A reflection-type liquid crystal display device includes a first substrate, a second substrate facing the first substrate and carrying projections and depressions, a reflective electrode on the second substrate so as to cover the projections and depressions and in electrical contact with a switching device provided on the second substrate via a contact hole, and a negative liquid crystal layer between the first and second substrates, wherein the contact hole is disposed centrally to the reflection electrode and a structure controlling alignment of liquid crystal molecules in the liquid crystal layer is disposed so as to overlap the contact hole viewed in a direction perpendicular to the second substrate.

The present invention generally relates to reflection-type liquid crystal display devices used in a low-power apparatuses such as portable terminals.
A reflection-type liquid crystal display device is a liquid crystal display device that achieves display of images by incorporating environmental light such as interior illumination light or sunlight and causing the same to reflect toward an observer by means of a reflector.
Because of the operational principle, the reflection-type liquid crystal display device does not need a backlight and has an advantageous feature of low power consumption. Thus, reflection-type liquid crystal display devices are used extensively for portable terminals.
In order to achieve bright and clear representation of images in a reflection-type liquid crystal display device, it is necessary to design the liquid crystal display device such that as much environmental light as possible is incorporated and reflected toward the observer in the white representation mode and that the reflection of the incorporated light toward the observer is suppressed as much as possible in the black representation mode.
Thus, there is a proposal of a reflection-type liquid crystal display device that uses a phase-change type guest-host (GH) mode (D. L. White and G. N. Taylor, J. Appl. Phys. 45, pp. 4718, 1974). Because a GH-mode reflection-type liquid crystal display device does not require a polarizer, there is a distinct advantage in such a GH-mode reflection-type liquid crystal display device that a bright representation is achieved in the white representation mode.
On the other hand, a GH-mode liquid crystal display device has a drawback in that a bright representation is obtained also in the back representation mode and the contrast ratio is limited to the range of 5-6.
Meanwhile, there is a proposal of a reflection-type liquid crystal display device of a twisted nematic mode that uses a single polarizer as in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 6-11711.
This conventional reflection-type liquid crystal display device is basically a horizontally oriented liquid crystal device in which liquid crystals having a positive dielectric anisotropy are twisted. In the foregoing conventional reflection-type liquid crystal display device, the incoming environmental light is converted to a linear polarization light by a polarizer, and the linearly polarized light thus obtained is passed through a liquid crystal layer or a phase compensation film having a ¼-wavelength retardation, so that there is achieved a 90 degree angle of polarization plane between the incident light passed through the polarizer and the reflection light returning to the polarizer.
Thus, in this conventional liquid crystal display device, the black representation is achieved by absorbing the rotated reflection light by the polarizer. Because of the use of the polarizer, the foregoing conventional liquid crystal display device can provide only about 40% of brightness in the while representation mode as compared with the case of the GH-mode liquid crystal display device. However, the liquid crystal display device can achieve a contrast ratio of 12-14 in view of efficient absorption of the light in the black representation mode.
Further, there is a proposal of improving the contrast ratio in a TN-mode liquid crystal display device by way of compensating for the black representation, by reducing the amount of retardation of the phase compensation film by the magnitude of the residual retardation of the liquid crystal layer. See Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 11-311784. With this, the contrast ratio is improved to about 16-18.
In a reflection-type liquid crystal display device, the visibility of representation is defined by brightness and contrast ratio. Thus, a high visibility is achieved even in the case of low contrast ratio when the representation is bright. When the representation is dark, on the other hand, a large contrast ratio is required. See The Journal of the Institute of Television Engineers of Japan, Vol. 50, No. 8, pp. 1091-1095 (1996).
A contrast ratio of about 12 is needed in order to realize the visibility comparable to that of a GH-mode liquid crystal display device by using a liquid crystal display device having a single polarizer, the latter liquid crystal display device can provide the brightness of only 40% of the brightness of a GH-mode liquid crystal display device. By using the technology noted in the above reference, it becomes possible to achieve a contrast ratio of 16-18 by using a T-N mode liquid crystal display device.
Because of the foregoing reason, and further in view of better reliability, a TN-mode liquid crystal display device having a single polarizer is used widely in these days for a reflection-type liquid crystal display device.
In a TN-mode liquid crystal display device having a single polarizer, it should be noted that the upper and lower substrates are subjected to rubbing processing in different directions so as to realize the twisted structure in the liquid crystal layer. As a consequence, the anchoring direction of the liquid crystal layer is not coincident in the upper and lower substrates.
Because of this, the technology of the foregoing Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 11-311784 sets the retardation axis of the phase compensation film at the angle intermediate between the upper and lower anchoring directions so as to compensate for the synthetic vector of the upper and lower anchoring directions. However, this construction cannot compensate for the residual retardation of the liquid crystal layer at the upper and lower substrates individually and the compensation for the black representation remains incomplete.
Meanwhile, there is a proposal of a reflection-type liquid crystal display device of vertically aligned (VA)-mode that uses a single polarizer (See Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 6-337421).
In such a VA-mode liquid crystal display device, the On and Off operation is just the opposite as in the case of a TN-mode liquid crystal display device. On the other hand, the operational features of: converting the incoming environmental light to linearly polarized light by the polarizer; rotating the polarization plane of the linearly polarized light thus obtained by 90 degrees by using a liquid crystal layer or a phase compensation film having a retardation of about ¼ wavelength of visible light; and causing the polarizer to absorb the rotated linearly polarized light in the black representation mode, are identical between the foregoing VA-mode liquid crystal display device and the TN-mode liquid crystal display device.
On the other hand, the VA-mode reflection-type liquid crystal display device is advantageous in the point that there remains no liquid crystal layer causing anchoring at the liquid crystal/substrate interface in the black representation mode contrary to the case of the TN-mode liquid crystal display device because of the fact that the black representation mode is achieved in the VA-mode reflection-type liquid crystal display device in the state no voltage is applied to the liquid crystal layer. Thereby, the contrast ratio of image representation is improved significantly.
In this way, the VA-mode reflection-type liquid crystal display device has an advantageous feature of high contrast ratio and excellent visibility.
On the other hand, there still exist problems to be solved in such a VA-mode reflection-type liquid crystal display device particularly with regard to the control of alignment of the liquid crystal molecules.
More specifically, a VA-mode liquid crystal display device generally uses a vertical alignment film, while the performance of such a vertical alignment film may be degraded seriously when subjected to a rubbing process. For example, there may be caused defective display of images such as uneven brightness extending in the form of streaks.
Because of this reason, there is a need of achieving alignment control of liquid crystal molecules in a VA-mode liquid crystal display device by means other than rubbing.
In the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 10-301112, for example, the alignment control of the liquid crystal molecules is achieved by providing a slit extending obliquely in a reflection electrode on the opposite substrate, such that there is induced an oblique electric field between the upper and lower substrates upon application of a voltage.
This technology, on the other hand, has a drawback in that the overall reflectivity of the pixels is reduced because the part of the liquid crystal layer located immediately on the slit does not undergo switching and the visibility of the image representation is not very much improved even when the contrast ratio is improved.
Thus, there has been a need of improving the contrast ratio without sacrificing the reflectivity in a VA-mode liquid crystal display device.
Meanwhile, a reflection-type liquid crystal display device generally has a problem of the visibility influenced heavily by the optical environment such that the visibility of the images is degraded seriously in the dark optical environment. With this respect, a transmission-type liquid crystal display device having a backlight provides far superior visibility. On the other hand, a transmission-type liquid crystal display device suffers from the problem of poor visibility in the bright optical environment in that the obtained visibility is inferior to the visibility achieved by the reflection-type liquid crystal display device.
Thus, in order to improve the foregoing problems, there has been proposals such as using a front light in combination with a reflection-type liquid crystal display device, or a reflection-type liquid crystal display device having a semi-transparent reflection film.
The approach of using a front light, however, suffers from the problem in that the contrast ratio achieved in the dark optical environment may be inferior to the contrast ratio of the direct-view type transmission-type liquid crystal display device. In the bright optical environment, on the other hand, there may arise another problem in that the representation becomes dark as compared with the conventional reflection-type liquid crystal display device because of the existence of the front light.
In the case of using a semi-transparent film, a metal thin film is generally used for this purpose. However, a metal thin film has a large absorption coefficient and has a problem in the efficiency of utilization of light. Further, the metal thin film suffers from the problem of conspicuous variation of transmittance because of the in-plane variation of film thickness. It should be noted that such a metal thin film is generally provided by a thin Al film having a thickness of about 30 nm. Currently, it is difficult for form a metal thin film with uniform thickness over a wide display area.
In order to eliminate the foregoing problem, there has been a proposal in the Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication 11-281972 in which there is provided a transparent window by means of a transparent electrode such as ITO (In2O3.SnO2) at the central part of the pixels. According to this conventional proposal, the foregoing problems are eliminated and it became possible to construct a reflection-transmission-type liquid crystal display device.
On the other hand, the foregoing conventional proposal of the reflection-transmission-type liquid crystal display device has needed formation of projections and depressions on a planarized film and formation of a step in the transmission region by forming a hole. Further, the foregoing technology requires formation of both the transparent electrode (ITO) and the reflection electrode (Al) and further the formation of a barrier metal film for preventing electrolytic corrosion, which may be caused at the contacting part of the Al pattern and the ITO pattern. Thus, the fabrication process of the liquid crystal display device is complex and the cost of fabrication could not be reduced.
Further, the conventional reflection-type liquid crystal display device, relying upon the principle of optical switching caused by retardation of the liquid crystal layer, has to be designed to have a cell thickness of ½ of the wavelength of the visible light in the transmission region and a cell thickness of ¼ of the wavelength of the visible light in the reflection region. However, such a structure has been difficult to produce.

