A method of analyzing a design of an electronic circuit includes tessellating the design into a grid of rectangles, selecting at least one rectangle as a first level parent rectangle, and generating a plurality of second level child rectangles based on the first level parent rectangle.

A semiconductor integrated circuit (IC) has a large number of electronic components, such as transistors, logic gates, diodes, wires, etc., that are fabricated by forming layers of different materials and of different geometric shapes on various regions of a silicon wafer. The design of an integrated circuit transforms a circuit description into a geometric description called a layout. The process of converting specifications of an integrated circuit into a layout is called the physical design.
After the layout is complete, it is then checked to ensure that it meets the design requirements. The result is a set of design files, which are then converted into pattern generator files. The pattern generator files are used to produced patterns called masks by an optical or electron beam pattern generator. Subsequently, during fabrication of the IC, these masks are used to pattern chips on the silicon wafer using a sequence of photolithographic steps. Electronic components of the IC are therefore formed on the wafer in accordance with the patterns.
Many phases of physical design may be performed with computer aided design (CAD) tools or electronic design automation (EDA) systems. To design an integrated circuit, a designer first creates high level behavior descriptions of the IC device using a high-level hardware design language. An EDA system typically receives the high level behavior descriptions of the IC device and translates this high-level design language into netlists of various levels of abstraction using a computer synthesis process. A netlist describes interconnections of nodes and components on the chip and includes information of circuit primitives such as transistors and diodes, their sizes and interconnections, for example.
Geometric information about the placement of the nodes and components onto the chip is determined by a placement process and a routing process. The placement process is a process for placing electronic components or circuit blocks on the chip and the routing process is the process for creating interconnections between the blocks and components according to the specified netlist.
Conventional routing programs perform either grid-based routing or shape-based routing. During grid-based routing, wires are routed along defined and equally spaced grid lines of a grid array. Grid lines of the grid array are used in the routing process to speed up the process of finding the wire routing solutions by reducing the number of pathways to consider for routing. The grid-based router, however, has several drawbacks.
A disadvantage of the grid-based router is that it is difficult for a grid-based router to route with circuit blocks that do not have a signal-defined grid array. Modern IC and circuit board designs typically include circuit blocks having different dimension grid arrays. As a result, the grid-based router may not be able to match pins of different blocks with different dimension grid arrays. Another disadvantage of the grid-based router is that it is very inflexible, because it is highly dependent on wire length, wire width, and wire separation, and not on a predefined wire grid array. Therefore, for example, forcing wires to lie on predefined grid lines may not optimally address the greater underlying problem of signal delay. Another problem of the grid-based router is that it tends to waste a large percentage of routable area within an integrated circuit substrate.
A shape-based router is an example of a gridless router. Because the gridless router is not directly tied to a predefined grid array, it alleviates some of the grid-based router's disadvantages. The shape-based router, however, has its own problems. For example, known approaches to implementing this type of gridless router use a non-hierarchical data model that tends to consume an excessive amount of computing resources and slows down performance speed. In addition, its non-hierarchical data model also increases the difficulty of designing modern complex integrated circuits.
For example, in order to perform chip routing efficiently, an abstract graph called the routing graph is constructed. However, the routing graph is non-hierarchical. For example, in order to get more rectangles in a particular region, the distance between neighboring lines is reduced. However, this unnecessarily decreases the size of any rectangle that is bordered by these lines.
Although conventional grid-based routers and shape-based routers have been adequate to serve the routing process for IC designs, new IC routing technology is required because semiconductor fabrication process advancements are antiquating current technologies. Moreover, customers are continually demanding lower manufacturing costs, higher speed, more capacity, more capability, and increased performance from their routers.


A capacitive load is charged and/or discharged in sequential current steps, thereby rapidly changing the charge on the capacitive load. The stepwise change in load current can be effected by a plurality of parallel output driver stages each of which is much smaller, and thus generates less noise, than a single output driver stage with the same overall current carrying capacity. The output driver stages are connected to the load so as to be sequentially actuated responsive to an input signal representative of the binary state to be coupled by the output drive to the load. The input signal is connected to the respective output driver stages by predriver stages. Except for the lowest order predriver stage, each predriver stage has an enable circuit that switches on the driver stage at the desired point in the transition interval between binary states.

This invention relates to noise reduction in integrated circuits and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for reducing the transient noise generated during operation of the output drivers of an integrated circuit.
Digital data processing systems are typically built from integrated circuits that incorporate on a single chip thousands of binary circuit elements such as registers, logic gates and input receiver and output driver circuits. Generally, an integrated circuit chip processes a number of parallel channels of data, e.g. eight, sixteen or thirty-two. The integrated circuits are mounted on printed circuit boards having conductive paths that interconnect the input and output circuits on the integrated circuit chips and supply thereto operating power supply potentials. An integrated circuit chip is conventionally incorporated into a package that has a number of leads connecting the integrated circuits on the chip to the printed circuit board. Since the output driver channels of an integrated circuit chip are connected through the package leads "off chip" to the conductive paths on the printed circuit board, they must be designed to drive a large capacitive load, e.g., 50 to 100 pf.
An integrated circuit chip has parasitic inductance representative of the inductance of the conductive paths from the integrated circuit chip to the output pins of its package. It is common practice in the design of integrated circuit chips to employ a single package pin for the connections of all or many of the parallel channels to the power supply potentials off chip. In such case, the output drivers of all the channels driven toward a power supply potential during any single switching interval contribute to the transient noise due to package inductance.
During the past several years, there has been increasing awareness of the problems resulting from the transient noise generated within large scale integrated (LSI) circuits. The major problems occur from the simultaneous switching of multiply output drivers designed to drive high capacitance loads, such as the data bus of microprocessors or the address bus of a large memory array. Under most conditions, the transient current at power supply nodes resulting from switching multiple output drivers, tends to be additive. Therefore, even a small value of parasitic inductance produces series noise problems.
The problem has become more acute and apparent, because evolving technology tends to produce LSI circuits with higher performance. By decreasing the delay of the output driver, by increasing the effective data rate on the outputs, or by increasing the specified load capacitance, then, more electric charge must be transferred in a shorter interval of time.
In application Ser. No. 07/161,469, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,947,063 filed Feb. 26, 1988, by Timothy G. O'Shannesy et al. and assigned to the assignee of the present application, transient noise is reduced by employing a predriver stage that applies an approximately linear ramp shaped control voltage to the gate of a MOS transistor output driver stage during the entire transition interval between binary states. This tends to minimize the rate of change of the load current during the transition interval and therefore the transient noise created by the parasitic inductance.

Output driver for reducing transient noise in integrated circuits


An improved speaker structure includes dual suspension edges connecting a support seat, a sound ring and a diaphragm. Therefore, when the speaker outputs, the dual suspension edge will not deviate and can perform a highly vertical cutting movement. Besides, the dual suspension edge can perform a flip-flop movement and distribution, and can compensate insufficient tensile force during reverse vibration so as to increase power, reduce distortion, and enable the diaphragm to be independently secured to a top portion of the sound ring to obtain better sound quality.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improved speaker structure having upper and lower oppositely disposed dual suspension edges adapted particularly for use in speakers, speaker cabinets or multimedia that output sound.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
FIG. 1 shows a conventional speaker structure. Suspension edges thereof are located at a joint between a diaphragm of the speaker and the frame body for supporting the periphery of the diaphragm and breaking air movement in front of or behind the diaphragm to facilitate forward and backward movement of the sound ring.
Preferred suspension edges should have the following points: (1) Good support; (2) suitable flexibility; and (3) preferred shock-absorbing power and restorability. Good support can allow the sound ring to maintain a linear reciprocating movement. Suitable flexibility will not cause undue hardness or rigidity of the suspension edges, which will hamper the reciprocating movement of the sound ring or result in deformation. Shock-absorbing power and restorability will particularly affect the fidelity of the middle and low sound ranges. The structure, as mentioned above, has only a single ring adhered to the diagram. There are the following drawbacks in terms of practical use:
1. For the sound rings, the indirect support through the diaphragm cannot enable the sound rings to perform the best and most stable vertical cutting movement. If power is high, vibration and hence sound distortion may occur, which may in turn limit the output.
2. The method of connecting the sound ring through the diaphragm makes it difficult to further reduce the size of the speaker body under the condition of high quality requirement.
In view of the above-mentioned drawbacks with the suspension edges of conventional speakers, the present invention aims to provide an improved speaker structure that include upper and lower suspension edges that have curves disposed opposite to each other so that they can perform a flip-flop movement during vertical displacement thereof to compensate the insufficient tensile force upon reverse vibration during the vertical displacement.
A primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved speaker structure that can compensate the insufficient tensile force upon reverse vibration during vertical movement to achieve stable vertical movement.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved speaker structure that can enhance power and sound quality.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, the present invention includes upper and lower oppositely disposed curved suspension edges connectedly disposed between an O ring and a sound ring. When the speaker performs vertical movement during output, the oppositely disposed dual suspension edge structure can perform a flip-flop movement to compensate for the insufficient tensile force upon reverse vibration during the vertical movement and stable vertical movement so as to enhance power and enable the diaphragm to be secured independently on a top portion of the sound ring, thereby achieving better sound quality and avoiding distortion.


