The present invention relates generally to a smart card device that is configured to facilitate wireless network access and credential verification. Specifically, the device is configured to meet the physical and electrical specification for commercially available mobile devices utilizing a standard Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) for network access. The device combines the features of the SIM with Common Access Card or Personal Identity Verification card features to allow a network subscriber to invoke secure payment transactions over a carrier's network. The system includes data storage for maintaining a plurality of network and transaction instrument profiles and a profile gateway for receiving transaction information from a payment gateway, sending an authorization request to a user's mobile device, receiving a transaction authorization from the mobile device, and sending transaction information to a payment gateway to finalize the payment transaction.

While the memory card concept has been in existence since the early 1970's, the first automated chip card was not invented until the 1980's. In 1983, a French inventor created the first known automated chip card (smart card). The earliest mass use of the smart card was for facilitating payment for use of French pay phones. The second known use of smart card technology occurred nearly a decade later with a French payment card, which facilitated PIN-less payment transactions at toll roads. Soon thereafter, smart cards became widely implemented in markets having a need for highly secure portable tokens capable of facilitating financial transactions.
As used herein, a portable token includes security information for authenticating and identifying a user, the user's groups, and the user's privileges. Smart cards, chip cards, or Integrated Circuit Cards (ICC) often comprise credit card sized instruments with embedded integrated circuits configured to process data. In general, a smart card receives input, which is processed by way of ICC applications and then delivered as an output. There are two broad categories of ICCs. Memory cards include only non-volatile memory storage components and perhaps some specific security logic, while microprocessor cards include volatile memory and microprocessor components for performing more complex tasks.
As the smart card was gaining traction in the financial services market, the first Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) card was produced by a Munich smart card manufacturer. A Finnish wireless network carrier was the first to implement the SIM card to allow mobile devices to access and operate within the operator's network. Other network carriers followed soon thereafter, utilizing SIM cards to connect mobile devices to their cellular networks and provide subscribers with universally available services such as call roaming.
As used herein, a network carrier comprises, for example, a Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) carrier. GSM is presently the most popular standard for mobile telephony systems in the world. GSM comprises ubiquitous standards that enable international roaming arrangements between mobile network operators, allowing subscribers to utilize their mobile devices in many parts of the world to facilitate voice calls, receive electronic mail, send SMS messages, access the Internet, and the like. Specifically, GSM is a cellular network, which means that mobile devices connect to it by searching for cells in the immediate vicinity.
As used herein, SIM cards store network-specific information used to authenticate and identify subscribers on a network. The most important of these are the ICC-ID, IMSI, Authentication Key (Ki), Local Area Identity (LAI), and Operator-Specific Emergency Number. SIM cards also store other carrier specific information such as, for example, the SMSC (Short Message Service Center) number, Service Provider Name (SPN), Service Dialing Numbers (SDN), Advice-Of-Charge parameters, and Value Added Service (VAS) applications.
Common Access Cards (CAC) and Personal Identity Verification (PIV) are personal token standards, which have been implemented by various governmental and commercial entities. CAC and PIV cards (personal token cards) are smart cards with very specialized functionality directed toward identity verification and access control. Personal token cards are designed to control access to computer networks, enable users to sign documents electronically, encrypt email messages, and enter controlled facilities. For example, CAC is issued to all active duty military, Reserves, National Guard, and Department of Defense (DoD) civilians who need access to DoD facilities or DoD computer network systems.
As used herein, personal token cards operate under electrical and mechanical principles similar to those of SIM cards; however, provide a distinct set of features. Personal token cards are configured to facilitate a variety of cryptographic functions including, for example, confidentiality, non-repudiation, tamper proofing, identity validation, and etc. Specifically, a personal token card is a hard-token personal authentication device that reliably protects a user's information and provides strong cryptographic operations. Unlike a GSM SIM, which is based on proprietary, vendor specific software; personal token cards are based on the Java Card specification. The Java Card specification is a subset of the Java programming language specifically targeted at embedded devices.
To summarize, SIM cards provide GSM features to facilitate network connectivity in accordance with defined connectivity protocols, while personal token cards such as CAC and PIV cards, provide personal identity verification and access control. Combined, the features of a SIM card and personal token card facilitate secure and reliable exchange of data over a specific established network. Conventional systems and methods utilizing the described technologies require a communication device (i.e., a cellular phone) to be configured to physically receive both types of cards. One drawback to this conventional card architecture is that mobile devices having features requiring a separate personal token card also require a separate reader device for extracting data from the personal token card for token validation. As such, a need exists for a single device that is configured with both network protocol and personal token features such as those provided by CAC and PIV cards.
Increasing consumer demands for alternative payment options combined with a desire by merchants to accept electronic payments with limited restrictions have led to a number of innovations directed toward mobile payments. Likewise, hardware and software developers have sought to expand the functionality of mobile devices to close gaps between buyers and sellers. These efforts produced newer generations of data compression and wireless networking protocols, enabling existing radio-based networks to efficiently move large amounts of data. While tremendous advancements have been made in this regard, questions remain as to how to most effectively protect the integrity of sensitive data as it traverses data networks.
Consumers and merchants have benefited from the convenience of electronic commerce on a larger scale; however, the full promise of mobile payment has not been realized due to remaining deficiencies in the ability to secure sensitive information. Islands of technology remain, which have not been bridged by secure, reliable, and efficient communication architectures. In other words, the ability to create and consume meaningful data at a mobile device has outpaced the ability to securely move that data from point to point over a network.
As such, there is a need for an alternative payment processing system, wherein merchants can utilize their preferred devices and network carriers without being required to purchase additional software and/or hardware. Moreover, a need exists for a system and device configured to protect sensitive information from being compromised as it moves between various points on a network. Specifically, the system should provide merchants with a simple and reliable method to accept and process transaction instruments remotely without compromising security standards. Specifically, the system and device should provide increased data security, improved efficiency, reduced operating costs, and enhanced customer experience.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

System and device for consolidating SIM, personal token, and associated applications for selecting a transaction settlement entity


A system for maintaining completion order in a multiple bus system including a bridge that posts write data includes logic units for implementing a DRAIN/EMPTY protocol. A bridge logic unit asserts an EMPTY signal when the secondary posting buffers are empty. Interrupt processing is delayed until the EMPTY signal is asserted thereby assuring that all writes are completed. If an interrupt is received and the EMPTY signal is not asserted then a DRAIN signal is asserted while the EMPTY signal is not asserted. The bridge retries all upstream write requests until EMPTY is asserted.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to ordering events in a computing system and more particularly to maintaining the completion order of events in a computer system.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
As processors and computing subsystems get faster and faster (and more complicated), "implicit ordering requirements" are being discovered between events that occur during the operation of a computer. These ordering requirements can be thought of as a detailed contract between hardware designers and software writers that goes beyond the instruction set of a computer and the "memory model".
A memory model is a recently well-documented contractual statement that varies amongst computer systems and states how the completion of loads and stores are guaranteed. In high performance systems they don't complete in the order written in a program.
These ordering requirements sometimes weren't explicitly described or required by prior hardware/software systems, only because either communication delays were balanced for all events, or the events were serialized by a single communications medium, or the interesting events never occurred in parallel. Therefore, failures due to improper ordering or re-ordering never occurred.
An example is an I/O subsystem, e.g., a disk drive, that has the ability to write data to main memory on its own, independent of the processor. This kind of subsystem is activated by code running on the processor and, after the write to main memory is finished, the processor's software needs to be notified, usually by an interrupt.
In systems with complicated memory systems, the subsystem may believe it has completed all its writes, when, in fact, the writes are still not all the way in the main memory, i.e., the write data is still in temporary buffers. This is because there usually isn't an acknowledge back from the final destination (main memory) to the subsystem for a variety of implementation reasons.
If the interrupt path to the processor is direct enough, the processor may receive the interrupt signifying completion and try to read the new data from main memory before it is actually there. This would be an error, since the software assumes it should be there.
PCI, the industry-standard Peripheral Component Interface, doesn't specify the ordering of interrupts or a transmission mechanism to the processor. Therefore, some modern operating systems, which assume this interrupt/prior write ordering, need a mechanism to guaranty it.
Bus Bridges, which isolate bus segments electrically, usually have buffers that accumulate the data for reads and writes temporarily delaying the transmission and completion of memory transaction initiated by a computing subsystem. Since the interrupts are usually transmitted through a means independent of the bus bridge, the interrupts typically arrive at the processor quickly. Thus, the bus bridges exacerbate the interrupt/prior write completion problem.
As set forth in the PCI specification, ordering is maintained by a system of buffer-flushing. According to the specification, a read transaction must push ahead of it through the bridge any posted writes originating on the same side of the bridge and posted before the read. Before the read transaction can complete on its originating bus, it must pull out of the bridge any posted writes that originated on the opposite side of the bridge and were posted before the read command completes on the read-destination bus.
For example, a common situation is the writing of data to a cache and writing a cache invalidation flag. Typically, an interrupt will signal the completion of both writes. However, the writes could be posted to the bridge buffers and may not reside at the cache and invalidation flag. Accordingly, if the CPU issues a cache read command, both writes are pulled out of the bridge buffers before the CPU read command completes.
The mechanism of buffer-flushing can lead to deadlocks and is not necessary for all read operations.

