A printer includes multiple source trays, an output destination, and a media path. The media path couples the source trays to the output destination. Ordered media is loaded within one or more source trays. The printer is configured to automatically recover from a jam when processing the ordered media by selectively shedding selected ordered media from a source tray. A method of recovering from the jam includes generating a request that identifies the insertion order of selected ordered media, inserting the selected ordered media within an output; and purging selected ordered media when a jam occurs to provide a uniform output.

A production printer is capable of producing large volumes of documents. Some of these printers process large volumes of paper, use multiple media types, draw from multiple sources, and automatically finish a desired document. Despite advances in technology, production printing can be complicated and can involve many manual processes. These processes can include identifying and loading the correct media, identifying and loading the proper weight, color, type, and stock of paper, and selecting the proper insertion of ordered media between pages of a document.
When using an ordered media in a production printer, it can be necessary to manually separate and selectively dispose of some of the ordered media. When a jam occurs, for example, an operator must manually clear the jam, and in some instances, determine the precise number and current sequence of the ordered media loaded within the supply trays. To restore the output to a proper order, an operator may be required to manually reorder the ordered media within the supply trays before printing resumes.
Some jam recovery methods utilize electronic counts to selectively discard some ordered media to maintain output continuity. These methods require an operator to know the total number of sheets within an ordered media set and further require the operator to preprogram the printer with the sequence of sheets that make up an ordered media set before initiating a print request. These methods can further complicate the printing process and can waste a significant amount of time and resources when the printers are not programmed correctly or are loaded with improper ordered media. Accordingly, there is a need for a jam recovery system and method that do not require operator programming to restore a printing operation in the event of a jam or limit a printer's functionality by the number of sheets that comprise a complete ordered media set.

Ordered media jam recovery system and method


A targeted marketing system and method are provided that provide a customer with customer questions, receive responses to the customer questions from the customer, and store data associated with the responses. The customer is provided with a feedback page that graphically illustrates data associated with the customer's standing in a selected peer group. The customer is provided with options operable to adjust the customer's actual demographic to a hypothetical demographic, and data associated with hypothetical demographic changes from the customer is received and processed. Hypothetical feedback information is then displayed that graphically illustrates the hypothetical standing of the customer within the selected peer group such that the customer can see the effect of the hypothetical demographic changes.

Businesses have a need to market their products and services to potential customers. Currently, some of them rely on non-targeted advertising systems such as mass mailings to a general geographic area. However, this approach lacks the ability to target specific potential customers for specific products or services.
Alternatively, some businesses purchase previously compiled statistical data. However, the data obtained by this method is limited in that the research is typically based on small samples of the population and is typically historical data. Thus, the data is generalized and does not give the businesses any information regarding the desires or needs of specific potential customers.
Still other businesses conduct surveys through telemarketing or other types of research companies. Although telemarketing may be used to sell products and services to willing customers, this approach requires businesses to contact all potential customers without any knowledge as to the likelihood that any particular one will purchase a specific product or service.
Therefore, a need has arisen for a new system and method for profiling customers for targeted marketing that overcomes the disadvantages and deficiencies of prior art systems and methods.

System and method for profiling customers for targeted marketing


The disclosure discloses a telepresence method, a telepresence terminal and a telepresence system. The system includes a telepresence terminal, multiple audio inputting devices and multiple audio outputting devices and/or multiple video inputting devices and multiple video outputting devices and a remote endpoint, wherein the telepresence terminal has multiple audio and video inputting and outputting interfaces for connecting the multiple audio inputting devices and the multiple audio outputting devices and/or the multiple video inputting devices and the multiple video outputting devices, and is configured to: establish a session, exchange input/output location information of multiple audio streams and/or video streams, perform media capability negotiation, and establish media logical channels with the remote endpoint; encode streams input by the multiple audio inputting devices and/or the multiple video inputting devices, and send the encoded streams to the remote endpoint according to input/output locations of the streams based on the established media logical channels; receive and decode multiple audio streams and/or video streams from the remote endpoint, and forward the decoded streams respectively to audio outputting devices and/or video outputting devices at local locations corresponding to input/output locations of the multiple audio streams and/or video streams received, so that the decoded streams are played by the audio outputting devices and/or the video outputting devices at the local locations. With the disclosure, problems of complicated deployment of an existing telepresence system, intercommunication and stream synchronization within the system are solved.

Telepresence refers to an advanced remote videoconferencing system, and enjoys great popularity among high-end users due to a true sense of on-scene presence thereof. In a telepresence system, auditory positioning, life size imaging, and eye contact directly concern whether the users can have an immersive sensation, and therefore are key technical indicators in evaluating the telepresence system.
In a traditional videoconferencing system, in addition to providing a stream auxiliary to a video, a videoconferencing terminal generally serves to encode and send an audio stream and/or an video stream; and to receive, decode, and output an audio stream and/or an video stream. Since there are only one stream of sound input source and one stream of sound output, a user can not sense from which direction of a meeting room the sound comes. Since there are only one stream of video input source and one stream of video output, the whole meeting room has to be included in a collecting and encoding frame at a local end; for a multipoint conference, one can select to watch only the picture of one meeting room or a Mosaic picture of multiple remote meeting rooms; neither a sent video nor a received video can meet the requirement for life-size display.
In contrast, user experience required by the telepresence system is to have multiple audio and video streams, provide information on the direction from which each audio stream comes to achieve auditory positioning, and display a life-size image of a remote conferee based on a projected requirement, in which case one meeting room generally needs to be provided with multiple video inputs and multiple video outputs. At present, some telepresence terminals are obtained by integrating traditional videoconferencing terminals; specifically, multiple videoconferencing terminals are deployed in a single meeting room and each videoconferencing terminal may be connected to audio-video input/outputting devices respectively; and then substantial auditory positioning and life-size display are achieved through audio-video-input/output-device deploying and assembling techniques. However, with such integration of multiple videoconferencing terminals (wherein generally, when multiple videoconferencing terminals are deployed in a single meeting room, each videoconferencing terminal needs to be called respectively), it is difficult to call a single conference ID number, to implement stream synchronization or the like; what is more, integration of multiple terminals complicates system deployment, which then requires professional personnel of integration and deployment; any minor problem appearing in use requires on-site maintenance by professional personnel, thus posing a major obstacle to promotion of such a high-end application like the telepresence. Moreover, not all videoconferencing terminals are used fully employing functions thereof in the integrated system, leading to resource waste to some extent. In addition, such a complicated and non-standardized solution of integration makes it very difficult for telepresence systems deployed by different manufacturers to intercommunicate with each other.

Telepresence method, terminal and system


In a liquid composition for metachromatic members which is to be applied to a metachromatic member having a support and provided thereon a porous layer formed by fixing therein a low refractive index pigment in a disperse state together with a binder resin, the liquid composition has a liquid medium and dissolved and/or dispersed therein a solid matter having a refractive index of from 1.3 to 1.8. Also disclosed is a metachromatic member set having this liquid composition and a metachromatic member. The liquid composition for metachromatic members satisfies permanent preservability of images, having superior density retention and shape retention of images formed in the metachromatic member and being suitable for uses in which impressions of hands, feet and the like are taken and preserved or in which written images or stamped images are preserved.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a liquid composition for metachromatic members, and a metachromatic member set making use of the composition. More particularly, it relates to a liquid composition for metachromatic members which is used to form desired images on metachromatic members, and a metachromatic member set making use of the composition.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, as an attempt to form images on metachromatic members, a doll- or animal-shaped toy set is disclosed which comprises a doll- or animal-shaped toy and a water-metachromatic member comprising a support and provided thereon a porous layer formed by fixing therein a low refractive index pigment in a disperse state together with a binder resin (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 11-216272).
In the above doll- or animal-shaped toy set, any desired portion of a doll- or animal-shaped toy in a liquid-absorbed state is pressed against the surface of the water-metachromatic member to make the porous layer permeated with water and turn transparent or semitransparent so as to make an image visible. The toy has the repetition utility that, upon evaporation of the liquid having permeated the porous layer, the porous layer returns to the original state and the image comes invisible.
It is also disclosed therein that water is preferably applied as a medium which makes the toy liquid-absorbed and that, in order to control drying speed to elongate image visual time, a water-soluble organic solvent such as propylene glycol may be mixed in a very small quantity.
However, the image formed in the water-metachromatic member constituted as described above is one which turns invisible upon evaporation of the water and, even when the water-soluble organic solvent such as propylene glycol is added, the image visual time is a little elongated at best.
Hence, such a means is unsuitable for uses in which images are permanently formed and preserved, e.g., uses in which impressions of hands, feet and the like of infants are taken and preserved. Accordingly, a liquid composition suited for the preservation of images has eagerly been awaited.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Liquid composition for metachromatic members, and metachromatic member set making use of the same


