A system and method for object rundown protection that scales with the number of processors in a shared-memory computer system is disclosed. In an embodiment of the present invention, prior to object rundown, a cache-aware reference count data structure is used to prevent cache-pinging that would otherwise result from data sharing across processors in a multiprocessor computer system. In this data structure, a counter of positive references and negative dereferences, aligned on a particular cache line, is maintained for each processor. When an object is to be destroyed, a rundown wait process is begun, during which new references on the object are prohibited, and the total number of outstanding references is added to an on-stack global counter. Destruction is delayed until the global reference count is reduced to zero. In an embodiment of the invention suited to implementation on non-uniform memory access multiprocessor machines, each processor's reference count is additionally allocated in a region of main memory that is physically close to that processor.

The desire to improve computer system performance has driven innovation in both computer architecture and operating systems design. In many contexts, an important goal is to maximize throughput (the number of tasks processed in a given unit of time). One persistent obstacle has been the so-called Von Neumann bottleneck, the gap between faster processors and slower memory. Two general architectural approaches to minimizing this gap and increasing throughput are the use of a multilevel memory hierarchy and the use of multiple processors. In a memory hierarchy, faster, smaller memories are placed closer to the processor, and efforts are made to keep recently-accessed items in the fastest memories. The fastest level of memory, apart from the processor's registers, is the cache, which can itself have one or more levels, and which is organized into cache lines of a fixed size. A cache hit occurs when the processor finds a requested data item in the cache. If the data is not found in the cache, a cache miss occurs, and a line-size block of data that includes the requested item is retrieved from the main memory and placed in a particular cache line.
Most modern multiprocessor machines belong to one of two groups, distinguished by how their memory is organized. The first group includes machines with a relatively small number of processors sharing a single centralized main memory connected to the processors by a bus. These machines are called UMAs (uniform memory access multiprocessors) because the time to access any main memory location is uniform for each processor. The second group comprises machines in which memory is physically distributed among the processors, allowing larger numbers of processors to be supported. Those machines in this group that feature a logically-shared main memory address space are known as NUMAs (non-uniform memory access multiprocessors). In NUMA machines, a processor's access time for a particular data word in main memory depends on the location of that word.
Modern operating systems maximize processor utilization and minimize memory latency through their support for multiprogramming, the ability of several concurrently-executing programs, referred to as processes or threads, to share computer resources. When a first process is being executed by a processor, and the operating system then permits a second process to execute, the operating system performs a context switch. A context switch involves saving the current state of the first process so that its execution can continue at a later time, and restoring the previous state of the program that is about to return to execution.
In systems supporting multiprogramming, there is potentially a high degree of interaction among concurrent processes. The effective coordination of multiple processes is a central problem in operating systems design. It is typical for several processes to require access to some object residing in shared memory, which may itself include methods or data made available by another process. At some point, it may be necessary for such objects to be "run down" (destroyed). For example, the shared object might be a loaded antivirus driver, which typically has a long lifetime (that is, it will be kept loaded while the operating system is running). Periodically, however, it will be necessary for the driver to be unloaded so that an updated version of the driver can be loaded in its place. In such situations, there is a danger that a process might attempt to access an object that has already been deleted or made unavailable, leading to erroneous and unpredictable program and system behavior. It is important, therefore, to guard against the premature destruction or removal of a shared object while references to the object are outstanding.
Solutions to this problem have generally made use of synchronization mechanisms provided by the operating system or the hardware. One conventional approach is to protect the object by placing it under a mutually exclusive lock that can only be acquired by one process at a time. If a second process requires access to the object, it must wait until the lock is released by the first process. This is undesirable for a number of reasons. The time spent on acquisitions and releases of locks may exceed the time needed for access to the object itself, causing a performance bottleneck. Moreover, the use of such locks may lead to deadlocked processes vying for access to the same object. Efforts to minimize the occurrence of deadlocks typically require the diversion of substantial computing resources. Locks also involve the consumption of considerable memory space.
A more finely-grained solution, called rundown protection, has been implemented in Microsoft Corporation's "WINDOWS XP" operating system. Under this approach, a global reference count associated with a particular object is used to ensure that destruction or removal of the object will be delayed until all of the accesses that have already been granted to the object have completed and been released. Access serialization is achieved using atomic interlocked hardware instructions rather than mutually exclusive software locks. Rundown protection is optimized for rapid and lightweight accesses and releases of object references. This is sensible, because typically protection is desired in situations involving a long-lived object which is referenced and dereferenced many times throughout its lifetime. In the loaded antivirus driver example, the references are I/O requests, with the dereferences occurring when the I/O is completed, and rundown protection may be invoked by a kernel component, such as a file system filter manager, to guard against premature unloading of the driver.
Despite the advantages of rundown protection over previous solutions, its routines for acquiring and releasing references have been discovered to cause significantly degraded performance on multiprocessor machines when used by I/O-coordinating file system filter managers to manage the unloading of file system filter drivers, the subject of a copending commonly-assigned U.S. patent application filed today, bearing U.S. Ser. No. 10/461,078. Interlocked increments and decrements were found to cause cache pinging: following a reference count increment or decrement, corresponding cache lines on all the processors would update their caches with the new value, flushing and refreshing the cache in accordance with the machine's coherence protocols. The degradation worsens as more processors are included in the system. It would be desirable, therefore, to provide an improved form of rundown protection that would scale with the number of processors in a multiprocessor computer system.

Scalable rundown protection for object lifetime management


A method and apparatus of video coding are disclosed. In the encoding side, video data are received, where a GDR (Gradual Decoding Refresh) picture type is supported by the encoding device. A syntax structure including a first syntax in NAL (Network Access Layer) unit header is generated, where an NAL unit type indicated by the first syntax comprises the GDR picture type. Encoded video data including the syntax structure from the video data are generated. A corresponding method and apparatus for the decoding side are also disclosed.

A new Joint Video Experts Team (JVET) between VCEG (Q6/16) and ISO/IEC JTC1 SC29/WG11 (MPEG) was created on 27 Oct. 2017 to develop Versatile Video Codec (VVC), a new video compression standard with capabilities beyond HEVC (ITU-T H.265|ISO/IEC 23008-2). This new generation of video compression technology targets a better compression efficiency and offers more features applicable to various applications including immersive media content.
The working draft (WD) of VVC ("Versatile Video Coding (Draft 3)", in Joint Video Exploration Team (JVET) of ITU-T SG 16 WP 3 and ISO/IEC JTC 1/SC 29/WG 11, 12th Meeting, October 2018, Macau, China, Document: :JVET-L1001) started to specify high level syntax while many other coding tools and core experiments are under evaluation. The NAL (Network Access Layer) unit structures are basically inherited from HEVC. In the WD of VVC, as below, the NAL unit header syntax and NAL unit type codes and NAL unit type classes are in 22.214.171.124 and Table 7-1, respectively.
22.214.171.124 NAL unit header syntaxnal_unit_header( ) {Descriptor forbidden_zero_bitf(1) nal_unit_typeu(5) nuh_temporal_id_plus1u(3) nuh_reserved_zero_7bitsu(7)}
TABLE 7-1NAL unit type codes and NAL unit type classesName ofContent of NAL unit and RBSP syntaxNAL unitnal_unit_typenal_unit_typestructuretype class0NON_IRAP_NUTCoded slice of a non-IRAP pictureVCLslice_layer_rbsp( )1IRAP_NUTCoded slice of an TRAP pictureVCLslice_layer_rbsp( )2-15RSV_VCL_NUTReserved VCL NAL UnitsVCL16SPS_NUTSequence parameter setnon-VCLseq_parameter_set_rbsp( )17PPS_NUTPicture parameter setnon-VCLpic_parameter_set_rbsp( )18EOS_NUTEnd of sequencenon-VCLend_of seq_rbsp( )19EOB_NUTEnd of bitstreamnon-VCLend_of bitstream_rbsp( )20, 21PREFIX_SEI_NUTSupplemental enhancement informationnon-VCLSUFFIX_SEI_NUTsei_rbsp( )22-26RSV_NVCLReservednon-VCL27-31UNSPECUnspecifiednon-VCL
According to 18.104.22.168 NAL unit header syntax in JVET-L1001, the NAL unit header consists of various fields about the NAL unit structure. These fields are packed into 2 bytes (i.e., 16 bits). As shown in the above syntax tables, the NAL Unit Type (NUT), nal_unit_type is signaled in the NAL unit header and various NAL unit types are supported. It is desirable to design new NAL unit header syntax that is more suited to support signaling new elements in the NAL unit structure.

