An assembly (1) which is intended for use at an area (31, 32) for allowing a fluid to pass therethrough comprises a filter (10) for blocking items from passing through the area (31, 32) along with the fluid, and at least one anti-biofouling source (20) for emitting ultraviolet light during operation thereof for realizing anti-biofouling of at least a portion of the filter (10). The filter (10) comprises a filter body provided with apertures, wherein the actual filter body is at least partially transparent to the ultraviolet light, so that anti-biofouling of the entire filter (10) may be guaranteed, even in case the anti-biofouling source (20) is positioned at only one side (15, 16) of the filter (10) and/or is integrated in the filter (10).

An area for allowing a fluid to pass therethrough can be found in numerous contexts, and may be any area in a body for accommodating a flow of a fluid, or an opening serving as an inlet of a fluid, for letting in fluid to a place for receiving the fluid, an opening serving as an outlet of a fluid, for discharging fluid from a certain place, or an opening serving as a combination of an inlet and an outlet. In any case, such an area is in fact a passage for fluid, which may be delimited by material of one or more objects. For example, the area may be an opening at an end of a tube, or may be an opening in a wall delimiting a space for containing a fluid.
An example of a field in which the invention is well applicable is the field of water conditioning appliances for water cleaning, which can be used in a domestic environment for filtering water prior to reaching the faucet or as a terminal end device which may be mounted on the faucet. In general, one practical application of the invention is in the context of appliances which are adapted to treat water by means of mechanical filtration. Mechanical water filters are available in many types, and are of a porous nature, meaning that they comprise a filter body provided with apertures, the filter body representing a presence of material and having a function in retaining items to be removed from water, and the apertures representing an absence of material and having a function in allowing the water to pass the filter. Thus, when a flow of water is conducted through a mechanical water filter, items as may be present in the water at the inlet side of the filter get trapped in the filter and are prevented from reaching the outlet side of the filter, provided that they are not so small that they can pass through the apertures of the filter. A mechanical water filter may come in any form as suitable in a given situation. Practical examples include a disc provided with a pattern of holes, a collection of sand particles, a construction including interspaced strip-like elements, a piece of cotton cloth, and a block of dense but porous material such as ceramic.
In view of the function of filtering items from a fluid, it is normal for a filter to get clogged as time passes, which hinders the flow of fluid through the area in which the filter is present, and which may eventually result in total blockage of that area if the filter is not replaced or cleaned in time. In order to maintain the function of a filter at the highest possible level, it is desirable to remove factors which are known to contribute to clogging of the filter, as a result of which clogging takes place at an accelerated pace. A well-known example of such factors is a phenomenon called biological fouling or biofouling.
In general, biofouling is the accumulation of organisms like microorganisms, plants, algae, small animals and the like on surfaces. According to some estimates, over 1,800 species comprising over 4,000 organisms are responsible for biofouling. Hence, biofouling is caused by a wide variety of organisms. Biofouling is divided into micro biofouling which includes biofilm formation and bacterial adhesion, and macro biofouling which includes the attachment of larger organisms. Especially micro biofouling is an issue in the context of filters, and may cause significant shortening of the maintenance interval, especially in situations in which filters are applied for cleaning water or another fluid having a relatively high content of biofouling organisms.

Assembly for use at an area for allowing a fluid to pass therethrough


A method and device for multi-directional selective plane illumination microscopy is provided. A detector focal plane is alternately illuminated with at least two counter-propagating, coplanar light sheets, and an image of a specimen cross-section positioned in the focal plane is detected while only one light sheet illuminates the specimen. The wavefront of the illumination beams may be deformed with adaptive optics using feedback from light transmitted through the specimen. Multiple images of the specimen cross-section may be detected at different times and specimen positions and orientations to produce multi-view image stacks which may be processed using image fusion to produce a reconstructed image representation of the specimen. Additionally, the direction of propagation of the alternating light sheets may be pivoted in the focal plane while detecting the image.

In conventional microscopic imaging of three-dimensional extended specimens, out-of-focus light can degrade the image. Consequently, techniques for optical sectioning have been developed to reject out-of-focus light. In selective plane illumination microscopy (SPIM), a sheet of light 100 generated by illumination optics 108 illuminates a cross-section of a specimen positioned within the focal plane 102 of an detection optics 112 of an imaging microscope, i.e., the illumination is from the side, along an illumination axis 104 at a right angle to the detection axis 106, as shown in FIG. 1 and described in US 20060033987. The optical sectioning improves image quality and reduces photo-damage to the specimen and permits imaging of living specimens. In addition, by rotation and translation of the specimen, different cross-sectional images may be collected and combined using multi-view image processing.
Unfortunately, conventional SPIM image quality can suffer from various effects of the illumination and imaging techniques. In particular, the orthogonal illumination can produce high-contrast shadow artifacts in the images. Also, the attenuation and scattering of the excitation light in the specimen results in progressive image degradation as the light propagates through the specimen. These problems, in turn, adversely impact multi-view image processing. US 20070109633 provides two oppositely-directed coaxial illumination beams which address some of the attenuation problems. However, simultaneous illumination by multiple counter-propagating beams produces out-of-focus light due to scattering. The approach also does not address the other problems with conventional SPIM. Therefore, it would be an advance in the art to provide an improved SPIM technique and apparatus that overcomes these problems and improves image quality.

Multidirectional selective plane illumination microscopy

The Regents of the University of California


A method, system and apparatus are disclosed. In one or more embodiments, a system for monitoring a mailbox is provided. The system may include a mailbox device including at least one sensor, such as a video camera, for detecting movement, and a mailbox communication interface configured to communicate information including sensor information generated by the at least one sensor. The system may further include a premises device including a premises communication interface configured to receive the sensor information from the mailbox device and processing circuitry configured to determine whether a mailbox event has occurred and trigger at least one alert if a mailbox event occurred. The system may further provide notification of the event to an authorized entity via mobile device, voice assistant, etc. An access control unit may be used to limit access to the mailbox to authorized individuals.

The mailbox delivery notification industry is a developing industry. Existing systems for "secure delivery" of mail lack basic features and functionality. Mail delivered into a mailbox should be safe and secure, but that is not always the case. In fact, there is a United States federal law that prohibits people from opening another's mail generally stating that: mailboxes are considered federal property, and it is against the law to vandalize a mailbox or to open any mail deposited in it before those items are delivered to the addressee. However, there are no specific rules about opening someone's mailbox when you don't intend to open or destroy the letters. Regardless of the law, each year, there are numerous cases of mail theft that occur, costing victims time, money, and loss of property.
In particular, the U.S. Postal Service has stated that while the vast majority of the mail it delivers arrives intact, thieves persist in their efforts to steal it. Postal inspectors have teamed with the U.S. Postal Service to devise new security strategies that thwart thieves, yet some of these strategies fall short.
Further, as consumers continue to shift purchases from brick-and-mortar retail to e-commerce, delivery of packages on consumers' doorsteps and inside their mailboxes is expected to increase in tandem. Some have predicted a 15% growth in sales and total value for online shopping, while offline may only have a 4.5% increase, where 51% of all consumers, 67% of Millennials, and 56% of Generation X people prefer shopping online rather than in-store.
There are many types of information included on mail/packages that are valuable, private and/or sensitive: bank account numbers, checks, personal identification numbers, prescription pills, packages, etc. Each of these could cause substantial harm to an individual if they got into the wrong hands. For example, a criminal gathering personal information from a mailbox could potentially steal someone's identity. Or, a criminal could steal a check from a mailbox, causing the victim to be out of money, while also causing them additional work as they try to sort out the problem with their bank, insurance company, etc. In all these cases, the harm could be severe and expensive to the victim, in time, money, and personal damage.
Several companies have devised solutions to address the problem of mail theft. Some of these existing systems use a sensor, like the traditional door/window sensor in a burglar alarm, to detect when a mailbox has been opened, and then communicate the signal, either wired or wirelessly, to a receiver, which translates the signal into an understandable format (i.e., LED light, auditory sound, etc.). In some of these existing systems, the opening and closing of the mailbox may trigger an audible sound or spoken voice inside the home through a dedicated speaker. In other cases, some existing systems have taken a traditional wireless door/window sensor and tried to make it work as a "smart delivery notification" system. The downside of this setup may be (1) the sensor has limited range (since it was designed to operate near the base station), (2) the system sends notification any time the mailbox is opened or closed as there is no intelligence tied to the mailbox alert system, causing the system to send many potentially unimportant alerts to the user, and (3) there may be no video evidence if a crime is committed.
Furthermore, with existing solutions, users only receive alerts of their mailbox opening or closing through an audible sound or visual cue inside their home, or on the mailbox. Communication of the event is confined within the home and there is no way to receive mobile alerts of the event that took place at the mailbox (without using a wireless door/window sensor beyond its intended use). Additionally, many of the existing systems may require the user to purchase an additional speaker for audible notification. Today, there are many consumers who have personal voice assistant speakers within their homes (Amazon Echo, Google Home, Apple HomePod, etc.). The existing mailbox notification systems do not integrate with any of the personal voice assistant speakers available in the market.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Securing, analyzing, and transmitting notification and delivery of mail, mail receipt, and mailbox tampering


In one aspect, B1,4GalT-V, an isoform of the enzyme lactosylceramide synthase, is provided as a biomarker for cancer. Also provided are methods and compositions directed at cancers characterized by the overexpression or upregulation of the lactosylceramide synthase isoform B1,4GalT-V.

