A device and a signal processing method that can be used with a device to recognize and distinguish a physiological high-frequency oscillation (HFO) from a pathological high-frequency oscillation. The signal processing method detects a physiological HFO in the electrical brain signal one regimen of electrical or optogenetic brain stimulation can be triggered, alternatively if the method detects a pathological HFO associated with epilepsy a different regimen of electrical or optogenetic brain stimulation can be triggered. Thus, the signal processing method can be utilized in a closed loop brain stimulation device that serves the dual purpose of both enhancing memory encoding, consolidation, and recall, or improving cognition, and reducing the probability of a seizure in a patient with epilepsy.

Epilepsies are a family of chronic neurological disorders in which clusters of nerve cells or neurons in the brain signal abnormally. These abnormal brain signals are often characterized by seizures, which are transient, recurrent perturbations of normal brain function. As a chronic condition, epilepsy affects about 1% of the population in the United States. Each year, an additional 125,000 Americans are diagnosed with epilepsy. Indeed, this prevalence will increase substantially in the near future largely due to the rapidly expanding number of elderly Americans, in whom the incidence of epilepsy is the highest. Uncontrolled epilepsy poses a significant burden to society due to associated healthcare costs and chronic under-unemployment of otherwise physically and mentally competent individuals, when it occurs in individuals of a working age.
Anti-epileptic drug (AED) treatment is the standard therapy for epilepsy. Unfortunately, AEDs in current therapeutic use display significant side effect profiles. Additionally, about one third of all patients remain unresponsive to currently available medications. The need for more effective treatments for phamacoresistant epilepsy was among the driving forces behind a recent White House-initiated 'Curing Epilepsy: Focus on the Future' ('Cure') Conference (March, 2000), which emphasized specific research directions and benchmarks for the development of effective and safe treatments for people with epilepsy. One of the more common forms of epilepsy in humans that is frequently resistant to current therapy is the mesial temporal lobe epilepsy syndrome, or limbic epilepsy, that originates from limbic structures such as the hippocampus and amygdala.
At the physiological level, seizure activity can involve the transient, simultaneous hypersynchronous activation of a large population of neurons, either in one focal area, or throughout the brain, depending on the type of epilepsy. Seizure symptoms can vary widely. Some people with seizures may stare blankly for a few seconds during a seizure, while others may twitch their arms, legs, or other body parts. Having a single seizure does not indicate epilepsy alone, as at least two or more unprovoked seizures are generally required for epilepsy diagnosis.
An alternative approach to controlling epilepsy with drugs is through the use of neuroprosthetic devices. For nearly thirty years, epileptologists have been studying macroscopic electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings from the scalp to obtain global and local measures of scalp potentials using a variety of linear, nonlinear, and dynamical computational measures. On the surface of the cortex, EEG grid electrodes have been used in the clinical setting to determine epileptic foci. However, this approach is limited in its evaluation on the gross or macro level, which may be limited in its reach, both for treatment and for understanding of the underlying disease in the patient.
In studies performed in vitro using recent advances in multi-site electrode technology, acute preparations of hippocampal recordings have generated the basic constructs of neuronal firing related to the epileptic condition. In conjunction with in vivo recordings in both humans and animals, physiologists are performing studies to infer the normal and bursting responses of single units in excised tissue. It is recognized that such recordings from acute and slice preparations have provided significant contributions to research in the epilepsy field; however they are limited by the loss of network input and output from the rest of the brain (slice), and inability to chronically spontaneously seize, as do human subjects with temporal lobe epilepsy.
Accordingly, recognition of certain neural pathways and of electrical significance has allowed for neuroprosthetic system development to treat epilepsy. The FDA has approved a seizure control system based on electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve. For example, a system marketed by Cyberonics, Inc. (Houston, Tex.). Another system, developed by Neuropace (Mountain View, Calif.) delivers electrical stimulation to the brain by way of subdural strips upon detection of an electrical signal that occurs at the start of a seizure.
Despite these advances, effective neuroprosthetics capable of predicting or warning of impending seizures and delivering timely therapeutic intervention have not been developed. The hallmark of epilepsy is recurrent seizures that are unpredictable and debilitating. Methods of seizure prediction in real-time would have significant impact on patients' lives. Even a few minutes of warning would allow a person experiencing a seizure to stop driving or get out of a risky environment to seek safety. Efforts in this area been limited by a lack of electrophysiologic control parameters that can be used to accurately predict the onset of the epileptic state and to deliver therapeutic feedback to the affected neural structures. In currently available systems, overall patterns of neuronal activity associated with the onset of seizure are detected, and upon such detection, standardized therapy is delivered to the brain in the form of electrical stimulation. The delivered stimulation is of pre-determined strength and duration, regardless of the strength or duration of the seizure. This lack of control results in delivery of an electrical stimulus that may either be insufficient or excessive, both with respect to duration and stimulus strength.

Signal processing method for distinguishing and characterizing high-frequency oscillations


An AD converter includes a first oscillator outputting a first frequency in accordance with a reference voltage; a second oscillator outputting a second frequency in accordance with an input voltage; a first counter measuring the first frequency; a second counter measuring the second frequency; and a comparator comparing a measurement result of the first frequency and a measurement result of the second frequency and outputting a digital value in accordance with the input voltage.

As a circuit that converts an analog signal into a digital signal, an analog-digital converter (also referred to as an AD converter) is used. For the conventional AD converter, successive approximation or the like has been employed (e.g., Patent Document 1).
As an example of an electronic circuit including an AD converter, there is a digitally-controlled power supply circuit. As a power supply circuit, for example, a circuit that converts a given DC voltage into another DC voltage (also referred to as a direct current-direct current converter or a DC-DC converter) is given.
The DC-DC converter includes, for example, a coil, a diode, a transistor, and the like (e.g., Patent Document 2).

Semiconductor device having oscillators, counters and comparator

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A gas turbine engine has a turbine section and an air moving section upstream of the turbine section. A seal is between a static surface and a rotating surface in at least one of the turbine section and air moving section. The seal includes a seal shoe which is biased at least in part by a spring force, with the spring force created by cuts formed to provide a gap to allow arms associated with the seal to provide the spring force. The movement of the shoe is along a direction having at least a component parallel to an axis of rotation of the gas turbine engine. In addition, an axially moving non-contact seal is claimed.

This application relates to an axially moving non-contact seal which is particularly useful in a gas turbine engine.
Gas turbine engines are known, and typically include a fan delivering air into a compressor, and also outwardly of the compressor as bypass air. The air is compressed in the compressor and delivered downstream into a combustion section where it is mixed with fuel and ignited. Products of this combustion pass downstream over turbine rotors, driving the turbine rotors to rotate. The turbine rotors in turn rotate the compressors and fan.
Recently, a gear reduction has been provided between a low pressure (or low spool) compressor and the fan such that a low pressure (or low spool) turbine can drive both of these components but at different speeds.
There are a number of surfaces within a gas turbine engine that would benefit from receiving a seal. One known type of seal is a non-contact seal. Such seals typically have sealed by moving in a radial direction. There are surfaces within the gas turbine engine that are not capable of being sealed by such radially moving non-contact seals.
While axially moving seals are known, they have typically not been of the most efficient type of seal.


A pointing device including a touching surface, a light emitting diode, an imaging element, and a first light control part. A fingertip is placed on the touching surface. The light emitting diode illuminates the touching surface from a side opposite to a side where the fingertip is placed. The imaging element receives light reflected from the fingertip. The first light control part controls light, which is emitted from the light emitting diode and reaches the touching surface, so that the light is evenly incident to the touching surface. The pointing device improves detection accuracy and prevents malfunctions, even when there is deviation in an output from a light source. In addition, an electronic apparatus including an input device can be provided.

Recently, some of portable information terminals such as mobile phones and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants) are designed such that a display section can display graphics, and GUI (Graphical User Interface) which uses the display section in two-dimension is employed as a method for displaying information to users. However, as the portable information terminals have higher performances and become closer to display performances of computers, there arises a problem that the portable information terminals require complicate operations.
In general, the portable information terminals employ a keypad as a user interface via which information is entered. A keypad consists of a plurality of keys via which numerals and characters are entered, and direction keys. However, under the aforementioned circumstance in which the portable information terminals require complicated operations, an input using menu keys and other function keys of a keypad as direction keys is not suitable for selection of icons displayed by a GUI, and consequently a desired operation cannot be performed easily. Therefore, it is difficult to employ the input using the keypad as direction keys for the portable information terminals. Accordingly, the portable information terminals are required to mount pointing devices having the same operativity as those of mice and touch pads used for computers.
Under such circumstance, as pointing devices that can be mounted on portable information terminals, there has been proposed a pointing device which observes, by an imaging element, a pattern of an object such as a fingertip touching the pointing device and detects the change in the pattern of the object on the touching interface, so as to detect the movement of the object. Further, there has been proposed a pointing device which irradiates a touching interface with a light source, causes a pattern of an object on the touching interface to be focused on an imaging element via a lens, and detects a change in the pattern, so as to convert the movement of the object into an input signal and detect the movement.
Conventional examples of such pointing devices include pointing devices disclosed in Patent Literatures 1 and 2 below.
The pointing device disclosed in Patent Literature 1 includes a cover glass, a light source section, and a light receiving section. The light source section includes a light source and a light source guide consisting of a plurality of reflecting mirrors provided above the light source. Light emitted from the light source is reflected by a reflecting mirror by a predetermined angle, and is incident to the cover glass. The light incident to the cover glass is reflected by a surface of a finger, and the light reflected by the surface of the finger is incident to the light receiving section. The light receiving section includes a reflecting mirror, a condensing lens, and a light image sensor. The light incident to the light receiving section is reflected by the reflective mirror, imaged by the condensing lens, and is incident to the light image sensor.
The pointing device disclosed in Patent Literature 2 includes a light source for irradiating an object with light, a collimating lens for subduing diffusion of the light from the light source, a reflective surface for reflecting the light from the collimating lens by a predetermined angle so that the reflected light goes toward an image acquiring surface, the image acquiring surface, an imaging element for condensing an image from the image acquiring surface, and a light sensor for receiving the condensed image and converting it to an electric signal.

