During droplet operations in a droplet actuator, bubbles often form in the filler fluid in the droplet operations gap and interrupt droplet operations. The present invention provides methods and systems for performing droplet operations on a droplet in a droplet actuator comprising maintaining substantially consistent contact between the droplet and an electrical ground while conducting multiple droplet operations on the droplet in the droplet operations gap and/or reducing the accumulation of electrical charges in the droplet operations gap during multiple droplet operations. The methods and systems reduce or eliminate bubble formation in the filler fluid of the droplet operations gap, thereby permitting completion of multiple droplet operations without interruption by bubble formation in the filler fluid in the droplet operations gap.

A droplet actuator typically includes one or more substrates configured to form a surface or gap for conducting droplet operations. The one or more substrates establish a droplet operations surface or gap for conducting droplet operations and may also include electrodes arranged to conduct the droplet operations. The droplet operations substrate or the gap between the substrates may be coated or filled with a filler fluid that is immiscible with the liquid that forms the droplets. Bubble formation in the filler fluid in a droplet actuator can interfere with functionality of the droplet actuator. There is a need for techniques for preventing unwanted bubbles from forming in the filler fluid in a droplet actuator.

Techniques and droplet actuator designs for reducing bubble formation


An externally testable redundant connection for a subsea well includes a tube, a connector assembly, and collar. The connector assembly includes a jam nut over the tube; a ferrule over the tube adjacent the jam nut; and a double jam nut disposed over the tube adjacent to the ferrule. The double jam nut includes a test port adapted to receive a test fluid through the test port for determining if the primary seal and the secondary seal are providing a leak proof sealing engagement. The collar engage the tube and transfers an axial force from the double jam nut and compresses the tube into a female profile forming a primary seal. A secondary seal is formed from a compression of the ferrule into the double jam nut using the jam nut.

The oil and gas industry utilizes a procedure known as "snubbing" in which a string of pipe is forced into a wellhole under pressure for various reasons, such as, to remove an obstruction that might exist in the well. In such cases, the wellhole usually has been drilled and a certain amount of casing has been set and blowout preventors or other ram apparatus have been installed at the wellhead to seal around the drill pipe or other pipe strings being inserted into the wellhole. These blowout preventers and ram-type apparatus seal around the string of pipe being snubbed into the well under pressure to prevent the pressurized fluid from escaping around the outside of the string of pipe.
In practice, the body of the individual segments of pipe comprising the string of pipe to be snubbed into the well usually are rack-tested hydrostatically or otherwise prior to use to make certain there are no leaks in the body of the pipe. However, as the connections between the various pipe segments are made-up and snubbed into the well, the connections are usually immediately subjected to high external pressures. The rack testing of the pipe segments will not reveal a leak that exists in a connection between two of the pipe segments. A leak in a connection creates a very hazardous working condition for all personnel involved as high-pressure fluid may flow from the inside of the wellhole, through the leak, upwardly through the string of pipe being snubbed into the well, and out onto the workmen. In addition, if corrective measures are required to correct the leak in a connection between the pipe segments after the string of pipe has been snubbed into the well, such corrective measures are expensive.
The oil and gas industry utilizes a procedure known as the work-over of a well in which a string of pipe is forced into a previously drilled well. The well is "live," that is, contains fluid under pressure, below a certain depth but because of some obstruction, such as sand or concrete or the like, contains little or no pressurized fluid above that depth. When the tool on the end of the string of pipe breaks through the obstruction, the entire drill string, including the connections between the segments, is subject to the pressures of the well, which pressures can be intense. The same problems described above with respect to snubbing pipe into a completely live well, are applicable to this workover procedure.
A need exists for testable redundant connections for subsea wells that can sustain very high pressures. A need exists for testable redundant connections that can be safely tested in the field at very high pressures prior to use to ensure a good fluid tight connection
The present embodiments meet these needs.
The present embodiments are detailed below with reference to the listed Figures.

Externally testable redundant connections for subsea wells


A single-screw extruder (100), and a method. The extruder (100) comprises—a cylindrical rotor member (1) having diameter (D) and length (L) and comprising a feeding zone (14), —the rotor member (1) arranged in a barrel (2), —the cylindrical surface of the rotor member (1) carrying cavity/cavities and/or projection(s) (5) arranged in helically extending rows, —the helically extending row(s) of the rotor member (1) having a pitch (P) and depth (d) in the feeding zone (14) of the rotor member, and the extruder (100) further compris-ing—a drive system (4) for the rotation of the rotor member (1) in the barrel (2). The relation of the depth (d) to the diame-ter (D) of the rotor member, i.e. d:D, is not more than 1:20, and the relation of the pitch (P) of the rotor member to the di-ameter (D) of the rotor member, i.e. P:D, is not more than 1:4.

The invention relates to a single-screw extruder, comprising a cylindrical rotor member having diameter and length and comprising a feeding zone, the rotor member arranged in a barrel, the cylindrical surface of the rotor member carrying cavity/cavities and/or projection(s) arranged in helically extending rows, the helically extending row(s) of the rotor member having a pitch and depth in the feeding zone of the rotor member, and the extruder further comprising a drive system for the rotation of the rotor member in the barrel.
The invention further relates to a method for manufacturing a rotor member of a single screw extruder. The demand for processing light materials in their density, heterogeneous materials, such as materials comprising fibres, waste/recycled plastic, is continuously growing.
A problem with this type of materials is that they are extremely difficult to be fed in commonly known extruders and compounding devices.
This is due to the fact that traditional extruders and compounding devices are designed for processing of homogeneous and relative dense materials, e.g. plastic granulates.
The main challenge in the existing extruders and compounding devices is the feeding of materials in the device: the size of the feed opening is too small for effective feeding of the materials mentioned above. This challenge could be solved by increasing the size of the feed opening. However, this would also increase the overall dimensions of the device, such as diameter of the screw or rotor. This would lead to devices the price of which is unfeasible for many applications and they also need more material to feed in so that they would work optimally.

Single-screw extruder with hollow rotor member


A communication system comprises a mobile unit that generates mobile unit position signals and message signals. A base station is wireless two-way coupled to the mobile unit. The base station has a GPS receiver that generates base station position signals, a master wireless modem that receives the mobile unit position signals, and the mobile unit message signals. The base station includes a base display changing in response to the mobile unit position signals and the base station position signal.

Companies and governmental entities that employ mobile units often have difficulty locating the units. The units in turn often have difficulty knowing their position. In operations such as fighting forest fires or other types of wildfires, knowing the position of ground units is desirable to better manage the changing requirements for fighting the fire. A simple, reliable system for tracking assets and communicating back and forth between a base or central command and mobile users is thus desirable.

Communication system for tracking assets


The present invention comprises compounds and compositions for the treatment of metabolic disorders and more particularly, those insulin-related metabolic disorders of the blood such as hyperlipidemia, diabetes, insulin-resistance and the like comprising acetic acid derivatives with cyclohexylmethoxy substituents and their salts. Known as peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonists/antagonists, the invention relates to compounds of formula I

The compounds of the present invention are highly effective in the therapeutic modulation of lipid and/or carbohydrate metabolism and are therefore useful in the prevention and/or treatment of diseases such as type-2 diabetes and atherosclerosis, and the many other diverse cardiovascular problems and manifestations arising therefrom.
These compounds have been found to exhibit peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor (PPAR) agonist/antagonist activity, in particular, an excellent PPARalpha modulatory effect as well as a correspondingly excellent PPARgamma modulatory effect.
The peroxisome proliferator-activated receptors (PPAR) are transducer proteins belonging to the steroid/thyroid/retinoid receptor superfamily. The PPAR receptors were originally identified as orphan receptors without known ligands, but were known for their ability to mediate the pleiotropic effects of fatty acid peroxisome proliferators. These receptors function as ligand-regulated transcription factors that control the expression of target genes by binding to their responsive DNA sequences as heterodimers with RXR. The target genes encode enzymes involved in a number of metabolic and cell growth/cell proliferation/cell differentiation inductions. These then provide targets for the development of therapeutic agents for the treatment of metabolic and central nervous system disorders, among others.
PPAR agonists are well known and have been described in the prior art, see U.S. Pat. No. 6,200,995 to De La Brouse-Elwood et. al.; WO 03/043997 to Johnston et. al. and WO 01/00603 and WO 02/092590 to Keil et. al.). comprising an oxadiazolone feature as inhibitors of factor Xa were disclosed in DE 101 12 768 A1 and oxodiazolones have also been described as oral hypoglycemic agents in WO 96/13264. Compounds of similar structure have been described in the art for the treatment of hyperlipidemia and diabetes (WO 2000/064888). Furthermore, WO 2003/010158 describes thiophenecarboxamides and WO2002096863 describes phenylalkyloxy-phenyl-derivatives having no carboxyl group on the phenyl ring.
The invention was based on the object of finding particularly effective compounds allowing a therapeutically usable modulation of lipid and/or carbohydrate metabolism and thus being suitable for the prevention and/or treatment of diseases such as type-2 diabetes, atherosclerosis, and the diverse adverse manifestations thereof.
This has been achieved by selection of the compounds of the formula I described below, which surprisingly show not only a particularly good PPARalpha effect, but also a correspondingly good PPARgamma effect.

6-oxazol-4-ylmetholmethoxy-alko-alkoxymethyl substituted benzoic acid derivatives forming peroxisome proliferator—activated receptor (PPAR) ligands, process for their preparation and methods of use thereof

Abstract: wherein R1-R6 are further defined herein.


