4, and a lower casing 2 having an operating unit 5 and transmitter 6, so as to be slidable.
As shown in FIG. 13A, in the state of the upper casing 1 and lower casing 2 being closed, the display unit 3 and receiver 4 of the upper casing 1 are exposed, whereby the operating unit 5 and transmitter 6 of the lower casing 2 are covered by the upper casing 1. Also, as shown in FIG. 13B, in the state that the upper casing 1 and lower casing 2 are opened, the state thereof is such that each of the display unit 3 and receiver 4 of the upper casing 1 and the operating unit 5 and transmitter 6 of the lower casing 2 are exposed.
As shown in FIG. 13B, the dimensions in the sliding direction are L1 for the upper casing 1 and L2 for the lower casing 2, the dimensions in the state of the upper casing 1 and lower casing 2 being opened is L3, which is a dimension whereby a dimension L4 of the overlapped portion is subtracted from the sum total of L1 and L2.


A novel magnetic resonance imaging method is described, for forming an image of an object from a plurality of signals sampled in a restricted homogeneity region of a main magnet field of a magnetic resonance imaging apparatus. A patient disposed on a table is moved continuously through the bore of the main magnet and spins in a predetermined area of the patient are excited by an excitation pulse from a transmitter antenna, such that an image is formed over a region exceeding largely the restricted region. Data is undersampled in the restricted region by means off at least one receiver antenna in a plurality of receive situations being defined as a block of measurements contiguous in time having preserved magnetisation and presaturation conditions within the excited area of the patient. Fold-over artefacts due to said undersampling are unfolded by means of the known sensitivity pattern of the receiver antenna and/or the properties of selected factors determining said receive situations.

The invention relates to a magnetic resonance (MR) method for forming an image of an object from a plurality of signals sampled in a restricted homogeneity region of a main magnet field of the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus, whereas a patient disposed on a table is moved continuously through the bore of the main magnet, such that an image is formed over a region exceeding largely the restricted region of a main magnet field of the magnetic resonance imaging apparatus.
The invention also relates to an MR apparatus and a computer program product for carrying out such a method.
Since it is quite uncomfortable for a patient being disposed in a large bore of the main superconductive magnet of an MR imaging apparatus, there is a trend to use shorter magnets while moving the patient table or couch through the bore of the magnet. Such an apparatus is described e. g. in U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,478. In an MR imaging apparatus excitation pulses are applied to a restricted region of the magnet bore, in which the field is uniform. The data samples collected are Fourier transformed to form a volumetric image of the restricted region. A motor continuously moves a patient couch so that a region of interest passes through the region of good field. The collected data samples are corrected to compensate for the motion so that a volumetric image is formed of greater length than that of the restricted region.
The MR imaging as mentioned above takes quite a long time since it is performed with conventional imaging sequences and even an overlap between successively imaged volumes is preferred in order to discard artefacts produced by errors in the central region. Obviously, the r.f. transmit coil and the r.f. receive coil are disposed in the reference frame of the main magnet, i.e. in its direct vicinity. However, imaging by body coils disposed on different places of a patient was not an issue in this reference. Anyway, it is known that using body coils may cause additional artefacts which cannot be suppressed in an easy manner.

Moving table MRI with subsampling in parallel


A livestock feeder of, for example, welded construction, comprises a vertically extending support leg and a plurality of inclined support legs having upper ends secured to the vertical support leg. The vertical support leg extends upward through a bale-supporting platform in the form of a woven wire screen to define a "spear" portion which penetrates the hay bale when the bale is positioned on the screen, to retain the bale on the screen. The woven wire screen is supported on a plurality of horizontally disposed support members having inner ends secured to the vertical support leg and/or the upper ends of the inclined support legs, and outer ends secured to a ring member within which the woven wire screen is disposed. The inclined support legs and the vertical support leg are also interconnected by first brace members and the inclined support legs and the outer ends of the horizontally disposed screen-supporting members are interconnected by second brace members. The woven wire screen may be rigidly secured to the horizontally disposed support members and/or the ring member, or removably secured thereto by wire twists.

1. Field of the Invention
In general, this invention relates to a livestock feeder particularly adapted for feeding a round hay bale, and more particularly to a livestock feeder which supports the round hay bale in an elevated position with respect to the ground to reduce spoilage, and which is of open construction to reduce the possibility of the heads of the animals from becoming entrapped in the feeder, is easy to load and is readily portable.
2. Description of Prior Art
Livestock feeders which are particularly adapted for the feeding of round or cylindrical hay bales are known in the art, such feeders being disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,777,713 to R. A. Deats, 3,906,903 to L. C. Vanderwater, 4,302,139 to E. K. Malish and 4,706,609 to L. G. Delichte.
In general, each of these livestock feeders is of a cylindrical cage type, within which the round hay bale (which may be as much as five feet in diameter and weigh five hundred pounds) is supported directly on the ground or on a solid base member in a slightly elevated position off the ground. Supporting of the hay bale directly on the ground, or on a solid base member closely adjacent the ground, however, is disadvantageous for various reasons. For example, the hay bale tends to absorb moisture from the ground and/or the surrounding atmosphere, causing deterioration of the hay so that it becomes unfit for livestock consumption, resulting in possible losses of up to on the order of 30% of the hay or more in certain instances. This is particularly true in the winter when there is snow on the ground, or in the case of high water due to flooding. Such devices also tend to be unsanitary for these and other reasons.
Further, in certain instances, cylindrical cage devices are undesirable because the livestock, such as cattle, tend to get their horns locked between the members of the cage. Young livestock, such as calves, also can climb inside the cage and trample the hay, again making it unfit for consumption and/or creating unsanitary conditions. These devices, in which the cage generally is relatively heavy and is supported on the ground by a lower ring member, also tend to be difficult to move, particularly when they have become frozen to the ground.
Thus, a need exists for a livestock feeder which is particularly adapted for supporting a round or cylindrical hay bale in an elevated position a substantial distance above the ground with continuous air flow through the bale, so as to prevent loss of hay due to moisture, trampling, unsanitary conditions, and/or flooding; is substantially open about its periphery to prevent livestock from becoming entrapped in the feeder; and is relatively sturdy, yet of a construction so as to be easily portable even when frozen to the ground. Accordingly, a primary purpose of this invention is to provide such a feeder.

