In mineral extraction, particularly in underground mining, scraper chain conveyors, which can be configured as single scraper chain or double scraper chain conveyors, are used. Scraper chain conveyors of the generic type are used, in particular, as face conveyors, in which, over large face lengths, the mined material has to be continuously evacuated with the scrapers fastened to the revolving scraper chain and transferred onto further conveying devices, such as drift conveyors, which can also consist of belt conveyors. A scraper chain conveyor generally has at both its ends a chain drive, with which the endless scraper chain revolving in the upper strand and lower strand is driven with the scrapers which are connected thereto.
A scraper for a so-called double-middle scraper chain conveyor, having a scraper web, a chain attachment region and scraper wings formed integrally onto the scraper web is known from DE 102 25 341 C1, to which is incorporated by reference herein in supplementation of the present disclosure.
In the prior art, ambitions to minimize the forces which shall be transmitted from the respective drives into the revolving scraper chain, in order to be able to reduce the capacities installed at the drives or, with the same capacity, transport higher quantities with the same scraper chain, have long existed. In EP 1 276 685 B1, it is proposed to this effect to make the scraper chain and/or the scrapers consist at least partially of a plastic which is self-extinguishing, flame-retardant and has anti-static properties, together with high mechanical strength. Through the use of plastic as the material for making the scraper chain and/or the scraper, a reduction in the weight of the scraper is intended to be achieved, whereby the drive capacity to be installed can be designed smaller or a larger conveying volume can be handled. According to one illustrative embodiment of EP 1 276 685 B1, the scraper is intended to consist of a metallic sheath, the interior of which is filled with a plastic and, according to another illustrative embodiment, the scraper is intended to be made fully of a suitable plastic, where possible the scraper chain also.
From WO 2004/048234 A1 it is known to make the entire scraper of plastic, the plastics scraper being intended to be connected to the metal chain links of a metallic scraper chain. In order to achieve a close attachment between scraper and chain, the fully plastics scraper is intended to be cast directly onto the chain links of the scraper chain. A drawback with this is that the connection can only be established above ground, so that the entire scraper chain would have to be brought from below ground to above ground in order to exchange such scrapers. An exchange of individual scrapers in the installed state of the scraper chain in the scraper chain conveyor is impossible.
DE 23 53 005 A1 discloses scrapers for a single-chain conveyor, in which a link of the simple chain is inserted between the top web and the top side of a chain clamp in order to connect the scraper to the simple chain. In order to reduce noise and wear, the sliding surface of the scraper consists of plastic. To this effect, the bottom side of the chain clamp can be coated with a plastics sliding surface, or it is provided with a plastics moulding which is anchored in a dovetailed transverse groove running transversely to the motional direction. In addition, the scraper wing ends can consist of exchangeable plastics caps, which are respectively fastened to a holding portion on the top web by means of a clamping sleeve. The plastics caps are provided on their bottom side with slide beads.
For double-middle scraper chain conveyors, it is known from WO 2004/065270 to have the top web and the chain clamp consist of different materials in order to minimize the weight of the scraper. As materials for the top part, plastic, aluminium or ceramics are proposed in order to obtain a top part which is as lightweight as possible. The scraper ends can also consist of end caps, which are movably fastened to the top part by means of clamping sleeves and a tongue and groove connection, for which holding portions are configured on the top web, which holding portions form the tongue and engage in a horizontal groove on the inner sides of the end caps.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a club-head for a golf club and, more particularly, to an improvement of a club-head having a hitting portion which includes a main body made of a fiber-reinforced plastic and a metal sole member integrally fixed to the main body along the underside of the main body.
2. Description of the Related Arts
Recently, a club-head has been used in which a hitting portion provided at the heel thereof with a hosel or neck portion for connecting a shaft consists of a main body made of a fiber-reinforced plastic for hitting a ball at the front surface thereof and a sole member made of a metal is integrally joined to the main body along the underside thereof. The club-head having such a construction has a drawback in that the main body is apt to be exfoliated from the sole member upon impact with a golf ball.
U.S. patent application No. 840,795 filed by the present applicant on Mar. 18, 1986, discloses one kind of the above-mentioned club-head wherein the back weight plate made of a heavy metal is attached to or embedded in the rear surface of the main body above the sole member. It has known that the club-head having such a construction can increase a flight distance of a golf ball hit by the head because the heavy back weight plate can most efficiently serve the main body to effect a repulsion action on the golf ball. But, the club-head having such a construction also has the drawback in that the main body is apt to be exfoliated from the sole member upon impact with a golf ball.
U.S. patent application No. 854,626 filed by the present applicant on Apr. 22, 1986, discloses another kind of the above-mentioned club-head wherein the weight member is embedded in the main body and connected to the sole member through one or more connecting members. In this construction, when the heavy weight member is arranged between the front and rear surfaces of the hitting portion of the club-head, the thickness of the main body between the front surface of the hitting portion of the club-head and the weight member is decreased, and thus, the repulsion action of the head against the golf ball and depth of the center of gravity of the head are decreased. On the other hand, when the heavy weight member is located at the rearmost position of the hitting portion of the club-head, the head has a drawback in that the main body is apt to be exfoliated from the sole member.


Today's modern aircraft use hermetically sealed fire extinguishers that are opened, or activated, by direct explosive impingement energy. With reference to Prior Art FIG. 1, the device which provides the explosive energy is typically called a cartridge 120, or squib. The impingement energy is focused on a dome-shaped hermetic burst disc 110 such that the burst disc will rupture as a result of the impingement. The burst disc material used is typically fabricated from corrosion resistant steel.
Typically, the cartridge 120 is retained in a discharge head 130 in such a manner that it directly faces the burst disc 110 assembly. The discharge head 130 is attached to the outlet of the fire extinguisher and is typically used to direct the flow of extinguishing agent to an aircraft interface, such as plumbing or tubing, which directs the agent to the desired location. A filter screen 150 is located within the discharge head to catch any large burst disc fragments created as a result of the explosive impingement energy.


