A feature-based contrast enhancement apparatus comprises a histogram calculator, a feature value calculator, a first combining circuit, a histogram equalizer and a remapper. By keeping the hardware cost as low as a picture-based contrast enhancement apparatus, the invention has an advantage of suppressing the background noise and enhancing the image details.

1. Field of the invention
The invention relates to image processing and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method for feature-based contrast enhancement.
2. Description of the Related Art
Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The term "luma" refers to the component of an input image data value that is correlated to the perceived intensity of a displayed data value. Wherein, the input image data itself may be analog/digital in nature and finally displayed on an analog/digital display such as a CRT/LCD. The term "chroma" refers to the component of the input image data value that is correlated to the perceived color of the displayed data value. Hue and saturation are two commonly used color perception that together define the chroma data. The term "dynamic contrast enhancement" refers to a dynamic adjustment of image luma contrast according to image luma level distribution (histogram).
In conventional dynamic contrast enhancement apparatus, the following three modes are widely used to perform contrast enhancement. The first is a picture-based mode. Contrast enhancement is performed based on a global histogram associated with a frame or a field. The background noise could be enhanced and the detailed features could be suppressed with respect to the processed images. The second is a region-based mode. A frame or a field is divided into multiple regions, and each region respectively has a region histogram. Contrast enhancement is performed by using one of the following two approaches. (1) Histogram equalization is performed for the corresponding region histogram of each region. The detailed features and the background noise could be enhanced simultaneously with respect to the processed images. (2) A global histogram is generated by disregarding the regions having over-concentrated histograms and using the histograms of the rest regions. Its background noise could be effectively suppressed. The third is a picture-region-based mode, which combines methods of the picture-based mode and the region-based mode. Histogram equalization is performed according to a global histogram and then local enhancement is performed according to the corresponding region histogram of each region. Thus, the detailed features and the background noise could be enhanced simultaneously with respect to the processed images.
Although some contrast enhancement methods related to the region-based mode can avoid enhancing the background noise and further enhancing the detailed image features, high hardware cost and huge volume of computation will be the problems. For example, if each frame or each field is divided into M regions and each region histogram includes N bins, the hardware cost of one contrast enhancement apparatus operating in a region-based mode will be M times higher than that of another contrast enhancement apparatus operating in a picture-based mode.
Therefore, it is desirable to suppress the background noise and enhance the detailed image features without increasing the hardware cost.
On the other hand, contrast is generally defined as the ratio of the brightest pixel value to the darkest pixel value in an image. Many experimental results show that an S-shaped user transfer curve (suppressing dark pixel value and enhancing bright pixel value) can improve the human perceptions of image contrast. According to the above definition, the S-shaped user transfer curve having characteristics of suppressing dark pixel value and enhancing bright pixel value indeed increases the contrast ratio. FIG. 1 shows an example of a dark scene histogram, a dark scene transfer curve, an S-shaped user transfer curve and a final transfer curve. For most of dark scene images, at first, a conventional contrast enhancement apparatus performs proper stretching on the dark scene transfer curve. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 1, the yout values of the dark scene transfer curve are slightly greater than those of the 45-degree dotted line (having a slope equal to one). After that, the conventional dynamic contrast enhancement apparatus adjusts the dark scene transfer curve according to the S-shaped user transfer curve, or directly combines the dark scene transfer curve with the S-shaped user transfer curve to generate a final transfer curve. As can be observed from
FIG. 1, the S-shaped user transfer curve counteracts the effect of the brightness stretching of the dark scene transfer curve, making the final transfer curve approximate to a 45-degree line. In other words, conventional dynamic contrast enhancement apparatus made vain attempts to perform contrast enhancement for the dark scene images.

Apparatus and method for feature-based dynamic contrast enhancement


This invention relates to high-density discoidal brushless induction open frame motors and generators with multistacking, multiphasing and multistaging capability. These motors may be in the range from 10 hp to 25,000 hp or more and these generators may range from 10 kVA to 10 megawatts or more. Rare earth permanent magnets or wound DC field poles are arranged about a disk shaped rotor. A rectangular toroidal lamination core within the stator element serves as the mounting for numerous flat wound armature coils. The heat generated by the high flux and current densities is dissipated by a liquid cooling arrangement built into the toroidal stator element. The absence of the need to use the frame as a flux return path allows light weight aluminum to be used without a loss in efficiency. The open frame structure allows for easy cascading of multiple units along the same shaft for higher capacity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to discoidal electric motors and generators. More specifically, the present invention relates to electric motors and generators having an inverted stator/rotor configuration wherein the lamination core or cores and the coils wrapped thereabout are fixed, with the wires extending from the coils extending axially from the frame, and the rotors carry either permanent magnets or an array of self-exciting DC field poles having alternating polarities. Even more specifically, the present invention relates to electric motors or generators having the above-mentioned stator/rotor configuration and having an integral heat sink, either air or liquid cooled, mounted proximate to the fixed coils and lamination cores.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional DC motors or generators where the armature coils are wound on the rotor and the permanent magnets or field poles are mounted on the stator require brush type commutators. These brush type motors are gradually being replaced with more advanced brushless DC motors, AC synchronous motors, or induction motors with variable frequency controls. There are however, disadvantages to the machines commonly in use. Wound field pole DC motors are relatively heavy and large per measured unit of power output and require constant maintenance of the commutator. The larger machines need more iron to dissipate the large amount of heat generated by the heavy current flow through the copper conductors and for the magnetic flux circulation within the machine. The efficiency of the larger machines is directly related to machine design and characteristics of power losses, iron core losses, copper losses, windage and stray losses, and heat (I.sup.2 R) losses. There are additional losses though the DO and AC inverters and frequency controllers, which, additionally, have high maintenance and operating costs.

Polyphase brushless DC and AC synchronous machines


Lonidamine derivatives can be useful in methods of treating, inhibiting, and/or preventing polycystic kidney disease (PKD). Accordingly, lonidamine derivatives can be administered in a therapeutically effective amount for inhibiting, and/or preventing polycystic kidney disease (PKD) in the subject. This can include administering a therapeutically effective amount of the lonidamine derivatives for inhibiting CFTR and/or Hsp90 or biological pathway thereof. Also, the method can include administering the lonidamine derivatives in a therapeutically effective amount for inhibiting ErbB2, Src, Raf-1, B-Raf, MEK, Cdk4, NKCC1, or combinations thereof. For example, the therapeutically effective amount of the lonidamine derivatives can be configured so as to provide a concentration in or adjacent to a kidney cell of about 0.25 uM or more or less.

A number of renal cystic diseases (RCD), including Von Hippel-Lindau (VHL), tuberous sclerosis (TSC), polycystic kidney disease (PKD), and acquired cystic disease (AcCD) are characterized by epithelial neoplastic growth, cyst formation and enlargement, and progression to adenoma and various malignancies, including oncocytoma, clear cell carcinoma, and papillary renal cell carcinoma. While the degree varies to which these disorders progress to metastasis, they all have in common 1) cyst formation, 2) neoplastic growth, and 3) tumor formation. VHL, TSC, and PKD are inherited diseases caused by mutation of tumor-suppressor genes (VHL, TSC1, TSC2) or tumor suppressor-like genes (PKD1, PKD2, PKHD1). All have extrarenal pathology as well. Acquired cystic disease is environmental, caused principally by kidney dialysis.
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD or PCKD, also known as polycystic kidney syndrome) is a cystic genetic disorder of the kidneys and other organs. It occurs in humans and other animals. PKD is characterized by the presence of multiple cysts (hence, "polycystic") in both kidneys. The disease can also damage the liver, pancreas, and rarely, the heart and brain vasculature. The two major forms of polycystic kidney disease are distinguished by their patterns of inheritance.
Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is generally a late-onset disorder characterized by progressive cyst development and bilaterally enlarged kidneys with multiple cysts. Kidney manifestations in this disorder include renal function abnormalities, hypertension, renal pain, and renal insufficiency. ADPKD is a very common inherited disease, affecting one in 500-1,000 individuals. Two genes give rise to ADPKD in humans—mutations in PKD1 cause ˜85% of ADPKD cases and mutations in PKD2 cause ˜15% of ADPKD cases. In mice, homozygous Pkd1 and Pkd2 null mutations have late-embryo lethal phenotypes and cystic kidneys. The protein products of PKD1 and PKD2 are polycystin-1 (PC1) and polycystin-2 (PC2). A less-common autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is caused by mutations in the PKHD1 (polycystic kidney and hepatic disease-1) gene.
Approximately 50% of patients with ADPKD have end-stage renal disease (ESRD) by the age of 60. ADPKD is a systemic disease with cysts in other organs such as the liver (which may lead to cirrhosis), seminal vesicles, pancreas, and arachnoid mater and non-cystic abnormalities such as intracranial aneurysms and dolichoectasias, dilation of the aortic root and dissection of the thoracic aorta, mitral valve prolapse, and abdominal wall hernias. Initial simian and human symptoms are hypertension, fatigue, and mild to severe back or flank pain and urinary tract infections. The disease often leads to chronic renal failure and may result in total loss of kidney function, known as end stage renal disease (ESRD), which requires some form of renal replacement therapy (e.g. dialysis or transplantation).
Autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD) is much rarer than ADPKD and is often fatal in utero or during the first month of life. The signs and symptoms of the condition are usually apparent at birth or in early infancy.
There is no cure for PKD. The option of a transplant generally only arises after the patient reaches ESRD. Therefore, it would be advantageous to find a therapy to treat, inhibit, and/or prevent PKD of either type.

