In an ASIC element, vias are integrated into the CMOS processing of an ASIC substrate. The ASIC element includes an active front side in which the circuit functions are implemented. The at least one via is intended to establish an electrical connection between the active front side and the rear side of the element. The front side of the via is defined by at least one front-side trench which is completely filled, and the rear side is defined by at least one rear-side trench which is not completely filled. The rear-side trench opens into the filled front-side trench.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an ASIC element including an active front side, in which circuit functions are implemented, and including at least one via, which establishes an electrical connection between the active front side and the rear side of the element.
2. Description of the Related Art
Of particular significance is the use of ASIC elements including vias in the context of vertically integrated hybrid components. Such components generally include multiple different elements, which are installed one above the other in the form of a chip stack. Advantageously, the different functionalities of the elements of a component usually complement one another to achieve an application. The electrical connection between the individual elements of a vertically integrated hybrid component and also its external contacting are frequently achieved with the aid of vias, which is advantageous both for reasons of miniaturization and in the 2nd level assembly. The elements, which are combined in a vertically integrated hybrid component, may be MEMS elements having a micromechanical functionality as well as ASIC elements having a purely circuitry-wise functionality. In connection with vertically integrated hybrid components, ASIC elements are also used frequently for capping the micromechanical structure of an MEMS element. For example, vertically integrated hybrid inertial sensor components including a micromechanical sensor element and an ASIC element are known, into which the evaluation circuit for the sensor signals is integrated. In these inertial sensor components, the ASIC element is installed above the sensor structure of the MEMS element and seals it against environmental influences.
A number of implementation concepts for vias in ASIC elements are known from the related art, which are also suitable for the design of vertically integrated hybrid components and in particular for the so-called wafer-level packaging, in which the individual elements are installed in the wafer composite and only later separated as a package.
According to a known approach, the via is created in connection with the processing of the ASIC substrate, specifically as a blind opening in the ASIC substrate. This blind opening is then completely filled with a metal, such as copper or tungsten, or with a metallic layer and a dielectric, so that the surface of the ASIC substrate is preferably sealed and is flat for further processing. The rear side of this form of via is exposed and contacted only after the ASIC substrate is installed on another substrate, for example, by thinning the rear side of the ASIC substrate. In this form of implementation, the metallic core or the metallic printed conductor track of the via is protected against external influences by completely filling the blind opening or via.
Since such vias generally have a large aspect ratio, both the structuring method for producing the corresponding opening in the ASIC substrate as well as the filling are comparatively complex.


A method of the present invention relates to a method of blending a plurality of pixels on a texture map and to a plural pixel blending circuit and image processing device using this is disclosed. The method of blending a plurality of pixels on a texture map corresponding to the pixels constituting a polygon, thereby finding texture data to be pasted on to the pixels constituting the polygon, includes the steps of: determining whether or not there are transparent pixels in said plurality of pixels on the texture map; if there are no transparent pixels, blending said plurality of pixels on the texture map in accordance with the ratio with which a pixel constituting the polygon corresponds therewith; if some of the plurality of pixels on the texture map are transparent pixels, substituting the transparent pixels by other adjacent pixels which are not transparent; and if all of the plurality of pixels on the texture map are transparent pixels, ignoring the plurality of pixels on the texture map.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of blending a plurality of pixels on a texture map and to a plural pixel blending circuit and image processing device using this.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, image processing devices whereby the image of an object arranged in virtual three-dimensional space is displayed by a plurality of polygons using computer graphics techniques have become common. In addition, research and development is proceeding aimed at making the displayed object approach more closely to reality.
In this technical field of computer graphics, surface details of the displayed object are called "texture". The feeling of color/surface or material etc. is formed on the surface of the object by reading texture data from a texture map and mapping it onto each polygon pixel constituting the polygon in question.
FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are views given in explanation of such mapping of texture data. Specifically, FIG. 8 is an example of a polygon stored in a frame buffer and deployed on to a two-dimensional co-ordinate plane in order to effect display on a display device such as a CRT display.
Such a polygon P as displayed has three vertices A, B, C; the respective vertices have, as vertex data, co-ordinates on the X, Y axes on a texture map that stores the texture data that is to be mapped.
For example, as the stored position of the texture map mapped onto the pixel of vertex A, as shown in FIG. 8, there are provided co-ordinate data (T.sub.xo, T.sub.yo) on the texture map of FIG. 9. Likewise, vertex B has co-ordinate data (T.sub.x1, T.sub.y1) and vertex C has co-ordinate data (T.sub.x2, T.sub.y2)
Furthermore, in regard to the pixel of point D on the edge line of vertex A and vertex B for example, the data (T.sub.xi, T.sub.yi) of co-ordinates D on the texture map are obtained as shown in FIG. 8 by linear or perspective interpolation of co-ordinate data (T.sub.xo, T.sub.yo) of vertex A and co-ordinate data (T.sub.x1, T.sub.y1) of vertex B.
The co-ordinate data on the texture map are likewise found by linear or perspective interpolation for all the other pixels constituting polygon P.
On the other hand, regarding the texture map, for each type of object texture, for example if the object is rock, data representing a rocky surface or if the object is wooden, data representing a wooden surface are deployed in map fashion and stored in a memory device. Specifically, this changes non-uniformly and with continuity such that the rocky surface on a single rock or the tree surface of a single tree can not be defined by a single data entry.
The texture map therefore consists in deployment of textures of for example a rocky surface or tree surface in the X, Y axis co-ordinate plane, the texture of a rocky surface or tree surface etc. at a corresponding specified position being found by specifying the X, Y axis co-ordinate position.
Let us now consider the relationship between the biaxial plane of a texture map shown in FIG. 10 and a polygon pixel. In FIG. 10, region 70 enclosed by the thick line is a range in which texture map co-ordinates are specified corresponding to one pixel constituting a polygon. Regions 71.about.74 are a plurality of pixels on the texture map. Consequently, in this region 70, texture based on the texture data read from the texture map is mapped on to the pixel in question.
However, one pixel constituting a polygon as described above does not necessarily correspond to a pixel of the texture map and a region 70 constituting a polygon and specified by one pixel may span a plurality of adjacent pixels of the texture map. In the example of FIG. 10, region 70 is overlaid on four adjacent pixels 71.about.74 of the texture map.
Consequently, for the texture in respect of one pixel constituting a polygon corresponding to region 70, the corresponding texture data is found by blending the data entries of four adjacent pixels 71.about.74 in accordance with the area overlaid in region 70.
However, in some cases it is necessary to represent a portion in which a hole is formed in part of the polygon. The texture data corresponding to the portion where this hole is formed is of the transparent coloration. Consequently, in this case, when mapping texture on to the polygon, transparent pixels will be included in the plurality of pixels corresponding to the polygon in question on the texture map that is blended therewith.
Care has therefore to be taken in effecting blending in such cases. The reason for this is that, if blending is effected at pixels that are adjacent to transparent coloration, there is a risk of abnormal color tone being produced.
If, when texture data of a plurality of pixels corresponding to an area are blended as described above, the colors of the pixels 71.about.74 of the texture map in FIG. 10 are respectively designated as color0, color1, color2, and color3, and color1 is transparent, a normalized calculation formula estimated from the contributions in accordance with the relevant area may be represented by Mathematical Expression (1) or Mathematical Expression (2). EQU Color={color0(1-x)(1-y)+color2(1-x).multidot.y+color3.multidot.x.multidot.y }/{(1-x)(1-y)+(1-x).multidot.y+x.multidot.y}.multidot. (1)
Or: EQU Color=color0(1-x)(1-y)+color1x(1-y)+color2(1-x)y+color3xy (2)
In Mathematical Expression 1, the calculation is performed excluding the data of pixel 72 of color1, which is transparent. In contrast, Mathematical Expression 2 is calculated including the data of pixel 72 of color1, which is transparent.
There are problems with the methods of calculation of both Mathematical Expression 1 and Mathematical Expression 2. In the former case, the color of pixels that are transparent can be neglected. However, the circuit layout to perform division is complicated.
On the other hand, in the case of the latter, though a circuit layout to perform division is not necessary, pixel 72, which ought to be transparent, is not excluded from the color blending process. In this case, transparent pixel 72 must also have color applied to it to match with the color of adjacent pixels on the texture map: this complicates the data processing.

Method of blending a plurality of pixels on a texture map and a plural pixel blending circuit and image processing device using the same


A system includes a platform and a contactor. The platform has a side configured to support a frame with a carrier structure and electronic devices each having first and second sides and a terminal, the first side positioned on the carrier structure, and the terminal exposed in a first portion of the second side. The contactor has first and second sides, a contact and a heater. The contact is exposed on the first side of the contactor to contact the terminal in a first portion of the second side of a selected one of the electronic devices, and the heater is exposed on the first side of the contactor to apply heat to a second portion of the second side of the selected one of the electronic devices.

Efficient testing of manufactured electronic devices at non-ambient temperature is difficult for small packages, such as quad flat no-lead (QFN) devices less than 3 mm×3 mm. Final testing can be done using turret handlers or other pick and place apparatus, or as an array of devices on film frame strip handlers. QFN and other device topologies must be singulated prior to final electrical testing due to the nature of the lead frame used in forming the device leads. Turret handlers are undesirable for testing large numbers of small devices. Final testing of small devices can be done in strip form using film frame strip handlers. The semiconductor dies are positioned on die attach pads of a lead frame strip, and wire bonding is performed on the strip. The parts are molded and the QFN strip is placed on adhesive tape. The devices are saw singulated while the tape holds the units in place for testing in strip form. Testing at non-ambient temperatures is difficult for strip testing, however, as heating the film frame causes stretching, wrinkling stress and damage to the tape, as well as lost device units.

