A card case accommodates a card or the like in a hollow portion formed as a result of attachment of a cover member to a bottom member. The cover member has such a structure as to allow reversal of its opposite sides in its attachment to the bottom member. Reversal of the opposite sides of the cover member changes the depth of a planar recess portion of the cover member, the planar recess portion partially constituting the hollow portion. Accordingly, the card case can cope with encapsulation of cards of different thicknesses.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a card case for encapsulating a card or the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, collectors have collected, exchanged, or traded cards such as trading cards. Trading cards (hereinafter may be referred to merely as cards) have printed thereon photographs of sports personalities, such as baseball players, football players, and basketball players, images of animated characters, photographs of movie stars or scenes, photographs of idols, and the like. Trading cards include game cards. A card can carry a piece of a jersey worn by a sports personality, an autograph of a sports personality, or the like. An IC chip or the like incorporated in a card can contain, for example, audio information and video information pertaining to a sports personality.
Cards of a limited number of issue and rare cards are traded at high prices among collectors.
A grading company evaluates cards to be traded for conditions and assign the cards evaluation points with respect to individual conditions, and an overall evaluation point on a multi-level scale. This evaluation is usually called grading. Graded cards are encapsulated in respective card cases in a sealed condition. The thus-prepared cards are called trading cards. A card case may be used in an unsealed condition and adapted merely to prevent breakage or deterioration of a card or adhesion of stain to the card for preservation of card condition.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2002-079781 discloses a trading card having an opening through which can be seen a thin piece of associated memorabilia (a piece of a uniform worn by a sports personality, a of piece of a garment worn by an entertainer, a piece of paper bearing actual writing, or the like) is visible.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. 2002-049312 discloses a trading card allowing bidirectional communication between a card owner and a famous figure appearing thereon by means of recording video or audio information thereon or reproducing such information therefrom.
However, not all cards are of the same thickness. For example, card thickness may differ depending on whether card material is paper or plastic. Also, cards that incorporate an IC chip may be thicker than ordinary cards. Some cards incorporate therein, for example, a piece of a uniform worn by a sports personality, or a piece of paper bearing actual writing, and thus their thickness is increased.
When card cases are to be provided in order to encapsulate distributed cars, various card cases must be prepared so as to cope with different card thicknesses.


The present invention is directed to a lighting device to illuminate the running board of a vehicle. One embodiment of the lighting device includes an electroluminescent element from which light emanates, an optical element for focusing the light, and a transparent tube surrounding the electroluminescent element and the optical element. In another embodiment of the lighting device, the transparent tube itself is provided with optical power for creating the desired light pattern.

Lighting devices that utilize electroluminescent elements are well known. These devices generally include an electrically conductive substrate with an electroluminescent coating for generating light when electric current is passed through the substrate. Prior electroluminescent devices are typically used as illuminated elements in a display, such as in a sign or an electronic instrument. It is known also to use an electroluminescent element in combination with a diffuser for interior lighting in automobiles, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,864,473.
The lighting devices of the prior art, however, lack an optical means for shaping or directing the light in a desired beam pattern. When illumination is required for a specific area, the devices of the prior art are unable to direct light to that specific area. Thus, there is a need for a lighting device to illuminate portions of an automobile or areas immediately adjacent the automobile such that light generated by the device is directed to the area where illumination is needed.

Electroluminescent courtesy light with optical element and tube for running board of vehicle


A program recording device including an input port, a processor memory, a processor, a selector, and a storage element is configured to receive command data and program data through the input port. The selector receives command data and program data from the input port and outputs the command data to the processor memory and the program data to the storage element. The processor uses this command data to control the selector and storage element to automatically record a program influenced by user preferences onto the storage element without requiring any user input.

1. Field of the Invention
This disclosure is related to the field of video broadcasting systems, and in particular, to broadcasting systems configured to automatically record a video program on a user's program recording device.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Digital video recorders (DVRs) and other program recording devices have become valued accessories in many video systems. These devices allow users to record video programs for later viewing (commonly called time-shifting). Users may program their DVRs to record video programming on a particular channel at a given time without further user intervention. This allows users to easily record programs while they are away from their video systems, are asleep, or are otherwise occupied. Users may also program their DVRs to record a series of programs, such as television shows that appear weekly at the same time and channel. This allows users the opportunity to record all of the episodes of their favorite shows without having to be present during the broadcast.
Most DVRs allow users to view a menu of upcoming programming so that they may select which programs to record. On many systems there are a large number of channels (often over 100), each carrying a large number of programs. It may be difficult for users to navigate through these huge menus to select all of the programs which may be of interest to them for recording. Users may not recognize programs which would be of interest to them for a variety of reasons, such as misleading program titles, their appearance on rarely viewed channels, or because the programs are at a later time frame than what is being viewed and so don't appear in the section of the program guide currently visible to the user.
Also, when new programs are created, users may not be aware of their existence until several episodes have passed, and are left trying to catch up to an ongoing series. Special events which are only broadcast once are particularly vulnerable to missed chances for recording. Users may not be aware of the event, or in some cases, like newscasts, there may be no way to schedule the special broadcast in advance since many newsworthy events are not predictable. Also the user may be out of town before or during the event. In these cases, users missing the initial broadcast will most likely never have the chance to view the original, un-edited program.
Broadcasters may also desire to provide programming to a plurality of their users, but allow the users the opportunity to select when to view the program. For example, a satellite television service may produce a program explaining changes to the system that most users will need to view in order to understand the changes. Currently, the provider would need to allocate a channel to the program, and repeatedly broadcast the program to allow users to view it at their convenience. This method uses large amounts of limited broadcast bandwidth.


A photo-micrographing device includes a microscope, a unit for obtaining an image of an inspection object, a unit for setting a plurality of view fields of the microscope and storing position information of a stage corresponding to each view field, a unit for storing setting information of the microscope and a camera unit in each view field, a unit for storing shooting conditions corresponding to each view field where time-lapse shooting is applied, a unit for obtaining a time-lapse shooting image for each view field where the time-lapse shooting is applied, based on the stored position information, the stored setting information and the stored shooting conditions, and a unit for collectively displaying latest taken time-lapse shooting images for each view field where the time-lapse shooting is applied.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a Photo-micrographing device for shooting a microscopic images at specific intervals (time-lapse shooting) and its control method and more particularly relates to a Photo-micrographing device for displaying as a list microscopic images taken by multi-point time lapse shooting for simultaneously applying time-lapse shooting to a plurality of shooting ranges and applying desired shooting control to each microscopic image and its control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, as a method for observing an inspection object by a microscope, a method for shooting microscopic images at specific intervals hereinafter called "time-lapse shooting"), reproducing a series of taken images after shooting and observing the time-wise morphological change of an inspection object as moving images is used. Such a method is very effective when observing the time change of a specific inspection object, such as a live cell, existing within the microscopic view field.
Recently, when confirming the effect of a plurality of reagents on cells cultured on the same condition, when observing the time change of different cells in the same environment at the same time and the like, time-lapse shooting is sometimes applied in a plurality of shooting positions.
In such a shooting method for applying time-lapse shooting to a plurality of shooting ranges (hereinafter called "multi-point time-lapse shooting), the plurality of shooting ranges are not always located within the same microscopic view field. Often some of the shooting ranges are located out of the microscopic view field of the inspection object or some inspection objects are different.
As such a shooting method, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2002-277754 discloses a configuration to which multi-point time-lapse shooting can be applied by mounting an inspection object on a stage whose X, Y and Y axes can be controlled and setting in advance the positional coordinates of a plurality of shooting ranges, the exposure value of an imaging device in the position, the shooting interval of time-lapse shooting applied to the shooting ranges and the number of taken images and the like, and its method.
However, in the conventional method, since the setting of a time-lapse waiting time and the number of taken images are the same for all observation ranges, only a series of multi-point time-lapse shooting can be applied to only a plurality of inspection objects which are similarly compared and examined. In this case, even when a culturing environment is the same and there is room for the number of inspection objects mounted on the stage, an experiment for comparing time changes at different intervals or the like must be separately performed. Specifically, when the changing speed of a cell being an inspection object is slow or long changes continue, one series of shooting sequence of time-lapse shooting often takes several days to several weeks. Therefore, plural types of experiments take a lot of time.
An optimal exposure value varies due to the time change of a cell, a cell moves out of an observation range or an image becomes out of focus. When the modification of the shooting range (shooting magnification) is needed in the course of a time change, image data obtained for a long time will be wasted since time-lapse shooting continues.
Furthermore, even after a cell dies or a morphological change converges, the set number of images are taken. Therefore, a huge image file wastes a storage memory capacity.