An electrochemical cell structure has a first fluid chamber and a resilient member disposed in the first fluid chamber. An opening permits communication of fluid into the first fluid chamber. An anode cavity and a cathode cavity are in fluid communication with the fluid chamber through the opening.

This invention relates to a cell structure for an electrochemical cell.
An electrochemical cell may be used to electrolytically separate water into its components, hydrogen and oxygen or, alternatively, combine hydrogen with oxygen to generate electricity. Each electrochemical cell typically has an anode cavity, a cathode cavity and an electrolyte. The electrolyte may be an ionically conductive material, such as an ion-exchange membrane or liquid contained in a porous matrix. The electrolyte is positioned between the anode cavity and the cathode cavity and serves to control the exchange of electrical charge and fluid between the two cavities.
FIG. 1 illustrates an exploded view of an electrochemical cell 12 known in the art. As shown, electrochemical cell 12 has anode cavity 10 and cathode cavity 14 arranged between separator plates 32. Each cavity 10, 14 comprises a series of electrically conductive round metal plates 18, which are stacked upon one another to form a cylinder. Each plate 18 may have a central area or active area 22 comprising a mesh screen filled with openings that permit the passage of fluid through each plate 18. A peripheral area or a seal area 24 surrounds the mesh screen to form a seal that prevents the leakage of fluid out of the active area 22. When all of the active areas 22, 23 of each the plates 18 are aligned, the stack of mesh screens form a fluid cavity, both an anode cavity and a cathode cavity.
Anode cavity 10 is spaced from cathode cavity 14. Together, these cavities 10, 14 sandwich electrochemically conductive medium 28, here an ion-exchange membrane. It is through this membrane that fluid and charge are communicated for either the separation of hydrogen and oxygen or their combination.
It is important for the proper functioning of the electrochemical cell 12 to have electrochemically conductive medium 28 sandwiched tightly between active area 22 of anode cavity 10 and active area 23 to facilitate the interaction of fluid and charge in the cavities. In the past, manufacturers have used a pressure pad 36 to bias the active areas of the anode cavity and the cathode cavity 14 together. Pressure pad 36 is positioned within a frame 40 that ensures the position of pressure pad 36 relative to the active areas 22, 23 of plates 18. The pressure pad 36 is made of rubber with strips of metal to make the pressure pad 36 conductive. However, due to the incompatibility of rubber with fluids used in the electrochemical cell, such as hydrogen and oxygen, manufacturers have been forced to isolate the pressure pad 36 from the fluid in the anode cavity 10 and the cathode cavity 14. A barrier, such as a separator plate 32, is typically used to prevent fluid from anode cavity 10 and cathode cavity 14 from passing to pressure pad 36.
There is generally a pressure difference across the electrochemically conductive medium 28 that arises as a consequence of the different pressures of anode cavity 10 and cathode cavity 14. Due to this difference in pressure, pressure pad 36 must provide an initial preload of pressure in the direction of arrow A to ensure that cathode cavity 14 and anode cavity 10 stay together. Without such a preload, cathode cavity 14 will tend to separate from anode cavity 10. In addition, further preload in the direction of arrow A is required to keep the cavities in close contact. As pressure differentials between the anode cavity 10 and the cathode cavity 14 increase, greater preload in the direction of arrow A of pressure pad 36 is required. This increasing preload puts undue stress on the electrochemically conductive medium 28, which is, in fact, the weakest component of the assembly.
A need therefore exists for an assembly that overcomes the deficiencies of existing pressure pads while still ensuring that the active areas of the anode cavity and the cathode cavity stay together.

Assembly for maintaining compression for electrical contact of the active area of an electrochemical cell


An undercut saw including a housing, a motor within said housing, a drive shaft rotated by said motor, and a blade mount mechanically linked to said shaft such that a circular saw blade mounted on said mount is rotated when the motor rotates the drive shaft. A fixed blade guard circumscribes a portion of the blade and allows selectable height adjustment of the blade. A stabilization bar on the fixed blade guard may be extended to make the device more stable. On the underside of the fixed blade guard a dust channel allows dust to be swept by the rotating blade into a dust port. The dust channel allows positioning of the dust port away from the leading edges of the fixed blade guard.

