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Much has been written about the incorporation of digital broadcasting receivers into mobile handheld terminals, such as mobile telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), laptop computers and the like. A system has been proposed in which data services are transmitted on a time-sliced, or time-multiplexed, basis allowing plural services to be transmitted at a given channel frequency. This has advantages for mobile terminals since their receivers only need to be powered and they only need to buffer, decode and process received data when data relating to the service of interest is being broadcast, and can be switched off at other times. This would normally result in a receiver being switched on for a relatively short period at regular intervals. The present invention aims to provide a mechanism whereby the power consumption of data broadcast receivers can be further reduced.

This invention relates to a brake lathe for drum and disc rotor brakes for grinding the inside cylindrical surface of a brake drum and for machining the opposite parallel surfaces of a disc rotor and, more particularly, to a brake lathe for use in automotive repair shops. Brakes lathes for resurfacing brake drums and disc rotors are well known and have been used in the art. These lathes commonly utilize a rotating spindle provided along an axis of the brake lathe housing and which accepts at one end thereof the brake device to be machined. The other end of the spindle is driven by a source of power such as a motor. A cutting tool is provided on a moveable platform attached to the lathe so as to advance the cutting tool into the brake drum or disc rotor. The depth of cut can be adjusted by moving the tool platform or by a depth-of-cut adjustment on the tool itself. These known brake lathes have the disadvantage that the cutting tool or boring bar which is normally used to resurface or grind the inside cylindrical surface of the brake drum is located on a mounting surface or platform which is disposed between the operator and the axis of the lathe housing. Accordingly, when the operator needs to adjust the depth of cut for work on a brake drum or to otherwise observe the cutter operation, the operator must lean over the lathe to view the cutting operation which takes place along the horizontal radius of the brake drum located on the operator's side of the lathe. This procedure is awkward and, therefore, the adjustment or observation is difficult to perform. Further, in combination brake-drum and disc-rotor lathes, the location of the guide surface or platform for the boring bar interferes with the placement of inboard and outboard cutters which are utilized to machine the opposite parallel surfaces of a disc rotor and which are also located between the operator and the brake lathe housing. These and other disadvantages are overcome by the present invention wherein there is provided a brake lathe for use with both brake drums and disc rotors which permits the operator to view the cutting operation of a brake drum machining without leaning over the machine. Further, the brake drum and disc rotor cutting tools are advantageously provided on opposite sides of the brake lathe housing. Still further, the present invention also provides separate platforms for brake drum and disc rotor operations which are independent of one another.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to novel guanidinobenzene derivatives, a process for the production thereof, and an antiviral agent comprising a guanidinobenzene derivative. These derivatives are useful for the treatment for various viral-related diseases. 2. Description of the Related Art Japanese Unexamined Patent Application (KOKAI) No. 49-24917 discloses thiol esters of guanidino organic acid having an antiviral activity represented by the general formula: ##STR2## wherein A represents a linear or branched alkylene group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms; B represents p-phenylene group or a cycloalkylene group; a represents 0 or 1; b represents 0 or 1; a+b totals 1 or 2; R represents a linear or branched alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, a carboethoxyalkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms, a cycloalkyl group, an aromatic group or a phenylalkyl group, wherein the cycloalkyl group and the aromatic group can be substituted with a lower alkyl group, a carboethoxy group, a carboethoxy-lower alkyl group, a carboxyalkyl group, a halogen atom, an alkoxy group, an arylamide group, an alkylsulfonyl group, a carboxy group, a thiocarboxy group, a mercaptocarboxy group, a nitro group or a carbamoyl group. These types of compounds, however, exhibit an antiviral activity that is too weak for practical use. In addition, as different types of antiviral agents, various kinds of nucleic acid derivatives are known; for example, amantadine, etc., are known as anti-influenza virus agents. The nucleic acid derivative type antiviral agents, however, cause side-effects such as liver function disorder, mutagenity and subacute toxicity, and the amantadine causes side effects such as teratogenicity, and further, the higher the frequency of use, the lower becomes efficacy (Virology, Raven Press, pp 323-348, 1985). Therefore, new antiviral agents not having the above-mentioned drawback are urgently required.

This invention is generally directed to a carrier device which is used to secure containers together to form a package having novel zip strips for allowing the quick and easy removal of the containers from the carrier device one at a time or in rapid succession. Currently, several types of carrier devices can be found in the art for securing containers together into a package. Some of these carrier device provide quick release structure for allowing a consumer to quickly and easily release the containers from the carrier device. One such carrier device can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 3,038,602 which discloses a container carrier device that holds six cans in a package array. The carrier device is positioned near the top of each can. A zipper strip is provided on the carrier device and is positioned between the rows of cans. A consumer releases the cans from the carrier device by tearing the zipper strip. When the zipper strip is torn, the carrier device creates two sets of packages, each consisting of three cans. One problem which arises with this type of quick release carrier device is that when the zipper strip is torn, two separate packages are formed which may be undesirable for handling the cans. Another such carrier device can be found in U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,441 which discloses a tear-open container carrier device that holds a plurality of cans in a package. Each can is held within a container encircling band. Zip strips are provided on the carrier device exterior to the container encircling bands. A consumer releases the cans from the carrier device by tearing the zip strips. The removal of the strip ruptures each individual band. The present invention presents a novel quick release structure or zip strip for a carrier device which allows the containers to be released from the carrier device one at a time or in succession.

Drug addiction remains a scourge of all societies, whether supplier or consumer. The predominant drugs used today are cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine in the order of their usage. There is no present antagonist for cocaine, as there is for heroin. Cocaine acts in an entirely different way from heroin in blocking the channels of the presynaptic neuron for retrieval of dopamine. Therefore, any antagonist must bind to the channel in a way which inhibits cocaine binding, while permitting the channel to retrieve the dopamine from the synaptic space. In the absence of an antagonist, other ways of responding to various hazards associated with cocaine are necessary. There have been recent reports that a vaccine against cocaine is being developed, which is the subject matter of WO96/30049. Also, there has been a report that a compound has been found which binds to the dopamine channel without closing the channel and inhibits the action of cocaine. However, these efforts are in the early stages of development and may never demonstrate efficacy in patients and drug addicts. Cocaine is known to be rapidly metabolized to benzoylecgonine, which is believed to be physiologically inactive. Furthermore, cocaine becomes rapidly distributed in the various compartments of the body and can provide a rush in less than a minute, depending upon the method of administration. It is known that if one imbibes alcohol when taking cocaine, there is a rapid transesterification to the ethyl ester called "cocaethylene." Cocaethylene is known to retain efficacy longer. In the absence of a specific antagonist, the treatment for cocaine overdose is to sedate the patient and provide drugs to ameliorate the bradycardia. Therefore, during the time that it is important for the doctor to communicate with the patient, the patient is comatose. Since cocaine appears to be able to distribute itself rapidly into different compartments, the ability to remove the cocaine from the blood, should also result in reducing the amount of cocaine in the brain and heart. However, there are uncertainties with the use of antibodies to sequester cocaine in the blood as part of the treatment of cocaine overdose, in that antibodies have a much larger molecular weight than cocaine and the amount of antibody required for efficacy could be prohibitive, both physiologically and economically, the therapeutic response is uncertain, the average dose of cocaine in the case of overdose is not known and the antibodies should be able to bind to whatever active compound is present in the blood, while not binding to physiologically inactive compounds.

Thermography is an imaging technique based on infrared emission by an object at a particular temperature (grey body radiation). Thermography may include passive thermography or active thermography. Active thermography involves applying a stimulus to a target to cause the target to heat or cool in such a way as to allow characteristics of the target to be observed when viewed by thermal imagery. Active thermography plays a crucial role as a non-destructive technique (NDT) in many industries, especially in aerospace. Electromagnetic excitation is the most commonly used way of exciting the sample among thermographic techniques. Thermography may also be classified as point imaging thermography, line imaging thermography, area imaging thermography and three-dimensional (3D) imaging thermography (tomography). Area or 3D imaging thermography may also be classified as one-sided or two-sided thermography. Active area imaging thermography may include a detector such as an infrared camera, a heating source as well as image processing software. For example, in a conventional one-sided optically excited thermography system, a flash lamp may be used as a source of electromagnetic radiation to illuminate a surface of a sample. An infrared camera is used to record the temperature evolution of the sample surface. The source and the detector are arranged on the same side in relation to the sample in the one-sided optically excited thermography. The camera and the flash lamp may be coupled to a computer. The computer may be configured to acquire data from the camera as well as configured to control the camera and flash lamp. As another example, in a conventional two-sided optically excited thermography system, an infrared radiator or heating lamp may be used as a source of electromagnetic radiation to illuminate a sample. The infrared camera is arranged at the side (of the sample) opposite the radiator to record the temperature evolution. The source and the detector may be arranged on opposite sides in relation to the sample in the two-sided optically excited thermography. The camera may also be coupled to a computer. The lamp radiator may be a tungsten filament lamp with broad spectral response but in general, alternative sources with spectral components from UV to microwave may also be utilized. This technique has been particularly successful in finding delaminations in Fiber Reinforced Plastics (FRP). The thermo-physical properties of such defects display a high contrast to the fibers and matrix of FRP. Such substantial contrasts allow the lateral conduction in the FRP to be disregarded and heat propagation within the sample be treated as a one-dimensional (1D) problem, making it possible to extract depth information from the thermography data. However, 1D model may only be valid if 3D diffusion can be ignored. For this to happen, one or several of the following criteria should be satisfied: The surface heating is uniform, so that there are no lateral gradients. The contrast in thermo-physical parameters between defect and sound regions of the sample is high enough to create temperature gradients much larger in comparison with deviation from one dimensional (1D) solution. The detection is performed shortly after the heat source is switched off, so that heat diffusion is minimal. Similarly this criterion can be defined if the location of the defect is close to the surface. Another conventional approach is based on laser heating. In this approach, the heating may be performed in a non-uniform manner. Through such non-uniform heating, it is possible to detect defects that strongly affect lateral heat flow, like cracks. One of the recent examples is the flying laser spot thermography system. The interaction of laser with the surface is monitored continuously using an IR camera. When the laser spot is in the vicinity of a crack, the higher thermal resistivity of the crack leads to a reduced cooling and thus to a higher maximal temperature. Eventually, it gives rise to the thermal crack signature. By differentiation of the temperature profiles in different direction, the crack orientation can be reconstructed. Few thermography methods based on laser are also employed for material properties evaluation. For example, in Time Resolved Infrared Radiometry (TRIR), the heating with a laser is used to determine thickness of the coating or the presence of delaminations. The same TRIR set-up may be used for detection of delaminations under the coating, which behave as disbonded material. In the field of aerospace, different techniques have been applied for cracks and delaminations detection. Not restricting to active thermography, these techniques include x-ray examination, dye-penetrant, ultrasound, eddy-currents, etc., and discussion on the disadvantages has been carried out. Different methods in different set-up and orientation specifically targeting thermal imaging were also discussed. A more recent discussion in the NDT industry involves the possibility of manipulating the shape of the source intensity with a constant output which clearly relates to forced diffusion thermographic instrument. Similar concept was also disclosed which uses the line-scanning method to heat and measure the sample with a photothermal test camera while the system design also allows manipulation of the laser beam shape. The contribution of ideas over the years prompted the introduction of algorithm calculation to enhance the capability of such systems. However, they only mention about the detection of high contrast defects such as cracks and delaminations, but none was found to include the detection of low-contrast defect such as minor heat damage. There are several limitations of the conventional active thermography based on flash lamps, which limit its application only to the defects with high contrast in thermophysical parameters in relation to base material under inspection: It is too challenging to achieve uniform illumination of the material, which introduces lateral temperature gradients that will dominate the IR image. Even if the uniformity of illumination can be achieved, it is practically impossible to avoid variation of the light absorption at the surface, which will depend on material composition, surface structure and finishing and presence of surface contamination. Even after the flash is applied, the glow from the lamp stays strong for several seconds and is reflected from the sample into the camera. This makes it impossible to use the thermography at early stages of thermal transition. Application in ambient condition causes cooling of the surface through convection, which contributes significantly after 10 seconds of observation. Some of the limitations of the thermography based on single laser are listed below: It requires scanning of the single beam, which restricts the analysis to a relatively small area of the sample that can be examined in a reasonably short time. Single laser approach makes it difficult to compare two different spots within the area of interest. The reason for this is that the analysis of one spot inevitably leads to the temperature increase in the whole part under investigation. Hence, the initial temperature condition for each consecutive spot is different. This issue can be ignored for high-contrast defects, like disbonds and cracks, but it will be detrimental for low-contrast defects, like incipient heat damage. A need therefore exists to provide a method of detecting defects in an object based on active thermography and a system thereof, which seek to overcome, or at least ameliorate, one or more of the deficiencies of the conventional art mentioned above. It is against this background that the present invention has been developed.

1. Field of the Invention The application relates generally to strontium titanate (SrTiO3), and more particularly to forming strontium titanate with large single crystal domains. 2. Description of the Related Art Crystalline strontium titanate (SrTiO3) is an interesting material as a building block for functional oxides with exotic properties, such as very high dielectric permittivities, very high electron mobility, superconductivity or colossal magnetoresistance, as well as piezoelectricity, pyroelectricity and ferroelectricity. Examples include Pb(Zr,Ti)O3, (Ba,Sr)TiO3, LiNbO3, BaTiO3, CaTiO3, Sr1-xLaxTiO3, La1-xSrxMnO3, Nd1-xSrxMnO3, etc. SrTiO3 is itself an interesting complex dielectric material in its own right, exhibiting quantum paraelectric insulation, ferroelectricitiy and superconductivity in various natural, strained and doped forms. Moreover, the cubic perovskite crystal structure of SrTiO3 is compatible with, and can serve as a heterostructure template for many such exotic functional oxides, particularly those that take the form ABO3 perovskites and related layer compounds. However, SrTiO3 is difficult to obtain in large substrates for forming functional oxides thereover. Typically SrTiO3 wafers are only available up to 50 mm in diameter, limiting their usefulness for commercial scale production. Accordingly, there is a need for methods of providing large scale SrTiO3 crystals in commercially useful form.

Most vehicles have a door latch assembly that is a combination of a mechanical system and an electrical system. The primary function of the mechanical system is to keep the vehicle door closed and locked while also providing a means for opening or unlocking the door. The primary function of the electrical system in the latch is to provide a signal or signals to a control unit or controller wherein the signals are indicative of any one of a number of various positional elements of the latching system including but not limited to the vehicle's door position and locking and latching status of the mechanical system. These signals are provided by sensors or switches that are typically exposed to various environmental conditions and the historical performance such systems have exhibited a distinct need to function flawlessly in wet environments. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a door latch assembly with a plurality of sensors or switches that are not susceptible to the deleterious effect of a wet environment.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to umbrellas and more particularly to an improved spring mechanism for large umbrella so as to provide an optimal expansible force while automatically opening the umbrella. 2. Description of Related Art Conventionally, a large umbrella means an umbrella having a large canopy (i.e., large covering area). Accordingly, the thickness of canopy is increased, the frame is made large and its weight is increased. With this, the large umbrella may withstand a strong force exerted thereon by wind. But inevitably a user may have to exert a great force to open the large umbrella. An improvement to above conventional large umbrella is to mount a spring between upper ring and lower ring. In a closed condition, spring is compressed to store an elastically energized force therein. When locking tab is deactivated, spring is automatically expanded to provide a main expansible force for opening the umbrella. But this is still unsatisfactory for the purpose for which the invention is concerned for the following reasons: 1. The automatic opening mechanism is effected by a well chosen spring. However, there are many other factors (e.g., the joints between ribs and spreaders, the folded canopy sectors, or the like) consumed the elastic force of spring. As such, an ideal spring is not easy to find. 2. A spring with stronger elastic force than the optimum may exert an excessive upward force which may neutralize the elastic hub provided at the upper end of shank in a short period of time of use, thus shortening the useful life of umbrella. Also, the operation is labor consuming and much inconvenient. 3. A spring with weaker elastic force than the optimum may not exert a sufficient upward force to open the umbrella. As such, an additional manual force must be exerted to open the umbrella. It is an object of the present invention to provide a spring mechanism for a large umbrella with automatic open feature wherein the spring mechanism is optimized such that a variety of advantages such as smooth operation; less labor consuming, reliable, and prolonged useful time are obtained. To achieve the above and other objects, the present invention provides an auxiliary elastic support mechanism for a large umbrella with automatic open feature, the umbrella being supported by a plurality of ribs and a plurality of spreaders, the mechanism comprising a plurality of hollow cylindrical rib joint members each put on the rib having a pivot joint and a first spring anchoring lug; a plurality of hollow cylindrical spreader joint members, each having an outer end secured to one of the rib joint members, an inner end for receiving the spreader therein, and a second spring anchoring lug; and a plurality of auxiliary springs each having an outer hook engaged with the first spring anchoring lug and an inner hook engaged with the second spring anchoring lug. The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description taken with the accompanying drawings.

Water vapor solid-state interactions are important in the pharmaceutical industry. These interactions are used to determine the “solid-state” stability of active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) or drug substances, finished products or drug products and raw material. Pharmaceutical solids may come in contact with water vapor during exposure upon handling and/or storage in an atmosphere of high relative humidity (RH). It is known that certain crystal forms, upon exposure to specific RH levels, convert to a different crystal form by a process known as moisture mediated crystallization. This process is especially problematic for the pharmaceutical industry as the crystal form conversion may result in a reduced shelf-life of a drug product. More importantly, the resulting converted crystal form may have different physical properties such as greater stability, reduced solubility, and hence may be less bioavailable compared to the starting or initial crystal form. Moisture sorption gravimetry (MSG), also known as a “moisture sorption microbalance,” is a widely used conventional technique that employs a microbalance in a sealed chamber at known RH levels to study water vapor solid-state interaction by measuring the sample's weight gain or loss at various RH levels. A complete cycle includes a sorption cycle from 0 to about 95% RH and desorption cycle from about 95% to 0% RH, and may take up to a few days to finish. The solid-state stability data may be estimated from isotherms generated by plotting the solid's moisture content over an RH range. The solid-state stability data may then be used to estimate shelf life and storage conditions of the API. While MSG is known as a useful technique to determine moisture content of a solid over a wide RH range, the analyst generally employs solid-state techniques to identify the crystal forms of a solid over the same RH range. An important consideration in determining which crystal form to formulate and market is the water vapor solid-state stability. Typically, the least hygroscopic crystal form, or with the least water vapor solid-state interaction is chosen to be formulated in the marketed product. The identification of suitable solid-state phases or crystal forms is achieved by exposing samples in different relative humidity (RH) chambers over a period of time. The exposed samples are then removed from the RH chambers and then analyzed by conventional solid-state techniques, such as x-ray powder diffraction (XRPD) and mid-infrared (IR) spectroscopy to determine if any changes in the solid-state phase or crystal form had occurred in the various samples. However, these solid-state techniques have many disadvantages. Firstly, they are very time consuming, often taken up to a month to complete a RH exposure study from about 10 to 90% RH. Secondly, the techniques used require that the sample be manipulated first, such as grinding with a mortar and pestle for XRPD experiments, and grinding with potassium bromide for IR samples. Overgrinding crystalline samples has been known to change from the solid's solid-state phase to an amorphous phase, and hence may not be representative of the sample under investigation. Furthermore, an XRPD experiment may take up to about 45 minutes to complete, while the sample is exposed to ambient RH levels. During such exposure, the state or degree of hydration of the sample may change, particularly if the was initially exposed to RH levels different from ambient levels. IR experiments also have similar problems. Typically, ground IR samples are first placed in a nitrogen purged or desiccated atmosphere before an IR spectrum can be obtained. Placement of the sample in such an environment may change its state of hydration during the experiment and will not be representative of the water content or degree of hydration at the exposed RH levels. Thirdly, a complete RH exposure study requires a relatively large amount of sample that may be consumed by additional solid-state studies. For XRPD experiments, for instance, large amounts of sample (about 200–300 mg) is required for a good diffraction pattern. This is problematic when only minute samples (about 1 mg) are involved. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is widely recognized as a technique to study solid-state phases or crystal forms of the same API. NIRS can also be used to differentiate the state or degree of hydration. NIRS uses the part of the electromagnetic spectrum between the visible and the mid infrared (mid-IR), typically between 800 to 2500 nm. NIR spectra are produced by utilizing the combination bands and overtones of the mid-IR fundamental absorption bands. Combination bands are the result of the mathematical addition of mid-IR fundamental bands. Overtones are the harmonics of the mid-IR fundamental bands. Since combination bands and overtones are typically 10 to 100 times smaller than mid-IR fundamental bands, no sample dilution is required, and little or no sample preparation is necessary, making NIRS an ideal technique in analyzing solid-state samples. Moreover, the total time of a typical NIR analysis may be as little as a few seconds. Raman spectroscopy, unlike mid and near-infrared absorption spectroscopy, is a light scattering process in which the sample is irradiated with intense monochromatic light, usually laser light; and the light scattered from the sample is analyzed for frequency shifts in the range of about 4000 to 25 wavenumbers (cm−1). Inelastic light scattering of monochromatic light with a sample generates Raman spectra. In general, the Raman spectrum and the mid-infrared spectrum provide similar data, although the intensities of the spectra are produced by different molecular properties. Raman and mid-infrared spectroscopy exhibit different relative sensitivities for different functional groups, for example, Raman spectroscopy is particularly sensitive to C—S and C—C multiple bonds. In addition some aromatic compounds are more easily identified by their Raman spectra. Furthermore, symmetric vibrations and non-polar functional groups produce the most intense Raman bands. This is in contrast to mid-infrared spectroscopy where antisymmetric vibrations and polar groups produce strong absorption bands. Since Raman spectroscopy has bands in known spectra-structure correlations, it provides a direct probe of the molecular structure of a sample. Like NIR, little or no sample preparation is required for Raman analysis. Sampling could also be performed with fiber optic probes since the laser light used in Raman spectroscopy is in the near-infrared region. Water has highly intense mid- and near-infrared absorption spectra, but a particularly weak Raman spectrum, making water a Raman transparent solvent for aqueous sample analysis and solute identification and quantification. While NIRS and Raman spectroscopy have a number of advantages that surpass the use of XRPD or mid-IR as general techniques for analyzing solid-state phase or crystal form changes as a function of RH, the analyst must still remove the sample from the RH chamber to perform NIRS or Raman, thus exposing the sample to ambient RH. Therefore, there may be no correlation to the solid-state phase at a certain RH in the MSG experiment and solid-state phase of the sample after removal from the MSG apparatus and subsequent exposure to ambient conditions. Accordingly, there is a need in the art for a method and apparatus that allows for the accurate measurement of moisture content and solid-state phase of a sample that avoids many of the aforementioned disadvantages of conventional methods. A method and apparatus that would allow the simultaneous or contemporaneous measurement of moisture content and solid-state phase of a sample without the removal of the sample from a controlled environment would be highly desirable.

There is a recognized need to convert undrinkable water to potable water and to have the ability to cleanse liquids in general. Many inventions have been created to attend to this need. A list of such inventions includes the following. U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,505 (Borgten) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,770,748 (Cellini) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,223 (Leary) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,696,718 (Lasater) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,525,243 (Miller) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,585,524 (Hoiss) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,595,460 (Hurt) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,248,672 (Smith) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,267,022 (Pitcher) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,664 (Younger) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,282,070 (Egosi) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,597,328 (Michels) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,489,652 (Williamson) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,425,235 (Cox) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,440,147 (Rannenberg) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,236,748 (Pottharst, Jr.) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,203,875 (Sturtevant) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,555,307 (Hagen) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,009 (McCabe) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,285,776 (Atwell) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 4,366,030 (Anderson) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,248,305 (Williamson) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,390,057 (Day) PA1 U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,986 (Hubbard) PA1 The S-200 Vapor Compression Water Processor.TM. produced by Superstill Technology Inc. PA1 U.S. Congress, Office of Technology Assessment, "Using Desalination Technologies for Water Treatment", OTA-BP-O-46 (Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, March 1988). PA1 a vacuum means; PA1 a distillation/purifying means in fluid communication with said vacuum means; and PA1 a collection area in fluid communication with said vacuum means and said distillation/purifying means, said distillation purifying means communicating distilled/purified fluid to said collection area and comprising a trap through which said distilled/purified fluid flows to said collection area. PA1 a vacuum means; PA1 a distillation/purifying means having heating means therein, said distillation/purifying means being in fluid communication with said vacuum means; and PA1 a collection area in fluid communication with said vacuum means and said distillation/purifying means, said distillation purifying means communicating distilled/purified fluid to said collection area and while separating and disposing of the fluids in which said distilled purified fluid was mixed, said heating means being activated for use in said distillation/purifying means only after said computer control system ensures that the vacuum level in said system corresponds to a latent heat of vaporization point which represents a set relationship with respect to the temperature of the fluid to be distilled/purified. Unfortunately, many of these inventions are unduly complex, ungainly, uneconomical, unworkable, and/or not as efficient or as effective as they might be. The present invention attempts to overcome these drawbacks and to disclose an advance to the art. The present invention is essentially a closed loop system recycling heat, energy, and fluid.

Non-volatile data storage devices, such as universal serial bus (USB) flash memory devices or removable storage cards, have allowed for increased portability of data and software applications. Flash memory devices can enhance data storage density by storing multiple bits in each flash memory cell. For example, multi-level cell (MLC) flash memory devices provide increased storage density by storing 3 bits per cell, 4 bits per cell, or more. Data to be stored in a MLC memory may be first stored in a single-level cell (SLC) cache and later transferred from the SLC cache to the MLC memory during a background process. Alternatively, data may be written to the MLC memory in a direct-write operation. Storing data in a MLC memory is conventionally performed using multi-stage write operations at multiple adjacent word lines of the MLC flash memory, alternating between the adjacent word lines to reduce an impact of cross-coupling effects. However, alternating between multiple word lines may require swapping data for the different word lines into a set of latches in a flash memory die to enable programming of the latched data to a particular word line. Providing sufficient temporary storage capacity (e.g. in a random-access memory) to store multiple sets of data that is swapped into and out of the latches during a direct-write operation increases the manufacturing cost of a data storage device. Further, repeatedly transferring the temporarily stored data to the latches in the flash memory die during each of multiple write stages for each of the multiple word lines introduces delays associated with the data transfer, increasing latency of writing data to the MLC memory.

Gastric myoelectrical activity comprises slow waves or pacesetter potentials and, action potential activity. Patients with unexplained dyspepsia symptoms or unexplained nausea and vomiting often have no obvious cause for these symptoms when no peptic ulcer disease, reflux disease or gallbladder abnormalities are found. Gastric dysrhythmias are frequent pathophysiological findings in these patients. Gastric dysrhythmias are termed bradygastrias (1.0-2.5 cpm) and tachygastrias (3.7-10.0 cpm). These gastric dysrhythmias have been defined in many different patient groups where dyspepsia symptoms are present. U.S. Pat. No. 6,795,725 B2 discloses a catheter structure that can be placed into a human organ, such as the stomach, under direct vision via an endoscope to record myoelectric activity of the organ. These recordings indicate the presence of normal 3-cpm activity at baseline and in other activity in response to a variety of foods or drugs. Although the catheter structure is effective in locating the source of gastric myoelectrical activity, the catheter structure is limited in providing treatment or therapy at the source of the myoelectrical activity. Accordingly, there is a need to provide catheter structure that can not only locate the main pathways of electrical generation in a human organ, but can simultaneously delivery a variety of therapies and evaluate the effectiveness of the therapy at the tissue having the located pathways.

1. Technical Field The present application relates to a method for making a field emitter, and particularly to a method for making a carbon nanotube based field emitter. 2. Discussion of Related Art Many potential applications have been proposed for carbon nanotubes, including conductive and high-strength composites, energy storage and energy conversion devices, sensors, field emission displays, and nanometer-sized semiconductor devices. As the carbon nanotubes are used in field emitters, shielding effect between two adjacent carbon nanotubes makes only a few carbon nanotubes emit electrons. Therefore, an emission current density of the field emitter is very small. Improving an emission voltage of the field emitter is often used to improve the emission current density. But improving the emission voltage will damage an emission tip of the field emitter. The damage to emission tips further damages the entire field emitter. Therefore, how to solve the shielding effect between two adjacent carbon nanotubes is a problem in application of a carbon nanotube field emitter. Moreover, the carbon nanotube field emitter includes an end that is opposite to the emission tip. A high strength of the end is required, in order to support the carbon nanotube field emitter. But the strength of the end of the carbon nanotube field emitter is not very high, affecting stability of emitting electrons, and limiting the widespread use of the carbon nanotube field emitter. What is needed, therefore, is to provide a method for making a carbon nanotube field emitter.

Modern communications systems are increasing in bandwidth requirements, causing greater needs for broadband antennas. Nature, in the present physics may impose fundamental limitations on instantaneous gain bandwidth relative to antenna size and shape. The thin ½ wave wire dipole antenna can have 3 dB gain bandwidth of 13 percent and 2.0 to 1 VSWR bandwidth of only 4.5 percent. This is often not adequate. Broadband dipoles are an alternative to the wire dipole. These preferably utilize cone radiating elements which are better fitted to wave expansion, rather than thin wires. A biconical dipole having, for example, a conical flare angle of ½π radians has essentially a high pass filter response, from a lower cut off frequency. Such an antenna provides higher bandwidth, and a response of 10 or more octaves may be achieved. In current, everyday communications devices, many different types of conical antennas, such as biconical dipoles, conical monopoles and discone antennas are used in a variety of different ways. These antennas, however, are sometimes expensive or difficult to manufacture and flat planar antennas may be preferable. Antenna shapes may be classified as linear, planar or 3 dimensional. Many applications, such as land mobile, may require thin planar antennas with vertical polarization when mounted in a horizontal plane. Such antennas can be planar monopoles, sometimes known as microstrip “patch” antennas. The advantages of these antennas including printed circuit manufacture, being mountable in low profile, and having high gain and efficiency have made them the antennas of choice in many applications. However, microstrip patch antennas typically are efficient only in a narrow frequency band. They are poorly shaped for wave expansion, such that microstrip antenna bandwidth is proportional to antenna thickness. Bandwidth can even approach zero with vanishing thickness (for example, see Munson, page 7-8 “Antenna Engineering Handbook”, 2nd ed., H. Jasik ed.). Simple antennas can provide quadratic “single dip” frequency responses, akin to resonant circuits. For instance, a center fed ½ wave wire dipole has an impedance response similar to a series resonant circuit plus a resistor. Multiple tuning has been described as a way to increase instantaneous gain bandwidth from small, simple antennas. In multiple tuning, an antenna may exhibit a rippled frequency response of many “dips” and “peaks”, corresponding to staggered resonances in frequency. Wheeler has shown that multiple tuned antennas can provide up to 3π the bandwidth of single tuned antennas: H. Wheeler, “The Wide-Band Matching Area for a Small Antenna”, IEEE Trans. Antennas and Propagation, Vol. AP-31, No. 2 March 1983. External impedance compensation networks, e.g. of the inductor capacitor (LC ladder) type, may be used to increase bandwidth by multiple tuning single tuned narrowband antennas. The LC network may connect at the antenna driving points between the antenna and the feedline, and the antenna becomes the final resonant section and a load, to a cascade of resonant filter sections. It may be preferable however to obtain the multiple tuned broadband responses directly from the antenna structure, without external compensation networks, for ease of manufacture, power handling and efficiency. Filter theory may be applied to antenna responses, and multiple tuned frequency responses tailored to polynomials. For example, a Butterworth polynomial may be used for minimal ripple or a Chebyshev polynomial for maximum bandwidth to a controlled ripple. The bent stacked slot antenna (BSSA) achieves a relatively wide bandwidth and small size and makes use of a center strip of a middle patch as an integrated impedance matching unit. An example of such an antenna is described in the European published patent application EP 795926. However, a disadvantage with the BSSA type of antenna is the relatively narrow bandwidth. U.S. Pat. No. 5,003,318, to Berneking et al. entitled “Dual Frequency Microstrip Patch Antenna With Capacitively Coupled Feed Pins” describes a planar ground plane antenna with two coaxial feeds or ports. Two separate antennas are collocated in space, each single tuned. U.S. Pat. No. 6,501,427 to Lilly et al. entitled “Tunable Patch Antenna” is directed to a patch antenna including a segmented patch and reed like MEMS switches on a substrate. Segments of the structure can be switched to reconfigure the antenna, providing a broad tunable bandwidth. Instantaneous bandwidth may be unaffected however. U.S. Pat. No. 7,126,538 to Sampo entitled “Microstrip antenna” is directed to a microstrip antenna with a dielectric member disposed on a grounded conductive plate. A patch antenna element is disposed on the dielectric member. U.S. Pat. No. 7,109,926 to du Toit entitled “Stacked patch antenna” discloses a stacked antenna, including a lower patch which may include a coplanar microstrip capable of feeding the stacked antenna and an upper patch which may include a slot-like part thereon and coupled to the upper patch. This antenna also requires a ground plane. There is a need for a relatively thin or horizontally planar antenna that has a wider instantaneous bandwidth, is more omnidirectional, is for vertical polarization transmission and reception and/or does not require a ground plane.

