A GPS (Global Positioning System) antenna module includes a substrate, a first insulating layer, and a second insulating layer. The substrate is set on a bottom surface of a patch antenna. The first insulating layer is coated on the substrate and a layout circuit is formed thereon. A plurality of electronic elements are integrated on the substrate according to the layout circuit. Furthermore, the second insulating layer is coated on the first insulating layer to completely shield the electronic elements integrated on the substrate. Hence, the distance between the electronic elements and the antenna of the present invention can be shortened, space on the PCB and in the shielding case is saved. Moreover, an optimal high frequency character can be achieved, the volume of the antenna module is effectively reduced, the process is simplified, and production costs are reduced.

1. Field of the Inventiong
The present invention relates to an antenna module and a manufacturing method thereof, and more specifically to an antenna module used in a GPS and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, GPS (Global Positioning System) has become more widely used, especially for navigation positioning. By integrating secondary satellites and communication techniques, accurate positioning, direction and distance can be easily found by anybody; even their speed and time can be known. Hence, the application scope of GPS is very wide. Many kinds of mobile communication devices (such as mobile phones, PDAs, etc.), or relative car electronic devices have been integrated with GPS functions, and GPS has thereby become a necessary function for many devices.
However, because of the rapid development of techniques, demands on utility and the need for portability, the size of electronic elements has tended towards becoming smaller and smaller. When integrating multiple functions into a single product, the space occupied by elements must be taken into account. The volume of chips or semiconductor elements can be reduced easily because of the development of packaging processes. However, the volume of prior art GPS antenna modules is difficult to reduce. Please refer to FIG. 1, in which a cutaway view of an antenna module frame of a prior art is shown. The antenna module includes a three layered frame that includes a patch antenna 100a, a PCB (printed circuit board) 300a, and a shielding case 400a. One surface of the PCB 300a is soldered with a plurality of electronic elements 310a, and another surface is adhered with the patch antenna 100a via double-sided glue 200a. The patch antenna 100a is connected electronically with the soldered dots 500a via the antenna pin 101a which penetrates the PCB 300a. Moreover, the shielding case 400a is soldered on the side of the PCB 300a soldered with a plurality of electronic elements 310a via the soldering dots 501a. Because of the volume of the PCB 300a and the shielding case 400a, the volume of the antenna module is limited and cannot to be further reduced. Hence, it is difficult to satisfy the finesse and demands of small products and devices. Further more, for the processes of the antenna module, there are many soldering dots 500a, 501a that must be soldered on manually, thus, the efficiency of the processes and costs are affected.
If the volume of the antenna module is reduced, costs are lowered, and a steady efficiency and characteristic are maintained, thereby, the antenna module becomes more cost competitive. Hence, the GPS antenna module and the processes thereof can be improved further.
Hence, the inventors of the present invention believe that the shortcomings described above are able to be improved upon and suggest the present invention which is of a reasonable design and is an effective improvement based on deep research and thought.

GPS antenna module and manufacturing method thereof


Disclosed are an optical fuse and a device for fabricating such an optical fuse. The optical fuse comprises a medium constituting a structure in which a light-emitting end of a first optical waveguide is coupled to a light-incident end of a second optical waveguide across the medium, and a light-absorbing body adapted to absorb the light. The medium is transparent to light passing through the structure, and the light-absorbing body is disposed in contact with an outer peripheral surface of the medium in such a manner as to allow a part of light emitted from the light-emitting end into the medium to reach the light-absorbing body. The optical-fuse fabricating device comprises a pair of first and second support members formed, respectively, with first and second through-holes for supporting an optical fiber, and a beam member mechanically connecting the first and second support member together. When the first and second support members are arranged such that respective axes of the first and second through-holes are aligned in a straight line to allow a single common optical fiber to be inserted into both the first and second through-holes, a spacial gap is formed between the single common optical fiber and the beam. The present invention can provide an optical fuse having a low insertion loss and allowing an optical coupling to be eliminated in response to an irreversible change induced therein, and a device capable of allowing such an optical fuse to be fabricated in a simple and easy way.

In connection with popularization of high-power light sources, there is a growing need for a protective device capable of protecting an optical system from an excessive light input. An optical fuse is one type of such protective devices. The optical fuse has a function of cutting off an optical line or restricting an amount of light passing therethrough in response to an excessive input, in a manner similar to a fuse incorporated in most electric products.
Previously proposed optical fuses have been designed such that a medium for causing a light loss is inserted into an optical line, wherein the medium includes a material in which an irreversible change is to be induced in response to excessive light entered therein (see, for example, the following Patent Publications 1 to 3). In this structure, the medium is arranged at a position where entire light traveling along the optical line passes therethrough, so that the optical fuse function is achieved based on an increase in insertion loss of the medium to be caused by an excessive light input. This structure has a disadvantage about inherently large insertion loss due to relatively high light-absorbance capacity of the irreversibly-changeable material.
An optical limiter is known as a device with a similar structure to that of the optical fuse. The optical limiter is designed to attenuate light in response to an excessive light input and allow only a given amount of light to pass therethrough, wherein an insertion loss is increased in response to an excessive input by utilizing a reversible phenomenon (see, for example, the following Patent Publications 4 and 5). As with the structure of the optical fuse, the optical limiter has a medium arranged at a position where entire light traveling along an optical line passes therethrough, and a material having a nonlinear optical effect or a light-absorbing material is used in the medium. Thus, this structure also has a disadvantage about inherently large insertion loss.
Another disadvantage of the conventional optical fuse is that a light output cannot be completely cut off because a light input port is optically coupled to a light output port even after the irreversible change is induced. Specifically, when an excessive light input continues for a long period of time, even attenuated light can keep providing some light output to result in continuous supply of light energy to a downstream side of the optical fuse.
Additionally, other related techniques for achieving an optical limiter will be described below together with a discussion thereabout. There has been known one technique in which two light waveguides are arranged in opposed relation to one another without interposing therebetween the medium used in the aforementioned techniques, and then moved apart from one another in response to increase in intensity of light traveling along an optical line so as to restrict an amount of light passing across the two light waveguides. As disclosed, for example, in the following Patent Publication 6, a core and clad of an optical waveguide are made of materials different in temperature coefficient of thermal expansion, and the core is arranged at a position displaced from the center of the clad, so that the optical limiter function is achieved by utilizing a phenomenon that the optical waveguide is deformed by heat generated therein due to an increase in intensity of light traveling along an optical line.
Alternatively, the core and clad are made of materials different in temperature coefficient of refractive index, and the optical wave guide is arranged in a bent state, so that the optical limiter function is achieved by utilizing a phenomenon that a light confinement effect of the optical waveguide is lowered by heat generated therein due to an increase in intensity of light traveling along an optical line, whereby an amount of light leakage is increased. While the above phenomenon utilizing a difference between respective temperature coefficients of the core and clad materials is based on a reversible change, it is readily understood that an optical fuse can be achieved by replacing such phenomenon with a phenomenon inducing an irreversible change. An amount of deformation or light leakage of the optical waveguide in this technique is sufficient to increase a desired insertion loss but not to eliminate an optical coupling. Thus, this technique also has a disadvantage about difficulty in completely cutting off a light output.
As above, the conventional optical fuses have problems about relatively large insertion loss in a normal state, and undesirable continuation of an optical coupling in a state after an irreversible change is induced. While KiloLambda Technologies, Ltd., USA, announced a sales plan of a low-loss optical fuse on Mar. 17, 2003, its technical content has not been known so far.
Patent Publication 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2002-221740 (Optical Fuse Device)
Patent Publication 2: Japanese Patent No. 3169885 (Optical Fuse)
Patent Publication 3: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-281842 (Optical Fuse, Optical Fuse Composite Structure and Optical Fuse Device comprising Same)
Patent Publication 4: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 11-109427 (Optical Waveguide Type Light-Intensity Attenuation Element)
Patent Publication 5: U.S. Pat. No. 6,415,075 (Potothermal Optical Signallimiter)
Patent Publication 6: WO 03/058338 (Optical Limiter)