Multiple bus bridge system for maintaining a complete order by delaying servicing interrupts while posting write requests


Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) may be caused by a collapse of the pharyngeal wall as a result of increasing negative airway pressure. This invention is directed to systems and methods to resist collapse of the pharyngeal wall by minimally invasive upper pharyngeal airway surgery.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to systems and methods to treat obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), more particularly to minimally invasive solutions to prevent collapse of the upper pharyngeal airway.
2. Related Art
OSA is caused by a blockage of the airway, which usually occurs when the soft tissue in the throat collapses and closes during sleep. According to the National Institutes of Health, OSA affects more than twelve million Americans. During each apnea event, the brain briefly arouses the sufferer in order to initiate the resumption of breathing. This type of sleep, however, is extremely fragmented and of poor quality. When left untreated, OSA may result in high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, weight gain, impotency, headaches, memory problems, job impairment, and motor vehicle crashes. Despite the seriousness of OSA, a general lack of awareness among the public and healthcare professionals results in the vast majority of OSA sufferers remaining undiagnosed and untreated.
One non-surgical method available to treat OSA, commonly referred to as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), delivers air into a patient's airway through a specially designed nasal mask or pillow. The flow of air creates positive pressure when the patient inhales to keep the airway open. CPAP is considered by many to be an effective non-surgical treatment for the alleviation of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea, however, patients complain about discomfort caused by the mask and hoses, including bloating, nasal drying, and dry eyes. As a result, patient compliance for CPAP is only about 40%.
Surgical treatments have also been used to treat OSA. One such treatment is referred to as uvulopalatopharyngoplasty, which involves removing about 2 cm of the trailing edge of the soft palate to reduce the soft palate's ability to flutter between the tongue and the pharyngeal wall. Another procedure uses a surgical laser to create scar tissue on the surface of the soft palate, which reduces the flexibility of the soft palate for reducing snoring and/or closing of the air passage. Yet another procedure, commonly referred to as cautery-assisted palatal stiffening operation (CAPSO), is an office-based procedure performed under local anesthesia whereby a midline strip of soft palate mucosa is removed, and the wound is allowed to heal whereupon the flaccid palate is stiffened.
Surgical procedures such as those mentioned above continue to have challenges. More specifically, the area of tissue that is surgically treated (i.e., removal of palatal tissue or scarring of palatal tissue) is often larger than is necessary to treat the patient's condition. In addition, the above-mentioned surgical procedures are often painful with extended, uncomfortable healing periods. For example, scar tissue on the soft palate may be a cause of continuing irritation to the patient. Furthermore, the above procedures are not reversible in the event of adverse side effects.
Another implant system, sold under the trademark REPOSE™ by InfluENT of Concord, N.H., uses a titanium screw that is inserted into the posterior aspect of the mandible at the floor of the mouth. The screw acts as an anchor. A loop of suture is passed through the tongue base and attached to the mandibular bone screw. The REPOSE™ procedure achieves a suspension or hammock of the tongue base making it less likely for the base of the tongue to prolapse into the patient's airway during sleep. Due to the high activity of the tongue during wakefulness, however, the suture component of this device may act as a cutting element within the tongue, causing device trans-location and ultimately a loss of efficacy of the procedure thereby requiring subsequent removal.
An additional tongue suspension device developed by ASPIRE Medical is named the ADVANCE System. It is similar to the REPOSE suture suspension system for the tongue base in that it utilizes a bone screw in the mandible as an anchor, but has the advantage of being adjustable. The device further utilizes a flexible shape memory soft tissue anchor within the tongue that is shaped similar to a grappling hook, to engage the tissue within the tongue base. The soft tissue anchor is placed through a small incision in the submental region of the patient's head and the suture is attached to a spool-like component attached to the mandible. Two to four weeks after healing, a small incision is made under the chin and a screw is turned to tighten the suture, thus pulling the device forward. While the device provides a simplified installation technique from within the sterile space, the anchors may suffer from device fracture and failure due to loading within the tongue musculature.
A further system is disclosed in US 2008/0208265, Frazier, et al., entitled "System and Method for Percutaneous Palate Remodeling." This publication discloses a looped tether element with one or more regions of an expanded diameter to reduce the risk of cutting through the tongue. This region is created to provide a flexible implant with a fixed expanded region, a balloon region or an in-situ expanding region. This method provides a large bearing surface on limited regions of the fiber. Additionally, this method requires a supplemental element to create the expanded region on the fiber. It is anticipated that this type of device will also be difficult to extract from tongue tissues after healing has occurred since the portion buried on the tongue base is larger in cross section than the tracks remaining from the trailing ends of the looped tether.
In spite of the above advances in OSA treatment, there remains a need for devices, systems and methods for treating OSA through minimally invasive approaches that will improve long term results with improved patient compliance and minimized patient discomfort.

Systems and methods to treat upper pharyngeal airway of obstructive sleep apnea patients


A fuel supply device for direct methanol fuel cells includes a fuel tank for storing liquid fuel, a cavity plate formed on the fuel tank, the cavity plate storing liquid fuel transferred from the fuel tank, and a nozzle plate formed on the cavity plate, the nozzle plate ejecting upwardly the liquid fuel stored in the cavity plate, wherein a fuel tank body of the fuel tank includes a bellows type vessel capable of contracting and expanding. Accordingly, it is possible to actively control an amount of liquid fuel supplied by the fuel supply device to a fuel cell while minimizing electric power consumption, and to effectively remove by-products, thereby improving efficiency of the fuel cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fuel supply device for direct methanol fuel cells. More particularly, the present invention relates to a fuel supply device for direct methanol fuel cells including a fuel tank having a fuel tank body that is capable of contracting and expanding, by which liquid fuel may be actively supplied in a predetermined amount to a fuel cell.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, as the use of notebook computers, mobile phones, PDAs, etc. increases, concern for energy sources of such portable electronic devices also increases. Energy sources of portable electronic devices should be small and should be able to continuously supply electric power even when such devices are carried for a long period of time. Conventional secondary cells, however, when recharged a single time, have a short usable period, and are further limited by a large size. In addition, conventional secondary cells are heavy, expensive, and cause pollution upon disposal. Fuel cells, in contrast, have an energy density about 3 times higher than that of secondary cells and thus, can be used for a long period of time by a single recharge. Also, fuel cells can provide a lightweight, small-sized energy source, and can be used semi-permanently by the refueling of a storing vessel. Further, fuel cells are environmentally friendly energy sources that do not cause pollution upon disposal. Therefore, fuel cells may make good energy sources for portable electronic devices.
Fuel cells are classified by electrolytes contained in the cells, including, for example, phosphoric acid fuel cells (PAFC) using phosphoric acid as an electrolyte, alkaline fuel cells using potassium hydroxide as an electrolyte, polymer electrolyte fuel cells (Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cell, PEMFC) using Nafion® Dow polymer as an electrolyte, molten carbonate fuel cells (MCFC) using lithium carbonate or potassium carbonate as an electrolyte, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFC) using an yttria-stabilized zirconia as an electrolyte, and direct methanol fuel cells (DMFC) using a polymer membrane as an electrolyte.
Among these, direct methanol fuel cells can directly use methanol as a fuel. Therefore, direct methanol fuel cells can be miniaturized and readily supplied with a fuel. Also, since direct methanol fuel cells have a high-density fuel output, research is under way for implementing direct methanol fuel cells as fuel cells for portable electronic devices.
As shown in FIG. 1, direct methanol fuel cells include a membrane electrode assembly, including an anode 2, a membrane 1 and a cathode 3. In the anode 2, methanol reacts with water to produce hydrogen ions and electrons. The hydrogen ions produced in the anode 2 are transferred to the cathode 3 through the electrolyte membrane 1. In the cathode 3, the hydrogen ions and electrons bind to oxygen to produce water. Such reactions are shown in the following Reaction Scheme (I).                Reaction Scheme I        Anode: CH3OH+H2O=CO2+6H++6e−        Cathode: 1.5O26H++6e−=3H2O        Total: CH3OH+1.5O2=CO2+3H2O
The energy generated by the chemical reaction in the fuel cell, as shown above in Reaction Scheme (I), is supplied to an electronic device as electric energy.
Since the membrane electrode assembly of the fuel cell is affected by distribution of liquid fuel, infiltration of by-products, and control of liquid flow rate, the fuel delivery strongly influences the actions of the direct methanol fuel cell in portable electronic equipment. Correspondingly, the fuel delivery, or supply, device plays a very important role in the fuel cell.
A fuel supply device transports fuel (a mixture of methanol and water) from a fuel tank to the surface of the membrane electrode assembly and removes carbon dioxide and other by-products of the used fuel on the surface of the membrane electrode assembly. The fuel supply device for direct methanol fuel cells is generally required to uniformly supply fuel, have excellent reliability, be able to readily adjust flow rate, have low power consumption and be small-sized.
Fuel supply systems known in the prior art employ a small-sized pump to transfer fuel stored in a fuel tank through a micro-channel that is in contact with an anode of a membrane electrode assembly. These fuel supply systems sufficiently supply fuel and readily control the flow rate. However, since the systems include a pump as a main component, they are limited in ability to achieve a small size. Therefore, they are difficult to utilize in small-sized direct methanol fuel cells for small electronic devices such as mobile phones or PDAs. In addition, as is known in the art, with a same Reynolds number, the flow resistance of a small or micro-sized path is greater than that of a normal or broad path. Since greater electric power is required to transfer liquid fuel through the surface of a membrane electrode assembly having a small-sized path, the fuel supply systems described above have poor efficiency for consumed electric power.
Conventional active fuel supply systems for direct methanol fuel cells are further limited by complicated manufacturing processes, which increase expenses, since the pump mechanism for the fuel supply includes a number of components. In addition, it is difficult to recharge conventional active fuel supply systems for direct methanol fuel cells without contamination when recharging a fuel tank with fuel from a fuel supply source.
In order to reduce power consumption caused by an eddy current, it has been suggested to apply a passive supply system in a direct methanol fuel cell, such as an anode assembly directly contacting a mixture of methanol and water. Such a passive fuel supply system provides low power consumption, but a flow rate of supplied fuel is hard to control in such a system.
Therefore, uncontrollable operation of a direct methanol fuel cell employing a passive fuel supply system affects electronic devices in which they are used to some extent.
Also, passive fuel supply systems have a very slow fuel flow rate and a very small power output. Accordingly, passive fuel supply systems can only address needs of battery exchange apparatuses having low power consumption.