Livestock feeder particularly adapted for feeding a round hay bale


A high voltage switch of a nonvolatile memory device includes a depletion type NMOS transistor configured to switch a second driving voltage in response to an output signal of the high voltage switch; at least one inverter configured to convert a voltage of an input signal of the high voltage switch into a first driving voltage or a ground voltage, wherein the first and second driving voltages are received from an external device; and a PMOS transistor configured to transfer the second driving voltage provided to a first terminal of the PMOS transistor from the depletion type NMOS transistor to a second terminal of the PMOS transistor as the output signal in response to an output of the at least one inverter, wherein the output of the at least one inverter is transferred to a gate terminal of the PMOS transistor.

1. Technical Field
The inventive concept relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a high voltage switch and a nonvolatile memory device including the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Semiconductor memory devices may be volatile or nonvolatile. The volatile semiconductor memory devices may perform read and write operations at a high speed, but lose data when their power supply is off or interrupted. The nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices do not require a maintained power supply and can retain data even when not powered. Thus, the nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices are used to store data which must be retained when power is gone.
A flash memory device is a type of nonvolatile semiconductor memory device. The flash memory device may be used as a voice and image data storing medium of information appliances such as a computer, a cellular phone, a personal digital assistant (PDA), a digital camera, a camcorder, a voice recorder, an MP3 player, a handheld personal computer (PC), a game machine, a facsimile, a scanner, a printer, and the like.
A high voltage Vpp higher than a power supply voltage VDD may be provided to the flash memory device from an external device. A high voltage of about 20V may be used to program and erase memory cells of the flash memory device. A high voltage switch for controlling the high voltage Vpp may also be provided. However, the high voltage Vpp supplied from the external device may be decreased below a reference value due to external factors. In this case, a leakage current path may be generated between the power supply voltage VDD and the high voltage Vpp.

High voltage switch and a nonvolatile memory device including the same


A performance monitoring access device for a DSX system is disclosed herein. The monitoring device provides connection locations for readily connecting digital equipment to performance monitoring equipment. The monitoring devices allows for dual performance monitoring of digital equipment.

A digital cross-connect system (DSX) provides a location for interconnecting two digital transmission paths. The apparatus for a DSX is located in one or more frames, or bays, usually in a telephone service provider's central office. The DSX apparatus also provides jack access to the transmission paths.
DSX jacks are well known and typically include a plurality of bores sized for receiving plugs. A plurality of switches are provided adjacent the bores for contacting the plugs. The jacks are electrically connected to digital transmission lines, and are also electrically connected to a plurality of termination members used to cross-connect the jacks. By inserting plugs within the bores of the jacks, signals transmitted through the jacks can be interrupted or monitored.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a DSX system that is an example of the type found at a telephone service provider's central office. The DSX system is shown including three DSX jacks 10a, 10b and 10c. Each DSX jack 10a, 10b and 10c is connected to a specific piece of digital equipment. For example, jack 10a is shown connected to digital switch 12, jack 10b is shown connected to office repeater 14a, and jack 10c is shown connected to office repeater 14b. Each piece of digital equipment has a point at which a digital signal can enter, as well as a point at which the digital signal can exit. The jacks 10a, 10b and 10c each include OUT termination pins 16 and IN termination pins 18. The DSX jacks 10a, 10b and 10c are connected to their corresponding pieces of digital equipment by connecting the OUT termination pins 16 to the signals exiting the equipment (i.e., going toward the DSX system) and the IN termination pins 18 to the signals entering the equipment (i.e., going away from the DSX system).
Referring still to FIG. 1, jacks 10a and 10b are "cross-connected" to one another by semi-permanent connections. A "semi-permanent" connection is a connection that is more permanent than the connections provided by typical patch cords equipped with tip-and-ring plugs. Example semi-permanent connectors include co-axial connectors, wire wrap connectors, RJ-45 type connectors and insulation displacement connectors. The semi-permanent connections extend between cross-connect fields 19 of the jacks 10a and 10b. For example, wires 20 connect OUT cross-connect pins of jack 10a to IN cross-connect pins of jack 10b. Similarly, wires 21 connect IN cross-connect pins of jack 10a to OUT cross-connect pins of jack 10b. The jacks 10a and 10b are preferably normally closed. Thus, in the absence of a plug inserted within either of the jacks 10a and 10b, an interconnection is provided through the jacks 10a and 10b and between digital switch 12 and office repeater 14a.
The semi-permanent connection between the digital switch 12 and the office repeater 14a can be interrupted for diagnostic purposes by inserting patch cord plugs within the IN or OUT ports of the jacks 10a and 10b. Likewise, patch cords can be used to interrupt the semi-permanent connection between the jacks 10a and 10b to provide connections with other pieces of digital equipment. For example, the digital switch 12 can be disconnected from the office repeater 14a and connected to the office repeater 14b through the use of patch cords 23. The patch cords 23 include plugs that are inserted within the IN and OUT ports of the jack 10a and the IN and OUT ports of the jack 10c. By inserting the plugs within the IN and OUT ports of the jack 10a, the normally closed contacts are opened, thereby breaking the electrical connection with the office repeater 14a and initiating an electrical connection with office repeater 14b.