Optical fuse and component for fabricating optical fuse

National Institute for Materials Science


The present invention is to provide a kind of multifunction passive and continuous fluid feeding system for external systems, the fluid-feed system including a storing and transmitting component, a measuring and regulating component, and a control unit characterized by: pressurizing from above fluid level surface of the feed fluid tank by high-pressure gas supply source to fulfill the passive fluid feeding function, performing the feed fluid measuring and regulating through the flow meter and flow control valve installed on the transmission pipe lines connecting to the external systems, fulfilling function of continuous fluid feeding by switching between two fluid-feed tanks, and combining the feed fluid requirements of the external systems through the control unit to achieve the multifunction fluid-feed art of automatic operation, continuous fluid feeding, and flow rate controlling. The present invention does not utilize high-head and high-pressure pumps as the driving components, thus it is not only cost-saving but makes easier in coping with various fluid-feed requirements by the external systems, hence, possessing potentials of extending applicability into various industrial fields.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is to provide a multifunction passive and continuous fluid feeding system for external systems, wherein the system is capable of performing multifunction fluid feeding tasks for automatic operation, continuous fluid feeding, and control based on various fluid-feed requirements by the external systems.
2. Description of the Background Art
In the realm of conventional fluid feeding techniques, the most commonly seen practice is to employ pumps with adequate head as the driving component to inject the feed-fluid to the external systems. An example of this practice is the high-pressure water injection system of nuclear power plants, which automatically activates at time of depressurization during incidents to inject coolant into reactor core for removing the decay heat generated therein. Another practice is to employ accumulators as the driving component to inject fluid therein by the high-pressurized gas contained therein to the external systems. Examples of these conventional practices include the inventions disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,845,713, 5,845,714, and 6,006,840, relating to the roof spray fire extinguishing system employing nitrogen cylinders as pressure supplying source to press the nitrogen gas into the tanks stored with extinguishing liquid, transmitting the extinguishing liquid through pipe lines on the roof into the sprinklers on the ceiling to put out a fire. Also, for the above-mentioned example of the water injection system of nuclear power plants at time of depressurization during incidents, it can automatically inject the pre-pressurized water to the reactor core, when the system pressure lowers to the preset level for activating to remove the decay heat generated therein. Furthermore, the fuel supply systems for automobile engines as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,273,067, 6,035,829, 5,727,525, and 6,120,711, employ high-pressure pumps to-first transmit the fuel contained in the fuel tank into pressurized accumulator for storage, and then control the on-off periods of the fuel spray nozzles in each cylinder by sequential ignition of the cylinder strokes, enabling the fuel-feed into the combustion chamber by pulse in a cyclic manner.
When the above-mentioned conventional fluid-feed practices are applied in systems with high pressure and high temperature, or large scaled industrial systems, the costs of investment solely made on the high-head pumps will be astonishing. Besides, in any power plant or factory facility, when emergency incidents occurs, the major power supply is usually shut down first, with only the emergency power supply system left to provide lower rating power for use by minimum lighting and instrumentation. To maintain normal fluid-feed functioning, the installation of reliable emergency power supply system of higher rating is needed; otherwise, more severe damages may occur due to the failure of fluid-feed function. In addition, the cooling practice by using accumulators to inject water into the reactor core may not, in some incidents, be able to bring the pressure of the system smoothly down to the triggering point preset for the accumulator to activate water injection, for instance, when there is a break of less than 2 inches in diameter at the cold leg, or when loss-of-coolant incidents occur, resulting from small break due to fracture on the instrumentation pipe lines, or, with the low depressurization rate, the water injection may still be grounded to almost a halt, even though the water injection system may have been activated when the preset triggering point is reached, causing poor cooling results of the reactor core.
Furthermore, in the fields of on-line reaction control in some chemical continuous processes and other industrial or academic researches, it is not difficult to see the needs of the feed fluid flow rate varying with the changes of one or more key parameters of the external systems. As a result, even if the systems are equipped with the above-mentioned expensive pumps, it does not necessarily ensure the accuracy of fluid feeding function. For instance, a small pilot plant can run simulation tests in advance of the actual operations of fluid feeding at different pressure levels in the prototypical plants, with the prototypical plants having preset the pumps to drive the fluid feeding, or, namely, the feed fluid flow rate is to vary at different pressure levels throughout the process, according to the performance curve of the fluid feeding pumps. Hence, to accurately simulate the feed fluid flow rate in the pilot plants will be critical to successful simulation of the actual processing of the prototypical plant. However, when a pilot plant directly uses pumps to simulate the feed fluid flow rate, it needs to overcome the inevitable extreme differences between the two sets of performance curves due to the significant specification differences of the two pumps. Even if the pilot plant can be equipped with an additional set of sophisticated mechanism for the pump to automatically adjust its rotation rate, the pump is still difficult to fully meet the requirement of accurate fluid feeding simulation. The above mentioned problems commonly seen during the fluid feeding simulation tests in pilot plants should be solved by simple, economic, and reliable methods.
Moreover, the feed fluid supply system currently applied in fire engines also uses high-head and high-pressure pumps as the driving component which injects the extinguisher in the feed fluid tanks to the fire scenes. As a series of pumps in the above mentioned application are connected for purpose of enhancing the head so as to achieve effectiveness by increasing the injection range and height, particularly those designed for high-rise fire fighting operation, and outside of consideration of public safety at the fire scene, power supply is shut down prior to fire fighting operation. Therefore, fire engines have to be equipped with built-in diesel electric sets for supplying power to its own pumps, making the power equipment for driving fluid feeding on the fire engines rather heavy-weighted and bulky. Apart from the noise of the pumps that deteriorates the communication quality at the fire scene, with the limited space available on the vehicles, they squeeze out the amount of extinguisher that can be carried along, and as a result, it is unfavorable for the mobility of the fire engines, while increasing difficulty for fire fighting operation in small alleys. The complicated electric equipment installed on the vehicle also makes it inconvenient to do regular maintenance and performance tests. In case when an effective fluid feeding mechanism is lacking before the extinguisher runs out, the function of fire extinguishing will be interrupted or gone.
To overcome the deficiencies of the above-mentioned conventional practices, an object of the present invention is to provide a multifunction passive and continuous fluid feeding system for external systems, including a storing and transmitting component, a measuring and regulating component, and a control unit, characterized by pressurizing from above the fluid level surface of the feed fluid tank by high-pressure gas supply source to build up the passive fluid-feed supplying function, performing the fluid-feed measuring and regulating through the flow meter and flow control valves installed on the transmission pipe lines connecting to the external systems, fulfilling function of continuous fluid feeding by switching between two fluid-feed tanks, and combining the feed fluid requirements of the external systems through the control unit to achieve the multifunction fluid-feed of automatic operation, continuous fluid feeding, and flow rate controlling.
The automatic continuous fluid feeding system of the present invention utilizes cheap and reliable high-pressure gas supply to take the place of the conventional expensive high-head high-pressure pumps and the high rating power suppliers. Not only does it carry the functionality of conventional fluid feeding system, but also the potentials of extended applicability into various systems or industrial fields, due to the easiness of its coping with various fluid-feed requirements by external systems. Apart from solving the problem of continuity deficiency of the conventional fluid feeding systems which results from at least one of the accumulators operable independently as sources of feed fluid supply, the adding of automatic switching control mechanism to the feed fluid tanks allows significant down-scaling of the feed fluid tank volume and the overall fluid feeding system. Furthermore, the adding of control unit not only allows continuous fluid feeding by automatic switching through measuring and regulating components. It also demonstrates its functionality with high accuracy in controlling flow of feed-fluid. Accordingly, the present invention can easily surpass the difficulties by the conventional systems, while improving their reliability and functionality. Therefore, from the viewpoint of risk management, the present invention is particularly applicable, when fluid feeding is required over a long period of time, or fluid feed system stays normally in reserve but activates its fluid-feed function at time of emergency, or accurate control over feed fluid flow rate is required based on various fluid-feed requirements by external systems.
In summary, the object of the present invention is to provide a kind of multifunction passive and continuous fluid feeding system, which is of simple structure and high reliability, for external systems, wherein the system is capable of performing multifunction fluid feeding skills for automatic operation, continuous fluid feeding, and flow rate control based on various fluid-feed requirements by the external systems. Besides being highly reliable, capable of lowering disaster risks, the present invention has the advantages of cost effectiveness, energy saving, environmental friendliness, and conveniences for maintenance and performance testing, as well as the potentials of extended applicability into various fields. The application fields of the present invention at least include the following: the fluid feeding or cooling systems as emergency back-up system for industrial purposes, the fluid feeding systems for high-temperature and high-pressure boilers, on-line inputs proportion control in chemical continuous processes, safety water injection system within full range of pressure variation in nuclear reactors, feed-water and level controlling system for steam generators, fluid feeding simulation tests in pilot plants, and various types of public safety and fire extinguishing systems.

Multifunction passive and continuous fluid feeding system

Atomic Energy Council-Institute of Nuclear Energy Research


A method for isolating specific viable cell types from surrounding organ tissue is provided. The method entails the use of sonication in conjunction with tissue dissociating agents to free the cells of interest. A specific application of the method is the isolation of the insulin producing tissue of the pancreas, the islets of Langerhans. The method results in a high yield of islets that maintain a high level of viability.