A system for conducting a computer based search that includes a bidding bulletin board to post a user search query from a user, an agent that submits a bid to the bidding bulletin board in response to the query, where the agent is associated with a search result, and a display server to display the search result if the bidding bulletin board accepts the bid, where an amount bid is determined by behavioral rules for the agent. Also, a method that includes the steps of posting a user search query from a user on a bidding bulletin board, receiving a bid from an agent at the bidding bulletin board in response to the query, where the agent is associated with a search result, and displaying the search result if the bulletin board accepts the bid, where the amount bid is determined by behavioral rules for the agent.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to systems and methods of refining dynamic fitness functions of genetic algorithms. More specifically, the present invention includes systems and methods of refining search-based fitness functions based on user-selected search results.
2. Relevant Background
Conventional Internet search engines use heuristics to determine which web pages are the best match for a keyword search. This process includes measuring the relevancy of a web page based on the number of times the page is cited by (or hyperlinked to) other web pages.
This method of measuring relevancy is inherently bias towards selecting older web pages that have had more time to develop cites and links to other web pages. Unfortunately, the information found on these older web pages is more likely to have outdated information than more recently created web pages. This bias can actually slow the dissemination of new information displayed on new web pages.
Another problem with conventional search engines is their inability to use semantics and contextual associations while searching keywords. For example, when a user inputs the keyword "title" into a conventional search engine, the engine cannot differentiate whether "title" refers to the title of a book or whether "title" refers to a house or car title. Thus, there remains a need for search engines that are more discriminating about semantic differences in words like humans.
One approach to these and other problems with conventional search engines is to use genetic algorithms (also called genetic programs) that can provide globally optimum solutions in problem spaces that cannot be well defined mathematically. These problem spaces generally involve complex tradeoffs between competing considerations, and the genetic algorithm attempts to determine the best balance between competing considerations.
A problem with genetic algorithms, however, is that they are difficult to implement when the relative quality of the results are dynamic or difficult to completely define. For example, the quality of a keyword search depends on the semantics of the keywords and their contextual association with each other. These semantics are dynamic and context dependent, making them difficult to implement in a genetic algorithm.
A similar problem occurs in searches of rich media depositories that contain substantial amounts of graphical and/or pictorial information. The textual metadata associated with this kind of data generally provides an incomplete description, if such metadata descriptions are present at all. Like keywords, the metadata depends on semantics and is difficult to search effectively with genetic algorithms. Thus, there remains a need for systems and methods that employ genetic algorithms that work effectively with dynamic and difficult to define semantics of human language.

System and method for computer based searches using genetic algorithms


The heat treatment apparatus according to the invention comprising a process tube for holding a plurality of semiconductor wafers, a heating resistive element made mainly of molybdenum silicide and surrounding the process tube, a heat insulating member surrounding the heating resistive element and having a layer which made of material inert to silicon dioxide and faces the surface of the heating resistive element, and a securing member securing the heating resistive element to the heat insulating member, and made of material inert to silicon dioxide.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat treatment apparatus, more particularly, to a heat treatment apparatus incorporating improved heating resistive element for heat-treating objective material
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, various heat treatment apparatuses, such as thin-film formation apparatuses (e.g., a chemical vapor deposition apparatus and an epitaxial film growing apparatus), oxide film formation apparatuses, and thermal diffusion apparatuses for doping impurities, have been used in processing semiconductor wafers.
Of these, any conventional diffusion type heat treatment apparatus for performing various heat treatments on semiconductor wafers comprises a process tube loaded with a plurality of semiconductor wafers, a heating resistive element, and a heat insulating member surrounding the heating resistive element.
A spiral heater made of FeCrAl is made available as heating resistive element. The spiral heater can raise the temperature in the process tube to temperatures as high as 1200.degree. C. The heat insulating member is made of, for example, laminated ceramic fibers. The ceramic-fiber insulating member decreases the quantity of heat which is radiated and conducted from the heater, in order that semiconductor wafers can effectively be heat treated.
Since the conventional diffusion-type heat treatment apparatus mentioned above has a spiral heater made of FeCrAl having relatively low density of allowable current, the temperature inside of the process tube is raised at only about 10.degree. C./min. In consequence, it is difficult for the heat treatment apparatus to heat-treat semiconductor wafers at high speed. Furthermore, the heating resistive element deforms much when heated to high temperatures, inevitably contacting the heat insulating member. Upon contacting the insulating member, the element reacts with the insulating material and is subsequently cut.
To enhance the wafer processing efficiency, a heat treatment apparatus has been developed which has a lamp capable of raising the temperature at 50.degree. to 100.degree. C. per second. Nevertheless, when this apparatus is operated, the surface of each semiconductor wafer loaded in the process tube is not uniformly heated, a temperature difference of about 40.degree. C. is detected between the most heated portion and the least heated portion. This results in crystal defects, like slip, in the processed semiconductor wafer.
On the other hand, an electric furnace incorporating heating elements made of molybdenum silicide (MoSi.sub.2) is disclosed in Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 48-8657 of 1973. Published Unexamined Japanese Patent Application No. 1-155194 of 1989 discloses a heat treatment furnace having a plurality of heaters and heat insulating members which are located in a plurality of heating zones, respectively.


A sweat collection device includes an elongate concave sweat-collecting surface at a face thereof for placement over an iontophoresis-stimulated area of a patient's skin to collect sweat and pass it through an axial bore in the concavity. A length of flexible tubing is secured to the axial bore for receiving and storing the collected sweat. A chamber may be provided for holding the tubing in flat coiled condition. Collected sweat builds up within the tubing from the axial bore. The device can include markings to indicate when a minimum amount of sweat has been collected in the tubing and can indicated a range for collected sweat that takes into account variations in the tubing. An open end of the tubing can be flared for easy insertion of a blunt needle to extract sweat or a guide passage can guide insertion of the needle into the open end of the tubing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the collection of human sweat for medical evaluation and is particularly directed to sweat collection devices.
2. Related Art
It is known that the concentrations of sodium and chloride are considerably above normal in the sweat of individuals suffering from cystic fibrosis. Sweat testing is routinely used to diagnose cystic fibrosis, particularly in infants, where such testing is often done between birth and about four weeks of age. In one method of sweat collection, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,751, incorporated herein by reference, sweating is induced in a substantially flat area of skin by pilocarpine iontophoresis, usually performed using an electrode with a substantially circular pilocarpine containing gel disc, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,383,529, incorporated herein by reference, and as manufactured by Wescor, Inc. of Logan, Utah, as a Pilogel® Iontophoresis Disc, placed over the skin of the individual to be tested where sweating is desired. A return electrode is placed on the skin near the electrode with the pilocarpine containing gel disc and a voltage is applied between the electrodes sufficient to cause current flow through the pilocarpine containing gel disc and into the skin between the electrodes. The pilocarpine molecules flow from the pilocarpine containing gel disc through and into the skin area in contact with the pilocarpine containing gel disc. When the pilocarpine iontophresis is complete, the electrodes are removed. The pilocarpine in the circular skin area that was under and in contact with the circular pilocarpine containing gel disc activate the sweat glands in that skin area so that sweating takes place in that skin area.
After removal of the electrodes, a sweat collecting device known as the Macroduct® Sweat Collector, manufactured by Wescor, Inc. of Logan, Utah, which has a concave underside sweat-collecting surface of circular cross section, is placed over the iontophoretically-stimulated area on the skin and the device is firmly strapped in place. Sweat secreted by the individual's sweat glands flows between the skin and the concave underside sweat-collecting surface of the sweat collector and into a micro bore sweat collector tube. After a sufficient volume of sweat has accumulated in the sweat collector tube, the sweat is expelled from the tube and tested for chloride, sodium, and/or total electrolyte content.
While the prior art Macroduct® Sweat Collector described in the above referenced U.S. Pat. No. 4,542,751 works well in collecting sweat from infants for most testing currently being done, producing and collecting enough sweat for some testing is sometimes a problem. Sweat for sweat testing is usually collected from the arm or leg of the patient being tested. Because of the small width of an infant's arm or leg, particularly when four weeks or less of age, the diameter, and therefore the cross sectional area, of the circular cross section of the iontophoresis creating electrode and the circular cross section of the sweat-collecting surface of the sweat collector are limited by the width of the arm or leg. This limits the size of the area of the infant from which sweat can be produced and then collected by the sweat collector.


