A biochip, a platform which composes the biochip, and a stage which composes the platform. The biochip is for detecting analytes in a test sample. The platform comprises a stage. The stage of the invention includes a carrier.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to devices and methods for detecting and analyzing nucleic acids, proteins, macromolecules and other haptens. In particular, the invention includes a biochip. The invention is further directed to devices which the biochip comprises. Methods for making and using biochips and the devices which compose the biochip are also subjects of the present invention.
2. Background of the Invention
Nucleic acid probe technology has application in detection of genetic mutations and related mechanisms, cancer screening, determining drug toxicity levels, detection of genetic disorders, detection of infectious disease and genetic fingerprinting. Nucleic acid-based probe methods offer several advantages over conventional microbiological or immunological methods for detection of organisms, as described by Nakamura and Bylund (J. Clinical Laboratory Analysis, 6, 73-83, 1992). Utilizing biochip or microarray technology, one can conduct massively parallel experiments in the areas of genetics and proteomics in applications as diverse as pharmacogenomics, gene expression, compound screening, toxicology, Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs) analysis, Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) and molecular diagnostics.
Methods to amplify the number of copies of the nucleic acid available for detection of the signal generated after hybridization of the nucleic acid probe have been utilized. A review of nucleic acid based detection methods and various amplification schemes such as polymerase chain reaction (PCR), ligase chain reaction (LCR), transcription based amplification, cycling probe reaction, Q.beta. replicase, and strand displacement amplification may be found in M. J. Wolcott, Clinical Microbiology Reviews, 5, Oct. 1992, pp 370-386.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,175,270 describes an amplification reagent consisting of layers of nucleotide polymers containing double stranded and single stranded sections. Each section has an end which is capable of hybridizing with another molecule.
Probe or hybridization assays are often based on the attachment of an oligonucleotide probe to a surface in order to capture a target nucleic acid molecule (analyte) from a sample. The attachment of this probe to the surface may be through covalent bonds or through a variety of passive absorption mechanisms (e.g., hydrophobic or ionic interactions).
U.S. Pat. No. 5,279,955 describes an immobilization process which uses a heterofunctional cross-linker for a plastic support. The cross-linker consists of a central ring which is hydrophobic and interacts with the plastic, and a hydrophilic chain which terminates in a group capable of reacting with a nucleic acid. Covalent attachment is achieved through a succinyl-olivetol-N-hydroxysuccinimide.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,262,297 describes immobilization of a probe through copolymers which contain reactive carboxylic acid groups and an 8-50 atom spacer with two or more unsaturated groups within the spacer.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,034,428 describes an immobilization process for probes in which a monomer is joined onto a hydrophilic solid support which can be irradiated in an oxygen free atmosphere. This method provides for covalent attachment of the probe.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,806,546 also describes an immobilization process for an amide modified nylon. The method relies on an amidine linkage under anhydrous conditions in the presence of an alkylating agent.
Maskos and Southern, 20 Nucleic Acid Research 1679, 1992, describe a linker system for the attachment of a nucleic acid to a glass support. The linker system allows for the chemical synthesis of a strand of nucleic acids on the surface. The primary advantage of the linker is that it is stable to an ammonia treatment which is required in the synthesis of the polynucleotide. A hexaethylene glycol spacer is incorporated into the linker which attaches to the glass through a glycidoxypropyl silane which terminates in a primary hydroxy group. The silane is condensed onto silane groups on a solid support. Additional cross-linking may be obtained by introducing water so that the epoxide group is cleaved to a diol. An acidic solution facilitates this process. The length of the linker may be varied by changing the spacer to ethylene glycol, pentaethylene glycol, etc.
Nucleic acid probes that have hybridized to their target sequence are detected based on various methods that introduce a detectable chemiluminescent, fluorescent or other identifiable label into a nucleic acid probe. Several of these techniques, are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,968,602, 4,818,680, 5,104,791, and 5,272,056, and International applications W091/00926 and GB2169403A.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,283,174 (Arnold et al.), describes the use of a chemiluminescent label with DNA probes. The label is composed of an acridinium ester and has a number of desirable properties. It is stable to hybridization conditions, light is emitted only upon exposure to an alkaline peroxide, the emission kinetics are rapid, and the label on the unhybridized probe can be destroyed without an impact on the signal generated by the hybridized probe.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,089,387 describes a diffraction assay for the detection of DNA hybridization. In this invention, a solid support, generally silicon or polysilicon, is coated with a DNA probe. These surfaces are required to inherently adhere the DNA probe to the surface. Once the surface is coated with the probe, the surface is selectively inactivated to provide a series of very strictly controlled reactive probe lines for the generation of the diffraction grating. The unreacted surface is required to be non-light disturbing. The diffraction grating is only generated upon the addition of the analyte to the surface. The angle of diffraction is a function of the wavelength of incident light and the density and spacing of the individual gratings on the surface. A single detector or a multiple detector array may be used to detect and measure the light from all desired orders of the diffracted light.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,060,237 describes a light reflecting assay for the detection of nucleic acid hybridization. In the invention, an optically active solid support capable of producing a thin film effect is coated with an amplifying probe reagent able to bind to the target nucleic acid and create an increase in mass change on the optically active surface without disrupting the thin film effect. The direct optical thin film detection methods of the invention are extremely sensitive to changes in mass at the surface of the optically active support.
Mixed phase systems have typically been used to perform hybridization assays. In mixed phase assays the hybridizations are performed on a solid phase such as nylon or nitrocellulose membranes. For example, the assays usually involve loading a membrane with a sample, denaturing the DNA or creating single stranded molecules, fixing the DNA or RNA to the membrane, and saturating the remaining membrane attachment sites with heterologous nucleic acids to prevent the probe reagent from adhering to the membrane in a non-specific manner. All of these steps must be carried out before performing the actual hybridization.
Recent development of new technologies for synthesizing or depositing nucleic acids on substrates at very high densities have allowed the miniaturization of nucleic acid arrays yielding increased experimental efficiency and information content. (Lockhart & Winzeler, Genomics, Gene Expression and DNA Arrays, Functional Genomics, 405:6788, June 2000, 827-35). Utilizing these Biochips or Microarrays, one can conduct massively parallel experiments in genomics and proteomics with applications as diverse as, pharmacogenomics, gene expression, compound screening, toxicology, Single Nucleotide Polymorphism (SNPs) analysis, Short Tandem Repeats (STRs) and molecular diagnostics. It would be desirable to create a simple, cost-effective device that would produce a low background with optically clean fluorescent detection, allow oligonucleotides to be easily coupled in an array format, and be easily adapted to an automated manufacturing process.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Stage and platform for building a biochip and biochip


A recordable element includes a substrate, an optical recording layer deposited on the substrate, a light reflecting layer deposited over the recording layer and an interfacial layer having a thickness in a range of 3 to 30 nm and interposed between the recording layer and the reflective layer, the optical recording layer containing Te.sub.a Ge.sub.b C.sub.c H.sub.d O.sub.e where a, b, c, d, and e are the atomic percents such that a+b+c+d+e=100, and wherein 10<a<40, 10<b<60, 5<c<35, 10<d<35, e.gtoreq.0; and the interfacial layer containing Ge.sub.w C.sub.x H.sub.y O.sub.z where w, x, y, and z are atomic percents such that w+x+y+z=100, and wherein 15<w<65, 5<x<35, 15<y<40, z.gtoreq.0. The recording element has its properties changed by heat treatment for a time and temperature selected so as to improve and stabilize its performance.

Since its introduction in the early 80's the compact disc (CD) has firmly established as a popular format for digital optical storage. The digital versatile disc, also known as the digital video disc (DVD) is now emerging as a versatile medium and is believed to eventually replace the CD. The capacity of a DVD is seven times that of the CD. The increased capacity is primarily achieved through the use of shorter wavelength laser and narrower track-pitch. However, because of their very strong wavelength dependence, dyes for recordable CD (CD-R) application at 780 nm are not generally extendible to recordable DVD (DVD-R) that operates around 635 nm wavelength.
It has been disclosed in commonly-assigned U.S. Patent No. 5,585,158 and U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 08/631,352 filed Apr. 12, 1996, entitled "A Method of Forming Recordable Optical Element Using Low Absorption Materials" by Raychaudhuri et al; 08/631,754 filed Apr. 12, 1996, entitled "A Method of Forming Recordable Optical Element Using Low Absorption Material" by Raychaudhuri et al; 08/732,825 filed Oct. 15, 1996, entitled "Recording Media for Recordable Element" by Raychaudhuri et al; and 08/902,544, filed Jul. 29, 1997, entitled "High Performance Media for Optical Recording" by Olin et al, that optical recording thin layers based on the Ge--Te--C--H--O system can be appropriate as recording layers in CD-R optical recording elements. These layers exhibit a weak dependence of optical properties to wavelength, and with only minor alteration of composition and thickness believed usable as DVD-R optical recording elements as well.
Optical recording elements were fabricated of optical recording thin layers comprising one or more sublayers each containing the said components with a reflector layer of gold and a protective overcoat as shown in FIG. 1. The composition and thickness of each of the sublayers being selected to approximately correspond to the R.sub.min reflectivity and further having the optical recording elements properties modified by heat treatment. The optical recording elements thus prepared have been reported applicable to CD-R and also believed useful in DVD-R applications.
Since CD-R and DVD-R are aimed at the consumer market it is highly desirable to reduce cost. While attempting to replace the reflecting layer of gold with less expensive metals, it was found that silver provided the required reflectivity that appeared stable at room temperature. At elevated temperature aging, near 95.degree. C., the reflectivity of disc (measured through the substrate) decreased while the reflectivity of Ag (measured through transparent protective overcoat) stayed unchanged. This indicates that the interaction at the recording layer/silver interface is the main cause of instability.

