A trough structure is provided for bending a web of paper widthwise to provide beam strength and controllability to the web of paper, for aiding in guiding the web of paper in a straight path. The trough structure causes the paper to curl widthwise to conform with the shape of the trough structure. The trough structure comprises a concave or convex lower wall upon which the paper flows, open ends through which the paper flows, and shoulders which attach to both sides of the lower wall and extend substantially horizontally from the sides of the lower wall to symmetrical positions above the lower wall. The shoulders act to contain the paper in the trough structure and guide the paper through the trough structure. A drive roll is provided for driving the paper through the trough structure. No buckling of the paper is caused when any slight misalignment occurs between the paper and the drive roll, and this slight misalignment is self-correcting due to the edge guiding function of the trough structure.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a unique method and apparatus for guiding a web of material in a straight path.
2. Background of the Invention
When feeding a web of paper through printing and other value-added processes such as paper cutting and paper punching, it is desirable to keep the web of paper flowing straight. Widely used conventional means to accomplish this include tractor-feeding apparatuses wherein pins are provided which engage pinholes in the sides of the web of paper. Tractor-feed paper with pinholes along the sides require an extra inch of paper when compared to standard 8 inch width paper. In addition, the use of pinholes requires that the paper be moved from paper mills to converters before it is usable by the end user. This tractor-feed technology currently processes more than $1 billion annually worth of paper, 10 percent or $100 million of which is wasted on the tractor-feed pinhole portion.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for guiding a web of paper in a straight line without the need for tractor-feed pinholes.
It is another object of the present invention to provide an apparatus that is compatible with pre existing tractor-feed devices.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide for an apparatus that will automatically realign any slightly misaligned paper during the feeding process.


A bubble (domain) generator comprising a pair of relatively long elements of suitable magnetic material, such as permalloy, separated by a narrow gap, near which bubbles will be generated in the bubble film by the combined effect of local in-plane and perpendicular magnetic field components to assist in nucleation. In one embodiment, the gap is formed straight by spaced apart edges between the elements and, in another embodiment, the gap is formed to define an apex by V-shaped by complementary tapered spaced apart edges between the elements. Both embodiments may have their gap edges brought close to the bubble film and may have a current carrying hairpin loop conductor substantially surrounding the gap to assist in nucleation.

This invention relates to bubble (domain) memory devices and in particular to a device for generating bubbles therefor.
The use of bubble generators to generate bubbles for use in memory devices is, of course, old at this time. However, such prior art bubble generators typically operate at high current densities where electromigration failure probabilities are higher than desirable. This invention overcomes the defect in the prior art by utilizing the rotating in-plane magnetic field to provide much more of the energy required for bubble nucleation.


The invention relates to the color correction of images. The method is based on the assumption that the red, green and blue standard deviations, particularly of high frequency spatial information, as calculated in a particular space e.g. a power law space, should be equal.

This invention relates to color printing, and more particularly to a method for automatically adjusting color correction. In addition, this method may be applied to white balance adjusting apparatus such as that used in a color video camera.
In photographic printing, it is a well known practice to correct the color balance of a print from an original, such as a color photographic negative, by adjusting the printing process so that the integral density of the resulting print is neutral or grey. This correction strategy is based on the assumption that the overall average color of a scene integrates to a grey color. This strategy is very effective at reducing the effects resulting from scene illuminants that are spectrally different such as tungsten and daylight. In a like manner, image sensing apparatus such as a video camera, average typically, over a relatively long time period, color difference signals, R-Y and B-Y, to a zero value. This is equivalent to integrating to grey.
These methods work well for the majority of scene and illuminant combinations. However, when the scene subject matter is highly colored, particularly with a single dominant color, the integrate to grey strategy fails as this dominant scene color is mistaken for an illuminant bias. This failure, known as subject failure, produces unpleasant color casts in the color complimentary to the dominant scene color. There are various strategies for minimizing these failures. These strategies are typically based on reducing the amount of correction based on a population of images and/or on information in neighboring frames. The Agfa MSP printer is an example where information in neighboring frames is used to improve color correction.
In addition, it is possible, particularly with digitization, to extract additional information from an image that can be used to improve color correction and reduce the number of subject failures. Many of these methods, such as that taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,555,022, divide the scene information into a plurality of regions representing different locations within a scene. Means to select and weight the correction of these regions are then employed to provide automatic white balancing in a video camera. In addition, restricting the degree to which color correction gain is applied is taught.
Another approach that combines color correction with tone scale corrections is based on random sampling within a digitized image and subsequently modifying the resulting histogram of these samples. U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,465 issued Jun. 30, 1987, to J. S. Alkofer, entitled xe2x80x9cDigital Color Image Processing Method with Shape Correction of Histograms Used to Produce Color Reproduction Functions,xe2x80x9d and U.S. Pat. No. 4,729,016 issued Mar. 1, 1988 to J. S. Alkofer, entitled xe2x80x9cDigital Color Image Processing Method and Apparatus Employing Three Color Reproduction Functions for Adjusting Both Tone Scale and Color Balance,xe2x80x9d disclose relatively complex methods that utilize these samples in a plurality of segmented contrast intervals through normalization techniques and with comparison to image population data.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved color image by using an image processing method and means that overcome the problems, such as color subject failure and dependency on film population data, noted above.
The method of the present invention is based on the assumption that the red, green and blue standard deviations, particularly of high spatial frequency information as calculated in a particular space, e.g. a power law space, should be equal.
According to the present invention there is provided a method of correcting the color balance of a color image comprising a plurality of channels, comprising the steps of:
capturing the image;
transforming each channel of the image into a power law space;
storing the transformed channels;
spatially filtering the transformed channels with at least one filter to generate at least one filtered image;
calculating the standard deviation of each of the filtered transformed channels;
determining a reference standard deviation;
forming a ratio between the reference standard deviation and the standard deviation of each filtered transformed channel; and
applying the ratio as a multiplicative gain factor to each stored transformed channel to provide a color corrected image.
The channels may be filtered spatially with either band-pass filters or high-pass filters. It is possible to include additional steps to further improve the color of the image.
The invention further provides means for correcting the color balance of an image comprising a plurality of channels, comprising:
means for capturing the image;
means for transforming each channel of the image into a power law space;
means for storing the transformed channels;
filter means for spatially filtering the transformed channels to generate at least one filtered image;
calculating means for calculating the standard deviation of each of the filtered transformed channels;
means for determining a reference standard deviation;
means for calculating the ratio between the reference standard deviation and the standard deviation of each of the filtered transformed channels; and
means for applying the ratio as a multiplicative gain factor to each of the stored transformed channels to provide a color corrected image.
Advantageous Effect of the Invention
The present invention provides a color image with significantly reduced color biases or correction errors than those provided by methods and apparatus found in the prior art.
The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred embodiment, in connection with the accompanying drawings.


A high voltage transmission line suspension insulator (18 or 22) which monitors its own dielectric integrity. A dielectric rod (10) has one larger diameter end fitting attachable to a transmission line and another larger diameter end fitting attachable to a support tower. The rod is enclosed in a dielectric tube (14) which is hermetically sealed to the rod's end fittings such that a liquidtight space (20) is formed between the rod and the tube. A pressurized dielectric liquid is placed within that space. A discoloring dye placed within this space is used to detect the loss of the pressurized liquid.

The present invention relates generally to electrical insulators and more particularly to a self-monitoring high voltage transmission line suspension insulator for connecting a high voltage transmission line to a transmission line support structure.
Electric power transmission line suspension insulators are subject to damage from causes such as weather conditions and gunfire or other vandalism. A typical insulator in the prior art would contain a central dielectric rod to support the weight of the transmission line. This central dielectric rod must be made of a material having sufficient tensile strength, but such materials, like fiberglass, will lose their dielectric properties when exposed to the environment. For example, water on the surface of such a rod will lead to arcing in the electrical environment of the power line. In time, due to arcing damage, the rod might fail and drop the line. To protect the dielectric rod from the environment, the prior art has employed a dielectric tube to surround the rod. This tube may be made from a plastic or rubber material to have good dielectric properties while exposed to the environment. It should be noted that these materials have inadequate tensile strength to support the transmission line. Some prior art insulators bonded the tube directly to the rod. Other prior art insulators left an annular space between the tube and the rod and filled that space with a dielectric material such as an insulating liquid. Both types of such prior art insulators would be damaged when moisture would enter the tube (and contact the rod) due to gunshot holes or adverse weather conditions. Of course the insulators would be damaged from the gunshots themselves.
The prior art has responded to this problem by helicopter and ground visual inspections of the transmission line insulators. Observers in the helicopters or on the ground try to detect gunfire or other damage. Even with binoculars or other optical aids, this is often very difficult because of the small size of the gunshot hole in the tube and the relatively large distance at which the insulator would be viewed. Moisture penetration damage due to normal wear and tear of the insulator in the environment cannot be detected in this manner until such damage is severe. The goal of the periodic visual inspections is to detect a damaged insulator before it fails and drops a power line.

