A polishing apparatus is used for polishing a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer to a flat mirror finish. The polishing apparatus comprises a turntable having a polishing surface, and a top ring having a pressing surface for holding a workpiece to be polished and pressing the workpiece against the polishing surface of the turntable. At least one of the polishing surface of the turntable and the pressing surface of the top ring is a curved surface such as a convex surface or a concave.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polishing apparatus for polishing a workpiece, and more particularly to a polishing apparatus for polishing a workpiece such as a semiconductor wafer to a flat mirror finish.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent rapid progress in semiconductor device integration demands smaller and smaller wiring patterns or interconnections and also narrower spaces between interconnections which connect active areas. One of the processes available for forming such interconnection is photolithography. Though the photolithographic process can form interconnections that are at most 0.5 .mu.m wide, it requires that surfaces on which pattern images are to be focused by a stepper be as flat as possible because the depth of focus of the optical system is relatively small. Conventionally, as apparatuses for planarizing semiconductor wafers, there have been used a self-planarizing CVD apparatus, an etching apparatus or the like, however, these apparatuses fail to fully planarize semiconductor wafers. Recently, attempts have been made to use a polishing apparatus for planarizing semiconductor wafers to a flatter finish with more ease than those conventional planarizing apparatus.
Conventionally, a polishing apparatus has a turntable and a top ring which rotate at respective individual speeds. A polishing cloth is attached to the upper surface of the turntable. A semiconductor wafer to be polished is placed on the polishing cloth and clamped between the top ring and the turntable. An abrasive liquid containing abrasive grains is supplied onto the polishing cloth and retained on the polishing cloth. During operation, the top ring exerts a certain pressure on the turntable, and the surface of the semiconductor wafer held against the polishing cloth is therefore polished by a combination of chemical polishing and mechanical polishing to a flat mirror finish while the top ring and the turntable are rotated. This process is called Chemical Mechanical polishing.
Attempts have heretofore been made to apply an elastic pad of polyurethane or the like to a workpiece holding surface of the top ring for uniformizing a pressing force applied from the top ring to the semiconductor wafer. If the pressing force applied from the top ring to the semiconductor wafer is uniformized, the semiconductor wafer is prevented from being excessively polished in a local area, and hence is polished to a highly flat finish.
The polishing apparatus is required to have such performance that the surfaces of semiconductor wafers have a highly accurate flatness. Therefore, it is preferable that the lower end surface of the top ring which holds a semiconductor wafer, and the contact surface of the polishing cloth which is held in contact with the semiconductor wafer, and hence the upper surface of the turntable to which the polishing cloth is attached, have a highly accurate flatness, and those highly accurately flat surfaces which are kept parallel to each other in cooperation with a gimbal mechanism of the top ring unit have been used in the art.
In order to prevent a polishing surface, i.e., an upper surface of the turntable from being deformed into an upwardly convex shape due to frictional heat generated in a polishing process, there has been proposed a technique in which the turntable comprises an upper plate and a lower plate which are laminated and made up of materials having different coefficient of thermal expansion. Specifically, the coefficient of thermal expansion of the upper plate is smaller than that of the lower plate, and even if temperature of the turntable is raised due to frictional heat generated in the polishing process, the upper and lower plates expand equally because there is a temperature difference between the upper plate and the lower plate, thus keeping the upper surface (the polishing surface) of the turntable flat. As a result, both of the lower end surface of the top ring and the upper surface of the turntable are kept flat, and parallelism of both surfaces is maintained in cooperation with a gimbal mechanism of the top ring unit.
Further, for solving this kind of problem, there has been proposed another technique in which the upper surface of the turntable is deformed into an upwardly convex shape due to frictional heat generated in the polishing process, and the lower end surface of the top ring (or carrier) is caused to be deformed into a concave shape opening toward the bowed turntable by evacuating air in the chamber formed in the top ring so as to conform to the bowed turntable. Thus, the upper surface of the turntable and the lower end surface of the top ring are kept parallel to each other for improving polished wafer flatness.
Efforts have been made to find an ideal polishing surface, i.e., an ideal upper surface of the turntable and/or an ideal pressing surface, i.e., an ideal lower end surface of the top ring by inventors of the present application. It is found by the inventors that the upper surface of the turntable and the lower end surface of the top ring which are not necessarily flat are desirable.


The present invention is directed to the applications of a novel cytokine, named THANK, for TNF homologue that activates apoptosis, NF-κB and c-jun N-terminal kinase. Such applications include using THANK inhibitors to inhibit the activation of NF-κB and to treat a pathological condition caused by the activation of NF-κB. Also provided is a method of inhibiting growth of a wide variety of tumor cells by administering THANK protein.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the fields of biochemistry and molecular oncology. More specifically, the present invention relates to uses of a novel cytokine, THANK, a TNF homologue that activates apoptosis, nuclear Factor-κB, and c-jun N-terminal kinase.
2. Description of the Related Art
In 1984, two homologous cytokines were reported to inhibit the growth of tumor cells specifically (1-7) and was named TNF-α and TNF-β (also called lymphotoxin). Since then over 15 members of this family have been identified, including FasL, CD29L, CD30L, CD40L, OX-40L, 4-1BBL, LT-β, TWEAK, TRAIL, RANKL/TRANCE, LIGHT, VEGI, and APRIL (8-16). At the amino acid sequence level, various members of the TNF family are 20-25% homologous to each other. Most members of this family play an important role in gene activation, proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis. These ligands interact with the corresponding receptor, also members of the TNF receptor family, and activate the transcription factors NF-κB and AP1 (9, 17), a stress-activated protein kinase (c-jun N-terminal protein kinase, JNK), and a cascade of caspases.
The prior art is deficient in the lack of uses of a novel member of the TNF family, named THANK, for TNF homologue that activates apoptosis, NF-κB, and JNK. For example, the prior art is deficient in the lack of applications of THANK in inhibiting tumor growth and applications of THANK inhibitors in inhibiting the activation of NF-κB. The present invention fulfills this long-standing need and desire in the art.

Uses of THANK, a TNF homologue that activates apoptosis


A method of predicting a substrate current in a high voltage device that may accurately predict substrate current components in each of a first region, a second region, and a third region. This may be accomplished by modeling a substrate current component in a third region, in which an inconsistency may occur when a substrate current in a high voltage device is calculated, for example using BSIM3-based modeling. According to embodiments, a substrate current for a third region may be modeled by an expression with a ternary operator, and the modeled substrate current may be added to a substrate current obtained through BSIM3-based modeling.

In a semiconductor integrated device, for example a metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor, a substrate current may be used and may represent a hot electron effect. A hot electron effect may be a phenomenon that, when electrons travel from a source region to a drain region through a channel region in a MOS transistor, an electric field applied to the electrons in a channel around an end of the drain region may be maximized, and kinetic energy of the electrons may be significantly increased. Some electrons may go beyond an energy barrier at an Si—SiO2 interface and may intrude into an SiO2 film. The electrons with significant energy may be called hot electrons. Electrons with high energy, which may be hot electrons, may cause impact ionization in a high-electric-field region of a drain junction while traveling. Because of impact ionization, secondary electron-hole pairs may be generated. Of these, the electrons may move toward a drain region and may increase a drain current. In addition, holes may move toward a substrate according to an electric field, and may form a substrate current. Therefore, the extent to which a hot electron effect may occur may be analyzed based on a substrate current. That is, an increase in substrate current may indicate that a hot electron effect in a MOS transistor may be relatively more pronounced. An increase in a substrate current may affect electrical characteristics of a MOS transistor. For example, in a CMOS circuit, various problems, such as noise or latch-up, may occur. For this reason, an error may occur if a circuit is operated.
FIG. 1 illustrates a change in a substrate current depending on a gate voltage in a state where a drain voltage Vd in a related art MOS transistor may be maintained at 3.3 V, 2.75 V, and 2.2 V. Referring to FIG. 1, if a drain voltage in a related art transistor is maintained at a predetermined value or more, for example, when a drain voltage Vd may be at 3.3 V, substrate current may initially increase depending on a gate voltage. In addition, substrate current may decrease after a certain peak point. A reason may be as follows.
Initially, if a gate voltage is applied, a drain current may increase, and a number of electrons for an impact ionization may increase. If a gate voltage becomes excessively high, a MOS transistor may operate from a saturation region to a linear region. Therefore, a vertical electric field at a pinch-off point in a channel may decrease. As a result, an impact ionization ratio may decrease. A substrate current may be an important factor that may affect reliability of a product and output resistance. Therefore, in developing a semiconductor device, it may be necessary to accurately understand and predict characteristics of a substrate current. In addition, as semiconductor devices become more highly integrated, a hot electron effect may become more pronounced. Therefore, in developing a highly integrated semiconductor device, it may be important to predict what characteristics a substrate current may have in a MOS transistor.
Characteristics of a substrate current in a device, including a MOS transistor, may be predicted by modeling based on impact ionization. Many programs may be commercially available and may predict a substrate current of a device, including a MOS transistor. For example, SPICE may be an example of a design program that may use Berkeley Short-channel IgFET Mode (BSIM3) to predict a substrate current. A BSIM3-based substrate current prediction model may not accurately predict a substrate current for a high voltage device, such as a high voltage MOS transistor. A high voltage MOS transistor may have sufficient capability to endure a high voltage that may be applied to its drain, and may be commonly used in various power devices.
A high voltage MOS transistor may have a lateral double diffused MOS (LDMOS) in which a drain region may be lightly impurity doped, which may maintain a stability of a drain from the high voltage, and which may extend laterally. Characteristics of a substrate current in a device including a high voltage MOS transistor may be different from those in a device including a related art transistor.
FIG. 2 illustrates characteristics of a substrate current depending on a gate voltage in a high voltage MOS transistor where a drain voltage Vd may be maintained at 13.5 V, 11 V, 8.5 V, and 6 V. Referring to FIG. 2, in a high voltage device, if a drain voltage Vd is initially at 1.5 V, if a gate voltage increases, a substrate current may also increase (first region, 200). A substrate current may start to decrease after a certain peak point (second region, 210). In first region and second region, a high voltage device may have substantially the same characteristics as a device including a related art MOS transistor. If a gate voltage further increases, a substrate current may increase again (third region, 220). Such a third region may not be observed in a device such as a related art MOS transistor. As a result, it may be impossible to accurately predict a behavior of a substrate current in a high voltage device by modeling according to the related art.

