An image signal processing apparatus inputs a video signal, delays it by one field using a field memory, multiplies the delayed signal by a value K (K less than 1), adds the output from the multiplication to the input signal and supplies the sum to the field memory. The level of the signal read out from the field memory is compared with a predetermined value, and based on the result of that comparison, the video signal being input is substantially inhibited from being supplied to the adding means. The signal obtained by multiplying the immediately-preceding field signal by k, and the present-field signal, are cyclically added, so that the amplitude can be gradually increased. The comparison inhibits addition of a new field signal when the level of that stored in the field memory has reached a predetermined level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing an image signal obtained from a sensor such as a CCD sensor and, more particularly, to a processing apparatus suitable for reducing noise of the image signal.
2. Related Background Art
Noise reduction utilizing spatial correlation or time-correlation of a video signal is performed in an existing video signal recording/reproducing apparatus to improve as S/N ratio during recording or reproduction. FIG. 8 shows a typical cyclic noise reduction circuit utilizing a field memory. The noise reduction circuit includes a multiplier 110 for multiplying an input with a coefficient (1-K) where K is 0.ltoreq.K<1, an adder 111, a multiplier 112 for multiplying, an input with a coefficient K, and a field memory 113 serving as a delay element for a one-field period. The transfer function of this digital filter is given as follows: EQU H(Z.sub.f)=(1-K)/(1-KZ.sub.f.sup.-1)
This transfer function exhibits low-frequency filtering characteristics as a function of time (i.e., between fields). In the equation, Z.sub.f.sup.-1 represents a unit delay operator corresponding to the one-field delay. This circuit reduces noise of a still image portion.
When the memory 113 in the arrangement of FIG. 8 is replaced with a 1 H (H is a horizontal scanning period) line memory, a noise reduction circuit utilizing correlation in the vertical direction can be arranged.
In a noise reduction circuit utilizing time-correlation, an after-image is undesirably formed when an object in the image is moving. In a noise reduction circuit utilizing spatial correction, an edge of the image becomes unclear.
A system has recently been proposed to detect a moving portion of an image and its edge to properly change the coefficient K. However, this system is not yet satisfactory in practical applications. In this adaptive control system, image quality is adversely influenced by unclearness of the edge and by an after-image. These adverse influences are often greater than the effect of improving image quality by noise reduction.
When an image signal level is low, an automatic gain control (AGC) circuit is normally arranged in a processing circuit for processing such an image signal to amplify the level of the image signal.
When an image pickup element such as a CCD is used as an image signal source, noise having a predetermined level is generated at an output unit, e.g., an output amplifier, regardless of the signal level. When the gain of the output signal is controlled by the AGC circuit, a noise level is increased at the same rate as the signal level. When a S/N ratio is low as in photography with a low illuminance, image quality is greatly degraded if the gain is excessively increased by the AGC circuit. Therefore, a great gain increase as indicated by a characteristic curve (c) in FIG. 13 cannot be provided.
FIG. 13 is a graph showing characteristic curves in exposure control and gain control. The illuminance (lx) is plotted along the abscissa in FIG. 13, and the controlled signal level is plotted along the ordinate in FIG. 13. A characteristic curve (a) in FIG. 13 shows characteristics under exposure control. An amount of incident light can be controlled to be an optimal signal level exposure control such as opening/closing of an aperture for an optical image having an illuminance of 10 lx or more. In this case, the illuminance of 10 lx corresponds to an exposure control limit in a fully open aperture state. A characteristic curve (b) in FIG. 13 is a composite characteristic curve when exposure control and gain control are performed. Gain control aims at compensating for a delay of exposure control when the illuminance is 10 lx or more. Level control is performed such that a signal level comes close to the optimal signal level at an illuminance of 10 lx or less.
The above problem is not limited to the video camera described above but is also experienced when random noise is generated together with an image signal. For example, the same problem as described above is posed, e.g., when an image signal is transferred through a system which generates random noise.

Image signal processing apparatus having improved storage control in accordance with an image signal level


A propulsion thrust control system and method for controlling thrust in a rocket motor includes configuring valves of an energized rocket motor to an initial total valve area according to a total thrust command. The total thrust command is converted into a commanded propellant mass flow discharge rate. A varying total valve area is computed from an error between the commanded propellant mass flow discharge rate and a calculated propellant mass flow discharge rate. The valves are reconfigured according to a distribution of the varying total valve area. The propulsion system includes a pressure vessel with valves and a controller for regulating the valve area according to a propellant mass flow discharge rate from the pressure vessel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a propulsion thrust control system configured for control of a rocket-propelled vehicle.
2. State of the Art
Solid propellant rocket motors employ a propellant comprising a solid fuel charge or "grain" which burns to generate exhaust gases and other combustion products, which are expelled through one or more nozzles of the rocket motor to provide thrust. Once a grain of solid propellant is ignited, it is difficult to extinguish and the entire grain is ordinarily consumed after ignition. Additionally, effecting variation of thrust is more difficult in solid propellant than in liquid propellant rocket engines. However, simple structural design of solid propellant rocket motors and ease of storage of the solid propellant are advantages of the solid propellant motor.
Attitude control, in the form of influencing the pitch, yaw, and/or roll of the rocket assembly in flight, may be accomplished with a thrust vector control (TVC) system or a separate attitude control system (ACS). A TVC system may comprise an axial thrust nozzle rotationally positionable at a desired angle within a range offset from the longitudinal axis of the rocket motor to alter the vector at which the combustion products exit the rocket motor. Repositioning of the nozzle alters the direction of the forces acting on the vehicle in which the rocket motor is installed to alter the vehicle's direction of flight. Single, movable TVC nozzles provide adequate control over the rocket assembly's yaw and pitch, but do not provide any significant degree of roll control.
Multiple rocket engines or gas generators and associated thrusters are often employed to control attitude. The rocket engines or thrusters are offset from the longitudinal axis of the rocket motor assembly so that firing of selected ones or groups of the engines or powering of selected ones or groups of thrusters enables attitude control over the rocket motor assembly. Use of a separate ACS in combination with one or more axial thrust engines or thrusters increases the weight of the rocket motor assembly due to the additional hardware. A separate ACS may use a solid-propellant gas generator directly connected to a manifold providing a selective hot gas flow to nozzle valve clusters. Roll control may be provided by the ACS or through the inclusion of a separate roll control system (RCS). Separate gas generators and thrusters may be provided for the RCS.
As stated, each of the control systems such as the ACS and the TVC direct gases through valves that results in the generation of thrust for altering the vehicle's direction of flight. Valves are known that may be configured in either "open" or "closed" states. Additionally, valves that include at least a third or "partially open" state are known as "proportional valves." The state of each valve is determined by the cross-sectional area of the orifice or "throat" for each valve. The state of each of the valves is controlled by a motor controller or control system, which adjusts the state of the various valves based upon one or more control inputs.
One method for controlling the state of each of the valves relies upon pressure measurements which become the control inputs or process variables to the control system. The control inputs in this mode of control are net thrust per valve set (Fnet,i) and a pressure set point or limit. As used herein, net thrust is defined as the differential thrust between opposing valve pairs.
According to a thrust/pressure-only control methodology, the total throat area is regulated to obtain a pressure. An approximate throat area (control variable) for a pressure command is given in the following equation:At=(C*ρAsr(Pcmd/Pref)n)/(gcPcmd)  [1]                where:                    ρ=density of propellant [lbm/in3]            Pref=reference pressure used to determine r [lbf/in2]            As=surface area of propellant [in2]            n=exponent            r=burn rate @ Pref[in/sec]            At,i=throat flow area of valve i [in2]            Pcmd=gas generator pressure command [lbf/in2]            gc=gravitational constant [(lbm/lbf)(ft/s2)]            C*=characteristic exhaust velocity [ft/sec]where the pressure command could be generated by the following equation:Pcmd=max {C1 max (Fnet,i), C2 max (Fnet,i)1/n}  [2]                        where:                    C1=1/(At(FULL OPEN)CF)            C2=Pref {1/(Ispρ As r)}1/n                         where:                    Isp=specific impulse [s]            CF=discharge coefficient of valve
The pressure command is determined by taking the maximum of two calculations. The first involves the pressure required to meet the worst case (highest) net thrust command relative to the available throat area for a given valve set. This pressure is determined by the specific valve characteristics. The second involves the pressure required to meet all net thrust requirements. This pressure is determined by propellant characteristics and geometry,
The net thrust from a given valve set is proportional to the gas generator (GG) pressure and difference in regulated throat areas of opposing valves:Fnet,i=(At,i−At,j)P CF, where valves i and j comprise a valve set and provide thrust in opposite directions.  [3]
The distribution of the regulated throat area meets thrust commands in accordance with the system requirements. By way of simplified example and to avoid infinite solutions of the pressure-only control methodology, the throat areas are evenly distributed (in proportion to flow capacities) among all valves and the same offset, in opposite directions, is added to each valve (in a valve set) to achieve the net thrust command. It is known that the faster response times of the valves compared to slower response of the gas generator, allow controlling net thrust during transient events in the gas generator. This is especially true, for example, when controlling ACS valves that are much smaller than divert valves since ACS valves have a much smaller effect on gas generator (GG) pressure.
While the thrust control approach using a pressure-only methodology may be effective, inefficiencies remain, specifically, the sensitivity to the GG variation. For example, if the propellant is not burning at the specifically designed burn rate or propellant surface area deviates from that designed, a differential (i.e., more or less) mass flow results. For example, assume that more mass is generated than desired because the actual burn rate is higher than designed. If pressure is regulated, the valves will have to open more than predicted to accommodate the larger actual mass flow generated per unit time ("m-dotgen"), resulting in an excess (i.e., wasted) thrust (i.e., more mass flow discharged per unit time ("m-dotdisch") than required to meet all the net thrust commands) as shown by:Σm-dotdisch=PΣAt,i gc/C*>(ΣFnet,i)/Isp=m-dotcmd.  [4]
As an example, demand for thrust in a specific direction occurs by commanding or controlling a valve pair to achieve the commanded thrust. However, the aggregate throat area of all the valves must compensate for pressure regulation, while each opposing pair has the correct differential throat area. Inherently, the pressure compensation requires opening more than predicted resulting in wasted propellant by dumping some of the generated gas. Propulsion systems that incorporate solid propellant, while desirable due to performance and weight reduction, become less desirable as inefficiencies are introduced due to dumping of gases that could otherwise be used for motion control.
For thrust control using a pressure-only methodology, an updated burn rate coefficient (rupdate) can be calculated whenever the system is in a quasi-steady-state condition, as defined when the pressure is within a defined percentage of the commanded value and oscillates below a threshold value. In this condition, an updated burn rate coefficient may be simply calculated by knowing measured gas generator (GG) pressure (Pmeasured) and measured total throat areas (At, measured, i) achieving that pressure with all system parameters assumed constant as shown by:rupdate=ΣAt,measured, i gc Pmeasured/(C*ρAs (Pmeasured/Pref)n).  [5]
Knowledge of the actual burn rate coefficient helps to predict propellant burn-out, but does not directly aid in thrust control when implementing a thrust control methodology based on pressure-only control inputs. Additionally, while a pressure command change (ΔP (=Pnom−Pupdate) can be subtracted from the pressure command:Pnom=(Asρrnom C*/(ΣAt,nom Pnrefgc))(1/(1−n))  [6]Pupdate=(Asρrupdate C*/(ΣAt,nom Pnrefgc))(1/(1−n))  [7]Pcmd=Pcmd+(Pnom−Pupdate)  [8]to compensate for the burn rate variability with Pnom representing the pressure at a nominal burn rate coefficient and nominal total throat area and Pupdate representing the pressure at the updated burn rate and nominal total throat area, an updated ΔP must be calculated any time a new estimate of the burn rate coefficient occurs or any time the pressure command changes.
In view of the above-enumerated deficiencies in the state of the art with respect to pressure-only thrust control of a rocket-propelled vehicle, it would be desirable to develop a methodology for controlling thrust in a vehicle for improving the inefficiencies and for calculating thrust control commands.