Photo-micrographing device and its control method


Provided is a novel organometallic complex which can be synthesized easily and emits phosphorescence, or a compound which emits red phosphorescence. The inventors focused on easy synthesis of an m-aminophenyl pyrazine derivative represented by the following general formula (G0), synthesized an organometallic complex having a structure in which the derivative is coordinated to a Group 9 or Group 10 metal ion, and further synthesized a useful substance which emits red phosphorescence.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organometallic complex. In particular, the present invention relates to an organometallic complex that can convert a triplet excited state into luminescence.
2. Description of the Related Art
An organic compound absorbs light, thereby producing an excited state. Through this excited state, various reactions (photochemical reactions) occur in some cases, or luminescence is generated in some cases. Therefore, the organic compounds have been variously applied.
One example of the photochemical reactions is a reaction of singlet oxygen with an unsaturated organic molecule (oxygen addition) (see Non-Patent Document 1, for example). Since the ground state of oxygen molecules is a triplet state, oxygen molecules do not produce a singlet state (singlet oxygen) when they are excited directly by light. In contrast, when oxygen molecules interact with triplet excited molecules other than oxygen, the oxygen molecules form singlet oxygen, resulting in an oxygen addition reaction. Here, the compound that forms the triplet excited molecules by light and enables formation of singlet oxygen is called a photosensitizer.
Thus, formation of singlet oxygen requires a photosensitizer that can form triplet excited molecules by light excitation. However, it is unlikely that a typical organic compound is converted to a triplet excited molecule because the ground state of the organic compound is typically a singlet state and photoexcitation to a triplet excited state is forbidden transition. For such a photosensitizer, a compound that can easily undergo intersystem crossing from the singlet excited state to the triplet excited state (or a compound that allows forbidden transition in which the compound is directly converted to a triplet excited state by photoexcitation) is thus needed. That is, such a compound can be used as a photosensitizer and regarded as being useful.
Furthermore, the above compound often emits phosphorescence. Phosphorescence refers to luminescence generated by transition between energies of different multiplicity. In an ordinary organic compound, phosphorescence refers to luminescence that is generated at the time of relax from a triplet excited state to a singlet ground state (in contrast, fluorescence refers to luminescence that is generated at the time of relax from a singlet excited state to a singlet ground state). Application fields of compounds that are capable of emitting phosphorescence, in other words, compounds that are capable of converting a triplet excited state into luminescence (hereinafter, referred to as a phosphorescent compound), include a light-emitting element containing an organic compound as a light-emitting substance.
An example of a structure of such a light-emitting element is a simple structure in which a light-emitting layer containing an organic compound that is a light-emitting substance is merely provided between electrodes. Light-emitting elements having such a structure can achieve thinness, lightweight, high-speed response to signals, low-voltage DC drive, and the like. Therefore, attention has been directed to the light-emitting elements as next-generation flat panel display elements. Further, a display including this light-emitting element is superior in contrast, image quality, and wide viewing angle.
The light-emitting mechanism of the light-emitting elements in which organic compounds are used as the light-emitting substance is carrier injection. That is, by applying a voltage with a light-emitting layer interposed between electrodes, electrons and holes injected from the electrodes recombine to make the light-emitting substance excited, and light is emitted when the excited state relaxes to a ground state. As in the case of the photoexcitation, types of the excited state of organic compounds include a singlet excited state (S*) and a triplet excited state (T*). In addition, the statistical generation ratio thereof in a light-emitting element is considered to be S*:T*=1:3.
At room temperature, a compound that converts a singlet excited state into luminance (hereinafter, referred to as a fluorescent compound) emits light only from the singlet excited state (fluorescence), and does not emit light from the triplet excited state (phosphorescence). Accordingly, the internal quantum efficiency (the ratio of generated photons to injected carriers) in a light-emitting element formed using a fluorescent compound is assumed to have a theoretical limit of 25% based on S*:T*=1:3.
On the other hand, with a light-emitting element formed using a compound that converts a triplet excited state into luminance (hereinafter, referred to as a phosphorescent compound), the internal quantum efficiency can be improved to 100% in theory; namely, the emission efficiency can be 4 times as high as that of a light-emitting element formed using a fluorescent compound. Therefore, the light-emitting element formed using a phosphorescent compound has been actively developed in recent years in order to achieve a highly efficient light-emitting element (see Non-Patent Document 2, for example). An organometallic complex that contains iridium or the like as a central metal is particularly attracting attention as a phosphorescent compound because of its high phosphorescence quantum efficiency.

Organometallic complex, light-emitting element, light-emitting device, and electronic device including the organometallic complex

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


Carrier racks including an elongate base member, a pivot mechanism mounted to the base member and configured to rotate relative to the base member, and a frame coupled to the pivot mechanism for supporting cargo, wherein the pivot mechanism is configured to pivot the frame between a loading position and a stowed position for transport, a first support member of the frame being oriented substantially horizontal in the stowed position.

The present disclosure relates generally to carrier racks for vehicles. Carrier racks are configured to mount to vehicles and enable persons to transport cargo from one location to another location. Transporting cargo can be useful for a variety of activities, including recreation, travel and utilitarian endeavors.
However, known carrier racks have certain limitations that render them less than wholly satisfactory. For example, know carrier racks secure bicycles and other cargo in an upright orientation on top of the vehicle, which causes the cargo to extend to a height that is incompatible with structures such as garages, car ports, parking garage entrances, and certain bridges. Further, known carrier racks do not provide for an aerodynamic profile, which increases drag and thus causes the vehicle's fuel economy to suffer. Moreover, known carrier racks do not provide a convenient means to load cargo in one orientation and then to position the cargo in another orientation.
Thus, there exists a need for carrier racks that improve upon and advance the design of known carrier racks. Examples of new and useful carrier racks relevant to the needs existing in the field are discussed below.
Disclosure addressing one or more of the identified existing needs is provided in the detailed description below. Examples of references relevant to carrier racks include U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,958,761, 5,275,319, 5,284,282, 5,360,151, 5,421,495, 5,505,579, 5,709,521, 6,149,039, 6,634,529, 6,634,529, 6,938,782, and 7,410,082. The complete disclosures of the above patents and patent applications are herein incorporated by reference for all purposes.


A device for indicating the height of the fork of a fork lift truck relative to a home position is set forth. The device includes a controller which compares programmed store and retrieve heights for various shelves in a warehouse with the current height of the fork. A display visible to the operator includes a first display device which indicates the fork is adjacent a particular shelf and is within a predetermined range encompassing the store and retrieve heights of that shelf. A second display device indicates when the fork is at or within a predetermined range of the store or retrieve height for the shelf.

