A method for removing volatile and semi-volatile contaminants from groundwater in which the contaminants are stripped from the groundwater by sparging with an inert carrier gas and the stripped contaminants are transported into a bioactive zone into which at least one gaseous oxidant and at least one nutrient are independently injected, thereby stimulating at least one microbial culture associated with the bioactive zone to remove the stripped contaminants from the bioactive zone. By decoupling the sparging of the groundwater from the introduction of oxidants and nutrient feed gases into the bioventing bioactive zone of the subsurface, the oxygen and nutrient inputs to the bioactive zone can be adjusted (or carbureted) and controlled independently from the hydrocarbon input to the bioactive zone to achieve good kinetic performance in the bioactive zone while avoiding the problems of plugging of groundwater sparging due to biofilm and precipitate formation.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for removing volatile and semi-volatile contaminants from groundwater and soils in the subsurface of contaminated sites. More particularly, this invention relates to the use of biosparging and bioventing for removing volatile and semi-volatile contaminants from groundwater and soils in the subsurface of contaminated sites.
2. Description of Related Art
Biosparging and bioventing are commonly used to remove volatile and semi-volatile contaminants from groundwater and soils in the subsurface of contaminated sites. The conventional mode of treatment involves the introduction of air into the groundwater, a process referred to as biosparging, to partition the volatile/semi-volatile contaminants into the gas phase consistent with Henry's Law relationships, followed by the removal of the contaminants from the gas phase (air stream) through the biodegradative action of microbial films growing in the unsaturated zone of the soil, a process referred to as bioventing.
In many cases where biosparging is applied, the presence of iron in the groundwater as low as 10 mg per liter can cause serious plugging of the air injection system. This problem arises through the reaction of the oxygen in the air with the soluble iron in the water to form insoluble iron oxide precipitates in accordance with the following equations:2Fe2+O2=2FeO ppt2Fe3++1.5O2=Fe2O3 ppt
When groundwater iron is at levels above 10 ppm, substantial precipitates form at the natural ranges of groundwater pH (pH 6.5 to 8). These precipitates clog the injection points and pore spaces within the soil particles at locations proximal to the injection points. Plugging can occur within two weeks of start up of biosparging, causing airflows to be reduced by 50 to 90%, reducing the aeration zone of influence (for contaminant removal via air stripping) by more than 80% and causing system shutdown. This problem can potentially occur with any mode of in-situ biological treatment that involves the injection of substantial flows of air or oxygen into the groundwater. Examples of biological treatment modes where plugging problems can occur include aerobic heterotrophic treatment and methanotrophic treatment. Plugging can be severe to the extent that the biosparging/bioventing treatment for a site has to be abandoned for more costly treatment approaches, such as a groundwater pump-and-treat mode of remediation using a packed bed air stripping unit coupled to a granulated activated carbon adsorption process.
A secondary problem with conventional biosparging and bioventing treatment arises from the lack of independent control of the amount of oxidants and nutrients per pound of contaminant that are passed through the bioactive zone (the bioventing zone) of the unsaturated soil stratum. In conventional bioventing, the airflow is usually designed for the effective air stripping of the volatile and semi-volatile compounds from the groundwater. When treating concentrated groundwater contaminant source areas during the initial phase of air sparging, elevated concentrations of the contaminants may be transported to the gas phase and swept with the air stream into the bioventing zone, producing a situation where insufficient oxygen is available for the degradation of the contaminants.
A tertiary problem that occurs with conventional biosparging and bioventing treatments is that when air is used for stripping the groundwater, the oxygen stimulates aerobic bacteria in the groundwater to oxidize the hydrocarbon contaminants to form carbon dioxide and cell mass. When this happens, up to 0.5 pounds of cell mass per pound of contaminant oxidized may be formed, which can clog air injection points and the pores of the groundwater formation itself.
Similar conditions may occur with respect to the introduction of nutrient gases into the air stream used for contaminant stripping from the groundwater. If nutrient gases, such as nitrous oxide or triethylphosphate (TEP) are sparged with the air into the groundwater, most of the nutrients can be solubilized into the groundwater and not follow the air stream into the bioventing zone. In addition, with an initial phase of air sparging, the presence of high concentrations of hydrocarbons that are moved into the bioventing zone with the air may overwhelm the availability of nutrients required for biodegradation.

Carbureted bioventing for enhanced control of in-situ bioremediation


Systems and methods for importing data from data sources over a network while correcting and transforming the data are described. A data migration server receives data from various data sources. The data migration server repairs and transforms the received data before transmitting the data to a new data server. In some embodiments, the data migration server repairs data before formatting the data, and in other embodiments, the data migration server formats data before repairing the data. The data migration server also verifies the accuracy of the data, either by comparing the data against data requested and received from third-party servers or in reference to other data from the data sources.

Data management capabilities conventionally provided by software for installation on computing systems have increasingly become available via web-based services. When users create accounts with Software as a Service (SaaS) providers, the users often migrate data from other environments into the new accounts. For example, the users may migrate data stored on their computing systems or data currently stored in accounts with other SaaS providers. Additionally, users may upgrade their accounts, which may result in transfer of data within the SaaS provider's system. However, when migrating data from any source into a new data management system, numerous problems may arise. The data may have been poorly maintained, containing inaccuracies ranging from typographical errors and misspellings to outdated information, erroneous calculations, and incomplete records. The data may be organized in a format incompatible with the selected data management system. Because of the variety of data formats and uncertain quality of data, formatting, verifying, and correcting data to migrate can be a time consuming and expensive procedure, one that users of conventional software would have had to undertaken when upgrading their software.


A compound effective in prevention and treatment of arteriosclerosis with a mechanism different from that of statin drugs has the following formula or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt, solvate, or hydrate thereof:

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to pyripyropene A derivatives having an extremely good inhibitory activity against cholesterol acyltransferase isozyme 2 (hereinafter abbreviated as ACAT2). More particularly, the present invention relates to pyripyropene A derivatives in which one or both of the 1- and 11-positions are substituted by an acyloxy group other than acetoxy group, the 11-position is substituted by carboxyl, an alkoxycarbonyl, or an arylcarbamoyl group, or the 1- and 11-positions are substituted by a cyclic acetal group.
2. Background Art Description of Related Art
The number of patients in Japan with hyperlipemia or arteriosclerosis which are associated with a high risk of high-mortality diseases such as myocardial infarction and cerebral apoplexy is said to be as many as thirty million, including subjects having no subjective symptoms. Even at the present time when the Guidelines for Prevention of Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Diseases have been revised by the Japan Atherosclerosis Society, death due to these diseases ranks high among the causes of death in Japan. Hyperlipemia and arteriosclerosis are significant health problems not only in Japan but also in Europe and the Americas.
The drugs which are most widely used at present for prevention and treatment of arteriosclerosis are statin drugs which specifically inhibit hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A (hereinafter abbreviated as HMG-CoA) reductase. Statin drugs have been the most widely sold drugs in the world for 8 consecutive years from 2001. They are widely used, as demonstrated by the fact that two statin drugs ranked in the top thirty drugs having the highest worldwide sales in 2008. However, in actuality, it has been found that these drugs exhibit an effect on prevention of onset in only 30%-40% of patients and produce no suppression of cardiovascular diseases or the like in about half of patients who received therapy with such a drug (Non-Patent Document 1).
The reasons why HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors which are currently used as prophylactic or therapeutic agents for arteriosclerosis cannot sufficiently suppress cardiovascular diseases or similar diseases are thought to relate to the fact that the mechanism of onset of arteriosclerosis is complicated, the onset mostly being caused by heredity, diabetes, drugs, and other various factors acting in combination. Therefore, diagnosis and treatment of these diseases need to be based on the pathological conditions of each patient.
Accordingly, there is an urgent desire for the development of a drug having a new mechanism of activities which can be expected to have an effect on suppression of onset of disorders in the coronary artery or degeneration of lesions in the coronary artery and which is different from the mechanism of statin drugs. However, there has been almost no progress in development of a drug as a substitute for statin drugs.
Cholesterol acyltransferase (hereinafter abbreviated as ACAT) is an enzyme which catalyzes the introduction of an acyl group into cholesterol, and it is considered to be a target of drugs which are expected to be developed for treatment of statin-resistant arteriosclerosis or tailor-made treatment in accordance with individual pathological conditions. This enzyme has attracted attention for years as an important target molecule of a drug for prevention and treatment of arteriosclerosis, and a number of synthetic ACAT inhibitors have been developed. However, these inhibitors have not yet been put to clinical use due to side effects or insufficient effects (Non-Patent Document 2).
It has recently been revealed that ACAT exists in the form of two isozymes, ACAT1 and ACAT2, which have different in vivo functions and different locations from each other (Non-Patent Document 3). ACAT1 is widely found in many living cells and tissues and is highly expressed particularly in macrofages and smooth muscle cells. It takes part in arteriosclerosis by causing the formation of foam macrofage cells, which are a cause of arteriosclerosis. ACAT2 is expressed specifically in the small intestine and liver and is thought to take part in the absorption of dietary cholesterol and the secretion of very low-density lipoproteins in each of these organs. As the difference between ACAT1 and ACAT2 with respect to in vivo functions becomes clear, the importance of specifying its selectivity has been recognized in the development of new drugs targeted at ACAT.
It has been found that synthetic ACAT inhibitors, the development of which has been abandoned, have an activity which selectively inhibits ACAT1 (such as Wu-V-23) or which inhibits both ACAT1 and ACAT2 (such as avasimibe and pactimibe) (Non-Patent Document 4).
Taking the recently reported results of knockout mice (Non-Patent Document 5) into consideration, there is a strong expectation that a new drug will be developed from the family of selective ACAT2 inhibitors. It is reported that pyripyropene A having the formula shown below (Non-Patent Document 6) is a selective ACAT2 inhibitor (Non-Patent Document 7). However, up to the present time, there has been no research aimed at development of a new drug which is a selective ACAT2 inhibitor.

