A radio communication apparatus for performing extended discontinuous reception (eDRX) to a network including a base station, the apparatus including a configuration configured to transmit a TAU Request, perform a transmission processing of the TAU Request, set an eDRX period included in the TAU Request to a first period and transmit the TAU Request when a probability of data reception after transmission of the TAU Request is low, set the eDRX period included in the TAU Request to a second period and transmit the TAU Request when the probability of data reception after transmission of the TAU Request is high, and the second period is longer than the first period.

With the spread of IoT (Internet of Things), demand for a low power consumption and low cost radio communication apparatus is increasing. In order to meet such demand, a LPWA (Low Power Wide Area) which is a scheme of radio communication realizing long distance communication while suppressing power consumption is attracting attention. A radio communication apparatus performing radio communication of a LPWA scheme achieves a power saving by stopping radio communication in a period when data communication is not occurred. As a such power saving technology, a PSM (Power Saving Mode), eDRX (extended Discontinuous Reception), or the like as specified in a 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project) standard is well known (for example, see Non-Patent Literature 1).
In the eDRX, a transmission processing of a TAU (Tracking Area Update) Request of a radio communication apparatus UE (User Equipment) is performed after a predetermined period has elapsed. After transmission of the TAU Request or uplink data communication is completed, an RRC Connection Release is transmitted to the radio communication apparatus UE at arbitrary timing.
When the radio communication apparatus UE receives the RRC Connection Release, the radio communication apparatus UE becomes an eDRX state (idle state) and waits to receive a Paging. After that, when nothing is receiving, the radio communication apparatus UE becomes a PSM (Power Saving Mode) state (not receiving the Paging too and a state that consumes almost no battery).
A period of the eDRX state (idle state) is assumed to be a constant. Further, the radio communication apparatus UE notifies the period of the idle state to a network side via the TAU Request.

Radio communication apparatus and control method thereof


A hydrogen separation membrane comprising a palladium alloy that includes at least palladium, an added metal A, and an added metal B, the added metal A and the added metal B being two different metals other than palladium, each of the added metal A and the added metal B forming a complete solid solution with palladium, and the added metal A and the added metal B having a triple point in an equilibrium diagram and not forming an intermetallic compound. The hydrogen separation membrane exhibits excellent hydrogen permeability and durability.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hydrogen separation membrane and a selectively permeable membrane reactor. More particularly, the present invention relates to a hydrogen separation membrane that exhibits excellent hydrogen permeability and durability, and a selectively permeable membrane reactor using the hydrogen separation membrane.
2. Description of Related Art
A large amount of hydrogen gas has been used as a petrochemical basic material gas. Hydrogen gas has also attracted attention as a clean energy source. Hydrogen gas used for such purposes is produced from hydrocarbons (e.g., methane, propane, butane, or kerosene) or oxygenated hydrocarbons (e.g., methanol) as a main raw material gas by utilizing a reforming reaction, a partial oxidation reaction, an self-heating reaction, a decomposition reaction, or the like. Hydrogen gas is also produced by subjecting by-product carbon monoxide and water to a shift reaction. Hydrogen thus produced can be separated and collected by utilizing a selectively permeable membrane (e.g., palladium alloy membrane) that selectively allows hydrogen to pass through, for example.
As such a separation membrane, a hydrogen separation membrane formed using palladium or a palladium alloy that contains palladium and another metal (e.g., silver, copper, gold, or a rare earth element) has been used (see Patent Documents 1 to 5 and Non-patent Documents 1 to 4, for example). Such a hydrogen separation membrane is produced so that the entire membrane is formed of an almost uniform palladium alloy from the viewpoint of the production method.    Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 3,439,474    Patent Document 2: U.S. Pat. No. 3,350,845    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent No. 3377731    Patent Document 4: JP-A-2001-46845    Patent Document 5: U.S. Pat. No. 3,155,467    Non-patent Document 1: J. Phys. Chem., 74 (1970), pp. 503-511    Non-patent Document 2: J. Appl. Phys., 37 (2) (1966), pp. 715-721    Non-patent Document 3: Russ. J. Phys. Chem., 45 (1971), pp. 621-623    Non-patent Document 4: J. Less-Common Metals 39 (1975), pp. 293-308

Hydrogen separation membrane and permselective membrane reactor


A system is disclosed for providing broadcast programming to subscriber locations including an intermediate video supplier, subscriber location equipment and one or more video sources. The intermediate video supplier includes a video buffer and a video server that processes received subscriber requests and retrieves, according to the subscriber requests, either of currently broadcast programming or broadcast programming previously buffered in the video buffer by the video server. The subscriber location equipment includes a remote control and a local control unit that transmits the subscriber requests to the video server via one or more data links and receives, from the video server, either of the currently broadcast programming or the previously buffered broadcast programming for display on a local video display via the data link. A subscriber may initiate a restart command with a single action via the remote control to restart a currently viewed program from the beginning for viewing the entire program on the local video display even if the currently viewed program was joined in progress.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for the distribution, viewing and recording of broadcast programming, and more specifically, to a method and apparatus for facilitating the viewing and recording of television programs and parts of programs by subscribers to Cable TV, Satellite TV, sites on the Global Computer Information Network and other intermediate video suppliers.
2. Description of Related Art
There are 11,000 CATV systems in the United States, serving about 64 million homes. Worldwide, CATV passes 200 million homes and Satellite TV passes over a billion homes. CATV now delivers up to 78 channels and may deliver as many as 360 broadcast channels in the future. Satellite TV delivers up to 200 channels over the air. Both CATV and Satellite TV systems send all channels to every subscriber simultaneously. Channel selection occurs within a television, VCR or set-top box, located in the home. CATV and Satellite TV systems function as extensions of their subscribers' television sets. CATV and Satellite TV systems are designed to support broadcast television, and the main feature of broadcast television is that its programming is scheduled and transmitted at a predetermined time.
Many inconveniences arise in the viewing of broadcast television programs from CATV, Satellite TV and other intermediate video source providers. Because broadcast programs are provided according to a schedule, viewers often miss programs, either because they are not able to watch programs at the scheduled time, or because of equipment failure at their home site, at the intermediate video provider's site or on the network that connects their homes to the provider. The current state of the art of CATV and Satellite TV systems does not allow viewers to watch programs on the viewers' own schedules.
Other systems have been proposed to add convenience for subscribers, however they subject a subscriber to unnecessarily complicated procedures to perform limited functions. For example, in published International Application Number WO 99/63759, a system is disclosed wherein a subscriber is required to navigate through an interactive electronic program guide. In that disclosure a subscriber may only access recorded programming that is previously recorded in its entirety. A subscriber viewing a broadcast program from some middle point as it is initially aired may not view the program from the beginning until the program has aired in its entirety. Even then, the subscriber is required to inconveniently navigate a complicated menu structure to locate the desired program.
Another inconvenience arises from the fact that users of VCRs and digital VCRs can only record one channel at a time.
A further inconvenience arises from the fact that viewers are not able to access programming that is being broadcast in other geographic areas.
Another inconvenience arises from the fact that there is no readily accessible central repository of all programming that has been broadcast in all geographies over a given time period.
A further inconvenience arises from the fact that both CATV and Satellite TV systems send all channels to every subscriber simultaneously, and that channel selection occurs within a television, VCR or set-top box, located in the home. Intermediate video suppliers are exposed to the risk of lost revenue when subscribers use "de-scramblers" and other devices to de-multiplex, decode, and view premium channels or pay-per-view programs without paying for them.
Yet another inconvenience arises from the fact that intermediate video suppliers, networks and copyright owners are exposed to the risk of lost revenue when VCR and digital VCR users copy and replay programs without compensating the copyright owners.
Another inconvenience arises from the fact that broadcasters are exposed to the risk of lost revenue when video-on-demand, VCRs, digital VCRs and other technology significantly reduce viewers' exposure to advertising by making it possible for users of the technology to skip or fast forward through commercials.
Therefore, a need exists for a method and apparatus that facilitates the viewing and recording of broadcast programming to overcome the aforementioned deficiencies of the prior art.

System and method for providing broadcast programming, a virtual VCR, and a video scrapbook to programming subscribers


An optical disk restoration apparatus and optical disk restoration method are provided, which are capable of achieving a high level of capability of restoring a scratched optical disk, without consuming the time and labor of an operator, while reducing the production cost of the apparatus. During a polishing process, an appropriate amount of a polishing agent is dropped onto the readout surface of the optical disk by a polishing agent supply pump to continuously supply the polishing agent to the interface between the optical disk and polishing pads, while a polishing water supply pump is operated to replenish the polishing agent with moisture evaporated by the polishing heat. By this mechanism, the amount and physical properties of the polishing agent at the interface between the optical disk and the polishing pads are appropriately maintained for a long period of time, so that the restoration capability is maintained at high levels.