Electronic device temperature test on strip film frames


A heat dissipating assembly for dissipating heat from a plurality of electronic components, including a heat sink (10) mounted on an electronic component, a fan (40), a first holder (50), and a second holder (60). The fan has a part secured on the heat sink by the first holder that is fixed at a lateral side of the heat sink, and another part located beyond a periphery of the heat sink being secured to the heat sink by the second holder that is fixed at an opposite side of the heat sink. An airflow produced by the fan has a part blowing the heat sink to remove heat from the one of the electronic component, and another part blowing another electronic component, which is located below the another part of the fan, thus dispersing heat from the another electronic component.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat dissipating assembly, and more particularly to a heat dissipating assembly incorporating a pair of holders that can hold a fan to cool a plurality of electronic components simultaneously.
2. Description of Related Art
The central processing unit (CPU) mounted on the motherboard in a computer is the center of operations of the computer. During the operation of the computer, the CPU produces heat. The heat must be quickly carried away from the CPU during the operation of the computer, since excessively high temperature would cause the CPU to work abnormally.
Typically, a related heat sink is mounted on the CPU to absorb heat therefrom. A fan is often mounted on the heat sink to provide a forced airflow to blow the heat sink, for enhancing a heat dissipating efficiency of the heat sink. The fan is located just on the heat sink with its airflow outlet oriented towards the heat sink, whereby when the fan operates, the airflow produced by the fan blows the heat sink downwardly and forcedly, and removes the heat in the heat sink from the CPU.
However, the fan mounted on the heat sink can only dissipate heat generated by the CPU, and not blow to other electronic components distributed near the CPU; thus, the electronic components that do not obtain the forced airflow may not dissipate heat generated therefrom rapidly just with heat sinks mounted thereon, they would operate unstably or even fail.
What is needed, therefore, is a heat dissipating assembly which can overcome the above-mentioned disadvantage.

Fu Zhun Precision Industry (Shen Zhen) Co., Ltd.


A chip card retaining mechanism for retaining a chip card (30) mounted in an electronic device is provided. The electronic device includes a housing (10) having a battery compartment (12) defined therein. The chip card retaining mechanism includes a receiving cavity (14) formed on the housing for receiving the chip card therein, and a locking member (20). The receiving cavity has an opening facing the battery compartment of the electronic device. The locking member is movably received in the receiving cavity with a first end thereof extending out of the opening. The locking member includes a resisting portion. The resisting portion is configured for abutting a first end of the chip card. The locking member configured for locking the chip card in the receiving cavity.

Nowadays, electronic devices such as mobile phones are widely used and bring convenience to our lives, as such, electronic devices have become a part of modern life. Every electronic device has a chip card such as a SIM (subscriber identification module) card for carrying information necessary for operating the mobile phone. The chip card may also contain personal information for the subscriber, for example, a listing of frequently used telephone numbers. However, it is necessary to provide a chip card retaining mechanism to hold the chip card in the electronic device.
Referring to FIG. 7, a typical chip card retaining mechanism used in a mobile phone is as follows. The chip card retaining mechanism includes a mounting base 80 and a locking element 90. A receiving groove 801 is defined in the mounting base 80 for receiving a chip card. The locking element 90 includes a fixing portion 901, an operating portion 903 and a deformable portion 905. The locking element 90 is mounted on the mounting base 80. The fixing portion 901 protrudes over the receiving groove 801 to hold the chip card. When the operating portion 903 is pulled manually, the deformable portion 905 deforms and the fixing portion 901 moves away from the receiving groove 801, the chip card can thereby be removed from the receiving groove 801 of the mounting base 80.
It can be seen that the deformable portion 905 of the locking element 90 is very large, and a height of the deformable portion 905 will increase when pulling the operating portion 903. Thus, the chip card retaining mechanism occupies too much space, which results in an overly large size for electronic devices such as mobile phones. In addition, when a person is installing or removing the chip card, he or she must hold the mobile phone and operate the locking element 90 with one hand and remove the chip card simultaneously with another hand. That is, the chip card retaining mechanism can be difficult for users to operate. Furthermore, it is necessary to design a large battery cover to cover the chip card retaining mechanism and a battery of the mobile phone due to the retaining mechanism being exposed out of the mounting base 80. Thus, there is no sufficient space in a housing of the mobile phone to arrange other attachments such as a digital camera, speaker and so on.
What is needed, therefore, is a chip card retaining mechanism which overcomes the above-described shortcomings.


The catheter includes a hollow shaft, at least one adhering portion provided on an outer surface of the shaft, and plural protrusions arranged on the adhering portion. The protrusions are configured to increase a contact surface area to show adhesive strength due to a Van der Waals force.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a catheter, and particularly relates to a catheter configured to be inserted into a blood vessel for use.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA) has been performed to treat a stenosis in a coronary artery. In PTCA, by using the Seldinger technique or the like, a guidewire for a guiding catheter is inserted into an arterial vessel, and along the guidewire, a guiding catheter is introduced into the arterial vessel. Then, with the guidewire preceding the guiding catheter, the tip of the catheter is positioned at the entrance to a coronary artery. Next, only the guidewire is taken out and a thinner guidewire for a balloon catheter is inserted into the guiding catheter to allow the tip thereof to reach a position beyond a stenotic site. After that, a proximal end of the guidewire is inserted into a lumen of a balloon catheter from a distal end side thereof, and the balloon catheter is advanced along the guidewire until a balloon in a deflated state is positioned at the stenotic site. Then, the balloon is inflated to expand the stenotic site, restoring blood flow on the distal end side farther than the stenotic site.
In this way, the guiding catheter serves to introduce a guidewire for a balloon catheter and a balloon catheter to a coronary artery entrance. The tip of the guiding catheter needs to be engaged at the coronary artery entrance. However, upon insertion of the guidewire and the balloon catheter into the coronary artery, a counterforce acts on the guiding catheter, which may cause the guiding catheter to be displaced from the coronary artery entrance. Thus, there has been known a method for maintaining the tip position of a guiding catheter at a coronary artery entrance (for example, see: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Publication No. 2006-230442). In this method, a shaft of the guiding catheter is made of a relatively hard resin and curved into shape, and the curved portion of the catheter is pressed against the inner surface of the blood vessel to push itself thereagainst.
However, even with the structure of pushing against the inner surface of the vessel by the curved portion, it is difficult to prevent completely the displacement of the tip position of the guiding catheter from the coronary artery entrance.


According to one embodiment, liquid crystal optical apparatus includes a first substrate unit, a second substrate unit, and a liquid crystal layer. The first substrate unit includes a first substrate, first electrodes extending in a first direction, a first sub electrode, and a second sub electrode. The second substrate unit includes a second substrate and an opposing electrode. The liquid crystal layer is provided between the first and second substrate units and. The first substrate unit including at least one selected from: a first distance between the one electrode of the first electrodes and the first sub electrode longer than a second distance between the other electrode of the first electrodes and the second sub electrode; and a first width of the first sub electrode narrower than a second width of the second sub electrode.

A liquid crystal optical apparatus is known that utilizes the birefringence of liquid crystal molecules to change the distribution of the refractive index according to the application of a voltage. There is a stereoscopic image display device that combines such a liquid crystal optical apparatus with an image display unit.
Such a stereoscopic image display device switches between a state in which an image displayed on the image display unit is caused to be incident on the eye of a human viewer as displayed on the image display unit and a state in which the image displayed on the image display unit is caused to be incident on the eye of the human viewer as multiple parallax images by changing the distribution of the refractive index of the liquid crystal optical apparatus. Thereby, a two-dimensional display operation and a three-dimensional image display operation are realized. Also, technology is known that modifies the path of the light by utilizing the optical principle of a Fresnel zone plate. High display quality is desirable for such display devices.

Liquid crystal optical apparatus and image display device


A new and distinct cultivar of Zonal Geranium plant named ‘Dueceline’, characterized by its upright, somewhat outwardly spreading and rounded plant habit; freely branching habit; freely and early flowering habit; and dark pink-colored single flowers with red-colored spots.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Zonal Geranium plant, botanically known as Pelargonium×hortorum, and hereinafter referred to by the name 'Dueceline'.
The new Zonal Geranium is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Rheinberg, Germany. The objective of the breeding program was to develop new freely and early flowering Zonal Geraniums with attractive flower and foliage colors.
The new Zonal Geranium originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in May, 1998, of a proprietary selection of Pelargonium×hortorum identified as code number F-21-19, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary selection of Pelargonium×hortorum identified as code number F-01-10, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent. The cultivar Dueceline was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny from this cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Rheinberg, Germany in May, 2003.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal vegetative cuttings at Rheinberg, Germany since May, 2003, has shown that the unique features of this new Zonal Geranium are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations of asexual reproduction.