In spite of numerous advances in medical research, cancer remains a major cause of death worldwide. There is a tremendous need for rapid and simple methods for the early diagnosis of cancer to facilitate appropriate remedial action by surgical resection, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, or other known treatment methods. The availability of good diagnostic methods for cancer is also important to assess patient responses to treatment, or to assess recurrence due to re-growth at the original site or metastases.
The characterization of cancer biomarkers including, for example, oncogene products, growth factors and growth factor receptors, angiogenic factors, proteases, adhesion factors and tumor suppressor gene products, etc., can provide important information concerning the risk, presence, status or future behavior of cancer in a human or non-human mammalian subject. Determining the presence or level of expression or activity of one or more cancer biomarkers can assist the differential diagnosis of patients with uncertain clinical abnormalities, for example, by distinguishing malignant from benign abnormalities. In patients presenting with established malignancy, cancer biomarkers can be useful to predict the risk of future relapse, or the likelihood of response in a particular patient to a selected therapeutic course. Even more specific information can be obtained by analyzing highly specific cancer biomarkers, or combinations of biomarkers, which may predict responsiveness of a patient to specific drugs or treatment options. Furthermore, cancer biomarkers can be used as targets for developing new and useful therapeutics.
Accordingly, a great need exists for specific and sensitive biomarkers that can predict the biological behavior of cancer cells, as well as improved methods to specifically detect, characterize, and monitor the specific types and progression of cancer.

Use of the lactosylceramide synthase isoform B1,4GalT-V as a biomarker for cancer


The present invention provides a method, system, and computer program product for light weight memory leak detection. A method in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention comprises: obtaining raw free memory statistics; approximating free memory after garbage collection from the raw free memory statistics; and analyzing the approximated free memory after garbage collection to identify a potential memory leak. A method in accordance with another embodiment of the present invention comprises the steps of: obtaining raw free memory statistics; generating a vector of memory leak indicators from the raw free memory statistics; comparing the vector of memory leak indicators against a plurality of vectors of the same memory leak indicators for known memory leak scenarios; and identifying a potential memory leak based on the comparison.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to memory activity. More particularly, the present invention provides a method, system, and computer program product for light weight memory leak detection.
2. Related Art
Memory leaks and memory misuse (e.g., fragmented heap) are very common within Java 2 Platform Enterprise Edition (J2EE) applications, and will often cause process failures and will always cause poor performance. Current solutions look at heap dumps or verbose garbage collection information in order to find memory that is not being used or reclaimed properly. Unfortunately, these solutions are very expensive, processing intensive, and usually operate on the assumption that a memory leak is already known to exist. Often, however, memory leaks are not detected until the problem is critical (e.g., an application has passed all system tests, was put in production, and has crashed for an unknown reason) and cannot be resolved cleanly. Further, it is often difficult to reproduce a memory leak that has been deemed to have caused a production failure in a test environment.
Verbose garbage collection statistics are often charted in order to determine if a memory leak was the cause of a failure. If the free memory after a garbage collection cycle is consistently decreasing, then there is a high chance of a memory leak. FIG. 1 depicts an illustrative chart 10 of free memory after a garbage collection cycle in an application with a memory leak running on a server. Although the leak is very obvious to the eye, a user would not have been aware of the memory leak until after the server crashed, unless the user was actively monitoring the data.

Method, system, and computer program product for light weight memory leak detection

International Business Machines Corporation


An integrated circuit having a MOS structure with reduced parasitic bipolar transistor action. In one embodiment, a MOS integrated circuit device comprises a substrate having a working surface, at least one body region and for each body region a source and a layer of narrow band gap material. Each body region is formed in the substrate proximate the working surface of the substrate. Each layer of narrow band gap material is positioned in a portion of its associated body region and proximate the working surface of the substrate. Each layer of narrow band gap material has a band gap that is narrower than the band gap of the substrate in which each of the body regions are formed. Each source region is formed in an associated body region. At least a portion of each source region is also formed in an associated layer of narrow band gap material.