It is disclosed in Patent Document 1 that pyripyropene derivatives in which the 1-, 7- and/or 11-positions of pyripyropene A are substituted by certain groups have an ACAT2-inhibiting activity. However, it is not disclosed or suggested in that document that ACAT2 inhibition is achieved without decomposition by metabolizing enzymes.    Non-Patent Document 1: Libby, J. Am. Col. Cardiol., Vol. 46, pp. 1225-1228, 2005;    Non-Patent Document 2: Meuwese et al., Cull. Opin. Lipidol., Vol. 17, pp. 426-431, 2006;    Non-Patent Document 3: Chang et al., Acta. Biochim. Biophys. Sin., vol. 38, pp. 151-156, 2006;    Non-Patent Document 4: Farese, Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., vol. 26, pp. 1684-1686, 2006;    Non-Patent Document 5: Bell et al., Arterioscler. Thromb. Vasc. Biol., vol. 27, pp. 1396-1402, 2007;    Non-Patent Document 6: Tomoda et al., J. Antibiot. Vol. 47, pp. 148-153, 1994;    Non-Patent Document 7: Lada et al., J. Lipid Res., vol. 45, pp. 378-386, 2004;    Patent Document 1: WO 2009/081957.

Pyripyropene derivative having ACAT2 inhibiting activity and stable to metabolizing enzymes

Abstract: wherein R1 is an aliphatic, alicyclic, or aromatic acyloxy group, or a group of the formula —O—CH(R7)—R8 where R7 is a lower alkoxy group and R8 is an aryl group, and R2 is carboxyl, a lower alkoxycarbonyl group, or an arylmethylcarbamoyl group, or a —CH2-acyloxy group and R3 is an aliphatic, alicyclic or aromatic acyloxy group, provided that at least one of R4 and R3 is a group other than acetoxy, or R2 and R3 taken together form a group of the formula —O—CH(R5)—O— where R5 is an aryl group.

School Juridical Person Kitasato Institute


A turn-by-turn internal navigation system for use with a mobile electronic device includes three receives for using a trilateration navigational algorithm using first receiver for receiving a cellular tower radio frequency (RF) signal, a second receiver for receiving a WiFi RF signal; and a third receiver for receiving at least one Bluetooth RF signal based upon a BLE tag network. A processor works to execute an algorithm using feed-forward estimation such that no feedback is needed for distance error correction. The algorithm uses dead reckoning navigation in combination with information from the first receiver, second receiver and third receiver to generate positional information such that in-building navigation instructions are displayed on the mobile electronic device.

Prior art methods for internal navigation include those that receive one signal, such as GPS or Wi-Fi to provide navigation in an internal map stored at the mobile device. Further, other types of internal, in-building navigation provide directions to a portable communications device that are provided by a server, from a fixed wireless communication device, information identifying a current location of a portable communication device. These methods further include identifying a direction of movement to be communicated to the portable communication device which direct it towards a destination within the building. The method also includes transmitting the direction of movement to the portable communication device from the server via a fixed wireless communication device. Those skilled in the art will recognize that this type of system uses a local centralized server which can be cost prohibitive.
Skilled artisans will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of embodiments of the present invention.

Turn-by-turn navigation system and method using feedforward location estimation


The present invention pertains to a method of diagnosing patients having chronic pain as medically unexplained symptoms, or somatization, in order to assess a probability of relief of such pain through medical treatment. The present invention is a self-reporting diagnostic test that identifies and quantifies psychological and behavioral factors that can affect treatment outcome for a patient sensitive to somatization, that might have a bearing on a decision by a physician to operate or otherwise medically treat a patient, and the problems that could occur post-operatively or after treatment. The method of the present invention diagnoses a probability of pain relief through medical treatment in a patient by administration of a test comprised of declarative statements of validity factors comprising defensiveness, predictiveness and carelessness, and clinical factors comprising somatic concern, depressed mode, passive personality, compulsive/obsessive personality, hypomania, and ego integrative defect. From the raw scores for each of the six (6) clinical factors, a scoring value of standard deviations above the normative group mean is calculated, enabling the clinician to produce a single numerical index score indicating and measuring the effect of somatization on the patient.

The present invention pertains to a method of diagnosing patients having chronic pain as medically unexplained symptoms, or somatization as defined in Taber's Cyclopedic Medical Dictionary, F. A. Davis Co., Philadelphia, 1993, in order to assess a probability of relief of such pain through medical treatment. In particular, the present invention is a self-reporting diagnostic test that identifies and quantifies certain psychological and behavioral, or clinical factors. These clinical factors can affect medical treatment outcome for a patient sensitive to somatization. Any identified effect of such a condition on potential medical treatment outcome will have a critical bearing on a decision by a physician to operate or otherwise medically treat a patient, and on predicting problems that could occur post-operatively or after treatment.
Failure in predicting outcome for treatment aimed at pain relief has been one of the most costly problems facing healthcare delivery systems today. It is estimated that ten percent (10%) of medical services in the United States are delivered to patients with no evidence of organic disease, and the cost of this care is estimated to be twenty billion dollars ($20,000,000,000) annually. The cost of failing to detect such high-risk patients are staggering, as twenty percent (20%) of all patients account for eighty percent (80%) of the available dollars for treatment.

Method for diagnosis of pain relief probability through medical treatment


An adhesive type organic EL display, and a method for manufacturing the same are disclosed. The organic EL display comprises a first substrate having a thin transistor formed thereon, and a second substrate having an organic EL element formed thereon. The organic EL display further comprises at least two partition walls formed in a non-light emitting region of the second substrate, an insulation layer formed to cover a portion of each partition wall, and a second electrode, which is formed on the partition walls, and electrically connected to the thin transistor of the first substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an organic electroluminescence (EL) display, and more particularly, to an adhesive type organic EL display, and a method for manufacturing the same.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Generally, an adhesive type organic EL display comprises a lower panel having a pixel switching element and a pixel driving element formed thereon, and an upper panel having organic materials stacked thereon, in which the lower board is electrically connected with the upper board by bonding the upper and lower panels, thereby embodying the display.
A method for manufacturing a conventional adhesive type organic EL display will be described as follows.
FIG. 1 shows a cross-sectional view illustrating a conventional adhesive type organic EL display.
In FIG. 1, the display comprises a lower panel having a thin transistor formed thereon, and an upper panel having an organic EL element formed thereon.
Referring to FIG. 1, the lower panel of the organic EL display is manufactured by the following process.
First, a semiconductor layer 2 is formed using a polycrystalline silicon on a transparent substrate 1, and is removed via patterning except for a region where the thin transistor will be formed.
Next, after sequentially forming a gate insulation layer 3, and a conductive layer for a gate electrode over the entire surface of the substrate 1, the conductive layer is patterned to form a gate electrode 4.
Then, impurity ions such as phosphorus (P) are implanted to the semiconductor layer 2 using the gate electrode 4 as a mask, and then source/drain regions are formed by annealing the substrate, thereby forming an N-MOS thin transistor.
At this time, portions of the semiconductor layer 2 where the impurity ions are not implanted become channel regions.
Next, an interlayer insulation layer 5 is formed over the entire surface of the substrate comprising the above components, and the interlayer insulation layer 5 and the gate insulation layer 3 are selectively removed such that the source/drain regions of the N-MOS transistor are exposed.
Then, an electrode line 6 is formed on the substrate such that the electrode line 6 is electrically connected with the source/drain regions, respectively, thereby completing manufacture of the lower panel.
Next, referring to FIG. 1, the upper panel of the organic EL display is manufactured by the following process.
First, an anode 8 composed of a transparent conductive material having a high work function such as ITO or IZO is formed on a transparent substrate 7.
Then, an insulation layer 9 is formed on some portion of the anode 8 using an insulation material such as polyimide, and a partition wall 10 is formed on the insulation layer 9.
Next, an island-shaped spacer 11 is formed in a pixel region using another insulation material.
Then, a cathode 13 composed of a conductive material having a low work function such as aluminum is deposited on an electron implantation layer, thereby completing manufacture of the upper panel.
The upper and lower panels manufactured as described above are attached to each other.
At this time, the upper and lower panels are electrically connected by contacting the cathode 13 formed on the spacer 11 of the upper panel with the electrode line 6 of the lower panel.
However, the adhesive type organic EL display manufactured as described above has the following problems.
In general, since the spacer has a higher profile than that of the partition wall, and must be formed to have a gentle side angle, it is difficult to form the spacer.
In addition, when forming the organic material using a shadow mask, the spacer is likely to be collapsed or damaged by the shadow mask.
Furthermore, since the spacer is formed in a light emitting region, an aperture ratio is reduced.

Organic electroluminescence display and method for manufacturing the same


Determining common table definitions in distributed databases includes independently establishing, for a node in a distributed database, a common network definition for shared logical table names. Establishing the common network definition includes providing local definitions for at least one logical table, and querying at least one node in a network of nodes to determine any existing network definitions for the logical table. If there is no existing network definition, the method includes adding the local definition as a new network definition. If there is an existing network definition, the method includes updating the existing network definition with any extra columns of local definition, and applying an updated network definition to other nodes in the network holding a record of the network definition.

