An LCD device operated by a remote controller comprises: an LCD unit having a display electrode supplied with voltage based on a video signal and a counter-electrode supplied with counter-electrode voltage; a remote control receiver for receiving a flicker adjustment control signal from the remote controller; a microcomputer for outputting a flicker voltage control signal based on the flicker adjustment control signal; a counter-electrode voltage control unit for generating a flicker adjustment voltage whose value varies according to the flicker voltage control signal, and outputting a DC counter-electrode voltage based on the flicker adjustment voltage; and a DC-AC converter for converting the DC counter-electrode voltage to AC voltage to be applied to the counter-electrode. An operator (human) can make flicker adjustment at a position on the front side of, and if necessary distanced from, the LCD device where the operator can directly and easily view an image on the LCD.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device to be subjected to counter-electrode voltage adjustment work, and more particularly to a technology of flicker adjustment for an active matrix type liquid crystal display device using a remote controller.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an active matrix type liquid crystal display (hereafter referred to simply as "AM-LCD") is often used for a liquid crystal display device such as an LCD television receiver or an LCD projection television receiver. The AM-LCD device is typically formed such that a liquid crystal layer is sandwiched between a pair of substrates to be a liquid crystal panel, that a plurality of gate lines and a plurality of source lines are formed on one of the substrates, and that a TFT (Thin Film Transistor) is provided as a switching element at each intersection between each gate line and each source line for each pixel of the liquid crystal panel. When a gate voltage is applied to a gate electrode of a TFT for a pixel, which is assumed here as a P-type FET (Field Effect Transistor), so as to turn on the TFT, a voltage based on a video signal from a source line is applied to a drain electrode of the TFT and is in turn applied to a pixel electrode (display electrode) for the pixel on the one substrate of the liquid crystal panel. On the other hand, a counter-electrode voltage is applied to a counter-electrode provided on the other substrate for the pixel so as to drive the liquid crystal of the pixel, for display, by a voltage difference between the drain voltage and the counter-electrode voltage for the pixel.
Note here that AC (Alternate Current) drive is used, rather than DC (Direct Current) drive, to drive the liquid crystal for the following reason. If a liquid crystal is driven by a DC current, ions stay on one side of the liquid crystal, which causes an after-image on the display. This reduces the display quality, and significantly degrades the property of the liquid crystal, which sometimes causes a burned-in image. Thus, AC drive is used as a method of driving the liquid crystal, considering the life of the liquid crystal material.
However, a TFT liquid crystal panel has a TFT parasitic capacitance, so that a feed-through voltage VF expressed by the following equation is superimposed as a DC component on the pixel electrode voltage to drive the liquid crystal:VF=−VGCGS/(CGS+CLC+CSC)where VG is gate pulse voltage, CGS is parasitic capacitance between the gate electrode and source electrode of the TFT, CLC is liquid crystal capacitance formed by the liquid crystal between the counter-electrode and the drain electrode, and CSC is auxiliary capacitance provided between the drain electrode and the gate line. Since this feed-through voltage VF, as a DC component, degrades the liquid crystal, it is required to reduce an apparent value of the DC component to substantially zero e.g. by biasing the counter-electrode voltage or the voltage based on the video signal with a voltage corresponding to the feed-through voltage VF.
Furthermore, the liquid crystal capacitance CLC varies with a magnitude of the voltage due to the dielectric constant anisotropy of the liquid crystal, and consequently the DC component also varies. Accordingly, it is not possible to reduce the DC component to zero for the full range of gradation. In addition, when a drive signal for the AC drive becomes asymmetric due to the superimposition of the DC component, flicker occurs at the same period as that of the frequency of the driving signal. It is known that when a video input voltage applied to a liquid crystal in an LCD television display device is asymmetric relative to the counter-electrode voltage, it causes 30 Hz flicker visible to a human eye, because the frequency of a driving signal in an LCD television display device is ½ of a frame frequency. For reducing the flicker, some AC drive modes of driving video signals are available which use field inversion, line inversion or a combination of these. However, it is difficult for any of such available drive modes to completely reduce the flicker, so that some additional adjustment for reducing the flicker is needed.
For this reason, a conventional TFT-LCD device adjusts the counter-electrode voltage so as to minimize the flicker to improve the image quality of the LCD device, and at the same time to prevent degradation of a liquid crystal material due to the DC component. There, the adjustment to minimize the flicker is made by adjusting the counter-electrode voltage. Actually, an operator (human) adjusts the counter-electrode voltage while viewing and inspecting the state of flicker.
FIG. 7 is a schematic block diagram of a conventional LCD television receiver 100 to be subjected to the counter-electrode voltage adjustment. Referring to FIG. 7, the LCD television receiver 100 comprises a television receiver body 110, an antenna 102, an LCD 103, a speaker 104 and a remote controller 105. The television receiver body 110 includes a counter-electrode voltage adjustment unit 107 as will be described in detail later.
The television receiver body 110 comprises a tuner 111 to be commanded by the remote controller 105 for selecting a channel as well as a video decoder 112 and an audio decoder 113 for decoding a video signal and an audio signal. The television receiver body 110 further comprises a video output circuit 114 and an audio output circuit 115 for outputting the video signal and the audio signal to the LCD 103 and the speaker 104, respectively, for display and sound. The television receiver body 110 still further comprises a control unit 116 formed of a microcomputer for controlling the tuner 111, the video decoder 112, the audio decoder 113, the video output circuit 114 and the audio output circuit 115. The control unit 116 is coupled to a memory 117 in the television receiver body 110 to store various data needed for the controls. The video output circuit 114 applies a voltage based on the video signal to a display electrode 131 of the LCD 103, while the counter-electrode voltage adjustment unit 107 applies a counter-electrode voltage to a counter-electrode 132 of the LCD 103. By adjusting the counter-electrode voltage, flicker is reduced.
FIG. 8 is a circuit diagram of the counter-electrode voltage adjustment unit 107 of the conventional LCD television receiver 100. The counter-electrode voltage adjustment unit 107 comprises: an operational amplifier A; a resistor circuit composed of resistors R2 and R3 and a three-terminal variable resistor Rx connected in series between a constant DC power supply voltage Vo and ground; and an emitter-follower transistor Q1. The operational amplifier A has, on its input side, a positive (+) input connected to ground, and a negative (−) input supplied with an adjustment voltage Vr which is generated by a resistance division of the resistor circuit of the resistors R2, R3 and Rx. On the other hand, the output of the operational amplifier A is taken from the emitter of the emitter-follower transistor Q1 having an emitter resistor R1, and is smoothed by a capacitor C1 connected between the emitter and ground, and is further output to the LCD 103 as a DC counter-electrode voltage Vcom (DC). Note here that the DC counter-electrode voltage Vcom (DC) shown in FIG. 8 is converted by a DC-to-AC converter (not shown) to an AC counter-electrode voltage Vcom (AC) to be applied to the counter-electrode 132 of the LCD 103.
For operating the counter-electrode voltage adjustment unit 107 to adjust the counter-electrode voltage, an operator (human) turns a knob of the variable resistor Rx with a screwdriver, while viewing a display screen of the LCD 103, so as to adjust the resistance of the variable resistor Rx. This causes the following problem. The variable resistor Rx is mounted on a printed circuit board which is placed in the LCD television receiver 100 on a side opposite to the front of the display screen. Thus, the front of the display screen is distanced from the variable resistor Rx. Accordingly, it is difficult for the operator to turn the knob of the variable resistor Rx for the adjustment with its hand stretched out while viewing the display screen. This is particularly so when the display screen is large-sized, so that the adjustment is difficult.
To solve this problem, a mirror is sometimes used to view the display screen for the adjustment. However, an adjustment work using a mirror is not easy, particularly when the display screen is large-sized. With a large-sized display screen and a mirror, it is significantly difficult to view and inspect the flicker on the display screen, resulting in a long time for the adjustment and reduction of adjustment accuracy. In addition, the variable resistor Rx reduces its reliability if turned many times for the adjustment.
There are other methods of adjusting a counter-electrode voltage in an LCD device. For example, Japanese Patent 3058049 discloses an LCD device which automatically adjusts flicker by using a wired remote controller with an optical sensor having a light receiving unit including a phototransistor. In this LCD device, the optical sensor is directed to a projection screen so as to detect flicker by an intensity of light from the projection screen. More specifically, the LCD device detects 30 Hz flicker using the light receiving unit of the optical sensor, a low-pass filter, a peak hold circuit, a timing generator and so on. The detected flicker is subjected to data processing using a data processing circuit having a register, a comparator and the like to obtain a processed data, which is then used to adjust a counter-electrode voltage in the LCD device so as to automatically adjust the flicker.
However, this LCD device requires a wired remote controller to be exclusively used for the counter-electrode voltage adjustment, and also requires many circuit elements for the flicker detection, data storage, data processing and so on for the purpose of the automatic adjustment. This results in increased circuit complexity and increased cost, and causes power consumption to increase due to the increased circuit size. In addition to this problem, the LCD device has a further problem that the wired remote controller can move only in a limited range because of the wiring, and is harder to use than an ordinary remote controller by wireless or light transmission.
Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication 2002-202761 discloses an AM-LCD device having a counter-electrode voltage generating circuit which generates, and applies to a counter-electrode, different counter-electrode voltages for a forward scanning and a reverse scanning, respectively. The AM-LCD device separately adjusts, and applies to the counter-electrode, the counter-electrode voltages for the forward and reverse scannings, respectively. For adjusting each counter-electrode voltage, the AM-LCD device uses a variable resistor in the counter-electrode voltage generating circuit mounted in the device. This causes a problem that it is difficult to make the counter-electrode voltage adjustment, particularly for a large-sized display, just as the above-described conventional LCD television receiver.
Besides, Japanese-translated Laid-open Publication of International Patent Application 2004-514947 discloses an LCD device which controls a common electrode (counter-electrode) voltage using two photosensors. More specifically, the two photosensors detect a projection image of a video signal (for pre-adjustment) having preset color components and drive level, and output electrical signals corresponding to light levels which the two photosensors detect, respectively. An electrical signal corresponding to the difference between the two output electrical signals is extracted by a differential amplifier, and is used to adjust the common electrode voltage. This causes a problem that it requires use of multiple photosensors to achieve high detection accuracy, and also requires alignment accuracy of the photosensors, resulting in increased circuit complexity and increased cost.

