An SPM cantilever comprises a cantilever portion shaped as a thin plate and extending between a proximal end and a free end, a supporting portion attached to one surface of the cantilever portion on a side of the proximal end, and a probe projecting from the other surface of the cantilever portion on a side of the free end of the cantilever portion the supporting member, and the cantilever portion and the probe are made of different materials.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an SPM cantilever for use in a scanning probe microscope such as an atomic force microscope, and a method for manufacturing the SPM cantilever.
2. Description of the Related Art
Since a scanning tunneling microscope (STM) was invented by Binning, Rohrer, et al., as an apparatus for observing a conductive sample in a resolution on the order of the atomic size, it has been utilized in various fields as a microscope with which surface ruggedness can be observed in the atomic order. However, the sample, which can be observed by the STM, is limited to a conductive substance.
An atomic force microscope (AFM) has been proposed as a microscope to observe an insulating sample, which cannot be easily inspected by the STM, utilizing the element techniques, such as the servo technique in the STM. The AFM is disclosed in, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 62-130302.
The AFM is similar to the STM in structure, and classified as one of scanning probe microscopes (SPMs). In the AFM, a cantilever having a sharp projection (probe) at the free end is arranged near a measurement surface of a sample so as to be faced thereto. A movement of the cantilever, due to interaction between an atom at the end of the probe and an atom of the sample, is measured electrically or optically, while the sample or the probe is scanned in XY directions to relatively change the positional relationship between the cantilever and the probe. In this manner, information on the sample, such as the ruggedness, can be inspected three-dimensionally on the order of the atomic size.
A cantilever chip for use in the SPM, such as the AFM as described above, has been able to be produced in a high reproducibility with a high accuracy in the micron order, since T. R. Albrecht et al. proposed a cantilever made of silicon oxide film, which can be manufactured by the semiconductor IC manufacturing process (Thomas R. Albrecht and Calvin F. Quate: Atomic Resolution Imaging of a Nonconductor Atomforce Microscopy, J. Appl. Phy. 62 (1987) 2599). Because such cantilever chips can be produced by a batch process, the production cost is considerably reduced. Accordingly, at present, the cantilevers produced by utilizing the semiconductor IC manufacturing process have become mainstream of the SPM cantilevers.
A conventional method for producing an AFM cantilever made of silicon nitride film, utilizing the semiconductor IC manufacturing process, will be described with reference to FIGS. 12A to 12F (first prior art). First, as shown in FIG. 12A, a silicon nitride film pattern 902 is formed on the main surface (the (100) plane) of an Si substrate 901, thereby forming a starting substrate 900. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 12B, the Si substrate 901 is subjected to anisotropic wet etching with KOH or the like, using the silicon nitride film pattern 902 as an etching-resistant mask. As a result, a pyramidal replica hole 903, serving as a mold of a probe of a cantilever, is formed on part of the main surface of the Si substrate 901. Then, as shown in FIG. 12C, the silicon nitride film pattern 902 is removed, and a new silicon nitride film 904, serving as a material of a cantilever, is deposited on the main surface of the Si substrate 901 including the exposed surface of the replica hole 903. Further, as shown in FIG. 12D, the silicon nitride film 904 is selectively etched into the shape of the cantilever, thereby forming a cantilever pattern 905. Then, as shown in FIG. 12E, Pyrex 906 to be a supporting member of the cantilever is anode-bonded to a predetermined region of the cantilever pattern 905. Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 12F, the Si substrate 901 is entirely removed by etching, thereby forming an AFM cantilever 907 having a supporting portion 906, a lever portion 905a and a probe portion 905b.
Thus, the AFM cantilever manufactured in the above method comprises a supporting portion made of glass, and probe and cantilever portions formed of silicon nitride film so as to be integral with each other. The AFM cantilevers having such a structure can be produced in a high reproducibility with a high accuracy of the micro n order. In addition, since the probe is made of silicon nitride film, which has a hydrophilic nature, it is applicable to AFM measurement in a liquid suitable to a living organism sample.
Recently, measurement with a scanning near-field optical microscope (SNOM) has attracted public attention. The SNOM has a resolution beyond the diffraction limit by virtue of an evanescent wave. Like the STM and the AFM, the SNOM is a kind of SPM, and uses a method for obtaining an optical image of a very high resolution by scanning an optically transmissible prove near a sample irradiated with light, utilizing the characteristic that the evanescent wave is located in a limited region smaller than the wavelength and is not transmitted in free space.
The measuring principle of the SNOM is to first cause the probe to approach near the surface of a measurement sample to a distance of about 1 wavelength or shorter, and prepare a map of intensity of light transmitted through a fine opening at the end of the probe, thereby resolving an image of the measurement sample. There ar e a number of measuring methods using the SNOM, which are divided broadly into two. One is called the collection method, in which an evanescent wave, transmitted through the sample when the sample is irradiated with light and located in a limited region near the surface of the sample, is detected through the probe to form an SNOM image. The other is called the emission method, in which the sample is irradiated with light emitted from the probe having a minute opening and light transmitted through the sample is detected by an optical detector arranged under the sample. This method is disclosed in, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 4-291310.
It is reported that the aforementioned AFM cantilever having a probe made of silicon nitride film can be applied to the SNOM measurement (N. F. van Hulst, M. H. P. Moers, O. F. J. Moordman, R. G. Tack, F. B. Segerink, B. Bolger; Near-field Optical Microscope Using a Silicon-nitride Probe, Appl. Phys. lett. 62,461 (1993)). Since silicon nitride film is capable of transmitting light, the AFM cantilever having a probe made of silicon nitride film is applicable to the SNOM measurement.
AFM measuring methods have a contact mode and a non-contact mode. The contact mode includes a method of measuring the surface of a sample in a state where the sample and the probe are in contact with each other and a tapping mode of measuring the surface of a sample, while tapping the sample surface. The non-contact mode includes a method of measuring the surface of a sample in a state where the sample and the probe are separated from each other at a distance of 5 to 10 nm and an oscillation mode (AC mode) in which the sample or the probe is oscillated at a constant frequency in a non-contact state. Of these methods, the AC mode and the tapping mode require a hard cantilever.
To produce a hard cantilever, a lever film must be thick. As an example of the hard cantilever, a type of AFM cantilever is widely known, in which the probe, the lever, and the supporting portion are integrally formed of silicon (e.g., O. Wolter, Th. Bayer, and J. Greschner; Micromachined Silicon Sensors for Scanning Force Microscopy, J. Vac. Sci. Technol. B9(2), May/April 1991) (second prior art).
The cantilever integrally formed of silicon is produced by the semiconductor manufacturing technique like the aforementioned AFM cantilever. Therefore, it can be produced in a high reproducibility with a high accuracy on the micron order. In addition, since a lever is constituted by a silicon substrate, a thick lever can be produced easily. Since the probe is made of silicon, the conductivity can be added to the probe by diffusing an impurity into silicon in advance. It is therefore possible to perform STM measurement and surface decoration or process by using the probe.
The SPM cantilever for use in, for example, an AFM, in which a probe and a lever are integrally formed of silicon (first prior art), has the following drawbacks. The thickness of the cantilever is determined by the thickness of silicon nitride film deposited after forming a replica hole. However, to avoid a crack or a bend of the substrate due to the stress in deposition of silicon nitride film, the thickness of the film which can be deposited is limited to about 1 .mu.m. It is therefore impossible to form a hard cantilever useful for measurement of the AC-mode or tapping mode. Further, since the probe is made of silicon nitride film, i.e., insulating film, it is difficult to apply the probe to the STM measurement and surface decoration or process.
Furthermore, in the cantilever made of silicon nitride film, to avoid a bend of the lever after removing the substrate by etching, the ratio of Si to N contained in silicon nitride film must be higher than 3:4 of the normal semiconductor IC. The inventors found that the optical transmittance is lowered in the silicon nitride film containing Si in a higher ratio, since light is absorbed by Si in a region of a short wavelength shorter than 400 nm.
As described before, the SPM cantilever formed integrally with silicon nitride is applicable to the SNOM measurement. To analyze by the SNOM a spectrum of fluorescence emitted from the measurement sample, the optical transmittance of the probe in a wide wavelength region is required. However, since the probe and the lever are formed integral with each other, the probe is made of the silicon nitride film containing Si in a high ratio, which lowers the optical transmittance in a short wavelength region. The probe is therefore unsuitable for such a measurement.
In the conventional SPM integrally formed as mentioned above, since both the probe and the lever are formed of silicon nitride, part of evanescent light input through the end of the probe or light scattered in the probe is transmitted from the probe to the lever. Therefore, the amount of light, which can be applied to the SNOM measuring optical detector (e.g., the photodetector) arranged above the cantilever, is as small as 100 pW. For this reason, the loss of the light detected by the optical detector is great relative to the light incident on the end of the probe, resulting in the problem that the SNOM measurement cannot be performed with a high sensitivity.
In the AFM cantilever in which the probe, the lever and the supporting member are integrally formed of Si (second prior art), since the probe is made of Si, in order to perform AFM measurement in water, which is available for living organism, it is necessary to coat the probe surface with hydrophilic film, thereby changing hydrophobic Si to hydrophilic. In this case, the sharpness of the end of the probe is reduced. Moreover, since the supporting member is formed of Si so as to be integral with the lever, it is necessary to form patterns on both surfaces of the substrate, and a special manufacturing apparatus is required.
Further, whether the cantilever has a probe made of silicon nitride or silicon, the mechanical strength thereof is not sufficient for the ultra-refined machining technique. As described above, in the AFM cantilever produced by the conventional semiconductor manufacturing technique, it is difficult to simultaneously satisfy the requirement for the probe and the requirement for the lever, since the probe and the lever are formed of the same material.

