A document processing system is disclosed that is capable of processing both fixed-format and unfixed-format hand written paper documents. The document processing system includes an encoding unit that encodes a sheet ID for identifying a hand written first document on a sheet to generate a coded sheet ID; a decoding unit that decodes the coded sheet ID; a document-sheet ID association unit that associates the sheet ID with a document ID assigned to a computerized second document; a printing unit that acquires the sheet ID and prints the coded sheet ID on the first document; a sheet ID management unit that manages the sheet ID; an information acquisition unit that acquires the sheet ID decoded by the decoding unit, and hand-written data from the first document on which the coded sheet ID is printed; and a process-sheet ID association unit that associates the sheet ID with a process ID of a process for processing the hand-written data acquired by the information acquisition unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a document processing system for processing a hand written document on a sheet, and a method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with the progress in computerization of office work, documents in electronic form (referred to as "electronic document" below where appropriate) are more and more widely used. However, because quality of characters displayed by a CRT (Cathode-Ray Tube) or a LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) is not as good as that printed on paper in many aspects, people usually print the electronic documents on paper for use ("documents printed on paper" is referred to as "paper document" below where appropriate).
For example, Japanese Patent Gazette No. 3219251 (referred to as "reference 1" hereinafter) discloses a document processing device for document creation and editing, which enables a number of authors and editors to easily access and edit original electronic documents via the paper documents obtained by printing these electronic documents, and enables acquiring the original electronic documents from the paper documents and exchanging of information of the original electronic documents and the paper documents.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 10-63820 (referred to as "reference 2" hereinafter) discloses an apparatus and a method that makes original electronic documents in connection with the paper documents thereof, provides means for determining an original electronic document from the corresponding paper document and editing the original electronic document, and reflects the editing of the original electronic document on the paper document to make the original electronic document and the paper document are identical.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-222075 (referred to as "reference 3" hereinafter), "bar code transformation means" and "first printing means" are disclosed functioning as means for assigning identifiers (ID) of documents and creating a form (paper document), a "management table" is disclosed to manage connections between identifiers (ID) of documents and electronic documents, a "printing sheet" is disclosed as means for acquiring paper ID and writing information, an "optical reading device" is disclosed as stroke-type input means, "bar-code decoding means" is disclosed as means for acquiring a paper ID from an image where a bar code is used as an identifier, and "additional edition reading processing means" is disclosed as means for interpreting a layout from an image of a manuscript with additional editing and performing appropriate processing in different regions.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-312478 (referred to as "reference 4" hereinafter), means for assigning identifiers (ID) of documents and for creating a form (paper document) is disclosed in detail; the connection between electronic documents and identifiers (ID) on paper documents is illustrated in FIG. 15 of reference 4 with the description "search a format file data base via a document ID", and is described in detail in paragraphs No. 0056 and No. 0057; means for acquiring a paper ID and written information is illustrated in FIG. 26, FIG. 2, and FIG. 17 as a scanner, a pen-type panel, and a pad-type panel, and stroke-type input means is also disclosed in these figures.
Further, in reference 4, a code reader 15 is illustrated in FIG. 19 as means for acquiring a paper ID, and an identifier such as a bar code is described in paragraphs No. 0034 through No. 0036; means for interpreting a layout from an image of a manuscript with additional editing and performing appropriate processing in different regions is described by successive processing steps in FIG. 15. For example, there are descriptions like "clustering writing coordinates according to format information", "processing the clustered coordinate groups according to processing descriptions of format information (OCR, Image processing)", "registering data obtained by OCR processing with a record database", "saving the database obtained by Image processing to .shc and .tki files as coordinate data sequences"; and means for acquiring a paper ID and a document ID, and processing information is described in paragraphs No. 0077 and No. 0078.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-281179 (referred to as "reference 5" hereinafter) discloses a method in which a device having communication functions and equipped with an optical reading device is used to read a bar code including an operation identifier and an object identifier, thereby providing services for customs according to the bar code information.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-183520 (referred to as "reference 6" hereinafter) discloses a method involving a check box for selection of commodity and selection of processing methods and text writing regions, and enabling providing services for customs by using a bar code obtained by coding a printed matter ID, an arrangement of the check box, and position information of the text writing regions, and enabling providing services desired by users by using printed matter and copier-facsimile complexes, which are familiar to the users.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2002-215768 (referred to as "reference 7" hereinafter) relates to a technique for providing services for customs, which involves distributing to custom paper provided with codes including information of addresses for communication destination, information indicating coordinates on the paper, and information of types of the paper, and thereby enabling the custom to write on the paper with the paper held in the hands of the custom. In addition, in reference 7, an input device is disclosed that is able to read the codes provided on the paper, and transmits the address information in the codes to the communication destination. This input device transmits the obtained information to a server, the server obtains the coordinate information and media identification information in the codes, and performs appropriate operations in response to the obtained information.
In the aforesaid reference 6, the custom need to read the printed matter, on which the additional editing is written, by a copier-facsimile complex. In contrast, in reference 7, it is the input device, such as writing materials, that reads and transmits the codes including various kinds of information.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 11-96166 (referred to as "reference 8" hereinafter) discloses a document information management system that searches for and outputs document files from a database storing a number of electronic documents. Specifically, the document information management system uses a recording medium, which has a document information area for storing document information and a bar code information area for storing bar code information that is obtained by converting electric information corresponding to the document information, and a marking unit for selecting desired words from the recording medium and assigning a selection mark. Based on the selection mark and the bar code information, the document information management system searches the database and outputs the appropriate document files.
In reference 1, because editing is after all performed on the paper document, a user has to use a computer to call up the electronic document corresponding to the given paper document, and revises and edits contents of the document on the electric form document. There is not any problem in doing this work if the user is in his office. However, if the user is at his business travel destination or in a transportation facility, and even if the user desires to revise or edit documents in his spare time, usually the user cannot do that because usually the user does not carry with him an editing device able to efficiently and electrically edit documents.
For example, because a notebook personal computer has low portability due to large size and weight, and has low practical operability due to the short duration of the batteries, usually, one does not tend to carry the notebook personal computer with him in business travel. This is true also for a compact PDA (Personal Digital Assistant) which has a small display unit and an input device having poor input functions.
The apparatus or the method disclosed in reference 2 merely allows the additional editing made on a paper document to be inserted into an electronic document. For example, by simply inserting an additional image into the electronic document, the apparatus does nothing but eliminate differences between the electronic document and the paper document and create an electronic document having the same appearance as the paper document. Thus, the electronic document addressed in reference 2 is no more than a replacement of the paper document. Therefore, the created electronic document has not any practical use except being read.
For example, reference 2 allows one to read items filled out on a questionnaire, but one has to collect the questionnaires by himself, just like the conventional paper documents. This work is troublesome, and automatic collection is required.
In addition, automatic processing of additional editing is not limited to collecting questionnaires, but is usable in many applications. The technique disclosed in reference 2 cannot realize automatic processing of additional editing.
In the reference 3, the original electronic document is not connected with the additional editing, and the method disclosed in the reference 3 is neither configured to perform registration of a processing ID or other processing information, nor to edit the form itself, nor to acquire a paper ID, a document ID, or other processing information.
In reference 4, it is described that it is sufficient to make the original electronic document and patient information be connected with each other, but connection between the original electronic document and the additional editing is not addressed. In addition, the method disclosed in reference 4 is not configured to perform registration of a processing ID or other processing information, or to edit the form itself.
By the method disclosed in the reference 5, only services corresponding to the prepared bar code information can be provided, that is, the range of user's selection is quite limited.
The method disclosed in the reference 6 is capable of processing a document having a fixed format (referred to as "fixed-format document processing" below), but not capable of processing a document without a fixed format (referred to as "unfixed-format document processing" below). This is also true for the method disclosed in reference 7.
The method disclosed in the reference 8 allows direct access to an electronic document even from a paper document not in a hypertext form. This method is capable of fixed-format document processing specified beforehand, but is not capable of other processing. In addition, this method is specialized to search for document files in a database, but cannot be used for other applications.


A method for irradiation treatment planning for a target volume to be irradiated includes specifying a plurality of data sets. The target volume to be irradiated is depicted in each data set of the plurality of data sets. The data sets differ in that the target volume has another position and/or shape. A data set is selected from the plurality of the data sets and other data sets are registered to the selected data set. The method includes forming an amalgamation of the depicted target volumes using the registrations of the other data sets to the selected data set, and determining an area at risk in the selected data set. The method includes modifying the amalgamation of the target volumes such that the area at risk is excluded from the amalgamation of the depicted target volumes. An irradiation treatment plan is calculated using the modified amalgamation of the target volumes.

