Disclosed are an ink-jet recording head capable of preventing destruction of a piezoelectric element relatively readily and securely and an ink-jet recording apparatus. In the ink-jet recording head including a passage-forming substrate having a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle orifice defined therein and a piezoelectric element provided on a region of the passage-forming substrate via a vibration plate, the region corresponding to the pressure generating chamber, a sealing member defining a piezoelectric element holding portion securing a space not to hinder a movement of the piezoelectric element is provided, the sealing member being joined onto a side of the piezoelectric element of the passage-forming substrate, and at least one sealed portion as a space provided in a member other than the sealing member, communicating with the piezoelectric element holding portion and shielded from outside air is provided, thus volume of the piezoelectric element holding portion is substantially expanded to prevent an increase in humidity of the piezoelectric element.

The present invention relates to an ink-jet recording head, in which a part of a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle orifice that ejects ink droplets is constituted of a vibration plate, a piezoelectric element is provided via this vibration plate, and ink droplets are ejected by displacement of the piezoelectric element. Furthermore, the present invention relates to an ink-jet recording apparatus.
With regard to the ink-jet recording head, in which a part of a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle orifice that ejects ink droplets is constituted of a vibration plate, this vibration plate is deformed by the piezoelectric element to pressurize ink in the pressure generating chamber, and ink droplets are ejected from the nozzle orifice, two types of recording heads are put into practical use. One is a recording head using a piezoelectric actuator of a longitudinal vibration mode, which expands and contracts in the axis direction of the piezoelectric element, and the other one is a recording head using a piezoelectric actuator of a flexural vibration mode.
In the former one, a volume of the pressure generating chamber can be changed by abutting an end surface of the piezoelectric element against the vibration plate, and manufacturing of a head suitable to high density printing is enabled. On the contrary, there is required a difficult process in which the piezoelectric element is divided in a comb tooth shape to make it coincide with an array pitch of the nozzle orifices and work whereby divided piezoelectric element is positioned and fixed to the pressure generating chamber. Thus, there is a problem of a complex manufacturing process.
On the other hand, in the latter one, the piezoelectric element can be fabricated and installed on a vibration plate by a relatively simple process in which a green sheet, which is a piezoelectric material, is adhered while fitting a shape thereof to that of the pressure generating chamber and is sintered. However, a certain size of the vibration plate is required due to use of the flexural vibration, thus there is a problem that a high density array of the piezoelectric elements is difficult.
Meanwhile, in order to solve such a disadvantage of the latter recording head, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open (kokai)No.5-286131, a recording head is proposed, in which an even piezoelectric material layer is formed over the entire surface of a vibration plate by a deposition technology, the piezoelectric material layer is divided into a shape corresponding to the pressure generating chamber by a lithography method, and the piezoelectric element is formed so as to be independent of the others for each pressure generating chamber.
In the ink-jet recording head as described above, there is a problem that the piezoelectric element is broken due to moisture and the like in the atmosphere. In order to solve this problem, a structure is proposed, in which the piezoelectric element is sealed in a specified space to be shielded from the atmosphere, and an inert fluid is enclosed in the space to prevent destruction of the piezoelectric element.
However, such a process where the piezoelectric element is sealed in the specified space and the inert fluid is filled in the space has problems that it is relatively difficult and that a manufacturing cost thereof is increased.
Moreover, though the destruction of the piezoelectric element can be prevented also by providing humidity absorbent in the space where the piezoelectric element is sealed in place of the inert fluid, there is a problem that a manufacturing process thereof is difficult similarly to the case of the inert fluid. Furthermore, there is also a problem that a function of the humidity absorbent is lowered with the elapse of time to cause a malfunction thereof,
In consideration of circumstances as described above, the object of the present invention is to provide an ink-jet recording head capable of preventing the destruction of the piezoelectric element relatively readily and securely, and to provide an ink-jet recording apparatus.
A first aspect of the present invention for solving the above-described problems is an ink-jet recording head including a passage-forming substrate having a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle orifice defined therein and a piezoelectric element provided on a region of the passage-forming substrate via a vibration plate, the region corresponding to the pressure generating chamber, comprising: a sealing member defining a piezoelectric element holding portion securing a space not to hinder a movement of the piezoelectric element, the sealing member being joined onto a side of the piezoelectric element of the passage-forming substrate; and at least one sealed portion as a space provided in a member other than the sealing member, communicating with the piezoelectric element holding portion and shielded from outside air.
In the first aspect, since a volume of the space sealing the piezoelectric element is made substantially large, a permissible level for a variation factor during a manufacturing process is increased, so that the manufacturing process can be simplified and the yield is improved.
A second aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording head according to the first aspect, wherein an increase in humidity in the piezoelectric element holding portion is prevented by the sealed portion.
In the second aspect, the destruction of the piezoelectric element, which is caused by the moisture, can be prevented for a long period of time.
A third aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording head according to any one of the first and second aspects, wherein humidity absorbent is provided in the sealed portion.
In the third aspect, the inside of the piezoelectric element holding portion is maintained at low humidity by the humidity absorbent, and the malfunction of the piezoelectric element, which is caused by the moisture and the like in the atmosphere, is prevented.
A fourth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording head according to the third aspect, wherein the humidity absorbent is exchangeable.
In the fourth aspect, the humidity absorbent is exchanged at specified timing, thus the inside of the piezoelectric element holding portion can be always maintained at low humidity.
A fifth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording head according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, wherein a dry fluid is filled in the sealed portion.
In the fifth aspect, the inside of the piezoelectric element holding portion is maintained securely at low humidity, and the malfunction of the piezoelectric element, which is caused by the moisture in the atmosphere, is prevented.
A sixth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording head according to the fifth aspect, wherein the dry fluid is an inert fluid.
In the sixth aspect, since the piezoelectric element is maintained in the inert fluid, the malfunction of the piezoelectric element, which is caused by a change of an external environment, is prevented.
A seventh aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording head according to any one of the first to sixth aspects, wherein a pressure in the piezoelectric element holding portion is set equal to the atmospheric pressure or higher.
In the seventh aspect, the pressure in the piezoelectric element holding portion is always made larger than the atmospheric pressure, and the moisture can be prevented from invading the inside of the piezoelectric element holding portion from an adhesive layer or the like joining the passage-forming substrate and the sealing member to each other.
An eighth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording head according to the seventh aspect, wherein pressure adjusting means for adjusting the pressure in the sealed portion to be approximately equal to the atmospheric pressure is provided in a wall defining the sealed portion.
In the eighth aspect, since the pressure in the piezoelectric element holding portion is always made approximately equal to the atmospheric pressure, a stress does not occur in the vibration plate even if the atmospheric pressure is changed, and an ink ejection characteristic can always be well maintained.
A ninth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording head according to the seventh aspect, wherein the dry fluid is compressed and filled in the sealed portion.
In the ninth aspect, the pressure in the piezoelectric element holding portion is always made larger than the atmospheric pressure, and the moisture can be prevented from invading the inside of the piezoelectric element holding portion from the adhesive layer or the like joining the passage-forming substrate and the sealing member to each other.
A tenth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording head according to the ninth aspect, wherein the dry fluid is supplied from the sealed portion into the piezoelectric element holding portion to maintain the pressure in the piezoelectric element holding portion approximately constant.
In the tenth aspect, the pressure in the piezoelectric element holding portion is maintained approximately constant for a long period of time.
An eleventh aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording head according to any one of the first to tenth aspects, wherein a drive circuit for driving the piezoelectric element is provided on the sealing member, and the drive circuit is sealed by the sealed portion.
In the eleventh aspect, it is not necessary to mold the drive circuit with resin or the like, and the manufacturing process can be simplified.
A twelfth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording head according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, wherein the passage-forming substrate consists of a single crystal silicon substrate, the pressure generating chamber is formed by anisotropic etching, and respective layers of the piezoelectric element are formed by deposition and lithography methods.
In the twelfth aspect, the malfunction of the piezoelectric element consisting of thin films, which is caused by the moisture, is prevented.
A thirteenth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording head according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, wherein the passage-forming substrate is formed of ceramics, and the respective layers of the piezoelectric element are formed by either pasting of green sheets or printing.
In the thirteenth aspect, even the piezoelectric element formed by pasting of the green sheet and the like can be securely prevented from the malfunction caused by the moisture.
A fourteenth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording head according to any one of the first to eleventh aspects, wherein the piezoelectric element is a longitudinal vibration type piezoelectric element expanding and contracting in an axis direction, and the longitudinal vibration type piezoelectric element having piezoelectric materials and electrode forming materials alternately stacked.
In the fourteenth aspect, even in the case of using the longitudinal vibration type piezoelectric element, the malfunction of the piezoelectric element, which is caused by the moisture, is securely prevented.
A fifteenth aspect of the present invention is an ink-jet recording apparatus comprising the ink-jet recording head according to any one of the first to fourteenth aspects.
In the fifteenth aspect, an ink-jet recording apparatus can be realized, in which printing quality and reliability are improved.
A sixteenth aspect of the present invention is an ink-jet recording apparatus including an ink-jet recording head having a passage-forming substrate with a pressure generating chamber communicating with a nozzle orifice defined therein, a piezoelectric element provided on a region of the passage-forming substrate via a vibration plate, the region corresponding to the pressure generating chamber, and a sealing member defining a piezoelectric element holding portion securing a space not to hinder a movement of the piezoelectric element, the sealing member being joined onto a side of the piezoelectric element of the passage-forming substrate, the ink-jet recording apparatus comprising: at least one sealed portion as a space provided in a member other than the sealing member, communicating with the piezoelectric element holding portion and shielded from outside air.
In the sixteenth aspect, since the volume of the space sealing the piezoelectric element is made substantially large, the permissible level for the variation factor during the manufacturing process is increased, so that the manufacturing process can be simplified and the yield is improved.
A seventeenth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording apparatus according to the sixteenth aspect, wherein the sealed portion is for preventing an increase in humidity in the piezoelectric element holding portion.
In the seventeenth aspect, the destruction of the piezoelectric element, which is caused by the moisture, can be prevented for a long period of time.
An eighteenth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording apparatus according to any one of the sixteenth and seventeenth aspects, wherein humidity absorbent is provided in the sealed portion.
In the eighteenth aspect, the inside of the piezoelectric element holding portion is maintained at low humidity by the humidity absorbent, and the malfunction of the piezoelectric element, which is caused by the moisture and the like in the atmosphere, is prevented.
A nineteenth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording apparatus according to the eighteenth aspect, wherein the humidity absorbent is exchangeable.
In the nineteenth aspect, the humidity absorbent is exchanged at specified timing, thus the inside of the piezoelectric element holding portion can be always maintained at low humidity.
A twentieth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording apparatus according to any one of the sixteenth to nineteenth aspects, wherein a dry fluid is filled in the sealed portion.
In the twentieth aspect, the inside of the piezoelectric element holding portion is maintained securely at low humidity, and the malfunction of the piezoelectric element, which is caused by moisture, is prevented.
A twenty-first aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording apparatus according to the twentieth aspect, wherein the dry fluid is an inert fluid.
In the twenty-first aspect, since the piezoelectric element is held in the inert fluid, the malfunction of the piezoelectric element, which is caused by the change of the external environment is prevented.
A twenty-second aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording apparatus according to any one of the sixteenth to twenty-first aspects, wherein pressure in the piezoelectric element holding portion are set equal to the atmospheric pressure or higher.
In the twenty-second aspect, the pressure in the piezoelectric element holding portion is always made larger than the atmospheric pressure, and the moisture can be prevented from invading the inside of the piezoelectric element holding portion from the adhesive layer or the like joining the passage-forming substrate and the sealing member to each other.
A twenty-third aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording apparatus according to the twenty-second aspect, wherein pressure adjusting means for adjusting the pressure in the sealed portion to be approximately equal to the atmospheric pressure is provided in a wall defining the sealed portion.
In the twenty-third aspect, since the pressure in the piezoelectric element holding portion is always made approximately equal to the atmospheric pressure, the stress does not occur in the vibration plate even if the atmospheric pressure is changed, and the ink ejection characteristic can always be well maintained.
A twenty-fourth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording apparatus according to the twenty-second aspect, wherein the dry fluid is compressed and filled in the sealed portion.
In the twenty-fourth aspect, the pressure in the piezoelectric element holding portion is always made larger than the atmospheric pressure, and moisture can be prevented from invading the inside of the piezoelectric element holding portion from the adhesive layer or the like joining the passage-forming substrate and the sealing member to each other.
A twenty-fifth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording apparatus according to the twenty-fourth aspect, wherein the dry fluid is supplied from the sealed portion into the piezoelectric element holding portion to maintain the pressure in the piezoelectric element holding portion approximately constant.
In the twenty-fifth aspect, the pressure in the piezoelectric element holding portion is maintained approximately constant for a long period of time.
A twenty-sixth aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording apparatus according to any one of the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth aspects, further comprising: pressure detecting means for detecting the pressure in the sealed portion; and informing means for informing a user of specified information in a case where a detection result of the pressure detecting means does not satisfy a specified condition.
In the twenty-sixth aspect, since the informing means informs the user of specified information from the detection result obtained by detection of the pressure detecting means, the user can readily determine a state in the sealed portion, for example, a residual amount of the dry fluid.
A twenty-seventh aspect of the present invention is the ink-jet recording apparatus according to any one of the sixteenth to twenty-sixth aspects, further comprising: ink supplying means for supplying ink to the ink-jet recording head, the ink supplying means being detachably held thereon, wherein the sealed portion and the ink supplying means are formed integrally.
In the twenty-seventh aspect, since the sealed portion is exchanged together with the ink cartridge, it is possible to always maintain the inside of the piezoelectric element holding portion at low humidity.
As described above, in the present invention, the piezoelectric element is sealed in each piezoelectric element holding portion, and at least one sealed portion as a space communicating with the piezoelectric element holding portion and being shielded from the outside air is provided, therefore, the piezoelectric element can be sealed in a low humidity atmosphere relatively readily, and the destruction of the piezoelectric element can be prevented.