Self-monitoring high voltage transmission line suspension insulator

The United States of America as represented by the United States Department of Energy


A back-up device for an electronic control system of an automatic transmission in an automotive vehicle, of the type including at least first and second frictionally engaging elements hydraulically actuable, respectively, for establishing a first speed ratio for lower speed running of the vehicle and a second speed ratio for higher speed running of same, selector valves adapted to selectively assume first and second positions, respectively, for connecting the first and second frictionally engaging elements to an operating fluid source, electromagnetic valves for driving the selector valves to select the first position or the second position, and an electronic control unit for selectively energizing and deenergizing the electromagnetic valves in accordance with a predetermined gear shifting manner responsive to electrical signals indicative of the vehicle speed and the engine output. The back-up device comprises a vehicle speed sensing device for generating an output signal having a value thereof increasing as the vehicle speed increases, and a control mechanism for causing the selector valves to assume the second position, irrespective of the operation of the electromagnetic valves, when the value of the output signal from the vehicle speed sensing device exceeds a predetermined value, thereby prohibiting establishment of the first speed ratio in the event of failure in the electronic control system during high running of the vehicle.

This invention relates to an electronic control system of an automatic transmission for internal combustion engines, and more particularly to a back-up device for the electronic control system.
In an electronic control system for electronically controlling the gear shifting operation of an automatic transmission in an internal combustion engine for automotive vehicles, when an electronic control unit of the system malfunctions to select a gear having too low a speed reduction ratio or a reduction ratio too large for a speed at which the vehicle is running, the engine undergoes overrevolution and can be damaged. Supposing for instance that when a vehicle equipped with an automatic transmission having four forward speed ratios, is running with the fourth speed ratio (TOP) established, its electronic control unit becomes defective so that the second speed gear or the first speed gear (LOW) is selected, the engine will undergo overrevolution and can be damaged owing to a large difference in gear ratio between the fourth speed gear and the second speed gear or the first speed gear (LOW). Particularly, since no one-way clutch which permits transmission of torque only from the engine to the driving wheels is provided between the second speed driven gear and the counter shaft, the engine is driven by the driving wheels when gear shifting takes place from the fourth speed gear to the second speed gear, and can be damaged by overrevolution even if the throttle pedal is returned from its stepped-on position. The possibility of damage to the engine due to overrevolution is high particularly when gear shifting takes place from the fourth speed ratio to the second speed ratio or the first speed ratio while the vehicle is running at a high speed. Similarly the engine can undergo overrevolution when the electronic control unit malfunctions to cause gear shifting from the fourth speed ratio to the third speed ratio while the vehicle is running with the fourth speed ratio established. However, since generally the third speed gear ratio is relatively small and suitable for high speed running, the possibility of overrevolution of the engine is very small.

Back-up device for an electronic control system of an automatic transmission


A laser gyrometer for the measure of the angular speed of a rotating system, comprising an optical fiber wound around the rotation axis, in which two coherent light beams are guided in the direction of the rotation and in the opposite direction, respectively, so as to be subjected to the Sagnac effect. The two beams emerging from the two ends of the fiber are directed along two separate adjacent parts of one beam. Measurement of the phase shift between the two parts is based on the displacement of the center of the diffraction spot obtained in the focal plane of a lens, positioned in the path of the beam.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to laser gyrometers for the determination of the angular speed of a rotating system by measuring the phase-shift between two coherent light beams, guided in a wound optical fibre, in the direction of the rotation, and in the opposite direction respectively.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Such gyrometers generally make an interferometric measurement of the phase-shift, the beams emerging from the two ends of the fibre being recombined, which established and interference state depending upon the angular speed of the system. A quadratic detector collecting this beam supplies an electric signal characteristic of the luminous intensity which is directly related to the phase-shift and hence to the angular speed.
In order to obtain a linear relation between the detected intensity and the phase-shift, a fixed phase-shift of .pi./2 is introduced between the two waves. Such a phase-shift is difficult to obtain. Furthermore, the phase-shift related to the rotation is weak and any asymmetry in the arrangement produces parasitic phase-shift of which the thermally or mechanically induces fluctuations create considerable additional noise which gives rise to a loss of sensitivity in the speed measurement. The two light beams intended to enter the two ends of the fibre are obtained by the separation of a single beam issuing from the a laser. The separation and subsequent recombination, after propagation in the fibre, of these two beams is generally obtained by means of a semi-transparent plate of which the transmission and reflection factors are carefully selected.

Laser gyrometer having the two beams emerging from the two ends of the fiber forming two adjacent light parts of a single beam


A method for image de-blurring includes estimating an intermediate image L by marking and constraining an edge region and a smooth region in an input image; estimating a blur kernel k by extracting salient edges from the intermediate image L, wherein the salient edges have scales greater than those of the blur kernel k; and restoring the input image to a clear image by performing non-blind deconvolution on the input image and the estimated blur kernel k. Imposing constraints on the edge region and the smooth region allows the intermediate image to maintain the edge while effectively removing noise and ringing artifacts in the smooth region. The use of the salient edges in the intermediate image L enables more accurate blur kernel estimation. Performing non-blind deconvolution on the input image and the estimated blur kernel k restores the input image to a clear image achieving desired de-blurring effect.

Due to the movement of the camera relative to the scene, the images taken often suffer motion blur to some extent. The image degradation model can be expressed as a convolution process as follows:I=L⊗k+N, wherein I represents the acquired blurred image, L represents a clear image, k is a blur kernel (i.e. Point Spread Function (PSF)), and N represents the noise generated by the image acquisition device. Since only the blurred image I is known, the process to restore a clear image L from a blurred image is a large-scale ill-posed inverse problem.
As motion de-blurring of a single image is valuable to many applications, it has attracted much attention. There have been various motion de-blurring algorithms to solve the ill-posed problem of obtaining a clear image L. For example, Fergus et al. expressed the long-tailed distribution model of the gradient of natural image as a Gaussian Mixture Model (GMM), which was used for constraining the clear image L. The clear image L was obtained by using the ensemble learning method. Shan et al. expressed the long-tailed distribution as a piecewise function to constrain the gradient of the clear image L. Krishnan et al. assumed that the gradient of the clear image L followed the hyper-Laplacian distribution, and obtained a high-quality reconstructed image. The hyper-Laplacian constraint is widely used as a valid constraint in later de-blurring works. Pan et al. constrained the clear image L and the blur kernel k by using a low-rank constraint term and the Gaussian regularization term respectively. Although the continuity of the blur kernel k is guaranteed to some extent, the use of a threshold parameter to remove noise in blur kernel k also affects its continuity.
Moreover, the selection of the salient edge of image largely affects the accuracy of blur kernel k estimation. Research has found that accurate blur kernel estimation can be obtained only in images in which the edge sizes are larger than the scale of the blur kernel k; otherwise, blur kernel estimation becomes inaccurate. Hence, the selection of proper edge information is critical to blur kernel estimation. Cho and Lee extracted sharp edges with bilateral filters and shock filters, but it was difficult to control the scale of the edges, thus was detrimental to the estimation of blur kernel k. Xu and Jia proposed a method for measuring the scale of the edge, which could effectively extract useful salient edges. Pan et al. made an improvement based on the salient edge selection method, which made selected edges more effective. Unlike the dedicated salient edge extraction method, Xu and Pan et al. used l0 constraint to maintain the main structure in the restored intermediate image L for blur kernel k estimation and achieved good results.
However, many problems remain in both blur kernel estimation and non-blind deconvolution in the final image, and it is necessary to further improve the effect of image de-blurring.