When installing flooring it is at times desirable to have the edges of the flooring extend underneath baseboards and/or walls. To fit the flooring into this area, the wall and/or baseboard needs to be undercut at a specific height to allow the flooring to be installed underneath. Although it is possible to perform the undercutting by hand, this task is laborious and it is preferred to use a power tool. An undercut saw may be specifically designed to undercut a wall for the installation of flooring. This requires a specialized tool.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show two available undercut saw designs. FIG. 1 illustrates one of the earliest models, designed by Crain Cutter Company (Milpitas, Calif.). In this tool, an external housing 2 encloses a motor 3. Motor 3 drives a drive shaft 4. Gears at an end of armature drive shaft 4 mesh with gears on parallel spindle shaft 5 rotating shaft 5. A circular saw blade 1 is mounted on a blade mount (not visible) at the end of spindle shaft 5. The blade mount is a separate part which in conjunction with a fastener mechanically couples the blade to the spindle. Blade 1 is mounted such that the blade is held substantially parallel to the floor when the tool is positioned on the floor surface. When used herein the term circumscribe shall mean the amount of the outer circumference or toothed edge of the blade which is covered by a fixed blade guard. This fixed blade guard is attached to housing 2 and exposes less than 180 degrees of the blade for cutting. A depth gauge 9 is mounted on fixed blade guard 10 such that the depth of a cut may be selected by a user. Handles 6, 7 are used to grip the tool. The tool is activated by switch 11, in the underside of handle 7.
Similarly in the device shown in FIG. 2, a housing 2 encloses a motor 3 that rotates an armature drive shaft 4. At a distal end of shaft 4 is a gear that engages a gear on a parallel spindle shaft 5. At a distal end of spindle shaft 5 is a blade mount (not visible) for mounting a circular saw blade 1. The blade mount is a separate part which in conjunction with a fastener mechanically couples the blade to the spindle. Again the blade is essentially parallel to the floor. A fixed blade guard 10 extends around the circumference of blade 1, exposing less than 180 degrees of the blade. A depth gauge 9 allows the user to set the depth to which blade 1 will cut. Handles 6, 7 are gripped by a user to direct the tool. A switch 11 on handle 7 allows activation of the tool.
In the devices illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, the motor is upright and the armature drive shaft and the spindle shaft are in parallel orientation.
With reference to FIG. 3, an undercut saw employing an alternative configuration of the armature shaft and spindle shaft is shown. Again, outer housing 2 contains a motor 3 that rotates an armature drive shaft 4. Again at a terminal end of drive shaft 4 is a gear which engages a gear on spindle shaft 5. At a distal end of spindle shaft 5 is a blade mount (not visible) that allows mounting of a circular saw blade 1. The blade mount is a separate part which in conjunction with a fastener mechanically couples the blade to the spindle. In this embodiment, the armature drive shaft 4 and spindle shaft 5 are in perpendicular orientation. As in the prior tools, a depth gauge 9 is mounted to a fixed blade guard 10 to allow a user to selectively limit the depth of the cut. A handle 7 is used to direct the motion of the tool. A switch 11 on the top of the tool allows activation of the tool.
In FIG. 4, another undercut saw is illustrated. In this device, housing 2 holds a motor that turns drive shaft 4. In this embodiment, there is no spindle gear attached to shaft 4. Thus, the blade mount (not visible) for blade 4 is mechanically linked directly to drive shaft 4. On blade guard 10 there is a dust port 10a that allows dust to be channeled away from blade 1. Rounded handles 6, 7 are mounted on fixed blade guard 10. Depth gauge 9 is permanently mounted on fixed guard 10.
A number of these prior art devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,784,789; 5,967,013; 5,974,674 and 6,588,111 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/976,483, all incorporated by reference herein.
The prior art devices have a number of drawbacks. First, the devices of FIGS. 1, 2, and 4 are unable to undercut an inside corner, as shown in FIGS. 1A, 2A, and 3A, respectively. As these saws move along a wall, the side of the saw will contact an adjacent wall before the blade reaches the corner. Also, in order to undercut an inside corner, more than 180 degrees of the circumference of the blade must be exposed, and none of these devices have this design. Thus, for two reasons, they will not undercut in the inside corner, and so the work must be done by hand. With the saw of FIG. 1, handle 6, depth gauge 9, and blade guard 10 all limit the ability to undercut inside corners. Side handle 6 and depth gauge 9 may both be removed although some time is required to remove and replace the handle. However this does not allow the saw to undercut inside corner areas because the side of the blade guard still contacts the wall, and because less than 180 degrees of the circular saw blade is exposed for undercutting.
With regard to the device of FIG. 2, the fixed blade guard is comprised of two parts, a first fixed blade guard 10 with a substantially flat top face 13 and a semi-circular back edge 14 protruding downward, which fits inside a second semi-circular skirt 15. The two circular surfaces telescope and provide a means of blade height adjustment. Skirt 15 is adjustably fixed to fixed blade guard 10 by means of bolts 16. The outside diameter of skirt 15 prevents this saw from undercutting an inside corner. Fixed blade guard 10 circumscribes more than 180 degrees of the circumference of the blade which also prohibits the blade from cutting into inside corner areas. With respect to the device of FIG. 4, both the fixed blade guard 10 and the side-mounted dust port 10a prevent the tool from accessing an inside corner area.
As shown in FIG. 3A, the device of FIG. 3 does allow undercutting of an inside corner. In this device the perpendicular orientation of the armature drive shaft and spindle shaft is more compact and allows the blade to be mounted at a more forward location on blade guard 10. Furthermore blade guard 10 is relieved along its forward edge to expose more than 180 degrees of the circumferential edge of blade 1. Blade guard 10 consists of fixed blade guard 14 with semi-circular downwardly protruding back edge 15 that fits within semi-circular height adjustment skirt 16. The two circular surfaces telescope and provide a means of height adjustment. Fixed guard 14 is adjustably fixed to skirt 16 by bolts 13.
The long back end of housing 2 provides an advantage in that it tends to counterbalance the weight of the guards and blade, preventing this kind of saw from tipping. However, this long back end makes the tool more difficult to use in tight spaces, such as closets. Furthermore, the drive system consisting of a spindle gear perpendicular to an armature gear is not effective for generating low RPMs or high torque. Thus this type of saw can tend to bog down and overheat in operation.
With respect, the device of FIG. 1, and of FIG. 4 have a fixed blade guard which consists of a single semi-circular part with a downwardly protruding back edge. However, more recent designs such as the devices of FIGS. 2 and 3 have a fixed blade guard which is mechanically coupled to a height adjustment skirt. When used herein, the term fixed blade guard may refer to either a) a device with a fixed blade guard consisting of a single part or b) a device with a fixed guard and a height adjustment skirt. Additionally, a feature described as being part of or attached to the height adjustment skirt may be considered as part of the fixed blade guard, as this is one assembly designed to perform the function of a fixed blade guard.
Some of the features, such as the dust port, would be more useful if these features could be accommodated into a device that was able to undercut inside corners and could also provide more adequate torque.
In addition to the problem of cutting the inside corner, all of the prior devices have less than ideal handles. The handles of FIG. 1 are sufficient for control of the tool and allow sufficient pressure for direction of the tool. However if the user is in a squatting position near the floor (the preferred position for use of this tool), the wrist of the user is bent back at an angle to grip handle 7. In addition, the position of the handles tends to make the user put downward pressure on the tool, making the desired sideways motion less comfortable. For the undercut saw in FIG. 2, the handle position is also poor. Handle 7 requires that a user grip the handle such that a trigger finger is on switch 11. This requires that in use the user bend one wrist back at an uncomfortable angle. This again reduces the efficiency of the tool.
In the undercutting saw of FIG. 3, only a single handle is included. The user must keep a separate hand on the housing of the tool. The handle 7 is attached to the housing by a pair of bolts 12 that allow the handle to be adjustably positioned. However this adjustable positioning makes the handle prone to rotate forward, especially as force on the handle is exerted during cutting. In addition, the handle is gripped from the top, which is a less than efficient position for the desired sideways movement of the tool in operation. During use of the device housing 2 is heated by motor 3 and becomes uncomfortable as a gripping surface. To effectively direct the tool during operation, most of the force directing the tool is from the user gripping the sides of housing 2 and moving the tool along the wall. Finally, the handles 6, 7 of FIG. 4 are also awkward, requiring a user to grip ball like structures. These handles are gripped from the top requiring a clawlike extension of all fingers over the rounded handles.
Placement of the switch is also a concern. Ideally, the switch would be placed such that it can be easily accessed by the user's trigger finger, allowing rapid shutoff of the tool should the need arise. In FIG. 1, the placement of trigger switch 11 on handle 7 requires the user to grip handle 7 directly from above. This tends to put downward pressure on the tool, which makes the desired sideways motion of the tool along a wall more difficult.
In FIG. 2, the orientation of the handle 7 is parallel to the floor. When the user grasps this handle their wrist is naturally bent. Thus as the user attempts to apply pushing force on handle 7 the sensation is one of having one's wrist bent further backwards, which is quite uncomfortable. Furthermore, to activate the trigger-type switch 11 the user must pull it with the trigger finger. Thus, the hand is pushing forward while also pulling a switch backward at the same time, which is awkward. Moreover, the added tension in the wrist created by the pulling action of the trigger finger creates even greater discomfort in the wrist.
When using the device of FIG. 3, the user grips handle 7 with one hand and places the other hand on the housing. The spring loaded switch 11 is activated by the placing a thumb on the trigger and pushing forward, and deactivated by removing the thumb. Because the thumb is not on the housing, it does not assist in gripping, which is not effective for transferring force. In FIG. 4, the switch 11 for the device is on the housing, not on the handles 6, 7. This means that to turn off the device a user must let go of at least one handle. This makes shutting off the device during an emergency take more time. This is not ideal during an emergency, especially if the user has lost some control of the tool.
Many features which are preferred in the design of an undercutting saw make it likely to tip over, which is a safety hazard. In order to expose as much of the forward circumference of the blade as possible, it is preferable to mount the motor housing as far forward as possible on the fixed blade guard. Thus, the bulk of the weight is centered on a cantilevered area. Furthermore, recent designs which can fully undercut inside corners require that more forward support from the fixed blade guard be removed. Lastly, in a device with a motor that employs parallel drive and spindle shafts, the motor is taller and thereby generates more leverage that tends to cause tipping. However, a device with a parallel drive and spindle shaft is preferred due to the greater torque these motors generate from lower RPM.
It is an object of the invention to provide a undercut saw with improved, ergonomic handles.
It is a further object to provide an undercut saw with a dust port that still allows inside corner cutting.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an undercut saw with a depth gauge with an operating surface that positions the saw for optimal utilization of its dust control port.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an undercut saw with a drive shaft parallel to a spindle shaft with a fixed blade guard which can expose greater than 180 degrees of the blade circumference.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a saw with a stabilizer that can help to reduce tipping.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method includes diagnosing a transmission auxiliary pump in a hybrid electric vehicle (HEV) having an engine and an auxiliary power module (APM). A predetermined HEV operating mode is detected during which the engine is running, and the pump is cycled between on and off states. An electrical output value of the APM is determined during the on and off states. A control action is executed when the output value exceeds a corresponding threshold. An HEV includes an engine, a transmission, an APM, a battery connected to the APM, and a transmission auxiliary pump. An algorithm diagnoses operation of the pump. The APM includes an algorithm for diagnosing the pump during a predetermined mode during which the engine is running by determining an electrical output value of the APM during on and off states of the pump, and executes a control action when the output value exceeds a threshold.

Hybrid electric vehicles or HEV can selectively utilize different energy sources as needed in order to achieve optimal fuel economy. A typical HEV can use an internal combustion engine as a primary vehicle propulsion mechanism, and a high-voltage battery module or energy storage system (ESS) for restarting the engine and/or for electrical propulsion of the HEV. For example, an HEV having a typical full hybrid powertrain can be propelled via purely electrical means up to a threshold speed, with one or more motor/generators drawing power from the ESS as needed. Above the threshold speed, the engine can provide some or all of the required propulsive torque. By way of contrast, an HEV having a limited hybrid powertrain lacks means for electrical propulsion, but retains certain functionality such as regenerative braking capability and the selectively powering off or shutting down of the engine at idle; fuel-saving performance capabilities that are generally shared with the full hybrid design.
The ability of an HEV to automatically shutdown the engine is a capability referred to hereinafter as "Auto Stop" functionality, which allows otherwise wasted fuel to be conserved during certain vehicle conditions. In vehicles having Auto Stop functionality, a motor/generator also referred to as a belt alternator starter (BAS) is used in lieu of a conventional alternator to apply torque to a serpentine belt of the engine whenever a driver signals intent to resume travel from an Auto Stop state. Torque from the BAS can turn the engine for a transient duration until a flow of fuel from the vehicle fuel supply can be restored.
During an Auto Stop state, components normally driven by the engine no longer operate. The main hydraulic pump for transmissions requiring pressurized oil to maintain clutch pressure and air conditioning compressor pumps driven by the engine's serpentine belt are two examples. During an Auto Stop event, a transmission auxiliary pump can be automatically energized in order to provide oil pressure to the transmission that would normally be supplied by the engine-driven transmission pump. Additionally, if the air conditioning (A/C) compressor is driven via the engine's serpentine belt, the A/C compressor is by necessity disabled during the Auto Stop event.
However, under some circumstances it may not be desirable to disable HVAC devices, such as during an active defrost mode, when the ambient temperature and/or humidity is relatively high, and/or when the driver of the HEV manually overrides Auto Stop functionality. The requirement to maintain engine operation for HVAC or other vehicle performance issues can complicate the diagnosing of the transmission auxiliary oil pump since the engine-driven oil pump is operational. Enabling the auxiliary oil pump while the engine is rotating combines the output of both pumps, and does not offer a clear indication of the auxiliary pump's output alone. Conventional methods of diagnosing an auxiliary pump include forcing an Auto Stop event to execute, allowing Auto Stop during all A/C modes, and/or using a pressure switch in conjunction with the HEV ignition to automatically test the auxiliary pump whenever the ignition switch is turned off. Each of these alternatives can be less than optimal, as they each involve either or both of shutting down the engine and the use of additional hardware.