Fuel supply device for direct methanol fuel cells


A double-radiant-source framework used for a radiation detecting system for containers, having a horizontal accelerator, a vertical accelerator and a gantry tower composed of a left vertical girder, a right vertical girder, an upper cross girder, and a lower cross girder. A horizontal collimator and accelerator, and a vertical collimator and accelerator, are fixed on the left vertical girder and the upper cross girder of the gantry tower, respectively, and emit radiation beams as two planes oriented parallel to each other. Detector modules are disposed inside the double-detector arm of the right vertical girder, and inside the upper cross girder and the lower cross girder, respectively, to receive the two emitted planes of radiation beams. The container detecting system can reduce the area covered by the scanning channel of the system, and make the transportation, installation and use convenient, and improve the quality of the detected images.

The present invention relates to a radiant source scan channel of an automatic scan type radiation detecting system for detecting large objects, and more particularly, to a double-radiant-source scan channel structure, which belongs to the technical field of radiation detection.
Container freight/vehicle detecting system is the major detecting device that the customs needs. So far, customs in most of the countries mainly adopts a method of opening the container or a method of single-radiant-source radiation imaging in the detection of the container trucks passing through the customs. The detection method of opening the container and tearing open the freight needs a long time, with a low detection amount per day, and has a high detection cost, which seriously affects the speed of the container trucks passing through the customs. In order to solve this problem, a detecting system using single-radiant-source radiation imaging was developed. The detecting system for detecting large scale container freight/vehicle using an accelerator or Co 60 as the radiant source have been developed, such as the detecting systems for detecting large scale container freight/vehicle manufactured by Heimann in Germany and Aerospace in British. The detecting system is disposed in a detecting channel capable of shielding rays, and comprises an immovable radiant source capable of generating high energy X-rays and a detector array capable of receiving X-ray that pass through the container. The vehicle loaded with containers is dragged to pass through the detecting channel using a special dragging device. When the containers move through the X-ray, the X-ray that transmit through the containers are incident to the detector, which reflects the density distribution of the contained objects in accordance with the intensity of the X-ray, and converts the intensity of the ray into image gradations so as to obtain the scenograph of the objects that are in the container. Although the aforesaid system has solved the problem of obtaining the scenograph of the objects contained in the container without opening the container and thus raises the detecting speed, it has the defects as a complex structure, a large area coverage, inconvenient installation and imperfect image effect for detection.

Double-radiant-source framework for container detecting system


Disclosed is a method of growing 4 gallium nitride-based crystal by vapor phase epitaxy, suitable for mass production, without the necessity of thermal processing after completion of the crystal growth. The temperature of the substrate crystal immediately after completion of the crystal growth is 700.degree. C. or higher, and cooling of the substrate crystal at 700.degree. C. or lower after completion of the crystal growth is performed in an atmosphere of a hydrogen-fee carrier gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for growing a semiconductor by vapor phase epitaxy, and more particularly to a method for growing a low-resistance p-type gallium nitride (GaN)-related compound semiconductor film by vapor phase epitaxy.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional methods for preparing a p-type gallium nitride-based compound semiconductor by vapor phase epitaxy involve use of a magnesium organo-metallic compound as a p-type dopant source material. Magnesium is known to have the lowest acceptor level of presently know p-type impurities for GaN related compound semiconductors.
However, it is known that the crystal immediately after growth has increased resistance due to the so-called "hydrogen passivation" phenomenon. That is, magnesium is electrically inactivated through its combination with hydrogen which is contained in the gases used for vapor phase epitaxy.
FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrative of a substrate temperature variation during a process sequence of a conventional growth of a p-type gallium nitride crystal. Types of gases introduced into the crystal growth chamber (reaction chamber) is also shown in the figure (c.f. S. Nakamura, et al., Japanese Journal of Applied Physics, vol. 30, No. 10A, pp. L1708-L1711, 1991, for example). As shown in FIG. 6, the crystal grown temperature is 1030.degree. C. The substrate is sapphire, the carrier gas used during the growth process is hydrogen, the gallium source material is trimethyl gallium (TMG), the nitrogen source material is ammonia, and the p-type dopant source material is cyclopenta-diethyl magnesium (CP2Mg).
After the crystal has been grown, the cooling of the substrate is performed in an atmosphere of hydrogen carrier gas and ammonia. In the process sequence of FIG. 6, hydrogen is not introduced into the crystal while the crystal is growing at high temperatures. However, hydrogen is diffused into the crystal from the surface during the process of cooling the substrate crystal after the growth has been completed and is combined with magnesium thus passivating magnesium with hydrogen. The source of hydrogen while the substrate crystal is cooled includes hydrogen which is directly bonded with nitrogen of the ammonia molecule and hydrogen of the hydrogen carrier gas.
FIG. 7 illustrates the layer structure of an LED (light-emitting diode) crystal which is prepared by the method of growing a p-type gallium nitride by vapor phase epitaxy as illustrated in FIG. 6 (c.f. S. Nakamura et. al., Applied Physics Letter 64, No. 13, pp. 1687-1689, 1994).
The LED crystal consists of a Gab buffer layer 16, an Si-doped n-type GaN layer 17, an InGaN active layer 18, an Mg-doped p-type AlGaN layer 19 and an Mg-doped p-type GaN layer 20 on a sapphire substrate 15. Methods which have been suggested for decreasing the resistance of a high-resistance p-type gallium nitride-based compound semiconductor which has undergone hydrogen passivation as a result of vapor phase epitaxy include irradiation with low-energy electron beams (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Disclosure HEI 3-218625), and thermal annealing in a vapor phase atmosphere free of hydrogen atoms at a temperature 400.degree. C. or higher, preferably approximately 700.degree. C. (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Disclosure HEI 5-183189).
Furthermore, several methods without the necessity of special treatment after the crystal is grown have been suggested for providing a low-resistance p-type GaN based compound semiconductor film by vapor phase epitaxy, These include growth of magnesium-doped gallium nitride on an In.sub.x Al.sub.y Ga.sub.1-x-y N (0<x<1, 0.ltoreq.y<1) layer (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Disclosure HEI 6-232451). This method is aimed at providing a low-resistance p-type layer by using an indium-containing gallium nitride-based compound semiconductor which is relatively soft, thus suppressing defect formation in gallium nitride films which, grow thereon. However, the attainable layer structure is limited and the effect of the resistance decrease is smaller than thermal annealing.
Another known method for obtaining low-resistance p-type gallium nitride is by molecular beam epitaxy in which the growth is accomplished using hydrogen-free source materials only. Here, metal gallium is used as the gallium source material, and nitrogen plasma is used as the nitrogen source material. However, the crystals presently gained by molecular beam epitaxy are, inferior to ones provided by vapor phase epitaxy which is more suitable for mass production.
Regarding treatments after vapor phase epitaxy aimed at lowering the resistance of p-type gallium nitride, irradiation by electron beams has the problem of low productivity, since only layers of thickness matching the penetration depth of the electron beams (on the order of 0.5 .mu.m) have lower resistance.
The other method, thermal annealing, though capable of lowering the resistance of layers having thicknesses as large as several .mu.m, and thus having increased productivity, causes desorption of nitrogen from the gallium nitride, inevitably leading to thermal deterioration of the crystal. The thermal deterioration of the crystal becomes more severe as the annealing is performed at a higher temperature.

Method for growing p-type gallium nitride based compound semiconductors by vapor phase epitaxy


A hydrocarbon isomerization method of making hydrocarbons containing at least 50 wt. % of saturated hydrocarbons having 7 and 8 carbon atoms (so-called heavy naphtha) come into contact, in the presence of hydrogen, with a solid acid catalyst containing a platinum group metal component supported on a carrier that contains as metal components at least one group IV metal component selected from the group consisting of titanium, zirconium and hafnium and at least one group VI metal component selected from the group consisting of tungsten and molybdenum. In particular, the isomerization method is preferably carried out at a temperature in a range of 190 to 250° C. and a pressure in a range of 0.8 to 10 MPa and, as the catalyst, it is preferable to use a solid acid catalyst in which the carrier further contains aluminum as a metal component.

Spark-ignited internal combustion engine liquid fuel, i.e. so-called gasoline, is generally manufactured by blending together petroleum fractions obtained by distilling crude oil, or gasoline bases obtained by processing such petroleum fractions. Hydrocarbons contained in a gasoline generally have approximately 4 to 10 carbon atoms.
Octane number is a typical gasoline performance index. Out of bases having as a principal component thereof hydrocarbons having 7 or more carbon atoms, modified gasoline bases (reformates) having as a principal component thereof aromatic hydrocarbons having 7 to 9 carbon atoms such as toluene are used as gasoline bases exhibiting a high octane number.
For a gasoline base that has as a principal component thereof hydrocarbons having 5 and 6 carbon atoms and exhibits a high octane number, a manufacturing method involving an isomerization process is known. This is a method in which the octane number is increased by isomerizing straight-chain saturated hydrocarbons into branched saturated hydrocarbons, this being because straight-chain saturated hydrocarbons exhibit a low octane number, whereas branched saturated hydrocarbons having the same number of carbon atoms exhibit a high octane number. As catalysts used in such an isomerization process, (1) solid acid catalysts in which sulfuric groups are supported on zirconia, and (2) solid acid catalysts that use a zeolite, are known.