Peking University Shenzhen Graduate School


In a color recording apparatus, charges are applied to a latent electrostatic image carrier by a scorotron having a grid after development of a first latent electrostatic image on the carrier with a first color toner. Thereafter, a second electrostatic latent image is formed and developed with a second color toner. If the charges given by the scorotron have the same polarity as a charging polarity of the first color toner, a potential of the grid is set to be equal to a non-image portion potential of the first latent electrostatic image, or set to have a polarity opposite to that of an image portion potential of the first latent electrostatic image assuming that the non-image portion potential is regarded as 0 V as a reference potential. If the charges given by the scorotron have a polarity opposite to the charging polarity of the first color toner, a potential of the grid is set to have a polarity opposite to that of the non-image portion potential image assuming that the image portion potential is regarded as 0 V as a reference potential.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for recording a color image by use of a latent electrostatic image, and particularly relates to a color recording apparatus in which toner images obtained by repeating the processes of charging, latent image formation and development are en bloc transferred onto a recording sheet.
There is known a conventional color recording apparatus as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Sho. 58-116553. In this apparatus, two-color toner images are first formed on a photoreceptor by performing two-times the processes of charging, image-portion exposure and reversal development, and then the resultant toner images are en bloc transferred onto a recording sheet. In addition, the second charging is performed by use of a scorotron after the first development to make the potential of image portions approximately equal to that of non-image portions, and a soft-type one-component magnetic toner is used for the second development, to prevent electrical scraping of the first toner and to prevent the second toner from adhering to first image portions (the latter phenomenon is hereinafter referred to as "color contamination").
However, in the method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent publication No. Sho. 58-116553, since lines of electric force develop near the photoreceptor and between the first image portions and non-image portions at the time of the second charging, peripheral portions of the first image are not charged enough and the electric potential of those portions remains low. As a result, the peripheral portions of the first image are also developed in the second development, causing the quality of the first image to deteriorate. FIG. 6 schematically shows the occurrence of the development of the peripheral portions of the first image.
Further, the method is also accompanied by the following problem. Since a development bias needs to be set so as to avoid the color contamination in the second development, the difference between the second development bias and the potential of the first image portions becomes large. As a result, the first toner may be scraped electrically and mixed into a second developer, so that the density of the first image is decreased and the life of a second developing agent is reduced.


A fabrication process is provided for semiconductor devices having a crystalline semiconductor film formed on a substrate, the semiconductor film being an active layer of a transistor and being mainly composed of silicon, and includes at least an underlevel protection layer fabrication step of forming a silicon oxide film as an underlevel protection layer on the substrate; a first processing step of forming a semiconductor film, which is mainly composed of silicon, on the underlevel protection layer; and a second processing step of irradiating a pulsed laser light on the semiconductor film. The semiconductor film is irradiated by a pulsed laser, the wavelength of the pulsed laser light is between 370 and 710 nm. As a result, using a low temperature process, high performance thin film semiconductor devices can be produced simply and reliably.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the fabrication process of thin film semiconductor devices suitable for active matrix liquid crystal display devices, and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
Previously, a fabrication process such as that described below has been adopted for the low temperature production of polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors (p-Si TFT), representative of thin film semiconductor devices, at temperatures of 600xc2x0 C. or below at which conventional glass substrates can be used, or for the low temperature production of amorphous silicon thin film transistors (a-Si TFT) in a similar temperature range of 425xc2x0 C. or less. First, an amorphous silicon layer which will serve as the semiconductor film is deposited on a substrate to a thickness of approximately 50 nm by low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD). Next, the amorphous silicon layer is irradiated by a XeCl excimer laser (wavelength of 308 nm) to produce a polycrystalline silicon layer (p-Si layer). Because the absorption coefficients for the XeCl laser light for amorphous silicon and polycrystalline silicon are large at 0.139 nmxe2x88x921 and 0.149 nmxe2x88x921 respectively, 90% of the laser light incident upon the semiconductor film is absorbed within the first 15 nm. Additionally, the absorption coefficient for amorphous silicon is 7% less than the absorption coefficient for polycrystalline silicon. Following the laser irradiation step, a silicon oxide layer which serves as the gate insulator layer is deposited by either chemical vapor deposition (CVD) or physical vapor deposition (PVD). Next, a gate electrode of tantalum or other material is formed to create a metal (gate electrode)-oxide (gate insulator layer)-semiconductor (polycrystalline silicon layer) field effect transistor (MOS-FET) structure. Finally, an interlevel dielectric layer is deposited on top of these layers; and following the opening of contact holes, interconnects are created from metal films, and the thin film semiconductor device is complete.
During this fabrication procedure for thin film semiconductor devices, however, it is difficult to control the energy density of the excimer laser; and even a slight variation in energy density can lead to a large degree of variation in the quality of the semiconductor film within the same substrate. Further, if the energy density is even slightly more than a threshold value determined by such factors as the film thickness and hydrogen content of the film, considerable damage can be inflicted on the semiconductor film and lead to significant degradation in the semiconductor characteristics and production yield. As a result of these factors, it is necessary to set the laser energy density considerably less than the optimal value in order to obtain a uniform polycrystalline semiconductor film over the entire substrate; and the energy density is insufficient to produce good quality polycrystalline thin films. Additionally, even if the optimal energy density is used for irradiation, it is difficult to increase the size of the grains comprising the polycrystalline film; and it is known that many defects remain within the film. Consequently, it is not possible to reliably produce thin film semiconductor devices such as p-Si TFTs using the technology of the prior art without sacrificing the electrical characteristics of the completed thin film semiconductor devices.
Therefore, in consideration of the all the issues described above, the objective of the present invention is to provide a fabrication procedure to reliably produce superior thin film semiconductor devices with a low temperature process which is 600xc2x0 C. or less, and ideally 425xc2x0 C. or less.
The present invention is a fabrication process of a thin film semiconductor device having a crystalline semiconductor film formed on a substrate, said semiconductor film being an active layer of a transistor and being mainly composed of silicon (Si), the process comprising: an underlevel protection layer formation step of forming a silicon oxide film as an underlevel protection layer on the substrate; a first processing step of forming a semiconductor film, which is mainly composed of silicon (Si), on the underlevel protection layer; and a second processing step of irradiating a pulsed laser light on the semiconductor film, wherein the absorption coefficient of said pulsed laser light is larger in amorphous silicon than in polycrystalline silicon.
The present invention is further characterized by the fact that the absorption coefficient of the pulsed laser light in polycrystalline silicon mpSsi is 10xe2x88x923 nmxe2x88x921 or higher and 10xe2x88x922 nmxe2x88x921 or lower. In this case, if the film thickness of the semiconductor film is taken to be d, it is desirable for the film thickness d and the previously described absorption coefficient mpSi to satisfy the following relationship
0.105xc2x7mpSixe2x88x921 less than d less than 0.693xc2x7mpSixe2x88x921.
Ideally, the following relationship is satisfied
0.405xc2x7mpSixe2x88x921 less than d less than 0.693xc2x7mpSixe2x88x921.
In order for the present invention to be applicable to liquid crystal display devices, it is desirable for the substrate to be transparent to visible light. Further, regardless of the application, its also desirable for the substrate to be essentially transparent to the pulsed laser light. xe2x80x9cEssentially transparentxe2x80x9d means that the absorption coefficient of the pulsed laser light in the substrate is at least one tenth the absorption coefficient in polycrystalline silicon or lower. Specifically, the absorption coefficient of the substrate mSub should be approximately 10xe2x88x924 nmxe2x88x921 or lower. Normally, formation of the semiconductor film mentioned above would include a deposition step by chemical vapor deposition (CVD). Within the chemical vapor deposition process category, low pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD) is particularly applicable; and it can be said further that semiconductor film deposition in a high vacuum low pressure chemical vapor deposition chamber is ideal. A high vacuum low pressure chemical vapor deposition chamber is one in which the background pressure just prior to semiconductor film deposition is typically 5xc3x9710xe2x88x927 Torr or less. It is desirable for the pulsed laser light to be produced by a solid state light emitting element, and a pulsed laser light produced by the second harmonic of a pulsed Nd: YAG laser (abbreviated as YAG 2w) is the best. When a YAG 2w laser light impinges on a semiconductor film comprised mainly of silicon, it is preferable for the thickness of the semiconductor film to be approximately 25 nm or more and approximately 165 nm or less and, ideally, to be approximately 25 nm or more and approximately 95 nm or less.
During laser irradiation in the second process step, the pulsed laser light irradiation region on top of the semiconductor film has a width W (mm) and a length L (mm) and ranges from a line profile to an approximately rectangular profile. Within the irradiation region, the pulsed laser""s irradiation energy density has a roughly trapezoidal distribution along the length of the region. On the other hand, along the width of the region, it is preferable to have a irradiation energy distribution which is either trapezoidal or Gaussian. It is desirable for the ratio (L/W) of the irradiation region length, L, to the width, W, to be greater than or equal to 100, and ideally greater than or equal to 1000. It is preferable for the maximum gradient of the irradiation energy density along the width of the profile to have a value of 3 mJxc2x7cmxe2x88x922xc2x7mmxe2x88x921 or higher. The entire substrate is laser irradiated by translating the irradiation region having the features described above along the width of the profile after each irradiation. A second process step in which a given point on the semiconductor film is covered by more than approximately 10 and less than approximately 80 pulsed laser irradiations during this process is desirable.