The present invention relates to an X-ray imaging apparatus including an X-ray source, a grating that divides diverging X-rays irradiated from the X-ray source, and a detector that detects X-rays which are divided by the grating and pass through a sample. The grating includes a plurality of transparent objects which pass the diverging X-rays and a plurality of opaque objects that shield the diverging X-rays. A focused position at which a plurality of extended lines intersect each other and the X-ray source are arranged in different position. The extended lines are formed by extending center lines which connect a center of the X-ray source side of each of the plurality of opaque objects facing the X-ray source with a center of the detector side of each of the plurality of opaque objects facing the detector.

X-ray phase imaging is a method for detecting phase changes of X-rays by a sample and obtaining an image of the sample on the basis of the detection result.
As a method of the X-ray phase imaging, PTL 1 proposes a method for obtaining information related to a phase change of X-rays by detecting the amount of refraction of X-rays by a sample using a fact that X-rays are refracted by a phase change of the X-rays.
The principle of X-ray phase imaging method will be briefly described. In this method, first, X-rays are spatially divided by a grating which includes opaque objects (shield portions) that shield the X-rays and transparent objects (transmission portions) that transmit the X-rays. The divided X-rays become a discrete X-ray beam, the discrete X-ray beams are incident on a sample, and a discrete X-ray beams that are transmitted through the sample are detected by an X-ray detector. Thereby, how much a position of the discrete X-ray beam formed on the X-ray detector is shifted by the sample is known, and the amount of refraction of the X-rays can be obtained from the amount of the shift of the position (hereinafter referred to as "position shift amount"). Hereinafter, unless otherwise described, the position shift amount of the discrete X-ray beam in this description means the amount of positional shift of the discrete X-ray beam on the detector.
When the X-ray phase imaging is performed by the above-described method, generally, the smaller the width of the discrete X-ray beam to be used is, the higher the sensitivity of X-ray phase detection is.
The reason of this will be briefly described. The smaller the width of the discrete X-ray beam to be injected into the detector is, the smaller the intensity of the X-rays detected by each pixel of the detector is. On the other hand, the amount of refraction of X-rays generated by a certain sample does not depend on the width of the discrete X-ray beam, so that the position shift amount of the discrete X-ray beam does not depend on the width of the discrete X-ray beam. Thereby, the smaller the width of the discrete X-ray beam is, the larger the X-ray intensity change which is generated by the positional shift of the discrete X-ray beam and detected by each pixel with respect to the X-ray intensity detected by each pixel of the detector (that is, the X-ray intensity change which is generated by the presence or absence of the sample and detected by each pixel) is. Generally, the larger the X-ray intensity detected by the detector is, the larger the magnitude of the noise is, so that the larger the X-ray intensity change which is generated by the positional shift amount of the discrete X-ray beam and detected by each pixel with respect to the X-ray intensity, the smaller the probability that the X-ray intensity change is buried in the noise. As a result, the phase detection sensitivity of the X-ray imaging apparatus improves.
To reduce the width of the discrete X-ray beam, the width of the transparent objects of the grating is reduced. However, generally, it is difficult to manufacture a grating in which the width of the transparent objects is small. PTL 1 describes an X-ray imaging apparatus which includes two masks and in which the aperture size of masks can be adjusted by adjusting relative positions of the two masks. When the X-ray imaging apparatus is used, it is possible to obtain a discrete X-ray beam having a smaller width by using grating that is conventionally used.


A chip variable resistor which is capable of keeping the resistance at an adjusted value and can be manufactured easily is provided.

The present invention relates to a chip variable resistor.
A chip variable resistor includes, as essential structural parts, an insulating substrate having an upper surface formed with a resistor film in the form of a strip, while also including a rotor having a contact portion to come into contact with the resistor film. The resistance is adjustable by moving the contact portion of the rotor in the longitudinal direction of the resistor film.
Conventionally, as disclosed in e.g. JP-A-11-297517 as prior art, the insulating substrate is formed with a center hole vertically penetrating the substrate, and the rotor is made of a metal plate into a bowl-like shape opening upward. The terminal plate arranged on the lower surface of the insulating substrate is provided with a center cylinder fitted into the center hole and extending upward while penetrating through the rotor. By spreading the upper end of the center cylinder by crimping, the rotor is held in a rotatable manner, and the terminal plate is held not to drop from the insulating substrate.
Further, the terminal plate includes an electrode (center electrode) formed by bending the plate and exposed to the outside of the insulating substrate. The resistor film is horseshoe-shaped in plan view, including an arcuate portion surrounding the center hole of the insulating substrate. The insulating substrate is provided with a first electrode electrically connected to one end of the resistor film and a second electrode electrically connected to the other end of the resistor film.
The rotor overlaps the insulating substrate at a portion inward of the arcuate portion of the resistor film and includes a contact portion projecting downward for contact with the arcuate portion of the resistor film. The rotor is formed with an engagement hole in the form of a cross or a bar into which a driver for operating the rotor for rotation is to be fitted.
The dimensions of the chip variable resistor are set so that the length of one side is no more than 2 mm, for example. Since both of the rotor and the terminal plate need be processed into complicated configurations according to the structure of the prior art, the processing tends to take much time and can be troublesome.
Further, in accordance with the size reduction of electronic devices in recent years, further size reduction of a chip variable resistor is demanded. However, with the structure in which a cylindrical portion is formed at the terminal plate and crimped for fixation to the insulating substrate, there is a limit on the size reduction because of the problems related to the technique of sheet metal working, which provides a limit on the size reduction of a chip variable resistor.
Moreover, in the prior art structure, the rotor is merely pressed and held by the crimped portion of the center cylinder. When the center cylinder or the rotor is worn out at the crimped portion due to the rotation of the rotor, the force to press and hold the rotor by the crimped portion of the center cylinder is considerably reduced. In this case, the rotor may rotate in a subsequent processing step, thereby causing the resistance to deviate from the desired value, or the resistance may fail to be readjustable.
Some of the printed boards on which a chip variable resistor is to be mounted are formed with a through-hole, and there is a demand for the structure which enables the adjustment of the resistance also from the reverse side of the printed board. However, with the prior art structure in which the rotor is attached to the insulating substrate by crimping, the rotational operation of the rotor is possible only from the obverse side of the printed board. Therefore, the structure cannot meet the above demand and lacks adaptability.

Abstract: An insulating substrate is formed with a through-hole capable of receiving a driver, and the upper surface of the insulating substrate is formed with a resistor film surrounding the through-hole. A rotor in the form of a circular plate overlaps the resistor film via a spacer made of an insulating material. The rotor is pressed and held from the outside by a holder made of a metal plate. The spacer is partially cut away so that a contact portion of the rotor is exposed downward for coming into contact with the resistor film. Since the holder surrounds the rotor from the outside, the resilient force of the holder can strongly act on the rotor. Therefore, the resistance can be reliably kept at the adjusted value.


Lens distortion may be corrected using a least squares curve fitting method to determine a straight line approximation for the curvature caused by lens distortion. An image made of a rectangular shape formed from a series of circles may be utilized as the target for a picture which may be taken to calibrate for lens distortion. The deviation of each of the straight lines caused by the lens distortion can be calculated assuming that the optical axis is centered on the image. The presumed optical axis can be adjusted towards the sides of the rectangle with the lower values of distortion coefficient. When the lines agree the optical axis has been located. The deviation is measured perpendicularly from a best fit straight line approximation.

This invention relates generally to correcting lens distortion.
A number of lens aberrations are specified by one coefficient in a series expansion. See M. Born and E. Wolf, Principles of Optics 6th Edition, Cambridge University Press (1998). These aberrations include spherical aberration, coma, astigmatism, curvature of field and distortion.
To varying degrees, camera lenses are subject to distortion. One class of such distortion errors gives rise to barrel and pincushion distortions. These distortions involve a bulging in the center of the image caused by irregularities in the lens manufacturing process. Barrel distortion has a negative distortion coefficient while pincushion distortion has a positive distortion coefficient. As a result of barrel distortion, a square or rectangular image bows outwardly to produce a resulting image which is barrel shaped. Thus, barrel distortion occurs when the coefficient of the appropriate series expansion is a nonzero value.
Digital cameras may include algorithms for correcting the barrel/pincushion distortion. Typically a third order warping transformation is used to determine the amount of curvature resulting from the distortion and to create a corrected image which closely models the actual exposed image. Generally, these techniques involve exposing a square or rectangular shape and determining the amount of curvature that results from the distortion. The third order warping transformation is used to convert the curved sides back to their square or rectangular shape. Through calibration, the distortion can be decreased.
However, with existing techniques, the accuracy may not be sufficient to enable two dimensional stitching. In addition, it may be difficult to accurately determine the amount of lens distortion. It may also be difficult to determine whether or not one has correctly located the optical axis of the lens. Thus, there is a continuing need for improved techniques for correcting for lens distortion.


