An intake manifold of an internal combustion engine is structured either to keep the temperature in the intake manifold constant or to allow the temperature in the intake manifold to be controlled from outside thereof for thereby increasing the engine output. For this purpose, following measures are employed:. (1) The intake manifold is made of a material having a low heat conductivity; PA0 (2) The outer periphery of the intake manifold is covered with an adiabatic material; PA0 (3) The intake manifold is of a double walled structure; and PA0 (4) The intake manifold is provided with a cooler or a heater.

The present invention relates to an intake manifold of an internal combustion engine for use with, for example, an automobile, which manifold is suitable for lowering the temperature of air to be sucked into the engine.
Various methods have been employed in the past to increase the outputs of automotive internal combustion engines. The methods include supercharging which is to raise the pressure of intake air to positively increase the quantity of air fed into an internal combustion engine. Another method is to improve the shape of the engine intake manifold so that the inertia of intake air or the effect of pulsation of the intake air is utilized to increase the quantity of air fed into the engine. A still further method is termed an "intercooler method" by which, as disclosed in a Japanese Magazine, "Jidosha Kogaku (Automotive Engineering)", Vol. 35, No. 7, pages 106-108, the engine intake manifold is disposed adjacent to the front grille of the car to expose the intake manifold to outdoor air so as to remove heat from the intake air for thereby increasing the quantity of air fed into the engine.
While the prior art methods are all effective to increase the quantities of air to be supplied into internal combustion engines, the temperature of engine intake air has not been taken into consideration in the prior art. It will be appreciated that the intercooling method cannot lower the temperature of intake air below the outdoor air temperature. If the intake air temperature is high, the compression stroke in the engine cylinder commences at a correspondingly high temperature which tends to cause an abnormal combustion, with a disadvantageous result in that, even if the quantity of intake air is greatly increased, the compression ratio cannot be increased too much.

Intake manifold of internal combustion engine


This invention relates to a crop-selective, herbicidal agent 1-{[o-(cyclopropylcarbonyl)phenyl]sulfamoyl}-3-(4,6-dimethoxy-2-pyrimidiny l)urea, a method for the preparation thereof and a method for selectively controlling undesirable plant species in the presence of crops with the crop-selective sulfamoyl urea derivative.

Sulfamoyl urea derivatives are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,622,065, 4,666,508, 4,696,695 and 4,741,762. The sulfamoyl urea derivatives disclosed therein demonstrate herbicidal activity but do not provide a showing of selective weed control in the presence of crops.
It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a 1{[o-(cycloalkylcarbonyl)phenyl]sulfamoyl}-3-(4,6-dialkoxy-2-pyrimidinyl)u rea derivative that is a highly effective herbicidal agent useful for the selective control of undesirable plant species in the presence of crops.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a crop selected 1-{[o-(cycloalkylcarbonyl)-phenyl]sulfamoyl}-3-(4,6-dialkoxy-2-pyrimidinyl )urea herbicide that exhibits at least a 2X margin of safety when applied to broadleaf weeds and grasses growing in the presence of cereal grains such as barley, wheat, oats, rye and upland rice and at least a 4X margin of safety when used for the control of broadleaf weeds and sedges in the presence of transplanted paddy rice.
It is another object of this invention to provide a method for selectively controlling undesirable vegetation in the presence of cereal grains utilizing 1-{[o-(cyclopropylcarbonyl)phenyl]sulfamoyl}-3-(4,6-dimethoxy-2-pyrimidiny l)urea. Among the undesirable weed species controlled by the above-named sulfamoyl urea are sicklepod, Cassia obtusifolita; annual sedges, Cyperaceae annual; yellow nutsedge, Cyperus esculentus; flatsedge, Cyperus serotinus; arrowhead, Sagittaria pygmaea; purple nutsedge, Cyperus rotundus; bulrush, Scirpus spp.; morningglory, Ipomoea spp. and hemp, Sesbania exalta.

1-{[O-(cycl opropylcarbonyl)phenyl]sulfamoyl}-3-(4,6-dimethoxy-2-pyrimidinyl)urea herbicidal composition and use


The apparatus enables identifying data relating to a suspect currency note received by an ATM to be correlated with identifying data relating to the depositor of the suspect note. A note validator can assess the validity of received notes. Data can be generated that is usable to identify each suspect note and identify the person from whom the suspect note was received. The data usable to identify a suspect note can correspond to its serial number. The data usable to identify the person can correspond to an account number and/or a biometric input. The suspect note/depositor identifying data can be stored in correlated relation in a data store enabling each suspect note to be linked to a person. Thus, the validity of a received note can be determined, a suspect note can be identified, and correlating data usable to identify the suspect note depositor can be stored.

Automated transaction machines include automated banking machines. A common type of automated banking machine is an automated teller machine ("ATM"). ATMs may be used by individuals to perform transactions such as dispensing cash, accepting deposits, making account balance inquiries, paying bills, and transferring funds between accounts. ATMs and other types of automated banking machines may be used to dispense media, sheets, or documents such as currency bills, tickets, scrip, vouchers, bank checks, gaming materials, stamps, coupons, receipts, account statements, or other media. Certain ATMs also enable customers to deposit checks, money orders, travelers checks, or other instruments. While many types of automated banking machines, including ATMs, are operated by consumers, other types of automated banking machines may be operated by service providers. Such automated banking machines may be used by service providers to provide cash or other types of sheets or documents when performing transactions. For purposes of this disclosure, an automated banking machine shall be construed as any machine that is capable of carrying out transactions which include transfers of value.
A popular brand of automated banking machine is manufactured by Diebold, Incorporated. Such automated banking machines are capable of receiving therein a banking card from a user of the machine. The card can have user information embedded in a magnetic stripe on the card. A machine card reader is capable of reading the magnetic stripe. The information may correspond to a user's personal identification number (PIN). The user can also enter the PIN through use of a machine keypad. The machine can determine whether the keypad-entered PIN matches the card-entered PIN. Upon determination of a match, the user can be authorized to carry out one or more transactions with the machine. Such a transaction may include dispensing currency notes to the machine user.
Automated banking machines currently in use often have a location on the machine where sheets can be received from a customer. For example, most machines include an area for receiving deposits. A deposit can include currency notes, including suspect notes.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Correlation of suspect currency note received by ATM to the note depositor


A variator includes an epicyclic gear set that has at least three nodes. The variator includes a pumping unit connected to a first node of the epicyclic gear set. The variator includes a clutch connected to a second node of the epicyclic gear set. The clutch is selectively movable between three positions. When in the first position, the clutch allows the second node to freewheel. When in the second position, the clutch connects the second node to a fixed surface. When in the third position, the clutch connects the second node to an electric motor. The variator includes a receiver connected to the third node of the epicyclical gear set. The receiver is configured to receive a drive shaft.

Mobile pieces of machinery (e.g., excavators, tractors, wheel loaders, concrete pump trucks, etc.) often include hydraulic systems having hydraulically powered linear and rotary actuators used to power various active machine components (e.g., linkages, tracks, rotating joints, etc.). Typically, the linear actuators include hydraulic cylinders and the rotary actuators include hydraulic motors. By accessing a user interface of a machine control system, a machine operator can control movement of the various machine components.
A typical piece of mobile machinery includes a prime mover (e.g., a diesel engine, spark ignition engine, electric motor, etc.) that functions as an overall source of power for the piece of mobile machinery. Commonly, the prime mover powers one or more hydraulic pumps that provide pressurized hydraulic fluid for driving the active machine components of the piece of machinery. The prime mover is typically required to be sized to satisfy a peak power requirement of the system. Because the prime mover is designed to satisfy peak power requirements, the prime mover often does not operate at peak efficiency under average working loads.
The operation of the active hydraulic components of the type described above can be characterized by frequent accelerations and decelerations (e.g., overrunning hydraulic loads). Due to throttling, there is often substantial energy loss associated with decelerations. Further, additional hydraulic fluid flow is sometimes required by components to maintain productivity in mobile machines when prime mover down-speeding is being employed to improve fuel consumption.
Existing hydraulic energy recovery systems can be costly and lack efficiency. Further, such systems also suffer from reliability concerns and often lack the flexibility to recover energy from multiple sources simultaneously or individually. This limits the amount of energy that can be recovered and reused, which affects the usefulness of the system. There is a need for improved systems for recovering energy.

