A system includes a computer server for receiving an aircraft dataset; a database operably coupled to the computer server for storing the aircraft dataset into data fields; a web portal operably coupled to the computer server and the database for providing real-time access to consumers; and a maintenance analysis engine coupled to the computer server, the database, and the web portal to process the aircraft dataset into informational reports for an automatic delivery to the consumers, and optionally issuing a notification for retrieval thereof. The system employs a method of analyzing aircraft data for preventative maintenance, comprising: utilizing an aircraft dataset from at least one operational source; parsing the aircraft dataset into at least one data field; determining an acceptable range of values for the aircraft dataset within the at least one data field to define a threshold for the aircraft dataset; automatically activating a dynamic trigger to indicate a maintenance alert when the threshold is crossed; deriving a performance indication for the at least one operational source by determining one or more performance trends of the aircraft dataset; associating with the maintenance alert a notification having a status level indicative of a maintenance condition for the at least one operational source; combining the performance indication and the notification into an electronic report that forecasts need for preventative aircraft maintenance; and automatically delivering the electronic report to a predetermined location for retrieval by a consumer.

The invention relates generally to the field of data processing for supporting a maintenance decision. More particularly, the invention relates to management and analysis of maintenance-related information for trending and reporting performance data from multiple sub-systems or components that are being monitored. Even more particularly, the invention relates to management and analysis of aircraft data so that problems can be predicted and addressed earlier than is possible by using conventional methodology.
Oftentimes, a maintenance process encompasses retrieval, analysis and dissemination of appropriate information to enable decision making regarding preventative maintenance and thus, preempting avoidable repairs or delays. However, such processing typically involves a predominantly manual management and analysis of the maintenance-related information and subsequent distribution of the maintenance decision support information. Because of the inherent delay associated with the predominantly manual maintenance process, under these circumstances, a variety of problems such as, but not limited to, increased maintenance cost and reduced operational efficiency may result. Even worse, these maintenance-related problems could become exacerbated as the complexities increase.
More specifically, a maintenance process of highly complex machines such as airborne vehicles is complicated, as the amount and type of the maintenance-related information collected from disparate sources is significantly large. In addition, appropriate processing of such maintenance-related information to derive a maintenance decision can be a daunting task. For instance, in an aircraft operation, multiple aircraft systems are constantly monitored by flight data acquisition systems to acquire maintenance-related information. The Air Transport Association (ATA) has categorized the monitored aircraft systems in different groups. Such monitored aircraft systems generally include Air Conditioning, Auto Flight, Communications, Fire Protection, Flight Controls, Fuel, Hydraulic Power, Indicating/Recording System, Landing Gear, Navigation, Oxygen, Pneumatic, Onboard Maintenance, Informational, Airborne Auxiliary Power, and Stabilizer. As these aircraft systems are monitored, aircraft data associated therewith, often referred to as xe2x80x9cremoval or component dataxe2x80x9d can be readily collected via a variety of data transfer techniques, including but not limited to, Flight Data Recorders (FDRs), Tape and Optical Disk Recovery, Digital Media Recovery (i.e. PCMCIA cards), Aircraft Communications and Reporting Systems (ACARs), VHF Digital Air to Ground Communications (VDLM2), Satellite Air to Ground Data Communications (SATCOM) High Frequency Air to Ground Wireless Data Communication Links (HFDL), and/or Wireless Ground Data Communication Links (GDL).
A typical aircraft maintenance process, for example, for a regularly scheduled service generally entails a manual analysis of maintenance-related information such as aircraft data, often referred to as xe2x80x9cmaintenance analysis,xe2x80x9d which may include manually examining the contents of the aircraft data associated with a particular component of an aircraft. By manually analyzing the aircraft data, a maintenance decision for that particular component of the aircraft may be derived. Contents of the maintenance decision, including maintenance decision support information, may be manually disseminated accordingly. As the maintenance must be completed under certain constraints, a suitable form of communication to disseminate this maintenance decision support information may be employed to issue warnings or recommend repair procedures in response to the maintenance-related information.
In this manner, to perform the maintenance analysis of the aircraft data, a subsystem or a component of an aircraft may be first closely monitored for a predetermined period of time. For example, a data acquisition and analysis system may acquire the aircraft data from multiple onboard sources and analyze the aircraft data to identify symptoms to determine the sub-system or the component operational failures, faults, events for providing maintenance-related information. The maintenance-related information provided by this system can enable the aircraft operators to reduce unscheduled mechanical delays and flight cancellations, thereby reducing bottom line costs.
Unfortunately, management and analysis of maintenance-related information for real-time trending and reporting performance data from one or more sub-systems or components can be difficult. Providing proactive maintenance analysis to minimize reactive maintenance could be even more difficult, as most operators fail to properly utilize the aircraft data for this purpose. Thus, accurate or specific decision support information for maintenance may not be provided prior to the occurrence of maintenance-related problems. Therefore, the operators may not, under these circumstances, benefit from the informational analysis of the maintenance-related information. Accordingly, a suitable transformation of the maintenance-related information is desirable that provides meaningful maintenance decision support information for performing proactive maintenance. Thus, an improved system and method for supporting maintenance decision is desired in the art.
Heretofore, the requirements of providing more proactive maintenance analysis and real-time reporting of a maintenance decision support information, in a manner without compromising accuracy referred to above have not been fully met. What is needed is a solution that simultaneously addresses all of these requirements.
The present invention generally provides a system and method of analyzing aircraft removal data for preventative maintenance. In one exemplary embodiment, a computer-implemented method of analyzing aircraft data for preventative maintenance, comprising: utilizing an aircraft dataset from at least one operational source; parsing the aircraft dataset into at least one data field; determining an acceptable range of values for the aircraft dataset within the at least one data field to define a threshold for the aircraft dataset; automatically activating a dynamic trigger to indicate a maintenance alert when the threshold is crossed; deriving a performance indication for the at least one operational source by determining one or more performance trends of the aircraft dataset; associating with the maintenance alert a notification having a status level indicative of a maintenance condition for the at least one operational source; combining the performance indication and the notification into an electronic report that forecasts need for preventative aircraft maintenance; and automatically delivering the electronic report to a predetermined location for retrieval by a consumer.
Another embodiment of the invention is based on an electronic media, comprising a program for performing this method. Another embodiment of the invention is based on a computer program, comprising computer or machine readable program elements translatable for implementing this method.
In one another embodiment of the present invention, a method of providing maintenance support, comprising: parsing a maintenance information dataset from at least one operational source into at least one data field to derive an active dataset; setting a trigger having a first limit and a second limit for the at least one data field; analyzing the active dataset for selectively activating the trigger in response to an excursion of the active dataset beyond one of the first limit or the second limit within the at least one data field; associating with the trigger a status indication; processing the active dataset to derive one or more trends for the at least one data field; and transforming the status indication and the one or more trends into a preventative maintenance report for the at least one operational source.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, a computer-implemented method of analyzing aircraft data for preventative maintenance, comprising: parsing a dataset indicative of maintenance-related information associated with an operational source into a data field; setting a limit on the data field to assess the dataset; activating a trigger in response to an excursion of the dataset beyond the limit; associating with the trigger a status indication; processing the dataset from the data field to derive trend information indicative of performance of the operational source; and presenting the status indication and the trend information into an informational report.
In an alternate embodiment, the present invention provides maintenance support to a user, comprising: utilizing a maintenance information dataset associated with an aircraft operational source to derive an active dataset in response to a user provided an analysis criteria, the analysis criteria including a predetermined period of time over which the maintenance information dataset is collected by monitoring the aircraft operational source; parsing the active dataset into at least one data field; setting a trigger having a first limit and a second limit for the at least one data field, the trigger is determined responsive to an external profile having a first input, a second input, and a third input; analyzing the active dataset for selectively flagging the at least one data field by activating the trigger in response to a predetermined amount of excursion of the active dataset within the at least one data field beyond one of the first limit or the second limit; associating with the predetermined amount of excursion a status indication having a first level, a second level and a third level, either the first level, the second level or the third level is selected based on the predetermined amount of excursion beyond one of the first limit and the second limit, respectively; processing the predetermined amount of excursion of the active dataset to derive one or more specific trends for the at least one data field; transforming the status indication and the one or more specific trends into a preventative maintenance report; delivering the preventative maintenance report with the status indication to the user; and alerting the user by issuing a notification concerning the delivery of the preventative maintenance report.
In still another embodiment of the present invention, a system including, a computer server for receiving an aircraft dataset from a plurality of operational sources to parse the aircraft dataset into a plurality of data fields; a database operably coupled to the computer server for storing the aircraft dataset into the plurality of data fields; a web portal operably coupled to the computer server and the database, the web portal being accessible to a plurality of consumers employing one or more Internet connections for accessing a maintenance-related informational report through a user interface associated with each of plurality of consumers, the user interface providing real-time access, by way of a computer network, to the maintenance-related informational report; and a maintenance analysis engine coupled to the computer server, the database, and the web portal for processing the plurality of data fields by setting a dynamic limit on one or more data fields of the plurality of data fields, and disseminating one or more proactive recommendations through the web portal, the one or more recommendations being derived from a performance trending indication of the aircraft data stored in the database by dynamically flagging the one or more data fields when the dynamic limit is reached.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention. It should be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the conception and specific embodiment disclosed may be readily utilized as a basis for modifying or designing other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. It should also be realized by those skilled in the art that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the appended claims.
These, and other, aspects of the invention will be better appreciated and understood when considered in conjunction with the following description and the accompanying drawings. It should be understood, however, that the following description, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention and numerous specific details thereof, is given by way of illustration and not of limitation. Many changes and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention without departing from the spirit thereof, and the invention includes all such modifications.