An electronic device includes a substrate, a cover body which is placed on the substrate, a first cavity which is surrounded by the substrate and the cover body, and a second cavity which is surrounded by the substrate and the cover body, wherein an inner portion of the first cavity is sealed in a first air pressure atmosphere, and an inner portion of the second cavity is sealed in a second air pressure atmosphere which has a difference of air pressure with respect to the first air pressure atmosphere, a first through-hole, which communicates with the first cavity and is blocked by a seal member, is provided in at least one of the substrate and the cover body, and the first cavity and the second cavity are isolated from each other by a partition wall portion which is integrally provided to the cover body or the substrate.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to an electronic device and a manufacturing method thereof, an electronic apparatus, and a moving body.
2. Related Art
Recently, for example, an electronic device such as an inertial sensor, which detects physical quantity using technology of silicon Micro Electro Mechanical System (MEMS), has been developed. In JP-A-2002-5950, for example, an electronic device (combined sensor element) which includes an angular velocity sensor and an acceleration sensor is disclosed. For example, the above-described electronic device is used for a camera shake correction function of a digital still camera (DSC), a navigation system of an automobile, an operation input device at a game machine, or the like.
In this way, according to the electronic device in which a plurality of physical quantity detection sensors are mounted into the same package (the same substrate), it is possible to meet demands for size reduction and space saving. Moreover, since a process which electrically connects the substrates, on which sensors are mounted, by lamination or the like can be omitted, it can contribute to simplification of the production process and reduction of the production cost.
In the above-described electronic device, since the acceleration sensor is designed considering viscosity (damping) which is generated between inertial mass and atmospheric pressure, the acceleration sensor is sealed at an atmospheric pressure atmosphere. On the other hand, since gas viscosity becomes a cause which damps vibration when air (or other gas and the like) exists, the angular velocity sensor is sealed at a decompression atmosphere such as a vacuum atmosphere. According to this, since cavities, in which the inner pressures are different from each other in the same package, are formed, when bonding reliability between members is decreased, airtightness of the cavities is decreased, and disadvantages occur in the electronic device. In the combined sensor element disclosed in JP-A-2002-5950, a base and a division wall portion, and the division wall portion and a cover member are bonded to each other respectively, and thus, airthightness of cavities is secured. In this case, since the plurality of bonded portions exist, if a second bonding is performed after a first bonding is performed, there is a concern that the first bonding state may be unstable, and it is difficult to secure bonding reliability between each member. From the above, in the above-described electronic device, an electronic device having improved reliability and a manufacturing method thereof are required.

Electronic device and manufacturing method thereof, electronic apparatus, and moving body


A portable device includes a first casing which houses a circuit board having a first conductive layer, a second casing which houses a circuit board having a second conductive layer, and a coupling part which openably and closably couples the first casing and the second casing. The coupling part is made of a metal material, and the first conductive layer is electrically connected to the second conductive layer via the coupling part.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a portable device such as a mobile wireless phone and a PDA (Personal Digital Assistant), and in particular, relates to a portable device having two casings which are rotatable with respect to each other.
Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2003-348163, filed Oct. 7, 2003, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, progress has been made in portable devices (portable electronic devices) such as mobile phones in that the displays have been enlarged and the number of colors has been increased in response to the large varieties of information to be displayed. Foldable type mobile phones which are excellent in both operability and portability have become the standard.
It is normal for a foldable type mobile phone to have two casings. However, these casings are constructed so as to move with respect to each other via a coupling part. Therefore, in order to make the ground potentials of the circuits provided in each of the casings equal, by connecting together the circuit boards within each conductor via a flexible cable which includes a ground wire, the ground potentials of both circuits are made equal.
One such technique is conventionally known from Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, First Publication No. 2000-138522.
In recent years, mobile phones have been made smaller, and the number of mobile phones having complicated forms has been increasing. In addition, the number of mobile phones having various built-in functions such as a camera function or a navigation function has been increasing. Therefore, although the number of wires connecting the circuit boards provided within each casing increases, it is difficult to increase the size of the coupling part, and therefore, it is difficult to pass each of the wires into the coupling part. If the wires are passed into the coupling part without a gap, then when the two casings move with respect to each other, a burden is placed on the wires such as twisting or torsion. If this is severe, there is a risk that the wires will break.


A base component and a plurality of plant support components interconnect in various combinations to form an organically configured, size adjustable plant support structure for a growing plant. The base component with spaced root-like stakes planted in the soil supports multiple components each having a central vertical trunk-like structure and extending limb-like and branch-like supports forming a tree-like configuration. Ties of various length soft fabric strips attach a growing plant to a molded exterior configured and colored to resemble tree bark for high friction to securely support the plant and plant produce.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to plant supports and in particular to a multiple component assembly system for an organically configured, size adaptable plant support structure for a growing plant, the plant support structure comprising a rigid trunk-like structure configured in a vertical position having a base formed of at least three arched pointed rigid support prongs rigidly connected to the trunk portion extending outwardly and downwardly in a spaced array around a base of the trunk portion, the at least three support prongs inserted into the ground to maintain the trunk portion in an upright vertical position for maximum strength and stability; a plurality of upwardly tapering insertable trunk extensions to extend the height of the plant support at varying heights to add trunk extensions to make the plant support taller as a plant grows taller and for tall plants or remove trunk extensions to make the plant support shorter for new plants or different plants which grow to different heights, each of the trunk extensions having a plurality of organically configured spaced and multi-directional tapering limb structures extending outwardly in different directions from the trunk extensions, so that when the base prongs are inserted in the ground the plant support is structured like a small tree rooted in the ground to enable a plant to grow in a natural configuration with the strong support of the extendable trunk configuration to support the trunk portions of the plant and the extended tapering limb structures giving natural support with spacing to allow the branches of the plant to grow to their fullest natural growth with maximum produce yield and minimal loss of produce (including fruits, vegetables, berries and any other plant produce yields).
2. Description of Related Art Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Prior art trellis configurations for supporting growing plants generally have made-man structural configurations based on mechanical structural shapes which do not take the form of the natural organic growth pattern of plants. Many of the prior art devices do not adaptably support very tall plants and do not provide maximum structural support branches with the plant branches growing alongside the support branches for maximum support so that plants may not obtain maximum growth and the edible portions of the plant may not be properly supported so that many of the edible portions fall to the ground losing some of the yield of the plant.
Most prior art devices do not provide a strong base buried well within the ground supporting a strong central support resembling a tree trunk with roots underground.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,067,274, issued Nov. 26, 1991 to Lewis, indicates a tomato pole having a plurality of spaced, V-shaped slanted slots entrant from one side thereof. The pole is hollow and can be driven into the ground, with one or more of the slots preferably being subterranean in use such that irrigation water can be poured into the top of the pole and will irrigate through the lower notches. The spaced notches enable the user to use anything available for transverse tomato plant support sticks.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,341,593, issued Aug. 30, 1994 to Foreman, puts forth a small spring steel stake used to support a large tomato plant. The plant is held close to the stake so that the stake supports the plant with its weight pulling substantially straight down along the axis of the stake. Rings are optionally used to support only the branches and not the stem of the plant. Since the tomatoes grow close to the stem, a heavy load of tomatoes adds little weight to the rings. A shade, designed to be installed whenever the gardener decides the time is right, is detachably mounted to the top of the plant support and consists of spaced apart shade members so that rain water captured by the shade members may be directed to the roots of the plant. An optional deck planter adapted to secure the stake in its vertical position facilitates the use of the plant support for urban and even indoor gardening conditions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,841,670, issued Jun. 27, 1989 to Bitter, describes an apparatus for supporting growing plants such as tomato plants, including radially arranged poles projecting from an annular base mounted on the top of a soil containing pot. The stems or branches of the plant are guided upwardly and within the space defined by the poles by means of strings tying the stems or branches securely around the poles.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,964,057, issued Oct. 12, 1999 to Korte-Jungermann, is for a plant holder with several essentially identically shaped elements (2), which are arranged in a vertical position when in use, and at least one supporting ring (3), which is arranged in a horizontal position when in use, which includes easily removable retention devices for retaining several vertical elements (2) along the perimeter of the supporting ring (3) and at heights corresponding to the vertical elements. The vertical elements (2) may exhibit an essentially rectangular profile. Recesses (10) for acceptance of the vertical elements can be arranged along the supporting ring, of which there is at least one, while protrusions (12) can be arranged along the lateral surfaces of the vertical elements which, when assembled, snap into corresponding grooves (11) in the recesses in the supporting ring (3).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,000,172, issued Dec. 14, 1999 to Ballarino, discloses an improved plant holder for use in a garden for supporting plants and vines as they grow and mature. The plant holder comprises a plurality of identical posts which may be driven into the ground by means of pointed ends. Each post has a plurality of hooks in pairs at different heights along the post. Further, between the posts rods are provided that clip into the hooks to lie in a horizontal plane at each of the different levels of the hooks. Since the hooks are paired on either side of the posts at different levels then a pair of rods may also be found at the corresponding levels. Each pair of rods is connected by C-clips which snap over the rods. A plant, such as a tomato plant, may be supported by this structure by driving the posts on either side of the plant, assembling the rods into the hooks on either sides of the plant stems, then applying the clips to secure the rods into position. Further, the clips are sufficiently spaced on the rods allowing a branch of the plant to be drawn through an opening in the clips for further support of the branches.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,385,901, issued May 14, 2002 to Wahlberg, provides a plant support cage apparatus wherein two or more panels of rectangular shape are joined on the vertical edges by a series of coil cavity and corresponding rod connections alternated by hook restraints. Unit thus formed when the plurality of the panels is fully joined together is a cylindrical cage. All connections made at the vertical edges of the panels are formed from and are part of the panel lattice. The unit is rigid as a separate unit and stable when pressed in the ground by the stakes that are extensions also part of the vertical members of the lattice. The cage can be enlarged or contracted by the addition of panel units. It is easily assembled and dissembled without special tools and compactly stacked by nesting of the sections.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,677,788, issued Jul. 7, 1987 to Mastandrea, shows a support for tomato plants and the like to reinforce them while growing. It is preferably of plastic material having a bottle shape with an elongated neck. Such neck is progressively increased in diameter from the top to the base portion. At the points of increasing diameter, there is a shoulder serving as a stop for a slip-fitted neck portion. On the shoulder, is supported a wheel-like ring onto which the plants may be tied. Several such rings of increasing diameter of sleeve are provided. The neck instead may be progressively tapered downwardly and outwardly with the wheel-like rings held in place by the taper. Holes are provided at a distance above the bottom of the base portion to provide a reservoir of water for stabilizing the tube in the soil.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,640,802, issued Jun. 24, 1997 to Elliott, claims a support assembly for growing tomato plants which allows ready access to the plant during the various stages of growth by utilizing interchangeable parts including post sections having a tapered member (A) on a bottom end and a tapered socket (B) on the other end for joining the sections to form continuous posts having vertically spaced seating locations (C), and horizontal supports (D) having sockets (E) which fit securely onto post sections and spaced vertically to form modules that may be stacked in vertical relation and thereby added progressively to meet the needs engendered by growth of the plant and to permit ready access to the plant.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,026,068, issued May 31, 1977 to Tepper, shows a tomato plant support which uses plural stakes or uprights in surrounding relation about the plant and lateral members extending from these stakes to support the tomato-laden vines of the plant, but wherein the lateral members are intentionally not continuous, as is the case in prior art counterparts. Specifically, the discontinuity, or openings in the vine support structure, facilitate the relocation of each vine from a lower to a higher elevation support, in response to the growth of the plant.
What is needed is a multiple component, size adaptable, assembly system for an organically configured plant support structure for a growing plant in the configuration of a tree trunk with a strong root structure and tree branches to allow a plant to grow in a natural growth pattern for maximum growth and yield and minimal loss of produce.


