An object of the present invention is to provide illumination optics that enables improvement in brightness and reestablishment of an irradiation state which is provided with illumination light and which corresponds with a display area, and is to provide illumination optics including a first fly-eye lens and a second fly-eye lens where emission light from the first fly-eye lens enter, wherein at least one of lens elements configuring the second fly-eye lens covers an irradiation area smaller than an irradiation area provided by the second fly-eye lens.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to illumination optics and a projection display apparatus for causing a display apparatus to illuminate and, in particular, to illumination optics and a projection display apparatus comprising integrator optics having two fly-eye lenses.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-337378 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-326101, for example, disclose integrator optics having two fly-eye lenses having lens elements as illustrated in FIG. 1 aligned in order.
In the description on general configuration, this type of optics comprises first fly-eye lens 1101 having a plurality of similarly-figured lens elements resembling an object for illumination in order to illuminate display apparatus 1107 shown in FIG. 1 such as an LCD with light coming out of light source (a lamp) not shown in the drawing, and second fly-eye lens 1102 with light of respective lens elements coming out of first fly-eye lens 1101 which is superimposed to form images on an object to be illuminated.
Light coming out of respective lens elements of second fly-eye lens 1102 passes polarization conversion element 1103, is aligned to provide single directional polarized light such as s-polarized light or p-polarized light, thereafter passes first field lens 1104 and second field lens 1105 and passes polarization plate 1106 to illuminate a range wider than display area 1108 that displays an image of display apparatus 1107.
Emission distribution of a lamp is not uniform over the bright center portion and the darker periphery. Therefore, that illumination distribution undergoes discretization with first fly-eye lens 1101. The discretized light enters second fly-eye lens 1102. Accordingly, light coming out of respective lens elements of second fly-eye lens 1102 differs in the brightness of illumination areas respectively.
Therefore, optical axis of a lens element is deflected so that illumination areas of light emitted out of respective lens elements of second fly-eye lens 1102 are positioned at the same place and the respective illumination regions are superimposed at the same region. That enables light having uniform illumination distribution of brightness to be irradiated onto a display area.
FIG. 2 illustrates a configuration for controlling an illumination area with the above described deflection.
FIG. 2A is a plan view illustrating the incident plane of second fly-eye lens 1102.
FIG. 2B illustrates an illumination area in the case where the center of the individual lens of first fly-eye lens 1101 corresponds with the center of the individual lens of second fly-eye lens 1102 at optical axis C. Each lens configuring respective fly-eye lens illustrated in FIG. 2A is in the state illustrated in FIG. 2B and then illumination areas having light emitted out from respective lens element of second fly-eye lens 1102 will provide respectively different regions in which uniform illumination light is lost.
In order to provide uniform illumination light, the lens at the diagonally-lined site in FIG. 2A of second fly-eye lens 1102 is in a deflected state with the lens center in a location deviated from optical axis C as illustrated in FIG. 2C. Thereby, the illumination area moves. The amount of deflection of the respective lens, that corresponds with the location in the incident plane, will differ so that the illumination area having light that comes out of the respective lens element of second fly-eye lens 1102 will occupy the same position as illustrated in FIG. 1.
As described above, the light coming out of the second fly-eye lens is configured to irradiate a range wider than the display area of an object for illumination. That is intended to cope with dispersion in optical axis adjustment on illumination optics during production and to cope with optical axis displacement due to impacts and the like when used after production.
In the case where dispersion in optical axis adjustment and impact cause the displacement of the optical axis to differ from design values, the illumination light that is emitted from the second fly-eye lens illuminates a display element at a location that departs from the designed location so as, in the worst case, not to illuminate any display area, or to cause display of a partial video in case where a projection display apparatus is configured.
In order to prevent such an occurrence, the light coming out of the second fly-eye lens irradiates a range wider than the display area of the object for illumination. That is, the illumination area is provided with a marginal portion that is to be illuminated. The light illuminated onto that marginal portion will not contribute to illuminating the projection image in the case where no optical axis displacement occurs. Conventionally, each lens configuring the second fly-eye lens is configured to illuminate the same region including the marginal portion. Therefore, brightness of the marginal portion originally not contributing to the projection image provides with the same brightness as the display area, thus acting to hamper improvement in optical utilization efficiency (improvement in brightness).
On the other hand, the second fly-eye lens is designed so that a uniform illumination area is obtainable by causing deflection of the respective optical axis of a plurality of component lens elements to cause the same illumination area to undergo irradiation. Respective optical axes of lens elements configuring the second fly-eye lens may deviate from the designed values in the level of deflection during manufacturing steps. Then only irradiation areas that are irradiated with illumination light from those lens elements are deflected. Consequently, there will be a portion that will have decreased brightness in the area that originally required illumination.
A phenomenon called a shadow in which light is not uniformly and evenly dispersed appears in the portion that is subject to a decrease in brightness, as described above. That shadow will become more pronounced as the other illumination areas become more uniform.
In order to prevent the above described shadow from appearing, it is necessary to limit deviation of the amount of deflection of the respective optical axes of the lens elements that configure the second fly-eye lens during manufacturing so that illumination areas having the same size are superimposed on the same location, and this requires extremely high technological capability. Consequently, management of production quality becomes difficult, resulting in higher costs.
In addition, the area which an individual focuses upon, when looking at a projected image, is the center portion of the display where many important videos are projected. Therefore a shadow that occurs in the center will become highly pronounced compared with a shadow that occurs at the edges. Moreover, important parts of videos are frequently displayed in the central portion of the video window, and it is therefore desirable that this central portion be brighter than the periphery. However, in the case of a configuration with respective lenses configure the second fly-eye lens to irradiate the same region, there is the probability that a shadow will be generated and that a uniform brightness will occur throughout all of the regions so that there will not be a irradiation state that correspond to the display area.

Illumination optics and projection display apparatus


A transport container for transporting a hub and vanes of a fan prior to assembly of the fan includes a body having a floor and defining an interior having a top opening. The transport container also includes a lid that removably covers the top opening. A divider wall is positioned within the interior so that the interior is divided into first and second internal compartments that hold the vanes of the fan. A hub post is positioned within the interior of the body. The hub post has a bottom end portion attached to the floor and a top end portion that is inserted into a central opening of the hub of the fan.

Air-cooled heat exchangers are used in a wide variety of industrial applications. A process fluid, either a gas or a liquid, is passed through a series of cooling tubes while air is mechanically passed over the exterior of the cooling tubes. The air absorbs heat from the cooling tubes, thereby lowering the temperature of the fluid within the tubes. The cooling tubes may include lateral or axial fins to aid in heat transfer.
Air-cooled heat exchangers employ large fans to force or draw air at ambient conditions through a plenum. The plenum directs the ambient air through the cooling tube assembly, which includes header boxes located on opposite sides of the plenum. In some applications, a series of adjustable louvers are positioned downstream and/or upstream from the cooling tubes to control the flow of air across the cooling tube assembly.
The fan is typically driven by an internal or external engine. The fan includes a central hub and a plurality of vanes extending from the hub. The hub is connected to a fan shaft that extends from the fan to a drive assembly. The drive assembly may include a series of intermediate shafts, sheaves and bearings that transfer torque from the engine to the fan shaft and fan. The fan is often constructed from relatively lightweight materials to improve the performance and efficiency of the air-cooled heat exchanger.
The fan is typically shipped from the manufacturer in a disassembled condition. The hub and vanes are often large and special handling is required to safely ship the components without damage. In the past, manufacturers have relied on traditional shipping practices by placing the vanes of the fan in single-use cardboard boxes with protective foam or other cushioned packing materials. The boxes are often palletized and shipped with the hub strapped to the outside of the cardboard boxes.
The existing shipping practices are undesirable for several reasons, including the lack of protection afforded the hub, the requirement for multiple boxes that must be tracked and shipped together, and the waste created by the boxes and protective shipping materials. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved shipping system for transporting the fan and other components of large air-cooled heat exchangers. The presently preferred embodiments are directed to these and other deficiencies in the prior art.

Transport containers for air-cooled heat exchangers


A circuit and method for mitigating multi-path interference in direct detection optical systems is provided. Samples of an optical signal having a pulse amplitude modulated (PAM) E-field are processed by generating a PAM level for each sample. For each sample, the sample is subtracted from the respective PAM level to generate a corresponding error sample. The error samples are lowpass filtered to produce estimates of multi-path interference (MPI). For each sample, one of the estimates of MPI is combined with the sample to produce an interference-mitigated sample.

