A novel solution route has been developed that after heat-treatment to 500-600° C. under inert atmosphere, yields highly porous composites of nano-sized metal (Ni) particle inclusions in ceramics (Al2O3). Metal loadings could be made from <1% to >95% Ni. The metal inclusion sizes in the Ni—Al2O3 system with the 10 atom % Ni sample were 4-7 nm, while for the 75 atom % Ni sample they were 5-8 nm. It was shown that the 10 atom % Ni sample could be used as a catalyst for the conversion of CO2 and CH4 in the temperature range 550-700° C., while higher temperatures led to growth of the Ni particles and carbon poisoning over time. The solution routes could also be deposited as thin dense films containing <10 nm Ni particles. Such films with high Ni-particle loadings deposited on aluminium substrates have shown very good solar heat absorber proficiency and provide good substrates for carbon tube growth.

Ceramic materials with nano-sized inclusions have received increased interest during the recent years. The interest lies both in the possibilities to make fundamental studies on new properties associated with the nano-size and in applications in e.g. optic absorption and non-linear materials, catalysts and magnetic materials. One might also envisage applications of these metal-ceramic composites as precursors for nano-structured construction ceramics with excellent toughness/hardness properties. Most promising routes for preparation of nano composites of large scales and complex systems goes through solutions of inorganic salts or metal-organic compounds due to their cost effectiveness and possibilities in yielding complex compositions.
In the Ni—Al2O3 system, the materials are usually prepared from precursors first yielding NiO and/or NiAl2O4, followed by reduction with hydrogen gas to Ni—Al2O3. This is an inefficient approach since the reduction of especially the binary oxide is difficult and requires high temperatures or long times under reducing atmospheres. The metal formed during the reduction is then much more mobile on the alumina surface and larger metal particles are easily formed as well as very wide metal particle size distributions.
Supported nickel catalysts are among the most active for the CO2 reforming of CH4 to produce syngas, i.e. CO and H2. However, there is a well-documented problem of carbon deposition (poisoning), which deactivates the catalyst, when the nickel-particles are too large.
Metal nano-inclusion ceramic materials (NIM:s) with the metallic particles in the 1-20 nm size range have great potential to become the leading materials in a very wide range of materials, in e.g., mechanically or thermally durable coatings or compacts for cutting tools and light engines (high-performance structural ceramics), selective optical absorption devices for solar heat-absorption, catalysts, highly non-linear optics for photonic switches and frequency converters, transformers, magnetic sensors, temperature stable colour coatings and as substrates for carbon nano-tube growth for use as cold cathode emitters and nano-electronics.
Despite this great potential in a wide area of high- and medium-tech applications, there is still very limited knowledge concerning how to successfully tailor the sizes, contents and shapes of the metal particles and the morphology of the matrix, e.g. as thin films, compacts or porous materials. The methods used for preparation include a variety of physical and chemical techniques. However, the physical and chemical vapour based routes suffer from the drawback that they cannot be used for large-scale applications of NIM-film and NIM-powder preparation and they are comparatively expensive and also require sophisticated vacuum equipment. These techniques are normally restricted to small surfaces, a few centimetres in size, due to limitations in vacuum chamber size and control of the deposition. The deposition is also relatively slow and is often dependent on the substrate.
The chemical routes to Al2O3 based NIM:s, have to a large extent been directed to powders only, and many of the processes reported use high temperatures and/or long annealing times and cannot be used in film preparation. Several processes have been published with the common feature that a salt based solution is gelled or precipitated and annealed in air at different temperatures, normally between 500° C. and 1200° C., yielding a ceramic material containing NiO and Al2O3 and/or NiAl2O4. This powder is then reduced under hydrogen-containing atmosphere during heat-treatment for several hours at ≦1000° C.[E. Breval et al., J. Mater. Sci., 27 1464-1468 (1992)]
Another common partly solution based route for powder preparation is to start with a slurry of Al2O3 powder and nickel containing solution. After evaporation of the solvent the obtained powder is then dried at varying temperatures, typically between 50 and 500° C., and then reduced by heating in H2 at temperatures ≧500° C. [see W. H. Tuan, H. H. Wu, and T. J. Yang, J. Mater. Sci., 30 855-859 (1995), T. Sekino, T. Nakajima, S. Ueda, and K. Niihara, J. Am. Ceram. Soc., 80 1139-1148 (1997)].
Some of the above discussed processes are capable of producing small metal particles, but the control of the powder surface area and morphology is quite limited. There are complex processing routes available involving several steps including the use of the potentially dangerous hydrogen gas at high temperatures and long annealing times. The high temperature and long annealing times leads to a large energy consumption and makes the process expensive, and also reduces the number of possible applications.
Films of Al2O3-based NIM:s are usually made by sputtering techniques [see e.g.: M. Gadenne, P. Gadenne, M. T. Ramdou, J. P. Seagaud, H. Lassri, R. Krishnan, and C. Sella, Materials Science and Engineering, A168 257-261 (1993)]. There is one solution-based route reported. It uses spin-coating of a solution of nickel 2-ethyl-hexanoate and aluminium tri-sec-butoxide (which is a complex synthesis route by refluxing, centrifugation, vacuum evaporation, preformed with two high temperature steps), and the gel film formed is heated to 1200° C. in air to form the spinel NiAl2O4, which is then reduced by heating in H2 at 950° C. for 5 minutes. [G. T. Kraus, Y.-C. Lu, J. E. Trancik, D. M. Mitro, E. P. Giannelis, M. O. Thompson, and S. L. Sass, J. Appl. Phys., 82 1189-1195 (1997)].
JP 07-114048 discloses hyperfine particles of a metal selected from Fe, Co and Ni. The particles are incorporated into a matrix of a non-linear optical material. The matrix has an Al oxide phase and an amorphous alloy phase, consisting of the metal and Al. Metal particles <50 Å can be incorporated, where the alloy phase consists of ≦50 wt % Al and Fe, Co or Ni. The optical material can be produced as a thin film by sputtering or other methods.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,462,903 (CNRS) there is disclosed nano-composite powders of alumina and metal constituted of grains of micronic size. Each grain comprises a compact matrix of alumina, in which there are dispersed crystallites of metals or alloys, the size of which is less than 50 nm. The ratio by weight of metal/alumina is less than 30%.
So far, all routes to Ni—Al2O3 are producing only low nickel loadings, typically up to about 30%, but many applications, such as in magnetic applications and solar heat absorption applications, require very high metal loadings, typically 60-90%.
The compositions of nickel metal inclusions in alumina, Ni—Al2O3, and some of its compositionally modified variants are among the most versatile NIM:s. This type of NIM with different metal particle sizes and concentration (volume content of metal particles in the matrix alumina) in the forms of high surface area materials, films and compacts have many important areas of application.

Composite materials and method of its manufacture


An .alpha.-amylase characterized by having a specific activity at least 25% higher than the specific activity of Termamyl.RTM. at a temperature in the range of 25.degree. C. to 55.degree. C. and at a pH value in the range of pH 8 to pH 10.

For a number of years a-amylase enzymes have been used for a variety of different purposes, the most important of which are starch liquefaction, textile desizing, starch modification in the paper and pulp industry, and for brewing and baking. A further use of .alpha.-amylases, which is becoming increasingly important is the removal of starchy stains during washing and dishwashing.
Examples of commercial .alpha.-amylase products are Termamyl.RTM., BAN.RTM. and Fungamyl.RTM., all available from Novo Nordisk A/S, Denmark. These and similar products from other commercial sources have an acidic to a neutral pH optimum, typically in the range of from pH 5 to pH 7.5, which means that they do not display optimal activity in detergent solutions owing to the alkaline character of the detergents.
It is an object of the present invention to provide novel .alpha.-amylases with improved performance in alkaline solutions, especially in alkaline detergent solutions.


Systems and methods are provided for fail-safe loading of information on a user interface, comprising receiving, via a modular platform, requests for access to a mobile application platform from a plurality of mobile devices, opening and directing the requests for access to the mobile application platform to a sequential processor of an application programming interface (API) gateway when a parallel processor of the API gateway is unresponsive to requests for access to the mobile application platform for a predetermined period of time, periodically checking a status of the parallel processor, and redirecting the requests for access to the mobile application platform to the parallel processor when the parallel processor is capable of processing requests for access to the mobile application platform.

Consumers often shop for and purchase various items online through computers, mobile devices, and smart devices. These online shoppers often rely on online platforms, such as software applications associated with various retailers, to search for products and purchase products. Therefore, it is crucial that the computers, mobile devices, smart devices, and other electronic computing devices are capable of processing user requests and providing requested content to users in a relatively real-time basis with the least amount of latency. For example, users may search for products using the platforms, and in response, computing devices need to immediately process the user's search request and display the requested content in order to facilitate user transactions and improve customer satisfaction.
However, user requests and requested content to be displayed on these online platforms may have various parameters. For example, the requested content may vary in size, format, processing speed, etc. Often, it may take longer to load and display content that is larger in size than content that takes up less processing speed and capacity. In addition, when thousands of users are using the online platform at the same time, a processor configured to process users requests may be overloaded. Accordingly, users may experience latency or a lag when using the online platform. In addition, when there are various content that needs to be displayed on the online platform simultaneously, latency in loading one of the content may delay the loading of the rest of the content on a user interface. For instance, if content to be displayed at the top of a display page on a user interface fails to load, this may prevent the rest of the display page from loading on the user interface.
Such latency in processing user requests and displaying requested content on a user interface may severely reduce a customer's user experience by prolonging the customer's product search, prolonging the customer's online transactions, and reducing the quality of the online platform. Furthermore, manually monitoring the online platform, detecting loading failures, and correcting such failures is often difficult and time-consuming. A customer's user experience would be significantly improved if the online platform proactively accounts for such failures by directing traffic or user requests between a plurality of processors in the application programming interface (API) gateway such that an overload in one processor will not affect a customer's user experience.
Therefore, there is a need for improved methods and systems for fail-safe loading of information on a user interface so that users may quickly find and purchase products while online shopping, thereby improving user satisfaction and user experience of online platforms.

