Disclosed herein are an isolated polynucleotide comprising a lectin gene regulation site of a mud loach, expressed as SEQ ID NO: 1, an expression vector comprising a lectin gene regulation site of a mud loach, an expression vector comprising a lectin gene regulation site of a mud loach and a growth hormone gene of a mud loach, and an expression vector comprising a lectin gene regulation site of a mud loach and a growth hormone gene of a carp. Also provided a method of making a transgenic mud loach or carp comprising microinjecting the expression vector of a growth hormone gene into fertilized eggs of a mud loach or carp and culturing the eggs such that the eggs hatch and result in a mud loach or carp fish which expresses the growth hormone gene at levels which increase the rate of growth of the fish relative to wild-type mud loach or carp, and a mud loach or carp transformed with the expression vector. The transgenic mud loach or carp shows a stabilized improvement of growth rate without such adverse effect as excessive growth acceleration and has a significantly improved feed conversion efficiency, therefore, improving the culturing productivity.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an expression vector containing lectin gene regulation site of mud loach for producing tralsgenic fishes. More particularly, it relates to an expression vector of mud loach or carp growth hormone gene fused to lectin gene regulation site of mud loach, and a method of producing a fast-growing transgenic mud loach or carp by transforming it with the expression vector, and a transgenic mud loach or carp produced thereby.
2. Description of the Related Art
Transgenesis of fish is considered to provide a useful model for the research in expression and regulation of vertebrate genes and to produce a novel fish strain having a useful function; thereby to overcome the limit of productivity increase which remains unsolved in the conventional fish breeding (Iyengar, A., Muller, F. and Maclean, N., 1996. Regulation and expression of transgenes in fish a review. Transgenic Research 5, 147-166; Dunham, R. A., Devlin, R. H., 1999. Comparison of traditional breeding and transgenesis in farmed fish with implications for growth enhancement and fitness. In: Murray, J. D., Anderson, G. B., Oberbauer, A. M., McGloughlin, M. N. (Eds), Transgenic animals in agriculture. CAB International, Wallingford, UK, pp. 209-229). In an early stage of fish transgenesis, mammal or microorganism gene regulation sites are used to produce transgenic fishes. However, since the mammal or microorganism gene regulation sites were known to have little effect on fish cells, many efforts have been made to acquire new fish-originated promoters for developing transgenic fish.
Most of efforts to produce transgenic fishes for increasing productivity have been concentrated on the improvement of growth rate due to the recombination of growth hormone gene. However, for all the attempts at various fishes, successful improvements of growth rate have been limited to several fishes. Further, those fish-originated promoters to be used in fish transgenesis have been also limited to several species and applications. Up to this time, successful examples of improvement of growth rate and transformation have been transfer of the MT promoter of sockeye salmon and AFP promoter of ocean pout fused with salmon growth hormone gene into salmon species (Devlin, R. H., Yesaki, T. Y., Biagi, C. A., Donaldson, E. M., Shan, R. M., 1994. Extraordinary salmon growth. Nature 371, 209-210; Devlin, R. H., Yesaki, T. Y., Donaldson, E. M., Du, S. J., Hew, C. L., 1995. Production of germline transgenic Pacific salmonids with dramatically increased growth performance. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 52, 1376-1384; Hew, C. L., Fletcher, G. L. and Davies, P. L., 1995. Transgenic salmon: tailoring the genome for food production. Journal of Fish Biology 47, 1-19) or into tilapia (Rahman, M. A., Mak, R., Ayad, H., Smith, A., and Maclean, N., 1998. Expression of a novel piscine growth hormone gene results in growth enhancement in transgenic tilapia (Orechromis niloticus). Transgenic Research 7, 357-369), transfer of CMV promoter fused with growth hormone gene cDNA of tilapia into tilapia (Martinez, R., Estrada, M. P., Berlanga, J., Guillen, I., Hernandez, O., Cabrera, E., Pimentel, R., Morales, R., Herrera, F., Morales, A., Pina, J. C., Abad, Z., Sanchez, V., Phillippa, M., Lleonar, R. and Fuente, J., 1996. Growth enhancement in transgenic tilapia by ectopic expression of tilapia growth hormone. Molecular Marine Biology and Biotechnology 5, 62-70), transfer of xcex2-actin promoter of carp fused with growth hormone gene cDNA of carp into carp (Hinits, Y. and Moav, B., 1999. Growth performance studies in transgenic Cyprinus carpio. Aquacutlure 173, 285-296), and transfer of expression vector of mud loach growth hormone containing xcex2-actin promoter of mud loach into mud loach (Nam, Y. K., Noh, J. K., Cho, Y. S., Cho, H. J., Cho, K. N., Kim, C. G. and Kim, D. S., 2001. Dramatically accelerated growth and extraordinary gigantism of transgenic mud loach (Misgurnus mizolepis). Transgenic Research 10, 353-362). Except the success of virus-originated CMV promoter transferred into tilapia, promoters and regulation sites of the same or related fish species have been used as expression vectors of growth hormone.
In these successful examples, however, the effects cover a wide range from a limited improvement of growth rate to a greatly accelerated growth rate by dozens of times according to the expression vector and fish species to be used. Further, some promoters have been too effective to result in physiological deformation and adverse effect caused by an excessive expression of growth hormone (Dunham, R.A., Devlin, R.H., 1999).
A mud loach (Misgurnus mizolepis), a representative fresh-water fish species in Korea, has been widely used as an excellent food in Korea and Japan and the scale of its market and consumption is extending. However, due to a contamination of natural basin system and reclamation of rivers, the amount of natural catch decreases every year. Accordingly, culturing of mud loaches becomes inevitable and improvement of its breed through transgenesis is required to increase the productivity in a short time.
A possibility of transforming mud loach has been recognized when an expression vector of mud loach growth hormone gene containing xcex2-actin gene regulation site of mud loach was transferred into a fertilized egg to show a great growth acceleration effect However, since the xcex2-actin promoter to be used for the transgenesis has an excessive activity to various tissues, some of transgenic mud loaches show an excessive growth acceleration and grow to an unnecessary large size; therefore, more stable expression vector is required to be developed (Nam et al., 2001).
A carp (Cyprinus carpio) is one of fishes to be cultured widely in the world containing Korea. For all the attempts to improve carp breeds all over the world, a great increase of productivity is considered to be difficult for some time. Accordingly, transgenic carp of high growth rate are inevitable to increase productivity.
Research in transgenesis targeted on a carp has been made by some of groups. For example, Fu et al. led to a fast-growing carp by using an expression vector containing human growth hormone gene fused with mouse MT promoter (Fu, C., Cui, Y, Hung, S. S. O. and Zhu, Z., 1998. Growth and feed utilization by F4 human growth hormone transgenic carp fed diets with different protein levels. Journal of Fish Biology 53, 115-129), which had only slight improvement of growth rate and gave unwillingness about the genes and regulation sites originated from human. Further, Hinits and Moav (Hinits, Y. and Moav, B., 1999) tried to transform a carp by using carp xcex2-actin promoter and carp growth hormone cDNA, which showed also lower improvement of growth rate than two times except the result of winter period experiment. Therefore, a transgenic carp expected to improve the productivity greatly has not yet been developed.
Considering the above, a transgenesis of mud loach or carp is required to improve their culturing productivity, and therefore, a demand for developing an expression vector which expresses the transferred genes in an effective and stabilized marmer in mud loach or carp and gene regulation site therefor is increasing.
To improve the culturing productivity by producing a fast-growing transgenic mud loach or carp, it is an object of the present invention to provide a gene regulation site which can express the genes transferred into a mud loach or carp in an effective and stabilized manner, and an expression vector containing the gene regulation site.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a fast-growing mud loach and carp transformed with the expression vector, and a method of producing a fast-growing transgenic mud loach and carp using the expression vector.
To achieve the object of the present invention, there is provided an isolated polynucleotide comprising a lectin gene regulation site of a mud loach, expressed as SEQ ID NO: 1.
In accordance with a further aspect of the present invention, there are provided an expression vector comprising a lectin gene regulation site of a mud loach, an expression vector comprising a lectin gene regulation site of a mud loach and a growth hormone gene of a mud loach, and an expression vector comprising a lectin gene regulation site of a mud loach and a growth hormone gene of a carp.
In accordance with still another aspect of the present invention, there are provided a method of making a transgenic mud loach or carp comprising microinjecting the expression vector into fertilized eggs of a mud loach or carp and culturing the eggs such that the eggs hatch and result in a mud loach or carp fish which expresses the growth hormone gene at levels which increase the rate of growth of the fish relative to wild-type mud loach or carp, and a mud loach or carp transformed with the expression vector.
In the present invention, a lectin gene and regulation site containing its promoter is isolated from a mud loach, and then the lectin promoter is fised with various structural genes (e.g., genes for coding such reporter proteins as CAT or BFP) to construct reporter expression vectors, which confirm the ability of the lectin promoter to induce expressions in vivo. Especially, an expression vector of growth hormone gene containing the lectin gene regulation site of a mud loach is transferred into a mud loach or carp to produce a fast-growing transgenic fish breed, thereby increasing culturing productivity.