A separator, used for a lithium ion secondary battery that produces electromotive force by lithium doping/dedoping, which is composed of a porous film comprising an organic polymer (component A) which can swell in an electrolyte solution to retain it, surrounding a nonwoven fabric which cannot swell in the electrolyte solution, the porous film including an electrolyte solution non-swelling organic polymer with a melting point of 210° C. or above (component B) and an electrolyte solution non-swelling organic polymer with a melting point of 180° C. or below (component C), wherein component B is incorporated in the fiber composing the nonwoven fabric. The separator is highly safe and exhibits low reduction mechanical properties with respect to organic solvents.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a separator used in a lithium ion secondary battery.
2. Description of the Related Art
Lithium ion secondary batteries which produce an electromotive force, by lithium doping/dedoping, have come into increasing use with the advance of portable electronic devices in recent years, because of their characteristically high energy density. In order to achieve even higher performance for lithium ion secondary batteries, it has been proposed to use separators comprising organic polymers which swell in, and retain, electrolyte solutions, such as polyethylene oxide (PEO), polyacrylonitrile (PAN), polymethyl methacrylate (PMMA) or polyvinylidene fluoride (PVdF). Among these, PVdF or PVdF copolymers which are composed mainly of PVdF are considered to be most suitable from the standpoint of oxidation/reduction resistance, and some of these have been developed for practical use.
It is known that separators using such organic polymers have inadequate mechanical properties and are difficult to form into thin films, as compared with polyolefin fine porous films most commonly employed as separators. Polyolefin fine porous film reinforcement and nonwoven fabric reinforcement have been proposed as methods of reinforcement, and polyolefin porous film reinforcement is primarily used at present. On the other hand, the present inventors have found, and have disclosed in WO01/67536, that suitable control of the morphology of a separator with nonwoven fabric reinforcement can exhibit an overcharge protecting function and thereby markedly improve the safety during overcharge.
As nonwoven fabrics for reinforcement of such separators there have been proposed polyolefin-based materials (polyethylene, polypropylene) or heat-resistant materials such as aromatic polyamides, polyesters and the like. However, the mechanical properties of olefin-based nonwoven fabrics has presented a problem from the standpoint of thin film formation. It has therefore generally been considered more practical to use nonwoven fabrics composed of heat-resistant fibers of aromatic polyamides and polyesters.
Nonwoven fabrics employed for such purposes are exposed to organic solvent environments during the separator film-forming step and when incorporated into the battery and, consequently, the hitherto proposed nonwoven fabrics composed of heat-resistant fibers of aromatic polyamides and polyesters have been associated with problems because of their reduced mechanical properties in organic solvent environments, and hence unsatisfactory productivity.
As mentioned above, nonwoven fabric reinforcement can markedly improve safety during overcharge. However, an extra element is sometimes necessary to ensure safety against abnormal heat release by the battery due to various causes (nailing, external shorts, etc.). With overcharging as well, the battery can also conceivably experience abnormal heat release by Joule heat release when charging with a high current.

Separator for lithium ion secondary battery


A positron emission camera comprising a plurality of scintillators, wherein the scintillators include LuAlO3:Ce (LuxY1−xAP where 0.5≦x≦0.995) based crystals (18,20). In particular, the scintillation crystals (18,20) are LuxY1−xAP where 0.5≦x≦0.995.

PET scanners are well known in the field of medical physics. These scanners produce images of the body by detecting radiation emitted from radioactive substances injected into the body. Each scanner is made up of radiation detectors, typically called scintillators, which are arranged in a ring configuration around a movable patient table. A typical arrangement with a detector ring 10 and a patient table 12 is shown in FIG. 1. Each scintillator comprises a crystal and has an associated partner located opposite it on the ring. Many known cameras use Bi4Ge3O12 (BGO) as a scintillation detector, as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,245 and EP 0,437,051 B. Each scintillator is connected to a photomultiplier tube, which is in turn connected to read-out electronics.
During a scan the patient is positioned on the movable table in the centre of the ring of detectors. The patient is injected with a radioactive substance, which is tagged with a β+ radioactive atom that has a short decay time, for example carbon-11, fluorine-18, oxygen-15 or nitrogen-13. During decay of the nuclei of the radioisotopes, positrons are given off. When a positron is emitted and meets an electron, the collision produces two gamma rays that have the same energy, 511 keV, but travel in opposite directions. By detecting coincidentally the gamma rays generated using scintillators that are diametrically opposed on the ring, the trajectory on which the disintegration occurred can be detected. The scintillator crystals convert the gamma rays to photons of light that are transmitted to the photomultiplier tubes, which convert and amplify the photons to electrical signals. These electrical signals are then processed by a computer to generate three dimensional images of the body over the region of interest (e.g. brain, breast, liver).
An advantage of PET scanning is the ability to determine accurately radionuclide localization and to quantify physiological processes in the body. This can be done because of the emission from the patient's body of two gamma photons that travel in opposite directions. Another advantage is that PET scanners use biological compounds similar or identical to those found in the human body, such as carbon, nitrogen, and oxygen. This means that the PET radionuclides can be substituted directly into biological substances used by the body. In addition, it means that PET tracers do not merely mimic biological pathways as do agents for some other scanners, instead PET tracers actually follow true physiological and metabolic processes. This is advantageous. In contrast, other nuclear medicine imaging techniques require compounds labelled with radioactive nuclides not commonly found in the body. These modified compounds only approximate the true distribution in the human body.
Because of the many advantages inherent in PET scanners, there is a drive to improve their performance, thereby to increase the accuracy of the scanned images and so assist clinicians. To this end, work is presently being done by many groups to improve the characteristics of such scanners.
The most important characteristics of a PET camera are its spatial resolution and sensitivity. Conventional PET cameras can provide spatial resolutions in the range of 4–6 mm at full width half maximum (FWHM) of the emission spectrum. Better spatial resolution requires a large number of scintillation detectors with reduced size, and as a consequence, a large number of photodetectors and associated read-out electronics. This, however, increases the cost. At the same time, new demands on human PET instrumentation, for example on precise brain imaging, require spatial resolution to be better than 2 mm.
The combined formula for a reconstructed image resolution for a PET scanner can be expressed as follows:Γ=1.254√{square root over ((d/2)2+(0.0022D)2+r2+b2)}{square root over ((d/2)2+(0.0022D)2+r2+b2)}Here Γ is the reconstructed image resolution in mm FWHM, d is detector size, D is the detector array diameter, which is typically 600–800 mm for a whole body PET scanner and 250–300 mm for a brain PET (NB including D takes into account photon non-collinearity from positron decay), r is the effective positron range (from 0.5 mm for 18F to 4.5 mm for 82Rb), and b is an additional factor, which is derived from a hit point identification scheme (Anger Logic or "true" position sensitive photo detector, i.e: analog ratios among many photomultiplier signals). Assuming that b is zero for a position sensitive photodetector, it is possible to achieve (with 18F) Γ=1 mm resolution for brain a PET at d=1 mm.
In addition to limitations on the spatial resolution of known PET scanners, there is also a geometrical limitation on the spatial resolution at the end of a PET scanner field of view. This is the so-called radial elongation distortion, which occurs when gamma trajectories cross several scintillation detectors.
Assuming that the above equation is accurate, in order to satisfy the growing demand on the spatial resolution and sensitivity of PET cameras, it will be appreciated that the camera has to be made of thin detectors with high stopping power. In practice, however, the stopping power being limited by the density of the material the detector needs to have a certain length, typically one to three centimetres which reduces the spatial resolution at the edge of the field of view. This is a disadvantage. To overcome this problem and avoid degradation of the spatial resolution, it is necessary to use a detector with depth of interaction (DOI) determination capability, i.e. the ability to determine the interaction coordinate along the detector cell. The most convenient way to do this is to use a multi-layer detector, in which the layers are made of material with different scintillation properties. Because the layers have different characteristics, when a gamma ray is detected it is possible to identify the layer that was hit and so determine more accurately the interaction point.
Many multi-layer detectors are known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,843,245 describes a multi-layer scintillator that uses adjacent BGO and GSO (Gd2SiO5) crystals. EP 0,219,648 teaches the use of a three layer scintillator that has an inner layer of BaF2, a middle layer of GSO and an outer layer of BGO. WO 99/24848 also teaches the use of a multi-layer detector and in particular a "phoswich" detector, in which different detector layers are made of different scintillators with different decay times. The phoswich described in WO 99/24848 has two layers, one each of BGO and Lu2SiO5:Ce (LSO).
Another known multi-layer detector uses a combination of LSO and GSO. In this case, hit layer determination is carried out using pulse shape discrimination. This can be done because of the large difference in decay time constants of the LSO and GSO layers. Unfortunately, the photoelectric absorption coefficient of GSO is much less than that of LSO. This means that the stopping power of the GSO is limited, which introduces a degree of uncertainty into the determination of the hit layer.
In yet another known PET, the scintillation detectors are made of layers of "fast" and "slow" LSO scintillators, grown with different cerium concentrations.
As with the LSO and GSO detectors, pulse shape discrimination is used to determine the hit layer. A disadvantage of this particular device is, however, that the difference in decay time constants of "fast" and "slow" LSO is only about 10% (4–5 nanoseconds at mean value of 40 ns). Hence, there can be difficulty in determining the hit layer with any certainty.

European Organization for Nuclear Research


The present invention relates to a beam-based multi-connection communication method, a terminal device, and a network device. The method may include the following: Based on a multi-beam connection established between a terminal and a base station, the terminal further selects a dedicated message beam from a common message range of the base station based on a measurement result of an uplink pilot, or the base station selects a dedicated message beam from a common message range of the base station based on a measurement result of a downlink pilot; and the terminal or the base station chooses to delete at least one established beam connection. By selecting and deleting a multi-beam connection between the terminal and the base station, a high-quality beam connection is maintained, and interruption of data transmission between the base station and terminal is avoided, thereby ensuring normal communication between the base station and the UE.

