A decoding method and coding method of moving image signal, and a decoding apparatus and coding apparatus using the same, provides for coding or decoding at least two or more motion vectors, relating to the present processing pixel block, compensating the motion of the coded frame corresponding to each motion vector, generating two or more predicted images relating to the present processing image block, and selecting the predicted image for use in reconstruction of the present processing pixel block depending on presence or absence of decoding error contained in these two or more predicted images. Accordingly, if a decoding error occurs due to bit error in the bit stream, propagation of picture quality deterioration in time can be suppressed, so that excellent decoding of digital moving image signal is realized.

In television telephone or television conference, in order to transmit a moving image efficiently even in a narrow transmission route, the moving image is digitized, and this signal is further processed by digital image compression, and is transmitted, and at the receiving side, the compressed digital moving image signal is decoded, and the moving image is reproduced.
In a video disc or the like, in order to accumulate more moving images in one disc, the digital moving image signal is coded and the image is compressed.
The conventional coding method and decoding method of digital moving image signal include the ITU-T Recommendation H. 261 recommended in March 1993, and the MPEG by the ISO, and the ITU-T Recommendation is mainly described in this specification. For the sake of convenience, the coding method is first described, and then the decoding method, by referring to FIG. 4 to FIG. 6.
The coding method of H. 261 is realized, as shown in FIG. 4, by a coding apparatus comprising motion vector detecting means 401, motion compensation means 402, prediction error calculating means 403, intra-inter judging means 404, DCT 405, quantizing means 406, variable length coding means 407, inverse quantizing means 408, inverse DCT 409, reconstruction means 410, frame memory 411, and intra/inter switch 412.
Each constituent element of H. 261 coding method is described below. First, the motion vector detecting means 401 detects the motion vector between a previous reconstruction frame stored in the frame memory 411, and an entered present frame. The motion vector is detected, as shown in FIG. 5, in a unit of pixel block called macro block. The motion vector may be regarded as a spatial displacement amount of pixel block between the previous reconstruction frame and the present frame. Next, the motion compensation means 402 displaces the pixel block of the previous reconstruction frame stored in the frame memory 411 according to the motion vector, and generates a predicted image. This motion compensation is a process for reducing the prediction error in the prediction error calculation at a next step.
The prediction error calculating means 403 calculates the differential value between the macro block of the entered present frame and the predicted image in the pixel unit, and issues as a prediction error. Further, both the macro block of the present frame and the prediction error are entered into the intra/inter judging means 404. Herein, for example, by comparison between the variance of pixels in the macro block of the present frame and the variance of the prediction error, it is judged whether coding is more efficient by directly coding the macro block of the present frame (intra-coding), or coding is more efficient by coding the prediction error (inter-coding), and according to the result, either the macro block of the present frame or the prediction error is issued. At the same time, the result of judgement is issued as an intra/inter control signal.
The macro block of the present frame or the prediction error issued from the intra/inter judging means 404 is transformed into a frequency region by the DCT 405 and is further transformed into a quantizing coefficient by the quantizing means 406 to be curtailed in redundancy, and further the quantizing coefficient is transformed into a variable length code on the basis of the statistic character by the variable length coding means 407, and the quantity of information is curtailed. In the variable length coding means 407, further, the intra/inter control signal and motion vector are entered, and coded into variable length codes. The variable length coding means 407 multiplexes all these variable length codes, and issues as a bit stream.
On the other hand, the quantizing coefficient which is the output of the quantizing means 406 is inversely quantized by the inverse quantizing means 408, and is inversely transformed from the frequency region by the inverse DCT 409. When the macro block being presently coded is intra-coding, the intra/inter switch 412 is turned off, and the output from the inverse DCT 409 is directly stored in the frame memory 411. To the contrary, when the macro block being presently coded is inter-coding, the intra/inter switch 412 is turned on, and the output of the inverse DCT 409 and the output of the motion compensation means 402 are added in the reconstruction means 410, and stored in the frame memory 411. Thus, the present reconstruction frame is stored in the frame memory 411, and it is used in prediction of next frame.
Next, the decoding method of H. 261 is realized by an apparatus, as shown in FIG. 6, comprising variable length code decoding means 601, inverse quantizing means 602, inverse DCT 603, frame memory 604, motion compensation means 605, intra/inter switch 606, and reconstruction means 607.
Each constituent element of the H. 261 decoding method is described below. First, the variable length code decoding means 601 separates and decodes the variable length code from the entered bit stream, and issues the quantizing coefficient, intra/inter control signal, and motion vector in the macro block unit. The quantizing coefficient is inversely quantized by the inverse quantizing means 602, and is inversely transformed from the frequency region by the inverse DCT 603. The motion compensation means 605 displaces the pixel block of the previous reconstruction frame stored in the frame memory 604, on the basis of the motion vector, and generates a predicted image.
When the intra/inter control signal instructs intra-coding, the intra/inter switch 606 is turned off, and the output from the inverse DCT 603 is directly stored in the frame memory 604. On the other hand, when the intra/inter control signal instructs inter-coding, the intra/inter switch 606 is turned on, and the output of the inverse DCT 603 and the output of the motion compensation means 605 are added in the reconstruction means 607, and stored in the frame memory 604. Thus, the present reconstruction frame is stored in the frame memory 604, and it is used in prediction of next frame and is also issued as a decoded image.
In the coding method and decoding method of H. 261, the inverse quantizing means, inverse DCT, and motion compensation means process the same, and therefore the reconstruction frames stored in the frame memory of the coding method and decoding method always coincide with each other.
Generally, since the bit stream issued by the coding method of moving image signal is composed of variable length codes, in case an error occurs in transmission or accumulation, if it is an error of one bit, the decoding error occurs in a wide range, and the picture quality of the reconstruction frame deteriorates. In the conventional decoding method of moving image signal, the reconstruction frame lowed in picture quality due to decoding error is used in prediction of next frame, this picture quality deterioration can propagate to the succeeding frames later in time.
As one of the prior arts presenting a method of solving this problem, "Error Resilient Video Coding by Dynamic Replacing of Reference Pictures" (S. Fukunaka et al.) (1996 IEEE) is known, but when a decoding error occurs, the previously decoded video signal is directly used again, the improving effect of picture quality deterioration was trifling.

Decoding and coding method of moving image signal, and decoding and coding apparatus of moving image signal using the same


An optical connection terminal for a fiber optic communications network includes a base, the base comprising an exterior wall. The terminal further includes a cover connected to the base, wherein an interior cavity is defined between the base and the cover. The cover includes a bottom panel, a first end wall, a second opposing end wall, a first sidewall, and a second opposing sidewall, wherein the bottom panel extends between the first end wall and opposing second end wall and between the first side wall and second opposing sidewall. The terminal further includes an exterior channel defined in the bottom panel, and a stub cable port defined in the bottom panel within the exterior channel of the cover. The terminal further includes a plurality of connector ports defined in the exterior wall of the base.

Optical fiber is increasingly being used for a variety of applications, including broadband applications such as voice, video and data transmissions. As a result of this increasing demand, fiber optic networks typically include a large number of mid-span access locations at which one or more optical fibers are branched from a distribution cable. These mid-span access locations provide a branch point from the distribution cable and may lead to an end user, commonly referred to as a subscriber. Fiber optic networks which provide such access are commonly referred to as FTTX "fiber to the X" networks, with X indicating a delivery point such as a premises (i.e. FTTP).
Recently, multi-port optical connection terminals have been developed for interconnecting drop cables with a fiber optic distribution cable at a predetermined branch point in a fiber optic network between a mid-span access location on the distribution cable and a delivery point such as a subscriber premises. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 7,120,347, filed on Jan. 27, 2004 and entitled "Multi-port Optical Connection Terminal", and U.S. Pat. No. 7,333,708, filed on Aug. 23, 2006 and entitled "Multi-port Optical Connection Terminal", both of which are incorporated by reference herein in their entireties, discloses various such terminals. Utilizing such terminals, drop cables extending from a delivery point may be physically connected to the communications network at the branch point provided by such terminals as opposed to at the actual mid-span access location provided on the distribution cable. As a result, the terminal may be positioned at a more convenient location and a field technician may readily connect, disconnect or reconfigure the optical connections without the need for entering the closure at the mid-span access location.
However, while various such optical connection terminals have been developed, known terminals such as those described above suffer from various disadvantages. For example, stub cables are connected to the terminals to provide the connection to a distribution cable at a mid-span location. However, concerns exist with regard to the security of the stub cable connection. Accordingly, optical connection terminals that provide improved stub cable connection features are desired.

Optical connection terminals for fiber optic communications networks


An internal combustion engine is provided with a hydrocarbon feed valve arranged in an engine exhaust passage. When injection control for injecting hydrocarbons from the hydrocarbon feed valve for exhaust treatment is stopped, to prevent the hydrocarbon feed valve from clogging, hydrocarbons for preventing clogging are injected from the hydrocarbon feed valve when the engine is not discharging soot, that is, when the feed of fuel to the inside of the combustion chamber is stopped and, after hydrocarbons for preventing clogging are injected once, the injection of hydrocarbons for preventing clogging from the hydrocarbon feed valve is stopped until injection control for exhaust treatment is started.