Optical disks, such as CDs, DVDs and BDs, are made of a transparent resin (although some products are colored within the visible light region) and normally have a thickness of approximately 1.2 min and a diameter of 120 mm, with a central hole of 15 mm in diameter.
FIG. 8 is a diagram showing the structure of a commonly used optical disk 100, where FIG. 8(a) is a plan view and FIG. 8(b) is a sectional view at the arrowed line X-X in FIG. 8(a), each view showing a CD or DVD on the right half and a BD on the left.
An optical disk holds information in its specific layer; in CDs, this layer is located on the side opposite to the readout surface, while DVDs have this layer at a depth of approximately 0.6 mm from the readout surface. In BDs, the information is recorded in a layer 0.1 mm below the readout surface. The information held in the information record layer is read by throwing a laser beam onto this layer through the readout surface and detecting a reflected beam coming from the same layer.
Therefore, if the readout surface of the optical disk is scratched, it is in principle impossible to correctly read information because the laser beam for reading the information and the reflected light coming from the information record layer are reflected or scattered at the scratched portion.
As already stated, the information held by the optical disk is not recorded on the readout surface but in the information record layer beneath the surface. Therefore, a scratch on the readout surface does not directly damage the information. Accordingly, if the information record layer is safe, it is possible to read the information once more by removing the scratch from the readout surface.
The principle of restoring an optical disk is hereinafter described using FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 9 is an enlarged sectional view of a single-layer BD with the readout surface directed upwards, in which an information record layer 130 formed on a substrate 120 made of a polycarbonate resin or similar materials having a thickness of approximately 1.1 mm is covered by a cover layer 140 of approximately 0.1 mm in thickness and a hard-coat layer 150 of 2 to 5 micrometers in thickness.
FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b) are both an enlarged sectional view of an optical disk with the readout surface directed upwards, showing the portion corresponding to the area surrounded by the circle A in FIG. 9. FIG. 10(a) shows the readout surface with scratches 160, and FIG. 10(b) shows the same portion with the scratch ground away.
In this manner, the optical disk can be restored by grinding away the disk surface by a thickness approximately equal to the depth of the scratch and then performing a mirror-polishing process.
Optical disk restoration apparatuses for polishing an optical disk to remove a scratch from its readout surface in the previously described manner have been conventionally known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1). An example of the conventional optical disk restoration apparatuses includes a rotary table, on which an optical disk to be restored can be set, a disk-shaped polishing body, and other components. This apparatus polishes the readout surface of the optical disk by rotating the polishing body and the rotary table while maintaining the polishing body in contact with the readout surface.

Optical disk restoration method and apparatus


A process for preparing a perfluoroalkyl-substituted compound is disclosed. The process comprises reacting a halopolyfluoroalkane having 1 to 20 carbon atoms with a compound selected from the group consisting of (1) a substituted or unsubstituted ethylene, (2) a substituted or unsubstituted acetylene and (3) a substituted or unsubstituted allylsilane, in the presence of a metal-carbonyl complex of the metal of the Group VIII of the Periodic Table. Alternatively, the reaction between the halopolyfluoroalkane and the substituted or unsubstituted allylsilane is effected under radical generating condition.

The polyfluoroalkyl-substituted compounds obtained by the process of this invention can be represented by the following formulae: ##STR1## wherein: X represents a chlorine atom, a bromine atom or an iodine atom;
R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each represents hydrogen, a halogen atom (F, Cl, Br or I) or a poly- or perfluoroalkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms; PA0 R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6, R.sup.7 and R.sup.8 each represents hydrogen; a halogen atom (F, Cl, Br or I); a poly- or perfluorocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms; or a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, vinyl, aryl, alkyloxy, acyloxy, amino, amide, silyl, silyloxy, alkylthio, alkoxycarbonyl, acyl, formyl or cyano group wherein the alkyl group has 1 to 10 carbon atoms and wherein the substituent is selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, a halogen atom, an alkoxy group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, a trialkylsilyl or trialkylsilyloxy group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms in each alkyl moiety, a hydroxy group, an alkoxycarbonyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms in the alkoxy moiety and an aryl group; PA0 R.sup.9 and R.sup.10 each represents hydrogen, a halogen atom (F, Cl, Br or I) or a poly- or perfluoroalkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms; PA0 R.sup.11 and R.sup.12 each represents hydrogen, an alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms or an aryl group; PA0 X.sup.1 represents a halogen atom (F, Cl, Br or I); and wherein at least one of R.sup.9, R.sup.10 and X.sup.1 represents a fluorine atom or a poly- or perfluoroalkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms. PA0 R.sup.1 and R.sup.2 each represents hydrogen, a halogen atom or a poly- or perfluoroalkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms; PA0 R.sup.3, R.sup.4, R.sup.5, R.sup.6, R.sup.7 and R.sup.8 each represents hydrogen; a halogen atom; a poly- or perfluorocarbon group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms; or a substituted or unsubstituted alkyl, vinyl, aryl, alkyloxy, acyloxy, amino, amide, silyl, silyloxy, alkylthio, alkoxycarbonyl, acyl, formyl or cyano group wherein the alkyl group has 1 to 10 carbon atoms and wherein the substituent is selected from the group consisting of an alkyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, a halogen atom, an alkoxy group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms, a trialkylsilyl or trialkylsilyloxy group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms in each alkyl moiety, a hydroxy group, an alkoxycarbonyl group having 1 to 5 carbon atoms in the alkoxy moiety and an aryl group; PA0 R.sup.9 and R.sup.10 each represents hydrogen, a halogen atom or a poly- or perfluoroalkyl group having 1 to 20 carbon atoms; PA0 R.sup.11, R.sup.12, R.sup.13, R.sup.14 and R.sup.15 each represents hydrogen, an alkyl group having 1 to 10 carbon atoms or an aryl group; PA0 X.sup.1 represents a halogen atom; and
The polyfluoroalkyl-substituted compounds of the formulae (III) and (V) are useful as intermediates for surface active agents, water-repellents, oil-repellents, fiber treating agents, etc. as disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication (Examined) Nos. 37644/75 and 8683/78, U.S. Pat. No. 3,979,469 and British Patent No. 1,411,200, and the polyfluoroalkyl-substituted compounds of the formula (VIII), i.e., 3-polyfluoroalkyl-1-propenes, are useful as intermediates for fiber treating agents as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,843,735 and British Patent No. 1,377,235.
Hitherto, polyfluoroalkyl-substituted compounds of the formulae (III) and (V) have been prepared by (1) a method comprising radiating a mixture of an iodoperfluoroalkane and an olefin or an acetylene compound with light as disclosed in, for example, R. N. Haszeldine, J. Chem. Soc., 2856 (1949); and ibid, 3037 (1950), (2) a method comprising reacting an iodoperfluoroalkane with an olefin or an acetylene compound at a temperature higher than 200.degree. C. as disclosed in, for example, R. N. Haszeldine, J. Chem. Soc., 2789 (1950); and R. N. Haszeldine and B. R. Steele, J. Chem. Soc., 1199 (1953), (3) a method comprising heat-reacting an iodoperfluoroalkane with an olefin or an acetylene compound in the presence of a radical reaction initiator as disclosed in, for example, K. Baum, C. D. Bedford and R. J. Hunadi, J. Org. Chem., 47, 2251, or (4) a method comprising reacting a haloperfluoroalkane with an olefin in the presence of an amine and a metal salt of the Group of Ia to IVa, Ib to VIIb or VIII of the Periodic Table or in the presence of an amine-metal salt complex as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Unexamined) No. 5368/72, Japanese Patent Publication (Examined) Nos. 37644/75 and 8683/78.
However, the above conventional method (1) requires radiation with light for a prolonged period of time and has a disadvantage in that the yield of the desired product is not satisfactory. Also, the above conventional method (2) requires a reaction at a high temperature for a long period of time in order to obtain the desired product in a satisfactory yield and, further, it requires a reactor which is resistant to high temperature and high pressure. The above conventional method (3) requires a reaction at a high reaction temperature for a long period of time and also requires a radical reaction initiator which is unstable and dangerous and, therefore, which must be handled with great care. In addition, the radical reaction initiator used in the method (3) is not recovered for reuse. The above conventional method (4) requires a reaction at a high temperature for a long period of time and, further, the yield of the desired product is generally poor, as evidenced by Comparative Examples hereinafter described.
On the other hand, the 3-polyfluoroalkyl-1-propenes of the formula (VIII) have been conventionally prepared by a method comprising adding a perfluoroalkyl iodide to an allyl alkyl ether or an allyl ester to prepare the corresponding 3-perfluoroalkyl-2-iodo-1-propyl alkyl ether or 3-perfluoroalkyl-2-iodo-1-propyl ester, respectively, followed by treating the resulting ether or ester with zinc as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (Unexamined) No. 34805/73. However, this conventional method requires the reactions in two steps and also gives the product in poor yield. Further, the starting material used in this conventional method is limited to compounds having a perfluoroalkyl group, and, therefore, starting compounds having a halopolyfluoroalkyl group cannot be used in this method.