Computerized systems and methods for fail-safe loading of information on a user interface using a circuit breaker


A device receives, from a user device, a request to subscribe to a video content service, and receives privileges and a list of authorized users associated with the user device. The device also registers the user device based on the request to subscribe and based on the privileges associated with the user device, and receives a request to register applications associated with the user device. The device further registers, based on the request to register, the applications associated with the user device, and provides, to the user device, at least one registered display adapter that is capable of being used by the user device to display encoded video content.

A television service provider's set-top box (STB) tightly couples an application environment to an entertainment display (e.g., a television screen). As consumers continue to blur the line between traditional television and other devices that posses audio and video capabilities (e.g., personal computers, smartphones, tablet computers, laptop computers, gaming systems, etc.), such consumers may wish to receive television content on these other devices. However, such other devices are not capable of performing functions (e.g., decoding) on television content that STBs are capable of performing. Furthermore, consumers are increasingly active on the Internet while simultaneously watching television programming. However, attempts to turn a television into an interactive terminal have been unsuccessful.

Displaying encoded video content via a display adapter


A method for reducing IP level signaling and radio resource load during the attachment or update L3 of a mobile unit to a cellular wireless communication network is disclosed wherein access network elements and routing network elements are provided, an identification element is transmitted from the mobile unit to one of the access network elements. The identification element indicates a current attachment of the mobile unit to one of the routing network elements. The transmitted identification element is checked so as to determine whether the access network element is provided with a connection to the one routing network element.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and/or system and/or system units and/a computer program product which are usable for attaching a mobile unit to a cellular wireless communication network. In particular, the present invention relates to method and/or system and/or system units and/a computer program product, which minimize the L3 or IP signaling load during attachment or update procedures to the cellular wireless communication network.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, development of communication networks has made considerable progress. Among such communication networks, there is an increasing number of communication networks supporting mobility of the users having subscribed to the networks. A user is represented by a terminal unit or terminal node he uses for communication with a communication partner unit or node. Note that in general a communication partner node is of the same or a similar type than a terminal node, while "partner node" has only been chosen to illustrate that this is the destination or called node in communication. A terminal node/communication partner node may for example be a mobile phone, mobile laptop computer, a personal digital assistant (PDA) or the like. Nevertheless, a called communication partner node may also be a fixed terminal such as a personal computer PC or the like.
Currently, 3rd generation communication networks, e.g. the Universal Mobile Telecommunication System (UMTS), are under development in 3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP). In general, UMTS networks includes a core network, Universal Terrestrial Radio Access (UTRA) network (UTRAN), and user equipment (i.e. user terminal units). The UTRAN provides interfaces to the core network and radio interfaces to the user equipment. As commonly known, protocols used for these interfaces are arranged into so-called layers. For example, the radio (L2) interface protocol architecture comprises a data link layer comprising e.g. medium access control (MAC) and radio link control (RLC) sublayers, and radio resource control (RRC). Furthermore, also a network layer is provided. The architecture, design as well as the used protocols of the UMTS are commonly known to those skilled in the art and will thus not be described in further detail herein.
With the increasing spreading and acceptance of the Internet, a harmonization of communication networks arises in that communication networks, in particular wireless communication networks, tend to be compatible with the Internet. Thus there is a tendency to adopt the Internet Protocol IP also in communication networks other than the Internet. IP is a packet based protocol type which allows transmitting data via the network in so-called packets comprising a header (including routing information) and a payload. In the case of mobility supporting communication networks, IP is adopted in a mobility supporting version still compatible with IP "as such". For example, Mobile IPv4, Mobile IPv6 or Cellular IP protocol version exist.
Mobile IP specifications and definitions of common terms in this technical field can be found under http://www.ietf.org, retrieved from the Internet on Aug. 8, 2002.
There is developed a variety of wireless communication networks which support IP based communication, i.e. packet-switched networks supporting mobility of the users, such as GPRS, UMTS, Mobile IP (MIP) or the like.
In wireless cellular networks, user terminal units are able to perform communications with each other (for example within the same wireless cellular communication network) or with corresponding terminals of other networks (for example wired LANs, WLANs, fixed or mobile cellular communication networks and the like) via corresponding communication protocols. The general architecture of a wireless cellular network, for example IPv6 based, is commonly known and thus described only shortly. The key elements of a cellular access network are the user terminal units or nodes and cellular access points (CAP) with which the user terminal communicates over a wireless communication interface, e.g. radio based. A cellular access point (also referred to as base station) covers a specific area, which is referred to hereinafter as a cell. The size of a cell may vary in dependence of the environment, network operator specifications, number of associated subscribers and the like. The CAP is adapted to control communications of the user terminals within this cell, for example, by allocating frequency channels, establishing connections for the user terminals, forwarding data and the like. A user terminal is normally associated with one access point, which is referred to hereinafter as the serving CAP. A cellular access point can be associated to one or more access routers AR which routes the transmitted data via the cellular access points to and from the terminal node. Via a distribution network to which the cellular access points may be connected via the access router, communication connections between different cellular access networks or external networks (e.g. fixed networks, mobile telecommunications networks such as GSM, UMTS, WLAN and the like) can be established for a user terminal. Normally, for the communication control, the user terminal may be attached to the corresponding serving CAP via a L2 protocol and to the access router via a L3 or IP protocol.
For forwarding correctly data to and from the (mobile) user terminal, it is necessary that the network knows where the user terminal is located in the network. For this purpose, the user terminal is provided with addresses received by the respective network elements, such as the associated access point, the attached access router and the like. The addresses are registered, for example, in the home agent (HA) of the user terminal's home site. When the mobile user terminal is moved to another cell (i.e. another access point coverage area) it receives a new temporarily address which is called the Care-of-Address (CoA). When the user terminal knows the new CoA, it performs a so-called binding update procedure, e.g. a Mobile IPv6 binding update, with a corresponding network registering element, for example, with its HA. By means of this the CoA is mapped to the "permanent" address of the user terminal so as to ensure the reachability of the user terminal in the network.
A further development in the field of IP based communication networks is known as Hierarchical Mobile IP (HMIP). In this solution, a further network element is provided which is called Mobile Anchor Point (MAP). This MAP is used as a mobility agent for supporting mobility management of the user terminal in the network, e.g. in case of handovers.
In IP based communication networks, in particular in an IPv6 based network, a procedure known as Neighbor Discovery is performed. Neighbor Discovery is a commonly known concept and is described in further detail, for example, in the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) Requests For Comments (RFC) 1970 and 2461. In short, nodes (hosts and routers) use Neighbor Discovery to determine the link-layer addresses for neighbors known to reside on attached links and to quickly purge cached values that become invalid. Hosts also use Neighbor Discovery to find neighboring routers that are willing to forward packets on their behalf. Finally, nodes use the protocol to actively keep track of which neighbors are reachable and which are not, and to detect changed link-layer addresses. When a router or the path to a router fails, a host actively searches for functioning alternates.
According to the IPv6 Neighbor Discovery, the AR sends periodic Router Advertisements via the access points to user terminals, which are also designated as mobile nodes MN. That means, routers advertise their presence together with various link and Internet parameters periodically (or in response to a Router Solicitation message). The Router Advertisements comprise prefixes that are used, e.g., for on-link determination and/or address configuration.
The MN listens to the Router Advertisements. In the case that a new prefix is advertised, the MN determines that the network layer attachment has changed (i.e. the attachment to the AR) and computes a new CoA based on the new AR prefix (from the new AR) and then performs MIPv6 binding procedures.
However, IPv6 Neighbor Discovery, as well as MIPv6 procedures in general, affects spectrum efficiency of wireless communication networks. Particularly, for all messages concerning the network attachment (i.e. L3 messages) a radio bearer has to be established between the MN and the network. This requires the establishment of expensive traffic channels.
In FIGS. 5 and 6 a part of a cellular wireless communication network is shown for illustrating different Neighbor Discovery situations. In general, when the MN is for example L2 dormant (i.e. a state in which the MN restricts its ability to receive normal IP traffic by reducing monitoring of radio channels, which allows the MN to save power and reduces signaling load on the network), it "wakes up" after specific periods of time to perform periodic routine functions, for example to monitor paging channel (PCH) and for periodic L2 updates depending on the CELL_PCH or the URA_PCH (URA: UTRAN Registration Area) dormancy levels. However, every time it performs an L2 update, for radio efficiency reasons, the AP must also send (or allow from AR) the L3 network information to provide the current network attachment information, like the Router Advertisement. If the information is different from current network attachment in the MN, the MN obtains a new CoA and performs MIPv6 Binding Updates to all the mobility agents like HA and/or MAP (if HMIP is used).
Referring to FIG. 5, we assume a case where MN (i.e. MN1) has a network attachment (CoA) previously from an AR (in FIG. 5, AR1). That means, that the original Cellular Access Point CAP1 has provided the MN1 with the Router Advertisement of AR1, and the MN has a CoA from AR1 and performs a corresponding binding update for mapping this CoA at its HA. Thereafter, e.g. after a specific period of time, the MN1 may go L2 dormant. The MN1 can become L2 dormant in either cell level (CELL_PCH) or RRA (Radio Resource Allocation) level (URA_PCH). When the MN1 moves from one cellular Access Point CAP1 to another CAP2, as shown in FIG. 5, if it is in the CELL_PCH dormant state, it will perform cell updates. At the same time, the new CAP2 must allow the MN1 to receive a Router Advertisement to check its latest network attachment. In the case that the new CAP2 belongs to a different AR (not shown) a different network prefix is sent and an attachment procedure is performed. However, in the other case, in which the new CAP2 belongs to the same network coverage as the previous CAP1 to which the MN1 was associated before (as shown in FIG. 5), there is also established a Radio Bearer to provide the MN1 with the Router Advertisement (i.e. the prefix of AR1). The same situation applies to URA_PCH state, only that the MN wakes up only when it changes the cells at the RRA level, while the rest of the procedure remains the same.
In a more complex network scenario, such as shown in FIG. 6, where there may be many-to-many relation between different CAP (CAP1, CAP2) and AR (AR1, AR2, AR3), the situation becomes also more complex. Again, MN1 is provided with the Router Advertisement of AR1 by the CAP1, has performed the binding update, and may be gone to L2 dormant state. When the MN1 moves from its original CAP1 area to a new CAP2 area, the CAP2 could theoretically selectively provide one (or more) optimum Router Advertisements to the MN1. However, due to efficiency reasons, the CAP2 is not adapted to provide Router Advertisements from every AR it is connected to. Thus, the new CAP2 selects one of the connected AR (e.g. AR3) of which the Router Advertisement is sent to the MN1, which in turn performs the described attachment procedure.
This existing scheme is in particular problematic with regard to radio resources. As described above, for the provision of the network attachment information (L3), a Radio Bearer has to be established. In the case of FIG. 5, it is actually unnecessary for the MN to receive the Router Advertisements of the AR1. The problem is not just to send the Router Advertisement, but also to send it over the default Radio Bearer, which must be established if the MN1 was L2 dormant. In the case of FIG. 6, even though the CAP2 also belongs to the same AR that the MN was originally connected to (i.e. AR1), the CAP2 must provide a new Router Advertisement from any of AR1, AR2 or AR3 after establishing a new default Radio Bearer. The problem amplifies when the MN receives the new Router Advertisement, for example, of AR3. Then MN1 has to reconfigure a new CoA and perform all the MIPv6 binding procedures, while there was actually no need for this. Thus, this mechanism is a drain on the MN power and also very inefficient on radio resources.
One approach to reduce the signaling load in IP based communication networks is the so-called IP Dormancy/Paging, which is described, for example in IETF RFC 3154 and RFC 3132. However, this approach is still vague and will increase the network complexity of the network due to the involved paging network architecture.