The present invention relates to a way that a machine type communication module transmits/receives data, using a sleep mode or avoiding a busy time of a base station. That is, the present invention relates to an apparatus for scheduling in LTE machine type communication in which a machine type communication module transmits/receives data, using a sleep mode or avoiding a busy time of a base station for a response to an order or for a periodic report. The apparatus for scheduling in LTE machine type communication includes a machine type communication module that performs machine type communication with a base station.

1. Field of the Invention
Exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus for scheduling in LTE machine type communication, and particularly, to a configuration in which a machine type communication terminal transmits/receives data, using a sleep mode or avoiding a busy time of a base station. That is, exemplary embodiments of the present invention relate to an apparatus for scheduling in LTE machine type communication in which a machine type communication terminal transmits/receives data, using a sleep mode or avoiding a busy time of a base station for a response to an order or for a periodic report.
2. Description of the Related Art
Machine-to-machine communication known as MTC (Machine Type Communication) uses a plurality of wireless communication units such as a 3G/4G communication network including a WLAN and LTE for a wireless terminal and provides an information service on a mobile wireless terminal from a service server through the wireless communication units.
In the MTC, a person is not necessary, there are a large number of latent terminals communicating with a server, and less traffic is used for each of the terminals. For example, the MTC may be used for remote measurement and control and e-health. In the MTC, many MTC terminals communicate with each other using limited radio resources, so there is a large possibility of interference or loss of data between a server and the MTC terminals.
Therefore, there is a need of scheduling for efficiently using limited radio resources and preventing loss of data due to interference, when traffic to/from many MTC terminals is generated.

Apparatus for scheduling in LTE machine type communication


A process for purifying various hydrocarbon streams using a composite adsorbent is disclosed. The adsorbent contains a zeolite, an alumina and a metal component. The metal component (Madd) is present in an amount (over and above the amount of exchangeable M metal in the zeolite) at least 10 mole % the stoichiometric amount of metal (M) (expressed as the oxide) needed to balance the negative charge of the zeolite lattice. In a specific application an adsorbent comprising zeolite X, alumina and sodium is used to purify an ethylene stream in order to remove CO2, H2S, methanol, and other S- and O-containing compounds from the stream.

Solid adsorbents are commonly used to remove contaminants from hydrocarbon streams such as olefins, natural gas and light hydrocarbon fractions. Since these streams can contain different contaminants, more than one adsorbent or adsorbent bed are needed to sufficiently purify the stream so that it can be used in the desired process. Contaminants which can be present in these streams include H2O, CO, O2, CO2, COS, H2S, NH3, AsH3, PH3, Hg, methanol, mercaptans and other S- or O-containing organic compounds.
However, while various adsorbents can remove one or more contaminant, they can also remove and/or promote reactions of the desired hydrocarbon. For example, faujasite type zeolites, e.g. zeolite 13X, are good adsorbents for sulfur and oxygenate compounds but they are also good adsorbents for olefins which results in high temperature rise that can cause run-away reactions. Additionally, owing to the zeolite's residual surface reactivity reactions such as oligomerization and polymerization can occur during regeneration. This leads to fouling and performance deterioration.
In attempts to remedy this problem, there are reports in the art where zeolites have been mixed with alumina. U.S. Pat. No. 4,762,537 discloses the use of an adsorbent comprising zeolite Y and alumina to remove HCl from a hydrogen stream. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,198 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,717,483 it is disclosed that a mixture of alumina and sodium Y zeolite can remove ammonia sulfides and organic impurities from waste water. The sodium Y zeolite contains at least 12.7 wt. % Na2O. The same adsorbent is also used to reduce the acidity and moisture content of used organophosphate functional fluids, see U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,211. The use of alumina with alkali or alkaline earth metal for removing HCl and other contaminants is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,013,600.
Applicant has developed an improved adsorbent which can remove multiple contaminants from various hydrocarbon streams. Surprisingly these contaminants can be removed with only a small temperature rise and the adsorbent has increased stability upon multiple regenerations. This adsorbent comprises a zeolite, alumina and a metal component (Madd) which is present in an amount (over and above the M metal present in the zeolite) of at least 10 mole % of the stoichiometric amount of metal (expressed as the oxide) needed to compensate for the negative charge of the zeolite lattice.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Process for purifying hydrogen streams using composite adsorbents