Device for providing dual monitoring of digital equipment


A mobility building product traceability system and a production line controlling method are used to set product information and to test quality of each product. The product traceability system includes a mobile electronics device used by an inspector and an ID (Identification) confirmation code inputted by the inspector. A storing unit is built in the mobile electronics device and has feature standards related to products built therein. At least one imaging apparatus is built in the mobile electronics device and applied to scan product serial number barcodes, product features, and two-dimensional barcodes associated with the products to receive, record or read production and test information of the products, and then store the production and test information in the storing unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobility building product traceability system and a production line controlling method used to set product resume and to integrate information with mobility equipment by using a cloud technology to directly read cloud data and to lower manual inputting operation, thus enhancing processing efficiency.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional production process at a factory is applied to understand a producing state of products in a production line to control product quality and to manage the production process. However, operators in the production line have to manually record each producing state, so when an abnormal state happens, a foreman has to check production records recorded by the operators, thus postponing information transmission between the operators and the foreman and lowering production efficiency. In addition, such a production control method cannot reflect the abnormal state of the production line immediately. To overcome such problems, a product resume setting method is developed.
However, the products resume setting method is used in a testing process of finished products by a manual input and contains the steps of:
1) manually distinguishing whether a color, an appearance shape, and size of the products is in a certain range or easily calculating a size and position of parts and accessories;
2) computerizing and manually inputting data into a computer in turn;
3) manually inquiring a standard specification of finished products by the operator testing the finishing products;
4) manually inputting a testing result of the finished products and related data by the operator;
5) manually inputting a testing result of qualified products and defective products by the operator; and
6) manually inputting a repairing result of the defective products by the operator.
Thereby, production efficiency cannot be enhanced, because all data is inputted manually in the data inputting process. Also, a barcode scanner scans barcodes of the products and packaging materials to further store acquired data. Yet, the operator has to hold the barcode scanner with one hand and to hold the product with the other hand, thus causing operation inconvenience.
Also, the above-mentioned steps are only used for testing the finishing products. If an abnormal problem occurs, the operator has to manually acquire related testing data of the finished products to find defective products. Moreover, the problems of the defective products and related data have to be manually recorded in a work log or to be inputted into a computer, thus wasting time and reducing efficiency.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages.

Mobility product traceability building system and production line operation controlling method


An arrangement for monitoring clock frequency variations on a peripheral bus is provided to improve operations of the peripheral device despite changes in the clock frequency. In one aspect of the arrangement, a processing unit is coupled to a host bus which in turn is coupled to a peripheral bus which is coupled to a peripheral device. A monitoring arrangement is provided which detects a change in the clock frequency of the peripheral bus and determines if the frequency change exceeds a threshold associated with the peripheral device. If the threshold is exceeded, the peripheral device is informed that the clock frequency of the peripheral bus has changed. A peripheral device operating a different operating levels may use the information from the monitoring arrangement to alter the operating level of the peripheral device to conform to the new bus clock frequency.

Over the past several years, computer processing power has increased dramatically. With this increase in processing power, the number and types of tasks which computer systems are used to perform have also increased greatly. For example, multimedia systems, which receive, process and output information using a number of different media types, have found great popularity. In order to handle the increased types of media such as video and audio, the number and types of peripheral devices which are coupled to a computer system have also increased. Generally, a peripheral device connects to another device (e.g., a host device) which controls the operation of the peripheral device. In a typical system, the host processor is coupled to a local (e.g., host) bus. In many applications, the number of other devices which may be directly connected to the host bus is quite limited. In order to expand the versatility of such systems, one or more secondary buses are coupled to the host bus.
Peripheral devices are coupled to the secondary (peripheral) buses for communication with the host. The host processor controls the peripheral devices using the host and peripheral buses.
As the number of peripheral devices effectively coupled to the host processor increases, the complexity of controlling the various peripheral devices also increases. Moreover, as the number and complexity of functions provided by the peripheral devices expands, the operation of the peripheral devices becomes more dependent upon stability of the system. A typical peripheral bus, such as the Peripheral Component Interface (PCI) bus, operates under control of the host system. The host system may modify operating parameters of the PCI bus without notifying the peripheral device. The consequences of changing bus parameters to the operation of complex peripheral device are significant.
In the above described types of systems, the desire to provide more complicated and versatile peripheral devices competes with the desire to allow the host processor freedom to control the overall system and its operating parameters. Thus, it is desirable to provide a system having increased capability through the use of many different types of peripheral devices without limiting the operation of the host processor.