Islet Isolation
The insulin producing tissue of the pancreas, the islets of Langerhans, constitutes between about one and two percent of the mass of the pancreas. The isolation of the islets from the remainder of the pancreatic tissue is desirable for laboratory purposes and for transplantation purposes. Transplantation of islets is looked to as a possible treatment for diabetes. Transplanting islets rather than an intact pancreas or pancreatic segments offers several advantages, including the ease of transplantation, the possibility of in vitro treatment to prevent rejection without immunosuppression, the elimination of the pancreatic exocrine function (the secretion of digestive substances from the host tissue), the possibility of cryopreservation of the tissue for subsequent use, and the possibility of xenografts.
In an early method of islet separation, chopped pancreatic fragments are mixed with collagenase and incubated at 37.degree. C. (reviewed in Scharp, World Journal of Surgery 8:143-151 (1984)). The collagenase breaks down or digests the pancreatic tissue, freeing the islets. The collagenase also acts on the islets, so that the islets released early in the process are broken down into single cells. If the process is stopped to protect the islets released early, many islets remain trapped in pancreatic fragments. Therefore only a fraction of the available intact islets are released by this method. This process is particularly ineffective for the isolation of islets from the pancreata of large animals such as humans, dogs, or pigs.
Laboratory islet isolation from rodent pancreata was greatly improved by the discovery that mechanical distension of rodent pancreata increased islet yield by causing mechanical separation of islets from the pancreas tissue. After distension the pancreas is chopped for coIlagenase digestion. The beneficial effect of this same type of mechanical distension has also been noticed in large animals.
Horaguchi and Merrell, Diabetes 30:455-58 (1982) developed a method for perfusing the dog pancreas with collagenase via the pancreatic duct. Subsequently, a process involving ductal distension of the pancreas with a solution containing collagenase was developed (U.S. Pat. No. 4,868,121; incorporated herein by reference). Inflation or distension of the pancreas is believed to cause some mechanical rupturing of the exocrine tissue or partial separation of the islets from the exocrine tissue, making subsequent collagenase digestion easier.

Isolation of cells from organ tissue using sonication


A dielectric layer is formed on a main surface of a semiconductor substrate. A silicon layer is formed on dielectric layer. MOS transistors are formed in silicon layer and include impurity regions in a semiconductor layer. A capacitor is formed by cooperation of the impurity region, the dielectric layer, and the semiconductor substrate. The dielectric layer also serves as an insulating film of an SOI structure. Thus, a semiconductor memory device which achieves high performance and allows high integration can easily be obtained in a DRAM having an SOI structure.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor memory devices, and particularly to devices having an SOI (Semiconductor On Insulator) structure and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Background Art
Conventionally, a DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) is well known in the art as a semiconductor memory device capable of random input/output of memory information. In general, the DRAM includes a memory cell array portion serving as a memory region for storing a large amount of information and a peripheral circuit portion for controlling an operation of the memory cell array portion.
FIG. 50 is a block diagram showing a structure of an ordinary DRAM. With reference to FIG. 50, a DRAM 150 includes: a memory cell array 151 for storing data signals of memory information; a row and column address buffer 152 which receives externally an address signal for selecting a memory cell constituting a unit memory information; a row decoder 153 and a column decoder 154 for specifying a memory cell by decoding the address signal; a sense refresh amplifier 155 for amplifying and reading a signal stored in the specified memory cell; a data in buffer 156 and a data out buffer 157 for data input/output; and a clock generator 158 for generating a clock signal.
In memory cell array 151 which occupies a large area on a semiconductor chip, a plurality of memory cells for storing unit memory information are arranged in a matrix. Generally, one memory cell is formed by a MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistor and a capacitor connected thereto. Such a memory cell is called a one-transistor one-capacitor type memory cell. Since this type of memory cell has a simple structure, integration of a memory cell can be improved easily. Therefore, such a memory cell has been widely used in a DRAM having a large capacitance.
Memory cells in the DRAM can be divided into several types depending on a structure of a capacitor. One type is called a stacked type capacitor. In the stacked type capacitor, a major portion of a capacitor is extended onto as far as a gate electrode and a field oxide film so as to increase an opposing area between electrodes of the capacitor.
Accordingly, capacitance of the capacitor can be increased. Having this characteristic, the stacked type capacitor can secure the capacitance of the capacitor even if elements are miniaturized in accordance with high integration of a semiconductor memory device. As a result, such a stacked type capacitor has become widely used as integration of semiconductor memory devices is further developed.
However, if elements are further miniaturized in the future, it is likely that securing a certain capacitance of the capacitor will be no longer possible even though the previously described stacked type capacitor is used. Therefore, in order to secure the certain capacitance of the capacitor and to improve a characteristic of a transfer gate transistor used in the DRAM regardless of further miniaturization of elements and high integration of memory cells, a technique using an SOI structure in the DRAM has been disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 60-250665.
FIG. 51 is a partial sectional view showing a DRAM disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 60-250665. An example of a conventional DRAM having an SOI structure will be described below with reference to FIG. 51.
As can be seen from FIG. 51, a thin insulating oxide film 102 and a thick oxide film 103 are formed on a main surface of p type silicon substrate 101. A conductive layer 104 formed of polycrystalline silicon is formed on thin insulating oxide film 102. A capacitor 120 is formed by silicon substrate 101, thin insulating oxide film 102 and conductive layer 104.
An insulating layer 105 having a contact hole at a predetermined position is formed on conductive layer 104. Within the contact hole is provided a plug 106 formed of a high melting point metal silicide or the like. A MOS transistor 107 is formed on insulating layer 105 and plug 106. MOS transistor 107 include impurity regions 121 and 122 serving as source/drain regions formed in a silicon layer and a gate electrode 109.
Impurity region 121 is connected electrically to conductive layer 104 via plug 106. Also, impurity region 122 is connected electrically to a bit line 108. Insulating layers 133 and 134 are formed to cover MOS transistor 107. On insulating layer 133 is provided a word line 110 connected electrically to gate electrode 109.
In such a DRAM having an SOI structure, MOS transistor 107 is formed on capacitor 120 with insulating layer 105 interposed therebetween, whereby a large planar area of capacitor 120 can be secured. This leads to securing of the certain capacitance of the capacitor even in high integration of elements. Also, MOS transistor 107 is provided with a characteristic specific to the SOI structure.
However, even in the DRAM having the SOI structure, there are three problems as will be described below. Now, the first problem will be described. In the DRAM having the SOI structure, a silicon layer in which MOS transistor 107 is formed and conductive layer 104 are formed in separate layers. Therefore, formations of, for example, plug 106 for electrically connecting impurity region 121 in the MOS transistor and conductive layer 104, and insulating layer 105 for isolating MOS transistor 107 from conductive layer 104 in a portion other than plug 106 are required. More particularly, formation of conductive layer 104, insulating layer 105, plug 106, the silicon layer in which the MOS transistor is formed, and the like, has to be formed respectively in separate steps. This results in the complex process and the high manufacturing cost.
Next, the second problem will be described. In the DRAM having the SOI structure, MOS transistor 107 is formed on capacitor 120 with insulating layer 105 interposed therebetween in order to increase the capacitance of the capacitor. This incurs the problem such as the increased height of the DRAM.
Next, the third problem will be described. As can be seen from FIG. 51, impurity region 121 in the DRAM is electrically connected to conductive layer 104 serving as a storage node electrode via plug 106. Accordingly, both a contact portion between impurity region 121 and plug 106 and a contact portion between plug 106 and conductive layer 104 are provided between impurity region 121 and conductive layer 104. Thus, a resistance value between impurity region 121 and conductive layer 104 is increased due to these two contact portions. This results in reduction of an operating speed of the DRAM.

Method of manufacturing a DRAM having an SOI structure


A process for fabricating a high density, capacitor over bit line, DRAM cell, using 8F.sup.2 technology, has been developed. The process features self-alignment of a tungsten bit line structure, to polycide word lines, and self-alignment of a capacitor node structure, to both tungsten bit lines, and to polycide word line structures. Self-alignment is accomplished by opening contact holes between polycide gate structures, and between tungsten bit line structures, which are coated with silicon nitride spacers, followed by filling with polysilicon plugs, which in turn contact underlying regions of the semiconductor substrate.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a process used to fabricate a cell for a dynamic random access memory, (DRAM), device, and more specifically to a fabrication process in which the area of the DRAM cell can be reduced using self-alignment processes for bit line contact and capacitor node structures.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
In order to satisfy demands for high density DRAM semiconductor chips, micro-miniaturization, or the use of sub-micron features, used for DRAM designs, are employed. The attainment of micro-miniaturazation, or sub-micron features, has been mainly accomplished by advances in specific semiconductor fabrication disciplines, as photolithography and dry etching. The use of more sophisticated exposure cameras, as well as the use of more sensitive photoresist materials, have allowed sub-micron images to be created in photoresist layers. In addition the development of more advanced dry etching tools and etch recipes, have allowed the sub-micron images in overlying photoresist layers to be successfully transferred to underlying materials, used in the creation of advanced semiconductor devices.
However to achieve DRAM cell densities of 1 gigabit, or greater, new design, in addition to process enhancements, may be needed. Currently the area needed for a DRAM cell is equal to between about eight to 12 times the minimum feature used, sometimes referred to as 8F.sup.2 or 12F.sup.2. However the decreasing feature dimensions, used with an 8F.sup.2 technology, place stringent limitations on specific photolithographic alignment steps. For example any mis-alignment, occurring with the opening of the bit line contact hole, or the storage node hole, can result in unwanted leakages or shorts, when designing to a 8F.sup.2 technology.
This invention will describe a fabrication process for a DRAM cell, capable of densities of 1 gigabit or greater, in which 8F.sup.2 technology is used, but featuring self-alignment procedures, specifically for the bit line, and storage node structures, thus minimizing the mis-alignment possibility that can occur when using non self-aligned counterparts. This invention will also feature the use of polysilicon plugs, when used in combination with the self-aligned procedures, enhance the 8F.sup.2 technology used for high density DRAM cells. Prior art such as Rosner, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,162, describe a DRAM cell layout, however that DRAM layout does not offer the self-alignment features, or does it offer the process used to create a high density DRAM cell, using the novel self-alignment processes.