In a direct-detected optical communications system, multi-path interference (MPI) originates from combinations of reflections of a transmitted waveform at optical interfaces (connectors, receiver/transmitter interfaces). An example is depicted in FIG. 1 which shows a transmitter 100 connected to a receiver 102 over a sequence of optical cables connected at optical interfaces 104,106,108. After transmission of a signal s(t) by transmitter 100, due to reflections at the interfaces 104,106,108, a signal u(t) received at receiver 102 is the sum of a set of delayed replicas of a transmitted signal. Generally indicated at 110 is a logically equivalent version of the system of FIG. 1 showing the summing of four delayed components, with respective attenuations a1, a2, a3, a4.
Another source of the interference is due to reflections that occur in the electrical domain, for example after a photodiode in the receiver, or prior to a laser modulator in the transmitter. These electrical reflections can be cancelled directly, by estimating the delay and amplitude of each component. Such electrical reflections typically occur over very short distances (on the order of tens of mm or less), so they remain within a small number of bauds from the main signal.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Circuit for multi-path interference mitigation in an optical communication system


According to the present invention, there is provided a low dielectric loss tangent resin composition containing a crosslinking component having a weight average molecular weight of not more than 1,000 and a plurality of styrene groups and represented by the formula [1],

The present invention relates to a low dielectric loss tangent resin composition used for insulating materials of electrical parts having low dielectric loss for corresponding to high frequency signals, cured products of the composition and electrical pats using the same.
In recent years, the signal band of information communication apparatuses, such as PHS and portable telephones, and the CPU clock time of computers have reached the GHz band, and the trend toward higher frequency is increasingly strong.
The dielectric loss of an electric signal is proportional to the square root of dielectric constant of the insulating material constituting the circuit and to the product of the dielectric loss tangent and the frequency of the signal used. Therefore, the higher the frequency of the signal, the larger the dielectric loss. Since dielectric loss causes attenuation of electric signals to lower the reliability of the signals, it has been necessary to select as an insulator a material which has a low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss tangent.
For obtaining an insulating material having a low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss tangent, it is effective to remove polar groups in its structure, and there have been proposed fluororesin, curable polyolefin, cyanate ester resin, curable polyphenylene oxide, allyl-modified polyphenylene ether and polyether imide modified with divinylbenzene or divinylnaphthalene.
Fluororesins typically represented by polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) have both a low dielectric constant and a low dielectric loss tangent and are used as materials for substrates which deal with high frequency signals. However, since PTFE is a thermoplastic resin, it undergoes large expansion and shrinkage in molding and processing and hence is a material not easy to handle.
A number of proposals have been made to impart crosslinkability or solubility to fluororesin. However, materials thus obtained are generally expensive, and many of them are not comparable to fluororesin in characteristic properties.
On the other hand, various studies have been made to obtain non-fluorine type resins of low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss tangent which are soluble in organic solvents and are easy to handle.
For example, there have been disclosed a product obtained by impregnating glass cloth with a diene-type polymer, such as polybutadiene, followed by curing with a peroxide (JP-A-8-208856), a cyclic polyolefin obtained by introducing an epoxy group into a norbornene-type addition polymer thereby to impart curability to the product (JP-A-10-158337) and products obtained by heating cyanate ester, diene-type polymer and epoxy resin to reach the B-stage (JP-A-11-124,491).
There have been further disclosed many example, which include a modified resin comprising polyphenylene oxide, diene-type polymer and triallyl isocyanate (JP-A-9-118759), a resin composition comprising allyl-modified polyphenylene ether, triallyl isocyanate, etc. (JP-A-9-246429), an alloyed products of polyether imide with styrene and divinylbenzene and/or divinylnaphthalene (JP-A-5-156159), a product synthesized by the Williamson""s reaction from a dihydroxy compound and chloromethylstyrene, e.g., a resin composition comprising hydroquinone bis(vinylbenzyl) ether and novolac phenol resin (JP-A-5-78552)
Many of the examples mentioned above include in their disclosures a description that the cited product may contain divinylbenzene as a crosslinking agent or a crosslinking auxiliary. This can be attributed to the fact that divinylbenzene has no polar group in its structure and the cured product thereof has a low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss tangent and has a heat decomposition temperature of as high as 350xc2x0 C. or more.
However, divinylbenzene has a defect in that since the cured product thereof is very brittle, cracks tend to develop in the cured product at the time of curing. Therefore, the amount of divinylbenzene added has been usually set at a low level as compared with other resin components.
Even in the example disclosed in JP-A-5-156159 wherein divinylbenzene is used as the main crosslinking agent, the amount added is about 9% by weight relative to the whole of the resin. Divinylnaphthalene also has a problem similar to that of divinylbenzene in point of brittleness of the cured product. Furthermore, since divinylbenzene is volatile, it vaporizes at the time of curing, making it difficult to control the characteristic property of the cured product.
As contrasted therewith, JP-A-5-78552 discloses that such bisstyrene compounds as hydroquinone bis(vinylbenzyl) ether are nonvolatile and can give a highly flexible cured product.
In general, however, an alkylene ether group is disadvantageous with respect to dielectric constant, dielectric loss tangent and heat resistance as compared with an alkylene group and arylene group.
A skeleton of hydrocarbon type, e.g., an alkylene group and arylene group, is preferable as the skeleton structure linking between styrene groups. Examples of a multifunctional styrene compound wherein styrene groups are linked by an ethylene group include 1,2-bisvinylphenylethane described in JP-A-9-208625 and a divinylbenzene oligomer having a vinyl group in the side chain described in Makromol. Chem. Vol. 187, pp 23 (1986). In these reports, however, no investigation was made regarding mechanical strength, heat resistance, dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent.
Divinylbenzene, which has hitherto been used as a low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss tangent crosslinking agent, is disadvantageous in that it is volatile and its cured product is brittle.
The object of the present invention is to provide a low dielectric loss tangent resin composition containing a crosslinking agent which has a low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss tangent, is excellent in novolatility, solubility and compatibility with various resins and gives a good heat resistance and flexibility after curing, a curable film, a cured product thereof, an electrical part using the same as the insulating material and a method for producing the electrical part.
Some preferred embodiments of the present invention for attaining the above-mentioned object are described below.
(1) A low dielectric loss tangent resin composition containing a crosslinking component having a weight average molecular weight of not more than 1,000 and a plurality of styrene groups and represented by the formula [1]
wherein R is a hydrocarbon skeleton which may have a substituent, R1 is hydrogen, methyl or ethyl, m is an integer of 1 to 4, and n is an integer of 2 or more, and further containing at least one member selected from a high polymer having a weight average molecular weight of not less than 5,000 and a filler;
the low dielectric loss tangent resin composition wherein the high polymer is one having film-forming ability;
the low dielectric loss tangent resin composition which contains a curing catalyst capable of polymerizing and crosslinking the styrene groups or a polymerization inhibitor which can suppress the polymerization and crosslinking of the styrene groups;
the low dielectric loss tangent resin composition wherein the high polymer contains at least one member selected from the group consisting of a homopolymer or copolymer of at least one monomer selected from butadiene, isoprene, styrene, ethylstyrene, divinylbenzene, N-vinylphenylmaleimide, acrylic ester and acrylonitrile, polyphenylene oxide which may have a substituent, polyolefin having a ring structure, polysiloxane and polyether imide;
the low dielectric loss tangent resin composition wherein the filler contains at least one member selected from the group consisting of calcium carbonate, magnesium hydroxide, titanium oxide, silicon oxide, borosilicate glass, aluminum borate and carbon, each having an average particle diameter of 0.1-100 xcexcm;
the low dielectric loss tangent resin composition wherein the amount of the curing catalyst added is preferably 0.0005-10 parts by weight and the amount of the polymerization inhibitor added is preferably 0.0005-5 parts by weight, relative to 100 parts by weight of the whole resin component; and further
the low dielectric loss tangent resin composition wherein the curing catalyst is an organic peroxide or a bisazide compound and the polymerization inhibitor is a quinone or an aromatic diol.
(2) A cured product obtained by curing the above-mentioned low dielectric loss tangent resin composition;
the cured product mentioned above wherein the dielectric loss tangent after curing is preferably not more than 0.002.
(3) A curable film which contains a crosslinking component having a weight average molecular weight of not more than 1,000 and a plurality of styrene groups and represented by the formula [1] and further contains a high polymer having a film-forming ability;
the curable film wherein a conductor layer has been formed on at least one surface of the curable film.
(4) An electrical part having an insulator layer wherein the insulator layer contains a cured product of a low dielectric loss tangent resin composition which contains a crosslinking component having a weight average molecular weight of not more than 1,000 and a plurality of styrene groups and represented by the formula [1] and further contains at least one member selected from a high polymer having a weight average molecular weight of not less than 5,000 and a filler.
(5) A method for producing an electrical part having an insulator layer wherein the insulator layer is a curable film containing a low dielectric loss tangent resin composition which contains a crosslinking component having a weight average molecular weight of not more than 1,000 and a plurality of styrene groups and represented by the formula [1] and further contains a high polymer having film-forming ability, and the curable film is lamination-bonded onto a conductor layer.
It was already described that the cured product of divinylbenzene has a high heat resistance, low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss tangent.
According to the present invention, a cured product which has a low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss tangent and develops no crack at the time of curing could be stably obtained by blending a crosslinking component having plural styrene groups linked with a hydrocarbon skeleton and having a weight average molecular weight of not more than 1,000 with a high polymer having a weight average molecular weight of not less than 5,000 or with a filler.
When a cyclic polyolefin was used as the high polymer component and 1,2-bis(vinylphenyl)ethane as the crosslinking component, the dielectric constant at 10 GHz was 2.19-2.25 and the dielectric loss tangent was 0.0011-0.0017. Since a cyclic polyolefin having no polar group was cured with a crosslinking component having similarly no polar group, a cured product having a low dielectric constant and low dielectric loss tangent was obtained.
Furthermore, since styrene groups are linked by such a flexible skeleton as alkylene group, no cracking occurs at the time of curing.

Low dielectric loss tangent resin composition, curable film and cured product, electrical part using the same and method for production thereof

Abstract: wherein R is a hydrocarbon skeleton which may have a substituent, R1 is hydrogen, methyl or ethyl, m is an integer of 1-4 and n is an integer of 2 or more, and further containing at least one member selected from a high polymer having a weight average molecular weight of not less than 5,000 and a filler, which resin composition can give a cured product having a good flexibility, high tensile strength and low dielectric constant and dielectric loss tangent.


