The present invention in one aspect relates to an in-cell touch panel. In one embodiment, the in-cell touch panel includes at least one touch sensing device configured such that when a touch occurs, it responsively generates a first sensing signal and a second sensing signal that is different from the first sensing signal, and at least one reverse amplification circuit electrically coupled to the at least one touch sensing device for amplifying the difference between the first and second sensing signals.

Touch sensing or touch position detection technology capable of providing a natural interface between an electronic system and user has found widespread applications in a variety of fields, for example, in mobile phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), automatic teller machines (ATMs), game machines, medical devices, liquid crystal display (LCD) devices, light emitting diode (LED) devices, plasma display panel (PDP) devices, computing devices, and the like, where a user may input desired information and/or operate the electronic system through a touch sensing device associated with the electronic system. A touch sensing device typically includes a controller, a sensing circuit having a plurality of touch sensors and a network of control lines electrically connecting the plurality of touch sensors to the controller, and a touch panel associated with the plurality of touch sensors.
Recently, in-cell touch sensing panels in which an LCD incorporates touch sensors have been developed. Those touch sensors sense the pressure, capacitance or ambient light brightness difference caused by a touch of a finger or a stylus and provide electrical signals corresponding thereto for the LCD.
FIG. 16 shows a circuit diagram of a conventional in-cell touch sensor including a reset thin-film transistor (TFT), RST-TFT, an amplification TFT, AMP-TFT, a selection (read) TFT, SEL-TFT, a storage capacitor, Cref, and a liquid crystal capacitor, Clc. For such a touch sensor, a touch detection includes three steps: initialization, charging and readout.
Initialization: when the voltage level of Gate line G1 turns high, RST-TFT is turned on. Accordingly, the voltage level at the node VA is initially set to Vinit.
Charging: when the voltage level of Gate line G1 turns low, RST-TFT is turned off. The voltage level at the node VA is shifted to a certain level if a touch exists,
            V      A        =                  V        init            -                                                  C              ref                                                      C                ref                            +                              C                lc                            +                              C                p                                              ·          Δ                                                          V              ,where Cref is a reference capacity, Clc is a liquid crystal capacity of the pixel, which is variable with a touch event, Cp is a parasitic capacity of the pixel, and ΔV is the difference between the high voltage level and the low voltage level of the Gate line G1.
Readout: when the voltage level of Gate line G2 turns high, SEL-TFT is turned on, thereby reading out the signal (from a sense line).
FIG. 17 shows a conventional photo-type touch sensor includes a source follower TFT, M1, a reset TFT, M2, a column bias TFT, M3, a photo sensor, PD and a storage capacitor, CINT. When M2 is turned on, the storage capacitor CINT is charged to a certain voltage level, and the photo sensor PD leaks according to the intensity of its ambient light. As a result, Vint is reduced to a different level after a period of time. When RWS is pulsed on, the level of Vint is increased, because of the capacitive coupling. Further, the voltage level of Vpix is also increased from the level of VSS to a certain level, for example, a power supply voltage VDD, thereby determining that a touch event occurs. FIG. 18 shows timing charts of operation signals of the photo-type touch sensor as disclosed above.
For the touch sensor designs, the sensed touch signal amplification is utilized with a Mamp TFT, for example, AMP-TFT in FIG. 16, or M1 in FIG. 17. Sometimes, sensed touch signals may be very weak, so that even after the signal amplification, one may still be unable to determine whether a touch event exists. Thus, the sensitivity of the touch sensor designs is limited.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.


Provided is a resin molded body which has excellent flame retardance, weather resistance, shock resistance and tracking resistance. The resin molded body is composed of a thermoplastic resin composition comprising a thermoplastic resin, a polycarbonate, an elastomer, and a flame retardant. By adopting this combination of components, a Charpy impact value at 23° C. measured in conformity with ISO 179/1eA is 15 kJ/m2 or more and flame retardance measured under a condition of thickness of 1.0 mm and in conformity with UL94 is V-0 or more, and a resin molded body which can be used favorably outdoors is produced.

Thermoplastic resins such as a polyolefin resin, a polyester resin, a polyamide resin, and a polyether resin are used as raw materials of electrical and electronic parts because of excellent electrical characteristics, chemical resistance, and water resistance.
Especially in electrical and electronic parts, high fire safety is required, and various standards relating to flame retardant processing, typified by UL Standards in the USA, are often required (see, for example, Patent Document 1). As a technique for imparting flame retardance to a thermoplastic resin, a technique in which a halogen compound containing chlorine or bromine is mixed in a thermoplastic resin has been known. In order to further enhance the flame retardant effect, use of a halogen compound in combination with an antimony compound is also performed. In case electrical and electronic parts are used under a high voltage, like a power supply, tracking resistance is also required. As a technique for imparting flame retardance and tracking resistance to electrical and electronic parts, a technique in which a combination of a phosphorous-based flame retardant and a nitrogen-containing compound is mixed has been known (see, for example, Patent Document 2).
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2010-120978
[Patent Document 2] PCT International Application, Publication No. 2011/148796


A skewing detection mechanism for a printer of type wherein an image is formed onto a continuous recording form. A pivotally movable sensor is arranged in abutted and biased relation to the continuous recording form being transported along a predetermined transport path. A detector is provided for detecting pivotal movement of the sensor.

This invention relates to a skewing detection mechanism for a printer of the type wherein an image is formed onto a continuous recording form, for detecting transport malfunctions, such as skewing, meandering, tearing-up and the like of the continuous recording form.
Conventionally, there is known an image recording apparatus utilizing a so-called electrophotographic system in which a surface of a photoconductive drum, for example, is exposed to light to form a latent image on the drum surface, toner is then applied to the latent image to develop the same, and the developed image is transferred onto a recording medium and is fixed by a fixing unit. Such image recording apparatus is chiefly employed in a copying machine. In general, cut sheets are used as the recording medium.
In recent years, the image recording apparatus utilizing the electrophotographic system has also been employed in a printer or the like which prints the output from a computer. In such image recording apparatus, it has been desired to use, as the recording medium, a continuous recording form identical with that used in a conventional line-printer.
The continuous recording form is a folded continuous form (hereinafter referred to simply as "continuous form") called a fan-folded form which has formed therein sprocket holes. Perforations are provided at each of the folded sections to enable sheet sections to be easily severed from each other.
As a method of fixing a toner image onto the recording medium in the above electrophotographic system, there are various systems including a system due to heat fusion, a system due to solvent, a system due to pressure, and the like. The system due to heat fusion has generally been utilized, because the heat-fusion system is considered most effect in terms of safety and reliability. The heat-fusion system includes various specific ways. Among the heat-fusion ways, a so-called heat-roll fixture is most often employed, in which a recording medium having carried thereon an unfixed toner image is abutted and urged against a heated roller or a heat roller so that the toner is heated and fused due to heat applied by the heat roller.
In the heat-roll fixture, a high temperature heat roller and a backup roller are arranged in parallel relation to each other to form a fixing roll pair. The recording medium having carried thereon unfixed toner image is clamped between the rollers of the fixing roll pair, so that the recording medium is urged against the heat roller with a predetermined pressure and is heated by the heat roller. Usually, it is designed so that the recording medium is driven to travel by rotation of the fixing roll pair.
The above heat-roll fixture is also frequently employed in electrophotographic type printers utilizing a continuous form as the recording medium.
When the above heat-roll fixture is applied to the printer of the electrophotographic type printer employing a continuous form recording medium, the following problem arises. Because the continuous form is driven to travel by the fixing roll pair, the continuous form clamped between the rollers of the fixing roll pair would skew or meander due to various factors such as poor initial biting of the continuous form into the nip between the fixing rollers, unevenness or nonuniformity in thickness of the continuous form, elongation of the continuous form due to absorption of moisture, and the like. If such skewing or meandering occurs, the biting position of the continuous form with respect to the fixing rollers consecutively varies laterally, so that the side edge of the continuous form finally reaches the lateral end of the nip between the fixing rollers. This causes creases in the continuous form, resulting in defective fixing of the image and in a transport malfunction called jamming of the continuous form.
Further, the above-described defective fixing and transport malfunction occur also in a general or usual traveling drive mechanism for the continuous form. Specifically, the traveling drive mechanism comprises a pair of endless belts which are arranged respectively at opposite side edges of the continuous form. Each of the endless belts is provided with a plurality of projections which are engageable with sprocket holes formed in a corresponding one of the opposite side edges of the continuous form. The endless belts are driven to transport the continuous form. In this traveling drive mechanism, defective fixing and transport malfunctions occur due to a difference between the speed of the continuous form transported by the endless belts and the effect of traveling of the continuous form driven by the fixing rollers.
The above skewing or meandering of the continuous form does not occur in the case of cut sheets, because the cut sheets are limited in length, i.e., are relatively short in length.