The present invention relates to distributed databases and, in particular, to determining common table definitions in distributed databases.
A distributed database is a database in which storage devices are not all attached to a common processing unit. The distributed database may be stored in multiple computers located in the same physical location, or may be dispersed over a network of interconnected computers. A distributed database can reside on network servers on the Internet, on corporate intranets or extranets, or on other company networks.
A distributed federated database system is a type of meta-database management system (DBMS), which transparently maps multiple autonomous database systems into a single federated database. The constituent databases are distributed and interconnected via a computer network and may be geographically decentralized.
Through data abstraction, federated database systems can provide a uniform user interface, enabling users and clients to store and retrieve data in multiple non-contiguous databases with a single query, even if the constituent databases are heterogeneous.
Ad-hoc dynamic distributed federated databases (DDFDs) use a "Store Locally Query Anywhere" mechanism (SLQA) which provides for global access to data from any vertex in the database network. Data is stored in local database tables at any vertex in the network and is accessible from any other vertex using structured query language (SQL) like queries and distributed stored procedure-like processing.
The database comprises a set of interconnected vertices each of which is a federated relational database management system (RDBMS) engine. By federated it is meant that the database engine is able to access internal and external sources as if it was one logical database. External sources may include other RDBMS or any other data source as flat files of data records.
Data can be stored at any vertex in the network of database vertices, with the table in which it is stored being available to other vertices through a logical table mapping which is implemented as a virtual table interface. Queries can be performed at any vertex requesting information from any other vertex in the network. The query propagates through the network and result sets are returned to the querying vertex. The vertices manage the forward routing of queries so as to minimise the number of copies of the same query. Each vertex that forwards the query is responsible for processing the results obtained from vertices to which the query was forwarded, leading to a distributed aggregation of results.
In these federated database networks, a "logical table schema definition" is a unified set of column names and associated types which various physical data source structures may be mapped to (for example, a back end RDBMS, or a spread sheet, or a flat CSV file).
As each database node in a DDFD is independent, the same logical table may be defined differently on various nodes in the network. A challenge arises in determining what definition to use for any given logical table name targeted by a DDFD query, where the query may be issued against any node in the network. The definition determines the query response structure.
For query response consistency, the elected definition would ideally be the same irrespective of the originating node. Further, as different definitions may conflict with each other (e.g., if they have 'non-matching' column types for the same column names), an ideal system would resolve ambiguities and apply type promotions as appropriate.
There are three reasons why logical table definitions may differ between nodes: 1) legitimately—if the owner of a certain node adds, removes or modifies certain columns, then other definitions elsewhere may be out of date or just have slightly different data to expose; 2) erroneously—a definition was incorrectly set, which may block access to local data and even disrupt query processing; and 3) maliciously—a definition was purposefully set incorrectly in an attempt to disrupt query processing.
Table definitions are considered to conflict with each other if they have "non-matching" column types for the same column names. Column types may be said to be "non-matching" if they differ in any way at all; or under a more elaborate scheme, they may be said to be "non-matching" if the local column type cannot be promoted to the type expected in the query response (for example, as indicated in the propagated definition).
A table definition matching method may be used where columns are compared by position (instead of by name). Matching by position allows for column re-naming whereas matching by name allows for column-repositioning. It is generally accepted that the latter is preferable in distributed federated databases, because it allows the same queries to be run consistently from anywhere (without having to rename columns) and because it allows nodes to omit columns that exist elsewhere in definitions for the same logical table.

International Business Machines Corporation


A shopping cart basket comprises one or more modular baskets couplable to a bottom basket having a plurality of wheels extending downwardly to allow the shopping cart basket to roll. Each of the modular baskets has a foldable bottom wall that can act as a bottom of a separate basket or can be folded against a side wall of the modular basket. The modular baskets could be used to hold items within a smaller compartment, and can be combined with the bottom basket to form a roll-able shopping cart having a larger compartment. Such a cart is advantageously used in a store, such as a grocery store, a retail shopping mall, or a home improvement store.

When purchasing shopping items from a store, shopping items are typically transported from one compartment to another. For example, a purchaser typically rolls a shopping cart around a store, placing the shopping items in a basket of the shopping cart. The purchaser then rolls the shopping cart to a purchasing station and places the shopping items on a movable belt which then advances towards a checkout machine to inventory the purchases. The shopping items are then typically placed in bags, which are then placed back into the shopping cart which is rolled to a vehicle. The shopping bags containing the shopping items are then moved from the shopping cart to the vehicle for transport. The inconvenience of this system is compounded by the fact that many stores no longer provide shopping bags, requiring a purchaser to first transport shopping bags from the vehicle to the shopping cart before collecting the shopping items within the shopping cart.
There is a need for improved systems and methods for transporting shopping items to minimize the movement of shopping items from one compartment or shopping bag to another.

Personal shopping cart and method of use


An optical fiber assembly including an optical fiber ribbon and an optical connector is provided. The optical fiber ribbon includes a ribbon matrix, a first group of optical fibers embedded in the ribbon matrix, a second group of optical fibers embedded in the ribbon matrix, and a split in the ribbon matrix at a first end of the ribbon forming a space between a first end of the first group of optical fibers and a first end of the second group of optical fibers. The optical connector includes a body, a first array of openings defined in the body, and a second array of openings defined in the body. The second array is spaced from the first array. The bond between the ribbon matrix and the optical fibers prevents elongation of the split.

The disclosure relates generally to optical fibers and more particularly to optical fiber connectors and related optical fiber ribbons. Optical fibers have seen increased use in a wide variety of electronics and telecommunications fields. Optical fibers can be connected to an optical connector and its components (e.g., a ferrule). The connector is then connected to the appropriate electronics (e.g., a circuit board including diode arrays) to precisely position the optical fibers relative to the diode arrays such that light signals within the fiber are transmitted or received properly for the diode arrays.

Durable optical fiber and connector assembly


The invention relates to methods of optimizing gamma carboxylation of a vitamin K-dependent protein, methods of generating fully gamma carboxylated vitamin K-dependent protein, and compositions comprising chimeric nucleic acids and proteins for use in treatment of vitamin K-dependent disease states.

Biologically active human blood clotting Factor X is fully gamma carboxylated. Factor X, a vitamin K-dependent two-chain glycoprotein, is a substrate for both the extrinsic (tissue factor/FVIIa) and intrinsic (FVIIIa/FIXa) tenase complexes thus linking these two pathways (Kalafatis et al.,1994, Biochem. Biophys. Acta 1227:113). The activated form of Factor X (FXa) is the serine protease component of the enzymatic complex termed prothrombinase, the only known physiological activator of prothrombin. Prothrombinase assembles through reversible interactions between FXa and the cofactor factor Va (FVa) on an appropriate membrane (i.e., platelet) surface in the presence of Ca2+ ions (Mann et al., 990, Blood 76: 1). While FXa catalyzes prothrombin activation, the macromolecular interactions which stabilize prothrombinase lead to a substantial enhancement in catalytic efficiency (Mann et al.,1988, Ann. Rev. Biochem. 57:915), indicating that assembly of this complex is an important requisite for rapid and localized thrombin generation. Because Factor X/FXa occupies a central position in the coagulation pathway, there is considerable interest in its therapeutic modulation (Hauptmann et al.,1999, Thromb. Res. 93:203), highlighting the need to better understand structural determinants on Factor X/FXa important to its function.
While extensive progress has been made in delineating structural determinants important for function on thrombin, FIXa, FVIIa, and activated protein C (APC), less is known about FXa. One explanation is the limited number of naturally occurring FXa mutations to study. Another reason is the difficulty in producing (as compared to other vitamin K-dependent proteins) functional recombinant Factor X/FXa (rFXa). As with all vitamin K-dependent proteins, the biosynthesis of Factor X is complex, involving several co- and post-translational modifications (Kaufman R J, 1998, Thromb. Haemost. 79:1068). Efficient processing and release of mature two-chain Factor X into the circulation requires, 1) removal of the signal sequence, 2) formation of disulfide bonds, 3) modification of amino-terminal glutamic acid residues to γ-carboxyglutamic acid, 4) modification of one aspartic acid in the first epidermal growth factor (EGF) domain to β-hydroxyaspartic acid, 5) addition of N- and O-linked oligosaccharides to the activation peptide, 6) removal of an internal tripeptide to yield two chain Factor X, and 7) removal of the propeptide just prior to secretion (for review see Kaufman R J, 1998, Thromb. Haemost. 79:1068). While some of these modifications do not appear essential for Factor X function, the removal of the signal sequence, propeptide, internal tripeptide, and full γ-carboxylation are all steps which are important requisites for the production of biologically active Factor X/FXa.
Expression of rFactor X is heterogeneous with respect to removal of the internal tripeptide, propeptide cleavage, and γ-carboxylation. Expression of rFactor X/FXa in CHO and COS-1 cells appears less efficient than HEK 293 cells with respect to these modifications (Messier et al., 1991, Gene 99:291; Wolf et al., 1991, J. Biol. Chem. 266:13726; Rudolph et al., 1997, Protein Expression and Purification 10:373; Sinha et al., 1994, Thromb. Res. 75:427; Larson et al., 1998, Biochemistry 37:5029). Some of these inefficient modifications can be overcome by expressing rFactor X in HEK 293 cells, cotransfecting with PACE/furin, and modifying the Factor X propeptide at position −2 (Thr→Arg; henceforth referred to as native rwtFactor X). However, inefficient γ-carboxylation still remains a major problem (Rudolph et al., 1997, Protein Expression and Purification 10:373; Larson et al., 1998, Biochemistry 37:5029). For example, it has been discovered that on average only 32% of the rFactor X produced by HEK 293 cells is fully γ-carboxylated while the remaining material exhibits no γ-carboxylation (Larson et al., 1998, Biochemistry 37:5029). While separation of uncarboxylated and fully γ-carboxylated rFactor X can be readily accomplished, the resulting protein yields are less than desirable. This heterogeneity in γ-carboxylation can be overcome completely by expressing Gla-domainless rFactor X (Rezaie et al., 1993, J Biol. Chem. 268:8176); however, this is a less than satisfactory solution for studies involving macromolecular complex assembly of Factor X/FXa which requires a membrane surface. Thus, an ideal expression system would direct high-level protein production (>2–5 μg rFactor X/106 cells/24 hour) while still allowing for efficient execution of post-translational modifications essential to Factor X/FXa function.
The enzyme responsible for modification of glutamic acid residues to γ-carboxyglutamic acid (Gla) in the amino-terminal portion of a number of blood coagulation proteins is the vitamin K-dependent γ-glutamyl carboxylase (Wright et al., 1995, Vitamin K-Dependent g-Glutamyl Carboxylase, in High KA, Roberts H R (eds): Molecular Basis of Thrombosis and Hemostasis, New York, Marcel Dekker, Inc., p 309). The mechanism by which the carboxylase recognizes its substrate is believed to be through initial binding to an 18 amino acid propeptide sequence on the vitamin K-dependent protein (for review see Furie et al., 1990, Blood 75:1753). The importance of the propeptide sequence for γ-carboxylation is demonstrated by studies which show that disruption of this site in FIX, protein C, or prothrombin yield a mature protein that either lacks or is deficient in γ-carboxylation (Jorgensen et al., 1987, Cell 48:185; Foster et al., 1987, Biochemistry 26:7003, Furie et al., 1990, Blood 75:1753), indicating that the propeptide is required for γ-carboxylation. Analysis of naturally occurring mutations in this region supports this conclusion (Chu et al., 1996, J. Clin. Invest. 98:1619; Stanley et al., 1999, Biochemistry 38:15681). Recent studies also support the notion that the γ-carboxylation recognition site on the propeptide is sufficient to direct γ-carboxylation of glutamic acid residues as long as these residues are within 40 amino acids of the γ-carboxylation recognition site (Furie et al., 1997, J. Biol. Chem. 272:28258).
As noted above, in order that Factor X is biologically active, it must be fully gamma-carboxylated. Until the present invention, it has only been possible to produce biologically active rFactor X which is about 20–40% gamma carboxylated (Larson et al., 1998, Biochemistry 37:5029–5038). There is thus a great need in the art for methods of producing rFactor X which is fully carboxylated. In addition, there is also a great need for the development of methods of producing other mature vitamin K-dependent proteins that are fully gamma carboxylated. The present invention satisfies these needs.

