An all-focused image generation method comprises the steps (i) to (vi). The step (i) is a step of taking L images of an object at different focal positions. The step (ii) is a step of acquiring gray scale images of the object at the respective focal positions. The step (iii) is a step of performing multiresolution transform for the gray scale images. The step (iv) is a step of calculating focal position probability distribution regarding the focal positions, for each pixel position. The step (v) is a step of acquiring an optimal focal position for each of the pixel positions. The step (vi) is a step of generating an in-focus image by providing a pixel corresponding to the acquired pixel value to the pixel position. In the step (v), the optimal focal position is approximately calculated by belief propagation.

When an image of an object is taken through a lens, it has been known that regions other than a particular region are blurred in the taken image because a focused part and out-of-focus parts are in the same visual field. Such a phenomenon tends to occur in high-power lenses on account of shallow focus depth. For example, when an object such as a specimen is observed by a microscope having a high-power objective lens, there may be a case where, on account of irregularities on the specimen, a region in the image is in focus whereas another region is out of focus, and hence the viewer cannot grasp the whole picture of the object through the image. To solve this problem, the object is imaged at different focal positions by moving the lens or the object in the optical axis direction, and an all-focused image in which all regions in the image are in focus is obtained from the plural images taken at the different focal positions.
For this process, different imaging technologies have been proposed. According to Patent Literature 1, images taken at different focal positions are each wavelet transformed, and in each pixel in multiresolution expression after the transform, an wavelet value at which the amplitude between images with different focal positions is at the maximum is sampled. Then a single synthetic image in which the sampled wavelet value is provided in each pixel is generated, and the synthetic image is subjected to wavelet inverse transform. An all-focused image is formed in this way.
According to Patent Literature 2, images taken at different focal positions are wavelet transformed in the same manner as in Patent Literature 1. Thereafter, the wavelet coefficients of pixels in the vicinity of a target pixel are added up and the resultant values of images at different focal positions are compared with one another, and one or more pixel is sampled from the image having the largest added-up value. An all-focused image is generated in this way. In Patent Literature 2, for each subband after the wavelet transform, a morphological operation is conducted for a five-by-five matrix of pixels around each pixel which is the target of the operation. This achieves effects such as the reduction of noise, and an all-focused image having emphasized borders between high-frequency and low-frequency regions is generated.
According to Patent Literature 3, each of images taken at different focal positions is divided into three regions, i.e., an edge region, a vicinity of the edge region, and a region which is neither the edge region nor the vicinity of the edge region, and a focusing position of each region is obtained by a different method. To begin with, the images at different focal positions are compared with one another in an amount of change between the brightness of a target pixel and the brightness of pixels surrounding the target pixel, and the maximum amount is obtained. Thereafter, when the obtained maximum amount is larger than a threshold amount of change, that target pixel is set as the edge region and the position of the image having the maximum amount is set as the focusing position. In the meanwhile, in the pixels in the vicinity of the edge region, the inflexion point of the brightness in the focal depth direction is set as the focusing position. In the pixels which are neither the edge region nor the vicinity of the edge region, an in-focus pixel is calculated by the interpolation from the pixels which are obtained as the pixels at the focusing positions in the edge region and in the vicinity of the edge region.

All-focused image generation method, device for same, and recording medium for same, and object height data acquisition method, device for same, and recording medium for same


A liquid crystal display (LCD) panel and module is provided. The LCD panel comprises a thin film transistor (TFT) array substrate, a color filter substrate, a liquid crystal layer, an upper polarizing plate and a lower polarizing plate. The color filter substrate is disposed over the TFT array substrate, and the liquid crystal layer is disposed between the TFT array substrate and the color filter substrate. In addition, the upper polarizing plate is disposed over the color filter substrate. Moreover, the lower polarizing plate is disposed over the TFT array substrate, and the lower polarizing plate includes, for example, a polarizer and a light scattering layer disposed over a surface of the polarizer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a display panel. More particularly, the present invention relates to a liquid crystal display panel and a liquid crystal display module.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, a variety of factories have invested great efforts on the development of display device as the market demand of display device has grown rapidly. Conventionally, since the cathode ray tube (CRT) is fully developed and has good display quality, the CRT has been adopted in a variety of application. However, the CRT has the disadvantages of high power consumption, heavy weight, large size and harmful radiation and therefore cannot meet the requirement of environmental protection requirement. Accordingly, the thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD) has been developed and has become the major trend of the display device due to the advantages of high definition, small size, thinness, low power consumption, radiation free, etc.
The conventional TFT-LCD module mainly includes a liquid crystal display (LCD) panel and a back light module. The liquid crystal display panel constitutes a TFT array substrate, a color filter substrate and a liquid crystal layer disposed between the two substrates. The back light module is adopted as a surface light source of the LCD panel for displaying image from the TFT-LCD module. In addition, an upper polarizing plate and a lower polarizing plate are usually disposed over the two opposite surfaces of the LCD panel to enhance the display quality of the TFT-LCD module. Moreover, a plurality of optical films is disposed between the LCD panel and the surface light source of the back light module to enhance the brightness of the TFT-LCD module.
Accordingly, in order to enhance the display contrast of the LCD panel and to make the appearance of the LCD panel more shiny, the upper polarizing plate of the LCD panel is generally constructed by glare type polarizing plate, and the lower polarizing plate of the LCD panel is generally constructed by conventional polarizing plate. However, after a light from the surface light source of the back light module passes through the optical films and the LCD panel, generally a plurality of mutually parallelized moire are generated in the display area of the LCD panel. It is noted that, since the moire may be observed by human eyes, the displaying quality of the LCD panel is reduced.

Liquid crystal display panel and liquid crystal display module


An air circulation system includes an outlet tap having a pair of prong outlets receivable by a corresponding pair of electrical outlets of an electrical receptacle mounted to a vertical wall and positioned near a support surface, the outlet tap having at least two electrical outlets opposite the pair of prong outlets for providing electrical power from one or both of the electrical outlets of the electrical receptacle. A support member operatively connected to the outlet tap, the support member is adapted to suspendedly support a fan vertically above the support surface in response to the outlet tap being received by the electrical receptacle. A timer and a humidistat are connectable to corresponding electrical outlets of the at least two electrical outlets of the outlet tap for selectively controlling operation of the fan.

Air circulation systems, such as fan units are commonly utilized for ventilation, assistance with climate and humidity control, and other reasons. In addition, air circulation may be used to assist with floor refinishing. However, there should be no air circulation during application of floor refinishing solvents, and once the floor refinishing solvents have been applied, it is not possible to position fans on the "wet" floor in order to speed the curing process.
There is need in the art for air circulation systems that do not suffer from one or more of the above drawbacks.


A system for communicating information from a television viewer to a central site includes a remote control unit for sending command signals from the viewer to a television or video cassette recorder (VCR). Circuitry integral with the television or VCR accepts the command signals from the remote control unit and interprets the signals to form a viewer command, such as a purchase command, to be communicated to the central site. The circuitry automatically sends dual-tone multifrequency (DTMF) tone signals representing the command over a radio frequency (RF) link to a cordless telephone base unit, which is connected to the central site by a public switched telephone network. The cordless telephone base unit initiates a telephone call to the central site and communicates the DTMF tone signals received from the DTMF circuitry in the television or VCR to the central site. The television or VCR receives a television signal and extracts information related to a product or pay-per-view (PPV) event being advertised on a television program from the vertical blanking interval of the television signal. This information includes the telephone number of the central site used for making the telephone connection as well as identification information for the product or PPV event to be purchased.

An emerging trend in the marketing of cable television and digital satellite systems (DSS) is to emphasize Pay-Per-View (PPV) television programming as a source of revenue. An ideal PPV television system should allow a viewer to purchase the right to watch a television program such as a movie, sporting event, or other special event through a minimal amount of effort on the part of the viewer. For example, after watching a short preview or advertisement of a PPV program, the viewer could gain access to the PPV program simply by pressing a selected button on the viewer's remote control unit for a television or video cassette recorder (VCR). In another example, the viewer is watching an informational commercial ("infomercial") or a home shopping program and the viewer desires to purchase an advertised product by pressing a selected button on the remote control unit. In existing television systems, in order for the viewer to arrange for PPV program access, the viewer must go to the viewer's telephone, call the PPV program provider (such as the cable company) and enter his or her cable box serial number, credit card number and PPV program identifier. The PPV program provider then enables the cable box to display the selected PPV program to the viewer. In the home shopping situation, the viewer must write down the advertiser's telephone number and product identifier, go to the telephone, call the advertiser or a home shopping service provider, and then communicate the required credit card and product selection information to an operator.
In more recent systems using digital set top boxes (such as DSS), the set top box itself is directly connected to a telephone line in the viewer's home and the remote control unit includes a button for ordering a PPV program. When the button is pushed by the viewer, the telephone number of the PPV program provider is automatically dialed and the box identifier and PPV program identifier are automatically transmitted over the telephone connection to the PPV program provider. In this scenario, the viewer must establish a credit card account with the PPV program provider for billing purposes prior to pushing the button to select a PPV program. A major drawback to effective operation of these systems is the requirement that the set top box and television must be close to a telephone jack in the viewer's home, because of the direct connections by wire between the set top box, the television and the telephone jack. In many homes, the television is not in close proximity to a telephone jack, nor even in the same room, thereby rendering such systems unsuitable for widespread use. An interactive television system overcoming this drawback would have considerable value in the PPV, home shopping, and other interactive viewing situations.

