Porous HCG scaffolds are provided in a perfusion bioreactor. Cells are seeded in the HCG scaffolds and cell culture media is perfused through the bioreactor to allow for cell seeding and growth. The cell culture media is removed, the HCG-cell constructs washed, and then preserved in the bioreactor with a perfusion comprising cryopreservation fluid comprising one or more of DMSO, trehalose, glycerol, ethylene glycol, or serum. The HCG-cell constructs (or the perfusion chambers containing them) are then removed from the bioreactor and placed in a cryopreservant media and maintained at about −80° C. The frozen HCG-cell constructs (or the chambers containing them) can then be stored at a suitable cryogenic temperature until needed. When needed, frozen HCG-cell constructs can be removed from cold storage and thawed using suitable means.

Bone fractures and defects are common in the general population, and management of fractures is the leading cause of all trauma admission for adolescents and adults under 65 years, generating $1.2 billion in hospital costs (1). While fracture healing is efficient and typically results in newly formed bone, a number of adverse conditions impair the healing process, leading to delayed healing and nonunion in a small but significant number of patients. Orthopedic surgeons have known for years that smoking is a major contributor to a variety of bone conditions including osteoporosis, lumbar disc disease, healing of fractures, the rate of hip fractures and bone cancer (2). Recent studies have started revealing the pathological mechanisms of smoking on musculoskeletal injuries and established a real and reproducible relationship between smoking and musculoskeletal diseases (2, 3). In particular, clinical studies have found that smokers have a significant longer time to clinical union, and a higher incidence of delayed union compared with non-smokers (4, 5). Addressing the needs and providing optimal care for these patients have important social and economical impact.
Artificial bone grafts regenerated by donor cells and biomaterials, also known as tissue engineered bone constructs (TEBC), represent a novel approach that overcomes the donor limitation and increases the efficacy for defect repair and healing. TEBC requires both an osteogenic cell source and a substrate material that can support the regeneration of healthy bone. Human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSCs), which are known to be responsible for the normal turnover and maintenance of adult mesenchymal tissues in vivo, are inducible osteoprogenitor cells and have become cell of choice in bone tissue regeneration (6, 7). On the other hand, natural and synthetic scaffolds seeded with culture expanded hMSCs have been extensively studied in bone tissue repair and regeneration and shown promising clinical results (8, 9, 10). The combination of hMSC with bioactive scaffolds has become an attractive approach to enhance bone healing for the patients such as smokers and elder patients who have impaired regeneration capacity and not responsive to conventional therapeutic intervention.
The treatment of fractures in young patients and osteoporotic fractures in elderly patients is a major part of trauma care. For young adults, critical size defect and delayed union are the major problem related to morbidity during healing, whereas osteoporosis-related complications are the major problem to the ageing population. Although the risks of tobacco smoking have been well known for decades, there are more than 50 million smokers in the U.S. and over 500,000 deaths can be attributed to smoking (2, 16). Cigarette smoking contributes to musculoskeletal diseases and influences an array of orthopaedic conditions from bone mineral density to the rate of hip fractures and fracture healing (2, 3). Smoking is known to reduce blood supply, has high levels of reactive oxygen intermediates, and low concentration of oxidant vitamins. Although nicotine at low doses may be stimulatory, high dose nicotine is directly toxic to proliferating osteoblasts (17). Nicotine has been shown to inhibit the strength of repair in a fracture model and in distraction osteogenesis in rabbit (18, 19). In addition to nicotine, other components of cigarette smoke may also be harmful. In animal study, tobacco extract not containing nicotine significantly reduced the mechanical strength of healing femoral fractures in rats (20). Clinical studies have found that smokers have a significant longer time to clinical union, and a higher incidence of delayed union compared with non-smokers (4). Smokers also have a higher rate of nonunion and poorer results after fusion of the ankle and spine (21). Smoking also induces osteoporosis and leads to increased risk of fracture in elderly men (22, 23). Together, these results suggest that cigarette smoking, whether it is the nicotine or other components of cigarettes, is a significant contributing factor in bone diseases and fracture healing.
The pathological mechanism that results in the adverse effects of cigarette smoking on bone disease and healing has begun to be revealed. Smoking influences the biochemical interactions and cellular properties that occur during fracture healing which leads to an impaired healing. For example, TGF-β1 is essential for bone formation and osteogenic differentiation, and TGF-β1 knockout mice have defect in bone strength and structure (24). In a recent study, TGF-β1 serum concentrations, which are considered to be one of the most important markers of fracture healing, are reduced by smoking, and the reduction of TGF-β1 serum concentration in smokers is statistically significant during the 4th week after surgery (25). In addition to the molecular milieu, smoking also affects cellular properties that are crucial mediators of wound repair and healing. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) regulate the normal bone homeostasis and are inducible osteoblast progenitors (6). MSCs are also significant source of cytokines that mediate inflammatory response and participate in wound healing. Smoking compromises
hMSC's ability for cytokine secretion and down-regulate their osteoblastic differentiation due to reduced blood supply and high concentration of free radicals and toxins associated with smoking, inhibiting patient's self-healing process (26, 27). Implantation of constructs containing hMSCs from healthy donor could augment self-healing capacity and improve clinical outcome.
Promotion of bone healing through biological means is a major therapeutic option for trauma surgeons. Bone graft is the second most commonly transplanted tissue following blood (28). While numerous types of grafts have been used, the ideal bone graft should be an optimal combination of osteogenic, osteoinductive, and osteoconductive properties. These porous implantable materials not only act as a 3D template for bone growth but their degradation products also have no toxic effects. To further enhance the bone regeneration potential, these bioresorbable scaffolds are often impregnated with suitable cell types that augment bone regeneration process. In this effort, it is advantageous to select a scaffolding material to mimic natural tissue composition in addition to promoting hMSC proliferation and differentiation. Chitosan, gelatin, and hydroxyapatite in various combinations are among frequently studied biomimetic composite scaffolds for bone regeneration because of their chemical similarity to natural extracellular matrix (ECM) (11, 29, 30, 31). Chitosan, a linear polysaccharide is composed of glucosamine and N-acetyl glucosamine units linked by β(1-4) glycosidic bonds. Structural similarity of chitosan with various glycosaminoglycans (GAGs) found in the extracellular matrix of bone and cartilage has made chitosan an attractive material in bone and cartilage tissue regeneration. The cationic nature of chitosan allows for mimicking the ECM-rich environment of bone tissue through the formation of insoluble ionic complexes with anionic molecules such as growth factors, glycosaminoglycans (GAG), and proteoglycans benefiting cell growth and tissue formation (32). Gelatin is a partially denaturalized collagen and retains moieties that facilitate cell adhesion and influence cell behaviors (33). The abundance of functional groups in gelatin allows for interaction with growth factors and forms a favorable microenvironment for tissue regeneration. Hydroxyapatite (HA) is the mineral component of natural bone ECM and has been used to improve biocompatibility and hard tissue integration through the sequestering of serum proteins (34). Our laboratory has developed a composite of hydroxyapatite-chitosan-gelatin and demonstrated that the presence of HA improves protein adsorption in the porous HCG scaffolds and enhances hMSC long-term growth and osteogenic differentiation upon induction (11).
Recent advances in human mesenchymal stem cells (hMSC) provide a promising cell source that is readily available from adult donor, is easy to be expanded in culture, and has high potential to differentiate into bone tissue. Originally isolated from bone marrow, but now identified in multiple tissue sources, MSCs are multi-potent progenitor cells responsible for the repair and regeneration of mesenchymal tissue such as bone, cartilage, fat, and muscle (6, 35). Along with considerable in vitro studies, autologous bone marrow-derived MSCs have also been used in various bone diseases and demonstrated their therapeutic potential in patients (36, 37, 38, 39). MSC have been combined with 3-D biomaterials to repair the site-specific bone defect with good results (40, 41). In both large and small animal models, the implantation of MSC-seeded constructs has demonstrated their ability to accelerate the repair of femoral defects, craniomaxillofacial deformities, and spinal fusion (42, 43). In addition to their multipotentiality, MSCs have unique immunosuppressive properties which allow allogeneic transplantation without the need of immunosuppression (44, 45). This has significant implication in human therapy because MSCs derived from healthy donors can be cryopreserved and made available for patients in a variety of acute and chronic clinical settings. Studies have shown that MSCs can survive freezing temperatures without significant change in viability, indicating their potential for future "off-the-shelf" therapeutic applications (46). Despite the success in cryopreserving cells in suspension, methods for the cryopreservation of the constructs loaded with cells has not been reported. Although the "off-the-shelf" constructs are cost effective and provide the flexibility needed for the surgical room, cryopreservation of TEBCs remains a technical barrier and little is known about the impact of such procedure on cell viability and regeneration potency (15).
Our laboratory has developed a hydroxyapatite-chitosan-gelatin (HCG) scaffold and successfully demonstrated its superior properties for bone regeneration when infused with hMSCs (11, 12). We have also developed a perfusion bioreactor system that integrates cell seeding and long-term tissue growth, which significantly improving system efficiency and construct properties (13, 14). Using the perfusion bioreactor system developed in our lab, we have also shown that dynamic cell seeding into the center of the 3D HCG porous scaffolds and supports long-term construct growth, thereby streamlining the fabrication process (see preliminary results). The in vitro and animal studies have shown promising results for HCG's application in bone regeneration. HCG scaffolds and the perfusion bioreactor system establishes a technology platform required for the fabrication of functional bone constructs from hMSC.