Mobile unit attachment/update to cellular communication network


A transfer apparatus includes a stationary base, a swivel supported by the stationary base to be rotatable about a vertical axis, a guide member mounted on the swivel, a linear movement mechanism supported by the swivel or the guide member, a hand supported by the linear movement mechanism and moved by the linear movement mechanism for carrying a work along a straight and horizontal travel stroke, a drive source disposed inside the stationary base, and a transmission shaft disposed along the vertical axis to transmit drive power from the drive source to the linear movement mechanism. The swivel includes an upper section and a lower section detachably connected with each other. The upper section has a connecting member supported by the upper section to be rotatable about the vertical axis. The connecting member has a detachable engagement member for engagement with the transmission shaft from the above.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a transfer apparatus, in particular to a transfer apparatus designed to carry a thin plate-like work such as a substrate along a straight path.
2. Description of the Related Art
Among conventional transfer apparatuses, there is a type which has a mechanism for moving their hands along a straight path (linear movement mechanism). These robots are simpler in construction and less expensive than so called multi-joint robots, and used widely in e.g. manufacturing processes of semiconductor devices and liquid crystal display panels, for moving thin plate-like works such as wafers and glass substrates into and out of different process chambers.
Such a transfer apparatus for carrying a thin plate-like work is disclosed in JP-A-2005-125479, for example. The conventional transfer apparatus includes link arm mechanisms supported by a swivel. The link arm mechanisms have their end portions provided with a hand which is capable of holding a plate-like work such as a substrate horizontally. The swivel is supported rotatably with respect to a stationary base. As the swivel turns about a vertical swivel axis on the stationary base, the link arm mechanisms are rotated therewith. The stationary base incorporates therein a drive source for driving the link arm mechanisms, and a transmission shaft extending into the swivel to transmit power from the drive source to the link arm mechanisms. As the driving power is transmitted from the drive source in the stationary base via the transmission shaft, the link arm mechanisms are actuated and as the link arm mechanisms are actuated, the plate-like work held by the hands are moved linearly in a horizontal plane, whereby the plate-like works are moved from a predetermined location to another location. The swivel also supports guide members. To the guide members, guide rails are fixed so as to support and guide the hands when they are moved in a predetermined direction as the link arm mechanisms swing open and close. This arrangement enables to move the hands with the plate-like works more stably along the linear path.
Meanwhile, a recent trend in the manufacture of liquid crystal display panels, for example, is to increase the panel size. This leads to a requirement for increase in the size of the hands in the transfer apparatus, increase in the size of the work to be transported thereby, and as a result, increase in the distance of the transport path.
However, as the travel stroke increases with the increasing size of the work, the overall size of a transfer apparatus also have to increase. Because of such size increase, the handling of a transfer apparatus at the time of installing, for example, tends to be difficult.


A mobile terminal including a wireless communication unit configured to receive a call signal from at least one other terminal, in which the call signal corresponds to at least one of a first call ID and a second call ID of the mobile terminal; and a controller configured to receive an event on the mobile terminal after the call signal is received, transmit an event signal to an external terminal wirelessly connected with the mobile terminal using the corresponding first or second call ID to respond to the received event, and control the external terminal to display information on a display unit of the external terminal based on the event signal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile terminal for displaying information associated with at least one mobile terminal and a control method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
Terminals can be classified into two types, such as a mobile or portable terminal and a stationary terminal. The mobile terminal can be further classified into two types, such as a handheld terminal and a vehicle mounted terminal.
As it becomes multifunctional, for example, such a terminal can capture still images or moving images, play music or video files, play games, receive broadcast and the like, so as to be implemented as an integrated multimedia player. Furthermore, such a mobile terminal can communicate with at least other mobile terminal using near field communication.
Moreover, the improvement of structural or software elements of the terminal may be taken into consideration to support and enhance the functions of the terminal. Performing another function during the use of the terminal may be applicable to one of the structural changes and enhancements. In particular, while the user is talking over the phone to the other terminal, the user's implementation of another function (for example, text message transmission) is limited. Furthermore, when the terminal has a plurality of stored phone numbers, the problem becomes worse.

Mobile terminal and control method for the mobile terminal


A contact structure, including: a first conductive layer; a insulating layer formed on the first conductive layer; a second conductive layer formed on the insulating layer; and a columnar structure, buried in a direction of film thickness in the insulating layer, electrically connecting the first conductive layer and the second conductive layer; wherein a reinforcement material is adhered to a vicinity of a root of the columnar structure.

The present invention relates to a microstructure and a manufacturing method thereof.
Common techniques of forming a contact structure, in order to achieve electric connections of multi-layered wirings or wirings between semiconductor devices, are described, for instance, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-179139.
As disclosed in the example, a method for obtaining a contact structure includes: forming a plated strut by metal plating on a metallic layer, thereafter coating on the metallic layer and the plated strut with a polymer. Moreover, as disclosed in another embodiment in the example, a method for obtaining a contact structure includes: forming a strut with a photoresist on a metallic layer, thereafter coating the metallic layer and the plated strut with a polymer, followed by filling a hole formed by removing a photoresist with a metallic material.
However, the above-mentioned methods involve a problem of struts falling if coated with the polymer in a high-speed condition such as with spin coating etc., in the case struts have a high aspect ratio, causing product yield to decrease.

Substrate, electro-optical device, electronic apparatus, method of forming substrate, method of forming electro-optical device, and method of forming electronic apparatus


The invention relates to a purified somatostatin receptor which is purified at least about 30,000-fold over the receptor which is membrane-bound. The invention also provides pharmaceutical compositions containing the receptor and antibodies to the receptor.

