A method for forming a capacitor of a semiconductor device prevents loss of a storage node from occurring during an isolation process between cells of the storage node, thereby obtaining a sufficient height of the storage node. The method includes the steps of forming a first insulating film on a substrate, the first insulating film having a contact hole; forming a conductive layer within the contact hole; forming a seed metal layer on the first insulating film and the conductive layer; forming a second insulating film on the seed metal layer; selectively etching the second insulating film to form a lower electrode formation region; forming a lower electrode formation material layer in the lower electrode formation region using the seed metal layer, the lower electrode formation material layer having a height lower than a surface of the second insulating film; forming a passivation film on the lower electrode formation material layer; and removing the second insulating film and portions of seed metal layer using the passivation film as a mask.

The present invention claims the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 2001-20741 filed in Korea on Apr. 18, 2001, which is hereby incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for fabricating a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to a method for forming a capacitor of a semiconductor memory device.
2. Background of the Related Art
A related art method for forming a capacitor of a semiconductor device will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIGS. 1A to 1C are sectional views illustrating related art process steps of forming a capacitor of a semiconductor device. FIGS. 2A and 2B are images showing a decrease in height of a storage node during etch-back of a seed metal layer in the related art.
In a process for fabricating a DRAM capacitor using an electro-chemical deposition (ECD) process, after a platinum (Pt) storage node is formed by Pt deposition, an isolation process of a storage node is performed by a Pt dry etch-back process. A related art isolation process of a storage node in forming a related art capacitor will be described below.
As shown in FIG. 1A, an insulating film 1 and a surface anti-reflecting film 2 are sequentially formed on a semiconductor substrate (not shown) in which a cell transistor (not shown) is formed. A contact hole is formed to connect a capacitor with one electrode of the cell transistor.
A doped polysilicon layer is deposited within the contact hole by a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) process. The doped polysilicon layer is then etched back to form a recess portion so that a plug layer 3 is formed. A low resistance contact film 4 and a barrier film 5 are formed in the recess portion to reduce contact resistance between the plug layer 3 and the barrier film 5 which will be formed later.
The low resistance contact film 4 is formed by depositing a material such as titanium (Ti) on silicon (Si), annealing the result to form TiSix, and removing some of Ti that is not reacted with Si.
The barrier film 5 is then formed on an entire surface including a portion where the low resistance contact film 4 is formed. The barrier film 5 is planarized to remain on the low resistance contact film 4.
Subsequently, Pt is deposited on the entire surface to form a first metal layer 6 used as a seed layer. A dummy insulating film 7 for patterning of a storage node is then formed on the entire surface. The dummy insulating film 7 is selectively etched by a photolithographic process so that a storage node formation region (lower electrode of a capacitor) is defined.
Next, a second metal layer 8 is formed using the first metal layer 6 exposed in the storage node formation region (i.e., in a portion where the dummy insulating film 7 is removed) as a seed layer. The second metal layer 8 is formed using the ECD process.
As shown in FIG. 1B, the dummy insulating film 7 is removed by a wet deep-out process and the first metal layer 6 other than the storage node formation region is removed by a dry etch-back process.
However, in this case, since the first metal layer 6 used as a seed layer is dry etched without using a photo mask, the storage node 9 is also etched. For this reason, insufficient height of the storage node 9 is obtained. As a result, the height of the storage node decreases from a height (A) of FIG. 1B to a height (B) of FIG. 1C.
Decreased height of the storage node is shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B. Here, FIG. 2A is an image after deposition of the second metal layer 8 for forming the storage node by the ECD process, and FIG. 2B is an image after wet deep-out of the dummy insulating film 7 and etch-back of the first metal layer 6 used as a seed layer. Referring to FIG. 2B, it is noted that the storage node height is significantly decreased as loss of the storage node is seriously generated.
However, the related art method for forming a capacitor of a semiconductor device has several problems. For example, since a Pt seed layer is dry etched without using a mask when the storage node is formed after depositing Pt by the ECD process, an area of the lower electrode is reduced, thereby reducing dielectric capacitance of the BST capacitor. As a result, efficiency of the capacitor is reduced.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a method for forming a capacitor of a semiconductor device that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.
An object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming a capacitor of a semiconductor device that prevents loss of a storage node during an isolation process between cells of the storage node, thereby obtaining a sufficient height of the storage node.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for forming a semiconductor device having good capacitance.
Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.
To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, a method for forming capacitor of a semiconductor device the steps of forming a first insulating film on a substrate, the first insulating film having a contact hole; forming a conductive layer within the contact hole; forming a seed metal layer on the first insulating film and the conductive layer; forming a second insulating film on the seed metal layer; selectively etching the second insulating film to form a lower electrode formation region; forming a lower electrode formation material layer in the lower electrode formation region using the seed metal layer, the lower electrode formation a material layer having a height lower than a surface of the second insulating film; forming a passivation film on the lower electrode formation material layer; and removing the second insulating film and portions of the seed metal layer using the passivation film as a mask.
In another aspect, a method for forming a capacitor of a semiconductor device includes the steps of the steps of sequentially forming an insulating film and a surface anti-reflecting film on a surface of a semiconductor substrate including a cell transistor; selectively etching the insulating film and the surface anti-reflecting film to form a contact hole; sequentially forming a plug layer, a low resistance contact film, and a barrier film within the contact hole; depositing Pt on the anti-reflecting film and the barrier film to form a first metal layer used as a seed layer; forming a dummy insulating film on the first metal layer and selectively etching the dummy insulating film to form a lower electrode formation region; depositing Pt in the electrode formation region by an ECD process using the exposed first metal layer as a seed layer to form a second metal layer; depositing TiN on at least the second metal layer and planarizing the TiN to remain at a height substantially equal to an upper surface of the dummy insulating film so that a passivation film is formed; removing the dummy insulating film and portions of the first metal layer to form a lower electrode; depositing BST on the entire surface to form a dielectric film; crystallizing the dielectric film; and depositing Pt on the dielectric film and selectively patterning the Pt to form an upper electrode.
It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

Method for forming capacitor of semiconductor device


A system for automotive vehicles carrying a fuel tank for volatile fuels which is directed to avoiding the escape to atmosphere of fuel vapors which rise from the liquid fuel. The system includes a collector dome on the fuel tank and a storage canister for vapors. A vapor pump is provided for reducing the stored vapor to liquid before directing it from a high pressure tank into the fuel supply leading to the engine of the vehicles. The vapor pump is powered by an electrical source or, alternatively, by the vehicle engine. A pressure responsive switch controls the initiation of the vapor pump action. A standard fuel pump in the fuel tank delivers liquid fuel to the fuel injection system of the engine.

As long as motor vehicles have been using volatile fuels in tanks carried on the vehicle, there has been a problem with fuel vapors. Gas caps had to have a vent hole in the early days especially when gravity feed of the fuel was used. Later as fuel pumps were used vapor was still a problem since in hot weather or bumper-to-bumper progress, overheating of the gasoline lines would cause vapor lock resulting in an interruption of fuel supply. With the advent of fuel injection, the problem has been alleviated but in hot climates or under certain conditions of ambient temperatures vapor has continued to be a problem. Fuel pumps have been designed with vapor ports to remove vapor in the liquid fuel outlets.
In geographic areas where temperatures reach 90.degree. F. or 120.degree. F. or more, a vehicle standing in the sun will cause vaporization in the top of fuel tanks and also in the fuel lines. Another aspect lies in the environmental problems which require that there be as little as possible of vapor escaping from fuel systems or fuel tanks in normal operation.
Accordingly, the present invention is directed to an automotive vehicle system in which recovery of vapor is accomplished, and, the liquid fuel resulting from the compression of the vapor, is fed back into the fuel line leading to the fuel injection system of the engine.
An object of the invention will also be to provide pressure responsive switches to maintain the functioning of the system, and vapor retaining canisters to collect vapor from a fuel tank and return it to the fuel system in the form of liquid fuel. Another object is the utilization of an engine off-drive for a vapor pump which can be clutch controlled by a pressure responsive switch.

Vapor recovery system for motor vehicles


Building block for forming a wall construction, including insulating material and vertical load-bearing walls extending from one longitudinal side towards another longitudinal side of the building block, where the insulating material is provided with recesses for accommodating and holding the load-bearing walls in position, where inner part of the insulating material and the load-bearing walls are provided with recesses for accommodating at least one longitudinal reinforcing element binding the load-bearing walls together in longitudinal direction of the building block for forming an inner core where the vertical load-bearing walls, insulating material and the at least one reinforcing element together form the basic load-bearing in the building block, and that the building block includes at least one outer core formed by parts of insulating material and load-bearing walls outside the at least one reinforcing element, where the at least one outer core has supplementing and reinforcing properties for the inner core.