Expression vector containing lectin gene regulation site of mud loach


A method for automated speech recognition includes generating first and second pluralities of candidate speech recognition results corresponding to audio input data using a first general-purpose speech recognition engine and a second domain-specific speech recognition engine, respectively. The method further includes generating a third plurality of candidate speech recognition result including a plurality of words included in one of the first plurality of speech recognition results and at least one word included in another one of the second plurality of speech recognition results, ranking the third plurality of candidate speech recognition results using a pairwise ranker to identify a highest ranked candidate speech recognition result, and operating the automated system using the highest ranked speech recognition result as an input from the user.

Automated speech recognition is an important technique to implement human machine interfaces (HMIs) in a wide range of applications. In particular, speech recognition is useful in situations where a human user needs to focus on performing a task where using traditional input devices such as a mouse and keyboard would be inconvenient or impractical. For example, in-vehicle "infotainment" systems, home automation systems, and many uses of small electronic mobile devices such as smartphones, tablets, and wearable computers can employ speech recognition to receive speech commands and other input from a user.
Most prior art speech recognition systems use a trained speech recognition engine to convert recorded spoken inputs from a user into digital data that is suitable for processing in a computerized system. Various speech engines that are known to the art perform natural language understanding techniques to recognize the words that the user speaks and to extract semantic meaning from the words to control the operation of a computerized system.
In some situations, a single speech recognition engine is not necessarily optimal for recognizing speech from a user while the user performs different tasks. Prior art solutions attempt to combine multiple speech recognition systems to improve the accuracy of speech recognition including selecting low-level outputs from the acoustic models different speech recognition models or selecting entire sets of outputs from different speech recognition engines based on a predetermined ranking process. However, the prior art techniques that pick outputs from different speech recognition engines are often unsuitable for use in specific tasks where a user often employs some speech from a natural language but combines the natural language speech commands with words and sentences that are used for a specific purpose. For example, in an in-vehicle infotainment system the speech input from a vehicle operator can include a natural language such as English or Chinese combined with specific words and phrases that are not well recognized by speech recognition engines, and merely selecting the outputs of different speech recognition engines that each include errors at a high rate of probability does not increase the overall accuracy of speech recognition. Furthermore, existing speech recognition systems that combine only low-level outputs such as the acoustic model outputs or other low-level features from multiple speech recognition engines cannot evaluate the outputs of different speech recognition engines using higher-level linguistic features. Consequently, improvements to the operation of automated systems to increase the accuracy of speech recognition using multiple speech recognition engines would be beneficial.

System and method for speech recognition


A fuel cell and a fuel cell stack. A cathode (41) of a fuel cell (3) assumes the form of a square plate and is composed of a lower layer (61) on a side toward a solid oxide body (37), and an upper layer (63) which covers the outer surface of the lower layer (61). The lower layer (61) is square in planar shape, and its four side surfaces stand upright in its thickness direction. The upper layer (63) is square in planar shape and has a square main surface (outer surface) (65) which faces outward in its thickness direction, and side surfaces at its four sides. Opposite side surfaces (67) and (69) residing in a flow path extending between an oxidizing gas inlet side and an oxidizing gas outlet side are flat and inclined toward the center of the outer surface (65).

A conventionally known type of fuel cell stack is a solid oxide fuel cell stack (hereinafter, may be referred to merely as a fuel cell stack) which uses a solid oxide as an electrolyte layer.
For example, Patent Document 1 mentioned below describes a known fuel cell assuming the form of a flat plate and having a laminar solid electrolyte formed of a solid oxide having ion conductivity, a laminar cathode provided on one side of the solid electrolyte and contacting with oxidizing gas (e.g., air or oxygen), and a laminar anode provided on the other side of the solid electrolyte and contacting with fuel gas (e.g., hydrogen, methane, or ethanol). Also, there has been developed a fuel cell stack having a structure in which a plurality of the fuel cells are stacked.
In order to favorably perform reaction between the cathode and oxidizing gas and reaction between the anode and fuel gas, the fuel cell stack of this type is usually configured to increase contact areas between the electrodes and the gases. For example, regarding a cathode side, oxidizing gas is introduced toward the cathode from the direction of a side surface of the cathode (i.e., along a direction perpendicular to the thickness direction) so as to supply oxidizing gas into a space between the main surface (the outer surface with respect to the thickness direction) of the cathode and a separator of the cell, thereby supplying oxidizing gas to the cathode.
In another case, for example, in order to establish electrical connection between the cathode and an external device (a device outside the cell), a current collector is disposed in contact with the outer surface of the cathode (the main surface of the cathode). In recent years, in order to ensure electrical communication between the cathode and the current collector, for example, increasing the thickness of the cathode has been proposed (see Patent Document 2 mentioned below).


A non-tissue culture process using Agrobacterium-mediated vectors to produce transgenic plants from seeds of such plants as the common bean and soybean.

The development of single gene transfer techniques for plant species is of great interest and value to plant breeders because it can be used for the rapid transfer of beneficial genetic traits to plants. Numerous methods have been developed for transferring genes into plant tissues; Agrobacterium-mediated transfer (Murai et al., 1983; Fraley et al., 1983), direct DNA uptake (Paszkowski et al., 1984; Potrykus et al., 1985), microinjection (Crossway et al., 1986), high-velocity microprojectiles (Klein et al., 1987) and electroporation (Fromm et al., 1985; Fromm et al., 1986). A general problem with most of these gene transfer techniques is that the transformed tissues, either leaf pieces or cellular protoplast, must be subjected to some regeneration steps which require a considerable amount of time before a whole plant can be obtained. This process is further complicated because tissue culture procedures have not been established for many crop species. In most cases, gene transfers into crop species have been limited to transformed callus, not whole crop plants. In addition, tissue culture procedures can result in rearrangement of the inserted DNA; or somatic mutations may occur and result in the loss or alteration of desirable genetic traits accumulated by the expertise of many years of plant breeding.
Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfers are by far the most widely used gene transfer techniques, but the use of Agrobacterium strains may be limited because they do not efficiently infect monocotyledonous cereal crop species. However, recent reports (Hooykaas-Van Slogteren et al., 1984; Hernalsteens et al., 1984; Graves and Goldman, 1986; Grimsley et al., 1987; Schafer et al., 1987; Bytebier et al., 1987) suggest that conditions exist whereby Agrobacterium strains can bind to monocotyledonous plant cells and transfer their T-DNA regions into these cells. Interestingly, the report by Graves and Goldman (1986) suggests that Agrobacteria can infect scutellar and mesocotyl cells of germinating corn (Zea mays) seeds and that the resulting plants are transformed, although these transformed plants will be sectored. This technique suggests that Agrobacterium-mediated gene transfer can be accomplished without the need of any tissue culture intermediate steps. Additional support for the transformation of mesocotyl cells of germinating seeds was obtained by Feldmann and Marks (1987) as they were able to obtain G418 resistant Arabidopsis thaliana plants by co-cultivating germinating seeds with Agrobacteria containing a binary plasmid with a plant expressible neomycin phosphotransferase (NPT) II gene in its T-DNA region.
The development of gene transfer techniques for leguminous plants is of commercial interest because it facilitates the development of new cultivars with improved disease resistance, tolerance to specific herbicides and increased nutritional value. Unfortunately, even though these dicotyledonous species are susceptible to Agrobacterium infections (Facciotti et al., 1985; Owens and Cress, 1985; Byrne et al., 1987), its use for transformation is limited due to the lack of available and efficient regeneration procedures, especially for transformed tissues.
Extension of this technique to germinating seed of leguminous plants such as Phaseolus vulgaris, the common bean, is of great importance because regeneration procedures are not available, let alone the regeneration of transformed undifferentiated tissues.
The development of simple, non-tissue culture dependent methods for transfer, stable integration, and sexual transmission of genetic material into plant species is of great interest and importance. Reports from Graves and Goldman (1986) and Feldmann and Marks (1987) present evidence that transformed whole plants can be obtained via Agrobacterium-mediated transformation of the mesocotyl cells of germinating seeds.
The process of this invention represents (1) an improvement of the Graves and Goldman (1986) technique for the transformation of the seeds of monocotyledous plants and (2) its extension to dicotyledonous plants.

Agrobacterium mediated transformation of germinating plant seeds


Systems and methods are disclosed for searching across multi-lingual information. A user makes a query in a first language, and a group of documents that were previously machine-translated into the first language are searched for information responsive to the query. Contextual information derived can be used to improve the accuracy of the machine translation. Responsive documents are returned to the user. Alternatively, a query provided in a user's language may be translated into one or more other languages. Documents written in these languages can then be searched for information responsive to the appropriate translated query. Responsive documents can be translated into the user's language prior to providing them to the user.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to information search and retrieval.
More specifically, systems and methods are disclosed for searching across multi-lingual information.
2. Description of Related Art
In an information retrieval system, a user typically enters a query in a particular language and receives results selected from a corpus of documents that are written in the same language as the query. Potentially responsive documents written in other languages are ignored.
Systems and methods are needed for searching across multi-lingual information using queries provided in any of a variety of languages.

Cross-lingual indexing and information retrieval


System for stacking blanks produced, particularly in a progressive die process, has one or more stacking mandrels which can be lifted and/or lowered in a stacking channel. The stacking mandrel/mandrels has/have a stacking mandrel top part and a stacking mandrel bottom part. At least one metal sheet holder is arranged in the area of the stacking mandrel top part. The stacking bottom part has a rotatable construction.