A drill bit is a rotating cutting tool for drilling steel products and the like. FIG. 1 shows an exemplary structure of a conventional twist drill bit. The twist drill bit is formed by a cutting portion 1 which is applied to drilling, and a shank 2 which is adapted to discharge chips and is held in a chuck etc. of a cutting machine such as a drilling machine. In general, materials for drill bits are prepared from high-speed steel and cemented carbide. The high-speed steel, which is excellent in toughness but inferior in wear resistance, is improper for high-speed cutting. On the other hand, cemented carbide, which is excellent in wear resistance and tool accuracy characteristics but brittle, may cause breakage when the same is applied in a machine tool having a low rigidity, for example. In order to improve such materials, there has been proposed a structure attained by coating a cutting portion of high-speed steel with hard TiN, a structure attained by brazing a cutting portion of cemented carbide, and the like. In recent years, there has further been proposed a structure attained by brazing different cemented carbide materials (P30 and D30) for improving the wear resistance and toughness as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Laying-Open No. 58-143115 (1983), or by metallurgically integrating/connecting such different materials as disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-46489 (1987). A drill bit having a double structure with central and outer peripheral portions has been made of different cemented carbide materials in consideration of the differences between the characteristics required for such drill bit portions, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 62-218010 (1987). A method of attaining such a double structure by injection molding has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 63-38501 or 38502 (1988). There has also been proposed a structure attained by preparing a material for a drill bit from cermet Ti-base cemented carbide in order to improve the adhesion resistance, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 62-292307 (1987). A cutting portion and a shank of a drill bit are exposed to different load conditions during drilling. Therefore, different material characteristics are required for the respective parts or portions of such a drill bit. For example, wear resistance and adhesion resistance are required for a tip of the cutting portion, while toughness for maintaining strength of the tool is required for the shank. As to the tip of the cutting portion, different characteristics are required for central and outer peripheral portions thereof, since these portions are driven at different cutting speeds. When a drill bit with a coated cutting portion for meeting the complicated requirements for the material characteristics, is resharpened for general use, the coating layer is inevitably separated at least from a front flank side, and hence most of the coating effect is lost. On the other hand, a drill bit which is formed by brazing cemented carbide to its cutting portion, cannot be used for deep hole drilling of a hard to cut material. If the shank is made of steel, a significant difference between the thermal expansion coefficients of the steel and of the cemented carbide forming the cutting portion, exists whereby splitting or cracking may easily be caused during brazing. In recent years, a cemented carbide material for the shank of a drill bit, has been brought into a coarse grain or high binder phase state, in order to improve the toughness of the shank. However, the strength of the material is reduced by distortion of the elastic limit. Hence, the shank has a tendency to break during perforating, or due to vibration of a workpiece, an unstable rotation of a cutting machine or the like. While a drill bit formed by inseparably and integrally connecting the cutting portion and the shank, can be repeatedly used by resharpening the cutting portion after a prescribed operating time, the number of such resharpenings is limited, and production costs are increased. Further, sharpness and the tool life of such bits are non-uniform depending on conditions under which the resharpening is performed. In addition, it is necessary to successively and correctly ascertain the length of the resharpened drill bit if the bit is used in a numerically controlled and automated cutting machine tool. Thus, the length of the drill bit must be measured by a complicated operation every time the same has been resharpened.

Opening/closing bodies for vehicles typically include a handle unit for opening or closing the opening/closing bodies. As disclosed in Patent Document 1, for example, a door handle of a sliding door generally includes a movable part, which is a handgrip, and is capable of releasing restraint (fully closed lock) of the sliding door by a lock mechanism by pulling the handgrip through manipulation of the door handle in the opening direction. In such a conventional structure, however, even when the sliding door is at a fully open position, the door handle first needs to be manipulated in the opening direction to release the restraint (fully open lock) of the sliding door by the lock mechanism. The sliding door thus cannot be closed through a motion continuous with the unlocking motion. This is one reason for a reduction in convenience for users. To address this problem, for example, in the handle unit disclosed in Patent Document 2, even if the handle unit is manipulated in a closing direction, the handgrip is allowed to move in that direction in addition to the case where the handle unit is manipulated in the opening direction. The handle unit is thus operable by manipulation inputs in two directions corresponding to an opening operation and a closing operation of the sliding door. That is, the fully open lock is released by a manipulation input in the closing direction to the handle unit. Thus, even when the sliding door is at the fully open position, the sliding door is closed through motion continuous with the unlocking motion as when the sliding door is opened from a fully closed position. Allowing the sliding door to be opened and closed through an intuitive manipulation input by a user to the handle unit as described above improves operability and convenience. Conventionally, opening/closing body control devices for vehicles have also been proposed that allow an opening/closing body of a vehicle to be opened and closed by a drive source like a door opening/closing apparatus disclosed in, for example, Patent Document 3. Employing such an opening/closing body control device for a vehicle significantly reduces the burden on users.

As the price of digital cameras continues to decrease, they are becoming ever more popular. Many digital still cameras have the capability of recording audio signals as well as a digital image. The recording of audio sounds, e.g., music at a wedding, is often optional. When audio signals are recorded, they are normally saved within the camera in a digital audio file which is associated with one of the digital image files also stored in the camera. Alternatively, the audio and associated image data may be stored in a single file with the audio and/or video data being identified by a file header. Thus, for each optical image captured by a digital camera, audio data may, optionally, be associated therewith. Digital audio and image files generated using a digital camera can, and often are, downloaded to a computer system capable of displaying the image files and playing the audio files. In addition, many computer systems include image processing and printing capabilities. Unfortunately, at the present time, known systems do not provide a satisfactory way of storing recorded audio information, associated with a photograph, directly on the photograph. In view of the above, it is apparent that there is a need for methods and apparatus which will allow the storing of audio data directly on a printed photograph. It is desirable that any such methods do not significantly interfere with the quality of the printed image or block out portions of the image. In addition, it is desirable that it be relatively easy for a person to visually detect the presence or absence of audio data on a photograph. It is also desirable that a person be able to visually identify the region of a printed image or photograph where the audio data is stored, e.g., to facilitate the reading back and playing of the audio data via, e.g., the use of a hand held scanner.

There is a method, called secure computation, for obtaining computational results without decrypting encrypted numerical values (see Non-patent literature 1, for example). In the method in Non-patent literature 1, encryption is performed that distributes pieces of a numerical value are distributed among three secure computers and the three secure computers cooperate to perform a computation, thereby enabling the result of an addition, subtraction, addition by a constant, multiplication, multiplication by a constant, or logical operation (negation, AND, OR, or exclusive-OR) or data format conversion (integer, binary) to be held in such a manner that the result is distributed among the three secure computers without reconstructing the numerical value, that is, with the result being kept encrypted. When pattern matching of character strings is performed, it is common practice to locate the positions in which the partial character strings included in a pattern appear in a text and determine whether the text matches the pattern on the basis of information about the positions.

The feeding of power and communication cables across floors has long presented a problem in high-traffic environments such as production areas, warehouses, retail spaces and office complexes. Commercially available floor raceways are unable to accommodate the number and or bundled diameters of the cables that need to be run along a particular path. Moreover electrical codes forbid cramming when cables are routed through a tightly confined space such as a raceway. Also, in many cases the raceway designs are too boxy or protruberant and in most case they are insufficiently rugged to withstand the weight of heavy traffic over a sustained period of time. This is especially a problem in aisles, at the threshold of doorways, and in large open areas where the cables cross a substantial distance from a wall or floor power supply to power receptacles and or communication jacks at remote positions. Apart from locations that are coextensive with a wall, positioning a power cable along a floor is further unacceptable due to tripping hazards for foot traffic. Also, power cables are often encased in flexible metal conduit, which is unsightly and impedes movement of equipment across the floor. Communication cables are more delicate than power cords, thus they present additional concerns, such as ready damage if stepped on, run over, slid over or tripped over. Thus communication cables are often encased in a protective conduit, and that results in the same problems as for power cords. The usual way to overcome these difficulties is to feed the cables overhead, such as in the proximity of rafters or above drop ceilings, and then to feed such cables downward at many locations in association with power poles. Such feeding increases the complexity and often requires many power poles, which may be unsightly and in any case are undesirable obstacles on the working floor area. Alternatively, cables are fed under a raised floor, which is itself a tedious task. The need to use upward or downward detours of cables to circumvent traffic on working floors not only adds to the time, cost and tedium of electrical installations, but also hinders reconfiguring the cable network when distribution needs for power and data change over time at that site. Thus there is an ongoing need for improved design of cable protectors that can accommodate high traffic while still enabling cable distribution across a floor. It is an object of this invention to provide such protectors for the feeding of power and communication cables.

To promote the safety of aircraft occupants, aircraft must meet certain head injury criteria (HIC) requirements. To meet HIC requirements, the head movements of an aircraft occupant in an HIC event should result in a minimal or below-threshold head injury. For example, aircraft certification in the United States requires engineers to demonstrate that a head strike into any one of several cabin furnishings complies with the HIC requirements specified in 14 C.F.R § 23.562 and 14 C.F.R § 25.562. HIC requirements may be satisfied in several ways, such as by providing head clearance and/or soft impact surfaces around the aircraft occupant. Both of these solutions, however, add cost and weight to the aircraft. Aircraft must include restraint systems to enhance occupant safety. For example, some aircraft include fixed seatbelts, which have a strap that does not extend in response to the bodily movement of the occupant. While fixed seatbelts may provide a short HIC trajectory, allowing for smaller seat pitch installation, fixed seatbelts are uncomfortable and may severely limit the mobility of the occupant, including hampering the pilot's ability to reach controls and look through windows. Other aircraft include inertia reel seatbelts, which have a strap that is extendable or retractable except when occupant movement reaches a threshold that causes the inertia reel to lock, preventing further extension of the strap. Inertia reel seatbelts have a delayed reaction time for locking the occupant into a secured position, resulting in increased head motion than that allowed by a fixed seatbelt. Accordingly, a need has arisen for a modal restraint system that provides a similar or superior range of head motion as compared to a fixed seatbelt, while also increasing occupant comfort and mobility.

The distribution of electronic media data (e.g., music, videos, movies, and television shows) may be accomplished using various methodologies. For example, entire media data files may be transferred from a media data server to a client electronic device. Alternatively, a media data stream may be established between the media data server and the client electronic device. Unfortunately, each methodology has its own shortcomings. Specifically, for systems in which the file is transferred to the client electronic device, the entire file is often required to be transferred prior to initiating rendering of the media data file. Further, for systems in which a media data stream is established between the media data server and the client electronic device, a considerable amount of time (e.g., >10 seconds) may be required to establish a connection with the media data server, often resulting in a less-than-optimal user experience.

It is known that the motor vehicles are generally equipped with a device for fuel charging, located on the outer skin of the rear side portion of the bodywork, and formed by a metal part, or a rubber part, which defines a housing for the fuel filler and for the relating sealing cap, and is welded, or otherways fastened, to the metal sheet of the bodywork in correspondence of an opening provided on the same bodywork. Due to aesthetical and aerodynamic reasons, the filler sealing caps are covered, or masked, with a door, which, in most cases, is directly hinged to an edge provided on the metal sheet of the same bodywork. It is clear that during the steps of assemblage of the filler, and of the relevant covering door, a number of interventions are necessary, which must be carried out directly on the same bodywork. It is known as well that such type of interventions, by the assembler, are rather critical, due to reasons of available room. The purpose of the present invention is to propose a device for supporting the fuel charging filler. The assemblage of the filler on the bodywork of a motor vehicle is extremely simplified.

Keratin fibers including human hair may be colored (dyed) by the oxidative condensation reaction of a dyeing composition, particularly oxidative dyeing composition. In general, as described in Korean Patent Publication No. 10-0757028 or the like, such a dyeing composition comprises a first part containing an oxidative dye precursor, coupler and an alkaline agent, and a second part containing an oxidizing agent, and the two parts are mixed with each other upon use. The oxidative dye precursor and coupler infiltrate into hair and are coupled with each other via oxidative condensation, resulting in color formation. During such color formation, the alkaline agent (e.g. ammonia) contained in the first part accelerates the formation of perhydroxy anions of the oxidizing agent (e.g. hydrogen peroxide), and the perhydroxy anions cause the oxidation of a dye and melanin decomposition, resulting in color formation and decoloration. However, although the perhydroxy anions of the oxidizing agent serve to carry out the oxidation of a dye and melanin decomposition, the oxidative agent molecules may react among themselves as undesired side reaction to form radicals, which, in turn, may cause decomposition of hair proteins, leading to hair damages, comprising degradation of hair gloss and color formability. In addition, ammonia is used typically as an alkaline agent contained in the first part to accelerate the oxidation. However, such an alkaline agent having volatility is problematic in that it causes generation of a pungent smell. Further, such an alkaline agent increases pH, thereby causing scalp irritation and eye-smarting. To solve the above-mentioned problems, many approaches have been suggested. For example, Korean Patent Laid-Open No. 10-2005-0074860 discloses a method for enhancing color formability by using a phosphate surfactant capable of forming a multi-lamella liquid crystal structure and inducing a delay in reaction between the oxidative dye precursor and the coupler. However, the method suggests no solution to the problems of a pungent smell caused by the alkaline agent and sulfur compounds as well as eye-smarting. Referring to the above-mentioned pungent smell and eye-smarting, when an alkaline agent present in an aqueous phase (continuous phase) is allowed to be in an inner phase of micelles, vesicles or emulsion, or when the emulsion is provided with very high viscosity, it is possible to reduce a pungent smell and eye-smarting. However, in the case of a W/O formulation having an aqueous phase (continuous phase) as an inner phase of micelles, a dye co-existing with the aqueous phase is present in the inner phase at the same time, thereby making it difficult to carry out mass transfer (adhesion) to the hair, resulting in degradability of color formability. In addition, when the emulsion has very high viscosity, it cannot be applied to the hair with ease and the mass transfer is also difficult in this case, resulting in degradation of color formability.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a technical field for a hydraulic brake boosting system for boosting the force for depressing a brake pedal of, for example, an automobile, with power realized by hydraulic pressure of operating fluid so that braking force is enlarged. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technical field for a pump operation control apparatus for a hydraulic brake boosting system for controlling the operation of a pump for generating the hydraulic pressure of the operating fluid. 2. Description of the Related Art Brake boosting systems for vehicles, for example, automobiles, include a hydraulic brake boosting system which incorporates a hydraulic brake boosting apparatus for boosting the force for depressing a brake pedal so as to enlarge the braking force. The hydraulic brake boosting system enables great braking force which cannot be obtained from only the depressing force which is applied to the brake pedal. Moreover, the force for depressing the pedal can be reduced. An hydraulic brake boosting system of the foregoing type incorporates a pump which is operated by a motor so as to generate hydraulic pressure of the operating fluid and an accumulator for accumulating the generated hydraulic pressure. When the brake pedal has been depressed, the hydraulic pressure accumulated in the accumulator is introduced into the hydraulic brake boosting apparatus. Thus, the hydraulic brake boosting apparatus produces an output obtained by boosting the depressing force applied to the pedal in accordance with the depressing force. The thus-produced output causes a master cylinder to be operated. The above-mentioned brake boosting system has a necessity that hydraulic pressure of a predetermined level can assuredly be introduced into the hydraulic brake boosting apparatus when the brake is operated. Therefore, the operation of the pump must be controlled in such a manner that predetermined hydraulic pressure is always accumulated in the accumulator. As a conventional pump operation control apparatus for controlling the operation of the pump as described above, pump operation control apparatuses have been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-151364 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-213701. According to the disclosure, a pump-operating pressure sensor (or a pressure sensor which is hereinafter and representatively called a "pressure sensor") is employed to hydraulic pressure accumulated in the accumulator. When the hydraulic pressure accumulated in the accumulator has been raised to a level with which the pump must be operated, the pump is operated to raise the hydraulic pressure accumulated in the accumulator. Moreover, an alarm-issuing pressure sensor is employed to detect and issue an alarm when the hydraulic pressure accumulated in the accumulator has abnormally been reduced. Moreover, each of the pump operation control apparatuses disclosed as described above has a structure that when a failure of the pump-operating pressure sensor has occurred, the alarm-issuing pressure sensor controls the operation of the pump. The pump operation control apparatuses disclosed as described above enable predetermined hydraulic pressure to always be accumulated in the accumulator. Even if a failure of the pump-operating pressure sensor has occurred, hydraulic pressure having at least a minimum level required to operate the brake can furthermore reliably be accumulated in the accumulator. As another conventional pump operation control apparatus, a pump operation control apparatus has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-58562. According to the foregoing disclosure, depression of a brake pedal is detected by a brake switch. Moreover, time for which the brake pedal is depressed is integrated. When the integrated time has reached a predetermined value, the pump is operated so that hydraulic pressure is accumulated in the accumulator. The pump operation control apparatus disclosed as described above does not require a pump-operating pressure sensor. When a brake switch provided for operating a brake lamp or the like is simply used, the operation of the pump can be controlled to accumulate hydraulic pressure in the accumulator. Thus, the structure of the brake boosting system can be simplified. However, the above-mentioned pump operation control apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-151364 has the structure that the pump is operated in only a period until the alarm-issuing pressure sensor is turned off at which the alarm-issuing pressure sensor does not transmit the alarm signal if the pump is operated by the alarm-issuing pressure sensor because of a failure of the pump-operating pressure sensor. Therefore, hydraulic pressure cannot sufficiently be accumulated in the accumulator. If the characteristics of the pump-operating pressure sensor deteriorates, the pressure at which the pump is interrupted is undesirably changed. Thus, the pressure accumulated in the accumulator becomes insufficient, causing the braking force to be reduced excessively. As an alternative to this, the hydraulic pressure accumulated in the accumulator is raised excessively, thus causing the loads which must be borne by the pump, the motor, the accumulator and the like to be enlarged excessively. As a result, there is apprehension that the durability of the above-mentioned elements deteriorates. The above-mentioned pump operation control apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-213701 has the structure that the pump is operated for predetermined time from a moment at which the alarm-issuing pressure sensor has been turned on in a case where the operation of the pump is controlled by the alarm-issuing pressure sensor because of a failure of the pump-operating pressure sensor. Therefore, if a pressure at which the sensor is turned on is changed because of deterioration of the alarm-issuing pressure sensor or the like, hydraulic pressure cannot sufficiently be accumulated in the accumulator. The above-mentioned pump operation control apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-58562 has the structure that the time obtained by integrating the time for which the brake pedal is depressed is employed as a parameter for controlling the operation of the pump. Therefore, if the pressure accumulated in the accumulator is reduced in a case where depression of the brake pedal is not performed for a long time because, for example, the vehicle has been allowed to stand for a long time, the pump is not operated. Thus, there is apprehension that the braking force becomes too small. As described above, both of the pump operation control apparatus disclosed as described above have a problem in that hydraulic pressure cannot always, sufficiently and reliably be accumulated in the accumulator.

Field of the Invention The present invention relates to loudspeaker systems generally, and more particularly to a subwoofer system for producing frequencies in the low or bass range of the audio frequency spectrum. Subwoofer systems designed to produce frequencies in the lower bass frequency range (generally below 200 Hertz) typically employ a bass reflex enclosure system using a single transducer (sometimes herein referred to as "drivers" or "cone drivers") placed in a large chamber having a port to tune the system to a desired low frequency. The port causes the back wave of the speaker to become in phase with the front or direct wave, thereby adding to the acoustical output of the system. In order to gain power from a bass reflex system, the system must be designed so that it is a high "Q" system. The disadvantages of high "Q" systems, however, is that they are generally effective over no more than one octave. It is also known to provide a double tuned bass reflex enclosure in which the enclosure is configured with two tuned chambers in front and/or back of the speaker and in which each chamber is tuned to a different frequency. This and other similar systems using one driver (or two drivers in a push-pull configuration) to cover several octaves have the disadvantage of being inefficient and impractical in environments where large acoustical outputs are required. Where maximum efficiency is desired, an enclosure can only be optimally tuned for operation over one octave, even if the bass reflex enclosure is tuned to more than one frequency, i.e., is relatively broadband. This can be understood by the fact that the acoustical output of a driver is determined by the size of the driver's piston or cone and the cone's maximum excursion. At low frequencies the reflex enclosure behind the driver needs to have a large volume and needs a large diameter cone to move a large volume of air in the enclosure. At higher frequencies the cone and chamber need to be smaller in order to obtain high output. Using a large cone with a small tuned chamber to produce higher frequencies, or a small cone with a large tuned chamber to produce lower frequencies is inefficient. Since bass reflex speaker systems have heretofore generally been limited to either producing one frequency at a time ("boom boxes") or to inefficient broader band systems, high output power systems capable of reproducing complex sounds, such as music, without distortion have not generally been available. For example, where a single driver is used with a broadband bass reflex design, the speaker, when driven with music, is generally capable of producing less than 0.5 acoustical watts, which may be appropriate for a home hi-fi system, but not for a speaker used in most commercial applications. A related problem with conventional designed bass reflex systems is that, when the driver is forced to follow the complex music signal, the excursion of the driver cone, and hence the acoustical output of the driver, is limited. Conversely, when the speaker is driven to higher output powers at a single frequency, the driver will have no excursion left to produce other frequencies, meaning it cannot accurately reproduce a complex low frequency sound. For example, one 15-inch diameter driver can produce one acoustical watt at 50 Hertz with a maximum excursion of one inch. When the driver is placed in a sealed chamber, the back wave is lost, but when it is optimally tuned (a Heimholtz resonator) to 50 Hertz the speaker can produce up to two acoustical watts by utilizing the back wave. When operating at this full power, there is no advantage to any other tuned chamber associated with the driver because there is no excursion left in the driver to drive any other frequency. The present invention overcomes the above limitations and trade-offs of conventional bass reflex speaker systems by providing an improved bass reflex speaker system capable of efficiently producing bass frequencies at high acoustical power levels, and to do so over substantially the entire bass region of the audio frequency spectrum, i.e., in the audio spectrum generally below 200 Hertz. Using a bass reflex speaker system in accordance with the invention, complex low frequency music signals can be accurately reproduced (i.e., without distortion) at high sound pressure levels suitable to commercial applications.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention generally relates to a device, and more particularly to an adapter device. 2. The Related Art With the development of electronic sciences and technologies, tablet computers are more and more popular, in order to be applicable to different usage environments, more and more conditions of the tablet computers cooperating with other various electronic devices to be used are emerged. Currently, the tablet computer is generally smaller and thinner, the tablet computer usually has one insertion port or two insertion ports. A transmission cable is capable of being connected between the tablet computer and each of the various electronic devices. One end of the transmission cable has a first port for docking with the insertion port of the tablet computer, and the other end of the transmission cable has a second port for docking with a docking port of each of the various electronic devices. Each of the various electronic devices is capable of cooperating with the tablet computer to be used. So data signals, power signals or audio signals are capable of being connected and transmitted between the insertion port of the tablet computer and the docking port of each of the various electronic devices by virtue of the transmission cable. However, the various electronic devices which are capable of cooperating with the tablet computer to be used have different docking ports with different specifications, if different transmission cables of which the second ports have different specifications are just applied to dock with the different docking ports of the various electronic devices, so a large number of the different transmission cables need be prepared that causes an inconvenience in use. Thus, in order to solve the problem described above, an innovative adapter device need be provided, the various electronic devices which are capable of cooperating with the tablet computer are electrically connected with the tablet computer by virtue of the innovative adapter device being connected between the insertion port and the different docking ports, so the tablet computer is appropriate for being applied in various usage environments for satisfying multiple usage needs of users.

The present invention relates to steam traps and in particular to a float-type steam trap having an improved temperature responsive control arrangement. Float-type steam traps are well known and are effective in applications where the trap is in constant use. In these traps a float controls a flow of water from a float chamber through a valve seat in the bottom of the chamber as the liquid level within the chamber rises and falls. When a system using a float trap is in intermittent service, it has been found advantageous to purge gasses accumulated while the system was out of service through an additional valve in the top of the trap. The gas purging valve is open during start up of the system and is usually controlled by a thermostatic element. The thermostatic element allows flow through the upper valve during start up of the system to purge air and other gasses from the lines. When steam is first introduced to the system, it pushes the cold, collected gasses in front of it. When these gasses reach the steam trap, they flow through the upper valve and are vented into the atmosphere or elsewhere. Once steam reaches the trap, the thermostatic element closes the upper valve. It is important that the thermostatic element operate quickly and effectively to seal the valve so that the valuable steam is not wasted.

Electrochemical energy conversion devices include fuel cell systems as well as hydrogen generators and other electrolysers, such as forco-electrolysing water and CO2. Fuel cells convert gaseous fuels (such as hydrogen, natural gas and gasified coal) via an electrochemical process directly into electricity. A fuel cell continuously produces power when supplied with fuel and oxidant, normally air. A typical fuel cell consists of an electrolyte (ionic conductor, H+, O2−, CO32− etc.) in contact with two electrodes (mainly electronic conductors). On shorting the cell through an external load, fuel oxidises at the negative electrode resulting in the release of electrons which flow through the external load and reduce oxygen at the positive electrode. The charge flow in the external circuit is balanced by ionic current flows within the electrolyte. Thus, at the positive electrode oxygen from the air or other oxidant is dissociated and converted to oxygen ions which migrate through the electrolyte material and react with the fuel at the negative electrode/electrolyte interface. The voltage from a single cell under load conditions is in the vicinity of 0.6 to 1.0 V DC, and current densities in the range of 100 to 1000 mAcm−2 can be achieved. In addition to the electricity, water is a product of the fuel cell reaction. Hydrogen generators and other electrolysers may be considered as fuel cell systems operating in reverse. Thus, a hydrogen generator produces hydrogen and oxygen when electricity and water are applied to the electrochemical cell. A fuel cell system capable of producing electricity may be designed to run in reverse in order to produce hydrogen, for example producing electricity during the day and hydrogen at night, with the hydrogen optionally being stored for use the next day to produce more electricity. However, it may be advantageous from the efficiency perspective to design separate fuel cell systems and hydrogen generators. While the invention is concerned with electrochemical energy conversion devices generally, for convenience only it will be described hereinafter primarily with reference to electricity generating fuel cell systems and cells for them. Several different types of fuel cells have been proposed. Amongst these, solid oxide fuel cell systems (SOFC) are regarded as the most efficient and versatile power generation system, in particular for dispersed power generation, with low pollution, high efficiency, high power density and fuel flexibility, and the invention is particularly concerned with solid oxide electrochemical energy conversion cells and with devices using them. Numerous SOFC configurations are under development, including tubular, monolithic and planar designs, and are now in production. The planar or flat plate design is perhaps the most widely investigated and now in commercial use, and the invention is particularly concerned in one aspect with electrochemical energy conversion devices comprising a stack of such solid oxide electrochemical cells. However, in another aspect, the invention also extends to solid oxide electrochemical energy conversion cells generally, that is it is concerned with tubular cells and monolithic cells, as well as with planar cells. For convenience only, the invention will be further described solely with respect to planar or flat plate design solid oxide electrochemical energy conversion cells, and devices using them. In these devices, individual planar SOFCs comprising electrolyte/electrode laminates alternate with gas separators, called interconnects when the gas separators convey electricity from one SOFC′ to the next, to form multi-cell unit or stacks. Gas flow paths are provided between the gas separators and respective electrodes of the SOFCs, for example by providing gas flow channels in the gas separators, and the gas separators maintain separation between the gases on each side. Apart from having good mechanical and thermal properties, as well as good electrical properties in the case of interconnects and good electrochemical properties in the case of the fuel cells themselves, the individual fuel cell device components must be stable to demanding fuel cell operating environments. SOFCs operate in the vicinity of 600° C.-1000° C. and, for devices using them to be economical, typical lifetimes of 5-6 years or more of continuous operation are desired. Thus, long term stability of the various device components is essential. Only a few materials fulfil all the requirements. In general, the high operating temperature of the SOFCs, the multi-component nature of the devices and the required life expectancy of several years severely restricts the choice of materials for the fuel cells, gas separators and other components such as seals, spacer plates and the like. A variety of different materials have been proposed for SOFC gas separators, including ceramic, cermet and alloys. For electrically conductive gas separators, that is interconnects, metallic materials have the advantage generally of high electrical and thermal conductivities and of being easier to fabricate. However, stability in a fuel cell environment that is high temperatures in both reducing and oxidising atmospheres, limits the number of available metals that can be used in interconnects. Most high temperature oxidation resistant alloys have some kind of built-in protection mechanism, usually forming oxidation resistant surface layers. Metallic materials commonly proposed for high temperature applications include, usually as alloys, Cr, Al and Si, all of which form protective layers. For the material to be useful as an interconnect in SOFC devices, any protective layer which may be formed by the material in use must be at least a reasonable electronic conductor. However, oxides of Al and Si are poor conductors. Therefore, alloys which appear most suitable for use as metallic interconnects in SOFCs, whether in cermet or alloy form, contain Cr in varying quantities. Cr containing alloys form a layer of Cr2O3 at the external surface which provides oxidation resistance to the alloy. The formation of a Cr2O3 layer for most electrical applications is not a problem as it has acceptable electrical conductivity. However, for SOFC applications, a major problem is the high vapour pressure and therefore evaporation of oxides and oxyhydroxides of Cr (Cr6+) on the positive electrode side of the fuel cell at the high operating temperatures. At high temperatures, oxides and oxyhydroxides of Cr (Cr6+) are stable only in the gas phase and have been found to react with positive electrode materials leading to the formation of new phases such as chromates, which destroy the electrode material and make it electrically resistive, as well as to deposits of Cr2O3 on the electrolyte. These reactions very quickly reduce electrode activity to the oxygen reduction reaction at and adjacent the positive electrode/electrolyte interface, and thereby considerably degrade the electrochemical performance of the cell. It has been attempted to alleviate this problem of degraded electrochemical performance by coating the positive electrode side of the interconnect with a perovskite barrier layer such as strontium-doped lanthanum manganite (LaMnO3) (LSM), which may also be the material of the positive electrode, but while short term performance was maintained there continued to be an unacceptable long term degradation in performance. The problem of degradation due to evaporation of oxides and oxyhydroxides of Cr from chromium-containing materials on the positive electrode side of the fuel cell was greatly relieved by the invention described in the applicant's WO96/28855, that is forming a self-repairing coating on the positive electrode side of a chromium-containing interconnect, the coating comprising an oxide surface layer comprising at least one metal M selected from the group Mn, Fe, Co and Ni and a M, Cr spinel layer intermediate the chromium-containing substrate of the interconnect and the oxide surface layer. Such a coating may also be formed on other chromium-containing heat resistant steel surfaces that are on the positive electrode side of the plant. However, it remains a challenge to ensure the coating remains full dense to prevent the release of the chromium species in the demanding fuel cell operating conditions. Other solutions have also been proposed for alleviating the degradation in fuel cell performance due to evaporation of oxides and oxyhydroxides of Cr on the positive electrode side of the fuel cell. For example, a low (or no) chromium steel is proposed in the applicant's WO00/75389, in which an alumina coating is formed on oxidation of the surface rather than chromium oxide. However, due to the low electrical conductivity of alumina, this heat resistant steel composition is not suitable for gas separators that are intended to act as interconnects conducting electricity from one side to the other. In a further effort to limit the problem of degradation due to evaporation of oxides and oxyhydroxides of Cr on the positive electrode side of the fuel cell, it has been proposed to introduce another layer (referred to hereinafter as “shield layer”) on the positive electrode layer to absorb chromium before it reaches the positive electrode layer. Positive electrode material for SOFCs are generally perovskites or oxides having perovskite-type structures (refined to herein as “perovskites”), such as lanthanum strontium manganite or LSM (La1-xSrxMnO3-δ), lanthanum strontium cobaltite or LSCo (La1-xSrxCoO3-δ), lanthanum strontium ferrite or LSF (La1-xSrxFeO3-δ), La1-xSrxCo1-yFeyO3-δ (LSCF), LaNixFe1-xO3-δ (LNF), and Ba1-xSrxCo1-yFeyO3-δ (BSCF) where 0≦δ<1 depending on the dopant. Other examples include SmxSr1-xCoO3-δ (SSC), LaxSr1-xMnyCo1-yO3-δ (LSMC), PrxSr1-xFeO3-δ (PSF), SrxCe1-xFeyNi1-yO3-δ (SCFN), SrxCe1-xFeyCo1-y03-δ, PrxCe1-xCOyFe1-yO3-δ and PrxCe1-xCoyMn1-yO3-δ. In the strontium-containing perovskites, for example, the strontium is provided as a doping agent that is bound into the perovskite structure. The aforementioned shield materials proposed to date have been perovskites, for example having a similar composition to the positive electrode layer but more reactive with chromium than the positive electrode material in order to absorb it before it reaches and reacts with the positive electrode layer. In one example where the positive electrode material is LSM, the shield layer material is LSCo (La1-xSrxCoO3-δ), but other materials are possible. Some barrier materials are proposed in the paper by Thomas Franco et al“Diffusion and Protecting Barrier Layers in a Substrate Supported SOFC Concept”, E-Proceedings of the 7th European Fuel Cell Forum, Lucerne (2006), P0802-051. This paper also sets out additional details on the reactions occurring. Even with these advancements, it is found that degradation of fuel cell performance remains a problem. This has led to extensive further investigations by the applicant as to the causes, from which additional positive electrode material poisons have been identified. As a result of these investigations the applicant has found that sulphur poisons the positive electrode of an SOFC in much the same way as chromium, by forming sulphate crystals with components of the electrode material, such as strontium, and possibly destroying the chemical structure of the electrode material. It has been found that the sulphur may be derived from the oxidant supply (generally air), usually in the form of SO2, or from elsewhere in the system, for example, in the glass seals used to seal the SOFCs and gas separators together or elsewhere upstream of the positive electrode-side chamber, where the sulphur may be present as an impurity and appear as SO2 or SO3. The further investigations have also shown that boron can act in the same way as chromium and sulphur to poison the positive electrode material in the conditions of use. Boron may be present in the system as a compound of the glass seals, but may also be present in other components of the fuel cell system exposed to the oxidant. It is believed that other elements present in the system components, or in the oxidant supply, whether as impurities or otherwise, may also be reacting with components of the positive electrode material and poisoning the material. Possible examples of these elements include silicon. It is clear that it would be highly desirable to alleviate reactions with the positive electrode material by poisons in the system in use of an electrochemical energy conversion cell. The applicant's investigations into the causes of fuel cell performance degradation has revealed that in addition to poisoning of the positive electrode material, the negative electrode side also suffers from performance degradation. Alleviating reactions with the negative electrode material by poisons in the system in use of an electrochemical energy conversion cell, and more generally alleviating cell performance degradation on the negative electrode side, is an aim of the invention described and claimed in a co-pending PCT patent application filed by the applicant concurrently herewith and claiming priority from the priority applications, entitled “Electrochemical Energy Conversion Devices and Cells, and Negative Electrode-Side Materials for them” (the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference), but will be described further herein. SOFC negative electrode materials are generally nickel based, most commonly Ni/YSZ cermets. Other nickel cermets being used as negative electrode materials include Ni/GDC (Ni/gadolinium doped ceria), Ni/SDC (Ni/samarium doped ceria), Ni/ScSZ (Ni/scandiastabilised zirconia) and Ni/ScCeSZ (Ni/scandia ceria stabilised zirconia). Pt, Rh and Ru have all been used in place of nickel in cermet negative electrode materials, but these metals are considerably more expensive than nickel and therefore much less common. It is well known that sulphur reacts with nickel in negative electrode materials under SOFC operating conditions to degrade the performance of the electrode, and for this reason sulphur is commonly removed from SOFC fuel sources. However, the applicant's further investigations have led to a belief that, even if sulphur is removed from the fuelsource, sulphur continues to degrade the negative electrode material. This is believed to be as a result of residual sulphur in the fuel or as a result of sulphur from elsewhere in the system, for example in the glass seals used to seal the SOFCs and gas separator or elsewhere upstream of the negative electrode, where the sulphur may be present as an impurity. Some of the reasons for degradation of the negative electrode material performance due to sulphur are believed to be: at very low sulphur levels, for example as low as 1 ppm in the gas stream, the electrode material can degrade due to surface adsorption of the sulphur on the nickel; at higher levels of sulphur, Ni—S alloys are formed: and at even higher levels of sulphur, nickel sulphides form. The effect on SOFC anodic performance of hydrogen and hydrocarbon fuels contaminated with up to 50 ppm wet H2S was investigated by Limin Liu et al, in the paper “Sulpfur Tolerance Improvement of Ni—YSZ Anode by Alkaline Earth Metal Oxide BaO for Solid Oxide Fuel Cells”, Electrochemistry Communications 19 (2012) 63-66. In the paper it is reported that BaO infiltrated throughout the functional anode layer at a level of about 5 wt % was found to enhance the sulphur tolerance ability of the Ni—YSZ anode over the test period of 27 hours. It was concluded that water played a very crucial role in this, and that this may result from the good water dissociative absorption ability of BaO. The applicant's further investigations on the negative electrode side have also identified that boron and phosphorus species from seals and other components of the device may be entering the atmosphere in the negative electrode-side chamber and leading to performance degradation in some way. In the case of boron at least this appears to be by promoting grain growth in the nickel or other metal of the electrode material. The phosphorus species may be reacting with the nickel and poisoning it. Other species that have been found to be detrimental to the negative electrode-side performance, possibly as a result of reacting with and thereby poisoning the nickel, are chlorine, siloxane and selenium. These may be present on the negative electrode side as impurities, for example, in the fuel gas or the glass used for the seals. Another problem identified on the negative electrode side is the unintended ongoing sintering of nickel in porous layers in the negative electrode-side chamber, particularly but not only in the negative electrode-side structure of the electrochemical cell, including the negative electrode material. This sintering leads to a loss of surface area in the porous layer or layers and a decrease of the triple phase boundary area of the electrode layer, resulting in degradation in electrochemical performance. It is clear that it would be highly desirable to alleviate long-term degradation of cell performance on the negative electrode side in use of an electrochemical energy conversion cell.