Disclosed are a transistor and a method for fabricating the same capable of increasing a threshold voltage and a driving current of the transistor. The method includes the steps of forming a first etch mask on a silicon substrate, forming a trench by etching the exposed isolation area, forming a first insulation layer in the trench and the first etch mask, forming a second insulation layer on the first insulation layer, removing the second insulation layer and the first insulation layer until the first etch mask is exposed, forming a trench type isolation layer on the isolation area, forming a second etch mask on an entire surface of the silicon substrate, etching the exposed channel area, performing an etching process with respect to a resultant substrate structure, and forming a gate in the recess.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for fabricating a semiconductor device. More particularly, the present invention relates to a transistor and a method for fabricating the same, capable of increasing a driving current while raising a threshold voltage.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, as semiconductor devices have been highly integrated, channel lengths of transistors are significantly shortened. Such a phenomenon may occur in a DRAM cell, so that a short channel effect causing a threshold voltage to be significantly lowered is seriously represented in a planar transistor structure.
If the threshold voltage of a transistor becomes lowered, a relatively great amount of current is leaked through channels of the transistor even if the transistor is not turned on, so electric charges stored in a DRAM capacitor are gradually discharged, thereby causing data loss.
In order to solve the above problem, Vt implantation (threshold voltage ion implantation) is carried out to implant B or BF2 into a silicon substrate. In general, the Vt implantation must be performed while increasing the density of B or BF2 as a width of a semiconductor device becomes narrowed.
However, if the Vt implantation is carried out while increasing the density of B or BF2, a width of a depletion region connected to a junction region becomes reduced, so that an electric field applied to the depletion region is increased, thereby increasing the junction leakage current.
Thus, it is necessary for a DRAM device to develop a technique capable of stably storing electric charges in a capacitor even if the channel width of the transistor becomes reduced. To this end, there has been suggested a technique for enlarging a channel length, in which a predetermined portion of a silicon substrate corresponding to a channel area of a transistor is etched by a predetermined depth in order to enlarge the channel length.
FIG. 1 is a plan view illustrating a transistor having a recess gate structure, in which a silicon substrate is etched so as to enlarge a channel length, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views taken along lines II-II and III-III shown in FIG. 1, respectively. Reference numerals 1 to 4 represent a silicon substrate, an isolation layer, a recess gate and a junction area, respectively.
However, the transistor having the recess gate causes higher back bias dependency of a threshold voltage so that the threshold voltage may easily vary even if the back bias shows little variation. For this reason, the transistor having the recess gate may not ensure operational reliability thereof.
Another problem may occur with the increase of the integration degree of the semiconductor device. That is, the driving current of the transistor may be reduced as the width of the transistor becomes narrowed. In order to improve the driving current of a two-dimensional transistor, a fin FET (field effect transistor) structure, in which a predetermined portion of a silicon substrate is protruded as shown in FIG. 4, has been developed.
According to the fin FET structure, three surfaces of the protruded silicon substrate are used as channels for the transistor, so that the driving current of the transistor can be increased while lowering the back bias dependency of the threshold voltage. In FIG. 4, reference numerals 41, 43 and 44 represent a silicon substrate, a gate and a junction area, respectively.
However, if the fin FET structure is applied to the DRAM device, data retention time may be shortened.
In short, the conventional recess gate structure and fin FET structure may present limitations to increase the driving current while raising the threshold voltage.

Recessed gate electrode MOS transistor and method for fabricating the same


A method for identifying traffic information includes receiving traffic data including a first identifier, information corresponding to a prediction of an amount of congestion for a particular link, and information corresponding to a location associated with the particular link. The first identifier enables a determination of a type of the information that is included within the received traffic data. The method also includes determining a type of information included within the received traffic data based on the first identifier and determining congestion amount prediction information based on the information included in the received traffic data only if the first identifier enables a determination that the received traffic data includes a prediction related to congestion amount. The method further includes determining location information based on the information that is included in the received traffic data corresponding to the location associated with the particular link identifying traffic information based on the determined congestion amount prediction information and the determined location information.

1. Field
This disclosure relates to providing traffic information relating to a prediction of congestion status and using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the advancement in digital signal processing and communication technologies, radio and TV broadcasts are in the process of being digitalized. Digital broadcast can provide various information (e.g., news, stock prices, weather, traffic information, etc) as well as audio and video contents.
Because traffic information receiving terminals made by different manufacturers should be able to detect and interpret traffic information broadcast in the same way, traffic information may better be delivered and utilized in a standardized format.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Providing traffic information relating to a prediction of congestion status and using the same


In a method of dosing fibers, such as steel fibers to be mixed in concrete, a supply of fibers (5) is stored in first vibration feeder (2) and is moved from this by means of a second vibration feeder (3). For each dosing operation, a proportioned quantity of fibers (5) is transferred at a stepless rate or a stepwise declining rate from the first to the second vibration feeder (2, 3) while the second vibration feeder (3) stands still. This vibration feeder (3) then transports the transferred fiber quantity further on to the subsequent process while the first vibration feeder (2) stands still. The fibers can hereby be dosed more accurately and uniformly than known before.

Fibres of various types are used today to an increasing degree for i.a. reinforcement of cast materials. Thus, reinforced concrete can be produced by adding steel fibres directly during the actual mixing process, which must then be distributed very carefully and uniformly if the finished concrete is to have the required homogenous and isotropic properties. However, this has not been possible to a satisfactory degree by means of the conventional dosing methods which tend to feed the steel fibres in the form of more or less tangled lumps.
The Danish published publication 153 450 B discloses a method and an apparatus for improving steel fibres which are present in bundles or packed lumps, and which, directionally oriented, are to be dosed to an airborne stream of material, such as a sprayed concrete mass. This takes place by tearing the bundles or the lumps apart in preferably a rotating drum with inwardly facing pegs, and gradually discharging the loosened steel fibres during the rotation through variable opening in the drum on an inclined chute, where the fibres are replaced by sliding down the chute under the action of gravity, said chute being constricted in a direction toward the lower end. The fibres now unidirectional are then sucked by a strongly sucking air stream into a pipe stub and further into a transport conduit, in which the unidirectional fibres are fed in an even flow to the mouthpiece in a spray assembly and are sprayed together with the concrete mass mentioned by way of example onto a surface. Tangled fibres can hereby effectively be loosened from each other and be conveyed in an evenly dosed stream with unidirectionally oriented fibres to and be used in e.g. a spray assembly for successive application of fibre-filled concrete on a surface. However, this known method is unsuitable when the fibres are to be used as reinforcement in cast concrete. The reason is that in this case the fibres are to be fed to the concrete mixer evenly and uniformly within a relatively short period of time in a predetermined portion in a loosened, but precisely not unidirectional state.


A solenoid valve has a valve seat mounted in a passage for pressure fluid formed in a housing, an armature, and a valve body integral with the armature for opening and closing the valve seat. The armature is moved in a direction to open or close the valve seat by an electromagnetic coil. The solenoid valve is mounted in the housing to enclose the armature liquid-tightly in a pressure fluid chamber defined by the solenoid valve and the housing.