Arrangement and method for handling bus clock speed variations


This invention relates to high drug load compositions of medium chain triglycerides (MCT), and to methods for treatment with such compositions at amounts effective to elevate ketone body concentrations so as to treat conditions associated with reduced neuronal metabolism, for example Alzheimer's disease.

Medium Chain Triglycerides (MCTs) are comprised of fatty acids with chain length between 5-12 carbons. MCTs have been researched extensively and have known nutritional and pharmaceutical uses. MCTs having melting points which are liquid at room temperature. Further, MCTs are relatively small and are ionizable under physiological conditions, and are generally soluble in aqueous solutions.
When intended to be used as a pharmaceutical composition, it is often more desirable to prepare compositions of active ingredients that are present as a liquid at room temperature, such as MCTs, as a solid dosage form.
As such, there is a need in the art for solid dosage form compositions of MCTs, particularly at active ingredient to excipient levels (herein referred to as drug loading) sufficiently high for pharmaceutical use.

Pharmaceutical compositions having high drug loadings of medium chain triglycerides and methods related thereto


A media library appliance comprises optical disc handling robotics developed for dual standard slim drives in a vertical orientation. The disc handling robotics comprise a disc transfer assembly for transferring discs to and from a rotatable circular carousel surrounding the optical drives. Each slim drive resides in a separate field-replaceable unit (“FRU”) that can be replaced by a customer in the field without powering down the appliance. The FRU includes various features that allow accurate 3-axis alignment and registration of the optical drive within the appliance.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains in general to handling optical discs and replacement of disc drives used in data storage systems.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various designs of optical disc libraries are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,228 to Agostini entitled "Dual Drive Changer for Records," issued Jan. 8, 1991, describes a system wherein an annular-shaped magazine for the storage of discs surrounds two disc drives. The magazine rotates relative to the disc drives, which allows dual mechanisms to load/unload the discs to/from the drives from/to the magazine.

Optical disc handling for standard slim drive


A shelf arrangement for a vehicle, which shelf arrangement forms a shelf surface and can be adjusted relative to a vehicle subassembly. The shelf arrangement has a plurality of slat elements, which are accommodated on the vehicle subassembly in a retracted position and can be pivoted toward each other for this purpose, wherein the slat elements are movable along a direction of movement relative to the vehicle subassembly in order to transfer the slat elements from the retracted position to an extended position, in which the slat elements are supported on one another in such a way that the slat elements form the shelf surface. In this way, a shelf arrangement for a vehicle is provided, which shelf arrangement can be used in an overall space-saving manner, in particular in the area of a dashboard of a vehicle.

Vehicles may include conventional folding tables that may be attached, for example, to a vehicle seat on a rear side of a backrest. These folding tables are not usable simply and advantageously in terms of construction space in the region of a dashboard. There is therefore a need for a solution for a shelf arrangement which firstly may be stowed in an advantageous manner in terms of construction space in a retracted position and secondly forms a load-bearing shelf surface in an extended operational position.

BROSE FAHRZEUGTEILE GMBH & CO. KOMMANDITGESELLSCHAFT, COBURG


There is provided a hollow fiber membrane for vacuum membrane distillation having a maximum tensile strength of a ≥3.5 MPa and a liquid entry pressure (LEP) of ≥3.0 bar, wherein the hollow fiber membrane is a single layer hollow fiber membrane comprising a wall with a thickness of ≤150 μm and a cross-section comprising two open cell layers with an array of interconnected pores and a macrovoid layer between the two open cell layers. The hollow fiber has improved mechanical strength and vacuum membrane distillation flux.

Water scarcity and fresh water shortage are major global issues, especially in the remote and arid regions. The situation is further exacerbated along with rapid population growth, severe water pollution and climate change. Since about 97% of water in the planet is seawater, it has great potential to provide fresh water, for example by desalination.
Multi-stage flash distillation (MSF) and seawater reverse osmosis (SWRO) are the common methods utilised in desalination plants. However, these method consume high energy and rely upon fossil fuels. Therefore, there is a need for improved desalination methods which produce fresh water with lower energy and at a lower cost. An example of such a method is membrane distillation (MD) which has: mild operation conditions; a 100% theoretical rejection to salts; an ability to link with low grade heat sources and renewable energy; and flexibility for small scale and niche applications.
In particular, MD is a thermally powered process based on vapour-liquid equilibrium. The driving force for a MD process is the partial pressure difference between the feed and permeate sides. An example of MD is vacuum membrane distillation (VMD) which has advantages of higher membrane flux and better thermal efficiency. Because of the applied vacuum in VMD, the water vapour is immediately drawn to a permeate side. This not only enhances the vapour transportation, but also effectively reduces the mass transfer boundary layer. Meanwhile, since the membrane pores are vacuumed, the membrane heat transfer coefficient is minimized. All these effects contribute to a higher flux and better thermal efficiency in VMD as compared to other MD methods.
The membrane used in the MD plays an important role in determining the efficiency of the MD process. Microporous polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membranes have been widely adopted for MD applications. Various high performance PVDF hollow fiber membranes have been developed for MD applications which have high MD permeation flux. However, these hollow fiber membranes are not suitable for practical MD applications due to their poor mechanical strength and low liquid entry pressure (LEP) values. The lack of appropriate membranes specially designed for MD process has limited its application in desalination.
There is therefore a need for an improved membrane for a MD process.