Process for preparing polyfluoroalkyl-substituted compounds


A printed wiring board semiconductor package or PWB power core comprising singulated capacitors embedded on multiple layers of the printed wiring board semiconductor package wherein at least a part of each embedded capacitor lies within the die shadow and wherein the embedded, singulated capacitors comprise at least a first electrode and a second electrode. The first electrodes and second electrodes of the embedded singulated capacitors are interconnected to the Vcc (power) terminals and the Vss (ground) terminals respectively of a semiconductor device. The size of the embedded capacitors are varied to produce different self-resonant frequencies and their vertical placements within the PWB semiconductor package are used to control the inherent inductance of the capacitor-semiconductor electrical interconnections so that customized resonant frequencies of the embedded capacitors can be achieved with low impedance.

Semiconductors that include integrated circuits (IC) operate at increasingly higher frequencies and data rates and at lower voltages. In turn, increasingly higher semiconductor operating frequencies (higher IC switching speeds) require that voltage response times to the IC must be faster. Lower operating voltages require that allowable voltage variations (ripple) and noise become smaller.
For example, a semiconductor, such as a microprocessor IC, switches and begins an operation, it calls for power to support the switching circuits. If the response time of the voltage supply is too slow, the microprocessor will experience a voltage drop or voltage droop that will exceed the allowable ripple voltage and reduce the circuit noise margin and the IC will malfunction. Additionally, as the IC powers up, a slow response time will result in voltage overshoot. Voltage droop and overshoot must be controlled within allowable limits by the use of capacitors that are close enough to the IC to provide or absorb power within the appropriate response time.
Ultimately, then, the reduction of noise in the power and ground (return) lines and the need to supply sufficient current to accommodate faster circuit switching become increasingly important. In order to provide low noise and stable power to the IC, low impedance in the power distribution system is required. In conventional printed wiring board (PWB) semiconductor packages, impedance is reduced by the use of surface mount capacitors.
A capacitor reduces impedance in the circuit across a relatively small frequency range around its resonant frequency. Therefore, many capacitors are chosen with different resonant frequencies to accomplish reduced impedance across a wide frequency range. The resonant frequency of a capacitor is dependent on its type, size, termination separation and the circuit resistance and inductance of its electrical interconnection to the semiconductor. The degree of impedance reduction at its resonant frequency is also proportional to the amount of capacitance so capacitors are typically interconnected in parallel to maximize total capacitance.
FIG. 1 is an electrical schematic for a typical placement of capacitors. Shown is a power supply, an IC and the capacitors 4, 6, 8, which represent high value, mid-range value and small value capacitors, respectively, used for impedance reduction and minimizing voltage droop and dampening voltage overshoot. In this electrical schematic, the total number of capacitors shown is 6 capacitors. In practice however, this total may reach several hundred.
Conventional designs for capacitor placement mount capacitors on the surface of a printed wiring board (PWB) clustered around the IC. To maximize the frequency range over which impedance is reduced, large value capacitors are placed near the power supply, mid-range value capacitors at locations between the IC and the power supply, and small value capacitors very near the IC. A large number of capacitors, interconnected in parallel, is often needed to reduce power system impedance over a wide frequency range to target levels. This distribution of capacitors is also designed to reduce response time as power moves from the power supply to the IC.
FIG. 2 is a section view of a conventional design for providing power and reducing impedance by the use of surface mount capacitors and shows the connections of Surface Mount Technology (SMT) capacitors 50 and 60 and IC device 40 to the power and ground planes in the substrate of the PWB. IC device 40 is connected to lands 41 by solder filets 44. Lands 41 are connected to plated-through hole via pads 82 and 83 of vias 90 and 100 by circuit lines 72 and 73. Via 90 is electrically connected to conductor plane 120 and via 100 is connected to conductor plane 122. Conductor planes 120 and 122 are connected one to the power or voltage side of the power supply and the other to the ground or return side of the power supply. Small value capacitors 50 and 60 are similarly electrically connected to vias and conductor planes 120 and 122 in such a way that they are electrically connected to IC device 40 in parallel.
FIG. 3 is a section view of another conventional surface mount capacitor placement design for a method of providing power and reducing impedance wherein the surface mount technology (SMT) capacitors 150 and 160 are placed on the backside (package surface opposite to that of the semiconductor) of the printed wiring board semiconductor package. The PWB semiconductor package comprises a core 170 with through hole vias 175. Build-up layers 180 are formed on each side of the core and microvias 190 connect the through hole vias 175 of the core to the surface pads 195 of the build-up layers. The power (Vcc) and ground (Vss) terminals of the semiconductor 140 are connected to the terminals of the surface mount capacitors on the back side of the PWB semiconductor package through the microvias 190 and through hole vias 175.
Similar to the surface mount capacitor placement design shown in FIG. 3, FIG. 4A depicts an Intel Pentium 4® PWB semiconductor package and shows the placement of SMT capacitors on the central area of the backside of the package. FIGS. 4A and 4B are adapted from Intel Technology Journal, Volume 9, Issue 4, 2005.
FIG. 4B shows the impedance of such an Intel Pentium 4® PWB semiconductor package. The vertical axis in FIG. 4B shows normalized magnitude of the impedance of the package and the horizontal axis shows frequency. Standard surface mount capacitors on the backside of the package (dark line in FIG. 4B) can effectively reduce impedance up to a little less than 100 megahertz (MHz). Use of low impedance array capacitors can raise this value to approximately 100 MHz due to their higher self resonant frequency. However, above 100 MHz, interconnection inductance of the capacitor circuitry begins to dominate and as can be seen from FIG. 4B, impedance rises. This interconnection inductance is due to vias extending through the thickness of the package to interconnect the capacitors to the microprocessor. Such vias are depicted by vias 175 in FIG. 3. At approximately 1 gigahertz (GHz), capacitors integrated in the semiconductor device (on-chip capacitors) reduce impedance back to lower values. Thus, the inability to effectively reduce impedance in this mid-frequency range remains a major problem to be solved.
General approaches for minimizing impedance and "noise" are known, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,161,086 to Howard et al. Howard et al. discloses a capacitive printed circuit board with one or more capacitor laminate (planar capacitor) placed within the multiple layers of the laminated printed wiring board. A large number of integrated circuits, are mounted on the board and operatively coupled with the capacitor laminate(s). The board provides capacitive function using borrowed or shared capacitance with low interconnection inductance. This approach however, does not achieve high capacitance in small PWB packages due to the low dielectric constant of the organic laminate and does not reduce impedance in the desired frequency range. Simply placing the organic capacitor laminate closer to the IC is not a satisfactory technical solution because the total available capacitance in a small PWB semiconductor package is insufficient and the capacitor laminate resonant frequency is not in the desired range.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,611,419 to Chakravorty discloses an alternate approach to embedding capacitors in order to reduce switching noise. The power supply terminals of an integrated circuit die can be coupled to the respective terminals of at least one embedded capacitor in a multilayer ceramic substrate.
U.S. Pat. App. Pub. No. 2006-0138591 to Amey et al. discloses methods for incorporating high capacitance capacitors into the core of a printing wiring board to reduce interconnection inductance and suggests that these may be placed in the build-up layers for minimized impedance. Ser. No. 11/732,174 to Borland et al. discloses a design in which capacitors are embedded in the outer layers of a printed wiring board.
Borland et al. in "Decoupling of High Performance Semiconductors Using Embedded Capacitors", CircuiTree Live, Taiwan, October, 2006 show electrical simulation data in which an array of 200 embedded capacitors placed in the "x-y" plane of the printed wiring board within the area beneath the semiconductor (die shadow) reduced impedance to ITRS 2007 target values in the mid-frequency range between approximately 300 MHz and 1 GHz. Embedding the capacitors shifts the resonant frequencies of the capacitors to higher values as compared to surface mount capacitors due to the low inductance of the electrical interconnections of the capacitors to the semiconductor. To be effective, decoupling using embedded capacitors requires many capacitors on the layer of the printed wiring board immediately beneath the semiconductor and within the die shadow.
Generally, these previous approaches of embedding ceramic capacitors have focused on placing the capacitors on a single layer of the PWB semiconductor package as close as possible to the semiconductor. These placement approaches intend to minimize the capacitor-semiconductor electrical interconnect distance so that inductance is reduced to a minimum thereby raising resonant frequencies of the embedded capacitors as high as possible for a given size. Achieving a range of resonant frequencies is then accomplished by use of differing sized embedded capacitors.
However, reducing impedance values of semiconductor PWB packages is still needed to further semiconductor advances. Reducing the overall impedance value of a semiconductor PWB package demands the reduction of impedance at the resonant frequency of each capacitor. Since the level of impedance reduction at the capacitor resonant frequency is proportional to its capacitance, further impedance reduction requires increasing the capacitance. Assuming that the capacitance density (that is, the capacitance per unit area) of each embedded capacitor does not improve, reducing impedance means that more capacitors must be placed on one layer within the die shadow. In order to accommodate the entire range of resonant frequencies desired, the previous approaches to embedded capacitor placement would merely place more and more capacitors of differing sizes on one layer within the die shadow.
However, since the area of the PWB semiconductor package directly within the die shadow is limited, there may not be sufficient area to place enough capacitors on one layer to achieve target impedance values over the desired frequency range. What is needed is a new approach to placing capacitors within a PWB semiconductor package. This new approach would result in capacitor placement that yields sufficiently high capacitance for the likely higher impedance values of future semiconductors. This new approach would also allow the customizing (or tailoring) of the resonant frequency of the embedded capacitors to specific frequency ranges so that impedance over a targeted frequency range, such as the frequency range exhibiting the impedance peaks in FIG. 4B, namely about 100 MHz to 1 GHz, is reduced to target values.
Such an approach is not predictable by the previously discussed approaches because they do not consider, motivate or suggest a multifactor mechanism of varying the vertical placement of the embedded capacitors while positioning at least a part of the capacitor horizontally within the die shadow while simultaneously controlling the distance of the capacitor electrode terminals from the semiconductor terminals.
The methods and devices described herein provide such an unanticipated approach and solve the problem of providing a sufficient number of capacitors positioned in such a way that their resonant frequencies achieve target values, when added together reduces impedance over the desired range of frequencies of between 100 MHz and 1 to 3 GHz so that the impedance spikes shown in FIG. 4B, for example, can be eliminated.