Liquid crystal display device operated by remote control


A hook apparatus is used to lift and convey a heavy structural member, e.g., an iron plate. The hook apparatus includes a hook support (1) having a fall preventing portion (11) at the distal end thereof and a wire securing portion (12) at the proximal end thereof, and a hook (3) whose proximal end portion has a bifurcate structure comprising two branch end portions (32 and 32'), the hook (3) being pivotably attached to the hook support (1) through a connecting pin (2) which extends between the branch end portions (32 and 32'), piercing through an approximately central portion (13) of the hook support (1) which is disposed in the space defined between the branch end portions (32 and 32'). The hook apparatus further includes a lock (4) disposed in the space defined between the branch end portions (32 and 32') of the hook (3) to cooperate with the approximately central portion (13) of the hook support (1) to lock the hook support (1) and the hook (3) to each other. The hook (3) is pivotable approximately 180.degree. reversely relative to the hook support (1) when the hook support (1) and the hook (3) are unlocked from each other by disengaging the lock (4). Thus, it is possible to lift, convey and release a heavy structural member extremely safely and efficiently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hook apparatus which is used to lift a heavy object, e.g., an iron plate, a block member, etc., at a construction site or the like.
More particularly, the present invention relates to a hook apparatus specially used for lifting a heavy object, which is capable of being hooked.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Hitherto, heavy iron plates (e.g., several tons) have been used at many construction sites where they are laid out on the ground to form curing scaffolding for soft ground. It is frequently to move such plates, depending upon the type of work at the construction site. To move the plates, a lifting operation is conducted with a crane or the like.
More specifically, the operation of lifting and moving an iron plate used as the above-described scaffolding is carried out with a wire passed through a lifting hole that is provided in a desired portion of the iron plate. The wire is engaged with a hook to pull the wire, thereby lifting and moving the iron plate.
Conventional hooks generally used for the above operation of lifting iron plates (also known as sole plates) are of different types such as:
(i) In one conventional hook structure, a fall preventing plate is disposed on the hook body in such a manner that the plate is biased by resilient force to abut against the distal end portion of the hook, and the width of the opening at the distal end portion of the hook is set at an extremely small value.
Needless to say, the reason why the opening width at the distal end portion of the hook is made small is to prevent disengagement of the wire from the hook as much as possible. (ii) In another conventional hook structure; a hook comprises a hook support and a hook member, which are two separate members capable of pivoting relative to each other. It should be noted that when a heavy object is lifted, the respective distal end portions of the hook support and the hook member abut against each other to function as a fall preventing mechanism.
However, this type of conventional hook structure is also used in such a way that a wire that is attached to an iron plate which is then engaged with the hook; therefore, the width of the opening which is defined at the hook distal end portion between the hook support and the hook member when pivoted relative to each other is extremely small for the same reason as above.
In field work, however, heavy labor is required for the operation of engaging a wire with an iron plate laid out, which is as heavy as several tons. Therefore, the worker is apt to insert the engagement portion of the hook (i.e., the hook distal end portion) directly into a hole provided in the iron plate to lift it. In such a case, however, it is extremely difficult to engage the hook with the iron plate because the opening width at the hook distal end portion is extremely small, as described above. In other words, when an object, e.g., an iron plate, which is laid out on the ground is to be lifted up by engaging the hook directly with the iron plate, the hook cannot readily be engaged with the iron plate because the opening width of the conventional hook is extremely small. Even if the hook is successfully engaged with the iron plate, it is still difficult to disengage the hook from the iron plate after the iron plate has been relocated.
Properly speaking, hooks having no fall preventing device must not be used for the operation of the type described above, but in many work sites hooks which are equipped with no fall preventing device and which have a large opening width are used in the present state of art.
However, it is considerably dangerous to use a hook which is equipped with no fall preventing device and which has a wide opening for such an operation.
More specifically, when an iron plate (as a heavy object) is being lifted with a hook having no fall preventing device, there is substantially no possibility of the hook disengaging from the iron plate, but when the iron plate is lowered onto the ground so as to be installed thereon, a play is likely to be produced between the hook and the hole for lifting due to slacking of the lifting wire. Thus, undesired disengagement of the hook from the hole frequently occurs. Once the hook disengages from the hole, the iron plate will fall down, inviting danger of people being crushed to death under the iron plate. In actuality, there have, been many fatal accidents caused by falling iron plates at work sites of the kind described above.
The present inventor conducted exhaustive studies in order to solve the above-described problems of the prior art.
As a result, the present inventor has found that if a hook apparatus has such a structure that a hook that is pivotably attached to a hook support is capable of pivoting approximately 180.degree. reversely from a locked position (in which the distal end portion of the hook is held in united relation to a fall preventing portion of the hook support to maintain a lock state) when it is unlocked, that is, if the distal end portion of the hook and the fall preventing portion of the hook support can be opened relative to each other much wider than in the prior art, it is possible to facilitate insertion of the distal end portion of the hook into an engagement hole provided in a heavy object, e.g., an iron plate or the like laid out on the ground, when the hook is to be engaged with such a heavy object to lift it, and there is no likelihood that the fall preventing portion will abut on or be buried in the ground during the operation of disengaging the hook from the heavy object, thus enabling the hook to be disengaged from the heavy object extremely smoothly without meeting with any obstacle. The present invention has been accomplished on the basis of this finding.

Hook apparatus for lifting a heavy object


Touch panel systems and methods are disclosed that can distinguish temporally overlapping touch inputs from single touch inputs so that valid touch position coordinates can be determined. Touch panel systems and methods of the present invention can distinguish overlapping touches by comparing signal magnitudes to specified thresholds, by comparing the rates of change of signal magnitudes or measured positions to determined parameters, by locating the proximity a calculated location to icons or other such active areas, and the like. Because touch panel systems and methods of the present invention can discriminate single touches from double touches, they can be used in multiple user applications such as multiplayer games as well as in applications that may be subject to rapidly successive or overlapping touch inputs.

Touch panels are often used in electronic display systems as a replacement or supplement to a conventional keyboard and/or a mouse. Touch panels are generally intuitive to use and may require comparatively little training to operate. For example, a user can implement a complex sequence of instructions by simply pressing a touch screen at a location identified by an appropriate icon. The functionality of the icon can be changed by manipulating the supporting software according to the application.
An integral part of a touch system is the mechanism for detecting the location of a touch applied by a user. The detection of touch locations may be based on different technologies. Exemplary technologies include resistive, capacitive, force, infrared (IR), and surface acoustic waves (SAW).
Touch panels are often characterized by several attributes including size, ease of use, resolution, optical performance, and cost. Demand for touch panel devices for user input has increased as the variety of electronic devices has increased, as the desire for portable devices has increased, as desk top and other space has become more limited, and as the functionality of touch screens has improved and expanded.

Touch panel system and method for distinguishing multiple touch inputs


An optical assembly lock/unlock apparatus includes an interlock mechanism configured to selectively lock an optical assembly in a fixed position relative to a scan engine and unlock the optical assembly relative to the scan engine when the scan engine is to be removed from and secured to a print engine.

A digital image forming apparatus equipped with an optical scanner unit which is detachable from a main body typically includes in its upper part an image reading section, and in its lower part an image holding member and an image forming section. The image reading section outputs a document image in a form of an electric image signal using a line image sensor, etc. The image forming section develops an electrostatic latent image formed on an image holding member and transfers it onto a sheet, and also performs cleaning. The optical scanner unit is provided for forming an electrostatic latent image on a surface of a photoreceptor by scanning an optical image by projecting thereon a laser beam. The described optical scanner unit is provided between the image reading section and the image forming section in consideration of a space, image forming processes, etc.
The optical scanner unit and the image forming section including the image holding member, etc., are respectively composed of many members which are often subject to cleaning and exchange, etc., and for the described purposes, the optical scanner unit and the image forming section are often removed from the digital image forming apparatus.