Pointing device comprising a light control part and electronic apparatus comprising an input device


An apparatus for bending a glass sheet has a heating zone for heating the glass sheet, a shaping zone for shaping the glass sheet, and a cooling zone for cooling the glass sheet. A transfer zone for transferring the glass sheet is disposed immediately before the shaping zone with respect to the direction in which the glass sheet is fed. The glass sheet is fed through the transfer zone, the shaping zone, and the cooling zone by a ring mold mechanism which supports the glass sheet from below.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for bending a glass sheet, and more particularly to an apparatus for bending a laminated glass sheet and reinforced glass sheet which will be used as window glass sheets for automobiles.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
One method for bending laminated glass sheets which will be used as automotive window glass sheets is known as a gravity bending method. According to the gravity bending method, two glass sheets are placed one on the other and bent or shaped by gravity. However, the gravity bending method has limitations as it is unable satisfactorily to shape modern automotive window glass sheets which have relatively complex and deeply curved configurations. Specifically, since the weight of glass sheets is imposed substantially uniformly over the entire surfaces thereof during the process of the gravity bending method, it is necessary to control the temperature distribution over the glass sheets accurately while bending them to a complex shape. It is however difficult and costly to control the temperature distribution over glass sheets with the presently available gravity bending technology.
Various glass sheet bending apparatus are disclosed in:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,290,796 patented Sept. 22, 1981;
2. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 57-140325 published Aug. 30, 1982; and
3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,738,704 patented Apr. 19, 1988.
Apparatus for pressing a glass sheet to shape between a pair of molds without gravity bending are disclosed in:
4. U.S. Pat. No. 3,338,695 patented Aug. 29, 1967;
5. Japanese Laid-Open Utility Model Publication No. 62-129033 published Aug. 15, 1987; and
6. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 62-270429 published Nov. 24, 1987.
According to the glass sheet bending apparatus disclosed in the publications Nos. 1 and 2 above, a lower mold carrying a glass sheet is conveyed into a heating furnace in which the glass sheet is bent by gravity and then pressed to shape by an upper mold near the exit of the heating furnace. While the glass sheet is being bent by gravity, the glass sheet tends to sag into an undesirable configuration just like the bottom of a cooking pan, for example. The glass sheet configuration thus produced cannot easily be corrected when the glass sheet is later pressed between the upper and lower molds.
The apparatus disclosed in the publication No. 3 above operates as follows: First, a glass sheet is fed into a position below an upper mold in a heating furnace, and then bent to shape by applying a hot air flow under pressure to press the glass sheet against the lower surface of the upper mold. Thereafter, the pressure of the hot air flow is lowered, and the glass sheet is attracted to the upper mold under a vacuum. According to this apparatus, the glass sheet is pressed to shape under the uniform and moderate pressure of the hot air flow. Therefore, it is difficult to bend the glass sheet into a deep and/or complex configuration.
In the apparatus shown in the publication No. 4, the upper edge of a glass sheet is gripped and suspended by tongues when it is shaped with heat. The tongues leave their marks on the upper edge of the glass sheet.
The apparatus shown in the publication No. 5 has feed rolls for feeding a glass sheet, which extend in a direction across a concave mold through respective pockets defined in the concave mold. Consequently, only a partial region of the concave mold is used to press the glass sheet to shape. If the entire region of the concave mold were employed to press the glass sheet, then the shaped glass sheet would have marks of the pockets.
In the apparatus disclosed in the publication No. 6, a glass sheet which has been fed in a horizontal condition is attracted to a convex mold under a vacuum, and is then pressed by a lower mold positioned below the glass sheet. Since the glass sheet is attracted to the convex mold against gravity, a strong vacuum must be applied to attract the glass sheet against the convex mold. The forced attraction of the glass sheet to the convex mold prior to the shaping of the glass sheet tends to cause the heat insulating cloth on the convex mold to leave its mark on the glass sheet, and also makes it difficult to separate the shaped glass sheet easily from the convex mold. If the glass sheet were not attracted positionally accurately to the convex mold, the glass sheet would not be shaped accurately to a desired configuration.
The present invention has been made in an effort to solve the various problems, as described above, of the conventional glass sheet bending apparatus.


An image processing method displays a simulation image of an image formed on a print medium under a first light-source color on a display under a second light-source color. The method includes an acquisition step of acquiring image data to be simulated in a format according to the second light-source color, a step of calculating a reflective color obtained when the acquired image data is processed to represent an image corresponding to the image data illuminated by an achromatic light-source color, a step of converting the first light-source color into the format according to the second light-source color, and calculating a glossy color of the image data based on the converted first light-source color, and a generation step of generating an image to be displayed by adding the reflective color calculated in the reflective color calculation step and the glossy color calculated in the glossy color calculation step.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique that simulates an image formed on a print medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a material printed using a printer or the like is assumed to be observed under an illumination at a color temperature of 5000K called D50. For this reason, when a print result is to be simulated on the monitor of a personal computer or the like prior to actual printing, display processing is executed under the assumption that a printed material is to be observed under the D50 illumination. Such simulation of a printed material is called soft proofing, which is executed using a color matching system (to be abbreviated as CMS hereinafter). A technique for simulating the appearance of a printed material under an illumination other than D50 is also known (for example, see Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 09-046535). Such simulation techniques can reproduce most of print results on a monitor although its precision depends on the performance of the engine that executes the CMS, the monitor and the printer, and a color profile that describes the characteristics of a print medium.

Image processing method, image processing apparatus and computer program


A new and distinct cultivar of Gerbera plant named `Terhelena`, as illustrated and described, characterized by its semi-double type, a very distinct red purple ray floret which is a solid red-purple color throughout, a green disc floret, the outermost florets of which display white stigmas and the middle flowers of which show yellow-orange anthers, red perianth lobe color and 120 mm overall flower diameter.

The present invention comprises a new and distinct cultivar of Gerbera Jamesonii, referred to by the cultivar name `Terhelena`. `Terhelena` was originated from a hybridization program in De Kwakel, the Netherlands in 1989. The female parent was `83.151`, and the male parent was `81D138`. The female parent `83.151` differs from `Terhelena` by its singleness, its pink color, and its smaller flowerdiameter (approx. 110 mm). `83.151` has not been patented in the United States. Moreover, it was not available to others outside the company. The male parent `81D138` differs from `Terhelena` by its light red color, its high productivity, its good vaselife and smaller flowerdiameter (aprox. 100 mm). `81D138` has not been patented in the United States. Moreover, it was not available to others outside the company. The new cultivar was selected by me from the progeny of the stated parentage on or about November 1989. The first asexual reproduction of ` Terhelena` was accomplished when vegitative cuttings for tissue culture initiation were taken on December 1989 in De Kwakel, The Netherlands. The new cultivar is presently being propagated by cuttings and tissue culture. Horticultural examination of selected units initiated December 1989 has demonstrated that the combination of characteristics as herein disclosed for `Terhelena` are firmly fixed and are retained through successive generations of asexual reproduction. The following observations, measurements and comparisons describe plants grown in De Kwakel, The Netherlands, under greenhouse conditions which closely approximate those generally used in commercial practice. The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be basic characteristics of `Terhelena`, which in combination distinguish this Gerbera from its parents and all other varieties of which I am aware:
1. Type: Semi-double.
2. Color of floret: Distinctive purple-red.
3. Color of disc floret: Green.
4. Color of perianthy lobe: Purple-red.
5. Diameter of flower head: Large 120 mm.
Of the many commercial cultivars known to me, there is no cultivar similar in comparison to `Terhelena`.