Device and method for reducing impedance

CDA Processing Limited Liability Company


An imaging device has a lens holding member; a base member for holding the lens holding member; and a substrate to which the base member is secured. The lens holding member holds at least one lens. The base member has a contact surface that is perpendicular to an optical axis of the lens, and contacts an end face of the lens holding member in a state wherein the lens holding member is held; and an opening portion through which passes the optical axis of the lens, provided in the contact surface. The substrate has an imaging element on which light that has passed through the lens and through the opening portion of the base member is incident.

As an imaging device that is used in a vehicle-mounted camera or a monitoring camera there is a known imaging device that comprises a lens holder that holds a lens, a substrate for mounting an imaging element, and a base member for securing the lens holder and the substrate (income for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2005-215369). In the imaging device disclosed in Patent Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2005-215369, the center of the imaging element is aligned to the axis of a cylindrical portion of the base member, and is secured to the base member. Moreover, the lens holder is secured to the base member through screwing a male threaded portion of the lens holder into a female threaded portion of the cylindrical portion of the base member after adjusting the focus of the imaging device.

Imaging device, optical device provided with same, electronic device provided with same, and method for producing imaging device


In a halftone dot image display unit, a desired position on a multi-tone level image displayed on the display screen and a size of the peripheral area are designated, and the partial halftone dot image data representative of the partial halftone dot image is generated from the partial multi-tone level image data representative of the partial multi-tone level image within the peripheral area of the designated position. The partial halftone dot image represented by the partial halftone dot image data is displayed on the display screen.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a halftone dot image display unit in which halftone dot image data is created from multi-tone level image data, so that a halftone dot image represented by the created halftone dot image data is displayed, and a halftone dot image display program storage medium storing a halftone dot image display program which causes a computer to operate as such a halftone dot image display unit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, according to a printing machine and some printer, a halftone image is outputted on a printing sheet in accordance with halftone dot image data representative of a halftone dot image.
With respect to a creation of the halftone dot image data, for example, pixel values of pixels of multi-tone level image data consisting of an assembly of pixels each having a pixel value according to gradation, wherein a halftone dot pattern (a threshold matrix) consisting of an arrangement of thresholds is superposed on the multi-tone level image data, are compared with the thresholds of the threshold matrix, and the pixel values of the pixels of the multi-tone level image data are converted into binaries, so that the halftone dot image data representative of a dot pattern of the halftone dots is created.
For example, to perform an image printing using a printing machine, prior to performing the printing, an image display unit such as a CRT display unit is used to display a halftone dot image similar to a printed image to be obtained by printing of the printing machine, and ways of occurrence of Rosette pattern, moirxc3xa9 pattern and dot gain of halftone dots are investigated so that finish of the printed image to be obtained by printing of the printing machine is predicted.
However, according to the above-mentioned halftone dot image display unit in which halftone dot image data is created from multi-tone level image data, so that a halftone dot image represented by the created halftone dot image data is displayed on a display screen of the image display unit, it takes a lot of time, in proportion to a size of the multi-tone level image to be based, from the issue of an instruction that the multi-tone level image is converted into the halftone dot image and then displayed, to the display of the halftone dot image on the display screen of the image display unit. As a result, it takes a lot of time up to the confirmation of halftone dot geometry and the like of the halftone dot image, and thus working efficiency is poor.
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present invention to provide a halftone dot image display unit capable of displaying halftone dots in short time, and a halftone dot image display program storage medium storing a halftone dot image display program which causes a computer to operate as such a halftone dot image display unit.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a halftone dot image display unit comprising:
a multi-tone level image display section for displaying a multi-tone level image represented by multi-tone level image data consisting of an assembly of pixels each having a pixel value according to a gradation;
a position designation section for designating a desired position on the multi-tone level image displayed by said multi-tone level image display section;
a data deriving section for deriving partial multi-tone level image data representative of the partial multi-tone level image within a peripheral area of the position designated by said position designation section, of the multi-tone level image, from the multi-tone level image data representative of the multi-tone level image displayed by said multi-tone level image display section;
a partial halftone dot image data generation section causing the partial multi-tone level image data derived by said data deriving section to be affected by a predetermined threshold matrix so as to generate partial halftone dot image data representative of the partial halftone dot image associated with the partial multi-tone level image; and
a partial halftone dot image display section for displaying a partial halftone dot image represented by the partial halftone dot image data generated by said partial halftone dot image data generation section.
According to the halftone dot image display unit of the present invention, a desired position on a multi-tone level image displayed on the display screen and a size of the peripheral area are designated, the partial halftone dot image data representative of the partial halftone dot image is generated from the partial multi-tone level image data representative of the partial multi-tone level image within the peripheral area of the designated position, and the partial halftone dot image represented by the partial halftone dot image data is displayed on the display screen. Thus, as compared with one in which halftone dot image data representative of the whole halftone dot image is generated from the multi-tone level image data representative of the whole multi-tone level image, and the whole halftone dot image represented by the halftone dot image data is displayed on the display screen of the image display unit, it is possible to implement that the partial halftone dot image of the periphery of the portion of the interest is displayed in short time.
Further, according to the halftone dot image display unit of the present invention, as a higher speed of display of the halftone dot image is implemented, a movement of the position to be designated on the multi-tone level image makes it possible to promptly display the partial halftone dot image in response to the moving operation of the position.
In the halftone dot image display unit according to the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that the halftone dot image display unit further comprises an area size designation section for designating a size of a peripheral area of the position designated by said position designation section, on the multi-tone level image displayed by said multi-tone level image display section, in accordance with an operation, and
said data deriving section derives the partial multi-tone level image data representative of the partial multi-tone level image within the peripheral area of the position designated by said area size designation section, from the multi-tone level image data representative of the multi-tone level image.
According to the halftone dot image display unit having such an area size designation section, for example, in the event that processing in a short time is desired, it is possible to optionally determine a size of the area.
In the halftone dot image display unit according to the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that said halftone dot image display unit further comprises:
a resolution designation section for designating a resolution of the partial halftone dot image displayed by said partial halftone dot image display section in accordance with an operation; and
a resolution conversion section for applying a resolution conversion processing according to the resolution designated by said resolution designation section to the partial multi-tone level image data derived by said data deriving section, and
said partial halftone dot image data generation section causes partial multi-tone level image data subjected to the resolution conversion processing by said resolution conversion section to be affected by a predetermined threshold matrix so as to generate partial halftone dot image data representative of the partial halftone dot image associated with the partial multi-tone level image represented by the partial multi-tone level image data.
According to the halftone dot image display unit having such resolution designation section and resolution conversion section as mentioned above, it is possible to optionally designate a desired resolution so as to display the partial halftone dot image according to the designated resolution.
Further, in the halftone dot image display unit of the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that said halftone dot image display unit further comprises:
a color conversion section for applying a color conversion processing to the partial multi-tone level image data derived by said data deriving section, and
said partial halftone dot image data generation section causes partial multi-tone level image data subjected to both the color conversion processing by said color conversion section and the resolution conversion processing by said resolution conversion section to be affected by a predetermined threshold matrix so as to generate partial halftone dot image data representative of the partial halftone dot image associated with the partial multi-tone level image represented by the partial multi-tone level image data.
According to the halftone dot image display unit having such a color conversion section as mentioned above, it is possible to investigate details of halftone dots subjected to the color conversion processing.
Furthermore, in the halftone dot image display unit of the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that said halftone dot image display unit further comprises an information display section for displaying a pixel value of the position designated by said position designation section, of the multi-tone level image displayed by said multi-tone level image display section, and a dot % value of a position corresponding to a position on the multi-tone level image designated by said position designation section, of the partial halftone dot image represented by the partial halftone dot image data generated by said partial halftone dot image data generation section.
Still further, in the halftone dot image display unit of the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that said halftone dot image display unit further comprises:
a color conversion section for applying a color conversion processing to the partial multi-tone level image data derived by said data deriving section, and
said information display section displays, in addition to said pixel value and said dot % value, a pixel value of a position corresponding to a position on the multi-tone level image designated by said position designation section, of the partial multi-tone level image represented by the partial multi-tone level image data subjected to the color conversion processing.
According to the halftone dot image display unit having such an information display section as mentioned above, the pixel value and the dot % value are displayed on the display screen of the halftone dot image display unit. Thus, it is possible to immediately confirm the numerical data of the halftone dot of interest.
To achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention provides a halftone dot image display program storage medium storing a halftone dot image display program which causes a computer to operate as a halftone dot image display unit, said halftone dot image display unit comprising:
a multi-tone level image display section for displaying a multi-tone level image represented by multi-tone level image data consisting of an assembly of pixels each having a pixel value according to a gradation;
a position designation section for designating a desired position on the multi-tone level image displayed by said multi-tone level image display section;
a data deriving section for deriving partial multi-tone level image data representative of the partial multi-tone level image within a peripheral area of the position designated by said position designation section, of the multi-tone level image, from the multi-tone level image data representative of the multi-tone level image displayed by said multi-tone level image display section;
a partial halftone dot image data generation section causing the partial multi-tone level image data derived by said data deriving section to be affected by a predetermined threshold matrix so as to generate partial halftone dot image data representative of the partial halftone dot image associated with the partial multi-tone level image; and
a partial halftone dot image display section for displaying a partial halftone dot image represented by the partial halftone dot image data generated by said partial halftone dot image data generation section.
In the halftone dot image display program storage medium according to the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that the halftone dot image display unit further comprises an area size designation section for designating a size of a peripheral area of the position designated by said position designation section, on the multi-tone level image displayed by said multi-tone level image display section, in accordance with an operation, and
said data deriving section derives the partial multi-tone level image data representative of the partial multi-tone level image within the peripheral area of the position designated by said area size designation section, from the multi-tone level image data representative of the multi-tone level image.
In the halftone dot image display program storage medium according to the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that said halftone dot image display unit further comprises:
a resolution designation section for designating a resolution of the partial halftone dot image displayed by said partial halftone dot image display section in accordance with an operation; and
a resolution conversion section for applying a resolution conversion processing according to the resolution designated by said resolution designation section to the partial multi-tone level image data derived by said data deriving section, and
said partial halftone dot image data generation section causes partial multi-tone level image data subjected to the resolution conversion processing by said resolution conversion section to be affected by a predetermined threshold matrix so as to generate partial halftone dot image data representative of the partial halftone dot image associated with the partial multi-tone level image represented by the partial multi-tone level image data.
Further, in the halftone dot image display program storage medium of the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that said halftone dot image display unit further comprises:
a color conversion section for applying a color conversion processing to the partial multi-tone level image data derived by said data deriving section, and
said partial halftone dot image data generation section causes partial multi-tone level image data subjected to both the color conversion processing by said color conversion section and the resolution conversion processing by said resolution conversion section to be affected by a predetermined threshold matrix so as to generate partial halftone dot image data representative of the partial halftone dot image associated with the partial multi-tone level image represented by the partial multi-tone level image data.
Furthermore, in the halftone dot image display program storage medium of the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that said halftone dot image display unit further comprises an information display section for displaying a pixel value of the position designated by said position designation section, of the multi-tone level image displayed by said multi-tone level image display section, and a dot % value of a position corresponding to a position on the multi-tone level image designated by said position designation section, of the partial halftone dot image represented by the partial halftone dot image data generated by said partial halftone dot image data generation section.
Still further, in the halftone dot image display program storage medium of the present invention as mentioned above, it is preferable that said halftone dot image display unit further comprises:
a color conversion section for applying a color conversion processing to the partial multi-tone level image data derived by said data deriving section, and
said information display section displays, in addition to said pixel value and said dot % value, a pixel value of a position corresponding to a position on the multi-tone level image designated by said position designation section, of the partial multi-tone level image represented by the partial multi-tone level image data subjected to the color conversion processing.