Propulsion thrust control system and method


Isolated nucleic acids encoding allergens of Canis familiaris, Canf I or Can f II, are disclosed. A cDNA encoding a peptide having a Can f I activity and a predicted molecular weight of about 19,200 daltons is also described. A cDNA encoding a peptide having Can f II activity and a predicted molecular weight of about 18,200 daltons is also disclosed. The nucleic acids can be used as probes to detect the presence of Can f I or Can f II nucleic acid in a sample or for the recombinant production of petides having a Can f I or Can f II activity. Peptides having a Can f I or Can f II activity can be used in compositions suitable for pharmaceutical administration or methods of diagnosing sensitivity to dog dander.

Approximately 10% of the population become hypersensitized (allergic) upon exposure to antigens from a variety of environmental sources. Those antigens that induce immediate and/or delayed types of hypersensitivity are known as allergens (King, T. P., (1976) Adv. Immunol., 23:77-105. These include products of grasses, trees, weeds, animal dander, insects, food, drugs, and chemicals. Genetic predisposition of an individual is believed to play a role in the development of immediate allergenic responses (Young, R. P. et al., (1990) Clin. Sci., 79:19a) such as atopy and anaphylaxis whose symptoms include hay fever, asthma, and hives.
The antibodies involved in atopic allergy belong primarily to the IgE class of immunoglobulins. IgE binds to basophils, mast cells and dendritic cells via a specific, high-affinity receptor Fcxcex5RI (Kinet, J. P., (1990) Curr. Opin. Immunol., 2:499-505). Upon combination of an allergen acting as a ligand with its cognate receptor IgE, FCxcex5RI bound to the IgE may be cross-linked on the cell surface, resulting in physiological manifestations of the IgE-allergen interaction. These physiological effects include the release of, among other substances, histamine, serotonin, heparin, chemotactic factor(s) for eosinophilic leukocytes and/or leukotrienes C4, D4, and E4, which cause prolonged constriction of bronchial smooth muscle cells (Hood, L. E. et al., Immunology (2nd ed.), The Benjamin/Cumming Publishing Co., Inc. (1984)). Hence, the ultimate consequence of the interaction of an allergen with IgE are allergic symptoms triggered by release of the aforementioned mediators. Such symptoms may be systemic or local in nature, depending on the route of entry of the antigen and the pattern of deposition of IgE on mast cells or basophils. Local manifestations generally occur on epithelial surfaces at the site of entry of the allergen. Systemic effects can induce anaphylaxis (anaphylactic shock) which results from IgE-basophil response to circulating (intravascular) antigen.
The pet dog (Canis familiaris) is kept in households the world over. In houses and public schools where dogs have been kept on a regular basis, dog dander allergens can be detected in dust samples (Wood, R. A. et al., (1988) Am Rev Respir. Dis., 137:358-363, and Dybendal, T. et al., (1989) Allergy, 44:401-411). The prevalence of allergy to dogs as assessed by skin prick test is approximately 15% (Haahtela, T. et al., (1981) Allergy, 36:251-256, and de Groot, H. et al., (1991) J. Allergy Clin. Immunol., 87:1056-1065). In one study, sensitivity to dog allergen(s) was detected in 40% of asthmatic children, even though dogs were not kept as pets in their homes (Vanto, T. and Koivikko, A., (1983) Acta Paediatr Scand., 72:571-575).
Treatment of patients with dog allergy by administration of dog dander extracts has not proven to be as efficacious as treatment of cat allergic patients with cat dander extracts (Hedlin, G. et al.,(1991) J. Allergy Clin Immunol., 87:955-964). As with any desensitization scheme involving injection of increasing doses of allergen(s), there are the drawbacks of potential anaphylaxis during treatment, and the possible necessity of continuing therapy over a period of several years to build up sufficient tolerance that results in significant diminution of clinical symptoms.
Dog hair and dander extracts are complex mixtures containing a number of allergenic proteins. (Loewenstein, H et al., (1982) Proceedings 11th International Congress of Allergology and Clinical Immunology, London, pp 545-548; Uchlin, T et al., (1984) Allergy, 39:125-133; Yman, L. et al., (1984) Int. Arch. Allergy Appl. Immunol.U. 44:358-368; Spitzauer, S. et al., (1993) Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol., 100:60-67). Two allergens present in dog hair/dander have been purified using immunoaffinity chromatography. A major allergen from dog, Can f I (Nomenclature according to the criteria of the IUIS (Marsh, D. G. et al., (1988) Clin. Allergy, 18:201-209; Ag13 according to original nomenclature), has been partially purified by two groups (Schou, C. et al., (1991) Clin. and Exp. Allergy, 21:321-328 and de Groot et al., supra). Both groups, partially purified Can f I was established as an allergen by CRIE analysis (Ford A. W. et al., (1989) Clin. Exp. Allergy, 19:183-190), and then rabbits or Balb/b mice were immunized to obtain polyclonal or monoclonal antibodies against the allergen, respectively. Immunoaffinity purified Can f I (xcx9c25 kD in molecular weight, with a minor component xcx9c18 kD) which elicited a high frequency of positive skin prick tests among dog allergic patients was able to deplete 50-70% of IgE binding to dog dander extracts in RAST (radioallergosorbent test) analysis. While de Groot et al. did not attempt to determine any amino acid sequence of Can f I, Schou et al. found the amino terminus of their immunoaffinity purified Can f I was blocked. Hence, no amino acid sequence of Can f I is presently in the public domain.
The presence of a second (minor) allergen in dog extract was detected by binding of IgE antibodies to dog dander/hair extracts by several groups (de Groot et al., supra, Schou, C. et al., supra and Spitzauer et al., (1993) Int. Arch. Allergy Immunol., 100:60-67). The molecular weight of a minor allergen was reported to be 18 kD (Schou et al., supra), 19 kD (Spitzauer et al., supra) and 27 kd (de Groot et el., supra). It is difficult however to correlate these results since only one group (de Groot et al., supra) affinity purified an allergen designated Can f II (originally named Dog 2 allergen). Can f II was purified from dog dander extracts in a manner analogous to Can f I using monoclonal antibodies generated to a second allergen present in extracts (de Groot et al., supra). Molecular weight of Can f II reported by this group as xcx9c27 kD was later verified to be xcx9c24 kD (Aalberse, R. C. personal communication). Purified Can f II allergen was found to react with IgE of only 66% of dog allergic patients. In RAST analysis, Can f II allergen was able to compete with 23% of the IgE directed against dog dander extract. The amino acid sequence of Can f II has not been previously determined.
Many patients with sensitivity to dog dander allergens are treated currently by administration of small, gradually increasing doses of dog dander extracts. Use of these extracts has multiple drawbacks, including potential anaphylaxis during treatment and the necessity of continuing therapy, often for a period of several years to build up sufficient tolerance and significant diminution of clinical symptoms. The ability to substitute compositions of at least the major dog dander allergens, such as Can f I and Can f II, would overcome several of these drawbacks. Thus, a source of pure allergen that could be provided in quantity for use as a diagnostic or therapeutic reagent and therapeutic methods that would overcome the drawbacks associated with dog dander extracts are highly desirable.
This invention provides isolated nucleic acids encoding peptides having at least one biological activity of Can f I or Can f II, protein allergens of the species Canis familiaris. Preferred nucleic acids are cDNAs having a nucleotide sequence shown in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 1)(Can f I) and FIG. 18 (SEQ ID NO: 67) (Can f II). The invention also pertains to peptides encoded by all or a portion of such cDNAs (SEQ ID NO: 1 and SEQ ID NO: 67) and having at least one biological activity of Can f I or Can f II. Also contemplated are isolated nucleic acids which hybridize under high stringency conditions (e.g., equivalent to 20-27xc2x0 C. below Tm and 1 M NaCl ) to a nucleic acid having a nucleotide sequence shown in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 1) or FIG. 18 (SEQ ID NO: 67) or which encodes a peptide comprising all or a portion of an amino acid sequence of FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 2)(Can f I) or FIG. 18 (SEQ ID NO: 68)(Can f II). Nucleic acids which encode peptides having an activity of Can f I or Can f II and having at least 50% homology with a sequence shown in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 2)(Can f I) or FIG. 18 (SEQ ID NO: 68)(Can f II) are also featured. Peptides having a Can f I or Can f II activity produced by recombinant expression of a nucleic acid of the invention, and peptides having a Can f I or Can f II activity prepared by chemical synthesis are also featured by this invention. Preferred peptides have the ability to induce a T cell response, which may include T cell stimulation (measured by, for example, T cell proliferation or cytokine secretion) or T cell nonresponsiveness (i.e., contact with the peptide or a complex of the peptide with an MHC molecule of an antigen presenting cell induces the T cell to become unresponsive to stimulatory signals or incapable of proliferation). Other preferred peptides, either apart from or in addition to the ability to induce a T cell response, have the ability to bind the dog dander specific IgE of dog dander-allergic subjects. Such peptides are useful in diagnosing sensitivity to dog dander in a subject. Still other peptides, either apart from or in addition to the ability to induce a T cell response, have a significantly reduced or negligible ability to bind dog dander-allergic IgE. Such peptides are particularly useful as therapeutic agents.
Other preferred peptides comprise an amino acid sequence shown in FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 2) (Can f I) or FIG. 18 (SEQ ID NO: 68)(Can f II). In one embodiment, peptides having a Can f I or Can f II activity and comprising a portion of the amino acid sequence of FIG. 5 (SEQ ID NO: 2) or FIG. 18 (SEQ ID NO: 68) are at least about 8-30 amino acids in length, preferably about 10-20 amino acids in length, and most preferably about 10-16 amino acids in length.
Another aspect of the invention features antibodies specifically reactive with a peptide having a Can f I or Can f II activity. A peptide having an activity of Can f I or Can f II can be used in compositions suitable for pharmaceutical administration. For example, such compositions can be used in a manner similar to dog dander extracts to treat or prevent allergic reactions to dog dander in a subject. Nucleic acids of the invention and peptides having an activity of Can f I or Can f II can be also used for diagnosing sensitivity in a subject to a dog dander.

