The present invention describes the use of red, green and, if necessary, blue dopants dispersed in a universal host material as the active emitting layer in OLEDs. The universal host is transparent in the visible region, and may be emissive in the blue region when used as the blue emitting species or possesses carrier transport properties. By dispersing the dopants in the universal host, efficient energy transfer from host to guest and/or direct carrier recombination on the dopant takes place resulting in bright red, green or blue emission, depending on the dopant. The resulting spectra are characteristic of the guest molecules.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to colored light emission in light emitting device structures for use in a variety of apparatuses.
2. Description of the Background Art
Organic light emitting devices (OLEDs) are an emerging technology that may soon replace liquid crystal displays (LCDs) in flat panel display applications due to their desirable characteristics including self-emissive high brightness, wide viewing angles, light-weight, and low power consumption. Recently, Sony previewed a prototype of an OLED-based display that is slightly thicker than a credit card and announced production to start in 2003. A display is made up of many tiny individual pixels (picture elements) where, an OLED represents one pixel. In a full-color display, each pixel contains one or all of the three color components, namely, red, green and blue (RGB).
An OLED consists of a transparent substrate, typically glass or plastic, coated with a transparent conducting material, such as Indium Tin oxide (ITO), one or more hole injecting and/or hole transporting layers (HTL), one or more electron transporting (ETL) and/or electron injecting layers and a cathode made up of low work function metals. The HTL or ETL may also have light emissive properties or a separate emitting layer may be sandwiched between the HTL and ETL.
Developing efficient and economical methods to manufacture RGB patterned pixels is one of the main issues concerning the realization of full-color flat panel displays. Several approaches have been developed to achieve full-color organic emissive displays. The first method consists of filtering white light with RGB band-pass filters. This technique results in a large reduction of the optical power from the white OLED. Thus the color-filtered OLEDs must be operated at high brightness/current density, which may accelerate degradation and shorten the lifetime of the device. Another method utilizes the conversion of blue light to green light and red light through a color converting layer comprising a fluorescent material and has been demonstrated with many variations (See U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,126,214; 5,294,870; 6,019,654; 6,023,371; 6,137,221; 6,249,372, all incorporated by reference herein). A major challenge of this method is the difficulty of finding a red fluorescent material with a high absorption coefficient in the blue wavelength region and having a high fluorescence in the red wavelength region. This method also results in reduced device efficiency during the color conversion process.
Yet another method used to achieve RGB emission is through the patterning of discrete RGB sub-pixels. This method has been demonstrated with the use of precise shadow masks (See U.S. Pat. No. 6,214,631, herein incorporated by reference). This patterning method has also been accomplished with a laser ablation technique (See U.S. Pat. No. 6,146,715, herein incorporated by reference) which is used to etch away undesired organic and electrode layers as a way to avoid using harsh photoresist chemicals to pattern discrete RGB pixels adjacent to each other on the same substrate. This approach is more advantageous than the others because the red, green, and blue OLEDs are individually optimized to achieve high device efficiencies at low power. Typically, three different OLED structures are used in order to optimize each color pixel, with a minimum of two different materials (host and dopant) for each of the primary colors. The use of several different types of material components during device fabrication may increase the risk for cross-contamination and would bring about a more complicated process for device fabrication.
Organic electroluminescent devices that include organic host materials and dopants are disclosed, for example, in the following patents and publications, which are all herein incorporated by reference: U.S. Pat. No. 3,172,862 to Gurnee et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,173,050 to Gurnee; U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,167 to Dresner et al; U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,429 to Tang; U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,292 to Tang et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,863; U.S. Pat. No. 5,126,214 to Tokailin et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,382,477 to Saito et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,409,783 to Tang et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,554,450 to Shi et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,635,307 to Takeuchi et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,674,597 to Fujii et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,709,959 to Adachi et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,183 to Shi et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,756,224 to Börner et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,861,219 to Thompson et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,908,581 to Chen et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,932,363 to Hu et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,720 to Chen et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,935,721 to Shi et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,948,941 to Tamano et al; U.S. Pat. No. 5,989,737 to Xie et al; International Publication No. WO 98/06242 (Forrest et al); C. W. Tang et al "Electroluminescence of Doped Organic Thin Films", J. Appl. Phys. 65(9), May 1969, pp 3610–3616; C. W. Tang and S. A. VanSlyke, "Organic Electroluminescent Diodes", Appl. Phys. Lett. 51(12), Sep. 21, 1987, pp. 913–915; C. W. Tang, "Organic Electroluminescent Materials and Devices" Information Display, October 1996, pp. 16–19; J. Shi and C. W. Tang, "Doped Organic Electroluminescent Devices with Improved Stability", Appl. Phys. Lett 70(13) Mar. 31, 1997, pp. 1665–1667; Shoustikov et al, "Electroluminescence Color Tuning by Dye Doping in Organic Light-Emitting Diodes", IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Quantum Electronics, Vol. 4, No. 1 January/February 1998, pp 3–13; Baldo et al, "Highly Efficient Phosphorescent Emission from Organic Electroluminescent Devices", Nature, Vol. 395, Sep. 10, 1998, pp 151–153; O'Brien et al "Improved Energy Transfer in Electrophosphorescent Devices", Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 74, No. 3, Jan. 18, 1999, pp. 442–444.

Universal host for RG or RGB emission in organic light emitting devices

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


A synchronous reciprocating electric machine includes a first magnet system having first and second opposing surfaces forming between them a gap, and a second magnet system mounted within the gap so as to be displaceable relative to the first magnet system along a line of travel through the gap. The the first magnet system is configured for generating a magnetic field, referred to as the "gap field", directed across the gap primarily perpendicular to the first surface. The second magnet system includes two magnetic elements configured to generate equal but opposite magnetic fields primarily perpendicular to the first surface. These magnetic elements are spaced from each other along the line of travel by a distance b, where b>0. One of magnet systems produces a non-alternating magnetic field and the other is a coil assembly for producing an operating magnetic field. The machine also includes electrical connections connecting to the coil assembly so as to allow operation of the electric machine with reciprocation of the second magnet system relative to the first magnet system.

The present invention relates to electric machines and, in particular, it concerns synchronous reciprocating electric machines and methods for their design.
Alternating current electric machines excited by permanent magnets or field windings are known in the literature as synchronous machines (rotating or linear). A rotating or running field generated by the system of windings attracts the systems of field poles (excited by windings or permanent magnets).
The speed of the movable part of electric machine is equal to speed of the rotating (running) magnet field. That is why these machines are classified as synchronous. Their speed does not vary with either an applied load or a supplied voltage, being instead fully determined by an external circuit frequency and the pole number. For generators, an induced voltage frequency depends upon the speed and pole number while the voltage depends upon the design of the windings.
It should be noted that, while the theory and design methods of rotating synchronous electric machines are well developed in the literature worldwide, the theory, calculation methods and constructions of reciprocating machine are all but absent from the literature.
There is therefore a need for efficient compound-moving-magnet synchronous machines which make maximal use of the available magnetic flux, for linear or arcuate reciprocating movement. It would also be advantageous to provide a method of designing compound-moving-magnet synchronous machines which would optimize the design parameters for any given application.

Synchronous reciprocating electric machines


A dump vehicle, such as for agricultural use, includes a movable support member and a slide structure for supporting and guiding the support member, a container pivotally mounted to the support member, a hydraulic actuator mechanism actuable to lift the container from an original lowered position to a predetermined raised position and to tilt the container at the support member when in the predetermined raised position to a preselected tilted position to permit discharge of the contents of the container. The dump vehicle further includes a hydraulic lock mechanism actuable in response to tilting of the container towards the tilted position to lock the support member in the predetermined raised position to prevent over centering and downward movement of the container from the predetermined raised position during tilting and discharging of the container. The hydraulic lock mechanism is responsive to the container returning to its pretilted position while at the predetermined raised position to unlock the support member and to permit return of the container to its original lowered position.

