A method, apparatus, system, and signal-bearing medium that, in an embodiment, in response to a request to create a target object, create a reference object for the target object and bind the reference object to a name space without the target object being instantiated. In response to an invocation of a method on the reference object, a determination is made whether a target object associated with the reference object exists. If the target object does not already exist, the target object is instantiated. If the target object does already exist, the target object is returned. In this way, target objects are not instantiated until a method on the reference object is invoked, which in an embodiment increases the performance of the invoking application.

The development of the EDVAC computer system of 1948 is often cited as the beginning of the computer era. Since that time, computer systems have evolved into extremely sophisticated devices, and computer systems may be found in many different settings. Computer systems typically include a combination of hardware, such as semiconductors and circuit boards, and software, also known as computer programs. As advances in semiconductor processing and computer architecture push the performance of the computer hardware higher, more sophisticated and complex computer software has evolved to take advantage of the higher performance of the hardware, resulting in computer systems today that are much more powerful than just a few years ago.
Years ago, computers were isolated devices that did not communicate with each other. But, today computers are often connected in networks, such as the Internet or World Wide Web, and a user at one computer, often called a client, may wish to access information at multiple other computers, often called servers, via a network. Accessing and using information from multiple computers is often called distributed computing. Since these multiple computers may be using different software that runs on different hardware, distributing computing is a challenging and complex environment.
One way to address the difficult problems of distributed computing is to use the Enterprise JavaBeans (EJB) specification, which provides for creating server-side scalable, transactional, multi-user, secure enterprise-level applications. The Enterprise JavaBeans specification provides a consistent component architecture framework for creating distributed applications.
According to the EJB specification, Enterprise Beans are building blocks that either can be used alone or with other enterprise beans to build complete, robust, thin-client multi-tiered applications. An EJB is a body of code with fields and methods to implement modules of business logic. An EJB can either be transient or persistent.
When an EJB application needs to use the services of an enterprise Bean, it creates the EJB through its Home interface. The application specifically uses one of the multiple create( ) methods that the Home interface defines. The implementation of the Home interface is done through an object called the Home object. An instance of this Home object is created within the server and is made available to the application as a factory for creating the enterprise Bean.
When an EJB application is started, a reference object for the EJB Home object corresponding to each type of EJB within the application must be placed (bound) into a data structure called a name space, which makes it available for lookup operations from users of that type of EJB. A reference object is a type of pointer object that is used to gain access to an associated target object, which in this example is the Home object. Referencing the Home object requires that the actual target object of that type be loaded and instantiated in the application server and then registered with the Object Request Broker (ORB), which in turn creates the reference object.
Since a large EJB application may include hundreds of EJB types, only a portion of which might actually be used during the execution of the application, loading and instantiating each one of the hundreds of the EJB types at application startup can cause performance degradation of the EJB application.
Without a better way to handle references to objects, users will continue to suffer from degraded performance. Although the aforementioned problems have been described in the context of Enterprise JavaBeans and Home objects, they may occur in the CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture) environment or any other appropriate context, and they may occur for any appropriate type of target object.

International Business Machines Corporation


The invention disclosed herein is a system and method for comprehensive, non-invasive profiling of a processor whereby feedback is provided to a programmer of the execution dynamics of a program. In a preferred embodiment a partial real-time reduction is provided of selected trace events employing the environment's trace facility, and a post-processing function is then performed. A trace hook is provided in the environment's periodic clock routine which captures the address to be returned to following this timer's interrupt, and further captures the address of the caller of the routine represented by the first address. The frequency of occurrences of the first address is collected and correlated to various virtual address spaces and corresponding subroutine offsets within those virtual address spaces. By employing the assembly and source code listing of programs, the address frequencies are then correlated back to specific instructions, and from information in the assembly listing accumulated time is further correlated against specific lines of source code. A profile is generated indicating the amount of time spent by the processor in various processes, kernel, shared library, and user spaces, and subroutines correlated to the lines of source code for negligible additional processor run time.

In order to improve performance of code generated by various families of computers, it is often necessary to determine where time is being spent by the processor in executing code, such efforts being commonly known in the computer processing arts as locating "hot spots". Ideally one would like to isolate such hot spots at the instruction and/or source line of code level in order to focus attention on areas which might benefit most from improvements to the code.
For example, isolating such hot spots to the instruction level permits compiler writers to find significant areas of suboptimal code generation, whereby they may thus focus their efforts to improve code generation efficiency in these areas. Another potential important use of instruction level detail is to provide guidance to the designer of future systems. Such designers with appropriate profiling tools may find characteristic code sequences and/or single instructions requiring improvement to optimize the available hardware for a given level of hardware technology.
In like manner, isolating hot spots to the source line of code level would provide the level of detail necessary for an application developer to make algorithmic tradeoffs. A programmer's a priori guesses about where a program is spending significant time executing are frequently wrong for numerous reasons. First the programmer seldom has a comprehensive understanding of the complex dynamics of the hardware and software system. Secondly, the compiler itself often does not generate code that corresponds to the programmer's assumptions. It was accordingly highly desirable to provide a system for feeding back information to the programmer about the execution dynamics of a program in terms that the programmer could easily understand.
Thus various methods had been developed for monitoring aggregate CPU usage known as "profiling". One approach was to simply add instructions to the program being analyzed to enable it to essentially assess itself. This however introduces the undesirable characteristic of invasiveness wherein the possibility arose that necessary changes for profiling may introduce changes to the dynamics of the very thing one is attempting to measure. Yet another approach to providing for profiling was to develop external specialized hardware monitors. However, this approach also entailed numerous drawbacks, not the least of which was the expense associated with development of such specialized hardware and questions of feasibility in even doing so.
In some environments, the need for such profiling was particularly acute and yet was not satisfied by the existing methods due to the unique characteristics of the environments. An example of such an environment is the RISC System/6000.TM. line of computers operating the AIX.TM. Operating System of the IBM Corporation (RISC/6000 and AIX are trademarks of the International Business Machines Corporation). A more detailed description of this hardware and software is provided in "IBM RISC System/6000 Technology", first edition 1990, publication SA23-2619, IBM Corporation.
One specific attempt at providing profiling for such environments was a system known in the art as "Gprof", described in the article "Gprof: A Call Graph Execution Profiler", Proc. ACM SIGPLAN Symposium on Compiler Construction, June, 1982, by S. L. Graham, P. B. Kessler, and M. K. McKusick. Several problems were associated with this profiling system. First there was no shared library support, thus requiring the compilation of program with exclusively non-shared libraries. The system did not provide support for the simultaneous profiling multiple processes, all processes which could be run had to be recompiled for routine-level profiling, the system was invasive (e.g. modified the executable code to be profiled), and required dedicating to profiling additional memory approximately half of the space of the program to be profiled. Moreover, in addition to the entire set of processes to be profiled having to be rebuilt in order to provide profiling, it was only capable of providing routine-level and no source statement or instruction level profiling, did not summarize all CPU usage but rather only that of one user program at a time, and further often required a substantial increase in user CPU time, sometimes approaching 300%, due to its invasiveness.
For this reason other approaches were suggested for profiling in such environments including, for example, the PIXIE system of MIPS Computer Systems, Inc. described in "Compilers Unlock RISC Secrets", ESD, December, 1989, pgs. 26-32, by Larry B. Weber.
In this system the executable objects of the processes to be profiled are analyzed and reconstructed with every atomic sequence of instructions, known in the art as a "basic block", being preceded with hooks which emit an event reporting the beginning of execution of the basic block from the emitted sequence of the basic block. From the emitted sequence of events the frequency of execution of each basic block can be maintained during run time. In a subject post processing step this frequency of occurrence is correlated to the source statement and routines of the program to provide execution time profiles.
Whereas this method offers the advantage of direct measurement over estimates obtained from sampling the program counter, it offers the disadvantages of no shared library support, no support of multiple processes, requires an increase in program executable space by up to factor of 3 and increase in program executables by factors of 10 or more.
Yet additional developments were made in profiling systems such as those outlined in the following references: "Non-Intrusive and Interactive Profiling in Parasight", Proc. ACM/SIGPLAN, August, 1988, pgs. 21-30, by Ziya Aral and Ilya Gertner. In this development, the invasiveness resulting in additional run time was decreased by selectively modifying code sequences of interest to directly measure the execution time of the selected code sequences and by employing an additional supplemental process to capture and process the run time measures.
From the foregoing it will be apparent that profiler technology to support the various aforementioned environments needed numerous improvements. Specifically, a profiler was needed which would support multiple process and multiple user environments, shared libraries (dynamically loaded shared objects), kernel as well as user execution spaces, and kernel extensions (dynamically loaded extensions to the kernel).
Requirements which became apparent as particularly desirable and greatly needed in a profiler related to the characteristics of convenience and non-invasiveness. These two factors are strongly related as well as having merit in their own right.
As an example of convenience, it was highly desirable to provide a profiling tool which would enable a user to very easily profile existing running code without requiring special procedures, recompilation, relinking, or rebuilding. Moreover, it was further highly desirable to provide a profiling tool which was non-invasive as well. The comprehensive feature simply would provide for profiling of all processes and all address domains for each process--the kernel, kernel extensions, user, and shared objects. The highly desirable feature of non-invasiveness would contemplate that executables and supporting environments would be virtually identical whether profiling or not, requiring no special effort in obtaining this equivalence. Conventional systems required modification of executables in order to profile at the instruction level, for example, resulting often in excessive CPU and memory utilization. The importance of non-invasiveness is that the gathered statistics are not distorted and all instruction streams and referenced addresses are maintained. The latter is particularly important when looking for performance issues that are related to overuse of hardware facilities such as the TLB, data and instruction caches, registers, and memory.
For all of the forgoing reasons, a profiling tool was highly desirable which could report on the aggregate CPU usage of all users of the environment, including all programs (processes) running, including the kernel, during execution of the user programs (as well as the fraction of time the CPU is idle) whereby users might determine CPU usage in a global sense. Such a profiler was further desired as a tool to investigate programs which might be CPU-bound wherein the programmer would find it useful to know sections of the program which were being most heavily used by the CPU. Still further a profiler was further highly sought which could be run using the executable program as is without the need to compile with special compiler flags or linker options whereby a subprogram profile could be obtained of any executable module that had already been built.