Allergenic proteins and peptides from dog dander and uses therefor


An apparatus for use in radial flow reactors is presented. The apparatus includes a plate of sufficient thickness to impart strength in supporting a solid particle bed, and is milled to have narrow slots allowing the flow of fluid through the plate, while preventing the passage of catalyst through the plate.

A wide variety of processes use radial flow reactors to provide for contact between a fluid and a solid. The solid usually comprises a catalytic material on which the fluid reacts to form a product. The processes cover a range of processes, including hydrocarbon conversion, gas treatment, and adsorption for separation.
Radial flow reactors are constructed such that the reactor has an annular structure and that there are annular distribution and collection devices. The devices for distribution and collection incorporate some type of screened surface. The screened surface is for holding catalyst beds in place and for aiding in the distribution of pressure over the surface of the reactor to facilitate radial flow through the reactor bed. The screen can be a mesh, either wire or other material, or a punched plate. For either a fixed bed or moving bed, the screen or mesh provides a barrier to prevent the loss of solid catalyst particles while allowing fluid to flow through the bed. In a moving bed, solid catalyst particles are added at the top, and flow through the apparatus and removed at the bottom, while passing through a screened-in enclosure that permits the flow of fluid over the catalyst. In a fixed bed, the catalyst, or adsorbent, is loaded into a bed between screens, or other retention devices, and the screens allow fluid to flow over the catalyst while holding the catalyst in place. The screen is preferably constructed of a non-reactive material, but in reality the screen often undergoes some reaction through corrosion, and over time problems arise from the corroded screen or mesh.
One type of screen is a profile wire screen, where a profile wire is wrapped around supports and set at a predetermined spacing for the wire as it is wrapped around the supports. The screen is then cut and flattened and then re-rolled or re-shaped. The screen is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 2,046,458 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,276,265. The screen can be used as part of an inlet distribution device, or other device for containing a catalyst. One type of inlet distribution device is a reactor internal having a scallop shape and is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,224,838 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,366,704. The scallop shape and design provides for good distribution of gas for the inlet of a radial flow reactor, but uses screens or meshes to prevent the passage of solids. The scallop shape is convenient because it allows for easy placement in a reactor without concern regarding the curvature of the vessel wall. The screens or meshes used to hold the catalyst particles within a bed are sized to have apertures sufficiently small that the particles cannot pass through.
The design of reactors to overcome these limitations can save significantly on downtime for repairs and on the loss of catalyst, which is a significant portion of the cost of processing hydrocarbons.

Enhanced bed separation in a styrene monomer reactor using milled plates


A swatter apparatus with removable films that includes a plurality of removable films disposed in layers covering each of a first surface and second surface of a head portion, each of said plurality of removable films removable sequentially from the head portion after swatting, whereby insect and other pest remains are readily separable from the head portion when an uppermost one of the plurality of removable films is peeled from the head portion for expedient disposal.

Various types of swatter apparatuses are known in the prior art. However, what is needed is a swatter apparatus with removable films that includes a plurality of removable films disposed in layers covering each of a first surface and second surface of a head portion, each of said plurality of removable films thereby removable sequentially from the head portion after swatting, whereby insect and other pest remains are readily separable from the head portion when an uppermost one of the plurality of removable films is peeled from the head portion for expedient disposal.


A system for improving the air quality in a pressure cabin of an aircraft includes a recirculation air circuit in which a portion of the cabin air, referred to as recirculation air, is withdrawn from the pressure cabin, filtered and then recirculated into the pressure cabin. To increase the oxygen partial pressure of the air fed back into the pressure cabin, the quantity of recirculation air is passed wholly or partially through a nitrogen generator which generates nitrogen and an oxygen-containing waste gas from the recirculation air supplied. The oxygen-containing waste gas of the nitrogen generator, together with any remaining quantity of recirculation air untreated by the nitrogen generator, is recirculated into the pressure cabin. The nitrogen generator, to which only recirculation air is supplied, utilizes a pressure gradient existing in flight between the pressure cabin and the outside of the aircraft for nitrogen generation.

It has long been known to pressurise aircraft cabins, so that people can spend time in such aircraft cabins even at relatively high flying altitudes without aids such as oxygen masks, etc. Conventionally, so-called bleed air, which is tapped from a compressor stage of the aircraft engine or engines, is used to pressurise an aircraft cabin. This already pressurised bleed air is decompressed to the required cabin pressure in an aircraft air-conditioning system, cooled and otherwise conditioned before being supplied to the aircraft cabin. The air tapped from an engine increases the fuel consumption of the engine, since the tapped proportion of air is no longer available to the engine for thrust generation, so that the compressor of the engine must be designed larger than is actually required purely for thrust generation.
In order to reduce the requirement for bleed air, it is known to skilled persons in the field of aircraft cabin air-conditioning to clean a certain proportion of the air already present in the pressure cabin in a recirculation air circuit and then feed said proportion back to the pressure cabin, instead of constantly supplying outside air produced from bleed air to the pressure cabin.
In order to save weight in aircraft with pressure cabins, the cabin pressure is set so that it corresponds approximately to the air pressure prevailing at an altitude of 2500 m. In this way the pressure differential acting between the pressure cabin and the ambient atmosphere during flight can be kept small, leading to reduced strength requirements and, as a result, lower weight of the aircraft fuselage structure. However, a disadvantage is that, because of the procedure mentioned, the oxygen partial pressure in the aircraft cabin is significantly lower than at ground level, which can be detrimental to comfort during long flights, especially for older and sick passengers. For example, the oxygen partial pressure at ground level is approximately 200 mbar, whereas it is only 175 mbar in the pressure cabin of a commercial aircraft flying at high altitude. To solve this problem it is proposed in
German patent 196 45 764 describes a device to enrich the fresh air supplied to the pressure cabin of an aircraft with oxygen. A membrane module which separates the oxygen fraction contained in the exterior air is proposed as the device for enriching the fresh air with oxygen. However, this procedure results in increased consumption of bleed air, since only the proportion of oxygen obtained from the (additional) bleed air by means of the oxygen enrichment device is supplied to the pressure cabin, while the remainder of this additional bleed air escapes unused.
A further possible way of increasing the oxygen partial pressure in an aircraft pressure cabin is disclosed in GB 2 397 821 A. In that document, according to one embodiment the recirculation air is passed through a membrane module in order to generate an oxygen-rich and a nitrogen-rich gas stream, the oxygen-rich gas stream being fed back into the aircraft cabin.
It is the object of the invention to increase the oxygen partial pressure in an aircraft pressure cabin without additional consumption of bleed air, and to execute the raising of the oxygen partial pressure in the pressure cabin with greater overall efficiency.