Optical recording element with an interfacial layer between the recording layer and the reflecting layer


An antenna for vehicle, i.e. a wire antenna being arranged on the surface of the window glass of an automobile or the like, comprising a first element having a length extending from a first feeding point equal to any one of ¼, ¾ or 5/4 of the wavelength of a transmitting/receiving radio wave, and a second closed loop element having a length extending from a second feeding point, provided in the vicinity of the first feeding point, while surrounding the first element not shorter than one wavelength of the transmitting/receiving radio wave.

Conventionally, while rod antennas have been widely used as antennas for transmitting and receiving radio waves of car telephones and portable telephones and receiving television broadcast waves, since the construction of these rod antennas requires them to protrude from the vehicle body, there have been caused drawbacks that the protrusion of the antennas is not preferable from safety and aesthetic appearance aspects and that the protruding antenna constitutes a disturbance and may be broken when washing a vehicle.
Due to this, in recent years, there have been demands for antennas with no protrusion such as glass antennas in which an antenna pattern is directly printed on a window glass of a vehicle and antennas in which a seal or sheet on which an antenna pattern is printed is affixed to a window glass of a vehicle, and those antennas have now been put to practical use.
Some of such glass antennas and seal antennas which are now in practical use as car and portable telephone antennas have practically the same transmission and reception gain performance as that of rod antennas.
For example, JP-A-06-152216 discloses a glass antenna for car telephones which is characterized by the inclusion of a radiation pattern whose length in a vertical direction on the surface of a window glass is approximately ¼ of the wavelength and a ground pattern whose length in a horizontal direction on the surface of the window glass is approximately ¼ of the wavelength, wherein the ground pattern is provided on at least one of left and right ends of the window glass surface in such a manner that when the ground pattern is provided on the left end, the radiation pattern is provided so as to be close to a left-hand side portion of the ground pattern, whereas when the ground pattern is provided on the right end, the radiation pattern is provided so as to be close to a right-hand side portion of the ground pattern, so that the ground pattern is formed into a ring-like shape (Patent Document No. 1).
In addition, JP-A-06-314921 discloses a glass antenna provided on a vehicular window glass which is characterized by the inclusion of at least a first element in which a horizontal line is connected to a distal end of a vertical line and a second element in which a horizontal line connected to a distal end of a vertical line and another horizontal line are provided so as to be close to each other vertically in such a manner as to hold the horizontal line of the first element therebetween, so that an end portion of the first element is encompassed by the two horizontal lines (Patent Document No. 2).
Furthermore, JP-A-08-148921 discloses a glass antenna system for car telephones formed by using a conductor pattern on a vehicle window glass which is characterized by being made up of a circular radiation pattern and a doughnut-like shaped ground pattern provided concentrically on an outside of the radiation pattern (Patent Document No. 3).
On the other hand, glass antennas which are now in practical use as vehicular glass antennas for reception of television broadcast waves have practically the same reception performance and gain as those of rod antennas and are disclosed.
For example, JP-A-07-263934 discloses a vehicular glass antenna provided on an upper unused portion on a vehicular rear window glass in which a defogging heater line is embedded which is characterized by the inclusion of a first antenna made up of a horizontal line and a vertical line and a second antenna provided in an unused portion of the first antenna in a left half or right half of the rear window glass in which a line is provided to extend perpendicularly from part of a main element mainly made up of a horizontal line, a transversely elongated rectangular element is connected to the perpendicularly extending line, and a line is drawn out of part of a short side of the rectangular element for implementing a feeding at the side portion of the element (Patent Document No. 4).
In addition, JP-A-2001-119223 discloses a glass antenna provided on a vehicular side window for preferably receiving, in particular, TV radio waves of all bands (Patent Document No. 5).
Furthermore, JP-A-2001-332923 discloses a film antenna in which a rectangular flat plate-like film antenna element is provided on a glass supported by a conductive frame unit for preferably receiving TV radio waves of all bands (Patent Document No. 6).    (Patent Document No. 1) JP-A-06-152216    (Patent Document No. 2) JP-A-06-314921    (Patent Document No. 3) JP-A-08-148921    (Patent Document No. 4) JP-A-07-263934    (Patent Document No. 5) JP-A-2001-119223    (Patent Document No. 6) JP-A-2001-332923
However, since the antenna performance of any of the car telephone or portable telephone glass antennas shown in Patent Document No 1 to Patent Document No. 3 and the TV broadcast waves reception glass antennas shown in Patent Document No. 4 to Patent document No. 6 is liable to be affected by locations where the antenna is placed or structures in the vicinity of the antenna so placed, antenna elements and antenna setting positions must be adjusted vehicle by vehicle. Further, even in case such adjustments are carried out accordingly, the antenna performance has still been changed by the effect of human bodies.
In addition, the car telephone or portable telephone glass antennas shown in Patent Document No. 1 to Patent Document No. 6 have low gains compared with the rod antennas, and hence a further improvement in antenna gain has been desired. Furthermore, as to the TV broadcast waves reception glass antennas shown in Patent Document No. 4 to Patent Document No. 6, not only does a grounding need to be provided in the vicinity of an antenna feeding point but also antenna setting conditions are limited with respect to reception frequencies. In particular, the antenna has to be provided limitedly on the rear window of the vehicle in Patent Document No. 4, on a side window of the vehicle in Patent Document No. 5 and on a large window or door of a structure such as a building in Patent Document No. 6.
In particular, as to the TV broadcast waves reception antennas shown in Patent Document No. 4 to Patent Document No. 5, it was difficult to match the impedance of the antenna to the impedance of the receiver over all the bands of TV broadcast waves to be received.
The invention was made in view of the problems, and an object thereof is to provide a vehicular antenna which can make it difficult for the antenna performance thereof to be affected by antenna setting locations and human bodies so as to reduce an actual antenna area while increasing the antenna performance higher than that provided by the conventional techniques and is hence preferable as a car telephone and portable telephone antenna, as well as a digital broadcast waves and TV broadcast waves reception antenna, which can, furthermore, transmit and receive radio waves of personal radio communication equipment, commercial radio communication equipment and PHS, and which can, moreover, be made difficult to be bound by a position on the surface of a window glass where the antenna is provided.


A mount which is fixed to a retaining board is provided with a mounting surface on which a mechanism component consisting of a link mechanism and a solenoid is mounted; a first support leg having a vertical portion downwardly folded along one edge of the mounting surface and a horizontal attachment portion which is horizontally folded along the lower end of the vertical portion and is fixed to the retaining board with a screw; and a second support leg having a vertical portion downwardly folded along the other edge of the mounting surface and a holding edge which partially extends from a lower edge of the vertical portion and is horizontally folded.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mounting structure for a mechanism element or mount mechanism elements, such as a motor and a solenoid actuator which actuate or drive links, cams, and rollers, on a retaining board disposed in a housing of equipment such as a video deck or a cassette deck.
2. Related Art
FIGS. 2 and 3 show one example of a conventional structure for mounting mechanism elements. In the illustrated example, a mechanism component 5 consisting of a link mechanism 6 and a solenoid 8 selectively bring a cleaning roller 4 used in, e.g., a tape traveling system of a video deck into pressed contact with, or detaches the same from, a drum 2. The mechanism component 5 is mounted on a retaining board 20 disposed in a housing via mounts 10A (FIG. 2) and 10B (FIG. 3) which are substantially bent into the shape of a letter C and are resiliently deflective.
The mount 10A shown in FIG. 2 is provided with a mounting surface 12 on which the mechanism component 5 is mounted, a first support leg 14 and a second support leg 15. The first support leg 14 comprises a vertical side 14a folded down along one edge of the mounting surface 12 and a horizontal attachment portion 14b which is horizontally folded along the lower end of the vertical side and is fixed to the retaining board 20 with a screw 22. The second support leg 15 has a vertical side folded downward along the other edge of the mounting surface 12, and a lower end 15A of the vertical side is inserted into an insertion aperture 23 formed in the retaining board 20.
The mount shown in FIG. 3 has a vertical side 16a folded downward along the other end of the mounting surface 12 as the first support leg 14 and a horizontal attachment portion 16b which is horizontally folded along the lower end of the vertical side 16a and is fixed to the retaining board 20 with a screw 24.
Of the above described conventional mounting structures for mechanism components, in the case of the mount shown in FIG. 2, the horizontal attachment portion 14b of the first support leg 14 is mounted to the retaining board 20 with the screw 22. However, the second support leg 15 has its lower end 15A only inserted into the insertion hole 23 formed in the retaining board 20. For this reason, it is impossible for the second support leg to control vertical movement,and the mechanism component as a whole may vertically vibrate depending on the operation of the mechanism component. As a result, the screw 22 may become loose and rattle.
On the other hand, in the case of the mount shown in FIG. 3, the first support leg 14 and the second support leg 16 are mounted to the retaining board 20 with the screws 22 and 24, which prevents vertical behaviors. However, it takes some effort and time to mount the mechanism component to the retaining board with two screws.

