This invention provides methods utilizing a microfluidic device that can quickly and accurately discern differences in deformability between individual cells and sets of cells and continuously fractionate populations of cells based on their deformability. This information may be important in disease diagnosis and treatment efficacy monitoring. For example such a device may be able to determine the stage of malarial infection by using red blood cell deformability. Additionally, methods of the invention may be used as a tool to screen drugs that can make cells more flexible in diseases such as sickle cell anemia that causes sickle cell crises. The relatively low manufacturing and operation costs of methods of the invention enable this device to be used in resource-limited settings to diagnose and monitor disease.

Change in cell stiffness is a characteristic of several hematological diseases. Examples of such diseases may involve red blood cells (e.g. malaria and sickle cell anemia), white blood cells (leukemia and leukostasis), and metastatic solid-organ tumor cells (circulating tumor cells and the more extreme carcinocythemia). Often, increases in blood cell stiffness lead to loss of the cells' ability to squeeze through capillaries, resulting in organ failure, coma, and ultimately death.

Continuous-flow deformability-based cell separation


A heat dissipation device for a flashlight includes a lighting portion and a handheld portion. The lighting portion is provided inside an outer housing and includes a lighting source adjacent to a front light cover and a light reflector. An end of the lighting source is connected to a power supply end via power wires, and one side of the handheld portion is attached with an elastic clip. A heat dissipating fin is attached to a back portion of the lighting source inside the outer housing. Air vents are formed on a rear side circumference of the outer housing. Whereby, heated air generated by the lighting source is exhausted rearward from a side of the heat dissipating fin and along the air vents on the rear side circumference of the flashlight to maintain good air circulation between the flashlight and the user's garment.

1. Technical Field
The present invention is related to a heat dissipation device for a flashlight, which mainly provides a heat dissipating fin attached onto a back portion of the lighting source assembled internally of the flashlight. Thus, the heated air generated by the lighting source when the flashlight is switched on can be exhausted rearward from another side of the heat dissipating fin and along the air vents on the rear side circumference of the flashlight, and good air circulation at the contact portion between the flashlight and the garment worn by the user can be maintained.
2. Description of Related Art
Currently, there are various designs and types of flashlights. According to their different fields of applications, the flashlights are of different structural configurations. A flashlight designed to be clipped onto the garment worn by users is hereby used as an illustrative example. Such type of flashlight commonly comprises a lighting portion and a handheld portion. A side of the handheld portion is provided with an elastic clipping member for clipping onto the garment, such as the waist clothing, waist belt, and upper pocket. Thus, the flashlight can be worn firmly against the body of the user as a convenient manner of lighting.
However, such type of flashlight dangling on the garment worn by the user is attached against the body of the user, which causes the heated air generated by the lighting source internally of the flashlight at its switch-on state for a certain period of time to be transferred to the external surrounding of the flashlight via the outer housing and causes the contact portion of the garment worn by the user to be of higher temperature.


An articulated joint for pivotally connecting adjacent sections of a vehicle. The joint includes a first slewing ring and a second slewing ring and each slewing ring has an outer member connected to an inner member. A bearing race is located between the outer member and the inner member to permit relative rotation of the members. The outer member of each slewing ring is constructed for connection to one section of a vehicle and the inner member of each slewing ring is constructed for connection to another section of the vehicle. Location sleeves are located radially inwardly of the inner members of the slewing rings and a shim is located between the ends of the location sleeves.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to an articulated joint for connecting two sections of a vehicle, and in particular to an articulated joint for use in connecting sections of a vehicle which must negotiate short radius turns. An articulated joint according to the invention may be used as a vertical pivot joint in a mine shuttlecar having a plurality of pivotally connected sections.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Articulated joints for use in vehicles are known in the art. Most vehicles also include horizontal pivot joints which permit the vehicle to operate on undulating surfaces. In vehicles with vertical pivot joints, the loading on the joint is generally low since the joint is normally located between the cab portion of the vehicle and the load carrying portion of the vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,160,619 discloses a vertical pivot joint which is located in the middle of a mine shuttlecar. The pivot joint in that patent has spaced upper and lower plates on a first section of the shuttlecar which are pivotally connected to spaced upper and lower plates on a second section of the shuttlecar. The pivotal connection incorporates bearing races, which are spaced apart to accommodate a pair of steering rams between them. Because of the spacing size and type of the bearing races, the joint cannot withstand high loads.


A bundle entering a set of starting and active bundles within a bundle framework is detected by a controller bundle executed by a processor. A determination is made as to whether a manifest of the bundle includes an extension header that identifies at least one legacy application. In response to determining that the manifest of the bundle includes the extension header that identifies the at least one legacy application, at least one application proxy object is created for at least one defined entry point class of the at least one legacy application identified by the extension header. The created at least one application proxy object is registered as a service within a service registry of the bundle framework.

The present invention relates to bundle frameworks, such as Open Service Gateway Initiative (OSGI®) bundle frameworks. More particularly, the present invention relates to legacy application integration within a bundle framework.
Application servers and transaction processing servers may invoke programs written using the Java™ programming language using a method known as "reflection." Using reflection, a particular class name, method name, and signature are searched from the class path and executed.

Legacy application integration within a bundle framework

International Business Machines Corporation


Multilayer Films have a first skin layer that is prepared from a high density polyethylene and a second skin layer (also referred to as the sealant layer) that is prepared from a linear low density polyethylene (LLDPE) having a density of from 0.90 to 0.92 g/cc and a Dilution Index, Yd, of greater than 0°. Seals can be prepared by placing two pieces of this film against each other such that the sealant layers are in contact with each other, then applying heat to at least one high density skin layer such that heat is transmitted/conducted through the multilayer film in a sufficient amount to melt the sealant layer and form a seal. The use of LLDPE having a Dilution Index of greater than 0° has been found to improve the sealing performance of multilayer films in comparison to multilayer films where the sealant layer is a conventional LLDPE having a Dilution Index of less than 0°.

Simple, inexpensive and recyclable polyethylene packages may be easily prepared by heat sealing together two layers of polyethylene to form a product known as a "pillow pack" to those skilled in the art. Pillow packages do not provide the stiffness/rigidity which is desirable for higher quality packages, such as Stand Up Pouch (SUP) packages; some Form-Full-Seal (FFS) packages or embossed packages. These higher quality/more rigid packages are typically made with a layer of a stiffer polymer (such as polyester or polyamide) and this makes these multilayer/multicomponent films difficult to recycle because it is not possible to easily separate the polyethylene layer from the polyester (or polyamide) layer in current recycling facilities.
More recently, "all polyethylene" film structures for use in the manufacture of stand up pouches have become available. These films need to be carefully designed to give the right performance as a finished package, and to be "processable" on the equipment that converts the films to packages at high production rates.
Forming seals in these pouches poses a challenge because the heat energy needed to form a hermetic seal can be too high for the film structure to survive. The films should offer a low SIT (seal initiation temperature) and good "caulkability" (i.e. the ability to form seals through contamination and to allow the sealant to flow to prevent pinhole leaks).
One problem when preparing sealed packages on a Form/Fill/Seal (FFS) packaging machine is to produce a good hermetic seal at the base of the pouch.
Some known films address this problem by using a layer of polyester (PET) and a layer of polyethylene (PE). The PET layer does not soften as much as the PE during the sealing process because it has a melting temperature higher than 200° C., but the polyethylene does melt and flow to form the seal. However, as noted above, these films (and packages made from them) are difficult to recycle.
Polyethylene melts at much lower temperatures, which limits the maximum sealing bar temperature to around 150° C. Above that, the film material is likely to "burn through".
It is known to prepare "all PE" multilayer films having a high density skin layer (which melts at a temperature of from 130 to 135° C.) and a sealant layer made from a single site catalyzed, linear low density polyethylene (SSC-LLDPE) having a lower melting point. The sealing bar is applied to the high density skin layer and heat is conducted through the film structure to the sealant layer (the second skin) to form the seal.