Optical assembly lock/unlock apparatus and method

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


In a system for recycling a high-boiling-point waste photoresist stripper generated in processes of manufacturing LCDs or semiconductor devices, wherein an expensive high-boiling-point stripper solvent can be easily recycled at high yield and high-purity electronic grade. This system includes a first distillation device for removing low-boiling-point impurities, a second distillation device for recycling a stripper solvent composition while removing high-boiling-point impurities, a third distillation device for removing trace water, thus recovering the stripper solvent composition, a fourth distillation device for additionally recycling a stripper solvent, thus additionally recovering a high-boiling-point stripper solvent, and a fifth distillation device for sequentially and separately recovering the stripper solvent composition recovered by the second distillation device and the high-boiling-point stripper solvent additionally recovered by the fourth distillation device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for recycling a high-boiling-point waste photoresist stripper, and more particularly, to a system and method for recycling a high-boiling-point waste photoresist stripper, wherein an expensive high-boiling-point stripper solvent may be easily recycled at high yield and in the level of high-purity electronic grade from a high-boiling-point waste photoresist stripper generated in a process of manufacturing a liquid crystal display or a semiconductor device.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the drastic advancement of information communication industries, the demand for electronic devices and liquid crystal displays (LCDs) using a variety of semiconductor devices is continuously increasing. Accordingly, a photoresist, which is a key to the formation of a micropattern of a wafer and a circuit board, and an expensive stripper for dilution and removal of such a photoresist are increasingly required, and furthermore, the need for recycling such a stripper used is on the rise.
For example, a waste stripper is mainly generated during a photo process for forming a circuit pattern in the course of manufacturing electronic parts such as semiconductor wafers, LCDs, glass substrates, etc., and the waste stripper contains not only stripper solvents but also a photoresist resin, water, impurities such as heavy metals, etc.
The waste stripper is mostly removed by way of incineration or landfill after simple pre-treatment, but may cause environmental problems and treatment cost problems from generation of the waste to removal thereof. Ultimately, competitiveness of IT industries may become weakened and thus ensuring resources through recycling of waste solvents is urgently required.
As electronic parts and devices combined with IT technology have been rapidly developed, kinds or functions of thinner and stripper used in the manufacturing processes have become diversified. Nevertheless, the amounts of main stripper solvents which are reused through recovery and purification after having been used for processes of manufacturing electronic parts such as TET-LCD (which is an ultrathin film liquid crystal display), etc. are very small at the present time.
Particularly in TET-LCD fields, substrates are large-sized and panel prices are falling, and thus the demand for processing cost savings is increasing. Under circumstances in which high prices of raw materials of thinners and strippers result from the recent rise in oil prices, cost competitiveness has to be ensured. Hence, when waste strippers are utilized again as raw materials through purification, the use of raw materials is reduced, and also, environmental problems which become more serious and treatment cost problems may be solved.
Extensive research to recycling techniques of the waste in a stripping process is ongoing these days in terms of economy, environment and efficiency. In regard to a waste stripper recycling technique, Korean Patent No. 0901001 and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-288329 disclose a technique for recycling a stripper solvent by removing a low-boiling-point material such as water, etc. and a high-boiling-point material such as a photoresist resin, etc., from the waste stripper, and Korean Patent No. 0899777 discloses a high-yield recycling method in which the recycling loss is minimized.
However, due to the recent advancement of LCD and semiconductor industries, a new type photoresist resin is being used depending on the development of a novel memory semiconductor, and a highly functional stripper organic solvent is required to easily dissolve the photoresist resin in the course of stripping the photoresist resin during the manufacturing process. Although the use of high-boiling-point stripper solvents having high stripper solubility is increasing, limitations are imposed on recycling the high-boiling-point stripper solvents using the recycling method as above.
In the recycling method as above, because of high-boiling-point properties, including high viscosity, thermal decomposition and color change, the high-boiling-point stripper organic solvents are difficult to separate and purify from heavy photoresist resin and metal components, and are allowed to excessively remain in order to prevent generation of processing difficulties, and then discarded together with high-boiling-point impurities.
Also, the recovery efficiency of high-boiling-point stripper organic solvents recovered by the conventional recycling methods approximates to 15%, which is regarded as economically insignificant. The quality including purity and color of the recovered high-boiling-point stripper solvents is poor and thus the recycling value thereof is low, which is undesirable.
The demand for techniques for recycling and recovering of expensive high-boiling-point stripper organic solvents is being agitated in the related industries, but there are still no alternatives to the recycling techniques at home and abroad.
Hence, there is an urgent need to secure advanced recycling techniques able to recover expensive high-boiling-point stripper organic solvents through recycling and purification from a photoresist residue which is being discarded, in addition to the typical stripper organic solvent of the waste photoresist stripper. If a high-boiling-point stripper solvent which is an expensive valuable resource completely imported from abroad is recovered in a large amount at high recovery efficiency and then reused, efficient energy management and competitiveness of IT related companies are likely to remarkably increase, and more practical environmental improvement effects are expected.

System and method for recycling high-boiling-point waste photoresist stripper


A plunge cutting device for plastic pipe, pipe couplings, plastic flanges and other planar members includes a cylindrical body including slots formed therein, a pilot for guiding the cylindrical body, and cutters adjustably mounted in the slots. A canted relief is formed in the cylindrical body adjoining the leading wall of each slot to facilitate ejection of cut shavings. The pilot may comprise a main pilot and an auxiliary pilot detachably connected to the main pilot. The auxiliary pilot can be replaced with one of a different diameter in accordance with the dimensions of a pipe being processed with the device.

Plastic pipe cutters as used for shaving, milling and cutting the leading end of pipes are well known. Cutters for removing the hub of a pipe coupling have also been described in the literature. Such devices are useful in repair and replacement situations where a plastic pipe must be conditioned to receive a new fitting. They are most useful in situations where access to the pipe is limited, e.g., the pipe is embedded in and projects from a wall in such a way that replacement or extension of the pipe is not readily accomplished.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,691,600 to Carlson discloses a pipe shaving tool with recessed disk cutters mounted on forwardly projecting lugs positioned about an elongated mandrel. The Carlson device is mountable on a power drill or the like, and used exclusively for shaving the outer surface of a pipe to both a predetermined depth and length. The Carlson device has limited application, first because the cutters are recessed and secondly because the cutter position is not adjustable. Therefore, if the pipe or hub is too large to fit between the radiused gap defined by the lugs and the mandrel, the cutters can not access the hub. Furthermore, the Carlson device is not able to shave or cut a planar flange member or mounting fixture which is attached to the pipe. It is first necessary to cut the mounting fixture off the pipe end, for example, with a saw. Accordingly, the Carlson tool has limited applicability.
Another example of a pipe planing device is found in U.S. Pat. No. 4,693,643 to Heyworth. Heyworth describes a device for progressive planing of the interior of a plastic pipe which features a cylindrical pilot member, a shaft, and a rotatable hub. The rotatable hub includes circumferentially spaced and radially projecting spider arms on the end of which square cutters are recessed and fixedly secured. The cutters are fixed at a negative rake angle and their outer edges extend radially outward beyond the hub. The outer cutter edges are positioned on a radius to be flush with the inner diameter of a pipe. As in the case of other prior art reaming devices, Heyworth requires that the pipe be cut transversely before planing. Furthermore, the Heyworth tool is unable to remove members from the outside of a pipe.
Bowen, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,930,948, describes a specialized tool for valve seat refitting, the purpose being to simultaneously cut the three faces of a valve seat. To achieve this purpose, Bowen uses a rotary driven, cylindrical body portion with longitudinal, tangential slots to support adjustably mounted, variably positioned cutting blades. The blades project forwardly of the body in different orientations and at different lengths to cut all three faces of the valve seat for refitting.
The known devices possess general utility to remove hubs, sawed-off pipe joints, and the like, or specialized utility, e.g., to refit a valve seat. However, the known devices do not address or solve the problem associated with removal of mounted flanged pipe couplings or removal of fixtures having a diameter substantially greater than the diameter of the pipe. The prior art discloses pipe shaving devices for general use which require the cutters either to travel in a circular path moving inwardly from the outer diameter to the inner diameter of the pipe or to abut an pilot/guide during the cutting/reaming operation to maintain the cutters in a proper position.
Furthermore, during cutting operations with the prior art devices, the plastic shavings can accumulate in front of the device or cutter edges, resulting in non-uniform cutting. Some devices, such as those identified above, incorporate the cutters on projecting arms or spiders so that during the cutting operation the pipe shavings do not compress in front of the cutters but move into the gaps between the arms and may fall away from the device by gravity if the device is used in an open area. This method of temporarily removing the shavings from the cutter edges can lead to guidance and alignment problems when the shavings are allowed to accumulate and compact in front of the tool during use.

