A computed tomography imaging system includes a source of radiation and a detector that produces an output signal representing sensed radiation from the source. Prior to using the system to produce an image, the source produces a pulse of radiation and the detector output signal is periodically sampled until the output signal has decayed to a negligible level. These samples form values which define a standard response of the detector. Thereafter when image samples are acquired, a decaying output signal from detector is sampled after radiation production terminates. The decay samples are compared to the standard response and coefficients defining the comparison are found. The coefficients and the standard response data are used to derive compensation values which are arithmetically applied to the image samples thereby producing compensated samples. An image is reconstructed from the compensated samples.

The present invention relates to radiation detectors such as those used in computed tomography imaging systems; and particularly to techniques which compensate for offset and afterglow errors in output signals from the detectors.
As shown in FIG. 1, a computed tomography (CT) scanner for producing images of the human anatomy includes a motorized patient table 10 which positions a patient at different depths within aperture 11 of a gantry 12. A source of highly collimated X-rays 13 is mounted within the gantry 12 to one side of its aperture 11, and one or more detectors 14 is mounted to the other side of the aperture. The X-ray source 13 and detectors 14 revolve about aperture 11 during a scan of the patient to obtain X-ray attenuation measurements from many different angles.
A complete scan of the patient is comprised of a set of X-ray attenuation measurements which are made at different angular orientations of the X-ray source 13 and detector 14. The gantry may stop or continue to move as the measurements are being made. The measurement at a given orientation is referred to in the art as a "view" and the set of measurements at a view forms a transmission profile. As shown in FIG. 2, the X-ray source 13 produces a fan-shaped beam which passes through the patient and impinges on an array of detectors 14. Each detector 14 in this array produces a separate attenuation signal and the signals from all the detectors 14 are separately acquired to produce the transmission profile for the indicated angular orientation. The X-ray source 13 and detector array 14 continue to revolve in direction 15 to a another angular orientation where the next transmission profile is acquired.
The resultant transmission profiles from the scan then are used to reconstruct an image which reveals the anatomical structures in a slice taken through the patient. The prevailing method for reconstructing image is referred to in the art as the filtered backprojection technique. The attenuation measurements are converted to integers called "CT numbers" or "Hounsfield units", which are used to control the brightness of a corresponding pixel on a CRT display.
Typically a number of scans are taken as the table 10 moves into aperture 11 to produce image slices through the patient at different locations. It is desirable to minimize the period between scans to reduce the overall time of the patient examination. Presently available systems have a one second inter-scan period. However the response of the radiation detector 14 is not instantaneous and such short inter-scan periods result in the detector retaining residual effects from the previous scan when the next scan begins.
Specifically, each X-ray detector 14 in the array comprises a scintillator and a solid state photodiode. X-rays striking the scintillator produce light photons which are absorbed by the photodiode creating an electric current. The light is not emitted by the scintillators instantaneously, rather the emission follows a multi-exponential curve. Similarly the light emission does not terminate immediately at time T.sub.0 when the X-ray beam is extinguished, but produces a signal from the detector which decays with a multi-exponential curve function as shown in FIG. 3. The time dependence of the output signal intensity can be modelled accurately as a sum of several different time constants components. The shortest of the decay components has a time constant on the order of one millisecond and is referred to herein as the "primary speed". The primary speed component accounts for most of the residual output from the detector after the X-ray beam is extinguished. However, the remaining components can have time constants as long as several hundred milliseconds.
Because the detector array is rotating rapidly about the patient, the exponential decay blurs together detector readings for successive views creating an adverse effect that is referred to as "afterglow". The afterglow is a function of the intensity of the X-ray flux and the response characteristics of the detector. U.S. Pat. No. 5,249,123 entitled "Compensation of Computed Tomography Data for Detector Afterglow Artifacts", filed concurrently herewith, describes a technique which can be employed to compensate for afterglow effects during each scan. However, when a relatively short amount of time exists between consecutive scans, the afterglow from the previous scan affects the detector signal for the subsequent scan. The afterglow degrades the azimuthal component of the image resolution which produces shading and arc shaped artifacts in the reconstructed image. The azimuthal direction 16 of the image area is perpendicular to a line 17 from the center of the imaging aperture 11. Thus it is desireable to compensate for afterglow effects from one scan to the next.
Another error is an offset A.sub.0 of the detector signal in FIG. 3 due to an number of factors, such as the dark current of the detector and thermal drift. Previously, the dark current was measured prior to each scan, when radiation is not striking the detector, and the measurement was used to derive a dark current compensation value. This compensation value is applied to subsequent detector signals to remove the offset due to the dark current. Thermal and time dependent factors also contribute to the overall offset error and vary the offset from scan to scan.
The dynamic offset components for each detector in the array can be measured between scans to generate compensation values. However, the measurement heretofore could not be made until sufficient time had elapsed after the beam extinguished to allow the afterglow to decay to a negligible level. The afterglow decay can last 600 milliseconds or more. In addition, the X-ray source 13 has a non-instantaneous response producing a delay between the shut-off of the source and the extinction of the X-ray beam. Taking into account all of these factors a three second waiting period is required after a scan before offset data acquisition can start. As the operating speed of CT systems increase, even a three second delay prolongs image acquisition and makes the process more susceptible to errors from patient movement. As a consequence it is desirable to be able to acquire data for offset compensation without having to wait for the afterglow to decay to a negligible level.

Radiation detector offset and afterglow compensation technique


Control is effected to produce a plurality of child print jobs for a plurality of printers from data to be printed, on the basis of inputted instruction for distributed print, and information regarding a parent print job is produced on the basis of information regarding the plurality of child print jobs produced under control of the distributed print, and the parent job is displayed in a distinguishable manner from the child print job.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus, a distributed print controlling method, a storing medium and a program, and more particularly, it relates to control effected when printing request from application is performed as distributed print on a plurality of printers, and more specifically, it relates to an information processing apparatus, an information processing method, a storing medium storing a computer-readable program, and such a program, in which operation instruction from an operator with respect to various jobs can positively be executed and the operator can collectively recognize conditions of the respective jobs efficiently.
2. Related Background Art
In conventional techniques, regarding print processing of a document formed by application software using a printing function provided by a general OS (operating system), only print processing is performed for a single printing device in correspondence to one printing instruction, and, when an operator wishes to effect distributed print of the document on a plurality of printing devices, the operator must effect plural printing instructions by designating the number of pages to be distribution-printed with respect to the printing devices to be distributed. In this case, the print processing (output processing of printing instruction with respect to a graphic engine of OS) is effected by means of application by the times corresponding to the number of pages, thereby increasing operator's labor and the processing time of application.
To avoid this, it is considered to propose an arrangement in which, when the distributed print is effected, in consideration of the operator's labor and the print processing time of the application, the printing instruction emitted from the application is spooled and the number of pages is automatically designated to plural printing drivers thereby to emit plural print jobs. In this case, since the processing in which the application outputs the printing instruction may be performed once, the releasing of the application from the print processing is hastened, and, since the distributed print processing can be effected automatically, the operator's labor can be decreased.
In such an arrangement, since the print request is emitted to the plural printer drivers, the plural print jobs are issued. Thus, when display of status of the print jobs and operation of the printing jobs are performed in order that the operator manages the print jobs, the following problems will occur.
First, in spite of the fact that the operator recognizes only one print job, since the plural print jobs corresponding to the number of printing devices to be distributed are issued, the operation and status display of the print jobs cannot be effected as the single distributed print job, and, thus, it is hard to understand for the operator.
Second, when the display of the print jobs is effected so that the operator recognizes the distributed print jobs as the single print job, it is impossible to distinguish print jobs (parent print job and child print job) produced by the distributed print processing from the general single print job.
Third, when the single parent print job to be displayed as the distributed print job and a plurality of child print jobs produced by the distributed print are displayed, in spite of the fact that there is a difference between the different print jobs (parent print job and child print job), the operator cannot easily recognize and perform the operation inherent to the distributed print in the parent print job or the child print job.
Fourth, the distributed print processing always includes original parent print job (or print data), and the original parent print job or a plurality of child print jobs produced by dividing the original parent print job are sent to the printer. However, displays of states of the produced jobs such as a timing for producing the plural child print jobs, a timing for sending the job to the output device, a timing for completing the print processing of the output device and a timing for generating error are not always be synchronized, and there is no means for collectively operating such related jobs and for displaying such jobs efficiently.

Information processing apparatus, distributed printing controlling method, storing medium and program


A structured light projection module and a depth camera are provided. The structured light projection module includes: a light source array including a plurality of sub-light sources arranged in a two-dimensional pattern and configured to transmit array beams corresponding to the two-dimensional pattern; a lens configured to receive and converge the array beams; and a diffractive optical element configured to receive the array beams that are emitted after being converged by the lens and project beams in a structured light speckle pattern. The structured light speckle pattern is formed through staggered superposition of at least two secondary structured light speckle patterns. Each secondary structured light speckle pattern is formed through a tiling arrangement of multiple sub-speckle patterns generated by a portion of the sub-light sources, and comprises speckles formed by diffracting an individual sub-light source via the diffractive optical element.

