An image forming apparatus is provided in which a toner is prevented from flowing and being agglomerated, at the time of application of a fixer fluid to a toner image so as to fix the toner image to a recording medium, and the recording medium is prevented from generating curl and wrinkle, and consumption of the fixer fluid and electricity can be reduced, and even a multicolored toner image can be fixed for a relatively short time. An image forming apparatus includes a toner image forming section, an intermediate transfer section, a secondary transfer section, a heating section, a fixer fluid applying section, and a recording medium supplying section. A recording medium carrying the toner image on a surface thereof is heated by the heating section and then, a fixer fluid is applied to the toner image by the fixer fluid applying section so that the toner image is fixed.

1. Technical Field
The presently disclosed technology relates to an image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
In an image forming apparatus of electrophotographic system commonly used for copying machine, printer, facsimile and the like, a photoreceptor having a photosensitive layer containing a photoconductive substance formed on a surface thereof is used. In this case, after an electric charge is given to a photoreceptor surface so as to uniformly charge therewith, an electrostatic latent image corresponding to image information is formed by various image forming processes. This electrostatic latent image is developed by a developer supplied from developing means, the developer containing a toner, so as to make a toner image. This toner image is directly transferred to a recording medium such as a paper, or once transferred to an intermediate transfer medium and then further transferred to the recording medium. And in order to fix the toner image transferred to the recording medium onto the recording medium, it is common to heat and pressurize the recording medium by fixing means of thermal fixing system using a developing roller or the like including heating means.
In an image forming apparatus of thermal fixing system, for instance, an intermediate transfer belt serving as the intermediate transfer medium is stretched by a heating roller. By so doing, the intermediate transfer belt and further the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer belt are heated, and transferred and fixed to the recording medium in a heated state (refer to, for instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications JP-A 10-063121). An image forming apparatus disclosed in the JP-A 10-063121 is characterized by relatively small electric power consumption. However, this image forming apparatus has disadvantages of image deteriorations such that the toner image is not fixed and that offset of the toner image is caused, due to decrease of a temperature of the toner image when the toner image and the recording medium come into contact with each other at the time of transfer and fixation because the recording medium is not heated in this image forming apparatus.
In addition, an image forming apparatus is proposed in which the toner image on the intermediate transfer belt is heated as in the JP-A 10-063121 and moreover, the recording medium to which the toner image has not been transferred and fixed, is also heated so as to transfer and fix the toner image to the recording medium in the heated state (refer to, for instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications JP-A 2004-151626).
In the image forming apparatus disclosed in the 2004-151626, fixing strength of the toner image to the recording medium is enhanced, but on the other hand, not only the toner image but also the recording medium are heated. Furthermore, heating means having a large heat capacity becomes necessary for heating the toner image and the recording medium and therefore, the electric power consumption becomes so larger as to occupy more than half of total electric power consumption in the image forming apparatus in the present circumstances. However, at the present time, saving energy is demanded as countermeasures against global warming. Since the image forming apparatus of electrophotographic system is commonly used, it is required also in the image forming apparatus of electrophotographic system to reduce the electric power consumption at the time when the toner is fixed to the recording medium Further, in the thermal fixing system, an interior portion of the apparatus has a high temperature by use of the heating means inside the apparatus as described above and therefore, it is necessary to enhance heat resistance of components, so that a material cost increases. Furthermore, in the thermal fixing system, a fixing operation cannot be performed until when a temperature of a fixing portion increases to the predetermined temperature. Accordingly, it tends to take a long time before the fixing operation can start, which time is a warm-up time in other words. Furthermore, the thermal fixing system has a problem that it takes a longer time for fixing a multicolored toner image to the recording image than fixing a monochromatic toner image. Consequently, it is desired to shorten a fixing time of the multicolored toner image.
In view of such desires, a wet fixing system is known which employs a fixer fluid containing water and a liquid dissolvable or dispersible in water, having an action for softening or swelling the toner. In this system, the toner image is fixed to the recording medium by attaching to the recording medium and pressurizing the toner image formed of the toner which has been made in a softened or swelled state due to application of the fixer fluid. The wet fixing system needs far smaller electric power consumption than that in the thermal fixing system. Accordingly, the wet fixing system is useful from a viewpoint of saving energy. Moreover, the fixing time of the multicolored toner image can be shorter than that in the thermal fixing system because a large heat quantity is not necessary. Consequently, various proposals have been made about further modification of the wet fixing system.
For instance, a fixing apparatus has been proposed in which the fixer fluid is applied from a fixer fluid spraying member having a plurality of pores to only a toner attached portion of the toner image carried on the intermediate transfer medium or recording medium, and then the applied fixer fluid is heated (refer to, for instance, Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications JP-A 2004-109747). That is to say, this fixing apparatus employs a system in which the toner image on the intermediate transfer medium or recording medium is heated after the fixer fluid is applied thereto. However, unfixed toner image is no more than an agglomeration of toner particles without physically or chemically binding force in a room temperature. Accordingly, when a liquid such as the fixer fluid is directly applied to the unfixed toner image, the toner particles are softened and/or swelled so that the toner particles easily become fluid or agglomerated. As a result, a blur is generated on an image edge after fixation and in addition, a halftone portion which should be even, have uneven density so that an image of high quality cannot be obtained. It goes without saying that this state cannot be brought back into good condition even when the toner image is heated after the toner particles become fluid or agglomerated.
Further, in the fixing apparatus disclosed in the JP-A 2004-109747, in a case where the toner image is carried by the intermediate transfer medium, the intermediate transfer belt serving as the intermediate transfer medium is treated with water-shedding processes such as fluorine treatment. Accordingly, even when the fixer fluid is applied to the intermediate transfer belt, the fixer fluid exists only on a toner portion (an image portion) while the fixer fluid does not stagnate on a portion between the toner images, where the toner does not exist (a non-image portion). However, when the fixer fluid is thus applied locally to the recording medium, the image portion expands and contracts while the non-image portion does not expand or contract, and therefore it is not possible to prevent wrinkles from being generated around the image portion. Particularly, in a case where a recording paper manufactured by combining paper fabric dispersed in water is used as the recording medium, this tendency is prominent. As a matter of course, when the fixer fluid of the minimum amount for swelling the toner is applied, such troubles are not caused. However, it is difficult to exactly measure the minimum amount because the minimum amount is extremely small. Further, when the fixer fluid is applied to only the toner attached portion, the toner attached by fog or the like on the non-image portion around the toner attached portion remains on the recording medium without being fixed so that the toner may mess hands, clothes or the like.
Note that in the image forming apparatus in the JP-A 10-063121, it is conceivable that the fixer fluid is applied to the toner image when the toner image on the transfer belt in the heated state is transferred and fixed to the recording medium which has not been heated. However, in order to enhance adherence between the toner image and the recording medium and adherence among the toner particles in a case where heat is not supplied at the time of transfer and fixation, and no other particular measures are taken as in the case of the JP-A 10-063121, a large amount of the fixer fluid becomes necessary. When the large amount of the fixer fluid is used, it is not possible to prevent wrinkles, curls and the like from causing on the recording medium. In addition, it becomes necessary to replenish the fixer fluid with frequency, with the result that maintenance is deteriorated. Alternatively, a high-capacity fixer fluid storing tank becomes necessary, with the result that the apparatus cannot be small in size.

Image forming apparatus employing heating and fixer fluid applying sections


A block distortion reduction apparatus, enabling easy processing by a small-sized circuit configuration and enabling generation of block distortion reduction parameters by any area unit inside a frame, which averages encoding coefficients in a macroblock units to obtain a DCT parameter, calculates a DMV parameter of differential motion vectors by weighting in accordance with the encoding mode of the macroblock unit, and determines a correction value for the block distortion reduction based on these parameters.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a block distortion reduction apparatus for reducing block distortion in blocking and encoding input data such as still image data and moving picture data.
2. Description of the Related Art
Block encoding such as Discrete Cosign Transform (DCT) encoding has been known as a method for effectively compressing and encoding still image data, moving picture data, etc. As an example of block encoding systems of image data, there can be mentioned the MPEG (Moving Picture Experts Group) combining DCT utilizing correlation in a frame, motion compensation utilizing correlation between frames, and Huffman encoding utilizing correlation of code strings.
In compressing or expanding image data etc. by such block encoding, block distortion (block noise) sometimes occurs. Distortion occurs easier as the compression ratio increases. That is, since DCT encoding etc. are performed in a closed space inside a block without considering correlation across block boundaries, the continuity of the data at block boundaries cannot be kept and therefore deviations in reproduced data values at boundaries with adjoining blocks are perceived as noise. This block distortion has a certain regularity, so is perceived more easily compared with general random noise and therefore is a major factor degrading image quality.
In order to reduce this block distortion, Japanese re-publication of PCT international WO98/54892 discloses a technique comprising detecting a parameter indicating difficulty of encoding from input image data, calculating a parameter required for judgment of block distortion from the input data, evaluating the block distortion based on the result of detection of the parameter indicating difficulty of encoding and the result of calculation of the above parameter, calculating a correction value to reduce the block distortion, and correcting the input data by the correction value in accordance with the result of evaluation of the block distortion.
However, according to the method for calculating parameters required for evaluation of the block distortion from input data disclosed in the above publication, when macroblocks (MB) are arranged as shown in FIG. 11, a DCT coefficient and a differential motion vector are calculated for the macroblock MB0 for parameter calculation by the following equation:MB0=(MB0+MB1+MB2+MB3+MB4+MB5+MB6+MB7+MB8)/9
That is, in order to calculate the DCT coefficient and the differential motion vector DMV for the macroblock MB0, the adjoining macroblocks MB1 to MB8 are also considered. Therefore, the DCT coefficients and the differential motion vectors DMV of nine macroblocks in total are required to be buffered. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the size of the circuit for the block distortion reduction becomes large.
Further, in an MPEG decoder, different numbers of differential motion vectors are output depending on the codec mode, picture structure, predictive type, and macroblock mode. However, no block distortion reduction apparatus handling such a variety of encoding modes has even been proposed. Therefore, a block distortion reduction apparatus not based on the encoding mode has been demanded.