Method of predicting substrate current in high voltage device


A film joining apparatus includes a first transport path (31) along which an old film (12) is transported and onto which a new film (15) whose leading end has been taken out is set, a second transport path (32) which is connected to the first transport path (31) and along which the old film (12) is transported, and a branch path (34) which is branched from the first transport path (31) and the second transport path (32) at a connecting section (33) therebetween. The apparatus further includes a heat fusion unit (40) disposed at the branch path (34) to join the tail end of the old film (12) and the leading end of the new film (15) by heat fusion, and a blower (39) disposed facing the connecting section (33) and adapted to jet an operating gas. The leading end of the new film (15) is introduced into the deepest portion of the branch path (34) in advance. When the operating gas is jetted from the blower (39), the old film (12) is pushed into the branch path (34) due to the pressure of the operating gas, so that the tail end of the old film (12) reaches the deepest portion of the branch path (34). Since it is not necessary to insert a pusher or the like into the branch path (34), static electricity is prevented from being generated in the pusher, the branch path (34), etc.

Conventionally, a predetermined number of packaging containers which have been discharged from a filling machine after being filled with contents are stacked in a packing pattern, and are wrapped by a heat-shrinkable film such as polyethylene film.
The film formed in an elongated shape is rolled and is set on a payoff machine as a film roll. The film supplied from the payoff machine is continuously fed to a shrink packaging machine. The film is cut in the shrink packaging machine when a predetermined amount is used for packaging.
When a film roll is used up during a continuous packaging operation, a new film roll (hereinafter referred to as a "new roll") is set on the payoff machine, and film is taken out from the new roll. Since the wrapping of packaging containers is continuously performed at the shrink packaging machine, the tail end of a previously used film roll (hereinafter referred to as an "old roll") is joined with the leading end of the new roll, With this joining operation, film can be continuously supplied to the shrink packaging machine.
FIG. 1 is an illustration showing a conventional film joining apparatus in a state before joining films. FIG. 2 is an illustration showing the conventional film joining apparatus in a state after joining the films.
In these drawings, numeral 11 denotes an old roll, numeral 12 denotes an old film which is taken out from the old roll 11 by an unillustrated payoff machine, numeral 14 denotes a new roll, numeral 15 denotes a new film which is taken out from the new roll 14 by an unillustrated payoff machine. While the old film 12 is taken out from the old roll 11, the new roll 14 is set on the payoff machine, as shown in FIG. 1. After that, the leading end of the new film 15 is pulled out.
Numeral 18 denotes ultrasonic sensors which are disposed along the transport paths of the films 12 and 15 in order to detect the tail ends of the taken-out films 12 and 15. Numerals 20 and 21 denote a pair of opposing heaters which are adapted to separate and approach each other. When the ultrasonic sensor 18 detects the tail end of the old film 12, an unillustrated controller causes the heaters 20 and 21 to approach each other. The heaters 20 and 21 nip the old film 12 in the vicinity of the tail end thereof and the leading end of the new film 15, and heat them, thereby fusing and joining them at a joining point a, as shown in FIG. 2. With this operation, the old film 12 and the new film 15 are joined with each other. Numeral 12a denotes a residual flap of the old film 12 which is formed on the rear side of the joining point a.
However, when the old film 12 and the new film 15 are joined with each other in the conventional film joining apparatus, the controller starts the movement of the heaters 20 and 21 at the time when the tail end of the old film 12 passes by the ultrasonic sensor 18.
Since the amount of the old film 12 taken out from the old roll 11 varies depending on the packing pattern in which packaging containers are stacked, it is difficult to position the tail end of the old film 12 between the heaters 20 and 21 for fusion. Accordingly, a residual flap 12a of the old film 12 is formed on the rear side of the joining point
As a result, when the new film 15 is taken out from the new roll 14 without removing the residual flap 12a, a machine in a succeeding stage will not operate properly. Therefore, an operation for stopping the machine and removing the residual flap 12a must be performed before the residual flap 12a enters the machine in the succeeding stage.
An object of the present invention is to solve the problems of the conventional film joining apparatus and to provide a film joining apparatus which prevents a residual flap from being formed on the rear side of a joining point when film of an old roll and film of a new roll are joined, thereby eliminating the necessity of stopping a machine in a succeeding stage.


Applications (11b 11d) and data files (11a 11c 11e) for a communication device (10) enabling the device to use a segment of a media or multimedia file (11a) (an audio file or one or more components of an audio-video file) stored in the communication device (10) to alert a user of the communication device (10) to the occurrence of an event, and to do so in a way that conserves memory. The invention provides an offset selector application (11b) by which a user is able to indicate that a particular segment of the media file (11a) is to be used to signal the occurrence of an event. Instead of storing the segment in the communication device (10), the offset selector application (11b) typically stores only offsets (21a 21b) in respect to the media file (11a), and the offsets are used in combination with the media file (11a) to provide the alert notification.

In many situations today a user of a communication device such as a mobile phone wants to know who's calling. To this end, makers of communication devices today typically provide a way for a user to associate with a calling number (or simply with a call irrespective of who's calling) a particular sound (including music) to serve as a ring tone. Such a ring tone could be, e.g. a portion of an audio file stored in the communication device, or at least the audio portion of an audio-video file. Users today can also use clips of audio-video files (including what are sometimes called music video files) for ring tones.
Besides wanting to know who's calling, users of communication devices today sometimes use such devices for (sending and) receiving SMS (short message service) mail, email, or other digital messages. And users can configure their communication devices to indicate the sender of an email (or simply that an email has arrived) by having the communication device emit a distinct sound to serve as what is more aptly called an alert notification, alerting the user that an email from a particular sender (or irrespective of the particular sender) has arrived. The distinct sound could be, again, a portion of an audio file.
Further, many communication devices are configurable by the user to emit a distinct sound in case of other events. A simple example is the event of a certain time, i.e. the user configures the communication device to serve as an alarm clock, and arranges that a particular sound be produced by the communication device, and again, the user might want the sound to be a portion of an audio file (or the audio portion of an audio-video file).
So there are, in principle, many different events for which a user might want to associate distinct sounds or segments/clips of audio or audio-video files. To actually store in a communication device a segment of an audio (or audio-video) file for each different possible event a user might want to be alerted to can consume a significant portion of the memory of a communication device. Thus, since in general memory in a communication device is advantageously used prudently, it would be useful to store or otherwise indicate in a communication device many different clips of audio or audio-video files (or even simply pure video), but in a way that conserves memory.

System for providing alert notifications for a communication device


An organosiloxane block copolymer having the formula depicted (I) depicted below: ##STR1## wherein: m has a value of 8.0-18.0;. n has a value of 1.0-5.0; PA1 x has a value of about 0.2 to about 0.7; PA1 y has a value of 1 minus the value of x; PA1 R is ##STR2## R.sup.1 ##STR3## R.sup.2 is a C.sub.1 -C.sub.5 lower alkylene group; V is a vinyl group; and PA1 Me is a methyl group.. Preparation of the organosiloxane block copolymer of the above formula (I) by polymerizing .alpha.,w-bis(oxymethyl)polydimethyl-methylvinylsiloxane, and diphenylmethanediisocyanate, and di(oxyethyl)m-toluidine in the presence of a solvent and a catalyst. A composite membrane, which may be used in a pervaporation process, comprising a hydrophilic asymmetric membrane coated with a mixture of an organosiloxane block copolymer, a linking reagent and a catalytically effective amount of a hydrosilylation catalyst.