Cordless phone back link for interactive television system


Various systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable media for accessing a storage device are described. Techniques are described for vertically integrating the various software functions and hardware functions for accessing storage hardware. In some embodiments, the system is implemented using non-volatile memory.

Aspects of the disclosure relate to computing and communication technologies. In particular, aspects of the disclosure relate to systems, methods, apparatuses, and computer-readable media for improving performance of storage devices.
Storage devices for enterprise systems require massive storage capacity. Additionally, storage solutions for enterprise systems require sophisticated storage systems for reliability, robustness, fault tolerance, maximizing storage capacity, minimizing power consumption, and reducing latency. Various storage industry players have specialized in specific aspects of these storage systems in a segmented manner providing piecemeal solutions. Combining these various segmented solutions results into a clunky storage solution that is less than the sum of its parts and significantly underperforms across the board.
The segmentation and underperformance of the available solutions today results in a significant deterrent in adaptation of newer storage technologies, such as solid-state devices (SSD). Traditionally, enterprise systems have been implemented using media such as hard disk drives (HDD) that retain data while the power is turned off. Hard disk drives are data storage devices, used for storing and retrieving digital information, that use rapidly rotating disks. An HDD consists of one or more rigid ("hard") rapidly rotating disks (platters) with magnetic heads arranged on a moving actuator arm to read and write data to the disk surfaces. Due to moving parts, HDDs are inherently slow in terms of servicing I/O operations compared to the number of storage access requests the processor running the software stack can service during the same time. In the past, since the HDDs were significantly slower than the processors, the inefficiencies in the software stack running on the processor were both hidden and non-consequential to the speed of the entire system. However, with newer technologies, such as SSDs, that can support higher throughput for I/O operations, the inefficiencies in the software architecture is becoming a limiting factor in the adaptation of such newer technologies.
Embodiments of the invention solve this and other problems.


The instant invention is directed to a process for enhancing the efficacy of alcohol-based skin antiseptics comprising adding at least one alcohol-soluble viscosifying agent to an alcohol-based disinfectant, thereby lowering its alcohol evaporation rate and markedly increasing the exposure time that disinfecting concentrations of alcohol are present on skin. The improved alcohol-based antiseptics thus obtained are also claimed.

Alcohol-based skin disinfectants, because of their high vapor pressure, evaporate quickly. Thus, when they are applied to skin, alcohol concentration and contact time with bacteria and other microorganisms are minimized due to evaporative loss. The inventor has discovered a method of decreasing evaporation of alcohol skin disinfectants comprising adding alcohol-soluble viscosifying agents to these disinfectants, thereby increasing the exposure time and alcohol concentration of the disinfectant on the skin.
Alcohol solutions containing 30-90%, by weight, alcohol are often used by healthcare personnel to disinfect hands and for localized skin disinfection at the site of an invasive medical procedure. These alcohol compositions are very drying to the skin, evaporate quickly, and are easily spilled due to their watery nature. These shortcomings are overcome by the instantly claimed method and compositions.


A single-pole-double-throw switch is provided, which is configured to be integrated with a bandpass filtering function and includes four quarter-wavelength transmission lines connected in series, five resonators connected in parallel to each other, and four transistors connected in parallel to four of the five resonators. When two of the four transistors are turned on and the others are turned off, the single-pole-double-throw switch is equivalent to a third-order quarter-wavelength short-circuited stub bandpass filter.

The quality of a time-division-duplex wireless communication system is greatly influenced by a radio frequency (RF) switch. In order to compensate for the undesirable characteristics of the switch (e.g. the on-state resistance and off-state capacitance), prior art adopts a parallel-resonator configuration to enable resonant of inductance and parasitic capacitance, as disclosed in, for example, "A high performance V-band monolithic FET transmit-receive switch" in 1988 IEEE Microwave and Millimeter-wave Monolithic Circuits Symp. Dig., New York, N.Y./USA, Jun. 1988, pp. 99-101; "W-band SPST transistor switches", IEEE Microwave and Guided Wave Lett., vol. 6, pp. 315-316, Sep. 1996; "A sub-nanosecond resonant-type monolithic T/R switch for millimeter-wave systems applications", IEEE Trans. On Microwave Theory and Tech., vol. 46, no. 7, pp. 1016-1019, Jul. 1998; and U.S. Pat. No. 7,239,858, entitled "Integrated Switching Device For Routing Radio Frequency Signals", or adopts an impedance transformation network to switch the resistance and capacitance of the switch, as disclosed in, for example, "Millimeter-wave MMIC single-pole-double-throw passive HEMT switches using impedance transformation networks", IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory Tech., vol. 51, pp. 1076-1085, Apr. 2003; and U.S. Pat. No. 6,801,108, entitled "A Millimeter-wave Switch Using Impedance Transformation Networks". However, the above conventional techniques can only compensate for the resistance and capacitance of particular frequencies, but they fail to consider the frequency response of the overall system.
In "Millimeter-wave MMIC passive HEMT switches using traveling-wave concept" (referring to IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory and Tech., vol. 52, no. 8, pp. 1798-1808, Aug. 2004), a traveling-wave switch configuration is proposed, which integrates additional inductance into an artificial transmission line. This configuration allows integration of the undesirable characteristics into the transmission line, and thus the switch may have a wideband frequency response and good switching characteristics.
Since the undesirable characteristics of the switch are equivalent to lumped elements, U.S. Pat. No. 7,106,146 (entitled "RF Switch") performs effective impedance matching with these equivalent lumped elements. Accordingly, other techniques have been proposed to replace the elements in a filter with switching elements, so that the filter may assume the characteristic of a single-pole-single-throw switch, as can be found in, for example, "Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of Novel Varactor-Tuned Switchable Microstrip Ring Resonator Circuits", IEEE Trans. Microwave Theory and Tech., vol. 36, no. 12, Dec. 1988, pp. 1733-1739; "A band-pass filter-integrated switch using field-effect transistors and its power analysis", in 2006 IEEE MTT-S Int. Microwave Symp. Dig., San Francisco, Calif./USA, 2006; and "New millimeter-wave MMIC switch design using the image-filter synthesis method", IEEE Microwave and Wireless Component Lett., vol. 14, pp. 103-105, Mar. 2004.
For example, in the above prior art, "A band-pass filter-integrated switch using field-effect transistors and its power analysis", a quarter-wavelength impedance transformer 12 is used to integrate two single-pole-single-throw traveling-wave switches 14 and 16 into a single-pole-double-throw switch 10, as shown in FIG. 1. Similar integration can be applied to single-pole-five-throw switches, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 7,106,146, entitled "High Frequency Switch". However, as limited by the quarter-wavelength impedance transformer 12, the frequency response of the single-pole-double-throw switch 10 cannot be synthesized. This is because the single-pole-double-throw switch 10 must include two single-pole-single-throw switches 14 and 16, and the impedances and frequency responses of the two single-pole-single-throw switches 14 and 16 may affect each other. The impedance transformer 12 may alleviate this influence. Nonetheless, the frequency response of the impedance transformer 12 itself may still influence the frequency responses of the single-pole-single-throw switches 14 and 16. Therefore, the filter function cannot be effectively integrated into the single-pole-double-throw switch 10.