Known in the art is an internal combustion engine in which an NOx purification catalyst is arranged in an engine exhaust passage, a reducing agent feed valve for feeding a reducing agent upstream of the NOX purification catalyst is arranged in the engine exhaust passage, the NOX exhausted from the engine when fuel is burned under a lean air-fuel ratio is stored at the NOX purification catalyst, and when the air-fuel ratio of the exhaust gas should be made rich to release the stored NOX from the NOX purification catalyst, the combustion gas of a rich air-fuel ratio is generated in the combustion chamber or a reducing agent is injected from the reducing agent feed valve in accordance with the engine operating state (for example, see PTL 1). In this internal combustion engine, when the air-fuel ratio of the combustion gas in the combustion chamber is switched from lean to rich, when it is made rich, and when it is switched from rich to lean, a large amount of soot is produced and thereby there is a danger that the nozzle holes of the reducing agent feed valve is caused to clog by this large amount of produced soot. Therefore, in this internal combustion engine, in the interval from when the combustion is performed under a rich air-fuel ratio to when next combustion is performed under a rich air-fuel ratio, the reducing agent feed valve is made to inject a small amount of the reducing agent to blow off the soot deposited at the nozzle holes and thereby prevent the nozzle holes of the reducing agent feed valve from clogging.


Examples of the present disclosure provide a method and device for detecting a malicious URL, the method includes: a URL detection request is received, contents of a page addressed by a URL in the URL detection request are analyzed, and it is determined that whether the page is a non-text page; when the page is a non-text page, a page image of the page, which is displayed in a browser and addressed by the URL in the URL detection request, is obtained, image detection is performed on the page image, and a page attribute of the URL in the URL detection request is obtained, whether the URL is a malicious URL is determined based on the page attribute of the URL in the URL detection request.

The network enriches people's life, but more and more pornography, fraud, phishing web sites also emerge, and bring a serious threat to the security of the majority of Internet users when obtaining information on the Internet. Thus a detection engine for identifying malicious URLs is needed.
An existing URL cloud detection engine may effectively identify and prompt whether a URL accessed by a user has a malicious behavior. After the user inputs a URL to be accessed and before the browser displays corresponding page content, it is necessary for the URL cloud detection engine to obtain malicious attributes of the URL to be accessed by the user from a cloud detection center, identify whether the URL to be accessed by the user has a malicious behavior, and provide relevant prompts based on the identification result. Due to the malicious web sites are variant, the URL cloud detection engine must possess fast, efficient and accurate characteristics, so as to ensure that the malicious web sites may be timely and accurately found.
The identification for malicious attributes by existing URL cloud detection engine may be performed through text information of page DOM and BOM object, and using machine learning manner, such as Bayes classifier/keyword filtering and similarity matching. Although above technology may effectively identify text-based malicious fraud web site, the technology may not effectively identify non-text web content.
Moreover, the malicious pages in the prior art may evade the killing of detection engine through the following means.
(1) Text content is converted into an image. The contents of the whole page are made into an image, thus the killing is fought against through the manner that whole page is an image.
(2) Plaintext is encrypted and hidden. Since current detection engine mainly relies on the text information of the page, malicious webpage editors process the text information of a plaintext using encryption technology. When encountering an encrypted string without any semantics, an identification module of the detection engine cannot effectively identify the malicious webpage.
(3) Streaming media is used to fight against the detection engine. In order to prevent from being identified by current detection technology, in the existing malicious webpage, text information is hidden and displayed in a streaming media, such as a Flash. Thus the killing of existing detection technology may be evaded effectively.
(4) Normal text information is adopted to interfere with the killing of a detection engine. In order to evade the killing of existing detection technology, a large amount of normal text which is not displayed may be added to page contents to interfere with the identification module.
Therefore, how to efficiently and accurately detect the malicious URL has become a difficult problem and challenge for detection technology.

Method and device for detecting malicious URL

TENCENT TECHNOLOGY (SHENZHEN) COMPANY LIMITED


The present invention relates to a ferroelectric memory device having a multilevel polarization (MLP) state generated due to adjustment of a displacement current and to a method for manufacturing the ferroelectric memory device.

Recently, researches have been conducted to develop a memory device having large capacity and capable of overcoming the limit of refresh required in, e.g., DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) device by using a ferroelectric thin film as a dielectric film of a capacitor.
A ferroelectric random access memory (FeRAM) using such a ferroelectric thin film is a kind of nonvolatile memory device and has advantage that it is capable of maintaining stored information even when power is cut. Besides, FeRAM has further advantages such as high speed accessibility, low power consumption, high strength against impact. Due to these advantages, FeRAM is expected to find applications as a main memory in various electronic devices and equipments having file storage/retrieval function, such as a portable computer, a cellular phone and a game machine, or as a storage medium for storing thereon voice or image.
In a FeRAM device, a memory cell composed of a ferroelectric capacitor and an access transistor stores therein data '1' or '0' having a logical state depending on an electric polarization state of the ferroelectric capacitor. If a voltage is applied to both ends of the ferroelectric capacitor, a ferroelectric material is polarized according to a direction of an electric field. A switching threshold voltage at which the polarization state of the ferroelectric material is changed is referred to as a coercive voltage. To read the data stored in the memory cell, voltages are applied to between two opposite electrodes of the ferroelectric capacitor, and the state of the data stored in the memory cell is detected from a variation in quantity of electric charges excited in a bit line.
As candidates of universal memory, there are known a MRAM (Magnetoresistance Random Access Memory), a PRAM (Phase-change Random Access Memory), a RRAM (Resistive Random Access Memory), etc besides the FeRAM.
Through active researches upon a single universal memory combining speed of SRAM (Static Random Access Memory), non-volatility of flash memory and high capacity of DRAM, there are resulted in various recent memory technologies including FeRAM [M. E. Lines and A. M. Glass, Principles and Applications of Ferroelectrics and Related Materials (Clarendon, Oxford, 1977); J. F. Scott, Ferroelectric Memories (Springer, New York, 2000)], MRAM(Magnetoresistance Random Access Memory), PRAM(Phase-change Random Access Memory), RRAM(Resistive Random Access Memory), etc. FeRAM is basically based on electrically switchable voluntary polarization, and gives high performance as well as high speed [D. S. Rana et al., Adv. Mater. 21, 2881 (2009)] and low power consumption [J. F. Scott, Science 315, 954 (2007)].
In FeRAM technology, however, achieving high storage capacity is difficult and takes high cost. For the reason, FeRAMs having relatively low capacity are put on market only for specific application. To overcome this problem, many researchers have attempted to increase a storage capacity per a unit area by, for example, simplifying structure of a device, reducing the size of the device and diversifying two types of polarization states, which are represented by on and off or 0 and 1, into multiple numbers of intermediate polarization states, thus allowing multilevel bits. Among these various researches, it has been attempted to vary a voltage of an electric pulse applied to the device. Korean Patent No. 10-0543198 describes a ferroelectric memory device having a multi reference voltage generator and attempts to diversity polarization states into various reference voltage levels generated in a negative bit line by on/off optional processing of a first fuse and a second fuse. Further, U.S. Pat. No. 7,196,924 B2 describes a method of adjusting polarization in several stages by applying different voltage to a ferroelectric layer, thus allowing FeRAM to have multiple data values.
However, the aforementioned conventional methods for obtaining multilevel polarization states have attempted to realize multi-levels by varying voltage levels which is applied to ferroelectrics. These conventional methods, however, are highly dependent on characteristics of a ferroelectric material and lack reproducibility and reliability. For example, even if multi-levels having four different polarization states are achieved by adjusting an applied electric strength (amplitude of pulse or width of pulse), the degrees of such polarization states may fluctuate whenever the memory is operated. Thus, actually, the four polarization states may not be guaranteed reliably. In such a case, in an actual device composed of a multiple number of individual ferroelectric memory cells, even if each cell has multilevel polarization states, all the cells may not have constant polarization states. Besides, since reliability of generated polarization states may not be guaranteed each time a single storage cycle taking several tens of nanoseconds is repeated, the device may not be qualified to be used.

Ferroelectric memory device and method for manufacturing same

Seoul National University R&DB Foundation


Methods and apparatus providing a dynamically sized, highly scalable and available server farm are disclosed. A Virtual Server Farm (VSF) is created out of a wide scale computing fabric (“Computing Grid”) which is physically constructed once and then logically divided up into VSFs for various organizations on demand. Each organization retains independent administrative control of a VSF. A VSF is dynamically firewalled within the Computing Grid. Allocation and control of the elements and topology in the VSF is performed by a Control Plane connected to all computing, networking, and storage elements in the computing grid through special control ports. No physical rewiring is necessary in order to construct VSFs in many different configurations, including single-tier Web server or multi-tier Web-server, application server, database server configurations.