Overall implementation of a keypad for a mobile device, i.e., the final package, including domes, backlight and keyset, should provide the required visual functionality as well as sufficient tactile feedback for the user when pressing an individual key. In view of thin keypads, the tactile feedback can be obtained using elastic light guide, dome pin lead throughs (holes above domes), or dome pins integrated with a plastic light guide (flexible but not elastic). Of these, sufficient optical quality can be obtained using either the first or the last approach.
Spatially selective out-coupling of light from a planar light guide plate for keypad illumination is an important desired feature. It means that simultaneous control of out-coupling efficiency and spectra of the out-coupled light needs to be provided to enable modification of the visual appearance (intensity, colored/white) of the individual keys. In addition, a tactile feedback when pressing an individual key should not be compromised by the illumination system.
Various types of out-coupling means based on surface structuring of the planar light guide exist. Spatial modulation of the out-coupling can be obtained by limiting/modulating the spatial structuring to/within separate regions (key areas) on the light guide.’
Moreover, colored appearance can be typically obtained using white light out-coupling and ‘painted’ keysets on a keymat. In cost sensitive applications, such as mobile phones, the utilized ‘paints’ typically have large variety of optical quality depending on the utilized manufacturer and can cause significant efficiency loss due to poor optical characteristics.
Various difficulties appear in keypad utilizing light guides for illumination and usually requiring several different manufacturing steps in keypad and light guide fabrication. Manufacturing of keypad's dome pins is usually realized by injection molding. The mechanical key function is realized by dome pins through holes in the illumination light guide. This can lead to energy losses in the illumination.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus, method and system for providing a dusting attachment device, which is installed on a suction-type vacuum cleaner and functions to equalize air flow current while providing a favorable dusting or dislodging surface.
2. Background Information
Those references found in the process of a U.S. patent search, having some relation in the prior art to technology attempting to address dusting and cleaning functions, or marshalling of debris in relation to another cleaning assembly, of those references found, include United States Patents to Miller, U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,142; Hamilton, U.S. Pat. No. 2,198,339; Palomino, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,008; Smith, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,541; Farmer, U.S. Pat. No. 4,198,727; Sorenson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,692,263; El Omary, U.S. Pat. No. 5,115,765; and Na, U.S. Pat. No. 5,652,997.
Miller ""142 discloses a Vacuum Operated Cleaner Attachment. Disclosed therein is a cleaner attachment for use with a common vacuum cleaner having a group of duck feathers which are longitudinally arranged around half of its cylindrical tube. Miller""s tube has the same cross-section throughout its entire length. The tube has a side wall and an end wall, and communicates, as claimed, with a vacuum source through its hollow internal passageway. This reference teaches a special securing means in the form of a wire overlying the quills of its feathers and heat shrinkable material overlying the wire holding the feathers. The feathers are each secured at one basic location, only, on the tube, and face the same longitudinal direction. A mustering of openings, having no discernible or disclosed pattern are provided through the side wall of Miller""s tube member beneath the one-directional feathers. Specifically, as disclosed, illustrated or claimed; Miller""s tube-side wall openings are beneath the longitudinal feathers and are said to be directing air flow laterally through the feathers, where the openings communicate with the passageway within the tube and serve to distribute generally equalized lateral air flow directly through the area of the feathers into the portion of the tube beyond the points of attachment of the feathers.
Miller does not illustrate or claim a conical or pyramidal central core, a functional and discernible patterning of air channels, or the multiple and diverse connection sites of feathering members at interstitial spaces between air channels throughout the majority of perimeter or circumferential space available on a core member. Nor does Miller set forth any of the configurational arrays of feathering set forth by the present invention; only one longitudinal arrangement of straight duck feathers secured at one basic location only; and dimensioned at basically one quill diameter and length of feather.
Palomino ""008 discloses a Dust Mop Attachment For Vacuum Cleaners. In its broadest teaching Palomino discloses and claims a mop attachment to a nozzle of a vacuum cleaner, having no feathering, and no array or patterning, or plurality, of air channels between or amongst which feathering or a reasonable equivalent is attached. Rather, only, a mop having a frame member, a mop element with one centrally located hole for receiving a vacuum cleaner nozzle, and means for detachable securing the mop element to its frame member and for detachably securing the cleaner nozzle to the mop element. elements of the mop simply surround one basic air hole, in vast difference with the present invention, where a diversity and plurality of feather members are attached to interstitial areas between a plurality and array of air channels deployed about a cone-like or pyramid-like core unit.
The Hamilton ""339 reference issued in 1940 discloses simply a xe2x80x9cbrush,xe2x80x9d especially adapted for cleaning foreign matter from radiators, Venetian blinds and other such devices with parts difficult to reach for cleaning. The xe2x80x9cbrushxe2x80x9d is disclosed as being adaptable to a vacuum cleaner, and shaped in its main body for working between xe2x80x98slatsxe2x80x99 of Venetian blinds or within and about the various tubes of a radiator, to loosen or dislodge, with the force and structure of a xe2x80x9cbrush,xe2x80x9d the dirt and foreign matter encountered, for vacuum cleaning removal. For this purpose, Hamilton""s sole disclosure and claim address: xe2x80x9cA brush comprising an elongated hollow body having one end [its connecting end] reduced to form a neck for insertion into a suction hose and provided at the opposite end with an arcuate curvaturexe2x80x9d having an opening cut on a bias. Hamilton""s hollow body is xe2x80x9cof substantially elliptical shape in cross section to provide opposed edges and opposed convex walls,xe2x80x9d in almost opposite distinction to the structure of the present invention. The xe2x80x98Brushxe2x80x99 of this reference is further provided with openings on the brush body which are disclosed as essentially being two lengthwise oriented lines of openings, one on each of the body""s two opposed convex walls, as shown in cross-section in Hamilton""s FIG. 2 drawing. Also, Hamilton discloses and claims xe2x80x9ctufts of bristles secured on the edges and opposed convex walls of the [brush] body;xe2x80x9d rather than a circumferentially oriented array and patterning of a number of air apertures on each arced or planar surface, with an interstitially attached number of feathering components about all such areas of a conical or pyramidal core unit. Hamilton does not teach a plurality of air channels in a diverse or patterned array about its available spacing; and does not teach the placement of feathering, or even its own xe2x80x98brush bristles,xe2x80x99 in areas between such air apertures or holes (interstitial areas) on either of the two opposing elliptical faces that Hamilton does teach.
Smith ""541 discloses a feather duster having its own built-in fan assembly, dust catching assembly and turbulence-inducing gap. Disclosed is a xe2x80x9cmultiplicity of feathersxe2x80x9d each of which is attached at one end, only, of the device, pointing in one direction relative to the device; and without a positional or functional relationship to a patterning, array and plurality of air apertures about a core unit attachment, as in the case of the present invention.
The remaining references found appear to be of less significance than those discussed previously herein. They pertain to a baseboard duster for vacuum cleaners (""727); a delicate dusting vacuum tool having outer holes sunk within grooves and no feathering components or reasonable structural similarity or equivalent (""263); a flea blower vacuum for pets (""765); and an auxiliary suction tool for use in a vacuum cleaner (""997).
None of the references found in the prior art specifically illustrate or disclose the vacuum dusting attachment device of the present invention. Nor is the invention obvious in view of any of the prior art references listed. In addition, all of the relevant prior art heretofore known suffer from a number of disadvantages.
None of the prior art references adequately address the problem of marshaling dust and particle debris to a central body for suction and evacuation.
Also, the prior art has not provided an accurate and flexible feathering arrangement for efficiently dislodging dust and like particles, but relied upon hard or substantially inflexible bristles or one-direction, hard, feathering of one basic length and dimensioning, secured to point in only one direction, and secured at one location only or at limited locations on inferior designed core bodies.
Additionally, none of the prior art devices in this area of technology have employed any configuration, or dimensioning or sizing, of feathering, except those of conventional dusters utilized in the art without vacuum cleaning devices. Nor has the prior art addressed the utilization of conical or pyramidal core units, uniformly tapered from their base end to their apex end, providing a diverse patterning of air channels over about two-thirds (⅔""s) of its length, and at the tip area, or providing a plurality of feather attachment sites at the spaces between each of a number of air channels on all faces of a core unit, for greater equalization of air currents and their effects more closely to a work site being dusted or contacted for dislodging particles therat.
Further, none of the prior art devices appear to have a central body or core which is constructed of malleable and flexible soft metal, alloy, polymer or composite; and which can be dimensionally adjusted by virtue of such construction materials, while retaining structural and positional integrity.
These and other disadvantages, structurally and functionally, of the prior art, will become apparent in reviewing the remainder of the present specification, claims and drawings.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a substantially improved dusting attachment device for use in interaction with a vacuum cleaner, vacuum/suction cleaning means or system, or blowing cleaner, or vacuum, system; having improved air-equalizing and particle or dust dislodging features.
In this regard it is a further object of the present invention to provide an improved conical or pyramidally configured and shaped core unit, tapering from its base end to its apex end and having improved positioning, patterning and dimensioning of air apertures; and improved feathering means, of a number of novel and improved configurations and dimensioning, with individual feather components attached to to its novel core unit at locations between the air apertures throughout about two-thirds (⅔""s) of the core""s available overall spacing or length.
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a dusting attachment device having a core unit which is fabricated of soft, malleable and flexible metals, metal alloys, polymers, composite wood or metal-polymer materials, and positionable fabric material; each having positional integrity as adjusted or fitted; for ease in fitting, and size or dimensioning adjustment, in interaction with various cleaning system lines; and for simplicity and cost effectiveness in manufacturing and constructing the present invention. Yet a further related object, in this regard, is to provide cost effectiveness in the manufacturing process in utilizing many more diverse types and sizes of feathering and the convenient, efficient and inexpensive means of attaching the invention""s feather components in spacing between its air apertures by means of utilizing a diverse number of conventionally available glues, cements, polymers, caulks or like fluids.
It will, therefore, be understood that substantial and distinguishable structural and functional advantages are realized in the present invention over the prior art devices; and that the present invention""s simplicity and diversity of structure, diverse utility, and broad functional applications serve as important bases of novelty and distinction in this regard.
The foregoing and other objects of the invention can be achieved with the present invention, device, system and method which is a dusting attachment device for use in interaction with a cleaning system having a suction or blowing means and an line in communication therewith. The invention is provided with a core unit having apex and base ends and first, second and third portions therebetween, respectively, from the apex end to the base end, the core unit defining therewithin an air channel extending from the apex end, where it is enclosed thereat, to the base end, where it extends therethrough, and defining by virtue thereof an inboard surface adjacent to the air channel and an outboard surface spaced from the inboard surface. The apex end and the first and second portions of the core unit further define, in a patterning throughout a plurality of air apertures, extending through the outboard and inboard surfaces, and defining solid interstitial space portions between each of the air apertures on the apex end and on each of the outboard and inboard surfaces.
The invention is further provided with feathering means being fixedly attached to the solid interstitial space portions of the outboard surface of the apex end and the first and second portions of the core unit, the feathering means defining a configurational shape.
The dusting attachment can, therefore, be installed along the air channel of the base end, at the third portion of the core unit, in interaction with a line in communication with a suction or blowing means of a cleaning system, for functional use in equalizing the suction or blowing area between the apex end, the second portion and adjacent areas of the core unit, while dislodging dirt, dust, particles or debris in a work area.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing system, a mobile terminal, a server apparatus, a method for processing information, and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
A technique has conventionally been known that collects motion information indicating motions of an indefinite number of people such as pedestrians, thereby detects the occurrence of an event (an abnormality, an intriguing event, or the like) to which a plurality of people pay attention, and estimates an area in which the event is occurring.
For example, a technique is known that collects positional information of mobile terminals carried by pedestrians or other people, thereby quickly detects a situation in which a plurality of people are stopping because of the occurrence of an abnormality, and identifies an area in which the abnormality is occurring.
Another technique is known that installs an imaging apparatus at a predetermined position, detects sight lines of a plurality of people using image information obtained by imaging an indefinite number of people such as pedestrians to identify an area on which the sight lines are focused, and thereby detects that an event has occurred in that area.
However, simply by collecting the positional information of the mobile terminals carried by pedestrians or other people as described above, it is difficult to estimate the area in which the abnormality is occurring with high precision. This is because when people are looking at an abnormality at a distance, the positional information of positions at which the people are stopping does not necessarily represent the area in which the abnormality is occurring, for example.
In contrast, the method that identifies the area on which the sight lines are focused to detect the area in which the abnormality is occurring can avoid this problem. However, there is a problem in that when sight lines of an indefinite number of people are attempted to be monitored to constantly detect an area in which an abnormality is occurring, a huge amount of data is required to be processed at high speed, causing calculation costs.


