All The Claims

1. A semiconductor apparatus comprising:
a plurality of pump control units respectively located in a plurality of chips, connected in series through a first TSV, and configured to sequentially delay a period signal, transmit delayed period signals and generate pump control signal based on the period signal or the delayed period signals; and
a plurality of voltage pump units respectively located in the plurality of chips, and configured to generate a pumping voltage in response to the pump control signals generated from the plurality of pump control units.
2. The semiconductor apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:
a control signal generation block configured to detect a level of the pumping voltage and generate the period signal and an enable signal.
3. The semiconductor apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the enable signal is inputted to the plurality of pump control units through a second TSV.
4. The semiconductor apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the control signal generation block is provided in one chip of the plurality of chips.
5. The semiconductor apparatus according to claim 3, wherein each of the plurality of pump control units is configured to generate the pump control signals when the enable signal is enabled.
6. The semiconductor apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the pumping voltage is shared by the plurality of chips through a third TSV.
7. A method for controlling a semiconductor apparatus, comprising the steps of:
transmitting delayed period signals which are obtained by sequentially delaying a period signal by a predetermined time, to a plurality of chips through a TSV;
generating pump control signals from the delayed period signals transmitted through the TSV, in the plurality of chips; and
generating a pumping voltage in response to the pump control signals.
8. The method according to claim 7, wherein, before transmitting the delayed period signals to the plurality of chips, the method further comprises:
transmitting an enable signal through other TSV to the plurality of chips.
9. The method according to claim 8, wherein generating the pump control signals comprises:
generating the pump control signals based on the period signal or the delayed period signals when the enable signal is enabled.
10. The method according to claim 8, further comprising:
detecting a level of the pumping voltage and enabling the enable signal depending upon a detection result.
11. A semiconductor apparatus having a first and a second chips comprising:
a first pump control unit located in the first chip, and configured to receive a period signal, generate a delayed period signal by is delaying the period signal by a predetermined time and generate a first chip pump control signal based on the period signal;
a first voltage pump unit configured to generate a pumping voltage in response to the first chip pump control signal;
a second pump control unit located in the second chip, and configured to generate a second chip pump control signal based on the delayed period signal; and
a second voltage pump unit configured to generate the pumping voltage in response to the second chip pump control signal.
12. The semiconductor apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the delayed period signal is transmitted to the second pump control unit through a first TSV.
13. The semiconductor apparatus according to claim 11, further comprising:
a control signal generation block configured to detect a level of the pumping voltage and generate an enable signal and the period signal.
14. The semiconductor apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the control signal generation block is located in the first chip.
15. The semiconductor apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the enable signal is transmitted to the first and second pump control units through a second TSV.
16. The semiconductor apparatus according to claim 15, wherein the first and second pump control units are configured to generate the first and second chip pump control signals when the enable signal is enabled.
17. The semiconductor apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the pumping voltage is shared by the first and second chips through a third TSV.

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 surgical instrumentation system for treating a disc space defined between end plates of adjacent vertebrae to be fused with spinal implants, each having a surface opposing a respective end plate and characterized by a preselected shape, comprising:
a guide frame configured to extend into the disc space; and
an endplate preparation instrument removably attached to the guide frame and controllably displaceable therealong into the disc space to provide each of the end plates with a shape corresponding to the preselected shape of the opposing surface of a respective implant.
2. The system of claim 1, wherein the guide frame includes a shelf, spaced sidewalls coupled with and flanking the shelf and juxtaposed with the end plates within the disc space, the shelf having opposite guiding surfaces slidingly supporting the end preparation instrument during displacement thereof into and out of the disc space.
3. The system of claim 2, wherein the sidewalls of the guide frame each have a distal end, the guide frame further having a forward wall bridging the distal ends of the sidewalls and coupled with the guiding surfaces of the shelf within the disc space.
4. The system of claim 3, wherein the sidewalls and the forward wall of the guide frame each have a respective pair of opposite surfaces spaced equidistantly from the shelf in opposite directions and supporting the opposite end plates.
5. The system of claim 3, wherein the guide frame further has a multiplicity of distal stops formed between the distal ends of the sidewalls and the forward wall and configured to limit penetration of the end plate preparation instrument into the disc space.
6. The system of claim 5, wherein the distal stops each extend proximally from the forward wall along a respective one of the sidewalls.
7. The system of claim 4, wherein the sidewalls of the guide frame each are formed with a proximal end extending beyond the opposite surfaces of the sidewalls in opposite directions and configured to control penetration of the guide frame into the disc space.
8. The system of claim 7, wherein the proximal ends of the sidewalls each have a distal face juxtaposed with and abutting outer surfaces of the adjacent vertebrae to provide a positive stop of the guide frame during displacement thereof into the disc space.