Single-pole-double-throw switch integrated with band pass filtering function


A method and system for measuring sensitivity of an electrophotography photoconductor. The sensitivity is determined using changing information of the surface potential of the photoconductor and an exposure amount information which is precisely obtained by measuring relative illuminance on the surface of the photoconductor with a photo-sensor disposed between a shutter performing ON/OFF operations of light and the photoconductor while the photoconductor is exposed to light. Then, a changing curve of digitized measured relative illuminance is integrated from a rising point thereof to a point thereof at a time when the surface potential information becomes a specified value.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method and system for measuring sensitivity of electrophotographic photoconductors.
2. Discussion of the Background
The sensitivity of electrophotographic photoconductors is generally examined prior to shipment. The determination of sensitivity of photoconductors makes it possible to know whether the photoconductors can be used for specified copying machines or printers in consideration of their image forming conditions, such as illuminance and bias voltage, or what extent of illuminance and bias voltage is needed to record good images when the photoconductors are used therein. The sensitivity of photoconductors is generally represented by one of the following:
(1) an exposure amount (illuminance.times.exposure time) required when a surface potential of a photoconductor is decayed from a specified value to another specified value (unit: 1x.multidot.s); and PA1 (2) an amount of surface potential decay observed when a photoconductor is exposed to light whose exposure is predetermined (unit: volt). PA1 (1) charging a photoconductor with a charging device; PA1 (2) exposing the charged photoconductor to light which is preferably pulsed using a shutter; PA1 (3) obtaining changing information of the surface potential of the photoconductor using a surface potential meter while the photoconductor is exposed to light, and then obtaining a digitized changing curve of the surface potential of the photoconductor; PA1 (4) measuring illuminance (relative illuminance) on the surface of the photoconductor with a photo-sensor while the photoconductor is exposed to light, and then obtaining a digitized changing curve of the relative illuminance; PA1 (5) obtaining the exposure amount by integrating the changing curve of the relative illuminance; and PA1 (6) determining sensitivity, for example, as an exposure amount when the surface potential of the photoconductor is decayed from a specified value V1 to another specified value V2. PA1 (1) relative illuminance on the surface of the photoconductor is measured with a photo-sensor which is disposed between the shutter and the photoconductor while the photoconductor is exposed to light; and PA1 (2) a rising point of the changing curve of the relative illuminance is defined as a starting time of the exposure.
Typically, a photoconductor is generally exposed to light for a time on the order of a few seconds to examine its sensitivity.
Photoconductors mounted in analog copying machines are generally exposed to light for a time on the order of from tens of milliseconds to hundreds of milliseconds. Therefore, sensitivity of these photoconductors is needed to be examined with such a short pulse light to know whether the photoconductors can respond thereto. In this case, an exposure time is controlled so as to be, for example, 1/30, 1/60 or 1/125 second using a mechanical electromagnetic shutter.
Before sensitivity is examined, illuminance of light used for measuring sensitivity is generally measured using continuous light at the surface position of a photoconductor while opening a shutter. The thus obtained illuminance is multiplied by an exposure time to obtain an exposure amount.
In this case, since a mechanical shutter is used to control the exposure time, it takes a few milliseconds from a time when the shutter begins to open until the shutter is completely opened. In addition, it also takes almost the same time when the shutter is closed. Therefore, the exposure amount cannot be exactly measured unless such transition times are taken into consideration. In fact, background methods for examining sensitivity are imprecise particularly when the exposure time is relatively short.
Another method for measuring an exposure amount is used in which a sudden decay starting point of a light decay curve of surface potential of a photoconductor is considered to be a starting point of the exposure, the exposure time is defined as a period of time from the sudden decay starting point to a time when the surface potential becomes a predetermined surface potential, and the exposure amount is obtained as a product of the exposure time and the illuminance. However, among photoconductors for use in digital copying machines, there are photoconductors with a surface potential which does not suddenly decay soon after light is irradiated thereto and which suddenly decays after a certain amount of light is irradiated thereto. Therefore, this method for measuring an exposure amount is imprecise particularly when sensitivity of such photoconductors is measured.
In attempting to exactly determine a starting time of exposure, several methods have been proposed. One of them is to define the starting time as a time when the shutter opening operation is ordered. However, this method has a drawback in that it takes a considerable time from the order until the shutter actually begins to start. Another method is to define the starting time as a time when a signal that a shutter is in an opened state is output by a contact point of the shutter. However, this method has a drawback in that there are variations in the time when the signal is output because this method also uses a mechanical mechanism. In addition, these methods also have the above-mentioned drawback that an exposure amount during shutter opening and closing operations cannot be exactly determined.
Further, another method has been proposed in which the relationship between illuminance and a detected current of a photo-sensor is previously obtained while using an integral circuit to determine exact exposure amount. Even in this case, a starting time of exposure cannot be exactly determined, and therefore the exposure amount cannot be exactly determined.

Method and system for measuring sensitivity of electrophotographic photoconductor


A hardened aluminum alloy, for use in the manufacture of printed circuit boards, having elevated levels of manganese and magnesium and produced as a sheet by a cold rolling process to a specified thickness.

This invention relates to the field of circuit boards and, in particular, to aluminum alloys for use in the manufacture of printed circuit boards.
It is well known in the art that an elementary printed circuit board includes conductive foil sheets laminated on opposite sides of a prepreg (a glass fabric reinforced with epoxy resin). Subsequently, the copper is etched to produce conductive paths on the surface of the prepreg layer. It is not uncommon to assemble a stack, called a book, of such boards in the manufacturing process. Separator sheets are used to keep the boards in the book from touching.
To function properly, it is important to have a copper foil free from defects such as dents, scratches, and bumps. If defects appear in the copper foil, proper conductive paths cannot be etched in the image transfer process, leading to open circuits or electrical shorts in the finished product. Therefore, the copper foil surface must be even. Such an even surface can only be achieved by using separator sheets with a completely smooth surface.
Separator sheets are often made of stainless steel. However, this approach includes a major drawback. Stainless steel is a poor conductor of heat, meaning it takes more time and thus requires more energy to heat the books.
As a consequence, aluminum sheets are used more and more frequently, since aluminum conducts the heat better and more evenly than steel. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,256,474 issued to Johnston disclose a separator-release plate for use in the lamination and drilling of printed circuit boards comprising a substrate sheet of aluminum foil, rather than a stainless steel plate. Similarly, U.S. Pat. No. 5,725,937 issued to Johnston discloses a laminate of copper and aluminum foil for use in the manufacture of printed circuit birds.
Other benefits of using aluminum foil include a lower cost than stainless steel plates.
Problems still exist with the CAC approach. The aluminum is softer than stainless steel, causing a xe2x80x9cgravestone rubbingxe2x80x9d effect. In turn this affects the image transfer process and can lead to dysfunctional circuitry in the final product.
Therefore, what is needed is a separator sheet that is less expensive that stainless steel and can help smooth out any small flaws in the copper foil surface. Also, an aluminum alloy that is not too soft to be effective is needed.
The present invention presents a hardened aluminum alloy for use in the manufacture of printed circuit boards. While this alloy is used in the aircraft construction industry, it is not used in the manufacture of printed circuit boards as a separator sheet. As a separator sheet, the hardened alloy allows less image transfer and smoother copper foil surfaces in the circuit board.
The alloy is hardened relative to standard material used in the art due to elevated levels of magnesium and manganese in the alloy. The alloy is made into separator sheets, or a foil, by a cold rolling process. The optimal thickness of such foil is well known in the art.
Therefore, it is an aspect of this invention to provide a hardened. aluminum alloy for use in the manufacture of printed circuit boards.
It is another aspect of this invention to provide a separator sheet that is less expensive than stainless steel sheets and which due to it""s reduced thickness allows more boards to fit each to each press load.
It is another aspect of this invention to provide a separator sheet that can be recycled.
It is a further aspect of this invention to provide a separator sheet that helps smooth out small wrinkles in the surface of the copper foil.
It is a further aspect of this invention to provide a separator sheet that does not react chemically with copper.

Hardened aluminum alloy for use in the manufacture of printed circuit boards


A nailer device having a carriage assembly, a pair of pivotal drive wheels, a nailer assembly and at least one end wheel. The pair of pivotal drive wheels are on the carriage assembly. The at least one end wheel is disposed adjacent an end of the carriage assembly. A drive motor can be associated with at least one of the pair of pivotal drive wheels when the nailer device is operating in an automatic mode. A handle disposed either intermediate of the pivotal drive wheels can be used to move or manually operate the nailer device and move the nailer device to an adjacent row of floorboards to be secured. A pair of adjustable wheels is also provided to adjust the height of the device.