Lift trucks are used extensively in storage areas such as warehouses. Goods are mounted on a pallets having a platform that is spaced from the floor a distance sufficient to introduce the forks to the lift truck beneath the platform. The pallets are adapted to be lifted and moved to locations where the goods are to be deposited.
In a typical warehouse where the goods are stored on shelves, the fork raises the goods to the "store height" of a selected shelf to deposit the goods on the shelf. The store height is the height to which the pallet is raised so the pallet can be moved over and lowered onto the shelf. To retrieve a pallet from a shelf, the fork is raised to a "retrieve height" of the selected shelf, the height at which the fork enters between the platform of the pallet and the shelf. The fork is inserted under the platform of the pallet, is raised to lift the pallet off the shelf, and is withdrawn from the shelf with the pallet resting on the fork. The store height is higher than the retrieve height by an amount sufficient to provide adequate clearance between the pallet and shelf as the pallet is moved into the storage position over the shelf. Four inches is a typical clearance.
Without a device for indicating the height of the fork relative to a selected shelf, the operator of the lift truck must visually determine when the fork is at the correct height relative to a selected shelf to store a pallet on or retrieve it from the shelf. This is very difficult because of the relatively small difference between the store and retrieve heights, the difficulty in distinguishing the distances involved with high shelves, and obstructions in the field of vision such as the mast of the truck or the load. Also, the consequences of misjudging the height can be severe. Where the fork is too high or too low relative to the retrieve position it may engage the goods or the shelf rather than the pallet. The fork may damage the goods, the shelf, or the pallet, or it may push the pallet and goods off the opposite side of the shelf. Where the fork is too high or too low relative to the store height, the goods on the pallet may be jammed into the shelf and the top of the goods may hit the shelf above the selected shelf. This may damage the goods or the shelf, or the goods may fall off the pallet onto the floor, the truck, or the operator.
To assist the operator in locating the fork accurately relative to the height of the shelf, systems have been proposed to provide the operator with an indicator showing the height of the fork relative to the shelf. The shelf height indicator also permits the operator to raise or lower the fork as the truck is being moved from one location to another so that the truck arrives at the shelf where the goods are to be picked up or deposited with the fork at the correct height. This reduces the time required to raise or lower the fork when the truck is at the desired shelf. The indicator also can be used as a safety device to warn the operator when the fork is too high and the fork or the goods thereon may strike equipment such as air ducts, water lines, or lights on the ceiling of the warehouse. Devices which assist the operator in locating the fork accurately with respect to each shelf must evaluate criteria in addition to the different store and retrieve heights of the shelves. The warehouse may be designed to store various different goods on unequally spaced shelves. The warehouse or warehouse complex also may have different storage areas with shelves that are spaced differently.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,957 to Allen et al. discloses a fork lift which senses reflectors 25 opposite each shelf. The sensors actuate a drive for potentiometer 32 on the fork lift. This actuates meter 36 to indicate to the operator the retrieve and store heights for each shelf. The shelf number may be tracked by tape 29 that is wound on reel 30 while the position of the fork relative to the selected shelf is determined by the position of the reflector. However, the reflectors must be located at each storage position along each shelf. This requires the reflectors to be continuous along the shelf if the number of storage positions is not restricted. Continuous reflectors are expensive to install and also require extensive maintenance because their location on the shelf faces exposes them to damage. Also, separate means for indicating the shelf number and the store and retrieve heights for each shelf represents added expense.
The patent to Scholl U.S. Pat. No. 4,074,794 discloses another shelf height determining device for a fork lift truck. In Scholl, an indicator for the operator determines the height of the fork relative to the shelf on an automatic system for controlling the operation of the fork to predetermined heights. Because the operator must read the height from a scale and correlate this height to the store or retrieve heights of a particular shelf, error is likely. Also, the system itself is automatic; the lift is not within the control of the operator. This is expensive and, in the event of a malfunction, often results in damages exceeding that in a system in which the operator is in control and can sense trouble and limit damage.
Ulinski, U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,161 discloses a fork lift height control in which the height of the fork is determined by a cable attached at one end to the fork or load carrying element and at the other end to an indicator. The Ulinski device requires the operator to read and interpret a specific height relative to the desired shelf height. With an automatic system, this is relatively expensive.
The Nakada patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,582 shows a fork lift truck in which both the elevation and tilt of the fork are programmable and are controlled automatically.
Commercially available controls for fork lift trucks include, for example, a unit marketed by Toledo Instrument Company. This device uses a tilt indiCator for the mast which, through a series of lights, indicates when the mast is vertical, is tilted forward, or is tilted backward. A device marketed by Marco Engineering Inc. provides a method for programming the shelf height in a warehouse using a system that automatically controls the raising and lowering of the fork to the selected height.


One embodiment of the invention is a technique to create and provide an analytic marketplace. A single file definition is created for a plurality of applications and sub-components of a complete analytic application. A request for an analytic application is received from a user at an analytic marketplace in a user session. The analytic marketplace searches for an application that matches the request using the single file and generates a search result. The request is responded according to the search result and then an appropriate analytic application is presented to the user.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to the field of electronic commerce, and more specifically, to analytic applications.
2. Description of Related Art
Business analytics include software tools and applications for tracking, analyzing, and modeling data in support of decision-making processes or in support of guiding specific actions based on analytic models and analytic applications, such guidance may be done automatically or with human (manual) interaction. Business analytics are typically used, but are not necessarily limited, to support business enterprise systems such as Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP), Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Supply Chain Management (SCM), etc. Applications that may benefit from business analytics include data warehousing, data mining, business intelligence, and other electronic commerce (e-commerce) applications.
Analytic applications involve some concept of data integration from multiple data sources, and a user interface consisting of a dashboard, query, report, alert (visual, graphical, auditory, automated, etc.). An analytic application typically includes data analysis, calculation, processing, and providing some representation to the user. Data are received from multiple sources (such as ERP, mainframes, websites, external data providers), integrated into a common model, processed, and analyzed to produce a result to be delivered to the user which then drives specific action or insight. In a typical business software environment, there may be a multitude of analytic applications designed to support specific applications according to some set of requirements or standards. A user often faces with a difficult task of selecting an analytic application or locating an appropriate analytic model (or report) that is suitable for his or her requirements.

Analytic application model and marketplace


A vehicle and a door assembly each include an inner panel and an outer panel coupled to each other to define a door. A first handle is attached to the outer panel. A mirror apparatus is supported by the door and spaced apart from the first handle. A lock apparatus is supported by at least one of the door and the mirror apparatus. The lock apparatus is disposed closer to the mirror apparatus than the first handle.

Many vehicles include a passenger compartment which can be accessible by one or more doors. Therefore, when a passenger desires to enter or exit the passenger compartment, the passenger opens or closes the door to allow ingress or egress. The doors can be opened from the inside by a respective inner door handle, and the doors can be opened from the outside by a respective outer door handle.
Generally, the doors can be locked to prevent entry into the passenger compartment. To unlock the doors from the outside of the vehicle, the front doors can include a lock disposed adjacent to the outer door handle in which a key can be utilized to unlock.


A method of forming ohmic contacts on a light emitting diode that features a surface treatment of a substrate includes exposing a surface of a p-type gallium nitride layer to an acid-containing solution and a buffered oxide etch process. A quantum well is formed in a gallium nitride substrate and a layer of p-type gallium nitride is deposited over the quantum well. The surface of the p-type gallium nitride is exposed to an acid-containing solution and then a buffered oxide etch process is performed to provide an etched surface. A metal stack including a layer of silver disposed between layers of platinum is then deposited.

The invention is directed to light emitting diodes and in particular to ohmic contacts for light emitting diodes.
One technique for measuring the efficiency of light emitting diodes (LEDs) is by determining the luminance per watt. The luminance provided by light emitting diodes is dependent upon several factors such as internal quantum efficiencies, as in the case of an injected carrier not being converted to a photon, or extraction efficiency, as in the case of a small fraction of photons being successfully extracted from the light emitting diode as opposed to being lost to internal absorption. To realize high efficiency LEDS, both of these issues need to be addressed. The potential gain from improving extraction efficiency, however, is likely to be greater and simpler to accomplish than the gains from improving internal efficiency.
One technique to improve light extraction of visible light nitride LEDs, such as Gallium Nitride (GaN) LEDs, is achieved through use of high reflectivity metallurgies which are typically mounted to one side of the LED. GaN based devices typically require ohmic contact formation as a means of establishing electrical contact to the device with minimal impact on the operating voltage of the device. Thus, the high reflectivity metallurgies are typically employed in the ohmic contact and attached to a p-type GaN layer of the LED. One common approach is to use a silver containing layer in the ohmic contact. Silver is desirable, because of its high reflectance. The difference in the work function between silver and the other materials from which the LED is fabricated has been problematic. For example, it is widely accepted that metals with high work functions form the best contacts for p-type semiconductor materials, while metals with low work functions form the best contacts for n-type semiconductor materials. However, surface contamination of the metal semiconductor interface may degrade the ohmic contact performance of metals. Contamination layers at the interface may produce an unforeseen electronic state that may degrade the efficiency of the LED.
There is a need, therefore, to provide improve ohmic contact techniques for LEDs.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Techniques of forming ohmic contacts on GaN light emitting diodes