Multilayer films and sealed packages made from these films


A charge coupled device has a transfer electrode portion having a first gate electrode, a second gate electrode having an end portion partially overlapping an end portion of the first gate electrode, and a third gate electrode having one end portion partially overlapping the other end portion of the first gate electrode. The charge coupled device also has a charge transfer portion located in a semiconductor substrate under the first, second and third gate electrodes, which includes a first potential area formed in the semiconductor substrate under the second gate electrode and a second potential area formed in the semiconductor substrate under the third gate electrode. The charge coupled device further has a clock portion which includes a first clock terminal connected to the first and third gate electrodes, and a second clock terminal connected to the second gate electrode. This charge coupled device may prevent unnecessary local potential barriers or wells produced by a misalignment, and thus may provide increased charge transfer efficiency.

Charge coupled devices are dynamic charge transfer devices which transfer charge via a predetermined path according to clock pulses applied to a gate electrode. A charge coupled device may be constituted of metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors which are connected in series to one another via their gates.
Charge coupled devices are widely used as imaging devices, whereby the charge coupled device is combined in parallel to a group of photo-diodes to form a device capable of sensing optical signals. Charge coupled devices are also used in various analog and digital signal processing applications.
Early charge coupled devices, such as the one suggested by Bell and Smith in 1969, comprised an insulation layer and gate electrodes arranged to constitute a MOS capacitor on a semiconductor substrate. However, the simple planar arrangement of the gate electrodes on this device made it difficult to control the shapes of the potential wells under the gate electrodes. Therefore, devices have been suggested in which the gate electrodes are isolated from one another while being partially overlapped with each other. Of these devices, the structure which has gained the widest acceptance has a plurality of gate electrodes formed on a semiconductor substrate with insulation layers formed therebetween, and charge transfer areas formed under the gate electrodes.
Charge-coupled devices are divided into a pseudo 2-phase charge coupled device, 3-phase charge coupled devices, and 4-phase charge coupled devices according to their driving method, and the structural configurations of the charge coupled devices are modified in accordance with their driving methods. The pseudo 2-phase charge coupled device uses simple driving pulses, despite its low capacity of charge transfer as compared with other configurations, thus it is widely used as a horizontal charge transfer device of a charge coupled device-type image device requiring high speed operation.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of a conventional pseudo 2-phase charge coupled device. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a semiconductor substrate, reference numeral 12 denotes a buried channel for a buried charge coupled device, and reference numeral 20 denotes an interlayer insulation layer. As illustrated in FIG. 1, such a conventional charge coupled device has first gate electrodes 16 spaced from one another by a predetermined distance, second gate electrodes 18 positioned between the first gate electrodes 16, and potential areas 14 formed under the second gate electrodes 18. A first clock terminal .phi.1 is connected to a first gate electrode 16 and a second gate electrode 18 to form a unit transfer group, and a second clock terminal .phi.2 is connected to a first gate electrode 16 and a second gate electrode 18 to form another unit transfer group. Mutually opposite clock signals are applied to the first and second clock terminals .phi.1 and .phi.2.
The potential areas 14 are formed by ion implantation using the first gate electrodes 16 as a mask, and thus potential areas 14 are aligned with the first gate electrodes 16. These potential areas 14 form potential wells in a charge transferring direction.
The migration of charge of the charge coupled device of FIG. 1 is illustrated in the potential distribution diagram of FIG. 2. Referring to FIG. 2, charge stored in a potential well in the left side of the figure migrates to the right when a clock pulse is applied to the first and second clock terminals .phi.1 and .phi.2. The arrow in FIG. 2 indicates the direction of charge transfer.
In many applications, such as high speed horizontal charge coupled devices of a charge coupled device-type image device, it is desirable to form as many transfer groups as possible in an area of a given unit length. However, as the pseudo 2-phase charge coupled device of FIG. 1 applies a single clock pulse to two gate electrodes, limitations in the resolution achievable during photolithography place a limit on the minimum length of the charge transfer groups. Such limits emerge as a serious problem in applications requiring a large number of charge transfer groups per unit area.
To avoid the above-mentioned problem, a device has been suggested in which a single gate electrode is used as a unit transfer group by forming a potential area below only half the area of each gate electrode. Such a device is illustrated in FIG. 3.
The charge coupled device depicted in FIG. 3 is identical to the charge coupled device depicted in FIG. 1 in terms of the arrangement of the first and second gate electrodes 16 and 18. However, a potential area is 15 formed under each of the first and second gate electrodes 16 and 18, and each of the clock terminals .phi.1 and .phi.2 are connected to only a single gate electrode. Through these modifications, the size of the area reserved for the charge coupled device of FIG. 3 can be reduced to at least half of the area of the charge coupled device of FIG. 1. Thus, if the sizes of horizontal charge transfer devices of a charge coupled device-type image device are comparable, the device of FIG. 3 can include twice as many charge transfer groups as the device of FIG. 1.
In fabricating the charge coupled device of FIG. 3, the potential area 15, may be formed via ion implantation after an ion implantation mask is formed using photolithography. However, when such a method is used, it may be difficult to align each potential area 15 with each of the gate electrodes 16 and 18. Thus, in the charge coupled devices of FIG. 3, there is a likelihood that an unnecessary local potential barrier or well is created due to the misalignment of a potential area and a gate electrode at a gate electrode boundary, thereby lowering charge transfer efficiency.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,885 discloses another charge coupled device having a gate structure that utilizes three depositions of electrically conductive material to form electrodes. This patent indicates that via such a technique a two-phase charge coupled device may be fabricated that occupies less wafer surface area and operates at faster speeds than conventional charge coupled devices.


Wear-out equalization techniques for multiple functional hardware units are disclosed. An integrated circuit includes a power control unit (PCU) configured to monitor indicators of wear-out incurred by multiple functional hardware units of the integrated circuit. The PCU calculates cumulative wear-out metrics of the functional hardware units based on the monitored indicators and performs an equalization action to equalize the cumulative wear-out metrics of the functional hardware units.

Modern processors include multiple instances of processor cores that can be turned on or off independently as directed by a Power Control Unit (PCU). A multi-core processor, for example, is a single computing component with two or more independent actual central processing units (also referred to as "cores" or "processor cores"), which are the units that read and execute program instructions. The instructions are typically CPU instructions, but multiple cores can run multiple instructions at the same time, increasing overall speed for programs amenable to parallel computing. Manufacturers typically integrate the cores onto a single integrated circuit die, or onto multiple dies in a single package. A dual-core processor has two cores, a quad-core processor has four cores, and so on. Homogenous multi-core systems include only identical cores, and heterogeneous multi-core systems have cores that are not identical.
At any given time, only a portion of these processor cores can be powered up, with all the disabled ones being power-gated to suppress the leakage power. All active cores wear out in normal use and this wear-out of the active cores can be modeled as a function of the use conditions (operating voltage and temperature) and stress time. Typically manufacturers assume equal utilization of processor cores for their quality and reliability assessment. Present techniques generally cannot enforce equal wear-out for each processor core. For example, popular operating systems usually do not guarantee random core assignment. Without such enforcement, a given processor core can be repetitively assigned to operate at a "turbo" mode, while other cores are turned-off. The turbo mode is a highest performance state of the processor that enables a processor to run above its base operating frequency via dynamic control of the CPU's clock rate. The turbo mode can also be referred to as dynamic overclocking. When in the turbo state, the active cores wear-out much faster than the others and can eventually cause its catastrophic failure. A customer can rightfully disable all but two cores in Basic Input/Output System (BIOS) to ensure they always run in turbo mode, therefore assuming an increased risk of catastrophic failure. A malicious user can write a virus program that can run a specific core in turbo all the time, purposefully causing the system to fail.