Reflection-type liquid crystal display device and fabrication process thereof


Modifications to SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) are made which significantly extend the functionality of SIP. SIP messages are associated with computer software code such as Java byte code, Java applets or mobile autonomous software agents. SIP clients are arranged such that on receipt of a SIP message that has been associated with computer software code, that code is executed by a processor associated with the SIP client. In the case that Java applets are contained in a SIP message these are executed by a Java Virtual Machine associated with the SIP client. If a Java mobile agent is contained in the SIP message this executes on a Java Mobile Agent Virtual Machine associated with the SIP client. Preferably an indicator is put into the header of a SIP message to indicate that it has been associated with computer software code, and SIP clients are arranged to detect the presence of such indicators.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method communicating between a first and a second node in a communications network, each of the nodes comprising a SIP client. The invention also relates to a communications network node comprising a SIP client arranged to implementing the method, a computer program for controlling the communications network node and a communications network incorporating such a node. The invention also relates to a method of setting up a conference call between more than two parties using the method of communication.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Session initiation protocol (SIP) is used to set up communications sessions such as data or voice communication sessions between two SIP clients. SIP is a simple signalling protocol for Internet conferencing and telephony and details about SIP are available on the Internet at www.cs.columbia.edu\˜hgs\sip\ and also in the document "Request for comments (RFC) 2543 SIP: Session Initiation Protocol" Handley, et al. March 1999 available from the internet site listed above. As well as being used to set up communications sessions, SIP is also used to modify and terminate sessions with one or more participants. For example, these sessions may be Internet multimedia conferences, internet telephone calls and multimedia distribution. Communication between members of a session is via multicast or a mesh of unicast relations, or a combination of these. Using SIP, session descriptions that allow participants to agree on a set of compatible media types may be used. Also, user mobility is supported by proxying and redirecting requests to a user's current location. As well as this SIP is not tied to any particular conference control protocol. However, the standard SIP protocol only supports a limited set of functionality and this is a significant drawback.
Multimedia teleconferencing and other conference calls are a complicated service for an end user to use. Because of this complexity many conferences experience problems or interrupts as various users set up the calls incorrectly. Central manual operators are often required to set-up the calls and this is expensive.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a method of communicating between a first and a second node in a communications network where those nodes each comprise a SIP client, which overcomes or at least mitigates one or more of the problems noted above.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

SIP messages carrying executable computer software code


An integrated circuit device includes first and second arrays of semiconductor dice. Each array of dice is arranged in face-to-face relation to the other array of dice, thus forming a lower layer of dice and an upper layer of dice. The layers are aligned so that each upper layer die straddles two or more of the lower layer dice, thus defining overlap regions. In the overlap regions, signal pads of one layer are aligned with corresponding signal pads of the other layer. The two layers are spaced apart, thus creating a capacitance-based communication path between the upper and lower layers via the signal paths.

This invention relates generally to the field of semiconductor integrated circuits, and more specifically to communication among a collection of integrated circuits.
Integrated circuit chips ordinarily communicate with one another through external wiring. Typically, this wiring lies on a printed circuit board. In order to adapt the tiny dimensions of the integrated circuit to the larger dimensions of the wires on the printed circuit board, the integrated circuit is mounted in a xe2x80x9cpackagexe2x80x9d made of plastic or ceramic. The package is large enough for people to handle easily and also provides mechanical protection for the chip.
Integral to the package are a collection of metal conductors, one for each connection required on the integrated circuit. At one end, these conductors are large and physically strong enough to attach to the printed circuit board. At the other end, these conductors are of a scale similar to that of the integrated circuit. The actual connection between the integrated circuit and these package conductors is generally a gold or aluminum xe2x80x9cbonding wirexe2x80x9d that is welded to a pad on the integrated circuit at one end and to the small end of a package conductor at the other.
Thus, there are a series of conductors of varying size between one integrated circuit and the next. First, on the integrated circuit itself, a typical conductor leading from a circuit to the periphery of the integrated circuit is about one micron in width or less. Second, still on the integrated circuit, relatively large transistors drive a bonding pad on the periphery of the integrated circuit. Such bonding pads are about 100 microns square, a very large area when compared with other parts of the integrated circuit. Third, there is the bonding wire connected to the integrated circuit at the bonding pad. The bonding wire is typically 25 micronsin diameter and 400 microns in length and provides the external connection to the bonding pad. Fourth, there is the conductor in the package that connects the bonding wire to the outside of the integrated circuit package. At its small end, it is slightly larger than the bonding pad. At its large end it is of a suitable scale for mounting the integrated circuit to a printed circuit board, typically about 500 microns in size, and on a center-to-center spacing of 1250 microns. Fifth, there is the wire on the printed circuit board. It is about 500 microns wide and typically on the order of a few centimeters in length. At the next chip, there is a similar set of conductors in reverse.
This elaborate arrangement of connectors from one chip to another has two drawbacks. First, it is costly. There are many parts involved and many assembly steps to put them together. The steps include making the packages, installing the integrated circuit chips in them, bonding the pads of the integrated circuit to the conductors in the package, and fastening the packages to the printed circuit board. Although each of these steps is highly automated, nevertheless they remain a major cost factor in many system designs.
Second, it is electrically undesirable. The wires on the printed circuit board are about 1000 times as large as the wires on the integrated circuit. Therefore, to send a signal from one integrated circuit to another requires a large amplifier on the sending integrated circuit. Moreover, the conductors involved have a good deal of electrical capacitance and electrical inductance, both of which limit the speed at which communication can take place. Perhaps worst of all, much energy is required to send a signal through such large conductors, which causes the driving integrated circuit to dissipate considerable power. The cooling mechanisms required to get rid of the resulting head add cost and complexity to the system.
Several methods have evolved to improve chip to chip interconnect. One way is to avoid several packages for the separate integrated circuits. Instead of a package for each circuit, several chips are mounted in a xe2x80x9cmulti-chip module,xe2x80x9d a kind of communal package for the chips. The multi-chip module (MCM) contains wiring that carries some of the chip-to-chip communication circuits. The size of the wires in the MCM is smaller than the wires on a printed circuit, but not yet so small as the wiring on the chips themselves. Electrical capacitance and inductance in the wires between chips remains a problem even in MCMs.
An advancement made in the field of MCM fabrication is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,767,009, illustrating in FIG. 18 of the patent stacked plural IC devices 91, 96. FIGS. 19A-19F of the ""009 patent illustrate the fabrication steps. First, as shown in FIG. 19A, a barrier metal layer 93 of titanium, palladium, or gold is formed by the electron beam evaporation method or the like. Then, the surface is covered with a photoresist 101 using photolithographic techniques, excluding an area of a first electrode pad 92, as shown in FIG. 19B. Then, in FIG. 19C, lead- or tin-based solder which is to become bump 95 is formed on barrier metal layer 93 above electrode pad 92 by means of electroplating or the like. After removing photoresist 101, barrier metal layer 93 is etched off with aqua regia, fluoric acid, or the like, leaving an area above the electrode pad in FIG. 19D. Barrier metal 98 is formed also on second semiconductor chip 96 by the same process. Next, as shown in FIG. 19E, bump 95 of first semiconductor chip 91 is aligned to barrier metal 93 of second semiconductor chip 96, and then the two are coupled together by heating or by pressing. Then, as shown in FIG. 19F, insulation resin 100 is provided between first semiconductor chip 91 and second semiconductor chip 96, and cured; thus the mounting of first semiconductor chip 91 on second semiconductor chip 96 is completed.
As can be seen, the fabrication of such multi-chip devices is not any less complicated than providing separately packaged IC devices and assembling the individual devices on a printed circuit board. The additional steps of laying down a metal layer and the various photolithographic steps increase the cost of manufacture and are a source of process problems which can lower production yields further adding to the overall cost.
An integrated circuit comprises first and second semiconductor dice. The first and second dice arranged so that their respective signal pads thereof are placed in face-to-face manner, forming lower and upper layers of semiconductor dice. Some of the signal pads of one die are in alignment with some of the signal pads of the other die. The first and second dice are spaced apart by air an gap, in one embodiment of the invention, and by a dielectric layer, in another embodiment of the invention. This arrangement creates capacitances between the aligned signal pad. Changing the electrical potential at a signal pad of the first die results in a corresponding electrical change at the opposing signal pad by virtue of the capacitive coupling. Signaling between the signal pads therefore is effectuated by detecting the changing electrical potential.
The semiconductor dice can be of a variety of shapes. The dice are arranged in planar fashion and in a regular pattern. In one embodiment of the invention, the upper and lower layer dice are rectangular in shape. In another embodiment of the invention, the dice have an octagonal shape.
A dielectric material is used to separate the first and second dice. In another variation, the signal pads are spaced apart by raised areas on the surface in which the signal pads are disposed. In yet another variation, the signal pads are spaced apart by recessing the signal pads below the surface of the semiconductor dice.