This invention provides methods of forming a field-effect transistor in an integrated circuit using self-aligning technology on the basis of a gate electrode and sidewall spacer masking procedure both for forming the device isolation features and the source and drain regions. This invention enables an increase of the integration-density of semiconductor devices, a minimization of the parasitic capacitances in field-effect transistor devices, and a quicker manufacturing process.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of producing a semiconductor device using sidewall spacers to obtain alignment of overlying device features. The present invention in particular relates to a method of producing a field-effect transistor using sidewall spacers on a semiconductor substrate for adjusting the position of an active region with respect to a gate electrode without realigning steps during the production process.
2. Description of the Related Art
The manufacturing process of integrated circuits involves the fabrication of numerous insulated gate field-effect transistors, such as metal-oxide semiconductor field-effect transistors (MOSFETs). In order to increase integration density and improve device performance, for instance, with respect to signal processing time and power consumption, feature sizes of the transistor structures are steadily decreasing. Most importantly, not only the gate length but also the length of the active region of the fabricated transistors needs to be reduced to comply with these requirements in order to reduce parasitic source and drain capacitances.
Conventionally, device features are defined and delineated by lithographic techniques, in particular photolithography, preferably using a high numerical aperture lens and a deep ultraviolet (DUV) light source. Current DUV lithography reaches its resolution limit at a feature size of approximately 0.2 xcexcm. Together with emerging gate length trim-techniques it is possible to reach device features in the sub-100 nm region. Such feature definition by lithography requires a plurality of process steps, each usually involving a resist mask technique. Overlay alignment of subsequent resist masks using special alignment features on the semiconductor substrate requires exact positioning of a mechanical stage supporting the substrate. Desirably, the overlay accuracy is considerably higher than the smallest feature size, preferably, at least one order of magnitude.
However, mechanical alignment of the various resist mask layers necessary for production of a field-effect transistor (FET) structure having a gate length of approximately 0.1 xcexcm is very difficult to achieve due to the mechanical nature of the overlay alignment process.
To comply with the general requirements of mass production of semiconductor devices any new technology must conserve the current standards of efficiency, reliability, and cost of already existing methods or provide improvements in this respect.
As mentioned above, the formation of the active region relative to the gate electrode is a critical step in the manufacturing process of a field-effect transistor. The gate length dimension, i.e., the lateral extension of the gate electrode between the source region and drain region of the field-effect transistor, is commonly known as critical dimension of the gate. This critical dimension is desirably reduced to sizes approaching or even exceeding the resolution limit of the optical imaging systems used for patterning the device features. In a field-effect transistor such as a MOSFET, the gate is used to control an underlying channel formed in the semiconductor substrate between source region and drain region. Channel, source region, and drain region are formed in, on, or over a semiconductor substrate which is doped inversely to the drain and source regions. The gate electrode is separated from the channel, the source region, and the drain region, by a thin insulating layer, generally by an oxide layer. Additionally, device insulation features are necessary to ensure electrical isolation between neighboring field-effect transistors in integrated circuits.
During operation of such a MOSFET, a voltage is supplied to the gate electrode in order to create an electric field between the gate electrode and the source and drain regions affecting conductivity in the channel region of the substrate. Besides the desired transistor current control function, the gate electrode, the gate insulation layer, and the regions under-lying the gate insulation layer, also act as a capacitor generating a parasitic capacitance. The amount of this parasitic capacitance depends on the feature size of the gate electrode. Most commonly in integrated circuit applications, the transistors are operated in a switching mode with clock frequencies currently as high as 400 to 500 MHz. In this operation mode, the gate capacitor has to be continuously charged and discharged, which significantly affects signal performance and power consumption of the device.
Moreover, the electric field between the source region and the drain region generates an additional parasitic capacitance. The amount of this additional parasitic capacitance depends on the sizes of the source region and of the drain region. This additional parasitic capacitance also significantly affects signal performance and power consumption of the semiconductor device. Decreasing sizes of the source region and of the drain region will reduce the additional parasitic capacitance. Decreasing source and drain regions, however, require difficult aligning steps during the photolithography for patterning the gate electrode, and, thus, lead to a deterioration of device characteristics due to an unavoidable misalignment of the gate electrode with respect to the source and drain regions because of the mechanical nature of the alignment step.
Due to the limitations of standard photolithography including mechanical alignment used to pattern and position the gate electrode within the active transistor region in which the drain and source have to be formed, advanced techniques for trimming the gate electrode will neither be translated into a decreasing size of the active region and, thus, into reduced source and drain regions, nor into reduced source and drain capacitances nor into an increased circuit-density.
As the dimensions of the transistor significantly influence its electrical characteristics, when decreasing device dimensions it is important to provide a method of reliably and reproducibly forming and positioning device features and device insulation features in order to minimize variations in the electrical characteristics of integrated circuits.
With reference to FIGS. 1a to 1c, an illustrative example of forming a field-effect transistor according to a typical prior art process will be described. It is to be noted that FIGS. 1a to 1c as well as the following drawings in this application are merely schematic depictions of the various stages in manufacturing the illustrative device under consideration. The skilled person will readily appreciate that the dimensions shown in the figures are not true to scale and that different portions or layers are not separated by sharp boundaries as portrayed in the drawings but may instead comprise continuous transitions. Furthermore, various process steps as described below may be performed differently depending on particular design requirements. Moreover, in this description, only the relevant steps and portions of the device necessary for the understanding of the present invention are considered.
FIG. 1a shows a schematic cross-section of a field-effect transistor at a specific stage of a typical prior art manufacturing process. Within a silicon substrate 1, shallow trenches 2, e.g., made of silicon dioxide, are formed and define a transistor active region 3 in which a channel, a drain region and a source region will be formed. A gate insulation layer 4 is formed above the substrate 1. The gate insulation layer 4 may be formed by a variety of techniques, e.g., thermal growth, chemical vapor deposition (CVD), etc., and it may be comprised of a variety of materials, e.g., an oxide, an oxynitride, silicon dioxide, etc.
FIG. 1b shows a schematic cross-section of the field-effect transistor of FIG. 1a after formation of a layer of gate electrode material 5 above the gate insulation layer 4. The layer of gate electrode material 5 may be formed from a variety of materials, e.g., polysilicon, a metal, etc., and it may be formed by a variety of techniques, e.g., CVD, low-pressure chemical vapor deposition (LPCVD), sputter deposition, etc. Over the layer of gate electrode material 5 a resist feature 6 is formed. The process steps involved in patterning a layer of resist (not shown) for producing the resist feature 6 are of common knowledge to the skilled person. These steps include the formation of the layer of resist by a spin-coating process, and the employment of short exposure wavelengths such as wavelengths in the DUV range, while performing the required photolithography steps. Since these procedures are commonly known, the description thereof will be omitted.
FIG. 1c shows a schematic cross-section of the field-effect transistor of FIG. 1b after conventional etching of the layer of gate electrode material 5 and after removing all remaining parts of resist feature 6. As a result of these process steps a gate electrode 7 is obtained. Lightly doped drain (LDD) regions 10 are then formed in the active region 3 by a shallow ion implantation with a low dose before the formation of sidewall spacers 8. Next, the sidewall spacers 8 are formed adjacent the gate electrode 7. Thereafter, source and drain regions 9 are formed by a deep ion implantation with a high dose. The implanted ions are electrically activated by rapid thermal annealing (RTA). In order to form the sidewall spacers 8 adjacent to the gate electrode 7, silicon-dioxide (SiO2) was blanket deposited and subsequently anisotropically etched. According to the conventional fabrication process as described above, drain and source regions 9 are limited by lightly doped drain and source regions 10, which connect to a channel 11. The transverse dimension of the gate electrode 7 defines a critical dimension 12, and the transverse dimension of the active region 3 defines a length dimension 13.
Since the source and drain regions 9 are defined by overlay alignment, i.e., mechanical alignment, in the various lithographic steps while forming the gate electrode, it is extremely difficult to decrease the length dimension 13 due to the mechanical nature of the alignment procedure. Therefore, advanced techniques for a desired down-sizing of the gate electrode 7 will not necessarily allow a corresponding scaling of the drain and source regions, and, thus, may not be translated into an increased circuit-density or into reduced source and drain capacitances.
In view of the above-mentioned problems, a need exists for an improved method for forming the source region, the drain region, and the gate electrode of field-effect transistors on semiconductor substrates and to precisely align the gate electrode within the active region.
The present invention provides methods of forming a field-effect transistor in an integrated circuit using an aligning technology on the basis of a sidewall spacer masking procedure both for forming the device isolation features and the source and drain regions.
According to a first embodiment of the invention there is provided a method of forming a field-effect transistor in an integrated circuit comprising the steps of: providing a semiconductor substrate having a surface, a buried insulating layer, and an electrically conductive layer doped with impurities between said surface and said buried insulating layer, forming a gate electrode over said surface, said gate electrode having a gate width and sidewalls along its width direction, forming first sidewall spacers having a first lateral extension along said sidewalls of said gate electrode, and removing portions of said semiconductor substrate above said buried insulating layer and adjacent said first sidewall spacers until said buried insulating layer is exposed, using said first sidewall spacers as a masking material for defining an active region.
According to a second embodiment of the invention there is provided a method of forming a field-effect transistor in an integrated circuit comprising the steps of: providing an insulating substrate with an electrically conductive layer doped with impurities above said insulating substrate, said electrically conductive layer having a surface, forming a gate electrode over said surface, said gate electrode having a gate width and sidewalls along its width direction, forming first sidewall spacers along said sidewalls of said gate electrode having a first lateral extension, and removing portions of said electrically conductive layer above said insulating substrate and adjacent said first sidewall spacers until said insulating substrate is exposed, using at least said first sidewall spacers as a masking material for defining an active region.
According to a third embodiment of the invention there is provided a method of forming a field-effect transistor in an integrated circuit comprising the steps of: providing a semiconductor substrate having a surface, a buried insulating layer, and an electrically conductive layer doped with impurities between said surface and said buried insulating layer; forming a gate electrode over said surface, said gate electrode having a gate length, a gate width and sidewalls along its width direction; forming a gate cover layer over said gate electrode and first sidewall spacers along said sidewalls of said gate electrode, said first sidewall spacers having a first lateral extension; forming a mask over said gate cover layer and first sidewall spacers exposing two opposing end-caps formed of the first sidewall spacers in both length directions of the gate electrode; removing said end-caps, thereby forming two opposing independent first sidewall spacers; removing said mask; removing material of said semiconductor substrate above said buried insulating layer and adjacent said first sidewall spacers and said gate electrode until said buried insulating layer is exposed, using said first sidewall spacers and said gate electrode as masking material for forming an active region self-aligned to said gate electrode; removing said first sidewall spacers; forming lightly doped source and drain regions by isotropic implantation of ions into said active region; forming second sidewall spacers along said sidewalls of said gate electrode having a second lateral extension which is shorter than the first lateral extension; and forming source and drain electrodes to both sides adjacent the sidewalls of said gate electrode using said gate cover layer and said second sidewall spacers as masking material.
The present invention as outlined above enables to fabricate a transistor having reduced device dimensions, wherein an active region as well as device insulation features are aligned with respect to the gate electrode without any mechanical overlay steps. With the production methods provided by this invention the active region of a field-effect transistor may be tuned to minimum desired dimensions regardless of lithographic restrictions. Consequently, a drastically increasing circuit-density and decreasing parasitic capacitances can be reached.
This invention will enable a significant reduction of field-effect transistor dimensions in integrated circuits and, therefore, a significant cost-reduction in manufacturing in semiconductor industries can be achieved.

Method for fully self-aligned FET technology


A method and apparatus are provided for testing the vision of a human subject using a series of eye tests (310). A test setup procedure (312) is run to adjust the settings of a display device (1914) such that graphic objects displayed on the device (1914) conform to a pre-defined appearance. A series of preliminary tests (314), static tests (316) and dynamic tests (318) are displayed on the device (1914), and the responses of the subject are recorded. The tests (310) may be run remotely, for example over the Internet. No lenses are required to run the tests (310).

Vision is involved intimately with almost every aspect of a person's daily life. If a person's vision deteriorates then usually so does the person's quality of life.
Vision can be divided into three conceptual layers, seen generally in FIG. 1. An optical layer 100 provides for the focusing of light onto a photosensitive layer of tissue at the back of the eye, called the retina. A functional layer 102 (formed by the retina) contains photosensitive cells which can detect various colors, motion and form, and converts these to nervous impulses which are sent to the brain. The third layer is a perceptual layer 106 which is a part of the brain that constructs a picture from the light information sent from the eyes.
During the last century, many tests have been developed to measure aspects of the vision process, and three groups of professionals: optometrists, ophthalmologists and neurologists, have had the responsibility divided among them for carrying out the tests and treating the problems involved.
Optometrists are scientifically qualified and, in general, measure and treat problems associated with the optical layer 100. As optometrists are usually the first to deal with a patient having a vision problem, optometrists often detect problems in the functional and perceptual layers 102, 106. If a pathological problem arises in area 102 or 106, optometrists generally refer patients to the professionals best qualified to treat these problems. Ophthalmologists are medically qualified and normally measure and treat problems involving both the optical layer 100 and the functional layer 102. This group of professionals will typically diagnose and treat diseases of the eye. Problems occurring in the perceptual layer 106 caused by other diseases affecting the visual process are usually referred to a neurologist. Neurologists are psychiatrically and medically qualified, and treat the problems occurring at the perceptual layer 106 when the vision process is affected by other perturbing abnormalities in the patient's brain.
It is routine for people experiencing some vision problem to visit an optometrist to have their eyes examined. The equipment used by the optometrist for examination is mainly lens-based. Since such equipment is often heavy, bulky and very sensitive, it is generally not suitable for transport. Such equipment is often quite expensive. Consequently people who lack mobility, or who live a long way from cities or large towns, have been disadvantaged through lack of optometric servicing. When optometrists do travel, generally only a small number of lenses are used for diagnostic purposes, and as such, the examination conducted may not be as thorough as one performed with the aid of the typical equipment mentioned above.
It is therefore desirable for optical examinations to be performed without reliance upon bulky, generally immobile and expensive equipment.