A three-dimensional (3D) imaging technology is a core of a new generation human-computer interaction technology. As requirements of mobile terminal devices for the 3D imaging technology become mandatory, depth cameras will be widely applied to the mobile terminal devices, causing the depth camera to develop towards a direction of low power consumption, high performance, and a small volume.
A structured light projection module is a core device in the depth camera based on the structured light technology, and mainly uses light sources to emit beams and emits a structured light pattern outwards after the beams are modulated by an optical element. The size, power consumption and performance of the structured light projection module determine the volume, power consumption and performance of the depth camera. A structured light speckle (spot) pattern is widely applied as a mature projection solution at present. The principle of the projection solution is mainly to use a laser light source, a lens and a diffractive optical element (DOE), wherein the DOE can split incident beams to generate speckle-patterned beams to be emitted outwards in a specific distribution.
Factors such as the intensity and distribution of the structured light speckle pattern affect the calculation accuracy and the field-of-view angle of the depth image. A higher intensity may increase the contrast of the patterns to further increase the calculation accuracy. However, due to the problem of zero-order diffraction of the DOE, the intensity is required to be not excessively high to avoid the occurrence of safety problems of laser, and in Patent Application No. CN2008801199119, it is proposed that double DOEs are used to resolve the problem of zero-order diffraction. The distribution of the laser speckle pattern, such as density distribution and non-correlation (randomness) also affect the calculation accuracy. In addition, people also intend to achieve a projection of a larger field of view with less power consumption, such as using a smaller quantity of light sources to generate a structured light pattern as large as possible in a projection area.
However, in the current solution, it is difficult to achieve better uniformity in key indexes such as power consumption of the structured light projection module, density distribution of the projection pattern, and non-correlation.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Structured light projection module and depth camera


A radiant heater includes a radiant heat source and a reflector to direct the bulk of the heat generated by the radiant source in one direction. The shape of the reflector determines the radiant pattern of the heater, and generally defocuses the output to provide a diffuse heat pattern that is substantially free of hot spots.

For a variety of reasons, a relatively small space such as a room may require heat. This heat may be in addition to that furnished from existing air treatment systems. One way to provide additional heat is with an electric portable heater. One type of such space heaters is a relatively small, sometimes floor-standing, heater that is configured to run on premises distribution circuits, that is, normal household and business wiring.
Heaters of various types may emit heat by radiation, convection, or conduction. A non-radiative electric heater may, for example, have one or more heating elements that release heat at comparatively low energy to raise the temperature of a quantity of air. Such heaters may then blow that heated air into a space using one or more fans or other circulation-promoting apparatus, so that a significant proportion of the heating performed by such heaters involves mixing heated air into ambient air, while direct radiation of heat may represent a secondary characteristic of such heaters.
Typical radiative electric heaters, by contrast, may release the majority of their heat in the form of infrared radiation emitted by one or more heating elements operated at comparatively high energy levels. Such heating elements typically combine infrared radiative heating of objects in the path of the radiation with a small amount of direct heating of the intervening air. Other heater types may combine these modes.
While some styles of heaters emit their heat from a front side only, the radiative heating elements within such front-radiating heaters typically radiate uniformly in all directions. As a consequence, it may be desirable to use an infrared reflector to redirect heating element radiation that would otherwise radiate upward, downward, or toward the rear of the heater so that as much of the heat as is practical may be directed out the front.
Radiative heaters may also have fans or other air circulation devices, which circulation devices may promote uniform heating of spaces in which the heaters are installed, may minimize temperature rise in the heater, and may improve the effectiveness of thermostat devices used as part of the heaters to maintain equilibrium temperature in a heated space.
In some instances, it may be desirable for a radiative heater to provide infrared heating that is focused in a general direction, such as generally in front of the heater, but diffused over a range in that direction to provide heat over a large area.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a radiative heater that can promote diffusion of heat through a broad region generally centered on the front of the heater.

Diffuse-pattern radiant heater with non-parabolic reflector apparatus and method


An LED lamp includes an LED body and a fool-proofing device. The LED body includes a first end portion and a second end portion opposite to the first end portion. The first end portion extends a first connector and a second connector. The second end portion extends a third connector and a fourth connector. The first connector and fourth connector are arranged at the same sides of the LED body and with different polarities. The second connector and the third connector are arranged at the same sides of the LED body and with different polarities. The fool-proofing device is arranged on the first connector and the third connector, which are diagonally opposite to each other.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure generally relates to a lamp, and more particularly to an LED lamp with a fool-proofing capability.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Light emitting diodes (LEDs) are one kind of semiconductor element. Nowadays, LEDs are extensively used as light sources for illuminating apparatuses, due to their high luminous efficiency, low power consumption and long work life.
Conventional tubular LED lamp is electrically connected to an external power source by an anode connector and a cathode connector thereof. The connectors are similar to each other and easily mixed. When the LED lamp is assembled to the external power source by wrongly connecting the connectors with the external power, the LED lamp cannot work and the LED lamp needs to assemble with the external power again. Such manipulation is time consuming and laborious, which results in a low assembling efficiency.
Therefore, what is needed is an LED lamp which can overcome the above described shortcomings.


The system and method for correlating, predicting and diagnosing system component performance data includes capturing knowledge about system behavior, deploying the captured knowledge as baseline system behavior files, evaluating system performance data against the baseline system behavior files, performing predictive and diagnostic analysis when received system performance data exceeds thresholds in the baseline system behavior files, and notifying a user when an analysis result is generated. The method of capturing knowledge about system behavior includes defining problems to be solved, creating datasets that correspond to defined problems, constructing problem scenarios, associating data patterns modules with the problem scenarios, and generating XML definition files that characterize system behavior in terms of the scenarios, modules, and datasets. The system has the capability to activate corrective scripts in the target system and to reconfigure the target system.

This invention relates generally to ensuring business system performance, and more particularly, to correlating and diagnosing performance data collected from components of business systems to achieve information technology goals and business objectives.
In the developing years of business use of electronic systems, business systems were used primarily for accounting and records keeping functions. As these systems grew in capability and features, business managers began to make use of these capabilities and features in new ways to improve business performance. With the widespread acceptance and use of the Internet for conducting on-line commercial and consumer transactions, these business systems have become increasingly complex and geographically distributed. At the same time, there developed increasing demand for higher performance and increased reliability or "uptime" to satisfy these business needs. This has put greater emphasis and visibility on the role of the information technology (IT) infrastructure of e-commerce businesses, and the people that support these systems. Concurrently, there has developed a trend whereby business managers have a need to play a more active role in IT infrastructure decision-making.
Conducting business over the Internet has created many new challenges that are difficult to manage using conventional approaches. Companies with activities that rely on e-commerce struggle to find solutions that will assist with managing increasingly complex infrastructure while satisfying a more demanding customer base. In particular, downtime costs can have a substantial impact on the gross revenues of an e-commerce organization, as well as losses due to brand erosion and customer dissatisfaction. As these companies become increasingly dependent upon e-Business as a significant source of revenue, the success of the overall business is inextricably linked to the health of the IT infrastructure. The lack of tools to communicate critical information concerning the condition of the IT infrastructure to business managers further complicates this picture. A further complexity is that many e-commerce systems are widely distributed over a large geographic area, where a principle means of communications between parts of the system is via the Internet.
Businesses are further faced with the problem of translating IT organization performance goals into objectives that satisfy the needs of the business. While there is a need for a reliable, high performance infrastructure for executing business processes, there is often a lack of understanding of the impact that systems, applications, and process execution breakdowns have on business objectives, because of the inability to measure IT performance against business objectives. Regarding reliability and performance, existing management tools for heterogeneous and complex business processes offer incomplete and inadequate coverage of individual infrastructure elements. There is a lack of a systems management solution that encompasses the entire execution infrastructure as a single entity, capturing the interrelations between systems, applications, and business processes. A solution must be capable of automatically adapting to constant changes in this execution environment.
It is often difficult for IT organizations to relate the impact of process execution breakdowns to business objectives. Since infrastructure failures are viewed as isolated IT events, the impact on the business is noticed only when a product line manager or analyst sees a change in business performance. A solution is needed that will capture the business process workflows and relate potential and actual infrastructure breakdowns to business process execution, enabling IT and business managers to find a collaborative solution. It is desirable to have a solution that is capable of expediting and automating the remediation process.
IT contributions to the core business are often measured using IT-oriented metrics, rather than metrics that support IT contributions to business goals or corporate strategy. A solution is needed that reports IT performance in terms of business metrics rather than infrastructure performance. By combining business and IT metrics, information may be generated that will enable business decisions to be made based on a correlation of IT performance and business goals.
This environment has created a need for a unified solution for monitoring the health of real-time e-business infrastructures to improve the quality, reliability and total cost of ownership of e-business sites. This translates to the bottom line as greater customer satisfaction, a loyal customer base, and increased revenues. It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a comprehensive solution for correlating collected performance data to detect and identify incipient and immediate system component failures in complex e-business infrastructures.
Another object of the present invention is to enable improved performance of e-commerce systems by diagnosing patterns in collected component performance data to determine a cause of a system component performance reduction in e-business.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide real-time correlation, prediction and diagnosis of collected performance data from e-commerce system components for evaluating, reporting, and managing e-commerce system configuration, providing predictive and impact analysis, and reducing downtime by detecting incipient failures before there is a significant impact of business performance.