The present embodiments relate to a method and a device for irradiation treatment planning.
Prior to radiotherapy, an irradiation treatment plan is determined. This determination is sometimes difficult, since the internal anatomy of a patient may change over time. For example, target volumes inside the abdomen may change location from day to day or over the course of several days or weeks. A typical organ that is often subject to a change of position is the prostate. For example, the bladder, situated next to the prostate, and the rectum, situated next to the prostate, may exert an influence on the position and shape of the prostate depending upon the degree of filling of the bladder and/or the rectum.
One possibility of taking account of these changes is the use of safety margins. During irradiation treatment planning, safety margins are selected such that an internal displacement/deformation of the target volume is taken into account. Although the safety margins may moderate the adverse effects of a change of position of the target volume, the safety margins may lead to irradiation of adjacent, critical structures, such as the bladder or the rectum, for example.
A concept is known from US 2005/0201516 A1, with which a plurality of irradiation treatment plans with different safety margins (multiple-margin optimization with daily selection (MMODS)) may be calculated for a target volume. A user may choose in real time from a plurality of optimized irradiation treatment plans with different safety margins in order to take account of an observed change in the size or position of the tumor or the structures surrounding the tumor.
US 2010/0088339 A1 discloses a method, with which the most suitable irradiation treatment plan is selected from a plurality of previously established irradiation treatment plans prior to an irradiation fraction.

Method and device for irradiation treatment planning


It is described a method for encrypting and a method for decrypting at least a portion (155) of a dataset being stored in a memory (150), wherein the dataset has at least two dimensions. The described multi-dimensional cryptographic methods comprise forming a first keystream (165) being assigned to a first dimension of the dataset and forming a second keystream (175) being assigned to a second dimension of the dataset. The encrypting method further comprises encrypting each data packet of the portion (155) of the dataset by using a combination of the first keystream (165) and the second keystream (175). The decrypting method further comprises decrypting each data packet of the portion (155) of the dataset by using a combination of the first keystream (165) and the second keystream (175). It is further described a method for temporarily storing at least a portion (155) of a dataset into a memory (150) and a device for handling a dataset, which method and which device take advantage of the above-described encrypting method and/or the above-described decrypting method.

Encryption of compressed multimedia content is an increasingly common requirement by the content industry and is a requirement to comply with various robustness rules in Digital Rights Management (DRM) standards. A general rule of thumb is that in order to effectively prevent an unauthorized copying of media contents such as for instance a High Definition (HD) video, the media content must not be stored in memories in an electronic device without also being encrypted.
One problem for current encryption schemes is that known rendering engines do not access memories in a linear pattern. Rather, the frame store represents a two-dimensional (2D) picture, and a rendered object may move freely within this frame. Known decryption methods based on block ciphers and stream ciphers do not easily handle accesses of this type or arbitrary size and position in a larger 2D block of encrypted content. In the case of HD graphics for example, the frame store is of the order 1920×1080×32 bits. It is apparent that it is impractical to decrypt a frame store of this size in order just for obtaining a much smaller data content section for processing.
An additional problem to make memory encryption hard is that one must not add a significant latency to memory read operations. Any complex operations during encryption may upset the timing of the platform and render the encryption scheme useless for a user.
WO 03/048939 discloses a method for cryptographically protecting secure content in connection with a graphics subsystem of a computing device. Techniques are implemented to encrypt the contents of video memory so that unauthorized software cannot gain meaningful access to it, thereby maintaining confidentiality. Moreover, a mechanism for tamper detection is provided so that there is awareness when data has been altered in some fashion, thereby maintaining integrity. In various embodiments, the contents of overlay surfaces and/or command buffers are encrypted, and/or a graphic processing unit is able to operate on encrypted content while preventing its availability to untrusted parties, devices or software.
US 2003/0135742 discloses a method and a system for protecting data that is intended for use and processed on video or graphics cards. In various embodiments, data that is intended for use by a video card can be encrypted such that any time the data is provided onto a bus between the video card and the computer system. For example, when data is moved from memory on the video card to the system's memory and vice versa, the data is in encrypted form and thus protected.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,711,683 discloses a computing system that prevents unauthorized use of compressed video data stored in a first-in-first-out memory buffer of a set top box. A single integrated circuit includes a data processor and a chip identity read only register storing a unique chip identity number fixed during manufacture. The data processor encrypts the compressed video data stream using the chip identity number as an encryption key. This encrypted data is stored in and recalled from a First In-First Out (FIFO) buffer. The data processor then decrypts the recalled data employing at least a part of the chip identity number as the decryption key. Using this technique the compressed video data stream temporarily stored in compressed form in the FIFO buffer can only be employed by the particular data processor having the unique chip identity number.
There may be a need for providing an advanced encryption and decryption scheme, which is in particular effective for data contents comprising a two dimensional structure.

Encryption and decryption of a dataset in at least two dimensions


An improved apparatus for pulling a wire through a pre-drilled hole is detailed. The apparatus comprises a pair of opposing arms which reversibly grasp the wire. The opposing arms are attachable to a rod which is capable of mating with a rod or drill bit. The rod or drill bit is pulled through the hole which, in turn, pulls the wire through the same hole.

Electricians are frequently required to install a wire into a pre-existing wall. To accomplish this task a hole is typically drilled and the wire is then "snaked" through the holes or series of holes. This method is inefficient and time consuming since the wire frequently becomes coiled within the cavity defined by the wall boards and wall support studs.
It is therefore desirable to attach the wire directly to the cutting element prior to removing the cutting element from the series of holes. With the wire attached the cutting element can be withdrawn from the hole which pulls the wire through.
Drill bits which are useful to accomplish this task are provided in U.S. Pat. No. 597,750 and 3,697,188. The drill bits which are suitable for the task require the electrician to insert the wire, or a leader, through a hole in a drill bit and twist the wire to insure that the wire does not become disengaged within the interior of the wall. This is cumbersome and especially difficult with large wire as typically used for household wiring and the like.
There has been a long felt need in the art for an improved means for quickly pulling wire through a portion of a pre-existing wall.


A method is described of wireless transmission of data onto a data carrier, in particular onto a chip card or IC card, by said data carrier being placed in a high-frequency field. To carry out amplitude keying, the field is switched on and off, with the information being here the number of periods transmitted between two transmission intervals. The semiconductor circuit accommodated in the data carrier receives its clock from the received high-frequency field or from an oscillator allocated to the semiconductor circuit, with this clock being off during a transmission gap.

The invention relates to a method for wireless transmission of data onto a data carrier having a semiconductor circuit, in particular onto a chip card or IC card, and to a circuit array for implementation of said method.
In recent years, so-called chip cards or IC cards have come into increasing use, these being understood as data carriers that range from the familiar credit cards for cash dispensing machines, card telephones and other end units in communications technology, to identification cards for controlling access to sensitive-security zones. IC cards of this type contain a mechanically protected integrated semiconductor circuit with a non-volatile memory holding person-related and/or non-person-related data. A control logic is needed to read out the data stored and--if necessary in modified form--to read in the data. The circuit accommodated on the IC card does not generally have its own power supply; instead, the power necessary to read out the information is supplied without wires, for example inductively or capacitively, by the appropriate reader unit that reads out the stored information. At the same time, the data is transmitted without wires by suitable modulation of the voltage supply, so that the circuit can transmit data to the reader unit by, for example, field actuation.
The object underlying the present invention is to provide a method for wireless transmission of data onto a data carrier of the stated type that is easy to implement and requires little energy to operate. A further object is to provide a circuit array for implementation of this method.

Method for wireless transmission of data to a data carrier


A frac head is provided with a sacrificial wash ring. The sacrificial wash ring is located above a mixing chamber of the frac head. The sacrificial wash ring protects the frac head body from erosion caused by abrasive frac fluids pumped through the frac head.

Current methods for completing or re-completing hydrocarbon wells generally involve pumping very large volumes of fracturing fluids into one or more production zones of the well. Currently used fracturing fluids are often mixtures of large volumes of abrasive propant (e.g., frac sand, sintered bauxite, or ceramic pellets) mixed with a "slick water" (water containing a chemical surfactant). Those fracturing fluids may be pumped through the frac head and down a production casing into production zone(s) of the hydrocarbon well at fluid pressures of 15,000+ psi and flow rates of 180+ barrels/minute. As understood by those skilled in the art, pumping the fracturing fluids at high pressures and flow rates requires many frac pumps. Each frac pump is connected to a fluid line known as a "frac iron". Several frac pumps may be connected in parallel to a single frac iron. Each frac iron is connected to a port of the frac head and injects a high pressure stream through that port. The converging fluid streams cause flow turbulence where the respective fluid streams converge in a mixing chamber of the frac head. The flow turbulence propels the abrasive propant against the inner surfaces of the frac head, which tends to erode those surfaces of the frac head. This erosion is commonly referred to as "wash".
Although significant advances have been made in the design of frac heads to resist and/or control frac head erosion, further improvements that extend a service life of the frac head remain desirable.
There therefore exists a need for a frac head with a sacrificial wash ring that extends frac head service life.