Thin film semiconductor device fabrication process


There is provided a bio-remediation system and a method associated therewith for remediating a spilled hydrocarbon-based fluid from soil effectively and without causing migration of the fluid to previously uncontaminated areas. The bio-remediation system removes hydrocarbon-based fluid from a subterranean location using microbes which are immersed in a nutrient-rich medium. The microbes biologically remediate the hydrocarbon-based fluid by consuming the hydrocarbon-based fluid. The bio-remediation system ensures that the microbes and the nutrient-rich medium do not extend below the water table thus producing further contamination by monitoring moisture levels and levels of respiratory gases in the soil. When the microbes descend too deep, an air pump is actuated to dry a buffer zone between the water table and the spilled hydrocarbon-based fluid, thus halting progression of the microbes in the nutrient-rich medium.

This invention relates to control systems for governing in situ removal of a hydrocarbon-based fluid from soil contaminated with the fluid and, in particular, for governing removal of the fluid by bio-remediation without endangering ground water supplies.
Relatively recently, environmental concerns over introduction of hydrocarbon-based fluids, such as solvents, gasoline, diesel fuel and oils for example, into the environment have escalated. This concern is primarily due to a better understanding of the detrimental effects that the hydrocarbon-based fluids have, both directly on botanical life and indirectly on animal life by contaminating ground water supplies, inter alia. Various methods for cleaning up sites contaminated with hydrocarbon-based fluids have been developed remedy the problem.
Current methods include removal of the soil to areas that are less affected by such contamination, in situ removal of the fluid from the subsurface, and bio-remediation. Problems with removal of the soil are readily apparent. There is great expense in removing and replacing soil which is often around or under an existing edifice. Further, dumping areas which are willing to accept contaminated soil continuously dwindle in number and increase in cost.
The practice of in situ removal of the fluid from the soil subsurface is a more recent development. Current methods include boring a well into the subsurface and either recovering a portion of the hydrocarbon-based fluids by skimming, or pumping groundwater out from below the hydrocarbon-based fluids to cause some portion of the hydrocarbon-based fluids to collect in previously uncontaminated regions and then pumping the hydrocarbon-based fluids out. Another method involves intercepting the hydrocarbon-based fluids in a trench or drain constructed at a level below the spilled fluid. These three methods are typically ineffective and cause further spread of the contaminants through the subsurface of the soil. Often they result in a portion of the hydrocarbon-based fluids remaining trapped in soil and groundwater.
Further, such problems are compounded in the case where the contamination is with a viscous hydrocarbon-based fluid. In this case, the first method could lead to isolation of the fluid from the well, rendering the well useless for further recovery of fluid from a contaminated zone. The second method induces the flow of fluid into the zone previously occupied by groundwater. This spreads the spilled fluid downward and establishes new equilibrium conditions in the region. While this permits some spilled fluid to be removed, additional removal requires the sequence be repeated so that the spilled fluid is driven to deeper and more extensive regions of the subsurface. A large volume of the spilled fluid will remain trapped as residual saturation in the new regions of contamination, significantly reducing the portion able to be recovered and requiring treatment of a large volume of contaminated water.
Bio-remediation is a more recent alternative. In bio-remediation, microbes are dispersed in a nutrient rich medium throughout the contaminated site. As the microbes penetrate subsurface due to gravity forces acting thereon, they consume the hydrocarbon-based fluid transforming the hydrocarbon-based fluids into an environmentally harmless by-product. A problem with bio-remediation is that the nutrient rich medium required for the microbes to thrive is itself hazardous to ground-water supplies.
To deal with this problem, an air pump is used to evacuate environmental gases and moisture from below the furthest depth of contamination. Drawing out the gases and the moisture creates a barrier to further penetration of the nutrient rich medium and microbes. This solution brings with it an additional problem. The air pump is left on twenty-four hours a day for weeks if not months. The air pump can not be turned off or else the barrier may be penetrated.
Therefore, what is needed is a method for the recovery of a spilled fluid which is capable of removing the spilled fluid from soil in situ, while at the same time preventing the spread of the spill.
Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to biologically remediate spilled hydrocarbon-based fluids from a site without contaminating groundwater.
It is another object of this invention to remediate spilled hydrocarbon-based fluids from a site without spreading the hydrocarbon-based fluids to other locations.
It is still another object of this invention to biologically remediate spilled hydrocarbon-based fluids from a site while conserving energy and lowering costs.
These and other objects of the invention will be obvious and appear hereinafter.

Control system for governing in-situ removal of subterranean hydrocarbon-based fluids


A method and apparatus for centering the stem of a femoral hip prosthesis in the cavity formed in the medullary canal in the proximal end of the femur. The apparatus includes a sleeve or other like device which is mounted onto the neck of the femoral hip prosthesis and which contains at least two projections extending from a lower surface thereof which are adapted to seat in correspondingly formed slots disposed on the upper proximal surface of the femur bone. The slots are positioned such that when the projections reside therein, the stem is centered within the cavity. The slots and projections are elongated in a direction generally transverse to the direction of elongation of the stem, and in this direction of elongation each slot and associated projection is not parallel to the other slot and associated projection. The device of this invention may be used either with prosthesis having a collar, or with a collarless prosthesis. The method of this invention includes the step of mounting a sleeve or other like device on the neck of a femoral hip prosthesis and inserting projections on the device into previously formed slots disposed on the upper proximal surface of the femur bone.

Load-carrying skeletal members, such as the human hip, frequently are rendered nonfunctional because of fracture, damage, disease, resections for malignancy or disease or because of pain or malformation. Such members are commonly repaired by total joint replacements with artificial components. One type of bone replacement that has been particularly successful over the past thirty years is that of the human hip. Such hip prostheses typically include a femoral portion or component which is implanted in the femur and an acetabular component which is secured to the pelvis. The femoral component includes a head which rotates in a socket formed in the acetabular component. A collar is often provided on the femoral component which rests on a surface on the proximal femur.
Many known hip prostheses require the use of cement for installation of the femoral component into the medullary canal of the femur. One type of cement which is commonly used is methyl methacrylate.
Success of the femoral component of a total hip implant depends in large part on the technical precision with which the implant is inserted. There are several factors which contribute to the success of a femoral component. First, for a cemented component, the component should be centered within the central cavity in the medullary canal of the femur into which the femoral component is inserted. Centering of the component insures that the thickness of the cement mantle surrounding the component is uniform on all sides. Uniformity of the cement mantle renders the load distribution at the bone-cement and metal-cement interfaces generally uniform on all sides of the component, thus avoiding problems associated with overstressing one area of the interface, such as fracturing of the mantle or separation of the mantle from the bone or separation of the component from the mantle. Centering of the component can be particularly difficult for those components which do not include a collar.
Another factor which has been identified as contributing to the success of either an uncemented or a cemented femoral component is that the femoral component should be rotated about its axis into the proper angular position with respect to the femur for stability and range of motion. Proper rotational position, or so-called anteversion, allows for accurate reproduction of the mechanical orientation of the hip joint.
A third factor is that the component should be prevented from rotating once it is seated in the femur. For cemented components, such rotational control is very important, particularly during insertion and hardening of the cement, and any false motion while the cement is hardening has been found to be detrimental to the overall results of a cemented femoral stem. Uncontrolled rotation prior to hardening of the cement could result in a stem which is not properly centered and which does not have the proper angular position once the cement hardens. For uncemented components, it is still important that rotational stability be achieved after implantation of the component.
To reduce manufacturing costs and inventory requirements, it is desirable to standardize components to the greatest extent possible, so that one style or design can be used for most patients. Since different sizes of components are required for patients of different stature or age, the manufacture and storage of different styles for each size component is considered highly undesirable. However, the strength, configuration and amount of available bone on the proximal femur varies greatly from patient to patient, even for patients who require the same size components. For example, on many patients the bone mass on the proximal femur is so small or is configured such that only a small portion of the collar on the femoral component rests on a bone surface. Thus, standardization requires that the design selected for a component be able to accommodate these large differences in strength, configuration and size.
Many efforts have been made in the past to design components which resist rotation or which tend to be self centering. Examples of such components include those found in the following U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,116,380; 5,108,452; 4,946,379; 4,936,863; 4,783,192; 4,770,660; 4,678,571; 4,623,353; 4,535,487; 4,068,324; 4,012,796; 2,719,522; and 2,682,265. However, none of the foregoing designs is completely successful in both preventing rotation of the component once implanted, and insuring that the component is held in a properly centered position. In addition, some of the foregoing designs would not operate to prevent rotation or lateral movement in all femurs due to the limited lateral extent of the devices used. In some patients, the devices would not engage any bone because of its irregular configuration or lack of bone mass. Moreover, while spacers, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,116,380, have been used for the purpose of automatically centering the component within the medullary canal, such spacers do not serve to prevent rotational movement of the prosthesis during cement hardening. Finally, spacers can interfere with the movement of the cement around the edges of the component, thus, on occasion producing voids or gaps in the cement mantle.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved femoral component for a hip prosthesis.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a femoral component which is self centering.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a femoral component which allows the physician to insert and maintain the component with the proper angular position.
It is another further object of the present invention to provide a femoral component which is prevented from rotating or moving laterally during hardening of the cement, and which can be used with many different sizes and shapes of bones.
It is yet another further object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for inserting into a femur an improved femoral component.
It is also yet another further object of the present invention to provide a device for centering of a femoral component which does not have a collar.