Passenger cars can have a roof rack system on their roof in the form of a roof rack or a roof rail. These roof rack systems consist specifically of two retaining fixtures located parallel to one another, where under the present patent application a roof rack is understood to mean a system with feet at the lateral ends and, where required, center feet, that is to say, the system is located at a distance from the roof of the motor vehicle because of the end feet and the center feet. The roof rails mentioned refer to a system which does not have end feet and center feet, that is to say the roof rails run accordingly directly on the upper side of the roof of the vehicle. Cross bars can preferably be attached between the two roof rack elements or roof rail elements running spaced apart from each other to create additional support and carrying capacity for fastening a load on the roof of the motor vehicle. Since a roof rack system of this type has to be attached to the roof of the motor vehicle, a connection is made by means of an attaching device to load-bearing parts in the roof of the vehicle. This is usually done while the vehicle is being manufactured, that is to say, the roof rack systems mentioned here are usually assigned to the motor vehicle from the start and are not removed when the vehicle is in use. The invention addresses such systems, but comprises also possible systems which can be installed or removed as required. In each case it is necessary to effect the attachment of the roof rack system to the vehicle roof with a fastening device which passes through the roof skin using mounting bolts and is connected to corresponding load-bearing roof parts. Piercing the roof skin carries the risk that moisture can penetrate into the vehicle roof.

Methods, arrangements and structures related to the above-mentioned technical area or field and character are known earlier in a plurality of different embodiments. Electrically driven vehicles may to advantage be categorized as “railbound vehicles” or “non-railbound vehicles”. “Railbound vehicles” are conveyed along their roadway and its road portions by parallel rails, which are positioned in the direction of the roadway, which are openly disposed by means of sleepers and which guide the fixed pair of wheels of the vehicle. “Non-railbound vehicles” are conveyed along their roadway and its road portions by means of a steering or control equipment belonging to the vehicle. The present invention is based on and is intended to be utilized in the latter category and technology and is primarily intended to be applicable on heavy trucks or lorries, with or without a trailer connected thereto, wherein from the U.S. Pat. No. 4,129,203-A it is known a vehicle-related arrangement for letting contact springs, positioned below and under the vehicle, move upwardly and downwardly and sideways, with the contact springs lying under the vehicle for a mechanical and electrical cooperation with non-insulated surface portions of the electric conductors (14) associated with each of the road portions. Utilizing an insulator (16) inside a channel (18), which supports the conductors in the form of rails (14) is indicated here. A cover plate (20) provided with a slit (12) is removably attached to the upper and opposing wall portions of the channel (18), with said cover plate (20) being adjusted to a plane connecting to the upper surface (22) of the road portion. FIGS. 2 and 3 in the mentioned patent publication describe a vehicle-related table (98), to which table an arm (10) is rotatably secured (94, 96, 99). Sensors (30), associated with the table (98), generate signals, which with regard to their phase positions and magnitudes indicate the direction of and the distance from an axis (99) of rotation to the slit (12) in the cover plate (20), which signals are based on changes in a generated magnetic field. The table (98) and the arm (10) may be driven by a motor (32) between limits determined beforehand and limit breakers (40, 41) placed there. Patent publication WO 93/10995-A discloses an earlier known system for conveying electrically driven vehicles along a roadway and its road portions. FIG. 9 of the above-mentioned patent publication clarifies the basic structure of the system. It is indicated here that the roadway (14) and its road portions are provided with electrically conductive road sections (300a-30Of), wherein a road section can be considered to correspond to a road portion. The vehicles (310) have an electric motor (320) and two (312, 314) or three (312, 312′ and 314, respectively) contact springs placed thereunder and being adapted for mechanical and electrical contact with uninsulated electrically conductive conductors, the lengths of which are adapted to correspond to a chosen length (identically equal lengths) for utilized road sections. The electrically conductive conductors in the road sections (300a-30Of) are disposed behind each other with an intermediately disposed free space (302a-302e) so as to thereby avoid a short circuit between sliding contact springs (312, 312′, 314, respectively). Every second road section (300b, 30Od, 30Of, respectively) in a line of road sections is connected continuoually to a reference voltage (ground potential), whereas the remaining or intermediate road sections (300a, 300c and 20Oe, respectively) can either be connected directly to a direct current voltage source (440) or be connected over a switching means (304a, 304b, 304c, respectively) to any appropriate electric source of energy (308), when a vehicle is in its vicinity. When an embodiment is exposing that three contact springs are utilized, the distance between the latter is to be chosen such, that two or three contact springs always are in an electric contact with respective of two road sections exhibiting opposite polarities and so that neither of the two contacts is able to short circuit the free space (302a-302e) between two adjacent road sections. This system here requires specially constructed vehicles (310) for its function, in which vehicles a chosen distance between forward contacts (314) and rearward contacts (312, 312′) is to be identically equal and furthermore selected somewhat longer than the equal lengths of the road sections (300b, 30Od). Thus, specially constructed vehicles, having front contacts and rear contacts, are required and in which the respective ones of the utilized road sections (300a-30Of) are to be chosen with mutually equal lengths and they are to be disposed after each other in the direction of travel of the vehicle, with equal mutual open and intermediate spaces (302a-302e). The remainder of the patent publication indicates the presence of a single conductor or rail subjected to voltage within a road portion (page 5, lines 11-13) and that a vehicle is to request voltage to a road portion in front thereof (page 5, lines 19-21; page 6, lines 7-10; page 8, lines 28-32). Furthermore it is indicated that rails (16), which may be subjected to voltage, are to be able to be provided with drain tracks (page 9, lines 1-4) positioned at the sides. Lack of (or the presence of) an activating signal is to be able to actuate a control unit (38), (page 8, lines 23-27). The necessary distance between contacts belonging to a vehicle is mentioned in page 10, lines 17-20, and a utilizing activity is initiated as radio signals, and is proposed on page 11, lines 2-4 and page 14, lines 1-16, respectively. Furthermore, in page 15, lines 21-23 and in page 16, lines 1-15, the utilizing of a “Hall”-element (240) and the connection of the same to an amplifier (246), are proposed. Furthermore, alternatives of this element are illustrated in page 17, lines 3-9. It is also known to propel or move a vehicle electrically along a roadway by means of an inductive transfer of energy, which is activated between a vehicle and a road portion lying therebelow. As examples of this known technology reference is made to the contents of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,914,562-A and 4,007,817-A, respectively. The present invention concerns a concentrating to or an application to a roadway, exposing an upwardly open track or tracks adapted to each other to from one road portion and adjacent road portions, each with at least two, preferably three, parallel 5 electric conductors introduced in each of, or selected, track portions, such as formed with uninsulated surface sections, and concerns an arrangement for ensuring a tracking or a testing of an adjacent road portion before that road portion becomes the object of applying voltage to the parallel electric conductors belonging to this adjacent and succeeding road portion (such as a road portion in front thereof).

The market for electronic devices continually demands higher performance at lower costs. In order to meet these requirements the components which comprise various electronic devices need to be made more efficiently and to closer tolerances. In certain electronic devices a silicon substrate is bonded or otherwise coupled to another substrate or substrate carrier to form a completed device. In such instances, the electronic device is often exposed to harsh conditions and corrosive materials. In known devices, a substrate is bonded to a substrate carrier by using an organic, often a polymeric based, adhesive or adherent. However, over time, due to environmental conditions such as the presence of solvents, to which the adhesive is exposed, the bond may be partially damaged or completely broken. In turn, this may result in the exposure of sensitive electronic components to the environment. These components would then be damaged and the device potentially rendered non-functional. One application where a substrate is bonded to a carrier is a fluid ejection device, such as ink jet print head. In these devices a substrate containing multiple fluid ejection elements is often bonded to a substrate carrier.

As an example of a conventional art using a distributed power source, such as fuel cells, a solar power generation system, or the like, upon interruption of electric service, there has been known a technique disclosed in JP,A 9-121457. According to this patent document, once a large-scale interruption of electric service has been caused by, for example, a fall-down of an electric power pylon for a high-voltage trunk transmission line, a control center commands and controls distributed power sources to supply power so that the total of a suppliable electric energy from the distributed power sources becomes equal to an unsuppliable electric energy. On the other hand, as facilities for supplying power only during interruption of the service, batteries (principally lead storage batteries) are used for emergency power generators or emergency power sources in hospitals, large-scale buildings, and the like. If the deregulation of electric power industry moves forward into the future, cost competition would suppress the capital investment in power stations, power transmission/transformation facilities, and the like, resulting in shortages of the amounts of power generation and transmission. This would incur a situation in which a stable power supply becomes unattainable. For example, as in the California power crisis, which caused a serious trouble in 2001, periodical and long-term interruptions of electric service might occur. However, utilizing a distributed power source using the conventional art as countermeasures against a long-term service interruption occurring under such a situation includes the following problems. Firstly, the guideline on power supply from a distributed power source is not well-defined, so that there is no other choice but to supply power to an indefinite number of loads. However, because the power generation capacity of the distributed power source is small, power can be supplied to only loads within a limited range. Therefore, it cannot be known until an interruption of electric service actually occurs, to which loads power can be supplied. This is a very risky situation when seen from the load side (power demand side). Secondly, within a power supply network with a distributed power source, power supply/demand balance controlling means consists of only the control of the power generation output of the distributed power source and the opening/closing of loads, that is, there is provided only limited balance control means. As a result, if the supply/demand of power gets out of balance even to a minimum extent, loads are to be shut off one after another. This is also a very unstable situation when seen from the load side (power demand side). Thirdly, many of distributed power sources to be introduced in the future are considered to be owned not by electric utilities (power providers), but by private companies. In this case, an electric utility cannot take the liberty of manipulating a power source owned by a private company. However, it is difficult for the owner itself of a private power source to execute the control of power supply/demand balance in place of the electric utility. Also, the battery, serving as an emergency power generator or emergency power source, is intended to supply power to private facilities upon interruption of electric service, and does not supply power to a load other than the private facilities. This has a problem that a load without an emergency power generator cannot receive a power supply upon interruption of the service.

This invention relates generally to a mask and an exposure method using the same. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a mask and an exposure method which can be suitably used in the manufacture of various devices such as semiconductor chips (e.g., ICs or LSIs), display devices (e.g., liquid crystal panels), detector elements (e.g., magnetic heads), and image pickup devices (e.g., CCDs), for example. The manufacture of microdevices such as ICs, LSIs or liquid crystal panels, for example, use a projection exposure method and a projection exposure apparatus wherein a circuit pattern formed on a photomask or reticle (hereinafter, xe2x80x9cmaskxe2x80x9d) is projected through a projection optical system onto a photosensitive substrate such as a silicon wafer or a glass plate (hereinafter, xe2x80x9cwaferxe2x80x9d) which is coated with a photoresist, for example, by which the circuit pattern is transferred (photoprinted) to the wafer. In such a projection exposure method and projection exposure apparatus which play a main role in wafer microprocessing procedures, many attempts have been made to improve the resolution and to enlarge the exposure area in order that an image (circuit pattern image) of a size (linewidth) of 0.5 micron or less can be formed in a wider range. On the other hand, currently, projection exposure apparatuses having an excimer laser as a light source are used widely, because of its high projection resolving power. However, it is still difficult to produce a pattern image of 0.15 micron or less. U.S. Pat. No. 5,415,835 shows a technique for forming a very fine pattern in accordance with dual-beam interference exposure. With this dual-beam interference exposure, a pattern of a linewidth 0.15 micron or less can be produced on a wafer. The same assignee of the subject application has proposed in Japanese Patent Application Nos. H10-221095, H10-201333 and H10-221097 an exposure method by which, through a dual exposure process to a photosensitive substrate (to be exposed) including a periodic pattern exposure and an ordinary (standard) exposure, a circuit pattern having a portion of 0.15 micron or less can be produced. Here, the term xe2x80x9cordinary exposurexe2x80x9d or xe2x80x9cstandard exposurexe2x80x9d refers to an exposure process by which an arbitrary pattern can be photoprinted although the resolution is lower than that of the periodic pattern exposure. A representative example of it is the exposure process to be performed by projection of a mask pattern with a projection optical system. A pattern to be printed by the standard exposure (hereinafter, xe2x80x9cstandard exposure patternxe2x80x9d) may include a very fine pattern less than the resolution. The periodic pattern exposure is a process for forming a periodic pattern of a similar linewidth as that of the very fine pattern. Such a periodic pattern exposure may use a Levenson type phase shift mask, for example. FIG. 23 is a schematic view for explaining a dual exposure process. A periodic pattern (A) and a standard exposure pattern (B) are printed, by dual exposure, on the same position, by which a combined synthetic pattern (image) (C) is produced. Details of the principle of multiple exposure will be described later. FIG. 24 is a schematic view for explaining an inconvenience to be caused when a very fine pattern is formed through a dual exposure process using a periodic pattern and a standard exposure pattern. FIG. 24, at (A), shows the relation between first and second periodic patterns 1 and 2. FIG. 24, at (B), shows the relation between first and second standard patterns 1 and 2. FIG. 24, at (C), shows superposition of patterns by dual exposure. FIG. 24, at (D), shows the relation between first and second design patterns 1 and 2. FIG. 24 is an example wherein a pattern is to be formed in accordance with light transmitting portions, and the dual exposure process is performed so as to produce two design patterns (D) finally. The standard exposure pattern shown at (B) in FIG. 24 may be analogous to the design pattern (D). Although it should be determined in light of the magnification of the exposure apparatus, in FIG. 24 it is illustrated with a simple magnification of 1. The periodic pattern shown at (A) in FIG. 24 may be prepared in accordance with a very-fine line portion of the standard exposure pattern (B), and it may be made with the same pitch as a pattern being extracted only from the very-fine line portion of the standard exposure pattern. Thus, the periodic pattern (A), the standard exposure pattern (B) and the design pattern (C) in each set may have the same pitch. The periodicity number of the periodic pattern (A) may be the same as or larger than that of the pattern being extracted from the very-fine line portion described above. The shapes of the first and second periodic patterns 1 and 2 may be determined in accordance with the first and second design patterns 1 and 2. However, it has been found that, in dependence upon the spacing D between the first and second periodic patterns 1 and 2 which is determined in accordance with disposition of the design patterns 1 and 2, during the periodic pattern exposure process there may occur a disturbance in periodicity (i.e., disturbance of pattern) at the boundary between the first and second periodic patterns 1 and 2. More specifically, it has been found that, if the pitch P1 of the first periodic pattern 1 and the pitch P2 of the second periodic pattern 2 differ from each other, there may occur a disturbance of periodicity at the boundary between the periodic patterns 1 and 2. Also, even in a case wherein the pitches P1 and P2 of the design patterns 1 and 2 are equal to each other (P1=P2), in dependence upon a disposition of the design patterns, there may occur a disturbance in the periodic pattern. Now, an example of L=S where L is the width of lines and S is the width of spacings, both constituting the pitch of the periodic pattern, will be explained. If design patterns 1 and 2, wherein the design pattern spacing D is equal to a multiple of L or S by an odd number, are to be produced, the spacing D between the periodic patterns 1 and 2 is equal to the spacing width S and, therefore, no disturbance will be produced between the periodic patterns 1 and 2. If, however, the spacing DS is made equal to a multiple of L or S by an even number, the spacing D between the periodic patterns 1 and 2 becomes D=2S. As a result of it, there occurs a disturbance in periodic pitch at the boundary between the two patterns. Further, also in a case where the spacing DS of the design patterns 1 and 2 is not equal to a multiple of S by an integer, the spacing between the periodic patterns 1 and 2 do not satisfy a relation D=S (which does not cause a disturbance in periodicity). As a result, there may occur a disturbance in periodicity. As described above, since the periodic pattern should be determined in accordance with the design pattern and in light of current situations that patterns should be formed closely to each other, it is difficult to avoid a disturbance in periodicity, with the prior art, at the boundary between two adjacent periodic patterns in a periodic pattern exposure process, included in a multiple exposure procedure. It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a mask and/or an exposure method by which disturbance of periodicity such as described above can be reduced significantly. In accordance with a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mask for multiple exposures, having a plurality of periodic patterns in which a relation 0.5S less than D less than 1.5S is satisfied where S is the spacing between lines of a first periodic pattern of said plurality of periodic patterns and D is the spacing between the first periodic pattern and a second periodic pattern, of said plurality of periodic patterns, juxtaposed to the first periodic pattern with respect to the periodicity direction. In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mask for multiple exposure having a plurality of periodic patterns in which a relation 0.9S less than D less than 1.1S is satisfied, where S is the spacing between lines of a first periodic pattern of said plurality of periodic patterns and D is the spacing between the first periodic pattern and a second periodic pattern, of said plurality of periodic patterns, juxtaposed to the first periodic pattern with respect to the periodicity direction. In a third aspect of the present invention, in relation to the first or second aspect thereof, adjoining pattern portions (lines or spaces) of the first and second periodic patterns juxtaposed with each other may have opposite phases. In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mask having a plurality of periodic patterns, wherein adjoining pattern portions (lines or spaces) of first and second periodic patterns of them, juxtaposed with each other, have opposite phases. In accordance with a fifth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an exposure method including a process for exposing a photosensitive substrate to any one of the masks as recited above. In accordance with a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a multiple exposure method including a first exposure process using any one of the masks as recited above, and a second exposure process using another mask. In accordance with a seventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided an exposure apparatus having an exposure mode for performing a process according to an exposure method as recited above, and a different exposure mode. In accordance with an eighth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device manufacturing method, characterized by an exposure process for exposing a wafer to a device pattern by use of an exposure method as recited above, and a developing process for developing the exposed wafer. In accordance with a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mask having periodic patterns, wherein each of the first and second periodic patterns has a unit pitch defined by a line and a space, wherein the first periodic pattern has a first pitch P1 with a line width L1 and a space width S1 while the second periodic pattern has a second pitch P2 with a line width L2 and a space width S2, wherein the first and second pitches P1 and P2 are different from each other, wherein the first and second periodic patterns are juxtaposed with each other with respect to the periodicity direction, with a spacing D, and wherein, when one of the line widths L1 and L2 of the first and second periodic patterns is taken as L while one of the space widths S1 and S2 of them is taken as S, a relation 0.5Lxe2x89xa6Dxe2x89xa61S+0.5L is satisfied where L less than S is satisfied, whereas a relation 0.5Sxe2x89xa6Dxe2x89xa61L+0.5S is satisfied where Sxe2x89xa6L is satisfied. In accordance with a tenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mask having first and second periodic patterns, wherein each of the first and second periodic patterns has a unit pitch defined by a line and a space, wherein the first periodic pattern has a first pitch P1 with a line width L1 and a space width S1 while the second periodic pattern has a second pitch P2 with a line width L2 and a space width S2, wherein the first and second pitches P1 and P2 are different from each other, wherein the first and second periodic patterns are juxtaposed with each other with respect to the periodicity direction, with a spacing D, and wherein the spacing D is equal to the space width S1 and/or the space width S2. In accordance with an eleventh aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mask having a plurality of periodic patterns each having a unit pitch defined by a line and a space, wherein the plurality of periodic patterns include two periodic patterns having the same pitch and line width and being juxtaposed with each other with respect to the periodicity direction with a spacing D, and wherein, when the line width is L and the space width is S and when the spacing D is not equal to S, the spacing D is in a range which satisfies a relation 0.5Lxe2x89xa6D less than S or a relation S less than Dxe2x89xa61S+0.5L where L less than S is satisfied, whereas the spacing D is in a range which satisfies a relation 0.5Sxe2x89xa6D less than L or a relation 1S less than Dxe2x89xa6L+0.5S where Sxe2x89xa6L is satisfied. In accordance with a twelfth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an exposure method including a process for exposing a photosensitive substrate to a mask as recited in relation to any one of the ninth to eleventh aspects of the invention described above. In accordance with a thirteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a multiple exposure method including a first exposure process using a mask as recited in relation to any one of the ninth to eleventh aspects of the invention, and a second exposure process using another mask. In accordance with a fourteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an exposure apparatus having an exposure mode for performing a process according to an exposure method as recited in relation to the twelfth or thirteenth aspect of the invention. In accordance with a fifteenth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device manufacturing method, characterized by an exposure process for exposing a wafer to a device pattern by use of an exposure method as recited in relation to the twelfth or thirteenth aspect of the invention, and a developing process for developing the exposed wafer. These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The present invention relates generally to accessing a memory by a processor, and more specifically, to accessing a block of data in a memory atomically or block concurrently by a processor. Scalar code expects that a central processing unit (CPU) executing the code will access all of the bytes of a software variable together. In a typical architecture for CPUs, such expectation is met for a scalar code as long as the access is performed on a boundary in a memory that is an integer multiple of the size of the data being accessed. When a scalar code is vectorized by a compiler, the load and store instructions are often converted to vector load and store instructions. However, a vector load instruction and a vector store instruction often have no consistency guarantees, or consistency is guaranteed only if the vector load or store instruction is on a boundary that is the size of the vector register in a CPU. For accesses which are not atomic or block concurrent, if one CPU writes out data and another CPU reads data at the same time, the CPU reading the data may see partial updates to the memory locations containing the latter CPU's variables. This is not consistent with the semantics of most programming languages, or programming techniques such as lock-free data structures.

Product development management involves, in part, planning, organizing, securing and managing resources to bring about the successful completion of a project with respect to specific goals and objectives. Project managers can manage resources using, for example, agile development approaches, which are characterized by factors such as relatively short time-frame intervals (often referred to as sprints or iterations), delivery of certain goals at the end of each iteration, and regular adaptation of requirements and designs in response to changing circumstances. Exemplary changes in circumstances include changes in business goals, changes driven by customer feedbacks, changes driven by improved understanding of technological challenges, changes to downstream features based on cumulative knowledge, changes in skills and resources, and changes derived from improved knowledge of estimates of work completion based on team velocity. Under agile development approaches, a project can be organized into one or more features with each feature delivering a package of related functionalities that an end user generally expects to get all at once. In turn, each feature can be broken down into a collection of related stories with each story defining a particular functionality. For example, given a feature involving programming inline table resizing, it can be broken down into three stories—resizing columns, resizing rows and resizing the table itself. In addition, a working feature or product can be produced at the end of a release, during which the feature or product is refined through successive iterations. Typically, each iteration involves a team working through a full development cycle including the phases planning, designing and testing. Thus, agile methods minimize overall risks by allowing a project to adapt to changes quickly. One common challenge for product development management teams using any product development approach (e.g., an agile approach) is trying to measure and compare progress made by different teams, especially when the teams are composed of different types of members and/or work on different products. Meaningful insights gathered regarding how project teams achieve results can be critical to the success of current projects as well as future projects. Typically, in an agile development approach, story points, burndown and velocity metrics can be used to measure team effectiveness. Story points refer to units of effort and can be used by a team to estimate and track work. Burndown refers to story points completed and plotted against time lapsed. The burndown has only been used by teams within and during a short time period, such as a given iteration, to visually track progress during that period. Velocity refers to the average number of story points delivered by an agile team over one or more iterations, which is important for forecasting how much work a team is able to handle. However, none of these metrics can accurately, fairly and consistently quantify team effectiveness to enable analysis of cross-team behavior (e.g., behavior of different teams staffed on different projects) to inform decision-making at the organizational level. In particular, story points and velocity (i.e., a function of story points) are specific to a given team. They represent a blend of inherent team understanding, assumptions and norms that are team specific. Hence, these metrics are inherently inefficient and inaccurate for comparing cross-team effectiveness.

This application claims priority from Korean Patent Application No. 2002-0044442 filed on Jul. 27, 2002. The present invention pertains, in general, to fabrication methods of UBM (under bump metallurgy) for flip chip interconnections of semiconductor devices, and in particular, to a method of fabricating the desired UBM by controlling current density during electroplating and without using an etching process. Generally, as interconnection techniques between a semiconductor integrated circuit chip and a substrate, there have been employed the processes of flip chip, wire bonding and TAB (tape automated bonding). Of them, the flip chip process is advantageous in terms of high-speed and high density connections due to higher connection density and shorter connection distance, compared to the others. As for the flip chip interconnections, a UBM layer is bonded to a pad (aluminum or copper) of the chip, after which UBM is further bonded to a conductive solder bump. The bump-formed chip functions to bond the solder bump and the metal layer on the substrate, whereby electric signal transmission between the chip and the substrate can be accomplished. As such, a mechanical bonding is practicable. UBM provides good adhesion between the solder and the pad of the chip eliminates much of the mutual diffusion between the solder and the substrate. Such a flip chip connection technique was devised for the first time by IBM in the 1960s. The fabrication method of those days comprised forming UBM with chromiun/chromium-copper alloy/copper layers on the chip pad by evaporation and then forming Sn-95% Pb solder bumps thereon by evaporation. In such a structure, the chromium layer is provided to be bonded to the pad, and the chromium-copper alloy layer prevents mutual diffusion of the solder and the pad. In addition, the copper layer is introduced to increase bondability and wettability with the solder. The above method, excellent in reliability, has been used for a considerable period. However, in typical electronic parts, the solder of 63% Sn-37% Pb having higher Sn content is mainly used, compared to Sn-95% Pb solder. In recent years, the process trended toward using environmentally safe materials, such as a Pb-free solder. Many problems are caused in the flip chip process including the finding that the UBM structure cannot effectively prevent the diffusion between the solder and the pad upon use with 63-37% Pb process solder and Pb-free solder, and in particular, Pb-free solder. Many researchers are working on UBM suitable for use with Pb-free solder, using sputtering, electroplating and electroless plating methods. Most Pb-free solders developed until now have a large amount of tin. The Pb-free solder materials, suitable for use in the flip chip interconnections, are exemplified by Sn-3.5% Ag, Sn-0.7% Cu, and Sn-3.8% Ag-0.7% Cu. These materials contain 95% or more of Sn. Since the tin element rapidly reacts with copper, tin in the solder reacts with copper of UBM by heat generated in the course of reflow of the flip chip or use of the chip. Thus, an intermetallic compound is formed at the interface of UBM and the solder, and the copper is self-extinguished. If the intermetallic compounds are excessively formed or the copper layer in the UBM is completely self-extinguished, bonding strength between the solder and the pad is drastically decreased. Hence, UBM for use with Pb-free solder having high Sn content requires a novel diffusion barrier. In this regard, nickel is used. Nickel is slower in reaction rate with tin than copper. Until now, there have been proposed various processes for the formation of the diffusion barrier made of nickel or nickel alloy through sputtering, electroplating and electroless plating methods. However, the UBM structure including the nickel layer suffers from the problems related with poor solderability of nickel and residual stress in the nickel layer. In this regard, since nickel is low in wettability and bondability with the solder, it should be coated with gold or copper to obtain sufficient wettablity. Also, different from the copper layer, the nickel layer has high residual stress due to intrinsic properties of nickel and processing characteristics of the plating process. In the case where nickel is applied to UBM of silicone chip, the silicone chip may be cracked due to residual stress in UBM containing the stressed nickel. So, the residual stress in the UBM layer or thickness thereof should be decreased to prevent such cracks. However, if the thickness of the UBM is excessively reduced, the UBM layer may be completely self-extinguished upon the interfacial reaction with the solder. Therefore, the thickness of the UBM layer should be maintained at a predetermined level. UBM for use with Pb-free solder in flip chip interconnections should meet requirements such as good wettablility and bondability with the solder, slow reaction with the solder to prevent the diffusion between the solder and the chip pad, and low residual stress not to cause cracks of the chip. With the aim of exhibiting the above requirements, the UBM structure comprises the multilayered structure as in the following Table 1. The lower layer made of aluminum, chromium or titanium is responsible for maintenance of bondability with the pad of the chip, and the intermediate layer 1 formed of aluminum or copper decreases the residual stress in UBM. The intermediate layer 2 formed of nickel or nickel alloys prevents diffusion, and the upper layer made of gold or copper provides wettability with the solder. As representative UBM structures for flip chips, there are chromium/copper-chromium alloy/copper, titanium-tungsten alloy/copper/electrolytic copper, aluminum/nickel-vanadium alloy/copper, electroless nickel-phosphorus alloy/gold. Of them, chromium/copper-chromium alloy/copper structure, which was developed by IBM, is known not to be used with the Pb-free solder. In the structure of titanium-tungsten alloy/copper/electrolytic copper developed for use with Sn-37% Pb solder, the higher the Sn content as in the Pb-free solder, the thicker the electrolytic copper layer. Thus, the above structure has high residual stress and cannot be used. In the case of aluminum/nickel-vanadium alloy/copper structure developed to use with Pb-free solder by Delco, the nickel-vanadium layer is known to be slow in reaction with the Pb-free solder, but the used sputtering method requires an etching process, and suffers from higher process cost, compared to electroplating method. The structure of electroless nickel-phosphorus alloy/gold is advantageous in low fabrication cost but has the disadvantage of brittleness of the electroless nickel layer upon reaction with the Pb-free solder. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to solve the problems in the prior art and to provide a method of fabricating multi-layered UBM having a copper/nickel-copper alloy/copper structure via electroplating. In accordance with one embodiment, the present invention provides a method of fabricating UBM for flip chip interconnections of a semiconductor device. The method comprises dipping a patterned wafer into a plating solution containing a material source of nickel and copper ions. A copper layer is formed at a predetermined current density for connection between a chip pad and a solder bump. The copper layer is of sufficient thickness to provide residual stress-buffering on the wafer. A nickel-copper alloy layer is formed, at an increased current density, and having sufficient thickness for prevention of mutual diffusion between the solder and the pad on the copper layer. Another copper layer is optionally formed on the nickel-copper alloy layer at a decreased current density for improvement of wettability with the solder. The ratio of the current density required to form the copper layer and the nickel-copper layer preferably ranges from 1:2.5 to 1:10. The material source of supplying the nickel ion include NiSO4, NiCl2, Ni(SO3NH2)2, and combinations thereof. The material source of supplying the copper ion include CUSO4, CuCN, Cu2P2O7 and combinations thereof.