Builders of Web sites and other computer systems today have to deal with many systems planning issues. These include capacity planning for normal growth, expected or unexpected peak demand, availability and security of the site, etc. Companies who wish to provide services on the Web have new business and service models, which are the areas in which they want to innovate and lead, but in order to do so they have to deal with the non-trivial complexity of designing, building and operating a large-scale Web site. This includes the need to grow and scale the site while it is operational.
Doing all this requires finding and hiring trained personnel capable of engineering and operating such a site, which may be potentially large and complicated. This is creating difficulty for many organizations, because designing, constructing and operating such large sites is simply not their core competency.
One response to these issues is to host an enterprise Web site at a third party site, co-located with other Web sites of other enterprises. Such outsourcing facilities are currently available from companies such as Exodus, AboveNet, GlobalCenter, etc. These facilities provide physical space, and redundant network and power facilities so that the enterprise customer or user need not provide them. The network and power facilities are shared among many enterprises or customers.
However, the users of these facilities are still required to do a lot of work relating to their computing infrastructure in the course of building, operating and growing their facilities. Information technology managers of the enterprises hosted at such facilities remain responsible for selecting, installing, configuring, and maintaining their own computing equipment at the facilities. The managers must still confront difficult issues such as resource planning and handling peak capacity.
Even when outsourcing companies also provide computing facilities (e.g., Digex), the facilities are no easier to scale and grow for the outsourcing company, because growth involves the same manual and error-prone administrative steps. In addition, problems remain with capacity planning for unexpected peak demand.
Further, each Web site may have different requirements. For example, particular Web sites may require the ability to be independently administered and controlled. Others may require a particular type or level of security that isolates the Web site from all other sites that are co-located at the service provider. Others may require a secure connection to an enterprise Intranet located elsewhere.
Also, various Web sites differ in internal topology. Some sites simply comprise a row of Web servers that are load balanced by a Web load balancer. Suitable load balancers are Local Director from Cisco Systems, Inc., BigIP from F5Labs, Web Director from Alteon, etc. Other sites may be constructed in a multi-tier fashion, whereby a row of Web servers handle Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) requests, but the bulk of the application logic is implemented in separate application servers. These application servers in turn may need to be connected back to a tier of database servers.
Some of these different configuration scenarios are shown in FIG. 1A, FIG. 1B, and FIG. 1C. FIG. 1A is a block diagram of a simple Web site, comprising a single machine 100 comprising a CPU 102 and disk 104. Machine 100 is coupled to the global, packet-switched data network known as the Internet 106, or to another network. Machine 100 may be housed in a co-location service of the type described above.
FIG. 1B is a block diagram of a 1-tier Web server farm 110 comprising a plurality of Web servers WSA, WSB, WSC. Each of the Web servers is coupled to a load-balancer 112 that is coupled to Internet 106. The load balancer divides the traffic between the servers to maintain a balanced processing load on each server. Load balancer 112 may also include or may be coupled to a firewall for protecting the Web servers from unauthorized traffic.
FIG. 1C shows a 3-tier server farm 120 comprising a tier of Web servers W1, W2, etc., a tier of application servers A1, A2, etc., and a tier of database servers D1, D2, etc. The Web servers are provided for handling HTTP requests. The application servers execute the bulk of the application logic. The database servers execute database management system (DBMS) software.
Given the diversity in topology of the kinds of Web sites that may need to be constructed, it may appear that the only way for constructing large-scale Web sites is to custom build each one. Indeed, this is the conventional approach. Many organizations are separately struggling with the same issues, and custom building each Web site from scratch. This is inefficient and involves a significant amount of duplicate work at different enterprises.
Still another problem with the conventional approach is resource and capacity planning. A Web site may receive vastly different levels of traffic on different days or at different hours within each day. At peak traffic times, the Web site hardware or software may be unable to respond to requests in a reasonable time because it is overloaded. At other times, the Web site hardware or software may have excess capacity and be underutilized. In the conventional approach, finding a balance between having sufficient hardware and software to handle peak traffic, without incurring excessive costs or having over-capacity, is a difficult problem. Many Web sites never find the right balance and chronically suffer from under-capacity or excess capacity.
Yet another problem is failure induced by human error. A great potential hazard present in the current approach of using manually constructed server farms is that human error in configuring a new server into a live server farm can cause the server farm to malfunction, possibly resulting in loss of service to users of that Web site.
Based on the foregoing, there is a clear need in this field for improved methods and apparatus for providing a computing system that is instantly and easily extensible on demand without requiring custom construction.
There is also a need for a computing system that supports creation of multiple segregated processing nodes, each of which can be expanded or collapsed as needed to account for changes in traffic throughput. Other needs will become apparent in the disclosure provided in this document.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The invention relates to a viral-safe platelet extract, to its preparation and use. The extract comprises a mixture of biologically active platelet derived factors.

Platelets are small, irregularly-shaped a-nuclear cells that play a fundamental role in hemostasis and healing. Platelets contain a complete array of pre-synthesized proteins, among which are signaling proteins, cytoskeletal proteins, membrane proteins and regulatory proteins. They are involved in key stages of tissue regeneration and healing processes at the site of injury, mainly due to the content of platelet granules comprising a multitude of bioactive molecules including growth factors (GFs), cytokines and chemokines. Platelet GFs such as platelet-derived growth factor (PDGF), transforming growth factor (TGF), basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and others are key players in all the following phases of the wound healing cascade: inflammatory, proliferative and remodeling phase.
Studies have shown that platelet derived GFs stimulate angiogenesis, mitogenesis, cell proliferation, neutrophils and macrophages, collagen synthesis, wound contraction, extracellular matrix synthesis, epithelialization and chemotaxis.
Platelets are routinely used by transfusion e.g. to improve hemostasis. Recently, platelets are increasingly used in the form of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP), also referred to as PRP gel, platelet gel, PRP-clot etc. Typically, PRP is an ex vivo preparation consisting of autologous platelets concentrated in a limited volume of plasma (Lacci K M, Dardik A. Platelet-rich plasma: support for its use in wound healing. Yale J Biol Med. 2010 March; 83(1):1-9).
For topical application, PRP is usually activated by the addition of thrombin and/or CaCl2 resulting in the formation of fibrin gel by the interaction between thrombin (endogenous or exogenous) and fibrinogen. Upon activation, the platelets undergo active degranulation and release various mediators including GFs (Lacci K M, Dardik A, 2010). The use of PRP for injection currently comprises a small but rapidly growing segment of the market. The rationale for using PRP in soft and hard tissue augmentation is its potential to enhance tissue regeneration in non-healing injuries, accelerate wound maturity, vascularization and epithelialization, decrease scar formation, and reduce post operative complications and morbidity (Lacci K M, Dardik A, 2010).
Studies using activated PRP together with various cell types have shown that factors e.g. growth factors released from PRP can induce cell proliferation [(e.g. Kanno et al. Platelet-rich plasma enhances human osteoblast-like cell proliferation and differentiation. J Oral Maxillofac Surg. 2005 March; 63(3):362-9; Bertrand-Duchesne et al. Epidermal growth factor released from platelet-rich plasma promotes endothelial cell proliferation in vitro. J Periodontal Res. 2010 February; 45(1):87-93; Kakudo et al. Proliferation-promoting effect of platelet-rich plasma on human adipose-derived stem cells and human dermal fibroblasts. Plast Reconstr Surg. 2008 November; 122(5):1352-60), modulate the angiogenic capability of human endothelial cells (Sulpice et al. Cross-talk between the VEGF-A and HGF signalling pathways in endothelial cells. Biol Cell. 2009 September; 101(9):525-39; Rughetti et al. Platelet gel-released supernatant modulates the angiogenic capability of human endothelial cells. Blood Transfus. 2008 January; 6(1):12-7), and induce osteo-inductive properties (Intini G. The use of platelet-rich plasma in bone reconstruction therapy. Biomaterials. 2009 October; 30(28):4956-66)]. Moreover, activated PRP was found to support in vitro cell growth and maintained viability of a number of target cells including myelomas, hybridomas, hepatocytes, fibroblasts and epithelial cells, at a level comparable or superior to the level supported by fetal bovine serum (Johansson et al. Platelet lysate: a replacement for fetal bovine serum in animal cell culture? Cytotechnology. 2003 July; 42(2):67-74).
PRP and released growth factors are currently used in various surgical tissue regeneration procedures, predominantly in orthopedic and dental surgery (Nurden et al. Platelets and wound healing. Front Biosci. 2008 May 1; 13:3532-48). In orthopedic surgery PRP is used mainly for knee arthroplasty, lumbar spinal fusion, and in intervertebral disc degeneration (reviewed in Nurden et al, 2008). Dentistry and maxillofacial surgery PRP applications include mainly consolidation of titanium implants, maxillary sinus augmentation and bone remodeling (reviewed in Nurden et al, 2008). PRP is also increasingly used for tendon and ligament repair, facial plastic and reconstructive surgery, chronic skin wound healing, ophthalmology, facial nerve regeneration, as well as in cardiac and bariatric surgery (reviewed in Nurden et al, 2008).
However, a major disadvantage of the current use of autologous PRP and released factors resides in the lack of standardization. Of note, different manual, semi-automated and fully-automated systems for preparation of PRP are commercially available that differ in parameters such as preparation time, platelet yield and collection efficiency (Mazzucco et al. Not every PRP-gel is born equal. Evaluation of growth factor availability for tissues through four PRP-gel preparations: Fibrinet, RegenPRP-Kit, Plateltex and one manual procedure. Vox Sang. 2009 August; 97(2):110-8).
Another important variable is the technique used for platelet activation [autologous, heterologous or recombinant thrombin, calcium chloride or batroxobin (Rozman P, Bolta Z. Use of platelet growth factors in treating wounds and soft-tissue injuries. Acta Dermatovenerol Alp Panonica Adriat. 2007 December; 16(4):156-65)], which can affect the efficiency of granule release and the amount of secreted GFs (Rozman P, Bolta Z, 2007). Moreover, since platelets are very sensitive to mechanical stress and changes in the surrounding environment, they may be activated and GFs may be released during processing, prior to the intended activation step (Mazzucco et al, 2009). This uncontrolled activation may further increase the variability in the composition of the final product when using different PRP preparation systems. Additionally, a major inherent weakness of autologous PRP preparation is that the platelets GFs content varies among individuals, and therefore may lead to sub-optimal results. Finally, the financial burden of dedicated machinery, disposable PRP processing kits, and the need for trained personnel, should be taken into consideration when working with autologous PRP.
A recent publication (Su et al. "A virally inactivated functional growth factor preparation from human platelet concentrates". Vox Sang. 2009 August; 97(2):119-128) discloses the preparation of a clottable functional growth factor extract derived from pooled aphaeresis platelet donations. However, the disclosed clottable preparation has the disadvantage that it includes only one viral inactivation step, i.e. solvent detergent (S/D) viral inactivation which is effective particularly against enveloped viruses, but not against non-enveloped viruses. The publication indicates the possibility of applying nanofiltration as a second viral inactivation step. This preparation also contains plasma and leukocyte protein impurities. The step of S/D removal by hydrophobic interaction chromatography (HIC) largely reduces the PDGF in the preparation. Furthermore, the clotability potential of the preparation may limit its use to local application or prevent its systemic use.
Burnouf et al. ("A novel virally inactivated human platelet lysate preparation rich in TGF-beta, EGF and IGF, and depleted of PDGF and VEGF". Biotechnol Appl Biochem. 2010 Aug. 6; 56(4):151-60) discloses an S/D treated platelet lysate with a standardized content of TGF-beta, EGF and IGF and depleted of PDGF and VEGF. The publication discloses a method for preparation of this lysate evading removal of SD by hydrophobic interaction chromatography.
There is a need of a viral-safe platelet extract preparation obtained from multiple donors comprising a mixture of proteins having growth factor and/or trophic factor activity.