System and method of analyzing operational source data


A receptacle having a lid which has a pair of dampers configured to slow the movement of the lid from an open position toward a closed position. The dampers are provided at opposite ends of a pedal connected to the receptacle body at opposite lateral positions relative to a side of the receptacle body. The receptacle includes an air filtration device mounted in its lid which guides air through the filter device during the downward motion of the lid. The receptacle also includes at least one damper which provides dampening forces against the motion of the lid in both opening and closing directions. The receptacle also includes an anti-sliding device which increases the receptacle's resistance to sliding across a floor when a user steps on a pedal to actuate the lid.

1. Field
The present inventions relate to receptacles having doors or lids, some of the inventions relating to mechanisms configured to slow at least the closing movement of the lid, some of the inventions relating to air filtration devices for receptacles, and some inventions relating to mechanisms designed to reduce unintended sliding of a receptacle during use.
2. Description of the Related Art
Receptacles and other devices having lids or doors are used in a variety of different settings. For example, in both residential and commercial settings, trashcans and other devices often have lids or doors for preventing the escape of the contents from the receptacle. In the context of trashcans, some trashcans include lids or doors to prevent odors from escaping and to hide the trash within the receptacle from view. Additionally, the lid of a trashcan helps prevent contamination from escaping from the receptacle.
Recently, trashcans with rotary-type motion dampers for slowing the motion of the lids have become commercially available. More specifically, these rotary dampening mechanisms are connected to the lids of the trashcans so as to slow the closing movement of the lids. As such, the trashcan is more aesthetically pleasing because the lid closes slowly, thereby preventing a loud slamming noise when the lid is moved to a closing position.
These types of trashcans often are pedal-actuated, i.e., they include a foot pedal which is connected to the lid for moving the lid toward the open position. The rotary mechanisms are connected to the internal linkage connecting the foot pedal to the lid so as to slow the closing movement of the lid.

Receptacle with motion dampers for lid and air filtration device


Tubulysin compounds of the formula (I)

This invention relates to compounds structurally similar to the tubulysins, conjugates thereof with a ligand, methods for making and using such compounds and conjugates, and compositions comprising such compounds and conjugates.
The tubulysins are cytotoxins originally isolated from cultures of the myxobacteria Archangium gephyra or Angiococcus disciformis, with each organism producing a different mixture of tubulysins (Sasse et al. 2000; Reichenbach et al. 1998). Their crystal structure and biosynthetic pathway have been elucidated (Steinmetz et al. 2004) and their biosynthesis genes have been sequenced (Hoefle et al. 2006b). Pretubulysin, a biosynthetic precursor of the tubulysins, also has been shown to possess some activity (Ullrich et al. 2009). (Full citations for the documents cited herein by first author or inventor and year are listed at the end of this specification.)
The tubulysins belong to a group of naturally occurring antimitotic polypeptides and depsipeptides that includes the phomopsins, the dolastatins, and the cryptophycins (Hamel 2002). Antimitotic agents other than polypeptides or depsipeptides also exist, for example paclitaxel, the maytansines, and the epothilones. During mitosis, a cell's microtubules reorganize to form the mitotic spindle, a process requiring the rapid assembly and disassembly of the microtubule constituent proteins α- and β-tubulin. Antimitotic agents block this process and prevent a cell from undergoing mitosis. At the molecular level the exact blockage mechanism may differ from one anti-mitotic agent to another. The tubulysins prevent the assembly of the tubulins into microtubules, causing the affected cells to accumulate in the G2/M phase and undergo apoptosis (Khalil et al. 2006). By way of contrast, paclitaxel effects the same end result by binding to microtubules and preventing their disassembly.
The tubulysins have a tetrapeptidyl scaffold constructed from one proteinogenic and three non-proteinogenic amino acid subunits as shown in formula (A): N-methylpipecolinic acid (Mep), isoleucine (Ile), tubuvaline (Tuv), and either tubuphenylalanine (Tup, R′ equals H) or tubutyrosine (Tut, R′ equals OH). About a dozen naturally occurring tubulysins (named A, B, etc.) are known, the sites of structural variation among them being at residues R′, R″ and R′″ as shown in Table 1:
TABLE 1(A) Naturally Occurring TubulysinsTubulysinR′R″R′″AOHOC(═O)MeCH2OC(═O)i-BuBOHOC(═O)MeCH2OC(═O)n-PrCOHOC(═O)MeCH2OC(═O)EtDHOC(═O)MeCH2OC(═O)i-BuEHOC(═O)MeCH2OC(═O)n-PrFHOC(═O)MeCH2OC(═O)EtGOHOC(═O)MeCH2OC(═O)CH═CH2HHOC(═O)MeCH2OC(═O)MeIOHOC(═O)MeCH2OC(═O)MeUHOC(═O)MeHVHOHHZOHOHHPretubulysinHHMe
Kaur et al. 2006 studied the antiproliferative properties of tubulysin A and found that it was more potent than other antimitotic agents such as paclitaxel and vinblastine and was active in xenograft assays against a variety of cancer cell lines. Further, tubulysin A induced apoptosis in cancer cells but not normal cells and showed significant potential anti-angiogenic properties in in vitro assays. The antimitotic properties of other tubulysins have also been evaluated and generally have been found to compare favorably against those of non-tubulysin antimitotic agents (see, e.g., Balasubramanian et al. 2009; Steinmetz et al. 2004; Wipf et al. 2004). For these reasons, there is considerable interest in the tubulysins as anti-cancer agents (see, e.g., Domling et al. 2005c; Hamel 2002).
Numerous publications describe efforts directed at the synthesis of tubulysins, including: Balasubramanian et al. 2009; Domling et al. 2006; Hoefle et al. 2003; Neri et al. 2006; Peltier et al. 2006; Sani et al. 2007; Sasse et al. 2007; Shankar et al. 2009; Shibue et al. 2009; and Wipf et al. 2004. Other publications describe structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies, via the preparation and evaluation of tubulysin analogs or derivatives: Balasubramanian et al. 2008 and 2009; Domling 2006; Domling et al. 2005a; Ellman et al. 2009; Hoefle et al. 2001 & 2006a; Patterson et al. 2007 & 2008; Richter 2008; Vlahov et al. 2009; Wang et al. 2007; and Wipf et al. 2007 and 2010. The SAR studies mainly explored structural variations in the Mep ring, residues R″ and R′″ of the Tuv subunit, and the aromatic ring or aliphatic carbon chain of the Tup/Tut subunit.
Domling et al. 2005 disclose conjugates of tubulysins with a partner molecule generically described as a polymer or a biomolecule, but with examples limited to polyethylene glycol (PEG) as the partner molecule. Cheng et al. 2011 also disclose tubulysin analogs adapted for use in conjugates. Other documents disclosing conjugates of tubulysins are Boyd et al. 2008 and 2010; Vlahov et al. 2008a, 2008b and 2010; Leamon et al. 2008 and 2009; Reddy et al. 2009; and Low et al. 2009. Leung et al. 2002 disclose polyanionic polypeptides that can be conjugated to drugs (including tubulysins) to improve their bioactivity and water solubility.
Davis et al. 2008 and Schluep et al. 2009 disclose cyclodextrin based formulations in which tubulysins are covalently attached to a cyclodextrin via a hydrazide-disulfide linker moiety bonded to the Tup/Tut carboxyl group.
It has been reported that deacetylation of the Tuv subunit (i.e., R″ in formula (A) is hydroxyl instead of acetyl) leads to loss of biological activity (Domling et al. 2006). In a study of tubulysins U and V, which differ in the former being acetylated and the latter being deacetylated, tubulysin V was reported to be less potent by about 200× to 600×, depending on the assay (Balasubramanian et al. 2009). Because an acetate group is susceptible to hydrolysis, deacetylation at the R″ position is a concern, as a potential instability center leading to loss of activity.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Tubulysin compounds, methods of making and use

Abstract: Tubulysin compounds of the formula (I)

Abstract: where R1, R2R3a, R3b, R4, R5, W, and n are as defined herein, are anti-mitotic agents that can be used in the treatment of cancer, especially when conjugated to a targeting moiety.


A safety knife for ophthalmic surgical procedures has handle to which a blade holder is attached at one end, holding a pre-installed surgical blade. A blade guard is extended and retracted responsive to the movement of an actuator button on the handle. The blade assumes a curved shape as it is extended, to shape itself about and protect the blade. When the guard is retracted it straightens to allow it to slide into the handle, exposing the blade for use.