SPM cantilever and a method for manufacturing the same


In a metal oxide film formation method of the present invention, the following steps are performed. In a solution vessel, a raw-material solution including aluminum as a metallic element is turned into a mist so that a raw-material solution mist is obtained. In a solution vessel provided independently of the solution vessel, a reaction aiding solution including a reaction aiding agent for formation of aluminum oxide is turned into a mist so that an aiding-agent mist is obtained. Then, the raw-material solution mist and the aiding-agent mist are fed to a nozzle provided in a reactor vessel via paths. Thereafter, the raw-material solution mist and the aiding-agent mist are mixed in the nozzle so that a mixed mist is obtained. Then, the mixed mist is fed onto a back surface of a heated P-type silicon substrate.

In the fields of a solar cell, a flat panel display (FFD), a light emitting device such as a light emitting diode (LED), a touch panel, and the like, a metal oxide film is formed on a substrate. As a method of forming a metal oxide film on a substrate by using a non-vacuum film formation technique, a metal oxide film formation method in which a solution is opened to air, such as a spray method, a sol-gel method, or a mist chemical vapor deposition (CVD) method, is conventionally employed.
In each of those film formation methods, when a metal oxide film which is an object being formed is formed, one kind of raw-material solution is used. While it is possible to perform blending for a raw-material solution beforehand, one kind of blended raw-material solution is supposed to be used in forming a metal oxide film.
As such, in a metal oxide film formation method using a conventional non-vacuum film formation technique, because of the use of one kind of blended raw-material solution in forming, a metal oxide film, reaction energy required to form a metal oxide film with a raw-material solution is uniquely determined.
As a method which lowers reaction energy in forming a metal oxide film with a raw-material solution to increase a speed of forming a metal oxide film, there are two conventional methods as follows.
First, as a first method in which a process is performed in a direct manner, a method in which a reaction aiding agent is previously mixed into a raw-material solution, to lower the above-described reaction energy, is conceivable. As an example of the first method, a metal oxide film formation method disclosed in Patent Document 1 is cited, for example.
FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing an overall configuration of a conventional film forming apparatus 200 using the first method, which is disclosed in Patent Document 1.
As shown in FIG. 7, a raw-material solution 18 (a solution including zinc) and a reaction aiding solution 24 (ammonia water) in the same solution vessel 15 are fed, and a mixed solution 34 of the raw-material solution 18 and the reaction aiding solution 24 is turned into a mist by a mist former 16, so that a mixed mist M4 which is the mixed solution 34 turned into a mist is obtained.
Then, the mixed mist M4 passes through a path L11 and is fed to a back surface (upper surface) of a P-type silicon substrate 4 in a reactor vessel 11, so that a back-side passivation film 5 (zinc oxide thin film) is formed on a back surface of the P-type silicon substrate 4.
According to the film formation method disclosed in Patent Document 1, in forming a metal oxide film (zinc oxide thin film) using a mist method, the raw-material solution 18 and the reaction aiding solution 24 including a reaction aiding agent (ammonia water) are mixed with each other in the same atomizer (the solution vessel 15, the mist former 16), so that the mixed mist M4 is obtained. Then, the mixed mist M4 is fed to a back surface (one main surface) of the P-type silicon substrate 4 in the reactor vessel 11, in an attempt to lower the above-described reaction energy.
On the other hand, a second method in which a process is performed in an indirect manner is a method in which a reaction aiding gas is additionally fed to the above-described reactor vessel to adjust an atmosphere at a time of formation of a metal oxide film, so that lowering of the above-described reaction energy at a time of formation of a metal oxide film can be achieved by a raw-material solution turned into a mist in the above-described reactor vessel, and a high-quality metal oxide film is attained.

Toshiba Mitsubishi-Electric Industrial Systems Corporation

Kochi Prefectural Public University Corporation


Hemicellulose fibers, more particularly to non-naturally occurring fibers incorporating hemicellulose, processes for making same and fibrous structures incorporating same are provided.

Non-naturally occurring fibers have been explored by formulators for decades. For example, non-naturally occurring cellulose fibers, such as lyocell and/or rayon, have been used in textile applications. Further, non-naturally occurring cellulose derivative fibers, such as cellulose acetate and/or cellulose fatty acid ester fibers, have also been used in textile applications.
Further, non-naturally occurring fibers comprising mainly cellulose, such as lyocell, have been taught in the art as also comprising up to 27% hemicellulose. However, the prior art has failed to teach a non-naturally occurring fiber comprising greater than 30% by weight on a dry fiber basis of hemicellulose and/or non-naturally occurring fibers comprising mainly hemicellulose.
However, the costs, processing complexities and properties of these cellulose and/or cellulose derivative fibers have made the use of such fibers in non-textile fibrous structures, such as paper towels, bath tissue, facial tissue and/or wipes, less attractive.
Accordingly, there is a need for a non-naturally occurring fiber that is suitable and cost effective for inclusion in non-textile fibrous structures, especially sanitary tissue products, processes for making such non-naturally occurring fibers, fibrous structures comprising such non-naturally occurring fibers and sanitary tissue products comprising such fibrous structures.

Fibers comprising hemicellulose and processes for making same


A method and apparatus enables identification of customer characteristics and behavior, and predicts the customer's intent. Such prediction can be used to adopt various business strategies to increase the chances of conversion of customer interaction to a sale, and thereby can increase revenue, and/or enhance the customer's experience.

1. Technical Field
The invention relates to improving customer experiences. More particularly, the invention relates to discovering and predicting customer intent to improve the customer experience.
2. Description of the Background Art
The rapid adoption of the Internet and other communication technologies over the last decade has changed the way people buy products and services. While e-commerce is convenient for buyers and sellers alike, there are certain challenges faced by businesses if they are to serve their prospective clients effectively.
In traditional commerce, a customer's intent may be determined by observing the customer's behavior, body language, voice, and what the customer asks for. The best way to help a customer may be inferred based on age, sex, physical disability, socioeconomic status, etc. For example, a female wanting to buy a dress may be directed to different parts of the store depending on whether she is a teenager, an elderly woman, or overweight. A large, muscular, able-bodied man is unlikely to receive an offer to help carry his groceries out to the car.
However, it is more difficult to anticipate the needs of a customer visiting a website to engage in e-commerce because of the lack of personal information that Internet anonymity provides. It becomes more difficult to identify user needs and, as a result, it is difficult to offer useful help, or to recommend products or services, to the customer. While in a traditional brick and mortar store it may be possible to identify whether a prospective consumer is looking to buy a particular product or service, or is just window shopping, as indicated by the intensity of interest shown and questions asked, the same clues are not available from a prospective consumer in an online store.

Method and apparatus for intent modeling and prediction


The present specification provides for an oxidative hair treatment agent. The agent includes, in a cosmetic carrier, a combination of at least one oxidizing agent and at least one modified starch. The modified starch is modified by propylene oxide, has an average molecular weight between 50 and 2500 kiloDaltons (kDa), and has a propylene oxide content between 0.1 and 20.0 weight percent (wt %) based on the weight of the modified starch.