Non-invasive trace-driven system and method for computer system profiling


A multi-stage method is provided for automatically characterizing data sets containing data points which are each defined by measurements of three variables as either random or non-random. A three-dimensional Cartesian volume which is sized to contain all of a total number N of data points in the data set which is to be characterized. The Cartesian volume is partitioned into equal sized cubes, wherein each cube may or may not contain a data point. A predetermined route is defined that goes through every cube one time and scores each cube as a one or a zero thereby producing a stream of ones and zeros. The number of runs is counted and utilized to provide a Runs Test which predicts if the N data points in any data set are random or nonrandom. Additional tests are used in conjunction with the Runs Test to increase the accuracy of characterization of each data set as random or nonrandom.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of sonar signal processing and, more particularly, preferably comprises a multistage and automated method to measure the spatial arrangement among a very small number of measurements whereby an ascertainment of the mathematical property of randomness (or noise-degree) may be made.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Naval sonar systems require that signals be classified according to structure; i.e., periodic, transient, random or chaotic. In many cases it may be highly desirable and/or critical to know whether data received by a sonar system is simply random noise, which may be a false alarm, or is more likely due to detection of a submarine or other vessel of interest.
Recent research has revealed a critical need for highly sparse-data-set statistical methods separate and apart from those treating large samples. It is well known that large sample methods often fail when applied to small sample distributions. In some cases, prior art statistical methods may label an obviously nonrandom distributions (e.g., see FIG. 2) as random. It is apparently not well known or appreciated that a single measurement system designed to detect stochastic randomness occasionally fails for certain distributions. For example, the method of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/934,343, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,597,634, which is incorporated herein by reference, fails to detect non-randomness in data such as displayed in FIG. 2. Most randomness assessment methods are applicable for truly random distributions, and sometimes fail to label correctly truly nonrandom distributions as pointed out by Dr. Rushkin (A. L. Rushkin, Testing Randomness: A Suite of Statistical Procedures, Theory of Probability and its Applications, 2000, vol. 45, no. 1, pp. 111-132). As an example, it is quite possible for the Runs Test (described below) to label an error-free constant two-dimensional function, such as f(x)=x, "nonrandom," while an error-free linear function, such as f(x)=a+bx, is deemed "random."
Very small data distributions may comprise data sets with approximately less than ten to fifteen data measurements. Such data sets can be analyzed mathematically with certain nonparametric discrete probability distributions as opposed to large-sample methods, which employ continuous probability distributions (such as the Gaussian).
Nonparametric statistics is a field that treats discrete variables or a quantitative variable whose set of possible values is countable. Typical examples of discrete variables are variables whose possible values are a subset of the integers, such as the number of bacteria in a microphotograph, discrete time increments [t0=0, t1=1, t2=2, . . . ], number of "heads" in 10 coin-flips, the USA population, ages rounded to the nearest year, or the number of pages in a DoD Technical Manual. Moreover, a random variable is discrete if and only if its cumulative probability distribution function is a stair-step function; i.e., if it is piecewise constant and only increases by discrete jumps.
Nonparametric probability and statistical methods were developed to be used in cases when the researcher does not know the parameters of the distribution of the variable of interest in the population (hence the name nonparametric). In other terms, nonparametric methods do not rely on the estimation of parameters (such as the mean or the standard deviation) describing the distribution of the variable of interest in the population. Therefore, these methods are also sometimes (and more appropriately) called parameter-free methods or distribution-free.
General probability theory related hereto is found in Feller, W. An Introduction to Probability Theory and Its Application, Vol. 1, 3rd Ed. New York: Wiley, 1968. The Theory of Runs (developed later in the disclosure) is described in Mood, A. M. "The Distribution Theory of Runs," Ann. Math. Statistics 11, 367-392, 1940. It is also noted that recent research has revealed a critical heed for highly sparse data set time distribution analysis methods and apparatus separate and apart from those adapted for treating large sample distributions. P. J. Hoel et al., Introduction to the Theory of Probability, Boston, Houghton-Mifflin, 1971 is incorporated herein by reference. An example of the Runs Test is described in G. H. Moore & W. A. Wallis, 1943, "Time Series Significance Tests Based on Signs of Difference", Journal of the American Statistical Association, vol. 39, pages 153-164, and is incorporated herein by reference.
Examples of exemplary patents related to the general field of the endeavor of analysis of sonar signals include:
U.S. Pat. No. 5,675,553, issued Oct. 7, 1997, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a method for filling in missing data intelligence in a quantified time-dependent data signal that is generated by, e.g., an underwater acoustic sensing device. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention, this quantified time-dependent data signal is analyzed to determine the number and location of any intervals of missing data, i.e., gaps in the time series data signal caused by noise in the sensing equipment or the local environment. The quantified time-dependent data signal is also modified by a low pass filter to remove any undesirable high frequency noise components within the signal. A plurality of mathematical models are then individually tested to derive an optimum regression curve for that model, relative to a selected portion of the signal data immediately preceding each previously identified data gap. The aforesaid selected portion is empirically determined on the basis of a data base of signal values compiled from actual undersea propagated signals received in cases of known target motion scenarios. An optimum regression curve is that regression curve, linear or nonlinear, for which a mathematical convergence of the model is achieved. Convergence of the model is determined by application of a smallest root-mean-square analysis to each of the plurality of models tested. Once a model possessing the smallest root-mean-square value is derived from among the plurality of models tested, that optimum model is then selected, recorded, and stored for use in filling the data gap. This process is then repeated for each subsequent data gap until all of the identified data gaps are filled.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,703,906, issued Dec. 30, 1997, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a signal processing system which processes a digital signal, generally in response to an analog signal which includes a noise component and possibly also an information component representing three mutually orthogonal items of measurement information represented as a sample point in a symbolic Cartesian three-dimensional spatial reference system. A noise likelihood determination sub-system receives the digital signal and generates a random noise assessment of whether or not the digital signal comprises solely random noise, and if not, generates an assessment of degree-of-randomness. The noise likelihood determination system controls the operation of an information processing sub-system for extracting the information component in response to the random noise assessment or a combination of the random noise assessment and the degree-of-randomness assessment. The information processing system is illustrated as combat control equipment for submarine warfare, which utilizes a sonar signal produced by a towed linear transducer array, and whose mode operation employs three orthogonally related dimensions of data, namely: (i) clock time associated with the interval of time over which the sample point measurements are taken, (ii) conical angle representing bearing of a passive sonar contact derived from the signal produced by the towed array, and (iii) a frequency characteristic of the sonar signal.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,966,414, issued Oct. 12, 1999, to Francis J. O'Brien, Jr., discloses a signal processing system which processes a digital signal generated in response to an analog signal which includes a noise component and possibly also an information component. An information processing sub-system receives said digital signal and processes it to extract the information component. A noise likelihood determination sub-system receives the digital signal and generates a random noise assessment that the digital signal comprises solely random noise, and controls the operation of the information processing sub-system in response to the random noise assessment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,781,460, issued Jul. 14, 1998, to Nguyen et al., discloses a chaotic signal processing system which receives an input signal from a sensor in a chaotic environment and performs a processing operation in connection therewith to provide an output useful in identifying one of a plurality of chaotic processes in the chaotic environment. The chaotic signal processing system comprises an input section, a processing section and a control section. The input section is responsive to input data selection information for providing a digital data stream selectively representative of the input signal provided by the sensor or a synthetic input representative of a selected chaotic process. The processing section includes a plurality of processing modules each for receiving the digital data stream from the input means and for generating therefrom an output useful in identifying one of a plurality of chaotic processes. The processing section is responsive to processing selection information to select one of the plurality of processing modules to provide the output. The control module generates the input data selection information and the processing selection information in response to inputs provided by an operator.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,963,591, issued Oct. 5, 1999, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a signal processing system which processes a digital signal generally in response to an analog signal which includes a noise component and possibly also an information component representing four mutually orthogonal items of measurement information representable as a sample point in a symbolic four-dimensional hyperspatial reference system. An information processing and decision sub-system receives said digital signal and processes it to extract the information component. A noise likelihood determination sub-system receives the digital signal and generates a random noise assessment of whether or not the digital signal comprises solely random noise, and if not, generates an assessment of degree-of-randomness. The noise likelihood determination system controls whether or not the information processing and decision sub-system is used, in response to one or both of these generated outputs. One prospective practical application of the invention is the performance of a triage function upon signals from sonar receivers aboard naval submarines, to determine suitability of the signal for feeding to a subsequent contact localization and motion analysis (CLMA) stage.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,397,234, issued May 28, 2002, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a method and apparatus are provided for automatically characterizing the spatial arrangement among the data points of a time series distribution in a data processing system wherein the classification of said time series distribution is required. The method and apparatus utilize a grid in Cartesian coordinates to determine (1) the number of cells in the grid containing at least-one input data point of the time series distribution; (2) the expected number of cells which would contain at least one data point in a random distribution in said grid; and (3) an upper and lower probability of false alarm above and below said expected value utilizing a discrete binomial probability relationship in order to analyze the randomness characteristic of the input time series distribution. A labeling device also is provided to label the time series distribution as either random or nonrandom, and/or random or nonrandom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,675, issued May 26, 1998, to O'Brien, Jr., discloses an improved method for laying out a workspace using the prior art crowding index, PDI, where the average interpoint distance between the personnel and/or equipment to be laid out can be determined. The improvement lies in using the convex hull area of the distribution of points being laid out within the workplace space to calculate the actual crowding index for the workspace. The convex hull area is that area having a boundary line connecting pairs of points being laid out such that no line connecting any pair of points crosses the boundary line. The calculation of the convex hull area is illustrated using Pick's theorem with additional methods using the Surveyor's Area formula and Hero's formula.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,466,516, issued Oct. 5, 1999, to O'Brien, Jr. et al., discloses a method and apparatus for automatically characterizing the spatial arrangement among the data points of a three-dimensional time series distribution in a data processing system wherein the classification of the time series distribution is required. The method and apparatus utilize grids in Cartesian coordinates to determine (1) the number of cubes in the grids containing at least one input data point of the time series distribution; (2) the expected number of cubes which would contain at least one data point in a random distribution in said grids; and (3) an upper and lower probability of false alarm above and below said expected value utilizing a discrete binomial probability relationship in order to analyze the randomness characteristic of the input time series distribution. A labeling device also is provided to label the time series distribution as either random or nonrandom, and/or random or nonrandom within what probability, prior to its output from the invention to the remainder of the data processing system for further analysis.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,144,595, issued Sep. 1, 1992, to Graham et al., discloses an adaptive statistical filter providing improved performance target motion analysis noise discrimination includes a bank of parallel Kalman filters. Each filter estimates a statistic vector of specific order, which in the exemplary third order bank of filters of the preferred embodiment, respectively constitute coefficients of a constant, linear and quadratic fit. In addition, each filter provides a sum-of-squares residuals performance index. A sequential comparator is disclosed that performs a likelihood ratio test performed pairwise for a given model order and the next lowest, which indicates whether the tested model orders provide significant information above the next model order. The optimum model order is selected based on testing the highest model orders. A robust, unbiased estimate of minimal rank for information retention providing computational efficiency and improved performance noise discrimination is therewith accomplished.
The above cited art, while extremely useful, could be improved with the automated capability of measuring the spatial arrangement for data distributions with a very small number of points, objects, measurements and then labeling nonrandom distributions correctly more often as disclosed utilizing the method taught herein. Consequently, those of skill in the art will appreciate the present invention which addresses these and other problems.