Viral inactivated platelet extract, use and preparation thereof

Abstract: Advantageously, the extract comprises a balanced proportion of the factors and is non-clottable.


A fuel cell system for a vehicle includes: a first cooling line to pass through a fuel cell stack in the vehicle and to circulate a first coolant therethrough; a second cooling line to pass through a power electronic part in the vehicle and to circulate a second coolant therethrough; and a heat exchanger to allow the first coolant and the second coolant to exchange heat.

A fuel cell system refers to a system that produces electrical energy by means of a chemical reaction of fuel. Research and development are consistently performed on the fuel cell system as an alternative capable of solving global environmental issues.
Based on types of electrolytes used for the fuel cell system, the fuel cell system may be classified into a phosphoric acid fuel cell (PAFC), a molten carbonate fuel cell (MCFC), a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC), a polymer electrolyte membrane fuel cell (PEMFC), an alkaline fuel cell (AFC), a direct methanol fuel cell (DMFC), and the like. Based on operating temperatures, output ranges, and the like as well as types of used fuel, the fuel cell systems may be applied to various application fields related to mobile power, transportation, distributed power generation, and the like.
The fuel cell system includes a fuel cell stack configured to generate electrical energy, a fuel supply device configured to supply fuel (hydrogen) to the fuel cell stack, an air supply device configured to supply oxygen in air which is an oxidant required for an electrochemical reaction in the fuel cell stack, and a thermal management system (TMS) configured to remove reaction heat in the fuel cell stack out of the system, control an operating temperature of the fuel cell stack, and perform a function of managing water.
The thermal management system (TMS) refers to a kind of cooling device that maintains an appropriate temperature (e.g., 60 to 70° C.) by circulating an anti-freezing liquid, which serves as a coolant, to the fuel cell stack. The thermal management system may include a TMS line in which a coolant for cooling the fuel cell stack is circulated, a reservoir in which the coolant is stored, a pump configured to circulate the coolant, an ion filter configured to remove ions contained in the coolant, and a radiator configured to radiate heat of the coolant to the outside. In addition, the thermal management system may include a heater configured to heat the coolant, and an air conditioning unit (e.g., a heating heater) configured to cool and heat an interior of a vehicle by using the coolant.
Meanwhile, recently, various attempts have been made to apply the fuel cell system to construction machines as well as passenger vehicles (or commercial vehicles).
The passenger vehicle requires a high output from the fuel cell stack while traveling and may cool the fuel cell stack by the radiator using vehicle-induced wind generated in accordance with a vehicle speed.
In contrast, because the construction machine performs work (e.g., leveling or loading) while the construction machine is stationary, a high output is required from the fuel cell stack while the construction machine is stationary. However, there is a problem in that it is difficult to sufficiently cool the fuel cell stack only with the amount of air flow generated by a cooling fan, which causes a deterioration in safety and durability of the fuel cell stack.
Therefore, recently, various types of research are conducted to effectively cool a fuel cell stack in a situation in which a high output is required from the fuel cell stack while a vehicle is stationary, but the research result is still insufficient. Accordingly, there is a need for development of a fuel cell system capable of effectively cooling the fuel cell stack in the above-mentioned situation.


An electronic portable device includes two housings 10 and 20 and a connecting mechanism which connects housings 10 and 20 so as to allow housings 10 and 20 to be shifted from one state to another state by a rotating operation, wherein the connecting mechanism has first guide groove 31 and second guide groove 32 formed in housing 10, third guide groove 33 and fourth guide groove 34 formed in housing 20, first shaft pin 41 penetrating guide grooves 31 and 33, and second shaft pin 42 penetrating guide grooves 32 and 34, wherein the guide grooves 31 to 34 form a circular arc, the guide grooves 31 and 32 are line-symmetric with respect to the center line of first housing 10 in the closed state; the guide grooves 33 and 34 are line-symmetric with respect to the center line of first housing 10 in the first open state.

In recent years, one segment broadcasting, images for a personal computer application, and Web pages have been viewable on display sections of portable electronic devices. Thus, portable electronic devices have been prevailing which allow a housing with the display section to be rotated so as to place the display section in a horizontally long position.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-19925 discloses a portable information terminal including a first housing with an operation section, a second housing with a display section, and a rotational connecting mechanism connecting the first housing and second housing together so that the second housing slidably rotates with respect to the first housing. The rotational connecting mechanism disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-19925 is configured to be shifted, by a rotational operation, a closed state or an open state to the other state; in the closed state, the second housing covers the entire operation section of the first housing, and in the open state, the second housing exposes the operation section of the first housing and becomes symmetric with respect to the center line of the first housing.
Moreover, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-19925 discloses a rotational connecting mechanism shown in FIG. 1. The rotational connecting mechanism shown in FIG. 1 has first cam slot 201a and second cam slot 201b formed in bottom plate 2c of second housing 2, and first pin 202a and second pin 202b inserted through first cam slot 201a and second cam slot 201b, respectively. First cam slot 201a and second cam slot 201b are shaped like two circular-arcuate slots crossing each other. On the other hand, first pin 202a and second pin 202b are fixed to the surface of first housing 1. First flange portion 202c and second flange portion 202d are provided at the tips of first pin 202a and second pin 202b, respectively. First flange portion 202c and second flange portion 202d prevent first pin 202a and second pin 202b, respectively, from slipping out from cam slot 201.
With reference to FIG. 2, the operation of first housing 1 and second housing 2 connected together by the rotational connecting mechanism shown in FIG. 1 will be described. According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-19925, in the closed state, second housing 2 covers the entire operation section of first housing 1 (FIG. 2(a)). In the state shown in FIG. 2(a), second housing 2 is pushed up by the thumb of the right hand gripping first housing 1. Then, first pin 202a slides along first cam slot 201a. As a result, second housing 2 rotates clockwise around second pin 202b with respect to first housing 1 and shifts gradually with respect to first housing 1 (FIG. 2(b)). When second housing 2 is rotated clockwise by 90° with respect to first housing 1, the operation section (not shown in the drawings) of first housing 1 is exposed, and second housing 2 becomes laterally symmetric with respect to the center line of first housing 1. At this time, the portable information terminal is externally shaped substantially like the character "T" (FIG. 2(c)). Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-19925 states, in paragraph [0152], that first pin 202a and second pin 202b are fixed to the surface of first housing 1. Thus, the description, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-19925, that the "first pin 202a slides along first cam slot 201a" is expected not to mean that first pin 202a actually slides but that first pin 202a slides relative to first cam slot 201a.


A non-woven abrasive article of interlaced fibers and abrasive particles and a binder which is preformed into a predetermined three dimensional shape and a method for manufacturing the same. The abrasive article is preformed by a thermal setting the abrasive article while it is maintained in a predetermined three dimensional shape or by heating the article to its glass transition temperature and then cooling the article below the glass transition temperature while it is maintained in a predetermined three dimensional shape. This method allows the manufacture of preformed abrasive articles in various three dimensional shapes, including, for example, a bull nosed shape suitable for finishing a concavely curved surface.