A position deviation and an image of a danger control pattern predicted after multiple exposure of each mask used for multiple exposure are acquired and an image after lap exposure by means of the masks based on the above image and position deviation information. At this time, parameters such as an offset amount caused by overlapping of images of the masks, rotation amount and the like are changed and a parameter capable of avoiding occurrence of faults in a dangerous pattern in an image predicted after lap exposure is calculated.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for manufacturing a photomask used in a photolithography process for manufacturing semiconductor devices and a method for manufacturing semiconductor devices by using the above photomask.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, extremely severe precision has been more strongly required for a photomask used in a photolithography process as semiconductor devices are more increasingly downsized. Further, the pattern of the photomask is subjected to optical proximity correction (OPC) and the number of patterns having complicated shapes is increased. Therefore, it is insufficient to ensure the quality of the photomask by a one-dimensional evaluation method such as a simple pattern dimension measurement method and it is required to use a two-dimensional pattern shape control method.
In order to meet the above requirement, the following method for checking whether or not a mask pattern is finished with desired precision is proposed. First, an image of a mask pattern is acquired by means of a scanning electron microscope (SEM) and a pattern shape after lithography is calculated by simulation based on pattern contour data extracted from the image. Then, whether or not a mask pattern is finished with desired precision is checked based on whether or not a desired degree of lithography margin can be attained by using the thus calculated pattern shape. The merit of this method is that the finishing degree of the mask pattern can be determined in a state extremely close to the condition in which the pattern is actually used and exposed onto a wafer. As a result, necessary and sufficient control can be realized without performing unnecessarily strict control or lax control.
For example, in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2007-163686, a method attained by further expanding the above method to manage the finishing degree of a photomask is proposed. That is, a lithography simulation is run by deriving not only pattern contour data but also a 3-dimensional shape on the photomask based on a pattern image by means of an SEM.
Further, as a method for further advancing shrinkage, a multiple exposure technique for forming a pattern by using a plurality of photomasks for one layer (to-be-processed film) formed on a wafer is proposed. For example, in the double-exposure technique, first, photoresist is coated on a to-be-processed film, the photoresist film is exposed by means of a first photomask and developed to form a resist pattern and the to-be-processed film is patterned by using the resist pattern. Subsequently, photoresist is newly coated on the thus patterned to-be-processed film, the photoresist film is exposed by means of a second photomask and developed to form a resist pattern and the to-be-processed film is further patterned by using the resist pattern. Thus, the to-be-processed film is processed into a pattern that is a combination of the patterns of the first and second photomasks.
When the multiple exposure technique is applied, the finishing precision of a pattern formed on the to-be-processed film on the wafer is determined by the precisions of the respective photomasks used. Further, it becomes necessary to determine not only the precisions of the individual photomasks but also the quality thereof by taking the mutual interaction into consideration. That is, even if the photomask is low in precision in a singular form and the pattern becomes faulty, the pattern will become good by the mutual interaction between plural photomasks. For example, a line-form pattern defined by edge positions and distances between the edge positions is considered. When a pattern is formed by means of a first photomask with the dimension thereof reduced by Δ, the right-side pattern edge is moved to the left side by Δ/2 and the left-side pattern edge is moved to the right side by Δ/2. On the other hand, when a pattern is formed by means of a second photomask with the dimension thereof increased by Δ, the left-side pattern edge is moved to the left side by Δ/2 and the right-side pattern edge is moved to the right side by Δ/2. In the above cases, if Δ is large, the first and second photomasks become faulty in the singular form. However, if a multiple exposure process is performed, the deviation amounts thereof cancel each other to set the relative distance between the pattern edges to a normal value and the pattern dimension is set to a desired value.
On the other hand, even if the precision of the photomask is sufficiently high in the singular form, deviations of plural photomasks may be accumulated and the deviation amount may be increased by the mutual interaction between the plural photomasks, and as a result, the sufficiently high precision cannot be attained in some cases.
Thus, when the multiple exposure technique is used, it is necessary to take the mutual interaction between the plural photomasks used for patterning the same layer (to-be-processed film) on the wafer at the time of quality control of a to-be-formed pattern. Therefore, a satisfactory result cannot be attained simply by determining whether the pattern is good or not by a lithography simulation based on pattern images acquired by means of individual photomasks.
Thus, it is desired to provide a photomask manufacturing method capable of enhancing the dimensional precision on a wafer while avoiding occurrence of faults after multiple exposure and a semiconductor device manufacturing method using the above photomask.

Manufacturing method of photomask for multiple exposure and semiconductor device manufacturing method using above photomask


A display device includes a display panel, a plurality of flexible substrates, and an alignment structure. The display panel is disposed on a side of the transparent plate. The plurality of flexible substrates is connected to the display panel. The alignment structure is disposed on the side of the transparent plate for coupling with an external structure. It can be disposed regardless of positions of the plurality of flexible substrates to avoid the plurality of flexible substrates from being impaired by an unnecessary contact with the alignment structure. Accordingly, it is possible to avoid elements in the display device from being impaired by the alignment structure during the manufacturing process of the display device.

Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to an alignment structure of a liquid-crystal display device and a liquid-crystal display device using the same. More specifically, the present disclosure relates to an alignment structure of a high-resolution liquid-crystal display device that is capable of minimizing impairment of elements in the liquid-crystal display device and improving an alignment accuracy of the liquid-crystal display device with modules such as a camera module, and a liquid-crystal display device using the same.
Description of the Related Art
A liquid-crystal display (LCD) refers to a display including a liquid-crystal display panel having a liquid-crystal layer. A liquid-crystal display is driven by adjusting transmittance of a liquid-crystal display panel with respect to light from a light source such as a backlight unit. Recently, there has been an increasing demand for a liquid-crystal display device having small thickness and a minimized bezel, as well as high resolution and low power consumption
A liquid-crystal display device may be used as an element of an electronic apparatus. When an LCD device is used as an element of an electronic apparatus, the LCD device is configured to be coupled with the housing of the electronic apparatus. For example, an LCD device may be used as an element of a monitor or a television and may be coupled with the housing of the monitor or the television.
When an LCD device is coupled with the housing of an electronic device, means for aligning the LCD device with the housing is required. As used herein, aligning refers to positioning the housing with respect to an LCD device as designed. Coupling refers to physically attaching or fastening an LCD device to the housing. For example, when an LCD device is coupled with the housing of a monitor, the LCD device can be aligned with the housing by aligning a position where screws are engaged. Alternatively, the LCD device and the housing may include additional fasteners for coupling one with the other. For example, the frame of the LCD device may have protruding fasteners and the fasteners corresponding to the housing are engaged by mating with each other. Thus, the LCD device can be aligned with the housing and fixed in its position.
As electronic devices develop, various modules such as a such as a camera module, a variety of sensor modules, a controller board, etc. are included in electronic devices. Accordingly, it has also become important for electronic devices to align an LCD device with various modules as well as with the housing. Further, in some cases, an LCD device may be aligned with the housing by aligning the LCD device with a module. In such cases, an alignment accuracy of the LCD device with the module is especially important. Accordingly, various types of ways for increasing an alignment accuracy of the LCD device with the module are employed.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an existing LCD device 10. FIG. 1 schematically shows an external portion of the existing LCD device 10 including a support 15 for coupling with a camera module. Referring to FIG. 1, the existing LCD device 10 includes a transparent plate 11, a liquid-crystal display panel 12, a flexible substrate 13, a first chassis 14, and a support 15.
Referring to FIG. 1, the support 15 of the existing LCD device 10 includes a pair of projections 15b extended away from the liquid-crystal display panel 12. The projections 15b are disposed adjacent to the flexible substrate 13 connected to the liquid-crystal display panel 12. The projections 15b has a guide unit 15a formed thereon for guiding the alignment of the camera module 17. The guide unit 15a has a cone-like shape or an inclined cylinder-like shape protruding from the respective projection 15b of the support 15. The guide unit 15a is a part of the support 15 and is integrated with the respective projection 15b. A camera area CA is formed between a pair of projections 15b.
The camera module 17 aligned with the LCD device 10 has openings 18 that may be aligned with the respective guide units 15a. Each of the guide units 15a of the LCD device 10 is inserted into the respective openings 18 of the camera module 17 so that the LCD device 10 is aligned with and coupled with the camera module 17. By doing so, a camera lens 19 of the camera module 17 can be located in the center of the camera area CA. As the camera module 17 is coupled with the housing, the LCD device 10 can also be aligned with and coupled with the housing via the camera module 17 aligned with the guide units 15a.
As LCD devices advance, the demand for LCD devices having smaller thickness and higher resolution is increasing. If such an LCD device having smaller thickness and higher resolution is coupled with a module by using existing guide units integrated with a support, many defects may occur and the alignment accuracy may be lowered.
In fact, an increase in resolution of an LCD device means an increase in the number of pixels per unit area of the LCD device. In addition, as the number of pixels increases, the numbers of driving circuits for controlling the pixels and lines connected thereto also increase. As the numbers of the driving circuits and lines increase, the number of flexible substrates on which the lines or the driving circuits are formed has to be increased. Or, a flexible substrate having a larger area is required. Flexible substrates may be, for example, a chip-on-film (COF) or a flexible printed circuit board (FPCB).
In existing LCD devices, the projections having guide units are disposed adjacent to flexible substrates. As the number or area of the flexible substrates increases, the flexible substrates are disposed more densely. Therefore, in an LCD device having high resolution, the projections having guide units may overlap with the flexible substrates.
The inventors of the application have discovered that if flexible substrates are overlapped with the projections with guide units, the flexible substrates may collide with the guide units during the manufacturing process. Thus, the flexible substrates may be subjected to impact, and the guide units may collide with the flexible substrates, causing lines formed on the flexible substrates to be impaired.