All vertebrates produce one or more different types of growth factors or growth hormones which are responsible for, among other effects, stimulating protein synthesis, cell division and growth, tissue formation, repair and/or maintenance, and storage or release of particular necessary nutrients into or out of specific cells. Such factors or hormones are often proteins or polypeptides they share the common feature of being manufactured and released by one type of cell, but exerting their ultimate effects on a different type of target cell. Among some of the better known growth mediators are nerve growth factor, epidermal growth factor, fibroblast growth factor, insulin-like growth factors (somatomedin) and growth hormone (somatotropin).
Each of these factors acts initially by binding to a receptor protein, which may be located either on the surface or in the cytoplasm of the particular factor's target cell. The receptor has a binding site which has a high affinity and specificity for the growth factor or hormone when the binding between factor and receptor occurs, a sequence of reactions is initiated which in some manner alters the functioning of the target cell. For example, it may cause the target cell to increase production and secretion of a particular protein, or alternately, it may signal the target cell to temporarily cease or decrease production of a certain protein.
Another example of a specific type of intercellular signalling compound is the peptide somatostatin, also referred to as somatotropin release-inhibiting factor (SRIF). This peptide is produced in a number of tissues, including the brain, gut, pancreas and adrenal cortex, and has wide-ranging effects throughout the body. As its name implies, SRIF inhibits the release of somatotropin from the anterior pituitary. However, other physiological effects of SRIF include inhibition of glucagon and insulin release from the pancreas, regulation of gut motility, and neurotransmission/neuromodulation function in the brain. In the latter capacity, SRIF can stimulate the release of neurotransmitters such as serotonin, dopamine and epinephrine. SRIF exists in two principle forms in mammalian tissues: SRIF-14, which is a tetradecapeptide, and SRIF-28, in which residues 15-28 are identical to SRIF-14. SRIF-28 also has an additional 14 amino acids at its amino terminus. The shorter peptide results from postranslational proteolytic cleavage of SRIF-28.
The intracellular aspect of the signalling action of somatostatin is mediated via receptors on the surface of target cells. It has been suggested that SRIF receptor subtypes exist in different cells and for differential interactions with specific signalling mechanisms. For example, radiological competition assays have shown that SRIF-14, SRIF-28 and other synthetic analogs can show vast differences in receptor binding affinity in brain, pancreas and pituitary cells (Srikant et al., Endocrinology 108:341-343, 1981; Tran et al., Science 228:492-495, 1985; Heiman et al., Neuroendocrinology 45:429-436, 1987; Amhardt et al., J. Clin. Invest. 80:1455-1460, 1987; Srikant et al., Nature 294:259-260, 1981). SRIF receptor subtypes are also suggested by the observation of differential effects of SRIF-14 and SRIF-28 on glucagon and insulin release in pancreas (Brown et al., Endocrinology 108:2391-2393, 1981) and on K.sup.+ channel activation in cultured cerebral cortical neurons (Wang et al., PNAS USA 86:9616-9620, 1989).
The activity of the SRIF receptor in mediating the SRIF biological effects seems to be intimately associated with pertussis toxin-sensitive GTP-binding regulatory proteins (hereinafter referred to as G proteins). It has been suggested (Jacobs et al., PNAS USA 80:3899-3902, 1983; Lewis et al. PNAS USA 83:9035-9039, 1985; Wang et al., PNAS USA 86:9616-9620, 1989) that SRIF receptors couple to cellular effector systems such as the adenylyl cyclase complex and to ion conductance channels by way of the G proteins. This association has been particularly well demonstrated in pituitary cells, wherein pertussis toxin blocked SRIF-mediated inhibitions of Ca.sup.2+ influx (Lewis et al., supra, Reisine et al., J. Pharmacol. Exp. Ther. 235:551-557, 1985) and adenylate cyclase (Reisine et al., J. Pharmacol Exp. Ther. 232:275-282, 1985), reduced agonist binding affinity of the SRIF receptor (Reisine, Supra), and blocked the SRIF-mediated inhibiting of adenylate cyclase and Ca.sup.2+ and decreased binding of [.sup.125 I]Tyr.sup.1 -SRIF by more than 95% (Kirk et al., Endocrinol. 114:1784-1790, 1984).
There has been evidence that direct immunoneutralization of SRIF enhances growth in primitive breeds of sheep (Spencer, Domestic Animal Endocrinology 3:55-68, 1985). However, this technique has had very limited success in commercial breeds of farm animals (Meats, Can. J. Anim. Sci. 70:1091-1097, 1990). This failure could be the result of compensatory overproduction of SRIF, variability in the immune response between animals or undesirable effects on other SRIF-dependent systems (i.e., lack of tissue specificity). However, the potentiation of growth hormone releasing factor effects in the rat model system by passive immunoneutralizatlon of SRIF (Wehrenberg et al., Endocrinology 114:1613-1616, 1984; Wehrenberg et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Comm. 109:562-567, 1982) suggests that neutralization of SRIF, either pharmacologically or immunologically, has great potential. One way in which the problems with the antisomatostatin approach might be overcome is the specific antagonism of the SRIF receptor via receptor-specific ligands or antireceptor antibodies. Use of either one of these techniques involves binding a non-SRIF material to the receptor, thereby blocking the receptor site and preventing the sending of endogenous SRIF. However, to date there has been little success in synthesizing peptide SRIF antagonists, and a random screening procedure would be useful in identifying compounds that inhibit SRIF activity. Moreover, although the immunological approach is becoming a means of animal growth regulation, the appropriate tools for application of these methods to SRIF have not yet been developed. In each of these approaches, the availability of a purified, well-characterized, tissue-specific receptor is essential to successful use of the methods.
Notwithstanding the need in art for isolation of SRIF receptors generally, and a pituitary receptor in particular, there has been little progress made in conclusively solubilizing and purifying well-defined SRIF receptors from any tissue type. Purification of pituitary receptors in general has been difficult because of the scarcity of tissue, as well as the problems involved in solubilizing the receptors in active form and developing an efficient purification method. SRIF receptors from various cell sources have been solubilized (He et al., Mol. Pharmacol. 37:614-621, 1990; Knuhtsen et al., J. Biol. Chem. 265:1129-1133, 1990; Reyl-Desmars et al., J. Biol. Chem. 264:18789-18795, 1989) in active, high affinity states in the detergent CHAPS. SRIF Receptor: [.sup.125 I] SRIF complexes have also been solubilized in CHAPS (Knuhtsen et al., Biochem. J. 254:641-647, 1988) and Zwittergent (Zeggari et al., Eur. J. Biochem. 164:667-673, 1987). At best, however, these complexes were stable enough to allow chromatographic separation of free from bound radio-ligand, and no further purification of receptor was reported.
One attempt to purify the solubilized SRIF receptor from rat brain has been reported (He et al., PNAS USA 86:1480-1484, 1989). The authors employed affinity chromatography on immobilized D-Trp-SRIF14. Eluates from the affinity column were not shown to have SRIF binding activity. Nonetheless, these investigators concluded that the SRIF receptor had been isolated. This conclusion was based on the ability to chemically cross-link a [.sup.125 I]-labelled SRIF analog to a 55-60,000 MW protein in the eluate, and comparison with a similar sized protein which was radiolabelled by chemical cross-linking in intact brain membranes (Thermos and Reisine, Mol. Pharmacol 33:370-377, 1988). The human gut SRIF receptor from HGT-1 cells was said to be purified by a monoclonal antibody with apparent specificity for the SRIF receptor (Reyl-Desmars, et al., J. Biol. Chem. 264:18789-18795, 1989). Eluates from the immunoaffinity column showed binding of [.sup.125 I]SRIF, and also contained a single narrow 90,000 MW band. However, the affinity column eluates showed greatly lowered SRIF binding affinity, making characterization of the purified receptor less reliable. Also, the sharply focused 90K band was unusual for a presumably glycosylated protein. Proteins of this type usually give a poorly focused "fuzzy" appearance. No further information has been published on any of these putative receptors; therefore, their identity as such remains uncertain.
The present invention now provides a substantially pure SRIF receptor protein, the identity of which is verified by a number of different criteria. The receptor protein, which is purified by a novel method, is isolated substantially free of other associated proteins, including G proteins, and as such is useful for sequencing, gene cloning, antibody production, and therapeutic purposes.


A damper system for a vehicle including a pressure tube, piston assembly, and stroke dependent damper assembly. The stroke dependent damper assembly is coupled to a piston rod at a position below the piston assembly. The stroke dependent damper assembly includes a disc chamber that slidably receives a flexible floating disc. The disc chamber has proximal and distal chamber surfaces, which can include holes. The flexible floating disc is moveable between a first position where it contacts the proximal chamber surface and a second position where it contacts the distal chamber surface. The proximal chamber surface defines a proximal tapered cavity and the distal chamber surface defines a distal tapered cavity. The flexible floating disc is resilient and can flex into the proximal tapered cavity or the distal tapered cavity when it makes contact with the proximal chamber surface or the distal chamber surface.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Shock absorbers are typically used in conjunction with automotive suspension systems or other suspension systems to absorb unwanted vibrations that occur during movement of the suspension system. In order to absorb these unwanted vibrations, automotive shock absorbers are generally connected between the sprung (body) and the unsprung (suspension/drivetrain) masses of the vehicle.
In typical shock absorbers, a piston is located within a fluid chamber defined by a pressure tube and is connected to the sprung mass of the vehicle through a piston rod. The pressure tube is connected to the unsprung mass of the vehicle. The piston divides the fluid chamber of the pressure tube into an upper working chamber and a lower working chamber. The piston includes compression valving that limits the flow of hydraulic fluid from the lower working chamber to the upper working chamber during a compression stroke. The piston also includes rebound valving that limits the flow of hydraulic fluid from the upper working chamber to the lower working chamber during a rebound or extension stroke. By controlling the fluid flow between the two working chambers, a pressure drop is built up between the two working chambers. Because the compression valving and the rebound valving each has the ability to limit the flow of hydraulic fluid, the shock absorber is able to produce damping forces that counteract oscillations/vibrations, which would otherwise be transmitted from the unsprung mass to the sprung mass.
Typical shock absorbers provide the same magnitude of damping force regardless of the length of a damper stroke. However, shock absorbers have been developed where the magnitude of the damping force generated by the shock absorber during smaller damper strokes is different from the magnitude of the damping force generated by the shock absorber during larger damper strokes. These multi-force shock absorbers provide a relatively small or low damping force during the normal running of the vehicle and a relatively large or high damping force during maneuvers requiring extended suspension movements. The normal running of the vehicle is accompanied by small or fine vibrations of the un-sprung mass of the vehicle and thus the need for a soft ride or low damping characteristic of the suspension system to isolate the sprung mass from these small or fine vibrations. During a turning or braking maneuver, as an example, the sprung mass of the vehicle will attempt to undergo a relatively slow and/or large vibration, which then requires a firm ride or high damping characteristic of the suspension system to support the sprung mass and provide stable handling characteristics to the vehicle. Thus, these multi-force shock absorbers offer the advantage of a smooth steady state ride by eliminating the high frequency/small excitations from the sprung mass, while still providing the necessary damping or firm ride for the suspension system during vehicle maneuvers causing larger excitations of the sprung mass.
One such multi-force shock absorber is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,220,409, which is also assigned to Tenneco Automotive Inc. This shock absorber provides two stages of damping (hard and soft) by utilizing a stroke dependent damper assembly that is mounted to the piston rod below the main piston assembly. The stroke dependent damper assembly includes a piston that is longitudinally moveable between two rubber travel stops. These resilient travel stops act as mechanical stops for the piston when the piston reaches its travel extremes. When the piston hits one of these resilient travel stops, especially during a rebound stroke, a pressure wave can be created in the hydraulic fluid of the shock absorber that can vibrate the piston rod and cause noise.
Accordingly, there remains a need in the marketplace for stroke dependent shock absorbers with improved noise, vibration, and harshness.