The present invention relates generally to MOS structures incorporated in integrated circuits and in particular the present invention relates to an integrated circuit having a MOS structure with reduced parasitic bipolar transistor action.
Integrated circuits incorporate complex electrical components formed in semiconductor material into a single device. Generally, an integrated circuit comprises a substrate upon which a variety of circuit components are formed wherein each of the circuit components are electrically isolated from each other. Integrated circuits are made of semiconductor material. Semiconductor material is material that has a resistance that lies between that of a conductor and an insulator. Semiconductor material is used to make electrical devices that exploit its resistive properties.
Semiconductor material is typically doped to be either a N type or a P type. N type semiconductor material is doped with a doping type impurity that generally conducts current via electrons. P type semiconductor material is doped with an acceptor-type impurity that conducts current mainly via hole migration. A N type or P type having a high impurity or high dopant concentration or density is denoted by a xe2x80x9c+xe2x80x9d sign. A N type of P type having a low impurity or low dopant concentration or density is denoted by a xe2x80x9cxe2x88x92xe2x80x9d sign.
One type of circuit component is a metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor. A transistor is a device used to amplify a signal or open and close a circuit. A typical transistor comprises a substrate having layers of varying semiconductor materials that form a source, a drain and a gate. An integrated circuit may comprise a plurality of transistors created from a single substrate to form a circuit.
MOS gated devices, including transistor devices formed in an integrated circuit, typically suffer from degraded performance in safe operating areas and unclamped inductive switching when parasitic bipolar components inherent in MOS gated devices approach their collector-emitter break down voltage (BVCEO). This can be referred to as parasitic bipolar transistor action. Double Diffused Metal Oxide Silicon (DMOS) transistors and Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT), are examples of MOS gated devices. For a NDMOS, the parasitic bipolar component is a NPN.
Referring to the NDMOS example, current can flow from a drain (N type) of the device through a body (P type) positioned under a source (N type) to a surface body contact. The voltage drop developed by this current flow can reach the turn on voltage for the body-source junction along a portion of the junction remote from the surface body contact. That portion of the body-source junction turns on and injects electrons across the body into the drain when the turn on voltage is reached. The blocking voltage of the device drops from proximately BVCBO of the parasitic NPN to approximately collector-emitter break down voltage (BVCEO) of the NPN. This is the basis for reduced performance. The relationship of the breakdown can be approximated by the equation BVCEO=BVCBO/(HFE)xc2xc. Wherein HFE represents a parasitic current gain of a bipolar transistor. HFE can also be referred to as beta. For example, for a parasitic NPN HFE=20, the BVCEO will be about xc2xd the BVCBO. By reducing the HFE, the parasitic bipolar transistor action is reduced thereby enhancing the performance of the device.
The degradation resulting from this parasitic action can be significant. One method of minimizing its impact is to include a P+ body contact region under a portion of the source that is not proximate a channel end of the source where it would cause an unacceptable increase in the threshold voltage. The P+ contact region reduces the resistance through which the current flows thereby increasing the current required to cause the degradation to occur. The use of the P+ contact region provides a useful improvement in device performance but further improvements are desired.
For the reasons stated above and for other reasons stated below which will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon reading and understanding the present specification, there is a need in the art for a MOS structure in an integrated circuit that has reduced parasitic HFE levels when the parasitic components are activated.
The above-mentioned problems with high voltage MOS structures and other problems are addressed by the present invention and will be understood by reading and studying the following specification.
In one embodiment, a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) integrated circuit device is disclosed comprising a substrate, at least one body region, a layer of narrow band gap material for each body region and a source region formed in each body region. The substrate has a working surface. Each body region is of a first conductivity type. Moreover, each body region is formed in the substrate proximate the working surface of the substrate. Each layer of narrow band gap material is positioned in a portion of its associated body region and proximate the working surface of the substrate. Each layer of narrow band gap material has a band gap that is narrower than the band gap of the substrate in which each of the body regions are formed. Each source region is of a second conductivity type. Moreover, each source region is formed in an associated layer of narrow band gap material.
In another embodiment, a quasi-vertical double diffused metal oxide semiconductor (DMOS) transistor for an integrated circuit is disclosed comprising a substrate, one or more body regions, a source formed in at least one body region and a layer of narrow band gap material. The substrate has a surface. The one or more body regions are formed in the substrate proximate the surface of the substrate. Each of the body regions is of the first conductivity type. Each source is of a second conductivity type with a high doping density. The layer of narrow band gap material is positioned adjacent the surface of the substrate and the body regions. The narrow band gap material has a band gap narrower than a band gap of the body regions. In addition, at least a portion of each source is formed in the layer of narrow band gap material.
In another embodiment, a lateral DMOS transistor for an integrated circuit is disclosed comprising a substrate, a drain contact, a gate, a body, a source and a layer of narrow band gap material. The substrate is of a first conductivity type with a low doping concentration and has a surface. The drain contact is of a second conductivity type with a high doping concentration and is formed in the substrate adjacent the surface of the substrate. The gate is positioned on the surface of the substrate. A body of the first conductivity type is formed in the substrate adjacent the surface of the substrate. A source of the second conductivity type with high doping density is formed in the body. Moreover, the gate is positioned in between the source and the drain contact. The layer of narrow band gap material is positioned in a surface portion of the body and at least a portion of the source. The layer of narrow band gap material has a narrower band gap than the band gap of the substrate.
In another embodiment, a method of forming a MOS device in an integrated circuit is disclosed. The method comprises forming a body region in a substrate adjacent a surface of the substrate. Forming a source in the body region. Forming a layer of narrow band gap material adjacent the surface of the substrate. The layer of narrow band gap material having a band gap narrower than a band gap the substrate material and at least a portion of the source is within the layer of narrow band gap material.
In another embodiment, a method of forming a quasi-vertical NDMOS for an integrated circuit is disclosed. The method comprises forming a patterned first dielectric layer on the surface of the substrate, wherein a first portion of the substrate is exposed by the pattern. Forming a layer of narrow band gap material on the exposed first portion of the surface of the substrate. The layer of narrow band gap material has a band gap that is narrower than the band gap of the substrate. Forming a second dielectric layer on the narrow band gap material. Depositing a gate proximate a medial portion of the second dielectric layer. Forming a pair of body regions in the substrate. The gate is positioned between the body regions. Forming a source in each body region, wherein at least apportion of the source is also formed in the layer of narrow band gap material.
In another embodiment, a method of forming a quasi-vertical NDMOS for an integrated circuit is disclosed. The method comprises forming a patterned first dielectric layer on the surface of the substrate, wherein a first portion of the substrate is exposed by the pattern. Forming a layer of gate dielectric on the exposed first portion of the surface of the substrate. Depositing a gate proximate a medial portion of the layer of gate dielectric. Forming a pair of body regions in the substrate, wherein the gate is positioned between the body regions. Forming layers of narrow band gap material in portions of the body regions. The layers of narrow band gap material have a narrower band gap than the band gap of the remaining portions of the body regions. Forming a source in each body region, wherein at least apportion of the source is also formed in the layer of narrow band gap material.
In another embodiment, a method of forming a lateral DMOS for an integrated circuit is disclosed. The method comprising forming a body of a first conductivity type in a substrate of a first conductivity type with a low doping density, wherein the body is positioned adjacent a surface of the substrate. Forming a layer of narrow band gap material in each body region adjacent the surface of the substrate. The layer of narrow band gap material has a band gap that is narrower than the band gap of the remaining portions of the body region. Forming a source of a second conductivity type with a high doping density in the body, wherein at least a portion of the source is formed in the layer of narrow band gap material. The narrow band gap material suppresses carrier injection form the source into the body thereby reducing parasitic HFE.
In another embodiment, a vertical DMOS device is disclosed comprising a substrate, at least one gate, a dielectric layer insulating each gate from the substrate, a drain region formed in the substrate, at least one body region, a layer of narrow band gap material and a source for each body region. The at least one body region is formed in the substrate adjacent the drain region and proximate a working surface of the substrate. The layer of narrow band gap material is formed in each body region adjacent the surface of the substrate. The layer of narrow band gap material has a narrower band gap than the band gap of the remaining portions of the body region. Each source is formed in an associated body region. At least a portion of each source is also formed in the layer of narrow band gap material. The layer of narrow band gap material suppresses carrier injections from each of the source regions into associated body regions thereby reducing HFE.
In another embodiment, a method of forming a vertical DMOS is disclosed. The method comprises forming a drain region in a substrate of a first conductivity type with a low dopant density. Forming a body region in the substrate of a second conductivity type over the drain region. Forming a layer of narrow band gap material in the substrate, wherein the layer of narrow band gap material has a narrower band gap than portions of the body region. Forming at least one source region of the first conductivity type with high dopant density in the body, wherein at least a portion of each source region is formed in the layer of narrow band gap material. Forming at least one gate.
In another embodiment, a switching power supply control circuit is disclosed comprising a diode bridge, a transformer, a quasi-vertical DMOS transistor and control circuitry. The diode bridge is used to perform full rectification of the input AC voltage. The transformer is coupled to the diode bridge to provide galvanic isolation and voltage conversion. The quasi-vertical DMOS transistor coupled to control the voltage through the transformer. The control circuitry is coupled to a gate of the quasi-vertical DMOS transistor to switch the DMOS transistor on and off, wherein the control circuitry controls a duty cycle of the DMOS transistor to achieve a desired output from the transformer. The quasi-vertical DMOS transistor comprises a substrate, one or more body regions, a source for each body region and a layer of narrow band gap material. The substrate is of a first conductivity type with a low doping density. The substrate has a surface. The gate is formed overlaying the surface of the substrate. The one or more body regions are formed in the substrate proximate the surface of the substrate. Each of the body regions is of the first conductivity type. Each source is of a second conductivity type with a high doping density. Each source and each body are positioned proximate an associated edge of the gate. The layer of narrow band gap material is positioned adjacent the surface of the substrate and the body regions. The narrow band gap material has a band gap narrower than the semiconductor material of the body. In addition, at least a portion of each source is formed in the layer of narrow band gap material to reduce parasitic bipolar transistor action.
In yet another embodiment, a solid state relay integrated circuit is disclosed comprising a photo diode stack, a first high voltage lateral DMOS and a second high voltage lateral DMOS. The photo diode stack is used to drive a voltage having a first output and a second output. The first high voltage lateral DMOS has a gate, source and drain. The gate of the first high voltage DMOS is coupled to the first output of the photo diode stack. The source of the first high voltage DMOS is coupled to the second output of the photo stack diode. The second high voltage lateral DMOS has a gate, source and drain. The gate of the second high voltage lateral DMOS is coupled to the first output of the photo diode stack. The source of the second high voltage lateral DMOS is coupled to the second output of the photo diode stack. The first and second high voltage lateral DMOS comprise a substrate, a drain contact, a gate, a body, a source, and a layer of narrow band gap material. The substrate is of a first conductivity type with a low doping concentration. The substrate has a surface. The drain contact is of a second conductivity type with a high doping density. The drain contact is formed in the substrate adjacent the surface of the substrate. The gate is positioned on the surface of the substrate. The body is of the first conductivity type and is formed in the substrate adjacent the surface of the substrate. The source is of the second conductivity type with high doping concentration and is formed in the body adjacent a surface of the substrate. The gate is positioned in between the source and the drain contact. The layer of narrow band gap material is positioned on the surface of the substrate adjacent the body and at least a portion of the source to reduce parasitic bipolar transistor action. In addition, the layer of narrow band gap material has a narrower band gap than the band gap of the substrate.

Integrated circuit with a MOS structure having reduced parasitic bipolar transistor action


A light emitting unit, an apparatus and method for manufacturing the same, an apparatus for molding a lens thereof, and a light emitting device package thereof, which are capable of achieving an enhancement in light extraction efficiency and an improvement in mass productivity, are disclosed. The light emitting unit manufacturing apparatus includes a mold including a first mold and a second mold coupled to each other under a condition in which at least one light emitting unit is interposed between the first and second molds, a groove formed in one of the first and second molds at a position facing the light emitting unit, the groove having a lens shape, and a passage extending from an outer surface of the mold to the groove.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light emitting unit, an apparatus and method for manufacturing the same, an apparatus for molding a lens thereof, and a light emitting device package thereof, and more particularly, to a light emitting unit, an apparatus and method for manufacturing the same, an apparatus for molding a lens thereof, and a light emitting device package thereof which are capable of achieving an enhancement in light extraction efficiency and an improvement in mass productivity.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, which are a kind of light reception type flat display, have no ability to emit light by itself. For this reason, such an LCD device forms an image by selectively transmitting illumination light irradiated from the external of the LCD device. To this end, a light source must be arranged at the back side of the LCD device, in order to illuminate the LCD device. This light source is called a "backlight unit (BLU)".
Such a backlight unit must uniformly irradiate light over the overall surface of a liquid crystal panel. To this end, where light emitting diodes (LEDs) are used for light emitters of the backlight unit, it is necessary to arrange a lens on a package of each LED, in order to obtain a uniform brightness distribution of illumination light.
For an example of a method for installing a lens on an LED package, there is a method in which a lens is injection-molded using an epoxy resin or polycarbonate (PC)-based resin, and the molded lens is attached to an LED package.
The attachment of the lens to the LED package may be achieved using a method shown in FIG. 1. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, an encapsulate material 11 is filled in a region defined over an LED 12 of an LED package 10, and a lens 20 is then attached to an upper surface of the LED package 10 filled with the encapsulate material 11.
In this case, for the encapsulate material 11 of the LED package 10, a material such as silicon is used. However, when the lens 20, which is made of an epoxy resin or a PC-based material, is attached to the encapsulate material 11 which is a silicon, the following problems may occur.
First, when the lens 20 is made of an epoxy resin, it has no bonding force to silicon, which is used for the encapsulate material 11. For this reason, an air layer is formed between the two materials.
When an air layer is formed between the two materials, as mentioned above, light may be totally reflected while passing through the silicon encapsulate material 11 and the epoxy resin lens 20. As a result, a part of light emerging from the LED 12 cannot directly reach the lens 20.
Since the light travels along a complex path between the encapsulate material 11 and the lens 20 due to such a total reflection phenomenon, the number of light beams finally emerging out of the LED package 10 is reduced. As a result, a reduction in light amount occurs. For this reason, practically, a degradation in brightness occurs.
Furthermore, when the epoxy resin used for the lens 20 is exposed to a high temperature condition for a prolonged period of time, a yellowing phenomenon may occur. For this reason, when the lens 20 may be discolored in the manufacture thereof, so that it may function as a main factor of a degradation in light amount.
Second, when the lens 20 is injection-molded using a PC-based resin, interfaces are formed between the silicon encapsulate material 11 and the PC lens 20, similarly to the former case. Due to a full reflection phenomenon occurring at the interfaces, a degradation in the light amount of the LED package 10 may occur.
Meanwhile, in the case of a modulized LED package, it is generally formed using a reflow process. A temperature increase to about 270° C. may occur during the reflow process.
However, in association with the PC lens 20, there is a difficulty in executing the reflow process. This is because the material of the PC lens 20 is a thermoplastic resin, so that the PC lens 20 may be deformed at a temperature of 160° C. or more due to melting thereof.