Alignment structure of liquid-crystal display device and liquid-crystal display device using the same


In a high-mounted double wishbone suspension device, an arm portion extending upward from a knuckle main body portion, through which an axle runs, is provided with a tie rod connection portion. A tie rod for turning a wheel is connected to the tie rod connection portion. The distance between the axle and the tie rod connection portion is increased to effectively suppress knuckle lateral vibration centered on the axle by the tie rod. Therefore, it is possible to reduce road noise without increasing the number of components or the weight. In particular, since the tie rod is connected to a joint provided on a lower face of the tie rod connection portion, it is possible to minimize vertical positional change of the tie rod, while suppressing lateral vibration of the knuckle by raising the position of the tie rod connection portion, whereby the arrangement can be easily applied to a conventional vehicle merely by replacing the knuckle alone.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high-mounted double wishbone suspension device comprising: a knuckle rotatably supporting a wheel, and comprising a knuckle main body portion and an arm portion extending upward from the knuckle main body portion; a lower arm vertically movably supporting on a vehicle body a lower part of the knuckle main body portion through which an axle runs; and an upper arm vertically movably supporting on the vehicle body the arm portion.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a so-called high-mounted double wishbone suspension device in which an arm portion extending upward from a knuckle is made to project above a tire and the upper end of the arm portion is connected to the extremity of an upper arm, since it is necessary to connect the base end of the upper arm to an inner face of a wheelhouse, vibration in the vicinity of a certain frequency (e.g., 300 Hz) input from the road surface to the tire is transmitted from the knuckle through the upper arm to the wheelhouse, leading to a problem that the vibration is easily transmitted as road noise to the interior of a vehicle compartment.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-14037 discloses an arrangement in which, in order to suppress the vibration of the upper arm so as to reduce the road noise, a dynamic damper is mounted on the upper arm.
However, in the conventional arrangement, the dynamic damper is used for suppressing the vibration of the upper arm, leading to a problem that the number of components and the weight are increased corresponding to the dynamic damper.

High-mounted double wishbone suspension device


A system for locking caps, to be used especially in those tanks containing inflammable liquids, said cap (10) comprising a body (11) which is seated over a tank nozzle (2), an articulating lock arm (14) bearing a respective lock displaceable between locking and releasing positions relative to the tank nozzle upon the corresponding angular movement of the lock arm, an arm activating assembly provided in the cap body (11) and whereto a drive shaft (51) is mounted in a freely rotating manner and to which torque is selectively applied, an impelling piston (15) coupled to lock arm (14) and being axially displaced between corresponding locking and releasing positions of the lock arm (14); an electromagnetic clutch causing the selective axial displacement of the impelling piston (15) between operational limit positions upon the rotation of the drive shaft (51) and comprising a coupling means displaceable between engaging and disengaging position; coil means (60) causing the displacement of the coupling means to the engaging position, an electronic switch (40) provided with a primary transformer (L1) coupled to a secondary transformer (L2) mounted on the cap body (11) and including in the secondary transformer enough current to operatively energize the coil means (60). A SYSTEM FOR LOCKING FILLER CAPS

Fuel supply to service stations takes place upon the arrival of the transporting tanker truck, when each tank of said service stations is opened.
The filling is achieved by removing the filling cap at the feeding nozzle of the fuel tank, which opens toward the surface of the service station and through which a suitable conducting element, such as a hose, is introduced, providing a temporary fluid communication between the reservoir of the tanker truck and the tank of the service station. The removal of the filling cap is achieved by the easy opening of a conventional padlock, which hinders the movement of the cap lock arms and retains the cap against the nozzle of the tank.
Due to the easy access to the inside of the service station tanks, resulting from the precarious closing system thereof, the contents of said reservoirs are liable to composition adulterations, such adulterations being difficult to prove.
One solution for this problem is to provide the tank filling caps with closing and locking systems which are electrically activated at well determined time periods. Nevertheless, said solution cannot be applied to fuel tanks, due to the danger of explosion caused by electrical sparks, which may occur in this type of lock systems.
Moreover, even though the electrically activated systems present the most elaborate closures in the state of the art, they are still easily activated by conventional electric connectors, which leave no trace of having had the tank cap removed at times which are not solely for the purpose of supplying the tank.


Aspects of the invention relate to techniques for estimating power and thermal profiles for an integrated circuit design. With various implementations of the invention, a group of devices is identified in a netlist based on information of the group of devices. The netlist may be a schematic netlist or a layout netlist extracted from a layout design. Power consumption information for the group of devices is determined based on device parameters for the group of devices and a lookup table. The determined power consumption information is then associated with layout location information. A thermal profile may then be estimated based on the power consumption information.

Process scaling and rising device density increase power density and thermal effects for integrated circuits. Increased power consumption and temperature may affect integrated circuit performance by changing transistor carrier mobility, decreasing threshold voltage, and increasing parasitic resistance. Circuit reliability may also be affected through increased electronmigration, dielectric breakdown and negative body biasing. There has been considerable interest in conducting power and thermal analysis for a circuit design.
A power profile can be obtained using circuit simulators such as SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis) simulators. A circuit simulator formulates circuit equations and then numerically solves them to compute the circuit response to a particular stimulus. While offering superior precision, running simulation can be quite expensive. Simulating even a small circuit, for example, may take hours. On the other hand, a designer often, especially at early stages of a design process, needs only an estimation of power and thermal profiles for the design. It is thus desirable to search for techniques that can provide a quick estimation of what the power profile of a circuit design could be and which the thermal profile could be derived based on the power profile.

Estimation of power and thermal profiles


An etchant according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention includes about 0.5 wt % to about 20 wt % of persulfate, about 0.01 wt % to about 2 wt % of a fluorine compound, about 1 wt % to about 10 wt % of inorganic acid, about 0.5 wt % to about 5 wt % of a cyclic amine compound, about 0.1 wt % to about 5 wt % of a chlorine compound, about 0.05 wt % to about 3 wt % of copper salt, about 0.1 wt % to about 10 wt % of organic acid or organic acid salt, and water.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relates to an etchant and a method for manufacturing a display device by using the etchant.
2. Description of the Background
In general, when a thin film transistor array panel is manufactured, metal layers for a gate wire and a data wire are typically layered on a substrate, and, thereafter, the metal layers may be required to be etched.
As for the gate wire and the data wire, copper, which has good electric conductivity and low resistance, has been used. But when using copper, difficulties may exist in the process for coating a photoresist and patterning the photoresist using a single copper film. Thus, a multilayered metal film may be applied to the gate wire and the data wire.
For example, in the multilayered metal films, a titanium/copper double film has been widely used. Unfortunately, where the titanium/copper double film is simultaneously etched, an etching profile is poor and, consequently there exists a difficulty in a subsequent process.
Therefore, there is a need to provide a desired etch profile associated with etching titanium/copper film.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.