In the high-frequency wireless communication field, a beam path loss increases as a frequency increases, and a cell coverage area is reduced. As a result, more access network devices (the access network devices may be base stations or transmission reception points (TRP)) need to be deployed in a same area, so that coverage can be ensured. Consequently, network deployment costs greatly increases. Therefore, a beam-based communication method needs to be provided.
In the prior art, a beamforming technology (that is, a multi-antenna processing technology) is used to form a narrow beam by using a plurality of antennas, to increase a beam gain and compensate for a path loss to some extent. As shown in FIG. 1, a region A is a low-frequency coverage area, a region B is a high-frequency coverage area, a region C is a narrow-beam coverage area, and L is a cell boundary covered by a base station. Because a beam gain of a narrow beam is relatively high, a path loss at a high frequency is compensated. To ensure continuous coverage in a cell, a plurality of narrow beams need to be used. For example, if a width of each narrow beam is 10°, 36 same narrow beams cover the entire cell. A terminal first completes initial beam alignment between the terminal and the base station (that is, an initial beam connection between the terminal and the base station) by using a random access process, that is, the terminal searches for a service beam between the terminal and the base station. The service beam is a beam having best signal quality in all beams that can be received by the terminal. As the terminal moves or rotates, and a channel changes, the terminal needs to perform beam tracking to establish a communication connection to a plurality of beams of the base station.
However, a high-frequency communication channel changes drastically, and channel quality is frequently reduced significantly. For example, a signal propagation path is usually a direct or reflective path, and is easily affected by an obstacle, affecting communication quality. When at least one of a plurality of beam connections is blocked, data transmission between the terminal and the base station is interrupted, and communication quality is reduced.

Beam-based multi-connection communication method, terminal device, and network device


It is an object of the present invention is to provide a method of manufacturing an SOI substrate provided with a single-crystal semiconductor layer which can be practically used even when a substrate having a low heat-resistant temperature, such as a glass substrate or the like, is used, and further, to manufacture a semiconductor device with high reliability by using such an SOI substrate. A semiconductor layer which is separated from a semiconductor substrate and bonded to a supporting substrate having an insulating surface is irradiated with electromagnetic waves, and the surface of the semiconductor layer is subjected to polishing treatment. At least part of a region of the semiconductor layer is melted by irradiation with electromagnetic waves, and a crystal defect in the semiconductor layer can be reduced. Further, the surface of the semiconductor layer can be polished and planarized by polishing treatment.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing SOI substrates having a so-called silicon-on-insulator (SOI) structure as which a semiconductor layer is provided on an insulating surface and a method of manufacturing semiconductor devices having an SOI structure.
2. Description of the Related Art
As an alternative to an integrated circuit using a silicon wafer which is manufactured by thinly slicing an ingot of a single-crystal semiconductor, an integrated circuit using a semiconductor substrate which is referred to as a silicon-on-insulator (hereinafter also referred to as "SOI") substrate, as which a thin single-crystal semiconductor layer is provided on an insulating surface has been developed. The integrated circuit using an SOI substrate has attracted attention as an integrated circuit in which parasitic capacitance between a drain of a transistor and the substrate is reduced and the performance of a semiconductor integrated circuit is improved.
As a method of manufacturing SOI substrates, a hydrogen ion implantation separation method is known (e.g., see Reference 1: Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2000-124092). The hydrogen ion implantation separation method is a method in which hydrogen ions are implanted into a silicon wafer to form an embrittlement layer at a given depth from the surface, and a thin silicon layer is bonded to another silicon wafer by separation of the silicon wafer from the embrittlement layer as a separation plane. In addition to the heat treatment for separation of a silicon layer, it is necessary to perform heat treatment in an oxidizing atmosphere to form an oxide film over the silicon layer, remove the oxide film, and perform heat treatment at 1000° C. to 1300° C. to increase bonding strength.
Furthermore, a semiconductor device in which an insulating substrate such as high heat resistance glass is provided with a silicon layer is disclosed (e.g., see Reference 2: Japanese Published Patent Application No. H11-163363). This semiconductor device has a structure in which the entire surface of crystallized glass having a distortion point of 750° C. or more is protected by an insulating silicon film and a silicon layer obtained by a hydrogen ion implantation separation method is adhered to the insulating silicon film.

Method of manufacturing an SOI substrate and method of manufacturing a semiconductor device

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd


The present disclosure relates to a vacuum insulated glazing (VIG) unit and tempered glass pane therefore. Furthermore, the present disclosure relates to a window comprising a VIG unit enclosed in a frame. Also, the present invention relates to a method of producing a tempered glass pane for a VIG unit, a method for producing a VIG unit and the use of a tempered glass pane as described herein in a VIG unit and the production thereof.

Vacuum-insulated glass (VIG) units typically include two or more glass panes, spaced by an array of pillars, and sealed at the periphery to provide an evacuated space (i.e., vacuum) located between the glass panes. The evacuated space is sealed at a reduced pressure such as 0.001 millibars or less in order to ensure an insulating effect of the VIG unit. The overall construction provides improved thermal and noise insulating properties compared to ordinary glass windows. To prevent sagging and contact between adjacent glass panes, the pillars can serve as discrete spacers between adjacent glass panes.
When VIG units are produced, the producer will need to mark the individual panes for the VIG unit and/or the final VIG unit in order to be able to identify the VIG unit after assembly in a building. The marking on the VIG unit and/or the glass pane will normally include a code, which allows the producer to identify e.g. the production date, the production facility, the production method, the serial number and similar. The code may be added onto the VIG unit after end production. However, this normally induces a risk of code falling of the VIG unit.
Previously, laser engraving has been used for creating a code in laminated glass panes used for a vacuum insulated glazing (VIG) unit. An example is shown in JP2004130789, which discloses a method of laser engraving a code into a glass pane in a VIG unit comprising laminated glass panes. Using the method of JP2004130789 for engraving a code into a tempered glass pane by means of laser engraving is, however, not possible as the tempered glass panes will break in process.
US20170001906 discloses that tempered glass panes may be laser imprinted to contain a code contrary to the common believes if the laser engraving is prepared prior to the tempering of the glass panes. Another requirement according to US20170001906 is that the laser engraving must introduced into the tensile stress region of the glass pane, i.e. the region extending from the middle of the glass pane and outwards ending somewhat before the outermost part of the glass pane adjacent to the surface region. In this region, the tensile stress within the glass pane is larger than the compressive stress.
However, the requirements to the glass panes used in a VIG unit differs vastly from the requirements to regular tempered glass panes. Thus, when using a tempered glass pane in the production of a VIG unit, the glass panes are normally subjected to a high pressure, and to high temperatures possibly combined with a rapid increase/decrease of the temperature. This introduces a risk of the tempered laser engraved glass panes breaking, in particular at the locations where micro-cracks has been introduced by means of laser engraving.
There is thus a need for a method of adding a code in tempered glass panes used in VIG units such that the VIG unit is equipped with an identification code.

Vacuum insulated glazing unit with a laser engraved code


There is provided a communication device, which is provided with a target time setting system that sets a determination target time to a time at which a predetermined setting operation is performed, and a determining system that determines whether the determination target time is within a certain transmittable time period. The communication device is further provided with a transmission time setting system that sets a transmission start time to the determination target time when the determination target time is within the certain transmittable time period, and shifts the determination target time so that the determination target time is within the certain transmittable time period when the determination target time is not within the certain transmittable time period, and a transmitting system that starts to communicate with a external device through a network at the transmission start time.

The present invention relates to a communication device configured to communicate with a host device.
A centralized management system for managing facsimile devices is proposed. Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 2000-101771 discloses such a centralized management system. In the system, a facsimile device automatically transmits management information, such as a failed state or usage conditions of consumable items, to a host device via a telephone line. The host device receives the management information from a plurality of facsimile devices via the telephone line.
Each of the plurality of facsimile devices automatically transmits the management information to the host device at a preprogrammed time set by a user.


Embodiments of the invention relate to a semiconductor module and to a method for manufacturing a semiconductor module. In an embodiment of the invention, a semiconductor module for mounting to a board may include at least an integrated circuit having connections on at least one side of the integrated circuit, and at least a first layer which is applied to the side of the integrated circuit having the connections, wherein the free surface of the first layer facing away from the integrated circuit has a thermo-mechanical linear expansion in the in-plane direction of the surface which corresponds to the thermo-mechanical linear expansion of the board to which the semiconductor module is to be mounted.

Semiconductor modules, such as semiconductor chips provided with a package, which for electrically connecting, for example, with a circuit board, are provided with connections, which are, for example, provided in the form of solder bumps, should be very reliable. Thus, the semiconductor modules should not only be reliable with regard to their function but also a reliable lasting contacting connection with, for example, a circuit board, should be ensured.
One of the problems with semiconductor modules is the thermo-mechanical adaptation of the integrated circuits and semiconductor chips (mostly silicon), respectively, to the next level, i.e., for example to a printed circuit board (PCB). This problem exists due to the coefficients of thermal expansion (CTEs) of the materials being different from each other. The material of a conventional printed circuit board (PCB), for example, an adaptation to copper, has a CTE of approximately 15 ppm/K to 16 ppm/K, and the CTE of silicon is of approximately 3 ppm/K.
This is the reason why a plurality of different types of packages has been created to reduce the thermo-mechanical stress factor. In some of the package types, a substrate is used as an intermediate element (such as, for example, ball grid array (BGA), flip chip in package), by which it is attempted to balance the thermo-mechanical mismatch within the arrangement to be as low as possible at a certain range of temperature. However, in the case of using packages accommodating bare dies (wafer level package), the situation becomes increasingly critical due to the fact that the chips are arranged in very close contact to the board of the next level.
Consequently, one challenge for the packaging industry is to produce packages for integrated circuits, such as bare dies with a low complexity, which are very reliable, have small dimensions, and can be produced at low costs.
In flip-chip packages (FCiPs), for example, a plurality of functional elements is included to fulfill all package functions and to provide a balance with regard to the thermo-mechanical stress adaptation between chip/substrate and substrate/board. For this purpose, for example, the following are provided: solder balls on the chip (sometimes using a redistribution level); bonding of the chips to the substrate by using underfill; the substrate itself, large ball grid array (BGA) solder balls to realize the electrical and mechanical connection to the next level; and mold compound as backside and edge protection.
In the case of wafer level packages (WLPs) the crossing of critical material parameters (mainly with regard to the CTE) is the greatest challenge: between the chip and the next level often only BGA solder balls are arranged; in the case of a necessary redistribution of the chip pads often a dielectric buffer layer is used; and pillars under the solder balls are known, which increase the distance or gap between the chip and the substrate.
WLPs of a greater size (distance to the neutral point of the balls (DNP) >3 mm to 4 mm) are not reliable enough for most applications due to stress-induced internal cracks.


