A window regulator is provided for a window in a vehicle door. The window regulator includes a drive mechanism having a first cable and a second cable. The first cable is connected to the window at a first connection point and the second cable is connected to the window at a second connection point. The two cables are driven at different speeds so that the window is rotated with respect to the vehicle door panel as the window is displaced between a fully closed position and a fully opened position.

In motor vehicle applications, there are challenges with designing movable windows or door glass to drop inside of the door structure. Often the shape of the lower door structure does not accommodate the complete lowering of a full door glass window using traditional automotive hardware systems. This is typically an issue on rear side doors, where the location of the rear wheel well might necessitate a certain shape and size of the lower door structure that is smaller than desired, or on a front door with an outside rearview mirror that is not mounted above the beltline.
In the past, this problem has generally been resolved by one of two compromises. In the first of these compromises, illustrated in FIG. 1a, the window or door glass W does not drop completely below the beltline B found on the door at the lower side of the window frame. In this situation, the vehicle occupant does not have a comfortable place to rest his arm when the window is down. Further, there is only limited room to pass items through the opening O above the window and the portion of the opening remaining covered by the window significantly limits available ventilation.
In option number two, illustrated in FIG. 1b, the size of the movable portion of the window or door glass W is reduced so that portion may be fully opened and dropped into the door panel P. Unfortunately, this compromise increases the cost and complexity of the window system due to, for example, the addition of a fixed piece of glass G and the division bar seal S or an applique that blocks a portion of the daylight opening.
This document relates to a new and improved window regulator and method of providing articulating motion to a window in a vehicle door that allows the full lowering of a full-sized window into the door panel, while avoiding the compromises previously set forth in this document.

Window regulator and method of providing articulating motion to a window in a vehicle door


A telecommunications switch serving a roaming mobile station transports the resulting billing records by setting up a communication link with an administrative billing center connected to a Signaling System No. 7 (SS7) telecommunications network by utilizing Transaction Capabilities Application Part (TCAP) signals. Once the connection is established between the telecommunication switch and the administrative billing center, Data Message handler (DMH) formatted data are stored into the SS7 TCAP Invoke signal by the telecommunication switch and transported to the administrative billing center via the SS7 telecommunications network.

1. Technical Field Of The Invention
This invention relates to charging in a telecommunications network and, more particularly, to the use of SS7 TCAP protocols for communicating accounting messages.
2. Description of Related Art
Developments and improvements in wireless telecommunications switching systems have allowed wireless users to easily move from one physical location to another and still access and utilize the user's own telephone services and subscriber features. One example of this type of service is roaming. Roaming allows the subscriber to move from one city covered by a first telephone company to another city covered by a second telephone company and still use his or her cellular telephone unit. Currently, telephone services toward a roaming subscriber are allowed after the second telephone company requests and receives confirmation data regarding the roaming subscriber's service from the first telephone company. After services have been provided to the roaming subscriber, the second telephone company collects the charging data and sends the information, usually in a batch file, to a centralized administrative center for further analysis. It is at this point that the rightful owner or the centralized billing administrative system determines illegal use of the service by a clone. Since the transfer of the billing batch file is usually done a few days after the actual services have been provided to the roaming subscriber, there is an undesirable time delay before possible fraud is detected.
Cellular radio telephones fall into two main categories, namely mobiles and hand portables. Conventionally, each cellular telephone whether mobile or hand portable has its own unique telephone number by which it may be accessed from other cellular telephones or fixed-wired conventional telephones. The full telephone number is stored in a memory (e.g. a ROM, PROM, or RAM) known in the art as a number assignment module (NAM), that is coupled to the control circuits, usually a microprocessor, of the cellular telephone. When an infringer "steals" a valid cellular telephone number and duplicates the number in another cellular phone (i.e., cloning), the infringer is free to use the telephone service while incurring the charges to the rightful subscriber. Unfortunately, when the roaming subscriber is using the service without proper authority from the rightful owner of the service, the centralized administrative center or the rightful owner of the services is not notified of the illegal usage until the billing records from the second telephone company are received.
A number of security checks have been placed in the system to filter and detect fraudulent calls before they are made. However, it would also be a desirable capability for telecommunications networks to allow services to roaming subscribers while being able to detect fraud on the system on a substantially real time basis after the call is made. The term "real time" for the purposes of the present invention implies a situation where events are handled or notified with minimum time delay after they actually occur in the system. This capability would allow the networks to minimize illegal usage of telecommunication services by narrowing the gap between the time the service is provided to an infringer and the time the centralized administrative center receives the billing records and details the fraud. This capability would also fully support features and services within the telecommunications network that require both billing records and normal telecommunications data at the same time.