Methods and systems are disclosed for digital control for regulation of program voltages for non-volatile memory (NVM) systems. The disclosed embodiments dynamically adjust program voltages based upon parameters associated with the cells to be programmed in order to account for IR (current-resistance) voltage drops that occur within program voltage distribution lines. Other voltage variations can also be accounted for with these dynamic adjustments, as well. The parameters for cells to be programmed can include, for example, cell address locations for the cells to be programmed, the number of cells to be programmed, and/or other desired parameters associated with the cells to be programmed. The disclosed embodiments use digital control values obtained from lookup tables based upon the cell parameters to adjust output voltages generated by voltage generation circuit blocks used to program the selected cells thereby tuning the program output voltage level to a predetermined desired level.

Non-volatile memory (NVM) systems include arrays of NVM cells that are programmed using program bias voltages applied to program nodes. NVM systems can also be embedded within other integrated circuits, such as for example, microcontrollers and/or microprocessors. Many NVM systems, including embedded NVM systems, utilize smart program biasing and erase biasing where program/erase bias voltages are ramped, stepped and/or pulsed from a low voltage bias level to a higher voltage bias level in order to minimize stress to cells within the NVM array.
FIG. 1 (Prior Art) is a block diagram of an embodiment 100 for a non-volatile memory (NVM) system including a non-volatile memory 101 controlled by a memory management unit 120. The non-volatile memory 101 includes cell access logic circuitry 112, program voltage generation circuitry 102, and an NVM cell array 106. The NVM cell array 106 includes eight sectors (e.g., SECTOR0, SECTOR1. . . SECTOR7) of split-gate thin film storage (SGTFS) NVM cells, which include control gates, select gates, sources, and drains The memory management unit 120 includes an address register 122 that provides an address (ADDR) 128 to the cell access logic circuitry 101 that is used to select the cells to be accessed and programmed with the NVM cell array 106. The memory management unit 120 also includes a program data register 124 that provides the program data (PDATA) 130 that is used to program the cells selected for programming. Further, the memory management unit 120 includes control block 105 that is configured to control programming operations for the NVM system. During operation, the address 128 selects cells to be programmed within one of the sectors for the NVM cell array 106. As one example embodiment, the NVM cell array 106 can include a plurality of rows of cells; each row can have 144 cells (i.e., 144 bits), and the program data 130 can be 144 bits with zero values representing cells to be programmed and one values representing cells not to be programmed.
Within the NVM cell array 106, each sector further includes a control gate driver (CGDrv) and a source gate driver (SRCDrv). Each control gate driver (CGDrv) applies a high voltage (HV) output signal from the program voltage generation circuitry 102 to cells within the sector that have been selected for programming. A distribution line 108 feeds the HV output signal to control gate drivers. Each source gate driver (SRCDrv) applies a medium voltage (MV) output signal (VPRG) from the program voltage generation circuitry 102 to cells within the sector that have been selected for programming. A distribution line 110 feeds the MV output signal (VPRG) to the source gate drivers. As the source gate nodes are relatively low impedance nodes, a high current will travel along the distribution line 110. Due to the different distances and potentially long distance 104 (e.g., 2.2 millimeters) that this current will travel along distribution line 110, for example to SECTOR7, different and potentially large IR (current-resistance) voltage drops will occur. As such, the voltages actually applied to the NVM cells through the source drivers can be less than the desired program voltage level. For example, a MV output signal (VPRG) generated and output by the program voltage generator circuitry 102 at 6.0 volts may drop by 0.2 volts to 5.8 volts by the time it reaches SECTOR7 at the end of the distribution line 110. This voltage drop will be dependent upon the number of cells being programmed and the length along distribution line 110 that the programming currents will travel. As the control gate nodes are relatively high impedance nodes, the IR voltage drop along the distribution line 108 is not significant.
FIG. 2 (Prior Art) is a voltage level diagram 200 for representative variations in program pulse voltages due to IR voltage losses experienced in distributing program voltages to source drivers within an NVM array. The x-axis 204 represents time, and the y-axis 202 represents pulse voltage. For the embodiment 200, three program pulses are shown. Pulse voltage levels 206, 208, and 210 represent desired pulse voltage levels for pulses that ramp to 4.0 volts, 5.0 volts, and 6.0 volts, respectively. Actual voltage pulses 212, 214, and 216 do not reach the desired voltage levels due to IR voltage losses. For example, an IR voltage loss of about 0.1 volts can be experienced when the MV output signal (VPRG) of FIG. 1 is used to drive source nodes for 72 cells at 1 milli-Amp (mA) through program voltage drivers located at the end of a voltage distribution line that is 2.2 millimeters (mm). It is noted that the sheet resistance for the distribution line, the sector selected, and the current level will affect this IR loss. It is also noted that the current level is determined by the number of cells selected for programming within the NVM array.

Digital control for regulation of program voltages for non-volatile memory (NVM) systems


A deployable pickleball barrier includes a plurality of panels having a first rigid surface, a second rigid surface, and a substantially straight channel coupling the rigid surfaces. Each of the plurality of panels are coupled with another of the plurality of panels by an interpanel joint that includes a rigid bond and a plurality of fold lines formed in the first rigid surface to form a rightwardly biasing hinge. Each of the plurality of panels includes an intrapanel joint including a plurality of fold lines formed in the second rigid surface to form a leftwardly biasing hinge. The deployable pickleball barrier can be folded at each of the hinges to alternate between a deployed configuration and a folded configuration.