Centering device for femoral implant and method and apparatus for implementation thereof


This invention is directed to formation of a creped nonwoven web. The creped web is formed in a creping process using a polymer emulsion binder formed in an alkylphenol ethoxylate-free surfactant system. The surfactant system comprises a combination of a specific active anionic surfactant (sodium laureth sulfate containing 1 to 12 moles of ethylene oxide) and a specific active nonionic surfactant (a secondary alcohol ethoxylate containing 7 to 30 moles of ethylene oxide or an ethoxylated branched primary alcohol containing 3 to 30 moles of ethylene oxide.)

Crepe processes, especially double recrepe (DRC) processes, have been used to produce paper products, such as paper towels and wipes, with specific properties. The DRC process involves creping a base sheet or nonwoven web on a drum, printing a polymeric binder on one side of the sheet, flash drying the binder, creping the base sheet on a drum again, printing a polymeric binder on the other side of the base sheet, flash drying the binder, and then creping the base sheet a third time. The base sheet is printed while traveling through gravure nip rolls. Various crepe processes and binding materials used in the processes are known. Examples of such processes are disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,879,257, U.S. Pat. No. 3,903,342, U.S. Pat. No. 4,057,669, U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,590, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,306.
In order for the base sheet or web to adhere adequately to the creping drum, polymeric binders used in creping processes are typically emulsion polymers containing surfactants that are based on alkylphenol ethoxylates (APEs).
Due in part to regulations in Europe, regarding use of APE-based products, there has been a need to identify APE-free polymer emulsion binders for use in crepe processes. Known emulsion polymeric binders, that are free of APEs, have not been effective in creping processes, especially DRC processes, because they do not provide the necessary adhesion to creping drums, produce an unacceptable amount of foam, are too low in viscosity, and/or decompose at elevated temperatures causing an unacceptable odor.
Publications, such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,714,099, U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,025, U.S. Pat. No. 4,847,143, U.S. Pat. No. 5,109,063, and JP 94055982 (Abstract), disclose self-crosslinkable vinyl ester-ethylene latexes which can be use as nonwoven binders. Foamability is considered an important property for applying an emulsion binder. However this property is not desired in a creping process.
There is therefore a need for APE-free polymer emulsion binders, for use in crepe processes, that provide the necessary adhesion to creping drums while reducing the unacceptable properties described above.

Alkylphenol ethoxylate-free surfactant package for polymer emulsions


Polyamide-carbonate block copolymers are made by admixture of polyamides with carbonate polymers containing carboxyl groups or an ester groups capable of elimination to form carboxyl groups, in the presence of a polyepoxy linking agent, such as triglycidyl isocyanurate. Such block copolymers may be used as thermoplastics or as blending agents for polyamides and carbonate polymers.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention is directed to compatible blends of polyamides and aromatic carbonate polymers useful as thermoplastics, and methods for making each compatible blends.
2. Brief Description of the Prior Art
Much effort has been expended on the problem of blending polyamides (especially nylons) with aromatic carbonate polymers (especially polycarbonates). Such blends and alloys are particularly useful for achieving simultaneously the good impact strength and dimensional stability characteristic of the carbonate polymers and the good solvent resistance, toughness, ease of processing and resistance to environmental stress cracking characteristic of the polyamides.
These two classes of polymers are normally not miscible, at least not without unacceptible delamination. In order to achieve miscibility and to obtain useful blends which exhibit no tendency to delaminate, various strategems have been used. One method is to utilize a relatively more compatible type of amorphous polyamide as taught by Maresca et al. U.S. Pat. No. 4,798,874 (Jan. 1989). Another method is to compatibilize a polyamide with a polycarbonate or polyester carbonate by use of an effective amount of a polyamide-polyester block copolymer as taught by Maresca et al. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,788,248-9 (Nov. 29, 1988), or by use of an effective amount of a polyetherimide, a polyurethane or certain linear segmented thermoplastic elastomers as taught by Perren et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,782,114 (Nov. 1, 1988).
It has also been shown by Maresca, Eur. Pat. 227053 (July 1 , 1987) that a compatibilizing agent with epoxy functional groups is useful for compatibilizing a polyamide with a carbonate polymer. However, this effect is not as complete as desired because the usual carbonate polymer lacks functional groups for chemical interaction with the epoxy compatibilizing agent.
In order to make this type of polyamide/polycarbonate block copolymer required as a compatibilizing agent, it it necessary to find a means of creating a functionalized polycarbonate onto which the polyamide segment can be attached by means of the functional chain ends of the polyamide, which are normally carboxyl and amino groups. Normally, aromatic carbonate polymers lack functional end groups. It is however known that aromatic carbonate polymers can be made having carboxyl end groups or ester side groups. The present invention offers an effective and convenient means for attaching the carboxyl or ester end groups of such an aromatic carbonate polymer to the end groups of the polyamide (polyamide), thus providing a graft polyamide-polycarbonate for use as such as a thermoplastic or for use as a compatibilizing agent in blending of polyamides with aromatic carbonate polymers.


A design structure is provided for spacer fill structures and, more particularly, spacer fill structures, a method of manufacturing and a design structure for reducing device variation is provided. The structure includes a plurality of dummy fill shapes in different areas of a device which are configured such that gate perimeter to gate area ratio will result in a total perimeter density being uniform across a chip.

