Author: claimsbot

1. An apparatus for stabilizing movement of an ankle, said apparatus comprising:
a flexible body member having an upper portion, a lower portion, a front portion, a rear portion, a first side, a second side, an interior surface, and an exterior surface;
at least one stabilizing strap for applying at least one force against said flexible body member, said at least one stabilizing strap having at least one portion positioned against said flexible body member; and
a cuff member for directing the at least one force applied by said at least one stabilizing strap against said flexible body member, said cuff member positioned against said rear portion of said flexible body member, said cuff member defining at least one opening for receiving a portion of said at least one stabilizing strap;
wherein said cuff member varies the amount of force acting on said flexible body member during application and use.
2. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least one stabilizing strap and said cuff member engage one another to dynamically vary the circumference of said upper portion of said flexible body member during application and use.
3. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least one stabilizing strap and said cuff member engage one another to dynamically vary the vertical compression acting on said flexible body member during application and use.
4. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least one stabilizing strap and said cuff member engage one another to dynamically vary the circumferential compression acting on said flexible body member during application and use.
5. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said flexible body member defining at least one opening for directing said at least one stabilizing strap from a position interior of said flexible body member to a position exterior of said flexible body member
6. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein:
said at least one stabilizing strap having at least another portion removably attachable to said exterior surface of said upper portion of said flexible body member; and
said at least one portion of said at least one stabilizing strap fixed against said interior surface of said lower portion of said flexible body member.
7. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a portion of said at least one stabilizing strap extends substantially along a portion of said interior and exterior surfaces of said flexible body member.
8. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cuff member is positioned against said interior surface of said flexible body member.
9. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cuff member is positioned against said exterior surface of said flexible body member.
10. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cuff member directs said at least one stabilizing strap from a position interior of said flexible body member to a position exterior of said flexible body member.
11. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cuff member providing a fixed point on said upper portion of said flexible body member from which said at least one stabilizing strap extends such that said cuff member and said at least one stabilizing strap resists distal migration of said apparatus during application and use.
12. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cuff enclosure for positioning said cuff member against said flexible body member.
13. An apparatus for stabilizing movement of an ankle, said apparatus comprising:
a flexible body member for receiving a foot and ankle, said flexible body member having an upper portion, a lower portion, a front portion, a rear portion, a first side, a second side, an interior surface, and an exterior surface, said flexible body member defining at least one opening for receiving at least a portion of a heel;
at least one stabilizing strap for securing said flexible body member to a foot and ankle, said at least one stabilizing strap having at least one portion positioned against said flexible body member and having at least one free end removably attachable to said exterior surface of said flexible body member; and
a cuff member for redirecting at least one force applied by said at least one stabilizing strap against said flexible body member and ankle, said cuff member positioned against said upper portion of said flexible body member, said cuff member defining at least one opening for receiving a portion of said at least one stabilizing strap;
wherein said cuff member redirects the at least one force applied by said at least one stabilizing strap during application and use to vary compression acting on said flexible body member and ankle during application and use.
14. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cuff member redirects the direction of travel of said at least one stabilizing strap.
15. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cuff member directs a first force against sections of the ankle proximate a portion of said at least one stabilizing strap that is interior of said flexible body member.
16. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cuff member directs a second force against sections of the ankle proximate a portion of said at least one stabilizing strap that is exterior of said flexible body member in addition to a first force.
17. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said at least one cuff member opening is positioned oblique to at least one edge of said cuff member, said at least one opening for redirecting the at least one force applied by said at least one stabilizing strap against said flexible body member and ankle.
18. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a cuff enclosure for positioning said cuff member against said flexible body member.
19. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 18 wherein said cuff enclosure and said cuff member resist distal migration of said upper portion of said flexible body member by distributing the at least one force acting against said flexible body member.
20. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 18 wherein the thickness of an upper portion of said cuff enclosure is less than the thickness of a lower portion of said cuff enclosure.
21. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 18 wherein said cuff enclosure further comprises a flexible sheet member extending along at least a portion of a lower portion of said cuff enclosure.
22. An apparatus for stabilizing movement of an ankle, said apparatus comprising:
a flexible body member for receiving a foot and ankle, said flexible body member having an upper portion, a lower portion, a front portion, a rear portion, a first side, a second side, an interior surface, and an exterior surface, said flexible body member defining at least one opening for receiving at least a portion of a heel;
a first stabilizing strap for securing said flexible body member to a foot and ankle, said first stabilizing strap having at least one portion positioned against said flexible body member and having at least another portion removably attachable to said flexible body member;
a second stabilizing strap for securing said body member to a foot and ankle, said second stabilizing strap having at least one portion positioned against said flexible body member and having at least another portion removably attachable to said flexible body member;
a cuff member for directing a first force applied by at least one of said stabilizing straps against said flexible body member and ankle, and for directing a second force applied by at least one of said stabilizing strap against said flexible body member and ankle, said cuff member positioned against said upper portion of said flexible body member; and
a cuff enclosure for positioning said cuff member against at least one of said interior and exterior surfaces of said flexible body member.
23. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of said stabilizing straps and said cuff member engage one another to dynamically vary compression acting on said flexible body member during application and use to stabilize movement of the foot and ankle.
24. An ankle stabilizing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said cuff member defining first and second openings for receiving portions of said first and second stabilizing straps, respectively.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