An anisotropic conductive film is prepared by winding an insulated wire around a core member to form one roll of a winding layer, placing an insulating resin film on the obtained winding layer, and repeating the step of winding the insulated wire and the step of placing the insulating resin film to give a laminate alternately having the winding layer comprising a single row of insulated wires and an insulating resin layer made from the insulating resin film. A coating layer and insulating resin layer are melted to integrate the winding layer and the insulating resin layer. The laminate then is sliced along a plane forming an angle with the insulated wire in a desired film thickness.

Anisotropic conductive films have been widely used in the electronic industry as a connector for testing semiconductor devices and circuit boards, a connector of circuits between boards, a material for mounting a semiconductor device on a circuit board and the like. A known anisotropic conductive film is formed by dispersing conductive particles in a film made from an adhesive insulating resin. However, this anisotropic conductive film is subject to restriction because a fine pitch connection is difficult to achieve and a convex terminal (e.g., bump contact) is required as a connection terminal of a semiconductor element.
To solve this problem, the Applicant proposed, in WO98/07216 etc., an anisotropic conductive film having plural conductive paths insulated from each other and penetrating an insulating film substrate in the thickness direction of the film substrate. The proposed anisotropic conductive film contains plural conductive paths with both ends exposed on the surface of the film substrate made from an insulating resin, and, of these plural conductive paths, those located at the positions allowing contact with the termini of an object to be electrically conducted afford electrical continuity with this object.
However, a close study of the physical properties and the connection state of the connection mate of the anisotropic conductive film proposed above has revealed that the conductive path (metal conductor) in the film has a density higher than necessary, making the film hard to deform, which in turn tends to lower the follow-up property of the film to the connection target (particularly in the case of testing connectors, the degraded follow-up property of the film to the test target sometimes necessitates hard pressing of the film with a high pressure to bring a conductive path in contact with a terminal (electrode) of the test target), and that the density of the conductive path (metal conductor), which is higher than necessary, makes the amount of the insulating resin insufficient to provide an adhesive property when used as a material for mounting, thereby preventing sufficiently high adhesion to an object to be connected.
The above-mentioned conventional anisotropic conductive film is produced by winding plural insulated wires (metal conductor wires having a coating layer made from an insulating resin) around a core member to give a multi-layer roll with the insulated wires densely packed both in the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction, adhering coating layers to make the densely packed insulated wires inseparable, and slicing each insulated wire along the plane forming an angle with the wire section to give a film having a conductive path made of the metal conductor wires. By making thicker the coating layer of the insulated wire to be wound around the core member, the interval of the metal conductor wires (conductive paths) can be widened, which in turn lowers the density of the conductive paths in the film to some degree. While the coating layer can be made thick by repeat coating the metal conductor wires with an insulating resin, the cost necessary for this step is not small at all and the step is impractical. In addition, it is not that the thickness of the coating layer can be increased to any desired level, and the interval of the metal conductor wires (conductive paths) cannot be widened sufficiently. On the other hand, a comparatively large clearance may be formed between adjacent insulated wires when bundling the plural insulated wires and the coating layer of the insulated wires may be melted to widen the interval of the metal conductors. In this case, however, unnecessary voids are formed between the metal conductor wires in the film, thus lowering the strength of the film to the extent that it is not practicable.

Method of manufacturing an anisotropic conductive film


The present invention relates to certain substituted heterocycles of Formula (200),

Type 2 diabetes, also referred to as non-insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM), afflicts between 80 and 90% of all diabetic patients in developed countries. In the United States alone, approximately 15 million people, and more than 100 million worldwide, are affected. Because this disorder is a late onset disease and occurs often in overweight persons, it can be expected that the number of patients suffering from this disease will increase further. Patients suffering from type 2 diabetes usually still produce insulin but become increasingly resistant to their own insulin and to insulin therapy.
A new class of drugs has been recently introduced that resensitizes patients to their own insulin (insulin sensitizers), thereby reducing blood glucose and triglyceride levels, and thus abolishing, or at least reducing, the requirement for exogenous insulin. Troglitazone (Resulin™) and rosiglitazone (Avandia™) were among the first representatives of this class of drugs approved for the treatment of type 2 diabetes in the United States and several other countries. The currently approved compounds can however have side effects including rare but severe liver toxicities and they can increase body weight in humans. Such side effects are of major concern for diabetes patients who can require treatment for a decade or longer. Therefore, new and better drugs for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and related disorders are needed. In particular, drugs that can control blood sugar levels and simultaneously control hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia are desirable. Elevated levels of cholesterol lead to atherosclerosis and heart disease which in many type 2 diabetes patients is the cause of death.
There is also a need for the more effective drugs to treat diseases of uncontrolled cellular proliferation, such as cancers. Certain molecules that have strong cellular differentiation activity can inhibit the uncontrolled cellular proliferation of cancer cells, in particular breast cancer.
Small molecules that can be effective for the treatment of diabetes and/or disorders of carbohydrate metabolism were disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,515,003, issued Feb. 4, 2003, based on U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/652,810, filed Aug. 31, 2000, which claimed priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/151,670, filed Aug. 31, 1999. Related small molecules that can be useful in the treatment of certain cancers were disclosed in PCT Patent Application WO 01/16122, published Mar. 8, 2001, which claimed priority to the same U.S. Provisional Patent Application 60/151,670 cited above. The disclosures of all the above-described patent documents are hereby incorporated herein by this reference, for both their chemical structural disclosures, their teachings of the biological activities of those compounds, and methods for their use as pharmaceutical compositions.
There is however a continuing need for effective drugs for the treatment of cancers, and for the treatment of type 2 diabetes and associated disorders of carbohydrate and/or lipid metabolism, including hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia. In particular, there is a continuing need new drugs that can control the blood sugar levels of diabetics, and simultaneously control hyperlipidemia and hypercholesterolemia so as to lessen or prevent atherosclerosis.

Heterocyclic amide derivatives for the treatment of diabetes and other diseases

Abstract: wherein B, H, I, J and K together with the Ar5 form a ring containing at least one amide residue, and W, X, Y and Z together form a 2,4-thiazolidinedione, 2-thioxo-thiazolidine-4-one, 2,4-imidazolidinedione or 2-thioxo-imidazolidine-4-one residue; or a pharmaceutically acceptable salt thereof. The compounds are useful in the treatment of diseases such as type 2 diabetes, and related disorders of lipid and carbohydrate metabolism, including atherosclerosis. The compounds are also useful for treating diseases of uncontrolled proliferation, such as cancers in general, including breast cancer.


A method for operating an electronic device is provided. The method includes determining one or more images; determining at least one first sound sources; dividing the first sound source into a plurality of second sound sources; and inserting at least one of the plurality of the second sound sources into the one or more images.

1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to a method for inserting a watermark into an image and an electronic device thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the development of information communication technology and semiconductor technology, various electronic devices are capable of providing multimedia services, such as a voice call service, a video call service, a messenger service, a broadcast service, a wireless Internet service, a camera service, and a music playback service. In the electronic devices, multimedia information is frequently stored and transmitted in a digital form.
When digital information is duplicated, it is difficult to distinguish original digital information from duplicated digital information. Therefore, security of digital information managed and transmitted by an electronic device is weak.

Method for inserting watermark to image and electronic device thereof


A load conformable tarp includes a plurality of strap adjustment assemblies for adjusting the effective length of associated adjusting straps. Each adjustment strap assembly includes an adjustment assembly for adjusting the length of an associated adjustment strap, as well as a locking mechanism for securing a free end of the adjusting strap, the other end being fixed with respect to the tarp base material. Each adjustment assembly preferably includes a pulley throughwhich one end of the adjustable strap is looped, one end of the adjustment strap preferably being fixed to the base material, the other end being free and configured to be engaged in various positions by the locking mechanism, thus forming an adjustable strap loop of variable size. The adjustment mechanism more preferably includes a sheath to cover the adjustable strap loop, and tension members running from the pulley and the locking mechanism, respectively, to the periphery of the tarp, where they terminate in anchors which can be used to secure the tarp. The invention further includes a device for retrofitting existing, non-load conformable tarps, to make them load-conformable. The device includes all of the features of the load conforming tarp, but instead of attaching the strap adjustment apparatus to the tarp or base material, it is attached to a backing material which can itself be attached to tarp base material.