At building of houses, habitats, industrial buildings and other buildings it is an increasing focus on that the building process itself should be as effective as possible and that the costs should be as low as possible.
At building of houses presently is used, among others, complete sections where doors and windows, as well as furnishing can be arranged. This makes them heavy, something which is resulting in that cranes are need for assembling them. As they are custom-adapted to the individual building individual adaptions at the assembly site is not possible.
Some solutions which have been used more and more lately are so-called "sandwich elements", which usually are arranged for being fixed to a framework of e.g. metal or wood. Sandwich elements are usually formed by an insulating material in the center with cover materials on both sides.
There also exist some solutions of the type sandwich elements which are not designed for being fixed to a framework, but which forms a wall by being fixed to other sandwich elements, typically after the Lego principle.
EP0744507 A1 discloses such a sandwich element where it in the insulation forming the core of the wall element exhibits projections on the side facing up and recesses at the side facing down, which projections and recesses are adapted to one another, so that when two elements are arranged over one another the projections and recesses form a connection.
A similar solution is also known from WO12056394, but where there are two projections at the side facing up and correspondingly, two recesses at the side facing down.
US 2006/096214 A1 describes a building system for erection of buildings, including walls being configured from panel-like elements, where the mentioned panel-like elements are produced from a material containing vegetable fiber material, especially wood chippings, and have recesses for receiving columns for a supporting construction.
From US 2008/0236081 A1 it is known an insulated building block which has a three-section configuration where a first cementitious segment contains the internal core hole of the block which locks with a second segment of serpentine configured insulated insert. The insulation insert is operatively arranged to have multiple lips that mate with various indented ledges on each of the other segments in a location proximate to the surface of the cementitious segments. The insulating insert is also configured with wedge holes that accommodate wedges which press into the installation to maintain continuity of the block. The insulation insert has groves that in combination with the other segments form a trough in fluid communication with drainage holes which extend through the insulation insert which allows for condensation and seepage of water to drain from the block.
US 2002/0108336 A1 describes a modular wall segment for constructing a wall including two external layers of selected size and shape bonded to the opposite faces of a plurality of contiguously placed cellularized cement blocks. The segments may be formed with end faces defining slots of various configurations for receiving various types of fastening elements to enable a plurality of such segments to be secured together in a modularized fashion. Other examples of corresponding solutions are EP0244312, EP2025823, EP2226444, EP2505730, U.S. Pat. No. 4,833,855A, US2014123583, IE S67536 B2, GB 897995 A, BE 1016469 A6, US 2002/0108333 A1 and GB 2135708 A. E.g. some of these solutions are casted blocks, i.e. EPS blocks, which are casted blocks containing insulation and exhibit a shape and size as an enlarged Lego block.
There are several disadvantages with these solutions. The first disadvantage is that the element itself is self-supporting for the element, but is not arranged for forming a load-bearing structure for floors, ceiling and further floors. The second disadvantage is that the cover materials are arranged to the insulating layer which contributes to forming the load-bearing construction, while the insulation in such a way only is contributing in the form of accommodating possible pressure forces in vertical direction. A third disadvantage is that these elements are not capable of handling torsional forces which can arise. Another disadvantage is that they need to have a relatively large thickness for exhibiting sufficient strength. Further, several of these elements of prior art have a challenge with thermal bridges.
A further disadvantage is that they during the assembling do not provide solutions which in an easy way can be moved or attached and detached.
In other words, the prior art solutions are best suitable for non-loadbearing walls as they will not posses a load-bearing structure which corresponds to the requirements for load-bearing structures today.
The main object of the present invention is to provide a building block for wall construction, which partly or entirely solves the above-mentioned disadvantages of prior art.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide a building block having the strength and rigidity for forming a wall construction capable of supporting floors and ceilings/roofs.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide a building block having strength against torsion.
An object of the present invention is to provide a building block where insulation is a part of the load-bearing structure of the building block.
It is further an object of the present invention to provide a building block which has a load-bearing structure formed by load-bearing walls (laths), insulation and reinforcing elements.
A further object of the present invention is that the building block should have as low weight as possible and at the same time have desired strength.
Further objects of the present invention will appear from the following description, drawings and claims.


The invention relates to an insert for an attack tool, the insert comprising a super-hard cap having a volume and bonded to a substrate at an interface, the super-hard cap having an average Young's modulus of greater than 900 GPa and the substrate characterized in that it comprises a reinforcing bolster portion as a means for stiffening a region of the substrate proximate the interface, the reinforcing bolster portion having an aggregate volume that is greater than that of the super-hard cap and an average Young's modulus at least 60% that of the super-hard cap. The invention further relates to a method for manufacturing such an insert and a method for using such an insert.

Boring into the earth is an important activity in many industries, such as mining, oil and gas drilling, prospecting and tunnel construction. A wide variety of methods and various different types of bits are available for this purpose. Earth-boring typically requires rock to be broken in either or both of two principal modes, namely shear cutting or crushing, both of which methods are effected by means of rock-engaging hard inserts of some kind that are mounted onto a drill bit. Shear cutting involves inserts removing rock material by cutting into it and shearing off material. Crushing involves inserts repeatedly impacting on the rock and crushing it. Percussion drilling is an example of the latter and is widely used in mining and construction, to drill boreholes and blast holes, for example. In soft rock mining and pavement degradation, pick-like attack tools or picks may be used to break rock, concrete or asphalt.
Polycrystalline diamond (PCD) is a super-hard material comprising a mass of inter-grown diamond grains and interstices between the diamond grains. PCD is typically made by subjecting an aggregated mass of diamond grains to an ultra-high pressure and temperature. Material wholly or partly filling the interstices may be referred to as filler or binder material. PCD is typically formed in the presence of a sintering aid such as cobalt, which promotes the inter-growth of diamond grains. The sintering aid is commonly referred to as a solvent/catalyst material for diamond, owing to its function of dissolving diamond to some extent and catalyzing its re-precipitation. Consequently, the interstices within the sintered PCD product are wholly or partially filled with residual solvent/catalyst material. Most typically, PCD is often formed on a cobalt-cemented tungsten carbide substrate, which provides a source of cobalt solvent/catalyst for the PCD. PCD is used in a wide variety of tools for cutting, machining, drilling or degrading hard or abrasive materials such as rock, metal, ceramics, composites and wood-containing materials. For example, PCD inserts are widely used within drill bits used for boring into the earth in the oil and gas drilling industry.
Delwiche et al. ("Petroleum Division, " v. 40, and "Drilling Technology" 1992, 1992, pp. 5160, "American Society of Mechanical Engineers") disclose PCD inserts for oil and gas drilling, wherein a PCD layer is secured to a substrate comprising a diamond-impregnated, or "impreg", back-up component. It is apparent from the diagrams and photographs that the diamond grains are coarse and sparsely distributed.
European Patent No. 0 235 455 discloses an insert for a rock bit comprising a pre-cemented tungsten carbide body having a cylindrical grip length extending along a major portion of the insert. The above-mentioned reference also discloses a progressive decrease in the modulus of elasticity through transition layers from an outer ultra-hard diamond layer to the carbide body, in order to reduce spalling.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,811,801 discloses a rock bit insert including a polycrystalline diamond surface on an insert body having a head portion made from a material with elasticity and thermal expansion properties advantageously tailored for use in three types of rock bits, as well as the three types of rock bits made with such inserts.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,342 discusses that for a given application, it is desirable to provide the stiffest possible WC—Co cemented carbide substrate, that is, one with a high modulus of elasticity, thereby minimizing the deflection of the PCD layers and reducing the likelihood of PCD failure. However, if the modulus of elasticity is too high, the inserts are prone to break off during drilling.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,258,139 discloses a PDC (polycrystalline diamond compact) with an internal diamond core in the substrate, to provide additional diamond for exposure when the substrate is sufficiently eroded. Also disclosed, is a PDC with an internal carbide core, which is entirely enclosed by the diamond region of the PDC cutter, to avoid high tensile stresses in the diamond region.
There is a need to minimize the thickness of super-hard material in attack tool inserts and consequently their costs while achieving high impact resistance. This is especially important for rock or pavement degradation or drilling applications.