Tenneco Automotive Operating Company Inc.


This invention provides a method for recovering nucleic acids and a device for the same purpose, which method and device are capable of continuously recovering nucleic acids by enabling the recovery of nucleic acids in one simple operation. This nucleic acid recovering device comprises: a container to which a solution containing micro-organisms is supplied; electrodes which are made of a hollow fiber membrane coated with a conductive metal and which send electricity to the solution; a pulse oscillator which sends pulse waves to the electrodes; and a micropump which draws up the solution within the hollow fiber membrane coated with metal.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method for recovering nucleic acids from a solution containing micro-organisms and to a device for the same purpose.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Due to the development of the technology of gene recombination in the medical industry, biological formulations are being manufactured by gene recombination. For example, many protein liquid factors, such as human insulin, interferon which is becoming widely used for the medical treatment of hepatitis, or interleukin which is regarded as a carcinostatic, are being used as medicines to remedy previously incurable disease. These protein factors are manufactured by incorporating a human gene into a fungus such as calibacillus, having the fungus produce the protein factors, and then either by incorporating a separate gene which ejects the object constituents out of the fungus or by dissolving the fungus with another enzyme to recover the object constituents.
However, since the above method requires several operational steps, a problem exists in that protein cannot be recovered continuously.
Accordingly, the official gazette of the Japanese Patent Laid-Open (Kokai) Publication No. HEI 7-68268 provides a protein recovering method and device thereof which enable the recovery of protein and various hormones in one continuous operation, and which also enable the continuous recovery of protein and various hormones. This official gazette also discloses a sterilization method and a device thereof which are capable of obtaining a desirable sterilizing performance achieved through the introduction of electricity for a short period of time, as well as a removal method and a device thereof capable of removing fungi after sterilization.
These days, due to rapid development of gene engineering, it has become a daily affair to remove objective genes and protein from recombined bacteria. In order to take out genes and protein, a method of dissolving fungi with enzymes or physically breaking fungi by using ultrasonic waves, etc. is used.
However, whilst the conventional method described in the above official gazette can achieve the sterilization and the efficient recovery of protein and various hormones from a solution containing micro-organisms, recovery of nucleic acids is not considered at all.
When objective protein and genes are taken out of bacteria by dissolving fungi with enzymes or by physically breaking fungi with ultrasonic waves, it is necessary to cease the culturing of bacteria at once, thereby resulting in the problem that protein and genes cannot be taken out efficiently.

Method for recovering nucleic acid and device for the same purpose


The present invention relates to Brassica oleracea plants resistant to clubroot. The invention further relates to parts of these plants, to seeds and to other propagation material, and to the progeny of these plants.

Brassica is a genus of plants, taxonomically embedded within the Brassicaceae family. It contains many economic important crops that serve as a source of food, but species are also employed in the production of oil. In general, the Brassica genus includes B. napus, B. nigra, B. rapa, B. juncea and B. oleracea. Brassica napus is very important in the production of vegetable oil that is increasingly applied in the fuel industry. Together with Brassica rapa, Brassica nigra and Brassica juncea, Brassica oleracea is a species that plays a very important role in the production of human food. Over time, cultivars originated within B. oleracea amongst which cabbage, Chinese cabbage, cauliflower, collards, broccoli, kohlrabi and Brussels sprouts can be found.
The wild cabbage has been bred into a broad range of different horticultural cultivars that remained sexually compatible. However, their appearance does not show a very high level of phylogenetic similarity. The wide range in differences of morphological characteristics within Brassica oleracea has long been of interest and forms the foundation of a cultivar's uniqueness. These include an enlarged inflorescence (cauliflower, broccoli); an enlarged stem (kohlrabi); an enlarged apical bud (cabbage); enlarged lateral buds (Brussels' sprouts).
Breeding of cruciferous vegetables like Brassica oleracea varieties aims at the production of commercial varieties optimally adapted to local growing conditions which allows the grower to maximize the productivity of high quality plants. Many characteristics need to be taken into account during selection which relate to both input as well as output traits. One of the most important input traits in this respect relates to disease resistance, in particular to resistance towards micro-organisms.
Cabbage plants are affected by a wide range of pests and diseases. These threats are therefore high priority objects for cabbage breeders, in order to obtain crops that are vigorous and highly resistant. In absence of resistances in these crops, growers necessarily have to apply agronomic strategies like crop rotation and intercropping in order to reduce pest damage in areas where cruciferous vegetables are grown.
The present invention relates to the species within Brassica oleracea that are affected by infection with clubroot.
Clubroot is a common, probably the most damaging disease found among cabbages, radishes, turnips and other plants belonging to the Crucifereae family. It is caused by the eukaryotic unicellular organism Plasmodiophora brassicae Wor. The incidence of clubroot in North West Europe, Japan, North America and Australia is estimated to affect around 10% of grown B. oleracea crops. The disseminated spores remain infectious for 15 years. Through addition of calcium and other means to prevent a drop of pH of the soil, the disease pressure may be reduced. Chemical treatment is considered to be ineffective due to environmental regulations or these chemicals are too expensive.
The life cycle of the parasite consists of two main phases. The first phase takes place in the vicinity of root hairs. After germination of the resting spore, the primary zoospore becomes attached to a root hair. By turgor pressure from the spore cyst, a small, wall-less amoeba is injected in the cytoplasm of the host and a primary, multinucleate plasmodium is formed. Through mechanisms of phagocytosis, plasmodia migrate deeper into the root tissue and reach the root cortex. In this second phase, the multinuclear secondary plasmodium will develop and through cell divisions and hypertrophy, gall formation is triggered. Finally, host cells will contain haploid, resisting spores which can be disseminated.
The clubs formed on the roots inhibit the transport of nutrients and water, leading to inhibition of plant growth and an increase of the susceptibility to wilting. Infection by Plasmodiophora brassicae occurs worldwide and it has an extensive host range. Cultural practices and/or chemical treatments have been unsuccessful in protecting crops or have proven to be too expensive. Therefore, the development of resistant cultivars is now considered the most economical and efficient method for the control of clubroot.
However, multiple isolates of Plasmodiophora brassicae exist. This makes breeding of different cultivars of different Brassica oleracea cultivars complex, as different cultivars are infected by different isolates of P. brassicae. Also, field populations of P. brassicae exhibit clear differences in pathogenicity. These populations can be classified with respect to differential pathogenicity. The differential series as classified by Williams (1966) and the European Clubroot Differential set (ECD) by Buczacki are commonly used.
Several genetic sources of resistance have already been described in literature. These comprise monogenic as well as polygenic and recessive as well as dominant types. In general, the monogenic dominant resistances are identified in B. rapa and B. napus. In B. oleracea, in general only polygenic recessive sources have been found. These resistances did not show to be sufficiently resistant to clubroot races and secondly, it has been shown very difficult to transfer the resistance between commercial B. oleracea lines. The transfer of a resistance from B. rapa to B. oleracea has also shown to be difficult, as the sexual compatibility species of these Brassica species is low.
In the prior art resistances to Plasmodiophora brassicae have been identified. However, several arguments are relevant when considering the present invention in the light of the prior art. Firstly, it is important that resistance against Plasmodiophora brassicae is as broad as possible. A broader resistance will provide longer protection, especially when regarding the virulent and persistent character of the pathogen causing clubbed roots.
Secondly, the genetic background of the resistance is of important relevance in two ways. On the one hand, it is an advantage when the genetic basis is limited to a small number of genes, preferably one gene. This enables easy transfer of the genetic determinant(s) conferring the resistance to other Brassica plants. On the other hand, in regard of complex genetic relations found within the Brassica genus, it is also an advantage if the genetic determinant(s) conferring the resistance is derived from the same Brassica species, e.g. Brassica oleracea.
Thirdly, a genetic determinant(s) conferring the resistance that is inherited in a recessive way provides advantages.
Citation or identification of any document in this application is not an admission that such document is available as prior art to the present invention.


A system and method is provided for making highly accurate data propagation delay measurements in a serializer/deserializer (SERDES) integrated circuit. The invention detects a selected special character when the special character is present at the input of a transmit data path of the SERDES integrated circuit. The invention also detects the special character when the special character appears at the output of the transmit data path. The invention then counts the number of clock cycles during which the selected character was in the transmit data path. This provides the data propagation delay of the special character through the transmit data path. The invention also makes data propagation delay measurements for a receive data path of a SERDES integrated circuit.

