Abstract: A percutaneous tissue removal apparatus having a flexible drill shaft, a cutting tip mounted on the shaft a power source for transmitting motion to the shaft to move the cutting tip against tissue and a suction source for removing tissue fragments along the shaft to a location outside the tissue mass while cutting. The apparatus may include a container for collecting one or more selected components of the harvested tissue fragments for implantation of the fragments preferably into the body of the patient from whom they were removed. Where the tissue to be cut is bone, a cutting tip is preferably made of a polymeric material which is softer than the cortical portion of the bone, although the cutting tip may be made of a ceramic or a composite material. A second flexible shaft may be provided either within or about the flexible drill shaft.

Abstract: An apparatus for locating a plurality of articles for laser marking comprising a support plate (16) having a plurality of apertures (18) extending from a first surface of the plate (15) to a second surface of the plate (17). The apertures are dimensioned to receive said articles (12) at the first surface of the plate (15), so that the at least a portion of the article is exposed through the aperture (18). Preferably apertures are defined by tapering walls. In use a laser (30) is directed towards a protruding portion of the article (21). The extent to which the articles protrude through the aperture (18) is significantly less than the variation in diameter of articles (12) to be laser marked. This eliminates the need for the laser to focus on individual articles (12).

Abstract: Fluidized-bed opposed jet mills, configured as separator mills, and provided with easy accessibility so that the interior space can be easily cleaned with little effort. The separator wheel is formed together with the bearing unit and the actuator unit as one component, which is detachably attached to the grinding container and can be moved relative to the grinding container by kinematic devices in such a manner that the separator wheel can be removed from the grinding container upward through the discharge outlet for finely ground material, while the discharge device for the finely ground material remains connected to the grinding container. In this manner, the separator mill can be easily assembled and disassembled by the user and the separator mill becomes easily accessible for thorough cleaning. This is particularly advantageous when the material to be ground is changed frequently, as is the case in the pharmaceutical and chemical fields.

Abstract: A method for presenting to an end-user the intermediate matching search results of a keyword search in an index list of information. The method comprising the steps of: coupling to a search engine a graphical user interface for accepting keyword search terms for searching the indexed list of information with the search engine; receiving one or more keyword search terms with one or more separation characters separating there between; performing a keyword search with the one or more keyword search terms received when a separation character is received; and presenting the number of documents matching the keyword search terms to the end-user presenting a graphical menu item on a display. A system and method of metadata search ranking is disclosed. The present invention utilizes a combination of popularity and/or relevancy to determine a search ranking for a given search result association.

Abstract: A configurable electronic circuit having configuration nodes is provided. Each of the configuration nodes is coupled to corresponding first circuitry that is non-modifiable during configuration and second circuitry that is modifiable during the configuration. The non-modifiable first circuitry selectively imposes one of at least a first potential and a second potential on the configuration node prior to configuration, and the modifiable second circuitry allows modification of the potential imposed on the configuration node by the non-modifiable first circuitry. In a preferred embodiment, the modifiable second circuitry includes at least one fuse that is in an intact state before configuration and that can be changed to a destroyed state after configuration. This enables a reduction in the number of fuses that have to be destroyed during the configuration of the circuit. Also provided is an information processing system that includes at least one configurable electronic circuit having configuration nodes.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for indexing and searching content in a hardcopy document utilizes a searching assistant computing device (402) with an index table (420) stored in memory (412). The index table (420) is created in memory by scanning a 2-D barcode from a hardcopy document or alternatively by downloading indexing information from a web page via the Internet (430). A search engine (410) in the searching assistant (402) searches the index table (420) to locate a data element found in the content of the hardcopy document. The indexing information corresponding to the data element is displayed to a user as part of the search results to indicate the location of the data element in the hardcopy document.

Abstract: A storage device is provided. The storage device includes at least one memory having a parallel data bus and a parallel address bus; a first k-bit latch circuit having a parallel input and a parallel output, with the parallel input being connected to the data bus; a first k-bit shift register having a parallel input and a series output, with the parallel input being connected to the output of the first latch circuit; a second k-bit latch circuit having a parallel input and a parallel output, with the parallel output being connected to the data bus; and a second k-bit shift register having a series input and a parallel output, with the parallel output being connected to the input of the second latch circuit. In a preferred embodiment, a control circuit is coupled to the address bus, with the control circuit including address registers for storing as many address pointers as the number of k-bit shift registers.

Abstract: A metallized pattern, used as an electrical conductor, is altered by means of standard lithographic processes to have regions of interspersed missing metal, or voids, in a specified region of the pattern. The voids in the conducting pattern allow radiation, emanating from various angles, to penetrate through the voids so that a glue seal, disposed underneath the pattern, can be exposed to the radiation and thus activated and cured. The preferred application is found in flat panel displays where radiation is required to cure a glue seal that affixes two substrates to one another. The openings in the metallized pattern in the region of the glue seal minimize the shadowing, caused by the solid portions of the pattern, which can result in the lack of glue seal curing or polymerization. The absence of shadowing assures that the glue seal is fully cured and will not contaminate the liquid crystal after final processing.

Abstract: The integrated circuit comprises a semiconductor substrate SB supporting a memory cell PM of the DRAM type comprising an access transistor T and a storage capacitor TRC. The access transistor is made on the substrate, and the substrate includes a capacitive trench TRC buried beneath the transistor and forming the storage capacitor, the capacitive trench being in contact with one of the source and drain regions of the transistor.