Minimizing device variation continues to grow in importance as a device is scaled from node to node. However, total variation is increasing for many device components as the device is scaled and so finding ways to reduce these affects is critical to delivering product level importance. For example, one element that is introducing additional variation is across chip spacer thickness variation.
More specifically, as silicon technologies offer constantly increasing levels of integration and scaling, integrated circuit designers are continually challenged to increase productivity and produce larger and larger designs with the same or less resources. Smaller circuit elements, sometimes referred to as "macros," each of which include a predetermined structure for a part of an integrated circuit (IC) can be used repetitively for addressing this challenge. For example, the use of repetitive circuit elements eliminates the need for the IC designer to continually re-design sections of the chip, and therefore improves productivity. As a result, design reuse methodology involving the use of IC circuit elements has become an essential part of IC design.
However, the designer that uses IC circuit elements is challenged to provide a product that has predictable functioning for these IC circuit elements. One challenge is matching the electrical behavior of two or more instances of the same circuit element in different locations in an IC design. This is generally at odds with automatically generated dummy shapes, which are placed in the overall design after the layout is complete, and after the designer has performed all circuit analyses.
In particular, if the design system uses automatically placed "dummy fill," or other auto-generated dummy shapes, the dummy fill shapes will be automatically placed around the circuit element. If the circuit element is a sensitive circuit, the designer may wish to insure that every instance of the circuit element function matches as identically as possible to every other instance within the IC. This is at odds with auto-generated dummy shapes, as they are typically located on a consistent grid across an IC design such that different instances of the circuit element may find themselves in substantially different local environments. That is, there is no guarantee that different instances of the same circuit element will see the same local environment, e.g., dummy fill and hole shapes, when placed within the IC design.
Any resulting mismatch in electrical parameters (e.g., resistance, capacitance, etc.) is unknown to the designer, and acts to degrade the function of the precision circuits in question. More specifically, even though the transistors may be designed the same, the resultant device is a non-uniform design due to the placement and shape of the dummy fill shapes. That is, the shape and density of the transistors (gates) of the device will affect the area in which dummy fill shapes can be placed on the chip which, in turn, will affect the characteristics of the transistor.
As an example, the density of the device will affect the shape and number of the dummy fill shapes, i.e., the more transistors the less space for dummy fill spacers. And, due to such variations, the transistor performance and characteristics will be affected which results in a tradeoff between speed and power consumption. For example, non-uniformity in design results in transistors of faster and slower speeds, as well as transistors that consume more and less power. Taking this as a starting point, the device will be limited, e.g., only as fast, by the slowest of the transistors. Likewise, the device will consume more power.
In order to address this issue, many designers attempt to inhibit the automatic generation of dummy shapes in the vicinity of sensitive circuits, and place all required dummy shapes by hand. This approach, however, is more difficult for the designer, and is generally detrimental to the overall manufacturability and process window. Accordingly, there exists a need in the art to overcome the deficiencies and limitations described hereinabove.

Spacer fill structure, method and design structure for reducing device variation

International Business Machines Corporation


A disposable diaper which can be used both as a tape-fastening type and an underpants type by joining the both side portions of the front body part and back body part respectively to thereby form joined portions on both sides along with a waist opening and a pair of right and left leg openings and in this diaper, perforated lines are formed on the both side portions of the front body part so as to extend from an edge of the waist opening to edges of the leg openings and at least one pair of fastening tapes having hook members on inner surfaces thereof and straddle the perforated lines.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to disposable diapers that can be used both as a tape-fastening type and an underpants type.
2. Related Art
An underpants type disposable diaper has joined portions on both sides that are formed by joining a front body part and a back body part on both side portions thereof, a waist opening and a pair of right and left leg openings, and the diaper is worn by letting both legs of a wearer pass through the waist opening and inserting the same into the leg openings.
A general underpants type diaper cannot be basically adjusted in size or shape. Therefore, resilient and elastic members are used to impart a resilient and elastic force to the diaper in a width direction so that the diaper can be changed in shape according to the body size of a wearer to thereby offer an increased fit.
Meanwhile, there are provided diapers called fastening type or tape-fastening type that are fitted to a wearer in a state where back and ventral parts are not joined, and fixed at leading ends of fastening tapes on both side portions of the back part to an external surface of the ventral part in use.
In addition, as described in Patent Document 1, there have been suggested two-way disposable diapers that can be used both as an underpants type and a fastening type. Such a disposable diaper has a rear back part, a front belt part extending from the rear back part to both sides in a width direction, and an absorbent main unit that can be folded from the rear back part through a crotch toward a front ventral side of a wearer. The diaper can be worn in a state where the front belt part winding around the waist and the folded absorbent main unit are fastened on the front ventral side of the wearer.
Patent Document 1: JP 2005-270359 A
However, such conventional diapers are difficult to adjust in size in a laterally balanced manner when a wearer lies on his/her side.
Specifically, if a wearer lies on his/her side, when an attempt is made to pull up a conventional diaper from upper and lower fastening tapes, the diaper can hardly be extended because a portion around the lower fastening tape is pressed and immovable against a waist of the wearer. In contrast, the diaper can be freely extended at a portion around the upper fastening tape that is not fixed. When being worn without size adjustment, the conventional diaper is extended approximately evenly around the waist. Therefore, if the evenly extended diaper is further extended only at one portion, the diaper may become significantly unbalanced on the right and left sides.
In addition, if a conventional two-way disposable diaper that can serve both as an underpants type and a fastening type, is used as a tape-fastening type, there is a problem that the diaper does not fit sufficiently to a wearer of a nonstandard body size because the tapes cannot be freely attached.


A connector unit having a first connector part and at least a second connector part, wherein the first connector part and the at least second connector part are connectable during a mating of the first connector part and the at least second connector part and are dis-connectable during a de-mating of the first connector part and the at least second connector part, and further having at least a first locking assembly for locking the first connector part and the at least second connector part at least during the de-mate of the first connector part and the at least second connector part. At least first locking assembly has at least a first hydraulic lock.

In the near future an increasing demands of communication over wide distances, especially for example between continents will be needed. Hence, infrastructures, like sea cables and connectors linking sea cables, that are located and operated error proof in harsh environments, like subsea, will be essential. State of the art connectors use for example a male pin and a female socket to enable connection. To mate these parts subsea the male pin must pass through a seal of the female socket without allowing water from the sea into the connector internals. It is known to deploy e.g. a spring loaded shuttle piston that fits intimately with a tip of the male pin (receptacle pin) and is driven back through the seals during the mate. When the connector is de-mated, the spring maintains contact between the male pin (receptacle) and the shuttle piston thus preventing water transmission through the seal. This solution requires a spring with a significantly high spring rate to prevent accidental compression of the spring. Thus, it is mostly dependent on spring force compression. The high spring rate means that the force significantly increases during the mate. Moreover, there is a high risk of a premature separation of the male pin and the shuttle piston, especially during the de-mate or partial mate/de-mate due to that the return spring is at is weakest at the early stage of the mate. A spring loaded shuttle pin also drives the length of the connector, causing it to be longer than might be possible with alternative means of keeping water out of the connector. Such an arrangement is, for example, known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,929,404 B2.

Connector unit comprising two connector parts


An improved mobile mount system including a vertical support member, an object mount slideably coupled to the vertical support member and a constant force member mounted at the top of the vertical support member and coupled to the mount to provide a constant force thereto for lifting an object place down.

