The invention describes a method and compounds for the prevention and treatment of infections with intracellular organisms, the treatment of tumors, and the prevention of infectious and allergic diseases by vaccination.

Chronic infectious diseases due to intracellular pathogens are difficult to treat because infected cells reduce surface expression of a number of molecules which would normally allow the immune system to specifically recognize said infected cells. Examples are Mycobacterium infections in which infected cells inhibit expression of molecules of the major histocompatibility (MHC) complexes thereby preventing recognition by T lymphocytes of the CD8 lineage (via MHC class I recognition) and by lymphocytes of the CD4 lineage (via class II MHC recognition). In fact, many bacteria and viruses have elaborated methods to escape recognition of infected cells.
To some extent, the same mechanisms allow tumors to escape detection. A few of such tumors express MHC class II determinants at least under inflammatory conditions. Recent experiments have shown that even when increased CD8 recognition of MHC class I-presented tumor derived peptides by for instance vaccination, the overall effect on tumor growth remains limited.
Both in chronic infection with intracellular pathogens and in tumors, there is an urgent need to elaborate new methods by which infected, or tumor cells, respectively, would be recognized and eliminated.
Vaccination for infectious diseases is current practice. Yet, in a significant number of conditions, the efficacy of vaccination is limited by the preferential induction of specific antibodies to the pathogens and no or little elicitation of immune cells which would recognize infected cells. Thus, prevention of viral and bacterial diseases by vaccination is often of limited efficacy. Examples are to be found in the efficacy of several vaccines for viral diseases, such as influenza virus, rotavirus or even poliovirus at least in some world areas. In some instances, the antigens considered for vaccination are weak immunogens and, due to the large diversity of MHC determinants, a significant variation in efficacy is observed from one subject to the other.
Vaccination for allergic diseases also suffers from limitations related to either the weak immunogenicity of allergens or to the lack of control of risks related to the administration of an allergen to a subject precisely prone to react with allergic symptoms.
In both vaccinations against infectious agents and against allergens there is a need for more efficient and more secure methods.
Natural killer T (NKT) cells constitute a distinct lineage of non-conventional T lymphocytes that recognize antigens presented by the non-classical MHC complex molecule CD1d. Two subsets of NKT cells are presently described. Type 1 NKT cells, also called invariant NKT cells (iNKT), are the most abundant. They are characterized by the presence of an alpha-beta T cell receptor (TCR) made of an invariant alpha chain, Valpha14 in the mouse and Valpha24 in humans. This alpha chain is associated to a variable though limited number of beta chains. Type 2 NKT cells have an alpha-beta TCR but with a polymorphic alpha chain. However, it is apparent that other subsets of NKT cells exist, the phenotype of which is still incompletely defined, but which share the characteristics of being activated by glycolipids presented in the context of the CD1d molecule.
NKT cells typically express a combination of natural killer (NK) cell receptor, including NKG2D and NK1.1. NKT cells are part of the innate immune system, which can be distinguished from the adaptive immune system by the fact that they do not require expansion before acquiring full effector capacity. Activation of NKT cells results in various effects. Such cells release preformed mediators, including a large array of cytokines (including IL-4, IFN-gamma, IL-21 and IFN-alpha) which provide help to B cells for the production of antibodies and it has been suggested that the release of cytokines could also influence CD4+ T cells (Burrows et al Nature Immunology 2009, 10: 669-671). In the context of the present invention, increasing B cell activation and major histocompatibility (MHC) class II-restricted CD4+ T cells activation would be beneficial.
The recognition unit for NKT cells, the CD1d molecule, has a structure closely resembling that of the MHC class I molecule, including the presence of beta-2 microglobulin. It is characterized by a deep cleft bordered by two alpha chains and containing highly hydrophobic residues, which accepts lipid chains. The cleft is open at both extremities, allowing to accommodate longer chains. The canonical ligand for CD1d is the synthetic alpha galactosylceramide (alpha GalCer). However, many natural alternative ligands have been described, including glyco- and phospholipids, the natural lipid sulfatide found in myelin, microbial phosphoinositol mannoside and alpha-glucuronosylceramide. The present consensus (see reviews, such as Matsuda et al, Current Opinion in Immunology 2008, 20:358-368 and Godfrey et al, Nature reviews Immunology 2010, 11: 197-206) is that CD1d binds only ligands containing lipid chains, or in general a common structure made of a lipid tail which is buried into CD1d and a sugar residue head group that protrudes out of CD1d.
Peptides are not deemed to be able to activate NKT cells through presentation by CD1d. It was, however, suggested that long hydrophobic peptides containing bulky aminoacid residues could bind to CD1d (Castano et al, Science 1995, 269: 223-226). Observations carried out using phage display libraries expressing random sequence peptides with no defined physiological relevance, allowed establishing a theoretical consensus motif (Castano et al, Science 1995, 269: 223-226 and see below).
In fact, Castano et al show that the cells which are activated are CD8+ T cells, namely MHC class I restricted cells, and not NKT cells. These findings teach the one skilled in the art that there is no evidence that hydrophobic peptides are presented by CD1d molecules. The physiological relevance of the claims made by Castano et al was further questioned due to the inability to elicit NKT cells under conventional immunization protocols (Matsuda et al, Current Opinion in Immunology 2008, 20:358-368 and Brutkiewicz Journal of Immunology 2006, 177: 769-775). Artificial systems such as immunization with cells transfected to overexpress CD1d and loaded in vitro with an ovalbumin-derived peptide were able to elicit NKT cells. Likewise, intradermal immunization with plasmid DNA together with murine CD1d and costimulatory molecules induce cytolytic CD1d-restricted T cells (Lee et al, Journal of Experimental Medicine 1998, 187: 433-438). Hydrophobic peptides containing a structural motif made of an aromatic residue in position P1 and P7, and an aliphatic chain in position P4 were claimed by Castano et al (Science 269: 223, 1995) to contain a core motif for CD1d binding epitopes. As described above, the conclusions reached by Castano et al are not supported by data.
We made the unexpected finding that peptides encompassing a hydrophobic aminoacid sequence are in fact capable of eliciting activation of NKT cells.
Additionally, activation of NKT cells provides a way to increase the efficiency of vaccines against infectious diseases and against allergens, due to the large amounts of cytokines secreted by NKT cells which help in eliciting B cell and class II restricted T cell activation (Burrows et al Nature Immunology 2009, 10: 669-671) and thereby the production of antibodies.
If epitopes from proteins could bind to CD1d, then addition of a CD1d binding motif to a protein could increase activation of NKT cells, which could result in either induction of antigen-presenting cell killing, as it would be appropriate for the treatment of infections with intracellular pathogens or of tumors, or increase the immunogenicity of antigens, as would be appropriate in vaccination strategies for infectious diseases or allergy.
Examples of infection with intracellular pathogens include Mycobacterium infections, intracellular bacterial infection, viral diseases and parasitic infections. Examples of tumors are any tumor expressing CD1d. Examples of antigens used for vaccination are virus proteins used in influenza vaccination, oral rotavirus or oral poliovirus vaccination and allergen vaccination.
More specifically, addition of a CD1d-binding motif would be of use when it is desirable to increase the killing activity of NKT cells towards antigen-presenting cells, or to increase the production of cytokines made by NKT cells and thereby increase immunogenicity.
Generating new CD1d binding motif(s) within the natural sequence of peptides or polypeptides, or adding CD1d binding motif(s) to such peptides or polypeptides to recruit and activate NKT cells forms the basis of the present invention.

Modulation of antigen immunogenicity by addition of epitopes recognized by NKT cells


A new cultivar of Hebe, ‘Tull 302’, characterized by its compact and slightly spreading plant habit, its variegated foliage with green centers and creamy white margins, its greyed-purple young shoots, and its ability to consistently produce healthy plants.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Hebe, botanically of hybrid origin and known as Hebe 'Tull 302' and will be referred to hereafter by its cultivar name, 'Tull 302'. 'Tull 302' is grown for use as a container plant and as a landscape shrub.
The new cultivar was discovered as a naturally occurring branch mutation of 'Hedgehog' (not patented) in a trial garden in the Inventor's nursery in July of 2008 in Ballyboughal, Dublin County, Ireland.
Asexual propagation of the new cultivar was first accomplished by the Inventor by softwood cuttings in Ballyboughal, Dublin County, Ireland in July of 2008. Asexual propagation by softwood stem cuttings has been determined that the characteristics of the new cultivar are stable and are reproduced true to type in successive generations.


A fluid display arrangement is disclosed for a rolling-traction continuously-variable ratio transmission unit in which drive is transmitted from one race to another by at least one rotating roller whose outer circumference engages the races, the fluid supply arrangement comprising a shroud mounted in proximity to the roller and a fluid supply conduit, and being characterised in that the shroud has an inner surface providing a circumferential portion adjacent the roller's outer circumference and two radially extending portions adjacent respective flanks of the roller, a fluid receiving chamber being thereby defined between the roller and the shroud, and the fluid supply conduit being arranged to deliver fluid into the fluid receiving chamber.