Lonidamine analogues and treatment of polycystic kidney disease


A unit cell of a semiconductor integrated circuit capable of improving wiring efficiency in layout of a functional circuit block or the like using a unit cell, and a wiring method and wiring program using the unit cell are provided. In a unit cell, auxiliary power wiring regions are formed with reference to grids that exist from a cell edge every basic cell width in the X-direction. Input signal terminals and an output signal terminal are each arranged so as to include at least one wiring connecting portion outside the auxiliary power wiring regions. This makes it possible to wire wiring other than signal wiring in the auxiliary power wiring region. When a functional circuit block is constructed by arranging unit cells in a matrix, auxiliary power wiring regions are formed at a pitch of the basic cell width, through the functional circuit block in the Y-direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a unit cell that forms a fundamental unit in a layout of a semiconductor integrated circuit device and further to a wiring method and wiring program using the unit cell, and more particularly, it relates to a unit cell that is used for a gate array type or standard cell type semiconductor integrated circuit device and a wiring method and wiring program using the unit cell.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, semiconductor integrated circuit devices by a gate array type, a standard cell type, and the like for which functional circuit blocks formed by arranging unit cells are arranged in a matrix have existed. In the standard cell type, a functional circuit block 120 is constructed by arranging various types of unit cells (rectangular-shaped regions in FIG. 5) in a matrix, as shown in FIG. 5.
In a first metal wiring layer being a lowermost layer of the respective unit cells, a belt-like power wiring is formed through the unit cells in the X-direction. Therefore, when the unit cells are arranged to construct the functional circuit block 120, power terminals contact with each other between adjoining unit cells, and an X-direction belt-like power wiring 103 called a power rail is wired on the first metal wiring layer. Moreover, in the functional circuit block 120 of FIG. 5, a second metal wiring layer is wired in the Y-direction, a third metal wiring layer is wired in the X-direction, and a fourth metal wiring layer is wired in the Y-direction.
Here, wiring of an auxiliary power wiring to prevent current from concentrating in the power wiring 103 will be described. The auxiliary power wiring is wired on an upper layer of the power wiring 103 in a manner running through the functional circuit block 120 in the Y-direction, and is connected to the power wiring 103.
For example, when signal terminals of the first metal wiring layer are not formed on cell frames of the unit cells, a method for wiring an auxiliary power wiring on the second metal wiring layer being on cell frames in the Y-direction can be considered. This is for preventing a situation that an auxiliary power wiring of the second metal wiring layer hides signal terminals of the first metal wiring layer. However, the X-direction widths of the respective unit cells constituting the functional circuit block 120 take values having no correlation with each other. Accordingly, the unit cells cannot be laid in a manner that X-coordinates of the cell frames are aligned. Therefore, the cell frames cannot be arranged through the functional circuit block 120 in the Y-direction. Consequently, an auxiliary power wiring that runs through the functional circuit block 120 in the Y-direction cannot be formed on the second metal wiring layer by use of the cell frames.
Moreover, as shown in an auxiliary power wiring 104 of FIG. 5, a method for forming an auxiliary power wiring that runs through the functional circuit block 120 in the Y-direction on parts other than cell frames in the Y-direction can be considered. In this case, however, it has been necessary to wire the auxiliary power wiring 104 not on the second metal wiring layer but on the fourth metal wiring layer being a further upper layer by bypassing. This is because, if the auxiliary power wiring 104 is formed on the second metal wiring layer, the signal terminals of the first metal wiring layer are hidden, and a situation that signal wiring cannot be drawn out of the signal terminals can consequently occur.
As the above-described related arts, Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 2004-71878 and Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 1986(S61)-207031 have been disclosed.

Unit cell of semiconductor integrated circuit and wiring method and wiring program using unit cell


In some examples, a technique includes delivering, using a material delivery device, material adjacent to a repair surface of a component and delivering, using a gas delivery device, a gas adjacent to the repair surface. The technique also may include delivering, from an energy source, energy to the material adjacent the repair surface to fuse the material to the repair surface; and receiving, by a computing device, at least one parameter indicative of at least one of a temperature or a geometry of the component. The technique may further include, responsive to the at least one parameter indicative of the at least one of the temperature or the geometry of the component, controlling, by the computing device, at least one processing parameter to control the temperature of the component.

Integrally bladed disks, which may be called blisks, are used in low-pressure compressor (LPC) and high-pressure compressor (HPC) stages of gas turbine engines. The blisks may weigh less and have lower leakage than separate blades and disks, allowing facilitating gas turbine engine efficiency. In some examples, multiple blisks may be metallurgically bonded or welded together to make blisk drums. Although this may further reduce component weight compared to separate blisks mechanically attached to each other, it increases manufacturing and repair costs.


A system for braking a trailer being coupled to a pulling vehicle by means of a coupling device, comprising a supply circuit on the pulling vehicle side, and a brake circuit on the trailer side, wherein the brake circuit is removably attached to the supply circuit by means of at least one plug-in coupling. The invention is based on the object of providing a system for braking a trailer, wherein the risk of an uncontrolled vehicle movement, at least of the trailer vehicle, is reduced. The problem is solved according to the invention by means of a system wherein disposed within the brake circuit is a ventilation valve that can be remotely controlled by the pulling vehicle.

Such a system is described in, e.g., DE 10 2004 047492 A1. The known publication also discloses an automatic plug coupling system in the region of a "fifth wheel" semi-trailer coupling, which automatic plug coupling system is intended to replace the customary manually manipulated plug couplings.
DE 101 59503 A1 describes a monitoring and control device for a tractor and semi-trailer combination, wherein the tractor has a remotely controllable fifth wheel coupling, and the semi-trailer has at least one electrically operated device, such as a support jack. A control device which is electrically connected to the fifth wheel coupling is disposed on the tractor, and a communications device which is wirelessly connected to the control device is disposed on the semi-trailer.
A fundamental drawback of the known system is that the parking brake is not applied to the semi-trailer after the supply lines are interrupted until a certain time interval has passed. One skilled in the art understands the terms "braking" and "application of the brake(s)" to mean actuation of the typically spring-loaded parking brake of the trailer immediately prior to de-coupling of the tractor from the trailer. For this process, the driver manually opens a ventilation valve which is in the braking circuit of the trailer, so that the brake circuit is shifted to an unpressured state, and the spring system in the spring-loaded brake causes the parking brake to engage. With an automatic plug coupling system, when the tractor is de-coupled from the trailer the plug halves of the tractor-side supply circuit and the trailer-side brake circuit are automatically separated, and thereby the brake circuit is necessarily de-pressurized. However, with such an arrangement, there may be a time lag between the separation of the plug halves and the engagement of the parking brake. This carries the risk of relative movement of the trailer, or in some cases backward movement of both the tractor and trailer.


A method and system are provided for counterfeit prevention for optical media. In one example, a system is provided for verifying authenticity information on an optical medium. The system receives the optical medium including a fingerprint having at least one probabilistic feature. A probabilistic feature is a physical feature having both a substantial chance to be read as a first value and a substantial chance to be read as a second value. The system receives an o-DNA signature-at-issuance. The system calculates an o-DNA signature-at-verification by reading each probabilistic feature plural times. The system calculates a vector-of-differences between the o-DNA signature-at-issuance and the o-DNA signature-at-verification. The vector-of-differences includes a maximum distance metric between the o-DNA signature-at-issuance and the o-DNA signature-at-verification. The vector-of-differences indicates the optical medium is authentic if the maximum distance metric is less than a threshold.

Optical media include Compact Disc (CD), Digital Versatile Disc (DVD), Blu-ray Disc, hardware to read optical media, and so on. Optical media are among the most cost-effective ways to store data. Accordingly, optical media is one of the most widespread ways to proliferate protected content. For similar reasons, unfortunately, optical discs are often the target of counterfeiting. A counterfeiter typically obtains an authorized or unauthorized version of digital content, from example, from an authorized or unauthorized version of a disc which stores that content. The counterfeiter then duplicates the content of that disc on a potentially large number of counterfeit discs. Such content may include movies, software, games, or any other type of digital content.
Manufacturers lose a tremendous amount of revenue due to counterfeiters duplicating and selling the manufacturer's optical media products. Counterfeiting relates to a situation in which the seller defrauds the buyer into believing that a product is authentic and then collects the full market price for the product. The counterfeiter collects substantial revenue with profit margins typically higher than that of the original manufacturer due to lack of research and development, marketing costs, and so on.
In one approach to reduce to counterfeiting of optical discs and other products, a manufacturer of a product can add a unique identification (ID) to the product. However, such an approach is not always effective. Despite preventative efforts, a counterfeiter can potentially discover the ID and subsequently duplicate the ID on the counterfeit products. In general, conventional methods for detecting counterfeited optical media are unreliable.