This application claims the priority of German Patent Document 100 60 833.7, filed in Germany, Dec. 7, 2000, the disclosure of which is expressly incorporated by reference herein.
The invention relates to a system for stacking blanks produced particularly in a progressive die process.
DD 117369 describes a known system in which the stampings are stacked in a stacking channel perpendicular through the die plate of a cutting tool onto a stacking mandrel. The stacking mandrel is arranged on a transport carriage and can be coaxially connected with a guiding mandrel which reaches into the stacking channel. The guiding mandrel is equipped with a holding device for the purpose of forming an intermediate stack. The holding device, when engaged, permits the transfer of the finished stack from the guiding mandrel onto the stacking mandrel of the guiding carriage.
Further, DE 2605983 describes a system for the stacking-image-conforming stacking of stampings produced in the progressive die process. The stampings can be stacked in a stacking channel perpendicular through the bottom die of a cutting tool onto a stacking mandrel. The stacking mandrel is provided with a coaxially arranged guiding mandrel, which is held during the formation of an intermediate stack, in which case the guiding mandrel has a holding device for the intermediate stack formation. The guiding mandrel is constructed as a mandrel point which is smaller than the stacking mandrel and which, by way of the holding device arranged inside the stacking channel, is held during the stack exchange. During the stack exchange, the stacking mandrel, separated from the mandrel point, can be lowered below the removal plane of the stacks.
Likewise, a process is known from DE 430818 for producing metal sheet stacks from stamped metal sheets. The metal sheet stacks are loosely lined up to form rods. The stamped metal sheets are provided with an axle bore and additional openings as well as an outer circumference which are symmetrically designed at an angular pitch extending in a circular manner at an integral angular pitch number. The stamped metal sheets in each case forming the stack, after the addition of one additional metal sheet respectively, are rotated by an angular pitch. When the maximal piece number is reached, the stack as a whole is pushed along by the stack height.
An object of the present invention is to provide a system for stacking blanks which fully automatically creates stacks which compensate for a possibly existing difference in metal sheet thicknesses.
This object has been achieved by a system for stacking blanks produced, particularly in the progressive die process, comprising at least one stacking mandrel which can be lifted and/or lowered in a stacking channel. The stacking mandrel has a stacking mandrel top part and a stacking mandrel bottom part, in the area of the stacking mandrel top part at least one metal sheet holder being arranged, and the stacking mandrel bottom part being constructed in a rotatable manner.
According to the invention, it is provided that at least one fixing element is arranged essentially in the area between the stacking mandrel top part underside and the stacking mandrel bottom part top side.
According to a further asset of the present invention, it is provided that the stacking mandrel top part underside has at least one holding element for connecting the stacking mandrel bottom part with the stacking mandrel top part.
In another further feature according to the invention, it is provided that, at least one mandrel holder element is arranged essentially in the area of the stacking mandrel top part and the stacking mandrel bottom part.
Furthermore, it is provided according to the invention that the mandrel holder element is arranged in a slidable manner. In a still further development according to the invention, the metal sheet holder is arranged in a slidable manner.
In yet another further development according to the invention, the stacking mandrel bottom part is detachably connected with a lifting frame. Furthermore, a transport device is arranged essentially below the stacking mandrel bottom part.
In a still further development according to the invention, the lifting frame is arranged such that it penetrates the transport device and can be lowered in the latter. The lifting frame has at last one rotatable element.

System for stacking blanks produced particularly in a progressive die process


A rotary machine having a machine body and a cover covering an opening of the body. The cover is fixed to the body by an improved vibration-absorbent structure. A peripheral edge of the cover which is adjacent to the body has plate-spring-shaped mounting brackets whose distal ends project from the edge. The end of the machine body which is adjacent to the cover has mounting portions that are grooves or holes. The bracket distal ends are inserted into the mounting portions through rubber vibration insulating members. With the structure, the cover is assembled at improved efficiency and is restrained from vibration.

The present invention relates to a construction of a rotary machine such as a totally enclosed fan cooled rotary motor.
A conventional totally enclosed fan-cooled rotary motor has the following construction. As shown in FIG. 1, a stator comprising a stator core 2 and a stator coil 3 wound thereon is disposed within a stator frame 1 and is positioned between the inner periphery of the frame 1 and a rotor 5. The rotor 5 is disposed inward of the stator and is fixed to a rotary shaft 6. An end bracket 4 is fixed to one end of the stator frame 1. The rotary shaft 6 is rotatably supported by a bearing 7 which is in turn supported by the bracket 4. One end of the rotary shaft 6 extends through the end bracket 4, and a fan 8 is mounted to this shaft end. A fan cover 9 covering the fan 8 is fixed by bolts 11 to projection seats 10 provided on the end bracket 4.
The above-described construction entails the following problem. The fan cover 9 may resonate, generating large, unpleasant sound, when it is influenced by, e.g., incorrect balance of the rotor 5, electromagnetic vibration of the motor which includes high-frequency vibration when an inverter is driven, or gear meshing vibration of a geared motor.
In order to overcome the problem, the following proposals have hitherto been made:
(1) The adoption of a damping material as the material forming the fan cover;
(2) The adoption of a rubber vibration insulator, as shown in FIG. 2a or 2b. In the structure shown in FIG. 2a, a groove is formed on and around the side wall of a cylindrical rubber vibration insulator 12, while a hole is formed through the fan cover 9. The peripheral edge portion around the hole is fitted into the insulator groove. A bolt 11 is extended through a washer and the rubber vibration insulator 12, and is threaded into the projection seat 10, thereby fixing the fan cover 9 in place. In the structure shown in FIG. 2b, a rubber vibration insulator 12' is folded with a U-shaped section and has a protrusion which can be fit into a hole formed in the fan cover 9. A portion of the cover 9 is held between two layers of the rubber insulator 12'. A bolt 11 is threaded into the projection seat 10 in a similar manner, thereby fixing the fan cover 9 to the projection seats 10.
(3) The fan cover 9 is fixed to the projection seats 10 by means of plastic mounting pieces (see Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 63-4156).
However, the above-described conventional vibration restraining means under Items (1) to (3) entail the following drawbacks:
The restraining means (1) is expensive because it employs as the damping material, a special material.
The restraining means (2) requires a long assembly time because the rubber vibration insulators must completely separate the fan cover from the projection seats. If the cover and the seats should brought into mutual contact through the bolts, the vibration restraining effect will be spoiled.
With the restraining means (3), the vibration insulating effect must be achieved at the sacrifice of strength.


The invention provides a cellular packing including a vapor/liquid separation device that can be stacked vertically with minimum wasted space. The packing uses static vanes in each cell to direct the liquid component of a vapor/liquid mixture to exit slots in a first cell and a recirculation path for the liquid to be contacted with vapor again in a second cell located below the first.

This invention relates to packing elements for use in chemical process equipment. It relates specifically to packing elements of a novel and advantageous design that are particularly useful in separating vapors from entrained liquids while permitting counterflow contact to maximize mass transfer between the vapor and the liquid.
In distillation or fractionation towers in which a liquid and a vapor are contacted in a countercurrent flow to effect mass transfer, the vapor and liquid to some extent travel co-currently as a result of entrainment of the liquid in the vapor. There is a need to separate these components at the end of the passage through the tower to maintain efficient operation. The vapor entrains significant amounts of liquid during its passage, particularly if the vapor moves with a relatively high velocity. Separation of the entrained liquid is very desirable to complete the process and therefore various devices have been designed to accomplish this end.
While effective separation can be achieved by slowing the rate of flow, this is often impractical for reasons of space or efficiency of recycling. It is therefore highly desirable that the separation process be achieved "in-line".
A particularly effective device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,493 which provides a plurality of packing elements or cells in vertically stacked layers. In each cell an upflowing vapor/liquid mixture enters through slits in the bottom and exits at the top into a cell in the layer above through slits in the bottom of that cell. Thus vapor/liquid mixture enters through slits in the bottom of a first cell and is caused to take on a rotational motion as it rises within the cell. This causes the liquid component to be expelled through slits in the outer wall of the cell into a downcomer connected to second similar cell offset below the first cell in which it meets an upflowing vapor/liquid mixture. Meanwhile the upflowing vapor from the first cell enters through slits in the bottom of a third cell located above the first cell. By having cells in adjacent layers off-set, the flows are caused to mix thus minimizing localized variations. This arrangement however carries with it certain space penalties that are preferably avoided. The present invention provides a packing system with liquid/vapor separation capabilities that comprises a series of identical cells stacked one on top of another which provide a highly compact and yet efficient structure for achieving the separation.

Norton Chemical Process Products Corporation


An inspection apparatus determines information indicative of structure that may be hidden behind an obscuring boundary, such as a wall. A processor collects measurements of properties characterizing the hidden structure and measurements of location of the apparatus. The collected data are mapped to produce an image of intensity in the characteristic measurements. Each intensity value in the image reflects a measure of density, of material type, or of some other specific information by which hidden structure can be discerned. The intensity changes indicating the hidden structure are displayed to a user via color-coded pixels or the like.