Materials and methods for cryopreserved bone constructs

Florida State University Research Foundation, Inc.


Two or more reflective isolator elements are joined at their outputs to produce an RF combining structure. An RF circulator element is used for each input RF signal as a reflective isolator element to provide a different phase delay according to the direction of propagation of the RF wave. The output of the reflective isolator elements thus exhibits a high output impedance, when looking into the RF output port, preventing back propagation of signals from one input port to another.

Efficient combining of RF signals of the same or similar frequencies with varying relative phases and amplitudes cannot be achieved with such devices as Wilkinson or hybrid combiners, as they rely upon specific relative power levels and phases of the input signals to operate effectively and provide isolation between their inputs.
In the case of standard quadrature hybrid combiners (such as branch line couplers), the phase of the input signals must differ by 90 degrees with equal amplitudes for optimum combining efficiency. These criteria are required to ensure optimal voltage cancellation at specific nodes within the combining network, thus providing isolation and efficient operation.
An ultra high efficiency RF power amplifier could be realized by employing different biasing, device sizing and RF drive levels to the individual high power gain stages. However, the aforementioned combining schemes cannot provide efficient combining and isolation between the stages of such a power amplifier. Therefore, efficiency would be degraded, and portions of the RF energy from a single stage will be delivered to the other stages, effectively causing load impedance shifts, complicating the amplifier's behavior.
In the case of Wilkinson combiners, specific relative amplitudes and phases (usually zero) are required to minimize loss within the isolation resistor. Using such prior combining schemes, failure of a high power gain stage will result in a dramatic drop in efficiency. In the case where two stages are combined by a quadrature hybrid or Wilkinson combiner, at least half of the power of the stage remaining in operation will be lost, due to loss within the combining network.


A method for reducing file-system fragmentation when restoring block-level backups may include (1) identifying a block-level backup stored on a backup storage device, (2) determining, by analyzing metadata contained within the block-level backup, that data contained within the block-level backup was physically arranged in a non-optimized manner on the volume from which the block-level backup was originally created due to file-system fragmentation, (3) identifying a request to restore the block-level backup to a target storage device in a block-by-block manner, (4) determining an optimized physical layout within a file system on the target storage device for the data contained within the block-level backup, and then (5) restoring the block-level backup to the target storage device block-by-block in accordance with the determined optimized physical layout in order to reduce the file-system fragmentation identified in the block-level backup. Various other methods, systems, and computer-readable media are also disclosed.

Conventional methods for backing up data may be divided into two distinct approaches: file-by-file (also known as "file-level backups") and block-by-block (also known as "block-level" backups). In a file-level backup, each block of data associated with a particular file is sequentially copied onto a backup storage device, irrespective of the original physical location of the block of data on its original storage device. Although file-level backups preserve the file or directory structure of file systems, which allows individual files to be easily accessed and restored, file-level backups fail to preserve the original physical layout of the blocks of data that make up such files.
A block-level backup, in contrast, preserves the original physical layout of data within a volume by copying and backing up such data block-by-block from a volume in the physical order in which it is organized on the volume, without regard to the file or directory structure of any file system on the volume. Although block-level backups may offer a number of advantages over file-level backups (including, e.g., flexibility and/or speed), because block-level backups preserve the original physical layout of data within a volume, block-level backups may also unwillingly preserve data in a non-optimal layout if the data was originally physically arranged on the volume in a non-optimal manner due to file-system fragmentation.
In a storage-backed file system, the blocks of data that make up files within a file system may, even if originally stored in a contiguous (i.e., sequential) manner, become fragmented as these files are modified or deleted and/or as additional files within the file system are added or deleted. Because many storage devices perform substantially better when accessing data sequentially (i.e., accessing physically adjacent units of storage) rather than randomly (i.e., accessing units of storage with arbitrary relative positions), such fragmentation may, over time, result in substantially decreased performance.
Unfortunately, because block-level backups preserve the original physical layout of data within a volume, block-level backups may preserve fragmented data in its fragmented state, even if this data is restored to a new or different storage device. As such, the instant disclosure identifies a need for systems and methods for efficiently reducing file-system fragmentation in block-level backups.

Systems and methods for reducing file-system fragmentation when restoring block-level backups utilizing an identification module, an optimization module, and a restore module


An apparatus for applying a light beam to an optical recording medium having tracks provided thereon and effecting at least one of recording and reproduction of information includes a light source emitting the light beam, an optical system for directing the light beam emitted from the light source to the medium, a device for receiving the light flux reflected by or transmitted through the medium and detecting a tracking error signal indicative of the deviation between the applied position of the light beam and a track, a tracking servo for moving at least a portion of the optical system on the basis of the tracking error signal and correcting the applied position of the light beam, a detector for detecting abnormality of tracking servo from the velocity of the moved portion of the optical system.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an apparatus for applying a light beam to an optical recording medium having tracks provided thereon and effecting at least one of recording and reproduction of information while effecting tracking servo of the light beam.
2. Related Background Art
Various forms such as a disc-like form, a card-like form and a tape-like form are known as the forms of information recording medium for recording information thereon and reading out the information recorded thereon. Also, recently, attention has been paid to a method of applying a light beam condensed in the form of a spot to these mediums to thereby accomplish recording and reading-out of information, because of its capability of enhancing the recording density.
The manner of such recording will hereinafter be described by taking as an example a case where use is made of a card-like optical recording medium (hereinafter referred to as the optical card).
FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a schematic plan view of the optical card, and FIG. 2 of the accompanying drawings is a fragmentary enlarged view thereof.
In FIG. 1, the letter C designates the optical card, the reference numeral 72 denotes information tracks, and the reference numeral 73 indicates the home position. Information is recorded as optically detectable record pit rows (information tracks) on the optical card C by causing a light beam modulated in accordance with recording information and reduced to a minute spot to scan the card C. At this time, to record or reproduce information accurately without causing any trouble such as crossing of the information tracks 72, it is necessary to control the applied position of the light beam in a direction perpendicular to the scanning direction (auto tracking, hereinafter referred to as AT). Also, to apply the minute spot stably in spite of the bending and mechanical error of the optical card, it is necessary to control the applied position of the light beam in a direction perpendicular to the optical card (auto focusing, hereinafter referred to as AF). As shown in FIG. 2, tracking tracks 75 (75.sub.1, 75.sub.2, ...) for effecting the aforementioned AT are provided between the information tracks 72 (72.sub.1, 72.sub.2, ...) of the optical card C.
A method of recording information on the optical card will now be described.
In FIG. 1, the light beam is at first positioned at the home position 73. The light beam is then moved in the direction of arrow D to seek an information track 72.sub.n to be recorded, and scans the information track 72.sub.n in the direction of arrow F, thereby accomplishing recording or reproduction of information. Track numbers are recorded on the information tracks 72, and by reproducing this information, the information track being currently recorded can be known. Also, recording of information is carried out in the fashion of a post script, i.e., in the order of the information tracks 72.sub.1, 72.sub.2, ..., 72.sub.n.
FIG. 3 of the accompanying drawings is a block diagram showing the construction of an information recording-reproducing apparatus for the optical card as described above.
In FIG. 3, a system controller 1 controls motors 2 and 3 and AT and AF servo circuits 4 and 5 to thereby control recording or reproduction of information on the optical card C.
The motor 2 reciprocally, moves the optical card C in the direction of double-headed arrow a, whereby a light beam is applied from an optical head 6 along the information tracks of the optical card C. The motor 3 is for moving the optical head 6 in a direction perpendicular to the information tracks on the optical card C.
The optical head 6 has a light source 6a comprising a semiconductor laser, a collimator lens 6b for collimating the light beam from the light source 6, a beam splitter 6c and an objective lens 6d, and applies a light beam for recording/reproduction onto the recording surface of the optical card C.
The optical head 6 also has a beam splitter 6e, condensing lenses 6f and 6g, and photoelectric converters 6h and 6i. The light beam reflected on the recording surface of the optical card C is received by the photoelectric converters 6h and 6i and converted into electrical signals thereby, and the electrical signals are supplied to the AT servo circuit 4 and the AF servo circuit 5, respectively.
The AT servo circuit 4 and the AF servo circuit send driving currents to the tracking coil 6j and focusing coil 6k of the optical head 6 to thereby move the objective lens 6d and effect AT and AF control.
The basic construction of such an information recording-reproducing apparatus is disclosed, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,912,697.
Now, in the apparatus as described above, when a defect or defects are present on the recording medium or when an external shock is applied to the recording medium, there sometimes occurs abnormality to the tracking servo (that is, the phenomenon that AT deviates and the light beam does not correctly trace the information tracks). When such AT deviation occurs, the objective lens moves randomly, and this has led to the possibility of damaging the optical head. Also, particularly when AT deviation occurs during recording, the light spot strays on the medium, and this has led to the problem that information is superposedly written on the recorded information to cause the latter information to disappear.