A method of patterning a substrate includes providing a focusing plate adjacent to a plasma chamber containing a plasma, the focusing plate configured to extract ions from the plasma through at least one aperture that provides focused ions towards the substrate. The method further includes directing first ions through the at least one aperture to one or more first regions of the substrate so as to condense first gaseous species provided in ambient of the substrate on the one or more first regions of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the invention relate to the field of device manufacturing. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method, system and structure for maskless formation of patterned areas on a substrate.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Modern devices, such as semiconductor chips, microelectromechanical (MEMS), magnetic storage devices, and solar cells are typically fabricated using complex patterning processes such as photolithography. In the field of solar cells, an interdigitated back contact (IBC) solar cell shows promise due to the high efficiency that is rendered possible by placement of electrodes on the back surface of the device so that no light for producing electric current is blocked. Commercial examples of such cells include heterojunction IBC cells offered by Sanyo corporation and homojunction IBC cells offered by SunPower Corporation. Although IBC cells may provide high efficiency, the number of manufacturing steps and costs associated with each step contribute to comparatively higher costs to manufacture. In addition, these steps also contribute to a low throughput, meaning the overall amount of IBC cells that can be manufactured in a given time period. Some of the factors that contribute to the higher costs and lower throughput include: a) two lithographic patterning steps, which add considerable expense due to the inherent complexity of photolithographic tools and related processes; b) costs of consumables used in conjunction with lithography (photoresist, developers, hardmasks, etch, strip, etc.); and c) metallization processes, including plating materials and tooling.
FIG. 1 illustrates one prior art conventional method for forming a heterojunction IBC cell. This conventional method requires the formation of alternate, patterned stacked dielectric layers consisting of intrinsic amorphous silicon (a-Si) and doped amorphous silicon. An interdigitated layout having alternate p-type and n-type doped structures may be formed by the process illustrated. Other layouts may have more complex p-type and n-type structures. At step 90, an n-type substrate is selected and texturing of the substrate takes place using KOH at step 92. At step 94, chemical oxide is grown on the substrate. At step 96, intrinsic amorphous silicon is grown on both sides of a wafer. At step 98, a nitride antireflective coating is grown. At step 102, P-doped amorphous silicon is grown on the back side. At step 104, a lithography coating process takes place to pattern the p-doped layer. At step 106, a plasma etch takes place to etch out regions of the P-doped layer. At step 108, resist is removed. At step 110, a thin layer of intrinsic amorphous silicon is deposited, followed by a thicker layer of N+ doped amorphous silicon on the back side. The N+ doped amorphous silicon may fill in the etched out regions as well as overcoat the patterned P-doped regions. At step 112, a blanket plasma etch is performed, which may etch away the N+ overcoat. At step 114 a lithographic patterning process takes place to define the final pattern of N+ and P+ regions. At step 116, a plasma etch of the backside takes place to pattern and isolate N+ and P+ regions from one another. At step 118, resist is removed. At step 120, the patterned substrate is rinsed, dried, and subjected to an HF clean. At step 122 metal contacts are added to the P+ and N+ regions by screen printing.
As illustrated above, the formation of these types of structures requires at least two lithography steps and an associated set of etch and deposition steps. Because of these steps, the overall throughput and cost of IBC solar cells may be less than ideal for widespread commercial deployment. In view of the above, it will be appreciated that there is a need to improve processing techniques for devices requiring formation of patterned regions that are produced using complex patterning techniques.

Method for patterning a substrate using ion assisted selective depostion

Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates, Inc.


To present an electric railway power-supply system not requiring vast area for installation, excellent in rapid charge-discharge characteristic, and low in manufacturing cost. At a substation 9 for electric railway having a transformer 3 for receiving power from an alternating-current power line 2, a rectifying device 4 connected to the transformer 3, and a feeder line 5 connected to the rectifying device 4, a nickel hydrogen battery 8 is provided as a direct-current supply facility, and the nickel hydrogen battery 8 is directly coupled to the feeder line 5.

Generally, a substation for electric railway converts alternating-current power supplied from an electric power company or alternating-current power supplied from a power plant owned by an electric railway company into direct-current power, and supplies to feeder lines. The direct-current power supplied to the feeder lines passes through aerial power lines, and is supplied into electric vehicles by way of pantographs. Or the direct-current power is supplied from the feeder lines to the electric vehicles by way of a third rail. The electric vehicle supplies the provided electric power to a traction motor (rotary motor or linear motor) by way of an electric power control device mounted on the vehicle, and the electric energy is converted into a traction energy, and the vehicle is driven.
The amount of energy consumed by an electric vehicle varies with the running state of the vehicle. Specifically, the electric vehicle consumes a large amount of electric power in a short time at the time of acceleration. As a result, the voltage of the power line or the third rail, and further the voltage of the feeder line drops temporarily. To cope with such temporary voltage drop, a railway facility accommodating electric vehicles having a regenerative function utilizes the rotary motor or linear motor for traction as a generator at the time of deceleration, and converts the running energy of the electric vehicle into an electric energy in order to recover an electric power. The recovered electric power is utilized to cover up for the temporary voltage drop of the supply voltage.    Patent document 1: JP 2000-341874 A    Patent document 2: JP 2001-260719 A    Patent document 3: JP 2002-2334 A


A receiver circuit, including a multi-stage QAM de-mapper, for receiving a QAM data signal is disclosed. A first de-mapper circuit recovers a set of encoded data bits from the QAM data signal by calculating a plurality of distances between a received QAM symbol and each of a plurality of possible constellation points. A second de-mapper circuit then generates a set of unencoded data bits for the received QAM symbol based, at least in part, on the plurality of distances calculated by the first de-mapper circuit. The receiver circuit may further include a decoder circuit to decode the set of encoded data bits recovered by the first de-mapper circuit. The second de-mapper circuit may identify a subset of the plurality of possible constellation points based on a result of the decoding and select a constellation point that is associated with the shortest distance of the plurality of distances.

Quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) is a particular type of modulation scheme that can be used to transmit digital data by modulating a carrier signal. QAM "symbols" are mapped to binary data bits based on the amplitude and phase of the QAM signal received during a particular symbol period. The mapping and de-mapping of QAM symbols is typically performed using a "constellation," wherein each point on the constellation represents both a QAM symbol (e.g., corresponding to a set of amplitude and phase information) and a binary bit pattern (e.g., corresponding to a set of labeling bits). Thus, a constellation may be used to map binary data bits to QAM symbols to be transmitted, as well as to recover (e.g., de-map) binary data from received QAM symbols. For example, an M-QAM constellation may be used to map M number of symbols to M number of bit patterns, wherein each bit pattern includes L=log2(M) number of labeling bits.
The data rate of a QAM communications system varies directly with the QAM constellation size. For example, increasing the number of constellation points (M) also increases the number of data bits (L) that can be communicated during a symbol period (e.g., L=log2(M)). As the constellation becomes more densely populated, the spacing between constellation points (e.g., the "Euclidean distance") becomes smaller. This reduces the margin of error that the system can tolerate when using the constellation to recover data bits from a received QAM signal. Further, because imperfections exist in the transmission channel and in the receiving circuits, the received signal may be distorted (e.g., in shape). This may cause bit errors in the received signal.

Enhanced decoding and demapping method and apparatus for QAM data signals


Several configurations of compression ground connectors to allow for one, two, three or more taps from a single ground connector to an installation requiring grounding. The installation is completed using a single crimping stroke.

The present invention relates to ground connectors and particularly to those used for perimeter ground systems in telecommunications installations.
Compression ground systems have been used for many years with a complete system consisting of a cable grid having taps, splices, cable to ground rod, ground plates and terminations. The cable grid is interconnected by use of compression ground connectors in which ground rods and cables are bound together by the connectors after they are crimped or compressed into place utilizing known hydraulic compression installation tools.
These compression ground systems are typically employed in the telecommunications field a for example grounding microwave towers or as perimeter grounds for buildings accommodating telecommunications equipment. The grounding includes lightning grounds for microwave towers and other structures and for equipment grounds for electronic equipment used in telecommunications buildings.

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A dispenser including a dispenser assembly having a dosing cup mounted within the open mouth of a container with a dispensing spout mounted thereabove and, through a flexible membrane, selectively positioned within the cup to receive a measured dose therefrom, and outwardly removed from the cup to receive a free flow of material therethrough from the container.

Granular foodstuffs, for example, sugar, are commonly provided within a container with an appropriate pouring or dispensing spout. The basic container normally provides for an uncontrolled pouring of the contents through the spout with any controlling of the dose requiring the utilization of a separate utensil, such as a measuring cup, a spoon or the like. Should a large quantity of material be required, the uncontrolled or free-pouring dispensing is of course a highly desirable feature.
By the same token, and particularly as consumers become more health conscious and wish to control the amount of a specific foodstuff or condiment used, it has become desirable to provide containers with a means incorporated therein or mounted thereto which allows for the dispensing of a selected dose.
While it is not unknown for dispensers to incorporate the capability of dispensing measured amounts and, upon adjustment provide for free pouring, such dispensers are rather awkward or not readily convertible, requiring, as an example, forcing a dispensing tube through the condiment to be dispensed, or requiring an actual removal of the measuring insert. As such, the known dispensers do not readily adapt for more universal use, for example in a restaurant setting or the like.


A method for detecting attacks on a network component of an industrial network uses a component monitoring unit integrated in the network component. The component monitoring unit has at least one checking module for performing a check on the network component and a communication module for the component monitoring unit to communicate with at least one further network component of the industrial network. The component monitoring unit further has a management module for managing a communication between the at least one checking module and the communication module. When a predetermined criterion is satisfied, the at least one checking module collects and/or evaluates information concerning the network component and/or concerning the satisfied criterion for the purpose of checking the network component.