Enhanced gamma-carboxylation of recombinant vitamin K-dependent clotting factor


The invention relates to a device for providing protection against untimely braking, the device being specially adapted to an electromechanical brake including at least one actuator having a pusher suitable for being displaced by means of an electric motor controlled by a control module so as to press in controlled manner against a stack of disks, in which the device comprises a safety member suitable for being placed in a first state in which it prevents the pusher from being displaced by the electric motor, and a second state in which it leaves the pusher free to be displaced by the electric motor, the safety member being controlled by a control logic circuit which by default places the safety member in the first state and places the safety member in the second state only in response to the simultaneous presence of an order coming from the control module and a confirmation signal that does not come from the control module and that is independent thereof.

In the field of hydraulic brakes, mention can be made of document FR-A-2 790 730 which describes a device for providing protection against untimely braking, the device including a safety system with a software path that is configured to activate a general valve, and with a hardware path that is configured to inhibit the general valve. The technological background of the invention is also illustrated by document U.S. Pat. No. 6,513,885 which teaches a redundant arrangement for a braking circuit.
Brakes of the electromechanical type comprise a stack of disks together with one or more electromechanical actuators disposed facing the stack of disks, said actuators including a pusher for pressing against the stack of disks. The pusher is actuated by an electric motor controlled by a control module of the actuator, which module, in response to a braking reference signal generated by a braking computer, delivers an order for modulating power to a power module, which in turn delivers the required power to the motor of the actuator.
In the event of the braking computer or the actuator control module failing, it can happen that the pusher is constrained to press against the disks in untimely manner, which can be dangerous for the safety of the vehicle.

Device providing protection against untimely braking


Device for removing moisture from a woodwind instrument are disclosed. The woodwind cleaner is comprised of a semi-rigid inner wire, encased in absorbent material, then enclosed in a soft, absorbent outer covering. When not in use, the device can be coiled or wrapped around itself for easy storage, then easily returns to full length for use. The device can be used to clean the moisture from an instrument without disassembling it. The device is intended to be stored outside the case and to be easily portable.

1. Field of Invention
This device is designed to clean moisture out of the inside of a woodwind instrument, but it can be used on other instruments. When performing on a woodwind instrument, it is very common for the instrument to become saturated from the moisture in the player's breath. The keys of the instrument may begin to stick, may make a clicking sound, and moisture may leak out through the open key holes. It is not uncommon to find the need to swab an instrument several times during a performance. To do this, given current methods, the instrument must be taken apart. This is impractical during performance as there may be insufficient time, and when re-assembled it may no longer be in tune with other instruments in the ensemble. The device allows the performer to swab the instrument without disassembling it, thus preserving the tuning of the instrument.
2. Description of Prior Art
Flutes and piccolos have traditionally been cleaned with a wooden or metal stick with a loop at the end. The player feeds a piece of cloth through the loop, then feeds the cloth and device through the individual sections of the instrument. Other woodwind instruments are cleaned by removing parts of the instrument and feeding a rigid device through it or pulling a rag through it. There are some inherent problems with these methods, in particular as it pertains to use during performance.
1. To clean moisture from an instrument using any of these methods, a performer must take the instrument apart.
2. The cloth may bunch up and become stuck in the instrument;
3. The metal or wood of a stick may come in contact with the inside of the instrument and scratch or damage it. Similarly, those devices that clean the instrument by lowering a weighted string and cloth through risk damage from the weight itself.
The Woodwind Cleaning Sleeve, U.S. Pat. No. 6,005,179 to Currie (1999) solves the problem of the size of the cloth and prevents damage, but it still has the following problems:
1. To use the device you must disassemble the instrument, requiring re-assembly and re-tuning of the instrument, which may be impractical during performance.
2. Because the device is not attached to the rod, but only fits over it, it can only be inserted into the instrument in one direction. It cannot be removed by reversing the direction of the insertion.
Similarly, other woodwind cleaners such as U.S. Pat. No. 3,739,420—Device for Swabbing the Bore of a Musical Instrument or U.S. Pat. No. 5,212,332 Swab for Wind Instruments require the instrument to be disassembled and a string/cloth device is inserted. In these examples, the player removes one or more sections of an instrument and feeds a string through that has a swabbing cloth on the end. As in the prior example, the problem remains that disassembling the instrument requires retuning which is impractical during performance.


Disclosed herein is an apparatus for receiving a wide-band pulse signal in a communication channel using a human body. When a weak wide-band pulse signal, which is output from a communication channel using a human body as a data transmission medium, is restored to a digital signal, it is possible to accomplish low power consumption and high data transmission rate using a wide-band symmetrical triggering technology using 50-Ω impedance matching, wide-band amplification and symmetrical threshold voltages. In addition, since only a single signal electrode is used, it is possible to provide an apparatus having usability, wearability and miniaturization. In addition, it is possible to remove necessities of an external reference voltage to reduce area consumption and to simply adjust a feedback resistor to easily adjust the reception sensitivity according to a communication distance.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for receiving a wide-band pulse signal in a communication channel using a human body, and more particularly, to an apparatus for receiving a wide-band pulse signal in a communication channel using a human body, which is capable of performing high-speed communication with low power consumption using a wide-band symmetrical triggering technology using 50-Ω impedance matching, wide-band amplification and symmetrical threshold voltages, when the weak wide-band pulse signal output from the communication channel using the human body as a data transmission medium is restored to a digital signal.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, in a next-generation personal computer (PC) or a wearable computing system, studies on a communication channel using a human body as a data transmission medium are ongoing.
Since a human body has a component similar to a saline solution having 0.9% sodium chloride and a weak conductivity which varies depending on a frequency, the human body can transmit an electric signal. In addition, the human body has a loss of about 10 to 20 dB due to a resistive component of the human body.
When a digital signal is directly applied to the human body using a single signal electrode and 50-Ω transmission and reception impedances, a signal which is detected in a reception electrode includes positive and negative pulse signals having a width of about 5 to 10 ns without a DC offset. This is because the human body has a band-pass filter characteristic of about 100 MHz with respect to a single transmission/reception electrode as frequency characteristics, ground terminals of a transmission apparatus and a reception apparatus are separated from each other and a signal of less than 10 kHz and including a DC signal is not easily transmitted through the human body.
Since electric characteristics of the human body which appear when using the single signal electrode and the 50-Ω transmission and reception impedances are similar to the characteristics which appear in a capacitively coupled interface on a printed circuit board (PCB), a receiving method and apparatus used in a capacitively or AC coupled interface can be employed in even a communication channel using a human body as a data transmission medium.
Accordingly, a method and apparatus for restoring a pulse signal to a digital signal have been mainly used in the capacitively coupled interface which is developed for high-speed data transmission between chips mounted on the PCB.
Recently, a capacitive coupling interface for a high-speed memory bus I/O interface is registered by Perino (see Donald V. Perino, et al., "Integrated Circuit Device Having a Capacitive Coupling Element", U.S. Pat. No. 6,854,030, Feb. 8, 2005, FIG. 15).
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a pulse receiver using a comparator necessary for a capacitive coupling interface.
As shown, an input pulse signal is compared with negative and positive threshold voltages VRL and VRH using two comparators 10 and 11 and the output signals of the comparators 10 and 11 are sequentially selected by a multiplexor 12 using a clock signal of a flip-flop 14, thereby restoring the pulse signal to the digital signal. Then, a sampling circuit 16, which operates using the clock signal of the reception unit, converts the restored digital signal into a signal having a same phase as a clock signal of a reception unit.
Since the pulse receiver using the comparators has a simple circuit configuration, power consumed for restoring the pulse signal to the digital signal is low. However, the input pulse signal must have a DC bias and the threshold voltages VRL and VRH are further required.
In addition, the comparators which operate at a high speed and output the digital output signals are required. Since the comparator has restrictive hysteresis characteristics, there is a limitation in reception sensitivity.
Accordingly, in order to overcome the limitation in the reception sensitivity, an interface technology using a receiver having high reception sensitivity is published by Luo (see Lei Luo, et al., "3 Gb/s AC Coupled Chip-to-Chip Communication Using a Low Swing Pulse Receiver", IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuit, vol. 41, no. 1, pp. 287-296, January 2006, FIG. 11).
FIG. 2 is a circuit diagram of a pulse receiver using inverters each having a feedback function, which is developed for an AC coupled interface.
As shown, since a DC signal is not transmitted in the AC coupled interface, the receiver must have a self-bias function and an input pulse signal must be amplified and converted into a digital signal.
At this time, two inverters 21 and 22 have negative feedback loops composed of transistors M1 to M6. The transistors M1 to M4 are connected in a diode form and serve to restrict the output levels of the inverters 21 and 22 and to hold a bias voltage to some extent. In order to stabilize the bias voltage regardless of the width or the amplitude of the input pulse signal or a data pattern, the transistors M5 to M6 are connected to a voltage VDD such that a weak uniform feedback is applied. Transistors M7 to M9 are connected to an input terminal of a differential amplifier so as to amplify the input pulse signal and transistors M11 to M12 are cross-coupled PMOS loads and function as a latch circuit which does not requires a clock signal in order to restore the pulse signal to the digital signal. A transistor M10 is a clamping NMOS for restricting the amplitude of the output signal and sufficiently latching a signal having a small width.
Accordingly, such a receiver can convert the pulse signal into the digital signal at a high speed using the inverters 21 and 22 having the simple feedback loops while increasing the reception sensitivity.
However, since the receiver must operate using differential input signals, the receiver is not suitable for a communication channel using the human body as a single transmission line. Due to the characteristics of the inverter which operates digitally and has a restrictive feedback function, the receiver can obtain reception sensitivity of at most 120 mVpp.