Light emitting unit, apparatus and method for manufacturing the same, apparatus for molding lens thereof, and light emitting device package thereof


The present invention relates generally to methods for identifying drug side effects by detecting perturbations in organ-specific molecular blood fingerprints. The invention further relates to methods for identifying drug-specific organ-specific molecular blood fingerprints. As such, the present invention provides compositions comprising organ-specific proteins, detection reagents for detecting such proteins, and panels and arrays for determining organ-specific molecular blood fingerprints.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to organ-specific molecular blood fingerprints and methods for using the same in identifying and/or monitoring drug side effects.
2. Description of the Related Art
Side effects, particularly adverse side effects, are monitored and tested throughout the developmental path of all drugs. A variety of in vitro and in vivo toxicity assays are available in the art for testing on and off-target effects of drugs during development including metabolic effects on liver P450 enzymes. Clearly, however, as is evidenced by the recent controversy surrounding COX-2 inhibitors, off-target side effects can be subtle and difficult to detect. Therefore, monitoring and identifying drug side effects remains an important issue with regard to drug safety of developing drugs and approved drugs already on the market. The COX-2 story highlights the need in the art for improved methods to detect sometimes subtle adverse off-target effects of drugs.
The present invention provides methods that satisfy this and other needs.

Methods for identifying and monitoring drug side effects


An ECU executes a program including the steps of changing a target shift stage when a current shift change mode is set to an automatic shift change mode and when a driver has intention to change a shift stage, changing a shift range to an N range when he/she has intention for neutral, maintaining the automatic shift change mode when it is determined that he/she does not have intention for neutral but he/she has intention to switch the shift change mode and when such determination is made for the first time after return from the N range, and switching the shift change mode to a manual shift change mode when such determination is not made for the first time.

An automatic transmission allowing selection between an automatic shift change mode in which automatic shift change is made based on a state of a vehicle (such as a vehicle speed or an accelerator position) and on a shift change map stored in advance and a manual shift change mode in which a shift stage can stepwise be changed by a driver's operation of a switch, a lever or the like has conventionally been known.
For example, Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2001-304386 (PTL 1) discloses as such an automatic transmission, a continuously variable transmission for an automobile, with which, even when switching from an automatic shift change mode to a manual shift change mode is made, a proper speed ratio can be maintained without undue fluctuation in an actual speed ratio, and after transition to the manual shift change mode is completed, a speed ratio prepared in advance as a speed ratio for the manual shift change mode is appropriately selected and a shift operation can be made. This continuously variable transmission for an automobile includes drive condition detection means for detecting a drive condition of a vehicle, automatic shift change control means for calculating a target speed ratio for an automatic shift change mode based on the drive condition detected by the drive condition detection means, manual shift change control means for calculating a target speed ratio for a manual shift change mode based on a driver's shift operation, a mode switch for switching a shift change mode, and speed ratio control means for feedback control of an actuator for adjusting a speed ratio such that an actual speed ratio matches with the target speed ratio based on difference between the target speed ratio and the actual speed ratio, characterized by including shift change mode determination means for detecting switching of the shift change mode, drive operation state determination means for determining drive operation contents by the driver that is started up at the time point of detection of switching from the automatic shift change mode to the manual shift change mode by the shift change mode determination means, and target speed ratio calculation means for setting the actual speed ratio immediately before detection of switching from the automatic shift change mode to the manual shift change mode by the shift change mode determination means as an initial value for the target speed ratio in the manual shift change mode and selecting any one of an up-shift side speed ratio and a down-shift side speed ratio in the manual shift change mode closer to the initial value based on the drive operation contents determined by the drive operation state determination means so as to gradually change the target speed ratio from the initial value toward the up-shift side speed ratio or the down-shift side speed ratio.
According to the continuously variable transmission for an automobile disclosed in the publication described above, even in switching from the automatic shift change mode to the manual shift change mode, a proper speed ratio can be maintained without undue fluctuation in the actual speed ratio.

Vehicle control device and vehicle control method


A foldout bed housing with four panels is described. The housing includes a bed tray comprising a first panel, a second panel, a third panel, and a fourth panel, wherein the first and second panels are hingeably coupled and the third and fourth panels are hingeably coupled, and one or more fasteners for rigidly coupling the first and second panels with the third and fourth panels in a planar surface. The housing also includes a first and second side wall, a front panel, a first back panel, a top panel, and a counterbalance mechanism. Each housing component can be shipped in a packed configuration for economic shipping. Upon delivery, the combination can be unpacked for quick and easy installation.

The following description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently claimed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.
In the early 1900's, a California inventor named William K. Murphy invented a space-saving bed that can be folded when not in use. Foldout beds, or "Murphy" beds, have been popular since then. Foldout beds can be mounted to the floor, secured to the wall behind the bed, or housed in free-standing cabinets. Foldout beds typically require a series of high-tension springs and/or pistons that serve as a counterweight to the bed frame to which they are attached.
In the time since Murphy's invention in the early 1900's, foldout beds have fit into one of two general categories. Beds in the first category, often called "closet beds," "cabinet beds," or "door beds," are similar to Murphy's original design, taught in U.S. Pat. No. 1,007,596. These designs have a counterbalance mechanism attached to both the bed frame and a support frame. These traditional bed assemblies are generally easy to install. However, the frame must be housed in a closet-style cabinet with doors to hide the counterbalance mechanism when in an upright position. Unfortunately, these closet-style cabinets can be quite cumbersome and expensive. Additionally, the doors are aesthetically undesirable when the bed is in an unfolded position because it makes the user feel like he/she is sleeping in a closet. The doors also occupy room space when opened, and prevent any furniture from being placed next to the bed. As a result, the traditional "closet bed" has somewhat fallen out of favor with consumers.
The other category, called "panel beds," solves the aesthetic problems of "closet beds" by placing the counterbalance mechanism within the housing along the sides of the bed frame, rather than between the bed frame and support frame. This counterbalance configuration allows for a panel to be directly attached to the underside of the bed frame, which eliminates the need for a door. When the bed is in a folded, upright position, all components of the bed assembly are hidden either within the housing or behind the panel, which can be stylized to look like a cabinet. Eliminating the need for a set of doors to conceal the bed makes "panel beds" less expensive overall than "closet beds" because there are fewer moving parts. However, although "panel beds" are aesthetically preferred and less complex than "closet beds," they can be difficult to ship and install due to the large size of the panels.
Others have attempted to solve the problem of shipping difficulty by splitting the bed into two articulating structures, like those taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,990,698. Although this design does allow for greater ease of shipping due its platform design, the invention is limited to only a twin extra long size bed, and has generally wider footprint than the foldout bed which reduces the usable space of the bedroom in which it is installed.
In recent years, brick and mortar furniture businesses have been in a steady decline. However, during that time, the e-commerce based furniture business has grown. The ease and convenience of shopping on the Internet and having the purchased product delivered to your home has begun to outweigh any benefits derived by physically visiting certain stores. As such, there is a need for online products, especially larger items like furniture, to have better modular designs to decrease shipping costs. Industry standard parcel dimensions have been set by commercial parcel shipping companies (e.g., Fed-Ex, UPS), to allow for cheaper rates and faster deliver (e.g. 2-3 days instead of 2-6 weeks). It would be advantageous to provide modular furniture designs that can be divided into individual parts and grouped in shippable units that fit within these standard parcel dimensions, lowering the end cost to the consumer.
Thus, there is still a need for an improved foldout bed housing that can be more easily packaged, shipped via parcel carriers, and assembled in the consumer's home.