A portable dehumidifier includes: a housing having an upper housing portion and a base portion positioned below the upper housing portion, at least a thermoelectric cooler formed as thermopile by connecting in series one plurality of thermocouples each thermocouple consisting of a p-type semiconductor and a n-type semiconductor electrically connected between two poles of a direct-current power supply to produce a cold junction and a hot junction on a front and a rear sides of the thermoelectric cooler, a heat-dissipating device secured to a hot junction of the thermoelectric cooler for dissipating heat from the hot junction, an exhausting fan for drawing moisture-laden air through the thermoelectric cooler and the heat-dissipating device to condense moisture laden in the air by the cooler, a condensate collector having a water-reservoir drawer slidably held in the base portion to collect the water drops drained from the cooler for disposal of the condensed water from the air, and a timing controller for sequentially alternately switching on and off the power supply to the cooler, whereby upon powering of the thermoelectric cooler, the moisture laden in the air will be condensed, frosted or frozen on the cold junction, while upon switching off of the power supply to the cooler, the cold junction of the cooler will become warmer to drain the condensed water to be collected in the condensate collector.

A conventional electrical room dehumidifier operates on a same refrigeration principle, in that, moisture-laden air is generally drawn into the rear of the dehumidifier and over the cold evaporator coils by the fan. The moisture is condensed and deposited on the coils of the dehumidifier when the air is cooled and the water thus condensed will fall into a water container or is drained outwardly. However, such a conventional room dehumidifier may have the following drawbacks:
1. Ambient air will condense on a refrigerant evaporator of the room dehumidifier, in which a system is required to evaporate the refrigerant and to condense the refrigerant, causing a big space, heavy weight and noise pollution for the installation and operation of such a conventional dehumidifier. PA1 2. Cost will be higher to purchase, operate and maintain the conventional dehumidifier. PA1 3. For dehumidifying an interior of a tiny space such as in a cabinet, bookcase, wardrobe, or instrument room, a conventional larger dehumidifier will not be applicable.

c/o Hung Hsing Patent Service Center P.O. Box 55-1670


A new and distinct form of Veronica plant characterized by dark, saturated purple-blue flowers, a compact, slow spreading, low mounding habit, excellent dense branching with flower spikes at the end of every branch, medium green leaves, good garden performance, and excellent vigor.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Veronica given the name of 'TNVEOVB'. Veronica is in the family Plantaginaceae (formerly Scrophulariaceae). This plant was part of a controlled breeding program to produce a compact, medium short plant with long lasting flower spikes of dark, saturated purple-blue. The exact parents of this selection are unknown, unnamed, proprietary interspecific hybrids bred from Veronica longifolia and Veronica spicata. This plant was selected for its similarity in habit, bloom time, and overall look to Veronica 'TNVERA' and will be sold as a series.
Compared to Veronica 'TNVERA', U.S. Plant Pat. No. 26,416, the new cultivar has purple-blue flowers rather than pink.
Compared to Veronica spicata 'Ulster Blue Dwarf', an unpatented plant, the new cultivar has a more compact habit and is cone shaped when in flower rather than flat on top.
The new cultivar exhibits the following characteristics:                1. dark, saturated purple-blue flowers,        2. a compact, slow spreading, low mounding habit,        3. excellent dense branching with flower spikes at end of every branch,        4. medium green leaves,        5. good garden performance, and        6. excellent vigor.
The new variety has been reproduced only by asexual propagation (stem cuttings and micropropagation). Each of the progeny exhibits identical characteristics to the original plant. Asexual propagation by division and micropropagation as done in Canby, Oreg. shows that the foregoing characteristics and distinctions come true to form and are established and transmitted through succeeding propagations. The present invention has not been evaluated under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary with variations in environment without a change in the genotype of the plant.


A PBX (3-a) detected an incoming call arrived at a line trunk (2-a) via a public line network (1), and at the same time, an ACDP (4-a) queues an incoming call arrived in an incoming sequence queue (8-a). In addition, the ACDP (4-a) scans a distribution sequence queue (9-a), and controls an incoming call to be distributed to an extension line that seems to be the most preferable in the extension line group (6-a). On the other hand, an incoming call arrived at the line trunk (2-b) via the public line network (1) is detected by the PBX (3-b) via a leased communication line (7). At the same time, the ACDP (4-b) queues an incoming call in the incoming sequence queue of the extension line group (6-b). In addition, the ACDP (4-b) scans a distribution queue (9-b), and controls the queued incoming call to be distributed to an optimal extension line belong to the extension line group (6-b).

The present invention relates to a private branch exchange (hereinafter, referred to as PBX) that mounts an automatic call distribution processor (hereinafter, referred to as ACDP).
Conventionally, in order to efficiently process an incoming call (request or ordering) by distributing an incoming call such as request for tickets from a number of customers or mail order or the like to a vacant extension line in an extension line group that consists of a plurality of reception terminals (extension lines), there is adopted an automatic call distributing system in which an ACDP is mounted in an PBX.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting an example of a conventional automatic call distributing system. A PBX (3) mounts an ACDP (4), and performs exchange control by referring to data written in a data base (5). Th PBX (3) houses trunk circuits (2-a) and (2-b) for controlling a call from a general public line network (1). Incoming calls arrived at the trunk circuits (2-a) and (2-b) are distributed by controlling with an ACDP (4), respectively, to an extension line group (6-a) or an extension line group (6-b). Which of these extension line groups targeted for distribution is determined by referring to the content of the data base 5. In addition, the PBX (3) comprises an incoming call sequence queue (8) and a distribution sequence queue (9).
In FIG. 1, for example, in the case where settings are provided so that the data written in the data base (5) assign the trunk circuit (2-a) to the extension line group (6-a), and to assign the trunk circuit (2-b) to the extension line group (6-b), the PBX (3) detects an incoming call arrived at the line trunk (2-a) via a public line network (1), and at the same time, the ACDP (4) queues an incoming call to the incoming call sequence queue (8-a) Further, the ACDP (4) scans a distribution sequence queue (9-a), and controls the incoming call to be distributed to an extension line that seems to be the most preferable in the extension line group (6-a).
In addition, the PBX (3) detects an incoming call arrived at the line trunk (2-b) via the public line network (1), and at the same time, the ACDP (4) queues the incoming call in an incoming sequence queue (8-b) of the extension line group (6-b). Further, the ACDP (4) scans a distribution queue (9-b), and controls the queued incoming call to be distributed to the optimal line belong to the extension line group (6-b).
FIG. 2 is a block diagram depicting another example of a conventional automatic call distributing system. In this conventional example, two PBXs (3-a) and (3-b) are connected to each other via a leased communication line (7), and networked (via LAN or the like). An ACDP (4-a) is mounted in the PBX (3-a), and exchange control is performed based on data written in the data base (5-a).
In FIG. 2, the PBX (3-a) houses the trunk circuits (2-a) and (2-b) that control a call from the general public line network (1) . The ACDP (4-a) distributes an incoming call arrived at the trunk circuit (2-a) to the extension line group (6-a) by referring to the contents of the data base (5-a), and distributes an incoming come arrived at the trunk circuit (2-b), respectively, to the extension line group (6-b) connected to the PBX (3-b) via the leased communication line 7.
Each PBX comprises incoming sequence queues (8-a) and (8-b) and distribution sequence queues (9-a) and (9-b). The PBX (3-a) detects an incoming call arrived at the line trunk (2-a) via the public line network (1), and at the same time, the ACDP (4-a) queues an incoming call in the incoming sequence queue (8-a). Further, the ACDP (4-a) scans a distribution sequence queue (9-a), and controls an incoming call to be distributed to an extension line that seems to be the most preferable in the extension line group (6-a).
On the other hand, an incoming call arrived at the line trunk (2-b) via the public line network (1) is transferred to the PBX (3-b) via the leased communication line (7), and the ACDP (4-a) queues the incoming call in the incoming sequence queue of the extension line group (6-b). Further, the ACDP (4-a) scans the distribution sequence queue (9-b), and controls the queued incoming call to be distributed to the optimal extension line that belongs to the extension line group (6-b).
In the case of a system in which an ACDP (4) is mounted in one PBX (3), as shown in FIG. 1, thereby controlling distribution to a plurality of trunk circuits (2-a) and (2-b) connected to the PBX and a plurality of extension line groups (6-a) and 6-b), its scale is difficult to extend. In addition, in the case where a large scaled PBX is provided, a load upon the ACDP (4) increases, thus making it difficult to construct an efficient automatic call distributing system.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, in the case of a system in which its scale is extended by connecting a plurality of PBXs via a leased line, all distribution controls are, performed by a single ACDP. Thus, a load upon this ACDP increases, and similarly, there is a problem in that an inefficient system capacity results.
In addition, in the case where a failure or the like occurs, operation of the entire system stops, and there is a problem in view of maintenance.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to construct an automatic call distributing system capable of increasing efficiency of the entire system, coping with high traffic, and improving reliability.
It is another object of the present invention to construct an automatic call distributing system that can be easily extended in scale, and that can be used for general purpose.
Other objects of the present invention will become clear as the description proceeds.
According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic call distributing method for distributing and controlling incoming calls from a public line network to extension lines in a plurality of extension line groups, respectively by means of an ACDP that houses the plurality of extension line groups, and that is mounted in a PBX, the method comprising the steps of: connecting a plurality of PBXs via a leased communication line to construct a network and to mount the ACDP on two or more PBXs of the plurality of PBXs; and distributing each distribution control in the plurality of extension line groups into the ACDP mounted on the two or more PBXs.
The ACDP may perform distribution and control of an extension group housed in another PBX that differs from a PBX that mounts the ACDP.
The number of terminates that belong to the plurality of extension line groups may be changed according to an amount of traffic.
When one system in the ACDP mounted in the two or more PBXs is down, it may be broadcast that a PBX comprising another ACDP being operated backs up the system down ACDP via the leased line, and a call incoming into a line trunk that the system down ACDP shares may be distributed to the extension line groups by controlling the other ACDP.
According to another aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic call distributing system for distributing and controlling incoming calls from a public line network to extension lines in a plurality of extension line groups, respectively by means of an ACDP that houses the plurality of extension line groups, and that is mounted in a PBX, the system comprising: a plurality of PBXs that construct a network via a leased communication line; ACDPs mounted in at least two PBXs in the plurality of PBXs, the ACDPs controlling distribution in the extension line groups; a data base in which at least the ACDP is provided in the PBX and in which information concerning the extension line groups in which the each ACDP controls its distribution; and an incoming sequence queue and a distribution sequence queue provided corresponding to the plurality of extension line groups.
The ACDPs and the data base may be mounted in all PBXs that construct the network.
One or more PBXs in the plurality of PBXs may be connected to the public line network via a line trunk.
The ACDPs mounted on the PBXs may control distribution for extension line groups housed in another PBX.
The terminals that belong to the same extension line group may be housed in a plurality of PBXs.
Each PBX that constructs the network may have means for broadcasting information indicating the network about its presence.
The PBX mounting at least the ACDPs of PBXs that construct the network may have means for detecting system down of PBXs mounting other the ACDPs; means for broadcasting that an ACDP of a PBX with which a system down was detected is backed up via the leased line; and means for distributing to the extension line group an incoming call distributed and controlled by the system down ACDP by controlled its ACDP.