A system and method are provided to manage configuration of multiple file server appliances. The method comprises receiving a read request and, responsive to the receiving of the read request, utilizing a readahead engine to issue a readahead request. A portion of the readahead request that can be read from a local storage is delivered to the local storage system. A portion of the readahead request that can be read from a remote storage is delivered to the remote storage system.

A storage system is a computer that provides storage services relating to the organization of information on storage devices, such as disks. A storage system typically accesses one or more storage volumes. A storage volume comprises physical storage devices defining an overall logical arrangement of storage space, and each volume is usually associated with its own file system. A storage system typically includes a storage operating system that logically organizes the information as a set of data blocks stored on disks. In a file-based deployment, such as a network attached storage (NAS) environment, a storage system may be a file server, the operating system of which implements a file system to logically organize the data blocks as a hierarchical structure of addressable files and directories on the disks. A known type of file system is a write-anywhere file system that does not overwrite data on disks. If a data block is retrieved (read) from disk into a memory of the storage system and "dirtied" (i.e., updated or modified) with new data, the data block is thereafter stored (written) to a new location on disk to optimize write performance. A write-anywhere file system may also opt to maintain a near optimal layout such that the data is substantially contiguously arranged on disks. The optimal disk layout results in efficient access operations, particularly for sequential read operations, directed to the disks.
A storage system may be configured to operate according to a client/server model of information delivery to thereby allow many client systems (clients) to access shared resources, such as files, stored on the storage system. The storage system is typically deployed over a computer network comprising a geographically distributed collection of interconnected communication links, such as Ethernet links, that allow clients to remotely access the shared information (e.g., files) on the storage system. The clients typically communicate with the storage system by exchanging discrete frames or packets of data formatted according to predefined network communication protocols, such as the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). In this context, a protocol consists of a set of rules defining how the interconnected computer systems interact with one another.
In a file-based deployment, clients employ a semantic level of access to files and file systems stored on the storage system. For instance, a client may request to retrieve ("read") or store ("write") information in a particular file stored on the storage system. The client requests identify one or more files to be accessed without regard to specific locations, e.g., data blocks, in which the requested data are stored on disk. The storage system converts the received client requests from file-system semantics to corresponding ranges of data blocks on the storage disks. In the case of a client "read" request, data blocks containing the client's requested data are retrieved and the requested data is then returned to the client.
A read stream is defined as a predictable sequence of read operations. In other words, after the read stream's first request is received, every subsequent client request in the read stream logically "extends" a contiguous sequence of file offsets in the file accessed by the stream's previous request. Accordingly, a read stream may be construed by the file system as a sequence of client requests that directs the storage system to retrieve a sequence of data blocks assigned to consecutively numbered file block numbers (fbns). For instance, the first request in the read stream may retrieve a first set of data blocks assigned to the fbns 10 through 19, the stream's second request may retrieve data blocks whose fbns equal 20 through 25, the third request may retrieve the data blocks assigned to the fbns 26 through 42, and so on. It is noted that client requests in the read stream may employ file-based or block-based semantics, so long as they instruct the storage system to retrieve data from the stream's logically contiguous range of file offsets. A long sequential read may be divided into multiple sequential read operations. A read stream composed of sequential reads separated by unread regions, e.g. read for fbns 10 through 20, read for fbns 30 through 40, and read for fbns 50 through 60 may be referred to as spanning reads.
Operationally, the storage system typically identifies a read stream based on an ordered sequence of client accesses to the same file. Upon identifying a read stream, the storage system may employ speculative readahead operations to retrieve data blocks that are likely to be requested by future client read requests. These "readahead" blocks are typically retrieved from disk and stored in memory (i.e., buffer cache) in the storage system, where each readahead data block is associated with a different file-system volume block number (vbn). Conventional readahead algorithms are often configured to "prefetch" a predetermined number of data blocks that logically extend the read stream. For instance, for a read stream whose client read requests retrieve a sequence of data blocks assigned to consecutively numbered fbns, the file system may invoke readahead operations to retrieve additional data blocks assigned to fbns that further extend the sequence, even though the readahead blocks have not yet been requested by client requests in the read stream.
A file system may utilize a component responsible for "prefetching" data blocks from mass storage devices that are local to the storage system. Such component may be termed a readahead engine. A storage system, such as a file server, may implement a file system with a readahead engine configured to optimize the amount of readahead data retrieved from a local device for each read stream managed by the file system. The readahead engine could rely on various factors to adaptively select an optimized readahead size for each read stream. Such factors may include the number of read requests processed in the read stream, an amount of client-requested data requested in the read stream, a read-access style associated with the read stream, and so forth. The readahead engine could also be configured to minimize cache pollution (i.e., loading data into the cache that will not be reused before it is evicted) by adaptively selecting when readahead operations are performed for each read stream and determining how long each read stream's retrieved data is retained in memory.
Such an optimized readahead module has been utilized to process requests that require access to locally stored data, but not for remote requests. An existing technique arbitrarily extends the length of remote reads in hopes that the client read access pattern comprises long sequential reads. This approach, however, sacrifices performance on random or spanning reads and fails to tune the read length to the clients' access pattern.
A system where one file server is used as a caching server and another file server is used as an origin server may be referred to as a multi-node caching system.
In a multi-node caching system, the system that is in direct contact with the client (e.g., a file sever acting as a caching intermediary between a client and an origin file server) may have the best information as to the client's intent, as the front-end (client-facing) system will have observed all of the client's past transactions. On the other hand, the back-end (remote/origin) system may have gaps in its knowledge of client access patterns due to the effects of caching at the front-end—e.g., client requests for data that can be satisfied by the file system that is local to the caching server, (cache hits), are not observed by the back-end system. In a similar context, existing readahead engines do not implement a method to pass information about the client access patterns to the back-end system, and thus are not capable of optimizing inputs/outputs (I/Os) to its data drives. It is desirable to utilize an optimized readahead module to process read requests without regard to whether the read request requires local or remote access.