Provided are: a compound represented by formula (I):

Sphingosine-1-phosphate (hereinafter, abbreviated as "S1P") represented by formula (A) is a lipid that is synthesized by the intracellular metabolic turnover of sphingolipids or the extracellular action of secretory sphingosine kinase. It is pointed out that S1P acts as an intercellular and intracellular messenger (Biochem. Pharm., 58, 201 (1999))

As receptors of S1P, EDG-1 which is a G-protein coupled receptor and its analogous molecules, EDG-3, EDG-5, EDG-6 and EDG-8 (also called S1P1, S1P3, S1P2, S1P4, and S1P5, respectively) are known. They are called EDG family together with EDG-2, EDG-4 and EDG-7 which are receptors of lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). S1P receptors binds to S1P and deliver signals into cells via G-protein coupled with the receptors. Gs, Gi, Gq and G12/13 etc. are known as G-proteins to which S1P receptor can couple, and it is considered that the receptor is involved in responses such as increase of cell proliferation, suppression of cell proliferation, induction of cell chemotaxis, and inhibition of cell chemotaxis.
As biological action of S1P, inhibition of migration of smooth muscle cells or cancer cells, platelet aggregation, induction of cell chemotaxis, inhibition of cell chemotaxis and the like are known in vitro experiments, and as the results of in vivo experiments, it is known that S1P shows effects of controlling blood pressure, promoting angiogenesis, reducing renal blood flow, inhibiting lung fibrosis, promoting the lymphocyte homing into lymphatic organs, and the like. It is considered that those various physiological effects are mediated by S1P receptors existing in cell membrane. However, it has been scarcely clarified excluding some cases which subtypes of S1P receptors mediate these effects in practice.
Recently, from the study for EDG-1 knock-out mice, it is strongly indicated that S1P induced angiogenesis via EDG-1 (J Clin. Invest., 106, 951 (2000)). Therefore, it is suggested that an EDG-1 agonist is used as an agent for treating diseases caused by anangioplasia. For example, it is used as an agent for prevention and/or treatment of peripheral arterial disease such as arteriosclerosis obliterans, thromboangiitis obliterans, Buerger's disease, or diabetic neuropathy; varicose vein such as hemorrhoid, anal fissure, or anal fistula; dissecting aneurysm of the aorta, sepsis, inflammatory disease such as angiitis, nephritis, or pneumonia, various edematous disease involved in ischemia of various organ and increase of the blood permeability, for example, cerebral infarction, myocardial infarction, angina, congestive heart failure, pleuritis, DIC (disseminated intravascular coagulation), or multiple organ failure. In addition, angioplasty is closely related to osteogenesis, so the EDG-1 agonist can also be used as a treating agent for abnormal bone metabolism such as osteoporosis. In addition, from the study for the knock-out mice, it is also indicated that there is a possibility that EDG-1 inhibited migration of a vascular smooth muscle. Therefore, the EDG-1 agonist can also be used as an agent for prevention and/or treatment of arteriosclerosis. In addition, the EDG-1 agonist can also be used as an agent for enhancing wound healing of cornea, skin, digestive organs, or the like, or, for example, as an agent for prevention and/or treatment of bedsore, burn, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, or the like. Further, the EDG-1 agonist can also be used as a preoperative, postoperative, and/or prognostic activator for blood vessel accompanying transplantation of various organs, for example, as an adhesion activator of transplanted organs such as heart transplantation, renal transplantation, dermal transplantation or liver transplantation.
In addition, the S1P is known to be effective to mouse bleomycin-elicited pulmonary fibrosis (see, WO 01/03739). Therefore, the S1P agonist can be used as an agent for prevention and/or treatment of diseases caused by fibrosis of various organs, for example, fibrosis including pulmonary fibrosis, liver fibrosis, and the like, interstitial pneumonitis, chronic pepatitis, liver cirrhosis, chronic renal insufficiency, and renal glomerular sclerosis.
In addition, it was reported that the S1P acts to promote secretion of insulin from a pancriatic β cell via EDG-3, and that the S1P inhibits glucagon-dependent insulin secretion via EDG-1 (see, for example, Endocrine Journal, 47(3), 261, (2000) and Diabetes, 52, 1986, (2003)). Thus, an EDG-1 agonist may be used as an agent for prevention and/or treatment of diabetes, in particular, as a glucose metabolism-improving agent, an insulin secretion-promoting agent, or a pancriatic cell-protecting agent.
On the other hand, EDG-6 is localized and strongly expressed in cells and organs of the lymphatic and hematopoietic systems including spleen, leukocytes, lymph gland, thymus, bone marrow, lung and the like, which suggests the possibility that the EDG-6 is closely related to the effects of S1P in the course of inflammation or in the immune system (Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 268, 583 (2000)).
Moreover, it is known that the EDG-6 polypeptide or its homologue is involved in immunomodulation, antiinflammation and the like in a similar manner as EDG-1, which brings about the potential usability of those substances in treating autoimmune diseases (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, myasthenia gravis and the like), allergic diseases (e.g., atopic dermatitis and the like), asthma, inflammatory diseases, infection, ulcer, lymphoma, malignant tumor (e.g., cancer and the like), leukemia, arteriosclerosis, multiple organ failure, diseases associated with lymphocyte infiltration into a tissue (e.g., reperfusion injury after ischemia, and the like), and the like.
From these findings, a drug which acts on EDG-1 and/or EDG-6 is thought to be useful as an agent for prevention and/or treatment of: a peripheral arterial disease such as arteriosclerosis obliterans, thromboangiitis obliterans, Buerger's disease, or diabetic neuropathy; varicose vein such as hemorrhoid, anal fissure, or anal fistula; dissecting aneurysm of the aorta; sepsis; an inflammatory disease such as angiitis, nephritis, or pneumonia; various edematous disease involved in ischemia of various organs and increase of the blood permeability, for example, cerebral stroke, ischemia-reperfusion injury, cerebral infarction, myocardial infarction, angina, congestive heart failure, pleuritis, DIC, or multiple organ failure; bedsore; burn; trauma injury; inflammatory bowel disease; genetic disease; osteoporosis; arteriosclerosis; fibrosis including pulmonary fibrosis, liver fibrosis, and the like; interstitial pneumotitis; chronic hepatitis; liver cirrhosis; chronic renal insufficiency; renal glomerular sclerosis; diabetes; rejection in transplantation; rejection of a transplanted organ; graft versus host disease; an autoimmune disease (e.g., systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, psoriasis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, myasthenia gravis, autoimmune diabetes, and the like); an allergic disease (e.g., atopic dermatitis, pollen disease, food allergy, and the like); asthma; infectious disease; ulcer; lymphoma; malignant tumor (e.g., cancer and the like); leukemia; a disease associated with lymphocyte infiltration into a tissue; and the like. In addition, those drugs are thought to be useful as a preoperative, postoperative, and/or prognostic activator for blood vessel accompanying transplantation of various organs, tissues, and/or cells, for example, as an adhesion activator of transplanted organs such as heart transplantation, renal transplantation, dermal transplantation or liver transplantation.
Recently, it was reported that an EDG-1 agonist which selectively binds to EDG-1 as compared with EDG-3 at least 20 folds was effective for immune disorder (see, WO 03/061567).
On the other hand, it is disclosed that a carboxylic acid derivative represented by formula (Z):
wherein R1Z represents C1-8 alkyl, C1-8 alkoxy, a halogen atom, nitro, or trifluoromethyl; ring AZ represents a C5-7 monocyclic carbocyclic group or a 5- to 7-membered monocyclic heterocyclic group containing one or two nitrogen atoms, one oxygen atom and/or one sulfur atom; EZ represents —CH2—, —O—, —S— or —NR6Z—, in which R6Z represents a hydrogen atom or C1-8 alkyl; R2Z represents C1-8 alkyl, C1-8 alkoxy, a halogen atom, nitro or trifluoromethyl; R3Z represents a hydrogen atom or C1-8 alkyl; R4Z represents a hydrogen atom or C1-8 alkyl, or R2Z and R4Z may be taken together to form —CH2CH2— or —CH═CH—; GZ represents —CONR7Z—, —NR7ZCO—, —SO2NR7Z—, —NR7ZSO2—, —CH2NR7Z- or —NR7ZCH2—, in which R7Z represents a hydrogen atom, C1-8 alkyl or the like; QZ represents C1-4 alkylene or the like; pZ represents 0 or an integer of 1 to 5; qZ represents an integer of 4 to 6; rZ represents 0 or an integer of 1 to 4; and  represents a single bond or a double bond, a prodrug thereof, or a non-toxic salt thereof is useful as an EDG-1 agonist (see WO 02/092068).
Moreover, it is disclosed that a compound represented by formula (Y):
wherein ring AY represents a cyclic group; ring BY represents a cyclic group which may further have a substituent(s); XY represents a bond or a spacer having 1 to 8 atoms in its main chain in which one atom in the spacer may be taken together with a substituent on ring BY to form a ring group which may have a substituent(s); YY represents a bond or a spacer having 1 to 10 atoms in its main chain in which one atom in the spacer may be taken together with a substituent on ring BY to form a ring group which may have a substituent(s); ZY represents an acidic group which may be protected; nY represents 0 or 1, wherein when nY is O, mY represents 1 and R1Y represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent, and when nY is 1, mY is 0 or an integer of 1 to 7 and R1Y represents a substituent in which when mY is 2 or more, a plurality of R1Ys are the same or different from each other, a salt thereof, a solvate thereof, or a prodrug thereof has an S1P receptor binding ability (see WO 2005/020882).
Moreover, it is disclosed that a compound represented by formula (S):
wherein ArS represents phenyl or naphthyl; AS represents carboxy, or the like; ns represents 2, 3 or 4; R1S and R2S each independently represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, hydroxy, carboxy, C1-6 alkyl which may be substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms, or phenyl which may be substituted by 1 to 3 halogen atoms; R3S represents a hydrogen atom or C1-4 alkyl which may be substituted by 1 to 3 hydroxy or halogen atoms; R4Ss each independently represents hydroxy, a halogen atom, carboxy, or the like; CS represents C1-8 alkyl, C1-8 alkoxy, phenyl, or the like or CS is nil; and BS represents phenyl, C5-16 alkyl, or the like (only necessary parts of the definitions of the symbols are extracted);
a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and a hydrate thereof, and
a compound represented by formula (T):
wherein ArT represents phenyl or naphthyl; AT represents carboxy, or the like; mT represents 0 or 1; nT represents 0 or 1; R1T and R2T each independently represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, hydroxy, carboxy, C1-4 alkyl or phenyl which may be substituted by a halogen atom, or the like; R3T represents a hydrogen atom, C1-4 alkyl which may be substituted by hydroxy or a halogen atom, or the like; R4Ts each independently represents a halogen atom, C1-4 alkyl, C1-3 alkoxy, or the like; CT represents C1-8 alkyl, C1-8 alkoxy, phenyl, or the like or CT is nil; and BT represents phenyl, C5-16 alkyl, or the like (only necessary parts of the definitions of the symbols are extracted);
a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, and a hydrate thereof are useful as EDG-1 agonists (see WO 03/062248 and WO 03/062252).
Moreover, it is known that a compound represented by formula (B):
is an EDG-1-selective agonist (see, J. Biol. Chem., 279, 13839 (2004)).
In addition, various compounds each having an agonistic activity against EDG-1 are disclosed (see, WO 03/062392 and WO 04/009816).
In addition, it is disclosed that a compound having a dihydronaphthalene skeleton and represented by formula (U):
wherein XU and YU each independently represents a hydrogen atom, a fluorine atom, a chlorine atom, a bromine atom, alkyl having 4 or less carbon atoms, or alkoxyl having 4 or less carbon atoms, and ZU represents a secondary or tertiary amine (only necessary parts of the definitions of the symbols are extracted),is useful as an analgesic or a tranquilizer (see, U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,791).
Similarly, there is disclosed a bacteriocide composition containing an organic amine compound represented by formula (W):
wherein one of XW and YW represents a hydrogen atom while the other represents the following:
provided that RW represents a hydrogen atom, methyl, or ethyl; ZW represents a hydrogen atom, C1-4 alkyl, or the like; R1W and R2W each represent a hydrogen atom or C1-4 alkyl, or R1W and R2W each represent an optionally-substituted heterocyclic group together with a nitrogen atom adjacent thereto; and nW represents 0 or 1 (only necessary parts of the definitions of the symbols are extracted);
a stereoisomer of the compound; or an acid addition salt thereof (see JP-A-61-291576).
In addition, it is disclosed that an N-cycloalkyl-[ω-(3,4-dihydro-2-naphthalenyl)alkyl]amine derivative represented by formula (VV):
wherein R1V and R2V each represent a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, alkyl, or the like, or R1V and R2V together form ethylenoxy, trimethilene, or the like; R3V represents a hydrogen atom, a halogen atom, alkyl, or the like; R4V represents a hydrogen atom, alkyl, acyl, or the like; R5V represents cycloalkyl; and pV represents an integer of 2 to 6 (only necessary parts of the definitions of the symbols are extracted)
is useful as a treating agent for pollakiuria and acraturesis (see JP-A-10-120632).
In addition, it is disclosed that an amine compound represented by formula (X):
wherein ArX represents an aromatic ring assembly group or a fused aromatic ring; XX represents (i) a bond, (ii) —S—, (iii) C1-6 alkylene or the like which may have 1 to 3 substituents selected from the group consisting of oxo and C1-6 alkyl, (iv) —CO—O—, or (v) —(CH2)pX—X1X, or the like; YX represents a divalent C1-6 aliphatic hydrocarbon group; R1X and R2X each represent a hydrogen atom or lower alkyl, or R1X and R2X together form a nitrogen-containing heterocyclic group; ring AX represents a benzene ring; and ring BX represents a 4- to 8-membered ring (only necessary parts of the definitions of the symbols are extracted)
is useful as an inhibitor of production or secretion of amyloid β protein (see WO 98/038156).