A device for the hydraulic positioning of structural component parts, in particular rollers of strand guide segments of a continuous casting installation, with hydraulic cylinders, each of which is divided into a cylinder space and an annular cylinder space by a piston having a piston rod. The cylinder spaces can be connected to a pressure source by of control members. Hydraulic connection lines are reduced or components used are reduced. Either the annular cylinder space is acted upon by a pressure which is adjustable but which then remains constant, while the pressure applied to the piston in the cylinder space is position-controlled or pressure-controlled, or the cylinder space is acted upon by a pressure which is adjustable but which then remains constant, while the pressure applied to the piston in the annular cylinder space is position-controlled or pressure-controlled.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to a device for hydraulic positioning of structural component parts, in particular rollers of strand guide segments of a continuous casting installation having hydraulic cylinders, each of which is divided into a cylinder space and an annular cylinder space by a piston having a piston rod, the cylinder spaces being connectable to a pressure source by control members.
2. Prior Art
The invention is based on a device such as that known from EP 1 105 235 B1.
In continuous casting installations, the casting process starts in a mold. The superficially solidified strand exits from this mold and is subsequently guided through strand guide segments to a horizontally arranged straightening driver. The strand is guided through guide rollers which are positioned against the strand by hydraulic cylinders.

Position-controlled or pressure-controlled device for the hydraulic positioning of components


A card connector includes a tray having a side wall and a breach region formed on the side wall, a main body including a front opening for inserting the tray and a side portion defining a side of the front opening, a plurality of terminals attached to the main body, and a detective switch including a spring member that is attached to the side portion of the main body and includes a press portion configured to extend into the card-holding space of the tray through the breach region of the tray when the tray is inserted in the main body. A card connector can include a card locking element, and a card ejecting mechanism. The card ejecting mechanism can comprise an actuator movable between an outward position and an inward position and a levering member.

Mobile communication devices such as mobile phones and portable computers generally use a SIM (subscriber identity module or subscriber identification module) card to store network-specific information used to authenticate and identify subscribers on the network. Most important of the network-specific information are ICCID (integrated circuit card identifier), IMSI (international mobile subscriber identity), authentication key (Ki), local area identity (LAI), and operator-specific emergency number.
SIM cards are connected to mobile communication devices through SIM card connectors. FIG. 1A shows a first embodiment of a conventional SIM card connector 1. The SIM card connector 1 has an insulating housing 11 having a card receiving space, a metal shield 16 assembled to the insulating housing 11, a card receiving mechanism 14 insertable into the card receiving space, a pair of elastic pieces 12 having locking portions 121 for retaining the card receiving mechanism 14, a lengthwise arm 13 having two bent flexible arms 132, and a terminal module 15 disposed in the insulating housing 11. The elastic piece 12 generates low retaining force, insufficient to retain the card receiving mechanism 14. To hold the card receiving mechanism 14 more securely, the lengthwise arm 13 is introduced.
The lengthwise arm 13 has two bent flexible arms 132 corresponding to the pair of elastic pieces 12. When the card receiving mechanism 14 is inserted, the card receiving mechanism 14 presses the U-shaped portion of each elastic piece 12 and moves the U-shaped portion of each elastic piece 12 outward. The tip of each elastic piece 12 contacts the respective flexible arm 132 such that additional retaining force is applied to the card receiving mechanism 14. However, the SIM card connector 1 uses too many elastic components to retain the card receiving mechanism 14, consuming too much interior space of the SIM card connector 1 for accommodating these components. In addition, although employing the lengthwise arm 13 can increase retaining force, these elastic components still are not sufficiently strong to firmly hold the card receiving mechanism 14, and are unable to prevent the card receiving mechanism 14 from being accidently removed.
FIG. 1B shows another type of conventional SIM card connector used in the industry. The SIM card connector 1′, disclosed in U.S. Patent Publication No. 2010/0055985A1, includes an insulating housing 11′, a terminal module 12′ having a plurality of contacts 121′, a metal shield 15′, a switch element 13′, and a card receiving mechanism 14′. The metal shield 15′ can be assembled on and partly cover the insulating housing 11′. The metal shield 15′ and the insulating housing 11′ define a card receiving space. The card receiving mechanism 14′ can carry a SIM card and is insertable into the card receiving space. The switch element 13′ comprises a movable piece 131′ and a stationary piece 132′, wherein the stationary piece 132′ contacts the movable piece 131′ when the card receiving mechanism 14′ is not inserted. The movable piece 131′ has an arch portion, which protrudes into the card receiving space to contact an inserted card receiving mechanism 14′. When a card receiving mechanism 14′ is inserted, the movable piece 132′ is pushed away from the stationary piece 131′, triggering a card insertion signal.
FIGS. 2A and 2B show another conventional SIM card connector 2. The conventional SIM card connector 2 has a housing 20 having an internal housing part for receiving an IC card 22 therein. A slide member 21 having a shaft part slides beside the internal housing part. An eject arm 23 has a shaft hole formed at the center of the eject arm 23. The shaft part of the slide member 21 is fitted into the shaft hole of the eject arm 23 in such a way that allows the eject arm 23 to rotate around the shaft part of the slide member 21. The eject arm 23 has first and second arm parts 23a and 23b extending outward from the disk-like portion of the eject arm 23. The first arm part 23a is provided for engaging the front end of the IC card 22 to rotate the eject arm 23 when the IC card 22 is being inserted. The second arm part 23b has a tip portion having a circular shape for engaging with the concave part 221 formed at one side of the IC card 22.
Because the second arm part 23b is moved by swinging motion, the concave part 221 of the IC card 22 must be made larger so the second arm part 23b does not interfere with the IC card 22 when the IC card 22 is being inserted. However, the large concave part 221 causes an inserted IC card 22 to be loose, as shown in FIG. 2B, and unable to be securely held. In addition, the card ejecting and locking mechanism of the conventional SIM card connector 2 includes too many components and is too complex, resulting in high manufacturing cost. Consequentially, certain individual would appreciate a new card connector.

Card connector having an actuator engaging a locking element


There is provided a paper-based colorimetric sensor kit for quickly and simply diagnosing mercury in situ with a naked eye. The paper-based colorimetric sensor kit includes: a circular template for rolling circle amplification (RCA); a primer that does not hybridize to the circular template when a mercury ion is bonded to a primer that hybridizes to the circular template; a DNA polymerase; a sensing material kit including a nanoparticle probe labeled to a DNA coil formed in the circular template for RCA; and a radial chromatography paper.

Mercury is one of toxic heavy metal materials that may seriously threaten the global environment and human health. In particular, a mercury ion (Hg2+) is one of the most important factors of water pollution. The mercury ion (Hg2+) is converted into methyl mercury through a microbial biosynthetic pathway, and the methyl mercury is easily absorbed into a bacteria, plankton, and fish. This causes serious damage to a brain, a nervous system, a kidney, and an endocrine system of a human.
Recently, examples of a most common method used for detecting mercury include inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), atomic absorption spectroscopy (AAS), and gas chromatography (GC). In these methods, a wide range of metal ions may be detected with high sensitivity and selectivity, but an expensive and sophisticated device and a skilled person are required. In addition, it takes a lot of time for detection, and a labor-intensive procedure is required. Accordingly, the development of a method capable of quickly and simply implementing detection immediately in situ with a naked eye is required.

Paper-based colorimetric sensor kit for quickly and simply diagnosing mercury in situ with naked eye and method for quickly and simply detecting mercury in situ with naked eye using the same


A method and apparatus for separating particles from an inlet airflow of a turbine engine has a centerbody with a radially outer scavenge conduit. The inlet airflow has entrained particulate matter, which can impact an impact surface defining part of the centerbody. The impact surface can be disposed at an angle or have a low coefficient of restitution to reduce the velocity of the incoming particulate matter. The particulate matter is radially diverted radially outward through the scavenge conduit, unable to make a turn defined by the shape of the centerbody.

Engines, and particularly gas or combustion turbine engines, are rotary engines that extract energy from a flow of combusted gases passing through the engine onto a multitude of turbine blades. Gas turbine engines have been used for land and nautical locomotion and power generation, but are most commonly used for aeronautical applications such as for aircraft, including helicopters. In aircraft, gas turbine engines are used for propulsion of the aircraft. In terrestrial applications, turbine engines are often used for power generation. Additionally, fluidic systems where the flow of dirty fluid, such as containing particulate matter, can include a downstream engine, such as in a tank or power plant.
Gas turbine engines for aircraft are designed to operate at high temperatures to maximize engine efficiency, so cooling of certain engine components, such as the high pressure turbine and the low pressure turbine, can be necessary. Typically, cooling is accomplished by ducting cooler air from the high and/or low pressure compressors to the engine components that require cooling. While the turbine air is a high temperature, it is cooler relative to the compressor air, and can be used to cool the turbine. When cooling the turbines, cooling air can be supplied to various turbine components, including the interior of the turbine blades and the turbine shroud.
Particles, such as dirt, dust, sand, volcanic ash, and other environmental contaminants in the engine intake air can cause sever compressor erosion. As the particles move through the engine they can melt in the combustion gases and subsequently resolidify on the turbine flow path surfaces. Particles entrained in the turbine cooling air can cause a loss of cooling due to deposition and plugging of the cooling passages. All of these effects cause reduced operational time or "time-on-wing" for the aircraft environment. This problem is exacerbated in certain operating environments around the globe where turbine engines are exposed to significant amounts of airborne particles.