Enhanced randomness assessment method for three-dimensions

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


Provided is an image processing apparatus including a binning unit configured to calculate, based on, as a binning area, an area including two or more adjacent pixels in a unit area including m pixels in a lateral direction and n pixels in a perpendicular direction on an image sensor, a sum of output values of the pixels in the binning area as an addition output value for each of m×n binning areas that are different to each other; and a calculation unit configured to calculate a pixel value of each pixel in the binning area based on m×n addition output values obtained for the unit area.

The present technology relates to an image processing apparatus, method, and program, and more specifically, to an image processing apparatus, method, and program capable of reducing noise more simply.
Recently, due to market demands for higher resolution, smaller size, and lower cost, the pixels in an image sensor have been becoming more miniature. For example, if about 8,000 pixels are arranged on an image sensor with a width in the lateral direction of 8 mm, the pixel pitch, namely, the interval or width between pixels, is about 1 μm.
Thus, as the pixel pitch on the image sensor becomes smaller, the image signal S/N ratio (signal to noise ratio) obtained by the image sensor deteriorates, so that the quality of image deteriorates.
In view of this, a technology has been proposed for removing the noise component inherent in the imaging apparatus from an image during image capture by capturing an image for noise component removal and determining in advance the noise component from that image (e.g., JP 2007-274064A).

Image processing apparatus, method, and program to calculate a pixel value of each pixel in a binning area


A process for producing a glycidyl ether and an optically active compound thereof with high yield and an optically high purity comprising reacting an alcohol with epihalohydrin in a base to thereby produce a glycidyl ether, the reaction performed in a two-layer system of a nonaqueous organic solvent and an aqueous solvent.

Glycidyl ethers are important as intermediates for synthesizing a variety of medicines, and especially optically active glycidyl ethers have been recently utilized in development of the medicines.
It is generally required that optically active medicines or intermediates thereof are more than 98% in purity. Therefore, it is important problem to establish the process for preparing optically active glycidyl ethers in high purity.
As a general method for preparing racemic glycidyl ethers which are used for preparing a monomer of epoxide resin, the method which comprises reacting a mole of phenol with 3 to 7 moles of epichlorohydrin in an aqueous sodium hydroxide solution for several hours at 45 to 90° C. has been developed.
Furthermore, it is disclosed that an optically active glycidyl ether, which is an intermediate for preparing atenolol, represented by the following formula;
was prepared by reacting 4-carbamoylmethylphenol with an optically active epichlorohydrin in the presence of an alkali hydroxide and a quaternary ammonium salt in an aqueous solvent (Japanese Patent Publication B 6-37482).
However, the yield of glycidyl ethers and the optical purity of optically active compounds thereof were not satisfactory.


A system for airborne dispersal of chemicals comprising a compressed gas gun having a gun body, a grip, a barrel, a trigger, a compressed gas source and a cylindrical collar positioned at an exit end of said barrel, having a bore therethrough and equipped with a depth-adjustable knife-edge disposed at an exit end of the collar, protruding into the bore, so as to slit a capsule containing a chemical solution or suspension upon exit from the collar and disperse the chemical solution or suspension.