Mounting structure for mechanism element


A preparation method for a water extract of the fruiting body of Antrodia camphorata (ACW) is provided. The method includes steps of: (a) providing the fruiting body; and (b) boiling the fruiting body in water to obtain the water extract. This polysaccharide-rich water extract from A. camphorata induces the maturation of dendritic cells, enhances T cell proliferation and INF-γ production, and polarizes them toward the Th1 pathway. ACW can be effectively applied in cancer immunotherapy.

Antrodia camphorata (AC) is an endemic mushroom in Taiwan and grows in the internal heartwood (or the dark/humid wood surface) of the particular Cinnamomum kanehirai in 400 to 2000 meters altitude. Therefore, it is uneasily to find out the wide fruiting body of AC or identify the morphological appearance of this Aphyllophorales fungus. In addition, the price of AC is still high due to their biologically active components having potential pharmaceutical value.
The fruiting body of AC cannot be easily harvested and be artificially cultured. In addition, mycelia products of AC are popular in the market and announce to own anticancer activity, reduced cancer therapy-related symptoms and other side effects, anti-oxidation, anti-hypersensitivity and immunostimulatory effects.
In immune response, the stimulated and activated dendritic cells (DCs) emerge as the antigen presenting cells (APCs) to present antigens toward unprimed T lymphocytes (Hart et al., 1997). The maturation and functions of DCs are tightly regulated by cytokines and costimulatory signals (Martinez et al., 2007). Recent research is found that the DC-based immunotherapy is able to apply in treating malignancies (Banchereau et al., 2003). The maturation process is the main function of DCs and enables one cell to perform different, highly specialized functions sequentially. Many stimuli, including lipopolysaccharide (LPS), can induce the maturation process of DCs in vitro.
In the present researches, polysaccharides produced from this medical mushroom can be new pharmaceuticals for inducing the maturation and activation of DCs. Therefore, when searching for new cancer immunotherapy agents, the edible and medicinal fungi being used for cancer treatment in folk medicine are promising candidates, wherein AC is the most popular one.
Taiwan Patent No. 1299665 discloses an extract of AC and the preparing method thereof, wherein polysaccharide is obtained from extraction of mycelia of Taiwanofungus camphoratus with ethanol so as to inhibit the activity of matrix metalloproteinases. However, the extraction is not performed with the fruiting body of AC, and the product also cannot inhibit the growth of cancer cells. Taiwan Patent No. 1279439 discloses inoculate obtained from incubating mycelia of AC by adjusting the pH value at incubation, but there is not extraction method disclosed. Taiwan Patent No. 591110 discloses that γ-aminobutyric acid is extracted from the lyophilized mycelia of AC with water or organic solvents. However, the above-mentioned inventions do not disclose any product of the wild fruiting body of AC extracted with water or organic solvent, and the effect of ACW on DCs is not identified in the immune response.
It is therefore attempted by the applicant to deal with the above situation encountered in the prior art.


An area in a top view of a region where a low-voltage field effect transistor is formed is reduced, and an area in a top view of a region where a high-voltage field effect transistor is formed is reduced. An active region where the low-voltage field effect transistors (first nMIS and first pMIS) are formed is constituted by a first convex portion of a semiconductor substrate that projects from a surface of an element isolation portion, and an active region where the high-voltage field effect transistors (second nMIS and second pMIS) are formed is constituted by a second convex portion of the semiconductor substrate that projects from the surface of the element isolation portion, and a trench portion formed in the semiconductor substrate.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method of manufacturing the same and, in particular, to an effective technology when being applied to a semiconductor device and manufacturing thereof that are required for reducing a whole area of a semiconductor chip by reducing a size of a field effect transistor.
When field effect transistors used in various circuits constituting an SoC (System on Chip) are roughly classified according to circuit operation thereof, they can be classified into a low-voltage field effect transistor that has a thin gate insulating film and a short gate length and operates with a low voltage (for example, approximately 1.0 to 1.8 V), and a high-voltage field effect transistor that has a thick gate insulating film and a long gate length and operates with a high voltage (for example, approximately 3.3 to 5.0 V).
As a structure of the above-described low-voltage field effect transistor, for example, a fin-type has been proposed. For example, specification of U.S. Pat. No. 7,265,008 (Patent Document 1), specification of US Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0272190 (Patent Document 2), specification of US Patent Application Publication No. 2005/0153490 (Patent Document 3), specification of US Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0294874 (Patent Document 4), specification of U.S. Pat. No. 7,160,780 (Patent Document 5), specification of U.S. Pat. No. 7,851,340 (Patent Document 6), Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-14753 (Patent Document 7), and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-9296 (Patent Document 8) disclose fin-type field effect transistors.
For example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2011-9296 (Patent Document 8) discloses a technology in which the fin-type field effect transistor has a plurality of fins formed on a first reference surface, and a plurality of fins formed on a second reference surface provided at a position higher than the first reference surface, and in which a distance between the two fins adjacent to each other with the first reference surface therebetween is formed larger than a distance between the two fins adjacent to each other with the second reference surface therebetween.
In addition, as the above-described high-voltage field effect transistor, there has been proposed, for example, a trench-type or a planar-type in which a concentration profile of a semiconductor region constituting a source/drain is optimized. For example, the specification of US Patent Application Publication No. 2008/0164514 (Patent Document 9) discloses a trench-type field effect transistor, and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-270825 (Patent Document 10), Japanese Patent No. 4248548 (Patent Document 11), Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-353834 (Patent Document 12), Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-245548 (Patent Document 13), and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-105421 (Patent Document 14) disclose the planar-type field effect transistor in which the concentration profile of the semiconductor region constituting the source/drain is optimized.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


The present invention relates to an improved method for preparing hydrogels, such as alginate hydrogels. The hydrogels of the present invention is in particular useful for immobilization and preservation of biological material, such as cellular material, e.g. spermatozoa.