Wear-out equalization techniques for multiple functional units


A projector using coherent light as a light source includes: one or more coherent light sources emitting coherent light beams; a beam scanner which changes a direction of the coherent light beam; and a beam splitter which splits a beam into multiple segments and changes a phase of light of each split segment, the beam splitter being located in an optical path between the beam scanner and the coherent light source. This projector reduces speckle noises. The beam splitter includes a pair of transparent substrates; a plurality of parallel electrodes disposed on each surface of the pair of transparent substrates, the pair of the parallel electrodes being disposed in a perpendicular direction to each other. Voltages are applied to the respective electrodes at predetermined time intervals so as to produce different potentials in a liquid crystal sandwiched by the transparent substrates.

The present invention relates to display systems which display a video by modulating and scanning a light beam from a coherent light source such as a laser light source in accordance with video signals, and relates to techniques to reduce speckle noises at the time of display.
A laser display system is proposed in JP-A-2003-021800, for example, in which a video is displayed on a screen by emitting three color laser beams to an operating mirror and reflecting the three color laser beams. In such a laser display system, the use of the high coherent laser beam causes a speckle phenomenon that a random spotted pattern is generated, and thus the quality as a display becomes an issue.
In order to suppress such speckle phenomenon, there is a method of mechanically vibrating an optical path as shown in JP-B-4144713, for example, however, the frequency is insufficient for sufficiently reducing the speckle and thus the speckle reduction effect is small.
As the other display systems using the laser beam, a method is also proposed as shown in JP-A-06-208089, in which an image modulated by an optical modulator is enlarged and projected in accordance with image information. This method also has a problem of the speckle. With regard to this problem, JP-A-2007-163702 proposes a speckle canceller comprising a pair of transparent substrates and a liquid crystal sealed therebetween.


A process for making a model skin surface for testing adhesion of medical adhesive as a screening test and/or as an alternative to costly and highly variable human skin substrates including casting silicone rubber on human skin to produce a mold having human skin topography and pouring a water-swellable, water-soluble proteinaceous material along with a crosslinking agent and fatty acid constituent into the mold. The proteinaceous material crosslinks while in the mold and the water content of the material is adjustable to simulate varying moisture contents in human skin.

The development and evaluation of pressure-sensitive adhesive tapes for medical use, e.g. so-called medical adhesives such as would be employed to hold a wound dressing in place, involve complex issues in adhesion to skin and related testing procedures.
Although human test panels will of course provide in vivo data, these test procedures are costly and difficult, and are characterized by large variability in such factors as surface morphology, presence of surface moisture and sebum, etc. Moreover, protocol for human testing requires screening for pregnancy, medical problems including any which may be affected by transdermal diffusion of trace amounts of unreacted monomer which may be present in the adhesive formulation, filling out and signing consent forms, liability issues and the like.
On the other hand, in vitro methods using excised human skin and animal models are also highly variable, tedious and preparation intensive. Other test substrates, such as steel and glass, offer ease and precision in laboratory testing, but the test results are not easily correlated to the results obtainable in the contemplated use on actual skin surfaces.
For these reasons, it has heretofore been suggested that in vitro testing be done on smooth polyamide surfaces of collagen and 66-nylon. (See, for example, Komerska, J. F. and Moffett, N., Proceedings of Pressure Sensitive Tape Council, 108 (1985); Schott, H., J. Pharm. Sci., 60, 1894 (1971).). However, these materials are inadequate for analytical comparison with the dispersive and polar intermolecular properties of human skin. Moreover, they do not account for the topographical aspects, including variations thereof, in human skin.
In view of the foregoing discussion it will be appreciated that there is a great need by manufacturers of medical adhesives and tapes, as well as other investigators of their application to the skin, for inexpensive, reproducible test surfaces whose properties substantially correlate to or reflect those of human skin.


Provided herewith are peptide dual agonists of at least the GIPR (glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide receptor) and the GLP2R (glucagon-like peptide-2 receptor), and their use for treatment of bone disorders such as osteoporosis.

Gastrointestinal peptides and adipokines are critical signalling molecules involved in controlling whole-body energy homeostasis. These circulating hormones regulate a variety of biological responses such as hunger, satiety and glucose uptake. In vivo experiments have established that these hormones also regulate bone metabolism, while associations between these hormones and bone mass have been observed in human clinical studies.
Incretins are gastrointestinal hormones that help to regulate carbohydrate metabolism in response to food intake. The two main incretins are glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), both secreted by intestinal epithelial cells. Intestinal glucagon-like peptide-2 (GLP-2) is co-secreted along with GLP-1 upon nutrient ingestion.
Gastrointestinal hormones released after meal ingestion, such as GIP and GLP-2 have been shown to regulate bone turnover; GIP has a positive effect on bone, and GLP-1 and GLP-2 regulate bone homeostasis and have a positive contribution to bone mass. However, their effects are often short-lived; therefore, other pharmacological interventions such as GLP-1R agonists and DPP-4 inhibitors in conjunction with GLP-2 injection are emerging as better candidates for preventing bone resorption.
Osteoporosis can be defined as a combination of reduced bone mass and altered bone quality, resulting in decreased bone strength with an increased risk of fractures. Gastrointestinal hormones including glucose-dependent insulinotropic peptide (GIP), glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1) and glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-2) have each been implicated in bone metabolism and as potential therapies for treating osteoporosis.
GLP-2 and GLP-1 are suggested for treating osteoporosis, alone or in combination with anti-osteoporosis compounds (WO 2002/024214). A dual agonist of GIP and GLP-1 is disclosed in WO2012167744. A dual agonist of the glucagon receptor and for example GIP or GLP-2 is disclosed in WO2012138941. WO2015038938 refers to a GLP-1 R and GIPR dual agonist. Room for improvement remains in the potential therapy of bone disorders associated with reduced bone density, such as osteoporosis.


A switched-capacitor tracking apparatus including a variable capacitor, an auxiliary capacitor, and a plurality of switches, and an operating method thereof are provided. In a charge period, a first reference voltage charges a panel capacitor, and a second reference voltage charges the variable capacitor. In a detection period, a control circuit detects a parallel connected voltage of the panel capacitor and the variable capacitor. The control circuit compares a third reference voltage and the parallel connected voltage. According to a comparison result, the control circuit dynamically determines whether to parallel connect the auxiliary capacitor to the variable capacitor. If all the comparison results accumulated in a statistics period are a first logic value, then the control circuit increases a capacitance of the variable capacitor. Moreover, if all the comparison results are a second logic value in the statistics period, then the control circuit decreases the capacitance of the variable capacitor.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is generally related to a capacitive readout circuit of a touch panel, and more particularly, to a switched-capacitor tracking apparatus of the touch panel.
2. Description of Related Art
In many electronic products, a capacitor characteristic (i.e. capacitance) of a target component is read out frequently. For instance, variations in the capacitances of the currently popular touch panels are detected by the readout circuit. Generally speaking, the touch panel can be classified into a resistive touch panel, an optical touch panel, and a capacitive touch panel, etc. Compared with a keyboard and a mouse, the touch panel is a simpler, more direct input/output interface. Therefore, the touch panel is usually applied as a man-machine interface between a man and an electronic device. The capacitive touch panels are operated by approaching or touching the touch panels with a finger or a conductive material to change the capacitances of the touch panels. By reading the circuitry to detect the capacitance variations of the capacitive touch panels, the touch locations of the conductive body or the finger on the touch panel can be detected.
FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a function of a conventional touch panel. A touch panel 14 includes a plurality of pixel capacitors. FIG. 1 illustrates a panel capacitor (i.e. a target capacitor 16) as a representative example. The data from the target capacitor 16 is transmitted to the analog to digital converter 18 (ADC 18). Consequently, the ADC 18 can convert a capacitance of the target capacitor 16 to a digital value. The ADC 18 illustrated in FIG. 1 consumes great effort for changing whole capacitance of the target capacitor 16 to the digital value. If the capacitance range of the target capacitor 16 is from 0 pF to 50 pF, then an output of the ADC 18 is 16 bits. When the capacitance of the target capacitor 16 varies from 25 pF to 25.1 pF (wherein 25 pF is DC component of the capacitance, 0.1 pF is AC component of the capacitance), a digital code outputted by the ADC 18 changes from 32768 (i.e. 216×25÷50) to 32899 (i.e. 216×25.1÷50). The ADC 18 has always needed to converts the DC component of the capacitance of the target capacitor 16.