Human hair is treated with hair-cosmetic preparations in many ways. These preparations include, for example, cleaning the hair with shampoo, care and regeneration with rinses and therapies, bleaching, coloring, and deforming the hair using coloring agents, tinting agents, waving agents, and styling preparations.
Permanent oxidative coloring, as well as hair bleaching and retention in the context of permanent waving, may be performed as an oxidative hair treatment in the presence of oxidizing agents such as hydrogen peroxide. Unfortunately, the oxidizing agent in this context not only achieves the desired cosmetic effect, but also damages the structure of the hair keratin. This causes the cysteine present in keratin to be oxidized to cysteic acid, which has a negative effect on the stability, haptics, and appearance of the hair fibers. Hair damaged in this way looks dull and brittle. In extreme cases, hair breakage can even occur.
European patent application EP 1568351 A1 to Vona Jr. discloses the use of a composition, comprising a starch including pregelatinized amylose, to preserve artificial color on hair.
International patent application WO 1998001109 A1 to Mueller et al. relates to agents for cleaning or caring for hair, the agent including a pregelatinized crosslinked starch selected from a (C2 to C6) hydroxyalkyl starch and a (C2 to C6) acyl starch.
The object of the present specification is to decrease the above-described side effects of oxidative hair treatments during the oxidative hair treatment itself, without degrading the efficiency of the oxidative cosmetic especially in terms of color intensity, color fastness, lightening performance, or waving effect.
Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Gentle oxidative hair treatment with oxidizing agent and special starch derivative


A crosslinkable polymer composition includes repeating units of formula (I)

Polymer gels are swellable, insoluble networks used in a broad array of applications, from tissue engineering to consumer products. A key feature of gels is their mechanical tunability, wherein the elastic moduli can range from tens of Pa to tens of MPa. The moduli of gels are highly controllable through alteration of backbone composition and crosslinking density. See, e.g., Herrick, W. G. et al. PEG-phosphorylcholine hydrogels as tunable and versatile platforms for mechanobiology. Biomacromolecules 14, 2294-2304 (2013). Two major limitations in this field are that, once synthesized, the modulus of a gel network is fixed, and gels are typically strain-weakening. This latter feature limits their utility in industrial applications that require robust strength during processing.
In contrast, nature's polymers exhibit strain-stiffening mechanisms. See, e.g., Arevalo R C, Kumar P, Urbach J S, Blair D L (2015) Stress Heterogeneities in Sheared Type-I Collagen Networks Revealed by Boundary Stress Microscopy. PLoS ONE 10(3): e0118021 (2015); Schmoller, K. M., Fernandez, P., Arevalo, R. C., Blair, D. L. & Bausch, A. R. Cyclic hardening in bundled actin networks. Nat. Commun. 1, 134 (2010); Vader, D., Kabla, A., Weitz, D. & Mahadevan, L. Strain-induced alignment in collagen gels. PLoS ONE 4, e5902 (2009); Motte, S. & Kaufman, L. J. Strain stiffening in collagen I networks. Biopolymers 99, 35-46 (2013); Janmey, P. A., Winer, J. P. & Weisel, J. W. Fibrin gels and their clinical and bioengineering applications. J. R. Soc. Interface 6, 1-10 (2009). Fibrin during blood clotting and actin cytoskeletal filaments during cell movement show rapid stiffening under deformation. See, e.g., Janmey, P. A., Winer, J. P. & Weisel, J. W. Fibrin gels and their clinical and bioengineering applications. J. R. Soc. Interface 6, 1-10 (2009); Gardel, M. L. et al. Elastic behavior of cross-linked and bundled actin networks. Science 304, 1301-1305 (2004); Gardel, M. L. et al. Stress-dependent elasticity of composite actin networks as a model for cell behavior. Phys. Rev. Lett. 96, 088102 (2006). These biological polymers inspire the creation of strain-responsive synthetic materials. Strain-induced strengthening has been widely exploited to improve the performance of several traditional polymer classes. For example, thermoplastics for applications like films, fibers, and foams are tunable via force-induced molecular orientation and crystallization/physical crosslinking. See, e.g., Caruso, M. M. et al. Mechanically-induced chemical changes in polymeric materials. Chem. Rev. 109, 5755-5798 (2009); Tosaka, M., Kohjiya, S., Ikeda, Y., Toki, S. & Hsiao, B. S. Molecular orientation and stress relaxation during strain-induced crystallization of vulcanized natural rubber. Polym. J. 42, 474-481 (2010). A similar mechanical tuning of crosslinked polymer materials including linear polymer gel precursors could greatly broaden their potential and utility.
Recent innovations have created dynamically responsive gels with increasing moduli induced via heat or light, but these typically require sophisticated chemistries, and would not work for materials in dark environments, such as adhesives. See, e.g., Caliari, S. R. et al. Stiffening hydrogels for investigating the dynamics of hepatic stellate cell mechanotransduction during myofibroblast activation. Sci. Rep. 6, 21387 (2016); Mabry, K. M., Lawrence, R. L. & Anseth, K. S. Dynamic stiffening of poly(ethylene glycol)-based hydrogels to direct valvular interstitial cell phenotype in a three-dimensional environment. Biomaterials 49, 47-56 (2015); Rosales, A. M., Mabry, K. M., Nehls, E. M. & Anseth, K. S. Photoresponsive elastic properties of azobenzene-containing poly(ethylene-glycol)-based hydrogels. Biomacromolecules 16, 798-806 (2015); Shih, H. & Lin, C. C. Tuning stiffness of cell-laden hydrogel via host-guest interactions. J. Mater. Chem. B 4, 4969-4974 (2016); Stowers, R. S., Allen, S. C. & Suggs, L. J. Dynamic phototuning of 3D hydrogel stiffness. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 112, 1953-1958 (2015); Kouwer, P. H. J. et al. Responsive biomimetic networks from polyisocyanopeptide hydrogels. Nature 493, 651-655 (2013); Jaspers, M. et al. Ultra-responsive soft matter from strain-stiffening hydrogels. Nat. Commun. 5, 5808 (2014). Attempts to selectively tailor the strength and functionality of synthetic gel polymer networks by exploiting mechanical deformation have resulted in transient gel stiffening due to chain associations or elasticity, but not permanent strain-induced modulus or crosslinking increases across the range of deformations. See, e.g., Jaspers, M. et al. Ultra-responsive soft matter from strain-stiffening hydrogels. Nat. Commun. 5, 5808 (2014); Cui, Y., Tan, M., Zhu, A. & Guo, M. Strain hardening and highly resilient hydrogels crosslinked by chain-extended reactive pseudo-polyrotaxane. RSC Adv. 4, 56791-56797 (2014); Middleton, L. R. et al. Hierarchical acrylic acid aggregate morphologies produce strain-hardening in precise polyethylene-based copolymers. Macromolecules 48, 3713-3724 (2015); Myung, D. et al. Biomimetic strain hardening in interpenetrating polymer network hydrogels. Polymer 48, 5376-5387 (2007); Miquelard-Garnier, G., Creton, C. & Hourdet, D. Strain induced clustering in polyelectrolyte hydrogels. Soft Matter 4, 1011-1023 (2008); Zheng, J. et al. Strain-promoted cross-linking of PEG-based hydrogels via copper-free cycloaddition. ACS Macro Lett 1, 1071-1073 (2012); Erk, K. A., Henderson, K. J. & Shull, K. R. Strain stiffening in synthetic and biopolymer networks. Biomacromolecules 11, 1358-1363 (2010). Subsequent gel deformation in these systems typically produced similar or lower stiffness than the initial deformation, suggesting that the bonds are meta-stable, as opposed to the physical or chemical crosslinks.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the art for a new class of materials containing latent crosslinking domains to promote on-demand, strain induced hardening while using simple, scalable chemistry. Such a strain-induced crosslinking activation would be particularly useful in adhesive applications, coatings, elastomers, structural components, and the like, specifically, pressure sensitive adhesive applications.

Abstract: and repeating units derived from a monomer having an ethylenically unsaturated group and a crosslinkable functional group, wherein the crosslinkable functional group is capable of forming a covalent linkage with a crosslinkable functional group of an adjacent repeating unit. R′ and R2 are as defined herein. The crosslinkable polymer composition can be particularly useful, for example, for pressure sensitive adhesive or coating compositions. A method of making the polymer composition and a pressure sensitive adhesive and a coating are also described.


As described herein, one of a third generation (3G) radio access network (RAN) or a fifth generation (5G) RAN may be selected to receive a handover of a communication session from a fourth generation (4G) RAN. The 3G RAN or 5G RAN may be selected based on at least one of performance measurements for the 3G RAN and the 5G RAN, a preference for the 3G RAN or the 5G RAN, or a performance threshold for the 3G RAN or for the 5G RAN. The handover to the selected one of the 3G RAN or 5G RAN may then be initiated.