The present general inventive concept is directed to moving spatial sensors and associated image and signal processing for inspection of materials and/or structure in a region of interest. The general inventive concept finds applicability in, among other things, imaging of hidden structures and objects in and behind obscuring surfaces, such as, for example, walls. The present general inventive concept achieves benefits over other devices, such as so-called "stud-finders" and other related construction and building inspection tools, by providing a spatial image of the area hidden by an obscuring barrier, such as wall covering material.
Conventional stud finders provide users with information relating to hidden structure in walls, such as the positions of wooden and metal studs, and in some cases, electrical wires or pipes. This is achieved by an assortment of data acquisition techniques, including measurements of material density or material transitions via, among others, RF, ultrasonic, magnetic, electrical and dielectric capacitance measurements. Stud finders are typically divided into those that detect the center of the stud, or other object of density, and those that detect edges at a sharp density transitions. One limitation in the prevailing art is that only a single stud, or other object of interest, can be visually located at one time, using the hand-held devices' built-in indicators. Typical designs allow only a small region to be examined at a time; it is up to the user to mark the wall in such a way as to make sense of the overall structure behind it. If exploring the wall to seek out specific structures, as opposed to just the nearest stud, extensive marks with tape, pen, pencil or the like must be made before the hidden structure can be visualized. An additional limitation is that the sensors are generally preferentially biased to detect transitions in only one dimension. While this is adequate for the primary task of stud finding, it requires the user to rotate the device and start over to look for other structure, such as horizontal blocking between studs. In the case of ceilings, floors, or other arrangements in which structural members are concealed, a user may be required to possess and apply learned experience in determining the expected orientation of studs, beams, joists, etc. A further limitation of present devices is in dynamic range; conventional devices are generally self-calibrating and require learned finesse on the part of the user and often multiple attempts in order to successfully identify internal wall structure. Moreover, devices of present art generally reduce sensitivity to accommodate the strongest sensor return, thus making it very difficult to detect multiple hidden objects of differing densities and/or depths without many small iterative passes across the wall surface.


A near-eye display projects virtual images from an image generator to an eyebox within which the virtual images can be seen by a viewer. A first optical path conveys image-bearing light from the image generator to a selectively reflective powered optic and a second optical path conveys the image-bearing light along a line of sight from the selectively reflective powered optic to the eyebox. First and second selectively reflective surfaces fold the first optical path with respect to the second optical path to locate the image generator out of the line of sight to the eyebox. The image generator is effectively inclined to the line of sight to the eyebox for reducing a thickness of the near-eye display. The selectively reflective powered optic is oriented normal to local overlapping portions of the first and second optical paths at the selectively reflective powered optic.

Near-eye displays, particularly those that also provide see-through views of the ambient environment, incorporate powered optics for forming virtual images without unduly obstructing views of the ambient environment. Some such displays fold light paths to the powered optics out of the line of sight to the ambient environment and in others, the powered optics are at least partially transparent to light from the ambient environment.
The powered optics folded out of the line of sight generally add to another dimension of the displays, particularly to the thickness of the displays. Such additional thickness is often undesirable. Near-eye displays are generally formed as thin as possible to more closely replicate the styles of other eyewear.
The powered optics that are located along the line of sight are at least partially transmissive to ambient light but are generally oriented off axis to improve overall light efficiency and to reduce thickness requirements of other display optics for directing image-bearing light to the powered optics. The focusing power of the powered optics is expressed under reflection. To preserve a natural view of the ambient environment, either an additional optic is required to undo the focusing power under transmission or the powered optic is formed as a holographic optical element that transmits ambient light largely undisturbed. The off-axis orientation of the in-line powered optics often requires corrections for both image distortion and chromatic aberration.


A game ball is formed by molding a carcass in the final shape of the ball, spraying a mold surface with cover material, inserting the carcass into the mold, and molding the cover material onto the carcass.

This invention relates to game balls such as basketballs, footballs, soccer balls, and volley balls. More particularly, the invention relates to a game ball having a thin cover that is sprayed-on, dipped-on, or other wise applied to the ball.
Performance type basketballs, footballs, soccer balls and volley balls are traditionally made by forming a carcass, applying panels of cover material to the carcass, and molding the cover material onto the carcass.
For many years the most expensive high end basketballs used leather covers. Less expensive basketballs use covers made of synthetic leather. Prior art methods for forming basketballs, soccer balls, and volley balls and various cover material therefor are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,024,661, 5,681,233, 5,580,049, 5,320,345, and 5,310,178. The '661, '049, and '178 patents describe synthetic leather cover materials which are formed from polyurethane and fibers.
As described in said patents, a basketball is conventionally made by first forming a carcass. The carcass includes an inflatable bladder, which is reinforced by a layer of thread, which is wound around the bladder. The carcass may be completed by applying panels of rubber to the thread-wound bladder and molding the resulting product under heat and pressure to fuse the rubber to the thread-wound bladder. Panels of cover material are applied to the carcass and secured to the carcass by molding under heat and pressure.

Game ball having a thin cover and method of making same


A system for application management. A plurality of applications, each having an associated precedence, an include data string and an exclude data string. A plurality of daemons, each for monitoring a data port and extracting a data stream received at the data port. A system manager for receiving the precedence, the include data string and the exclude data string for each application and an extracted data stream from one of the daemons and selecting one of the plurality of applications as a function of the precedence, the include data string and the exclude data string for each application.

An unsolved problem in a modular multi-component system is the means by which a plurality of input forms may be accepted from a plurality of sources such that the data is routed to an application processor suited to process that data form.
In traditional systems, this problem did not occur because each path by which data could be presented to the system was dedicated to a particular application processor. However, in current systems it is required to accept many forms of input over each input path.
The current practice is to provide for a specific set of input forms to be accepted on each of the known input sources. Routing code is devised for each input source to detect the variation in input form, and direct the data to the proper application processor.
As devices become more modular and configurable, the complexity of the routing code grows. Further, the full configuration of possible application processors must be known when the routing algorithm is devised, which complicates steering the input to the application processor in a modular device where the set of application processors may change from time to time.

Regular expression selection for configurable application data steering


A torque and air gap adjustment mechanism is provided for a spring engaged electromagnetic brake or clutch, and consists of a plurality of hubs threaded to one another and to the brake casing for axial movement with respect thereto and with respect to each other. A plurality of detents are disposed within the hub positioned in cylindrical holes with springs forcing them away from each other and out of the holes. These detents are retained in the holes at one end by a hub provided for the torque adjustment and at the other end by the brake plate. In both the hub and the brake plate there are indentations to retain the detents. These indentations have differing angles as do the engaging surfaces of the detents to permit torque adjustment independent of air gap adjustment upon rotation of the torque adjusting hub.

(1.) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to electromagnetic clutches or brakes, and more particularly, spring-biased brakes.
(2.) Description of the Prior Art
In the prior art, spring engaged clutches and brakes were used in applications where it was desirable that the clutch or brake be engaged or coupled when there was an absence of electrical power. This is frequently referred to as a "fail-safe" design. A "fail-safe" clutch could be used, for example, in a cooling fan application where it is desirable to turn the fan on and off to control the temperature of a device, but in the event of a loss of control, it would be safer for the fan to be on continuously and over-cool. "Fail-safe" brakes are more common in their application to moving devices (elevators, fork trucks, computer disc drives, etc.) which are safer stopped than moving.
These brakes are constructed with one or more plates engaging one or more sets of brake shoes on a friction disc in the spring-biased position. There is a gap between the electromagnetic force portion and the plates. Due to the wear of the friction material on the brake pads, this gap increases with use. Accordingly, two frequently called for adjustments are adjustment of the spring force, which in turn assists braking torque, and adjustment of the air gap. The air gap adjustment is necessary when the gaps becomes so large that the plate will not disengage from the brake shoe due to insufficient magnetic force. At that point, either the friction disc of the brake must be replaced or the air gap adjusted.
Further in the prior art, it was known to make these adjustments independent of one another and at a plurality of locations as through the number of screws or adjustable springs.
It is desirable from a maintenance standpoint to provide a single point of adjustment and to combine these functions of adjustment of air gap and torque in a single integrated assembly.
It is further desirable that this assemblage provide for uniform application of force against the plate.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a single assembly integrated adjustment device for air gap and braking torque.
It is a further object of this invention to provide such a device in which there is an independent control for the uniform application of force in the adjustment of torque uniformly about the plate and independently of the air gap adjustment mechanism which can operate coextensively with that mechanism.
It is a further object of this invention to reduce the number of moving parts necessary to accomplish this end.
These and other objects of this invention will become apparent from the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Torque and air gap adjustment mechanism for spring engaged brake or clutch