Information recording and/or reproducing apparatus provided with means for detecting abnormality of tracking servo


The present invention provides methods for deinking wastepaper by combined use of cutinase and chemical reagents, which relates to the field of enzyme engineering. The method comprises the following steps: pulp preparation, enzymatic hydrolysis, pulp washing and dewatering, and flotation. The enzyme for enzymatic hydrolysis is cutinase at a concentration of 10-20 U/g absolute dry pulp; and 0.5-4% Na2SiO3, 0.1-0.8% MgSO4, 0.1-0.8% EDTA, 0.1-4% H2O2 are used in the chemical treatment. With combined use of enzymatic and chemical treatment, the present invention has solved the problem of the current enzymatic method for deinking that requires large dosage of enzymes and thus high cost. Through proper choice of the kind and the amount of chemical reagents, synergistic effects of the enzymatic and chemical treatment can be achieved, thus increasing the effectiveness of the deinking process. In addition, this method does not require alkaline chemicals, which alleviates the problem of sewage treatment associated with conventional deinking methods.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of enzyme engineering. It particularly relates to methods for deinking wastepaper by combined use of cutinase and chemical reagents.
Description of the Related Art
Secondary fiber, also known as renewable fiber, has been used in paper and paperboard production for many years. With the increasing demand of paper and paperboard over the world, and the rising awareness of environmental conservation, the protection of forest resources has been enhanced in countries around the world, leading to increased proportion of the secondary fibers usage in papermaking industry. Paper recovery and recycling is an effective way to solve the problems such as resource shortage, energy shortage and environmental pollution in the paper industry. It is also an important measure to implement cleaner industrial production and promote sustainable development. According to the survey of China Paper Association, the proportion of the secondary fibers in papermaking materials has been increasing year by year. The pulp consumption of China was 84,610 thousand tons in 2010. The consumption of wastepaper pulp was 53,050 thousand tons, which accounted for 63% of the total consumption, with a growth of 6.16% over the previous year.
Wastepaper deinking is generally the first process in renewable fiber recycling, which includes both chemical and physical reactions. Deinking reagents are usually used to destroy the adsorption between fibers and printing ink, and the ink particles are removed from fibers under a certain temperature and shear forces. The ink is mainly composed of pigment, connection material, and auxiliary reagents. The connection material is prepared by dissolving a small amount of natural resin, synthetic resin, rubber and other rubber derivatives in drying oil or other solvent. The protective effect of connection material on pigments makes it difficult to fall off from the fiber. Due to the stickiness of connection material, the pigment is difficult to be removed in deinking process, which affects the production of recycling pulp.
The traditional chemical flotation and washing method are still the main methods for wastepaper deinking in China. Washing method is carried out by washing pulp repeatedly with large amounts of water, which separates ink particles from fibers. It removes fillers and the fine fibers in wastepaper, which helps to achieve the purpose of cleaning. The flotation method is employed by attaching ink particles to bubbles so that ink particles can be removed by floating upwards with the bubbles. Conventional chemical methods have many shortcomings, such as requirement of large amount of alkaline substances, causing environmental pollution due to discharged waste water, requirement of large amounts of chemicals for waste water treatment and limited improvement of paper whiteness. Enzymatic deinking technology is the focus of researches in recent years. Many researches showed that it is efficient in improving flotation efficiency, reducing fiber loss, and reducing the amount of chemical usage. However, the current enzymatic method requires large amounts of enzyme, which limits its wide application due to the high cost. There is a need in developing a cost efficient enzymatic method for wastepaper deinking. The present invention satisfies this need and provides other benefits as well.

Methods for deinking wastepaper by combined use of cutinase and chemical reagents


A tennis court surface comprising a foam material, a scrim material and a top surface containing a thermosetting resin that resists absorption of plasticizers. The composition can be varied to simulate various types of tennis court surfaces such as grass, clay and hard surfaces. The tennis court surface optionally may contain additional components including a thermoplastic back and a thermoplastic face coating on the scrim material, and a barrier layer component between the scrim material and the top surface.

1. Field Of Invention
The invention relates to indoor and outdoor court surfaces for games and activities, especially where a ball is used. More particularly, the invention relates to tennis court surfaces.
2. Background Information
Current tennis court surfaces generally fall under three categories: grass or lawn type surfaces; compacted clay type surfaces; and hard surfaces. These surfaces are different in appearance and playing characteristics and each have advantages and disadvantages. For example, grass courts are characterized by a very fast surface which enhances the speed of a tennis game. However, these court surfaces are expensive to install and maintain and are subject to erratic ball behavior. In addition, the use of grass surfaces is very seasonal.
Clay courts are characterized by a soft, spin receptive surface which induces slow play and helps reduce player injuries. However, clay courts require high maintenance and are also limited to seasonal use because of weather conditions.
Hard courts generally contain asphaltic or concrete pad surfaces painted over with a resinous material usually in the form of an acrylic latex water based emulsion. These surfaces are subject to structural and thermal cracking, and may also cause joint, ligament and tendon damage to players. Hard court surfaces also cause excessive wear to shoes and tennis balls, and cause a tennis ball bounce pattern that is too high and not spin receptive enough to reward a good tennis shot.
Attempts have been made to produce a court surface that would combine the positive attributes of these surfaces while eliminating the disadvantages. Some limited success has been achieved indoors; however all attempts to produce an outdoor surface with the aforementioned desirable characteristics have met with failure.
For example, attempts have been made to laminate closed cell urethane as well as polyethylene foams to a variety of surfaces and in some cases to coat these with acrylic coatings. However, normal seasonal, daily and hourly temperature changes cause undue tension on seams and multiple wrinkles from contraction and expansion of the cells. In addition, most urethanes suitable to such approaches are not suitable for long term outdoor exposure.
Vinyl products with closed cells as well as some open cells have been tried. However, in addition to the same problems with closed cells, unsightly and problematic seams could not be hidden. In addition, surface tack and premature early soiling has been observed. Gradual shrinking as well as surface hardening from gradual plasticizer loss from evaporation as well as water extraction also created problems. Attempts to coat vinyl surfaces with standard color coating systems used in the trade failed for reason of polar affinity of the coatings used with the plasticizers in the vinyl systems. The resulting lowering of the glass transition point of the acrylic, ethylene vinyl acetates, as well as styrene containing copolymers used in the trade created conditions ranging from instant tack to slow gradual softening of the polymer system used.
Furthermore, the prior art consists of assembling components with little or no background or regard for the interaction of the ball to the surface to create a specific type of play.


An articulated downspout (10) is disclosed having an upper fluid duct (12), an elongated lower fluid duct (14) pivotably connected to the upper fluid duct (12), and a planar flap (16) also pivotably connected to the upper fluid duct (12). The lower fluid duct (14) pivots between a raised position where horticultural equipment can pass therebelow unimpeded, and a lowered position for the distribution of rainwater. The lower fluid duct (14) is released from its raised position in response to downward pressure exerted by rainwater on the collection portion (26) of the flap (16).

Articulated downspouts are known in which a portion of the downspout is released from an initial storage position to a rainwater dispersal position. The purpose of such a design is to provide a storage position in which there is sufficient ground clearance for the unobstructed passage of lawn maintenance equipment such as lawn mowers, and a dispersal position in which rainwater is directed away from the foundation of the building to which the downspout is connected.
Conventionally, manual and electric means have been employed for actuating the articulated downspout. Several methods have also been devised for releasing the hinged portion of the downspout in response to the accumulation of rainwater in the downspout itself. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,375,851 to Henry, issued Apr. 2, 1968, discloses a hinged downspout assembly in which the lower portion of the downspout is released when a counterbalance receptacle located therein fills with rainwater. A drawback to this design, however, is that release is accomplished by shifting the center of gravity of the hinged portion to a position outside the imaginary vertical plane defined by the hinge. This results in an actuation means which is overly sensitive, and may require some additional retaining means to prevent actuation by the wind.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,316,928 to Weakley, issued May 2, 1967, discloses a downspout attachment which is released from its rest position by the flow of water against a vane located in the horizontal lower section of the downspout. Because of the vane's positioning, only a small cross-section is exposed to the flow of water through the downspout. Thus, the articulation means may not be responsive in a light rainfall.


A semiconductor fabricating method is disclosed. A first container accommodating a predetermined number of semiconductor wafers and labeled with a first identifier and a second container labeled with a second identifier are mounted on a first processing apparatus, and the first and second identifiers are stored. While the first processing apparatus is submitting the semiconductor wafers to a first process, designated ones of the processed wafers are loaded into the second container as sample wafers. The second container is mounted on an inspection apparatus to inspect the sample wafers. Then, the first and second containers are mounted on a second processing apparatus and are identified by comparison of identifiers thereof with the stored first and second identifiers, respectively. The second processing apparatus submits the rest of the processed semiconductor wafers and the inspected sample wafers to a second process, and the processed sample wafers are returned to the first container.