Transmission auxiliary pump diagnosis method and apparatus


A peeling device (12) includes a first peeling unit (21) and a second peeling unit (22). When an upper peeling die (33) and a lower peeling die (34) of the first peeling unit (21) are moved forward, an insulating coating (8) is peeled off from upper and lower surface of a coil conductor wire (2), and a conductive portion (7) is cut from the upper surface and the lower surface of the coil conductor wire (2). The conductive portion (7) is formed to have exposed portions (7a) and recessed portions (7b) cut in a trapezoidal shape. A front peeling die (42) and a rear peeling die (43) of the second peeling unit (22) are moved downward while the recessed portion (7b) is placed on and pressed against a second receiving section (41b) of a cradle (41), which peels off the insulating coating (8) and cuts the conductive portion (7).

There is known a peeling device which peels off an insulating coating from a coil conductor wire including a conductor wire and the insulating coating covering the conductor wire (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). In a coil segment manufacturing apparatus according to Patent Literature 1, an insulating coating is peeled off from two facing surfaces of a coil conductor wire having four surfaces at a first peeling position by a peeling die, and the insulating coating is peeled off from the other two surfaces of the coil conductor wire at a second peeling position by a different peeling die.
In a method for manufacturing a stator of an AC generator described in Patent Literature 2, width-reduced portions are formed in a conductor wire by partly cutting opposite ends of the conductor wire. In Patent Literature 2, thickness-reduced portions are formed by rolling the width-reduced portions, and the conductor wire is cut at the thickness-reduced portions, thereby manufacturing a coil conductor wire having a width-reduced portion and a thickness-reduced portion at each of opposite ends.
Patent Literature 2 needs a rolling device which rolls a width-reduced portion to form a thickness-reduced portion separately from a peeling device which peels off an insulating coating. This leads to an increase in apparatus size and an increase in apparatus cost. For this reason, it is conceivable to form a thickness-reduced portion using a peeling die as illustrated in Patent Literature 1.


Various embodiments include a method and system for optimizing the initial configuration of cyclic sleeping devices on a wireless network. The devices, or nodes, may need additional configuration by a configuration device after being placed on the network. Some nodes may sleep and not report in to the configuration device causing the configuration device to reach out to these non-reporting nodes. The configuration device may have limited resources with which to transmit the configuration to the nodes, and so the network can be efficiently configured if the configuration device reaches out to non-reporting nodes when it does not expect to use its transmission resources to configure a reporting node. This can be accomplished by maintaining a list of nodes yet to be configured, using the node configuration and reporting times to determine periods in which the configuration device's transmission resources will be idle, contacting non-reporting nodes during those periods.

Nodes, also known as devices, attached to a network may need initial configuration parameters distributed to them in order to fully function on the network. Typically, some configuration parameters are supplied with the nodes themselves and other parameters are distributed by a configuration device. Some networks may be composed of nodes with a limited capability to transmit to other nodes in the network. This limited capability can sometimes extend to limits on a node's ability to simultaneously transmit to more than a limited number of other nodes. Wireless nodes power down, or sleep, to reduce power consumption. Typically, the nodes can be contacted only when they are awake; wireless nodes can have differing sleep characteristics. These differing sleep characteristics can make it difficult to configure nodes in the network.

System and method for optimized initial configuration distribution for cyclic sleeping devices


The present invention provides an apparatus for analyzing the sequence of nucleotides in a nucleic acid sample, said apparatus comprising a substrate and a plurality of nanopores provided therein suitable for the passage of nucleic acid molecules therethrough; at least one sample holding chamber disposed upstream of the inlet of said nanopores, at least one detection window juxtaposed within or downstream of the outlet of each nanopore adapted to detect a property characteristic of one or more detectable elements associated with the nucleic acid as each nucleic acid molecule passes therethrough and a detector adapted to generate a data stream characteristic of the various detection events occurring in the detection window characterized in that the apparatus further comprises a means located within the sample holding chamber adapted to increase the local concentration of the nucleic acid sample adjacent the inlet of the nanopores relative to the bulk concentration thereof.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for analysing the random sequence of monomer units in a polymer, for example a biopolymer. It is especially useful in determining the sequence of nucleotides in naturally occurring polynucleotides such as RNA, DNA or synthetic analogues thereof.
Description of the Related Art
Next generation sequencing of genetic material is already making a significant impact on the biological sciences in general and medicine in particular as the unit cost of sequencing falls in line with the coming to market of faster and faster sequencing machines. For example, our co-pending application WO 2009/030953 discloses a new fast sequencer in which inter alia the sequence of nucleotides (bases or base pairs) in a single or double stranded nucleic acid sample (e.g. naturally occurring RNA or DNA) is read by translocating the same through a nano-perforated substrate provided with plasmonic structures juxtaposed within or adjacent the outlet of the nanopores. In this device, the plasmonic structures define detection windows within which each nucleotide (optionally labelled) is in turn induced to fluoresce or Raman scatter photons in characteristic way by interaction with incident light. The photons so generated are then detected remotely, multiplexed and converted into a data stream whose information content is characteristic of the nucleotide sequence itself. This sequence can then be recovered from the data stream using computational algorithms embodied in corresponding software programmed into a microprocessor integral therewith or in a computing device attached thereto.
Another device for fast sequencing nucleic acids is described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 6,627,067, U.S. Pat. No. 6,267,872 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,746,594. In its simplest form this device employs electrodes, instead of plasmonic structures, to define the detection window in or around the outlet of the nanopore. A potential difference is then applied across the electrodes and changes in an electrical property of the ionic medium flowing therebetween, as a consequence of the electrophoretic translocation of the nucleic acid sample and associated electrolyte therethrough, is measured as a function of time. In this device, as the various individual nucleotides constituting the nucleic acid pass through the detection window they continuously block and unblock it causing 'blocking events' which give rise to characteristic fluctuations in current flow or resistivity. These fluctuations are then used to generate a suitable data stream for analysis as described above.
One problem encountered with both types of device described above is the need to improve the number of nucleic acid molecules flowing through a given nanopore in a given detection interval or the effective utilisation of the total number of nanopores in the same interval as these parameters are directly related to both the signal to noise ratio characteristic of the detector's output and the ease with which the data stream can be accurately processed. Whilst this problem can in theory partly be offset by progressively multiplexing larger and larger numbers of nano-perforations in a given unit area of substrate, the practical problems associated with creating such a high density of nanopores means that it would be most desirable to find a method of improving efficiency levels at current densities.
WO2011/143340 describes a method for sequencing a nucleic acid involving the steps of (1) dissociating a plurality of optically labelled oligonucleotides (e.g. molecular beacons) from a labelled nucleic acid as molecules thereof translocate through an array of nanopores and detectors and (2) detecting optical signals from the displaced oligonucleotides. Whilst regulation of the speed of translocation of the labelled nucleic acid molecules is discussed, the provision of a means for specifically increasing the local concentration thereof adjacent the inlet of the nanopores is not specifically discussed.
WO2010/117470 discloses a nanopore sequencing device comprising an array of nanopores in a substrate connecting upper and lower fluidic regions which are in turned linked to upper and lower fluid volumes. The upper and lower fluid regions are connected to the upper and lower fluid volumes by means of resistive openings whose roles are to minimise electrical cross-talk between the detectors associated with each nanopore in the array by slowing down the rate of translocation of the nucleic acid. Typically the resistive openings are channels of cross-section narrower than that of the space defining the fluidic regions. This device is thus concerned with solving different problem to that claimed in our invention and accordingly does not include a means for increasing the local concentration of the analyte.
WO2011/040996 teaches an ultrafast nanopore sequencing device for sequencing nucleic acids whose nucleotides are provided with acceptor labels. It uses excitable donor labels, e.g. quantum dots, located within or adjacent the inlet or outlet of the pore, to energetically excite the acceptor labels by energy transfer so that they emit fluorescence which can be detected. The device does not include a means for increasing the local concentration of the nucleic acid.
Methods in Molecular Biology 385 9-12 (2007) discusses the functionalization of porous polymer monoliths using for example amines, so that they are able to concentrate and purify oligonucleotides. Methods of making such monoliths are disclosed as is their use in microfluidic chips including microchannels. There is no discussion of using such monoliths in nanopore sequencers for the purposes of solving the problem addressed by the present invention. Rather the concern is to improve the sample preparation steps associated with conventional biological chips.
Royal Society of Chemistry Special Publication 159-160 (2005) exemplifies the single-step concentration of DNA in a microfluidic channel. The method employed involves contacting a solution of two single-stranded, 12-mers DNA analytes with a solution of a DNA-poly(N,N-dimethylacrylamide) having differing affinities for the two. On the basis of this differing affinity the two analytes were separated by electrophoresis. This is a completely different approach to that used in our invention and appears to be concerned with product purification rather than sequencing.