A wide range of agricultural chemicals has been developed to increase agricultural production. Some of these chemicals, generally designated pesticides, are designed to eliminate competing plant growth or parasitic organisms. Consequently, the term pesticide includes a variety of products such as herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides. Another group of products, which is non-pesticidal in nature, is designed to maximize crop yields by acting directly on the crop itself. These non-pesticidal materials include, for example, plant growth regulators, insect growth regulators, micronutrients, and fertilizers.
Agricultural chemical products have been formulated as emulsifiable concentrates, wettable powders, dusts, water dispersible granules, baits, water soluble concentrates, water or oil based suspensions, and impregnated or extruded granules. These chemical products have been delivered to the target site using either ground or aerial equipment, specially adapted to handle the various product forms. For example, spraying equipment is used to deliver both water based dilute and concentrate sprays of active ingredients. Dry application of active ingredients in the form of dusts, baits, and granular products is also employed. And, chemigation, drip-line, and wick application techniques are commonly employed in the industry as well.
However, conventional methods of agricultural chemical dispersal are primarily designed for wide-spread application of these chemicals, over large areas such as crop fields and the like. It is often desirable to disperse agricultural chemicals and pesticides over a more limited area, even within enclosed areas, where conventional application methods are impractical. While such more limited dispersal can be effected by systems such as spray cans or hand-held pump sprayers, the effective distance of treatment of such devices is limited to only several feet from the outlet of the spray device, and the overall spray pattern can be quite limited, such that only spot treatment is effected.
It would be advantageous to be able to target delivery and dispersal of pesticides, such as agricultural chemicals, for treatment at distances, but to avoid the wide-spread treatment effected by, for example aircraft dispersal over entire crop fields. Several attempts have been disclosed at providing such systems.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,306,913 to Hayes et al. discloses use of a projectile, such as a paintball, to administer pesticides such as one or more from the group consisting of 4-allylanisole, anisole, allylbenzene, 4-isopropylanisole, p-anisaldehyde, ethylbenzene, cumene, 4-methoxyacetophenone, 4-methylstyrene, 2-propylphenol, phenetole, and toluene, for scolytid infestation. Conifers, which are a target for scolytids, are protected by the application of the pesticides by use of a projectile containing the compound which explodes upon contact with the conifer thereby emitting the compound.
U.S. Published Patent Application No. 2007/0193914 to Scarabino discloses a means to contain and deliver either liquids or solids to a predefined or targeted location. This invention allows the user to target locations that are either above the ground or are below the surface of the ground and deliver either a liquid or a solid to that location. The means disclosed is essentially a paintball filled with various pesticides and the like, which is delivered by means of a standard paintball gun.
However, neither of these disclosures addresses dispersal of agricultural chemicals/pesticides at distances between the exit of the firing device (i.e. the paintball gun) and the impact location of the chemical-filled paintball. As such, their effectiveness in chemical dispersal is limited to only a relatively small dispersal pattern at the impact site.
It would be advantageous to be able to disperse agricultural chemicals, such as pesticides or fertilizers, for treatment at distances between those susceptible to spray can or hand-held pump sprayer application, and the wide-spread treatment obtainable by, for example aircraft dispersal over entire crop fields.


A solvent reservoir filter for a liquid chromatograph system includes a first screen extending in a first plane, the first screen configured to filter solvent received through the first screen, a second screen extending in a second plane that is parallel to the first plane, the second screen configured to filter solvent received through the second screen, a main body extending between and connecting the first screen and the second screen, and a fluid outlet configured to expel solvent filtered by the first and second screens from the solvent reservoir filter. Methods of use and assembly of the solvent reservoir filter for a liquid chromatograph system are further disclosed.

Chromatography is a set of techniques for separating a mixture into its constituents. For instance, in a liquid chromatography system, a pump takes in and delivers a mixture of liquid solvents to a sample manager, where an injected sample awaits its arrival. The mobile phase, comprised of a sample dissolved in a mixture of solvents, passes to a column, referred to as the stationary phase. By passing the mixture through the column, the various components in the sample separate from each other at different rates and thus elute from the column at different times. A detector receives the elution from the column and produces an output from which the identity and quantity of the analysis may be determined.
Solvent reservoirs may include a container filled with the solvent. A tube may extend into the container for transporting the solvent to the liquid chromatography system. Particulates may be found within the solvent reservoir that would create undesirable effects if those particulates entered into the liquid chromatography system through the tube. As such, on the end of the tube is typically disposed a filter.
Particulates pose significant risk to the robustness and accuracy of chromatography instrumentation. With the development of high performance liquid chromatography (UPLC) instruments and the use of small bore tubing and miniaturized components, the UPLC system has become more vulnerable to problems stemming from particulates being found in chromatographic fluid paths. Particulates can be removed from fluidic paths using filters. Current filters are made by sintering and have ill-defined pore size distribution resulting in particulates passing through the filter that are either larger or smaller than the purported pore size of the filter. These particulates often get trapped and accumulate inside the tortuous pores of the filter. Thus, it is common for solvent reservoir filters to become clogged as a result of these deficiencies and through long term use. If left un-replaced, clogged filters could negatively impact pressure and other conditions in LC systems.
Thus, improved liquid chromatography systems including solvent reservoir filters, and associated methods of use and assembly thereof, would be well received in the art.

Solvent reservoir filters, systems and methods


An improved coin stacking apparatus is shown which builds the stack by placing each successive coin at the bottom of the stack made of the preceding coins. This makes the device more compact in the vertical direction. The coins are stacked by a movable wheel or belt which has a coin engagement device that engages the leading edge of the coin. The wheel or belt further includes a coin displacement device which vertically displaces the stack to allow the succeeding coins to slide beneath the stack.

This invention relates to an apparatus for stacking each unit number of coins. More specifically, the invention pertains to such a coin stacking apparatus having a linear coin guideway along which the coins are fed in a horizontal row to a stacking station, wherein the coins are reliably stacked by a movable means which includes a plurality of coin engagement means and a plurality of coin displacement means.
In prior art coin stacking and wrapping apparatus, as heretofore constructed, the horizontal coin guideway along which coins are fed in a row has had its exit end disposed over an upstanding, open-top stacking tube having an openable bottom. Successively falling by gravity from the exit end of the coin guideway into the stacking tube, the coins are stacked within the latter. The bottom of the stacking tube is opened upon stacking of a prescribed number of coins, and the stack of coins is carried down to an underlying wrapping station, at which the stack is wrapped in a piece of wrapper strip.
An objection to the foregoing prior art construction is that the coins are stacked under the plane of the horizontal coin guideway and are wrapped at the wrapping station further underlying the stacking station. The wrapped stacks of coins, moreover, are ejected into a removable box still further underlying the wrapping station. This conventional arrangement has made the vertical dimension of the machine inordinately great, and even more so because the coins to be stacked and wrapped must be fed into the machine through a hopper which, of necessity, is positioned above the plane of the coin passageway.
Such a tall machine could only be mounted directly on the floor, rather than on a desk or other elevated base, as the hopper must be at such a height as to permit the easy charging of coins into the machine. However, with the machine floor-mounted, the vertical position of the box into which the wrapped stacks of coins are ejected comes very close to the floor. The operator has had to bend himself down to reach and raise the box heavily loaded with the wrapped coins, at the risk of ruining his back.
In order to remedy this weakness a suggestion has been made to incorporate into the machine an additional conveyor for transporting the wrapped stacks of coins up into a box located at a convenient height on the machine. The provision of the additional conveyor is objectionable because it adds substantially to both the bulk and the manufacturing cost of the machine. Obviously, the only truly satisfactory solution to this problem is to drastically reduce the height of the machine, without in any way adding to its bulk, complexity or manufacturing cost in so doing.
Another problem with the prior art is the considerable distance the stack of coins must travel from the stacking to the wrapping station. Because the coins are stacked within the upstanding tube and then withdrawn therefrom for transportation to the wrapping station in accordance with the prior art, the coin stack must travel a distance at least equal to its height. The longer the distance that the unwrapped coin stack travels, the greater the danger of its collapse on the way.


A limited slip differential for limiting differential rotation between a differential casing and axles via a frictional connection includes a pinion shaft rotating integrally with the differential casing and a pinion gear attached rotatively to the pinion shaft. A side gear engages with the pinion gear and is mounted loosely with respect to the axles. A first cam portion formed on the side gear engages with a second cam portion formed on a driving member which is spline-engaged with one of the axles, supporting the side gear and supported by and centered on the differential casing. A frictionally connecting clutch is disposed between the driving member and the differential casing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a limited slip differential, and particularly to a limited slip differential for limiting differential rotation between right and left axles by means of producing frictional resistance between a differential casing and the axles.
2. Description of the Related Art
It has been proposed previously to form a limited slip differential in which a frictionally connecting means connects a differential casing and an axle, and due to the frictional resistance which is generated between the differential casing and the axle by way of the frictionally connecting means, differential rotation between the right and left axles is limited by the degree of frictional resistance.
A limited slip differential of the type described above, is one in which the frictionally connecting means are in the form of clutch plates alternately placed between a differential casing and a side gear which is mounted on an axle and is able to move in only the axial direction thereof. The clutch plates are forced against one another to obtain frictional resistance. Another limited slip differential of the type described above is one in which the frictionally connecting means are in the form of a torque transmitting member which moves with respect to an axle in only the axial direction thereof. The torque transmitting member is forced directly against the differential casing thereby obtaining frictional resistance.
A limited slip differential of this type has been disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 18726/1966. The limited slip differential disclosed in Patent Publication No. 18726/1966 comprises a side gear loosely mounted on axles and engaging with a pinion gear; a first cam portion formed on the back of the side gear so as to protrude therefrom; a driving member spline-connected to the axles and which may move in only the axial direction of the axles; a second cam portion protruding from the driving member so as to engage with the first cam portion; and clutch plates functioning as frictionally connecting means and positioned between the driving member and the differential casing.
With the limited slip differential described above, the driving member is moved axially by means of a thrust force generated between the first and second cam portions which is produced by relative rotation between the side gear and the driving member. Due to the axial movement of the driving member, the clutch plates disposed between the driving member and the differential casing are forced against one another, whereby differential rotation between the right and left axles is limited.
In the limited slip differential described above, however, the side gear is not positively centered on the differential casing, but the centering is effected only because the side gear is mounted on the pinion gear. For this reason, there has been a problem in that centering of the side gear relative to the differential housing easily gets out of order so that reliability of this limited slip differential is poor.