Ink-jet recording head and ink-jet recording apparatus


A highly secure “Design Zones” system is described that promotes collaboration between a manufacturer and owner of compute systems and its partners such as sub-contractors, customers and suppliers offers flexibility in the compute and design process. A partner starts a VPN tunnel between his workstations to establish a secure encrypted tunnel end to end wherein each partner is identified with a different VPN group/password. A session is started by the partner in a Web page on a portal machine through a thin client technology that authenticates thru LDAP the user/password of the person. The session is routed to an engagement box depending on the person where the engagement boxes are on network segments such as Ethernet separated by firewall boxes with another logon/password and is validated thru second LDAP and wherein all users of the same partner are all launching on the same box; and accessing data and applications from that engagement box on Network File System (NFS) storage authenticated LDAP to get benefit of a big compute farm composed of many high end servers in a very secure way.

The complexity of system designs is increasing exponentially. This is particularly a concern for integrated circuit manufacturers such as Texas Instruments Incorporated. The time to market is more and more critical for success. It is believed that collaboration with customers and suppliers is the key to faster, easier, cheaper and more accurate interactions.
The collaboration can be improved by allowing the customers and suppliers (partners) to use their compute resources. The problem with that is having the data leaving the owner for validating, simulation, layout, etc.
It is therefore an object of the present invention for manufacturer's such as Texas Instruments Incorporated to give access to partners such as sub-contractors, customers and Electronic Design Automation (EDA) vendors to the manufacturer's design systems computing environment without compromising Intellectual Property.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and system for access to development environment of another


An independent suspension module includes a plurality of control members that are positioned to allow the suspension module to be used on low profile vehicles such as low floor buses. The suspension module includes a plurality of control members that couple a support member to the vehicle structure so that the suspension module is appropriately supported relative to the vehicle. The control members include a first end supported near a vertical portion of the lower surface of the vehicle. A second end of at least some of the control members are supported on the support member of the suspension module such that the second ends are positioned between the inboard and outboard sides of the wheels.

This invention generally relates to independent suspensions for low profile vehicles such as passenger buses.
A variety of vehicles are in use today. A number of configurations are available for various needs. One particular type of vehicle is known as a low floor bus. Such vehicles are typically characterized by a passenger aisle that is relatively low to the ground so that people entering or leaving the vehicle need not climb stairs. Having a lower level floor provides easier access for younger, older and physically challenged individuals.
While low floor buses serve an important purpose, the necessary design constraints put limitations on other portions of the vehicle. One challenging aspect has been to design an appropriate suspension for the vehicle wheels. Typical packaging space available for drive axles used on low floor buses do not permit the use of an independent suspension module, which is desirable because of the performance characteristics, of independent suspensions. Typical components associated with independent suspension modules are mounted inboard of the wheels and do not fit within the tight space constraints imposed by the nature of the vehicle design. If conventional components were to be used, the aisle space allowable for passengers would be too limited to be practical or acceptable. Alternatively, the control components would be too restricted and the result would be too much camber variation and/or too much track variation at the vehicle wheels.
There is a need for an improved suspension design for low floor buses or low profile vehicles where an independent suspension module can be used. Independent suspension modules have certain advantages compared to other arrangements as known in the art. This invention provides a way to incorporate an independent suspension arrangement on a low floor bus, which can be used at the vehicle drive axle.
In general terms, this invention is a suspension assembly used on low profile vehicles. A suspension assembly designed according to this invention includes a support member. At least one wheel is supported by the support member such that the wheel is able to rotate about an axis. The wheel has an inboard side and an outboard side. A plurality of control members each have a first end adapted to be connected to a vehicle structure to couple the wheel support member to the vehicle structure. The control members each have a second end that is supported on the wheel support member. The second end of at least some of the control members is positioned between the inboard and outboard sides of the wheel, therefore allowing for long control members.
The various features and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the currently preferred embodiments. The drawings that accompany the detailed description can be briefly described as follows.

Independent suspension for low profile vehicles


A system for alerting the operator of a vehicle to potentially damaging motoring of the engine before such motoring actually occurs so that corrective action can be taken. A speed sensor senses rotational speed of the counter/input shaft of a manual transmission and operates an indicator that presents the alert to the driver. The alert is given with the clutch disengaged as soon as the transmission is placed in a gear that causes the counter/input shaft to operate at a speed that will cause potentially damaging motoring of the engine. Because the alert is given before the clutch is re-engaged, an opportunity is given to prevent the potentially damaging motoring.