9. The system of claim 8, further comprising a plurality of fasteners mounted to the proximal ends of the sidewalls and extending from the distal faces thereof toward the outer surfaces of the vertebrae and attachable thereto to secure the guide frame to the vertebrae.
10. The system of claim 2, further comprising an insertion tool removably coupled to a proximal side of the shelf substantially midway between the proximal ends of the sidewalls.
11. The system of claim 10, wherein the insertion tool is screwed into the proximal side of the shelf.
12. The system of claim 3, wherein the shelf, sidewalls and the forward side of the guide frame form a monolithic body.
13. The system of claim 3, wherein at least one of the sidewalls is removably attached to the shelf and to the forward wall to remain in the disc space upon forming the pocket.
14. The system of claim 13, further comprising a guide assembly located between the at least one sidewall and the shelf of the guide frame and configured to displace the at least one sidewall and the shelf relative to one another.
15. The system of claim 14, wherein the guide assembly includes a protrusion provided on one of the at least one sidewall and the shelf and a recess provided on the other one of the at least one sidewall and the shelf.
16. The system of claim 15, wherein the recess and the protrusion are formed with mating surfaces each having a dovetail cross-section.
17. The system of claim 13, wherein the sidewalls each are removably attached to the shelf.
18. The system of claim 2, wherein the sidewalls extend either parallel or not parallel to one another and substantially perpendicular to the shelf.
19. The system of claim 2, wherein the sidewalls each have an inner surface provided with a dovetail shape.
20. The system of claim 3, wherein the forward wall of the guide frame is provided with a distally convex cross-section configured so that as the guide frame is moved into the disc space between the opposing end plates, the adjacent vertebrae are displaced from one another at a distance corresponding to a height of the sidewalls of the guide frame.
21. The system of claim 5, wherein the end plate preparation instrument includes a chisel provided with opposite faces, each having a rectangular shape, one of the opposite faces being slidably supported by a respective one of the guiding surfaces of the shelf, as the chisel moves toward the distal stops formed between the forward side and the distal ends of the sidewalls of the guide frame.
22. The system of claim 21, wherein the opposite faces extend between lateral flanks each having
a distal and proximal end,
a proximal side, bridging the proximal ends of the flanks, and
a forward edge bridging the distal ends of the flanks, the end plate preparation instrument being configured to extend beyond the forward side of the guide frame so as to uniformly remove material from each of the end plates.
23. The system of claim 22, further comprising a guiding assembly located between the end plate preparation instrument and the guide frame and configured to slidably displace the end plate preparation instrument and the guide frame relative to one another until the end plate preparation instrument comes in contact with the distal stops of the shelf of the guide frame.
24. The system of claim 22, wherein the flanks of the end plate preparation instrument each have a respective outer surface juxtaposed with an inner surface of a respective sidewall of the guide frame and extending complementary thereto, whereas the inner surfaces of the sidewalls and the outer surfaces of the flanks constitute the guiding assembly.
25. The system of claim 23, wherein one of the opposite faces of the end plate preparation instrument has a distal sunken region, the guiding assembly further including an elongated rail formed on one of the distal sunken region or on the guiding surface of the shelf and a projection formed on other one of the distal sunken region and guiding surface the shelf and having a groove.
26. The system of claim 25, wherein the groove is configured to slidably receive the elongated rail and shaped to prevent voluntary disengagement of the elongated rail during displacement of the chisel relative to the guide frame.
27. The system of claim 25, wherein the groove and the elongated rail are provided with opposing surfaces shaped to extend complementary to one another and having a U cross section or a dovetail cross section.
28. The system of claim 22, wherein the flanks of the end plate preparation instrument each have a stepwise structure including a proximal region and a distal region, which terminates short of the forward edge of the end plate preparation instrument and has an end surface abutting the distal stops of the guide frame to prevent further displacement of the end plate preparation instrument relative to the guide frame.
29. The system of claim 28, wherein the proximal regions of the flanks of end plate preparation instrument each are thicker than the distal regions and form a shoulder therewith configured to abut the outer surface of the vertebrae and to prevent further displacement of the end plate preparation instrument into the disc space.
30. The system of claim 22, wherein the forward edge of the end plate preparation instrument includes a cutting edge having an outwardly convex cross-section and is beveled.
31. The system of claim 12, wherein the shelf is hollow and configured to allow passage and removal of debris from the endplate preparation.
32. An orthopedic instrumentation system for treating opposite end plates of adjacent vertebrae defining therebetween a disc space, comprising a retractable guide frame and having
a shelf configured to extend into the disc space, and
a plurality of peripheral sides surrounding the shelf within the disc space, at least one of the peripheral sides being removably attached to the shelf to maintain a desired special position and distraction of the adjacent vertebra upon removal of the shelf from the distracted disc space; and
an endplate preparation instrument configured to slidingly engage the guide frame.