Switched-capacitor tracking apparatus of touch panel and operating method thereof


Disclosed is a lever mechanism for clamping a board to a housing. A support block is provided and is adapted to be attached to the board. A first lever, pivotally connected to the support block, is movable between first and second positions, and adapted to engage with the housing when in the first position and disengage from the housing when in the second position. A second lever is pivotally mounted on the first lever and adapted to hold the first lever in the first position by engagement with the support block. A spring is also provided for biasing the first lever towards the second position and also for biasing the second lever toward the position in which it engages with the support block.

This invention relates to lever mechanisms and, more specifically a lever mechanism for clamping printed electronic circuit boards into multi-pin sockets.
Electronic device manufacturers often, for the purposes of flexibility of design and ease of manufacture, produce devices comprising several separate circuit boards that are connected to each other and to the housing of the device via large multi-pin plug systems at their rear end. Connecting these boards to the main device housing and into the plugs can require considerable force, especially if a reliable contact is to be assured. Levers for circuit boards are commonly used by manufacturers, but do not retain the boards firmly in position, and can be jolted open, allowing the boards to work loose.
For example, German utility model No. 7724549 issued on Jan. 19, 1978 to Robert Bosch GmbH discloses a lever-type latch for a circuit board that, on closing, urges a board into contact with a connector, but is only latched in position by being retained on a pin attached to the board.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,157,583, issued on Jun. 5, 1979 and assigned to the General Electric Company, employs a cam mechanism to urge a circuit board into connection, and a shaft acting as a beam spring to provide a biasing force. Again, this device does not provide any secure latching mechanism.
German patent number 3732892, issued on Apr. 20, 1989 to Festo KG, discloses a latching mechanism that is secured with a screw-type mechanism.
United Kingdom patent application No. 22310726 discloses a circuit board latching mechanism with a retaining hook.
The object of the present invention is to provide a lever mechanism for clamping and retaining a circuit board in its housing.


Processes for producing ethylene carbonate and/or ethylene glycol, and associated reaction systems are similarly provided. Specifically, a process is provided that comprises supplying an overhead absorber stream withdrawn from an absorber to a vapor-liquid separator to yield an aqueous bottoms stream and a recycle gas stream; supplying an aqueous process stream comprising one or more impurities to a distillation apparatus to yield an overhead impurities stream and a purified aqueous process stream; supplying at least a portion of the purified aqueous process stream and an ethylene oxide product stream to the absorber; and contacting the ethylene oxide product stream with the purified aqueous process stream in the absorber in the presence of one or more carboxylation and hydrolysis catalysts to yield a fat absorbent stream comprising ethylene carbonate and/or ethylene glycol.

Ethylene glycol is a valuable industrial compound that is widely employed as starting material for the manufacture of polyester fibres and polyethylene terephthalate (PET) resins. It also finds application in automotive antifreeze and hydraulic brake fluids, aircraft de-icers as well as in pharmaceutical products.
Ethylene glycol is typically prepared from ethylene oxide, which is in turn prepared by the silver-catalyzed oxidation of ethylene. More specifically, ethylene and oxygen are passed over a silver-based epoxidation catalyst, typically at pressures of 10-30 bar and temperatures of 200-300° C., producing a product stream comprising ethylene oxide, carbon dioxide, ethylene, oxygen and water. In one well-known process, ethylene oxide is then reacted with a large excess of water in a non-catalytic process, producing a glycol product stream comprising close to 90 wt. % monoethylene glycol (MEG), the remainder being predominantly diethylene glycol (DEG), some triethylene glycol (TEG) and a small amount of higher homologues. In another well-known process, ethylene oxide is reacted with carbon dioxide in the presence of a catalyst to produce ethylene carbonate, which is subsequently hydrolyzed to provide ethylene glycol. Reaction via ethylene carbonate significantly improves the selectivity of ethylene oxide conversion to monoethylene glycol.
In the last few decades, many efforts have been directed towards the development of simplified processes and equipment for producing alkylene glycols from alkylenes, notably ethylene glycol from ethylene. For example, GB2107712 describes a process for preparing monoethylene glycol wherein the gases from the ethylene oxide reactor are supplied directly to a reactor wherein ethylene oxide is converted to ethylene carbonate or to a mixture of ethylene glycol and ethylene carbonate.
EP 0776890 describes a process wherein the gases from the ethylene oxide reactor are supplied to an absorber, wherein the absorbing solution mainly contains ethylene carbonate and ethylene glycol. The ethylene oxide in the absorbing solution is supplied to a carboxylation reactor and allowed to react with carbon dioxide in the presence of a carboxylation catalyst. The ethylene carbonate in the absorbing solution is subsequently supplied, with the addition of water, to a hydrolysis reactor and subjected to hydrolysis in the presence of a hydrolysis catalyst.
EP2178815 describes a reactive absorption process for preparing monoethylene glycol, wherein the gases from the ethylene oxide reactor are supplied to a reactive absorber and the ethylene oxide is contacted with an aqueous lean absorbent in the presence of one or more carboxylation and hydrolysis catalysts, and wherein the majority of the ethylene oxide is converted to ethylene carbonate or ethylene glycol in the absorber.
In each of these instances, considerable volumes of process water are produced. It is often desirable from an economic perspective to recycle as much of the process water as possible, for example, by recycling the process water to the ethylene oxide absorber or reactive absorber (e.g., for use as lean absorbent). Advantageously, such recycling not only reduces operating costs because it reduces the requisite amount of fresh water to be supplied to the process, but it may also reduce costs associated with disposal of the process water as waste. Further, re-use is desirable because the purging of considerable volumes of process water may also raise environmental concerns and/or disposal issues.
However, process water often contains various impurities, which are often a result of the formation of byproducts during the production of ethylene oxide, ethylene carbonate and/or ethylene glycol. For example, an overhead stream withdrawn from an ethylene oxide absorber or reactive absorber typically comprises, in addition to water, hydrocarbon impurities such as formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, etc. Additionally, organic chloride impurities may also be found in process water due to the use of organic chloride moderators in the epoxidation reaction.
If process water is recycled to the ethylene oxide absorber or reactive absorber without first removing at least a portion of these impurities, then over time, the impurities accumulate and are deleterious to the overall quality of the resulting glycol product and/or cause catalyst degradation.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,184,423 to Zo-Chun Jen discloses a process for removing acid impurities from process water in an ethylene glycol plant by utilizing anionic resins to adsorb formic acid and acetic acid from the process water. However, removal of impurities from a process water stream without the use of such resins would be advantageous from a cost standpoint. Furthermore, only acidic impurities may be removed using such resins.
Thus, the present inventors have sought to provide improved processes and systems for the production of ethylene carbonate and/or ethylene glycol. In particular, the present inventors have sought to provide processes and systems that reduce the amount of impurities in an aqueous process stream so that it may be recycled in the production of ethylene carbonate and/or ethylene glycol and have further sought to reduce the energy consumption associated with such recycling.

Processes and systems for the recycle of process water in the production of ethylene glycol


Technology capable of simultaneously improving the state of filling in connection holes and the reliability of a wiring material in a bipolar semiconductor device or in a bipolar CMOS device. At least a tungsten film formed by the CVD method is included in a first wiring layer that accomplishes electrical conduction among the semiconductor elements by depositing an electrically conducting film on the connection holes formed in an insulating film deposited on the main surface of a semiconductor substrate. The tungsten film formed by the CVD method helps improve the state of filling in connection holes or deposition property, and enables the connection holes to be formed highly reliably. By using a tungsten film, furthermore, it is allowed to increase the resistance against electromigration of the wiring and to enhance reliability.