The present document is based on Japanese Priority Document JP 2001-322072, filed in the Japanese Patent Office on Oct. 19, 2001, the entire contents of which being incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of fabricating semiconductor devices by submitting, for example, semiconductor wafers to various semiconductor fabricating processes.
2. Background of Related Art
Semiconductor device fabrication involves patterning a semiconductor wafer via a thin film forming technique, such as evaporation or sputtering, to form many circuits on the wafer, and then dicing the patterned wafer into many semiconductor chips.
During the fabrication, inspection is performed by transfer of semiconductor wafers to inspection equipment between processes in order to manufacture high-quality products at high yield.
In a typical semiconductor fabricating practice, the processes are carried out on a cassette basis, with each cassette accommodating, for example, 25 (twenty-five) semiconductor wafers. Thus, once a process is finished, the 25 wafers are transferred en bloc as accommodated in the cassette to the inspection equipment for diagnosis.
FIG. 9 shows a flow of steps included in a conventional lithographic process.
First, in step ST101, a cassette in which a plurality of semiconductor wafers are accommodated is mounted on a loader/unloader of an in-line stepper used in the lithographic process.
Next, in step ST102, the in-line stepper submits these wafers to the lithographic process including resist coating, exposure and development, and then returns the resultant wafers to where they were in the cassette in order of their submission to the process.
The cassette is then delivered to inspection apparatuses, where the lithographically processed wafers have their pattern accuracy measured with a scanning electron microscope (SEM) (step ST104), their overlay accuracy evaluated (step ST105), and their surface visually checked to locate any damage thereon (step ST106).
Thus, the lithography process, among other semiconductor fabricating processes, involves a number of inspections including pattern accuracy, overlay accuracy and wafer surface visual checkup which demand time, sometimes longer than the lithography process itself.
However, in performing the inspections, the above conventional lithographic process, because of its cassette-based serial operation, prevents transfer of any wafer to the inspection apparatuses unless the lithographic process is completed for all the wafers in the cassette, thus making the process time-consuming.
In addition, this time-consuming cassette-based serial operation would greatly discourage productivity increase when combined with commonly practiced sampling inspection in which some of semiconductor wafers in a cassette are selected for inspection.
To overcome these problems, proposed to date are an in-line approach in which semiconductor fabricating apparatuses and inspection apparatuses are grouped in-line into a semiconductor fabricating system, and a monitoring approach in which inspection units are incorporated into semiconductor fabricating apparatuses.
However, the in-line approach is unable to balance varying throughputs among the apparatuses involved nor is it cost-effective, in consideration of factors such as sampling inspection being involved and the apparatuses being sensitive to external vibrations, etc. The monitoring approach would also be premature because individual element technologies currently available for semiconductor fabrication would be incompetent in accommodating inspection needs for high-volume production.
The fact that a number of steps, such as wafer surface checkup depends on visual inspection by a checker, is one major reason why the inspection is carried out after completion of the semiconductor fabrication process for all semiconductor wafers as described above.
The present invention solves the above and other problems by providing a semiconductor fabricating method capable of wafer inspection simultaneously with submission of semiconductor wafers to a semiconductor fabricating process to improve throughput, quality and yield.
In a first embodiment, the method of the present invention is carried out as follows. A first container accommodating a predetermined number of semiconductor wafers and labeled with a first identifier and a second container labeled with a second identifier are mounted on a first processing apparatus, and the first and second identifiers are stored.
While the first processing apparatus is submitting the semiconductor wafers to a first process, designated ones of semiconductor wafers on which the first process is performed are loaded into the second container as sample wafers. (Hereafter, the wafer for inspection is called a sample wafer).
The second container is mounted on an inspection apparatus to inspect the sample wafers.
The first container accommodating a rest of the processed semiconductor wafers after the first process is performed and the second container accommodating the inspected sample wafers are mounted on a second processing apparatus after the inspected sample wafers are judged to be acceptable, and the first and second containers mounted on the second processing apparatus are identified by comparison of identifiers thereof with the stored first and second identifiers, respectively.
The second processing apparatus submits the rest of the processed semiconductor wafers after the first process is performed and the inspected sample wafers to a second process, and the processed sample wafers by submission to the second process are returned to the first container.
In the step of loading designated ones of the processed semiconductor wafers into the second container as sample wafers, position information about where the sample wafers have been accommodated in the first container may be stored in association with the stored first and second identifiers of said first and second containers, and in the step of returning the inspected sample wafers to the first container, the stored position information based on the identifying of the second and first containers maybe read to return the inspected sample wafers to an original position in the first container.
In the step of inspecting the sample wafers, the identifier of the second container mounted on the inspection apparatus may be identified by comparison of the stored second identifier thereof with the second identifier and inspection results of the inspected sample wafers as inspection results of the processed semiconductor wafers accommodated in the first container may be stored.
According to this embodiment, the identifiers of the respective containers are stored before processing, and while the first processing apparatus is submitting the semiconductor wafers to the first process, some processed wafers are loaded into the second container as sample wafers. Then, these sample wafers are inspected by the inspection apparatus while the rest of the semiconductor wafers in the first container are continuously submitted to the first process.
When the inspected wafers are found to be acceptable, both the first container accommodating the rest of the semiconductor wafers for which the first process has finished, and the second container accommodating the inspected sample wafers are mounted on the second processing apparatus for subsequent processing.
During the mounting, the first and second containers mounted on the second processing apparatus are identified by comparing identifiers thereof with the previously stored identifiers, respectively, to confirm that the sample wafers have been taken out of the first container.
The second processing apparatus submits the rest of the semiconductor wafers and the sample wafers to the second process, and the processed sample wafers are put back to the first container, whereby the predetermined number of semiconductor wafers is back in the first container.
In this way, parallel operation is implemented through management of the sample wafers in the second container being taken out of the first container.
In a second embodiment, the method of the present invention is carried out as follows. A first container accommodating a predetermined number of semiconductor wafers and labeled with a first identifier and a second container labeled with a second identifier are mounted on a processing apparatus, and the first and second identifiers are stored.
While the processing apparatus is processing the semiconductor wafers, designated ones of the processed semiconductor wafers are loaded into the second container as sample wafers.
The second container accommodating the sample wafers and the first container accommodating a rest of the processed semiconductor wafers are mounted on an inspection apparatus, and the second and first containers mounted on the inspection apparatus are identified by comparison of identifiers thereof with the stored second and first identifiers, respectively.
The inspection apparatus inspects the sample wafers, and the inspected sample wafers are returned to the first container.
The steps of loading designated ones of the processed semiconductor wafers into the second container as sample wafers, returning the inspected sample wafers to the first container, and inspecting the sample wafers may be modified as mentioned in the first embodiment.
The second container may be mounted on another inspection apparatus after the designated ones of the processed semiconductor wafers are loaded into the second container as the sample wafers and before the second container having therein the sample wafers and the first container accommodating the rest of the processed semiconductor wafers are mounted on the inspection apparatus so as to carry out another inspection on the sample wafers.
According to this embodiment, the identifiers of the respective containers are stored before processing, and while the processing apparatus is submitting the semiconductor wafers to a predetermined process, some processed wafers are loaded into the second container as sample wafers. These sample wafers in the second container may undergo a plurality of inspections, for example.
When the processing apparatus completes its processing for the rest of the semiconductor wafers in the first container during the course of any of the inspections, the first container accommodating the rest of the processed semiconductor wafers and the second container accommodating the sample wafers are mounted on an inspection apparatus.
At the time of the mounting, the first and second containers are identified by comparison of identifiers thereof with the previously stored identifiers, respectively, to confirm that the sample wafers in the second container come from the first container.
Then, the inspection apparatus inspects the sample wafers, and the inspected wafers are thereafter put back to the first container after completion of all the inspections so that all the semiconductor wafers are back in the first container.
In this way, parallel operation of fabrication process and inspection process can be accomplished through confirmation of the sample wafers in the second container coming from the first container.
According to the present invention, wafer processing and wafer inspection can be carried out simultaneously, whereby throughput, quality and yield can be improved.

Semiconductor fabricating method employing parallel processing and inspection techniques


A system and method are provided for controlling an automatic engine stop-start in conjunction with a transmission having one or more latching valves. The system and method is configured to determine whether conditions are met for an autostop, and if so, to latch or unlatch the latching valve(s) by changing clutch pressure.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may or may not constitute prior art.
A typical automatic transmission includes a hydraulic control system that, among other functions, is employed to actuate a plurality of torque transmitting devices. These torque transmitting devices may be, for example, friction clutches and brakes. The conventional hydraulic control system typically includes a main pump that provides a pressurized fluid, such as oil, to a plurality of valves and solenoids within a valve body. The main pump is driven by the engine of the motor vehicle. The valves and solenoids are operable to direct the pressurized hydraulic fluid through a hydraulic fluid circuit to the plurality of torque transmitting devices within the transmission. The pressurized hydraulic fluid delivered to the torque transmitting devices is used to engage or disengage the devices in order to obtain different gear ratios.
In order to increase the fuel economy of motor vehicles, stopping the engine during certain circumstances may be desirable, such as when stopped at a red light or idling, which may improve fuel economy. The engine may also be stopped while the vehicle is in motion for cruising, or if there is another source of torque, such as a motor in the rear axle. However, in certain circumstances, the stopping of the engine is undesirable.
In addition, after the engine has been shut down and has remained off for an extended period of time, the fluid generally tends to drain down from the passages into a transmission sump under the force of gravity. Upon engine restart, the transmission may take an appreciable amount of time to establish pressure before full transmission operation may resume. Quick system recovery, however, is desirable. As such, maintaining pressure in a clutch could aid in quick system recovery, even when line pressure and/or clutch feed pressure is zero or near zero. In other situations, however, clutch pressure should be eliminated, such as when putting a vehicle in reverse.
Accordingly, there is a need for a method of controlling engine stop-starts while maintaining timely shifting and recovery.