Method and system of NAL unit header structure for signaling new elements


In a rotary type image developing apparatus that has a rotary rack accommodating a plurality of developer units and drives the rotary rack to rotate in a predetermined rotational direction so as to bring a targeted one of the developer units to a developing position, each developer unit includes a toner storage in which a first slope is disposed. As the rotary rack rotates, toner that remains upstream of a toner supply opening in a toner flowing direction in the toner storage is guided by a slope surface of the first slope, which enables the toner to be smoothly supplied to a developing chamber. Thus, even when the toner gets low, the toner can be efficiently supplied from the toner storage to the developing chamber with the aid of the first slope.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a rotary developing apparatus rotatably accommodating a plurality of developer units, a developer unit used in the developing apparatus, and an image forming apparatus having the developing apparatus.
(2) Description of the Related Art
An image forming apparatus includes a rotary developing apparatuses that accommodates developer units for respective toner colors of Cyan (C), Magenta (M), Yellow (Y), and Black (K) in a rotatable rack (hereinafter referred to as "rotary rack"), and that drives the rotary rack to rotate in order to bring a targeted one of the developer units to a designated developing position. The reduction in size and manufacturing cost has been demanded for image forming apparatuses provided with such rotary developing apparatuses. Accordingly, a simple and compact structure is demanded for the rotary developing apparatuses.
Usually, each developer unit has a toner storage and a developing chamber that receives toner from the toner storage and supplies the toner to a developing roller. However, for the purpose of the compact and simple structure mentioned as above, toner supply units tends to be omitted such as a stirring blade used for delivering the toner from the toner storage to the developing chamber. (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2005-345536)
The simplified rotary developing apparatus works as follows. When one of the developer units is located within a predetermined rotational range as a result of the rotation of the rotary rack, the toner in the toner storage naturally falls into the developing chamber through an opening of a partition part (partition wall) between the toner storage and the developing chamber. Thus, the toner is supplied from the toner storage to the developing chamber.
FIG. 10 is an enlarged view of one of four development units accommodated in a rotary rack of a rotary developing apparatus that has been previously invented by the inventors of the present invention.
As shown in FIG. 10, a rotary rack 1032 has a rotation shaft 1033 and accommodates a plurality of developer units 1031 each storing toner of a given color (e.g. black). The rotary rack 1032 is driven to rotate about the rotation shaft 1033 in the direction of Arrow A.
Each developer unit 1031 has a toner storage 1311 that stores the toner therein and a developing chamber 1312 that is adjacent to the toner storage 1311 via a partition wall 1313. The developing chamber 1312 has a developing roller 1315 and a supply roller 1316.
When the developer unit 1031 reaches a position shown in FIG. 10 as a result of the rotation of the rotary rack 1032 (hereinafter referred to as "toner supply position"), the toner in the toner storage 1311 naturally falls into the developing chamber 1312 through a toner supply opening 1314 provided through the partition wall 1313. Thus, a given amount of the toner is supplied from the toner storage 1311 to the developing chamber 1312.
However, with the above structure of the developer unit 1031, there can be seen a significant degradation in performance of supplying the toner from the toner storage to the developing chamber 1312 when the toner remaining in the toner storage 1311 gets low.
More specifically, as the rotary rack 1032 rotates in the direction of Arrow A, the toner in the toner storage 1311 flows in the direction of Arrow B. As shown in FIG. 10, when there remains a small amount of the toner, a portion of the toner T remains in the corner 1311c upstream of the toner supply opening 1314 in the toner flowing direction in the toner storage 1311. Consequently, the toner is not sufficiently supplied to the developing chamber 1312.
As the rotary rack 1032 further rotates in the direction of Arrow A, the toner T remaining in a corner 1311c moves along an inner wall part 1311b, and falls through the toner supply opening 1314. However, it is only a small amount of the toner that falls. As the rotary rack 1032 rotates even further, a large portion of the toner T passes over the toner supply opening 1314 onto the partition wall 1313. Thus, the large portion of toner T does not fall into the developing chamber 1312.
When usable toner still remaining in the toner storage 1311 cannot be supplied to the developing chamber 1312, various problems including the following occur. The developer unit 1031 needs to be replaced earlier, which gives economical burden for users. In addition, in a case of executing job of forming monochrome images, a large number of sheets cannot be continuously printed, and therefore overall speed of image forming gets lower. Moreover, in a type of a printer that estimates, with use of a dot counter, the toner amount remaining in the developing chamber 1312 on the premise that a predetermined amount or more of the toner is supplied to the developing chamber 1312, the developing chamber 1312 becomes empty of the toner earlier than an estimated time, because a smaller amount of the toner is actually supplied from the toner storage 1311 to the developing chamber 1312 than the anticipated amount. Accordingly, the formed image can be scraped, and image deterioration may be caused.

Rotary developing apparatus rotatably accommodating a plurality of developer units, developer unit and image forming apparatus including rotary developing apparatus

Konica Minolta Business Technologies, Inc.


A high-efficiency Class D amplifier is described. In one embodiment, the amplifier contains two transistors which are turned on and off in sequence, the output being taken from the common node between the transistors. The efficiency of the amplifier is substantially increased by insuring that voltage across each of the transistors is substantially zero when it turns on. This advantage is achieved by connecting an inductance to the common node, so that the electrical energy stored in any stray capacitance is transferred to the inductance before any transistor is turned on.

A basic form of Class D amplifier is illustrated in FIG. 1A. Two transistors Q.sub.A and Q.sub.B are driven by a transformer to switch on and off 180 degrees out of phase with each other. The two transistors in combination are equivalent to the double-pole switch illustrated in FIG. 1B, and at their common node produce a square-wave output similar to the waveform illustrated in FIG. 1C.
Ideally, a Class D amplifier should be 100% efficient, i.e., no power should be consumed in transistors Q.sub.A or Q.sub.B as they are repeatedly switched on and off. In reality, however, transistors Q.sub.A and Q.sub.B have their own on-stage resistances, commonly known as the on-resistance of the transistor. They also have inherent capacitances, illustrated as capacitors C.sub.A and C.sub.B in FIG. 1A, which permit charge to build up when either transistor is turned off. Therefore, a voltage difference exists across the transistor when it is turned on, and the resulting current flow through the transistor dissipates energy as heat. This energy loss can be expressed as cv.sup.2 f, where c is the inherent capacitance of the transistor (the value of C.sub.A or C.sub.B), v is the DC input voltage (V.sub.DD) and f is the frequency at which the amplifier is driven. In reality, high frequency Class D amplifiers typically operate at an efficiency of about 50% to 60%. A large portion of this efficiency loss is attributable to the inherent capacitances of the transistors. This inefficiency has seriously limited the suitability of Class D amplifiers for electrodeless discharge lamps and other devices in which significant power losses cannot be tolerated.
In actual operation, transistors Q.sub.A and Q.sub.B having the same electrical characteristic, do not switch off and on instantaneously and simultaneously as implied in FIG. 1C. Rather, the input from the transformer is typically sinusoidal and turns each transistor on when it reaches its threshold voltage V.sub.th, as indicated in FIG. 1D. Accordingly, there is a lag between the time when one of the transistors turns off and the other transistor turns on. The output signal is therefore not a perfect square wave but instead has sloped transitions as illustrated in FIG. 1E, the time lag being denoted as .DELTA.t. Moreover, a finite time is required to turn each transistor on or off.

Zero-voltage complementary switching high efficiency class D amplifier


As aspect of the invention provides an article holding assembly that is attachable to a mounting member. An aspect of the invention provides a console assembly that is attachable to a mounting member in a vehicle.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to a system for attaching an article holding assembly to a mounting member in a vehicle.
2. Background Art
Article holding assemblies, such as console assemblies, may include fastening mechanisms that are configured for attachment to one or more mounting members. U.S. Pat. No. 6,669,260, for example, discloses holders for attaching a console module to a pair of rails.

System for attaching an article holding assembly to a mounting member in a vehicle

International Automotive Components Group North America, Inc.


A headphone or other wire holder including an elongated central body and a pair of forked portions, one on each end of the central body. Each forked portion may include two tines. The central body may define a retention channel running along a length of the central body between the forked portion. The retention channel may be configured to receive and secure a length of a wire, such as a headphone cable.

Headphone holders or wrapping devices provide a convenient storage and organization tool for managing cables of headphones, which can otherwise become knotted and tangled and lead to damage or difficulty arranging for use. Headphone holders or wrapping devices typically must be removed from the cord or cable of the headphones when they are not in use. This means that the headphone holder must be stored by the owner, such as in a purse or pocket, increasing the probability that the headphone holder will be lost or damaged.
The information included in this Background section of the specification, including any references cited herein and any description or discussion thereof, is included for technical reference purposes only and is not to be regarded subject matter by which the scope of the invention as defined in the claims is to be bound.


A method is disclosed for culturing pluripotent or multipotent cells in vitro, the method comprising attaching pluripotent or multipotent cells to a plurality of microcarriers to form microcarrier-cell complexes, and culturing the microcarrier-cell complexes in suspension culture in the presence of a ROCK inhibitor.