Apparatus for receiving wide-band pulse signal in communication channel using human body

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology


The pattern transfer apparatus includes a first substrate on which a circuit pattern of an arbitrary semiconductor device is drawn, a first stage including a substrate holding mechanism for holding the first substrate, an illumination optical system for illuminating the circuit pattern of the semiconductor device drawn on the first substrate, a second stage on which a second substrate can be mounted, a reducing optical system or an equimultiple optical system for transferring a part of the circuit pattern of the semiconductor device drawn on the first substrate, and a mechanism for moving at least one of first and second elements, the first element being one of the first and second stages and the second element being the reducing optical system or an equimultiple optical system, wherein the first stage has a holding mechanism for holding one of substrates of at least two sizes and for changing a gripping force in accordance with the sizes of the substrates.

The present invention relates to a pattern transfer apparatus for transferring a circuit pattern of a semiconductor apparatus onto a substrate to be processed, and a management system thereof.
In recent years, as integration of LSIs has been developed, a critical dimension (CD) of the circuit required for a semiconductor device has become smaller and smaller. The following table 1 shows a trend of semiconductor devices (DRAMs and LOGICs).
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Trends of Semiconductor Device ______________________________________ RESOLUTION (.mu.m) 1995 1998 2001 2004 2007 0.35 0.25 0.18 0.13 0.10 DRAM (bits) 64 M 256 M 1 G 4 G 16 G Chip Size DRAM (mm .times. mm) 10 .times. 20 12 .times. 24 15 .times. 30 18 .times. 36 22 .times. 44 LOGIC (mm .times. mm) 16 .times. 16 18 .times. 18 19 .times. 19 21 .times. 21 23 .times. 23 MASK 5X 4X 4X 4X 4X MAGNIFICATION MASK PATTERN 70 44 32 26 18 POSITION PRECISION (nm) MASK PATTERN 50-35 40-25 30-18 20-13 16-10 LINE WIDTH UNIFORMITY (nm) ______________________________________
Manufacture of these semiconductor devices generally adopts the following method. Specifically, a mercury-vapor lamp and xenon-vapor lamp (g-line or I-line), or a deep ultraviolet source (KrF or ArF) having a short wavelength is used as a light source, and any of several kinds of original masks, on which a desired circuit pattern is formed, is positioned with high precision with respect to a wafer. Thereafter, the pattern is minified and transferred onto an exposure region on the wafer at a magnification of 1/5 or 1/4. Discussion has been made about a possibility that an exposing apparatus (or pattern transfer apparatus) using a soft X-ray having a wavelength of about 1 nm or an electron beam direct drawing apparatus may be substituted for optical lithography, with respect to a pattern which has a size of 1 .mu.m or less, due to resolution limits from wavelengths of light. However, there has been a prospect that optical lithography can work effectively in the generation of 1 G-bit DRAM and at the beginning of 4 G-bit DRAM, because of progress of optical lithography techniques.
As long as an exposing apparatus is concerned, such optical lithography techniques have improved the performance in precision or times to align a mask with a wafer by reconsideration of alignment methods of TTL (Through The Lens) or TTR (Through The Reticle) and alignment algorithms of EGA (Enhanced Global Alignment). Those techniques have also achieved a high throughput (i.e., the number of wafers exposed per unit time) by improvements in apparatuses, i.e., preparing wafer stages with a higher speeds and higher precision, by adopting frictionless guides for stage components and reducing weights of stages.
In addition, attempts to further improve the resolution and the depth of focus and process developments such as a surface imaging method and the like have been made, by adopting super-resolution exposure techniques represented by a phase-shift mask, an off-axis illumination method, a pupil plain filtering method, and the like.
Meanwhile, as a result to have increased a pattern area of a semiconductor device accordingly as the integration has been improved, a large aperture lens 31 for transferring a circuit pattern area 30 on a mask 34, as shown in FIG. 1A has been required. The following table 2 shows the relationship between the chip size and the lens aperture required.
TABLE 2 ______________________________________ Chip Size and Required Lens Aperture ______________________________________ Chip Size/2 Chip 20 .times. 20 24 .times. 24 30 .times. 30 36 .times. 36 44 .times. 44 DRAM (mm .times. mm) 4x Mask 113 136 170 204 249 Transfer Lens Aperture (mm) ______________________________________
The larger the chip size is, the larger the lens aperture required. Further, in accordance with improvements in resolution, demands have arisen for lenses having less distortion over the entire exposure surface. However, as indicated in "Super Precision Process Technique (First Volume), p. 106, 1993", it is very difficult to prepare a large aperture lens having less distortion over the entire exposure surface than a conventional lens.
However, by scanning an exposure surface 32 like a rectangular slit as shown in FIG. 1B in the direction indicated by an arrow 33, a scanning type exposure apparatus capable of enlarging the exposure area in a certain direction has been developed, so that semiconductor devices of the class of 256M- and 1 G-bit DRAMs can be manufactured. In this case, since the lens aperture (equal to the length of the exposure surface 32) required can be reduced and since the area in the vicinity of the center of the lens 31' is used, more advantages can be obtained for an optical system than in the case of conventional-transfer.
As for scanning methods, there are two methods one being a method of relatively scanning a mask and a wafer, with an optical system fixed and the other being a method of relatively scanning an optical system and a wafer, with a mask fixed. In any of the methods, the mask or optical system and the wafer must be driven with accurate synchronization, in comparison with a conventional exposure apparatus in which an wafer is relatively stepped and repeated. Therefore, control of mask stages and wafer stages is complicated.
However, in an exposure apparatus intended for manufacture of semiconductor devices in the class of 256M and 1 G-bit DRAMs as described above, since the illumination system, the lens system, the driving system, and the control system of the apparatus have special functions different from those of a conventional apparatus, the apparatus is very expensive. Further, since improvements in precision of patterns such as linearity and uniformity of patterns are required for a mask used for an exposure apparatus having a resolution equal to or less than the exposure wavelength, a mask itself has come to be expensive.
It has thus been recognized that increases in costs cannot be avoided for the purpose of manufacturing the newest semiconductor devices. Therefore, from the view point of COO (Cost Of Ownership), it is indispensable to introduce optimization of the entire production system for manufacturing semiconductor devices, in order to reduce costs of the entire system.
This is, for example, a way of thinking called Mix and Match of using different exposure apparatuses mixed and matched for purposes, e.g., a newest scanning type exposure apparatus is used, with respect to exposure of layers requiring a high resolution, while a conventional apparatus is applied to exposure of layers which do not much require a high resolution. However, from the view point of COO as described above, in case where consideration is additionally taken into the designed area of a clean room and throughputs of individual apparatuses, it has been taught that use of a newest apparatus having a small design area and a high throughput results in more advantages even in view of cost performance than use of a conventional apparatus having a large design area and a low throughput, in order to reduce the price of a semiconductor device.
By further developing the way of thinking of Mix and Match from the above point of view, a lower-reducing exposure apparatus has appeared which has a high throughput and which is based on a thought of performing exposure with a reduced reducing with respect to exposure of layers which do not require a high resolution. In this case, even a 1/2-reducing exposure apparatus having a reducing two times lower than the reducing of 1/4 enables transfer of information which is four times more than information that can be transferred by an apparatus of main current trend, onto a pattern 35 which is drawn on the same area on a mask 34 as in case of transfer, as shown in FIG. 1C. Therefore, the throughput can be greatly improved.
As another method of improving the throughput of the entire exposure apparatus, a method of enlarging the mask size has been discussed. As for the method of enlarging the mask size, it is considered that the enlarged size of a substrate and an increase in mask price caused by new developments in a processing apparatus, caused by the enlarged size of a substrate, will lead to an increase in price of a semiconductor device. On the other side, it is also considered that costs will be reduced down as a whole if the production ability is improved.
If the mask size is changed to a size equivalent to a 7-, 8-, or 9-inch square which is larger than a substrate of 6-inch square as a main trend in the class of 64M-bit DRAMs, the information amount which can be transferred by one time of exposure is naturally increased, so that improvements in throughputs can be expected. The following Table 3 show how many patterns can be obtained in case where an alignment mark 43 of an exposure apparatus and a margin for a pellicle protect region 41 for protecting a pattern surface 42 are obtained in an area of width 15 mm in a mask 40 and where regions required for a 1 G- or 4 G-bit DRAM are spread on each exposure region, as shown in FIG. 2.
TABLE 3 __________________________________________________________________________ Pattern Regions Obtained Per Mask of DRAMs __________________________________________________________________________ 256 M 1 G First Second Third Fourth First Second DRAM 64 M Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation __________________________________________________________________________ REGION SIZE 7 .times. 13 13 .times. 25 11 .times. 22 10 .times. 19 8 .times. 17 15 .times. 31 14 .times. 25 (mm .times. mm) Exposure 25 mm .times. Scanning Length 30 mm .times. Scanning Length Region 6-inch 6 2 2 3 3 2 2 Square 7-inch 9 3 3 4 4 2 2 Square 8-inch 9 3 4 4 5 2 3 Square 9-inch 9 3 4 5 6 3 4 Square __________________________________________________________________________ 1G 4G Fourth First Second Third Fourth DRAM Third Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation __________________________________________________________________________ REGION SIZE 12 .times. 23 10 .times. 20 19 .times. 38 17 .times. 33 14 .times. 29 12 .times. 25 (mm .times. mm) Exposure 30 mm .times. Scanning 35 mm .times. Scanning Length Region Length 6-inch 2 Square 7-inch 3 3 1 2 2 3 Square 8-inch 4 6 2 2 3 3 Square 9-inch 4 6 2 3 3 6 Square __________________________________________________________________________