Azeotropic mixtures or close boiling mixtures have been conventionally separated by large scale multistage distillations or, sometimes, by combined processes such as extractive distillation. These separation processes are generally characterized by high energy demands, relatively large capital plant investments, a variety of maintenance problems, and severe environmental pollution problems whose solution contribute to the energy usage.
Attention has recently been focused on mixtures produced as by-products of the chemical and petroleum industries. Separation of these mixtures into their components has frequently been difficult and consequently certain of the by-products have been deemed as expendable and disposable. The development of a low cost technique for separating such by-product mixtures would clearly be of great benefit.
Conventional separation techniques such as distillation, adsorption, liquid-liquid extraction and crystallization are often insufficient and uneconomical. Application of separation processes which involve the use of porous and/or semi-permeable membranes for separating compounds can save in process costs because energy consumption is low, raw materials and nutrients can be recovered and reused, fermentation processes can be carried out continuously, and disposal problems can be reduced or eliminated. The separation processes using membrane technology include: ultrafiltration, reverse osmosis, pervaporation and electrodialysis, in combination with distillation.
Ultrafiltration is employed to separate colloidal particles according to their particle size (preferably, 10 microns to 10 nanometers). The process involves feeding a liquid mixture through a microporous membrane while both sides of the membrane are maintained at high operating pressure, e.g., 7 bars. Reverse osmosis involves feeding a liquid mixture on one side of a membrane at high operating pressures, e.g., 7 bars, while maintaining the system on the opposite side of the membrane at atmospheric pressure. Thus, the resulting permeate remains in the liquid phase. Suitable conventional reverse osmosis membranes consist of cellulose derivatives. A disadvantage of the reverse osmosis and ultrafiltration process employing conventional membranes is that the highest concentration of the liquid mixture that can be obtained is about 20% due to the high osmotic pressure requirements.
The pervaporation process involves feeding a liquid mixture on one side of a membrane at atmosphere pressure, while maintaining the system on the opposite side of the membrane at a sufficiently low vapor pressure to vaporize one liquid component by employing a vacuum pump or an inert gas flow. The resulting component (permeate) that is permeated through the membrane is vaporized and is collected in a gaseous state. The advantages of this process is that it can be applicable to the separation of azeotropic mixture that cannot be separated by an ordinary distillation, to the separation of a mixture of compounds having close boiling points, to the concentration of a compound which is sensitive to heat, or to the separation of isomers. Moreover, unlike reverse osmosis, these separations or concentrations are applicable over the entire range that is to be treated.
For the pervaporation processes, the efficiency of the membrane is evaluated by the permselectivity which is measured by the permeability flow rate (flux) and the separation factor (selectivity). The separation factor (S. F.) is defined as the ratio of the concentration of two substances A and B in the permeate divided by the ratio of the concentration of the same substances in the feed. Specifically, for separation of water-alcohol mixtures, the separation factor (S. F.) is calculated according to the following equation: EQU S. F. =(Yw/Yal)/(Xw/Xal)
where:
Yw: concentration of water in the permeate PA1 Yal: concentration of alcohol in the permeate PA1 Xw: concentration of water in the feed PA1 Xal: concentration of alcohol in the feed PA1 n has a value of 1.0-5.0; PA1 x has a value of about 0.2 to about 0.7; PA1 y has a value of 1 minus the value of x; PA1 R is ##STR5## R.sup.1 is ##STR6## R.sup.2 is a C.sub.1 -C.sub.5 lower alkylene group; V is a vinyl group; and PA1 Me is a methyl group. PA1 (a) dissolving the organosiloxane block copolymer and the linking reagent in a solvent to form a first solution; PA1 (b) adding a catalytically effective amount of a hydrosilylation catalyst to the first solution to form a second solution; PA1 (c) coating the hydrophilic asymmetric membrane with the second solution; PA1 (d) allowing the coated composite membrane to swell; and PA1 (e) drying the swollen coated composite membrane.
Two types of membranes have been conventionally employed for the separation of water-alcohol mixtures in the pervaporation process: water-permselective membranes and alcohol-permselective membranes. For alcohol dehydration, water-permselective membranes are employed and the permeate is water. Thus, water is in the saturating vapor phase. Processes using conventional water-permselective membranes employ mixtures containing up to about 10% water. In contrast, when alcohol-permselective membranes are employed, the permeate is alcohol. Thus, alcohol is in the saturating vapor phase. Processes using conventional alcohol-permselective membranes employ mixtures containing up to about 10% alcohol.
Alcohol-permselective membranes are conventionally hydrophobic. U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,440 to Higashimura describes one such membrane, a substituted acetylene polymer membrane. Higashimura's data shows that, in the process of evaporating mixtures having a water concentration of 90% through his substituted acetylene polymer membranes, the separation factor equals 0.033 and the permeability flow rate equals 1.91 kg/h.m.sup.2. In addition, Higashimura describes a method of producing his membranes which is time consuming and inefficient. Kimura et al., 8(3) Membrane 177-83 (1983) describes a hydrophobic membrane made of silicone rubber. Kimura's data shows that, in the process of evaporating mixtures with water concentrations of 90% through silicone rubber membranes, the permeability flow rate equals 0.140 Kg/h.m.sup.2.
Comparative Example 2 of U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,440 describes a composite membrane consisting of a hydrophobic coating grafted on a chemically inert membrane, e.g.. polytetra-fluoroethylene ("PTFE"). This composite membrane is prepared by applying a silicone rubber coating (500 micrometer thick) on a PTFE base and then exposing it to U. V. light at room temperature to obtain a uniform film of approximately 70 micrometers thick. In the process of evaporating water-ethanol mixtures having a water content of 90% and with the vapor phase saturated with ethanol, the separation factor equals 0.14 and the permeability equals 0.067 kg/h.m.sup.2.
As the above references demonstrate, the conventional alcohol-permselective membranes have numerous disadvantages. One disadvantage is the small operating range for membrane concentrating efficiency (up to 15% of alcohol). Another disadvantage is the low alcohol permselectivity. Further, as the alcohol concentration in the feed rises above 15%, the alcohol permselectivity through the membrane decreases substantially.
Conventionally, the art teaches that water-permselective membranes are hydrophilic membranes in order to preferentially attract the water. See Toshihiro et al., 36 Journal of Applied Polymer Science 1717 (1988). Examples of conventional hydrophilic membranes are polyalcohols, polyamides, polyethers and polyesters. Aptel et al., 16 Journal of Applied Polymer Science 1061 (1972) describe a water permselective membrane made from a hydrophilic membrane of cellulose acetate. When evaporating a water-ethanol mixtures having a water content of 4%, Aptel's data shows a separation factor equaling 3.0 and a permeability flow rate equaling 0.29 kg/h.m.sup.2.
Hirotsu et al., 36 Journal of Applied Polymer Science 717 (1988) describes a hydrophilic membrane composed of polyvinyl alcohol crosslinked by fluorescent light. When evaporating a water-ethanol mixture having a water content of 10% through such membranes, Hirotsu's data shows a separation factor equaling 21 but a permeability flow rate equaling only 0.02 kg/h.m.sup.2. Moreover, for evaporating mixtures having a water content of 0.5% through such membranes, Hirotsu's data shows a separation factor equaling 170 but a permeability flow rate dropping to zero.
Hirotsu et al., 6(12) Research Institute Polymer Text, Japan, 33 (1986) describe a hydrophilic composite membrane prepared by coating a photocrosslinkable acrylic acid on a porous polypropylene film. When evaporating water-ethanol mixture having a water content of 10% through such membrane, Hirotsu's data shows a separation factor equaling 36 and a permeability flow rate equaling 0.1 kg/h.m.sup.2.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,728,429 to Cabasso et al. describes a method of preparing a hydrophilic membrane from a sulfonated ion-exchange polyalkylene. When evaporating a water-ethanol mixture having a water content of 14.6% through such a membrane, Cabasso's data shows a separation factor equaling 725 and a permeability flow rate equaling 0.152 kg/h.m.sup.2.
As the above references illustrate, conventional water-permselective membranes have numerous disadvantages. One is, as the concentration of alcohol in the feed increases, the permeability flow rate through the membrane substantially decreases. That decrease is believed to be characteristic for all conventional water permselective membranes because, as the liquid passes through the membrane, the membrane swells. Thus, when the water content decreases below 10%, the permeability rate decreases substantially. As a result, such membranes generally cannot be used to effectively remove all the water from an alcohol-water mixture. Therefore, these membranes cannot effectively be used for alcohol dehydration.