Dump vehicles or dump wagons of this type are widely used for agricultural purposes, wherein the vehicle often takes the form of a wagon adapted to be drawn behind a farm tractor. The wagon has a chassis with a frame and wheel structure. A relatively tall sided material holding or dump container is supported on the frame and has a pouring or dump side which is sloped to facilitate discharging of the material out when the container or box is elevated and tilted to the dump position. It is generally desirable that such wagons provide a dumping mechanism so that when the container is in its elevated and tilted position, the pouring edge along one side of the container will be located in a high position to facilitate dumping silage and the like into high sided trucks or storage bins. At the same time, it is desirable that, in the dump position, the pouring edge of the container be located somewhat laterally offset from the chassis to facilitate dumping into a truck or bin which is located alongside.
Prior dump wagons have used a hydraulic cylinder construction to first lift the container by means of an angulated support arm and slide structure to the desired elevated position; once at the end of the travel of the support arm and slide structure the continued action of the lift cylinder tilted the container to its dump position. Such a structure is generally shown in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,844,617 issued Oct. 29, 1974 to Kostman. After the conclusion of the dumping step the lift cylinder is retracted permitting the container to pivot back to its pretilt position and, upon further retraction of the lift cylinder, the container, via the support arm and slide structure, moves down to its original, lowered position.
Because of the size and weight of the container, especially when fully loaded, a lift cylinder and support arm and slide structure are located at each end of the wagon chassis. In order to assure that both ends of the container are raised and lowered uniformly and in unison, an equalizing cable and pulley structure has been used in certain dump wagons. The cable and pulley structure is connected between the support arms at both sides of the container and resists unequal movement of one side relative to the other. This is significant since any canting of the container between the support arm and slide structures could result in wedging and possible damage to these and related structures. During the tilting and dumping action high static and dynamic loads can be imparted to the apparatus which could cause one end of the container to prematurely move down its slide structure relative to the other end whereby wedging could occur. Thus it has been found desirable that each of the support arms be locked in place relative to its slide structure after the container has been elevated to its raised position but before significant tilting has occurred. As noted this is to prevent one side or the other of the container from inadvertently moving back down the slide structure resulting in the undesirable wedging noted.
But there is an additional reason for locking the support arms in position during the tilting and dumping operation. In order to assure that the contents of the container or box have been fully emptied, it is common for the operator to manipulate the hydraulic power to the lift cylinders to rapidly and repetitively pivot the container to and from the fully tilted position to cause the container to oscillate from its fully tilted position. In this way the remainder of the contents of the container can be shaken loose to more completely empty the container. It can be appreciated, however, that this action results in significant vibrational loads being applied to the dump wagon structure. Note that the maximum degree of tilting is controlled by the uppermost, locked position of the support arm and the uppermost position of the lift cylinder. The support arms are located at the pouring side of the container with the container pivotally secured to the upper ends of the arms; the lift cylinders are located adjacent to but offset from the support arms and are connected at the upper end of the container at locations behind the pouring side of the container. Thus the amount of pivoting is controlled by these two location points.
In the past a mechanical lock mechanism located at each end of the container has been used to mechanically lock the support arms in their uppermost locations. Thus the lock mechanism is automatically actuated after the container is in its raised position and begins to be tilted for dumping and is automatically deactuated when the container has been tilted back to its pretilt position. Because of the vibrational and other load factors noted, the mechanical latch at one or both of the support arms could, from time to time, be dislodged whereby one side or both of the container would begin to prematurely move down the slide structure.
At the same time, however, the lift cylinder would be near or at its fully raised position thus placing the container near or at its fully tilted position. However, if the mechanical lock became dislodged, the pouring side of the container could move or slide downwardly along the slide structure; this could result in excessive tilting or overcentering of the container whereby it could no longer be retracted by the lift cylinder. This action could damage the apparatus and/or render it inoperable until the necessary equipment could be secured to move the container back to a position where it can be untilted and lowered. As previously noted, it is also possible that the movement of one side of the container only towards the lowered portion could result in wedging and damage to the apparatus.

Dump vehicle with hydraulic lock for material holding container

Richardton Manufacturing Company (Div. of Core)


A scribing wheel for scribing a brittle material-made substrate. Disc-shaped scribing-wheel base material in use is so designed that mid-portion of disc periphery has the largest diameter. Diamond film is formed on the periphery by a CVD method. The periphery is ground in the middle so that a plane including a circle defined by ridge line becomes perpendicular to the central axis of the scribing wheel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a scribing wheel for scribing operation, which is brought into contact with a substrate made of a brittle material under pressure for rolling motion, as well as to a method for manufacturing the scribing wheel and a scribing method.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Conventionally, as disclosed in International Publication WO 2003/51784, a scribing wheel is constructed of, as a base material, a disc made of a cemented carbide or polycrystalline sintered diamond (hereafter referred to as "PCD"). PCD is a substance resulting from the sintering of diamond particles together with cobalt or the like. The scribing wheel has a V-shaped cutting edge at its periphery, which is formed by cutting the circumferential edge of the disc base material at a bevel so as to provide oppositely inclined surfaces. The thusly configured scribing wheel is attached for axial rotation to a scribing head or the like of a scribing apparatus, and is pressed against a substrate made of a brittle material under a predetermined load while being moved over the plane of the brittle material-made substrate. In this way, the substrate can be scribed.
The conventional-type scribing wheel made of polycrystalline sintered diamond (PCD) is composed of diamond particles and bonding materials. Thus, the scribing wheel incurs the drawback of having a short operating life especially when it is used for scribing on a brittle material-made substrate which is higher in hardness than glass, such as ceramic substrates, sapphire substrates, and silicon substrates. It is noted that ceramic substrates include substrates having built-in electronic components, such as a multilayer substrate made of high-temperature co-fired ceramic (HTCC substrate) and a multilayer substrate made of low-temperature co-fired ceramic (LTCC substrate). As another drawback of the conventional-type scribing wheel, even if the cutting edge is ground, the roughness of its ridge line cannot be reduced satisfactorily. Therefore, when the scribing wheel is used for scribing on a brittle material-made substrate under an unduly large scribing load, after the breaking of the scribed substrate, the end face of the segmented substrate may suffer lack of strength.

Scribing wheel, method for manufacturing the scribing wheel, and scribing method


A circuit board and a fabrication method thereof. Providing the insulating layer with a first conductive layer formed thereon; wherein the insulating layer was formed on a core substrate with at least one patterned circuit layer thereon. A first resist layer is applied on a first conductive layer, forming first openings to expose the first conductive layer. A first patterned circuit layer, including conductive pads and traces, is formed in the first openings. A second resist layer is applied to cover the traces, and a conductive post is formed on each conductive pad. The first and second resist layers and the first conductive layer underneath the first resist layer are removed. A dielectric material layer is formed on the insulating layer with first patterned circuit layer, forming second openings to expose the conductive posts. A second conductive layer is formed on the dielectric material layer and in the second openings. A third resist layer is applied on the second conductive layer, forming third openings of the third resist layer to expose the second conductive layer. A second patterned circuit layer is formed in the second and third openings.

Due to gradually reduced size of electronic products, semiconductor packages used in the electronic products are accordingly required having high density, high speed and low cost, such as flip-chip package; ball grid array (BGA) package, chip size package (CSP) and multi chip module (MCM) that become the mainstream packaging technology in the market.
For flip-chip package, BGA package, CSP and MCM, the build-up technology for fabricating circuit boards is popularized and cost-effective to implement, making the build-up circuit boards commonly employed in these high-density packages. The build-up circuit boards are suitably used in for example microprocessor modules, 3D graphics acceleration cards, single-chip BGA packages, expansion cards and MCM packages.
The build-up technology generally involves laminating a plurality of interlaced insulating and circuit layers on the surface of the circuit board, and then forming conductive vias in the insulating layers to electrically interconnect the conductive layers. The conductive vias are fabricated using the "plating filled copper" technology that allows via holes in the insulating layers to be filled with copper by plating, making the fabricated circuit board toward high-end development.
FIGS. 2A to 2E show the conventional plating-filled-copper process. Referring first to FIG. 2A, a circuit board 20 is prepared with an inner circuit layer 20a formed thereon.
Referring to FIG. 2B, a resin coated copper (RCC) layer 22 is pressed on the circuit board 20 and covers the inner circuit layer 20a. Alternatively, the RCC layer 22 can be made by forming an insulating layer on the circuit board 20 and then depositing an electroless-plated copper layer on the insulating layer.
Referring to FIG. 2C, a via hole 23 is fabricated through the RCC layer 22 by dry etching or wet etching to expose the inner circuit layer 20a.
Referring to FIG. 2D, a conductive layer 24 is formed on the RCC layer 22, the inner wall of the via hole 23 and the exposed inner circuit layer 20a.
Referring to FIG. 2E, finally, a resist layer 25 is pressed onto the conductive layer 24 and patterned to expose the via hole 23, so as to electroplate copper into the via hole 23 to form a conductive via 26.
As the depth of the via hole and the thickness of the insulating layer formed using the plated filled copper technique known in the prior art are significantly large as shown in FIG. 2E, the via hole 23 cannot be effectively filled up by an electroplating process. Therefore, the plated filled copper technique known in the prior art is unreliable and leads to no conduction or ineffective conduction of the build-up circuit board. The production yield of the build-up circuit board is dramatically reduced as the precision of the fabrication cannot be absolutely achieved.
However, since the insulating layer is relatively thick and the via hole is relatively deep, the above conventional plating-filled-copper process usually fails to completely fill the via hole with electroplated copper, such that the fabricated conductive via is not reliable and the electrical connection between the circuit layers in the circuit board through the conductive via may be defective, thereby degrading the production yield of the circuit board.
Moreover, since the above via hole is small and has a high aspect ratio, a superfilling copper-plating solution should be used as a filling agent to successfully fill the via hole with copper. On the other hand, a normal copper-plating solution (such as copper sulfate, sulfuric acid and hydrochloric acid) is not suitable for the above plating-filled-copper process. The superfilling copper-plating solution usually contains certain additives and thus is expensive in preparation, which thereby undesirably increases the fabrication cost.
Therefore, the problem to be solved here is to provide an improved circuit board structure and its fabrication method, which can avoid the above prior-art drawbacks so as to reduce the fabrication cost and assure the production yield.