A fuel injection amount control device is used for an internal combustion engine. A secondary air supply device supplies secondary air into an exhaust passage of the internal combustion engine. Flow amount calculating circuitry calculates a secondary air flow amount. The secondary air flows into the exhaust passage. Target air fuel ratio setting circuitry sets a target air fuel ratio when secondary air is supplied. Fuel amount correcting circuitry corrects a fuel injection amount in accordance with a current value of the secondary air flow amount such that the air fuel ratio on a downstream side of an inlet of secondary air in the exhaust passage becomes the target air fuel ratio when secondary air is supplied. Target changing circuitry monitors increase and decrease in the secondary air flow amount. The target changing circuitry changes the target air fuel ratio to one of a rich side and a lean side in accordance with the increase and decrease in the secondary air flow amount.

A catalyst is provided to an exhaust pipe of an internal combustion engine to purify exhaust gas. In a conventional operation, secondary air is supplied to the upstream of a catalyst using an air pump to enhance purification efficiency of the catalyst.
When secondary air is supplied, a fuel injection amount is controlled such that the air fuel ratio (combustion air fuel ratio) of mixture gas, which is supplied to the engine, becomes high to the rich side. The air fuel ratio (A/F ratio) is detected using an air fuel ratio sensor (A/F sensor) arranged in the vicinity of an inlet of the catalyst, so that the A/F ratio is controlled in accordance with the detection signal of the A/F sensor. However, in this situation, the injection amount of fuel may be excessively increased. That is, when secondary air is supplied, the amount of fuel injection is increased in accordance with a flow amount of secondary air. Subsequently, when supply of the secondary air is stopped, the amount of fuel injection quickly changes. For example, when the flow amount of secondary air temporarily increases or temporarily decreases corresponding to change of an operating condition of the engine, the amount of fuel injection may be excessively increased. As a result, drivability may be deteriorated, and emission of exhaust gas may increase.
Therefore, when secondary air is supplied, feedback control of the A/F ratio may be prohibited to evade such deterioration in drivability and increase in emission. According to JP-B2-2910034, when secondary air is supplied, and an A/F sensor outputs a rich signal, feedback control of the A/F ratio is operated. Besides, when secondary air is supplied, and the A/F sensor outputs a lean signal, feedback control of the A/F ratio is prohibited.
However, the injection amount of fuel is preferably compensated, that is, the A/F ratio is preferably controlled in accordance with increase and decrease in flow amount of secondary air for maintaining exhaust emission in a favorable condition, even when secondary air is supplied. Therefore, the amount of fuel injection needs to be compensated when secondary air is supplied.

Fuel injection control device for internal combustion engine


A fish scaler (10) includes a cylindrical fish scaling barrel (11) having a cylindrical grate wall (19) and two conically shaped end walls (20a,20b). A flipper protrusion (63) extends inwardly from the cylindrical grate wall for catching the fish and flipping them as the barrel rotates. The drive means (12) for rotating the barrel comprises a drive wheel (27) biased against the cylindrical grate wall and a motor for rotating the drive wheel.

There are many electric fish scalers known in the art employable for scaling large quantities of fish. A typical electric fish scaler comprises a large cylindrical barrel into which a large quantity of fish is placed for scaling. The cylindrical barrel has a diamond-shaped mesh wall or grate with sharp edges to scrape the sides of the fish and a means for rotating the cylindrical barrel about its axis to cause the sharp edges of the barrel's grate to scrape the sides of the fish. Since it is desirable to rinse the fish as the fish are scaled in order to keep the fish moist and to clean the skin of the fish, such prior art fish scalers typically include a rinse system for directing high powered jets of water into the barrel as the barrel rotates to rinse the scales from the barrel and to clean the fish as the fish are scaled.
A significant disadvantage of employing a large cylindrical barrel with a large grate surface area to scale fish is that the sharp edges of the grate do not always sufficiently scale the fish. The problem arises due to the insufficient force of the fish against the grate as the cylindrical barrel is rotated. The rotation rate of the barrel is limited in order to prevent the fish from clinging to the wall of the barrel and thus not sliding along the grate surface. However, a limited rotation rate reduces the force of the fish against the scaling edges of the grate. To increase the weight of fish acting against the grate of a large cylindrical barrel having a large grate surface area, the entire barrel needs to be filled with fish, thus allowing the fish to pile up on top of one another and weight each other down against the sharp edges of the grate. When less than a full quantity of fish are to be scaled, the fish tend to spread out in the barrel, rather than pile up on top of each other, thereby reducing the force of the fish against the grate surface and resulting in incomplete scaling.
Another disadvantage with such prior art fish scalers is that they tend to scale only one side of the fish. This is so because the limited rotation rate of the barrel inhibits the tumbling of the fish within the rotating cylindrical barrel. Only when the barrel is fully loaded with fish will complete tumbling of the fish be achieved. Thus, when less than a full quantity of fish is scaled, either the fish are not sufficiently scaled on all sides or the fish scaler must be run for longer periods of time in order to allow for complete scaling cf the fish.
In addition, many fish scalers are driven with a conventional chain and sprocket drive system. However, such sprocket drive systems often require constant maintenance, which undesirably adds to the operational costs of these types of machines.
Accordingly, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the industry for a fish scaler with a simple drive means that can achieve increased tumbling action of the fish and can better concentrate the fish within the scaling barrel to increase the scaling force of the fish against the grate.


A method and apparatus for forming a sealing member includes forming a first sealing part to surround one portion of a display area, the display area including a pixel, and forming a second sealing part to surround a remaining portion of the display area and to intersect ends defining the second sealing part with corresponding ends defining the first sealing part. Thus, a time needed to form the first and second sealing member may be reduced, thereby reducing an entire process time to manufacture the display apparatus. Further, an area needed to form the sealing member may be reduced, thereby enhancing productivity of the display apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for forming a sealing member for a display apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus and method of forming a sealing member capable of enhancing a number of display panels.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to visually confirm information processed in an information-processing device, a display apparatus is used as an interface. Various display apparatuses, for example, such as a cathode ray tube (CRT) display apparatus, a liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatus, a plasma display panel (PDP), an organic electro-luminescence display (EL) apparatus and so on, may be used as the interface.
The LCD apparatus displays an image using various characteristics, for example, such as twist, spray, band, etc., of liquid crystal to which an electric field is applied.
The LCD apparatus includes a pair of substrates, electrodes, a liquid crystal layer and a sealing member. The electrodes are formed at the substrates facing each other, and each of the electrodes receives a different voltage from each other, thereby generating the electric field between the substrates. The liquid crystal layer and the sealing member are disposed between the substrates. The sealing member may maintain a gap between the substrates and prevent leakage of the liquid crystal.
In order to inject the liquid crystal into the gap between the substrates, the scaling member is partially opened, or remains in a closed loop configuration during injection of the liquid crystal. More specifically, when the LCD apparatus has the sealing member partially opened, the liquid crystal is injected into the gap between the substrates using a vacuum injection method. When the LCD apparatus has the sealing member in a closed loop configuration, the liquid crystal is provided between the substrates using a dropping method.
Since the vacuum injection method involves a complex process relative to that of the dropping method, the vacuum injection method has not been widely used.
However, when applying the dropping method, the sealing member may not be successively formed over a plurality of LCD apparatuses because the dropping method coats the sealing member having a band shape on the substrates in the closed loop configuration. Furthermore, it is difficult to make the closed loop configuration in which ends defining the closed loop accurately meet and to successively form additional closed loops.
As a result, the dropping method increases a processing time needed to manufacture a plurality of LCD apparatuses, thus lowering productivity. According, a method and apparatus to increase productivity by decreasing the processing time needed to manufacture a plurality of LCD apparatuses are desired.