Stem cells, unlike differentiated cells have the capacity to divide and either self-renew or differentiate into phenotypically and functionally different daughter cells (Keller, Genes Dev. 2005; 19:1129-1155; Wobus and Boheler, Physiol Rev. 2005; 85:635-678; Wiles, Methods in Enzymology. 1993; 225:900-918; Choi et al, Methods Mol. Med. 2005; 105:359-368).
Human embryonic stem cells (hESC) are pluripotent cells with the capability of differentiating into a variety of stem cell types. The pluripotency of stem cells such as embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and their ability to differentiate into cells from all three germ layers makes these an ideal source of cells for regenerative therapy for many diseases and tissue injuries (Keller, Genes Dev. 2005; 19:1129-1155; Wobus and Boheler, Physiol Rev. 2005; 85:635-678).
Expansion of stem cells to large quantities, requiring one or more passages, is a pre-requisite for cell therapy.
Currently, stem cells (including human embryonic stem cells, hESC) which grow as colonies are routinely maintained on plastic culture surfaces in 2 dimensional (2D) growth. Expansion to larger quantities on 2D culture would necessitate the use of large surface areas. The manual nature of passaging the cells by repeated pipetting or enzymatic treatment to break up these 2D colonies to smaller sizes would become impractical. Preparing numerous plates for seeding large surface areas can become subject to handling errors. Furthermore, very large surface areas such as Nunc trays for example, would be needed.
Accordingly, the current methods of growing stem cells as 2D colony cultures on coated plastic surfaces are not amenable to scale up and the experimental conditions under which culture is carried out is generally not amenable to good control. The prior art includes a number of attempts to culture stem cells in a 3 dimensional ("3D") environment, such as on microcarriers in suspension culture. Except for a few studies of mouse embryonic stem cells on microcarriers (Fernandes et al., 2007; Abranches et al., 2007; King and Miller, 2007) and differentiating hESC in suspension culture as embryoid bodies (Dang et al., 2004; Fok and Zandstra, 2005; Cameron et al., 2006), there is no robust method of long term, serial culturing of hESC in suspension culture.
It is known in the art for embryonic stem cells to be differentiated as "embryoid bodies" in suspension culture. Such embryoid bodies comprise a mass of already differentiated cells. For example, Gerecht Nir et al (2004) described the use of a rotating-wall bioreactor to culture embryoid bodies. Embryoid body culture was also shown using agitation systems by Zandstra et al (2003), Dang et al (2004) and Wartenberg et al (1998). Embryoid body suspension culture has also been reported by Dang and Zandstra (2005) and King and Miller (2007). Such techniques are suitable for culturing these tissue-like embryoid body aggregates comprising differentiated stem cells, but not for undifferentiated stem cells.
Fok and Zandstra (2005) described stirred-suspension culture systems for the propagation of undifferentiated mouse embryonic stem cells (mESCs). The stirred-suspension culture systems comprised microcarrier and aggregate cultures. Mouse embryonic stem cells cultured on glass microcarriers had population doubling times comparable to tissue-culture flask controls. Upon removal of leukemia inhibitory factor, the mESC aggregates developed into embryoid bodies (EBs) capable of multilineage differentiation. Suspension cultures of mouse ESCs are also described in King and Miller (2005). However, King and Miller (2005) state that "expansion of undifferentiated human ESCs (hESCs) is more difficult than for mESCs and has not yet been reported in stirred cultures".
US2007/0264713 (Terstegge) discloses an attempt at culturing human embryonic stem cells on microcarriers. Human embryonic stem cells are introduced together with Cytodex3 (Amersham) microcarriers into a spinner or a bioreactor together with conditioned medium in various volumes. The culture is agitated at 20-30 rpm 30 minutes in an hour. The culture is maintained for various times between 10 days and 6 weeks. However, at no time were any of the cultures passaged or sub-cultured, which is an essential requirement for large scale continuous production of stem cells. Demonstration of continuous passaging and the ability to sub-culture along with 'good' (exponential) growth rate on microcarriers are essential requirements for large-scale production of stem cells. This was not demonstrated by the work of Terstegge et al.
WO2008/004990 describes attempts to culture stem cells in the absence of feeder cells and contemplates the use of microcarriers. It is concerned with cultures in which Matrigel is not used. WO2008/004990 describes the effect of positively charged surfaces in the inhibition of stem cell differentiation.
In Phillips et al., 2008 (Journal of Biotechnology 138 (2008) 24-32) an attempt to culture hESC on microcarriers by seeding aggregates as well as single cells is reported. Initially, 3-fold expansion was achieved over 5 days, however with each successive passage cell expansion was reduced until cells could not be passaged beyond week 6.
Previous attempts to use commercially available microcarriers such as Cytodex 1 and 3 for scale up culture of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) were unsuccessful. The hESC cultures died or differentiated on the carriers and could not be propagated (Oh & Choo, 2006).
The ROCK Inhibitor Y-27632 has been proposed by Watanabe et at and Harb et at as a factor capable of permitting the survival of dissociated human embryonic stem cells in 2D culture (Watanabe et al. A ROCK inhibitor permits survival of dissociated human embryonic stem cells. Nature Biotechnology Vol. 25 No. 6 p 681-686 June 2007. WO 2008/035110. Harb et al. The Rho-Rock-Myosin Signaling Axis Determines Cell-Cell Integrity of Self-Renewing Pluripotent Stem Cells. PLoS ONE 3(8): e3001. doi:10:1371
ROCK Inhibitor has also been investigated as an agent that may improve cryopreservation of human embryonic stem cells (Xiangyun Li et al. ROCK inhibitor improves survival of cryopreserved serum/feeder-free single human embryonic stem cells. Human Reproduction, Vol. 24, No. 3 pp. 580-589, 2009. Martin-Ibanez et al. Novel cryopreservation method for dissociated human embryonic stem cells in the presence of a ROCK inhibitor. Human Reproduction. Vol. 23. No. 12 pp. 2744-2754, 2008. Claassen et al. ROCK Inhibition Enhances the Recovery and Growth of Cryopreserved Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells. Molecular Reproduction & Development 2009). However, in every case it is indicated for use in the context of 2D culture of human embryonic stem cells on Matrigel.
Using microcarriers coated in Matrigel we previously achieved stable and continuous growth in suspension of undifferentiated, pluripotent cells from primates, including human embryonic stem cells and human induced pluripotent cells, through successive passages (partially reported in Oh et al 2009 and further described in U.S. patent applications U.S. 61/069,694 filed 17 Mar. 2009, U.S. 61/110,256 filed 31 Oct. 2008, U.S. 61/148,064 filed 29 Jan. 2009 and U.S. 61/155,940 filed 27 Feb. 2009). However, so far, this result has not been obtained using microcarriers that do not have a surface coating of an extracellular matrix derived material.
Since then, Lock et al have described growth of hESCs on Matrigel coated microcarriers, but without passage (Lock et al. expansion and Differentiation of Human Embyronic Stem Cells to Endoderm Progeny in a Microcarrier Stirred-Suspension Culture. Tissue Engineering: Part A Vol. 15, No. 00, 2009) and Nie et al investigated growth of hESCs on microcarriers having a matrix coating or feeder cell layer (Nie et al. Scalable Culture and Cryopreservation of Human Embyronic Stem Cells on Microcarriers. Biotechnol. Prog., 2009, Vol. 25, No. 1).

Culture of pluripotent and multipotent cells on microcarriers

AGENCY FOR SCIENCE, TECHNOLOY AND RESEARCH


There is provided a lifting pole apparatus which can lift and lower a pole having such strength as to be capable of preventing cars from entering. The lifting pole apparatus comprises a cylindrical pole which is capable of lifting and lowering inside a housing case; a screw shaft hanging from a top portion of the pole inwardly; a stay disposed upright on a bottom portion of the housing case, and housed in the pole; a driving gear rotatably supported on the stay, and having a screw portion on a through hole disposed at a center axis thereof, the screw portion being threadably mounted on the screw shaft; at least two motors disposed on the stay for rotating the driving gear; and an electro-magnetic brake disposed on the stay for activating the brake on the rotation of the driving gear.

Recently, there can be frequently seen a barrier, what is called, a high pole type barrier in which lifting poles that can be housed in a housing case placed under the ground are installed at entry and exit points of a car parking and the like.
Such general lifting pole apparatuses are so constructed that the poles are pulled up or put down manually. This operation is very troublesome, and hence the chances are that the poles unfavorably go out of use while they are still put down with the lapse of time. That is, in a case where the lifting pole apparatuses are installed in front of a car port, a user puts down the poles manually before getting in a car, and then gets the car out of the car port, thereafter pulls up the poles manually. In this way, the lifting and lowering operation of the poles are very troublesome, accordingly, they are still put down with the lapse of time, resulting in a useless and obstructive thing.
In a case where the parking space is of a private-use size, about two or three poles will suffice; however, in a case where the lifting pole apparatuses are used as a barrier for parking zones of a large-scale super market and the like, there are used a number of the lifting pole apparatuses. In that case, lifting and lowering the poles one by one manually will bring serious consequences.
Therefore, there is proposed a motor-operated type lifting pole apparatus which lifts and lowers a pole using a motor in order to make the operation simple and make the use easy. This conventional example is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-53394, and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-213636.
In a lifting pole apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-53394, a motor is disposed at a bottom portion in a housing case, an output shaft of the motor is engaged with a driving shaft, and the driving shaft extends along a center axis of the housing case. Further, a nut portion to be screwed on the driving shaft is disposed, and a pole is interlocked with the nut portion. The construction is that the rotation of the driving shaft by the motor causes the nut portion to move up and down along the driving shaft, which lifts and lowers the pole.
However, since the lifting pole apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-53394 is so constructed to drive, by the motor, the driving shaft extending along the center axis of the housing case over the total length, the motor has to be disposed in the housing case on its bottom portion. There is a possibility that rainwater and the like may enter into and accumulated in the housing case; accordingly, installing an electrical system including a motor on the bottom portion increases the possibility of the failures occurring.
To this end, there is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-213636 a construction which is capable of installing a motor at a relatively high level in a housing case. In this lifting pole apparatus, a stay for use in a driving mechanism including a motor comprises a column disposed upright on a bottom portion of the housing case, a flange formed on an upper end portion of the column, and a mounting base fixed to the flange. Thus disposing the stay and installing the driving mechanism at a relatively high level enables the electrical system to be protected even if water accumulates on the bottom.
In this construction, the motor is devised to drive a driving gear through an intermediate gear, both of which are rotatably supported on the stay. Further, the driving gear is threadably mounted on a screw shaft which hangs from a top portion of the pole inwardly; accordingly, the rotation of the driving gear causes the pole to lift and lower. That is, the motor serves as a driving system for driving the driving gear (nut), which has an inverted relationship to a case of Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H10-53394 in which the motor serves as a driving system for driving the driving shaft. This makes it possible to dispose the electrical system including the motor on the stay at a relatively high level.
The motor used in the motor-operated type lifting pole apparatus mentioned above can be applied by only small-sized one which is capable of being housed in the housing case. In other words, a motor which is capable of being used has its limit in size, and hence an output torque of lifting and lowering the pole has its limit. To this end, it is recommended to make the pole, which is lifted and lowered by the motor, as light as possible.
On the other hand, from a viewpoint of recent terrorism-prevention countermeasures, there has been a demand of utilizing the lifting pole apparatuses as a barricade for preventing the vehicles from entering. That is, for the purpose of preventing a suicide bombing using a car, it is intended to install the lifting pole apparatuses, as traffic control means, on a road surface at entry and exit points of the important facilities, and then lift the poles as needed to thereby prevent the dangerous car from entering. But, in the above-mentioned conventional lifting pole apparatuses, the pole which is capable of lifting and lowering has its limit in weight; therefore, the pole having such a high strength as to stop the vehicle from colliding becomes, if it is desired to be realized, too heavy, which provides a problem that the existing apparatus cannot demonstrate an output torque required for lifting and lowering the pole.