Automatic call distributing method and system


This application relates to the field of communications technologies, and provides an information sending method, an information receiving method, and an apparatus. The method includes: determining, by a terminal device, at least two transport blocks; and sending, by the terminal device, first information to a network device by using the at least two transport blocks, where the first information includes at least one of data and control information, and the at least two transport blocks carry the first information.

To cope with explosive growth of mobile data traffic in the future, massive device connections in mobile communication, and various types of emerging new services and application scenarios, a fifth generation (5G) mobile communications system emerges. The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) defines ultra-reliable and low latency communications (URLLC) service scenarios for 5G and future mobile communications systems. URLLC services impose an extremely high requirement on a latency. A latency of unidirectional transmission from a transmit end to a receive end needs to be within 0.5 milliseconds (ms), and reliability of the transmission needs to reach 99.999% within 1 ms.
In a 5G new radio (NR) and a long term evolution (LTE) system, usually, to improve reliability of receiving a service by a receive end, when a transmit end sends a data packet to the receive end for the first time (referred to as initial transmission for short), but the receive end cannot normally receive the data packet or cannot correctly parse the data packet, a retransmission mechanism (for example, hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) may be used to request the transmit end to retransmit a data packet (referred to as retransmission for short); or when the receive end still cannot receive the retransmitted data packet or cannot correctly parse the retransmitted data packet, the transmit end may retransmit a data packet again. Finally the transmit end performs combined reception of the initially transmitted data packet and the retransmitted data packet or data packets retransmitted for a plurality of times, to improve performance of the receive end. For example, if an error rate of one transmission is 0.1, and combined reception is not performed during the second retransmission, an error rate of the two times of transmission is based on two independent events that are uncorrelated to each other. In this case, the error rate of the two times of transmission is 0.01 (0.1×0.1). When combined reception can be performed, an error rate of the first transmission is still 0.1, but an error rate of the second transmission can be less than 0.1 (a specific value depends on an algorithm used by the receive end) because previous information can be used to improve the current transmission. In this way, the error rate of the two times of transmission is less than 0.1×0.1.
Therefore, how to reduce a transmission latency while improving transmission reliability is a technical issue that urgently needs to be resolved in a future communications system.

Methods for transmitting information using at least two transport blocks


The present invention discloses a tool control system (TCS) having an operation management interface providing an interface for an operator to communicate with the tool control system and with an associated piece of processing equipment to allow coordination between manual and automatic dispatching of FOUPs (Front Opening Unified Pods) to the equipment within a full automatic fab. The TCS provides a daily monitoring support function allowing operators to decide when to perform a daily monitor and when to manually insert selected lots into the TCS. Additionally, a method of using the TCS to relax the loading of a wafer dispatching system is disclosed. The method provides for using manual and automated pre-dispatching functions to allow manual insertion of FOUPs within an overhead transport system and to allow prioritizing of individual wafer lots and batches of wafer lots with real-time activity in a manner optimally minimizing downtime within the TCS.

The present invention discloses a system and method that is capable of coordinating between manual and automatic dispatching system by providing a tool control system and method having a pre-dispatch capability for relaxing the loading of a dispatch system so that the dispatching system can focus on production lots only.
In a full-automation fab for manufacturing of semiconductor wafers or other wafer technology, an intrabay transportation facility is used. The intrabay transportation facility uses automatic guided vehicles (AGV) to dispatch and transport wafers from various load ports and processing equipment during wafer fabrication. In a wafer foundry fab, there is considerable mixing of products requiring a complex process flow thus making a dispatching system difficult to implement. The system capabilities of the existing dispatching systems are not flexible enough to conform to the flow of a variety of semiconductor production processes.
Existing dispatching systems handle both representative lot control and automated wafer dispatching. Scheduling of representative wafer lots for use in a statistical process control process must be done in advance for existing automated wafer fabs and such representative lots are not easily monitored by operators of the dispatching system.
Existing dispatch systems do not allow for multi-lot processing but rather, require operators to dispatch each lot of wafers to each piece of fabrication equipment by separately issuing detailed transfer commands from a work in process list to each equipment port for transferring a lot of wafers to another equipment port. Such an existing system does not provide for optimal lot, high priority, or batch processing.
A wafer holding device such as a Front Opening Unified Pod (FOUP) typically, capable of holding up to 25 wafers, may transport only one lot at a time, wherein each lot is often less than 25 wafers. Additionally, existing dispatching systems provide a time delay for handling super hot or high priority lots that may not be compatible with real time activity. A means for handling high priority or multiple lots within a single FOUP for processing by many pieces of fabrication equipment requires extreme complexity in existing systems, probably beyond an operator""s capability to handle.
Additionally, existing dispatching systems used in a full automatic fab do not provide coordination between manual dispatching and automatic dispatching. Thus, existing automated fabs do not provide means for manually handling lots of wafers ready for dispatching to a fabrication machine. When manual insertion of a lot of wafers is needed, considerable downtime results, thus, severely impacting system performance. Therefore, a simplified methodology for using manual and automatic dispatching is essential.
It is desirable to provide a prioritized queue of FOUPs, each FOUP having multiple lots disposed within for transfer to at least one piece of fabrication equipment.
It is desirable to provide a dispatching list having meaningful lot sequence for each fabrication equipment used in the fabrication process.
It is desirable to provide an adjustable sequence of lots or jobs in a dispatching queue that is adjustable for dynamic dispatching priority changes.
It is desirable to relax loading of a dispatching system within a wafer fabrication facility.
It is desirable to provide a coordination model between manual and automatic dispatching within an automated fabrication process.
It is desirable to provide a smooth super hot lots handling model in a full automatic fab.
It is desirable to provide daily monitoring support for a full automatic fab.
It is desirable to provide batching equipment support to optimize processing of wafers in a batch type processing fabrication equipment.
It is desirable to provide a loose reservation between pre-dispatch jobs and each piece of fabrication equipment.
It is desirable to provide a method providing a new operating flow for an automated fabrication process.
In general present invention provides a system and method for coordination between a manual and an automatic dispatching system by using a tool control system (TCS) having a dispatching capability to allow for automatic handling and a pre-dispatching capability to allow manual handling in a full automatic fab. More particularly, the TCS system provides for managing wafer fabrication in a wafer fabrication process, the total control system having:
a) a plurality of FOUPs for holding at least one lot of wafers;
b) an overhead transport system for transporting FOUPs from a first location to a second location;
c) a sorter for sorting a plurality of wafer lots according to a sequence defined by the tool control system for insertion into an individual FOUP or multiple FOUPs;
d) a ceiling loader and hanger for inserting and removing FOUPs from the overhead transport system;
e) a buffer holding area for buffering FOUPs waiting to be inserted into the overhead transport system;
f) at least one piece of fabrication equipment; and an operation management interface providing an interface for an operator to communicate with the tool control system and with the at least one piece of processing equipment to allow coordination between manual and automatic dispatching of FOUPS to the at least one piece of fabrication equipment within a full automatic fab.
TCS may be operated in an automated or in a manual dispatching mode using the OMI to control dispatching of FOUPs within the TCS. The operation management interface of the TCS preferably has a work in progress portion, a selected lots configurable portion, and a pre-dispatch list portion.
Additionally, a method of using a tool control system to control and manage a wafer fabrication process during an automated mode and during a manual mode is disclosed. The method providing the steps of
a) using an operation management interface to dispatch wafers to an at least one piece of fabrication equipment upon occurrence of a triggering event, the triggering event occurring when a first load port tool for the piece of fabrication equipment becomes empty;
b) checking the at least one piece of fabrication equipment""s processing status;
c) issuing a move in request to an operation job supervisor if the at least one piece of fabrication equipment having a first load port is ready to receive a FOUP;
d) querying the at least one piece of fabrication equipment""s processing status until the at least one piece of fabrication equipment signals that it is ready to receive a FOUP;
e) determining if a pre-dispatch list is empty;
f) collecting FOUP status information if the pre-dispatch list is not empty;
g) selecting lots from a work in progress list to create a selected lots list in a selected lots configurable portion of the operation management interface if the pre-dispatch list is empty;
h) transferring the selected lots list from the selected lots configurable portion of the operation management interface to the pre-dispatch portion to create a pre-dispatch list;
i) determining if a FOUP containing the pre-dispatched lots identified at the top of the pre-dispatch list is available to be loaded onto an overhead transport system;
j) waiting a predefined length of time if the FOUP containing the pre-dispatched lots identified at the top of the list is not available before verifying again that the FOUP identified at the top of the pre-dispatch list is available to be loaded onto the overhead transport system;
k) identifying to a FOUP queue that the FOUP containing the pre-dispatched lots identified at the top of the pre-dispatch list will be assigned to the specific piece of fabrication equipment;
l) identifying placement of the FOUP within the FOUP queue;
m) removing the lots contained within the FOUP from the pre-dispatch list if the FOUP is available for loading onto the overhead transport system;
n) issuing a transfer command to the MCS to load the FOUP onto the overhead transport system for transferring the FOUP to the at least one piece of fabrication equipment;
o) identifying that the FOUP is loaded onto the first load port of the at least one piece of fabrication equipment;
p) verifying the pre-dispatch lots listed in the FOUP are delivered to the at least one piece of fabrication equipment; and
q) communicating the verification from the tool control system to the at least one piece of fabrication equipment so that the at least one piece of fabrication equipment selectively start an appropriate fabrication operation for the specific lots delivered.