Method and apparatus for forming a sealing member for a display device


An optical position detection apparatus detects the position of a target object in a Z-axis direction and the position of the target object in an X-axis direction based on the result of the light reception in a light receiving unit when light source units that are spaced apart in the X-axis direction are sequentially turned on and the result of the light reception in the light receiving unit when light source units that are spaced apart in the Z-axis direction are sequentially turned on among a first light source unit, a second light source unit, and a third light source unit. The emission directions of the detection lights in the first light source unit, the second light source unit, and the third light source unit are equal to one another in the Z-axis direction.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an optical position detection apparatus optically detecting the position of a target object and an appliance having a position detection function provided with the optical position detection apparatus.
2. Related Art
An optical position detection apparatus optically detecting a target object has been proposed, in which, for example, a first light source unit and a second light source unit emit detection light toward the target object, and a light receiving unit detects the detection light that is reflected from the target object. According to this optical position detection apparatus, the first light source unit and the second light source unit are arranged to be in the same position in a first direction in which detection lights are emitted and to be spaced apart from each other in a second direction that crosses the emission direction (first direction) of the detection light. According to the result of the detection in the light receiving unit when the first light source unit and the second light source unit are sequentially turned on, the position of the target object in the second direction can be detected (for example, see JP-T-2003-534554).
However, according to the configuration described in JP-T-2003-534554, the first light source unit and the second light source unit are installed in the same position in the first direction, and thus the position of the target object in the first direction (the emission direction of the detection light) cannot be detected. In FIG. 2 of JP-T-2003-534554, a configuration is disclosed, in which a third light source unit that emits a detection light in an inclined direction against the emission direction of the detection lights from two light source units is additionally provided. However, even in such a configuration, it is difficult to detect the position of the target object in a wide range in the emission direction of the detection lights from the first light source unit and the second light source unit.

Optical position detection apparatus and appliance having position detection function


A graduation reproduction method in performing the halftone recording due to screen percentage by a light spot of a light beam with the light beam being intensity-modulated on the basis of digital image data in accordance with a binary recording technique. An illumination time value is reduced with respect to the normal illumination time value determined under a recording condition set to record a minimum recording dot on the recording medium. The reduced illumination time is set as a unit illumination time at the time of the recording of the halftone and the secondary scanning speed is reduced in correspondence with the rate of reduction of the unit illumination time relative to the normal illumination time value. Further, in the case that the recording operation is the screen percentage to be effected by the light spot only for the unit illumination time, the exposure is arranged so as not to be effected by the light spot, or arranged to be effected for the normal illumination time value.

The present invention relates to a graduation reproduction in an optical recording for image processing applicable to information-related field, printing-related field and others.
The tone reproducibility is an important factor in making a high-quality image, and hence, various devices to improve the tone reproducibility have been proposed in relation to the case that the image processing in optical recording/reproduction is effected by analog image signals and the case that the image processing in optical recording/reproduction is effected by digital image data. One known approach is that, as disclosed in the Japanese Patent Provisional Publication No. 63-212273, when a unit area (for example, whose side has a length which is 0.67 to 1.33 times the diameter of light spot for the exposure) due to division of a mesh spot (halftone cell) in a matrix form is used as the spatial and quantized unit, the unit area is vertically and horizontally divided into a plurality of small areas whereby the exposure for information recording is performed in units of a distance shorter than the diameter of the exposure light spot so as to improve the recording density and the tone reproducibility. There is a problem which arises with such a prior art technique where the tone is made by recording dots obtained by the exposure in units of the distance shorter than the light spot diameter, however, in that the exposure light source is required to be stably and nonlinearly intensity-modulated for allowing linear reproduction of the tone in the mesh spot.

Graduation reproduction in optical recording


A method includes obtaining data associated with operation of equipment in an industrial process and identifying training data and evaluation data in the obtained data. The method also includes, during each of multiple training periods, identifying one or more models and one or more first statistical values using at least some of the training data and determining a threshold value using the one or more first statistical values. The one or more models represent the operation of the equipment. The method further includes, during each of multiple evaluation periods, determining one or more second statistical values using at least some of the evaluation data and the one or more models, comparing the one or more second statistical values to the threshold value determined in a preceding one of the training periods, and determining whether the equipment is suffering from at least one specified condition based on the comparison. In addition, the method includes, in response to determining that the equipment is suffering from the at least one specified condition, generating an alert identifying the at least one specified condition.

Furnaces are used in a variety of industries and in a variety of ways to provide heating. For example, industrial processes in oil and gas refineries, chemical plants, or other industrial facilities often use furnaces to heat materials in order to facilitate desired chemical reactions. A furnace typically operates by receiving flows of fuel (such as fuel gas, fuel oil, coal, or wood chips) and inlet air, and the fuel is combusted in the presence of the inlet air to produce heat that is transferred to a process material. Ideally, the combustion of the fuel and the heating of the process material remain stable, and all or substantially all of the fuel entering the furnace is combusted.
Furnace flooding refers to a condition that can occur when the combustion of fuel gas in a furnace becomes unstable, such as when a ratio of the inlet air flow to the fuel gas flow moves outside of the furnace's operating envelope. When this occurs, the combustion process can become unstable or even stop, resulting in a loss of flame within the furnace. The loss of flame means that no fuel gas is being burned within the furnace. However, fuel gas may continue to be provided into the furnace, resulting in a build-up of uncombusted fuel gas in the furnace. In some circumstances, this could lead to an explosion of the furnace.

Apparatus and method for using model training and adaptation to detect furnace flooding or other conditions


A semiconductor device manufacturing process is disclosed in which one processing step is reduced by replacing the photoresist film conventionally used for masking in the formation of the heavily doped n-type layer by an oxide film, and by monitoring, in the monitor region, the simultaneous formation of the contact holes in the oxide films different in the respective thickness thereof. An n+ region is formed by using a second insulation film and a polysilicon gate electrode formed on a semi-conductor wafer as masks for implanting arsenic ions. Further, a contact hole to be formed on a p-type region covered with a fourth insulation film and a second insulation film and a contact hole to be formed on the n+ region covered with the fourth insulation film are formed simultaneously under the monitoring of the formation of the contact holes in a monitor region.

Various types of semiconductor devices and techniques for manufacturing the semiconductor devices are known. For example, the U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,838 discloses a power IC and the manufacturing method thereof, U.S. Pat. No. 4,959,699 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,008,725 disclose vertical MOSFETs and the manufacturing methods thereof, U.S. Pat. No. 4,364,073 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,336 disclose vertical IGBTs and the manufacturing methods thereof, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,191,396 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,162,883 disclose a lateral MOSFET, lateral IGBT and the manufacturing methods thereof.
As a typical example of the prior art, the structure of an IC portion of the power IC disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 5,053,838 and the manufacturing method thereof are shown in FIGS. 42 to 48 and will be described with reference to certain process steps.
STEP(1): Referring now to FIG. 42, a first insulation film 3 of about 1000 nm in thickness is formed by thermally oxidizing an n-type semiconductor layer 2, doped with phosphorus at around 1.times.10.sup.16 cm.sup.-3, in steam at 1100.degree. C. for 3 hours.
STEP(2): As shown in FIG. 43, windows 4 are formed by selectively etching the predetermined parts of the first insulation film 3 by hydrofluoric acid etc. by using for masking a photoresist film patterned by photolithography.
STEP(3): Boron ions are then implanted at the dose amount of 2.times.10.sup.13 cm.sup.-3 in the surface layer of the n-type semiconductor layer 2 through the windows 4 at the acceleration voltage of 100 keV. STEP(4): Referring now to FIG. 44, the boron ions are diffused by heat treatment at 1100.degree. C. for 3 hours to form p-type regions 5 in the surface layer of the n-type semiconductor layer 2. STEP(5): Subsequently to this, steam oxidation is conducted at 1100.degree. C. for 80 min to form second insulation films 61 of thermally oxidized silicon of around 650 nm in thickness. The second insulation films 61, used for inter-layer insulation of wiring in the ICs or for field plates of the power devices, need not be formed precisely in the thickness thereof.
STEP(6): As shown in FIG. 45, the predetermined parts of the first and second insulation films are simultaneously etched away by hydrofluoric acid etc. by using a photoresist film patterned by photolithography for masking.
STEP(7): Third insulation films 7 of oxide of about 50 nm in thickness are then formed, for example, by dry oxidation at 1000.degree. C. for 30 min.
STEP(8): Referring now to FIG. 46, a poly-crystalline silicon film is deposited to a thickness of 500 nm by CVD. Phosphorus ions are implanted at the acceleration voltage of 100 keV to the poly-crystalline silicon film at the dose amount of 5.times.10.sup.15 cm.sup.-2. The implanted phosphorus ions are activated by heat treatment at 1000.degree. C. for 10 min. Gate electrodes 8 are formed by selectively etching the poly-crystalline silicon film by using a photoresist film patterned by photolithography for masking.
STEP(9): Then, heavily doped n-type regions 9 are formed in the surface layers of the n-type substrate 2 and a p-type region by implanting arsenic ions at the dose amount of 5.times.10.sup.15 cm.sup.-2 at the acceleration voltage of 150 keV by using for masking a photoresist film 15 patterned by photolithography, the first insulation films 3 and the gate electrodes 8.
STEP(10): As shown in FIG. 47, a fourth insulation film 10 of BPSG film of about 1000 nm in thickness is formed by CVD etc.
STEP(11): Contact holes 11, which reach the p-type regions 5 and the heavily doped n-type regions 9 through the fourth insulation film 10, are formed by selectively etching the BPSG film by using a photoresist film patterned by photolithography for masking as illustrated in FIG. 48.
STEP(12): Finally, metal electrodes 12 are formed by selectively etching an Al--Si--Cu film, deposited to a thickness of about 1000 nm by sputtering etc., by using a photoresist film patterned by photolithography for masking.
The semiconductor device 1 manufactured by the above process comprises a p-channel MOSFET further comprising a back gate electrode 12(PB), a source electrode 12(PS), a gate electrode 8(PG), and a drain electrode 12(PD); and an n-channel MOSFET further comprising a back gate electrode 12(NB), a source electrode 12(NS), a gate electrode 8(NG), and a drain electrode 12(ND). The illustrated device structure facilitates obtaining CMOS-ICs. The manufacturing method described above, however, includes ten photo-processing steps.
It is therefore necessary to reduce the photo-processing steps for reducing the manufacturing cost of the semiconductor devices. Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide a semiconductor device that has the same structure and exhibits the same performance with those of the conventional device and to provide a method of manufacturing the semiconductor device that reduces one step from the conventional photo-processing steps and facilitates reducing the cost of the semiconductor device.