The present invention relates generally to continuously variable transmission units ("variators") of rolling-traction type and more specifically to an arrangement for supply of fluid to a roller of such a variator.
Major components of a known toroidal-race rolling-traction variator 10 are illustrated in FIG. 1. Here, two input discs 12, 14 are mounted upon a drive shaft 16 for rotation therewith and have respective part toroidal surfaces 18, 20 facing toward corresponding part toroidal surfaces 22, 24 formed upon a central output disc 26. The output disc is journalled such as to be rotatable independently of the shaft 16. Drive from an engine or other prime mover, input via the shaft 16 and input discs 12, 14, is transferred to the output disc 26 via a set of rollers disposed in the toroidal cavities. A single representative roller 28 is illustrated but typically three such rollers are provided in both cavities. An end load applied across the input discs 12, 14 by a hydraulic end loading device 15 provides contact forces between rollers and discs to enable the transfer of drive. Drive is taken from the output disc to further parts of the transmission, typically an epicyclic mixer, as is well known in the art and described e.g. in European patent application 85308344.2 (published as EP 0185463). Each roller is mounted in a respective carriage 30 which is itself coupled to a hydraulic actuator 32 whereby a controlled translational force can be applied to the roller/carriage combination along a direction generally tangential to the main axis defined by the shaft 16. The actuator 32 comprises a hydraulic piston 34 capable of rotation within its cylinder 36. Such rotation of the piston is associated with a corresponding rotation (or "precession") of the roller axis about the so-called castor axis, which in the illustrated arrangement is the axis of the piston 34. As the skilled person is well aware, this precession of the roller axis changes the relative diameters of the paths traced out by the roller 28 on the variator discs 12, 14, thereby changing the variator transmission ratio. Because the rollers always seek an orientation in which their axes intersect the axis of the drive shaft 16 they automatically move and precess to positions in which the so-called reaction torque is determined by the biasing force from the actuators 32. The FIG. 1 variator is therefore referred to as being of "torque control" type.
The present invention is however potentially applicable to rolling-traction variators of other types including those known in the field as "part" or "half" toroidal.
In known rolling-traction variators the variator discs do not make direct contact with the rollers. Instead a film of fluid, referred to as "traction fluid", is maintained between the surfaces of these components and drive is transmitted between them by virtue of shear of this fluid film. Maintenance of the film is of primary importance since direct roller/disc contact would cause excessive wear.
The fluid also has an important function in cooling the variator components, particularly the rollers. In prototype variators the roller operating temperature has been an important factor in determining the power capacity of the variator. The shearing forces in the regions of engagement between variator discs and rollers generate heat, causing the temperature of the rollers (and to a lesser extent of the discs) to rise. Excessive temperatures can (1) damage the rollers themselves (the steel from which they are formed undergoing changes under sustained high temperatures); and (2) impair the performance of the traction fluid, high temperatures and consequent low fluid viscosity leading to a thinner fluid layer between disc and roller, and to higher slip between these components. Sustained high temperatures can also cause the fluid properties to change over time in an undesirable manner.
In practice it is found that the variator's power capacity is limited by the rate of dissipation of heat from the rollers, making improvements in this respect highly important.
An arrangement for supplying traction fluid to the variator rollers is disclosed in our European patent 890044 and its US counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 5,971,885. Here a flow of traction fluid is passed through the actuator/carriage assembly to reach a series of nozzles disposed adjacent to the outer periphery of the roller. A spray of fluid is thus supplied onto the roller periphery.
There are important incentives to increase the efficiency of utilization of the traction fluid. Provision of the required fluid flow requires energy and so reduces overall transmission efficiency; improvements in fluid utilization allow reduction in the flow volume and hence in the corresponding energy requirement. Additionally, studies have shown that the residence time of fluid on the roller surface is typically shorter than is desirable with a view to maximizing conduction of heat from the rollers. An increase in this residence time again offers potential for a reduction in flow volume but also, or alternatively, increases the roller cooling effect and so potentially allows an increase in the power handling capability of the variator and/or a reduction in roller temperature which may increase roller life.
The provision of a shroud in proximity to the roller was proposed in 1938 by W. T. Murdei (U.S. Pat. No. 2,132,751) but to the best of the applicant's knowledge the idea was not taken up in this field and it is believed that because of the form of the shroud—it comprises only a part-circular rim adjacent the roller's outer edge—it would have had limited effectiveness.

Fluid supply arrangement for a rolling-traction continuously variable ratio transmission unit


An image processing method includes a restore step of performing blur restoration for image data, an acquisition step of acquiring image-related information stored together with the image data, and an extraction step of extracting the range of object distances at which the blur restoration is performed, based on the image-related information. In the restore step, blur restoration is performed for the image data in the range of object distances extracted in the extraction step.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique of performing blur restoration based on object distance information in an image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-156823 discloses an image capture apparatus which can calculate object distances based on signals from focus detection pixels discretely distributed among the pixels of an image sensor. Employing the arrangement disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-156823 makes it possible to acquire an object distance distribution in a captured image.
As a method of generating a blur-restored image by restoring a blurred image, there is available a method using a Wiener filter, a general inverse filter, a projection filter, or the like. Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-20691 discloses a technique of performing blur restoration by using such a method. Using the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-20691 can obtain a degradation function by physical analysis based on image capture conditions and the like or estimation based on an output from a measuring device in an image capture apparatus and restore a blurred image by an image restoration algorithm called deconvolution.
In general, at which object distance focus is to be achieved is decided by a focus state at the time of image capture. For this reason, it is not possible to change the object distance at which focus is achieved after image capture. It is however possible to change the object distance at which focus is to be achieved after image capture by acquiring an object distance distribution in a captured image using the technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-156823 and performing blur restoration using the blur restoration technique disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2000-20691.
However, applying the techniques disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 2000-156823 and 2000-20691 to an image processing apparatus will greatly increase the size of resources, require expensive hardware, and take much time for blur restoration processing. This is because, although the range of object distances that allow blur restoration is set by a blur restoration filter corresponding to object distances, blur restoration in the entire range requires an enormous amount of processing contents. In addition, simplifying a blur restoration filter for the simplification of blur restoration processing contents will increase the degree of degradation in the quality of an image after blur restoration.
On the other hand, when an operator captures an image of an object upon rough focus adjustment, it is not necessary to perform blur restoration for the entire range of object distances that allow blur restoration. In this case, finely correcting the focus position relative to a captured image makes it possible to implement restoration intended by the operator. When the operator displays an enlarged captured image, it suffices to perform blur restoration only near the position at which the object displayed within the display range is in focus.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Image processing apparatus and image processing method


There is provided a document processing system having an erasing device to erase the printed characters when a document is made. The system comprises: a memory to store the printed data train such as a word or the like together with end-of word or end-of-line data like a space; an erasure instructing device to instruct to erase the printed data train; and an erasing device to erase the printed data train until the end-of-word or end-of-line data on the basis of an instruction from the erasure instructing device. The printed characters or the like are erased in response to the continuous erasure key input, the erasing operation can be promptly executed and an amount of erasure ribbon to be consumed for the erasure in the printer can be reduced and the erasing speed is improved.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a document processing system and, more particularly, to a document processing system having erasure means for erasing printed characters upon making of a document.
2. Related Background Art
Hitherto, in such a kind of system, when the printed characters are erased, the erasing operation is executed on a character unit basis by the depression of an erasure key by using an erasure ribbon.
However, in the above conventional system, the erasing operation of a printer is started immediately after the erasure key was depressed and the erasing operation is executed every character, so that there is a drawback such that it takes a time to continuously erase the printed characters.
Further, since the erasing operation is executed every character, there is a drawback such that an amount of erasure ribbon which is consumed for erasure is large.


The present embodiments disclose a method and an associated computer program product for determining the quality of an information technology (IT) system including a plurality of hardware units and software modules. A total score value for the IT system is calculated from different score values ascertained independently of one another. The different score values are measures for deviations of the quality of the hardware units or the software modules from first predefinable target values. The total score value is a measure of a deviation of the quality of the IT system from a second predefinable target value.

The present embodiments relate to a method and an associated software program product for determining the quality of an information technology system including a plurality of hardware units and software modules.
It is difficult to ascertain the overall status of an information technology system (e.g., an IT system). The status of an IT system is inadequately determined with the aid of known diagnostic programs. The status may be designated using identifiers such as "critical," "error" or "warning." The coarse classification of status types does not satisfactorily and comprehensively describe the overall status of an IT system.
It is known to determine defective components of a complex system by linking a plurality of diagnostic algorithms. DE 10 2008 040 461 A1, for example, discloses a method and a device for identifying faulty components in a system having a plurality of interacting components. Lists of potentially faulty components are generated as a function of various diagnostic algorithms that are executed independently of one another, and each potentially faulty component is assigned an error value. For at least a selection of components of the system, the error values are linked to produce an error score value for a particular potentially faulty component.