Compound having S1P receptor binding potency and use thereof

Abstract: (wherein ring A and ring D each represent a cyclic group which may have a substituent(s); E and G each represent a bond or a spacer having 1 to 8 atoms in its main chain; L represents a hydrogen atom or a substituent; X represents amino which may have a substituent(s), or a heterocyclic group which contains at least one nitrogen atom and which may have a substituent(s); n represents 0 to 3, in which when n is 2 or more, a plurality of ring A's may be the same or different from one another); a salt thereof; an N-oxide form thereof; a solvate thereof, a prodrug thereof; and a medicament which includes those. The compound represented by formula (I) is capable of binding S1P receptors (in particular, EDG-1 and/or EDG-6), and useful for preventing and/or treating rejection in transplantation, autoimmune diseases, allergic diseases, etc.


During a testing technique, a pre-defined set of tests associated with a software product may be performed on different instances or versions of the software product (such as versions that have different user interfaces) in associated virtual environments. Moreover, during a given test, subsets of a group of individuals may interact with a given version of the software product. Initially, the subsets may be selected based on attributes of the individuals, such as: age, gender, occupation, and/or education level. However, subsequently the results of the executed pre-defined set of tests may be used to update the subsets. Furthermore, the testing technique may be repeated until a termination criterion is reached, such as a target use case of one or more of the subsets. In this way, the testing technique may be used to perform permutation testing.

The present disclosure relates to a technique for testing of a software product. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to dynamically testing the software product using a virtual cluster immune system.
Errors or bugs in a software product can result in system crashes and a poor user experience. Therefore, software products are typically extensively tested to identify and correct bugs. In principle, this testing may involve a variety of complicated tests or experiments, which, ideally, can be performed quickly so that the software-development time is not too long. However, if the experiments are not isolated from each other in a computer system (such as a server farm), they can interfere with each other, which may make it more difficult to correctly test the software product.
One approach for addressing the challenge of such interference is to test the software product in a cluster immune system, which provides a safe environment or area in which the software product is in an isolated cluster or subset of the computer system so that only a select group of customers can try it. In this way, the different experiments cannot interfere with each other.
While this approach offers a controlled way to test the software product, it can be difficult to thoroughly test the software product using a cluster immune system. In particular, it can be difficult to rapidly and intelligently perform a sequence of tests on the software product using a cluster immune system because the iteration rate is often restricted by conflict issues within the cluster immune system. Moreover, the analysis operations that are based on the results of the tests in a cluster immune system are often performed by a human operator of the cluster immune system. As a consequence, the results of the testing in a cluster immune system are often less accurate and can be dated because of the long time between tests.

Virtual cluster immune system for dynamic testing


A conductive member has a first face adapted to be mounted on a board on which an inspection circuit is arranged and a second face adapted to be opposed to a device to be inspected. The conductive member is formed with a plurality of first through holes having a first common diameter and communicating the first face with the second face. A first contact probe is provided with a first tubular body having a second diameter which is smaller than the first diameter, and a first plunger retractably projected from one end of the first tubular body. A second contact probe is provided with a second tubular body having a third diameter which is smaller than the second diameter, and a second plunger retractably projected from one end of the second tubular body. A retainer is formed with a plurality of second through holes having a common shape, and provided on at least the second face of the conductive member so as to communicate the first through holes with the second through holes, so that the first contact probe and the second contact probe are retained in the conductive member while only the first plunger and the second plunger are projected from one ends of the second through holes.