Image processing systems are at the heart of digital image revolution. These systems process the captured digital image to enhance the clarity and details of the image using image processing algorithms. Such algorithms result in images that are substantially more accurate and detailed than previously achieved using older analog methods.
There remains, however, a substantial difference between how an image is perceived by a person and an image captured and reproduced on a display medium. Despite the improvements gained by conventional digital image processing systems, such systems are still deficient in reproducing an image with the same level of detail, color constancy, and lightness of an actual scene as the eye, brain, and nervous system of a human being. This is due in part because the human nervous system has a greater dynamic range compression than is available on current digital systems. Dynamic range compression refers to the ability to distinguish varying levels of light.
The human eye has a dynamic range compression of approximately 1000:1, which means that the human eye can distinguish approximately 1000 levels of light variations. By way of contrast, digital image systems typically use only eight bits per pixel which allows for a dynamic range compression of only 255:1. As a result, a digital image reproduced as a photograph would have far less detail in the darker and brighter regions of the photograph as compared to the actual scene perceived by a viewer.
Many techniques have been developed to compensate for this lighting deficiency. These techniques can be separated into two broad categories: (1) power law or nonlinear techniques (“non-linear transforms”); and (2) retinex techniques. Each have their respective limitations however.
Non-linear techniques use a non-linear relationship to expand one portion of the dynamic range while compressing another. These techniques generally enhance details in the darker regions at the expense of detail in the brighter regions. One problem associated with these non-linear systems is that they provide greater distinctions between pixels regardless of what lightness value a pixel may have been originally assigned. This results in the brighter areas which already have a “washedout” appearance to become even more washed-out. Although these techniques result in better details in the darker regions, they do so at the expense of the brighter areas of the digital image. Further, these methods cannot handle contours and abrupt boundaries well.
Retinex techniques variations increase or decrease the luminance value for a pixel based on the luminance values of surrounding pixels. These techniques are particularly useful for enhancing boundaries between lighter and darker regions of an image. However, such techniques are unsatisfactory for a number of reasons. In one technique, a large uniform zones in the image are grayed out (i.e., shading effect). In another technique a shift in color occurs in some images (i.e., color distortion) and is computationally intensive.


The present invention relates to a microfabrication technique which may be advantageously used, for example, for the manufacture of magnetic bubble memory devices, semiconductor devices, and the like. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for forming a pattern of metal elements arranged with very small gaps therebetween on a substrate of a device.
In well-known field access types of magnetic bubble memory devices, a permalloy pattern for the propagation of magnetic bubbles (permalloy propagation pattern) is formed on the bubble-supporting magnetic layer of a substrate. The permalloy propagation pattern is constituted by a plurality of pattern elements made of thin films of permalloy. These permalloy pattern elements are chevron-shaped or half disc-shaped, for example, and are arranged with very small gaps therebetween. In a magnetic bubble memory device using 2 .mu.m diameter bubbles, the size of the gap is approximately 1 .mu.m.
The pattern of metal elements such as the permalloy propagation pattern described above is conventionally formed by using photolithographic techniques. That is, first, a pattern forming layer of metal is formed on a substrate of a device. Next, the pattern forming layer is coated with a layer of photosensitive resist material (photoresist). An optical exposure process is used to form a resist pattern corresponding to the pattern of metal elements to be formed from the layer of photoresist. Thereafter, an etching process is used to form the pattern of metal elements from the pattern forming layer.
However, the smallest size of the resist pattern which can be formed on the pattern forming layer by using the photolithographic technique is approximately 1 .mu.m. Therefore, according to the conventional method, it is impossible to form a pattern of metal elements with gaps of a size smaller than 1 .mu.m.
In recent years, there have been a number of proposals for realization of a high density magnetic bubble memory device using 1 .mu.m diameter bubbles. Such a device requires a permalloy propagation pattern with gaps of a size less than 0.5 .mu.m. In order to satisfy this requirement, the electron-beam lithographic technique or X-ray lithographic technique is used. However, electron-beam systems and X-ray systems are large in size and high priced, thereby increasing the overall cost of the equipment.


1. Field of Endeavor
The present invention relates to measuring and more particularly to optically measuring interior cavities.
2. State of Technology
U.S. Pat. No. 5,432,543 issued Jul. 11, 1995 to Jun Hasegawa et al for endoscopic image processing device for estimating three-dimensional shape of object based on detection of same point on a plurality of different images provides the following state of technology information: “When the relative arrangement of the imaging means disposed with overlap in a visual field is known, various methods are known which estimate the shape of an object from the images formed, i.e., for estimating the shape from stereo-images. In recent years, some methods have also been proposed for determining a three-dimensional structure from information about the movement of an object. The methods employ the technique of estimating the relative movement of imaging means from a plurality of images.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,189 issued Dec. 28, 1999 to David F. Schaack for apparatus and method for making accurate three-dimensional size measurements of inaccessible objects provides the following state of technology information: “In the past several decades, the use of optical endoscopes has become common for the visual inspection of inaccessible objects, such as the internal organs of the human body or the internal parts of machinery. These visual inspections are performed in order to assess the need for surgery or equipment tear down and repair; thus the results of the inspections are accorded a great deal of importance.”
U.S. Pat. No. 6,459,481 issued Oct. 1, 2002 to David F. Schaack for simple system for endoscopic non-contact three-dimensional measurement provides the following state of technology information: “Making accurate dimensional measurements of objects viewed through endoscopes is important to aerospace as well as other industries in which expensive equipment must undergo periodic internal inspections to maintain safe operation. Such measurements also have medical applications, where the internal condition of a patient is evaluated prior to or during surgery by viewing through an endoscope. The fundamental problems in making an accurate measurement through an endoscope are that the magnification of the image varies rapidly with the range of the object, and that objects of interest (defects) lie on surfaces which are curved in three dimensions; thus the magnification varies from one point on the object to another. What is needed is a fully three-dimensional measurement, that is, one which determines the depth, as well as the height and width, of an object. Endoscopes are long and narrow optical systems, typically circular in cross-section, which can be inserted through a small opening in an enclosure to give a view of the interior. They almost always include a source of illumination which is conducted along the interior of the scope from the outside (proximal) end to the inside (distal) end, so that the interior of the chamber can be viewed even if it contains no illumination. Endoscopes are divided into two basic types: these are the rigid “borescopes” and the flexible “fiberscopes” or “videoscopes.”