What are known as industrial networks can be used to network a multiplicity of different components of an industrial installation to one another in order to operate such an installation in automated fashion, for example, or to monitor such an installation by using remote computing units. Network components networked to one another can be field devices, for example sensors, actuators, drives, feelers, probes and switches, or control units such as programmable logic controllers (PLCs), CNC (computerized numerical control) controllers, NC (numerical control) controllers, motion logic controllers (MC—motion control), etc., or else further computing units such as PCs, smart devices, servers, etc. Such control units can form what is known as an embedded system in this case, that is to say a computer system comprising hardware and software that is embedded in a complex technical environment and can undertake control, automatic-control and data processing tasks in particular in real time.
In order to be able to ensure security and protection of know-how, it is important to be able to monitor industrial installations or industrial networks of this kind for attacks.

Method for detecting attacks on a network component of an industrial network


A direct current motor assembly for connection to an alternating current power supply to drive an appliance. The assembly includes a tubular housing with an armature having windings positioned inside the housing. End closures are provided for both ends of the housing, with one of the closures having an aperture in which the body portion of a rectifier assembly is mounted. The rectifier assembly includes a pair of input terminals extending outside of the housing and a pair of output terminals positioned inside the housing so that direct current may be provided to the armature without any discrete electrical conductors extending through either the end closures or the housing.

Various electrical appliances for home or light industrial use, such as the orbital waxer/polisher shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,791,694, the teachings of which are hereby incorporated by reference, incorporate dc motors. Such motors are relatively light and inexpensive to manufacture. However, the use of a dc motor requires the presence of a rectifier assembly for converting single phase ac to dc for application to the armature windings of the motor.
Heretofore, such rectifier assemblies were typically positioned either remote from the motor housing, or were supported by the outside of the housing. Such positioning of the rectifier assembly requires extensive wiring and discrete conductors passing through the motor housing. While such rectifier assembly location operated satisfactorily, it is always desirable to reduce the number of components and promote ease of manufacture of such dc motor assemblies.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,078,409 to Bertsche, Jr., et al., discloses an electrical power converter including an end frame formed of metal. The end frame is provided with threaded bores which receive rectifier plugs . The converter also includes a subframe which is electrically isolated from the end frame. As shown in the electrical schematic of FIG. 5, the end plate serves as the ground. A terminal bolt, extending through the end plate and insulated therefrom by a sleeve, is connected to the subframe and serves as the positive terminal of the bridge rectifier.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,527,971 to Means illustrates a dynamoelectric machine having a pair of metal mounting plates disposed inside of the motor housing and into which diodes are embedded.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,572 to Voigt discloses diodes forming a bridge rectifier mounted on the inside surface of the end shield of the motor. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 3,924,147 to Tarnow et al. teaches an insulating plate positioned inside of the motor housing and which supports diode rectifiers.

Direct current motor assembly with rectifier module


A method of manufacturing a closed cavity LED including forming, on a substrate, a short cavity LED with electrically conductive layers on opposite ends. Depositing a transparent conductive layer of material over one electrically conductive layer and affixing glass or a diamond film over the transparent conductive layer to define and protect a light output area. Removing the substrate and covering the top and sides of the cavity with dielectric material and contact metal. The metal being in contact with the transparent conductive layer and the other electrical contact layer. Thus, a reflector covers the cavity in all directions except the light output area to increase external efficiency.

The efficiency of a LED is limited by the total internal reflection because the index of refraction of the semiconductor material making up the LED (typically 3-3.5) is much higher than the index of refraction of the air (1) into which the light is emitted. Light distribution within a LED is generally referred to as Lambertian distribution, or omnidirectional distribution. Because of this large spatial distribution of the generated light, only small amounts of the light can be effectively utilized, especially if the light is going to be coupled to a light conduction medium such as an optical fiber. In dealing with a Lambertian source, such as a LED, there are many ways available today to provide a method to increase the light coupling from the LED to the fiber core. For example, spherical lenses, microlenses, gradient index lenses (GRIN), diffraction gratings all are utilized successfully. Unfortunately, none of these techniques actually increases the amount of light generated for the same input current.
Increased efficiency implies less current and, therefore, less power to couple the same amount of light to a system. A more efficient LED provides higher optical coupling and less stringent specifications on the coupling designs and procedures, which results in less expensive and more manufacturable systems. These reasons imply that if the efficiency of a LED can be increased then the device will become more useful in applied technology.
One method to improve the external efficiency of an LED is to utilize mirror stacks on opposite sides of an active area to provide multiple reflections of the photons inside the LED cavity. This technique has been successfully applied to vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSEL) where two mirror stacks are reflective enough to generate stimulated emission. The design of such mirror stacks can be engineered to produce a superluminescent LED, as disclosed in a co-pending U.S. patent application entitled "Superluminescent Surface Light Emitting Device", filed Oct. 4, 1991, bearing Ser. No. 07/770,841 and assigned to the same assignee.
A major difference between superluminescent LEDs and standard LEDs is the fact that the spatial distribution of light output is much narrower and allows for higher efficiency optical coupling to fibers, waveguides, etc. In VCSELs the spatial distribution of light is extremely narrow. Currently, LEDs require large drive currents to generate enough light so that a reasonable amount of light couples to an optical fiber. With improved efficiencies, less current is required and, therefore, less heat is generated. Thus, a LED with improved efficiency results in greater applicability of the LED for commercial use.

Method of manufacturing closed cavity LED


Nearly everyone who drives an automobile has experienced engine failure or other problems with the transmission, cooler lines, drive shaft, differential or electrical components or has run out of gas at one time or another. The disabled car is immobilized until the driver is fortunate enough to obtain outside help to tow or push the car to a place for repair. The present invention comprises an accessory which can be carried in the vehicle trunk and which, when connected to the rear of the vehicle, will push the vehicle to safety. It comprises a motorized wheeled unit controllable from the disabled vehicle which fastens to the rear bumper or to a trailer hitch (if the vehicle has one) or to a temporary, removable type trailer hitch of the disabled vehicle and pushes it while the driver steers in a normal manner.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to automobiles and more particularly pertains to a motorized accessory which may be used to provide emergency motive power for a disabled vehicle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of towing devices is known in the prior art. More specifically, such devices heretofore devised and utilized for the purpose of towing vehicles are known to consist basically of familiar, expected and obvious structural configurations, notwithstanding the myriad of designs encompassed by the crowded prior art which have been developed for the fulfillment of countless objectives and requirements. These devices are usually connected to a conventional motor vehicle, i.e. tow trucks, which is separate and distinct from the disabled vehicle to be towed.
In this respect, the accessory according to the present invention substantially departs from the conventional concepts and designs of the prior art, and in so doing provides an apparatus primarily developed for the purpose of a self-help means of moving a disabled motor vehicle.
The prior art, while not directly pertinent to this invention, is directed mainly to towing bars or hitches for vehicles, e.g. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,482,853; 4,871,183; 3,865,405; 4,078,821; and 4,744,583.


According to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, an apparatus and method for simultaneously managing paper-based documents and digital images of the same are disclosed. When used in conjunction with a digital filing apparatus, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,165, users of the present invention will be able to deploy a comprehensive system to manage both paper-based documents and the corresponding digital images of the paper-based documents in a digital filing operation. In this context, digital filing refers to the efficient management of paper-based information from its receipt at the desktop through an indexing, scanning, image storage and retrieval process, for both the paper-based document and the digital image of the paper-based document. The preferred embodiments of the present invention provide for easy and effective indexing, imaging, storing, retrieving and managing of paper-based documents, transforming them into electronic documents, and then tracking and selectively retrieving either or both the paper-based document and/or a digital image of the paper-based document, based on the information captured prior to the imaging operation. The user may create a single entry in a digital filing system that will provide an electronic link to the digital image of the paper-based document and, simultaneously, information regarding the physical location of the paper-based document in a paper repository allowing for quick and easy retrieval of the paper-based document and/or the digital images of the paper-based documents.