Composite membrane of a hydrophilic asymmetric membrane coated with an organosiloxane block copolymer


A plurality of supercapacitor elements is arranged in rows and columns within a single housing. The elements have no physical connection until they are configured into series, parallel or combinatory matrix by a configuration circuit composing of switches, a driver and a controller. Under the manipulation of the configuration circuit, the elements can be assembled in a broad voltage range to deliver the desired powers to automobiles, heavy machineries, power tools, appliances, or consumer electronics in real-time responses. When the loads present energy for recovery, the elements can also be immediately grouped in the voltage and capacity ranges corresponding to the power levels of the energy to be harvested. Using the present invention, the efficiency of DC and AC energy utilization can be significantly improved.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to configurable power tank for power delivery and storage and, more particularly, to a plurality of supercapacitor elements arranged in rows and columns in a single housing with an integrated configuration circuit. The latter can configure the elements in real-time responses to fulfill power demands and to save recoverable power.
2. Description of the Related Art
Energy efficiency is a crucial issue, especially, in the era of high oil prices and quick depletion of petroleum depositories. Industries from automobile and electric locomotive to semiconductor to utility have dedicated a lot of resources to improve the energy efficiency of manufacturing processes and products. Due to the assistance of batteries, the hybrid cars generate better energy efficiency and gas mileage than the comparable regular gas models. One of the gas-saving factors of hybrids is that the battery can be used to retrieve the residual energy of the vehicles in regenerative braking. There is no such energy recovering capability in the regular gasoline cars. However, all batteries rely on specific chemical reactions for energy delivery and energy storage known as discharging and charging, respectively. The kinetic and thermodynamic characteristics of the foregoing energy conversions often restrict the power capacity, charge and discharge efficiency, as well as lifetime of batteries. In power delivery and storage for high-power applications, batteries are inadequate because of the chemical nature.
Energy in the form of electricity is directly stored and released in capacitors via various physical processes. Among them, surface adsorption and de-sorption are the mechanisms of energy storage and energy delivery, respectively, for electrolytic capacitors. The electrodes of the capacitors adsorb ions from an electrolyte at charging, while the stored energy is delivered with automatic de-sorption of ions at discharging. Due to the complete reversibility and fast response of physical processes, the capacitors have long life, high power density, as well as good energy efficiency at charging and discharging. Assuming the unique properties of an electrolytic capacitor, the supercapacitor advances the application of capacitor to a higher level of power provision by offering hundreds to thousands times more energy content of those of conventional capacitors.
Though the energy content of today's supercapacitor is still no match to the battery, the former is used to improve the power density and lifetime of battery. The foregoing enhancement of battery power and lifetime is known as the load leveling effect. Numerous applications of the load leveling effect have been patented, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,146,095; 5,545,933; 5,604,426; 5,663,628; 5,734,205; 6,995,480 and 7,002,112, just to name a few.
In all previous work with supercapacitor-related applications, the capacitor can only provide one delivery of one peak power. Then the capacitor requires a refill of energy for the second round of power provision. As shown in FIG. 1, the supercapacitor may discharge from Vs, the fully charged level ST, to 0 volts. Then, it may take a period from T1 to T2 for refilling the capacitor to Vs for delivering power again. Thus, the power delivery of the conventional use of supercapacitor is intermittent. Such power outrage is clearly unacceptable to many high-power applications.
Furthermore, as the voltage of the supercapacitor drops below the threshold voltage level TH to drive a load, the residual energy of the capacitor becomes ineffective due to insufficient driving force. This ineffective energy will be discharged and refilled without contribution to the work of the capacitor. In the repetitive charge and discharge of supercapacitor, a great amount of energy is wasted. To compensate the ineffective energy, supercapacitor is commonly over-designed for power applications resulting in high cost. This, in turn, is why it needs a method to improve its power management more efficiently and economically. Another problem in the use of supercapacitor is that many well-packaged capacitors are connected in series for producing the needed output voltages. When the module is charged or discharged in series, there is always an imbalance of voltage distribution among the members in the pack. To overcome the uneven distribution of voltage, each capacitor is assigned a protection circuit. Henceforth, an effective and economical method of cell assembly of the power tank supercapacitor modules for the power applications is needed as well.


The present disclosure details a system, apparatus and method for reducing the redundant handling of distributed network events. In one aspect, a proxy node is selected from a plurality of network nodes and an associated network management station (“NMS”) preferably addresses only the distributed events received from the proxy node. In an alternate embodiment, non-proxy nodes may be limited to reporting node-specific events to the NMS, resulting in a reduction of the number of distributed events received and processed by the NMS to those sent by the proxy node. The proxy node may be selected by the NMS or by the network nodes, in alternate implementations. Availability of the proxy node may be monitored and ensured by the network nodes or by the NMS. The selection of a proxy node is generally repeated upon the addition of nodes to the network or a lapse in proxy node availability.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present application is related to computer networks. More specifically, the present application is related to a system, apparatus and method for handling multiple instances of events while avoiding duplication of work in a distributed network environment.
2. Background of the Invention
The distributed nature of computer networks presents various challenges for their centralized management. One such challenge is event or alarm management and processing. In a typical network environment, distributed network nodes typically notify the network's central network management server software application of any changes in the state of the network or of individual nodes. In general, the network management application or software may be run on one network server or simultaneously on a plurality of such servers. Such network management applications typically represent a single point, management interface for network administration.
Among the events or alarms typically monitored in a distributed network are distributed and node-specific events. In general, distributed events are those events that may affect the network as a whole. One example of a distributed event is the removal of a device port's entry from an associated Distributed Name Server. Such an event is considered a distributed event because it affects the Distributed Name Server on all of the network's Fibre Channel switches, for example.
Node-specific events, on the other hand, are typically concerned only with the state of an individual node. One example of a node-specific event is a FAN_FAILURE alarm. A FAN_FAILURE alarm is considered a node-specific event because it does not generally affect any nodes in the network other than the node where it originates.
Network management difficulties arise when the same distributed event is sent to the network management application by multiple nodes. If the network management application handles or processes each instance of the reported event without distinguishing whether each event is a different event or multiple copies of the same event, the network management application may suffer performance degradation resulting from double-handling, i.e., the repeated processing or addressing of the same events. Double-handling is typically most dangerous in situations where the network management application handles or processes events based on certain assumptions regarding the current state of the computer network. In other words, when the network management application receives a subsequent copy of the same event, the state of the network may have already been changed as a result of the network management application's handling of the previously reported event. At a minimum, double-handling consumes resources as the network management application attempts to repeatedly handle or process the same event.
Attempts to resolve the issue of double-handling include giving the multiple copies of the same event the same identity tag. In such an implementation, when the network management application receives notification of events, the network management application will begin by examining the identity tags. By examining the identity tags, the network management application can group those events with the same identity tags together, thereby enabling the network management application to handle or process the same event only once.
In reality, however, identity tags are impractical to implement. In one aspect, the need for the nodes to communicate with each other to agree on the identity tag every time they are going to send a notice of an event results in excessive network overhead. In a further aspect, the network management application generally has to keep a history of all the received tags in order to perform tag association.

Method and system for reduced distributed event handling in a network environment


A screw-free fan bracket mounting structure includes a base frame mounted inside the case of a computer and a fan bracket fastened to the base frame for holding a cooling fan, the fan bracket having a top protruding block, a retaining block and a bottom hook, the base frame having an upper coupling hole, a retaining hole and a lower coupling hole for receiving the top protruding block, retaining block and bottom hook of the fan bracket respectively. The distance between the retaining block and bottom hook of the fan bracket is slightly greater than the distance between the retaining hole and lower coupling hole of the base frame so that the fan bracket is slightly compressed to produce an amount of plastic deformation and secured firmly to the base frame with an elastic force during installation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a support for use in a computer or the like to support a fan and more specifically, to a screw-free fan bracket mounting structure.
2. Description of Related Art
A computer has many internal component parts, for example, a CPU, hard disk drive, etc. that produce heat when running. Cooling fans are commonly used in computers for causing a convection current of air to dissipate heat, thereby maintaining high system stability. A server is generally equipped with a quantity of cooling fans so that when one cooling fan fails, the others keep functioning whereby the maintenance engineer can repair the damaged cooling fan without shutting down the server.
In most computer servers, cooling fans are installed in a fan holder formed of a base frame and a plurality of fan brackets. When repairing one cooling fan, the maintenance engineer must detach the respective fan bracket from the base frame. However, because the fan brackets are fastened to the base frame with screws, it takes too much time to disconnect one fan bracket from the base frame.

Screw-free fan bracket mounting structure


Transmission equipment comprises: a measurement unit configured to measure respective transmission delays of the plurality of paths by using a frame transmitted between the transmission equipment and correspondent equipment; a detector configured to detect a priority of an input packet; a selector configured to select a path for transmitting the input packet from among the plurality of paths; and a frame processing unit configured to transmit a frame onto which the input packet is mapped to the correspondent equipment through a path selected by the selector. The selector selects an alternative path for transmitting the input packet from among the plurality of paths based on the priority of the input packet detected by the detector and respective transmission delays of the plurality of paths measured by the measurement unit when a failure occurs in a path that has been selected by the selector.