Counterfeit prevention for optical media


A propeller driving unit for an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The propeller driving unit comprises a motor unit comprising a first motor module and a second motor module, with the first motor module being adapted to independently drive a first propeller or a first set of propellers, the second motor module being adapted to independently drive a second propeller or a second set of propellers; wherein the first and second motor modules are coaxially arranged within the motor unit. The invention also relates to an unmanned aerial vehicle comprising the described propeller driving unit.

There has been a rapid development in the field of unmanned vehicles and particularly, in the technology of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) such as multi-copters and drones. A conventional UAV may comprise one or more propellers outwardly extended from its main body to facilitate the flight. Each propeller or set of propellers may typically comprise two or more propeller blades, with the propeller and thus the blades being driven by a motor into rotation to generate the lift and the thrust required for flying the UAV. Features and configurations of the propeller and the motor are thus critical in the design of a UAV and play an important role in flight stability and control.
One known problem associated with conventional UAVs is that they are often bulky and relatively heavy, and thus are not so convenient to be carried around by the user and to store. Particularly, the extended arrangement of the one or more propellers from the main body of the UAV renders further difficulties for the handling and the storage of the UAV, which is undesirable.


A protection cover integrally formed of plastic by molding ejection is provided. An elastic locking structure is disposed at two sides of the protection cover. An abutting portions having a xe2x80x98 less than xe2x80x99-shaped part and a xe2x80x98 greater than xe2x80x99-shaped part is formed on the locking structure to abut against the outer edge wall of the connector so that the protection cover and the connector can be firmly connected together. Reinforcement portions are formed at the inner top face and the link positions at two inner sides of the protection cover.

The present invention relates to an improved connector protection cover structure and, more particularly, to an improved connector protection cover structure, which can protect a connector, and can be conveniently connected with or separated from the connector.
Nowadays, along with higher and higher use frequency of computers by common people, the requirements of processing, execution, contents, and equipments of computers become more and more stringent. In order to let computers be more diversified, products related to computers like mice, keyboards, digital still cameras, scanners, modems, and printers have been continually developed. All the above products utilize connectors to connect with computers. Therefore, in order to let connectors have good quality, connector protection covers have been provided to protect the connectors.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a protection cover 11 integrally formed of several plastic by molding ejection and a corresponding connector 12 are connected together to protect terminals 121 in the connector 12 and avoid deformation of the terminals due to transportation or stacking, hence increasing the yield of the connector 12.
However, the above connector protection cover 11 has at least the following drawbacks in use.
(1) Because the terminals 121 of the connector 12 are separately arranged and form several blocks, the protection cover 11 needs to correspond to the terminals 121 of the blocks. Therefore, it is necessary to increase greatly the number of the protection covers 11.
(2) The connector 12 and the protection cover 11 are U-shaped and inversely U-shaped, respectively. After they are connected together, there is no gap. Therefore, there is difficulty in separating the connected connector 12 and protection cover 11. It is necessary to take advantage of a professional tool (e.g., a screwdriver).
(3) When the professional tool is inserted between the connector 12 and the protection cover 11, the wall edge of the connector may easily be damaged.
(4) Because the inversely U-shaped protection cover 11 is inserted into the inner edge of the U-shaped connector 12, the terminals 121 may easily deform.
(5) When the inversely U-shaped protection cover 11 is formed by molding ejection, because there is no buffer region, it may easily tilt and deform, hence lowering the yield.
(6) Decrease of the yield not only wastes the material, but also increases the production cost.
Accordingly, the above conventional connector protection cover has inconvenience and drawbacks in practical installation and use. The present invention aims to resolve the problems in the prior art.
The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved connector protection cover structure to effectively increase the yield in manufacturing the protection cover integrally formed of plastic by molding ejection, thereby saving the material and lowering the production cost. Moreover, the strength of the top face of the protection cover can be reinforced to facilitate stacking of the connectors during transportation.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved connector protection cover structure, whereby a connector can be separated from the protection cover without any professional tool (e.g., a screwdriver). Therefore, scrapes on the surface of the connector can be avoided.
To achieve the above objects, the present invention provides an improved connector protection cover structure, wherein an elastic locking structure is disposed at two sides of the protection cover. An abutting portions having a xe2x80x98 less than xe2x80x99-shaped part and a xe2x80x98 greater than xe2x80x99-shaped part is formed on the locking structure to abut against the outer edge wall of the connector so that the protection cover and the connector can be firmly connected together.
The present invention also provides an improved connector protection cover structure, wherein reinforcement portions are formed at the inner top face and two inner sides of the protection cover to effective increase the strength of the top face of the protection cover, hence preventing the inner top face of the protection cover from crushing the terminals due to stacking of the connectors.
The various objects and advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the appended drawing, in which:


A bottom bed sheet for a mattress is provided wherein the sheet has cell phone pockets formed therein. The bottom bed sheet may be positioned with respect to the mattress whereby a cell phone pocket is positioned at the upper right side of the sheet or positioned at the upper left side of the sheet.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a bottom bed sheet and more particularly to a bottom bed sheet having a pair of cell phone pockets secured thereto. Even more particularly, the invention relates to a bottom bed sheet having cell phone pockets provided thereon in such a manner so that one of the cell phone pockets may be positioned at the upper right side of the bed or at the upper left side of the bed. Even more particularly, this invention includes cell phone pockets wherein the cell phone therein may have its charging cord extending outwardly therefrom to a source of electrical power.
2. Description of the Related Art
Many bed sheets or coverings have been previously provided which include pockets on the upper side of the bed sheet or covering or on the sides of the bed sheet or covering. To the best of Applicant's knowledge, no one has previously provided a bottom bed sheet having cell phone pockets which may be positioned at either the right side of the bed or the left side of the bed by turning the bed sheet 180 degrees with respect to the associated mattress.

Bottom bed sheet with cell phone pockets


Systems, methods, and articles of manufacture for automatic backflow identification, detection, remediation, and/or management. In some embodiments, a backflow management device may comprise a threaded and electronically-enabled plug installed in a non-pressurized pipe system cleanout, branch, or stub.

Pressurized fluid conduits are often equipped with backflow prevention devices (e.g., one-way valves) to permit fluid flow in a first direction while preventing flow in the reverse/second direction. Such devices are not installed in non-pressurized (e.g., open channel) conduits as the unpressurized flow is typically not capable of forcing the one-way valve open to permit flow in the first direction. Non-pressurized fluid flow systems are often equipped with reservoirs or holding tanks in which float valves may be placed to regulate the downstream non-pressurized flow. Should a backup occur in such non-pressurized fluid flow systems it may often only be detected by observation of undesirable upstream results such as backflow flooding. In the case that the non-pressurized fluid flow system comprises a sewage or sanitary disposal system, such backflow occurrences can be both costly and time consuming to remediate.

Systems and methods for backflow management


A pixel circuit, a display panel, a display device and a driving method thereof are provided. The display panel includes a silicon substrate and a plurality of display units and a plurality of storage units fabricated on the silicon substrate. The plurality of storage units correspond to the plurality of display units one to one, and the plurality of storage units are respectively configured to receive and store display data of the plurality of display units corresponding to the plurality of storage units.

A display device, such as a TFT-LCD (Thin Film Transistor Liquid Crystal Display), scans gate lines row by row to gate each row of the gate lines row by row, then outputs data voltages to each subpixel through data lines, and finally displays one frame image. In a prior art, when a plurality of frames of images are continuously displayed, a full-screen image is usually updated at a specific frequency, for example, 60 Hz. However, in this way, in the case that a part or all of the displayed image does not change in consecutive multi-frames, multiple full-screen updates increase a power consumption of the display device.

Pixel circuit, display panel, display device and driving method

BEIJING BOE OPTOELECTRONICS TECHNOLOGY CO., LTD.


A mailing list server and a mail re-sending method thereof with which, when a mail recipient has been unable to decrypt a mail, it is possible to re-send the mail compatibly encrypted in a form such that the recipient can decrypt it without fail. A mail re-send request from a member is made by HTTP, received by a web server 20, and processed by an application server 21. For example, re-send request information is sent to the web server 20 by a mailing list member, using an input form of a web page 303 from the web server 20. The application server 21 determines an encryption method on the basis of a user encryption method specification included in the mail re-send request. A sending part 101 encrypts the mail by the determined method and sends it to the member's address.

This invention relates to technology for processing mail sent from a secure mailing list using public key infrastructure or the like, and particularly to technology for, when it has not been possible to decrypt an encrypted mail, requesting that the encrypted mail be re-sent by an encryption method such that it can be decrypted.
Encrypted mail sent using a secure mailing list sometimes cannot be decrypted (cannot be read) by a user, because of the user's environment. In this case, it is desirable for the user who has been unable to decrypt the encrypted mail to send to the secure mailing list server a re-send request requesting that the encrypted mail be re-sent. And furthermore it is desirable that the re-sent mail be decryptable by the user without fail.