Skewing detection mechanism for printer employing continuous recording form


The present invention is drawn toward a lateral-flow, colorimetric, gelatinase assay including a sample pad, a reagent pad, a membrane, and an absorbent pad, in that order, wherein the reagent pad has therein a dried form of gelatin-coated nanoparticles in a salt and sugar matrix, and wherein the membrane portion has a test stripe and a control stripe, such that the test stripe is a solution of electrolyte evaporated into a layer, and the control stripe is a solution of anti-gelatin antibody evaporated into a layer. The present invention is also drawn toward a method of detecting one or more gelatinases in a sample fluid using the assay, and methods of determining treatment for wound healing, cancer, ocular rosacea, periodontal disease and equine arthritis using the assay.

Proteases are enzymes that act on proteins by breaking them down into peptides and amino acids. A gelatinase is a type of protease that hydrolyzes gelatin into peptides and amino acids. Recently, specific gelatinases have been found to be present in elevated amounts in the wound exudates of patients with non-healing wounds, in the urine of cancer patients, in the tears of ocular rosacea patients, in the saliva of patients with periodontal disease, and in the synovial fluid of horses suffering from equine arthritis.
The current primary technique for the detection of gelatinases in a sample is gelatin zymography. Gelatin zymography is an electrophoretic technique for the detection of gelatin-hydrolytic enzymes, i.e., gelatinases. However, gelatin zymography requires laborious, skillful and time-consuming (about one week) lab work. Thus, for most hospitals, medical professionals, and other care-providing facilities, evaluation of gelatinase activity is not feasible.
Accordingly, a point-of-care gelatinase test would be an innovation in the fields of caring for wounds, cancer, ocular rosacea, periodontal disease and equine arthritis. Such a point-of-care gelatinase test may help health care providers to make informed decisions about which treatment is or is not appropriate. Advantages of guiding therapy in this way may include avoidance of unnecessary interventions, reduced nursing time, fewer clinic visits, shorter overall treatment duration, earlier recognition and prevention of complications, improved quality of life, faster healing and earlier return to work.
These potential benefits may lead regulators in the future to require such a point-of-care test before the use of specific treatments. Monitoring gelatinases through weekly testing with cheap, disposable, colorimetric tests, may allow health care providers to recognize whether care is effective and, therefore, whether the current treatment/approach is appropriate.
Lateral flow tests are simple devices intended to detect the presence of an analyte in a sample without the need for specialized and costly equipment. Typically, these tests are used for medical diagnostics either for home testing, point-of-care testing, or laboratory use. A well-known application of it is the home pregnancy test. Although commonly employing immunochromatographic techniques which take advantage of the monovalent specificity of the antibody-antigen reaction, the tests using them typically only measure one analyte, for example hCG in the case of pregnancy tests. Although tremendous efforts have been made in developing and commercializing lateral flow immunochromatographic assays for detecting a large number of analytes, minimal work has been done in adapting the lateral flow assay format for detecting enzyme activity. Thus, such a lateral flow assay format for detecting gelatinase activity that is cheap, disposable, and colorimetric-based would be an innovation.


The present invention relates to a method of decreasing cholesterol or low density lipid protein in a subject in need thereof comprising: administering to said subject a pharmaceutically effective amount of a composition comprising dextromethorphan.

Bipolar disorder (BP) characterized by a dysregulation of mood, impulsivity, risky behavior, and interpersonal problems, is a recurrent and often chronic psychiatric illness. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), BP is the sixth leading cause of disability-adjusted life years worldwide among persons aged 15 to 44 years. It is associated with functional impairment, elevated suicide rates, and utilization of mental health systems.
BP is known for recurrent depressive, manic, and mixed episodes, and BP is divided into several categories. However, BP is commonly under-recognized, even in psychiatric settings. Increasing evidences suggest that neuronal degeneration may relate to the etiology and progression of bipolar disorder. Imaging studies suggest that ongoing neuronal atrophy accompanies the disorder. For instance, PET images of the cerebral blood flow and the rate of glucose metabolism, both indicative of brain activity, detect a reduced activity in the subgenual prefrontal cortex during the bipolar depression. This decrement in activity in part corresponds to a reduction of cortical volume, similar in a manner to that seen in magnetic resonance imaging demonstrating the reduced mean volume on grey matters. In BP, abnormalities of the third ventricle, frontal lobe, cerebellum, and possibly the temporal lobe are also noted. These observations suggest a neuronal dysfunction and possibly neuronal loss may be involved in the pathogenesis of BP. Therefore, BP may represent a neuro-degeneration disease.
In addition, BP may be associated with induction of a lot of endotoxins and exotoxins which may increase neurotoxins as well as decrease of neurotrophic factors duo to overactivate microglial cell and inhibit astroglia cell. Those effects may induce pre-inflammatory factors such as TNF-α, C-reactive protein, interleukins, etc. and decrease BDNF etc. which will cause neuron damage or necrosis. The vicious cycle will lead to progressive worsening of the disease.
While the pharmacological guidelines for treatment are well established, treatment for BP remains less than ideal. Most individuals still have breakthrough episodes or significant residual symptoms while on medication. In addition, functional deficits often remain even when patients are in remission. Moreover, most BP patients are newly diagnosed who have not taken any mood stabilizer or antipsychotics in the past. Because many patients with BP remain symptomatic even when fully adherent to their medication regimens, greater understanding of the pathogenesis of this illness and novel treatment modality other than current regimen of mood stabilizers and antipsychotics is needed.
Cholesterol is an organic molecule. It is a lipid molecule and is biosynthesized by all animal cells because it is an essential structural component of all animal (not plant or bacterial) cell membranes that is required to maintain both membrane structural integrity and fluidity. Cholesterol travels through bloodstream in small packages called lipoproteins. These packages are made of fat (lipid) on the inside and proteins on the outside. Two kinds of lipoproteins carry cholesterol throughout body: low-density lipoproteins (LDL) and high-density lipoproteins (HDL). Having healthy levels of both types of lipoproteins is important. LDL cholesterol sometimes is called "bad" cholesterol. A high LDL level leads to a buildup of cholesterol in arteries. HDL cholesterol sometimes is called "good" cholesterol. This is because it carries cholesterol from other parts of body back to liver, so that liver can remove the cholesterol from body. High cholesterol level increases the risk of some conditions, such as coronary heart disease, stroke, peripheral vascular disease, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure. Therefore, a method for decreasing cholesterol or LDL level in body is needed.
Dextromethorphan (DM) has been used as an antitussive drug with little side effect for more than 50 years in clinics. It is known to have a wide margin of safety. DM has been shown to be neuroprotective in rodents and protects the 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP)- or lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-induced dopaminergic neuronal damage in vitro and in vivo. Furthermore, DM also protects against the ischemia-induced neuronal damage in rats and has been reported to have neuroprotective effect on monoamine neurons and to have protective effect against endotoxicity and extratoxicity. DM has neuronal protective effects in high dose and low dose. However, the high dosage of DM may cause side effects including body rash/itching, nausea, vomiting, drowsiness, dizziness, constipation, sedation, confusion, nervousness, and closed-eye hallucination. The high dosage of DM may not only increase side effect but also confuse the detailed mechanism of medication; the low dosage will demonstrate the specific effect of the DM in the decrease of cytokine including TNF-α and neuroprotective effect. The mechanism of the neuroprotective effects of low dose DM is associated with the inhibition of microglia activation but not with its N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist property. Moreover, a better correlation is found between the anti-inflammatory potency and the neuroprotection of low dose DM. These results suggest that the neuroprotection provided by low dose DM in the inflammation-related neurodegenerative models is not mediated through the NMDA receptor. U.S. Pat. No. 8,785,472 (Publication No. 2011/0281904 A1) suggests that DM is effective in the treatment of BP patients. In addition, low plasma levels of DM (5-100 ng/ml) found in these patients suggests that this beneficial effect of low dose DM is not mediated through the blockade of NMDA receptors. The clinical studies have indicated that patients taking 30-60 mg/70 kg of DM showed plasma DM concentrations of about 10-30 ng/ml (28-84 nM) which is not effect in NMDA receptor. The same low dose of DM causes a significant anti-inflammatory as well as a BDNF-increasing effect in bipolar disorder patients.
Memantine used to be recognized as a noncompetitive N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonist. It was found to have neuroprotective effect in several neurodegenerative diseases in the past years. Memantine can inhibit brain inflammatory response through its action on neuroglial cells and provide neurotrophic effect. Mechanistic studies reveal that the high potency of small dosage of memantine is due to its dual actions: an anti-inflammatory effect by reducing the activity of microglia and an increase in the release of neurotrophic factors, such as BDNF, GDNF by astroglia (U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/486,630 (Publication No. 2009/0253803 A1). It is also found that even 1/100 dosage of memantine (0.2 mg/kg) may be effective in opioid addictive behavior in rat by conditioned place preference.

Combination therapy for mental disorders

Abstract: The present invention also relates to a method of treating a subject suffered from bipolar II disorder, comprising administering to said subject a therapeutically effective amount of valproic acid and a combination of dextromethorphan and memantine, wherein the dose of dextromethorphan or memantine is a low dose not sufficient to work as a N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist.