The present invention discloses a current-mirror-based electrostatic discharge (ESD) clamping circuit comprising: a first power terminal; a second power terminal; a current-mirror-based ESD detector; a driver; and an ESD clamping element. The current-mirror-based ESD detector includes: a resistor coupled between the first power terminal and a detection-output-terminal; a semiconductor capacitor coupled between the detection-output-terminal and an ESD triggered current mirror; and the ESD triggered current mirror operable to electrically connect the semiconductor capacitor and/or the detection-output-terminal with the second power terminal according to the level of a driving signal under an ESD operation. The driver is operable to generate the driving signal according to the voltages of the detection-output-terminal and the first and second power terminals. The ESD clamping element is operable to provide a conducting path from the first power terminal to the second power terminal according to the level of the driving signal under the ESD operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrostatic discharge circuit, especially to a current-mirror-based electrostatic discharge clamping circuit and a current-mirror-based electrostatic discharge detector.
2. Description of Related Art
An electrostatic discharge (ESD) clamping circuit is capable of preventing an integrated circuit from the damage of electrostatic discharge. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional ESD clamping circuit 100 including: a high-voltage terminal 110; a low-voltage terminal 120; a resistor 130; a capacitor 140; an inverter 150; and a switch 160. Under a normal mode (that is to say an ESD-free mode), the capacitor 140 blocks DC voltage while the voltage of the input end of the inverter 150 is a high voltage and the voltage of its output end is a low voltage, so that the switch 160 is not conductive due to the low voltage. Under an ESD mode, the capacitor 140 is not able to reflect the instant voltage variation of the high-voltage terminal 110 (because the voltage of a capacitor will not substantially change immediately) while the voltage of the input end of the inverter 150 is a low voltage and the voltage of its output end is a high voltage, so that the switch 160 is conductive due to the high voltage and carries out electrostatic discharge.
On the basis of the above, the capacitor 140 of the ESD clamping circuit 100 is usually a MOS (metal oxide semiconductor) capacitor in which the material of its gate layer could be electricity-conductive material (e.g. polysilicon) other than metal. However, in an advanced semiconductor process, the thickness of the gate layer is getting thinner and thinner, which leads to a more and more serious gate leakage problem. Consequently, the ESD clamping circuit 100 of FIG. 1 suffers the same problem, and gate leakage will pass through the capacitor 140 which is not supposed to be conductive ideally. This problem not only causes undesired power-consumption, but also makes the voltage of the input end of the inverter 150 unstable. The voltage of the input end may change from a high voltage to a low voltage under the aforementioned normal mode, which makes the switch 160 conductive improperly.
People who are interested in the prior art may refer to the following documents: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,797,899, 5,946,177, 6,385,021, 6,724,603, 6,989,979 and 8,498,085.

Current-mirror-based electrostatic discharge clamping circuit and current-mirror-based electrostatic discharge detector


A method of producing a decorative pattern on a plastic card housing an etronic circuit in an injection molding machine, includes the steps of introducing and positioning a film, which has applied on at least one surface thereof a decorative pattern, in an open cavity of the injection molding machine, closing the cavity so that the film is fixed and clamped in position, after the closing of the cavity, inserting an electronic circuit chip through an aperture into the mold cavity, injecting a support composition for the card into the mold cavity, and after termination of the injection process, removing the gate or any excess material from the periphery of the card, opening the mold cavity and removing the decorated card.

A chip card is a card-like device formed primarily of plastic having a credit card format, which has incorporated therein an electronic device or semi-conductor chip. This semi-conductor chip may, for instance, store password data or identifying code data or bank or telephone account data. It may also store account balance information, or be encoded with a "value" which may be used in transactions instead of money, or may be incremented by the purchase of extra "value" points. As compared with magnetically encoded stripes, semi-conductor chips may provide greater security against destruction and/or change of data. In addition, the provision of electronic circuits allows increased data storage and, under certain circumstances, additional functionality. These electronic devices, as well as their interface with associated information reading and recording apparatus, are well known, and need not be explained in detail. The present invention relates to a method of applying decorative graphics to smart cards, and is adaptable to the various smart card formats.
Cards are used by the issuers as advertising supports and also are identified through their surface markings, such as multicolor graphics. In this connection, increasingly greater demands are being made on the design and the nature of the surface of the cards. Thus, these surface marking serve a number of purposes. First, the markings serve to identify the card to both the user and to a merchant. Second, the markings serve to make the cards difficult to counterfeit. Finally, the markings serve to promote the issuer or sponsor of the card. Thus, while the graphics essentially do not affect the function of the card related to the associated electronics, they nevertheless serve an important purpose. Further, the graphics may also be used for positioning the card during its use, and to provide information or instructions.
German Unexamined Patent Application DE OS 31 30 135, incorporated herein by reference, discloses a method for the manufacture of a chip card with data-processing functions, which has a semiconductor chip in which the casting around the support card and the installation of the chip are carded out in two operating steps. The decoration of the chip card is not described in DE OS 31 30 135.
Ordinarily, the card, provided with a chip, is provided with decoration in a separate step, and at a separate station in the manufacturing apparatus, from where the plastic card is molded with the electronic circuit embedded in the card. The need for the expensive and difficult three-dimensional matching of finished chip supports and the applied decoration is a disadvantage in this connection. Thus, the chip cards are subjected to an expensive, time-intensive process after the chip is imbedded in the card.

Method for the manufacture of a decorated chip card

Mannesmann Aktiengesellschaft a Corp of the Federal Republic of Germany


A system and method for generating actions utilizing predefined commands within a communications network comprises predefined commands called symbol commands. These are character strings entered into an internet platform during an internet protocol session. The method and system can be used via the internet and is well-suited for mobile use. In addition, utilization of keywords and alpha-numeric or other character symbols to form symbol commands allows for complex command structuring. A search process is used in combination with a symbol command and a symbol command directory to identify specific goods and services, or related symbol commands. In addition, a platform performs specific predetermined actions in response to the symbol command such as making product purchases or providing services such as location-based services, coupon delivery or travel ticketing. The symbol command structure and internet platform will also utilize identification information associated with an individual user. Furthermore, the platform may implement a response using location information associated with the user from the country code, area code or prefix code of a user's telephone number, or use GPS location information associated with the user's internet device. The symbol command system and method provide an improved form of access to products and services via the internet.

Goods and services are widely available over the internet. However, purchasing goods and services on the internet often requires a preliminary internet search to locate a website providing a specific good or service desired by a user. In addition, after an appropriate website is located, the user must then also provide additional and detailed data to the website relating to (1) the user's identity, (2) billing information of a third-party relating to the user's source for purchase credit, and (3) user chosen delivery options. These data input tasks can be particularly challenging to a mobile user having a small form-factor mobile device, and especially due to the limited viewing access on the device for viewing the webpage and the smaller key-pad for providing data input through the device.
Within the telecommunications industry, and in particular with respect to the major wireless service providers in that industry, select goods or services can be associated with a numeric code known as a "short code" or Common Short Code (CSC) for access by a mobile user. Industry standard implementations of these CSC numbers are limited in that the CSC is merely used as a numeric code used for address identification and contains no other intrinsic function. Wireless service providers have deployed CSC short codes, which are phone numbers that are input via Short Message Service (SMS) text messages and forwarded by a user to the provider. Then the associated goods or services are ordered and billed for using the provider's billing systems.
In order for a distributor to obtain a CSC number for that distributor to associate with a good or service, the distributor must first lease or otherwise obtain a CSC number from a CSC trade association. Then the distributor must negotiate with each wireless service provider to support the leased CSC number. CSC numbers are unique within a domestic wireless service provider network system and only operate within an approving provider's network. When a distributor implements a CSC number this way, the distributor cannot use the CSC number internationally and the CSC number will have other cross-network limitations. Additionally, CSC numbers implemented this way through a wireless service provider's network do not operate through internet communication protocols for web-based applications.
The present invention is not in any way limited to just distributing a good or service associated with a Common Short Code (CSC). However, the systems and methods of the present invention provide for an alternate channel to distribute any good or service associated with a CSC, but without the typical difficulties associated with conventional CSC distribution channels, such as international boundaries or cross-network limitations. According to the present invention, these same goods and services can still be distributed through the domestic wireless service provider network systems in which a CSC has been approved. However, any regional, national or international communications network can be used in distributing the same goods and services.

System and method for using symbol command language within a communications network


Methods and apparatus for forming and/or enabling interconnection in a substrate. An example embodiment of a method comprises forming a via in the substrate. A preconditioning layer is deposited on the substrate. A catalyst layer is then bound to the preconditioning layer. A conductive material is deposited on the catalyst layer by electro-less deposition to fill the via with the conductive material. Deposition of the conductive material is selectively disabled from coating surfaces of the substrate outside the via. Advantageous alternatives are presented.