Pump/motor with integrated variator for use in hydraulic systems

DANFOSS POWER SOLUTIONS II TECHNOLOGY A/S


It is an object to obtain a highly efficient synchronous induction motor by letting the magnetic flux hardly pass in the direction of a q axis without interrupting a magnetic path in the direction of a d axis and by increasing a salient pole difference. A slit next to a shaft 5 is extended towards the shaft along a circumference of the shaft 5 to form an extended part of slit 8a. In addition, a gas vent hole 7 is formed as a slender opening stretched in the direction of d axis, and a slit is projected along the circumference of the gas vent hole 7. Further, the gas vent hole 7 is formed as a slender opening stretched in the direction which is displaced by a predetermined angle from the d axis. Yet further, a rotor iron core 1 is formed by a plurality of rotor iron core portions in the laminating direction, and the rotor iron core portions have different shapes of slits, respectively.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotor of a synchronous induction motor which starts using induction torque and carries out synchronous operation using reluctance torque and a compressor employing the synchronous induction motor.
2. Description of Related Art
In a conventional synchronous induction motor, plural slits and slots are provided on a rotor iron core formed by electromagnetic steel sheets, and in order to let the magnetic flux easily flow in a direction of a d axis, a gas vent hole is formed into an oval shape that is stretched in the direction of d axis, so that efficiency of the synchronous induction motor is tried to be improved (refer to Patent Document 1, for example).
Patent Document 1: JP2003-153511 (page 5, FIG. 6)
In a rotor of a conventional synchronous induction motor, a gas vent hole has an oval shape having a short axis in a direction of a q axis and a long axis in the direction of a d axis, so that widths of electromagnetic steel sheets at both sides of the gas vent hole can be made thick, a width of a magnetic path in the direction of d axis is secured, and the magnetic flux can easily pass in the direction of d axis. However, in this structure, the magnetic flux can easily flow also in the direction of q axis, which causes a problem that a large salient pole difference cannot be obtained.

Rotor of synchronous induction motor and compressor


The invention relates to a method for controlling a multi party call between three or more communication entities within a communications network. The communications network comprise a service control entity and a service switching entity. The service control entity performs: a) receiving a notification of a multi party event associated with the multi party call from the service switching entity, b) determining a procedure for handling the multi party event, c) transmitting instructions to the service switching entity in accordance with the procedure for handling the multi parry event.

A network may be provided enabling communication entities to communicate with each other. The communication entities may be wireline telephones, mobile telephones or any other suitable device. The communication entities that initiate communication may be referred to as calling entities and the communication entities with which the calling parties initiate communication are referred to as remote entities or called entities.
In the telecommunications network a call initiated by a calling entity and destined for a remote entity is routed through a number of switching nodes before this call reaches its destination. An example of how a call may be routed from a calling entity to a remote entity in a telecommunications network is given with reference to FIG. 1. A calling entity CE-A sets up a call to a called entity CE-B by sending a call set up request message to a switching node 101. The switching node 101 receives the call set up request message and analyses the destination number comprised therein, i.e. typically a number associated to called entity CE-B. Depending on the outcome of the analysis the switching node 101 will select the most appropriate next switching node for routing the call further in the most efficient way. In this example the switching node 101 selects a switching node 102. Switching nodes 102 and 103 behave in a similar way and route the call further towards switching node 104, which is closest to the called entity CE-B. Switching nodes 102 and 103 are sometimes also referred to as transit switching nodes, because they function as transits between switching nodes 101 and 104. The switching node 104 then connects the incoming call to called entity CE-B and a speech connection may be opened between calling entity CE-A and called entity CE-B.
According to the Intelligent Network (IN) concept, service intelligence or service logic is separated from switching functions. This separation enables network operators to develop and deploy services and features independently of network vendors, allowing more flexibility in service development, simplified rollout, reduced cost and greater autonomy. Examples of IN protocols are the Intelligent Network Application Protocol (INAP), the Advanced IN (AIN), and the Customized Applications for Mobile network Enhanced Logic (CAMEL). INAP was developed for fixed line networks and is the primary protocol used for fixed line IN outside of North America. AIN is a variant developed for North America.
CAMEL
CAMEL is a Global System for Mobile communications (GSM) Phase 2+ and Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) network feature specified in 3GPP TS 22.078. CAMEL is based on core INAP with modifications to take into account, amongst others, subscriber mobility. In particular, CAMEL enables the use of operator-specific services by a subscriber even when roaming outside the subscriber's Home Public Land Mobile Network (PLMN). A CAMEL-based Intelligent Network comprises as main entities a service switching entity for switching tasks, also referred to as SSF (Service Switching Function) or gsmSSF (GSM Service Switching Function) and a service control entity comprising the service intelligence or logic also referred to as SCF (Service Control Function) or gsmSCF (GSM Service Control Function).
FIG. 2 depicts a schematic overview of a telecommunications network comprising an intelligent network.
The intelligent network comprises a service control entity SCE and a service switching entity SSE, which will both be explained in more detail below. Furthermore, switching nodes 203, 204 and 205 are depicted, each of which may be a Mobile Services Switching Centre (MSC). The switching node 203 may function as an originating node; the switching node 204 may be a transit switching node and the switching node 205 may be a terminating node.
Intelligent networks services are executed at the service control entity SCE. The service control entity SCE is able to communicate with the service switching entity SSE using an intelligent network protocol such as CAMEL or INAP. The service switching entity SSE, when controlling the call from calling entity CE-A to called entity CE-B, is preferably co-located with switching node 203, but may also be co-located at another switching node.
The service control entity SCE has a leading role in the intelligent network and may decide that some services are allowed or disallowed for a call. It sends instructions to the service switching entity SSE to be carried out by the service switching entity SSE.
With the application of the intelligent network concept, there are effectively two levels of call control: (1) call control by the switching node and (2) call control by the SCE. Because of the two levels of control that are also separate from each other, inconsistencies may occur when an IN service is invoked for a call that may be in addition subject to a service executed at a switching node. This may be, for example, the case when a first communication entity CE-A sets up a multi party call. Prior to the establishment of the multi party call, the first communication entity CE-A may be involved in two calls, a first call with a second communication entity CE-B which is active and on hold, and a second call with a third communication entity CE-C (explained below with reference to FIG. 6) which is active and in speech connection. The first communication entity CE-A may then initiate a multi party call in which the two calls are merged (explained below with reference to FIG. 7).
Multi Party Service
Multi party service is a so-called supplementary service or network based service that is executed by and under the control of switching nodes, such as MSCs. The multi party service provides a first communication entity CE-A (calling or called entity) with the ability to establish a multi-connection call, i.e. a simultaneous communication with a second and third communication entities. In fact, also more then three communication entities may be involved. The communication entity having established a multi party call may be referred to as "multi party served subscriber" or "multi party served entity". It be emphasised that when an entity establishes a multi party call, the respective calls that are connected to or from this call entity may, independently of each other, be incoming or outgoing. The communication entities that participate in the multi party call but did not initiate the multi party call are also referred to as remote communication entities.
For the GSM and the 3G network, the Multi party service is specified in 3GPP technical specification 22.084.
For example, the multi party served entity CE-A is involved in two calls; one active call in speech connection with second communication entity CE-B and one active call on hold with third communication entity CE-C, both calls having been answered by the respective called second and third communication entity CE-B, CE-C respectively. In this situation the multi party served subscriber CE-A may request the network to execute the multi party service.
Once a multi party call is established, additional communication entities may be added to the multi party call, disconnected from the multi party call, temporarily separated (i.e. removed) from the multi party call and, when temporarily separated, reconnected to the multi party call.
Subscribers or communication entities participating to a multi party call may be referred to as conferee.
An acknowledgement is sent towards the multi party served subscriber CE-A at the invocation of this supplementary service while a notification is sent towards all the remote parties in a multi party call. The multi party call will, just after it has been established, be constituted just by three parties, that is the multi party served subscriber (first communication entity CE-A) and the other two subscribers (second and third communication entity CE-B and CE-C) that till the moment of invocation were engaged in two separated calls with the multi party served subscriber (first communication entity CE-A). At this stage other communication entities (fourth, fifth etc.) can be included in the multi party call if the multi party served subscriber decides hereto. A notification may be sent towards all remote communication entities, i.e. second, third etc. communication entities (i.e. not towards the multi party served subscriber CE-A) every time a new communication entity is added to the multi party call. Notifications may also be sent to remote communication entities when they are put on hold and when they are retrieved; these notifications related to hold and retrieve are in accordance with normal Call Hold procedures.
The multi party service as stated before, is a network based service that is executed by and under control of switching nodes, whereas IN services are executed under the control of a service control entity and invoked for certain calls only. Because of the two levels of control that are also separate from each other, inconsistencies may occur when an IN service is invoked for a call that may be in addition subject to a multi party service executed at a switching node.
It is an object to provide a solution to improve the handling of a multi party call in a telecommunications network.