Method and software program product for determining the quality of an information technology system


A method for preparing ethane and ethylene by reacting methane or a methane-containing natural gas in the presence of oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas, i.e., by partially oxidizing, at a temperature of 500.degree. through 1000.degree. C. using shellfishes or shells as a catalyst is disclosed. The oxidation coupling reaction of methane is controlled so as to remarkably increase the conversion ratio of methane and the selectivity of C.sub.2.sup.+ compounds. The waste matter abundantly released from food industries as well as easily accessible natural resources is used as a raw material of a catalyst for the reaction. The present method is extremely useful from the viewpoint of the recycling of waste as well.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for preparing ethane and ethylene by reacting methane or a methane-containing natural gas in the presence of oxygen or an oxygen-containing gas.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Methane is one of the resources which are abundant in the world as a main component of natural gases. However, since methane has low reactivity, the greater part of methane is exhausted as a fuel, and the utilized methods as a raw material for chemical industries are available on a limited basis. In 1982, however, Keller and Virgin reported that ethane and ethylene are produced by partially oxidizing methane using various metal oxides as a catalyst in the presence of oxygen (Journal of Catalysis published in U.S.A. Vol. 73, pp. 9-19, 1982).
Since then, many reports have been made on the useful catalysts for this reaction, which is called as an oxidation coupling reaction for methane. In case of classifying these catalysts, alkali metals and alkaline-earth metals, and for example, rare-earth metals such as lanthanide or their combinations are used as these catalysts in the majority of these catalysts. In particular, there are many reports on the catalysts which mainly consist of alkaline-earth metal. For instance, it is disclosed in Japanese Pat. Laid-open No. 62-267243 that ethane and ethylene are produced using a catalyst of an alkaline-earth metal compound such as calcium oxide.
In most of the above cases, however, the conversion ratio of methane and the selectivity of C.sub.2 hydrocarbon in the product are still low and the abilities are not so high as a practical catalyst. Therefore, it is desired to develop the catalysts having more activity and high selectively.

Method for preparing ethane and ethylene from methane


A magnetic image detection device which measures a magnetic image in the first or second dimension by using a superconducting body. In the magnetic image detection device, multiple band-shaped superconducting bodies are provided in parallel on a nonmagnetic dielectric substrate, and electrodes are provided on both ends of the superconducting bodies so as to form pairs. A detection circuit detects resistance between the electrodes on both ends of the multiple superconducting bodies according to intensity of external magnetic field.

The present invention relates to a magnetic image detection device which measures magnetic distribution (magnetic image) in a first or second dimension.
Measurement of magnetic distribution is widely used in the development of devices which utilize a magnetic field, for example, electron beam polarizers, electron beam focusing devices, motors, developing units in copying machines, etc.
It would furthermore be extremely advantageous if the inspection and analysis of reinforcing rods in concrete blocks and other internal structural members could be performed by means of nondestructive tests using the measurement of magnetic distribution. In addition, it would also be extremely beneficial for the medical sciences if the distribution in one or two dimensions of minute magnetic fields emitted from the brain or heart could be measured.
Conventionally, the measurement of magnetic distribution in one or two dimensions has been accomplished as described below. Specifically, magnetic distribution has been obtained by mechanically moving a Hall element or other magnetic sensor and sequentially plotting the magnetic field intensity obtained by the magnetic sensor at each detection position.
Thus, because when measuring the magnetic distribution in one or two dimensions with a conventional device magnetic sensors are mechanically moved, the magnetic intensity occurring at each position is measured, and the magnetic field intensity obtained at each position is sequentially plotted as previously described, precision is low and much time is required for measurements. Additionally, it is not possible to measure magnetic distribution over time, specifically magnetic distribution in motion.
It is possible to align multiple Hall elements in order to correct the problems of low measurement precision and the long measurement time requirements. However, there is a limit to the density in which Hall elements can be arrayed, and high density array devices cannot be used. Moreover, because sensitivity of a Hall element is low, the magnetic distribution of weak magnetic fields cannot be detected.

Superconductor magnetic image detection device


An improved bonding strip for a printed circuit to facilitate quality inspection. The bonding strip has functional regions and non-functional regions. A functional region is indicated by an area of the bonding strip having a first dimension in width. A non-functional region is indicated by an area of the bonding strip having a second dimension in width. The first dimension may be either wider or narrower than the second dimension.

During the manufacture of semiconductor devices, such as integrated circuits, inspection operations are conducted to ensure that the product being produced conforms to the quality standards of the manufacturer. Defects, alignment tolerances, and surface irregularities are just a few of the characteristics of a printed circuit which are inspected. As the printed circuit is fabricated, it moves through various assembly stages. During assembly, inspections occur to ensure that features on the printed circuit (for example, bonding strips) are suitable for wire bonding.
Bonding strips are metallization surfaces on a printed circuit, or a chip carrier. The metallizations include conductors, voltage planes, ground planes, pads, and surface lands. The metallizations are used to electrically connect components to each other. Typically, a chip carrier has voltage and ground rings completely encircling a die. Wire leads from the die are connected to the voltage and ground rings by wire bonding. In a typical application, a die or chip may have hundreds of leads that need to be connected. Once the leads on the chip have been wire bonded, the chip may be packaged, often in plastic or ceramic, to form an integrated circuit device.
FIG. 1 depicts a die 18 attached to a conventional chip carrier 10. The die 18 has an array of terminal pads 20 for various input-output or "I/O" signals. Hundreds of terminal pads 20 are typical around the circumference of the die 18. Also shown are two bonding strips 12 and 14 surrounding the die 18. The bonding strips 12 and 14 are metallic strips deposited on the chip carrier 10, typically formed from copper or gold plating. Each bonding strip 12 and 14 has a predetermined voltage reference: for example, bonding strip 12 may carry a positive voltage reference and bonding strip 14 may carry a ground voltage reference. Leads 16, which are attached by soldering, connect I/O pads 20 to bonding strips 12 and 14.
Although there are typically hundreds of I/O leads 16 branching out from the die 18, most of the surface areas of the metallic bonding strips 12 and 14 are not used. In a typical application, only 35% to 40% of each metallic bonding strip 12 and 14 is used; therefore, most of the surface area of each bonding strip 12 and 14 is non-functional. Nevertheless, before assembly of the chip carrier 10 with the die 18, the entirety of each bonding strip 12 and 14 must be inspected for defects.
Any defects, such as scratches, pits, stains, or debris contamination, on the bonding strips 12 and 14 will result in rejection of the chip carrier 10. Because the inspector does not know which areas on the bonding strips 12 and 14 are functional and which areas are non-functional, a defect anywhere on the bonding strips 12 and 14 will cause a blanket rejection of the chip carrier 10. Inspection of an entire bonding strip 12, 14 is time consuming, and a blanket rejection of the chip carrier 10 is economically inefficient. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a cost-effective structure on the chip carrier 10 that may help the inspector in deciding whether a defect on a metallic bonding strip 12, 14 is critical or not critical.
Structures, such as templates, are known for easing inspection of a semiconductor device. One example of a template is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,566,877 issued to McCormack. McCormack teaches a method for inspection by using a template image overlayed on top of a semiconductor device. The template image includes transparent regions and opaque regions. The opaque regions block out all areas of the device not associated with the characteristic being inspected, while the transparent regions highlight the area of interest. Using the superimposed image, the inspector can quickly focus on the area of the device requiring attention.
Another example of a template is disclosed by Frederick in U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,389. Frederick teaches a template adapted for placement in and removal from an optical tube of a microscope. The template is a transparent film selectively patterned by photographic methods from information contained in the manufacturer's database of die and package outlines and dimensions. By combining the image of the semiconductor device with the image of the template, an instantaneous determination of correct size, orientation, and placement can be made.
Yet another example of a template is provided in an article by Abbott et al. titled "Templates for Substrate Inspections," IBM Technical Disclosure Bulletin, Vol. 25, No. 12, page 6350, published May 1983. Abbott et al. disclose an overlay on a substrate for covering non-functional areas. The overlay is transparent over functional areas.
The templates discussed above are overlay structures and are not part of the semiconductor device itself. That is, the template may be placed on the semiconductor device during inspection, but may also be removed from the device after inspection. Another type of template, which is a structure built into the semiconductor device, has been disclosed in European Patent Application No. 0 285 820, published Dec. 10, 1988. This publication teaches a semiconductor device that includes terminal pads having two different shapes. The terminal pads that are functional are patterned into a square shape, and the terminal pads that are non-functional are patterned into a triangular shape. Because the final passivation layer that is deposited over the pad metal level of the semiconductor chip is transparent, the two shapes of the terminal pads may be distinguished during inspection. This facilitates inspection of solder balls fabricated on the terminal pads, because rework of defective solder balls on non-functional pads may be avoided.
The deficiencies of the conventional bonding strips formed on printed circuit boards or chip carriers and of the conventional methods for inspecting such bonding strips show that a need still exists. To overcome the shortcomings of the conventional devices and methods, a new structure and method are provided. An object of the present invention is to provide a structure that permits inspection of selective surface areas of the bonding strip. A related object is to reduce the inspection time of each bonding strip. Another object is to substantially eliminate unnecessary and costly rejections of printed circuit boards or chip carriers.