When a load is carried in a truck or the like, it is often desirable, and frequently required by law, that the load be covered. Typically loads are covered with a tarpaulin (or "tarp," as will be used herein). An example is the hauling of garden debris in a pick-up truck, where it is desirable to cover the load with a tarp to prevent debris from blowing out of the bed of the truck and onto the road. Current tarpaulins available on the market can be difficult to secure over loads. Often tarps will billow due to the lowering of pressure on the outside of the tarp from air velocity over the tarp, as a result of the velocity of the truck. Not only does such billowing result in poor securing of the load, but it is hard on the tarp, it is noisy, is visually distracting, and reduces fuel mileage due to increased wind resistance.
Products to date for covering loads have either focused on restraining items such as ropes and elastic shock cords (or Bungee cords), or covering items such as fixed size tarps. Restraining items alone may be insufficient to secure the load, and do not protect the load from weather. The use of Bungee cords or ropes in conjunction with a fixed size tarp for securing a load fails to be effective when the dynamic effects of the wind during transportation cause the tarp to pull out from under the cord, or by reason of the fixed size tarp being difficult to secure in a uniform manner.
Thus, what is needed is an effective way to secure a tarp about a load during transportation.


A footwear has a thermochromic coloring color-memory layer having a large hysteresis on a color-density-to-temperature curve so as to show interchangeability between a first color phase and a second color phase different from the first color phase, and a coloring tool for forming a desired image on the footwear.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a thermochromic coloring color-memory footwear and a footwear having a coloring tool for forming a desired image thereon. Particularly, the present invention relates to footwear which changes the phase of the footwear surface interchangeably and visibly between two phases depending on temperature changes, and memorizes either one of the phases in a normal temperature range visibly, and a cooling or heating coloring tool for forming a desired image or making the desired image disappear on the surface of the footwear.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, some proposals have been disclosed about footwear such as shoes or the like colored with reversible thermochromic coloring material (Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. Sho-57-131105, and Japanese Utility Model Unexamined Publication No. Sho-58-12302).
In the above-mentioned conventional thermochromic coloring footwear, its color changes before and after a color-change point as a boundary so that only a specific one of the phases before and after the change can exit at room temperature. That is, when the thermochromic coloring footwear is in the other phase, the thermochromic coloring footwear returns its phase at room temperature if the application of heat or cool required for providing the other phase is eliminated. Accordingly, even if interest or surprise in color change is given indeed, it is not possible to memorize a desiredly selected one of the two phases before and after the change in a room temperature range.

Thermochromic coloring color-memory footwear


The invention relates to nucleic acid clamps and methods for using nucleic acid clamps, for example, to inhibit gene expression or cleavage, or to specifically cleave a target nucleic acid. Nucleic acid clamps are molecular devices which can bind nucleic acids with affinity and specificity and have a recognition sequence as small as seven bases. Nucleic acid clamps can be used to modify the effective recognition sequence of restriction endonucleases, reducing the frequency and enhancing the length of the recognition sequence, but without diminishing specificity. The invention also relates to methods for the use of nucleic acid clamps for the treatment of disorders involving abnormal gene expression.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to nucleic acid clamps that are capable of binding to nucleic acids with high sequence specificity and affinity. The invention also relates to methods of using nucleic acid clamps for the protection and for the selective cleavage of nucleic acids, for the regulation of gene expression and for the treatment of disorders.
2. Description of the Background
Although the structure of the nucleic acid molecule has been known for over 40 years, nucleic acid sequencing has only recently become routine. One of the most important discoveries, which made nucleic acid sequencing practical, was the development of techniques for sequence specific cleavage of nucleic acids. In fact, many molecular biology techniques, including cloning, sequencing, polymorphic loci analysis, restriction profiling, involve nucleic acid cleavage as a required part of the overall protocol.
The most common sequence specific nucleic acid cleavage technique in use today is restriction endonuclease digestion. Restriction endonucleases are one part of a multi-enzyme restriction-modification system (R-M system) used by bacteria to defend itself against foreign nucleic acids. This system protects the organism by digesting foreign nucleic acids found within the cell. Entry of foreign nucleic acid is often the consequence of viral infection or phagocytosis. Restriction endonucleases recognize, bind and cleave a specific sequence, the recognition sequence, of four to eight nucleotide base pairs of double-stranded DNA. Bacterial genomes can be protected from digestion by the specific methylation of recognition sequences, for example, at adenine (A) or cytosine (C) residues by bacterial methylases. Recognition sequences in foreign DNA are generally not methylated and, therefore, can be efficiently cleaved.
The utility of restriction endonucleases to molecular biology has prompted a massive hunt for additional members of this enzyme family. As a result, more than 10,000 prokaryotes have been screened and around 2500 enzymes have been found exhibiting more than 200 distinct recognition sequences (Fasman, ed., CRC Practical Handbook of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, CRC Press, Cleveland Ohio, 1990). Virtually every group of prokaryotes and at least one type of virus contains members that include a restriction endonuclease system.
The restriction-modification system, also referred to as the host-specificity (HS) system, modifies a bacterium's own DNA in a characteristic pattern and degrades or restricts those DNA molecules which lack that distinctive pattern. Degradation of unmodified foreign DNA effectively prevents infection of bacteria by episomes and viruses. Not surprisingly, all restriction-modification systems have at least two features in common, a restriction activity and a modification activity. Modification typically involves methylation of the 6-amino group of adenine residues N4 and C5 of cytosine residues. Sequences comprising the methylated bases are protected from cleavage from restriction endonuclease. As methylase inactivates recognition sites, but not the nuclease, protection of DNA requires methylation of every recognition sequence in a host genome. Some restriction endonucleases are not inhibited by methylation whereas others require methylation for cleavage. Such enzymes protect cells by cleaving foreign DNA which is already methylated.
Restriction activity typically involves at least three types of restriction endonucleases referred to as type I, type II or type III endonucleases. Type I and type III restriction endonucleases contain methylase and nuclease activities in one polypeptide whereas type II restriction endonucleases have no intrinsic associated methylation activity. Methylation activity resides in a distinct polypeptide which generally has the same sequence specificity as the endonuclease. Type II restriction endonucleases recognize a specific and symmetrical cleavage sequence of four to eight nucleotides and generally cut within this recognition sequence. The probability that a given restriction endonuclease will cleave at a site is approximately equal to four to the power of the length of the recognition sequence. Thus, a restriction endonuclease with a recognition site of 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 base pairs will cleave on the average once every 256, 1024, 4096, 16384 or 65536 base pairs, respectively.
Restriction endonucleases generate double-stranded breaks of a DNA molecule. Typically, this will lead to cell death when repair of the break cannot take place. Unlike type I and type III endonucleases, type II restriction endonuclease is found in virtually every group of prokaryotes. Of the more than 400 type II restriction endonuclease discovered, most have recognition sites of about six base pairs in length. Only a few restriction enzymes have a recognition site of eight base pairs.
DNA methylases can be used to alter the apparent recognition specificity of restriction endonucleases. Unique cleavage specificities may be created in the laboratory by methylating DNA sequences which overlap the recognition site of a restriction endonuclease. These modified sequences are resistant to cleavage by restriction endonucleases. If the recognition sequence of a restriction endonuclease is degenerate, a methylase may be used to modify a subset of the recognition sequence. For example, Hinc II nuclease recognizes the sequences GTCGAC, GTCAAC, GTTGAC and GTTAAC. Taq I methylase methylates the sequence TCGA at the A residue. If DNA is initially methylated with Taq I methylase, those Hinc II recognition sequences containing TCGA, namely GTCGAC, will be resistant to subsequent cleavage by Hinc II.
Another type of methylation modification occurs at the boundaries of the recognition sequence of a restriction endonuclease and a methylase. For example, a Bam HI site (GGATCC) followed by GG or preceded by CC (i.e., GGATCCGG or CCGGATCC) is a Bam HI site which overlaps a Msp I methylase site (CCGG). Treatment of DNA with Msp I methylase followed by Bam HI endonuclease results in cleavage of all Bam HI sites except GGATCCGG and CCGGATCC. A third method to alter restriction cleavage sites involves the use of restriction endonuclease which only cleaves methylated sites. For example, DNA is first methylated with Taq I methylase that has a recognition site of TCGA. A DNA sequence comprising two or more concatenated Taq I sites (TCGATCGA) will form a Dpn I site (GATC) at the junction. Dpn I is specific only for methylated site and, thus, forms an effective cleavage specificity of two or more Taq sites.
Another method capable of altering the specificity of restriction endonuclease involves the use of PNA, also referred to as peptide nucleic acid or polyamide nucleic acid analog. PNAs are synthetic nucleic acid analogs which can hybridize to form double-stranded structures in a similar fashion as natural nucleic acids. When a PNA strand only contains thymine and cytosine and it can hybridize to homopurine DNA to form a double-strand structure. A second PNA strand can hybridize to this double-strand to form a triple-stranded structure.
Lacking charge and directionality, PNA can bind to DNA in both the sense or antisense orientation. PNA.sub.2 -DNA or PNA.sub.2 -RNA has sufficient stability to specifically interfere with DNA recognizing proteins such as methylases, endonucleases, polymerases and transcription factors. PNA may be used to block specific sites on DNA during restriction methylation. After methylation the PNA may be removed and the previously protected sites may be digested with restriction endonuclease. Unprotected sites, methylated by the methylase, will be resistant to attack by nuclease.
Intronic nucleases, while capable of cutting DNA with a reduced frequency are not useful as their choice of cleavage sites are difficult to predict. Some genes of mitochondrial, chloroplast and nuclear DNA and the T-even bacteriophages contain introns that encode endonucleases. The highly degenerate recognition sites for these endonucleases have not been precisely determined. However, the effective cutting frequency is typically one cut per about one million to about 16 million base pairs. The considerable degeneracy of intronic nucleases cleavage sites reduces their general utility for many techniques in molecular biology.
Recent advances in molecular techniques, such as pulsed field electrophoresis and yeast artificial chromosomes, have made the analysis of DNA molecules of up to several million base pairs possible. The ability to physically manipulate large DNA molecules have created new opportunities for molecular biology and placed new demands on restriction endonucleases with a cutting frequency in the range of about one in a million to one in a billion or more.