This invention relates to instrumentation for an automotive vehicle, particularly for a truck in which the engine drives the wheels through a manually shifted transmission. The invention is concerned with providing the vehicle operator with a warning of potentially damaging motoring of the engine so that he will have an opportunity to avoid the potentially destructive effects of such motoring.
Internal combustion engines of the types commonly in use today in vehicles such as on-road trucks, off-road trucks, construction equipment, automobiles, etc., are capable of operating over a considerable range of rpm (revolutions per minute). For any given engine, there is an upper limit to this range, and this limit is usually dictated by certain components of the engine. A typical limiting factor is how accurately the intake and exhaust valves can follow their associated rocker arms and how accurately push tubes, lifters, and rockers can follow lobes on a camshaft. As engine rpm increases, a point is eventually reached at which these valve train components start to float. That is, they are no longer able to follow their inputs or adjoining components. If an intake or exhaust valve starts to float, the possibility of interference with the corresponding cylinder piston becomes real, and the occurrence of such interference or collision between a valve and piston can damage or even destroy an engine.
An engine can reach such a limiting rpm under two conditions. First, if the engine is afforded the right combination of fuel, air, ignition spark, load, etc., it will accelerate to such limit on its own. Secondly, the engine can be motored to this limit when an outside force increases the rpm to one that is higher than the engine would normally attain at a specific air and fueling rate; in other words, the engine is being pushed faster than it wants to go.
A prime example of how an engine can be motored is when the vehicle is going down a hill or mountain while in gear with the operator's foot off the accelerator pedal. If gravity is pulling the vehicle down the grade harder than the engine and associated vehicle components are trying to slow the vehicle, the vehicle speed and engine rpm will be increased, and under certain conditions the degree of motoring will be sufficient to drive the engine to a speed at which engine damage can occur.
Another common instance where an engine can be motored beyond a safe rpm may occur during downshifting of a manual transmission. If the transmission is placed in too low a gear for the vehicle speed, the engine will be motored to too high a speed when the clutch is re-engaged at the conclusion of the shift.
In some vehicles the engine is equipped with a governor on the fuel, air, or ignition system to limit engine speed for fuel economy or other purposes. Such governors are effective in limiting engine rpm under non-motoring conditions, but are ineffective in limiting engine rpm when the engine is being motored.

Navistar International Transportation Corp.


A peer-to-peer (P2P) video-on-demand (VoD) system or method use a plurality of LP-enabled VoD set-top box (STB) peers in a pool for providing video content data to a requesting client peer in the pool. One other peer in the pool can be designated as a parent peer for downloading high priority playback content that is substantially immediately needed for playback display. Low priority pre-fetch content can be downloaded to the requesting client peer from another peer in the pool other than the parent peer. Bandwidth at the requesting client peer that is not used by the playback module for downloading the high priority playback video content data can be allocated for downloading the pre-fetch content. Using the requesting client peer, video content data can be served, for the playback display on a video monitor, wherein such served video data content can comprise the playback content and the prefetch content.

IP-enabled set-top boxes (STBs) can be used in home networks, and can support voice, video and data. Cable operators (MSOs) provide a limited menu of video-on-demand (VoD) choices for STBs. Set-top boxes for IP-based delivery can include large disk drives or other storage. For example, the most recent model of the Tivo DVR contains a 250 GB drive, which can store 300 hours of standard-quality MPEG2 or 32 hours of high-definition video.

Set-top box peer-assisted video-on-demand

The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York


A pipe/wire gripping and fixing clamp comprises a gripping wall whose central portion is curved circularly and two attaching walls extending from either end of the gripping wall. The corners of the distal end of one attaching wall are cut off to define oblique edges, whereas the corners of the distal end of the other attaching wall are folded to define triangular hooks. When the one attaching wall is superposed on the other with a member to be secured being seated inside the curved central portion of the gripping wall, the oblique edges are latched by the hooks, whereby the member to be secured is reliably gripped and fixed by the clamp without causing any positional shift between the two attaching walls.

1. Field of the Invention:
This invention relates to a clamp which is used in gripping and fixing a small-diameter pipe, not exceeding 20 mm in diameter, (that is used as a path of oil, air, etc. in various machines, devices, and vehicles) as well as a bundle of wires of similar diameter.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
A conventional gripping and fixing clamp for such uses is shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. This clamp comprises a central gripping wall 11 and two attaching walls 12 and 13 contiguous therewith. One attaching wall 12 has an engaging hole 14, and the other 13 has a pawl 15 corresponding to the engaging hole 14. When to grip and fix a member P' to be secured, the pawl 15 is inserted in the engaging hole 14, and then, the distal end of the pawl 15 is bent and caulked. Attaching holes 16 and 16' aligned with each other are used in mounting the member P'.
According to the foregoing prior art, after the pawl 15 is inserted in the engaging hole 14, a caulking jig is required to bend and caulk the distal end of the pawl 15, this making the work troublesome. Further, if the engaging hole 14 is dimensioned with no allowance in view of the size of the pawl 15, a long time is needed to insert the pawl 15 in the engaging hole 14; on the contrary, if it is dimensioned with enough margin, the attaching walls 12 and 13 positionally deviate from each other to cause some lateral shift between the two attaching walls, this making the clamping force of one attaching wall different from that of the other or putting the attching holes 16 and 16' in mis-alignment.


A microwave locating system is provided for locating known features and distinguishing between different types of features. The locating system includes a plurality of modulated microwave power sources located on known features and radiating modulated microwave signals having modulated frequencies selected in accordance with the known features. A video detection sensor camera is located remote from the sources for sensing microwave signals within a field of view and providing location signals for each of the sources. The camera includes an array of receiver elements which provide narrow bandwidth filtering so as to identify received signals as one of a plurality of selected modulated frequencies. The locating system further provides an image of the location signals which distinguishes between different selected located features.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to locating systems and, more particularly, to a microwave or millimeter wave locating system for locating known features such as an airport runway and various features associated therewith, especially under conditions of low visibility.
2. Discussion
There exist a number of aircraft landing systems for guiding an aircraft to a safe landing when approaching a runway under conditions of low visibility. One known approach employs a ground controlled system which has a radar system with scanning antennas located near the runway. A ground operator is generally required to instruct the pilot of the aircraft of his position so that the pilot may adjust the position of the aircraft on approach of the desired landing path. Another approach is the instrument landing system (ILS) which employs antennas located near the runway which radiate a localization beam to provide left-right and up-down control guidance signals to a receiver in the aircraft. The receiver converts the guidance signals into meter pointer deflection signals which provide a pointer deflection for the pilot to fly the aircraft on the desired landing path. While these approaches have worked well, both have limited landing guidance capabilities. For instance, these approaches generally provide only one acceptable landing approach path and limited location information to the pilot.
More recently, microwave landing systems have been deployed for providing landing paths for an aircraft under conditions of low visibility. Conventional microwave landing systems generally employ a number of antennas located near the runway which scan the aircraft's approach region. Microwave receiving equipment is located on the aircraft which receives and decodes the scanning information and converts it to a display. However, the conventional microwave landing system typically provides a display which is significantly different from what the pilot would actually see. As a result, the conventional microwave landing system provides an image on a screen of the runway which the pilot relies on to guide the aircraft to the point where the runway becomes visible. At that point, the pilot typically relies on what he can see as the features that make up the conditions for landing and more easily manually land the aircraft visually.
Another approach is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,940,986 entitled "Millimeter Wave Locating" which discloses a number of millimeter wave sources located near runway light housings for radiating millimeter wave beams along the runway. An airborne millimeter wave camera is provided for receiving the signals and creating an image of the millimeter wave sources which corresponds substantially to a visible image perceived by a landing pilot. While this approach may provide the location of the runway, it generally does not provide narrow band receivers for sensing modulated signals which enable a pilot to more accurately locate other features and distinguish between such features. For instance, it is desirable for a pilot to accurately identify other ground and air features for purposes of crash avoidance. In addition, this approach does not allow a pilot to accurately distinguish between different types of features located on or near the runway.
It is therefore desirable to provide for a microwave or millimeter wave locating system which enables an operator to locate known features such as a runway and other selected features which may commonly be found on or near the runway. In addition, it is further desirable to provide for such a locating system which enables an operator to accurately distinguish between different types of located features. Furthermore, it is desirable to provide for narrow band detection of modulated signals so as to detect the location of the sources emitting the modulated signals.

Microwave aircraft landing system using narrow bandwidth filtering


Techniques for automated management of a service level agreement between a first communication network and a second communication network are provided. For example, one of the communication networks is a visited network while the other is a home network whereby the service level agreement is a roaming agreement. In one example, a message is received at a first communication network from a second communication network, wherein at least a portion of the message relates to the service level agreement between the first communication network and the second communication network. An automated verification of information in the message is performed at the first communication network to determine compliance with the service level agreement. The message receiving step is performed by a security edge protection proxy function of the first communication network and the automated verification performing step is performed by a service level agreement management function of the first communication network.