Mailing list server and mail re-sending method thereof


A carriage for a limb support includes a space for receiving a longitudinal member of a patient support apparatus, a plurality of rollers configured to engage the longitudinal member and a locking mechanism. The plurality of rollers is configured to maintain alignment of the carriage during movement of the carriage along the longitudinal member. The carriage also includes an elastomeric member that resists rotation to prevent unwanted motion of the carriage. The locking mechanism is configured to secure the carriage to the longitudinal member at any of an infinite number of positions along the length of the longitudinal member, the locking mechanism being lockable with a single action.

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/698,176 Filed Sep. 7, 2012, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The present disclosure is related to a support apparatus for supporting a patient. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a support apparatus including a surgical table and a limb support coupled to the surgical table.
Often, when a patient is sedated for a surgery, the patient is supported by and secured to braces or supports coupled to a surgical table. Sometimes, unique supports are provided for a patient's extremities such as arm boards, leg supports, hand boards, stirrups, and boots.
Supports known in the art sometimes secure patients to resist patient movement. Such supports can sometimes allow excessive patient movement relative to the supports. The position and orientation of supports is often adjusted during surgery to improve access to a surgical site or to move portions of the patient's body such as bones, muscles, tendons, and ligaments to evaluate the surgical results.

Carriage for a surgical boot of a hip distractor


In one example, a display is described, which may include a plurality of spaced light emitting device packages, a privacy gate having partition walls to partition each of the plurality of spaced light emitting device packages, and a control unit to selectively move the partition walls up or down relative to the plurality of spaced light emitting device packages to control a viewing angle of the display.

The emergence and popularity of mobile computing has made electronic devices, due to their compact design and light weight, a staple in today's marketplace. Electronic devices, such as mobile phones, notebooks and tablets, may include a display that outputs information to users. Example display may include a micro-light-emitting diode (micro-LED or μLED) display. Micro-LED displays may have arrays of microscopic LEDs forming the individual pixel elements. The users may use the display to view private information, such as private financial information or a confidential email. Because of the increased portability of electronic devices, users can transport and use the electronic devices in public areas where privacy is minimal.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A wireless communication device includes an antenna unit that transmits and receives wireless signals, and one or more processors configured to conduct communication with a base station and control displacement of a service area of the base station and a service area of the wireless communication device in response to throughput characteristics of a cell formed by the base station.

Repeaters that relay and amplify wireless signals transmitted between base stations and mobile stations may be placed in wireless communication systems depending on the communication environment. The placement of repeaters allows for improvements in the communication state in areas where radio waves from base stations are difficult to receive, and also allows an increase in the cover area of a base station instead of setting up a new base station.
A commonly used type of repeater is the Amplify and Forward (AF) type. The AF type simply amplifies and relays received radio waves using an amplifier installed in the device without demodulating or regenerating the received signals.
It is difficult for repeaters to output radio waves with the quality, which is defined by signal to interference and noise power ratio (SINR), higher than that of received radio waves because the repeaters also amplify interference waves at the same time. However, since the structure is simple and manufacturing cost may be reduced, the AF repeaters have been widely used.
Related art discloses a repeater for changing the antenna pattern of radio wave to be transmitted in response to the position of a radio terminal (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2010-93385). Further, a technique used in a relay station has been proposed that increases/decreases its cover area due to control from the base station according to wireless terminal traffic variation (for example, see Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2006-197264).
Repeaters are installed in locations so that the base station service areas may be expanded, but the service areas of the repeaters are fixed at the time of installation. As a result, changing the direction and the like of the service area of a repeater requires manual adjustment (e.g., changing the direction of the antenna of the repeater and the like), and the fact that conventional repeaters may not be able to autonomously change the position of the service area is a problem.

Wireless communication device and method


An air conditioning apparatus and control method thereof is provided, in which a pulse width modulation compressor and a two-stage variable-capacity compressor are connected in parallel with each other to control capacities of the two compressors according to indoor air conditioning loads. The air conditioning apparatus is cost-competitive because a capacity supplied by the pulse width modulation compressor is relatively low in cost, and the cost required for manufacturing the compressor is reduced in proportion to the reduced capacity. Accordingly, with the air-conditioning apparatus an effect is obtainable in which a variable-capacity compressor with small capacity and a two-stage variable-capacity compressor with large capacity are controlled as if a large-scale variable-capacity compressor with a same capacity as a total capacity of the two compressors were linearly controlled.

This application claims the benefit of Korean Application No. 2002-33222, filed Jun. 14, 2002, in the Korean Industrial Property Office, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an air conditioning apparatus and control method thereof, which has a pulse with modulation compressor and a two-stage variable-capacity compressor.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, a single air conditioning apparatus in which one indoor unit is connected to one outdoor unit does not have a large indoor air conditioning load (required capacity), so a fixed-capacity compressor is installed in the outdoor unit.
On the contrary, a multi-unit air conditioning apparatus in which a plurality of indoor units are connected to one outdoor unit is designed such that each of the indoor units independently copes with an air conditioning load of a corresponding indoor space. In such a multi-unit air conditioning apparatus, since air conditioning loads of respect indoor units are different and vary at any time, a variable-capacity compressor is installed in an outdoor unit, and a flow of refrigerant is controlled by ascertaining loads and operating states using communication between each of the indoor units and the outdoor unit. Further, the variable-capacity compressor is controlled by a microcomputer of the outdoor unit. The outdoor unit microcomputer checks the air conditioning requirements with respect to a corresponding indoor space, a temperature condition of the corresponding indoor space, etc. based on information received from each of the indoor units, and controls a capacity of the compressor according to the checked information.
However, since a conventional multi-unit air conditioning apparatus employs a construction in which a plurality of indoor units are connected to one outdoor unit, a compressor installed in the outdoor unit must be designed to endure a maximum indoor air conditioning load. Further, in order for a compressor to endure the maximum indoor air conditioning load, a significant difficulty arises in the production of the compressor. That is, a plurality of performance tests must be carried out so as to increase the capacity of the compressor.
A high-capacity compressor produced by the above process is problematic in that the high-capacity compressor is very expensive, relative to a conventional compressor.
A manner in which a variable-capacity compressor and a fixed-capacity compressor are mixed to cope with indoor air conditioning loads is used in consideration of the above problem.
As shown in FIG. 1, a variable-capacity compressor 10, which operates at a capacity that is varied according to a frequency of an inverter circuit and a fixed-capacity compressor 20 which operates at a constant capacity are connected in parallel with each other. Further, an outdoor unit microcomputer controls capacities of the variable-capacity compressor 10 and the fixed-capacity compressor 20 according to indoor air conditioning loads (required capacities) received from respective indoor units. Referring to FIG. 2, if the indoor air conditioning loads are 0 to 50%, the outdoor unit microcomputer controls the capacity of the variable-capacity compressor 10. In this case, the microcomputer controls the capacity of the variable-capacity compressor 10 by varying a frequency outputted to the variable-capacity compressor 10 from an inverter circuit within a predetermined range R1 according to the indoor air conditioning loads (required capacities) received from the respect indoor units. Further, if the indoor air conditioning loads are 50 to 100%, the outdoor unit microcomputer controls the capacities of the variable-capacity compressor 10 and the fixed-capacity compressor 20. In this case, the microcomputer copes with an insufficient capacity by controlling the capacity of an inverter-type variable-capacity compressor 10 operated according to frequency of the inverter circuit within a predetermined range R2 after activating the fixed capacity compressor 20.
However, if the conventional air conditioning apparatus is used for facilities such as large buildings, a capacity, which must be provided by a variable-capacity compressor, inevitably becomes large. Further, to produce such a high-capacity compressor as an independent device is difficult and expensive, even though an independent device can be produced, thus causing an economic burden by increasing a price of the compressor.
Therefore, in the multi-unit air conditioning apparatus, a method is required of effectively coping with a large-scale indoor air conditioning load (required capacity). Further, a method of accommodating requirements for the large-scale air conditioning capacity while using a conventional compressor is seriously required.
Accordingly, an air conditioning apparatus and control method thereof is provided, in which a pulse width modulation compressor and a two-stage variable-capacity compressor are connected in parallel with each other to cope with indoor air conditioning loads, thus realizing the compressors at a low price.
Additional aspects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows and, in part, will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention.
In order to accomplish the above and other aspects an air conditioning apparatus is provided, comprising a first compressor controlled in a pulse width modulation manner; a second compressor connected in parallel with the first compressor and controlled to operate at one of a minimum capacity and a maximum capacity; and a control unit controlling capacities of the first and second compressors such that a total capacity of the first and second compressors is linearly controlled according to indoor air conditioning loads.
Further, an air conditioning apparatus is provided, comprising a plurality of indoor units; and an outdoor unit connected to the plurality of indoor units comprising a first compressor controlled in a pulse width modulation manner; a second compressor connected in parallel with the first compressor and controlled to operate at one of a minimum capacity and a maximum capacity, and an outdoor control unit controlling the capacities of the first and second compressors such that a total capacity of the first and second compressors is linearly controlled according to indoor air conditioning loads required by the indoor units.
Further, a method of controlling an air conditioning apparatus is provided, the air conditioning apparatus having a plurality of indoor units connected to an outdoor unit comprising a first compressor controlling a capacity of the outdoor unit in a pulse width modulation manner and a second compressor operating at one of a minimum capacity and a maximum capacity, comprising calculating an air conditioning capacity required by corresponding indoor units; and controlling capacities of the first and second compressors such that a total capacity of the first and second compressors is linearly controlled according to the calculated air conditioning capacity, wherein a maximum capacity of the first compressor is equal to the minimum capacity of the second compressor, and the maximum capacity of the second compressor is twice the minimum capacity of the second compressor.
An embodiment of the present invention uses two compressors connected in parallel with each other, and controls capacities of the two compressors similarly to an operation of controlling a capacity of a single large-capacity compressor. One of the compressors is a pulse width modulation compressor which linearly controls the capacity of the pulse width modulation compressor, and another compressor is a two-stage variable-capacity compressor which has a relatively large capacity and operates at two different capacities.