Plunge cutting device and method for pipes


A method of modifying a digital rights object including a first portion including a first key and a second portion including first control information for controlling the rights to content encrypted with a second key, the method including the steps of: a) calculating a first function from the first control information of the digital rights object; b) operating on the first key using the first function calculated in step a), to obtain the second key; c) modifying the first control information of the second portion to second control information; d) calculating a second function from the second control information of the digital rights object; and e) operating on the second key obtained in step b) using the second function calculated in step d), to obtain a third key for replacing the first key.

Digital Rights Management (DRM) has been developed in order to enable the distribution of digital content while controlling the use of that content. The content is encrypted to prevent its unauthorized use and distributed as an encrypted file. The decryption of the content and how it may be used is controlled by a rights object. This rights object may be a separate file or it may be attached to the encrypted content.
The rights object specifies the rights for the content. These rights generally constrain the actions that can be performed on the content. The constraints may, for example, prevent or restrict one or more of using, copying, forwarding, saving, previewing etc. The rights can be limited in time so that the content can only be used for a specified time or they can be limited by play count so that the content can only be used a specified number of times.
A rights object contains a Content Encryption Key (CEK) that is used for decrypting the encrypted content associated with the rights object.
Typically the integrity of the rights object is protected using the digital signature of the content originator. This prevents the modification of the rights object.
Consequently, as the device hosting the rights object cannot update the rights object directly it must have a dedicated database for maintaining rights object information. For example, as the device cannot update the playcount in the rights object each time the content is accessed it must maintain a database that stores and decrements playcount each time the content is accessed.
It would be desirable to enable modification of the rights object while maintaining the integrity of the rights object.

Enabling modification of control information, which controls the rights to content, where access to a key for decrypting the content requires a particular value that becomes modified when the control information is modified


A vehicle gearbox has a rotatable actuator shaft having forward, neutral and reverse positions corresponding to forward, neutral and reverse operational modes of the gearbox. A control mechanism includes a first control lever operatively coupled to the actuator shaft for selecting a forward, neutral or reverse mode of the gearbox, a locking lever operable to actuate a parking lock, a second control lever coupled to the locking lever to control engagement and disengagement of the parking lock, and a device responsive to the second control lever for placing the gearbox in neutral when the parking lock is engaged. The device includes an actuator lever non-rotatably fixed to and extending radially from the actuator shaft and linkages coupled between the locking lever and the actuator lever for moving the actuator shaft into its neutral position when the parking lock is engaged.

The invention to a gearbox of an agricultural or industrial vehicle, in particular, an agricultural tractor.
It is known practice to equip utility vehicles with parking locks. The parking lock is to be applied during parking or stationary use in order to prevent the vehicle from rolling away. This can be attained, for example, by a locking lever mechanism, which applies a positive lock to a set of gear teeth connected to a shaft so as to prevent rotation of the shaft in the parking position.
DE-PS-36 36 978 shows a parking lock for an automatic transmission, in particular, in connection with utility vehicles. Here a parking gear, in a one-piece configuration with an output shaft, is locked by means of a locking arm so that rotation of the output shaft during parking is not possible.
The lever that operates the parking lock may be configured as an independent operating element. However, agricultural tractors are known in which the operation of the parking lock is integrated into a gearshift lever which is used to select various gear ratios. Furthermore a second lever permits the selection of the direction of operation. This so-called reverse gearshift lever is preferably attached to the steering column within reach of the left hand. It permits shifting between a forward, neutral or reverse position.
With the use of a parking operating lever and a separate gear ratio or vehicle direction selector lever, the gear ratio or the vehicle direction selector lever is not inevitably forced into its neutral position, when the parking lock is engaged and the vehicle is stopped. Therefore it is possible that during a renewed starting of the vehicle the operator overlooks the fact that a gear ratio is already engaged or a selection of the direction of operation has been made. If the operator now disengages the parking lock, the vehicle begins to move forward or in reverse, unintended and unexpected by the operator. This can lead to dangerous situations.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,246,989 shows an arrangement for the locking of a gearbox operating element and a conventional brake with brake linings that can be actuated by a hydraulic cylinder and that open against the force of a spring when pressure is applied. The gearbox operating element can be moved axially for shifting between two opposite directions of operation and a neutral position and extends within a housing provided with a stop with axially opposed end faces. Alongside the stop a scissors-shaped arrangement is located that consists of two angular levers, the points of the knees of which are supported in joints in the housing. The ends of each of the first leg of the angular levers are connected to each other in a joint by a connecting pin. The second legs of the angular levers extend approximately parallel to each other and are drawn towards each other by a extension spring, so that they are in contact on both sides with the end faces of the stop and force the gearbox operating element into its central neutral position. To release the gearbox operating element a piston arrangement is provided which is actuated by the brake pressure. With increasing brake pressure the piston is moved and presses against the connecting joint of the two first legs. Thereby the angular levers are pivoted so that the scissors open against the force of the spring whereupon the two second legs move away from one another. This permits a free movement of the gearbox operating element.
The known locking mechanism is appropriate only for an application with a hydraulically actuated brake. It exhibits a relatively expensive configuration. Furthermore it is possible to move the gearbox operating element against the force of the extension spring out of its neutral position, which could be a disadvantage for applications with a parking lock.


Computer login may comprise any user-determined submission. A user may select among different devices for input, select the signal content, and as well select the types of signals used for a login signature. Account identification may be inferred by signature rather than explicitly stated. A plurality of discontiguous data blocks in a plurality of files may be employed for validation. The paths to data used in validation may be multifarious, regardless of the prospects for successful authorization.

1. Field of the Invention
The relevant technical field is computer login security.
2. Description of the Related Art
Including Information Disclosed Under 37 CFR 1.97 and 1.98
Computer login traditionally consists of a user typing in an account name and a password. Historically, access validation (authenticating a password one an account name is known) has been through reading data from a single password file comprising account name and encrypted password. Once a single account and a typed password is known, system security can be compromised. Once encryption for a single password is broken, all other passwords are potentially comprised, as all passwords and account names are conveniently located in the single password file and use the same encryption.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


The invention relates to a transverse element comprising:                a crossmember (2) designed to support a motor vehicle instrument panel, chiefly comprising a tubular element; and        at least one support element (28), having the shape of an L, designed to support one end of said tubular element and intended to be fixed to a front pillar (8) of said vehicle.

Such a transverse element is intended to extend between the left front pillar and right front pillar of a motor vehicle. Traditionally, the support element makes it possible to connect each end of the instrument panel crossmember to the front pillars. Currently, designers seek to reinforce the rigidity of the fastening between the crossmember on the body shell of the vehicle, in particular so that that transverse crossmember has good impact resistance.
Thus, in the example embodiment described in document FR 2,925,008, a hollow reinforcing tube is positioned so as to surround an end portion of the tube forming the crossmember.
In this example, the L-shaped support element comprises a first branch fastened to the associated front pillar. The second branch of the support element comprises an opening inside which part of the end of the reinforcing tube is inserted.
A lining part of the support element, positioned on the support element, has a solid surface closing the opening of the support element. This lining part comprises fastening means of the tube forming the crossmember and the reinforcing tube, so as to rigidly fasten the reinforcing tube to the tube forming the crossmember.
Such an example embodiment has the drawbacks of being complex and requiring the use of multiple reinforcements, making with the mass of the vehicle heavier.

Transverse element comprising a vehicle instrument panel crossmember and a support element

Abstract: According to the invention, the transverse element comprises a first reinforcing element (48) designed to connect a first branch (30) of the support element to the crossmember (2) and a second reinforcing element (50) designed to connect the second branch (32) of the support element to the crossmember (2).