Abstract: The present invention further relates to a composition for treating bipolar II disorder, which comprises valproic acid and a combination of dextromethorphan and memantine, wherein the dose of dextromethorphan or memantine is a low dose not sufficient to work as a N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor antagonist.


This invention relates inter alia to novel imidazoquinoline derivatives and their use in therapy, particularly as vaccine adjuvants.

The refinement and simplification of microbial vaccines and the use of synthetic and recombinant subunit antigens to improve vaccine manufacturability and safety has resulted in a decrease in vaccine potency. This has led to studies on the co-administration of adjuvants with antigens to potentiate vaccine activity and the weak immunogenicity of synthetic and recombinant epitopes. Adjuvants are additives that enhance humoral and/or cell-mediated immune responses to a vaccine antigen. The design of vaccine adjuvants, however, has historically been difficult because of the complex nature of the molecular mechanisms involved in immune system function. Although the addition of microbial components has long been known to enhance adaptive immune responses, only recently was it shown that toll-like receptors (TLRs) on cells involved in immune surveillance, such as epithelial and dendritic cells, engage many of these microbial products via so-called "pathogen-associated patterns" or PAMPs. Many vaccine adjuvants and stand-alone immunomodulators appear to interact with members of the TLR family.
Of the 10 known TLRs that have been identified in humans, five are associated with the recognition of bacterial components (TLRs 1, 2, 4, 5, 6) and four others (TLRs 3, 7, 8, 9) appear to be restricted to cytoplasmic compartments and are involved in the detection of viral RNA (TLRs 3, 7, 8) and unmethylated DNA (TLR9) (Iwasaki, A., Nat Immunol 2004, 5, 987). Activation of TLRs regulates intracellular signaling pathways and leads to gene expression via interaction with intracellular adapter molecules such as MyD88, TRIF, TIRAP, and TRAM (Akira, S. Nat Rev Immunol 2004, 4, 499; Takeda, K. Semin Immunol 2004, 16, 3). These adapter molecules can differentially regulate the expression of inflammatory cytokines/chemokines and type I interferons (IFα/β), which can lead to the preferential enhancement of antigen-specific humoral and cell-mediated immune responses (Zughaier, S. Infect Immun 2005, 73, 2940). Humoral immunity is the major line of defense against bacterial pathogens, whereas the induction of cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTLs) appears to be crucial for protective immunity in the case of viral disease and cancer.
In the case of TLR7 and TLR8 activation, a few different classes of small molecule mimetics of the natural (U- and/or G-rich) viral ssRNA ligands have been identified. These include certain antiviral compounds related to oxidized guanosine metabolites (oxoguanosines), which primarily interact with TLR7 (Heil, F. Eur J Immunol 2003, 33, 2987; Hemmi, 2002) and derivatives of adenine which engage TLR7 and/or TLR8. The immune stimulating ability of these compounds has been attributed to the TLR/MyD88-dependent signaling pathways and the production of cytokines, including IL-6 and type I (particularly interferon-α) and II interferons. TLR7 or TLR8 activation leads to the upregulation of co-stimulatory molecules (e.g. CD-40, CD-80, CD-86) and class I and II MHC molecules on dendritic cells (DCs). DCs are the principal cells of the immune system involved in uptake and presentation of antigens to T lymphocytes. Plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs), which preferentially express TLR7, are professional interferon-α producing cells; whereas mDCs express TLR8 only. TLR8 activation on mDCs leads to the preferential production of pro-inflammatory cytokines such as IL-12, TNF-α, and IFN-γ and cell-mediated immunity (CMI). It has been shown that TLR7 agonists are more effective at generating IFN-α and IFN-regulated cytokines, whereas TLR8 agonists, which lead to the reversal of CD4+ regulatory (Treg) cell function, are more effective at inducing proinflammatory cytokines such as TNF-α and IL-12, suggesting that TLR7 activation may be more important for antibody responses (Th2-type responses) while TLR8 activation should induce CMI or Th1-type immune responses (Gordon J Immunol 2005, 1259).
One class of TLR-active adenine derivatives that has received a considerable amount of attention are the 1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinolines. The prototypical member of this class, imiquimod, was found to be effective against genital papilloma virus infections, actinitic keratosis and basal cell carcinoma when applied topically in cream form. Imiquimod, however, has relatively low interferon inducing activity in both oral and topical preparations and both oral and topical preparations are not without side effects. In fact, serious side effects were reported in an HCV clinical trial with imiquimod. The large immunological "footprint" of TLR7 agonists in general has led to concerns over toxicity: clinical trials with another TLR7 agonist ANA-975, an oxoguanosine derivative, were suspended due to toxicity issues.
Another member of the 1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinolone class of TLR7/8 ligands is resiquimod. Resiquimod also activates TLR7 in macrophages and DCs in a MyD88-dependent manner either directly or indirectly via an accessory molecule and upregulates co-stimulatory molecules and MHCI/II in DCs. In contrast to imiquimod, the more potent and toxic resiquimod is also a ligand for TLR8 signaling, which leads to the reversal of CD4+ regulatory (Treg) cell function.
Lipid conjugates of nucleoside drugs are known in the art to enhance oral bioavailability in general as well as to permit incorporation of the resulting "nucleolipid" into lipid membranes of liposomes (Rosemeyer, H. Chemistry & Biodiversity 2005, 2, 977-1063). Incorporating sensitive and/or highly active molecules in liposomes establishes a slow release carrier system or molecular depot which protects the molecule from degradation and decreases toxic side effects. It has often been found, however, that lipid conjugates are less biologically active than the parent molecule.
Certain lipidated imidazoquinoline derivatives have been described in U.S. Pat. No. 8,624,029 (Johnson) and these compounds have advantages over corresponding unlipidated analogues.
It remains an objective to discover further effective and safe vaccine adjuvants.

Imidazoquinoline derivatives and their use in therapy


A cooling stick for a blender includes a cylindrical member designed to fit tightly through a circular aperture extending through the blender lid. The member has a lower portion and an upper portion with a surrounding rim of a diameter larger than the circular aperture. The lower portion has a lower end sized and shaped to avoid contact with the blender blade assembly. The cylindrical member has an interior chamber, an opening extending from an exterior of the member to the chamber and means for sealing the opening. A cooling fluid is located within the interior chamber. The fluid is cooled or frozen when the cooling stick is located in a cooling environment. When the chilled cooling stick is mounted to the lid of the blender, the cooling stick will cool contents of the blender when the blender is operated. The cooling stick also cools the blender contents after operation.

Blenders are used to make a variety of food and drink items. It is often desirable to control the temperature of the items to be blended. The mixing action of the blender blades produces friction between the ingredients, the blades and the blender container. The result is raising the temperature of the mixture. This is a particular problem when making cold drinks or soups. In order to cool the ingredients during blending, ice is often added to the mixture. This has several drawbacks. First, it results in the mixture having a "crushed ice" texture or consistency. Second, the blended ice will melt after a short period of time, diluting the mixture. Ideally, the contents of the blender should be cooled during and after blending without diluting the ingredients in the blender container. In this scenario, the contents of the blender can then be stored or refrigerated if not used initially, without damage from dilution due
U.S. Patent Application No. 2006/0171248, issued to Chou illustrates a blender that has a freezing preservation function. The blender has a container that is removably connected with the housing. The container has a dual wall with a sealed cavity formed between the inner and outer wall. A freezing medium is filled into the cavity. In use the freezing medium is available for freezing juice and keeping it fresh for a longer time.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,023,587, issued to Robbins describes a chemical cooling stick for beverages. A cooling stick has an outer envelope which contains a crystalline freezing compound and an inner envelope which contains a fluid which cooperates with the crystalline cooling chemical so that when the inner container is broken and the chemicals admix they provide a reduced temperature. The outer envelope is attached to a stirring stick.
U.S. Patent. No. D531,445, issued to Bodum is directed to an ornamental design for a jug that has a small container attached to the underside of the lid and suspended down into the jug. The jug has dual walls apparently for insulation to maintain the hot or cold temperature of the contents. It is apparent that the inner container would be for adding a thermal medium or also providing heating or cooling features.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,786,361, issued to Moothart et al. discloses a beverage cooling and dispensing device that has two separate chambers that are mutually exclusive of each other with the inner chamber adapted to be filled with ice for cooling a beverage that is contained in the outer container. The upper portion is closed off by a common two-in-one combination lid. A tap faucet is provided for controlled release of the beverage.
It is an objective of the present invention to provide a device and method for cooling the ingredients in a blender during and subsequent to blending. It is a further objective to provide such cooling without diluting the contents of the blender. It is a still further objective of the invention to provide a means for sealing the top of the blender both during and subsequent to blending. It is yet a further objective to provide a device that is easily cleaned and sanitized after use. Finally, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a device that is durable, inexpensive and simple to use.
While some of the objectives of the present invention are disclosed in the prior art, none of the inventions found include all of the requirements identified.

Cooling stick for a blender and method of using same


Systems and methods for accurate characterization of the mechanical properties of ultra-soft materials in the meso/macro-length scale are provided. Through the use of a millimeter-scale, ultra-high molecular weight indenter probe, accurate mechanical characterization of ultra-soft materials on the centimeter-scale can be achieved. The indenter probe can capture the adhesion forces present during the approach and detachment segments of the indentation process.