Air conditioning apparatus and control method thereof


A body vibrating device includes two rods rotatably straddled between two plates, two followers attached to the rods and coupled together with a link, two foot supports attached to the followers, a reduction gearing device disposed on the base and having an eccentric member coupled to either of the followers for allowing the followers and the rods and the foot supports to be rotated and driven by the reduction gearing device, and a motor coupled to the reduction gearing device for driving the reduction gearing device to vibrate the followers and the rods and the foot supports. The foot supports may be stably supported and driven or vibrated by the motor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a body vibrating facility, and more particularly to a body vibrating facility including a stable structure for stably supporting a user thereon and for suitably vibrating and massaging the whole user' body and for facilitating the blood and/or lymph circulation of the user and for decomposing or for burning the fatty tissue and thus for suitably reducing the fat from the user.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various kinds of typical body vibrating facilities have been developed and comprise a platform for supporting the user thereon, and a hollow vibrating facility coil and a pair of armatures provided for vibrating the platform in order to suitably vibrate and massage the user who is standing on the platform.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,271,382 to Worthington discloses one of the typical platform foot and body vibrating facility also comprising one of two armatures attached or secured to a platform and a hollow vibrating facility coil for acting with the armatures and thus for generating magnetic fields or magnetic forces in order to vibrate or to swing the platform and thus to suitably vibrate and massage the user who is standing on the platform.
For moving or vibrating the platform, a great magnetic field and thus a great magnetic force are required to be generated by the hollow vibrating facility coil and the armatures. However, the magnetic field and the magnetic force generated by the hollow vibrating facility coil and the armatures are not good for the users and may have a good chance to hurt the users, particularly the nerve systems of the users.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,935,064 to Moxley discloses another typical foot massage apparatus comprising a motor including a spindle or armature shaft coupled to an eccentric member which is indirectly coupled to a platform with such as a cylindrical member or a frame work, such that the platform may only be operated or vibrated or moved with a relatively smaller moving or vibrating stroke by the eccentric member.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,083,180 to Shimizu discloses a further typical vibrating facility-type massaging device also comprising a motor coupled to two rotors each including an eccentric shaft extended upwardly therefrom for being moved or driven to move in circular and planar and horizontal plans such that the user may not be vibrated or moved up and down and such that the massaging effect is limited.
An additional motor may further be provided and coupled to a threaded shaft with a rotary gear for moving a vibrating plate up and down relative to a supporting casing. However, the moving speed of the vibrating plate by the threaded shaft and the motorized rotary gear is limited and may not be used to vibrate the vibrating plate and the users.
The present invention has arisen to mitigate and/or obviate the afore-described disadvantages of the conventional body vibrating facilities.


A lap tapping instrument which takes the form of a guitar, has a main body, a top surface with a sound hold therethrough, a bottom surface, sidewalls extending between the surfaces, a neck section with a fingerboard, and guitar strings extending over the sound hold and neck section. A percussive member having a series of parallel extending upstanding ridges is permanently secured to the top surface of the main body and an opening located through the sidewall has a connection for interchanging a plurality of different percussive accessories and attaching the accessories to the body of the instrument. The main body also has an optional top side opening into which other percussive accessories can be attached. The accessories are connected to the main body and interchanged with other accessories as the musician's need arise.

Lap tapping is a unique guitar or similar string instrument playing style which has been developed by a small number of technically talented guitarists. Although it is a relatively recent playing form, it continues to gain in popularity.
The lap tapping musician holds the instrument flat on his or her lap with the strings face-up, tapping the body of the instrument and strings percussively while playing the melody. Tapping is usually accomplished by the motion of the fingers almost simultaneously plucking the strings and tapping them against the fingerboard of the instrument. Other parts of the instrument, primarily the body, are tapped as well to provide additional percussive effect.
Currently, the lap tapping musician has been limited to the basic instrument, usually the guitar, with its body, strings, and neck/fingerboard. There are no other instrumental options available to enhance the musically experience of lap tapping.


Users of personalized messaging systems can encounter message fatigue, thereby reducing the efficacy of a message on its intended recipient. Message fatigue can result in wasted computational resources and bandwidth as messages transmitted over a network to the user's client device are not acted upon at the client device. For applications involving desired user interactions and responses, personalized messaging can be a tool to achieve user engagement targets. The systems and methods presented herein may address several of the technical challenges with personalized messaging.

Users of customized messaging systems can encounter message fatigue, thereby reducing the efficacy of a message on its intended recipient. Message fatigue can result in wasted computational resources and bandwidth as messages transmitted over a network to the user's client device are not acted upon at the client device. For applications involving desired user interactions and responses, customized messaging can be a tool to achieve user engagement targets.

Messaging selection systems in networked environments


A blank of sheet material for forming a convertible shipping container is provided. The blank includes a removable access panel, a top panel, a bottom panel, a front panel, and a rear panel. Each of top, bottom, rear, and front panels include side flaps extending from a side edge of each top, bottom, rear, and front panel. The removable access panel includes an access hole, a return hole, and relief creases to facilitate removal after the container is formed. The shipping container includes a top wall, a bottom wall, a front wall, a rear wall, a first side wall, a second side wall, and four corner structures.

The embodiments described herein relate generally to blanks for forming convertible shipping containers and, more particularly, to blanks for forming convertible shipping containers having reinforced corners.
It has become more common to display goods such as household products in the containers in which they are shipped. This avoids the need to unpack the containers and place the products on shelves. It also provides an opportunity to place attractive advertising matter on the container where it will be seen by consumers at the point of purchase. However, this trend does require that the container be adapted to display the goods.
A problem which has occurred in containers in which cutouts have been made is that a loss of strength results from the cutting of one or more panels of the container. Such containers lack the stacking strength required to prevent the containers from collapsing when they are stacked on top of one another during transport or during display within a store. This is especially the case when the panel cut is a panel supporting the weight of the container and its contents, like the front panel. This is true even of corrugated containers.
Furthermore, standard wrap-style display boxes do not allow for the easy removal of products when the box is displayed on store shelves, and those that do have an opening typically provide only a small opening or the opening includes reinforced material that blocks easy removal of the product.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a convertible shipping container that may be used to display the products contained within the container while also providing adequate stacking strength to prevent collapse and having an opening to allow for easy removal of the product.

Convertible shipping container having reinforced corners and blanks for making the same


An air duct assembly for a motor vehicle is provided. The air duct assembly can include a U-shaped duct having a center portion with a first air duct and a second air duct extending therefrom. In addition, the center portion of the U-shaped duct can have a flange attached to and extending outwardly therefrom, the flange having a predetermined thickness. The U-shaped duct attaches to a console within the motor vehicle, the console having a surface with a first arm and a second arm extending outwardly therefrom. The second arm can be oppositely disposed and spaced apart from the first arm a predetermined distance. The predetermined distance between the first and second arms extending from the console can be generally equal to the predetermined thickness of the flange extending from the center portion of the U-shaped duct, for the purpose of attaching the U-shaped duct to the console.

Molded air ducts are commonly used in motor vehicles and can be located throughout the vehicle in order to direct air to various locations of a passenger compartment. Typically, molded air ducts contain a plurality of attachment points which require separate assembly and/or attachment to adjacent motor vehicle components such that the air duct is secure and will not vibrate and/or rotate during normal operation. However, the use of multiple attachment points increases the complexity of the molded air duct component, the complexity of the adjacent motor vehicle components where the air duct will be attached and the time and effort for attaching the air duct properly within the motor vehicle during assembly. As such, an improved air duct having a single attachment location that prevents vibration and/or rotation of the component during normal operation would be desirable.

Toyota Motor Engineering & Manufacturing North America, Inc.


A vertically movable passageway for a space in the ceiling region in an aircraft cabin. The passageway comprises a passageway floor and a displacement device, wherein the displacement device is designed to variably set the height (h1) of the passageway floor.