A multi-phase centrifugal supercharging system (10) configured for supplying compressed induction fluid to an engine (E) is disclosed. The air induction system (10) broadly includes a drive assembly (12) powered by the engine (E), a supercharging assembly (14) driven by the drive assembly (12) to compress induction fluid, and an induction fluid flow control assembly (16) in communication with the supercharging assembly (14) to control operation of the supercharging assembly (14) and cooperating therewith to deliver the compressed induction fluid to the intake manifold (IM) of the engine (E). The supercharging assembly (14) includes a pair of centrifugal superchargers (28 and 30) that are phased by the control assembly (16) between multiple operating phases, including a series phase (172) and a parallel phase (176). An alternative air system (306) is also disclosed, in use with a pneumatic conveyor (300), that phases between normal series operation and parallel, clog-displacing operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to air induction systems for providing increased airflow to the intake of an engine or for powering industrial conveyance systems. More particularly, the present invention concerns a multi-phase centrifugal supercharging air induction system having a pair of superchargers that phase between serial and parallel operation to supply constant target boost to the intake over the entire rev range of the engine as well as a multi-phase centrifugal compressor for spiking the air pressure in a conveyance system.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Compressors that increase air flow to an engine (thereby increasing the power generated thereby) are known in the art and generally include positive displacement blowers, turbochargers, and centrifugal superchargers. In addition to increased air flow, all of these compressors desirably supply pressurized air to the engine—i.e., air under increased pressure relative to the normal atmospheric pressure of ambient air at the system's inlet. The pressurized air in combination with the increased air flow is commonly referred to as "boost." Positive displacement ("PD") blowers typically utilize a pair of intermeshing, counter-rotating figure-eight shaped impellers, or a screw-type impeller, driven off of the crankshaft to "push" air into the intake manifold thereby compressing the air. PD blowers supply fairly constant flow to the engine over varying pressure conditions and engine rpm. Turbochargers typically utilize an impeller driven by a turbine that is powered by the exhaust output of the engine to compress air for the engine. Turbochargers supply fairly constant boost to the engine only through the powerband—i.e., the engine is operating at fifty percent of its rev range or higher, a.k.a. "redline." Centrifugal superchargers typically utilize an impeller powered by the engine's crankshaft to compress air for the engine. Centrifugal superchargers supply boost to the engine generally defined by a somewhat linear boost response curve wherein the boost supplied varies with engine rpm.
All of these prior art compressors are problematic and suffer from undesirable limitations. For example, PD blowers are inefficient, requiring an undesirable amount of engine horsepower to drive the impellers thereby effectively reducing any supplied boost, and are part-intensive, both of which increase the risks of catastrophic failure, such as through heat degradation. Additionally, the inefficiency of PD blowers worsens at higher engine rpms, compounding their limitations. Turbochargers do not have the horsepower requirements inherent in PD blowers; however, turbochargers suffer from low-end boost problems wherein the flow of exhaust at lower engine rpm is not sufficient to power the turbine as desired. Additionally, because turbochargers are not directly driven, they suffer from undesirable "lag" problems. Furthermore, both PD blowers and turbochargers are adiabatically inefficient relative to centrifugal superchargers in terms of boost created relative to flow. Prior art centrifugal superchargers have desirably less horsepower requirements than PD blowers and do not suffer from the lag problems of turbochargers. However, given their linear boost curve, these centrifugal superchargers either suffer from low end boost problems or high end boost problems. That is to say, if optimal boost is provided at higher engine rpms, the boost provided at lower engine rpms is significantly less than optimal. Conversely, if the typical centrifugal supercharger is set up to provide optimal boost at lower engine rpms, it will provide more boost than the engine can handle at higher engine rpms.
In powered vehicle applications, such as automotive applications, the problems and limitations detailed above are further compounded by the variable nature of the internal combustion engine. An internal combustion engine, when off idle, operates at an rpm that varies over a rev range. As the rpm varies, so does the normal flow of induction fluid through the engine, as well as the pressure of the induction fluid at the intake manifold. Additionally, as the rpm of the crankshaft varies, so does the rotational speed of any compressor impeller directly driven thereby. Furthermore, as the powered vehicle changes altitude, the pressure of ambient air at the forced air system's inlet varies (relative to normal atmospheric pressure at sea level, or 14.7 psi). However, the ideal target boost for automotive compressor applications remains constant (e.g., 10–12 psi of boost) over the entire rev range despite the varying conditions.
There have been prior art efforts to solve one or more of the above identified problems by using two compressors in combination to supply forced induction fluid to an engine. These prior art efforts fall into two general categories. First, it is known in the art to augment a turbocharger with a second compressor (either another turbocharger or a supercharger). In these prior art augmented turbocharger systems, the second compressor is only used below the powerband, typically to reduce lag problems, and only the turbocharger is used throughout the powerband. These augmented turbocharger systems utilize the second compressor only in series, or only in parallel (but typically dump the induction fluid compressed by the turbocharger below the powerband), and clutch the second compressor throughout the powerband. Secondly, it is known in the art to utilize two superchargers only in series, or only in parallel, to provide induction fluid to an engine. These dual supercharger systems are limited to constant speed engines, such as an airplane engine, and all utilize a variable speed drive, such as a clutch, to bypass one or both superchargers when the airplane is operating at lower altitudes.
These prior art dual compressor systems are problematic and subject to several undesirable limitations. For example, all of these prior art systems require a variable speed drive for at least one of the compressors. These variable speed drives are undesirable in that they are part intensive, have inherent mechanical limitations, and require wear-intensive parts subject to failure brought on by heat degradation. Additionally, the augmented turbocharger systems require undesirable part intensive valving in addition to at least one dump gate and are still limited by most of the problems inherent in turbochargers, such as relatively constant flow limitations. The dual supercharger systems are further limited to relatively constant speed engine applications and are not well suited for automotive applications. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved forced air induction system that is both operable to supply substantially constant target boost over the entire rev range of a variable rpm engine that does not suffer from the problems and limitations detailed above.
It is also known in the art to utilize a compressor to power an industrial conveyance system, such as a pneumatic conveyor. Conventional pneumatic conveyors utilize a forced airstream directed through a network of tubing that carries materials, such as particulate entrained within the airstream, from one location to another, such as through one or more processing stations in a plant. These prior art systems have utilized a PD blower, such as one powered by an electric motor, to provide the forced airstream. These prior art systems are problematic and subject to several undesirable limitations. For example, the tubing is susceptible to frequent clogging in the line, which in turn causes pressure increases upstream of the clog. PD pumps are well suited to maintain the air flow as the pressure conditions in the line increase. However, a PD pump is not well suited to ramp up the air flow to "push" the clog through the line or break it up. Additionally, as indicated above, PD pumps have greater energy needs to power them and are undesirably inefficient in terms of unit of flow created relative to power input. These inefficiencies are exacerbated in pneumatic conveyor applications as the compressor is typically running continuously over extended periods of operation.