System and method for controlling an automatic stop-start


A speaker module is disposed on the top casing and includes at least one first vent. A printed circuit board is disposed between the top casing and the bottom casing and includes at least one second vent corresponding to the first vent.

The invention relates to an electronic device with audio capability, and in particular to a notebook computer with improved audio output.
Conventionally, a notebook computer provides speakers to output sound. The speakers are often disposed in a host of the notebook computer. Specifically, the host of the notebook computer comprises a top casing and a bottom casing. The speakers are disposed on the top casing, and a printed circuit board (or a main board) is disposed between the top casing and the bottom casing. As bottom ends of the speakers are often separated from the printed circuit board by a small distance, the space of a sound box between each speaker and the printed circuit board is small or air elasticity therebetween poor. Accordingly, when the speakers operate, a diaphragm in each speaker is not easily vibrated due to the insufficient space of the sound box or air elasticity. Namely, resonance is not easily generated between the diaphragm in each speaker and air. Sound magnitude from the speakers and audio quality provided thereby are thus adversely affected.
To increase volume from the speakers, portions, under and corresponding to the speakers, of the printed circuit board are removed. Accordingly, the space of the sound box or air elasticity under the speakers is increased, increasing the volume from the speakers.
Nevertheless, in the limited space provided by the host of the notebook computer, arrangement of the printed circuit board and electronic members is difficult. Layout of circuits on the printed circuit board is further complicated when portions thereof are removed.
Hence, there is a need for a notebook computer with improved audio output or an electronic device with audio capability. Volume from a speaker module of the notebook computer or electronic device is increased when layout of circuits on a printed circuit board thereof is less influenced.


According to one embodiment, in a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, a data latch circuit which is connected to a sense amplifier circuit controls a data writing operation and a data reading operation to and from a nonvolatile memory cell array through a data bus, and outputs the stored data to the data bus when the sense amplifier circuit performs the data writing operation. The data latch circuit is provided with two nodes respectively storing and outputting normal data and reverse data which are connected to the data bus.

A NAND-type flash memory is one of a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device that can record much more information in a small chip, according to a multi-level technology which enables one memory cell transistor of a plurality of NAND strings forming a memory cell array to store the information for two bits or three bits. Together with a widespread use of the NAND-type flash memories for mobile devices handling large capacity data such as image and moving image, their demand is rapidly increasing.
A NAND-type flash memory is provided with a sense amplifier circuit and a data latch circuit in each bit line of a memory cell array, so that a writing operation and a reading operation can be simultaneously performed on a page basis. Here, the sense amplifier circuit is a circuit for controlling the reading operation and the writing operation. The data latch circuit is a circuit for temporarily storing the data read by the sense amplifier circuit from the memory cell, to output the above data externally and temporarily storing the written data input externally, to pass the above data to the sense amplifier.
One page is basically defined as about 2 KB. After reading out the data of about 2 KB, simultaneously the data is externally output in serial, thereby raising the data throughput. By changing the capacity of one writing and reading data from 2 KB to 4 KB in a page basis operation, the writing and reading throughput can be enhanced. At the present, with a page basis of 8 KB, the 16 KB data, double the page, can be simultaneously written and read out.
In a NAND-type flash memory, scale down of a memory cell array is developing, and in order to reduce a chip size, a reduction in the peripheral circuit size also becomes very important. Of the peripheral circuit, as it requires the same number of the sense amplifier circuits and the data latch circuits as the number of pages, the number of the both circuits is huge, occupying 10% of the chip size. In order to reduce the chip size, we have to challenge the size reduction of the sense amplifier circuit and the data latch circuit as well as the miniaturization of a memory cell array.
In this embodiment, a size reduction of the data latch circuit is considered. In this respect, there is posed a challenge to reduce the number of transistors and the size of a transistor itself. When the data latch circuit is scaled down, however, the circuit itself becomes fragile, deteriorating the data keeping ability and an erroneous inversion of the stored data may happen in some cases. Further, currents consumed for data transfer between the data latch circuits and the sense amplifier circuits become a considerable problem from a viewpoint of reducing the current consumption.


A method for displaying a multipoint videoconference includes receiving a plurality of video signals generated at a plurality of remote conference sites. The method includes assigning a plurality of video signals generated at a first remote conference site to a first monitor of a plurality of monitors at a local site and assigning a plurality of video signals generated at a second remote conference site to a second monitor of the plurality of monitors at the local site. In addition, the method includes selecting, for each of the first and second monitor, a video signal of the plurality of video signals assigned to the monitor, and displaying each selected video signal on its respective monitor.

There are many methods available for groups of individuals to engage in conferencing. One common method, videoconferencing, involves the use of video equipment, such as cameras, microphones, displays and speakers. The equipment may be used to divide a conference site into segments associated with one or more conference participants. In particular, a camera and a microphone may generate a video signal and an audio signal, respectively, associated with a particular segment. When a remote location has more segments than the local location has displays, individuals at the local location may have an artificial and unrealistic experience during the videoconference. Correspondingly, individuals at the local location may have a diminished experience if the aggregate number of segments at several remote locations outnumbers the monitors at the local location due to continuous switching among the signals from the cameras.
To address such problems, certain systems employ various metrics to determine how or where a video image is displayed. For example, some videoconference systems will only present one video signal at a time on a monitor. In these videoconference systems the video signal that is presented within the display is usually determined by voice activity (e.g., the last person to talk is the one that is presented). Some videoconference systems support multiple monitors where the displayed video signals may be switched according to site. More particularly, each of the local monitors may display video signals associated with the site of the current active speaker. Thus, if the active speaker is in New York, then each of the local monitors will display video signals associated with the segments at the New York site. Site switching may be inefficient and visually unappealing as each remote site will typically only have a single active speaker. Thus, continuous switching between displayed sites may detract from a user's conferencing experience. In other systems, the displayed video signal may switch by segment. In these systems, each segment may be separately analyzed to determine an active speaker. The set of displayed video signals may include the active video signals for each respective segment irrespective of the segment's site location. Switching by segment may detract from a local user's conference experience as the user may lose track of the site associated with a particular speaker.

System and method for displaying a multipoint videoconference


The fabrication method for a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device having a memory cell area including memory cells and a peripheral circuit area adjacent to the memory cell area and including peripheral transistors, the method including the steps of: (1) forming a first active region in the memory cell area and a second active region in the peripheral circuit area in a substrate by forming isolation insulating films in the memory cell area and the peripheral circuit area so as to be away from a boundary therebetween; (2) forming a bottom insulating film and an intermediate charge trap film sequentially over the entire surface of the substrate; (3) removing a portion of the intermediate charge trap film formed in the peripheral circuit area using a first mask film; (4) forming a gate insulating film in the peripheral circuit area and also at least part of a top insulating film in the memory cell area; (5) forming a gate electrode film on the top insulating film and the gate insulating film; and (6) forming gate electrodes of memory cells and peripheral transistors by patterning the gate electrode film. The step (3) includes a step of aligning an end of the first mask film with the boundary in the substrate.