The present invention provides systems and methods for balancing a request load on device communication channels. A system includes a channel scanner, a processor, and a load balancer. The system may iteratively balance the request load on the communication channels. The device communication channels are typically connected between controllers and a system of devices. The channel scanner is configured for scanning the channels to determine the number or bandwidth of requests of each device. The processor may rank the devices by the number or bandwidth of requests of each device. The load balancer may allocate the requests between the channels based on the rank of the devices. For example, the load balancer may receive the rank order of the devices from the processor and allocate the requests based on the rank order. The load balancer may additionally allocate the requests based on present capabilities of the channels.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally directed toward balancing a request load on communication channels. More specifically, the present invention relates to balancing a request load placed on redundant communication channels to a plurality of storage devices.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Load balancing is a method of distributing a load among a number of resources. In the data storage arts, load balancing occurs in storage systems having multiple storage controllers to process requests received from attached host systems and to manipulate data stored on storage devices, such as computer disk drives. Load balancing is especially important for storage systems where it's difficult to predict the number of requests or the size of the requests that will be issued. In such storage systems, multiple requests may be received by the storage system and processed by one of the storage controllers of the storage system. Some storage controllers of the storage system may receive more requests than others. Unbalanced requests among the storage controllers can burden a storage system and diminish overall, aggregate storage processing capabilities of the storage system. To improve the storage processing capabilities of the storage system, the storage system balances request loads from the host systems to the controllers by evenly distributing the requests to each controller of the storage system.
Load balancing of the storage system improves processing speeds of the requests and alleviates request "bottlenecks". However, modern storage systems may also employ redundant communication channels for exchange of information between the storage controller(s) and the storage devices. The redundant communication channels are necessary in the event that one of the channels becomes disabled. As one channel becomes disabled, the other channel can be used to provide communications for the system. When not required to replace a disabled channel the other channel is often left essentially unused—merely in a "ready" state to be substituted for a disabled channel. However, the redundant channels may also be used to supplement available communications bandwidth for the system. For example, a storage system having multiple channels connected to multiple disks can process more requests than a storage system having a single channel. Rather than leave a redundant channel essentially idle, its additional bandwidth capability may be used to supplement the available bandwidth of the other channel(s).
Use of the redundant channels to supplement communications can create request load imbalances on the channels. Presently, systems, such as storage systems, have redundant channels for reliability purposes and utilize the additional available bandwidth for supplemental communications with the storage devices. Low level I/O operations to be directed to particular disk drives are randomly or arbitrarily assigned to one of the redundant channels. However, arbitrary assignments of requests to the channels eventually create either the same or slightly improved performance of a single channel. For example, as the channels are used in parallel to transfer more arbitrary requests, bottlenecks form in the channels because of random selection of the requests directed to each channel. Such performance bottlenecks severely impair request processing of the system, as the system must wait for particular requests to clear through the channels. Many systems cannot afford the luxury of having impaired request processing.
As evident from the above discussion, a need exists for improved structures and methods for allocating requests through communication channels so as to provide more reliable request processing.

Method and apparatus for balancing a request load of communication channels


A resource discovery and description mechanism for decentralized device and service description and discovery in networking environments is described that generates advertisements in a uniform description format to describe resources on a network. The mechanism may translate resource descriptions from other resource description and discovery protocols to generate the advertisements. The advertisements may be used for cross-network discovery and access of the resources. An advertisement may include, but is not limited to, physical endpoints, virtual endpoints, user-extensible metadata, location information, and a universal unique identifier (UUID) for the associated resource. If a resource cannot provide a UUID, the mechanism generates a UUID for the resource. One embodiment may support proxy nodes for generating advertisements for resources that cannot participate directly in the resource discovery and description mechanism. These proxy nodes may also serve as a proxy between local subnetwork discovery and cross-network discovery of the advertisements.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to peer-to-peer networking, and more particularly to decentralized device and service description and discovery in a peer-to-peer networking environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Peer-to-Peer Networking
The term peer-to-peer networking or computing (often referred to as P2P) may be applied to a wide range of technologies that greatly increase the utilization of information, bandwidth, and computing resources in the Internet. Frequently, these P2P technologies adopt a network-based computing style that neither excludes nor inherently depends on centralized control points. In addition to improving the performance of information discovery, content delivery, and information processing, such a style also can enhance the overall reliability and fault-tolerance of computing systems.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are examples illustrating the peer-to-peer model. FIG. 1A shows two peer devices 104A and 104B that are currently connected. Either of the two peer devices 104 may serve as a client of or a server to the other device. FIG. 1B shows several peer devices 104 connected over the network 106 in a peer group. In the peer group, any of the peer devices 104 may serve as a client of or a server to any of the other devices.
JXTA
Sun Microsystems' JXTA™ is an exemplary peer-to-peer platform. Peer-to-peer platforms such as JXTA may provide protocols for building networking applications that thrive in dynamic environments. JXTA technology is a set of open protocols that allow any connected device on the network ranging from cell phones and wireless PDAs to PCs and servers to communicate and collaborate in a peer-to-peer (P2P) manner. JXTA peers create a virtual network where any peer can interact with other peers and resources directly even when some of the peers and resources are behind firewalls and NATs or are on different network transports. In JXTA, every peer is identified by an ID, unique over time and space. Peer groups are user-defined collections of entities (peers) that may share a common interest. Peer groups are also identified by unique IDs. Peers may belong to multiple peer groups, discover other entities and peer resources (e.g. peers, peer groups, services, content, etc.) dynamically, and publish themselves and resources so that other peers can discover them.
Service Location Protocol (SLP)
The Service Location Protocol (SLP) is a protocol or method of organizing and locating the resources (such as printers, disk drives, databases, e-mail directories, and schedulers) in a network. SLP is intended to give users an easy-to-use interface to a network's resource information. The protocol defines and oversees communications and operations that take place among entities called user agents (subscribers or workstations), service agents (peripherals and resources), and directory agents (peripherals and resources within service agents). Rearrangement or maintenance of services, or installing new devices, is possible without the need for reconfiguring individual workstations.
Multicast DNS (MDNS)
Multicast DNS (MDNS) is a mechanism for using familiar DNS programming interfaces, packet formats and operating semantics in a small network where no conventional DNS server has been installed.
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP)
Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) is a standard that uses Internet and Web protocols to enable devices such as PCs, peripherals, intelligent appliances, and wireless devices to be plugged into a network and to automatically know about each other. With UPnP, when a user plugs a device into the network, the device will configure itself, acquire a TCP/IP address, and use a discovery protocol based on the Internet's Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) to announce its presence on the network to other devices.
Jini
Sun Microsystems' Jini™ network technology, which includes JavaSpaces Technology and Jini extensible remote invocation (Jini ERI), is an open architecture that enables developers to create network-centric services—whether implemented in hardware or software—that are highly adaptive to change. Jini technology may be used to build adaptive networks that are scalable, evolvable and flexible as typically required in dynamic computing environments.
Device/Service Description and Discovery Mechanisms
Conventional device/service description and discovery mechanisms used on networks, such as JINI, Apple Rendezvous, SLP, UPnP, DNS, and MDNS, have their own formats, and typically do not provide a way to uniquely identify resources across networks. These mechanisms typically do not interoperate, and many lack a discovery mechanism that is capable of spanning networks. These mechanisms typically either define enough to solve a specific device deployment such as a printer, or are limited to what they can describe by a size limitation imposed by the protocol.
Resources in subnetworks using at least some of these mechanisms may be named by humans; these names may not mean anything to other users that discover those resources from within or from without that subnetwork. In addition, there may be name collisions, which may cause problems in determining which resource is which, especially with mobile devices. For example, two or more users in such a subnetwork may name their local printer something like "My Printer". This can lead to problems on the network; for example, users may attempt to access resources they do not have access to, or are simply the wrong resource.

Method and apparatus for decentralized device and service description and discovery


Microprocessor-based thermal dispersion mass flow meters (i.e., thermal anemometers) are described that use temperature sensing elements in its flow sensor probe(s) in addition to the two elements commonly used. Such systems allow for automatically managing changes in gas selection, gas temperature, gas pressure, and outside temperature. One mass flow meter described has a flow sensor with four temperature sensing elements, wherein one pair is provided in a temperature sensor probe and another pair in a velocity sensor probe. Another variation operates without a separate temperature sensor probe and integrates all function into a single three-sensor probe. Such a device may also be used in conjunction with a one- or two-sensor temperature probe.