Circuit board having electrically conductive structure formed between circuit layers thereof and method for fabricating the same

Phoenix Precision Technology Corporation


An automatic delay adjusting method of a semiconductor integrated circuit includes placing a dummy wiring to a layout data and connecting the dummy wiring to a target wiring between a first cell and a second cell which is a timing violation occurs for the target wiring in the layout data. The dummy wiring connection includes replacing the dummy wiring with a dummy wiring cell having first and second pins corresponding to both ends of the dummy wiring, cutting the target wiring to generate first and second target wirings, connecting the first and second target wirings to the first and second pins, respectively, and replacing the dummy wiring cell with the dummy wiring to provide a wiring that is connected with the dummy wiring to the cut target wiring.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a delay adjusting method, computer program, and a computer for adjusting a delay of a semiconductor integrated circuit.
2. Description of Related Art
There has been developed a technique such as a tool (computer program) for adjusting a delay of a semiconductor integrated circuit, or a computer in which the tool has been installed. As the technique, a timing adjustment is conducted when a timing violation occurs for the target wiring with respect to layout data where a first cell and a second cell which operate by clocks, and a target wiring that is connected between the first cell and the second cell are placed out in a coordinate area.
As a technique related to the above technique, for example, Japanese Patent Laid Open Application No. 2005-86153 discloses a technique of connecting a dummy wiring to a target wiring by manual for the purpose of reducing the man-hours of the timing adjustment. More specifically, there is manually conducted a rewiring process in a route so as to determine a course that connects the dummy wiring to the target wiring, cut the target wiring, and connect the dummy wiring to the target wiring.
Japanese Patent Laid Open Application No. 2003-273221 discloses a technique of adjusting a distance (interval) between the target wiring and the dummy wiring for the purpose of shortening a turn around time of the layout process. More specifically, the dummy wiring around the target wiring for which a timing violation occurs is deleted, or set as a wiring prohibition area.
In recent years, it is desirable to automatically conduct the timing adjustment so as to easily leave wiring with anybody.
However, in the technique disclosed in JP2005-086153, a process of connecting the dummy wiring to the target wiring is conducted manually. For that reason, there is no versatility, and man-hours and time are required when a person other than the skilled man conducts the above process.
In the technique disclosed in JP2003-273221, the dummy wiring around the target wiring is deleted, or set as the wiring prohibition area. For that reason, in the area where the dummy wiring has been removed, the wiring density gets short, or the wiring density cannot be uniformed. Accordingly, it is necessary to conduct the timing adjustment by the aid of the dummy wiring.

Automatic delay adjusting method for semiconductor integrated circuit by using dummy wiring


A semiconductor device includes first and second second-conductivity-type region groups containing multiple second-conductivity-type regions that are disposed on a first silicon carbide semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type, arrayed in parallel following one direction with a space between each other, and first and second electrodes disposed on the first silicon carbide semiconductor layer and forming a Schottky junction with the first silicon carbide semiconductor layer. The first electrode covers a position where a distance from adjacent first and second second-conductivity-type regions included in a first second-conductivity-type region group, and a distance from a third second-conductivity-type region included in a second second-conductivity-type region group and adjacent to the first and second second-conductivity-type regions, are equal. A Schottky barrier between the first electrode and the first silicon carbide semiconductor layer is larger than a Schottky barrier between the second electrode and the first silicon carbide semiconductor layer.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly relates to a semiconductor device containing silicon carbide and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Silicon carbide (SiC) is a semiconductor material which has a larger band gap as compared to silicon (Si) and which has a high degree of hardness. SiC has been applied to power devices such as switching devices and rectifying devices, for example. Power devices using SiC have an advantage that power less can be reduced, for example, in comparison with power devices using Si.
The metal-insulator-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MISFET) and the Schottky-barrier diode (SBD) are representative of semiconductor devices using SiC. The metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) is a type of MISFET. The junction-barrier Schottky diode (JBS) is a type of SBD.
A JBS has a first conductivity type semiconductor layer, multiple second-conductivity-type regions disposed in contact with the first conductivity type semiconductor layer, and a Schottky electrode which forms a Schottky junction with the first conductivity type semiconductor layer and the multiple second-conductivity-type regions. The JBS exhibits lower leak current when reverse bias is applied to the JBS as compared to the SBD, due to the multiple second-conductivity-type regions.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-243715, for example, discloses that leak current when reverse bias is applied to the JBS is even further reduced by forming a Schottky electrode disposed above the first-conductivity-type semiconductor layer and a Schottky electrode disposed above the multiple second-conductivity-type regions from different metals.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2005-243715 discloses a JBS having a first Schottky electrode disposed above the first-conductivity-type semiconductor layer excluding portions of the first-conductivity-type semiconductor layer which are at the perimeter of the second-conductivity-type regions, and a second Schottky electrode disposed above the second-conductivity-type regions and portions of the first-conductivity-type semiconductor layer which are at the perimeter of the second-conductivity-type regions.
A metal having a large work function is used for the first Schottky electrode, and a metal having a small work function is used for the second Schottky electrode. Due to this configuration, leak current when reverse bias is applied to the JBS is further reduced as compared to a configuration where both the first-conductivity-type semiconductor layer and the second-conductivity-type regions are both covered by the second Schottky electrode.

Semiconductor device with first and second electrodes forming schottky junction with silicon carbide semiconductor layer and method of manufacturing the same

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


In a process of curing epoxidized polymers of conjugated dienes which contain aromatic moieties by exposing the polymers to ultraviolet radiation in the presence of a photoinitiator, the improvement which comprises reducing the amount of irradiation necessary to achieve an effective cure by adding a small but effective amount of a photosensitizer which absorbs UV radiation in a wavelength range which is not obscured by the polymer to the polymer prior to or during irradiation.

This invention relates to radiation cured conjugated diene-vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon block copolymers which are cured at low radiation doses. More particularly, the invention relates to improved crosslinking of such epoxidized polymers.
Curing of adhesives based on conjugated diolefins and vinyl aromatics has increased the range of service properties for such adhesives. Radiation curing of polymers to make such adhesives is known. Curing of coatings and sealants based on these polymers has reduced solvent content required for such products. This curing causes covalent crosslinking of the polymerized conjugated diolefins which is evidenced by a high gel content of the crosslinked polymer. Before crosslinking, the polymers are melt and solution processable but after crosslinking, the gel cannot be processed as melts or in solution. Crosslinking therefore enhances solvent resistance and improves elevated temperature shear properties, toughness and cohesion. Compositions can therefore be applied to a substrate in a melt or from solution and then crosslinked to form a superior adhesive, coating or sealant. However, improvements in the adhesives, coatings and sealants could be made if the adhesives could be cured at lower dosages of radiation.
Epoxidized block copolymers of conjugated diolefins and vinyl aromatic hydrocarbons have been disclosed as being useful in radiation cured adhesive, coating and sealant compositions (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,229,464). Such polymers were said to be curable using electron beam and ultraviolet radiation. It has been found that epoxidized polymers of conjugated dienes which also contain aromatic moieties require much more irradiation when ultraviolet radiation is used to cure the polymers than such polymers which do not contain aromatic moieties. Such aromatic moieties may be provided by a vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon monomer which is copolymerized with the conjugated diene or they may be provided when an aromatic coupling agent such as divinyl benzene is used to couple polymer arms together.
Radiation curing of such polymers is not an inexpensive process. Increasing the amount of irradiation necessary to cure a polymer increases the overall cost of producing the product. Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a method wherein epoxidized diene polymers which contain aromatic moieties could be cured to the same extent with approximately the same amount of irradiation as is necessary to cure epoxidized diene polymers which do not contain aromatic moieties. The present invention provides such a process.

Process for radiation cured conjugated diene-vinyl aromatic hydrocarbon block copolymers


An improved planter gauge wheel arm hub assembly which reduces the effects of wear on gauge wheel hubs and shafts and the resulting looseness between the gauge wheels and furrow disks. A preferred embodiment of the invention utilizes a threaded attaching stud and a threaded adjustment stud to carry a disc spring which applies a continuous force on the wheel arm hub.

Most seed planters as currently manufactured utilize a pair of rotatively mounted disks that substantially contact each other where the disks enter the ground and diverge rearwardly and upwardly as they exit the ground, thereby forming a V-shaped furrow in the ground into which seed is deposited. These disks are supported on a frame which is connected to a tool bar by means of a parallel linkage which allows vertical motion of the frame as the planter is drawn across a field. The planter frame is supported by means of a pair of gauge wheels which are pivotally mounted to the frame, but which are incrementally limited in their movement relative to the furrow disks, so as to control the depth of penetration of the disks into the earth. The axis of each gauge wheel is positioned immediately aft of the axis of each furrow disk unit with the gauge wheel tires riding adjacent and pressing against the furrow disks. In this manner the gauge wheels also function to clean moist, sticky soil from the disks. After a period of time, the bore of the gauge wheel arm hub and the gauge wheel arm pivot shaft become worn, allowing the gauge wheel tire to shift away from the furrow disks, rendering the gauge wheels incapable of cleaning the disks and allowing mud and other debris from building up within the gauge wheel assembly.
A later version of the prior art design incorporates the use of a bushing over the gauge wheel arm shaft and a larger bore in the gauge wheel arm hub. This improves durability by providing a larger bearing area. It also prevents wear to the pivot shaft which is an integral part of the planter frame. Although an improvement, the addition of the bushing has not overcome the basic problem of radial looseness due to wear between the pivot parts.