A method is provided for forming a flexible fire-resistant and thermal resistant sheet product. Such a method comprises securing a first insulation material sheet to a first cover sheet to form a first sheet product portion including a perimeter; securing a second insulation material sheet to a second cover sheet to form a second sheet product portion including a perimeter; and securing the first sheet product portion to the second sheet product portion, at least about the perimeters thereof and such that the first insulation material sheet is disposed adjacent to the second insulation material sheet, to form the sheet product. An associated apparatus is also provided.

Field of the Disclosure
Aspects of the present disclosure relate to methods for forming improved thermal barrier sheet products, and, more particularly, to a method for forming a melt-resistant, fire-resistant, and/or otherwise thermally-resistant flexible sheet product, and associated apparatus.
Description of Related Art
Fire blankets or other flexible, and supposedly fireproof or fire-resistant, sheet products are often depended upon to protect life and/or property in case of a fire. Such fire blankets and the like may also be used to smother open flame, for example, in the event of a kitchen or stove fire. In such configurations, the fire blankets may be produced from fibers treated for fire-resistance. Such fibers may include, for instance, cotton fibers, polyester fibers, or the like, or combination thereof. In some instances, such fire blankets may be made from a "fireproof" fabric such as Nomex®, Kevlar®, or the like. However, such fiber- or fabric-based fire blankets may tend to smolder when exposed to flame (particularly fire blankets having a fiber filling), or emit toxic fumes. In addition, even if treated with a fire-retardant, such conventional fire blankets may be prone to "burn through" and may not provide any protection against heat.
Thus, there exists a need for a fire blanket or other flexible sheet having improved ignition/fire- and/or thermal/heat/melt-resistance. Further, such a fire blanket or flexible sheet should provide improved resistance to burn-through and should desirably act as an insulator in the event of a fire. In addition, it would be desirable for such a fire blanket or flexible sheet to not emit toxic fumes upon exposure to heat or flame.

Method for forming a flexible, thermal-barrier sheet product, and associated apparatus


A retainer for supporting an injection molding machine ejector bar. The retainer is mounted to a hydraulic ram and secures an ejector bar in clamped relation relative to an extractor pin assembly secured to a molding die. The retainer includes a relatively large self-aligning cavity wherein an ejector bar end is confined via a transverse mounted jaw having a ridged gripping surface that interconnects with an annular slot formed in the ejector bar.

The present invention relates to injection molding machines and, in particular, to an assembly for releasably supporting the extractor bars which interconnect a hydraulic ram to the extractor pin assembly of a molding machine die holder.
A reality of all injection molders is that of having to periodically change the sets of molding dies or cavities, which are mounted to the molding machine and which determine the configuration of the molded parts. While the complexity of the mold cavities can vary relative to the part being formed, they generally are secured to the molding machine via a relatively substantial outer housing or die holder which supports the dies in a fashion that permits a controlled separation and provides a coolant manifold to the channelways of the dies. Most commonly, one of the dies is slidably supported relative a rigidly mounted die which is secured to the die holder. The die holder, in turn, is secured to the molding machine. A plurality of extractor bars interconnect a hydraulic ram to an extractor pin assembly that mount adjacent the slide mounted die and whereby the movable die cavities can be separated from the rigid die, upon completion of a mold cycle, to permit extraction of the molded part.
Specifically, a pair of relatively long hexagonal or cylindrical shaped bars, variously referred to as ejector rods or extractor bars; extend between a plate mounted to one side of the movable die, which plate supports a plurality of smaller pins that pass through the movable die and push against the rigid die, and a ram plate at the end of the hydraulic piston. Each ejector bar is typically secured at its opposite ends via threaded mountings. That is, one end includes a threaded extension which mates with the plate member and the opposite end includes a coaxial, threaded bore which aligns with the ram plate. A screw fastener is insertable through the ram plate to draw each ejector bar to the ram plate.
In theory the foregoing mounting is not unduly cumbersome. In practice, however, and especially for a prototype or limited run production shop, numerous die changes may be required over the course of a day, with attendant compounding of lost production time. Because the ejector bars must be attached and re-attached with each die change, the tedious task of blindly aligning the ejector bars with the ram plate and screw fasteners can be rather costly.
In this regard, it is to be appreciated that a die change over is typically performed by the operator having to stand to one side or reach from the top into the center area of the molding machine, all without the advantage of being able to view the alignment of the bar bore relative to the ram plate. Oftentimes, therefore, the time to effect a die change depends on fortuity and one's luck in blindly aligning the piece parts. The time loss is compounded by the number of ejector bars which must be aligned.
The foregoing problems are indigenous to all injection molders of which applicant is aware and has been for numerous years. The only solution of which applicant is aware is a slotted nut assembly that may be manipulated to expose a longitudinal slot which permits the mounting of the nut assembly anywhere along the length of a threaded rod. Once mounted, the nut assembly is twisted to completely encircle the threaded rod and after which the nut may be tightened in conventional fashion.
In contrast to the foregoing, the present invention contemplates a clamping assembly which receives and self-aligns each ejector bar. Most important, the assembly is transversely accessible and operable relative to the ejector bars.


An amphibious vehicle includes caissons, floats, and ramps stored on top of one another on a self-propelled rolling base, when the vehicle is in a folded configuration for driving over firm ground. The elements can be deployed transversely with respect to a longitudinal axis of the rolling base when the vehicle, alone or with another vehicle of the same design, forms a pontoon or a ferry to breach a water-filled opening. The vehicle includes a deployment device to deploy the elements on one side before beginning to deploy the elements on the other side of the rolling base. The elements are deployed in at least three different configurations. The elements on each side, include respectively, from the inside outwards, in the deployed configuration, a caisson, a float, and a ramp which are hinged together in a Z-configuration.

In order to meet these different expectations, the amphibious vehicle should be conformed so as to be used satisfactorily and as far as possible equivalently both on water and on firm ground. Further, it should be able to cross without any external help the intermediate region between the water and the ground and should notably be able to be adapted to the morphology of banks or shores. Finally, but without being exhaustive in the required characteristics of an amphibious vehicle which are met by the vehicle of the invention, the amphibious vehicle should be able to be used just as well alone as in a combination with one or more other vehicles of the same design, in order to form a pontoon.
In order to be able to meet both requirements of a road displacement and of being placed as a pontoon, the elements required for forming a bridge, such as caissons, floats, and ramps, have already been positioned in different ways on a vehicle forming a self-propelled rolling base. Among the different tested configurations, it is also found that of a rotating arrangement according to which the whole of the caissons, ramps and optionally floats form a pivotally mounted block on the rolling base. According to this design, when the vehicle is launched into the water, the longitudinal axis of the rolling base is approximately oriented parallel to the shore of the river or lake to be crossed. And when the vehicle is in position, the whole of the elements forming the bridge is rotated in one direction or in the other one by about 90° around a vertical axis.
However, the diversity of the morphologies of water-filled or dry openings to be crossed requires the possibility of adapting the arrangement of the elements forming a pontoon. In this sense, it proved to be disadvantageous to have to rotate the whole of the elements and/or having to deploy the whole of the elements.
Retractable or folding means for breaching dry or water-filled openings have been already used for a long time, mainly but not exclusively by military engineering. Such means have also already been used for some time on road vehicles or amphibious vehicles in order to give a certain autonomy to these breaching means, which is particularly important in a military application.
Thus, for example document FR-2 049 125 describes a bridge-shaped amphibious vehicle provided with floats placed above the chassis of the vehicle for moving over firm ground, these floats may be pushed back towards the outside on both sides for moving on water. In the folded-back configuration, the floats, which have a rectangular section, are placed with their narrow sides, side by side above the chassis of the vehicle, and are guided by connecting rods so that the wide sides turned towards each other, form a continuous covering surface after deployment of the floats. This vehicle has the disadvantage of a rather significant height in the folded-back configuration. Independently of the fact that such an outline involves a risk of instability when the vehicle is moving over irregular ground, it is easily understood that such a vehicle is more easily located than a flat vehicle.
A flatter vehicle is described in document FR-A-2 383 035. This is an amphibious vehicle intended to act as a pontoon or barge and including at least two floats which are put away over each other on the body of the vehicle while the latter moves over firm ground. This vehicle does not include any access ramps.
EP-A-1 332 896 describes an amphibious bridge and crossing vehicle comprising, in addition to a self-propelled main float and two tilting side floats, two sideways tilting foldable ramps, hydraulically moving up and down and each formed by a base of ramps and an end of ramps. In this amphibious vehicle, the kinematics of deployment of both side floats and of both ramps is rather complex, with the result that when the ramp base is unfolded and the ramp end is folded, the end of the ramp is found on the upper face of the ramp base and on the corresponding side float. Owing to this configuration of the amphibious vehicle, the floats and the ramps have to be entirely deployed in order to be able to use the vehicle.