From simple comparison between areas, by adopting a mask of 9-inch square, it is possible to prospect an exposure region which is, at highest, two times larger than that of a conventional 6-inch square mask of main trend by exposure of one time. In Table 3, a chip of the first generation is a chip under development or of prototype, chips of the second and third generations are chips manufactured on a line developed for manufacturing chips of the generations, and a chip of the fourth generation is manufactured by a lithography technique of a next generation so that chips of the fourth generation can be manufactured with the highest efficiency.
The following Table 4 shows a case of a LOGIC. Since a pattern region required is a square and since a larger region is required than a DRAM, the number of pattern regions which can be maintained is small on a mask. However, it is considered that the exposure region which can be maintained is, at most, two times larger by adopting a mask of 9-inch square like in the case of a DRAM.
TABLE 4 ______________________________________ Pattern Regions Maintained Per Mask for LOGIC ______________________________________ LOGIC 256 M 1 G 4 G Region Size 19 .times. 19 21 .times. 21 23 .times. 23 (mm .times. mm) Exposure 25 mm .times. Scanning 30 mm .times. 35 mm .times. Region Length Scanning Length Scanning Length 6-inch Square 1 1 -- 7-inch Square 1 1 1 8-inch Square 2 2 1 9-inch Square 2 2 2 ______________________________________
Meanwhile, the price of an exposure apparatus is expected to increase since a lens having less distortion and a large aperture and an illumination system with a high efficiency are required as the resolution and the region which can be exposed are increased from 256M-bit to 4 G-bit DRAMs. Further, as for the price of the mask like the price of the exposure apparatus, it is necessary to consider developments in a Cr-deposition apparatus for forming a Cr-film and a coater for uniformly applying resist, in addition to an increase in price of blanks themselves.
Supposing a scanning type exposure apparatus of a type in which a mask and a wafer are scanned simultaneously when fixing an optical system, throughputs are calculated in case where masks of 6-inch, 7-inch, 8-inch and 9-inch are used. The calculation results in case of DRAMs are shown in the following Table 5 and those in case of LOGICs are shown in the following Table 6. Here, the values are defined as follows. I.e., the wafer size supposed is 12-inch and the field size is calculated, supposing that the exposure dose is 25 mJ/cm.sup.2 and the exposure power is 360 mW/cm.sup.2 on the basis of the lens aperture supposed for each generation and that the throughput of an exposure apparatus which is capable of exposing a 6-inch square and has a resolution equivalent to a 256M-bit DRAM is the standard.
TABLE 5 __________________________________________________________________________ Throughputs of DRAMs __________________________________________________________________________ 256 M 1 G First Second Third Fourth First Second DRAM 64 M Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation __________________________________________________________________________ REGION SIZE 7 .times. 13 13 .times. 25 11 .times. 22 10 .times. 19 8 .times. 17 15 .times. 31 14 .times. 25 (mm .times. mm) Exposure 25 mm .times. Scanning Length 30 mm .times. Scanning Length Region 6-inch 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Square 7-inch 1.17 1.16 1.13 1.12 0.97 1.00 1.00 Square 8-inch 1.17 1.16 1.22 1.22 1.11 1.00 1.07 Square 9-inch 1.17 1.16 1.22 1.19 1.34 1.21 1.23 Square __________________________________________________________________________ 1 G 4 G Fourth First Second Third Fourth DRAM Third Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation __________________________________________________________________________ REGION SIZE 12 .times. 23 10 .times. 20 19 .times. 38 17 .times. 33 14 .times. 29 12 .times. 25 (mm .times. mm) Exposure 30 mm .times. Scanning 35 mm .times. Scanning Length Region Length 6-inch 1 Square 7-inch 1.15 1 1 1 1 1 Square 8-inch 1.11 1.30 1.58 1.00 1.14 1.29 Square 9-inch 1.27 1.30 1.58 1.06 1.14 1.58 Square __________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 6 ______________________________________ Throughputs of LOGIC ______________________________________ LOGIC 256 M 1 G 4 G Region Size 19 .times. 19 21 .times. 21 23 .times. 23 (mm .times. mm) Exposure 25 mm .times. Scanning 30 mm .times. 35 mm .times. Region Length Scanning Length Scanning Length 6-inch Square 1 1 -- 7-inch Square 1 1 1 8-inch Square 1.33 1.27 1 9-inch Square 1.33 1.27 1.16 ______________________________________
From Tables 5 and 6, throughputs are averagely improved by 1.27 times by using 9-inch square substrates than those with 6-inch square substrates, including a peak in which the throughput obtained by using a substrate of 9-inch square for a 256M-bit DRAM of the fourth generation is maximum in case of DRAMs, and is about 1.34 times more advantageous than that obtained by using a 6-inch square substrate. In case of LOGICs, throughputs are averagely improved by 1.25 times by using 9-inch square substrates than 6-inch square substrates, including a peak in which the throughput obtained by using a substrate of 9-inch square for the generation of 256M-bit is about 1.33 times more advantageous than that obtained by using a 6-inch square substrate.
In addition, supposing that a conventional mask of a 256M-bit DRAM of the first generation is $10,000 and that one mask is consumed per 25,000 wafers in case of DRAMs while one mask is consumed per 2,000 wafers in case of LOGICs, the cost performance of lithography is expressed as a (throughput).times.(chips per wafer)/((a cost for an exposure apparatus)+(a cost for a mask)+(a cost for processing)). Values thus obtained are respectively defined, depending on values for the 256M-bit type of the first generation, for each of cases of DRAMs and LOGICs, and are indicated for each of sizes of masks. The following tables 7 and 8 show the results.
TABLE 7 __________________________________________________________________________ Cost-performance of DRAMs __________________________________________________________________________ 256 M 1 G First Second Third Fourth First Second DRAM 64 M Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation __________________________________________________________________________ REGION SIZE 7 .times. 13 13 .times. 25 11 .times. 22 10 .times. 19 8 .times. 17 15 .times. 31 14 .times. 25 (mm .times. mm) Exposure 25 mm .times. Scanning Length 30 mm .times. Scanning Length Region 6-inch 3.03 1 1.14 1.43 1.87 .64 0.76 Square 7-inch 3.33 1.08 1.21 1.50 1.70 0.61 0.72 Square 8-inch 3.13 1.01 1.22 1.40 1.81 0.57 0.73 Square 9-inch 2.92 0.95 1.14 1.39 2.05 0.65 0.79 Square __________________________________________________________________________ 1 G 4 G Fourth First Second Third Fourth DRAM Third Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation Generation __________________________________________________________________________ REGION SIZE 12 .times. 23 10 .times. 20 19 .times. 38 17 .times. 33 14 .times. 29 12 .times. 25 (mm .times. mm) Exposure 30 mm .times. Scanning 35 mm .times. Scanning Length Region Length 6-inch 0.82 Square 7-inch 0.89 1.16 0.20 0.36 0.42 0.49 Square 8-inch 0.93 1.41 0.31 0.34 0.46 0.60 Square 9-inch 0.87 1.33 0.29 0.35 0.44 0.70 Square __________________________________________________________________________
TABLE 8 ______________________________________ Cost performance of LOGICs ______________________________________ LOGIC 256 M 1 G 4 G Region Size 19 .times. 19 21 .times. 21 23 .times. 23 (mm .times. mm) Exposure 25 mm .times. Scanning 30 mm .times. 35 mm .times. Region Length Scanning Length Scanning Length 6-inch Square 1 0.72 -- 7-inch Square 0.85 0.64 0.41 8-inch Square 0.96 0.67 0.35 9-inch Square 0.81 0.57 0.35 ______________________________________
Here, from the cost-performance of DRAMs shown in the above Table 7, a large difference cannot be found between the case of a 9-inch square mask achieving a merit from the fourth generation of 256M-bit to the second generation of 1 G-bit and the case of a 8-inch square mask achieving a merit from the third generation of 1 G-bit to the first generation of 4 G-bit, since both cases are 1.07 times more advantageous, when thinking of averages of both cases. In addition, as shown in Table 8, in the case of LOGICs, it can be found that a 6-inch square mask attains the greatest merit for the generations equivalent to 256M-bit and 1 G-bit types, and a 7-inch square mask attains the greatest merit for the generations equivalent to the 4 G-bit type.
Therefore, from the aspects of costs and merits, it is considered that the most advantageous way is considered to use an exposure apparatus corresponding to a 8-inch square or 9-inch square substrate in case of manufacturing a DRAM and to use an exposure apparatus corresponding to a 6-inch square or 7-inch square substrate in case of manufacturing a LOGIC. However, since the cases where merits are obtained are different between the exposure apparatuses, it is not possible to consistently chose which mask or exposure apparatus should be used.
Since a drawing apparatus, a measurement apparatus, a defect inspection apparatus, or a repair apparatus, as a mask manufacture apparatus, is applicable to several sizes of substrates, it is possible to mix and use 6-inch square substrates, 7-inch square substrates, 8-inch square substrates, and 9-inch square substrate with each other. However, since a mask stage of an exposure apparatus requires an apparatus, such as a vacuum chuck or the like, for fixing a substrate immediately outside an exposure region, the mask stage is not designed so as to apply to a plurality of sizes of substrates. Therefore, discussions have been made as to whether all the production lines should be arranged so as to correspond to 9-inch square substrates with merits maintained for DRAM production and another exposure apparatus for manufacturing LOGICs of different models and of small production should be prepared, or all the exposure apparatus should be arranged so as to correspond to 6-inch square substrates at the sacrifice of merits of manufacturing DRAMs.
Further, based on the current situation, there is a remarkable difference in demands for DRAMs between when the market is active and when the market is inactive. Therefore, the market of the semiconductor industry changes up and down very harshly. In recent days, DRAMs are manufactured at full power when the market is active, and a part of the production system is switched to manufacture of LOGICs whose market is stable, when the market is inactive. In other words, since no factory can operate only for DRAMs, a factory capable of efficiently manufacturing DRAMs and LOGICs together is necessary.
Thus, as for transfer of circuit patterns of semiconductor devices, there are different optimal mask sizes which maximizes the cost-merit, respectively, for types of DRAM and LOGIC and for each of generations, while one pattern transfer apparatus permits its own mask size and therefore adopts only one mask size. In case where one kind of semiconductor devices is to be manufactured, a corresponding pattern transfer apparatus is used. However, in case of manufacturing several types of semiconductor devices, it is not possible to efficiently manufacture all the types of semiconductor devices even if a pattern apparatus of any pattern size is selected.