Hydrogels consist of polymer chains forming a hydrophilic, water containing network having a wide area of application within various industrial fields, in particular within the biotechnological and pharmaceutical industry. For example, hydrogels are used to immobilize biological material such as cells for transplantation or as delivery system for e.g. pharmaceutical active ingredients or nutrients. Hydrogels may also be useful as wound dressings. Furthermore, hydrogels, in particular alginate hydrogels, is widely used as thickening agents.
A widely used polymer for the formation of hydrogels is alginate. Alginate are naturally occurring, anionic polysaccharides consisting of 1,4-linked-β-D-mannuronic acid (M) and α-L-glucuronic acid (G). (Smidsrød and Skjåk-Bræk, 1990, Trends in biotechnology, vol. 8, no. 3, pp 71-78). Commercial alginates are extracted from seaweed, such as Ascophyllum nodosum, Macrocystis pyrifera, and Laminaria hyperborea, and also to some extent Laminaria digitata, Laminaria japonica, Eclonia maxima, Lesonia negrescens and Sargassum sp. Alginates may also be prepared from some alginate producing bacteria, e.g. from some Pseudomonas species and from Azotobacter vinelandii (Smidsrød and Skjåk-Bræk, 1990, supra).
Alginates are commonly used inter alia in the food industry, e.g. as stabilizers for viscosity control, or as thickening agents. Alginates are also widely used within the pharmaceutical industry and cosmetic industry, also as stabilizers, thickening agent or disintegrant. For the various purposes, alginates being rich in either guluronic acid or mannuronic acid, respectively, are available (Mancini et al. (1999), Journal of Food Engineering 39, 369-378, WO8603781, U.S. Pat. No. 4,990,601, U.S. Pat. No. 5,639,467).
Due to alginates bio compatibility and ability to gel in presence of divalent cations such as e.g. calcium ions, alginate is also commonly used for encapsulation of cells (Nebel, R. L., Balme, J., Saacke, R. G. and Lim. F. (1985), J. Anim. Sci. 60:1631-1639, Lim, F and Sun, A. M., (1980) Science 210: 908-9100, WO 2006/106400, EP0922451, U.S. Pat. No. 6,596,310, Torre et al. (1998), S.T.P. Pharma Sciences, 8 (4), pp. 233-236, Torre et al., (2000), Biomaterials, 21, pp. 1493-1498, Torre et al. (2002), Journal of Controlled Release, 85, pp. 83-89, Faustini et al, (2004), Theriogenology, 61, 173-184, Weber et al. (2006), Journal of Biotechnology, 123, pp. 155-163.
Alginate gels are also useful for immobilising various materials. For example, WO2008/004890 describes biopolymer particles useful for preservation of spermatozoa, and wherein the biological material is embedded in a polymer particle being solid throughout the whole diameter of the particle. By embedding the spermatozoa in the alginate hydrogels instead of encapsulating the spermatozoa, leaving the spermatozoa in the fluid core of the capsules, the cells are immobilized within the alginate gel network, so restricting the motility of the cells during storage.
Alginate hydrogels, e.g. alginate gels used for encapsulation or entrapment of various materials, may be prepared by mixing a solution of the material to be entrapped with a sodium alginate solution, and adding this solution into a solution containing multivalent cations, usually divalent cations such as calcium ions (e.g. a solution of CaCl2) (Smidsrød and Skjåk-Bræk, 1990, supra).
U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,902 disclose another method for preparing biocompatible hydrogels, such as alginate hydrogels, comprising mixing the cells to be embedded, alginate salt and a calcium releasing agent, and thereafter adding a calcium releasing compound to said mixture to form a cross-linked gel. According to U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,902, the calcium releasing agent may be D-glucono-δ-lactone (GDL).
The method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,902 may be used to immobilize spermatozoa useful for artificial insemination (e.g. for the preparation of alginate hydrogels disclosed in WO 2008/004890). For example, diluted and cooled (4° C.) spermatozoa may be added to a solution comprising dissolved sodium alginate and suspended calcium carbonate, and optionally a cryoprotectant such as glycerol, and thereafter initiating gelling and obtaining the desired alginate hydrogel by adding a solution comprising GDL. The addition of the GDL results in the formation of gluconic acid which in turn will react with water and form H3O+. The increase in H3O+, and the presence of calcium carbonate, results in the release of CO2 and Ca2+. The providing of Ca2+ by the adding the GDL results in formation of the alginate hydrogel with embedded spermatozoa.
After gelling has occurred, the containers filled with spermatozoa embedded in alginate may be cryopreserved in liquid nitrogen, thus providing cryopreservation of spermatozoa having exceptionally long shelf life.
However, the present inventors have experience that the use of GDL in preparing alginate hydrogels according to the method disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,497,902 involves several drawbacks. When preparing alginate gel comprising immobilized spermatozoa according to the method described above, it is vital that GDL is added to the solution immediately after the GDL solution is prepared to avoid spontaneous gelling. GDL must be added in dissolved form rather than as powder to avoid local areas/zones with high concentrations of gluconic acid initially, which would be detrimental to the spermatozoa. Furthermore, after the addition of GDL, a period of increasing viscosity will follow as a result of the initiation of the gelling reaction. Due to the increasing viscosity, the container used to form the hydrogel must be filled rather quickly. During the accrued time for transforming the dissolved GDL to glucuronic acid, the solution is therefore transferred to suitable containers (such as e.g. mini straw provided from IMV, L′Aigle, France) for further gelling and immobilizing of the desired biological material. The method disclosed in the prior art do therefore result in a rather short and inflexible time schedule for preparing the hydrogels comprising the desired biological material and are a substantial disadvantage from an industrial point of view.
Due to the drawbacks of the method described above, there is a need for an improved method for preparing hydrogels, in particular a method being suitable for preparing hydrogels on an industrial scale.
Various other methods for preparing hydrogels have been described in the prior art. Various reports disclose the utilization of enzymes which upon being subjected to a specific substrate provides for various reactions that in the end results in crossbinding of various types of polymers.
For example, CN 101439206 discloses inter alia the use of polymers comprising a phenolic hydroxyl unit and dioxygenase in an enzyme catalyzed process for the preparation of polymer gels.
Johnsen et al. (2010), ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces, 2(7), pp. 1963-1972, report the preparation of PEG based hydrogel being polymerised using glucose oxidase. The glucose oxidase catalyses the oxidation of β-D-glucose, and the subsequent use of oxygen to generate the flavin adenine dinucleotid enzyme cofactor, results in formation of H2O2. By combining ferrous ions with this enzymatic H2O2 production, primary hydroxyl radical species are produced that further reacts with the acrylated monomers.
The use of H2O2 and horse radish peroxidase in preparation of hydrogels have also been reported, c.f. e.g. Kurisawa et al., (2010), J. of Materials Chemistry, 20(26), pp. 5371-5375, Sakai et al, (2009), Biomaterials, 30(20), pp. 3371-3377, Sakai and Kawakami (2006), Acta Biomaterialia, 20017, 3, pp. 495-501, Lee et al. (2009), J. of Controlled Release, 134, pp. 186-193, Wang et al. (2010), Biomaterials, 31, pp. 1148-1157.
Hydrogels prepared by the use of oxidases and H2O2 are inappropriate for some application since H2O2 is a strong oxidant.
There is therefore still a need for an improved and simplified process for the preparation of alginate hydrogels, in particular hydrogels suitable for immobilizing biological material.

Methods for the preparation of hydrogels using lipase enzymes


A blending system and method for blending source pixel color values with destination pixel color values in a computer graphics system according to a source alpha value includes a resolution increasing circuit that increases a number of bits in the source alpha value to produce an increased resolution source alpha value. Blending hardware implements a blending routine according to a blending equation to blend the source pixel color values with the destination pixel color values using the increased resolution source alpha value. In one embodiment, the resolution increasing circuit includes a squaring circuit that squares the source alpha value.