Halftone dot image display unit, and halftone dot image display program storage medium


Provided is a liquid crystal composition satisfying at least one of characteristics such as a high maximum temperature of a nematic phase, a low minimum temperature of the nematic phase, a small viscosity, a large optical anisotropy, a large dielectric anisotropy, a large specific resistance, high stability to ultraviolet light and high stability to heat, or having a suitable balance regarding at least two of the characteristics. Provided is an AM device having a short response time, a large voltage holding ratio, a large contrast ratio, a long service life, etc. The liquid crystal composition having a nematic phase includes a specific three-ring or four-ring compound having a high maximum temperature and a large dielectric anisotropy as a first component, and a specific compound having a small viscosity or a high maximum temperature of the nematic phase as a second component, and a liquid crystal display device contains the composition.

In a liquid crystal display device, a classification based on an operating mode for liquid crystals includes a phase change (PC) mode, a twisted nematic (TN) mode, a super twisted nematic (STN) mode, an electrically controlled birefringence (ECB) mode, an optically compensated bend (OCB) mode, an in-plane switching (IPS) mode, a vertical alignment (VA) mode and a polymer sustained alignment (PSA) mode. A classification based on a driving mode in the device includes a passive matrix (PM) and an active matrix (AM). The PM is further classified into static, multiplex and so forth, and the AM is classified into a thin film transistor (TFT), a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) and so forth. The TFT is further classified into amorphous silicon and polycrystal silicon. The latter is classified into a high temperature type and a low temperature type according to a production process. A classification based on a light source includes a reflective type utilizing a natural light, a transmissive type utilizing a backlight and a transreflective type utilizing both the natural light and the backlight.
The device contains a liquid crystal composition having suitable characteristics. The liquid crystal composition has a nematic phase. General characteristics of the composition should be improved to obtain an AM device having good general characteristics. Table 1 below summarizes a relationship between two of the general characteristics. The general characteristics of the composition will be explained further based on a commercially available AM device. A temperature range of the nematic phase relates to a temperature range in which the device can be used. A preferred maximum temperature of the nematic phase is 70° C. or higher and a preferred minimum temperature of the nematic phase is −10° C. or lower. A viscosity of the composition relates to a response time in the device. A short response time is preferred for displaying moving images on the device. Accordingly, a small viscosity of the composition is preferred. A small viscosity at a low temperature is further preferred.
TABLE 1General Characteristics of Composition and AM DeviceGeneral Characteristics General Characteristics No.of Compositionof AM Device1wide temperature range of a wide usable temperature rangenematic phase2small viscosity 1)short response time3suitable optical anisotropylarge contrast ratio4large positive or negative low threshold voltage and small electricdielectric anisotropypower consumptionlarge contrast ratio5large specific resistancelarge voltage holding ratio andlarge contrast ratio6high stability to ultraviolet long service lifelight and heat1) A liquid crystal composition can be injected into a liquid crystal cell in a shorter period of time.
An optical anisotropy of the composition relates to a contrast ratio in the device. A product (Δn×d) of the optical anisotropy (Δn) of the composition and a cell gap (d) of the device is designed so as to maximize the contrast ratio. A suitable value of the product depends on a type of the operating mode. The suitable value is about 0.45 micrometer in a device having a mode such as TN. In the above case, a composition having a large optical anisotropy is preferred for a device having a small cell gap. A large dielectric anisotropy of the composition contributes to a low threshold voltage, a small electric power consumption and a large contrast ratio in the device. Accordingly, the large dielectric anisotropy is preferred. A large specific resistance of the composition contributes to a large voltage holding ratio and a large contrast ratio in the device. Accordingly, a composition having a large specific resistance, at room temperature and also at a high temperature in an initial stage, is preferred. A composition having a large specific resistance, at room temperature and also at a high temperature after using the device for a long time, is preferred. Stability of the composition to ultraviolet light and heat relates to a service life of the liquid crystal display device. In the case where the stability is high, the device has a long service life. Such characteristics are preferred for an AM device used in a liquid crystal projector, a liquid crystal television and so forth.
A composition having a positive dielectric anisotropy is used for an AM device having the TN mode. On the other hand, a composition having a negative dielectric anisotropy is used for an AM device having the VA mode. A composition having a positive or negative dielectric anisotropy is used for an AM device having the IPS mode. A composition having a positive or negative dielectric anisotropy is used for an AM device having the PSA mode.
Conventional compositions are disclosed in the patent literatures No. 1 to No. 3 as described below.

Liquid crystal composition and liquid crystal display device


An image processing apparatus includes a memory that memorizes a plurality of pickup images in which an object has been picked up by varying an irradiation direction of a light; an extracting portion that extracts an area image of an area indicated by a user from each of the pickup images memorized in the memory; a calculating portion that calculates at least one illumination parameter for each area image by one of calculating an amount of edges from each extracted area image, executing a clustering process to brightness of each extracted area image, and executing a totaling process of totaling differences in brightness between the extracted area images; and a generating portion that generates at least one synthetic image by synthesizing the extracted area images with the at least one illumination parameter.

1. Technical Field
This invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing system, a computer readable medium, and an image processing method.
2. Related Art
There has been conventionally known an image processing apparatus which can send the texture, the gloss level or the like of an object to an observer. Moreover, there has been conventionally known a flaw detecting device provided with illuminating devices, and at least one photographing device.