Inlet particle separator for a turbine engine


A differential voltage mode driver for implementing symmetric single ended termination includes an output driver circuitry having a predefined termination impedance. The differential voltage mode driver also includes an output driver replica having independently controlled first and second portions. The first and second portions are independently controlled to establish a substantially equal on-resistance of the first and the second portions. The output driver replica controls the predefined termination impedance of the output driver circuitry.

Reducing power consumption of circuits to increase battery life is one of the main design concerns especially in portable applications. In many serializer/deserializer (SerDes) designs like those complying with backplane standards, such as M-PHY, a low-swing differential output driver scheme can achieve low power consumption and good signal integrity. In this scheme, there are two types of output drivers, a current-mode driver and a voltage-mode driver. Compared with current-mode drivers, voltage-mode drivers are more power efficient by using less current to get the same output voltage swing. Voltage-mode drivers may have differential outputs and/or single ended outputs.
In voltage-mode driver design, one of the design challenges is how to set the active output resistance or impedance to match with the proper termination impedance in both differential and single-ended output to meet design specifications. For example, proper termination impedance can enable the voltage-mode driver to meet the specifications on return loss, output common mode voltage, and single-ended/differential output resistance. Previous solutions set differential output resistance to proper termination impedance. However, previous solutions fail to balance the single-ended output resistance and cannot be set to achieve proper termination impedance. This failure can cause common-mode voltage shift, different reflection on different output lines and even cause the single-ended output resistance to drift outside the specification. Accordingly, a need exists for an improved integrated circuit and an improved method of controlling output impedance.

Apparatus to implement symmetric single-ended termination in differential voltage-mode drivers


An example system includes a first network device having first circuitry. The first network device is configured to perform operations including receiving data to be transmitted to a second network device over an optical communications network, and transmitting first information and second information to the second device. The first information is indicative of the data, and is transmitted using a first communications link of the optical communications network and using a first subset of optical subcarriers. The second information is indicative of the data, and is transmitted using a second communications link of the optical communications network and using a second subset of optical subcarriers. The first subset of optical subcarriers is different from the second subset of optical subcarriers.

In an optical communications network, network nodes (e.g., computer devices) can exchange information using one or more of optical links (e.g., lengths of optical fiber) extending between them. For example, a first network node and a second network node can be interconnected by one or more optical links. The first network node can transmit data to the second network node by generating an optical signal, modulating the optical signal based on the data (e.g., using one more optical sub-carriers), and transmitting the optical signal over the one or more optical links. The second node can demodulate the optical signal to recover the data.
However, in some cases, one or more of the optical links of an optical communications network may be severed or otherwise rendered inoperable. For example, an optical link may be physically severed (e.g., due to a "fiber cut"), such that it cannot convey optical signals from one end of the optical link to the other. As another example, an optical link and/or the equipment coupled along the optical fibers (e.g., "line system components") may be misconfigured or experience a malfunction, such that optical signals are not conveyed accurately (or not conveyed at all) through the optical communications network. Accordingly, the connectivity between nodes of the optical communications network may be interrupted, and the reliability of the communications network may be degraded.

Optical subcarrier dual-path protection and restoration for optical communications networks


An aircraft heated floor panel (10) comprising a heat-generating layer (20) including an electric heater (52) having current supply lines (54) and a controller (60) which controls the current supplied to the heater (52) via the supply lines (54) to thereby control the heat generated by the layer (20). The controller (60) is integrated into the floor panel (10) whereby the panel has a stand-alone control system which need only be connected to the on-board power source of the aircraft, but can be connected to a main controller for networking or other purposes.

An aircraft will commonly include a heating system in order to maintain the cabin at a comfortable temperature during flight. The floor of the aircraft is a particular area of concern whereby heater floor panels often are part of an aircraft's heating system. An aircraft heater floor panel can comprise a heat-generating layer including an electric heater having a current line for providing power to the heater. An aircraft typically has a plurality of heated floor panels and they are usually all connected to the same controller located in the cockpit of the aircraft. A sensor in or near the heat-generating layer provides panel temperature data to the controller and, based on this data, the controller regulates the amount of current supplied to the electric heater. Optionally, an ambient sensor can be used to provide temperature data to the controller to allow for closed-loop temperature control in the cabin. Additionally or alternatively, the controller can be connected to switch located outside the cockpit (e.g., the galley) to allow manual selection of power levels and/or temperature setpoints.


The present invention relates to a dental composition which is a resin modified dental cement composition, comprising a radically polymerizable compound and a redox initiator system comprising one or more clathrate compounds comprising a host molecule and one or more guest molecules, wherein the guest molecule is an oxidising agent selected from organic peroxides and organic hydroperoxides. Furthermore, the present invention relates to a use of the redox initiator system in a dental composition which is a resin modified dental cement composition.

Redox initiator systems for a dental composition are well-known and may contain organic peroxides or hydroperoxides as oxidizing agents. Benzoyl peroxide is frequently used as an oxidizing agent in a dental composition given that it is a solid at room temperature and may be easily included into a particulate composition. A major drawback of redox initiator systems is the storage stability of the organic peroxide or hydroperoxide. For example, benzoyl peroxide has a half life of 10 h at 71° C. More stable peroxides are usually liquids at room temperature. However, the use of liquid organic peroxides or hydroperoxides in a dental composition, notably a dental glass ionomer composition, is problematic due to inhomogeneous distribution of the organic peroxides or hydroperoxides on a dental glass filler or due to decomposition of organic peroxides or hydroperoxides in an acidic liquid.
Organic peroxides or hydroperoxides may form clathrate compounds wherein the organic peroxide or hydroperoxide as a guest molecule is received by a host molecule:
M. N. Lehmann et al., Journal of Inclusion Phenomena and Molecular Recognition in Chemistry, vol. 23, 1995, pages 99 to 117 discloses clathrates formed of cyclodextrines as host molecule and organic peroxides as guest molecules.
A. Jiao et al., Computational and Theoretical Chemistry, vol. 1013, 2013, pages 1 to 6 discloses molecular dynamics simulations of cyclodextrin (CD)-cumene hydroperoxide complexes in water.
EP 0 411 951 A1 discloses a clathrate compound comprising an organic peroxide as a guest compound and at least one of natural and derivatized cyclodextrines as a host compound. The organic peroxide may for example be dicumyl peroxide, tert-butylcumyl peroxide, 2,5-dimethyl-2,5-di(tert-butylperoxy) hexane, 2,5 dimethyl-2,5-di(tert-butylperoxy)hexyne-3, 1,3-bis(tert-butylperoxyisopropyl)benzene, 1,1-bis-tert-butylperoxy-3,3,5-trimethyl cyclohexane or benzoyl peroxide.
EP 0 511 635 A1 discloses a multicomponent adhesive composition for aerospace and automotive uses, containing a polymer starter, a starter stabilizing agent, an elastomer dissolved in a polymerizable acrylic component, and a starter-activating agent. The polymer starter may be a peroxide compound complexed with a cyclodextrine as the starter stabilizing agent. It was found that by housing the peroxide compound in the cavity of the starter-stabilizing agent, thermal decomposition of the starter can be prevented, without altering its capability of starting the polymerization within the adhesive system.
EP 0 895 777 A2 discloses the use of adduct of phtalimido-peroxycarboxylic acids and cyclodextrins for preparing storage stable tooth pastes having bleaching and hygenizing properties.
A dental composition comprising a radically polymerizable compound and a redox initiator system is required to have a high storage stability of at least one year in order to be useful in practice. On the other hand, the dental composition must have a low kinetic stability allowing efficient activation while still providing a working time of about two minutes. Following the working time, the reactivity of the dental composition must be high enough to fully cure the dental composition in a short setting time. An increase of the thermodynamic stability of a dental composition usually leads to an increase of the kinetic stability and a reduced reactivity whereby storage stability may be increased. However, activation of the dental composition becomes more difficult whereby the setting time may deteriorate. On the other hand, a decrease of the thermodynamic and kinetic stability of a dental composition may lead to a deterioration of the storage stability of the dental composition or a component of the redox initiator system.