Method for fabrication of a one gigabit capacitor over bit line DRAM cell with an area equal to eight times the used minimum feature

Vangaurd International Semiconductor Corporation


Delivery of conditional access data to a receiver that is able to connect to a plurality of scrambled programs. Conditional access for a current channel is handled using standard ECMs delivered with the channel. In parallel, the receiver retrieves an ECM for a separate stream comprising control words for every channel. The control word of this ECM is used to descramble the separate stream to access the control words for every channel. In a preferred embodiment, these control words are super-encrypted using channel keys and the receiver is only able to obtain channel keys for channels for which it has access rights. In case the control words are super-encrypted, they are decrypted. Upon channel change, the relevant retrieved control word is used to descramble the new channel. Also provided is a receiver device and a transmitter device. According to a variant, the control words received in the separate stream is treated only upon a change of channel. The invention enables a reduction or removal of the CA delay when switching between channels.

This section is intended to introduce the reader to various aspects of art, which may be related to various aspects of the present invention that are described and/or claimed below. This discussion is believed to be helpful in providing the reader with background information to facilitate a better understanding of the various aspects of the present invention. Accordingly, it should be understood that these statements are to be read in this light, and not as admissions of prior art.
An important aspect for the quality of experience perceived by an end-user watching television is the time needed to change channel (i.e. the zapping time). Naturally, the longer the end-user has to wait to access a new channel, the worse the experience is. However, contrary to what may be believed, despite—or perhaps because of—the technological advances, the zapping time is practically worse than ever.
In the early days of television, all that was needed to change channel was to turn or press a button, something that may be done very rapidly. Nowadays, though, the zapping time has become much longer, more for some technologies than for others. This is due to the accumulation of a number of small delays, each delay often being a side-effect of other, usually beneficial technical developments. Such delays comprise:                remote control transmission;        connection to the transport stream;        buffering of the incoming data;        Conditional Access (CA) system delays, such as acquisition of CA data and descrambler programming;        the time needed to find a first decodable image, such as a so-called I image for MPEG; and        audio synchronization.
Technologies exist to reduce some of these delays, but the CA system has not been adequately addressed yet. The CA system can delay the channel change by up to one second. This delay is needed to acquire the CA data, decrypt it and program the descrambler. In many systems, the CA data is an Entitlement Control Message (ECM) that comprises an encrypted control word that the descrambler needs to access a scrambled program correctly.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a typical prior art CA system at the receiver end. The description is quite simplified and only describes features necessary for understanding the present invention. The receiver end 100 comprises a set-top box 110 that is connected to some kind of means for receiving 120, such as for example a parabolic antenna (as illustrated) or a cable. The set-top box 110 comprises a descrambler 140 and is also functionally connected to a security module 130, such as a detachable smartcard.
The receiving means 120 receives a scrambled program and encrypted ECMs for the scrambled program, each ECM comprising information enabling descrambling of the program during a time period called cryptoperiod (and possibly also during the subsequent cryptoperiod). The ECMs are sent 1 to the security module 130 and the scrambled program is sent 3 to the descrambler 140. The security module 130 decrypts the ECMs and forwards 2 extracted control words to the descrambler 140 that uses these to descramble the scrambled program so as to output 4 a program in the clear.
Often, the control word is changed about every 10 seconds, which means that the corresponding ECMs must be received so as to keep up. It is also common for an ECM to embed two control words, one for the current so-called crypto-period and one for the next. This provides some respite for the handling of the ECMs.
However, upon change of channel, the proper control word is not available as the ECMs are received only for the current channel. Thus, for a new channel, the set-top box usually has to wait for ECM extraction and decryption to occur before being able to descramble the program. This typically takes between 300 ms and 1 s, with 500 ms being a rough average value.
This delay may be better understood if it is known that that the security module and the set-top box have to perform a plurality of actions. The security module has to receive the ECM, decrypt the ECM, check the integrity of the ECM, verify the rights included in the ECM (e.g. verification the user has subscribed to the channel), encrypt and integrity protect the control word using a key shared with the set-top box, and send the protected control word to the set-top box. The set-top box has to extract the ECM (one ECM is typically present every 10 ms in the stream), send the ECM to the security module, receive the encrypted control word, decrypt the encrypted control word and verify the integrity of the control word.
In many current systems, this CA delay often does not cause any extra delays during zapping. The reason for this is shown in FIG. 2 that illustrates the commonly expected delays for the steps necessary to display a program after a change of channel in an exemplary Internet TV (IPTV) system.
After a channel change, 700 ms are needed for setting up the multicast. Only then can the buffering and the wait for the start of the Group Of Pictures (GOP) begin, which is performed in parallel with the reception of an ECM and extraction of the control word. When an I-Frame has been found, the hardware may descramble the scrambled program, which takes 100 ms, after which the MPEG4 decoding and display of the program takes another 700 ms. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the delay until the start of the GOP is expected to be 1000 ms, while the CA delay usually is shorter than that, such as an exemplary 500 ms. As these delays occur in parallel, it will be appreciated that the CA delay does not introduce any extra delay.
However, some solutions—such as for example those found in US 2003/0048808 and WO 2004/114668—reduce the duration of the delay for the GOP start so that it is shorter than the CA delay, while the solution described in European Patent Application 07301453.2 reduces the buffering delay.
It will thus be appreciated that there is a need for solutions that reduce the CA delay, in particular upon a channel change.
JP 2000101984 teaches a system in which the set-top box receives, from the transport stream, the ECM of all the channels for which the user has a subscription. The received ECMs are then stored. Thus, upon zapping, the set-top box immediately has the right ECM and can send it to the smart card for decryption. However, with such a solution, the CA delay is only marginally decreased. Typically, in a MPEG2-stream, an ECM is present every 10 ms. Thus, ECM extraction time is almost negligible compared with ECM decryption time.
As a variant in JP200101984 the ECMs are received by the smartcard that decrypts them. Only control words returned by the smartcard are stored by set-top box. This variant has one major drawback: since the ECM decryption time is typically between 300 ms and 1 second and cryptoperiods typically last 10 seconds (i.e. new ECMs every 10 s), the solution does not scale very well when it comes to the number of subscribed channels. If a bouquet includes more than 20 or 30 channels, the solution disclosed by JP200101984 cannot be applied, as the smartcard does not have the time to decrypt all the ECMs.
It can thus be appreciated that there is a need for an alternative solution that can enable reduction of the conditional access delay. The present invention provides such a solution, with a number of variants.

Method and device for reception of control words, and device for transmission thereof


A rehydration formulation which enhances a subjects ability to quickly recover from dehydration. The rehydration formulation includes a glycerol solution combined with a carbohydrate or sodium to produce a desired result. The glycerol solution combats the ill-effects of dehydration by increasing plasma osmolality thereby preventing loss of osmotic stimulus to thirst and enabling full rehydration to occur.

The present invention relates to an exercise regimen which enhances exercise endurance by hydration with a glycerol solution prior to inception of exercise, combined with hydration during exercise with a glycerol and carbohydrate based solution to optimize endurance. In addition, the invention relates to a glycerol formulation ingested to combat the ill-effects of dehydration. Dehydration can result in adverse physiologic changes, clinical symptoms and impaired performance. These include increased heart rate, elevated temperature, lower cardiac output and reduced skin blood flow.
Oral replacement solutions are widely used in athletic and recreational events. Strenuous exercise, water immersion, extreme cold, as well as exposure to sunlight and heat can cause significant physiological changes. Subjects exercising or working in the heat or for prolonged periods of time are at risk for developing impaired function or heat-related injuries. In order to prevent heat-related injuries such as heat exhaustion, heat stroke and dehydration syndrome, a number of compositions and solutions have been suggested.
In the Runner's World article, entitled "HYPERHYDRATION" by Liz Applegate (September 1992), glycerol has been suggested as a way to preserve blood volume, moderate heart rate and allow more blood to be sent to the skin for cooling. No analysis of a particular use or regimen is discussed nor are there specifics given concerning when to use it or in what combination or proportions thereof.
Further, in a published study by Koenigsberg et al, entitled, "40 hour Glycerol-Induced Hyperhydration", there is some evidence that glycerol hyperhydration can be maintained for up to 40 hours with ongoing ingestion of glycerol.
In "Hyperhydration with glycerol solutions", authored by Riedesel et al, American Physiological Society, 1987, glycerol was studied and its affect on dilute saline solution retention as well as general fluid retention.
In "Effects of glycerol-induced hyperhydration prior to exercise in the heat on sweating and core temperature", authored by Lyons et al, Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 1990, the effects of glycerol induced hyperhydration prior to exercise in the heat or sweating and core temperature was studied. Here, exercise was started 2.5 hours after the fluids were ingested. The study concluded that glycerol induced hyperhydration reduced the thermal burden of moderate exercise.
In addition, U.S. Pat. No. 5,147,650, issued on Sept. 15, 1992, found that glycerol containing solution, compared to water or GATORADE.RTM. type drink, ingested during exercise resulted in an expanded blood volume, lower heart rate, and lower rectal temperature during exercise.
Further, dehydration of a subject is a significant concern. When dehydration is severe enough (about 3% of body weight) symptoms of lightheadness, disorientation and fatigue ensure. Thus, performance and endurance are impaired.
Compared to several animal species, humans have an inadequate mechanism to replace fluid losses which occur during dehydration. This phenomena is known as involuntary dehydration.
When water alone is used for rehydration, plasma sodium and osmolality return to normal rapidly and osmotic contribution to thirst is lost.
In addition, the reduced plasma volume is restored early and the volume contribution to thirst is lost. Thus, drinking water to rehydrate reduces thirst and drive to replace losses. Furthermore, urine production is stimulated by these changes. In one study, after dehydration, followed by rehydration with water, subjects restored approximately 70% of lost fluid, and with a sodium solution, 80% was restored.
The invention herein described is a novel exercise regimen and composition for enhancing endurance and performance in activities such as hiking, soccer, football, etc., and allowing for one to combat the ill-effects of dehydration.