Image processing apparatus, image processing system, computer readable medium, and image processing method


A specialized spectrometer comprises a light source to generate a monochromatic light beam to generate resonance Raman peaks or resonance near infrared absorption peaks from a region of the subject and a reference light source to illuminate the region with a reference light beam. The light energy from the resonance Raman peaks can be measured with a detector coupled to an optical wavelength separator. A portion of the reference beam scattered from the region can be measured with a reference detector. An amount of the constituent can be determined with a processor in response to the resonance Raman peaks measured with the detector and the portion of the reference beam measured with the reference detector. The illumination of the region with reference beam with the monochromatic beam allows accurate determination of the amount of the constituent, and the amount may comprise a concentration, such as an amount per unit volume.

Prior methods and apparatus of non-invasively measuring subjects optically are less than ideal in at least some respects. For example, prior methods and apparatus of measuring blood of a subject can be less accurate than would be ideal. Also, alignment of the subject with the measurement apparatus can be challenging. Many of the prior art spectrometers are less than ideally suited to measure constituents non-invasively in vivo. Although prior methods and apparatus may measure blood spectroscopically in a controlled laboratory environment, these methods generally involve the removal of blood from the subject, which can be inconvenient and somewhat painful in at least some instances.

Method and apparatus for a spectral detector for noninvasive detection and monitoring of a variety of biomarkers and other blood constituents in the conjunctiva


A method for facilitating data security for transaction data includes receiving, by a first transaction processing server, a transaction message for a transaction. The transaction message includes a plurality of data elements indicative of the transaction data of the transaction. The first transaction processing server identifies a set of data elements of the plurality of data elements that is to be in a state of compliance with a set of rules. The first transaction processing server modifies a first data element of the plurality of data elements to include a bitmap mapped to the set of data elements. The first transaction processing server communicates the transaction message having the modified first data element to a second transaction processing server for processing the transaction. The second transaction processing server identifies the set of data elements that is to be in the state of compliance based on the first data element.

Recent times have seen a proliferation of transactions involving transaction cards (i.e., card-based transactions). Trends on transaction card usage and technological advancements in the payment industry (e.g., virtual transaction cards) point towards rapid expansion of transaction card usage in the future. Such transactions often involve exchanging of transaction messages, containing sensitive financial information, between various parties such as merchants, acquirers, payment networks, and issuers. Exchange and storage of these transaction messages are governed by strict information technology security standards such as the Payment card industry data security standard (PCI DSS). These information technology security standards include rules and guidelines for identification, storage, and transmission of this sensitive financial information.
However, no single source exists for identifying the rules and guidelines mandated by these information technology security standards. Organizations (e.g., merchants or financial institutions) may be required to discern relevant information from various sources (e.g., technical guidelines, websites, technical specifications, or the like), warranting unnecessary expenditure of time and efforts. Further, different organizations may draw different conclusions on data security from these various sources, leading to lack of uniformity on data security. Organizations that fail to maintain data security standards that conform to these rules and guidelines run a risk of attracting substantial penalties.
In light of the above, there is a need for a technical solution that facilitates easier and effortless adherence to the data security standards in the payment industry.

Method and system for facilitating data security for transaction data


A portable audio device having the functions of a cassette tape recorder, a compact disc player and an AM/FM tuner includes a slimmed body provided with the cassette tape recorder, the compact disc player and the AM/FM tuner, and at least one cover, provided on the slimmed body, for covering the cassette tape recorder and the compact disc player. The slimmed body and the at least one cover are formed to resemble a notebook.

Recently various kinds of audio devices have been developed. Of these is the device generally referred to as a portable audio device. There have been two kinds of portable audio devices, that is, a portable cassette tape recorder and a portable compact disc player. The portable cassette tape recorder or the portable compact disc player may be incorporated with an AM/FM tuner. These devices are carried in portable bags or hooked on belts. The portable cassette tape recorder is controlled as necessary selecting appropriate buttons while carrying it in bags, pockets or hooking on belts. A headphone (or attachable speakers) is used inserting a plug into a jack of the device. The portable compact disc player is also used in the same manner as the portable cassette tape recorder. In case of using the cassette tape recorder and the compact disc player together, those players have to be handled individually and the connection of the headphone or the speakers to the handling players may be changed frequently.
However, for shifting the user of the players, one player being used is stopped and the other player to be used is operated, by manually handling the players. Each player has to be carried individually, it is easily distinguishable whether it is the cassette recorder player or the compact disc player by appearance. Accordingly, as the conventional portable audio devices are carried and handled individually, it is inconvenient in handling and control due to the volume of individual devices.


Systems and methods are disclosed to generate a persistent identifier for a device using a trusted platform module (TPM) of the device, so that the identifier is persistent during the lifetime of the TPM. In embodiments, during an initialization of the TPM, the system obtains an entropy value from the TPM used to generate the device's persistent identifier. The identifier is written to a non-volatile storage of the TPM so that it cannot be erased during the lifetime of the TPM. In embodiments, a persistent keys pair is generated based on the identifier, and also permanently written to the non-volatile storage. In embodiments, the persistent identifier may be measured and verified via TPM quotes. In embodiments, the persistent private key may be used to sign a nonce to prove the identity of the device.

Many companies and other organizations operate computer networks that interconnect computing systems to support their operations. In particular, public data centers housing significant numbers of interconnected computing systems have become commonplace. As these public data centers emerge in the marketplace, use of various hardware security systems such as trusted platform modules or TPMs have also gained more prominence. TPMs, in particular, are designed provide trusted information about a piece of computer hardware (e.g., via a TPM quote) which may be used to verify the hardware before it is used.
However, it is notoriously difficult to establish a persistent one-to-one mapping between an identifier and the TPM. The reason for making the mapping difficult is privacy concerns and this means that it is generally impossible to use manufacturer provisioned unique secrets like the Endorsement Key (EK) for this purpose. The suggested workaround is to use yet another user generated identifier called the Attestation Identity Key (AIK). The AIK is certified using the EK, and can then be used as an identity proxy for the EK. However, the AIK is not a persistent identifier because it is tied to the impermanent TPM Storage Root Key (SRK), which can be reset using the TPM reset operation. For example, resetting the TPM will result in the generation of a new SRK, which effectively destroys all derived keys, including the AIK. Furthermore, since the EK is limited to decryption only, it cannot be used as a signing key of the TPM. The lack of a usable persistent identifier for the TPM and a set of persistent keys for the TPM make TPM-based device more difficult to use and less trustworthy.
While embodiments are described herein by way of example for several embodiments and illustrative drawings, those skilled in the art will recognize that embodiments are not limited to the embodiments or drawings described. It should be understood, that the drawings and detailed description thereto are not intended to limit embodiments to the particular form disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope as defined by the appended claims. The headings used herein are for organizational purposes only and are not meant to be used to limit the scope of the description or the claims. As used throughout this application, the word "may" is used in a permissive sense (i.e., meaning having the potential to), rather than the mandatory sense (i.e., meaning must). Similarly, the words "include," "including," and "includes" mean including, but not limited to.
It will also be understood that, although the terms first, second, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, these elements should not be limited by these terms. These terms are only used to distinguish one element from another. For example, a first contact could be termed a second contact, and, similarly, a second contact could be termed a first contact, without departing from the scope of the present invention. The first contact and the second contact are both contacts, but they are not the same contact.

Persistent TPM-based identifier and key pair


The present invention relates particularly to a one-package, black-pigmented, corrosion resistant coating composition, of excellent storage stability and being especially suitable for application over metal that has been coated with a composition containing chromium in non-elemental form. More specifically, the coating composition of the invention is formulated from an intimate blend of aqueous carbon black colloidal dispersion in aqueous medium, which is in further mixture with thickening agent aqueous acrylic resin dispersion and silica sol having a pH of not above about 10.