Cellular communication devices, often referred to as mobile devices or user equipment (UE), use network radio access technologies (RATs) to communicate wirelessly with geographically distributed cellular base stations. Long-Term Evolution (LTE) is an example of a widely implemented radio access technology that is used in Fourth Generation (4G) communication systems. New Radio (NR) is a newer radio access technology that is used in Fifth Generation (5G) communication systems. Legacy RATs include those of Third Generation (3G) and Second Generation (2G) communication systems. Standards for LTE and NR radio access technologies, as well as RATs for 3G systems, have been developed by the 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) for use by wireless communication carriers.
5G systems thus far have assumed a Non-Standalone (NSA) implementation, with a 5G radio access network (RAN) paired with a 4G RAN. The 4G RAN carries the voice and signaling, and the 5G RAN carries data. If a handover is need from the 5G leg of the NSA implementation, the 4G RAN receives the data session from the 5G RAN. If a handover is needed from a 4G RAN, whether alone or paired with a 5G RAN in a NSA implementation, the handover is to a 3G RAN.


An overboard alarm system includes a signal device and a receiving station. The signal device includes a water-activated switch, a transmitter controlled by the switch to generate a signal, an antenna for providing the signal from the transmitter, and a floatation aid for keeping an end of the antenna above water when the signal device is located in the water. The transmitter may be an RF transmitter. The receiving station includes a receiving antenna for receiving the signal transmitted by the signal device, and an interface for providing the received signal to a navigational system. The receiving station may further include a processor for formatting the received signal and for providing the formatted signal to the interface. The receiving station may further include an alarm device for providing an alarm output in response to the received signal. The processor may include means for recording the position of the receiving station when the received signal is provided to the navigational system. The processor may include means for locating the position of the signal device based on the signal transmitted by the signal device. The processor may include means for recording the position of the signal device in response to the received signal. The receiving station may include a floatation device, visual indicia, and/or a GPS transceiver that is deployable in the direction of the signal device, under control of the processor in response to the received signal.

Various devices for detecting that a person has fallen off of a ship and for locating that person have been previously developed. All of these devices have significant shortfalls. Conventional inventions in this field can be classified by (1) the method used to transmit a signal from a sensor to a central receiver, or (2) the method in which the ship's personnel is alerted of the loss overboard. Most of these devices rely on radio frequency (RF) signals which propagate through the air, or on acoustic or ultrasonic signals propagating through the water. Water propagation of signals is not practical because it requires costly detection equipment not often found on a ship. RF transmission systems generally fail to produce a signal of sufficient strength to penetrate the air/water interface and still effectively alert those on the ship of the person overboard. Further, no conventional system interfaces with ship navigational equipment for recording event location.
The following four areas are of particular relevance to this type of detection system: mode of signal propagation, type of signal transmitted, complexity of the system, and the ability to determine the location of the individual who has fallen overboard.
Mode of propagation--This type of system is designed to detect the event of an individual who has fallen from a ship and into the water, therefore it must include a number of sensors, one sensor attached to each individual to be monitored, and the ability to signal the ship from the water. To signal the ship, a transmitter associated with the overboard individual can use radio waves, light, sound, or ultrasonic energy. In conventional systems, all forms of acoustic/ultrasonic energy must travel through the water to reach a sensor/receiver on the ship. Transmission through this medium is very unreliable, and the dependability of such a signal is highly dependent on the environment and on ambient noise. Reverberation effects from the water's surface, bottom, and thermal layers often mask this type of signal, or cause false alarms. Because this device is intended to provide an added measure of safety for those aboard the ship, high assurance is required. False alarms will cause the crew to react more slowly in the event of a real emergency.
Several systems are available which use lights, such as strobes or flares, to signal a ship in the event of a man overboard. These systems are inexpensive to put in place and are generally reliable. However, they require that a crew member must always be watching to observe the signal, because there is no practical way to automate this type of alarm.
Other systems, which signal the ship using a radio transmitter, fail to address the problem of the air/water interface and its effect on propagation. In low power RF devices such as those typically used in this type of system, the design and location of the antenna is one of the most important considerations in determining the range and quality of signal transmitted. In designing an event detector for this type of system, a transmitter and a water detector both must be located on or near the individual. If the transmitter is submerged for activation, and the antenna is below the air/water interface, the signal will not propagate the distance required to the ship with signal strength sufficient to deliver meaningful information.
Type of signal--Alarms on board the ship can be triggered by a signal, or by the absence of a signal indicating that everything is normal. Systems which depend on the interruption of a signal are generally not acceptable for ships with large numbers of people on board, since each individual would need a signal source and each signal source would have to be monitored. Additionally, this type of device would have to be active at all times, causing a drain on power supplies. This type of signal device would also cause many false alarms, since interference and environment can occasionally cause signals to drop out.
Complexity--Systems which use sonar or ultrasonic energy to transmit signals require significant amounts of equipment. Sonar sensors need to be mounted away from the ship's hull and other sources of noise, interference, and multipath. Additionally, acoustic and ultrasonic signals require complicated signal processing to determine the nature of the signal and to separate the signal from ambient noise.
Localization--Conventional systems signal the event of a person falling overboard but do not record the location and exact time of the event, and therefore cannot accurately plot the person's position. Systems which send a signal for localization are limited because the ship must be in range of the transmitter at all times or risk permanently losing the individual.

Overboard alarm with localization system interface


A plasma generation system that is powered with an alternating current power source has been developed. The system includes a plasma generator that heats gas to a high temperature to form plasma. The gas is heated by passing through an electrical arc generated by electrodes. The gas is fed to the generator by a feed system comprising a plurality pneumatic feed devices that supply the plasma-forming gas. The plasma generator is powered by an alternating current power source.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to plasma generators. More specifically, the present invention relates to multi-phase alternating current plasma generators.
2. Background Art
The handling and disposal of industrial, commercial and residential waste is a matter of growing concern. Increased environmental regulation coupled with increasing amounts of waste generated combine to create a demand for a method of disposal of toxic waste that is both effective and economical. High temperature burning or combustion of waste has been considered one of the most promising techniques of disposal. An added benefit is that pyrolysis gasification of the waste may also generate energy.
One technique of high temperature burning of waste is called a plasma method. Plasma is a very high temperature ionized gaseous discharge. The plasma includes neutral particles, ionized particles, and free electrons when taken as a whole, are electrically neutral. Plasma is created using a plasma generator, which is a device that converts energy from an electrical arc to energy from blown gas. High temperature applications of plasma generators are used for such waste disposal applications as vitrification of radioactive materials and decontamination of hazardous substances such as medical waste.
Plasma generators typically have a housing that contains a plurality of arc heaters. The arc heaters are power by a direct current (DC) electrical source. As they fire, the hot plasma that is created is forced through a nozzle in the housing into an incineration chamber. Waste is fed into the chamber and burned. By products of the processing may include the residue of the burned waste and syn-gas. Syn-gas is a hydrogen-rich byproduct, which may be removed and used as a fuel for electric power generation. However, the DC powered arc heaters have ballast active resistors that may result in irreversible losses in the power supply. What is needed is a plasma generator that is powered by an alternating current (AC) power source.