1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to document management and more specifically relates to a system and method for indexing, imaging, storing, and retrieving images of paper-based documents while simultaneously facilitating management and retrieval of the original paper-based documents from which those images were created.
2. Background Art
While most modern computer systems can be used for business, education and entertainment purposes, the most widespread application for computers today is related to processing information. Word processing, page layout, database, spreadsheet, and desktop publishing applications are used to prepare and disseminate information throughout society. The increased availability of computer systems and computer networks such as the Internet have made vast repositories of information available to a huge segment of our population. Indeed, as it has been widely discussed in the popular media, modern computer systems have brought our world into the xe2x80x9cinformation age.xe2x80x9d
One of the promises of the information age ushered in by these omnipresent computer systems was the advent of a xe2x80x9cpaperlessxe2x80x9d society. Computers, in theory, would liberate the world from the flood of paper which currently impedes the flow and management of information. Computer-based systems with advanced information processing capabilities would supposedly allow the instantaneous electronic exchange of information from one location to another, without the necessity of xe2x80x9chard copy.xe2x80x9d Indeed, many businesses have embraced computer systems with the stated goal of eliminating, or at least significantly reducing, the seemingly endless stream of paper that flows into and out of an office. Reducing the burdens of paper-based information has become a widespread goal. However, the simple truth is that today we have more paper-based information, document processing labor costs, document storage overhead, and hard-copy related dependencies in our society than ever before.
In fact, the dream of a paperless society remains a faint gleam in the tired eyes of today""s information workers. Reams and reams of paper continue to pile up on desktops and fill filing cabinets to overflowing in offices all over the world. If anything, the increased number of computers have exacerbated the rapidly increasing flow of paper in our society. In making information systems available to the masses, computers have allowed more and more people to generate ever growing quantities of paper which, in order to be useful, must be read and processed by someone, somewhere.
It is estimated that businesses worldwide generate more than 2 trillion pages of documents annually. In addition, in spite of the rapid proliferation of computer systems and computer users, it is estimated that less than 25% of the information used in the world today is available in a computer-accessible format. The average office worker spends 10%-40% of their time looking for information, much of it paper-based. And for every $1 spent producing a paper document, $10 dollar is spent to process and store that document. The very paperwork that drives most businesses and organizations is slowly starting to choke the productivity out of some of them as these businesses are unable to effectively and efficiently manage paper-based information.
Recognizing this problem, attempts have been made to better manage and control the paperwork that flows into the information stream each and every day. Some of these previously implemented solutions are based around the notion of creating, storing, and accessing electronic images directly in a computer system, bypassing hard copy completely. This solution makes sense only when a company or organization achieves fairly tight control over the generation and use of documents and can, therefore, effectively reduce the paper flow in certain situations. However, much of the paper burden in a given organization is directly attributable to paper-based documents that are generated by external sources. This means that most businesses and organizations, regardless of their internal systems, still receive and process paper-based information.
One answer to the problems associated with management of the vast quantities of paper-based documents generated by businesses today is the continued growth and adoption of xe2x80x9cout-sourcedxe2x80x9d filing operations. These outsourcing companies will periodically travel to a customer""s facility and retrieve their paper-based documents for off-site storage. The paper is boxed and marked for future retrieval, if desired, then stored off-site in large, centrally-located warehousing facilities. The outsourcing company may provide additional services such as indexing and xe2x80x9con-demandxe2x80x9d retrieval of certain documents, all on a xe2x80x9cfee-for-servicexe2x80x9d basis. Unfortunately, even if a company adopts an outsourced model for storing their physical paper, this merely pushes the storage issue off to another physical location. In addition, the costs associated with retrieval of physical documents stored at an off-site facility can be very high. This is because the retrieval process is a labor-intensive manual process that involves people scouring through boxes of paper stored in massive warehouses. Finally, there is no simple, integrated methodology to track the paper throughout its life cycle since the outsourcing company can""t quickly and easily retrieve a given document or page of a document. However, even with the high cost and relative inefficiencies associated with these labor intensive paper storage and management solutions, they are very prevalent in the industry today simply because they do offer a solution.
Other known solutions include document imaging systems which can scan paper-based documents and store/retrieve the resulting electronic images. Though many different document imaging systems have been commercialized since the late 1980s, none have gained widespread acceptance. Even though the quantifiable burdens of paper information storage, access and management are well known and uniformly decried, document imaging systems have not been broadly adopted as an alternative to the traditional filing cabinet. Document imaging systems today capture less than 1% of paper filing volumes. File cabinets continue to fill up, desktop stacks of paper continue to grow, and many business processes and desktops are still paper-bound. International Data Corporation (IDC) estimates that in 1997, U.S. business spent $25-35 billion on filing, storing and retrieving paper. This number approaches $100 billion when the total life cycle paper management costs are calculated, according to IDC.
A key reason for continued preference of paper-based document management over electronic document imaging systems, in spite of the problems and costs associated with the use of paper, stems from a fundamental impediment to the wide-scale adoption of imaging technology in the workplace. Basically, the lack of an efficient, cost-effective, adaptable method for driving paper through the scan and index process continues to thwart the efforts of most organizations that try to adopt wide-reaching document imaging solutions. The lack of simple, office automation platforms for image capture and indexing remains a key barrier to broadened use of document imaging.
Document capture (scanning and indexing) sub-systems are usually the most costly, labor-intensive, time-consuming, and error prone component of a traditional document imaging solution. To be effective, a paper-to-digital conversion system must address, at a minimum, the following activities: document aggregation; document preparation for scanning; document batching; document scanning; scanning quality controls; pre-committal image caching; document indexing; database updates; and permanent image storage. Traditional document imaging systems build an input assembly line of process workers, hardware, software, and related network activities to accomplish these tasks. They require network caching and transmission of in-process images, indexing stations with large viewing monitors to assist keystroking from the screen, and human and machine controls for the overall process of document input. The costly, integrated systems developed for these requirements generally institute a rigid process for a targeted, high-volume, structured paper flow. Because customized document input sub-systems are justified and built for targeted business applications, they do not adapt well to other, diversified document imaging needs, smaller workgroup filing systems, or ad hoc filing systems. Unfortunately, diverse, smaller workgroup filing, and ad hoc filing systems represent the bulk of paper filing. The paradigm of a document input assembly line does not match up well with many existing paper movement and filing patterns found in most businesses and organizations.
For example, most traditional document imaging systems operate a centralized input facility with dedicated scanning and indexing equipment and personnel. In this scenario, paper-based documents are funneled to the xe2x80x9cimagingxe2x80x9d department where document imaging workers identify, batch, organize, prepare, scan and index the documents. While this system is effective for imaging a high volume, structured paper flow, it is counter-intuitive to the natural flow and use of documents in most offices, and therefore, is not applicable. Most office workers receive a paper-based document at their desk and want to use it, then file it so that they or their co-workers can quickly retrieve the document when necessary. The original user of a document is usually the most qualified person to index it. Centralized control and disposition of documents abstracts the office worker from the source of their information and isolates the two entities.
Further, many of these traditional document imaging systems also require the acquisition of expensive new equipment and the training of new workers simply to manage and process the in-coming paper-based documents. This requirement adds a cost barrier to adoption that many organizations cannot overcome. In addition, many of the presently available document imaging systems employ proprietary software for creating, storing, and using document images. By design, these systems limit the availability of the electronic images to the audience within the proprietary document imaging system and thereby reduce the probability of document exchange with other systems and external organizations that may require access to a given document.
The challenges of adopting and implementing paper-to-digital image solutions are not limited to the mechanics and technologies of the document image capture process. Traditional document imaging technologies also introduce significant changes to the user""s desktop and to the overall flow of documents in the business process. As previously mentioned, in most large scale document imaging environments, the end user is alienated from the entire imaging/indexing process and does not control the flow or disposition of their own documents. For a paper-to-digital document solution to be truly useful, the end user must be comfortable with the process and must embrace the new methods. User adoption factors are crucial because while the burdens associated with handling paper are ingrained and often accepted, the changes involved in adopting and implementing document imaging systems are wide-reaching and potentially disruptive.
Once these issues surrounding the implementation of a digital imaging solution have been successfully addressed, an acceptable solution can be developed and adopted. However, without a better system and method for overcoming the significant limitations of the present document indexing, imaging, storage, retrieval, and handling systems, the world will be increasingly dependent on antiquated solutions and the associate declines in productivity. Further, even with the best of the currently available digital imaging solutions, the original paper-based documents must still be handled, stored, and either retained or destroyed, depending on the long-term value of the paper-based documents and the specific retention policies related to the paper-based documents. Therefore, even after a digital imaging solution has been adopted, the problems mentioned above related to the ultimate disposition of the paper-based documents remains and the company is left with two separate, monolithic solutions that are used to handle the same information.
In addition, with the ever-increasing volume of paper being generated and managed by businesses in the world today, it is more desirable than ever to have some type of unified system for managing both the paper-based documents and the digital images created from those paper-based documents. Instead of having two disparate systems which each require unique and independent methods for retrieving either the physical paper-based documents or the digital images of the paper-based documents, there will continue to be unnecessary complication and redundancy between the systems.
According to the preferred embodiments of the present invention, an apparatus and method for simultaneously managing paper-based documents and digital images of the same are disclosed. When used in conjunction with a digital filing apparatus, such as that disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,192,165, users of the present invention will be able to deploy a comprehensive system to manage both paper-based documents and the corresponding digital images of the paper-based documents in a digital filing operation. In this context, digital filing refers to the efficient management of paper-based information from its receipt at the desktop through an indexing, scanning, image storage and retrieval process, for both the paper-based document and the digital image of the paper-based document.
The preferred embodiments of the present invention provide for easy and effective indexing, imaging, storing, retrieving and managing of paper-based documents, transforming them into electronic documents, and then tracking and selectively retrieving either or both the paper-based document and/or a digital image of the paper-based document, based on the information captured prior to the imaging operation. The present invention allows users to index and label documents prior to scanning/imaging and then use standard imaging equipment to create digital images of the paper-based documents. Each paper-based document will be assigned a globally unique identifier and, if desired, other relevant document-specific or user-specific information, such as physical location of the paper-based document. The globally unique identifier is preferably pre-printed on an adhesive backed label or printed directly on the leading page of the paper-based document.
This will allow a user to create a single entry in a digital filing system that will provide an electronic link to the digital image of the paper-based document and, simultaneously, information regarding the physical location of the paper-based document in a paper repository allowing for quick and easy retrieval of the paper-based document and/or the digital images of the paper-based documents.