A plurality of data items are received in each frame period, and a digital signal processor (DSP) checks a flag corresponding to each data item in each frame period before the DSP applies processing to the received data. When the checked flag allows the corresponding data item to be processed, the process is performed. When the execution of the process is finished, the flag is reset. When all the flags are reset, the DSP enters a sleep state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to receivers for digital broadcasting.
2. Description of the Related Art
In Europe, Digital Audio Broadcasting (DAB, registered trademark) has been performed as digital sound broadcasting according to a European Research Coordinating Agency (Eureka) 147 specification. In DAB, various encoding processes are applied to a plurality of digital data items to convert them finally to an orthogonal-frequency-division-multiplex (OFDM) signal, and a main carrier signal is differential-quadrature-phase-shift-keying (D-QPSK) modulated by the OFDM signal to form a transmission signal. Digital audio data and other digital data of up to 64 channels can be broadcasted at the same time.
FIG. 3 shows the structure of the OFDM signal in the time domain. The OFDM signal is formed of a plurality of frames. Each frame is formed of (m+1) symbols. DAB has four transmission mode. In mode II, for example, the time length of a frame is 24 ms and the number (m+1) of symbols is 76.
Each frame is divided into a synchronizing channel SC, a fast information channel FIC, and a main service channel MSC, with symbols being used as units. The synchronizing channel SC is used for processing, such as frame synchronization and automatic frequency control (AFC), in receivers. The synchronizing channel SC is formed of two symbols, the first symbol thereof is a null symbol NULL, and the second symbol thereof is a symbol TFPR used for phase reference.
The fast information channel FIC is used for providing data related to the main service channel MSC, and includes data, such as the time, the date, a type, a data arrangement, and traffic and message control data. The main service channel MSC includes digital audio data and various digital data items serving as main data.
DAB receivers need to perform signal processing, such as orthogonal demodulation, fast Fourier transform (FFT), OFDM demodulation, deinterleaving, error correction, and digital-to-analog (D/A) conversion, in response to signal processing performed at a transmitting side. Some of these signal processing items are executed in general by a digital signal processor (DSP). The DSP is always in an operating state while DAB is being received, and does not enter a sleep state (idle state).
The present invention has been made in consideration of the following condition. It is an object of the present invention to allow the DSP for processing digital sound broadcasting (DSB) data to enter a sleep state to reduce power consumption.
The foregoing object is achieved in one aspect of the present invention through the provision of a receiving apparatus for receiving a signal having a plurality of types of data in each frame period, including a plurality of accumulation means for accumulating the plurality of types of data, respectively, in each frame period; at least one calculation-processing means for processing each of the plurality of types of data accumulated by the plurality of accumulation means; and storage means for storing information indicating that each of the plurality of types of data has been accumulated into accumulation means, wherein the calculation-processing means applies processing to data accumulated into accumulation means, corresponding to information indicating the completion of data accumulation stored in the storage means.
In the receiving apparatus, since calculation processing starts with data which has been accumulated among the plurality of types of data, each processing is sequentially performed from the beginning of a frame period, a period is formed near the end point of the frame period, in which the calculation-processing means can enter, for example, a sleep mode.
The receiving apparatus may be configured such that the storage means further stores information indicating the order of priority in which processing is applied to each of the plurality of types of data, and the calculation-processing means applies processing to the plurality of types of data in the order of priority.
Therefore, when the calculation-processing means is ready to start processing, if two or more data items need to be processed, data processing is performed in an appropriate order according to the order of priority.
The receiving apparatus may be configured such that the storage means further stores information indicating the completion of processing applied to each of the plurality of types of data, and the calculation-processing means enters a sleep state when all processing applied to the plurality of types of data has been completed.
With this configuration, since it is positively checked that all processing applied to the data has been completed, before the calculation-processing means enters a sleep state in a sleep period formed near the end point of a frame period, the calculation-processing means enters the sleep state without any problems.
The receiving apparatus may be configured such that the storage means further stores information indicating that corresponding data is allowed to be processed, and the calculation-processing means applies processing to data for which data processing is allowed among the plurality of types of data.
With this configuration, processing which does not need to be performed in the frame period is positively omitted, or data processing which cannot be started can be postponed. Therefore, a sleep period can be formed near the end point of a frame period.
The foregoing object is achieved in another aspect of the present invention through the provision of a receiving apparatus for receiving a signal having a plurality of types of data in each frame period, including a plurality of accumulation means for accumulating the plurality of types of data, respectively, in each frame period; at least one calculation-processing means for processing each of the plurality of types of data accumulated by the plurality of accumulation means; and storage means for storing information indicating that each of the plurality of types of data has been processed; wherein the calculation-processing means enters a sleep state when all processing applied to the plurality of types of data has been completed, according to the information indicating the completion of processing.
The foregoing object is achieved in still another aspect of the present invention through the provision of a receiving apparatus for receiving a signal having a plurality of types of data in each frame period, including a plurality of accumulation means for accumulating the plurality of types of data, respectively, in each frame period; at least one calculation-processing means for processing each of the plurality of types of data accumulated by the plurality of accumulation means; and storage means for storing information indicating that each of the plurality of types of data is allowed to be processed; wherein the calculation-processing means applies processing to data accumulated into the accumulation means corresponding to the storage means for storing information indicating that data is allowed to be processed.
The foregoing object is achieved in yet another aspect of the present invention through the provision of a receiving apparatus for receiving a signal having a plurality of types of data in each frame period, including a plurality of accumulation means for accumulating the plurality of types of data, respectively, in each frame period; at least one calculation-processing means for processing each of the plurality of types of data accumulated by the plurality of accumulation means; and storage means for storing information indicating that each of the plurality of types of data is allowed to be processed, information indicating that each of the plurality of types of data has been accumulated into accumulation means, information indicating the order of priority given to each of the plurality of types of data, and information indicating the completion of processing applied to each of the plurality of types of data, wherein the calculation-processing means performs data processing in the order of priority given to each data when a plurality of data corresponding to information indicating that data processing is allowed has been accumulated into the accumulation means, and the calculation-processing means enters a sleep state when all processing applied to the plurality of data has been completed.


Methods for the self-assembly of photosynthetic unicells into a multicellular shape are provided. DNA constructs as well as methods for integration of the DNA constructs into the genomes of photosynthetic unicells for the expression of cell wall proteins or cell adhesion molecules for the self-assembly of photosynthetic unicells into a multicellular shape are also disclosed.