1. Technical Field
The embodiments described herein are related to the field of golf balls and, more particularly, to a spherically symmetrical golf ball having a dimple pattern that generates low-lift in order to control dispersion of the golf ball during flight.
2. Related Art
The flight path of a golf ball is determined by many factors. Several of the factors can be controlled to some extent by the golfer, such as the ball's velocity, launch angle, spin rate, and spin axis. Other factors are controlled by the design of the ball, including the ball's weight, size, materials of construction, and aerodynamic properties.
The aerodynamic force acting on a golf ball during flight can be broken down into three separate force vectors: Lift, Drag, and Gravity. The lift force vector acts in the direction determined by the cross product of the spin vector and the velocity vector. The drag force vector acts in the direction opposite of the velocity vector. More specifically, the aerodynamic properties of a golf ball are characterized by its lift and drag coefficients as a function of the Reynolds Number (Re) and the Dimensionless Spin Parameter (DSP). The Reynolds Number is a dimensionless quantity that quantifies the ratio of the inertial to viscous forces acting on the golf ball as it flies through the air. The Dimensionless Spin Parameter is the ratio of the golf ball's rotational surface speed to its speed through the air.
Since the 1990's, in order to achieve greater distances, a lot of golf ball development has been directed toward developing golf balls that exhibit improved distance through lower drag under conditions that would apply to, e.g., a driver shot immediately after club impact as well as relatively high lift under conditions that would apply to the latter portion of, e.g., a driver shot as the ball is descending towards the ground. A lot of this development was enabled by new measurement devices that could more accurately and efficiently measure golf ball spin, launch angle, and velocity immediately after club impact.
Today the lift and drag coefficients of a golf ball can be measured using several different methods including an Indoor Test Range such as the one at the USGA Test Center in Far Hills, N.J., or an outdoor system such as the Trackman Net System made by Interactive Sports Group in Denmark. The testing, measurements, and reporting of lift and drag coefficients for conventional golf balls has generally focused on the golf ball spin and velocity conditions for a well hit straight driver shot—approximately 3,000 rpm or less and an initial ball velocity that results from a driver club head velocity of approximately 80-100 mph.
For right-handed golfers, particularly higher handicap golfers, a major problem is the tendency to “slice” the ball. The unintended slice shot penalizes the golfer in two ways: 1) it causes the ball to deviate to the right of the intended flight path and 2) it can reduce the overall shot distance.
A sliced golf ball moves to the right because the ball's spin axis is tilted to the right. The lift force by definition is orthogonal to the spin axis and thus for a sliced golf ball the lift force is pointed to the right.
The spin-axis of a golf ball is the axis about which the ball spins and is usually orthogonal to the direction that the golf ball takes in flight. If a golf ball's spin axis is 0 degrees, i.e., a horizontal spin axis causing pure backspin, the ball will not hook or slice and a higher lift force combined with a 0-degree spin axis will only make the ball fly higher. However, when a ball is hit in such a way as to impart a spin axis that is more than 0 degrees, it hooks, and it slices with a spin axis that is less than 0 degrees. It is the tilt of the spin axis that directs the lift force in the left or right direction, causing the ball to hook or slice. The distance the ball unintentionally flies to the right or left is called Carry Dispersion. A lower flying golf ball, i.e., having a lower lift, is a strong indicator of a ball that will have lower Carry Dispersion.
The amount of lift force directed in the hook or slice direction is equal to: Lift Force*Sine (spin axis angle). The amount of lift force directed towards achieving height is: Lift Force*Cosine (spin axis angle).
A common cause of a sliced shot is the striking of the ball with an open clubface. In this case, the opening of the clubface also increases the effective loft of the club and thus increases the total spin of the ball. With all other factors held constant, a higher ball spin rate will in general produce a higher lift force and this is why a slice shot will often have a higher trajectory than a straight or hook shot.
Table 1 shows the total ball spin rates generated by a golfer with club head speeds ranging from approximately 85-105 mph using a 10.5 degree driver and hitting a variety of prototype golf balls and commercially available golf balls that are considered to be low and normal spin golf balls:
TABLE 1Spin Axis, degreeTypical Total Spin, rpmType Shot−302,500-5,000Strong Slice−151,700-5,000Slice01,400-2,800Straight+151,200-2,500Hook+301,000-1,800Strong Hook
If the club path at the point of impact is “outside-in” and the clubface is square to the target, a slice shot will still result, but the total spin rate will be generally lower than a slice shot hit with the open clubface. In general, the total ball spin will increase as the club head velocity increases.
In order to overcome the drawbacks of a slice, some golf ball manufacturers have modified how they construct a golf ball, mostly in ways that tend to lower the ball's spin rate. Some of these modifications include: 1) using a hard cover material on a two-piece golf ball, 2) constructing multi-piece balls with hard boundary layers and relatively soft thin covers in order to lower driver spin rate and preserve high spin rates on short irons, 3) moving more weight towards the outer layers of the golf ball thereby increasing the moment of inertia of the golf ball, and 4) using a cover that is constructed or treated in such a ways so as to have a more slippery surface.
Others have tried to overcome the drawbacks of a slice shot by creating golf balls where the weight is distributed inside the ball in such a way as to create a preferred axis of rotation.
Still others have resorted to creating asymmetric dimple patterns in order to affect the flight of the golf ball and reduce the drawbacks of a slice shot. One such example was the Polara™ golf ball with its dimple pattern that was designed with different type dimples in the polar and equatorial regions of the ball.
In reaction to the introduction of the Polara golf ball, which was intentionally manufactured with an asymmetric dimple pattern, the USGA created the “Symmetry Rule”. As a result, all golf balls not conforming to the USGA Symmetry Rule are judged to be non-conforming to the USGA Rules of Golf and are thus not allowed to be used in USGA sanctioned golf competitions.
These golf balls with asymmetric dimples patterns or with manipulated weight distributions may be effective in reducing dispersion caused by a slice shot, but they also have their limitations, most notably the fact that they do not conform with the USGA Rules of Golf and that these balls must be oriented a certain way prior to club impact in order to display their maximum effectiveness.
The method of using a hard cover material or hard boundary layer material or slippery cover will reduce to a small extent the dispersion caused by a slice shot, but often does so at the expense of other desirable properties such as the ball spin rate off of short irons or the higher cost required to produce a multi-piece ball.


There is increasing interest in IP telephony to help lower costs and enable new services. Many enterprises and call centers are adopting IP telephony over their converged IP infrastructure and many multi-site corporations are using Voice over IP (VoIP) for their intra- and inter-site communication.
With the use of VoIP for mission-critical business applications, it is important to evaluate and improve the reliability and quality of VoIP calls. Ideally, a VoIP call should be as reliable as a traditional circuit-switched phone call. However, when monitoring and evaluating the quality of a VoIP call (especially over wide area links), it is necessary to deal with the inherent packet losses, delays, and jitter associated with IP networks, which are not encountered in traditional circuit-switched networks. Even though IP networks are largely self-healing for network faults, and many enterprise networks are engineered to have redundant links or paths between sites, today's IP networks are not engineered to react to performance degradations at the timescales needed for voice. For example, recent studies show that while there is acceptable performance within some service provider networks, many backbone paths still have poor VoIP performance and network faults cause problems.
To provide a robust VoIP infrastructure, it is important to rapidly detect performance degradations and faults. This detection is complicated by several factors. On a per-connection basis, for example, there are natural silence periods in VoIP calls during which packets are not transmitted by a source (e.g., when a participant in a call is listening rather than speaking). Consequently, while monitoring a VoIP call (e.g., on the receiving side) it is necessary to distinguish between gaps that occur due to natural speech silences and perhaps speech compression, and the gaps that occur due to packet loss, delay, and jitter in the IP network. Furthermore, although detecting problems can certainly help to alert a network manager, it would be particularly useful if the network could react to a detected problem and route around it.
Accordingly, there is a need for techniques for performing rapid fault detection and recovery in communication networks such as IP telephony networks, particularly those that provide VoIP applications.


The present invention relates to temperature regulation of the human body, in particular, to the use of heat pipes in garments, blankets and pads to warm or cool the human body for activities in extreme temperature environments and for treatment of medical conditions.
The need to regulate body temperature exists where human activities are conducted in extreme temperature environments. Very cold environments are encountered by undersea divers, inhabitants of polar regions, pilots, mountain climbers and snow skiers, as well as by individuals who work in more pedestrian cold environments such as refrigerated containers. Very hot environments are encountered by those in diverse occupations such fire fighters, foundry workers and armored tank drivers.
The need for body temperature regulation also exists in the treatment of medical conditions. Individuals with impaired body temperature regulation systems, such as the elderly, stroke patients, and patients with spinal cord injuries or multiple sclerosis, may be subject to chronic hypothermia or hyperthermia. Victims of exposure, as well as patients having fever, dehydration, infection, and drug reactions may suffer temporarily from hypothermia or hyperthermia, and may require treatment including body temperature regulation.
Deliberate inducement of whole body hyperthermia has been found to be useful as a treatment for cancer, and has met with success. However, side effects range from fatigue to occasional mortality. Injury to temperature-sensitive body parts, such as the liver, has also been associated with whole body hypothermia. Because of these side effects, and the high labor costs associated with monitoring such treatment, regional, rather than whole body, hypothermia has found favor in the treatment of cancer. Inducement of regional or localized hyperthermia has, thus, also been used in the treatment of cancer, as well as in the treatment of joint diseases, such as capsulitis, tendinitis and lower back pain.
Various means have been developed to warm and cool the human body to achieve body temperature regulation needed for such activities and medical treatments. Cold suits, such as the garment shown by Jennings, U.S. Pat. No. 3,289,748, include circulating fluid systems powered by a pump or other means for circulating. See also, Macdonald et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,807,447. In the garment of Jennings, serpentine tubes extend along the arms and legs of the wearer and converge at inlet and outlet manifolds. Cold suits, however, have the disadvantage of being heavy and are typically restrictive, causing exhaustion and cardiopulmonary distress in the wearer.
Hyperthermia blankets are also known wherein a single phase fluid loop winds back and forth through the blanket from inlet to outlet to cool the user. A chiller attached to the outlet of the fluid loop discharges heat from the hyperthermia blanket. Such blanket systems, however, have problems maintaining a constant blanket temperature throughout, and are heavy due to the weight of the circulating fluid. A blanket including heat pipes provides more uniform heating, as shown by Sgroi, U.S. Pat. No. 4,094,357. In the blanket of Sgroi, the heat pipes converge at one side of the blanket to be cooled by a refrigeration device or, alternatively, heated by a thermal energy source.
Suits and blankets having circulating fluid loops in similar configurations may also be used to provide heat to persons suffering from hypothermia. See, Macdonald et al and Sgroi. However, the same general disadvantages of weight, restriction of movement, and resulting exhaustion are present. Electric blankets are also well-known but often provide uneven heating, and subject the user to low-level electromagnetic radiation. Nonetheless, whether used for heating or cooling, such suits and blankets generally disadvantageously require external connections and/or require external power sources.
Numerous devices have been developed for regional, therapeutic heat transfer. Jones, U.S. Pat. No. 4,706,672 discloses a passive thermal transfer device in which metal fibers woven into a mesh act as a heat sink to draw heat from an afflicted area for dissipation. Golden, U.S. Pat. No. 4,962,761 discloses a thermal bandage to heat or cool an area of the skin, wherein a circulating fluid is used to carry heat to or from the afflicted part. However, the need continues to exists for improved means for applying heat to specific areas of the human body for the treatment of disease which will avoid damage to adjacent tissues and structures.