This section introduces aspects that may be helpful to facilitating a better understanding of the inventions. Accordingly, the statements of this section are to be read in this light and are not to be understood as admissions about what is in the prior art or what is not in the prior art.
Fourth generation (4G) wireless mobile telecommunications technology, also known as Long Term Evolution (LTE) technology, was designed to provide high capacity mobile multimedia with high data rates particularly for human interaction. Next generation or fifth generation (5G) technology is intended to be used not only for human interaction, but also for machine type communications in so-called Internet of Things (IoT) networks.
While 5G networks are intended to enable massive IoT services (e.g., very large numbers of limited capacity devices) and mission-critical IoT services (e.g., requiring high reliability), improvements over legacy mobile communication services are supported in the form of enhanced mobile broadband (eMBB) services providing improved wireless Internet access for mobile devices.
Mobile devices that access LTE, 5G, or hybrid systems typically have a home network with which a given mobile device is considered a subscriber device. However, such subscriber devices may access one or more services through a visited network which is considered a roaming network since the given subscriber device may typically move between visited networks. Coordination of how the home network and a visited network interwork can be a significant challenge.

Automated roaming service level agreements between network operators via security edge protection proxies in a communication system environment


The present invention proposes a cyclic gravitation power generation system, which comprises a vertical water tank, a propulsive device, a guiding device, a carrying device and a power generation device, wherein potential energy is converted into kinetic energy to drive a generator to generate electric power when float balls are moved downward from a high position to a low position by gravity, and the vertical water tank can make the float balls to be moved back to the high position to perform a cyclic operation, whereby is achieved a low-cost cyclic power generation system.

In the modern world, electricity is indispensable energy for daily life as well as for industrial development.
Electricity is usually generated by a nuclear power plant or a thermal power plant. However, the conventional power plants generate nuclear waste or emit carbon dioxide to ruin the environment. Therefore, much attention is paid to the green energy systems, such as the wind power generation system, hydroelectric power generation system and solar power generation system.
The green energies are environment-friendly and sustainable. However, the green energies are expensive and hard to harness artificially at present. Therefore, they cannot extensively replace the conventional energy sources yet.
Accordingly, the Inventor proposes a cyclic gravitation power generation system, which is expected to generate electric power with a low investment.

Cyclic gravitation power generation system


A swing arm (25) including a pivot portion (57) pivotally supported by a vehicle body frame (2) and an arm portion (100) extending from the pivot portion (57) towards a back side of a vehicle body. The arm portion (100) includes a box-shaped case (58) being integrally formed with the pivot portion (57) and having one side in a width direction of the vehicle body opened, and a case cover (59). A harness (64) pulled out from the motor (60) is fixedly supported on the case (58) side at a first position proximate to the motor (60), and extended to a control device (52) at a front side of the vehicle body from the arm portion (100) through a grommet (66, 67) arranged at a front wall (597) of the case cover (59) at a second position on the pivot portion (57) side.

A drive device of an electric vehicle in which an electric motor, which is a drive source of the electric vehicle, and a portion of the harness extended from the motor to a power supply, that is, a battery are accommodated in a swing arm supported by a vehicle body frame to freely swing in the up and down direction is known. Japanese Patent No. 4188641 discloses an electric vehicle in which the front portion of a rear arm (i.e., swing arm) is swingably supported by the vehicle body frame, the motor and a power unit or an electrical component are incorporated in the back portion of the rear arm, and a harness for connecting the power unit and an external battery is held by the rear arm. The rear arm described in Japanese Patent No. 4188641 includes a first member for accommodating the power unit and the harness and extending in a front and back direction of a vehicle body, a second member coupled to the side at the back part of the first member and interiorly including a motor, a third member coupled to the side at the front part of the first member and configuring a pivotally supporting portion (pivot portion) of the rear frame in the vehicle body frame with the first member, and a cover, positioned between the second member and the third member, for covering the first member. The harness is pulled out to the outside through a through-hole formed at the joint portion of the first member and the third member.


A fuel injection device includes at least one fuel injector, one mounting hole in a cylinder head for the fuel injector, and a decoupling element between a valve housing of the fuel injector and the wall of the mounting hole. As a lenticular spring element, the decoupling element has a nonlinear, progressive spring characteristic curve, such that a low rigidity of the decoupling element prevails during idle operation and a high rigidity of the decoupling element prevails during nominal system pressure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to a decoupling element for a fuel injection device.
2. Description of Related Art
A fuel injection device known from the related art is shown as an example in FIG. 1, in which a flat intermediate element is provided on a fuel injector, which is installed in a mounting hole of a cylinder head of an internal combustion engine. Such intermediate elements having the shape of a flat washer are placed as support elements on the shoulder of the mounting hole of the cylinder head in a known way. With the aid of such intermediate elements, manufacturing and installation tolerances are compensated for and a mounting free of lateral forces is ensured even if the fuel injector is slightly inclined. The fuel injection device is suitable in particular for use in fuel injection systems of mixture-compressing, external-ignition internal combustion engines.
Another type of a simple intermediate element for a fuel injection device is already known from published German patent document DE 101 08 466 A1. The intermediate element is a washer having a circular cross section, which is situated in an area in which both the fuel injector and the wall of the mounting hole in the cylinder head run in the shape of a truncated cone and is used as a compensation element for the mounting and support of the fuel injector.
More complicated intermediate elements for fuel injection devices, which are significantly more complex to manufacture, are also known, inter alia, from published German patent document DE 100 27 662 A1, published German patent document DE 100 38 763 A1, and published European patent document EP 1 223 337 A1. These intermediate elements are distinguished in that they all have multipart or multilayer constructions and are to partially take over sealing and damping functions. The intermediate element known from published German patent document DE 100 27 662 A1 includes a main body and a carrier body, in which a sealing means is inserted, which is penetrated by a nozzle body of the fuel injector. A multilayer compensation element is known from published German patent document DE 100 38 763 A1, which is composed of two rigid rings and an elastic intermediate ring sandwiched between them. This compensation element allows both tilting of the fuel injector to the axis of the mounting hole across a relatively large angular range and a radial displacement of the fuel injector out of the central axis of the mounting hole.
An intermediate element which is also multilayered is also known from published European patent document EP 1 223 337 A1, this intermediate element being assembled from multiple flat washers, which are made of a damping material. The damping material made of metal, rubber, or PTFE is selected and designed in such a way that noise damping of the vibrations and noises generated by the operation of the fuel injector is made possible. The intermediate element must include four to six layers for this purpose, however, in order to achieve an intended damping effect.
To reduce noise emissions, U.S. Pat. No. 6,009,856 additionally proposes to enclose the fuel injector using a sleeve and to fill the resulting intermediate space with an elastic, noise-damping compound. This type of noise damping is very complex, difficult to install, and expensive, however.

Decoupling element for a fuel injection device


A composition that can solvate biofilms and disrupt bacterial cell walls acts to both kill the bacteria by cell lysis and remove the biofilm. This solvent-containing composition is effective against a broad spectrum of microbes and can be used on a variety of surfaces, both living and inanimate. The polarity of the solvent component of the composition is lower than that of pure water so that the composition exhibits increased efficacy in solvating the macromolecular matrix of a biofilm and in penetrating bacterial cell walls.

Bacteria are responsible for a significant amount of disease and infection. Ridding surfaces of bacteria is desirable to reduce human exposure. Because bacteria have developed self-preservation mechanisms, they are extremely difficult to remove and/or eradicate.
Bacteria can be found in several forms, including planktonic and biofilm. In a biofilm, bacteria interact with surfaces and form colonies which adhere to a surface and continue to grow. The bacteria produce exopolysaccharide (EPS) and/or extracellular-polysaccharide (ECPS) macromolecules which crosslink to form matrices or films that help to keep the bacteria attached to the surface
In addition to adhering to surfaces, biofilm matrices protect bacteria against many forms of attack. Protection likely involves both the small diameter of the flow channels in the matrix, which restricts the size of molecules that can transport to the underlying bacteria, and consumption of biocides through interactions with constituent EPS and/or ECPS macromolecules.
Additionally, bacteria in biofilm form are down-regulated (sessile) and not actively dividing. This makes them resistant to attack by a large group of antibiotics and antimicrobials, many of which attack the bacteria during the active parts of their lifecycle, e.g., cell division.
Due to protection afforded by the macromolecular matrix and their down-regulated state, bacteria in a biofilm are very difficult to treat. The types of biocides and antimicrobials that can effectively treat bacteria in this form are strongly acidic or oxidizing, often involving halogen atoms, oxygen atoms, or both. Common examples include concentrated bleach, strong mineral acids (e.g., HCl), high concentrations of quaternary ammonia compounds and aldehydes, and H2O2. Commonly, large dosages of such chemicals are allowed to contact the biofilm for extended amounts of time (up to 24 hours in some circumstances), which makes them impractical for many applications.
Formulations that disrupt the macromolecular matrices or bypass and/or disable the defenses inherent in these matrices have been described in U.S. Pat. Publ. Nos. 2010/0086576 and 2013/0089593. These formulations are aqueous compositions containing an acid or base, a buffering salt added at sufficient concentration to yield a relatively high osmolarity, and large amounts of surfactant, with the solutes creating an osmotic pressure differential across the bacteria cell wall and the surfactant(s) weakening those walls by interacting with wall proteins.
The foregoing compositions usually do not immediately break down the biofilm macromolecular matrix and, instead, transform that matrix into a gel-like state, which still provides some shielding of the bacteria. The aggregate efficacy and disinfection rate of these compositions thus are limited by the flux rate of the active ingredient(s) moving through the biofilm matrix and rate of bacterial cell wall degradation. (Disruption of the EPS decreases the mean free path that the antimicrobial components must travel.)
Further, regulatory bodies such as the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Environmental Protection Agency have set threshold amounts for surfactants such as benzalkonium chloride and cetylpyridinium chloride. Any composition that includes such surfactants in amounts above those thresholds must be reviewed for safety prior to commercial introduction for certain applications such as, but not limited to, food contact (without rinsing), oral rinses, medical instrument sterilization, and skin contact. The foregoing compositions have surfactant concentrations that usually exceed regulatory threshold amounts.