What is claimed is:

1. A ureteral stent for assisting flow of urine within a patient’s ureter and into the patient’s bladder, the stent comprising a thin flexible elongated member having an elongated external urine-transport surface sized and configured to transport urine along the surface within the ureter.
2. The stent of claim 1 in which the external urine transporting surface is sized and configured to extend along at least part of the ureter, across the ureterbladder junction, and from there through the ureteral opening into the bladder.
3. The stent of claim 2 further comprising an elongated tubular segment attached to said elongated member, the tubular segment comprising:
a) an upper region having at least a first opening,
b) a lower region having at least a second opening to be positioned in the ureter outside the bladder, and
c) a central lumen connecting the first opening to the second opening;
the elongated member being at least one thin flexible tail extending from the lower region of the tubular segment at a point outside the bladder so as to receive urine from the second opening of the tubular segment and to transport urine from the second region across the ureterbladder junction and into the bladder.
4. The stent of claim 3 in which the upper region is configured and sized for placement in the renal cavity.
5. The stent of claim 1 or claim 3 in which the elongated member is a tail comprising at least one thread filament.
6. The stent of claim 5 in which the tail comprises multiple thread filaments.
7. The stent of claim 5 in which the tail comprises at least one filament loop.
8. The stent of claim 7 in which the tail comprises no unlooped filaments, so that the tail is free from loose ends.
9. The stent of claim 7 in which the filament loop comprises a junction of individual filament ends.
10. The stent of claim 9 in which the junction of filament ends is positioned at the point where tail joins to the elongated tubular segment.
11. The stent of claim 6, comprising at least two filaments loops.
12. The stent of claim 3 in which the elongated member is softer than the elongated tubular segment.
13. The stent of claim 4 in which the upper region comprises a portion of enlarged diameter, designed for placement in the renal cavity.
14. The stent of claim 13 in which the upper region has an external section having straight sides and corners.
15. The stent of claim 5 in which the tail is a fluted filament.
16. The stent of claim 1 further comprising an extractor thread attached to the lower end of the elongated member.
17. The stent of claim 3 in which the external urine-transport surface is concave.
18. The stent of claim 3 in which the external urine-transport surface is convex.
19. The stent of claim 3 in which the tubular segment is stiff enough to avoid crimping during insertion through the ureter.
20. The stent of claim 3 in which the tail and its attachment to the tubular segment are strong enough to permit retrieval of the stent from the kidney and ureter by locating the tail in the bladder and pulling on it.
21. The stent of claim 3 in which the tail includes an accurately shaped anchor segment to control migration up the ureter.
22. The stent of claim 3 in which the tail is long enough to effectively prevent migration of the entire tail into the ureter.
23. The stent of claim 3 in which the tail has a smaller outer diameter than the outer diameter of the tubular segment.
24. The stent of claim 3 in which tail is solid.
25. The stent of claim 3 in which at least part of the tail is hollow.
26. The stent of claim 3 in which the outer diameter of the tubular segment decreases approaching the bladder end region.
27. The stent of claim 3 or claim 26 in which the tubular member includes multiple openings along its length.
28. The stent of claim 3 in which the outer diameter of the tubular segment decreases approaching the kidney end region.
29. The stent of claim 3 in which the kidney end region includes multiple openings.
30. The stent of claim 3 in which the tail is attached to the bladder end region at a point toward the kidney with respect to the bladder end terminus of the bladder end region.
31. The stent of claim 26 further comprising a suture securing the tail to the tubular segment.
32. The stent of claim 31 in which the suture is incorporated in the tail to impart strength to the tail.
33. The stent of claim 32 in which the tail comprises a hollow lumen and the suture is positioned inside the hollow tail lumen.
34. The stent of claim 33 in which the tail is hollow, and the suture is attached to the tubular segment at a point toward the kidney with respect to the bladder end terminus of the bladder end region of the tubular segment, and the suture extends toward the bladder from the point of attachment through an opening in the bladder end region to the central lumen of the tubular segment and from there along the inside of the tail.
35. The stent of claim 3 in which at least the bladder end region of the tubular segment comprises multiple lumens, one of the lumens enclosing the suture from the point of attachment to the tubular segment to the terminus of the bladder end region.
36. The stent of claim 1 wherein the elongated external urine-transport surface is a continuous surface extending from the kidney to the bladder.
37. The stent of claim 36 wherein the elongated external surface is the outer surface of a solid member extending from the kidney to the bladder.
38. The stent of claim 3 wherein the tubular member and the elongated member comprise a one-piece stent.
39. A method of introducing a ureteral stent into a patient, the stent comprising a) a thin flexible elongated member having an elongated external urine-transport surface sized and configured to transport urine along the surface within the ureter; and b) an elongated tubular segment attached to said elongated member, the tubular segment comprising: i) an upper region having at least a first opening, ii) a lower region having at least a second opening to be positioned in the ureter outside the bladder, and iii) a central lumen connecting the first opening to the second opening; the elongated member being a thin flexible tail extending from the lower region of the tubular segment at a point outside the bladder so as to receive urine from the second opening of the tubular segment and to transport urine from the second region across the ureterbladder junction and into the bladder, the method comprising:
(a) positioning the kidney end region of the tubular segment within the renal pelvis; and
(b) positioning the elongated flexible member in the bladder.
40. A method of manufacturing a ureteral stent, the stent comprising a thin flexible elongated tail member having an elongated external urine-transport surface sized and configured to transport urine along the surface within the ureter, the method comprising:
providing a polymer pre-form having a tubular shape,
forming an elongated tubular stent segment from the polymer pre-form, and
providing a tail member at an end region of the tubular segment designed to be positioned toward the patient’s bladder.