Lifting pole apparatus for traffic control


A magnetic storage media comprises a substrate supporting the layer of magnetic media having a tilted C-axis greater than approximately 25° with respect to surface normal and having a magnetic easy axis tilted at an angle at approximately greater than 30° from the substrate surface normal. The media includes an oblique deposited seedlayer structure directing tilted C-axis growth of the magnetic material layer independent of the angle of deposition of the magnetic material layer. The orientation C-axis and the magnetic easy axis of the media may be organized into circumferential or radial patterns on the substrate surface, and additionally may possess azimuthal symmetry.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of magnetic data storage. In particular, the present invention relates to a thin film media having a tilted magnetic anisotropy for use in magnetic recording.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Demands are currently being made to further increase the capacity of magnetic data storage. A major objective of research efforts in thin film magnetic materials is to make recording media with properties, which are suitable for recording at higher data densities. Achievement of higher recording densities is impaired by several problems. First, as the quantity of magnetic flux corresponding to the data becomes smaller, it becomes increasingly difficult to separate the data signal from the noise. Second, as the recording density increases without corresponding improvement in the materials, the super-paramagnetic limit of the materials is approached so that thermal energy can potentially randomize the data stored in the magnetic material. Both of these problems are related to the energy density associated with the magnetic anisotropy of the magnetic material, commonly quantified by the constant Ku for a particular material. Materials with higher Ku values are desired for recording media to avoid the problems above.
In materials with larger Ku values, the property of media coercivity (Hc) is also generally increased. Increased coercivity of the magnetic media in turn requires larger write field strength to be generated by the recording heads. The higher the coercivity the higher the required write field strength and hence the more difficult it is to successfully record data in the magnetic material.
A method proposed to overcome the problems of high write field strength requirements to write high Ku materials is to tilt the magnetization away from the surface normal in perpendicular recording or from the surface plane in longitudinal recording. For this proposal, media must be created where the angle between the direction of preferred magnetization (magnetic easy axis) and the surface normal falls between 0° (perpendicular media) and 90° (longitudinal media), also referred to as tilted media. Many attempts have been made to produce tilted media without success.
Several attempts to achieve a tilted media involved the processes of oblique deposition. Oblique deposition is defined as a deposition geometry where a beam of atoms or particles impinges upon the surface of a wafer at a defined angle. The angle is generally measured with respect to the surface normal. Oblique deposition of almost any magnetic material or deposition of a magnetic material onto any oblique deposited seedlayer will give some minimal degree of magnetic uniaxial reorientation likely due to either shape anisotropy, stress anisotropy or a combination of the two. Shape anisotropy and stress anisotropy are not intrinsic properties of the material. Shape anisotropy is due to a geometrically induced directional dependency of the demagnetization field within the material. Stress anisotropy is attributed to external physical forces compressing or stretching the material. However, shape anisotropy and stress anisotropy are both weak and thus the previous attempts have failed to produce tilted magnetic anisotropy greater than a few degrees.
The use of conventional underlayers or seedlayers with oblique deposition to achieve tilted media has been attempted. For example, an underlayer may be oblique sputter deposited producing a corrugated surface for deposition of additional media layers. These conventional structures rely primarily on combinations of shape and stress anisotropy arising from the elongated shape of the grains or uneven surfaces of a seedlayer to provide tilted magnetic anisotropy of only a few degrees. Additionally, the magnetic anisotropy is frequently limited to narrow ranges of layer thicknesses because stresses and structures within the material vary with the thickness of the deposited material. Consequently, there remains a need in the art for a magnetic media with a tilted magnetic anisotropy that is both of large enough degree and consistently controlled so as to be suitable for use in high-density recording.

Magnetic storage media having tilted magnetic anisotropy


A vehicle storage compartment/cupholder assembly having a molded base into which is mounted a pair of flexible invertible dividers that allow for the secure retention of various sized beverage containers. The flexible invertible dividers may be mounted and tensioned by an internal or external flexible divider spring. The molded base may have a liner mounted therein which may be a liquid barrier, a tensioning device in place of a traditional spring, or both.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a vehicle storage compartment and divider assembly, and more particularly to a vehicle cupholder assembly having a one-piece cupholder base in which is mounted a pair of flexible invertible dividers that allow for the secure retention of various sized beverage containers.
2. Description of the Related Art
The prior art includes a variety of cupholders or container holders which are used for supporting cups, cans, or other beverage containers in vehicles which are selectively accessible to the vehicle passengers or occupants.
Some such cupholder devices include adjustability features for holding containers of various sizes. However, such adjustable cupholders generally require a number of components be assembled to provide this adjustability. In addition, some so these devises require the use of adjustable cupholder arms. Several of these prior art cupholders also requires that the cupholder arms be manually collapsed fully before they can be adjusted outward to receive a larger container. This may be inconvenient or awkward for a vehicle occupant, particularly the driver.
Other cupholders have pre-sized molded beverage container openings which do not allow for the secure holding of smaller sized beverage containers or use with beverage containers larger than the pre-sized openings.
For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,040,659 issued Aug. 9, 1977 to Arnold teaches a food tray mountable in a vehicle and capable of holding a beverage container.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,417,764 issued Nov. 29, 1983 to Marcus et al teaches an armrest mounted container holder having a structure which supports two or more beverage containers in the armrest area of a vehicle.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,836,488 issued Jun. 6, 1989 to Ross teaches a coaster with an adjustable means for retaining a beverage container using a hook and shock cord.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,054,733 issued Oct. 8, 1991 to Shields teaches a single opening beverage container holder having multiple flexible members to secure a beverage container therein.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,146 issued Jul. 19, 1994 to Spykerman teaches an articulating cup holder utilizing multiple parts and pivot pins to achieve the articulating function.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,704,579 issued Jan. 6, 1998 to Celentino et al teaches the use of multiple magnets to hold a drink container in a cup holder.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,762,307 issued Jun. 9, 1998 to Patmore teaches a cup holder using multiple pieces and pivot pins to allow articulation.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide an adjustable vehicle cupholder structure for firmly securing containers of various sizes, and which does not require the assembly of a plurality of moving parts or removable parts to form the cupholder units.


An insulation-displacement connector including two cutting and connecting blades, each one provided with a section for inserting and centering of a cable, a cutting edge which extends from the section for centering and insertion, a base, and an arm for joining each blade to the base; where the cutting edges are inclined along the entire extension of the edges such that they cross one another, and where the cutting and connecting blades are not joined together at an end of the blades opposite to the joining end of the sections, but rather are joined to the arms such that the blades may be separated from one another according to a transverse direction.

Insulation-displacement connectors, abbreviated as IDCs, of the type comprising two cutting and connecting blades, each one provided with a section for centering and inserting a cable and a cutting edge which extends from the section for centering and insertion, are known.
These are the basic parts of these connectors. They are used in the following way. First, the cable is pressed on the sections for centering and insertion of the blades, which define a concave housing between them, in the bottom of which there is an opening defined by the separation between the initial sections of the blades. Then, either manually or by means of a pressure lever belonging to a complementary part of the connector, such as a casing with multiple connections, the cable is pressed, arranged with the longitudinal axis of its core perpendicular to the plane of the blades, so that the blades sequentially make a cut in the cable sleeve; finally, it makes contact with an eventual plastic deformation of the metal core of the cable. As a result of the operation, an electrical contact is made between the connector and the cable core.
These connectors are completed with a support base, which will normally be the part intended to make contact with another conductor in order to conduct the current, and arms joining each blade to the base. This base usually houses a guide which guides the cable to the correct insertion position thereof, in front of the blade and a pressure lever of the cable.
There are many examples of these types of connectors, among which the following examples are noteworthy because of their similar characteristics to those of the present invention:
U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,903, US2012178315, JP2014212094, JP2014203568, WO10029392, US2011117769, JP2003045510, US2013323988, U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,142,817, 5,997,336, 4,773,875, CN103825123.
In these connectors, and when there are no stresses or deformations from the presence of a cable, the edges of the blades are parallel. The arrangement of the blades usually has them facing each other, joined at the lower part thereof, such that they are practically rigid, at least with regard to the rotation of the blades in the plane in which they are contained. This condition, and the fact that the diameter of the cable is greater than the separation between the blades, makes it so the force is not constant, and neither the depth of the cable lock nor the force exerted by the blades is correctly controlled, which is why tears easily occur, or that the locking forces are insufficient and hardly resist the tensile forces on the cable.
DE202014106002, US2011076898 or U.S. Pat. No. 5,685,733, for example, propose guaranteeing control of the force of the blades by making it possible for said blades to be able to pivot on points close to the section for centering and insertion, specifically by punching out the sheets, thereby making them "hang" from the lower ends of the aforementioned sections for centering and insertion. The resulting structure is weak, and furthermore, the force exerted by the blade decreases in accordance with the insertion direction, which is why the lock is unstable, unless the cable is inserted to the end. These solutions, therefore, do not offer control of the stable position of the cable.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,911,593 and JP59186967U describe connectors in which the distance between the blades decreases in the insertion direction of the cable, but the blades are joined at the lower part thereof, which is why by increasing the insertion depth between the blades, the cutting force substantially increases and may actually cut the cable, or weaken it.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,527 the blades are not joined at the lower part thereof, at least not at the level of the edges, but rather the centers of rotation of the blades are somewhat separated from the lower ends of the blades. However, this design implies an increase in the force on the cable with the increase in depth.
FR 2819348 A1 discloses an insulation-displacement connector, which comprises two cutting and connecting blades, so that in absence of forces caused by the insertion of a cable between the blades, the cutting edges are inclined with respect to the insertion direction and throughout the entire extension of the edges, and the cutting and connecting blades are not joined together at an end of the blades opposite to the joining end with the centering and insertion sections, but rather are joined to the joining arms such that the blades may be separated from one another according to the transverse direction along the entire extension of the cutting edges.