Glycerol enhanced rehydration formulation


A method of managing conditions in a data center comprises storing information relating to field replaceable unit thermal properties in at least one field replaceable unit non-volatile memory and generating information for real-time dynamic temperature mapping of the data center based on the field replaceable unit thermal property information.

Data center managers and customers face a growing challenge managing the cooling and electrical specifications of information technology (IT) equipment deployed in data centers. The amount of power and system-level airflow for suitable operation and performance has dramatically increased over the past decade due to exponential increases in device performance concurrent with similarly remarkable reductions in system sizes and form factors. Nameplate power information on servers is defined as a maximum value specified for regulatory compliance and, accordingly, is much higher than actual power consumption. Typically, manufacturers do not supply system-level airflow specifications and, if specified, only a single maximum airflow requirement is defined in technical documentation that is not readily available to most customers. The maximum airflow specification is usually included only on labels or in documentation and merely identifies a qualified, ambient temperature range of the product. Although the temperature specifications may also be tested manually for site planning, such usage is tedious to accomplish, particular when specified on multiple possibly diverse systems, components, and devices, each with different usage and diverse requirements.

Thermal management using stored field replaceable unit thermal information

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


In a method of printing on individual self-supporting articles, for example CDs, telephone cards or the like, using multi-color printing, the relative positions of the individual print images which make up a total print image on the article are set by a procedure whereby, after at least one individual print image has been printed on the article, the print image is detected by a camera system. The representation of the actual position of the individual print image relative to the article bearing it is compared in a computer to a representation of the reference position stored therein. In dependence on the result of the comparison, if the actual position deviates from the reference position, the position of the printing mechanism and/or the position of a following article is altered for the printing operation in accordance with the result of the comparison.

Particularly when printing on articles such as CDs, telephone cards and credit cards, very small batch sizes frequently have to be printed. Batch sizes of only several hundred CDs or telephone cards are not a rarity. The consequence of this is that a disproportionately great amount of time is required for converting the printing machine from one batch to the next. In addition, with the machines which are usually employed nowadays. The conversion operation in that situation, that is to say adjusting the printing mechanisms to the print image of the respective following batch, requires very well-trained operating personnel if a print image of high quality is to be produced. In that respect, it will be noted that the requirements in terms of print image quality are becoming increasingly strict.
EP 0 488 092 B1 discloses a screen printing machine for printing on material in web form, wherein register marks applied to the web material are monitored by means of a camera. The screen printing stencils are arranged to be adjustable and for that purpose they are provided with setting motors which are controllable by way of a computer in dependence on the positions of the register marks, detected by the camera. However, adjusting the screen printing stencils in dependence on the position of register marks on the material to be printed does not result in significantly making the operation of converting the printing machine easier. Furthermore the quality of print image which can be achieved therewith does not satisfy the requirements which are usually imposed in many cases nowadays.

Method and apparatus for printing on individual self-supporting articles


An automated slide stainer with slides mounted in a horizontal position on a rotary carousel. Reagents and rinse liquids are automatically dispensed onto tissue sections or cells mounted on slides for the purpose of performing chemical or immunohistochemical stains. The rinse liquids are removed by an aspiration head connected to a source of vacuum. Individual slides or groups of slides are supported on flat heating stations for heating to individual temperatures. Temperature control electronics on the carousel are controlled by a user interface off of the carousel.

Tissue sections or cellular monolayers are commonly examined by microscopic examination, for both research and clinical diagnostic purposes. Thin tissue sections or cellular preparations are commonly 1–10 microns thick, and are nearly transparent if untreated. In order to visualize various histologic features, a wide array of staining procedures have been developed over the years that highlight various cellular or extracellular components of the tissues. Histochemical stains, also commonly termed "special stains," employ chemical reactions to color various chemical moieties. Immunohistochemical stains employ antibodies as probes to color specific proteins, commonly via enzymatic deposition of a colored precipitate. Each of these histochemical and immunohistochemical stains requires the addition and removal of reagents in a defined sequence for specific time periods, at defined temperatures. Therefore, a need arises for a slide stainer that can perform a diversity of stains simultaneously under computer control, as specified by the technologist.
An early slide stainer for immunohistochemistry was described by David Brigati M.D., U.S. Pat. No. 4,731,335. In that disclosure, microscope slides were closely apposed to each other, to form capillary gaps. The pairs of slides were mounted in a holder that could be moved about by a mechanical arm along three axes. If slides were to be heated, all of the slides were moved as a group into a humidified heated chamber. Therefore, random access capability is not possible with this design.
In another slide stainer by Rogers and Sullivan, U.S. Pat. No. 4,043,292, slides are mounted on a rotary carousel. Their invention heats the slides by passing a heated stream of air over the slides. All of the slides are heated to the same temperature.
Wooton, McLeod, and Read disclose another slide stainer that incorporates heat capability, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,231,029. In that invention, a steam chamber is provided to heat slides. The humidity in the steam chamber is designed to be just below 100 percent. If the slides are to be heated, they are placed into the chamber. Since the slides are either in or out of the chamber, all slides must be brought to the same heated temperature, a temperature approximately that of steam (100° C.).
A recently described batch slide stainer commercialized by Ventana Medical Systems, Inc. is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,595,707 by Copeland, et. al. In that disclosure, slides are placed on a rotary carousel that allows for the addition and flushing of reagents from the slide surface. Their slide stainer includes a heating chamber that is heated by the introduction of warm air. A temperature sensor is contained within the chamber for providing temperature feedback to a microprocessor. Similar to the other slide stainers described above, all slides must be brought to the same temperature.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Random access slide stainer with independent slide heating regulation


A method for forming a dual damascene opening to protect a low-K dielectric insulating layer including providing a semiconductor process wafer comprising a via opening extending though a thickness portion of at least one dielectric insulating layer; depositing a first dielectric layer stack layer comprising at least one dielectric insulating layer over the at least one dielectric insulating to seal the via opening; blanket depositing a second dielectric layer stack comprising at least one dielectric layer to form a hardmask over and contacting the first dielectric layer stack; photolithographically patterning and etching through a thickness of the hardmask and the first dielectric layer stack to form a trench opening etching pattern overlying and encompassing the via opening while leaving the via opening sealed; and, etching through a thickness portion of the at least one dielectric insulating layer to form a dual damascene opening.