Serializer/deserializer (SERDES) integrated circuits are commonly used in electronic systems where there is a need for transporting large amounts of data at high speed between two slow speed systems. SERDES integrated circuits have a wide range of applications from personal computer (PC) motherboards to cellular mobile base stations. Such applications sometimes demand precise knowledge of the propagation delay that results from transporting the data between two modules.
A SERDES integrated circuit (or "SERDES chip") can transport large amounts of data at high speed within an electronic system. A SERDES chip is typically used to transport data across a board or a backplane. A SERDES chip usually has two input/output (I/O) interfaces. One of the I/O interfaces is a low speed, parallel bus interface that sends and receives data bits from other components (e.g., application specific integrated circuits (ASICS) or microprocessors). The other I/O interface operates at high speed and sends and receives data through a serial line that usually comprises a pair of wires or signal traces on a board.
FIG. 1 illustrates a schematic diagram of a prior art SERDES chip 100. The transmitter (TX) 105 of SERDES chip 100 shown in FIG. 1 receives data from a low speed N-bit parallel input bus 110. The SERDES chip 100 converts the low speed parallel N-bits into a serial data stream. The transmitter 105 of the SERDES chip 100 then transmits the serial data stream on a high-speed serial output bus 115.
The receiver (RX) 120 of SERDES chip 100 also receives data from a high-speed serial input bus 125. The SERDES chip 100 converts the high-speed serial data into a N-bit parallel data stream. The receiver 120 of the SERDES chip 100 then outputs the parallel data stream on a low speed N-bit parallel output bus 130.
FIG. 2 illustrates how two prior art SERDES chips (220 and 230) may employed in a cellular mobile base station 200. The control system 210 of the base station 200 processes the data and sends the data through a low speed parallel bus 215 to the parallel input of SERDES chip 220. The SERDES chip 220 serializes the data and then transmits the data at high speed through transmission medium 225 to the remote SERDES chip 230. The remote SERDES chip 230 deserializes the data and sends the deserialized data to the remote system 240 on a low speed N-bit parallel output bus 235. The remote system 240 then sends the data to radio tower 245.
Similarly, the remote system 240 of the base station 200 processes data and sends the data through a low speed parallel input bus 250 to the parallel input of remote SERDES chip 230. The remote SERDES chip 230 serializes the data and then transmits the serialized data at high speed through transmission medium 255 to the SERDES chip 220. The SERDES chip 220 deserializes the data and sends the deserialized data to the control system 210 on a low speed N-bit parallel output bus 260.
The transmission medium (225 and 255) between SERDES chip 220 and SERDES chip 230 could be an electrical link in the form of a pair of signal traces on a board or a cable going from board to board. The transmission medium (225 and 255) could also be an optical link in a case in which the SERDES signals go to the input of an optical transceiver that converts the electrical signals to optical signals for transmission to the remote system.
In a SERDES system of the type shown in FIG. 2 the system operator is often interested in acquiring a precise measurement of the data propagation delay between the control system 210 and the remote system 240. To obtain this information it is necessary to know the data propagation delay in the SERDES chips (220 and 230). In a SERDES chip there are a number of propagation delays that are of interest to a system operator. Consider, for example, the data propagation delays in the SERDES chip 220 illustrated in FIG. 3.
The data propagation delay that is denoted TPS refers to the delay from the parallel input bus 215 to the serial output transmission medium 225. The data propagation delay that is denoted TSS refers to the delay from the serial output transmission medium 225 to the serial input transmission medium 255. The data propagation delay that is denoted TSP refers to the delay from the serial input transmission medium 255 to the parallel output bus 260. The data propagation delay that is denoted TPP refers to the delay from the parallel input bus 215 to the parallel output bus 260.
The measurements (TPS TSS TSP TPP) allow the control system 210 to measure the data propagation delay not only across the SERDES chip 220 but also across other components in the system. This is accomplished by taking advantage of several loop-back capabilities that are available within SERDES chips and within the system in general. A SERDES chip is capable of looping back data along the TPP path, the TSS path, the TPS-TSS-TSP path, and the TSP-TPP-TPS path. The TSP-TPP-TPS path is not shown in FIG. 3. By utilizing the loop-back modes and the data propagation delay measurements, control system 210 can estimate such things as data propagation delay across the transmission medium (225 and 255) between SERDES chip 220 and SERDES chip 230, the data propagation delay through SERDES chip 220, the data propagation delay through SERDES chip 230, and the data propagation delay through the remote system 240.
FIG. 4 illustrates an exemplary transmit data path within a prior art SERDES chip. A signal conditioning unit 410 of the transmitter portion of the SERDES chip receives data from a low speed N-bit parallel input bus. The data is then passed to a synchronizer (first in first out (FIFO)) unit 420. The synchronized data is then encoded in encoder 430 and passed to synchronizer (first in first out (FIFO)) unit 440. The parallel data is then serialized in serializer unit 450. The serial data is then transmitted by high-speed transmitter 460.
As shown in FIG. 4, the synchronizer (FIFO) unit 420 bridges input low speed clock domain 470 and internal low speed clock domain 480. The synchronizer (FIFO) unit 440 bridges internal low speed clock domain 480 and low speed serializer clock domain 490. Serializer unit 450 bridges low speed serializer clock domain 490 and high-speed transmitter clock domain 495.
FIG. 5 illustrates an exemplary receive data path within a prior art SERDES integrated circuit chip. An equalizer unit 510 of the receiver portion of the SERDES chip receives data from a high-speed serial input bus. The data is then passed to a clock and data recovery unit 520. The serial data is then deserialized in deserializer unit 530. The data is then decoded in decoder unit 540. The data is then passed to synchronizer (first in first out (FIFO)) unit 550. The synchronized data is then passed to signal conditioning unit 560. The data is then output from signal conditioning unit 560 to a low speed N-bit parallel output bus.
As shown in FIG. 5, the deserializer unit 530 bridges high-speed receiver clock domain 570 and internal low speed clock domain 580. The synchronizer (first in first out (FIFO)) unit 550 bridges internal low speed clock domain 580 and output low speed clock domain 590.
FIG. 4 shows that there are multiple clock domains (470, 480, 490, 495) along the transmit data path. FIG. 5 shows that there are multiple clock domains (570, 580, 590) along the receive data path. These multiple clock domains have different frequencies and have arbitrary phase relationships with respect to each other. The presence of multiple clock domains complicates the process of accurately measuring the data propagation delay in a SERDES chip.
In addition, the synchronizer (FIFO) units have delays that may vary depending upon operating conditions. That is, there are certain delays in a SERDES chip that can vary over time. It is also rather difficult to measure the precise data propagation delay of data packets that are being converted from the parallel domain to the serial domain (or from the serial domain to the parallel domain). These factors complicate the measurement of data propagation delay in a SERDES chip.
Some attempts have been made in the prior art to quantify the data propagation delay across a SERDES chip. The major difficulty lies in measuring the data propagation delay between the parallel side and the serial side of the SERDES chip.
This difficulty stems from (1) the large difference in the two data rates (low speed versus high speed), and (2) the difference in data format (serial versus parallel) at the two ends, and (3) the multiple clock domains through which the data passes. For these reasons prior art measurement attempts have generally focused on measuring the data propagation delay for elements that do not convert the data format from parallel to serial (or from serial to parallel).
One prior art approach has been to measure the data propagation delay across the synchronizer (FIFO) units. The synchronizer (FIFO) units synchronize data transfer between the different clock domains in a SERDES chip. The first in first out (FIFO) data propagation delay depends on the phase and frequency difference between the two clock domains that are straddled by a synchronizer (FIFO) unit. This makes the data propagation delay across a synchronizer (FIFO) unit inherently ambiguous.
The data propagation delay across the synchronizer (FIFO) units can account for a significant part of the total data propagation delay within a SERDES chip. The prior art method that is used to measure the data propagation delay across the synchronizer (FIFO) units uses a counter that detects the time that it takes certain characters in the bit stream to travel from the input to the output. This approach suffers from the inherent disadvantage of not being able to account for the total data propagation delay across the SERDES chip. Because the data propagation delay across the synchronizer (FIFO) units does not account for the total data propagation delay within the SERDES chip, the measurement of the data propagation delay across the synchronizer (FIFO) units is at best only an approximation of the total data propagation delay within the SERDES chip.
In order to overcome the limitations that are involved in measuring only the data propagation delay across the synchronizer (FIFO) units, other prior art methods have used external application specific integrated circuits (ASICs) to measure the data propagation delay across a SERDES chip. The ASIC chips typically run at a fraction of the speed of a SERDES chip. This means that an ASIC chip has to rely on measuring the round trip time through a SERDES chip with both the input and the output being accessed from the parallel side.
This method has two limitations. The first limitation is that the data propagation delay may not be symmetrical along the parallel-to-serial path and the serial-to-parallel path in a SERDES chip. That is, the delay along the parallel-to-serial path may not be equal to the delay along the serial-to-parallel path. An ASIC chip will not be able to decouple the delay across one of the paths from the delay across the other of the two paths.
The second limitation is that the ASIC chip has a slow clock speed. The accuracy of the delay measurement is primarily determined by the clock speed of the measuring device. This means that the ASIC chip method is limited to low accuracy. The ASIC chip method may therefore be unsuitable for certain applications such as applications in the cellular base station market.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for an improved system and method for making highly accurate data propagation delay measurements in a SERDES integrated circuit.

System and method for providing on-chip delay measurements in serializer / deserializer systems


Methods and apparatuses for detecting user speech are described. In one example, a method for detecting user speech includes receiving a microphone output signal corresponding to sound received at a microphone and identifying a spoken vowel sound in the microphone signal. The method further includes outputting an indication of user speech detection responsive to identifying the spoken vowel sound.