System and method for correlating and diagnosing system component performance data


The displacement amount of a color filter which is displaced with respect to an opening of a light-shielding film along the surface of a substrate increases as the distance from the substantial center of an image pickup region to the opening of the light-shielding film increases, and the height from the surface of the substrate to the substantial center in the direction of thickness of the color filter increases. For this reason, whole light incident on the sensor of each pixel can pass through only a corresponding color filter and also pass through the entire thickness of the color filter. Even when the thickness or height of the color filter changes in units of pixels, a high-quality image having no color irregularity can be obtained.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state image pickup device having a plurality of color filters corresponding to a plurality of pixels, a method of manufacturing the same and a camera having this solid-state image pickup device.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1 is a plan view of an entire CCD solid-state image pickup device of an interline transfer type. A chip 11 of this CCD solid-state image pickup device has an image pickup region 12 formed by arraying a plurality of pixels. FIG. 2 schematically shows a camera using the chip 11. In this camera, the image of light from a target object is formed in the image pickup region 12 of the chip 11 through an optical system 14 including a lens 13. The chip 11 of the CCD solid-state image pickup device is driven by a driving system 15 including a timing generator. The output signal from the chip 11 is converted into an image signal through various signal processing operations in a signal processing system 16. FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a portion of the camera near the chip 11 and the optical system 14.
FIGS. 4A to 5B show a CCD solid-state image pickup device having an on-chip color filter for a complementary color system according to the first related art of the present invention.
FIGS. 4A and 5A show a central portion 12a of the image pickup region 12. FIGS. 4B and 5B show a peripheral portion 12b of the image pickup region 12. In this first related art, a p-type well 22 is formed in an Si substrate 21. A p-type region 23 as a hole accumulated region and an n-type region 24 closer to the surface of the Si substrate 21 than the p-type well 22 constitute a sensor 25.
A p-type region 26 adjacent to the sensor 25 serves as a read out portion, and an n-type region 27 adjacent to the p-type region 26 serves as a vertical transfer portion. A p-type well 31 is formed under the n-type region 27. A p-type region 32 adjacent to the n-type region 27 serves as a pixel separation portion. An SiO.sub.2 film 33 as a gate insulating film is formed on the surface of the Si substrate 21. A polysilicon film 34 on the Si substrate 21 forms a transfer electrode.
The polysilicon film 34 is covered with an SiO.sub.2 film 35 or the like as an insulating film. The Si substrate 21 and the SiO.sub.2 film 35 are covered with an SiO.sub.2 film 36 as a passivation film. A light-shielding film 37 consisting of an Al film, a W film or the like is formed on the SiO.sub.2 film 36. An opening 37a corresponding to the sensor 25 is formed in the light-shielding film 37.
The light-shielding film 37 and so on are covered with an SiN or SiO film 41 as a passivation film. A planarizing film 42 is formed on the SiN or SiO film 41. A red filter 43a, a blue filter 43b and a yellow filter 43c on the planarizing film 42 are patterned into a checkerboard pattern corresponding to pixels, which constitute an on-chip color filter 43.
The on-chip color filter 43 of this first related art is used for a complementary system, so the blue filter 43b and the yellow filter 43c are stacked to form a green filter, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. A planarizing film 44 and an on-chip lens 45 are sequentially formed on the on-chip color filter 43.
FIGS. 6A and 6B show a CCD solid-state image pickup device having an on-chip color filter for a primary color system according to the second related art of the present invention. The second related art substantially has the same arrangement as that of the first related art shown in FIGS. 4A to 5B except that the on-chip color filter 43 has a single-layer structure.
When the exit pupil of the lens 13 of the camera shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 is close to the chip 11, light 46 is incident on the on-chip lens 45 at the central portion 12a of the image pickup region 12 almost in parallel to the optical axis of the on-chip lens 45, as shown in FIGS. 4A and 6A. At the peripheral portion 12b of the image pickup region 12, however, the light 46 is incident on the on-chip lens 45 obliquely with respect to the optical axis of the on-chip lens 45, as shown in FIGS. 4B and 6B.
For this reason, in the first and second related arts, the optical axis of the on-chip lens 45 is made to match the center of the opening 37a of the light-shielding film 37 at the central portion 12a of the image pickup region 12, as shown in FIG. 5A, although the displacement amount between the optical axis of the on-chip lens 45 and the center of the opening 37a of the light-shielding film 37 is increased toward the peripheral portion 12b, as shown in FIG. 5B.
As is apparent from FIGS. 4B and 6B, the ratio of the light 46 which is focused by the on-chip lens 45 and made incident on the sensor 25 of each pixel is high even at the peripheral portion 12b. Therefore, shading due to the incident angle of the light 46, i.e., a phenomenon that the sensitivity gradually changes from the central portion to the peripheral portion on the image pickup output screen is suppressed.
Recently, the displacement amount between the on-chip lens 45 and the opening 37a at the peripheral portion 12b is increasing along with a reduction of the effective size of an optical system. When the exit pupil distance of a lens is 3 mm, the incident angle of the light 46 is about 50.degree. and the displacement amount of the on-chip lens 45 almost reaches 1/2 the pixel pitch.
However, in the first and second related arts, the center of the on-chip color filter 43 of each pixel matches the center of the opening 37a even at the peripheral portion 12b, as shown in FIGS. 4B and 6B.
As is apparent from FIGS. 4B and 6B, the light 46 incident on the sensor 25 of each pixel passes through the on-chip color filter 43 of an adjacent pixel, resulting in a mixed color, or the light 46 passes through only part of the thickness of the on-chip color filter 43 of the pixel, resulting in a deviation of the spectral characteristics from desired characteristics. For this reason, in the first and second related arts, a high-quality image having no color irregularity can hardly be obtained.
To prevent color irregularity, displacement of the on-chip color filter 43 of each pixel from the opening 37a has also been examined. In this case, however, only the distance from the central portion 12a of the image pickup region 12 to the opening 37a of each pixel is taken into consideration, and the thickness of the on-chip color filter 43 or the height from the surface of the Si substrate 21 is not taken into consideration. For this reason, it is still difficult to obtain a high-quality image having no color irregularity.

Solid-state image pickup device, with purposefully displaced color filters, method of manufacturing same and camera incorporating same


Systems and methods for determining location by implication are described. A responsive environment includes a location determination method that operates in an area that is only partially instrumented with location-sensing devices. Some of the with location-sensing devices sense location ambiguously. For example, a location-sensing device may be deployed at a boundary between two target objects or areas of interest. The location of the target object, as reported by such devices, is considered ambiguous. While the object or person is known to be in a space, it is not clear which specific space. The location of ambiguously located objects can be disambiguated based on changes in the location of other objects. For example, if a document is placed on a shelf in an office, such action strongly implies that someone is in the office. Therefore, if a person is known to potentially be in the office or the outside hallway, the person's location is changed to be in the office.

The illustrative embodiments described in the present application are useful in systems including those for use in context aware environments and more particularly are useful in systems including those for determining location in a context aware environment.
The term responsive environment may be used to describe an environment that has computing capability and access to sensing technology data that allows the environment control to consider its current state or context and new events that occur that may change the state or context.
Context-aware environments typically utilize location information as an important type of context. Global Positioning System (GPS) devices are available that provide relatively reliable position determination functionality while outdoors. However, GPS signals are typically too weak to be effective indoors. Accordingly, the determination of indoor position is more problematic.
Over the last few years, several approaches to solve the indoor position determination problem have been attempted. Each of these traditional approaches places a certain amount of burden on the user. For example, in some systems, the user needs to proceed to a location at which the user presence can be sensed. In other systems, the user must wear a special device that interacts with the environment to indicate location.
In traditional indoor positioning systems, the location context is determined by one of a few known methods. In the simplest method, an indoor positioning system utilizes a field-of-view approach. With this method, objects have a means of identity and a means of communicating this identity when entering the field of view of the location-sensing apparatus. One of three traditional categories of systems may be utilized with this simple method. In one type of system, infrared location cones may be utilized. In those systems, the objects announce their identity using infrared signals. In a second type of system, video identification techniques may be used. In those systems, faces or unique markings are identified and associated with the viewed locations. In a third type of system, electro-magnetic field perturbations may be used. In those systems, objects carry tags that emit identification signals when present within the field. There, sensed objects are known to be within the location covered by the view of the sensing apparatus.
A second and slightly more complex method for determining location is based on radio frequency technology. In this method, objects carry an RF transmitter that can announce the identity of the object. The RF signal is detected at multiple RF receivers and the location is determined based on signal strengths across these receivers.
A third system for determining locations is based on ultrasonic signaling. In this method, objects carry a signaling device, often called a beacon. Signal detectors are placed throughout a room, and the location of the object is determined by triangulation among the detectors that receive the signal from the beaconing device. All of these indoor position determination methods are described in a paper entitled "Location of Mobile Devices Using Networked Surfaces," by Hoffman and Scott, as presented at the 4rth International Conference on Ubiquitous Computing (UbiComp2002).
A fourth system integrating portions of the systems described above is described in a paper entitled "Location Estimation Indoors by Means of Small Computing Power Devices, Accelerometers, Magnetic Sensors, and Map Knowledge" by Vildjiounaite et. al., as presented at the First International Conference on Pervasive Computing in August of 2002. In that system, the user wears sensors that measure variables such as direction and speed. The sensors broadcast that information via RF signaling. A host computer receives the information and uses it to determine the location of the wearer. The location can be adjusted using traditional field-of-view approaches.
The first two methods described above have several deficiencies. For example, the object must be within a field such as an electromagnetic or visual/audio field. This is problematic for several reasons. First, humans prefer not to be subjected to a local, relatively high-power continuous RF field. Second, such fields need to be omnipresent with complete area coverage for these systems to work well. Third, if the fields are omni-present, people may perceive privacy concerns. While the third method described above does not suffer the same disadvantages of the first two methods, it does require that objects wear a device that is currently bulky and expensive.
Accordingly, among other things, the prior art does not provide a context-aware environment that can adequately determine position information.