While iron ore raw materials are used as the raw material for producing reduced iron as might be expected, recent price surge of iron ore raw materials due to strong demand has brought attention to recycling of iron raw material-containing dust produced in iron mills. In pig iron- and steel-making processes, powdery iron and iron oxide-containing dust blown up in blast furnaces, converters, melting furnaces, electric furnaces, and the like are recovered with dust collectors. The recovered powders (referred to as “steel-making dust” in Claims and the specification) are used as iron raw materials since they contain iron and iron oxides.
In a rotary hearth furnace, which is one of facilities for producing reduced iron, raw materials containing metal oxides and carbonaceous substances must be fed in the form of agglomerates to achieve homogeneous reduction reactions, and the agglomerates need to have a particular strength. However, when carbonaceous substances are incorporated, since carbon burns at a relatively low temperature, a technique of increasing the strength of the agglomerates by sintering, such as in the cases of sintered pellets and sintered ore, cannot be employed. Thus, the strength of the agglomerates has been enhanced by use of expensive binding agents (hereinafter also referred to as “binders”), such as starch and molasses.
Typically, either one of a pellet-making facility or a briquette-making facility is used as the facility to produce agglomerates, and, in either cases, agglomerates having high strength and as uniform size as possible must be produced. However, it has been extremely difficult to produce agglomerates from fine raw materials mainly for two reasons described below. The first reason is that the fine powder dust raw materials have a small bulk density and many gaps and thus do not readily form high-strength agglomerates. If the strength of the agglomerates is low, the agglomerates may collapse under pressure and thus cannot be stored in large quantities, and cracking and the like may occur during transportation. The second reason is the difficulty of homogeneously mixing a binder, which is mixed into the fine raw materials to increase the strength of the agglomerates. This is because a binder having an adhesive function has viscosity, and this viscosity obstructs homogeneous mixing. In addition, the binder materials are not only expensive but also can cause clogging of materials during manufacture or feeding (e.g., in an intermediate hopper or the like) of the agglomerates since the binder materials have the adhesive function. Once clogging of the raw materials occurs, the supply of raw materials to the rotary hearth furnace or the like stops or a large quantity of raw materials are suddenly fed, which renders the operation of the reducing furnace unstable. Thus, the amount of the binder used is preferably as small as possible.
In the description below, methods for producing pellets and briquettes of fine dust raw materials that have been known in the art are explained by citing examples.
Patent Document 1 teaches a method for producing pellets including kneading raw materials, which has been discharged from a raw material storage, by using a kneader and pelletizing the raw material, which includes grains containing a metal oxide and carbon, by using a pan pelletizer, as shown in FIG. 1 of Patent Document 1. In particular, a plurality of raw materials are fed onto a raw material conveyer from a plurality of material reservoir bins at a determined mixture ratio. The grain diameter of the raw material, the chemical composition, and the ratio of water to be mixed are determined. In particular, in order to adequately carry out reduction reactions, the ratio of the metal oxide to carbon is adjusted. The claims of Patent Document 1 disclose a method for producing pellets suitable for reducing furnaces, the method being characterized in that, in producing spherical pellets with a pan pelletizer from a powder containing a metal oxide containing steel-making dust and a carbon-containing powder, the powder contains 20 to 80% of grains having a diameter of 10 μm or less.
Patent Document 2 teaches a method for producing a solidified product from steel-making dust as shown in FIG. 1 of this patent document. As shown in this drawing, this system includes a granulating step of mixing the dust mainly composed of iron and its oxides produced during steel making with a powder mainly composed of carbon and pelletizing the resulting mixture, a water impregnation step of impregnating the mixture granules with water, a solidifying step of placing the water-impregnated pellets into forming dies and pressure-compacting the pellets to form briquettes, a transfer step of transferring the briquettes as the raw material for a melting furnace, and a dezincing step of concentrating zinc in the dust and dezincing the dust in the concentrated state after obtaining the dust from the melting furnace and before the solidifying step. According to this method, since impregnation with water is conducted immediately before molding, the surfaces of the mixture granules are softened to promote deformation of granules during briquetting, and the adhesion strength between the granules can be increased as a result.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a static random access memory having high-resistance elements made of polycrystalline silicon and used as load elements within memory cells, and more particularly, to a static random access memory provided with a means for detecting defective memory cells having leakage current, if any.
2. Description of the Related Art
An E/R type static random-access memory cell (E/R type SRAM cell) is known. As is understood from the equivalent circuit diagram shown in FIG. 1, this memory cell comprises a flip-flop circuit. The flip-flop circuit is comprised of two inverters, each having one high-resistance element which is used as a load element, and one enhancement type MOS transistor which functions as a drive element. The input and output of the first inverter are connected to the output and input of the second transistor, respectively. More specifically, high-resistance elements R1 and R2 are coupled, at one end, to power-supply voltage V.sub.CC, and at the other end, to the drains of MOS transistors Q1 and Q2, respectively. The sources of MOS transistors Q1 and Q2 are ground voltage V.sub.SS. The gate of transistor Q1 is coupled to the drain of transistor Q2, and the gate of transistor Q2 is coupled to the drain of transistor Q1. Hence, high-resistance elements R1 and MOS transistor Q1 form an inverter, and high-resistance elements R2 and MOS transistor Q2 form another inverter. These inverters have their input and output connected to each other's output and input, respectively, whereby the inverters constitute flip-flop circuit F.
As is illustrated in FIG. 1, MOS transistors Q3 and Q4 are used as transfer gates for controlling data-writing and data-reading. MOS transistor Q3 is connected between memory node N1 of flip-flop circuit F and bit line BL. MOS transistor Q4 is coupled between memory node N2 of flip-flop circuit F and bit line BL. The gate of both MOS transistors Q3 and Q4 are coupled to word line WL. All transistors Q1 to Q4 are of enhancement type.
The flip-flop circuit F, which is the main component of the memory cell, is a bistable one. Therefore, two data items complemental to each other are stored in memory nodes N1 and N2. Assuming that data items, i.e., "1" and "0", are stored in nodes N1 and N2, respectively, transistor Q1 is off, and transistor Q2 is on. Since high-resistance elements R1 and R2 are linear passive elements, a current flows through high-resistance element R2 coupled to transistor Q2 which is on. The resistance of high-resistance element R2 is far higher than that of on-resistance of transistor Q2. Hence, the resistance of element R2 determines the value of the current flowing through transistors Q2. A similar current flows in each of the E/R type SRAM cells forming a static random access memory (SRAM), and the sum of the currents flowing through all E/R type SRAM cells determines the SRAM in its static condition.
Also well known are completely CMOS SRAM cells, each comprising six transistors, two of which are P-channel MOS transistors functioning as load elements. The two P-channel MOS transistors, which are used as load elements, are active elements. Therefore, the memory cell of FIG. 1 can be made of four MOS transistors and two resistors, and occupies but less area than a fully CMOS memory cell. However, this memory cell is disadvantageous in that a current flows via both high-resistance elements R1 and R2 as long as the cell in the static condition. To reduce this current flowing through elements R1 and R2, these high-resistance elements can be replaced with resistors which have higher resistances. However, when elements R1 and R2 are replaced by such resistors, the flip-flop F may operate unstably, inevitably destroying the data stored in the E/R type SRAM cell, as will be explained below.
FIG. 2 is a table showing the various resistances which elements R1 and R2 of each E/R type SRAM cell of an E/R type SRAM must have to maintain the current, which flows through the cell in the static condition, at the typical value of 1 .mu.A, in accordance with the memory capacity of the E/R type SRAM. As may be understood from FIG. 1, memory nodes N1 and N2 exist in the PN junction between a P-type substrate and an N+ diffusion region which is the common drain of transistors Q1 and Q2. The reverse leakage current flowing in this PN junction is about 10.sup.-14 A. This value is equivalent to resistance of about 100 tera .OMEGA.. In the case of a 256 K-bit memory, the resistance of either high-resistance element, R1 or R2 is 100 times the resistance equivalent to the reverse leakage current flowing in the PN junction. In the case of a 1 M-bit memory, the resistance is 25 times the resistance which is equivalent to the reverse leakage current. The greater the ratio of the resistance of either high-resistance element, the larger the operation margin of each memory cell. As is evident from FIG. 2, this operation margin is inversely proportional to the capacity of the memory.
What has been explained in the preceding paragraph only applies to the case where no abnormal leakage currents flow in the PN junction connected to both memory nodes N1 and N2. In actuality, both a defective leakage current and a contaminating leakage current are generated in the PN junction. When these abnormal leakage currents are far greater than the currents flowing via high-resistance elements R1 and R2, neither memory node can no longer hold the data item "1", and the flip-flop circuit F ceases to function, and hence the E/R type SRAM cell having this flip-flop circuit F cannot correctly function. Any SRAM chip, if containing such a defective memory cell, can no longer function at all. Needless to say, the presence of such defective memory cells reduces the yield of SRAM chips.
On the hand, when the abnormal leakage currents are nearly equal to the currents flowing through high-resistance elements R1 and R2, the voltage applied on the memory node storing the data item "1" falls to the value determined by the division of resistance achieved by high-resistance elements R1 and R2 and also by the resistance equivalent to the abnormal leakage current. Consequently, flip-flop circuit F becomes very unstable, and the memory cell, as a whole, inevitably operates unstably. Any SRAM which includes such a defective memory cell has neither a sufficient margin for power-supply voltage nor a sufficient margin for temperature changes. Unless the defective memory cell is detected, and any appropriate measures are taken for the cell, the data stored in this defective cell will be destroyed eventually.
Here arises a problem. It is extremely difficult to detect a defective memory in the SRAM. As is known in the art, it takes a long period of time to complete the test for screening an inadequate operation margin or a defect which needs a long time to detect. In some cases, it is necessary to set the ambient temperature at various values to carry out this test successfully. In the worst case, the insufficient operation margin or the defect may not be found even if the test has been carried out for a considerably long time.
FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing the flip-flop circuit of an E/R type SRAM cell which is identical to the SRAM cell shown in FIG. 1, except that memory nodes N1 and N2 have a leakage-current path each. Resistors Rj and Rj' shown in this figures are equivalent to the leakage-current paths. More precisely, resistance Rj exists only when a reverse leakage current of a normal value flows through the PN junction coupled to memory node N1, whereas resistance Rj' exists only when a leakage current of an abnormal value flows through the PN junction connected to memory node N2.
The typical temperature characteristics of resistors R1, R2, Rj, and Rj' are illustrated in FIG. 4. As can be understood from FIG. 4, the energy for activating high-resistance elements R1 and R2, each formed of a polycrystalline silicon layer, is great, and the temperature dependency of either high-resistance element is prominent. The resistance of resistor Rj is determined by the junction area of memory node N1, and is about 100 tera .OMEGA.. The temperature dependency of resistor Rj is less than that of high-resistance elements R1 and R2. Resistor Rj' has a resistance which is the sum of the resistance of resistor Rj and the resistance equivalent to the abnormal leakage current flowing through the PN junction. As is evident from FIG. 4, the line representing the temperature characteristic of resistor Rj' crosses the line representing the temperature characteristic of resistor Rj at a specific temperature T1 if the resistance of resistor Rj' is about hundreds of times lower than that of resistor Rj, said specific temperature T1 falling within the range in which the memory cell can correctly perform its function. In other words, resistor Rj' has the same resistance as elements R1 and R2 at temperature T1. Its has a resistance lower than that of high-resistance elements R1 and R2 at any temperature below T1, and a resistance higher than that of elements R1 and R2 at any temperature above T1.
The voltage at which memory nodes N1 and N2 hold data when the memory cell is in its static condition will now be calculated. The voltage V1(1) which node N1 requires to hold data "1" can be given: ##EQU1##
The voltage V2(1) which node N2 requires to hold data "1" can be given: ##EQU2##
The voltage V1(0) which node N1 requires to hold data "0" can be given: ##EQU3##
The voltage V2(0) which node N2 requires to hold data "0" can be given: ##EQU4##
In the above equations (1) to (4), Rn(off) is the resistance equivalent to the channel leakage current which flows when transistors Q1 and Q2 of flip-flop circuit F are off, Rn(on) is the resistance equivalent to the channel current which flows when transistors Q1 and Q2 are on. Any transistor has Rn(off) as high as 10.sup.14 .OMEGA. or more if operating correctly. Hence, equations (1) to (4) can reduce to: ##EQU5##
It is desirable that the voltages which each memory cell requires to store data "1" and data "0" be V.sub.CC and 0 V, respectively. Voltage V2(1), at which memory node N2 holds data "1", is determined by Rj'/(R2+Rj'), and is lower than V.sub.CC. The lower Rj' is than R2, the more does voltage V2(1) fall. When voltage V2(1) falls below the threshold voltage Vthn of each N-channel MOS transistor, Rn(on), one of the terms of equation (3), changes to Rn(off). Consequently, voltage V1(0), at which memory node N1 holds data "0", will rise to V.sub.CC with time constant of R1.CA (where CA is the capacitance present in memory node N1). That is, data "0" held by node N1 has changed to "1", whereas data "1" held by node N2 has changed to "0". This is the destruction of data. In terms of the temperature characteristics shown in FIG. 4, the data is destroyed at temperature T1 or any lower temperature. This destruction of data is, hence, called "leakage induced cell destruction at low-temperature."
A SRAM memory cell which has undergone low-temperature pause destruction can hardly be detected unless the SRAM chip is tested not only at room temperature, but also at other various temperatures. It takes an extremely long time to test the SRAM chip at various temperatures, for a memory cell, if any, which has undergone leakage induced cell destruction at low-temperature. Obviously, it is uneconomical to spend much time on testing each SRAM chip. Further, a SRAM cell repeats unstable operation several times until the data stored in it is destroyed completely. This unstable operation of the cell is very hard to detect within a short time of period. Accordingly, demands have been made for means which can text a wafer having a number of SRAM chips, to determine quickly whether or not each SRAM chip contains any defective memory cell.
Hitherto, in order to detect defective memory cells, if any, contained in a SRAM chip, the operation characteristics of all cells of the SRAM chip are externally examined. This method can hardly be successful and requires a very long time to test the SRAM chip.