A seal component which establishes a seal between a rotating shaft and a housing includes an annular face and an axially extending tubular elastomeric bellows. The geometric configuration of the bellows allows it to buckle, exert a substantially uniform axially force over a wide operating range, and be used without reinforcing members.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to mechanical rotary seals.
II. Description of the Related Art
Compact self-contained cartridge type mechanical seals, such as the ones shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, are specifically designed for high quantity production of industrial and domestic pumps handling water, steam, oil, hydraulic fluids, refrigerants, and gases at pressures as high as 100 psi. The seal shown in FIG. 1 is known in the industry as a shaft mounted seal and presses onto the shaft of a pump, while the seal in FIG. 2 is known as a bore mounted seal and presses into the pump housing. Such seals use coil springs 10a and 10b, respectively, to maintain an axial force between face seal ring 12a and complementary surface 14a in FIG. 1, and face seal ring 12b and complementary surface 14b in FIG. 2. Sealing members 16a and 18a are used to seal the face members to the shaft and housing in FIG. 1. Sealing members 16b and 18b are used to seal the facing members to the housing and shaft in FIG. 2. In such arrangements, reinforcing members 20a, 22a and 24a are used to hold sealing member 16a in place in the arrangement shown in FIG. 1. Reinforcing members 20b, 22b and 24b are used to hold the sealing member 16b in place in FIG. 2.
There are many drawbacks to these coil spring seal designs. The large number of component parts makes manufacture complicated. The use of a steel spring coil produces an uneven load distribution on the periphery of the carbon face member. The seal is unsuitable for acids and highly corrosive fluids because it contains metallic parts. The seal in FIG. 2 has metal-to-metal interference with the pump housing which, when installed, requires the use of an "O" ring or a very tight fit using a mastic sealing material applied during the installation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,185,488 discloses a mechanical rotary seal having a sealing member with reinforcing members which does not require the use of a coil spring to maintain the face members in positions against each other. Although several of the drawbacks of the coil spring biassed seal are overcome by this arrangement, other drawbacks remain and new problems are created. In particular, the built-in reinforcing members constitute an expensive construction. Also, the presence of such reinforcing members makes the seal difficult to install because it binds when it is assembled to the shaft or housing due to its requirement of being slid into position as a single unit so that a tight seal can be maintained. Furthermore, such seals have a very short operating range of axial compression which is unforgiving in low tolerance design and operating situations. In addition, the axial force over the operating range varies considerably.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a seal which does not have a large number of component parts which makes manufacture complicated.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a biassed member which provides an even load distribution on the periphery of the carbon face seal ring.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a seal having no metallic parts, thereby making the seal suitable for use with acids and highly corrosive fluids.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a seal having no metal-to-metal interference with the pump housing and no need for the use of an "0" ring or mastic sealing material.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a seal which requires no reinforcing members to hold the sealing members in place.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a seal which can be easily assembled and installed on the shaft and housing without binding the shaft and housing during assembly.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a seal having a long operating range of axial compression.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a seal having a substantially constant axial force over the operating range of axial compression.
Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and obtained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.


A debug tool that generates a call stack listing by analyzing the crash memory dump data without relying on register data values. The tool uses information gathered by the compiler and linker when the program was compiled and linked, including the stack's size and location in memory. By examining the stack location in the crash memory dump image in conjunction with the debugging data generated by the compiler and the linker and any existing trace data, the last valid frame may be reconstructed indicating the location of the crash.

When application software that is running on an embedded device crashes in a production environment, it can be very difficult to determine why the crash occurred. The crash may be hard or impossible to replicate in a debug environment. The typical strategy is to save as much information as possible on the current state of the system for later analysis.
Most debugging toolsets include features that can analyze this saved data. This typically includes building a call stack of the calls leading up to the crash. However, generating this listing depends on having accurate stack memory and register contents at the precise time that the crash occurred.
A stack-based processor architecture uses a section of memory called the stack to store temporary data. A register called the stack pointer, or SP, will point to the current location of that memory. Temporary data will therefore be stored at an offset of the SP. When another function is called, the SP is adjusted to the top of the stack (or bottom if the stack grows down) so that the called function doesn't overwrite data that the current function still intends to use. The section of the stack used by one specific function is referred to as the frame. The size of a frame can grow and shrink during the execution of a function depending on its storage requirements at each point in time.
When a function is called, the location to return to, the return value, and other parameters are passed to it. This is done either by placing that data in specific registers, or by placing it onto the stack. Since registers that the called function intends to use will be copied to the stack before they are used so that their values can be restored before returning, these values will often be located on the stack at some point.
The compiler knows how a function intends to use the stack allowing it to generate DWARF (Debugging With Attributed Record Formats) debug information that describes for each point in a function, where the return PC is located, what registers have been pushed onto the stack, and how the SP has been adjusted since the start of the function.
The current method of generating a call stack listing is to first read the program counter (PC) register. The function that corresponds to where the return PC is located and what the return SP is can then all be looked up in the DWARF information using the PC value as a key. The value of the return PC indicates the calling function. The process can then be repeated for that function. This ends up showing a list of all calling functions leading up to the current function.
Generating this listing depends on having accurate stack memory and registers available at the precise time that the crash occurred. If register information is incomplete or inaccurate, the debugger will not know where on the stack to start looking, or what function's frame description it should look up to find the previous frame.
Crashes are often caused by a branch taken on an invalid pointer, either due to a logic error or corrupted memory due to a heap overflow, an uninitialized variable, improperly configured (DMA) Direct Memory Access, or other problems. In the absence of Operating System (OS) or other system protections this type of error can lead to invalid opcodes being executed by the processor and corruption of the registers and perhaps the stack, which can make it impossible for debugging toolsets to rebuild the call stack using standard approaches. This, in turn, makes it very difficult to determine the chain of events that led up to the crash.


The present invention provides a lithography apparatus that forms a pattern on a substrate, the apparatus comprising a base, a stage configured to hold the substrate and be movable above the base with the stage supported by the base, a patterning device configured to perform patterning on the substrate held by the stage, a chamber housing the base and the stage, and supporting the patterning device, a detector configured to obtain information of relative positions between the patterning device and the base, a driving device configured to move the base, and a controller configured to control the driving device based on the information obtained by the detector such that the relative positions satisfy a predetermined condition.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a lithography apparatus, and a method of manufacturing an article.
Description of the Related Art
As circuit patterns in semiconductor integrated circuits have become finer and more highly integrated, attention has been given to drawing apparatuses (lithography apparatuses) that pattern a substrate using a charged particle beam (electron beam). In drawing apparatuses, the irradiation of the substrate with a charged particle beam needs to be performed in a vacuum. For this reason, a movable stage that holds the substrate can be housed in a vacuum chamber as in the drawing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4205390.
When a pressure difference is generated between the interior and exterior of the vacuum chamber, the vacuum chamber can become deformed. In the case where a patterning device that includes a charged particle beam optical system is supported by a vacuum chamber as in the drawing apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4205390, the relative positions between the patterning device and the substrate (holding portion) can change due to the deformation of the vacuum chamber. This change can be dealt with by reducing the change in the relative positions through thickening the walls of the vacuum chamber, or correcting the relative positions through driving the substrate with a stage for adjusting the position of the substrate. However, thickening the walls of the vacuum chamber is not desirable from the viewpoint of the weight and cost of the apparatus, and correcting the relative positions by driving the substrate with a stage is not desirable from the viewpoint of the driving stroke of the stage, for example.

Lithography apparatus, and method of manufacturing an article


A method provides for at least potential payment of rental costs by debit from a credit card. A renter""s credit card program is established by a financial institution or other commercial lending establishment. A renter""s credit card under that program is issued to a party who has rented or seeks to rent a real estate unit or tangible goods. Rental-transactional authorization is granted under said program to a party who has rented or seeks to rent a real estate unit or tangible goods. Optionally a security deposit or at least one increment of rent payment is transferred under a rental arrangement between these parties by debit on the renter""s credit card.