Flexible dispatching system and method for coordinating between a manual automated dispatching mode

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd


The present invention relates to compounds that inhibit of focal adhesion kinase function, processes for their preparation, pharmaceutical compositions containing them as the active ingredient, to their use as medicaments and to their use in the manufacture of medicaments for use in the treatment in warm-blooded animals such as humans of diseases such as cancer.

Focal adhesion kinase (FAK) is a member of the non-receptor sub-family of protein tyrosine kinases and is expressed in various tissues and cell types. FAK acts as an early modulator in the integrin signalling cascade so that integrin clustering in response to various stimuli results in FAK autophosphorylation at Tyr397. This creates a motif that is recognised by various SH2 domain containing proteins, such as src. The FAK-src complex binds and phosphorylates many downstream molecules such as p130Cas, growth factor receptor bound protein-2 (Grb2) and phosphoinositide-3 kinase (PI3K) thereby transducing signals by many different, complex pathways which interact with each other1.
In normal cells FAK regulates various basic cellular functions such as proliferation and growth, protection from apoptosis, adhesion and cell spreading, invasion and migration. Elevated FAK expression, activity or signalling is associated with malignancy in a variety of cancer cells leading to promotion of cancer cell proliferation, increased invasion in vitro and an increase in metastases in vivo4.
Additionally FAK appears to be a key molecule in the activation of several signalling pathways initiated by angiogenic factors, including proliferation, migration and differentiation. Specific endothelial cell deletion of FAK revealed it to be crucial for vascular stability during vascular development3
Therefore FAK may be useful in the treatment of pathological angiogensis, for example as an anti-angiogenic therapy in diseases such as cancer and retinopathy. FAK inhibitors may also have beneficial effects on the proliferation or invasive ability of tumour cells2. There is emerging evidence of a potential correlation between FAK expression with malignant transformation and therefore FAK inhibition could slow down disease progression.
International Patent Applications WO2008/115369, WO2008/073687, WO2007/072158, WO2007/0633848, WO2006/074057, WO2006/021457, WO2006/021454, WO2005/123191, WO2005/016894, WO2004/080980 and WO2001/64655 disclose compounds that are stated to have FAK inhibitory properties. The compound PF-00562271 is in early development as a FAK inhibitor for use in the treatment of cancer.
There is however a need to find further compounds that are FAK inhibitors, particularly compounds with appropriate pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic drug properties, and also that exhibit appropriate selectivity profile(s) against other kinases and receptors.    1. Chatzizacharias, N. A. et al. Expert Opin. Ther. Targets. 2007; 11(10):1315-1328    2. Angelucci, A et al. Current Pharmaceutical Design. 2007; 13:2129-2145    3. Braren, R. et al. JCB 2006; 1:151-162    4. Mitra, S K. Current opinion in Cell Biology 2006; 18:516-523    5. Chatzizacharias, N. A. et al. Histology Histopathol. 2008; 23: 629-650


A flexible grip for a golf club having a tubular member with one or more strips of elastomeric material significantly softer than the elastomeric material of the tubular member provided on the exterior surface of the tubular member. In one version, the strips are on the top flat surface, on other versions, the strips are on the side or both. In another version, an air pocket is provided beneath the strip on the top surface. In another version, a rib or key on a core bar forms a channel on the inner surface of the tubular member during molding. Upon removal of the core bar, a pocket is formed along the grip upon assembly on a club shaft. Upon gripping, the strips and pockets allow depression providing indication of grip pressure. The strips also provide visual aids for user hand positioning.

The present disclosure relates in general to hand grips employed on the handles of implements intended to be moved or swung with speed and force, such as, for example, sledge hammers, axes, and sporting implements such as tennis racquets and golf clubs. The disclosure particularly relates to grips formed of elastomeric material and intended for the shaft of a golf club.
Heretofore, golf club grips have been provided with textured portions on the outer surface for enhancing gripping and providing for localized compression or "cushioning" to accommodate the contact pressure of the user's fingers and palm when gripping the club. Such textured portions have included depressed areas which may have portions extending transversely of the longitudinal axis of the grip or at a bias angle including configurations such as spiral or helical grooves.
The existing manufacture of such elastomeric grips for golf clubs employs molding either by compression or injection, and thus, the formation of the molds having reverse image surfaces for forming the textured surfaces on the molded grip, have limited the configuration of the textured surfaces in order to provide machining of the molds and removal of the molded grip subsequent to the molding operation.
The formation of the textured surfaces has heretofore provided for only a limited amount of localized "cushioning" or resilience, i.e., compression in response to the user's grip for enhancing the contact area of the user's palm and fingers with the grip and thus retention and pressure on the implement. Thus, it has been desired to improve the grip with dynamic feedback on grip pressure and alignment through visual aids for hand and finger placement guides and pressure aids to allow the user to self-adjust grip pressure for a smoother and more repeatable stroke.


A method of manufacturing a charge dissipative surface layer on a member made from or consisting of a dielectric polymeric material or polymer-based composite which is intended to be used in space and other extreme environments, the member having at least one surface, in particular two opposing surfaces, each of the surfaces having a flat or a three-dimensional shape. The method includes carbonizing the at least one surface of the member in a vacuum environment through ion bombardment with simultaneous surface renewal in a dynamic way, by bombardment of the at least one surface with an ion beam formed in a gaseous linear high-current technological ion beam source of rare gas and added predetermined amount of a carbonaceous gas in the same ion beam gas admixture in order to achieve a treated carbonized surface layer with a uniform surface resistivity in a charge-dissipative range.