Apparatus for reducing the effects of wear within seed planter gauge wheel hub assemblies


The present invention discloses a small-pitch three-dimensional mask-programmable memory (SP-3DmM). It is an ultra-low-cost and ultra-high-density semiconductor memory. SP-3DmM comprises a mask-programmable memory level stacked above the substrate. This memory level comprises diodes but no transistors or antifuses. Its minimum line pitch is smaller than the minimum gate pitch of the substrate transistors.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of integrated circuit, and more particularly to diode-based semiconductor memory.
2. Prior Arts
With a simple structure, diode-based memory has a low manufacturing cost and high storage density. There are many types of diode-based memory. One is planar diode-based memory (referring to de Graaf et al. "A Novel High-Density Low-Cost Diode Programmable Read Only Memory", Technical Digest of the International Electron Device Meeting, 1996). As illustrated in FIG. 1, its chip comprises two areas: a memory array 10 and a peripheral circuit 20. The memory array 10 comprises a plurality of N+ word lines 18, P+ bit lines 12, and memory cells 17. Each memory cell 17 comprises an antifuse 16 and a diode. The diode is comprised of a P+ layer 12, a P− layer 14, and an N+ layer 18. The antifuse 16 is comprised of a thin dielectric, which has a high resistance when unprogrammed and a low resistance when programmed. The peripheral circuit 20, including drivers and sense-amplifiers, provides cell selection/programming/read function for the memory array 10. Its major building block are transistors 27, which further comprise gate 28 and source/drain 24.
In the planar diode-based memory, diodes 17 are located in the same plane (i.e. in the substrate 00) as transistors 27. Although diode itself requires a small mask count (in this case, seven), inclusion of transistors in the same plane leads to a higher mask count (in this case, eleven) and therefore, a relatively high manufacturing cost.
Another type of the diode-based memory is three-dimensional electrically-programmable memory (3D-EPM, referring to U.S. Pat. No. 5,835,396, "Three-Dimensional Read-Only Memory" issued to Zhang, U.S. Pat. No. 6,034,882, "Vertically Stacked Field Programmable Nonvolatile Memory and Method of Fabrication", issued to Johnson et al. and others). Among various three-dimensional memories (3D-M), 3D-EPM was considered having the greatest potential for commercialization in the past. As illustrated in FIG. 2, a 3D-EPM comprises at least two levels: a substrate level 30 and an electrically-programmable memory level 40. The memory level 40 comprises a plurality of world lines 42, bit lines 48 and memory cells 47. Each memory cell 47 comprises an antifuse 46 and a diode. The substrate level 30 comprises a plurality of transistors 37, which further comprise gate 38 and source/drain 34.
A major challenge faced by 3D-EPM is its scalability. Because the antifuse programming current does not scale with technology, its programming-current density increases in proportional to the square of the scaling factor. As 3D-EPM is scaled to more advanced technology, this programming-current density becomes too large to be tolerated by the connecting diode (at the 0.2 μm node, the programming-current density has reached ˜104 A/cm2). It is anticipated that 3D-EPM will have difficulty to scale to the 50 nm node. This, in turn, will greatly limit its storage density.
In sum, the prior-art diode-based memory has either a relatively high manufacturing cost, or a limited storage density. To overcome these shortcomings, the present invention discloses a small-pitch three-dimensional mask-programmable memory (SP-3DmM). SP-3DmM is an ultra-low-cost and ultra-high-density semiconductor memory.

Small-pitch three-dimensional mask-programmable memory


A combination of a first surface treating solution comprising an inorganic or organic alkali such as ammonia or a quaternary ammonium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide, water and a second surface treating solution of ultra-pure water, at least one of the first and second surface treating solutions containing as a complexing agent a compound having one or more phosphonic acid groups in the molecule and showing chelating ability, or an oxidized form thereof, or polyphosphoric acid or a salt thereof, is effective for making semiconductor surfaces free from harmful metallic impurities such as Fe, Al, Zn, etc.

This invention relates to a process for treating (or cleaning) surfaces of semiconductors, LCD, etc. with special treating solutions containing a special complexing agent and the treating solutions per se.
Semiconductor devices such as LSI, IC, diodes, commutators, etc. are almost silicon devices which are produced by subjecting a silicon wafer to processing steps such as vapor phase growth, oxide film formation, impurity diffusion, vapor phase deposition of electrode metal, etc. Since contamination with impurities remarkably influences on electrical properties of semiconductors, it is necessary to clean silicon wafer surfaces sufficiently for removing contamination prior to above-mentioned processing steps.
Various industrial cleaning methods which are different as for treating chemicals, treating temperature, etc. have been employed. A series of treatments called "RCA cleaning method" (RCA Review pp. 187-206, June, 1970, etc.) appeared in the mid-1970s and have been used widely since that time and become a major method for wet cleaning. The RCA cleaning method is a combination of (i) SC-1 treatment using ammonia, hydrogen peroxide and water and effective for removing contamination with organic materials and a part of metals such as Cu, Ag, etc., particularly effective for removing contamination with fine particulates, (ii) a dilute HF treatment for removing natural silicon oxide films, and (iii) SC-2 treatment using hydrochloric acid, hydrogen peroxide and water, and remarkably effective for removing metal contamination.
The sequence of RCA cleaning method generally used is SC-1 treatment.fwdarw.dilute HF treatment.fwdarw.SC-2 treatment. But the dilute HF treatment easily gives fine particulates contamination on the surface of silicon wafer and the SC-2 treatment is poor for removing fine particulates. With recent ultra-high integration of LSI, device patterns are rapidly miniaturized and the size of fine particulates which damage devices is also remarkably miniaturized. The smaller the size of fine particulates becomes, the stronger the adhesive strength for wafers becomes. Thus, the removal of fine particulates becomes more difficult, resulting in making the production yield strongly depending on the removal ability of fine particulates contamination at the time of cleaning. In order to remove the particulates most effectively, it was tried to conduct the SC-1 treatment at the last step of cleaning sequence. But in case a wafer has been subjected to such a cleaning sequence, the surface of wafer was contaminated with metallic impurities and there arised problems in electrical properties such as deterioration in oxide breakdown voltage and recombination lifetime, etc.
Metallic elements detected on the surface of wafer after the SC-1 treatment are Fe, Al, Ca, Mg, Zn, etc. At first these contaminating metals are derived from the production apparatus for the processing step before the cleaning step or derived from circumstances. They consist of the elements which are not removed due to insufficient cleaning ability of SC-1, and the elements adsorbed on the wafer from the treating solution including these metal elements.
Metallic impurities difficult to be removed are easily adsorbed on the surface of wafers in general. Among various metallic impurities, Fe and Al have such a tendency remarkably as compared with other above-mentioned elements. In a mass production factory, as a high-productivity cleaning apparatus, there is commonly used a Tact method wherein wafers entered in a carrier are passed to cleaning baths one after another. Thus, contaminating elements released in the liquid of a SC-1 treating bath by cleaning are gradually accumulated to provide an undesirable contamination by adsorption on succeeding wafers. Further, when ammonia and hydrogen peroxide with extremely high purity are not used, there takes place contamination by adsorption of impurities in the cleaning chemicals. In the production and storing of hydrogen peroxide, since metals such as Al are used, it is particularly necessary to highly purify the hydrogen peroxide used for semiconductor cleaning. Further, these highly pure chemicals are easily contaminated in vessels for transport or in feeding system to cleaning baths, that it is not easy to maintain the purity of these chemicals at very high level in cleaning baths.
Usually, after the SC-1 treatment, the surface of wafer is contaminated with about 10.sup.11 to 10.sup.12 atoms/cm.sup.2 of Fe, about 10.sup.11 to 10.sup.13 atoms/cm.sup.2 of Al, and about 10.sup.10 to 10.sup.11 atoms/cm.sup.2 in the cases of Ca, Mg, and Zn. Contamination with these metals in such concentrations except for Fe gives negligible influence of electrical properties such as oxide breakdown characteristics and recombination lifetime properties. Thus, the element which damages electrical properties as for the SC-1 treatment is Fe. On the surface of the p-type wafer in which influences of Fe on the lifetime is remarkable, negligible concentration of Fe for lowering the lifetime is 10.sup.10 atoms/cm.sup.2 or less. Further, as to a time dependent dielectric breakdown test (TDDB properties) of oxide films, it is necessary to make the concentration of Fe as low as about 10.sup.10 atoms/cm.sup.2 in order to attain an intrinsic breakdown time of non-contaminated wafer. It was extremely difficult to obtain such a degree of cleanness only by the SC-1 treatment.
Another cleaning method similar to the SC-1 treatment is a method of using an organic alkali and hydrogen peroxide. For example, there are disclosed tetramethylammonium hydroxide (TMAH) and hydrogen peroxide (Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 50-147284), trialkyl(hydroxyalkyl)ammonium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide (Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 53-43012), etc. These methods are excellent in fine particulates removing ability which is characteristic of the treatment with alkali and hydrogen peroxide like the SC-1 treatment, but great in adsorption of Fe, Al, etc. from the treating solution, resulting in making cleaning ability for wafers contaminated with Fe, Al, etc. insufficient. A method of inactivating metallic impurities as to a material to be cleaned by catching them as stable water-soluble complex is a conventional method for formulating usual cleaning agents. For example, addition of a complexing agent to TMAH and hydrogen peroxide is disclosed in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. 50-158281, and addition of a complexing agent to trialkyl(hydroxyalkyl)ammonium hydroxide and hydrogen peroxide is disclosed in Japanese Patent Examined Publication No. 53-20377 (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,239,661 and 4,339,340). In each case, the added amount of the complexing agents is in need of 0.01% by weight or more. Addition of a cyano compound such as ammonium cyanide, hydrogen cyanide is dangerous. When an organic compound such as ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid (EDTA), triethanolamine, etc. is added in an amount of 0.01% by weight or more as described in them, harmful carbon contamination takes place on silicon surface to cause problems in electrical properties. Further, when silicon surface is contaminated with Al, it is known that oxidation rate during thermal oxidation is influenced. This is not preferable from the viewpoint of precise control of the process.
As mentioned above, no effective methods have been found to solve insufficiency in cleaning efficiency for harmful metallic impurities such as Fe, Al, etc. in the "alkali and hydrogen peroxide" cleaning which is very effective for fine particulates contamination.