The use of credit cards for payment of the costs of retail goods and services is a well known and well entrenched commercial practice in U.S. and global economies.
Today""s credit card industry is highly competitive. Financial institutions are attempting to attract new consumers with new card offerings bundled with various incentives. It is believed that the credit card industry, despite signs of saturation, is still profitable, and that instant and mobile credit provided by credit cards is a service that consumers are demanding, and will continue to demand.
A credit card is an instrument for fluid and versatile lending and borrowing. The maximum amount that can be borrowed on a credit card is generally set at the time the card is issued, and thereafter the purposes and the increments of the loans are limited only as to the retailers or merchants who are willing and authorized to accept the card. There is generally no other lender""s oversight as to the use made of the funds borrowed through the use of a credit card. Neither the credit card issuer nor the merchant adjudges the value or wisdom of the consumers"" purchases.
The freedom of borrowing drives consumer demand for credit card usage. In addition, many other factors drive that consumer demand, including without limitation the freedom from carrying cash for purchases and the freedom from maintaining high balances in accounts accessible by checks or the like, for instance checking accounts, which often pay no interest on balances maintained. Further, using a credit card is now routinely more convenient than paying with a personal check because check-approval delays are routinely encountered in many stores.
Any merchant with an appropriate merchant""s account for a certain type of card can process sales by accepting the card. The merchant is essentially assured of collecting his funds in a credit card transaction when required approval measures are followed. Nowadays credit-card purchases are the typically the preferred non-cash method for retail goods and services. In earlier days, however, the drawbacks of credit card purchases, such as charges paid by the merchant for credit-card transactions and the need to maintain credit-card processing equipment, met with merchants"" resistance to credit-card sales. A significant number of merchants did not accept credit cards at all, or did not accept credit cards for small purchases, or added a credit-card processing fee to the costs of the purchases. As consumer demand for widespread use of credit cards grew, however, merchants more and more accepted credit-card transactions as a cost of doing business, and even an essential cost of doing business. Adding on a fee for the convenience of using a credit card is an almost extinct merchant practice. The costs of credit-card transactions are now built into the merchants"" pricing, as are other costs of doing business.
The efforts and risks involved in the actual collection of funds is borne by the financial institutions that issue the credit cards or any intermediary agencies. The costs of those efforts and risks are offset not only by the charges paid by the merchants but also by the interest paid by consumers on the amounts borrowed, and at times by annual fees paid by consumers.
The real estate rental field, particularly the residential rental field, is burdened with credit-risk issues. A landlord (lessor) is taking on a risk with every tenant. Traditionally rent is paid in monthly installments, with only funds covering one month""s rental payment being held as a security deposit against the possibility of a rent-payment default. If a tenant fails to timely pay rent, the landlord""s primary recourse is to seek eviction of the tenant, so as to free the premises for rental to a new tenant. Eviction proceedings are generally cumbersome, state law s routinely requiring various pre-eviction notices to the tenant and court hearings, and then reliance on action through the sheriffs office or the like. An eviction proceedings normally is not commenced the day after a rent payment is due, and routinely will take more than one month""s time to complete after it is commencedxe2x80x94therefore a one-month""s security deposit will not be full compensation to the landlord. Actual collection of the unpaid rent typically requires a separate, additional court proceeding, with its own monetary and time-consumption costs, with no guarantee that any judgment awarded will be collectable. Unlike a typical merchant who exchanges goods or services for on-the-spot payments, a landlord is contracting to exchange the use and possession of his property for a significant time period in exchange for the tenant""s promise to make periodic future rent payments.
There are no sufficient means for determining a potential tenant""s rental-payment histories. Standard credit checks are an expense many landlords prefer to avoid if possible, and they generally do not reveal rental-payment defaults. Contacting prior landlords is time consuming, and there is no certainty that the person identified by a potential tenant is in fact a prior landlord. Attempting to track a rent-payment history through court records of eviction and collections proceedings is even more burdensome, and the absence of court proceedings in a given jurisdiction is no guarantee that a potential tenant has not walked away from one or more prior tenancies without full rent payment. Moreover, even if a potential tenant does have a perfect rent-payment record, there is no guarantee against such tenant suffering financial problems during the year or so of the lease term.
Individual landlords and small businesses in the rental field are particularly sensitive to these credit-risk issues. A single defaulting tenant can cause serious cash-flow and other financial problems to a landlord who owns just a few rental units. Since such landlords are typically managing the properties single-handedly, or with minimal assistance, they are often poorly situated for handling time-consuming tasks, such as any initial attempts to track rent-payment histories of potential tenants and attempts to evict defaulting tenants and/or to collect unpaid rent.
Many, if not most, rental units in small buildings, for instance buildings holding twenty or fewer rental units, are owned and managed by individual landlords and small businesses. These small landlords typically cannot afford to purchase larger buildings, and large businesses in the rental field often do not find small buildings convenient or profitable to operate. Many renters expect small rental buildings to provide more affordable housing than large developments or high rise buildings, but that expectation is in some degree frustrated by the landlords"" needs to maintain sufficient profit margins to cover not only capital and upkeep expenses but also defaults in rent payments. In many instances the actuality is mid-pointxe2x80x94the rental units are not as affordable as desired, and are the landlord""s profit margins are not as wide as desired.
It is believed that the credit-risk issues are keeping many people out of the small landlord field. They cannot afford the financial risks, and/or they do not have the time to spend tracing rent-payment histories, evictions and/or collections, and/or they question whether the capital investment is justified by the potential profit because rent-payment defaults can destroy profits.
The reluctance of investors and entrepreneurs to enter into the small landlord field in turn depresses the value of small rental buildings. That situation in turn is a factor driving the condominium conversion of many small rental buildings. Even two-flat and three-flat buildings are being converted to condominiums in some cities. The costs of a condominium conversion are often well offset by the higher combined selling prices of the condominium units in comparison the potential selling price of a given building as a small rental building. The
The credit-risk issues faced by individual landlords and small businesses also adversely impact tenants. Consenting to a standard credit check by a potential landlord, who is typically a stranger at the time, is a privacy issue to many tenants. Providing personal information such as the identities of prior landlords and prior addresses to a stranger is another privacy issue. Being the respondent in an eviction proceeding or a collection proceeding for many tenants would be at least a serious embarrassment, and the loss of one""s residence during a troubled financial period can of course be a devastating experience.
As mentioned above, many renters seek rental units in small buildings with the expectation of affordable housing, or at least more affordable housing than high rise buildings. Their expectations and/or hopes are in some degree frustrated by the landlords"" needs to maintain sufficient profit margins to cover not only capital and upkeep expenses but also defaults in rent payments. The costs of defaults by other tenants is to some degree bundled into the rent of all units, and thus tenants who have perfect rent-payment histories are paying for the rent defaults of others.
Tenants who do not have perfect rent-payment histories often will have serious difficulty in renting a decent unit unless by trickery that poor history is concealed. Moreover, no tenant has insurance against the possibility of suffering financial problems during the year or so of the lease duration. Even when the financial problems are temporary and short-lived, the tenant could be facing eviction or other late-payment penalties. In addition, a missed month""s rent payment normally must be rectified immediately, for instance by paying what amounts to a double rent payment, which might be difficult for a tenant just recovering from a short-term financial problem.
A tenant who is not in default of rent payments might also be subjected to poor building upkeep and lack of repairs when defaults of others causes financial problems for the landlord. In addition, depressed resale values of small rental buildings will pressure landlords to recoup more of their investment through the rents charged. And condominium conversion of many small rental buildings lessens the number of these types of rental units on the market.
In a competitive market for affordable housing, potential tenants with poor credentials, such as lower-paying jobs, and/or spotty work histories, and/or spotting credit histories, are severely handicapped in competing for rental units of their choice. There is normally no sufficient security that can be given to overcome these reasons why they will be passed over for tenants that appear to be more financially stable. Potential tenants with poor credentials often are unable to obtain suitable housing in the neighborhoods of their choice, which can well be the neighborhoods proximate to the desired jobs.
The present invention is a method of a method for the at least potential payment of rental costs, such as real estate lease costs, comprising of the steps of:
(step a) establishment of a renter""s credit card program by F, wherein F is a financial institution or other commercial lending establishment;
(step b) issuance of a renter""s credit card under said program to R1, wherein R1 is a party who has rented or seeks to rent X, wherein X is a real estate unit or tangible goods;
(step c) granting rental-transactional authorization under said program to R2, wherein R2 is a party who has rented or seeks to rent X; and
(step d) optionally the transferring of a security deposit from R1 to R2 by debit on the renter""s credit card; and
(step e) optionally transferring of at least one increment of rent payment from R1 to R2 by debit on the renter""s credit card.