Non-woven, lofty, three-dimensional, fibrous abrasive products have been employed to remove corrosion, excess material, surface defects, burrs and impart desirable surface finishes on various articles of aluminum, brass, copper, steel, wood and the like. Non-woven, lofty, three-dimensional, fibrous abrasive products made according to teaching of the patents described below have been in wide use for quite some time.
Various abrasive articles may be used to abrade the existing surface of the materials described above to remove existing imperfections and finalize the surfaces. Typically, coated abrasive paper, cloth or vulcanized fiber disk, (typically mounted on a powered right-angled tool) are all suitable for the foregoing initial abrasive application. Available abrasive disks, while being sufficiently aggressive and capable of accomplishing the needed rough preparation of the surface typically leave visible grinding marks on the surface which often need to be removed. Consequently, additional surface preparation is often needed to remove the grinding marks to obtain the desired finished surface. This additional corrective surface preparation includes a finishing step of using successively finer grades of coated abrasive materials or using a non-woven abrasive to sufficiently decrease surface roughness and remove the grinding marks or other small imperfections.
Non-woven abrasive surface conditioning articles have been used in a wide variety of abrasive applications and are known to leave acceptable surface finishes, and non-woven abrasive surface conditioning articles generally have long useful lives.
Non-woven and coated abrasive articles have been described in the patent literature.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,958,593 (Hoover et al.) describes low density open non-woven fibers abrasive articles having a high void volume (e.g. low density). The non-woven webs of the ""593 patent are comprised of short fibers bonded together at their points of mutual contact to form a three dimensional integrated structure. Fibers may be bonded to one another with a resin/abrasive mixture, forming globules at the points of mutual contact while the interstices between the fibers remain substantially unfilled by resin or abrasive. The void volume of the disclosed structures typically exceed 90%.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,688,453 (Legacy et al.) describes abrasive articles such as belts suitable for off hand and automated article finishing. The belts comprise a lofty non-woven web that is attached to a woven backing by needle tacking. The web is impregnated with resin and abrasive. According to Example 1, the webs are coated with a resin/abrasive slurry which is then dried to provide the finished article. The resin/abrasive is applied to achieve a dry coating weight 169 grains per 4 inch by 6 inch pad (708 g/m sup 2) and then is coated with a second abrasive/adhesive slurry at 78 grains per 4 inch by 6 inch pad (327 g/m sup 2).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,331,453 (Dau et al.) describes and abrasive articles comprising a lofty, non-woven, three dimensional abrasive web adhesively bonded to stretch-resistant woven fabric with a polyurethane binder. The resin coating weights for the articles of the ""453 patent, as stated in Example 1, are about 70 grains of an adhesive composition per 4 inch by 6 inch pad (293 g/m sup 2) followed by final abrasive-adhesive slurry at a dry coating weight of 225 grains per grains per 4 inch by 6 inch pad (942 g/m sup 2).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,646 (Barber, Jr. et al.) describes coatable thermally curable binder precursor solutions modified with a reactive diluent and an abrasive articles incorporating such binder precursor solutions. The coated abrasive articles of the ""646 patent include a flexible backing such as a paper sheet or a cloth backing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,319 (Krishnan et al.) describes surface treating articles utilizing an organic matrix such as non-woven web that is substantially engulfed by a tough, adherent elastomeric resinous binder system. The articles of the ""319 patent principally comprise surface treating wheels.
European Patent Application 0716903 A1 describes a coated abrasive product comprised of base resin coat, abrasive mineral grains and a size resin coat all applied on flexible backing material consisting of a non-woven fiber mat. The non-woven fiber mat is formed into a flat, wear and tear resistant backing by means of a binder or by the superficial dissolving or fusing of fibers. An abrasive layer comprising abrasive grain may be coated onto one or both sides of the non-woven fiber mat.
In general, the prior art describes non-woven abrasive articles where the working surface of the non-woven abrasive article is a relatively flat, two-dimensional surface. Such non-woven abrasive articles are difficult to use on curved surfaces, especially concavely curved surfaces or surfaces with interior curves (i.e., curves less than 180 degrees), because the non-woven abrasive article must be deformed while in use through the application of force in order to conform to such curved working surfaces. The use of prior art non-woven abrasive articles on such curved surfaces tends to require a higher level of skill and attention to avoid gouging the surface or removing excess material from the surface. Even with a skilled operator, the use of flat non-woven abrasive articles tends to result in a non-uniform surface finish. In addition, the deformation of the non-woven abrasive through the application of force in use tends to weaken the non-woven abrasive, thereby reducing its useful life.
The prior art does not teach or disclose the use of a non-woven abrasive article which is preformed into a three-dimensional shape prior to its use. Such three-dimensional forming reduces or eliminates the need to deform the non-woven abrasive article through the application of force while the article is being used, thereby resulting in improved uniformity of abrading effect, lowering the level of skill required for use on curved surfaces, and prolonging the useful life of the non-woven abrasive article.

Preformed abrasive articles and method for the manufacture of same


An image forming device includes an image forming device body having an image forming unit in the interior thereof, and at least one paper tray attached to the image forming device on which paper is to be mounted. The paper tray includes a paper mounting unit having a paper mounting surface on which paper is to be mounted, and at least one movable auxiliary mounting unit. The auxiliary mounting unit is supported by the paper mounting unit, and includes an auxiliary mounting surface that is deployed from the paper mounting unit and which serves to extend the mounting surface. The brightnesses of the mounting surface and the auxiliary mounting surface of the paper tray are lower than the brightness of the paper to be mounted on each mounting surface, and the brightness of at least a portion of the auxiliary mounting surface is higher than the brightness of the mounting surface.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming device such as a facsimile device, a printer, or the like, and in particular to an image forming device comprised of a paper tray having a movable auxiliary mounting unit that can be deployed from a paper mounting unit.
2. Background Information
Generally speaking, image forming devices such as copying machines, facsimile devices, printers and the like are provided with a paper supply cassette that stores paper for recording images thereon, and a manual paper supply tray that allows a user to supply paper of a different orientation or size than that stored in the paper supply cassette. One type of prior art manual paper supply tray for an image forming device includes a paper mounting unit arranged so as to be extendable and foldable with respect to a side surface of the image forming device, and an auxiliary mounting unit that is arranged so that it can slide out from the paper mounting unit (see, for example, FIGS. 1-3 of Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H09-188443). In addition, the prior art also discloses a paper discharge tray to which printed sheets are discharged, and is arranged so as to extend from a side surface of the image forming device (see, for example, FIGS. 1-3 of Japanese Patent Application Publication No. H09-188443).
Most of these types of image forming devices have an exterior color that is a shade of white (which includes white, beige, ivory, or the like), and the color of the manual paper supply tray and the paper discharge tray is identical to or a similar shade of the exterior color. In addition, the paper mounting unit and the auxiliary mounting unit that form the manual paper supply tray or the paper discharge tray have the same identical color, and have a color that is identical to or a similar shade of the exterior color.
The white shade of color of these types of image forming devices is useful to brighten the interior of an office. However, if the color of the manual paper supply tray and the discharge tray are the same color as the exterior of the image forming device, it will be difficult for a user located some distance away from the image forming device to confirm whether or not there is paper remaining in the manual paper supply tray, or confirm that paper is being discharged to the paper discharge tray, i.e., whether or not the image forming device is operating. In particular, because the lighting in office space has in recent years been set to a slightly dark level, and because image forming devices are often placed in slightly dark, non-central locations, it is often difficult to confirm the presence of paper in the manual paper supply tray and the paper discharge tray. Furthermore, image forming devices are now being designed for quiet operation, and thus it is often difficult for one to determine whether or not the image forming device is operating by means of operational sounds. Thus, a user located some distance away from the image forming device must walk to a point near the image forming device in order to confirm the operational state of the image forming device.
On the other hand, if the color of the exterior of the image forming device is a shade of black (such as black, gray, or the like) in order to make it easier to distinguish it from white paper, it will be easier to confirm whether or not there is paper remaining in the manual paper supply tray or whether or not paper is being discharged to the paper discharge tray.
However, a manual paper supply tray or a paper discharge tray foldably arranged on a side surface of an image forming device will be used in a state in which it extends out from the device, and an auxiliary mounting unit thereof may also be extended therefrom. Thus, if an image forming device having an exterior that is a shade of black is placed in a slightly dark location, and the manual paper supply tray or the paper discharge tray extends out from a side surface of the device, there is a possibility that a person passing by this location may not notice that one or both of these trays are extended, and thus collide with and damage them.
In addition, although the manual paper supply tray and the paper discharge tray include a paper mounting unit arranged so as to be extendable and foldable with respect to a side surface of the image forming device, and an auxiliary mounting unit that is arranged so that it can slide out from the paper mounting unit, when the auxiliary mounting unit is to be pulled out from the paper mounting unit, it will be difficult for one to immediately recognize which portion one needs to grasp and pull out because the paper mounting unit and the auxiliary mounting unit are both the same color.
In view of the above, there exists a need for a method of producing an image forming device which overcomes the above mentioned problems in the prior art. This invention addresses this need in the prior art as well as other needs, which will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this disclosure.


A method of treating a mesh pocket of a lacrosse stick includes providing a solid wax compound, providing a mesh pocket having a plurality of inter-engaged strands that define a plurality of mesh openings, and manually applying the solid wax compound to at least a portion of at least some of the inter-engaged strands of the mesh pocket. A kit for treating a mesh pocket of a lacrosse stick includes a solid wax compound disposed in a retractable applicator, a mesh pocket attached to or attachable to a lacrosse stick, and instructions describing manually applying the solid wax compound to the mesh pocket.