It has been known to coat substrates such as wall-board with heavy coatings of air-curable, alkali-metal-containing silicas blended with copolymer dispersions. As taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,002,590, such compositions are usefully heavily loaded with aggregates so as to form the heavy coatings.
It has also been well known to protect metal surfaces from corrosion by surface treatment with corrosion resistant coating materials. The corrosion resistance of silicate coatings has been shown. Some of these may contain many ingredients, including several pigments as well as being resin-containing, but ingredients must be separately packaged and mixed just prior to application, as has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,297,616.
A variety of resinous and resin-free chromium containing coatings for protecting ferrous substrates are also known. Representative coating compositions can be relatively simplistic such as the compositions that may essentially contain chromic acid and particulate metal in an alcohol medium as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,687,738.
Other more complex compositions as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,608 may contain the pulverulent metal and hexavalent chromium-providing substance plus high-boiling organic liquid. Such coatings over ferrous surfaces provide a highly desirable protection against red rust upon exposure to the surface to salt solution.
In the protection of ferrous surfaces, it is also known to apply coating composite systems consisting of a basecoat and subsequent topcoat. For example, in the protection of zinc coated steel surfaces, the zinc surface is treated with chromate and then subsequently treated with a topcoat of a silicate material, e.g., potassium and/or sodium silicate. The chromate/silicate coating offers corrosion resistance against white rusting of the zinc basecoat, as has been discussed in Japanese Patent Disclosure No.: Showa 53-125239. Or the zinc surface, which may be phosphated, can be topcoated with a silica/organic polymer/silane complex as taught in U.S. Pat. No. 4,330,446.
A further example of composite coatings involves the application of protective coatings of silicate to resin-free basecoat compositions of particulate metal and hexavalent chromium-providing substance on ferrous substrates. This composite has been disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,365,003.
Because of the corrosion resistance of such coating composites, they have attracted the attention of the automotive industry for treating small metal parts, e.g., metal fasteners, nuts, bolts and interior body panels. However, the appearance of the coating composites vary, depending on the formulation of the coating, the type of basis metal substrate and the process. Moreover, many such small parts are traditionally provided with a top-coating that will give the part a smooth as well as corrosion resistant coating, plus a lustrous black appearance. It would, therefore, be desirable to achieve a corrosion resistant coating composite having a black pigmented topcoating which can be applied to a wide variety of basecoated substrates providing superior corrosion resistance and excellent black pigmented hiding power.
It would also be desirable to provide a topcoating composition which is simple and readily manufactured from commercially available components, easily applied by conventional techniques and economical to cure. Further, desirable advantages would reside in a composition showing excellent shelf stability without the need for special packaging, a composition that is environmentally desirable being water-based to eliminate problems of pollution and toxicity and a composition amenable to water cleanup.


Purple membrane preparations having an increased holographic diffraction efficiency. The purple membrane preparations have a diffraction efficiency of less than 5 seconds and a resolution of greater than 1,500 lines/mm. The purple membrane preparations are obtainable by adjusting a purple membrane suspension having a photocycle time of at least 10 ms to a pH of between 6 and 11 by means of a buffer, adding from 1% to 10% by weight of a proton donor to this purple membrane suspension, and drying the resultant suspension down to a water content of from 1% to 30% by weight.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to purple membrane preparations having increased holographic diffraction efficiency.
2. The Prior Art
The use of bacteriorhodopsin or bacteriorhodopsin variants as the active component in optical recording media is known. Thus, for example, the article by N. Hampp and C. Brauchle entitled, Bactedorhodopsin and Its Functional Variants: Potential Applications in Modern Optics, published in Organic Chemistry 40, Photochromism, 954-975, Ed. H. Durr, H. Bouas-Laurent, Elsevier 1990, tabulate possible uses of bacteriorhodopsin.
For reasons of greater stability to thermal, chemical and photochemical destruction or degradation, the bacteriorhodopsin and/or its variants as the active component in optical recording media is preferably not employed in the form of the free molecules, but instead in membrane-bound form, i.e., generally in the form of optionally comminuted purple membrane or variants thereof. Variants of purple membrane, i.e., membranes which contain variants of bacteriorhodopsin, can be obtained in a manner known per se with the aid of biotechnological processes, for example, by varying the retinal chromophore by chemical exchange (see, for example, Methoxyretinals in Bacteriorhodopsin. Absorption Maxima, Cis-Trans Isomerization and Retinal Protein Interaction, by W. Gartner, D. Oesterhelt, 1988, Eur. J. Blochem. 176, 641-648) or by modifying the bacterio-opsin molecule (see, for example, D. Oesterheit, G. Krippahl, Ann. Microbiol. (Inst. Pasteur) 134B (1983) 137-150). The characterization of bacteriorhodopsin variants with modified bacterio-opsin is described, for example, in Kinetic Optimization of Bacteriorhodopsin by Aspartic Acid 96 as an Internal Proton Donor, by A. Miller and D. Oesterhelt, Blochim. and Biophys. Acta (1990) , 1020, 57-64.
A promising application of purple membranes is in holography. Holography is taken to mean purely holographic processes and optical processes which involve one or more holographic part-steps.
The advantages of using purple membrane preparations for said purposes lie, in particular, in the favorable absorption range, the high resolution which can be achieved, the large number of possible write/erase cycles, the long shelf life, the high sensitivity and the light fastness. Use in color holography is also possible. This applies to all hologram types which are possible using purple membrane preparations, for example, the embodiments known as B-type holograms, in which photoconversion of the initial stage (=B) of the active component is carried out, or those hologram types in which an intermediate state or photointermediate is subjected to photoconversion (for example, M-type hologram). It is advantageous for this purpose to select an intermediate whose absorption properties differ significantly from those of the initial state. Such an intermediate which can favorably be employed for holographic purposes is available, for example, in the form of the intermediate state of naturally occurring bacteriorhodopsin, frequently known as the M-state.
For holography, purple membranes can be used, for example, in the forms of suspensions or films.
Purple membrane suspensions contain purple membranes in water, i.e., the water content in purple membrane suspensions is greater than the purple membrane content. Purple membrane suspensions can be used as recording materials for information in which only low spatial resolution of the recording material is required and/or long rise times of the holographic diffraction efficiency are sufficient.
Holographic diffraction efficiency is taken to mean the ratio between the intensity of light diffracted at the holographic grating and the intensity of the light incident on the holographic grating. The holographic diffraction efficiency is generally given in percentage. The maximum value which the diffraction efficiency can reach is 100%. The holographic diffraction efficiencies given for the purple membrane preparations according to the invention relate, as is also usual for the data in the prior art, to a wavelength of 632.8 nm. The rise in the holographic diffraction efficiency is the time from commencement of exposure until the maximum diffraction efficiency has been reached. The shorter this time, the more the material is suitable for dynamic applications. The minimum of the theoretically achievable rise time of the holographic diffraction efficiency is about 50 .mu.s for purple membrane preparations. The definition of the holographic diffraction efficiency and a description of the correlation between diffraction efficiency and wavelength is given in Kogelnik, H. (1969), Bell Syst. Tech. J. 48, 2909-2947.
The use of suspensions containing purple membranes as recording material is described by V. Y. Bazhenov et al. in Optical Processing and Computing, in Chapter 4, Biopolymers for Real-Time Optical Processing, 103-144. Although this publication mentions bacteriorhodopsin suspensions having a diffraction efficiency of up to 6%, nothing is stated on the preparation and composition of the suspensions. These suspensions have diffusion-limited rise times of the diffraction efficiency, which results in rise times of the diffraction efficiency of 7 seconds or longer. These rise times of the diffraction efficiency are too slow for use in dynamic holography. Purple membrane suspensions allow resolutions of from 0 to 500 lines/mm to be achieved. The suspensions are therefore unsuitable for use in dynamic holography or for use as high-resolution storage materials, where resolutions up to 5,000 lines/mm are necessary. Neither is it possible to achieve M-type holograms using these suspensions.
This disadvantage is not exhibited by media which contain immobilized purple membranes. In these, the purple membrane, in the form of films or gels embedded in support materials, such as, for example, polymers, is preferably applied to substrates, such as, for example, glass plates or mirrors, or employed in another form which allows a reproducible two-dimensional arrangement.
According to Hampp et al., in Thin Films in Optics (Ed.: T. Tschudi), Proc. SPIE 1125, pp. 2-8, films containing purple membrane are obtained by drying purple membrane suspensions on siliconized glass plates. The optical homogeneity of the films can be increased by employing mixtures of water-soluble polymers with purple membrane suspensions. Examples mentioned of water-soluble polymers are polyvinyl alcohol and polyvinylpyrrolidone. A further method mentioned is the embedding in a matrix by direct polymerization in polyacrylamide gels. No details are given on the production of films containing purple membrane. The films have a water content of 60%. The maximum diffraction efficiency is 0.2% for films containing wild-type purple membrane (BR-WT) and 0.3% for films containing a purple membrane variant in which aspartic acid has been replaced by asparagine in position 96 of the bacteriorhodopsin (BR 326 variant).
The article by N. Hampp and C. Brauchle entitled Bactedorhodopsin and Its Functional Variants: Potential Applications in Modern Optics," published in Studies in Organic Chemistry 40, Photochromism, pp. 954-957, Ed. H. Durr, H. Bouas-Laurent, Elsevier, 1990, describes the use of wild-type bacteriorhodopsin and the above-mentioned position-96 variant of bacteriorhodopsin BR 326 in the area of modern optics and holography. The production process disclosed for films containing bacteriorhodopsin involves drying purple membrane suspensions on a glass substrate or embedding it in a polymer. According to this publication, the purple membrane is employed as purchased or prepared for the film production. No details are given on parameters such as salt concentration or buffer solutions or any assistants. The films described therein have a diffraction efficiency of 1% if WT purple membrane is used or 2% if BR-326 variant is used. Biophys. J. 58, 83 (1990) , pp. 83-93, discloses various properties of films containing wild-type bacteriorhodopsin or the position-96 variant of bacteriorhodopsin BR 326 for films. The films containing purple membrane were obtained by drying an aqueous purple membrane suspension having a pH of from 6 to 7 on silanized glass plates dried in air overnight. The films have a water content of 60%. According to this publication, the purple membrane is adjusted to a pH of from 6 to 7 for the film production. No details are given on parameters such as salt concentrations or buffer solutions or any assistants. The films obtained have a diffraction efficiency of from 0.2 to 0.4%.
A severe disadvantage which hitherto prevented broader application of purple membrane preparations in holography is the low holographic diffraction efficiency which can be achieved by known purple membrane preparations. This low diffraction efficiency makes it necessary, for example, to use strong lasers to detect the stored holographic information in order to obtain in the detection system a signal which can be clearly registered, i.e., enables a good signal/noise ratio to be obtained. Strong lasers have disadvantages in practice. For example, high laser power is expensive, strong lasers are bulky, and the operation of strong lasers requires relatively high safety standards. In addition, a high laser power results in heating of the sample by the undiffracted light passing through the sample, which may, under certain circumstances, result in destruction of the stored information.
In spite of their relatively high diffraction efficiency, known purple membrane suspensions are, as stated, likewise unsuitable for broad applications due to their slow rise time of diffraction efficiency and their low spatial resolution.