In modern aircraft, in the fuselages that are becoming increasingly large, several levels can be used. However, as a result of the narrow radii in the upper fuselage region, any use that is comfortable to passengers is extremely difficult because, in line with the average stature of aircraft passengers, adequate passageway height must be ensured so that passengers can move along the passageway comfortably or upright. For this reason, often solutions are found wherein the passengers have, for example, the opportunity to sleep, or have access to additional stowage space, in the upper region of an aircraft region, but can only access the aforesaid with difficulty.
In existing solutions for using the upper region of an aircraft fuselage for passengers, the height of the upper and of the lower passageways is defined such that narrow, uncomfortable and low passageway options for passengers in the upper and the lower passageway region are provided. In order to reach the different levels, ladders or stairs are provided at particular distances.
In this context, U.S. Pat. No. 4,066,227 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,305,645 disclose, for example, solutions involving a mezzanine floor in large volume aircraft. These show clearly that due to the confined space a compromise has to be made in that in the region of the passageway of the upper deck in the region of the middle deck a fixed wall is installed. In this way, in the middle deck, due to the space requirements of the passageway in the upper deck, the options for using the region of the middle deck that is situated below said passageway are foregone.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,073,883 discloses an option for using the upper region of a fuselage as a room for sleeping and resting. In this arrangement, adequate height of the passageway is achieved in that in the middle deck only seats are installed so that the passageway of the upper deck can be installed right down to head height. In this way a passageway height can be achieved in which the passenger can take advantage of the options to use the space in the upper deck at least when stooped.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,182,926 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,581,876 disclose usage options in an upper deck of an aircraft, wherein for example a retractable and extendable ladder can be affixed which provides access to certain regions, for example to rest areas for the aircrew.

Vertically movable passageway for rest rooms in ceiling region


Disclosed are a switching atomic transistor with a diffusion barrier layer and a method of operating the same. By introducing a diffusion barrier layer in an intermediate layer having a resistance change characteristic, it is possible to minimize variation in the entire number of ions in the intermediate layer involved in operation of the switching atomic transistor or to eliminate the variation to maintain stable operation of the switching atomic transistor. In addition, it is possible to stably implement a multi-level cell of a switching atomic transistor capable of storing more information without increasing the number of memory cells. Also, disclosed are a vertical atomic transistor with a diffusion barrier layer and a method of operating the same. By producing an ion channel layer in a vertical structure, it is possible to significantly increase transistor integration.

Due to the recent development of digital information communication and home appliance industry, there is a growing demand for low power and highly integrated devices, but conventional charge-control-based power consumption reduction and high integration of devices have reached their limits. In order to overcome the limits, studies on new memory devices are actively under way using a phase change in an organic or inorganic material, a change in a magnetic field, etc. In particular, new memory devices having an information storage method that uses the principle of changing the resistance of a material itself by inducing a change in the state of the material are attracting attention. For example, next-generation non-volatile memory devices include a phase-change RAM (PRAM), a magnetic RAM (MRAM), and a resistance change RAM (ReRAM).
In the case of flash memory, which is a representative non-volatile memory based on charge control, a high operating voltage is required for programming and erasing data. Accordingly, when a flash memory is produced while being scaled down with a line width of 45 nm or less, the flash memory may malfunction due to interference between adjacent cells and have problems due to slow operation speed and excessive power consumption.
Among new memory devices proposed as an alternative for solving the problems, the MRAM with non-volatile memory characteristics needs more research for commercialization because of a complicated manufacturing process, a multi-layer structure, and small margins for read/write operations. Accordingly, it is required to develop a next-generation non-volatile memory device with low power, high integration, and a low manufacturing process ratio to overcome shortcomings of such devices.
A conventional transistor is composed of three terminals, i.e., a source electrode, a drain electrode, and a gate electrode and operates a device by adjusting the carrier concentration of silicon. That is, by adjusting the voltage of the gate electrode, it is possible to adjust resistance between the source electrode and the drain electrode. A transistor has a characteristic in which a stored logic disappears at the same time when power is off, and therefore, a memory responsible for storage should be separately disposed in order to use a transistor as a computation element. Thus, a bottleneck occurs during storage and retrieval of data between the memory and the computation element, resulting in a slowdown of the transistor. Also, since a horizontal channel is used, there is a limitation to improving a degree of integration.
Also, for the next-generation non-volatile memory devices, attempts have been made to implement a multi-level cell such as a flash memory device. However, there is almost no next-generation non-volatile memory device that realizes reliable multi-level operation to the extent that it can be commercialized.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 14/044,696 (filed on Oct. 2, 2013) and U.S. Ser. No. 11/209,025 (filed on Mar. 9, 2006) disclose semiconductor memory manufacturing steps using two-electrode methods. The manufacturing steps include a function of a device that operates after forming a conductive bridge in a resistor due to ion migration, but have low reliability in repetitive device operation caused by the formation of the conductive bridge in a resistance change layer.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/871,040 (filed on Apr. 26, 2013) relates to a conductive-bridge resistive memory and discloses a method of manufacturing a programmable metallization cell (PMC) for resistive software (S/W) in a non-volatile memory. This structure can suppress leakage current by having a semiconductor layer between a memory layer and an ion supply layer, in order to decrease leakage current to improve device performance by lowering an electric field value during cell operation and by suppressing occurrence of defects in a high electric field. It is possible to reduce leakage current by having a two-electrode structure as a default structure and additionally having a semiconductor layer. However, an increase in resistance of a resistance change layer included in the semiconductor layer causes a reduction in reliability of non-volatile memory characteristics during repetitive operation.
Korean Patent Application No. 10-2013-0013264 (filed on Feb. 6, 2013) discloses a conductive bridge random access memory (CBRAM) that uses a growth rate difference of a filament, which is a conductive bridge, depending on the density of an insulating layer material by configuring a first insulating layer and a second insulating layer, lowering the density of the first insulating layer below that of the second insulating layer, installing a first metal on the other side of the first insulating layer, and installing a second metal on the other side of the second insulating layer. The CBRAM overcomes the limitation of an RAM and assigns a memory function, and adopts a two-electrode scheme of an operation method for forming and eliminating a conductive bridge formed by electrodeposition. For this device, it is difficult to maintain the growth rate difference of the filament during repetitive operation and thus reliability of the device is reduced.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/347,840 (filed on Jan. 12, 2012) relates to a non-volatile resistive memory cell having an active layer and discloses a CBRAM of a two-electrode structure in which an active material is present between a first electrode and a second electrode formed of a metal or a metal silicide and a wall is present between the first electrode and the active material. The CBRAM has a two-electrode structure that has a conductive bridge formed due to migration of ions in the active layer and that performs a non-volatile memory function. A dielectric layer is not in contact with an ion source layer, unlike the present invention.
Japanese Patent Application No. 2012-42825 (filed on Feb. 29, 2012) relates to a storage device capable of performing miniaturization while maintaining good thermal insulation of the device. The storage device is composed of a first electrode, a storage layer, and a second electrode and has an insulating layer installed in a side wall of the storage layer. The storage device has a transistor (a metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET)) for controlling the first electrode. That is, for the storage device, it is difficult to reduce process costs due to complicated device production because a non-volatile memory device having a two-electrode structure is controlled by the transistor.
Recently, much research has been conducted on a conductive bridge memory (CBM) device, which is one field of ReRAM devices. A resistance state changes when a metal filament is formed and eliminated by oxidation and reduction reactions of metal atoms or metal ions penetrated from a metal electrode into a resistance change layer according to a voltage applied to the resistance change layer. Solid electrolyte materials such as an oxide or GeS are mainly used as the material of the resistance change layer which has been used so far. However, the solid electrolyte materials are very unstable in terms of a low resistance state, a high resistance state, and scattering characteristics of SET and RESET voltages, and it is difficult to perform device control by using the solid electrolyte materials. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a new material for the resistance change layer or to propose a new structure capable of always allowing stable operation during repetitive device control.

Switching atomic transistor and method for operating same

Industry-University Cooperation Foundation Hanyang University


The present disclosure provides various methods for removing a resist layer from a wafer. An exemplary method includes performing an etching process to remove a resist layer from a wafer. During the etching process, a first heating process is performed to effect a first graded thermal profile in the resist layer, the first graded thermal profile having a temperature that increases along a direction perpendicular to the wafer. Further during the etching process, and after performing the first heating process, a second heating process is performed to effect a second graded thermal profile in the resist layer, the second graded thermal profile having a temperature that decreases along the direction perpendicular to the wafer. In an example, the method further includes, before performing the etching process, performing an ion implantation process to the wafer using the resist layer as a mask.

Integrated circuit (IC) technologies are continually progressing to smaller feature sizes, for example, down to 65 nanometers, 45 nanometers, and below. Various patterned resist layers are used to transfer a designed pattern to a wafer to form a desired IC device. For example, various resist layers are used to form multiple material layers of the wafer that combine to form a complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor device. During wafer processing, complete removal of each resist layer from the wafer is desired since resist material remaining on the wafer can cause defects in the fabricated ICs. Such removal is performed carefully to avoid chemically modifying or physically damaging the wafer. Although existing resist removal techniques have been generally adequate for their intended purposes, they have not been entirely satisfactory in all respects.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


Lock-out of pending higher high priority requests to a system controller is prevented by a circuit which comprises a counter element for counting the number of times the pending higher high priority request is not granted access. The counting results in a count value which is temporarily stored in the counter element. A compare element compares the count value to a predetermined value, the predetermined value being a predetermined number of times the data processing system will permit bypassing the pending higher high priority request. A control signal is outputted from the compare element when the count value is equal to the predetermined value and is coupled to each port to inhibit any further request for access from the equipment from being accepted by the system controller. The circuit also includes a latch element for maintaining the control signal when it is determined that a subsequent high priority request which is granted access is not the highest high priority request, the control signal being maintained until all pending high priority requests have been granted access.