An optical modulation method operable in an optical transmission path using an optical fiber, wherein an optical fiber bending region is formed by bending a portion of the optical fiber into a U shape having a predetermined bending width. A bending width set point is set in correspondence with a predetermined inclined portion of a characteristic curve representing a dependency ratio of insertion loss of light propagating in said optical fiber bending region relative to the bending width thereof, said predetermined inclined portion of said characteristic curve being located between a predetermined maximum and minimum portion thereof. Intensity modulation of light propagating in the optical fiber is performed using a signal to be transmitted by adjusting the bending width of the optical fiber bending region in correspondence with the signal to be transmitted with reference to the bending width set point as a center. An optical telephone uses an optical modulator including an optical fiber having a U-shaped bending region and a transducer for vibrating one straight portion of the optical fiber.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical modulation method wherein, in an optical transmission path using an optical fiber, intensity modulation of light propagating in the optical fiber can be externally performed in proportion to an input electrical signal without cutting the optical fiber. The present invention further relates to an optical modulator using the optical modulation method, and an optical telephone using the optical modulator.
2. Description of the Related Art
Optical fiber cables are installed in main trunk routes nationwide as transmission media suitable for a long-distance, large-capacity transmission system. For this reason, installation works of optical fiber cables and cable conversion works are increasing in number year by year. In works associated with optical fiber cables, workers at separate places, e.g., a repeater station and a manhole, do their work concurrently in many cases. In order to smoothly do their work, talking between the workers must be easily performed.
A metallic pair for communication in an optical fiber cable has been used for talking between the workers. However, as the length of an optical transmission path is increased, talking through a metallic pair cannot be performed. In addition, since a non-metallic optical fiber cable has been introduced to realize a non-inductive, lightweight optical fiber cable, talking through an optical fiber is required. In a conventional scheme, talking through an optical fiber is performed as follows. An optical fiber 1 is cut at cutting points 23 located at intermediate points, as shown in FIG. 1, and O/E converters (optical/electrical converters) 18, and E/O converters (electrical/optical converters) 17 are connected between the cut fibers through fusion splice points 24, as shown in FIG. 2. In each electrical section, demodulation and modulation are respectively performed by a demodulation circuit 20 and a modulation circuit 19. In this method, however, cutting of optical fibers, fusing of cords having optical connectors, mounting of optical connectors, and the like require a long period of time, resulting in poor operational efficiency. In addition, since an optical fiber is cut and an end-face treatment is performed every time talking is performed, the optical fiber is gradually shortened. As a result, the designed slack in the optical fiber in a closure may become too short. Therefore, demand has arisen for a talking method which allows talking at an arbitrary place without cutting an optical fiber. As conventional talking methods allowing talking at an arbitrary place without cutting an optical fiber, methods of using local injection for transmission are known, e.g., methods disclosed in (1) Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 2-21735 (corresponding to an optical output section in FIG. 3) and (2) Electron. Lett. vol. 20, no. 3, pp. 109-110 (1984). In addition, methods of using local detection for reception are known, e.g., methods disclosed in (1) IWCS (International Wire & Cable Symposium Proceedings) 1988, and (2) J. Lightwave Technol., LT-5, 12, pp. 1663-1665 (1987).
In the local injection method, as shown in FIG. 3, a modulation signal is transmitted from an input signal source 6 to a light-source 21 to radiate modulated light 22 from the outside of an optical fiber 1 onto its bending region, thus forcibly injecting the light into the core of the optical fiber 1. The local detection method is a method of receiving light radiated from an optical fiber bending region.
In the local injection method, however, since the coupling efficiency of light radiated from the outside of the optical fiber into the optical fiber core is low, a signal can only be transmitted several kilometers at most. In addition, it is difficult to stably supply high radiation power. For these reasons, the local injection method is not very practical as a transmission method, and hence another transmission method is required.
Furthermore, a method of performing intensity modulation of light propagating in an optical fiber by applying/removing a bending force to/from the optical fiber has been proposed (see Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 64-35504). In this method, light propagating in an optical fiber is subjected to only intensity modulation in a digital manner. However, a method capable of analog modulation for, e.g., a voice signal is preferable.
In an apparatus capable of a talking operation without cutting an optical fiber, as disclosed in, e.g., 1990 Spring Natl. Cony. Rec. IEICE, B-904, vibrations are applied to an intermediate point of an optical fiber from its side surface by using a piezo-electric ceramic to cause fluctuations in polarization state of linearly polarized light propagating in the optical fiber. When the fluctuations in polarization are detected by a polarizer at a center, changes in intensity of the light can be obtained, and a signal can be obtained. This method allows modulation without cutting an optical fiber. However, talking between intermediate points must be performed as follows. Signal light transmitted from one intermediate point is demodulated at the center. Intensity modulation of a light-source is performed by using the resulting electrical signal. The resulting light is transmitted on a different optical fiber. The signal light is then detected at the other intermediate point by the local detection method, thus performing a talking operation. That is, the method is not very practicable, requiring two optical fibers for a talk, and allowing only a short-distance talk.
Moreover, according to a method disclosed in Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 2-291517, a coil-like bending region is formed, and light propagating in an optical fiber is modulated by changing the coil bending radius. In this method, however, since the bending radius is changed by applying a tension to the optical fiber in the longitudinal direction, a frictional resistance is produced between a fiber support portion and the optical fiber. As a result, the optical fiber is distorted to cause a deterioration in modulation characteristics. The absence of a mechanism for adjusting the bending radius is another factor contributing to the deterioration in modulation characteristics.

Optical telephone using optical modulator

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation


The present invention generally pertains to a system for performing droplet inflation, and methods and kits comprising the same. The system comprises at least one microfluidic channel comprising one or more droplets flowing therein, one or more fluid reservoirs, one or more inflators, one or more inflator nozzles, and at least one mechanism for disrupting an interface between a droplet and a fluid. The present invention provides for the inflation of a relatively controlled volume of fluid into a droplet resulting in an increase in the volume of the droplet relative to its volume prior to inflation and, accordingly, dilution of the concentration of species, if any, previously present and emulsified in the droplet.

Microfluidic processes may use droplets as reaction vessels for performing chemical or biological reactions. In such processes, often referred to as droplet microfluidics, it may be desirable to increase the volume of the droplet by introducing additional fluid into the droplet. This ability allows significant dilution of the contents of a droplet, which may be desirable for controlling the concentration of substances within a droplet and enabling further partitioning or division of the contents of one droplet into multiple droplets for ease of handling or detection.
For example, to perform a simple enzymatic assay in one or more droplets, enzyme molecules and enzyme substrate may be introduced into the droplet by injection, followed by incubation and, typically, an optical detection step. In some cases, it may be desirable for the initial droplets to be divided into many droplets. In these instances, the initial droplet size may be too small, such that when the droplet is divided, the volume of the resulting droplets is insufficient for the remaining processes.
One solution to this is to increase the size of the droplet by adding picoliter size volumes of liquid to the droplets using, for example, picoinjection (e.g., Abate et al., "High-throughput injection with microfluidics using picoinjectors", PNAS (2010), vol. 107, pp. 19163-19166. However, a significant challenge with picoinjection is that it is difficult to increase the size of the droplet to more than twice its initial volume. In another example—droplet merger—requires the formation of droplets much larger than the initial droplets to be synchronized with the injection of the initial droplets, which is a technically challenging procedure. While picoinjection solves the synchronization problem, it is not capable of increasing droplet volume to more than twice its initial volume. Accordingly, there is a need for an affordable and efficient system, method and kit for increasing the volume of a droplet by many times its initial volume to improve the performance and applicability of droplet-based microfluidics.
The following invention provides a system, method and kit for increasing the volume (and hence, size) of a droplet relative to the initial volume of the droplet, resulting in improved performance and applicability of droplet-based microfluidics.
Citation or identification of any document in this application is not an admission that such document is available as prior art to the present invention.

System and method for performing droplet inflation


A method for controlling an electrostatic attractor, which attracts an electrode to a gas plate provided in an upper portion of a plasma processing apparatus, includes, among a plasma generation period in which plasma is generated by the plasma processing apparatus and an idle period in which no plasma is generated by the plasma processing apparatus, applying voltages having polarities different from each other to first and second electrodes of the electrostatic attractor in at least the idle period.

A structure for attracting an electrode on an upper electrode of a plasma processing apparatus is disclosed in Patent Document 1. An electrostatic attractor is interposed between the electrode and a plate in contact with the electrode. The electrostatic attractor is formed of ceramic, and is fixed to a lower surface of the plate via a clamp.