Installing flooring can be a very time consuming and labor intensive process. This is especially true when the flooring being installed is a wood floor which has to be installed using individual boards which typically interlock with one another and are secured to a subfloor. Typically, the panels of wood floors have a groove extending longitudinally along a side of the board and groove extending longitudinally along the opposite side of the board so that the tongue of one board is accepted by the groove of an adjacent board.
Further, when installing a wood floor, it is undesirable to have any marks on the top surface of the floor from the component securing the floor to the subfloor. Thus, nailer devices are used to drive a nail or staple at an angle through the side of the floorboard so that the floorboard can be adequately secured to the subfloor without having any blemishes on the top surface of the floorboard. Again, this is a time consuming process where the nailer device must be placed along the edge of the floorboard so that the securing component can be driven through the floorboard at the desired angle.
There are devices which are used to move along a floorboard being secured to a subfloor which aligns the nailer device to the floorboard. Typically, nailers which are used with these devices and nailers which are used independently of the devices, have a pad which rests on the top of the floorboard being secured to the subfloor so that the nailer is properly aligned with the side of the floorboard. However, as the device moves along the floorboard, in some instances, the pad of the nailer may create friction which may cause the device to pivot and become misaligned with the floorboard being secured to the subfloor.
In addition, floorboards typically come in different heights. When the floorboards are being secured manually, the operator can adjust the nailer device accordingly by aligning the nailer with the floorboard in the desired manner. However, when the nailer device is automated, the nailer may not be properly aligned so that the fastener extends through the side of the board in the desired manner.
Therefore, it is desirable to develop a nailer device which is motorized so that the device moves along the floorboard and aligns the floorboard in order to secure the floorboard to the subfloor. It is also desirable to develop a nailer device that is adjustable in height in which the pad of the nailer does not contact the floorboard so that the nailer device does not become misaligned with the floorboard, and can function properly with floorboards having different heights.


A fresh air line for a fresh air system may include a tubular body enclosing a fresh air path in a circumferential direction. At least one annular adsorber element arranged coaxially in the tubular body. The fresh air line may also include at least one resonance chamber arranged radially between the tubular body and the adsorber element.

Such a fresh air line is known from WO 2012/049027 A1. It comprises a tubular body, which encloses a fresh air path in a circumferential direction, and an annular adsorber element, which is inserted coaxially into the tubular body in such a manner that the fresh air path is radially delimited by the adsorber element in the region of the adsorber element. In the known fresh air system, an annular depression can be formed on an inner side of the tubular body that faces the fresh air path in order to accommodate the annular adsorber element, which depression is dimensioned in such a manner that the adsorber element can be arranged such that it is sunk therein. In this case the adsorber element bears with the whole area of its outer side that faces the tubular body against the inner side of the tubular body inside the depression.
Such an adsorber element is preferably used for the adsorption of hydrocarbons (CHX) and is preferably used in a fresh air system for the adsorption of aromatic substances.


An integrated superheterodyne dual-conversion tuner upconverts a signal so as to place it outside a reception band, and then downconverts the signal with a non-zero intermediate frequency. A first filter of the bulk acoustic wave type is positioned between the up and down conversion and is calibrated in such a way as to accurately determine its central frequency. A second filter of a microelectromechanical type receives the downconverted signal and is calibrated in such a way as to accurately determine its central frequency.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the decoding of radiofrequency transmission channels conveying coded digital information.
The invention thus applies advantageously to digital terrestrial television, that is to say using signals transmitted between television antennas, as defined, for example, in the European DVB-T (Digital Video Broadcasting-terrestrial) or in the North-American ATSC (Advisory Committee on Advanced Television Service Digital TV) specification, or to digital cable television, as defined, for example, in the European DVB-C (Digital Video Broadcasting-cable) or in the North-American ITU-J83 Annex A/B/C/D (International Telecommunication Union) specification, all these telebroadcasts being based on the MPEG transmission standards, and use for example to convey information, quadrature digital modulation, or else modulation of the COFDM type according to terminology well known to the person skilled in the art.
The invention also relates in particular to tuners.
2. Description of Related Art
The television signals received at the input of a tuner of a receiver are composed of the entire set of channels transmitted that lie in the 45 MHz-860 MHz frequency band. The objective of the tuner is to select the desired channel and to output a baseband signal on the in-phase path (I path) and on the quadrature path (Q path). This signal is thereafter converted into a digital signal and demodulated. The channel decoding processing thereafter also comprises a block which distinguishes, typically by means of majority logic, zeros from ones, then performs all the error correction, that is to say typically a Viterbi decoding, the interleaving, Reed-Solomon decoding and deshuffling. The channel decoding device outputs packets that are decoded in a conventional manner in a source decoding device in accordance with the MPEG standards so as to reoutput the initial audio and video signals transmitted via antennas or via the cable.
Current studies are aimed at researching ever more integrated solutions for the embodiment of digital terrestrial or cable television receivers. However, this research hits technological difficulties related to the embodiment of the means making it possible, on the one hand, to correctly discern a channel from the entire set of channels present, and, on the other hand, to correctly discriminate the signal from noise. Specifically, whereas in digital satellite television, all the channels have nearly the same power, this is not the case in particular in digital terrestrial television. Thus, it is for example possible to have adjacent channels exhibiting a very high power with respect to the desired channel, for example a difference in power of the order of 40 dB. It is therefore necessary to be able to ensure rejection of 40 dB on the adjacent channels. Moreover, the specification imposes a signal/noise ratio of the order of 30 dB. Hence, in the worst case, it is therefore essential for it to be possible to bring the level of an adjacent channel to 70 dB below its input level. This results in extremely significant constraints on the filters, this being extremely constraining in respect of integrated solutions.
There exists a need to solve this problem. More specifically, there is a need for a totally integrated solution for the tuner, given the characteristics of digital television signals, in particular terrestrial ones, exhibiting more significant rejection constraints than digital cable television signals.

Electronic component with integrated tuning device, allowing the decoding of digital terrestrial or cable television signals


A semiconductor device comprises a first conducting layer, a first insulating layer formed on the first conducting layer, a second conducting layer formed on the first insulating layer and facing the first conducting layer, wherein, at least part of a peripheral portion of the region of at least one of the first and second conducting layers, in contact with the first insulating layer, includes an amorphous conducting layer made of a semiconductor, and the amorphous conducting layer contains at least one element selected from the group consisting of oxygen, nitrogen, carbon, argon, chlorine, and fluorine and a total concentration of the at least one element falls within the range from 0.1 atomic % to 20 atomic %.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device having first and second conducting layers facing each other with an insulating layer interposed therebetween, and to a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hitherto, as memory devices of information processing apparatuses, magnetic disk devices have been widely used. However, the magnetic disk devices have the following drawbacks. First, they are easily affected by shock because they have a highly precise mechanical driving means. Second, the magnetic disk devices cannot access a storage media at a high speed because their access means to the storage media is mechanical one.
Recently, as the memory device of an information processing apparatus, the development of semiconductor memory devices has been made. The semiconductor memory devices do not have a mechanical driving means. Therefore, they have a high shock resistance and a high access speed.
Now, in an EEPROM (Electrically Erasable Programmable Read Only Memory), one of nonvolatile semiconductor memory devices, polycrystalline silicon doped with impurities having 3 or 5 valences is used as a material for floating gate electrodes and control gate electrodes, in consideration of productivity and stability of the interface between the gate electrodes and an underlying insulating film in a high-temperature heat treatment step performed later in a manufacturing process.
However, in the case where the polycrystalline silicon film is used as a floating gate, the following problem is accompanied. That is, as an insulating film between gate electrodes (a floating gate electrode and a control gate electrode) is decreased in thickness, the defect density of the insulating film between the gate electrodes increases. This problem constitutes a bar to miniaturization (high integration) of EEPROM and operation of EEPROM at low voltage.
To solve the problem, it is considered to use a single crystalline silicon film as a floating gate electrode. As a method of forming the single crystalline silicon film, known is the one disclosed in Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 3-196673 in which an amorphous silicon film is crystallized into a single crystalline silicon film.
In this method, at first, a seed region for single crystallization is first formed. Second, on the seed region, an amorphous silicon film is deposited. Third, to the amorphous silicon film, impurities are doped by an ion implantation method and the like. Finally, the amorphous silicon film is crystallized into a single crystalline film by a solid phase growth of the lateral direction or by laser annealing.
However, this method requires additional steps such as a seed region formation step, an annealing step for crystallization, unlike the case where a polycrystalline silicon film is employed as a floating gate electrode. Therefore, this method is complicated in manufacturing steps.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


Standardized bumper testing includes a barrier adapted for testing vehicle bumper impact strength and engagement. The present improvement includes first and/or second thermoformed components attached to the barrier to replicate a profile and crush characteristics of a “generic” vehicle bumper. The first face component is an energy absorbing component with crush boxes for impact absorption, and replicates an energy absorber. The second component covers the first component and replicates a fascia.