Echtant and method for manufacturing display device using the same


A multiple use core logic chip set is provided in a computer system that may be configured either as a bridge between an accelerated graphics port ("AGP") bus and host and memory buses, as a bridge between a 64 bit additional peripheral component interconnect ("PCI") bus and the host and memory buses, or as a bridge between a primary PCI bus and an additional PCI bus. The function of the multiple use chip set is determined at the time of manufacture of the computer system or in the field whether an AGP bus bridge or an additional 64 bit PCI bus bridge is to be implemented. The multiple use core logic chip set has an arbiter having Request ("REQ") and Grant ("GNT") signal lines for each PCI device utilized on the additional 64 bit PCI bus. Selection of the type of bus bridge (AGP or PCI) in the multiple use core logic chip set may be made by a hardware signal input, or by software during computer system configuration or power on self test ("POST"). Software configuration may also be determined upon detection of a PCI device connected to the common bus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to computer systems using a bus bridge(s) to interface a central processor(s), video graphics processor, memory and input-output peripherals together, and more particularly, in utilizing the same logic circuits as a bus bridge for either an accelerated graphics port or an additional peripheral component interconnect bus.
2. Description of the Related Technology
Use of computers, especially personal computers, in business and at home is becoming more and more pervasive because the computer has become an integral tool of most information workers who work in the fields of accounting, law, engineering, insurance, services, sales and the like. Rapid technological improvements in the field of computers have opened up many new applications heretofore unavailable or too expensive for the use of older technology mainframe computers. These personal computers may be used as stand-alone workstations (high end individual personal computers) or linked together in a network by a "network server" which is also a personal computer which may have a few additional features specific to its purpose in the network. The network server may be used to store massive amounts of data, and may facilitate interaction of the individual workstations connected to the network for electronic mail ("E-mail"), document databases, video teleconferencing, whiteboarding, integrated enterprise calendar, virtual engineering design and the like. Multiple network servers may also be interconnected by local area networks ("LAN") and wide area networks ("WAN").
A significant part of the ever increasing popularity of the personal computer, besides its low cost relative to just a few years ago, is its ability to run sophisticated programs and perform many useful and new tasks. Personal computers today may be easily upgraded with new peripheral devices for added flexibility and enhanced performance. A major advance in the performance of personal computers (both workstation and network servers) has been the implementation of sophisticated peripheral devices such as video graphics adapters, local area network interfaces, SCSI bus adapters, full motion video, redundant error checking and correcting disk arrays, and the like. These sophisticated peripheral devices are capable of data transfer rates approaching the native speed of the computer system microprocessor central processing unit ("CPU"). The peripheral devices' data transfer speeds are achieved by connecting the peripheral devices to the microprocessor(s) and associated system random access memory through high speed expansion local buses. Most notably, a high speed expansion local bus standard has emerged that is microprocessor independent and has been embraced by a significant number of peripheral hardware manufacturers and software programmers. This high speed expansion bus standard is called the "Peripheral Component Interconnect" or "PCI." A more complete definition of the PCI local bus may be found in the PCI Local Bus Specification, revision 2.1; PCI/PCI Bridge Specification, revision 1.0; PCI System Design Guide, revision 1.0; and PCI BIOS Specification, revision 2.1, the disclosures of which are hereby incorporated by reference. These PCI specifications are available from the PCI Special Interest Group, P.O. Box 14070, Portland, Oreg. 97214.
A computer system has a plurality of information (data and address) buses such as a host bus, a memory bus, at least one high speed expansion local bus such as the PCI bus, and other peripheral buses such as the Small Computer System Interface (SCSI), Extension to Industry Standard Architecture (EISA), and Industry Standard Architecture (ISA). The microprocessor(s) of the computer system communicates with main memory and with the peripherals that make up the computer system over these various buses. The microprocessor(s) communicates to the main memory over a host bus to memory bus bridge. The peripherals, depending on their data transfer speed requirements, are connected to the various buses which are connected to the microprocessor host bus through bus bridges that detect required actions, arbitrate, and translate both data and addresses between the various buses.
Increasingly sophisticated microprocessors have revolutionized the role of the personal computer by enabling complex applications software to run at mainframe computer speeds. The latest microprocessors have brought the level of technical sophistication to personal computers that, just a few years ago, was available only in mainframe and mini-computer systems. Some representative examples of these new microprocessors are the "PENTIUM" and "PENTIUM PRO" (registered trademarks of Intel Corporation). Advanced microprocessors are also manufactured by Advanced Micro Devices, Cyrix, IBM and Motorola.
These sophisticated microprocessors have, in turn, made possible running complex application programs using advanced three dimensional ("3-D") graphics for computer aided drafting and manufacturing, engineering simulations, games and the like. Increasingly complex 3-D graphics require higher speed access to ever larger amounts of graphics data stored in memory. This memory may be part of the video graphics processor system, but, preferably, would be best (lowest cost) if part of the main computer system memory. Intel Corporation has proposed a low cost but improved 3-D graphics standard called the "Accelerated Graphics Port" (AGP) initiative. With AGP 3-D, graphics data, in particular textures, may be shifted out of the graphics controller local memory to computer system memory. The computer system memory is lower in cost than the graphics controller local memory and is more easily adapted for a multitude of other uses besides storing graphics data.
The proposed Intel AGP 3-D graphics standard defines a high speed data pipeline, or "AGP bus," between the graphics controller and system memory. This AGP bus has sufficient bandwidth for the graphics controller to retrieve textures from system memory without materially affecting computer system performance for other non-graphics operations. The Intel 3-D graphics standard is a specification which provides signal, protocol, electrical, and mechanical specifications for the AGP bus and devices attached thereto. This specification is entitled "Accelerated Graphics Port Interface Specification Revision 1.0," dated Jul. 31, 1996, the disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference.
The AGP interface specification uses the 66 MHz PCI (Revision 2.1) as an operational baseline, with three performance enhancements to the PCI specification which are used to optimize the AGP specification for high performance 3-D graphics applications. These enhancements are: 1) pipelined memory read and write operations, 2) demultiplexing of address and data on the AGP bus by use of sideband signals, and 3) data transfer rates of 133 MHz for data throughput in excess of 500 megabytes per second ("MB/sec."). The remaining AGP specification does not modify the PCI Specification, but rather provides a range of graphics-oriented performance enhancements for use by the 3-D graphics hardware and software designers. The AGP specification is neither meant to replace nor diminish full use of the PCI standard in the computer system. The AGP specification creates an independent and additional high speed local bus for use by 3-D graphics devices such as a graphics controller, wherein the other input-output ("I/O") devices of the computer system may remain on any combination of the PCI, SCSI, EISA and ISA buses.
To functionally enable this AGP 3-D graphics bus, new computer system hardware and software are required. This requires new computer system core logic designed to function as a host bus/memory bus/PCI bus to AGP bus bridge meeting the AGP specification, and new Read Only Memory Basic Input Output System ("ROM BIOS") and Application Programming Interface ("API") software to make the AGP dependent hardware functional in the computer system. The computer system core logic must still meet the PCI standards referenced above and facilitate interfacing the PCI bus(es) to the remainder of the computer system. This adds additional costs to a personal computer system, but is well worth it if 3-D graphics are utilized. Some personal computer uses such as a network server do not require 3-D graphics, but would greatly benefit from having an additional PCI bus with multiple PCI card slots for accepting additional input-output devices such as a network interface card(s) ("NIC"), PC/PCI bridge, PCI/SCSI adapter, PCI/EISA/ISA bridge, a wide area network digital router, multiple head graphics, and the like.
AGP and PCI devices serve different purposes and the respective interface cards (e.g., AGP 3-D video controller and PCI NIC) are not physically or electrically interchangeable even though there is some commonality of signal functions between the AGP and PCI interface specifications. While AGP capabilities are very desirable in a personal computer utilizing 3-D graphics, it is wasteful and redundant for those personal computers not requiring 3-D capabilities. The cost/performance (i.e., flexibility of the computer for a given price) of a personal computer is of paramount importance for commercial acceptance in the market place. In today's competitive computer industry, technical performance alone does not guarantee commercial success. Technical performance of any personal computer product must be maximized while constantly reducing its manufacturing costs. To achieve a high performance to cost ratio, commonality of components and high volume of use are key factors. Thus, commonality of components such as logic circuits, printed circuit boards, microprocessors, computer boxes and power supplies, will drive the costs down for both workstations and servers. Also the high end workstations and network servers would benefit if one generic model of a personal computer could be effectively used in either capacity. Further benefits in reducing costs may be realized by using common components in portable and desktop (consumer and low end business) computers.
The PCI specification version 2.1 allows for a 33 MHz or 66 MHz, 32 bit PCI bus; and a 33 MHz or 66 MHz, 64 bit PCI bus. The 33 MHz, 32 bit PCI is capable of up to 132 megabytes per second ("MB/s") peak and 50 MB/s typical, and the 66 MHz, 32 bit PCI bus; and the 33 MHz, 64 bit PCI bus are capable of up to 266 MB/s peak. The AGP bus is capable of up to 532 MB/s peak. PCI interface card vendors are moving toward either 66 MHz, 32 bit or 33 MHz, 64 bit compatible PCI cards for the enhance data throughput performance.
The PCI specification, however, only allows two PCI device cards (two PCI connectors) on a 66 MHz, 32 bit PCI bus, whereas, the 33 MHz, 64 bit PCI bus allows more than two PCI device cards. Both of these embodiments of the PCI specification have the same data throughput. The 33 MHz, 64 bit embodiment allows more PCI device cards on the PCI bus than does the 66 MHz, 32 bit embodiment, but requires more signal lines for operation thereof, i.e., 64 address/data lines versus only 32 address/data lines. The AGP specification comprises a superset of the 66 MHz, 32 bit PCI specification, but has even higher throughput when in its 2.times. mode.
What is needed is an apparatus, method, and system for a personal computer that may provide an additional 64 bit PCI bus when an AGP bus is not needed by utilizing multiple use high production volume logic and interface circuits having the capability of providing either a PCI or AGP interface.