This invention relates to protective coatings. More specifically, it relates to coatings for preventing high temperature oxidation of the graphite electrodes of electric arc steelmaking furnaces. Steelmaking by the electric arc furnace accounts for a considerable portion of the world' s steel production, especially of higher alloy and stainless steels. Because of its many advantages, such as its greater scheduling flexibility and its capability to produce practically all the known grades of steel including those with very low residual phosphorus and sulfur contents, the electric arc furnace process is receiving increased usage by steelmakers. The electrodes of electric arc steelmaking furnaces are made almost exclusively of graphite. Vast amounts of graphite are consumed during the steelmaking, the cost of electrode replacement being exceeded only by the cost of the steel scrap charge and the electrical power. A number of destructive mechanisms are responsible for the high electrode consumption and include sidewall oxidation, arc tip erosion, breakage, slag attack and hot metal attack. While little can be done to minimize the latter four mechanisms, development of an impermeable coating that will keep oxygen from reaching the graphite surface of the electrode would minimize and possibly eliminate the sidewall wear. It is therefore a primary object of this invention to provide such a protection in the form of an inexpensive and easily applied coating composition. Many methods have been used to provide a suitable coating for the prevention of high-temperature oxidation of graphite electrodes and other graphite surfaces, these methods usually involving the formation of a silicon carbide layer. For example, in British Patent 866,818, silicon powder is applied and bonded to a graphite body such as by flame spraying; subsequent localized heating of the silicon is said to cause it to melt and simultaneously flow into and react with the graphite body to form a silicon carbide protective coating. In U.S. Pat. No. 3,275,471, a graphite component is dipped into a suspension of about equal amounts of finely divided silicon and silicon carbide, optionally with added carboxymethylcellulose, and subsequently fired at 1415.degree. to 1500.degree.C. for 5 to 25 seconds to produce a protective coating of silicon containing dispersed silicon carbide. And in British Patent 1,166,429, the graphite body is coated with a primary layer of silicon and a metallic surfacing layer of aluminum; preferably the layers are applied by flame spraying, and the body is heated to above 550.degree.C. to cause the components of the two layers to form a low-melting eutectic alloy and the silicon to react with the graphite body to form silicon carbide. An aqueous solution of alkali metal phosphate, borate or silicate may be applied to the surface layer to form a sealing layer. None of these methods, however, allows for the application of the protective coating to graphite electrodes in a simple and inexpensive manner, especially under the operating conditions of the electric arc steelmaking process.

The invention relates to an electrochemical gas sensor in a closed casing with gas openings for measuring gases in gas mixtures. A variety of methods are known for measuring the concentration of individual gases in gas mixtures. For example, DE-B 1190698 discloses a method for the determination of hydrogen or oxygen in a gas mixture, in which the gas mixture is fed through the gas space of a gas diffusion electrode, and the electrode potential and electrode current are then measured to determine the concentration of the gas. By way of example, this document also indicates that several gases, such as hydrogen and oxygen, can be determined in tandem by using one diffusion electrode each for hydrogen and oxygen, by feeding the gas mixture first to the oxygen electrode which ignores hydrogen, and then to the hydrogen electrode. The document Journal of Power Sources 34 (1991), pages 331-338, A. Winsel and C. Fischer, xe2x80x9cNew apparatus for the measurement of the selfdischarge of the nickel hydroxide electrodexe2x80x9d discloses a method for determining oxygen content by means of a zinc-air cell. WO 97/35186 also discloses a method and a device for determining oxygen concentration, in which a zinc-air cell is used as the measuring element. Thus, an object of the invention is to determine the concentration of two gas components in a gas mixture, and to provide a suitable gas sensor which is simple and compact in design and operates reliably. In the invention, a single electrochemical cell is used for measuring two gas components in a gas flow. For example, oxygen and hydrogen or oxygen and nitrous oxide can be measured in a gas flow. The electrochemical gas sensor can, therefore, be employed in conjunction with an anesthetizing device, to measure oxygen concentrations and nitrous oxide concentrations, or may be used at the output of methanol reformers to measure nitrogen and oxygen content.

The present invention generally relates to an improvement to a computer system, particularly a gateway used in an Internet of Things (IoT) setting by facilitating accessing a management console of the gateway. As IoT grows and numerous devices are connected to one or more IoT cloud servers, the functionality of an IoT gateway gains further importance. An IoT gateway communicates data between the cloud servers and multiple end-point devices in the IoT setting. For example, the gateway aggregates sensor data, translates between sensor protocols, processes sensor data before sending it onward and more to the server(s). With scores of protocols, connectivity models and energy profiles and the highly dispersed nature of IoT systems, gateways manage and control these complex environments. IoT gateways perform several critical functions such as device connectivity, protocol translation, data filtering and processing, security, updating, management and more. In one or more examples, IoT gateways also operate as platforms for application code that processes data and becomes an intelligent part of a device-enabled system. IoT gateways are considered to be at the intersection of edge systems—devices, controllers and sensors—and the cloud. Thus, managing the IoT gateway itself is a critical aspect of managing the IoT setup. The management of the IoT gateway is performed using a management console.

While lithium metal has a wide variety of uses in present-day industry, one use which is substantially increasing at the present time is the use of lithium as an anode in non-aqueous batteries. These "lithium" batteries have extremely long life and high energy, and are therefore valuable additions to the battery art. Lithium batteries are, however, substantially more expensive than conventional dry cells and, for that reason, every effort is being made to reduce the cost of manufacturing batteries containing lithium anodes. Lithium itself is a very light weight soft metal and is, for a metal, highly reactive. For example, lithium in contact with water will react to form lithium oxide and hydrogen gas, presenting a potential fire hazard. Conventional methods for cutting lithium involve the use of knives or dies. Due to cold welding of lithium on the blade at the cutting edge, a clean dry blade developes a build-up of lithium which needs to be removed after only a few cutting operations. It has further been proposed to use lubricants on the blade to prevent contamination by the lithium on the blade. It has further been proposed to use lubricants on the blade to prevent contamination by the lithium on the blade. This, however, results in contamination of the lithium with the lubricant. Lithium which is to be used in a battery must be cleaned, necessitating an additional step in the manufacturing process. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a method for cutting lithium which permits repetitive cutting in the simplest possible manner. Another object of this invention is to provide a device suitable for cutting lithium metal into a plurality of pieces wherein neither the lithium nor the knife blade are contaminated by contacting each other. Other objects will appear herein.

The present invention relates in general to household and kitchen utensils. In particular, the present invention relates to an improved device which may be used as a measuring cup, a funnel, and a strainer. Numerous household tasks, including cooking, often required that certain basic acts. Among these are measuring materials, transferring materials from one container to another, and straining materials. There are numerous devices known for performing each of these individual tasks. Specifically, measuring cups are well known, as are funnels, strainers and colanders. While each of these utensils performs its function well, these individual items must be purchased individually, and require space for storage.

Motor vehicles include seat assemblies for supporting occupants above a floor in a passenger compartment of the vehicle. It is known to provide seat assemblies that are selectively movable or adjustable in a generally horizontal direction along an upper surface of the floor to accommodate occupants of varying heights or cargo of varying dimensions. It is also known to provide seat assemblies that pivot or flip into a recessed storage space located beneath the upper surface of the floor to expand the cargo carrying capacity in the passenger compartment. Such designs, however, are difficult for some users, since the seat assembly must be lifted as it is pivoted or flipped. Further, such designs are not easily implemented in vehicles where packaging space is limited, since the seat assemblies must have room to pivot or flip. Thus, it remains desirable to provide an improved seat assembly that allows generally horizontal adjustment along the floor of the vehicle and is substantially vertically displaceable to a stowed position disposed in a storage space below the floor without pivoting or flipping.

A large majority of toilets in present use include a tank that can hold considerable water (e.g. five gallons) between flushings, and a flush valve at the bottom of the tank which is lifted to release water to the toilet bowl. Recent government regulations generally limit the amount of water used in each flushing to about 1.6 gallons. Although timed valves have been used to close the flush valve early and bricks have been placed in the tank to reduce the amount of water, such measures are easily reversed. Applicant has been considering the development of a dump bucket toilet, which is described in several old patents, but which applicant has not seen in use. In such toilets, a bucket holds water between flushings and is tipped to release substantially all water. Applicant's recent U.S. Pat. No. 5,666,674 shows one design that applicant earlier developed. Applicant realizes that despite the advantages of a dump bucket toilet, of accurately measuring flush volume, permanently limiting the amount of water dispensed in each flushing, and avoiding leakage from leaky flush valves, that such toilets will not replace modified conventional toilets unless the new dump bucket toilet is of great simplicity and operates to provide an effective flushing with little water, in a tank of conventional shape and moderate height. Such a conventional tank usually lies very close to a bathroom wall, with the toilet bowl part extending forwardly therefrom. The shape and size of the toilet bowl part is substantially fixed, and to assure that it projects as little as possible forward of the bathroom wall, the tank must have a small forward-to-rearward depth of less than one foot. A dump bucket toilet which fit into a tank of such conventional shape, and which was of great simplicity and of reliable and efficient construction, would be of value.

Semiconductor devices, such as diodes and transistors are essential components for electronic devices. A continuing demand exists for new, alternative, less expensive and/or improved manufacturing processes for their production. Currently, a particular interest exists in processes for the production of flexible electronics components for use e.g. in RFID tags, flexible LED and LCD displays and photovoltaics. Flexible electronics are typically produced using so-called roll-to-roll (R2R) processing (also known as web processing or reel-to-reel processing). R2R processing refers to production methods wherein thin-films are deposited on a flexible (plastic) substrate and processed into electrical components in a continuous way. In an R2R process preferably printing techniques (e.g. imprint, inkjet, or screen printing) and coating techniques (e.g. roll or spray coating) are used in order to achieve a high throughput, low-cost processing. Such techniques include the use of inks, i.e. liquid compositions, which can be deposited on the substrate using a simple coating or printing technique. This way flexible electronics can be fabricated at a fraction of the cost of traditional semiconductor manufacturing methods. R2R processing is however a technology which is still in development. Problems that need to be overcome in order realize flexible electronics for high-performance applications, such as HF RFIDs and electronics for foldable phones, include the development of low-cost processes for the realization of thin-film structures with small feature size and high alignment accuracy and the development of ink-based processes for realizing high-mobility semiconducting thin-films on a flexible plastic substrate. U.S. Pat. No. 6,861,365 B2 describes the realization of a three-dimensional resist structure on a thin-film semiconductor multi-layer stack on a flexible substrate. Subsequent (anisotropic) etching of the 3D mask allows the formation of thin-film semi-conducting structures in the multilayer stack. The minimum feature size and the alignment accuracy are determined by the 3D mask, which is further determined by the photolithography. The etching steps however are based on vacuum process thus providing a R2R process with an inefficient energy consumption and material usage. Moreover, although the 3D resist mask provides the required alignment, it introduces substantial design constrains and processing complexity. EP 1 087 428 A1 describes a method for forming silicon film on the basis of silicon-containing ink. A solution containing a silane compound is applied onto a quartz substrate using ink-jet printing. After evaporation of the solvent, a silicon precursor film is formed that is subsequently transformed in silicon by an annealing step. The method however requires very high temperatures of up to 550° C. for converting the silane compound in the film into a crystalline silicon. Such high temperatures processing steps cannot be used in combination with flexible plastic substrates. Hence, there is a need for in the art for improved methods for manufacture of thin-film structures on a flexible plastic substrate.

U.S. Pat. No. 7,682,117 B2 discusses an isolating holder for connecting a fuel distributor rail of a fuel injection system for the direct injection of fuel into an internal combustion engine, in order to reduce the transmission of noise and structure-borne noise from the fuel distributor rail to the engine structure, by realizing an elastic decoupling. The advantage is a reduction in the audible noise of the fuel distributor rail. Clamping elements are provided, which face each other, serve as pretension delimiters and have a damping ring made of an elastomer assigned in each case. In the fastening, the axial pretensioning excursion is delimited via a gap between the clamping elements. In the holder from U.S. Pat. No. 7,682,117 B2, it is therefore possible to use two annular elastomeric components in conjunction with two metal sleeves for the damping, while the pretension is restricted. The restriction is adjustable via the predefined gap. The gap is bridged in the screw fitting, and the annular elastomeric components are pretensioned. As soon as the metal sleeves reach a hard stop, the additional screw pretension is no longer introduced into the elastomeric components but rather into the metal components. This protects the elastomeric components against overexpansion and against failure when the tightening torques are too high. However, the holder from U.S. Pat. No. 7,682,177 B2 has the disadvantage that due to the tolerances of the individual components of the elastomer components and the metal sleeves, especially with regard to the height dimensions, tolerance-related variances in the prestretching come about in the elastomer components in the assembled state. In particular when the elastomer components are implemented as thin-layer elastomer components, they are very sensitive with regard to this tolerance chain, which causes the dimensional play to be lost. For the maximum boundary samples pretensioned the most for tolerance-related reasons are especially at risk of tearing, whereas the corresponding minimum boundary samples result in a clamping force that is too low with respect to a holder body. On the other hand, the use of elastomer components having random flexibility is also disadvantageous because this results in higher, quasi-statistical displacements of the fuel distributor and the fuel injectors with regard to the introduction of operating forces, which in turn leads to higher wear at the seals, especially at the seals with respect to a fuel injector. In addition, there is the disadvantage that a tangential movement of the elastomer material toward the rigid metal surface occurs at the boundary layers between the elastomer components and the metal sleeves. This results in heavy abrasion of the elastomer at the contact surfaces, and thus to a high risk of failure.

A diesel particulate filter (hereinafter referred to as “DPF”), for example, is known as a filter for collecting particulate matter (hereinafter referred to as “PM”) contained in exhaust gas emitted from a diesel engine. The DPF can only collect a limited amount of PM. Thus, so-called forced regenerations need to be performed, in which accumulated PM is periodically burned and removed. In a forced regeneration, unburned hydrocarbons (HC) are supplied to a diesel oxidation catalyst (hereinafter referred to as “DOC”) on an upstream side in an exhaust gas flowing direction through in-pipe injection (fuel injection into an exhaust pipe) or post-injection to cause oxidation, and to raise the temperature of the exhaust gas to a PM burning temperature. Known techniques for detecting an amount of accumulated PM collected by a DPF include, for example, a technique of estimating the amount on the basis of a pressure difference across the DPF and a technique of estimating the amount from the electrostatic capacity (capacitance) between electrodes provided in the DPF (e.g., see PATENT LITERATURE DOCUMENTS 1 and 2).

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drive circuit that is connected between an electric power source and an electric load and a method of applying a high voltage test on the drive circuit. 2. Description of the Related Art JP-A-2001-160748 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,392,463 B1, which is a counterpart of the former, discloses a drive circuit that includes series connected MOSFET type transistors (hereinafter referred to as MOSFET or MOSFETS) for high-side or low-side driving. The drive circuit includes a clamp circuit that protects the MOSFETS when a high voltage is applied to the drive circuit. Such a clamp circuit is a series circuit of a backflow preventing diode and a zener diode that is connected between the drain and the gate of an N-channel MOSFET for low-side driving. In order to provide a drive circuit with a fail safe function, the same MOSFETS may be connected in series for high-side driving or low-side driving. In this case, the drive circuit can properly drive an electric load connected to the drive circuit even if one of the transistors short-circuits. However, if the clamp circuit that is disclosed in the above publication is merely connected to this drive circuit, both the MOSFETS may simultaneously turn on when a high voltage is applied to the drain terminal of the MOSFETS even if the gate signal is not applied to the gate terminal. In other words, it is impossible to keep the MOSFETS turning off when a high voltage is applied to the drain terminal.

Imaging devices are used in various types of systems and perform a variety of functions. Some imaging devices may be used for applications involving manufacturing, assembly, image analyses, and depth sensing, among others. Over time, the manner in which these imaging systems operate is becoming more robust, efficient, and intuitive. As imaging systems are integrated into numerous aspects of modern life, it is desirable for imaging systems to operate effectively under many different types of conditions. Therefore, a demand for robust and accurate imaging systems has led to advances in the various components that form imaging systems, as well as within the image processing techniques used to analyze and interpret data from images captured by imaging systems.

The present invention relates to a method for bit error rate measurements in a cell-based telecommunication system. In cell-based telecommunication systems, the information is transferred by means of cells of fixed or variable byte-length. These cells typically have an overhead section wherein control, management and routing information is embedded and a payload section, carrying user information. Cell-based telecommunication systems comprise for example ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode) communication networks. ATM cells for instance have a fixed length of 53 bytes, 8 bytes of which constitute the overhead section or the so called ATM cell header, reserved for overhead information. The whole transmitted cell-stream in a cell-based network is generally composed of two different types of cells: on the one hand used cells carrying in their payload section the proper user information and on the other hand unused cells with no user information in their payload section. The unused cells are generated and inserted amid the used cells to be transmitted in order to provide a continuous cell-stream between transmitting means and receiving means. Bit errors which occur during transmission of these cells, have a negative impact onto the quality of the connection. A bit error which occurs in the payload section of the cell implies a falsification of the transmitted information; wherein a bit error which occurs in the overhead section of the cell potentially implies a falsification of the destination address, and thus a loss of the cell. Therefore, in cell-based telecommunication systems, the bit error rates (ratio of bits transferred erroneously due to noise or impairments of the physical transmission medium in proportion to the totality of transferred bits) are traditionally measured during initialisation of the system or during a test phase. Hereby a predetermined signal is sent from a transmitter to a receiver. The arriving signal is then analysed at the receiver's side by comparing the transmitted signal with a generated reference signal. In an ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) system for instance, the signal to noise ratio (SNR) is measured at the different carrier frequencies during initialisation of the system. This signal to noise ratio can be seen as a measure for the expected bit error rate. The results of these measurements afterwards are used to determine the bit allocations, i.e. the way wherein data bits are distributed over the different carriers that constitute a DMT (Discrete Multi Tone) symbol, to cope with the maximum allowable bit error rate of 10−7 prescribed by the ADSL standard. The SNR measurements and the use thereof in the bit allocation process are described in the ANSI (American National Standards Institute) ADSL Standard T1E1.4, in paragraph 12 entitled ‘Initialization’ on pages 87-111 and in paragraph 6.5 entitled ‘Tone Ordering’ on Pages 36-37. Traditional bit error rate measurement methods have the disadvantage, that normal operation of the system has to be interrupted and the system has to be brought in a test phase. During this test phase, no transmission of proper user information is possible.

A device, system, platform, or operating environment may include more than one processor or a processor having more than one core (i.e., a multi-core processor). The security, reliability, and efficient operation of such a device, system, platform, or operating environment may be enhanced by the inclusion and use of the multi-core processor. For example, a multi-core processor may provide the processing performance of multiple processors by executing multiple threads of instruction in parallel while consuming less power, costing less, and using less space than multiple single-core processors. Operationally, the die of a single core processor may have a power density that is higher in some regions of the die (i.e., hot spots) as compared to other regions of the die. Hot spots may present challenges to efficiently managing thermal and power dissipation aspects of the processor. In some instances, a multi-core processor may have a tendency to have a greater number or intensity of hot spots as compared to a single core processor.

Drug delivery devices allowing for multiple dosing of a required dosage of a liquid medicament, such as liquid drugs, and further providing administration of the medicament to a patient, are as such well-known in the art. Generally, such devices have substantially the same purpose as that of an ordinary syringe. Drug delivery devices of this kind have to meet a number of user specific requirements. For instance in case of those with diabetes, many users will be physically infirm and may also have impaired vision. Therefore, these devices need to be robust in construction, yet easy to use, both in terms of the manipulation of the parts and understanding by a user of its operation. Further, the dose setting must be easy and unambiguous and where the device is to be disposable rather than reusable, the device should be inexpensive to manufacture and easy to dispose. In order to meet these requirements, the number of parts and steps required to assemble the device and an overall number of material types the device is made from have to be kept to a minimum. Typically, the medicament to be administered is provided in a cartridge that has a moveable piston or bung mechanically interacting with a piston rod of a drive mechanism of the drug delivery device. By applying thrust to the piston in a distal direction, a predefined amount of the medicinal fluid is expelled from the cartridge. In particular for elderly or physically infirm users, the overall handling of the device in a home medication environment should be simple and highly reliable. As for instance illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, drug delivery devices and in particular pen-type injectors typically comprise a multi-component housing. Here, a distal end section typically serves as a cartridge holder 12. The cartridge holder 12 comprises a threaded socket 16 at its distal end to receive a needle assembly 18 having a correspondingly threaded needle hub 20 and a double tipped injection needle 22. The cartridge holder 12 further comprises an insert portion 26 at its proximal end section, by way of which the cartridge holder 12 can be at least partially inserted into a correspondingly shaped distal receptacle of a proximal housing component 14 of the drug delivery device, typically denoted as body 14. The body 14 serves to accommodate a drive mechanism having a piston rod to become operably engaged with a piston of a cartridge to be disposed and fixed in the cartridge holder 12. By way of the inspection window 24, the fluid or filling level of the cartridge can be visually inspected. The known device 10 as illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3 is of disposable type. Cartridge holder 12 and body 14 are adapted to be interconnected in a non-releasable way. For this purpose, the insert portion 26 of the cartridge holder 12 comprises several circumferentially distributed through openings 28 of substantially rectangular shape. Correspondingly and as illustrated in FIG. 3, the receiving side wall portion 32 of the body 14 comprises radially inwardly protruding pegs or prongs 34 adapted to mate with the through openings 28 of the cartridge holder as soon as the cartridge holder 12 is appropriately inserted into the body 14 with its insert portion 26. Radially inwardly protruding prongs 34 further comprise a beveled surface 36 towards their distal end in order to facilitate mutual engagement of prongs 34 and through openings 28. Furthermore, the insert portion 26 of the cartridge holder 12 is delimited in distal direction by a circumferential and radially outwardly extending rim 30, which in a final assembly configuration abuts against a distally located end face 38 of the body 14. The housing components 12, 14 are typically manufactured as injection moulded plastic components, which, by virtue of appropriately selected thermoplastic materials feature a sufficient elasticity in order to support the snapping in and a resulting positive interconnection of cartridge holder 12 and body 14. However, since such drug delivery devices 10 are predominately intended for home medication, the device has to fulfill highest possible standards in terms of failure safety and robustness, especially in view of mechanical impact. If for instance the device 10 drops down from a considerably height, a mechanical load-distribution may rise above a critical level in the interconnection of cartridge holder 12 and body 14. Point stresses or point loading acting on the through opening 28 and/or on the prongs 34 may exceed a critical level and the interconnection of cartridge holder 12 and body 14 may break down, the housing components 12, 14 may release and the device 1 would be no longer of use. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a drug delivery device comprising a robust, reliable and mechanically resistant interconnection of cartridge holder and body. The interconnection should be easily integrable in existing housing designs of drug delivery devices. It should also be easily implementable, both, in terms of production costs and assembly work. Moreover, the interconnection of body and cartridge holder should be intuitive and easy to establish.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to contacting apparatus for mass and heat transfer operations, and more particularly, to a liquid-gas, extended surface interphase fluid contact medium defined by multiple, shaped, tube-containing interlocking panels for distributing a falling liquid into a thin film in order to provide an extended liquid surface for gas contact with the liquid. Such gas-liquid contact is used in trickle filters, absorption towers, stripping units, cooling towers and other equipment for treating, heating or cooling gases and liquids by contact between the fluids. In order to maximize efficiency, the apparatus used for effecting such gas-liquid contact should be characterized by a high void volume to effect a low resistance to the flow of fluids, a large surface area per unit of volume and a low density in order to provide an extensive contact surface with minimum weight. 2. Description of the Prior Art Various apparatus are known in the art for providing gas-liquid contact for the purpose of stripping gas of undesirable contaminants, cooling the gas, as in the case of cooling towers used to cool air and other unit operations where it is necessary or desirable to expose a large liquid area in a small volume or in a short distance. Of the prior art devices designed to effect such liquid-gas contact, among the most efficient are the corrugated contact structures, which are constructed of a plastic or paper material to achieve a desirable weight reduction and to satisfy the necessary high void volume and large surface area requirements. However, problems have been experienced with many of these prior art devices, in that the falling liquid tends to "channel" or flow in streams across many of the contact surfaces rather than to completely wet the surfaces. This condition creates dry areas in the structure and reduces contact efficiency. In addition, excessive resistance to the flow of gas upwardly has been encountered in some of the prior art fluid contact designs and many of these structures are not sufficiently strong to permit efficient maintenance. Typical of the liquid-gas interfacing devices known in the prior art is the contacting arrangement for mass transfer operations disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,241, to Roland Braun. This patent discloses a plurality of stacked contacting grates having a first set of parallel strips and a second set of laterally spaced strips arranged in angular relationship with respect to the first set and provided with projections which are stamped from each strip in order to provide a large wetting surface. The plates may be manufactured of metal or of a plastic material and in the latter case, may be formed by injection molding. Another liquid-gas contact device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,830,684, to Maurice Hamon, which device includes a corrugated, sheet-type, liquid-gas contact apparatus which includes a plurality of ramp-like deformations which are said to reduce liquid channeling, particularly in the trough portions of the corrugations. Yet another prior art fluid-contact device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,793,017, to Douglas E. Lake, entitled "Apparatus for Distributing Falling Liquid in Thin Films." The Lake invention as embodied in this patent includes an assembly of corrugated sheet elements in stacked relationship, to provide an extended fluid contact surface for use in such devices as trickle filters, cooling towers, absorption towers, and the like. According to the disclosure, the corrugated sheet elements can be manufactured from organic thermoplastic sheet material, including a polymer or copolymer of styrene. A similar gas-liquid contacting device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,485,485, to Heinz Faigle, which "Cooling Screen" device is characterized by a plurality of sheets having a median longitudinal axis, with corrugations extending in the longitudinal direction on either side of this axis and offset from one another on either side of the longitudinal axis, such that when viewed transversely, the ridge of one of the corrugations is aligned with the valley of another corrugation, the ridges and valleys of the corrugations being equal; when viewed longitudinally, unimpeded passageways are formed between the adjacent sheets. U.S. Pat. No. 3,792,841, to Carl G. Munters discloses a contact apparatus for liquid and gas which includes a contact body having first and second sets of corrugated sheets arranged with the sheets of the first set disposed alternately with sheets of the second set. The sheet corrugations provide channels or passageways which penetrate the contact body from edge to edge, with both the horizontal and vertical components thereof defining a fluted configuration. Another fluid contact device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,704,869, to Ronald Priestley, and includes packing sheets comprising spaced, parallel units, each of which is a sector of a hollow, corrugated tube, connected by planar portions of the sheets, the assembled sheets providing a regular array of hollow, corrugated tubes. U.S. Pat. No. 2,977,103, to L. R. Smith, et al, discloses a "Cooling Tower Structure" which includes a rectangular, box-like container, open at the top, the sides and bottom of the container formed of U-shaped wire members positioned by cooperating longitudinal wires. Solid metal sheets define the ends of the container and cooling plates or baffles are placed in the frame in parallel, spaced relationship to achieve the desired fluid contact. One of the problems associated with many of the prior art liquid-gas interface structures is the relatively great weight of such devices and particularly those which are constructed of metal. Since the supporting structure which contains the contacting material must frequently support more than one layer of the material, the economics of constructing such an apparatus dictate in favor of using materials which are light in weight and yet which provide a high percentage of voids and a large surface area for contacting the liquid and gas. Another problem which is frequently apparent in the use of prior art liquid-gas interfacing apparatus is the lack of sufficient contact surface and voids, a condition which frequently results in an excessive pressure drop across the apparatus itself. In an ideal mass transfer device, the contacting arrangement should ensure that all surfaces available for mass transfer are approximately uniformly wetted and that the entire cross-section is traversed by the gases without unused spaces or voids, such that mass transfer is maximized, with an accompanying low pressure drop in the gas stream. Furthermore, the device should present a large, extended surface area for wetting by the liquid and the apparatus should be constructed of a wetting material which is light in weight and yet resistant to the corrosive effects of the gas and/or the water or liquid stream. As heretofore described, in many such prior art devices the incoming liquid stream has a tendency to channel or form streams as it traverses the contact apparatus and therefore, does not wet and cover the surfaces of the apparatus to a desired extent. This channeling of the incoming liquid greatly reduces the area available for mass transfer, or the interaction between the gas and the water or other fluid, and lowers the efficiency of the material used as the contacting medium. This undesirable operating condition also results in a substantial reduction in interface contact between the liquid and gas, with a consequential reduction in heat transfer between the fluids. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved tubular matrix medium for effecting efficient contact between fluids and between a gas and a liquid in particular, which medium is characterized by a high percentage of voids, minimum pressure drop in the gas phase, reduced channeling of the downward flowing fluid and a large surface area for effecting good interphase contact between the fluid streams. Another object of this invention is to provide a new and improved extended surface contact apparatus having multiple, tubular-shaped members in a repeating array for use in cooling or cleaning incoming gas by using a countercurrent, downward movement of water or other liquid, which apparatus is characterized by resistance to corrosion, lightness of weight and an accompanying high percentage of voids and wettable contact surface areas, the surface areas being designed and oriented in a matrix to minimize channeling of the liquid and maximize disposition of a film of liquid on the contact surfaces to maximize the gas-liquid contact efficiency. A still further object of this invention is to provide a hew and improved, substantially inert contact medium shaped into interlocking panels for interface contact between a gas and a liquid, which medium is characterized by multiple tubular-shaped members arranged in spaced relationship in a matrix array of connecting members, or fins and is light in weight, resistant to corrosion and is further characterized by a high percentage of voids with minimum pressure drop in the gas and a large liquid-gas contact surface area and which can be utilized in substantially any application, including heat and mass transfer operations where contact between a liquid and a gas is desired. Yet another object of this invention is to provide new and improved, interlocking, liquid-gas contactor panels of selected size and shape which are formed of a thermoplastic or thermoresin material such as polypropylene, and can be quickly and easily joined together in stacked and staggered end-to-end relationship by connecting tabs and rivet means and easily shaped for insertion in a tower, which panels are characterized by a plurality of tapered, thin wall tubes spaced in a regular, recurring, vertical pattern or array in a matrix of thin, tapered, connecting fins and are designed to promote efficient distribution of liquid across the inside and outside surfaces of the tubes and the fins and effect efficient mass and heat transfer between a falling liquid and a rising gas introduced into a tower or structure containing the panels. Another object of the invention is to provide fluid-contact panels which are characterized by a vertically oriented array of tapered tubes connected by tapered, flat strips containing vertically oriented receiving apertures and cooperating rivets for joining the panels in stacked, staggered orientation and further including horizontally disposed tabs and receiving sockets for connecting the panels in end-to-end relationship.