Thermal dispersion mass flow meters directly measure the mass flow rate of single-phase pure gases and gas mixtures of known composition flowing through pipes or other flow conduits. They also have application to single-phase liquids of known composition. In most of the following, it is assumed that the fluid is a gas, without the loss of applicability to liquids.
The mass flow rate of a fluid (defined by its average velocity multiplied by its mass density multiplied by the cross-sectional area of the channel through which the flow travels) is a measured quantity of interest in the control or monitoring of most practical and industrial applications, such as any chemical reaction, combustion, heating, cooling, drying, mixing, fluid power, etc. For such purposes, gases monitored by industrial thermal dispersion mass flow meters typically include: air, methane, natural gas, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, oxygen, argon, helium, hydrogen, propane, and stack gases, as well as mixtures of these gases and mixtures of hydrocarbon gases.
Generally speaking, a thermal anemometer (alternatively referred to as a thermal dispersion mass flow meter or simply as a mass flow meter) is used to measure the mass velocity at a point or small area in a flowing fluid—be it liquid or gas. The mass velocity of a flowing fluid is its velocity referenced to standard (or normal) temperature and pressure. The mass velocity averaged over the flow channel's cross-sectional area multiplied by the cross-sectional area is the standard (or normal) volumetric flow rate through the channel and is a common way of expressing the total mass flow rate through the channel.
The thermal anemometer is sometimes referred to as an immersible thermal mass flow meter because it can be immersed in a flow stream or channel in contrast to other thermal mass flow meter systems, such as those that sense the total mass flow rate by means of a heated capillary tube mounted externally to the flow channel.
The first general description of a thermal anemometer is attributed to L. V. King who, in 1914, published "King's Law" revealing how a heated wire immersed in a fluid flow measures the mass velocity at a point in the flow: King, L. V. 1914, "On the convection of heat from small cylinders in a stream of fluid: Determination of the convection constants of small platinum wires with application to hot-wire anemometry." Phil. Trans. Roy. Soc. A214: 373-432. King called his instrument a "hot-wire anemometer."
Early applications of this technology were hot-wire and hot-film anemometers and other light-duty thermal dispersion flow sensors used in fluid mechanics research and as light-duty mass flow meters and point velocity instruments. It was not until the 1960s and 1970s that industrial-grade thermal dispersion mass flow meters emerged that could solve the wide range of general industry's more ruggedized needs for directly measuring the mass flow rate of air, natural gas, and other gases in pipes and ducts.
Thermal dispersion mass flow meters measure the heat convected into the boundary layer of a fluid (e.g., liquid or gas) flowing over the surface of a heated velocity sensor immersed in the flow. Since it is the molecules of the gas that bear its mass and carry away the heat, thermal dispersion mass flow meters directly measure mass flow rate. In a constant-temperature mode of operation, the "heated" sensor (as commonly known) incorporated in the design is maintained at an average constant temperature above the fluid temperature. The temperature difference between the flowing fluid and the heated sensor results in an electrical power demand in maintaining this constant temperature difference that increases in proportion to the fluid mass flow rate that can be calculated. In another approach, some thermal anemometers operate in a constant-current mode in which a constant current or power is applied to the heated sensor and the fluid mass flow rate is calculated from the difference in the temperature of the heated sensor and the fluid temperature sensor, which decreases as mass flow rate increases.
Thermal anemometers may have greater application to gases, rather than liquids, because their sensitivity in gases is higher than in liquids. However certain examples described herein may be equally applicable to mass flow meters for use with liquids.
Many of the mass flow meters currently known may have shortcomings, some or all of which may be addressed by the present disclosure. For example, because the parts of the heated sensor of known thermal anemometers are not sufficiently reproducible (i.e., dimensionally or electrically), known thermal anemometers require multi-point flow calibration of electrical output versus mass flow rate, in the actual fluid with which they will be used and within the actual ranges of fluid temperature and pressure of the particular application. With such a multi-point flow calibration, some level of flow measurement accuracy may be attainable, however the accuracy is only be applicable to the particular fluid used for calibration only within the narrow ranges of fluid temperature and pressure within which the calibration was conducted.
For industrial applications, the separate heated velocity and fluid temperature sensors are typically enclosed in a protective housing shell. Sometimes, the heated sensor is inserted into the tip of the housing shell and surrounded by a potting compound, such as epoxy, ceramic cement, thermal grease, or alumina powder. In such systems, "skin resistance" and stem conduction are two major contributors to non-ideal behavior and measurement errors. The so-called "skin resistance" is the electrical analog of thermal resistance occurring between the encased heated sensor and the external surface of the housing exposed to the fluid flow. Hot-wire thermal anemometers have zero skin resistance, but thermal anemometers with a housing shell do have some skin resistance. The use of a potting compound substantially increases the skin resistance because such potting compounds have a relatively low thermal conductivity and are relatively thick.
Skin resistance (in units of degrees Kelvin per watt) results in a temperature drop between the encased heated sensor and the external surface of the housing that increases as the electrical power supplied to the heated sensor increases. Skin resistance creates a "droop" and decreased sensitivity in the power versus fluid mass flow rate calibration curve, especially at higher mass flow rates. The so-called droop is difficult to quantify and usually varies from meter to meter because of variations in manufacturing repeatability and in installation. The ultimate result of these skin-resistance problems is reduced accuracy. Furthermore, the use of a surrounding potting compound can create long-term measurement errors caused by aging and by cracking due to differential thermal expansion between the parts of the heated sensor.
Accordingly, the highest quality heated sensors have a skin resistance with a low numerical value that remains constant over the long term. Of all known sensor configurations, the most successful at managing these tradeoffs has been produced by the assignee hereof, Sierra Instruments in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,880,365; 6,971,274; 7,197,953 and/or 7,748,267, the disclosures of which patents are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
Velocity sensor probes constructed as such may be known as "dry" sensors in contrast to velocity sensors fabricated with potting cements or epoxies that are wet when mixed. As discussed, these "wet" velocity-sensor systems suffer long-term stability and other quality issues due to changes in the potting compound. With regards to the temperature sensors, degradation of any potting material incorporated in temperature sensor probes may only change response time, which may be a relatively minor effect, and as such temperature sensor probes may employ any convenient construction.
A significant source of potential error in either the temperature sensor probe and/or velocity sensor probe relates to heat conduction along the probe stem. For example, stem conduction causes a large fraction of the electrical power supplied to the heated sensor to be lost through the stem of the heated sensor, down the housing, lead wires, and other internal parts of the heated sensor and ultimately to the exterior of the fluid flow channel. Stem conduction couples the electrical power supplied to the encased heated sensor to the ambient temperature outside the channel. Typically, if the ambient temperature decreases, stem conduction increases; if ambient temperature increases, the conduction decreases. In either case, as ambient temperature changes, stem conduction changes, and measurement errors occur. Similarly, stem conduction is responsible for errors in the encased fluid temperature sensor's measurement because the fluid temperature sensor also is coupled to the ambient temperature in this manner. Mass flow meters known in the art do not account for stem conduction in sufficient manner to achieve the measurement accuracy as may be desired in certain applications.
Accordingly, the examples described herein may provide systems and methods for measuring mass flow of a fluid with improved performance, including (but not limited to) the ability to meter different fluids without requiring flow calibration specific to the fluid or conditions being monitored, as well as the ability to account for mode(s) of stem conduction heretofore unrecognized and, thus, obtain measurements with increased accuracy.

Mass flow meter configured with computational modeling for use with different fluids


Aborbent article is disclosed having a refastenable mechanism. The absorbent article has a front portion, a back portion and a crotch portion. The crotch portion connects the front portion to the back portion. The front portion has a first end, a second end, a first side edge and a second side edge. First and second lateral sections are releasably attached to the front portion and each of the first and second lateral sections has an outer edge. The back portion has first and second side edges and first and second ends. The back portion is divided into a first section and a second section. The first section has a length L2 measured perpendicularly from the first end of the back portion to a line drawn parallel thereto. The second section has a length L3 measured perpendicularly from the second end of the back portion to the line drawn parallel to the first end whereby a ratio L2/L3 is established which ranges from between about 0.1 to about 2. The absorbent article further includes an absorbent secured to at least one of the front, back or crotch portions. Each of the outer edges of the first and second lateral sections of are secured to one of the first and second side edges of the back portion to form a pant-like article having a waist opening and a pair of leg openings.

This invention relates to an absorbent article having a refastenable mechanism. More specifically, this invention relates to a disposable absorbent article having a refastenable mechanism that improves body fit and reduces the likelihood of fluid leakage.
Today, various disposable absorbent articles exist which are designed to absorb and retain body fluid and/or excrement. Examples of such articles include incontinence products such as pants, briefs and undergarments, baby diapers, feminine care menstrual pants, training pants, etc. While most of these articles perform satisfactorily for their intended purpose, some are difficult to remove from the body of the wearer. Many do not have a refastenable mechanism that allows the article to be easily adjusted during use or be easily removed from the wearer""s body before the product is permanently discarded while maintaining an underwear like fit. Some of today""s commercially available products do not conform well to the human body and this poor fit increases the likelihood of fluid leakage while the product is being worn. Therefore, there remains a need for a disposable absorbent article having a refastenable mechanism that will provide improved fit to the human body and reduce the likelihood of fluid leakage.
Now, an absorbent article has been invented which has a refastenable mechanism that improves body fit and reduces the likelihood of fluid leakage.
Briefly, this invention relates to an absorbent article having a refastenable mechanism. The absorbent article has a front portion, a back portion and a crotch portion. The crotch portion connects the front portion to the back portion. The front portion has a first end, a second end, a first side edge and a second side edge. First and second lateral sections are releasably attached to the front portion and each of the first and second lateral sections has an outer edge. The back portion has first and second side edges and first and second ends. The back portion is divided into a first section and a second section. The first section has a length L2 measured perpendicularly from the first end of the back portion to a line drawn parallel thereto. The second section has a length L3 measured perpendicularly from the second end of the back portion to the line drawn parallel to the first end whereby a ratio L2/L3 is established which ranges from between about 0.1 to about 2. The absorbent article further includes an absorbent secured to at least one of the front, back or crotch portions. Each of the outer edges of the first and second lateral sections are secured to one of the first and second side edges of the back portion to form a pant-like article having a waist opening and a pair of leg openings.
The general object of this invention is to provide an absorbent article having a refastenable mechanism. A more specific object of this invention is to provide a disposable absorbent article having a refastenable mechanism that improves body fit and reduces the likelihood of fluid leakage.
Another object of this invention is to provide an absorbent article having a refastenable mechanism that is easy to manufacture, is relatively inexpensive and is easy to use.
A further object of this invention is to provide an absorbent article having a refastenable mechanism that provides the wearer with a choice of how to apply and/or remove the absorbent article, i.e. pull the article up around the wearer""s torso versus refasten the article around the wearer""s torso.
Still another object of this invention is to provide an absorbent article that can easily be adjusted to conform to a wearers body.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent to those skilled in the art in view of the following description and the accompanying drawings.