All publications cited in this application are herein incorporated by reference.
Photosynthetic unicells comprise unicellular photosynthetic bacteria, unicellular members of the photosynthetic eukaryotes known as algae, and single cells derived from the green portions of plants. Unicells are single cells not physically attached to other cells. Unicells that are photosynthetic can produce complex and diverse organic compounds from carbon dioxide, inorganic salts, and water by means of photosynthesis.
Cell walls, also known as extracellular matrices, enclose nearly all naturally-occurring photosynthetic cells. They are chemically complex and their composition varies among different types of photosynthetic cells. In the case of multicellular photosynthetic organisms, chemical bonds between adjacent cell walls bind photosynthetic unicells together into multicellular photosynthetic organisms. Examples of cell walls include, but are not limited to, the peptidoglycan cell walls of cyanobacteria, the cellulosic cell walls of plants, heterokontophyte algae, and some green algae, the glycoprotein extracellular matrices of other green algae, the siliceous cell walls of diatoms, and the calcareous cell walls of coccolithophorids and coralline red algae.
All cell walls have a chemical composition that determines their physical properties. The chemical composition of cell walls is determined, in turn, by the specific organic and inorganic molecules secreted from the cells during biological development and by the order in which the various molecules are secreted. Cell wall molecules include but are not limited to polymers such as cellulose, glycoproteins such as collagen, and matrix materials such as pectins or alginic acid.
Many useful biological materials consist of, include, or are derived from the cell walls of photosynthetic organisms, including wood, paper, cotton, resins and glues, and cellophane. Similarly, useful biological materials are produced from the extracellular matrices of non-photosynthetic cells, including leather, catgut, sinew, horn, and medical collagen.
The foregoing examples of related art and limitations related therewith are intended to be illustrative and not exclusive, and they do not imply any limitations on the inventions described herein. Other limitations of the related art will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the specification and a study of the drawings.

Artificial biological materials produced by self-assembly of photosynthetic unicells


A transportable container for storing and carrying articles such as semiconductor wafers or flat panel display substrates which is adapted for horizontal loading and unloading. The container includes a box and a box door. The box door can be sealably attached to the box to isolate the interior of the box from ambient atmospheric conditions. The container is adapted to mate with a port of a canopy which encloses a semiconductor processing apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to standardized mechanical interface systems for reducing particle contamination of semiconductor wafers during semiconductor processing. More particularly, the present invention relates to a sealable, transportable container that has been adapted for horizontal loading and unloading.
2. Description of the Related Art
A standardized mechanical interface (SMIF) system has been proposed by the Hewlett-Packard Company as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,532,970 and 4,534,389. The purpose of the SMIF system is to reduce particle fluxes onto articles, for example, semiconductor wafers. This end is accomplished, in part, by mechanically ensuring that during transportation and storage the gaseous media (such as air or nitrogen) surrounding the wafers is essentially stationary relative to the wafers and by ensuring that particles from the ambient environment do not enter the immediate wafer environment.
The SMIF concept is based on the realization that a small volume of controlled (with respect to motion, air flow direction and external contaminants), particle-free air provides a clean environment for wafers. Further details of one proposed system are described in the article entitled "SMIF: A TECHNOLOGY FOR WAFER CASSETTE TRANSFER IN VLSI MANUFACTURING," by Mihir Parikh and Ulrich Kaempf, Solid State Technology, Jul. 1984, pp. 111-115. SMIF systems are concerned with particle sizes which range from below 0.02 .mu.m to above 200 .mu.m. Particles with these sizes can be very damaging in semiconductor processing because of the small geometries employed in fabricating semiconductor devices. Typical advanced semiconductor processes today employ geometries which are one half micron and under. Unwanted contamination particles which have geometries measuring greater than 0.1 .mu.m substantially interfere with 1 .mu.m geometry semiconductor devices. The trend, of course, is to have smaller and smaller semiconductor processing geometries which today in research and development labs approach 0.2 .mu.m and below. In the future, geometries will become smaller and smaller and hence smaller and smaller contamination particles become of interest.
A SMIF system has three main components: (1) minimum volume, sealed pods used for storing and transporting wafer cassettes; (2) canopies placed over cassette ports and wafer processing areas of processing equipment so that the environments inside the pods and canopies (after having clean air sources) become miniature clean spaces; and (3) a transfer mechanism to load/unload wafer cassettes from a sealed pod without contamination of the wafers in the wafer cassette from external environments.
One example of a conventional SMIF system is shown in FIGS. 1A and 1B, which illustrate a processing station 8 having a canopy 10 which is an easily removable shield that covers the wafer handling mechanism of processing equipment 12. Equipment 12 may be, for example, a photoresist applicator, mask aligner, inspection station or any similar processing equipment. The canopy 10, which is constructed of transparent plastic such as acrylic or polycarbonate to facilitate visual inspection and/or maintenance within the canopy 10, encloses the handling mechanism for the processing equipment 12 and a holder 14, such as a wafer cassette holding wafers 16. The environment within the processing equipment is separately maintained and separately cleaned: therefore, the equipment 12 need not be installed in a clean room.
A sealable transportable container (or pod) 18 including a box 20 having interior region 21 and a box door 32 is mounted on the horizontal surface 22 of a canopy 10 having a port assembly. The port assembly includes a port plate 24, port door 28, and an elevator assembly 30. Elevator assembly 30 transports a cassette 14, containing integrated circuit wafers 16 from the interior region 21 of a box 20 onto the region beneath the canopy 10.
In FIG. 1B, port door 28 and box door 32 are shown in the closed position by the dotted lines. A mover assembly 34 includes a platform 36, a shaft engagement device 38, and a drive motor 40. Platform 36, extending from elevator assembly 30, carries port door 28, box door 32 and cassette 14 in a vertical direction. Platform 36 is attached by engagement devices 38 to vertical guide 42 of elevator assembly 30.
Typically, guide 42 includes a lead screw (not shown) and the drive motor 40 drives a gear (not shown) which engages the lead screw for driving platform 36 up or down. When platform 36 is driven to the closed position, port door 28 closes the port opening in canopy 10. In a similar manner, a manipulator assembly shown generally by the numeral 44 is fastened to platform 46 which has an engagement means 48 for engaging vertical guide 42. Manipulator assembly 44 includes a manipulator arm 50 and engagement head 52 adapted to engage cassette 14. By vertical operation of the platforms 36 and 46 and by operation of the manipulator assembly 44, cassette 14 is moved from its position on box door 32 to a position on the equipment station 13 (as shown by the broken lines).
Although the SMIF system of FIGS. 1A and 1B has been successful in satisfying the need for a clean environment, areas of improvement have been identified for making the above-described system more convenient and efficient. For example, as can be seen in FIGS. 1A and 1B, a container is placed on top of the port. Typically, a port could be from 4 to 6 feet high. If the operator transporting the container is shorter than 6 feet, the operator may have trouble reaching the top of the port in order to position the container. Second, in order to remove a wafer from the container, the cassette must be lowered out of the container, the cassette must be moved to a work area and the wafer then removed from the cassette. Lowering and moving the cassette adds extra time to the semiconductor fabrication process and increases the risk of harm to the wafer due to the extra movement. It would be advantageous if the cassette can be easily and quickly removed from the container or if the wafer can be removed from the container without removing the cassette from the container. Third, in some applications a gas, such as nitrogen, is injected into the container. A cassette in the conventional container could partially block gas from entering at the bottom of the container. Finally, there is a need to have a retainer that holds the wafer and cassette stationary that is easy to manufacture and convenient to use.

Sealable, transportable container adapted for horizontal loading and unloading


A scan chain may be formed throughout an integrated circuit in which the scan chain includes at least a first segment and a second segment. A first portion of a test pattern is scanned into the first segment by clocking a first scan cell of the first segment with an even clock while clocking a remainder of the plurality of scan cells in the first segment with an odd clock, in which the odd clock is out of phase with the even clock, in which the even clock and odd clock have a rate equal to a scan rate of the test pattern divided by an integer N. A second portion of the test pattern is scanned into the second segment by clocking the plurality of scan cells in the second segment with the odd clock, such that the second portion of the test pattern is not scanned into the first segment.

Scan architectures are commonly used to test digital circuitry in integrated circuits (IC). In automotive devices that must adhere to strict safety regulations, scan chains may be used to perform self-test each time a device is powered on, such as when a vehicle is started. Additional testing may be performed within defined time periods during operation of a device in order to assure correct operation. Self-test time governs the total boot-up time and it should also fit within a specified application time interval during application mode operation. The self-test time is mainly governed by frequency of operation. For instance, consider an IC device with max frequency of 100 MHz and functional worst case switching activity of 25%. In this case, running the scan (1100 pattern sequence) at 100 MHz may cause 50% switching activity and thereby doubles the power consumption. Hence in this case, the max scan frequency may be limited to 50 MHz in order not to exceed power dissipation limits. For a given pattern set, running the tests at 50 MHz as opposed to 100 MHz may double the test-time and application time.
Other features of the present embodiments will be apparent from the accompanying drawings and from the detailed description that follows.