The present invention relates to bumper impact-testing arrangements, where an impact barrier such as a pendulum or stationary barrier is modified to be more like a vehicle bumper on its impacting surface.
Vehicle bumper testing is an important part of Federal Motor Vehicle Safety Standards and related automobile insurance associations ratings and standards. Recently, government regulatory agencies and the insurance industry associations have wanted tests that better measure the stability of vehicle bumper engagements in low-speed crashes. (See SAE Technical paper 2004-01-1319, dated Mar. 8, 2004, entitled "Important Considerations in the Development of a Test to Promote Stable Bumper Engagement in Low-Speed Crashes".) The goal is to develop a test apparatus that is able to test vehicle-to-vehicle collisions on (existing) standardized impact barriers under conditions in a manner better replicating damage to a vehicle from "real world" front end (or rear end) collisions . . . such as where the bumper of one vehicle is allowed to slip vertically onto (or under) the bumper of another vehicle. In the SAE article noted above, various energy absorbers were attached to the faces of standardized barriers, and tests were conducted and test results were analyzed. However, further improvements are desired. (See page 10 of the SAE paper 2004-01-1319, column 2, lines 24–26, "[M]ore research and development of the contoured barrier and deformable element is needed, . . . ")
Significantly, the testing reported in the SAE article 2004-01-1319 did not provide a fascia-replicating component on the standardized barrier. Absence of a fascia-replicating component can substantially affect the dynamics of a first bumper slipping onto (or under) a second bumper, and substantially affect both collapse of the energy absorber and the amount of vehicle damage. At the same time, even though a fascia-replicating component is desired, it is desirable to allow visual access to the energy absorber without disassembly of the standardized barrier after testing. Also, attachment of the various energy absorbers to the impact barrier is not standardized and can be more difficult than is initially apparent, since attachment locations on each of the various production energy absorbers are different, as are their rear surface shapes. Both attachment and rear surface support can significantly affect performance of the energy absorber and its function. No solution to these dilemmas was suggested in the SAE article 2004-01-1319. Further, the SAE paper did not address cost issues, such as tooling costs, cost of materials, and inventory costs for bumper testing facilities. At least one entity has suggested using honeycomb aluminum (e.g. CellBond® material) adhered to a face of a barrier impact tester. However, this material is expensive, contains sharp edges when machined or cut to a given shape, and once adhered, becomes a "permanent" part of the barrier impact tester that cannot be easily removed. It is also undesirable to weld brackets and/or otherwise permanently change the impact barrier, because, aside from cost, such changes can affect or hinder other bumper tests where fascia replication is not required or desired.
The illustrated barrier 21 (FIGS. 2–4) is a prior art standardized tester. It includes a base mounting plate 26 for attachment to a pendulum support or stationary anchor, a pair of support walls 27, and a vertically-flat horizontally-curved front face plate 28 generally representing an aerodynamic vehicle bumper. The procedures for using the barriers are well known and are spelled out in American Standard Testing Methods (ASTM) manuals. It is desirable to improve the barrier 21, and other similar barriers, by providing an arrangement that better replicates a front (or rear) bumper of a vehicle, so that standardized testing can be conducted on vehicles for the purpose of determining damage from the "slipping" of one vehicle bumper over or under another vehicle bumper during a low-speed two-vehicle bumper-to-bumper collision. At the same time, any such solution must address the practical need to be inexpensive to accommodate a large number of tests (e.g. over 8,000 per year) and due to the limited funds available for testing and the cost pressures on government, insurance, automotive original equipment manufacturers, and independent vehicle test facilities. Also, the system must be easy to use, and preferably should not use adhesives or means of permanent attachment.
Thus, a modified bumper impact-testing arrangement having the aforementioned advantages and solving the aforementioned problems is desired. In particular, a standardized barrier test system is desired that allows a fascia-like member to be incorporated into the barrier tester, but that does not prevent or confuse the ability to "read" and visually inspect the test results, including deformation of internal parts, and that does not result in excessive costs and inventory considerations. Also, a single low-cost energy absorber is desired that can be used on barriers having different sweep radii.


Copper powder has a coating made of copper phosphate at the outer surface thereof. The coating is formed by chemically reacting the outer surface of the copper powder and covers the entire surface of the copper powder uniformly, thereby obtaining excellent anti-oxidizing properties. It is preferable to set the copper phosphate ratio in term of phosphorus with respect to the total weight of the copper powder within the range of about 0.05 to 0.5 wt %.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a copper powder and copper paste used for forming a conductor on a ceramic electronic component.
2. Description of the Related Art
A ceramic electronic element generally has conductive patterns or conductors in or on a ceramic body. The conventional copper pastes used for producing such a ceramic electronic element are prepared by dispersing copper powder and glass frit in organic vehicle which consists of resin(s) and solvent. The copper paste is applied or printed onto a ceramic body, dried and then sintered under a weak oxidizing atmosphere. Typically, a nitrogen gas containing oxygen at about 100 ppm is employed in order to hasten burning the organic vehicle and eliminating contamination of carbon in the produced conductive patterns or conductors.
On the other hand, it is important to prevent the copper powder in a copper paste from being oxidized since the oxidation of the copper powder degrades the characteristics of the produced conductive patterns, such as adhesive properties and solderability and increases the resistivity thereof. Therefore, the conventional art has proposed various methods to subject copper powder used for conductive pastes to an anti-oxidizing treatment. For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication Nos. 5-195005 and 5-195260 disclose methods to coat copper powder with a boric acid film acting as an anti-oxidizing film by immersing copper powder in boric acid.
However, the conventional art has the following drawbacks. Specifically, it is difficult to coat the entire outer surfaces of copper powder with boric acid perfectly. As a result, the copper powder prepared by the aforementioned conventional methods may be likely to be oxidized by oxygen present in the sintering atmosphere and portions of the outer surfaces of the copper powder are not covered with the boric acid. In the case where the boric acid film is made thick so as to perfectly cover the entire outer surfaces of the copper powder therewith, there arises another problem in that the copper paste shows poor adhesiveness to the ceramic due to the thick boric acid film.

Copper powder coated with copper phosphate and copper paste containing the same


A matching device includes a first storing unit, a second storing unit, and a semiconductor device. The semiconductor device includes a control unit and a circuit unit. In the circuit unit, a first circuit including distance calculating circuits that calculate distances between unknown characters and dictionary characters and a selecting circuit that selects P distances having smallest values and character codes corresponding to the distances is configured, and then a second circuit including a permutation circuit that outputs distances in order from one having a smallest value and outputs character codes corresponding to the distances is configured.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a matching device for a character recognizing apparatus such as an optical character reader (OCR).
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, character recognizing apparatuses such as an OCR perform matching of one optically-scanned character (an unknown character) and each of all characters registered in dictionary data (dictionary characters) and find characters having high degrees of similarity to thereby recognize the unknown character (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 9-179935 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 3-116393). In general, processing for this matching is performed by using a large scale integration (LSI). To increase speed of the processing for the matching, the dictionary data is dividedly stored in a plurality of memories and distributed processing is performed in the LSI. In recent years, according to the progress in the semiconductor technology, memory access speed has been increased and a size of a circuit that can be incorporated in the LSI has been increased. Therefore, a character recognizing apparatus including a matching device that can perform matching of a plurality of unknown characters at higher speed using parallel processing is developed (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-128311).
However, in the technology disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 5-128311, even if the matching can be performed at higher speed by the parallel processing, if the size of the circuit incorporated in the LSI is large, cost increases. Therefore, there is a demand for a reduction in size of a circuit of the LSI in the matching device that performs the matching for character recognition using the parallel processing.


A laser projector includes a laser, scanning mirrors projecting a laser line image on a surface, a computer including an algorithm controlling a speed of the laser line image, and a computer screen having a user interface. The user interface includes a throttle control which modifies the speed control algorithm permitting an operator to reduce the maximum speed of the projected laser line image using the throttle control, thereby improving the visibility of the laser line image. For example, a method of improving the visibility of a projected laser line image includes projecting a laser line image on a surface to determine the visibility of the laser line image and decreasing the maximum scanning speed of the projected laser line image if the visibility of the laser line image is insufficient.