An apparatus, method, and system for inserting and securing a high pressure transition tube of a fluid transfer tool assembly into a positive position whereby the seal element is packed off in the wellhead set point. Once attached the transition tube is pushed to contact the bit guide, secondary seal or bore machine prep. A lower nose compression seal is seated against transition tube and compressed using an energizer seal to isolate and protect lower pressure wellhead and well control equipment from the higher rated frack pressures or pushing the transition tube and lower nose isolation compression seal to contact the bit guide, secondary seal or bore prep. Pressure is applied to push a seal against the lower and upper compression ring locking them in place preventing movement to form a compression seal and isolating the high pressure passing through the transition tube protecting the wellhead assembly and well control equipment.

The presently claimed invention relates to oil and gas drilling systems, and more particularly to systems for insertion tools, for inserting and securing a high-pressure transition tube of a fluid/gas, and a transfer tool apparatus assembly into a positive position in which the seal element is packed off in the wellhead set point. The claimed invention can be used for the process of fracking, a method developed and used to crack open the formation at high pressures and to help the stimulations of oil and gas well production, and a tool, apparatus, and a configuration equipment and method for protecting frack containment and control equipment and wellhead from exposure to pressures higher than the pre-design operating range and from the abrasive and or corrosive fluids during well fracturing and pumping procedures.
Wells require some form of stimulation called fracking to stimulate production and make or keep them productive. The fracking of oil and gas wells formations to stimulate production requires that high pressure pumping equipment be used to inject fluids, chemicals, and sands at high pressures. The frack fluids are generally corrosive and abrasive because of acids and abrasives used to open cracks in the formations with special sand.
New technology and methods as well as safety and environmental regulations that are being adopted industry wide cannot be accomplished with the lower pressure frack containment equipment, Blowout Preventers (BOPs) or through a valve attached to the wellhead. The practice of fracking or pumping through BOPs equipment, valves or wellheads at pressures higher that the pre-engineered design pressure rating has been determined to be unsafe and is no longer Standard Operating Practice (SOP).
This method was adopted because it was the only way to have full access to a well casing bore with down-hole tools during the well fracking or servicing. The industry's known methods and technologies indicate that new methods must be developed to acquire full bore access to well bore at much higher pressures. Full bore access to the casing permits use of down-hole tools that are often required during a frack stimulation treatment without having to remove tools or equipment between multi-stage frack stimulation, as was required with older style conventional wellhead isolation tools such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,243, entitled WELLHEAD ISOLATION TOOL AND SETTING AND METHOD OF USING SAME.
An apparatus for providing full access to the casing while permitting stimulation treatments at extreme pressures that approach a burst pressure rating of the casing is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,289,993, entitled BLOWOUT PREVENTER PROTECTION AND SETTING TOOL.
Another reference describes an apparatus and method of isolating a well tree located on an oil or gas well from the effects of high pressure or corrosion caused by stimulation of a well is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,867,243 entitled WELLHEAD ISOLATION TOOL AND SETTING TOOL AND METHOD OF USING SAME. This reference describes an apparatus to permit the injection of fluids, gases, solid particles, or mixtures through a well tree while protecting the well tree during well stimulation treatments. The apparatus includes a single hydraulic cylinder supported in an axial alignment over a well tree by at least two elongated support rods. The hydraulic cylinder support rods are connected between a base plate and a hydraulic cylinder support plate for supporting the hydraulic cylinder above the well tree at a distance approximately equal to the height of the production tree.
This device permits the insertion of a single length of high pressure tubing through any well tree regardless of its height. Once the high-pressure tubing is seated in a well tubing or casing, the hydraulic cylinder, hydraulic cylinder plate, and support rods are removed to provide 360 degrees of access to a high-pressure valve attached to the top of the high-pressure tubing. The bottom end of the high-pressure tubing has a packoff nipple assembly that is inserted into the production tubing or casing and seals against the inner wall. Thus, the extent to which the high pressure tubing extends into the production tubing or casing is unimportant so long as the packoff nipple assembly is sealed against the inner wall. Consequently, variations in the length of the production tree are of no consequence and a lockdown mechanism with a short reach is adequate. Therefore, there exists a need for a mechanical lockdown mechanism that provides a broad range of adjustment to permit packoff with a fixed packoff surface in a wellhead.

Variable high pressure transition tube set point adapter


A method for matching a pair of matched bipolar transistors in an integrated circuit is disclosed. Within a device, it is determined which transistor is a correctable transistor of the pair of bipolar transistors. The correctable transistor is the transistor of the pair of bipolar transistors having a chosen characteristic which when electrically stressed will converge with a chosen characteristic of the other transistor of the pair of bipolar transistors. The pair of bipolar transistors are matched by electrically stressing the correctable transistor of the bipolar transistors.

Technical Field
This disclosure relates to integrated circuit devices, and more specifically, to matching of a bipolar transistor pair through electrical stress.
Background of the Related Art
In modern integrated circuitry in semiconductor chips, there are many circuits which depend upon a matched pair of transistors. Matched transistor pairs are utilized in differential and instrumentation amplifiers, logarithmic amplifiers and comparators. Another type of circuit using matched transistor pairs is a class of circuit called a current mirror. A current mirror is a circuit designed to copy a current through one active device by controlling the current in another active device of a circuit, keeping the output current constant regardless of loading.
Current mirrors using bipolar junction transistors, or more commonly bipolar transistors, depend on accurate matching of the characteristics of the bipolar pair used in the circuit. One of the more important characteristics is Vbe. Vbe is the voltage that falls between the base and emitter of a bipolar transistor. One example of a mirror circuit using matched bipolar transistors is a Wilson current mirror. A Wilson current mirror is a three-terminal circuit that accepts an input current at the input terminal and provides a "mirrored" current source or sink output at the output terminal.
Due to manufacturing tolerances, the bipolar transistors possess a variation in Vbe and other characteristics. To achieve good current mirroring, the Vbe of both transistors should be matched within a certain accuracy. In the prior art, to compensate for transistor mismatch, circuits usually use an electrical compensation or tuning method to match the currents of the two bipolar transistors used in a mirror. These methods use some sort of electrical circuit to compensate for the Vbe mismatch.

Matching of bipolar transistor pair through electrical stress

International Business Machines Corporation


A method, computer system, and computer program product for viewing preferences identification are provided. The embodiment may include receiving, by a processor, a plurality of data related to a user profile. The embodiment may also include collecting user interaction information from a streaming content service. The embodiment may further include analyzing the user habits and patterns based on the collected user interaction information. The embodiment may also include comparing the habits and patterns with the received user profile. The embodiment may further include prompting a user to confirm an identity associated with the user profile when there is a match between the user profile and the habits and patterns.

The present invention relates, generally, to the field of computing, and more particularly to streaming technologies.
Streaming is a technology for transferring data to computers and mobile devices over the internet. Streaming media is video or audio content sent in compressed form over the internet and played immediately, rather than being saved to a hard drive. A user does not need to wait to download a file to play streaming media as the media is sent in a continuous stream of data so that it can play as it arrives. There is only an initial, negligible waiting period as the file is buffered. Streaming media is much faster than viewing audio or visual content in the conventional matter, where all the media needs to be downloaded by a viewer completely before viewing it. Typically, users can pause, rewind or fast-forward the file. The other major difference between streaming and downloads is what happens to the data after a user uses it. For downloads, the data is stored on the user device until the user deletes it. For streams, the data is automatically deleted after a user uses it.

Deriving and identifying view preferences of a user consuming streaming content

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


The invention relates to a method for determining the rotor position of a stationary or slowly rotating synchronous machine by evaluating electrical test pulses that are obtained by applying voltage pulses to the individual phase windings of the stator, wherein changes in the inductance of the phase windings which are caused by saturation of the stator iron depending on the rotor position, are determined in opposite directions or current by calculating differences in the amount of current of two test pulses, and angle values being predetermined by the number of the phase windings are associated with the differences in the amount of current.