Computer graphics systems commonly are used for displaying graphical representations of objects on a two-dimensional video display screen. Current computer graphics systems provide highly detailed representations and are used in a variety of applications.
In typical computer graphics systems, an object to be represented on the display screen is broken down into graphics primitives. Primitives are basic components of a graphics display and may include points, lines, vectors and polygons, such as triangles. Typically, a hardware/software scheme is implemented to render, or draw, the graphics primitives that represent a view of one or more objects being represented on the display screen.
The primitives of the three-dimensional object to be rendered commonly are defined by a host computer in terms of primitive data. For example, when the primitive is a triangle, the host computer may define the primitive in terms of the X,Y,Z coordinates of its vertices, as well as the R, G, B color values of each vertex. Rendering hardware interpolates the primitive data to compute the display screen pixels that represent each primitive, and the R, G, B values for each pixel.
Early graphics systems failed to display images in a sufficiently realistic manner to represent or model complex three-dimensional objects. The images displayed by such systems exhibited extremely smooth surfaces absent textures, bumps, scratches, shadows and other surface details present in the object being modeled.
As a result, methods were developed to display images with improved surface detail. Texture mapping is one such method that involves mapping a source image, referred to as a texture, onto a surface of a three-dimensional object, and thereafter mapping the textured three-dimensional object to the two-dimensional graphics display screen to display the resulting image. Texture mapped surface detail attributes commonly include color, specular reflection, vector perturbation, specularity, transparency, shadows, surface irregularities and grading.
Texture mapping involves applying one or more point elements (texels) of a texture to each point element (pixel) of the displayed portion of the object to which the texture is being mapped. Texture mapping hardware is conventionally provided with information indicating the manner in which the texels in a texture map correspond to the pixels on the display screen that represent the object. Each texel in a texture map is defined by S and T coordinates which identify its location in the two-dimensional texture map. For each pixel, the corresponding texel or texels that map to it are accessed from the texture map, and incorporated into the final R, G, B values generated for the pixel to represent the textured object on the display screen.
Blending is a technique that combines the R, G, B color values of a pixel (the "source" pixel) being processed with the R, G, B color values of a corresponding pixel (the "destination" pixel), previously computed and stored for example in a buffer (such as a frame buffer). The source pixel and the destination pixel have the same x, y screen coordinates. An alpha .alpha. value, associated with the source pixel, controls how much of the destination pixel color values should be combined with those of the source pixel.
Without blending, the color values of the source pixel overwrite the existing color values of the destination pixel, as though the source pixel is opaque. With blending, a user, for example, may control, to a limited degree of resolution, how much of the existing destination pixel color value should be combined with that of a source pixel. Thus, blending is used to create a translucent image, one that enables a portion of a previously stored color value "show through" a source color value. Color blending lies at the heart of techniques such as transparency, digital compositing, and painting.
One way to understand blending operations is to consider the R, G, B values of a source pixel as representing its color, and the alpha .alpha. value as representing its transparency (or opacity). Levels of transparency range from completely transparent to somewhat transparent (translucent) to opaque. In standard computer graphics systems that employ blending, alpha .alpha. is a digital word of a certain number of bits that has a value between 0 and 1. If .alpha.=0, then the pixel is transparent. If .alpha.=1, then the pixel is opaque. If .alpha. has some value between 0 and 1, then the pixel is translucent.
Blending can be understood with reference to the following analogous example. If one is viewing a destination object through colored glass, then the color seen is partly the color of the glass and partly the color of the object. The percentage of one color seen versus the other, varies depending on the transmission properties of the glass. If the glass transmits 80% of the light that strikes it, for example, then the glass has a transparency of 80% (an opacity of 20%), and the color seen is a combination of 20% glass color and 80% object color. Objects also can be viewed through multiple translucent (or transparent) surfaces such as multiple pieces of glass. Similarly, computer graphics blending operations can be performed with multiple source images. During blending, color values of source pixels are combined with color values of corresponding destination pixels (on a pixel-by-pixel basis) in a two-stage process. The color values typically are combined by blending hardware in computer graphics systems. The source R.sub.s and destination R.sub.d values are combined separately from the source G.sub.s and destination G.sub.d values which are combined separately from the source B.sub.s, and destination B.sub.d values. Each of the values is combined using digital arithmetic hardware according to standard blending equations that involve the color values and the source alpha .alpha. value. Such blending equations are standard in the industry and are listed in the OpenGL Programming Guide The Official Guide to Learning OpenGL, Release, by Neider, Davis and Woo (OpenGL Architecture Review Board), Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Second Printing, August 1994, which reference herein is incorporated by reference in its entirety.
An example of a standard blending equation for back to front (in relation to a computer graphics view screen) blending is listed below. EQU R.sub.d (1-.alpha..sub.s)+R.sub.s .alpha..sub.s,
wherein R.sub.d =the destination R value, R.sub.s =the source R value, and .alpha..sub.s =the source .alpha. value. This equation typically is implemented by digital blending hardware separately for the R values, the G values and the B values (where G and B would be substituted separately for R in the above equation).
FIG. 1 is block diagram of a prior art blending system employed by a computer graphics system. As shown, the blending system includes a source 100 that provides the source pixel values R.sub.s, G.sub.s, .alpha..sub.s, as well as blending hardware 102, and a buffer 104 that stores destination pixel values R.sub.d, G.sub.d, B.sub.d. It should be appreciated that source 100 can be any component in a computer graphics system upstream of blending hardware 102 such as a texture mapping chip or the like. Similarly, buffer 104 can be any such storage device downstream of blending hardware 102 and upstream of a display screen, such as a frame buffer.
During operation, source pixel values R.sub.s, G.sub.s, B.sub.s, .alpha..sub.s, are provided by source 100 to blending hardware 102 along buses 106 and 108. Also, buffer 104 provides destination pixel color values R.sub.d, G.sub.d, B.sub.d along bus 110 to blending hardware 102. Blending hardware 102 then combines the source color values with the destination color values using the source alpha value .alpha..sub.s, to control the level of transparency. The resulting blended pixel color values are provided by blending hardware 102 along bus 112 to buffer 104 which stores the resulting color values as the new destination pixel color values.
As noted above, blending hardware 102 typically implements a standard blending equation to separately combine the R values R.sub.s and R.sub.d, the G values G.sub.s, and G.sub.d, and the B values B.sub.s, and B.sub.d, each having the same level of transparency controlled by the alpha source value .alpha..sub.s. Thus, each of the source color values R.sub.s, G.sub.s, and B.sub.s is separately provided from source 100 to blending hardware 102 along bus 108. Similarly, each of destination pixel color values R.sub.d, G.sub.d, B.sub.d is separately provided by bus 104 to blending hardware 102 along bus 110.
Typically, each of the color values .alpha., R, G, B is an f-bit word where f is an integer. f can be 8 for example. The hardware must be capable of transferring and manipulating f-bit digital words. In the example shown in FIG. 1, each of buses 106, 108, 110 and 112 is an f-bit bus. Additionally, the digital logic employed by the blending hardware is capable of manipulating f-bit digital words. It should be appreciated that as the number of bits f in each word increases, the complexity and cost of the blending hardware and associated buses also increases.
FIG. 2 is a partial block, partial schematic diagram of a particular embodiment of a prior art blending system, wherein like reference characters are used to denote like elements in the block diagram of FIG. 1. As shown, like FIG. 1, the system includes source 100, blending hardware 102, and buffer 104 which, in this example, is a frame buffer. Blending hardware 102 includes a digital subtractor 118, digital multipliers 114 and 126, and a digital adder 130. It is assumed in this particular example that each of the pixel color values .alpha., R, G, B is an 8-bit word. During operation, source alpha value a, is provided from source 100 along bus 106 to subtractor 118 and along bus 116 to multiplier 114. Simultaneously, source color value R.sub.s, is provided from source 100 along bus 108 to multiplier 114. It should be understood that each source color value R.sub.s, G.sub.s, and B.sub.s is provided separately from source 100 and each destination pixel color value R.sub.d, G.sub.d, B.sub.d is provided separately frame buffer 104. The example will be described only with respect to the R color values R.sub.s and R.sub.d.
An 8-bit digital word representing 1 is provided along bus 120 to subtractor 118. Subtractor 118 provides the 8-bit difference 1-.alpha..sub.s along 8-bit bus 122 to multiplier 126. Multiplier 114 provides the 8-bit product R.sub.s .alpha..sub.s along bus 124 adder 130.
Simultaneously, frame buffer 104 provides destination pixel color value R.sub.d along bus 110 to multiplier 126. Multiplier 126, in turn, provides product R.sub.d (1-.alpha..sub.s) along 8-bit bus 128 to adder 130. Adder 130 provides the 8-bit sum R.sub.d (1-.alpha..sub.s)+R.sub.s .alpha..sub.s along bus 112 to frame buffer 104. The sum equation represents the new blended destination pixel color value R.sub.d which overwrites previous destination pixel color value R.sub.d.
The process described above is conducted simultaneously for color values G and B (wherein G and B would be substituted for R) by similar hardware (not shown) such that new destination pixel values R.sub.d, G.sub.d, B.sub.d overwrite the previous destination pixel color values in frame buffer 104. This process can be repeated multiple times for multiple different source pixel color values when multiple images are to be blended.
Not shown in FIG. 2 are correction blocks that are located between subtractor 118 and multiplier 126 within bus 122, and between adder 130 and frame buffer 104 within bus 112. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the correction blocks (not shown) provide correction factors to the digital words to correct for inaccuracies or errors caused by the digital arithmetic operations.
The resolution (the number of bits) in each of the digital words is limited by the hardware employed by the blending system. The resolution of alpha .alpha., controls the number of available transparency levels. Thus, the hardware is the limiting factor in the available levels of transparency.
When alpha is an 8-bit word, there are 256 available levels of transparency. This is a fairly limited number of levels of transparency for most graphics applications. If many images are to be blended together, requiring many iterations by the blending hardware with multiple different source pixels (one for each image to be blended), then the level of transparency of the resulting blended image will begin to approach opaqueness due to the blending scheme.
It is desirable in computer graphics systems that provide blending, to provide as many transparency levels as possible, which gives the user more flexibility in blending images, particularly where multiple images are to be blended. One possible solution is to increase the resolution of alpha .alpha. by increasing the bit-handling capacity of the blending hardware. For example, increasing alpha .alpha. from an 8-bit word to a 16-bit word improves the resolution tremendously but requires the employment of more complex, expensive and probably physically larger digital hardware.
It accordingly is an aim of the present invention to provide a computer graphics system having blending capabilities with increased transparency levels without significantly increasing hardware cost and complexity.

Computer graphics system with improved blending


An apparatus for removing DC offset and variable gain amplifying simultaneously is provided. A signal voltage level of the output terminal of the first amplifier module is A times that of the first input terminal of the first amplifier module. A voltage level of an output DC offset signal of the first low-pass filter circuit is B times that of the input signal of the first low-pass filter circuit. The output signal of the second amplifier module is a sum of a C1-time amplified first input signal of the second amplifier module and a C2-time amplified second input signal of the second amplifier module, which satisfy the following equation:A×B×C1=−C2.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to an apparatus for removing DC offset, and particularly, to an apparatus for removing DC offset in a zero intermediate frequency receiver or a low intermediate frequency receiver.
2. Description of Related Art
A DC offset always occurs in a communication IC receiver configuration when operating at a zero intermediate frequency or a low intermediate frequency. Especially, it happens in a zero intermediate frequency receiver.
An amplifier with a variable gain would saturate when a phenomenon of DC offset occurs, which inhibits the amplifier from achieving its amplifying effect and thus raises a bit-error-rate of the receiver, even resulting in failure of receiving a signal by the receiver.
To improve an effect caused by DC offset in a zero intermediate frequency receiver or a low intermediate frequency receiver configurations, U.S. Pat. No. 4,873,702 discloses segregating DC offset by using an analog\digital converter (ADC) and a digital signal processor (DSP) and then converting the segregated DC offset signal to an analog signal by using a digital\analog converter (DAC), eventually, subtracting an original signal including the DC offset signal from the analog signal, thereby cancelling the DC offset signal.
A circuit for removing DC offset was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,748,681, wherein a high-pass filter composed of a capacitor with a large capacitance is utilized to remove the DC offset. However, since the two terminals of the capacitor are not connected to ground, it is required to employ a metal-insulator-metal (MIM) capacitor or a polysilicon-insulator-polysilicon (PIP) capacitor with a large capacitance, however these two capacitors occupy a large surface area of an IC substrate and thus cause a problem of an IC design.
Also, U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,793,230 and 5,798,664 disclose a technique of removing the DC offset, which is accomplished by using a low-pass filter composed of a capacitor with a large capacitance. However, since none of the terminal of the capacitor is connected to ground, it is required to employ a MIM capacitor or a PIP capacitor with a large capacitance, however, these two capacitors also occupy a large surface area of an IC substrate and thus cause a problem in the IC design.
In conclusion, although by utilizing the ADC, DSP, and DAC or MIM and PIP capacitors, the DC offset can be removed, the complex circuit design and consumption of large surface area of the substrate by the capacitors make it inconvenient to practically apply in the circuit design.