The storage of bicycles presents peculiar problems and opportunities because a bicycle is relatively long, narrow and of varying weights. Bicycles typically are stored by placing them on a wall mount. The mount often is as simple as two spaced hooks extending from a wall and the hooks may be specially adapted to receive the horizontal tube of the bicycle frame or the bicycle wheels. Various refinements of bicycle wall mounts are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 602,415, 3,883,002 to Moore, U.S. Pat. No. 3,976,200 to Munns, U.S. Pat. No. 4,136,782 to Hugel, U.S. Pat. No. 4,700,845 to Fretter and U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,089 to Stewart.
A bicycle wall mount has limited utility however. A wall mount primarily prevents the bicycle from falling over or being tipped over. It does not particularly protect the bicycle from being damaged by other objects; neither does it remove the bicycle from traffic areas. In addition, the wall mount itself may be an obstacle when it is not storing a bicycle.
One early system for providing a bicycle rack that could be elevated is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 602,415 to Moore in which a cylindrical wall mount has a pulley at the top thereof with a weight attached to a cord or chain which is directed over a pulley at the top of the vertical support member. The cord extends downwardly on the outside of the vertical support member and is attached to a bicycle rack. The size of the weight is adjusted such that the rack and the bicycle carried thereby may be easily raised or lowered.
One difficulty with this type of mounting is that weight is inside the vertical support and thus is not easily accessible. Further, it may become necessary to change the size of the weight depending upon the size or weight of the bicycle being placed on the rack. Thus, if a heavier bicycle is used, the existing weight may not be sufficient to easily enable the bicycle to be raised.
Another attempt to improve the utility of the bicycle wall mount is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,907,133 to Kropelnitski. The Kropelnitski patent discloses a bicycle mount contained on a vertical rail attached to a wall. The mount may be elevated manually by the use of a cable and pulley scheme. The elevated mount is secured by a pin inserted through the mount and rail. The Kropelnitski apparatus elevates the mounted bicycle but is cumbersome to use.
It is desired, then, to have a bicycle mount that secures a bicycle from harm, positions the bicycle away from the trafficked areas, is not an obstacle in itself when not storing a bicycle and is easy to use. Such a device is disclosed in my U.S. Pat. No. 5,183,162 issued Feb. 2, 1993 and entitled "Mobile Mount System". This system functions well and requires a motor or other power source to drive an endless band moving within an elongated enclosed track to which is attached a bicycle rack. Thus, the bicycle may be raised or lowered along with the bicycle rack by energizing a motor.
The present invention provides a simplified device for raising and lowering bicycles that utilizes constant force springs that well known in the aft. The springs come with different forces such as, for example only, twenty-five pounds, thirty-three pounds, five pounds and the like. With the use of these constant force springs attached to a bike rack, any bike can be raised up or down with about three to five pounds force. In the preferred embodiment, the bike rack is mounted on a fiberglass tube vertical support member. The constant force spring or springs are mounted on the upper end of the fiberglass tube with the outer end of the spring or springs attached to the bike rack. The bike rack has two guide members attached to it about seven inches apart. The first guide member is directly attached to the back of the rack and the second guide member is attached by vertical support rods to the back of the rack. In the preferred embodiment, the two guide members are in the form of rings that are about seven inches apart. The upper ring is directly attached to the back of the bike rack and the lower ring is attached to the back of the bike rack with first and second rods connected to the sides thereof and extending upwardly to the rack. Each of the first and second rods is attached to the ring at a point on each side of the ring substantially in alignment with the center of the fiberglass vertical support tube. This causes the lifting forces on the top ring to be changed from a twisting force to a straight vertical force on the bottom ring. The bike rack thus moves very easily up and down the fiberglass tube. Further, the attachment point on the rack to which the end of the constant force spring is attached is mounted at a distance from the vertical support so as to cause a clockwise rotational force on said rack as viewed from the side. When an object such as a bicycle is placed on the rack, it creates a counterclockwise rotational force that opposes and tends to cancel the rotational force caused by the constant force spring thus allowing the rack to move easily along the vertical support member because of reduced frictional forces.
The unit may come with a twenty-five or thirty-three pound constant force spring, for example. However, at least four other springs of five pounds each can be added separately and individually as needed at the top of the fiberglass tube to accommodate all bike weights.
As is well known with constant force springs, the springs are on a spool that applies a constant force to the spring. The spring is in the form of a flat elongated thin metallic piece resembling a retractible, extendible tape measure.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide an improved mobile mount system that utilizes constant force springs to enable the mount to be raised or lowered with an object thereon upon the application of an additional force substantially in the range of one to five pounds.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved mobile mount system that has additional smaller constant force springs that can be quickly coupled to the bicycle rack to provide additional force for heavier objects.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved mobile mount system that has reduced frictional forces during movement along a vertical support, thus allowing easier movement of the mount system.


Novel latex or emulsion compositions containing internally plasticizing and crosslinkable monomers derived from traditional semi-drying or non-drying oils are disclosed and claimed. The monomers are ethylenically unsaturated derivatives of long-chain olefinic compounds. Preferred embodiments include latex formed from acrylate or methacrylate esters of fatty alcohols. A process for the synthesis of the latex composition is also disclosed, which involves (a) polymerization of the ethylenically unsaturated derivatives of a long-chain olefinic compound in an aqueous phase with at least one other copolymerizable monomer; and (b) blending of so formed polymer with at least one drier and a surfactant to form the novel latex or emulsion compositions. These compositions form films at low minimum film forming temperatures (MFT) ranging from -5 to 10.degree. C. and cure to above ambient glass transition (T.sub.g) polymers without the use of traditional organic cosolvents which contribute to environmental pollution via volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions. These compositions are therefore useful in waterborne coatings, contact and pressure sensitive adhesives, and inks.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to odorless and organic solvent-free novel waterborne latex or emulsion compositions which contain an internally plasticizing and cross-linkable monomer(s) derived (or obtained) from fatty compounds having at least one double bond in their backbone. More particularly, though not exclusively, this invention relates both to novel latex or emulsion compositions containing either a vinyl ether, vinyl ester, or an acrylic ester of a long-chain olefinic monomer derived from semi- and/or non-drying oils and a process for making the same. The invention is also directed to the utility of these novel compositions in coatings, adhesives, and inks which have essentially no volatile organic components (VOCs) and feature enhanced application and performance properties.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recent Congressional enactments have forced coatings manufacturers to develop new coating formulations that contain low VOCs yet feature good performance properties. However, attempts at developing new formulations that contain environmentally acceptable low VOCs have only resulted in formulations with poor performance characteristics which are also economically unattractive.
One problem encountered by the coatings manufacturers is the development of formulations containing low VOC-coalescing aids or plasticizers. For instance, emulsion polymers are currently formulated with coalescing aids or plasticizers in order to form films at and below ambient conditions yet dry to films of sufficient glass transition temperature (T.sub.g) to perform adequately at and above room temperature. In general, the ability of emulsion polymers to form or coalesce into film is governed by the minimum film forming temperature (MFT) of the polymer in question, which typically approximates T.sub.g of that polymer. Thus, there is a dilemma, i.e., low MFT polymers are required in order to exhibit coalescence, flow, and surface wetting properties. However, if the polymer remains soft and tacky, the coatings are not usable. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a technology in which coating formulations contain suitable ingredients with an initial low MFT, followed upon application forms nontacky, durable, hard, and water resistant surfaces having a T.sub.g significantly above their MFT.
There are few references in literature which describe low MFT coating compositions which cure to form high T.sub.g films. One such example utilizes a terpolymer binder known as Vinamul 3692, which is used in solventless paints. The terpolymer is formed from ethylene, vinyl acetate, and acrylated ethylene vinyl acetate. Although the physical properties of the paint films are generally good, the latex synthesis involves the use of ethylene in high pressure reactors. Such a manufacturing protocol is not available to most latex manufacturers and is not cost effective.
There have been many other reports that disclose coatings compositions that cure or dry at ambient conditions into durable products. For example, vinylic derivatives of auto-oxidizable drying oils have been synthesized, which are formulated into crosslinkable emulsion compositions. However, these emulsion compositions still required the use of VOCs for film formation and formulation into usable coatings. Moreover, the polymers possessed other drawbacks, i.e., the free radical polymerizations of vinyl monomers of high iodine number oils are kinetically unfavorable and the products exhibit moderate to marked incompatibility.
Various other coating compositions which cure under ambient conditions are known in the prior art. A few such examples involve curing by a chemical reaction such as epoxide-carboxylic acid reaction, isocyanate-moisture reaction, polyaziridine-carboxylic acid reaction, and activated methylene-unsaturated acrylic reaction.
There are also literature references which disclose derivatives of fatty compounds suitable in the formation of coatings. For example, acryloxymethyl substituted fatty compounds have been claimed to be useful in radiation curable coating formulations and as binders in inks. Acrylate esters of castor oil have also been reported to be potentially useful as binders in coatings and other applications.
However, none of these references discloses use of an internally plasticizing and crosslinkable monomer derived from either a traditional semi-drying or a non-drying oil for the formation of coating formulations. In addition, none of the references discussed above utilizes inexpensive and readily available acrylate or other ethylenically unsaturated esters of long-chain olefinic monomers derived from semi- or non-drying oils to form latex or emulsion compositions. Furthermore, none of the references mentioned above describes latex or emulsion compositions featuring low MFTs that cure to above ambient T.sub.g without the use of any VOCs and yet featuring enhanced properties.
Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide novel compositions having low VOCs and low odor which are suitable for forming coatings, adhesives, and inks formulations comprising an internally plasticizing and crosslinkable monomer. An additional objective of this invention is to provide a process for the synthesis of the novel latex or emulsion compositions. Yet another objective of this invention is to provide a variety of utilities for these novel compositions. Such utilities include as a binder in coatings, adhesives, and inks formulations featuring enhanced properties yet contributing zero VOCs. The compositions of the present invention have no precedence in the prior art.