Method and system for determining location by implication


A method, apparatus, and medium are provided for assigning indexes to a set of index-based resources. The method includes providing an index-based-resource manager (IBRM), requesting one or more indexes to be allocated to a desired number of resources, directing the request to the IBRM, identifying indexes available to be allocated, and allocating the identified indexes to be associated with the one or more resources. The present invention also contemplates transactional processing, enabling deallocation and querying of indexes.

A telecommunications network is composed of a variety of components, such as switches, routers, signal-control points, and a litany of other network elements. Switches contain tables of data that help establish pathways between a source and a destination. The tables store data such as customer information, routing data, network-architecture information, and more. The number of tables varies greatly and depends upon the type of switch or computing device. The data in these tables enable a variety of communications to be established; from connecting a first residential caller to a second residential caller to transmitting data packets around the globe. Table data is not stagnant. On the contrary, as network-component data is modified, new area codes are added, customer services are varied, and other virtually unlimited modifications take place; table data continually changes.
Switches contain internal data such as route-reference indexes (route lists), data-manipulation indexes, and trunk-group references. Switch vendors do not provide a database interface for their customers to use. Accordingly, communications carriers must manage indexes on a table or resource on an external system or network element (external resource) that is not physically managed by its software. Further, they must ensure that multiple applications accessing these tables do not accidentally utilize an index on the external resource that may be owned by another application. Moreover, because only a limited number of indexes exist on the resource, the indexes should be partitioned into ranges or pools that can be shared by some applications yet are not exposed to other applications.
There is a current need in the art to provide the above-mentioned functionality and to manage the index data that relates to various resources of a communications network. These indexes are often shared resources that are used and then freed, or allocated and deallocated. Currently, managing these resources is complex, difficult, and often leads to situations where customers are put out of service because indexes can unknowingly be allocated to multiple resources or overwritten with undesired data. That is, prior to completing the assignment of an index to a resource, that index may be allocated to a different resource. This could prevent one or both resources from functioning properly. The current state of the art could be improved by providing a resource manager to monitor used and available indexes, to receive requests for new index allocations, and to allocate and deallocate these resources as needed.

Method and system for managing resource indexes in a networking environment


Provided is an amplification type solid state image pickup device capable of increasing a saturation charge amount even when an increase in circuit scale is suppressed. In a pixel of the amplification type solid state image pickup device, a power source voltage is supplied to a signal output line to change a potential of the signal output line at transfer operation that a signal charge accumulated in a photo diode is transferred to a gate of an amplification transistor. Then, a potential of an FD portion which is capacitively coupled to the signal output line and used for supplying the signal charge to the gate of the amplification transistor increases, so that the saturation charge amount can be set to a large value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid state image pickup device, a method of driving the solid state image pickup device, and a camera using the solid state image pickup device. In particular, the present invention is suitable for use in an amplification type solid state image pickup device such as a CMOS sensor.
2. Related Background Art
Up to now, a large number of charge coupled devices (CCDs) have been used as solid state image pickup devices because of its high S/N ratio. However, a so-called amplification type solid state image pickup device (solid state image pickup device of charge transfer signal amplification type) has been also developed because of low power consumption and good ease of use.
In the amplification type solid state image pickup device, a signal charge accumulated in a photo diode by incident light is led to the control electrode of a transistor in a pixel. An amplified output corresponding to the signal charge is supplied from the main electrode of the transistor. In particular, efforts have been put into developing a complementary MOS (CMOS) sensor using a metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor. This is because the CMOS sensor matches with a CMOS process well and a driving circuit and a signal processing circuit which are used for the CMOS sensor can be formed on a chip.
FIG. 6 is a circuit diagram showing a conventional CMOS sensor pixel which is described in JP H11-274454 A related to Japanese Patent.
In FIG. 6, reference numeral 1 denotes a unit pixel. Reference numeral 2 denotes a photo diode that accumulates a signal charge generated by incident light. Reference numeral 3 denotes an amplification MOS transistor that outputs an amplified signal corresponding to the signal charge supplied from the photo diode 2. Reference numeral 4 denotes a floating diffusion portion (hereinafter also referred to as a "FD portion") for receiving the signal charge and supplying the received signal charge to the gate electrode of the amplification MOS transistor 3. Reference numeral 5 denotes a transfer MOS transistor for transferring the signal charge accumulated in the photo diode 2 to the FD portion 4. Reference numeral 6 denotes a reset MOS transistor for resetting the FD portion 4. Reference numeral 7 denotes a selection MOS transistor for selecting an output pixel.
Reference numeral 8 denotes a control line for applying a pulse to the transfer gate of the transfer MOS transistor 5 to control charge transfer operation. Reference numeral 9 denotes a control line for applying a pulse to the reset gate of the reset MOS transistor 6 to control reset operation. Reference numeral 10 denotes a control line for applying a pulse to the gate of the selection MOS transistor 7 to control selection operation. Reference numeral 11 denotes a power source wiring which is connected with the drain of the amplification MOS transistor 3 and the drain of the reset MOS transistor 6 and used to supply a power source potential to the drain of the amplification MOS transistor 3 and the drain of the reset MOS transistor 6.
Reference numeral 12 denotes a signal output line to which an amplified signal of a selected pixel 1 is outputted. Reference numeral 13 denotes a MOS transistor which serves as a constant current source and composes a source follower with the amplification MOS transistor 3. Reference numeral 14 denotes a wiring for supplying a potential for operating the MOS transistor 13 at a constant current to the gate electrode of the MOS transistor 13.
FIG. 7 is a timing chart showing the operation of the CMOS sensor pixel shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 7, SC denotes a drive pulse signal applied to the MOS transistor 7 through the control line 10, RC denotes a drive pulse signal applied to the MOS transistor 6 through the control line 9, and TC denotes a drive pulse signal applied to the MOS transistor 5 through the control line 8. FD and SO indicate a potential of the FD portion 4 and a potential of the signal output line 12, respectively. Assume that each of the MOS transistors shown in FIG. 6 is an N-channel MOS transistor. When a gate potential of a MOS transistor is at a high level ("H"), the MOS transistor becomes an on-state. When a gate potential of a MOS transistor is at a low level ("L"), the MOS transistor becomes an off-state.
First, assume that each of the signals SC, RC, and TC is in an "L" state. When the signal SC is set to "H" at a time T31 to subject the selection MOS transistor 7 to an on-state, the pixel 1 from which a signal is read is selected. Next, when the signal RC is set to "H" at a time T32 (and then is changed to "L" at a time T33) to subject the reset MOS transistor 6 to an on-state, the FD portion 4 is reset. An output potential corresponding to a reset potential is produced on the signal output line 12 because the amplification MOS transistor 3 and the constant current MOS transistor 13 compose the source follower.
Next, when the signal TC becomes "H" at a time T34 (and then is changed to "L" at a time T35), the transfer MOS transistor 5 becomes an on-state. As a result, the signal charge accumulated in the photo diode 2 is transferred to the FD portion 4. Then, the potential FD of the FD portion 4 is changed by a voltage Vs corresponding to the signal charge. The change in potential is also caused on the signal output line 12, so that the potential SO of the signal output line 12 changes. After that, the signal SC is set to "L" at a time T36, so that the selection MOS transistor 7 becomes an off-state.
Here, the reset potential produced on the signal output line 12 includes noises such as a variation in threshold voltage of the amplification MOS transistor 3 and a reset noise generated when the FD portion 4 is reset. However, the photo diode 2 is totally depleted after the transfer of the signal charge is completed, with the result that no charge is left in the photo diode 2. Thus, the change in potential (voltage) Vs corresponding to the signal charge includes no noises.
In a two-dimensional CMOS sensor, a readout circuit (not shown) for removing the reset noise and taking only a signal is connected with the signal output line 12. With respect to the readout circuit, there have been proposed various circuits such as a readout circuit that removes the noise using a clamp circuit and a readout circuit that separately holds the noise and a mixed component (the noise and a pure signal) and leads the noise and the mixed component to a differential amplifier of a final stage at readout of horizontal scanning to remove the noise. The detailed description is omitted here.
A saturation charge amount in the conventional CMOS sensor pixel is determined by a limit that the photo diode 2 can be totally depleted after the transfer of the signal charge. At the time of the completion of transfer of the signal charge, (at the time T35 in FIG. 7) in the drive pulse signal TC for transfer, the minimum channel potential of the transfer MOS transistor 5 required to totally deplete the photo diode 2 is assumed to be Vd.
When a signal charge amount is large, the channel potential of the transfer MOS transistor 5 at the time of the completion of transfer of the signal charge is equal to the potential FD of the FD portion 4. Therefore, when a reset potential of the FD portion 4 is given by Vrs, a complete signal transfer condition is expressed by (Vrs−Vs)>Vd. Correctly, when a reset pulse (see RC in FIG. 7) and a transfer pulse (see TC in FIG. 7) are applied, the potential FD of the FD portion 4 is varied by a parasitic capacitor between the reset gate and the FD portion 4 and a parasitic capacitor between the transfer gate and the FD portion 4. Here, the variation in potential FD is omitted.
When the signal potential FD of the FD portion 4 corresponding to a saturation signal is given by Vsat, a condition for completely transferring a saturation signal charge is expressed by (Vrs−Vsat)>Vd. When a saturation charge amount of the photo diode 2 increases, Vd and Vsat necessarily become higher. Therefore, the saturation charge amount of the photo diode 2 can be increased only up to a limit satisfying the condition for completely transferring the saturation signal charge.
Increasing the reset potential Vrs of the FD portion 4 becomes an essential condition for increasing the saturation charge amount. However, an upper limit of the reset potential Vrs is a value obtained by subtracting the threshold voltage of the reset MOS transistor 6 from a high level potential of the reset pulse. In general, a high level of the pulse signal corresponds to a power source voltage of the sensor. Therefore, a limit value of the saturation charge amount depends on the power source voltage of the sensor and is determined based on the power source voltage of the sensor. Thus, it has been difficult to widen a dynamic range.
In order to solve such a problem, JP 2000-209508 A related to Japanese Patent has proposed a method of setting the reset potential of the FD portion 4 to a higher potential by increasing a high level potential of the reset pulse using a step-up circuit. However, when the step-up circuit is incorporated in the sensor chip, a circuit scale increases and the reliability of the chip is deteriorated by a large voltage applied to the circuit. Thus, it is necessary to solve the problem with a simple method.