In particular, the present disclosure relates to the field of surface treatment of dielectric polymeric materials with shaped and/or grooved polymeric surfaces, the treatment of surfaces with embedded inorganic particles, or the treatment of dielectric polymer composites with inorganic particulate or fiber fillers. Charge dissipative surface properties are needed for polymer-born devices, such as external spacecraft or solar arrays components, for instance, Flat Cable Conductors (FCCs) with long-term durability of this charge dissipation and other functional properties in GEO space, or polymeric composites-based materials and devices with long-term durability of this charge dissipation in GEO space and in other extreme environments.
Ion bombardment of polymers is widely used in the electronic and other device manufacturing industry, mostly for photo-resists stripping in microelectronics, ion implantation of polymers for optical waveguides formation, plasma surface treatment to enhance adhesion of metals deposited on polymers and printability improvements, polymers' micro-hardness increase, etc. In many cases the medium- or high-dose ion bombardment of a dielectric polymer is causing surface cross-linking or chain destruction due to energy transfer at atomic collisions, as well as surface carbonization. Change of many surface properties have been found to be associated with the compositional, structural, and, quite often, morphological surface transformations due to ion bombardment and selective sputtering of the polymers surfaces in vacuum. Some surface reduction due to ion beams sputtering, gaseous atoms migration with the formation of volatile final products and their release from the surface of the polymers in vacuum, i.e. surface depletion of final gaseous products, and, finally, surface carbon content increase (in the bombarded region), as well as simultaneous and subsequent surface structural reconstruction is called "surface carbonization". Significant change of mechanical and optical or electrical properties, such as surface hardness, wear resistance, oxidation resistance, and electrical surface conductivity, provided in a wide range of values and wide temperature range, may be achieved by ion beam treatments of polymers [See References 1-5].
It is important to mention, that all the studies of surface conductivity, or surface charge dissipation of dielectric polymers, provided by ion beam treatments, have been done on flat, or, to say, planar polymer films, synthesized specifically for the treatment experiments or produced industrially.
Not just advanced space polymer films in various space applications, but also polymer-based products, for instance, such as Flat Cable Conductors (FCCs) that are used as connections between panels on solar arrays in geosynchronous (GEO) orbits, would strongly benefit from providing charge dissipation to its both external surfaces, to prevent the charge collection, arcing and associated damage under radiation environment, especially when to be used in nowadays long-term space missions. However, manufacturing the products for such applications with charge dissipating surface properties might present difficulties.
The FCCs are manufactured in different sizes and shapes, based, for instance, on DuPont Pyralux LF1010, that basically consists of a Pyralux LF1010 copper clad laminate and same type coverlay, i.e. Kapton100HN (1 mil) films, joined together by a special temperature sensitive acrylic adhesive with thin copper strips pressed in between them at processing stages, and the Cu foil strips ending in electrical contacts outside the made structures [6]. Therefore, in FCCs 100 (FIGS. 1 and 2) the dielectric polymeric front and back films do not represent a flat, plain surface, but rather have repeatedly shaped, or, to say, "grooved" surfaces 102, 202, as can be seen in FIG. 1 for the front surface 101 and FIG. 2 for the back surface 201. Since the ion beam treatment is of a line-of-site nature, with quite strong angular dependence of sputtering rate, this surface relief may influence the uniformity and effectiveness of any ion beam treatment, causing shadowing of the ion beam by the walls of formed grooves.
Another critical difference in treatment of real FCC structures is the condition of the back surface. In comparison with a shiny and smooth front FCC surface, the back surfaces were found to be rough and, with small inorganic particles embedded randomly throughout the surface which comes as a result of the specific technological process of manufacturing of the FCCs. The surfaces of FCC units have been characterized extensively by SEM/EDS (Scanning Electron Microscopy/Energy-Dispersive x-ray Spectroscopy) methods. Front (FIG. 3a and FIG. 3b) and back (FIG. 4a) surfaces SEM images 300, 400 with various levels of magnification, combined with elemental composition studies by EDS, have been used for comparative study of the front and back surface morphology and composition of FCCs from a few manufacturing FCC sets. The part of the front side of the FCCs on top of the Cu strips had a shiny flat surface (see FIG. 1). The plain parts of front FCCs surfaces fully resembled Kapton HN surface, as analyzed by both SEM and EDS. Small inclusion particles that could only be detected under high magnification, are calcium phosphate (Ca3(PO4)2) particles. They are an essential additive in the Kapton HN manufacturing process in order to reduce handling problems due to electrostatic interaction.
Highly developed surface morphology became clearly evident upon the inspection of the back surface, as shown in FIG. 4a that represent the "back side" surface under high magnification. The back surface looks strongly damaged, and it can be clearly seen in FIG. 4a that significant numbers of tiny, mostly submicron size particles are present in the polymer surface. The elemental composition of these particles can be evaluated by EDS. The detailed elemental composition of these particles corresponds in general to the composition of pumice particles, dust of which is used in the manufacturing process as a water slurry under high pressure to enhance the copper adhesion to special acrylic adhesive used in FCCs production. (Pumice stone is made of the following oxides, according to Indian Granites [8]: 70 to 77 percent silica, 11 to 14 percent alumina, 3 to 5 percent potassium oxide, 3 to 5 percent soda, 1 to 3 percent ferrous oxide, 1 to 2 percent ferric oxide, 0.5 to 1 percent magnesia, less than 0.38 percent titanium oxides, and almost all these elements have been found on the back surface by EDS).

Method for manufacturing a charge dissipative surface layer


Methods and apparatuses are provided for facilitating execution of kernels requiring runtime compilation. A method may include implementing a driver for a framework for handling kernels requiring runtime compilation. The method may further include receiving, by the driver, code for a kernel requiring at least partial runtime compilation for execution using the framework. The method may additionally include obtaining, by the driver, a compiled executable version of the kernel. The obtained compiled executable version of the kernel may not have been locally compiled. The method may also include causing, by the driver, the compiled executable version of the kernel to be provided for execution. Corresponding apparatuses are also provided.

The modern computing era has brought about a tremendous expansion in computing power as well as increased portability and affordability of computing devices. This expansion has resulted in a wide variety of computing platforms being used by consumers from all walks of life in their everyday lives. These computing platforms have a wide variety of hardware and software configurations, each of which may present a unique execution platform for software applications. Accordingly, a software application developed for one execution platform may not function properly when executed on a second execution platform.
A simultaneous ongoing trend is that end user applications are increasingly moving to the web. A variety of previously mentioned computing platforms are often used to access the web, including web-based applications. It may be impractical for web developers to generate a set of executable versions of an application including an executable version for each computing platform that may be used to access the application. Accordingly, a web developer may distribute a web application as source code requiring interpretation or runtime compilation.

Methods and apparatuses for facilitating execution of applications requiring runtime compilation


The present invention relates to a method for production of an improved sensor surface for an SPR instrument, comprising forming a self assembled monolayer (SAM) on a surface and attaching ligands and protein resistant groups, preferably polyethylene glycol (PEG), directly to functional groups on said surface. The invention also relates to a sensor surface produced by these methods use thereof in SPR (surface plasmon resonance) assays or interactions.

Analytical sensor systems that can monitor interactions between molecules, such as biomolecules, in real time are gaining increasing interest. These systems are often based on optical biosensors and usually referred to as interaction analysis sensors or biospecific instrumentation, which uses surface plasmon resonance (SPR) for detecting interactions between molecules in a sample and molecular structures immobilized on a sensing surface. As sample is passed over the sensor surface, the progress of binding directly reflects the rate at which the interaction occurs. Injection of sample is followed by a buffer flow during which the detector response reflects the rate of dissociation of the complex on the surface. A typical output from the BIACORE® system from GE Healthcare is a graph or curve describing the progress of the molecular interaction with time, including an association phase part and a dissociation phase part.
With the BIACORE® system (and analogous sensor systems) it is thus possible to determine in real time without the use of labelling, and often without purification of the substances involved, not only the presence and concentration of a particular molecule (analyte) in a sample, but also additional interaction parameters, including kinetic rate constants for binding (association and dissociation) in the molecular interaction as well as the affinity for the surface interaction. The association rate constant (ka) and the dissociation rate constant (kd) can be obtained by fitting the resulting kinetic data for a number of different sample analyte concentrations to mathematical descriptions of interaction models in the form of differential equations. The affinity (expressed as the affinity constant KA or the dissociation constant KD) can be calculated from the association and dissociation rate constants.
When molecules in the sample bind to the capturing molecules on the sensor chip surface, the concentration, and therefore the refractive index at the surface changes and an SPR response is detected. Plotting the response against time during the course of an interaction will provide a quantitative measure of the progress of the interaction. Such a plot, or kinetic or curve (binding isotherm), is usually called binding curve or sensorgram, also sometimes referred to in the art as "affinity trace" or "affinogram". In the BIACORE® system, the SPR response values are expressed in resonance units (RU). One RU represents a change of 0.0001° in the angle of minimum reflected light intensity, which for most proteins and other biomolecules correspond to a change in concentration of about 1 pg/mm2 on the sensor surface. As sample containing an analyte contacts the sensor surface, the capturing molecule (ligand) bound to the sensor surface interacts with the analyte in a step referred to as "association." This step is indicated in the binding curve by an increase in RU as the sample is initially brought into contact with the sensor surface. Conversely, "dissociation" normally occurs when the sample flow is replaced by, for example, a buffer flow. This step is indicated in the binding curve by a drop in RU over time as analyte dissociates from the surface-bound ligand.
Thus, a vital part of an SPR instrument system is the sensor surface, where the interactions to be studied take place. It may consist of a glass surface coated with a thin layer of gold, on top of which a hydrophilic layer, called the matrix, is created on top of a self-assembled monolayer (SAM) that prevents non specific binding (NSB) to the gold chip. The sensor surface may also be a rigid substrate having a surface layer of different materials, such as the polymers (poly)tertrafluoroethylene, (poly)vinylidene difluoride, or combinations thereof.
A commonly used matrix is the carboxymethylated dextran (CMDx), a flexible carbohydrate polymer with low non-specific binding properties that forms a three-dimensional structure on the sensor surface. As the technical development advances, with a rising sensitivity of the SPR instrumentation hardware, demands on the sensor surface chemistry are increased. It becomes particularly important to minimize drift and non-specific binding of biomolecules to be able to detect low interaction signals. Ligands are immobilized on the dextran matrix through the carboxyl groups. Most of the carboxyl groups are not involved in ligand immobilization, they are hydrolyzed to carboxyl groups after activation or not activated.
The matrix characteristics are dependent on the buffer condition used, for example different pH and salt concentration result in differences in matrix expansion in relation to surface due to different degree of negative charges and charge repulsion. Differences in buffer conditions due to samples and buffer differences in samples and the buffer flow etc during an assay leads to differences in dextran expansion, this causes baseline drift. This matrix changes have impact on the SPR signal (baseline drifts) and negative impact on assay performance. The matrix expansions should be minimized in assays. With ligand immobilized on matrix there is a high risk that matrix movements cause larger signal changes and negative impact on assay (analysis) performance.
Different capturing molecules/ligands show different properties to other buffer components. A common component in assay buffer is detergent. Detergent properties depend on type of assay. Different detergents bind different to different types of matrices.
Different targets and samples have different requirement on the sensor surface. CMDx is useful for many different types of samples and assay but there is a need for alternative matrices when dextran doesn't work. Therefore, there is a need of improved sensor surfaces minimizing drift and non-specific binding.
It is general known that a PEG (polyethylene glycol) or OEG (oligoethylene glycol) surface has protein repellant properties, and PEG or OEG has been used on sensor surfaces to decrease unwanted binding in assay. In such technologies, the PEG or OEG moieties are also used for attachment of one of the interactants (capturing molecules), to be included in the interaction analysis. Alternatively the ligands and protein resistant compounds are coupled to separate fractions of the hydrogel, such as CMDx, as described in WO2006/041392. However, the surfaces may not be suitable for some sensitive samples since they suffer from base line fluctuations.
There are also examples of sensor chip with OEG surfaces, constructed through alkane-OEG SAM layer wherein ligand is immobilized to OEG. One example is a planar polyethylene glycol carboxyl sensor chip sold by Reicherts (reichertspr.com).
However, dependent on type of sample several of the currently known matrices suffer from several drawbacks, such as high background noise and non-specific binding. There is therefore a need for sensor surfaces with alternative matrices and polymers.