Networks that transmit information by using Ethernet (registered trademark) packets have become widespread. Also, Optical Transport Networks (OTNs) defined in ITU-T Recommendation G.709 are becoming widespread as networks for example large-volume trunk line systems. Thus, transmission equipment that maps Ethernet packets onto OTN frames and transmits the packets has been implemented in practical use. In other words, transmission equipments having the Ethernet over OTN function have been implemented in practical use.
In some cases, networks such as those described above have a redundant configuration in order to enhance their reliability. In Ethernet over OTN for example, a plurality of OTN paths are provided between transmission equipments. Also, transmission equipment includes a switch for selecting an output port (i.e., an OTN path) for Ethernet packets. In such a case, when a failure has occurred in a currently used OTN path, the switch of transmission equipment selects a different OTN path. This configuration makes it possible to continue communications even when a failure has occurred in a currently used system.
As a related technique, a device that selects a transmission path in accordance with a request from a communication system, a router that distributes packets in accordance with the priority of the packets, and the like are known (for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2008-72181, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2002-300193, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2001-69166, and Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication No. 2003-338837).
The priority of an Ethernet packet is specified by using a VLAN tag in layer 2 defined by IEEE802.1Q, a TOS (Type Of Service) defined by RFC2474, and the like. For example,
Ethernet packets that transmit audio data or video image data are often given high priority. Further, it is desirable that Ethernet packets with high priority be stored in OTN frames and thereafter be transmitted through an OTN path whose transmission delay is small.
According to the conventional techniques, however, when a failure has been detected in a currently used OTN path, transmission equipment selects an available OTN path without taking the priority of Ethernet packets into consideration. This may sometimes cause a situation where Ethernet packets with a high priority are transmitted through an GIN path whose delay is large. In such a case, there is a possibility that the quality of the audio or video image will deteriorate.
The use of an Ethernet test signal permits the measurement of transmission delays of packets. However, the
Ethernet test signal is transmitted while the transmission of actual data (for example client data) is in a halted state. This means that when the Ethernet test signal is used for measuring a transmission delay, the transmission of actual data may be halted. Accordingly, when, for example, a line has been added after the start of communication services, it is difficult to measure the transmission delay of that added line by using the Ethernet test signal.

Transmission equipment and path selection method


The present invention is directed to communications methods and apparatus for efficiently distributing traffic to processing entities. An exemplary method includes the steps of: receiving, at a first Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) load balancer (SLB), a first SIP INVITE message; selecting, at the first SLB, which Session Border Controller (SBC) in a first cluster of SBCs to send the first SIP invite message based on a message allocation weight determined based on message loss information corresponding to different SBCs in the first cluster of SBCs, the selecting including allocating a portion of incoming received SIP INVITE messages to an individual SBC based on a message loss rate corresponding to the individual SBC and the message allocation rate, said selecting including selecting a first SBC from the first cluster of SBCs to send said first SIP INVITE message, and sending the first SIP INVITE message to the first SBC.

Most microservices/loosely coupled cluster architectures depend on the notion of a Front-End (FE). FE distributes traffic to Back-End (BE) entities. Sometimes there are more than one FE, with each FE working independent of each other. FEs distribute traffic to BEs. This distribution should be as evenly as possible for best utilization of available resources. FIG. 1 is a drawing 100 of a cluster architecture 102 including Front End (FE) entities (front end 1 106, . . . , front end M 108) and Back-End Entities (back end 1 110, . . . , back end n 112) in which the FEs distribute traffic 104 to the BE entities.
There are certain practical constraints/subtle points pertaining to this procedure, which will now be described. There is a m:n relationship between FE/BE which makes a centralized FE view of BE status impractical. FEs should be as lightweight as possible as they are expected to distribute traffic for a large number of BEs. Traffic classification usually requires protocol specific procedures which are not suitable to be implemented in FEs as that would impact their performance significantly. Traffic for the cluster should be distributed as evenly as possible among BEs. Overall cluster overload status should be considered when rejecting traffic. An overload situation should not be exacerbated; therefore, generating unnecessary retries should be avoided.
Furthermore, incoming traffic may be classified in different categories requiring special semantics. For example, a message classified as high priority may be expected to be completed with a higher probability even if the cluster is overloaded.
Providing a technological solution adhering to the aforementioned restrictions is challenging. Based on the above discussion there is a need for new methods and apparatus to efficiently distribute traffic in a cluster. From the foregoing, it is readily apparent that there is a need for new and/or improved methods and apparatus for an efficient way of distributing traffic that is dynamically scalable and in which the number of devices to which the traffic is distributed can vary greatly along with the processing capacities of each of the devices to which the traffic is distributed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods and apparatus for efficient load balancing among microservices and/or processing entities

Ribbon Communications Operating Company, Inc.


In the method of scheduling, an order in which mobile stations are scheduled is changed based on at least one transmit beam criteria.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to scheduling methods in wireless communication networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Presently, base stations implement scheduling algorithms to schedule transmission by mobile subscribers separately and independently of the beam forming approach, which may also be implemented by the base station. First, scheduling of mobile stations for transmission will be discussed and then different beam forming concepts will be discussed.
A base station typically includes a scheduler implementing a scheduling algorithm that establishes an order in which to schedule the mobile stations for transmission. For example, it is known for the scheduler to establish a priority vector S, an example of which is shown below in Equation 1.S=[Sk, Sl . . . Sz]]  (1)where Si is a service metric value for mobile station i.
The priority vector S is a sorted list of service metric values for the mobile stations to be scheduled, with each value being associated with one of the mobile stations. For example, the service metric value may represent the data history of the mobile user, a channel state, user priority based on a subscribed quality of service, etc. The scheduler sorts the values; for example, from lowest to highest, to establish a scheduling priority for the mobile stations. The mobile associated with the lowest service metric value corresponds to the highest priority mobile station and will be scheduled first. As shown in Equation 1, Sk corresponds to the lowest service metric value, and therefore, mobile station k will be scheduled first.
The scheduler of a base station may apply various scheduling algorithms in determining the service metric value for each mobile station; for example, an algorithm to generate a service metric value may combine one or more measurement values to derive a service metric value. Also, scheduling algorithms may sort or order the scheduling priority of the mobile stations in various ways. For example, these scheduling algorithms may include a round robin scheduling algorithm, a proportional fair scheduling algorithms, as well as other well-known scheduling algorithms.
The quality of service the base station provides to a mobile station may be affected by the scheduling algorithm as will be appreciated from the above description, but may also be affected by the beam forming approach adopted by the base station. Typically, a base station employs one of two types of beam forming: fixed beam forming and adaptive beam forming. In fixed beam forming, the base station uses a number of preformed antenna beams to cover the area of cell. Each mobile station is assigned to one of the preformed beams. FIG. 1 illustrates a base station 10 having four antenna elements in a uniform linear array to form four transmit beams in a sector of the cell serviced by the base station 10. A base station using fixed beam forming may suffer from performance degradation due to interference when a plurality of scheduled mobile stations are assigned to a same one of the beams.
In adaptive beam forming, the base station provides a individual transmit beam for each mobile station; namely, as many beams as mobile stations are formed. This approach provides gains, such as in signal-to-noise ratio and therefore throughput, when the mobile stations are separated by a certain angular distance. However, scheduled mobile stations may suffer from performance degradation due to interference when this angular distance is less than a threshold angle.
Unfortunately, existing scheduling algorithms do not account for the detrimental impact interference may have as a result of the beam forming approach implemented at the base station.

Method of scheduling for mobile stations in wireless communication networks


A stylized insulator and heating device for an electrically heated container. The heating device is adapted for positioning about the container. The insulator comprises a conformable and stylized body, which is removable attached to the heating unit and which removably covers at least the top of the container. The present invention increases the efficiency of the heated container by retaining the heat emitted thereby while still allowing access to the container.

Heated containers are often used to warm contents for various purposes. For example, cloth material used for child care, such as wiping cloths or towels for cleaning children and diapers, is often kept at a warm temperature in a heated container to increase the comfort when applied to the child. In other environments, such as health spas, liquids and towels for guests are oftened heated in containers. However these heated containers are not aesthetically appealing or energy efficient.
Thus there is need for an aesthetically appealing and energy efficient apparatus for maintaining the temperature of a container. The present invention addresses this as well as other needs.

Stylized insulator and insulating heating unit for a container

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A reversible threshold is provided for positioning beneath a door mounted in a door frame. The threshold includes a base and a riser which is removably connected to the base and provides a sealing surface for the bottom edge of the door. The riser has a sloped upper surface to carry water away from the door. The base can be placed in one orientation for an in-swing door mounting and another position for an out-swing door mounting. The riser is also reversible so that it can be placed with the top surface sloping away from the door when the base is in either orientation.

This invention relates in general to door frames and, more particularly, to a threshold for such frames.
Various types of thresholds are available for use in a door frame to provide a seal which prevents air and water infiltration between the threshold and the bottom of the door. The threshold, particularly when used in conjunction with an exterior door of a building, may also include a base portion which slopes away from the door to carry water away from the door and prevent it from seeping under the door and into the building.
Many types of door frames are designed so that the door can be mounted to open into the building or the door can be reversed and mounted so that it swings out of the building. A door which opens inwardly is commonly referred to as an "in-swing" door while a door that opens outwardly is referred to as an "out-swing" door. A door frame which allows for reversible mounting of the door is highly desirable because it reduces the number of different door frames that need to be stocked by manufacturers and suppliers.
One problem that complicates the switching of a door frame between in-swing and out-swing configurations is that many types of conventional thresholds are not interchangeable and can be used only with an in-swing or an out-swing door. A builder utilizing a reversible door frame must then separately order the correct type of threshold for the particular application. This reduces the versatility of the door frame and the ability to adapt the door frame to the desired configuration at the job site. In order to more fully benefit from the advantages provided by a reversible door frame, a need has thus developed for a threshold that can be easily adapted for use with both in-swing and out-swing door configurations.