1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to demodulation circuits for use in direct sequence modulation systems and, more specifically, to demodulation circuits for use in biphase balanced modulation systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Direct sequence modulation systems are known in the art. In such systems, an RF carrier signal is modulated by a digital code sequence whose bit rate is much higher than the information signal bandwidth. One of the preferred modulation formats for such systems is the biphase balanced modulation scheme in which the carrier is transmitted with one phase when the code sequence is a binary ONE and with a 180.degree. phase shift when the code is a binary ZERO.
Various techniques for detecting biphase modulated signals are known. In general, such techniques are coherent processes requiring that the receiver include a local code reference that is an accurate estimate of the received code modulation. Prior art techniques for providing this local code reference are effective but require relatively complex circuitry.
One of the better known demodulators for this type of system, for instance, is the Costas loop, as described in the book: "Spread Spectrum Systems" by R. C. Dixon and published by John Wiley & Sons, New York, in 1976. However, Costas loops are relatively complicated in that they require a pair of demodulators in phase quadrature with each other. When the loop is phase locked, one of the demodulators will be in quadrature with the incoming signal and its output will be basically zero. The reference associated with the other demodulator will demodulate the signals at the maximum value, which may be either positive or negative, depending upon the instantaneous phase of the modulation. Typically, the incoming signal is integrated for a period of one bit, after which time the output of the demodulator which is in phase with the signal is sensed to determine if it is positive or negative, whereupon either the direct or inverted error signal may be used. Thus the Costas loop typically requires integrated dump circuitry, decision making circuitry, and means for inverting the error signal.
In contrast, the circuit of the present invention typically requires only a phase-lock loop, a flip-flop, and an exclusive OR gate.


In conventional photolithography a photoresist is exposed to light through a mask. The photoresist is modified by the exposure in such a way that either the exposed or unexposed portions of the resist can be removed during subsequent development. Any photolithographic process has limitations, whereby there is a critical dimension below which features are too fine to be resolved. That resolution limit is a critical barrier in reducing the scale of integrated circuit devices.
Self-aligned double patterning is a technique for forming features having a finer pitch than would be possible by the direct application of a photolithographic process. Self-aligned double patterning involves forming a mandrel having line-shaped features. A spacer formation process is then used to form spacers on the sides of the mandrel features. The mandrel is then stripped leaving the spacers defining two sets of lines. A first set of lines corresponds to the mandrel. A second set of lines is formed between each adjacent pair of the mandrel's line-shaped features, the second set of lines being form between adjacent spacers.


Advances in electronics, batteries and packaging technology have led to continued increases in the number of mobile computing devices in service. These mobile computing devices often have an associated docking station that permits ready access to printers, modems, networks, and peripherals that are more humanly comfortable, amongst other connections and attributes. Though beneficial for their intended purpose, these docking stations are to some extent disadvantageous as discussed below.
Mobile computing devices tend to be small to facilitate efficient mobility. Docking stations tend to be configured for desktop use in which a mobile computing device is docked at the station for data transmission or for running the desktop environment with the resources of the mobile computing device. When docked at a desk top station, the screen of a mobile computing device is small, located at a relatively far distance from an operator and positioned such that an operator often has to place his or her back, neck or head in an uncomfortable position to adequately see the screen.
Ergonomic studies of computer-human operator interfaces have determined that a preferred monitor or screen height is that at which the top of the screen is even with the horizontal line of sight of the operator. The preferred angle of the screen is at 90 degrees to the line of sight.
One attempt to alleviate the undesirably low screen height of docked mobile computing devices includes providing a regular desk top monitor on a stand above the docking station. Though this may alleviate some of the problems of low-level mobile computing device screen height, the additional monitor and stand are often undesirably expensive and consumptive of space. This arrangement may also provide insufficient adjustment of screen viewing angle.


Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a conductive material and a substrate having a conductive film formed thereon by using the conductive material.
Description of the Related Art
A polymer having a conjugated double bond (i.e. π-conjugated polymer) does not show a conductivity by itself; however, if an appropriate anionic molecule is doped therein, it can express a conductivity, thereby giving a conductive polymer material (i.e. conductive polymer composition). As to the π-conjugated polymer, polyacetylene, (hetero) aromatic polymers such as polythiophene, polyselenophene, polytellurophene, polypyrrole, and polyaniline; a mixture thereof, etc., are used; and as to the anionic molecule (dopant), an anion of sulfonic acid type is most commonly used. This is because a sulfonic acid, which is a strong acid, can efficiently interact with the aforementioned π-conjugated polymers.
As to the anionic dopant of sulfonic acid type, sulfonic acid polymers such as polyvinyl sulfonic acid and polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSS) are widely used (Patent Document 1). The sulfonic acid polymer includes a vinylperfluoroalkyl ether sulfonic acid typified by Nafion (registered trademark), which is used for a fuel cell.
Polystyrene sulfonic acid (PSS) has a sulfonic acid as a repeated monomer unit in the polymer main chain, so that it has a high doping effect to the π-conjugated polymer, and also can enhance water dispersibility of the π-conjugated polymer after being doped. This is because the hydrophilicity is kept due to the sulfo groups excessively present in PSS, and the dispersibility into water is therefore enhanced dramatically.
Polythiophene having PSS as a dopant exhibits high conductivity and can be handled as an aqueous dispersion, so that it is expected to be used as a coating-type conductive film material in place of ITO (indium-tin oxide). As mentioned above, however, PSS is a water-soluble resin, and is hardly soluble in an organic solvent. Accordingly, the polythiophene having PSS as a dopant also has a high hydrophilicity, but a low affinity to an organic solvent and an organic substrate, and thus, it is difficult to disperse it into an organic solvent or to form a film onto an organic substrate.
Besides, when the polythiophene having PSS as a dopant is used in, for example, a conductive film for an organic EL lighting, a large quantity of water tends to remain in the conductive film and the conductive film thus formed tends to absorb moisture from an outside atmosphere since the polythiophene having PSS as a dopant has an extremely high hydrophilicity as mentioned above. As a result, the problems arise that the luminous body of the organic EL chemically changes, thereby the light emitting capability is deteriorated, and that water agglomerates over time and defects are caused, which results in shortening of the lifetime of the whole organic EL device. Furthermore, there arise other problems in the polythiophene having PSS as a dopant that particles in the aqueous dispersion becomes large, the film surface becomes rough after the film formation, and a non-light emitting region, called dark spot, is caused when used for the organic EL lighting.
In addition, since the polythiophene having PSS as a dopant has an absorption at a wavelength of about 500 nm in the blue region, in the case that this material is used as a film coating a transparent substrate such as a transparent electrode, there arises another problem that when the conductivity required for the device to function is made up by the solid concentration or the thickness of the film, transmittance of the film is affected.
Patent Document 2 discloses a conductive polymer composition composed of a conductive polymer which contains a π-conjugated polymer formed of a repeating unit selected from thiophene, selenophene, tellurophene, pyrrole, aniline, and a polycyclic aromatic compound, and a fluorinated acid polymer which can be wetted by an organic solvent and 50% or more of which is neutralized by a cation; and it is shown that an aqueous dispersion of the conductive polymer can be obtained by combining water, a precursor monomer of the π-conjugated polymer, the fluorinated acid polymer, and an oxidant, in any order.
However, in such a conventional conductive polymer, particles are agglomerated in the dispersion immediately after synthesis. Also, if an organic solvent served as a conductive enhancer is added thereto to give a coating material, the agglomeration is further facilitated, so that the filterability thereof is deteriorated. If the coating material is applied by spin coating without filtration, a flat film cannot be obtained due to the effect of the particle agglomeration; and as a result, the problem of coating defect is caused.
Moreover, development has been promoted in a flexible device. As a transparent conductive film for the current hard devices, ITO is widely used. ITO is, however, a crystalline film, and therefore there arises cracks in case of bending. Accordingly, it is a pressing need to develop a flexible transparent conductive film substituting for ITO. Polythiophene having PSS as a dopant forms a flexible film with high transparency, but involves a problem of low conductivity compared to ITO in addition to the aforementioned problem of dark spot.
Patent Document 3 discloses a transparent conductive film using silver nanowires. The transparent conductive film using silver nanowires is one of a candidate for a conductive film for a flexible device, since it has high conductivity and transparency. The film using silver nanowire, however, conducts electricity only through the wire part, and therefore causes a problem that the light emission occurs at the wire parts only, not the whole surface when it is applied to an organic EL lighting.


Designing systems to test large numbers of semiconductor or electronic devices in a factory environment where each individual device under test generates significant thermal load is not a trivial task. Examples of such devices include but are not limited to high-speed microprocessors, laser diodes, and linear high-power amplifiers.
From a semiconductor manufacturers standpoint, factory floor space often comes at a premium. A testing system that is capable of testing the largest number of semiconductor devices in the smallest factory floor footprint is therefore highly desirable. Removing large amounts of heat from high-dissipation devices in a very small footprint is problematic, however. Air-cooling devices undergoing testing require large heat sinks with a corresponding large surface area and size. Water-cooling devices undergoing testing require a lower corresponding heat exchanger area than air, but is still not the smallest solution possible and also has the intrinsic risk of damaging sensitive electronics in the test system should a leak develop.
One solution for cooling heat generating devices utilizes a dual-phase refrigerant where the physical process of evaporation (latent heat of vaporization) absorbs significantly more heat than air or fluid can alone for the same corresponding heat exchanger size. Cooling schemes that depend on either a refrigerant cycle or Carnot heat cycle have long been in existence. Various semiconductor test system manufacturers have used refrigerant cycles wrapped around gas compressors for their central plants.
A key difference between a true refrigerant cycle and a Carnot heat cycle is nothing more than the thermodynamic direction that heat moves: low to high versus high to low. In a refrigerant cycle a compressor takes low pressure gas, compresses it generating high-pressure gas and heat, and then removes the heat in the condenser on the high-pressure side of the system. A Carnot heat cycle on the other hand, uses a fluid pump to pressurize liquid refrigerant into the evaporators. Heat then flashes the liquid refrigerant into gas and then a water sub-cooled condenser downstream condenses refrigerant gas on the low-pressure side of the system to complete the cycle. A classic example of a Carnot heat cycle is a fossil or nuclear-fueled steam power plant generating electricity.
Some of the common problems experienced by current thermal systems used in semiconductor testing environments include refrigerant leaks, poor chiller mean-time-before-failure (MTBF) and inconsistent thermal performance as the device-under-test (DUT)/system thermal load parameters changes. Other problems associated with some thermal systems include the inability to charge the thermal system while the system is operational and the inability to control suction pressure to increase cooling temperature differential.


Modern hard disk drives may have one or more rotating disks. Each disk may have two disk surfaces in use. Hard disk drives also include a servo controller that drives a voice coil actuator to position a read-write head near a track on the surface of a rotating disk in order to read and/or write data to the track. The read-write head may be a magnetic transducer adapted to read data from and/or write data to the one or more rotating disks. Read operations are generally accomplished by sensing a magnetic field associated with the surface of the disk. Write operations are generally accomplished by selectively magnetizing the surface of the disk. The read-write head communicates with the servo controller, providing feedback, which is used in controlling the read-write head's positioning relative to the track. The read-write head is embedded in a slider, which flies on a thin layer of air, known as an air bearing, a very short distance above the rotating disk surface.
The trend in the hard disk drive industry is to increase the areal density of the rotating disk surfaces. This is usually achieved by decreasing the width of the tracks and reducing the flying height of the read-write head above the rotating disk surface, thus reducing the air bearing. Currently read-write heads fly at about 10 nanometers (nm) from the rotating disk surfaces.


The invention relates to voter ballots, which create machine-readable codes when a selection is registered for more accurate machine counting and to eliminate confusion of the voters"" intent.
Briefly stated the invention is an election ballot comprising a plurality of political office candidate names printed in visible ink and a unique bar code printed for each candidate for a voter to enter a candidate selection; and a unique ballot number and bar code of that number printed on the ballot. A plurality of the ballots can be used together with a computer data base and an internet server for each voter to confirm his candidate selections were correct.