Insert for an attack tool, method for making same and tools incorporating same


The present invention relates to a polyisocyanate mixture which has blocked isocyanate groups and an average NCO-functionality, based on reversibly blocked isocyanate groups, of 2.0 to 2.6, and is the reaction product, converted into the salt form by the at least partial neutralization of the incorporated carboxyl groups, of. i) at least one organic diisocyanate having a molecular weight of 168 to 300 with PA1 ii) at least one monofunctional blocking agent for isocyanate groups, PA1 iii) at least one monobasic or dibasic hydroxycarboxylic acid, PA1 iv) 1 to 15 wt. %, based on the weight of component i), of at least one dihydric to hexahydric alcohol having a molecular weight of 62 to 182 and PA1 v) 50 to 500 wt. %, based on the weight of component i), of at least one diol having a molecular weight of 350 to 950 and containing ester groups.. The present invention also relates to the use of this polyisocyanate mixture in combination with water dispersible or water soluble polyhydroxyl compounds for the production of aqueous stoving lacquers.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to water soluble or water dispersible, urethane-modified polyisocyanate mixtures having blocked isocyanate groups, to their use in combination with water soluble or water dispersible polyhydroxyl compounds in stoving lacquers and to such an aqueous stoving lacquer.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In recent years, the significance of aqueous lacquers and coating compositions has greatly increased due to ever stricter emission guidelines concerning the solvents released after lacquer application. Although aqueous lacquer systems are already available for many applications, these systems often still cannot achieve the high levels of quality of conventional lacquers containing solvents in terms of resistance to solvents and chemicals or in terms of elasticity and resistance to mechanical stress. In particular, no polyurethane-based coating compositions which may be applied from the aqueous phase are known which fulfil the high practical demands placed on elastic fillers for coating motor vehicle bodywork in terms of impact resistance, resistance to stone impact and resistance to water and chemicals.
This statement applies both to GB-PS 1,444,933, EP-A-0,061,628 and DE-AS 2,359,613, which are directed to the hydrophilic modification of aromatic polyisocyanates; to DE-OS 4,001,783, which is directed to special anionically modified aliphatic polyisocyanates; and to the systems disclosed in DE-OS 2,456,469, DE-OS 2,814,815, EP-A-0,012,348 and EP-A-0,424,697, which are directed to aqueous stoving binders based on blocked polyisocyanates and organic polyhydroxyl compounds. The systems based on polyurethane prepolymers containing carboxyl groups with capped isocyanate groups according to DE-OS 2,708,611 or the highly functional (and therefore largely unsuitable for the production of elastic coatings), blocked, water-soluble urethane prepolymers according to DE-OS 3,234,590 are also largely unusable for the stated purpose.
Stoving lacquers, particularly stoving fillers, which optimally fulfil the previously stated requirements and which may be applied from the aqueous phase may successfully be produced when the polyisocyanate mixtures according to the invention and described below in more detail are used as hardeners for the water dispersible or water soluble polyhydroxyl compounds. Particularly good results are achieved when these polyisocyanate mixtures are combined with certain urethane-modified polyester resins, which are also described below in more detail, to form one-component binder compositions which may be applied from the aqueous phase.

Water soluble or water dispersible polyisocyanate mixtures and their use in stoving compositions


A method for sorting and comprehensively utilizing municipal solid waste includes steps of: 1) feeding the municipal solid waste into a feeding tank through a feeding inlet, then outputting into a breaking device; 2) breaking refuse bags and large blocks by the breaking device; 3) transporting broken refuse into a two-stage roller screen for screening out dusts with a particle size of less than 3 mm, and hanging strips; and 4) transporting mixed refuse screened by the two-stage screen into a vibrating screen; screening oversize products by a heavy winnowing machine for separating inorganic blocks, large plastics and paper; transporting underflow products into a two-room multi-functional winnowing machine for dividing into heavy materials, light materials and medium materials. By effectively combining sorting devices, effective sorting and reutilization of mixed refuse are achieved. Thereafter, paper, fibers, plastics and kitchen organic refuse are respectively for producing refuse derived fuel, wood-plastic composite and fertilizer.

Field of Invention
The present invention relates to treatment of urban domestic refuse, and more particularly to a method for sorting and comprehensively utilizing municipal solid waste. Especially, different ingredients such as organic matter, magnetic substances, plastics and fabrics of the refuse are efficiently sorted by a mechanical method. Then different reutilization methods are applied according to different substances sorted, for achieving reduction, harmlessness, and reutilization of the refuse.
Description of Related Arts
With the rapid development of Chinese economy, the amount of urban domestic refuse generated rapidly growths. In 2010, Chinese urban domestic refuse disposed is amounted to 150 million tons, and over 80 acres of lands are occupied for landfill and storage of the refuse. ⅔ of large and medium-sized cities in China have been surrounded by refuse, and ¼ of the cities in China have no suitable place for refuse. Furthermore, it is difficult to find site for and construct new refuse dump. For example, in Xi'an, the average daily production of refuse is about 5,600 tons, and there is only one landfill site at Jiangcungou, which brings great risk to refuse treatment. A new landfill site has been planned for several years, but construction is not able to start because of social resistance. It is expected that in 2020, a total amount of urban domestic refuse disposed will up to 250 million tons. Waste disposal problem is imminent.
Conventionally, landfill, compost and incineration methods are mainly utilized for refuse disposal in China, and are not able to thoroughly achieve harmlessness and reutilization of domestic refuse.
First, the landfill method: The refuse disposed by the landfill method is more than 85% of a total amount of refuse in China. CH4-rich landfill gas is easy to be generated in the landfill site. As a result, explosion occurred in Guangdong, Yunnan, etc. Furthermore, the landfill site will generate a lot of refuse leachate, which comprises toxic organic chemical pollutants such as heavy metals, and a lot of pathogens as well as viruses, which may infiltrate to groundwater and cause serious groundwater pollution. The leachate of a refuse dump near the Hexi water source of Yongding River in Beijing was not handled properly, which results in safety risk of drinking water for 10 million people in the area.
Second, the incineration method: The refuse disposed by the incineration method is approximately 9% of the total amount of refuse in China. By incineration, thermal energy inside the refuse is efficiently used and a weight of the refuse is reduced by more than 75%. However, highly toxic carcinogen "dioxins" is easy to be generated during the refuse incineration, and fly ash generated by incineration comprises a large amount of heavy metals, which are hazardous refuse and improper treatment thereof will cause serious pollution. Furthermore, the heavy metals and dioxins are difficult to be online-monitored, and treatment thereof is expensive. As a result, environmental protection investment is more than ⅓ of a total investment of a refuse incineration generation station, and emissions standards are still difficult to achieve. Conventionally, in Guangzhou and other places, a number of refuse incineration generation stations have been forced outage among the public pressure. In developed countries such as United States and Japan, refuse incineration generation stations were continuously shut down since 2000.
Third, the compost method: The refuse disposed by the compost method is about 4% of the total amount of refuse in China. By the compost method, the refuse is reutilized. However, sorting during the compost method is not thorough, and plastic, iron, glass and other materials will be left in fertilizer raw materials. As a result, the fertilizer produced is not clean, products lose value as a fertilizer, soil is polluted, and crops are harmed. A reduction rate of the compost method is up to 70%, and more than 30% of residue thereof needs further disposal.
Conventionally, Chinese government and environmental health departments put more and more emphasis on sorting and comprehensively utilizing technology of refuse. The technology integrates refuse sorting and reutilization methods such as incineration, landfill and compost. Firstly, the refuse materials which are able to be reutilized are sorted corresponding to each reutilization methods, and the sorted materials are able to be utilized according to different reutilization methods.
According to analysis of refuse sorting and utilizing technology in China, conventional problems to be solved are as follows:
Firstly, sorting equipment and technology are not optimized corresponding to refuse characteristics in China. Conventionally, technology and equipment applied in China are mainly conventional sorting techniques in fields such as agriculture and mining, which is not optimized corresponding to complex components and high moisture content of the refuse. As a result, useful substances such as paper and plastic in refuse are not efficiently sorted and recycled.
Secondly, refuse sorting equipments are not mechanized, automatized, or systematized. Several comprehensive refuse treatment stations were closed, which proves that manual sorting or simple integration of a single device is not able to efficiently sort, and different sorting methods should be taken advantage of, for integrating different sorting equipments in one system.
Thirdly, no sorting method is designed for different characteristics of the urban domestic refuse. Composition of the urban domestic refuse is very complex, and domestic refuse of different cities is quite different. For different refuse composition, using the same refuse sorting equipment may cause low sorting efficiency and reduce the quality of investment. Furthermore, the equipments needing investment and construction are not strengthened, and non-essential equipments cause a refuse of money. Therefore, a success refuse sorting experience of one city is not necessarily appropriate for another city. A sorting system should be designed corresponding to domestic refuse characteristics of the city, and parameters of equipments of the system should be optimized. However, most design institutes and sorting equipment manufacturers have insufficient understanding of difficulty of refuse sorting in China, and study little about refuse composition variability and optimization of operating parameters of sorting equipment and systems, which worsen the operation of the domestic refuse sorting system built in China (the vast majority thereof have been completed in the outage state), the actual operation of the equipment are difficult to meet the design requirements.
Fourthly, recycling method of sorted product is not well researched, and the economic value of sorted product has not been fully reflected. The conventional sorting technology in China is not able to effectively combine the recycling technology and the sorting process. Overall economy of sorting, recycling and reusing is not high.