Transmission convergence sublayer circuit is coupled between a buffer and a deframer. The deframer submits a data stream enable signal and data bytes to the circuit. The data stream enable signal enables the circuit so that multiple groups of byte data belonging to a data cell are received and temporarily stored inside a byte-wise data pipeline. A header cyclic redundancy checker also receives the byte data and then conducts a header search. An idle cell identifier is used to determine if the data cell is a non-idle cell. When the header is found and determined to be a non-idle cell, a descrambler retrieves payload data of data cell from the byte-wise data pipeline and conducts a descrambling operation after obtaining a quantity of data equal to a double word. Ultimately, the double word data is output to the buffer with minimum delay.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to the circuit and operating method of an asynchronous transmission receiver. More particularly, the present invention relates to the transmission convergence sublayer circuit and operating method of an asynchronous transmission receiver.
2. Description of Related Art
In a communication system, data is transferred from an emission system to a reception system through a transmission medium. The transmitted data is assembled together according to specified communication protocols in several layers. Similarly, the reception system processes the received data layer by layer according to the communication protocols. Among the communication protocols, the lowest layer unit is the physical layer. In asynchronous transfer mode, the physical layer is further divided into two units, namely, a physical medium and a transmission convergence sublayer.
FIG. 1 shows the data format of cell data processed by the transmission convergence sublayer at the transmission terminal working in the asynchronous transfer mode. The data format is decided by international telecommunication union (ITU) according to broadband integrated service digital network (B-ISDN) proposal ITU-T I.432. The proposed specification stipulates that the data format of a cell using an asynchronous transfer mode must have a size capable of accommodating 53 bytes. The 53 bytes include 5 bytes of header and 48 bytes of the so-called payload. The 5 bytes of header further comprises 4 bits of general flow control (GFC) code, 8 bits of virtual transmission path identification (VPI) code, 16 bits of virtual transmission channel identification (VCI), 3 bits of package type (PT) code, 1 bit of loss package classification (CLP) code and 8 bits of header error control (HEC) code.
To ensure correctness of header cell data at the receiving terminal, the first 32 bits in the header cell is applied to a cyclic redundancy check (CRC) polynomial X8+X2+X+1 to produce an 8-bit header cyclic redundancy code. FIG. 2A is a block showing a conventional method of using a header cyclic redundancy code generator at the emission terminal to produce header cyclic redundancy code. The circuit in FIG. 2A is capable of generating necessary header cyclic redundancy code for data error detection.
The upper layer unit generates transmission data according to an asynchronous transfer communication protocol. The transmission data at the transfer terminal of the transmission convergence sublayer is scrambled to produce the payload within the data cell according to a scrambling polynomial X43+1.
In general, the asynchronous transfer mode is structured upon a synchronized transmission system with a fixed bandwidth. When nothing is transmitted from an upper layer unit, the transmission convergence sublayer must generate an idle cell having special header and payload and the idle cell data must be transferred to a physical medium for transmission rate matching. The processing work required to be performed by the transmission convergence sublayer at the receiving terminal in an asynchronous transfer mode includes receiving a data stream and comparing the data stream with header cyclic redundancy code to find the header cell. Ultimately, data cells are correctly positioned and synchronously received. Once such synchronized state is reached, correctness of the header cell data in subsequently received data cells are checked and the payload within the data cell is descrambled. If the header cell is found to be correct and the data cell is not an idle cell, the header cyclic redundancy code in the header cell is removed. The data cell is rearranged to form a word and the word is written into a buffer. Finally, the word data is transferred to an upper layer for subsequent treatment.
FIG. 2B is a block diagram showing a conventional data cell synchronizing circuit for a receiver terminal operating in an asynchronous transfer mode. Reference is made to FIG. 2B for synchronizing reception of data cells in the transmission convergence sublayer by an asynchronous receiving terminal and the method of checking the correctness of header cells within the data cells received after synchrony.
In FIG. 2B, a modulo 2 adder 202, a D-type flip-flop 204 and a cyclic redundancy check arithmetic operation circuit 206 together form a long division circuit. The number to be divided is the first 40 bits of data in the data cell and the divisor is the polynomial X8+X2+X+1. If the result of calculation is correct, a decoder 208 decodes the computed value to obtain a cell synchronizing pulse. On the other hand, if the result of calculation is incorrect, 8 bits of data move in from the data cell to conduct a division. However, the earliest 8 bits of the previously divided 40 bit data must be corrected to eliminate any effect in the next round of division operation. The circuit comprising another modulo 2 adder 210, D-type flip-flop 214 and remainder arithmetic operation circuit 212 serve to eliminate the effect the 8 bit data has on the next round of division operation.
The function of the circuit in FIG. 2B is to operate on the received data stream. Through a comparison with the header cyclic redundancy code, the header cell is found. Hence, the data cells are received in synchrony. Furthermore, after data cell synchronization, header cyclic redundancy code comparison of subsequently received data cells continues.
However, to descramble the payload within a data cell, rearrange the data format from byte groups to word groups or double word groups and submit to buffer for processing by the upper layer unit, additional secondary circuit stages must be introduced. Hence, synchronized reception, header inspection, data descrambling and data format rearrangement must rely on the complicated integration of circuits such as the one shown in FIG. 2B and any additional secondary circuit stages. Consequently, data processing takes longer to complete.

Transmission convergence sublayer circuit and operating method for asynchronous receiver


A virtual terminal definition which defines that a terminal does not exist with respect to component data on one side, at a position of the terminal which does not exist in the component data on one side, and exists in the component data on the other side, among plural pieces of component data in which a positional coordinate between the existing terminals, and the terminal size are substantially the same as each other, and the number of terminals is different, is added.

In the related art, in this type of component mounting system, as a device which mounts a component having a terminal on a board S, a device which images the component having a terminal by a camera before the mounting, and determines a state of the component based on an acquired captured image and component data stored in advance, is known. For example, in PTL 1, a device which accommodates the captured image acquired by imaging the component having a terminal by the camera before the mounting in an image memory, reads out corresponding component data (the size, the position, or the number of characteristic members, such as components, leads, or ball terminals) from a component data storage memory, recognizes the characteristic members of the component by performing image process with respect to the captured image based on the read-out component data, and computes the center or inclination of the component from the recognition result, is disclosed.
PTL 1: JP-A-2007-59546

Component data handling device and component mounting system


Apparatus for releasing tablets from a blister pack (34) containing a plurality of tablets, each held in a respective blister, the apparatus comprising receiving means (1) for receiving the blister pack so that the pack is moveable on the receiving means (1), and an abutment member (32) moveable into engagement with the blister in registry therewith so as to eject the tablet from that blister, wherein the apparatus includes indexing means (28, 30) for moving a blister pack (34) on the receiving means (1) to bring each of a succession of blisters in turn into registry with the abutment member (32).

It is common for a medicament supplied in tablet form to be packaged in a blister pack. Such a pack typically comprises an upper sheet of a semi rigid plastics material in which the blisters are formed, and a lower sheet of sealing foil which closes the blisters. In order to eject a tablet from a blister, the pack has to be held with the underside of the blister spaced from any supporting surface, and a collapsing force needs to be exerted on the blister. If such force is sufficiently large, it will cause the portion of the foil sealing the blister to rupture, thus releasing the tablet.
Although an able bodied person can easily release a blister from the pack without further assistance, a person of reduced manual dexterity can have difficulty exerting a sufficient collapsing force on a blister while holding the blister pack in the correct positions.
EP-A-0759403 shows a tablet dispenser having a tray for holding a blister pack and a lid in which a number of buttons, each connected through a respective plunger, are provided. Each plunger overlies respective blister so that, when the associated button is pushed, a tablet is ejected from that blister by the plunger. Since the number of buttons has to correspond to the number of blisters in a pack, the buttons are small and therefore difficult to use.
EP 0547426A shows a tray like container having a lid which is provided with a single plunger slidable along a race so that it can move into engagement with any selected one of the blisters in a pack held in the tray. However, the top of the plunger is still relatively small, and has to be moved manually into registry with each blister in turn, a characteristic which can make the device awkward to use if the user forgets or whether the plunger has been moved into registry with the next blister (after the last operation of the device).


The present disclosure relates to a radio receiver, a radio transmitter, and methods for evaluating multiple-input multiple-output, MIMO, antenna deployment. The method for evaluating MIMO, antenna deployment comprises the steps of receiving a first composite signal via a first receive antenna. The first composite signal comprises a first tone transmitted from a first transmit antenna at a first variable frequency and a second tone transmitted from a second transmit antenna at a second variable frequency different from the first variable frequency, and also receiving a second composite signal via a second receive antenna. The second composite signal comprising the first tone transmitted from the first transmit antenna and the second tone transmitted from the second transmit antenna. The method also comprises determining a first power signal from the first composite signal, and determining a second power signal from the second composite signal, as well as determining a phase difference between the phase of the first power signal and the phase of the second power signal, and evaluating MIMO antenna deployment based on the determined phase difference.

MIMO technology offers the possibility of significantly increasing the transmission capacity of a radio channel. It is a technique which is extensively used in radio access systems such as wireless local area networks, WLANs, and long-term evolution, LTE, mobile networks.
MIMO technology can also be applied to increase transmission capacity in high frequency point-to-point microwave radio links. This type of MIMO system as a rule uses highly directive antennas and operates in line-of-sight, LOS, conditions. A MIMO system operating under these conditions is often referred to as a LOS-MIMO communication system.
A difference between LOS-MIMO systems and traditional MIMO systems is that a LOS-MIMO system, having highly directive antennas and operating in LOS conditions, as a rule cannot make use of multipath propagation in order to perform the MIMO signal processing required to recover transmitted data. Instead, a LOS-MIMO communication system relies on a diversity of phase shifts along the different propagation paths between transmitter and receiver antennas, and not on multipath propagation. These phase shifts must satisfy certain conditions in order for a LOS-MIMO receiver to be able to recover transmitted data, i.e., the phase shifts must together provide a MIMO channel matrix which has full rank.
Thus, in order for a LOS-MIMO communication system to function as intended, inter-antenna distances must be carefully set as a function of transmission frequency in order to provide suitable phase shifts along the different propagation paths between transmit and receive antennas, which phase shifts allow a LOS-MIMO receiver to recover transmitted data.
Consequently, a correct antenna deployment is necessary in order for a LOS-MIMO communication system to be able to provide said increase in transmission capacity.
A problem then, is how to find such a suitable LOS-MIMO antenna deployment for a given environment and transmission frequency band.
One possible approach to evaluating a LOS-MIMO antenna deployment in order to see if it is suitable for MIMO communication is to actually deploy the full LOS-MIMO communication system including antennas, modems and power supply, and then measure the phase differences between the different propagation paths, which phase differences can typically be calculated by a LOS-MIMO system receiver or digital signal processor, DSP.
A drawback with this approach is that the MIMO communication system has to be fully installed and operational, meaning that any subsequent modification of antenna positions is likely to be difficult and expensive to accommodate. Also, a sufficiently good antenna deployment must be achieved from the start in order for the MIMO system receiver to be able to acquire the transmitted signal and measure said phase differences.
Another approach is to measure the exact locations in three dimensions of a planned set of antenna positions using, e.g., a Global Positioning System (GPS) tool and then calculate phase differences between said propagation paths from the inter-antenna distances and the transmission frequency. However, in reality, it can be difficult to obtain sufficient accuracy in such GPS measurements, e.g., due to that antenna locations are at positions with an obscured view of the sky. Also, this approach does not account for phase shifts which are due to effects other than phase shift from propagation distance, e.g., phase shift effects due to multipath and other environmental effects on received phase.
Consequently, there is a need for a tool which allows quick and cost-effective, and yet precise, evaluation of the suitability of a given set of antenna positions, i.e., a LOS-MIMO antenna deployment, for use in a LOS-MIMO communication system.