Solid state image pickup device, method of driving solid state image pickup device, and camera using the solid state image pickup device


Atomic hydrogen is mixed with a raw material gas such as disilane in the selective growth of epitaxial silicon using insulating film masks, so as to control facet formation at the end portion of the selectively grown film where the silicon film comes in contact with the insulating film sidewall. Adsorption of atomic hydrogen leads to hydrogen termination of the silicon surface which remarkably reduces the surface free energy, thereby eliminating anisotropy of surface free energy and forming a facet-free selective silicon epitaxial film. A selective epitaxial film sufficiently thick for shallow junction source/drain regions of MOSFETs can be formed under the selective silicon epitaxial growth condition, i.e., high substrate temperature (700.degree. C. or higher) and low disilane flow rate, with the flow rate of hydrogen set to 4 sccm or more, and at least 5% of said hydrogen gas being dissociated into atomic hydrogen.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for selective growth of silicon epitaxial films utilizing insulating film masks and silane (SiH.sub.4) or silane-based gases such as disilane (Si.sub.2 H.sub.6), diborane (B.sub.2 H.sub.6), germane (GeH.sub.4) or the like as raw material gases and particularly to a method for controlling a shape of an end portion of the selectively grown silicon epitaxial film in contact with a sidewall of an insulating film mask.
2. Description of the Related Art
First, an apparatus used in the growth method of this kind will be outlined.
FIG. 9 shows an example of an apparatus used for selective growth of silicon epitaxial films on a silicon substrate utilizing silane or silane-based gases such as disilane or the like as a raw material.
A selective silicon epitaxial growth apparatus of this kind is provided, in general, with a vacuum chamber consisting of a growth chamber 2 and a heater chamber 3 equipped with a substrate heater 4, a susceptor 5 for supporting a silicon substrate 1 and a turbo molecular pump 6 for differential pumping of the growth chamber 2 and the heater chamber 3. As shown in FIG. 9, the growth chamber 2 and the heater chamber 3 are separated by means of a silicon substrate 1 on which the selective growth is to be performed. Silane-based raw material gases, for example, silane, disilane, or diborane or germane are introduced into the growth chamber 2 from a gas nozzle 9 provided at the upper portion of the growth chamber 2. In this apparatus, only the silicon substrate 1 is heated by the substrate heater 4, so that the stainless steel growth chamber 2 is not heated. Therefore, the raw material gases introduced from the gas nozzle 9 are not decomposed in the vapor phase but are thermally dissociated and adsorbed on silicon atoms of the silicon substrate 1. There, they release extra hydrogen atoms todeposit silicon epitaxially.
On the other hand, since the raw material gas directly reaches the surface of the silicon substrate 1 without producing chemically active intermediate products in the vapor phase, the raw material gas molecules are not easily adsorbed on masks made of insulating films such as silicon oxide or silicon nitride. In the alternative, it is difficult for silicon to grow, because even if the raw material is adsorbed on the silicon surface, it is immediately desorbed. Consequently, silicon grows selectively on the silicon substrate during a latent period until formation of silicon is initiated on the mask film and such latent period or "dead time" is determined by the substrate temperature and a flow rate of the raw material gas.
In such selective epitaxial growth processes of silicon, under certain growth conditions, "facetting" or formation of crystalline facets occur near the end portions of the selectively grown film where they are in contact with the sidewalls of the insulating film masks. Due to this facetting, the thickness of the selectively grown silicon film is decreased at such end portions of the epitaxial films. As described in the Journal of Crystal Growth 136 (1994) pp. 349-354, facets have different surface free energies depending on the surface orientation of the silicon crystal, and therefore not only the (100) surface, but also (111) or (311) surfaces having a small surface free energy are also formed at the initial stage of silicon growth on, for example, the (100) silicon substrate. Facetting occurs as a result of the epitaxial growth progressing with this shape or condition intact. The reason why a surface having a small surface free energy is formed as described above is considered to be that increase of free energy due to the precipitation of crystal silicon is minimized by formation of such facets.
As described, for example, in the official gazette of the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 4-74415(1992), facet formation is suppressed at the end portion of the selectively grown silicon epitaxial film, i.e., the area in contact with the insulating film mask sidewall, if the growth condition is such that the substrate temperature is set low and the flow rate of raw material gas is set high. When the substrate temperature is set low and flow rate of raw material gas, for example, of disilane is set at a high value, facetting becomes difficult for the following reasons. At lower substrate temperatures, hydrogen atoms dissociated from disilane are adsorbed more easily on the silicon surfaces. The amount of adsorption also increases when the flow rate of disilane is higher. When hydrogen terminates the silicon atoms on the surface, the surface free energy at the silicon surface terminated by adsorbed hydrogen atoms is remarkably lowered and the resulting dependence of surface free energy on the surface orientation can be eliminated, thereby suppressing facetting.
On the contrary, when the substrate temperature is set high and the flow rate of raw material gas, for example, disilane is set low, facetting is enhanced because hydrogen adsorption is suppressed and the effect of reducing dependence of surface free energy on surface orientation due to hydrogen termination becomes smaller.
An important application of the selective epitaxial silicon film is formation of a shallow junction structure at the source/drain portion of a very small MOS transistor of the 0.1 .mu.m rule level. In this kind of MOS transistor, after device area isolation oxide films and gate electrodes are formed on the silicon substrate, epitaxial silicon films are selectively grown on the portions of silicon which will become source/drain regions in order to form a source/drain structure having a shallow PN junction. This is done to suppress the so called "short channel effect". Thereafter, ion implantation is performed to form the source/drain region in a conventional manner. However, if a facet is formed at the end portions of the epitaxial film, as explained previously, depth of the implanted PN junction increases at portions close to the sidewall area where the facet is formed because there, the epitaxial film is thinner. As a result, the desired effect of suppressing the short channel effect is deteriorated.
Because of the reason explained above, it has been long desired to provide a method for selective epitaxial growth of silicon by which the facet is never formed at the sidewall portion. In the official gazette of the Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. Hei 4-74415(1992) explained above, a conventional method for selective epitaxial growth of silicon that focuses on the fact that formation of the facet depends on difference of the growth condition is disclosed. There, the growth condition that the substrate temperature is set low and flow rate of the raw material gas is set high is introduced as the method for growth of selective epitaxial film by which a facet is never formed.
The above conventional method for selective epitaxial growth of silicon has certain drawbacks which will be explained hereafter with reference to FIG. 6. FIG. 6 shows, for 4 different growth temperatures, maximum attainable selective epitaxial film thicknesses as a function of disilane flow rate, wherein selective growth is performed in an opening formed on an oxide film mask using disilane as a raw material gas. It is obvious from FIG. 6 that the thickness of a silicon epitaxial film which may be selectively grown under the conditions for suppressing facetting, i.e., low substrate temperature and high flow rate of raw material gas, becomes very small. This poses a problem when application of the selective epitaxial silicon film to the shallow junction source/drain region of the MOS transistor explained above is attempted, because a thickness of about 1000 .ANG. is required for the epitaxial film. Therefore, in order to selectively form a silicon epitaxial film of about 1000 .ANG., growth must be performed under the growth condition of substrate temperatures higher than 650.degree. C. and flow rate of disilane lower than 4 sccm. This growth condition inevitably includes a problem that facets are formed at the end portions of the selective silicon epitaxial film as described previously.