33. The system of claim 32, wherein the peripheral sides of the guide frame include spaced sidewalls extending between the end plates of the adjacent vertebra and provided with proximal stops abutting outer surfaces of the adjacent vertebra to prevent further displacement of the guide frame into the disc space.
34. The system of claim 32, further comprising a guide assembly located between the shelf of the guide frame and at least one sidewall thereof and including a channel formed on one of opposing surfaces of the at least one sidewall and the shelf and a protrusion formed on the other one of opposing surfaces, the channel and protrusion having complementary mating surfaces configured to have a U cross section or a dovetail cross section.
35. The system of claim 32, wherein the shelf has a distal end provided with spaced distal stops preventing uncontrollable displacement of the chisel within the disc space.
36. A kit for orthopedic surgery, comprising:
a guide frame configured to be inserted into a distracted disc space defined between opposing end plates of adjacent vertebrae; and
a plurality of end plate preparation instruments each configured to cooperate with the guide frame while railing therealong into and out of the disc space to treat the end plates of the adjacent vertebrae.
37. The kit of claim 36, further comprising at least one insertion tool removably coupled to the guide frame and to each of the plurality of end preparation instrument to provide displacement thereof into and out of the disc space.
38. The kit of claim 37, wherein the guide frame includes a shelf extending parallel to the end plates after the guide frame is inserted into the disc space and a plurality of sidewalls extending along a periphery of the shelf and selectively detachable therefrom, wherein the at least one insertion tool is selectively coupled to the shelf and to the sidewalls to provide displacement of the sidewalls and the shelf relative to one another from the disc space.
39. The kit of claim 38, wherein the sidewalls of the guide frame each have a proximal end extending from the shelf in opposite direction to abut an outer surface of a respective vertebrae to prevent a further displacement of the guide frame into the disc space, a distal end of each of the sidewalls being provided with a distal stop extending laterally towards and terminating at a distance from the other sidewall of the guide frame to prevent uncontrollable displacement of the end plate preparation instrument
40. The kit of claim 39, wherein the proximal stops of the guide frame are provided with a plurality of fasteners configured to engage the outer surface of the adjacent vertebrae.
41. The kit of claim 39, wherein inner surfaces of the sidewalls, facing one another, each slidingly engage a respective one of opposite flanks of each of the end plate preparation instrument, wherein the engageable inner surfaces and the flanks have complementary extending mating projection and recess providing displacement of the end plate preparation instrument into and out of the disc space.
42. The kit of claim 39, wherein the shelf has opposite faces each opposing to a respective end plate and providing a support surface for the end plate preparation instruments during displacement thereof into and out of the disc space, at least one of the opposite faces of the shelf and a side of each of the end plate preparation instruments, juxtaposed with the at least one face of the shelf during displacement of the end preparation instruments, having complementary shaped and mating formations training the end plate preparation instruments into and out of the disc space.
43. The kit of claim 39, wherein the end plate preparation instruments each have a pair of leading stops abutting the distal stops of the guide frame to prevent further displacement of the end plate preparations instruments into the disc space.
44. The kit of claim 36, further comprising a plurality of variously shaped and dimensioned spinal implants.
45. The kit of claim 44, further comprising an implant insertion holder selectively attachable to the plurality of spinal implants.
46. The kit of claim 37, further comprising a slap hammer configured to engage the at least one insertion, the slap hammer having an elongated shaft removably attachable to the at least one insertion instrument and a weight displaceably mounted on the elongated shaft and movable towards a proximal end of the slap hammer to facilitate removal of the guide frame from the disc space.
47. A method of creating a space of a selected shape across a disc space between opposing end plates of adjacent vertebrae to be fused with a spinal implant, comprising the steps of:
introducing a guide frame provided with an H-shape into the disk space so that spaced sidewalls of the guide frame support the opposing end plates;
guidingly displacing an end plate preparation instrument along one of opposite faces of a shelf, extending between the sidewalls of the guide frame, and into one of the end plates of the adjacent vertebrae, whereas the end plate preparation instrument removes a desired amount of material from the one end plate while being displaced into the disc space; and
guidingly displacing the end plate preparation instrument along the other one of opposite faces of the shelf, thereby removing the desired amount of material from the other end plate, whereas the opposing end plates of the adjacent vertebrae define therebetween the space of the selected shape corresponding to the shape of the spinal implant.
47. The method of claim 46, further comprising the step of controlling penetration of the of guide frame into the disc space.
48. The method of claim 46, further comprising the step of controllably stopping displacement of the end plate preparation instrument relative to the guide frame after the desired amount of material has been from each of the opposing end plates.
49. The method of claims 46, further comprising the steps of piecemeal removal of the sidewalls and the shelf from the disc shape after the selected shape has been applied thereto, and inserting the spinal implant.