Method for controlling a multi party call and a service control entity and a service switching entity for performing the method


A terminal holding part of a terminal protection cover includes a pair of lateral shaking-preventing wall parts which stands from a terminal-attachment surface of the terminal protection cover, and has surfaces facing lateral end edge surfaces, respectively, of the bent plate-type terminal which is held therein. The terminal holding part further includes a first vertical shaking-preventing wall part and a second vertical shaking-preventing wall part provided at a position upwards from the first vertical shaking-preventing wall part. The second vertical shaking-preventing wall part has a surface which is on the same side as the tip end edge surface of the lateral shaking-preventing wall part, and which is formed to be recessed relative to the tip end edge surface at a certain position at least upwards from an end edge surface of the second vertical shaking-preventing wall part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a terminal protection cover having a terminal holding part in which a bent terminal, which is formed by bending a plate-type conductive member at right angle, is held, and an electrical junction box incorporating the terminal protection cover.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, an electrical junction box, which is mounted in a vehicle or the like, is equipped with an electric wire having a terminal, which is attached to an outer surface of the electrical junction box, with the terminal protected by a terminal protection cover. For example, Japanese Patent No. 3364872 discloses a terminal protection cover to which a terminal of an electric wire is easily attached.
The terminal protection cover disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3364872 is configured such that a terminal-pressing plate is mounted opposite a board part, a terminal insertion gap is formed between the terminal-pressing plate and the board part, and a terminal mounting wall is provided perpendicular to the terminal-pressing plate, so that a right-angled plate-type terminal is inserted into the terminal insertion gap and is turned towards the terminal mounting wall so as to mount the terminal to the terminal protection cover.
The applicant proposes a terminal protection cover to which a terminal is mounted by turning action and which is denoted by reference numeral 700 in FIG. 15. The terminal protection cover 700 includes a terminal holding part 710 in which a bent plate-type terminal 800, which is formed by bending a plate-type conductive member at a right angle, is held. The terminal holding part 710 has an opening 711a on a wall 711 opposite a surface 700a against which the bent-plate-type terminal 800 abuts. The bent plate-type terminal 800 is held in the opening 711a by inserting the terminal into the opening 711a while turning the terminal towards the opening. The bent plate-type terminal 800, which has been mounted to the terminal protection cover through the terminal holding part 710, is prevented from shaking vertically and horizontally by an inner edge surface 712 of the opening 711a.

Terminal protection cover and electrical junction box


A seating support for independent, multi-planar adjustable thoracic and pelvic-sacral cushions for supporting the spine and permitting support adjustment by the seated occupant. The thoracic support cushion is inflatably adjustable in a horizontal plane and vertically adjustable relative to apertured slide rails of a support framework. The pelvic-sacral support cushion vertically slide adjusts along the framework and is horizontally adjustable via a screw follower mounted scissors assembly having a laterally and tiltably rotatable cushion mounting plate. In an accessory embodiment, an adjustable clamp retainer and strap secure the support to an available rigid-backed chair.

The present invention relates to posture supports and, in particular, to a support which is integrally adaptable to a chair back or separately mountable as an accessory item to the backrest of a variety of available chairs and wherein each of a pair of thoracic and pelvic-sacral support cushions are independently adjustable along a plurality of planar axes by the seated occupant.
With a growing awareness and appreciation of the ergonomics of the work place has come an attempt to design improved furnishings to facilitate the use of computers, drafting tables, motor vehicles and the like by the seated worker. Various of these designs seek to promote proper posture and thereby prolong the duration of meaningful equipment usage.
A variety of chair constructions and seating accessories have particularly evolved for supporting the spine of the seated occupant. Most of such endeavors have been directed to providing non-adjustable assemblies which promote a specific seating posture for each particular chair construction. That is, most typically, such designs provide for a single rigid convex backrest cushion which is secured to a reclined frame to support the lumber spine. Such constructions, however, do not promote any particular spinal posture when leaning forward. Nor do such constructions provide for a combination of support surfaces that accommodate a variety of seating postures; nor do they permit adjustment while seated.
In the above regard, Applicant is particularly aware of a number of single cushion support constructions shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,060,298; 2,838,099; 2,831,533; 3,348,880; and 4,190,286. Various of these supports adjustably mount to a chair back and provide a mechanism for vertically positioning the cushion with the user's lumbar spine. One of these supports also provides for inflatable pneumatic cushions.
Applicant is also aware of other backrest supports which provide for a pair of support cushions for simultaneously supporting two regions of the back. These assemblies are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 567,096; 1,007,985; and 3,880,463 and in articles by E. H. Bradford and J. S. Stone, "The Seating of School Children", Transactions of the American Orthopedic Association, 12: 170-183 (1899) and by F. J. Cotton, "School Furniture for Boston Schools", American Physical Education Review, 9:267-284 (1904). Of these, probably the most relevant to the present invention is the assembly shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,880,436. There, a pair of cushions are permanently mounted in fixed spatial relation to one another along an inner support frame which, in turn, is pivotally mounted to an outer frame. The cushions are vertically adjustable as a unit and may also be rotated or tilted as a unit. Otherwise, the cushions are not independently adjustable relative to one another or the inner frame, nor is either cushion separately tiltable. Thus the assembly provides only for a limited fitting to the user.
One other patent of which Applicant is aware, U.S. No. 2,304,349, shows a single cushion auxiliary backrest wherein the cushion adjusts both vertically and horizontally to contact the "small" or lumbar vertebrae of the user's back. Vertical adjustment is achieved with a spring loaded slide bracket, while horizontal adjustment is achieved with a pair of clamped ears which mount above a pivot stem. A tilting action is obtained with rotation of the clamp ears about a pivot pin and an extendible stop that strikes the cushion back.
To the extent applicant is aware of other references showing features directed to the concerns which are alleviated by way of the present invention, Applicant's own book, D. Zacharkow, Posture: Sitting, Standing, Chair Design and Exercise (Springfield, Thomas, 1988) discusses the need for a new support mechanism. Applicant is also aware of an article by Rizzi, M., "Entwicklung eines Verschiebbaren Ruckenprofils fur Auto-und Ruhesitze," appearing on pp. 112-119 in E. Grandjean, Proceedings of the Symposium on Sitting Posture (London, Taylor and Francis, 1969).
In contrast to the above noted art, the present invention seeks to provide a seating posture which mimics a preferred standing posture to not only erectly support the spinal column when seated, but also to reinforce and carry over this posture to standing movements. That is, the proper axial relationship of the thorax and pelvis in upright standing involves the upper trunk being brought over or slightly anterior to the hips. This posture is achieved through proper extension of the lower thoracic spine and thoracolumbar junction (i.e. ninth thoracic vertebra through first lumbar vertebra) and results in activation of the lower abdominal muscles, along with a beneficial increase in the resting intra-abdominal pressure.
This increase in intra-abdominal pressure is beneficial for the following reasons:
(1) It promotes proper diaphragmatic excursion and respiration. PA1 (2) It raises the ribs and chest to their most optimal position. PA1 (3) It prevents stagnation of the circulation in the splanchnic region. PA1 (4) It provides stabilization of the trunk. PA1 (5) It reduces spinal stress to the thoracic and lumbar spine by both lengthening and extending the spine. A secondary effect is that the cervical spinal posture is improved. PA1 (1) Slumped sitting postures with the thoracolumbar spine in flexion. This frequently occurs both when leaning forward, such as over a desk, and in most reclined postures. PA1 (2) sitting with a convex lumbar support that moves the lumbar spine into lordosis. Such a sitting posture will result in a posterior trunk lean, with the upper trunk being brought posterior to the hips. PA1 (b 3) Conventional backrest designs that include a high, inclined backrest, but without proper lower thoracic support to promote extension. PA1 (b 4) A forward inclination to the upper backrest, thereby pushing the shoulders forward and increasing thoracic flexion. PA1 (5) Inadequate space just above the seat for the posterior placement of the buttocks and clothing, thereby preventing the hips from being pushed back.
As opposed to the above beneficial posture, the most common standing postural fault involves a posterior trunk lean, with the upper trunk being displaced posterior to the hips. Such a posture results in relaxation of the lower abdominals and a decrease in intra-abdominal pressure.
Similarly, in a sitting position, relaxation of the lower abdominals and a decrease in intra-abdomimal pressure results from:

Posture support with multi-planar adjustment


An image sensor may include an analog-to-digital converter. The converter may have a input capacitor, one or more metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors, a digital-to-analog converter, and a comparator. An input signal may be sampled onto the input capacitor while the metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors are activated. A few conversion steps may be performed while the metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors are activated. After the few conversion steps, the metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors are deactivated to realize a voltage gain, which makes the converter less sensitive to comparator noise.