Frequency scaled segmented scan chain for integrated circuits


A non-destructive, non-invasive arrangement is provided for detecting defects, such as voids, or poorly adhering layers in solid objects and laminated materials. A sensing signal is emitted by one transducer and received by two others. All of the sensors are disposed in a housing unit. The difference between the received signals is used to indicate a defect in the work piece proximate one of the transducers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a non-destructive means for detecting defects, such as voids, or poorly adhering layers in solid objects and laminated materials. More specifically, the instant invention relates to an ultrasonic scanning arrangement which includes ultrasonic emitting and receiving transducers which are disposed in a housing, and via which an object can be non-invasively inspected for defects.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In the art of ultrasonic detection, various methods are known for non-destructively inspecting solid objects. Among these methods are an ultrasonic transmission technique, a reflection technique, and an ultrasonic resonance technique. One or more of the above methods is selected, depending usually upon the test conditions, and the number of transducers to be used in the test device.
The sensing methods may be further sub-divided into a so called vertical method, angular method, immersion method, panel wave method, surface wave method, transmission method, thickness detection method, the holographic imaging method, and the defect detection arrangement method.
Some prior art detection methods are disclosed in detail in The Third Edition of The Steel handbook Volume IV "Alloys: Tests and Analysis" Oct. 30 1972, Published by Maruzen Co. Ltd. on pages 447-448 under the heading "Non-destructive Tests".
In FIG. 1 an example is given of a sensor assembly 51 according to the prior art. A housing unit 52, includes an insulating member 53 which is disposed in the blind end of a elongate bore, a spring 54 and an ultrasonic transducer 55. The spring is arranged to bias the ultrasonic transducer 55 against an object 11 under test.
Within the interior of the housing unit 52, a lateral buffer member 56 is disposed, which serves to maintain the in position while insulating the housing unit 52 from the ultrasonic transducer 55.
In detection operations using the FIG. 1 device, it is common to use the resonance method or the reflection method. On the other hand, in cases where two transducers are provided, it is known to employ the transmission technique.
As is well known, with these methods, the reflected or the transmitted signals and/or resonance frequencies are analyzed in order to determine the characteristics of the object to be tested. In the above techniques however, problems have been encountered in that the strength, and general characteristics of the received measurement signals are rather strongly influenced by the pressure with which the transducer assembly is maintained in engagement with the object to be tested. For this reason, considerable skill on the part of the operator, has been required in order to obtain reproducible readings. This has tended to limit the applicability of these methods and has prevented more general use.
Accordingly, there has been a need to provide a technique of holding an ultrasonic transducer in engagement with an object to be tested in a manner which alleviates the need for a high level of skill on the part of the operator.
Another disadvantage encountered in the ultrasonic sensing devices of the prior art lies in the fact that, a single transducer is usually used for both emitting and receiving the inspection signal. Because of this double function, compromises must be made in the construction of the transducer, in order to allow it to serve equally well as an emitter and receiver. Another problem with this arrangement is that the transducer must be switched very rapidly between the emitting and receiving modes, and thus renders the signal sending and receiving sections of the control device, complex.
In view of the above problems, a method, which is disclosed in JP-A-63-120252, was developed for detecting the presence or absence adhesion between the layers of laminated material, and for determining the bonding strength of an adhesive when it is present.
In the above disclosed device the problem remains that a rather high level of skill is still required of the user, in order to obtain satisfactory reproducible results.

Ultrasonic inspection method for detecting defects in solid objects


The disclosure of the present invention relates to an electrowetting array substrate and a display device. The electrowetting array substrate comprises a plurality of pixel units. Each pixel unit comprises a common electrode layer, a pixel electrode layer, a hydrophobic dielectric layer provided between the two electrode layers, a non-polar liquid layer spreading on the hydrophobic dielectric layer, and an aqueous electrolyte layer provided between the non-polar liquid layer and the common electrode layer. a surface of the hydrophobic dielectric layer, on which the non-polar liquid layer spreads, is provided with a groove, and the pixel electrode layer is provided with a through hole the position of which corresponds to that of the groove. With such structure, the spread-contract path of the non-polar liquid can be shortened and thus the response rate can be improved. Furthermore, the non-polar liquid can be confined within the pixel unit.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present invention relates to the technical field of electrowetting display, and more particular, to an electrowetting array substrate and a display device.
2. Description of the Related Art
In our daily lives, demands for display devices progressively increase, and application products related to the display technique are continually developed. At present, conventional CRT displays have already been replaced by liquid crystal displays. However, such liquid crystal display, due to limitation of its principle, has defects, such as high energy consumption, slow response rate, small angle of visibility, low conversion ratio of color, low contrast and the like, and cannot meet progressively increasing demands of utilization. Accordingly, electrowetting technique is regarded as a new generation of display technique which will replace liquid crystal display technique in the future, owing to its merits of high black/white reflectivity, high conversion ratio of color, high contrast, large angle of visibility, fast response and the like.
Specifically, electrowetting display is a technique which utilizes "spreading-contracting" behaviors of a non-polar liquid on a hydrophobic dielectric layer to realize displaying effect. The operating principle for this is that when no voltage is applied to a pixel unit, the non-polar liquid spreads on a surface of the hydrophobic dielectric layer because an affinity of the non-polar liquid (e.g., black ink) with the hydrophobic dielectric layer is greater than that of a polar aqueous solution (e.g., aqueous electrolyte) with the hydrophobic dielectric layer, and when a voltage is applied to the pixel unit, charge distribution formed on the hydrophobic dielectric layer will enhance its affinity with the water, such that the non-polar liquid is forced to be pushed toward a corner of the pixel unit. Such "spreading-contracting" behavior of the non-polar liquid will be able to generate certain changes of reflection or refraction characteristic of the pixel unit to a light beam, so that different display states are presented.
However, in the electrowetting display device of the prior art, when a voltage is applied to the pixel unit, the non-polar liquid is usually pushed towards the corner of the pixel unit. On one hand, the longest movement distance of the non-polar liquid when converted from the spreading state to the state of being pushed towards the corner is a diagonal distance of the rectangular pixel unit. This will cause unnecessary time and energy consumption and will adversely influence increase of the response rate. On the other hand, after the non-polar liquid contracts to the corner of the pixel unit, the height of the non-polar liquid may be greater than that of a blocking wall. If the display device is strongly vibrated at this time, the non-polar liquid may accidentally enter into adjacent pixel units, causing degradation of displaying effect and even display fault.

Electrowetting array substrate and display device


A storage apparatus for objects in the manufacture of substrates, in particular of substrates for electronic components, is provided with a housing which forms at least one closed area for storage of the objects. The storage apparatus also has a pure air device by which a pure air atmosphere can be produced at least within a section of the housing. Using at least one input/output device for the storage apparatus, objects can be passed into the interior of the housing or removed from the interior, in which case the objects can be handled by at least one handling device in the interior of the housing, and object receptacles are provided within the housing, in which objects can be temporarily stored outside transport containers. In order to require a position area which is as small as possible for a storage apparatus such as this, despite it having a high storage capacity, the invention provides that two areas which are arranged at least partially one above the other are formed in the same housing of the storage apparatus, with a first area for an object storage device, and a second area for a transport container storage device.