Method and apparatus to provide a unified readahead scheme for multiple sources


A method for fabricating a semiconductor device having a base electrode, an emitter electrode, and a collector electrode, includes the steps of: forming first, second, and buried layers in a semiconductor substrate; forming first, second, and third epitaxial layers using the respective buried layers as seeds; forming an isolation region between the first and second epitaxial layers; forming first, second, and third impurity regions connected to the respective buried layers through the respective epitaxial layers; forming fourth, fifth, and sixth impurity regions in the respective epitaxial layers; forming polysilicon layers on the respective epitaxial layers, respectively; defining first, second, and third emitter electrode regions as well as first, second, and third base contact regions; etching portions of the polysilicon layers excluding the emitter electrode regions and the base contact regions down to a predetermined depth; oxidizing the etched portions of the polysilicon layer to grow an oxide layer; implanting N-type impurity ions into the polysilicon layer of the first and second base contact regions and the third emitter electrode region, and P-type ions into the first and second emitter regions and the third base contact region; depositing a metal on the exposed surfaces; and patterning the metal to be in contact with the respective polysilicon layers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device, and more particularly, to a method for fabricating a semiconductor device that achieves a uniform current gain due to producing uniform emitter regions, so as to improve reliability of the semiconductor device.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, a semiconductor device includes a fast bipolar transistor (a field effect transistor in the case of an MOS device) for an arithmetic unit, logic circuits and the like, and a high current bipolar transistor for output circuits. To realize the high current bipolar transistor, an emitter has a wide width. To realize the fast bipolar transistor, an emitter junction and an emitter have thin widths. In the semiconductor device in which the fast bipolar transistor and the high current bipolar transistor are formed in one substrate, current gain of the respective transistors for stable operation is about .+-.30%.
A conventional method for fabricating a semiconductor device will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1a to FIG. 1d are sectional views illustrating process steps according to the first embodiment of a conventional method for fabricating a bipolar transistor.
In this embodiment, two NPN transistors are formed in one substrate.
As shown in FIG. 1a, an N.sup.+ conductive type first and second buried layers 13 and 13a are formed in a semiconductor substrate 11 of P-type conductivity by ion implantation. An epitaxial layer 15 of N-type conductivity is formed using the first and second buried layers 13 and 13a as a seed. An oxide film 17 is then grown on the semiconductor substrate 11. P-type conductive impurities are implanted into the epitaxial layer 15 between the first and second buried layers 13 and 13a to form isolation regions 19.
Subsequently, first and second collector regions 21 and 21a are formed by ion implantation, which are respectively connected to the first and second buried layers 13 and 13a. A first base region 23 is formed in the epitaxial layer 15 over the first buried layer 13. A second base region 23a is formed in the epitaxial layer 15 over the second buried layer 13a. In forming the base regions, the collector regions, and the isolation regions, impurity ions are implanted into the respective regions using masks different from one another (not shown).
As shown in FIG. 1b, the oxide film 17 on the first and second base regions 23 and 23a is selectively etched to define first and second emitter regions. The first emitter region is significantly wider than the second emitter region.
A polysilicon layer 25 is formed on an entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 11 including the oxide film 17. Impurity ions are implanted into the entire surface so that they are implanted into the first and second base regions 23 and 23a through the polysilicon layer 25.
The polysilicon layer 25 fills the hole in the oxide layer 17 corresponding to the smaller emitter region. The polysilicon layer 25 merely lines the hole in oxide layer 17 corresponding to the larger emitter region. As such, the walls 25a formed by the polysilicon layer 25 in the hole in the oxide layer 17 present a greater thickness through which to implant ions than does the floor 25b thereof.
Such a difference in the thickness of the polysilicon layer 25 causes the impurity ions to be implanted into the respective base regions at different depths, thereby creating a nonuniform emitter junction Ej.
As shown in FIG. 1c, a photoresist (not shown) is deposited on the polysilicon layer 25 and then patterned by exposure and developing processes. The polysilicon layer 25 is selectively removed by etching process using the patterned photoresist as a mask to form a first emitter poly 25a and a second emitter poly 25b.
As shown in FIG. 1d, an insulating layer 27 is formed on the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 11 including the first and second polysilicon emitters 25a and 25b. A photoresist (not shown) is deposited on the insulating layer 27 and then patterned by exposure and developing processes. Surfaces of the first and second polysilicon emitters 25a and 25b are partially exposed by etching process using the patterned photoresist as a mask. The insulating layer 27 and the oxide film 17 are selectively removed to expose the surface of the semiconductor substrate 11 in the first and second base regions 23 and 23a and the first and second collector regions 21 and 21a. Subsequently, metal is deposited on the entire surface of the exposed semiconductor substrate 11 including the first and second emitter polys 25a and 25b and patterned to form metal patterns 29. As a result, the conventional method for fabricating the bipolar transistor according to the first embodiment is completed.
In the aforementioned embodiment, when the impurity ions are implanted for the emitter junctions through the polysilicon layer 25, distortion of the emitter junction occurs due to width difference between the first polysilicon emitter poly 25a and the second polysilicon emitter poly 25b.
To prevent the distortion of the emitter junction, a polysilicon layer in which impurity ions are doped is formed. However, such a polysilicon layer has a problem of complicating the overall process. For example, in the case that both an NPN transistor and a PNP transistor are formed in one substrate, a polysilicon layer having impurity ions of different conductivity types must be formed.
To solve such a problem, other conventional method for fabricating a semiconductor device will be described with reference to FIG. 2a to FIG. 2d. In this method, the NPN transistor and the PNP transistor are formed in one substrate.
As shown in FIG. 2a, first and second buried layers 13 and 13a are formed in a P-type semiconductor substrate 11. Here, each of the first buried layer 13 and the second buried layer 13a has N-type conductivity opposite to the semiconductor substrate 11.
Subsequently, first and second epitaxial layers 15 and 15a are grown using the first and second buried layers 13 and 13a as seeds. The first epitaxial layer 15 has N-type and is grown on the first buried layer 13, and the second epitaxial layer 15a has P-type and is grown on the second buried layer 13a.
Then, a plurality of oxide films 17 are formed by local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS) of the first and second epitaxial layers 15 and 15a. At this time, first and second collector regions, and first and second base regions are defined by the oxide films 17.
A second base region 23a is formed on the second epitaxial layer 15a down to a predetermined depth by N-type ion implantation. A first collector region 21 is also formed in the first epitaxial layer 15. A first base region 23 is then formed in the first epitaxial layer 15 down to a predetermined depth by P-type ion implantation. A second collector region 21a is also formed in the second epitaxial layer 15a. Here, the first collector region 21 is a collector region of the NPN transistor and is connected to the first buried layer 13. The second collector region 21a is a collector region of the PNP transistor and is connected to the second buried layer 13a.
As shown in FIG. 2b, a first chemical vapor deposition (CVD) oxide film 31 is deposited on an entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 11 including the oxide films 17. The first CVD oxide film 31 is selectively removed to expose the first and second base regions 23 and 23a. A P-type doped polysilicon layer 25 is formed on the entire surface including the exposed first and second base regions 23 and 23a. The polysilicon layer 25 is used as an emitter of the PNP transistor. Thus, an emitter junction can be formed at a portion with a predetermined depth, where the polysilicon layer 25 contacts with the second base region 23a.
As shown in FIG. 2c, a second CVD oxide film 31a is deposited on the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 11 including the polysilicon layer 25. The second CVD oxide film 31a, at a portion where the NPN transistor will be formed, is then selectively removed so that the polysilicon layer 25 is partially exposed. N-type ions are implanted into the exposed polysilicon layer 25 and then annealing is performed. As a result, the emitter junction Ej is formed in the first base region 23.
As shown in FIG. 2d, the polysilicon layer 25 is patterned to form a first emitter 25a and a second emitter 25b. A third CVD oxide film 31b (not shown) is then deposited on the entire surface of the semiconductor substrate 11. The third CVD oxide film 31b is selectively removed to partially expose surfaces of the first and second emitters 25a and 25b. The third and second CVD oxide films 31b and 31a are selectively removed to expose the first and second base regions 23 and 23a as well as the first and second collector regions 21 and 21a. Finally, a metal is deposited on the semiconductor substrate 11 in the exposed first and second emitter polys 25a and 25b, the first and second base regions 23 and 23b, and the first and second collector regions 21 and 21a. The metal is then patterned to form metal patterns 29. As a result, the conventional method for fabricating the semiconductor device is completed.
The aforementioned conventional method for fabricating the semiconductor device has several problems.
First, the operating characteristic of the device deteriorates due to the difference between the current gain of the high current transistor having a wide emitter and current gain of the fast transistor having a wide emitter and the current gain of the fast transistor having a narrow emitter.
Second, in the case that the polysilicon (which is doped with impurities) is used to avoid nonuniformity of the emitter junction, the process steps become complicated.
Third, it is difficult to reduce difference in current gain between the high current transistor and the fast transistor even if the polysilicon which is doped with impurities is used and, at the same time, ion implantation is performed.
Finally, the metal has a poor topology due to step coverage between the polysilicon layer and the CVD oxide film.

Method for fabricating semiconductor device


A lighting device includes: a device main body; an LED unit which is mounted on a bottom surface of the device main body and which includes a plurality of LEDs which are mounted on a plurality of LED circuit boards; an optical member which is mounted on the device main body on a front side of the LED unit; and an LED circuit board pressing spring which supports the LED circuit boards in the device main body.

In related art, a lighting device is known, which includes a device main body which accommodate therein a mounting plate, a terminal block and a connector, wherein a light source block including an LED circuit board and a lens element which serves as an optical member, a lighting controller and a heat conducting sheet are mounted on the mounting plate (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In Patent Document 1, in a state in which a surface of the LED circuit board on which LEDs are mounted is oriented downward the LED circuit board is brought into contact with a lower surface portion of the mounting plate via the heat conducting sheet, and the lens element is disposed on the lower surface portion of the mounting plate so as to accommodate the LED circuit board in an accommodating portion of the lens element such that the LEDs correspond to respective recess portions of the lens element.
In Patent Document 1, the lens element is mounted on the mounting plate by inserting screws through cutouts formed in projecting pieces of the lens element via a spacer and a packing, and screwing the screws into a pair of screw holes formed in the mounting plate so as to correspond to the screws.

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY MANAGEMENT CO., LTD.