Apparatus for removing DC offset and amplifying signal with variable gain simultaneously


A device for implanting into, or mounting onto, a body includes an enclosure, an inductive loop antenna disposed on a surface within the enclosure, and an integrated circuit (IC) disposed within the enclosure and coupled to the inductive loop antenna. The inductive loop antenna includes one or more distributed reactive loads disposed along the inductive loop antenna that adjust a reactance of the inductive loop antenna. The one or more distributed reactive loads include signal trace sections that run along, or adjacent to, the surface upon which the inductive loop antenna is disposed. The IC includes communication circuitry coupled to the inductive loop antenna to wirelessly communicate over the inductive loop antenna. The one or more distributed reactive loads adjust the reactance of the inductive loop antenna to improve conjugate reactance matching of the inductive loop antenna to the IC.

For devices that employ near field wireless powering and/or wireless communication links, such as UHF or higher frequencies, tuning or impedance matching networks are often required to deliver good power transfer and impedance matching for strong signal delivery. These tuning or impedance matching networks are often implemented with discrete, lump capacitors or inductors (e.g., surface mount components) that couple directly to the antenna. In very small form factor systems, such as eye worn devices or body implantable devices, adding a discrete, lump capacitor or inductor component may not be possible due to height, weight, fit, and/or comfort restrictions.
Conventionally, to avoid the use of discrete, lump components for impedance matching, one may employ a tunable or fixed capacitance circuit that is internally integrated into an integrated circuit, and which tunes the antenna to a desired frequency of operation. However, the capacitance value or range of the capacitance circuit is fixed once the IC is taped out and it might not be enough to achieve the required antenna tuning without using an external lumped matching component (i.e., discrete, lump capacitor or inductor).

Miniaturized inductive loop antenna with distributed reactive loads


Disclosed is an optical measurement device including a first light source, an optical element that condenses a light beam emitted from the first light source, a light irradiator that irradiates the light beam onto an object; and a photo detector that detects reflected light or scattered light of the light beam from the object through an imaging system, the light beam being irradiated onto the object, wherein a first optical path length from the first light source to a first conjugate image of the first light source by the optical element is different from a second optical path length from the photo detector to a second conjugate image of the photo detector by the imaging system at least in a first direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical measurement device and a vehicle to which the optical measurement device is mounted. The optical measurement device detects the presence or absence of an object, and measures a distance from the optical measurement device to the object. The optical measurement device can be used for factory automation (FA), for security, or for automotive usage.
2. Description of the Related Art
An optical measurement device has been known which detects the presence or absence of an object, and which measures a distance to the object. As an example of the optical measurement device, the following device may be considered. Namely, the device scans a predetermined measurement field with a light beam by deflecting the light beam by a rotating polygonal mirror. The device receives the light, which is reflected by a measured object in the measurement field, with a photo detector by continuously changing a viewing angle by using the same rotating polygonal mirror, and thereby the device measures a distance to the scanning point (e.g., Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. H11-304469)).
In the above-described device, a light beam from a semiconductor laser as a light source is converted into parallel light by an optical element (a transmitter lens). It is also described that a light beam is narrowed down onto a position sensitive device (PSD), which is a photo detector, by using an imaging means (a receiver lens). Although it is not explicitly described, it implies that the PSD is disposed at a position of a focal length of the receiver lens.
Namely, in these cases, a distance between an object point (the light source or the photo detector) and a lens (the transmitter lens or the receiver lens) is set to be the focal length of the lens. This setting implies that a conjugate image of the object point can be formed at infinity. In this case, however, in an angular region of each of the object points (for the projection optical system, a divergence angle of the semiconductor laser as the light source or an effective range of the transmitter lens; and for the receiving optical system, an effective range of the receiver lens), especially in the vicinity of the device, the object point is blurred, and a desired resolution may not be achieved.
There is a need for an optical measurement device which has higher angular resolution in the vicinity of the device.


An integrated circuit (IC) includes one or more inductors that have magnetic flux lines substantially parallel to a generally horizontal plane of the IC. The inductor is formed in a plurality of conductor layers separated by insulating layers of the IC. Regions of highest magnetic flux density of the inductor may preferably be located near the edge of the IC. Additionally, the inductor may preferably be segmented. The over-all inductance may preferably be controlled by turning on and off selected inductors or inductor segments.

A significant trend throughout IC development has been to reduce the size of the components within the IC's. As the size is reduced, the performance requirements and design margins of the components become more stringent. One aspect of IC's that affects the performance requirements and design margins is the interference between two components within the IC due to magnetic field generation by one or both of the components during operation of the IC. For example, an inductor formed on an IC chip can generate a relatively strong time-dependent magnetic field, which can induce current in other parts, or circuitry, of the IC, thereby affecting the performance of the other parts of the IC. Additionally, inductive coupling between the inductor and other parts of the IC, such as the substrate of the IC, can reduce the quality of the inductor, thereby affecting the performance of the inductor.
A typical on-chip inductor 100 formed on an IC 102 is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. The inductor 100 is generally spiral-shaped, as seen in the top view in FIG. 2. Additionally, the inductor 100 is typically located in one interconnect layer (a.k.a. "metal layers" and "conductor layers") of the IC 102, such as the top interconnect layer 104. The inductor 100 is, thus, generally formed by latitudinal and longitudinal conductors 106 within the top interconnect layer 104. The IC 102 also generally includes via layers and other interconnect layers 108, a contact layer 110 and a substrate 112 (FIG. 1). The substrate 112 generally includes various structures and components, such as transistors, capacitors, etc. (not shown). The inductor 100 is typically connected through the via layers and other interconnect layers 108 and the contact layer 110 to the substrate 112 by conductors 114 and 116 (FIG. 1) that contact the inductor 100 at points 118 and 120 (FIG. 2).
Upon operation of the IC 102, a transverse magnetic field, represented by magnetic flux lines 122 (FIG. 1), is generated by the inductor 100. The magnetic flux lines 122 extend through the via layers and other interconnect layers 108, the contact layer 110 and the substrate 112. As the magnetic field varies, currents are induced in the substrate 112. Though the magnetic field is stronger nearer to the inductor 100, as indicated by the density of the magnetic flux lines 122, the magnetic field is still relatively strong down in the substrate 112. Thus, if the inductance of the inductor 100 is relatively high, the effect of the magnetic field on the substrate 112 may be significant.
There are several options for countering the effects of the magnetic field of the inductor 100 on the other components of the IC 102. One option is to include a ground plate (not shown) or a guard ring 124 (FIG. 1) in the IC 102 to effectively "absorb" some of the magnetic field, thereby reducing the intensity of the magnetic field in the substrate 112. The ground plate (typically polysilicon or metal) would typically be between the contact layer 110 and substrate 112 transversing the magnetic field area. The guard ring 124 is typically in the substrate 112 below the front end layers (not shown). The guard ring 124 is typically a highly doped grounded region that is deeper than a well region. This option, however, takes up valuable space within the IC 102 and increases the cost of the IC 102.
Another option is to locate the other components of the IC 102 in the substrate 112 at a sufficient distance from the inductor 100 that the magnetic field is too weak to have any significant effect on the performance of the other components. Thus, a region beneath the inductor 100 is free of any of the other components. This option, however, may waste valuable space in the IC 102 and require conductor lines between components to be undesirably long to reach between opposite sides of the inductor 100. In fact, in some applications, the inductors may take up a significant percentage of the area of the IC, resulting in significantly fewer IC's per wafer if the other components cannot be placed close to the inductors.
Another option is to allow for sufficient margins in the design of the other components of the IC 102. This option, however, results in a lower-performing IC.
Another option is to make the design of the inductor 100 more aggressive with lesser margins. This option, however, results in a more expensive IC.
Another option is to make the inductors larger to compensate for smaller quality factors. This option, however, may result in taking up a significant percentage of the IC's area with the inductors, increasing the size of the IC's and reducing the number of IC's per wafer.
It is with respect to these and other considerations that the present invention has evolved.

Integrated circuit with inductor having horizontal magnetic flux lines


A device for inspecting the geometry of a vehicle, in which the appearance of an element fixed to a wheel rim of the vehicle is caused to vary as a function of the angle of view at which it is seen, without thereby producing a perspective image of this element. The variation of appearance is caused by moire gratings. The device is useful for the geometric inspection of wheeled vehicles.