In the industrial manufacture of electronic components such as, for example, LCD displays or other flat screens or substrates etc., objects must be regularly transported and temporarily stored inside a factory. Provided for this purpose on the one hand are transport containers in which the objects are securely arranged and transported against external influences. Frequently, so-called SMIF and FOUP boxes are used as transport containers. On the other hand, the objects are temporarily stored in a storage apparatus, as described initially, after or before they are transported in the factory.
Such storage apparatus generally comprise a housing which forms one or more areas which are separate from one another. In order to transfer the objects into this at least one area or remove them therefrom, the storage apparatus has a closable opening. The objects are usually removed mechanically or manually from the transport containers before they are transferred into the area. For transport inside the factory the objects are then removed from the storage apparatus again and inserted outside the area into a transport container stored temporarily outside the storage apparatus. For reasons of maintaining the clean room conditions, an attempt is usually made to store the objects and the transport container separately from one another. In addition, the transport containers are expensive and bulky. If very many objects are used in a factory, the corresponding number of transport containers required is usually also very high.
However, other solutions have also become known in which the substrates can be supplied together with their transport containers to the storage apparatus and only removed from the respective transport containers inside the storage apparatus. Here it is provided after removal of the objects to store the transport container in a first area and the objects in a second area. The two areas are separated from one another by vertical dividing walls pertaining to the housing. However, this solution cannot be satisfactory in that it requires a relatively large floor area. A further disadvantage is the concept-dependent expensive supply of clean air for comparatively large areas.
A solution for a heat treatment apparatus for wafers is known from U.S. Pat. No. 5,407,181 in which a storage chamber for transport containers is separated by a vertical dividing wall from a transfer chamber of the heat treatment apparatus. In the transfer chamber located to the side of the storage chamber, wafers are inserted into a so-called boat with which the wafers are transferred to a reaction furnace located above the transfer chamber. This heat treatment apparatus also requires a comparatively large floor area. In addition, in this apparatus no temporary storage of wafers is possible but merely transfer of always the same number of wafers from transport containers into a reaction furnace.

Apparatus for storage of objects from the field of manufacture of electronic components


An improved spinner bar for rotary surface cleaning machines includes an array of spray nozzles at each end of the bar. The nozzles in each array are adjustable. The outermost nozzle in each array is oriented at a different angle of inclination to the plane of rotation than the angle of the inner nozzles. The improved spinner bar results in a more uniform appearance in the cleaned surface, has a low noise level and reduces man-hours.

"Cleaner Times," published by Advantage Publishing Co. Inc., Little Rock, Ak. is a monthly publication of the technical journal of the high pressure water applications industry. Rotary pressure cleaning machines are well known within this large industry.
The machines usually have handlebars to control a spray head. The spray head has a hood or shroud that encloses a rotary spray bar or spinner bar which carries spray nozzles. The spray head may be mounted on wheels or it may float on the residual pressure from the spray nozzles. Pressurized liquid is supplied through the spray head and spinner bar to the nozzles, via a standard engine and pump configuration, to produce a spray that accomplishes the work of cleaning a surface over which the machine is maneuvered. The spinner bar may be rotated by the reaction force of the spray nozzles or it may be independently powered, as by the combination of a belt and motor, or both.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,191,590 to Sundheim is typical of such machines and discloses a spinner bar with two nozzles, one at each end of the bar. The nozzles may be adjusted as to the angle of inclination in regard to the plane of rotation, the spray pattern, flow rate, and spray arc. U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,370,728; 5,135,015; and 6,012,645 are each directed to a rotary machine having a spinner bar and one nozzle on each end. U.S. Pat. No. 5,265,805 is directed to a rotary machine with a three bladed spinner bar with one nozzle at each of the three ends.
There are certain shortcomings in the rotary pressure cleaning art which result in a non-uniform appearance of a cleaned surface and cause the machines to create excessive noise. The prior art machines are also generally restricted to hard surfaces due to the high pressure impact of the liquid upon a small area. The construction of the prior art devices deliver cleaning spray to a small impact area causing uneven application of the cleaning spray resulting in stripes and swirls on the cleaned surface. The small impact area also causes the prior art machines to have a high noise level and is also inefficient and usually requires retracing for adequate cleaning of a surface.
In the normal use of all rotary cleaners, the spray head is moved over a surface in a pattern of passes. Because of the rotation of the spray bar, each pass leaves a cleaned path the length of the pass and the width of the diameter of the spray bar. To clean a large area, a number of passes must be made with the edge of a later path overlapping the edge of an earlier path. This overlapping causes the same area of the surface to be cleaned more than once.
Conventional machines have a common problem of overlapping paths producing a series of stripes and swirls of extra-clean surface which contrasts with the remainder of the surface. To overcome this nonuniformity of color, the surface must be retraced until the stripes are obliterated or reduced. Regardless of the pattern of passes, straight, rectangular, or circular, the stripes or swirls created require more time and repetition to produce an acceptable uniform cleaned surface. This repetition results in increased labor costs and wear on the machines.
Because of the high pressures, for example 200-5000 psi, there is a significant level of noise during the use of the machine. Also, having a nozzle on each end of a two bladed or three bladed spray bar produces a small cleaned area equal to the narrow spray coverage as the spray bar rotates resulting in a particular time frame for cleaning a large surface. This high pressure limits the surfaces that the conventional machines can be used to clean without damaging the substrate, for example some nozzles will scour grout from between tiles, score soft woods for decks, or remove particles from roofing shingles.
What is needed in the art is a surface cleaner that has a lower noise level, accomplishes work faster, produces a uniform cleaned surface and can be used on softer surfaces.


A dressing and a method of manufacturing a dressing. The dressing comprising an absorbent support fabric (2), and a polyester fiber sheet (1) attached to one surface of the absorbent support fabric to provide a wicking path such that exudates contacting an outer surface of the fiber sheet are wicked to the absorbent support fabric. The outer surface of the polyester fiber sheet is heat treated to hinder individual fibers from extending out of the surface and thereby produce a glazed effect. This glazed surface inhibits the dressing from sticking to a wound, and impedes exudate transported within the dressing from returning to the dressing surface.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a dressing for transporting exudates and other fluids away from a wound and a method of manufacturing such a dressing.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
In the field of wound dressings, for example, with absorbent wound dressings or surgical drains, different types of absorbent fabrics are used to absorb exudates emanating from a wound bed. One of the problems with many absorbent fabrics is that they tend to stick to the wound. This can cause the healing wound to be disturbed on removal of the dressing and furthermore, surface fibres from the dressing may come off and be left in the wound. Another problem is that the absorbed exudate is transported along the fabric and may come into contact with other non-infected parts of the wound that the dressing covers; this can cause infection of these areas.
There is therefore a desire in the field of wound dressings to provide a dressing with a high absorbency and a high rate of transportation of exudate away from a wound bed, while reducing any risk of reinfection of the wound caused by the spreading of exudate across non-infected areas of the wound. There is also a desire to provide a dressing that does not "stick" to the wound, whilst insulating and maintaining a moist environment for the wound.
One known way of addressing the above problems is to use perforated plastic films and laminates between the wound dressing and the wound bed. These films help reduce the adhesion of the dressing and the danger of exudates that are transported within the dressing contacting non-infected parts of the wound bed. These films, have the disadvantage, however, of hindering the absorbency rate of the exudate, as the perforations in the film are not sufficient to maximise absorbency. This may cause the exudate to remain on the wound site for longer. Another drawback with plastic films is that they are often less flexible and not as soft as the absorbent fabric. This can lead to the dressing being uncomfortable or painful when applied to a wound. It can also lead to problems for nursing staff when they try to cut the fabric for the wounds into complicated shapes to cover, for example, mobile joints. The plastic films are also fragile and easily damaged. This can lead to the absorbent fabric contacting the wound directly in certain places, with the risk of reinfection and sticking that this entails.
GB-A-1130857 discloses a dressing comprising a plurality of layers needle punched together. The outer wound contacting layer comprises a batt of polypropylene fibres produced by a carding machine, this is needled to an absorptive cellulose layer or cotton wadding layer which in turn is attached to a rayon layer. The surface of the polypropylene layer is heat treated.U.S. Pat. No. 4,211,227 discloses a nonwoven surgical sponge material having an inner core of rayon and polyester mix and a pair of outer layers of polyester fibres. The material is bonded by passing it through heated rollers.GB-A-2302669 discloses a dressing having two outer fibre batts needle punched to an inner screen formed of 80% polyester and 20% cotton yarns.


A photographic system comprises a camera and a film structure which can be loaded in the camera and in which photographing data can be recorded. The film structure has an image recording section in which a photographed image is recorded and a memory means for storing therein identification data peculiar to the film structure. And the camera inputs the identification data stored in the film structure into the camera and judges according to the inputted identification data whether the film structure is fit for the camera or not. Thereby, the photographing data can be recorded or read only when the film structure is fit for the camera.. Further, the present invention also relates to a film structure which can be loaded in a camera having peculiar identification data so that it is judged whether the film structure is fit for the camera or not.