The escalating requirements for high density and performance associated with ultra large scale integration (ULSI) semiconductor wiring require increasingly sophisticated interconnection technology. As device sizes decrease it has been increasingly difficult to provide interconnection technology that satisfies the requirements of low resistance and capacitance interconnect properties, particularly where submicron inter-layer interconnects and intra-layer interconnects have increasingly high aspect ratios and densities.
In the fabrication of semiconductor devices, increased device density requires multiple layers, making necessary the provision of a multi-layered interconnect structure. Such a multi-layered interconnect structure typically includes intra-layer conductive interconnects and inter-layer conductive interconnects, formed by anisotropically etched openings in dielectric insulating layers, often referred to as an inter-metal dielectric (IMD) layer, and subsequently filling the openings with metal, for example copper. Commonly used inter-layer high aspect ratio openings are commonly referred to as vias, for example, when the opening extends through an insulating layer between two conductive layers. The intra-layer interconnects extend horizontally in the IMD layer to interconnect different areas within an IMD layer and are often referred to as trench lines. In one manufacturing approach, trench lines are formed overlying and encompassing one or more vias to form metal inlaid interconnects referred to as dual damascene structures.
In a typical process for forming multiple layer interconnect structure, for example, in a via-first dual damascene process, via openings are first anisotropically etched through an IMD layer by conventional photolithographic and etching techniques. A second anisotropically etched opening, referred to as a trench opening, is then formed according to a second photolithographic patterning process overlying and encompassing one or more of the via openings. The via openings and the trench opening together makeup the dual damascene structure which is subsequently filled with metal, for example, copper, followed by a CMP planarization process to planarize the wafer process surface and prepare the process surface for formation of another overlying level in a multi-level semiconductor device.
In particular, the undesirable effects of integrated circuit RC delay and signal crosstalk increase as integrated circuit densities increase, requiring increasingly low dielectric constants to decrease the parasitic capacitances of the dielectric insulating layers. For example, in design rule technologies of less than about 0.25 microns including 0.1 microns and lower, dielectric insulating layers having a dielectric constant of less than about 2.5, also referred to as ultra low-K dielectrics, are required to achieve acceptable circuit densities with reliable electrical behavior. Silicon dioxide based dielectric layers doped with carbon or organic substituents and forming an interconnecting porous structure within the SiO2 matrix are increasingly desirable for forming IMD layers. Porous low-K materials have several drawbacks including enhanced absorption of chemical species which may easily migrate throughout the IMD layer.
One problem associated with absorption and migration of absorbed chemical species is photoresist poisoning, believed to be related to the interference of nitrogen species with chemically amplified deep ultraviolet (DUV) photoresists, typically used for 0.25 micron and below CMOS technology. Many DUV photoresists are chemically amplified using a photoacid generator activated by the light source to make an exposed area soluble in the development process. One problem affecting the anisotropicity of etching dual damascene features, particularly with respect to the trench portion etching process, is related to photoresist poisoning in the trench patterning process. For example, undeveloped photoresist residue from the trench patterning process frequently forms around the via opening prior to the trench etching process and tends to degrade etching profiles in both the trench portion and via portion of the completed dual damascene structure. The photoresist residue has been attributed to interference by residual nitrogen-containing containing species, for example amines, being released from the porous low-K materials in the patterning process after having been contaminated by a previous process, for example PECVD deposition of dielectrics such as hard masks, anti-reflective coatings, and etch stop layers.
Another problem with low-K materials including carbon doping or carbon-silicon substituents in a silicon dioxide matrix to form an IMD layer relates to the common practice of subjecting the trench patterning photoresist to a plasma ashing process following the trench etching process. The plasma ashing process has been found to damage the low-K material by depleting the carbon from the IMD layer and thereby increasing the dielectric constant of the IMD layer. Various approaches to solving processing problems with low-K dielectrics have been proposed. One approach includes partially or substantially filling the via with a photoresist material prior to trench etching. This approach has met with difficulties due to the formation of etching resistant polymeric residues around the via opening following the trench etching process. Another approach has been to use hard masks or liners for etching the trench to avoid damage to the low-K IMD layer during the photoresist ashing process. This approach has the drawback of leading to enlarged (faceted) trench openings due to etching process chemistries that are not sufficiently selective to the low-K material. Increasing the hard mask layer thickness to prevent trench opening faceting in the trench etching process has been found to have the undesirable effect of reducing surface planarity as well as requiring increased photoresist thickness over via portions in the trench pattering process thereby undesirably affecting patterning resolution.
There is therefore a need in the semiconductor processing art to develop a method to reliably pattern and etch dual damascene structures including avoiding photoresist poisoning and ashing damage to low-K materials to achieve improved device performance and reliability.
It is therefore an object of the invention to provide a method to reliably pattern and etch dual damascene structures including avoiding photoresist poisoning and ashing damage to low-K materials to achieve improved device performance and reliability while overcoming other shortcomings and deficiencies in the prior art.

Dual damascene method for ultra low K dielectrics

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd.


A combination of quick connect and disconnect device mounting apparatus. Multiple different interchangeable male adapter bases are provided each having a round-tipped diamond-patterned male base plate that fits into and mates with a complementary round-tipped diamond-patterned receptacle formed in one of multiple different interchangeable female receivers. The complementary round-tipped diamond-patterned shapes drive the adapter's male base plate to become aligned and positioned relative to the receiver's female receptacle during assembly.

There exists a variety of quick connect and disconnect device mounting apparatus, some including snap-in type constructions that are preferable from ease of installation and cost of manufacturing standpoints. However, previous snap-in type device mounting apparatus have been complex and limited to two specific mating parts that are meant to be assembled exclusively with each other.

Interchangeable snap-in device mounting apparatus


A self-propelled, dirigible agricultural vehicle includes a height-adjustable chassis with an axle and a driven wheel hub. The axle is shiftable between a normal clearance position above the wheel hub and a relatively higher elevated clearance position. The chassis further includes a kingpin and a spacer section that is removably connectable to the kingpin. The axle is in the normal clearance position when the spacer is removed from the kingpin and is in the elevated clearance position when the spacer is connected to the kingpin.

1. Field
The present invention relates generally to agricultural vehicles. More specifically, embodiments of the present invention concern an agricultural applicator with a height-adjustable chassis.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Conventional agricultural applicators are used to spread agricultural materials (e.g., chemicals) along a field in liquid or solid form. Known applicators comprise a self-powered vehicle that includes a chassis with axles and multiple wheels, with the axles being spaced above the rotational axis of the wheels so that the axles present an elevated axle clearance above the ground. Consequently, known applicators are operable to traverse a crop field while much of the chassis is limited from brushing, trampling, or otherwise harmfully contacting the crop.
However, prior art agricultural applicators are deficient and suffer from certain limitations. For example, prior art applicators do not present suitable ground clearance for all types of crops. In particular, prior art applicators fail to provide sufficient ground clearance for certain crops throughout the growing season, such as when those crops are late in the growing season. Furthermore, conventional applicators with a relatively high ground clearance are unable to be moved into and out many conventionally-sized commercial buildings for maintenance or storage.

Adjustable height device for high clearance vehicle


A three-way call detection and response system comprising, in accordance with a preferred embodiment, a three-way call detector coupled non-intrusively, by a bridge repeater, to a communication path carrying digital signals between originator and recipient end office telecommunication switches. The three-way call detector includes an interface and a digital signal processor electrically connected to the bridge repeater for receipt of digital signals from the communication path. The three-way call detector also includes a local controller which interacts with the interface, a digital signal processor, and a remote controller. The remote controller executes a plurality of software programs which control operation of the system. In accordance with a preferred method, the three-way call detection and response system monitors the communication path for indicia representative of a three-way call signature and, hence, an attempted three-way call placement. Upon identifying a suspected three-way call signature, the system examines the digital signals to determine the spectral characteristics of a suspected release pulse of the suspected three-way call signature. Using pattern recognition techniques to compare the spectral characteristics of the suspected release pulse with the spectral characteristics of known, reference release pulses, the system determines whether or not the release pulse is substantially similar to the release pulse of an actual three-way call signature. If so, and after also identifying first and second periods of silence about the release pulse, the system responds to the detection, for example, by disconnecting the telephone call, playing a recording over the communication path, or creating a record of the attempted three-way call placement.

The present invention relates generally to the field of telephone call control and, in its most preferred embodiments, to the field of apparatus and methods for detecting and responding to an attempted three-way telephone call placement.
Today's modern telephone systems provide individuals and businesses with a variety of customizable telephone features and services. One of these features, known as conference or "three-way" calling, enables a telephone customer having three-way calling service (also referred to herein as the telephone call recipient or simply, the recipient) to establish a telephone connection between a telephone call originator (also referred to herein as the originator), himself (i.e., the telephone call recipient), and a third party. To establish the connection or "three-way call", the recipient receives a telephone call from the originator and subsequently places the telephone call on hold by depressing and releasing the switch hook on his telephone. Upon receiving a dial tone, the recipient dials the telephone number of the third party and establishes a connection with the third party. Then, the recipient depresses and releases his switch hook a second time to connect all three individuals.
The telephone call recipient generally receives basic telephone service and additional services, including three-way calling service, from a local telephone company having a telephone switch (also referred to herein as the recipient's end office switch) located at an end office near the location of the recipient's telephone. The recipient's end office switch connects to the recipient's telephone via, at least, a codec device (which converts signals between analog and pulse code modulated (PCM) digital forms) and a distribution network which carries analog signals between the codec device and the recipient's telephone. Similarly, the telephone call originator generally receives telephone service from a local telephone company having a telephone switch (also referred to herein as the originator's end office switch) located at an end office near the location of the originator's telephone. The recipient's telephone is similarly connected to the recipient's switch by a codec device and an analog distribution network. When the originator places a telephone call to the recipient, the originator's end office switch routes the call to the recipient's end office switch and, hence, to the recipient via, generally, digital T1 facilities which include a number of other telephone switches (including, but not limited to interchange carrier switches, access tandem switches, and other end office switches). Together, the switches, T1 facilities, codecs, and analog distribution network are referred to by those skilled in the art as the public switched network or PSN. The routing process and T1 facilities define two, one-way, digital communication paths between the originator's end office switch and the recipient's end office switch. The first communication path carries signals transmitted by the originator and received by the recipient, while the second communication path carries signals transmitted by the recipient and received by the originator.
When the telephone call recipient attempts to place a three-way call by depressing his switch hook as described above, the recipient's end office switch receives a first pulse which it transmits via the public switched telephone network along a one-way, digital communication path to the originator's telephone. After receiving the first pulse (known, in the telecommunications industry, as a switch hook request), the recipient's end office switch transmits a first period of "silence" lasting approximately 250 milliseconds to 1.2 seconds followed by a second pulse created when the recipient releases his switch hook. In combination, the first pulse, first period of silence, and second pulse are known in the telecommunicatons industry as a "hook-flash event". Similar to the first pulse, the first period of silence and second pulse are received at the originator's telephone via the one-way, digital communication path of the public switched network. In response to the depression and release of the recipient's switch hook, the recipient's end office switch suspends the telephone call and outputs a dial tone to the recipient. While the recipient dials the third party's telephone number, a second period of"silence", lasting at least 4 seconds, is observable at the originator's telephone.
While the detection of an attempted three-way call placement is of, perhaps, minor importance in many environments, the detection and response to an attempted placement of a three-way call is extremely important in the penal environment. Since prisoners often have abundant amounts of free time on their hands, inmate telephone privileges frequently provide inmates with opportunities for making nuisance calls to judges, victims, and other parties. Fortunately, some of today's telephone systems can prevent inmates from placing direct calls to parties who are previously identified to the systems by their telephone numbers. Unfortunately, many of the same telephone systems cannot prevent inmates from placing a call to a cohort "on the outside" having three-way calling service who, in turn, connects the inmate with the third party with whom the inmate wishes to talk.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,319,702, Kitchin et al., represents one system which has attempted to provide an apparatus and method for detecting the attempted placement of a three-way call by detecting a hook-flash event. Unfortunately, the apparatus is a premises-based solution and must be physically integrated with each telephone in order to function properly. As a result, the apparatus is not readily adaptable for use in a telecommunications network which would enable a single apparatus to service a plurality of telephones and a plurality of premises. In addition, the method attempts to detect a hook-flash event, in part, by identifying a pulse, present in a particular frequency band, and specific event(s) occuring after the pulse. Because the pulse may be masked by (or duplicated by) noise created along a communication path or by noise created by an individual seeking to avoid detection and because the pulse may occur within a different frequency band, the method would appear to suffer from poor reliability and would appear to have a high rate of failing to detect (or erroneously detecting) an attempted three-way call placement.
There is, therefore, a need in the industry for an apparatus and method which can more reliably detect and respond to the attempted placement of a three-way call and can solve other related and unrelated problems that become apparent upon reading and understanding this specification.