Method for controlling electrostatic chuck and plasma processing apparatus


An image forming apparatus configures a normal transfer potential in a yellow primary transfer unit, and configures a transfer potential which does not cause any retransfer phenomenon of a yellow measurement image in image carriers located on the downstream side of the yellow primary transfer unit. When a color difference obtained from a reference density and a density of a measurement image on an intermediate transfer belt becomes equal to or larger than a prescribed value, the image forming apparatus determines that multinary-color density adjustment is required.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to adjustment of an image density in an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a multi-color image forming apparatus, color densities of formed images of respective colors have changed from target densities and the formed images tints may change over time. To address this problem, the image forming apparatus forms a test pattern, measures amounts of applied toners using an internally attached sensor, and adjusts various parameters to attain desired densities.
According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-189278, a method of adjusting density changes of secondary colors has been proposed. More specifically, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-189278 has proposed a color tone adjustment apparatus, which outputs a test chart including secondary colors, reads the test chart using a reading unit to grasp density variations of the secondary colors, and adjusts parameters associated with densities. Note that the secondary color means a color formed by superposing two types of toners (for example, yellow and magenta toners) of different colors. A ternary color means a color formed by superposing three types of toners (for example, yellow, magenta, and cyan toners) of different colors. These colors will be collectively referred to as multinary colors hereinafter.
However, with the invention of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-189278, the test pattern has to be formed on a printing medium so as to detect the density changes of the secondary colors. Also, the necessity of the density adjustment is visually judged by the user. That is, the user has to control a copying machine to execute a print operation periodically or at an arbitrary timing, and has to judge whether or not to require the density adjustment by checking an image printed on the printing medium.

Adjustment of image density, using a density adjustment condition, in image forming apparatus


A fast response liquid crystal optical retarder system. A liquid crystal retarder system employs one or more liquid crystal cells and corresponding drive circuits. The drive circuits provide to the cell a rectangular wave ac voltage signal whose RMS voltage is controlled. To switch from one retardance to another, the voltage is increased or decreased beyond the voltage corresponding to the target retardance and then, prior to or when the target retardance is reached, the applied voltage is switched to the voltage corresponding to the target retardance. One or more pairs of liquid crystal cells provided sequentially along the path of light propagation and with their eigen-axis orthogonal to one another to increase or decrease the total retardance rapidly. The retarder system is incorporated in a polarization control system and in a fiber-optic link.

This invention relates to optical retarder devices, and particularly to fast response liquid crystal cell optical retarder systems and polarization control systems.
In optical devices, instruments, communication systems and laboratory set-ups, it is often desirable to be able to selectively vary the retardance of one polarization component of a light beam relative to another, orthogonal component so as to vary the total polarization of a light beam. This has typically been accomplished using optical wave plates disposed parallel to one another wherein the polarization is varied by rotating the fast axis of one wave plate with respect to the fast axis of the other. In fiber-optic communication systems, polarization adjustability has been accomplished typically by mechanical devices that squeeze, or otherwise stress the fiber, so as to change its birefringent properties.
Polarization can also be selectively controlled by the use of a liquid crystal cell retarder. In such devices, the phase of light polarized along one axis with respect to another, orthogonal axis varies in accordance with the amplitude of an applied ac voltage. This characteristic has been employed in optical shutters, as disclosed in Box U.S. Pat. No. 4,635,051, issued Jan. 6, 1987 and entitled "High-Speed Electro-Optical Light Gate and Field Sequential Full Color Display System Incorporating Same," and in polarization control systems, as disclosed in Rumbaugh U.S. Pat. No. 4,979,235, et al. issued Dec. 18, 1990 and entitled "Polarization Controller for Use in Optical Fiber Communications System" and Clark U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,952, et al issued Apr. 9, 1991 and entitled "Polarization Controller," all of which patents are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety. However, where used to vary polarization by switching between intermediate values over a range of retardances, known liquid crystal cell retarder systems have two significant drawbacks.
First, a change in retardance in one direction must be effectuated by the application of an increased ac voltage, but the response speed of the retarder in that direction is limited by the responsiveness of the liquid crystal cell material. Second, a change of retardance in the other direction must be effectuated by reducing the applied voltage and allowing the liquid crystal material to relax back to a new retardance; that is, it cannot be driven by the application of a voltage. These two drawbacks greatly limit the response speed of a liquid crystal cell retarder and, therefore, the applications to which the retarder may be put.
In particular, the slow response time of known liquid crystal cell retarder systems limits the speed with which they can switch between intermediate values, and corresponding polarization states, over a wide range of retardances. This limits their effectiveness in producing rapid changes in light polarization in optical instruments and laboratory set-ups, and in controlling polarization and fiber-optic communication systems where significant polarization fluctuations may occur. Accordingly, there is a need for a liquid crystal cell retarder system which provides a faster response time.

Liquid crystal cell retarder with driving beyond retardance value and two cells for high speed


Computer-implemented methods and systems are provided for cross-cluster service provision. Consistent with disclosed embodiments, a system for cross-cluster service provision includes a first computing cluster and a second computing cluster. The first cluster includes service-providing nodes, and a first controller that collects status information concerning the service-providing nodes, the status information indicating at least one service-providing node endpoint. The second computing cluster includes service-consuming nodes, a service that receives requests for the service from the service-consuming nodes and distributes the requests among a set of specified endpoints, and a second controller that performs health checks on the specified endpoints, retrieves the status information from the first controller, and updates the set of specified endpoints based on the status information.

A computing cluster hosting an instance of a cloud service platform can be configured to access an external service provider, such as an SQL database or another computing cluster. The computing cluster may be provisioned with endpoints for accessing services provided by this external service provider. But these endpoints may become unreachable, inhibiting the ability of the computing cluster to access the services. Furthermore, configuration changes in the external service provider can affect the endpoints the external service provider exposes, again inhibiting the ability of the computing cluster to access the services. Accordingly, systems and method are needed for automatically provisioning a computer cluster with external service provider information.

Systems and methods for cross-cluster service provision


The object of this invention is to constitute a high-accuracy position control system even for a low-rigidity object to be controlled. To achieve this object, a vibration control apparatus includes a measurement device which measures the elastic vibration of an object to be controlled, a driving device which applies a force to the object, and a compensation device which determines a force to be generated by the driving device. The measurement device measures at least a position component out of the position, speed, and acceleration components of the elastic vibration. The compensation device controls the elastic vibration of the object on the basis of position information measured by the measurement device.