The present invention relates to an inspection unit for a high frequency/high-speed device for ensuring reliable connection between the inspection unit and the device to be inspected, on occasion of inspecting its electrical performance, before a module of a high frequency/high-speed circuit such as an amplifier circuit, a mixer circuit, a filter circuit, a memory, a CPU, etc. or an IC to be incorporated in a mobile phone, for example, has been assembled to a circuit board. In this specification, the term "high frequency" refers to an analogue signal having a high frequency (1 GHz or more), while the term "high-speed" refers to a digital signal having very short pulse width and pulse interval, and both of which are hereinafter collectively referred to as RF (radio frequency).
On occasion of inspecting electrical performance of the RF device such as a semi-conductor wafer, an IC, or a module, insufficient contacts between the terminals may particularly cause fluctuation of impedance or other measurement factors, which may sometimes vary to change measured values. Under the circumstances, such inspection has been conducted by means of a special inspection unit, for example, as shown in FIG. 4A (disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-99889A). In such an inspection, an RF circuit, which is the device to be inspected, is constructed in a form of a module 50 including an amplifier circuit and a mixer circuit, and is housed in a metal casing for avoiding interference with the exterior. The module 50 includes input and output terminals 51, 54 for RF signals, a power supply electrode terminal 52, and a grounding terminal 53, which are provided on a back face of the metal casing. Then, the inspection is conducted by electrically connecting the terminals to respective terminals of a wiring board 66 on which certain wirings for the inspection are arranged.
In the example as shown in FIG. 4A, there are employed contact probes each having a spring and a plunger contained in a metal pipe, one end of the plunger being adapted to be projected to the exterior by the spring and contracted when pushed. The respective electrode terminals are connected by contact probes 63 for RF signals, a contact probe 64 for power supply, and a contact probe 65 for grounding which are contained in a metal block 61 for preventing them from being affected by noises. Each of the contact probes 63 for RF signals is formed in a coaxial structure, using the contact probe as a core conductor and using an inner wall of a through hole in the metal block 61 as an outer conductor, especially for preventing intrusion of noises. In FIG. 4A, denoted with numeral 67 is a coaxial cable, and 68 is a plate for pressing the metal pipes surrounding the contact probes. Such a structure around the contact probes is almost the same in case of an IC socket for inspecting ICs, though such a socket has a different outer shape.
Although FIG. 4A shows only two contact probes 63 for RF signals (for input and output), contact probes 64, 65 each for power supply and for grounding, a large number of these contact probes are actually provided. In the maximum case, the electrode terminals of about 600 pieces per 1 cm2 are provided in a matrix manner with a narrow pitch of about 0.4 mm. Under the circumstances, each of the contact probes has to be extremely small in diameter. Particularly, the contact probe 63 for RF signals has become very small, because it is required to serve as the core conductor of the coaxial structure under certain dimensional relationship with an inner diameter of the through hole which is formed in the metal block 61 as the outer conductor. On the other hand, it is desirable that the contact probe 64 for power supply and the contact probe 65 for grounding are as thick as possible, for the purpose of reducing resistance loss. For this reason, the outer diameters of the contact probes and the inner diameters of the through holes are different depending on the respective contact probes, as shown in FIG. 4B.
Specifically, in a case of constructing an inspection unit in which an interval between the contact probes is 0.5 mm, the contact probes have various values in diameter. For example, the outer diameter d1 of the contact probe 63 for RF signals is 0.2 mm and the inner diameter D1 of the through hole is 0.45 mm, whereas the outer diameter d2 of the contact probe 64 for power supply is 0.3 mm and the inner diameter D2 of the through hole is 0.42 mm, and the outer diameter d3 of the contact probe 65 for grounding is 0.3 mm and the inner diameter D3 of the through hole is 0.4 mm. On the other hand, all the contact probes have the same length L which is set to be 4.0 mm, for example.
As described above, the contact probes and the through holes of the metal block in which the contact probes are disposed have different diameters for usage of respective contact probes, and therefore the conventional inspection unit is constructed in such a manner that the contact probes are disposed in respective positions according to the arrangement of the electrode terminals in a device to be inspected. Meanwhile, such inspection unit is unable to be prepared prior to developing stage, because in the developing stage of the module and IC of this type, various adjustments are continued along with the inspection, and accordingly, there may be changes in the arrangement of the electrode terminals, such as addition of a grounding terminal.
Nevertheless, even in the developing stage, it is impossible to perform accurate inspection unless a reliable inspection unit is employed. Under the circumstances, there is a problem that in a case where various inspection units are prepared in the developing stage, it would lead to an enormous increase of cost. Furthermore, in a case where provisional inspecting tools are used in order to conduct the inspection in the developing stage, and a producer of inspection units starts to produce a definitive version of the inspection unit after completion of the development based on the fixed arrangement of the electrode terminals in the device to be inspected, these may be a problem that it would not be in time for conducting the inspection immediately. Especially in a case where the producer of the inspection unit is different from the developer of the device, the developer of the device generally have a tendency not to disclose the arrangement of the electrode terminals to the producer of the inspection unit to the final stage of the development, in some cases, which is a serious time factor in preparing the inspection unit.


A connector assembly for connecting with a rotatable shaft is provided. The connector assembly includes a mating sleeve threadably coupleable about the shaft and a center sleeve sized and shaped for deployment between the shaft and the mating sleeve. The center sleeve includes pluralities of splines formed on inner and outer surfaces thereof. The splines on the inner surface of the center sleeve are engageable with splines on the outer surface of the shaft and the splines on the outer surface of the center sleeve are engageable with splines on the inner surface of the mating sleeve. Exemplary embodiments of this invention are useful in downhole tools to reduce make-up torque requirements of the mating sleeve, and therefore may advantageously increase the cyclic torsional and/or bending load capacity of the shaft, while also increasing the total torsional load capacity of the connection.

In downhole drilling applications, torque is often transferred from a power source at the surface to a drill bit. In such applications, the torque is conventionally transferred through the shafts and/or cylindrical tubes that make up the drill string. In other downhole drilling applications, torque may be transferred from a downhole drilling motor to the drill bit. In such applications, the torque is transferred through the shafts and/or cylindrical tubes deployed between the drilling motor and the drill bit.
In either of these downhole drilling arrangements, the shafts and/or cylindrical tubes deployed between the power source and the drill bit must also typically accommodate significant bending loads, such as are commonly encountered in deviated boreholes. Such torsional and bending loads must typically be transferred through joints (e.g., threaded box and pin connections) at which adjacent components (e.g., drill string tubes) are connected.
In certain downhole applications, torque is transferred from a cylindrical tube (such as the tubes that make up the drill string) to a shaft (such as a rotatable shaft in a downhole tool). One common way to accommodate torsional and bending loads in such applications is to thread a mating sleeve to the shaft and tighten it (with sufficient torque to withstand anticipated torsional and bending loads) against a shoulder on the outer diameter of the shaft. Alternatively, another common approach includes using a second threaded sleeve as a shoulder. The mating sleeve is then tightened against the second sleeve (e.g., similar to a conventional locking nut). While such methods have been utilized to connect shafts and sleeves in various drilling operations, one drawback is that they typically require the sleeves to be tightened with a make up torque equal to about one-half the torsion yield of the connector (e.g., to about 45,000 foot pounds in common downhole applications). The use of such a high make up torque increases the stresses in the shaft and sleeves and thus tends to limit the bending and torsion loads that they may safely withstand.
Locking devices for downhole box and pin connectors are also known in the prior art. FIG. 1 shows one such prior art locking device that includes three cylindrical sleeves 75, 90, and 95 deployed coaxially about the box 80 and pin 70. Torque sleeve 75 includes a plurality of dogs 73 formed on an inner surface thereof and is configured to engage corresponding slots 72 formed on an outer surface of the pin member 70. Slide sleeve 95 includes a plurality of dogs 83 formed on an inner surface thereof is configured to engage slots 82 formed on an outer surface of the box member 80. Alignment sleeve 90 includes first and second sets of radial splines 79 and 91 formed on an internal surface thereof. The first set 79 includes 41 splines and is configured to engage splines 78 formed on an outer surface of torque ring 75. The second set 91 includes 40 splines and is configured to engage splines 92 formed on an outer surface of the slide ring 95. As such, the pin member 70 is rotationally coupled to the box member 80 when spines 78 and 79 and splines 91 and 92 are engaged.
With continue reference to FIG. 1, the locking device is made up about the connection by deploying the torque sleeve 75 about pin member 70 with dogs 73 engaged with slots 72. Alignment sleeve 90 and slide sleeve 95 are deployed about box member 80 with dogs 83 engaged with slots 82. The pin member 70 is then threaded to box member 80 (with threads 71 engaging threads 81) and tightened to a predetermined torque. A spacer (not shown) is translated into place and holds torque sleeve 75 firmly in place against shoulder 85 of box member 80. The alignment sleeve 90 is then rotated between the torque ring 75 and slide sleeve 95 until splines 78 and 79 and splines 91 and 92 are aligned. The slide sleeve is then translated axially towards the torque ring such that splines 78 and 79 and splines 91 and 92 engage. One or more soft nails are then driven into grooves 98 to hold sleeves 75, 90, and 95 together.
Another prior art locking device for a downhole box and pin connector includes two sleeves deployed coaxially about the threaded box member. The first sleeve includes four large axial dogs on one axial face disposed to engage four corresponding radial slots disposed on the outer surface of the box member. The second sleeve includes a plurality of axial splines configured to engage with corresponding axial splines disposed on a shoulder portion of the threaded pin member. The sleeves are further disposed to engage one another via a plurality of interlocking axial splines. As such, the box member may be rotationally coupled to the pin member when the first and second sleeves are engaged. The second sleeve includes 19 axial splines on one axial face and 20 axial splines on the opposing axial face. The locking device further includes a covering member deployed about the first and second sleeves. The covering member is intended to provide axial support for the first and second sleeves and is held in place by a soft nail pressed into a circumferential groove in the shoulder portion of the pin member.
The above-described connector assemblies, while potentially serviceable, are complex (e.g., including three splined sleeves nailed together and held in place by a spacer or including two splined sleeves with an encircling cover nailed in place). Moreover, the above described connector assemblies do not efficiently utilize the available diametrical space. For example, in both assemblies the sleeves are deployed about the box and pin members, thereby reducing the maximum outer diameter of the box and pin members. Such a reduced outer diameter tends to reduce the strength of the connection. Therefore, there exists a need for improved connector assemblies for downhole drilling tools. In particular, there exists a need for connector assemblies for connecting a mating sleeve to a rotatable shaft that are suitable to support large torsional and/or bending loads, often cyclic in nature, and that efficiently utilize the diametrical space available in the downhole tool.

Downhole rotatable-shaft connector assembly and method