Sensor surface for surface plasmon resonance assays


The present invention provides methods for manufacturing a nitride layer and a vertical nitride semiconductor light emitting device. In manufacturing the nitride layer according to the invention, a sapphire substrate is prepared. A buffer layer made of a material having a melting point and a thermal conductivity higher than those of nitride is formed on the sapphire substrate. Also, the nitride layer is formed on the buffer layer. Then a laser beam is irradiated to an underside of the sapphire substrate to remove the nitride layer. According to the invention, the nitride layer is made of a material having a composition expressed by AlxInyGa(1-x-y)N, where 0≦x≦1, 0≦y≦1, and 0≦x+y≦1. In addition, the buffer layer is made of SiC.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a nitride layer and a method for fabricating a vertical nitride semiconductor light emitting device using the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a nitride layer which releases heat generated in the decomposition of the nitride layer through a buffer layer and prevents heat-induced deterioration of the nitride layer by adjusting an intensity of a laser beam irradiated in a laser lift off (LLO) process after growth of the nitride layer on a sapphire substrate to remove the nitride layer at an interface between the nitride layer and a buffer layer, and a method for fabricating a vertical nitride semiconductor device using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Due to recent drastic developments in telecommunication technologies, communication techniques for high-speed and massive-capacity signal transmission have experienced a rapid development. Especially, with a rising demand for personal mobile phones, satellite communications, military radars, broadcasting communications and communication relays, there has been an increasing request for a high-speed, high-power electronic device which requires a high-speed telecommunication system of microwave band and millimeter wave band. In particular, a nitrogen compound (nitride) has a large energy gap, and exhibits superior physical properties such as a high thermal chemical stability and a high electronic saturation velocity. Therefore the nitride is easily applicable not only to an optical device but also to a high-frequency, high-power electronic device, and thus has been actively studied in wide-ranging areas.
In a conventional method to obtain such nitride semiconductor, a sapphire substrate was used to grow a nitride layer thereon. But the sapphire substrate is an insulating material with poor thermal conductivity that can be hardly processed. This disadvantageously complicates a manufacturing process of the device and hinders improvement in capacities thereof. To overcome such problems, the sapphire substrate was removed from the nitride layer via a laser lift off (LLO) process.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view illustrating a method for fabricating a nitride layer via a conventional LLO process. Referring to FIG. 1, in the conventional method to fabricate the nitride layer, first, a buffer layer 11 made of AlN or GaN is formed on a sapphire substrate 10. Then, a nitride layer 12 is grown on the buffer layer 11. Thereafter, a laser beam L is irradiated to an underside of the sapphire substrate 10. The irradiated laser beam transmits the sapphire substrate 10 and decomposes the buffer layer 11, thus enabling separation of the nitride layer 12. That is, in the conventional method to fabricate the nitride layer, the buffer layer 11 serves as a sacrificial layer to separate the nitride layer 12 from the sapphire substrate 10.
In this fashion, due to the buffer layer 11 used as a sacrificial layer in the conventional nitride layer manufacturing method, about 1000° C. heat is transferred to the nitride layer 12, thus deteriorating the nitride layer 12. This disadvantageously degrades physical properties of the nitride layer and also optical and electrical properties.

Method of producing nitride layer and method of fabricating vertical structure nitride semiconductor light emitting device


Valves comprise a chamber having a piston disposed therein. One side of the piston defines a hydrostatic chamber in fluid communication with an outside environment, such as wellbore annulus, through a port. Operatively associated with the piston on the other side is a sleeve in sliding engagement with an inner mandrel. The inner mandrel comprises a port that is initially blocked by the sleeve. Upon an increase in pressure within the annulus, the piston is moved causing the port in the sleeve to align with the port in the inner mandrel thereby allowing fluid to flow from the annulus into the bore of the inner mandrel. As a result, fluid can be circulated through the valve, or pressure within the annulus can be reduced. A return member is operatively associated with the piston to urge the piston toward the closed position after pressure within the wellbore annulus is reduced.

1. Field of Invention
The invention is directed to valves for compensating for pressure changes within an annulus of an oil or gas wellbore.
2. Description of Art
Valves can be used in oil and gas well completions to facilitate displacement of drilling fluids, such as drilling mud, out of the well by pumping completion fluids down the wellbore. In general, these valves allow the completion fluid to be pumped down the wellbore causing the drilling fluid within the wellbore annulus to flow into the valve and, thus, a tubular string containing the valve, and then upward within the tubular string to the surface of the well.
Wellbore barriers such as packers, bridge plugs and the like are used to seal or isolate zones or areas of an annulus of wellbores. In general, the wellbore barriers are disposed within a wellbore above and below a "zone" or area of the wellbore in which production, or other wellbore intervention operations are performed. In some instances, the isolated zone is not being produced or intervention operations are not being performed, however, tubing, e.g., an inner casing, is disposed through this zone so that oil or gas production or other downhole operations can be performed below the isolated zone. In these instances, the fluid trapped or sealed in this isolated zone can expand do to increases in the temperature of the fluid trapped in the isolated zone. When the temperature increases, such as during production from other zones within in the wellbore, the fluid expands and can cause damage to the inner casing of the wellbore, the outer casing of the wellbore, other components within the wellbore, or the formation itself. To reduce the likelihood of such damage, devices to relieve the pressure in the isolated zone are employed.