Purple membrane preparations having increased holographic diffraction efficiency

Consortium fur elektrochemische Industrie GmbH


A method is provided for operating a propulsion system of a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, the propulsion system including a turbomachine, an electric machine, a forward thrust propulsor, and a plurality of vertical thrust electric fans. The method includes driving the forward thrust propulsor with the turbomachine; rotating the electric machine with the turbomachine to generate electrical power; determining a failure condition of the turbomachine; and providing electrical power to the electric machine to drive the forward thrust propulsor with the electric machine in response to determining the failure condition of the turbomachine.

Aircraft have been developed with a capability for performing vertical takeoff and landings. Such a capability may allow for the aircraft to reach relatively rugged terrains and remote locations, where it may be impractical or infeasible to construct a runway large enough to allow for a traditional aircraft (lacking vertical takeoff capability) to takeoff or land.
Typically these aircraft capable of performing vertical takeoff and landings have engines and propulsors that are vectored to generate both vertical thrust and forward thrust. However, the design characteristics that make a propulsor efficient for vertical takeoff and landing may not result in efficient forward flight. Accordingly, existing aircraft capable of performing vertical takeoff and landing include propulsors that may be well suited for generating vertical thrust, but that may not be very well suited for efficient forward flight. This discrepancy between vertical takeoff and landing and cruise efficiency is exaggerated as cruise speed increases. An aircraft capable of more efficiently performing a vertical takeoff and landing combined with high speed cruise would therefore be useful.
It will further be appreciated that certain vertical takeoff and landing aircraft may not include the same amount of redundancy as fixed wing aircraft for certain operations, such as forward flight operations. Accordingly, a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that is able to continue operations in the event of a failure condition would be particularly useful.

Operation of a vertical takeoff and landing aircraft


An air-leak indicator, comprising a tubular body which includes all assembly members, is partly transparent and can be screwedly mounted to a tire's air valve; a tire value actuator projection which acts to operate and open the associated valve when tubular body is screwed to a tire valve; a visual indicator piston which has bands of green, yellow and red fluorescent colors graduated in its outer periphery and can reveal that color graduation through tubular body's transparent section in dependence upon the associated tire's internal air pressure movement; a spring or any other suitable resilient body with one end connected to the indicator piston lower end; and and end cap which covers the tubular body top and is provided with at least one breather in the center or other suitable places thereof. If screwed to each tire valve of a vehicle, it can indicate each tire's internal air pressure situation for user to make eye-inspection anytime even in night.

Nowadays, vehicle drivers are often able to monitor visually the cooling water, gasoline and oil supply, driving and brake lights, indicators, and brake operation, and can be assured of their condition thereby. However, there is still no method of monitoring a tire's internal air pressure by immediate visual inspection, except, of course, when the tire becomes substantially deflated and, as a consequence, deformed and, possibly, damaged. It is well known that, if a vehicle has one tire which is not inflated at its correct air pressure, then the vehicle will run in an unbalanced manner, turn and corner awkwardly, experience abnormal tire and steering wear and, probably most importantly, will tend to brake unevenly and, under certain conditions, lose control, thereby jeopardising safety.


A semiconductor device includes a structure in which a difference in height between a cell region and a peripheral region are formed so that a buried gate structure of the cell region is substantially equal in height to the gate of the peripheral region, whereby a bit line and a storage node contact can be more easily formed in the cell region and parasitic capacitance can be decreased. The semiconductor device includes a cell region including a gate buried in a substrate, and a peripheral region adjacent to the cell region, where a step height between a surface of the cell and a surface of the peripheral region is generated.

Embodiments of the present invention relate to a semiconductor device and a method for forming the same, and more particularly to a semiconductor device including a buried gate and a method for forming the same.
A Dynamic Random Access Memory (DRAM) includes a plurality of unit cells, each of which includes a capacitor and a transistor. The capacitor is used to temporarily store data therein. The transistor is used to transmit data from a bit line to a capacitor in correspondence with a control signal (e.g., a control signal applied to a word line) using the electric conductivity of a semiconductor device that changes depending on environment. The transistor has three regions including a gate, a source and a drain, where charges between the source and the drain move in response to a control signal applied to the gate. The charges between the source and the drain move through a channel region in accordance with the properties and operation of the semiconductor device.
When a general transistor is formed in a semiconductor substrate, a gate is formed on the semiconductor substrate, and the semiconductor substrate is doped with impurities at both sides of the gate to form a source and a drain. In this case, the region under the gate between the source and the drain acts as a channel region of the transistor. Thus, is such a case the channel region extends horizontally, and a transistor including the horizontal channel region occupies a predetermined area of a semiconductor substrate. Reducing the overall area of a complicated semiconductor memory apparatus is difficult due to the large number of transistors with horizontal channel regions that are contained in the semiconductor device.
In the manufacturing process of a semiconductor memory device, a wafer is provided on which a plural number of the semiconductor devices are formed. If the overall area of the semiconductor memory device is reduced, the number of semiconductor memory devices capable of being acquired from each wafer is increased, resulting in increased productivity. A variety of methods have been proposed to reduce the overall area of the semiconductor memory device. A representative method uses a recess gate wherein a recess is formed in a substrate and a gate is formed in the recess such that a curved channel region extends along the outer surfaces of the recess, instead of using a conventional planar gate having a horizontal channel region. Another representative method is burying the entirety of the gate in the recess to form a buried gate.
In the case of the buried gate structure, the entire gate is buried under the surface of the semiconductor substrate, so that a channel length and width can be guaranteed. With such a structure, parasitic capacitance between a gate (word line) and a bit line can be decreased by about 50% as compared to the conventional planar gate.
However, from the viewpoint of the entire structure which includes both a cell region and a peripheral region, when implementing the buried gate structure, there is a difference in height between the buried gate of the cell region a gate formed in the peripheral region; and therefore, a method for compensating for the space caused by the difference in height is necessary. A variety of methods have been considered, for example, i) one method in which a cell region space as high as the gate of the peripheral region remains empty or unused, and ii) another method in which the bit lines of the cell region are formed simultaneously with the process of forming the gate of the peripheral area.
However, the above-mentioned method (i), in which empty/unused space is provided for the cell region, has a disadvantage in that a storage node contact should be formed at a deeper depth when the height of the storage node contact plug is increased, resulting in an increased degree of difficulty in forming a bit line. The above-mentioned method (ii) for simultaneously forming the gate of the peripheral region and the gate of the cell region has a disadvantage in that an electrode of the cell region bit line and the gate electrode of the peripheral region are formed by the same material since they are formed through the same process, and thus a barrier metal layer is also formed, and consequently the gate of the peripheral region becomes higher. As a result, parasitic capacitance of the cell region increases which is contrary to the goal behind formation of the buried gate.

Semiconductor device and method for forming the same


A table includes a table top unit, an annular table frame secured to the table top unit, and a leg assembly including several elongated blocks and several legs. Each of the legs includes a foot portion, two leg bodies secured respectively to the foot portion, and two aligned horizontal pivot portions secured respectively to the leg bodies. Each of the blocks includes a first vertical side surface, a second vertical side surface, an elongated horizontal bottom surface, and two end walls. The first side surface is secured to the annular table frame. The second side surface has a horizontal slot and two vertical slots each of which is communicated with an intermediate portion of the horizontal slot. The bottom surface interconnects the first and second side surfaces and has two L-shaped slots each of which has a lengthwise section and a transverse section. The transverse section has a first end communicated with the lengthwise section and a second end communicated with one of the vertical slots. Each of the end walls has a pivot hole formed therein so that the pivot portions are engaged within the pivot holes in such a manner that the leg bodies respectively extend into two ends of the horizontal slot.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a table, more particularly to a table which has a conveniently foldable leg assembly.
2. Description of the Related Art
The improvement of this invention is directed to a conventional table which includes a table top, an annular table frame, and several legs. Each of the legs is connected securely to the annular table frame. The annular table frame is mounted securely on the periphery of the table top. However, because the legs of the table are mounted securely on the annular table frame, the table occupies too much space, causing the difficulty in transporting the table.