Voice activity detection (VAD) is useful in a variety of contexts. Existing systems and methods may detect voice activity based on sound level. For example, the indicative signal characteristic utilized by these systems is that a signal containing voice is composed of a persistent background noise that is interrupted by short periods of louder noises that correspond to voice sounds. Problematically, sound level based VAD systems often generate false positives, indicating voice activity in the absence of voice activity. For example, false positives in a sound level based VAD system may result from detection of sounds that are louder than the background noise level but are not voice sounds. Such sounds may include doors closing, keys being dropped on desks, and keyboard typing. As a result, improved methods and apparatuses for voice activity detection are needed.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


An epidural space is cleared of fat and scar tissue in preparation for implantation of a medical lead by utilizing a clearing tool. The clearing tool has multiple links that allow the creation of a deflection angle. A wire passes through the links and once the links are positioned with the desired deflection angle, tension is placed on the wire to lock the links into the current position. The clearing tool is inserted through a window into the epidural space, and once the tension is applied to the wire, the clearing tool becomes rigid to allow advancement of the clearing tool within the epidural space. The clearing tool is then removed from the epidural space, and the medical lead is inserted through the window and cleared epidural space until reaching the target site.

Various medical conditions may call for therapeutic electrical stimulation within the epidural space of the spine. Therefore, medical leads capable of delivering stimulation signals are implanted within the epidural space. In some cases, it may be necessary to clear the epidural space as well as the entryway to the epidural space of fatty tissue, scar tissue, and the like in order to provide for easier ingress of the medical lead. This is particularly true for paddle leads that are implanted through a surgical procedure due to the relatively wide distal paddle on the medical lead.
Conventionally, a rigid plastic tool or a soft plastic tool is inserted into the epidural space through a window created within the vertebral bone and associated ligaments. However, the rigid plastic tool presents multiple issues. A first issue is that the rigid plastic provides minimal deflection when entering the epidural space at an angle through the window and thus creates a potential pressure point along the dura of the spinal cord which can cause discomfort and potential paralysis. Another issue is that once in the epidural space, the rigid plastic tool often has less than adequate clearing ability. The soft plastic also presents multiple issues. Once inside the epidural space the soft plastic may deflect in an undesired direction. Additionally, the soft plastic may not have the stiffness to track in the ideal direction. This is particularly true as the width and length of the paddle continues to grow with newer versions of paddle leads where the increased paddle width increases the likelihood of snagging the blockages within the epidural space. Furthermore, the rigid plastic tool with minimal deflection cannot enter at a shallow enough angle to allow for adequate insertion distance needed to reach and clear the target stimulation site.

Utilizing multiple links to achieve a desired tool deflection angle when clearing an epidural space


An amorphized implant is performed to retard diffusion of ions in the source and drain regions. By retarding the diffusion of ions in these regions, a shallower junction is advantageously created in the silicon regions of the wafer. A slight degradation in leakage current is obtained if the amorphized implant is performed on both the source and the drain sides of a transistor. However, since the source region is a low voltage region with a very shallow junction, MOSFETs in both n-channel and p-channel regions are formed with improved performance and reliability.. A method of fabricating an integrated circuit includes forming a gate electrode over a semiconductor substrate, forming a source mask extending over the drain region of the semiconductor substrate, and implanting an implant species into the source region of the semiconductor substrate to form an amorphous implant layer of the semiconductor substrate. The semiconductor substrate has a source region adjacent to a first side of the gate electrode and has a drain region adjacent to a second side of the gate electrode. The amorphous implant layer is self-aligned with the source mask and extends through the exposed region of the semiconductor substrate and the source region of the semiconductor substrate. The method further includes the step of implanting a source implant into the exposed region of the semiconductor substrate and the source region of the semiconductor substrate to form a source implant layer of the semiconductor substrate. The source implant layer extends a shallower depth into the semiconductor substrate than the amorphous implant layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and fabrication method. More specifically, the present invention relates to a semiconductor device and fabrication method including an amorphized source to improve hot-carrier reliability.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hot-carrier effects cause unacceptable performance degradation in MOSFET devices built with conventional drain structures when channel lengths are short. As the dimensions of MOSFET devices are reduced and the supply voltage remains constant or is not reduced as rapidly as the structures are reduced in scale, the lateral electric field in the channel increases. Increases in the lateral electric field cause acceleration and heating of inversion-layer charges, resulting in multiple harmful device phenomena, called "hot-carrier" effects. A particularly destructive hot-carrier effect is damage to the gate oxide or the silicon-oxide interface of a device leading to time-dependent degradation of various MOSFET characteristics including threshold voltage V.sub.T, linear region transconductance g.sub.M, subthreshold slope S.sub.t, saturation current I.sub.dsat, and ultimately device lifetime.
Hot-carrier degradation is reduced by decreasing the magnitude of the maximum channel electric field .epsilon..sub.ymax located at the drain end of the channel and by separating the maximum current path in the channel from the location of the maximum electric field location. Reduction of the maximum channel electric field .epsilon..sub.ymax and separation of the maximum current path are achieved by modifying the structure of a MOSFET using special drain field-reducing structures and by increasing the resistance of the gate oxide and silicon-oxide interface to hot-carrier degradation through the use of special processing techniques.
A common modified MOSFET structure for reducing hot-carrier effects is called a lightly doped drain (LDD) structure in which a lightly doped (n.sup.-) buffer region is formed between a heavily arsenic-doped (n.sup.+) drain and the channel, outside of the channel. The drain is formed by two implants including a first implant self-aligned to the gate electrode and a second implant self-aligned to the gate electrode and sidewall spacers formed lateral to the gate electrode. Accordingly, the MOSFET includes a drain with a graded or lightly-doped extension. The maximum channel electric field .epsilon..sub.ymax is reduced by forming this buffer region because the maximum electric field in a reverse-biased pn junction is highest when the junction is abrupt. In the lightly doped drain (LDD) structure, an abrupt drain doping profile is replaced by a more gradually decreasing, or graded, profile so that the voltage drop is shared by the drain and the channel.
However, in many cases LDD devices have been unable to improve or even attain the same hot-carrier reliability as conventional single-drain MOSFETs. The poor performance of early LDD devices resulted from an erroneous or incomplete understanding of the electrical behavior of the LDD structure. For example, reduction of maximum channel electric field .epsilon..sub.ymax was considered to be of fundamental importance for improving hot-carrier reliability. However, it was subsequently determined that other parameters including the spatial location of the .epsilon..sub.ymax point, the spatial offset of the lightly doped dose from gate edge, the thermal budget following the lightly doped drain implant, doping concentrations within the channel, and the like are important for determining MOSFET behavior. In particular, it has been determined that hot-carrier resistance is optimized using an LDD structure in which the heavily doped n.sup.+ region is located at the edge or just under the edge of the gate, and the lightly-doped n.sup.- region should be located entirely under the gate. Unfortunately, this optimum structure is difficult to fabricate. Specifically, attaining full lightly-doped n.sup.- overlap using an oxide-spacer-based LDD design requires the use of a very narrow spacer in combination with a substantial thermal drive-in. Unfortunately, in submicron CMOS technologies, such a combination causes the source/drain junctions in both NMOS and PMOS transistors to be too deep to control short-channel effects.
Several approaches have been developed for improving the characteristics of an LDD MOSFET. First, the doping concentration in the lightly doped n.sup.- region of the LDD structure is increased to improve the drive-current capability and reduce a "structural degradation effect" that degrades the hot-carrier lifetime of a conventional LDD MOSFET. Second, the vertical profile of the lightly doped n.sup.- region is modified to steer a current path away from the surface of the MOSFET and to separate the location of .epsilon..sub.ymax and the path of maximum current flow in the MOSFET. Third, dopants are selectively implanted beneath the lightly doped n.sup.- region to reduce the susceptibility of submicron LDD structures to short-channel effects
What is needed is a technique for fabricating MOSFET devices that substantially improves hot-carrier reliability while maintaining fabrication simplicity. What is further needed is a semiconductor fabrication method that retards diffusion of ions in source/drain regions.


A testing device for determining the condition of hardware and/or software components of a computing (target) device is disclosed. The testing device includes a memory component, at least one connector and I/O software suitable for enabling the testing device to communicate with a target device as though the testing device is a peripheral component of the target device. Preferably, the connector is a USB connector. Also, preferably, the memory component includes an unwritable section and a protected section as well as a writable section.