Built-in inspection template for a printed circuit

International Business Machines Corporation


A communication device communicates with a counterpart device via a working path or any of a plurality of backup paths. The communication device includes: a plurality of selection units which select either one of two paths, the plurality of selection units including a main selection unit and an auxiliary selection unit being different from the main selection unit; and a path determination unit which determines a path selected by one of the plurality of selection units which has last performed path selection to be a path to be used for communicating with the counterpart device. The main selection unit selects one path from between the working path and one of the plurality of backup paths. The auxiliary selection unit selects one path from between a path selected by one selection unit of the plurality of selection units and one of the plurality of backup paths, the one selection unit being different from the auxiliary selection unit.

Due to the recent upsurge in data traffic, communication networks have increasingly large transfer capacities. In a communication network, especially in a transport network forming its core, one of the most important issues is to improve reliability.
A transport network accomplishes data communications using a traffic transfer path which is made up of nodes and links. Thus, a network will fail to transfer data when a failure occurs at any node or link. Reliability of a transport network is expressed by a period from the time an active transmit/receive node becomes unable to communicate to the time it is enabled again, i.e. a period for a path to recover from failure. In general transport networks, a path is required to recover from failure within 50 milliseconds.
Mechanisms for a transport network to recover from failure include two schemes: protection and restoration.
In a protection scheme, a backup path which does not cross the working path used for normal traffic transfer is preset, and in case of a failure on the working path, transmit/receive nodes are switched so that the path used for traffic transfer is switched to the backup path. For example, the Ethernet® Linear Protection scheme as defined in ITU-T G.8031 is generally known. This scheme allows automatic switching caused by failure as well as manual switching for maintenance, etc.
In a restoration scheme, a backup path is defined after a failure occurs on the working path, and thus not only transmit/receive nodes but also relay nodes are switched. In general, a restoration scheme includes a scheme where a path is redefined via NMS (Network Management System) after detection of a failure, and also includes a scheme where individual nodes autonomously redefine a path by using a path definition protocol. A restoration scheme allows to continue data communication as far as a fault-free path exists even if a failure occurs simultaneously both on the working and backup paths.
If a restoration scheme is used, a time required for a path to recover from failure is the same as that for additionally defining one new path. Thus, a path failure recovery time based on a restoration scheme is often longer than 50 milliseconds, which is the time required in a transport network as a path failure recovery time.
Accordingly, a protection scheme is preferable in order to quickly recover from a failure.
Some network users such as government agencies and banks demand particularly high reliability. Thus, there exists the need for a mechanism which allows fast and reliable recovery of user data even when a failure occurs both on the working and backup paths. Consequently, a transport network is required to provide two or more backup paths for one working path.
PTL 1 and PTL 2 each disclose a method for quickly switching between paths in a communication system that provides two or more backup paths for one working path.
PTL 1 discloses a technique for switching to a backup path in case of a failure on the working path by selecting two fault-free paths from among three or more paths and carrying out a conventional protection protocol between the two paths.
PTL 2 discloses a technique for defining four paths as a first working path, a first backup path, and a second working path, a second backup path, respectively, and carrying out a conventional protection protocol between the first working path and the first backup path and between the second working path and the second backup path.

Communication device, communication system, method for determining path, and program


A two-phase composite of ionically-conductive pressure-sensitive adhesive, biomedical electrodes using the composite and methods of preparing the composite and the electrode are disclosed. The continuous phase is a hydrophilic, solid state pressure-sensitive adhesive composition ionically-conductive regardless of an amount of water present in the composition. The discontinuous phase are domains of a hydrophobic pressure-sensitive adhesive which enhances adhesion of the composite to mammalian skin while maintaining acceptable alternating current impedance of the composite.

Modern medicine uses many medical procedures where electrical signals or currents are received from or delivered to a patient's body. The interface between medical equipment used in these procedures and the skin of the patient is usually some sort of biomedical electrode. Such an electrode typically includes a conductor which must be connected electrically to the equipment, and a conductive medium adhered to or otherwise contacting skin of a patient.
Among the therapeutic procedures using biomedical electrodes are transcutaneous electronic nerve stimulation (TENS) devices used for pain management; neuromuscular stimulation (NMS) used for treating conditions such as scoliosis; defibrillation electrodes to dispense electrical energy to a chest cavity of a mammalian patient to defibrillate heart beats of the patient; and dispersive electrodes to receive electrical energy dispensed into an incision made during electrosurgery.
Among diagnostic procedures using biomedical electrodes are monitors of electrical output from body functions, such as electrocardiogram (ECG) for monitoring heart activity and for diagnosing heart abnormalities.
For each diagnostic, therapeutic, or electrosurgical procedure, at least one biomedical electrode having an ionically conductive medium containing an electrolyte is adhered to or otherwise contacting mammalian skin at a location of interest and also electrically connected to electrical diagnostic, therapeutic, or electrosurgical equipment. A critical component of the biomedical electrode is the conductive medium serving as the interface between mammalian skin and diagnostic, therapeutic, or electrosurgical equipment.
Biomedical electrodes are used among other purposes to monitor and diagnose a patient's cardiovascular activity. Diagnostic electrodes are used to monitor the patient immediately and are only applied to the patient for about five to ten minutes. Monitoring electrodes are used on patients in intensive care for up to three days continuously. Holter electrodes are used to monitor a patient during strenuous and daily activities.
All of these biomedical electrodes are used to record cardiovascular activity although each electrode requires specific features to be successful. The diagnostic electrode does not have to remain adhered to a patient for extensive periods but does have to adhere to hairy, oily, dry and wet skin effectvely for the five to ten minutes of use. The monitoring electrode has to adhere for a longer period of time although the patient is often immobile during the monitoring period. The Holter electrode is susceptible to disruption from adhesion due to physical motion, perspiration, water, etc., and therefore requires the best adhesion and at the same time comfort and electrical performance.
The ionically conductive medium which serves as an interface between the skin of a mammalian patient and the electrical instrumentation ranges from conductive gels and creams to conductive pressure sensitive adhesives. However, while conductive media can be pressure sensitive adhesives, for monitoring or Holter biomedical electrode use, such conductive adhesives are not adequate alone to maintain adhesion to mammalian skin. Hypoallergenic, hydrophobic pressure sensitive adhesives are employed around the conductive medium to provide the required mammalian skin adhesion. U.S. Pat. No. 5,012,810 (Strand et al.) and U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,527,087; 4,539,996; 4,554,924; and 4,848,353 (all Engel) disclose biomedical electrodes which have a hydrophobic pressure sensitive adhesive surrounding the conductive medium.
Conductive media are typically hydrophilic and need water or an aqueous ionic system to provide required ionic conductivity between mammalian skin and electrical diagnostic, therapeutic, or electrosurgical instrumentation. Hydrophilic pressure sensitive adhesives generally have less skin adhesion than hydrophobic adhesives. Sometimes, such hydrophilic pressure-sensitive adhesives can not function as adhesives to mammalian skin for the period of time necessary to complete a medical procedure.
To improve the tack of conductive hydrogels, tackifiers have been added. U.S. Pat. No. 4,593,053 (Jevne et al.) discloses the addition of poly-2-acrylamido-2-methyl propane sulfonic acid, its salts, polyacrylic acid, polystyrene sulfonic acid or salts thereof, karaya, xanthan, guar, or locust bean gums in an amount of 2 to 20 weight percent to increase tackiness of gel containing polyvinylpyrrolidone and polyvinyl alcohol.
Also, adhesive additives have been used in the formation of the solid phase of a matrix useful as a medical bandage. U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,717 (Hymes et al.) discloses the addition of vinyl acetate dioctyl maleate copolymer to intensify the tackiness of the bandage.
Rather than employ a single phase hydrogel for the conductive medium, U.S. Pat. No. 4,588,762 (Mruk et al.) discloses a heterogeneous, pressure-sensitive, electrically conductive adhesive for disposable biomedical electrodes consisting of a viscoelastic polymeric adhesive phase and an electrically conductive aqueous phase containing a water receptive polymer, humectant, and an electrolyte. Both phases are intimately interdispersed and the adhesive is applied as a relatively thin film on a supporting substrate. The final film constitutes a heterogeneous system in which the aqueous zones or islands defined by the water receptive polymer extend through the thickness of the film and are distributed throughout the expanse of a continuous matrix consisting of the adhesive polymer. However, to be electrically conductive, such zones or islands must contact both mammalian skin and electrically conductive materials in the biomedical electrode. If such zones or islands do not transverse the thickness of the film, they are electrical dead ends.
PCT International Publication WO 91/09633 (Asmus) discloses a two-phase composite of a continuous phase of a pressure sensitive adhesive matrix having dispersed therein swollen, discrete gel particles. If such particles were ionically conductive, such particles could not transmit electrical signals between mammalian skin and electrical instrumentation unless such particles transversed the thickness of the continuous phase.

Two-phase composites of ionically-conductive pressure-sensitive adhesive, biomedical electrodes using the composites, and methods of preparing the composite and the biomedical electrodes

Minnesota Mining and Manufacturing Company


The present invention relates to a liquid cleaning composition can be a cleaning composition for removing an acrylic-based polymeric material useful as enteric tablet coatings located on a surface of a vessel or other process equipment comprising: —diethylen glycol mono butylether; and —water.