There are known numerous devices for the geometric inspection of vehicles, in which a measuring head provided with suitable detectors is secured to a wheel rim of the vehicle and transmits by wire connection or wireless connection signals representative of physical parameters, to a programmable central unit, adapted to compute the geometry of the vehicle.
However, these known measuring heads comprise detectors that are fragile and electronic members sensitive to shocks, giving rise to risk of damage during operations of geometric inspection, particularly during securement on the wheel rim or during mounting of the wheel rim.
To overcome this drawback, it has been provided to secure targets or mirrors on the wheel rims of vehicles, so as to illuminate these targets or these mirrors and to observe the reflected image by means of a camera or like observation member. A portable apparatus for measuring axes by laser of this type is described in the document "KRAFTHAND", volume 9, May 5, 1979, page 608. Another apparatus of this type is described in WO 94/05969.
These apparatus with fixed target or mirror on wheel rims have the drawback of requiring a device for image analysis and a relatively complicated computation to determine the angle of sight relative to the image in perspective or in reflection observed with the image in real size of each target or of each member. Moreover, because of the distance from the observation bench to the targets or mirrors, the selectivity of measurement is low, which requires the use of detectors of high precision or matrix observation cameras with high resolution.

Device for the geometric inspection of vehicles


A method of identifying a reset condition includes the steps of determining if a stored value is equal to a specified value, executing a first mode if the stored value is not equal to the specified value, and executing a second mode if the stored value is equal to the specified value. The second mode also includes the step of setting the stored value to a value different than the specified value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present disclosure relates generally to microprocessor-controlled devices, and more particularly, to providing different modes of operation for the microprocessor-controlled devices in response to the detection of specified conditions.
2. Description of the Background of the Invention
Microprocessors execute programming to control a wide range of electrical and electromechanical devices, from personal computers to automatic dispensers for volatile substances. In such a microprocessor-controlled device, a power source, such as a battery or an electrical outlet, supplies power to the microprocessor and other components of the device. Proper operation of the device is sensitive to fluctuations in the power level supplied by the power source. For example, if the power drops below a threshold operating level of the microprocessor, then the programming executed by the microprocessor to control the device is interrupted and reset. A drop in power can be caused by a variety of intentional or unexpected conditions. For example, a power drop may occur when the device is intentionally turned off to conserve power, when the power source becomes depleted over time, or when a momentary drop in power, i.e., a brownout, occurs because of fluctuations in the power source or because of a resultant increase in current draw caused by the device performing certain functions. In some applications, it may be desirable or even necessary to be able to identify the condition that caused the power drop so that the programming executed by the microprocessor can be modified to resume proper operation of the device when the power is restored above the threshold operating level. Therefore, a need exists for an effective and reliable way to identify a condition that has caused a reset and to resume proper operation of the device based on the identification of the condition. It is also desirable that an implementation of a solution to this problem need only a minimal amount of additional components, such as, e.g., control circuitry, memory, and power supplies.

Low voltage reset determination and operational flow modification for microprocessor-controlled devices


A diamond body, such as a CVD diamond film, is thinned by placing the body--at an elevated temperature and under pressure--in contact with a molten or partially molten alloy of a rare earth metal and a metallic impurity that lowers the melting point of the rare earth metal. Typically, the rare earth metal is cerium and the impurity is nickel.. The pressure is typically less than approximately 0.2 MPa (Mega Pascal), preferably less than approximately 0.02 MPa, and the temperature is within a range whose lower limit is approximately 100 C. degrees below the melting point of the alloy of the rare earth plus impurity metal.

A diamond body, including a free-standing (stand-alone) CVD (chemical vapor deposited) diamond film, is useful in a variety of contexts, such as a heat-spreading submount for a semiconductor laser chip or a semiconductor integrated circuit chip. Presently available free-standing CVD films typically exhibit an undesirably relatively rough (large grain) top surface and a relatively smooth (small grain), but undesirably relatively low thermal conductivity, bottom surface. The thermal conductivity thus has a gradient going from the top to the bottom surface. As described in a paper by J. E. Graebner et al., published in Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 60, pp. 1576-1578 (Mar. 30, 1992), entitled "Unusually High Thermal Conductivity in Diamond Films," this gradient is believed to be attributable to a cone-shaped columnar crystal structure of the film, the cones having their vertices located at or near the bottom surface of the film at its interface with an underlying substrate on which the film has been grown. Those of the columnar cones that extend all the way to the top surface of the film have less sub-structure than those that do not. This type of microstructure causes an undesirably low average transverse (spreading) thermal conductivity of the diamond film at its bottom regions, as well as poor thermal contact with, for example, a laser chip located on the rough top surface of the diamond film. Likewise, there can arise a problem of poor thermal contact of the rough bottom surface of the diamond film with a metallic or ceramic heatsinking mount ("stud"). Thus, removal of a thickness of diamond material from its top and bottom surfaces is desirable.
The paper "Massive thinning of diamond films by a diffusion process," authored by S. Jin et al, and published in Applied Physics Letters, Vol. 60, pp. 1948-1950 (Apr. 20, 1992) teaches a technique for removing diamond material simultaneously from top and bottom regions of a free-standing CVD diamond film, in order to smoothen the top surface and at the same time to remove undesirably low thermal conductivity material located at the bottom surface. In accordance with that technique, the free-standing diamond film is sandwiched between a pair of thin iron sheets (foils) and heat treated at 900.degree. C. under a constant stress for a time duration of 48 hours in an argon gas atmosphere. Although the technique is useful for its intended purpose, namely, thinning the CVD diamond film by approximately 100 .mu.m (50 .mu.m on each main face), a lower temperature and a shorter time duration would be desirable, especially from an economic standpoint. Furthermore, the required application of high pressure--typically approximately 20 MPa (20 Mega Pascal) for the case of etching with iron, in order to ensure good contact between the solid metal and diamond surfaces during heat treatment--is not desirable from an industrial point of view. Therefore, a faster, lower temperature, and lower pressure method of removing (diamond) material from a face of diamond body is desirable, at little or no sacrifice of surface smoothness.

Thinning a diamond body by means of molten rare-earth-containing alloys


A display system for supporting a plurality of elongate utensils includes a base defining a flat base surface and a longitudinal axis normal to the base surface. An outer shell includes an outer body coupled to the base and extends longitudinally therefrom. The outer body defines a plurality of outer openings extending therethrough, each sized to slidably receive therethrough an elongate utensil. An inner shell includes an inner body coupled to the base, the inner body spaced apart from and at least partially contained within the outer shell. The inner body defines a plurality of inner openings each aligned with a corresponding one of the outer openings along a respective insertion axis of a plurality of insertion axes and sized to slidably receive the elongate utensil. The plurality of insertion axes are oriented at a plurality of different angles relative to the longitudinal axis.

The field of the disclosure relates generally to display systems and, more particularly, to a system for supporting and displaying elongate utensils, such as skewers for holding food items.
At least some known food display and support systems include skewer utensils including a piercing end for puncturing food items, such as, but not limited to meats, fruits, vegetables, and desserts. At least some such systems generally present the skewer utensils for consumption by placing the skewer utensils generally horizontally on a plate. In particular, at least some such systems primarily use the skewer utensils for grilling, roasting, or frying the skewered food items on the skewer. As a result, at least some such food display support systems are not well suited to display and serve the food items in an upright, easy to access, and/or visually appealing position.
Additionally, at least some other known food display and support systems enable, at least partially, vertical support of food skewers. For example, at least some such systems include skewers configured to be hung from a rod or received within a flat holder. However, such systems are generally configured to support the skewers vertically and are not configured for positioning the skewers at varying angles relative to one another in a visually appealing arrangement. Moreover, at least some such systems generally require that a user vertically lift and/or lower a food skewer to remove it from the holder/and or utensils, thereby placing the user in close proximity to adjacent food skewers when inserting/removing an individual skewer from the holders and/or hangers. As a result, at least some such systems are not well suited to preventing contact between a user and food items positioned on an adjacent skewer during use. Moreover, at least some known food display and support systems include foam mounts configured to receive skewered utensils therein. However, at least some such systems are difficult to clean, and the puncture holes in the foam material may degrade the foam material, thereby limiting reusability of such systems.

Systems and methods for supporting and displaying elongate utensils


For context based compression techniques, for example Context Based YK compression, a method and system for grouping contexts from a given context model together to create a new context model that has fewer contexts, but retains acceptable compression gains compared to the context model with more contexts is provided. According to an exemplary embodiment a set of files that are correlated to the file to be compressed (hereafter called training files) are read to determine, for an initial context model, the empirical statistics of contexts and symbols. In some embodiments, this includes determining the estimated joint and conditional probabilities of the various contexts and symbols (or blocks of symbols). The initial context model is then reduced to a desired number of contexts, for example, by applying a grouping function g to the original set of contexts to obtain a new and smaller set of contexts. In some embodiments the step of applying a grouping function comprises iteratively grouping a pair of contexts together to form a grouped context, wherein each grouped context represents a local minimum based on the empirical statistics.