Method of manufacturing a power semiconductor device


A remote sensing system is provided which operates as a bipolarized, differential mode, LDI (laser differential interferometry) system to detect motion at a remote location. The system is adapted to reduce the effects of turbulence induced frequency fluctuations by using a retroreflector apparatus which converts a single sensing beam into a single return beam having two overlapping transversely polarized sensing signals; thus, turbulence induced noise will be common mode to both return signals and cancel at the receiver. In preferred embodiments, the system is used to detect seismic motions. The retroreflector apparatus is coupled to ground motions at a selected location where it separates the sensing beam into two polarized sensing signals, frequency modulates one of the polarized sensing signals to contain frequency components that represent selected ground motions, and combines the polarized sensing signals into the return beam. The return beam is detected. The return sensing signals are separated from the beam and combined by electronic and/or by optical heterodyning techniques to cancel common mode signals (including turbulence induced noise) on the sensing and return beam, thereby leaving a difference signal which represents the selected ground motions.. In one preferred embodiment, the target is illuminated with a horizontal sensing beam; a polarizing beamsplitter splits the sensing beam into a first and a second polarized sensing signal. The beamsplitter Doppler shifts the first signal and also deflects the first signal to a vertical path where it reflects from an inertially isolated retroreflector. The second signal travels along a horizontal-inline path where it is reflected and Doppler shifted by a seismically coupled retroreflector. The Doppler shifted signals are combined in the beamsplitter to form the return signal. The first signal contains Doppler shifted frequency components which represent vertical and horizontal-inline ground motions. The second return sensing signal contains Doppler shifted frequency components which represent horizontal-inline ground motions. The common mode signals (the horizontal-inline frequency components and turbulence induced noise) are canceled in the receiver, leaving a difference signal which represents vertical motions.