Referring to FIG. 1, a lacrosse stick 10 known in the art includes a shaft 14 and a head 16. Head 16 defines a frame 18 that has attached thereto a plurality of strands 24 that are inter-engaged to define a mesh pocket 12, which is supported within frame 18. In use, the user grips the shaft 14 and uses the frame 18 with mesh pocket 12 to cup and support a ball (not shown).
Typically, nylon and leather runners or strands 24 are used to construct the mesh pocket 12. A leather pocket has leather runners that are fixed at the top and bottom of the frame 18. The leather runners are joined to the side of the frame by a nylon rope that is woven to form a net or mesh to hold the ball. The runners are advantageous as they allow the ball to leave the pocket at a relatively high velocity and a high degree of accuracy. One disadvantage of such a construction is that the leather runners are extremely water absorbent and will stretch when wet. Further, when the leather dries, the leather will shrink, which may occur unevenly.
Two types of nylon mesh are used, namely a hard mesh and a soft mesh. A hard mesh allows the ball to leave the stick at a relatively high velocity, similar to that of a mesh with leather runners. However, the mesh has very little give. Accordingly, it is difficult to catch passes and carry the ball in the mesh while running. Further, the ball has a tendency to pop out of the pocket when the stick is "checked."
A hard or firm mesh is obtained by coating nylon strands with a liquid rope whipping agent or stiffening agent. A whipping agent typically is liquid rubber and is applied to the newly-cut end of a rope or line to prevent it from unraveling or fraying. Whipping agents have been used in the past to treat a strand to seal it from the elements and to waterproof the strand. Whipping agents have also been used to coat a strands in a mesh to make a "hard mesh" or at least harder than the mesh as it comes off the loom. Whipping agents, however, do not condition a mesh pocket for a "broken-in feel" nor do they provide tack for ball control.
A stiffening agent is typically a liquid latex rubber and/or an acrylic coating that is sprayed onto the nylon or synthetic strand when the strand is removed from a loom. The amount of stiffening agent used determines how stiff the strands become. Stiffening agents are also used to seal the strand from the elements. Like whipping agents, stiffening agents also do not condition the strands of a mesh to provide a "broken-in feel" nor provide tack for better ball control.
For example, United States patent application publication 2006/0258488 to Lamson discloses coating the mesh with polyurethane elastomer, polyester, vinyl, polyvinylidene fluoride, polypropylene, EVA, ionomer, thermoplastic urethane, and polyamide. According to Lamson, such stiffening agents allow the user to throw the ball faster and with more accuracy. However, the use of stiffening agents may also reduce the ease with which a user may carry or hold the ball in the mesh.
Accordingly, to address the problems of stiffening agents, U.S. Pat. No. 7,278,936 to Tucker discloses coating only a portion of the mesh with a stiffening agent, such that the ball may be held in the coated portion when the user is throwing the ball, and held in the non-coated portion of the mesh pocket when a user is carrying the ball. In the '936 patent to Tucker, the stiffening agent is applied to the stick by spraying, painting, or dipping. A soft mesh, such as a nylon that is not coated with a liquid rope whipping agent, has superior cushioning and holding characteristics, thereby producing a pocket that is better for catching passes, carrying the ball while running, and picking up a ball.
Several methods are known for applying a wax to a substrate such as a fabric or a surface. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,308,633 to Van Huffel et al. discloses a method of applying a wax to a surface such as the bottoms of skis. The method includes providing a carrier sheet that is loaded with wax and is substantially impervious to the passage of melted wax therethrough. The carrier sheet is applied to the surface and heated to melt the wax and deposit it on the skis.
Similar to the Van Huffel et al. method, U.S. Pat. No. 6,821,303 to Polsky discloses a method of applying a wax to a cloth material for creating Batik art. The method involves applying a carrier sheet, which is loaded with wax, to the cloth supported on a table or other surface. Pressure is then applied to the carrier sheet to deposit the wax onto the cloth.
Another method includes heating of a mesh pocket and pouring molten wax onto one or more strands of strings within the pocket. For example, U.S. published patent application no. 2011/0010914 A1 to Leveille et al. discloses the need for molten wax in order to permeate the layer of the mesh pocket with an optional step of pre-heating the mesh pocket to apply wax, molten wax, and/or a color to the mesh pocket prior to stringing the pocket. This method requires heating one or both sides of the mesh pocket to allow a molten wax to adhere to the mesh pocket.

Apparatus and method for treating a mesh pocket of a lacrosse stick


An apparatus that indicates whether an object has been exposed to a predetermined critical temperature T. The apparatus housing has a reservoir portion and a capillary tube portion in fluid connection with the reservoir portion. A first fluid is contained within the reservoir portion. A second fluid is contained within the capillary portion. A barrier is located intermediate the first fluid and second fluid. The barrier prevents the first and second fluids from intermixing until the apparatus is exposed to the critical temperature, and then allows at least a portion of the second fluid to mix with the first fluid when the apparatus is exposed to the critical temperature. An observable characteristic of one of the fluids irreversibly changes when the apparatus is exposed to the critical temperature. The housing completely encapsulates the fluids and barrier within the housing and prevents evaporation of the fluids and barrier from the housing.

Pharmaceuticals, reagents, diagnostic tests, and other objects often require refrigerated storage for preservation. Exposure to conditions below recommended temperatures, usually the freezing point of an aqueous solution, may change the operating characteristics of the object or render the object useless for its intended purpose. For this reason, many objects are packaged with a critical temperature indicator, which alerts the end user if the object has been exposed to conditions below the recommended critical temperature.
One known type of critical temperature indicator is disclosed by Manske, U.S. Pat. No. 4,457,252,l incorporated herein by reference. Manske discloses a critical temperature indicator having a thermometer-like bulb and capillary tube housing. The bulb and a portion of the capillary tube are filled at ambient temperature with a first colorless reagent, which is separated within the capillary tube from a second dyed reagent by a very small amount of liquid or (barrier segment), which is not miscible with either of the reagents. In the preferred embodiment, the reagents are organic compounds. At the solidification temperature, the first reagent in the bulb undergoes a significant volume reduction, thereby drawing by capillary action the barrier segment and the second dyed reagent into the bulb. The two reagents mix and the bulb assumes the color of the dye. Because the reagents do not separate upon heating, the device gives an irreversible indication that the device has been exposed to the solidification temperature of the first reagent, which is also the critical temperature of the device.
The housing of Manske's device is formed from a continuous piece of capillary tubing. While the bulbous end of the tube is closed, the other end is open to the atmosphere. As a result, Manske's device often fails or prematurely "indicates" due to evaporation of the barrier segment through the open end of the capillary tube.
Another cause of failure of Manske's device is barrier segmentation. It is known that normal temperature fluctuations below the critical temperature cause movement or "cycling" of the reagent fluids and barrier segment back and forth within the glass capillary tube. During cycling, the barrier segment and reagents adhere to minute "nucleating" sites present on the capillary tube. Over time, the volume of fluid adhered at the nucleating sites steadily increases, which causes segmentation of the barrier segment and premature indication of the device. Both barrier segment evaporation and segmentation decrease the usable shelf life of the device.

Sealed-system critical temperature indicator


A system for providing support and position control of a monitor. In one embodiment, a method of supporting a monitor includes converting an ascending energy storage member force curve into a substantially constant supporting force against the monitor. In one aspect, a method, of supporting a monitor includes providing an energy storage member and a cam which are cooperatively positioned so as to move relative to each other along the path of motion. As the energy storage member moves along the path relative to the cam, the cam displaces the energy storage member and thereby changes a force applied by the energy storage member on the cam, and wherein the cam converts the force applied by the energy storage member into a supporting force on the monitor.

The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for providing a linear force and/or a rotary torque. More particularly, the present invention relates to an apparatus that may be utilized to position various devices. One example of such a device is a display monitor for a personal computer. Personal computers and/or display monitors are often placed directly on a desk or on a computer case. However, to increase desk space, or to respond to the ergonomic needs of different operators, computer monitors are sometimes mounted on elevating structures. Alternatively, monitors are mounted to a surface such as a wall, instead of placing the monitor on a desk or a cart.
However, personal computers and/or display monitors are often used by multiple operators at different times during a day. In some settings, one computer and/or monitor may be used by multiple people of different sizes and having different preferences in a single day. Given the differences in people's size and differences in their preferences, a monitor or display adjusted at one setting for one individual is highly likely to be inappropriate for another individual. For instance, a child would have different physical space needs than an adult using the same computer and monitor.
In addition, operators are using computers for longer periods of time which increases the importance of comfort to the operator. An operator may choose to use the monitor as left by the previous user despite the discomfort, annoyance and inconvenience experienced by a user who uses settings optimized for another individual, which may even result in injury after prolonged use.
Moreover, as monitors grow in size and weight, ease of adjustability is an important consideration. For monitors requiring frequent adjustment, adjustability for monitors has been provided using an arm coupled with gas springs, where the arm is hingedly coupled with the desk or a vertical surface. However, the gas springs are costly and wear out over time. In addition, the gas springs require a significant amount of space, for instance arm length, which can be at a premium in certain applications, such as in hospitals.
Thus, there is a need for a monitor support mechanism which is compact, less costly to manufacture and maintain, has increased reliability, allows easy adjustability, is scalable to many different sized monitors, is adaptable to provide a long range of travel, and is adaptable to provide constant support force as the monitor is being positioned.

Methods and apparatus for generating force and torque


A control API controls secret data to be stored in a secret data storage area which is accessible only to the control API. Moreover, the control API controls the file information storing part in the secret data storage area to store (i) storing location information of the stored secret data and (ii) administrative storage location information notified by the web application so that the storing location information and the administrative storage location information are associated with each other. This makes it possible to (i) prevent a leakage of confidential information and (ii) allow an authorized web application to easily use the confidential information.

Conventionally, a multifunction peripheral control system has been known which controls functions of a multifunction peripheral having a plurality of functions such as a copying function, a scanning function, a printing function, and a fax sending/receiving function. According to the multifunction peripheral control system, the functions of the multifunction peripheral are controlled by an application program that runs on other device connected with the multifunction peripheral via a communication network. In such kind of multifunction peripheral control system, a multifunction peripheral is arranged to cooperate with an application program that runs on a network, and this makes it possible to provide a function which cannot be achieved only by the multifunction peripheral.
For example, Patent Literatures 1 and 2 disclose techniques in which an operation screen of a multifunction peripheral is configured to serve as a browser so that operation screen information and control information are obtained from an application program. According to the techniques of Patent Literatures 1 and 2, the application program is operated as a web application on (i) a personal computer (PC) or a server device on a network or (ii) a web application execution environment (web server) in the multifunction peripheral.
Note that a technique for appropriately managing data of an application installed in an information terminal is disclosed in, for example, Patent Literature 3. According to the technique of Patent Literature 3, a first area in which the application is stored and a second area in which user data corresponding to the application are managed in an integrated manner. In this configuration, it is possible to select whether (i) to delete the user data when the application is deleted or (ii) to delete only the application while leaving the user data when the application is deleted.