Knives and scalpels used in ophthalmic surgery have small and extremely sharp blades. During eye surgery it is desirable to make the incisions as small as possible to allow for faster healing and to obviate the need for stitching the incision closed after surgery has been completed.
Surgical instruments are typically arranged by a surgical assistant and passed to the surgeon as needed. When the surgeon is finished using a particular instrument, it is customary for the surgeon to pass the instrument back to the assistant who then retains it for further use or, if use is completed, disposes of the instrument.
Operating in as confined a surgical field as the eye requires dexterity, concentration and, often, the use of microscopes or other magnifying devices to allow the surgeon to more clearly visualize the eye tissue. A constant concern during surgical procedures is the accidental cutting of either the surgeon or the assistant by an exposed cutting blade. Accidental cutting may cause serious injury and will also require that the person cut be regloved before surgery can continue.
It is known to provide scalpels and knives with blade covers or blade guards to protect the blade itself prior to surgery and to protect the blade users during surgery. Examples of such blade guards are found in the prior art.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,022,128 (Morawsky) teaches and describes a surgical knife safety handle having a blade guard that can be extended from and retracted into the handle.
U.S. Pat. D496,730 (Morawsky et al) teaches and describes an ornamental design for surgical knife safety handle corresponding to the knife described and claimed in the '128 patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,925 (Newman et al) teaches and describes a shielded surgical scalpel having an extendable and retractable blade guard.
A common drawback to the designs shown in the aforementioned references is the necessity for the surgeon to maintain either an uncomfortable hand position during retraction and extension of the guard, or the need for the surgeon to grip the knife in a first position to operate the blade guard, then change grips to use the knife to make incisions. Repositioning the surgeon's hand after retracting the guard often means that the surgeon's attention and concentration is drawn away from the operating field and to the knife itself.
It is good surgical procedure to have the guard in place when the knife is passed back and forth between the assistant and the surgeon. Prior knife designs tend to require the surgeon's hand to be repositioned when the surgeon's use of the knife is completed to extend the guard before passing it back to the surgical assistant.
Commonly, the assistant already has the next instrument to be used in one hand ready to pass to the surgeon, while receiving the used instrument in the other hand. It would be awkward and dangerous for the surgical assistant to take a knife with the guard retracted and use a single hand to extend the guard before disposing of the knife.
Prior art safety handle designs thus make the extension and retraction of the guard awkward and uncomfortable without repositioning the user's hand.
The present invention provides a safety knife with a retractable and extendable guard and a mechanism designed to allow the movement of the guard without repositioning the user's hand from a comfortable cutting position.
The present invention also provides a guard having a simple, uncomplicated design, the guard being moveable to a fully retracted position where no part of the guard extends past the handle end, leaving the surgeon with a clear and complete view of the blade during surgery.
The present design also provides a guard which allows the blade to be viewed directly even when the guard is in its fully extended and protective position.
While the following describes a preferred embodiment or embodiments of the present invention, it is to be understood that this description is made by way of example only and is not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It is expected that alterations and further modifications, as well as other and further applications of the principles of the present invention will occur to others skilled in the art to which the invention relates and, while differing from the foregoing, remain within the spirit and scope of the invention as herein described and claimed. Where means-plus-function clauses are used in the claims such language is intended to cover the structures described herein as performing the recited functions and not only structural equivalents but equivalent structures as well. For the purposes of the present disclosure, two structures that perform the same function within an environment described above may be equivalent structures.


A speed ratio control system of a continuously variable transmission for a vehicle is provided, wherein a speed ratio is feedback-controlled in association with a deviation between a target and a measured value, so that the speed ratio can be continuously varied and adjusted. A gain of feedback control or shift speed is utilized, which has been constant or accurately determined, and the gain of feedback control or shift speed is optimally set in accordance with the feedback control, so as to obtain a continuously variable transmission which has high response characteristics and stability.

This invention relates to a speed ratio control system of a continuously variable transmission for a vehicle, wherein a speed ratio is feedback-controlled in association with a deviation between a target and a measured value, so that the speed ratio can be continuously varied and adjusted, more particularly this invention relates to improvements in a speed ratio control system of a continuously variable transmission for a vehicle, wherein better shift characteristics can be obtained by improving a shift speed or a gain of feedback control.
In general, continuously variable transmission mechanisms include V-shaped pulley devices, each including a stationary pulley and a movable pulley, and each having an effective diameter which can be varied by hydraulic servo devices. These V-shaped pulleys are provided on input shafts and output shafts respectively, so that rotation of the input shaft can be shifted in the continuously variable manner and transmitted to the output shaft by a driving belt extending between the V-shaped pulley devices. Normally, an oil flowrate to the hydraulic servo device on the input side is varied by a flow control valve, whereby the effective diameter of the V-shaped pulley device on the input side is forcibly changed. On the other hand, hydraulic pressure of the hydraulic servo device on the output side is varied by a pressure control valve to thereby follow the change of the effective diameter of the V-shaped pulley device on the input side, so that the driving belt will not slip in transmitting the torque.
As compared with automatic transmission mechanisms, which consist of so-called torque converters with groups of planetary gear units, the above-described continuously variable transmission mechanisms are advantageous in that abrupt changes in driving force during running of the vehicle are reduced, shift shocks are low, and the fuel consumption rate is good. In recent years, there is an increased demand for further improvements in continuously variable transmission mechanisms.
The speed ratio control of continuously variable transmissions has heretofore been performed as described below. First, a target value (normally, a target rotational speed Nin.degree. or a target speed ratio e.degree.) is calculated, a deviation D=Nin.degree.-Nin (or D=e.degree.-e) is calculated, and, in association with this deviation D, an oil flowrate Q (=a control voltage Vin of the flow control valve, being commensurate to the oil flowrate Q) to the hydraulic servo device on the input side is calculated through an equation Vin=K.multidot.D. K is a feedback gain and has heretofore been set at a constant value. Furthermore, this control voltage Vin has determined the oil flowrate at the flow control valve, and in turn, determined the shift speed. As a consequence, heretofore, the feedback gain K has been set at a constant value, and, the shaft speed has been also inevitably determined in association with a deviation between a target value and a measured value.
However, the conventional control described above presents a disadvantage in that it may not satisfactorily smoothly transfer the measured value to the target value during the transitional period and stably maintain the continuously variable transmission at the target value at steady state.

Speed ratio control system and method for a continuously variable transmission for a vehicle


A method and apparatus for transmitting broadcast information in a multi-carrier communication system. The Sync Channel of the multi-carrier system is transmitted a 1.25 MHz channel bandwidth (i.e., over a single carrier), and to specify the preferred channels for the Sync Channel transmission instead of the preferred channels for the entire multi-carrier system. The Sync Channel Message will carry additional information indicating the center frequency of a multi-carrier system within a reserved set of frequency bands and indicating the frequency of a single carrier system in the reserved set of frequency bands. Considering the A block of the PCS band again, the preferred channels for Sync Channel transmission can be selected as channels 75, 150 and 225. This selection ensures that one of the preferred channels will always be used by any multi-carrier system regardless of the location of its center channel.

I. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to communications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel and improved method and apparatus for transmitting and receiving broadcast information in a multi-carrier CDMA communication system.
II. Description of the Related Art
The use of code division multiple access (CDMA) modulation techniques is one of several techniques for facilitating communications in which a large number of system users are present. Other multiple access communication system techniques, such as time division multiple access (TDMA) and frequency division multiple access (FDMA) are known in the art. However, the spread spectrum modulation technique of CDMA has significant advantages over these modulation techniques for multiple access communication systems. The use of CDMA techniques in a multiple access communication system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,901,307, entitled "SPREAD SPECTRUM MULTIPLE ACCESS COMMUNICATION SYSTEM USING SATELLITE OR TERRESTRIAL REPEATERS", assigned to the assignee of the present invention, of which the disclosure thereof is incorporated by reference herein. The use of CDMA techniques in a multiple access communication system is further disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,103,459, entitled "SYSTEM AND METHOD FOR GENERATING SIGNAL WAVEFORMS IN A CDMA CELLULAR TELEPHONE SYSTEM", assigned to the assignee of the present invention, of which the disclosure thereof is incorporated by reference herein. CDMA has been standardized by the Telecommunications Industry Association in Interim Standards IS-95A and IS-95B, entitled "Mobile Station-Base Station Compatibility Standard for Dual Mode Spread Spectrum Systems" (referred to hereafter collectively as IS-95).
In IS-95 communications systems channels of information transmitted from a common base station are distinguished from one another by orthogonal spreading codes. Each channel is spread by a unique orthogonal spreading sequence. The channels that are transmitted by an IS-95 base station include, a pilot channel, a sync channel, at least one paging channel and dedicated traffic channels. The pilot channel is used to provide a phase reference for coherent demodulation of the other channels by mobile stations within the coverage area of the base station. The sync channel carries overhead information such as timing information, pilot PN offset information and other information that allows the reception of the other overhead channels. The paging channel notifies mobile stations of mobile terminated calls directed to the mobile station in the area. Dedicated traffic channels provide information directed to the user of a specific mobile station in the coverage area of the base station.
In IS-95, when the base station sends a Sync Channel Message, it shall uses the fixed-length message format of Table 1 below:
TABLE 1FieldLength (bits)MSG_TYPE ('00000001')8P_REV8MIN_P_REV8SID15NID16PILOT_PN9LC_STATE42SYS_TIME36LP_SEC8LTM_OFF6DAYLT1PRAT2CDMA_FREQ11
MSG_TYPEMessage type.P_REVProtocol revision level.MIN_P_REVMinimum protocol revision level. The base station setsthis field to prevent mobile stations which cannot besupported by the base station from accessing the system.SIDSystem identification. The base station shall set this fieldto the system identification number for this system.NIDNetwork identification. This field serves as a sub-identifier of a system as defined by the owner of the SID.PILOT_PNPilot PN sequence offset index. The base station shall setthis field to the pilot PN sequence offset for this basestation, in units of 64 PN chips.LC_STATELong code state. The base station shall set this field tothe long code state at the time given by the SYS_TIMEfield of this message.SYS_TIMESystem time. The base station shall set this field to theSystem Time as of four Sync Channel super frames(320 ms) after the end of the last super frame containingany part of this Sync Channel Message, minus the pilotPN sequence offset, in units of 80 ms.LP_SECThe number of leap seconds that have occurred sincethe start of System Time.LTM_OFFOffset of local time from System Time. The base stationshall set this field to the two's complement offset of localtime from System Time, in units of 30 minutes.DAYLTDaylight savings time indicator. If daylight savings timeis in effect, the base station shall set this field to '1';otherwise, the base station shall set this field to '0'.PRATPaging Channel data rate. The base station shall set thisfield to the PRAT field value shown in Table 2 cor-responding to the data rate used by the Paging Channelsin the system.
TABLE 2Paging Channel Data RatePRAT Field (binary)Paging Channel data rate009600 bps014800 bps10Reserved11Reserved
CDMA_FREQFrequency assignment. The base station shall set thisfield to the CDMA Channel number corresponding to theCDMA frequency assignment for the CDMA ChannelChannel containing a Primary Paging Channel.
In IS-95 systems, each base station transmits a pilot channel that is covered only by a short PN sequence. In IS-95 systems, the short PN sequence repeats once every 26 ms. The pilot signal transmissions from each base station are distinguished from one another by a phase offset with respect to one another. In particular, there each base station associated with a single base station controller differs in phase by at least 64 PN chips.
Under normal operation, the mobile station acquires the pilot signal first. The pilot signal carries no data and is simply the all ones sequence spread by the common short code, which also spreads all of the other channels transmitted by the base station. After acquiring the pilot channel, the mobile station receives the information described above from the sync channel. The frame and interleaver timing on the sync channel are aligned with the pilot PN sequence. The zero state of the short PN sequence marks the starting point of the sync channel frame and interleaver.
In the U.S. Personal Communication System (PCS) spectrum, the CDMA channel number N specifies the carrier frequencies of the forward and reverse link channels . In particular, channel number N corresponds to a reverse link carrier frequency of (1850+0.05N) MHz and a forward link carrier frequency of (1930+0.05N) MHz, where N ranges from 0 to 1199. The bandwidth of each CDMA channel is 1.25 MHz. Therefore, the channel numbers of adjacent CDMA channels are different by at least 25 (25 □0.05 MHz=1.25 MHz). To facilitate mobile stations' initial acquisition, certain carrier frequencies are designated as the preferred frequency assignments. Referring to FIG. 1, for an IS-95 B CDMA system in the A block of PCS band, the channel numbers of the preferred frequency assignments are 25, 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, 250, and 275. Mobile stations will search the preferred frequency assignments first upon powering up.
The International Telecommunications Union recently requested the submission of proposed methods for providing high rate data and high-quality speech services over wireless communication channels. A first of these proposals was issued by the Telecommunications Industry Association, entitled "The cdma2000 ITU-R RTT Candidate Submission" (hereafter cdma2000). cdma2000 proposes increasing the throughput of the forward link signals by transmitting portions of the information on three bands, each of 1.2288 MHz. This method is described as the "multi-carrier" approach.
A multi-carrier CDMA system, that uses three adjacent 1.25 MHz RF channels with channel spacing also equal to 1.25 MHz is defined in cdma2000. Referring to FIG. 2, a multi-carrier CDMA system in the A block of the PCS band can be deployed with the center channel on channel 50, 75, 100, 125, 150, 175, 200, 225, or 250. Channels 50 and 250 are usually avoided to avoid interference to adjacent bands on the reverse link. In the proposed cdma2000 description, the reverse link may be direct-spread with a chip rate of 3.6864 Mcps, which makes the emission limit requirements more difficult to meet than for a chip rate of 1.2288 Mcps.
A mobile station, upon powering up, searches for pilot signal on a preferred frequency. If no pilot is found in the current channel, it changes its channel and searches again. Once a pilot is acquired, the mobile station demodulates the Sync Channel associated with that pilot to receive timing information, pilot PN offset, and other information enabling its reception of the other overhead channels.
In a multi-carrier approach, one method for providing Sync Channel data would be to tri-partition the Sync Channel message and place one third of the message on each of the three portions of the multi-carrier signal. If the Sync Channel of a multi-carrier system is spread over three channels, the mobile station will have to know the exact channels used by the system in order to demodulate the Sync Channel reliably. Since the exact channels are not known in advance, the mobile station has to try numerous combinations to receive the Sync Channel message. Given the number of preferred channels, the time spent on such trials could be excessive and therefore degrade the mobile station's initial acquisition time. Therefore, there is a need felt in the art for a method that minimizes the mobile station's search time.

Configuration of overhead channels in a mixed bandwidth system


A lift assembly includes a base and a platform at a relatively greater distance from the base in an extended state than in a contracted state. The lift assembly includes a pair of scissor arms with each arm having opposed first and second ends, and pivotably connected to each other about a central axis. The lift assembly includes a drive screw mechanism including a shaft defining a longitudinal axis, and further includes a drive motor, a block, and a collar. The lift assembly further includes first and second pairs of links. Each link has opposed first and second ends and an edge facing away from the central axis and defining a recess in the link. The collar and block are spaced from the central axis and indirectly coupled to the pair of scissor arms through a pair of links.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to belt-driven transportation systems, and particularly to such systems configured as lift assemblies and conveyor assemblies.
2. Description of the Related Art
Scissor-type lift assemblies are well known for moving its platform, which supports items or people, between two vertically differing locations as it moves between a lowered or contracted state and an elevated or extended state. It is known to drive such lift assemblies with screw-drive mechanisms. These prior lift assemblies, however, can be problematic in that they may undesirably require operating space that cannot be easily accommodated or interferes with carrying out the operation to which the system is applied. For example, some prior scissor-type life assemblies have platform heights in their fully contracted states that require the load to first be lifted a substantial vertical distance from the level of a floor, on which the base is positions, to place it on the platform. Thus, it would be preferably to minimize the height of the platform in its fully contracted or lowered state.
A scissor-type lift assembly that addresses this problem, and is configured to minimize the height of its load-supporting platform surface in its contracted or lowered state, is desirable.


The operation is silent when manipulating the lever switch. Further, a lever switch having a favorable sensation of manipulation is obtained. The lever switch includes a sliding element, an operation lever, a moderator pin, a moderator plate, and a switch contact point. The moderator plate is disposed at a position where the leading end of the moderator pin elastically contacts with the moderator plate. The moderator plate has a moderation ditch in a concave shape, moderation protrusions positioned at both ends of the moderation ditch, and a sliding surface linking the moderation ditch and moderation protrusions. The sliding surface has a thin portion so as to be deflected by pressure of the moderator pin. When the operation lever is manipulated, while the sliding element is rotating, the moderator pin slides on the surface of the moderation protrusions, sliding surface, and moderation ditch, the sliding surface is deflected by the pressure of the moderator pin, and at the same time, the switch contact point opens or closes electrically depending on the rotation of the sliding element. The compound switch has a plurality of lever switches, and each lever switch of the plurality of lever switches is the lever switch as described above. Such lever switches are used in a vehicle.

A lever switch for vehicle is generally disposed near the steering wheel of an automobile. The lever switch is used for the purpose of changing over the function of headlights, turn signal for direction indication, wiper motor for operating wipers of windshield and rear window, and washer motor for ejecting washer liquid to the windowpane.
A conventional lever switch is explained by referring to FIG. 9 to FIG. 12.
FIG. 9 is a plan sectional view of a conventional lever switch. FIG. 10 is a perspective exploded view of the lever switch shown in FIG. 9. FIG. 11 is a side sectional view of the lever switch shown in FIG. 9. In FIG. 9 to FIG. 11, the lever switch has a case 1 and a lever switch 2. The case 1 is a box, with an opening formed at the right side, and is made of polyacetal or other resin. An operation lever 2 protrudes from the opening of the case 1. A coil spring 3 and a ball 4 are contained in a hole 2A at the leading end of the root side of the operation lever 2. A through-hole 2B is formed at both sides of the lever switch 2. A through-hole 5A is formed at the side of a sliding element 5. A shaft 6 is inserted in the through-hole 2B and through-hole 5A, and the operation lever 2 is rotatably provided at the right end of the sliding element 5.
A shaft portion 5B of the sliding element 5 is inserted into a support hole 1A, and is rotatably accommodated in the case 1. A moderator pin 8 being thrust to a coil spring 7 in a relatively deflected state is put in a hole 5C at the left end of the sliding element 5.
A moderator plate 9 is formed of a resin of low hardness such as elastomer. This moderator plate 9 comprises a moderation ditch 9A in a concave shape formed in the center, moderation protrusions 9B formed at both ends, and a sliding surface 9C linking them in an inclination. The moderator plate 9 is held and fixed at the left inner side wall of the case 1. The leading end of the moderator pin 8 elastically contacts with the moderation ditch 9A.
A cover 10 covers the lower side opening of the case 1. Beneath the cover 10, there is a switch contact point (not shown) for electrically opening and closing by the rotation of the sliding element 5. The lever switch is composed in this structure.
In this structure, in FIG. 9, the operation lever 2 is located at the neutral position. When the operation lever 2 is manipulated in the lower direction from the neutral position, as shown in FIG. 12, the sliding element 5 rotates in the upper direction from the fulcrum of the shaft portion 5B supported on the case 1. Accordingly, the moderator pin 8 being thrust to the coil spring 7 departs from the moderation ditch 9A of the moderator plate 9, and elastically slides on the sliding surface 9C.
Where the sliding element 5 contacts with the upper inner side wall of the case 1, the moderator pin 8 elastically slides from the sliding surface 9C to the moderation protrusion 9B. At this time, the deflection amount of the coil spring 7 changes. As a result, the operator feels a moderate sensation of manipulation from the operator lever 2. By such rotation of the sliding element 5, the switch contact point at the lower position is opened and closed electrically.
When the operation lever 2 is returned from the lower position to the neutral position, or when the operation lever 2 is manipulated in the upper direction from the neutral position, similarly, the moderator pin 8 slides elastically on the moderation ditch 9A, sliding surface 9C, and moderation protrusions 9B of the moderator plate 9. As the deflection amount of the coil spring 7 changes at these positions, a moderate sensation at each position is obtained.
From the fulcrum of the through-hole 2B in which the shaft 6 is inserted, the operation lever 2 can be manipulated in both forward and backward directions. In this case, the ball 4 being thrust to the coil spring 3 contained in the hole 2A of the operation lever 2 elastically contacts with the sliding element 5. As a result, a moderate sensation of manipulation is obtained, and by rotation of the operation lever 2, the switch contact point at the lower position is opened and closed electrically.
In the conventional lever switch, however, when the sliding element 5 is rotated by manipulation of the operation lever 2, in particular, the operation lever 2 returns from the upper or lower direction to the neutral position, and the moderator pin 8 departs from the sliding surface 9C of the moderator plate 9 and elastically contacts with the moderation ditch 9A, and at this time, as the moderator pin 8 hits against the moderation ditch 9A, a collision sound is generated due to inertia of the coil spring 7 inclined to elongate, or rattling of moderator pin 8 or coil spring 7 in the hole 5C of the sliding element 5.
It is hence an object of the invention to present a lever switch operating silently, with a favorable sensation of manipulation, by lowering the collision sound occurring when manipulating the lever switch, and a compound switch using the same.