Multi-phase alternating current plasma generator


An audio decoding apparatus capable of preventing a buffer for storing an audio stream from overflowing is provided. The audio decoding apparatus decodes an audio stream including various kinds of coded data. The audio decoding apparatus includes a bit buffer for temporarily storing the audio stream, a decoder for receiving the audio stream from the bit buffer and decoding the audio stream to produce decoded audio data, and a data extractor, operatively coupled to the bit buffer, for extracting coded data necessary for the decoder from the audio stream and supplying the audio stream including the extracted necessary coded data to the bit buffer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a decoder which decodes encoded audio data. More particularly, the invention relates to an improvement on an audio decoder which controls encoded audio data stored in a buffer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Personal computers, as well as business and home entertainment systems, which handle a vast amount of and various types and forms of multimedia information, should process digitally recorded video and audio information at a fast speed. Such fast information processing can be achieved by data compression and expansion techniques, which directly affect the processing speed. The "MPEG" standards are one of such data compression and expansion techniques to improve the processing speed. The current MPEG standards are undergoing standardization by the MPEG Committee (ISO/IEC JTC1/SC29/WG11) under the ISO (International Organization for Standardization)/IEC (International Electrotechnical Commission).
The MPEG standards consist of three parts. Part 1 (ISO/IEC IS 11172-1: MPEG system part) defines the multiplex structure of video data and audio data and the synchronization system. Part 2 (ISO/IEC IS 11172-2: MPEG video part) defines the high efficiency coding system for video data and the format for video data. The part 3 (ISO/IEC IS 11172-3: MPEG audio part) defines the high efficiency coding system for audio data and the format for audio data.
Video data that is handled with respect to an MPEG video part includes moving pictures each consisting of several tens of (e.g., 30) frames per second. The video data has a six-layer structure of a sequence including a plurality of Groups Of Pictures (GOP's), GOP's each including a plurality of pictures, a plurality of slices in each picture, a plurality of macroblocks in each slice and a plurality of blocks in each macroblock.
At present, there are two MPEG standards, MPEG-1 and MPEG-2, that mainly differ in the encode rate at which video and audio data are encoded. In MPEG-1, frames correspond to pictures. In MPEG-2, either a frame or a field corresponds to a picture. Two fields constitute one frame. The structure where a frame corresponds to a picture is called a frame structure, while the structure where a field corresponds to a picture is called a field structure.
In MPEG, a compression technique called intra-frame prediction is employed. Intra-frame prediction compresses intra-frame data based on a chronological correlation among frames. Intra-frame prediction includes bidirectional prediction. Bidirectional prediction uses both forward prediction for predicting a current reproduced image (or picture) from an old reproduced image (or picture) and backward prediction for predicting a current reproduced image from a future reproduced image.
Bidirectional prediction uses I (Intra-coded) picture, P (Predictive-coded) picture and B (Bidirectionally-coded) picture. An I-picture is produced independently irrespective of old and future reproduced images. A P-picture is produced by forward prediction (prediction from an old decoded I- or P-picture). A B-picture is produced by bidirectional prediction. In bidirectional prediction, a B-picture is produced by one of the following three predictions.
(1) Forward Prediction: prediction from an old decoded I- or P-picture.
(2) Backward Prediction: prediction from a future decoded I- or P-picture.
(3) Bidirectional Prediction: prediction from old and future decoded I- or P-pictures.
An I-picture is produced without an old picture or a future picture, whereas every P-picture is produced by referring to an old picture and every B-picture is produced by referring to an old or future picture.
In intra-frame prediction, an I-picture is periodically produced first. Then, a frame several frames ahead of the I-picture is produced as a P-picture. This P-picture is produced by the prediction in one direction from the past to the present (forward direction). Next, a frame located before the I-picture and after the P-picture is produced as a B-picture. At the time this B-picture is produced, the optimal prediction scheme is selected from among forward prediction, backward prediction and bidirectional prediction. In general, a current image and its preceding and succeeding images in consecutive motion pictures are similar to one another and that they differ only partially. In this respect, it is assumed that the previous frame (e.g., I-picture) and the next frame (e.g., P-picture) are substantially the same. If there is a slight difference (B-picture data) between both frames, this difference is extracted and compressed. Accordingly, the intra-frame data can be compressed based on the chronological correlation among consecutive frames.
A series of video data encoded according to the MPEG video standards in the above manner is called an MPEG video bit stream. A series of audio data encoded according to the MPEG audio standards is called an MPEG audio bit stream. The video and audio stream are time-divisionally multiplexed according to the MPEG system part to generate an MPEG system bit stream.
MPEG-1 is mainly associated with storage media such as a CD (Compact Disc), a CD-ROM (Compact Disc-Read Only Memory) and a DVD (digital video disk), while MPEG-2 includes the MPEG-1 and is used in a wide range of applications.
MPEG audio has three modes, namely, layer I, layer II and layer III; a higher layer can achieve a higher sound quality and higher compression ratio. An audio stream has a plurality of frames each called AAU (Audio Access Unit). Each AAU is the minimum independently decodable unit and includes a given number of pieces of sample data for each layer. The layer I has 384 pieces of sample data, and the layers II and III have 1152 pieces of sample data.
The AAU format has a header at the top, followed by an optional error check code (CRC: Cyclic Redundancy Code--16 bits) and audio data. The fields from the header to the audio data are used to reproduce an audio signal. The header defines the sampling frequency, which is a field to specify the sampling rate and is selected from among three frequencies (32 KHz, 44.1 KHz and 48 KHz). Audio data is a variable length data. When the end of audio data does not coincide with the end of the AAU, the remaining portion of the AAU (or the gap portion from the end of the audio data to the end of the AAU) is called "ancillary data". It is possible to insert any data other than MPEG audio into this ancillary data. In the MPEG-2, multichannel data and multilingual data are inserted in the ancillary data.
Audio data belonging to the layer I includes an allocation field, scale factor field and sample field. Individual audio data belonging to the layers II and III include an allocation field, scale factor select information, scale factor field and sample field.
The scale factor indicates the magnification when a waveform is reproduced for each subband and each channel. The scale factor is expressed by six bits in association with each subband and each channel, and can indicate the magnification in units of approximately 2 dB over a range of +6 dB to -118 dB. The value of a scale factor corresponds to the sound pressure level of a sound to be reproduced. Therefore, a scale factor value equal to or smaller than a certain value indicates that the reproduced sound has a sound pressure level inaudible by people (i.e., no sound).
In the MPEG audio, the human audio characteristic (audio psychological model) including the masking effect and minimum audible limit characteristic is used. The masking effect is such that when a large sound is produced at a certain frequency, a sound, the frequency of which is close to that certain frequency and the level of which is equal to or below a certain level, becomes inaudible or is difficult to hear. The minimum audible limit characteristic defines a given frequency characteristic such that human ears are most sensitive to a band of human voices of several hundreds of Hz and cannot hear sounds whose levels are equal to or lower than a certain sound pressure level in an ultra low frequency range or an ultra high frequency range.
To compress audio data, first an MPEG audio encoder divides a received audio signal to 32 subbands using a band split filter. The encoder then utilizes the masking effect and minimum audible limit characteristic to quantize individual split audio signals in such a manner that no bits are assigned to sounds that have become inaudible by the masking. This quantization reduces the amount of information for data compression. More specifically, the masking effect and minimum audible limit characteristic are combined to set the mask level that indicates a dynamic change together with an audio signal and a signal equal to or below the mask level is subjected to data compression. As a result, the layer I indicates the compression effect with an encode rate of 192 K, 128 Kbps and a compression ratio of 1/4 and can have a sound quality equivalent to that of CD-DA (CD Digital Audio) and PCM (Pulse Code Modulation). The layer II indicates the compression effect with an encode rate of 128 K, 96 Kbps and a compression ratio of 1/6 to 1/8 and can have a sound quality equivalent to that of MD and DCC. The layer III indicates the compression effect with an encode rate of 128 K, 96K, 94 Kbps and a compression ratio of 1/6 to 1/12.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram indicating a conventional MPEG audio decoder 301. The MPEG audio decoder 301 has a bit buffer 302 and a decode core circuit 303. The bit buffer 302 is a ring buffer which has a RAM (Random Access Memory) with the FIFO (First-In-First-Out) structure, and sequentially stores audio streams transferred from an external device (recording medium like a video CD or DVD, an information processing device like a personal computer or the like). The decode core circuit 303 decodes a plurality of AAUs (frames) included in an audio stream in conformity to the MPEG audio part to thereby produce a compressed audio stream.
The decode core circuit 303 includes a dequantizer 304, a band synthesizer 305, a PCM output circuit 306 and a control circuit 307. The control circuit 307 detects the header affixed to the top of each AAU included in the audio stream stored in the bit buffer 302. Based on the detected header, the control circuit 307 controls the bit buffer 302 in such a way that an audio stream is read out for each AAU. The control circuit 307 detects the previously defined sampling frequency from the header, and produces a pipeline signal having pulses corresponding to the detected sampling frequency. The operations of the dequantizer 304, the band synthesizer 305 and the PCM output circuit 306 are controlled in accordance with this pipeline signal. The individual units 304 to 306 have operation speeds corresponding to the pipeline signal.
The dequantizer 304 performs dequantization, the opposite process to that of the encoder, on each AAU read from the bit buffer 302 to produce a dequantized AAU. The band synthesizer 305 receives the dequantized AAU from the dequantizer 304 and performs a product-sum operation called "butterfly operation" to combine individual pieces of audio data, which has been split to 32 subbands. As a result, decoded audio data is acquired. The PCM output circuit 306, which comprises an output interface and cross attenuator, receives decoded audio data from the band synthesizer 305 and produces an audio signal (PCM output signal). A D/A converter (not shown) performs D/A conversion of the audio signal. An audio amplifier (not shown) amplifies the analog audio signal so that sounds are reproduced from a loudspeaker.
The bit buffer 302 may overflow if the bit rate of the audio stream transferred from an external device is greater than the specified value. When an overflow occurs, the bit buffer 302 comprised of a ring buffer overwrites the previously stored audio stream with a newly input audio stream. This destroys the audio stream which has been previously stored in the bit buffer 302 resulting in data loss. Consequently, no sounds can be reproduced from the lost audio stream, causing sound skipping in the reproduced sound. This sound skipping is uncomfortable to the user's ears.
In the following cases, the bit rate of an audio stream becomes greater than the specified value.
Case 1: When sounds are reproduced faster than the normal (standard) playback speed. Fast playback is used when the user wants to perform fast forward playback to listen to sounds in a short period of time using a recording medium as an external device or when the user wants to perform fast forward playback or fast rewind playback to search for the desired sounds.
Case 2: When an information processing device is used as an external device. An information processing device like a microcomputer should not necessarily encode an audio stream in conformity to the standards. Therefore, the bit rate of an audio stream may come off the specified range. For recording media like a video CD and DVD, the bit rate of an audio stream is set in conformity to the MPEG audio part.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-307674 discloses a decoder which raises the transfer rate (bit rate) of input data and increases the data processing speed to decode data instantaneously on second column, lines 40 to 46. This publication further teaches on the eighth column, line 29 to the ninth column, line 11 that data to be supplied to the decoder can be thinned out by controlling data writing into the FIFO memory.