Pattern transfer apparatus, an operation management system thereof, and an operation management system for a semiconductor manufacture apparatus


A phase detector includes a Gilbert block for outputting a signal proportional to a phase difference between first and second input signals to a first output terminal, and a current source for determining a current in the first output terminal. The current source is controlled by a reference current signal. A converter outputs a current to a second output terminal in response to the signal output from the first output terminal. A variable current source varies the current output to the second output terminal. A controller controls the variable current source in response to the first and second input signals.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates generally to a phase-locked loop (PLL) and, more particularly, to a phase detector for self-controlling offset current: and to a PLL including the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Semiconductor devices that operate in synchronization with an external clock, such as semiconductor memories or central processing units (CPUs), generate an internal clock using a clock buffer-and a clock driver. The internal clock is delayed a predetermined period of time in comparison to the external clock, thus degrading high frequency operating characteristics of such semiconductor devices.
That is, an access time period required to output data after an external clock has been input is always longer than a time period required to generate an internal clock after the external clock has been generated, thus adversely affecting the speed of a semiconductor memory device. To avoid such low performance of a semiconductor memory device, a PLL is required to accurately synchronize an internal clock with an external clock.
Typically, a PLL is a nonlinear analog device that uses a negative feedback loop to make the phase difference between an input signal and an output signal smaller or, preferably, approximately equal to zero. The phase difference between both signals becomes smaller and smaller, which also makes the frequency of both signals equal. PLLs are widely used as an indispensable interface for clock synchronization in high-speed communication systems or semiconductor memory systems. FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional PLL. The PLL includes a phase detector (PD) 3, a loop filter 5, and a voltage controlled oscillator (VCO) 7.
The PD 3 senses a phase difference between an external clock MODOUT and an internal clock MIXOUT output from the VCO 7 and outputs a current signal PDOUT corresponding to the phase difference to the loop filter 5. The loop filter 5, in turn, outputs a DC component that excludes an AC component in response to the output signal PDOUT of the PD 3. The VCO 7 outputs the internal clock MIXOUT in response to the output signal of the loop filter S.
FIG. 2 is the circuit diagram of the PD 3 shown in FIG. 1. The PD 3 includes a Gilbert multiplier cell or Gilbert core block 11. The mixer-type PD 3 using the Gilbert core block 11 has a drawback in that it cannot reduce the difference in frequency between an external clock MODout and an internal clock MIXout when the phase is out of lock.
Conventionally, to overcome such a drawback, an offset current source 10 continuously outputs a constant offset current to node n3 that is proportional to a reference; current signal Iref from an initial operation of the PLL, thus sweeping down the frequency of the internal clock to be in lock with the external clock and controlling the locking time.
However, since the conventional phase detector 3 of FIG. 2 (and a PLL including the same) outputs a constant offset current to the node n3 when the PLL is in lock, unnecessary current is consumed and repeated determination must be made to identify an optimum offset current.
To solve the above and other related problems of the prior art, there is provided a phase detector and a phase-locked loop (PLL) including the same. The phase detector (and PLL) locks phase quickly and steadily while reducing unnecessary offset current.
According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a phase detector that includes a Gilbert Cell, a converter, a variable current source, and a variable current source controller. The Gilbert cell includes a Gilbert core block for outputting a signal proportional to a phase difference between first and second input signals to a first output terminal, and a current source for determining a current flowing in the first output terminal. The current source is controlled by a reference current signal. The converter outputs a current to a second output terminal in response to the signal output from the first output terminal. The variable current source varies the current output to the second output terminal. The variable current source controller controls the variable current source in response to the first and second input signals.
Preferably, the variable current source controller includes a counter for outputting a number of first edges of the first input signal that exist between first edges of first and second clock pulses of the second input signal. Moreover, it is preferable if the variable current source outputs a current proportional to an output signal of the variable current source controller and the reference current signal.
These and other aspects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of preferred embodiments, which is to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

Phase detector for automatically controlling offset current and phase locked loop including the same


Techniques for renaming multiple files. A system establishes a rename state for a first file in a collection of files and, in the rename state, receives user input specifying a name for the first file. In response to the user input specifying the name, the system renames the first file according to the name and establishes a rename state for a second file in the collection of files. In the rename state, the system can display both the current name of the file and the file extension associated with the file. The system can protect the file extension such that the user cannot change the file extension in the rename state.

The present invention relates to renaming files.
A file name is a string of characters that identifies a file. Most operating systems support file names up to 255 characters or more in length. In the Windows operating system, a file name can contain alphanumeric characters and also the following characters: ! @ # $ % & ( ) ′ ' - { } ˜ + , . ; = [ ] and the space character.
In some operating systems, a file extension can be appended to the end of a file name. A file extension specifies the file type and typically is represented as a delimiter character (e.g., a period character) plus additional characters (e.g., three alphanumeric characters). Many operating systems use file extensions to identify the file type or which application to invoke to open the file. For example, a file having a file extension of ".pdf" indicates to the operating system that the file is stored in portable document format and therefore must be opened using the Adobe Acrobat® program. Adobe Acrobat is a document management program available from Adobe Systems Incorporated of San Jose, Calif.
In some cases, a collection of files may consist of files whose names have been automatically generated by a computer. In such cases, the user may wish to rename some or all of the files in the collection so that the names are more meaningful or descriptive. For example, when a series of digital image files are downloaded from a digital camera into a software program such as Adobe Photoshop® also available from Adobe Systems Incorporated, the files are assigned computer-generated names such as DSGF001.JPG, DSGF002.JPG, and so on. The user may wish to rename the files to reflect, e.g., the subject matter of the image (e.g., YOSEMITE.JPG).
Renaming files can be tedious. Typically, multiple keystrokes are required to rename each file. For example, on the Apple Macintosh platform, renaming a file involves at least the following keystrokes: a first keystroke to select the file; a second keystroke to enter rename mode; and additional keystrokes to enter the new file name. Renaming multiple files requires repeating each of the above keystrokes for each file.
Besides being tedious, renaming files can also lead to loss of information. Because the entire file name, including the file extension, is typically modifiable during rename mode, the file extension can be erased or corrupted inadvertently during the renaming process. Erasing or corrupting the file extension may cause the operating system to be unable to open the file because the information that indicates which application to use has been lost.


A planar antenna is formed of a circuit substrate and a slot line formed on the circuit substrate for guiding an electromagnetic wave in an axial direction thereof, the planar antenna emitting the electromagnetic wave at an end part of said slot line, wherein the end part has a curved shape forming a focal point at a location on an axis of the slot line with offset by a distance of about a quarter wavelength of the electromagnetic wave, and wherein there is provided a conductor pattern having a length of about a half of the wavelength of the electromagnetic wave at the focal point.