This invention relates to a circuit for preventing predetermined command types to a system control unit of a data processing system from being locked out, and more particularly, to a signal generating circuit for preventing the lock-out of high priority requests to a system control unit having multiple command level conditional rotational servicing priority hierarchy.
System control units of present systems have included a port priority based on port group, and as a result, a blocked port may be bypassed. Blocked ports can occur especially in tandem configurations of data processing systems whereby two central processor units (CPUs) are making requests to each of two corresponding system controller units (SCUs) and two input/output (I/O) units are each connected to both SCUs. The present invention is incorporated in a system controller with a plurality of command types having a predetermined priority level. Port servicing of the system controller which incorporates the present invention is based upon two levels of commands, high and low, the high level commands having priority over low level commands. Each level is independent of the other. The priority within the level is rotated upon servicing a port, provided that a higher priority port within the level does not have a service request pending which is blocked due to some necessary portion of the system being unavailable. If it is determined that a lower high priority request has been serviced a predetermined number of times over a pending higher high priority request, the circuit of the present invention then generates a control signal such that the system controller inhibits further requests from the equipments (the CPUs and I/O units attached thereto) from being processed by the SCU. An individual port user may change its command level within the established system requirements if it is not selected in a predetermined select interval.

Circuit for preventing lock-out of high priority requests to a system controller


A method for forming a silicon oxide layer over a substrate disposed in a high density plasma substrate processing chamber. The method includes flowing a process gas that includes a silicon-containing source, an oxygen-containing source and a fluorine-containing source into the substrate processing chamber and forming a plasma from said process gas. The substrate is heated to a temperature above 450xc2x0 C. during deposition of said silicon oxide layer and the deposited layer has a fluorine content of less than 1.0 atomic percent.

One of the primary steps in the fabrication of modern semiconductor devices is the formation of a film, such as a silicon oxide, on a semiconductor substrate. Silicon oxide is widely used as an insulating layer in the manufacture of semiconductor devices. As is well known, a silicon oxide film can be deposited by thermal chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or a plasma chemical vapor deposition processes among other techniques. In a conventional thermal CVD process, reactive gases are supplied to the substrate surface where heat-induced chemical reactions (homogeneous or heterogeneous) take place to produce a desired film. In a conventional plasma process, a controlled plasma is formed to decompose and/or energize reactive species to produce the desired film.
Semiconductor device geometries have dramatically decreased in size since such devices were first introduced several decades ago. Smaller feature sizes have resulted in the presence of increased aspect ratio gaps for some applications, for example, between adjacent conductive lines or in etched trenches. The aspect ratio of a gap is defined by the ratio of the gap""s height or depth to its width. These spaces are difficult to fill using conventional CVD methods. A film""s ability to completely fill such gaps is referred to as the film""s xe2x80x9cgap-fillingxe2x80x9d ability. Silicon oxide is one type of insulation film that is commonly used to fill the gaps in intermetal dielectric (IMD) applications, premetal dielectric (PMD) applications and shallow trench isolation (STI) applications among others. Such a silicon oxide film is often referred to as a gap-fill film or a gap-fill layer.
Some integrated circuit manufacturers have turned to the use of high density plasma CVD (HDP-CVD) systems to deposit silicon oxide gap-fill layers. HDP-CVD systems form a plasma that is approximately two orders of magnitude or greater than the density of a standard, capacitively-coupled plasma CVD system. Examples of HDP-CVD systems include inductively-coupled plasma systems and electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma systems among others. HDP-CVD systems generally operate at lower pressure ranges than low density plasma systems. The low chamber pressure employed in HDP-CVD systems provides active species having a long mean-free-path and reduced angular distribution. These factors, in combination with the plasma""s density, contribute to a significant number of constituents from the plasma reaching even the deepest portions of closely spaced gaps, providing a film with improved gap-fill capabilities as compared to films deposited in a low density plasma CVD system.
Another factor that allows films deposited by HDP-CVD techniques to have improved gap-fill characteristics as compared to films deposited by other CVD techniques is the occurrence of sputtering, promoted by the plasma""s high density, simultaneous with film deposition. The sputtering element of HDP deposition slows deposition on certain features, such as the corners of raised surfaces, thereby contributing to the increased gap-fill ability of HDP deposited films. Some HDP-CVD systems introduce argon or a similar heavy inert gas to further promote the sputtering effect. These HDP-CVD systems typically employ an electrode within the substrate support pedestal that enables the creation of an electric field to bias the plasma toward the substrate. The electric field can be applied throughout the HDP deposition process to generate sputtering and provide better gap-fill characteristics for a given film.
One HDP-CVD process commonly used to deposit a silicon oxide film forms a plasma from a process gas that includes silane (SiH4), molecular oxygen (O2) and argon (Ar). This silicon oxide film has improved gap-fill characteristics as opposed to some silicon oxide films deposited by other non-HDP-CVD plasma techniques and is useful for a variety of applications. Despite the improvement in gap-fill capability provided by HDP-CVD systems and the relatively good gap-fill characteristics of HDP-CVD silicon oxide films in particular, the development of film deposition techniques that enable the deposition of silicon oxide layers having even further improved gap-fill characteristics are desirable. Such improved silicon oxide film deposition are particularly desirable in light of the aggressive gap-fill challenges presented by integrated circuit designs employing minimum feature sizes of 0.18 microns and less.
One known way to improve the gap-fill capability of silicon oxide films is to add a fluorine-containing source gas to the process gas. Fluorine atoms are known to etch silicon oxide and it is known that the inclusion of fluorine into a silicon oxide deposition process results in etching simultaneous with deposition which in turn can improve the deposited film""s gap-fill capability. The incorporation of fluorine into a silicon oxide film also has a primary benefit of reducing the dielectric constant of the deposited film. A silicon oxide film (also referred to as a silicate glass layer) that includes fluorine is often referred to in the industry as a fluorine-doped silicon oxide film or as a fluorosilicate glass (FSG) layer.
It is also known that the dielectric constant of an FSG layer is generally related to the amount of fluorine incorporated into the film. Higher fluorine concentrations result in a lower dielectric constant and lower fluorine concentrations a higher dielectric constant. If fluorine concentrations become too high, however, stability issues may arise. Generally, FSG films having sufficient stability for integrated circuit applications have a fluorine content of between 4-8 atomic percent and a dielectric constant between 3.3 and 3.6. Undoped silicon oxide films, on the other hand, generally have a dielectric constant in the range of 4.0 and 4.2.
Because of stability and other issues, FSG films are generally not used for PMD or STI applications and have been primarily limited to intermetal dielectric (IMD) applications. Semiconductor manufacturers are often particularly hesitant to include fluorine in PMD and STI layers because such layers are likely to be subject to relatively high temperatures (e.g., above 500xc2x0 C. and often above 700xc2x0 C.) either during deposition of the layer or during a process step that is subsequent to deposition of the layer. At such high temperatures, fluorine is more likely to outgas from FSG layers and migrate into an adjacent layer. Thus, many semiconductor manufacturers require that PMD or STI layers have less than 1.0 atomic percent (at. %) fluorine. IMD layers, on the other hand, are typically deposited after the first metal layer and thus never subject temperatures above 450xc2x0 C.
Typically, undoped silicate glass (USG) or other silicon oxide family members including BPSG (borophosphosilicate glass) and PSG (phosphosilicate glass) are used for PMD layers and USG is used for STI applications. In view of the above, additional methods of depositing PMD and STI silicon oxide films including USG, PSG and BPSG films having improved gap-fill capabilities are desirable.
Embodiments of the present invention pertain to a method and apparatus for depositing PMD and STI silicon oxide films having improved gap-fill capabilities. Embodiments of the method of the invention deposit such films using HDP-CVD deposition techniques and are useful for the manufacture of integrated circuits having minimum feature sizes of 0.18 microns or less.
In one embodiment, the method includes flowing a process gas that includes a silicon-containing source, an oxygen-containing source and a fluorine-containing source into a substrate processing chamber and forming a plasma from said process gas. The substrate is heated to a temperature above 450xc2x0 C. during deposition of said silicon oxide layer and the deposited layer has a fluorine content of less than 1.0 atomic percent. In some embodiments, the plasma has an ion density of at least 1xc3x971011 ions/cm3.
These and other embodiments of the present invention, as well as its advantages and features are described in more detail in conjunction with the text below and attached figures.