The present invention relates to a wiring structure of a semiconductor device and, particularly, to technology that can be effectively adapted to the structure of the first wiring layer in a bipolar-type semiconductor device or in a bipolar CMOS device.
Selective tungsten plugging technology, whole surface tungsten-CVD technology, fellow technology by melting aluminum, aluminum bias sputtering technology, and taper (round) machining technology for connection holes, have heretofore been proposed to improve the state of filling in connection holes such as contact holes or like holes formed in the insulating film, i.e., to improve deposition property of electrically conducting films in a process for forming a first wiring layer of a semiconductor device.
Furthermore, a laminated film structure of a titanium nitride film and an aluminum alloy or like structures have been known to improve reliability of a wiring material such as resistance against migration and like properties in a process of forming a first wiring layer of a bipolar semiconductor device and a bipolar CMOS device.
A semiconductor device having wiring of such a laminated film structure has been described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,107,726 (Schilling: date of patent, Aug. 15, 1978).
As the bipolar semiconductor devices and bipolar CMOS devices are fabricated in ever fine structures, however, limitation is obviously imposed on the prior art that are related to the bipolar semiconductor devices and bipolar CMOS devices.
In the prior art, the state of filling in connection holes and the reliability of the wiring material can be easily improved by using the laminated film structure of a titanium nitride film and an aluminum alloy together with a hole tapering technique. However, hole tapering becomes difficult as the structure becomes fine. Therefore, another method must be studied in an attempt to improve the state of filling in the connection holes and to improve reliability of the wiring material.
However, the above-mentioned conventional selective tungsten plugging technology which must include peripheral technology such as selecting the tungsten film and adjusting the filling amount, has not yet been established as a mass-production technology. Moreover, tungsten (W) has a large resistance which creates a large CR time constant and develops a signal delay. Therefore, tungsten has heretofore been used for the LSIs of relatively slow speeds but has not been used for such bipolar semiconductor devices as high-speed LSIs or for the bipolar CMOS semiconductor devices. Furthermore, no striking progress can be expected from the fellow technology by melting aluminum or from the aluminum bias sputtering technology in regard to filling the connection holes and improving reliability of the wiring material.


An aircraft cabin communication system includes a wireless access point (WAP) and a connectivity server. The WAP transmits a beacon indicating Hotspot capability and identifying an open SSID, establishes a connection with a first passenger electronic device (PED) carried onboard an aircraft responsive to communications received from the first PED using the open SSID, and provides a list of mobile network operators (MNOs) to the first PED. The connectivity server receive a request to setup a PDU session through the Internet for the first PED. The request identifies a mobile network operator (MNO) associated with the first PED. The connectivity server initiates authentication using extensible authentication protocol (EAP) communications with the first PED and an authorization, authentication, and accounting (AAA) server associated with a partner MNO connected with the MNO identified by the first PED. Responsive to the AAA server granting access to the first PED, the connectivity server triggers the WAP to redirect communications with the first WAP to a hidden SSID, sets up the PDU session for the first PED using the hidden SSID, and performs network resource usage measurements for traffic in the PDU session for the first PED.

Ground-based mobile communication systems have evolved to where users expect to always have communications capabilities for text messages, phone calls, and data connectivity through the Internet. Users expect to roam seamlessly with full communications capabilities between coverage areas of mobile network operators (MNOs) both domestically and abroad. Aircraft cabin communications systems have not supported seamless roaming.
For aircraft cabin communication systems, phone call service has primarily been provided by onboard mobile telephony service (OMTS) with dedicated onboard telephony equipment (e.g., mounted to passenger seatbacks) or using passenger electronic devices (PEDs) which are sometimes provided limited services for voice calls and Short Message Service (SMS) via a satellite communications link. Other PED functions have been blocked unless an Internet data is plan purchased onboard the aircraft and which is provided by an operator associated with the airline. An Internet data plan enables a PED to use phone applications (e.g., Skype™) which operate to communicate Over The Top™ (OTT), social media and messaging services (e.g., WhatsApp™), and other Internet functions (e.g., voice and/or video streaming, Internet browsing, etc.) via the satellite communications link provided by the operator associated with the airline.
While airlines providing OMTS equipment have an advantage of being preconfigurable to enable relatively seamless passenger use, the equipment adds cost and weight to aircraft. Although passengers can have the option to use their PEDs for connectivity, they are blocked from Internet data services until they purchase an onboard data plan which involves passenger initiated action and cost acceptance under an airline specified data plan(s), and undermines the passengers' desire to obtain seamless roaming anywhere among ground-based mobile communication systems and between ground-based and aircraft-based communications systems.

Providing aircraft in flight roaming for passenger electronic devices to home mobile network operator


A freight transport vehicle convertible for carrying piece goods as well as bulk liquid cargo, includes a collapsible liquid cargo bag and at least one adjustable cinching strap for being tightened down over the bag. Tightening of the strap over the bag causes the pressure of the liquid mass within the bag to increase, serving to make the liquid mass act as a solid mass within the bag. This prevents kinetic energy that is built up in the mass through motion of the vehicle from causing sloshing motion of the liquid during transportation, thus eliminating possible hazards in operation of the vehicle and preventing possible damage to the cargo bag.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to freight vehicles and more particularly to freight vehicles having a cargo space which is capable of handling bulk goods, including bulk liquid product, as well as being capable of handling piece goods, such as boxed or palletized goods.
2. Prior Art
Freight vehicles which can handle either piece goods or bulk goods are generally known. The advantage of such convertibility is that the same cargo space on the same vehicle could handle either of these two significantly different types of loads. The term "piece goods" is defined herein to mean any goods which are handled as individual items or pieces, including packaged goods or palletized goods. The term "bulk goods" means any goods which are pourable and commonly shipped in bulk, such as powder, grain, flake, fluid or liquid materials. The term "freight vehicle"encompasses any vehicle capable of containing freight or cargo, including without limitation tractor-trailers, railway cars, ships, aircraft, domestic and I.S.O. containers, and intermodal freight vehicles.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,534,596, issued Aug. 13, 1985, incorporated in its entirety by reference herein, discloses a freight vehicle having a conventional cargo space for piece goods, wherein the cargo space includes openings in the roof and floor for filling and discharging bulk material. Specially constructed bulk material container bags are deployed from the roof under the inlet openings and extend to the floor over the outlet openings. The bags are filled with bulk material through the inlet openings in the roof, and when the vehicle has arrived at the shipment destination the material is discharged from the outlet openings in the floor. To allow handling of piece goods, the bags are retractable to a stored and locked position on the ceiling of the cargo space.
Freight vehicles also are known which are capable of handling bulk liquid product. In addition to conventional tank trucks, it is known to provide conventional tractor-trailer vehicles with elongated collapsible liquid cargo bags which are adapted to be filled with liquid product. While such liquid cargo bags are secured to the cargo space of the vehicle using various securing means such as harness straps, a major problem in the transportation of bulk liquid product has been the sloshing motion of the bulk liquid during transportation. Such sloshing motion can make the vehicle difficult to control, potentially causing an accident, and additionally, can cause a vehicle to jack-knife or tip over.
The sloshing motion is caused by the kinetic energy that is generated when a large mass traveling at a given speed in a given direction is subjected to a rapid change in speed caused by acceleration or deceleration, or a sudden change in direction caused by the making of a turn. This energy when imparted to the liquid mass can build up over time as the vehicle continues on its route, potentially causing the problems discussed above. There thus exists a need in the art for improvement in systems using such bulk liquid cargo bags in convertible freight transportation vehicles.