It is generally the objective of seismic exploration to generate seismic energy, make measurements of and record the amplitude of any reflected and refracted energy at selected locations and for selected times, and then by selectively processing the recorded seismic data, to deduce the geometry of the subsurface geologic boundaries as well as some properties of the materials of the earth through which the seismic energy has propagated and from which it has been reflected.
Conventional land seismic acquisition techniques involve the use of an appropriate source (dynamite, vibrator(s), airguns(s), etc.) to generate seismic energy and a set of detectors, spread out on the surface of the earth, to detect any seismic signals due to seismic energy interacting with subsurface geologic boundaries. These detected signals are recorded as a function of time and subsequent processing of these signals, i.e., seismic "traces" or seismic data, is designed to reconstruct an appropriate image of the geologic boundaries of the subsurface and to obtain information about the subsurface materials.
Conventionally, the detector employed to detect seismic signals on land is a geophone. A geophone is an electro-mechanical device that is coupled to the ground via an extension or "spike" that is physically inserted into the ground. This allows the geophone case to vibrate because of any earth motions, including seismic signals. Internal to the geophone case and vibrationally isolated from the case (typically by springs) is an "inertial" mass that does not vibrate with the earth. Thus, there is a small relative motion between the geophone case and its inertial mass due to any detected ground motions. This relative motion is converted to an electrical signal by having a coil of wire that moves through an electromagnetic field of a permanent magnet; the magnet may be the inertial mass with the coil attached to the geophone case, or vice versa. This electrical signal is the seismic signal that is recorded (alone or in combination with other electrical signals) and later processed.
Conventional land seismic data acquisition is slow, expensive and labor intensive. In particular, the activities of installing and then later removing the geophones, which are connected together by cables, is a major factor in the cost and amount of time expended on seismic exploration.
A radar system which senses seismic ground motion (vibrations) remotely is one solution for reducing the cost and time for acquiring seismic data. Two such systems are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,070,483, Remote Seismic Sensing, and 5,109,362, Remote Seismic Sensing. Both patents use laser Doppler heterodyne interferometry techniques to detect the movements of the earth.
Another laser Doppler interferometry system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,350, Laser Geophone, which uses a homodyne system with a detector that has side-by-side corner-cube retroreflectors for detecting vertical ground motions at a remote location. The use of a single or a side-by-side corner-cube retroreflector arrangement is also suggested for some detectors in embodiments of the systems described in the before mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,070,483 and 5,109,362.
Simplified illustrations of the prior art Laser Geophone (detector) of U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,350 are provided in FIGS. 1A and 1B. FIG. 1A is a front view showing two side-by-side corner-cube retroreflectors 2, 4. The prior art detector modulates two approximately horizontal laser beams (a first and second sensing beam) which illuminate the detector. The sensing beams are reflected at the detector downward by a mirror 6 onto the side-by-side (first and second) corner-cube retroreflectors 2, 4. The first sensing beam is reflected from the mirror 6 to the first retroreflector 2; the second sensing beam is reflected from the mirror 6 to the second retroreflector 4. The mirror 6 and the first retroreflector 2 are coupled to the motions of the ground, i.e., they are seismically coupled to the motions of the earth; the second retroreflector 4 is inertially isolated from the motions of the ground in the vertical direction.
Each sensing beam is frequency modulated by the detector. When a sensing beam is incident normally on an optical component which reflects (or deflects) the path of the incident sensing beam (such as the mirror 6 or retroreflectors 2, 4), the frequency of the beam may be frequency modulated (Doppler shifted). The amount of Doppler shift at each reflection (deflection) point is proportional to the relative velocity of the reflection point on the Doppler shifting optical component with respect to the incident path of the beam which strikes that point. As the beam is reflected through the detector, the Doppler shifts are cumulative; thus, the Doppler shifts add or subtract from the previous Doppler shifts on the beam. Upon exiting the detector, if the points of reflection on the combination of Doppler shifting optical components have undergone a net relative movement along the incident paths of the sensing beam, the cumulative movement of the reflection points would represent a net velocity with respect to the sensing beam. And, the sensing beam will be Doppler shifted (frequency modulated) by an amount which represents the net velocity of these reflection (deflection) points relative to the incident paths of the sensing beam.
In this specification, an orthogonal coordinate system is used. The terms "vertical" and "horizontal" are used with respect to the motions of the earth at the detector. Vertical defines one ordinate for motions back and forth or up and down along the vertical ordinate. The horizontal is further defined with respect to the path of the transmitted sensing beam to identify a horizontal-inline ordinate and a horizontal-crossline ordinate. A horizontal line, formed by intersecting a vertical plane which extends in the inline direction of a sensing beam with a horizontal plane, defines the horizontal-inline ordinate and the horizontal-inline direction. A horizontal line perpendicular to the horizontal-inline ordinate defines the horizontal-crossline ordinate and horizontal-crossline direction.
Returning to the prior art detector, FIG. 1B shows a side view of the prior art detector of FIG. 1A. Mirror 6 is shown to be at approximately a 45 degree angle with respect to vertical direction and parallel to the horizontal-cross line direction. Since the mirror 6 is coupled to the motions of the ground, the movement of the mirror 6 with respect to the path of both sensing beams imparts a Doppler shift on the sensing beams each time the sensing beams reflect from mirror 6; these Doppler shifts will represent motion in two directions, the relative vertical movement of the mirror and the horizontal-inline movement of the mirror with respect to the incident paths of the beams. Here, no Doppler shift is contributed to the beams for horizontal-cross line movement by the mirror 6 because the mirror is parallel to the horizontal-cross line direction. In the horizontal-crossline direction, the mirror has no relative movement with respect to the incident paths of the beam; thus, these motions do not Doppler shift the beams.
Returning to FIG. 1A, each sensing beam upon initial reflection by the mirror 6 enters the aperture of their respective corner-cube retroreflector 2, 4. A corner-cube (trihedral) retroreflector has the property that any ray entering the effective aperture will be reflected and emerge from the entrance/exit face parallel to itself, but with an opposite direction of propagation. An incident beam, hitting the effective aperture, is reflected exactly back on itself. These properties are, within acceptable angle limits, independent of the orientation of the corner-cube retroreflector. Because the incident beam is reflected within the retroreflector such that the reflected output beam is reflected exactly back on itself, the individual rays of the reflected beam are parallel to their initial position in the incident beam which strikes the retroreflector. This characteristic of the retroreflector is due to the structure of a corner-cube retroreflector; it has three mutually perpendicular reflectors, and each ray entering the retroreflector will reflect from each reflector before exiting.
Each reflector moves in the same direction, but because they face each other, each reflector has a different relative motion with respect to an incident beam striking it from the previous reflector. Since each ray reflects from each mutually perpendicular reflector, the net relative movement for lateral motions on the corner-cube with respect to that ray is zero; thus, the Doppler shifts, placed on each ray for the lateral motions on each reflector as it reflects through the corner-cube, cancel. In this case, the lateral motions on retroreflectors 2, 4 are motions in the horizontal-inline and horizontal-crossline directions.
However, for motions back and forth along the path of the beam from the mirror 6 (here, the vertical direction), the net relative motion is not zero and the beam will be Doppler shifted to reflect this motion.
After each sensing beam is reflected by the retroreflectors 2, 4, they are again reflected (and Doppler shifted), as discussed previously, by the mirror 6. Note that the Doppler shifts imposed on each beam by the mirror are additive. This can be seen by assuming that the mirror is moving upward, the upward motion of the mirror at the 45 degree angle lengthens the path the initial incident beam takes before reflecting from the mirror. The same phenomenon occurs for the incident beam reflected from a retroreflector (the upward motion of the mirror 6 also tends to lengthen the path of the incident beam from the retroreflector); thus, the mirror has a net relative motion in the vertical direction with respect to each beam of FIG. 1A. A similar analysis could be made for mirror motions in the horizontal-inline direction to determine that the mirror 6 has a net relative motion in the horizontal-inline direction.
However, the relative vertical motions of the mirror 6 and retroreflector 2 are in opposite directions with respect to the path of the first sensing beam through the detector of FIG. 1A. This can be seen by noting that when mirror 6 is moving vertically upward, retroreflector 2 also moves in an upward direction. But, the upward motion of retroreflector 2 shortens the incident path of the beam from the mirror; whereas, the upward motion of the mirror lengthens the incident paths of the beams that strike the mirror; thus, the (vertical motion) Doppler shifts imposed on the beam by the retroreflector are opposite to the cumulative Doppler shifts imposed on the beam by the mirror for vertical motions. Since the cumulative vertical Doppler shifts from the mirror 6 are approximately equal to the Doppler shifts from the retroreflector 2, these vertical Doppler shifts cancel. Thus, the frequency modulated first sensing beam of this example contains Doppler shifted frequency components which represent only horizontal-inline ground motions at the Laser Geophone.
The frequency modulated second sensing beam also contains Doppler shifted frequency components because of the motions of mirror 6. However, these frequency components represent vertical ground motions as well as horizontal-inline ground motions. This is because, the inertially isolated retroreflector 4 only acted to reflect the beam; it had no motion in the vertical direction; thus, it did not add to or cancel any Doppler shifted frequency components on the second sensing beam.
In theory, this type of side-by-side retroreflector detector provides Doppler shifted frequency components on the two modulated sensing beams which are approximately identical (common mode signals). Here, the common mode signals represent the horizontal-inline motions on the detector. In addition, this prior art configuration also provides frequency components which are not common to the two beams. In this particular case (the Laser Geophone system), when the modulated beams are combined by optical homodyning, the common mode signals cancel each other and a difference signal (the frequency components which are not common to both beams) remains. One problem with a homodyning system is that it is not possible to determine "up" Doppler and "down" Doppler motion from the obtained difference signal. This problem is resolved by using a heterodyning system instead. However, in spite of this problem, the difference signal provided by this prior art homodyning system does represent the vertical motions of the earth at the remote location.
A side-by-side corner-cube retroreflector configuration is also suggested, as mentioned, for some embodiments of the prior art heterodyning system of previously mentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,070,483 and 5,109,362. However, the configurations taught in these patents do not deflect or reflect a sensing beam onto retroreflectors.
The side-by-side corner-cube retroreflector configurations of the before mentioned designs, or any other type of side-by-side retroreflector design, necessarily require that two sensing beams travel different paths through the air to and from the retroreflectors. Separate air paths may have different effects upon the propagating laser sensing beams. Solar radiation heats the ground surface, causing convective air currents which break into turbulent flow. These randomly sized (roughly 1 millimeter to 1 meter) air packets have anomalous temperatures and refractive indices. The optical phase of each laser beam shifts as it passes through a region of anomalous refractive index. These air packets blow across the raypath and cause time-varying, random frequency modulation of the laser beam. Thus, two laser beams traveling through different air spaces will experience different fluctuations in each carrier frequency of the laser beams.
Since, the two laser beams are spatially separated, they will not be affected equally by the atmosphere and the atmospheric effects on the beams are not totally common mode signals. The atmospheric effects do not cancel completely when the two laser beams are combined by optical heterodyning or by electronic heterodyning when the beams are converted to electrical signals. Thus, the difference signal will not only contain the desired Doppler signal but also an additional component which will be referred to herein as turbulent noise. Turbulent noise is especially prevalent on sunny, windy days. Consequently, if side by side retroreflectors are used as parts of the detector in a remote seismic sensing system, the presence of turbulent noise on the difference signal could prevent an accurate determination of the desired (or selected) ground motions (the desired Doppler signal).
In addition, the prior art configurations of side by side corner-cube retroreflectors are only able to provide a difference signal for vertical motions of the earth at the remote location. They are unable to provide a difference signal which represents horizontal-inline or horizontal-crossline motions of the earth.

Retroreflector apparatus for remote seismic sensing


Illumination systems are disclosed that include a light source or a bank of light sources having a non-radially symmetrical aperture having a longer dimension and a shorter dimension, such that the light source or bank of light sources produces illumination with a non-radially symmetrical angular intensity distribution having a larger angular dimension and a smaller angular dimension. The illumination systems include an integrator having an entrance end optically connected to the bank of light sources, an exit end, and a dimension that experiences a larger increase from the entrance end to the exit end. The integrator is disposed so that the dimension experiencing the larger increase is substantially aligned with the larger angular dimension of the illumination produced at the entrance end of the integrator.

Typical projection systems include a source of light, illumination optics, one or more image-forming devices, projection optics and a projection screen. The illumination optics collect light from one or more light sources and direct that light in a predetermined manner to one or more image-forming devices. The image-forming devices, controlled by an electronically conditioned and processed digital video signal or by other input data, produce images corresponding to the video signal or to that data. Projection optics then magnify the image and project it onto the projection screen. White light sources, such as arc lamps, in conjunction with color-maintaining systems, have been and still are predominantly used as light sources for projection display systems. However, recently, light emitting diodes (LEDs) were introduced as an alternative. Some advantages of LED light sources include longer lifetime, higher efficiency and superior thermal characteristics.
Examples of image-forming devices frequently used in projection systems include digital micro-mirror devices, or digital light processing devices (DLPs), liquid crystal on silicon devices (LCoS) and high temperature polysilicon liquid crystal devices (HTPS-LCD). Illumination optics of common projection systems often include integrators. Integrators typically serve to homogenize light supplied into their input ends via reflections at the integrators' walls. Presently known integrators include mirror tunnels, for example, rectangular tunnels, solid or hollow, and elongated tunnels composed of solid glass rods that rely on total internal reflection to transfer light.