Currently, achieving an accurate measurement of the mechanical properties of ultra-soft materials requires specialized techniques, such as nano-indentation, atomic force microscope (AFM)-based techniques, or rheology. These highly specialized techniques provide only narrow and localized nanoscale characterization of ultra-soft samples. In addition, these techniques require sophisticated equipment and/or cannot perform measurements in ultra-soft heterogeneous systems. It is difficult to understand the meso/macro scale length structural behavior of a sample with limited insight into its local nanoscale characteristics. Due to their anisotropic and heterogeneous nature, some ultra-soft materials may exhibit a wide range of mechanical characteristics throughout different locations of the sample. These challenges are related to certain analytical relationship assumptions, such as isotropy and homogeneity. The application of the assumed analytical models used in the specialized techniques discussed above may lead to a high degree of inaccurate mechanical characterization of ultra-soft samples.

Systems and methods for testing mechanical properties of ultra-soft materials

THE FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY BOARD OF TRUSTEES


This is a slidable battery holder for a simulated pager having a concealed radio transmitter. A fixed part of the battery holder is affixed to a bracket inside the housing of the simulated pager and provides a guideway which is open at the lower end of the housing. A pair of cantilevered leaf spring contacts are at the upper end of this guideway. The slidable part of the battery holder has a dielectric slide that is slidably received in the guideway, conductors on one face of the slide which engage the cantilevered switch contacts when the slide is pushed in, and battery contacts beyond the opposite face of the slide for engagement by the terminals of a battery. The battery contacts are connected conductively by their bias springs to the conductors on the slide.

Prior to the present invention, applicant's assignee has manufactured and sold a simulated pager with a concealed radio transmitter for use by law enforcement authorities. The transmitter is turned on to broadcast a conversation with a criminal suspect to a radio receiver at a different location where a sound recording is made of the conversation. The simulated pager is an effective "cover"for the concealed transmitter because it is unlikely to arouse the suspicion of the person under surveillance. The simulated pager has circuit components which produce a visible display that is indistinguishable from that of an actual pager of known design but it does not actually operate as a pager.
Difficulties have been encountered with that simulated pager when customers insert or remove its battery. In some instances the connection from the battery to the simulated pager circuitry and to the concealed transmitter has been broken due to customer error. Also, there was the possibility that the customer could put the battery in with the polarity reversed from the correct arrangement.

Slidable battery holder for simulated pager with concealed radio transmitter


A method is provided for braking a rotor of a wind turbine. The rotor comprises rotor blades. The wind turbine comprises a pitch adjustment system for adjusting a pitch of the rotor blades. The method comprises detecting a system failure of the pitch adjustment system, estimating a current wind speed, estimating an available brake torque and estimating a required brake torque, based on the estimated current wind speed. The method further comprises determining a suitable point in time for activating a rotor brake, based on the estimated available brake torque and the estimated required brake torque. The rotor brake is then activated at the determined suitable point in time.

In accordance with safety regulations, wind turbines must have two independent braking systems in order to assure that the turbine can still be stopped when one of these systems fails. Most single pitch actuator wind turbines, i.e. wind turbines in which a single actuator controls the pitch of all rotors simultaneously, are supplied with an aerodynamic and with a mechanical braking system. Aerodynamic braking is performed by increasing the pitch of the rotor blades in such a way that they stop turning. This process is also referred to as 'feathering'. Mechanical braking is usually done by disc brakes similar to those used in cars and trucks. In most situations, aerodynamic braking is preferred, because less heat is produced and the kinetic energy of the rotor is converted into useful electricity that can easily be transported elsewhere. The mechanical braking system is more suitable at lower wind and rotor speeds, e.g. to bring an already slowed down rotor to a full stop. The mechanical braking system mainly serves as a service or parking brake that prevents the rotor from starting to rotate while being serviced or when it is not operational for other reasons. For this reason, the mechanical brake usually also serves as a backup system for the rotor lock system, which is the primary means for holding the turbine at rest.
In the event of a failure of the pitch adjustment system, the mechanical brakes may be applied in an attempt to bring the rotor to a halt. At low wind speeds, this will usually not be a problem, but at higher wind speeds the braking torque may be insufficient for stopping the rotor and/or the mechanical braking may increase the brake temperature to such an extent that a substantial risk of fire arises.
It is an object of the invention to improve the efficacy of the braking system in the event of a pitch adjustment system failure and to reduce or eliminate the risk of fire in such situations.

Wind turbine safety brake control strategy


A controlling device applied to a touch panel. The controlling device includes a sampling module, a determining module and a reporting module. The sampling module samples electrical signals of the touch panel, and generates at least one trigger signal corresponding to the at least one touch event when at least one touch event occurs on the touch panel. The determining module determines whether the at least one touch event is a single-point-multi-finger gesture according to a position of the at least one trigger signal and sampled physical quantity. The reporting module reports the at least one touch event when the determining module determines that the at least one touch event corresponding to the at least one trigger signal is the single-point-multi-finger gesture.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to touch panel technology and more particularly to motion detection of touch panels.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic devices have been utilized widely and provide versatile functions, such as phone communications, electronic messaging, multimedia information processing, accessing networks, etc. With the development of technology, the current trend is toward electronic devices with more versatility and user-friendly operations.
For convenience of inputting information or reducing size of electronic devices, touch panels are used as the user interface for many electronic devices, such as touch panels of notebooks and touch screens of smart phones. A user uses fingers or a touch pen to contact a touch panel so as to input information into an electronic device. When the user contacts the touch panel, a control system of the touch panel drives connected devices or performs functions according to pre-programmed software. Therefore, the touch panel takes the place of a mechanical button panel.
Conventional single-point-single-finger gestures are limited, and thus multi-point-multi-finger technologies have been developed. A touch panel with multi-point-multi-finger functions may recognize (sense) multiple touch points simultaneously to make a user have more ways to input information. However, in many applications, such that the instructions with multiple meanings with a single cursor is needed. For example, pressing a left key, a middle key and a right key of a mouse at the same place have different meanings and instructions for a conventional windows operating system.
Take a computer game, Minesweeper, as an example. A user may press the left key or the right key at the same place (square) to sweep a mine (reveal the square) or set a flag, respectively. When using single-point-single-finger technologies, the user can't make instructions with multiple meanings at the same place (cursor). If multi-point-multi-finger technologies are used to make instructions with multiple meanings at the same place, cooperation with other touch buttons is needed to indicate whether the user wants to sweep a mine (reveal the square) or set a flag, and accordingly, the user may feel that this method is inconvenient and not intuitional.

Single point-multi-finger gestures for touch panel


A self-adjusting holder is described. The object holder comprises a frame and a plurality of arms pivotally attached to the frame. The arms have a lower member and an upper member, which are connected to each other at an angle.

The present disclosure relates generally to apparatuses for holding objects and, more particularly, to adjustable object holders.
Cup holders in cars are typically configured to hold cups that are within a given range of sizes. However, conventional cup holders are sometimes the wrong size for a given cup. Thus, drinks are often spilled due to the mismatch between cup sizes and cup-holder sizes. In view of this deficiency, it is desirable to have a different type of cup holder.
The present disclosure provides apparatuses for holding objects and methods for holding objects.
Briefly described, in architecture, one embodiment of the apparatus comprises a frame having sides and arms. Each arm comprises an upper member and a lower member.
The lower member is connected to the upper member at an angle. The lower member of each arm is pivotally attached to one of the sides of the frame to permit pivoting of the arms about the frame.
The present disclosure also provides methods for holding objects.
In this regard, one embodiment of the method comprises the steps of receiving an object and pivoting a plurality of arms about a frame in response to receiving the object. At least one of the plurality of arms is configured to contact the object in response to the pivoting of the plurality of arms.
Other apparatuses, methods, features, and advantages will be or become apparent to one with skill in the art upon examination of the following drawings and detailed description. It is intended that all such additional apparatuses, methods, features, and advantages be included within this description.


A coil pattern calculation method includes calculating a current potential at each contact between finite surface elements forming each of the coil surfaces based on an initial value of an input current potential distribution, and, for each of the coil surfaces, repeatedly calculating the current potential alternately and, under each magnetic field condition, determining a current potential distribution that generates a magnetic field falling within the range of allowable error for each target magnetic field so that a surface current represented by the current potential will become close to a target magnetic field distribution set for each of the finite surface elements; and determining a coil pattern from the contour lines of the determined current potential distribution.