Absorbent article having a refastenable mechanism


Apparatus for fitting a golf club to an individual player comprises a plurality of shaft extension plugs that fit into the upper end of a club shaft so as to provide various effective shaft lengths. A removable elastomeric grip, configured as a tube having a closed end and a slit extending from the open end to a point near the closed end, is slid over the shaft and whatever extension plug is inserted into it. The inner diameter of grip is matched to the outer diameter of the shaft, and the inner surface of the grip is smooth. This arrangement provides a maximum contact area between the grip and the shaft in order to keep the shaft fro sliding out the grip when the player swings the try-club. One of the advantages of this arrangement is that it reduces the number of individual items of equipment that a fitting dealer needs to stock in order to cover a full range of performance parameters.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to method and apparatus for selecting a golf club most appropriate to a predetermined individual.
2. Description of Prior Art
Fitting an individual golfer with an optimal club can employ a large and expensive inventory of equipment to allow the individual to try various combinations of grip, shaft, and head parameters for a given club. The grip parameters include at least the grip diameter and style. The shaft parameters include at least length, flex point, weight and stiffness. The head parameters may include head weight, head weight distribution, face angle, the angle it which the shaft is mated to the head, and a choice between right-handed and left-handed arrangements. Although each of these variables has a continuous range of values, it is common practice in the manufacture of golf clubs to provide a number of discrete pre-selected values for the most significant of them--for example, there arc five standard shaft stiffnesses, conventionally denoted in the golf equipment art by the letters X, S, R, A, and L, respectively. Even though this use of a restricted number of predetermined values for various parameters renders the number of permutations of possible club configurations finite, the number is still so large as to make it practically impossible for a golf club dealer to address the matter of fitting a golfer with a club by stocking one of every possible different club. As an example, consider a conventional arrangement that bypasses some of the choices by selecting a shaft model and a grip style, carefully fitting a five iron to a golfer, and then using data from that fitting to define an entire set of clubs. To follow this practice exhaustively, one could construct three thousand different clubs using .five values of shaft flexion, four conventional lengths, five grip sizes, three lie angles, five swing weights and providing both right and left handed models.
Notable among prior art patents in this area are:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,611,533, wherein Williams teaches a gripping sleeve for a sporting implement, the sleeve having a longitudinal slit and having an abrasive coating on its inner surface. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,513,844, to Ashcraft et al., who teach a try-club arrangement in which one of a number of shafts can be releasably attached to a selected club head. Their arrangement comprises a threaded hosel sleeve attached to the head by means that may include a screw running along the axis of the shaft, but that also has a clamp attaching the head to the shaft. PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 5,244,209, wherein Benzel shows a golf club grip apparatus enabling a golfer to vary the swing weight of a club by adding weights to a hollow cylinder inserted into the end of the club shaft. Benzel's cylinder is essentially a permanent insert accessed through a cap at the end of the shaft. Benzel does not use removable grips.


The present invention relates to uses of mutant proto-oncogenes and oncoproteins expressed by the proto-oncogenes in inhibiting tumor growth and/or inhibiting the transformed phenotype. The preferred oncoprotein is a dominant, interfering mutant of a nuclear E2F transcription factor protein and is preferably a mutant E2F1 transcription factor protein. Methods of treating a target cell are described. Treatment is accomplished by administering to a target cell a dominant interfering mutant of a proto-oncogene in an effective amount. Treatment is also accomplished by administering to a target cell an oncoprotein in an effective amount. Compositions for such use are described as well.

The human genome possesses genes which have the potential, when mutated or expressed at higher than normal levels, to lead to the formation of cancer. The first genes to be identified which had this property were viral oncogenes. The products of these viral oncogenes are responsible for the virus' ability to form tumorigenic cells having altered growth properties. The corresponding cellular oncogenes ("proto-oncogenes") can be activated by viruses, chromosomal rearrangement, gene amplification or mutation.
In all, more than 25 distinct proto-oncogenes have been identified in mammalian cells. See Hunter, Cell, 64: 249-270 (1991). In their normal context, proto-oncogenes have important functions in control of cell growth; they encode growth factors or their receptors (e.g., c-erbB proto-oncogene), they act as intracellular signal transducers (e.g., c-src, c-ras proto-oncogenes), and they are transcription factors that control expression of cellular genes required for cell proliferation (e.g.,c-myc, c-fos, c-jun proto-oncogenes). Proto-oncogene expression is tightly regulated with regard to both the level of expression and the timing of expression during development and during the cell cycle. Activation of proto-oncogenes often occurs through deregulation of their expression.
The genome also expresses genes which block cancer formation. These "anti-oncogenes", also called tumor suppressors, are negative regulators of cell division. The mutation and/or loss of these genes can lead to deregulated cell proliferation and a dramatically increased incidence of cancers. In fact, the most commonly mutated genes in human cancers are tumor suppressors. Individuals heterozygous for germ-line mutations in tumor suppressors are strongly predisposed to one or more types of cancer. The loss or mutation of the normal tumor suppressor gene in these heterozygous individuals can lead to tumor formation.
The first tumor suppressor discovered was the retinoblastoma susceptibility gene (RB) which was identified from studies on sporadic and inherited retinoblastoma. All normal human cells carry one copy of the RB gene on each chromosome 13. Rarely, a mutational event destroys one of the pair, but the cells are still phenotypically normal (i.e., the mutation is "recessive") as the remaining normal RB gene acts to inhibit cellular proliferation and tumorigenic potential. If a mutation or loss of the remaining normal RB gene occurs in these heterozygous cells, a tumor will develop. Tumorigenesis requiring these two mutations is exceedingly rare and only single tumors will develop. Since one of the RB genes is already nonfunctional at birth in the inherited form, single mutations can result in an RB-/- genotype and the likelihood of formation of tumors is far greater.
Mutations in the RB gene have been associated definitively with the occurrence of retinoblastomas. RB deletion or mutation has also been observed in a variety of other human tumors. Most notable among these other cancers are osteosarcoma as well as bone and soft-tissue sarcomas. RB loss or mutation is also strongly implicated in small cell lung carcinoma and, to a lesser extent, other lung cancers and esophageal carcinoma. Functional loss of RB has also been associated with cancer of the bladder, prostate, breast and liver, as well as lymphomas and leukemias.
The RB tumor suppressor protein forms complexes with a variety of cellular proteins that play a role in transcriptional regulation, in particular, the E2F family of cellular transcription factors. See Kovesdi et al., Cell, 45: 219-228, 1986. It is now known that the RB protein associates with E2F, specifically in mid-late G1 and S phase during the cell cycle. E2F-binding sites have been known to exist in a number of growth-regulatory genes. In particular, a subset of these genes encodes products that play a role in DNA synthesis. RB appears to form a complex with E2F which represses transcription of E2F-responsive promoters, thus inhibiting growth. Promoters such as those directing expression of dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR), DNA polymerase alpha, cdc2, and thymidine kinase all contain E2F-binding sites. See, for instance, Means et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 12:1054-1063 (1992)and Pearson et al., Mol. Cell. Biol., 11:2081-2095 (1991). Inactivation of RB genes may effectively eliminate transcriptional repression of important genes involved in DNA synthesis.
Moreover, at least one E2F member, E2F1, has been demonstrated to be a target of RB action and exhibits oncogenic properties when overexpressed in immortalized cell lines or, in conjunction with activated ras oncogene. See, for example, Singh et al., U J., 13: 3329-3338, (1994) and Johnson et al., Proc. Nat. Acad. Sci. USA 91: 12823-12827 (1994). The possibility exists that, in the case of certain RB-/- tumors, inactivation of RB has led to deregulated E2F activity and/or increased level of E2F expression.
It is theoretically possible to treat human RB (-/-) cancers through re-introduction of a wild-type RB gene. The exogenously delivered tumor suppressor is likely to inhibit tumor proliferation. It is known that re-introduction of the RB tumor suppressor gene into RB-defective tumor cells inhibits the tumor cell growth and inhibits the neoplastic phenotype of the target cells. See, for example, Huang et al., Science, 242: 1563-1566 (1988) and Bookstein et al., Science, 247: 712-715 (1990).
Nevertheless, gene therapy using RB tumor suppressor genes is problematic. Since RB (-/-) tumor cells have already mutated the resident RB gene, it is possible that these cells lacking tumor suppressor gene function have already evolved a mechanism to mutate or destabilize wild-type RB genes and might certainly possess the mechanism to mutate or destabilize the introduced wild-type RB gene.
In particular, it has been shown that several cell lines from tumors that have had the RB gene re-introduced have become very tumorigenic and have formed large, progressively growing tumors when injected into mice. See Zhou et al., Proc. Am. Assoc. Cancer Res., 34: 3214 (1993). This phenomenon is called tumor suppressor gene resistance and might be due to the fact that the tumor cells may have inherited or acquired the ability to mutate or destabilize wild-type RB. Alternately, or in addition, the tumor cells may be able to convert RB proteins to an inactive (i.e., phosphorylated) form that allows tumor growth to continue.
Overexpression of tumor suppressor RB genes is likely to be cytotoxic to both tumor cells and proliferating normal cells. Thus, this therapy may be no more effective than conventional chemotherapy, which indiscriminately kills normal and abnormal cells. Moreover, inhibition of tumorigenicity using this approach is often incomplete and a significant percentage of the RB-reconstituted tumor cells (retaining normal RB expression) still form malignant and invasive tumors in nude mouse tumorigenicity assays. See Xu et al., Cancer Res., 51: 4481-4485 (1991); Banerjee et al., Cancer Res., 52: 6297-6304 (1992).
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a genetic therapy for tumor or cancer cells which can safely overcome these problems.