A conventional laser projection system typically includes a laser, a collimator, galvanometers and two angularly related scanning mirrors which receive the laser beam from the collimator and deflect the laser beam onto a surface, such as a work surface, for assembly of components or component alignment. The laser projector system typically further includes a computer employing algorithms for control of the laser image or template to be projected, including the projection speed, and so forth. With improvements to laser projector algorithms by the assignee of the instant application and improved performance of galvanometers that scan the laser beam, dramatic improvements have been made to the laser projector speed, reducing "flicker" of the pattern of the projected image. Flicker is generally defined as the visible flashing of the displayed pattern at regular intervals. These improvements have resulted in the ability of the laser projection system to project larger, more complex patterns without flicker, such as the pattern of a large complex truss system or images on a large aircraft, resulting in proportionally dimmer laser projections based upon the maximum laser energy permitted by regulation distributed over a larger area. Generally, as the projected laser line image becomes larger and more complex, the components begin to flicker. At the point that the image appears to begin flashing, the apparent brightness of the laser line image becomes constant and as additional projection information is added, the only visible change is a longer interval between flashes. While flicker of the projected laser line image is sometimes considered a disadvantage to operators, the projected image or laser pattern is still clearly visible and is actually more visible because the laser image is flashing. However, with the greatly improved projection speed, the pattern remains flicker-free, but becomes dimmer to the point of invisibility as additional pattern data is displayed, proportional to the overall length of the elements of the laser pattern or template.
There is therefore a problem with reduced visibility of projected laser line images particularly, but not exclusively, in projecting large complex patterns under ambient conditions.

Laser projector with brightness control and method


An diagnostic interface system for a programmable logic system is disclosed. The diagnostic interface system provides an efficient and flexible mechanism for accessing internal nodes of programmable logic devices (PLDs) to facilitate debugging and troubleshooting of the programmable logic system. The interface system includes a diagnostic data bus connecting external I/O pins to various diagnostic data and address registers that connect to the internal circuitry of a PLD. A diagnostics controller controls the various diagnostic resources in response to user supplied control data.

The present invention relates in general to a system using programmable logic devices (PLDs), and in particular to a highly flexible interface system to perform full diagnostic functions for a PLD or a system using multiple PLDs.
Programmable logic has made vast inroads into the field of electronic systems design. Combining multiple PLDs into a single programmable system has made possible emulation systems having significant logic density. Ever increasing amounts of "glue" logic as well as substantial functional blocks are being drawn inside of the new high capacity PLDs. As the level of integration of this functionality increases, the performance and cost improve dramatically. With many logic signals now entirely contained inside of programmable logic devices, the speed, power, efficiency and reliability of the system also improve. The most significant issues in system reliability typically have to do with mechanical connections between devices and the printed circuit board and the connector systems between boards. Thus, as the number of logic signals which are mechanically routed on printed circuit boards and through connectors is reduced, the overall system reliability improves.
The downside of increasing integration is that less and less signals are directly accessible (i.e., observable and controllable) by the engineer charged with system debug. Many of the signals which are of considerable interest when debugging the system are often typically buried inside the programmable logic device. As a result, system debugging and troubleshooting capability is thus severely limited.
It is therefore desirable to make accessible internal nodes of programmable logic devices to improve the diagnostics capability of programmable logic systems.

Diagnostic interface system for programmable logic system development


An optical modulator includes an optical phase modulator which applies an operating voltage to at least one arm so as to modulate an optical phase of an optical signal transmitted via at least one arm and an optical phase adjuster which applies a voltage below the operating voltage to at least one arm so as to adjust an operating point. In the optical phase adjuster, an optical phase coarse adjuster applies a voltage below the operating voltage to at least one arm so as to change an optical phase of an optical signal by 180° or more, while an optical phase fine adjuster applies a voltage below the operating voltage to at least one arm so as to changer an optical phase of an optical signal by 90° or less. Thus, it is possible to automatically calibrate an operating point of an optical modulator with low power consumption.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical modulator and an operating point control method of an optical modulator.
The present application claims priority on Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-67112, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.
Description of the Related Art
Optical communication devices operating with wavelengths ranging from 1,310 nm to 1,550 nm have been used for local area networks (LANs) and optical fibers used for household appliances. It is preferable to employ silicon-base optical communication devices in which optical function devices and electronic circuits can be integrated on silicon platforms by way of CMOS technologies.
Silicon-base optical communication devices have been developed and applied to waveguides, optical couplers, wavelength filters, optical modulators, etc. Among them, optical modulators serving as active devices attract attention among engineers. Additionally, it is generally known that Mach-Zehnder interferometers can be applied to optical modulators using changes of refractive indexes. Optical modulators using Mach-Zehnder interferometers are designed to produce optical intensity modulation signals by way of interference using differences of optical phases in arms including two optical waveguides.
Various types of optical devices and optical modulators have been developed and disclosed in various documents. Patent Literature Document 1 discloses an optical phase control circuit which carries out synchronism detection on small modulation components so as to stably control an operating point of an optical modulator. Patent Literature Document 2 discloses a high-speed silicon-base electro-optic modulator. Patent Literature Document 3 discloses an optical waveguide circuit using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. Patent Literature Documents 4-6 disclose optical modulators. Patent Literature Document 7 discloses a semiconductor laser using optical interference.
FIG. 13 is a schematic illustration showing an example of an optical modulator using a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. The optical modulator includes a first arm 101 and a second arm 102, which are connected to an optical branch structure 103 and an optical coupling structure 104. The optical branch structure 103 is branched into the arms 101 and 102 in the light-input side while the optical coupling structure 104 couples the arms 101 and 102 together in the light-output side. Light input to the optical branch structure 103 is changed in phase while being guided along the arms 101 and 102. Then, optical signals transmitted through the arms 101 and 102 are combined together via the optical coupling structure 104. Both the arms 101 and 102 are silicon-base electro-optic elements which operate based on voltages so that light is changed in phase due to an electro-optic effect or a thermo-optic effect.
Both the arms 101 and 102 have the same length. Without any voltages, no phase differences occur between the arms 101 and 102 so as to superimpose optical signals having the same wavelength, thus maximizing the intensity of light output from the optical coupling structure 104. With a phase difference π occurring between the arms 101 and 102, optical signals transmitted through the arms 101 and 102 are cancelled out when combined together via the optical coupling structure 104, thus minimizing the intensity of light output from the optical coupling structure 104.
Generally speaking, it is possible to maximize an extinction ratio of light by setting an operating point to the intensity of light output from an optical modulator applied with an intermediate voltage between the maximum voltage maximizing the intensity of light and the minimum voltage minimizing the intensity of light. Any one of arms is set to an initial state applied with a voltage causing an optical phase difference corresponding to a half wavelength, and then an operating point (or a reference point) is set to the intensity of light in the initial state. An optical modulator operates based on an operating point so as to output an optical signal. For this reason, it is important to control an operating point constantly. However, it is difficult to stabilize an operating point of an optical modulator due to any changes of environmental temperatures, dispersions of products in manufacturing, and degradation during long-time usage.
Various studies have been carried out to control operating points of optical modulators. Patent Literature Document 1 discloses a technology of controlling an operating point by use of a constant frequency signal superimposed on an operating voltage of a drive circuit causing a phase difference between a first arm and a second arm. Patent Literature Document 5 discloses a technology of controlling an operating point due to a thermo-optic effect using a heater disposed separately from a phase modulator.
For example, operating points may be greatly shifted due to degradation of optical modulators, or operating points may be slightly shifted due to changes of temperatures in optical modulators being driven. The foregoing technologies are unable to control large shifts and small shifts of operating points under low voltages. Additionally, it is difficult to realize optical modulators which can concurrently calibrate large shifts and small shifts of operating points under low voltages.
The technology of Patent Literature Document 1 needs a high voltage above the operating voltage of a drive circuit, causing a phase difference between a first arm and a second arm, since a constant frequency signal is superimposed on the operating voltage of a drive circuit. Since this technology needs to increase the operating voltage of a drive circuit; it is impossible to control an operating point under a low voltage. Additionally, increasing the frequency of a frequency signal superimposed on the operating voltage of a drive circuit may affect the accuracy of phase modulation. In short, this technology is able to solely control a small shift in an operating point of an optical modulator.
The technology of Patent Literature Document 5 utilizing a thermo-optic effect may involve a high phase-change ratio relative to the operating voltage so as to control a large shift in an operating point of an optical modulator. Due to a high phase-change ratio relative to the operating voltage, it is impossible to accurately calibrate a small shift at an operating point of an optical modulator. This may cause a serious problem in mass-produce devices put on the market. It is possible to produce trial products causing high phase-change ratio relative to operating voltages. In trail products, it is possible to calibrate small shifts at operating points by accurately controlling operating voltages. However, it is unpractical to accurately control operating voltages in mass-produce devices put on the market.