Provided is a battery state monitoring circuit which is capable of preventing a discharge leak current from a battery so as to eliminate a load conventionally imposed on a user, including: a battery state detector circuit that detects a state of the battery based on a voltage of the battery; a transmitting terminal that transmits battery state information indicative of the state of the battery to an outside; a receiving terminal that receives battery state information of another battery from the outside; a transistor that is used for transmitting the battery state information, and has any one of two terminals except for a control terminal connected to the transmitting terminal; and a diode that is connected in a direction opposite to a direction of a parasitic diode disposed between the two terminals of the transistor, the diode being disposed between the transmitting terminal and one terminal of the transistor.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery state monitoring circuit that monitors a state of a battery, and a battery device that is equipped with a plurality of the battery state monitoring circuits.
2. Description of the Related Art
For example, JP 2005-117789 A discloses a protective IC that monitors voltages of a plurality of batteries that are connected in series with each other. FIG. 15A shows an example of the protective IC that is disclosed in JP 2005-117780 A. Referring to FIG. 15A, reference numbers 31a, 31b, and 31c denote protective ICs, respectively. The protective IC 31a monitors the voltages of batteries 1a to 1c, the protective IC 31b monitors the voltages of batteries 1d to 1f, and the protective IC 31c monitors the voltages of batteries 1g to 1i, respectively. In a normal state, that is, when the voltages of the batteries 1a to 1i are not abnormal, because all FETs 51, 53, and 55 of the respective protective ICs 31a, 31b, and 31c are on, a current flows through a resistor 81, and a monitor output terminal 42 becomes at high level. On the other hand, for example, when the voltage of any one of the batteries 1a to 1c becomes overvoltage (overcharged state), a signal of high level is output from an overvoltage detector circuit 34a′ that is disposed in the protective IC 31a with the results that an FET 73 is turned on, and an FET 75 is turned on. In this situation, because the FET 51 is turned off, no current flows in the resistor 81, and the monitor output terminal 42 becomes at low level. The same is applied to overdischarge detection.
As described above, when the voltage of any one of the batteries 1a to 1c becomes overvoltage, the monitor output terminal 42 becomes at low level because the FET 73 is turned on, the FET 75 is turned on, and the FET 51 is turned off. However, a parasitic diode having an anode terminal connected to a drain terminal of the FET 51 and a cathode terminal connected to a source terminal of the FET 51 exists between the drain terminal and a gate terminal of the FET 51. Therefore, when a load is connected between external terminals 41 and 44 in the above state, a current path is formed as shown in FIG. 15B, which leads to such a problem that electricity is discharged from the batteries 1d to 1i to generate discharge leak current.
The voltages of the batteries 1d to 1i are decreased due to an influence of the above discharge leak current, but the other batteries 1a to 1c have the high voltage close to the overvoltage. As a result, the voltage balance of the batteries 1a to 1i is disrupted. A state in which the voltage balance is disrupted is advanced so that the batteries 1a to 1c become voltages close to the overvoltage, and the batteries 1d to 1i become voltages close to overdischarge. As a result, because the overvoltage is detected by small charge, charging cannot be conducted. Also, because the overdischarge is detected by slightly using an application program, the batteries cannot be used. Such batteries are exchanged with fresh batteries. However, because the phenomenon of the discharge leak current is repeated so far as the conventional protective IC is used, the conventional protective IC not only causes inconvenience for a user, but also causes a large load such as costs and time required for battery replacement.

Battery state monitoring circuit and battery apparatus


The control word input to a Digitally Controlled Oscillator (DCO) is modified to reduce non-monotonic regions in the output response of the DCO. The DCO may be included in a Phase-Locked Loop (PLL) circuit for generating an output signal that locks onto either the phase or frequency of a reference signal input. By modifying the control word input to the DCO to avoid non-monotonic regions in the DCO output response, PLL phase noise is reduced. In one embodiment, the control word is modified by reordering or skipping control word values input to the DCO that correspond to non-monotonic regions in the output response of the DCO circuit.

The present invention generally relates to digitally controlled oscillators (DCOs), and particularly relates to reducing non-monotonic regions in the output response of a DCO.
A DCO generates an output response corresponding to a digital control word input. Ideally, the output response of a DCO monotonically changes in response to a corresponding monotonically changing digital control word input. However, process variations and other anomalies may cause non-monotonic regions in the output response of a conventional DCO. When a DCO operates in a non-monotonic region, its output response does not monotonically increase/decrease in response to a corresponding monotonically increasing/decreasing control word. Instead, breaks occur in the DCO output response. These breaks may cause duplicative regions in the DCO output response, i.e., regions in the DCO output response where different control word values produce the same or nearly the same output response. Duplicative regions in the DCO output response may cause errors or other problems in certain applications.
For example, a DCO conventionally forms an integral part of a Phase-Locked Loop (PLL). When included in a PLL, a DCO is the mechanism by which the PLL adjusts its output phase or frequency. In operation, a PLL attempts to 'lock' onto or synchronize itself with an input reference signal. Particularly, a phase detector determines the phase difference between a feedback signal derived from the output of the PLL and a reference signal where the output of the PLL is the DCO output. The output of the phase detector is converted to a digital control word for input to the DCO. In response to the digital control word input, the DCO adjusts its output frequency accordingly. A feedback path formed between the DCO output and the phase detector input causes the PLL to adjust the DCO output frequency until the phase/frequency difference between the reference signal input and the feedback signal is within an acceptable limit. When this occurs, the PLL is said to be locked or synchronized to the reference signal input.
Non-monotonic regions in the DCO output response can increase the phase noise generated by the PLL. Increased phase noise may cause undesirable behavior by circuitry that receives a clock signal generated by the PLL. Particularly, if PLL lock occurs at or near a non-monotonic DCO operating region, PLL phase noise may increase due to unexpected behavior, such as sudden phase jump or the PLL running into a limited cycle when the DCO operates in such a region. A PLL is less likely to cleanly lock onto the phase or frequency of a reference signal input when different control word values input to the DCO cause duplicative regions in the DCO output response.

Method and apparatus for reducing non-montonic regions in a digitally controlled oscillator


A wired/wireless charging apparatus capable of performing wired charging and wireless charging and a circuit are provided. The wired/wireless charging apparatus includes a body including a wired charging circuit for wired charging, a wireless charging circuit for wireless charging, and a battery mounting space a cover coupled with the body and including a transmission coil generating a magnetic field for the wireless charging, wherein the body and the cover including a contact unit for electrically connecting the transmission coil to the wireless charging circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a wired/wireless apparatus for charging a battery of a portable terminal and a wired/wireless charging circuit thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a wired/wireless apparatus for charging a battery through at least one of wired charging and wireless charging and a wired/wireless charging circuit thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, various functions are increasingly added to a portable terminal. That is, a portable terminal of the related art includes various convenience functions such as a voice call function, an image call function, a wireless interne function, a digital audio player function, and a digital broadcasting function. Power is supplied to the portable terminal from an embedded battery. However, a use time of the battery is limited. Accordingly, the user must charge the battery. In order to charge the battery, the user must electrically connect the portable terminal to a charger. The user must charge the battery using a separate charger. Due to the restriction of the limited use time of the battery, portable terminal manufacturers have generally provided a wired charger capable of charging the battery.
In recent years, there is interest in a wireless charger for addressing the inconvenience of a wired charger. However, a portable terminal of the related art does not include a capability of being charged by the wireless charger. Accordingly, a wireless charger of the related art cannot charge the battery. Due to this, a portable terminal user must charge the battery using the wired charger, thereby causing the inconvenience.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present invention.

Wired/wireless charging apparatus and circuit


A tubular, suture sleeve to efficiently position and secure an implantable lead thereto without the use of a suture is disclosed. The sleeve comprises first and second ends with first and second inner lumens respectively. The first end is relatively rigid in comparison to the more flexible second end. The circumference of the inner lumen of the first end is larger than a circumference of a lead body to allow the suture sleeve to slide easily along the longitudinal axis of the lead body. The second end is movable between furled and unfurled positions. When unfurled, the inner lumen of the second end is smaller than a circumference of the lead body, thereby allowing the second end to snugly grip the lead body and secure the sleeve at the desired location along the longitudinal axis of the lead body without the use of a suture.

Heart disease is a major health risk in the United States and elsewhere. One well-known treatment approach utilizes an implantable medical device, like a cardiac pacing device (i.e., a pacemaker) or a defibrillator, to manage a patient's heart rate or correct cardiac arrhythmias. An arrhythmia is generally defined as an abnormal cardiac rhythm.
A pacemaker delivers a relatively mild, periodic electrical impulse to epicardial or endocardial tissue as necessary to maintain normal sinus rhythm. In comparison to a pacemaker, an implanted defibrillator applies a much stronger electrical stimulus to the heart to "shock" it into a normal rhythm. The electrical charges for both implanted pacemakers and defibrillators are applied through electrically conductive leads that emanate from the medical device and terminate at an appropriate location on the tissue.
Suture sleeves are used to secure the implanted lead at the implant site. Suture sleeves are generally configured as tubular members, the cavity or lumen of which is adapted to sheathe the electrically conductive lead body of an implantable medical device. A suture sleeve also includes circumferential grooves adapted to receive a suture. The circumferential grooves facilitate wrapping the suture sleeve with a suture to secure the sleeve to the body of a lead and to a patient's body tissue, usually the fascia tissue of the heart. Suture leads are typically formed of soft, implantable elastomer material, such as silicone.
Suture sleeves come in several configurations. Some come from the implantable medical device manufacturer or other distributor with the lead already sheathed by the suture sleeve, thereby eliminating the need to thread or feed the lead through the sleeve during surgery. Other suture sleeves are separate from the lead, and the lead must be fed through the sleeve. Still other suture sleeves include a slit along the longitudinal axis of the sleeve to allow the sleeve to sheathe a lead body by passing the lead through the slit into the cavity or inner lumen of the suture sleeve.
Once the lead body is sheathed within the suture sleeve and properly positioned at the implant site, the suture sleeve is slid down the lead body to a point near the implant site and wrapped with a suture in the circumferential groove. The suture is pulled tight and tied to longitudinally secure the suture sleeve to the lead. The suture sleeve is then sutured to body tissue. Securing a suture sleeve in this manner is important to provide permanent hemostasis and lead stabilization at the implant site.
However, because suture sleeves must be moved along the longitudinal axis of the lead body during the implantation procedure and are constructed of soft, pliable material, problems may occur. For example, because the inner lumen of a typical suture sleeve is generally cylindrical, friction due to contact between the inside of the suture sleeve and the body of the lead may cause the sleeve to stick to the lead and make it difficult or impossible to slide the sleeve along the longitudinal axis of the lead body. On other occasions, if the clinician pulls the suture too tight when securing the sleeve to the lead, the suture can cut through the soft material of the suture sleeve and the insulation surrounding the lead, thereby damaging the lead. When this happens, the lead must be replaced. Unfortunately, damage to the lead is often not detected until after the surgery is complete, thereby requiring additional surgery to correct the problem and ultimately increasing the total cost of the implantation procedure.
Thus, for these and other reasons, there is a need for a suture sleeve that eliminates the risk of cutting through the sleeve when initially securing the sleeve to a lead body.