Lever switch, compound switch having the lever switch, and vehicle using the lever switch

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A game apparatus includes a CPU, and in this game apparatus, a proceeding direction of a player object in a switched scene is detected when the scene is switched. Regarding the proceeding direction, in a case of a drainpipe, and etc., having an exit in the switched scene with a directionality, its direction of the exit is detected, and in a case of a door, and etc., having the exit without directionality, the proceeding direction of the player object in the scene yet to be switched is detected, for example. Furthermore, a screen display position of a display screen is adjusted in such a manner that a display area on a proceeding direction side in the switched scene is rendered as large as possible, for example. Therefore, the display screen, on which the proceeding direction in the switched scene is reflected, is generated and displayed.

Conventionally, there is a game device in which the scene is switched to a different scene, when a player object enters a doorway (exit or entrance) such as a drainpipe, etc., in a certain scene (stage). In a conventional game device of this kind, when the scene is switched to the different scene, the player object is always displayed in the same position on a display screen. Then, the display screen is scrolled in a direction in which to proceed, automatically and without an operation of a player, at a time that the player object enters the entrance in the scene yet to be switched, or after being switched, a display position in the switched scene is maintained until the operation by the player, and the display screen is scrolled in the direction of the operation when the operation is made, and so forth.
In such prior art, a predetermined display screen always is displayed after a switch, irrespective of the direction in which to proceed of the scene yet to be switched, so that the player finds it difficult to recognize the direction in which to proceed, once in the switched scene. Furthermore if a display area in the direction that the player intends to proceed, in the switched display screen, is narrow, little information is obtained on geography in the direction in which to proceed, enemies, and etc. Consequently, the player cannot recognize what exists in the direction in which to proceed, making it difficult to effectively play the game. In addition, it is unnatural to see the display screen scrolled without any operation after being switched. Furthermore, if the display screen is scrolled in a direction in response to the operation of the player, the predetermined display screen is displayed before the operation is performed, so that as described above, the player finds it difficult to recognize the direction in which to proceed once in the switched scene this makes the game difficult to play.

Game device and storing medium that stores game program


Mandibular attachment structure for use in an orthodontic assembly having a force member connecting the mandibular and maxillar portions of the assembly and method of using the same. The structure includes bands dimensioned to encircle corresponding lower molars on opposite sides of the tongue, and threadless couplers each of which is removably or releasably affixed to a buccal side of a corresponding band. Neither the structure nor the method requires the use of an orthodontic brace to maintain a pressing connection between the structure and the rest of an orthodontic assembly, but the use of orthodontic braces is accommodated. The pressing connection is maintained by cooperating a hook at the end of the force member and a hook at the end of a threadless coupler.

Orthodontics is a specialized field of dentistry that involves the application of mechanical forces to urge poorly positioned or crooked teeth into correct alignment and orientation. Orthodontic procedures can be used for cosmetic enhancement of teeth, as well as medically necessary movement of teeth. The orthodontic treatment of some patients includes correction of the alignment of the upper dental arch relative to the lower dental arch. Some patient have a condition referred to as Class II malocclusion or overjet, when the lower dental arch is located an excessive distance rearward of the upper dental arch when the jaws are closed. Other patients may have an opposite condition referred to as a Class III malocclusion (or negative overjet) when the lower dental arch is located forward of the upper dental arch when the jaws are closed.
Class II and Class III malocclusions may be corrected with the use of a head-gear (the effectiveness of which is almost entirely dependent on patient's compliance) or with a force-applying system such as an intraoral force module, for example. The force-applying system, when operably installed in the patient's mouth, enables the exertion of either a pulling force or a pushing force on the upper and lower jaws to which it is attached to move the jaws towards each other or away from each other.
Some known force-applying appliances are of complicated design and usually have a spring element that, in operation, requires to be repositionably attached to an auxiliary component such as an orthodontic brace to effectuate a progressive jaw correction. Other appliances employ an elastomeric member rather than a spring element, the cooperation of which with a metallic structure attaching such element to the teeth via molding or adhesive may loose its strength over time. In yet another case, the rigid affixation between the maxillar and mandibular portions of an appliance requires the use of threads and/or pins and requires a labor-intensive initial placement on the teeth and is subject to breakage and increased treatment times. Therefore, while the advantageous use of an intraoral force module has been recognized, there are still opportunities for substantial improvements.

Mandibular attachment for correction of malocclusion


An organic light-emitting display apparatus including a thin-film transistor (TFT) is disclosed. In one embodiment, the organic light-emitting display apparatus includes a thin-film transistor (TFT) and an organic light-emitting device electrically connected to the TFT. The apparatus further includes a light blocking portion formed directly above at least a portion of the TFT and configured to prevent light, emitted from the organic light-emitting device, from entering the portion of the TFT.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic light-emitting display apparatus, and more particularly, to an organic light-emitting display apparatus comprising a thin-film transistor (TFT).
2. Description of the Related Technology
Active matrix type organic light-emitting display apparatuses include in each pixel a thin-film transistor (TFT) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) electrically connected to the TFT.


An embodiment in accordance with the present invention provides an integrated syringe-device which can store a volume of fluid for infusion, can connect via an air-tight connector to another device (such as a luer connector), can flush fluid through the connector into the other device, and can deliver a cap that forms an air-tight closure to the device connector.

Indwelling medical devices such as an indwelling catheter are inserted within the body for prolonged periods of time. As an indwelling catheter can remain in the body without being in active use, the port of entry for infusions can be closed. Many devices, including vascular catheters, frequently use luer connectors to be able to connect infusion devices such as syringes. When an indwelling catheter is not in use, a cap that provides an airtight seal can be utilized to prevent access by unwanted fluids, gases, or microbes.
Additionally, indwelling medical devices such as indwelling catheters and vascular catheters are prone to causing catheter-related infections. For instance, contamination of the catheter hub and subsequent colonization of catheters by microbes as well as formation of a bacterial biofilm on the external and internal surfaces are common causes for catheter related infections. Catheter related blood stream infections (CRBSI) are caused by intraluminal contaminants. Therefore, when a vascular catheter is not in use it can be filled with fluid and the connector at the end of the vascular catheter can be capped, in a procedure known as catheter locking. Catheter locking also provides a hydraulic barrier to formation of air pockets, which if subsequently flushed can cause emboli. Catheter lock solutions containing salts of citrate, ethanol, EDTA, antibiotics, and methylene blue are commonly used. Most of these lock solutions decrease the occurrences of CRBSI, when the solutions indwell for extended periods of time while the lumen is not in use. However, locking and flushing catheters can require a health care provider to execute numerous steps. These steps can include removing a cap from the luer of an extension line, affixing an infusing device (typically a syringe) containing the fluid to be infused, infusing the fluid into the lumen of the catheter using positive pressure, removing the infusion device, and recapping the luer. During the course of performing these steps it is possible for a health care provider to drop or misplace components, or for the components to become contaminated with microbes. This is especially possible with smaller components such as the luer cap itself.
It would therefore be advantageous to provide a device and method that solves the aforementioned problems and would eliminate the steps of detaching the delivery device and then obtaining a separate cap to provide closure until further use is necessary.