A processing object modifying apparatus includes a conveying unit that conveys a processing object; a plasma processing unit that performs plasma processing onto a surface of the processing object while the processing object is being conveyed by the conveying unit; a measuring unit that measures a pH value of the processing object to which the plasma processing has been applied; and a controlling unit that controls the conveying unit to change a conveying speed of the processing object on the basis of a measurement result of the measuring unit, the processing object to which the plasma processing is being applied.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a processing object modifying apparatus, a printing apparatus, a printing system, and a method for manufacturing a printout.
2. Description of the Related Art
Improvement in the throughput of conventional inkjet recording apparatuses by using high-speed printing has been difficult, because most inkjet recording apparatuses are shuttle-based, in which a head is moved back and forth in the width direction of a recording medium, e.g., a paper sheet or a film. To allow such recording apparatuses to provide high-speed printing, one-pass printing, in which an arrangement of a plurality of heads covering the entire width of the recording medium is passed across the sheet to record at once, has been disclosed recently.
One-pass printing is effective in improving the printing speed. However, because time intervals at which ink droplets are ejected to form dots adjacent to each other are short, and each of the ink droplets is ejected to form an adjacent dot before the ink droplet ejected earlier permeates into the recording medium, coalescence of the adjacent dots (hereinafter, referred to as ink-droplet interference) is likely to occur, and may reduce image quality. Related art examples are disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 4662590, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2010-188568, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-34069.
In view of the above situations, there is a need to provide a processing object modifying apparatus, a printing apparatus, printing system, and a method for manufacturing a printout, which can modify the processing object to manufacture a high-quality printout.

Processing object modifying apparatus, printing apparatus, printing system, and method for manufacturing printout


The manufacturing apparatus of a resin molded product has a feed block that sets a layer configuration of the resin molded product obtained by molding a plurality of molten resins. The feed block includes a feed block body having a through hole, and a plurality of replacement blocks that are removably fitted into the through hole and have layer configuring passages corresponding to different layer configurations. A replacement block before change is pushed out of the through hole by a replacement block having a layer configuring passage corresponding to a layer configuration after change, thereby changing the layer configuration. This allows an easy change of a layer configuration, and in particular, prevents degradation of resin due to heat or oxidation, and reduces time for the change and a material loss even when a significant change of the layer configuration such as a change of a layer arrangement is performed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to apparatus and method for manufacturing a resin molded product, and more particularly to apparatus and method for manufacturing a resin molded product that allow an efficient change of a layer arrangement when a layer configuration is significantly changed, particularly when the layer arrangement is significantly changed.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a manufacturing apparatus that molds resin molded products such as plastic films or sheets, a change of resins to be supplied to an extrusion device, replacement of an entire feed block, a change of multi-manifold dies, replacement of an intermediate plug of the feed block, or the like have been performed in order to change a layer configuration such as the number of layers, a thickness of each layer, and/or an arrangement of layers. To perform these changes or replacement, the extrusion device requires to be stopped. The temperature is usually high in a process for molding a resin molded product, and stopping the extrusion device tends to cause heat degradation of a resin in the device. Further, the resin is exposed to air when the plugs are inserted into or removed from the device for replacement or the like, thereby promoting oxidation to further hasten the degradation. Heat degraded resin mixed into a product may cause a bad product. To prevent this, the temperature of the device has been lowered to a temperature that does not tend to cause the heat degradation or the oxidation for replacement. However, when the temperature is changed, the temperature requires to be increased for reuse, which may cause significant losses of time and material.
Specifically, when the layer configuration such as the number of layers, the thickness of each layer, or the arrangement of each layer are changed, the device that molds the resin molded product has mainly three problems: (1) the significant losses of time and material, (2) the heat degradation, and (3) the oxidation due to exposure to air, and there is a need for solving these problems.
For solving the problems, there have been proposed a method in which a replaceable adapter is mounted to a side surface of a die body, and replacement of the adapter changes a lamination order or the number of layers (Japanese Patent No. 3112358), and a method in which a selector plate that can be inserted or removed through a side surface is mounted between a junction block and a die, and replacement of the selector plate changes the number of layers or use/nonuse of an extrusion device (Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-55402).
However, the method in which the adapter is mounted to the side surface of the die body requires lowering the temperature of the device to a temperature that causes no degradation of resin when the adapter is replaced, which cannot eliminate the significant losses of time and material.
The method in which the selector plate that can be inserted or removed through the side surface is replaced tends to cause leakage at a connection between the junction block and the die, although the selector plate itself is compact and lightweight, and tight fastening for preventing the leakage requires much labor in next replacement.
In particular, the conventional methods cannot accommodate significant changes of the layer configuration such as a change of a layer arrangement from edge lamination in which a resin different from a resin at a center is placed at both ends of a resin molded product, to another layer arrangement, or vice versa.

Apparatus and method for manufacturing resin molded product


Sulfated disaccharides characterized by the ability to inhibit the binding of selectin to its physiologically-relevant ligand are disclosed. Included are efficient and inexpensive methods for producing the sulfated disaccharides, and methods for their therapeutic use and in in vivo and in vitro assays.