Three-way call detection and response system


To provide a disk reproducing apparatus capable of reading data at a lower error rate without requiring a complicated circuit configuration. An embodiment of the present invention provides a disk reproducing apparatus for reproducing a data signal based on a signal read from a disk and having a clock cycle that is an integral multiple of a cycle of a reproduction clock, including: a clock generating unit generating the reproduction clock based on an input signal obtained by binarizing the signal read from the disk; an error component detecting unit detecting an error component in the input signal; a threshold storage unit storing a threshold value for determining the error component; and a data signal reproducing unit reproducing the data signal in the input signal based on the error component detected by the error component detecting unit and the threshold value stored in the threshold storage unit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a disk reproducing apparatus and a disk reproducing method. In particular, the invention relates to a disk reproducing apparatus and a disk reproducing method for reproducing a binary input signal.
2. Description of Related Art
In recent years, there is an increasing demand to downsize an optical disk and record information on the optical disk with a higher density. To meet such a demand, an edge recording system has been proposed.
According to the edge recording system, in the case of recording data as a binary code string based on 1 and 0, light intensity data is inverted with a bit "1" to create a recording light beam emission pattern and irradiate an optical disk with a recoding light beam.
Such an edge recording system places importance on an edge position, and needs to read data with the edge position being fixed and reproduce the data.
However, an error occurs at the time of reading data due to various factors such as a laser irradiation power or inclination of a disk surface, and the data cannot be correctly reproduced in some cases.
To overcome such defects, a support for the read data such as an error correction function has been provided, but the most important thing is to minimize an error in reading data.
As a method of minimizing the error, there has been proposed a method of measuring a pulse width at the time of detecting an edge to shorten the pulse width in inverse proportion to the measurement result (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 5-81678). This method is devised to deal with a situation that a pulse width of a read signal is larger than an actual recorded data but has a problem in that an error cannot be corrected when a pulse width shorter than that of the recorded data is measured.
Further, a double-edge detection method capable of detecting both edges to more accurately read data has bee also proposed (for example, see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 7-169059). However, this method needs to detect both of a rising edge and a falling edge and thus disadvantageously requires a complicated circuit configuration.


A process of acoustic emission for sonar with a separate emission array from the receiving array. The emission array has the shape of a linear acoustic array and can either be towed simultaneously with linear acoustic receiving array or be suspended from a helicopter to form a "dipping" type sonar. Detection using this type of sonar is facilitated by increasing the sound level via the directivity index, while reducing the level of reverberation originating from the bed and from the surface of the sea.

It is known that sonars are conventionally divided into two major categories. One of these categories comprises active sonars in which an acoustic signal is emitted within the sea and the echoes returned by the obstacles whose position one wishes to ascertain are gathered. The other category comprises passive sonars which are concerned merely with listening for the noise radiated within the sea by various sources, for example the propellers of a boat. Such is the case in particular for linear acoustic arrays which are towed behind the boat and which stretch over distances of several hundred meters.
This technique has been employed to design devices which enable these arrays, essentially characteristic of a passive sonar, to be made to play a role of active sonar, by using a distinct special-purpose array to emit an acoustic signal whose echoes are received by these arrays. This function is termed the "activation function".
Referring to FIG. 1, the linear acoustic array 101 is towed by a boat 102, and in order to use it in an active manner this same boat 102 tows a fish 103 which comprises an acoustic emitter. Given the ranges of frequencies used by a linear acoustic array, which lie within the low-frequency range, the emitter contained in the fish emits in a near-omnidirectional manner by virtue of the small size of its emission arrays relative to the emission wavelength .lambda., made necessary by the dimensions of the fish. Such a device is in particular described in French Patent Application No. 91 03853 filed by the applicant on 29 Mar. 1991 and published on 2 Oct. 1992 under number 2 674 717.
There is also a type of active sonar, known as a "dipping" sonar and represented in FIG. 2, which includes receiving arrays 201 carried by folding arms 211 fixed to a submersible buoy body 221 and which are deployed when the body of the buoy is submerged at the required depth. This body is suspended by a cable wound on a winch fixed to a helicopter 202. It also includes an emitter 203 situated for example at the base of the buoy. The helicopter, which hovers at a fixed spot, unwinds the cable, and the body which carries the receiving array is submerged in the water. Such a sonar is in particular described in French Patent Application No. 86 13485 filed by the applicant on 26 Sep. 1986 and published on 1 Apr. 1988 under number 2 604 530. Although the frequencies used are often higher than the frequencies used in the linear array of FIG. 1, the small size of the body of the buoy precludes the fixing of a very large emitter and so the same relative conditions as before again obtain, involving substantially omnidirectional radiation of the emitter.
As a consequence of the omnidirectional nature of the radiation, these devices have the drawback of limiting the power emitted, so as not to run up against the phenomenon of cavitation, this limiting the detection range since the sound level emitted under these conditions is relatively low and since the directivity index cannot be altered precisely because of this omnidirectional nature.
Moreover, since we are at low frequency and because this antenna is relatively small, nuisance acoustic interactions are obtained between the various transducers, making control of the directivity patterns more difficult.
Finally, and more particularly in the case of a linear acoustic array, the handling of a fish, even if it is relatively small in size, involves implementational constraints related to weight and bulk, which are highly constraining during placement into the water and recovery, and hence entailing a very high cost.


A gas laser oscillator has at least a partial reflection unit and a total reflection unit, each of which comprises an extension unit for connecting between a gas introducing unit and a fixed block unit. The gas introducing unit has a gas inlet port for circulating laser gas in a laser tube, and the fixed block unit is provided for fixing a reflector. A gas inlet port of the gas introducing unit is arranged with a predetermined interval of 120 mm or more so that the reflectors are free from contamination by floating powders and deterioration by ultraviolet lays.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gas laser oscillator in which laser gas is circulated in a laser tube, and from which a laser beam excited in a discharge area in the laser tube is output.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, gas laser oscillators are widely used for drilling, cutting, welding or treating the surface of materials having a high hardness, and there is a great demand particularly in the area of factory automation.
One example of a conventional gas laser oscillator is shown in FIG. 11. The conventional gas laser oscillator of FIG. 11 is disclosed in the Gazette of the Japanese unexamined patent application No. Tokkai Hei 1-204486. FIG. 11 shows a schematic plan view of the conventional gas laser oscillator. The conventional gas laser oscillator comprises a laser tube 6 made of dielectric material such as glass, a total reflector 1 disposed at one end of the laser tube 6, return-beam reflectors 2, 3 for directing a laser beam 7 in the laser tube 6 and a partial reflector 4 disposed at the other end of the laser tube 6. As shown in FIG. 11, the laser beam 7 excited in the laser tube 6 is output through the partial reflector 4. The laser gas is led into the laser tube 6 from gas inlet ports 9, 11, 12 and 14, and exhausted from gas outlet ports 10 and 13. In FIG. 11, the directions of the gas-flow are indicated by short arrows. A pair of the laser tubes 6 are arranged in parallel, and connected in series so as to reflect laser beam 7 between the total reflector 1 and the partial reflector 4 via return-beam reflectors 2, 3.
As mentioned above, the conventional gas laser oscillator provides the gas inlet ports 9, 11, 12 and 14 adjacent to the total reflector 1, the return-beam reflectors 2, 3 and the partial reflector 4. The laser gas is supplied to the laser tube 6 via gas inlet ports 9, 11, 12 and 14 by a gas circulation apparatus thereby providing a high velocity gas-flow in the laser tube 6. That is, the total reflector 1, the return-beam reflectors 2, 3 and the partial reflector 4 are disposed in the gas flow. The laser gas includes floating powders, oil mists, dusts or the like brought from mechanical portions etc. of the gas laser oscillator. Such floating powders etc. are apt to stick to mirror portions of the total reflector 1, the return-beam reflector 2, 3 and the partial reflector 4. These mirror portions become more and more soiled with such powders etc. as time passes. As a result, the output of the conventional gas laser oscillator gradually decreases as time passes owing to the soiled mirrors.
Furthermore, because the total reflector 1, the return-beam reflectors 2, 3 and the partial reflector 4 are disposed near the discharge regions, which is formed between a respective pair of electrodes, these reflectors 1, 2, 3 and 4 are deteriorated by ultraviolet rays emitted from the discharge region, thereby decreasing the life time of the conventional gas laser oscillator.