1. A semiconductor device comprising:
a semiconductor substrate having an active region having a gate forming zone and an isolation region;
an isolation layer formed in the isolation region of the semiconductor substrate and having a first portion having a first height and a second portion adjacent to the active region and having a second height less than the first height so as to form an aperture interposed between the first portion and the active region, the aperture exposing side surface of a portion of the gate forming zone of the active region such that the portion of the gate forming zone of the active region constitutes a fin pattern;
a silicon epitaxial layer formed on an upper surface of the fin pattern and formed on a side surface of the fin pattern within the aperture so as to be between the gate forming zone of the active region and the isolation layer; and
a gate formed to cover the fin pattern on the silicon epitaxial layer and formed within the aperture on side surfaces of the isolation layer and the silicon epitaxial layer so as to be interposed between the silicon epitaxial layer and the isolation layer.
2. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the fin pattern has a height of 100\u02dc1,500 \u212b.
3. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the silicon epitaxial layer is formed to a thickness of 50\u02dc500 \u212b.
4. The semiconductor device according to claim 1, wherein the silicon epitaxial layer comprises a pure Si epitaxial layer or an SixGe(1-x) epitaxial layer containing Ge.

The claims below are in addition to those above.
All refrences to claim(s) which appear below refer to the numbering after this setence.

1. A power supply circuit comprising:
a DC-to-DC converter outputting a first voltage dropped from an input supply voltage; and
a series regulator outputting a second voltage dropped from an output of the DC-to-DC converter,
the series regulator including:
an output transistor supplied with the output of the DC-to-DC converter and outputting the second voltage, and
a first control circuit operated by the input supply voltage and controlling the output transistor.
2. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein
the DC-to-DC converter includes a soft start circuit, and
when the input supply voltage is applied, the first voltage increases from zero to a steady-state value during a first time period and the second voltage increases from zero to a steady-state value during a second time period.
3. The circuit according to claim 1, wherein
the DC-to-DC converter includes:
a first switching element having one end supplied with the input supply voltage and another end outputting the first voltage; and
a second control circuit comparing a third voltage to a divided voltage of the first voltage and controlling at least the first switching element,