The present invention relates to a nonvolatile semiconductor memory device, especially a metal oxide nitride oxide semiconductor (MONOS) memory, and a fabrication method for such a memory device.
In recent years, with higher integration and lower cost of nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices, MONOS memory technology has been proposed in which a virtual ground array is adopted to allow local charge trapping.
MONOS memory cells have a 3-layer oxide nitride oxide (ONO) insulating film made of a bottom silicon oxide film, an intermediate silicon nitride film and a top silicon oxide film as a gate insulating film, and thus are different in structure from metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistors used for peripheral circuits, which have a silicon oxide film as a gate insulating film. For this reason, importance must be put in the technology on formation of the boundary between a memory cell area having the MONOS structure and a peripheral circuit area.
Hereinafter, an area where an ONO insulating film exists in formation of a gate electrode is defined as the memory cell area, while an area where the ONO insulating film has been removed in formation of a gate electrode is defined as the peripheral circuit area. In other words, the memory cell area and the peripheral circuit area are defined as distinguished from each other depending on whether or not an ONO insulating film exists. In some cases, therefore, gate electrodes formed continuously to constitute word lines for memory cells may extend from the memory cell area into the peripheral circuit area.
The ONO insulating film boundary does not necessarily agree with the boundary of wells.
A conventional nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and a fabrication method for the same will be described with reference to relevant drawings. See Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2005-109297, for example.
FIG. 15 shows a plan configuration of a memory chip as a conventional nonvolatile semiconductor memory device. In FIG. 15, a gate insulating film is omitted for simplification.
As shown in FIG. 15, the memory chip includes a memory cell area 31 having a MONOS structure and a peripheral circuit area 32, and a memory cell boundary 33 defines the boundary between the memory cell area 31 and the peripheral circuit area 32. In the memory cell area 31, formed are MONOS memory cells each made of an active region 34 in a cell well and a gate electrode 35. In the peripheral circuit area 32, formed are MOS transistors each made of an active region 36 in a transistor well and a gate electrode 37. Although not shown in FIG. 15, an ONO insulating film is formed between the active region 34 and the gate electrodes 35 in the memory cell area 31, while a gate insulating film is formed between the active region 36 and the gate electrodes 37 in the peripheral circuit area 32. The gate electrodes 35 formed in the memory cell area 31 constitute word lines, which extend into the peripheral circuit area 32. Shallow trench isolation (STI) 38 surrounds the active region 34 in the cell well and the active regions 36 in the transistor well.
FIGS. 16A to 16C, 17A to 17C, 18A to 18C and 19A to 19C show cross-sectional configurations in the fabrication process steps for the memory chip as the conventional nonvolatile semiconductor device. Note that while the cross-sectional configurations of FIGS. 16A to 18C are common for both the section taken along line XVa-XVa and the section taken along line XVb-XVb in FIG. 15, FIG. 19A shows only the XVa-XVa section and FIGS. 19B and 19C show only the XVb-XVb section. Note also that the line XVb-XVb in FIG. 15 represents a section where no gate electrode 35 is formed.
First, as shown in FIG. 16A, a cell well 39 and a transistor well 40 are formed on a semiconductor substrate 30 in the memory cell area 31 and the peripheral circuit area 32, respectively. The STI 38 as an isolation film is then formed, and the active regions 34 and 36 are respectively formed in the cell well 39 and the transistor well 40. The transistor well 40 is actually composed of an n-type well, a p-type well, a deep n-type well and the like. The cell well 39 may be composed of a p-type well and, occasionally, a deep n-type well.
As shown in FIG. 16B, an ONO insulating film made of a bottom oxide film 41 having a thickness of about 5 nm, an intermediate nitride film 42 having a thickness of about 10 nm, and a top oxide film 43 having a thickness of about 15 nm is formed. The portion of the ONO insulating film formed in the memory cell area 31 constitutes a gate insulating film of MONOS memory cells.
As shown in FIG. 16C, using an ONO processing mask 44 formed above the cell well 39, the portion of the top oxide film 43 located above the transistor well 40 is removed by wet etching.
As shown in FIG. 17A, the ONO processing mask 44 is removed, and using the top oxide film 43 above the cell well 39 as a mask, the portion of the intermediate nitride film 42 located above the transistor well 40 is removed by wet etching.
The top oxide film 43 may be formed in a step of forming a gate oxide film of peripheral transistors, not forming in the step of forming the ONO insulating film shown in FIG. 16B. Otherwise, the top oxide film 43 may be formed in both the step of forming the ONO insulating film and the step of forming a gate oxide film of peripheral transistors. The portions of the top oxide film 43 and intermediate nitride film 42 formed above the transistor well 40 may be removed in succession by dry etching using the ONO processing mask 44 formed above the cell well 39.
As shown in FIG. 17B, the entire wafer is wet-etched with no mask used, to remove the portion of the bottom oxide film 41 formed above the transistor well 40. In this step, part or the entire of the top oxide film 43 above the cell well 39 is also removed simultaneously. The final top oxide film 43 will however be formed in the later step of forming a gate insulating film of peripheral transistors.
During the wet etching of the portion of the bottom oxide film 41 formed above the transistor well 40, the portion of the STI 38 at the boundary between the cell well 39 and the transistor well 40 is also partially removed, forming a step between the STI 38 and the transistor well 40. Moreover, if the wet etching is made using hydrofluoric acid and the like, the etching rate of the intermediate nitride film 42 is lower than that of the silicon oxide film constituting the bottom oxide film 41 and the top oxide film 43. Therefore, the top oxide film 43 overlying the intermediate nitride film 42 and the bottom oxide film 41 and the STI 38 underlying the intermediate nitride film 42 may be etched away at their end portions, leaving the intermediate nitride film 42 overhanging. FIG. 17C shows a cross-sectional configuration illustrating the thus-etched boundary between the cell well 39 and the transistor well 40.
As shown in FIG. 18A, a gate oxide film 45, which is to be a gate insulating film of MOS transistors used in peripheral circuits is formed on the transistor well 40 by thermal oxidation. Although the gate oxide film is actually made of a plurality of layers in many cases, it is simply shown as a single-layer film in FIG. 18A. During the formation of the gate oxide film 45, the thickness of the top oxide film 43 above the cell well 39 increases a little although illustration on this increase is omitted.
In the step of forming the gate oxide film 45, the gate oxide film 45 is formed while the intermediate nitride film 42 is kept overhanging. Although the thicknesses of the top oxide film 43, the bottom oxide film 41, the intermediate nitride film 42 and the STI 38 respectively increase a little during the formation of the gate oxide film 45 by thermal oxidation, the rate of oxidation of these films is significantly low compared with that of the active region 36 in the transistor well 40 made of silicon, and thus the intermediate nitride film 42 is kept overhanging. Note that illustration is omitted on the increase in the thicknesses of the top oxide film 43, the bottom oxide film 41, the intermediate nitride film 42 and the STI 38.
As shown in FIG. 18B, polysilicon 46, which is to be gate electrodes of MONOS memory cells and MOS transistors, is deposited on the top surface of the resultant semiconductor substrate 30.
In the step of forming the polysilicon 46, as shown in FIG. 18C, which shows the case of FIG. 17C where the intermediate nitride film 42 overhangs, the polysilicon 46 is formed even under the overhang to bury the boundary between the ONO insulating film and the gate oxide film 45.
As shown in FIG. 19A, the polysilicon 46 is etched to form the gate electrode 35 of MONOS memory cells and the gate electrode 37 of MOS transistors.
According to the conventional technique, however, the portion of the STI 38 removed during the removal of the portion of the bottom oxide film 41 above the transistor well 40 forms a depression at the boundary between the ONO insulating film and the gate oxide film 45. Having such a depression, a post-etch residue may be produced in the depression at the etching of the polysilicon 46.
Since polysilicon is good in deposition in a depression, it can be efficiently formed in the depression existing at the boundary between the ONO insulating film and the gate oxide film 45, as shown in FIGS. 18B and 18C. In particular, as shown in FIG. 18C, which shows the case that the intermediate nitride film 42 overhangs, polysilicon is deposited even under the overhang of the intermediate nitride film 42. The thus-formed polysilicon 46 is likely to produce a post-etch residue at the etching. Because the overhang serves as a mask, the underlying portion is inevitably left unetched. Production of such a post-etch residue depends on the etching conditions of the polysilicon 46 and the shape and length of the overhang of the intermediate nitride film 42.
FIG. 19B shows a cross-sectional configuration of a region in which the memory cell area 31 has no gate electrode 35.
As shown in FIG. 19B, a depression is generally formed at the boundary between the ONO insulating film and the gate oxide film 45 and a post-etch residue of the polysilicon 46 is left behind like a sidewall on the bottom of the depression even when the intermediate nitride film 42 does not overhang, forming a polysilicon residue 101.
The polysilicon residue 101 shown in FIG. 19B may be in contact with an extension of the gate electrode 35, which constitutes a word line in the memory cell area 31, into the peripheral circuit area 32, and this may possibly cause a short between gate electrodes in the memory cell area 31. Also, such a residue may come off and becomes particles.
FIG. 19C shows a cross-sectional configuration of a region in which the memory cell area 31 has no gate electrode 35 and the intermediate nitride film 42 overhangs.
As shown in FIG. 19C, the portion of the polysilicon 46 formed under the overhang of the intermediate nitride film 42 is left unetched at the etching of the polysilicon 46, forming a polysilicon residue 101 as a post-etch residue.
The polysilicon residue 101 shown in FIG. 19C may be in contact with an extension of the gate electrode 35, which constitutes a word line in the memory cell area 31, into the peripheral circuit area 32, and this may possibly cause a short between gate electrodes in the memory cell area 31. Also, such a residue may come off and becomes particles.
As described above, the polysilicon residue 101 as a post-etch residue of the polysilicon 46 may be formed, and this may cause a short between gate electrodes or be lifted off to become a source of particles. In either case, the yield will be degraded.

Nonvolatile semiconductor memory device and fabrication method for the same


Plastic working method and apparatus are disclosed. The plastic work such as forging is carried out by partial pressing contact of a die with a partial portion of a workpiece. The die is moved in a swinging or circular rocking fashion. The plastic working apparatus comprises a lower die for supporting the workpiece; an upper die swingably provided in a swinging plane about a predetermined position for relatively depressing the workpiece with respect to the lower die in accordance with the swing motion and for performing the plastic work to the workpiece in cooperation with the lower die; and a moving mechanism for relatively moving the workpiece and the upper die within the swing plane during the working operation. A plastic working method comprises the steps of; swinging at predetermined amplitudes the die arranged in confronted relations with the workpiece; and, relatively moving a center of the swing amplitudes of the die relative to the workpiece within its swinging plane, thereby performing the plastic work in response to a shape of a molding die portion of said die.