The invention provides a process for producing a negative-charging electrophotographic photosensitive member which can improve the adherence between a first layer and a second layer without lowering the effect of lessening image defects and realize a reduction in overall costs, a negative-charging electrophotographic photosensitive member produced by the process, and an electrophotographic apparatus. In the process for producing a negative-charging electrophotographic photosensitive member, a first layer is deposited on a substarte, at least the vertexes of protuberances are removed, the substrate with the first layer deposited theron is placed in a film forming furnace, the first layer surface is plasma-treated with a gas containing at least a Group 13 element in the periodic table and a dilution gas composed of at least one selected from hydrogen, argon and helium, and a layer formed of a non-single-crystal material is deposited as the second layer on the first layer.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for producing a negative-charging electrophotographic photosensitive member which can reduce image defects and maintain good image formation over a long period of time, and also relates to a negative-charging electrophotographic photosensitive member and an electrophotographic apparatus.
2. Related Background Art
Materials that form photoconductive layers in solid-state image pick-up devices or in electrophotographic photosensitive members in the field of image formation or in character readers are required to have properties as follows: They are highly sensitive, have a high SN ratio [photocurrent (Ip)/dark current (Id)], absorption spectra suited to spectral characteristics of electromagnetic waves to be applied, high response to light, and desired dark resistance, and are harmless to human bodies when used, and also in the solid-state image pick-up devices, have properties of easily erasing afterimages in a prescribed period of time. In particular, in the case of electrophotographic photosensitive members used in business machines in offices, harmlessness in use is important.
Materials that attract notice from such viewpoints include amorphous silicon (hereinafter "a-Si") whose dangling bonds have been modified with monovalent elements such as hydrogen or halogen atoms, and it is applied to electrophotographic photosensitive members.
As processes by which electrophotographic photosensitive members composed of a-Si are formed on conductive substrates, many processes are known in the art, as exemplified by sputtering, a process in which source gases are decomposed by heat (thermal CVD), a process in which source gases are decomposed by light (photo-assisted CVD) and a process in which source gases are decomposed by plasma (plasma-assisted CVD). In particular, the plasma-assisted CVD (chemical vapor deposition), i.e., a process in which source gases are decomposed by direct-current or high-frequency or microwave glow discharge to form deposited films on the conductive substrate has been put into practical use in a very advanced state at present in the field of processes of forming electrophotographic photosensitive members. As the layer construction of such deposited films, the following are proposed: electrophotographic photosensitive members composed primarily of a-Si and modification elements added appropriately, as conventionally done, and in addition thereto those constructed to have an upper-part blocking layer or a surface protective layer, having blocking power, which is further deposited on the surface side (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H08-15882). This Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 08-15882 discloses a photosensitive member provided between a photoconductive layer and a surface protective layer with an upper-part blocking layer having carbon atoms in a smaller content than the surface protective layer and incorporated with atoms capable of controlling conductivity.
The a-Si films have such a disposition that, where any dust of the order of micrometers have adhered to the substrate surface, the films may undergo abnormal growth on the dust serving as nuclei during film formation and protuberances come to grow. These protuberances cause image defects on images. In order to prevent such image defects, a technique is proposed in which the vertexes of protuberances present on the photosensitive member surface after film formation are flattened by polishing (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-318480). This Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2001-318480 discloses a post-treatment method in which an electrophotographic photosensitive member is held and rotated and, while a polishing tape wound around an elastic roller and the surface of the photosensitive member are brought into pressure contact, the polishing tape is allowed to travel, carrying out polishing to flatten the protuberances of the photosensitive member surface.
An example of the protuberances is shown in FIG. 1. Each protuberance 111 has the shape of a reversed cone whose vertex starts from dust 110, and has a disposition that it lowers electrical resistance because there are a very large number of localized levels at an interface 112 between a normal deposited portion and the protuberant portion, and allows electric charges to pass through the interface 112 toward the substrate side. Hence, the portion at which a protuberance is present appears as a white dot in solid black images (in the case of reverse development, appears as a black dot in solid white images). This image defect called "dot" has hitherto not been regarded as a defective depending on size even when several dots are present in an A3-size sheet. However, further improvement in quality is required where the photosensitive member is to be mounted to a color copying machine, and even when only one dot is present in a A3-size sheet, it regarded as a defective. Such protuberances are originated from dust, and hence substrates to be used are strictly cleaned before films are formed thereon, where the steps of setting the substrates in a film forming apparatus are all operated in a clean room or in vacuum. In this way, efforts have been made so as to lessen as far as possible the dust which may adhere to the substrate surface before the film formation is started, and a certain effect have been obtained.
However, the cause of the occurrence of protuberances is not only the dust having adhered to the substrate surface. That is, where a-Si electrophotographic photosensitive members are produced, the layer thickness required is as very large as several micrometers to tens of micrometers, and hence the film formation time reaches several hours to tens of hours. During such film formation, the a-Si becomes deposited not only on the substrates, but also on walls of the film forming furnace and on components inside the film forming furnace. The deposits on the furnace walls and components are not filmy ones deposited on the substrate but powdery deposits. In some cases, they may have weakly adhered to cause film come-off during film formation carried out over a long time. Once even any slight film has come off during film formation, it causes dust, and the dust adheres to the surface of a photosensitive member under deposition so that starting from the dust, the protuberances come about which are abnormal-growth portions. Accordingly, in order to maintain a high yield, polishing is carried out to flatten the protuberances formed by abnormal growth, and an upper-part blocking layer having the ability to block the acquired electric charges is so deposited as to cover the flattened protuberances to prevent such a phenomenon that the acquired electric charges leak through protuberant portions or the interfaces between normal portions and the protuberant portions. Such a measure has been taken, and a certain effect have been obtained (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2004-133396).
As methods for charging a-Si photosensitive members electrostatically, they include a corona charging system making use of corona charging, a roller charging system making use of a conductive roller to perform charging by direct discharge, and an injection charging system in which the contact area is sufficiently taken up using magnetic particles or the like and electric charges are directly injected to the photosensitive member surface to perform charging. In particular, the corona charging system and the roller charging system make use of discharge, and hence discharge products tend to adhere to the photosensitive member surface. In addition, the a-Si photosensitive members have a surface layer having much higher hardness than organic photosensitive members and the like, and hence the discharge products are apt to remain on the surface, so that the discharge products and water content may combine due to the adsorption of water content in a high humidity environment to bring the surface into a low resistance, where electric charges at the surface tend to move to cause a phenomenon of image deletion in some cases. Accordingly, it has been necessary in some cases to take various measures on how to rub the surface, how to manage the temperature of photosensitive members, and so forth.
On the other hand, the injection charging system is a charging system in which any discharge is not intentionally used and electric charges are directly injected from the part coming into contact with the photosensitive member surface, and hence it can not easily cause the phenomenon such as image deletion. Also, the injection charging system, which is a contact charging system, is of a voltage control type, while the corona charging system is of a current control type, and the former has such an advantage that any non-uniformity of charge potential can be rendered relatively small. In a conventional injection charging system, a contact charging member having particles in the form of a magnetic brush, composed of a magnetic material and magnetic particles, is brought into contact with the photosensitive member surface to achieve the improvement of charging performance (see, e.g., Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H08-6353).

Process for producing negative-charging electrophotographic photosensitive member, negative-charging electrophotographic photosensitive member, and electrophotographic apparatus using same


Methods for removing a BARC layer from a feature are provided in the present invention. In one embodiment, the method includes providing a substrate having a feature filled with a BARC layer in an etching chamber, supplying a first gas mixture comprising NH3 gas into the chamber to etch a first portion of the BARC layer filling in the feature, and supplying a second gas mixture comprising O2 gas into the etching chamber to etch the remaining portion of the BARC layer disposed in the feature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to semiconductor processing technologies and, more specifically, to methods for etching a bottom anti-reflective coating (BARC) layer in a dual damascene etching process.
2. Description of the Related Art
Integrated circuits have evolved into complex devices that can include millions of components (e.g., transistors, capacitors and resistors) on a single chip. The evolution of chip designs continually requires faster circuitry and greater circuit density. The demands for greater circuit density necessitate a reduction in the dimensions of the integrated circuit components.
As the dimensions of the integrated circuit components are reduced (e.g. sub-micron dimensions), the materials used to fabricate such components contribute to their electrical performance. For example, metal interconnects with low resistance (e.g., copper and aluminum) provide conductive paths between the components on integrated circuits.
Copper is particularly advantageous for use in interconnect structures due to its desirable electrical properties. Copper interconnect system are typically fabricated using a damascene process in which trenches and vias are etched into dielectric layers. The trenches and vias are filled with copper which is then planarized using, for example, a chemical-mechanical planarization (CMP) process.
Copper interconnects are electrically isolated from each other by an insulating material. When the distance between adjacent metal interconnects and/or thickness of the insulating material has sub-micron dimensions, capacitive coupling may potentially occur between such interconnects. Capacitive coupling between adjacent metal interconnects may cause cross talk and/or resistance-capacitance (RC) delay which degrades the overall performance of the integrated circuit. In order to prevent capacitive coupling between adjacent metal interconnects, low dielectric constant (low k) insulating materials (e.g. dielectric constants less than about 4.0) are needed.
FIGS. 1A-1D illustrate an exemplary dual damascene structure formed by a "via-first" processing sequence. Referring first to FIG. 1A, a dielectric bulk insulating layer 110 and an underlying dielectric barrier layer 108 are stacked on another previously formed interconnect having a conductive layer 106 embedded in another dielectric bulk insulating layer 104 disposed on a substrate 102. An optional polish stop layer or anti-reflective coating (ARC) 112 may be disposed on the dielectric bulk insulating layer 110. The dielectric bulk insulating layer 110 is typically formed from a dielectric material having a dielectric constant lower than 4.0, such as FSG, polymer material, carbon containing silicon layer (SiOC), and the like.
A bottom anti-reflective coating (BARC) layer 114 is spin-applied to fill vias 128 formed by a via etching process and covers dielectric bulk insulating layer 110 before trench lithography. A photoresist layer 116 is disposed on the BARC layer 114 and patterned to define an opening 130 for forming trenches. A BARC etching process is performed to clear away a portion of the BARC layer 114 over the via opening 128 masked by the patterned photoresist layer 116 before etching the trenches, as shown in FIG. 1B. The BARC etching process is performed until the optional polish stop layer 112 defined by the photoresist layer 116 is exposed and the BARC layer 114 filling the via 128 is etched to a predetermined depth, as shown in FIG. 1B. Subsequently, a trench etching process is performed to etch the exposed polish stop layer 112 and the underlying dielectric bulk insulating layer 110 defined by the patterned photoresist layer 116, as shown in FIG. 1C. The trench etching process etches the dielectric bulk insulating layer 110 into a predetermined depth and defines trenches 122 in the dielectric bulk insulating layer 110. After the trench 122 has been formed, the remaining BARC layer 114 filling the via 128 and the photoresist layer 116 on the top surface of the dielectric bulk insulating layer 110 are removed from the substrate 102, thereby forming dual damascene structure on the substrate 102, as shown in FIG. 1D.
Typically, during the BARC 114 or photoresist layer 116 removal process, an oxygen containing plasma etch process is performed to react with the remaining BARC layer 114 and the photoresist layer 116 on the substrate 102, forming a carbon oxide polymer which is pumped out of the processing chamber. However, oxygen present plasma during the removal of BARC layer 114 and photoresist layer 116 may attack the exposed sidewall 120 and surface 126 of the trenches 122 and/or vias 128 formed in the dielectric bulk insulating layer 110. Oxygen may form a Si—O bond on the surface of the dielectric bulk insulating layer 110, which adversely affect the dielectric properties of the dielectric bulk insulating layer 110. For example, oxygen may accumulate on the sidewall 120 or exposed surface 126 of the low-k dielectric bulk insulating layer 110, and penetrate into the porous low-k dielectrics, thereby causing the carbon depletion at the film surface. Carbon depletion may cause the dielectric constant of the low-k material to undesirably increase, resulting in a "k loss" of the material dielectric properties. As a result, cross-talk and RC delay may increase after the BARC and photoresist etching process.
Furthermore, removal of the BARC and/or photoresist layer removal process may also leave contaminants 124, such as residual BARC, residual photoresist layer, impurities, organic or inorganic byproducts in the vias 128 and/or trenches 122. The contaminants 124 present in the vias 128 and/or trenches 122 may adversely effect the overall integration of the interconnection structure, resulting in poor device reliability and electrical performance.
Therefore, there is a need for an improved process for removing BARC in an interconnection structure.