Latex compositions containing ethylenically unsaturated esters of fatty compounds and applications thereof


The invention is directed to an improved multihull vessel for enhanced seakeeping and reduced hydrodynamic fluid resistance and a method for minimizing the wavemaking resistance of multihull vessels. Lower wavemaking resistance is realized while maintaining the advantageous seakeeping characteristics of small waterplane area multihull vessels. By the proper arrangement of slender, tapered hull elements, the present invention produces favorable wave interference effects and smaller surface wave disturbances resulting in lower wavemaking resistance. A tapered hull design provides a small waterplane area for enhanced seakeeping while producing smaller surface wave disturbances and reduced hull interaction resistance due to the lack of surface discontinuities. In addition, proper arrangement of hull elements provides favorable wave interference.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to ship hullforms and, more particularly, to ship designs with both improved seakeeping and improved resistance characteristics.
2. Brief Description of Related Art
In recent years, there has been renewed interest in the multihull ship concept. Most early multihull ship designs were based on the twin-hull catamaran concept wherein two conventional displacement or planing hulls were connected by an above-the-water cross structure. Such ship designs characteristically possess small cross sectional areas in the horizontal plane of the water surface (small waterplane area) when compared to the maximum horizontal cross section of their above-the-water hulls or to the waterplane area of a typical monohull. The principal advantage of small waterplane are ships is their improved seakeeping characteristics in high sea states.
Improved seakeeping (dynamic stability) has been the basis of interest in small Waterplane Area Twin Hull (SWATH ship arrangements. SWATH ships provide a platform relatively isolated from ocean surface disturbances. Buoyancy is provided by submarine like twin-hulls located well below the water surface, which, like submarines, escape the buffeting of wind and waves. The lower hulls are connected by means of surface-piercing struts to the cross structure located well above the water surface. The struts, which pierce the water surface (surface-piercing struts), present a much smaller waterplane area to dynamic wave action than do conventional monohull or catamaran ship hulls which displace and ride on the water surface.
However, the best SWATH ship arrangements require large amounts of propulsive power, when compared with monohulls, because of the large wetted surface area, and consequently high frictional resistance, of the twin-hulls. In addition, multihull ships have an additional component of resistance, interaction resistance between the multiple hulls (also referred to as interference resistance), not experienced by monohull ships. As a result, there has been a continuous search to relieve the large resistance penalty which accrues from the increased wetted surface area and multiple hull interaction of multihull ship compared to monohull ships of the same displacement.
The forces experienced by ships moving in calm water consist primarily of the drag forces attributed to viscous fluid friction (viscous or frictional resistance) and to the production of waves (wavemaking resistance). Frictional resistance is confined to a thin layer adjacent to the ship's surface and is generally dependent upon the wetted surface area of the hullform. Frictional resistance is normally estimated using well known empirical frictional extrapolator methods. Wavemaking resistance of multihull ships is composed of components produced by the wavemaking characteristics of each hull and by the wavemaking interactions of the various hull elements. The wavemaking resistance of thin or slender ships can be analyzed by Michell's thin ship theory. Experimental studies have shown very good agreement between theoretically and experimentally determined wavemaking resistance of slender hullforms such as SWATH ships and other slender hulled multihull ships.
The O'Neill Hullform (OHF), designed for the U.S. Navy for superior roll stability and damage protection of the inner hull against antiship missiles, is a promising example of a trimaran arrangement of hulls. The OHF features a large submerged center body and surface-piercing struts connected to the upper hull. Experimental and analytical studies conducted by the Navy have demonstrated the advantage, in terms of total resistance, of the OHF at speeds above 21 knots when compared to a typical 4000 ton SWATH configuration.
The O'Neill Hullform (OHF) has a large, submerged center hull with a connecting surface-piercing strut and a pair of identical surface-piercing outer strut-like hulls placed symmetrically to the center hull. The center-body-plus-strut provides approximately 80 percent of the ship buoyancy. The outer hulls are shorter in length and smaller in maximum width than the center body.
The wavemaking resistance of multihull ships has three main components: the center hull (body-plus strut for the OHF) component: the outer hull component and the interaction components between the outer hulls and the center hull. In addition, the center hull component of the OHF is composed of components due to the lower body, the surface-piercing strut, and the interaction between the center strut and body due to the existence of a sharp discontinuity at the strut-body intersection.
The inventor has determined that, depending upon the hull geometry and relative positioning among multiple hull elements, the interaction wavemaking resistance component can be either detrimental or favorable to the total wavemaking resistance. Large resistance improvements, therefore, may be possible if proper alterations are made to the relative positioning among the multiple hull elements. Furthermore, since a major components of wavemaking resistance of the OHF arise from the center body and center body/center strut interactions, additional resistance improvements may be possible if proper alterations are made to the elements of the center hull (center body and center strut).

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Navy


In accordance with an embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor device includes a semiconductor chip having a first side and an opposite second side, and a chip contact pad disposed on the first side of the semiconductor chip. A dielectric liner is disposed over the semiconductor chip. The dielectric liner includes a plurality of openings over the chip contact pad. A interconnect contacts the semiconductor chip through the plurality of openings at the chip contact pad.

Semiconductor devices are used in a variety of electronic and other applications. Semiconductor devices comprise, among other things, integrated circuits or discrete devices that are formed on semiconductor wafers by depositing one or more types of thin films of material over the semiconductor wafers, and patterning the thin films of material to form the integrated circuits.
The semiconductor devices are typically packaged within a ceramic or a plastic body to protect the semiconductor devices from physical damage or corrosion. The packaging also supports the electrical contacts required to connect a semiconductor device, also referred to as a die or a chip, to other devices external to the packaging. Many different types of packaging are available depending on the type of semiconductor device and the intended use of the semiconductor device being packaged. Typical packaging features, such as dimensions of the package, pin count, etc., may comply, among others, with open standards from Joint Electron Devices Engineering Council (JEDEC). Packaging may also be referred as semiconductor device assembly or simply assembly.

Semiconductor packages and methods of fabrication thereof


A multi-chip package includes first and second semiconductor chips each configured to perform first and second operations having different current consumptions. The first and second semiconductor chips perform the first operation in response to an enable control signal transmitted from one of the first and second semiconductor chips to the other and transmitted from the other back to the one.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to semiconductor design technology, and more particularly, to a multi-chip package including a plurality of semiconductor chips.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, semiconductor devices including DDR SDRAM (Double Data Rate Synchronous DRAM) are developing to satisfy users' various needs. For such a development direction, package technology of semiconductor devices has been proposed. For example, a multi-chip package has been developed as the package technology. The multi-chip package refers to a structure for forming one single chip using a plurality of semiconductor chips. Depending on the configurations of the multi-chip package, a plurality of semiconductor chips having a memory function may be used to increase a storage capacity, or a plurality of semiconductor chips having different functions may be used to improve performance.
For reference, the multi-chip package may be divided into a single-layer multi-chip package and a multilayer multi-chip package. The single-layer multi-chip package includes a plurality of semiconductor chips arranged in parallel on a plane, and the multilayer multi-chip package includes a plurality of semiconductor chips stacked and arranged therein.
As semiconductor devices have been miniaturized, an error related to a peak current has been raised. In order to control a miniaturized circuit, a low-level voltage is to be used. At this time, when a peak current occurs, a voltage drop occurs to cause a malfunction of the circuit. Particularly in a multichip package, when operation periods of a plurality of semiconductor chips overlap each other, a peak current may occur to cause a voltage drop. In this case, the voltage drop may cause a malfunction of the multi-chip package as well as malfunctions of some semiconductor chips. Therefore, the multi-chip package is being developed to prevent the error related to the peak current from occurring.

Multi-chip package and operating method thereof


The invention relates to methods for conducting solid-phase binding assays. One example is an assay method having improved analyte specificity where specificity is limited by the presence of non-specific binding interactions.

A substantial body of literature has been developed concerning techniques that employ binding reactions, e.g., antigen-antibody reactions, nucleic acid hybridization and receptor-ligand reactions, for the sensitive measurement of analytes of interest in samples. The high degree of specificity in many biochemical binding systems has led to many assay methods and systems of value in a variety of markets including basic research, human and veterinary diagnostics, environmental monitoring and industrial testing. The presence of an analyte of interest may be measured by directly measuring the participation of the analyte in a binding reaction. In some approaches, this participation may be indicated through the measurement of an observable label attached to one or more of the binding materials.
Commercially available assays are generally supplied in a pre-set configuration, offering the user little or no flexibility to evaluate target(s) that may be of unique interest to him or her. Such commercial panels may include target analytes that are of little or no interest and/or they may not include the desired target analyte(s). Therefore, there is a need to provide the user a flexible method to configure a user-defined multiplexed assay using a standard set of assay materials and methods.

Methods for conducting multiplexed assays