System for improving air quality in an aircraft pressure cabin


The present invention relates to a quantum cryptography system for the secure key generation, especially with signal sources and analysis channels. The signal sources are arranged spatially separated in such a manner that the wave fronts of light signals emitted by them superimpose partially at the input of the quantum channel. The analysis channels are arranged in such a manner that the wave front of the light signals coming from the quantum channel are split up spatially and at least two of the parts are analyzed in a quantum mechanical state.

Quantum cryptography facilitates a quantifiable secure communication. By the transmission of quantum particles, particularly photons, an arbitrary, secure key can be generated. This key can then be used for the enciphering of corresponding methods (e.g., one-time-pad, DES). Possible eavesdropping attempts change the quantum particles in a way that errors in the generated key show the attack. This is in considerable contrast to the conventional system in which the security of the transmission is based, e.g., on the faith in couriers or on (unproved) assumptions of the technological abilities of the eavesdropping person.
Quantum cryptography was theoretically suggested for the first time in 1984 and experimentally realized in 1991. Several theoretical and experimental publications and patents led to a rapid development in this field. At present, the research in the field of quantum cryptography concentrates over all on the technical implementation of first prototypes. Here great attention is paid to the miniaturization of the systems used as well as on a high stability and economic efficiency of the transmitter and receiver optics.
The prior art relevant for the present invention is documented, e.g., by:    [1] U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,410 Interferometric quantum cryptographic key distribution system CH. H. Bennett    [2] U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,139 Quantum cryptographic system with reduced data loss H-K. Lo, H. F. Chau    [3] EP 0 776 558 Quantum cryptography P. D. Townsend    [4] U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,649 Apparatus and method for quantum mechanical encryption for the transmission of secure communication J. D. Franson    [5] EP 0 923 828 Quantum cryptography device and method N. Gisin, A. Mueller, B. Perny, H. Zbinden, B. Huttner    [6] EP 0 717 895 B1 Key distribution in a multiple access network using quantum cryptography P. D. Townsend, D. W. Smith    [7] U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,912 System and method for quantum cryptography K. J. Blow    [8] EP 0 722 640 B1 Cryptographic receiver J. G. Rarity, P. R. Tapster    [9] Towards practical quantum cryptography S. Chiangga, P. Zarda, T. Jennewein, H. Weinfurther Appl. Phys. B. 69, 389 (1999)    [10] Daylight quantum key distribution over 1.6 km W. T. Buttler, R. J. Hughes, S. K. Lamoreaux, G. L. Morgan, J. E. Nordholt, C. G. Peterson Phys. Rev. lett. 84, 5652 (2000)    [11] Long distance entanglement based quantum key distribution G. Ribordy, J. Brendel, J.-D. Gautier, N. Gisin, H. Zbinden Phys. Rev. A 63, 012309 (2001)
A summarizing documentation can also be found in the article "Quantenkryptographie" by U. Gebranzig, W. Süβmuth, Jahrbuch des deutschen Patentamts 1999.
The present invention relates to a system for the secure distribution of cryptographic keys according to the method of the quantum cryptography. In the quantum cryptography, as known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,307,410 [1] and U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,139 [2], a cryptographic key is generated by transmitting information carrying light signals between two or more participants on the quantum channel, by measuring said signals and by exchanging information on the measured values via a conventional communication channel. Possible eavesdropping attacks during the transmission of the light signals can be detected according to conclusions of the quantum theory. The generated cryptographic key is of great importance for the transmission of all kinds of information due to its high security.
From [3]-[5], apparatuses are known, which are suitable for the key distribution in accordance with the principles of quantum cryptography. In particular, transmitter and receiver are described, which provide rapid switches for changing quantum mechanical states of the light signals transmitted by a signal source and detected by an analysis channel. Here, disadvantages are the high costs and the high technical efforts being necessary for the rapid operation of the switches.
According to the patents [6] and [7], the efforts can be reduced. A first simplification is described in EP 0 717 895 B1 [6]. Here apparatuses for quantum cryptography are described, in which non-orthogonal quantum states are coupled by an optical switch into the output of the transmission unit. U.S. Pat. No. 5,757,912 [7] describes a method in which 2 sources generate orthogonal light states. Thus, a reduction in the efforts by the factor 2 for the phase modulation is achieved.
From documents [8]-[11], apparatuses are known in which no switches are necessary due to the use of 2 or more signal sources or 2 or more analysis channels. Here, the light signals emitted by the signal sources are superimposed in the transmitter device by means of optical components, especially semipermeable mirrors, or the light signals are split in the receiver device by means of a semipermeable mirror. Here, the signal sources are controlled in such a way that only one of the sources generates at a time one single photon or a reduced light impulse at the output of the transmitter device. According to patent EP 0 722 640 B1 [8], in the receiver the incoming photon is distributed at random on the different analyzers by a beam splitter and is registered by one of the detectors, thus forming the signal relevant for the key generation.
During the technical realization, it has proven especially disadvantageous that therefor the direction of the signal sources has to be accurately adjusted and that necessary components, particularly the semipermeable mirrors, change the quantum mechanical state in an undesired manner. For its correction, further optical components have to be introduced and to be adjusted accurately. The high number of optical components and the high adjusting efforts cause an increased space requirement, a non-optimal signal/noise ration and a bad stability of the systems. It has also proven disadvantageous that especially for the use of new, more efficient methods (U.S. Pat. No. 5,732,139 [2]), a variation of the splitting ration can only be achieved by exchanging and adjusting optical components anew.
The present invention is based on the object to provide an improved apparatus and an improved method for the quantum cryptography.
This object is solved with the subject-matter of the claims.

Device and method for use in quantum crytography


The invention provides a semiconductor washing solution which can suppress occurrence of variation of the shape of a semiconductor device when the semiconductor device is washed and can maintain a stabilized washing capacity for a long period of time. An organic acid ammonium salt is added to a mixed solution of ammonium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide and water (NH4OH:H2O2:H2O) to prepare the semiconductor washing solution. The organic acid ammonium salt to be added is one or more selected from ammonium acetate, ammonium citrate, ammonium formate and ammonium oxalate. The concentration of the added organic acid ammonium salt ranges from 0.1 mol/l to 20 mol/l.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a semiconductor washing solution and a method of producing a semiconductor device using the semiconductor washing solution, and more particularly to a semiconductor washing solution which is used to remove various fine particles sticking to a semiconductor substrate in a process of production of a semiconductor device and a method of producing a semiconductor device using the semiconductor washing solution.
2. Description of the Related Art
While a semiconductor device is formed by repeating various steps of film formation, photo-lithography, etching, oxidation, heat treatment and so forth, a semiconductor substrate is subject to various contaminations in the production steps. Therefore, between each adjacent steps, washing for removing contaminations is performed. However, as a tendency of increase in scale and refinement of semiconductor devices is exhibited in recent years, the influence of contamination upon a device characteristic has been and is increasing. Thus, it progressively becomes important to remove foreign articles or contaminations to the utmost from semiconductor devices.
Among various contaminations, the contamination of fine particles occurs in the steps of transportation, film formation, dry etching and so forth. Since the contamination of fine particles has a significant influence upon the yield of semiconductor device, it is desired to remove the contamination of fine particles completely. However, it is difficult to remove fine particles sticking to fine recessed portions such as, for example, contact holes by rinsing with water or washing with a gas-phase washing agent. Therefore, it is a common practice to perform washing, after a step of film formation or dry etching in which particle contamination is liable to occur, using a mixed solution of ammonium hydroxide, hydrogen peroxide and water (NH4OH:H2O2:H2O) (the solution is hereinafter referred to as APM) which has a high fine particle removing capacity.
For example, referring to FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b), a doped oxide film (PSG, BPSG or the like) 2, a non-doped oxide film (NSG) 3, another doped oxide film 4 and another non-doped oxide film 5 are deposited as an inter-layer insulating film on a silicon substrate 1, and a contact hole 6 for exposing the surface of the substrate 1 therethrough is perforated as seen FIG. 5(a) using a photo-lithography method and a dry etching method and then APM washing is performed (refer to FIG. 5(b)). Thereafter, a metal film for filling up the contact hole 6 is deposited, for example, by a CVD method.
For the APM used for the washing operation of the type mentioned, an APM whose composition ratio is NH4OH:H2O2:H2O=x:y:20 (x=0.01 to 5 and y=0.1 to 4) or the like is used normally, and is used in a temperature range from 60° C. to 80° C. The processing time of the substrate is approximately 4 minutes to 20 minutes.
Since the conventional APM described above exhibits a higher etching rate for a doped oxide film than for a non-doped oxide film, if washing is performed using the processing solution for a contact hole provided in an inter-layer insulating film formed from a non-doped oxide film and a doped oxide film layered on each other, unevenness or offsets are formed on an inner wall of a contact hole as seen in FIG. 5(b). If such unevenness appears, then it is impossible to fill up the hole completely with a plug material, and this gives rise to production of a void.
Further, since the conventional APM exhibits a high etching rate, disconnection of a wiring line is caused by reduction of the film thickness of the wiring line or occurrence of incomplete contact is sometimes invited by the loss of a conductive film at a bottom portion of a contact hole.
In this manner, a harmful influence that unevenness or offsets are produced or reduction of a film thickness is caused by APM washing is described in a journal of a society, Study of Aerosol, 1996, Vol. 11(1), No. 8–15, pp.8–13, particularly in connection with FIG. 8.
Further, since the conventional APM is used at a temperature higher than 60° C., ammonia which has a comparatively high vapor pressure vaporizes comparatively quickly. Such vaporization of ammonia varies the composition of the APM and drops the washing capacity of the APM. In order to compensate for such vaporization of the APM to eliminate the drop of the washing capacity, an ammonia solution must be supplemented frequently (after each several minutes) to keep the composition ratio fixed.