Device and method for a self-attaching suture sleeve


A subsea pipeline (10) is provided with a valve (11) which can be operated between a closed position and an open position to establish access from the pipeline exterior to the pipeline interior. The valve (11) is provided with a connector (13) adapted to connect to a sampling tool (16) comprising one or more fluid sampling probes (21). During operation, the fluid sampling tool (16) is transported from a surface location by an ROV down to the subsea pipeline (10) and connected to the valve. Then, the ROV opens the valve (11), moves a sampling probe (21) from the fluid sampling tool (16), through the valve (11) and into contact with the fluid within the subsea pipeline (10) to take fluid samples from the same. When the sampling procedure is completed, the probe is returned back to the sampling tool, and the valve is closed. The ROV disconnects the sampling tool and returns the sampling tool (16) to the surface.

During operation of subsea oil and gas drilling installations, samples are being taken continuously to provide information about pressure, temperature, flow rate etc. The results are sent electronically to the surface for use as parameters in analysis or process control.
However, in many circumstances it is desirable to obtain physical samples of the fluid per se, to perform more advanced analyses in a laboratory to provide information for use with calibration of process equipment or to obtain flow information which is impossible to obtain from stationary equipment mentioned above.
The applicant's own Pat. Nos. 323,881 and 325,585 describe a different device and field of utilization, namely a unit for mounting and demounting of a fixed intrusive probe/sensor installed in a pipe. These patents describe a mechanical mechanism used to grip hold of a sensor unit and move it through a cylinder.
The current application is on the other hand related to a way of connecting and filling up with pipe fluids several cylinders contained in a fixed unit, by the use of delta pressure from the pipe to the sample cylinder. This is a different field of utilization using a different method, and cannot be achieved by the teachings of the patents mentioned above.

Device and method of taking fluid samples offshore


A combination electrode, including: A first tube; a measuring membrane, which sealedly closes the first tube to form a measuring chamber; a second tube, which surrounds the first tube and is connected borderingly with the first tube to form an annular reference chamber; a buffer solution located in the measuring chamber; an electrolyte solution located in the reference chamber; a first tapping electrode in contact with the buffer solution; and a second tapping electrode in contact with the electrolyte; wherein, additionally, arranged in the reference chamber is an axially shiftable, annular, sealing element, which bounds the volume occupied by the electrolyte solution, the sealing element is biased by means of an electrically conductive, elastic, deformation element, which surrounds the first tube, and the second tapping electrode is electrically connected with the deformation element, in order to tap the potential of the second electrode via the deformation element.

Used as reference element is, for example, a silver/silver-chloride electrode, which reaches into a reference electrolyte, for example, KCI, located in an annular chamber around the working electrode. The reference electrolyte can be present, for example, as liquid and/or as gel. The working, or measuring, electrode comprises, usually, a glass tube, which is closed with a glass-membrane facing toward the medium to be measured and filled with a buffer solution. The electrode wire reaches into the buffer solution.
Insofar as the glass-membrane has a very high impedance, the measured potential is very disturbance-susceptible, so that it should, as much as possible, be well shielded.
The reference electrolyte in the annular chamber surrounding the measuring electrode is, in certain respects, suitable as shielding; however, it has, for example, a temperature-dependently variable volume, so that an air chamber can form above the reference electrolyte, surrounding the measuring electrode, whereupon the measuring electrode is not sufficiently shielded in the axial section of the air chamber.
FIG. 3 shows, for purposes of explanation, a combination electrode 61 of the state of the art, which has, between an outer tube 62 and an inner tube 63, an annular reference chamber 64, which is filled with a reference electrolyte. The reference potential is tapped with a reference electrode wire 67, which extends through various seals in the axial direction in the reference chamber. In the upper end of the reference chamber 64 is a so-called compensator 74, which comprises a closed-pore, elastic foam. The foam of the compensator is pressure-dependently compressed, so that, within a working range of the foam, the variable volume of the reference electrolyte can be accommodated. Above the compensator are a silicone caulking 78 and an epoxide resin caulking 79. The described apparatus is disadvantageous for the following reasons. On the one hand, the volume accommodated by the limited compressibility of the foam is limited, and, on the other hand, the volume of the foam cannot be arbitrarily increased, since, in the area of the foam, no effective shielding is provided. Furthermore, problems with sealing can be expected, since the foam moves relative to the reference electrode wire, and such movement can also affect the interface between the silicone caulking and the electrode wire.

Endress+ Hauser Conducta Gesellschaft für Mess- und Regeltechnik mbH+ Co. KG


The invention relates to novel enhancer nucleotide sequences which stimulate transcription of heterologous DNA in cells in culture. The enhancers are derived from major milk protein genes by the process of deletion mapping and functional analysis. The invention also relates to expression vectors containing the novel enhancers.