The present invention relates to a method for determining the rotor position of a stationary or slowly rotating synchronous machine by evaluating electrical test pulses that are obtained by applying voltage pulses to the individual phase windings of the stator, wherein changes in the inductance of the phase windings which are caused by saturation of the stator iron depending on the rotor position, are determined in opposite directions of current by calculating differences in the amount of current of two test pulses, and angle values being predetermined by the number of the phase windings are associated with the differences in the amount of current.
A method of this type is e.g. disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,172,498 B1 being titled 'Method and Apparatus for Rotor Angle Detection'. When the prior art method is implemented, test pulses of opposite polarity are applied to the individual phase windings of the stator, and difference values are produced from the pulses' amplitudes which are used to determine the general rotor position and, subsequently, to determine a correction value used to correct the general rotor position.
It is disadvantageous in this method that the residual magnetism of the stator iron being induced by the test pulses influences in each case the following test pulse so that the initial rotor position is not determined with a sufficient rate of accuracy, with the result that the measuring accuracy of the method is highly impaired.

Method for determining the rotor position of a synchronous machine

Abstract: To enhance the measuring accuracy of the method, the invention provides that prior to the first test pulse Imeas1, a bias pulse Ibias whose polarity is inverted in relation to the first pulse Imeas1 is generated, with the switch-on times t1 of the associated voltage pulses Ubias and −Umeas1 being equal, and in that the respectively first test pulse Imeas1 generated in the corresponding phase winding (U, V, W) acts as a bias pulse in the same phase winding (U, V, W).


A payment card transaction notification and authorization system provides a notification message to a payment card holder of an attempted transaction using his/her payment card. The system provides multiple options for the payment card holder to decline authorization of the attempted transaction. The multiple options comprise a first option for the payment card holder to decline authorization of an undesirable but non-fraudulent transaction, and a second option for the payment card holder to decline authorization of a fraudulent transaction.

Fraudulent payment card charges are a concern for many consumers. The fear of fraud inhibits many consumers from making electronic commerce transactions, e.g. via the Internet. One factor that contributes to the fear is the delay between a fraudulent transaction and the receipt of a bill. Because of the delay, fraudulent transactions can go unchecked for up to a month.

Multiple options to decline authorization of payment card charges


A technique for managing the streaming of digital video content to multiple clients involves identifying an attribute of a content element that is streamed to a client and selecting a protection mechanism for the content element as a function of the attribute, wherein the protection mechanism enables streaming of the content element to the clients in the event of a resource failure. In an example, the identified attribute is an indication of the popularity of the content element (e.g., as measured by the number of active streams), such that the protection mechanism is selected as a function of the popularity of the content element. In an embodiment, protection mechanisms that offer a higher level of protection are selected for the more popular content elements and protection mechanisms that offer a lower level of protection are selected for the less popular content elements.

Digital video content can now be streamed to multiple clients in real-time over traditional cable television and telephone networks, both of which are being leveraged by service providers to provide more attractive and varied services to customers. In order for a streaming video service to be commercially successful, it must be able to recover from resource failures that will inevitably occur. To recover from resource failures, streaming networks are typically equipped with backup equipment. In the event of a resource failure, all of the affected streams of digital video content are switched over to the backup equipment in the same manner. Switching all of the affected streams of digital video content over to the backup equipment in the same manner results in the all the streamed digital video content being protected to the same level. Although this approach works well, as the quantity and variety of streamed digital video content grows, the resources needed to provide the same level of protection for all the streamed digital video content can become costly and may limit the ability of the network to scale up to support more streams and/or a greater variety of digital video content.

Stream control failover utilizing an attribute-dependent protection mechanism


A vehicle stowage assembly including a storage compartment defining an opening to permit access to the compartment. A door is movably mounted proximate the opening. An actuator is operably connected to the door to move the door from an open position to a closed position. After the door has been opened, the actuator automatically closes the door after a predefined period of time has passed from the time at which the door was opened. The stowage assembly may include a mechanical timer or an electronic controller. The actuator may comprise a spring that biases the door towards the closed position, or the actuator may comprise an electric motor or other powered actuator. The assembly may include a sensor to prevent closure while in use and delay closing time.

Motor vehicles may include various stowage compartments such as glove boxes, sunglass holders, storage trays, or the like. Such stowage assemblies may be located in a vehicle interior, or, in some cases, a vehicle exterior. Such storage compartments may include a door that can be opened and closed by a user, and the door may include a lock to prevent unauthorized access to the storage compartment. However, known storage compartments may suffer from various drawbacks.

Automatic closing arrangement for vehicle stowage compartments


A tie-down rail for a truck bed including spaced apart sidewalls each having a top ledge. The rail comprises a tubular body having a linear portion, an intermediate portion extending from the linear portion, and an angular portion extending from the intermediate portion to form an angle with a longitudinal axis parallel with the linear portion. The linear portion, intermediate portion and angular portion have substantially identical cross-sectional profile. The rail is preferably illuminatable and includes at least one light source to light the interior of the rail. The lighting source preferably includes an illumatable wiring harness having a platform, a bulb receiving portion, and an electrical wire receiving portion. The platform is configured to maintain the wiring harness in an installed position with respect to the rail.

1. Field of the Invention.
The present invention relates generally to tie-down rails for the sidewall of a truck bed, and more particularly to illuminatable tubular tie-down rails having safety marking capabilities.
2. Description of the Related Art.
Trucks are commonly equipped with various tie-down devices for securing items being transported in the bed of the truck. One form of tie-down device includes a hook mounted in each corner of the bed of the truck to which ropes, elastic cords, cable or other types of tie-down straps (hereinafter collectively referred to as "tie-downs cords") may be attached to secure the items within the bed of the truck. Alternatively, some truck beds include holes extending through the top ledge of the sidewall of the truck bed for receiving posts which are useful for increasing the effective height of the sidewalls. Rope, netting or panels may be attached to the posts to form vertical extensions of the sidewalls of the truck bed for retaining the load.
Yet another form of tie-down device includes tie-down rails, which are mounted along the top ledges of the sidewalls of the bed of the truck. Tie-down rails typically extend the length of the truck bed and provide a structure or frame to which tie-down cords may be attached. Accordingly, tie-down cords may be extended from side-to-side across the top of the truck bed and tied or attached to the tie-down rail to secure the load.
One drawback associated with many of the commercially available tie-down rails is that they are primarily decorative in nature; thus, they are not designed to withstand the tensile forces to which they are subjected when tie-down cords are stretched tautly across the bed of the truck.
Another drawback associated with many of the commercially available tie-down rails is that they do not include means for retaining the tie-down cords at desired positions along the length of the rail. For example, unless the tie-down rail includes a plurality of spaced apart stanchions or some other retaining means intermediate the ends of the rail, the tie-down cords that are wrapped around or attached to the rail have a tendency to creep along the length of the rail during transport, often causing the load to shift or to become unsecured.
Yet another drawback associated with many tie-down rails is that they are not adaptable to different models of trucks having different configurations. The rail typically includes a plate extending laterally from each end and configured to rest flush against the top ledge of the sidewall of the truckbed. The plate includes a plurality of bores through which fasteners are received to attach the rail to the sidewall. The ledges of the sidewalls of many models of trucks include stake pockets or openings for attaching tie-down rails. However, the length of the ledge or the spacing between the stake pockets or "standard holes" varies among manufacturers. The standard holes are the apertures formed in the sidewall of the truck bed on the top ledge and extend through to top ledge to be used as receptacles for ropes and other tie down articles, or even posts associated with campers that mount to the back of pickup truck. The standard holes are positioned at various locations along the sidewall of the vehicle usually by the manufacturer. The number of such holes may vary depending upon the make of vehicle. For instance, the number and location of the standard holes is known to differ between comparably sized trucks of differing make. Thus, many variations of commercially available tie-down rails must be manufactured in a variety of lengths and configurations in order to accommodate the different manufacturers or models of trucks having different standard holes.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,650,382, granted to Johnson and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to an elongated unitary tie-down rail for a truck bed comprising a bottom flange and an upright flange formed at an acute angle. The top portion of the upright flange terminates in an enlarged elongated rod portion, and a plurality of longitudinally spaced slots are formed in the upright flange immediately below the rod portion to receive tie-down members for securing a load within the truck bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,259,711, granted to Beck and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to a tie-down apparatus having a composite overlying double track on which a car is slidably carried on the topmost track and securement fasteners carried in the lowermost track secure the double track to a supporting rail or truck bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,954,031, granted to Geeck, III and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein is directed to a tie rail device composed of a linear body, one flat portion of which can be fastened to the top of the truckbed sidewall of a pickup truck or to the top of its tail gate or to the top of the gunwales of a boat. Another portion of the device extends outwardly from the vehicle and serves as point(s) of attachment for the straps or cords.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,936,724, granted to Dutton and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to a truck box top molding comprising slotted tails having outwardly extending flange resting on the top of the truck box. The rails are fastened to the box by screws extending through holes in the rails and outwardly into the inside wall of the truck box at the sides and ends. There are longitudinally spaced slots in the rail above the flange.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,228,736, granted to Dutton and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to a truck box top molding comprising rails having an outwardly extending base resting on the top of the truck box. The rails are fastened to the box by screws extending through holes in the rails and outwardly into the inside wall of the truck box at the sides and ends. An upstanding, longitudinally-extending flange in an internal cavity in each of the side rails receives the hooked outer end of longitudinally movable anchors having clamping screws with knurled knobs thereon to clamp the anchors to the rails in any of an infinite number of possible positions longitudinally of the rails.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,014, granted to Wicker and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to an articulated rigid cover assembly for truck beds comprising a flexible waterproof canvas cover overlying a plurality of elongated metal panels hingedly joined to form a cover assembly. The cover assembly is foldably mounted between a pair of guide tracks which are attached to the upper surface of the side walls of the truck bed. The tracks are attached to the side walls by bolts which are concealed from the exterior of the closed truck bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,604,013, granted to Elwell et al. and incorporated by reference as if fully set forth herein, is directed to a vehicle side rail assembly comprising a tread plate adapted to fit over the upper wall of a pickup truck; tubular, open-ended side rail having a portion disposed parallel to and spaced above the tread plate with end portions engaging the tread plate; the bottom wall of the rail split longitudinally to form a slot and having an angular seat formed by shoulders in the bottom wall; a plurality of angular and tubular spacers adapted to fit in a nested manner into the shoulder seat at any location there along and to engage the tread plate; and carriage bolt fasteners slidingly engaged with the rail by the slot and insertable through the spacers, the tread plate and the side panel wall to fasten the assembly to the side panel, the fasteners being hidden from view.
Until now, it is believed that a tubular tie-down rail having a flat top surface, internal structural flanges, safety marking capability, illuminatable capability, the ability to have a universal device attachable to a variety of truck bed standard hole configurations, and attachment means for accommodating a variety of truck bed configurations, has not been invented.