Devices used for testing and repairing computing device hardware and software are frequently referred to herein as a "testing device" and the computing device being tested and repaired (if necessary), which is suspected of being dysfunctional, is frequently referred to as a "target device." While there are many devices for testing and repairing electrical wiring, telephones, telephone cables, television set top boxes, video cables, and the like, in the past, test and repair devices for dysfunctional computing (target) devices have often been the dysfunctional target device itself, or a computing device similar to the dysfunctional target device, running a test program. Instead of the compact, portable tools and toolsets common in other industries, computer repair personnel must usually put together an ad hoc toolkit by gathering whatever cables and connectors they can find and collecting a suite of software tools stored on a removable volume, for example, a compact disc (CD). If the target device, i.e., the dysfunctional computing device, is able to be run, the CD is inserted into the compact disc drive of the target device and/or the target device is connected to an external compact disc drive. If the target device is not able to run, another computing device is connected to the target device and the CD is inserted into the other computing device. Software corruption and damage to the components of the target device is detected by running tests stored on the CD, including scanning the memory of the target device.
In addition to the inconvenience and inconsistency of service inherent in the foregoing approach to testing and repairing computing (target) devices, there is a risk of corrupting the software running on the testing device. Software running on the testing device may be corrupted by malfunctioning software or hardware located on the target device. Hardware located on the target device may malfunction because it is damaged. Software running on the target device may malfunction because it has been accidentally corrupted or because it has been purposely corrupted by malware. Malware is software written and/or distributed with malicious intent to do damage to data and/or software. Examples of malware include, but are not limited to, computer viruses, worms, and Trojan horses. In more extreme cases of malfunctioning hardware components, the target device often does not function well enough to allow testing and scanning to be done. Obviously, if the target device cannot be started, the target device cannot be used as its own testing device and cannot communicate with an external testing device. It does not matter if one hardware component is malfunctioning or if many hardware components are malfunctioning. If there is no way to start the target device, there is no way to determine which hardware components are malfunctioning.
Thus, there exists a need for a testing device for testing the software and hardware of potentially dysfunctional computing devices. Preferably, the testing device should be capable of testing and possibly repairing or replacing the software of a computing (target) device while isolating itself from malware that may be present on the target device. Also, preferably, the testing device should be compact and portable. The present invention is directed to providing such a testing device.

Portable multi-purpose toolkit for testing computing device hardware and software


A recursive method and apparatus produce a deep convolution neural network (CNN). The method iteratively processes an input directed acyclic graph (DAG) representing an initial CNN, a set of nodes, a set of exogenous nodes, and a resolution based on the CNN. An iteration for a node may include recursively performing the iteration upon each node in a descendant node set to create a descendant DAG, and upon each node in ancestor node sets to create ancestor DAGs, the ancestor node sets being a remainder of nodes in the temporary DAG after removing nodes of the descendent node set. The descendant and ancestor DAGs are merged, and a latent layer is created that includes a latent node for each ancestor node set. Each latent node is set to be a parent of sets of parentless nodes in a combined descendant DAG and ancestors DAGs before returning.

Neural networks are computing systems that learn to do tasks without task-specific programming. They are comprised of neurons that may process and transmit a signal to another neuron, with the neurons being organized into layers, where different layers perform different types of transformations on their inputs.
Convolutional neural networks (CNNs) are a class of deep, feed-forward neural networks that are applied in the field of imaging (e.g., image recognition), sound processing (e.g., speech recognition), and similar fields. A convolutional layer in a CNN applies a convolution operation to its input and passes the result to the next layer. In general, CNNs use relatively little pre-processing, meaning that the network learns the filters that are hand engineered in traditional algorithms, making them more independent from prior knowledge and human effort in feature design.

System and method for learning the structure of deep convolutional neural networks


A headrest-attached vehicle seat is provided in which a headrest is provided over a seat back. In the headrest-attached vehicle seat: the headrest includes a headrest body, and a neck-support portion which is provided under the headrest body; and the neck-support portion turns around a pivot which extends in the seat-width directions inside of the headrest body and moves in the front-and-rear directions, and the neck-support portion is positioned at a predetermined turning angle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a headrest-attached vehicle seat which is mounted in an automobile or the like. More specifically, it relates to a headrest-attached vehicle seat which is capable of restraining the head of an occupant, and if necessary, supporting the neck of the occupant suitably.
2. Description of the Related Art
Various structures have been proposed for a vehicle headrest or a headrest-attached vehicle seat. They are designed to protect an occupant, make the occupant feel comfortable, or for another such purpose.
For example, Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-39606 specification has presented the following structure. To the top part of a seat back, a main portion is attached via a pole, and then, a side portion is attached to each of both sides of the main portion. These side portions can be turned in the seat's front-and-rear directions. The side portions are usually turned upward, so that it and the main portion can keep the head of an occupant in position. However, for example, when the vehicle corners, the occupant may receive great lateral G (i.e., inertia force in the right-and-left directions). Or, when the vehicle is running, the occupant in the passenger seat, the second-row seat or the like may be taking a nap so as not to keep the posture of the head. In such a case, the above described side portions are turned downward ahead of the seat, so that the occupant's head can be kept from swaying sideways.
According to Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-39606 specification, as described above, if the side portions are turned downward ahead of the seat, the headrest can keep the head from swaying sideways beyond a predetermined range. But, it cannot support the occupant's neck. If the neck of the occupant (except the driver who is at the wheel) is supported when the occupant relaxes and takes the seat, that will lighten the occupant's supporting load on the head. Thus, the occupant can feel more comfortable. However, according to Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 7-39606 specification, the headrest is not designed to support the occupant's neck. Thus, such an improvement in comfort as described above cannot be expected.
Taking this disadvantage into account, another headrest has been proposed, for example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-75167 specification. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of a headrest 190 which corresponds to the headrest according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-75167 specification. The headrest 190 includes a headrest body 194 which is attached, via a pole, to the upper part of a seat back. Below the headrest body 194, an auxiliary portion 195 is provided which has a substantially concave shape so as to cover the headrest body 194 from both right-and-left sides and from below. In addition, the auxiliary portion 195 can be turned on a pivot 191 below the headrest body 194. At the time of regular use, the auxiliary portion 195 is turned upward, so that it is located on both right-and-left sides and below the headrest body 194 (see a chain double-dashed line in the figure). Thereby, it can restrain, together with the headrest body 194, the head of an occupant. On the other hand, for example, in the case where great lateral G is applied to the occupant, the auxiliary portion 195 is turned downward ahead of the seat, so that it extends ahead of the seat from below the headrest body 194. Thereby, both end portions 193 on both right-and-left sides of the auxiliary portion 195 prevents the occupant's head from swaying laterally. At the same time, a middle portion 192 in the middle of the auxiliary portion 195 restrains the occupant's neck.
Herein, the auxiliary portion 195 can be switched from an unused posture (see the chain double-dashed line) in which it stands above the pivot 191 to an in-use posture (see a solid line) in which it is turned forward by substantially 90 degrees from the unused posture, and vice versa. Besides, it is supposed to turn and stop midway, so that it can also be used in such a posture.
According to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-75167 specification which is described above, the auxiliary portion 195 is switched to the in-use posture. Thereby, the occupant's neck, head, body and the like can be fixed, thus helping the occupant get some sleep. But, such a headrest 190 needs to have a mechanism for constantly adjusting the position of the auxiliary portion 195 suitably for the occupant's body shape or sitting posture.
However, there is a disadvantage in that the headrest 190 does not have an enough function to adjust that position. For example, let's consider a case in which an adjustment in the up-and-down directions is made when the occupant's neck is supported on a front-end portion 192a of the middle portion 192. That adjustment can be easily made by moving the headrest 190 itself up and down with respect to the seat back. In contrast, an adjustment in the front-and-rear directions is difficult to make. If the in-use posture of the auxiliary portion 195 is standardized as the state in which it is turned forward by 90 degrees from the unused posture, then in the in-use posture, the front-end portion 192a will not have any front-and-rear positioning function. Besides, even if it is turned back and forth slightly from the in-use posture, then the front-end portion 192a moves simply in the up-and-down directions. In other words, it makes only a few moves in the front-and-rear directions. This is because the posture in which the auxiliary portion 195 is substantially horizontal is defined as the in-use posture. In that case, the tangential line of the turning circle of the front-end portion 192a extends substantially in the vertical directions.
Herein, it can be considered that the in-use posture of the auxiliary portion 195 is widened up to an almost vertical upright state. Thereby, the auxiliary portion 195 is largely turned within the range of the wider in-use posture. In that case, it appears as if the positional-adjustment width of the front-end portion 192a has become greater in the front-and-rear directions. However, such an increase in the positional-adjustment width in the front-and-rear directions as described below, can make the whole headrest 190 larger. This may cause a harmful effect, such as narrowing the driver's rear-view field. Hence, the above described disadvantage cannot be resolved.
As shown in FIG. 9, when the auxiliary portion 195 stays upright, the middle portion 192 is located at about half the height of the headrest 190. This structure is necessary for securing a certain distance (or turning radius) between the pivot 191 and the front-end portion 192a (i.e., if this turning radius is short, the positional-adjustment width in the front-and-rear directions is not expected to become greater, even though the range of the in-use posture is widened close to the upright state. In short, it is impossible to support the neck adequately, which is located ahead of the back of the head). If the neck is supported when the auxiliary portion 195 stays nearly upright, the back of the head lies apart above the front-end portion 192a. In order to restrain the back of the head in such a high position, the headrest body 194 has to be placed in a higher position. In that higher position, the occupant's head which tends to sway up and down or from side to side when the vehicle is running, needs to be kept in position. To do that effectively in such a higher position, the headrest body 194 must be longer in the right-and-left directions. In other words, the headrest body 194 becomes larger, thus resulting in the headrest 190 being large-sized.
If the headrest 190 becomes larger, that will narrow the rear or front view-field of the driver or the occupant. For example, let's assume that a large-sized headrest 190 is used for the second-row seat or a rear seat behind it. In that case, when the driver confirms the rear view by looking back or using a rearview mirror provided in a front header, a larger part of the viewing field is obstructed by the headrest 190. In short, the rear-view field becomes narrower. Besides, for example, let's assume that a large-sized headrest 190 is used for a seat (including the passenger seat) ahead of the rearmost seat. In that case, the front-view field of an occupant who sits behind the front seat becomes narrower, thereby making the occupant feel oppressed.
As described above, in the structure according to Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-75167 specification, unless a head rest is made larger, it cannot have an adequate adjustment width. Hence, an occupant's neck is difficult to properly support.