Specialized cell surface receptors (termed here selecting) on endothelial cells and various circulating cells are involved in a number of intercellular interactions. For instance, an adhesion molecule on the surface of leukocytes, lymphocyte homing receptor (LHR), is known to be involved in the adhesive interactions of leukocytes with the endothelial lining of blood vessels. This adhesive interaction is a prerequisite for the movement of leukocytes from the blood to tissue sites where immune reactions and inflammatory reactions occur.
LHR is a lectin-like protein which performs its adhesive function recognizing carbohydrate-containing ligands on endothelial cells. Lectin-like receptors have also been found on endothelial cells and platelets. Endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 (ELAM-1) also known as CD62E and E-selectin is present on endothelial cells and is involved in the recognition of various circulating cells by the endothelium. Granule membrane protein-140 (GMP-140) also known as CD62P and P-selectin is present on the surface of platelets and endothelial cells, where it mediates platelet-leukocyte and endothelium-leukocyte interactions.
Recent work has established that these receptors share certain structural features. Each of the receptors in this class is a glycoprotein with a lectin-like domain, a region with homology to epidermal growth factor, and a region with homology to complement regulatory proteins (see, Springer (1989) Nature 346:425, which is incorporated herein by reference). The term "selectin" is used herein to refer to this class of lectin-like receptors.
There is currently an interest in developing highly specific competitive inhibitors of selectin-mediated cellular adhesion. Such inhibitors are useful in therapeutic regimens to treat various selectin-mediated disease responses. The inhibitors could also be used to target other pharmaceutical compounds, such as anti-inflammatory agents or anti-oxidants, to the sites of injury.
The broad participation of the selectins in inflammatory disease (Rosen & Bertozzi (1994) Curr. Op. Cell Biol. 6:663-673) has stimulated tremendous interest in the nature of their carbohydrate ligands as leads for the development of anti-inflammatory agents. All three selecting share a common recognition motif, the sialyl Lewis x (sLe.sup.x, NeuAc.alpha.2,3gal.beta.1,4(fuc.alpha.1,3)glcNAc) (FIG. 1) and the related sialyl Lewis a (sLe.sup.x, NeuAc.alpha.2,3gal.beta.1,3-(fuc.alpha.1,4)glcNAc) tetrasaccharides (Feizi (1993) Curr. Op. Struct. Biol. 3:701-710; Varki (1994) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 91:7390-7397). Sialylation and fucosylation of the core N-acetyllactosamine disaccharide are essential for conferring binding activity. Although the interaction of the selecting with sLe.sup.x oligosaccharides is fairly weak, with equilibrium dissociation constants in the millimolar range (Cooke et al. (1994) Biochemistry 33:10591-10596; Jacob et al. (1995) Biochemistry 34:1210-1217), sLe.sup.x has proven to be an effective antagonist of selectin-mediated adhesion in several animal models of acute inflammation (Mulligan et al. (1993a) J. Exp. Med. 178:623-631; Mulligan et al. (1993b) Nature 364:149-151; Buerke et al. (1994) J. Clin. Invest. 93:1140-1148; Seekamp et al. (1994) Am. J. Pathol. 144:592-598).
Two central problems in the development of sLe.sup.x derivatives as anti-inflammatory agents are the lack of an inexpensive and expedient synthesis, and the susceptibility of the sialic acid and fuc.alpha.ose residues to enzymatic cleavage in the bloodstream (Uchiyama et al. (1995) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 117:5395-5396). The chemical syntheses of sLe.sup.x are laborious, involving difficult glycosylation reactions with sialic acid and fucose (Nicolaou et al. (1991) J. Chem. soc., Chem. Commun. 870-872; Nicolaou et al. (1992) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114:3126-3128; Danishefsky et al. (1992a) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114:8329-8331; Danishefsky et al. (1992b) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114:8331-8334; Yoshida et al. (1993) Glycoconjugate J. 10:3-15; Stahl et al. (1994) Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl. 33:2096-2098). The enzymatic synthesis of sLe.sup.x is more efficient, but requires the use of enzymes and cofactors that are either not generally available or very expensive (Dumas et al. (1991) Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett. 1:425-428; Ichikawa et al. (1992) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114:9283-9898; Ball et al. (1992) J. Am. Chem. Soc. 114:5449; de Vries et al. (1993) FEBS Lett. 330:243-248; Palcic (1994) Meth. Enzymol. 230:300-316). These difficulties have prompted several groups to explore sLe.sup.x mimetics with reduced structural complexity, and with functional alternatives to sialic acid and fucose. For example, Chen et al. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269:1595-1598 and Brandley et al. (1993) Glycobiology 3:633-639, have demonstrated that replacement of sialic acid in sLe.sup.x with a sulfate ester results in equivalent or enhanced selectin binding activity. Uchiyama et al. (1995) supra, have incorporated the essential hydroxyl groups and anionic character of sLe.sup.x into simplified mimetics with equivalent E-selectin binding activity. Finally, a non-carbohydrate-based sLe.sup.x mimetic was designed based on the computer-identified structural similarity of a non-carbohydrate natural product (Rao et al. (1994) J. Biol. Chem. 269:19663-19666). See, also, U.S. Pat. No. 5,428,025, showing that N-acetyllactosamine ligands which bind to endothelial leukocyte adhesion molecule-1 (ELAM-1) are useful in relieving ELAM-1-mediated inflammation.

Sulfated disaccharide inhibitors of selectins, methods for synthesis and therapeutic use

The Regents Of The University Of California


A communication protocol available to any type module on the computer bus. Application programs are treated as clients or servers. A serveport is created in the server module. A client issues a connect request to the server identifying the serveport. The server assigns a N-slot TID capability to identify, describe and protect a storage location for receiving a start buffer from the client and sends the N-slot TID to the client to establish a connection. The start buffer includes a TID list which permits the client and server to reliably communicate back and forth. Once a connection has been established, data can be moved between the server and the client. High-level instructions and commands are sent as data through these connections. After the communication has been completed, the connection can be disconnected by the client or broken by the server.

This invention is directed to an upper level capability-based transaction protocol for use over a message based bus so that communications may occur through the bus between intelligent nodes, whether they both be host systems or one a host system and the other an IO device.
Local area networks are generally used to provide intercommunication between a number of host systems. Communications between hosts and IO devices are generally provided over IO buses. An IO bus generally provides for device specific commands such as writes or reads to specific registers. A local area network is not set up to accommodate such specific commands. Therefore, a local area network cannot generally be used for communications between a host and IO devices. Additionally, neither local area networks nor I/O buses use capabilities as their fundamental addressing paradigm. In general, a capability identifies the location and size of a buffer as well as other attributes such as access rights.
An IO bus generally operates with an address phase and a data phase. This suffers from the disadvantage that should an error occur in the address phase, actions may be taken at the wrong locations. Error checking mechanisms are available to prevent such occurences, however, such checking may slow down the system. The present invention minimizes the possibility of such errors. The use of capabilities protects a node's memory from similar failures by putting upper and lower bounds on a buffer and in the present invention, access rights identified for the buffer.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a protocol which may be used for intercommunications between any two intelligent nodes. It is a further object of the present system to provide a protocol which is the same for IO devices and host systems, making the bus available to both. A further object is to base these protocols on an underlying capability-based bus. It is still a further object of the present invention to support communications between clients and shared servers.


A hybrid drive unit (HY, G) for a motor vehicle includes a housing (GG), in which a torque converter (TC) and an electric machine (EM) are accommodated. The electric machine (EM) and the torque converter (TC) are arranged directly next to each other such that the electric machine (EM) is arranged at a first face end (TC1) of the torque converter housing (TCG). An oil guide shell (LS) at least partially encompasses a section of the torque converter (TC). The oil guide shell (LS) has an L-shaped cross-section including a first section (LS1) and a second section (LS2) and is arranged in such that the first section (LS1) partially encompasses a second face end (TC2) of the torque converter housing (TCG) and the second section (LS2) partially encompasses a circumferential surface of the torque converter housing (TCG).

A hybrid drive unit can be an integral part of a transmission, which is configured for forming different ratios between an internal combustion engine and driving wheels of the motor vehicle. Alternatively, the hybrid drive unit can be designed as a separate component, which is arranged in the drive train between the internal combustion engine and the transmission. A component of this type is also referred to as a hybrid module.
Patent application DE 10 2014 118 485 A1 describes, for example, an arrangement for a hybrid drive unit of this type. The arrangement includes a front module with an electric machine and a release clutch, a transmission behind the front module, a torque converter between the front module and the transmission, and a guide device radially between the torque converter and the transmission. The guide device subdivides a cavity, which extends between the transmission housing and the housing of the torque converter, between a dry side and a wet side. The guide device forms a bathtub-like shape. Oil entering the dry side is to be pumped out of the guide device via the rotation of the torque converter.
Such a design is considered to be disadvantageous, since a passive outflow of oil out of the "dry" side is not possible. As a result, an operating behavior of the drive train can be limited, particularly when oil is very cold.
Patent application DE 10 2018 119 186 A1 describes a transmission assembly including a housing, an electric motor, a torque converter, and a baffle plate. The baffle plate is arranged under the electric machine and is adjacent to the torque converter. With the aid of the baffle plate, a contact of oil with the torque converter is to be minimized.
An approach of this type does not prevent oil from coming into contact with the torque converter, however, in a downhill position or during a strong braking procedure of the motor vehicle including a transmission assembly of this type. Due to the baffle plate, the outflow of oil after an operating condition of this type can even be retarded.

Hybrid drive unit and drive train for a motor vehicle


The blow-by gas that has flowed from a front-stage breather-chamber inlet (33) into a front-stage breather chamber (28) floats up around a preliminary valve-seat peripheral wall (22) and a preliminary breather-passage peripheral wall (24) and flows from a breather-chamber inlet (21) into a breather chamber (3). When a breather-chamber peripheral wall (12) is removed from a breather-chamber attaching seat (11), a diaphragm valve (16) is attached to the breather-chamber attaching seat (11) and has a valve face (18) seated on a preliminary valve seat (23), and a plug (27) is taken out of a preliminary breather outlet (25), from which a breather pipe (5) is led out, thereby enabling the front-stage breather chamber (28) to be used for a single-stage breather chamber provided with the diaphragm valve (16).

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a breather device for an engine, and more particularly concerns a breather device for an engine, which can assuredly obtain the oil-separation function required for using a supercharger.
2. Background Art
A conventional example of the engine breather devices comprises a cylinder head onto which a head cover is attached, the head cover being provided at a ceiling wall with a breather chamber having a breather outlet, from which a breather pipe is led out, this breather pipe having a led-out end portion connected to an air-intake route (for example, see Patent Literature 1) as well as the present invention.
The engine breather device of this type separates oil from the oil mist contained in the blow-by gas within the breather chamber and flows the remaining oil mist with the blow-by gas into the air-intake route, whereby the oil mist is prevented from flowing out of the breather device for the engine
However, the conventional engine breather device is formed into a structure that the blow-by gas which has flowed from an inlet of the breather chamber into the breather chamber merely floats up around a peripheral wall of a valve seat and a peripheral wall of a breather passage and flows into the breather passage from a portion between an opened valve face and the valve seat. Therefore, it causes the following problem.                [Patent Literature 1] Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2004-116395 (see FIGS. 1 and 4)


The present disclosure relates to a process connection for connecting a sensor to a process inlet via a process seal and a fixing element. The process connection includes a sensor housing and a clamping element. The sensor housing has a housing body configured to receive the sensor and a housing collar that extends around the housing body and has a first sealing section, which encircles the housing body, and a contact area. The housing collar is formed integrally with the housing body. The first sealing section is suitable for receiving the process seal to connect the process inlet to the housing collar in a fluid-tight manner. The clamping element has a contact area which is suitable for coming into contact with the contact area of the housing collar to press the housing collar onto the process seal.