Apparatus method and system for 64 bit peripheral component interconnect bus using accelerated graphics port logic circuits


The invention relates to a system for calibrating apparatus (28) for acquiring the pressure in a cylinder (10) of a motor vehicle diesel engine, of the type comprising a cylinder pressure sensor (30) associated with the cylinder and means (32) for conditioning the signal delivered by the sensor (30) as a function of conditioning parameters. The calibration system comprises means (64) for collecting a signal delivered by the cylinder pressure sensor (30), an information processing unit (34) adapted to determine the values of the conditioning parameters as a function of a polytropic thermodynamic model of the evolution of the pressure in the cylinder, a reference pressure of the pure compression phase of the cycle of the cylinder, and the signal delivered by the pressure sensor (30) and collected by the collecting means (64), and means (66) for modifying the values of the conditioning parameters in the acquisition apparatus (28) as a function of the values of the conditioning parameters determined by the information processing unit (34).

Systems that use information relating to the pressure in the cylinders to control or diagnose the operating state of a diesel engine are known in the art. The accuracy of control or diagnosis depends on the accuracy of the apparatus for acquiring the pressure in the cylinders.
In the conventional way, a cylinder pressure sensor and conditioning means are used to acquire the pressure in a cylinder. The sensor comprises an active component that constitutes the component sensitive to the measured physical magnitude. However, the signal delivered by the sensor generally needs to be processed to obtain a "measurement" signal that is significant of the measured physical magnitude. For example, if the active component of the sensor is a piezo-electric component that is sensitive to a deformation to which it is subjected, the signal that it delivers corresponds to a range of deformation values. The conditioning means are adapted to format this signal and to apply conditioning parameters to make this range of deformation values correspond to a range of pressure values.
Calibration methods that obtain the correspondence between the range of deformation values and the range of pressure values, i.e. that determine the conditioning parameter values, for a family of sensors of the same design are known in the art. This correspondence, which is determined by the manufacturer of the sensor, for example, or by post-production tests on a sample of sensors mounted on motor vehicles, is then stored permanently in the conditioning means throughout the service life of the motor vehicle.
Unfortunately, the values of the characteristics of the sensors are subject to significant spread.
Accordingly, mass-produced sensors are subject to an uncertainty as to their sensitivity that may vary strongly from one sensor to another, and as a consequence there is significant uncertainty for a particular sensor if the values of the conditioning parameters have been determined for a family of sensors.
Also, the characteristics of the sensor are subject to drift during its service life, for example as it wears. Accordingly, at the end of a certain time, the original values of the conditioning parameters are no longer valid and the resulting measurement error is uncertain.

System for calibrating apparatus for acquiring the pressure in a motor vehicle diesel engine cylinder


An adaptive surgical tourniquet comprises: an inflatable cuff for encircling a limb of a patient; pressurizing means for pressurizing the cuff; pressure relief means for depressurizing the cuff; cuff pressure sensing means for sensing cuff pressure; limb occlusion pressure sensing means for sensing the patient's initial limb occlusion pressure at a selected time; physiologic characteristic sensing means for sensing a physiologic characteristic of the patient; and pressure regulator means for establishing an adapted limb occlusion pressure that is a predetermined function of the initial limb occlusion pressure and the physiologic characteristic, wherein the pressure regulator means is operable after the initial limb occlusion pressure is sensed for selectably activating the pressurizing means and the pressure relief means to maintain the cuff pressure above the adapted limb occlusion pressure for a time period suitably long for the performance of a surgical procedure.

Surgical tourniquet systems are commonly used to stop the flow of arterial blood into a portion of a patient's limb, thus creating a clear, dry surgical field that facilitates the performance of a surgical procedure and improves outcomes. A typical surgical tourniquet system of the prior art includes a tourniquet cuff for encircling a patient's limb at a desired location, a tourniquet instrument, and flexible tubing connecting the cuff to the instrument. In some surgical tourniquet systems of the prior art, the tourniquet cuff includes an inflatable portion, and the inflatable portion of the cuff is connected pneumatically through one or two cuff ports by flexible plastic tubing to a tourniquet instrument that includes a pressure regulator to maintain the pressure in the inflatable portion of the cuff, when applied to a patient's limb at a desired location, near a reference pressure that is above a minimum pressure required to stop arterial blood flow past the cuff during a time period suitably long for the performance of a surgical procedure. Many types of such pneumatic surgical tourniquet systems have been described in the prior art, such as those described by McEwen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,469,099, 4,479,494, 5,439,477 and by McEwen and Jameson in U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,415 and No. 5,855,589.
Many studies published in the medical literature have shown that the safest tourniquet pressure is the lowest pressure that will stop the flow of arterial blood past a specific cuff applied to a specific patient for the duration of that patient's surgery. Such studies have shown that higher tourniquet pressures are associated with higher risks of tourniquet-related injuries to the patient. Therefore, when a tourniquet is used in surgery, surgical staff generally try to use the lowest tourniquet pressure that in their judgment is safely possible.
It is well established in the medical literature that the optimal guideline for setting the pressure of a constant-pressure tourniquet is based on "Limb Occlusion Pressure" (LOP). LOP can be defined as the minimum pressure required, at a specific time in a specific tourniquet cuff applied to a specific patient's limb at a specific location, to stop the flow of arterial blood into the limb distal to the cuff. The currently established guideline for setting tourniquet pressure based on LOP is that an additional safety margin of pressure is added to the measured LOP, to account for variations in physiologic characteristics and other changes that may be anticipated to occur normally over the duration of a surgical procedure.
Some surgical tourniquet systems of the prior art include means to measure LOP automatically. Prior-art tourniquet apparatus having automatic LOP measurement means are described by McEwen in U.S. Pat. No. 5,439,477 and by McEwen and Jameson in U.S. Pat. No. 5,556,415. Such prior-art systems have included blood flow transducers that employ a photoplethysmographic principle to sense blood flow in the distal limb, although other transducers have been suggested in the prior art to measure blood flow based on other principles. A blood flow transducer employing the photoplethysmographic principle uses light to indicate the volume of blood present in a transduced region, consisting of a combination of a residual blood volume and a changing blood volume resulting from arterial pulsations. An additional pressure margin based on recommendations in published surgical literature is added to the automatically measured LOP to provide a "Recommended Tourniquet Pressure" (RTP), as a guideline to help the surgical staff select the lowest tourniquet pressure that will safely stop arterial blood flow for the duration of a surgical procedure. Such prior-art systems allow the surgical staff to select the RTP, based on LOP, as the tourniquet pressure for that patient or to select another pressure based on the physician's discretion or the protocol at the institution where the surgery is being performed.
In U.S. Pat. App. No. 20060253150, McEwen and Jameson describe surgical tourniquet apparatus for automatically measuring LOP that overcomes many of the limitations of prior-art apparatus in four principal areas: safety, probability of successful LOP measurement, speed of LOP measurement, and accuracy of LOP measurement. The McEwen '150 apparatus does not introduce secondary hazards associated with the measurement of LOP, has a high probability of successful completion after LOP measurement is initiated, completes LOP measurement sufficiently fast so that the measurement of LOP does not disrupt or unduly delay normal activities in the operating room, and results in an LOP measurement that is accurate within surgically acceptable expectations so that it can be used as the basis for optimal setting of tourniquet pressure prior to inflation of the tourniquet cuff to facilitate surgery.
Despite the improved performance of the McEwen '150 apparatus in measuring LOP, there is one significant limitation: the apparatus does not measure or estimate any changes to LOP that may occur during surgery. Instead, the Recommended Tourniquet Pressure (RTP) equals the sum of the LOP measured prior to cuff inflation for surgery plus a predetermined margin of safety. The margin of safety is set to be greater than the magnitude of any increase in LOP normally expected during surgery and may be dependent on the magnitude of the LOP, as described in McEwen '150. As a result, a constant RTP based on LOP measured prior to surgery may be higher than necessary to the extent that the magnitude of any increase in LOP during surgery is less than the magnitude of the predetermined margin of safety. Additionally, if LOP decreases during surgery below the LOP measured prior to surgery, then the RTP will be unnecessarily high by an even larger amount.
Several variables affecting LOP have been described in the prior art. Prior to surgery, LOP is affected by variables including the patient's limb characteristics (for example, limb shape, circumference and soft tissue characteristics at the cuff location), characteristics of the selected tourniquet cuff (for example, cuff design, cuff shape and cuff width), the technique of application of the cuff to the limb (for example, the degree of snugness or looseness and the absence, presence and type of underlying limb protection sleeve), physiologic characteristics of the patient including blood pressure and limb temperature, and other clinical factors (for example, the extent of any elevation of the limb during LOP measurement and the extent of any limb movement during measurement). After inflation of the tourniquet cuff to facilitate surgery, ongoing LOP during surgery is affected by variables including: the anesthetic technique employed (for example, whether a general or regional anesthetic is given, the types and dosages of anesthetic agents employed and the degree of attention paid to anesthetic management); the length of tourniquet time; isolation of the operative limb from systemic circulation; any change in limb position during surgery; and by any shift in the location of the cuff relative to the limb during surgery. Some but not all of these intraoperative variables change the LOP from the initial level of LOP measured before surgery by changing the patient's blood pressure, one of the variables affecting LOP.
The prior art describes a wide range of tourniquet apparatus for changing tourniquet pressure on the basis of a patient's intraoperative blood pressure. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,479,494 McEwen describes pneumatic tourniquet apparatus in which pressure in a tourniquet cuff may be varied "adaptively" in response to changes in the patient's intraoperative systolic blood pressure. The apparatus of McEwen '494 selectably activates a pressurizing mechanism and a pressure relief mechanism to automatically maintain a substantially constant pressure difference between pressure in the tourniquet cuff and the patient's changing systolic blood pressure during surgery. McEwen '494 includes a tourniquet cuff having one cuff segment for occluding blood flow into the patient's limb and another cuff segment for sensing the patient's systolic blood pressure and includes recorder means for periodically recording the operational status of the apparatus. In addition to McEwen '494, others have described prior-art apparatus for setting or changing tourniquet pressure based on a patient's blood pressure, for example: Lemelson et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,929; Miller et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,671,290; Ulrich in U.S. Pat. No. 5,569,304; Gruenfeld et al in U.S. Pat. No. 5,842,996; and Hovanes et al in U.S. Pat. No. 6,605,103. However, such prior-art apparatus does not take into account many of the above-described variables that affect limb occlusion pressure and thus the tourniquet pressure is not optimal.
No apparatus known in the prior art adapts tourniquet pressure as a function of changes during surgery in a patient's limb occlusion pressure from an initial limb occlusion pressure. The present invention addresses the need for improved surgical tourniquet apparatus for automatically adapting the pressure applied to a patient's limb by a tourniquet cuff as a function of changes in the patient's limb occlusion pressure during surgery.