Information processing device and multifunction peripheral


Apparatus for treating obstructive blood flow disorders, is provided, including (1) an external device, configured for placement outside of a body of a subject and to sense a factor of the subject, and to generate a signal in response to the sensed factor, and (2) an implant, which comprises a wireless receiver for receiving the signal, and an effector element, the implant configured and positioned to alter a blood flow of the subject in response to the signal.

Heart failure is a condition in which a problem with the structure or function of the heart impairs its ability to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body's needs. The condition impairs quality of life and is a leading cause of hospitalizations and mortality in the western world. Treatment of heart failure is typically aimed at removal of precipitating causes, prevention of deterioration in cardiac function, and control of congestive state.


A display rack for displaying and dispensing windshield wipers contained in elongated individual containers having a mounting hole at one end is disclosed. The display rack is configured as a one-piece element having a wall-mounting back portion and a top shelf extending forwardly from the top of the back portion. Forwardly extending L-shaped hangers for hanging the containers are supported by insertion into apertures in a pair of horizontal rails extending laterally along a lower portion of the back portion. Alignment of the individual hangers into a parallel forwardly extending array is provided by alignment extensions disposed on the upper rail which nestingly aligningly receive portions of the forwardly extending hangers. Suitable integral extension webs joining the back portion and the rails add strength to the assembly.

Merchandise display racks for dispensing automotive products, and in particular windshield wiper blades and filler replacements are designed for advertising, storing and dispensing purposes. Because of the many types of windshield wiper blades which must be carried in inventory, not only should such merchandising displays be capable of accommodating a heavy load, as for example 80 pounds of product, but the product should also be readily removable from the display by a purchaser. Additionally, the purchaser typically does not know the manufacturer's inventory number or manufacturer's serial number of the blade, but merely the make, model and model year of his or her vehicle. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide some form of cross-reference directory which will inform the purchaser or sales personnel which blade is to be supplied. Such a directory should be mounted in close proximity to the merchandise display, and preferably in such a manner so as not to be physically separated therefrom, since such items may readily be lost. Because of cost considerations, furthermore it is desirable that dispensing drawers not be used. Finally, any such display must be readily assembled, and economically manufacturable.


A check valve for connection in a fuel tank filler tube. The valve has a tubular body with a plurality of radially inwardly extending projections on the inner surface of the tubular body or mounting adaptor. A valve seat is disposed downstream of the ribs, and an aperture is formed in the side of the tubular body. When the end of a siphoning hose is inserted into the check valve, the projections deflect the hose through the aperture to facilitate further insertion of the hose into the tank.

The present invention relates to filler tubes for motor vehicle fuel tanks and the problems related to controlling emission of fuel vapors therefrom during refueling operations.
Currently, it is required to provide for controlling the emission to the atmosphere of fuel vapor during refueling when a nozzle has been inserted into the fuel tank filler tube for discharging fuel into the filler tube. Currently, vehicle fuel tank filler tubes are designed to have a baffle in the filler tube with a flapper valve having aperture sized to closely interfit the fuel discharge nozzle and thereby minimize the opening available for fuel vapor emission during refueling.
However, it is now required to provide for withdrawal of fuel from the tank through the filler tube in the event that in service removal of the tank is required after the initial assembly of the vehicle. The withdrawal of fuel from the vehicle tank is usually accomplished by insertion of a siphoning hose through the filler tube into the tank. However, where a check valve has been employed in the filler tube downstream of the flapper valve to prevent overfill or liquid escape during vehicle rollover it has been found quite difficult to push the end of the siphon hose through the check valve to the bottom of the fuel tank once the hose has entered the tank. It has been experienced that the end of the siphon hose lodges in the check valve.
It has thus been desired to provide a way of incorporating a check valve in a fuel tank filler tube such that it is easy to push a siphoning hose into the filler tube and through the check valve for withdrawal of fuel from the tank in the event that it is necessary to remove the tank from the vehicle for service. It has further been desired to provide such a siphonable filler tube check valve arrangement which is sufficiently low in manufacturing costs to be competitive in high volume automotive production and which is easy to assemble and install into the tank filler during manufacture of the tank and assembly into the vehicle.

Siphonable check valve and method of making same


An improved design for a soap dispenser for use with liquid soaps, primarily in showers, has a unique multi-position valve, and separate mixing and air entraining controls. Liquid soap stored in a reservoir is drawn into a flowing water stream by siphonic action. The amount of soap/air mixture is regulated by a mixture valve. Air in controllable proportions is added by an air entrainment valve. The proportion of air with respect to the soap is adjustable. Simultaneous control of the amount of soap/air mixed with the flowing water stream is controlled by a unique mixture valve geometry.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to sap dispenser apparatuses and in particular to liquid soap dispenser apparatuses for attachment to conventional shower pipe and shower heads used in showers.
2. Prior Art
The need for a convenient means for dispensing soap in showers has led to sometimes creating complex manufacturing problems and to difficulties in installation.
The devices found in the prior art do not provide the convenience, flexibility and economy which is sought by consumers, and accordingly have been commercially unsuccessful.
Virtually all of the prior art devices suffer the characteristic that they add significant length and downward drop to the shower pipe, thereby placing the shower head at a lower than optimum position.
Magaha, Jr., U.S. Pat. No. 4,651,930 shows a unit which has a soap mixture adjustment valve to regulate the amount of soap being dispensed, but requires that the soap must be of a "proper viscosity" and, needs biodegradable soap to prevent clogging. The drawings show both delivery passages 28 and 29 as being of the same size, which, if true would mean that the water volume delivered during the rinse mode is the same amount as volume delivered during the soap mode. In this situation either the soap will be wasted or the flow rate will be inadequate for the rinse mode. Moreover, the design of the unit would require that the user change the typical water supply pipe of a shower, which is bent at a 45 degree angle, into a straight supply pipe.
Eddy, et.al., U.S. Pat. No. 3,894,662, shows a dispenser apparatus in which the soap mixture must be adjusted each time the main handle is operated into the soap position. This takes time for delivery flow to adjust, thus wasting soap, water, and time. Nor does the device have a full OFF position, where both soap & water are stopped so that a bather can lather up after soap has been delivered. Both the water only delivery passage and the soap and water delivery passages are one and the same, thus creating the same problems as noted above for Magaha. Neither does the unit contain a check valve, necessary for use with low-flow shower heads. Back pressure from, e.g., a low-flow head, would force water into the soap container during the rinse mode. No seal is shown to prevent this, although an 0-ring seal is shown to prevent the handle from leaking. This unit lacks a separate soap mixture adjustment valve, thereby precluding pre-setting of the mixture. To obtain a desired mixture of soap and water one must adjust the unit experimentally upon each use.
LeMond, U.S. Pat. No. 3,847,354, shows a dispenser unit which, in the dispensing mode, diverts water into the soap container producing a soap/water mixture which then flows up and out of the dispenser. This action will continually dilute the soap until it is gone. A consistent mix of soap and water therefore cannot be obtained by this device. This unit also lacks a full OFF position whereby both soap and water flow can be stopped for lathering-up.
Johnson, U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,111, employs the same type of dispenser and has the same difficulties as LeMond, above.
James, U.S. Pat. No. 3,764,074, does not have a separate soap adjustment valve. The soap flow is dependent upon built-in orifice sizes and very minute handle movements. If any adjustment of soap volume is even possible at all it would have to be done each time the handle is moved from "soap" to "rinse" position, again wasting soap and water. The unit also lacks an OFF position or lather-up position where both the flow of soap and water arc stopped, lacks a check valve for the soap container, and lacks positive seals to prevent back pressure from filling the soap container with water if back-pressure is encountered as is typical when "low-flow" shower heads are used. The unit also lacks an aeration adjustment.
Sheldall, U.S. Pat. No. 3,445,067, shows a soap dispenser unit which does not have a soap adjustment. The user has no control over the amount of soap being dispensed during the soap mode. The unit also lacks an OFF position so that there is no flow of water or soap and water to allow the user to "lather-up". The water delivery passage and the soap and water delivery passage are of the same dimensions, leading again to the same problems described above for Magaha.
Camp, U.S. Pat. No. 3,352,320, shows a device having no soap mixture adjustment valve to regulate the amount of soap being dispensed. Nor does the unit have an OFF position for "lather-up" whereby there is no flow of soap or water. The unit likewise does not contain a check valve to prevent water from entering the soap container if back-pressure is encountered as is typical when "low-flow" shower heads are used.
Heald, U.S. Pat. No. 3,231,200, does not have an OFF position or "lather-up" position, whereby there is no flow of water only or soap and water. The soap mixture has to be adjusted each time the operating handle is turned to the soap position, which takes time for delivery flow to adjust out, thus wasting water, soap, and time. Both the water only delivery passage, and the soap and water delivery passage are one and the same. In order for the siphon to work, the orifice upstream of the siphon must be smaller than the orifice downstream of the siphon, for if restrictive shower heads such as prescribed by the American National Standards Institute (A.N.S.I.) and the California Energy Commission (C.E.C.) are used, one cannot attain the fullest flow rate in rinse mode.
Mills, U.S. Pat. No. 3,212,716 shows the same structure as James, above, and would present the same problems.
Deport, U.S. Pat. No. 2,672,366, an early attempt at solving the dispenser problem, teaches the use of gravity food or an auxiliary pump. The unit is neither self-contained nor self-pressurizing. The soap adjustment is done by changing interior-mounted threaded plugs. This cannot be done while the unit is in use, and consequently does not allow fine adjustments during use.