A method for optically sampling characteristics of subsurface fluids within a wellhole using continuous, non-pulsed light transmitted downhole in optical fibers for both sampling and reference light channels for accurate attenuation compensation.

Optical absorption spectroscopy systems and methods for use in downhole conditions are known and have been utilized in the oil industry for sensing physical and chemical properties of in-situ fluids. In particular, such logging tools are used for qualitative, e.g., contamination monitoring, or quantitative analysis, e.g., gas-oil ratio. Such methods include a source of light, a sampling cell, and a spectrometer located downhole.
Downhole environmental conditions, such as high temperature and pressure, impose constraints on the components involved in such methods, such as light sources and spectrometers. For example, a light source that can function in these harsh conditions is limited to a black-body type. Therefore, advantages may be achieved by removing both light source and processing aspects of optical spectrometers from downhole and locating them at the surface. A source of light located at the surface may be used to direct light through a single optical fiber. Such light may be modulated in the same manner as electrical signals and used to carry information as to the measured or detected characteristics of interest. The single fiber can also be used to retrieve light carrying such information from downhole to the surface where it can be processed through state-of-the-art instruments that can perform a spectral analysis.
In the past, use of optical fiber spectroscopy within a wellhole was disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,437,326, of common assignment to Schlumberger Technology ("Schlumberger") with the present invention. The disclosure of this Schlumberger '326 patent is hereby incorporated by reference as though set forth at length.
As noted in the Schlumberger '326 patent, for spectroscopic applications, where it is important to have accurate determinations of the absorption of light in the sample itself, attenuation of the light traversing the optical fibers in the system must be considered and corrected. The '326 patent discloses use of a two-optical-fiber configuration, or a single-fiber configuration with Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) in order to compensate for this attenuation.
In a two-fiber configuration, one fiber is used for sample measurements and the other fiber is used as a reference to compensate for the attenuation in the system outside of the sample cell. However, in practice, the light paths for the sample and reference have different lengths, and such a configuration, therefore, leads to inaccuracies in the compensation for cable attenuation, which, in turn, adversely impacts the accuracy of the sample measurements. Additionally, a double-fiber configuration requires twice the length of fiber as a single-fiber configuration. In wells, which may typically involve depths of 25,000 feet or more, doubling the length of optical fiber substantially increases the overall cost of an operating system.
A TDM-based system requires a pulsed light source, which inherently reduces the optical power available for downhole system applications. Additionally, in systems where multi-sampling cells are employed, the demodulation of the light beams becomes a necessary but cumbersome step in processing optical signals to extract the measurement data. Although the above referenced Schlumberger '326 patent system is a significant advance in the art, room for worthwhile improvement remains.

Logging system and method for in-situ fluids sensing through optical fiber with attenuation compensation


A method of forming IC devices includes providing a substrate and forming a patterned masking layer including at least one masked region having at least one masking layer, and a feature region bounded by the masking layer. Etching forms an etched feature in the substrate, wherein undercutting during the etching forms at least one mask overhang region over a surface portion of the etched feature that is recessed relative to an outer edge of the masking layer. A pullback etch process exclusive of any additional patterning step laterally etches the masking layer. The conditions for the pullback etch retain at least a portion of the masking layer and reduce a length of the mask overhang region by at least 50%, or eliminate the mask overhang region entirely. The etched feature is then filled after the pullback etch process to form a filled etched feature.

As known in the art of semiconductor fabrication, etch processes to form deep features (e.g., 1 μm, or more) are known to be susceptible to significant lateral undercut of the substrate under the masking layer(s). Many of these etch processes involve etching of the substrate material (e.g., Si) to form etched features, such as for trench isolation or through substrate vias (TSVs) (e.g., through silicon vias). The mask typically comprises photoresist, a dielectric, or a combination of the two (e.g., photoresist on a dielectric or a dielectric stack). Subsequent processes can involve filling of the etched feature. Significant lateral undercut of the substrate under the masking layer(s) can lead to a variety of fill problems, such as voids or improper plating in the case of TSV formation.
Some methods are known for reducing lateral mask overhang and as a result, the lateral substrate undercut. One method comprises complete removal of the sacrificial masking layer(s) after the etch, such as removal of a silicon oxide masking layer that is wet-etched off completely or a photoresist masking layer that is stripped off after the etch. Although this method is generally effective when the masking layer(s) are fully sacrificial, this method is not possible when at least a part (e.g., one or more layers of a mask stack) of the mask layer(s) are non-sacrificial and thus remain for subsequent processing. Another method comprises re-patterning with the original masking layer(s) that defines the overhang present after the etch, and then another etch step for etching the overhang portion of the masking layer(s) away. Moreover, this method requires an additional photolithography step that adds cost and process complexity due to generally complicated alignment/patterning.
Yet another method comprises deep etch (e.g., Si etch) process changes (different gas mixtures) to reduce lateral mask overhang to reduce the lateral substrate undercut. This method is often very costly in terms of loss of etch rate to achieve a reduction in lateral overhang. Moreover, it is generally difficult or impossible to largely eliminate the lateral overhang and resulting lateral undercut using this method, particularly for deep etch processes.

Mask overhang reduction or elimination after substrate etch


A substrate cleaning method can prevent corrosion of copper interconnects even when the cleaning method, which uses two-fluid jet cleaning, is used for cleaning of a surface of a substrate after polishing. The substrate cleaning method includes: carrying out primary cleaning of a surface of a substrate by scrub cleaning using a neutral or alkaline liquid chemical as a cleaning liquid; carrying out finish cleaning of the surface of the substrate by two-fluid jet cleaning which cleans the surface of the substrate in a non-contact manner by jetting carbonated water, comprising pure water or ultrapure water containing dissolved CO2 gas, from a two-fluid nozzle toward the surface of the substrate; and subsequently carrying out final finish cleaning of the surface of the substrate by scrub cleaning using a neutral or alkaline liquid chemical as a cleaning liquid, and then drying the surface of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a substrate cleaning method for cleaning a surface of a substrate such as a semiconductor wafer, and more particularly to a substrate cleaning method for use in a substrate cleaning process for cleaning a surface of a substrate after polishing such as CMP. The substrate cleaning method of the present invention can be applied also in a cleaning process, e.g., in the production of a flat panel, a CMOS or CCD image sensor, or a magnetic film in an MRAM.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a damascene interconnect forming process for forming interconnects in a surface of a substrate by filling a metal into interconnect trenches formed in an insulating film in the surface of the substrate, for example, an extra metal on the surface of the substrate is polished away by chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) after the formation of damascene interconnects. A slurry (residual slurry), remaining after its use in CMP, metal polishing debris, etc. are present on the surface of the substrate after CMP. Therefore, such residues (particles), remaining on the surface of the substrate after CMP, need to be cleaned off. These days copper as an interconnect metal and a so-called low-k film having a low dielectric constant as an insulating film have come to be used in damascene interconnects. The hydrophobic properties of a low-k film leads to non-uniform wetting properties of a surface of a substrate after CMP, on which copper and a low-k film are exposed. This makes cleaning of such a surface of a substrate difficult.
As a cleaning method for cleaning a surface of a substrate after CMP, a roll scrub cleaning method is known which comprises scrubbing the surface of the substrate, such as semiconductor wafer, with a long cylindrical roll cleaning member (roll sponge or roll brush) by rotating the substrate and the roll cleaning member while keeping the roll cleaning member in contact with the surface of the substrate in the presence of a cleaning liquid.
In roll scrub cleaning of a surface of a substrate by a roll cleaning member, as the roll cleaning member becomes contaminated, the surface of the substrate can be contaminated by the contaminated cleaning member especially when the surface of the substrate is hydrophobic. A pencil scrub cleaning method is known to be effective for cleaning a surface of a substrate which has undergone such back contamination. In particular, a surface of a substrate after roll scrub cleaning is cleaned with a vertically-extending pencil-type cleaning member by rotating the substrate and the pencil-type cleaning member while keeping the surface of the substrate in contact with a lower surface of the pencil-type cleaning member in the presence of a cleaning liquid. Such pencil scrub cleaning can remove back contamination of the surface of the substrate from a roll cleaning member and can enhance the overall cleaning performance due to the integrated effect of roll scrub cleaning and pencil scrub cleaning.
FIG. 1 is a flow chart showing an exemplary cleaning process in which a surface of a substrate after polishing is successively cleaned by roll scrub cleaning and pencil scrub cleaning, followed by drying. First, roll scrub cleaning of a surface of a substrate after polishing is carried out by rubbing a rotating roll cleaning member against the surface of the substrate while horizontally rotating the substrate and supplying a cleaning liquid, which is an acidic liquid chemical, to the surface of the substrate. Thereafter, a rinsing liquid, such as pure water, is supplied to the surface of the substrate to rinse off the cleaning liquid (liquid chemical) remaining on the surface of the substrate. Next, pencil scrub cleaning of the surface of the substrate is carried out by rubbing a lower surface of a rotating pencil-type cleaning member against the surface of the substrate while horizontally rotating the substrate and supplying a cleaning liquid, which is an acidic liquid chemical, to the surface of the substrate. Thereafter, a rinsing liquid, such as pure water, is supplied to the surface of the substrate to rinse off the cleaning liquid (liquid chemical) remaining on the surface of the substrate. The substrate after cleaning is then dried, e.g., by spin-drying.
When a surface of a substrate is polished, recessed portions can be formed in the surface of the substrate due to dishing or erosion. It is generally difficult to remove particles, existing in such recessed potions, by scrub cleaning. Two-fluid jet (2FJ) cleaning using a two-fluid jet is known to be effective for removal of such particles. The two-fluid jet cleaning method is mainly employed for an interconnect metal which hardly corrodes by oxidation, such as tungsten, or in the production of an article in which corrosion of copper interconnects does not affect the product performance.
The two-fluid jet cleaning is a non-contact cleaning method which, unlike ultrasonic cleaning which is another non-contact cleaning method, is free from a fear of destruction of a substrate due to cavitation, and which is known to be effective for removal of particles, especially relatively large particles (e.g., having a particle diameter of more than 100 to 200 nm), adhering to a surface of a substrate with a relatively small adhesion force. When ultrapure water is used as a cleaning liquid, there is a fear of electrostatic destruction of a surface to be cleaned, e.g., a surface of an insulating film, because of the high resistivity of ultrapure water. Therefore, carbonated water, comprising pure water or ultrapure water containing dissolved CO2, is generally used as a cleaning liquid.
A substrate processing method with high cleaning performance has been proposed which cleans a surface of a substrate by successively carrying out scrub cleaning of the surface of the substrate with a cleaning brush and two-fluid jet cleaning of the surface of the substrate by the use of a two-fluid nozzle (see patent document 1). Further, the use of an alkaline cleaning liquid, e.g., in scrub cleaning has been proposed in order to prevent a lowering of the reliability of copper interconnects and a lowering of the product yield due to short circuit or open circuit of the interconnects (see patent document 2).
The applicant has proposed a substrate cleaning method with high cleaning performance which comprises carrying out scrub cleaning of a surface of a substrate, e.g. after polishing, with a roll cleaning member, and then carrying out two-fluid jet cleaning of the surface of the substrate using water (carbonated water) containing dissolved CO2 gas as a cleaning liquid, followed by drying the surface of the substrate (see patent document 3).
FIG. 2 is a flow chart showing an exemplary cleaning process in which a surface of a substrate after polishing is successively cleaned by roll scrub cleaning, pencil scrub cleaning and two-fluid jet cleaning, followed by drying. First, as in the above-described cleaning process shown in FIG. 1, roll scrub cleaning of a surface of a substrate after polishing is carried out with the use of an acidic liquid chemical, followed by rinsing the surface of the substrate to remove the cleaning liquid (liquid chemical) remaining on the surface of the substrate. Next, as in the above-described cleaning process, pencil scrub cleaning of the surface of the substrate is carried out with the use of an acidic liquid chemical, followed by rinsing of the surface of the substrate to remove the cleaning liquid (liquid chemical) remaining on the surface of the substrate. Next, non-contact two-fluid jet cleaning of the surface of the substrate is carried out by jetting a two-fluid jet flow, using acidic carbonated water as a cleaning liquid, toward the surface of the substrate, followed by rinsing the surface of the substrate to remove the cleaning liquid (carbonated water) remaining on the surface of the substrate. The substrate after the two-fluid jet cleaning is dried, e.g., by spin-drying.