Integrated syringe device with self-capping connector


A method for lowering a window pane includes lowering the window pane from the starting position by a defined distance by a window lifter in a motor vehicle door after a state signal is received. The state signal is triggered by the actuation of a seatbelt buckle. By using the seatbelt buckle for the purposes of emitting the signal, the window pane is lowered by the defined distance only if the motor vehicle operator or one of motor vehicle occupants is expected to exit the motor vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a method for lowering a window pane and a motor vehicle.
2. Description of the Background Art
Methods and devices for lowering a window pane are known from the conventional art. These methods and devices solve a problem that occurs in frameless motor vehicle doors in which the window pane is not located in a door frame belonging to the vehicle door. In these frameless motor vehicle doors, sealing problems can arise in the region of the top edge of the door window panes in the closed state, since the window pane must work together with a seal in this region. With conventional motor vehicle doors, this seal is already arranged on a frame of the motor vehicle door. With frameless motor vehicle doors, however, this seal is located on the motor vehicle body, so that after closing of the door the window pane must move into the seal located on the motor vehicle body in order to tightly seal the window pane. To this end, the window pane must be moved a certain distance out of the region of the seal located on the motor vehicle body before the motor vehicle door is closed or opened. In the prior art, this movement, which is also called short-stroke lowering, is triggered by various events.
Thus, DE 103 38 767 A1 discloses a door window control system for motor vehicle doors, and a window pane that can be raised and lowered by means of a motor, and an actuating element, in particular a door handle, for opening and closing the motor vehicle doors, wherein the window pane is opened by a short stroke each time the door is opened. According to the invention, at least one proximity sensor is provided, and/or at least one touch-sensitive sensor is arranged in the region of the actuating element. When an operator approaches the actuating element or the actuating element is touched by the operator, the touch-sensitive sensor issues a short stroke request signal.
In addition, a vehicle door with a window is known from DE 10 2008 014 520 A1 that can be lowered by a window regulator in a door body. During an opening process of the vehicle door, a defined lowering of the vehicle window pane from an initial position by a short-stroke travel can be carried out. According to the disclosure, the lowering can be triggered by means of an advance sensor of an electronic access control system.
Furthermore, it is known in modern motor vehicles that the signal for triggering a short stroke of window panes is issued when an ignition key is removed from an ignition lock of a motor vehicle. By this behavior, the operator signals that he intends to exit the motor vehicle shortly. In the most modern motor vehicles, which are equipped with electronic access control systems, an ignition lock for operating the motor vehicle may not be present. Motor vehicles of this type are provided with a so-called start/stop button, with which the engine can be started and stopped. For motor vehicles of this type, but not only of this type, it is necessary to provide another option for issuing a signal to a window regulator device.


Various exemplary embodiments relate to improved fabrication of CMOS transistor arrays for integrated circuits. Increased regularity in standard-cells using gate-isolation architecture may permit further reduction in feature size. MOSFETs may be spaced at roughly equal pitch and have increased channel lengths for leakage current reduction. Logic gates may be designed to have nominal channel lengths for speed and increased channel lengths for leakage current reduction. Further leakage current reduction may involve specialized channel lengths for isolation MOSFETs. Thus, the combination of the gate-isolation technique with MOSFETs having lengthened channels that are evenly spaced at substantially the same pitch may produce a flexible library architecture for improved standard-cell designs in advanced CMOS technology nodes.

The continuous scaling of the physical sizes and the operating voltage of semiconductor devices in integrated circuits has dramatically increased the impact of process variations on their performance and robustness of operation. At the same time, due to the scaling of the supply and threshold voltage, transistor leakage currents have increased dramatically. This rise in leakage current may be costly, creating a new need to cool both the integrated circuit (IC) chip and the overall system.
In a stable digital circuit, a Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET) can only operate in two states. In the ON-state, the transistor exhibits a conductive connection between its source and drain. In the OFF-state, the transistor exhibits a resistive connection between its source and drain. The current that is flowing through the transistor in this OFF-state is usually referred to as the subthreshold leakage current. This leakage current is strongly related, in an exponential relationship, to the threshold voltage (Vt) of the transistor. In bulk Complementary Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor (CMOS) technologies, a 100 mV increase in Vt may lead to a subthreshold leakage reduction by a factor of 18.
The total power consumed by all OFF transistors on a chip is called the leakage power. In many applications, this leakage power consumption has reached unacceptably high levels. It may become a significant part of the total power consumed by an Integrated Circuit (IC). In the standby mode of battery-operated mobile devices, for example, almost all of the transistors are in the OFF state, so their combined leakage current limits the duration of the standby time.
Leakage current may occur in at least three ways during the OFF state.
First, a weak inversion current may appear between the source and drain in an MOS transistor occurs when gate voltage drops below Vt. The weak inversion current may be proportional to Vt, the thermal voltage, the gate oxide capacitance, the zero bias mobility, the maximum depletion layer width, the gate oxide thickness, and the capacitance of the depletion layer. Power dissipation by the IC may heat the transistors, thereby worsening this current due to its temperature dependence.
Second, gate-induced drain leakage may occur due to a high field-effect in the drain junction of the MOS transistor. Very high and abrupt drain doping may be used to minimize gate-induced drain leakage. However, such modifications may increase the cost of fabrication of the IC.
Third, punchthrough may happen when depletion regions from the drain-substrate and source-substrate junction extend into the channel. Additional implants may be used to control punchthrough. For example, a layer of higher doping at a depth equal to the bottom of the junction depletion regions could be added. Alternatively, a halo implant could be formed at the leading edges of the drain and source junctions. However, these techniques would tend to increase the IC's cost.
There are several well known leakage reduction techniques.
First, high Vt transistors may be used on certain paths. Such transistors can produce between one and two order of magnitude of reduction in the subthreshold leakage current. However, due to their reduced capability at driving currents, high Vt transistors increase the delay of logic gates. Thus, CMOS designs having at least two thresholds may only use high Vt transistors in logic gates for non timing-critical logic paths. Timing critical paths, in contrast, would use low Vt transistors.
Alternatively, low Vt transistors could be used in the core. In this case, a large high Vt transistor could be interposed between the core and the supply, thereby acting as a power switch. In the ON-state, the core could run at a high speed because it is built from low Vt transistors. In the OFF-state, the total core would have low leakage because leakage would be limited by the power switch.
CMOS library cells for the 90 nm CMOS technology node tended to have a rather irregular layout shape. Historically, leading semiconductor companies reached this level of CMOS technology in either 2002 or 2003. By 2009, such CMOS library cells have become obsolete for leading-edge chip products.
While still somewhat irregular, CMOS library cells for the 65 nm CMOS technology node were arranged in a more orderly manner. Intel, AMD, IBM, UMC, Chartered, and TSMC all produced 65 nm ICs by September of 2007. Because of lithographic requirements linked to the reduction from 90 nm to 65 nm, fabrication of such CMOS library cells could no longer be as irregular as for the 90 nm CMOS technology node. For example, the polysilicon tracks forming the transistor gates might need to be unidirectional. As a result, such CMOS library cells would exhibit an increase in library regularity compared to CMOS library cells that were used for the 90 nm CMOS technology node. Nevertheless, such CMOS library cells would not be sufficient regular to permit efficient lithography of these cells for CMOS technology nodes significantly smaller than the 65 nm CMOS technology mode.
Thus, it would be desirable to reduce leakage current from MOSFET arrays. In particular, it would be desirable to both reduce leakage current and feature size on a fabricated IC. Moreover, it would also be beneficial to provide logic gates in a more desirable pattern to promote more efficient fabrication of the ICs.

Flexible CMOS library architecture for leakage power and variability reduction


The present disclosure discloses a method for manufacturing a backside-illuminated CMOS image sensor structure, the method comprises: providing a silicon substrate which has been subjected to a frontside processing and a back thinning; forming grid-shaped deep trenchs on the back of the silicon substrate; forming an insulating layer on the inner wall surface of the deep trenchs to form a grid-shaped deep trenchs isolation structure; forming a diffusion barrier layer on the surface of the insulating layer; filling metal in the deep trenchs to form a grid-shaped composite structure in which the Metal grid is combined with the deep trenchs isolation structure.

An image sensor is a device for sensing an optical signal. The CMOS image sensors are widely used in electronic devices, such as digital cameras, cell phone cameras and the like. These devices apply pixel array structures (typically including photodiodes and transistors) on a silicon substrate to sense an optical signal impinging on the silicon substrate and convert the sensed signal to an electrical signal.
A backside-illuminated CMOS image sensor structure is a newer sensor structure. The backside-illuminated CMOS image sensor may receive incident light from the back, thereby obtaining a greater amount of light. Therefore, compared to conventional frontside-illuminated CMOS image sensors, the backside-illuminated CMOS image sensor has better performance, especially under low intensity lighting conditions.
In order to improve image quality, the image sensors need to reduce optical signal crosstalk and electrical signal crosstalk, which correspondingly requires the use of a Metal grid and a Deep Trenchs Isolation (DTI) processes. Currently, the method for manufacturing a backside-illuminated CMOS image sensor usually includes the etching and the filling of the DTI, the depositing of an anti-reflective coating (ARC), the depositing and patterning of the Metal grid, forming of color filters (CF) and forming of Micro-lenses, etc. Wherein for preventing electrical signal crosstalk, the DTI process is typically completed before the anti-reflective coating, which comprises etching the silicon substrate with the small size (<1 μm) and high depth-to-width ratio (>10), filling the insulating layer, filling diffusion barrier, and filling the DTI material, etc. For preventing optical signal crosstalk, the Metal grid process is typically done after the anti-reflective coating, which comprises depositing the metal on the anti-reflective coating, patterning and etching the metal, etc.
However, the above-described two processes, which are the DTI process and the Metal grid process used to prevent cross-talk, make the overall process more complex, time consuming and costly. In addition, the two processes also require high precision alignment between each other, resulting in further increased overall process difficulty, and reduced yield.