A novel pyridine compound of the formula ##STR1## wherein each symbol is as defined in the specification, or a salt thereof which exhibit inhibitory activity or prolylendopeptidase and a pharmaceutical use thereof are disclosed.

It is known that prolylendopeptidase acts on substances P, TRH (thyrotropin releasing hormone) and neurotensin which have been deemed as neural transmitting substance, and vasopressin which is considered to be concerned with memory, and inactivates them. Nakajima et al and Yoshimoto et al found that the compounds which inhibit prolylendopeptidase activity could prevent experimental amnesia in rats induced by scopolamine and presumed that prolylendopeptidase-inhibitory agents were concerned with the consolidation of memory (Nakajima et al, Folia Pharmacologica Japonica, vol. 82, p 154 (1983), Yoshimoto et al, Seikagaku, vol. 55, p 831 (1983)). This suggests a possibility that prolylendopeptidase-inhibitory agents can be used as anti-amnesiac drugs.
Hitherto, as prolylendopeptidase-inhibitory agents, as reported in Japanese Patent Applications Laid-open (Kokai) Nos. 130579/1988 and 162672/1988, known are proline derivatives having a peptide bond.
On the other hand, in Japanese Patent Applications Laid-open (Kokai) Nos. 100765/1981 and 91172/1986 and Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, vol. 8, p 722 (1965), pyridine compounds substituted by a benzoyl group or other groups are reported. Further, anti-anxietic or sedative .omega.-aminoalkoxybenzoylthiophene compounds are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open (kokai) No. 56476/1982.
The present inventors have conducted intensive studies for the purpose of developing novel prolylendopeptidase-inhibitory agents in of a non-peptide type.
As the result, the present inventors found novel pyridine derivatives possessing an excellent inhibitory activity on prolylendopeptidases which resulted in the completion of this invention.

Pyridine compounds and pharmaceutical use thereof

Yoshitomi Pharmaceutical Industries, Ltd.


A battery cover assembly includes a cover plate, an electrode inner terminal and an electrode outer terminal. The electrode inner terminal is electrically connected to the electrode outer terminal through a current interrupt structure disposed on the cover plate. The current interrupt structure includes a sealed chamber configured to fill a gas-producing medium therein. The sealed chamber is configured to make the gas-producing medium to be electrically connected to positive electrodes and negative electrodes of a battery. When a voltage difference between the positive electrodes and negative electrodes of the battery exceeds a rated value, the gas-producing medium is capable of producing gas, to disrupt the electrical connection between the electrode inner terminal and the electrode outer terminal under the action of the pressure of the gas.

In the technical solution of a current interrupt device (CID), a battery is generally provided with a pull-apart structure capable of sensing gas pressure. In extreme cases such as thermal runaway, the reaction between an electrolytic solution and electrode materials produces a large amount of gas inside the battery. As the volume of gas increases, the pressure inside the battery increases, and the increased pressure causes a flip sheet in the pull-apart structure to flip outward, so that a fracture sheet which is partially thinned is pulled apart.
The prior art has the following three main disadvantages:
1. In the early stage of battery overcharging, a small quantity of gas is produced inside the battery, and the pull-apart structure cannot be broken in time.
2. When the pressure inside the battery is high, the battery is in thermal runaway, and the battery cannot be protected even if the pull-apart structure is broken.
3. When a pull-apart pressure of the battery is large, a starting pressure increases and the pull-apart structure cannot be broken in time; when the pull-apart pressure is small, the pull-apart structure may be broken in a case that the battery is injected with liquid and stored at high temperature.
The above structure is particularly not suitable for ternary materials. Due to high activity of the ternary materials, the battery is prone to be in thermal runaway in a short period of time in extreme cases. In the early stage of battery overcharging, as a small quantity of gas is produced inside the battery, the pressure is not enough to cause the flip sheet to be flipped to pull off the fracture sheet. When the pressure inside the battery is excessively high, the battery has been in a thermal runaway state, and in this case, although the circuit can be disconnected, the reactions between the materials inside the battery cannot be stopped, and the battery still cannot be protected.

Battery cover assembly, single-cell battery, battery module, power battery pack, and electric vehicle


A variable reluctance drive system including a motor and corresponding converter for improved current commutation is described. The motor incorporates a salient pole rotor and a salient pole stator having one or more full pitch windings which operate by mutual inductance to transfer the current from the active short pitch winding following phase alignment. This increases output torque and/or speed and permits a number of simple and economical converter circuits.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to variable reluctance machines and, more particularly, to a high specific output variable reluctance drive system incorporating a motor having one or two full-pitch windings for improving current commutation, and a special purpose solid state power converter.
2. Description of the Background
In variable reluctance motors, torque is generated by a rotor and stator which tend to align themselves in order to reach a position of minimum magnetic reluctance. Such motors are simple, efficient, easily controlled, inexpensive, and safe. As a result, there have been significant efforts to develop commercial applications. One evolving application is the stepping motor, which delivers an incremental rotation as the result of a pulsed input. Stepping motors are now widely used in microprocessor and digital control systems, and other systems requiring a low output incremental drive.
Variable reluctance motors have also found limited use in higher power applications such as fan drives, pumps, traction systems, motion control systems, appliances, and general purpose variable speed drives. However, comparatively few industrial applications presently exist for higher power variable reluctance motors. Such industrial needs are satisfied by the more conventional DC and AC induction machines. This is because variable reluctance motors have a special problem: current commutation.
In a continuous drive variable reluctance motor, the current in each phase should be decreased to zero rapidly when the rotor becomes aligned with that phase. This prevents the development of negative torque. It is difficult to accomplish this instantaneous current reduction because the phase inductance is a maximum when the rotor is aligned with that phase. The problem is most serious when the speed of the motor is high.
The prior art uses one of the following two brute force approaches to reduce the current at alignment:
(1) a negative voltage is applied to the phase winding in order to extract the energy trapped in the magnetic field and transfer it to an external storage device such as a battery or capacitor; or
(2) the phase is switched off before the rotor reaches alignment and the energy trapped in the magnetic field is dissipated in a resistor connected to the phase winding through a diode.
Unfortunately, the first technique increases the VA rating and cost of the switching device (a.k.a. converter). Also, the large back-and-forth energy flow between the motor and source causes extra motor and converter losses and creates a need for a large DC bus capacitor.
The second technique reduces the output torque and efficiency of the motor.
Such drawbacks account for the lack of commercial acceptance of switched variable reluctance motors.
It would be greatly advantageous to accomplish nearly instantaneous current reduction in a phase when the rotor is aligned with that phase without likewise increasing the cost of the converter or reducing the output torque of the motor.

Variable reluctance motor with full and short pitch windings


Interconnect structures exhibiting reduced accumulation of copper vacancies along interfaces between contact etch stop layers (CESLs) and interconnects, along with methods for fabrication, are disclosed herein. A method includes forming a copper interconnect in a dielectric layer and depositing a metal nitride CESL over the copper interconnect and the dielectric layer. An interface between the metal nitride CESL and the copper interconnect has a first surface nitrogen concentration, a first nitrogen concentration and/or a first number of nitrogen-nitrogen bonds. A nitrogen plasma treatment is performed to modify the interface between the metal nitride CESL and the copper interconnect. The nitrogen plasma treatment increases the first surface nitrogen concentration to a second surface nitrogen concentration, the first nitrogen concentration to a second nitrogen concentration, and/or the first number of nitrogen-nitrogen bonds to a second number of nitrogen-nitrogen bonds, each of which minimizes accumulation of copper vacancies at the interface.

The integrated circuit (IC) industry has experienced exponential growth. Technological advances in IC materials and design have produced generations of ICs, where each generation has smaller and more complex circuits than the previous generation. In the course of IC evolution, functional density (i.e., the number of interconnected IC devices per chip area) has generally increased while geometry size (i.e., dimensions and/or sizes of IC features and/or spacings between these IC features) has decreased. Typically, scaling down has been limited only by an ability to lithographically define IC features at the ever-decreasing geometry sizes. However, resistance-capacitance (RC) delay has arisen as a significant challenge as reduced geometry sizes are implemented to achieve ICs with faster operating speeds (e.g., by reducing distances traveled by electrical signals), thereby negating some of the advantages achieved by scaling down and limiting further scaling down of ICs. RC delay generally indicates delay in electrical signal speed through an IC resulting from a product of resistance (R) (i.e., a material's opposition to flow of electrical current) and capacitance (C) (i.e., a material's ability to store electrical charge). Reducing both resistance and capacitance is thus desired to reduce RC delay and optimize performance of scaled down ICs. Interconnects of ICs, which physically and/or electrically connect IC components and/or IC features of the ICs, are particularly problematic in their contributions to RC delay. Solutions for interconnects that have been observed to reduce interconnect contributions to RC delay have introduced new challenges. For example, improved interconnect structures sometimes fail to sufficiently prevent metal diffusion from interconnects into surrounding dielectric materials, which has led to undesirable void formation in the interconnects that degrades IC performance. A need thus exists for improvements in interconnects of ICs and/or methods of fabricating the interconnects.

Nitrogen plasma treatment for improving interface between etch stop layer and copper interconnect

TAIWAN SEMICONDUCTOR MANUFACTURING CO., LTD.