The sport of pickleball has been growing rapidly in recent years as it is a fun, engaging, and low impact activity for all ages and skill levels. Pickleball is similar to tennis in a number of ways. Both are played on a rectangular court and involve volleying a ball over a net by way of a racquet. While tennis is often a highly-competitive, fast-paced—oftentimes expensive—sport, pickleball is typically more of a friendly, slow-paced game played with relatively inexpensive equipment, notably, a flat, solid racquet and a whiffle-type ball. Some have attributed pickleball's growing popularity, at least in part, to the comparatively lower physical and financial barriers to entry.
Pickleball has proven to be popular within the senior citizen community, for instance. Many have recognized the game provides an enjoyable, accessible activity that can help seniors to achieve recommended levels of physical activity helpful in combatting the onset or worsening of many medical conditions such as Alzheimer's, heart disease, constipation, high blood pressure, obesity, and a wide array of other conditions that commonly affect the cardiovascular, cognitive, respiratory, skeletomuscular, or gastrointestinal health of those of advancing age. These benefits are not limited to the elderly, however. In fact, initiatives promoting fun, easy methods of increasing individuals' level of physical activity have become increasingly common, and may be important tools in the fight against increasing rates of obesity, diabetes, and other health ailments that may result from a sedentary lifestyle.
The relatively low costs associated with pickleball have also led to many embrace the game. For instance, pickleball generally requires the purchase of only a pickleball paddle and a quantity of pickleballs, both of which can often be obtained for about $100.00. In contrast, tennis and racquetball racquets are typically at least two to three times more expensive, and require regular maintenance. The lower costs associated with pickleball has also led to rapid adoption of the sport by organizations and institutions such as retirement communities, schools, and public parks, which has in turn seen a corresponding rise in the number of venues dedicated to or adapted for use in pickleball matches.
This growth has not come without consequences, however. In what has become a common scene in recent years, several pickleball courts are often packed into a single venue to allow multiple games to be played concurrently. As with tennis, volleyball, and other volley sports, errant balls frequently escape courts during play. Increasingly crowded venues featuring multiple games being played in close proximity means that errant pickleballs are more likely to interrupt ongoing matches in neighboring pickleball courts. The game's growth has thus caused what was once a relatively infrequent annoyance to mature into a routine inconvenience for players that may hinder or limit further growth. Further, and perhaps more importantly, stray pickleballs may be dangerous as stepping on wayward pickleballs may cause players, observers, or others to slip, trip, or otherwise fall, amongst other things.
Attempts to address this issue have largely involved using barriers structured for use in other games, such as table tennis. Such strategies may not be easily adapted for use with pickleball, however, as pickleball is unique in that it can be played both indoors and outdoors. Further, pickleball players often have different motivations and circumstances than tennis players or table tennis players. For example, barriers produced by brands such as JOOLA® and Stiga® are sometimes used for pickleball, but these barriers are generally intended for indoor use, and are small, heavy, and relatively expensive. Even larger, lighter, and less expensive table tennis barriers may still not be particularly well suited for use in the context of pickleball, especially outdoor pickleball matches. For example, United States Patent Application Publication No. 2017/0370119 to Powlen ("Powlen") discloses a foldable cardboard table tennis barrier apparently formed by joining pieces of cardboard together by movable joints. While these and other strategies may be suitable for certain uses in certain environments, improved and/or alternative strategies for cost effectively and reliably preventing errant balls from interrupting pickleball matches—whether indoor or outdoor—remain desirable.


A composition made of at least 60 wt. % of a thermoplastic elastomer resin and additives that are solid at least from 0-50° C., that has a Shore A hardness that is less than about 50 bears a patterned surface, the pattern comprising at least one microfluidic channel having a cross-sectional dimension smaller than 100 microns is a substrate for forming a microfluidic device. The chief advantages of such compositions are: its ability to bond in a sealing manner to smooth surfaces of many different compositions, its ease of manufacture and microstructure patterning, and its general impermeability to liquids.