An improved automotive air bag assembly includes a sheet metal housing having a cover formed of a homogeneous plastic. The cover is formed with locking arms for engaging the rim of the housing. Two of the locking arms are clamped onto the rim by a clamping member and two orthogonal locking arms are not so clamped. The cover defines tear lines whose thickness varies to control the sequence and direction of tear whereby doors are created whose hinges form in thickened regions of the cover material.

Automotive air bags are commonly installed to protect both the driver and the front seat passenger from injury in the event of a head-on collision. The term "air bag" is something of a misnomer because, typically, the bag is filled with a rapidly evolving gas produced by an ignitor. The bag is designed to inflate in no more than approximately 50 milliseconds. In its uninflated and folded condition it is mounted within a housing having a cover which is designed to tear along predetermined lines to provide an opening for the escape of the air bag.
In view of the explosive nature of the air bag inflation, one of the major problems with prior art installations has been the tendency of the air bag cover to part from its housing or to break into pieces. The air bag cover or its pieces thereby become projectiles capable of inflicting damage on the occupants.
Various approaches have been employed in the prior art to overcome this problem. In one such approach, the plastic cover member is strengthened by embedding therein a fabric band made of a highly tear resistant material Such an approach, for example, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,334,699 of Patzelt et al. In another approach disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,092,627 of Igawa, the plastic cover is riveted to a metal plate which deforms as the cover breaks open. U.S. Pat. No. 4,968,057 of Rafferty discloses metal sheet inserts which are also riveted to the housing. Other approaches to the solving of these problems will be found in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,148,503 of Shiratori et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,852,907 of Shiraki et al., and U.S. Pat. No. 5,013,065 of Kreuzer.
One of the major problems with all of the prior art solutions is that they are expensive to implement and result in an undesirably heavy air bag installation. Furthermore, the covers lack flexibility with the result that they are not easily assembled. Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide an air bag installation comprising a molded cover which requires no reinforcements. Another object is to provide such a cover which is sufficiently flexible that it may be readily assembled to the air bag housing. Another object is to provide such an assembly wherein the energy of the expanding air bag is dissipated in a managed way to prevent the cover from breaking up. Another object is to provide a cover which is designed so that, as it opens, it flexes in such a manner that it becomes more firmly secured to the housing. Other objects, features, and advantages will become apparent from the following description and appended claims.


A user-interface system for entering an alphanumeric string or alphanumeric clusters for identifying information content is presented. The user-interface system has presentation logic for displaying an image of a virtual user alphanumeric interface on a presentation device. The virtual user alphanumeric interface includes an image of an overloaded keypad that has a two dimensional configuration of alphanumeric clusters. Each cluster corresponds to a set of alphanumeric characters. The user-interface system also has cluster selection logic for receiving user actions from an input device (e.g., five-button interface) to provide visual cues to help the user select an alphanumeric cluster and to cause the selected alphanumeric cluster or character from a cluster to be displayed in a display field of the virtual user alphanumeric interface.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to techniques for text entry input into a search interface that assists users in both stages of text entry, including (1) locating the desired characters without having to look at the physical text entry device and (2) selecting the desired character or symbol.
2. Description of Related Art
User interface options to enter text input to a television using a remote control are currently very limited and cumbersome. Some remote controls just have numerals and do not have alphabets on the keypad as illustrated in FIG. 1. To overcome the limitation of the absence of alphabets on the remote control, some interfaces display a mapping of the keys of the remote control to the letters of the alphabet. The user must then find the appropriate key corresponding to the desired letter in the map and then look at the physical device to select the appropriate number key (a cognitive task that is perceived to be cumbersome by an average user). Another approach used in practice today is to have both numerals and alphabets listed in the form of a matrix as illustrated in FIG. 2 and have the user navigate the matrix using the five button interface (FIG. 3). This interface solves the problem of not having to look at the remote, but fails to address the long traversal paths between characters (explained in detail below).
Two prominent options for text entry input to television in practice today are (1) keypad based text entry and (2) "navigation and select" based text entry. Most keypad text entry interfaces in use today require the user to look at the remote control device to locate a character. This makes the interface hard to use, because the user has to toggle his visual focus between the remote control and the television screen. Additionally, looking at the remote control while watching television is cumbersome since the ambient lighting in the room may not be sufficient to see the remote control (e.g. watching television at night and in the dark).
Current "navigation and select" interfaces are also lacking, because the planar navigation distance is quite high in some of the popular interfaces for text entry, such as TIVO® (FIG. 2). A 10×4 matrix is shown, making it hard for user to easily locate a character on the screen —user needs to navigate long distances in order to reach between characters (the maximum traversal path is 12 hops to select an alphabet/number, assuming row and column movement only). The familiarity a user gains over time with usage does not assist in reducing the distance traversed between keys. This lack of reduction in effort expended would be perceived in most users' minds as a cumbersome interface.
An interface that can assist the user to (1) locate the desired character without having to look at the remote control and (2) select the located character easily from an overloaded keypad (or from an input device lacking a keypad), would significantly reduce the effort expended by the user to enter text.

User interface for visual cooperation between text input and display device


An optical component for transmitting radiation includes a radiation protective layer, which includes at least one oxide material selected from germanium dioxide (GeO2), antimony pentoxide (Sb2O5), aluminum oxide (Al2O3), niobium(V) oxide (Nb2O5), tin oxide (SnO2), metal oxides of rare earths, in particular lanthanum oxide (La2O3) or cerium oxide (CeO2), yttrium oxide (Y2O3), yttrium aluminum oxides, zinc oxide (ZnO), indium oxide (In2O3), bismuth trioxide (Bi2O3), barium titanate (BaTiO3) and spinels, such as magnesium aluminate (MgAl2O4). The radiation protective layer can be varnish-like, and the oxide material can be contained in a binder of the varnish-like radiation protective layer.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,097,536 describes an assembly including a holder and a component (optical component) adhesively bonded via an adhesive. The component transmits radiation in the ultraviolet spectral range. The adhesive is curable by UV light. Between the transparent component and the adhesive, a thin radiation protective layer is applied in the region of the adhesive. To protect the adhesive against UV radiation, the thin layer transmits light in a spectral range suitable for the curing of the adhesive, e.g. at the mercury I-line 365 nm, and the thin layer highly reflects or absorbs UV light from a used spectral range within the spectral range transmitted by the transparent component. The radiation protective layer includes a material selected from tantalum pentoxide, hafnium dioxide, titanium dioxide, zinc sulfide, cerium fluoride, magnesium fluoride, cryolite or mixtures thereof.
In addition or as an alternative to the protection of an adhesive, however, a radiation protective layer can also be of advantage for protecting a fluid-repellent layer, e.g. a water-repellent layer, against UV radiation, as is described for example in WO 2008/031576 A1 of the present applicant. Such a water-repellent layer or coating can include, e.g., silanes, siloxanes, diamond-like carbon (DLC), fluorides, hydrophobic varnishes and adhesives, and also of polymers, in particular of fluoropolymers, such as are sold for example under the name Optron, WR1 and Teflon AF. In this case, the material of the fluid-repellent layer can likewise be curable by (UV) radiation or thermally curable (e.g., Ormocer). Fluid-repellent layer materials, too, are typically not stable over the long term if they are exposed to UV light at radiation intensities such as are customary in microlithography. However, other components, too, e.g., seals, are possibly not stable over the long term and can be protected against UV radiation having high intensity with the aid of a radiation protective layer.
The radiation protective layer is desirably opaque to radiation in the (UV) spectral range transmitted by the optical component. In addition, the radiation protective layer desirably has a sufficient transmission in the spectral range used for curing the adhesive or, if appropriate, the fluid-repellent material. Further, the radiation protective layer should have a good adhesion on the optical component and also a sufficient adhesion for the applied adhesive or the fluid-repellent layer. Moreover, the radiation protective layer should have no adverse influence on the curing of the adhesive or the fluid-repellent material. The radiation protective layer should also be water-insoluble and have a high aging stability particularly with respect to short-wave (UV) radiation.

Optical component comprising radiation protective layer


A computer program product comprises a computer-readable storage medium including a program for extracting boundary characteristics of a foreground object from a foreground image; determining a feathering function based on the extracted boundary characteristics of the foreground object; compositing the foreground object with a background image; and resynthesizing the boundary characteristics of the foreground object with the background image.