An implantable atrial defibrillator and method provides cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of a human heart in need of cardioversion. The atrial defibrillator includes a first detector for detecting R waves of the heart, a second detector for detecting T waves of the heart, and a third detector for detecting atrial activity of the heart. An atrial fibrillation detector is responsive to the third detector for determining when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion. A cardioverting stage applies the cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart when the atria of the heart are in need of cardioversion, after the second detector detects a T wave, and in timed relation to an R wave detected by the first detector after the detected T wave is completed. The atrial defibrillator includes a timer for timing a predetermined delay time after the T wave is detected, which delay time must be completed before the atria are cardioverted in timed relation to a detected R wave to assure that the detected T wave is completed.

The present invention generally relates to an atrial defibrillator for applying cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of a human heart in need of cardioversion. The present invention is more particularly directed to a fully automatic implantable atrial defibrillator which exhibits improved safety by reducing the potential risk of induced ventricular fibrillation which may result from the mistimed delivery of cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart. More specifically, the atrial defibrillator of the present invention guards against applying cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart under conditions believed to contribute to induced ventricular fibrillation.
Atrial fibrillation is probably the most common cardiac arrhythmia. Although it is not usually a life threatening arrhythmia, it is associated with strokes thought to be caused by blood clots forming in areas of stagnant blood flow as a result of prolonged atrial fibrillation. In addition, patients afflicted with atrial fibrillation generally experience palpitations of the heart and may even experience dizziness or even loss of consciousness.
Atrial fibrillation occurs suddenly and many times can only be corrected by a discharge of electrical energy to the heart through the skin of the patient by way of an external defibrillator of the type well known in the art. This treatment is commonly referred to as synchronized cardioversion and, as its name implies, involves applying electrical defibrillating energy to the heart in synchronism with a detected ventricular electrical activation (R wave) of the heart. The treatment is very painful and, unfortunately, most often only results in temporary relief for patients, lasting but a few weeks.
Drugs are available for reducing the incidence of atrial fibrillation. However, these drugs have many side effects and many patients are resistent to them which greatly reduces their therapeutic effect.
Implantable atrial defibrillators have been proposed to provide patients suffering from occurrences of atrial fibrillation with relief. Unfortunately, to the detriment of such patients, none of these atrial defibrillators have become a commercial reality.
Implantable atrial defibrillators proposed in the past have exhibited a number of disadvantages which probably has precluded these defibrillators from becoming a commercial reality. Two such proposed defibrillators, although represented as being implantable, were not fully automatic, requiring human interaction for cardioverting or defibrillating the heart. Both of these proposed defibrillators require the patient to recognize the symptoms of atrial fibrillation with one defibrillator requiring a visit to a physician to activate the defibrillator and the other defibrillator requiring the patient to activate the defibrillator with an external magnet.
Improved atrial defibrillators and lead systems which exhibit both automatic operation and improved safety are fully described in copending U.S. applications Ser. No. 07/685,130, filed Apr. 12, 1991, in the names of John M. Adams and Clifton A. Alferness for IMPROVED ATRIAL DEFIBRILLATOR AND METHOD and Ser. No. 07/856,514, filed Mar. 24, 1992, in the names of John M. Adams, Clifton A. Alferness, and Paul E. Kreyenhagen for IMPROVED ATRIAL DEFIBRILLATOR, LEAD SYSTEMS, AND METHOD, which applications are assigned to the assignee of the present invention and incorporated herein by reference. As disclosed in the aforementioned referenced applications, synchronizing the delivery of the defibrillating or cardioverting electrical energy to the atria with a ventricular electrical activation (R wave) of the heart is important to prevent induced ventricular fibrillation. Ventricular fibrillation is a fatal arrhythmia which can be caused by electrical energy being delivered to the heart at the wrong time in the cardiac cycle, such as during the T wave of the cycle. The atrial defibrillators of the aforementioned referenced applications exhibit improved safety from inducing ventricular fibrillation by sensing ventricular activations of the heart in a manner which avoids detecting noise as ventricular electrical activations for generating reliable synchronization signals. Hence, these implantable atrial defibrillators, by providing such noise immunity in R wave detection assure reliable synchronization.
Another measure for reducing the risk of inducing ventricular fibrillation during the delivery of cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart employed by the defibrillators of the aforementioned referenced applications is the reduction of the amount of the electrical energy which is passed through the ventricles during cardioversion of the atria. This is achieved by locating the cardioverting electrodes in or near the heart to provide a cardioverting energy path which confines most of the cardioverting electrical energy to the atria of the heart.
The atrial defibrillator and method of the present invention provides improved safety and reduction in the risk of inducing ventricular fibrillation during atrial cardioversion or defibrillation. It has been observed that during episodes of atrial fibrillation, the cardiac rate increases to a high rate and/or becomes extremely variable. At high cardiac rates, the R wave of each cardiac cycle becomes closely spaced from the T wave of the immediately preceding cardiac cycle. This may lead to a condition known in the art as an "R on T" condition which is believed to contribute to induced ventricular fibrillation if the atria are cardioverted in synchronism with the R wave close to the T wave. During highly variable cardiac rates, a long cardiac cycle can be followed by a relatively short cardiac cycle. This condition in conjunction with a high cardiac rate is believed to cause a dispersion of refractoriness and also can result in an increased vulnerability to ventricular fibrillation. For a more complete understanding of the aforementioned highly variable cardiac rate and the consequences thereof, reference may be had to an article entitled El-Sherif et al., Reentrant Ventricular Arrhythmias in the Late Myocardial Infarction Period: Mechanism by Which a Short-Long-Short Cardiac Sequence Facilitates the Induction of Reentry, Circulation, 83(1):268-278 (1991).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,219, which issued on May 4, 1993 in the names of John M. Adams, Clifton A. Alferness, Kenneth R. Infinger, and Joseph M. Bocek, entitled ATRIAL DEFIBRILLATOR AND METHOD FOR PROVIDING INTERVAL TIMING PRIOR TO CARDIOVERSION, and which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention, discloses an atrial defibrillator and method which greatly reduces the risk of inducing ventricular fibrillation during atrial cardioversion or defibrillation by avoiding applying the cardioverting electrical energy to the atria at those instances when increased vulnerability to ventricular fibrillation may be present. As disclosed in that patent, this is accomplished by interval timing prior to applying the cardioverting or defibrillating electrical energy. The time interval between immediately successive R waves is timed and the cardioverting or defibrillating electrical energy is only applied when a timed interval is greater than a preselected minimum interval. This provides protection from the increased vulnerability to ventricular fibrillation condition resulting from a high cardiac rate. To provide further protection for the R on T condition resulting from a highly variable cardiac rate, an additional condition may be applied to the timed interval requiring the timed interval to also be less than a preselected maximum interval before the cardioverting or defibrillating energy is applied to the atria.
The present invention provides an alternative approach to that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,207,219. The atrial defibrillator and method of the present invention also guards against applying the cardioverting electrical energy to the atria when increased vulnerability to ventricular fibrillation may be present.

Atrial defibrillator and method for providing T wave detection and interval timing prior to cardioversion


A new class of tilting micromechanical mechanisms have been developed. These new mechanisms use compound floating pivot structures to attain far greater tilt angles than are practical using other micromechanical techniques. The new mechanisms are also capable of bi-directional tilt about multiple axes.