The present invention generally relates to radio apparatuses and more particularly to a planar antenna formed on a circuit substrate and a radio apparatus having such a planar antenna.
Investigations are being made on a planar antenna formed integrally on a circuit substrate in relation to radar sets of millimeter wavelength band. On the other hand, such a planar antenna is also important in the field of radio astronomy.
Conventionally, high-performance antennas that use a waveguide have been used for the reception of millimeter wavelength band radio signals.
However, such an antenna that uses a waveguide forms a three-dimensional circuit of heavy weight, and raises the problem of high cost. In addition, such an antenna that uses a waveguide raises the problem that it cannot be coupled to a semiconductor integrated circuit device directly.
In view of the foregoing circumstances and situations, investigations are being made in relation to the radar apparatuses of millimeter wavelength band to provide a planar antenna capable of being formed on a circuit substrate by patterning a metal film.
Patent Reference 1 Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2001-320228 Official Gazette
Patent Reference 1 Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application 2000-307334 Official Gazette
Japanese Patent 3,462,959
Non-Patent Reference 1 2003 IEICE Abstract C-2-103


A method is provided for computing a predicted frame from a first and a second reference frames, the method comprising, for each block of pixels in the predicted frame, the acts of defining a first block of pixels in the first reference frame collocated with a third block of pixels which is the block of pixels in the predicted frame; defining a second block of pixels corresponding, in the second reference frame, to the first block of pixels along the motion vector of the first block from the first to second reference frames; computing a first set of coefficients allowing the transformation of the pixels of the first block into pixels of the second block; computing pixels of the third block using the first set of coefficients and pixels from a fourth block collocated in the first reference frame with the second block of pixels.

Prediction is a statistical estimation process where one or more random variables are estimated from observations of other random variables. It is called prediction when the variables to be estimated are in some sense associated with the "future" and the observable variables are associated with the "past". One of the simplest, prevalent prediction techniques is linear prediction. Linear prediction consists for instance in predicting a vector from another vector. The most common use of prediction is the estimation of a sample of a stationary random process (i.e. a random stochastic process whose joint probability distribution does not change when shifted in time or space) from observations of several prior samples. Another application of prediction is, in image/video compression, when a block of pixels is estimated from an observed "prior" block of pixels comprised in a reference image (also called forward image). In this case, each predicted image (or picture or frame) is divided into non-overlapped rectangular blocks. Motion vectors (i.e. the vectors used for prediction that provides an offset from the coordinates in the predicted picture to the coordinates in a reference picture) of each block are derived using Motion Estimation (ME) in the reference picture. Then, each block is predicted using Motion Compensation (MC) with reference to the corresponding block in the reference frame pointed by the derived motion vectors. Both ME and MC are methods known to the person skilled in the art. This method may help eliminating redundancy information and, consequently, fewer bits may be needed to describe the residual (which is the difference between the original and the predicted block). However, such ME/MC prediction method is actually not the ultimate solution for predicting future frames as it is based on the assumption that the captured moving object is performing translation motion, which is not always true. Besides, for the estimation of images involving non-Gaussian processes, the ME/MC technique cannot fully squeeze out all possible information about the past that will help predicting future frames.
Today there is a need for an image prediction solution that can easily be implemented on the existing communication infrastructures, overcoming the drawbacks of the prior art.


An improved stair climbing exercise machine is provided. The machine biomechanically simulates climbing stairs to provide exercise for a user and broadly includes a support frame, right and left foot-receiving pedals, and a drive system. The frame includes a base and a generally tubular, inclined slide mast. The pedals are mounted on respective independently moveable shuttles slidably received in channels at each side of the mast. The electrically released drive system is operably coupled to the pedals and includes a multiple pulley and strap arrangement.

Interest in health and fitness has precipitated the development of diverse exercise machines and devices including simple inclined platforms, stationary bicycles, treadmills, multi-functional exercise frames, and, most recently, stair-climbing simulators. The latter devices attempt to simulate the biomechanical activity and effect of a person raising his or her body weight from a lower step to a higher step, typically by requiring an exerciser to keep the body in the same place while the steps move, that is, by shifting body weight repeatedly from one foot to the other, optionally against variable resistance. The user's feet generally are received on moving or movable foot receiving members. Separate foot receiving members are common, either moving continuously in one direction or alternating between an upper position and a lower position. In the latter case, as one foot of the user presses down on a foot-receiving member in its upper position, that member is driven down against resistance. Generally, the second member will be rising at the same time. When the second member reaches its upper position, the user presses down on it with the other foot, raising the weight of the body or at least keeping it in the same place, and driving the second member down.
Representative examples of fairly early stair climbing devices include the types of devices disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,497,215 (to Harrison), 3,743,283 (to Garrett), 4,340,218 (to Wilkinson), 4,687,195 (to Potts), 4,555,108 (to Monterio), and 4,726,581 (to Chang). These patents reflect the development of stair simulators, disclosing substantially static steps (the Garrett and Wilkinson patents) or an escalator-like plurality of moving steps connected to endless chains (the Harrison, Chang and Potts patents). The patent to Monterio discloses two sets of circumferential steps mounted on a rotatable member.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,970,302 (to McFee) and 4,496,147 (to DeCloux et al.) disclose a pair of reciprocally movable foot receiving supports carried by inclined track members. In use, the user steps on one foot support while removing weight from the second. The foot support without weight rises, while the support bearing weight descends at a rate determined by the resistance. When the downwardly traveling support reaches the end of travel, the user transfers his or her weight to the other foot and the motion of the supports reverses. The McFee and DeCloux et al. patents also disclose resistance systems, including shock absorbers or hydraulic systems, used in this type of device, and in stair simulators generally.
While the above prior art devices are useful, some of them are rather large for in-home use, they may not provide optimal muscle toning or aerobic exercise workouts, they require reciprocal leg motion, and they may be quite noisy.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,708,338 (to Potts) is fairly representative of the modern approach to solving at least some of the foregoing problems by providing a stair climbing exercise apparatus wherein a right and left pedal alternately and independently oscillate between an upper rest position and a lower position attained by the weight of or force generated by the user. As is typical in this type of machine, the pedals drive a drive sprocket in one direction through one-way clutches and are returned to their upper position by a coil spring. In this Potts device an alternator acts as a dynamic brake for providing resistance. Somewhat similar exercise machines are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,938,474 (to Sweeney et al.), 4,943,049 (to Lo), 4,949,993 (to Stark et al.), 5,013,031 and 5,054,770 (to Bull), 5,048,821 (to Kuo-Liang), 5,078,390 (to Hurt) and 5,033,733 (to Findlay). The Findlay apparatus includes the typical arrangement of two side-by-side steps mounted on bars pivotally connected to a frame. A cable or strap connects each step to a spring-driven pulley, and the pulleys are connected via a one-way clutch to a drive shaft. The shaft drives a multiple planetary gear arrangement, the output of which drives a rotary member having an electro-magnetic resistance element.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,039,087 (to Kuo) discloses a powered stair climber that includes pivotally mounted pedals. The climber has a gear which has two driving rods mounted at one side thereof and arranged at opposite directions. The pedals have lugs for connection to the driving rods and the gear is meshed with a worm gear on top of which there is mounted a pulley, in turn connected with a motor via a belt. FIG. 3 shows that when the motor starts rotating, the worm gear will rotate in unison therewith by means of the belt and pulley, then the gear meshed with the worm gear rotates and, since the driving rods are at opposite directions, they turn the cranks moving one pedal up and the other pedal down. Thus, an exerciser rides or stands passively on the pedals and does a stair climbing exercise when the motor is turned on. The pedals reciprocate, that is, when one moves up the other moves down and vice versa. U.S. Pat. No. 4,989,857 (to Kuo) discloses a similar stair climber with a safety speed changing device, but without a worm gear.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,007,631 (to Leao Wang) discloses a climbing exerciser having a frame body with two parallel channel bars obliquely set at each side. A sliding rod is set to slide in each bar. The sliding rods carry handles at their upper end and pedals at their lower end. The pedals include links that are connected to a cord that rotates a free wheel alternately in opposite directions.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,982,952 and 5,000,441 (to Shui-Mu Wang) both disclose devices including a base and an elongated prop extending upward from the base. In the earlier patent, upper and lower longitudinal slide grooves receive first left and right slide pieces (in the upper grooves) and second left and right slide pieces (in the lower slide grooves). The second slide pieces each have a foot support piece and are connected to the first slide pieces. The pieces reciprocate and resistance is provided by hydraulic cylinders. Each of the four slide pieces includes rollers B and D. In the later patent, the typical pedals disclosed in many of the above-noted patents replace the lower, second slide pieces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,848,737 (to Ehrenfield) discloses a moving ladder exercise device including a retarder assembly (shown in FIG. 3). The retarder assembly includes an electric motor, drive shaft, worm gear assembly and clutch mechanism. FIG. 4 shows that "the chain drive sprocket 41 is forced by operator weight to rotate as shown by arrow 42. Unidirectional clutch 33 locks thereby translating torque into worm gear mechanism 32. However, no feed through to electric motor 31 can occur since the worm drive isolates the motor from the driving force. When rotation of the ladder sprocket stops or drops below the speed of the worm drive output, then clutch 33 disengages so that the motion depicted by arrow 42 cannot be transmitted to the ladder. By these means, the moving ladder is powered only by operator weight and never by the electric motor-worm drive assembly." (Ehrenfield patent, column 3, lines 31-45)
While the above-cited patents reflect refinements in the exercise machine art and progressive, general improvement in stair climbing simulators, it is clear that with current in-home stair-climbing simulating devices cost efficient manufacture, smoothness, fluidity, safety and quietness are not optimized. There is a need for a reasonably priced, biomechanically and ergonomically sound, aesthetically pleasing stair climbing simulator or "stepper" exercise machine that the exerciser enjoys using because the machine is attractive, quiet, self-prompting and has a smooth, fluid motion.