In computer-based image manipulation and editing systems, it is a common practice to extract people or objects, termed the "foreground", from a scene, and insert or composite them into or on top of a second image termed the "background" image. In general, these two images are from different sources. Without special treatment, undesirable boundary artifact may result along the boundaries between the "foreground" and the "background" in the composite image. In other words, the "foreground" does not blend smoothly with the new "background". The artifact is particularly pronounced where the boundary has an arbitrary shape, and where there are arbitrarily different color patches or textured patches across the boundary, due to the quantization of the image data in terms of limited number of code values, as well as the sampling in terms of limited spatial resolution. This problem is also referred to as "aliasing". One possible solution to the problem of boundary artifact reduction is called "feathering", i.e. locally blurring the boundary between the "foreground" and the "background."
However, another obvious problem may arise for many feathering techniques. It is noticed that the boundary of the foreground people/objects may not have the same focus characteristics, in particular for close-up shots. Moreover, some segments of the foreground boundary may not have the same sharpness as other segments that are in equally good focus due to the physical reflectance properties of the material. For example, the border of hair, mustache, wool, beard, or feather generally appear "fuzzy." In fact, "feathering" is an operation named after the process to create a feather looking effect. Also, some segments of the boundary may appear blurred due to motion. Typically, operators use a "compromising" feathering factor due to the fact that the boundary between the foreground and background includes different characteristics that vary along the boundary. Even though such a compromising blurring factor is applied, frequently, this does not adequately compensate for the boundary differences because it uses a constant feathering factor.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,085 describes a technique for neighborhood-based merging of image data. The technique employs a "feathering" window containing a number of neighboring pixel locations over which the pixel values of the foreground are controllably modified to achieve a tapered blending of the foreground and the background. Whether the data value for a pixel within the editing canvas is to be modified depends on whether or not the pixel location is both within the foreground and a prescribed distance to the boundary of the foreground. In summary, the feathering coefficient as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,022,085 is determined by the ratio of the number of foreground pixels and the number of background pixels within the feathering window. Therefore, the extent to which feathering takes place depends on how close the pixel is to the border of the foreground image. This technique performs a gradual blending of the foreground image along its border with the background image. However, the composited image may still look less than realistic if one notices that the boundary of the foreground has almost the same focus characteristics everywhere along the boundary because the boundary pixels are all blended in the same way. In other words, the feathering function has the same shape everywhere along the foreground boundary.

Method for creating realistic-looking composite images


A light-emitting device which realizes a high aperture ratio and in which the quality of image is little affected by the variation in the characteristics of TFTs. A large holding capacitor Cs is not provided in the pixel portion but, instead, the channel length and the channel width of the driving TFTs are increased, and the channel capacitance is utilized as Cs. The channel length is selected to be very larger than the channel width to improve current characteristics in the saturated region, and a high VGS is applied to the driving TFTs to obtain a desired drain current. Therefore, the drain currents of the driving TFTs are little affected by the variation in the threshold voltage. In laying out the pixels, further, wiring is arranged under the partitioning wall and the driving TFTs are arranged under the wiring in order to avoid a decrease in the aperture ratio despite of an increase in the size of the driving TFT. In the case of the 3-transistor pixels, the switching TFT and the erasing TFT are linearly arranged to further increase the aperture ratio.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electroluminescence (EL) element, and to a method of driving an electronic display manufactured by forming thin-film transistors (hereinafter abbreviated as TFTs) on a substrate. Particularly, the invention relates to a light-emitting device which uses semiconductor elements (elements formed from a semiconductor thin film). The invention further relates to electronic devices using the light-emitting device as a display unit.
In this specification, the EL elements include the ones which utilize emission of light from singlet excitons (fluorescence) and the ones which utilize the emission of light from triplet excitons (phosphorescence).
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, light-emitting devices having EL elements have been vigorously developed as self light emitting elements. Unlike the liquid crystal display devices, the light-emitting device is self light emitting type. The EL element has a structure in which an EL layer is held between a pair of electrodes (anode and cathode).
The light-emitting devices can include those of the passive matrix type and those of the active matrix type. Here, the devices of the active matrix type are suited for the applications where a high-speed operation is required for an increase of pixels accompanying an increase in the resolution and for movie display.
Each pixel in the organic EL panel of the active matrix type is provided with a holding capacitance (Cs) for holding the voltage. FIG. 12A illustrates an actual example of pixel constitution, and FIG. 12B is an equivalent circuit thereof. As disclosed in patent document 1, the capacitance Cs tends to be large and the light-emitting area of organic EL tends to be small correspondingly. In addition to the capacity Cs, shapes, numbers and arrangements of TFTs, wirings, contacts, partitioning walls and the like constituting pixels become factors for decreasing the light-emitting areas. As the light-emitting area decreases, the current density increases and the reliability of the organic EL element decreases seriously.
(Patent document 1)
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 8-234683
Further, if an opening portion is formed in a complex shape in order to increase aperture ratio as much as possible, a shrink of the organic EL portion may be promoted. Here, the shrink of the EL portion is not a state where the EL layer physically shrinks, but a state where the effective area of the EL element (area of a portion where the EL element emits light) gradually shrinks starting from the end portions. Namely, as the shape of the opening portion becomes complex, the length of the end portion increase relative to the area of the opening portion promoting the shrink.
FIG. 20 illustrates an example of the constitution of a pixel portion in an active matrix type EL display device. A portion surrounded by a dotted line frame 2300 stands for a pixel portion which includes a plurality of pixels. A portion surrounded by a dotted line frame 2310 stands for one pixel.
Gate signal lines (G1, G2, . . . , Gy) to which selection signals are input from a gate signal line drive circuit, are connected to gate electrodes of switching TFTs 2301 included in the pixels. Further, one of a source region and a drain region of the switching TFT 2301 included in each pixel is connected to a source signal line (S1 to Sx) to which signals from the source signal line drive circuit are input, and the other one is connected to the gate electrode of the driving TFT 2302. One of the source region or the drain region of the driving TFT 2302 included in each pixel is connected to a current supply line (V1, V2, . . . , Vx), and the other one is connected to one electrode of the EL element 2304 included in each pixel. Further, each pixel may be provided with capacitance means 2303 for holding a voltage between the gate and the source of the driving TFT 2302 during a display period.
The EL element 2304 has an anode, a cathode and an EL layer provided between the anode and the cathode. When the anode of the EL element 2304 is connected to the source region or the drain region of the driving TFT 2302, the anode of the EL element 2304 works as a pixel electrode and the cathode thereof works as an opposing electrode. Conversely, when the cathode of the EL element 2304 is connected to the source region or the drain region of the driving TFT 2302, the cathode of the EL element 2304 works as a pixel electrode and the anode thereof works as an opposing electrode.
In this specification, the potential of the opposing electrode is called opposing potential. A power source which gives an opposing potential to the opposing electrode is called opposing power source. A difference between the potential of the pixel electrode and the potential of the opposing electrode is an EL drive voltage. The EL drive voltage is applied to the EL layer held between the pixel electrode and the opposing electrode.
As a gradation display method for the light-emitting device, there can be exemplified an analog gradation system and a digital gradation system.
Next, described below are the values of when Cs is provided in the cases of the analog gradation system and the digital gradation system.
In the case of the analog gradation system, in general, an analog video signal is written into each pixel once in one frame period. The analog video signals are input to the pixels in the form of an analog voltage or an analog current. In the case of the analog voltage, the analog voltage that is written is stored in the holding capacitors of the pixels for one frame period (one frame period lasts 16.66 ms when the frame frequency is 60 Hz). In the case of the analog current, the current that is written is once converted into an analog voltage in the pixels. The analog voltage must be maintained for one frame period.
In the case of the digital gradation system, as described above, the digital video signal must be written a plural number (n) of times in one frame period. In the case of the 4-bit gradation, n=4 times or more times and in the case of the 6-bit gradation, n=6 times or more times. Therefore, the analog voltage must be maintained for a period of the longest sub-frame among the n sub-frames divided from one frame period.
Next, described below is a relationship between the driving TFT and the EL element.
Referring to FIG. 15A, a driving TFT 1505 and an EL element 1506 are connected in series between the current supply line and the opposing power source in each pixel. As for the current flowing into the EL element 1506, a point where the Vd−Id curve of the driving TFT intersects the V-I curve of the EL element in FIG. 15B becomes an operation point. Electric current flows depending upon a voltage between the source and the drain of the driving TFT 1505 and upon a voltage between the electrodes of the EL element 1505.
When the gate-source voltage (|VGS|) of the driving TFT 1505 is greater than the source-drain voltage (|VDS|) by more than a threshold voltage, the driving TFT 1505 operates in a linear region (driving on a constant voltage). When the gate-source voltage (|VGS|) of the driving TFT 1505 is smaller than the source-drain voltage (|VDS|), the driving TFT 1505 operates in a saturated region (driving on a constant current).
When the driving TFT 1505 is operated in the linear region, namely, when the operation of the driving TFT 1505 at the operation point is included in the linear region, |VDS| of the driving TFT 1505 becomes very smaller than the voltage (|VEL|) across the electrodes of the EL element 1506, and variation in the characteristics of the driving TFT 1505 does not almost affect the current that flows through the EL element 1506. However, if the resistance of the EL element 1506 varies due to a change in the temperature or aging, the electric current is affected thereby and undergoes a change. When, for example, the EL element 1506 is degraded, and the voltage-current characteristics thereof change from 1601 to 1602 as shown in FIG. 16A, the operation point, too, shifts from 1603 to 1604. Here, when the driving TFT 1505 is operating in the linear region, the current flowing through the EL element 1506 decreases by ΔID accompanying the shift of the operation point. The brightness, therefore, decreases.
When the driving TFT 1505 is operated in the saturated region, on the other hand, the drain current (IDS) of the driving TFT 1505 remains constant as shown in FIG. 16B despite the voltage-current characteristics of the EL element 1506 have changed from 1611 o 1612 due to degradation of the EL element. Despite the operation point has changed from 1613 to 1614, therefore, a constant current flows into the EL element 1506. Accordingly, a change in the brightness is smaller than that of when the driving TFT 1505 is operated in the linear region.
The operation points can all be brought into the saturated region by setting the channel length and channel width of the driving TFTs and by selecting the characteristics and driving voltages of the driving TFTs and EL elements.
When the driving TFT 1505 is operated in the saturated region, however, the current that flows into the EL element 1506 is determined solely by the VGS−IDS characteristics only of the TFT. Therefore, the variation in the brightness of the EL element 1506 is reflected by the variation in the characteristics of the driving TFT 1505. Further, the electric current is seriously affected by a change in the gate-source voltage VGS during the holding period. The drain current IDS in the saturated region is expressed by the formula (1),IDS=β/2×(VGS−|Vth|)2   (1)
Due to an off-leak current of the switching TFT 1504, the electric charge on the gate electrode of the driving TFT 1505 leaks into the source signal line 1501, and the gate-source voltage |VGS| of the driving TFT changes correspondingly resulting in a change in the drain current IDS. Therefore, a capacitor is necessary for compensating the loss of gate-source voltage VGS of the driving TFT caused by the leak of the electric charge from the switching TFT 1504. This is called holding capacitance. The magnitude of the holding capacitance is determined by a relationship between the VGS−IDS characteristics of the driving TFT and the amount of change ΔIEL in the current that accompanies a change of brightness of the EL element 1506 by one gradation. As will be understood from the formula (1), the drain current IDS varies in proportion to the second power of VGS. Therefore, a change in the drain current IDS is very susceptible to a change in the gate-source voltage |VGS|. From ΔIEL, the amount of change ΔVGS in the gate-source voltage VGS allowed for the driving TFT 1505 is obtained. The required magnitude of the holding capacitance is determined from the off-leak current IOFF of the switching TFT and the holding time by using the formulas (2) and (3),IOFF=CΔVGS/Δt   (2)Cs=IOFF×Δt/ΔVGS   (3)where Δt is a very short period of time and ΔVGS is an increment of the gate-source voltage of the driving TFT 1505.
In contrast with the digital gradation system which effects the writing operation a plural number of times per a frame period, the analog gradation system permits the writing operation to be done only one time in one frame. Therefore, the holding time becomes long and a larger holding capacitance is necessary.
Due to the above reasons, further, the channel lengths of the driving TFTs must be maintained long in the pixels. Further, the aperture ratio decreases as the size of the driving TFT increases.