Gene expression in eukaryotic cells is regulated by DNA sequences found primarily (although not exclusively) in the region upstream (5' ward) of the transcription start site. These DNA sequences fall into two broad categories promoters and enhancers.(Maniatis et al. 1987) Promoter sequences generally, but not exclusively fall within about 100 base pairs (bp) of the transcription start site. The promoter determines the direction of transcription and the position at which transcription begins. Promoter sequences may or may not be active, in and of themselves, in directing expression (transcription) of genes or DNA sequences found downstream. Enhancer elements on the other hand, are DNA sequences generally found more than 100 bp from the transcription start site. Enchancers increase the rate of initiation of transcription from promoter sequences. Enhancers stimulate transcription by serving as binding sites for nuclear proteins. These proteins increase the rate of initiation by interacting with the proteins of the transcription initiation complex assembled on the promoter. These enhancer binding proteins stimulate transcription by an as yet unknown mechanism. Some of the properties of enhancers are known, however. These include:
1. Enhancers activate transcription from a distance. The distance may vary, depending on the particular enhancer, from less than 250 bp from the transcription start site to many thousands of bp (kbp) away (Serfling, et al., 1985; Banerji, et al., 1981; Grosschedl and Birnsteil, 1980).
2. Enhancer activity is independent of distance from the transcription start site. Individual enhancers may be moved, with respect to the transcription start site, without materially affecting their activity. Indeed, enhancers may be moved from the 5'-flanking DNA (Serfling, et al., 1981) (upstream of the transcription start site) to the 3'-flanking region (downstream of transcribed sequences) (Banerji, et al., 1981) or even within the transcription units (Gillieg, et al., 1983; Banerji, et al., 1983) and still function in stimulating transcription.
3. Enhancer activity is non-directional. Enhancer elements may be invered without affecting their activity (Grosschedl & Birnstiel, 1980; Banerji, et al., 1981). These properties distinguish enhancers from promoter elements (which may also stimulate transcription) in that promoter elements usually function only at a small distance from the transcription start site and only in a set orientation (Maniatis, et al., 1987). Such elements lose activity when moved or inverted. Transcription, having begun within the proximal promoter sequences, proceeds through the structural gene (the DNA sequences which encode a protein, also referred to as the transcription unit) and terminates within a DNA sequence (terminator) that specifies cessation of transcription and proper processing of the 3' terminus of the mRNA.
These various elements of a eukaryotic gene--enhancer, promoter, structural gene, and terminator--are modular and may be interchanged with DNA sequences of similar functions from other genes (Kaufman, 1990). If the structural gene encodes a protein whose production is desired either for sale or for research purposes, the assemblage is referred to as an expression cassette. The expression cassette's function is to direct transcription of whatever structural gene it contains, when introduced into a cell (whether grown in culture or contained within an animal). The particular cell must, of course, produce the nuclear proteins necessary to the functioning of the various parts of the expression cassette such as the enhancer-binding proteins.
Enhancers and their cognate nuclear proteins have been described from many sources. For example: the yeast (S. cerivisiae) GAL4 protein binds DNA sequences upstream of the GAL1 and GAL10 promoters and stimulates transcription (Johnston, 1987). The adenovirus E1A (Hearing & Schenk, 1986) and the Herpes simplex virus VP16 (Campbell, et al., 1984) proteins serve similar functions by binding DNA sequences within their respective viral genomes. VP16 acts as a transactivating protein in conjunction with a cellular transactivator called Oct 1, while the E1A protein acts alone. Similarly, proteins such as the glucocorticoid receptor, found in animal cells, stimulate transcription by binding their cognate enhancers within the genomes of animal cells.
The major milk protein genes of mammals are among the most highly expressed genes in any eukaryotic cell. For example, .alpha.-casein and .beta.-casein mRNA's together account for nearly half of all the mRNA in lactating mammary epithelial cells (Mercier, et al., 1985).
The enhancer and promoter elements responsible for this high level of expression will be useful in designing eukaryotic cell expression vectors based on strong cellular enhancers and promoters. Current expression vectors, utilizing enhancers and promoters from viral or cellular genes (Kaufman, 1990; Kriegler, 1990), produce less mRNA than major milk protein promoters (Mercier, et al., 1985).
The search for the expression control elements (enhancers and promoters) of major milk protein genes began about 10 years ago with the isolation of cDNAs (Richards, et al., 1981; Willis, et al., 1982) and genes (Yu-Lee, et al., 1983; Campbell, et al., 1984; Jones, et al., 1985) encoding rat .beta.- and .alpha.-casein and whey acidic protein (WAP). The genes for many major milk proteins of various species have now been cloned (reviewed in Mercier, et al., 1991) including the bovine .beta.-casein gene (Gorodetsky, et al., 1990; Schmidhauser, et al., 1990). Comparison of the primary nucleotide sequences found immediately upstream of the mRNA start site showed extensive sequence homology among the related alpha and beta casein genes, between -150 (150 bp upstream of the mRNA start site) and +40 (Yu-Lee, et al., 1986). In particular, the region between -150 and -100 (termed the "milk box"; Rosen, 1987) was also identified in the .alpha.-lactalbumin and WAP promoters.
Functional analysis of the expression control elements of the major milk protein genes began with the introduction of intact genes from other species into the genomes of transgenic mice. These included the rat .beta.-casein gene (Lee, et al., 1988), the rat and mouse whey acidic protein (AWP) genes (Bayna & Rosen, 1990; Burdon, et al., 1991), the sheep .beta.-lactoglobulin gene (Simons, et al., 1987), and the bovine and guinea pig .alpha.-lactalbumin genes (Maschio, et al., 1991; Vilotte, et al., 1989). The transgenes included the structural genes (introns and exons) for each protein and varying amounts of 3'- and 5'-flanking DNA. Each xenogeneic transgene was expressed predominantly in the mammary gland of female animals during lactation. These results indicated that each gene contained the expression control elements necessary for tissue-specific, developmentally-appropriate regulation of expression.
Various groups have reported expression of heterologous proteins in the mammary glands of transgenic animals using expression control elements from major milk protein genes. These include the oncogenes Ha-ras (Andres, et al., 1987) and c-myc (Schnenberger et al., 1988), human tissue plasminogen activator (Pittius, et al., 1988; Gordon, et al., 1987; Ebert, et al., 1991) the E.coli CAT gene (Lee, et al., 1989 a,b), human interleukin-2 (Buhler, et al., 1990), clotting factor IX (Clark et al., 1989; Simons et al., 1988), and human alpha-1-antitrypsin (Wright, et al., 1991; Meade et al., 1990).
Collectively, these studies showed that the control elements necessary for appropriate temporal and tissue specific regulation generally reside in the 5' flanking regions of most major milk protein genes while some elements responsible for high level expression may reside elsewhere in some genes. Because of the relative difficulty and expense of generating transgenic mice, it has not been possible to map individual expression control elements in this way.
Several major milk protein promoters have been studied in less complex systems that allow more complete analysis. Transfection of MMP promoter-reporter gene constructs into functional mammary epithelial cell lines such as HC11 (Ball, et al., 1988) and C1D9 (Schmidhauser et al., 1990) allows much more rapid and relatively less expensive and time consuming analysis of transcriptional activity. Such studies allow analysis of hormonal and substratum effects on gene expression. Elements of the mouse WAP gene necessary for prolactin and glucocorticoid induction have been localized (by functional analysis of promoter deletions in HC11 cells) to between -1500 and -450 while cell-type specific elements were localized to between -2500 and -1500 and between -450 and the transcript initiation site (Doppler et al., 1991).
Similar deletion analysis of the rat .beta.-casein promoter (Doppler et al., 1989) localized control elements important for hormonal regulation (prolactin and glucocorticoid) to between -2300 and -330, between -285 and -265 and between -190 and -170. These elements were not tested by inversion or by moving them with respect to the transcription start site so that no conclusions could be drawn regarding the presence or absence of transcriptional enhancers in these regions. Yoshimura and Oka (1990) showed that deletion of the region between -5300 and -545 of the mouse .beta.-casein gene had little effect on expression in transfected rabbit mammary epithelial cells.
The promoter regions of several major milk protein genes have been tested for nuclear protein binding by biochemical techniques such as electrophoretic mobility shift and DNaseI protection. The bovine .beta.-casein promoter contains a site (between -264 and -239) that binds the purified transcription factor NF1 (Kabishev, et al., 1990; Ivanov et al., 1990). The functional significance of this potential NF1 binding site is not known. Nuclear extracts from mammary tissue contain several proteins that interact with the region between -354 and -88 of the rat WAP promoter (Lubon and Hennighausen, 1987). Similarly, the region from -125 to -85 of the rat .alpha.-lactalbumin promoter is protected from nuclease digestion by proteins in mammary nuclear extracts (Lubon and Hennighausen, 1988). Functional tests of the importance of these regions in expression of the WAP and .alpha.-lactalbumin genes have not yet been carried out.
Detection of nuclear protein binding to major milk protein promoters helps to locate DNA sequences important to regulation of gene expression. However, functional analysis of the role of putative binding sites in gene expression must be carried out before definite conclusions can be drawn. Such analyses have been carried out in two cases. Lee and Oka (1992) detected mammary-specific protein binding to two regions of the mouse .beta.-casein promoter. Methylation interference experiments indicated that the guanosine residues at -8 and -350 were involved in the binding. Analysis of transcriptional activity of wild type promoters and of promoters with mutations in the binding regions indicated that these sites were involved in progesterone-mediated repression of transcription.
Schmitt-Ney, et al., (1991) identified binding sites for five nuclear proteins within the rat .beta.-casein promoter. Four were found in HC11 cell nuclear extracts. Two of the HC11 activities increased (activities C & D) and two decreased (activities A & B) following hormonal induction of casein expression. The A & B activities are thought to mediate repression because mutations affecting A binding caused an increase in basal (uninduced) promoter activity. The fifth binding activity, termed MGF, was found only in pregnant and lactating mammary gland (but not in HC11 cells). MGF binds to two sites, one between -80 and -100 and the other between -130 and -150. These sequences are conserved in other casein genes and in casein genes of other species. Mutations in the MGF binding sites that decrease protein binding also decrease transcriptional activity (Schmitt-Ney, et al., 1991, 1992).

Transcriptional enhancer from milk protein genes


In a chamber (50), a quartz substrate (10) having a main surface on which an optical film (20) is formed is put on a susceptor (30). A flash lamp (60) is housed in a lamp house (90), and the optical film (20) is irradiated with flash light through two quartz plates (70a and 70b). A transmittance adjustment region (80) is formed on a surface of the quartz plate (70b) of the two quartz plates (70a and 70b), and the amount of light with which the optical film (20) is irradiated has in-plane distribution. If the optical film (20) is irradiated with the flash light, optical characteristics of the optical film (20) change depending on the received irradiation energy. Hence, for example, the characteristics of the optical film are not uniform, the optical film is irradiated with flash light having such irradiation energy distribution that cancels the in-plane distribution.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique for enhancing the in-plane uniformity of optical characteristics of an optical film formed in a photomask blank.
Description of the Related Art
Along with higher integration of semiconductor integrated circuits, further refinement and higher precision are required for patterns formed on photomasks. Consequently, for the reason of an enhancement in resolution, exposure light having a shorter wavelength is increasingly used for a photolithography technique. Specifically, the used exposure light is being shifted from g rays (a wavelength λ=436 nm) and i rays (λ=365 nm), which are emitted from ultraviolet light sources, to KrF rays (λ=248 nm) and ArF rays (λ=193 nm), which are emitted from far-ultraviolet light sources.
Further, in order to achieve such further refinement and higher precision of patterns, liquid immersion technology, resolution enhancement technology (RET), and technology such as double exposure (double patterning lithography) are also applied.
Meanwhile, as the wavelength of exposure light is shorter, the depth of focus (DOF) is narrower. Hence, a focus error is more likely to occur at the time of pattern transfer, and this causes a decrease in manufacture yield.
One of the methods of improving such a depth of focus is a phase shift method. According to the phase shift method, patterns are formed using a phase shift mask such that the phases of patterns adjacent to each other are different by approximately 180°. According to the phase shift method, light that has passed through a region in which a phase shift film is formed and light that has passed through a region in which a phase shift film does not exist interfere with each other in a boundary portion therebetween, and the obtained light intensity distribution exhibits a sudden change in the boundary portion, so that the image contrast is enhanced. Note that the phase shift mask includes masks of Levenson type and halftone type.
A phase shift mask including a phase shift film made of molybdenum silicide oxide (MoSiO) or molybdenum silicide oxide nitride (MoSiON) has been proposed as the halftone phase shift mask (see, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-140635). Further, a phase shift film containing chromium and a phase shift film containing tantalum have also been proposed as the halftone phase shift mask (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 9-244212 and 2001-312043).
Such a phase shift mask is formed by pattern-forming a phase shift mask blank according to a lithography method. For example, in the case of the halftone phase shift mask, a photomask blank obtained by forming a halftone phase shift film and a light shielding film (such as a Cr film) in order on a transparent substrate is used.
A resist is applied onto this photomask blank, and a desired portion of the resist is exposed to electron rays or ultraviolet rays and is then developed, whereby the resist is patterned. Then, the light shielding film and the phase shift film are removed by etching using the patterned resist film as a mask. Then, if the resist film and the light shielding film are peeled off, the halftone phase shift mask is obtained as a result.
Note that a plurality of photomasks are used to manufacture a device having a structure in which a plurality of layers are laminated, and superimposition with high precision is required in this case. Further, double patterning, which is a new technique of performing exposure to light with a layout being divided into two (or more) photomasks, is required to achieve superimposition with still higher precision.
In the case where a thin film formed on a substrate is already stressed in a photomask blank state, unfortunately, the film stress is partially released in the respective steps of resist application, exposure to light, development, etching, and resist peel-off for pattern formation, and the finally obtained photomask itself is "distorted". Such distortion makes the precision of photomask superimposition lower, and causes defects.
The level of such "distortion" depends on a formed pattern and the magnitude of a film stress, and it is extremely difficult to control the level of such "distortion" during a photomask manufacturing process.
If each thin film is formed under such conditions that can make the stress in the thin film approximately zero, this problem does not occur, but it is extremely difficult and practically impossible to find manufacturing process conditions that can satisfy both: film formation conditions for securing characteristics to be provided to the thin film as an optical film; and conditions for forming a low-stress thin film. For this reason, it is necessary to provide, as different independent steps, a step of forming the thin film under conditions that can secure the characteristics of the thin film and a step of reducing the stress in the thin film.
In general, a thin film such as a phase shift film in a photomask blank is formed according to a sputtering method. A stress is generated in the thin film in the course of the film formation process, and this stress distorts the substrate itself, and warps the photomask blank.
The following technique has been proposed as a solution to this problem. That is, the film stress is controlled by irradiating the light absorbing thin film such as a phase shift film with light from a flash lamp at a predetermined energy density, whereby the warpage of the photomask blank is reduced (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-199035).
It is considered that, if a light absorbing film such as a halftone phase shift film is irradiated with flash light, absorption of the irradiation light, a rapid change in temperature, and the like change the film composition, the atom bonding state, and the like, to thereby change optical characteristics of the film and relieve the film stress.
A hot plate, a heater, a halogen lamp, an infrared lamp, and a furnace are conceivable as means for externally imparting energy for stress relief of a thin film. According to these means, the substrate itself is damaged by an increase in substrate temperature caused by imparting the energy, and the productivity is decreased by an increase in processing time. Hence, such light irradiation using a flash lamp as described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2004-199035 is superior.
Although the stress is improved by light irradiation using a flash lamp, the amount of absorbed light is different between a peripheral region and a central region of an optical film formed on a substrate to be irradiated, depending on the structure of a flash lamp irradiation apparatus and the shape of the substrate, so that optical characteristics of the optical film fluctuate in the same plane. A technique for improving this is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-114681.
A roadmap concerning lithography of ITRS in 2011, however, requires the in-plane uniformity of optical film characteristics to be higher.
The present invention, which has been made in view of such a requirement, has an object to provide a technology of further enhancing the in-plane uniformity of optical characteristics of an optical film, particularly, a halftone phase shift film formed in a blank (photomask blank) used for manufacturing a photomask.