A bicycle derailleur includes a base member, a movable member supporting a chain guide, and a first link having first and second ends. The first end of the first link is movably mounted to the base member, and the second end of the first link is movably mounted to the movable member. A bias spring exerts a bias spring force on one side of a longitudinal axis of the first link and directed away from the movable member, and a control element is coupled to the first link for exerting a control element force on an opposite side of the longitudinal axis of the first link and directed away from the movable member. The spring and control element forces thus act primarily on the connection between the first link and the base member, thus relieving the forces from the connections between other derailleur components.

The present invention is directed to bicycle derailleurs and, more specifically, to a bicycle derailleur having links pivotably mounted to a base member and a movable member through pivot pins where bearings are disposed at selected ones of the pivot pins.
FIG. 1 is a conceptual drawing of a conventional bicycle derailleur 10. Derailleur 10 includes a base member 14, a movable member 18, and links 22 and 24 coupling movable member 18 to base member 14 so that movable member 18 is capable of movement relative to base member 14. Base member 14 ordinarily is fixed to a bicycle frame (not shown), and movable member 18 ordinarily supports a chain guide (not shown) for moving a chain across a plurality of sprockets (not shown). Link 22 is pivotably coupled to base member 14 through a pivot pin 28 and to movable member 18 through a pivot pin 32. Similarly, link 24 is pivotably coupled to base member 14 through a pivot pin 36 and to movable member 18 through a pivot pin 40. Base member 14, movable member 18 and links 22 and 24 thus form a four-bar type linkage mechanism which, in this case, is in the form of a parallelogram. A bias spring 44 may be connected between diagonal corners of the linkage mechanism formed by base member 14, movable member 18 and links 22 and 24 to create a biasing force F.sub.B which biases movable member 18 in a desired direction. In FIG. 1, base member 14 is stationary, so movable member 18 is biased upward when bias spring 44 is connected as shown.
Since bias spring 44 is connected between diagonal comers of the linkage mechanism, substantial spring force is applied to all four pivot points located at pivot pins 28, 32, 36 and 40, thus creating enhanced friction at each pivot pin. To compensate for such friction, a bearing 50 is mounted around pivot pin 28 between pivot pin 28 and link 22, a bearing 54 is mounted around pivot pin 32 between pivot pin 32 and link 22, a bearing 58 is mounted around pivot pin 36 between pivot pin 36 and link 24, and a bearing 62 is mounted around pivot pin 40 between pivot pin 40 and link 24. While bearings 50, 54, 58 and 62 help to overcome the friction between pivot pins 28, 32, 36 and 40 and links 22 and 24, the bearings make the cost of the derailleur much greater.

Bicycle derailleur having operating forces disposed on opposite sides of a link pivot


An automated immunoassay analyzer includes a computer controlled instrument (10) and display (16). The display (16) provides a real-time presentation of all operations being performed within the instrument (10). A large number of samples can be loaded into the instrument (10), and the order of testing the samples can be rearranged according to a priority determined by the operator at any time. A wide variety of immunoassays can be performed on each sample and several different immunoassays can be performed on any one sample. Information related to the type of immunoassays being performed on particular samples is collected by a bar code reader (44) and this information is conveyed to the computer (12) for presentation on the display (16). The computer (12) tracks the progress of each immunoassay through the reaction circuit to the detection station (46). The time to completion for particular immunoassays as well as the concentration information for recently completed immunoassays is provided in a readily usable format. The immunoassay automation process is improved by performing the washing operation with an assay tube (26) which allows water to be expelled by centrifugal forces generated by rotating the tube about its longitudinal axis; rather, than by using more conventional aspirating equipment. Bound label is detected by chemiluminescence using a photomultiplier tube (96).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to automated immunoassay analyzers and, more particularly, to an automated immunoassay analyzer which provides a scientist or technician with an easily understandable presentation of all of the operations occurring within the analyzer at any time.
2. Description of the Prior Art
An immunoassay is a well known laboratory method used to determine the amount of an analyte in a sample such as plasma or urine. It is based on the interaction of antibodies with antigens, and because of the degree of selectivity for the analyte (either antigen or antibody), an immunoassay can be used to quantitatively determine very low concentrations of drugs, hormones, polypeptides, or other compounds found in a test sample. For many years, immunoassays were performed by hand by trained laboratory technicians.
Recently, many companies have begun producing automated immunoassay analyzers. Automating the immunoassay procedures has been difficult because of the large number of steps which need to be performed. For example, a sample is mixed with a reagent and a solid support having a bound antigen or antibody, the sample is incubated such that the corresponding antigen or antibody in the sample and a labelled antigen or antibody provided in the reagent can be bound to the antigen or antibody on the solid support, then the solid support is thoroughly washed and the label (fluorescent, radioactive, chemiluminescent, or the like) is detected by an appropriate mechanism, and finally the analyte of interest (antigen or antibody) is quantified from the detected label.
One of the chief stumbling blocks for performing the automated immunoassay has been the step of thoroughly washing the solid support. In immunoassays, it is essential that the free label and bound label be completely separated prior to detection of the bound label or erroneous results will occur. Many of today's automated immunoassay analyzers utilize high speed pipetting and aspirating stations for the washing operation. Pipetting and aspirating wash fluid into and out of a sample container requires a large number of mechanized parts. Moreover, it is very difficult to completely remove all sample and wash fluid from a reaction chamber via aspiration; therefore, an automated system which uses such a wash station may be subject to some detection errors.
Most of today's automated immunoassay analyzers are designed for "walk away" operation. That is, a technician loads sample containing tubes onto a carousel and presses a start button. Thereafter, the automated immunoassay analyzer mixes appropriate reagents (which are often stored on-board the analyzer) with the sample, performs incubating and washing operations, detects the label, and computes the quantity of analyte in the sample from the detected label and stored calibration curves. The entire operation is typically done under computer control, and in some automated immunoassay analyzers, bar coding is used to identify the sample under test. The results of the immunoassays are typically output onto computer paper for inspection by the technician. Hence, the technician is free to perform other functions around the laboratory while the analyzer is functioning. In addition, the immunoassays may be performed overnight without the supervision of the technician.
Since most automated immunoassay analyzers have been designed with the thought in mind that the immunoassay will be performed unattended and the results examined later, they do not optimally serve the operational needs of most scientists and technicians. That is, most scientists and technicians would like to check the operation of an instrument periodically and have an understanding of the functions being performed. Having knowledge of PG,6 some test data while the analyzer is still performing other operations on the remaining test samples, as well as an understanding of when a particular task will be finished by the analyzer, often helps scientists or technicians plan their investigations for that day. If interesting results are noted early in the morning, then the scientist or technician can channel his or her efforts immediately, rather than being required to wait until the entire batch of assays is completed. Moreover, If the scientist or technician needs to know results quickly, it would be ideal for him or her to be able to determine when an immunoassay will be completed by the analyzer and be able to prioritize certain immunoassays over others remaining to be performed.

Automated immunoassay analyzer with pictorial display of assay information