Two step etching of a bottom anti-reflective coating layer in dual damascene application


A system and a method for phrase-based translation are disclosed. The method includes receiving source language text to be translated into target language text. One or more dynamic bi-phrases are generated, based on the source text and the application of one or more rules, which may be based on user descriptions. A dynamic feature value is associated with each of the dynamic bi-phrases. For a sentence of the source text, static bi-phrases are retrieved from a bi-phrase table, each of the static bi-phrases being associated with one or more values of static features. Any of the dynamic bi-phrases which each cover at least one word of the source text are also retrieved, which together form a set of active bi-phrases. Translation hypotheses are generated using active bi-phrases from the set and scored with a translation scoring model which takes into account the static and dynamic feature values of the bi-phrases used in the respective hypothesis. A translation, based on the hypothesis scores, is then output.

The present exemplary embodiment is directed to the field of machine translation. It finds particular application in connection with the use of dynamic bi-phrases in phrase-based statistical machine translation systems.
Phrase-based statistical machine translation (SMT) systems employ a bi-phrase table or "dictionary" as a central resource. This is a probabilistic dictionary associating short sequences of words in two languages. The bi-phrase table is automatically extracted, at training time, from a large bilingual corpus of aligned source and target sentences. When translating from a source to a target language, the bi-phrase table is accessed to retrieve a set of bi-phrases, each of which includes a target phrase which matches part of a source sentence or other text string to be decoded. The retrieved bi-phrases are input to a scoring model, which outputs an optimal translation of the source sentence using a subset of the retrieved bi-phrases. Typically, the scoring model attempts to maximize a log-linear combination of features associated with the bi-phrases entering the combination.
Currently, phrase-based SMT systems rely on a bi-phrase table that is static, that is, is computed once at training time together with associated feature values to be used by the scoring model. A decoder uses a subset of the bi-phrases to generate a translation of an input source sentence into a target sentence. For example, at decoding time, the decoder is initialized with a sub-table of this static table consisting of those bi-phrases that are relevant for the translation of the specific source sentence. The static system poses a problem for translation of sentences which include words which appear infrequently in the training corpus, or not at all. Often, these are handled by substituting the word with a placeholder and replacing this with the untranslated word in the translated target sentence. It also poses a problem where different systems of units are concerned. For example, while in France, prices for liquid volumes may be expressed as Euros or cents per liter, in the US, prices may be expressed in dollars per US pint or US gallon. Readers of the translation thus have difficulty in placing the information in context. There are other instances where it would be advantageous to create a bi-phrase at translation time which differs from those in the static bi-phrase table.

Dynamic bi-phrases for statistical machine translation


A magnetoresistive sensing device includes a substrate, a magnetic layer, a first electrode and a second electrode. The substrate has a reference plane. The first electrode and a second electrode are disposed over the reference plane. The magnetic layer is disposed over the reference plane and has a magnetization direction. A non-straight angle is formed between the magnetic layer and the reference plane. The first electrode and the second electrode are electrically connected with each other through an electric pathway of the magnetic layer. An included angle is formed between the electric pathway and the magnetization direction. Consequently, the magnetoresistive sensing device is capable of measuring a magnetic field change in a Z-axis direction, which is perpendicular to a reference plane.

With the development of consumer electronic products such as mobile phones and electronic compasses, additionally together with conventional products such as motors and brakes, the demand on a magnetoresistive-type sensing device (also referred as magnetoresistive sensing device) is progressively increasing. Especially, a three-dimensional magnetoresistive sensing device is usually used to sense the magnetic field changes of three orthogonal axes (i.e. the X, Y and Z axes). For example, the electronic compass utilizes the three-dimensional magnetoresistive sensing device to precisely measure the earth's magnetic field.
As known, the technology of using a semiconductor manufacturing process to fabricate a two-dimensional planar magnetoresistive sensing device has been well established. However, it is difficult to use a single semiconductor substrate to construct a three-dimensional magnetoresistive sensing device. With the package assembling approach, one planar magnetoresistive sensing chip responsible for measuring the Z-axis magnetic field parallel to the horizontal plane of the substrate should be mounted orthogonally to the other planar magnetoresistive sensing chip responsible for measuring the magnetic field in the X and Y-axis directions in the horizontal plane of the substrate. With alternative approach employing magnetic flux guide, the magnetic field in the Z-axis direction perpendicular to the horizontal plane of the substrate is conducted to the X-Y direction parallel with the horizontal plane of the substrate by a flux concentrator, and then the magnetic field change in the Z-axis direction is measured by an X-Y magnetoresistive sensing device.
From the description above, the conventional device for measuring the magnetic field change in the Z-axis direction has a very complicated structure and high fabricating cost. Moreover, since the process variation of vertical assembling of the chips should be further taken into consideration, the production yield is adversely affected.
For solving the above drawbacks, there is a need of providing an improved magnetoresistive sensing device and a fabricating method thereof. Moreover, the improved magnetoresistive sensing device for measuring the magnetic field change in the Z-axis direction can be merged with other magnetoresistive sensing devices responsible for sensing magnetic field in the X and Y-axis directions to form an integrated three-dimensional magnetoresistive sensing device on a single chip, which is fabricated by a semiconductor manufacturing process.


There is provided a liquid crystal display device including a first transparent substrate and a second transparent substrate pasted to each other via a liquid crystal sealing space in between, and provided with a predetermined display region. The first transparent substrate is integrally formed with an extension extending further than an edge of the second transparent substrate and longitudinally of the edge of the second transparent substrate. The extension is provided with at least one semiconductor chip having a longitudinal axis laid longitudinally of the extension. The extension is formed with an external connection terminal region including a plurality of terminals. The external connection terminal region does not overlap the semiconductor chip widthwise of the extension.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a liquid crystal display device including two transparent substrates pasted to each other via a liquid crystal sealing space in between, with a semiconductor chip mounted directly on one of the transparent substrates. The present invention also provides a method of making semiconductor chips used in such a liquid crystal display device.
2. Description of Related Art
In some liquid crystal display devices, overall size reduction and weight reduction including miniaturization of the control and driving circuits is important. In such a liquid crystal display device, a semiconductor chip that provides the control and driving circuits is mounted directly on one of the two transparent substrates included in the liquid crystal display device.
As shown in FIG. 8, according to this kind of liquid crystal display device 10, the two transparent substrates 11, 12 are pasted together, via a predetermined liquid crystal sealing space in between, to provide a display region S, and one transparent substrate 11 of the two is formed with an extension 13 extending further than an edge 12a of the other transparent substrate 12. On the extension 13, a semiconductor chip 20 is mounted directly, and further, external connection terminals 30 including a plurality of terminals are disposed. The external connection terminals 30 are connected with a cable such as a flexible flat cable 60, thereby providing the liquid crystal display device 10 with electrical connection with e.g. an external control circuit.
As understood from FIG. 8, the liquid crystal display device 10 according to this arrangement has its extension 13 formed oblong like a belt, and the semiconductor chip 20, which is oblong and rectangular, is disposed with its longitudinal axis laid longitudinally of the extension 13. Further, the external connection terminals 30 are disposed more outwardly than the semiconductor chip 20 and along an outer edge 13a of the extension 13.
In such an arrangement, each of the external connection terminals 30 must have a reliable connection with the flexible flat cable 60, mechanically as well as electrically, using solder for example. For this reason, each terminal must be given a certain minimum dimension widthwise of the extension 13. Thus, the extension 13 requires an extended dimension L which is at least a sum of the above-mentioned dimension of the terminal, the width of the semiconductor chip 20 and a certain margin necessary for formation of a wiring pattern. This has been a reason why the liquid crystal display device 10 cannot be further miniaturized or light-weighted.