In diagnostics utilizing nuclear magnetic resonance, magnetic field strength corresponds to a place to be diagnosed. Accordingly, the accuracy required for the strength of the magnetic field generated by a magnet system is on the order of one millionth of the magnetic field strength. By the way, the magnetic fields relating to a nuclear magnetic resonance imaging apparatus (hereinafter referred to as "MRI apparatus") is broadly divided into three types as follows:
(1) Static magnetic field that is temporally stationary and spatially constant, the strength of which is typically 0.1 or several teslas or more. This static magnetic field varies only within the range of a few ppm in a space in which imaging is performed (typically a spherical or ellipsoidal space with a diameter of 30 or 40 cm or so, herein referred to as "imaging field").
(2) A gradient magnetic field that is varied with a time constant of about one second or less and is spatially tilted.
(3) A magnetic field generated by a high-frequency electromagnetic wave with a frequency corresponding to nuclear magnetic resonance (a several MHz or higher).
The static magnetic field spatially constant and temporally stationary of (1) described above is typically generated by a permanent magnet or a coil in which current flows. This static magnetic field can also be more homogeneous by magnetizing magnetic substances appropriately disposed.
The gradient magnetic field of (2) described above is generated by a coil in which temporally varying current flows (hereinafter referred to as "gradient magnetic field coil"). The frequency of the applied nuclear magnetic resonance of (3) described above is associated with the position of the nuclear magnetic resonance by applying gradient magnetic field. This gradient magnetic field cannot be generated by only a coil having a simple circular pattern of conductor.
A coil that generates the gradient magnetic field of (2) described above has a shape of a saddle and a complicated pattern of wiring passing between parallel surfaces (i.e., a three-dimensional wiring), as described on Patent Document 1. In order to determine such a complicated pattern for a target magnetic field, a method for calculating a coil pattern that generates the target magnetic field. Also, what coil pattern can be designed depends on what method is used for calculating the coil pattern.
In the example of conventional art described above, the surface on which a coil pattern is arranged is represented by a combination of square finite surface elements F, as shown in FIG. 14(a). As shown by arrows indicating rotation directions in this figure, currents are considered that circulate within the respective finite surface elements, and the magnitude of each current is determined so that the target magnetic field can be reproduced. The current flowing in each side is determined from the difference of currents circulating adjacent finite surface elements F. Consequently, the whole current flow can be represented by lines as schematically shown in FIG. 14(b). However, this method has problems as follows:
(2-1) Net Current that Flows in a Hollow Ring-Shaped Surface Cannot be Represented.
Although current that flows as eddy current can be represented, current that flows in one direction as a whole cannot be represented. For example, in a cylindrical system as shown in FIG. 15, net current that flows in a circling direction cannot be represented using this conventional method. This is because the conventional art example assumes that no net current exists in currents circulating within the respective square elements. According to this assumption, in order to simulate current in the circling direction, current in the reverse direction needs to be added somewhere. Or a surface with no hole needs to be a calculation surface.
(2-2) A Fabricatable Coil Pattern Cannot be Determined.
In the current pattern of the conventional art example, the portion of the current pattern flowing between a top surface F1 and a bottom surface F2 in FIG. 14(b) needs conductive connections, in which the coil pattern would be desirably linear, but the conventional art example only allows a curved coil pattern. Also, by the same reason as (2-1), a coil pattern in which the conductive connections are disposed centered to a certain area cannot be designed.
(2-3) Calculation with Incoming/Outgoing Currents Considered is Impossible.
Since only circulating currents are assumed, an incoming point at which current flows into the surface and an outgoing point at which current flows out of the surface, which may exist in an actual pattern, cannot be represented. This is because, in the gradient magnetic field coil (GC) including the combination of two surfaces shown in FIG. 14(b), both the surfaces need to be calculated at one time to determine the coil pattern. This makes it difficult to support at the same time the shielding capability with a required accuracy of an error magnetic field of 0.1 gauss or less and the gradient magnetic field of imaging field allowing an error magnetic field of several gausses, resulting in a useless pattern.
(2-4) Difference in Magnetic Field Accuracy Between Regions Cannot be Reflected in the Calculation.
Difference in required magnetic field performance between the top surface F1 and the bottom surface F2 cannot be reflected in the calculation, resulting in the problem as described above.
Due to the limitation of this method, in the conventional art example, the conductive connections between the top surface F1 and the bottom surface F2 are curved and swollen as shown in FIG. 14(b). This makes the fabrication difficult. Also, when the whole system is not cylindrical but, for example, in the shape in which a hole exists in a curved surface, such as a pot-like shape, the pattern is limited (in the case of (2-1), net current cannot be represented). This makes it difficult to achieve target performance and to fabricate the coil.    Patent Document 1: U.S. Pat. No. 5,309,107

Method of calculating coil pattern, and gradient magnetic field coil


The invention provides a wear protector device, system and method. The device including a first protective layer configured to cover a wear-point of a utility bag, and a reinforcement covering connected over a portion of the first layer. The reinforcement covering including a flat portion and a raised portion.

1. Field
The embodiments relate to utility bags, and in particular to an apparatus, method and system for wear-point protection on utility bags.
2. Description of the Related Art
Utility bags come in all shapes and sizes. Utility bags can be used for many different tasks, for example: tool bags, accessory bag, hobby bag, etc. These utility bags are used in many sites that can wear down portions of the bags. Usually the bags are normally treated roughly and are dropped or tossed to the ground. These bags also are placed in a bed of a truck and slide on the bottom portion of the bag. The rough treatment of the utility bags can cause a portion of the bag to wear down. This portion is on the bottom of the bag and causes the bag to have a shorter usable life-time.
FIG. 1 illustrates a typical utility bag 100 including a bottom portion 105. This utility bag is made of material such as canvas, polyester and nylon, synthetic leather, leather, suede, etc. The regular use of the utility bag 100 causes excessive wearing of portions 110 and 120. The wearing of portions 110 and 120 cut the useful life-time of utility bag 100 down and also reduces the attractiveness of the utility bag 100.

Wear-point protection system, apparatus and method

Custom LeatherCraft Manufacturing Co., Inc.


A correction tool that displays a correction widget when a user acts to correct text is provided. More particularly, if the user places an insertion point in or to the immediate left of the text, or selects the text, the tool displays the correction widget immediately to the left of the selected text. The user can then quickly access a correction interface for correcting the text simply by moving the pointer the short distance from the insertion point to the correction widget. When the user activates the correction widget, the tool displays the correction interface immediately proximal to the correction widget. Thus, the user need only move the pointer a small distance further to then correct the text using the correction interface.

As computers become more and more integrated into our modern society, there is a growing need for tools that will allow a user to efficiently enter data into a computer. Some of the most desired input tools are those that allow a user to enter data using natural input techniques rather than typing on a physical or software QWERTY keyboard. These natural input techniques, which include handwriting and speech, offer users the promise of a familiar and convenient method of creating data that requires no special skills. To this end, great strides have been made in developing software applications that recognize text from such natural input. For example, some voice recognition applications will accurately transcribe text from a user's speech. Similarly, some handwriting recognition applications will recognize text from both block print and cursive handwriting.
One important advantage to these natural input techniques is that they potentially offer users a much higher throughput than entering data through a keyboard. The typical user can speak considerably faster than he or she can type. Thus, a user can quickly input text by speaking words that would have otherwise taken much longer to input by typing on a keyboard. Likewise, if a user has not memorized the position of keys on a QWERTY keyboard, that user may be able to handwrite words with a stylus and a digitizer faster than he or she can type those words on a keyboard.
While natural input offers the potential for high throughput in theory, in actuality the inherent inaccuracies of natural input can significantly reduce that potential. For example, a user may dictate voice input that initially is translated into text at a rate of 120 words per minute. After the user proofreads and corrects any errors in the recognized text, however, the user's actual throughput may drop to only 80 words per minute or less. Typed text generally has a few typographical errors, but text recognized from speech or handwriting usually will contain many errors as a result of inaccurate recognition. To compound this drawback, conventional natural input correction methods for correcting these errors are time consuming.
A conventional natural input correction method typically requires a user to first move a pointer to select the text to be corrected. Next, the user must move the pointer to a command button at a different location, such as a button on a toolbar, in order to retrieve a menu listing alternate selections for the inaccurately recognized text. The user must then move the pointer to still a third location to select the correct alternate selection on the alternates list. Because the user must continuously move the pointer from the text to a command button and then to an alternate list, the user suffers a significant delay in correcting even a single inaccurately recognized word. Thus, the very process of correcting text recognized from natural input may substantially reduce the throughput of that natural input technique. Correspondingly, any reduction in the speed of the correction process will help increase the throughput for natural input and generally improve the user's experience for natural input. Accordingly, there is a need for a natural input correction tool that allows a user to quickly and efficiently correct text.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


A method of manufacturing a display unit in which the method includes: forming a transistor on a substrate, in which a first direction to be scanned by an ion implantation apparatus intersects with a second direction to be scanned by an Excimer Laser Anneal apparatus; and forming a display element.