Method for selective growth of silicon epitaxial film


Electrical hair removal device and method for determining the time behavior of a cyclic motor process during use of the electrical hair removal device with a motor-driven hair cutting unit by measuring the motor current. Parallel to measuring the motor current, the induced voltage of the motor is measured and a timing property of the induced voltage is evaluated, wherein the duration of a time pattern in the induced voltage is analyzed as timing property of the induced voltage. A cutting activity of the electrical hair removal device during use is determined based on the evaluated timing property of the induced voltage, and a force applied onto skin during use of the electrical hair removal device is determined based on the measured motor current and, optionally, on the determined cutting activity.

The EP 0 719 222 B1 discloses a shaving apparatus with at least one cutting unit which is provided with an external cutting member with at least one hair trap opening and an internal cutting member which can be driven relative to the external cutting member by an electric motor, the motor having a speed which is controllable by means of an electrical control unit. The apparatus comprises at least one transducer, and an electrical control unit is proposed as a feedforward control unit which varies the motor speed in accordance with a predetermined control rule as a function of at least one physical quantity which is measurable by means of said transducer. The physical quantity measured by means of the transducer is a quantity which changes during a shaving operation and which affects the shaving performance, shaving comfort, and power consumption. For measuring a number of hairs cut by the cutting unit per unit time, the transducer is provided with a microphone capable of detecting an acoustic signal produced by the cutting unit. Another transducer is capable of measuring a skin contact force exerted on the cutting unit, the detector being an usual strain gauge sensor. However, for the measurements many different transducers or sensors are required. These are expensive and need extra space in the device.
In the WO2015135682A1 a shaver is proposed that reduces power consumption in the absence of skin, without the use of a distance sensor. By measuring the power consumption of the motor, the load detector is able to detect skin contact, assuming that in case of skin contact the power used by the motor is relatively high. So, by measuring e.g. the current through the motor, skin contact of the shaver is detected without the need for an additional distance sensor. This is, however, not a precise determination of a skin contact.

Method for determining the time behavior of a cyclic motor process during use of an electrical hair removal device and hair removal device


A holding mechanism includes a stand, a frame, a first mechanism and a second mechanism. The frame is slidably disposed on the stand and has an engaging portion. The first mechanism is installed on a side of the stand and provides the frame with a first force. The second mechanism is installed on another side of the stand and opposite to the first mechanism, and the second mechanism is capable of switching between an engaging status and a released status. The second mechanism engages with the first mechanism as being in the engaging status, so as to be connected to the frame and provide the frame with a second force. The second mechanism separates from the first mechanism as being in the released status, so as not to be connected to the frame and not provide the frame with the second force.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a holding device, and more particularly, to a thin holding device for holding electronic devices with different weights.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Please refer to FIG. 1. FIG. 1 is an exploded diagram of a holding device 9 in the prior art. As shown in FIG. 1, the holding device 9 includes a stand 91, a sliding frame 92, a plurality of constant force springs 93 and a plurality of linkage members 94 corresponding to the constant force springs 93. The stand 91 is placed on a working surface. The sliding frame 92 is slidably disposed on the stand 91. An end of each of the constant force springs 93 is fixed on the stand 91. Each of the linkage members 94 is selectively connected to the sliding frame 92 and the corresponding constant force spring 93, so as to establish a linking status. In the linking status, when the sliding frame 92 slides relative to the stand 91, the sliding frame 92 activates the linkage member 94 to slide, such that the corresponding constant force spring 93 generates a recovering force for making the sliding frame 92 stop at any desired position.
However, as shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of constant force springs 93 and the plurality of linkage members 94 are all disposed and arranged on the same side of the stand 91. Accordingly, a specific volume on the side of the stand 91 is required for providing the constant force springs 93 and the linkage members 94 with the mechanical space for installation. As a result, the aforesaid mechanism constrains the volume of the holding device 9 and disadvantages development of the holding device 9 with thin thickness.


One or more systems and methods for a cell based hybrid resistance and capacitance (RC) extraction are provided. The method includes generating a layout for a semiconductor arrangement, performing a three-dimensional (3D) RC extraction on a target unit cell to obtain a 3D RC result including a coupling capacitance between unit cells, generating a 3D RC netlist based upon the 3D RC result, performing a 2.5 dimensional (2.5D) RC extraction on a peripheral cell to obtain a 2.5D RC netlist, and combining the 3D RC netlist with the 2.5D RC netlist to create a hybrid RC netlist for the layout. In some embodiments, the hybrid RC netlist is generated by stitching the coupling capacitance for at least one of the target unit cell, a repeating unit cell, or the peripheral cell together. In some embodiments, the 3D RC result for the target unit cell is stitched to the repeating unit cell.

Semiconductor arrangements, such as integrated circuits (ICs), are designed and modeled using schematics and layouts. RC extraction is performed on a layout to create an RC netlist describing connectivity, resistance properties, capacitance properties, or other electrical or size properties of a semiconductor arrangement. The RC netlist is evaluated against a schematic of the semiconductor arrangement to determine whether the layout is an equivalent of the schematic.

System and method for creating hybrid resistance and capacitance (RC) netlist using three-dimensional RC extraction and 2.5 dimensional RC extraction

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited


The present invention relates to the use of melatonin or analogues thereof in a composition as an agent for stabilizing hydrophilic gelling polymers. The invention relates more particularly to cosmetic or pharmaceutical compositions for topical use.

Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the use of melatonin or analoges thereof for stabilizing compositions comprising hydrophilic gelling polymers, in particular in topical pharmaceutical or cosmetic compositions.
Hydrophilic gelling agents are very widely used in topical pharmaceutical or cosmetic compositions. These are, in particular, gelling agents such as polymers of natural and/or synthetic origin, among which mention may be made of carboxyvinyl polymers (carbomer), acrylic copolymers such as acrylate/alkyl acrylate copolymers, polyacrylamides or optionally modified polysaccharides such as hydroxypropyl cellulose.
It is known that these hydrophilic gelling polymers lose their viscosity under the effect of light, more particularly under the effect of UV radiation, and UVA and/or UVB screening agents are generally added to preparations containing them in order to overcome this problem. However, such screening agents are generally hydrophobic and are often considered to be responsible in intolerance phenomena such as photoallergy and/or phototoxicity, thus greatly limiting their use in topical pharmaceutical or cosmetic compositions.
The Applicant has found, surprisingly, that melatonin or analogues thereof can stabilize hydrophilic gelling polymers by preventing them from losing their viscosity under the action of light.
Melatonin, or N-acetyl-5-methoxytryptamine, which is secreted by the pineal gland, is especially known for its circadian activity in regulating the production of hormones, in particular for its influence on sleep rhythms.
It has also been described for its antioxidant activity and its use in dermocosmetology for improving the appearance of the skin (JP-A-61-221104; U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,674), or for protecting the skin against the effect of irradiation with UV rays (EP-A-0,438,856; E. Bangha & al., Dermatology 191, 2!, 176, 1995).
Various topical compositions comprising melatonin for therapeutic or cosmetic use have been described, such as skincare lotions and skincare milks or creams (JP-A-61-221104). The article by Bangha et al., which relates to the efficacy of melatonin in eliminating UVB-induced erythema, also describes the use of melatonin in a nanocolloidal gel. Melatonin is always used as an active agent and its influence on the stability of hydrophilic gelling polymers has not been described or suggested in any document. It is also worth noting that melatonin is used in these compositions essentially for its antioxidant properties, in particular for capturing free radicals, although it is not a molecule screening in the solar spectrum, between 280 and 800 nm.
The present invention thus relates to the use of melatonin or at least an analogue thereof for stabilizing a composition comprising at least one hydrophilic gelling polymer. The term "stabilizing" is essentially understood to mean preventing their loss of viscosity under the action of light.
Among the melatonin analogues, mention may be made in particular of derivatives thereof, such as 5-methoxytryptamine, 5-methoxytryptophan, 5-methoxytryptophol, 5-methoxyindole-3-acetic acid and 6-hydroxymelatonin. Mention may also be made of melatoninergic agonists, such as those described in Patent Applications WO-A-95/17405, EP-A-0,447,285, EP-A-0,527,687, EP-A-0,530,087 and EP-A-0,591,057. These compounds may be of natural or synthetic origin.
Melatonin will preferably be used.
Among the hydrophilic gelling polymers, polymers of natural and/or synthetic origin are advantageously intended, among which mention may be made of carboxyvinyl polymers (carbomer), acrylic copolymers such as acrylate/alkyl acrylate copolymers, polyacrylamides or polysaccharides, such as guar gum, xanthan gum, or optionally modified celluloses, such as hydroxypropylcellulose.
The hydrophilic gelling polymer is preferably a carboxyvinyl polymer, for example marketed under the tradename Carbopol.RTM. by the company GOODRICH.
In accordance with the present invention, the use of melatonin or analogues thereof stabilizes cosmetic or pharmaceutical compositions, more particularly topical compositions comprising a hydrophilic gelling polymer as gelling agent. Topical compositions should contain a topically acceptable medium, that is to say compatible with the skin, the mucous membranes, the nails, the scalp and the hair.
The present invention also relates to a process for stabilizing a composition comprising at least one hydrophilic gelling polymer, by adding an sufficient amount of melatonin or at least an analogue thereof for preventing the loss of viscosity of the said polymer under the action of the light.
The weight ratio of the melatonin or analogues thereof to the hydrophilic gelling polymer is advantageously between 1/2000 and 20/1, preferably between 1/500 and 1/2.
Lastly, the present invention relates to cosmetic or pharmaceutical compositions, in particular topical compositions, comprising at least one hydrophilic gelling polymer and melatonin or at least an analogue thereof as an agent for stabilizing the said hydrophilic gelling polymer.
These compositions comprise between 0.001% and 0.2% by weight of melatonin or analogues thereof and between 0.01% and 3% by weight of hydrophilic gelling polymer. The weight percentage is expressed relative to the total weight of the composition.
The compositions containing melatonin or analogues thereof can be in any pharmaceutical form for topical use which is normally used, comprising at least one hydrophilic gelling agent, in particular in the form of an aqueous solution, emulsions of liquid or semi-liquid consistency of the milk type, or suspensions or emulsions of soft consistency of the cream or aqueous gel type. These compositions are prepared according to the usual methods of the art.
The amounts of the various usual constituents in the compositions are those used conventionally in the fields in question.
These compositions constitute in particular cleansing, protective, treatment or care creams for the face, for the hands, for the feet, for the major anatomical folds or for the body, (for example day creams, night creams, make-up-removing creams, foundation creams, sun-creams), liquid foundations, make-up-removing milks, protective or care body milks, sun-milks, skin care lotions, gels or mousses such as cleansing lotions, sun-lotions, self-tanning lotions, bath compositions, deodorizing compositions comprising a bactericidal agent, aftershave gels or lotions, hair-removing creams, insect-repellant compositions, pain-relief compositions and compositions for treating certain skin diseases such as eczema, acne rosacea, psoriasis, lichens and severe pruritus.
The cosmetic or dermatological composition can, in a known manner, also contain adjuvants that are common in the cosmetic or dermatological field, such as preserving agents, antioxidants, solvents, fragrances, fillers, screening agents, odour absorbers and dyestuffs. The amounts of these various adjuvants are those used conventionally in these fields, for example from 0.01% to 10% of the total weight of the composition.
The composition can contain hydrophilic active agents such as proteins or protein hydrolysates, amino acids, polyols, urea, allantoin, sugars and sugar derivatives, water-soluble vitamins, plant extracts and hydroxy acids, or active agents intended especially for preventing and/or treating skin complaints such as agents for modifying skin differentiation and/or proliferation and/or pigmentation, antibacterial agents, antiparasitic agents, antifungal agents, anti-inflammatory agents which may or may not be steroidal, antipruriginous agents, anti-free radical agents, antiseborrhoic agents such as progesterone, CGRP antagonists or substance P antagonists, or alternatively bradykinin antagonists, and antidandruff agents.

Use of melatonin in a composition for stabilizing hydrophilic gelling polymers


A vertically aligning slackless drawbar for connecting adjacently disposed ends of a pair of railway freight cars together in a substantially semi-permanent manner. Such vertically aligning slackless drawbar comprises a first member and a second member pivotably and slideably coupled to each other with a pivot pin, preventing lifting of the body of such railway freight car from the bolster in a light aluminum railway freight car application. A predetermined clearance is designed between the adjacent ends of the first and second member to limit lateral movement of the second member in relationship to the first member in order to limit occurrence of jackknifing. The first member is secured to a yoke with the standard “F” pin. The yoke is further secured between the rear lug and a front lug of a center sill of a railway freight car. A pair of tapered gravity wedges compensate for longitudinal slack and are held in place with a pair of leaf springs disposed between the rear lug and said gravity wedge.

Articulated coupling arrangements used for the purpose of connecting adjacently disposed ends of a pair of railway freight cars together in a substantially semi-permanent fashion are well know in the art of railway freight vehicles. These articulated coupling arrangements have to accommodate the longitudinal travel in both directions, as well as the vertical and lateral travel at the coupling as the railway freight cars progress along the rails. The greater loads carried by modern railway cars necessitated articulated coupling arrangements which are capable of maintaining a close-butted relationship between various components to lessen the impact forces on railway cars and the articulated coupling arrangements. As a result, closed buttoned relationships lead to the development of slackless articulated coupling arrangements primarily consisting of couplers and drawbars. The term slackless means that the coupler or drawbar of a particular design is disposed within the center sill in a manner which minimizes longitudinal play or movement.
The main advantage of the coupler generally used with the draft gear assembly is that it accommodates the longitudinal travel in both directions, as well as the vertical and lateral travel at the coupling as the railway freight cars progress along the track and, more particularly, enabling such cars to more easily negotiate the curved portion of the track which will be encountered during operation. The primary disadvantage of the coupler is the play or slack in a longitudinal direction increasing the load forces onto a railway freight car. An additional disadvantage of the coupler and the draft gear assembly is the high unit costs due to the complexity of the design and a requirement for a significant number of the components.
Lately, the slackless drawbar assemblies have all but eliminated the need for a relatively expensive draft gear assembly used with coupler arrangements. Furthermore, these slackless drawbar assemblies have generally resulted in a desirable overall net decrease in the empty weight of such railway freight cars as well as in overall decrease in unit cost.
Each of the slackless drawbar assemblies which are known to be in use at the present time, however, suffer from at least one important and common disadvantage. This common disadvantage is that these slackless drawbar assemblies do not accommodate vertical and lateral travel at the coupling as the railway freight cars progress along the rails and, more particularly, while curving, thus increasing possibility of a flange climb derailment.
Additionally, the slackless drawbar may be employed to connect adjacently disposed ends of a pair of a railway freight cars with one car having worn wheels while the other cars have new wheels. Given this condition, the slackless drawbar will then be disposed at an angle in the vertical plane creating an additional vertical force onto a railway freight car having new wheels. This problem is especially magnified when the slackless drawbar is employed to connect adjacently disposed ends of a pair of aluminum lightweight construction coal carrying railway freight cars or an empty weight car. In this application, the slackless drawbar disposed at the angle in a vertical plane may cause the separation of the freight car body from the bolster or it may even cause lifting of the entire fright car from the rail.
As of particular significance is a reduction of frictional resistance to side loads to reduce side movement of the connecting adjacently disposed ends of a pair of railway cars and, more importantly, to reduce wheel and rail wear resulting from such side movement and to further minimize the possibility of a flange climb derailment.
As it can be seen from the above discussion it is desirable to employ a slackless drawbar which allows for vertical and lateral movement.
A common method of providing a slackless arrangement is to utilize a tapered gravity type wedge between a rear wall of a pocket casting (secured in the center sill) and a follower block which rests against the butt end of the coupler or drawbar member. The gravity wedge tends to force the follower block away from the pocket casting end wall and firmly against the butt end of the coupler or drawbar member shank. When component wear occurs subsequently increasing longitudinal clearances between the follower block and the coupler or drawbar member, the clearance or the slack is constantly being taken up by the action of the dropping gravity wedge.
In railway freight cars being pushed (buff), the longitudinal forces cause compression of the slackless coupler or drawbar member against the follower, gravity wedge and pocket end wall of the slackless arrangement.
When cars are being pulled (draft), the longitudinal forces tending to separate the slackless drawbar or coupler from the pocket end wall creating a condition where the gravity wedge can descend under gravity and lock when the railway freight cars are under the buff load.
With the above discussion in mind, attention is now directed to a particular prior art type gravity wedge for a slackless railcar connector assembly. This prior art gravity wedge is taught in U.S. Pat. No. 5,573,126. Disclosed therein is a tapered gravity wedge having a resilient means comprised of an elastomeric or a conventional compression spring disposed within a close tolerance machined bore on one or both faces of the gravity wedge and which protrudes slightly beyond one or both faces of the gravity wedge so that a small, but controlled gap symmetrically remains between the gravity wedge face(s) and the adjacent surface(s). When railcar buff loads are released, the only locked-in force operating on the connector assembly will be that dictated by the compressive load rate of the resilient means. When the buff or compressive load has been released, the gravity wedge will maintain its vertical position as the resilient means "feeds out" and holds the gravity wedge in place, until the next-experienced tensile loading.
One of the disadvantages of the gravity wedge of the prior art is the increased cost of the close tolerance machined bores. The other disadvantage is the impact of the environmental factors, such as temperature, humidity, dust and moisture affecting the structural integrity and operation of the resilient means thus enabling descend of the gravity wedge under a draft load condition.
Therefore, it is desirable to improve upon retainment of the gravity wedge.