Adaptive surgical tourniquet apparatus and method


A GaAs substrate has a first surface. The sum of the number of particles having a longer diameter of more than or equal to 0.16 μm which are present in the first surface, per cm2 of the first surface, and the number of damages having a longer diameter of more than or equal to 0.16 μm which are present in a second surface, per cm2 of the second surface, is less than or equal to 2.1, the second surface being formed by etching the first surface by 0.5 μm in a depth direction.

Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2008-300747 (PTL 1) discloses a GaAs substrate which allows removal of foreign matter and oxides adhering to its surface by common thermal cleaning, by polishing a surface of a wafer, cleaning the surface with an alkaline cleaning solution, and cleaning the surface with an acid cleaning solution. Recently, it has been considered, for example, to improve detergency (removal capability) of an alkaline cleaning solution by cleaning a surface of a wafer with ultrasound being applied to the alkaline cleaning solution.

GaAs substrate and method for manufacturing the same


A magnetic recording medium having a substrate disc with microscopic bumps formed by focusing a laser beam, wherein spacings D between adjacent bumps in the circumferential direction of the disc are varied so that formula (1) is satisfied: EQU 1.ltoreq.[(D.sub.max -D.sub.min)/D.sub.avg ].times.100(%).ltoreq.200(1). wherein D.sub.max, D.sub.min and D.sub.avg are the maximum, minimum and average spacings, respectively, as determined by a method wherein 2.5% of the total number of spacings D, having the largest dimensions, and 2.5% of the total number of spacings D, having the smallest dimensions, are excluded; and D.sub.max, D.sub.min and D.sub.avg are measured on the remaining 95% of the total number of spacings D. The variation of bump spacings is attained, for example, by (i) modulating the pulse repetition frequency F of laser beam so that the ratio of "(F.sub.max -F.sub.min)/F.sub.avg " is maintained within the range of 0.01 to 100, wherein F.sub.max, F.sub.min and F.sub.avg are the maximum, minimum and average values, respectively, of the F of laser beam; (ii) by transmitting the laser beam through a mask having perforations, wherein spacings between adjacent perforations in the mask are varied, i.e., not constant; or (iii) by reflecting the laser beam by mirrors working at a continuously varied reflection angle.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a magnetic recording medium comprising a substrate disc having formed thereon a magnetic recording layer, and a process for producing the magnetic recording medium. More particularly, it relates to an improvement in a magnetic recording medium comprising a substrate disc having formed thereon a magnetic recording layer, said substrate disc having a multiplicity of microscopic bumps on the surface thereof formed by texturing the substrate surface by focusing a laser beam; and to an improvement in a process for producing the magnetic recording medium.
The magnetic recording medium of the present invention exhibits good CSS (contact start-stop) characteristics and a reduced head noise, and thus, has an enhanced durability against wear due to sliding contact of a magnetic hard disc (hereinafter abbreviated to "HD") with a magnetic head.
(2) Description of the Related Art
The recent progress of increasing the density of magnetic recording medium is remarkable. It has heretofore said that the rate of increase in the recording density of hard disc drives (hereinafter abbreviated to "HDD") is about 10 times per 10 years, but now it may be said that the rate of density increase is about 100 times per 10 years.
In HDD, there is adopted mainly a Winchester system, i.e., CSS (contact start-stop) system involving a basic operation of a sliding movement due to contact of HD with a magnetic head, floating of the head above HD and then a sliding movement due to contact of HD with the head. The CSS system has contributed in no small measure to the amazing progress in increase of recording density. However, this system has invited an attractive problem of tribology. More specifically, the amazing progress in increase of recording density has invited an increase of revolving speed of the disc and a reduction of a flying height of the magnetic head. Therefore, there is now an increasing demand for improving head-and-disc wear characteristics and stability in sliding movement, and for enhancing smoothness of the HD surface.
The key to the improvement of head-and-disc-wear characteristics lies in an increase of the tenacity of materials and a lowering of friction coefficient or an enhancement of lubrication. As regards HD, attempts have been made for lowering the friction coefficient by rendering rough the HD surface, and for coating the HD with a protective coating material such as diamond-like carbon (DLC) or a coating lubricating agent. The surface treatment for lowering the friction coefficient is referred to as "texturing treatment" and is intended to effectively reduce the contact area in the CSS system whereby the head-and-disc wear characteristics are improved. The texturing treatment comprises forming a multiplicity of bumps having peaks and indentations or valleys with predetermined height and depth on the textured HD surface, and now the texturing treatment is an essential step for the HD production.
The texturing treatment greatly depends upon the particular material of the substrate disc. For example, in the case of an aluminum disc blank having a nickel-phosphorus (NiP) coating, the surface roughening is generally effected by mechanical polishing using an abrasive grain. In the case of a glass substrate, an etching technique utilizing lithography or a combination of lithography with printing have been proposed and some of the proposed techniques have been practically adopted.
In the texturing treatment, there are problems inconsistent with each other, namely, it is difficult to precisely control the surface roughness with an enhanced production efficiency. For example, the mechanical abrasion has technical problems of over-abrasion or burr occurrence, and blurring of textured areas, and the lithographic etching has a problem that the production steps are complicated.
In recent years a texturing treatment utilizing laser beam such as laser ablation and laser etching have attracted attention (see, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,021 and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication (hereinafter abbreviated to "JP-A") 62-209,788, 3-272018 and 7-182655). The laser beam texturing is advantageous in that, first, the surface roughness of substrate can be precisely controlled, namely, the height, spacing and location of microscopic bumps created by laser beam focusing can be desirably controlled, and, secondly, the production steps are carried out in a dry state without use of any liquid and thus the HD production can be conducted without contamination of the working environment. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,062,021 discloses creation of crater-like bumps each comprised of a circular rim surrounding a pit and having a diameter of 2.5 to 100 .mu.m and a spot spacing of 12.7 to 25.4 .mu.m on an NiP-coated aluminum substrate by using a Q-switched pulse oscillating Nd-YAG laser with a wavelength of 1,064 nm and an oscillation frequency of 12 KHz.
But, the laser beam texturing has problems such that, when the preset height and spacing of bumps are not adequate, the adsorption of the magnetic head onto the disc surface and the CSS characteristics are markedly deteriorated.
The spacing between adjacent microscopic bumps in the circumferential direction of the substrate disc is usually constant, but natural oscillation undesirably occurs between the magnetic head and the bumps due to the bump spacings and the linear speed of the rotating disc in the circumferential direction thereof. The frequency of natural oscillation equals to integral number times of the circumferential speed/bump spacing ratio. Further, the magnetic head has a frequency of natural oscillation, and, when the frequency of natural oscillation of the magnetic head, is equal to integral number times of the frequency of natural oscillation, resonance occurs.
The occurrence of resonance leads to reduction in flying stability of a glide head for inspecting unacceptable bumps on the disc surface with the result of increase of a head noise and failure of inspecting the normal glide height, and further, it leads to deterioration of CSS (contact start-sop) characteristics.
When a laser beam is focused with a constant pulse repetition frequency, the spacing between adjacent microscopic bumps in the circumferential direction of the substrate disc varies in the radial direction. Namely, the bump spacings in outer circumferences of the substrate disc are larger than those in inner circumferences thereof. However, the bump spacings in the same circumferences are equal and thus, the above-mentioned problems occur.