An enteric tablet coating is a barrier applied to oral medication that controls the location in the digestive system where the active pharmaceutical components of the tablet are absorbed. Most enteric coatings work by presenting a surface that is stable at the highly acidic pH found in the stomach, but breaks down rapidly at a less acidic, relatively more basic pH in the small intestine. For example, they will not dissolve in the acidic juices of the stomach at about pH 3, but they will in the alkaline at about pH 7 to 9 environment present in the small intestine.
Drugs that have an irritant effect on the stomach, such as aspirin, can be coated with a substance that will dissolve only in the small intestine. Likewise, certain groups of azoles such as esomeprazole, omeprazole, and pantoprazole are acid-activated. For such types of drugs, enteric coating added to the formulation tends to avoid activation in the mouth and esophagus.
Recently, some companies have begun to utilize enteric coatings on fish oil capsules, such as omega-3 fatty acids supplements. The coating prevents the fish oil capsules from being digested in the stomach, which has been known to cause a fishy reflux or fish burps.
Sometimes the abbreviation "EC" is added beside the name of the drug to indicate that it has an enteric coating.
Over a period of time, the coating equipment and associated equipment, such as vessels, piping and the like, become heavily coated with such coating materials comprising polycarboxylic polymers such as acrylic-based polymers, fatty acids, waxes, shellac, plastics, and/or plant fibers. In particular, the coating material must be removed from the surfaces of the equipment in order that the equipment can perform its function effectively and efficiently. In addition, because the equipment is often used in the pharmaceutical and/or food industries, the cleaning operation itself must be effective to remove all of the coating material, and must be approved, for example, by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, for use in the pharmaceutical and/or food industries. Such cleaning operations should also be cost effective.
Prior cleaning operations have involved manually scraping the acrylic-based polymer material from the process equipment.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,693 describes a method useful for removing an acrylic-based polymeric material located on a surface, for example, a surface of a piece of process equipment. The method includes contacting an acrylic-based polymeric material located on the surface of a piece of equipment with a composition containing at least about 20% by weight of water and an organic component containing at least one alkylene oxide group, preferably a plurality of alkylene oxide groups, per molecule in an amount effective to solubilize at least a portion of the acrylic-based polymeric material. One particularly useful solvent component described therein is triethylene glycol monoethyl ether sold by Olin under the trademark Poly-solve TE.
It is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,693 that a process temperature for removing Eudragit L with a composition comprising triethylene glycol monoethyl ether requires a process temperature of about 90° C.
It is known that the acrylic polymeric based tablet coatings Eudragit L have about 10% hydrophilic groups compared to Eudragit RS 30D having about 5% by weight hydrophilic groups only. The drawback of the method described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,609,693 is that the process temperature of about 90° C. is high thus energy consuming and the cleaning performance with respect for removing residues of acrylic polymeric based tablet coatings being less hydrophilic is poor.
Other components such as 2-ethoxyethanol have a low flash point of about 44° C. A low flash point bears the danger of being flammable in a concentrated composition. Still yet other components such as ethylene glycol monobutyl ether has a flash point of about 67° C., a very strong pungent odor and is considered to be toxic. A strong pungent odor will be not accepted by the consumer.
One can see that there is a continuing need for providing an improved cleaning composition useful for removing acrylic based polymeric coating materials, such as acrylic-based polymeric tablet coatings, from vessels and other equipment employed in using such materials, that is effective at lower process temperatures, contains an active cleaning component having a high flash point above 70° C., is without a pungent smell, biodegradable and does not pose a risk to the health of the consumer.

Compositions and methods useful for removing tablet coatings


New base station antenna systems may detect service affecting environmental changes, integrate to standardized computing platform and cellular wireless modem, transform BSA into an independent communications hub and generate test calls, reducing drive tests. A BSA includes a panel that includes a ground plane, at least a first array that includes multiple radiating elements, at least one sensor that is configured to sense an environmental condition corresponding to the base station antenna and to generate an environmental condition signal that corresponds to the environmental condition, a circuit device that includes a communication interface that is communicatively coupled to the at least one sensor and that is operable to receive the environmental condition signal from the at least one sensor, and a wireless transmitter that is communicatively coupled to the circuit device and that is operable to transmit message data corresponding to the environmental condition signal to a remote receiver.

Wireless mobile communication networks continue to evolve based on the increased traffic demands on the networks, the expanded coverage areas for service and the new systems being deployed. Cellular ("wireless") communications networks rely on a network of base station antennas (BSA) for connecting cellular devices, such as cellular telephones, to the wireless network. The BSA is the last element in a Radio Frequency (RF) path before transmission. This makes it an ideal location for placing sensors and test calls devices for measuring the overall RF path performance. For example, various attributes of a BSA may be installation specific and may be adjusted and/or optimized based on environmental conditions that exist at the time the BSA is installed and/or serviced. Such environmental conditions may include the presence and/or absence of structures that may block one or more lobes of an antenna's coverage pattern, weather conditions that may affect the BSA, structures that support the BSA and/or failure of RF path components and/or auxiliary components. Additionally, other attributes of a BSA may undesirably change after an installation and/or service. For example, one or more BSA's or other components may degrade in performance in a manner that adversely affects BSA performance.

Base station antenna unified system for sensors and test calls


An early intake valve closing (EIVC) and variable valve timing (VVT) assembly and method are provided for an internal combustion engine. The method includes operating an intake valve to open and close an intake port and allow intake gas to enter a cylinder of the internal combustion engine containing a piston, where the timing of the closing of the intake valve occurs at or before bottom dead center (BDC) of the compression stroke of the piston. The method further includes selectively extending duration of the opening of the intake port by an amount that delays closing timing of the intake valve until after BDC of the piston compression stroke. An assembly for EIVC and VVT includes a cylinder head including an intake valve and intake port and a rotatably mounted camshaft including an intake lobe operatively connected to the intake valve to periodically move the valve into the first and second positions. The intake lobe is shaped such that the timing of the closing position occurs at or before BDC of a compression stroke of the piston. The assembly further includes a selectively activatable VVT assembly having an actuator that operatively engages the intake valve before the intake valve reaches the closed position to extend duration of the intake valve opening until after BDC of the piston compression stroke.

Internal combustion engines can utilize a Miller cycle to reduce parasitic pumping losses and fuel consumption rate. The Miller cycle has a greater expansion rate than compression rate because the mass of intake gas trapped in a cylinder of the engine during a compression stroke is reduced relative to an amount trapped during a standard intake closing event for a four stroke (e.g., Otto cycle) engine. A Miller cycle can be performed by controlling the intake valve closing using an early intake valve closing (EIVC) or late intake valve closing (LIVC) strategy.

Early intake valve closing and variable valve timing assembly and method


The objective of this disclosure is to propose a method of designing an intelligent system assuring autonomy in problem solving to the largest extent. An architecture of a general purpose problem solving system and also a new modeling scheme for representing an object which may include human activity are discussed first. Then a special purpose problem solving system dedicated for a given problem is generated. It is extracted from a general purpose system using the object model as a template. Several new concepts are included in this disclosure to achieve this goal; a multi-level function structure and its corresponding knowledge structure, multiple meta-level operations, a level manager for building general purpose problem solving systems, a concept of multi-strata model to represent objects including human activity, and a method of extracting a special purpose system from a general purpose system and so on. This idea induces a very different view to computer systems from the conventional ones and systems designed according to this idea extend the scope of computer applications to a large extent, e.g., they can solve problems which require exploratory operations. In particular, it is important that this idea leads us to the concept of automatic programming instead of the conventional style of using computers.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for intellectually processing an information and an apparatus for carrying out the method and, in particular, a method for building knowledge base and an intellectual information processing device used in solving problems.
The objective of this disclosure is to propose a new computer system which is truly intelligent and behaves like a person at problem solving. Here the term problem solving is used in a very wide sense to mean every activity to derive answer meeting given conditions in a given environment.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
There have been a lot of systems which have been called intelligent. The inventor however does not know any truly intelligent system. A person can develop computer programs, for example, because he/she is truly intelligent. There is no such a system that can do in the same way as the person. As a goal of this research therefore, the inventor intends to develop a system that can develop computer program as a person does.
There is a big difference in the organization and the functional characteristics between person and computer. For some specific problems computers have larger problem solving capability than individual persons. However these computers become unable to solve a problem if the problem itself or some condition based on which the computer program was developed change even slightly. A computer program as a problem solver is compared to a very thin rigid wire connecting the start and goal of a given problem without capability of self adjusting. Even with this rigid characteristic a computer program can reach a goal at a long distance from the start if the program is carefully made and no change occurs. But making such computer programs is itself a problem of a different type which cannot be solved by the computer program itself. That is, this style of problem solving can cover only a special type of problems.
Persons on the other hand can adapt to the change of the situations to a large extent. With the similar metaphor as applied to computers, problem solving by persons is like a broad and flexible belt with capability of adjusting itself to direct toward goal. Collaboration of persons is much easier with this adaptability while collaboration of two or more problem solvers of which at least one is a computer program is not easy. The total power of persons who collaborate for solving problems, i.e. both the depth (the scale and complexity of problems to be solved) and breadth (diversity of problems to be solved), is far greater than that of a computer program, even though an individual person has less power than elaborated computer programs have for specific problem solving.
Thus the largest difference between persons and computers in problem solving is the adaptability to different and changing situations, i.e., autonomy in solving rather complex problems (not toy-level problems including programming) and generality to include the wide range of activities in the actual scope. If computer systems happen to acquire both generality and autonomy in solving real problems without other's help, then the systems will be able to collaborate with other systems and/or persons to create greater power.
Generality and autonomy were the objectives of expert system design. But most of the expert systems which have been developed so far showed generality and autonomy only in a limited extent. This is due to the lack of the consideration on making computers truly intelligent and, as the result, the software architecture of these systems were too simple to give them generality and autonomy. In addition to expert systems some attempts were made to develop intelligent systems such as electronic secretary systems. The same characteristics are required to these systems as discussed above but no substantial discussion has been made on the way of building such systems.