This relates generally to image sensors and more specifically, to image sensors with analog-to-digital converters.
Modern electronic devices such as cellular telephones, cameras, and computers often use digital image sensors. Image sensors (sometimes referred to as imagers) may be formed from a two-dimensional array of image sensing pixels. The array of image sensing pixels are typically arranged in pixel rows and columns. Each pixel includes a photosensitive layer that receives incident photons (light) and converts the photons into electrical charge. Column sensing circuitry is typically coupled to each pixel column for reading out image signals from the image pixels.
Image sensors often include analog-to-digital conversion circuitry for converting analog signals generated from the image pixels to digital signals. In one configuration, an image sensor is provided with charge sharing successive approximation register (SAR) analog-to-digital converters (ADCs). A charge sharing SAR ADC has a feedback digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that is configured to successively add pre-charged capacitors in parallel based on the output of a comparator. The connection of additional capacitors in parallel attenuates the sampled input signal. While the signal charge remains the same, the signal voltage level will be attenuated by a factor of two at the end of conversion. This attenuation increases the sensitivity of the ADC to the noise associated with the comparator.
It is within this context that the embodiments herein arise.

Metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitor based charge sharing successive approximation register data converter

SEMICONDUCTOR COMPONENTS INDUSTRIES, LLC


Techniques for auditing and controlling network services are provided. A proxy is interposed between a principal and a network service. Interactions between the principal and the service pass through the proxy. The proxy selectively raises events and evaluates policy based on the interactions for purposes of auditing and controlling the network service.

Cloud computing is rapidly changing the Internet into a collection of clouds, which provide a variety of computing resources, storage resources, and, in the future, a variety of resources that are currently unimagined.
However, enterprises still face many issues when migrating services to the cloud environment. For example, services may require logging and auditing such that when the enterprise outsources a service to a cloud, control over logging and auditing for that service can be potentially compromised.
Additionally, some services that are controlled within an enterprise environment may not need logging or auditing because their native environment is controllable within the enterprise. But, these same services may require logging and auditing capabilities when outsourced to a cloud because the cloud environment is not controlled by the enterprise. The problem with this is that the services migrated to the cloud may not be written to provide logging or auditing features, such that these services have to be rewritten or substantially modified before they can be migrated to the cloud. So, when a service moves from an enterprise-controlled hardware environment to a cloud environment the traditional means of controlling the logging and auditing of the service are lost.
Also, one function of an "auditing system" that is different than a "logging system" is the ability to not allow access if the system cannot provide a completed audit trail. This also becomes difficult to do in a cloud environment. In fact, such features may not even be a native capability of the service being processed in the cloud. Moreover, because of the great exposure that a service has in the cloud, a "guaranteed" audit may be a requirement by an enterprise before that service is migrated to the cloud. Without a guaranteed audit, a cloud hacker may disable an audit system and allow the service to run without any audit trail. When this happens, the owner of the service may become totally blind on how the application is being used within the cloud.
Still another issue for services that migrate to a cloud environment is that as the services move out of the control of the local physical hardware there is lack of tools to make an effective "Cause and Effect" decision with respect to the executing services. This is so, because an enterprise administrator no longer has access to the hardware such that the ability to track the effect of an inbound event is significantly diminished. Thus, the administrator has a hard time knowing how to manage the services because of a lack of knowledge about network traffic and response times with respect to the administrator's cloud services. So, the administrator cannot dynamically control an operation or a service when it becomes too costly for the enterprise or too slow for the user.


The present invention pertains to novel strains of lactic acid bacteria that are capable to reduce an individual's tendency to mount allergic reactions. In particular, the present invention relates to the generation of lactic acid bacteria strains that express proteins including tolerogenic peptides and the use thereof in reducing an individual's tendency to mount allergic reactions. The invention also pertains to food or pharmaceutical compositions containing said micro-organisms or active fractions thereof.

The present invention pertains to novel stains of lactic acid bacteria that are capable to reduce an individual's tendency to develop allergic reactions. In particular, the present invention relates to novel strains of lactic acid bacteria that express polypeptides including tolerogenic peptides and the use thereof in reducing an individual's tendency to develop allergic reactions. The invention also pertains to food or pharmaceutical compositions containing said micro-organisms or active fractions thereof.
Allergies are inappropriate reactions of the immune system to a variety of substances (allergens). Generally, individuals do not generate a substantial immune reaction against substances regularly encountered in the environment, such as pollen or food material, which non-reactivity is deemed to be mainly due to a suppressing mechanism of the immune system itself. However, in an impaired condition the immune system does not fulfil said suppressing activity (designated tolerance) resulting in a specific immune reaction against the allergen—the allergic reaction. Allergic reactions involve the release of biologically active compounds, such as the inflammation mediators histamine, leukotrienes and enzymes, from particular cells, mainly mast cells and basophil granulocytes, into surrounding tissue and vascular structures. Mast cells are dispersed throughout the individuals tissue whilst basophils circulate within the vascular system. Upon a sequence of events involving IgE antibodies the compounds/mediators are released from target mast cells ending up in pharmacological reactions.
In the past, the number of individuals suffering from allergy has increased, which is often attributed to an ever increasing atmospheric pollution caused by e.g. exhaust gases. Also, an extended consumption of proteinaceous material is deemed to contribute to said development, in particular to the growing occurrence of food allergy. In addition, the deficit in microbial infections encountered in developed countries has been suggested as another possible cause for the increase of atopic diseases.
Food allergies and even food intolerance of some kind have become quite common. The majority of the affected individuals have been found to exhibit an intolerance to certain constituents of foods with about 5 percent of the population even developing reactions to ingested substances which are sufficiently serious to require medical attention.
In recent years evidence has mounted that the major cause for food intolerance resides in the absorption of substances by the body that are normally excluded, which are, however, absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract in susceptible individuals. This mal-absorption is deemed to derive from defects in the tissue which lines the digestive tract (Peters et al., (1988) Can. J. of Gastroenterol. 2, 127; Olaison et al., (1990) Scand. J. of Gastroenterol. 25, 321; Hollander et al., (1986) Ann. of Int. Med. 105, 883). The recently identified capacity of epithelial cells lining the GI tract to process and present antigens might also account for the triggering of improper immune reactions leading to an inflammation and allergic outcome (Campbell et al., (1999) Immunol. Rev. 172, 315).
The manifestation of food allergy may involve substantially any tissue in the body. Because of its large absorptive area the gastrointestinal tract is likely to be the major site of absorption for offending substances. Many of the symptoms of food allergies are manifest in the digestive tract itself, but might also affect other tissues, including the skin and airways.
In the art different approaches are proposed to treat allergy, in particular food allergy.
One such approach aims at modifying the source of the allergenic material itself such that its allergic potential is reduced. This may be achieved by limiting or banning the food or components thereof, respectively, which would be the cause of such problems. A problem involved often resides in that the specific antigenic substance (allergen) in the respective food material is frequently not known so that in most cases it is not clear which component should be selectively removed.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,480,660 is reported that the onset of the allergy in patients with allergies to wheat may be alleviated by eliminating or reducing, from flour, proteins having molecular weights of not more than 30,000 Da and proteins having a molecular weight of between 50,000 to 70,000 Da
In JP 11 04 67 21 there is disclosed a method for reducing the allergeneicity of a protein containing food material, wherein the food material is mixed with wheat flour and the mixture is baked for more than 3 minutes at 180° C.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,293,571 the preparation of a hypoallergenic composition is described, wherein a proteinaceous material is subjected to a hydrolysis treatment, the remaining, non hydrolysed proteins are subjected to coagulation by heat treatment followed by an ultrafiltration step to eliminate the coagulated material and macropeptides that might constitute allergens.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,532 another process for the preparation of hypoallergenic food material is disclosed, wherein a whey product is subjected to enzymatic hydrolysis.
Yet, all these methods of treating the food material or even excluding it from the daily diet eventually prove to be difficult in practice, since they require diet revision, usually involving strict restrictive measures and may eventually affect the quality of life and/or inhibit the expected growth of the individual.
A different approach of treating food allergy and food intolerance is directed to restoring and maintaining the intestine's integrity such that food allergens essentially may not pass. In this respect U.S. Pat. No. 5,192,750 describes the use of N-acetyl glucosamine to enable the mucosa to form the necessary barrier to transmission of food allergens and to maintain normal function.
According to yet another approach of treating allergy vaccination of individuals against IgE molecules is suggested which inhibits the triggering of mast cells and basophils. To this end, WO 97/31948 proposes specific peptides for vaccination that resemble in their three dimensional conformation parts of the IgE molecule, immunoglobulins involved in the release of the mediators involved in the regulation of allergic and inflammatory reactions. It is conceived that the individual's own immune system will eventually form antibodies directed to said IgE molecules such that said IgE immunoglobulins are scavenged. However, said method harbors the disadvantage the antibodies formed may exhibit cross-reactivity with other immunoglobulin classes, such that the natural defence mechanisms of the individual may be adversely influenced.
In EP 99200130.5, a patent application owned by the present applicant, which has not yet been published, still another approach is disclosed. A hypoallergenic composition is proposed that contains a non-allergenic, extensively hydrolysed protein material and/or a free amino acid basis and at least one tolerogenic peptide of the respective allergenic protein. Although this composition provides many advantages over the prior art it is still difficult to obtain the tolerogenic peptide, which has to be produced for each batch de novo.