Method for manufacturing backside-illuminated CMOS image sensor structure


A communication cable can comprise twisted pairs of electrical conductors for transmitting electrical signals, such as for digital communication or data transmission. The pairs can be twisted to different lengths, thereby managing interference among the pairs. The electrical conductors of the pairs can be individually insulated with a polymeric material comprising a base polymer that is foamed with a gas such as nitrogen. The respective foaming levels of the electrical conductors in each pair can be selected to balance electrical properties among the pairs.

As the desire for enhanced communication bandwidth escalates, transmission media are pressed to convey information at higher speeds while maintaining signal fidelity and avoiding crosstalk. For example, a single communication cable may be called upon to transmit multiple communication signals over respective electrical conductors concurrently. Such a communication cable may have two or more twisted pairs of insulated electrical conductors ("twisted pairs"), each twisted to a different twist length or "lay length." The twisted pairs may be imparted with different lay lengths in order to control interference associated with signal energy coupling between or among the pairs.
For a specific length of cable, a pair that is more tightly twisted has a longer signal path length than a pair that is less tightly twisted. Accordingly, signals traveling on different twisted pairs can take different amounts of time to traverse a cable. Such pair-to-pair variation in propagation delay, known as "skew," can negatively impact cable performance. For example, cable purchasers may specify a maximum level of skew that is acceptable. Additionally, a pair that is more tightly twisted typically has a greater level of insertion loss or attenuation over a fixed cable length than a pair twisted more loosely.
One conventional proposal for addressing attenuation differences among twisted pairs within a cable involves varying insulation thickness among pairs according to pair twist. However, this approach to addressing variations in pair-to-pair attenuation often creates issues with inequality of pair-to-pair impedance and propagation speed. Such pair-to-pair imbalance can lead to cable-to-component mismatches and return loss problems, as well as incompatibilities with components of a communication system connected to the cable.
Accordingly, need exists for a technology that can enhance signal performance of a cable that comprises twisted pairs, including but not limited to improving pair balance, insertion loss, skew, attenuation, and/or crosstalk. A capability addressing such need or some other related deficiency in the art would elevate bandwidth that a communication cable can carry reliably.