Method of making semiconductor chips for liquid crystal display device


The invention provides an apparatus and method for service access for a mobile communication device. The apparatus can include an identity module for storing user information in the mobile communication device. The identity module can include an identity module frame, a secure storage memory coupled to the frame, the secure storage memory including a mobile communication device subscriber identity and the user information, and an identity module controller coupled to the secure storage memory and the frame, the identity module controller configured to block access to the user information and grant access to the mobile communication device subscriber identity when the identity module enters a blocked mode. The identity module controller may grant access to the mobile communication device subscriber identity in response to a request for a service access communication.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for operating a blocked secure storage memory. In particular, the present invention is directed to a method and apparatus for establishing a service access communication for a device having a blocked identity module.
2. Description of Related Art
Presently, secure storage memories such as identity modules are used in mobile communication devices. Such identity modules can include subscriber identity modules, removable user identity modules, or any other devices useful for storing information in a mobile communication device. An identity module can include information related to a user of the mobile communication device. Specifications for an example identity module are described in "Digital cellular telecommunications system (Phase 2+); Specification of the Subscriber Identity Module—Mobile Equipment (SIM—ME) interface (GSM 11.11 version 8.2.0 Release 1999)," which is hereby incorporated by reference.
In operation, an identity module may block access to information or functions of the identity module for security purposes. For example, the identity module may require an access code, such as a personal identification number or card holder verification information, to grant access rights to data and functions of the identity module. If the access code is incorrectly entered three consecutive times, the identity module can enter a blocked mode. For example, the identity module may enter a blocked status of an access code. Thus, if the access code function is enabled and the status is blocked, a mobile communication device will determine such and end an access attempt. Therefore, in a blocked mode, the access attempt is finished unsuccessfully.
For security purposes, if the identity module is in a blocked mode, no data can be retrieved from the identity module and a mobile communication device using the identity module cannot be registered on a mobile communication system. Thus, when the identity module is in a blocked mode, the only communication allowed for the mobile communication device is for an emergency call, such as a 911 emergency call.
When the identity module is in a blocked mode, the only way to use the mobile communication device for other communications is to unblock the identity module. To unblock the identity module, a specific unblock code must be entered into the identity module. Such an unblock code can include an unblock card holder verification value, a personal identification number unblocking key, or other like code. This unblock code is obtained from a home service center. For example, a subscriber desiring to use a blocked mobile communication device must contact the home service center on which the identity module is subscribed. The home service center then obtains validation information from the subscriber to verify the subscriber is the proper owner of the identity module. Upon verification, the home service center can provide an unblock code to unblock the identity module.
Unfortunately, a subscriber may not be able to contact the home service center. In particular, because the mobile communication device cannot register on a network due to the identity module being blocked, the subscriber cannot use the mobile communication device to contact the home service center. This is especially problematic when the subscriber is in an area where the local mobile communication network is not the subscriber's home mobile communication network. For example, the subscriber may be in a foreign country where the subscriber cannot conveniently contact the subscriber's home service center. This creates the unfortunate situation where it is nearly impossible for the subscriber to obtain an unblock code. Thus, the subscriber is prevented from using the mobile communication device for an extended period of time.
Thus, there is a need for method and apparatus for establishing a service access communication for a device having a blocked secure storage memory such as a blocked identity module.

Method and apparatus for operating a blocked secure storage memory


One embodiment of the present invention provides a system that automatically annotates an image. During operation, the system receives the image. Next, the system extracts image features from the image. The system then identifies other images which have similar image features. The system next obtains text associated with the other images, and identifies intersecting keywords in the obtained text. Finally, the system annotates the image with the intersecting keywords.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates techniques for automatically annotating images. More specifically, the present invention relates a technique that automatically annotates an image by searching for similar images and correlating text surrounding these similar images.
2. Related Art
The recent proliferation of high-bandwidth Internet connections presently makes it possible for millions of users to efficiently view images on the Internet. These developments have led to a tremendous increase in the number of images that are incorporated into web pages, web portals, and other web-based applications. Unfortunately, many images do not come with accompanying textual information, such as labels, captions, or titles, to describe the content of the images. This makes it extremely difficult to search for specific images because most existing search techniques are text based (e.g., a keyword search). Hence, it is highly desirable to annotate such images with relevant text, for example, by adding a set of keywords or a caption to describe the semantic content of an image.
Traditional techniques for annotating images are primarily manual, which can require human indexers to select keywords for thousands or, in some cases, millions of images. Hence, manual image annotation can be an extremely labor-intensive and expensive procedure.
Other techniques have been developed to automatically annotate an image (see "Formulating Semantic Image Annotation as a Supervised Learning Problem," G. Carneiro and N. Vasconcelos, Proceedings of IEEE Conference on Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition, San Diego, 2005). These automatic image-annotation techniques can significantly reduce or eliminate the human effort required to annotate very large image collections.
However, these existing "automatic annotation" techniques typically still involve steps that require some degree of human assistance, such as requiring manual labeling of a set of ground truth data, or by requiring other types of human interaction or feedback. Unfortunately, this human assistance cannot be efficiently scaled to match the exponentially growing number of images which need to be annotated.
Hence, what is need is a method and an apparatus for automatically annotating an image without the above-described problems.

Method and apparatus for automatically annotating images


A book and pages having a mechanical means for causing a figure associated with the theme of the book to pop-up upon opening the front cover, last page or other page of the book.

The present invention relates to a book that is useful in stimulating a child""s imagination and/or desire to read and learn. More particularly, the present invention relates to a book with a cover and/or pages having a mechanical means for activating a pop-up figure. Most particularly, the present invention is related to a book having a simple mechanical means for directly causing a figure associated with the theme of the book to pop-up upon opening the front cover, last page or other page of the book.
Devices for stimulating a child""s imagination and/or desire to learn are well-known in the art. Books are especially useful in this regard. The market for children""s books is highly competitive. Publishers are constantly developing features for books that they believe children will find appealing. Further, books intended for children are often designed to be educational and useful in teaching children reading skills and elementary concepts such as colors, shapes, counting, the alphabet, etc.
Books of the aforementioned types take many forms. For instance, Stone, U.S. Pat. No. 5,059,149, teaches a stuffed animal apparatus that includes one or more storage compartments in which visual and/or audio materials may be stored and displayed. The storage compartments are disposed in the stuffed animal body or in an appendage. Theobald et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,832,648, teaches an animal figure that may be used as a cover for a book. Morris, U.S. Pat. No. 5,681,199, teaches a book wherein one or more of the covers or pages are bound with a spine containing a pop-up toy. The pop-up toy is activated by means of a crank on the spine of the book and/or an electronic device.
No prior art, however, teaches or suggests a book with a simple mechanical means for directly causing a figure associated with the theme of the book to pop-up upon opening the front cover, last page or other page of the book. Hence, the present invention is a useful tool for stimulating a child""s imagination and/or desire to read and learn.
The present invention concerns a device that stimulates a child""s imagination and/or desire to read and learn.
Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a useful children""s book including a mechanical means for causing a figure associated with the theme of the book to pop-up upon opening the front cover, last page or other page of the book.
It is a further object of this invention to allow a user to develop reading, imagination, creativity, and thinking skills.
It is a further object of this invention to provide an outlet for educational entertainment that is easy to use and relatively cost-efficient to manufacture.
These and other objectives will become evident to those skilled in the art from the specification. To these ends, the book of the present invention comprises a front cover; a back cover; at least one page between the front and back covers; a housing for a pop-up figure; wherein at least one of the front cover, back cover or page are provided with a mechanical means for causing a figure associated with the theme of the book to pop-up upon opening the front cover, last page or other page of the book.