Lactic acid bacteria capable of reducing an individual's tendency to develop allergic reactions


A failsafe mechanism for installing and removing temporary instrumentation during a runtime of an application. Initially, an application is configured with a baseline set of instrumented components such as methods. Additional instrumentation is then deployed in the application, such as to diagnose a performance problem. The failsafe mechanism ensures that the additional instrumentation is automatically removed, even when there is an interruption in a communication link to the application, a computing device failure, a software failure, or some other type of failure, which renders it impossible to manually roll back the instrumentation from a remote user interface. The failsafe mechanism can be provided using callbacks between the computing devices which detect when a connection is unexpectedly lost or closed. Termination of one callback can cascade to one or more other callbacks. The instrumentation rollback can involve reloading un-instrumented byte code of the application.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to technology for monitoring software in a computing environment.
2. Description of the Related Art
The growing presence of the Internet as well as other computer networks such as intranets and extranets has brought many new applications in e-commerce, education and other areas. Organizations increasingly rely on such applications to carry out their business or other objectives, and devote considerable resources to ensuring that they perform as expected. To this end, various application management techniques have been developed.
One approach involves monitoring the infrastructure of the application by collecting application runtime data regarding the individual software components that are invoked in the application. This approach can use agents that essentially live in the system being monitored. For example, using instrumentation of the software, a thread or process can be traced to identify each component that is invoked, as well as to obtain runtime data such as the execution time of each component. Tracing refers to obtaining a detailed record, or trace, of the steps a computer program executes. One type of trace is a stack trace. Traces can be used as an aid in debugging.
Moreover, in some cases, additional instrumentation can be added to an application, such as to diagnose a particular performance problem. However, a failsafe mechanism is needed for installing and removing the additional instrumentation.

Failsafe mechanism for dynamic instrumentation of software using callbacks


An amplifier drive control circuit having a power combiner for combining an RF input signal with a feedback signal to provide a composite RF signal, a power control circuit for providing a selectively attenuated replica of the composite RF signal to the input of the amplifier, and feedback circuitry connected between the output of the amplifier and the power combiner for providing a level controlled portion of the output of the amplifier as the feedback signal. The power control circuit selectively attenuates the replica of the composite RF signal when the power of the composite RF signal exceeds a predetermined threshold, while the feedback circuitry controls the level of the feedback signal as a function of the gain of the amplifier as determined by the level of the composite RF signal and the level of the amplifier output. The feedback circuitry includes a feedback phase control circuit for controlling the phase of the feedback signal relative to the input to the amplifier.

The present invention is directed generally to feedback control circuitry for RF amplifiers, and is directed more particularly to a positive feedback control circuit for RF amplifiers.
RF solid state power amplifiers, such as those utilized in radar transmitters, require several stages of preamplification in order to provide sufficient gain in many applications. Considerations with the use of preamplification stages include reduced efficiency and additional complexity.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,215 discloses amplifier control circuitry that utilizes positive feedback to increase the effective gain of a traveling-wave-tube (TWT) amplifier. However, a consideration with the circuitry of U.S. Pat. No. 4,709,215 is the possibility of over driving the TWT when the gain of the TWT decreases with increasing input power.


A video camera system can track or follow the moving object without influence by other objects outside the desired image. Detection feature patterns are formed after brightness and hue frequency feature data is obtained on the basis of image information of the detection measurement frame. The position of the detection measurement frame having a feature pattern with the largest similarity to the standard feature pattern obtained from the standard measurement frame is determined. An imaging condition of a camera is controlled on the basis of the position information of the detection measurement frame.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a video camera system, and more particularly to an improvement of a video camera system adapted to automatically follow changes of the object seen in the visual field of the video camera in order to provide a suitable image.
2. Description of the Related Art
Nowadays, a single-lens reflex camera having an automatic zooming function has been used. Such camera has a CCD (charge coupled device) line sensor determining a correct distance between the object and the camera and a zoom motor for the automatic zooming function.
According to the automatic zooming camera system of the conventional single-lens reflex camera, it is adapted to restrict the object to be shot to adult persons, the camera user previously selects one of the face-up shot, bust shot, and full body shot by pushing buttons, and the zoom motor is driven according to the position of the zoom lens after the particular position of the zoom lens corresponding to the distance between the lens position and the object, which distance being previously programmed according to the particular kind of the shot, is determined.
Because such single-lens reflex camera provides a CCD line sensor for automatic focusing, and the CCD line sensor can judge whether it is out of focus before or behind and correctly determine the distance to the object, it is possible to obtain or structure an auto-zooming system relatively easily.
In addition, there have been automatic tracking apparatus which are adapted to automatically track or follow the change of the object or the moving object in the visual field of the video camera. According first proposed conventional object tracking apparatus of a video camera, it memorizes a peak value of high-frequency part of a brightness signal in the measurement frame and recognizes motion of the object as the peak value changes.
According to second proposal of such automatic object tracking apparatus of a video camera, it takes a matching of representative points of luminance signals in before and after fields within the measurement frame in order to form a motion vector, and supposes the motion vector in the measurement frame as a motion of the object.
The conventional automatic zooming systems of the single-lens reflex camera fail to be employed in the video camera having an automatic focusing system of the so-called mountain-climbing control type, since the conventional automatic zooming systems can not correctly measure the distance to the object.
The former or first object automatic tracking apparatus has a merit of simple structure of the whole mechanism. However, it has a problem of failing to track an object of a man if, for example, there are trees in the background within the measurement frame as well as the man. The reason of such problem resides in that the high frequency component of the tree becomes the largest peak.
The latter or second automatic tracking method uses basically signals outputted when the peak is occurred, so that the method is sensitive to noise resulting in malfunction of the automatic tracking apparatus in a taking image environment with low brightness. Theoretically, because the second conventional automatic tracking method picks up the high frequency component, it is apprehensive that the tracking apparatus fails to automatically track the objects with low contrast.
Furthermore, the second tracking method can not or only with difficulty judge whether the calculated motion vector is owing to shaking of hands of a user holding the video camera or motion of the object, resulting in erroneous operation of the video camera or the tracking apparatus therein.

Video camera that automatically maintains size and location of an image within a frame