Abstract: Processes are provided for fabricating a substrate having a silicon-on-insulator (SOI) or silicon-on-nothing (SON) architecture, which are applicable to the manufacture of semiconductor devices, especially transistors such as those of the MOS, CMOS, BICMOS, and HCMOS types. In the fabrication processes, a multilayer stack is grown on a substrate by non-selective full-wafer epitaxy. The multilayer stack includes a silicon layer on a Ge or SiGe layer. Active regions are defined and masked, and insulating pads are formed so as to be located around the perimeter of each of the active regions at predetermined intervals and placed against the sidewalls of the active regions. The insulating trenches are etched, and the SiGe or Ge layer is laterally etched so as to form an empty tunnel under the silicon layer. The trenches are filled with a dielectric. In the case of an SOI archiutecture, the tunnel is filled with a dielectric.

Abstract: A semiconductor circuit that includes components and registration features that are electrically isolated from the components. The registration features form projecting parts that are uniformly distributed in the form of a matrix over at least part of the external surface of the circuit so as to define adjacent registration areas. In a preferred embodiment, the semiconductor circuit also includes metal registration features that are produced in at least one metallization level of the circuit. Also provided is a method of adjusting a tool so as to put it into a particular position with respect to the surface of a semiconductor circuit that has registration features defining adjacent registration areas. According to the method, an at least partial topographic record of the registration features on the surface of the semiconductor circuit is produced, and the registration features of the topographic record are brought into coincidence with reference features of a reference drawing.

Abstract: A portable rack is provided to store one or more fishing rods. A group of elongated modular elements are strung end-to-end to form two associated, vertical, horizontally spaced columns. Each modular element is an integrally molded plastic bar having at its top an integrally molded member and at its bottom an integrally molded construction that includes a hook opening upwardly. The integrally molded construction at the bottom of each modular element forms a quickly attachable and detachable coupling with the integrally molded member at the top of the next succeeding lower modular element. Horizontally aligned hooks support fishing rods. An attachment on each column mounts the vertical column on a mounting structure.

Abstract: A reading circuit is provided for reading a memory cell. The reading circuit includes a reference current source, a memory cell biased between its first and second terminals at a predetermined voltage, comparison means for comparing a current flowing in the memory cell with the reference current, and a control gate voltage source coupled to a third terminal of the memory cell. The control gate voltage source includes a virgin memory cell that is biased between two terminals with a voltage of equal value to the biasing voltage of the memory cell. The control gate voltage source produces a control gate voltage at another terminal of the virgin memory cell. In one preferred embodiment, the memory cell and the virgin memory cell are EEPROM cells.

Abstract: Process for producing electrical-connections on a semiconductor package containing an integrated-circuit chip and with an external protective layer having apertures that least partly expose metal electrical-connection regions, and semiconductor package provided with such metal electrical-connections. The apertures having walls are filled with a metal electrical-connection layer covering at least their walls. A metal solder drop is soldered to the connection layer so that it is not in contact with the external protective layer.

Abstract: A process produces at a predetermined metallization level at least one metal track (7) within an intertrack dielectric material (1). The process includes the steps of etching the intertrack dielectric material (1) so as to form a cavity (4) at the position of the track, depositing a conducting barrier layer (5) in the cavity (4), filling the cavity (4) with copper, and depositing a silicon nitride layer (8) on the predetermined metallization level. Between the barrier layer deposition step and the copper filling step, titanium is deposited on at least part of the barrier layer. This titanium will be transformed into TiSi2 (60) during the diffusion of the silicon from the silicon nitride layer (8).

Abstract: A system and method for associating a personalized application tool and/or service in response to data supplied by any number of search requests is disclosed. The present invention in some preferred embodiments integrates a Session Manager (0701), Tool/Service Integrator (0702), Result Analyzer (0703), Registration Manager (0704), and a Request Server (0705) in conjunction with a DTD Schema (0707), a Tool/Services Database (0706), and an Optional Accounting Manager (0708). Several preferred embodiments of the present invention are configured to process user search requests (0711) comprising Internet search queries (0712) that are subsequently processed by an Internet Search Engine (0713) under control of a Session Manger (0701). The focus of the present invention is to permit brokering of search results post-processing tools and/or services, thus improving the overall efficiency of the searching and data analysis functions by a given user.

Abstract: A system transfers data between a client computer and a server computer over a network, wherein communications are established over a first data link between the client and the server to provide the server with identification of the data to be transferred, then communications are established over a second data link between the client and the server for data transfer such that the second data link has a faster data transfer rate than the first data link, then the identified data is transferred from the client to the server; and then finally the client computer is provided with status information relating to the transfer of the identified data. The first data link is sufficient to support normal data operations utilizing existing network resources. The second data link can connect the clients to one or more of the servers, or may connect only particular clients and servers with special needs for large data transfer.

Abstract: A method for provisioning at least one subscriber characteristic in a billing system includes the steps of creating at least one subscriber characteristic record. The method continues by creating a one subscriber record with entries for subscriber identification and inserting in a subscriber characteristic record, a first key for associating with the subscriber record. A characteristic record is created with entries for subscriber characteristics. A second key is inserted in the subscriber characteristic record. The second key is associated with the characteristic record so that the characteristic record is associated via the second key to the subscriber characteristic record that has been associated via the first key. A characteristic group to characteristic record is created for holding characteristics for a group of subscribers. A third primary key is inserted in the characteristic group.

Abstract: A portable electronic device includes a sound system having one or more speakers, each located at an impact point of the electronic device. Each speaker includes a sound chamber and shock absorbing means for protecting the electronic device from a force resulting from an impact between the electronic device and another object.

Abstract: The invention relates to a method of coating a surface of a stent by contacting the stent with a coating solution containing a coating material, inserting a thread through the lumen of the stent, and producing relative motion between the stent and the thread to substantially remove coating material located within the openings of the stent. Eliminating or minimizing coating material located within the openings preserves the functionality of the stent. The method can be used to apply a primer layer, a polymer, either with or without a therapeutic agent, and/or a top layer on the stent.