Amphibious vehicle for bridging a water-filled opening

Constructions Industrielles de la Mediterranee-CNIM


A movable and automatic sawing and clamping device for wood, wherein two pipe-like frame portions are separated from each other by a suitable distance. Two sets of horizontal pieces are orthogonal to these portions and are separately provided therebetween. A clamping device can be formed between these horizontal pieces for clamping a saw tool therebetween. The whole clamping framework can be moved by means of a plurality of bottom rollers to cut the workpiece.

The present invention relates to a movable and automatic sawing and clamping framework for wood and especially to a framework forming a movable clamping device for doing automatic or manual linear or circular cutting work on wood.
A piece of wood cut from a log may need various additional treatment, such as sawing it to a given length as well as width or cutting a circular arc into the wood.
Current art cutting machines generally have its electric sawing blade installed on a fixed working table. The wood will be pushed toward the saw for cutting.
As shown in FIG. 1, there is a conventional electric saw structure for sawing a piece of wood wherein an electric saw blade 11 is mounted on a working table 10. The saw blade extends above the plane at the table 10 and rotates. A workpiece 12 can then be pushed toward the blade 11 to be cut thereby.
The workpiece 12 pushed toward the knife 11 can be cut into the shape needed. However, there are drawbacks in such a situation, chief among them being the following: the work table 10 being fixed is inconvenient for moving to other processing places. The saw must be operated by a skillful workman. Further, when it is desired to cut from the workpiece 12 a central circular portion 13, the central circular portion 13 must be cut out by making many successive tangential cuts 14, 15. This is time consuming, and the shape of the final product cannot be perfectly round.

Movable automatic sawing and clamping framework


Disclosed is a mobile terminal including, first and second bodies rotatably coupled to each other, and a driving unit configured to allow a relative rotation of the first and second bodies between a closed configuration and an open configuration, the first and second bodies being overlaid by each other in the closed configuration and rotated away from each other in the open configuration, wherein the driving unit includes rotation motion units connected to each of the first and second bodies and configured to generate the relative rotation, and slide motion units cooperatively operating with the rotation motion unit and configured to relatively slide the first and second bodies with respect to the driving unit between the closed configuration and the open configuration.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal having one body relatively rotatable with respect to another body.
2. Background of the Invention
Terminals may be divided into mobile/portable terminals and stationary terminals according to their mobility. Also, the portable terminals may be categorized into a handheld terminal and a vehicle mount terminal according to whether it is directly portable by a user.
As it becomes multifunctional, the portable terminal can be allowed to capture still images or moving images, play music or video files, play games, receive broadcast and the like, so as to be implemented as an integrated multimedia player.
In order to support and enhance the complicated functions of the mobile terminal, improvement of structures of terminals or employment of a new user interface may be considered.


An apparatus for providing an audio signal to drive a speaker system includes first and second audio channels. The first audio channel has a first class-D amplifier for receiving an input signal, and a first reconstruction filter for receiving an output from the first class-D amplifier and reconstructing therefrom an output audio signal for driving the speaker system. The second audio channel has a second class-D amplifier for receiving an input audio signal, and a second reconstruction filter for receiving an output from the second class-D amplifier and reconstructing therefrom an output audio signal for driving the speaker system. The first and second reconstruction filters have corresponding first and second planar inductors, with the second planer inductor being magnetically coupled to the first planar inductor.

Because of their high efficiency, class D amplifiers are particularly useful for portable and compact audio applications, such as in automotive applications.
A typical class D amplifier system 10, shown in FIG. 1, features a class-D audio amplifier 12 that transforms an incoming audio signal 14, which can be analog or digital, into an amplified pulse-coded representation of that incoming signal, hereafter referred to as the amplifier output 16. A reconstruction filter 22 converts this amplifier output 16 into a corresponding analog audio signal 20, which can then be used to drive a speaker 18. This process is carried out by a reconstruction filter 22. An important component of this reconstruction filter 22 is an inductor.
Inexpensive and coupled or uncoupled compact planar inductors 24, such as that shown in FIG. 2 can be used in reconstruction filters 22 of class-D amplifier systems 10. A planar inductor 24 typically includes a printed circuit board 26 having concentric traces 28 that function as the windings of the inductor. First and second low-reluctance structures 30, 32 resting on opposing sides of the printed circuit boards function as the core of the inductor 24. Typical low-reluctance structures 30, 32 often comprise but are not limited to a ferromagnetic material, such as powdered iron, or ferrite. In an effort to linearize the change in inductance as a function of frequency, such structures often incorporate air gaps. These air gaps can result in cross-talk caused by magnetic linkage between nearby inductors.

Multi-channel class-D audio amplifier with planar inductors


Systems and methods for preventing aggressive or abusing signaling on networks are disclosed. When a user equipment (UE), such as a cell phone, sends a request to a network (e.g., a REGISTER, SUBSCRIBE, or PUBLISH request), a network entity can start a “guard timer” and/or increment a “guard counter.” The guard timer can comprise a predetermined amount of time within which one or more additional requests from the same UE will be ignored. Similarly, the guard timer can be used in conjunction with a guard counter. The guard counter can enable a UE to make a predetermined number of requests before the guard timer expires. If the UE exceeds the guard counter before the guard timer expires, any additional requests will be ignored. When the guard timer expires, the guard counter is reset to zero to enable the UE to make additional requests.

The proliferation of wireless devices that use cellular and/or Wi-Fi frequencies for cellular data and voice services has placed increased demand on cellular networks. Users check e-mail, surf the Internet, download movies, and perform other tasks on cell phones, tablet computers, laptops, and other devices (collectively, user equipment, or "UEs"). The sheer number of devices connected to a network at the same time can present significant challenges.
These challenges can be magnified significantly by UEs that aggressively signal the network. UEs can aggressively signal the network in an attempt to register with the network, for example, when one or more registration attempts fail. This aggressive signaling can be the result of malicious software (e.g., denial of service attacks) or simply due to poor software design. UEs may come from the manufacturer set to aggressively signal, for example, for improved user experience (e.g., faster connections, downloads, etc.). Regardless of the cause, even a small number of UEs signaling aggressively can place a significant strain on network resources.

Detecting aggressive or attacking behaviors in IMS SIP signaling


Each branch instruction having branch prediction support has branch prediction bits in architecture specified bit positions in the branch instruction. An instruction cache supports modifying the branch instructions with updated branch prediction bits that are dynamically determined when the branch instruction executes.

Many portable products, such as cell phones, laptop computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs) or the like, incorporate one or more processors executing programs that support communication and multimedia applications. The processors for such products conventionally have a hierarchical memory configuration with multi-levels of caches including an instruction cache, a data cache, and system memory. The processors also need to operate with high performance and efficiency to support the plurality of computationally intensive functions for such products. The processors are typically pipelined and support execution of conditional branch instructions.
The execution of a conditional branch instruction on a pipelined processor may stall the pipeline pending the determination of the condition. In order to avoid stalling the processor, some form of branch prediction is typically employed early in the pipeline allowing the processor to speculatively fetch and execute instructions based on a predicted branch behavior. If a conditional branch is mispredicted, the associated speculatively fetched instructions are flushed from the pipeline and new instructions are fetched from the determined branch address. Such misprediction reduces processor performance and increases power usage.
Conventional approaches to branch prediction are limited due to the implementation cost and complexity of branch prediction circuits, all of which consume power.

Bimodal branch predictor encoded in a branch instruction


An exposure apparatus for illuminating an original with light from a light source and for projecting a pattern of the original, as illuminated, onto a surface to be exposed, includes a hologram, an optical system for projecting light from the light source onto the hologram, a slit device disposed at a predetermined position where light of a slit-like shape is to be substantially produced by the hologram, and an imaging optical system for illuminating the original with the light passed through a slit of the slit device. The slit device serves to determine an illumination region of light projected onto the original.