Illumination system with non-radially symmetrical aperture


A thermocouple array includes a dielectric layer having via openings therethrough, a first patterned conductive layer facing one surface of the dielectric layer, and a second patterned conductive layer facing another surface of the dielectric layer. Portions of the second patterned conductive layer can extend through the via openings to couple respective portions of the first patterned conductive layer. The second patterned conductive layer has a different thermal emf than the first patterned conductive layer. The dielectric layer, the first patterned conductive layer, and the second patterned conductive layer can be surface-conformable.

Infrared sensors have been used to attempt to measure small temperature gradients in industrial materials and biological tissue. Measurements of temperature distributions in human tissue to detect tumors, for example, must map the surface temperature accurately so that any contribution from internal tumors can be properly detected. Infrared sensors can become unreliable because external conditions such as air flow between the sensors and the sensed region can corrupt the temperature measurements.
Conventional temperature transducers include thermocouples, resistance-temperature detectors, thermistors, and integrated sensors. Each of the above types of transducers, except for the thermocouples, is an active device requiring an external power supply. The thermocouple is a passive device which senses temperature using the thermoelectric principle that when two dissimilar electrically conductive materials are joined, an electrical potential (voltage) is developed between these two materials. Each such individual material can be called a thermoelectric material. The voltage between the materials varies with the temperature of the junction (joint) between the materials. Thermocouples which are useful in practical applications provide approximately linear changes in voltage corresponding to changes in temperature over a useful temperature range. Useful temperature ranges are generally several hundred degrees Celsius and typically occur from absolute zero to the melting point of one or more of the two materials (or, if applicable, a lower temperature that causes the pair of materials to function less linearly).
The voltage varies according to the conductor materials used for the two metals. The voltage cannot be measured directly because the leads to a voltmeter establish a new thermoelectric circuit when they are coupled to the thermocouple leads. Accurate voltage measurements across the thermal junction can be made by instrumentation systems by bringing the thermocouple leads through an isothermal junction block to equilibrate the temperatures of the leads.
Conventional thermocouples are generally fabricated by welding two dissimilar wires. When precise measurements which do not affect the thermal environment are required, the wires are reduced in diameter to eliminate effects of thermal conductivity along the wires, and the thermocouple becomes more fragile. Using conventional thermocouples to measure temperature gradients across a large area involves the fabrication of a thermocouple array connected to a voltmeter with a sequential scanner such as a reed relay scanner. Mechanical support is required for the fragile thermocouple wires. These thermocouple arrays and mechanical supports are not capable of conforming to irregularly-shaped surfaces. Other limiting factors are the precision, accuracy and uniformity of the thermocouple sensors and their thermal junctions created by physical joining or welding.

Thermocouple array and method of fabrication


Substrates for use in liquidus crystal display devices using thin film transistors, solar cells electroluminescence display devices and/or other devices having a thin film formed on the substrate are formed of a glass. The glass is essentially free from alkali metal oxide, lead oxide, and magnesium oxide, and has a high chemical resistance. The glass consists essentially, by weight, of 52-60% SiO.sub.2, 7-14% Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, 3-12% B.sub.2 O.sub.3, 3-13% CaO, 10-22% BaO, 0-10% SrO, 0-10% ZnO.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to glass substrates for use in liquid crystal display devices using thin film transistors (TFT), solar cells electroluminescence display devices and/or other devices having a thin film formed on the substrate, and in particular, to such a substrate having an improved chemical resistance.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
As a glass for use in solar cells which is chemically, electrically, and physically compatible with silicon deposited on the substrate by the vapour deposition and which, in particular, has a linear thermal expansion coefficient closely matching that of silicon over entire temperature range from the vapour deposition temperature down to room temperature while, being chemically inert with respect to the materials used in the vapour deposition process, U.S. Pat. No 4,180,618 (Reference 1) by J. W. Alpha et.al. assigned to Corning Glass Works discloses a glass substrate which is an alkaline earth metal aluminosilicate glass consisting essentially, by weight, of about 55-75% SiO.sub.2, 5-25% Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, and at least one alkaline earth metal oxide selected from the group consisting of 9-15% CaO, 14-20% SrO, 18-26% BaO, and mixtures thereof in a total amount equivalent on a molar bases to 9-15% CaO.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,634,683 (Reference 2) and Ser. No. 4,634,684 (Reference 3), both being issued to W. H. Dumbaugh, Jr. and assigned to Corning Glass Works disclose glass substrates for use in liquid crystal display devices using TFT, which are free from alkali metal ions and are transparent, flat, smooth, inert, compatible with silicon, in terms of thermal expansion, and capable of withstanding processing temperature of at least 850.degree. C.
The substrate glass disclosed in Reference 2 consists essentially of extremely fine-grained crystals homogeneously dispersed in a glass matrix, the base glass therefor being essentially free from alkali metal oxide and consisting essentially, in mole percent, of 2-6% BaO, and/or SrO, 18-26% Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, and 68-80% Si0.sub.2.
The substrate of the Reference 3 is prepared from a strontium aluminosilicate glass consisting essentially, in mole percent, of about 9-12% SrO, 9-12% Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, and 77-82% SiO.sub.2.
Generally speaking, a thin film such as silicon, after deposited on a substrate, is formed into a desired pattern by means of the photo etching to produce an operable device. In the photo etching process, various acids such as sulfuric acid, hydrofluoric acid and/or others and alkali solutions are used. Therefore, the substrate is required to have a chemical resistance to those acids and alkali solutions.
In References 1-3, the substrates disclosed therein are chemically inert to materials used in the vapour deposition process, but References 1-3 are silent as to whether or not those substrates are inert to materials used in the photo etching process.
The substrates disclosed in References 1 and 2 and the almost all substrates disclosed in Reference 3 contain a comparatively large amount of Al.sub.2 O.sub.3, such as more than 15% by weight. Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 tends to react with ammonium ions and hydrofluoric ions of buffered hydrofluoric acid (which is hydrofluoric acid to which ammonium fluoride is added as a buffer) used in the photo etching process, and the surface of the substrate is clouded in white. It is impossible to remove the white cloud by cleaning with water or other solutions. Although the white cloud can be rubbed off by, for example, sponge, the surface of substrate is injured.
Some of substrates disclosed in References 1 and 3 includes MgO which also reacts with ammonium ions and hydrofluoric ions to cloud the substrate surface white.
Further, the aluminosilicate glass as disclosed in References 1-3 has a considerably high melting temperature and a high liquidus temperature. Therefore, it is quite difficult to form an article of a desired shape as well as to produce a homogeneous glass without bubbles, inclusions, stones, striae, and others. In order to resolve the difficulty, it may be considered to use PbO as a flux in the glass. But, PbO evaporates from the glass melt and pollutes the circumference.
Another known glass for such substrates is SiO.sub.2 --B.sub.2 O.sub.3 --Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 --BaO glass such as 7059 produced and sold by Corning Glass Works. Although the glass includes a reduced Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 and no MgO, an amount of SiO.sub.2 is small so that the glass is not so sufficient in acid resistance. Therefore, the glass reacts with acids, such as sulfuric acid and others used in the photo etching process and the substrate surface is also clouded white. The glass further does not have a sufficient high strain point and is not good in the heat resistance.