Dot-matrix printheads have an array of printing elements that are selectively turned on and off by a printer controller to form printed shapes that are recognizable as characters. If one of the printing elements is inoperative, then the characters produced by the printhead will have a gap where the inoperative printing element would have produced a dot. If only one printing element is malfunctioning, the characters will appear deformed and unaesthetic. If several printing elements are malfunctioning, the print may be difficult to read. Unfortunately, printing elements can develop defects at any time without warning and the user must replace the malfunctioning printing elements immediately or accept inferior quality print. Newer printheads for dot-matrix printers tend to have more printing elements so they can print at a faster rate with higher resolution. However, additional printing elements reduce the reliability of the system. If the probability of failure of each individual printing element is P and there are N printing elements, then the probability of zero nonfunctioning printing elements is (1-P).sup.N. Thus, the probability of all printing elements working properly decreases exponentially with the total number of printing elements. Hence, there is an increasing need for a fault-tolerant dot-matrix printing mode. Some thermal ink jet printers, such as the Hewlett-Packard Desk Jet and Paint Jet printers, have a service station that restores printing elements having clogged nozzles. The service station primes the ink chambers of the printing elements and wipes the nozzle plate of the printhead to unclog the nozzles. If the service station clears a clogged nozzle, then that printing element can function normally. However, if the service station can not unclog the nozzle or if the nozzle is malfunctioning for some other reason, then the printing element will continue to malfunction and the printer will continue to produce inferior quality print. Most dot-matrix printers do not have any way of restoring malfunctioning printing elements.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art. A typical multi-speed transmission uses a combination of clutches and brakes or several dog clutch/synchronizers to achieve a plurality of forward or reverse gear ratios. Typically an electronically controlled hydraulic control circuit or system uses a hydraulic fluid to actuate these torque transmitting mechanisms, as well as to lubricate and cool the transmission. The hydraulic fluid is typically stored in a fluid reservoir, or sump, located at a bottom of the transmission. In some transmission architectures, there is a need for additional hydraulic fluid storage in a front or side cover of the transmission when the sump cannot hold all the hydraulic fluid. Typically, the sump is unable to hold the hydraulic fluid when the temperature of the hydraulic fluid increases, thereby increasing the volume required to store the hydraulic fluid. Without the additional storage capacity of the side cover, hydraulic fluid can contact moving parts, such as gear sets or torque transmitting mechanisms, and create higher spin losses which can in turn decrease fuel economy. A fluid level control valve located between the side cover and the sump controls the flow of the hydraulic fluid from the side cover to the sump. The fluid level control valve is typically fully open at low transmission operating temperatures to allow unrestricted hydraulic fluid flow from the side cover to the sump and fully closed at high transmission operating temperatures to restrict the hydraulic fluid flow from the side cover to the sump. However, pressure on the fluid level control valve due to large amounts of fluid in the side cover can force open the fluid level control valve. Accordingly, the amount of fluid within the sump can have significant variations depending on how much fluid is in the side cover. Additionally, when the transmission is operating with many shift events, hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic control system can flood the side cover, thereby increasing the amount of fluid in the side cover and increasing the pressure on the flow control valve, and again leading to unwanted variations in the amount of fluid in the sump. Therefore, there is a need in the art for a side cover that controls the fluid flow from the side cover to the sump, eliminates dead volume in the side cover and thereby allows a constant sump volume.

The present invention relates to a wireless local area network (WLAN) and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for correlating a signal of a WLAN having an extended data rate. A wireless local area network (WLAN) is a data communication system implemented as an extension of or alternative to a wired data communication network (LAN). A WLAN provides location independent access between computing devices using radio frequency or other wireless communication techniques. WLANs have been or are being developed to conform to a number of standards, including the IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth and HomeRF standards. The IEEE 802.11 standard, INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY—TELECOMMUNICATIONS AND INFORMATION EXCHANGE BETWEEN SYSTEMS—LOCAL AND METROPOLITAN AREA NETWORKS—SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS—PART 11: WIRELESS LAN MEDIUM ACCESS CONTROL AND PHYSICAL LAYER (PHY) SPECIFICATIONS, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, was approved in 1997 and a supplement providing for higher data rate WLANs, IEEE 802.11b, WIRELESS LAN MEDIUM ACCESS CONTROL (MAC) AND PHYSICAL LAYER (PHY) SPECIFICATIONS: HIGHER SPEED PHYSICAL LAYER (PHY) EXTENSION IN THE 2.4 GHz BAND, was approved in 1999. The IEEE 802.11 standards define a protocol and a compatible interface for data communication in a local area network via radio or infrared-air transmission. While the standard defines an infrared-air communication interface, radio frequency (RF) communication is the most commonly used communication method for WLAN implementation. The IEEE 802.11 standard defines the physical layer (PHY) and a media access control (MAC) sublayer for WLANs with data rates of 1 Mbits/s or 2 Mbits/s using either frequency hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) or direct sequence spread spectrum (DSSS) RF communication techniques. These RF systems operate in the 2.4 GHz, ISM (Instrument, Scientific, and Medical) frequency band. As defined by local regulations, the ISM band extends from 2.4000-2.4835 GHz in the U.S., Canada and much of Europe. A similar, if not identical frequency band, is set aside for use by unlicensed RF radiators in several other countries. For a frequency hopping system, the transmission frequency is periodically shifted in a pseudorandom pattern known to both the transmitter and the receiver. For North America and most of Europe, 79 hop channels of 1 MHz and a maximum channel dwell time of 400 ms are specified for IEEE 802.11 FHSS systems. FHSS permits a simpler transceiver design than that required for a DSSS system. However, high bit packing coding schemes required for reliable operation of FHSS in the narrow channels prescribed by the regulations become impractical at high data rates due to high signal-to-noise ratios. As a result, the data rate of practical FHSS, ISM band systems is relatively limited and DSSS is the technique of choice for higher data rate WLANs. In a DSSS system, the modulated signal is spread over a transmission bandwidth greater than that required for the baseband information signal by directly modulating the baseband information signal with a pseudorandom noise (PN) or spreading code that is known to both the transmitter and the receiver. Each data bit of the baseband information is mixed with each of a plurality of chips or bits of the spreading code. For example, the spreading code for DSSS wireless networks conforming to the basic IEEE 802.11 standard is a Barker sequence comprising eleven chips having the sequence “01001000111” (non-polar signal) or “+1, −1, +1, +1, −1, +1, +1, +1, −1, −1, −1” (non-return to zero (NRZ) or polar signal). Referring to FIG. 1, each bit of the baseband data 20 is mixed (Exculsive-ORed) 22 with the eleven chips of the Barker sequence 24 to form an 11-chip codeword. A logic “0” baseband information bit is encoded as a first codeword 26 and a logic “1” is encoded as a second chip sequence or codeword 28. The resulting multi-chip symbol or codeword is transmitted in the bit period of the baseband data bit or the time between the starting and ending of the baseband bit. If the bit rate for baseband information is 1 MSymbols/s, the eleven chip Barker sequence is encoded at a chipping rate of 11 MHz. In a phase shift key (PSK) modulated system like IEEE 802.11 systems, the encoded chips are transmitted as phase changes in the transmitted signal. Since the signal changes phase several times in the period required to transmit a single data bit, the frequency bandwidth must be wider than that required for the baseband. When the signal is demodulated, the frequency spreading is reversed and signals from potentially interfering radiators are eliminated decreasing the likelihood that the signal of interest will be jammed. IEEE 802.11 compliant DSSS systems utilize differential phase shift keying where the relative phase difference between the waveforms received during to successive codeword intervals indicates the value of transmitted data. Differential binary phase shift keying (DBPSK) (one phase shift per information bit) modulation is used for transmission at the basic data rate of 1 Mbits/s. Differential quadrature phase-shift keying (DQPSK) (four phase shifts to encode two information bits) is used to increase the data transfer rate to 2 Mbits/s. For 2 Mbits/s DQPSK modulation, the information data stream is grouped into pairs of bits or dibits and one of four codewords is selected based on the values of the bits of a dibit. Alternate codewords are multiplied by either a first cosinusoidal phase-shift modulation signal and transmitted as a first “in-phase” (I) signal or a second 90° phase-shifted sinusoidal carrier at the same frequency and transmitted as a second “quadrature” (Q) signal. The 11-chip Barker code and a chip rate of 11 Mchip/s permits three non-overlapping DSSS channels in the ISM frequency band. The preamble of the IEEE 802.11 data packet is used by the receiver to initiate spreading code synchronization is always transmitted as the DBPSK wave form. This permits all receivers to identify the transmitted waveform and, if the receiver is capable, switch to a higher rate mode of operation for interaction a particular WLAN device. The header of an IEEE 802.11 data packet which includes a cyclic redundancy check code, a packet payload transmission rate indicator, and payload length signal may be transmitted as either a DBPSK or DQPSK waveform. To achieve higher data rates, the IEEE 802.11b revision adopts Complementary Code Keying (CCK) to replace the 11-chip Barker sequence for modulating data packet payloads. Complementary codes or binary, complementary sequences are polyphase codes comprising a pair of equal finite length sequences having the property that the number of pairs of like elements with any given separation in one series is equal to the number of pairs of unlike elements with the same separation in the second series. As a set, these code sequences have unique mathematical properties that facilitate distinguishing between code words at the receiver even in the presence of substantial noise and multipath interference. For an 11 Mbits/s data rate the information data stream is divided into eight bit segments. The values of six of the data bits are used to generate one of 64 unique subcodes. The values of the two remaining data bits are used to select one of the DQPSK phases for rotating the selected subcode producing 256 possible codewords for transmission. Systems operating in the 5.5 Mbits/s mode use two data bits to generate one of four subcodes and two bits are used to select one of the four DQPSK phases. With a symbol rate of 1.375 Msymbols/s, an eight chip spreading code, and a chipping rate of 11 MHz the high data rate waveform occupies approximately the same bandwidth as that of the 2 Mbits/s DQPSK waveform of the lower rate systems. As a result, the ISM band is sufficiently wide for three non-overlapping higher data rate channels promoting interoperability of the lower and higher data rate systems. In a receiver, the “as received” analog signal is converted to a digital signal and correlation is used to strip the PN or spreading code from the digital signal. In the CCK modes utilized by the higher data rate systems, a bank of correlators followed by a largest correlation value detector is used to detect the modulation. The CCK codewords are an eight chip Walsh code that can be decoded with a fast Walsh transform. The correlators typically implement the transform as a butterfly function comprising 64 separate correlations requiring 512 complex additions to decode the 64 subcodes which are used to estimate six bits of reconstructed data. The remaining two bits of the signal are demodulated using the DQPSK demodulation. For 5 Mbits/s operation, 28 butterflies and 112 complex additions are required to decode two bits. In a pending U.S. patent application, the inventor and others have disclosed a method of extending the data rate of a DSSS WLAN through the use of bandwidth efficient M-ary phase shift keying modulation. While the signals of the extended data rate system are structurally similar to those of the higher data rate IEEE 802.11b CCK operating modes, the information bits encode 4096 codewords for transmission. Correlation of the signal utilizing the process of the IEEE 802.11b CCK modes would require a substantial bank of correlators significantly increasing the cost and complexity of the transceiver. What is desired, therefore, is a method of correlating an M-ary PSK waveform that reduces the number of correlators required in a reciever.

One standard procedure for removing lung tumors is surgical excision. Such operations require a thoracotomy and can require very major lung resections, depending on the position of the tumor in the lung and the size of the tumor. This puts a considerable strain on the patient. As an alternative it has been proposed that tumors should be ablated, generally using high-frequency ablation. However this is currently only performed for tumors that have developed in the bronchi. Ablation is then palliative and only the bronchus is opened up by ablation so that a gas exchange can take place. Peripheral lung tumors can be punctured by means of a transcutaneous puncture and then ablated. However opening up the bronchi in this procedure can cause a pneumothorax, which causes the lung tissue to collapse. Ablation, in particular high-frequency ablation, is only used palliatively in the prior art as an alternative to irradiation. This is because larger ablations, which could potentially be curative, produce large pulmonary fistulas, which cannot be controlled therapeutically. This is discussed for example in the articles by T. Suzuki et al., Percutaneous radiofrequency ablation for lung tumors beneath the rib under CT fluoroscopic guidance with gantry tilt, Acta Radiol. 2010 (4), 389-395 and M. Nomura et al., Complications after lung radiofrequency ablation: risk factors for lung inflammation, British Journal of Radiology, 81 (2008), 244-249. Also inadequate evaluation of the ablation result means that total ablation is only achieved in 39% of patients with a tumor larger than 3 cm (see also M. Akeboshi, Percutaneous Radiofrequency Ablation of Lung Neoplasms: Initial Therapeutic Response, J Vasc Intery Radiol, 2004 (15), pages 463-470). Only one solution for avoiding pulmonary fistulas during and after ablation is described in the cited article.

Computing appliances, e.g., computer systems, servers, networking switches and routers, wireless communication devices, and the like are typically comprised of a number of disparate elements. Such elements often include a processor, system control logic, a memory system, input and output interfaces, and the like. To facilitate communication between such elements, computing appliances have long relied on general purpose input/output busses to enable these disparate elements of the computing system to communicate with one another in support of the myriad of applications offered by such appliances. Perhaps one of the most pervasive of such general purpose bus architectures is the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus. The PCI bus standard (Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) Local Bus Specification, Rev. 2.2, released Dec. 18, 1998) defines a multi-drop, parallel bus architecture for interconnecting chips, expansion boards, and processor/memory subsystems in an arbitrated fashion within a computing appliance. While typical PCI bus implementations have a 133 Mbps throughput (i.e., 32 bits at 33 MHz), the PCI 2.2 standard allows for 64 bits per pin of the parallel connection clocked at up to 133 MHz resulting in a theoretical throughput of just over 1 Gbps. The throughput provided by the PCI bus architectures has, until recently, provided adequate bandwidth to accommodate the internal communication needs of even the most advanced of computing appliances (e.g., multiprocessor server applications, network appliances, etc.). However, recent advances in processing power and increasing input/output bandwidth demands create a situation where prior general purpose architectures such as the PCI bus architecture have become processing bottlenecks within such computing appliances. Another limitation associated with prior architectures is that they are typically not well-suited to process isochronous (time dependent) data streams. An example of an isochronous data stream is a multimedia data stream which requires a transport mechanism to ensure that the data is consumed as fast as it is received and to ensure that the audio portion is synchronized with the video portion. Conventional general purpose input/output architectures process data asynchronously, or in random intervals as bandwidth permits. Such asynchronous processing of multimedia streams data can result in lost data and/or misaligned audio and video.

1. Field of Invention The invention relates generally to the field of computer-assisted data manipulation and analysis. Specifically, in one exemplary aspect, the invention relates to methods and apparatus for collection and classification of data regarding an audience in a content-based network such as a cable television or satellite network. 2. Description of Related Technology “Nielsen Ratings” are a well known system of evaluating the viewing habits of cross sections of the population. When collecting Nielsen ratings, companies use statistical techniques to develop a sample population which is a cross section of a larger national population. Theoretically, the viewing habits of the sample population will minor the larger population. The companies then measure the populations viewing habits to identify, among other things, what programs the population is watching as well as the time and frequency at which those programs are watched. This information is then extrapolated to gain insight on the viewing habits of the larger population. Historically, the Nielsen system has been the primary source of audience measurement information in the television industry. The Nielsen system, therefore, affects various aspects of television including inter alia, advertising rates, schedules, viability of particular shows, etc., and has been also recently expanded from measuring an audience of program content to measuring an audience of advertising (i.e., Nielsen ratings may be provided for advertisements themselves). The Nielson system collects data regarding audiences via either (i) by asking viewers of various demographics to keep a written record of the television shows they watch throughout the day and evening, or (ii) by using “set meters,” which are small devices connected to televisions in selected homes which electronically gather the viewing habits of the home and transmit the information nightly to Nielsen or a proxy entity over a connected phone line or other connection. There are several disadvantages to the Nielsen approach. First, the sample of viewers selected may not be fairly representative of the population of viewers (or the subset of cable viewers) as a whole. For example, in a cable network comprising four million cable viewers, a sample of any 100,000 viewers may exhibit different average viewing habits than the averages associated with the other 3,900,000 cable viewers who are not in the sample. Second, static delivery makes it difficult to precisely target an audience that is known to be in the market. For example, suppose that the ideal target for a sports car advertisement is the set of all consumers who like and would be interested in buying sports cars. If all that is known from Nielsen data is that 10% of the sample group has watched the auto-racing channel for over three hours in the last month, this may not perfectly correlate with set of consumers who like sports cars. This may be the case, for example, if there are some consumers who are in the market for sports cars but who never watch the auto racing channel, or if there are some viewers of the auto racing channel who have no interest in buying or owning sports cars. As such, patterns based on viewership data often imprecisely identify the desired audience. Furthermore, the Nielson system is disadvantageously program-specific. Program-specific audience data collection is problematic from the standpoint that this program-coupled approach is only as good as the underlying demographic correlation model. For example, assuming a demographic of 18-30 year old females typically tune in to American Idol each broadcast (e.g., Monday at 8:00 pm), this same demographic may not have any interest in watching the program immediately preceding or following American Idol, and hence may tune away (or delay tuning to that channel until the start of America Idol). Another disability of the Nielson approach is that it tends to aggregate data or results for given premises (e.g., households) as opposed to providing data for specific users of that premises. For example, the switching activity associated with a given settop box for a family of five represents switching activity for each member of that family (including perhaps viewing of cartoons for a child, teen-related programs for a teenager, and adult-related content for one or more adults). Hence, the data obtained using Nielsen techniques may be somewhat of an amalgam of the data for individual users, and various combinations thereof. Though certain so called “people meters” may be utilized for the precise identification of a viewer such as by age, sex, etc. For media content providers such as cable and satellite companies and the like, a major issue is how to more accurately target population segments for advertising campaigns based on particular characteristics of an audience, opportunities for insertion (or replacement) of an advertisement, and other factors. It is most desirable for advertisers to have advertisements for products that are targeted to a particular demographic to be viewed by that demographic. Therefore, there is a need for improved methods and apparatus which do not require or rely solely on population sampling or trend analysis based on a sample population, in order to more accurately generate and analyze audience measurement data. Such improved methods and apparatus would ideally be adapted to gather audience information in real-time or near-real time with associated viewership actions of actual viewers. Exemplary methods would obtain audience information directly from customer's premises equipment (i.e. set top boxes, cable modems etc.), for each individual box or even on a per-user basis where possible, thereby allowing a content provider to gather specific information in large quantities across a broad geographical area. Ideally, these methods and apparatus would be able to monitor multiple sources of content to which viewership behavior relates, and also maintain subscriber anonymity or privacy (i.e., no use of personally identifiable information). These features would also be provided using substantially extant network infrastructure and components, and would be compatible with a number of different client device and delivery systems including both wired and wireless technologies.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to new and useful improvements for liquid pumps and more particularly, to high pressure pumps for delivering a stream of water or other liquid at high velocity for jet washing or cleaning of surfaces. 2. Brief Description of the Prior Art Sergeant U.S. Pat. No. 745,298 discloses a compressor having a series of pistons of varying diameter for compressing gasses. Hoerbiger U.S. Pat. No. 1,759,617 discloses a gas compressor with a pair of line cylinders of different diameter and a larger and smaller piston for compression. Wineman U.S. Pat. No. 2,365,234 discloses a pump having two different cylinders of varying diameter in line and a single piston fitting both the larger and smaller cylinders for delivering liquid and gasses to a common system. Green U.S. Pat. No. 3,155,041 discloses a pressure apparatus comprising a pump having two or more cylinders of varying diameter and pistons fitting said cylinders and operated by a single pump rod. There has been a need for a satisfactory high-pressure pump for delivering water or other liquid at very high velocity for jet washing or cleaning of various surfaces.

Conventionally, networks were protected from intrusions by attackers using authentication systems. However, as attackers have become more sophisticated, authentication systems have proven ineffective. In response, systems have been created to provide continuous real-time detection of attackers through deception. In particular, deception mechanisms have been created to help lure attackers to access fake systems rather than machines on the network. Unfortunately, the cost of deploying, maintaining, and monitoring deception mechanisms can be onerous. Therefore, there is a need to intelligently create a deception for a network.

Telephone systems allow users to conduct real time two-way voice communication. Traditional land-line based telephone systems connect one telephone set to another through one or more switching centers, operated by one or more telephone companies, over a land-line based telephone network. Traditionally, a telephone connection is based on a circuit switched network. Current telephone systems may also use a packet switched network for a telephone connection. A packet switched network is typical in a computer data environment. Recent developments in the field of Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) allow the delivery of voice information using the Internet Protocol (IP), in which voice information is packaged in a digital form in discrete packets rather than in the traditional circuit-committed protocols of the public switched telephone network (PSTN). Cellular networks allow a cellular phone to connect to a nearby cellular base station through an air interface for wireless access to a telephone network. Recent developments in wireless telephone systems allow not only voice communications but also data communications. For example, cellular phones can now receive and send short messages through a Short Message Service (SMS). Web pages can now be retrieved through wireless cellular links and displayed on cellular phones. Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) has been developed to overcome the constraints of relatively slow and intermittent nature of wireless links to access information similar or identical to World Wide Web. Telephone companies provide a number of convenient features, such as call forwarding. Call forwarding of a telephone system allows a user of a phone at a given phone number to dial a specific sequence on the phone to cause the telephone system to forward incoming calls addressed to the phone number to another specified phone number indicated by the dialed sequence. Telephone systems are frequently used in conducting business. Telephone numbers are typically provided in advertisements, web sites, directories, etc., as a type of contact information to reach businesses, experts, persons, etc. The Internet is becoming an advertisement media to reach globally populated web users. Advertisements can be included in a web page that is frequently visited by web users. Typically, the advertisements included in the web pages contain only a limited amount of information (e.g., a small paragraph, an icon, etc.). The advertisements contain links to the web sites that provide further detailed information. In certain arrangements, the advertisers pay the advertisements based on the number of visits directed to their web sites by the links of the advertisements. Performance based advertising generally refers to a type of advertising in which an advertiser pays only for a measurable event that is a direct result of an advertisement being viewed by a consumer. For example, in one form of performance-based search advertising, an advertisement is included within a result page of a keyword search. Each selection (“click”) of the advertisement from the results page is the measurable event for which the advertiser pays. In other words, payment by the advertiser is on a per click basis in such advertising.

1. Technical Field The present disclosure relates to exercise devices. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a bicycle trainer. 2. Description of Related Art Living in the highly competitive society for 21st century, people often busy at work and then overlook the importance of health. In order to do some exercises in their daily life, some people place a bicycle trainer indoors. The bicycle trainer can hold a bicycle securely, and makes it possible to ride a bicycle without moving forward. Therefore, people can exercise by riding the bicycle at home without spatial restriction. In general, the bicycle trainer includes a resistance system. One kind of the resistance system includes a fan, which includes a plurality of vanes. Each vane is fixed to each other. The vane can increase the resistance by the rotation speed of the fan so that it has less reality of the simulation. The other kind of resistance system uses an external magnetism to change the resistance. But, the apparatus of the magnetic resistance system is still complicated.

1. Field of the Invention This invention concerns structure of a coupling for pipe or tubing, in general. More specifically, it relates to a special coupling structure that is particularly applicable to the situation encountered in deep well operations where no torque or rotation may be applied during connection of the separate pipes or tubing sections nor during their use in the well. 2. Description of the Prior Art While there are numerous pipe coupling or pipe joining structures heretofore known, none of them provides structure that is especially applicable to the situation where sections of pipe or tubing are to be coupled together and used in a deep well operation which must not have any of the pipes or tubings subjected to torque. The no torque restriction holds both during connection and during use downhole in the well. Some of the prior known coupling or joining structures are shown and described in one or more of the following U.S. patents, i.e. U.S. Pat. NOs. 1,622,768, H. D. Cook et al, Mar. 29, 1927; 1,851,574, F. Fiederlein, Mar. 29, 1932; 1,857,297, C. W. Faulkner, May 10, 1932; and 2,035,221, G. S. Cleghorn, Mar 24, 1936. Those prior structures involve machining or otherwise shaping the ends of the pipes that are to be coupled together. And, for that and other reasons they would not be suitable for use in the manner that this invention calls for.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a hybrid vehicle in which the engine drives a generator so as to generate the electric power for a driving motor and the output of the engine drives an electrical appliance such as an air conditioning system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a control method for an electrical appliance such as an air conditioning system especially at the time of starting and stopping the air conditioning system. 2. Description of the Related Art An electric vehicle provided with an engine as well as a driving motor, namely, a hybrid vehicle is well known. For example, in a series hybrid vehicle, a generator is driven by the engine, and the motor is driven by the output of the generator. The motor is also driven by the discharge output of a battery mounted on the vehicle. The battery is charged by the output of the generator as well as by external power and regenerated power. This type of a vehicle is therefore advantageous in that a reduction in the size of the battery mounted thereon, as well as the frequency charging the battery by external power, is possible. It is favorable from the point of view of comfortable driving conditions to mount an air conditioning system on a vehicle, such as an electric vehicle. In order to mount an air conditioning system on a vehicle, it is necessary to somehow produce power for driving the system on the vehicle. In the case of an electric vehicle, it is possible to utilize the output of the generator and the discharge power of the battery as the driving power for the air conditioning system. This method, however, is disadvantageous from the point of view of cost, because since the air conditioning system is driven by electric power, a motor or the like for driving a compressor of the air conditioning system is necessary. In contrast, as a method which is advantageous from the point of view of cost, there is a method of diverting an air conditioning system of a vehicle driven only by an engine, i.e., connecting the output shaft of the engine to the compressor of the air conditioning system so as to drive the compressor by the mechanical output of the engine. In such a method of driving the compressor by the output of the engine, however, the load of the engine rapidly increases at the time of turning on the air conditioning system. This rapidly reduces the revolution speed of the engine and, in a worst case, stops the engine. In order to prevent the engine from stopping in this way, it is possible to increase the output of the engine by the equivalent to the consumption of the air conditioning system when the air conditioning system is turned on. However, the rapid increase in the output of the engine leads to an increase in the harmful exhaust gas component emitted from the engine. This is contrary to the intended purpose of an electric vehicle, that is, to prevent environmental pollution. In addition, in the case of a hybrid electric vehicle in which the engine is driven with high efficiency with a wide open throttle (WOT) so as to obtain good emission and the fuel consumption at the time of ordinary driving, a rapid increase in the output of the engine deviates from the output line of the engine with WOT. As a result, the emission and fuel consumption increase, thereby detracting from the merits of a hybrid vehicle brought about by operating with WOT.

In the past, many water treatment methods and apparatuses have been designed and developed. Some are used for the treatment of waste water, to prevent damage to the environment and others are for the purification of raw water, for the safety and health of humans or animals consuming the water. Raw water in this sense means waters from any source, whether raw water, or ground water under the influence of raw water or other water source that requires disinfection and purification before being safe for human consumption. Health and safety concerns relating to potable or drinking water are of an increasing importance in light of deadly pathogens, such as certain strains of E. Coli. Such pathogens are becoming more prevalent due to intensive agricultural techniques and thus more likely to be found contaminating communal raw water sources. Many of the prior art water treatments involve large and expensive plants, which require the use of metered amounts of chemicals, such as flocculants to remove turbidity and chlorine for disinfection, among others. While suitable for large scale urban facilities, such plants are not economic for smaller population groups, such as remote towns or small groups of people. Further such complex prior art plants require sophisticated monitoring systems and skilled employees to manage the operation of the plant, which expertise can be difficult to find in rural or smaller communities. What is needed is a simple scalable process and apparatus for the treatment of raw water to render the same fit for human consumption. An attempt was made to design such a plant as shown in my own prior Canadian patent application 2,163,799 filed Nov. 27, 1995. However, the plant I describe therein, while providing reasonable results had some limitations and drawbacks. More particularly, the plant called for the use of a third treatment stage consisting of a deep bed of granulated activated carbon, as a final purification step. This last stage of the process treated the water by adsorption, absorption and biological activity. Unfortunately, such a system results in the activated carbon losing its effectiveness over time, which requires that the activated carbon be replaced periodically. By using larger amounts of activated carbon the effective life of the third stage can be increased, but this simply means it is a bigger job to replace it when required. Since the third stage is a deep bed by design, this is a big, messy, and unpleasant job. As such it is likely to be neglected by unsophisticated or undisciplined operators, resulting in a decline in water quality and safety. Quite simply, the activated carbon will lose its effectiveness over time posing a health risk. Thus, what is needed is an operator friendly and low maintenance package plant system, which still incorporates the desired treatment requirements without the need for chemicals. Most preferably to maintain such a system operators will not need to shovel out a deep mucky tank of carbon particles as in the prior art.

1. Field of the Disclosure This disclosure relates generally to apparatus and methods for determination of real-time hole cleaning and quantification of drilled cuttings during drilling of wellbores. 2. Background of the Art Wellbores (also referred to herein as “wells” or “boreholes”) are drilled in subsurface formations for the production of hydrocarbons (oil and gas) trapped in zones at different depths. A large number of wells drilled exceed 15,000 feet and include relatively long deviated and horizontal sections. Such wells are drilled using a drill string that includes a drilling assembly (commonly referred to as the “bottomhole assembly” or “BHA”) at the bottom end of a drill pipe. The BHA includes a variety of sensors and devices and a drill bit attached at the bottom end of BHA. The drill string is conveyed into the well. To drill the well, the drill bit is rotated by rotating the drill string from the surface and/or by a mud motor placed in the BHA. A drilling fluid (commonly referred to as “mud”) is supplied under pressure from the surface into the drill pipe, which fluid discharges at the bottom of the drill bit and returns to the surface via the spacing between the drill string and the well (referred to as the “annulus”). The returning fluid (also referred to herein as the “return fluid”) contains the rock bits disintegrated by the drill bit, commonly referred to as the cuttings. The return fluid also sometimes contain gas and/or oil and/or water due to the influx from the formation. The return fluid, thus, often is a multiphase fluid with entrained solids. In horizontal and highly deviated wells, the cuttings sometime accumulate at the low side of such wells due to lack of adequate flow rate of the supplied drilling fluid and/or high density of the cuttings. At other times, the drilling fluid may enter the formation, in part, due to excessive overburden due to the weight of the fluid column in the wellbore or a relatively soft formation. At other times, the rock from the formation surrounding the wellbore may cave into the wellbore due to presence of a soft formation and/or high drilling fluid flow rate. When all the cuttings are removed as produced, the hole is said to be cleaning efficiently or effectively. Operators take remedial actions to alleviate the above-noted adverse conditions, once determined. The parameters controlled by the operator include the density of the fluid supplied to the wellbore and the flow rate of the supplied fluid. The density of the supplied fluid is controlled within a desired range to maintain a desired overburden The present methods for measuring wellbore stability and influx from the formation commonly utilize Coriolis flow meters installed in the return line. These instruments are accurate when installed in a pipe that is completely full. However, the Coriolis flow meters are not always acceptably accurate when multi-phase fluid is present, such as fluid containing gas or when an air gap is present in the flow line. The air gap in the flow line sometimes is addressed by physically modifying the geometry of the return flow line that prevents the forming of the air gap. The present methods for determining density of the return fluid for determining wellbore stability and hole cleaning efficiency utilizes a mass balance or scale that is affixed to the end of shale shakers installed to remove the solids from the return fluid. The shale shakers separate from the cuttings from the return fluid. The cuttings are passed to the mass balance to weigh the cuttings. The measured weight and/or volume of the cuttings is compared against the theoretical quantity of “dry” cuttings, as the weighted cuttings still include some amount of fluid. This method thus utilizes a correction factor that assumes the quantity of drilling fluid remaining in the cuttings when they are weighed. It is important during drilling to maintain the drilling fluid density and thus equivalent circulating density (ECD) between the formation pore pressure and formation fracture gradient to avoid blow outs and fracturing of the formation. Too low ECD will likely yield an influx and possibly wellbore instability issues related to caving. Too high ECD will likely lead to fracturing of the formation and potentially loss of drilling fluid into the formation. The present methods for determining the desired drilling fluid density range involves calculations based on assumptions of formation depositions and original fluid type, i.e., saltwater in marine basins and their corresponding pressure gradients. These pore pressure models are adjusted with physical measurements, such as shale density. Shale density at depth is used to calculate an overburden gradient (OBG). Subsequently, Fracture Gradient and Pore Pressure Gradients are calculated using OBG determined from physical measurements instead of models. This results in more representative and accurate pore pressure calculations and increased insight and understanding into formation properties, leading to more successful drilling operations. These methods, however are not based on real time determination of density of the cuttings correlated to the wellbore depth. Thus, there is a need to determine in real time the density of the return fluid and the amount of cuttings in the return fluid that can be utilized to further determine other parameters, including desired drilling fluid density, pressure gradient, hole cleaning efficiency, gas/oil/water influx, caving, fracturing, and pore pressure. The disclosure herein provides apparatus and methods for real time determination of density of the return fluid and the amount of cuttings in the return fluid from which other desired wellbore parameters may be determined.