A two-component composition is described which comprises A) an isocyanate component comprising an isocyanate-terminated urethane prepolymer, B) a water component comprising water, and at least one latent amine hardener in component A).

Two-component urethane compositions are widely used for sealant applications, particularly joint sealing in the construction market.
One-component polyurethane sealant is generally based on curing mechanism of the reaction between free isocyanate, which is in the sealant, with moisture in the ambient condition. At very low temperature moisture level in the ambient condition is very low, thus the curing through becomes very slow. In addition, the sealant at very low temperature becomes too heavy to be applied. Furthermore, at low temperature the adhesion buildup also dramatically slows down, in most cases it takes weeks if not months to develop adhesion, and to develop primerless adhesion can become extremely demanding.
A typical two-component polyurethane sealant according to the prior art is generally designed by a major portion of curing through the reaction between hydroxyl groups and sometime additional amino functionalities in one component with isocyanate groups in the second component, another portion of curing is through the reaction between moisture in the surrounding also with isocyanate groups in the second component. A multicomponent polyurethane sealant usually has a third component or additional components made of pigment, catalyst and some other accessory chemical ingredients.
The drawback of these products is that these products have set the low end of application temperature at 4.4° C. (40° F.). However, especially in North America, the time when temperature drops below 4.4° C., is very long. In Canada and some area of the United States of America the winter season with temperatures below 4.4° C. can be longer than 6 months. Actually, during the winter season the construction jobs in generally slow down, one reason being the availability of good joint sealant with their limitation highlighted above.
At very low temperatures, first it becomes difficult to mix all the components together, secondly due to the design reason, the curing path through moisture will be slow, and the adhesion development also becomes extremely slow because the widely used silane coupling agents as adhesion promoter also need water to be activated. The water curing portion is needed mainly for supporting primerless adhesion development because free isocyanate itself is an adhesion promoter for many substrates, for example concrete.
Even if the reaction of hydroxyl groups with isocyanate groups can be accelerated by selecting an effective catalyst, the curing through water remains slow simply because there is not much water available under the ambient condition if the temperature is very low. Accordingly, the compositions of the prior art exhibit very low adhesion to concrete surfaces and thus it is necessary to prime said surfaces before the sealant composition can be applied.
As a result, there is no polyurethane sealant which is currently recommended for applications below 40° F.
US 2015/0353789 describes a one-part moisture-curing liquid applied waterproofing-membrane including a polyurethane polymer and blocked amine hardeners. This composition normally requires 8-20 hours to cure, and application below 5° C. is not recommended.
US 2015/0259465 describes a two-component polyurethane composition containing a polyol, a polyisocyanate, a blocked amine and a bismuth(III)- or zirconium (IV)-catalyst. The recommended mixing and application temperature is between 15 and 40° C.
US 2016/0053147 describes a two-component polyurethane composition consisting of a polyol component and a polyisocyanate component, wherein the polyol component comprises different polyols and an aliphatic polyamine in specific ratios. This polyurethane composition, when cured, is able to de-bond from the substrate when heated above 120° C. The composition is not described as particularly suitable for low temperature application.

Two-component polyurethane sealant for application at low temperature

Abstract: The two-component composition of the invention is suitable as a sealant, in particular as a joint sealant. Particular advantages are that primerless application is possible with good adhesion, even at low temperatures, such as 4.4° C. or below. The substrate to be sealed are preferably concrete substrates.


A binaural hearing device system comprises a reception device (1) for one ear with at least two input acoustical/electrical converters (3a, 3b). Via a communication link (5) a signal (A1) which depends on both input converter's output signals is transmitted to a second device (7) for the other ear which comprises at least an output electrical/mechanical converter.

The present invention is most generically directed on binaural hearing device systems which necessitate a communication link between a device arranged in or a adjacent one ear and a device in or adjacent the other ear of an individual. The one-ear device comprises at least an arrangement of input acoustical/mechanical converters whereas the other ear device at least comprises an output electrical/mechanical converter.
From the WO 99/43185 such a binaural hearing device system is known, whereat each device associated to an ear comprises an input acoustical/electrical converter and an output electrical/mechanical converter. There is further provided a communication link between the two devices whereby data or signals are cross communicated via such link which are respectively dependent from the output signals of the respectively provided acoustical/electrical input converters. Thereby before the respective converter output signals are applied to the communication link they are analogue/digital converted whereby there may be implemented in the respective analogue/digital converters some additional signal preprocessing.
Today's monaural hearing devices customarily have at least two input acoustical/electrical converters for beamforming purposes. The binaural system according to the WO 99/43185 may be tailored to provide beamforming by using the two input converters provided at the respective one ear attributed devices. Thereby, as outlined above, data are cross-transmitted via the communication link which are possibly preprocessed but which comprise substantially more information than really needed. Further beamforming with two input converters placed one on each side of individuals head may be quite complex and inaccurate e.g. due to the head-related acoustical transfer functions HRTF which describe the effects of acoustical signals being "shadowed" by individuals head. Such shadowing occurs, dependent on direction of arrival of acoustical signals, asymmetrically with respect to both ears which on one hand allows spatial perception, on the other hand renders beamforming quite complex.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Binaural hearing device and method for controlling a hearing device system


Six carbon diacids or lactones or 5 carbon lactones or 6 carbon diacid anhydrides or branched mono-olefinic five carbon acids are converted (isomerized) to adipic acid or pentenoic acids by reacting them is the presence of carbon monoxide and a iodide promoted iridium catalyst.