Optical modulator and operating point control method


A fuel combustion enhancement apparatus of an internal combustion engine, which is capable of greatly reducing fuel and improving combustion efficiency and torque and reducing exhaust gas, includes a power source terminal, a conductor plate 10 for gas activation, an amplifier 30, and a gas activation enhancement device 20 which includes a frequency resonance coil power source 22, a local oscillation power source, a detection circuit 23, a power amplification circuit 24, a power amplification IC 27, and an amplifier power source 28 connected between the power source terminal and the conductor plate. The conductor plate 10 includes a coil unit 12, and copper plates 14 are electrically connected between both ends of the coil unit 12, and auxiliary plates 16 made of materials having a different standard electrode potential value from materials of the copper plates are disposed at bottoms of the copper plates 14.

In general, the internal combustion engine of a vehicle or a vessel using carbonate hydrogen or gas is driven by a combustion reaction that is generated due to fuel, purified oxygen, and air, such as nitrogen. It has been known that efficiency of the internal combustion engine is determined by how much is a reaction of fuel and air used for a unit time generated. Accordingly, a method of reducing fuel has an object of improving combustion efficiency close to perfect combustion, improving torque, and reducing exhaust gas. To this end, catalyst or a magnet is mounted on a fuel pipe, or means for activating air for combustion is used.
In particular, regarding the means for activating air, as disclosed in Korean Patent Application Registration No. 10-0783825 and Korean Patent Application Publication No. 10-2010-0093936, the ionization of air that is introduced into an internal combustion engine is accelerated by the vibration of a plurality of units, each including a first copper plate and a second copper plate disposed on both ends of a coil unit, within an amplifier connected to the units using a micro current, thereby improving combustion efficiency and removing carbon or scales attached to a fuel engine and a pipe. Accordingly, fuel is reduced because a heat cycle and the transfer of heat become smooth.
In this conventional combustion efficiency improvement method, air is forcedly injected using a tool or combustion efficiency is improved using fuel additives. Accordingly, there is a problem in that carbon or scales are removed using a physical method in order to facilitate the transfer of heat.

Fuel combustion enhancement apparatus of internal combustion engine


The present invention relates to a peptide tag which can be used to bind a Technetium (Tc) or Rhenium (Re) radionuclide to a protein of interest which comprises the peptide tag and allows the imaging of such a tagged protein. In particular the present invention relates to a peptide tag which chelates a Tc or Re atom but which does not comprise a Cysteine residue.

The radio labelling of antibodies, proteins or peptides to produce efficient imaging agents remains a very important goal in the field of molecular imaging which is presently hindered by the lack of suitable compounds.
The natural ability of native molecules to target their antigens or receptors could lead to highly specific imaging or therapeutic molecules due to their innate affinity and specificity. Imaging agents could, in principle, be obtained from such peptides or proteins via their labelling with an element possessing a property that renders these labelled molecules detectable with an imaging system.
Among the various methods developed, radio labelling with 99mTc has been long recognized as a very attractive approach. 99mTc is a metastable nuclear isotope of technetium-99, which has almost ideal properties for in vivo diagnostic imaging. It has a half life (about 6 h) which is long enough to allow the preparation of an imaging agent and for the diagnostic studies to be performed, but is short enough to permit the administration of millicurie amounts without exposing the patient to a significant dose of irradiation.
The monochromatic 140 Key photons and its 89% abundance are ideal for imaging studies with gamma cameras or SPECT systems. In addition, 99mTc can be easily obtained from 99Mo/99mTc generator taking advantage of the transient equilibrium between the parent radionuclide 99Mo and the 99mTc radionuclide. The separation of 99Mo and 99mTc is easily achieved from the generator by elution of pertechnetate TcO4− with saline solutions.
The Tc cores can then be prepared by reduction of the eluted pertechnetate. Several oxidation states of Tc can be generated and used. One of the most studied core corresponds to diatomic Tc(V) core [TcO]3+ and more recently a number of studies reported the production and use of the Tc(I) triscarbonyl [Tc(CO)3]+ to label peptides and proteins.
Rhenium has similarly advantageous properties which make it a suitable element for radiolabelling and in vivo/in vitro imaging and therapeutic uses. In addition Re and Tc have very similar chemistry and as Re is less expensive to produce and certain of its isotopes have a longer half-life than Tc, this could make Rc a better radionuclide for some uses.
Several strategies have already been proposed to radiolabel peptides and proteins with technetium or rhenium:                A first method corresponds to the so-called direct method, which involves the reduction of disulfide bridges present in the molecule of interest and the chelation of the Tc core to the resulting sulfudryl groups (1). While this first method appears simple and easy to perform, it has a number of limitations (2). The first one concerns the impact of chelation on the structure of the protein, normally disulfide bridges play an important role in forming and maintaining the correct folding/structure of a protein and therefore its binding capacity to the targeted receptor. By disrupting the disulfide bridges the resulting labelled protein can lack affinity for its target. Furthermore, the chelated Tc core may interact with or be positioned in the binding region of the protein of interest resulting in the partial or total loss of its biological activity.        A second, indirect method has been proposed to label protein and peptides with Tc cores using a bifunctional chelating agent (BFCA). This method is based on the chemical grafting of strong Tc core chelators onto the surface of the protein by a chemoselective reaction that most often involves Lysine residues. One of the most widely used chelator is the HYNIC group (hydrazinonicotinamide) (3,4). While the presence of such a strong chelator increases the labelling yield and the resulting stability of the Tc complexes formed, the major drawback of this method is that it offers no control on the location of the BFCA on the surface of the protein, which thus can lead to a pool of heterogenous labelled molecules a subset of which may have reduced binding capacity and in any event make quantitative and repeatable studies difficult.        A third approach, called preformed chelate has been proposed to label antibodies (5, 6). However, this approach suffers from the same limitations as the direct and the indirect approaches regarding the absence of control over the location of the preformed Tc-Chelate complex that reacts with any Lysine residues present.
Site specific labelling of proteins with Tc or Re using peptide tag sequences has been proposed as an alternative to the methods described above. This approach consists of adding at a N-terminal or C-terminal position of the protein of interest, a peptide sequence able to chelate a Tc/Re core. Several peptide sequences have been described as [TcO]3+ chelators (7). These peptides form square pyramidal oxo-technetium complexes with tetradentate chelators. The majority of the reported natural amino acid containing peptides possess a Cysteine residue that participates in the chelation via its thiolate group.
Examples of this type of peptide tag are the Gly-Gly-Cys (SEQ ID NO: 28) and the Lys-Gly-Cys (SEQ ID NO: 29) sequences with a N3S chelating motif and the Cys-Gly-Cys (SEQ ID NO: 30) with a N2S2 motif (8, 9). It is however known in the art that the presence of an unpaired Cysteine may interfere in the folding processes of a protein and therefore reduce the yield of production of the modified protein or alter its final conformation. An unpaired Cysteine may also lead to alteration of the targeting molecule during storage.
[TcO]3+ chelating-peptide sequences containing proteinogenic amino acids but without Cysteine residues would therefore appear to be good candidate molecules. However, such peptide sequences are extremely uncommon and in the art only peptide sequences containing Glycine and Alanine residues have been shown to be able to chelate the [TcO]3+ core in a N4 motif (10, 11). These peptides showed interconverting [TcO]3+ syn and anti isomers and no stability data has been reported for these complexes prior to in vivo testing. Stability is an essential property of a radio-labelled reagent as dissociated [TcO]3+ complexes will result in a greater non-specific background signal leading to a lower signal to noise ratio.
In addition, it was recently demonstrated that the [AGGG]TcO complex (SEQ ID NO: 31) was completely unstable against 30 equivalents of Cysteine (12).
Recently dipeptide sequences have been proposed as TcO/ReO chelating sequence (13). These dipeptides have the major disadvantage that they comprise only three Tc/Re chelating functional groups, which would be expected to impact upon the stability of the complex, thereby reducing their usefulness for in vivo applications.

Cysteine-free efficient Technetium (Tc) or Rhenium (Re) chelating peptide tags and their use

Commissariat a L'Energie Atomique et aux Energies Alternatives


A novel form of Ibandronate sodium which is particularly suitable for pharmaceutical applications, and a process for preparing said novel form.

Ibandronate sodium (1,3-(N-methyl-N-pentyl)amino-1-hydroxypropane-1,1-diphosphonic acid, monosodium salt) is a third-generation member of the bis-phosphonate class of drugs effective for the treatment of bone disorders such as osteoporosis. It is marketed under the brand name Boniva® and its mode of action is to inhibit osteoclast-mediated bone resorption. An advantage of this pharmaceutical is that it can be used as a once-monthly treatment.