(1) Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a solenoid valve for controlling the flow of pressurized fluid in, e.g., an antilock control device of an automotive brake.
This type of solenoid valve is provided in a pressure oil passage to open and close the passage according to instructions from a computer.
(2) State of the Prior Art
FIG. 2 shows a conventional solenoid valve of this type. It comprises a cylindrical frame 21, a valve seat 23 fitted in a small-diameter hole 22 formed in the upper part of the frame 21, an armature 25 mounted in an intermediate-diameter hole 24 formed in the frame 21 under the small-diameter hole 22, and an electromagnetic coil 27 mounted on the inner wall of a large-diameter hole 26 formed in the frame 21 under the intermediate-diameter hole 24. Also, a sleeve 28 having an inner diameter larger than the diameter of the armature 25 is mounted on the armature in the intermediate-diameter hole 24. A yoke 29 is inserted in the sleeve 28 from its bottom.
The contact portions between the small-diameter hole 22 and the valve seat 23, between the intermediate-diameter hole 24 and the sleeve 28 and the between the sleeve 28 and yoke 29 (designated a, b and c in FIG. 2) are sealed, e.g. by welding. Thus, a pressure oil chamber 31, in which is mounted the armature 25, is sealed except for an inlet/outlet port for pressure oil and a hole 32 formed through the side wall of the frame 21.
The armature 25 is movable up and down in the pressure oil chamber 31 and is urged upwards by a coil spring 45. Thus, the pressure oil inlet/outlet port of the valve seat 23 is normally closed by a valve body 33 provided on the top end of the armature 25.
The frame 21, armature 25 and yoke 29 are made of a magnetic material. These magnetic parts and the electromagnetic coil 27 form a magnetic circuit. When the electromagnetic coil 27 is excited, the armature 25 descends, separating the valve body 33 from the valve seat 23. The pressure oil inlet/outlet port is now opened.
On the other hand, the frame 21 is inserted in a hole 35 formed in a housing 34, which may be a component part of an antilock control device. The yoke 29 is in contact with a housing cover 36. In this way, the solenoid valve is mounted on an antilock control device.
The housing 34 has a first pressure oil inlet/outlet port 37 communicating with the small-diameter hole 22 of the frame 21 and a second pressure oil inlet/outlet port 38 communicating with the hole 32 formed in the frame 21. Thus, a pressure oil passage is formed between the first and second pressure oil inlet/outlet ports 37 and 38, extending through the pressure oil chamber 31. This pressure oil passage is closed while the oil pressure inlet/outlet port of the valve seat 23 is closed. It is opened when the electromagnetic coil 27 is excited and the pressure oil inlet/outlet port of the valve seat 23 opens.
The frame 21 has on the outer peripheral surface thereof two grooves 41 and 42 carrying O-rings 43 and 44, respectively. The O-ring 43 serves to close the fluid communication between the first pressure oil inlet/outlet port 37 and the small-diameter hole 22. The communication between the second pressure oil inlet/outlet port 38 and the hole 32 is closed by both O-rings 43 and 44. The other ring 44 serves to seal the passage between the second pressure oil inlet/outlet port 38 or the hole 32 and the outside.
Another solenoid valve of this type is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication 63-99081 filed by the present applicant.
Such conventional solenoid valves require many seals such as seals for portions a), b) and c) and O-rings 43 and 44. Thus, such conventional valves need O-rings for a liquid-tight seal or an additional welding step. Otherwise, a finishing step has to be added so that a sufficiently liquid-tight seal is obtainable simply by press-fitting. This increases the cost and makes it difficult to reduce the size of the valve.


A memory array has memory elements of identical topology or footprint arranged in rows and columns. Some of the memory elements are EEPROM cells and other memory elements are read only memory cells but all are made using a mask set having the same length and width dimensions. In the mask set for EEPROMs a principal mask is used for formation of a depletion implant. In the case of one type of read-only memory element, this mask is mainly blocked, leading to formation of a transistor with a non-conductive channel between source and drain. In the case of another read only memory element, the same mask is unblocked, leading to formation of a transistor with a highly conductive or almost shorted channel between source and drain. These two read only memory elements are designated as logic one and logic zero. By having rows of read-only memory elements with rows of EEPROMs on the same chip, a more versatile memory array chip may be built without sacrificing chip space.

Many complex microcircuits, especially those employing internal microcontrollers, have a need for non-volatile memory in which to store critical data. Typically this data consists of operating instructions for a microcontroller, although it may also consist of other critical data such as keys or configuration data. The development of this data is frequently a lengthy task, with the data not fully debugged until after a microcircuit is developed. Once this data is fully developed, it is often desirable to make the data permanent. There are several reasons for this. A first reason is that the overall security of the system may be compromised if the data can be altered. Another reason relates to reduction of manufacturing cost. The time required to program each microcircuit can be eliminated from the manufacturing cycle if programming resides in pre-programmed read only memory devices. A third reason relates to reliability of the data. Many non-volatile memory arrays are susceptible to environmental effects, such as temperature or radiation, which could disturb the data. An object of the invention is to provide a semiconductor memory array having mostly non-volatile memory cells but with permanently written data in portions of the memory array.

Non-volatile transistor memory array incorporating read-only elements with single mask set


The invention relates to a method a method for routing calls and messages in a communication system. In the method a mobile station registers to a call control node using a logical name. The logical name is mapped in a directory to an international mobile subscriber identity. The call control node performs a location update to a home location register using the international mobile subscriber identity. The mobile station is reached using a called party number. As a terminating call or message is received to a core network, a roaming number is allocated for the mobile station, and the call or message is routed to the call control entity currently serving the mobile station. The call control node translates the called party number to the logical name using the directory.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to routing in mobile communication systems. Particularly, the invention relates to the routing of communications to a Voice over IP (VoIP) terminal in a mobile communication system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently Wireless Local Area Networks (WLAN) have become important in mobile communications. The advantage of WLANs over licensed band cellular communication systems such as the Universal Mobile Telecommunication system (UMTS) and Global System of Mobile communications (GSM) lies in the facts that they use an unlicensed band and the cell sizes are much smaller. These facts make possible to build private WLANs operated by small corporate entities and individual users. The cost of wireless communication in these WLANs is significantly cheaper than in licensed band cellular systems. WLANs have mostly been used for Internet access, but the idea of providing voice communications over WLANs has recently gained momentum. In order to obtain a wide market share for voice over WLAN technologies and to provide a reliable service experience for end-users, it is necessary to be able to provide dual system terminals, which support both WLAN and licensed band based radio access. In other words, it must be possible for users to roam in both WLANs and licensed band cellular systems. Usually WLAN radio access is used in urban areas where there exists a WLAN infrastructure, whereas licensed band cellular systems are used in areas outside the WLAN coverage.
3G Partnership Project has standardized the IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) in order to cater for VoIP and other IP based multimedia services. Typically, a UMTS Radio Access Network is used to access a core network, which supports the IMS. However, existing circuit switched core network infrastructures, which comprise Mobile Switching Centers (MSC), Home Location Registers (HLR), Visitor Location Centers (VLR), Camel Service Entities (CSE) and Service Control Points (SCP), provide a wide range of services. When operators wish to accommodate dual system terminals with both WLAN and licensed band radio access capabilities, it would be beneficial, if the operators had some mechanism of offering same services over both radio access technologies. Especially, the providing of backward compatible service is important. In other words, it is necessary to be able to provide familiar look-and-feel services from the licensed band cellular system also in the WLAN side. These services are referred to as the legacy services. Examples of such services include call forwarding, prepaid, premium rate and free service numbers, call waiting and call transfer. Usually, prepaid service and service numbers are provided using Intelligent Network infrastructure comprising MSCs and SCPs. In the 3GPP standardized version of Intelligent Networks the SCPs are referred to as the CSEs.
Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which illustrates the problems associated with the providing of legacy services for dual system terminals in prior art. FIG. 1 illustrates the fact that in practice the legacy services must be rebuilt in the IMS. In IMS the network elements and the protocols are largely different so this represents a significant effort. In Figure there is a Mobile Station (MS) 100, which is a dual system mobile station capable of communicating both over a WLAN radio access and a licensed band radio access. The licensed band radio access may be, for example, a Time Division Multiple Access (TDMA) based GSM radio access or a Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA) based UMTS radio access. In FIG. 1 there is also a WLAN 124, which communicates with an IP Multimedia Subsystem (IMS) comprising at least a P-CSCF 102, an I-CSCF 104, an S-CSCF 106, a MGCF 120 and a MGW 122. Multimedia communications to and from MS 100 when in the area of WLAN 124 are provided via IMS. WLAN 124 is connected to Media Gateway (MGW) 122, which converts IP-based user plane traffic to circuit switched PSTN 126. WLAN 124 communicates also with Proxy Call State Control Function (P-CSCF) 102. Signaling plane traffic is routed to a P-CSCF such as P-CSCF 102. The signaling plane traffic is, for example, Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) based. SIP is defined in Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) document RFC 3261. P-CSCF 102 is used to access Inquiring Call State Control Function (I-CSCF) 104, which determines using a Home Subscriber Server (HSS) 108 Serving Call State Control Function (S-CSCF) 106 in which a given subscriber is currently registered. The S-CSCF controls the multimedia communications originating from and terminating to MS 100. The S-CSCF communicates with Media Gateway Control Function (MGCF) 120, which converts signaling plane traffic into circuit switched signaling. For example, MGCF 120 converts the SIP signaling used between MS 100, P-CSCF 102, I-CSCF 104, S-CSCF 106 and MGCF 120 into the ISDN User Part (ISUP) signaling used in PSTN 126. MGCF 120 also controls MGW 122 using, for example, International Telecommunications Union (ITU-T) H.248 protocol. S-CSCF 106 is connected to three service platforms, namely Application Server (AS) 110, CSE 116 and Open Service Architecture (OSA) server 118. S-CSCF 106 is connected to CSE 116 via IP Mobility (IM) Service Switching Function (SSF) 112. S-CSCF 106 is connected to OSA server 118 via Service Capability Server (SCS) 114.
In FIG. 1 there is also a GSM/UMTS BSS 160, which is connected to a GSM/UMTS circuit switched core network comprising at least an MSC 150, a VLR 152, a GMSC 156, an HLR 154 and a CSE 158. GSM/UMTS BSS 160 is connected to MSC 150. MSC 150 comprises also a VLR 152. MSC 150 is connected to GMSC 156. There is also HLR 154, which stores subscriber data pertaining to the location of subscribers and their service data. GMSC 156 is also connected to PSTN 126. CSE 158 controls GMSC 156 and MSC 150 in the providing of IN services to the subscribers served by BSS 160. CSE 158 has also an interface to HLR 154, which allows the enquiring and modifying of service data in HLR 154. A plurality of standardized supplementary services is implemented directly by MSC 150, GMSC 156, VLR 152 and HLR 154. Examples of such services include call forwarding, call waiting, call transfer, call completion to busy subscriber, closed user group and call barring. In addition to these there may be a variety of vendor specific supplementary services implemented directly in these network elements. In order to cater for the aforementioned legacy supplementary services a variety of service functionalities are present in MSC 150, GMSC 156, VLR 152 and HLR 154. These service functionalities are illustrated in FIG. 1 as service functionality sets 170-174. Each service functionality set may comprise a number of different service functionalities hosted in a given network element.
In order to support the same legacy services while MS 100 is in the service area of WLAN 124, the service functionality sets 170-174 must be ported to corresponding IMS network elements comprising at least P-CSCF 102, I-CSCF 104, S-CSCF 106 and HSS 108. This represents a significant task since all the development effort put in the service functionality sets 170-174 must be repeated when equivalent service functionality sets 180-184 are implemented in IMS network elements. For example, service functionality set 170 in MSC would correspond to service functionality set 182 in S-CSCF 106 and service functionality set 171 in CSE would correspond to service functionality sets 181, 183 and 184 in AS 110, CSE 116 and OSA server 118, respectively. However, the correspondence is not direct and obvious. It is sufficient to say that the work in the porting of legacy service functionality sets from the GSM/UMTS circuit switched core network to IMS side is non-trivial since the protocols used between the IMS network elements and the MS 100 are largely different from the ones used in GSM/UMTS circuit switched core network.
One possibility in the providing of legacy services for mobile stations roaming from GSM/UMTS BSS to WLAN side is presented in publication "SIP-Enabled Gateway MSC: Linking WiFi Hot Spots with 2.5/3G Networks", Amir Atai, Ajay Sahai, Telica, Mar. 31, 2004. The solution disclosed by Atai comprises the connecting of WLANs directly to a GMSC in the circuit switched core network, which acts also as a serving Visitor MSC (VMSC). The disadvantage of the solution disclosed by Atai is that a given subscriber is always served by a given GMSC. However, even in the case of dual system terminals, it must be possible for the operator to receive a terminating call for a given terminal in any GMSC. The treatment of terminating calls in the GMSC must be uniform across 2G/3G and WLAN terminals. The call must be routed to the correct serving VMSC using a roaming number obtained from an HLR irrespective of the type of the terminal. Further, it is beneficial to be able to configure the DNS so that a number of MSC servers are referred to using the same Fully Qualified Domain Name (FQDN), for example, "sip.operator.com", wherein "operator" stands for the operator name and "sip" stands for a set of SIP registrars. When a dual system terminal registers to the circuit switched core network via a WLAN and provides the FQDN for the SIP service, it is possible for the DNS to return IP-addresses for different MSC servers acting as SIP registrars in a round-robin fashion. Thus, at different registration times a different IP address may be provided from the DNS to the dual system terminal. Additionally, some legacy services may require that calls pertaining to legacy services must be routed to/via a voice server or a centralized IN service switching point. Thus, it would be a benefit to be able to use legacy ISUP signaling between the circuit switched core network elements. When pure SIP signaling is used the users' ITU-T E.164 format subscriber numbers are not available.