Method for sorting and comprehensively utilizing municipal solid waste


A multilevel printing process can be calibrated by: measuring a small number of recorded patches obtaining data points characterising the printing process, modeling a gradation of the printing process with a model curve incorporating different gradation behaviour of the printing process in different regimes based upon the obtained data points, and using the model curve to obtain a gradation-correction curve for calibrating the printing process, where it is sufficient to use only patches obtained by filling every pixel in a patch with a same recording level.

Nowadays a lot of printed matter is produced carrying a reproduction of a black and white or colour image. A large part of these prints are produced using offset printing but in office and home environment a lot of prints are made using relatively small printing apparatuses.
Possible types of printers are typically laser printers using an electrographic process, thermal printers and inkjet printers.
Older printers were only capable of recording one type or size of dot, a dot of colorant was either absent or present. These types use so-called binary printing processes.
Recently apparatuses are capable of reproducing several sizes or densities of dots for each colorant. Such a printer uses a multilevel process. An example of this type of printer is an inkjet printer capable of jetting drops of different sizes or a variable number of drops on to of each other onto a substrate resulting in different dot sizes. Another method is making use of different inks having the same colour but different densities (e.g. light and dark magenta inks or black and grey inks).
Also a combination of the two methods (different densities/different drop sizes) is used (U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,671 by Spaulding et al.).
Printing processes seldom behave linearly, i.e. there is no linear relationship between the electronic level of the pixels to be applied and the optical density of the printed pixel. In order to obtain a good representation of the image to be printed the printing process has to be calibrated in advance.
By calibration of a printing process we mean the calculation and application of a gradation compensation curve for each of the colorants, to bring the gradation to a standard and stable state.
Following considerations regarding a multilevel inkjet printing process can be made. Reference is made to FIG. 1.
In a K-level printing process, K basic tone levels exist. These basic tone levels may arise from printing with dots of multiple sizes, from using inks with different densities but substantially the same hue, or from a combination of both. We indicate the K different levels by L1, L2, . . . , LK. The resulting basic tone levels are indicated by T1, T2, . . . , TK, i.e. a patch of tone Ti is formed by laying down level Li at each pixel in the patch.
Intermediate tone levels are created by a multilevel halftone procedure.
From the point of view of graininess, it is preferable to form a tone level situated between Ti and Ti+1, by a mixture of pixels having level Li and pixels having level Li+1 only.
The printing process is naturally divided into several regimes:                the regime where pixels of level L1=white are mixed with pixels of level L2,        the regime where pixels of level L2 are mixed with pixels of level L3,        etc.
By a regime we understand a part of the tone scale printed with a mixture of a specific set of (two) levels.
To take a specific example, consider an inkjet printing process able to deliver two drop sizes. In the first half of the tone scale small dots are placed with white spaces in between until all pixels are filled with the small dots. In the second half of the tone scale, the small dots are replaced at some pixels by large dots. At the darkest tone, all pixels are filled with large dots. FIG. 1 shows the density as a function of the tone level for such a process. At the border of the two regimes (i.e. at the tone T2) we see an un-smooth behaviour of the gradation, a nod as illustrated in FIG. 1.
The density behaviour between T1 and T2 is substantially linear if we increase the percentage of pixels filled with small dots in a linear way with the tone level. The density behaviour between T2 and T3 is also substantially linear although it may deviate from linearity at the darker tones due to dot overlaps (depicted by the dotted line in FIG. 1).
The nod at T2 is noticeable as an abrupt change or a contour in a slowly varying image portion. Although the print process is continuous at the point, its gradation is not smooth and our eyes is are sensitive to it.
In the calibration process, we want to bring the process to a standard state, characterised by a predefined smooth gradation curve. Since the process is un-smooth itself, the only way to bring it to a smooth gradation curve is to apply an un-smooth correction. The current method aims to model the gradation of the printing process by a piecewise smooth curve and to correct the process with a piecewise smooth gradation-correction curve to bring it to a predefined smooth target curve.
Traditional calibration methods try to model the measured data with an overall smooth curve, to produce an overall smooth gradation-correction curve. This will never yield satisfactory results if the printing process is un-smooth itself.

Calibration of a multilevel inkjet process


A bi-directional converter between pressure and rotational force includes engaging rotation members that continue to rotate while being adjacent to each other without collision; the rotation members and an outer wall form an enclosed space; rotation shafts of the rotation members are mutually engaged by gear wheels; the rotation members are synchronized and rotate in opposite directions; the rotation members are rotated by a volume change of the enclosed space by application of pressure from outside; and the volume of the enclosed space is changed by rotational force to generate a pressure difference. The bi-directional converter includes an open-close mechanism opening and closing supply exhaust paths inside the rotation member and disposed to the rotation shaft or the outer wall according to a rotation angle.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bi-directional converter between pressure and rotational force applicable to a turbine, a pump, an engine, and flow measurement.
2. Description of Related Art
In a related art apparatus of pressure and rotational force including rotation members to be engaged, none of such a related art apparatus is capable of bi-directionally converting the pressure and the rotational force at all rotation angles by a pair of rotation members.    Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-84161    Patent Document 2: Japanese Utility Model Registration Application No. 62-76202    Patent Document 3: Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-135417    Patent Document 4: Japanese Patent Application No. H8-112958
The present invention is to provide an apparatus bi-directionally converting pressure and rotational force at all of rotation angles, in conversion of pressure difference into rotational force and the rotational force into the pressure difference by enclosed space formed by engagement of the rotation members adjacent to each other, with a simple structure having a small number of malfunction elements.

Bi-directional converter between pressure and rotational force


The invention relates to food and beverage products which are useful in control of obesity. The food or beverage comprises or is made by a transgenic plant or parts thereof comprising a nucleic acid molecule, the nucleic acid molecule encoding a C-terminal growth hormone fragment which has the ability to modulate lipid metabolism. The transgenic plant may be used in a production of a fermented food or beverage product, or may be a part of an edible plant, such as a fruit or vegetable, including but not limited to tomato, banana, and potato.

In Australian patent No. 693478 (U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,452) by Monash University, we described the use of a peptide derived from the carboxyl-terminal sequence of human growth hormone, or corresponding regions from growth hormone of other mammalian species, for the control of obesity. This region of growth hormone has the ability to modulate lipid metabolism. In particular, a synthetic peptide corresponding to amino acid residues 177–191 of the human growth hormone sequence (hereinafter referred to as hGH 177–191) was found to reduce body weight gain and adipose tissue mass in a model system for obesity, the C57B1/6J (Ob/Ob) mouse. A subsequent application, PCT/AU98/00724 (U.S. Pat. No. 6,737,407) by Metabolic Pharmaceuticals Ltd, discloses analogues of the hGH177–191 peptide which share this activity. The entire disclosure of U.S. Pat. No. 5,869,452 and (U.S. Pat. No. 6,737,407) are incorporated herein by this reference. All of the studies described in the two earlier specifications were carried out using administration of the peptide by injection.
Our subsequent discovery that these peptides are orally active, possess no known toxicity at any dose, and can be effectively administered at frequencies ranging from once every few days to continuously has led to the concept that, counterintuitively, a fat-reducing food, beverage, or food additive may be produced. In particular, the peptide may be expressed directly by microorganisms which are utilised in production of food products, such as fermentative microorganisms used in the production of beverages such as beer, wine and cider, fermented milk products such as yoghurts and buttermilks, probiotic foods, or fermented meat products such as salami, and baked goods such as breads, including sourdough breads. The peptide may also be expressed in fruit and vegetable plants, such as bananas, tomatoes, or potatoes.
The recognition by the inventors is that the above-mentioned features of the peptides make possible the provision of the growth hormone fragment in a food or beverage product by recombinant DNA methods, thus providing a reliable source of sufficient quantities of the growth hormone fragment in a convenient, inexpensive form for use in various prophylactic and therapeutic applications or in improvement of meat quality, without the necessity for costly purification procedures. In view of the advantageous biological properties of the growth hormone fragment, recombinant organisms expressing the growth hormone fragment are especially useful in a variety of circumstances where it is necessary or desirable to maintain control of weight or of food utilization.