This invention relates to a plastic working method and its apparatus.
Forging is a typical method for plastic working. However, ordinary forging requires an extremely large load, since an entire active surface of a shaping tool (die) is in surface pressure contact with an overall surface of the workpiece. In order to avoid this deficiency, rotational forging has been developed since it requires a relatively small load for shaping the workpiece. According to the rotational forging, a part of the active surface of the shaping tool is in pressure contact with a part of the surface of the workpiece, and such partial forging is repeatedly applied to the workpiece, so that entire surface of the workpiece undergoes forging.
A conventional apparatus for plastic working such as coining or sizing has an upper die and a lower die. A workpiece is mounted on the lower die and is depressed between the upper and lower dies. The upper die is movable up and down with respect to the lower die along a predetermined axis or is swung (two dimensional swinging motion) about a single point on the workpiece by means of the operation of an eccentric cam, a crank, a screw mechanism or a toggle mechanism.
According to another type of a prior art plastic working apparatus, a die is swivelled (three dimensional motion) at a predetermined slant angle with respect to an axis passing through a predetermined position of a workpiece, and in accordance with the swivelling motion, the plastic work is applied to the workpiece in comformance with the shape of a shaping die portion of the die. In this type, one of the dies, such as an upper die, is adapted to perform a circular rocking motion relative to the other die (lower die).
However, according to the conventional apparatus, since the load center of the upper die relative to the workpiece is always kept constant, the plastic flow of the workpiece material is restrained. It is therefore difficult to perform the plastic working with high accuracy.
Further, according to another type of the conventional apparatus, since the swivelling center of the die is always kept constant, it is impossible to increase an "expansion amount" of the workpiece material, and excellent swaging may not be attainable. In other words, plasticized metal flow is not sufficiently reached into the finely configured portion of the workpiece so as to manufacture a product having a complicated outer shape. Thus, it would be difficult to perform the work with high precision. In addition, it would be impossible to apply the working operation to a complicated work since the operational mode is limited in such prior art apparatus.
Such conventional forging apparatus are described in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,990,285, and G. B. Patent Nos. 319,065, 1,205,171, 1,224,259 and 1,225,260.


A method and apparatus for displaying information about a group of harnesses. Logical data of a database comprising a group of identifiers comprising a group of harness identifiers and a group of vehicle identifiers of a database is displayed. A selected identifier of the group of identifiers is received. Modeling data is displayed, wherein the modeling data comprises a harness set related to a model of a vehicle that is associated with a vehicle identifier and is related to the selected identifier.

1. Field
The present disclosure relates to an electrical apparatus and its corresponding methods to perform data processing operations to organize and manage resources. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to methods and apparatus for displaying modeling data and logical data in order to organize and manage resources.
2. Background
Manufacturing a vehicle requires a large number of connectors, harnesses, and equipment that need to be installed into the vehicle. Additionally, the manufacturing of a single vehicle may occur at several sites and the vehicle itself may be subdivided into several zones. An example of a vehicle, without limitation, is an aircraft.
An installation plan may be created for use in installing the harnesses and other equipment. The installation plan may identify all of the connectors, harnesses, and equipment that require installation, the location of parts, and identify the work needed to be done to perform the installation of the parts. The installation plan uses logical data from a database to identify the connectors, harnesses, and equipment.
The information considered in creating an installation plan may include hundreds of thousands of parts that might be installed in an aircraft. An operator looks at the information in the logical data to create an installation plan for some of the parts that are to be installed. The logical data includes a list of the parts, part identifiers and other information in a textual format.
The operator also views drawings for the aircraft in creating the installation plan. The drawings help the operator decide what parts should be included in an installation plan and where the parts should be installed. For example, the drawings may show structures to which connections of parts should be made. The installation plans may also help the operator determine what paths parts such as harnesses should be placed on in creating the installation plan. These installation plans are in paper form or may be displayed on a display device.
Looking at the logical data and the installation plans may increase the complexity of creating an installation plan, may increase the time required to develop an installation plan, and may increase the time required to review the installation plan. A three dimensional model, comprising modeling data, that describes the vehicle may also be developed to design the vehicle and plan for its manufacture. The three dimensional model of the design for the vehicle includes everything that is to be installed into the vehicle, including all of the connectors, harnesses, and equipment. For developing the installation plan, the three dimensional model is reduced to two dimensional paper schematics that are referenced when developing the installation plan. To develop the installation plan one must look to the logical data on a computer while also manually paging through the schematics on paper. This increases the complexity of and the time required for developing a quality installation plan. Therefore, it would be desirable to have a method and apparatus that takes into account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well as other possible issues.

Displaying modeling data and logical data


A process for recovering an oil from a tar sand, including the steps of drying the tar sand to produce a dried tar sand, mixing the dried tar sand with a microwave absorbent to produce a mixed sand, and cracking the mixed sand with microwaves to produce an oil vapor product containing the oil.

Canadian tar sands, commonly called oil sands, are a combination of clay, sand, water, and bitumen, heavy black viscous oil. Oil sand, as mined commercially, typically contains an average of 10-12% bitumen, 83-85% mineral matter and 4-6% water. A film of water coats most of the mineral matter, and this property permits extraction by a hot-water process.
The hot water process is a common commercial process used for extracting bitumen from mined oil sands. The oil sand is put into massive rotating drums and slurried with hot water (50-80° C.) and some steam. Droplets of bitumen separate from the grain of sand and attach themselves to tiny air bubbles. Conditioned slurry is passed through a screen to remove rocks and large pebbles and pumped into large, conical separation vessels where a froth of bitumen is skimmed from the top containing about 60% bitumen, 30% water and 10% solids. The coarse sand settles and is pumped to disposal sites. Some of the smaller bitumen and mineral particles remain in an intermediate water layer called middlings and are pumped to separation vessels. Approximately 90% of the bitumen in the mined oil sands is typically recovered.
The recovered bitumen generally needs to be upgraded to convert the heavy viscous bitumen to a form which can be transported in existing pipeline systems and to ensure an upgraded crude quality which will permit existing refineries to meet anticipated market product demand. The Flexicoking™ followed by hydro-treating of the coker liquids is typically the preferred upgrading process in Canadian tar sand operation.
The production of one barrel of synthetic crude (upgraded bitumen) through the hot water process typically requires about 4.5 barrels of water. Almost all of the water withdrawn for oil sands operations ends up in tailings ponds. Both primary and final extraction plant tailings are pumped to the retention pond for storage.
When these effluent streams containing bitumen, naphtha, water, and solids are discharged to the pond, a portion of the residual bitumen and diluents naphtha floats to the surface of the pond. The dense sand fraction present in the primary stream settles rapidly but the lighter water fines suspension settles very slowly, forming a zone of sludge. After a period of settling a shallow layer of relatively clear water develops near the surface of the pond. Water from this layer is recycled to the extraction process. But the majority of water remains in this sludge, a water-bitumen-fine solids emulsion that is very difficult to break.
The processing of bitumen into synthetic crude through the hot water process requires energy, and this energy is usually generated by burning natural gas which releases greenhouse gas. For example, the production of 1 barrel of synthetic oil may necessitate approximately 1.0 to 1.25 gigajoules of energy and can lead to the release of more than 80 kg of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Thus, the hot water process can lead to problems due to large water requirements, disposal of large tailing ponds, greenhouse gas production and large requirements of energy are major problems facing the oil sand industry.
As such, improvements in the extraction of oil from oil sand or tar sand are desirable.

Process and system for recovering oil from tar sands using microwave energy


A vapor chamber manufacturing method, comprises steps of material preparation, powder filling and sintering, pre-punching, supporting structure infilling, the first pressing, the first sealing, fluid injection, and vacuum processing; a sealing structure comprises a semi-finished vapor chamber with a vacuum cavity, a fluid injection port positioned on one side of the vapor chamber, and a supporting structure filled in the vacuum cavity and supporting the shape of the vapor chamber, wherein the fluid injection port is formed of one portion of one side of the vapor chamber by pressing and sealing, no fine metal pipe as fluid injection port is required herein; after the step of fluid injection, an integrated step of vacuum pumping, pressing and sealing is conducted within a vacuum chamber, to provide the product with higher performance and lower rejection rate.