The present invention relates generally to tilting micromechanisms, and more specifically to a new class of micromechanisms able to attain large tilt angles owing to the use of multiple floating pivot structures.
Although there is no precise referent for the term "micromechanical", its common use is to machinery whose size scale makes invalid most of our assumptions about machinery of ordinary dimensions. For example, whereas at ordinary dimensions the strength of materials is usually limited by mechanisms involving motion and multiplication of dislocations in response to applied stress, in the micromechanical regime surface erosion and cleavage modes of failure are more common. Again, whereas at ordinary dimensions fluid lubrication of frictionally related elements (e.g., an axle and a shaft bearing) is one of a handful of practical choices, in the micromechanical regime the viscous shear stress of a lubricant increases in inverse proportion to the size scale of the apparatus, increasing the energy dissipation rate to unusable levels.
When the change in size scale renders conventional practice invalid, it also enables new approaches toward micromechanical functionality. An effective replacement for fluid lubricants can be a surface layer of a solid which is (usually) either amorphous or polycrystalline, is reasonably strong, forms a smooth film on the component surfaces, and has a surface structure that resists bonding with itself.
Consistent with common practice, in this specification the term `micromechanical` is associated with mechanical apparatus whose functional components have sizes ranging from about 1 mm to about 1 .mu.m. Such micromechanical apparatus can be made of a wide variety of materials, but perhaps the most common system is a combination of polycrystalline silicon, amorphous silicon, silicon oxides, and silicon nitride. This material system has high material strength and rigidity, high resistance to fracture, can be doped to provide electrically conducting regions, and is relatively easy to directly integrate with microelectronics at a chip level.
A common mechanism in micromechanical apparatus is a tilt stage, whose function is to provide an attached element with a controllable amount of tilt along a predetermined axis or axes. The attached element can be an intrinsic part of the apparatus (e.g., as in an escapement), or an external element which is to be positioned and directed by the apparatus (e.g., a micromirror). The implementations described in this specification will be for micromirror tilt stages, but this should not be taken as an implicit limitation on the scope of the present invention.
A typical prior art micromirror tilt stage is shown in FIGS. 1a-1d. FIG. 1a shows a transparent top view of the tilt stage, and FIG. 1b shows a side view. Micromirror 11 is mounted on top of base 10 by flexible pivot 12. (Note that 11 could as easily be a mounting platform for a micromirror or for some other component. The present identification is made for simplicity of description, and not to limit the scope of the present invention.) The top surface of micromirror 11, if necessary, is polished flat and/or coated with a reflective layer.
Capacitor plates 13 and 14 provide the forces which tilt the micromirror. In one working arrangement the micromirror is doped to the point of being a good conductor, and is grounded through flexible pivot 12 and base 10, both of which are also appropriately doped. Capacitor plates 13 and 14 are electrically insulated from the base 10. When a voltage is applied to capacitor plate 13, the micromirror 11 tilts to the left. When a voltage is applied to capacitor plate 14, the micromirror 11 tilts to the right.
If the applied voltage is large enough, the micromirror 11 will tilt until it hits a solid stop. This condition is of interest for designers, as it provides for a precise amount of tilt, and at the same time helps prevent vibration of the micromirror. Two common solid stops are illustrated here. FIG. 1c shows a maximum leftward tilt, the magnitude of the tilt being limited by contact between the micromirror 11 and the base 10. This provides a limitation in many designs, because the micromirror structure is fabricated by growing layers of structural and sacrificial material on top of the base, and then removing the sacrificial material. Practical limitations of such processes limit the thickness of the sacrificial layers to a few microns at most. A typical micromirror can be perhaps 100 .mu.m across, with a gap separating the micromirror from the base of about 1 .mu.m. In this case, the maximum tilt angle is limited to about 1.degree..
FIG. 1d shows a maximal rightward tilt, where the magnitude of the tilt is limited by the presence of stop post 15. Such a stop post can be used if a smaller maximum tilt is desired than results from contact between the micromirror and the base.
The tilt stage described above allows tilt along arbitrary directions. This is desirable for some applications, and not desirable for others. A related tilt stage with an additional torsional pivot can be arranged, as shown in FIG. 2, to define a single restricted tilt axis. Within this specification and the attached claims, a tilt stage has a restricted tilt axis (or multiple restricted tilt axes) only when the structure of the tilt stage substantially restricts the tilting motions of the tilt stage to those corresponding to that restricted tilt axis (or to those restricted tilt axes). Equivalently, the amount of force which must be supplied in the initial stages of tilting about a restricted tilt axis is a local minimum.
In this case of FIG. 2, tilting around the axis defined a line between the two torsional pivots and parallel to the base surface is much easier than in any other direction. This axis is therefore a restricted tilt axis.
In another implementation of this prior art device, a second pair of capacitor plates can be added to the base, thereby allowing an arbitrary tilt direction to be driven electrostatically, as shown in FIG. 3.
Many equivalent mechanisms are known in the art. In particular, whereas the pivoting motion was provided above by the bending of a flexible pivot connecting the micromirror to the base, many other structures produce equivalent devices. For example, the micromirror can be attached by a pair of torsional pivots attached to the sides of the micromirror and to a mounting frame which is attached to the base. The top surface of a cantilever beam can be used as a micromirror or as a micromirror mount. Such a cantilever mount can provide multiaxis tit capability when electrostatic actuators are arranged so that both bending of the cantilever and rotation about the cantilever are driven.
Many applications for tilt stages, especially those involving the use of micromirror arrays in active optical processing or display applications, require or can beneficially use larger tilt angles than are accessible using the basic prior art mechanisms described above. However, the process-related limitation to the extent of tilt cannot easily be circumvented, particularly when an array of closely spaced micromirrors is the desired product.
Applicants know of only two prior art tilt stage designs which relieve this tilt angle limitation. Both are limited in mechanical generality and in range of application.
First to be developed was a tilt stage with an eccentrically placed flexible pivot, as shown in FIG. 4a and 4b. This tilt stage is rather similar to that of FIG. 1, having a micromirror 41 attached to a base 40 by a flexible pivot 42, and a capacitor plate 43 to drive motion of the tilt stage when an appropriate potential difference is applied. However, rather than the centrally located flexible pivot of FIG. 1, this flexible pivot is offset toward the capacitor plate. As a result, the maximum tilt angle toward the left (FIG. 4c) is increased by the appropriate geometrical factor, which in practice can be as large as 3-5 times.
This increased tilt angle comes with two costs, however. First, the force provided by the capacitor plate 43 must be considerably larger than that required by a tilt stage after FIG. 1 to obtain the same responsiveness. Second, the increased tilt is only available in one direction--the maximum rightward tilt for this configuration is typically about half that obtained with a central flexible pivot. These limitations combined limit this type of prior art tilt stage to a small number of applications.
The second prior art mechanism which achieves large tilt angles was also developed here at Sandia National Laboratories, and comprises a combination of hinges, sliding bearings, and linear drive mechanisms. Such a mechanism is shown in FIG. 5. Assembled from carefully patterned material and sacrificial layers on a base 500, a micromirror 504 is mounted on top of a mirror frame 503. Mirror frame 503 is rotably fixed to base 500 by a first set of axles 502 attached to mirror frame 503 and rotating in a first pair of bearing blocks 501 which are at the surface of base 500.
Mirror frame 503 is rotably fixed to driving frame 507 by a second set of axles 505 attached to mirror frame 503 and rotating in a second pair of bearing blocks 506 which are attached to driving frame 507. Driving frame 507 is secured to base 500 by a third pair of axles 509 which are attached to the driving frame, and are constrained to slide on the surface of the base by a pair of sliding bearings 508.
Driving frame 507 is moved along the surface of the base by the action of linear transfer beam 513, which transfers motion and force from a bi-directional linear electrostatic actuator comprising comb electrodes 514, 515, 517, and 518. The linear transfer beam 513 is restricted to move substantially along its long axis through the combined action of support bushing 516, beam guides 512, and rotable connection 510 and 511 to the driving frame.
The function of this prior art tilt stage can be understood by comparing the side view of FIG. 5a with FIG. 5b. FIG. 5a shows the `flat` configuration, in which the electrostatic actuator has pulled linear transfer beam 513 as far to the right as is possible. In the flat configuration the micromirror 504 is in a well-defined position and orientation approximately parallel to the surface of base 500. The exact position can be adjusted in the design phase by placing additional material under either between the micromirror and the mirror frame, or by placing additional material under the mirror frame.
FIG. 5b shows the `tilted` configuration in which the electrostatic actuator has pushed the linear transfer beam 513 as far to the right as possible. In the tilted configuration micromirror 504 achieves a well-defined position which is tilted at a large angle relative to the surface of base 500.
The device of FIG. 5 offers a number of advantages over the prior art flexible pivot tilt stages. The transition between the flat and the tilted configurations is rapid and energy efficient, and the maximum attainable angle can be as large as 60.degree.. However, the apparatus allows tilt only in one direction, and the mechanism is extremely complex. A related mechanism can be designed which allows bi-directional tilt, but the complexity of the tilt stage increases dramatically. In addition, the design uses a very large amount of surface area relative to the size of the micromirror. Finally, there is considerable looseness in most of the moving joints and connections in the tilt stage, partially because of the basic design and partially because of the tolerances achievable for such joints using current micromechanical fabrication techniques. As a result, this type of prior art tilt stage is only occasionally used for special applications well-suited to its characteristics.
A simple, easily constructed tilt stage capable of large tilt angles, preferably being capable of such action about multiple tilt axes, is badly needed in this realm of the useful arts.