Data cables with improved pair property balance


A surveillance system is provided that includes at least one sensor disposed in a security area of a surveillance region to sense an occurrence of a potential security breach event; a plurality of cameras is disposed in the surveillance region; at least one camera thereof has a view of the security area and can be configured to automatically gather biometric information concerning at least one subject person in the vicinity of the security area in response to the sensing of a potential security breach event; one or more other of the plurality of cameras can be configured to search for the at least one subject person; a processing system is programmed to produce a dossier corresponding to the at least one subject person to match biometric information of one or more persons captured by one or more of the other cameras with corresponding biometric information in the dossier.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to biometric identification, and more particularly, to a surveillance system using biometric identification.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
The state of the art of applying biometric technologies to authenticate and positively determine the identity of a person is still faced with several technical challenges. Specifically, the challenges can be categories into two aspects: data acquisition and data matching. Data acquisition deals with acquiring biometric data from individuals. Data matching deals with matching biometric data both quickly and accurately. These challenges can be explained by a port-entry scenario. In such a setting, it is difficult to obtain certain biometric data such as DNA and voice samples of individuals. For biometric data that can be more easily acquired, such as face images and fingerprints, the acquired data quality can vary greatly depending on acquisition devices, environmental factors (e.g., lighting condition), and individual corporation. Tradeoffs exist between intrusiveness of data collection, data collection speed, and data quality.
Once after the needed data have been acquired, conducting matching in a very large database can be very time-consuming. It goes without saying that unless a system can acquire and match data both timely and accurately, the system is practically useless in improving public security, where the inconvenience due to the intrusive data-acquisition process and the time-consuming matching process ought to be minimized.
A biometric system typically aims to address either one of the following issues: 1) Authentication: is the person the one he/she claims to be? 2) Recognition: who a person is? In the first case, data acquisition is voluntary and matching is done in a one-to-one fashion—matching the acquired data with the data stored on an ID card or in a database. In the second case, individuals may not be cooperating, and the system must conduct searches in a very large repository.
The prior art in biometric can be discussed in two parts: single-modal solutions and multi-modal solutions. Several systems have been built to use one of the following single modal: facial data, voice, fingerprint, iris or DNA. The effectiveness of these single-modal approaches can be evaluated in three metrics: the degree of intrusiveness, speed and accuracy. From the perspective of a user, acquiring face modal can be the most noninvasive method, when video cameras are mounted in the distance. However, the same convenience nature often compromises data quality. An intrusive face acquisition method is to acquire frontal face features, which requires corporation from individuals. Voice is another popular modal. However, traditional voice-recognition fails miserable when voice samples of multiple individuals are simultaneously captured or when background noise exists. Even when the acquired voice data can be "pure," existing signal processing and matching techniques can hardly achieve recognition accuracy of more than 50%. The next popular modal is fingerprint, which can achieve much higher recognition accuracy at the expense of intrusive data acquisition and time-consuming data matching. Finally, DNA is by far the most accurate recognition technique, and the accompanying inconvenience in data acquisition and the computational complexity are both exceedingly high. Summarizing the single model approach, non-intrusive data-acquisition techniques tend to suffer from low recognition accuracy, and intrusive data-acquisition techniques tend to suffer from long computational time
As to multimodal techniques, there have been several prior art United States patents and patent applications disclose techniques. However, as will be further discussed below, these disclosures do not provide scalable means to deal with tradeoffs between non-intrusiveness, speed and accuracy requirements. These disclosures may fix their system configuration for a particular application, and cannot adapt to queries of different requirements and of different applications.
Wood et al. disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 6,609,198 a security architecture using the information provided in a single sign-on in multiple information resources. Instead of using a single authentication scheme for all information resources, the security architecture associates trust-level requirements with information resources. Authentication schemes (e.g., those based on passwords, certificates, biometric techniques, smart cards, etc.) are employed depending on the trust-level requirement(s) of an information resource (or information resources) to be accessed. Once credentials have been obtained for an entity and the entity has been authenticated to a given trust level, access is granted, without the need for further credentials and authentication, to information resources for which the authenticated trust level is sufficient. The security architecture also allows upgrade of credentials for a given session. The credential levels and upgrade scheme may be useful for a log-on session; however, such architecture and method of operations do not provide a resolution for high speed and high accuracy applications such as passenger security check in an airport.
Sullivan et al. disclose in U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,224 a method and apparatus for providing a standardized measure of accuracy of each biometric device in a biometric identity authentication system having multiple users. A statistical database includes continually updated values of false acceptance rate and false rejection rate for each combination of user, biometric device and biometric device comparison score. False acceptance rate data are accumulated each time a user successfully accesses the system, by comparing the user's currently obtained biometric data with stored templates of all other users of the same device. Each user is treated as an "impostor" with respect to the other users, and the probability of an impostor's obtaining each possible comparison score is computed with accumulated data each time a successful access is made to the system. The statistical database also contains a false rejection rate, accumulated during a test phase, for each combination of user, biometric device and biometric device comparison score. By utilizing a biometric score normalizer, Sullivan's method and apparatus may be useful for improving the accuracy of a biometric device through acquiring more training data.
Murakami et al. disclose in U.S. Pre-Grant Publication 2002-0,138,768 entitled "Method for biometric authentication through layering biometric traits," a portable biometric authentication system having a single technology for measuring multiple, varied biological traits to provide individual authentication based on a combination of biological traits. At least one of these biometric traits is a live physiological trait, such as a heartbeat waveform, that is substantially—but not necessarily completely unique to the population of individuals. Preferably, at least one of the identifying aspects of the biological traits is derived from a measurement taken by reflecting light off the subdermal layers of skin tissue. The Murakami et al. approach is limited by the more intrusive measurement techniques to obtain data such as heartbeat waveform and reflecting light off the subdermal layers of skin tissue. These data are not immediately available in a typical security check situation to compare with the biometric data, e.g., heart beat waveforms and reflection light from subdermal layers from the skin of a targeted searching object. Furthermore, the determination or the filtering of persons' identity may be too time consuming and neither appropriate for nor adaptive to real time applications.
Langley discloses in U.S. Pre-Grant Publication 2002-0,126,881, entitled "Method and system for identity verification using multiple simultaneously scanned biometric images," a method to improve accuracy and speed of biometric identity verification process by use of multiple simultaneous scans of biometric features of a user, such as multiple fingerprints, using multiple scanners of smaller size than would be needed to accommodate all of the fingerprints in a single scanner, and using multiple parallel processors, or a single higher speed processor, to process the fingerprint data more efficiently. Obtaining biometric data from multiple user features by use of multiple scanners increases verification accuracy, but without the higher cost and slower processing speed that would be incurred if a single large scanner were to be used for improved accuracy. The methods according to Langley may provide the advantages of speed and accuracy improvements. However, the nature of requiring multiple scans makes data acquisition time-consuming and intrusive.
On the academia side, much research effort has been geared toward analyzing data from individual biometric channels (e.g., voice, face, fingerprint, please see the reference list for a partial list), less emphasis has been placed on comparing the performance of different approaches or combing information from multiple biometric channels to improve identification. Some notable exceptions are discussed below. In Hong Lin, Jain A. K., Integrating faces and fingerprints for personal identification, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Vol. 20, No. 12, December 1998, pp. 1295-1307, the authors report an automated person identification system that combines face and fingerprint information. The face recognition method employed is the traditional eigen face approach, M. Turk and A. Pentland, Eigenfaces for Recognition, J. Cognitive Neuroscience Vol. 3, No. 1, 1991, pp. 71-96, which computes a set of orthonormal bases (eigen faces) of the database images using the principal component analysis. Face images are then approximated by their projection onto the orthonormal Eigen face bases, and compared using Euclidean distances. For fingerprint, the authors extend their previous work, Jain, A. K.; Lin Hong; Bolle, R.; On-line fingerprint verification, Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Vol. 19, No. 4, April 1997, pp. 302-314, to extract minutiaes from fingerprint images. They then align two fingerprint images by computing the transformation (translation and rotation) between them. Minutiaes are strung together into a string representation and a dynamic programming-based algorithm is used to compute the minimum edit distance between the two input fingerprint strings. Decision fusion is achieved by cross validation of the top matches identified by the two modules, with matching results weighed by their confidence or accuracy levels. The performance of the system is validated on a database of about 640 face and 640 fingerprint images.
In Phillips, Henson Moon; Rive, S E A.; Russ, The FERRET evaluation methodology for face-recognition algorithms, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Vol. 22, No. 10, October 2000, pp. 1090-1104, the Michigan State University research group extends their information fusion framework to include more modalities. In particular, images of a subject's right hand were captured, and fourteen features comprising the lengths of the fingers, widths of the fingers, and widths of the palm at various locations of the hand. Euclidean distance metric was used to compare feature vectors. Simple sum rules, decision tree and linear discriminant function are used for classification. It is observed that a personal ID system using three modules outperforms that uses only two of the three modules. While this is an interesting experiment, the data set used is small and there is no accepted universal standard in using hand images in biometrics.
In R. Brunelli, D. Falavigna, T. Poggio and L. Stringa, Automatic Person Recognition by Using Acoustic and Geometric Features, Machine Vision and Applications 1995, Vol. 8 pp. 317-325, an automated person recognition system using voice and face signatures is presented. The speaker recognition subsystem utilizes acoustic parameters (log-energy outputs and their first-order time derivatives from 24 triangular band-pass filters) computed from the spectrum of short-time windows of the speech signal. The face recognition subsystem is based on geometric data represented by a vector describing discriminant facial features such as positions and widths of the nose and mouth, chin shape, thickness and shape of the eyebrows, etc. The system captures static images of the test subjects and the test subjects are also asked to utter ten digits from zero to nine for use in the speaker ID subsystem. Each subsystem then computes the distances of the test subject's speech and face signatures with those stored in the databases. Decisions from the two ID modules are combined by computing a joint matching score that is the sum of the two individual matching scores, weighted by the corresponding variance. Experimental results show that integration of visual and acoustic information enhances both performance and reliability of the separate systems. The above system was later improved upon in Brunelli, R.; Falavigna, D., Person identification using multiple cues, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Vol. 17, No. 10, October 1995, pp. 955-966, where multiple classifiers are used in the face recognition subsystems, and the matching score normalization process is made more robust using robust statistical methods.
In Kittler, J.; Hatef, M.; Duin, R. P. W.; Matas, J., On combining classifiers, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Vol. 20, No. 3, March 1998, pp. 226-239, a performance study of various ensemble classification scheme is presented. It is shown that many existing decision aggregation rules are actually simplifications based on the more general Bayesian rule. The authors compare the performance of different decision aggregation rules (max, min, median, and majority voting rule) by performing an experiment in biometrics. Three modules are used: frontal faces, face profiles, and voiceprints. Simple correlation-based and distance-based matching is performed on frontal faces and face profiles, respectively, by finding a geometric transformation that minimizes the differences in intensity. It is shown that a simple aggregation scheme by summing the results from individual classifiers actually perform the best.
In Lu X; Wang Y; and Jain A, Combing classifiers for face recognition, IEEE International Conference on Multimedia Systems and Expo, Baltimore, Md., July 2003, three well-known appearance-based face recognition methods, namely PCA, M. Turk and A. Pentland, Eigenfaces for Recognition, J. Cognitive Neuroscience Vol. 3, No. 1, 1991, pp. 71-96, ICA, and LDA, Belhumeur, P. N.; Hespanha, J. P.; Kriegman, D. J., Eigenfaces vs. Fisherfaces: recognition using class specific linear projection, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Vol. 19, No. 7, July 1997, pp. 711-720, are used for face image classification. Two combination strategies, the sum rule and RBF network, are used to integrate the outputs from these methods. Experimental results show that while individual methods achieve recognition rates between 80% and 88%, the ensemble classifier boosts the performance to 90%, using either the sum rule or RBF network. In Senior, A., A combination fingerprint classifier, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Vol. 23, No. 10, October 2001, pp. 1165-1174, a similar multi-classifier scheme, this time for fingerprint classification, is proposed. Hidden Markov Models and decision trees are used to recognize ridge structures of the fingerprint. The accuracy of the combination classifier is shown to be higher than that of two state-of-the-art systems tested under the same condition. These studies represent encouraging results that validate our multi-modal approach, though only a single biometric channel, either face or fingerprint, not a combination of biometric channels, is used in these studies.
Maio, D.; Maltoni, D.; Cappelli, R.; Wayman, J. L.; Jain, A. K., FVC2000: fingerprint verification competition, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Vol. 24, No. 3, March 2002, pp. 402-412, documents a fingerprint verification competition that was carried out in conjunction with the International Conference on Pattern Recognition (ICPR) in 2000 (a similar contest was held again in 2002). The aim is to take the first step towards the establishment of a common basis to better understand the state-of-the-art and what can be expected from the fingerprint technology in the future. Over ten participants, including entries from both academia and industry, took part. Four different databases, two created with optical sensors, one with a capacitive sensor, and one synthesized, were used in the validation. Both the enrollment error (if a training image can be ingested into the database or not) and the matching error (if a test image can be assigned the correct label or not) and the average time of enrollment and matching are documented.
A study, that is similar in spirit but compares the performance of face recognition algorithms, is reported in Phillips, P. J.; Hyeonjoon Moon; Rizvi, S. A.; Rauss, P. J., The FERET evaluation methodology for face-recognition algorithms, IEEE Transactions on Pattern Analysis and Machine Intelligence, Vol. 22, No. 10, October 2000, pp. 1090-1104. A subset of the Feret database (a gallery of over 3000 images) was used in the study. Ten different algorithms, using a wide variety of techniques, such as PCA and Fischer discriminant, were tested. Cumulative matching scores as a function of matching ranks in the database are tabulated and used to compare the performance of different algorithms. This study was repeated three times, in August 1994, March 1995, and July 1996. What is significant about this study is that the performance of the face recognition algorithms improved over the three tests, while the test condition became more challenging (with increasingly more images in the test datasets).
As can be seen from the above brief survey, multi-modal biometrics holds a lot of promise. It is likely that much more accurate classification results can be obtained by intelligently fusing the results from multiple biometric channels given performance requirements. While it is important to keep on improving the accuracy and applicability of individual biometric sensors and recognizers, the performance of a biometric system can be boosted significantly by judiciously and intelligently employing and combining multiple biometric channels.
While there have seen significant research activities in single- and multi-channel biometry over the past decade, the state-of-the-art is still wanting in terms of speed and accuracy. Therefore, a need still exists in the art to provide new and improved methods and system configurations to increase the speed and accuracy of biometric identity verification and determinations such that the above-mentioned difficulties and limitations may be resolved. The present invention meets this need.

Adaptive multi-modal integrated biometric identification detection and surveillance systems


A method of manufacturing a phase change memory device is provided. A first insulating layer having a plurality of metal word lines spaced apart at a constant distance is formed on a semiconductor substrate. A plurality of line structures having a barrier metal layer, a polysilicon layer and a hard mask layer are formed to be overlaid on the plurality of metal word lines. A second insulating layer is formed between the line structures. Cross patterns are formed by etching the hard mask layers and the polysilicon layers of the line structures using mask patterns crossed with the metal word lines. A third insulating layer is buried within spaces between the cross patterns. Self-aligned phase change contact holes are formed and at the same time, diode patterns formed of remnant polysilicon layers are formed by selectively removing the hard mask layers constituting the cross patterns.

1. Technical Field
The inventive concept relates to a method of manufacturing a phase change memory device and, more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a phase change memory device using a cross patterning technique.
2. Related Art
So as to improve the integration degree of semiconductor devices, fine patterns should be indispensably fabricated. That is, so as to integrate many elements in the defined area, individual elements should be scaled down. Miniaturization to line widths and spaces of the patterns should be preceded in order to reduce the sizes of the individual elements. Currently, it requires a line width below the resolution of the photolithographic light source in semiconductor devices, especially memory devices, so that it is difficult to form fine patterns.
Various methods of fabricating fine patterns have been researched and the cross patterning technique as a part of fine pattern formation method is suggested. A cross patterning technique is a method for fabricating patterns of fine line widths at intersections by carrying out a double patterning process in the form of orthogonal lines.
Currently, the diodes of the phase change memory device are fabricated by using the crossing patterning technique. That is, in the prior art, a metal layer for a word line, a barrier metal layer and a polysilicon layer are stacked and then double patterned by the cross patterning method to fabricate word lines and vertical diodes.
However, when the word lines are fabricated by the prior method, the polysilicon layer, the barrier metal layer and the metal layer for a word line having constant thicknesses are etched at a time so that the etching is heavily burdened, making it difficult to fabricate perfect patterns.

Method of manufacturing a phase change memory device using a cross patterning technique