SiO.sub.2 -Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 -BaO glass substrates with improved chemical resistance for use in display panels and others having thin films


A recording medium which comprises a base paper containing a kenaf pulp and an ink receiving layer provided on at least one surface of the base paper, in which the ink receiving layer contains a pigment, the coating amount of the ink receiving layer is in the range of 1 to 10 g/m.sup.2 by solid matter, a ratio W/D of an elongation in water W to a density D of the recording medium is in the range of 0.1 to 6.0.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a recording medium having a natural texture of kenaf paper with excellent characteristics for images, and an ink jet recording method using the recording medium in which ink droplets fly for recording.
1. Related Background Art
The ink jet recording system is a recording method for images and characters by letting minute ink droplets fly and attach to a recording medium such as paper based on various operation principles. The feature of the system includes high-speed printing, low-noise operation, easy adaptation for multi-color printing, and adaptability for various recording patterns, as well as the absence of image fixation process. Recently, the system has been widely used no only for recording images such as characters in monochrome, but also in recording full-color images. Moreover, not limited its use to business machines, this system is rapidly spreading in various fields, such as industry and art creation.
Various materials are used for the recording medium of the ink jet recording system, including not only ordinary paper made of ordinary wood pulp such as copy paper and bond paper, but also various coated sheets each having an image forming layer on its surface, transparent film formed of synthetic resin for OHP, textile of various fibers and the like. Among these, the amount of plain paper used as a recording medium has been remarkably increasing with recent popularization of personal computers, and office automation.
According to the popularization of the ink jet system, various properties are required for the recording medium, such as rapid ink-absorbency, high ink-absorbing capacity, and improved image density and printing quality on printing, as far as increased water resistance of printed matters. It is especially required for the recording medium to allow the ink jet attached to the recording medium quickly to penetrate into the medium and apparently become dry on the surface. Furthermore, since a water-base ink is usually used in the ink jet system, resulting in poor drying properties, a phenomenon called cockling may occur, i.e., the printed portion may become wavy, especially when paper made of cellulose pulp is used as the recording medium.
To solve these problems, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 55-51583 discloses that a coat layer of amorphous silica and a high-molecular binder provides the high ink absorbency for water-base ink printing, and is suitable for high-speed printing. Therefore, the application of such a coat layer as an ink-receiving layer for the ink jet recording medium seems to be effective.
Kenaf has been attracting attentions as a pulp material for paper production, a substituent for pulp wood. Kenaf pulp made from kenaf is largely classified in the total trunk pulp obtained by pulping both ligneous and bast portions, the bast pulp obtained by pulping only the bast portion, and the ligneous pulp obtained by pulping only the ligneous portion. The kenaf paper mainly made of the kenaf pulp has a texture like Japanese paper, with such properties as bulkiness, large ink-absorbing capacity, and excellent ink-receptibility.
A paper recording medium such as kenaf having an excellent ink absorbency and a large ink-absorbing capacity has a problem that feathering or printing-through occurs when the ink is applied. Furthermore, the printed portion of recording medium is disadvantageously elongated becoming wavy, i.e., so-called cockling occurs. Thus, the kenaf paper excellent in both ink absorbency and image quality properties has not been obtained yet. If an ink receiving layer is formed on a kenaf paper surface to improve the above-mentioned shortcomings, ink jet recording properties such as the ink absorbency and suitability for high-speed printing can be improved, but there is a problem that the natural texture of kenaf paper is lost, and when an ink receiving surface is white, black ink turns to brown, with poor quality of formed full-color image.

Recording medium and ink jet recording process using it


Integrated circuits, methods of forming integrated circuits, and methods of sensing voiding between a through-semiconductor via and a subsequent layer that overlies the through-semiconductor via in integrated circuits are provided. An exemplary method of forming an integrated circuit includes forming a plurality of semiconductor devices on a semiconductor substrate. A through-semiconductor via is formed in the semiconductor substrate, and an interlayer dielectric layer is formed that overlies the through-semiconductor via and the plurality of semiconductor devices. A first interconnect via is embedded within the interlayer dielectric layer, and a second interconnect via is embedded within the interlayer dielectric layer. The first interconnect via and the second interconnect via are in electrical communication with the through-semiconductor via at spaced locations from each other on the through-semiconductor via.

During a front end-of-the-line (FEOL) semiconductor fabrication process, a plurality of semiconductor devices (e.g., transistors, resistors, and the like) is generally formed on a semiconductor substrate. During a back end-of-the-line (BEOL) semiconductor fabrication process, the semiconductor devices are connected by a network of electrically-conductive lines, vias, and interconnect structures. The network of electrically-conductive lines, vias, and interconnect structures selectively connect the semiconductor devices to each other and to various other devices such as, but not limited to, a power source, clocks, signals, addresses, and input and output sources, and also connect the semiconductor devices to subsequently-formed semiconductor devices. In this manner, a plurality of integrated circuits (ICs) is formed on the semiconductor substrate with electrical connection enabled through the network of electrically-conductive lines, vias, and interconnect structures.
To enable efficient interconnection of the semiconductor devices to each other and to a power source, electrically-conductive vias are integrally formed within the semiconductor substrate and extend across various levels of integrated circuits to provide power to the different levels. Such electrically-conductive vias are known in the art as through-semiconductor vias. The through-semiconductor vias are formed during the BEOL semiconductor fabrication process by selectively etching a recess through any dielectric layers that overlie the semiconductor substrate and at least partially into the semiconductor substrate, followed by depositing metal such as copper in the recess and chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) to remove excess metal from outside of the recess. Subsequent layers are then formed over the dielectric layers and the through-semiconductor via, including a metal layer that selectively connects the through-semiconductor vias to a power source and to the semiconductor devices.
Void formation is a common problem associated with forming subsequent layers over the through-semiconductor via. Without being bound to any particular theory, it is believed that void formation is attributable to migration of metal ions from the through-semiconductor vias into the interface between the through-semiconductor vias and the metal layer or dielectric layers that overlie the through-semiconductor vias. It is believed that the migration of the metal ions causes stress-induced warping in the subsequent layers, thereby creating voids between the through-semiconductor vias and the metal layer that overlies the through-semiconductor vias. As a result of void formation, connections between the through-semiconductor vias and the subsequent layers may be compromised at various locations, resulting in loss of electrical communication between the through-semiconductor vias and the subsequent metal layer that overlies the through-semiconductor vias.
In addition to void formation between through-semiconductor vias and subsequent layers being a common problem, sensing and assessing void formation between through-semiconductor vias and subsequent layers is also difficult. Subsequent layers that overlie the through-semiconductor vias generally include metal lines that extend over a surface of the through-semiconductor via and a number of conductive layers that are electrically connected to the through-semiconductor vias and the metal lines. Successful connection between the metal lines and the through-semiconductor via can be sensed based upon whether electrical current flows between the metal lines and the through-semiconductor via. However, such connection fails to provide a useful mechanism for sensing void formation because the electrical current will still flow between the metal lines and the through-semiconductor vias so long as a void does not completely block a connection between the metal lines and the through-semiconductor vias, and the presence of the void may cause premature device failure.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide integrated circuits and methods of forming integrated circuits that minimize or alleviate void formation between through-semiconductor vias and subsequent layers that overlie the through-semiconductor vias. It is also desirable to provide methods of sensing voiding between through-semiconductor vias and a subsequent layer that overlie the through-semiconductor vias in an integrated circuit. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.

Integrated circuits and methods of forming the same with multiple embedded interconnect connection to same through-semiconductor via


Methods and systems for providing and implementing crossing markets are provided. These methods and systems preferably include facilitating trading at crossing markets by establishing crossing market trading rules, incentivizing crossing market participants, and improving the efficiency of crossing market trading.

This invention relates to crossing markets. A crossing market or "crossing" is a designated time that buyers and sellers meet to transact on a given issue of a traded bond or to trade a pre-determined tradeable instrument. The traders or dealers present at the crossing insure the liquidity of the instrument being traded. The customers provide the volume of the trade.
Large institutional customers seek liquidity when trading securities. Liquidity allows the institutional customers to trade large volumes of instruments—e.g., fixed-income securities or other tradeable securities. Typically, the institutional customers obtain more favorable conditions for large blocks of instruments to be traded when the market volume is high. Nevertheless, customers do not make the large market; dealers and traders do. Therefore, crossings, which include numerous dealers and traders as well as large numbers of customers, satisfy the need to seek added liquidity without requiring dealer and trader participation in the trades by combining the markets of individual dealers and traders. Furthermore, crossings efficiently funnel liquidity into pre-determined packets of time and equilibrium—i.e., generally accepted—price levels. Because the institutional customers know prior to the crossing which securities will be traded, they realize that they can benefit from the added liquidity provided by the other dealers, traders and institutional customers without having to make the market themselves.
Dealers and traders also benefit from supporting crossings because the dealers and traders have an opportunity to increase their exposure to additional customers and, if designed properly, the crossing provides the respective customers of the dealers and traders with advantageous pricing conditions.
Thus, crossings provide highly efficient markets for trading of tradeable securities.
It would be desirable to provide further benefits to dealers, traders and customers to encourage participation in a crossing.

Methods and systems for providing crossing markets