In a typical ink jet recording or printing system, ink droplets are ejected from a nozzle at high speed towards a recording element or medium to produce an image on the medium. The ink droplets, or recording liquid, generally comprise a recording agent, such as a dye or pigment, and a large amount of solvent. The solvent, or carrier liquid, typically is made up of water, an organic material such as a monohydric alcohol, a polyhydric alcohol or mixtures thereof.
A continuing problem with ink jet printers is the accumulation of ink on ink jet nozzle plates, particularly around the orifice from which ink drops are ejected. The result of ink drops accumulating around the orifice is that it becomes wettable causing ink drops to be misdirected, degrading the quality of the printed image.
To limit or prevent the spreading of ink from the orifice to the nozzle plate, it is common practice to coat the ink jet nozzle plate with an anti-wetting layer. Examples of anti-wetting layers are coatings of hydrophobic polymer materials such as Teflon.RTM. and polyimide-siloxane, or a monomolecular layer of a material that chemically binds to the nozzle plate, e.g., alkyl thiols, alkyl trichlorosilanes and partially fluorinated alkyl silanes.
Ink jet nozzle plates are also contaminated by ink drops that land on the nozzle plate. These "satellite" ink drops are created as a by-product of the drop separation process of the primary ink drop that is used to print. Another source of contaminating ink are tiny ink drops that are created when the primary ink drop impacts recording material. Ink drops accumulating on the nozzle plate can also potentially attract contaminants such as paper fibers which cause the nozzles to become blocked. Partially or completely blocked nozzles can lead to missing or misdirected drops on the print media, either of which degrades the quality of the print.
In order to solve this problem, the nozzle plates are periodically wiped clean. Several wiping methods are known including wet wiping techniques utilizing inks as a cleaning solvent. While inks and ink solvents used to dilute inks may be used as a cleaning liquid, they are not optimized for this purpose. Inks may contain additives such as, for example, ethylene glycol, diethylene glycol, and diethylene glycol monobutyl ether which may be environmentally undesirable when released during cleaning in unventilated areas such as a home or an office.
Further, inks often contain various materials which may leave an undesirable residue on the ink jet print head nozzle plate. Thus while wiping removes ink drops from the nozzle plate, the hydrophobic anti-wetting coating on the nozzle plate may be severely contaminated and compromised by ink residue. The ink-fouled coating is therefore unable to prevent the spreading of ink from orifices.
It has also been discovered that hydrophobic coatings on an ink jet print head nozzle plate are susceptible to fouling by certain ink jet inks, such as those containing copper phthalocyanine dyes. The fouling of the nozzle plate by the ink can lead to excessive spreading by ink on to the nozzle plate during normal use, further aggravating drop placement problems. Another disadvantage in using inks as a cleaning solution is that they are expensive.
There remains a need for a simple, economical ink jet nozzle plate cleaning solution that will help maintain the anti-wetting character of ink jet nozzle plates so that an ink jet print head will consistently deliver accurate and reproducible drops of ink to a receiver resulting in photographic quality images.


The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same, more specifically, a semiconductor device comprising a nonvolatile memory of the stacked gate structure and a transistor of the single-layer gate structure, and a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device.
The logic semiconductor device combined with a nonvolatile semiconductor memory forms product fields, as of CPLD (Complex Programmable Logic Device) and FPGA (Field Programmable Gate Array), and because of their characteristic of programmability, so far have formed large markets because of their characteristic, programmability.
The logic semiconductor device combined with a nonvolatile memory has, in addition to flash memory cells, a high-voltage transistors for controlling the flash memory and low-voltage transistors of high-performance logic circuit integrated on the same semiconductor chip. The flash memory cells have gate electrode of the stacked structure of a floating gate and a control gate laid one on the other which is different from the single-layer structure of the high-voltage transistors and the low-voltage transistors. Accordingly, the process of manufacturing the logic semiconductor device combined with the nonvolatile memory requires the process specialized in forming the nonvolatile memory transistors of the stacked gate structure without changing characteristics of the peripheral circuits, especially the logic transistors.
In the usual combined process, the floating gates of the nonvolatile memory transistors are formed of the first-level conductive film (the first conductive film), and the control gates of the nonvolatile memory transistors and the gate electrodes of the peripheral transistors are formed of the second-level conductive film (the second conductive film). Then, the peripheral transistors are formed after the nonvolatile memory transistors have been formed, so as to prevent the process of manufacturing the nonvolatile memory transistors from influencing characteristics of the logic transistors. In terms of the process of forming the gate electrodes, after the second conductive film in the memory cell region have been patterned to form the control gates, the second conductive film in the peripheral circuit region is patterned to form the gate electrodes of the peripheral transistors.
The related arts are described in, e.g., Reference 1 (Japanese published unexamined patent application No. Hei 10-209390).
However, the inventors of the present application have examined the process of fabricating the logic semiconductor device combined with the nonvolatile memory and found that the process causes the disadvantage that the second conductive film in the memory cell region is etched when the second conductive film is patterned to form the gate electrodes of the peripheral transistors.


Electronic devices, such as mobile computing devices, including tablets and smartphones, are typically encased in packaging at the place of manufacture or final assembly. Such packaging protects the devices during transportation and storage, while at the same time provides an attractive appearance to a consumer. However, consumer packaging is typically sealed, resulting in the electronic device being inaccessible from the time of packaging until the package is opened by the purchaser. As a result, the manufacturer is unable to access the sealed device once packaging has occurred. In some cases, it may be desirable to access the electronic device after packaging but before delivery to the customer.
Accordingly, there is a need to provide improved servicing capability for packaged electronic devices.


This invention relates to a method for laminating a transparent safety panel to the screen-bearing viewing window of a CRT (cathode-ray tube) and particularly, but not exclusively, to a large CRT, and to the product of that method. By "large CRT" is meant a television picture tube or an information display tube having a viewing window bearing a viewing screen of at least a 30V size.
In one prior type of CRT, a glass safety panel is laminated to the viewing window of the CRT in order to reduce the danger of implosion and also, should the CRT implode, to reduce the danger of injury to people and things nearby. Suitable structures and methods for laminating CRTs smaller than 26V screen dimension have been described previously, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,204,231 issued May 20, 1980 to M. M. Permenter.
In one prior laminating method, a safety panel is positioned in a desired spaced-apart relationship with a CRT window, and then a strip of flexible pressure-sensitive tape is wrapped around the edges of the CRT and panel to define a closed cell between the window and the panel. Thereafter, the cell is filled with a catalyzed liquid resin and allowed to cure to a clear transparent solid which adheres to the facing surfaces of the panel and the window. During the filling step, vent holes are punctured in the tape to allow air in the cell to escape. After the cell is filled with resin, the holes are taped shut to prevent both the leakage of resin and the formation of bubbles in the cell during the curing step. A foam tape with adhesive on both sides adhered to the margins of the panel and the window may replace the tape in the foregoing method.
In the foregoing method, the cell is filled with the viewing window positioned in a generally horizontal attitude, with the window facing downward. The tape provides a temporary hydraulic seal for the cell, and is also sufficiently strong to hold the panel temporarily in the desired downward-facing, spaced-apart relationship while the cell is being filled and the resin cures. In practice, especially when safety panels are laminated to CRT windows larger than about 25V-size, the taping step is not efficient and many temporary seals leak resin, and some seals fail to hold the safety panels in place. Also, because the windows face downward, it is difficult to determine whether gas bubbles are present in the viewable area in front of the window.
Because of the size and weight of a large CRT as defined above, all of these problems are aggravated and these prior methods are not practical for laminating a safety panel to the window of a large CRT. For example, a 25V-size CRT weighs about 55 pounds, while a 33V-size CRT weighs about 130 pounds and therefore cannot be handled manually in the factory. A cell, formed as described above, on a 33V-size CRT is difficult to fill with liquid resin with the window facing down because of the greater weight of the safety panel and because the greater weight of the resin causes greater leakage of resin during the filling and curing steps, especially through the venting holes in the tape. The tapes used in the prior methods to form the cell are not reliable to hold an 11-pound safety panel and about 8 pounds of liquid resin in the desired spaced apart relationship during the filling and curing steps. Sagging and wedging of the panel position and leakage and "flow-out" of the resin occur frequently with prior methods.


With the increasing public attentions to ecological problems, greening projects in areas such as deserts, slopes, embankments and wastelands are more and more concerned by the society. One of the typical greening methods available is a fabric-spreading method in which an ecological fabric is laid on the surface of the area to be afforested. In some conditions (e.g. soil slopes, etc.), the method is to secure the soil/sands using the ecological fabrics, and plant growth materials are placed under the ecological fabrics; and in other conditions (e.g. deserts, etc.), the method is to place the plant growth materials on the ecological fabrics. However, in any conditions, the greening is made by means of the ecological fabrics, therefore, it is critical in the whole greening process how to secure the ecological fabrics. In the traditional methods, the ecological fabric is fixed to the area to be afforested by an anchor rod piercing the ecological fabric, in this case, the anchor rod may be loosened due to the decrease in the friction force between the anchor rod and the sands or soil, and even be drawn out from the sands or soil, leading to the unsteady fixation of the ecological fabric, and hence to the displacement of the fabric. Such a method merely relying on the anchor rod has a poor effectiveness, and is also not suitable for zones such as deserts. It is also provided a method for fixing the ecological fabric by making trenches in desert areas, but it is needed to fill ecological bags into the trenches to press the ecological fabric. However, the production of the ecological bags is complicated and costly, which apparently does not meet the current needs and is not convenient to marketing promotion.