A solid-state imaging device includes a light receiving unit formed in a semiconductor base and configured to perform photoelectric conversion; an insulating layer disposed on the semiconductor base; a film constituting a cladding of a waveguide together with the insulating layer and being formed in an outer part of an interior of a hole by coating, the hole being formed in the insulating layer above the light receiving unit; a core of the waveguide, the core being composed of a material having a higher refractive index than a material for the insulating layer and a material for the film formed by coating, the core being formed in an inner part of the interior of the hole; and an inner lens integrated with the waveguide, the inner lens having a lens surface formed at the bottom of the hole at the interface between the film formed by coating and the core.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state imaging device and a method for making the same, and an imaging apparatus including the solid-state imaging device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Heretofore, various proposals have been made on improvements of sensitivity of solid-state imaging devices. One of such proposals is a waveguide structure in which a hole formed directly above a light receiving unit is filled with a high-refractive-index material (refer to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication Nos. 11-121725, 10-326885, and 2005-294749).
FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of an example of a solid-state imaging device including a waveguide structure. A light receiving unit (photodiode) 52 is formed in a region isolated by a device isolation layer 53 of a semiconductor substrate 51 such as a silicon substrate. A transfer gate electrode 55 is formed on a gate insulating film 54 on the semiconductor substrate 51 at the left side of the light receiving unit (photodiode) 52. A two-layer wiring layer 58 connected to the semiconductor substrate 51 through a contact layer (conductive plug) 57 is provided. The two-layer wiring layer 58 is covered with an insulating layer 59. A passivation film (protective film) 61, a planarizing film 62, a color filter 63, and an on-chip lens 64 are formed on the insulating layer 59.
A hole formed in the insulating layer 59 above the light receiving unit (photodiode) 52 is filled with a high-refractive-index material layer 60 and constitutes a waveguide. Note that in FIG. 5, an etching stopper film 56 that serves as an etching stopper during formation of the hole in the insulating layer 59 by etching is provided.
The waveguide optically connects the on-chip lens 64 to the light receiving unit (photodiode) 52. Because the high-refractive-index material layer 60 that serves as a core of the waveguide has a refractive index higher than that of the insulating layer 59 serving as a cladding, the incident light having an incident angle greater than the critical angle θ can be totally reflected at the interface between the high-refractive-index material layer 60 and the insulating layer 59. Due to the reflection at the interface, the incident light can be transmitted to the light receiving unit (photodiode) 52 and the efficiency of focusing light on the light receiving unit (photodiode) 52 can be increased.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication 2005-294749 proposes a structure in which an inner lens having a lens surface at the light receiving unit side is provided above the light receiving unit and the inner lens is formed of a material having a refractive index higher than that of the surrounding layers. According to this structure, the incident light can be focused by the lens surface of the inner lens and guided to the light receiving unit. A hole connected to and provided above the inner lens is filled with a material having a refractive index higher than that of the layers surrounding the hole so as to form a waveguide. As a result, the waveguide can function as a core, the surrounding layers can function as a cladding, and the incident light can be reflected by the side wall of the waveguide and guided to the light receiving unit. Thus, the degree at which incident light is focused on the light receiving unit can be increased and more incident light can be guided into the light receiving unit.

Solid-state imaging device and method for making the same, and imaging apparatus


Embodiments of the present invention disclose a thin film transistor array substrate and a method for manufacturing the same and an electronic device. The method for manufacturing the thin film transistor array substrate comprises: a first patterning process, in which a pattern of an active layer which is formed by a semiconductor layer and patterns of a source electrode and a drain electrode, which are separated from each other and are formed by a first metal layer, are formed on a transparent substrate; a second patterning process, in which a pattern of an insulating layer is formed on the transparent substrate subjected to the first patterning process, the pattern of the insulating layer comprising a contact via hole exposing the source electrode; and a third patterning process, in which a pattern of a pixel electrode, which is formed by a transparent conductive layer, and a pattern of a gate electrode, which is formed by a second metal layer, are formed on the transparent substrate subjected to the second patterning process, the pixel electrode being connected to the source electrode through the contact via hole.

Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Displays (TFT-LCDs) have advantages of small volume, light weight, low power consumption, little radiation, etc., and have been developed rapidly in recent years. In the current market for flat panel displays. TFT-LCDs play a leading role. TFT-LCDs are now being used widely in electronic products of various sizes, which almost involves main electronic products in the current information society, such as liquid crystal televisions, high-resolution digital televisions, computers (including desktop and notebook computers), cell phones, PDAs, GPSs, vehicle-mounted display, projection display, video cameras, digital cameras, electronic watches, calculators, electronic instruments, meters, common display and virtual display, etc.
In recent years, the technology for manufacturing TFT-LCDs has been developed rapidly. For example, the manufacturing of TFT array substrates is developed from a primary seven-patterning process to the current four-patterning process or three-patterning process. Generally, the number of patterning processes during manufacturing is fewer, the production efficiency is higher, and the cost is lower.
At present, upon manufacturing a TFT array substrate, the four-patterning process is usually used, and the three-patterning process is rarely used. This is because a photoresist stripping-off technology is adopted in the three-patterning process in the prior art, and the manufactured TFT array substrate has a relative low yield, which restrains the application of the three-patterning process to the production.

Thin film transistor array substrate and method for manufacturing the same and electronic device


The present disclosure relates to a method for security and/or automation systems. In some embodiments, the method may include retrieving a predefined list of user preferences associated with a guest. The method may further include updating a status of one or more devices associated with the security and/or automation systems at a home based at least in part on the predefined list of user preferences, and determining a change in the status of the one or more devices associated with the security and/or automation systems at the home. The method may further include updating the predefined list of user preferences based at least in part on the determined change. The method may further include communicating, to the guest, a request for a feedback associated with the determined change.

The present disclosure, for example, relates to creating preferred home automation settings for security and/or automation systems in a building for approved guests.
Security and automation systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication and functional features such as monitoring, communication, notification, and/or others. These systems may be capable of supporting communication with a user through a communication connection or a system management action.
When a guest wishes stay in a location for a short time or at a rental location, there is not a way for the guest to set up preferred settings prior to his or her arrival. Also, when a homeowner wishes to allow a guest to access his home in his absence, the homeowner must physically provide a key to the guest, which may raise security issues should the guest lose or fail to return the key. In the alternative, the homeowner may provide the guest with an access code to the home, which the guest must keep track of in order to gain access to the home, but which may also present security issues should the guest retain or distribute that code. Some home security systems may allow for creation of guest access codes, but may require that the homeowner both manually activate the code prior to the guest's arrival, and deactivate the guest code after the guest's departure. Additionally, these guest access codes may be limited to providing access to a door to the home or other rented building. There is lacking a method by which a guest may be granted access both to a home and to one or more components of a security and/or automation system associated with the home, automatically and remotely, and a method by which that access may be automatically revoked at the conclusion of the guest's stay, without the need for direct homeowner intervention. Also there is a need for a method by which the guest may set up preferred home automation settings prior to his arrival at the vacation rental.