Semiconductor washing solution and method of producing semiconductor device using the same


An N-Tiered enterprise and/or N-Tiered Web-based enterprise system and methods for managing, monitoring, coordinating the procedures of and optionally controlling a fleet of geosynchronous satellites through a distributed network such as the Internet. The system and associated object oriented software architecture seamlessly supports monitoring and analyzing real-time, near real-time, historical/playback, simulated and archived satellite telemetry as well as Tracking, Telemetry and Control (TT&C) ground system generated data products such as real-time alerts, archived alerts and ground system server statuses from a group of legacy distributed TT&C wide area network (WAN) ground station systems located around the world.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to managing satellite operations, and more specifically to a system and method for managing and controlling the access of telemetered information from one or more spacecraft.
2. Description of the Related Art
Existing systems and architectures designed to serve the commercial satellite service provider industry have a number of drawbacks. One drawback relates to the use of unsophisticated or outdated computer technology and software applications in managing satellite services. These systems are based, for example, on a client/server paradigm which is directed to very narrow objectives. The resulting systems and software architectures thus exhibit a design parsimoniousness commensurate with the narrow scope of these objectives. They have also proven to be unsuitable for use in enterprise applications, and are generally time-consuming to implement, difficult to maintain, complex to modify, and unreliable.
Various attempts have been made to overcome these problems. Most focus on using prohibitively expensive Commercial HTTP Server, J2EE Server database management software designed to improve reliability and expand functionality. This software and other hardware-based techniques which have been attempted, however, have proven to be unsatisfactory from both a cost and effectiveness standpoint. None of the system modifications, for example, have been able to provide an enterprise-based solution that may be integrated for use on a distributed network such as the Internet.
Another drawback relates to the failure to provide an integrated satellite management scheme. Many satellite service providers use separate software systems to manage satellites that are manufactured by different spacecraft vendors. These separate systems increase costs and the overall complexity of the management process.
In view of the foregoing consideration, it is therefore apparent that there is a need for an improved system and method for managing at least one and preferably a fleet of geosynchronous satellites.

System and method of providing N-tiered enterprise/web-based management, procedure coordination, and control of a geosynchronous satellite fleet


The present invention provides a mechanism (300, 400) and method (500) for rotating at least a first and second housing elements (120, 220) of a device (100) with respect to one another. The first and second housing elements (120, 240) have a common axis of rotation (190), which is substantially perpendicular to a front surface of the device (100). The mechanism (300, 400) includes a wheel (310, 410) having a rounded outer edge (312, 412), which engages a rounded surface (144) of a first housing element (220), which extends at least partly around the axis of rotation (190). The wheel (310, 410) is coupled to the second housing element (120) at a center point (316, 416) about which the wheel (310, 410) is adapted to rotate. The wheel (310, 410) further includes a contact point (318, 418) offset from a center point (316, 416). The mechanism (300, 400) further includes a tension device (320, 420) having a relatively fixed end (324, 424) and a relatively free end (322, 422), which when preloaded, is adapted for supplying a force. The mechanism (300, 400) still further includes a linkage (330, 430) coupled between the free end (322, 422) of the tension device (320, 420) and the offset contact point (318, 418) of the wheel (310, 410) for biasing the wheel (310, 410) toward rotation, and the rotation of the first and second housing elements (120, 220) relative to one another.

Portable electronic devices have many functions and come in a variety of different form factors. For purposes of convenience there is a general trend toward miniaturization of many types of portable electronic devices. Miniaturization generally makes it easier to carry the electronic device on one's self, including fitting the device into one's pocket/purse or attaching the device to one's belt.
While generally there is a motivation to shrink a device's form factor as much as possible, in several specific instances the extent to which the size of a device can be reduced is limited by other countervailing motivations. In some instances, the extent to which the size of a device can be reduced is limited by minimum size requirements that may be necessary for a person to conveniently use and/or interact with the device. For example, a keypad can only shrink so far before it becomes difficult to operate. A keypad generally needs to accommodate the size of the user's hands and/or fingers. Similarly, telephone handsets, which accommodate two-way communication, generally need to accommodate a microphone proximate a user's mouth and a speaker proximate a user's ear.
In order to meet these types of requirements, while otherwise attempting to minimize the devices overall size, many manufacturers have introduced devices having two part housings, which fold with respect to one another, thereby allowing the device to fold open when being used and to fold close when not being used. This allows a device, like a phone, to be more conveniently stored when not being used, and allows the device to expand to a convenient size commensurate with the usage needs.
Previous wireless communication devices have incorporated two part housings, which fold open when being used and fold closed when not being used. One such design includes a flip-type or clam shell design, which generally includes two housing portions coupled together by a hinge at one end of the device. The two parts of the housing rotate with respect to one another along an axis of rotation, which is parallel to the front surface of the device or front facing.
Further, previous wireless communication devices have incorporated a two part housing, which includes two housing portions that rotate with respect to one another around an axis of rotation, which is perpendicular to the front surface of the device. In at least one design, the housing portions can rotate to an open position in either a clockwise direction or a counter-clockwise direction. One such device is disclosed in U.S. application Ser. No. 09/826,180, entitled "Rotational Mechanism for a Wireless Communication Device", filed Apr. 4, 2001, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
A large number of these devices being portable in nature are of the type to be used by people away from home or work. In many instances, these individuals will attempt to use the device while performing other activities, where one or both of their hands are generally full or are otherwise engaged. In absence of a self-operating mechanism which accommodates the opening of the two part housing, or in other words, the rotation of the two housing portions with respect to one another, the device generally needs to be opened by separately gripping each housing portion and repositioning/rotating the housing portions, relative to one another. This generally requires that the user free up both hands for opening the device.
For at least flip-type device designs, previous automated opening mechanisms have been developed, which reduce the effort required for opening the device. In some instances the automated opening mechanism enables the device to be opened using a single hand. However, many of these devices incorporate a spring loaded mechanism held closed by a latch. By releasing the latch, the spring action causes the two portions of the housing to rotate with respect to one another into an opened position. Generally one or more physical stops are additionally incorporated to limit the rotational movement of the two parts relative to one another at one or both of the opened and closed positions.
One of the problems associated with using a latch is that latches can wear out or break. Furthermore, the direction of rotation for a mechanism incorporating a latch is often limited to a single direction. Still further, the non-symmetrical shape of the user's hand makes convenient placement of a latch more difficult, if one wants to accommodate both left and right-handed operation.
Consequently, there is a need for a self operating opening mechanism for use in a hand-held portable electronic device, including devices incorporating a two-part housing, where the two parts rotate with respect to one another along an axis of rotation that is substantially perpendicular to the front facing of the device. In addition, the desired mechanism should not compromise the stability and rigidity of the device in the opened and closed positions. It would be further beneficial if the mechanism could be conveniently operated with a single hand using either the right or the left hand, and still further beneficial if the mechanism could facilitate rotation of the two parts relative to one another in each of a clockwise and a counter-clockwise direction.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Self operating opening mechanism for use in a hand-held electronic device


A received electric field measuring section 11 measures the received electric fields from the communicative base station and the neighbor base stations. A received electric field memory section 12 stores received electric field patterns of the communicative base station and two given neighbor stations measured in the received electric field measuring section whenever the communicative base station for communication for the first time is switched over to one of the neighbor base stations. A received electric field pattern comparing section 13 compares the received electric field patterns of the communicative base station having and the two given neighbor stations and the received electric field patterns stored in the received electric field memory section whenever the received electric fields from the communicative base station been in communication with before and the two given neighbor base stations are measured in the received electric field measuring section. A base station position acquiring and switching means 14 and 15 acquires the position of a neighbor station, which the portable terminal is moving toward, in correspondence to a stored received electric field, which is found in the received electric field pattern comparing section to be identical in pattern with a measured received electric field, and switching the communicative base station over to the pertinent neighbor base station.