The present invention relates to a vibration control apparatus and method used when the vibration of a movable element influences the control accuracy in a field where high-speed, high-accuracy position/speed control is required for a semiconductor exposure apparatus, machine tool, OA device, and the like.
A prior art will be described by exemplifying stage control of a semiconductor exposure apparatus.
As the exposure line width has decreased in a semiconductor exposure apparatus, the position control accuracy required for the wafer stage of the exposure apparatus has reached several nm order. For higher productivity, the stage moving acceleration and speed are increasing year by year. To realize high-speed, high-accuracy position control, the wafer stage position control system must have a high servo band. A high servo band exhibits a high response characteristic to a target value, realizing a system resistant to the influence of disturbance or the like. In manufacturing an apparatus, the wafer stage and main body structure are so designed as to realize a servo band as high as possible.
FIG. 10 is a view showing the schematic arrangement of the wafer stage of a conventional semiconductor exposure apparatus. In the following description, three translation axes (X, Y, and Z) of standard coordinates and three rotation axes (xcex8x, xcex8y, and xcex8z) around the three translation axes will be called a position with six degrees of freedom. The arrangement and operation of a high-speed, high-accuracy position control system will be explained using this example.
Reference numeral 41 denotes a surface plate which is supported via a damper from a floor F; and 43, a Y stage which can be moved in the Y direction on the reference plane of the surface plate 41 by Y linear motors 46 for generating a thrust in the Y direction along a guide 42 fixed to the surface plate 41. The surface plate 41, fixed guide 42, and Y stage 43 are coupled in a noncontact manner by air via air pads 44a and 44b serving as hydrostatic bearings. The Y stage 43 has an X guide, which guides an X stage 45 mounted on the Y stage in the X direction. The Y stage 43 has an X linear motor stator which generates a force in the X direction. The X linear motor stator drives the X stage 45 in the X direction together with an X linear motor movable element mounted on the X stage. The surface plate 41, X guide, and X stage 45 are coupled in a noncontact manner by air via an air pad 44c serving as a hydrostatic bearing.
The X stage 45 supports a tilt stage 48. The tilt stage 48 moves in the Z direction and rotates along the three axes (xcex8x, xcex8y, and xcex8z) by a thrust from a linear motor (not shown). The tilt stage 48 supports a stage plate 51 having a wafer chuck, which holds a wafer 53 to be exposed. Measurement mirrors 49a and 49b used to measure X and Y positions are arranged on the stage plate 51.
The stage device of the semiconductor exposure apparatus is aligned with six degrees of freedom in in-plane directions (X, Y, and xcex8z) and vertical directions (Z, xcex8x, and xcex8y) with respect to the reference plane of the surface plate, and performs exposure of one chip. Positions in the in-plane directions (X, Y, and xcex8z) are measured using a laser interferometer 50 integrated with a lens barrel (not shown). As for measurement in the tilt directions (Z, xcex8x, and xcex8y), a Z position and the angle of a rotational component are measured by an alignment measurement system (not shown) integrated with the lens barrel.
In FIG. 10, the lens barrel is assumed to be integrated with the surface plate, and the laser interferometer 50 is connected to the surface plate. Although no Z measurement device is illustrated, the tilt directions (Z, xcex8x, and xcex8y) can be measured by measuring three points on the stage plate or wafer from the lens barrel.
Alignment along the six axes is achieved by arranging a servo system for each axis. A compensation device calculates driving command values to the X and Y linear motors serving as X and Y stage actuators on the basis of position information of the laser interferometer, driving the X and Y stages. The compensation device calculates a driving command value to the tilt stage in accordance with the Z position, the angles in the rotational directions (xcex8x and xcex8y), and the xcex8z measurement value, driving the tilt stage.
The position control system having this arrangement can move the wafer stage to a target position at a high speed and high accuracy.
The resolution of the exposure line width is high in the stage device of the semiconductor exposure apparatus, and the position control accuracy must be high. Also, the semiconductor exposure apparatus, which is a production equipment, must have high throughput in terms of productivity. To meet these demands, the stage servo system must have a high response characteristic and move at a high speed. To increase the stage position control accuracy, the designer realizes a high servo band by setting the gain of the position control system as high as possible. However, if the designer tries to set the gain higher, its upper limit is restricted by the oscillation of the servo system. The servo band is restricted by various factors, one of which is the elastic vibration of a mechanical system in the control loop.
FIG. 8 shows the analysis result of the elastic vibration mode of the wafer stage plate 51. The primary to quaternary elastic vibration modes are illustrated. Such a thin plate is low in Z rigidity and vibrates by elastic deformation such as bending or twist. The transfer characteristic from the Z actuator to a measurement point at this time is shown in FIG. 9, and the resonance point of elastic vibration has a high peak. If, for example, the loop gain of the Z position control system is increased in this system, the resonance point of elastic vibration is excited, decreasing the stage control accuracy. With a loop gain low to a given degree, merely a large vibration appears. With a higher gain, the servo system becomes unstable and oscillates.
In this fashion, the stage plate (top plate) and the like generate elastic vibrations, and the servo system becomes unstable. Even if the servo system does not become unstable, the control error increases, failing to satisfy control specifications. In general, the servo band is restricted to about ⅓ to xc2xc the lowest resonance frequency of the elastic vibration.
In the conventional position control system, the servo band of the position control system is restricted by the resonance frequency of the elastic vibration of an object to be controlled. To realize a higher servo band, the resonance frequency of the elastic vibration must be increased, or the damping characteristic must be enhanced. For this purpose, the rigidity of an object to be controlled is increased, its mass is decreased, or the damping characteristic of the elastic vibration is enhanced. However, mechanical measures such as a decrease in stage mass, an increase in rigidity, and enhancement of the damping characteristic are limited, and it is difficult to increase the servo band.
The present invention has been made to overcome the conventional drawbacks, and has as its object to constitute a high-accuracy position control system even for a low-rigidity object to be controlled.
To solve the above-described problem and achieve the above object, according to the first aspect of the present invention, a vibration control apparatus is characterized by comprising a measurement device which measures an elastic vibration of an object to be controlled, a driving device which applies a force to the object, and a compensation device which determines a force to be generated by the driving device, wherein the measurement device measures at least a position component out of the position component, a speed component, and an acceleration component of the elastic vibration, and the compensation device controls the elastic vibration of the object on the basis of position information measured by the measurement device.
The vibration control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the object to be controlled is supported by a spring in a noncontact manner.
The vibration control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that a higher vibration mode can be controlled by connecting, to the object to be controlled, pluralities of driving devices and measurement devices.
The vibration control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that an in-plane vibration of the elastic vibration is controlled by arranging at least one of the plurality of driving devices so as to prevent a force acting direction from being parallel.
The vibration control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that at least two of the plurality of driving devices are so arranged as to make force acting directions substantially perpendicular to each other.
The vibration control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized in that the object to be controlled includes a stage top plate of an exposure apparatus, the measurement device includes a piezoelectric element attached to the top plate, and the driving device includes a piezoelectric element attached to the top plate.
A vibration control apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by comprising a first measurement device which measures an elastic vibration of an object to be controlled, a first driving device which applies a force to the object, a first compensation device which determines a force to be generated by the driving device, a second measurement device which measures a position of the object from a reference position, a second driving device which externally applies a force to the object, and a second compensation device which determines a force to be generated by the second driving device, wherein the first measurement device measures at least a speed component out of a position component, the speed component, and an acceleration component of the elastic vibration, the first compensation device controls the elastic vibration of the object on the basis of speed information measured by the first measurement device, and the second compensation device controls a rigid-body vibration of the object on the basis of position information measured by the second measurement device.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, an exposure apparatus is characterized by using the above-described vibration control apparatus for a stage.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, a device manufacturing method is characterized by comprising the steps of applying a photosensitive material to a substrate, transferring a pattern to the photosensitive material on the substrate coated with the photosensitive material by the above-described exposure apparatus, and developing the substrate bearing the pattern.
According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a vibration control method using a vibration control apparatus having a measurement device which measures an elastic vibration of an object to be controlled, a driving device which applies a force to the object, and a compensation device which determines a force to be generated by the driving device is characterized in that the measurement device measures at least a position component out of the position component, a speed component, and an acceleration component of the elastic vibration, and the compensation device controls the elastic vibration of the object on the basis of position information measured by the measurement device.
According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, a vibration control method using a vibration control apparatus having a first measurement device which measures an elastic vibration of an object to be controlled, a first driving device which applies a force to the object, a first compensation device which determines a force to be generated by the driving device, a second measurement device which measures a position of the object from a reference position, a second driving device which externally applies a force to the object, and a second compensation device which determines a force to be generated by the second driving device is characterized in that the first measurement device measures at least a speed component out of a position component, the speed component, and an acceleration component of the elastic vibration, the first compensation device controls the elastic vibration of the object on the basis of speed information measured by the first measurement device, and the second compensation device controls a rigid-body vibration of the object on the basis of position information measured by the second measurement device.
Other objects and advantages besides those discussed above shall be apparent to those skilled in the art from the description of a preferred embodiment of the invention which follows. In the description, reference is made to accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which illustrate an example of the invention. Such example, however, is not exhaustive of the various embodiments of the invention, and therefore reference is made to the claims which follow the description for determining the scope of the invention.

Vibration control apparatus, vibration control method, exposure apparatus, and device manufacturing method


A clock generation circuit is provided, having a bandgap reference circuit, a frequency controlled resistor, a comparison circuit and a voltage controlled oscillator. The bandgap reference circuit generates a first voltage. The frequency controlled resistor is coupled to a first node to provide a second voltage. The comparison circuit generates a first current according to a difference between the first voltage and the second voltage. The voltage controlled oscillator outputs first, second and third output clocks according to a third voltage on a second node, wherein the third voltage is generated according to the first current, and the second and third output clocks are fed back to the frequency controlled resistor such that the frequency controlled resistor converts the first current into the second voltage according to the second and third output clocks.

1. Field of the Invention
The disclosure relates to a clock generating circuit, and in particular relates to a clock generating circuit deposited in a chip.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent system on a chip (SOC) designs often incorporate one, two or more "cores". These cores are popular processors such as digital signal processing processors (DSPs), advanced RISO machines (ARMs), reduced instruction set computers (RISCs) or microprocessors. However, the present SOC needs to provide an external reference clock to internal circuits of the SOC. Therefore, there is a need for a clock generating circuit deposited in the SOC to decrease design circuit complexity and costs.

Clock generating circuit and clock generating method

Industrial Technology Research Institute


A vehicle seat includes a seat base having a side bolster cover. A bolster is disposed under the side bolster cover. The bolster has a static bolster carrier and an operable portion that is operable relative to the bolster carrier to define a plurality of bolster positions. A flexible interior facing extends from the bolster carrier to an intermediate portion of the bolster cover, wherein a lower edge of the bolster cover is positioned below the bolster carrier such that the bolster cover conceals the bolster in each of the plurality of bolster positions.

Various automobiles include vehicle seats with operable cushions that can be manipulated to serve the needs of the user. One operable portion is a bolster of the base of the vehicle seat that could be moved upward and downward to at least partially surround the occupant of the vehicle seat.