High osmolarity antimicrobial composition containing one or more organic solvents


The present invention provides a unit or segment having a ball, a socket and a connector with the connector physically linking the ball and socket together such that a main opening of the socket continuous with the socket cavity faces away from the connected ball. Alternatively, a unit/segment may instead include a ball and a socket coupled directly together. Elongated structures comprising a plurality of units joined together in series, such as through ball joints and other connections, are further provided that may vary greatly in length and size. The ball and socket may have corresponding electromagnets and magnetic materials, respectively, that may attract or repel each other to cause controlled rotational movement of the individual ball joint(s) by controlling the operation of the electromagnets. Higher order structures including one or more elongated structures are further provided. Methods for constructing and/or operating units and/or elongated structures are further provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to elongated arms, threads, fibers or other like structures that are able to controllably bend and move variably with undulating or serpentine-like motions.
2. Related Art
Flexible or bendable arm-like structures have been described, such as for robotics, typically to position a distal functional end of the arm, such as a clamp or set of gripping fingers, etc., to carry out an operation in space, such as to hold an object. A number of mechanisms have been described to cause movement or bending of these arm-like structures. However, none of these prior systems are known to combine separate actuating mechanisms for (1) lengthwise elongation/contraction and (2) lateral bending movements in a manner that is simple enough to allow for its reasonable construction and operation on a smaller scale, such as part of a small thread, fiber, etc. Many prior arm-like devices have only one of these two types of actuating movements and/or require a complex construction. Many of these prior actuating mechanisms for elongated structures are also constricted in their range of motion and/or unable to be easily and reversibly constructed in a modular fashion to reach variable lengths.
Accordingly, there is a need in the art for mobile or motive arm-like structures, threads, fibers, etc., that combine separately controlled elongation/retraction and lateral bending actuating movements that is simple enough in design to reasonably allow for its miniaturization (i.e., its construction and operation on a smaller scale). There is yet another need in the art for a mobile or motive arm-like structure, thread, fiber, etc., having a simple and modular construction that can be easily and reversibly constructed into threads, fibers, etc., of variable length.

Mobile fibers and elongated structures and units thereof


An optical system 111 collimates wavelength components of wavelengths λ1-λ3 emerging from an end face of optical fiber 11, a diffraction grating 121 separates them by wavelength, and an optical system 112 condenses them. The component of the wavelength λ1 is focused at a focus position by the optical system 112 and diverges after the focus position. Then the component of the wavelength λ1 is collimated by an optical system 113, travels via a diffraction grating 122, and is condensed by an optical system 114 to enter an end face of optical fiber 22. The component of the wavelengths λ2, λ3 condensed by the optical system 112 are reflected by reflecting portions 132, 133 set at their respective focus positions, are collimated by the optical system 112, travel via the diffraction grating 121, and are condensed by the optical system 111 to enter an end face of optical fiber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical multiplexer/demultiplexer for multiplexing or demultiplexing optical signals in a WDM optical communication system or the like.
2. Related Background of the Invention
A Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) optical communication system for transmitting multi-wavelength optical signals through an optical transmission path by multiplexing uses an optical multiplexer/demultiplexer for multiplexing or demultiplexing multi-wavelength optical signals. The optical multiplexer/demultiplexer disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,661,948 permits selection of an input or output port for respective wavelength components, and is suitably used in an optical communication network in which transmission paths of optical signals and wavelengths of optical signals are flexibly determined.
The optical multiplexer/demultiplexer disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,661,948 has a wavelength separator for spatially separating an optical signal fed through an input port into respective wavelength components, and rotatable mirrors for optionally selecting an output port for each of the wavelength components separated by the wavelength separator. Namely, an output port from which a wavelength component is outputted is determined by an angle of rotation of each rotatable mirror.

Optical multiplexer/demultiplexer, optical device, and optical transmission system


The invention relates to a compressor for inducting an internal combustion engine, comprising an electric motor (3) for driving a first compressor wheel (4), wherein, in at least one operating state, an inlet-side, first gas flow (5a) of the internal combustion engine (1) is compressed by the compressor (2), wherein the compressor (2) comprises a first compressor path (5) for the first gas flow (5a) and a second compressor path (6) for a second gas flow (6a), wherein the second gas flow (6a), in particular, in at least one operating state, opens into an exhaust gas flow (8) of the internal combustion engine (1) as a secondary air flow (6a).

EP 1 154 133 B1 describes an arrangement having an internal combustion engine, a turbocharger and an additional compressor, wherein the additional compressor is used as a secondary air pump for conveying air into a catalytic converter.
The object of the invention is to specify a compressor for inducting an internal combustion engine, which enables a particularly flexible use in a gas system of the internal combustion engine.

Turbocharger for an internal combustion engine


Random human eye generators are provided for use in evaluating aspects of treatment in refractive surgery or other therapeutic vision modalities. Exemplary random eye generators include an optical parameter such as a manifest refractive sphere parameter or a wavefront sphere parameter, and incorporate a Rayleigh distribution for such parameters.

Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to the field of vision treatment, and in particular encompass systems and methods for simulating random human eyes for use in evaluating aspects of treatment in refractive surgery or other therapeutic vision modalities.
Various eye models have been proposed to simulate vision characteristics of the eye, or to predict the effect of certain vision treatments. Although such techniques may be helpful in advancing the state of patient eye care, still further improvements are desired. Embodiments of the present invention address these and other outstanding needs.

Random eye generation systems and methods


A link band estimating apparatus includes a packet transmitting unit for transmitting packets in succession via a route portion of communication routes which share a link to be measured. The apparatus includes a packet interval measuring unit for measuring an interval by which the packets are spaced apart in another route portion of the communication routes. The apparatus includes a band calculating unit for calculating the band of the link to be measured based on a value measured by the packet interval measuring unit and a data size of the packets.

The technology called "Mobile Inverse Mux" (see, for example, the document T. Nakata et al., "Efficient bundling of heterogeneous radio resources for broadband Internet access from moving vehicles," in proceedings of Global Mobile Congress 2004, Oct. 11-13, 2004, Shanghai, China, and JP-A No. 2005-210671 (Paragraph 0312, FIG. 12)) is drawing attention as a technology for accessing the Internet from a moving vehicle such as a train traveling at a high speed in the range from 100 to 300 km per hour, a bus, or the like. This technology serves to achieve a wider band and increase the stability of communications by combining a plurality of communication modules such as of wireless LAN (Local Area Network) and cellular phone. In particular, for bundling a plurality of unstable communication routes for a wider band, it is necessary to monitor band fluctuations of the routes in order to effectively utilize the bands of the respective routes.
One process of measuring the band of a route between two nodes is known as a packet dispersion process for simultaneously transmitting a plurality of packets called a packet pair or a packet train from a transmission side, measuring a reception interval of the packets on a reception side, and estimating a band from the result of the measurement (see, for example, the document C. Dovrolis, P. Ramanathan and D. Moore, "What do packet dispersion techniques measure?," proceedings of IEEE INFOCOM 2001, pp 905-914 (2001)). According to this process, the band of a link which causes a bottleneck to be created on the entire route is measured. Consequently, if the route includes a single wireless link, then the process can serve as a method for measuring the band of the wireless link.
A situation will be considered wherein nodes that communicate with each other are in a mobile environment and are connected to each other by a plurality of wireless links. In such a situation, it is necessary that any route between the nodes go through plural wireless links such as two wireless links. The total band of the entire route changes depending on the combination of wireless links through which packets are transmitted. Therefore, it is desirable to determine a combination of wireless links which can utilize the band most effectively after measuring the bands of all bottleneck candidates. According to the measurement of the bands of routes based on the related art of the present invention, however, it has been impossible to identify a bottleneck link in two wireless (narrowband) zones.
If there are a plurality of bottleneck candidate links such as wireless links in routes, then only low rate bands thereof are measured. As bottleneck links cannot be identified, there has been a problem in that it cannot be specified which links the measured values correspond to. Moreover, there is another problem in that the bands of links which do not serve as bottlenecks cannot be measured.

Link band estimating apparatus and link band estimating method


Described is a medicament container carrier adapted to hold a first medicament container having a first predetermined size and capable of containing more than a first volume of a medicament. The container carrier comprises a body, and an adapter coupled to the body. The adapter is adapted to hold a second medicament container having a second predetermined size different from the first predetermined size and capable of containing no more than the first volume of the medicament.