This application claims benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2000-163824 filed on May 31, 2000, the contents of which are incorporated by the reference.
The present invention relates to portable terminals such as portable telephone sets and to a communicative base station switching system of a portable terminal for effectively switching the frequency thereof over to the communicative frequencies of neighbor base stations in order to switch the communicative base station.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-284826 discloses a portable terminal, which switches the prevailing communicative base station over to a next frequency base station while in motion.
FIG. 10 is a view showing the relationship of the communicative areas covered by a portable terminal and base stations in the prior art. As shown in the Figure, a plurality of base stations A, B, C . . . are located around a communicative base station O. The communicative base station O and the neighbor base stations A, B, C . . . have fixed communicative areas with borderline parts thereof overlapping one another.
A portable terminal 10 such as a portable telephone set is located in the area of the communicative base station O and communicating with the base station O.
The communication of the portable terminal 10 with the communicative base station O and the neighbor base stations A, B, C, . . . is made at different frequencies.
When the portable terminal 10 in motion and in communication with the communicative base station O gets out the area of the communicative base station and enters one of the neighbor base stations A, B, C, . . . , it switches the base station 10 over to the maximum received power level neighbor base station after receiving the received power measurement of the neighbor base stations.
At the time of the switching, the portable terminal 10 measures the received power levels by switching frequencies quickly with a synthesizer at a predetermined frequency. The received power level measurement requires a predetermined time.
However, since the portable terminal 10 switches frequencies quickly, a problem is posed that the characteristics of some synthesizer are subject to deterioration.
In addition, in the portable terminal 10 the switching to the neighbor base stations always requires a predetermined time, and a problem is thus posed that switching process software is subject to great burden.

Portable telephone set and communication base station switching system


A first organic insulating film is arranged in a circumference area outside an active area on a first substrate. A circumference color filter is arranged in the circumference area on a second substrate. A second organic insulating film covers the circumference color filter. A seal material is arranged between the first and second organic insulating films to attach the first substrate and the second substrate. The seal material extends up to a position in which end portions of the first and second substrates overlap. A first spacer is arranged between the first and second organic insulating films in the circumference area. The first spacer is arranged on an active area side in the seal material. A second spacer is formed between the first and second organic insulating films in a position in which the end portions of the substrates overlap.

Liquid crystal display devices are widely used as typical display devices for various kinds of equipments. The liquid crystal display panel holding a liquid crystal layer between an array substrate and a counter substrate is manufactured using a large-sized mother substrate. That is, after manufacturing a plurality of liquid crystal display panels collectively, each liquid crystal display panel is obtained by cutting the mother substrate.
In recent years, a frame portion of the liquid crystal display panel, i.e., the width between an active area and a panel end tends to become narrow. More demand for the narrow frame is growing, more variations of location and width of a seal material to attach the array substrate and the counter substrate are resulted depending on accuracy of the seal material formation, and also variation of distance between a cut line of the mother substrate and an outer end of the seal material is easily resulted. For this reason, there is a possibility that variation in cutting accuracy may be caused due to the variation generated in the seal material.
On the other hand, a technology is proposed, in which a resin layer is arranged for banking seal material in the outside of seal formation areas, and respective pixels are cut down simultaneously from the mother substrate along the cut line provided between the adjacent resin layers.

Liquid crystal display device and method of manufacturing the same


A battery forklift includes a battery and a motor that includes a rotation shaft and is driven using the battery as a power source. A reduction device reduces the speed of rotation of the rotation shaft and transmits the rotation to an axle. A case accommodates the reduction device. A drive wheel is driven by rotation of the axle. The reduction device includes a helical gear rotated integrally with the rotation shaft and a drive shaft formed integrally with the helical gear and extended in a vertical direction. The reduction device further includes an upper bearing located above the helical gear to support the drive shaft rotatably relative to the case and a lower bearing located below the helical gear to support the drive shaft rotatably relative to the case. The case includes a communication portion that communicates a lower void located below the upper bearing and an upper void located above the upper bearing.

In such a battery forklift, it is important that the leakage of lubricating oil from a case that accommodates the reduction device be prevented. Patent document 1 describes an example of a structure that prevents the leakage of lubricating oil from a case.
Patent document 1 describes a reduction device that includes a housing accommodating a differential mechanism, which includes a drive pinion. The housing includes a differential carrier and a rear cover. The differential carrier includes a rotation support that rotatably supports the drive pinion. The drive pinion engages with and rotates a bevel gear that is partially immersed in lubricating oil in an oil reservoir formed in the housing. A restriction plate is arranged above the oil reservoir to limit excessive supply of lubricating oil. The restriction plate limits the amount of lubricating oil that is supplied to the rotation support when the bevel gear rotates. This prevents the leakage of lubricating oil from a gap formed between the rotation support and the housing.


A high strength steel sheet having (2-1) a base phase structure, the base phase structure being tempered martensite or tempered bainite and accounting for 50% or more in terms of a space factor relative to the whole structure, or the base phase structure comprising tempered martensite or tempered bainite which accounts for 15% or more in terms of a space factor relative to the whole structure and further comprising ferrite, the tempered martensite or the tempered bainite having a hardness which satisfies the relation of Vickers hardness (Hv)≧500[C]+30[Si]+3[Mn]+50 where [ ] represents the content (mass %) of each element, and (2-2) a second phase structure comprising retained austenite which accounts for 3 to 30% in terms of a space factor relative to the whole structure and optionally further comprising bainite and/or martensite, the retained austenite having a C concentration (CγR) of 0.8% or more.

Steel sheets used after pressing in automobiles and industrial machines are required to possess both high strength and high ductility, which requirement has been becoming more and more strong in recent years.
Heretofore, as a steel sheet having both high strength and high ductility there has been known a composite ferrite-martensite steel sheet [dual phase (DP) steel sheet] comprising ferrite as a base and a low temperature transformation structure contained therein which structure is constituted mainly by marternsite (see, for example, JP-A No. 122820/1980). This steel sheet is not only superior in ductility but also characteristic in that yield elongation does not appear due to a large quantity of free dislocation introduced into a martensite producing region, and yield stress becomes lower, and that therefore a shape freezing characteristic in working is satisfactory. By making control to the aforesaid structure there is obtained a steel sheet high in tensile strength (TS) and superior in elongation (El) characteristic, but inferior in stretch flange formability [hole expanding property (local ductility)].
On the other hand, as a steel sheet superior in stretch flange formability there is known a two-phase steel sheet of ferrite and bainite (see, for example, JP-A No. 145965/1982). This steel sheet, in comparison with the above DP steel sheet, is superior not only in stretch-flange formability but also in resistance-weldability (especially there is no softening of a heat affected zone) and in fatigue characteristic. However, there is a problem that the steel sheet in question is inferior in elongation characteristic.
Further, there is known a retained austenite steel sheet wherein retained austenite (γR) is produced within the structure and undergoes induced transformation (strain induced transformation: TRIP) during deformation in working to improve ductility. For example, JP-A No. 43425/1985 discloses a steel sheet which is high in strength and extremely superior in ductility and which is produced by controlling the structure of a composite phase steel sheet into a structure having 10% or more of ferrite and 10% or more of γR in terms of volume fraction, with the balance being bainite or martensite or a mixture thereof. It is described in the above unexamined publication that with such a structure, not only the strain induced transformation effect of γR but also high ductility is exhibited by soft ferrite, resulting in ductility being ensured by ferrite and γR and strength ensured by bainite and martensite. However, also in the case of this steel sheet, like the foregoing DP steel, there has been a problem of stretch flange formability being unsatisfactory.
In view of the above-mentioned problems, studies have been made for providing a steel sheet superior in such formability as stretch flange formability (hole expanding property) while ensuring good strength-ductility balance based on γR. JP-A No. 104947/1997 discloses a steel sheet having a three-phase microstructure of ferrite, bainite and γR and with a ferrite occupancy rate/ferrite grain size ratio and γR occupancy rate being controlled to predetermined ranges. This is based on the following knowledge: "An increase of γR brings about improvement of strength-ductility balance and of total elongation and the effect thereof is enhanced by microstructurization; further, as γR becomes finer, formability such as stretch flange formability is also improved." However, the improvement in stretch flange formability is low and it is keenly desired to provide a high strength steel sheet further superior in stretch flange formability.
Further, for the application of a high strength steel sheet to automobile components, especially such structural members as automobile body members and frames or suspension members such as suspensions and wheels, it is required for the steel sheet to be superior not only in the foregoing elongation and stretch flange formabilitybut also in fatigue characteristic [fatigue endurance ratio (fatigue strength/yield strength)]. Generally, low alloy TRIP steels involve the problem that their fatigue characteristics are deteriorated by martensite of a second phase structure (martensite resulting from transformation of retained austenite).
Further, in applying a high strength steel sheet to suspension members of an automobile as referred to above, it is required for the steel sheet to be superior in bake hardening property (BH property). As to this BH property, it is presumed that, by baking finish after working, C (solid solution C) dissolved supersaturatedly in ferrite is fixed to dislocation in the ferrite which has been introduced during working, with consequent increase in yield strength of the steel sheet, thus leading to improvement of BH property.
However, since there is a limit to the amount of the solid solution C capable of being present supersaturatedly in ferrite, it is difficult to attain a predetermined or higher BH property. For example, there is a problem such that a large deformation results in marked deterioration of BH property, not affording a sufficient strength. For example, also in JP-A No. 297350/2000 there is disclosed a high tensile strength hot-rolled steel sheet, but the present inventors have found out that BH (10%) is about zero although BH (2%) is high.

High strength steel sheet having excellent formability and method for production thereof

Kabushiki Kaisha Kobe Seiko Sho (Kobe Steel, Ltd.)