Audio decoder with buffer fullness control


An instrument for injecting implants through animal hide is comprised of an injector having a tubular body divided into two adjacent segments with a hollow interior bore extending through the segments of the body. The second segment of the body has a generally tapering configuration as it extends to the distal end of the body and is formed as a pair of laterally adjacent tines that extend longitudinally from adjacent the first body segment to the distal end of the body. One of the tines has a larger lateral width than a second of the tines at laterally adjacent cross sections of the tines, and one tine has a terminal end at the distal end of the body for making incisions through animal hide when employing the instrument in injecting implants. A push rod having a longitudinal length at least equal to the longitudinal length of the body is inserted through the interior bore of the body pushing the implant before it. As the push rod passes through the interior it forces the pair of tines radially away from each other thereby dilating the incision, and the push rod injects the implant into the livestock as a distal end of the push rod reaches the distal end of the body.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to an instrument for subcutaneously, intramuscularly, or intraperitoneally injecting implants through animal hide wherein the instrument is comprised of a tubular injector body and a push rod dimensioned to be inserted longitudinally through an interior bore of the injector body. The injector body is formed with a pair of laterally spaced tines at one end with one of the tines projecting longitudinally beyond the second of the tines and presenting an incising tip that facilitates piercing the hide prior to insertion of the tines beneath the hide.
(2) Description of the Related Art
Prior art methods of inserting implants or substances into animals subcutaneously, intermuscularly, or interperitoneally typically require that an incision be made that permits the implant to be injected through the incision. Use of a tubular trocar or a large needle would at times result in a core of flesh or hide of the animal being formed in the piercing end of the trocar as it is inserted through the animal's hide. As the implant is pushed through the interior of the trocar to be deposited in the animal, the core of flesh or hide is pushed before the implant into the animal and is deposited with the implant. This prior art method of inserting implants presented the danger of causing infection of the animal by bacteria on the surface of the core of flesh or hide deposited inside the animal with the implant.
To reduce the occurrence of flesh or hide coring in inserting implants into animals, prior art trocars were developed with a solid cutting edge at the piercing tip of the trocar. The solid cutting edge was provided by an insert such as a solid pointed probe that was pushed down through the interior of the needle or trocar to a position where the point of the insert projects just beyond the piercing tip of the trocar. The trocar and the pointed insert received in the trocar were then inserted together through the animal hide and into the animal. Following insertion, the solid insert was withdrawn from the interior of the trocar leaving a pathway through the trocar for the insertion of implants into the animal.
Fine gauge needles having solid points and outlet ports on their sides have also been employed in the delivery of medicament into animals. With these types of needles the medicament is delivered, or a sample is taken, through the side passageway of the needle.
The insertion of implants into animals where the implants have a significantly large diameter has grown in importance as capsulized sustained release substances, such as medicaments or growth agents, have been developed. However, inserting such implants by the prior art method of employing a trocar or large needle have been found to be disadvantaged in that the core of flesh or hide carried into the animal with the insert often leads to infections and abscesses and at times a rejection of the implant. The prior art method of employing a hollow trocar with a solid cutting edge insert pushed through the interior of the trocar has also been found to be disadvantaged in that it is often important that the implant be quickly administered and the quick administration of the implant does not allow time for use of the solid point trocar device. Prior art fine gauge needles typically do not have interior bore dimensions of sufficient size to accommodate capsulized implants.
Prior art devices have been developed in efforts to form an opening through the hide for introducing tubing and other similar apparatus into animals. Typical of these prior art apparatus is the surgical appliance disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,901 to Jackson et al. The appliance is generally comprised of a trocar and an expander. The trocar is tubular and is divided into two components by diametrically opposed longitudinally extending cut away openings. Each of the openings taper inwardly from the distal end to the proximal end of the tube and the shape of the openings results in the formation of two trocar components which, at their distal ends, subtend only small angles around the longitudinal axis of the trocar tube. The distal extremities of the two components are adapted to provide a point for piercing the skin in their fully closed condition. The expander comprises a thin tube shorter than the trocar, with an interior bore just large enough to allow a drain tube to slide easily therethrough.
In use of the Jackson et al. appliance, the distal ends of the trocar components pierce the skin and an incision is made by the cutting edges of the components. The end portion of the trocar is then passed through the skin. The expander tube is inserted into the trocar and is passed through the bore of the trocar. The advancing movement of the expander forces the trocar components apart to their fully opened condition, and a drain tube is slid through the expander and the open forward portions of the trocar components. Finally, the trocar and the expander are withdrawn from the incision over the length of the drain tube and the skin stretched by the opening of the trocar contracts on the drain tube gripping it in place.
Although appliances of the type described in the Jackson et al. patent represent advancements over the prior art, they still leave room for improvement when using such devices for the subcutaneous, intermuscular, or interperitoneal injection of implants through animal hide. The incising tip of such devices typically is not specifically designed to produce a single slit incision through the animal hide prior to insertion of the appliance. The trocar components typically are not designed to present as small a cross sectional area as possible of the appliance pushed through the slit incision to facilitate insertion of the components through the incision.

Instrument for injecting implants through animal hide


In the fabrication of integrated circuits, one specific technique for making surfaces flat is chemical-mechanical planarization. However, this technique is quite time consuming and expensive, particularly as applied to the numerous intermetal dielectric layers—the insulative layers sandwiched between layers of metal wiring—in integrated circuits. Accordingly, the inventor devised several methods for making nearly planar intermetal dielectric layers without the use of chemical-mechanical planarization and methods of modifying metal layout patterns to facilitate formation of dielectric layers with more uniform thickness. These methods of modifying metal layouts and making dielectric layers can be used in sequence to yield nearly planar intermetal dielectric layers with more uniform thickness.

Integrated circuits, the key components in thousands of electronic and computer products, are interconnected networks of electrical components fabricated on a common foundation, or substrate. Fabricators typically build the circuits layer by layer, using techniques, such as doping, masking, and etching, to form thousands and even millions of microscopic resistors, transistors, and other electrical components on a silicon substrate, known as a wafer. The components are then wired, or interconnected, together to define a specific electric circuit, such as a computer memory.
One important concern during fabrication is flatness, or planarity, of various layers of the integrated circuit. For example, planarity significantly affects the accuracy of a photo-imaging process, known as photomasking or photolithography, which entails focusing light on light-sensitive materials to define specific patterns or structures in a layer of an integrated circuit. In this process, the presence of hills and valleys in a layer forces various regions of the layer out of focus, causing photo-imaged features to be smaller or larger than intended. Moreover, hills and valleys can reflect light undesirably onto other regions of a layer and add undesirable features, such as notches, to desired features. These problems can be largely avoided if the layer is sufficiently planar.
One process for making surfaces flat or planar is known as chemical-mechanical planarization or polishing. Chemical-mechanical planarization typically entails applying a fluid containing abrasive particles to a surface of an integrated circuit, and polishing the surface with a rotating polishing head. The process is used frequently to planarize the insulative, or dielectric, layers that lie between layers of metal wiring in integrated circuits. These insulative layers, which typically consist of silicon dioxide, are sometimes called intermetal dielectric layers. In conventional integrated-circuit fabrication, planarization of these layers is necessary because each insulative layer tends to follow the hills and valleys of the underlying metal wiring, similar to the way a bed sheet follows the contours of whatever it covers. Thus, fabricators generally deposit an insulative layer much thicker than necessary to cover the metal wiring and then planarize the insulative layer to remove the hills and valleys.
Unfortunately, conventional methods of forming these intermetal dielectric layers suffer from at least two problems. First, the process of chemical-mechanical planarization is not only relatively costly but also quite time consuming. And second, the thickness of these layers generally varies considerably from point to point because of underlying wiring. Occasionally, the thickness variation leaves metal wiring under a layer too close to metal wiring on the layer, encouraging shorting or crosstalking. Crosstalk, a phenomenon that also occurs in telephone systems, occurs when signals from one wire are undesirable transferred or communicated to another nearby wire.
Accordingly, the art needs fabrication methods that reduce the need to planarize intermetal dielectric layers, that reduce thickness variation in these layers, and that improve their electrical properties generally.