A curved ultrasonic waveguide, as used in an ultrasonic surgical instrument, includes two curved half-wave sections, having similar vibratory motion at their respective distal tips, which are integrally or compressively joined at the distal tips to create a single waveguide with a sharper bend radius than is conventionally possible. The resulting waveguide does not produce parasitic motion or generate excessive heat at the input or output portions of the waveguide.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a method and waveguides for changing the direction of longitudinal vibrations, and more particularly pertains to a method and waveguides for changing the direction of longitudinal vibrations which maintain efficiency of operation over a larger angle of change than prior art designers typically accepted as possible.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
In the design of acoustic or electromagnetic waveguides it is widely believed that sharp turns in a waveguide lead to inefficiencies of parasitic motion, excessive heat generation and noise. A common rule of thumb holds that a radius of curvature of a waveguide should not be less than the transmitted wavelength because a smaller radius of curvature causes the efficiency of the waveguide to quickly drop below 100%. A cutoff radius occurs at approximately one-sixth the wavelength. Designers define a cutoff radius R by the equation R greater than xcex/2xcfx80, where xcex represents the wavelength of the transmitted energy and xcfx80 is the well-known ratio of the circumference of any circle to its diameter, or approximately 3.14.
Prior art waveguide designs avoided having a radius of curvature less than the cutoff radius because the efficiency of the waveguide can diminish below 50%. The waveguide loses efficiency regardless of the angle of the bend. Any bend in prior art waveguides can induce parasitic motion which can produce heat and noise, and result in reduced component life, especially if the radius of the waveguide itself is greater than ten percent of the waveguide""s radius of curvature.
In the prior art, redirecting longitudinal motion was typically performed by either bending the waveguide, usually in a continuous curve, to the degree desired, or by exciting subharmonics and deriving use from the subharmonics. Both methods produce a superposition of motions that propagate both proximal and distal to the bend. The component of the motion not parallel to the longitudinal axis of the waveguide produces heat and noise, and can destroy the device at high powers.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a method and waveguides for changing the direction of longitudinal vibrations.
The present invention redirects substantially longitudinal motion along a first axis to substantially longitudinal motion along a second axis inclined at an angle relative to the first axis much more efficiently than prior art devices. The present invention maintains efficiency even when the waveguide has a very tight radius of curvature in the section between the two axes, and maintains efficiency over a larger angle than prior art designers typically accepted as possible without any reduction in utility. When a waveguide pursuant to the present invention redirects longitudinal motion over reduced angles similar to those used in the prior art, higher efficiencies are obtained than with conventional prior art designs. Moreover, analysis has shown that angles up to the maximum possible angle of 180 degrees can be achieved with the present invention with no restrictions on the radii of curvature. The present invention can result in transmission efficiencies near 100% at all angles even when the radius of the waveguide exceeds 10% of the waveguide""s radius of curvature. Contradicting current theory, the novel waveguide designs benefit from smaller radii of curvature, especially at larger bend angles.
The waveguides of the present invention comprise first and second half-wave sections, each having a straight portion, a curved portion and a balancing region. The half-wave sections join into one continuous piece, or are compressively loaded against each other, at the tips of their curved portions. The vibrations at the tip of the curved portion of the first half-wave section are substantially identical in magnitude and direction to the vibrations at the tip of the curved portion of the second half-wave section. The direction of vibration at the tip of each respective curved portion of each section is preferably tangential to the curve, but the present invention does not require that limitation.
In a simple embodiment, the present invention comprises two identical half-wave sections joined at the tips of their curved portions. Alternative embodiments can encompass any geometry on either half-wave section, not necessarily identical, as long as the direction of vibration of the tip of each section is substantially identical.
Slightly modifying the existing balancing features would require minor tuning to correct for higher order effects (such as a nonuniform velocity profile along the joining surfaces). The slight modification entails no gross geometric changes.
The present invention changes the direction of ultrasonic longitudinal vibrations without generating parasitic motion, heat or noise, or resulting in early failures of instruments incorporating the present invention, and can produce a tighter radius of curvature than is typically accepted as being possible in the prior art, and has potential applications in articulated ultrasonic instruments.
In accordance with the teachings herein, the present invention provides a waveguide and a method for redirecting substantially longitudinal ultrasonic vibrations along a first axis to substantially longitudinal motion along a second axis inclined at an angle relative to the first axis. First and second half-wave sections are provided, wherein each half-wave section has a straight portion, a curved portion with an end tip, and a balancing region. The half-wave sections are joined at the tips of their curved portions, and the ultrasonic vibrations at the tip of the curved portion of the first half-wave section are substantially identical in magnitude and direction to the vibrations at the tip of the curved portion of the second half-wave section.
In greater detail, the direction of the ultrasonic vibrations at the tip of each respective curved portion of each section are preferably tangential to the curve. The radius of each of the curved portions of the first and second half-wave sections can extend over a subtended angle up to the maximum possible angle of 180 degrees.
In different embodiments, two identical first and second half-wave sections are joined at the tips of their curved portions. In alternative embodiments, the first and second half-wave sections have different geometries. In one embodiment, ultrasonic vibrations produced by an ultrasonic generator are introduced into one end of the waveguide, and an end-effector cutting element is positioned at a second end of the waveguide.
Each half-wave section is designed such that the magnitude of the ultrasonic vibrations, from one end of each half-wave section to the other end of each half-wave section, has one-half of the wavelength throughout the half-wave section. The amplitudes of the ultrasonic vibrations are a maximum at one end of each half-wave section, decrease to a nodal point near the center of each half-wave section and increase again to a maximum at the tip at the opposite end of each half-wave section.
In several embodiments, the first and second half-wave sections are integrally joined into one continuous piece at the tips of their curved portions. In alternative embodiments, the first and second half-wave sections are compressively loaded against each other at the tips of their curved portions and are not integrally connected together. Moreover, the first and second half-wave sections can be rotatable relative to each other, such that the effective angle between input and output portions of the waveguide can be continuously varied.

Method and waveguides for changing the direction of longitudinal vibrations


An apparatus for growing plants (100) is provided. The apparatus comprises at least one base member (110) having a periphery (112), at least one cover member, or wall member (120), having at least one channel (122a, 122b), and at least one intermediate filter (170) operable to be supported by the at least one cover member (120). The one or more cover members (120) are couplable to the periphery (112) of the at least one base member for providing a hollow space (140), and the at least one channel is operable to receive at least one tubular member (160, 162) supported at a distance from the at least one base member. The at least one intermediate filter is arranged for dividing the hollow space into at least two segments (172, 174). The apparatus is optionally operable to provide irrigation of one or more plants growing therein from seawater supplied to a bottom region of the apparatus.

Increasing populations, particularly in urban settlements such as cities, has created an increased demand for food, such as fruits and vegetables. Furthermore, due to a lack of suitable plots of land and clean water in the aforementioned cities, it has become difficult to grow food locally in the cities. Thus, fruits and vegetables are usually grown at locations away from the cities, for example in countryside regions, and thereafter transported to the cities using vehicles. This increases the cost of fruits and vegetables due to associated transportation charges, and may pose an environmental threat due to emission of greenhouse gases and particulate pollutants by the vehicles. There are therefore encountered problems when seeking to supply fruit and vegetables to the cities.
The above problems may be potentially addressed by growing plants at communal plots or by using conventional plant growing apparatus, such as flower pots or plastic bags provided with pre-planted seeds. The use of communal plots is associated with problems of size restriction due to a large number of people sharing a given associated communal plot, and generally such communal plots are not hygienically maintained to such an extent that is suitable for growing food, for example fruits and vegetables; for example, use of contaminated water for irrigation can cause cholera and poisoning. Moreover, the use of conventional plant growing apparatus, such as flower pots or plastic bags, does not provide a sufficiently high yield or sufficiently high production efficiency. Therefore, for obtaining a higher degree of production or a required production, a large number of such plant growing apparatus may be potentially required. However, such plant growing apparatus are associated with transportation problem, when transported in large numbers, due to their size and non-foldable nature.
Therefore, in order to address the aforementioned problems, there arises a need to provide improved apparatus that address aforementioned drawbacks of conventional ways for growing plants.