The present disclosure relates to a display unit having a current driven type display element, a method of manufacturing the display unit, and an electronic apparatus including the display unit.
In recent years, in a field of a display unit which displays images, a display unit (organic EL display unit) using a current driven type optical element in which a light emitting luminance varies according to a value of a flowing current, for example, using an organic EL (Electro Luminescence) element is developed as a light emitting element, and commercialization thereof advances. Unlike a liquid crystal element, a light emitting element is a self light emitting element, and therefore backlight is unnecessary. Consequently, as compared to a liquid crystal display unit in which backlight is necessary, an organic EL display unit has characteristics in which visibility of an image is high, power consumption is low, and a response speed of an element is high.
Not only in a fixed type television receiver but also in a mobile terminal such as a smartphone, display of a high definition image is desired in a display unit. According to the above, a variety of technologies are developed in order to improve a resolution of display units. In Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-83084, for example, a display unit is disclosed in which three sub-pixels of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) adjacent in a horizontal direction share a switching transistor (power supply transistor) in an organic EL display unit having sub-pixels of a so-called 5Tr1C configuration. In this display unit, three sub-pixels share a power supply transistor as described above to reduce the number of elements and to improve a resolution.

Display unit, method of manufacturing the same, and electronic apparatus


A radio frequency sensor system comprising a housing defining a resonant cavity. Radio frequency probe(s) in the cavity transmit and/or receive radio frequency signals. A radio frequency control unit is in communication with the radio frequency probe(s) for determining one or more states of the radio frequency sensor system based on changes in the characteristics of the radio frequency signals. A machine learning system is in communication with the radio frequency control unit for identifying and developing transfer functions and calibrations based on the changes in the characteristics of the radio frequency signals and determining the one or more states of the radio frequency sensor system.

As exhaust and pollution regulations on commercial and passenger vehicles become more stringent, there is an increasing need for robust and reliable controls for the aftertreatment devices used to meet the regulations. More precise and reliable measurements of the operative state(s) of these devices are crucial enablers in the precise control and diagnosis of these systems.
Operation of these systems at the extremes of their capability requires real-time measurements of the state(s) of the system. Further, as the performance of these systems are pushed to their extremes, possible failure of these systems becomes a concern. In addition, concerns about real driving emissions, from light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles in urban environments have raised concerns motivating tighter emission controls and real-time measurements and diagnostcis.
Modern emission aftertreatment control systems consist of a number of various different components including filters, catalysts, fluid delivery systems, thermal management systems, and a complex network of sensors and controls. Currently, only discrete sensors are available that provide measurements of one or, at most, two properties of the exhaust gas at specific discrete locations in the exhaust system. Furthermore, these systems are not capable of directly monitoring the state of the filter, catalyst, or related sub-system, but rather only monitor the exhaust gas properties upstream or downstream of the system, such as upstream or downstream of a catalyst or filter in one example.
It is desirable to utilize a single measurement system, such as a radio frequency sensor, to monitor a plurality of exhaust system variables or parameters in order to improve control of the system and detect various faults, failure conditions, or noise factors.
The challenge of using a single measurement system to simultaneously monitor multiple exhaust system variables or parameters lies in the calibration of the system and development of transfer functions, detection methods, and correlations which may be used to relate changes in the measured RF signal to changes in one or more states of the system.
Currently, the RF sensor calibrations rely on manual methods to analyze the frequency resonance curves/modes and identify (based on a set of predefined criteria) regions in the frequency resonance curves/modes suitable for calibration.
These types of spectral resonant curve/mode analysis techniques involve an iterative trial and error process, in one example, first identifying specific frequency regions, then computing a number of parameters derived from either the magnitude or frequency or phase signal, then evaluating the correlation and/or monotonicity or the response of the identified parameters to the known reference state of the system.
Alternative calibration approaches rely on expert systems, such as simulations and models, to provide an expected RF signal response a priori to guide the calibration. Both methods have drawbacks. The first is cumbersome, time consuming, and oftentimes does not lead to an optimal solution, given the manual nature of the process. The second method requires significant effort and investment to develop and validate the models and simulation tools, which are not always available for each application. The current approaches are therefore limited to developing correlations or calibration functions for a small handful of parameters at best, and require significant time and resources to fully-develop and validate, oftentimes leading to a sub-optimal solution.
The present invention is directed to the use of a machine learning system in communication with the control unit of the RF sensor system to develop these calibrations, as well as identify various system conditions or anomalies, will allow for a substantial reduction in time and resources spent in calibration development, as well as lead to a more accurate and robust calibration. Furthermore, this approach enables additional system noise factors or failure modes to be identified and detected, which is not always possible using either a manual or model-based approach. In some cases the detection of failures or signs of system degradation are useful for diagnostic systems, such as on-board diagnostics.

Radio frequency sensor system incorporating machine learning system and method


This invention is particularly directed to the production of glass molds for use in press molding optically finished lenses. The inventive glass compositions consist essentially, in mole percent, of 34-56% ZnO, 4-14% Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, 40-52% P.sub.2 O.sub.5, and up to 15% total of optional modifying oxides including up to 5% Li.sub.2 O and/or Na.sub.2 O and/or K.sub.2 O, up to 5% Sb.sub.2 O.sub.3, and up to 15% total of CaO and/or SrO and/or BaO.

Optically finished glass lenses press molded from alkali metal fluoroaluminophosphate compositions as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,819 (Olszewski et al.) have been marketed commercially by Corning Incorporated, Corning, N.Y. The molds utilized in that forming process have been prepared from various commercially available lead silicate glasses The use of the glasses in the fabrication of molds was based primarily upon two factors, viz., their viscosity/temperature characteristics and their thermal expansions. With respect to the first factor, the glass to be used as the mold must itself not only be moldable at a relatively low temperature, typically within the range of about 450.degree.-560.degree. C., but also it must be rigid at the temperature at which the lens blanks are pressed, generally about 350.degree.-400.degree. C. On the basis of known viscosity/temperature slopes, that requirement translates into a range of glasses having softening points between about 500.degree.-620.degree. C. With regard to the second factor, the linear coefficient of thermal expansion of the mold glass over the temperature interval 25.degree.-300.degree. C. must lie between about 46-142.times.10.sup.-7 /.degree.C. in order to be compatible with the various metals employed in the pressing apparatus. Furthermore, experience has indicated that: first, the linear coefficient of thermal expansion of the mold glass ought to be considerably lower than that of the lens glass (generally about 150 .times.10.sup.-7 /.degree.C. over the temperature interval 25.degree.-300.degree. C.) so that the molded glass lens will tend to release from the mold upon cooling from the pressing temperature; and, second, that the linear coefficient of thermal expansion of the mold glass ought to be substantially greater than that of the molding sleeve (commonly prepared from tungsten carbide which has a linear coefficient of thermal expansion of 46.times.10.sup.-7 /.degree.C. over the temperature interval 25.degree.-300.degree. C.) so that the finished mold is readily extractable from the molding assembly.
The lead silicate glasses currently employed for making the molds have five significant drawbacks:
First, because their bulk compositions differ greatly from that of the lens glass, the large chemical gradients that exist at the interface between the mold and the lens during the pressing process favor mass transfer between the two glasses;
Second, it is believed that, because it is a silicate, the mold glass is especially susceptible to attack by the fluorine of the lens glass;
Third, it appears that the lead in the mold glass is reduced to metallic lead during the pressing process inasmuch as microscopic-sized pits are developed in the mold surface which seem to be centered about particles of elemental lead, those imperfections having adverse effects on both the mold lifetime and the lifetime of the metal master from which the mold itself is pressed;
Fourth, the viscosity curves of the current mold glasses are relatively shallow which is manifested by the quite large temperature interval between the annealing and softening points thereof, viz., about 165.degree.-185.degree. C.; and
Fifth, the linear coefficients of thermal expansion of the mold glasses are relatively high, resulting in a less than optimum mismatch in coefficient of thermal expansion between the lens glass and mold glass.
Therefore, the primary objective of the present invention was to devise glass compositions which, by avoiding the above five drawbacks, would be eminently suitable for the forming of glass molds for use in pressing optically finished glass lenses.
A specific objective of the instant invention was to design glass compositions especially suitable in the construction of glass molds for use in contact with alkali metal fluoroaluminophosphate glass compositions of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,362,819, supra, and alkali metal, alkaline earth metal, zinc phosphate glass compositions of the type disclosed in Ser. No. 599,751 above.