In a conventional medicament delivery device (e.g., an autoinjector), a pre-filled medicament container (e.g., syringe) is housed in a carrier which is axially movable to achieve needle penetration in an injection site and, optionally, needle withdrawal. A conventional carrier is typically sized and shaped to retain a medicament container of a predetermined size. In order to increase a dose that can be administered by the delivery device, a larger carrier would be necessary to accommodate a larger medicament container. However, a size and shape of the delivery device may not provide space for the larger medicament container. Thus, an entirely different delivery device may be necessary for different dosage amounts.
Accordingly, there is a need for a carrier and an adapter that allows the carrier to accommodate medicament containers of various sizes.

Medicament container carrier and adapter


A method of producing a metal superalloy may include: providing a charge of metal materials; melting the charge of metal materials in an electric-arc furnace to obtain a first melt of the charge of metal materials; performing Argon Oxygen Decarburization (A.O.D.) treatment on the first melt to obtain a decarburized and refined first melt; solidifying the decarburized and refined first melt to obtain first ingots; melting the first ingots in a Vacuum Induction Degassing and Pouring (V.I.D.P.) furnace to obtain a second melt; solidifying the second melt to obtain second ingots; melting the second ingots in a Vacuum Arc Remelting (V.A.R.) furnace to obtain a third melt; and solidifying the third melt to obtain the metal superalloy. The charge of metal materials may have a weight greater than or equal to forty tons and less than or equal to sixty tons.

The term superalloys is intended to designate materials that are able to withstand high temperatures, possibly above 1000° C., and are mainly composed of Iron and Nickel, with the addition of variable amounts of Chromium, Cobalt, Niobium, Titanium and other elements.
Superalloys are known as materials that must have a high degree of purity with respect to elements that are considered as impurities, such as, for example, Sulfur (S), Lead (Pb) and Bismuth (Bi) whose presence would jeopardize the mechanical, corrosion-resistance and thermal performances required of superalloys.
Materials having the aforementioned performances may be used for a variety of applications namely, but without limitation, in the aircraft industry, for example for the manufacture of propellers and rotor blades for turbojets.
Such materials are produced using many types of manufacturing methods including the steps of melting, cooling in suitable ingot molds, further melting and refining, for improving mechanical performances but also for reducing harmful element, namely Sulfur, Lead and Bismuth, as mentioned above.
In current methods, the production of superalloys by a "triple melt" process includes causing a charge of base materials, whose total amount by weight does not exceed twenty-five tons, to undergo a first melting step in a vacuum induction furnace, known as Vacuum Induction Melting (V.I.M.) furnace, then casting the melted material into round ingot molds from which the ingots are transferred to a second melting step, known as E.S.R. (Electro Slag Remelting) which attempts to eliminate as many impurities as possible, particularly the amount of S (Sulfur), Pb (Lead), Sn (Tin) and Bi (Bismuth). Such second melting step is followed by a third melting step, known as V.A.R. (Vacuum Arc Remelting).
Thus, this process is known to include three melts of the initial charge, with impurity removal being carried out in the second melt, known as ESR (Electro Slag Remelting).

Processes for producing superalloys and superalloys obtained by the processes


The present invention relates to the field of medical immunology and further to pharmaceutical compositions, methods of making and methods of use of vaccines. More specifically this invention relates to recombinant proteins derived from the genes encoding Clostridium difficile toxin A and toxin B, and their use in an active vaccine against C. difficile.

The present invention relates to the field of medical immunology and further to pharmaceutical compositions, methods of making and methods of use of vaccines. More specifically this invention relates to recombinant proteins derived from the genes encoding Clostridium difficile toxin A and toxin B, and their use in an active vaccine against C. difficile.
Clostridium difficile, a Gram positive anaerobic spore-forming bacillus is an etiologic agent of antibiotic associated diarrhea (AAD) and colitis (AAC). The symptoms of the disease range from mild diarrhea to fulminant and life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis (PMC). Antibiotic therapy can disrupt the normal intestinal microflora. Destruction of the normal flora results in a condition in which C. difficile can spores of C. difficile can germinate and the organism can grow and produce disease causing toxins. C. difficile causes about 25% of antibiotic-associated diarrheas, however, it is almost always the causative agent of PMC (Lyerly, D. M. and T. D. Wilkins, in Infections of the Gastrointestinal Tract, Chapter 58, pages 867-891, (Raven Press, Ltd, New York 1995)). Additionally, C. difficile is frequently identified as a causative agent of nosocomial infectious diarrheas, particularly in older or immuno-compromised patients (U.S. Pat. No. 4,863,852 (Wilkins et al.) (1989)).
Disease caused by C. difficile is due to two enteric toxins A and B produced by toxigenic strains (U.S. Pat. No. 5,098,826 (Wilkins et al.) (1992)). Toxin A is an enterotoxin with minimal cytotoxic activity, whereas toxin B is a potent cytotoxin but has limited enterotoxic activity. The extensive damage to the intestinal mucosa is attributable to the action of toxin A, however, toxins A and B act synergistically in the intestine.
The genetic sequences encoding both toxigenic proteins A and B, the largest known bacterial toxins, with molecular weights of 308,000 and 269,000, respectively, have been elucidated (Moncrief et al., Infect. Immun. 65:1105-1108 (1997); Barroso et al., Nucl. Acids Res. 18:4004 (1990); Dove et al. Infect. Immun. 58:480-488 (1990)). Because of the degree of similarity when conserved substitutions are considered, these toxins are thought to have arisen from gene duplication. The proteins share a number of similar structural features with one another. For example, both proteins possess a putative nucleotide binding site, a central hydrophobic region, four conserved cysteines and a long series of repeating units at their carboxyl ends. The repeating units of toxin A, particularly, are immunodominant and are responsible for binding to type 2 core carbohydrate antigens on the surface of the intestinal epithelium (Krivan et al., Infect. Immun. 53:573-581 (1986); Tucker, K. and T. D. Wilkins, Infect. Immun. 59:73-78 (1991)).
The toxins share a similar molecular mechanism of action involving the covalent modification of Rho proteins. Rho proteins are small molecular weight effector proteins that have a number of cellular functions including maintaining the organization of the cytoskeleton. The covalent modification of Rho proteins is due to glucosyltransferase activity of the toxins. A glucose moiety is added to Rho using UDP-glucose as a co-substrate (Just et al. Nature 375:500-503 (1995), Just et al. J Biol. Chem 270:13932-13939 (1995)). The glucosyltransferase activity has been localized to approximately the initial 25% of the amino acid sequence of each of these toxins (Hofmann et al. J Biol. Chem. 272:11074-11078 (1997), Faust and Song, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 251:100-105 (1998)) leaving a large portion of the toxins, including the repeating units, that do not participate in the enzymatic activity responsible for cytotoxicity.
The toxin A protein comprises 31 contiguous repeating units (rARU) and may contain multiple T cell epitopes (Dove et al. Infect. Immun. 58:480-488 (1990). The repeating units are defined as class I repeats and class II. rARU may be uniquely suited for use in inducing T cell-dependent response to an antigen. The sequence of each unit is similar but not identical. These features along with its usefulness in eliciting toxin A neutralizing antibodies make rARU a novel candidate as a carrier protein.
The toxin B repeating units have similar features to those of rARU. Like rARU, the recombinant toxin B repeating units (rBRU) are relatively large (xcx9c70 kDa) and are composed of contiguous repeats of similar amino acid sequences (Barroso et al. Nucleic Acids Res. 18:4004 (1990); Eichel-Streiber et al. Gene 96:107-113 (1992)). Less is known about this portion of toxin B than the binding domain of toxin A.
Thomas et al (U.S. Pat. No. 5,919,463 (1999)) disclose C. difficile toxin A or toxin B or certain fragments thereof as mucosal adjuvants intranasally administered to stimulate an immune response to an antigen (e.g., Helicobacter pylori urease, ovalbumin (OVA), or keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH)). However, Thomas does not teach the use of such adjuvant for protection against strains of C. difficile. Lyerly et al. Current Microbiology 21:29-32 (1990) considered at a smaller recombinant fragment from the toxin A repeats in hamster protection assays. However, these data suggest at best only a very weak or partial protection from strains of C. difficile, whereas the present invention demonstrates the use of C. difficile toxin repeating units that provide a clear immunogenic response and at higher levels, which afford protection against C. difficile.
Even were one to consider rARU and rBRU as candidate proteins for conjugate vaccines, the production of such proteins presents certain challenges. There are methods for the production of toxin A and antibodies elicited thereto (U.S. Pat. No. 4,530,833 (Wilkins et al.) (1985); U.S. Pat. No. 4,533,630 (Wilkins et al.) (1985); and U.S. Pat. No. 4,879,218 (Wilkins et al.) (1989)). There are significant difficulties in producing sufficient quantities of the C. difficile toxin A and toxin B proteins. These methods are generally cumbersome and expensive. However, the present invention provides for the construction and recombinant expression of a nontoxic truncated portions or fragments of C. difficile toxin A and toxin B in strains of E. coli. Such methods are more effective and commercially feasible for the production of sufficient quantities of a protein molecule for raising humoral immunogenicity to antigens.
Part of the difficulty that the present invention overcomes concerns the fact that large proteins are difficult to express at high levels in E. coli. Further, an unusually high content of AT in these clostridial gene sequences (i.e., AT-rich) makes them particularly difficult to express at high levels (Makoff et al. Bio/Technology 7:1043-1046 (1989)). It has been reported that expression difficulties are often encountered when large (i.e., greater than 100 kd) fragments are expressed in E. coli. A number of expression constructs containing smaller fragments of the toxin A gene have been constructed, to determine if small regions of the gene can be expressed to high levels without extensive protein degradation. In all cases, it was reported that higher levels of intact, full length fusion proteins were observed rather than the larger recombinant fragments (Kink et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,139; see: Example 11(c)). It has been further reported that AT-rich genes contain rare codons that are thought to interfere with their high-level expression in E. coli (Makoffet al. Nucleic Acids Research 17:10191-10202). The present invention provides for methods to produce genes that are both large and AT-rich and immunogenic compositions thereof. For example, the toxin A repeating units are approximately 98 kDa and the gene sequence has an AT content of approximately 70% that is far above the approximately 50% AT content of the E. coli geneome. The present invention provides for methods of expressing AT-rich genes (including very large ones) at high levels in E. coli without changing the rare codons or supplying rare tRNA.
Citation of the above documents is not intended as an admission that any of the foregoing is pertinent prior art. All statements as to the date or representation as to the contents of these documents is based on the information available to the applicants and does not constitute any admission as to the correctness of the dates or contents of these documents. Further, all documents referred to throughout this application are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein. Specifically, the present application claims benefit of priority to U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/190,111, which was filed on Mar. 20, 2000; and U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/186,201, which was filed on Mar. 1, 2000; and U.S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/128,686, which was filed on Apr. 9, 1999, and which provisional patent applications are incorporated in their entirety by reference herein.
The present invention is drawn to an immunogenic composition that includes recombinant proteins. The genes encoding the proteins are isolated from a strain of C. difficile. A preferred embodiment of this invention provides that at least one protein is a toxin or a toxin fragment. A further preferred embodiment provides that the toxin is C. difficile toxin A or toxin B. A more preferred embodiment of the present invention provides that the recombinant protein components are nontoxic and comprise a portion of both toxins including all of the amino acid sequence of the C. difficile toxin A or toxin B repeating units (RARU or rBRU) or fragment thereof. The immunogenic composition may further include a carbohydrate moiety as well as a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier or other compositions in a formulation suitable for injection in a mammal.
Another embodiment of the invention is that the rARU and rBRU components are combined, preferably in a manner that results in high levels of neutralizing antibodies to toxins A and B when the immunogenic composition is used in vaccine. The components may be admixed at different ratios. Further, the rARU and rBRU components may be chemically or physically linked to form a complex. Another preferred embodiment is that the rARU and rBRU sequences, or fragments thereof, may be genetically fused in a manner that results in the production of a hybrid molecule. A further embodiment is that the immunogenic composition elicits antibodies that precipitate the native C. difficile toxins and neutralize their cytotoxic activity thus providing protection against C. difficile associated disease.