There are many microfluidic devices that could be produced, for example, using the structure presented described by Unger, et al. (Science, 288, 113 (2000)), in which one or more polymer layers with embedded channels are assembled and bonded to a substrate. Such devices permit the pattern on a surface of the polymer layers to be covered and thereby enclose the channels to produce a closed device.
There are two major roadblocks to mass-production of plastic-based lab on chip (LOC) and other microfluidic devices, such as those used for biological, chemical and gas detection applications. The first one is related to the availability of high-throughput fabrication technologies that can be used to pattern materials with features having micron to nanometer scales with high through-put, very good critical dimension (CD) control, and low cost. Standard microfabrication processes like those imported from microelectronics, have severe limitations in that they do not apply for materials other than standard processing resists.
The second limitation is related to the nature of the materials that can be processed. For the above mentioned applications, the materials need to be easily shaped while presenting good chemical, optical and mechanical properties. Traditionally silicon substrates were used with various etching techniques on such materials as quartz. Over the last 10 years several micro and nano structuration methods have been developed that promise solutions for mass production of patterned materials at affordable costs. Nanoimprint lithography, nano-embossing, hot embossing and lithography are the most widely used, and the materials most widely used are quartz, galls, silicon, silicone or hard thermoplastic materials (e.g. polycarbonates, PMMA, etc.).
Processing conditions required for the embossing of the commonly used hard thermoplastic materials require significant applied pressure. High quality replication has been achieved with PMMA materials at 180° C. and a pressure of 100 bar (Studer, et al. Chen, Appl. Phys. Lett., 2002, 80, 3614-3616) while Cameron et al. (Lab Chip, 2006, 6, 936-941) have reported optimized conditions for PCO materials with an embossing temperature of 40-70° C. above Tg and applied forces of 10-20 bar.
However two major issues are impeding the adaptation of those fabrication methods for the LOC and many other applications. Firstly, low cost, hard thermoplastics materials (polycarbonate, polystyrene . . . ) can be easily shaped and patterned, but the assembly (bonding) of thermoplastic parts to form functional and complex devices or systems with adequate sealing is very difficult and limited by the plastic bonding technologies. Hard thermoplastics need pressure and high temperature processing conditions for bonding constitutive elements. Seals around microfluidic channels are required, and this generally requires very good quality mating surfaces, as the channels are typically defined at interfaces between two parts (usually layers). Additionally non-permanent sealing of hard thermoplastics parts, and resealable bonds are not currently possible.
To avoid these difficulties, elastomer silicone materials have been used instead of hard thermoplastics. There are many advantages to using these materials in terms of less brittleness, and better bonding. Furthermore, they provide for flexibility that may be useful for controlling flow of liquids through the channels. The known methods for patterning (replicating micro- or nano-scale features) silicone elastomers such as PDMS have not been successfully produced in high throughput fabrication processes. So while silicone elastomers have significant advantages in terms of producing bonds for layered structures, silicone elastomer-based microfluidic devices remain costly. Furthermore it is difficult to produce multi-layer PDMS (and expensive to bond multiple layers of PDMS and like silicone elastomer) structures.
Two main options for bonding can be used to bond microstructured layers of PDMS: partial thermal curing process of separate patterned layers, which are subsequently brought in contact together for cure completion; and plasma treatment, in which cured PDMS layers are oxidized in O2 plasma, then finally aligned and permanently bonded. Both approaches need an accurate control of first curing and patterning step in order to preserve a sufficient reactivity for the subsequent bonding step. Thus, successive bonding of several layers becomes difficult, given the time and conditions under which the layers must be assembled. While this is possible in a lab, it is difficult or impossible to produce in a high through-put facility. Thermal bonding is made more expensive by the time it takes and power consumed. Plasma treatment requires expensive controls for material manipulation because once a sample is removed from the plasma chamber (which is a costly treatment) the modified surface properties are un-stable, meaning that the bonding procedure needs to be completed rapidly.
In a paper entitled Thermoplastic Elastomer Gels: An Advanced Substrate for Microfluidic Chemical Analysis Systems to Sudarsan et al. (Anal. Chem. 2005, 77, 5167-5173), a novel class of compounds, namely thermoplastic elastomer gels, are disclosed and tested for properties desired of substrates for microfluidic devices. The TPE gels Sudarsan teaches and uses are highly dilute TPE gels having from 9 to 33 wt. % of TPE (SEBS copolymer resin (CP-9000)) and 67-91 wt. % of mineral oil. The TPE gels were produced using vacuum and heating, which is time consuming and expensive.
Sudarsan et al. teaches a straightforward method for fabrication of microchannel structures using SEBS gels, essentially involving a sequence of steps to create one or more impressions of a negative relief structure in the heated elastomer substrate. For example, according to Sudarsan et al., impressions in a gel (33 wt % TPE, 67 wt. % mineral oil) are made by placing a slab of the gel on top of a master mold that has been preheated to ˜110° C. on a hot plate. Within seconds, Sudarsan et al. reports, the elastomer begins to soften and can be gently pressed down by hand for several seconds to make uniform contact with the structures on the mold. After cooling and release, the solidified gel precisely replicates the shape of the structures on the master.
As will be appreciated by those of skill in the art, the oil content and unique structure of gels make them significantly easier to mold. For example, it is well known in the injection molding field that oil added to TPE improves processability of the material. The gel structure is a scaffold of cross-linked molecules having a lower polymer density and therefore requiring less energy to reorganize, than solid polymers.
According to Sudarsan et al., "the gel material inherently adheres to smooth elastomer, glass, or plastic surfaces, allowing static or low-pressure fluidic networks to be easily constructed. In addition, stronger bonds can be achieved either with elastomer or glass surfaces by briefly heating the material at the bond interface to a temperature just below its softening point using a hot plate or handheld heat gun. Bonds to glass surfaces are removable, while bonds between elastomer layers can be made seamless and essentially permanent."
Sudarsan et al. teaches heating the gel to an intermediate temperature regime (˜60° C.<T<˜90-120° C.), in which structural rearrangements associated with an order-disorder transition permits limited rearrangement of the structure. The upper limit of the intermediate temperature regime varies with the amount of mineral oil, and the oil composition.