This semiconductor device manufacturing method comprises the steps of: forming a thick gate oxide film (thick oxide film) in a first region of a substrate, forming a thin gate oxide film (thin oxide layer) in a second region, and then, applying oxynitridation to these gate oxide films; forming gate electrodes to 1d on these gate oxide films; and implanting an ion that contains nitrogen or nitrogen atoms into at least one part of an interface between the hick gate oxide film (thick oxide film) and the substrate before or after the step of forming the gate electrodes, thereby forming a highly oxy-nitrided region. In this manner, in a semiconductor device in which there coexist a MISFET having a thin gate insulation film and a MISFET having a thick gate insulation film, hot carrier reliability of the MISFET having the thick gate insulation film is improved.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing technique of the semiconductor device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a technique for optimizing an amount of nitrogen that is contained in an interface between a gate insulation film and a semiconductor substrate of a MISFET (Metal Insulator Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor), thereby improving device reliability such as hot carrier reliability.
In recent years, since it becomes evident that a gate oxide film is oxy-nitrided in gas atmosphere such as NO or N2O, and nitrogen atoms are piled up on an interface between the gate oxide film and a silicon substrate, thereby making it possible to improve a hot carrier reliability of an n-channel type MISFET, and restrain boron (B) penetration from a p-type polycrystal silicon gate, this oxynitridation has been practically available for use in logic products.
However, there has been a report that, if an amount of nitrogen in the interface between the gate oxide film and the silicon substrate (hereinafter, referred to as a SiO2/Si interface) is excessively increased, a p-channel type MISFET is severely degraded (for example, NBTI (negative bias temperature instability) described in 1999 VLSI Symposium Digest of Technical Paper, P. 73). Therefore, control of an amount of nitrogen in the above interface is an important task.
In addition, as a substitutive technique of an oxynitridation, for example, as described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 10-79506, it is known that a similar advantageous effect is attained by ion implantation when source and drain extensions are formed after nitrogen or a nitrogen-containing ion has been subjected to gate electrode processing. FIG. 84 shows the test result showing an example, where remarkable improvement of a hot carrier reliability is achieved by almost one hundred times in a nitrogen atom of 1xc3x971015 cmxe2x88x922 in dosage.
However, according to study of the Inventor, recent logic LSI products employ gate oxide films having dual oxide thickness (hereinafter, these films are referred to as a thin film and a thick film for clarity). Thus, in the same oxynitridation, as a result of shortage of an amount of nitrogen relevant to thick film, there has been a problem that a hot carrier reliability of an n-channel type MISFET using a thick film tends to be in short. On the other hand, in the case where an oxynitridation condition is determined in accordance with a thick film, there has been a problem that an excessive amount of nitrogen is produced, and the NBTI durability of the p-channel type MISFET is impaired, or alternatively, a fixed charge increases, and threshold voltages of the n-channel MISFET and p-channel MISFET are greatly shifted. This problem will be described more specifically with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 79 to FIG. 83 each show an outline of CMOS process flow using a gate oxide film having thickness of dual oxide level. A shallow trench isolation region 11 is formed on a silicon (Si) substrate (hereinafter, simply referred to as a substrate) 10, and a p-well 12 for n-channel type MISFET and an n-well 13 for p-channel type MISFET are formed. Then, the surface of a substrate 10 is fully oxidized, and a thick oxide film 14 is formed (FIG. 79). Next, the surface 10 of the thick MISFET section is covered with a resist mask 111, and a thick oxide film 14 at the thin MISFET section is removed by etching (FIG. 80). Next, after washing the surface of the substrate 10, the substrate 10 is re-oxidized, thereby forming a thin oxide film 15 on the substrate 10 of the thin MISFET section (FIG. 81). In this case, the thick oxide film 14 is thus re-oxidized so as to have desired film thickness, although the film thickness slightly decreases due to the above washing step. Thereafter, the full face of the substrate 10 is subjected to oxynitridation by employing an NO gas so that an nitrogen atom in desired amount is contained in an interface between the fate oxide film (14, 15) and the substrate 10.
Next, a polycrystal silicon film deposited on the substrate 10 is patterned, thereby forming gate electrodes 31 and 32. Thereafter, an extension region (nxe2x88x92 type semiconductor region) 113 and a halo region (p-type semiconductor region) 114 for punch-through restraining are formed at the p-well 12 of the thick MISFET section, and an extension region (p-type semiconductor region) 116 and a halo region (n-type semiconductor region) 117 are formed. In addition, an extension region (n-type semiconductor region) 119 and a halo region (p-type semiconductor region) 120 are formed at the p-well 12 of the thin MISFET section, and an extension region (pxe2x88x92 type semiconductor region) 122 and a halo region (n-type semiconductor region) 123 are formed at the n-well 13 (FIG. 82).
Next, a sidewall spacer 124 is formed on the side wall of gate electrodes 31a, 31b, 32a, and 32b, and then, an As ion and an boron fluoride ion is implanted in the substrate 10, thereby forming a n+ type semiconductor region 125 with high impurity concentration that configures the source and drain of an n-channel type MISFET and a p-channel type MISFET 126 with high impurity concentration that configures the source and drain of a p-channel type MISFET. Thereafter, a silicide layer 127 is formed each on the surface of the source and drain of the n-channel type MISFET (n+ type semiconductor region 125) and the surface of the source and drain of the p-channel type MISFET (p+ type semiconductor region 126) (FIG. 83).
However, in the above process, gate oxide films 14 and 15 of dual oxide thickness are treated in accordance with one oxynitridation step. Thus, an amount of interfacial nitrogen between the thick gate oxide film 14 and the substrate 10 is smaller than that between an interface between the thin gate oxide film 15 and the substrate 10, and a hot carrier reliability of the MISFET using a thick film becomes insufficient.
FIG. 85 shows the testing result when oxide under-layer dependency of an amount of nitrogen on the interface is investigated. In the figure, it is found that the current thick film (7 nm) contains nitrogen in amount almost 5 times as much as the current thin film (2.5 nm). Here, this phenomenon is studied by using a simple model.
When an Si substrate surface-oxide in gas such as NO is heat treated, nitridation species such as NO molecules solve and thermally diffuses in the oxide film, whereby the specifies reach an SiO2/Si interface. It is considered that this interface has a density of a site that can be coupled with nitrogen, and thus, functions as a sink. In consideration of the nitride species concentration in the oxide film based on this presumption, when the thickness of the oxide film is thin, the film has a linear distribution as shown in FIG. 86, and a flux F of the nitride specifies is prosectional to Ns/tox (Ns: oxide film surface concentration such as NO molecules (depending on solid solubility) and tox: Oxide under-layer film thickness). Therefore, the nitrogen amount N of the interface is led to be inversely prosectional to xe2x80x9ctoxxe2x80x9d by dN/dt=F. In actuality, when the oxide film becomes thick, a complimentary error function distribution as shown in FIG. 87 is obtained, and thus, the flux F decreases more remarkably than linear approximation. Therefore, in the case where an oxide film having two types of thickness is processed in one oxynitridation process, it is found that an amount of nitrogen on the thick interface is inversely prosectional to an amount of nitrogen in thin filmxc3x97film thickness at most. A policy that a thinner film is produced without changing the film thickness of the thick film is effectual, and thus, a difference in amount of nitrogen is likely to be more remarkable.
In addition, in DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) embedded logic products, blanket oxynitridation is carried out while a logic side is defined as a reference, and thus, an amount of B (boron) channel implantation into a DRAM memory cell transistor increases. That is, if oxynitridation is carried out in order to improve a hot carrier reliability of a MISFET that configures the DRAM peripheral circuit, the threshold voltage of the n-channel type MISFET is reduced by generation of a fixed positive charge on the SiO2/Si interface. Thus, an amount of channel B ion implantation into the n-channel type MISFET that configures a memory cell must be increased. As a result, there occurs a DRAM specific problem that the concentration of B in the substrate increases, the xe2x80x9cpnxe2x80x9d junction electric field is intense, a leak current increases, and data retention time is reduced. This problem is more serious as a highly integrated DRAM is embedded in the future.
The present invention has been made in order to solve the foregoing problem. It is an object of the present invention to provide a technique of improving a hot carrier reliability of a MISFET having a thick gate insulation film in a semiconductor device in which there coexist a MISFET having a thin gate insulation film and a MISFET having a thick gate insulation film.
The foregoing and other objects and novel characteristics of the present invention would be evident from a description and accompanying drawings of the specification.
An outline of typical information disclosed in the present application is briefly described as follows. According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor device comprising:
a first n channel and p channel MISFET having a first gate insulation film; and
a second n channel and p channel MISFET having a second gate insulation film that is thicker than the first MISFET, wherein nitrogen in amount equal to or greater than that determined by a reverse ratio of film thickness as compared with an amount that exists on an interface between the first gate insulation film and the semiconductor substrate is contained in at least one part of an interface between the second gate insulation film and a semiconductor substrate. Further, nitrogen in amount equal to or greater than that existing on an interface between a gate insulation film of the second p-channel MISFET and the substrate is contained in at least one part of an interface between a gate insulation film and a substrate of the second p-channel MISFET.
A semiconductor device, where an n-channel type MISFET that wherein a memory cell of a DRAM is formed in a first region of a main face of a semiconductor substrate, and an n-channel type MISFET and a p-channel type MISFET, each of which configures a peripheral circuit or a logic LSI of the DRAM, is formed in a second region of a main face of the semiconductor substrate, wherein nitrogen is contained in at least one part of an interface between a gate insulation film of an n-channel type MISFET and a p-channel type MISFET, each of which configures a peripheral circuit or a logic LSI of the DRAM.
According to still another aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of manufacturing a semiconductor comprising the steps of:
(a) forming a first gate insulation film in a first region of a main face of a semiconductor substrate, followed by forming a second gate insulation film that is thicker than the first gate insulation film in a second region of a main face of the semiconductor substrate;
(b) applying oxynitridation to the first and second gate insulation film;
(c) forming a first gate electrode of a first MISFET on the top of the first gate insulation film, followed by forming a second gate electrode of a second MISFET on the top of the second insulation film; and
(d) implanting an ion that contains nitrogen or nitrogen atoms in at least one part of an interface between the second gate insulation film and the semiconductor substrate before or after the step (a) or before or after the step (c).
According to a yet another aspect of the present invention, there is a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device comprising the steps of:
(a) forming a second gate insulation film on a main face of a semiconductor substrate;
(b) applying oxynitridation to the second gate insulation film;
(c) removing the second gate insulation film in a first region of the semiconductor substrate, followed by leaving the second gate insulation film in a second region of the semiconductor substrate;
(d) oxidizing the semiconductor substrate, thereby forming a first gate insulation film that is thinner than the second gate insulation film in the first region of the semiconductor substrate;
(e) applying second oxynitridation to the first and second gate insulation films; and
(f) forming a first gate electrode of a first MISFET on the top of the first gate insulation film, followed by forming a second gate electrode of a second MISFET on the top of the second gate insulation film.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing thereof


A method for generating a secure application is described herein. The method can include the steps of obtaining a target application and decomposing the target application into original files that contain predictable instructions. One or more predictable instructions in the original files may be identified. In addition, the target application may be modified to create the secure application by binding one or more intercepts to the target application. These intercepts can enable the modification of the predictable instructions in accordance with one or more policies such that the behavior of the secure application is different from the original behavior of the target application. Modification of the target application may be conducted without access to the source code of the target application.