The dominant commercial process for the manufacture of adipic acid involves the air-oxidation of cyclohexane to form a mixture of cyclohexanol and cyclohexanone, which is subsequently oxidized with nitric acid to form a mixture of carboxylic acids, including adipic acid.
Another process for making adipic acid involves the hydrocarboxylation of pentenoic acids and their esters. Pentenoic acids and their esters, and in particular 3-pentenoic acid, are available from butadiene and butadiene derived feedstocks by metal catalyzed hydrocarboxylation. Such processes have the potential of providing high yield, high rate, low pollution processes for the manufacture of adipic acid. In the hydrocarboxylation of 3-pentenoic acid and its esters, higher levels of branched products are formed than are normally encountered in the hydrocarboxylation of simple olefins. Burke (U.S. Pat. No. 4,788,333) has disclosed that, for the production of adipic acid by the hydrocarboxylation of pentenoic acids, high linear selectivity is obtained when an iodide-promoted rhodium catalyst is employed in conjunction with selected halocarbon solvents.
Burke discloses in U.S. Pat. No. 4,939,298, the branched diacids can be separated from the product adipic acid and then isomerized to adipic acid by heating in the presence of carbon monoxide and an iodide or bromide promoted rhodium catalyst.
The most commonly used promoters for metal catalyzed hydrocarboxylation also promote the conversion of pentenoic acids and esters to gamma-valerolactone. This material can also be separated from the product adipic acid and hydrocarboxylated to adipic acid as described in Burke EPO published application 90107900.4, but there are costs and yield losses associated with such processes.
Craddock et al (U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,489) disclose a process "for the production of terminal carboxylic acids" from "ethylenically unsaturated compounds" by hydrocarboxylation "in the presence of catalyst compositions essentially comprising iridium compounds and complexes, together with an iodide promoter in critical proportions". In U.S. Pat. No. 3,816,488 Craddock et al disclose that similar results can be obtained using rhodium catalysts. The preferred reaction solvents are monocarboxylic acids having 2 to 20 carbon atoms.
European Patent Application No. 0 511 126 A2 published Oct. 28, 1992 discloses the preparation of adipic acid by hydrocarboxylation of pentenoic acid using an iridium catalyst promoted with an iodide.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,090,807 (Illing et al.) discloses a process for the isomerization of aliphatic carboxylic acids by heating with carbon monoxide "in the presence of (a) a metal carbonyl and (b) chlorine, bromine, or iodide and/or one or more compounds of one or more of these halogens as catalysts, and preferably in the presence of (c) an activator and (d) water." Suitable metal carbonyls are those of the 6th, 7th and 8th group of the periodic system. Metal carbonyls of the iron group, especially cobalt and nickel, are preferred. The most preferred is nickel. The isomerization of adipic acid to 2-methylglutaric acid and 2,3-dimethylsuccinic acid is discussed and exemplified in Examples 1 and 6. In Example 1 nickel carbonyl activated by bismuth iodide is employed while in Example 6 cobalt acetate activated by bismuth oxide and hydrogen iodide is employed. Although the process is said to be suitable for the isomerization of linear acids to branched acids and branched acids to linear acids, there is no mention of the isomerization of branched C6-diacids to adipic acid.
Taiwan Patent 047769 to Burke discloses a process for the preparation of adipic acid by the carbonylation of certain lactones including gamma-valerolactone in the presence of a rhodium catalyst and an iodide or bromide promoter.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,625,996 (Union Oil) discloses a process for the preparation of olefinic acids or esters from diacids or esters by contacting with a complex catalyst comprising a Group VIII noble metal and a ligand from the group consisting of organic phosphines, arsines and stiblines. Iridium is mentioned as a catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,592,849 (Union Oil) discloses a process for the "preparation of acids from their anhydrides with isomerization of the acid by contacting the anhydride with a catalyst comprising a complex of a Group VIII metal and a biphyllic ligand" at elevated temperature. The process produces carboxylic acid, olefin and CO. The biphyllic ligands are selected from organic compounds containing arsenic, antimony, phosphorus or bismuth in a trivalent state. Iridium is mentioned as a group VIII metal that may be employed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,077,447 (Henkel) discloses a process for making olefins by reaction of a mixture of carboxylic acid and a carboxylic anhydride in the presence of a Group VIII metal or copper containing catalyst. Iridium is mentioned as a group VIII metal that may be employed. In Example 8, an iridium catalyst is employed to convert decanoic acid to 1-nonene.

Process for the preparation of adipic acid or pentenoic acid


A microbiological culture for triggering microbiological processes in bodies of water, soils, sediments, and/or muds contains chemo-lithoautotrophic bacteria that are immobilized. The bacteria are immobilized in a matrix having the form of capsules, gels, or gel spheres. The matrix material is selected from a wide range of natural and synthetic polymers.

The present invention relates to a microbiological culture for triggering microbiological processes in bodies of water, soils, sediments and/or muds by using living chemo-lithoautotrophic bacteria; the use of this culture for removing harmful substances, such as nitrogen compounds and/or phosphate, from bodies of water and/or from the air; a method for cleaning and/or treating water and/or soils by using the microbiological cultures; as well as a kid-of-parts, comprising immobilized microorganisms as well as a container for receiving and for metered dispensing of the microorganisms under life-supporting conditions.
Standing and flowing natural bodies of water have in general a certain self-cleaning power, i.e., contaminations can be decomposed to a limited extent. This self-cleaning power, however, is often insufficient in the case of greatly contaminated bodies of water. Microorganisms, which, in particular, can convert harmful nitrogen compounds into innocuous compounds such as elementary nitrogen, are often added to these bodies of water for enhancing the (self)-cleaning action.
The added microorganisms serve for triggering and enhancing, or taking over, the already present self-cleaning power in natural bodies of water and aquatic systems.
The microorganisms can be used in the form of cell suspensions and in this form, optionally in an aqueous solvent, can be introduced into the bodies of water. Also, the use of microorganisms in powder form is possible. In these preparations, the microorganisms are initially transformed into so-called permanent forms, such as spores, or they are lyophilized. As a result of the current within the body of water and because of diffusion, the microorganisms do not stay put but reach also other regions of the body of water. In these regions, the living conditions for the microorganisms can be unfavorable so that removal of contamination does not occur. Moreover, a fixation of the microorganisms in specially loaded water regions of the bodies of water is not possible.
In the field of aquarium technology, problems occur already for minimal amounts of soluble nitrogen compounds, because, for example, ammonia is toxic for fishes already in concentrations of 0.01 mg/l. In particular, in aquariums, which are artificial systems, the self-cleaning process is particularly susceptible to failure already for minimal amounts of foreign substances, such as nitrogen compounds or the like, contained therein.
In particular, when in the bodies of water to be treated hardly any active microorganisms are present, active microorganisms must be added in sufficiently high active concentrations in order to activate the self-cleaning powers of the bodies of water. For the operators of garden ponds and small bodies of water, microorganisms used for improving the water quality are obtainable in general in the form of so-called permanent forms or in lyophilized form. For larger bodies of water, the use of cell suspensions is preferable. It is also known to use microorganisms in encapsulated form.
The cell suspensions known in the prior art and also the microcapsules containing microorganisms usually do not employ chemo-autotrophic microorganisms in defined communities of species. Also, they have the disadvantage that the preparations can be stored only for a very short period of time, and the microorganisms will die off already after one or two days. Such formulations are thus not suitable for commerce.
When microorganisms are to be used for inoculation of bodies of water in order to activate their self-cleaning powers, the employed microorganisms must be present in very high concentration.
For the stabilization of the nitrogen cycle, the microbiological processes, such as nitrogen fixation, nitrogen assimilation, and denitrification generally present no problem; the degradation efficiency of nitrification processes and also the mineralization of organic nitrogen compounds are often insufficient.
In many microbiological processes it is a disadvantage that the duration of activity of the microorganisms is only a few days and then they die off. Moreover, many microorganisms do not form spores and can thus not be transformed into a permanent form, for example, they can be lyophilized only with loss of their activity. These microorganisms must be used in the vegetative form which means, in turn, that they must be stored under life-supporting conditions.

Microbiological culture for triggering microbiological processes in water


This invention provides an airtight cosmetic container, which comprises a cover, a base, and a hollow gasket positioned on the cover or the base. As the cover is moved into the closed position, the gasket deforms to a point where the gasket sealingly engages the cover and the base. The gasket surrounds a volatile solvent-containing product, and because the gasket deforms between the cover and the base, a seal is obtained which substantially prevents the loss of the volatile solvent from the product when the container is closed.