Method for generating a multi-strata model and an intellectual information processing device


The present invention provides a bogie for a guide rail type vehicle running on a predetermined guideway. The bogie of the present invention includes an axle in which steerable running wheels are mounted, a guide frame arranged under the axle, a pair of first guide wheels provided rotatably in a vehicle body end-side part of the guide frame, a pair of second guide wheels provided rotatably in a vehicle body center-side part of the guide frame, a pair of tie rod arms that is attached to the axle and are formed so as to extend from the axle to the vehicle body center-side, and a pair of tie rods each connecting the guide frame to each of the pair of tie rod arms.

Conventionally, there has been proposed a bogie for a guide rail type vehicle, which is configured so as to run along a guide rail provided on a guideway by providing a steering mechanism using guide wheels (for example, see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
FIG. 10 is a plan view of a bogie on the front side in the vehicle longitudinal direction of a guide rail type vehicle, showing one example of a conventional bogie for a guide rail type vehicle.
As shown in FIG. 10, a bogie 52 for a guide rail type vehicle 51, which runs along a guide rail 53 provided on a guideway, has a guide frame 54 formed into a rectangular shape in plan view. To a vehicle body end-side part 54a of the guide frame 54, a pair of guide wheels 55 is attached rotatably. On the other hand, to a vehicle body center-side part 54b of the guide frame 54 as well, a pair of guide Wheels 56 is attached rotatably. These guide wheels 55 and 56 are configured so as to rotate while being in contact with the side faces of the guide rail 53.
Also, the bogie 52 has a pair of right and left running wheels 57. The running wheel 57 on the left-hand side with respect to the vehicle running direction is provided with a steering lever 58 extending from the running wheel 57 to the end side of the vehicle body and a first link lever 59 extending from the running wheel 57 to the center side of the vehicle body. An end part 58a, on the center side of the vehicle body, of the steering lever 58 and an end part 59a, on the end side of the vehicle body, of the first link lever 59 are connected to the running wheel 57 via a rotation shaft 60.
On the other hand, the running wheel 57 on the right-band side with respect to the vehicle running direction is provided with a second link lever 61 extending from the running wheel 57 to the center side of the vehicle body. An end part 61a, on the end side of the vehicle body, of the second link lever 61 is connected to the running wheel 57 via a rotation shaft 62. Also, an end part 59b, on the center side of the vehicle body, of the first link lever 59 and an end part 61b, on the center side of the vehicle body, of the second link lever 61 are connected to each other by a tie rod 63 extending in the lateral direction of the vehicle body.
The guide frame 54 of the bogie 52 is provided with an actuator 64. The actuator 64 is connected to an end part 58b, on the end side of the vehicle body, of the steering lever 58 via a steering rod 65.
Because of the above-described configuration, for the conventional bogie 52, by changing the distance L from the center of the guide frame 54 to the connection position between the actuator 64 and the steering rod 65 by using the actuator 64, the pair of right and left running wheels 57 is steered beyond the turn angle of the guide frame 54.


An aromatic ring-containing polymer for a resist underlayer, the polymer including a unit represented by the following Chemical Formula 1:

1. Field
Embodiments relate to an aromatic ring-containing polymer for a resist underlayer, a resist underlayer composition including same, and a method of patterning a device using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
There is a continuous demand for reducing the size of structural shapes in the microelectronics industry and other related industries, including the manufacture of microscopic structures (e.g., micromachines and magneto-resist heads). In the microelectronics industry, there is a need for reducing the size of microelectronic devices in order to provide a number of circuits in a given chip size. Effective lithographic techniques are essential to achieve a reduction in the size of structural shapes.
A typical lithographic process involves the following processes. First, a resist is coated on an underlying material, and it is subjected to exposure to irradiation to form a resist layer. Thereafter, the resist layer is subjected to development using a developing solution to provide a patterned resist layer, and the underlying material exposed by the patterned resist layer is etched to transfer a pattern into the underlying material. After completion of the transfer, remaining portions of the resist layer are removed.
However, the resist may not provide resistance to the etching step to an extent that is sufficient to effectively transfer the desired pattern to an underlying material. In the case where an extremely thin resist layer is required, an underlying material to be etched is thick, a large etching depth is needed, or the use of a particular etchant is required depending on the type of underlying material, a resist underlayer may be used.
The resist underlayer acts as an intermediate layer (between the resist layer and the underlying material) that can be patterned by transfer from the patterned resist. The resist underlayer should be able to receive the pattern from the patterned resist layer and withstand etching required to transfer the pattern to the underlying material.
Many materials for such an underlayer have been suggested, but there is a need for improved underlayer compositions. Since conventional underlayer materials are difficult to apply to substrates, the use of chemical and physical vapor deposition, special solvents, and/or high-temperature baking may be required. However, these methods have a high cost.
Thus, an underlayer composition that can be applied by spin-coating techniques without high temperature baking has been recently researched. An underlayer that can be selectively etched using an overlying resist layer as a mask in an easy manner, while being resistant to etching necessary to pattern an underlying metal layer using the underlayer as a mask, also needs to be researched.
An underlayer composition that provides desirable storage life-span properties and avoids unwanted interactions (e.g., resist or substrate pollution caused by acid catalyst in the underlayer composition a hard mask) with an imaging resist layer also needs to be researched. An underlayer composition that has predetermined optical properties against imaging irradiation of short wavelengths (e.g., 157 nm, 193 nm, and 248 nm) also needs to be researched.
In summary, an antireflective underlayer having high etching selectivity and sufficient resistance against multiple etching, as well as minimized reflectivity between a resist and underlying material, is needed for lithography in order to enable production of a very fine semiconductor device.

Aromatic ring-containing polymer for resist underlayer, resist underlayer composition including the same, and method of patterning device using the same

Abstract: wherein,        R1 and R2 are independently hydrogen, a C1 to C10 alkyl group, or an aromatic group,        A is a functional group derived from an aromatic compound with a heteroatom or without a heteroatom, and        n is an integer of one or more.


Methods, systems, and devices are described for wireless communication at a device. A device may distinguish a preamble sent from a device configured for a first RAT (e.g., WLAN, Wi-Fi, etc.) from a preamble sent from a device configured for a second RAT (e.g., LTE, LTE-A, LTE-U, etc.). A wireless device associated with a second RAT may transmit a dual-use preamble over a contention-based frequency channel. The dual-use preamble may function as a valid preamble for a first RAT and may be received and decoded by devices associated with the first RAT in addition to devices associated with the second RAT. The dual-use preamble may also include a signature associated with the second RAT. The signature may be embedded with the preamble such that it minimizes interference with the valid preamble and be detected by devices associated with the second RAT.