A conventional transistor may be employed as a capacitor. A plurality of such transistors may be coupled to form an array of capacitors. However, a large amount of circuitry and additional process complexity are required to maintain a state of the capacitor array. Further, such a conventional transistor may not provide low leakage (e.g., voltage or capacitance leakage), a wide tuning range and be adapted to integrate easily into existing complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor field effect transistor (CMOS) processing. Accordingly, an improved capacitor and circuitry formed thereby, and methods of using the same are desired.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image-capturing module, in particular, to an image-capturing module for simplifying optical component. 2. Description of Related Art A personal fingerprint is a unique bio-feature different from those of others. When used as a personal secret code, it is extremely secure. Because of the popularity of electronic device and the increase of their storage capacities, the protection for personal data stored therein becomes increasingly important. Using a fingerprint for unlocking electronic device or as a secret code can make management of personal data more efficient. Electronic device such as a mobile phone, a computer host, and various kinds of computer peripherals can make use of a fingerprint scanning device to capture a user's fingerprint for identity confirmation. After the fingerprint image in the fingerprint scanning device is converted into digital fingerprint information, it is easy to transmit the digital fingerprint information to a controller in the electronic device to exploit fully the effect of fingerprint identification. Referring to FIG. 1, the related art provides an image-capturing module including a PCB P, an image sensor S electrically disposed on the PCB P, an LED D electrically disposed on the PCB P, a condensing lens G disposed above the image sensor S, and a light-guiding element T disposed above the LED D. The image capturing process of the related art is shown as follows: (1) light beams L generated by the LED D are guided by the light-guiding element T to form a projecting light beams L′ that project onto the object F above the condensing lens G; next (2) the projecting light beams L′ are reflected by the object F to form reflecting light beams L″ that project onto the condensing lens G; and then (3) the reflecting light beams L″ pass through the condensing lens G and project onto the image sensor S in order to capture the image information of one surface of the object F.

As is well known, a wide variety of locks are available for use on doors. However, most of these use a cylinder type bolt look operated by a key. Combination locks are in limited use in applications that do not require a finished appearance, such as on a warehouse door, for instance. Of the hidden type locks, the key type account for the maJor proportion regardless of the application, both in home and commercial use. In key operated locks, however, the lock can be opened only with its key or a master key. So the lock cannot be operated when the key is lost. Statistics reveal that locking errors occur extremely frequently because the operation of the key is forgotten, and key locks are not preferred from the aspect of crime prevention. It is of course possible to fit a dial lock as is used in a safe to a door, but the use of a dial lock in an ordinary door is impracticable due to structural limitations as well as design conditions. To cope with these problems, a so-called button lock has recently been proposed, which can be fitted to the door surface and operates a dead bolt in accordance with a combination by a button operation However, the memory mechanism used in this lock has an extremely complicated construction and is expensive to produce. If the combination is fixedly set during production of the lock, users of the lock cannot change the button combination so as to meet their various requirements, and since a common combination cannot be set, those who sell and fit the locks cannot easily handle and properly set them for operation.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to process surveillance and more particularly to a distributed system for analyzing data collected by reviewing work documents, inspecting work areas and passively observing work in progress. 2. Description of the Related Art Present process surveillance systems typically have problems related to the constant manual input of data. Process surveillance systems generally utilize clipboards or some form of electronic device to collect process data. The collected process data then has to be manually entered into a spreadsheet or database. Once the data is entered, it has to be organized so that it can be charted and graphed. Reports need to be created manually as well. The manual entering and creation of charts, graphs, and reports takes considerable man-hours to accomplish. In order to share the collected process data, a copy of the file needs to be exchanged. Any changes to the original file does not appear in copies of the data file, thus creating discrepancies among the collected data. To collect process data, observation criteria information is needed to guide the inspector in what to observe. Changes to the observation criteria information often take considerable time to become available to the inspector. Time delays also occur when requirements or changes to the process take place. U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,764,509 and 6,181,975, both issued to Gross, et al., and both entitled, “Industrial Process Surveillance System” disclose a system and method for monitoring an industrial process and/or industrial data source. The system includes generating time varying data from industrial data sources, processing the data to obtain time correlation of the data, determining the range of data, determining learned states of normal operation and using these states to generate expected values, comparing the expected values to current actual values to identify a current state of the process closest to a learned, normal state; generating a set of modeled data, and processing the modeled data to identify a data pattern and generating an alarm upon detecting a deviation from normalcy. This system does not appear to be random in any fashion and may therefore be inadequate for statistical analysis purposes. U.S. Pat. No. 5,765,138, issued to Aycock, et al., entitled, “Apparatus and Method for Providing Interactive Evaluation of Potential Vendors”, discloses an arrangement for providing an interactive evaluation of suppliers as proposed vendors for a project. A supplier evaluation system comprises a database storing a plurality of maturity requirements and recognized quality standards, and a main processing system for compiling selected standards and quality maturity requirements in accordance with project objectives. The project requirements are supplied by a communication network to a supplier in the form of an interactive supplier self-evaluation system. Alternatively, the supplier self-evaluation system may be provided to a supplier on a CD-ROM. The supplier self-evaluation system is arranged to include a plurality of objective questions corresponding to the selected maturity requirements. A supplier may selectively access local database files on the CD-ROM for information regarding the selected maturity requirements, or may remotely access the supplier evaluation system databases for supplemental information. After uploading the supplier responses to the supplier evaluation system, a supplier maturity level is calculated. An on-site supplier audit is thereafter conducted to confirm supplier responses and to obtain any additional information. Supplier approval is dependent upon a minimum supplier maturity level based upon the scored supplier responses to the maturity questions and the on-site audit. This system, like the Gross et al system described above, does not appear to be random. Furthermore, it is focused relative to the evaluation of vendors.

The methods and systems disclosed herein relate to an explicit control messaging protocol. More specifically, a low-cost and low-power explicit control signaling for Universal Serial Bus 2.0 (USB2) and similar protocols is disclosed. In its present state, USB2 utilizes the Link Power Management (LPM) system to issue control messages. This system defines an implicit signaling mechanism for the host to issue a control message (such as Suspend or Reset) based on the duration of a link idle time, or a control transfer for entry to L1.

This invention relates to the coating of steel sheet with a corrosion resistant nonferrous alloy. It relates particularly to a electrodeposited coating of a steel sheet with a zinc-manganese alloy. It is well-known that steel sheet can be protected from corrosion by a nonferrous metallic coating, such as aluminum, tin or zinc. It is also well-known that alloys of nonferrous metals, such as zinc-nickel alloy or layers of different nonferrous metals, such as zinc and chromium can be used to coat steel to improve its corrosion resistance and other properties, such as paintability. Alloy coatings have wide application in the automotive industry to protect automotive components from corrosion. Zinc-manganese alloy coatings have been electroplated on steel sheet with generally good results. A process for electroplating steel sheet with a single layer of zinc-manganese alloy coating is described in a paper entitled "Electrodeposition of Zinc-Manganese on Steel Strip" by M. Sagiyama, et al., appearing in the November, 1987 issue of Plating and Surface Finishing. Society of Automotive Engineers Paper No. 860268 (1986) entitled "Zinc-Manganese Alloy Electroplated Steel for Automotive Body" by M. Sagiyama, et al., further describes the properties of a single layer zinc-manganese alloy coating on sheet steel for automotive applications. These papers describe that single layer zinc-manganese coatings (30-50%) manganese have good corrosion resistance, both before and after painting. One problem with many nonferrous alloy coatings is the tendency of such coatings to "powder" when the coated steel sheet is being formed or fabricated. Powdering is characteristic of a number of coatings in which portions of the coating crack and flake off the surface of the coated steel sheet during the stamping or forming of the coated sheet. Not only does this result in a partial loss of the protective coating and possibly tiny cracks in the coating, but also the "powder" tends to buildup in the dies used during the stamping or forming of the coated sheet. The accumulated powder in the dies can then cause imperfections in parts subsequently stamped or formed.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having a package structure, and more particularly, relates to a semiconductor device having a WCSP type structure. 2. Description of the Background Art The high integration of a semiconductor device mounted in an electronic device and the high frequency of a transmission signal have been expected increasingly in recent years. A CSP (Chip Size Package) serving as a semiconductor, which is packaged in an outline size substantially same as that of a semiconductor chip, has been proposed to cope with this expectation. In recent years, with a view of decreasing a manufacturing cost or the like, a technical development of a WCSP (Waferlevel Chip Size Package) has been promoted. The WCSP comprises a CSP, in which its external terminal formation process is completed in a waferlevel and is individualized by dicing. In this WCSP, there is known, as one example thereof, one having a structure such that an electrode pad and an external terminal, which are mounted on a semiconductor chip, are electrically connected via a wiring layer (a rewiring layer) for rearranging this external terminal in a desired position. In the WCSP having the above described rewiring layer, a degree of freedom in a wire design may be improved due to the rewiring layer. In the case of transmitting a high frequency signal by the use of the above described WCSP having the rewiring layer, it is desirable that, between a circuit element, which is provided to a semiconductor chip, and a signal line, namely, a rewiring layer to be electrically connected to the foregoing circuit element via an electrode pad, impedance of the both is matched. By avoiding mismatch between the circuit element and the signal line, attenuation of the transmission signal arising from the reflection or the like of the transmission signal generated in the vicinity of a joint between the electrode pad and the signal line can be restrained. However, regardless of that a characteristic impedance of the signal line in the WCSP is sufficiently larger than the impedance of the circuit element, and an effective method has not been proposed to match the impedance between both by decreasing the characteristic impedance of the signal line.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an on-vehicle equipment provided on a side of a vehicle in dedicated short-range communication in intelligent transport system, in particular, an on-vehicle equipment which can firmly fix a desirable receive channel with high efficiency. 2. Description of Background Art Intelligent transport system (hereinbelow referred to as ITS) is to transmit and receive various data by communication between an on-road equipment provided on a side of road and an on-vehicle equipment provided on a side of vehicle in use of dedicated short-range communication (hereinbelow referred to as DSRC) for communicating only within a limited range on a road utilizing a radio wave in the microwave band. In ITS, an electronic toll collection system (hereinbelow referred to as ETC) is included. It is a system for automatically collecting toll without stopping vehicles. The system enables an automatic toll payment procedure in use of the above-mentioned DSRC without temporarily stopping a vehicle when the vehicle passes through a tollgate in an expressway. In ETC, an on-vehicle equipment on the vehicle side communicates with on-road equipments, respectively provided in tollgates. Two frequencies F1 and F2 are alternately allocated to adjacent gates to avoid interference between the frequencies. These two frequencies F1 and F2 and a communication method are determined by the standard of DSRC. According to DSRC, for example, a vehicle approaching a toll gate alternately switching over between the frequencies F1 and F2 as a local frequency because it is unknown whether the frequency of the toll gate is F1 or F2. The vehicle receives data, and selects the frequency by fixing the frequency when the data are normally received. FIG. 9 is a block chart in a conventional on-vehicle equipment for DSRC used in ITS disclosed in, for example, JP-B-2947797. In FIG. 9, numerical reference 1 designates a receiving antenna for receiving radio wave sent out of the on-road equipment; numerical reference 2 designates a frequency converting unit for converting a frequency of the radio wave received by the receiving antenna 1 to a predetermined receiving frequency; numerical reference 3 designates a channel selecting filter for taking out only a predetermined channel from the signal of which frequency is converted by the frequency converter 2; numerical reference 4 designates a demodulator for digitizing an output from the channel selecting filter 3; numerical reference 5 designates a normal reception determining unit for judging whether or not the received data are normal using error check such as cyclic redundancy check (CRC); numerical reference 6 designates a phase locked loop (PLL) oscillating unit for producing a local frequency for the frequency converting unit 2; numerical reference 7 designates a frequency switching determining unit for determining the frequency from the received data and judging whether or not the local frequency outputted from the PLL oscillating unit 6 is fixed or switched over based on the received F1/F2 signal as the frequency signal of the judged frequency and selected F1/F2 signal as a selecting frequency signal representing a currently selected frequency; numerical reference 8 designates a timer for controlling a cycle of the selected frequency signal; and numerical reference 9 designates a frequency memory unit, in which the frequencies F1 and F2 sent out of the on-road equipments are memorized. Next, an operation will be described. FIG. 10 is a flow chart showing an operation of the frequency switching determining unit in the conventional on-vehicle equipment for DSRC in the ITS. In Step S41 of FIG. 10, it is judged whether or not the timer 8 for controlling the output cycle of the selected F1/F2 signal is effective. If the timer is not effective, in Step S42, when the currently selected frequency is F1, it is switched to F2, and when the currently selected frequency is F2, it is switched to F1, and the selected F1/F2 signal is outputted. In Step S43, the timer 8 is set. If the timer 8 is judged to be effective in Step S41, it is judged whether or not a radio wave sent out of the on-road equipment is normally received in Step S44. If the radio wave is normally received, in Step S45, the received frequency is determined. In Step S46, the received F1/F2 signal is outputted. In Step S47, the received F1/F2 signal is compared with the selected F1/F2 signal selected in Step S42. In Step S48, when the received F1/F2 signal is the same as the selected F1/F2 signal, a local frequency outputted from the PLL oscillating unit 6 is fixed. In Step S49, if the received F1/F2 signal is different from the selected F1/F2 signal, the local frequency outputted from the PLL oscillating unit 6 is switched over. In the conventional DSRC of ITS, only ETC is available, whereby the two frequencies of the above-described two channels of F1 and F2 are used. However, in recent years, various applications to, for example, collection of charges in gas stations and drive-through shops and traffic information service are planned besides ETC. Accordingly, seven frequencies (seven channels) are allowed to use in accordance with the DSRC standard. In the conventional on-vehicle equipment for DSRC, there is no measure to distinguish a frequency used in a communication area and it is impossible to select the frequency until a vehicle approaches to the communication area as described above. Therefore, the two frequencies are switched over by a predetermined time in order to select one. However, when the system is applied to an on-vehicle equipment for DSRC using all applications other than ETC, it is necessary to select the seven frequencies by an equal time period, whereby there is a problem that a substantially long time is required to select the frequencies. FIG. 11 illustrates a procedure of the conventional on-vehicle equipment for DSRC, wherein the problems will be explained in reference of the figure. An entrance of a toll lane or the like ordinarily has two antennas, arranged in serial with respect to a traveling direction of vehicle, by each lane for the purpose of preventing erroneous detection of types of motor vehicle, and an identical frequency, e.g. F1, is sent. In FIG. 11, rectangles of solid line represent an outgoing signal from the first antenna, positioned on the near side of the traveling direction of vehicle, and rectangles of broken line represent an outgoing signal from the second antenna in the traveling direction of vehicle, wherein the outgoing signals from the first and second antennas are temporally separated. As shown in FIG. 11, one frame is formed by two types of slots, namely frame control message slot (hereinbelow referred to as FCMS), in which frequency information is written, and message data slot (hereinbelow referred to as MDS), of which frequency information is blank. It is possible to select the frequency by receiving FCMS. The slot has a length of about 0.78 ms. However, as illustrated in FIG. 11, when the head of the first frame is not received, it is necessary to continue the receipt for approximately more than 5.46 ms until the tail of FCMS in the succeeding frame. By adding a frequency fix time of about 1.5 ms in PLL, it is necessary to search the frequency at an interval of more than about 7 ms. Accordingly, when the conventional technique is applied to ITS using seven frequencies described above, it is necessary to provide a frequency search time utmost about 49 ms. Therefore, there are problems that the search time becomes very long and the ETC standard requiring that the frequency be completely selected within nine frames, i.e. about 21.1 mS, is not satisfied.

The formulation of conditioning shampoos has been difficult because of several reasons. One problem is that anionic surfactants, which are desired for their excellent cleaning ability, are incompatible with cationic surfactants, which are desired for their hair conditioning properties. Another problem is that water-insoluble conditioning agents, such as silicone-containing compounds, which are added to provide a degree of softness and luster to the hair typically cause the composition to be unstable. A related problem is that it is difficult to keep these silicone-containing compounds suspended or maintained in a stable form while retaining the performance attributes desired from the conditioning shampoo. One solution to that problem has been proposed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,198,209 where a particular N-alkylated pyrolidone is suggested to be useful for maintaining the composition in a stable form. Unfortunately, the particular pyrolidone is not a suspending agent and it is has now been found that after a few days at elevated temperatures on the order of 40.degree. C. to about 50.degree. C., a white, creamy layer forms at the surface. Another solution to that problem that has been proposed by Bergmann, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,275,761, 5,358,667, and 5,456,863 is to use a polyhydric compound as an essential element to emulsify, add phase-stability, prevent anionic-cationic interaction and couple the insoluble conditioning agent with the cationic surfactant. The polyhydric is used with a carboxylated surfactant, a hydrophilic quaternary ammonium, or a fafty alkyl compound. Surprisingly and unexpectedly, it has been found that a conditioning shampoo can be prepared that is substantially free of a polyhydric compound. In fact, when a polyhydric compound is added to the conditioning shampoo of the present invention the viscosity and foam volume were significantly reduced, with no increase in stability to off-set the negative impact on viscosity and foam volume.

Blood vessel occlusions are commonly treated by mechanically enhancing blood flow in the affected vessels, such as by employing a stent. Stents act as scaffolding, functioning to physically hold open and, if desired, to expand the wall of affected vessels. Typically stents are capable of being compressed, so that they can be inserted through small lumens via catheters, and then expanded to a larger diameter once they are at the desired location. Examples in the patent literature disclosing stents include U.S. Pat. No. 4,733,665 issued to Palmaz, U.S. Pat. No. 4,800,882 issued to Gianturco, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,886,062 issued to Wiktor. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional stent 10 formed from a plurality of struts 12. The plurality of struts 12 are radially expandable and interconnected by connecting elements 14 that are disposed between adjacent struts 12, leaving lateral openings or gaps 16 between adjacent struts 12. Struts 12 and connecting elements 14 define a tubular stent body having an outer, tissue-contacting surface and an inner surface. Stents are used not only for mechanical intervention but also as vehicles for providing biological therapy. Biological therapy can be achieved by medicating the stents. Medicated stents provide for the local administration of a therapeutic substance at a diseased site. Local delivery of a therapeutic substance is a preferred method of treatment because the substance is concentrated at a specific site and thus, smaller total levels of medication can be administered in comparison to systemic dosages that often produce adverse or even toxic side effects for the patient. One method of medicating a stent involves the use of a polymeric carrier coated onto the surface of the stent. A composition including a solvent, a polymer dissolved in the solvent, and a therapeutic substance dispersed in the blend is applied to the stent by immersing the stent in the composition or by spraying the composition onto the stent. The solvent is allowed to evaporate, leaving on the stent surfaces a coating of the polymer and the therapeutic substance impregnated in the polymer. A shortcoming of the above-described method of medicating a stent is the potential for coating defects due to the nature of the composition applied to the stent. For solvents that evaporate slowly, or “non-volatile” solvents, the liquid composition that is applied to a relatively small surface of the stent can flow, wick and collect during the coating process. As the solvent evaporates, the excess composition hardens, leaving clumps or pools of polymer on the struts or “webbing” between the struts. For solvents that evaporate very fast, or “volatile solvents,” the coating can be rough with a powder like consistency. For slow evaporating solvents, heat treatment has been implemented to induce the evaporation of the solvent. For example, the stent can be placed in an oven at an elevated temperature (e.g., 60 deg. C. to 80 deg. C.) for a duration of time, for example, at least 30 minutes, to dry the coating. Such heat treatments have not reduced pooling or webbing of the polymer. Moreover, prolonged heat treatment can adversely affect drugs that are heat sensitive and may cause the warping of the stent. The manufacturing time of the stent is also extending for the time the stent is treated in the oven. An apparatus and method is needed to address these problems. The embodiments of this invention address these and other problems associated with coating stents.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a pickup frame made of a composite material including a synthetic resin and a metal, an optical pickup device including such a pickup frame, and an optical information recording/reproduction apparatus including such an optical pickup device. 2. Description of the Related Art As a means for reading an information signal that is stored on an optical disc, which is being rotated by an optical disc drive, by irradiating the signal storage side of the disc with light or a means for writing information on the optical disc, an optical pickup device is built in a recording/reproduction apparatus. Recently, an optical information recording/reproduction apparatus (or an optical drive) including such an optical pickup device is built in mobile personal computers (which are sometimes called “mobile PCs”) more and more often. And the more popular such PCs have become, the handier they should come in. Specifically, their handiness is rated by their size (particularly their thickness) and their weight. That is to say, the smaller, thinner and lighter such a PC, the better. And an optical pickup device, which is one of essential components of an optical drive, is also required to meet those demands. On top of that, the optical pickup device also needs to have sufficiently high rigidity and rather high reliability under various harsh external environments, even though these requirements are contradictory to those downsizing trends. That is to say, the optical pickup device should maintain sufficient rigidity and operate with good stability even when exposed to a rather high or low temperature or high and low temperatures alternately a number of times. And the pickup frame, which is one of the main members of the optical pickup device, is a main factor that will determine its size and weight. That is why the following description will be focused on such a pickup frame. The housing of popular optical drives built in mobile PCs often has a thickness (or height) of 12.7 mm or 9.5 mm. An optical drive with a thickness of 12.7 mm adopts a pickup frame in which both of bearing portions arranged at both ends of an optical pickup device are often formed as integral parts of a single member by performing a metal die casting process. Meanwhile, some drives may adopt a pickup frame in which those portions are all formed out of a synthetic resin as respective parts of a single member. In those pickup frames, a light emitter and a photodetector are supported with a holder. And part of an optical element that changes the optical paths is also supported on such a pickup frame. On the other hand, an optical drive with a thickness of 9.5 mm adopts a pickup frame in which both of bearing portions arranged at both ends of an optical pickup device are formed as respective parts of a single member by performing a die casting process on a metal such as aluminum or magnesium. In such a pickup frame, a light emitter and a photodetector are supported with a holder. And part of an optical element that changes the optical paths is also supported on such a pickup frame. Also proposed is a pickup frame in which a supporting base, where both of bearing portions arranged at both ends of an optical pickup device are formed out of a synthetic resin as respective parts of a single member, and a metallic optical base that supports a light emitter, a photodetector and an optical element to change optical paths are bonded together with an adhesive (see Patent Document No. 1 (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2008-171498).

The present invention relates a body for a valve and a method for manufacturing the same. Conventionally, a body for a valve provided therein with a valve hole for inserting a valve member therein slidably can be obtained by molding rough material for a body formed with a rough hole to be finished as the valve hole, flow path holes reaching the valve hole from ports opened to an outer face of the body and the like in advance and performing working/grinding on a seat portion coming in contact with a valve member in the rough hole, expansion flow paths for expanding respective flow paths at positions communicating with the valve hole and the like by tools inserted from one end of the rough hole. However, since such working/grinding must be performed by inserting tools from one end of the rough hole, as described above, there is a problem that there are relatively many constraints other than the shapes of the tools and shapes to be obtained by workings, which results in a difficult work, prolongation of a working time and the like. A technical problem of the present invention is to simplify and facilitate working/grinding or the like in a valve hole in the above-described body for a valve, particularly working of a recess in the valve hole, thereby reducing a manufacturing cost of the body for a valve. Another technical problem of the present invention is to increase the number of moldings effected by a single mold in a time of a die cast molding by simplifying the shape of a body for a valve, thereby increasing productivity at this point. A first body for a valve of the present invention for solving the above problem is a body for a valve provided with a valve hole for inserting a valve member silidably, characterized in that the body is formed by splitting the body on splitting faces including an axial line of the valve hole and mutually joining body portion pieces which are respectively molded individually. The splitting face of the body for a valve can be a face perpendicular to a direction of a flow path communicating towards the valve hole from a port opened to a body outer face, or it can be a face extending along a direction of a flow path communicating towards the valve hole from a port opened to the body outer face. A second body for a valve of the present invention is characterized in that the body is formed by splitting the body into a plurality of body portion pieces on splitting faces provided at a position opposed to a body outer face to which a port is opened via the valve hole in parallel with the body outer face and mutually joining the body portion pieces which are respectively molded individually; and the body portion piece having the valve hole has a hole for molding which is opened at a position opposed to a flow path communicating towards the port from the side of the splitting face. On the other hand, a manufacturing method of the present invention for manufacturing the above-described body for a valve is characterized by comprising the steps of: preliminarily molding respective body portion pieces; after preheating splitting faces of the body portion pieces and wetting them with solder, bringing in close contact with both the splitting faces; and after heating and joining both the splitting faces by friction of the both splitting faces or irradiation of ultrasonic wave, cooling the joined portions to the splitting faces to integrate the body portion pieces. According to the body for a valve having the above-described constitution and the manufacturing method, since the body is formed by splitting the body in pieces having a shape which facilitates molding of a recess on an inner face of the valve hole or the like, which is performed by die casting, namely, by splitting the body on a splitting face which includes an axial line of the valve hole and which is perpendicular to a direction of a flow path communicating towards the valve hole from the port opened to a body outer face or which extends along a direction of the flow path, or by splitting the body on a splitting face parallel with a face of a body outer face to which a port is opened on a side opposed to the face via the valve hole, and molding split body portion pieces individually, it is unnecessary to insert a tool from one end of a rough hole to perform cutting or the like, as described above, or even if the cutting is performed partially, such a cutting is made very simple and easy. Eventually, a manufacturing cost of the body for a valve can be reduced. Also, as described above, since a body for a valve is split into a plurality of body portion pieces whose shapes are simplified and molding effected by die casting is facilitated owing to simplification of these shapes, the number of moldings conducted by a single molding die is increased, and productivity is enhanced regarding this point, so that a manufacturing cost of the body for a valve can be reduced. In addition, since, during molding respective body portion pieces, lightening for an unnecessary portion can be performed on splitting faces of the body portion pieces, material can be saved. Since the split body portion pieces can easily be joined in an air-tight manner by frictional soldering, ultrasonic soldering or the like, as described above, the manufacturing cost can be reduced as compared with the conventional example even when such a step is added. Incidentally, even when the above-described body for a valve is split and split valve pieces are then joined to one another, working in the valve hole to be performed after joined is not completely removed necessarily. For example, such a working that solder flowed out is removed, a seat portion (a valve seat portion) coming in contact with a seal member is polished and so on must be performed. However, the working is made extremely simple as compared with that in the conventional example. Here, also, explanation about the case that the body for a valve is split at a face including the axial line of the valve hole or at both sides of the valve hole has been made. However, in order to facilitate molding of the body portion pieces, such a constitution can, of course, be employed that the body are split at an appropriate portion other than the above and molded, as needs, and the split body portion pieces are joined.

1. Field of the Invention The present application relates to a semiconductor structure and a method of forming the same. More particularly, the present application relates to a FinFET device and a method for making the same. 2. Related Art For more than three decades, the continued miniaturization of metal oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) has driven the worldwide semiconductor industry. Various showstoppers to continued scaling have been predicated for decades, but a history of innovation has sustained Moore's Law in spite of many challenges. However, there are growing signs today that metal oxide semiconductor transistors are beginning to reach their traditional scaling limits. Since it has become increasingly difficult to improve MOSFETs and therefore complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) performance through continued scaling, further methods for improving performance in addition to scaling have become critical. The use of non-planar semiconductor devices such as, for example, semiconductor fin field effect transistors (FinFETs), is the next step in the evolution of CMOS devices. FinFETs are non-planar semiconductor devices which include at least one semiconductor fin protruding from a surface of a substrate. A gate dielectric can be formed in direct physical contact with each vertical sidewall of the at least one semiconductor fin and, optionally, in direct physical contact with a topmost surface of the semiconductor fin. A gate conductor can be formed on the gate dielectric and straddling a portion of the at least one semiconductor fin. FinFETs can increase the on-current per unit area relative to planar field effect transistors. As such, there is a need to improve FinFET devices and methods for making the same.

In known can lids with a lid ring and a closing membrane arranged thereon, the discharge opening extends up to the vicinity of the outer rim so that after removing the closing membrane, usually formed as a tear film, only a narrow ring surface remains radially adjacent on the inside to the outer rim. After removing (peeling) the membrane, as in a fully tear-off lid, a relatively large container opening results through which the filling is easily accessible. A further advantage of this lid system is that the filling can be sterilized. In a process known from EP-A-1 153 840 for production of a lid ring for a can lid with closing membrane, first a flat sheet metal part with a heat-sealable coating on one side is formed into a cylindrical tube, the coating being on the inside. The axial edges of the tube are pressed and welded together, which can be achieved by means of a laser beam and leads to the formation of a butt weld seam. The tube is then divided into tube sections or cylindrical rings of equal length. Each cylindrical ring is formed into a lid ring with an outer rim for attachment to a can body and into an annular support surface for subsequent fixing of the closing membrane. Here, the edge bordering the later discharge opening is curled against the side with the heat-sealable coating. The process described above for production of a lid ring starting from a cylindrical ring has the advantage of a considerable reduction in the amount of waste in comparison with the conventional method of lid ring production in which first a metal disc is molded and then the discharge opening punched out to form the lid ring. In the process described in EP-A-1 153 840, it must be ensured that, on forming the butt weld seam, the adjacent heat-sealable coating is not damaged. For this, during the welding process a cooling plate is pressed against the inside of the tube along the axial edges. Despite these measures damage to the heat seal layer can never be completely excluded. As the heat seal layer also serves as corrosion protection, corrosion can occur later at damaged points on the weld seam.

Joint replacement surgery is quite common and it enables many individuals to function properly when they otherwise would not be possible to do so. Such patients of joint replacement surgery typically suffer from osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis. Artificial joints usually comprise metallic, ceramic and/or plastic components that are fixed to existing bone. Such joint replacement surgery is otherwise known as total joint arthroplasty. Total joint arthroplasty is a well-known surgical procedure by which a diseased and/or damaged joint is replaced with a prosthetic joint. In a typical total joint arthroplasty, the ends or distal portions of the bone adjacent the joint are resected or a portion of the distal part of the bone is removed and the artificial joint is secured thereto. For many patients suffering from osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, the procedure of total joint arthroplasty results in a prosthetic joint, which serves the patient through his or her entire life. Unfortunately, for a variety of reasons, some patients having total joint arthroplasty are not as fortunate, and the prosthetic joint must be replaced. Such a procedure to replace a prosthetic joint with a replacement prosthetic joint is called revision total joint arthroplasty. For such replacement surgery, the original or primary implant must be removed from the body or severed from the bone. Proper implantation of an implant during total joint arthroplasty frequently suggests that the joint be firmly secured to the adjoining bone. For example, when utilizing bone cement to secure the original prosthetic joint, pressure is applied when utilizing the cement to cause the cement to interdigitate or move somewhat in to the cancellous bone around the joint. Alternatively, when a prosthetic joint is utilized without bone cement, often the prosthetic joint includes an outer porous coating, which provides over time for bony ingrowth within the porous portion of the prosthesis. Whether the implant is secured with interdigitated cement or bony ingrowth, the removal of the prosthesis from the bone may be quite difficult. Typically, to remove the prosthesis, tools, for example, in the form of hand tools such as Moreland instruments or Dremel type-cutting instruments are used. These cutting instruments are utilized by the surgeon in a free hand procedure in which the tools are manually moved near the periphery of the prosthesis until the prosthesis and the bone are separated from each other. Since this procedure is done manually and freehand with no additional tools to assist in the placement and movement of the hand tools around the bone, the result is often that excess bone is removed from the implant. Generally, good surgical procedure requires and suggests that only the minimal amount of bone be removed from the patient. Furthermore, to implant replacement prosthesis, bone must remain to secure the replacement prosthesis to the bone. A need does exist for improved method and instrumentation to assist in the removal of a joint implant which provides for more accurate placement of the tools during the cutting procedure, and that provides for a procedure that also may be less time consuming than the current manual freehand approach.