A method of marketing items comprising: publicizing an auction to sell at least one item, accepting a preset number of price bids for the items, applying at least one cancellation rule to selectively cancel zero or more bids, selecting one or more bids closest to a preselected low sum to receive the item, wherein the low sum is less than 1% of a list price of the item.

Sales people are generally interested in marketing strategies, which will draw the attention of potential buyers and increase sales. The seller is interested in maximizing profit, whereas the buyers are interested in minimizing cost.
An auction is a marketing game wherein the item price is set according to the price the participants are willing to pay. Generally, the larger the audience the more likely the price will be high. Many methods of getting together large audiences without physically bringing the people together have been used over the past years. One method is by broadcasting the auction on television, for example on a sales channel and accepting bids live by telephone. A second method is by publicizing the items in a newspaper and accepting bids by telephone until a selected time. A third method is by conducting the auction on the Internet, for example as implemented by Ebay (www.ebay.com).
In some cases, the auction organizers charge a fee from the seller and/or bidder and/or charge a percentage of the closing deal to cover organization costs.
In an auction method suggested by Max Price Ltd. (www.maxprice.co.il), the organizers charge a fee from the bidders and use some of the fee to subsidize the item price for the buyer offering the winning bid. In Max Price the buyer is offered an item at up to 20% or less of its list price. The buyer who gives the highest bid up to the maximum price (up to 20% or less of the list price) wins the item on condition that no other bidder offered the same price. Duplicate bids are canceled and do not participate.
Another auction method called the upside-down auction similarly subsidizes the item for a winning bid. In the upside-down auction the items are offered at a minimal price which is equal to the Israeli VAT (value added tax) of the item list price (17 or 18% of the list price). In the upside down auction the lowest non-duplicate bid wins the item at the bid price.
In Max Price and upside-down auction the games attempt to reduce the price for the buyer while not damaging the profit of the seller. Generally the actual sale price is very close to the maximal price of Max Price and/or the minimal price of Min Price since a difference of 100.00 in the price represents 10,000 different bid values. In most cases the number of bids allowed for an item before closing bidding on the item is less than this value, therefore the bids generally deviate only by a small percent from the selected price.


A multicore processor system includes a processor configured to detect, among cores that have booted with an old boot program in the multicore processor, a core to which no process is assigned; change upon detecting a core to which no process is assigned, a reference area from a storage area for the old boot program to a storage area for a new boot program; and notify the core to which no process is assigned of a reboot instruction specifying the reference area after the change.

Conventional mobile terminals have to suspend the execution of an application(s) during an update of an operating system (hereinafter, "OS"). As a result, a user cannot utilize the operation (hereinafter, "function") of the application(s) during the update. Thus, the OS is updated at hours such as midnight during which the frequency of use by the user decreases. However, different from general-purpose computers, the embedded system of the mobile terminal is supposed to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Thus, the suspension of the execution has been a problem.
For servers, two methods for updating the OS without any suspension have been suggested. One of the methods (hereinafter, "conventional technology 1") has a stand-by system other than the main system and causes the stand-by system to operate during the update of the main system (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication Nos. S54-106146 and 2003-330744). The other one of the methods controls a virtual machine to execute software including the OS during the update (hereinafter, "conventional technology 2").
However, the conventional technologies 1 and 2 have a problem of an increased scale and/or cost of the embedded system. On the other hand, without the substituting stand-by system or the virtual machine, the execution has to be suspended.
As described above, the embedded system of the mobile terminal is supposed to operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. However, there has been a problem in that the user cannot utilize the function during the update and the execution has to be suspended.

Multicore processor system, computer product, and notification method for updating operating system


The multilayer body 1 is constructed by alternately laminating a plurality of dielectric layers 11 to 22 and a plurality of first and second inner electrodes 31 to 34, 31 to 34. The first inner electrodes 31 to 34 are electrically connected to each other through the first connecting conductor 7. The first inner electrode 31 is electrically connected to the first terminal electrode 3 through the lead conductor 37. The second inner electrodes 41 to 44 are electrically connected to each other through the second connecting conductor 9. The second inner electrode 44 is electrically connected to the second terminal electrode 5 through the lead conductor 47. The first inner electrode 31 and the second inner electrode 44 are arranged at respective positions symmetrical to each other about the center position M in the laminating direction of the multilayer body 1.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a multilayer capacitor.
2. Related Background Art
Known as this kind of multilayer capacitor is one comprising a multilayer body in which a plurality of dielectric layers and a plurality of inner electrodes are alternately laminated, and a plurality of terminal electrodes formed on the multilayer body (see, for example, Patent Document 1).
Power supplies for central processing units (CPUs) mounted in digital electronic devices have been lowering their voltage but increasing their load current. This has made it very difficult to suppress fluctuations of power voltage within a tolerable range in response to drastic changes in load current. Therefore, a multilayer capacitor known as decoupling capacitor has come into connection with power supplies. This multilayer capacitor supplies a current to a CPU at the time when the load current transiently fluctuates, so as to restrain the power voltage from fluctuating.
As the CPUs have recently been raising their frequencies, the load current has been becoming faster and greater, thus demanding the multilayer capacitor used for the decoupling capacitor to increase their equivalent series resistance (ESR) as well as capacity.
[Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. HEI 9-148174


Methods and apparatus for providing additional storage, in the form of a hardware assisted stack, usable by software running an environment with limited resources. As an example, the hardware assisted stack may provide additional stack space to VBIOS code that is accessible within its limited allocated address space.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to shared stacks in computing devices and more specifically to a system and method for a hardware assisted stack that may alleviate demands on a shared stack.
2. Description of the Related Art
Under the typical operating environment of a personal computer (PC), when the PC is powered up, it undergoes a boot process. This boot process typically involves one or more self-tests and executing a boot program stored permanently in read only memory (ROM) that contains the PC's basic input/output system (SBIOS) code. The SBIOS code typically performs a number of initialization routines (e.g., initializing main memory, disk drives, etc.) that prepare the system for normal usage.
The SBIOS may also call other routines in ROM (referred to as Option ROM functions) to perform various initialization routines. The routines to initialize a display device, commonly referred to as the video BIOS (or VBIOS) is one example of such an Option ROM. There is no standard specification which guarantees the amount of writeable memory (stack) space for Option ROMs. Therefore, when calling an Option ROM function, such as VBIOS, adequate local stack space must be provided for the ROM functionality to operate properly.
Unfortunately, there is typically only a limited amount of stack space available as a shared resource to all processes running at any given time. The amount of stack space required to be passed to the VBIOS is not typically defined, and a certain level of compatibility is typically empirically confirmed by execution of a number of existing (or "legacy") software/hardware configurations. Newer products typically are designed to be backwards compatible with many legacy system configurations. Thus, the design typically includes empirically checking that the VBIOS does not exceed the stack usage limitations of these legacy configurations.
However, increasingly complex support requirements of newer PC configurations beyond the original IBM VGA design (e.g., to support multiple display heads, flat panels, high definition television-HDTV displays, and the like) have resulted in more complex software in the VBIOS. This increase in complexity tends to conflict with the stack usage limitations of legacy systems, as more stack space is required. In other words, the code added to VBIOS to support these increasingly complex requirements tends to consume more and more of a very limited resource (the stack) that all the software running in that environment has to share.
Eventually, a collision may occur where some software code runs out of stack space with potentially catastrophic effects. For example, return addresses pushed onto the stack may be lost such that programs that made calls to routines may not be able to return to the proper location in the code (from where the call was made), other types of precious data may be lost, and the PC may be rendered unusable. Access to additional memory resources that could be used by the VBIOS to accommodate increased stack requirements are limited, as the VBIOS execution environment does not allow for dynamic memory allocation from which a new stack may be created.
Accordingly, what is needed is a method and system to provide additional stack space in systems with limited shared stack resources.

System and method for hardware assisted stack


A measurement apparatus for measuring a substrate, on which a measurement object is formed, and a correction method of the same is shown. The correction method includes measuring a reference phase by measuring a phase of a substrate for measuring the reference phase by using an image-capture part, acquiring a tilted pose of a reference plane of the measured reference phase to an image plane of the image-capture part, and calculating a height that is required to correct the reference plane with regard to the image-capture part based on the tilted pose. Therefore, based on a tilted pose of a reference phase in order to correct a reference plane being a reference of measuring a height, a measurement credibility of the measurement object may be improved.

Generally, an electronic device has a substrate to control the operation of the electronic device. Especially, an electronic device having a substrate that has a central processing unit (CPU) to central-control the electronic device. The CPU is an important part of the electronic device, so to check the credibility of the CPU, an inspection test should be performed to test whether the CPU is properly on the substrate.
Recently, in order to measure a substrate, on which a measurement object is formed, a measurement apparatus having a projection part that includes an illuminating-source and a lattice-device to provide a pattern-light towards a measurement object and, an image-capture part that image-captures a pattern-image by providing a pattern-light, is used to inspect a substrate having a measurement object.
However, while inspecting a substrate having a measurement object, a distortion of the inspection data may occur due to an optical system itself having a distortion of the optical system that is installed in the measurement apparatus. In addition, a distortion of the inspection data may also occur by a tilted pose of the substrate due to the image plane of the image-capture part and a plane of the measurement object on a substrate may not be parallel due to two-dimensional measurement that does not consider a tilted pose of the substrate.