The medical systems, apparatuses and uses thereof for treating obesity and/or obesity-related diseases are provided which relate to devices designed to stimulate an internal surface of the stomach such as the cardia. Features of the obesity treatment devices include insertion of said devices transorally and without invasive surgery, without associated patient risks of invasive surgery, and without substantial patient discomfort. The devices include flotation portions and cardia-stimulating portions, so that as the level of stomach contents rise, the devices will contact and stimulate the nerves in the cardia region of the stomach to induce satiety. The devices may have non-inflatable balls, be made of skinned foam, have ballast members such as a weighted ball or quantity of saline for orientation, and various combinations thereof.

Over the last 50 years, obesity has been increasing at an alarming rate and is now recognized by leading government health authorities, such as the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and National Institutes of Health (NIH), as a disease. In the United States alone, obesity affects more than 60 million individuals and is considered the second leading cause of preventable death. Worldwide, approximately 1.6 billion adults are overweight, and it is estimated that obesity affects at least 400 million adults.
Obesity is caused by a wide range of factors including genetics, metabolic disorders, physical and psychological issues, lifestyle, and poor nutrition. Millions of obese and overweight individuals first turn to diet, fitness and medication to lose weight; however, these efforts alone are often not enough to keep weight at a level that is optimal for good health. Surgery is another increasingly viable alternative for those with a Body Mass Index (BMI) of greater than 40. In fact, the number of bariatric surgeries in the United States is projected to reach approximately 400,000 annually by 2010.
Examples of surgical methods and devices used to treat obesity include the The LAP-BAND® (Allergan, Inc., Irvine, Calif.) gastric band and the LAP-BAND AP® (Allergan, Inc., Irvine, Calif.) gastric band. However, surgery might not be an option for every obese individual; for certain patients, non-surgical therapies or minimal-surgery options are more effective or appropriate.
In the early 1980s, physicians began to experiment with the placement of intragastric balloons to reduce the size of the stomach reservoir, and consequently its capacity for food. Once deployed in the stomach, the balloon helps to trigger a sensation of fullness and a decreased feeling of hunger. These devices are designed to provide therapy for moderately obese individuals who need to shed pounds in preparation for surgery, or as part of a dietary or behavioral modification program. These balloons are typically cylindrical or pear-shaped, generally range in size from 200-500 ml or more, are made of an elastomer such as silicone, polyurethane, or latex, and are filled with air, an inert gas, water, or saline.
One such inflatable intragastric balloon is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,061 and is commercially available as the BioEnterics Intragastric Balloon System ("BIB System", sold under the trademark ORBERA). The BIB System comprises a silicone elastomer intragastric balloon that is inserted into the stomach and filled with fluid. Conventionally, the balloons are placed in the stomach in an empty or deflated state and thereafter filled (fully or partially) with a suitable fluid. The balloon occupies space in the stomach, thereby leaving less room available for food and creating a feeling of satiety for the patient. Clinical results with these devices show that for many obese patients, the intragastric balloons significantly help to control appetite and accomplish weight loss.
Placement of such balloons is temporary, and such balloons are typically removed after about six months. One means of removing the balloon is to deflate it by puncturing the balloon, and either aspirating the contents of the balloon or allowing the fluid to pass into the patient's stomach. Alternatively, if the balloon is left in place beyond its designed lifetime, the acids present in a patient's stomach may erode the balloon to the point where it self-deflates. When this occurs, the deflated balloon may pass naturally through the patient's digestive system and be expelled through the bowel. For instance, McGhan, U.S. Pat. No. 6,733,512, describes a self-deflating intragastric balloon that includes a biodegradable inflation valve. After a certain residence time in the stomach, the valve starts to leak and eventually the balloon deflates and passes though the patient's digestive tract.
Despite the advances in the design of intragastric balloons, there remains a need for improved medical systems, apparatus and uses thereof for treating obesity and/or obesity-related diseases, and more specifically, to devices designed to stimulate an internal surface of the stomach such as the cardia.


A drill insert has a polygon plate-shaped body that defines a top face and a central shaft extending substantially perpendicular to the top face. A pair of first cutting edges are formed on the top face in a dot symmetrical relation with respect to the central shaft. A pair of second cutting edges are formed on the top face in a dot symmetrical relation with respect to the central shaft. The second cutting edges are disposed adjacent to the first cutting edges. A projected cutting edge portion is provided in each of the second cutting edges. The projected cutting edge portion outwardly projects from each of the second cutting edges in a radial direction with respect to the central shaft.

The present invention relates to a drill insert to be engaged with a rotary cutting tool for drill working operation use.
An outer edge insert and an inner edge insert engaged with the tip end portion of the tool main body for free detachable operation has been used as a drill tool for effecting a hole working operation so that the mutual rotation tracks may be crossed.
FIG. 4 shows an arrangement where two conventional drill inserts 10 to be used in a drill tool are engaged with a drill tool main body T.
The drill insert 10 has a top face 11 defining a pointed angle portion, a polygon plate-shaped body, cutting edges formed in the pointed angle portion of the top face 11. As shown in FIG. 4, two are engaged in one drill tool main body T respectively as the outer edge insert 12 and the inner edge insert 13 with the top faces 11, 11 being directed in the same rotating direction. Also, the rotating track of the cutting edge which becomes the bottom cutting edge 15 among the cutting edges formed in the outer edge insert 12 and the inner edge insert 13 is mutually crossed to cover from the central shaft T1 to the side face T2 of the tool main body T.
In FIG. 4 (b), a composition force N of the load force in a radial direction to be caused respectively in the outer edge insert 12 and the inner edge insert 13 is shown when the cutting working operation has been effected by a drill tool engaged with the drill insert 10. As shown in FIG. 4, in the conventional drill insert 10, the radial direction load to be applied upon the inner edge insert 13 is caused along the bottom cutting edge 15 of the inner edge insert 13 from the central shaft T1, while the outer edge insert 12 causes in the reverse rotating direction (direction of +), with a radius for connecting the corner R portion 14 with the central shaft T1 or the tool main body T as a reference, by the cutting resistance the corner R portion 14 for cutting the outer wall receives.
As a result, the composition force N of the load force in the radial direction is directed onto the side of the inner edge insert 13, namely, it is bent in a direction along which the hole diameter may become smaller during the working operation. In pulling out the drill tool from the work, the outer edge insert 12 comes into contact with the hole wall to damage the finish face. When the pulling is effected with a quick-acting operation, the corner R portion 14 of the outer edge insert 12 hits strongly the wall. On the other hand, in the pulling operation during the cutting feeding, the contact frequency increases to give larger damages to the corner R portion 14 of the outer edge insert 12.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention to provide a drill tool capable of working into better finish face without contacting between the outer edge insert and the hole wall in pulling of the drill tool from the work.
In a drill insert of the present invention where cutting edges are formed on the top face pointed angle portion of a polygon plate-shaped body, a pair of cutting edges in a symmetrical relation mutually with respect to the central shaft of the insert are formed as major cutting edges, a projection portion having a corner R portion continuous to the major cutting edge and a corner R portion opposite mutually with respect to the corner R portion is provided respectively on a pair of cutting edges continuous to the major cutting edge and in a symmetrical relation to each other with respect to the central shaft of the insert.
The drill insert of the present invention has a projection formed having a pair of corner R portions formed in each of a pair of cutting edges continuous to the major cutting edge, among the cutting edges formed on the top face pointed angle portion, and having a symmetric relation as described above. As these corner R portions are arranged on the hole bottom side of the outer edge insert so that the radial load of the outer edge insert is directed onto the side of the rotating direction (direction of -), thus directing onto the outer edge insert side from the central shaft.
Accordingly, the tool main body is bent onto the side of the outer edge insert so that the drill tool can be pulled from the work without contacting between the outer edge insert and the hole wall.
Also, as another function of the drill insert of the present invention, the corner R portion, from the corner R portions for constituting the projecting portion of the outer edge insert opposite onto the hole bottom side, which is not continuous to the major cutting edge, severs the chips from the hole bottom side so that the chips on the side of the outer edge insert side are severed smaller and are discharged.