Product and method for control of obesity


Apparatus, adapted for use with commercial sales containers containing dry powdered or granular materials, for metered dispensing of portions of the container volume, while sealing the container between uses. A divider comprising multiple vanes is inserted into a container. The vanes run generally vertically and contact the bottom and inner wall of the container when in place, forming a plurality of compartments within the container. The upper edges of the vanes are substantially even with the top edge of the container. The divider is made of flexible, washable material. A lid having a circumferential distensible lip snaps atop the container, the lower surface of the lid contacting the upper edges of the vanes. The lid may be rotated while in place atop the container, and has an opening which may be aligned over one of the compartments formed by the divider. A generally funnel-shaped top attaches to the lid, with a sealing cap permitting sealed storage of the container between servings. By rotating the lid and funnel top assembly to align the opening over one of the compartments, the contents of the compartment may be poured out while retaining the powdered materials in the remaining compartments in the container. In one embodiment, the apparatus is especially adapted for use with commercial sales containers of powdered infant food ("baby formula").

This invention relates to apparatus used to provide controlled volumetric dispensing of dry, powdered or granular materials from containers. With further specificity, this invention relates to apparatus, adaptable to use in conjunction with the containers in which such materials are often sold, which partition such containers into a desired number of compartments, and permit dispensing of the powdered or granular materials from only a single compartment at one time.

Apparatus, adaptable to sales containers, for volumetric dispensing of powered materials


A measuring and indicating apparatus for the position of a headbox profile bar relative to a measuring reference as an electrical signal emitter and an indicating device. Disposed in a measuring housing are the stationary part, e.g., a measuring coil, of the electrical signal emitter and a measuring element which is movable along a longitudinal axis. The indicating device comprises an indicator housing and a probe element which is movable along a longitudinal axis. The measuring housing of the electrical signal emitter has in the area of its longitudinal axis two connecting fixtures for a rigid, but adjustable connection each, for one to the indicator housing, and for another, to the measuring reference.

The invention concerns a measuring and indicating device for the position of a movable component relative to a measuring reference, and, more particularly, a measuring and indicating device for the position of a movable component relative to a measuring reference for the position of a slot defining the outlet gap of a paper machine headbox, or for a pertaining slot adjustment spindle, with an electrical signal emitter and an indicating device. Such a measuring and indicating device is used, for example, in a paper machine headbox for measuring the position of a slat defining the paper stock outlet gap or the position of a pertaining slat adjustment spindle. As is known, the said slat extends along the outlet gap across the entire machine width and is locally deformable for purposes of local fine adjustment of the outlet gap clearance. Provided for that purpose are numerous slat adjustment spindles arranged distributed across the machine width, which can be actuated individually or in groups. The deformation of the slat (at a specific point) must take place at high precision in very small steps, which normally are smaller than 1/100 mm. With the same precision, the local position of the slat (i.e., its state of deformation) must during the operation continuously be measured and indicated by means of a measuring and indicating device, on each of the adjustment spindles.
From the Voith brochure "Headboxes" (No. p 2503) it is known that on each of the movable adjustment spindles there is an electrical signal emitter arranged (called "path pickup" there) which measures the position of the spindle relative to a measuring reference. The latter is there for instance a so-called upper lip beam. Additionally, a mechanical indicating device is connected with the spindle. The electrical signal emitter serves the remote indication of the spindle position, and thus of the local position of the said slat (defining the paper stock outlet gap) fashioned preferably as a ruler-shaped profile bar. If required, the electrical signal emitter may also serve the transmission of the measured values to a process control system. The additionally present mechanical indicating device serves the reading of the position directly on the machine.
The presence of two measuring devices on each adjustment spindle has the advantage that the electrically measured data can be checked at any time by the preferably mechanical indicating device, and that the headbox--also in the event of a failure of the electrical measurement--can continue to be operated with the aid of the mechanical indicating device.
Difficulties, however, poses the safe installation of the two measuring devices in a way such that the measured values show a maximally exact agreement. In this respect, an improvement is sought by the invention.


A method of locating a linear defect on a photographic element, the element having a useful imaging width and the defect aligned with length of the element, includes the steps of: exposing a region of the element to create a latent image which is substantially uniform across the useful imaging width of the element; developing the latent image to produce a density signal; sampling the density signal with a photometric device; and analyzing the sampled density data for the presence of significant deviations aligned with the length of the element to locate the defect.

Extended linear defects in scanned renditions of images on photographic elements, such as film, commonly occur. Such defects include, but are not limited to scratches, digs, processing draglines, coating streakiness, coating waviness, scanner defects, etc. For example, during the manufacture of photographic elements, defects in the coating process can lead to narrow regions, referred to as streaks, along the length of the photographic element in which one or more of the light-sensitive layers are affected. Because of the affected layer or layers, there is a change in the amount of light-sensitive material and/or coupler in the streak region. This manifests itself in abnormal characteristic data in the streak region. In a second example, a dirt particle in a camera can lead to a developable latent image formed by pressure sensitization when film is transported over the dust particle which is manifested as an extended linear defect.
The use of reference calibration patches exposed on a roll of film to enable better exposure control during optical printing is known in the art. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,767,983 issued Jun. 16, 1998 to Terashita entitled Color Copying Apparatus for Determining Exposure Amount from Image Data of an Original Image and a Reference Image. The use of reference calibration patches has also been shown to be useful in determining correction values for scanned film data used in digital printing. See for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,667,944 issued Sep. 16, 1997 to Reem et al. entitled Digital Process Sensitivity Correction; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,649,260 issued Jul. 15, 1997 to Wheeler et al. entitled Automated Photofinishing Apparatus.
Although extended linear defects can lead to undesirable artifacts in images of scenes, the effects of such defects when they occur in reference calibration images containing sensitometrically exposed patches can be even more detrimental. If such defects can be detected and located, the location of the image defect can be fed into software intended to measure sensitometric patches, enabling such software to avoid using data derived from the defective region or apply appropriate reconstruction techniques to recover affected data.
In the prior art, U.S. Pat. No. 5,736,996 issued Apr. 7, 1998 to Takada et. al., entitled Image Reading Apparatus with a Function for Correcting Nonuniformity in Recording Density, and U.S. Pat. No. 5,189,521 issued Feb. 23, 1993 to Ohtsubo et. al. entitled Image Forming Apparatus and Method for Correction Image Density Non-Uniformity by Reading a Test Pattern Recorded by the Apparatus, describe methods of automatically detecting image nonuniformities by laying down a test target on a recording medium. However, the nonuniformites of interest are inherent to a recording head and not the presumably uniform medium onto which the image is recorded. Once a nonuniformity is detected, the recording head is automatically calibrated to deliver uniform densities to the recording medium despite nonuniformities in the recording head. This prior art fails to repair the nonuniformity when such defects arise in the recording medium rather than the recording device or occur after the recording step, as the location and severity of the defects in the medium cannot be determined at the time of printing reference calibration targets.
Standard techniques for locating linear objects in digitized images, illustratively image segmentation and description techniques as described in Digital Image Processing by Rafael Gonzalez and Paul Wintz, Addison-Wesley Publishing Company, Reading, Mass., 1977, may be applied to locate such defects in a nominally uniform sensitometric patch. However, in patches with exposures which exhibit low signal to noise ratios, such detection algorithms break down. Failure to detect a defect in such a patch could lead to bias in estimates of density or noise levels in the patch. Use of corrupted data in a calibration procedure could affect entire images in a deleterious fashion. Further, in highly structured nonuniform images such as two-dimensional barcodes, these standard techniques fail to reliably distinguish between linear features that are part of the barcode and those that arise from an artifact.
Accordingly there is a need for an improved method to detect and locate linear defects in scanned images of photographic elements.


A dynamic surface element is located on a substantially smooth surface of a body moving through a fluid for improving the movement of the body. The dynamic surface element includes a lower wall provided on the surface of the body, the lower wall having a front edge extending rearwardly to a back edge. An upper wall rises upwardly and rearwardly from the lower wall with the upper wall having a lower edge connected to the lower wall, and an upper edge spaced above the lower wall. A pair of sidewalls connects the upper and lower walls and together with the upper and lower walls forms a chamber accumulating internal pressure offset by external pressure caused by fluid flow against and over the upper wall as the body moves. The dynamic surface element interrupts layers of fluid normally accumulating on the smooth surface of the body moving through the fluid and creating drag. A major portion of the fluid flowing over and rearwardly of the upper wall is reversed and captured due to internal and external pressure differential in the chamber to reduce drag, and simultaneously act against rear surfaces of the dynamic surface element to define a propulsive force assisting movement of the body.