Methods for making nearly planar dielectric films in integrated circuits


The present invention provides a method for quantitatively identifying the defects of large-size composite material based on infrared image sequence, firstly obtaining the overlap area of an infrared splicing image, and dividing the infrared splicing image into three parts according to overlap area: overlap area, reference image area and registration image area, then extracting the defect areas from the infrared splicing image to obtain P defect areas, then obtaining the conversion coordinates of pixels of defect areas according to the three parts of the infrared splicing image, and further obtaining the transient thermal response curves of centroid coordinate and edge point coordinates, finding out the thermal diffusion points from the edge points of defect areas according to a created weight sequence and dynamic distance threshold εttr×dp_max, finally, based on the thermal diffusion points, the accurate identification of quantitative size of defects are completed.

High-performance and large-size composite materials are widely used in aerospace field, and their safety has great significance for the operation of spacecraft, therefore it's very necessary to perform non-destructive tests on the composite materials.
For defect detection of large-size composite material, in order to guarantee the accuracy of the detection, it is necessary to perform a plurality of local infrared non-destructive detections on the large-size composite material, and ensure that there is a certain overlap area between two adjacent local detections. Reconstructing the infrared image sequence obtained by a local detection, a local reconstruction image is obtained, which corresponds to the local area of the local detection. Splicing all two adjacent local reconstruction images, an infrared splicing image is obtained, which can present an overall defect detection result of the large-size composite material.
To accurately assess the severity of the damage, we need to know the quantitative size of the defects of a large-size composite material. However, due to the slight deflection of the shooting angle and the horizontal offset between the areas of two adjacent local detections, the local reconstruction image taken as the registration image is needed to be distorted (affine transformed), and then spliced with its adjacent local reconstruction image which is taken as the reference image to obtain a splicing image. The splicing image is taken as a reference image, and further spliced with its adjacent local reconstruction image which is taken as the registration image to obtain a splicing image. Repeatedly splicing the adjacent local reconstruction images, an infrared splicing image is obtained. The splicing of local reconstruction images can make the defect which is not completely detected by a local detection spliced into a whole defect. The defect, especially in overlap area may be distorted, therefore the quantitative size of a defect cannot be accurately obtained by directly counting the number of pixels of corresponding defect area in infrared splicing image.
Meanwhile, the temperature of defect area rises faster than that of non-defect area, so a larger temperature gradient will be formed at the edge of the defect area, which makes the temperature of the part closing to the edge of the defect area rising and forms an edge thermal diffusion effect. The part closing to the edge of the defect area is the thermal diffusion area, which will enlarge the defect area in defect reconstruction image, thus the counting result of pixels cannot accurately reflect the quantitative size of the defect.
In consideration of edge thermal diffusion effect, some scholars choose to conduct defect detection experiments on a designed defect, then use the temperature peak information in the corresponding temperature characteristics, the thermal conductivity of the composite material and the actual defect size to calculate and fit to obtain a fitting formula, and then use the fitting formula to quantitatively identify the defects of composite material. For the reason that different materials have different thermal conductivity coefficients, the method requires a large number of detection experiments

Method for quantitatively identifying the defects of large-size composite material based on infrared image sequence

UNIVERSITY OF ELECTRONIC SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY OF CHINA


A cutting or milling machine with an end mill is mounted on a moveable platform, wherein the platform is moveable by a mechanical assembly to put the end mill through a circular motion apart from the rotational motion imparted by the milling machine.

The present disclosure relates generally to milling, drilling, or otherwise cutting metal using a press machine, sometimes also called a standard press, a drill press, or a mill drill. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a press machine having an end cutter, such as a mill or drill, that is positionable adjacent an oilfield tubular, such as those tubulars sent into a drilled well bore for exploration and production of hydrocarbons.
The drilling and production of earthen well bores for the recovery of hydrocarbons involves many processes, including storing, handling, and tracking drill pipe or other tubulars at the surface and then delivery of those tubulars into the well bore. Because the drilled well bores may be thousands of feet in length, many tubulars must be connected together to drill or otherwise access the well bores. It may be necessary to keep track of the tubulars through identification devices coupled to the tubulars. It may also be necessary to communicate with the tubulars while in the well bore using the identification or other communication devices coupled to the tubulars. An example of such an identification and/or communication device is a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag. It is preferable to couple the RFID tags and other such devices into precise pockets or voids in the tubulars. Other reasons also exist for creating precise pockets or voids in the tubulars.


Described are platforms, systems, and methods to discover subtended devices through introspection of executive or supervisory controllers. The platforms, systems, and methods maintain a plurality of introspection directives, each introspection directive comprising a sequence of instructions specific to a communications protocol, the sequence of instructions comprising instructions to send at least one command to at least one controller associated with an automation environment in accordance with the communications protocol, instructions to receive a response to the at least one command, and instructions to parse the response; identify an appropriate introspection directive for the at least one controller; and execute the sequence of instructions with respect to the at least one controller to perform operations comprising: sending at least one command to at least one controller; receiving a response; and parsing the response.

Automation is the use of control systems to operate processes without human intervention. These systems generally include software, computers, beacons, sensors, actuators, and in some cases robotics. In industrial and commercial settings, benefits of automation include increases in productivity, accuracy, flexibility, and safety, while providing overall cost savings. A "smart building" uses a combination of technologies to automate building management. The terms "smart office" and "smart home" are used to describe a structure that uses technology to allow systems and electronics to communicate with one another, be controlled by a time schedule, and even be remotely activated from a smartphone or other web-enabled device. A few of the systems that can be controlled include lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, vertical lifts, fire safety systems, appliances, and security systems. As such, smart buildings can provide comfort and convenience while enhancing security and energy efficiency. Cities of the future are anticipated to offer a wide array of "smart technologies," e.g., networked technology that controls aspects of transportation, energy, air, and water quality.

Subtended device mapping through controller introspection


Doppler Aided Inertial Navigation (DAIN) facilitates the determination of position, velocity and direction of mobile devices operating in highly obstructed GPS/GNSS environments. Delivering high precision, high resolution positioning information using signals of opportunity, the present invention measures the Doppler shift of a moving device using a variety of signals combined with inertial accelerometers and environmental sensors to deliver an autonomous positioning and navigation capability that does not require external infrastructure or a priori knowledge of signal sources.