Field of Disclosure
The following relates generally to wireless communication, and more specifically to superposition coding based preamble designs for co-existing radio access technologies (RATs), which in some examples may include the coexistence of a RAT employing Long Term Evolution (LTE) based protocols (e.g., LTE, LTE-Advanced (LTE-A), LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U), etc.), and a RAT employing wireless local area network (e.g., Wi-Fi, etc.) protocols.
Description of Related Art
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content such as voice, video, packet data, messaging, broadcast, and so on. These systems may be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing the available system resources (e.g., time, frequency, and power). Examples of such multiple-access systems include code-division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time-division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency-division multiple access (FDMA) systems, single-carrier frequency-division multiple access (SC-FDMA) systems, and orthogonal frequency-division multiple access (OFDMA) systems.
By way of example, a first wireless multiple-access communication system may operate according to a first radio access technology (RAT), such as a wireless local area network (WLAN) technology, and may include a number of base stations or access points (APs), each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple mobile devices or stations (STAs). APs may communicate with STAs on downstream and upstream links. A second wireless multiple-access communications system may operate according to a second RAT, such as LTE, and may include a number of base stations, each simultaneously supporting communication for multiple communication devices, otherwise known as user equipments (UEs). A base station may communicate with UEs on downlink channels (e.g., for transmissions from a base station to a UE) and uplink channels (e.g., for transmissions from a UE to a base station). In some cases both types of communication systems may operate in the presence of one another (e.g., may be coexisting) and may both use shared resources of a radio frequency spectrum.
In a wireless local area network (WLAN), such as a Wi-Fi network, an AP may communicate with multiple STAs over a shared radio frequency spectrum band. The STAs may use contention procedures that include transmitting control frames prior to establishing a communication link, such that confirmation of the transmission via an exchange of control frames limits interference experienced by nearby communication devices. One example of such techniques include Request to Send (RTS) and Clear to Send (CTS) messaging, where, for example, an STA attempting to communicate with another device (e.g., another STA or AP), may first send an RTS frame to be received by the device. Once the recipient device receives the RTS frame, the recipient device may confirm the communication link by sending a CTS frame. After the CTS frame is received by the STA, the STA may then begin transmitting data to be received by the recipient device over the shared radio frequency spectrum band. In this way, RTS/CTS messaging can reduce frame collisions by enabling a device, such as a STA or AP, to clear and/or reserve at least a portion of the shared radio frequency spectrum band before transmitting data to an AP or STA.
In an LTE network, a base station and a UE may communicate over a dedicated frequency spectrum band or over different frequency spectrum bands of the radio frequency spectrum (e.g., a dedicated radio frequency spectrum band and a shared radio frequency spectrum band) of a cellular network. With increasing data traffic in cellular networks that use a dedicated (e.g., licensed) radio frequency spectrum band, offloading of at least some data traffic to a shared radio frequency spectrum band may provide a cellular operator with opportunities for enhanced data transmission capacity. A shared radio frequency spectrum band may also provide service in areas where access to a dedicated radio frequency spectrum band is unavailable. In some examples an LTE-U device over a shared radio frequency spectrum band may utilize an unlicensed radio frequency spectrum band, and may be referred to as an LTE-Unlicensed (LTE-U) device.
Prior to gaining access to, and communicating over a shared radio frequency spectrum band, a base station or UE may perform a listen before talk (LBT) procedure to contend for access to the shared radio frequency spectrum band. In some examples the LBT procedure may be compatible with contention procedures used by Wi-Fi devices to gain access to the shared radio frequency spectrum band. An LBT procedure may include performing a clear channel assessment (CCA) procedure to determine whether a channel of the shared radio frequency spectrum band is available. When it is determined that the channel of the shared radio frequency spectrum band is available, a channel usage beacon signal (CUBS) may be transmitted to reserve the channel. A different UE or base station may receive and decode the CUBS and discontinue contention procedures, while a STA or AP may monitor the channel and use energy detection to determine that a CUBS has been transmitted. After identifying the CUBS, other base stations or UEs may utilize resources on the shared radio frequency spectrum band that are not being used by the transmitting UE. After determining the detected energy is above a threshold, Wi-Fi devices may refrain from transmitting on the channel for a period of time. However, other Wi-Fi devices using resources of the channel may not determine that the energy of the CUBS does not exceed a threshold, or may not receive the CUBS at all. These other Wi-Fi devices may thus continue using the channel, or one or more interfering channels (e.g., an overlapping or adjacent channel), in a manner that interferes with the base station's or UE's reservation and use of the channel.
In some examples, a base station or UE may provide communications which rely on the increased sensitivity of a Wi-Fi device's signal reception and decoding circuit over the Wi-Fi device's energy detection circuit. In some examples, the energy detection circuit of a Wi-Fi device may be less sensitive than the signal reception and decoding circuit used for detecting Wi-Fi transmissions (e.g., Wi-Fi preambles, CTS-to-Self packets, Wi-Fi data packets, etc.). The base station or UE may thus transmit a channel reservation indication to be interpreted by the reception and decoding circuits of Wi-Fi devices. A channel reservation indication transmitted in this manner may be detected by the Wi-Fi devices in scenarios in which the energy level of a CUBS may not be detectable. However, if an LTE-U device transmits a Wi-Fi preamble, the other LTE-U devices within range may be unable to distinguish a Wi-Fi preamble sent from a Wi-Fi device from a channel reservation indicator sent from an LTE-U device. Therefore, an LTE-U device may not utilize the unused resources on the channel of the shared radio frequency spectrum band, resulting in an inefficient utilization of resources of the shared radio frequency spectrum band.

Superposition coding based preamble designs for co-existing radio access technologies


A technique that is usable with a well includes running a production string into the well so that the production string extends through a first isolated zone of the well and at least into a second isolated zone that is located farther into the well than the first isolated zone. The production string includes integrated perforating charges. The technique also includes firing the perforating charges inside the first zone; and after the firing, maintaining fluid isolation between the first isolated zone and a passageway of the production string. The passageway communicates well fluid from the second isolated zone.

The invention generally relates to a technique and apparatus for multiple zone perforating.
A typical subterranean well includes multiple production zones. In the production of well fluid from these zones, the well fluid from the zones may be commingled; or alternatively, the zones may be isolated and produced separately. For the latter type of production, the zones may be initially isolated with packers and then perforated to prepare the zones for production.
Conventional systems to produce from multiple isolated zones use multiple strings to regulate and/or shut off the flows from the zones. As a more specific example, FIG. 1 depicts a conventional system 5 for completing and producing well fluid from two isolated production zones. As depicted in FIG. 1, a production string 10 (often called the "long string") extends into the interior of a casing string 8 of the well. During production from the well, the production string 10 communicates fluid from a lower production zone (not depicted in FIG. 1) that is located below a lower packer 16 to the surface of the well. The system 5 also includes another production string 12 (often called the "short string") that extends into the well beside the production string 10 and into an upper production zone 15 that is isolated between an upper packer 14 and the lower packer 16. Therefore, as depicted in FIG. 1, both production strings 10 and 12 extend through the upper packer 14.
Unlike the production string 10, the production string 12 does not extend through the packer 16. Instead, the production string 12 has a lower end 30 to receive well fluid from the production zone 15. As depicted in FIG. 1, the production string 12 may include a flow control device 32 for purposes of regulating and/or shutting off flow from zone 15.
For purposes of preparing the zone 15 for production, the well casing 8 and surrounding formation inside the zone typically are perforated using a perforating gun 22 that is eccentric to and clamped to the production string 10. More specifically, the production string 10 may include a Y-block gun hanger 20 for purposes of hanging the perforating gun 22 below the hanger 20, and the hanger 20 may include blast joints (larger outside diameter tubing) to protect the integrity of the production string 10. The perforating gun 22 extends beside and is coupled to (via clamps, such as a depicted clamp 23) section 25 of the production string 10. The production string 10 may include a guide nose 26 for purposes of connecting the perforating gun 22 and guiding the perforating gun 22 into the well.
A potential drawback with the system 5 is that the size of the perforating gun 22 is limited. More particularly, as can be seen from FIG. 1, inside the zone 15, the production string section 25 and perforating gun 22 span across the interior diameter of the casing string 8, thereby restricting the overall available outer diameter for the perforating gun 22. Another potential drawback with the system 5 is that the perforating gun 22 does not produce perforations that extend completely around the casing string 8. The limited perforating angle is due to the fact that the perforating charges of the gun 22 are directed away from section 25 of the production string 10 for purposes of avoiding damage to the production section 25. Therefore, the fluid carrying section 25 resides in a wedge that is excluded from the perforating charge phasing pattern of the perforating gun 22.
Thus, there exists a continuing need for a perforating/completion system that addresses one or more of the problems that are set forth above as well as potentially addresses one or more problems that are not set forth above.

Technique and apparatus for multiple zone perforating


A plurality of image projections are acquired at faster than cardiac rate. A spatiotemporal reconstruction of cardiac frequency angiographic phenomena in three spatial dimensions is generated from two dimensional image projections using physiological coherence at cardiac frequency. Complex valued methods may be used to operate on the plurality of image projections to reconstruct a higher dimensional spatiotemporal object. From a plurality of two spatial dimensional angiographic projections, a 3D spatial reconstruction of moving pulse waves and other cardiac frequency angiographic phenomena is obtained. Reconstruction techniques for angiographic data obtained from biplane angiography devices are also provided herein.