As smartphones have evolved over the years, consumers have become increasingly reliant on these devices, particularly when it comes to managing their personal affairs. Many enterprises, however, have resisted putting corporate data on the personal devices of their employees due to potential security breaches. For example, many applications (or "apps) installed on personal devices contain malware or some other questionable code. Currently, information technology (IT) departments have limited ways of managing the personal devices of their employees and the content installed on those devices. As a result, sensitive enterprise data, if installed on an employee's personal device, may be subject to attack from a dishonest source. This potential security breach has led many companies to resist integrating corporate apps and information in the operating environment of a worker's personal mobile device.

System and method for creating secure applications


The present application relates to a new chlorin e6 derivatives and pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof, as well as preparation and use thereof, which belongs to the medicine field. The chlorin e6 ether amino acid derivative comprises general structural formula I and optical isomers thereof. The preparation process comprises etherification of 3-vinyl in chlorin e6, A peptide is produced from 15-carboxylethyl and amino acid. The chlorin e6 ether amino acid derivative and pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof can be used as a photodynamic anti-tumor drug. Compared with the prior similar photosensitizer Talaporfin used in clinic, the chlorin e6 ether amino acid derivative of the present application possess improved photodynamic anti-tumor activities and a high ratio of darktoxicity-phototoxicity. The prepared new photodynamic anti-tumor drugs comprises photodynamic anti-cancer drugs, drugs for photodynamic treatment of benign vascular diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration and naevus flammeus, and drugs for photodynamic treatment of condyloma acuminate.

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) has developed into a new treatment for tumors since earlier 1980s. Its principle is to irradiate a focus (tumor) tissue into which a photosensitizer has been injected by laser of special wavelength. Elemental oxygen (O2) existing in the tissue is excited by the photosensitizer to produce a reactive oxygen species (ROS), such as singlet oxygen (1O2). Thus, apoptosis or necrosis of tumor cells occurs and the tumor is treated. So called special wavelength means the largest absorption wavelength of the photosensitizer in the red region (>600 nm). PDT just specifically irradiates tumor tissues and selectively damages tumor cells, but with little or no damage to normal tissues or organs. It is a non invasive therapy for human body, with little side effect (no trauma and pains due to surgery, no emesis, nausea and immunosuppression due to radiotherapy and chemotherapy), and it can be used alone or combined with other therapies for many times.
Light, oxygen in tissues and photosensitizers are three main factors for PDT. Further, photosensitizers play a key role. The first generation of porphyrin photosensitizer, such as porfimer sodium is successfully used in tumor treatment in clinic, and a significant effect is achieved. However, there are some obvious defects, 1) a short of absorption wavelength (630 nm) in the red region causes the wavelength and matched laser cannot penetrate enough depth to skill tumor and a small molar absorption coefficient (ϵ). Thus, photoactive activity is lower. 2) They are mixture of multicomponent porphyrin. 3) The elimination rate in vivo is slow and the retentive phototoxicity is large. After receiving the treatment, the patient needs to be protected from the light for 4-8 weeks. The patient feels great psychological pain. Therefore, since later 1990s, researchers have stated the studies on the second generation of photosensitizers represented by chlorin photosensitizers, such as benzoporphyrin derivatives (BPD), chlorophyll a degradation derivatives and bacteriochlorin. Since the structure of chlorins photosensitizer is clear and simple, the biggest absorption wavelength in the red region (>600 nm) is changed to 660-690 nm compared with the first generation of porphyrins photosensitizer, the laser of this wavelength possesses the best depth for tumor skilling. Further the molar absorption coefficient (ϵ) of chlorins photosensitizer is higher than that of the first generation of porphyrins photosensitizer by one order of magnitude. The photoactive activity is strong, the metabolism in body is fast, and the retentive phototoxicity is small. It has been a hotspot in the research for new photosensitizers. The report regarding chlorins photosensitizer is increasing (for example, zhu guohua et. al., Synthetic process fro 132-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-153-N-(2-hydroxyethyl)-173-methoxycarbonyl chlorin e6-131,152-diamide and studies on optical property. Chemical Engineer, 2015, 235(4): 1-5; Fang ying, et al., The degradation of silkworm feces chlorophyll and Synthesis of chlorin e6 ether derivatives. organic chemistry, 1995, 15(5): 493-498; Xiuhan Guo, et al. Synthesis of new chlorin derivatives containing maleimide functional group and their photodynamic activity evaluation. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry Letters, 2015, 25(19): 4078-4081; Gushchina, O. I., et al. Synthesis of amide derivatives of chlorine e6 and investigation of their biological activity. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, 2015, 153: 76-81; Kwitniewski, M., et al. Diamino acid derivatives of PpIX as potential photosensitizers for photodynamic therapy of squamous cell carcinoma and prostate cancer: in vitro studies. Journal of Photochemistry and Photobiology B: Biology, 2009, 94, 214-222; Serra, V. V., New porphyrin amino acid conjugates: synthesis and photodynamic effect in human epithelial cells. Bioorganic & Medicinal Chemistry, 2010, 18, 6170-6178; Wang, H. M., Porphyrin with amino acid moieties: a tumor photosensitizer. Chem. Biol. Interact. 2008, 172, 154-158; Smith, K. M., et al. Syntheses and cellular investigations of 173-, 152-, and 131-amino acid derivatives of chlorin e6. Journal of Medicinal Chemistry, 2011, 54: 7464-7476; Yao jianzong, et al., Synthesis and photosensitizing abilities as well as tumor photobiological activities of Chlorin F methyl ether. Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica, 2000, 35(1): 63-66, 2001, 39(1): 1-4; Pandey, R. K., et al. Chlorin and porphyrin derivatives as potential photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy. Photochemistry and Photobiology, 1991, 53(1): 65-72). Although the potential effects of almost of optimized products are better, most of them have non-ideal activity data, higher toxicity, harder synthesis or lower yield. Thus, their use is hard to be achieved.
After 2000, some photosensitizers are successfully used in clinic, wherein verteporfiin comes into the market in 2000. Temoporfin comes into the market in 2001. Talaporfin comes into the market in 2004. In addition, phase I and II clinical test of pyropheophorbide a n-hexyl ether [HPPH, trade name: Photochlor] have been conducted by Hisun Pharmaceutical. It can be used for treating head and neck cancer. However, drugs for treating tumors are so less, patents have so little space to select them. Further, the treatment effects also need to be enhanced, and the toxicity might be reduced. Therefore, in the present application chlorin e6 is used as a raw material, its structure is modified and optimized to develop a new chlorins photosensitizer with a high effect and a low toxicity.

Chlorin e6 derivative and pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof and process for preparing and use of the same


A method and apparatus of measuring the hardness or various other characteristics of a sample surface, comprises a load cell carrying a penetrator and connected to a computer for reading signals from the load cell. The sample is advantageously mounted on the vertically moveable table of a microscope. The table can be moved by a stepper motor also connected to the computer for raising the sample into contact with the penetrator until a preselected force is reached. The force is sufficient to indent the sample surface with the penetrator. Optical or other mechanisms can then be used to measure the indentation. One other mechanism which can be used to measure the indentation is a second load cell carrying a tube which also contacts the sample surface and produces a second signal. Signals from the two load cells can be processed to measure a difference between the signals which provides a measurement of the indentation produced by the penetrator.

The present invention relates, in general, to a method and apparatus for measuring depth of penetration and hardness into and of a material to be tested. In particular, the method and apparatus of the invention utilizes responds to a signal from a load cell that indicates a force applied to a tool for making an indentation on a sample of the material. The signal discontinues the force when a set point has been reached and depth of penetration, and/or hardness is measured either optically or by using a second load cell in an inventive arrangement.
Present systems used to measure the hardness or micro-hardness of, particularly, metallic samples are known as the Brinell, Vickers or Rockwell systems. Each of these requires that a known weight be placed on top of a ball or diamond penetrator which contacts the surface of a sample, to create an indentation in the sample. The weight and penetrator are then removed and the sample transferred to optical computation apparatus to calculate the hardness of the sample from an optical determination of the size of the indentation made in the sample by the weight and penetrator.

Method and apparatus for measuring depth and hardness