HDP-CVD deposition process for filling high aspect ratio gaps


A device for converting wavelength and a projection light source are disclosed in the present disclosure. According to an example, the device may comprise a roller, a drive motor, a first reflector, a support shaft, a drive module and a dichroic film. An axis of the support shaft may be coincided with an axis of the roller. The support shaft may be not rotated with rotation of the roller. The drive motor may drive the roller rotate around the support shaft and the drive module may drive the roller to move back and forth along an axial direction of the support shaft. So excitation light reflected by the first reflector may be incident uniformly on the sidewall of the roller. Therefore, fluorescent powder conversion efficiency may be improved compared with that of the excitation light incident on a fixed area.

Display quality of a projection device may be directly affected by light emission quality and service life of a projection light source.
Laser light may be used to excite fluorescent powder to emit fluorescence of required color, so as to achieve conversion of light beam color. For example, a device for converting wavelength may be a fluorescent powder wheel. Partial area of the fluorescent powder wheel may be coated with a fluorescent powder layer of required color (hereinafter referred to as a fluorescent area), such as an area coated with red and green fluorescent powder. Partial area of the fluorescent powder wheel may be a transmitting area. When the device for converting wavelength is rotated at a high speed, if blue laser light is incident on the fluorescent powder layer, the fluorescent powder layer may be excited by the blue laser light in a way that a fluorescence beam may be generated. Color of the fluorescence beam may be the same as that of the fluorescent powder. If the blue laser light is incident on the transmitting area, the blue laser light may be transmitted. In this way, laser light of different colors may be generated successively. Since all blue laser light is incident on an irradiated area of the fluorescent powder wheel, a large amount of heat may be generated in the irradiated area of the fluorescent powder wheel, and temperature of the fluorescent powder may be extremely high. Under such a high temperature, efficiency of blue excitation light being converted into fluorescence beam by the excited fluorescent powder may be lowered. Aging of the fluorescent powder may be accelerated. Light emission quality and service life of the projection light source may be reduced.

Device for converting wavelength and projection light source


A method of replenishing fluid used in an marking device maintenance station of an ink marking device includes obtaining condensate from ambient air through a condensation process and channeling the condensate to a reservoir in communication with the marking device maintenance station.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to ink marking devices, and more particularly to a system and method by which maintenance fluid used by a maintenance station in maintaining a printhead of the ink marking device is replenished.
2. Description of Related Art
Maintaining optimum performance in an ink marking device requires maintenance, particularly of the printhead that expels the ink to mark the media as desired by the user.
Liquid ink printers of the type frequently referred to as continuous stream or as drop-on-demand, such as piezoelectric, acoustic, phase change wax-based or thermal, have at least one printhead from which droplets of ink are directed towards a medium, e.g., a recording sheet. Within the printhead, the ink is contained in multiple channels. Power pulses cause the droplets of ink to be expelled as required from the orifices or nozzles at the end of the channels.
In a thermal ink jet marking device or printer, the power pulses are usually provided by resistors positioned in respective channels that are individually addressable to heat and vaporize ink in the channels. As voltage is applied across a selected resistor, a vapor bubble grows in the associated channel and initially bulges from the channel orifice before collapsing. The ink within the channel then retracts and separates from the bulging ink, forming a droplet moving in a direction away from the channel nozzle and toward the medium. Upon hitting the medium, the droplet forms a dot or spot of ink. The channel is then refilled by capillary action, which draws ink from an ink supply container.
The ink jet printhead may be incorporated into either a carriage type printer (i.e., a partial-width array type printer) or a page-width array type printer. The carriage type printer typically has a relatively small printhead containing the ink channels and nozzles. The printhead can be attached to a disposable ink supply cartridge. The printhead and attached ink supply carriage are reciprocated together on the carriage to print one swath of information (equal to the length of a column of the nozzles) at a time on a stationary medium. After the swath is printed, the paper is stepped forward a distance equal to the height of the printed swath or a portion thereof, so that the next printed swath is contiguous or overlapping with the previously printed swath.
In contrast, the page-width array printer has a stationary printhead having a length sufficient to print across the width or length of a recording sheet. The recording medium is continually moved past the page-width array printhead in a direction substantially normal to the printhead length and at a constant or varying speed during printing.
It has been recognized that the ink ejecting nozzles of the printhead must be maintained, e.g., by periodically cleaning the orifices when the printhead is in use, and/or by capping the printhead when the printer is not in use or is idle for extended periods of time. The capping of the printhead prevents the ink in the printhead from drying out and potentially clogging the nozzles. In particular, a "viscous plug" of partially dried ink in the nozzle can cause the ejector to fail, at least temporarily, until the particular ejector is reheated and the viscous plug is softened and expelled. Ink droplets from a partially blocked ejector can be misdirected. The failure of even one nozzle will have conspicuous results on a printed swath, because the plugged nozzle will leave a blank stripe where ink should have been deposited. In some applications, there is also a need to prime a printhead before use to insure that the printhead channels are completely filled with ink and contain no contaminants or air bubbles.
With any kind of ink jet marking device in which a printhead is in close and extended contact with a medium, such as a sheet of paper marked with partially-dried ink, an important practical concern is contamination of the area around the ejectors. External debris such as lint or stray paper fibers are likely to become caught in the small gap between the front face of the printhead and the sheet, possibly entering the nozzles of the ejectors and causing a failure.
Conventional maintenance stations perform two primary functions. In a first function, the printhead nozzles are maintained by wiping clean the nozzle face of the printhead to remove any contaminants or ink which may have collected on the nozzle face. In some applications, vacuum is also applied to assist in removing of the ink and contaminants. In the second function, the printhead is capped to prevent the printhead nozzles from being exposed to air for extended periods of time.
Regarding the first function, wiping using wet wiper nozzles is known. As disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,790,146 to Anderson, which is commonly assigned and is incorporated herein by reference, wet wiper nozzles apply a small amount of maintenance fluid to the nozzle face. The wet wiper nozzles remain spaced from the nozzle face, but a thin film of maintenance fluid is applied on the nozzle face through the formation of a meniscus. The maintenance fluid is substantially comprised of water, but may include small amounts of dissolved detergents. Examples of other conventional maintenance systems and components thereof are disclosed in commonly assigned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,534,897, 5,757,398 and 5,793,390, which are incorporated herein by reference.
In the case of partial-width array marking devices, the wiper nozzles are generally stationary, and the motion of the printhead moving past the wiper devices completes the wiping operation. With a full-width array printhead, the wiping devices are moved past the stationary printhead.
When wet wiper nozzles are used, the maintenance fluid is consumed. As a result, this maintenance fluid must be replenished over time. Depending upon the particular configuration of the marking device, refilling and/or replenishing the reservoir for the maintenance station can be difficult, and/or lead to problems with other systems in the marking device. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a system and method by which the maintenance fluid could be replenished. In addition it would be desirable if the maintenance fluid could be replenished through use of by-products from the normal operation of the ink marking device to reduce costs and waste.

Ink marking device maintenance fluid replenishment system and method


A method for manufacturing a semiconductor device having metal gate includes following steps. A substrate having at least a first semiconductor device formed thereon is provided. The first semiconductor device includes a first gate trench formed therein. Next, an n-typed work function metal layer is formed in the first gate trench. After forming the n-typed work function metal layer, a nitridation process is performed to form a first protecting layer on the n-typed work function metal layer. After forming the first protecting layer, an oxidation process is performed to the first protecting layer to form a second protecting layer on the n-typed work function metal layer. Then, a gap filling metal layer is formed to fill up the first gate trench.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a semiconductor device having metal gate and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly, to a semiconductor device having metal gate and a manufacturing method capable of prevention metal diffusion and improving gap-fill result.
2. Description of the Prior Art
With a trend toward scaling down the size of the semiconductor device, work function metals are used to replace the conventional polysilicon gate to be the control electrode that competent to the high dielectric constant (herein after abbreviated as high-k) gate dielectric layer. The conventional metal gate methods are categorized into the gate first process and the gate last process. Among the two main processes, the gate last process is able to avoid processes of high thermal budget and to provide wider material choices for the high-k gate dielectric layer and the metal gate, and thus the gate last process gradually replaces the gate first process.
In the conventional gate last process, a dummy gate or a replacement gate is formed on a substrate and followed by steps of forming a conventional metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor device. Subsequently, the dummy/replacement gate is removed to form a gate trench. Then the gate trench is filled with work function metals required by different conductivity types and gap filling metals. Often, it may employ material such as aluminum (Al) as the gap filling metal. It has been observed that Al may diffuse into the work function metals, and thus the electrical property of the work function metal is adversely influenced. As a countermeasure against to the problems, there has been proposed the barrier layers to prevent the Al diffusion.
To provide prevention to the Al diffusion, multi-layered barrier structure including at least a titanium nitride (hereinafter abbreviated as TiN) layer or a tantalum nitride (hereinafter abbreviated as TaN) is developed. However, it is found the multi-layered barrier structure is still insufficient to prevent the Al diffusion. Furthermore, the multi-layered barrier structure narrows the opening of the gate trench and thus causes gap-filling issue.
Accordingly, though the gate last process is able to avoid processes of high thermal budget and to provide wider material choices for the high-k gate dielectric layer and the metal gate, the gate last process still faces material requirements for the complicated processes and reliability requirement for the layers filling in the gate trench.

Semiconductor device having metal gate and manufacturing method thereof