The present invention relates a photographic system comprising a camera and a film structure which can be loaded in the camera and having a function of executing recording in and reading out photographing data between the camera and the film structure.
It is conventionally known that a recording medium such as a semiconductive memory is loaded in a camera so that photographing data are recorded in the recording medium, and the recorded data are read out of the recording medium and used at the time of development. For example, when the data are pseudo focal length photographing data, a range in the film narrower than a normal photographing range can be automatically printed according to the pseudo focal length photographing data.
In such a camera system, it is necessary to judge whether a recording medium to be loaded in a camera is practically fit for the camera or not, and various kinds of judging ways have been proposed.
For example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 62-208029 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,978), it is disclosed that when an IC card as a recording medium is loaded in a camera, data such as an electric source voltage, frequency and others of the IC card side are outputted to the camera side so as to judge whether the IC card is fit for the camera or not. However, in this reference, a film cartridge is neither used also as a recording medium for the photographing data nor has the IC card as its integrated part.
Further, in Japanese Laid-Open Paten Publication No. 62-40440 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,304), it is disclosed that data such as pseudo focal length photographing data are recorded in a film of a special film cartridge, and the special film cartridge and a cartridge loading chamber of a camera are so constructed that operation of recording a pseudo focal length photographing data and the like can be executed only when a predetermined special film cartridge is loaded in the camera. However, in a device disclosed in this reference, only whether a film cartridge is mechanically fit for the camera or not is judged, without judging whether electrical data communication between the camera and the film cartridge can be executed or not.
Further, for example, in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 56-154720 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,500,183), it is disclosed that a film cartridge is provided with a recording medium for recording photographing data, but there is no disclosure relating to judgment whether the film cartridge is fit for the camera or not. And in a device disclosed in this reference, since all data are renewedly recorded at every photographing time, all data are recorded irrespective of a photographer's will and the former stored data are fully erased.
However, among various kinds of data, data such as an optionally given comment is not necessarily recorded in each film frame but is has only to be recorded when a photographer desires. Further in the abovementioned device disclosed in the above reference, since unnecessary data are also recorded, high-speed processing of the recorded data in each film frame is limited.
It has been conventionally known that in such a kind of camera, the range size to be printed which is designated in the pseudo focal length photographing operation is limited according to the film sensitivity (ISO) and when the range size of printing reaches the limit value, it is set over a predetermined range (see, for example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 62-50745 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,735)). This is because the graininess of a film becomes worse as the magnification of printing becomes high, and it tends to become worse especially as the film sensitivity becomes high.
However, even when the film sensitivities of films are the same, the graininess of the films are different from each other. Further, it is required, if a photographer desires, to continuously set the range size to be printed even when the range size becomes below the limit value.

Photographic system capable of recording therein photographing data and reading out the same and film structure for use in the photographic system


A twin tower air drying system for cleaning and drying a stream of unpurified pressurized air including a centrifugal separator having a baffle horizontally disposed therein to generally separate the centrifugal chamber into an upper sub-chamber and a lower sub-chamber; a pair of cavities each containing desiccant media and a purge tube with a flapper valve thereover to close and restrict flow of air through the purge tube when air is flowing upwardly through the cavity, and to open and promote air flow through the purge tube when air is flowing downwardly through the cavity; a pair of two-way control valves to either deliver a stream of air from the centrifugal separator to a cavity or to open a cavity to atmosphere; a timer control for alternately and periodically altering the condition of the two-way control valves such that when one is delivering air to a cavity, the other is open to atmosphere; a shuttle valve for admitting an output percentage of air emerging from either of the cavities to a storage chamber, and to by-pass a purge percentage of the air into the other cavity from which air is not emerging.

It will be appreciated that a Westinghouse Air Brake Company C-1 air dryer is designed to remove moisture from compressed air for use in a compressed air system as utilized on railway trains, transit vehicles and the like, as necessary to operate the air brake system and air valves. U.S. Pat. No. 5,423,129, assigned to the assignee of this invention and cited above, discloses such a system wherein the compressed air is cleaned and dried by passing it through a regenerating system containing a desiccant material to absorb the moisture and filter-out particulate matter. The desiccant is regenerated by passing a small percentage of the dried air back therethrough which absorbs at least some of the moisture collected in the desiccant and is therefore discarded.
In operation, the above noted prior art air drying system (now referred to as the "single tower" system) receives compressed air from a conventional air compressor, a supply which typically contains an unacceptably high amount of moisture and other particulates suspended therein. This unpurified compressed air is caused to flow upwardly through a desiccant material usually in the form of a porous cartridge containing a porous desiccant media. The desiccant plays the key role within the single tower air drying system in that it absorbs the moisture and traps various particulates (e.g., dust, dirt, etc.) as the compressed air moves upwardly through the desiccant media. Once moisture and particulates are extracted from the air stream, the cleaned and dried compressed air continues flowing from the desiccant media through a purge check valve situated near the top of the tower. This purified compressed air then passes through a side chamber, a part of which eventually reaches a purge volume.
When the air compressor is cycled off, the system operates in a purge mode. During the purge mode, the purified pressurized air contained within the purge volume passes slowly in the reverse direction through a choke in a purge check valve and then back through the desiccant media. This slow stream of dried air reabsorbs a portion of the moisture previously collected within the desiccant media. Having evaporated into this passing stream of dry air, the evaporated moisture eventually exhausts through the sump volume to atmosphere. This gradual purging of dry air back through the system serves to dry out and thus rejuvenate or regenerate the desiccant media. When the air compressor is again cycled on, the tower system returns to operation in a drying mode, with the desiccant media then again removing moisture from the stream of unpurified compressed air passing therethrough.
More recently, a twin tower system has been proposed and developed in which a pair of desiccant containing chambers or towers are provided, each alternating back and forth between operation in drying mode and in recycle mode. Accordingly, at any given moment of operation, one tower is operating in air drying cycle while the other is operating in recycle mode or purge cycle. A pair of control valves are provided to automatically switch the flow to reverse these flow directions so that after a defined time period the cycles are reversed so that in effect a continuous operation is achieved with each tower alternately operating in drying mode permitting moisture to collect within the desiccant media while the other tower is in recycle mode removing the collected moisture from the desiccant material or media. This unique system obviously has a greater moisture removing capability and also avoids the need to have the source of unpurified air cycled-off in order to purge the desiccant material of the moisture it has accumulated, and thereby eliminate the need to temporarily deprive the pneumatic system of a steady supply of clean and dried compressed air while the compressor is turned off.
In addition to the above advantages, the switching of the two drying assemblies alternately between the drying and the purging modes allows the twin tower system to exsiccate the air stream more efficiently than the prior art single tower system. Two desiccant towers rather than one are employed in the air drying system with one absorbing moisture while the other is being purged of it. The switching of the two drying assemblies alternately between the drying and the purging modes thus serves to continuously purge moisture from the twin tower system. More fully desiccated air is thus supplied to the pneumatic system. The amount, density and overall surface area of the desiccant can also be selected to suit varying needs.
The twin tower system can be applied to a wide variety of pneumatic systems. Typical of the types of pneumatic systems to which the twin tower system could be applied include the pneumatic brake systems of passenger and freight railroad trains, subway trains and various other types of rail related transportation systems. Further examples include the pneumatic brake systems of various truck transport vehicles. Other types of pneumatic systems to which the twin tower system could be applied may be found outside the transportation field.
Another disadvantage of the single tower air drying system is that it is only capable of removing a certain, limited amount of moisture during the purge mode. Because the volume of unpurified air flowing into the system to be dried vastly exceeds the volume of purified air used to purge the desiccant media, the desiccant media never adequately exsiccates during operation of the single tower system. Indeed, the desiccant media adequately exsiccates only after the system has been turned off for a prolonged time sufficient to accomplish same. While the prior art twin tower system has a greatly increased water removing capacity, it is still not as great as would be desired for completely trouble free operation.

E-1 twin tower air dryer for an air compressor unit