Seat bolster trim having flexible interior facing for an optimal bolster cushion


A substrate having, on a base material, a barrier film for preventing copper diffusion containing one or more metal elements selected from tungsten, molybdenum and niobium, a metal element having a catalytic function in electroless plating such as platinum, gold, silver and palladium, and nitrogen contained in the form of a nitride of the aforementioned one or more metal elements selected from tungsten, molybdenum and niobium. The barrier film for preventing copper diffusion is manufactured by sputtering in a nitrogen atmosphere using a target containing one or more metal elements selected from tungsten, molybdenum and niobium and the aforementioned metal element having a catalytic function in electroless plating.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate formed on a base material and having a barrier film for preventing copper diffusion, which is used as a barrier and catalytic layer of ULSI fine copper wiring.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is well known that a copper film for ULSI fine copper wiring (damascene copper wiring) can be formed by copper electroplating using a seed layer formed by electroless plating.
Conventionally, it has been difficult to obtain sufficient adhesiveness with a deposited plating film when electroless copper plating is performed on a mirror surface such as a semiconductor wafer. The plating also has poor reactivity, making it difficult to plate the entire substrate surface uniformly. Conventionally, it has been difficult to form a uniform plating film and adequate adhesiveness thereof has not been obtained when forming a copper seed layer by electroless plating on a barrier metal layer of tantalum nitride or the like.
The inventors in this case discovered previously that by adding a water-soluble nitrogen-containing polymer with a small weight-average molecular weight (Mw) as an additive to an electroless copper plating liquid, and affixing a catalytic metal to the substrate to be plated before immersion in the liquid, or else forming a film of a catalytic metal on the outermost surface and then immersing it in the plating liquid to adsorb the polymer via nitrogen atoms on the catalytic metal, it was possible to control the plating deposition rate and crystals become extremely fine, allowing the formation of a uniform thin film with a film thickness of 15 nm or less on a wafer or other mirror surface (Japanese Patent Publication No. 2008-223100). In the examples of this reference, the inventors also showed that by first forming a film of a catalytic metal on the outermost surface and then immersing it in the plating liquid to adsorb the polymer via nitrogen atoms on the catalytic metal, it was possible to control the plating deposition rate and the crystals become extremely fine allowing the formation of a uniform thin film with a film thickness of 6 nm or less on a wafer or other mirror surface.
In such a method, or in other words in damascene copper wiring formation, a barrier layer for preventing copper diffusion must be formed in advance separately from the catalytic metal layer when a copper seed layer is provided by electroless plating after formation of the catalytic metal film, and two layers, a barrier layer and a catalytic metal layer, are formed before forming the copper seed layer. Therefore, it was difficult to apply this method to actual processing of ultrafine wiring, which cannot have thick films.
To eliminate the complication of forming two layers prior to forming the copper seed layer, the inventors in this case discovered that by forming a single layer consisting of a specific alloy thin film having both a barrier function and a catalytic function, and combining displacement plating with reductive plating for electroless plating, it was possible to form a thin copper seed layer thereon with a uniform thickness, and submitted patent applications (PCT/JP2008/063023, PCT/JP2008/063024). However, such an alloy thin film having both a barrier function and a catalytic function has an insufficient barrier properties when the film is heated to a high temperature of about 500° C., and there has been a need for greater reliability especially during long-term use in a semiconductor device.

Substrate and manufacturing method therefor


A bracket is provided. In an embodiment, the bracket comprises a first seat and a second seat. The first seat is sized to retain a first fluid implement. The second seat is sized to retain a second fluid implement from the bracket. The second seat includes a top opening, a side opening and a front concave portion. The second seat is configured to prevent inadvertent removal of the second fluid implement from the bracket. A fluid delivery apparatus including the bracket, as well as a method for delivering fluid, such as medical fluids including nutritional fluids, and industrial fluids through the delivery apparatus is also provided.

The present disclosure relates generally to a fluid delivery apparatus, and especially a medication delivery apparatus.
A fluid delivery apparatus generally includes a pump mechanism for delivering a predetermined volume of fluid at a specific flow rate from a fluid source to a receptacle, in an open or closed environment. To deliver the requisite volume of fluid at a consistent and/or predetermined flow rate, the pump mechanism is usually between the fluid source and the receptacle, and the fluid source and receptacle are in fluid communication with the pump mechanism. One type of a fluid delivery apparatus is a medication delivery apparatus generally includes a pump mechanism for delivering a predetermined volume of medication at a specific flow rate from a medication source to a patient. To deliver the requisite volume of medication at a consistent flow rate, the pump mechanism is usually between the medication source and the patient, and the medication source and patient are in fluid communication with the pump mechanism.
A medication delivery apparatus can use many different kinds of pumps to deliver medication. A common pump in delivery apparatus is the peristaltic pump, which is a type of positive displacement pump used for pumping a variety of fluids. The fluid is contained generally within a flexible tube fitted around a rotor. The rotor, having a number of "rollers", "shoes" or "wipers" attached to the external portion of the pump, compresses the flexible tube. As the rotor turns, the part of tube under compression closes (or "occludes"), thus forcing the fluid to move through the tube. Moreover, as the tube opens to its natural state after compression, fluid flow is induced to the pump. This repeated action pumps fluid through the delivery apparatus and to the patient.
To place the flexible tube under the requisite pressure to allow a pump, such as the peristaltic pump, to work properly, tubing on both sides of the pump must be taut. This generally requires retaining the tubing on both sides of the pump such that the tubing remains taut through the pump. Such a retaining means can include, for example, a bracket, clamp, or valve. As long as the flexible tubing stays taut through the pump, any predetermined values provided for the delivery apparatus (e.g. delivery time, rate, volume, etc.) can be measured by the delivery apparatus and maintained by the pump.
However, with existing delivery apparatuses, current designs of retaining means, such as a bracket, quite frequently allow for tubing to detach from the bracket. Detachment can occur in many ways such as, for example, excessive movement by a patient causing the tubing to be pulled off the bracket or inadvertent detachment by a user (e.g. a caregiver or medical personnel).
When detachment occurs, freeing the flexible tubing from pump retention, free flow may result. At free flow, medication will flow freely through the delivery apparatus from the source to the patient without control from the delivery apparatus and associated pump. This can result in an over-delivery of medication to a patient, thus serving as a health hazard depending on the type of patient condition, the type of medication and the availability of medical personnel at the time of free flow. Furthermore, even if the delivery apparatus has an alarm that triggers upon tubing detachment or disconnection, many delivery apparatuses cannot prevent free flow of medication because the flow of medication acts independent of the delivery apparatus (e.g. gravity flow).


Disclosed herein is a method and associated apparatus for the design and manufacture of VLSI circuit which incorporates therein a method for routing connections between component tiles of the VLSI circuit being designed.

1. Technical Field
This relates to the design and manufacture of very large scale integrated (xe2x80x9cVLSIxe2x80x9d) circuits and, more particularly, to a method for routing connections between component tiles of a VLSI circuit suitable for use in conjunction with the design and manufacture of VLSI circuits.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
A VLSI circuit is typically composed of a plurality of generally horizontal layers, each layer having a plurality of generally rectangular shaped components positioned thereon. VLSI circuit designers commonly refer to these generally rectangular shaped components as xe2x80x9ccomponent tilesxe2x80x9d and to the rectangular shaped open spaces that surround the component tiles as xe2x80x9cspace tiles.xe2x80x9d Component tiles that are to be connected on a VLSI circuit are said to form a xe2x80x9cnetxe2x80x9d, while any component tile not connected to a particular net is considered to be an obstruction to that net. Two tiles are said to be xe2x80x9cadjacentxe2x80x9d if they touch along their edges and xe2x80x9coverlappingxe2x80x9d if there is even a single point located within the interior of both tiles. A set of tiles positioned within a routing area is said to be xe2x80x9cmaximalxe2x80x9d if no two tiles are either overlapping or adjacent on their left or right edges.
One step in the design of a VLSI circuit is to select the wire paths that extend through the space tiles to connect the electrically equivalent component tiles that form nets. A current technique used to determine these paths utilizes a tile expansion algorithm. More specifically, clear space around the component tiles forming a net is fractured into maximal space tiles. Adjoining ones of these maximal space tiles are used to define the most efficient tile path between two components. The path of the actual connection between the components, known as the wire path, is then defined as the route through the space tile path from the center of the component source tile to the center of the component destination tile.
The aforementioned technique for selecting the wire paths for a VLSI circuit design suffers from two drawbacks, both of which may add to the cost of VLSI circuits manufactured in accordance with the design. First, if defined in accordance with the above-described manner, a tile path is not necessarily the optimal tile path through the clear space. Second, since the width of a tile path is typically much larger than the width of a wire path, multiple wire paths may exist through a given tile path. If the wire path located within the tile path is arbitrarily selected, the selected wire path is not necessarily the most efficient wire path potentially located within the tile path.
Disclosed herein is a method and associated apparatus for the design and manufacture of VLSI circuit which incorporates therein a method for routing connections between component tiles of the VLSI circuit being designed. In accordance with the disclosed method, maximal component tile and maximal space tile lists are constructed and, from the constructed lists, the maximal component and maximal space tiles are positioned on the routing area(s). Optimal tile path and minimum cost wire path between pins that are CTs to be connected are determined and, utilizing the determined wire path, a VLSI circuit design is generated. The minimum cost path from a starting tile S to a destination tile T is determined by creating a priority queue and a search tree ST with the starting tile S as its root. While the priority queue is not empty, a low cost tile E neighboring the starting tile S is popped and, if a tile path to destination tile T is found, the cost of the tile path is evaluated and saved as the minimum cost point path. Otherwise, for each tile F neighboring the tile E, the search tree is expanded and, for a tile path having an estimated cost greater than the current cost, the search path is pruned. Otherwise, the search is expanded by adding the tile F (with corresponding minimum cost CE)) to the priority queue Q and inserting the tile F into the search tree as a child node of the tile E.

Detailed method for routing connections using tile expansion techniques and associated methods for designing and manufacturing VLSI circuits