A method of manufacturing an integrated circuit is provided having a semiconductor wafer. A chemical-mechanical polishing stop layer is deposited on the semiconductor wafer and a first photoresist layer is processed over the chemical-mechanical polishing stop layer. The chemical-mechanical polishing stop layer and the semiconductor wafer are patterned to form a shallow trench and a shallow trench isolation material is deposited on the chemical-mechanical polishing stop layer and in the shallow trench. A second photoresist layer is processed over the shallow trench isolation material leaving the shallow trench uncovered. The uncovered shallow trench is then treated to become a chemical-mechanical polishing stop area. The shallow trench isolation material is then chemical-mechanical polished to be co-planar with the chemical-mechanical stop layer and the chemical-mechanical polishing stop treated area.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to semiconductors and more specifically to an improved fabrication process for making semiconductor memory devices.
2. Background Art
Various types of memories have been developed in the past as electronic memory media for computers and similar systems. Such memories include electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM) and electrically programmable read only memory (EPROM). Each type of memory had advantages and disadvantages. EEPROM can be easily erased without extra exterior equipment but with reduced data storage density, lower speed, and higher cost. EPROM, in contrast, is less expensive and has greater density but lacks erasability.
A newer type of memory called xe2x80x9cFlashxe2x80x9d EEPROM, or Flash memory, has become extremely popular because it combines the advantages of the high density and low cost of EPROM with the electrical erasability of EEPROM. Flash memory can be rewritten and can hold its contents without power. It is used in many portable electronic products, such as cell phones, portable computers, voice recorders, etc. as well as in many larger electronic systems, such as cars, planes, industrial control systems, etc.
In Flash memory, bits of information are programmed individually as in the older types of memory, such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and static random access memory (SRAM) memory chips. However, in DRAMs and SRAMs where individual bits can be erased one at a time, Flash memory must currently be erased in fixed multi-bit blocks or sectors.
Conventionally, Flash memory is constructed of many Flash memory cells where a single bit is stored in each memory cell and the cells are programmed by hot electron injection and erased by Fowler-Nordheim tunneling. However, increased market demand has driven the development of Flash memory cells to increase both the speed and the density. Newer Flash memory cells have been developed that allow more than a single bit to be stored in each cell.
One memory cell structure involves the storage of more than one level of charge to be stored in a memory cell with each level representative of a bit. This structure is referred to as a multi-level storage (MLS) architecture. Unfortunately, this structure inherently requires a great deal of precision in both programming and reading the differences in the levels to be able to distinguish the bits. If a memory cell using the MLS architecture is overcharged, even by a small amount, the only way to correct the bit error would be to erase the memory cell and totally reprogram the memory cell. The need in the MLS architecture to precisely control the amount of charge in a memory cell while programming also makes the technology slower and the data less reliable. It also takes longer to access or xe2x80x9creadxe2x80x9d0 precise amounts of charge. Thus, both speed and reliability are sacrificed in order to improve memory cell density.
An even newer technology known as xe2x80x9cMirrorBit(copyright)xe2x80x9d Flash memory has been developed which allows multiple bits to be stored in a single cell. In this technology, a memory cell is essentially split into two identical (mirrored) parts, each of which is formulated for storing one of two independent bits. Each MirrorBit Flash memory cell, like a traditional Flash cell, has a gate with a source and a drain. However, unlike a traditional Flash cell in which the source is always connected to an electrical source and the drain is always connected to an electrical drain, each MirrorBit Flash memory cell can have the connections of the source and drain reversed during operation to permit the storing of two bits.
The MirrorBit Flash memory cell has a semiconductor substrate with implanted conductive bitlines. A. multilayer storage layer, referred to as a xe2x80x9ccharge-trapping dielectric layerxe2x80x9d, is formed over the semiconductor substrate. The charge-trapping dielectric layer can generally be composed of three separate layers: a first insulating layer, a charge-trapping layer, and a second insulating layer. Wordlines are formed over the charge-trapping dielectric layer perpendicular to the bitlines. Programming circuitry controls two bits per cell by applying a signal to the wordline, which acts as a control gate, and changing bitline connections such that one bit is stored by source and drain being connected in one arrangement and a complementary bit is stored by the source and drain being interchanged in another arrangement.
Programming of the cell is accomplished in one direction and reading is accomplished in a direction opposite that in which it is programmed.
All memory cells including the MirrorBit Flash memory cells are made up of multiple layers of material, which are deposited on a semiconductor substrate. At the same time that the memory cells are being built up in high-density core regions, they are surrounded by low-density peripheral regions containing transistors for input/output circuitry and programming circuitry which are also built up layer upon layer on the semiconductor substrate. The various memory cells in the core and the transistors in the circuit are separated by areas of shallow trench isolation, as well as the individual transistors being separated by shallow trench isolations, which are regions of an insulator such as silicon oxide deposited in trenches in the semiconductor substrate.
As the memory and transistor devices have been made smaller, it has been discovered that it is necessary to have an extremely planar surface of the semiconductor substrate with the shallow trench isolations. Unfortunately, it has been found that the current chemical-mechanical polishing (CMP) processes cause dishing or concavities in the tops of the shallow trench isolations, which are relatively broad. This dishing subsequently results in uneven planarization and detrimentally affects the integrated circuit as a whole.
A solution to this problem has been long sought but has long eluded those skilled in the art.
The present invention provides a method of manufacturing an integrated circuit having a semiconductor wafer with a chemical-mechanical polishing stop layer deposited thereon. A first photoresist layer is processed over the chemical-mechanical polishing stop layer and is patterned with the semiconductor wafer to form a shallow trench. A shallow trench isolation material is deposited on the chemical-mechanical polishing stop layer and in the shallow trench. A second photoresist layer is processed over the shallow trench isolation material leaving the shallow trench uncovered. The uncovered shallow trench is then treated to form a chemical-mechanical polishing stop layer. The shallow trench isolation material is then chemical-mechanical polished to be co-planar with the chemical-mechanical stop layer and the chemical-mechanical polishing stop treated area.
The above and additional advantages of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. dr
FIG. 1 is a plan view of a MirrorBit Flash EEPROM according to the present invention;
FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a partially processed semiconductor wafer,
FIG. 3 is the structure of FIG. 2 after formation of the shallow trenches;
FIG. 4 is the structure of FIG. 3 after deposition of the insulation material on the wafer,
FIG. 5 is the structure of FIG. 4 after deposition and processing of a photoresist layer to form a reverse mask and treatment of the unmasked areas;
FIG. 6 is the structure of FIG. 5 after chemical-mechanical polishing;
FIG. 7 is the structure of FIG. 6 after removal of a chemical-mechanical polishing stop layer, and
FIG. 8 is a simplified flow chart according to the present invention.

Method for semiconductor wafer planarization by CMP stop layer formation


An improvement of a tape cassette ejecting mechanism is disclosed in which a tape cassette with a malfunctioning lid can be properly ejected. A lid closing device is provided for closing a malfunctioning lid of a tape caassette. An arm is also provided for bringing the tape cassette up to a manually accessible position upon pushing of the arm.

Generally a digital audio tape player uses a tape cassette 1 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The tape cassette 1 is made of a material such as ABS resin so as to accommodate a magnetic tape. The tape cassette 1 is provided with: a receiving portion 2 having an engaging groove 2a for engaging an engaging roll of a cassette moving section described below, a lid 3 pivotally supported by a shaft at the front of the receiving portion 2, and a slider 4 which adds strength to the lid 3 and slides along the bottom surface of the receiving portion 2. The slider 4 is provided with a first engaging hole 4a for engaging slider lock claw 2b when slider 4 is positioned at the front of cassette 1. The slider lock claw 2b is integrally formed with the receiving portion 2. The slider lock claw 2b presses toward the slider 4 at all times owing to its elasticity, and therefore, if no external force is applied, lock claw 2b engages the first engaging hole 4a. The slider 4 is also provided with a second engaging hole 4b for engaging the slider lock claw 2b when the slider is moved to the rear of cassette 1. In this position, a hole 4c (not shown) of slider 4 corresponds to a tape hub 2c (not shown) around which the tape is wound.
Thus the slider lock claw 2b always presses toward the slider 4 owing to its elasticity, and can be separated from the slider only when an external force is applied. However, if the original elasticity of the slider lock claw 2b is too weak, or if lock claw 2b has lost its elasticity after extended use, the slider lock claw 2b and the first and second engaging holes cannot properly engage. In this case the slider 4 can move into the pivoting track of the lid 3 and impede the closing of the lid. If the lid 3 cannot close, the cassette must be manually removed from the cassette moving section of the tape player which is incapable of ejecting the tape cassette.


An information processing apparatus includes a memory; and a processor coupled to the memory and the processor configured to when source code includes an instruction for storing units of data in an area of an N-dimensional variable-length array (N being an integer and a value of N being equal to or greater than 2), generate object code in the memory to cause the units of data to be stored in an area of an N-dimensional fixed-length array instead of the area of the N-dimensional variable-length array, and when the source code includes an instruction for successively accessing the unit of data stored in the area of the N-dimensional variable-length array, generate the object code in the memory to cause the units of data stored in the area of the N-dimensional fixed-length array to be stored contiguously in an area of a one-dimensional fixed-length array.

For example, a compiler (hereinafter also referred to as a compiler program) that compiles source code written in C++ generates object code from selected source code used as an input. Specifically, the compiler generates an intermediate language representation from the selected source code by, for example, analyzing syntax used in the source code and semantics of the source code. The compiler then, for example, optimizes the generated intermediate language representation and generates object code from the optimized intermediate language representation. As such, performing compilation enables, for example, reducing time taken for executing object code and resources used for executing the object code (see, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication Nos. 2008-217134, 2007-328692, and 2004-362216).