This invention relates to an illumination system and a scanning exposure apparatus using the same. The present invention is suitably applicable to a projection exposure apparatus, particularly, a scanning exposure apparatus, for use in a lithographic process among production processes for producing various devices such as ICs, LSIs, CCDs, liquid crystal panels, or magnetic heads, for example, for transferring, by projection exposure, a circuit pattern of an original such as a photomask or a reticle (hereinafter, xe2x80x9creticlexe2x80x9d), being uniformly illuminated, onto a wafer while scanning the reticle and the wafer in synchronism with each other.
As a microprocessing technology for semiconductor devices such as ICs or LSIs, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Applications, Laid-Open No. 28313/1995, No. 190966/1997, No. 167735/1997, and No. 172901/1998 show scanning exposure apparatus for forming an image of a circuit pattern, formed on a reticle, upon a wafer (photosensitive substrate) through a projection optical system, while scanning the reticle and the wafer in synchronism with each other.
In this type of exposure apparatus, a reticle and a wafer are scanningly moved relative to a slit-like exposure area, by which one shot area on the wafer (and the whole pattern region defined on the reticle) is exposed. After the scanning exposure of one shot is completed, the wafer is moved stepwise to a next shot exposure position, and the scanning exposure of the next shot is initiated. This operation is repeated until exposures of the whole wafer are completed.
In accordance with recent miniaturization of a semiconductor device, the exposure wavelength is made shorter and shorter. Thus, as regards light sources to be used for the exposure, a KrF excimer laser (emission wavelength 248 nm) and an ArF excimer laser (emission wavelength 193 nm) as well as an F2 excimer laser (emission wavelength 157 nm) have to be taken into account.
The miniaturization of a semiconductor device is a largest factor for supporting the dynamics of the semiconductor industry. The required linewidth has changed rapidly, from a generation requiring resolution of a linewidth of 250 nm (256 MB DRAM) to generations requiring a linewidth of 180 nm, to a linewidth of 130 nm, and to a linewidth of 100 nm.
In the lithography up to the i-line (wavelength 365 nm), resolution finer than the exposure wavelength has not been carried out. However, in the lithography using a KrF excimer laser, although its wavelength is 248 nm, it is applied to the resolution of a linewidth of 180 nm and to 150 nm. It can be said that the resolution less than the exposure wavelength has to be practiced by all means, including advancements in resist materials and super resolution technologies, for example. When various super resolution technologies are used, a linewidth corresponding to a half wavelength, in terms of lines-and-spaces, will be practicable.
However, the super resolution technologies involve many restrictions in dependence upon a circuit pattern formed on a reticle. The most effective way to improve the resolving power is to shorten the exposure wavelength and to enlarge the numerical aperture (NA) of a projection optical system. This fact generates a large motivation to shortening the wavelength, and it leads to development of lithography using an F2 excimer laser.
When the exposure wavelength is to be shortened to improve the resolving power, for the exposure wavelength region shorter than 200 nm, there is a large limitation with respect to usable optical materials, and there arises a problem that the efficiency of light utilization becomes extraordinarily poor.
When an ArF excimer laser is used as a light source, optical materials usable in the region of that emission wavelength are only quartz and fluorite. When an F2 excimer laser is used as a light source, only fluorite is a usable optical material. Further, while these materials are usable, there is another problem. That is, for example, while fluorite has a transmission factor of 99.9%/cm or more with respect to the emission wavelength of an ArF excimer laser, even a best sample may show a value of only 99.5%/cm to 99.6%/cm with respect to the emission wavelength of an F2 excimer laser.
Situations are similar in regard to films (optical thin films). In the emission range of an F2 excimer laser, use of an oxide is almost impossible, and usable materials are limited only to fluorine series compounds. As for materials of low refractive index, there are only MgF2 and AlF3. As for those of high refractive index, there are only LaF3 and GdF3, for example. Therefore, with respect to an anti-reflection film, for example, a film having attained a transmission factor of about 99.7% will obtain a transmission factor of 99%, at the best.
The performance of a film is an important factor for determining the overall efficiency of lithography, using an F2 excimer laser. If it is assumed, for example, that there are ten transmissive or reflective surfaces until the light from a laser impinges on a wafer surface, the efficiency per one surface differs between 99% and 98%, for example, as can be readily understood from the relations 0.99100=0.366 and 0.98100=0.133, the difference of 1% results in a total difference of 2.5 times more.
However, in the emission range of an F2 excimer laser, because of the material limitations or a difficulty in surface treatment, basically, the performance of a film is not comparable to that when a KrF excimer laser or an ArF excimer laser is used. If a good film to be used with an F2 excimer laser is produced, the result can be reflected and a film of better performance can be produced for KrF and ArF excimer lasers.
As regards the film formation for use with an F2 excimer laser, therefore, it is quite important to produce a film having the same performance as that of currently available films used with conventional excimer lasers. Also, it is very important to produce a film having a durability to F2 excimer laser light.
Particularly, in an exposure optical system of an exposure apparatus, an illumination optical system includes more optical components than a projection optical system, and thus, the former is a key to the efficiency of light utilizations. While the projection optical system has a single function for printing an image of a reticle on a wafer without distortion, the illumination optical system is a multiple-function system having a shaping function for transforming light from a light source into an appropriate size, an integrating function for providing uniform illumination, an additional function for accomplishing various illumination modes, an imaging function for the masking, a function for controlling the light quantity, for example, and so on.
For a better light utilization efficiency of the illumination optical system, the number of optical components should be reduced as much as possible, and each constituent element should be designed to have multiple functions, or it should be simplified. On the other hand, the illumination optical system must meet requirements from the projection optical system, peculiar to the lithography using an F2 excimer laser.
As an example of such requirements, when the projection optical system is a catadioptric system (an imaging optical system having a combination of mirrors and lenses), there may be cases in which, depending on the structure of the optical system, it is required to attain illumination corresponding to an imaging region of an arcuate shape. In other words, the illumination optical system is required to produce a slit-like illumination region of an arcuate shape.
As regards the catadioptric system, the optical material for a projection optical system which is usable in the emission wavelength range of an F2 excimer laser is only one, i.e., fluorite. Therefore, with an ordinary dioptric system, chromatic aberration cannot be corrected. For this reason, the catadioptric system will be a good choice for a projection optical system to be used with this emission wavelength range. It should be noted here that a catadioptric system itself does not directly meet a slit-like illumination region of an arcuate shape. Depending on the structure of an optical system, a slit-like region of an oblong shape may be defined.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a good-efficiency optical system, so as to meet at least one of the strict requirements in relation to the efficiency of light utilizations, involved in the lithography using an F2 excimer laser.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an illumination system and a scanning exposure apparatus, by which the number of optical components can be reduced and by which various illumination modes as well as slit shapes can be met.
In accordance with an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an illumination system, comprising: a hologram; an optical system for projecting light from a light source to said hologram; slit means disposed at a predetermined position where slit-like light is formed by said hologram or at a position adjacent thereto; and an imaging optical system for illuminating a surface to be illuminated, by use of light passing through a slit of said slit means.
In one preferred form of this aspect of the present invention, said imaging optical system may serve to image the slit of said slit means, upon the surface to be illuminated or at a position adjacent thereto.
The hologram may be disposed perpendicularly to an optical axis of an optical system following said hologram.
The illumination system may further comprise an axicon for changing the shape of light impinging on said hologram.
The illumination system may further comprise a pyramidal prism for changing the shape of light impinging on said hologram.
The illumination system may further comprise an axicon and a pyramidal prism for changing the shape of light impinging on said hologram, wherein said axicon and said prism may be inserted into or retracted out of a light path in accordance with an illumination condition.
The optical system may have a zoom lens for changing the size of light impinging on said hologram.
Parallel light may impinge on said hologram.
The illumination system may further comprise a photoelectric detecting element for receiving zeroth order light from said hologram.
The optical system may have an oblique incidence correcting optical system for causing light to be obliquely incident on said hologram and for correcting a lateral-to-longitudinal difference of effective light upon said hologram due to the oblique incidence.
The imaging optical system may have a Dyson optical system.
The shape of the slit may be oblong or arcuate.
The slit means may have a first light blocking blade disposed at a position optically conjugate with the surface to be illuminated, and a second light blocking blade disposed at a position shifted from the optically conjugate position in an optical axis direction.
The illumination system may further comprise oscillation means for oscillating said hologram.
The slit-like light may be formed by passing diffraction light from said hologram through a Fourier transform lens.
The Fourier transform lens may comprise a telecentric system.
The Fourier transform lens may be arranged so that a portion of, or the whole of, the same is movable along an optical axis direction.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an illumination system for use in an exposure apparatus, characterized by a hologram effective to define a slit-like illumination area upon a surface to be illuminated, through or without an optical system.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a scanning exposure apparatus, characterized in that a reticle is placed on a plane which is to be illuminated by an illumination system as recited above, that the reticle is illuminated with the illumination system, and that a pattern formed on the reticle is transferred by projection exposure onto a wafer through a projection optical system while the reticle and the wafer are scanningly moved in synchronism with each other.
In accordance with a yet further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a device manufacturing method, comprising the steps of: coating a wafer with a photosensitive material; transferring, by projection exposure, a pattern formed on a reticle onto the wafer by use of a scanning exposure apparatus as recited above; and developing the photosensitive material on the exposed wafer.
An illumination system or a scanning exposure apparatus using the same, to be described below, uses a hologram for producing illumination light having a slit-like sectional shape. Also, there is an optical system in which the light to be incident on the hologram is convergent light, being converged toward a xe2x80x9cparticular pointxe2x80x9d, and in which the sectional shape of the convergent light is controlled into a desired shape.
Here, if the xe2x80x9cparticular pointxe2x80x9d is infinite, the light incident on the hologram is parallel light. If, on the other hand, it is a virtual point, the incident light becomes apparently divergent light. Anyway, it is important that a particular point is fixed.
Among them, one which simplifies the structure is the case of parallel light. Handling the light in the form of parallel light leads to a reduction in the number of optical components. Also, it is advantageous with respect to the characteristic of a coating film.
A hologram has a property that, when light incident thereon is light being converged toward a xe2x80x9cparticular pointxe2x80x9d, an image can be produced even if only a portion of the incident light is used. Thus, by changing the sectional shape of the incident light to a desired shape, an illumination optical system which causes small degradation of illuminance in response to a change in illumination mode, can be accomplished.
An example of an illumination system of an exposure apparatus using a hologram is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application, Laid-Open No. 176721/1999, filed by the same assignee of the subject application.
A hologram may be used to produce a desired distribution such as a ring illumination zone, at the position of an optical integrator, and it may function to control the light quantity distribution to be produced at the position of a pupil of a projection optical system.
In one embodiment, the formation of a slit-like shape to be used for the exposure is accomplished by using a shape converting function of a hologram itself. For conversion of the beam shape at a pupil position, separate means such as a pair of axicons, to be described later, or the like, is used.
As a hologram, a CGH (Computer Generated Hologram) which can be produced by computing diffraction patterns by using a computer, is used. As regards the slit shape to be produced, it is not a pattern aiming at the resolution limit, but a simple pattern of an oblong shape or arcuate shape, of the millimeter order. Thus, it can be produced easily by calculations.
As regards the type of hologram, both a transmission type and a reflection type are usable. As for the structure of a reflection type, the same structure is attainable regardless of the wavelength, only by changing a coating film. Therefore, versatile disposition is attainable. On the other hand, the transmission type shows a better transmission factor, and a CGH made of fluorite may be preferable for the lithography using an F2 excimer laser.
As regards the control of the shape of light incident on a hologram, a combination of a zoom optical system with an optical system having a pair of axicons will provide good efficiency. A system or systems corresponding to various beam shapes can be constructed.
With the structure described above, the illumination system has a flexibility to meet various illumination modes, and it effectively overcomes the problem of efficiency, which is very important in the lithography using an F2 excimer laser.
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent upon a consideration of the following description of the preferred embodiments of the present invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Illumination system and scanning exposure apparatus using the same