This invention relates generally to gas turbine engines and, more particularly, to gas turbine engine blade assemblies. A gas turbine engine typically includes a plurality of turbine blade assemblies. Each assembly includes a turbine airfoil that extends radially outwardly from a platform, a shank that extends radially inward from the platform, and a dovetail that extends from the shank. The turbine airfoil includes a pressure side and a suction side, which are connected at a turbine airfoil trailing edge. An airfoil root is formed between each turbine airfoil and platform. At least some known turbine blade assemblies include a high-c portion, defined generally as where the airfoil root is tangent to an engine centerline axis. Each turbine blade assembly is circumferentially joined to a rotor disk by the dovetail. Each platform extends circumferentially and axially beyond the airfoil root and defines a leading edge and a trailing edge that are separated by a pressure edge and a suction edge. At least some known platforms have straight pressure and suction edges that extend with a skew angle that is oblique with regard to leading and trailing edges such that an interior angle defined between the leading edge and the suction edge is not equal to 90 degrees. An outer surface of each platform typically defines a radially inner flowpath surface for gas flowing through the turbine blade assembly. During engine operation, centrifugal forces generated by the rotating airfoils are carried by the airfoils, platforms, shanks and dovetails. The centrifugal forces generate stress in the shanks and dovetails below the platforms. To facilitate reducing stress concentrations, at least some known gas turbines vary, for example, a number of turbine blade assemblies, a platform skew angle, a dovetail skew angle, a dovetail length, a turbine airfoil shape, a dovetail fillet size, a shank transition under the platform, a shank size, a distribution of material in the dovetail, and geometry of seals between turbine blade assemblies. However, increasing the platform skew angle or size of the platform may cause high stresses to be induced in the shank and dovetail under the platform. In addition, because the platform is exposed directly to the flowpath gasses, thermal gradients may also be generated. In one aspect, a method of fabricating a turbine blade assembly is provided. The turbine blade assembly includes a platform, a turbine airfoil extending radially outward from the platform, a shank extending radially inward from the platform, and a dovetail extending from the shank. The platform includes a leading edge, a trailing edge, a pressure edge, and a suction edge. The method includes forming the platform pressure edge into a plurality of arcs to facilitate reducing stress concentrations and forming the platform suction edge into a plurality of arcs complementary to the pressure edge. In another aspect, a turbine blade assembly is provided for a gas turbine engine. The turbine blade assembly includes a platform, a turbine airfoil extending radially outward from the platform, a shank extending radially inward from the platform, and a dovetail extending from the shank. The platform includes a leading edge and a trailing edge separated by a pressure edge and an opposite suction edge, the pressure edge includes a plurality of arcs extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge, the suction edge includes a plurality of arcs extending between the leading and trailing edges. In a further aspect, a gas turbine engine including at least one turbine blade assembly that includes a platform, a turbine airfoil extending radially outward from the platform, a shank extending radially inward from the platform, and a dovetail extending from the shank. The platform includes a leading edge and a trailing edge separated by a pressure edge and an opposite suction edge. The pressure edge includes a plurality of arcs extending between the leading edge and the trailing edge, the suction edge includes a plurality of arcs extending between the leading and trailing edges.

This invention relates generally to hydraulic circuits, and more particularly to a hydraulic circuit for a bottom dump front shovel which offers more rapid apron closing and repositioning of the bucket to the digging position. Hydraulic circuits incorporating interrupted series control valves have long been used in various fields, and particularly in construction equipment such as excavators and front loaders and the like. One disadvantage of any circuit utilizing interrupted series control valves is that only one valve in the bank of valves can be operated at one time. Thus, if the first valve is actuated, that valve controls the flow of the hydraulic fluid. As an example, in an excavator, the first circuit may control the bucket movement and the second circuit would control the apron movement. Then in the present circuitry, there could not be simultaneous apron and bucket movement without auxiliary pumps, valves, conduits, etc. In an excavator, for example, it is desirable for the operator to return the bucket to its digging position as quickly as possible in order to cut down on the cycle time. In the above-described circuitry, simultaneous return of the bucket and closing of the apron was not possible under full speed conditions due to the interrupted series control valves. It is, of course, possible to operate both circuit control valves simultaneously in the fine modulating mode. However, this is not satisfactory from the speed standpoint. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a hydraulic circuit which offers more rapid apron closing and repositioning of the bucket to the digging position. Another object of this invention is to provide a hydraulic circuit which will permit diverting a portion of the flow from the first circuit to perform the end function of the second circuit, thereby offering simultaneous operation of both circuits under maximum speed operational conditions. A further object of this invention is to provide a hydraulic circuit which will permit an operator to return the bucket and close the apron simultaneously in order to reduce the cycle time from dump to dig. And yet another object of this invention is to provide a hydraulic circuit which will permit independent operation of either circuit through the interrupted series control valves.

Rifamycins, which are a group of macrocylic hydroquinonequinone antibiotics having a close relationship to each other, are described in Antibiotics Annual, 262 (1959), Appl. Microbiol., 9, 325 (1961), and Progr. Ind. Microbiol, 6, 21 (1967). Rifamycin derivatives have been prepared by the chemical conversion of rifamycin B, which is an antibiotic produced by fermenting Nocardia mediterranei. Among these, rifamycin O and rifamycin S, the key intermediates for the synthesis of rifamycin derivatives are of great therapeutic use and, have been prepared from rifamycin B by chemical processes. Many efforts have been made for the improvement of this process, as can be seen from prior art such as the description of Japan Kokai No. 37-8,550, Japan Kokai 38-15,352, British Pat. No. 324,452, and German Pat. No. 2,444,527. Recovery of rifamycins from the fermentation broth has also been disclosed in many reports. Two kinds of recovery processes are known: as rifamycin B, in Progr. Ind. Microbiol., 6,21 (1967); and as rifamycin O, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,903, French Patent No. 2,221,517, Netherlands Pat. No. 73-03,196, Japan Kokai No. 49-117,692, German Pat. No. 2,310,731, and South African Pat. No. 73-01,328. The recovery of rifamycin O is essentially based on the chemical oxidation of rifamycin B. In general, the oxidation of rifamycin B to rifamycin O is carried out in an organic solvent or an organic solvent-water mixture. Artificial oxidants such as sodium nitrite, sodium persulfate or hydrogen peroxide are usually employed at a slightly acidic condition (pH 4.5). The hydrolysis of rifamycin O to rifamycin S also spontaneously occurs at a more acidic condition. The improved processes for the preparation of rifamycin S from rifamycin O are disclosed in British Pat. No. 924,472 and German Pat. No. 2,444,527. All the processes hitherto reported are essentially based on chemical processes which require artificial oxidants and a strong acidic condition, where the substantial formation of by-products cannot be obviated. Therefore, an enzymatic process is desirable, in which the conversion can be carried out with a quantitative yield due to the mild condition employed and the specificity of the enzyme.

The present invention relates generally to the “active implantable medical devices” as defined by the Jun. 20, 1990 Directive 90/385/EEC of the Council of European Communities, which includes implantable devices that continuously monitor the cardiac rhythm of a patient and deliver if and as necessary to the patient's heart electrical pulses for stimulation (pacing), cardiac resynchronization, cardioversion and/or defibrillation, as well as neurological devices, cochlear implants, drug, infusion devices, implantable biological sensors, etc. The present invention relates more specifically to a microlead for detection/stimulation for implantation in the venous, arterial or lymphatic networks of a patient. Implantable medical devices typically have a housing generally designated as the “generator”, which is electrically and mechanically connected to one or more intracorporeal “leads” provided with electrodes that are intended to come into contact with the patient's tissues on which it is desired to apply the aforementioned electrical pulses and/or collect an electrical signal: e.g., the myocardium, nerve, or muscle tissue. The current principle of electrical stimulation of tissue (hereinafter, stimulation is used in its generic sense of delivering an energy pulse to tissue rather than in a context of delivering an energy pulse suitable for pacing) is based on a device, usually called a “lead”, which is an object implanted through various venous, arterial or lymphatic vessels, and whose function is to transmit an electrical signal between a generator at a proximal end of the lead target and a tissue at a distal end of the lead while ensuring the following properties: Ease of implantation by the physician in a vessel network of the patient, and especially ease of advancing the lead into the vessel(s) by pressure, to make the lead follow the tortuous paths and passing side branches in the vessel network, and to transmit torques from one end of the lead to the other; Detectable by X-rays to allow the doctor to easily navigate through the network of vessels guided by X-ray fluoroscopy; Atraumaticity of the lead in the veins, which requires a flexible structure and the lack of a rigid transition or sharp edges; Ability to transmit an electrical signal to tissues and to make stable monopolar or multipolar electrical measurements; Biocompatibility with living tissue for implantation in the long term; Ability to connect to an implantable device generator or other source of electrical signals to be transmitted; Ability to be sterilized (e.g., by gamma radiation, temperature . . . ) without damage; Biostability, especially corrosion resistance in the living environment and resistance to mechanical fatigue stress related to patient and organs movement; Compatibility with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) which is, particularly important in neurology. The current architecture of leads that meet these needs can be summarized as a generally hollow structure that allows passage of a stylet or a guidewire, and includes components such as insulated current carrying conducting cables or “lines”, connected to mechanical electrodes for ensuring electrical conductivity, radiopacity, etc. These leads therefore require a complex assembly of a large number of parts, of associated wires and insulating elements, creating substantial risks of rupture given the long-term mechanical stresses they face. Examples of such known leads are given in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,246,014, 6,192,280, and 7,047,082. One of the challenges in making suitable leads includes the management of stiffness gradients related to the mechanical components used, which strongly affect the implantability of the lead and its long term strength (fatigue endurance) properties. In addition, to seal the inner lumen of the leads, for which the blood would degrade the performance during implantation and in the long term, valves and other complex devices are used, with significant associated risks. Other difficulties may also arise in terms of fatigue of the assemblies. Indeed, any stiffness in a transition area is likely to induce a risk of fatigue, difficulty in sterilization because of the presence of areas that are difficult to access, and problems of mechanical strength at junctions of the conductors with the distal electrodes and with the proximal connector to the generator. Moreover, the clinical trend in the field of implantable leads is to reduce their size to make them less invasive and easier to handle through the vessels. The current size of implantable leads is typically on the order of 4 to 6 French (1.33 to 2 mm) in their active part, that is to say, the most distal end bearing the electrode(s)—even if the lead body, in the less distal end, uses conductors with a smaller diameter, for example, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,246,014 above, which, at the lead body, certainly includes a conductor the diameter of which does not exceed 1 French (0.33 mm), but the overall diameter of the distal end active part at the location of the screw anchor is several French. However, it is clear that reducing the size of the leads would increase their complexity and impose technical constraints generating risks. On the other hand, such a reduction, to less than 2 French (0.66 mm), for example, would open up prospects for medical applications in various fields ranging from cardiology to neurology in the presence of a venous, arterial or lymphatic system such as the cerebral venous system or the coronary sinus venous system. Today, the electrical stimulation technology has led to major advances in the field of neuromodulation and stimulating target areas of the brain to treat Parkinson's disease, epilepsy and other neurological diseases. One could imagine implementing this type of technology to address new areas difficult to reach today, by using small size stimulation leads, or “microleads”, having great strength to ensure long-term biostability. Such a technique would allow a less invasive approach to these therapies and an especially superior efficacy of treatments. It would be possible to connect one or more microleads through the considered vessel network until the target location. Their implantation could be done, because of their small size, by today's guiding devices used in interventional neuro-radiology for the release of stents (spring coils) in the treatment of intracranial aneurysms.

Microwave devices such as electronically scanning antennas, phased array antennas, electronic down tilt antennas, electronically tunable filters, electronically tunable radar and tunable oscillators have been proposed for use, but their high costs have prevented widespread commercial implementation. The existence of low cost tuning technology would revolutionize the industry of microwave components and antennas. Tuning refers to the ability to change the dielectric constant of a material. This translates in the microwave component field as the ability to use the same component and change the frequency of operation by changing the input voltage or current. It can allow for a single filter to frequency-hop during operation. For antennas, being able to tune using low cost technology would create a new class of phased array antennas, which could be used in common households instead of being limited to large, expensive systems. Phased array antennas can be described as electronically scanning antennas. By using electronically scanning antennas, satellite communications can be available in many situations, because the antennas would allow for tracking of a satellite. This means voice and data communications can be done in a mobile arena. Also, mobile communications would be available at a global level without the need for major infrastructure. A phased array refers to an antenna configuration composed of a large number of elements that emit phased signals to form a radio beam. The radio signal can be electronically steered by the active manipulation of the relative phasing of the individual antenna elements. This electronic beam steering concept applies to both the transmitter and the receiver. Phased array antennas are advantageous in comparison to their mechanical counterparts with respect to their speed, accuracy and reliability. The replacement of gimbal mounted mechanical antennas by phased array antennas increases survivability through more rapid and accurate target identification. For example, complex tracking exercises can be performed rapidly and accurately with a phased array antenna system. Future communications will also require wideband communications using frequency-hopping techniques, so that large amounts of digital data can be transferred over the band. A critical component for these applications is a low cost, fast acting tunable filter. Digital data could be distributed or encoded over a band of frequencies in a sequence determined by control circuitry of the tunable filter. This would allow for several users to transmit and receive over a common range of frequencies. Technologies for scanning that could possibly be adapted for phase shifter applications are ferrite phase shifters and semiconductor diode phase shifters. Although ferrites are currently the most widely used type of phase shifter materials, they are mostly limited to military applications. The major reason for this is that they are very expensive to manufacture. Secondary reasons include the fact that they are not designed to work in a broadband situation. When the frequency changes, a new set of materials has to be designed and manufactured. They are also very bulky in size and heavy. Furthermore, such phase shifters are difficult or impossible to make in a planar configuration. Conventional ferrites are also driven by high power due to the fact that they activate based on current. Conventional diode phase shifters are also high cost because they require active electronic circuits to be added to designs in order to compensate for their high loss at microwave frequencies. They do not have good power handling characteristics. When power is put through the diodes, they start to behave in a very non-linear fashion, or they break down. Diodes also require holding power in order to maintain accuracy, as well as power during switching. Barium titanate is one of the known ceramics tunable at room temperature. Another known tunable ceramic is strontium titanate. However, this material by itself must be super cooled in order to have usable tuning characteristics. Other tunable dielectrics include lead zirconium titanates (PZT), lead lanthanum zirconium titanates (PLZT), PbTiO3, KNbO3, LaTaO3, BaCaZrTiO3, NaNO3 and other ferroelectric perovskites. The problem with these known ferroelectrics is that their losses are very high at room temperature. This makes these materials essentially useless at microwave frequencies. One way to combat this problem is by means of producing a low loss but still tunable composite material with reasonable dielectric constants. Barium strontium titanate (BSTO) has been used for its high dielectric constant, on the order of 200 to 6,000, and its large change in dielectric constant with applied voltage, on the order of 25 to 75 percent at a field of 2V/micron. Some prior art ferroelectric composite materials which include BSTO are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,427,988 to Sengupta et al. entitled “Ceramic Ferroelectric Composite Material BSTO-MgO”; U.S. Pat. No. 5,645,434 to Sengupta et al. entitled “Ceramic Ferroelectric Composite Material BSTO-Magnesium Based Compound”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,074,971 to Chiu et al. entitled “Ceramic Ferroelectric Composite Materials with Enhanced Electronic Properties BSTO-Mg Based Compound—Rare Earth Oxide”; and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/594,837 to Chiu et al. filed Jun. 15, 2000 entitled “Electronically Tunable Ceramic Materials Including Tunable Dielectric and Metal Silicate Phases”, each of which is incorporated herein by reference. The idea of a voltage tunable dielectric has been proposed for use in antenna applications in a paper entitled “Planar Microwave Electro-Optic Phase Shifters”, Microwave Journal, Volume 35 (6), June 1992. There is a need for new materials which have desirable electronic properties in order to make this possible. As with most ferroelectrics which are tunable at room temperature, the losses at frequencies above 600 MHz become too high to use cost effectively. Also, high dielectric constants makes it virtually impossible to integrate and match them to RF circuits. This causes increased insertion losses. The present invention has been developed in view of the foregoing, and to address other deficiencies of the prior art.

The present invention relates generally to monitoring inventory levels and, more particularly, to identifying types of products and determining a quantity of each of the types of products on a particular surface (e.g., hanging on a display hanger). Typical inventory monitoring procedures may involve an employee using a barcode reader to physically scan a stock-keeping unit (SKU) of each product or of each type of product in a store. More advanced inventory monitoring procedures may involve attaching an electronically readable tag circuit (e.g., a radio frequency identification (RFID) tag circuit) to each product and using a wireless reader to identify each of the tag circuits. Other methods also exist. Each method provides trade-offs between various considerations such as cost, accuracy, speed, frequency, and other considerations. As an example, using electronically readable tag circuits can reduce inventory monitoring time because multiple tags can be read simultaneously (even those that are not visible to the wireless reader device). However, using electronically readable tag circuits is generally more costly because each product has to be tagged and the tag circuits are generally not reusable. Thus, improved systems and methods are continually sought that provide more favorable trade-offs for inventory monitoring.

1. Field of the Disclosure Scan architectures are commonly used to test digital circuitry in integrated circuits. The present disclosure describes a method of adapting conventional scan architectures into a low power scan architecture. The low power scan architecture maintains the test time of conventional scan architectures, while requiring significantly less operational power than conventional scan architectures. The low power scan architecture is advantageous to IC/die manufacturers since it allows a larger number of circuits (such as DSP or CPU core circuits) embedded in an IC/die to be tested in parallel without consuming too much power within the IC/die. Since the low power scan architecture reduces test power consumption, it is possible to simultaneously test more die on a wafer than previously possible using conventional scan architectures. This allows wafer test times to be reduced which reduces the manufacturing cost of each die on the wafer. 2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional scan architecture that a circuit 100 can be configured into during test. In the normal functional configuration, circuit 100 may be a functional circuit within IC, but in test configuration it appears as shown in FIG. 1. Scan architectures can be applied at various circuit levels. For example, the scan architecture of FIG. 1 may represent the testing of a complete IC, or it may represent the testing of an embedded intellectual property core sub-circuit within an IC, such as a DSP or CPU core sub-circuit. The scan architecture includes a scan path circuit 104, logic circuitry to be tested 108, and connection paths 112-120 to a tester 110. Tester 110 operates to: (1) output control to operate scan path 104 via control path 114; (2) output serial test stimulus patterns to scan path 104 via scan input path 118; (3) input serial test response patterns from scan path 104 via scan output path 120; (4) output parallel test stimulus patterns to logic 108 via primary input path 112; and (5) input parallel test response patterns from logic 108 via primary output path 116. Scan path 104 operates, in addition to its scan input and scan output modes to tester 110, to output parallel test stimulus patterns to logic 108 via path 122, and input parallel response patterns from logic 108 via path 124. Typically tester 110 is interfaced to the scan architecture by probing the die pads at wafer level, or by contacting package pins after the die is assembled into a package. While tester 110 connections to the primary inputs 112 and primary outputs 116 of logic 108 are shown, the primary input and output connections could be achieved by augmentation of scan path 104. For example, scan path 104 could be lengthened to include boundary scan cells located on each primary input and primary output of logic 108. The boundary scan cells would provide primary inputs to and primary outputs from logic 108, via widened stimulus and response busses 122 and 124, respectively. In some instances, logic 108 may be sufficiently tested by scan path 104 such that it is not necessary to provide primary inputs to and outputs from logic 108 via the tester or via the above described augmentation of scan path 104. For example, if the amount of logic 108 circuitry made testable by the use of scan path 104 in combination with the primary inputs and outputs is very small compared to the amount of logic 108 circuitry made testable by the scan path 104 alone, then the primary input and output connections to logic 108 may removed without significantly effecting the test of logic circuitry 108. To simplify the description of the prior art and following description of the present disclosure, it will be assumed that logic circuit 108 is sufficiently tested using only scan path 104, i.e. the primary inputs 112 and primary outputs 116 are not required. However, it is clear that primary input and output connections to the tester or to an augmented scan path 104, as described above, could be used as well. FIG. 2 illustrates an example of a conventional scan cell that could be used in scan path 104. (Note: The optional-scan cell multiplexer 218 and connection paths 220 and 224, shown in dotted line, will not be discussed at this time, but will be discussed later in regard to FIG. 7.) The scan cell consists of a D-FF 204 and a multiplexer 202. During normal configuration of the circuit 100, multiplexer 202 and D-FF 204 receive control inputs SCANENA 210 and SCANCK 212 to input functional data from logic 108 via path 206 and output functional data via path 216. In the normal configuration, the SCANCK to D-FF 204 is typically a functional clock, and the SCANENA signal is set such that the D-FF always clocks in functional data from logic 108 via path 206. During the test configuration of FIG. 2, multiplexer 202 and D-FF 204 receive control inputs SCANENA 210 and SCANCK 212 to capture test response data from logic 108 via path 206, shift data from scan input path 208 to scan output path 214, and apply test stimulus data to logic 108 via path 216. In the test configuration, the SCANCK to D-FF 204 is the test clock and the SCANENA signal is operated to allow capturing of response data from logic 108 and shifting of data from scan input 208 to scan output 214. During test configuration, SCANENA is controlled by tester 110 via path 114. SCANCK may also be controlled by the tester, or it may be controlled by another source, for example a functional clock source. For the purpose of simplifying the operational description, it will be assumed that the SCANCK is controlled by the tester. The scan inputs 208 and scan outputs 214 of multiple scan cells are connected to form the serial scan path 104. The stimulus path 216 and response path 206 of multiple scan cells in scan path 104 form the stimulus bussing path 122 and response bussing path 124, respectively, between scan path 104 and logic 108. From this scan cell description, it is seen that the D-FF is shared between being used in the normal functional configuration and the test configuration. During scan operations through scan path 104, the stimulus outputs 216 from each scan cell ripple, since the stimulus 216 path is connected to the scan output path 214. This ripple causes all the inputs to logic 108 to actively change state during scan operations. Rippling the inputs to logic 108 causes power to be consumed by the interconnect and gating capacitance in logic 108. FIG. 3 illustrates a simplified example of how tester 110 operates, in states 300, the scan architecture during test. Initially the tester will output control on path 114 to place the scan architecture in an idle state 302. Next, the tester outputs control on path 114 to place the scan architecture in an operate scan path state 304. In the operate scan path state, the tester outputs control to cause the scan path to accept stimulus data from the tester via path 118 and to output response data to the tester via path 120. The tester maintains the operate scan path state until the scan path has been filled with stimulus data and emptied of response data. From the operate scan path state, the tester outputs control on path 114 to place the scan architecture in a capture response data state 306. In the capture response data state, the tester outputs control to cause the scan path to load response data from logic 108 via path 124. From the capture response data state 306, the tester outputs control on path 114 to cause the scan architecture to re-enter the operate scan path state 302. The process of entering the operate scan path state 304 to load stimulus into the scan path and empty response from the scan path, and then passing through the capture response state 306 to load new response data from logic 108 repeats until the end of test. At the end of test the tester outputs control to cause the scan architecture to re-enter the idle state 302. FIG. 4 illustrates a timing example of how tester 110 outputs SCANENA and SCANCK signals to scan path 104 during scan operations. In this example, a high to low transition on SCANENA, at time 406, in combination with SCANCKs occurring during time interval 402, causes stimulus data from the tester to be input to the scan path via path 118 while response data is output from the scan path to the tester via path 120. A low to high transition on SCANENA, at time 408, in combination with a SCANCK at time 404, causes response data from logic 108 to be loaded into the scan path. Time interval 402 relates to state 304 of operating the scan path, and time interval 404 relates to state 306 of capturing a response, in FIG. 3. As seen in the timing and operation diagrams of FIGS. 3 and 4, the time interval sequences 404 (i.e. state 306) and 402 (i.e. state 304) cycle a sufficient number of times during test to input all stimulus to and obtain all response from logic 108. From the scan architecture described in regard to FIGS. 1, 2, 3, and 4 it is seen that the stimulus 122 outputs ripple the inputs to logic 108 as data shifts through the scan path 104 during scan operations. Rippling the inputs of logic 108 causes simultaneous charging and discharging of capacitances associated with the interconnects and gates of logic 108. For example, each scan cell stimulus output 216 to logic 108 charges and discharges a certain amount of capacitance within logic 108 at a frequency related to the data bits being scanned through the scan cell. While each scan cell stimulus output may only be directly input to a few gates within logic 108, each of the gates in logic 108 have outputs that fanout to inputs of other gates in logic 108, and the outputs of the other gates in logic 108 again fanout to inputs of still further gates, and so on. Thus a transition on the stimulus output of a single scan cell may initiate hundreds of transitions within logic 108 as a result of the above mentioned signal transition fanout. Each of the transitions charge or discharge a portion of the total capacitance with logic 108 and therefore contribute to power consumption within logic 108. The individual power (Pi) consumed by the rippling of a given scan cell output 216 can be approximated by CV.sup.2 F, where C is the capacitance being charged or discharged by the scan cell output (i.e. the capacitance of the above mentioned signal transition fanout), V is the switching voltage level, and F is the switching frequency of the scan cell output. The total power (Pt) consumed by simultaneously scanning all the scan cells in scan path 104 is approximately the sum of the individual scan cell powers, i.e. Pt=Pi.sub.1+Pi.sub.2+ . . . Pi.sub.N. The total power consumed by circuit 100, when it is configured into the scan architecture of FIG. 1, can exceed the power consumed by circuit 100 when it is configured into its normal functional mode. This can be understood from the fact that, during normal functional mode of circuit 100, not all the D-FFs 204 simultaneously operate, as they do during scan operations occurring during the above described scan test operation. Further if an IC contained multiple circuits 100, the test of the IC may require testing each circuit 100 individually due to the above described test power consumption restriction. This lengthens the test time of the IC, which increases the cost to manufacture the IC. A first known method of reducing power consumption during test operation is to insert blocking circuitry, such as a gate, into the stimulus paths 216 of each scan cell, such that during scan operations the inputs to logic 108 are blocked from the effect of the scan ripple. The problem with the first method is that it adds an undesirable delay (i.e. the blocking circuit delay) in the stimulus paths 216 between D-FFs 204 and logic 108. This delay can negatively effect the performance of circuit 100 when it is configured into its normal functional mode. A second known method is to reduce the scan clock rate, such that the ripple frequency (F) is reduced. The problem with the second method is that it increases the test time since scan operations are performed at the reduced scan clock rate. Today, there are a number of test synthesis vendor tools that can synthesize and insert scan architectures into ICs, similar in structure to the scan architecture shown in FIG. 1. The use of such “push-button” scan insertion tools is an attractive alternative to customized scan designs since it is an automated process. As will be described, the present disclosure provides a method of adapting these synthesized scan architectures such that they may operate in a desired low power mode. The process of adapting scan architectures for low power operation is also easily automated. The present disclosure described below provides a method of adapting synthesized scan architectures to achieve a low power mode of operation. The process of adapting scan architectures for low power operation is achieved without the aforementioned problems of; (1) having to insert blocking circuitry in the stimulus paths which adds signal delays, and (2) having to decrease the scan clock rate which increases test time. Furthermore, as will be described in more detail later, the process of adapting scan architectures for low power operation is achieved without having to modify the stimulus and response test patterns which are automatically produced by scan architecture synthesis tools.

This invention relates in general to vehicle wheels and in particular to an improved method for producing a full face fabricated vehicle wheel. A conventional fabricated vehicle wheel is typically of a two-piece construction and includes an inner disc and an outer xe2x80x9cfullxe2x80x9d rim. The disc can be cast, forged, or fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inner annular wheel mounting portion and an outer annular portion. The wheel mounting portion defines an inboard mounting surface and includes a center pilot or hub hole, and a plurality of lug receiving holes formed therethrough for mounting the wheel to an axle of the vehicle. The rim is fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inboard tire bead seat retaining flange, an inboard tire bead seat, an axially extending well, an outboard tire bead seat, and an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange. In some instances, a three-piece wheel construction having a mounting cup secured to the disc is used. In both types of constructions, the outer annular portion of the disc is secured to the rim by welding. A full face fabricated vehicle wheel is distinguished from other types of fabricated wheels by having a one-piece wheel disc construction. In particular, the full face wheel includes a xe2x80x9cfull facexe2x80x9d disc and a xe2x80x9cpartialxe2x80x9d rim. The full face-disc can be formed cast, forged, or fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys. The full face disc includes an inner annular wheel mounting portion and an outer annular portion which defines at least a portion of an outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the wheel. The wheel mounting portion defines an inboard mounting surface and includes a center pilot or hub hole, and a plurality of lug receiving holes formed therethrough for mounting the wheel to an axle of the vehicle. The partial rim is fabricated from steel, aluminum, or other alloys, and includes an inboard tire bead seat retaining flange, an inboard tire bead seat, an axially extending well, and an outboard tire bead seat. In some instances, the outboard tire bead seat of the rim and the outer annular portion of the disc cooperate to form the outboard tire bead seat retaining flange of the full face wheel. In both types of constructions, the outboard tire bead seat of the rim is positioned adjacent the outer annular portion of the disc and a weld is applied to secure the rim and the disc together. This invention relates to an improved method for forming a full face fabricated vehicle wheel and includes the steps of: (a) providing a disc blank formed from a metal material; (b) subjecting the disc blank to a metal stamping operation to produce a partially formed non-bowl shaped full face wheel disc having at least one stamped pocket formed therein; (c) forming at least one decorative window in the partially formed full face wheel disc; (d) coining a back side of the window in the partially formed full face wheel disc; (e) trimming an outer edge of the partially formed full face wheel disc to a predetermined diameter; (f) forming a center hub hole in the partially formed full face wheel disc; (g) subjecting the partially formed full face wheel disc to one or more final metal forming operations to form at least one of an outer flange and a plurality of lug bolt mounting holes in the partially formed wheel disc so as to produce a finished full face wheel disc; and (h) securing the full face wheel disc to a preformed wheel rim to produce the finished full face fabricated vehicle wheel. Other advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in light of the accompanying drawings.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an image reading device that employs a shading correction technique in an image reading operation, in particular shading correction performed in an image reading operation according to a sheet-through method, an image forming apparatus including the image reading device; and an image reading method of reading an image using the sheet-through method. 2. Discussion of the Background Art In general, image reading devices are divided into two types: a flat-bed type and a sheet-through type. In the flat-bed type image reading device, an exposure scanning unit scans an original copy (hereinafter referred to as the document) placed on a contact glass to read the image of the document. In the sheet-through type image reading device, an exposure scanning unit of a scanner section is fixed. Thus, the sheet-through type image reading device moves a document to read the image of the document. In particular, the sheet-through type image reading device is capable of reading successive images, and therefore productivity can be improved if the number of documents read per unit of time is increased. In the operation of reading the document image, a type of correction called shading correction is commonly performed. Shading correction corrects changes in the amount of light used to read the document image caused by variation in the main scanning direction of the illuminance provided by an exposure lamp serving as a light source used to read the document image together with a light-receiving element or by the passage of light-up time. In shading correction, a white reference plate which provides a white density reference value is read in each document reading operation, and the image output is corrected on the basis of the thus-read data. When an image reading device capable of reading an image using either the flat-bed method or the sheet-through method performs the document reading operation using the sheet-through method, it is desirable to equalize the amount of correction carried out on image output read using the sheet-through method with the amount of correction performed on the image output read in the flat-bed method. Therefore, the image reading device moves a carriage of the exposure scanning unit to the white reference plate to perform shading correction, and thereafter moves the carriage back to a reading position to perform the document reading operation. As described above, shading correction performed by the sheet-through type image reading device involves the process of moving the exposure scanning unit to the white reference plate and thereafter moving the exposure scanning unit back to the reading position. Consequently, the image reading device is prevented from starting the reading operation of the next document until the current shading correction is completed. As a result, in the reading of successive images, a time interval between the reading of one document and the reading of the next document is naturally longer than the time of shading correction performed in a DF (Document Feed) mode. (Hereinafter, the term “DF mode” is used interchangeably with the term “ADF (Automatic Document Feed) mode”. Further, document feeding in the DF mode will be hereinafter referred to as DF.) Accordingly, to improve image reading productivity of the sheet-through type image reading device described above, it is desirable to reduce the time interval between the reading of one document and the reading of the next document. It is therefore desirable to reduce the time interval between successive document feeds, and to reduce the time of the above-described shading correction performed during document reading. In light of the above-described circumstances, a known image reading device has been proposed which is capable of reading an image using either a book-read (i.e., flat-bed) method of causing an exposure scanning unit to scan a fixed document to read the image of the document or the sheet-through method of moving a document with respect to an exposure scanning unit of a scanner to read the image of the document. The known image reading device is configured to perform a successive document reading operation if a time TD is longer than a time Ts, wherein the time TD represents the time from the start of a non-stop sheet-through feeding operation by an automatic document feeder to the arrival of a leading end of a document to the reading position, and the time Ts represents the time required to perform shading correction in the DF mode in which a document is automatically fed and read. As illustrated in the timing chart shown in FIG. 1, for example, in shading correction performed during the non-stop DF operation in accordance with the known technique described above, an instruction to perform a carriage operation is issued after the setting of a carriage driving operation and the setting of a reading operation for shading correction are performed after a time point t1 at which the reading operation of a previous document is completed. That is, the image reading device receives a reading preparation request from a controller (D1), sends a memory request to the controller (D2), and receives a memory access permission notification from the controller (D3). Thereafter, at the time point t1 at which the reading operation of the previous document is completed, the image reading device starts a pre-reading DF shading correction. Then, at a time point t2 at which the pre-reading DF shading correction is completed, the image reading device starts the reading operation of the next document. Further, at a time point t3 at which the next document is moved outside an image effective range, the image reading device completes the reading operation. According to the timing illustrated in FIG. 1, the sheet feeding operation of the next document starts after the completion of the reading operation of the previous document and before the completion of the sheet feeding operation of the previous document in the DF reading operation. Further, the DF document feeding operation is completed when the sheet feeding operation of the next document is completed. According to the above-described timing, the time TD between the previous document and the next document in the non-stop successive sheet feeding operation corresponds to the sum of a processing time Ts of the DF shading correction and a preparation time Tp for the DF shading correction, and represents a pre-reading DF shading correction time. The time TD is represented as the following equation:TD=Tp+Ts  (1)The time TD is also represented as the following equation:TD=t2−t1  (2) It is to be noted that productivity is determined by the processing time, that is, the shorter the processing time the greater the productivity. However, the way in which known apparatuses including that described above operate makes it difficult to reduce the processing time and improve the productivity, for reasons which are discussed in greater detail below. FIG. 2 is a detailed timing chart illustrating the above-described time TD. As can be observed from the drawing, the preparation time Tp for the DF shading correction corresponds to the sum of a preparation time Tp1 for the reading operation for shading correction and a preparation time Tp2 for the setting of the carriage driving operation. That is, the preparation time Tp is represented as the following equation:Tp=Tp1+Tp2  (3) Further, the processing time Ts of the DF shading correction corresponds to the sum of a time Ts1 from the start of the carriage movement to the start of the reading operation for shading correction and a time Ts2 from the start of the reading operation for shading correction to the completion of shading correction. That is, the processing time Ts is represented as the following equation:Ts=Ts1+Ts2  (4) FIG. 3 is a flowchart illustrating a processing procedure of the processing performed in accordance with the timing illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2. The processing procedure is divided into a shading correction setting process A including Steps S1 to S4 and a shading correction B including Steps S5 and S6. According to the processing procedure, upon completion of the reading operation of the previous document, the setting of the reading operation for shading correction (Step S1) and the setting of the timing of the reading operation for shading correction (Step S2) are performed. Then, the setting of the carriage operation for shading correction (Step S3) is performed. Thereafter, an instruction to perform the carriage operation for shading correction is issued (Step S4). On the basis of the above-described operation instruction, the carriage operation for shading correction is started (Step S5), and the reading operation for shading correction is started (Step S6). Thereby, the reading operation for shading correction is performed. The timing of starting Step S1 corresponds to the time point t1, and the timing of completing Step S6 corresponds to the time point t2. Thus, according to known techniques including the technique described above, in the non-stop automatic document feeding operation in the DF mode, i.e., in the successive document reading operation, the operation is performed in the order of the notification of the memory access permission (represented as D3 in FIG. 1), shading correction in the time TD, and the sheet-through reading operation. More precisely, shading correction included in the above-described operation is performed in the order of the setting of shading correction in the preparation time Tp, the carriage operation in the time Ts1, and shading correction in the time Ts2. The processing time taken to perform shading correction in the above-described manner corresponds to the sum of the time for shading correction setting process A and the time for shading correction B. In the successive document reading operation in the DF mode, therefore, it is difficult to make the time interval between two successive documents shorter than the processing time corresponding to the sum of the times described above. Therefore, it is difficult to reduce the processing time and improve the productivity.