It is desirable to have products that contain a volatile solvent because the volatile solvent provides for a better "feel" of the product when applied to the skin. The problem encountered with these types of formulations is that they readily lose the volatile solvent contained within their composition due to evaporation from the product.
The loss of a volatile solvent from a product can adversely affect the physical properties of the product as well as reduce the amount of volatile delivery. Even when not stored above room temperature, it has been noted that there is loss of the volatile solvent over time.
A standard cosmetic compact, which is used to hold non-volatile solvent containing products, is composed of a base and a cover. The base and the cover are attached to each other by a hinge which allows the cover to swing away from the base, thus exposing the product. To keep the cover in contact with the base when the cover is closed, a latch is typically provided. This latch is effective in keeping the cover of the compact closed, but does not provide an airtight seal. This is because the cover and the base of the compact have inherent manufacturing tolerances which do not permit an airtight seal to be made when the cover is in the closed position, thus making a standard compact ineffective for use with a volatile solvent-containing product.
Currently, there are many compacts that provide a seal which prevents the loss of a volatile solvent from a product. These compacts provide for the sealing of the product from the external environment through the use of a screw caps, liners and gaskets, additional covers, and combinations of these elements.
Typical screw cap sealing compacts are such as those disclosed in JP 8256829. With this style of sealing compact, a separate compartment is provided for the product. This compartment has an outer wall which contains a threaded finish. Over this outer wall is placed a cap with a matching internal thread. The cap is then screwed onto the compartment just as a cap is screwed onto a bottle. The inside of the cap can be provided with a deformable liner which will assist in making a seal along the top edge of the compartment wall when the cap is closed. The drawback to this type of sealing compact is that, in order to gain access to the product, the consumer must first open the compact cover and then unscrew the cap. These multiple steps can sometimes be annoying and confusing to a consumer, thus detracting from the consumer acceptance of such a package.
Sealing compacts, such as those of JP 9037838, utilize an elastic packing material to effectuate a seal. This packing material is in the form of a solid o-ring, placed within a groove in the base, in which the o-ring deforms as it is contacted by a protrusion from the cover. When the solid o-ring deforms, it makes a seal around the cover protrusion. This compact style is, however, difficult to seal because it requires the accurate manufacture of the protrusion that contacts the o-ring, the groove within the base, and the o-ring itself. Furthermore, the solid o-ring requires the consumer to exert a greater amount of force when closing the cover. This is because the consumer has to deform a solid structure before the cover can be held in place via the clamping mechanism.
Dual covers have also been used to provide a seal within a compact (see JP 8154730, JP 8140728, and JP 9037838). This configuration requires the consumer to basically open two compartments, first the cover, and then the covering over the product, before application of the cosmetic. This style is labor intensive for the consumer, because she is required to open the cover of the compact and then open the covering of the product to gain access to it. After that, the consumer then has to close the covering of the product so that she can view herself in the mirror located within the first cover while applying the cosmetic.
The use of a liner within the cover, as disclosed in JP 8191712, JP 8168411, JP 8150016, JP 8140729, JP 8140728, JP 8126524, JP 8038243, JP 8238123, JP 8080961, JP 8080960, JP 8131248, and JP 8191714, has also been used to obtain a seal within the compact. The liner within these compacts engages a raised flange surrounding the product compartment so as to ensure a seal. This engagement causes the force required to close the compact to increase, and in turn, requires the use of a more secure locking mechanism which can withstand this added force without releasing its hold.
Friction fit seals have also been used to seal a compact. U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,519, discloses the use of opposing annular rims which engage each other circumferentially when the compact cover is closed. In order to provide a reliable seal for this type of compact, the annular rims must be precisely molded so that they will contact each other along all points. The molding accuracy required for this construction increases the cost of the compact, and if not controlled properly will not result in an effective seal.
This invention provides for an airtight container which prevents the loss of a volatile solvent from the product.
This invention also provides for an airtight container which does not require additional steps or a significant degree of force to open and close the cover.
Also, this invention provides for an airtight container which has few parts and is simple to assemble.
This invention also provides for an airtight container which is a relatively simple device that avoids interference with the package aesthetics.


Provided is a vehicle-mounted semiconductor device enabling a temperature increase of active elements to be restricted. A vehicle-mounted semiconductor device includes: a semiconductor substrate; a plurality of active elements formed on the semiconductor substrate; a plurality of trenches surrounding the plurality of active elements to insulate and separate the active elements; and a terminal connecting in parallel the plurality of active elements insulated and separated by different trenches among the plurality of trenches and connected to an outside.

Conventionally known is a semiconductor device arranging a plurality of active elements at irregular intervals to achieve a constant temperature (PTL 1). Also known is a semiconductor device causing a plurality of active elements to be surrounded by a trench and connecting the plurality of active elements in parallel (PTL 2).

Semiconductor device, vehicle-mounted semiconductor device, and vehicle-mounted control device


The present invention relates to methods for making wear and oxidation resistant polymeric materials by high temperature melting. The invention also provides methods of making medical implants containing cross-linked antioxidant-containing tough and ductile polymers and materials used therewith also are provided.

It is advantageous to have tough and ductile polymeric materials, for example, Ultrahigh Molecular Weight Polyethylene (UHMWPE), for total joint implants without sacrificing oxidative stability and wear resistance. Wear resistance can be improved by cross-linking. However, crosslinking reduces the toughness and ductility of the material. Therefore, it is desirable to have a method to increase toughness and ductility of wear and oxidation resistant polymeric material.
Various methods of making cross-linked polymeric materials are known in the field. Saum et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 6,316,158) described melting and subsequent radiation crosslinking of UHMWPE to increase ductility substantially through an increase in elongation at break. However, Saum et al. suggested not to using antioxidants in this process. The UHMWPE preform material used by Saum et al. does not contain antioxidants, as they believed that the presence of antioxidant may cause adverse effects in medical applications.
This application describes methods and approaches not found in the field for making cross-linked, wear and oxidation resistant, tough and ductile polymers, and materials used therein.

Methods of making a layered consolidated UHMWPE comprising a pharmaceutical compound


A semiconductor device and driver capable of adequately suppressing generation of a potential difference between drive signals output by liquid crystal display drivers, and suppressing variation in display output between liquid crystal display blocks of a liquid crystal display unit by balancing the drive performance of each liquid crystal display driver with respect to the liquid crystal display unit. Because control is performed to turn ON corresponding switching means only during drive operation of the liquid crystal display drivers to turn ON the switching means only for the liquid crystal display drivers whose drive operation has started, power is supplied via the switching means to the drive supply line of each liquid crystal display driver only from the transmission supply line of the liquid crystal display driver during drive operation. Hence voltages of the drive supply lines of the liquid crystal display drivers are held at substantially the same potential.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device that comprises a plurality of drivers that drive, for example, a liquid crystal display unit of a liquid crystal display device as a load by means of a drive signal, and to a driver, for example.
2. Description of the Related Art
Normally, in a liquid crystal display device that comprises a matrix color liquid crystal panel, for example, as a liquid crystal display unit, a scanning line driver, which drives the liquid crystal panel scanning lines, and a signal line driver, which drives the signal lines, are provided as the liquid crystal panel drivers that drive the liquid crystal panel.
These liquid crystal panel drivers are mounted by means of the COG method on the same substrate as the liquid crystal panel to form a semiconductor-device integrated circuit. For example, in the case of the semiconductor device that constitutes the scanning line driver, for a single liquid crystal panel, a plurality of liquid crystal display drivers, which drive the respective liquid crystal display blocks formed as blocks in a plurality of rows of the scanning lines, is arranged and cascade-connected so that the respective supply wires of these liquid crystal display devices are sequentially connected.
The conventional semiconductor device above will be described hereinbelow with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is an equivalent circuit diagram showing the constitution of a liquid crystal display device that uses a conventional semiconductor device. As the conventional semiconductor device, a case where a plurality of liquid crystal display drivers mounted by means of the COG method is constituted by means of a cascade connection is shown.
In the case of the semiconductor device shown in FIG. 1, arranged in the liquid crystal display device 1, whose liquid crystal display unit 2 is the load, is a plurality of liquid crystal display drivers (1) 3-1 to (N) 3-n, which are each connected to drive each liquid crystal display block of liquid crystal display blocks (1) 2-1 to (N) 2-n that are operationally separated to form a plurality. Each liquid crystal display driver 3 is formed having an output terminal 4 that outputs a drive signal for driving the liquid crystal display blocks of the liquid crystal display unit 2 (although not illustrated, this output terminal comprises a drive unit that generates a drive signal), and a drive supply line 5, which is supply wiring, for supplying a power supply (A, B) 6 allowing the drive unit to generate a drive signal. These liquid crystal display drivers 3 are cascade-connected such that the drive supply lines 5 are sequentially connected via wire wound resistors R, and, as a result of the mutual cascade connection between the liquid crystal display drivers, the power supply (A, B) 6 is supplied to the subsequent-stage liquid crystal display drivers via the wirewound resistors R between the liquid crystal display drivers.
Further, the internal constitution of the conventional liquid crystal display driver is shown in FIG. 5. A clock signal 7, an operation start signal 8, a power supply (A) 6A, a power supply (B) 6B, and another plurality of input signals 9 are input to the liquid crystal display driver 3. The input signals 9 and supplies (A, B) 6 are also transmitted as signals by means of the cascade connection. In the case of this liquid crystal display driver 3, when the clock signal 7 and operation start signal 8 are input to a shift register 10, the operation start signal 8 is sequentially transferred to the shift register 10 in accordance with the timing of the clock signal 7.
The output of the shift register 10 is input to a level shifter 11 and converted to an amplitude signal that is determined by the respective potentials of the power supply (A) 6A and power supply (B) 6B. When the row electrodes in the scanning line direction of the liquid crystal display unit 2 are driven, the potential of the power supply (A) 6A is individually output in sequence by the respective output terminals 4 arranged in the liquid crystal display driver 3. Then, the potential of the power supply (B) 6B is output to the liquid crystal display unit connected outside the driven rows. Subsequently, when the drive voltage output from all the output terminals 4 sequentially arranged is complete, an operation end signal 12 is output. The operation end signal 12 is the operation start signal of the subsequent-stage liquid crystal display driver when a cascade connection is in place.
In the case of this conventional liquid crystal display driver 3, when the liquid crystal display unit is driven, a precharge/discharge current of a liquid crystal capacitance Y1 generated by the liquid crystal element shown in FIG. 1 flows sequentially to the power supply (B) 6B via each output terminal 4.
Further, in the case of conventional semiconductor devices, which drive the liquid crystal display blocks of the liquid crystal display unit 2 by means of the respective liquid crystal display drivers 3 by cascade-connecting a plurality of the liquid crystal display drivers 3, as shown in FIG. 3A, each drive supply line 5 is sequentially connected via wirewound resistors R between the liquid crystal display drivers 3. Hence, when a precharge/discharge current I of the liquid crystal capacitance Y1 generated by each liquid crystal element forming the liquid crystal display unit 2 flows, an output-voltage potential difference ΔV(=I·R) is generated across A and B, and C and D of the liquid crystal display drivers 3, as shown in FIG. 3B.
Because this potential difference ΔV is generated, the potential of the power supply (B) 6B, which is the power supply when no driving is taking place, is nonuniform in the liquid crystal display drivers 3, and hence a display variation, which arises from a display variation of the undriven liquid crystal display unit between the liquid crystal display blocks of the liquid crystal display unit 2 (a phenomenon according to which, although the liquid crystal display is dark when no drive is taking place, this darkness is subject to a variation), is generated, there is the problem that a striped pattern is produced on the display screen.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.