Recombinant toxin A/toxin B vaccine against Clostridium difficile


A computer-implemented technique is described herein for removing sensitive content from documents in a manner that preserves the usefulness of the documents for subsequent analysis. For instance, the technique obscures sensitive content in the documents, while retaining meaningful information in the documents for subsequent processing by a machine-learning engine or other machine-implemented analysis mechanisms. According to one illustrative aspect, the technique removes sensitive content from documents using a modification strategy that is chosen based on one or more selection factors. One selection factor pertains to the nature of the processing that is to be performed on the documents after they have been anonymized.

Users are becoming increasingly intent on ensuring that their personal documents remain private. To address this issue, companies have attempted to clarify their policies with respect to the manner in which their customers' documents are retained and shared with others (if applicable). In certain cases, a company may also encrypt the documents and/or selectively sanitize certain personal information items in the documents (such as names, social security numbers, etc.). However, these techniques are not fully satisfactory for reasons set forth herein.

Removing sensitive content from documents while preserving their usefulness for subsequent processing


A thermocouple vacuum gauge includes a first thermocouple element spaced below a second thermocouple element. The two thermocouple elements are electrically connected in series in a back-to-back manner by connecting together their respective negative ends. A pulse generator supplies a pulsing on-off current only to the first thermocouple element. During the off intervals, a switch connects the positive ends of both thermocouple elements to a voltage measuring and comparing circuit which measures a thermally generated voltage signal between the positive ends of the thermocouple elements and compares the measured voltage signal to a reference signal. The result of the comparison is used to vary the output current of the pulse generator so as to supply an amount of current to the first thermocouple element sufficient to cause the measured voltage signal to approach the reference signal. The amount of current supplied sufficient to cause the measured voltage signal to approach the reference signal is proportional to the amount of pressure or vacuum in an enclosure in which the thermocouples of the vacuum gauge are placed. A method for measuring pressure at partial vacuum which employs these features is also described.

Thermocouple vacuum gauges are known in the art. Typically, such gauges employ one or more thermocouples in a circuit configuration.
A thermocouple is, itself, an electric circuit consisting of a pair of wires of dissimilar metals joined together at one end (the sensing or measuring junction, also called the hot junction) and terminated at their other end in such a manner that the terminals (reference junction or cold junction) are both at the same and known temperature (reference temperature). Leads are connected from the reference junction to some sort of load resistance (e.g., an indicating meter or the input impedance of other readout or signalconditioning equipment) to complete the thermocouple circuit. Both these connecting leads can be of copper or some other metals dissimilar from the metals joined at the sensing junction.
Due to the thermoelectric effect (Seebeck effect), a current is caused to flow through the circuit whenever the sensing junction and the reference junction are at different temperatures. The electromotive force (thermoelectric EMF) which causes current to flow through the circuit is dependent in its magnitude on the sensing junction wire materials, as well as on the temperature difference between the two junctions.
Thermocouple vacuum gauges are widely used as vacuum measuring devices in the pressure range of 10.sup.-3 to 1 torr. The term "vacuum" which strictly speaking implies the unrealizable ideal of space entirely devoid of matter, is used in a relative sense to denote gas pressure below the normal atmospheric pressure of 760 torr. The degree or quality of the vacuum attained is indicated by the total pressure of the residual gases in the vessel which is pumped. By standard conventional terminology, a coarse or rough vacuum has a pressure range from 760 to 1 torr, a medium vacuum has a pressure range from 1 to 10.sup.-3 torr, a high vacuum has a pressure range from 10.sup.-3 to 10.sup.-7 torr, a very high vacuum has a pressure range from 10.sup.-7 to 10.sup.-9 torr, and an ultrahigh vacuum has pressures smaller than 10.sup.-9 torr.
In a typical thermocouple vacuum gauge, a thermocouple is heated either directly (e.g., by sending current through it) or indirectly (e.g., by a separate heater). The EMF generated by the temperature gradient between the reference or cold junction and the sensing or hot junction is recorded as a measure of the sensing or hot junction temperature. The sensing or hot junction temperature will change with the pressure of the surrounding gas because of heat transfer from the hot wire. The variation with pressure of the heat transfer from a hot wire through the surrounding gas is shown schematically in prior art FIG. 1. In the low pressure region, the heat transfer by conduction through the surrounding gas is proportional to the log of gas density or pressure. In the higher pressure regions (above approximately 2 torr) and in the absence of natural or forced convective cooling, the thermal conductivity is virtually independent of pressure. This independent relationship renders thermocouple devices useless for measuring pressure in these regions. If heat transfer by convection is encouraged in these higher pressure regions, it is possible to obtain additional pressure dependent heat transfer. The broken line in FIG. 1 represents such an extension of this proportional relationship, thereby allowing one to extend upward the range of pressures that can be measured by thermal conductivity gauges.
Various attempts in the prior art to extend the range of thermal conductivity gauges by forced (active) and natural convection are described in Steckelmacher, W. "The high pressure sensitivity extension of thermal conductivity gauges," Vacuum, vol. 23, no. 9, Pergamon Press Ltd., 1973, 307-311.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,579,002 discloses a thermocouple vacuum gauge for measuring pressure in an evacuated enclosure. FIG. 1 of that patent shows a block diagram of the gauge. A time-multiplexed servomechanism 10 is used to supply a duration modulated constant amplitude heating pulse to thermocouple 12. In the intervals between heating, the EMF of the thermocouple is measured and compared to a reference voltage. The current needed to maintain the thermocouple at a constant temperature determines the duty cycle of the pulses. This duty cycle is a function of the pressure in the apparatus. Only one thermocouple is employed in this system. A linear response of temperature vs. pressure over approximately six orders of magnitude of pressure is possible with this configuration. A similar type of device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,717.
Thermocouples are also used for measuring temperature, pressure and fluid flow. Employing a plurality of thermocouples in a single measuring circuit is known in the art.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,030,806 discloses a flowmeter which utilizes temperature-difference effects manifested in Seebeck-Peltier junctions in response to a change in physical conditions (i.e., fluid flow). In the embodiment depicted by FIG. 3 of this patent, thermocouples S1 and S2 are connected in series with each other and disposed within the path of fluid flow. Thermocouple S1 has a Seebeck junction and thermocouple S2 has a Peltier junction. An A.C. energization source 150 is connected to thermocouple S1. During one-half of the A.C. energization source cycle, the Peltier junction will be heated above ambient temperature and the flow of fluid passing the Peltier junction will result in a cooling effect. Similarly, on the following half of the A.C. energization source cycle, the Peltier junction will be cooler than ambient temperature and will, therefore, absorb heat from the fluid medium being measured. The temperature changes will produce a varying current flow in the Seebeck thermocouple. The amplitude of the current flow will be decreased due either to such heating or cooling by the fluid flow medium. The resultant output signal of the series connected thermocouples is, therefore, an alternating current signal or modulated carrier signal. The degree of modulation represents, or is proportional to, the rate of fluid flow passing the junctions. In the FIG. 3 embodiment of this patent, thermocouples S1 and S2 are continuously connected in series.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,743 discloses a typical temperature compensating circuit where one of two series connected and oppositely poled thermocouples is employed for correction. None of the thermocouples are alternately heated.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,745,283 discloses another temperature compensation circuit for a thermal measuring device which employs thermocouples. In the FIG. 4 embodiment of U.S. Pat. No. 2,745,283, the compensating thermocouple is not connected in series with the heated thermopile (battery of thermocouples).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,492,123 discloses probe-type thermal conductivity vacuum gauges (Pirani gauges) which are insensitive to the physical and electrical nature of the probe circuitry. The invention allows for the transmission of low measuring voltages from the thermocouples to be unaffected by long lead lengths or circuit elements, thereby improving the accuracy of the gauges.
Many prior art designs use a very high temperature filament to extend the range of thermal conductivity gauges. However, high temperatures are undesirable for most applications. Furthermore, prior art thermocouple gauges, even those which employ a constant sensing element temperature rather than a constant heating current, are limited in sensitivity (accuracy) at high pressure.
In spite of the extensive efforts in the prior art to extend the operating range of thermocouple vacuum gauges, there is still a need for a thermocouple vacuum gauge which has an extended range without the need to employ high operating temperatures, varying temperatures or forced (active) convective apparatus. There is also still a need for a vacuum gauge which has improved accuracy in the high pressure range. There is further a need for achieving these goals through a design that is inexpensive and simple to fabricate. The present invention fills those needs.