The present invention generally relates to electrically conductive vias for three dimensional electronic and electromechanical device structures and particularly relates to a method for forming such vias in a substrate of such a device.
Electrically conductive vias are usually formed in a substrate material such as a silicon wafer to permit communication of signals between electronic devices such as transistors and the like located on opposite sides of the substrate. Such vias are occasionally referred to as through-wafer interconnections. Typically, the via is formed by initially forming an aperture extending through the substrate. As indicated in P. C. Andricacos et al. xe2x80x9cDamascene Copper Electroplating for Chip Interconnectionsxe2x80x9d IBM J. Res. Develop. 1998, Vol. 42, 567, the aperture is then filled with an electrically conductive material such as a metal. There are a variety of conventional deposition processes for filling an aperture with metal. Examples of such processes include the evaporation or sputtering of metal in vacuum, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), electroplating, or electroless deposition (ELD).
Evaporation or sputtering of metal in vacuum is a relatively simple technique involving placement of the substrate containing the apertures in a vacuum chamber. The entire surface of the substrate is then covered with a metal evaporated or sputtered from a source. Selective deposition of metal to selected areas of the substrate can be achieved by placing a mask between the source and the substrate. Such techniques are sometimes referred to as shadowed metallization. In an alternative technique, the mask is replaced by a patterned layer of resist covering the substrate save for the apertures to be filled. After metallization, surplus metal around the apertures is removed together with the underlying resist.
CVD also involves placing the substrate containing the apertures in a vacuum environment. In this technique, metallization is realized by decomposing a gaseous precursor compound of a metal injected inside the vacuum chamber. The gaseous compound decomposes and the metal, or an alloy thereof accumulates on the surface of the substrate. Selective metallization can be achieved through use of a gaseous precursor which reacts only with a specific material. By patterning such a material onto the substrate, deposition can be made selective.
Electroplating offers an alternative to the aforementioned techniques of metal deposition from vacuum. In electroplating, the substrate is immersed in an electroplating bath containing a metallic complex in solution. The metal content of the solution is deposited on the substrate by passing an electrical current through the substrate and the solution. It will be appreciated that the substrate should therefore be either conductive or otherwise made conductive. It will also be appreciated that the substrate should be compatible with the various chemicals forming the electroplating bath. In the event that the substrate is not electrically conductive, electroplating can be performed by initially applying a conductive layer by vacuum deposition for example. A resist patterned onto the surface of the substrate to be electroplated can localize metal deposition from solution to desired areas of the substrate. Electroplating can be performed at higher rates of deposition through use of a higher current density on the substrate. Electroplating can also be expedited by stirring the electroplating bath.
ELD is a similar process to that of electroplating. However, as indicated in G. O. Mallory, J. B. Haidu xe2x80x9cElectroless Plating: Fundamentals and Applicationsxe2x80x9d American Electroplaters and Surface Finishers Society, Orlando, Fla., USA, 1990, the substrate need not be conductive for ELD to work. In ELD, the surface of the substrate is immersed in a bath containing a metallic complex in solution. The metallic complex is reduced and deposited from the solution to the surface of the substrate as chemical species in the solution oxidize. It is not necessary to pass a current through the system. It will be appreciated then that ELD is attractive for covering insulating substrates with metals or alloys. ELD is promoted by placing a catalyst on the substrate to start or xe2x80x9cseedxe2x80x9d the deposition reaction. The reaction then typically continues in an autocatalytic manner. A patterned resist may be employed to keep the ELD of a metal localized to specific areas of the substrate.
Metal CVD is a relatively expensive process because it has a limited throughput and requires relatively complex and expensive equipment such as a vacuum chamber, pumps, valves. Additionally, metal CVD is unreliable at low temperatures, below 350 degrees centigrade, for example. Thus, metal CVD may be unsuitable for metallizing some heat-sensitive substrates. Furthermore, metal CVD exhibits a relatively slow deposition rate and is therefore unsuitable for filling vias having a diameter of the order of tens of micrometers.
Vacuum sputtering and deposition has similar disadvantages, again requiring relatively expensive equipment, and having limited deposition rates. Vacuum deposition involves pumping delays, thereby limiting throughput. Also, if the apertures are too narrow, they may be very difficult to fill with metal because of the shadowing effect of the walls of the apertures. Metal deposition from solution is suited to the filling of apertures with metals because such techniques are generally cheaper and faster. However, electroplating is not suited to all applications because, as indicated earlier, it requires at least a conductive layer on the substrate to start the electroplating process. This conductive or xe2x80x9cseedxe2x80x9d layer is typically deposited with one of the aforementioned techniques and thus introduces the associated disadvantages.
Filling vias with metal through ELD is difficult because the metal should be deposited relatively thickly so that vias are properly filled. However, relatively thick metal layers deposited by ELD tend to have relatively high internal mechanical stress and poor adhesion to the substrate. It is difficult to keep the metal deposited via ELD localized to the vias. Conventionally, the ELD catalyst is placed from solution onto the entire surface of the substrate. ELD then takes place everywhere both inside and outside the vias. Polishing of the substrate after deposition is then performed to remove surplus metal depositions. Post-deposition cleaning steps such as polishing are unsuitable for use in the fabrication of devices in which delicate microstructures are present because such structures are susceptible to damage by such actions. Coating the substrate with the ELD catalyst and then masking the catalyst outside the vias using a patterned resist is relatively expensive and difficult. Spin coating a resist onto the substrate having deep structures is also relatively difficult and requires relatively expensive equipment for performing the spin coating, alignment, exposure, development, and removal of the exposed resist.
Accordingly, it would be desirable to fill vias in a substrate with conductive material such as metal or alloy with better filling selectivity, at lower cost, and without demand for post-cleaning.
Thus, the present invention provides methods and apparatus for forming an interconnection in a substrate. An example embodiment of the method comprising: forming a via in the substrate; depositing a preconditioning layer on the substrate binding a catalyst layer to the preconditioning layer; depositing a conductive material on the catalyst layer by electro-less deposition to fill the via with the conductive material; and, selectively disabling deposition of the conductive material from coating surfaces of the substrate outside the via.
In advantageous embodiments of the present invention, an isolation layer is formed on the substrate prior to deposition of the preconditioning layer. The isolation preferably comprises an oxide of the substrate. Particularly advantageous embodiments of the present invention comprise hydrophilizing the substrate prior to deposition of the preconditioning layer.
In particularly advantageous embodiments of the present invention, the selective disabling comprises immersing the substrate in a processing solution and employing surface tension to prevent ingress of a processing solution into the via. The processing solution preferably comprises an aqueous solution. The aqueous solution may comprise an alkaline solution. Alternatively, the aqueous solution may comprise an oxidizing agent.
In an advantageous embodiment of the present invention, there is provided a method for selectively filling vias formed in a substrate. The filling of the vias is effected through electroless deposition of a metal or alloy without depositing excess of material outside the vias, thereby avoiding subsequent polishing steps necessary to remove surplus material outside the vias.
In an advantageous embodiment, vias in a substrate are filled by grafting from solution a relatively thin, homogeneous organic layer on the interior walls of the via and other surfaces of the substrate. The organic layer is then selectively removed from the surface of the substrate, but not from the interior of the vias. The removal is performed by plasma sputtering. Catalytic particles are then bound from solution to the residual organic layer remaining in the vias. The catalytic particles initiate the ELD of a metal inside the vias.

Selective filling of electrically conductive vias for three dimensional device structures

International Business Machines Corporation


An optical transmission device for use on an apparatus for disposing a sleeve in encircling relation on an article unit is disclosed. Signals are sent and received between two data handling devices monitoring the machine. The first data handling device is positioned on a rotating portion of the apparatus and the second data handling device is positioned on another portion of the apparatus independent of the rotating portion. The optical transmission device comprises a first optical fiber element attached at a first end to the first rotating data handling device. The first element has an inner and an outer portion wherein the inner and outer portions are concentric. A second optical fiber element is also included and is attached at a first end to the second data handling device. The second element has an inner and an outer portion wherein the inner and outer portions are concentric and correspond to the inner and outer portions of the first element. The first and second elements each have second ends with the second ends facing each other with inner and outer end portions in correspondence with one another and positioned co-axial with the rotation axis of the rotating portion of the apparatus so that there is a gap between the second ends.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for simultaneously disposing tubular labels on a plurality of bottles, or containers, and, more particularly, to fiber optic cables for use in transferring control signals between two data handling devices thereon.
Sleeves or tubular labels having an endless shape have shown themselves to be particularly attractive for use as labels for bottle or containers. Such sleeves or tubular labels are most typically pre-printed plastic labels formed from thin flexible plastic film and these printed labels, commonly referred to as sleeve labels or tubular labels, have found wide use as labels for blow-molded plastic containers such as, for example, multi-liter soft drink bottles, other beverage bottles, and detergent chemical containers. A number of apparatus are available to place such labels on containers. One example of such an apparatus is disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/918,211 filed on Jul. 21, 1992, now allowed on Sep. 21, 1993 which is expressly incorporated herein by reference.
These machines are typically controlled via two data handling devices which are typically computers, such as programmable logic controllers (PLC). One PLC is usually situated on the rotating carousel portion of the machine and the other PLC is usually positioned off the rotating portion of the machine. Information preferably is transferred between the data handling devices via signals through fiber optic cable. In transferring these signals between the first PLC positioned on the carousel and the second PLC, difficulties arise with the tangling of the fiber optic cables due to the rotating arrangement.
One suggestion to eliminate a similar problem occurring on knitting machines is seen in U.S. Pat. No. 4,587,812 to Brega. Brega employs a gap between a first fiber optic cable and a second fiber optic cable to avoid tangling of the cables due to the relative rotation of the cables. However, the Brega system can transmit information in only one direction at any one time. This limitation makes Brega unsuitable for many applications requiring simultaneous dual transmission.


A hot runner system having a nozzle received in a well in a mold plate. The nozzle has a melt channel, a nozzle body through which the melt channel extends, and a collar connected to and spaced apart from the nozzle body. A manifold is seated against the nozzle. The manifold has a melt channel in fluid communication between a source of moldable material and the nozzle channel. A bearing member against which a seating surface of the collar is supported is received in the well, and a biasing member is seated between a step in the well and the bearing member. The biasing member has plate loading surface and a nozzle loading surface. The nozzle loading surface and the plate loading surface are concentric with the seating surface of the collar and are circumferentially offset from the seating surface of the collar in opposite directions.