Process connections for sensors are used in a wide variety of industrial processes. Process connections serve to bring various kinds of sensors, for example a conductivity sensor, into contact with the process medium of the process. The device carrying the process, for example a pipe or other container, has a process inlet for this purpose. The process inlet and the process connection must be connected to each other in a leakproof and disconnectable manner. In order to achieve a leakproof closure of the process inlet, a process seal is installed between the process connection and the process inlet. In addition, a fixing element is used, for example a clamp, a screw or a union nut, in order to connect the process connection to the process inlet in a disconnectable manner. The fixing element presses the process connection onto the process seal in order to prevent the process medium from escaping. The disconnectable connection of process inlet and process connection makes maintenance of the process connection or of the sensor possible.
Certain properties of the process connection and of the process inlet are subject to various requirements, depending on the field of application, which are defined by national and international standards (such as, for example, DIN 11851, DIN 11864-1, ISO 2852, etc.) or industry quasi-standards of the application sectors (for example, "Varivent," "Biocontrol," etc.). Particularly in processes of the food and beverage industry, there are strict regulations regarding the hygiene of process connections.
The hygienic properties of process connections are mainly affected by any gaps, edges or seals present, since deposits can easily form there. There are hygienic process connections which have, for example, few seals, but which in turn only fit precisely one process inlet having a particular diameter. However, since there is a multiplicity of process inlets each having different inlet diameters, the cost of realizing a variety of process connections for a sensor family is very high.

Process for reversibly connecting a sensor to an inlet


A brush for applying mascara or the like, comprising an elongated core and a plurality of coating surfaces axially spaced along the elongated core, distributed around the core over a substantial portion of the length of the core extending from the distal end thereof. The coating surfaces are arranged in a plurality of rows forming turns of at least one helix extending lengthwise of the core and spaced laterally around the core periphery. The axial distance between consecutive rows of coating surfaces varies longitudinally along the core.

Mascara brushes of the type commonly referred to as "twisted wire" brushes are well known and widely used in the cosmetics industry. A twisted wire mascara brush has an axially elongated twisted wire core with a multiplicity of fibers such as bristles clamped at their midpoints in the core and extending radially outwardly therefrom; the core is constituted of two lengths of wire, which may be initially separate or may be opposed legs of a single U-shaped wire, twisted together into a helix to hold the bristles between them. Typically, the bristles are more or less uniformly distributed for at least most of the length of the brush, and the overall shape of the brush (i.e., the notional envelope defined by the tips of the bristles) has a rectilinear axis and a simple circular cross-section, being cylindrical, frustoconical, or a tandem arrangement of proximal cylindrical and distal frustoconical portions.
Although the combination of a twisted wire core and a radiating array of bristles clamped in the core provides an acceptable brush structure for uses exemplified by the application of mascara, twisted-in-wire mascara brushes have certain disadvantages. One such disadvantage would be the finite number of ways fibres can be used to create an application surface for the mascara while at the same time serving a market continually looking for differentiation. Moreover, a conventional twisted-wire brush offers essentially only one kind of brush profile for use both to transfer the mascara from the container to the face and to apply the mascara to the eye lashes. To enable improved application, it would be beneficial to provide mascara brushes having structures other than uniformly distributed bristle arrays with simple cylindrical and/or conical envelopes of circular cross-section; but the diversity of possible configurations of twisted-in-wire brushes is restricted by the requirement to trim the bristles in order to achieve desired shapes, and the difficulty of forming and positioning cutters to effect such trimming.
It has also been proposed heretofore to employ plastic brushes and combs as mascara applicators.
There nevertheless remains a need for designs affording or permitting enhanced functional versatility (e.g., thickening, lengthening and separation as well as delivery of mascara to the lashes). In particular, there is a need for a mascara design that satisfies two requirements for achieving a pleasing make-up effect on the lashes: first, the retention and application of mascara to the lashes and second, the combing and separation of the lashes to which the mascara has been applied.
Various prior art injection-molded applicators have attempted to satisfy these requirements, using different bristle shapes, as well as a variety of bristle row distributions, densities, etc.
It is known from U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,964,429 and 6,616,366, for example, to arrange teeth in one or more rows extending helically around and along the stem. Such an arrangement, which replicates the distribution of bristles of a traditional twisted wire mascara brush, is known to provide advantageous effects in terms of hair combing and separation.
The amount of mascara retained between the fingers of these applicators has nevertheless found to be insufficient to provide the desired amount of product on the application surface.
Indeed, such brush configurations do not enable a sufficient quantity of cosmetic product to be collected whenever the brush is dipped into the container and especially following withdrawal from the container. The user is therefore forced to repeatedly insert the applicator into the container to load more product which may lead to contamination of the container's supply.
In other cases, if the cosmetic product is more viscous, the brush may be loaded with too great a quantity of mascara. Such an overloaded brush may lead to unwanted effects following application onto the lashes, such as clumping. Furthermore, the excess cosmetic product tends to accumulate onto the brush surface and dry out thereby reducing the separation ability of the brush bristles. Also, the unused cosmetic product trapped between the brush bristles will be reinserted into the container before a next application and therefore will become mixed with the container's supply, increasing the chances of pollution and contamination.
There exists therefore a need for a mascara brush which provides sufficient product retention capabilities.
It is also known to provide adjustable mascara brushes having coating surfaces in which the axial distance between each coating surface is adjustable. Such a mascara brush, described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 3,998,235, allows a user to vary the distance between the coating surfaces by acting upon a helical spring structure which compresses or expands. Unfortunately, with such an applicator, following adjustment, the axial distance of separation between the coating surfaces is constant, that is, the amount of product loaded between each pair of consecutive coating surfaces is the same. A single application effect will therefore be provided when the mascara brush is used.
Therefore, there exists a need for a mascara brush configuration that allows more than one metered quantity of mascara to be retained and applied.


Exposure to ionizing radiation can produce a well-defined dose dependent signature in terms of changes in gene expression. In approaches and devices described herein, such a signature can be used to generate and use a self-contained radiation biodosimeter device, based on, for example, a blood finger stick. Various aspects of the invention are directed to biodosimetry with a fully integrated biochip using gene expression signatures.

In the event of a radiological or nuclear incident in a large US city, tens or hundreds of thousands of individuals would require rapid dosimetric screening. Mass radiological triage is critical after such a large-scale event because of the need to identify, at an early stage, those individuals who will benefit from medical intervention, and those who will not. Identifying those patients who do not require treatment, the "worried well," will also be crucial in what will certainly be a highly resource-limited scenario. The ability to offer prompt reassurance to the majority of the affected population may also assist in stemming the spread of fear and panic. Identification not only of exposure, but also of dose ranges will also be critical, as the appropriate treatment varies depending on dose. The use of antibiotics, platelet and cytokine treatment (Anno, Young, et al., 2003) can significantly increase survival in the range of 1.5 to 7 Gy, while bone marrow transplantation is most useful between 7 and 10 Gy. At doses above 10 Gy, patients will generally suffer lethal gastrointestinal damage (Hall, 2000). Physical dosimetry will not be readily available for individuals in the general population.
The range of potential biodosimeters have been reviewed by several groups (see e.g., Amundson, Bittner, Trent, Fornace) (16). The following table, adapted from Amundson et al. (16), gives a brief summary of currently possible biodosimeters.
Post-HighBaselineDetectionRadiationexposurethroughputAssayEase of assayvariabilitylimit (Gy)specificitylongevitypotential?ESR/EPRDifficultHigh0.1GoodyearsNoBlood countsSimple, butLow1GoodweeksNomultiple repeatsrequiredSomaticMutationgpa by flowSimpleModerate1-2Good, but only foryearsYescytometry½ of populationhprt-T-cellSimpleModerate1-2ModeratemonthsNocloningCytogeneticsDicentrics/ModerateModerate0.3Goodyears forNotranslocationstranslocationsMicronucleiSimpleModerate0.3GoodmonthsYesPCCSimpleModerate0.3GooddaysYesDSB (γ-H2AX)SimpleModerate0.3GooddaysYesGenomicsMultiplex PCRPotential toLow?0.2Low-ModeratedaysYessimplifyGene ProfilesPotential toLow?0.2Good?daysYessimplifyMetabolomicsProfilingPotential to beLow???days?Yesvery simple
Early studies using gene expression to classify sample groups have demonstrated the need for sets of multiple biomarkers to attain accurate classification and resistance to noise, with even relatively homogeneous groups requiring from 10 to 200 genes for correct classification (26-28). Work has been done that assesses radiation-induced gene expression signatures, both in vitro (29-35) and in vivo (36), and also suggests that gene expression assays involving a very small number of genes would not be able to accurately assess radiation dose or distinguish radiation exposure from other generalized stress responses. This would rule out, for example, quantitative reverse transcription PCR (QRT-PCR), which, though clearly amenable to automation (37), can realistically only measure the expression of three different genes simultaneously, which would be inadequate for the required radiation specificity.
Thus, there exists a critical need for the development and validation of methods and devices to exploit the biological responses to radiation exposure as a means of obtaining the needed dosimetric information.