Method for the routing of communications to a voice over internet protocol terminal in a mobile communication system


Embodiments can provide a method for identifying a behavioral pattern from simulated transaction data, including: simulating transaction data using a reinforcement learning model; identifying a behavioral pattern from the simulated transaction data; comparing the behavioral pattern with standard customer transaction data to determine whether the behavioral pattern is present in the standard customer transaction data. If the behavioral pattern is present in the standard customer transaction data, the behavioral pattern is applied in a model implemented on the cognitive system. The step of simulating transaction data further includes: providing standard customer transaction data representing a group of customers having similar transaction characteristics as a goal; and performing a plurality of iterations to simulate the standard customer transaction data, wherein the plurality of iterations is performed until a degree of similarity of simulated customer transaction data relative to the standard customer transaction data is higher than a first predefined threshold.

A financial crime detection system, e.g., IBM® Financial Crimes Alerts Insight with Watson™, can utilize cognitive analytics to help banks to detect money laundering and terrorist financing. The cognitive analytics differentiate "normal" financial activities from "suspicious" activities, and use the differentiation information to build a predictive model for banks. A large set of real financial customer data is required to train the predictive model.
Since the real customer data is very sensitive, only a limited amount of real customer data can be provided by banks. However, in order to best simulate fraudulent situations and detect different types of financial crimes, more simulated customer data, e.g., transaction data for training, which looks realistically, could produce a better predictive model.

Identification of behavioral pattern of simulated transaction data

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


Methods and apparatus are described for providing and using programmable ICs suitable for meeting the unique desires of large hardware emulation systems. One example method of classifying a programmable IC having impaired circuitry generally includes determining a partitioning of programmable logic resources into two or more groups for classifying the programmable IC, testing the programmable IC to determine at least one location of the impaired circuitry in the programmable logic resources of the programmable IC, and classifying the programmable IC based on the at least one location of the impaired circuitry in relation to the partitioning of the programmable logic resources.

In manufacturing and utilizing integrated circuits (ICs) such as programmable ICs, it is important that the programmable ICs operate properly in a system. Example programmable ICs include field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), complex programmable logic devices (CPLDs), and the like, including various system-on-chip (SoC) implementations of such devices having embedded processing systems. When a completed integrated circuit malfunctions after it has been installed in a system, such as a consumer electronics product, the malfunction of the integrated circuit may cause the entire product to fail. As programmable ICs are manufactured according to smaller dimensions, defects in some of the circuits are becoming more common. Further, the increased complexity of programmable ICs, such as an increased number of layers, has also increased the possibility for electrical faults. Finally, the die size of programmable ICs has also continued to increase, and therefore, has increased the likelihood of defects.
Programmable ICs are typically tested after fabrication. In order to avoid causing problems for end users, a programmable IC is generally discarded if it contains defects that affect the active logic. The percentage of usable ICs is called the "yield," because it indicates the fraction of usable ICs in a manufactured lot. The increase in programmable IC size and density has led to an increase in the percentage of defective dice, and a corresponding decrease in product yield. A low yield has a significant economic impact on programmable IC providers. While dice having gross defects that cause the failure of an entire programmable device should be discarded, dice having localized defects that cause the failure of small portions of the programmable device circuitry may be salvaged by using only the portion of the device not having defects. One known method for using partially defective programmable devices is to sort out those devices that are defective only in an isolated function or area. The programmable device provider may sell these partially defective devices to a customer at a reduced price, rather than discarding them.
While such a use of defective programmable devices may increase the yield, there is also an associated cost of managing the defective devices. Because defects may be present in different locations for different devices, managing defective integrated circuits may be time consuming and expensive. Integrated circuits are commonly binned according to performance, such as operating speed, as well as for pass versus fail. Defective integrated circuits may be binned according to the locations of defects, for example. Consequently, each of the bins of integrated circuits having different defects are typically separately managed. Such a management obligation may be costly for a producer of programmable devices and increase the cost of selling the defective programmable devices.

Programmable integrated circuits for emulation


Systems and methods are provided for improved noise performance of audio amplifiers. In one example, a system includes a multistage amplifier comprising at least a first stage amplifier and a second stage amplifier. The system further includes a plurality of switches disposed within the multistage amplifier to configure the multistage amplifier. The system further includes a control signal configured to control the multistage amplifier to a normal amplification mode or a mute state, wherein the multistage amplifier is adapted to amplify an input signal in the normal amplification mode, the multistage amplifier is adapted to output a zero signal in the mute state, and internal amplification stages of the multistage amplifier are disabled in the mute state, and output stages of each of the at least first stage amplifier and the second stage amplifier are electrically shorted and/or shorted to a fixed bias voltage in the mute state.