Magnetic recording medium and process for producing same


The invention concerns a drive assembly for relative movement of two components of a machine tool with a drive motor and a gear arrangement with two gear trains that can be put under tension relative to each other and have output gears that mesh with opposing teeth, where each gear train has a compact gear with a high transmission ratio with at least one control element for applying tension to the two gear trains. A high positioning accuracy and torsional rigidity combined with a small size when installed are made possible according to this invention by the fact that the compact gear.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally concerns a drive assembly, and more particularly relates to the relative movement of two components of a machine tool, with a drive motor and a gear arrangement with two gear trains that can be put under tension relative to each other.
2. Description of the Related Art
A drive assembly of the general type of this invention is known from German patent 3,704,787, where the torque is transmitted from a drive motor over a pinion to two gear wheels that mesh with it. These gear wheels are each attached to an input shaft of two standard gears with a high step-up or step-down transmission ratio and thus they are each connected over free-wheeling mechanisms that act in opposite directions. The torque is transmitted from the output shafts of the standard gears with attached gear wheels to a gear wheel connected to the output shaft.


A beverage system including a beverage appliance and beverage containers where the functions required for creating beverages may be activated and controlled through a pre-programmed specific App (an application, especially as downloaded by a user to a mobile device), residing external to and wirelessly communicating with the apparatus.

The recent COVID-19 pandemic created a new reality in many established parts of the economy. Nowhere has the impact been greater than in the restaurant and bar segment. As a result of this more people were looking to substitute their visit to the bar with preparing mixed drinks at home. At present there are several appliances available to the consumer in the US, and there are most likely many more of these type appliances available in other countries. Many of the beverage appliances in the US market at the present are capsule-based and some use pre-mixed concentrates or other manners to provide the alcohol and mixes.
The appliances presently available to the consumer in the US carry a price tag that ranges from $200 and up. For the most part, these appliances are relatively large and occupy large amount of countertop space, be it in the kitchen, the wet bar, or a man-cave. Amongst the more popular and heavily advertised product is the Drinkworks® Home Bar by Keurig® being offered for sale at a price range of $250 to $299. To create a mixed beverage the user would have to place a beverage container into the appliance, retailing at an average price of $4.00.
While it is understood that there are other types of automatic beverage appliances available in the US market it was determined to use The Drinkworks® Home Bar appliance and beverage containers as the representative prior art, as it is known to be the dominant system in the US market, and the system offers many user benefits which drive the demand for the appliance, some of these user-benefits include:
a. Speed—The machine takes about 1 minute to produce a mixed drink.
b. Variety—The user can create a variety of drinks without having to purchase various liquors, mixes, and flavorings.
c. Quality—User feedback indicates a high level of satisfaction with the quality of the drink.
d. Convenience—User can produce any mixed beverage effortlessly.
e. Simplicity—User need not remember beverage recipes or look them up.
f. Space savings—User need not stock alcohol, mixes, and other additions.
g. Pride of ownership—The appliance is impressive and attractive.
h. Recognizable brand—Drinkworks® Home Bar is marketed under the well-known Keurig® brand.
The business model being followed is based on the long-term revenue being generated by the sale of consumables (the beverage containers in the case of the Drinkworks® Home Bar). It should be based on offering the beverage appliance at an attractive price and relying on the profit to be generated from beverage containers sales. Due to the high manufacturing cost of the appliance it is offered to the consumer at a price point of $250, which understandably creates a barrier to broaden the customer base needed to increase the sales of the consumables, namely the beverage containers.
Size and product footprint are other factors that might create a barrier to broaden the customer base of the beverage appliance. The expected potential customer typically lives in an urban environment with limited space that would not support another large appliance, especially where the product might be used daily, and therefore would not be put away after each use.
Lastly, while the beverage appliance offers the user all the benefits listed above, it has some inherent drawbacks such as a long cooldown time, the need to purchase CO2 containers, and the need for routine draining and cleaning.
Therefore, a strong case can be made for an appliance offering all, or most of, the user benefits of the existing Drinkworks® Home Bar at a lower price point. This is especially true if such product had a small footprint, requiring minimum maintenance, and needed no cooldown time. These criteria could be met if the appliance includes just the bare minimum of the components required to extract the content from the beverage container and excludes carbonation and refrigeration. Further savings could be made if the control functions are stored in a mobile app rather than a PCB as is the case with the current product. While saving a great deal of cost, it also stands to reason that a beverage appliance that is controlled through a smart phone app would appeal to a broad segment of the market, particularly tech savvy individuals.
The foregoing examples of the related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive. The limitations of the related art will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.


Disclosed are a cell measurement method, a cell resource sharing method, and a related device. The cell measurement method includes: a user equipment receives a measurement configuration message sent by a base station, wherein the measurement configuration message comprises at least one physical cell identity and CSI-RS configuration information corresponding to a measured cell, and wherein the physical cell identity is used to indicate the measured cell; measuring the CSI-RS corresponding to the measured cell according to the CSI-RS configuration information, and obtaining a measurement result of the measuring; sending the obtained measurement result of the measured cell and measurement object information of the measured cell to the base station via a measurement report. The technical solution provided by the present disclosure can effectively improve the accuracy of the measurement result, and enable the base station to distinguish different measurement results corresponding to different cells.

In a wireless communication system, the coordinated multi-point transmission (CoMP, Coordinated Multi-Point transmission) technology is an important approach to improve the overall performance of the cell and the performance of the cell edge users.
The CoMP technology needs the support of multiple physical layer transmission technologies, such as the multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO, Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) technology adapted to the multi-cell joint transmission, the precoding technology, the network coding technology, the efficient channel estimation and joint detection technology. At the same time, the advanced and effective schemes of radio resource management is also important factors affecting the performance of the CoMP technology as well, for example, the distribution strategy of cell resource, the load balancing, the selection mechanism of the coordinated cells in the joint multi-point transmission, and effective handover strategy, and so on. The handover performance is a key index to appraise the performance of mobile communication system, and an effective handover strategy is the key to make a ubiquitous network for users.
In the current CoMP system, the user equipment (UE, User Equipment) obtains physical cell identities (PCI, physical cell identity) of neighbor cells by synchronizing the user equipment itself with the neighbor cells of the serving cell of the user equipment, then uses the obtained PCIs to measure the cell-specific reference signals (CRS, Cell-specific reference signals) of the cells corresponding to the PCIs, respectively, then reports the measurement result as a radio resource management (RRM, Radio Resource Management) measurement set to the base station communicating with the UE. The base station uses the RRM measurement set reported by the UE to evaluate the signal strength and signal quality of the signal received by the UE from each cell surrounding the UE, so as to decide the cell handover of this UE. In the above scheme, the base station distinguishes the different measurement results corresponding to different cells in the RRM measurement set via the PCIs. In the current CoMP system, when a cell sends resource position information of the CRS, other cells may use the time-frequency domain resources, which are occupied by this cell by sending the resource position information, to send resource information such as physical downlink control channel (PDCCH, Physical Downlink Control Channel) and physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH, Physical Downlink Shared Channel), therefore, this resource position information of the CRS is interfered and thus the measurement result of the CRS is inaccurate.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Cell measurement method, cell resource sharing method, and related device