Book and pages having mechanical means for activating pop-up figure


A method for determining an actuator path of a hydraulic clutch actuator, includes measuring a first temperature of the hydraulic clutch actuator with a first temperature sensor, measuring a second temperature of the hydraulic clutch actuator with a second temperature sensor, calculating a first temperature difference between the first temperature and the second temperature, using the first temperature or the second temperature as a clutch actuator temperature to determine a compensation value of the actuator path when the first temperature difference is less than a threshold value, and modifying the actuator path using the compensation value. In an example embodiment, the first temperature sensor measures a one of a circuit board temperature, an angle sensor temperature or a pressure sensor temperature, and the second temperature sensor measures another one of the circuit board temperature, the angle sensor temperature or the pressure sensor temperature.

In modern motor vehicles, especially in passenger cars, automated clutches that employ a hydrostatic clutch actuator are increasingly being used. A hydrostatic clutch actuator of this type has a master cylinder, in which a master piston is mounted such that it can be moved axially. The electromotively driven master piston of the master cylinder pressurizes a hydraulic fluid that is disposed in a hydrostatic transmission path, wherein a slave piston of a slave cylinder is moved, and its movement is transmitted to the clutch, whereupon the clutch is opened.
A method and a device for controlling a clutch actuator for actuating a clutch, preferably a clutch that is closed when not actuated, are known for a motor vehicle from DE 10 2014 219 029 A1. The clutch actuator can traverse a maximum path to actuate the master cylinder in order to displace the slave cylinder via the hydrostatic transmission path and completely open the clutch. The release path of the slave piston on the slave cylinder is likewise limited. It is known that the maximum path of the clutch actuator is reduced so that, when the temperature increases, the slave cylinder cannot be displaced further than is permitted. In so doing, the slave cylinder is protected from destruction. It should therefore be assumed that, in the event of a rise in temperature, during which the hydraulic fluid expands, the actuator path is displaced by compensation in such a way that the expansion is counteracted. A similar process occurs when the fluid contracts during cooling.
It is known that the temperature of the hydraulic fluid is estimated and that a compensation value for the actuator path is calculated with the estimated temperature of the hydraulic fluid. When the hydraulic fluid warms up, it expands; this is why the actuator path is reduced with the compensation. In order for the temperature to be estimated correctly, the signals that are used to calculate the fluid temperature of the hydraulic fluid must be correct. For example, the circuit board temperature of the hydrostatic actuator is thus used. Apart from electrical errors, only the range in which the circuit board temperature lies, e.g. the range from −40° C. to +150° C., is tested to determine the circuit board temperature of the hydrostatic clutch actuator.

Method for determining an actuator path of a hydraulic clutch actuator


The object of the invention is to provide a handy type visually determinable ATP measuring reagent which can be easily handled and has good measuring sensitivity. The invention is an ATP measuring reagent which rendered possible visual determination by amplifying the reaction to form glucose 6-phosphate from glucose through the joint use of ATP contained in a sample and acetyl phosphate contained in the reagent with glucokinase and acetate kinase contained in the reagent, and further leading it to a visualizable color reaction by the combination of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and diaphorase.

Since ATP is a high energy compound and concerned in the energy metabolism of many biological bodies, measurement of ATP is used as an index for biological activity. Illustratively, measurement of ATP is used in various indexes such as viable cell count, metabolic changes in cells, control of food quality including ripeness and putridity of food, water quality check in the water quality purification and the like.
As a method for measuring ATP, a method of a high performance liquid chromatography using a reverse phase column has been described in Analytical Biochemistry, vol. 146, p. 118, 1985, Analytical Biochemistry, vol. 145, p. 9, 1985, and the like.
Examples of known methods for measuring ATP making use of enzyme reactions include a bioluminescence method in which a light generated by the reaction of firefly luciferase with its luminescence substrate luciferin in the presence of ATP is measured using a luminometer or the like (U.S. Pat. No. 5,905,029, JP-A-6-129988 and the like), a method in which the reaction is amplified by jointly using hexokinase and pyruvate kinase and ATP is finally measured by chemiluminescence using isoluminol (JP-A-64-23900 and the like), and a method in which nucleoside phosphorylase and xanthine oxidase are added to a solution containing an ATP-related compound, and hydrogen peroxide formed by the reaction is determined (JP-A-63-11848 and the like).
In addition, as a method for the enzymatic measurement of ADP as a degraded product of ATP, a method is known in which ADP is converted into ATP by the action of a kinase in the presence of a phosphate compound, the dephosphorylation compound formed by this reaction from the phosphate compound is oxidized by the action of a dehydrogenase in the presence of NAD, and NADH formed by this reaction is measured by the action of diaphorase (U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,796 and the like).
Also, examples of known measuring methods of ATP by a color reaction having a possibility of carrying out visual determination include a method in which an ATP degrading enzyme is allowed to act upon ATP, and molybdenum blue formed by the reaction of the thus formed phosphoric acid with molybdenum is measured (JP-A-4-360700 and the like), a method in which nicotinamide mononucleotide and adenylyl transferase are reacted in a solution containing ATP, and the thus formed NAD is determined by carrying out a coenzyme cycling reaction which uses reduction type NAD as the coenzyme with a oxidation reduction reaction system which uses NAD as the coenzyme (JP-A-59-166099 and the like), and a method in which an amplification reaction of ATP is carried out using AMP, glucose 6-phosphate, adenylate kinase and glucokinase, and the thus formed glucose is led to a color reaction (U.S. Pat. No. 6,043,047 and the like).
Separately from this, a case is known in which multiple coloration was realized in order to increase accuracy of visual determination in the color reaction using diaphorase and the like, by simultaneously using two or more tetrazolium compounds as the chromogen (Japanese Patent No. 1,782,359, JP-A-62-239054 and the like). However, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide itself or glucose is considered as the substance to be measured, and only 1 molecule of the chromogen is changed to a pigment based on 1 molecule of the substance to be measured. Because of this, a measurable concentration range of the substance to be measured is limited to the concentration of the substance to be measured in the assay reagent solution. Since a concentration range of the substance to be measured is limited naturally by the assay reagents, it is not suited for practical use.
Regarding the method which uses a high performance liquid chromatography or a luminometer, it is basically a measuring method which uses a measuring apparatus, and the measuring apparatus is expensive in the actual field, so that concern has been directed towards a visually determinable ATP measuring reagent which does not require a measuring apparatus and has an easy determination handling ability.
Also, in the molybdenum blue-measuring method among the measuring methods of ATP by a color reaction having a possibility of carrying out visual determination, ATP is not directly measured but phosphoric acid formed by degrading ATP is measured. Because of this, it is highly possible to measure phosphoric acid and the like which are not related to the ATP derived from living bodies and the like. Phosphoric acid is also contained frequently in various synthetic products.
Also, in the determination method by carrying out a coenzyme cycling reaction which uses reduction type NAD as the coenzyme with a oxidation reduction reaction system which uses NAD as the coenzyme, ATP added to a system in which NAD is not present is converted into NAD, and its amplification is carried out by the cycling reaction of NAD and reduced type NAD. In this case, since the sample to be measured is mainly originated from organisms, contamination of NAD and reduced type NAD contained in the sample cannot be avoided, and contamination of NAD and reduced type NAD contained in the sample become large noises by causing a cycling reaction, so that a possibility of causing a large hindrance to the measurement of ATP is very high. Thus, when various possible noises are taken into consideration, it is considered that measurement of ATP by directly incorporating it in the reaction is necessary.
The method in which ATP is directly incorporated into the reaction by carrying out an amplification reaction of ATP using AMP, glucose 6-phosphate, adenylate kinase and glucokinase uses a reverse direction dephosphorylation reaction of glucose from glucose 6-phosphate, which is not the direction of the original catalytic reaction of glucokinase. This reverse reaction is small in comparison with the normal reaction. Since it is known that the reaction of ADP into ATP is hardly generated, it is expected that the amount of glucokinase used becomes great in carrying out this reaction system. Since it is generally known that glucokinase or the like enzyme which reacts with ATP is contaminated with very little amount of ATP, particularly when measurement of a trace amount of ATP is the object as in the the present invention, it can be easily considered that the contaminating ATP, though in an extremely small amount, will exert great influence on the measurement.
The invention contemplates providing an ATP measuring method and reagent, which can perform visual determination without requiring a high performance liquid chromatography, luminometer or similar expensive measuring apparatus and also can show good sensitivity by directly incorporating ATP and measuring ATP by making use of the normal reaction of glucokinase.

Method and reagent for visually measuring ATP


An enhanced camera transport system and method includes a strap and coupler. The coupler is configured to engage with an attachment point on a camera otherwise reserved by engagement with a camera stand such as a tripod, monopod, or the like. Following general camera construction, the attachment point is found on the bottom of the camera. In some implementations, the coupler is slideably attached to the strap to assist with repositioning of the camera from a transport position to a picture taking position. Other implementations include an enclosure for storage of the camera while not being used.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is generally related to camera equipment.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventional camera storage and carrying systems help to store and transport cameras when not in use. Unfortunately, they include aspects that can hinder retrieval of a camera being stored or transported so that photographic opportunities can be missed.

Enhanced camera transport system and method