Apparatus and method for simultaneously managing paper-based documents and digital images of the same


A device for developing a latent image on an image carrier in an image forming apparatus is disclosed which includes a developing roller adjacent to the image carrier for transferring a developing agent to the image carrier, a supply roller adjacent to the developing roller for supplying the developing agent to the developing roller and a conductive member contacted with the developing roller. A voltage is applied to the conductive member for generating an electric field on the supply roller to adhere the developing agent onto the surface of the supply roller.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a developing device in which an electrostatic latent images formed on an image carrier is converted into a visible image in an image forming apparatus such as electrophotographic apparatus or electrostatic recording apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A developing device in which a non-magnetic toner is used is known. This type of developing device includes a rotatable developing roller for supplying the non-magnetic toner to an image carrier such as a photosensitive drum. The developing roller receives the non-magnetic toner from a toner hopper in which the non-magnetic toner is contained. A toner supply roller, which is located in the toner hopper, rotates in the same direction as the developing roller to transport the non-magnetic toner to the developing roller. Then a toner thin layer is formed on the surface of the developing roller by a thin layer forming member which is in linear contact with the developing roller at a uniform pressure. The thin toner layer passes close to, or into contact with, the image carrier holding an electrostatic latent image to form a toner image on the image carrier.
However, there was a problem in the above-mentioned conventional developing device in that the capacity for transporting toner to the developing roller was insufficient. For instance, when printing a whole-surface solid image on paper, the image density at the trailing edge of the paper was less than that of the image density at the leading edge.
Also, poor toner layer formation occurred when executing continuous printing operations using the above conventional developing device. This resulted in reduction of image density.
Japanese Laid Open Patent No. 62-211674 discloses a developing device including a corona charger so called a corotron is located in the toner hopper for electrofying a non-magnetic one-component toner. The corotron comprises a conductive case and a corona wire. Since the case has an opening portion, the toner will intrude into the case. As a result, the case is filled by the toner. Therefore, corona charging operation will not perform sufficiently.

Developing device having improved toner transport capacity for use in an image forming apparatus


An automated system for analyzing mask defects in a semiconductor manufacturing process is presented. This system combines results from an inspection tool and design layout data from a design data repository corresponding to each mask layer being inspected with a computer program and a predetermined rule set to determine when a defect on a given mask layer has occurred. Mask inspection results include the presence, location and type (clear or opaque) of defects. Ultimately, a determination is made as to whether to scrap, repair or accept a given mask based on whether the defect would be likely to cause product failure. Application of the defect inspection data to the design layout data for each mask layer being inspected prevents otherwise acceptable wafer masks from being scrapped when the identified defects are not in critical areas of the mask.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to the field of semiconductor manufacturing, and, more particularly, to a method for automating the evaluation and analysis of defects in masks used in the semiconductor manufacturing process to determine which defects would cause product failure.
2. Background Description
As technology in the computer manufacturing field matures, the physical size of semiconductor chips continues to decrease dramatically. Accordingly, increasingly precise techniques and tools are required to manufacture the chips and the circuitry that is to be packaged on the chips. These techniques include the use of masks to create the circuit pattern corresponding to the chip design. It is a common practice in the industry to use masks in the manufacturing process for semiconductor chips. The design and layout of the circuit for the chip can be stored in the form of a mask, which can then be transferred to the surface of a silicon wafer. This process is referred to as photolithography. As the chips become smaller and smaller, the precision required in the masks increases. Therefore, the process for evaluation and inspection of the masks becomes increasingly important to the efficiency of the manufacturing operation.
Accepted techniques for inspection of masks use optical inspection tools to determine the presence of defects on the mask. The output of these tools can then be used in conjunction with pre-established criteria to determine if the defects require the masks to be scrapped, repaired or accepted. The most commonly used criterion is based on the size of the defect; however, defects can also be classified as to location and type (clear or opaque). In any event, the standard inspection process will tend to result in the rejection of masks when the size of the defect exceeds some maximum pre-established criterion. This approach is non-discriminating, however, because it is well known that not all defects in a given mask will necessarily lead to failure of the chip. For example, shorts between dummy fill shapes are generally harmless unless they merge to create a single shape larger than several microns. Also, via to via shorts between vias on the same net are harmless if they do not also cause the vias to expand outward beyond the underlying and overlying metal shapes. Accordingly, the standard approach can lead to the rejection of masks with defects in non-critical regions of the chip layout.
Based on this standard approach, otherwise acceptable masks would be scrapped unnecessarily. Alternatively, such masks must be analyzed manually by a human operator or a defect classification tool. Manual classification of defects, via an optical device or scanning electron microscope, can resolve issues such as whether a particular defect falls on or near dummy fill shapes rather than active circuit elements. However, in general, such techniques cannot resolve issues involving nets because simple inspection of the mask or the layout data does not suffice to accurately define the nets. In any event, either option is labor intensive and expensive and can be detrimental to the manufacturing process.
To improve the manufacturing process it is desirable to have an automated system for analyzing and evaluating the results from the inspection of the masks. An automated system would eliminate unnecessary scrapping of otherwise acceptable masks and would reduce the possibility of human error. Such a system will enhance both the pre-shipment inspection and repair process as well as the pre-acceptance inspection process. By identifying only those mask defects that will lead to chip failure, thereby ignoring the remainder of defects, the efficiency of the inspection/repair and acceptance process will be improved. Moreover, an automated system will allow manufacturers to concentrate on systemic errors that lead to defects in the masks, thereby improving the overall manufacturing process.

International Business Machines Corporation


A side recovery system is disclosed that includes a base configured to be supported on a vehicle and a boom supported by the base and having a first end and a second end. The boom is rotatable relative to the base about a substantially horizontal axis between a first position and second position. The second end of the boom being positioned at a first side of the vehicle in the first position and at an opposite second side of the vehicle in the second position. The system also includes a first sheave supported at the second end of the boom and configured to receive a load bearing cable. The cable configured to remain received by the first sheave as the boom rotates between the first position and the second position.

The present disclosure relates to a side recovery system suitable for use with a vehicle. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to a side recovery system suitable for use with a recovery vehicle, such as a wrecker, etc. The present disclosure also relates to a recovery vehicle that incorporates such a side recovery system.
It would be desirable to provide a side recovery system for a vehicle that can be selectively reconfigured or moved between a first side of the vehicle and a second side of the vehicle to allow for recoveries from each side of the vehicle without requiring the vehicle to support a relatively large and/or expensive system that permanently provides for recoveries from each side of the vehicle. Such a system would provide an improved side recovery system that is smaller, light-weight and/or more cost effective to manufacturer and/or maintain. Such a system may also reduce the amount of time needed to setup the system for a recovery opposite the side of vehicle in which the system is currently setup for. However, the problems posed by this type of arrangement are particularly complicated because they exist within the complexity of the overall recovery vehicle. For example, the sizing constraints of the recovery vehicle cab, the positioning of a wrecker arm, storage compartments and/or light pylon, etc. add to the complexities of the recovery vehicle. Accordingly, the selection of a solution may result in unforeseen complications, cost increases, manufacturing efficiency losses, expensive part configurations, performance losses, etc.