Doppler and inertial navigation technologies have been in use in various forms since at least the 1950s when critical advances in inertial measurement and Doppler radar were achieved. These were applied successfully in aircraft navigation systems combining inertial measurement units (IMU) with onboard radar that enabled calibration of inertial drift based on observed ground speed. These systems were collectively known as Doppler-Inertial Navigation Data Systems and are well taught in technical literature including U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,914,763 (Greenwood and Berger, 1959) and 3,028,592 (Par, et. al., 1962).
The basic principle behind these systems is to combine the inherent long-term measurement accuracy of the Doppler velocity in concert with the short term precision and resolution provided by inertial systems. Inertial systems can produce high resolution, and relative high precision observables at high data rates, but will tend to drift in terms of accuracy over long intervals. Doppler observables in contrast have lesser resolution and precision at slower data rates but do not suffer drift over long intervals. Using a filter (a servo controller in those days), these observables were combined to produce a corrected velocity data that provided high data rates with high resolution and minimal drift over long intervals. Doppler velocity observables were based upon reflection of radar signals from a nominally static, earth-fixed surface. To make these systems function required both a radio frequency transmitter and receiver aboard the vehicle. These systems were used in aircraft navigation until supplanted by more advanced positioning and navigation technologies such as LORAN and GPS, which had the benefit of requiring only a radio frequency receiver—a receive-only architecture.
Similar Doppler-Inertial techniques were applied using acoustics for the autonomous navigation of an underwater vehicle. In this configuration the acoustic transceivers (e.g. sonar) provided Doppler velocity estimation that further constrained the IMU, accomplishing the same effect as the aircraft-based Doppler-Inertial Navigation Data Systems. This technique is described and taught in various technical references including the work published by Hegren{acute over (æ)}s, and Berglund (2009).
The advent of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including the U.S. Global Positioning System (GPS), advanced the techniques of hybrid inertial navigation, where precise GPS ranging and Doppler observables were used to provide continual calibration of IMU data enabling a navigation solution that could simultaneously provide high update rate (in some cases in the kilohertz) while maintaining high accuracy over long periods of times. These systems also addressed some of the weaknesses in radio navigation systems providing data even during intermittent outages due to obstructions (e.g., during aircraft maneuvers). These GNSS-Inertial Navigation Systems (GNSS/INS) hybrids have been used extensively in military, space, and commercial guidance and navigation applications. The principles of both loosely-coupled and tightly-coupled GNSS/INS systems have been well taught and covered in research papers and patents for example U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,416,712 (Geier, et. al., 1995) and 6,900,760 (Groves, 2005).
Loosely-coupled GNSS/INS is similar to the original Doppler-Inertial Navigation Data Systems where the processed ranging observables and inertial observations are combined by a filter maximizing data rate, precision, and long-term accuracy. These systems perform well during short term outages of GNSS and in situations where the device is undergoing only moderate dynamics. These systems are commonly used in vehicle land navigation, marine navigation, and general and commercial aircraft systems.
A GNSS receiver (e.g. a GPS receiver) produces position and velocity information after acquiring signals from at least four or more satellites as well as a valid set of precision orbit elements of the satellites. If the vertical height is known a priori or constrained, a minimum of three satellites are required to produce position and velocity estimates. An IMU produces acceleration observables (linear and rotational). Both sets of observables are typically used to update an Extended Kalman Filter (EKF), which produces the fused set of observations comprising near real-time acceleration, velocity, and position in three dimensions.
Tightly-coupled GNSS/INS is significantly more complicated than the loosely-coupled approach in that IMU data is integrated into the RF signal processor tracking loops used to track the GNSS satellites. In applications with very high dynamics (e.g. metric launch or missile navigation), tightly-coupled GNSS/INS makes it possible for the navigation system to operate. The IMU observables provide the means to do active rate aiding of the tracking loops so that the tracking loop can maintain lock when the frequency rate of change is greater than the tracking filter bandwidth.
For land, sea, and air vehicles, these combined Doppler/inertial techniques, whether using GNSS, radar, or acoustic transponders combined with IMU, have proven effective in creating robust and highly accurate navigation information. Yet when considering modern mobile computing devices including smart phones, tablets, and tracking devices that must operate in highly complex, often GNSS obstructed environments; direct application of these techniques has limited feasibility.
Mobile device autonomous positioning and navigation in indoor environments using combined Doppler-inertial techniques must deal with the challenges of multipath contamination, Rayleigh fading, and potential RF/acoustic interference from other active emitting devices. Current Doppler-inertial techniques as taught by the previous art are insufficient given the impracticality of using device-based active RF or acoustic emitters, which would decrease battery life, increase ambient RF noise and be susceptible to interference from other devices in the vicinity. While possible to deploy purpose-built infrastructure to support current Doppler-inertial techniques it inherently weakens the advantages since it is antithetic to the concept of autonomy.
Work by others to combine MEMS inertial technology, Assisted GPS (AGPS) technology, and/or WLAN positioning techniques has demonstrated some success, but has yet to achieve the performance needed to provide reliable and accurate positioning and navigation data over long intervals of distance and time. Work exemplified by Lachapelle (2004), Seitz et. al. (2007), and Renaudin et. al. (2007) teach various methods and techniques for combining these systems to provide pedestrian navigation in GNSS obstructed environments.
One successful approach to indoor pedestrian navigation was demonstrated by Foxlin (2005), where a shoe mounted MEMS IMU was capable of producing accurate navigation over long intervals using a technique of zero velocity update (ZUPT) to correct the inherent drift in the IMU. Jimenez (2010) further developed these techniques to improve performance combined with GPS data as well. These techniques rely on the frequent correction provided by the ZUPT performed at each step when the pedestrian foot touches the ground and is momentarily without motion. The interest in this technique continues as it has been shown to provide very high performance even in the most complex environments. Yet it has one significant drawback, it requires the placement of the IMU sensor on the foot in order to achieve the most reliable and effective ZUPT correction. When applied to an IMU sensor in a mobile device such as a smart phone, the additional degrees of freedom due to the device being held in the hand results in the ZUPT correction being much less effective since the motion of the hand can obscure the actual step. In an attempt to correct for this condition, the use of map matching has been tried with some limited success.
Accordingly, for navigation using mobile devices in heavily GNSS obstructed environments, there is a need for a better solution to produce autonomous positioning and velocity information that can take advantage of the high resolution and precision of MEMS IMU sensors while maintaining long-term accuracy. The use of Doppler aiding for inertial navigation in these mobile devices is a natural adaptation of the previous embodiments. However, the methods and systems used previously to provide these capabilities are impractical for mobile devices in complex multipath environments. Novel methods and systems are required in order to meet the challenges of the complex operating environments and device constraints: methods and systems that can exploit readily available signals in a complex multipath environment with minimal impact on the devices size, weight, and power requirements. Such is the nature of the present invention.


A differential pair (200) is provided by routing a printed circuit board (202) having high density interconnect (HDI) substrate (204) with first and second metal layers (212, 218) such that a first runner (206) forms a zigzag pattern using the two metal layers while a second runner (208) forms a second zigzag pattern on the same two metal layers. The first and second zigzag patterns overlap so as to provide orthogonal signal flow.

Many electronic circuits, such as amplifier circuits, utilize differential pairs to transfer signals. A cable containing a twisted pair of wires is one known means for transferring a differential signal. While the cable containing a twisted pair of wires offers good noise immunity, it is impractical in the world of microelectronics. Runners routed side by side on a printed circuit board have typically been used in the routing of differential signals in microelectronics circuits. FIG. 1 shows the routing of a differential pair 100 formed of runners 102, 104 routed side by side on printed circuit board 106 and coupled to electronic component 108. However the parallel lines 102, 104 tend to pick up signals from adjacent circuitry thus leading to noise on the line. If the two lines absorb noise from different sources, the signal can become unbalanced and the difference in the noise levels can pass through to the amplifier stage.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved differential pair for use in electronic circuits.

Method and apparatus for routing a differential pair on a printed circuit board


An apparatus and method for electronic device control. The apparatus can include a first housing including a first housing face, a display coupled to the first housing face, a second housing pivotably attached to the first housing the second housing including a second housing face, the second housing face being configured to cover at least a portion of the first housing face. The apparatus can also include a housing orientation detection module coupled to the second housing, the housing orientation detection module configured to detect a position of the second housing relative to the first housing. The apparatus can additionally include a controller configured to display motion on the display based on the position detected by the housing orientation detection module. The second housing can be pivotably attached to the first housing along at least two axes of rotation.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for electronic device control. In particular, the present invention is directed to input-devices for movement control in an electronic device.
2. Description of Related Art
Presently, many different applications are being incorporated into small electronic devices. For example, mobile communication devices are incorporating gaming applications and personal digital assistants are incorporating communication applications. When a mobile communication device employs a gaming application, the game must use the existing input devices on the mobile communication device. For example, an existing telecommunications keypad, an existing navigational input, and other preexisting communication inputs must be used for gaming control on a mobile communication device. As another example, an extra external device may be attached to a mobile communication device to provide additional input functionality. Unfortunately, extra external devices reduce the convenience and portability of a mobile communication device. In particular, it is desirable to integrate all necessary features exclusively into the mobile communication device.
Unfortunately, the small size of some electronic devices limits the available inputs for multiple applications. As mentioned, the controls for a game on a mobile communication device are limited to the limited number of existing inputs such as keys and buttons. These inputs are not placed in optimal positions for efficient gaming or navigation control. Furthermore, to conserve space, these inputs are small and congested due to the small size of many electronic devices. Thus, optimal use of the inputs is difficult due to their size and location.
Additionally, many advanced gaming applications require precise control and simultaneous input of multiple navigation controls along with action controls. Unfortunately, it is impossible to configure existing gaming system games for compact portable electronic devices because of the specific input requirements. For example, many existing gaming systems use joysticks that cannot be incorporated into mobile communication devices without sacrificing size and aesthetics. As another example, it is uncomfortable to play games that require the use of navigation and action inputs on mobile phones because these games require the use of two hands to play the games. The existing small mobile phone keypad is uncomfortable and non-intuitive for such games.
Thus, there is a need for an electronic device with improved tactile input functionality. Additionally, there is a need for input devices for improved movement control in a small electronic device. Furthermore, there is a need for advanced input functionality for advanced gaming on portable electronic devices.

Apparatus and method for electronic device control