Prior U.S. patents and other literature disclose utilization of various surface configurations for reducing of the drag and/or creating of various forces on the surface of a moving body such as an automobile, boat, airplane or other devices having a surface which moves through air, water or other fluids.
The present inventor's U.S. Pat. No. 4,284,302 (issued Aug. 18, 1981) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,988,568 (issued Nov. 23, 1999) disclose surface modifications to a body to improve the efficient movement through a fluid. Both patents disclose air directing flutes which are laterally and longitudinally spaced and distributed over a surface to improve the efficiency of movement in fluid mediums.
As noted in those patents and others, there is a continuing demand for practical constructions which will more fully promote the efficient movement of vehicles and other bodies in air, water and other fluid mediums. The current energy crisis has created the need and desire for more effective surface constructions for various bodies which move through various mediums with an increased efficiency. Many of the prior art attempts to enhance body movement through a fluid medium have required the use of various combinations or multiple formations of surface constructions.
Consider the various forces acting on a smooth surface of the body moving through a fluid medium. In the case of a land-based vehicle in a static condition, a single or primary layer adheres non-releasably to the surface in a manner known as adhesion. As the vehicle moves in a dynamic condition, the first layer of air pulls or drags along a second layer of air. This second layer pulls along a third layer and subsequent layers of air along the entire lengthwise surface of the moving body forming a phenomenon as cohesion. As a result of the normal movement of the body, myriads of additional layers of air (or other fluid medium) are pulled along creating drag. Without remedial structure to counter this fluid accumulation, drag will increase at a geometrically compounding rate creating an undesirable wake. These fluid layers that build up on the smooth surface of the body require additional energy to move the surface through the media offsetting much of the hoped for economies from the various flow patterns. In practical terms, such additional energy translates to greater fuel demands in a continually worsening energy situation in which fuel supply is lacking and costs are increasingly rising.
It is therefore desirable to provide dynamic surface structure on a body moving through a fluid medium in a manner which will substantially interrupt the adhesive and cohesive accumulation of the medium which causes adverse fluid flow and drag. It is likewise desirable to convert the adverse fluid flow to a more favorable propulsive force which pushes the body forward. It is further desirable to provide an independent dynamic surface attachment which will improve movement of a body through a fluid medium by itself.

Dynamic surface element for bodies moving through a fluid


The invention relates to a lid (8) of a container, especially a beverage can, comprising a substantially flat lid surface (9) and a preferably folded edge area, with at least one re-closeable pouring opening (10) being provided on the lid surface (9), a closure means (1) associated with the pouring opening (10) being provided on the bottom side of the lid surface (9) and an actuation means (6) which penetrates the lid surface (9) being arranged on the upper side of the lid surface (9) accessible from the outside, and the closure means (1) being movable from a closed position to an opened position through actuation of the actuation means (6), the closure means (1) being of integral configuration and being fixed entirely in a torsion-proof manner to the bottom side of the lid surface (9), and the actuation means (6) comprises a support element (12, 12′, 14, 15) which cooperates with the lid surface (9) when the closure means (1) is in the opened position, the integral closure means (1) comprises a fastening part (3) for non-detachable connection with the lid surface (9), and a closure area (4) for closing the pouring opening (10) in a liquid-tight manner, with a joint (2) being provided between fastening part (3) and closure area (4), about which the closure area (4) of the closure means (1) can be swiveled against a restoring force, characterized in that the joint (2) is arranged as an area with increased flexibility disposed between the fastening part (3) and the closure area (4).

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a lid of a container, especially a beverage can, comprising a substantially flat lid surface and a preferably folded edge area, with at least one recloseable pouring opening being provided on the lid surface, a closure means associated with the pouring opening being provided on the bottom side of the lid surface and an actuation means which penetrates the lid surface being arranged on the upper side of the lid surface accessible from the outside, and the closure means being movable from a closed position to an opened position through actuation of the actuation means, the closure means being of integral configuration and being fixed entirely in a torsion-proof manner to the bottom side of the lid surface, and the actuation means comprises a support element which cooperates with the lid surface when the closure means is in the opened position, the integral closure means comprises a fastening part for non-detachable connection with the lid surface, and a closure area for closing the pouring opening in a liquid-tight manner, with a joint being provided between fastening part and closure area, about which the closure area of the closure means can be swivelled against a restoring force.
2. The Prior Art
Numerous beverage cans have become known which have a re-closable pouring opening. DE 196 13 246 A1 discloses a closure means with substantially the same diameter which is applied to the already existing lid, which closure means closes a pouring opening disposed in the lid by twisting. Similar apparatuses where some of these closure means cover the lid only partly have been described in DE 196 13 256 B4, DE 197 06 112 C2, EP 1 247 752 B1 or U.S. Pat. No. 6,626,314 B1. The disadvantageous aspect in these closure means is their mostly complex arrangement which additionally requires constructional changes to the lid region of the can.
A further group of closure means for beverage cans consists of a pull tab which is fastened by means of a rivet connection to the can lid, with the handle part of the pull tab being arranged simultaneously as the closure means for the pouring opening, which after the opening of the pouring opening seals the pouring opening again by twisting and/or folding down the pull tab. Such elements are shown, among other things, in DE 197 46 539 A1, DE 203 19 105 U1, EP 1 190 952 A2, EP 1 097 086 B1 and EP 0 433 502 A1. These beverage cans all have a closure means which is applied from the outside to the pouring opening and partly protrudes beyond the lid edge, so that the same can be removed inadvertently and the content of the can is exposed to the ambient environment.
GB 2 331 284 A finally describes a closure system, which includes a pull tab for exposing a pouring opening and a closure means which is arranged on the bottom side of the lid of the can in the interior of the can, with a spring element pressing the closure means against the pouring opening. In order to enable the emptying of the can, parts of the closure means must be displaced against the pull tab. This closure means comes with the disadvantage that it is highly complex and requires a change to the conventional lid of the can. A slightly simpler arranged closure device which also consists of several parts is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,889,842, which also requires a complex changed lid. Similar reusable closure means are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,746,032 A and 345,695 A.
It is therefore the object of the invention to eliminate the disadvantages of the state of the art as described above and to provide a lid for a can which has a secure closure system for resealing the can which can be mounted in a simple and cost-effective way in conventional lids.


A screen reader software product for low-vision users, the software having a reader module collecting textual and non-textual display information generated by a web browser or word processor. Font styling, interface layout information and the like are communicated to the end user by sounds broadcast simultaneously rather than serially with the synthesized speech to improve the speed and efficiency in which information may be digested by the end user.

Personal computers and the Internet greatly enhanced communications and access to information from around the world. Typically, visual information is displayed upon a monitor screen and data can be added or manipulated via keystrokes upon an associated keyboard. Feedback is provided visually to the user by the monitor screen. Blind users cannot utilize the information appearing upon the monitor screen while visually impaired users may experience difficulty doing so. Accordingly, screen readers have been developed to assist blind and visually impaired users when they use a personal computer.
One such screen reader is JAWS® for Windows.
When installed upon a personal computer, JAWS® provides access to the operating system, software applications and the Internet. JAWS® includes a speech synthesizer that cooperates with the sound card in the personal computer to read aloud information appearing upon the computer monitor screen or that is derived through communicating directly with the application or operating system. Thus, JAWS® provides access to a wide variety of information, education and job related applications. Additionally, JAWS® includes an interface that can provide output to refreshable Braille displays. Current JAWS® software supports all standard Windows® applications, including Microsoft Office XP®. JAWS® has two cursors available to assist the user when he is using a Windows® application, the PC Cursor and the JAWS Cursor. The PC Cursor is linked to the keyboard functions of Windows® applications and used when typing information, moving through options in dialog boxes and making a selection of a particular option. Thus, as each key is pressed JAWS® causes the speech synthesizer to recite the letter corresponding to the key or the name of the selected option. The JAWS Cursor is linked to mouse pointer functions in Windows® applications to provide access to information in an application window that is beyond the scope of the PC Cursor. As an example of the JAWS Cursor, as the user maneuvers the mouse pointer over a tool bar, JAWS® causes the speech synthesizer to recite the name of the particular toolbar button that the pointer is over.
Additionally, JAWS® supports Internet Explorer with special features, such as, links lists, frame lists, forms mode and reading of HTML labels and graphic labels included on web pages. Upon entering an HTML document via an Internet link, JAWS® actuates a Virtual PC Cursor that mimics the functions of the PC cursor. The Virtual PC cursor causes JAWS® to signal the speech synthesizer to speak the number of frames in a document being read in Internet Explorer and the number of links in the frame currently being displayed. Also, JAWS® causes the speech synthesizer to read graphics labeled by alternate tags in HTML code.
Typically, such prior art speech readers have presented information to the user serially. This requires that the user wait for some of the data to be processed. However, it is known that the human brain can process multiple simultaneous information sources. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide a screen reader that could deliver information for multiple sources simultaneously to reduce data processing time.
Various objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in light of the accompanying drawing.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Screen reader having concurrent communication of non-textual information


The present invention is directed to a diamond-coated body having a diamond coat film formed on the surface of a ceramic substrate containing acicular grains having a thickness of 0.2 .mu.m to 1 .mu.m and an aspect ratio of 2 or higher at the two-dimensional density of 30% or higher, and the diamond coat film has good adhesion to the ceramic substrate. Thus the diamond-coated body is superior in durability and can be appropriately utilized as cutting tools and so on.