The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a reflective multi-layered thin film mirror for an extreme ultraviolet radiation (EUV) exposure process that is one of the next generation exposure process masks using an atomic force microscope (AFM). This reflective multi-layered thin film mirror for extreme ultraviolet radiation (EUV) exposure process allows metal oxide structures with fixed height and ' width to be obtained using anodic oxidization phenomenon between the cantilever tip of a atomic force microscope and an absorber material during the patterning of an absorber layer on a multi-layered thin film of a substrate, followed by forming the ultra-fine line width absorber patterns via etching of the metal oxide structure. Use of the manufacturing process of this invention is advantageous in manufacturing of extreme ultraviolet radiation exposure mask mirrors with high resolution and in manufacturing of reflective multi-layered thin film mirrors with minute absorber pattern sizes (less than 20 nm line width) compared to traditional manufacturing methods.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a manufacturing method of a reflective multi-layered thin film mirror for extreme ultraviolet radiation exposure process using atomic force microscope lithography, by forming a metal oxide structure with fixed height and width on a substrate using the anodic oxidation phenomenon between the probe of an atomic force microscope and an absorber for patterning of an absorber material deposited on the multi-layered thin film substrate, wherein the metal oxidic layer is etched to obtain an ultra-fine line patterned absorber.
2. Description of Related Art
In manufacturing semiconductor elements, the optical lithographic process is the core process in creating circuit patterns by refractive light on a substrate coated with a light sensing film sensitive to light. Lasers are used as light sources, but traditional optical exposure processes have reached their limits in that they cannot be applied to manufacturing substrates with a minimum line width of less than 70 nm.
Therefore, new sources of radiation such as extreme ultraviolet radiation (EUV), electron beam, X-ray, and ion beam are being studied, with the extreme ultraviolet radiation and the electron beam being spotlighted as the next generation exposure technologies.
Particularly, the EUV exposure is the most promising technology among many next generation exposure processes, and the reflective multi-layered thin film mirror that allows Bragg reflections may be considered as the core factor in an exposure process using EUV.
A reflective mirror is used to transfer mask images to a semiconductor substrate by reflecting light in EUV exposure process, unlike traditional refractive optical systems and transparent masks. The yield of elements is affected mostly by the reflectivity of each mirror so that manufacture of mirrors with high reflectivity and low imperfection is essential for it to be applied to next generation exposure technology.
Radiations within the range of EUV wavelength are absorbed by matters and cannot pass through them. Thus, laminated structures of Mo layers and Si layers are being used in current development of multi-layered thin film mirrors because of their large differences in optical refraction as described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,110,607.
Further, various other materials have been used to manufacture multi-layered thin films with reflectivity superior than Mo/Si multilayered thin films. For instance, Mo2C/Be multi-layered thin film is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,229,652, and MoRu/Be multi-layered thin film is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,228,512.
On the other hand, recent semiconductor technologies demand a decreased element pattern sizes because of high integration of elements with simultaneous integration of many elements, requiring the embodiment of minute patterns during exposure processes in order to decrease pattern sizes of elements.
The next generation lithographic EUV exposure mask requires multi-layered thin films with sufficient reflective property to accommodate the absorption of EUV at 13.5 nm wavelength by matter. And, it is extremely important to obtain minute patterns on absorbers in order to decrease the corresponding pattern sizes of elements.
This type of exposure masks for the next generation lithography also rely on an electron beam lithography apparatus for the implementation of minute patterns like the traditional photo mask as explained below.
As shown in FIG. 1, the manufacturing process of a reflective multi-layered thin film mirror involves deposition of a multi-layered thin film, a capping layer and an absorber layer on a silicon substrate (1), followed by a patterning process. Traditionally, electron beam lithographic technology was used for patterning of an absorber layer.
More specifically, a reflective multi-layered thin film is obtained by depositing a multi-layered thin film (3) such as Mo/Si basic structure, Ru/Mo/Si which is an enhancement of multi-layered thin film material based on basic Mo/Si structure, Mo2C/Be structure, or MoRu/Be structure on silicon substrate (1), then a capping layer (5) such as silicon oxide is deposited on top to protect this multi-layered thin film (3).
Next, an absorber layer (7) such as chromium (Cr) is deposited on above-mentioned multi-layered thin film structure, followed by patterning of an absorber layer (7) such as chromium that has been deposited in the surface of multi-layered thin film structure by electron beam lithography. Chromium (Cr), Tantalum (Ta), or Tungsten (W) is deposited as an absorber material on the multi-layered thin film substrate and coated with resistant material for patterning of this absorber layer.
A resistant layer is patterned into few nm wide grooves by electron beam lithography, substructure of the absorbing thin film processed using dry etching or wet etching, then the resistant materials eliminated by washing to obtain a patterned mask with desired appearance. But, if an electron beam lithography such as the one mentioned above is used to pattern an absorbing layer, electron beam scattering causes damages to the substrate. Minute patterns are also hard to achieve and the attainable line width is limited to around 30 nm.
Therefore, a new method is needed that can maintain the properties of the next generation lithographic EUV exposure mask mirror, overcome the limitations of line with of patterns, and eliminate the need for expensive electron lithography system and high vacuum.
M. Sundermann reported the following results in a published study using gold (Au) as the absorbing material on a Mo/Si multi-layered thin film (M. Sundermann, and 7 others, Surface Science, v. 454-456, p. 1104, 2000). In this study, gold was deposited as the absorber material on the surface of multi-layered thin film, followed by self-assembled monolayer (SAM) as the resistant material on top of it. Then the SAM was selectively corrupted using scanning tunneling microscope lithographic process, and the exposed absorbent material was etched while wetting to obtain a pattern.
But, this method can only be applied to absorbing materials that do not oxidize such as gold. Thus, a method is needed that can be applied to all materials with high absorbance coefficients and allow realization of pattern images with better structural shapes by either wet or dry etching of formed oxidized materials.
The purpose of this invention is to resolve the above-mentioned problems by providing methods to produce reflective multi-layered thin film mirrors for extreme ultraviolet radiation exposure processes that allow realization of few nm wide absorber patterns by using an atomic force microscope, thereby overcoming the line width limitations encountered with the traditional electron beam lithography. This allows monumental decreases in the absorber pattern size of thin film mirrors and does not require an expensive electron beam lithographic device and high vacuum.

Fabrication method of extreme ultraviolet radiation mask mirror using atomic force microscope lithography

IUFC-HYU (Industry-University Cooperation Foundation Hanyang University)