Method of manufacturing photomask blank and photomask blank


An electronic device is provided. The electronic device may include a display including a front surface area and a side surface area disposed in at least one side of the front surface area, a first sensor included under the side surface area and configured to sense pressure applied to the side surface area; and a processor operatively connected with the display and the first sensor. The processor may be configured to determine a position of at least one point of the side surface area corresponding to the sensed pressure, if the sensed pressure using the first sensor is within a first specified range, and to display at least one graphic object on an area corresponding to the determined position.

An electronic device may include various user interfaces. For example, the electronic device may include at least one key provided on a side surface of a housing, in addition to a user interface of a front surface included together with a touch screen. The key provided on the side surface of the electronic device may be a key, such as a volume key, a power key, or the like, which is significantly frequently used by a user.
Recently, an electronic device has been disclosed with a display implemented in an edge type by expanding a front display to a portion of a side surface of the electronic device. Since a conventional electronic device in such a type may be designed such that a portion of the side surface of the display is bent to surround a side surface of a housing, the width of the side surface of the housing may be significantly reduced. Accordingly, in the conventional electronic device, a space may be insufficient to apply a physical side key to the side surface of the housing.

Electronic device for variably displaying display position of object on expansion area of display and method of displaying


An assembly for restraining the upper limbs of an occupant of a seat, particularly an aircraft ejector seat, includes a storage unit which is adapted to be fixedly secured to an upper back portion of the seat. The storage houses a pair of movable cover members and first and second bladder units. The cover members and bladder units are connected by means of straps to a quick release mechanism which mates with a corresponding fitting carried by the occupant and then to a fixed structure adjacent the seat. When it is desired to deploy the restraint assembly, a tension is applied to the straps which causes the cover members to extend around opposite sides and laterally inward of the occupant's body, about respective arms of the occupant, and the bladder units to extend about the occupant's neck. The bladder units are then inflated so as to permit undesirable movement of the occupant's head.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to a restraint assembly and, more particularly, to a restraint assembly adapted for use in combination with an aircraft ejector seat so as to restrain the movement of an occupant's arms and head during an ejection sequence.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Ejection seats for use in aircrafts are widely known in the art. A problem has been encountered in the prior art wherein if the occupants's limbs are spread away from the occupant's body during an ejection sequence, serious injuries, including loss of the limbs, can occur as the seat is propelled out of the aircraft.
This problem has been recognized in the prior art and attempts have been made to solve the problem by incorporating a restraint assembly having straps secured to each of the occupant's arms and legs which are tightened during an ejection sequence so that the occupant's limbs are drawn close to the body of the occupant. An example of such a prior art device is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,202,384.
Such a prior art arrangement has various undesirable characteristics. For instance, it can be difficult to secure the straps to each of the occupant's arms without assistance. In addition, the straps must accommodate, without hindering, all necessary movements of the occupant's limbs. Finally, in practice, it has been found that such systems are cumbersome.
It has also been proposed in the prior art to incorporate arm restraining net systems on ejector seats as exemplified by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,081,156, 4,215,835 and 4,592,523. Unfortunately, these known systems fail to solve the problem associated with the prior art in a completely effective and cost-efficient manner. For instance, the arm restraining net systems in '156 and '835 patents not only require additional structural changes to the ejector seat itself in order to shift the arm restraining systems between stored and deployed positions, but the restraining nets only prevent the occupant's arms from movement laterally outwardly due to the limited travel of the netting about the occupant's body.
The restraining net system disclosed in the '523 patent, in addition to requiring substantial changes to the ejector seat, must be designed to the general size of the occupant in order to be effective, especially with regards to restraining the movement of the occupant's head, and is considered to be unreliable due to the manner of deployment and complex construction.
Therefore, there exists a need in the art for an occupant restraining system which can be readily adapted for use on an aircraft ejector seat or the like and which will reliably and efficiently restrain the movement of an occupant's upper limbs, including head, during prerequisite times such as during an ejection sequence.

Occupant arm and head restraining assembly


A plane-blade adjusting device for a planing machine includes a blade shaft, a plurality of plane blades, plural covers and plural eccentric tubular posts. The blade shaft body is provided with plural set flat surfaces for each plane blade to rest on and then each cover secured on the plane blade and screwed tightly. The eccentric tubular post has an eccentric rotary portion formed in an upper portion, fitting in the rectangular hole of each plane knife and secured tightly on the shaft body for sandwiching a plane blade on the shaft body. So the eccentric tubular post is rotated to shift each plane blade up and down in a micro-distance with easiness, quickness and accuracy.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a plane-blade adjusting device for a planing machine, particularly to one adjusting plural plane blades of the planing machine in a vertical direction with easiness, quickness and accurateness.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional planing machines have a plane-blade shaft for fixing a plane blade, and when the plane-blade shaft is rotated, the plane-blade will perform planing to a work. The plane-blade in the conventional planing machine is fixed tightly with a cover on the plane shaft by screws, clamping the plane blade between the cover and the plane-blade shaft. Therefore, when the plane blade is to be adjusted in a vertical direction, the screws on the cover have to be in advance loosened, and then the rectangular hole of the plane blade has to be moved relative to the screw of the rectangular hole properly, and again the screws have to be tightened, for controlling the depth of a work to be planed off.
However, the plane blade in the conventional planing machine has to be adjusted completely with a hand, so its accuracy may not be accurate in a micro degree, and in addition, it takes rather much time

Plane-blade adjusting device for a planing machine


A polymerizable liquid crystal composition for obtaining a retardation film that has high front contrast; and a liquid crystal polymer. A polymerizable liquid crystal composition which is characterized by containing a compound represented by formula (1).

In order to correct chromatic aberration of images and the like, liquid crystal display devices include a retardation film therein. As such a retardation film, a stretched polymer film exhibiting birefringence is generally used. Since liquid crystal polymers exhibit birefringence, a liquid crystal polymer produced by curing a polymerizable liquid crystal composition can be used as a retardation film. Use of a liquid crystal polymer has been studied in consideration of ease of film formation, thinning the film thickness, improvement in durability, and the like.
In a retardation film made of a liquid crystal polymer, in order to improve front contrast, attempts to fix alignment in a smectic phase state have been made (Patent Literature 1).