Many modern devices such as laptop computers, computer tablets, MP3 players, and smart phones provide high fidelity audio signals for internal or external speaker connectivity. Such systems may generate audio content digitally, convert the digital signal to an analog signal, amplify the analog signal, and deliver an amplified analog current signal to an audio transducer. In some high-fidelity systems, a multistage audio amplifier includes noise muting circuits to reduce unwanted noise when the audio signal is of a low level. To prevent unwanted noise, conventional noise muting circuits may short an output of a multistage audio amplifier. Unfortunately, conventional noise muting circuits may not adjust a bias of internal amplifier stages. When the noise muting is released, internal nodes of the internal amplifier stages are not at a correct voltage for signal amplification and may cause voltage glitches on an increasing input signal and the amplifier output may produce "pop noise". Additionally, conventional noise muting circuits may short a resistive amplifier feedback to reduce signal noise. However, the multistage amplifier still produces circuit noise resulting in unwanted noise on an audio output signal if only the resistive feedback is shorted. Thus, a user may be subject to a less enjoyable listening experience using a headphone device, for example. In view of the foregoing, there remains a need in the art for improved low signal level noise reduction that provides for improved audio amplifier performance.

Mute mechanism with reduced pop noise in audio amplifier systems and methods


Macrocyclic oxamides may be made easily, in good yield and in one step by reacting an oxalic compound, such as oxalic acid or oxalic esters, with a diamine, where the amine groups are separated by at least five atoms. The oxalic compounds may include, but are not limited to such materials as dimethyl oxalate and diethyl oxalate. The diamines may include, but are not limited to such materials as alkylenediamines; polyalkylene glycol diamines; alkyl-bis-(aminoalkyl)amines; imino bis-(alkyl)amines; and N,N' bis-(aminoalkyl)-N,N'-dialkylalkylenediamines and bis-(aminoalkyl)piperazines; and mixtures thereof. The macrocyclic oxamides made by this process may be used to selectively separate metal ions from solution, or complexed together with a metal ion act as a catalyst.

Large organic ring structures are known materials useful as chelating agents for selective binding and extraction of cations and as antioxidants. A number of other uses are recited in the recent review article by K. E. Krakowiak, et al., "Synthesis of Aza-Crown Ethers," Chemical Reviews, Vol. 89, No. 4, 1989, pp. 929-972, including use as key intermediates in the synthesis of cryptands and other N-substituted ligands.
Unfortunately, previous routes to producing the diaza crown ethers are very tedious and expensive, as outlined in the K. E. Krakowiak, et al. article. This publication notes that diaza crown ethers can be prepared by several different routes, for example, reacting 1,2-bis(2-haloethoxy)ethane or triethylene glycol ditosylates with triethylene glycol diamine or bis-(tosylamides) followed by removal of the pendant tosyl groups, if required. Another route concerns reacting a secondary amine with a 1,2-bis(2-haloethoxy)ethane followed by removal of the pendant alkyl groups; or reacting triethylene glycol diamine with triglycolyl dichloride. A number of other methods are described.
C. J. Pedersen, "Cyclic Polyethers and Their Complexes with Metal Salts," Journal of American Chemical Society, Vol. 89, No. 26, Dec. 20, 1967, pp. 7017-7036, describes the synthesis of 33 cyclic polyethers, derived from aromatic vicinal diols and containing 9 to 60 atoms including 3 to 20 oxygen atoms in the ring. Some of the compounds were prepared in good yields without the use of a high-dilution technique. Fifteen of the compounds have been catalytically hydrogenated to the corresponding saturated cyclic polyethers. Many of those containing 5 to 10 oxygen atoms form stable complexes with some or all of the cations of: Li, Na, NH.sub.4, RNH.sub.3, K, Rb, Cs, Ag(I), Au(I), Ca, Sr, Ba, Cd, Hg(I), Hg(II), La(III), Tl(I), Ce(III) and Pb(II). Many of these complexes could be isolated in the crystalline form depending on the anion. They appeared to be salt-polyether complexes formed by ion-dipole interaction between the cation and the negatively charged oxygen atoms of the polyether ring. The stoichiometry of the complexes is one molecule of polyether per single ion regardless of the valence. Some of the polyethers, by complexing, solubilize inorganic compounds, such as potassium hydroxide and permanganate, in aromatic hydrocarbons.
The preparation of cyclic dioxamides has been studied in O. Vogl, et al., "Polyoxamides. I. Polymerization of Cyclic Diamides," Macromolecules, Vol. 1, No. 4, July-August, 1968, pp. 311-315. After reviewing all the methods available to them, they chose the high dilution method using oxalyl chloride and diamine. Even though the high dilution technique was used, their yields of cyclic oxamide were very low. Attempts to prepare the cyclics from ethyl (or methyl) oxalate and hexamethylenediamine hydrochloride directly failed. Also of interest is O. Vogl, et al., "Polyoxamides. II. Polymerization of Cyclic Diamides," Macromolecules, Vol. 1, No. 4, July-August, 1968, pp. 315-318.
Certain oxamides are set out in R. M. Izatt, et al., "Thermodynamic and Kinetic Data for Macrocycle Interaction with Cations and Anions," Chem. Rev., 1991, pp. 1721-1777, but the unique oxamides of the present invention are not set forth.
As may be seen by reviewing the above-noted preparations, macrocyclic oxamides prepared by conventional methods often require more than one step, high dilution conditions and more than one reagent. All of these considerations increase the cost of the produced cyclic oxamides. Note that the Pedersen article discusses the desirability of avoiding high dilution techniques; Vogl, et al. were unable to avoid it. It would be desirable if cyclic oxamides could be prepared by a one-step procedure which did not require high dilution.


Methods for the production of unicellular photosynthetic organisms capable of producing cell adhesion proteins are disclosed. DNA constructs as well as methods for integration of the DNA constructs into the genomes of unicellular photosynthetic organisms for the expression of cell adhesion proteins are also disclosed.

All publications cited in this application are herein incorporated by reference.
Photosynthetic unicells, such as Chlamydomonas reinhardtii, produce complex and diverse organic compounds from carbon dioxide, inorganic salts, and water by means of photosynthesis. However, unicells are single cells that do not physically attach to other cells under most circumstances.
Multicellular photosynthetic organisms, such as Volvox carteri, have cell walls, also known as extracellular matrices that bind photosynthetic cells together in multicellular photosynthetic organisms. Examples of cell walls include, but are not limited to, the lignified, cellulosic cell walls of plants, the glycoprotein extracellular matrices of many green algae, the siliceous cell walls of diatoms, and the calcareous cell walls of coccolithophorids and coralline red algae. All cell walls have a certain chemical composition that determines their physical properties. The chemical composition of cell walls is determined, in turn, by the specific organic and inorganic molecules secreted from the cells during biological development and by the order in which the various molecules are secreted.
Volvox carteri is a multicellular green alga that exhibits cell-cell adhesion during embryonic development. The adhesion of cells in V. carteri is primarily mediated by glycoproteins, examples of which are designated Algal-CAM, ISG, V1 and V2. These cell adhesion molecules are proteins located on the cell surface involved with the binding with other cells or with the extracellular matrix of the cell. Cell adhesion molecules help cells bind to each other.

Heterologous expression of cellular adhesion molecules


A mountable unit set usable with an electrophotographic-image-forming apparatus includes a cartridge and an attachment. A cartridge includes a photosensitive drum and a coupling member for receiving a driving force for rotating the photosensitive drum, from a driving shaft. An attachment includes a cylindrical portion for being mounted to a periphery of the driving shaft to suppress tilting of the driving shaft. Tilting of a driving-force transmitting member is suppressed.

In the electrophotographic image forming apparatus (hereinafter also simply referred to as "image forming apparatus"), an electrophotographic photosensitive member, which is generally a drum type as an image bearing member, that is, the photosensitive drum (electrophotographic photosensitive drum) is uniformly charged. Next, the electrostatic latent image (electrostatic image) is formed on the photosensitive drum by selectively exposing the charged photosensitive drum. Next, the electrostatic latent image formed on the photosensitive drum is developed into a toner image with toner as a developer. Then, the toner image formed on the photosensitive drum is transferred onto a recording material such as recording sheet or a plastic sheet, and heat or pressure is applied to the toner image transferred onto the recording material to fix the toner image on the recording material, thus effecting image recording operation.
Such an image forming apparatus generally requires toner replenishment and maintenance of various process means. In order to facilitate this toner replenishment and maintenance operations, a cartridge in which the photosensitive drum, charging means, developing means, cleaning means and so on are provided, and which is dismountable from the image forming apparatus main assembly, has been put into practical use.
According to this cartridge system, a part of the maintenance of the device can be performed by the user without relying on the service person in charge of the after-sales service. Therefore, the operability of the apparatus can be remarkably improved, and an image forming apparatus excellent in usability can be provided. Therefore, this cartridge system is widely used with the image forming apparatuses.
An example of the cartridge includes the cartridge. The process cartridge is a cartridge in which an electrophotographic photosensitive drum and process means which acts on the electrophotographic photosensitive drum are integrally formed into a cartridge, and the cartridge is dismountably mounted to the main assembly of the image forming apparatus.
In the above-described process cartridge, a structure in which a coupling member is provided at the free end of the photosensitive member drum to transmit the driving force from the apparatus main assembly to the photosensitive member drum is widely used. As described in JP-A-2017-223952, the driving force is transmitted from the drive transmission member of the image forming apparatus main assembly to the coupling member of the process cartridge.

Attachment, set of mountable and dismountable units, electrophotographic image forming apparatus and cartridge mounting method