Ibandronate sodium propylene glycol solvate and processes for the preparation thereof


A room temperature wet chemical digital etching technique for, gallium arsenide or other semiconductor material. Hydrogen peroxide and an acid are used in a two step etching cycle to remove the gallium arsenide in approximately 15 .ANG. limited increments. In the first step of the cycle, gallium arsenide is oxidized by, for example, 30% hydrogen peroxide to form an oxide layer that is diffusion limited to a thickness of, for example, 14-17 .ANG. for time periods from 15 seconds to 120 seconds. The second step of the cycle removes this oxide layer with an acid that does not attack unoxidized gallium arsenide. These steps are repeated in succession using new reactant materials and cleaning after each reactant (to prevent reactant contamination) until the desired etch depth is obtained. Experimental results are presented demonstrating the etch rate and process invariability with respect to hydrogen peroxide and acid exposure times. A method for using a Hall effect measurement to determine the achieved change in surface layer thickness of doped semiconductor material is also included.

This invention concerns the field of semiconductor material etching by wet process techniques.
In the fabrication of transistors and other semiconductor devices there is increasing need for precisely controllable processing steps, steps which can define small features in the semiconductor material layers of the device. In other words, there is need in the semiconductor art for processing such as in the defining of field-effect transistor gate region elements, i.e., processing capable of smaller physical sizes and more accurate feature position location than is presently feasible. Coincidentally with arising of this need, there has evolved apparatus and techniques capable of measuring the dimensions achieved by any such improved processing. The present invention relates to such improved processing in the area of wet process semiconductor material etching.
By way of contrast it is notable that the first digital etching techniques developed use gas and plasma chemical sources to perform the digital etch and may therefore be classified as dry processes. This invention is believed notable in its use of wet chemicals to perform both steps of a digital etch, forming a completely wet chemical digital etching technique.

Digital wet etching of semiconductor materials

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Air Force


A collar for axially positioning a vortex-induced vibration (VIV) suppression device along a tubular is disclosed. The collar has an annular body portion and a plurality of support members extending in a radial direction from the annular body portion. The support members are annularly spaced around the annular body portion such that gaps are formed between the support members, the gaps being dimensioned to receive an auxiliary tubular positioned external to a main tubular around which the annular body portion is positioned.

A difficult obstacle associated with the exploration and production of oil and gas is management of significant ocean currents. These currents can produce vortex induced vibration (VIV) and/or large deflections of tubulars associated with drilling and production. VIV can cause substantial fatigue damage to the tubular or cause suspension of drilling due to increased deflections. Both helical strakes and fairings can provide sufficient VIV suppression, but can be slow and unsafe to install.
Most suppression devices are placed against the tubular. For example, helical strakes are typically clamped to the tubular, though in some cases the helical strake may have a spacer element to allow water flow under the strake for cathodic protection. Fairings typically have a small annulus between the fairing and the tubular, but are held in the same axial position by collars that are clamped to the tubular.
Fairings are typically free to weathervane (rotate) about the longitudinal axis of the tubular, and are supported by collars to keep them from sliding along the tubular axis more than desired. Often, collars are used at each end of the fairing to maintain the desired axial position.
A problem associated with collars is that it is difficult to design a collar that is able to accommodate other exterior or auxiliary tubulars outside of the main, or central, tubular. Since the collars are typically clamped tight against the main tubular, and since adjacent tubulars are often not designed to take the large forces associated with the tight collar, the presence of adjacent exterior tubulars is difficult to accommodate. This is especially true of drilling risers, which may have several lines running outside of the main pipe, for example choke and kill lines, booster lines, and other lines.
Sometimes fairings are installed on tubulars with buoyancy, insulation, or other coatings that contain the adjacent tubulars and allow the collar to be installed on a strong structure. Many fairing systems have been produced using collars that clamp around the buoyancy or insulation. However, and in particular for drilling systems, it is desirable to be able to use the same fairing system for both joints having buoyancy and joints for which the adjacent tubulars are exposed.
One solution is to build a very large collar and cut slots for adjacent tubulars positioned along the outer surface of the main tubular. Unfortunately, this is not very practical with the main tubular, which is large, and/or the distance between the main tubular and the adjacent tubulars is substantial. In addition, one important consideration is for the collars to be fast and/or inexpensive to install. Making the collars larger, however, is not very cost effective.


Disclosed herein is a novel cyclic olefin compound having a photoreactive group and a novel photoreactive polymer. The cyclic olefin compound is applicable to various photoreactions, such as of liquid crystal alignment films and can be preferably used as a precursor of different organic compounds or polymers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a novel cyclic olefin compound having a photoreactive group, and a novel photoreactive polymer and, more particularly, to a novel cyclic olefin compound having a photoreactive group and a photoreactive polymer prepared from the same that are applicable to various photoreactions, such as of liquid crystal alignment films, and can also be preferably used as precursors of different organic compounds or polymers.
2. Background Art
Recently, a variety of photoreactive compounds or polymers have been used in a wide range of optical applications, such as thin film transistor liquid crystal display (TFT-LCD), photoresist, and so forth.
TFT-LCDs, for example, have an alignment film underlying a liquid crystal film so as to use liquid crystals as optical switches. Recently, photoreactive polymers or the like are included in the alignment film to employ UV-based photo-alignment.
The term "photo-alignment" as used herein refers to a mechanism that the functional groups (photoreactors) of a defined photoreactive polymer causes photoreactions by a linearly polarized UV exposure, during which the polymer main chain is aligned in a defined direction, bringing about liquid crystal alignment.
For more effective photo-alignment to occur, the photoreactive polymer contained in the alignment film is required to cause good interactions with the molecules in the liquid crystal film and furthermore to possess a good photoreactivity.
With a gradual increase in the usage of photoreactive compounds or polymers in a wider variety of applications, there is a demand for various photoreactive compounds or polymers that have a high photoreactivity to more different types of light (e.g., omnidirectional polarized UV, UV of different wavelengths, etc.).
However, most of the existing photoreactive polymers do not have a good photoreactivity or cause enough interactions with liquid crystal molecules. Moreover, the development of photoreactive polymers with a good photoreactivity to various types of lights remains to be desired.

Cyclic olefin compound having photoreactive group and photoreactive polymer


A sensor device is provided for performing rapid and high-sensitivity detection. The sensor device comprising at least one support for immobilizing a subject to be detected and a cell for containing a solution in which a reaction product generated from the subject to be detected is diffused. At least one reaction region having a constant concentration of the reaction product is formed by diffusion of the reaction product into the solution, and the reaction region is formed in such a manner that the reaction product is specifically detected in a predetermined measurement time.

As a conventional sensor device for detecting a very small amount of an analyte, an enzyme electrode immunosensor is known. The sensor uses an immobilized antibody, a labeled antibody to which an enzyme is linked, and an electrode, to detect an analyte, which is linked to the immobilized antibody, where the labeled antibody linked to the analyte is a subject to be detected. The amount of the analyte is detected as a change in the current produced by oxidation and reduction of a product by an enzyme reaction using the electrode. FIG. 2 shows a conventional enzyme electrode immunosensor. As shown in FIG. 2, in the conventional enzyme electrode immunosensor, antibodies 102 are immobilized on the entirety of a bottom surface of a detection cell 101. Analyte molecules (antigens) 103 in a specimen are diffused in a solution within the cell, and reach and specifically bind to the immobilized antibodies 102. A labeled antibody 105 linked to an enzyme 104 is allowed to bind additionally to the analyte 103, resulting in formation of a sandwich complex. Excess antigens and labeled antibodies are washed out before adding a reaction solution 106 containing a substrate 107 for an enzyme reaction. The substrate 107 is converted to an enzyme reaction product 108 by action of the enzyme. The enzyme reaction product 108 is further subjected to oxidation and reduction by an electrode 3, thereby detecting the analyte.
The potential of the electrode needs to be held at a predetermined potential for the purpose of electrochemical oxidation and reduction of the enzyme reaction product 108 (not shown in FIG. 2). Therefore, the potential of the electrode for oxidation and reduction is set to be a potential based on the potential of a reference electrode placed in the reaction solution as a reference potential.
Although such a conventional enzyme electrode immunosensor device advantageously has a relatively simple structure, detection rate and detection sensitivity may not be obtained to sufficient extent in a practical sense for some subjects to be detected. Some sensor devices employ a labeled antibody labeled with a fluorescent dye instead of an enzyme. Unfortunately, detection of fluorescence complicates the procedure. The present invention is provided to solve the problems of the above-described conventional sensor devices. The object of the present invention is to eliminate the above-described problems.
the potential of the electrode for oxidation and reduction is set to be the potential of a reference electrode placed in the reaction solution as a reference potential