In "Efficient Universal Lossless Data Compression Algorithms Based on a Greedy Sequential Grammar Transform—Part One: Without Context Models", E.-h. Yang and J. C. Kieffer, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, VOL. 46, NO. 3, May 2000, pp. 755-777, and "Grammar based codes: A new class of universal lossless source codes," J. C. Kieffer and E.-h. Yang, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, VOL. 46, pp. 737-754, May 2000, a compression algorithm which uses a grammar transform to construct a sequence of irreducible context free grammars to compress a data sequence is described. The entire contents of both are hereby incorporated by reference. This algorithm has been called the YK compression algorithm in the art, and will be so referred herein. The YK compression algorithm describes a set of reduction rules for producing an irreducible grammar for encoding an original data sequence. This grammar can then be used to recover the original data sequence.
In many instances, such as compression of web pages, java applets, or text files, there is often some a priori knowledge about the data sequences being compressed. This knowledge can often take the form of so-called "context models." Accordingly, context based compression techniques are particularly efficient for encoding web pages in which the content of a web page changes often, while the underlying structure of the web page remains approximately constant. The relative consistency of the underlying structure provides the predictable context for the data as it is compressed.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,801,141, issued on Oct. 5, 2004 to En-Hui Yang and Da-Ke He, and "Efficient Universal Lossless Data Compression Algorithms Based on a Greedy Sequential Grammar Transform—Part Two: With Context Models", En-Hui Yang and Da-Ke He, IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, VOL. 49, NO. 11, November 2003, pp. 2874-2894 both describe an improvement to the YK compression algorithm by using contexts, and both of which are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety—as are the references cited therein. We will refer to the methods and techniques described therein as context based YK compression (CBYK).
One aspect of the CBYK described therein relates to a method of sequentially transforming an original data sequence associated with a known context model into an irreducible context-dependent grammar, and recovering the original data sequence from the grammar. The method includes the steps of parsing a substring from the sequence, generating an admissible context-dependent grammar based on the parsed substring, applying a set of reduction rules to the admissible context dependent grammar to generate a new irreducible context-dependent grammar, and repeating these steps until the entire sequence is encoded. In addition, a set of reduction rules based on pairs of variables and contexts represents the irreducible context-dependent grammar such that the pairs represent non-overlapping repeated patterns and contexts of the data sequence.
CBYK compression can provide significant compression gains over the context-free YK compression algorithm, especially when it is combined with interactive compression. In brief, context based YK compression uses the context as a form of predictor of the next parsed symbol or phrase and the corresponding estimated conditional probability for coding, in order to achieve good compression. In theory, the better the context model used by the CBYK, the more likely the compression rate will be optimized.
In general, for (CBYK) compression, a good context model acts as a good form of predictor of the next parsed symbol or phrase. In this regard, improvements to the context model can increase the effectiveness of the compression. However, if improving the context model increases the size of the context model, practical limits need to be considered.
It has been found that the memory requirements used to process the CBYK increase significantly with the size of the context model. For example, if a context model is not chosen properly, the number of grammar variables can be significantly higher than the number in context-free YK resulting in higher memory usage. If the memory usage of CBYK exceeds the constraints or the available capacity, then the use of CBYK is not desirable regardless of how significant the increase in compression gain is. Depending on the application and the devices running the CBYK, even a simple context model, such as using the last byte of the previous parsed phrase as the context, can exceed memory constraints. As the context length grows, the number of contexts grows exponentially. On the other hand, since CBYK uses in general more resources than context-free YK, it would not be preferable without a benefit in compression gain.
Therefore, it is desirable to provide a method for creating a context model, for example, for use with CBYK, that provides a suitable trade-off between memory requirements and compression gain. In particular, it is desirable to provide a context model that uses less memory, but still retains acceptable compression gains, compared to larger context models.

Method and system for reducing contexts for context based compression systems


A valve for a sterilizer container comprises an elastic support body in the form of a pressure capsule which holds the valve in open position. This pressure capsule communicates with the interior of a headpiece which is sealingly arranged on the valve cap, the capsule having a valve opening which can be closed by the plug of an adjusting member. The closing is effected, after the sterilization temperature has been reached, by a temperature-sensitive member which has an alloy which melts when the sterilization temperature is reached. The alloy when in solidified state holds the adjusting member, which is under spring tension, fast and permits it to move as soon as it melts. The adjusting member can be clamped by means of a one-way coupling when the alloy is solidified. The entire valve arrangement can be removed from the container. It preferably lies in a cup-shaped depression in the lid of the container, the possibility of stacking with other containers being thus assured.

The present invention relates to a method of controlling a valve for a sterilizer container and a valve suitable for carrying out the method. Such valves make possible an exchange of fluid into and out of the sterilizer container within a sterilizer. The valve body of this valve is closed during the last vacuum phase while maintaining a vacuum in the container controlled via a pressure sensor and a temperature member.
Such valves are known, for instance, from U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,482 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,914. As compared with known double check-valve arrangements of other sterilizer containers they have the advantage that the interior of the sterilizer container is in free communication, until entrance into the vacuum of the drying phase, with the interior of the sterilizer chamber so that a fluid exchange can continuously take place. The valves controlled as a function of the pressure and temperature furthermore have the advantage that after the end of the sterilization process the vacuum remains within the container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,482/U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,914 show sterilizer containers having a valve, arranged in their bottoms, which is closed by a bellows-like expansion chamber. A shrinkable tube closes an opening which leads to the inside of the bellows and, upon a drop in the external pressure, the bellows expands and closes the valve. The thermal shrinkage of the tube takes place during the sterilization phase at a point in time which is not precisely defined. The closing of the valve takes place also in a manner not precisely defined in time still prior to the vacuum-drying -drying phase. The steam is not to be withdrawn through the valve but through the container lid above the seal, i.e. the lid must not close tightly during the vacuum-drying phase so that steam and moisture can be led away.
In the arrangement described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,482 there is provided as the pressure sensor an expansion vessel which is thermally closed in the steam sterilization phase by a shrink tube which thus blocks an inlet opening of the expansion vessel. This has the result that the pressure sensor upon introduction into the after-drying vacuum phase expands under the action of the pressure present in it. This expansion is used to displace a valve body into closed position, as a result of which the sterilizer container is sealed off. In the last vacuum phase, i.e. during the drying phase, the valve remains closed and can no longer contribute to the fluid exchange.
A drawing off of the steam phases produced by re-evaporation of the condensate must therefore take place through the container-lid seal or it is necessary to provide in addition, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,914, an additional valve which opens when a vacuum is applied to the outside of the container in order in this way to be able to withdraw the steam.
In the sterilizer container of French-A No. 2,335,239 there is again provided in the bottom a valve which in this case is brought into closed position not by a shrinkable tube but by a melting eutectic. It is completely impossible in this connection for the closing of the valve to take place in the ventilation phase since the eutectic melts during the sterilization phase B and, upon the melting, the valve is immediately brought into the closed position. The drying can in this case also again take place only via the lid seal during the vacuum-drying phase. However, the valve body is not controlled into the closing position only upon the ventilation phase. To this extent the manner of operation of the valve of the invention differs fundamentally from that of the known valve.

Valve apparatus and method for sterilizer container


A multi-task scheduling method includes assigning a first thread to a first processor; detecting a second thread that is executed after the first thread; calculating based on a load of a processor that is assigned a third thread that generates the second thread, a first time that lasts until a start of the second thread; calculating a second time that lasts until completion of execution of the first thread; and changing a first time slice of the first processor to a second time slice when the second time is greater than the first time.

A technique (multi-task) is known that makes application programs appear to the user as if they are executed at the same time by switching and executing the application programs in turn by a central processing unit (CPU). The application program is herein referred to as a process.
A technique (multi-thread) is also known that divides one process into multiple functions so that the CPU executes the functions in parallel by time sharing. The divided functions are herein referred to as threads. In a single-core processor system, the thread execution sequence is fixed when performing the multi-thread.
In a multi-core processor system, threads of multiple processes are present on CPUs when performing the multi-task multi-thread. The execution sequence defined in a given process may vary by the effect of a thread of another process assigned to the same CPU to which a thread of the given process is assigned.
When a multi-thread program (conventional program) running on the single-core processor system is moved to the multi-core processor system, a problem arises in that the order of access to shared data shared by the threads may shift as a result of a shift in the thread execution sequence. This leads to a problem in that the shared data may have incorrect values. Conventionally, to solve the problem that the shared data have incorrect values, the developer embeds synchronous code into existing program code (see, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-69921) to thereby fix the thread execution sequence.
However, the existing program code has a massive scale and therefore, when performing the code embedding and quality assurance, the development cost will increase significantly. Assembler language description at a timing-critical portion may cause another problem in that, if the synchronous code is embedded at the portion, performance degradation consequent to the embedding of the synchronous code will increase with respect to the required performance.

Multi-task scheduling method for assigning threads based on time slices to multi-core processors and multi-core processor system therefor