Injection molding is a process in which a moldable material, typically a polymeric material, is heated and injected under pressure into a mold having a mold cavity which conforms to the shape of a molded article produced in the mold. Once the newly injected moldable material cools and solidifies in the mold cavity, the mold is opened, and the newly molded article is removed from the mold. Often the mold employs a hot runner system which maintains the moldable material in a molten state between a nozzle of a molding machine and the mold cavity. The hot runner system includes a series of runner components having adjoining channels through which the molten material flows as it is injected, e.g., a manifold delivering moldable material to one or more nozzles. To maintain operational efficiency of the hot runner system it is desirable to maintain a fluid seal between each nozzle and the manifold from which it receives moldable material.


A control apparatus of a single-lens reflex camera, including a mirror which moves between a charge completion position and a photographing position and a mirror driving mechanism for moving the mirror between the charge completion position and the photographing position. A mirror holding mechanism for maintaining the mirror at the charge position, a mirror charge detecting device for detecting the completion of the mirror charge, a mode setting device for setting a continuous photographing mode, and a control device for releasing the hold of the mirror by the mirror holding mechanism when the mirror charge detecting device detects the charge completion position of the mirror, at the continuous photographing mode are also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a control apparatus of a single-lens reflex camera, and more precisely, it relates to a control apparatus of a single-lens reflex camera in which a film (frame) advance speed is increased in a continuous photographing mode.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a known single-lens reflex camera which has an automatic winder for continuous photographing. In such a known single-lens reflex camera, in order to take a picture of a second and subsequent frames, the subsequent shutter release operation can start only when the film (frame) is advanced and the mechanical charge is completed.
The "mechanical charge" referred to herein includes a mirror charge for moving a mirror down to a lowermost position (charge completion position or viewing position) against a spring which biases the mirror upward toward a photographing position, a shutter charge for returning the leading and trailing curtains of a shutter to their respective initial positions against respective springs which move the leading and trailing curtains, and a diaphragm charge for moving a diaphragm lever for stopping-down toward an open position against a spring which biases the diaphragm lever in the stopping-down direction. When these charges are finished, or charged the finished states are maintained by respective mechanical engaging members.
After the mechanical charges are completed and the mechanical engaging members are engaged, the photographing (releasing) occurs by sequentially disengaging the mechanical engaging members. Accordingly, in a continuous photographing mode, the photographing operations for frames after the first frame are commenced when all of the mechanical charges are finished and the engagement of the mechanical engaging members are completed.
In a conventional single-lens reflex camera, as mentioned above, generally speaking, the mirror charge is completed before the shutter charge is completed, since the spring for driving the mirror is usually weaker than the spring for moving the shutter and since the black-out time in which no image can be visually confirmed through a finder should be as short as possible.
However, in a continuous photographing mode in a known single-lens reflex camera, the release operation commences after all the mechanical charges are finished. Consequently, there is a limit to a reduction of time interval from the completion of the exposure of the one frame to the commencement of exposure of a subsequent frame. The time interval will be referred to as a "frame advance speed" hereinafter. Namely, in a conventional single-lens reflex camera, since the mirror charge is released after the shutter charge is completed and the shutter charge is then released after the upward movement of the mirror ends, the frame advance speed is decreased by a time delay corresponding to a space of time between the completion of the mirror charge and the completion of the shutter charge.

Control apparatus of single-lens reflex camera


A validation tool (100) has a central body member (10) with threaded connections at each end (12, 13), as well as a central bore (11) extending there through. At least one battery powered video camera (20) or other optical data sensor is disposed along an outer surface of the body member and can be selective activated and de-activated. Optional mirror(s) (50) are provided to permit optimum viewing of the surrounding environment, while visual images and/or other sensed data is recorded and stored on at least one data storage media. The validation tool can be used for various purposes including wellbore integrity and verification that drilling mud has been fully displaced with completion fluid in a wellbore.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention comprises a video camera or other data acquisition assembly that can be used in downhole environments including, without limitation, in oil and or gas wells. More particularly, the present invention comprises a video camera or other data acquisition assembly that can be installed in a well in order to confirm or validate certain well conditions including, without limitation, structural and equipment integrity, debris and the condition and quality of fluid in a well.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
During drilling operations, wells are typically filled with a fluid known as drilling mud, which is also sometimes referred to as drilling fluid; although compositions can vary, such drilling mud frequently includes high concentrations of clays, barites or other solids. In many cases, such drilling mud is pumped down the longitudinally extending bore of drill pipe or other tubular string, and then circulated up the annular space formed between the external surface of said drill pipe and the internal surface of the surrounding casing or open hole wellbore. Such drilling mud serves a variety of functions including, without limitation, to cool and lubricate drill bits and other downhole equipment; to transport pieces of drilled-up rock and other debris from the bottom of a well to the surface; to provide hydrostatic pressure to control encountered subsurface pressures; and to seal porous rock formations with a substantially impermeable filter cake.
After a well has been drilled to a desired depth and casing has been installed, the well is typically completed in one or more producing reservoirs. Prior to such completion operations, the drilling mud (together with any associated drill cuttings, cement pieces and/or other debris) is typically removed from a well and replaced with substantially clear completion fluid, which is typically a weighted brine or other similar liquid. A "clean" wellbore generally promotes a successful completion process and enhanced production/injection performance by minimizing or eliminating fine solids commonly found in drilling mud and are potentially damaging to hydrocarbon producing reservoirs. A "clean" wellbore also minimizes mechanical failures such as packed screens and stuck valves.
Efficient and comprehensive wellbore cleanout ("WBC") is fundamental to the success of a well completion process, especially in oil and gas wells located offshore or in deepwater or other challenging environments. Such wells typically require a comprehensive wellbore cleanout service to ensure that all drilling mud, cement and/or other debris are fully removed from a well prior to installing expensive and complex completion equipment. Conventional wellbore cleanout operations typically involve a combination of abrasive brushes, scrapers, magnets or other mechanical tools, together with specially designed displacement chemicals.
Currently, the only means of validating the cleanliness of a wellbore and the effectiveness of the fluid displacement process is to run a mechanical debris retrieval tool with a gauge ring, typically on wire line, multiple times until the tool returns to the surface "empty" (that is, with no debris visible). Secondary measures include monitoring and testing of fluid return characteristics. None of these approaches are totally reliable or accurate, and often incorrectly indicate that a wellbore has been cleaned sufficiently, allowing residual drilling mud, cement or other debris to remain within said wellbore. Because this fact is widely known, multiple pipe and wireline trips, and excessive fluid circulation, is typically practiced in order to clean out the wellbore.
Verification of wellbore fluid displacement and resultant "cleanliness" is critically important because it can greatly reduce or eliminate the likelihood of unnecessary pipe or wireline trips in and out of a well. Such unnecessary trips can be extremely expensive, particularly on rigs operating in deep water environments or other remote locations. In addition to economic concerns, such unnecessary pipe or wireline trips create additional safety hazards for personnel. By eliminating unnecessary trips, and especially pipe trips, safety hazards can be significantly mitigated. Alternatively a surface readout or memory downhole video camera could be lowered into the wellbore after the clean out assembly has been pulled from the well to provide this inspection. Albeit this would require 12-24 additional hours or more to complete. In deep water operations this time would increase the cost of the well by as much as $1,000,000, typically not considered an acceptable cost
Thus, there is a need for a means for efficiently and accurately confirming and validating cleanliness of a wellbore including, without limitation, following displacement of drilling mud with completion fluid.

Method and apparatus for video validation


A surrounding image display system (1, 2) equipped for a vehicle includes a processing unit (10, 12) that is connected to a camera (20, 22) that captures an image around the vehicle. The processing unit (10, 12) processes the captured image from the camera (20, 22) to recognize an attention object, and generates a display image in which a frame border (70) that at least partially surrounds the recognized attention object is superimposed on the captured image. The frame border (70) includes a first frame border portion (72) drawn in a first color and a second frame border portion (74) drawn in a second color different from the first color.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a surrounding image display system, surrounding image display method, and the like, for a vehicle.
2. Description of Related Art
It is known that, when an image captured by a camera is displayed, in order for a driver to easily visually recognize the position of an attention object recognized through image processing, a frame border that surrounds the recognized attention object, that is, obstacle marking, is superimposed (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-159036 (JP-A-2007-159036)).
In addition, as a method of displaying a frame border of this type, there is known a method in which a frame border, that is, a band-like frame, set around an obstacle is displayed by increasing the degree of blurring as the risk of an obstacle increases or a method in which the color of the band-like frame is also changed in response to the risk, for example, the lightness of the color is changed so that a difference in lightness from the background increases, for example, like an obstacle is colored by red, orange, yellow or blue in descending order of risk (for example, see Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2009-40108 (JP-A-2009-40108)).
However, when a frame border is displayed in a single color, the frame border becomes inconspicuous because of the relation with a background color or the relation with the brightness of a background and, therefore, the highlighting effect of an attention object owing to the frame border may be decreased.