A method of separating oxygen from an oxygen containing stream in which compressed and heated oxygen is introduced into cathode side of an oxygen transport membrane reactor. Oxygen is permeated from the cathode side to the anode side. Motive fluid that is introduced into an ejector draws an oxygen permeate containing stream from the anode side at a subatmospheric pressure to form an oxygen containing product stream. The motive fluid, which can be steam raised by combustion used in heating the reactor, can be separated from the oxygen containing product stream to form an oxygen product stream. The use of an ejector lowers the partial pressure of the oxygen at the anode side of the membrane reactor and therefore the degree to which the oxygen containing stream need be compressed.

Oxygen can be separated from air or other oxygen containing gases with the use of an oxygen transport membrane. Oxygen transport membranes are fabricated from ceramics that exhibit oxygen ion conductivity at elevated temperatures. An oxygen containing feed stream, for instance, air, is passed along one side of the membrane that is designated as a cathode side. At the cathode side of the membrane, the oxygen ionizes by gaining electrons. The oxygen ions pass through the membrane and emerge from the other side of the membrane, designated as the anode side. At the anode side, the oxygen ions release their excess electrons and combine to form elemental oxygen.
In membranes known as mixed conductors, the electrons from the anode side are transported through the membrane to the cathode side where they serve to ionize the oxygen. In other ceramic materials known as ionic conductors, the membrane will solely conduct oxygen ions. External electrodes are therefore placed at the cathode and anode sides of the membrane and a separate electrical pathway is provided for the conduction of electrons. In dual phase conductors, the electrically conducting pathways are applied as a conductive phase within the membrane itself.
The oxygen separation by oxygen transport membranes requires a driving force of oxygen partial pressure. The oxygen partial pressure at the cathode side of the membrane must be higher than the oxygen partial pressure at the anode side of the membrane for the separation to occur. Typically, the driving force is supplied by compression of the incoming oxygen containing feed. Alternatively, or in addition, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,539,719 a vacuum may be drawn at the anode side by a vacuum blower/compressor to decrease the oxygen partial pressure at the anode side. Vacuum blowers are also disclosed for such purposes in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,516,359, 5,447,555 and 5,935,298. Another manner of reducing the partial pressure at the anode side of the membrane is the use of a purge stream to either consume or sweep away permeated oxygen and thereby lower the partial pressure of oxygen at the anode side. Such use of purge gas is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,944,874.
As may be appreciated, the more the partial pressure is reduced at the anode side of the membrane, the less the oxygen containing feed stream need be compressed for a particular output of oxygen. However, the use of vacuum pumps consumes electricity and also adds to the expense of the reactor system.
As will be discussed, the present invention provides a method of separating oxygen from an oxygen containing feed in which the partial pressure of the oxygen is reduced at the anode side of the membrane without the use of a vacuum blower and like devices.

Oxygen separation method utilizing an oxygen transport membrane reactor


A control arm system, whose first support bar is passed through by a vertical post, enabling the first support bar to swivel round horizontally by any angle, the far end of the first support bar carrying a vertical rod, which in turn passes through a first link support to enable the first link support to swivel around the far end of the first support bar horizontally; while the first link support is further provided with two bolts that are mounted vertically above each other, pointing in a horizontal direction, and which serve to hold a second support bar, made of two parallel link bars of equal length, in a way that it is movable up and down with the two bolts as cardinal points, the far end of the second support bar in turn being connected to a second link support, which holds a rotary tool, being held by two bolts mounted vertically above each other, pointing in a horizontal direction, where the distance between the two bolts of the second link support and the two bolts of the first link support is equal; wherein, when the second support bar moves up and down, the rotary tool maintains a vertical orientation and, by the horizontal swiveling movement of the first support bar and the first link support may change the working position.

Conventional working processes on a working object in a vertical direction, like drilling, reeling, tapping, or screwing, mostly are carried out using hand-held tools. However, those tools are often not held stably by the user, especially not exactly vertically. Any torque has to be borne by the hand of the user, so no uniform force will be applied in the working process, which may cause the tool to break or even injure the user. Therefore in a working process that demands a high degree of verticality, like drilling, a fixed machine is often used. If, however, the tool is installed in a fixed position, any change in the working position is cumbersome, causing inefficient working.
Therefore, recently control arms have been used for working processes. Such a control arm is fastened to a workbench and consists of two link rods forming an L-shaped arm. A system of lockable joints allows a wide range of angular positions of the two link rods to vary the working position. On the two link rods there is also a gas vessel, which allows the control arm to separate from the working object, when the working process is finished. So a working process in a vertical direction is possible for a wide range of positions. When, however, the two link rods and the gas vessel include a small angle, they interfere with each other. So there is a blind spot in the range of possible working positions, close to the fixed end of the two link rods. Then the link rods have to be extended outward to compensate for this, leading to a bigger space consumed by the control arm.
Furthermore, when a control arm with two link rods is employed to vary the working position, there is no way to damp the horizontal reacting force at high rotational velocities of the tool. So vibrations develop, leading to less stability and making control difficult.
Moreover, when the working position is changed, the two link rods have to be folded to a smaller angle. Then the gas vessel is compressed, and the gas vessel exerts a counteracting force, which the user has to overcome, thus making the change of the working position troublesome.


A combination flask for carrying a quantity of liquid and a quantity of pills which includes a housing that includes a fluid impervious first chamber. The first chamber has an opening. The housing is generally cross-shaped and the cross-shaped housing includes four generally elliptical sections of which first and second generally elliptical sections are generally coaxial and second and third elliptical sections are also generally coaxial. In a preferred form of the invention, the pill container is received within a neck of the housing, and the chamber includes substantially all of said second, third and fourth elliptical sections. A cap dimensioned and configured for engaging the housing encloses the pill container and the housing opening and selectively prevents liquid passing into said pill container.

This invention relates to medical apparatus and particularly to apparatus for carrying pills as well as containers for a volume of liquid sufficient to enable a user to consume a pill.
In some cases it is of great urgency that a specific pill be taken. For example, some heart patients may experience chest pains and should take pills, such as aspirin, very promptly as recommended by their physician. In some cases, any delay may be fatal. In other cases, people have a complex schedule of multiple pill dosages throughout each day. A problem encountered by such users is to not only have the pills available when they are required, but also to not have a sufficient quantity of liquid readily available to allow them to consume the pills. A sufficient quantity of liquid is particularly imperative with some large pills and particularly imperative for some individuals who can not easily swallow or chew pills even under emergency conditions.
There are known collapsible cups and separate pill storage containers of various types known in the prior art. Such apparatus have not been wholly satisfactory.
An object of the invention is to provide apparatus, which in a single flask, will hold both a supply of pills and a supply of a liquid suitable for consuming the pills.
Another object of the invention is to provide such a flask that is easy to graspxe2x80x94particularly by persons that may be handicapped such as those having arthritis or other limitations on their ability to manipulate such a container.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a flask that enables a person, including even a handicapped person, to readily open and close the flask.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a construction which enables the user to easily grasp the flask and that is shaped to accommodate two of the user""s fingers.
It is now been found that these and other objects of the invention may be attained in a combination receptacle apparatus for carrying a quantity of liquid and a quantity of pills which includes a housing having a neck that receives a removable pill chamber. The pill chamber has an opening and is configured upon insertions into the housing to be fluid impervious. The housing further defines a primary chamber that is accessible when the pill chamber is removed. The flask selectively prevents liquid passage out of said second chamber and selectively prevents liquid passage into the first chamber. The housing is generally cross-shaped and the cross-shaped housing includes four generally elliptical sections of which first and second generally elliptical sections are generally coaxial and second and third elliptical sections are also generally coaxial.
The pill chamber is receivable within said first elliptical section. The primary chamber includes substantially all of said second, third and fourth elliptical sections. The structure for selectively preventing liquid passing into said pill chamber may include a cap dimensioned and configured for engaging the opening in the pill chamber. The structure for selectively preventing liquid passing out of the primary chamber may include the received pill chamber and its sealing interface with the housing and the cap.
The axial extremities of the caps may have parts thereof that are shaped whereby the housing is capable of standing upright on a flat horizontal surface.
The third and fourth elliptical sections may have axial extremities that include a dish-shaped end recess and each of the recesses is dimensioned and configured to accommodate a finger of a user. The housing exterior may be configured for engagement with an associated key ring and/or a lace that allows the flask to be worn around the user""s neck or mounted to other objects.

Combination flask for pills and liquid therefor