Heretofore, cutting tools, etc. are prepared by coating the surface of a ceramic substrate with a diamond film. However, such a diamond film is so insufficient in adhesion as their tips cause chipping.
More description will be made on this point. For instance, Japanese Patent Publication (kokoku) No. 59,086/1985, and Japanese Patent Laid-open (kokai) Publication Nos. 109,628/1986 and 291,493/1986 disclose technology which involves using a silicon nitride substrate or a ceramic substrate having a particular thermal expansion coefficient in order to provide a diamond-coated material having high adhesion.
These technology, however, each involves prevention of the diamond film from peeling off by suppressing the thermal stress generating upon cooling after the formation of the diamond film, yet its adhesion is not yet sufficient.
For instance, when chips with such a diamond film coated thereon are used for cutting, their tips may still cause chipping.
The object of the present invention is to provide a diamond-coated body which has so high in adhesion of its diamond film as to avoid chipping and which can be prepared with ease.


The brush element (10) includes a base (14), the base (14) including a connecting portion (18) at one end (16) thereof, which is capable of receiving the lever arm (15) of a vibrating toothbrush. Successive lateral rows of spaced bristles (19-27) are anchored in the brush base (14), in a pattern comprising two successive rows of full length bristles which are configured so that the tips of each two rows form a peak, followed by a third row of shorter bristle portions which are approximately 0.2 inch shorter than the full length bristles.

In the art of power toothbrushes, particularly acoustic toothbrushes, an important consideration is the cleaning performance (or lack thereof) of the toothbrush in the interproximal spaces of the teeth, i.e. the spaces between two adjacent teeth and/or the spaces between the teeth and the adjoining gum tissue, down into the subgingival areas beneath the gum line. Acoustic-type power toothbrushes generally have had at least some success in cleaning these interproximal spaces, even though they are beyond the physical reach of the brush elements. Cleaning these interproximal spaces is important, since they harbor pathogenic bacteria and in the case of the gums hence prone to the incidence of periodontal disease.
The success of acoustic toothbrushes in effectively cleaning these regions generally depends upon their ability to disrupt the bacteria in the regions by the agitation of a fluid medium which reaches into the regions, producing sufficient instantaneous velocities and pressures therein so as to damage/disrupt the bacteria. The fluid medium, which could be various combinations of dentifrice, water and saliva, is energized so that instantaneous changes in pressure are produced, giving rise to acoustic effects of cavitation and streaming, which are typically evidenced by the formation of small bubbles visible at the ends of the bristles. This can occur at relatively low sonic frequencies, i.e. in the range of 150Hz-1KHz and at amplitudes which are practical in the mouth. An acoustic toothbrush having the required frequency and instantaneous velocity to produce cavitation and streaming effects is disclosed in co-pending application Ser. No. 832,422, titled "High Performance Acoustical Cleaning Apparatus for Teeth," owned by the same assignee as the present invention.
Proper operation of such a toothbrush requires a relatively high efficiency in order to maintain the cavitation effect. Excessive damping of the bristles must be minimized during the actual brushing operation, so that energy can be efficiently transferred to the fluid. In addition, the brushhead must be configured to effectively and efficiently carry fluid as the toothbrush is moved around the mouth by the user, to ensure that there is sufficient fluid in the area of the brushhead to support agitation. This is frequently an important consideration for the upper teeth especially, where there frequently is a reduced saliva environment.
Various aspects of acoustic toothbrushes have been explored by others to improve damping and fluid movement. This invention is particularly directed toward the brushhead configuration, especially as it affects damping, cavitation, streaming and fluid movement.

Brush element for an acoustic toothbrush


A micro-manipulator includes a gripping device having two gripping fingers for gripping a micro-material, and a gripping finger moving device for moving at least one of the gripping fingers of the gripping device. An exciting device vibrates the gripping fingers when the gripping fingers of the gripping device are opened to release the micro-material.

The present invention relates to a micro-manipulator, and particularly to a micro-manipulator that grips a micro-material with two gripping fingers.
Conventionally, a micro-manipulator is used for assembling a micro-component and handling a cell. Generally, in order to grip a micro-material, a micro-manipulator has a mechanism for opening and closing leading ends of gripping fingers around the micro-material (see Patent Reference 1). The micro-manipulator generally handles a small material in a view of a microscope with naked eyes or through an image on a display via a CCD camera mounted on a microscope (see Patent Reference 2).
When an object has a size in a micro-region less than 1 mm, dominant physical phenomenon are different from those in a macro-region in which a conventional industrial product is handled. In other words, in the micro-region, instead of a dominant force of gravity in the macro-region, forces between surfaces such as molecules, liquid linkage forces, and static electricity become dominant. Accordingly, when a micro-material is gripped, while it is possible to grip the micro-material without a large force, it is difficult to separate the micro-material from a gripping finger and place the micro-material at a predetermined position.
In a related field, there is a technology for stabilizing a movement of a micro-manipulator and adjusting an impact, in which a moving mechanism is provided for moving one micro-manipulator tool by a predetermined amount and a shocking mechanism is separately provided for applying an impact to the micro-manipulator (see Patent Reference 3).
Patent Reference 1: Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 08-168979
Patent Reference 2: Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 04-303810
Patent Reference 3: Japanese Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 2003-1574
In the conventional micro-manipulators having two gripping fingers, it is difficult to stably place a micro-material at a desired position because of the surfaces force. That is, when the two gripping fingers are separated (opened) to release the micro-material, the micro-material tends to stick to one of the gripping fingers, thereby making it difficult to stably place the micro-material at a desired position. Even if the technology disclosed in Patent Reference 3 is applied, it is necessary to provide the vibrating mechanisms in both of the gripping fingers and the moving mechanism for moving the gripping fingers, thereby making the micro-manipulator large.
In view of the problems mentioned above, an object of the present invention is to provide a micro-manipulator with two gripping fingers capable of stably placing a micro-material at a desired position.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.


An approach is provided for determining a price of a product. After a purchase of the product, data specifying usage of the product is obtained. The data is being collected by one or more sensors coupled to the product. Based on the data specifying the usage, a price of the product is determined for a return of the product or a sell back of the product.

The present invention relates to managing pricing, and more particularly to determining a price of a product being returned or sold back as a used product.
Known return policies offered by retailers include an all or nothing return policy for the acceptance of returns that have been used. The all or nothing return policy may include requiring the item to be returned in its original packaging, be in a like-new condition, and be returned within a specified period of time from the purchase date or the first usage of the item. A person, however, often purchases an item as a gift that is not first used for a long period of time after the purchase date because the person presents the item to its recipient on a date of an event that is a long period of time after the purchase date, such as the date of a birthday, anniversary, graduation, etc. Because the period of time between the purchase date and the date of the gift-giving event may exceed the specified period of time in the return policy, the recipient may not be able to return the item based on the return policy. In other cases, various individuals may use a product at different degrees of usage before returning the product, making it difficult for the retailer to assess whether the returned product is in a like-new condition. The retailer may make a subjective determination about whether a returned product is in a like-new condition.
Many products are embedded with sensors that capture data which indicates the particular features of the products that a person has or has not used. Furthermore, a person who initiates a return of a product may not have used all the features of the product and therefore may not realize that the product has a particular feature or that a particular feature is appealing to the person.

Dynamic return/sell back pricing based on product usage

International Business Machines Corporation


Various alignment targets are disclosed having improved visibility. A first embodiment includes an alignment target having a first reflective layer of a first material such as tungsten having a roughened surface; and a second layer of a second material, such as aluminum, deposited on the first layer. The surface of the second layer is roughened by conforming with the roughened surface of the first layer to provide both layers with a uniform optical layers. The edges of the second layer provides an optical signal to contrast between the two layers for alignment. A second embodiment includes an alignment target with a plurality of parallel elongated trenches; a first material fills each of the trenches; and a patterned layer of a second material is deposited on top the elongated trenches and the insulator layer.