System for evaluation of MIMO antenna deployment


A method and structure is disclosed that are advantageous for aligning a contact plug within a bit line contact corridor (BLCC) to an active area of a DRAM that utilizes a insulated sleeve structure. A lower bulk insulator layer, a capacitor dielectric layer, a cell plate conductor layer, and an upper bulk insulator layer are formed upon a semiconductor substrate. An etch removes the cell plate conductor layer, the capacitor dielectric layer, and the lower bulk insulator layer so as to form an opening terminating within the lower bulk insulator layer. A sleeve insulator layer is deposited upon the upper bulk insulator layer and within the opening. Another etch removes the sleeve insulator layer from the bottom surface within the lower bulk insulator layer. A still further etch creates a contact hole that expose a contact. The contact can be upon a transistor gate, a capacitor storage node, or an active region on the semiconductor substrate. A conductive plug is then formed in the contact hole so as to be in electrical communication with the contact. The sleeve insulator layer electrically insulates the conductive plug from the cell plate conductor layer and self aligns the BLCC so as to improve contact plug alignment tolerances between the BLCC and the capacitor components.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the formation of a contact for an integrated circuit device on a semiconductor substrate, such as a silicon wafer. More particularly, the invention is directed to the formation of a self-aligned contact for a memory device in an integrated circuit device formed on a semiconductor material layer or substrate.
2. The Relevant Technology
As microchip technology continues to increase in complexity and decrease in component size, dimensions are shrinking to the quarter micron scale and smaller. With use of the current high-yield photolithographic techniques, the margin of error has become increasingly tighter such that a single misaligned fabrication step can cause an entire chip to be flawed and be discarded. As devices shrink further, overstepping each process step""s window of error increases the likelihood of fabrication failure. A production worthy device feature requires incidental skill of a process engineer and a fabrication operator to fabricate the feature.
One device that is subject to the ever-increasing pressure to miniaturize is the dynamic random access memory (DRAM). DRAMs comprise arrays of memory cells which contain two basic componentsxe2x80x94a field effect access transistor and a capacitor. Typically, one side of the transistor is connected to one side of the capacitor. The other side of the transistor and the transistor gate electrode are connected to external connection lines called a bit line and a word line, respectively. The other side of the capacitor is connected to a reference voltage. Therefore, the formation of the DRAM memory cell comprises the formation of a transistor, a capacitor and contacts to external circuits.
It is advantageous to form integrated circuits with smaller individual elements so that as many elements as possible may be formed in a single chip. In this way, electronic equipment becomes smaller, assembly and packaging costs are minimized, and integrated circuit performance is improved. The capacitor is usually the largest element of the integrated circuit chip. Consequently, the development of smaller DRAMs focuses to a large extent on the capacitor. Three basic types of capacitors are used in DRAMsxe2x80x94planar capacitors, trench capacitors, and stacked capacitors. Most large capacity DRAMs use stacked capacitors because of their greater capacitance, reliability, and ease of formation. For stacked capacitors, the side of the capacitor connected to the transistor is commonly referred to as the xe2x80x9cstorage nodexe2x80x9d, and the side of the capacitor connected to the reference voltage is called the cell plate. The cell plate is a layer that covers the entire top array of all the substrate-connected devices, while there is an individual storage node for each respective storage bit site.
The areas in a DRAM to which an electrical connection is made are the gate of a transistor of the DRAM, a contact plug to an active area, and the active area itself. Active areas, which serve as source and drain regions for transistors, are discrete specially doped regions in the surface of the silicon substrate. A bit line contact corridor (BLCC) is created in order to make electrical connection to an active area. The BLCC is an opening created through the insulating material separating the bit line and the active area. The BLCCs are filled with a conductive material, such as doped polysilicon, doped Al. AlSiCu, or Ti/TiN/W. Before filling the BLCC, however, a process engineer must design a process flow for fabricating the BLCC that assures that the BLCC is not misaligned, and therefore not prone to shorting out or subject to errant charge leaking due to an exposed cell plate in the BLCC.
Conventional methods of fabricating bit line contacts may tend to cause shorting of the bit line contact in the BLCC into the cell plate due to misalignment. For example, titanium is conventionally sputtered into a BLCC. Next, titanium nitride is deposited by CVD or PVD processing. A rapid thermal anneal step (RTA) then causes silicide formation. Tungsten is then deposited to fill the remaining opening in the BLCC. Depending upon the accuracy in the formation of the BLCC itself, it is possible of the BLCC to be shorted to other conducting layers. This is described below. In general, the BLCC can also be composed of tungsten, titanium/tungsten, aluminum, copper, a refractory metal silicide with aluminum, and a refractory metal silicide with copper.
As the size of the DRAM is reduced, the size of the active areas and the BLCCs available for contacts to reach the active areas are also reduced. Every process step has its own alignment limitations. While alignment is not exact between process steps, strict tolerances are required in order to accomplish a corridor that avoids a short between a contact that will be deposited in the BLCC and any other conductive materials (i.e. cell plate to active area). Hence, it is desirable to effectively isolate the contacts from the transistor and capacitor components while optimizing the space available to make the contacts.
The conventional methods of forming contacts between bit lines and an active areas experience alignment problems in avoiding a short circuit between the electrically conductive bit line contact and the cell plate or storage node of a capacitor.
A method and structure is disclosed that are advantageous for preventing shorting of a contact to an active area with a capacitor cell plate and a capacitor storage node. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a method of fabricating a DRAM is disclosed that utilizes an insulated sleeve structure to self-align a bit line contact corridor (BLCC) to an active area of a DRAM transistor. In accordance with this aspect of the invention, capacitors are formed over a semiconductor substrate. In the context of this document, the term xe2x80x9csemiconductor substratexe2x80x9d is defined to mean any construction comprising semiconductive material, including but not limited to bulk semiconductive material such as a semiconductive wafer, either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials thereon, and semiconductive material layers, either alone or in assemblies comprising other materials. The term xe2x80x9csubstratexe2x80x9d refers to any supporting structure including but not limited to the semiconductor substrates described above.
In the inventive method, a lower bulk insulator layer is formed upon the semiconductor substrate, and a dielectric layer is formed upon the lower bulk insulator layer. Next, a conductor layer is formed upon the dielectric layer and an upper bulk insulator layer is formed upon the conductor layer. An etch is performed to selectively remove the conductor layer, the dielectric layer, and the lower bulk insulator layer so as to form an opening defined by the lower bulk insulator layer, the dielectric layer, and the conductor layer. The opening terminates at a bottom surface within the lower bulk insulator layer above the semiconductor substrate.
Next, a sleeve insulator layer is deposited upon the upper bulk insulator layer and within the opening so as to make contact with each of the lower bulk insulator layer, the dielectric layer, and the conductor layer. An etch process is then performed to substantially remove the sleeve insulator layer from the bottom surface within the lower bulk insulator layer above the semiconductor substrate, and from on top of the insulator layer, thus leaving the sleeve insulator layer in contact with each of the lower bulk insulator layer, the dielectric layer, and the conductor layer.
Another etch process then selectively removes the lower bulk insulator layer to create a contact hole defined by the sleeve insulator layer and the lower bulk insulator layer and to expose a contact on the semiconductor substrate. A conductive plug is then formed in the contact hole upon the contact on the semiconductor substrate such that the sleeve insulator layer electrically insulates the conductive plug from the conductor layer.
The sleeve insulator layer, which self aligns the BLCC, allows for improved alignment tolerances between the BLCC and other layers, thus preventing errant charge leakage and short circuits between the conductive plug formed within the BLCC and the other layers.
Conceptually, the etching of the BLCC progressively deeper into the lower bulk insulator layer can be carried out incrementally with a plurality of depositions of the material of the sleeve insulator layer, each said deposition being followed by an etch of the sleeve insulator layer to remove the same from the bottom of the BLCC within the lower bulk insulator layer.

Contact structure for integrated circuit devices