An optical code scanner is presented that includes image capture technology to read optical codes. The optical code scanner captures an image of an optical code and then generates multiple reduced resolution versions of the image. Multiple techniques are applied to the different images to identify a region of interest, enhance the contrast of the image, perform a non-linear local geometrical distortion correction and minimize the spatial resolution required to read the optical code. The techniques reduce the raw processing power and time required to identify and read an optical code.

Optical code scanners are used to read optical codes and the information encoded therein. Optical code scanners may suitably be combined with other apparatuses or systems that use optical codes. For example, an optical code scanner can be integrated with a point of sale (POS) terminal to read optical codes on items which are presented to the POS terminal for purchase as part of a purchase transaction.
There are a number of different optical formats that can be employed by an optical code to encode machine readable information that can then be read by an optical code scanner. Each optical format has an associated set of rules and optical patterns and elements that are used to represent encoded data. Some optical formats are classified as two dimensional (2D) because the optical formats encode information in two different physical directions or dimensions. 2D optical codes present a number of issues that must be addressed before the 2D optical codes can be read by an optical code scanner.
One issue relates to non-uniform illumination of an optical code as it is presented to the optical code scanner for scanning. Non-uniform illumination causes areas of an optical code to be lighter or darker than other areas of the optical code. This results in unpredictable contrast variations across the optical code which makes distinguishing the elements of the optical code extremely difficult.
Another issue relates to non-linear geometrical distortion of an optical code. Geometrical distortion is a discrepancy between the horizontal and vertical dimensions of an image. Geometrical distortion can cause a circle to appear as an oval or distort the relationship of adjacent elements of an optical code causing the elements to be misread.
Another issue relates to the amount of hardware based computing power that can be required to process a captured megapixel image to read an optical code within a specified period of time. An image based optical code scanner must be able to process a minimal number of images per second or it will slow down downstream processes that require the data from the scanned optical codes. To meet these requirements, optical code scanners have used specialized hardware acceleration devices to process the images so that the minimal number of images per second can be met. However, hardware acceleration devices are expensive and are not available in some devices, such as personal computers, cellular phones, tablet computers and hand held scanners.

Optical code scanner optimized for reading 2D optical codes


An acceleration sensor has a mass part movably attached over a substrate with pairs of electrodes arranged relative to the mass part so that one electrode of each pair is under the mass part and the other electrode of that pair is arranged above the mass part. The electrodes are attached immovably to the substrate. Controllable electrical voltages can be applied such via an electronic drive circuit to the electrically conductively doped mass part and to these electrodes so that excursions of the mass part can be electrostatically compensated and, at the same time, the magnitude of inertial forces acting on the mass part, and thus the magnitude of accelerations, can be measured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an acceleration sensor (accelerometer), preferably of silicon, of the type which can be manufactured using micromechanical manufacturing methods.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Extremely small and thus economical micromechanical acceleration sensors for acceleration measurements in the range of accelerations due to gravity require electronic circuits for the evaluation of the measured result. Such sensors are usually manufactured in a hybrid structure because a realization of the sensor and the circuit in the same substrate requires an additive manufacturing technology. The electronic circuit and the micromechanical sensor thus are successively manufactured. An improvement of the manufacturing method is thus achieved due to an integration of the method for manufacturing the sensor with the manufacturing method of the electronic components in order to thus obtain a sensor integrated on a chip with the circuit. An extremely economical method for manufacturing such integrated micromechanical systems arises from the simultaneous employment of the manufactured layers, for example of silicon, for the electronic part as well as for the micromechanical part, i.e., the mass part suspended from springs (resilient elements). For example, the deposition of a layer of polysilicon as a gate electrode in the circuit can be employed simultaneously as the layer from which the micromechanical component parts, i.e., particularly the mass part, are structured. One problem thereby arising is that the relatively thin layer provided for the electrodes of the electronic components constitutes an extremely thin movable, mechanical part. The mass part provided for the acceleration sensor, the size of the acceleration to be determined from the inertia of this mass part, will therefore not comprise adequate mechanical stability. This factor also results in the sensor having its highest sensitivity in a direction perpendicular to the substrate surface. Although in theory one could stabilize the mass part in this direction on the basis of appropriately fashioned spring from which the mass part is suspended, this could not be accomplished within the limited resolution of the lithography employed in the manufacture of these types of products. The spring-like supports manufactured in the layer provided for the structuring of the mass part, from which the mass part is suspended, cannot be manufactured so narrow that the lateral expanse is less than their vertical expanse. The mass part can therefore oscillate more easily in the direction perpendicular to the substrate than in the substrate plane. It is necessary in many applications such as, for example, navigation systems on a chip, to have an oscillatory system wherein an influence of inertial forces on the mass part causes primarily an excursion (displacement) of the mass part in the substrate plane. It is also necessary to be able to register the excursion of the mass part; this can ensue, for example, by measuring a change in the respective capacitances of capacitors formed of electrodes immovably arranged relative to the substrate or relative to the mass part.


A model parameter extracting apparatus comprises a range designation unit, a combination designation unit, a simulator, a calibrator, a determination unit and a range update unit. The range update unit comprises a detection unit, a new range designation unit 28 and a range shift unit. The detection unit detects a model parameter capable of providing the slightest difference between a target characteristic value and an actual value, as a quasi-optimum value. The new range designation unit designates a numerical range having a half length of that of the previous adjustment range with the quasi-optimum value set at a center, as a new adjustment range. If the quasi-optimum value is a value at one end of the adjustment range, the range shift unit shifts the adjustment range such that the quasi-optimum value is at the other end of the adjustment range while maintaining the length of the adjustment range. The apparatus realizes automation of the re-setting of a model parameter.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of and apparatus for extracting model parameters for use in the process, device or circuit simulation of a semiconductor integrated circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Process simulation means making a model of a physical or chemical change in the material of, for example, a substrate in the semiconductor device manufacturing steps, such as ion implantation, oxidation, diffusion, epitaxial growth, etching, deposition and lithography and obtaining an impurity distribution or a device shape after these steps by using a calculator. Device simulation means obtaining device characteristics from the behavior of carriers within a device based on the physical shape of the device and the impurity distribution thereof. Circuit simulation means studying operation characteristics on a basic gate or a functional cell using a circuit simulator while considering the manufacturing variations, temperature and aged deterioration of a device. One reason such simulation is utilized and required more frequently than before is that it takes greater time from the determination of a specification to design to manufacture as larger-scale integrated circuits are increasingly manufactured. The simulation method as described above has met the above-mentioned demand and been developed to obtain more precise analysis results.
It is imperative to predict device performance (characteristics) easily and precisely in the manufacture of a semiconductor integrated circuit. To this end, it is necessary to adjust, that is, extract a parameter (to be referred to as a model parameter hereinafter) based on the physical model set by the simulator appropriately. Such adjustment or extraction is made by a model parameter extracting apparatus. Using the apparatus, a model parameter is adjusted to conform to the characteristics of an experimental device in the required manufacturing conditions and to optimize the manufacturing conditions. Therefore, the model parameter extracting apparatus plays an important role.
Meanwhile, the above-described simulation supposes a certain physical model and obtains various characteristic values by calculation based on the model. The characteristic values (to be referred to as target characteristic values hereinafter) obtained by the simulation are associated with a relevant certain physical value and a model parameter associating them is obtained. Finally, the model parameter is adjusted so that the target characteristic values and characteristic values obtained by the actual measurement (to be referred to as actual characteristic values hereinafter) fall within a certain allowable range.
For the adjustment of the model parameter, the relationship between the target characteristic values and the physical quantity is first obtained. The model parameter is determined to satisfy the relationship. In many cases, target characteristic values are discrete with respect to a physical quantity and it is often impossible to obtain the relationship between the target characteristic values and the actual characteristic values. To obtain the relationship, therefore, RSM (Response Surface Methodology) of the design of experiment disclosed by, for example, a reference titled "IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING, VOL. 7, NO. 1, FEBRUARY 1994" has been conventionally used. By using the RSM, an RSF (Response Surface Function) is obtained and target characteristic values continuously corresponding to the change in a physical quantity by using the RSF. As a result, the comparison between the target characteristic value and the actual characteristic value is made possible, thereby adjusting the model parameter such that the target characteristic value and the actual characteristic value fall within a certain allowable range.
However, the above-described conventional parameter adjustment (or extraction) has disadvantages (1) to (3) as follows:
(1) It is rare that an optimum parameter to conform to the target characteristic value falls within a model parameter first set. This makes it difficult to set the adjustment range of the model parameter and requires manual work to update the parameter, that is, to reset the adjustment range of the model parameter. PA1 (2) If the number of model parameters increases, the number of simulation for making an RSF increases. As a result, calculating time is lengthened. PA1 (3) There are cases where such a model parameter capable of making target characteristic values and actual characteristic values fall within an allowable range cannot be obtained only by making a physical model used in the process, device or circuit simulation.
An object of the present invention is to provide a model parameter extracting method and a model parameter extracting apparatus capable of realizing the full automation of the apparatus by automatically re-setting the adjustment range of a model parameter, capable of reducing the number of simulation operations, that is, shortening calculating time by narrowing down the number of parameters and capable of keeping target characteristic values and actual characteristic values within an allowable range.

Method of and apparatus for extracting model parameters