This application claims the priority of European patent document 09 005 827.2, filed Apr. 27, 2009, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein. The invention relates to a master clock generation unit for satellite navigation systems, and to a master clock generation system. A master clock generation unit known as Clock Monitor and Control Unit (CMCU) is a high performance 10.23 MHz master clock generation unit for satellite navigation systems. Two frequency synthesizers can select independently one of four signal inputs to which independent 10 MHz atomic clock frequency references can be provided as a basis for the master clock generation. One of the two synthesizer outputs is selected to provide a master clock for a payload and is distributed to up to four identical outputs. The output signal of the second synthesizer provides a hot redundant alternative for the master clock. A phase meter monitors the output phase of the active synthesizer against the hot redundant one. Accordingly, the clock monitoring and control unit being part of the payload for satellite navigation systems generates a satellite's Master Timing Reference (MTR) signal based on input signals provided by atomic standards. The functional concept of a known master clock generation unit is shown in FIG. 1. The master clock generation unit or CMCU 100 derives an output reference frequency, namely a 10.23 MHz on-board Master Timing Reference (MTR), based on a set of four atomic frequency standards which are fed to frequency inputs 102, 104, 106 and 108. Each of the frequency inputs 102, 104, 106, 108 is connected to a respective matrix input 131, 132, 133, 134 of a 4×2 switching matrix 130. The switching matrix 130 enables selecting a nominal (primary) and a redundant (secondary) clock at a first and a second matrix output 135, 136. The switching matrix 130 is telecommanded via a controller 180. The nominal and the redundant clock at the first and the second matrix output 135, 136 are fed to a first and a second frequency synthesizer 140, 145. The frequency synthesizers 140, 145 are adapted to perform a frequency conversion according to different clock types: a Passive Hydrogen Maser (PHM) and a Rubidium Clock (RAFS). The respective synthesizer outputs 142, 147 are connected to a phase meter 170 and a switch 175. The phase meter 170 monitors the phase difference between the output signals of the frequency synthesizers 140, 145 and stores the results for later retrieval. One of the two synthesizers 140, 145 output signals is selected by the switch 175 to provide the 10.23 MHz reference frequency at four frequency outputs 202, 204, 206, 208 to the payload. The above described master clock generation unit 100 is provided in identical manner in a master clock generation system 1 twice. Since both the nominal master clock generation unit (indicated by N in the left part of the master clock generation system) and the redundant master clock generation unit (indicated by R in the right part of FIG. 1) are identical for providing cold redundancy only the nominal CMCU-N is depicted with reference numerals. The solution depicted in FIG. 1 and comprising a simplified switch matrix is currently used in Galileo satellite system. A major disadvantage of the described master clock generation unit is that, due to the different clock input frequencies, two frequency synthesizers 140, 145 are needed to perform phase comparison later on. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a master clock generation unit for satellite navigation systems which can be built with cheaper manufacturing and part costs. Furthermore, a master clock generation unit is to be provided which can provide a more accurate master timing reference. These and other objects and advantages are achieved according to the invention by a master clock generation unit for satellite navigation systems, known as Clock Monitoring and Control Unit CMCU, which comprises a number of frequency inputs for receiving a respective atomic clock signal, each clock signal having a first or a second reference frequency, and a number of frequency converters, each of which has a converter input connected to one of the frequency inputs and a converter output. Each of the frequency converters is supplied with an offset frequency by one or a number of frequency synthesizers, the offset frequency being selected according to the first and the second reference frequency at the assigned frequency input for providing the same intermediate frequency at each converter output. A switching matrix is connected to each of the converter outputs for selecting one of the intermediate frequencies as a primary clock provided at a first matrix output, and another of the intermediate frequencies as a secondary clock provided at a second matrix output. A frequency generator which has a generating input connected to the first matrix output and is connected to a number of frequency outputs of the master clock generation unit, is adapted for deriving an output reference frequency from the primary clock and providing the output reference frequency at the number of frequency outputs. A phase meter having a first meter input connected to the first matrix output and a second meter input connected to the second matrix output is provided for determining a phase difference between the primary and the secondary clock to detect abnormal operation. In another aspect of the invention a master clock generation system comprising two master clock generation units according to the invention for redundancy purposes is provided. The master clock generation unit according to the invention guarantees high isolation between the input signals (i.e., the atomic clock signals). Furthermore, it accepts signals from different clock types which are operating on different frequencies in any combination. The master clock generation unit avoids any hard switching of the output signal, and therefore avoids phase jumps that might affect the remaining payload. A further advantage is an increase in resolution of the phase meter to provide more accurate results. At last, rapid changes of the reference frequency can be detected. In a preferred embodiment the clock generation unit comprises up to four frequency inputs, two of them receiving the atomic clock signal having the first reference frequency and the other two receiving the atomic clock signal having the second reference frequency. The first reference frequency corresponds to 10.0028 MHz according to Phase Hydrogen Maser (PHM). The second reference frequency corresponds to 10.00 MHz according to Rubidium Clock (RAFS). The up to four input signals from the atomic clocks are down-converted to an intermediate frequency for further processing. To cope with the different frequencies of PHM and RAFS, it is preferred to provide two frequency converters assigned to signals according to PHM and two signals for RAFS which are driven by different frequency synthesizers. The frequency synthesizers are known as direct digital frequency synthesizers (DDS). By applying different offset frequencies to the frequency converters, both clock signals can be converted to the same intermediate frequency for further processing. In a preferred embodiment each of the frequency converters comprises a first conversion stage for mixing the first reference frequency and the second reference frequency, respectively, with a reference frequency to a respective first and second pre-intermediate frequency, before tuning the first and the second pre-intermediate frequency to the same intermediate frequency provided at each of the converter outputs in a second conversion stage. It is preferred that the reference frequency is the output reference frequency provided by an oscillator of the frequency generator of the clock generation unit. According to a further preferred embodiment one of the intermediate frequencies fed to the switching matrix can be chosen as a primary clock, and another can be chosen as a secondary clock, in the switching matrix. In the intermediate frequency domain, one of the clocks can be selected by the switching matrix as the primary clock from which to derive the master clock generation unit output signals. The second clock, kept for hot redundancy, will be routed through the switching matrix to the phase meter to be compared with a signal from the primary one. According to a further embodiment of the invention, the frequency generator comprises a phase frequency detector for comparing the first clock with a signal derived from the second reference frequency, by a frequency division. Furthermore, an error signal generated by the frequency generator is used to control the reference frequency. In a further embodiment of the invention, the phase meter arrangement comprises a number of phase meters that are connected to each of an assigned converter output for receiving the intermediate frequencies (i.e., down-converted reference frequencies), and connected to a reference clock signal as provided to the phase frequency detector of the frequency generator. In still another embodiment of the invention, the phase meter stores a number of measurement samples in pre-determined time intervals for later retrieval. The phase meter determines the phase difference between the two input signals in programmable time intervals. Preferably, up to 1000 measurement samples can be stored inside the master clock generation unit for later retrieval by a data handling system. For rapid detection of any abnormal behavior of one of the two clocks, the phase meter preferably comprises a frequency discontinuity detector in addition. The output reference frequency corresponds to 10.23 MHz. The master clock generation unit according to the invention is powered by a primary power bus, especially a regulated bus providing a voltage of 50 V, from a spacecraft. Furthermore, it is useful if the switching matrix, the frequency synthesizers and the phase meter are commanded and supervised via a data interface which can be a standard serial interface. The master clock generation unit furthermore preferably provides discrete telemetry of the on/off status, voltage and current monitoring and thermistor telemetry. Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

The invention relates generally to lock assemblies, and more particularly to lock assemblies having an operating member recessed within the lock core. Typically, a lock comprises a lock member, such as a latch for example, an operating member such as a handle, which is operable to release the latch, and an operating mechanism for connecting the operating member to the latch. The operating mechanism is generally enabled by the presentation of a suitable key to the lock. Without the key, the operating member cannot be operated to release the latch. In some locks, the key itself is the operating member. Some more modern locks have replaced the conventional metal key with a card having a magnetic strip bearing an access code. The lock is provided with a card reading device which is associated with the lock operating mechanism. Typically, the lock operating mechanism includes an electromechanical device which receives electrical signals from the card reader, and whether or not the operating mechanism is enabled depends on whether or not the electromechanical device is energized. Numerous problems exist with conventional mechanical and/or electrical locking systems. Firstly, mechanical keys for the most part can be easily copied and distributed to unauthorized users. Also, if the key is ever lost or stolen, the entire lock cylinder may need replacing in order to assure that an unauthorized user does not gain access. When the door lock system is placed on the outside of the door, the lock may be tampered with or subject to vandalism. In addition, it can also be difficult to provide electronic lock hardware that mechanically interacts with existing door locks, and it can be especially difficult to provide electronic lock hardware that can be retrofitted into installed or mounted conventional door locks.

Electronic identification systems typically include two devices which are configured to communicate with one another. Preferred configurations of the electronic identification systems provide such communications via a wireless medium. One such configuration is described in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/705,043, filed Aug. 29, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,130,602, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application, and which is hereby incorporated herein by reference. This application discloses the use of a radio frequency (RF) communication system 10 including one or more radio frequency transponder modules 12, as described below with reference to FIG. 1. The transponder modules 12 are each coupled to an object (not illustrated) that the system 10 recognizes because of signals that the transponder modules 12 emit in response to stimuli. The system 10 includes an interrogator 13 operating in response to commands from a controller 14. Data and commands are exchanged between the interrogator 13 and the controller 14 through interconnections 15. In one mode of operation, a transmitter TX 16 contained in the interrogator 13 supplies RF signals through interconnections 17 to a transmit/receive (T/R) antenna system 18. The T/R antenna system 18, in turn, radiates an interrogation signal 20 to one or more of the transponder modules 12. When the interrogation signal 20 is received by one of the transponder modules 12, a response signal 24 may be generated and transmitted. The response signal 24 typically includes modulation allowing some property or set of properties of the transponder module 12 to be determined. The property or properties describe the object (not illustrated) to which the transponder module 12 is coupled. The response signal 24 is received by the T/R antenna system 18 and is coupled to a receiver RX 28. The receiver RX 28 demodulates the received response signal 24 and supplies information determined from the received response signal 24 to the controller 14 via the interconnections 15. The controller 14, in turn, may be able to supply information derived from the response signal 24 to an external processor (not illustrated) via a bus or other data link 30. Systems such as the system 10 find wide-ranging application in a broad variety of settings. The IPASS toll. collection system presently in use in the Chicago area is one example of such a system. In transponder-based toll collection systems, the presence of an object, such as a moving vehicle (not illustrated), is detected by a detector. In a toll collection system, the detection process may rely on reflection of electromagnetic waves, detection of magnetic anomalies or detection of a large mass. In response to detection of the presence of the vehicle, the controller 14 causes the transmitter TX 16 to transmit interrogation signals 20 having carefully limited range. The transponder module 12 is typically a dash-mounted unit that has been pre-programmed to identify the vehicle and to provide information regarding a pre-existing account associated with that vehicle. The transponder module 12 transmits the response signal 24 containing information to the interrogator 13. The information in the response signal 24 identifies the vehicle and the account associated with that transponder module 12. The receiver RX 28 receives the response signal 24, demodulates this information and couples the received information to the controller 14. The controller 14 may pass the received information to one or more computers (not shown) via the data link 30, causing the account associated with the vehicle to be appropriately decremented. As a result, the vehicle need not slow for the toll collection process, providing smoother traffic flow, reducing fuel consumption and generally facilitating both vehicular transportation and toll collection. Similarly, an automated fuel retail system (not illustrated) may use the system 10 including the interrogator 13. The interrogator 13 exchanges signals with the transponder 12 that is attached to vehicle (not illustrated) to determine whom to bill for fuel dispensed to that vehicle when the vehicle is fueled at the fuel dispensing station. In these kinds of systems 10, a range of the interrogation signal 20 is carefully limited to avoid interrogation of more than one transponder module 12 at a time. Additionally, it is often desirable to limit the amount of power that is required by the transponder module 12 in order to provide a stand-alone transponder module 12 that is able to operate without requiring an external source of power and that has long battery life. Further, it is generally desirable to provide systems 10 that are as simple as possible. One approach to realizing these goals is to receive and transmit the interrogation 20 and response 24 signals in a common frequency band. In some systems, the response signals 24 are derived from the interrogation signals 20 and the transponder module 12 may even be one that simply modulates and re-transmits the received interrogation signal 20 to provide the response signal 24. One simple technique for modulating the interrogation signal 20 to form the response signal 24 is to either (i) forward bias a diode that is coupled between ground and an antenna in the transponder module 12 to couple the antenna to ground, corresponding to a first logical state, or (ii) to leave the diode unbiased or reverse biased, decoupling the antenna from ground and corresponding to a second logical state. The antenna re-transmits the interrogation signal 20 in the second logical state but not in the first logical state. The transponder module 12 repeatedly switches between these two logical states according to predetermined patterns while the interrogation signal 20 is present to modulate the response signal 24 with a binary signal. These kinds of systems 10 are known as backscatter systems. In some backscatter systems, the interrogation signal 20 includes a modulated preamble that carries data identifying which transponder module 12 in a population of such transponder modules 12 is targeted to respond. The preamble of the interrogation signal 20 further may include a request for specific data from the targeted transponder module 12. In such backscatter systems, the interrogation 20 and reply 24 signals must necessarily use the same frequency band and both the interrogation 20 and response 24 signals are present at the same time. Backscatter RFID systems 10 are presently of great interest for identifying, sorting, counting and routing in situations where selected objects in a population of objects require individual recognition and treatment. Examples include luggage-handling and routing systems associated with public or private transportation systems, package handling and routing systems, vehicle or other rental or check-out systems and inventory control systems. Some kinds of systems 10 may interrogate a large number of transponder modules 12 simultaneously. For example, an inventory control system may be used to determine if a specific item coupled to the target transponder module 12 is contained in a warehouse. Typically, each transponder module 12 is associated with an inventory item in the warehouse and vice versa. Various protocols have been developed to facilitate identification of, and communication with, a specific transponder module 12 in a population of similar transponder modules 12. In many of these systems 10, there is need for low cost, compact and rugged transponder modules 12 that are secured to objects, such as vehicles, having metallic, and therefore conductive, surfaces. It is also desirable that the transponder modules 12 provide a compact package that does not protrude from the object bearing the transponder module 12. However, most antennas operate by developing electrical fields between one portion of the antenna and another portion of the antenna. When an antenna is mounted flush against a conductive surface, the potential differences that are required for successful operation of the antenna are effectively neutralized by image charges developed in the conductive surfaces of the object being tagged by the transponder module 12. What is needed is an antenna structure that can be incorporated into a compact transponder module without compromising the form factor of the transponder module and that can operate effectively even when the transponder module is mounted on a conductive surface of the object bearing the transponder module.

In a principal aspect the present invention relates to a tool for removal of a generally W-shaped drum brake spring by engagement and retraction of the spring from a drum brake shoe mounted in a brake housing of a vehicle. The maintenance of drum brakes for vehicles typically requires that the drum brake pads be replaced or rejuvenated from time to time. In order to accomplish such a repair operation, it becomes necessary typically to remove the W-shaped brake spring that engages a pair of drum brake shoes. Various prior art patents disclose tools to effect such a removal including the following: U.S. Pat. No. 6,0445,535 issued Apr. 4, 2000 entitled “Brake Spring Maintenance Tool and Method”; U.S. Pat. No. 6,327,769 issued Dec. 11, 2001 entitled “Brake Spring Maintenance Tool and Method”; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,032,280 issued. Apr. 25, 2006 entitled “Single Brake Spring Tool and Method”. Each of the aforesaid patents is incorporated herewith by reference in their entirety. Generally, such prior art tools include a mechanism which is fastened to the brake assembly in a manner which permits engagement of hooks mounted on a bracket to be adjusted and engaged with the W-shaped drum brake spring. Manipulation of the bracket as well as the hook members facilitates their removal or disengagement of the W-shaped brake spring from the drum brake shoe. Such tools have been commercialized, for example, by Lisle Corporation, as their Product No. 49900 and Lisle Product No. 50600. While such tools are very useful and have been successfully utilized by many mechanics for their intended purpose, certain disadvantages may result. For example, removal of springs by the use of such tools may be especially time consuming. That is, the time to set up such tools and adjust them for their intended purpose may be excessive. Thus, there has developed a need to provide tools which have the objective of disengagement or removal of a brake spring associated with drum brakes, but which make the repair protocol more easily and successfully accomplished.

1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to a pencil sharpener, and more particularly to an electric pencil sharpener. 2. Description of the Related Art Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional electric pencil sharpener includes a housing 1 having a partition 101, a cutting device 2 disposed in the housing 1, and a driving device 3 disposed in the housing 1. The driving device 2 includes a carrier 201 connected rotatably to the partition 101, a ring gear 202 disposed on the partition 101, and a threaded cutter 203 disposed pivotally to the carrier 201. The threaded cutter 203 has a planetary gear portion 204 meshing with the ring gear 202. The driving device 3 includes a driving motor 301, a small gear 302 disposed on an output shaft of the driving motor 301, and a large gear 303 disposed on a rear end of the carrier 201 and behind the partition 101. Upon insertion of a pencil (not shown) into the carrier 201, the driving motor 301 is operated to rotate the carrier 201. Hence, the threaded cutter 203 is rotated about the rotating axis thereof and the center of the ring gear 202 to thereby cut the pencil. However, since the rear end of the carrier 201 is connected to the large gear 202 at a position located behind the partition 101, it is difficult to remove the cutting device 2 from the housing 1. As a result, when the threaded cutter 203 becomes blunt, the cutting device 2 cannot be removed by the user for replacement of the threaded cutter 203, thereby resulting in inconvenience during use of the conventional electric pencil sharpener.

Computer networks are defined by their structure—bus, star, or some combination, and the organization of their bits—packets, continuous, or some combination. Computer networks are almost always packet-based. That is because data is naturally bursty. A lot of data flows when a user opens a web page, but while he or she is reading it there is no data moving. Packets also let a number of terminals share the same wire. In contrast, digital telephone networks are “circuit-switched”—a circuit is open for the duration of the connection. These two styles are good matches to the two data types, but there has developed a need to mix them up. If one has only a telephone line and wants to connect to the Internet, the data packets must be formatted and (usually) sent off to a modem. This works, but is inefficient because the line is held open and null data is being sent between the bursts of data that matter. If one wants to send audio over packet networks, the continuous audio data must be converted into packets and then the packets are reconverted into audio signals back together at the receiving end. Efforts to improve this cumbersome process make sense because: computer networks are much cheaper these days than circuit-oriented networks owing to their ubiquity and high-volume, it is often desirable to have both audio and data simultaneously on the same network, and computers are now very often either the source or destination for audio signals. One example that illustrates a convergence of the two networks styles most clearly in the VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) telephone application that is rapidly gaining popularity. The idea is that only one cable is needed to connect both a PC and a telephone. The switch that makes this happen is a cheap commodity Ethernet switch rather than an expensive proprietary PBX. The cost benefit is significant. The same reasoning applies to the high-fidelity audio networks used in radio stations and other studio facilities, with their expensive PBX-like router switches at the core. Thus, the motive to use Ethernet for audio transmission. Original Ethernet Originally, Ethernet networks were packet networks, but by convention, Ethernet packets are also called frames, (not to be confused with the term audio frames used later in this application). These range from 72 to 1526 bytes, depending on the amount of data to be carried. The original Ethernet was based on a single shared coaxial cable—the Ether in Ethernet's name. The very first versions used a ½″ thick cable with physical taps into it—one actually had to cut a little piece out of the jacket and screw in a metal part that made contact with the ground and center conductors. Later, the coax cable was smaller and T-connectors were used at the back of connected computers, but the principle remained the same. Even when Ethernet transitioned to telephone-style twisted-pair wires with a central hub, the medium was shared in the same way. When a terminal was transmitting, it owned the full capacity of the cable. That means that there had to be some method to arbitrate access so that data from the various terminals didn't interfere with each other and that all had a chance to get on the bus and use a fair piece of the available bandwidth. This was done by the MAC—Media Access Controller—in each terminal. Robert Metcalf invented the method at Xerox PARC in 1973. His mechanism senses when a collision occurs—collision detect. Upon detecting a collision, both data sending terminals would choose a random back-off time and then retransmit their packets with a good probability for success. The system also included a listen-before-talk function to reduce collisions—carrier sense. Using these methods, all terminals could share access to the channel—multiple access. Put these all together and you understand why Ethernet's channel access protocol is called a Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detect (CSMA/CD). U.S. Pat. No. 6,161,138, U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,431, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,761,430 are assigned to Peak Audio. The technology disclosed in these patents allows audio signals to be reliably sent over the classic shared Ethernets. One of the connected terminals is set to be the “conductor” and sends a synchronizing packet onto the network that all terminals listen to. Then each terminal is assigned a timeslot on the network. The slots were offset in time with reference to the conductor's beat packet. That way, no collision or packet contention occur so that smooth audio flow is obtained. These patents describe the method of using a “beat clock” to control access to a shared network among audio terminals in a isochronous fashion so that each terminal puts its packets on the network in a prescribed time slot. Switched Ethernet While the marketing name has been retained and there is compatibility with the original Ethernet, modern, switched Ethernet is a fundamentally different technology. With a dedicated full-duplex connection from each terminal and a central switch that routes traffic, Ethernet is no longer a shared medium system—and therefore does not need or use a Media Access Controller and the associated CSMA/CD scheme. Network Interface Cards used with Ethernet switches automatically disable these functions. The aforementioned three patents that are assigned to Peak Audio relate to the classic Ethernet CSMA/CD architecture with its shared medium approach and do not mention switched Ethernets. Peak Audio is presently marketing an audio networking system under the designation CobraNet which is used over switched networks and may benefit from the switched Ethernet architecture because it may provide more aggregate bandwidth and thus more audio channels are possible. However, CobraNet does not use switched Ethernet efficiently when audio and data share a link. Cobranet must route any data that shares a link with audio through their access module to ensure that it does not interfere with smooth audio flow.

1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a heating apparatus which heats a substrate in a vacuum quickly, a heating method which employs the heating apparatus, and a semiconductor device manufacturing method employing the heating method. 2. Description of the Related Art A semiconductor manufacturing technique frequently requires a process for heating a semiconductor substrate quickly. In particular, activation annealing of a wide bandgap semiconductor represented by silicon carbide (SiC) requires a high temperature of approximately 2,000° C. Regarding this, a substrate heating apparatus employing electron impact heating is known in which thermoelectrons are extracted from a filament upon application of an acceleration voltage between the filament and a vacuum vessel, and caused to collide against a heater, thus generating heat (see Japanese Patent Nos. 2912613, 2912616, and 2912913). FIG. 3 is a view showing the structure of a vacuum heating vessel employing electron impact heating in a conventional heating apparatus. Referring to FIG. 3, a 120-mm diameter conductive heater 1310 made of graphite (carbon) is present in the upper portion of a vacuum heating vessel 1030 to form one surface of the vacuum heating vessel 1030. In the vacuum heating vessel 1030, a filament 1320 made of tungsten-rhenium is fixed to a base plate 1340 made of molybdenum through tantalum first support columns (filament support columns) 1330. The base plate 1340 is fixed to an intermediate base plate 1370 made of molybdenum through second support columns 1360. Three heat reflecting plates 1350 made of molybdenum are inserted in a direction opposite to the filament 1320. The intermediate base plate 1370 is fixed to a water-cooled flange 1400 through third support columns 1390. Insulation glass members 1380 are arranged on and under the intermediate base plate 1370. In the conventional heating apparatus, the emissivity of the heat reflecting plates 1350 can be decreased, so heat insulation can be achieved easily, thus improving the heating efficiency. When temperature of the conductive heater is in a high-temperature range, that is, at 2,000° C., the temperature difference between the upper and lower surfaces of the base plate located closest to the filament is large. Hence, the base plate which fixes the columns that support the filament warps to project toward the conductive heater. The support columns accordingly spread outward and apply an excessive force to the filament, thus bending the filament. In this manner, if an excessive force acts on the filament to bend it, short-circuiting may occur to generate abnormal electric discharge. Also, the electron emission distribution becomes nonuniform and degrades the uniformity of the substrate surface temperature. Also, when the temperature of the molybdenum base is 1,800° C. or more, sublimated molybdenum may be attached to the insulating glass members, which causes an insulation error soon.

A liquid crystal display device is classified, on the basis of an operation mode of liquid crystal, into PC (phase change), TN (twisted nematic), STN (super twisted nematic), BTN (bistable twisted nematic), ECB (electrically controlled birefringence), OCB (optically compensated bend), IPS (in-plane switching) and VA (vertical alignment) devices, and the like. Then, the liquid crystal display device is classified, on the basis of a drive system of device, into PM (passive matrix) and AM (active matrix) devices. The PM (passive matrix) device is classified into static and multiplex devices, and the like; and the AM device is classified into TFT (thin film transistor) and MIM (metal insulator metal) devices, and the like. These devices contain a liquid crystal composition. In order to improve characteristics of the device, it is preferable that this composition has adequate physical properties. General physical properties which a compound as a component of the composition is required to have are as follows. (1) Chemical stability and physical stability. (2) High clearing point. The clearing point is a transition temperature between a liquid crystal phase and an isotropic phase. (3) Low lower limit temperature of a liquid crystal phase. The liquid crystal phase as referred to herein means a nematic phase, a smectic phase, or the like. (4) Low viscosity. (5) Adequate optical anisotropy. (6) Adequate dielectric anisotropy. In many cases, a compound having large dielectric anisotropy has a high viscosity. (7) High resistivity. A liquid crystal composition is prepared by mixing a lot of liquid crystalline compounds. Accordingly, it is preferable that such a liquid crystalline compound is well miscible with other compounds. Since a device may possibly be used at a below-freezing temperature, compounds having well compatibility at low temperatures are preferable. A compound having a high clearing point or a low lower limit temperature of a liquid crystal phase contributes to the wide temperature range of a nematic phase in the composition. A preferred composition has a low viscosity and optical anisotropy suitable for the mode of a device. Large dielectric anisotropy of a compound contributes to a low threshold voltage of a composition. By using such a composition, it is possible to obtain a device having characteristics such that the useful temperature range is broad; the response time is short; the contrast ratio is large; the drive voltage is small; the electric power consumption is low; and the voltage retention is high. Hitherto, there have been scarcely known examples in which a dihydrocoumarin derivative is applied as a liquid crystal display device. The following group of compounds having a structure analogous to a liquid crystal has been known up to date. However, in all of these compounds, their applications are not relevant to a liquid crystal display device, and characteristics, physical properties, and the like of these compounds as a liquid crystal are not clarified at all. Oriental Journal of Chemistry (1987), 3(2), 174-8 Journal of Organometallic Chemistry (1990), 387(3), 381-90

In general, GaN based nitride semiconductor is applied to electronic devices that are high speed switching and high output devices such as blue and green light emitting diodes (LED), metal semiconductor field effect transistors (MESFET), and high electron mobility transistors (HEMT). In particular, the blue and green LEDs have already been produced and the global sales of the blue and green LEDs have exponentially increased. The GaN based nitride semiconductor light emitting device is grown on a sapphire substrate or a SiC substrate. Then, an AlyGa1−yN polycrystalline thin film is grown on the sapphire substrate or the SiC substrate as a buffer layer at a low growth temperature. Then, an undoped GaN layer, a Si-doped n-GaN layer, or a mixture of the above two structures is grown on the buffer layer at a high temperature to form an n-GaN layer as a first electrode layer. Also, an Mg-doped p-GaN layer is formed on the n-GaN layer as a second electrode layer to manufacture a nitride semiconductor light emitting device. An emission layer (a multiple quantum well structure activation layer) is interposed between the n-GaN layer and the p-GaN layer. In general, in undoped GaN nitride semiconductor to which impurities are not added, yellow emission peak is shown over a very wide region in a 550 nm wavelength bandwidth, which is caused by the defects of vacancy of Ga atoms (VGa) in GaN nitride semiconductor crystal growth. Among such defects, when the n-GaN nitride semiconductor that is the Si-doped first electrode layer is grown, VGa is reduced so that very strong bandedge emission is shown. When the GaN nitride semiconductor is doped with silicon, VGa is exchanged by silicon. However, the dangling bond of N atoms continuously exists to affect the reliability of the light emitting device. Also, the p-GaN layer that is the second electrode layer is formed by doping Mg atoms during the growth of crystal. The position of Ga is exchanged by Mg atoms implanted as a doping source during the growth of crystal to form the p-GaN layer. The Mg atoms are combined with a hydrogen gas separated from a carrier gas and a source to form Mg—H compound in the GaN crystal layer so that a high resistance body of about 10MΩ is obtained. Therefore, after forming a pn conjunction light emitting device, a subsequent activation process of cutting off the Mg—H compound to exchanging the Mg atoms into the position of Ga is required. However, the amount of the light emitting device that operates as a carrier that contributes to emission in the activation process is 1017/cm3, which is much lower than Mg atomic concentration of no less than 1019/cm3 so that it is very difficult to form resistant contact. Also, the Mg atoms that remain in p-GaN nitride semiconductor without being activated to a carrier operate as a center that traps the light emitted from an interface to rapidly reduce optical output. In order to solve the problem, very thin transmissive resistant metal is used to reduce contact resistance so that current implantation efficiency is improved. In general, the optical transmittance of the thin transmissive resistant metal used in order to reduce the contact resistance is about 75 to 80% and the other operates as loss. Also, it has limitations on improving the optical output of the light emitting device during the growth of the crystal of the nitride semiconductor without improving the design of the light emitting device and the crystal properties of the emission layer and the p-GaN layer in order to improve internal quantum efficiency.