Measurement apparatus and correction method of the same


Embodiments of the present invention comprise systems and methods for identifying and separating noise from an image.

Noise in digital images can comprise high-frequency elements that can add significantly to the size of a compressed image. Noise can also detract from the visual aspects of an image. However, many noise removal techniques can also remove high-frequency image elements such as edges thereby degrading the fine detail of the image. Noise removal methods that preserve image detail can increase image compression and other attributes while maintaining image quality.

Methods and systems for image noise processing


A circuit board electrically connected to a chip includes a substrate and a circuit layer. A first conductive line of the circuit layer includes a main line and a branch lead connected with each other. The branch lead provided to increase lead quantity for bonding with the chip includes an extension part and a bonding part which is used for bonding a bump of the chip. During thermal compression, gaps existing between the extension part and the main line and between the bonding part and the main line can prevent solder on the main line from flowing toward the bump and overflowing from the branch lead.

As shown in FIG. 1, thermal compression is a conventional flip-chip bonding technology to bond bumps 21 of a chip (not shown) to inner leads 12 on a chip mounting area 11 of a substrate 10. The quantity of the bumps 21 used to electrically connect with the inner leads 12 is increased with increasing functions of the chip, and solder short between the adjacent bumps is likely to happen if the chip mounting area is reduced or not changed.


A pharmaceutical composition suitable for oral administration comprising particles of 2-(1,5-dimethyl-3-phenyl-1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-N-(4-(4-(5-fluoropyrimidin-2-yl)piperazin-1-yl)phenyl)-2- oxoacetamideis provided. Also provided is a pharmaceutical composition suitable for parenteral administration wherein the composition comprises 2-(1,5-dimethyl-3-phenyl-1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-N-(4-(4-(5-fluoropyrimidin-2-yl)piperazin-1-yl)phenyl)-2-oxoacetamide. The compositions are useful in the treatment of fungal infection in a subject in need thereof.

Invasive fungal infections are well recognised as diseases of the immunocompromised host. Over the last twenty years there have been significant rises in the number of recorded instances of fungal infection. In part this is due to increased awareness and improved diagnosis of fungal infection. However, the primary cause of this increased incidence is the vast rise in the number of susceptible individuals. This is due to a number of factors including new and aggressive immunosuppressive therapies, increased survival in intensive care, increased numbers of transplant procedures and the greater use of antibiotics worldwide.
In certain patient groups, fungal infection occurs at high frequency; lung transplant recipients have a frequency of up to 20% colonisation and infection with a fungal organism and fungal infection in allogenic haemopoetic stem cell transplant recipients is as high as 15% (Ribaud et al., 1999, Clin Infect Dis. 28:322-30).
Recently there has been increased awareness of the contribution of fungal sensitisation, colonisation, allergy and localised infection in the exacerbation of existing respiratory diseases. Here fungi have been implicated in asthma, COPD, brochiectasis and cystic fibrosis. Allergic bronchopulmonary aspergillosis (ABPA) is a lower respiratory tract condition caused by fungal colonisation, typically by Apsergillus fumigatus. ABPA can be seen in asthmatics at a rate of 0.7-3.5% and cystic fibrosis at a rate of 7-9%.
Currently there are four classes of antifungal drug are available to treat systemic fungal infections. These are the polyenes (e.g., amphotericin B), the azoles (e.g., ketoconazole or itraconazole), the echinocandins (e.g., caspofungin) and flucytosine.
The polyenes are the oldest class of antifungal agent being first introduced in the 1950's. The exact mode of action remains unclear but polyenes are only effective against organisms that contain sterols in their outer membranes. It has been proposed that amphotericin B interacts with membrane sterols to produce pores allowing leakage of cytoplasmic components and subsequent cell death.
Azoles work by inhibition of the 14a-demethylase via a cytochrome P450-dependent mechanism. This leads to a depletion of the membrane sterol ergosterol and the accumulation of sterol precursors resulting in a plasma membrane with altered fluidity and structure. Echinocandins work by the inhibition of the cell wall synthetic enzyme β-glucan synthase. This leads to abnormal cell wall formation, osmotic sensitivity and cell lysis.
Flucytosine is a pyrimidine analogue interfering with cellular pyrimidine metabolism as well DNA, RNA and protein synthesis. However widespread resistance to flucyotosine limits its therapeutic use.
It can be seen that to date the currently available antifungal agents act primarily against only two cellular targets; membrane sterols (polyenes and azoles) and β-glucan synthase (echinocandins).
Resistance to both azoles and polyenes has been widely reported leaving only the recently introduced echinocandins to combat invasive fungal infections. As the use of echinocandins increases, resistance by fungi will inevitably occur.
The identification of new classes of antifungal agent is required to give the promise of positive therapeutic outcomes to patients.
Pyrrole compounds have also been identified as antifungal agents. WO 2009/130481 discloses pyrrole compounds that may be used in the prevention or treatment of fungal disease.


A belt lacing is provided for conveyor belts of the type used in installans with a trough zone, where the conveyor belt is supported on both sides curved towards the top. The conveyor belt ends are joined together with a hinge joint or lacing, which is exclusively located outside of the curved sections of the trough zone of the conveyor belt. The hinge joint or lacing contains coupling eyes which are fastened to the conveyor belt and at least one connecting pin, which passes through the intermeshing coupling eyes. The conveyor belt excels because of the minor wear in laterally flexing transition areas of the conveyor belt during passage through the trough zone. Moreover, it is simply constructed and can be manufactured in an uncomplicated way.

The invention pertains to a conveyor belt for use in a conveyor installation with a trough zone or the like, wherein the opposite sides of the conveyor belt are supported in an upwardly extending fashion by rollers or the like. The conveyor belt ends are connected to one another with a hinge joint or lacing, which consists of coupling eyes fastened to the conveyor belt ends, and at least one coupling rod or pin passing through associated coupling eyes, which are arranged in intermeshing order.
Conveyor belts for use in conveyor installations with a trough zone are well-known in the art, as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 3,175,358. In such installations, the coupling rod is formed in a one-piece construction, and the coupling eyes are fastened to each end of the conveyor belt, in closely spaced intervals, and extend along the entire width of the conveyor belt. A flexible coupling rod passes through the intermeshing coupling eyes of both conveyor belt ends. Starting from the drive pulley of the conveyor belt at the beginning of the conveyor installation, where the conveyor belt is essentially level, the conveyor belt then proceeds through a "trough zone" where the belt is forced into a laterally cupped or curved configuration by supporting rollers on both sides of the conveyor belt. The curvature of the conveyor belt is on a plane perpendicular to the transport direction of the conveyor belt, and is rendered possible because of the lateral flexibility of the coupling rod, and the clearance distance between adjacent coupling eyes.
The disadvantage of current conveyor belt designs is that the hinge joint or lacing in the curved or cupped area of the splice is exposed to increased wear, which significantly decreases the performance time of the lacing and associated conveyor belt. Also, in the cupped or curved section of the conveyor belt, the intermeshed pairs of coupling eyes, which form the splice, bend over and jam against each other, which tends to lead to even greater wear problems. It is easy to see that in the sides of the cupped section of the trough zone, where the conveyor belt is not directly supported, and where the rollers are set up in an obtuse angle, the conveyor belt, and thus also the hinge joint, are noticeably compressed into the space between the support rollers, because of the way the weight of the transported goods acts upon the conveyor belt and causes the pairs of fasteners to jam and bend even more.

Conveyor belt and lacing system therefor

Mato Maschinen-und Metallwarenfabrik Curt Matthaei GmbH & Co. KG


Devices, such as light-emitting devices (e.g., LEDs), and methods associated with such devices are provided. A light-emitting device may include an interface including a first region and a second region. The first region having a dielectric function that varies spatially according to a first pattern, and the second region having a dielectric function that varies spatially according to a second pattern, wherein the second pattern is a rotation of the first pattern. A method of forming a light-emitting device is provided. The method comprises forming an interface comprising a first region and a second region. The first region having a dielectric function that varies spatially according to a first pattern, and the second region having a dielectric function that varies spatially according to a second pattern, wherein the second pattern is a rotation of the first pattern.

There are a variety of light-emitting devices, such as light-emitting diodes (LEDs), laser diodes, and optical amplifiers, which can emit light and which may be used in various applications. The emitted light may be characterized by numerous metrics, including light extraction, collimation, and azimuthal isotropy. Light extraction is a measure of the amount of light emitted as compared to the amount of light generated within the light-emitting device. Collimation is a measure of the angular deviation of emitted light with respect to the normal of the emission surface of the light-emitting device. Azimuthal isotropy (or uniformity) is a measure of the uniformity of light emitted versus an azimuthal angle, hereafter sometimes referred to simply as isotropy.
Each of the above-mentioned metrics of a light-emitting device may play an important role in determining the suitability of a particular light-emitting device for different applications. In general, light extraction relates to device efficiency, since any light generated by the device which is not extracted can result in decreased efficiency. Light collimation can be of importance if an application that incorporates the light-emitting device operates more efficiently, and/or with fewer optical components, as a result of the collimated light emission. Azimuthal isotropy may be of significance in applications where isotropic light emission is desired, and where isotropic light emission may reduce or eliminate the need for additional optical components.
As such, in many applications, it can be desirable to tailor light extraction, collimation, and/or azimuthal isotropy.

Patchwork patterned devices and related methods