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Polymerizable liquid crystal composition and liquid crystal polymer

Abstract: Exemplified are embodiments wherein in formula (1), W1 represents an alkyl group having 1-5 carbon atoms, an alkoxy group having 1-5 carbon atoms, an alkoxycarbonyl group having 1-5 carbon atoms or an alkanoyl group having 1-5 carbon atoms; Z1 represents —CH2CH2COO—; Z2 represents —OCOCH2CH2—; each of Y1 and Y2 represents a linking group; each of Q1 and Q2 represents a spacer; and each of P1 and P2 represents a polymerizable functional group.


An air conditioner heat-exchanger is provided to smoothen the air flowing through a plurality of the heat transfer tubes, thereby improving heat transference efficiency and heat-exchange effect, the air conditioner heat-exchanger having a plurality of flat fins arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval and a plurality of heat transfer tubes perpendicularly inserted to the plurality of flat fins, the plurality of heat transfer tubes being arranged against the air flowing direction (S) with a predetermined horizontal interval (X) and a predetermined vertical interval (Y) maintained therebetween to avoid the influence of the dead air region (P) formed therebehind.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air conditioner heat-exchanger and more particularly to an air conditioner heat-exchanger which has an arrangement of a plurality of heat transfer tubes on flat fins.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A conventional air conditioner in accordance with a first embodiment, as illustrated in FIG. 1, includes a plurality of flat fins(100) arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval allowing air to flow therebetween for heat transference and a plurality of heat transfer tubes(200) perpendicularly inserted to the plurality of flat fins(100) to which the temperature of a coolant is transferred while being flown inwards, and at the same time, being contacted to air for heat-exchange. At this time, the plurality of the heat transfer tubes(200) are vertically (A), horizontally (B) and continuously arranged at a predetermined interval toward the air flowing direction (shown as an arrow).
In addition, a conventional air conditioner in accordance with another embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, a plurality of flat fins(100) are arranged in parallel at a predetermined interval allowing air to flow therebetween for heat transference and a plurality of heat transfer tubes(200) perpendicularly inserted to the plurality of flat fins(100) to which the temperature of a coolant is transferred while being flown inwards, at the same time, being contacted to air for heat-exchange.
At this time, the plurality of heat transfer tubes(200) are vertically arranged in a series at a predetermined interval while being horizontally arranged in a continuous zigzag manner. Here, for the easy explanation, the plurality of the heat transfer tubes(200) are numbered, where 201 is given specifically for those aligned vertically at a first column at the left end of the flat fins(100), 202 for those aligned at a second column at the center of the flat fins(100), and 203 for those aligned at a third column at the right end of the flat fins(100).
Accordingly, the heat transfer tubes(201) at the first column and those(203) at the third column are horizontally at an equal height. However, the heat transfer tubes(202) at the center column are positioned between those(201) at the first column and those(203) at the third column leaving a predetermined base height which results in a different height arrangement from those at the first and third columns. An unexplained character, P, is for a dead air region.
As the air conditioner is operated, the conventional air conditioner heat-exchangers carry out heat-exchange in a cooling cycle of a coolant (not shown) where the coolant is infused and circulated at the heat transfer tubes(200), thereby being heat-exchanged by the air flowing along the arrow direction. At this time, if a slit type of pattern (not shown), a louver type of pattern (not shown) or the like is placed on the plurality of flat fins(100), the air flow is mixed and changed into turbulent air flow to permit the dead air region (P) to be reduced, thereby promoting the heat-exchange effect.
However, there is a problem in the first embodiment of conventional air conditioner heat-exchanger in that the heat exchange effect is substantially deteriorated due to the influence of the dead air region as the heat transfer tubes(200) are arranged in the identical direction with that of the air flow, as shown in FIG. 1.
Furthermore, there is another problem in another embodiment of the conventional air conditioner heat-exchanger in that even if the heat-exchange effect is promoted as the heat transfer tubes(202) at the second column are arranged at a different height from those at the first column excluding the influence of the dead air region formed by the heat transfer tubes(201) at the first column, the air flow is particularly reduced and the heat-exchange effect is substantially deteriorated as the third heat transfer tubes(203) are arranged at the identical height to those(201) at the first column in parallel, thereby being influenced by the dead air region (P) thereof.


A rack includes a base resting on a horizontal surface, a top and four elongated legs. Each leg includes a bottom portion pivotally connected to the base and a top portion pivotally connected to the top. The rack is movable between a flat position, wherein the legs are substantially parallel to the horizontal surface, and an upright position, wherein the legs are substantially perpendicular to the horizontal surface.

Many racks are sold and/or shipped in an unassembled state and then assembled where the rack is to be used. The assembly can be complex and require tools. After assembly, the rack may have limited versatility with regard to the configuration of the assembled rack.
It is desirable to provide a rack that can be shipped or stored in a flat configuration and easily manipulated to an upright position for use. It is also desirable for such a rack to be sturdy in the upright position even if the rack is "assembled" without tools. It is still further desirable for the rack to be versatile not only in the movement between the flat and upright positions, but also to be adaptable to different configurations in the upright position.

Versatile racks and related assemblies and methods


A rack rail system engageable with a post of a rack. The rack rail system includes a rail assembly and a flange provided on at least an end of the rail assembly. The flange includes a pin insertable into an aperture of the post when the flange is adjacent to the post. The rack rail system further includes a clamp pivotably connected to the flange and movable from an open position and a closed position. The clamp receives both the post and the flange in the closed position.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a tool-less rack rail system for supporting electronic equipment, and in particular, to a tool-less rack rail system incorporating a clamping mechanism that maximizes the allowable width of the electronic equipment.
2. Background Information
Normally, sites may require multiple pieces of electronic equipment. For example, the electronic equipment may include computers and data storage equipment, such as servers and the like. In order to efficiently utilize all available space, the multiple electronic equipment may be accommodated in a rack which extends vertically, so that the space can be effectively utilized in the vertical direction. For example, a single rack may accommodate several servers.
Each piece of electronic equipment normally comprises an outer, aesthetically pleasing housing which is supported by the rack. The rack usually comprises a substantially rectilinear metal frame, including several vertical columns or posts, each provided with a plurality of openings or apertures which permit the mounting of various fastening hardware in the rack which couples the electronic equipment pieces to the rack. Pairs of rack rails are mounted to the generally vertical posts of the rack, so as to collectively support the individual electronic equipment pieces. Alternatively, a shelf, a drawer, or other system may be connected to the rack rails, so as to slidably support or accommodate the electronic equipment. Normally the rack rails are screwed or bolted to the vertical posts, using, for example, a conventional nut retainer clip. The conventional nut retainer clip is configured to wrap around the post of the rack, and retains a nut therein to be coupled with a threaded fastener, so as to fix the rack rails to the post of the rack. The electronic equipment, the shelf, or the drawer is then coupled or slidably connected to the rack rails.
For example, the rack commonly includes four spaced vertical posts including a pair of front posts and a pair of rear posts. Each of the front posts is aligned with the rear posts. The electronic equipment is mounted in the rack by a pair of rail assemblies. One rail assembly is mounted between one front post and an opposite rear post so as to support one side of the electronic equipment, and the other rail assembly is mounted between the other front post and the other opposite rear post so as to support another side of the electronic equipment.
In order to facilitate mounting of the rail assemblies to the vertical posts, there have been provided tool-less rack rail systems that can be mounted to the posts without having to use tools. Conventional tool-less rack rail systems either wrap around the posts, or have pins which protrude through the openings in the post and attach to an outer surface of the post by using other fastening elements.
FIG. 7 illustrates a perspective view of conventional rack rail systems 300 and 400 engaged with a rack that includes four posts, i.e., two front posts 510 and 520 and two rear posts 530 and 540. The rack rail system 300 is engaged with the front post 510 and the rear post 530, and the other rack rail system 400 is engaged with the front post 520 and the rear post 540. The two rack rail systems 300 and 400 collectively support the electronic equipment 600 thereon.
As shown in FIG. 8, the rack rail system 300 includes a flange 310 that wraps around the post 510. A pin 312 is inserted into a hole 512 of the post 510, in a direction from the inside of post 510 toward the outside of the flange. Accordingly, the pin 312 is further inserted into a corresponding, aligned hole 314 of the flange 310, and protrudes beyond it so as to secure the rack rail system 300 to the post 510. However, the pin 312 substantially protrudes beyond the hole 314 of the flange 310, and thus requires an extra accommodating space adjacent to an outer surface of the post 312. The protruding pin 312 thus requires a customized arrangement. This is because any covering member that covers the outer surface of the post 312 should be configured to prevent interference with the protruding pin 312.
Furthermore, the flange 310 wrapping around the post 510 has a substantial thickness, and interferes with a space between the post 510 and the other front post 520. Thus, a flange of the other rack rail system 400 also interferes with the space between the posts 510 and 520. Preferably, the flange of the other rack rail system 400 has the same thickness as the flange 310. Thus, when the flange 310 has a thickness of T, as shown in FIG. 8, and when the distance between of the two front posts 510 and 520 is D, as shown in FIG. 7, the maximum allowable width of the electronic equipment between the two posts 510 and 520 is a value obtained by subtracting 2T from D. In the electronic equipment industry, there is a strong need to maximize available space between the posts, thereby maximizing the allowable width of any system to be accommodated in the space between the posts. However, in the conventional tool-less rack rail system, the substantial thickness of the flange interferes with the space between the posts, and therefore makes it difficult to utilize the space efficiently.

Tool-less rack rail system incorporating clamping mechanism

International Business Machines Corporation