A method for fabricating integrable PMOSFET semiconductor structures in a P-doped substrate which are distinguished by a high dielectric strength is provided. In order to fabricate the PMOSFET semiconductor structure, a mask is applied to a semiconductor substrate for the definition of a window delimited by a peripheral edge. An N-doped well is thereupon produced in the P-doped semiconductor substrate by means of high-voltage ion implantation through the window delimited by the mask, the edge zone of said N-doped well reaching as far as the surface of the semiconductor substrate. The individual regions for the source, drain and bulk of the PMOSFET semiconductor structure are then produced in the P-doped inner zone enclosed by the well. The P-doped inner zone forms the drift zone of the PMOSFET structure. Since the drift zone has the weak basic doping of the substrate, the PMOSFET has a high dielectric strength.

The invention relates to a method for fabricating a voltage-stable P-channel MOSFET semiconductor structure proceeding from a P-doped semiconductor substrate. The invention furthermore relates to a method for fabricating a semiconductor arrangement having at least one voltage-stable P-channel MOSFET semiconductor structure and at least one N-channel MOSFET semiconductor structure proceeding from a P-doped semiconductor substrate.
PN junctions in semiconductor components are fabricated by various known methods including diffusion, epitaxy and ion implantation. A brief overview of the diverse methods for the fabrication of bipolar transistors is given in the journal article "Advances in Bipolar VLSI" by George R. Wilson in Proceedings of the IEEE, Vol. 78, No. 11, 1990, p. 1707 to 1719.
WO 00/19503 describes a method for fabricating integrable semiconductor components proceeding from a P-doped semiconductor substrate. Firstly, a mask is applied to the semiconductor substrate for the definition of a window delimited by a peripheral edge. An N-doped well is subsequently produced in the semiconductor substrate by means of high-voltage ion implantation with an energy which is high enough that a P-doped inner zone remains at the surface of the semiconductor substrate, the edge zone of the N-doped well reaching as far as the surface of the semiconductor substrate. The further N-doped and/or P-doped zones forming the structure of the semiconductor component are then produced in the P-doped inner zone of the semiconductor substrate. The method is advantageous in so far as complex epitaxy and isolation processes may be obviated.
The known N-channel MOSFETs (NMOSFET) have two N-doped regions in a semiconductor substrate that form the source and drain of the NMOSFET. Source and drain of the NMOSFET are separated by a P-doped channel region, which is also referred to as bulk. Source and drain are thus electrically insulated from one another by two depletion layers. An electrically insulated electrode forming the gate of the MOSFET extends along the surface of the semiconductor substrate from the source to the drain.
The P-doped channel region (bulk) is generally short-circuited with the source. By applying a sufficiently high positive voltage UGS between gate and bulk or source, it is possible to induce a so-called inversion channel, which produces an N-conducting connection between drain and source, along the surface of the semiconductor substrate. If UGS is reduced to 0 V, then the inversion channel disappears, and drain and source are insulated from one another again.
Since, however, the conductivity of the inversion channel is inversely proportional to the channel length, that is to say the distance between drain and source, it is endeavoured to keep the inversion channel as short as possible (U. Tietze, Ch. Schenk, "Halbleiterschaltungstechnik" ["Semiconductor circuitry"], 11th edition, Springer, Berlin, 1999, pp. 214/215).
In the case of small channel lengths, however, the bulk doping concentration must be high enough to avoid a punch-through breakdown, that is to say a PNP breakdown between drain and source.
If the generally very highly doped drain and source regions directly adjoin the bulk doping, the corresponding (avalanche) breakdown voltages of the PN junctions are relatively low. Values of significantly less than 10 V are typical. Since the entire drain-source voltage UDS is dropped across the depletion layer between drain and bulk, the maximum permissible UDS is limited by a low drain-bulk breakdown voltage.
In discrete voltage-stable MOS transistors, this problem is avoided by arranging a weakly doped drift zone between the highly doped channel region and the very highly doped drain (U. Tietze, Ch. Schenk). This not only increases the drain-bulk breakdown voltage, but also reduces the risk of punch-through between drain and source. At the same time it is possible to realize MOSFETs with small channel lengths.
In integrated voltage-stable MOS transistors, for the sake of simplicity, a weakly doped drift zone is often implanted by means of an additional implantation, which drift zone lies within the bulk doping, however, that is to say has to overcompensate for the latter. This inevitably means that the drift zone doping is higher than the bulk doping.
In discrete power MOSFETs when a very high dielectric strength is sought, the drift zone has to be doped as weakly as possible. Therefore, a very weakly doped basic material, which constitutes the doping of the drift zone, is taken as a basis and the bulk doping is implanted or diffused therein (U. Tietze, Ch. Schenk).
Assuming that the drift zone is doped very much more weakly than the channel region, the PN junction may be regarded as abrupt, that is to say that the space charge zone that forms when a reverse voltage is present extends practically exclusively into the drift zone. In order to obtain a specific dielectric strength, both the length of the drift zone and the maximum permissible doping have to be taken into consideration. The higher the breakdown voltage is intended to be, the smaller the doping concentration in the drift zone has to be.
The maximum breakdown voltage UDG,BD in dependence on the doping concentration in the drift zone is given byUDG,BD=EBD2*∈Si*∈0/(2qN),where EBD is the breakdown field strength, ∈Si is the material-dependent permittivity, ∈0 is the permittivity of free space, q is the elementary charge and N is the doping concentration in the drift zone (S. M. Sze, "Physics of semiconductor devices", 2nd edition, Wiley & Sons, New York, 1981, p. 100, equation).
The empirical formula for the breakdown field strength at abrupt PN junctions (S. M. Sze, "Physics of semiconductor devices", p. 102)EBD=(4*105 V/cm2)/(1−⅓*log10(N/1016 cm−3))yields the maximum achievable drain-gate breakdown voltage in dependence on the doping concentration.
It is apparent that a lowest possible doping concentration is to be sought for the drift zone in order to achieve the highest possible dielectric strengths. In practice, involving readily reproducible components, the basic doping of the semiconductor substrate (wafer) is the lowest available doping concentration.
The integration of a voltage-stable P-channel MOSFET (PMOSFET) on a P-doped wafer presupposes an N-doped well that insulates the drain region from the substrate. Furthermore, a weakly P-doped region for the drift zone has to be produced within the N-type well. The bulk doping and the source/drain doping are subsequently introduced into this double well. There are various possibilities suitable for producing the double well.
On the basis of the known methods for fabricating semiconductor components, it is obvious, in order to obtain high dielectric strengths, to provide a weakly P-doped epitaxial layer on a highly doped N-type layer (buried layer). However, this method is technically demanding and cost-intensive on account of the epitaxy step and the lateral isolation required. Furthermore, the method is lengthy on account of the long diffusion processes. A further disadvantage resides in the poor utilization of area, leading to large components.
If less stringent requirements are made of the dielectric strength, it is possible to resort to the known diffusion processes for producing a P-doped region in an N-doped well. In this case, however, a multiple overcompensation of N-type and P-type dopings arises at the surface in the drift region, as a result of which the minimum doping level of the drift zone is limited for reasons of reproducibility. Consequently, this method is not appropriate for voltage-stable MOSFET transistors.

Method for fabricating a voltage-stable PMOSFET semiconductor structure