An image pickup lens includes, an aperture stop, a first meniscus lens having positive refractive power with a convex surface facing the object, a second lens having positive refractive power with a concave surface facing the object, a third lens having negative refractive power with a convex surface facing the object, the both surfaces of the third lens are aspheric and having at least one pole-change point, and following conditional expressions are satisfied:TTL<3.0  (1)0.80<f1/f<0.93  (2)0.35<bf/TTL<0.42  (3)0.70<TTL/(2IH)<0.85  (4)where TTL: a length from the surface closest to the object to an image plane, f: a focal length of an overall optical system, f1: a focal length of the first lens, bf: a length from the image-side surface of the third lens to the image plane, and IH: a maximum image height.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup lens mounted on imaging devices adopting relatively small and thin solid-state imaging elements such as CCD sensors and C-MOS sensors disposed on portable terminals such as cellular phones and smartphones, motion sensors for home-use game machines, and PDAs (Personal Digital Assistants).
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, demands are increasing for further downsizing and thinning of portable terminals such as cellular phones and smartphones, or devices such as PDAs, and along therewith, there are demands for improving the camera function to correspond to the increased number of pixels. Therefore, further downsizing and increase in the number of pixels is realized in imaging elements adopted in the imaging devices mounted on such devices, and in general, image pickup lenses having a high resolving power corresponding to the increased number of pixels are required. However, in image pickup lenses adopted in sub-cameras of portable terminals or the like where the users of portable terminals use the camera to take pictures of themselves from a close distance, it is required that the image pickup lenses are further downsized, thinned, and capable of taking images of objects in a wide area, in other words, that the lenses have a wide angle of field. In addition, it is required that the lenses have sufficient resolving power so that the image quality of the scenery that is taken into the images by the lenses having a wide angle of field is good. Moreover, along with the downsizing of imaging elements, the illuminance sensitivity decreases, so that it is important that the lens system has a high brightness.
Conventionally, image pickup lenses configured of four or more lenses are preferable as the image pickup lenses having high resolving power to be mounted on above-described devices, but the increase in the number of lenses is not preferable from the viewpoint of downsizing and cost reduction. Further, image pickup lenses configured of one or two lenses are advantageous from the viewpoint of downsizing and cost reduction, but various aberrations are difficult to correct via a small number of lenses, so that there is a drawback that the required resolving power cannot be acquired. Image pickup lenses having a three-lens configuration have conventionally been proposed widely as a configuration capable of solving both above-mentioned problems to a certain extent. The three-lens configuration is also suitable for corresponding to the technological advancement of imaging devices where downsizing and thinning are further advanced.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2008-276200 (Patent document 1) discloses an image pickup lens adopting a three-lens configuration having, in order from an object side, a first lens of a positive meniscus shape with a convex surface facing the object side, a second lens with a concave surface facing the object side, and a third lens having a negative refractive power near an optical axis, wherein the second lens and the third lens respectively have at least one surface thereof formed as an aspherical surface.
Further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-206611 (patent document 2) discloses an image pickup lens having, in order from an object side toward an image side, an aperture stop, a first lens of a positive meniscus shape with a convex surface facing the object side, a second lens having a meniscus shape with a convex surface facing the image side, and a third lens having a meniscus shape with a convex surface facing the object side, wherein the first lens, the second lens and the third lens are each formed of plastic materials, the second lens having an object side surface formed as a concave surface, the third lens having a negative refractive power near an optical axis, and the second lens and the third lens each having at least one surface thereof formed as an aspherical surface.
Even further, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-252312 (patent document 3) discloses an image pickup lens having, in order from an object side toward an image side, a stop, a first lens with a positive refractive power, a second lens with a meniscus shape having a weak positive refractive power and having a concave surface facing the object side, and a third lens with a negative refractive power and having at least one refractive surface formed as an aspherical shape.
Patent document 1 proposes an image pickup lens having a superior productivity, a compact design and a high image forming performance. However, the total track length of the image pickup lens is approximately 4 mm, which is not sufficient from the viewpoint of responding to downsizing and thinning. Moreover, since it has an F-value as high as approximately 3.5, if the lens is adopted in downsized imaging elements, an appropriate light quantity cannot be achieved at the circumference area of the imaging elements, and it may be necessary to increase the illuminance sensitivity of the lens system when taking images. However, noise is increased when the illuminance sensitivity is set high, and the image quality is deteriorated. Further, since the half angle of field of the disclosed lens is approximately 34 degrees, it does not have a sufficiently wide angle of field.
Patent document 2 proposes an image pickup lens capable of realizing downsizing and enhanced optical performances by reducing the back focus. However, the total track length of the disclosed image pickup lens is approximately 5 mm, and it does not correspond sufficiently to downsizing and thinning. Since the disclosed image pickup lens has a short back focus, if further downsizing and thinning is required, it becomes difficult to ensure enough space required for arranging insert objects such as infrared cut filters and cover glasses. Further, since the half angle of field of the image pickup lens is approximately 32 degrees, it does not have a sufficiently wide angle of field.
Patent document 3 proposes a high resolution and compact image pickup lens realizing cost reduction while considering the assembly accuracy. In the disclosed image pickup lens, the F-value is approximately 2.4, which realizes a relatively bright lens system that can be applied to imaging elements where downsizing is advanced. However, the total track length of the image pickup lens is approximately 6 mm, which is insufficient from the viewpoint of downsizing and thinning. Moreover, according to embodiments 1 and 2, the image pickup lens is expensive, since the first lens is formed of glass material. Even further, it is difficult to fabricate a lens having an extremely small thickness using glass material, so that there is a limitation to further thinning of the lens.


A fluorescent brightener premix comprising from 1% to 15% of a fluorescent brightener and 10% to 80% of an alkoxylated nonionic surfactant, by weight of the premix. The premix, upon being added into a liquid composition, has minimized impact on the pH of the liquid composition.

Fluorescent brighteners are a class of fluorescent materials that absorb light in the ultraviolet regions of the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g., less than 400 nm) and re-emit light in the violet and blue regions of the electromagnetic spectrum (e.g., greater than 400 nm). Fluorescent brighteners have been used in a variety of applications, e.g., in a laundry detergent composition, to enhance the color or appearance of materials, such as treated fabrics. Generally, fluorescent brighteners are used to increase the perceived whiteness of such materials by increasing the overall amount of blue light emanating from the material, i.e., reflected from the material and emitted by substances deposited on the material.
Fluorescent brighteners are typically in a particulate form and therefore added into liquid compositions via liquid premixes. Forming a fluorescent brightener premix and adding the premix to the liquid composition, rather than adding particulate fluorescent brighteners directly to the liquid composition, allows for more evenly distribution of the fluorescent brightener in the liquid composition. Also, good physical stability (i.e., a stable viscosity profile and no phase splitting) is desired for fluorescent brightener premixes as this property enables a prolonged storage of the premix prior to being added into liquid compositions.
In traditional fluorescent brightener premixes, monoethanolamine (MEA) is the main solvent used to dissolve particulate fluorescent brighteners, e.g., brightener 15 (disodium 4,4′-bis {[4-anilino-6-morpholino-s-triazin-2-yl]-amino}-2,2′-stilbenedisulfonate). MEA is known to act as a counterion to fluorescent brighteners and thus provides improved physical stability to the premix. However, MEA is a primary amine characterized by partial protonation in an aqueous solution and capable of receiving a hydrogen ion from water, resulting in an increase of the OH-ion concentration in the solution (i.e., higher pH of the solution). Thus, upon being added into a liquid composition, such fluorescent brightener premixes containing MEA impact the pH of the liquid composition significantly. This significant pH change of the liquid composition in the manufacturing process is undesired as it requires further pH adjustment equipments or steps. In an in-line process, the issue becomes even more severe due to the precise control of each added ingredient required by an in-line process.
Thus, there is a need for a fluorescent brightener premix that, upon being added into a liquid composition, has minimized impact on the pH of the liquid composition. In particular, the present invention provides a fluorescent brightener premix that has a relatively neutral pH when diluted, compared with those premixes in the art.
It is an advantage of the present invention to provide a fluorescent brightener premix that is physically stable during storage.
It is another advantage of the present invention to provide a physically stable fluorescent brightener premix that does not require either agitation or heating during storage.
It is yet another advantage of the present invention to provide a physically stable fluorescent brightener premix from a variety of fluorescent brightener raw materials, including those containing impurities.
It is even yet another advantage of the present invention to provide an in-line process of making a liquid cleaning composition comprising a fluorescent brightener mix, without requiring a further pH adjustment equipment or step.