Surrounding image display system and surrounding image display method for vehicle


A semiconductor device includes a bit line, a first cell string and a second cell string. The first cell string includes a first selecting transistor connected to the bit line in series and having a threshold voltage greater than a first reference voltage, a second selecting transistor having a threshold voltage smaller than a second reference voltage, cell transistors and a ground selecting transistor. The second cell string includes a third selecting transistor connected to the bit line in series and having a threshold voltage smaller than the first reference voltage, a fourth selecting transistor having a threshold voltage greater than the second reference voltage, cell transistors and a ground selecting transistor. A channel region of the first selecting transistor has an enhancement mode and a first conductive type. A channel region of the third selecting transistor has a depletion mode and a second conductive type.

1. Technical Field
The inventive concept relates to semiconductor memory devices and methods of manufacturing the same. More particularly, the inventive concept relates to highly integrated NAND flash memory devices and methods of manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Among semiconductor devices, NAND flash memory devices may store a large amount of data and may be used as a main memory in various electronic devices. Efforts of research and development have been underway to produce NAND flash memory devices with an increased data storage capacity and an increased integration degree.

Semiconductor memory devices and methods of manufacturing the same


A semiconductor laser having an internal current restriction includes a (100) face-oriented p-type GaAs substrate treated to have a groove or difference in level having an (n11) A face (n=1-5) as an inclined surface. An AlGaAs:Si layer, an AlGaAs:Be cladding layer, an AlGaAs active layer, and an AlGaAs:Sn cladding layer are grown on the substrate in the order mentioned. Since the Si acts as an n-type material on the (100) face and as a p-type material on the (n11) face, the AlGaAs:Si layer becomes a p-type layer solely in the groove, and it is in this portion that a current path is formed. The laser can be fabricated by molecular-beam epitaxy applied in a single step.

This invention relates to a semiconductor manufacturing method and, more particularly, to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor laser having an internal current restriction by using e.g. molecular-beam epitaxy.
A conventional AlGaAs/GaAs semiconductor laser having an internal current restriction is manufactured by growing a layer of one conductivity type on a substrate of the opposite conductivity type by a first crystal growth step, etching away a portion of this layer in a stripe-shaped configuration, and growing a double heterojunction on the substrate in a second crystal growth step in such a manner that the stripe can be provided with a current path.
However, problems with this conventional semiconductor laser manufacturing method are that the crystal growth step is required to be performed twice, and flaws tend to develop at the interface of the first and second growths, which serves as a reverse bias current blocking layer, since the substrate is exposed to high temperatures at the time of the second growth step.

A stripe-shaped heterojunction laser with unique current confinement


A system for reading a data record stripe on a credit card which includes an injection molded case including a card guide slot integrally molded into the case near one side thereof and a read head window integrally formed in one sidewall of the card guide slot. A data read head assembly having a read head on a front face thereof is mounted in the read head window and is spring biased toward the wall of the card slot opposite the read head window. A circuit arrangement is coupled to the read head assembly for detecting data signals on a card passing through the slot and converting the data signals to a substantially square wave signal pattern representing binary signal data in the form of positive and negative signal transitions of the square wave signal. A microcomputer circuit coupled to the circuit arrangement is programmed to detect positive and negative signal transitions, to register in individual memory locations the time interval between successive signal transitions, and to reconstruct the binary signal data from the pattern of the registered time intervals.

Substantial performance improvements and cost reductions in integrated circuits for the microcomputer and telecommunications fields have been made in recent years. These improvements in cost/performance have made it economically attractive to mass produce certain system applications of this technology at affordable prices. One such area of application is the point of sale terminal for credit verification of a credit cardholder wishing to make a purchase.
Until recently, retail establishments, such as stores and restaurants, could not afford to take the time and effort to verify credit for purchases of goods or services having a small dollar value. Credit verification involved making a phone call to a credit verification office, waiting for some lesser or greater time period to be connected to a person at the office, and then verbally giving the credit card number and awaiting the authorization code for the transaction. Consequently, only credit card purchases which totalled more than a certain amount were subject to credit verification and these transactions often tied up sales or checkout clerks for substantial periods of time and made customers unhappy about the wait.
The problems of credit verification resulted in losses to the retail merchants from unauthorized credit card usage and less than enthusiastic reception of credit card usage for large purchases in busy stores. Within the past few years, point of sale terminals tied on a telecommunications basis to a central computer for credit verification have begun to make a large impact on retail merchants. Initially these terminals were very large, quite expensive, and thus not very affordable to the average merchant. Some of the terminals required many of the same steps to be performed that manual credit verification required, i.e. the manual placing of a phone call to the computer and manual entry of the credit card number and the other transaction data.
Gradually the performance of the prior art terminals increased as more microcomputer power and telecommunications capability with autodialing were introduced into the terminals and as card stripe reader capability was provided. All of these improvements made use of the terminal more automatic and completing the credit verification task more time efficient. Still the size of the prior art terminals was large, making it difficult to find room on crowded checkout and cash register counters for another piece of equipment. Also the units were still quite expensive, limiting the size of retail establishment which could cost justify the terminal and the on-line telecommunications costs associated with it. Clearly, the limitations of prior art terminals impedes more wide spread acceptance of the point of sale, on line credit verification terminals and improvements are needed to make this technology cost effective for, and attractive to, the large population of small retail establishments.

System and method for reading data record stripes on data cards


An apparatus for manufacturing an elongate composite element in undefined lengths, the composite element containing reinforcement fibers embedded in a matrix based on a composition containing a curable resin, including a vacuum chamber, rigid-walled inlet tubing, an impregnation chamber, rigid-walled transfer tubing between the vacuum chamber and the impregnation chamber, a sizing die and, downstream of the sizing die, irradiation tubes providing radiation in the ultraviolet-visible spectrum to prepolymerize the resin.

The present invention relates to the manufacture of a long elongate composite element, comprising long reinforcement fibers, embedded in a matrix of cured resin.
It is becoming more and more common to use composite materials for manufacturing structural components or load-bearing components or reinforcement elements, owing to the ever better performance which may be achieved with composite materials. Composite materials often allow considerable weight savings to be made while achieving equivalent mechanical performance. Moreover, in applications where the composite material is subject to considerable stress, it is very important to be able to benefit fully from the reinforcing action of the fibers. This requires absolute mastery of the manufacture of composite elements.
The role of the resin is to connect the fibers firmly to one another and to transmit stresses to the fibers. It is very important for the fibers to be totally impregnated and distributed homogeneously and in accordance with the desired level of reinforcement over the entire cross section of the composite element.
One of the known methods of manufacturing composite components with good mechanical qualities is known as "pultrusion". This entails continuously unwinding the reinforcing fibers and dipping them in a resin bath to ensure that the fibers are impregnated with the resin. Then, all the fibers and impregnating resin are drawn through a heated die, in order to effect at least partial polymerization of the resin. In this way, it is possible continuously to draw products with a cross section dictated by the shape of the die. Unfortunately, pultrusion does not readily lend itself to high speed operation, as impregnation tends to be slow and difficult. Furthermore, the kinetics of the heat transfer phenomenon considerably limits the rate of manufacture.
Another known possibility consists in disposing the reinforcement fibers as desired in a mold, producing a vacuum and finally impregnating the fibers with the resin. The vacuum allows very effective impregnation. This method lends itself well to the manufacture of components of moderate finite dimensions, as a mold is used which corresponds to the shape and dimensions of the manufactured component. However, when it comes to the continuous manufacture of long components, it is not easy to impregnate the fibers correctly. And the more it is wished to accelerate production rates the more difficult it becomes to ensure perfect impregnation of the fibers with the resin.
Furthermore, the increasing commercial popularity of composite materials also depends on their cost price. It is therefore very important to be able to propose technological means capable of high manufacturing rates under the most competitive economic conditions possible.

Continuous impregnation of long fibers with resin for manufacturing elongate composite elements

Conception Et Developpement Michelin S.A.


An apparatus has an adjustable steering column that moves between first and second positions along a path. The path defines tilting movement of at least a portion of the steering column, telescoping movement of at least a portion of the steering column, or both tilting and telescoping movement. The apparatus also includes a lock moveable between locked and unlocked positions. When the lock is in the locked position, the steering column can not move adjustably along the path. When the lock is in the unlocked position, the steering column can be adjusted along the path. The apparatus also includes a switch operable to emit an unlock signal, and a controller communicating with the switch to receive the unlock signal. The controller controls the lock to move to the unlocked position in response to the unlock signal. The apparatus also includes a signal generator operable to emit a second signal to the controller. The controller overrides the unlock signal and controls the lock to move to the locked position in response to the second signal.

Vehicles are often equipped with steering columns that adjust the position of the steering wheel to enhance the comfort and safety of the driver. For example, the steering column may telescope to move closer to and away from the driver. Also, the position of the steering wheel may be tilted or raked relative to other components of the column. These features cooperate to allow the driver to adjust the steering wheel to a desired, convenient position for operating the vehicle, and for enabling the wheel to be moved out of the way to provide greater access to getting into and out of the driver's seat of the vehicle. Adjustable steering columns also include locks for maintaining the steering column in the desired position. Steering column locks can be mechanical or electromechanical. It is important to lock the steering column between adjustments and while the vehicle is moving to enhance the safe operation of the vehicle.

Rake and telescope column lock safety function