Systems and methods for biodosimetry with biochip using gene expression signatures

The Trustees of Columbia University in the City of New York


A single-roundtrip server-based spell checking service is provided. A client provides a composition to the server to be spell checked. The server performs a spell check on the composition and flags the words that are determined to be errors. The server may provide suggested corrections for the flagged words in the composition depending on the error. The suggested corrections are compressed before they are sent to the client. While a word may be misspelled several times throughout the composition, the suggested corrections for the word are only sent one time. Spell check options may also be set to help control the spell check operation.

Many web-based clients include a spell checking feature to help find spelling errors in a document. In these applications, a user typically invokes a spell checker by selecting a spelling tool option. Typically, the spelling application receives a portion of the document from the client and identifies potentially misspelled words. For every potentially misspelled word, the spelling application sends the portion of the document back to the client along with information indicating the misspelled words. The user may then be prompted to replace, ignore, or edit the word. Typically the spell checker also provides a variety of alternative spellings to choose from. This process continues until the user either expressly exits the spelling tool or the spelling tool finishes checking the document.
This web-based spell checking process can be very inefficient for several reasons. First, the same information may be sent to the client many different times. Additionally, the time it takes to complete the spell checking process may be slower than desired. What is needed is a way to improve the performance spell checking for web-based applications.

Server-based single roundtrip spell checking


A garment preferably in the form of a body suit which carries one or more sensors for sensing bodily functions of a wearer of the body suit. The body suit preferably has stretchable sections or belts upon which the sensors are carried such that the sensors are maintained in proper position on the body for reliable detection of the body functions.

In a number of illnesses or situations, it is expedient to continuously monitor the person or patient for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. The monitoring involves cardiac functions of respiration, skin resistance, transpiration, body temperature and the like. Depending on the type of illness or situation being monitored, a differing mix of parameters can be required. The measurement should be done continuously over a long period of time, and not just for a few minutes. This requires that sensors placed on the body not significantly impair the comfort and the normal freedom of movement.
Situations in which monitoring of the vital parameters is necessary can occur during various phases of life. For example, in medically warranted cases one must detect irregular breathing or heart defects or support rehabilitation procedures (care of the elderly, telemedicine, etc.). In work safety situations, monitoring is necessary to preclude overexertion or unacceptable risk. In fitness, sports or wellness activities, one can keep a record of the training results or support the training by means of a monitoring.
Infants and small children are especially difficult to monitor, as they have a more pronounced motor activity. In any case, the sensors must be held in constant contact with the body to preclude measurement errors. On the other hand, the electrical leads of the sensors must not present a danger to the person or the small patient being monitored.

DITF Deutsche Institute fur Textil-und Faserforschung


Processes and systems are disclosed for creating and for managing trouble tickets and work orders. One embodiment includes communicating with a communications network and receiving a request to create a work order. The work order is initiated and identified with a work order number. The work order number includes a telephone number experiencing the problem. The work order is then distributed to clients, and the work order is identified and tracked using a customer's telephone number. A trouble ticket is similarly managed, with the trouble ticket describing a problem in a communications system. Here the trouble ticket is initiated and the work item number is assigned. The trouble ticket is then distributed to clients, and the trouble ticket is identified and tracked using a customer's telephone number.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to work order management systems and, more particularly, to processes and systems that manage and that broker work orders and trouble tickets from initial creation to final closure.
2. Description of the Related Art
Most residential and business telephone customers are connected to telephone/communication systems by copper cables and wires. These copper cables are the familiar one or more telephone lines running throughout nearly every home in the United States. Because copper cable and wire connects each home, and many businesses, to the communication system, the Public Switched Telephone Network is composed of billions of copper cables and wires. Each of these copper cables must be maintained to provide superior service to the customer.
Yet maintaining these copper cables and wires is an extraordinary task. The Public Switched Telephone Network, with its millions of copper cables and wires, may receive hundreds of maintenance calls per day. These maintenance calls, in turn, may result in hundreds of maintenance work orders or trouble tickets. These hundreds of daily maintenance calls, and the resultant work orders/trouble tickets, must be efficiently managed to prevent maintenance costs from eroding profits. These resultant work orders/trouble tickets must also be efficiently managed to ensure customers receive a quick response and a quick resolution to their communication problems.
While efficiency and service are the goals, communication service providers struggle with trouble management systems that are decades-old. Most service providers are continually resuscitating legacy computer equipment and computer code. The computer equipment is often so old that spare parts are no longer available. The computer code of these early systems is also outdated, requiring specialized knowledge of older code to keep the system maintained. These legacy management systems are, thus, challenging and expensive to maintain and to preserve.
The legacy management systems are also inefficient, slow, and inaccurate. The legacy Loop Maintenance Operating System, for example, maintains an extremely large database of over twenty four million (+24,000,000) line records. As more and more customers request additional telephone lines, digital subscriber lines, and other plain, old telephone system enhancements, this extremely large database of line records must accordingly grow. Such an extremely large database system inefficiently retrieves line records and is slow to provide such data. Such a large legacy database also means the data is often corrupt. Service providers are simply unable to dynamically update the database as the line records change. Moreover, efficient management techniques, such as correlation and screening of trouble tickets, is hampered by the corrupt data. These old, legacy management systems, therefore, reduce the ability of service providers to meet the growing demands in today's competitive environment
There is, accordingly, a need in the art for management systems that are less expensive to use and to maintain, that reduce the need for large database infrastructures, that meet or exceed current performance levels, that are more reliable configurations, that improve the use of correlation, screening, and other efficient management techniques, and that reduce the costs of maintaining operations.

Processes and systems for creating and for managing trouble tickets and work orders


A data recording/reproducing method with robust error handling capability and a data recording/reproducing apparatus therefore, are provided. The data recording method includes: dividing data to be recorded on a recording medium into blocks having a predetermined size; repeatedly recording each block at a predetermined number of times on the recording medium, and recording the predetermined block size and the predetermined number of block recordings on the recording medium. According to the data recording method, it is possible to recover damaged data using a predetermined different block instead of a defective block by dividing data into blocks having a predetermined size and repeatedly recording the blocks on a recording medium a predetermined number of times, so that the recorded data has a robust defect resistance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a data recording/reproducing method, and more particularly, to a data recording/reproducing method with robust error handling capability and a data recording/reproducing apparatus using the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Data recording media may be damaged due to its structural defects, careless usage, etc. For example, an optical disc drive can fail to correctly read data recorded on an optical disc loaded therein due to structural defects or scratches on the optical disc, dust, etc. To correctly read information recorded on an optical disc, research is being conducted to determine a method for detecting defective areas before or during a recording operation, wherein the defective areas are skipped or replaced with predetermined areas. Further, a method that records data with error correction codes is also being researched. The method that skips the defective areas or replaces the defective areas with the predetermined areas before or during data recording does not correct problems resulting from disc defects, scratches, dust, etc., generated after data recording. Methods for solving such problems have been proposed in Korean Patent Publications No. 1996-7006168 (published on Nov. 8, 1996), No. 1999-76751 (published on Oct. 15, 1999), No. 2000-66892 (published on Nov. 15, 2000), No. 2002-33754 (published on May 7, 2002), No. 2000-21178 (published on Apr. 15, 2000), No. 2001-95387 (published on Nov. 7, 2001), and No. 2002-72089 (published on Sep. 14, 2002), etc., and other like systems.
In addition, the method of recording the data with the error correction codes has a limitation in error correction capability due to the length of error correction bits. The length of the error correction bits is generally limited by a minimum recording unit (block). Accordingly, if the amount of errors generated by the disc defects, scratches, dust, etc. is larger than a maximum amount of errors capable of being corrected by the error correction method applied to the corresponding disc, it is impossible to completely correct the generated errors, so that data recorded on the disc cannot be correctly read. Such an error correction method was disclosed in the above-mentioned Korean Patent Publication No. 1996-7006168 (published on Nov. 8, 1996).
The above-described problems prevent backup data recorded on a CD-R/W, a DVD-RAM, etc., from being correctly read, thereby reducing the system reliability. These problems are more serious in write-once discs such as compact disc-recordable ("CD-R") and a digital versatile disc-recordable ("DVD-R"). Since the write-once media has low error correction capability compared with different recording media, certain defects may not allow a drive to even access the disc.
Also, such defects may be fatal for certain data types to be recorded on the recording medium. For example, since program sources, database sources, etc., cannot generate similar data by interpolation as can be done in audio/visual ("A/V") data, these sources should be protected by a robust method.

Data recording/reproducing method with robust error handling capability and data recording/reproducing apparatus thereof