At least ⅔ of the material in the gel is mineral oil, and this oil imparts the properties of the gel required for the facile molding technique to be effective. There are nonetheless some drawbacks to the use of these oils in microfluidic applications, and to the gel structure more generally. Firstly, the requirement for producing the gels increases the costs and labour of producing the material, as gels generally are formed by mixing over a significant period of time, under heat and in a vacuum. Secondly certain mechanical properties of the gels, such as rigidity and integrity of the gel, are generally lower than that of solid polymers, which can limit the range of operating temperatures and pressures of devices made of TPE gels. Thirdly, and most importantly for some applications, the permeability of liquids into and out of the gel may limit the kinds of fluids that the microfluidic device can treat. If there is risk of contamination of the sample by the introduction of mineral oil or any impurity contained within the gel, or inversely from absorption of components of a stored fluid into the gel, for example in a given thermal, chemical or mechanical state, or a change therein, the microfluidic device formed of a gel may not be suitable. Also the swelling of gels when in contact with other fluids may further limit the applications of microfluidic devices fabricated from TPE gels, as swelling applies a mechanical pressure that may cause undesired changes fluid dynamics of the overall device.
The surface quality of patterned TPE gels taught by Sudarsan et al. are of concern for many applications. The presence of oil introduces uncertainty and difficulty controlling the surface properties. For example, it is not known how the surface, especially in the neighbourhood of patterned microchannels, is composed. There does not appear to be a patterning technique that can control these surfaces so that they are characterized by a high level of styrene blocks (or EB groups), at the expense of oil. If the surface has high polymer content, it is not known whether the blocks of the copolymer are homogeneous. These parameters are crucial, especially for microfluidic systems, and most especially for systems that require surface modification or treatment. In other areas of research, Applicant has found that oil reduces the surface quality of TPEs leading to highly inhomogeneous surfaces. It does not appear to Applicant that TPE gels are viable alternatives for producing microfluidic devices for a wide range of applications, especially to a majority of applications where introduction of oil into the microfluidic channels is proscribed.
In three works by I. Stoyanov: a thesis (Karlsruhe University) entitled Development of modular microfluidic devices for bioanalytical sensors, and papers entitled "Microfluidic devices with integrated active valves based on thermoplastic elastomers" (Microelectronic Engineering 83 (2006) 1681-1683), and "Low-cost and chemical resistant microfluidic devices based on thermoplastic elastomers for a novel biosensor system" (Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. Vol. 872 J 11.4 pp. 169-174): thermoplastic elastomers are considered for microfluidic applications.
Stoyanov proposes TPU as a reasonable compromise between performance, technological complexity and price for some microfluidic applications, and notes: that some of the thermoplastics reported to be used for production of microfluidic components (poly(methylmetacrylate) PMMA, polycarbonate, polystyrene) do not have sufficient chemical resistance; that thermoplastic polyolefins (polyethylene, polypropylene) possess a very high chemical resistance and can be easily formed by hot embossing, but have poor sealing characteristics due to their non-elastic properties; and that other classes of materials with extraordinary chemical resistance like fluoropolymers (polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) or excellent sealing properties like silicones (PDMS) are difficult to be reliably connected with macrofluidic components, because of their chemical inertness (PTFE) or lack of sufficient mechanical strength (PDMS).
These works use thermoplastic polyurethane elastomer foils TPU (a specific grade of TPE) having a Shore A surface hardness of 85-93. Clearly TPUs were chosen in part because of their surface hardness being only sufficiently less than those of polyethylene, and polypropylene to overcome their sealing problems, because softer materials such as PDMS are stated to lack required mechanical strength.
Because of the relative inelasticity of TPUs, Stoyanov must work with thin foils (100-600 μm thickness) to obtain a required flexibility. Consequently they can not impart features of certain depths. Because of the thin foil structure, Stoyanov was further unable to bond two microstructured foils due to major deformations. Thin foils bend too much, inducing leakage.
It is further noted that Stoyanov required high pressure and temperature (50-120 bars and 140-160° C.) to thermoform the foils, which induces more shrinkage, higher friction and longer cycle time than lower pressure and temperature methods. The thermoforming requires use of metallic molds, and cannot be performed with low-cost molds.
Further still, TPU are not capable of room temperature, atmospheric pressure or low pressure bonding (either permanent or reversible). To bond together TPU parts (or TPU and others plastic substrates), Stoyanov applied pressure to contacting surfaces and they also needed to use treatment involving solvent exposure, or thermal bonding to achieve satisfactory bonds. These treatments, and the pressure needed for bonding, can be detrimental to the preservation of (bio or chemical) surface treatments and/or to the quality of the features patterned on the surface. Delicate features may deform or collapse under the pressure, changing microfluidic behavior of the devices (flow time, capillary effects, etc.) . . . ) of the device, especially if a multi-layered device is desired.
Accordingly it is noted that viable elastomeric materials used in microfluidics have all had Shore A hardnesses above about 85 (i.e. the top end of Shore A-Shore D hardness). The only known exception to this is Sudarsan et al., who teaches a gel having potential problems with integrity. Gels used according to the teachings of Sudarsan et al. have Shore hardnesses in the mid to lower range of the Shore OO scale.
At Nanotech Montreux 2007, applicant submitted a title for a poster presentation but did not present any poster there. The title was: Thermoplastics Elastomeric (TPE) Blocks Copolymers, a New Material Platform for Microfluidics: Proof of Concept for Complex Siphon Valving on CD, and this title was published.
Accordingly there is a need in the art for new materials for use in microfluidic devices that are as easily patterned and bonded as the TPE gels, but not subject to the drawbacks of the TPE gels. In general there is a need for compositions that can be patterned, and bonded to like compositions as well as a variety of other compositions, while providing seals required for very fine channels such as microfluidic channels, and remaining relatively inert and non-reactive to a wide variety of fluids.

Microfluidic device, composition and method of forming