Annular circulation valve and methods of using same


A nonvolatile semiconductor memory device includes a p-type semiconductor substrate having a surface region, and bit lines formed as n-type first diffusion regions in the surface region, extending in a column direction. The bit lines define between them a plurality of separated, parallel channel regions, extending in a row direction. A plurality of conductive floating gates are formed over first portions of respective channel regions on a first insulating layer, and extend over portions of the first diffusion regions. A plurality of conductive control gates is formed to extend over the floating gates, and over second portions of the channel regions that are not covered by the floating gates. The control gates are separated from the floating gates and from the second portions by additional insulating layers. A common source line is formed by an elongated conductor extending in the column direction, over the control gates and insulated from them. A plurality of n-type second diffusion layers are formed in the surface region between successive second portions of the channel regions and connected to the common source line. These define an intermittent source line under the control gate layers. At the points of interruption, the second diffusion layers form selection transistors with the control gates, which are turned on or off depending on whether the corresponding cell is being read. When read, they prevent reading out any error data if the memory cell had been over-erased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly to flash-type electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) devices with overerasure preventing structures.
2. Description of the Related Art
A nonvolatile semiconductor memory is a type of memory that retains stored data when a power source is removed. There are various types of nonvolatile semiconductor memories, such as read only memories (ROMs), programmable read only memories (PROMs), erasable programmable read only memories (EPROMs), and electrically erasable programmable read only memories (EEPROMs).
EPROMs are erased by ultra-violet light, which in general takes a long time. However, flash EEPROMs are erased much more quickly, and thus are widely used in data processing systems requiring reprogrammable nonvolatile semiconductor memories.
Flash EEPROMs generally include an array of transistor memory cells, each having a floating gate and a control gate thereon. During erasure, as with EEPROMs, entire sets of memory cells of the flash EEPROM are erased. A flash EEPROM often includes a plurality of sectors (or blocks) into which the memory cell array is divided, and all memory cells in the selected sector are erased simultaneously. Once the flash EEPROM is bulk erased, selected memory cells are programmed.
To enhance capacity of memory cells and speed of the flash EEPROM, there have been developed technologies of memory cell arrays with NOR-type and NAND-type. In the NOR-type memory cell array, drains and sources of floating gate cell transistors are connected in parallel between neighboring bit (or drain) and source lines. In the NAND-type memory cell array, a plurality of series-connected floating gate cell transistors are connected between corresponding bit and source lines. However, even though the NAND-type memory cell array exhibits increased capacity of memory cells, it has a slower access speed, because of the small cell current, as compared to the NOR-type memory cell array (herein referred to as a NOR-type flash EEPROM). On the other hand, the NOR-type flash EEPROM exhibits advantages such as high speed and random access. The NOR-type flash EEPROM is disclosed in an article entitled "A Novel Dual String NOR (DuSNOR) Memory Cell Technology Scalable to the 256 Mbit and 1 Gbit Flash Memories", by K. S. Kim et al., IEDM 1995, pages 263-266.
A conventional NOR-type flash EEPROM is of a virtual ground type. FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a portion of a virtual ground type flash EEPROM memory cell array according to a prior art, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along a line 2-2' of FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is an equivalent circuit diagram of the memory cell array shown in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, heavily doped n.sup.+ diffusion regions 14, 16 and 18 are respectively buried beneath spaced apart and parallel ones of thick field oxide strips 12 on a p-type semiconductor substrate 10. A thin oxide (or dielectric) layer 20 is formed on a surface of substrate 10 between two neighboring field oxide strips 12. Floating gates 22 of polycrystalline silicon are formed on oxide layers 20. Floating gates 22 extend beyond oxide layers 20 so as to cover portions of field oxide strips 12. Insulating layers 24 are formed on floating gates 22. An elongate control gate layer 26 of conductive material, extending perpendicularly to field oxide strips 12, is formed on insulating layers 24. Seen also in FIG. 1, parallel elongated control gate layers 26 and 28 are word lines WL1 and WL2, respectively.
Returning to FIG. 2, an elongated diffusion region 16 is a common source line CSL, and the elongated diffusion regions 14 and 18 are bit lines BL1 and BL2, respectively. Channel regions 30 are disposed between two neighboring diffusion regions, underlying floating gates 22.
Referring also to FIG. 3, erase, program and read-out operations of memory cells are now described.
To erase all the shown memory cells M11.about.M22, a high voltage of about 12 V is applied to the common source line CSL, with the word lines WL1 and WL2 grounded and the bit lines BL1 and BL2 floated. Electrons are then transported from floating gates 22 to source regions, i.e. common source line CSL, by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, thereby causing threshold voltages of memory cell transistors to become about 2 V. The erasure of memory cells M11.about.M22 can alternately be performed by applying a potential of about 18 V to substrate 10, with the word lines WL1 and WL2 grounded.
To program a specific memory cell M11, a high voltage of about 12 V is applied to the word line WL1 with the common source line CSL grounded, while a voltage of about 6 V are applied to bit line BL1. On the other hand, the word line WL2 and bit line BL2 are grounded, so as not to program the other three cells. Hot electrons generated at channel region 30 of memory cell M11 are then injected into its floating gate 22, thereby causing a threshold voltage of the memory cell M11 to become about 7 V.
To read out data stored in the memory cell M11, a voltage of about 1 V is applied to the bit line BL1, with common source line CSL grounded, and a voltage of about 5 V is applied to the word line WL1. If a memory cell M11 is programmed, its threshold voltage is about 7 V, and thus it functions as an off-transistor. On the other hand, if memory cell M11 is erased, then it functions as an on-transistor, with electrical current flowing on the bit line BL1. A sense amplifier (not shown) connected to the end of bit line BL1 detects the flowing electrical current, and thereby data stored in the memory cell M11 is accordingly determined.
As such, a memory cell, i.e. a floating gate transistor, normally functions like an enhancement mode transistor. However, a problem in the prior art is that a memory cell can have a negative threshold voltage, and thereby functions like a depletion mode transistor. A memory cell with such a negative threshold voltage after erasure is referred to as an over-erased memory cell. Such can be produced by variations or discrepancies in process and erase timing, or an increase of erase cycles. When the memory cell operates in depletion mode, it stays at a conductive state, even when not selected, and may prevent the cells on the same bit line from being read correctly. For example, suppose that the memory cell M22 is in the over-erased state. Then, when data is read-out from a selected one of other memory cells in the same column as the memory cell M22, error data may be read-out since the memory cell M22 is in a conductive state. Thus, a single over-erased memory cell can lead to failure of the entire memory.
A technique for solving the above-mentioned problem is to use an array of split-type flash EEPROM cells, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,670,809. The array includes a plurality of n.sup.+ buried diffusion layers, i.e. drain/source regions, formed in a p-type semiconductor substrate to extend in parallel to one another in a column direction. Two neighboring ones of the diffusion layers define between them a plurality of channel regions spaced apart in the column direction and extending in the row direction. A plurality of floating gates are arranged in a matrix form of rows and columns so as to be placed over portions of the drain regions and the channel regions respectively interposing thick and thin insulating layers.
A plurality of control gate strips, i.e. word lines, extend in the row direction over the floating gates through an insulating layer, over the portion of the channel regions not covered by the floating gates through a split gate insulating layer, and over the source regions through a thick insulating layer. Thus, each of the split-type flash EEPROM cells has a structure in which a floating gate transistor and a split gate transistor are connected in series between drain and source regions.
Accordingly, even though a floating gate transistor could operate in a depletion mode due to over-erasure, there will still be no current flowing between the drain and source regions in a read-out operation. Thus is because the split gate transistor operates in an enhancement mode when the series-connected floating gate transistor is not selected, i.e. when 0 V is applied to its control gate. Thus, the split gate type cell eliminates the problem arising from over-erasure. However, the split gate arrangement requires a larger cell size, thereby limiting the number of flash EEPROM cells in a flash EEPROM cell array with a given area.

Flash-type nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices for preventing overerasure


A display substrate includes a first substrate, a first sub-pixel layer and a second sub-pixel layer positioned on the first substrate; the first sub-pixel layer includes a plurality of first sub-pixels, the second sub-pixel layer includes a plurality of second sub-pixels, and a first orthographic projection of the first sub-pixel on the first substrate does not overlap with a second orthographic projection of the second sub-pixel on the first substrate. A display panel, a display device and a method for manufacturing the display substrate are also disclosed.

At present, high-resolution display panels, which are the development trend in the display field, are receiving more and more attention. However, with the improvement of resolution, manufacturing the high-resolution display panels faces a series of process problems.
In order to reduce a pixel interval of the display panel, it is necessary to thin a TFT element, a metal trace, a black matrix and other structures, and reduce an interval of pixel definition layer (PDL), which increases the requirement for the manufacturing process and is difficult to realize. Under the current manufacturing capacity of the production line, it is difficult to further increase the pixels per inch (PPI) of the display panel, which greatly limits the development of high-resolution display panel.

Display substrate, manufacturing method thereof, display panel, and display device


One embodiment of the present invention is directed to a system related to pooled credit risk. Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a method related to pooled credit risk. Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to computer software related to pooled credit risk. Another embodiment of the present invention is directed to a financial instrument allocation optimization algorithm. In one example, the financial instrument allocation optimization algorithm may relate to a maximum matching algorithm. In another example, the financial instrument allocation optimization algorithm may relate to a maximum dispersion algorithm.

Various patent documents related to financial systems and/or methods include the following:
U.S. Pat. No. 7,333,950, entitled SYSTEM FOR CREATING, PRICING AND MANAGING ELECTRONIC TRADING AND DISTRIBUTION OF CREDIT RISK TRANSFER PRODUCTS, which was issued Feb. 19, 2008 in the name of Shidler, et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,304,858, entitled METHOD, SYSTEM, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR TRADING INTEREST RATE SWAPS, which was issued Oct. 16, 2001 in the name of Mosler et al.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,802,499, entitled METHOD AND SYSTEM FOR PROVIDING CREDIT SUPPORT TO PARTIES ASSOCIATED WITH DERIVATIVE AND OTHER FINANCIAL TRANSACTIONS, which was issued Sep. 1, 1998 in the name of Sampson, et al.
U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0224491, entitled TRADING AND SETTLING ENHANCEMENTS TO THE STANDARD ELECTRONIC FUTURES EXCHANGE MARKET MODEL LEADING TO NOVEL DERIVATIVES INCLUDING ON EXCHANGE ISDA TYPE CREDIT DERIVATIVES AND ENTIRELY NEW RECOVERY PRODUCTS INCLUDING NOVEL OPTIONS ON THESE, which was published Oct. 5, 2006 in the name of Pinkava.
U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0224492, entitled TRADING AND SETTLING ENHANCEMENTS TO THE STANDARD ELECTRONIC FUTURES EXCHANGE MARKET MODEL LEADING TO NOVEL DERIVATIVES INCLUDING ON EXCHANGE ISDA TYPE INTEREST RATE DERIVATIVES AND SECOND GENERATION BOND LIKE FUTURES BASED IN PART OR ENTIRELY ON THEM, which was published Oct. 5, 2006 in the name of Pinkava.
U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0224493, entitled TRADING AND SETTLING ENHANCEMENTS TO THE STANDARD ELECTRONIC FUTURES EXCHANGE MARKET MODEL LEADING TO A NOVEL POOLED AND POTENTIALLY GUARANTEED RISK DEPOSIT MARKET, which was published Oct. 5, 2006 in the name of Pinkava.
U.S. Patent Publication 2006/0224494, entitled TRADING AND SETTLING ENHANCEMENTS TO THE STANDARD ELECTRONIC FUTURES EXCHANGE MARKET MODEL THAT ALLOW BESPOKE NOTIONAL SIZE AND BETTER GLOBAL SERVICE OF END USERS AND MAKE AVAILABLE A NEW CLASS OF NEGOTIABLE SECURITY INCLUDING EQUIVALENTS TO PRODUCTS NORMALLY ISSUED BY SPECIAL PURPOSE VEHICLES, which was published Oct. 5, 2006 in the name of Pinkava.
U.S. Patent Publication 2005/0080734, entitled METHOD, SYSTEM AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT FOR TRADING DIVERSIFIED CREDIT RISK DERIVATIVES, which was published Apr. 14, 2005 in the name of Lynch, et al.
U.S. Patent Publication 2004/0143535, entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FOR AN ONLINE CREDIT DERIVATIVE TRADING SYSTEM, which was published Jul. 22, 2004 in the name of Hirani, et al.
U.S. Patent Publication 2002/0055897, entitled SYSTEM FOR CREATING, PRICING AND MANAGING AND ELECTRONIC TRADING & DISTRIBUTION OF CREDIT RISK TRANSFER PRODUCTS, which was published May 9, 2002 in the name of Shidler, et al.
Of note, any descriptive material provided in the figures is intended to be illustrative (such as in the form of an example) and not restrictive.
Of further note, a Roman or Arabic numeral following a party in the figures is intended to refer to one of a plurality of such parties (e.g., in the case of a "Direct party"—"Direct 1" or "DIRECT (iii)" and in the case of an "Indirect Party"—"ID (iv)").
Among those benefits and improvements that have been disclosed, other objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent from the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying figures. The figures constitute a part of this specification and include illustrative embodiments of the present invention and illustrate various objects and features thereof.

Systems, methods and computer software related to pooled credit risk and financial instrument allocation