The heart pumps blood throughout the vascular system, including to organs, as a sequence of arterial stroke volumes. The method of cardiac gating does not allow the imaging of individual stroke volumes while traveling though vessels but instead interpolates a pulse wave from many heartbeats. U.S. Pat. No. 10,123,761 discloses aspects of performing spatiotemporal reconstruction of individual moving vascular pulse waves from angiographic images acquired at faster than cardiac frequency. In this approach, the moving vascular pulse wave is reconstructed into a two spatial dimensional angiographic projection. In aspects, a balance of motion alias and frequency alias techniques are employed. However, this approach is limited by the inability to offer spatiotemporal reconstruction of a moving vascular pulse wave in three spatial dimensions.
U.S. Pat. No. 10,123,671 discloses techniques for analyzing a sequence of angiographic images acquired at faster than cardiac rate to obtain a spatiotemporal reconstruction of moving vascular pulse waves according to that image projection. The spatiotemporal reconstructions are complex valued data of the same dimensionality as the projection. Each pixel at each time point has a complex valued datum. It may be represented as a real number and an imaginary number. For physiological interpretation, however, it is represented in polar form with a magnitude and a phase. The magnitude represents the variation of contrast in that pixel at cardiac frequency. The phase represents the position in the cardiac cycle.
Computational approaches to higher dimensionality reconstruction from lower dimensionality projections may use techniques such as inversion of a generalized Radon transform, filtered back projection, constrained inversion, iterative techniques, expectation-maximization, and other algorithms. These methods assume that the object being imaged does not vary between one projection angle and the next. Accordingly, these approaches are suitable for real valued projection data, for example, to describe the attenuation of x-rays by the object being imaged by projections.
However, these methods are not suitable for reconstruction of dynamic phenomenon because the subject of the reconstruction, which is visualized using a contrast agent, varies between projections.
Other techniques are known in the art that involve reconstruction of higher dimensional images from multiple data sets of lesser dimensionality. However, these techniques also apply to reconstruction of static anatomical x-ray images, obtained from a plurality of image projections. However, dynamic information, such as vascular pulse waves and other cardiac frequency phenomena, would not be obtained from processing of static images.

Spatiotemporal reconstruction in higher dimensions of a moving vascular pulse wave from a plurality of lower dimensional angiographic projections


This feeder for bales of feed material consists of a wall structure defining an enclosure adapted to receive one or more bales of feed material. The wall structure has openings whereby animals gain access to the feed material. At least one reserve bale support is mounted on a top peripheral edge of the wall structure. A reserve bale is deposited into the enclosure by pivoting the bale support.

Bale feeders are used to feed cattle whenever the forage available is insufficient due to seasonal conditions. The bale feeders are intended to accommodate either a multiplicity of small bales or one or two large bales. Cattlemen generally check their herds of cattle on a daily basis. Whenever the feed in the bale feeder is depleted they must replenish the supply by adding additional bales. Adverse weather conditions (for example: obscured visibility, snow accumulations, frigid temperatures, or high winds) can make the job difficult, hard on equipment and potentially hazardous.


A control system for a skid steer vehicle reads a load height sensor, a load amount sensor, and a vehicle speed sensor to derate the otherwise commanded acceleration, deceleration and turning rate on the vehicle when the vehicle has too great a load, too high a load, or the vehicle is going too fast.

The invention relates to electronic control systems of work vehicles. More particularly, it relates to electronically controlled drive systems for skid steer loaders.
Skid steer vehicles such as skid steer loaders are a mainstay of construction work. In their common configuration, they have two or three drive wheels on each side of a chassis that are driven in rotation by one or more hydraulic motors coupled to the wheels on one side and another one or more hydraulic motors coupled to the wheels on the other side.
The wheels on one side of the vehicle can be driven independently of the wheels on the other side of the vehicle, thus permitting the wheels to be rotate in opposite directions on opposing sides of the vehicle, thereby causing the skid steer vehicle to spin in place about a vertical axis that extends upward through the vehicle itself.
The vehicles have an overall size of about 10 by 12 feet, which, when combined with their ability to rotate in place, gives them considerable mobility at a worksite. It is this mobility that makes them a favorite.
Skid steer vehicles commonly have a loader or lift arm that is pivotally coupled to the chassis of the vehicle to raise and lower at the operator""s command. This arm typically has a bucket, blade or other implement attached to the end of the arm that is lifted and lowered thereby. Perhaps most commonly, a bucket is attached, and the skid steer vehicle is used to carry supplies or particulate matter such as gravel, sand, or dirt around the worksite.
One of the disadvantages of traditional skid steer vehicles is their lack of a sprung suspension. The wheels that support the skid steer vehicle chassis are typically fixed with respect to the chassis. They do not move up or down with respect to the chassis, and hence the only shock-absorbing capability they provide is due to the compressions of the wheels. If solid wheels are used, however, they do not even have the compression to absorb impact and cushion travel over irregular terrain.
As a result, skid steer vehicles have been constrained to move at relatively low speeds, seldom above 6 miles per hour, when moving over the irregular terrain of a construction site. Speeds much above this level would permit the vehicle to pitch and roll to a significant degree, which might dump some of the load out of the bucket.
Another reason unsprung skid steer vehicles are limited to low speeds is to give the operator a smoother ride. When skid steer vehicles are operated at speed much over 6 mph, the chassis bounces and rolls so much that the operator experiences a rough and unpleasant ride.
In the last few years, however, manufacturers of skid steer vehicles have begun to add suspensions to their skid steer vehicles. These suspensions permit the skid steer vehicle wheels to move up and down with respect to the chassis. This configuration permits the skid steer vehicles to operate at higher ground speed than the common 6 mph, yet absorbs the ground impacts and terrain irregularities that might otherwise cause significant vehicle bouncing, bucket emptying and operator injury.
Sprung suspensions do have some untoward effects on skid steer vehicle handling under certain operational conditions, however. Skid steer vehicles have a relatively compact wheelbase. They are loaded by filling a bucket and raising the bucket in the air above the operator""s head. The loaded bucket is not disposed at the center of the vehicle, its weight evenly distributed overall four wheels, but is typically cantilevered outward away from the vehicle at the front wheels. In addition to this, a sprung skid steer vehicle can roll and pitch to a much greater degree than an unsprung skid steer vehicle and can also travel at greater speeds over ground, including the irregular terrain of a work site. All of these factors combined could make a sprung skid steer vehicle handle poorly, especially if it carries heavy loads lifted high in the air, and travels at high (+6 mph) speeds over rough terrain,
Other arrangements have been proposed to resist the pitching and rolling of a sprung skid steer vehicle, for example, by restricting the free motion of the vehicle suspension in a variety of ways. While this is beneficial, it does require additional devices that increase the cost and complexity of the vehicle.
What is needed, therefore, is a different system of reducing the pitching and rolling of a skid steer vehicle that limits the vehicle""s turn rate. It is an object of this invention to provide such a system.
In accordance with a first embodiment of the invention, a control system for the drive and steering of a skid steer vehicle having a loader arm capable of carrying a load, the control system is provided, including (i) a means for sensing the amount of load and generating a signal indicative thereof; (ii) a means for sensing the height of the load and generating a signal indicative thereof; (iii) a means for sensing the speed of the vehicle and generating a signal indicative thereof; (iv) a means responsive to operator manipulation for generating an operator vehicle motion command; and (v) an electronic controller coupled to the means of (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv) above, to receive the signals and command therefrom and to generate a drive signal based upon the signals received from the means of paragraphs (i), (ii), (iii), and (iv). The drive signal may control the displacement of at least one positive displacement hydraulic pump. The drive signal may control the displacement of at least two positive displacement pumps. The two positive displacement pumps may include a first positive displacement pump that is fluidly coupled to at least a first hydraulic motor rotationally coupled to and disposed to drive at least one vehicle wheel on the left side of the vehicle and at least a second hydraulic motor rotationally coupled to and disposed to drive at least a second vehicle wheel disposed on the right side of the vehicle. The means for sensing the amount of load may include a pressure sensor capable of measuring the pressure of a tire, the pressure of a loader cylinder, or the pressure of a suspension cylinder. The means for sensing the height of the loader arm may include a loader cylinder position sensor or a loader arm position sensor. The means for sensing the vehicle speed may include a wheel speed sensor, a hydrostatic motor speed sensor, a GPS receiver, a ground sensing laser, or a ground-sensing radar. The means responsive to operator manipulation may include a joystick or a left-hand drive lever and right-hand drive lever. The load sensor may include a sensor disposed to detect the pressure in a loader arm lift cylinder.
In accordance with a second embodiment of the invention, a method of controlling the steering of a skid steer vehicle having a plurality of wheels mounted on the left vehicle side driven by at least a first hydraulic motor and a plurality of wheels on the right vehicle side driven by at least a second hydraulic motor, the vehicle further including at least a first hydraulic pump to drive the at least a first hydraulic motor and at least a second hydraulic pump to drive the at least a second hydraulic motor and an electronic controller coupled to the at least a first and at least a second hydraulic pumps to control their specific displacement is provided, the method including the steps of (i) receiving a signal representative of a vehicle load; (ii) receiving a signal representative of the height of at least a portion of the vehicle load; (iii )receiving a signal representative of the speed of the vehicle; (iv) receiving an operator-generated vehicle motion command; and (v) combining the signals of steps (i), (ii), and (iii), with the command of step (iv) to generate a drive signal. The vehicle further may include at least one loader having a first end and a second end, an implement coupled to the first end and a vehicle chassis coupled to the second end, and further wherein at least a portion of the vehicle load includes a load carried by the implement. The method may include the step of applying the drive signal to a positive displacement hydraulic pump to control the displacement thereof. The step of combining the signals may include the step of derating the vehicle""s response to the operator-generated vehicle motion command. The step of derating the vehicle""s response may include the step of derating the vehicle""s turning rate. The step of derating the vehicle""s response may include the step of derating the vehicle""s rate of acceleration. The step of derating the vehicle""s response may include the step of derating the vehicle""s rate of deceleration.