1. A process for making single pigmented dispersions which comprises:
(a) charging the components of a single pigment liquid dispersion into a mixing vessel;
(b) grinding the components together to form a liquid dispersion;
(c) passing the liquid dispersion through a transmittance cell coupled to a spectrophotometer;
(d) measuring the spectral transmittance of the wet dispersion over the visible spectrum;
(e) calculating the optical density of the dispersion at two specific wavelengths from the transmittance measurements and comparing the ratio of optical density values at the two specific wavelengths to that of a known standard dispersion to determine achievement of the desired particle size;
(f) repeating steps (b)-(e) at least once in the event the dispersion is not within the desired particle size tolerance until the dispersion being manufactured is within said desired particle size tolerance; and
(g) determining the pigment concentration of the dispersion and its relative tinting strength as compared to a standard by comparing the optical density value at a selected wavelength to that of a known standard of equivalent particle size, or by comparing the absorbance or transmittance spectrum of the dispersion with that of a known standard, either by integration or by fitting.
2. The process of claim 1, which further comprises:
(h) analyzing the spectral transmittance of the resulting dispersion to determine color acceptability of this dispersion, thus fully characterizing the dispersion.
3. The process of claim 1, in which in step (c) the liquid dispersion is delivered directly from the dispersion unit to the transmittance cell.
4. The process of claim 1, in which the calculations are performed by a computer.
5. The process of claim 3, in which the process is automated.
6. The process of claim 1, in which the process is continuous.
7. The process of claim 1, in which the dispersion is a transparent dispersion.
8. The process of claim 1, in which the dispersion is an opaque dispersion.
9. Use of a dispersion made by the process of claim 1 in a paint.
10. Use of a dispersion made by the process of claim 1 in an ink jet ink.
11. The process of claim 1, in which the optical density in step (e) is calculated at the wavelengths of maximum and minimum absorption.
12. The process of claim 1, in which the optical density in step (e) is calculated at wavelengths of high absorption and minimum absorption.
13. The process of claim 1, in which in step (g) integration is used and it is carried out by the L* method.
14. The process of claim 1, in which in step (g) fitting is used and it is carried out by the least squares method.
15. The process of claim 2, in which in step (h) color acceptability is determined by use of standard color difference equations, taking the difference between the color of the dispersion as measured by its transmittance spectrum, and that of a known standard dispersion with a color acceptability within predetermined tolerances.
16. The process of claim 1, in which the process is used to determine the end-point of the grind.

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. An optical element comprising:
a diffraction grating having a periodic structure made from a plurality of grating grooves and formed to allow control of an amount of outgoing light using polarization-dependent characteristics when incident light is outputted as the outgoing light; and
a mark indicating at least one of either a grating groove direction of the diffraction grating or a periodic direction of the diffraction grating; and wherein
a photonic element that can perform at least one of either light emission or light reception can be fixed and, when the photonic element is fixed, the optical element is formed to be fixed to the photonic element after at least one of either an optical element main body or the photonic element is rotated around an optical axis and adjusted so that the amount of outgoing light controlled by the diffraction grating becomes a desired amount of light; and
the mark is formed at a position on the optical element main body allowing identification from an optical axis direction.
2. The optical element according to claim 1, wherein:
the optical element is an optical module holder in which an optical transmission line attaching section to which an end of an optical transmission line is attached is formed on one side of the diffraction grating in the optical axis direction, a photonic element fixing section that fixes the photonic element after rotation and adjustment is performed is formed on another side of the diffraction grating in the optical axis direction, and a lens surface is formed between the diffraction grating and the photonic element fixing section.
3. An optical module comprising the optical element according to claim 1 and a photonic element.
4. An optical connector comprising the optical module according to claim 3 and a housing that stores the optical module.
5. The optical element according to claim 1 or 2, wherein:
a duty ratio of the diffraction grating is equal to or more than 0.1 and equal to or less than 0.25.
6. The optical element according to claim 1 or 2, wherein:
the diffraction grating is a light-transmitting diffraction grating that outputs incident light by transmission, and the diffraction grating and the mark are formed from a same resin material.
7. The optical element according to claim 1 or 2, wherein
the diffraction grating is formed to allow individual control of the amount of outgoing light regarding a plurality of lights having differing wavelengths.
8. An optical module manufacturing method wherein:
when an optical module is manufactured by a photonic element that performs at least one of either light emission or light reception being fixed onto an optical module holder including a diffraction grating having a period structure formed from a plurality of grating grooves and formed to allow control of an amount of outgoing light using polarization-dependent characteristics when an incident light is outputted as the outgoing light and a mark indicating at least one of either a grating groove direction of the diffraction grating or a period direction of the diffraction grating, the photonic element is fixed onto the optical module holder after at least one of either the optical module holder or the photonic element is rotated and adjusted so that an amount of outgoing light controlled by a diffraction grating is a desired amount, while a direction indicated by the mark is confirmed.