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A method includes performing a speculative tablewalk. The method includes performing a tablewalk to determine an address translation for a speculative operation and determining whether the speculative operation has been upgraded to a non-speculative operation concurrently with performing the tablewalk. An apparatus is provided that includes a load-store unit to maintain execution operations. The load-store unit includes a tablewalker to perform a tablewalk and includes an input indicative of the operation being speculative or non-speculative as well as a state machine to determine actions performed during the tablewalk based on the input. The apparatus also includes a translation look-aside buffer. Computer readable storage devices for performing the methods and adapting a fabrication facility to manufacture the apparatus are provided.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments presented herein relate generally to computing systems and processing devices, and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for implementing a promotion of a speculative operation during a tablewalk in a processing device.
2. Description of Related Art
Processor-based devices such as central processing units (CPUs), graphics processing units (GPUs), or accelerated processing units (APUs) that implement virtual memory systems use a page table to store the mapping between the virtual addresses and physical addresses in memory. Conventional processor-based devices may also implement a translation lookaside buffer (TLB) that can cache mappings of virtual addresses to physical addresses. For example, the TLB can cache virtual-to-physical address mappings of recently requested addresses. The TLB is typically implemented as content-addressable memory (CAM) that uses the virtual address as a search key and the search result is a physical address indicated by the stored mapping. If the requested address is present in the TLB, a TLB hit, the search yields a match and the retrieved physical address can be used to access memory. If the requested address is not in the TLB, a TLB miss, the translation proceeds by looking up the page table in a process called a tablewalk. The tablewalk is an expensive process that involves reading the contents of multiple memory locations and using them to compute the physical address. After the physical address is determined by the tablewalk, the virtual address to physical address mapping is entered into the TLB.
Processor-based devices may also perform speculative operations that can be canceled. For example, a speculative operation could be canceled due to a branch mis-prediction or an older exception. Electrical circuits and devices that execute instructions and process data have evolved becoming faster and more complex. With the increased performance and low power demands of modern data processor architectures (e.g., multi-core processors), considerations for performing tablewalks subsequent to cache misses has become more complex, particularly for speculative operations. In some previous solutions, speculative tablewalks are simply prohibited. In other cases, speculative tablewalks are abandoned or canceled if non-cacheable page table entries were encountered or if page table entries required modification(s). These previous solutions, however, suffer from poor performance and inefficient power utilization.
Embodiments presented herein eliminate or alleviate the problems inherent in the state of the art described above.


The present invention relates to a chirally-modified dsRNA agent capable of inhibiting the expression of a target gene. The sense and antisense strands of chirally-modified dsRNA agent independently or in combination comprises one or more site specific-site specific/position specific, chirally-modified internucleotide linkages.

RNA interference or "RNAi" is a term initially coined by Fire and co-workers to describe the observation that short double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) can block gene expression (Fire et al. (1998) Nature 391, 806-811; Elbashir et al. (2001) Genes Dev. 15, 188-200). Short dsRNA directs gene-specific, post-transcriptional silencing in many organisms, including vertebrates, and has provided a new tool for studying gene function. RNAi is mediated by RNA-induced silencing complex (RISC), a sequence-specific, multi-component nuclease that destroys messenger RNAs homologous to the silencing trigger. RISC is known to contain short RNAs (approximately 17-25 nucleotides) derived from the double-stranded RNA trigger, and the protein component that cleaves the target RNA is Argonaute 2 (Ago2), A RISC associated endonuclease.
Double-stranded RNA (dsRNA) molecules with good gene-silencing properties are needed for drug development based on RNA interference (RNAi). An initial step in RNAi is the activation of the RNA induced silencing complex (RISC), which requires removal of the sense strand of the dsRNA duplex. Sense strand was known to act as the first RISC substrate that is cleaved by Argonaute 2 in the middle of the duplex region. Immediately after the cleaved 5′-end and 3′-end fragments of the sense strand are removed for the RISC to become activated by the antisense strand (Rand et al. (2005) Cell 123, 621).
It was believed that when the cleavage and removal of the sense strand is inhibited, the endonucleolytic cleavage of target mRNA is impaired (Leuschner et al. (2006) EMBO Rep., 7, 314; Rand et al. (2005) Cell 123, 621; Schwarz et al. (2004) Curr. Biol. 14, 787). Leuschner et al. showed that incorporation of a 2′-O-Me ribose to the Ago2 cleavage site in the sense strand inhibits RNAi in HeLa cells (Leuschner et al. (2006) EMBO Rep., 7, 314). A similar effect was observed with phosphorothioate modifications, showing that cleavage of the sense strand was required for efficient RNAi also in mammals.
It was also believed that an effective means of protecting siRNAs against nuclease activity is to exchange their phosphodiester linkage for phosphorothioate (PS). An epimeric mixture of PS-modified siRNAs may typically be used to protect against nuclease activity in vivo. However, the stability of the siRNAs to nucleases can be affected by the absolute stereochemical configurations of the chiral phosphorus atoms.
There is thus an ongoing need for dsRNA agents to improve the gene silencing efficacy of siRNA gene therapeutics. This invention is directed to that need.

Chirally-enriched double-stranded RNA agents


The present disclosure provides an adjustable pipeline valve for changing and/or switching the discharge water flow path. The pipeline valve includes: a valve body; an inlet in communication with the valve body; and at least one outlet in communication with the valve body. The pipeline valve further includes: a water stopping member located within a chamber of the valve body and preventing direct communication between the inlet and the at least one outlet; a plugging assembly located in at least one receiving hole in a part of the valve body, the at least one receiving hole being in one-to-one correspondence with at least one water passing hole in the water stopping member; and a switching assembly 17 configured to allow the plugging assembly to block a corresponding water passing hole by a rotation of the switching assembly 17 to switch the communication between the inlet and the at least one outlet.

In the case where plumbing fittings are provided, there are often some problems when it is required to switch between two outlets, for example between an outlet leading to a bathtub and an outlet leading to a showerhead or a shower wand. A switching valve between the bathtub and showerhead outlets can be provided in the bathtub or the showerhead. It is known that a pipe leading to the showerhead can include the switching valve actuated by a control lever or a switch button. It is also known that the control lever can be actuated (e.g., pivoted or swung) and the switch button can be pressed, pulled or rotated.
However, when a propelling device in the valve is urged to move by the control lever, to advance the valve from a stable, discharge position to another stable, discharge position, a significantly large force is required. This significantly large force to actuate the valve makes it difficult for some people to consistently operate the valve, thereby reducing its utility, desirability and operating efficiency.
This disclosure addresses shortcomings discussed above and other problems and provides advantages and aspects not provided by the prior art of this type. A full discussion of the features and advantages of the present disclosure is deferred to the following detailed description, which proceeds with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Pipeline valve for closing and/or switching