the first control circuit or the second control circuit includes a reference voltage generating circuit outputting a fourth voltage, and
the second control circuit sets the fourth voltage or a divided voltage of the fourth voltage to the third voltage.
4. The circuit according, to claim 1, wherein
the DC-to-DC converter varies the first voltage in response to the second voltage.
5. The circuit according to claim 4, wherein
the DC-to-DC converter includes a soft start circuit, and
when the input supply voltage is applied, the first voltage increases from zero to a steady-state value during a first time period and the second voltage increases from zero to a steady-state value during a second time period.
6. The circuit according to claim 4, wherein
the DC-to-DC converter includes:
a first switching element having one end supplied with the input supply voltage and another end outputting the first voltage; and
a second control circuit controlling at least the first switching element in response to the second voltage and varying the first voltage.
7. The circuit according to claim 6, wherein
the second control circuit varies a third voltage used as reference or a dividing ratio of the first voltage in response to the second voltage.
8. The circuit according to claim 7, wherein
the first control circuit or the second control circuit further includes a reference voltage generating circuit outputting a fourth voltage, and
the second control circuit sets the fourth voltage or a divided voltage of the fourth voltage to the third voltage.
9. The circuit according to claim 6, wherein
the DC-to-DC converter includes a soft start circuit, and
when the input supply voltage is applied, the first voltage increases from zero to a steady-state value during a first time period and the second voltage increases from zero to a steady-state value during a second time period.
10. The circuit according to claim 1, further comprising a voltage-detecting circuit detecting the second voltage,
the DC-to-DC converter including:
a first switching element having one end supplied with the input supply voltage and another end outputting the first voltage;
a diode connected between the another end of the first switching element and a ground; and
a second control circuit comparing a third voltage to a divided voltage of the first voltage and controlling at least the first switching element,

the first voltage being varied by varying the third voltage or a dividing ratio to divide the first voltage in response to an output of the voltage-detecting circuit.
11. The circuit according to claim 10, wherein
the DC-to-DC converter includes a soft start circuit, and
when the input supply voltage is applied, the first voltage increases from zero to a steady-state value during a first time period and the second voltage increases from zero to a steady-state value during a second time period.
12. The circuit according to claim 10, wherein
the first control circuit or the second control circuit includes a reference voltage generating circuit outputting a fourth voltage, and
the second control circuit sets the fourth voltage or a divided voltage of the fourth voltage to the third voltage.
13. A receiving apparatus comprising:
an antenna terminal;
a power supply circuit outputting a second voltage to the antenna terminal; and
a receiving circuit receiving a radio signal from the antenna terminal,
the power supply circuit includes:
a DC-to-DC converter outputting a first voltage dropped from an input supply voltage; and
a series regulator outputting the second voltage dropped from an output of the DC-to-DC converter,
the series regulator including:
an output transistor supplied with the output of the DC-to-DC converter and outputting the second voltage, and
a first control circuit operating with the input supply voltage and controlling the output transistor.
14. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein
the DC-to-DC converter includes a soft start circuit, and
when the input supply voltage is applied, the first voltage increases from zero to a steady-state value during a first time period and the second voltage increases from zero to a steady-state value during a second time period.
15. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein
the DC-to-DC converter includes:
a first switching circuit element having one end supplied with the input supply voltage and another end outputting the first voltage; and
a second control circuit comparing a third voltage to a divided voltage of the first voltage and controlling at least the first switching element,

the first control circuit or the second control circuit further includes a reference voltage generating circuit outputting a the fourth voltage, and
the second control circuit sets the fourth voltage or a divided voltage of the fourth voltage to the third voltage.
16. The apparatus according to claim 13, wherein
the DC-to-DC converter varies the first voltage in response to the second voltage.
17. The apparatus according to claim 16, wherein
the DC-to-DC converter includes:
a first switching element having one end supplied with the input supply voltage and another end outputting the first voltage; and
a second control circuit varying the first voltage by controlling at least the first switching element in response to the second voltage.
18. The apparatus according to claim 17, wherein
the second control circuit varies a third voltage used as reference or a dividing ratio of the first voltage in response to the second voltage.
19. The apparatus according to claim 13, further comprising a voltage-detecting circuit detecting the second voltage,
the DC-to-DC converter including:
a first switching element having one end supplied with the input supply voltage and another end outputting the first voltage;
a diode connected between the another end of the first switching element and a ground; and
a second control circuit comparing a third voltage to a divided voltage of the first voltage and controlling at least the first switching element,

the first voltage being varied by varying the third voltage or a dividing ratio to divide the first voltage in response to an output of the voltage-detecting circuit.
20. The apparatus according to claim 19, wherein
the first control circuit or the second control circuit further includes a reference voltage generating circuit outputting a the fourth voltage, and
the second control circuit sets the fourth voltage or a divided voltage of the fourth voltage to the third voltage.