1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates generally to alignment targets or marks for use in photo lithography masking operations of integrated circuit (IC) chips and more specifically to alignment targets having enhanced contrast.
2. Description of the Related Art
The surface of the IC wafer during Back End Of the Line (BEOL) processing does not tend to have great reflectivity contrast between components (e.g., wiring levels). In contrast, during Front End Of the Line (FEOL) processing, the base material does provide reflectivity. In particular, at the BEOL stage, during semiconductor processing, wiring levels are separated by thick layers of insulating materials. Each wiring level is a reflective film and the insulating films are usually highly transparent at the alignment wavelength. To align to these wiring levels, alignment marks or targets are placed in the IC wafer to provide reflectivity contrast. Alignment targets generally include a series of indicia on the surface or subsurface of a substrate which are used to align masking patterns for photo lithographic machinery. The alignment target is used for not only locating a particular position on the wafer, but is also used to align the wafer in two axes. The degree of accuracy of the alignment is a function of the resolution and contrast of the optical system. As IC chips become smaller and smaller, the challenge for alignment targets having adequate contrast for resolution increases.
Two alignment systems used to provide reflectivity contrast are a bright field alignment system and a dark field alignment system. In a bright field alignment system, contrast is seen between the light reflecting of the metal wiring level's alignment mark and the background light reflected off of underlying reflective films (usually the silicon wafer itself). The metal can be from 1 to 7 .mu.m above these underlying films making it difficult to focus both simultaneously. The thickness of the insulating film on top of the mark (and the photo resist on top of that) determines whether the reflection will be dark or light due to the thin film interference effect. Variations in the thickness of this insulating layer driven by the deposited insulator as well as the chemical mechanical polish planarization (or other planarization techniques) can cause the mark to be light or dark within a wafer. This makes the algorithm that detects the mark have a resultant signal that fails. This variation in insulator thickness is also apparent in the background signal as reflected back out of focus from the underlying reflector. Because of these problems, bright field marks are difficult to use for alignment.
A dark field alignment mark cancels out the directly reflected light coming from edges of an alignment mark. Thus, a strong reflectivity contrast signal can be seen from the edges of the mark. A difficulty in dark field alignment is that process variations cause changes in the slopes of metal wires across a mark causing an apparent shift in the detected mark position. The problem of these process variations are due to etch variations caused by pattern density differences across the wafer and even within the mark itself. The etch process for the metal lines erodes the photo resist defining the lines at rates determined by pattern density thus changing the slope of the metal lines while they remain the correct dimension at the bottom.
Heretofore, various techniques have been used to enhance the contrast of alignment marks on IC wafers to improve resolution and accuracy. U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,557, entitled ALIGNMENT TARGET IMAGE ENHANCEMENT FOR MICROLITHOGRAPHY PROCESS and assigned to Harris Corporation, discloses an alignment target having a reflective region surrounded by a light scattering region on a substrate to increase contrast. The width of the reflective portion of the light scattering region is substantially smaller than the width of the target region along the orthogonal axis of the substrate. The light scattering region includes a plurality of peaks and valleys having parallel axes which are oblique to the axis of the substrate.
Japanese publication No. 62-025415, entitled ALIGNMENT MARK AND MANUFACTURE THEREOF, published on Feb. 3, 1987 and assigned to Cannon Inc., discloses an alignment mark having differing heights due to two patterns which cross one another (FIG. 3c). The first pattern is formed by PSG (polysilicon glass) and is square shaped. The first pattern crosses a second pattern formed by a nitride film and having a plurality of valleys therein. The interference of light differentiates due to the height of the steps of the two patterns crossing one another.
Other patents which disclose various types of alignment marks include: U.S. Pat. No. 5,334,466, entitled X-RAY MASK AND PROCESS COMPRISING CONVEX-CONCAVE ALIGNMENT MARK WITH ALIGNMENT REFLECTION FILM, assigned to Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.; U.S. Pat. No. 4,986,637, entitled METHOD OF MANUFACTURE TIW ALIGNMENT MARK AND IMPLANT MASK, assigned to Raytheon Company; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,264,310, entitled ALIGNMENT MARK HAVING REGIONS FORMED BY ENERGY BEAM IRRADIATION THEREIN AND METHOD OF MANUFACTURING THE SAME, assigned to Mitsubishi Denki Kabushiki Kaisha. All the references cited herein are hereby incorporated by reference. The summary of each reference described herein should not be relied upon or substituted for a thorough reading of each individual reference. None of the aforementioned difficulties of detecting a marks position in dark field alignment have been adequately addressed by the above references.

Alignment targets having enhanced contrast

International Business Machines Corporation


The system for treating exhaust gas comprises an exhaust duct, a catalytic converter arranged in the exhaust duct and an injector for injecting a substance into the system. The system further comprises a bypass duct bypassing a section of the exhaust duct, wherein the bypass duct is arranged such that only part of the catalytic converter is bypassed by the bypass duct.

The invention relates to a system and method for treating exhaust gas. More particularly, the invention relates to a system and method for treating exhaust gas of diesel engines.
In the restricted space available in exhaust systems of for example passenger cars, different converters may be arranged in a so-called closed coupled device. Such converters are, for example, an oxidizing converter to oxidize carbon monoxide and hydrocarbon and a selective catalytic reactor (SCR) to convert nitrogen oxides in the exhaust gas. In WO 2012/080585 an oxidation catalyst is arranged directly upstream of a diesel particle filter (DFP) and SCR combination. To support the catalytic reaction in the SCR, urea is injected into the limited space between the two catalysts. In order for the urea to mix with the exhaust gas, a mixing arrangement is provided between the two catalysts. However, such a mixing arrangement increases back pressure and a mixing path length before the mixture enters the SCR may not be increased. In addition, the temperature of the exhaust gas when urea is mixed into it has already decreased. Furthermore, the residence time of the urea and gas mixture is very low, particularly when exhaust gas flow is high.
It is also known to inject urea into a bypass parallel to an oxidation catalyst located upstream of a DPF and SCR combination to ensure a proper oxidation of hydrocarbon (HC) and carbon monoxide (CO). By this, exhaust gas taken from an upstream portion of the exhaust duct may directly be used for mixing with urea, which enables to operate a hydrolysis catalyst arranged in the bypass duct at a high temperature level. However, these systems require much space and do often not allow for a thorough mixing of urea with the exhaust gas before being introduced into the SCR. The portion of the exhaust gas passing through the bypass is not treated by the oxidation catalyst which may cause HC and CO emission failure during normalized driving cycles.
Therefore, there is a need for a system and method for treating exhaust gas taking care of the problems of known system and methods. Especially, there is a need for such a system and method which provides an efficient and a reliable exhaust gas treatment also in limited space conditions such as in closed coupled catalytic converter systems.

System and method for treating exhaust pipe


An inspecting apparatus (20, 40, 50, 60) for liquid crystal displays includes a base plate (21, 41), a connecting device (200, 400) mounted on the base plate, a working table (25, 45, 55, 65) supported on the connecting device, and an electrical holding device (29) fixed to the working table. The electrical holding device can hold a mains switch (33) and an electrical connector (31) that is used to connect with leads of the LCD. Because the inspecting apparatus includes the electrical holding device for holding the electrical connector, operators can connect leads of the LCD and the electrical connector easily using a single hand. After that, operators can conveniently turn on the mains switch because the mains switch is adjacent to the electrical connector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to inspecting apparatuses for liquid crystal displays (LCDs).
2. Background of the Invention
A process of fabricating an LCD generally comprises forming an LCD panel (known as a "cell process"), and inspecting the LCD panel with other parts such as a backlight module, frame, etc. (known as a "modular process"). After that, the LCD is inspected by an inspecting apparatus, which mainly has the functions of holding, turning over, and electrically testing the LCD under assembly.
Referring to FIG. 7, this shows a conventional inspecting apparatus for LCDs as disclosed in Taiwan Patent No. 499, 140 issued on Aug. 11, 2002. The inspecting apparatus 10 includes a base frame 11, a connecting rod 12, and a supporting plate 14. The base frame 11 is located on a working platform (not shown). The connecting rod 12 has an adjustable component 13 that is used to change an angle of the supporting plate 14 relative to the base frame 11. The supporting plate 14 has a rectangular shape, and connects with the base frame 11 and the connecting rod 12. The supporting plate 14 has a flange 15 that is used to hold an LCD in place. Two cutouts 16 are defined in two corners of the supporting plate 14. The cutouts 16 are used to expediently allow power plugs of the LCD to be connected to an external electrical source.
In use of the inspecting apparatus 10, an operator connects the power plugs to the electrical source using his left and right hands respectively. This is unduly troublesome and time-consuming. Moreover, if the electrical source is located far away from the operator, the operating time is further increased.
What is needed is an inspecting apparatus that can shorten the operating time.

Inspecting apparatus for liquid crystal displays

Innocome Technology (Shenzhen) Co., Ltd.