Nowadays the electronic products on the market are becoming more and more powerful, operating at high speeds can produce a great amount of heat, but the conventional heat dissipating devices used for these products are usually aluminum extruding heat dissipating fins or with fans, which are more or less insufficient for these powerful electronic products. As a result, in the associated industries many manufacturers are continuously to develop new heat dissipating devices using new technologies such as heat pipes and vapor chambers, in which a type of vapor chambers which feature in fluid-vapor two-phase conversion have a widespread use as these vapor chambers provide a wide and flat surface contacting with the electronic products, allowing the heat generated by these electronic products to dissipate in a plane radiation way. In comparison with the unidirectional heat pipe heat dissipating devices, these vapor chamber heat dissipating devices are able to provide better heat dissipation by universal directions, lower heat resistance and higher heat conductivity.
As FIG. 1 shows, a recent vapor chamber usually consists of an upper cover 01, a lower cover 02 and a supporting element 03 disposed between the upper cover 01 and the lower cover 02, in production, all elements are placed between the covers before the covers are pressed. However this technique is rather difficult: if the wall of the covers is too thin, the covers will easily sink along with the supporting element 03; but if the wall of the covers is too thick, the weight of the vapor chamber produced will easily excess the design standard. Moreover, as usually a vapor chamber is quite large, the sides thereof are correspondingly long, therefor any small defects of pressing and welding in these sides may become the potentially risky spots in which the covers may split off in a high temperature. Thus, according to the descriptions above, it is obvious that the conventional manufacturing techniques of vapor chambers are complicated and difficult, consequently low in efficiency and high in manufacturing costs.
A basic configuration for a finished vapor chamber product comprises a cover with a vacuum chamber, in which a micro-structure is provided and filled by the working fluid; the heat conduction is realized by the heat absorption and dissipation of the working fluid in condensation and evaporation, and the capillary force generated by the micro structure on the working fluid. In addition, the vacuum in the cavity of the vapor chamber is required, the current producing technologies, whatever the chamber formed of a upper and a lower covers, or the chamber formed of a copper tube shaped, as shown in FIG. 2, all comprise several common steps: a step for powder filling and capillary structure sinter-forming, a step for supporting structure forming and chamber profiling, a step for sealing by argon welding or silver brazing and inserting a fine metal pipe as a fluid injection port, a step for injecting working fluid via the fluid injecting port, and a final step for chamber vacuuming and fluid injection port sealing.
However, the recent vapor chamber manufacturing method described above have the following shortcomings:
Firstly, the vapor chambers or semi-finished vapor chambers produced by foregoing steps all have a fine metal pipe welded in the fluid injection port as a reserved fluid injection pipe, which is shown as FIG. 3, in which 1 is a semi-finished vapor chamber, 101 is the sealing structure, 102 is the fluid injection pipe. The semi-finished vapor chamber with such a structure may be easily damaged because of accidental collision or pressure, consequently to cause higher rejection rate.
Furthermore, in the later manufacturing steps of working fluid injection, vacuum pumping, and sealing, the recent methods use an injector to inject the working fluid into the vapor chamber through the fine metal fluid injection pipe, and then remove the injector when the fluid injected achieves a certain volume, after that pass the semi-finished vapor chamber to another work station for vacuum pumping and sealing. This procedure is rather complicated, time consuming and has higher manufacturing cost.
In addition to above, because of the high vacuum in the cavity of the vapor chamber, the approach of using a same port for fluid injecting and vacuum pumping may result in a phenomenon of the rapid vaporization of the working fluid injected while the working fluid is being injected, which may lead to insufficient working fluid in the vapor chamber and consequently a so-called "dry out" phenomenon.


A compound represented by formula (I) is disclosed. P1 and P2 represent a polymerizable group; m1 and m2 represent an integer of from 1 to 10, “A” represents a divalent group having a 5- to 18-membered aromatic hydrocarbon ring or a 5- to 18-membered aromatic hetero ring, L3 and L4 represent a C1-10 alkyl group or a C1-10 alkoxy group, k1 and k2 represent an integer of from 0 to 4, X1, X2, X3 and X4 represent —O—, —S—, —NH—, —NR— or —SiR0R00—, n1 and n2 represent 0 or 1, provided that at least one of them is 1; and L1a, L1b, L2a and L2b represent a hydrogen atom, halogen atom, —CN, —NC, —NCO, —NCS, or —OCN, provided that those in which both of X2 and X3 represent —O—, those in which one of X2 and X3 represents —O— and another represents —NH— or —NR— are excluded only when n1 is 1, both of L1a and L1b are hydrogen atoms, n2 is 1, and both of L2a and L2b are hydrogen atoms, or only when n1 is 1, both of L1a and L1b are hydrogen atoms, and n2 is 0.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polymerizable liquid crystal compound, polymerizable liquid crystal composition and polymer useful in various applications such as optical members of which examples include optically anisotropic films and heat-shielding films, and also relates to films employing these.
2. Background Art
Recently, the demands for liquid crystal displaying devices, having a smaller size, are more and more increased; and in accordance with increasing of the demands, the demands for optical films, having a thinner thickness, also are more and more increased. For example, using liquid crystal having high Δn for preparing optical films such as retardation films may contribute to making the thickness thereof thin. Δn is one of the important properties of a liquid crystal compound; and a liquid crystal compound, having high Δn, is useful in various technical fields of optical elements such as retardation plates, polarizing elements, selective reflection films, color filters, anti-reflection films, optical compensation films, holography, and alignment layers (D. J. Broer, G. N. Mol, J. A. M. M. Van Haaren, and J. LubAdv. Mater., 1999, 11, 573).
Previously, various compounds having a cinnamate group have been proposed as a polymerizable liquid crystal compound (JP-A-2005-120091, JP-A-2009-149754, WO2006/010431, WO2005/014756, WO2004/090025 and GB 2306470).

Compound, polymerizable liquid crystal composition, polymer and film


Systems for detecting needle insertion into a port chamber of an implantable medical device include a pressure sensor. The system detects characteristic pressure profiles associated with needle insertion into the port chamber through a septum and may generate a sensory cue to a clinician that proper needle placement has been achieved. Methods for detecting needle insertion into a port chamber of an implantable medical device includes detecting characteristic pressure profiles associated with needle insertion into the port chamber through a septum.

A variety of implantable infusion devices are available for treating patients. For example, implantable infusion devices are used for delivering therapeutic substances to a target location of a patient. The implantable infusion devices are typically implanted subcutaneously in a convenient location in the patient. An infusion catheter is typically connected to an outlet of the device and positioned in the patient to allow delivery to the target location. A therapeutic substance is then typically introduced percutaneously into the implanted device by inserting a needle into a port assembly of the device and delivering a fluid containing the therapeutic substance to the device via the needle.
Because the device is implanted within the patient and cannot be seen directly, care must be taken to ensure that the needle is properly placed into the port assembly before transferring liquids. If the needle is not located within the fill port assembly, delivery of the infusion media through the needle can result failure to adequately treat the patient and potentially dire consequences.
Accordingly, efforts have been made to identify to the clinician a location of the fill port assembly relative to the patient's skin prior to insertion of the needle. For example, templates are well known, and can provide a general indication or map of the port assembly location following palpating the device's periphery through the patient's skin. Additionally, electronic and/or magnetic systems have been suggested that provide the clinician with additional information generally indicative of the port assembly position. Regardless of how the clinician arrives at an initial estimation of port assembly location, upon inserting the needle through the patient's skin, the clinician normally must make a manual/tactile determination as to whether the needle tip has been correctly directed to the appropriate port assembly and has subsequently pierced through a septum covering the port assembly. Most clinician's are relatively comfortable in making this determination as, based on experience, the clinician can tactilely sense or feel when the needle has been inserted through the septum. However, it is sometimes difficult to know with certainty whether the septum has been accessed, especially with thick-skinned patients. Further, as implantable therapeutic substance devices become increasingly reduced in size, the attendant tactile feedback will diminish.
In light of the above, a need exists for a sensor capable of detecting needle presence in a port assembly of an implantable therapeutic substance delivery device. In addition, an indicator device for providing the clinician with a confirmation of desired needle positioning relative to the fill port may be desirable.

Detecting needle entry into a port of an infusion device


Methods, systems, and devices are described for hierarchical modulation and interference cancellation in wireless communications systems. Various deployment scenarios may be supported that may provide communications on both a base modulation layer as well as in an enhancement modulation layer that is modulated on the base modulation layer, thus providing concurrent data streams that may be provided to the same or different user equipments. Various interference mitigation techniques may be implemented in examples to compensate for interfering signals received from within a cell, compensate for interfering signals received from other cell(s), and/or compensate for interfering signals received from other radios that may operate in adjacent wireless communications network.

Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to wireless communication systems, for example, and more particularly to non-orthogonal multiple access and interference cancellation.
Description of the Related Art
Wireless communications networks are widely deployed to provide various communication services such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and the like. These wireless networks may be multiple-access networks capable of supporting multiple users by sharing the available network resources.
A wireless communications network may include a number of base stations, that can each support communication for a number of user equipments (UEs). A UE may communicate with a base station via downlink and uplink. The downlink (or forward link) refers to the communication link from the base station to the UE, and the uplink (or reverse link) refers to the communication link from the UE to the base station. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time-division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems. Additionally, some systems may operate using time-division duplex (TDD), in which a single carrier is used for both uplink and downlink communications, and some systems may operate using frequency-division duplex (FDD), in which separate carrier frequencies are used for uplink and downlink communications.
As wireless communications networks become more congested, operators are seeking ways to increase capacity. Various approaches may include using small cells, unlicensed spectrum, or wireless local area networks (WLANs) to offload some of the traffic and/or signaling. Many of the approaches for enhancing capacity may cause interference with concurrent communications in a cell, or in adjacent/neighboring cells. For example, a UE in one cell may be transmitting uplink communications while a base station in a neighboring cell may be transmitting downlink communications at a signal strength that may interfere with the uplink communications from the UE. In other examples, interference may arise from radios operating in adjacent frequency bands. In order to provide enhanced data rates through a wireless communications network, it may be beneficial to mitigate such interference at a UE or a base station.

Non-orthogonal multiple access and interference cancellation