Information processing apparatus, computer-readable recording medium storing therein compiler program, and compiling method


An optical scanner is configured such that an anamorphic condensing lens in an incident optical system has a diffractive lens structure at least in one lens surface thereof, and a length of an optical path increased by the diffractive lens structure φ [rad] is defined by an equation below by a function of height h from an optical axis: φ(h)=M(P2·h2+P4·h4+ . . . ), where Pn is a coefficient of an nth-order term of the height h (n is an even number), and M is a diffraction order, that the lens satisfies the following relations: −216≦P2≦−49, 1100≦P4·(hm max)4/(fm·NAm4)≦3800, and 10≦fm≦35, where hmmax [mm] is an effective diameter in the main scanning direction, fm [mm] is a focal length in the main scanning direction, and NAm is a numerical aperture in the main scanning direction, and that a wavefront aberration WFE1 [λrms] in a first wavelength λ1 [nm] satisfies the following relation: WFE1≦0.01.

In an optical scanner used for an electrophotographic image forming apparatus, a light beam emitted from a light source is converted into a dotted image and focused on a target surface to be scanned, such as a peripheral surface of a photoconductor drum. The light beam is caused to rapidly sweep the peripheral surface of the photoconductor drum in an axial direction (main scanning direction) thereof. The optical scanner includes a light deflector for deflecting the light beam in the main scanning direction. The optical scanner further includes an incident optical system located upstream of the light deflector, and a scanning optical system located downstream of the light deflector. The incident optical system is configured to converge the light beam in the sub-scanning direction to bring the same to a focus in the proximity of the light deflector while rendering the light beam slightly convergent in the main scanning direction. Meanwhile, the scanning optical system focuses the light beam deflected by the light deflector on the target surface to form a dotted image.
To convert the light beam as described above, the incident optical system of the optical scanner uses an anamorphic condensing lens which has different powers (refractive powers) with respect to a main scanning direction and a sub-scanning direction. Further, in this anamorphic condensing lens, the wavefront aberration is corrected with respect to change in wavelength of a light beam on the order of 790 nm, at which a photoconductor drum shows good sensitivity. In this technique, since the magnitude of the wavelength change is small, it is not necessary to consider change in spherical aberration.
To evaluate transmission wavefront of an anamorphic condensing lens, an interferometer operating with a light source for emitting a light beam whose wavelength is on the order of 790 nm is conventionally used.

Optical scanner and image forming apparatus


A drawing apparatus includes a first aperture array configured to split a diverging charged particle beam, a converging lens array configured to form a plurality of first crossovers of a plurality of charged particle beams from the first aperture array, a collimator lens having a principal plane where the plurality of first crossovers are to be formed, a correcting system configured to correct angles of a plurality of charged particle beams from the collimator lens and to form a plurality of second crossovers, and an element having a plurality of apertures respectively corresponding to the plurality of second crossovers. The first aperture array and the converging lens array have apertures such that an arrangement of the plurality of first crossovers is different from an arrangement of the plurality of apertures, and that the plurality of second crossovers are aligned with the plurality of apertures on the element.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a drawing apparatus configured to perform drawing on a substrate with a plurality of charged particle beams.
2. Description of the Related Art
As such a drawing apparatus, there is a known multi-column drawing apparatus having a projection unit for each charged particle beam (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-007538). Since each projection unit is separately provided, the drawing apparatus does not have a crossover where all of a plurality of charged particle beams are converged in a projection system. Therefore, space-charge effect (Coulomb effect) is not much affected, and thus it can be said that the drawing apparatus is advantageous in increasing the number of charged particle beams.
However, in order to increase the number of charged particle beams in the multi-column drawing apparatus, generally, it is necessary to increase a divergence angle (divergence half angle) of a charged particle beam from a charged particle source in an irradiation optical system which is in front of the plurality of projection units. If the divergence angle of the charged particle beam from the charged particle source becomes large, it is difficult to sufficiently parallelize beams irradiated onto the plurality of projection units due to aberration in an irradiation optical system, and thus irradiation angles (incident angles) become non-uniform. The non-uniformity of the irradiation angles results in non-uniformity in characteristic among the plurality of charged particle beams. Although there has been known issues related to aberration of a projection optical system and configurations for compensating for the aberration, issues related to aberration of an irradiation optical system as mentioned above were uniquely recognized by the inventor of the present invention.

Drawing apparatus and method of manufacturing article


A hydraulic drive system for a crawler-mounted construction vehicle includes: a hydraulic pump (1); a plurality of hydraulic actuators including traveling hydraulic motors (2, 3) driven by the hydraulic pump; a plurality of flow control valve means including first and second flow control valve means (15, 16; 35, 36) for respectively controlling the flow rates of the hydraulic fluid supplied from the pump to motors; pump controlling means (11) for effecting control during the driving of the motors in such a manner that the discharge pressure of the pump becomes higher by a fixed value than the higher one of load pressures of the motors; and first and second pressure balance valve means (17, 18; 37, 38) for respectively controlling the rates of flow through the flow control valve means during the driving of the motors in such a manner that the load pressures of the motors do not affect the rates of flow through the first and second flow control valve means. The first and second pressure balance valve means (17, 18; 37, 38) are respectively provided with valve control means (62, 63; 66, 67 ) which do not cause the associated pressure balance valve means to be actuated until the differential pressure between the load pressure generated in a first motor (2) and the load pressure generated in a second motor (3) reaches a predetermined value (.DELTA.P.sub.0), and causes the pressure balance valve means to be actuated when the differential pressure exceeds the predetermined value.

The present invention relates to a hydraulic drive system for a crawler-mounted construction vehicle such as a hydraulic excavator. More particularly, the present invention concerns a hydraulic drive system having pressure balance valves for effecting load-compensating control of the flow rates of hydraulic fluid supplied to a pair of traveling motors that are respectively adapted to drive the left and right crawler belts, i.e., traveling means for the crawler-mounted construction vehicle.
As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,425,759, a known hydraulic drive system for a crawler-mounted construction vehicle comprises a hydraulic pump, left and right traveling hydraulic motors driven by a hydraulic fluid discharged by the hydraulic pump, flow control valves for respectively controlling the flow rates of the hydraulic fluid from the hydraulic pump to the traveling motors, a pump regulator for effecting control during the driving of the left and right traveling motors in such a manner that the discharge pressure of the hydraulic pump becomes higher by a fixed value than the higher one of load pressures of the left and right traveling motors, and pressure balance valves for respectively controlling the rates of flow through the flow control valves during the driving of the left and right traveling motors in such a manner that the load pressure of the traveling motors does not affect the rates of flow through the flow control valves. Control of the rates of flow through the flow control valves effected by these pressure balance valves is referred to herein as load-compensating control.
In the hydraulic drive system disclosed U.S. Pat. No., 4,425,759, the arrangement is such that the pressure balance valves are disposed downstream of the associated flow control valves, and the pressure downstream of the flow control valves acts in the valve opening direction, while the higher one of load pressures of the left and right traveling motors acts in the valve closing direction.
Thus, by providing the pressure balance valves for effecting the load-compensating control of the rates of flow through the flow control valves for the left and right traveling motors, even if there is any differential between the load pressures of the left and right traveling motors during traveling, it is possible to effect distribution of fluid flow corresponding to the ratio of the valve openings (demand flow rates) of the flow control valves for left and right traveling motors. In case of steering the crawler belts to change the advancing direction of the vehicle, the hydraulic fluid is supplied positively to the higher load side traveling motor associated with the outwardly turning crawler belt, making it possible to effect an intended change in the course. In addition, when the vehicle is made to travel straight, even if the resistance to which the left and right crawler belts are subjected differs, control is effected in such a manner that the rates flow through the flow control valves become equivalent, thereby effecting straight traveling.
With this conventional system, however, since the straight traveling is effected by conducting the load-compensating control of the rates of flow through the flow control valves by means of the pressure balance valves, variations in the performance of hydraulic devices such as the flow control valves, the pressure balance valves, etc., that are ascribable to fabrication errors affect the straight traveling characteristics. For this reason, it has been necessary for the operator to adjust the advancing direction while viewing the actual traveling direction. In addition, in cases where the strokes of control levers change slightly and the openings of the flow control valves is thereby changed, the rates of flow through the flow control valves also change, thereby hampering the straight traveling characteristics. Consequently, it has been necessary for the operator to pay utmost attention to ensure that the strokes of the control levers do no change by the slightest degree. Thus, with the conventional system, there has been the problem that substantial labor is required of the operator in effecting the straight traveling of the vehicle, increasing the operator's fatigue.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 4,535,809 discloses a system which is not directly related to a hydraulic drive system for a crawler-mounted construction vehicle, but in which a flow control valve is arranged by a seat valve assembly which comprises a seat-type main valve, a pilot circuit associated with the main valve, a pilot valve disposed in this pilot circuit and adapted to control the operation of the main valve, and a pressure balance valve disposed in the pilot circuit and adapted to effect the load-compensating control of the rate of flow through the pilot valve.
In addition, DE-A3422165 discloses a pressure balance valve which is disposed upstream of a flow control valve and which causes the discharge pressure of a hydraulic pump and the outlet pressure of the flow control valve to act in the valve opening direction and causes the maximum one of load pressures of a plurality of actuators and the inlet pressure of the flow control valve to act in the valve closing direction.

Hydraulic drive system for crawler-mounted construction vehicle

Hitachi Construction Machinery Co., Ltd.