Transport mechanism for accounting messages within a telecommunications system


Disclosed is a method of determining a 3D trajectory of an object from at least two observed trajectories of the object in a scene. The observed trajectories are captured in a series of images by at least one camera, each of the images in the series being associated with a pose of the camera. First and second points of the object from separate parallel planes of the scene are selected. A first set of 2D capture locations corresponding to the first point and a second set of 2D capture locations corresponding to the second point are reconstructed to determine an approximated 3D trajectory of the object.

Video cameras, such as Pan-Tilt-Zoom (PTZ) cameras, are omnipresent nowadays and commonly used for surveillance purposes. Such cameras capture more data (video content) than human viewers can process. Hence, a need exists for automatic analysis of video content. The field of video analytics addresses this need for automatic analysis of video content. Video analytics is typically implemented in hardware or software. The functional component may be located, on the camera itself, a computer, or a video recording unit connected to the camera. When multiple cameras are used to monitor a large site, a desirable technique in video analytics is to estimate the three-dimensional (3D) trajectories of moving objects in the scene from the video captured by the video cameras and model the activities of the moving objects in the scene.
The term 3D trajectory reconstruction refers to the process of reconstructing the 3D trajectory of an object from a video that comprises two-dimensional (2D) images. Hereinafter, the terms 'frame' and 'image' are used interchangeably to describe a single image taken at a specific time step in an image sequence. An image is made up of visual elements, for example pixels, or 8×8 DCT (Discrete Cosine Transform) blocks as used in PEG images. Three-dimensional 3D trajectory reconstruction is an important step in a multi-camera object tracking system, enabling high-level interpretation of the object behaviours and events in the scene.
One approach to 3D trajectory reconstruction requires overlapping views across cameras. That is, the cameras must have fields of view that overlap in the system. The 3D positions of the object at each time step in the overlapping, coverage are estimated by triangulation. The term 'triangulation' refers to the process of determining a point in 3D space given the point's projections onto two or more images. When the object is outside the overlapping coverage zone but remains within one of the fields of view, the object tracking system continues to track the object based on the last known position and velocity in the overlapping coverage zone. Disadvantageously, this triangulation technique depends on epipolar constraints for overlapping fields of view and hence cannot be applied to large scale surveillance systems, where cameras are usually installed in a sparse network with non-overlapping fields of view. That is, the fields of views do not overlap in such large scale surveillance systems.
Another approach to reconstructing the 3D trajectory of a moving object is to place constraints on the shape of the trajectory of the moving object. In one example, the object is assumed to move along a line or a conic section. A monocular camera moves to capture the moving object, and the motion of the camera is generally known. However, the majority of moving objects, such as walking persons, in practical applications frequently violate the assumption of known trajectory shape.
In another approach for constructing a trajectory from overlapping images, the 3D trajectory of a moving object can be represented as a compact linear combination of trajectory bases. That is, each trajectory in a 3D Euclidean space can be mapped to a point in a trajectory space spanned by the trajectory bases. The stability of the reconstruction depends on the motion of the camera. A good reconstruction is achieved when the camera motion is fast and random, as well as having overlapping fields of view. A poor reconstruction is obtained when the camera moves slowly and smoothly. Disadvantageously, this method is difficult to apply in real-world surveillance systems, because cameras are usually mounted on the wall or on a pole, without any motion.
In yet another approach, a smoothness constraint can be imposed requiring the error between two successive velocities should be generally close to zero. This method can recover the camera centres and the 3D trajectories of the objects. However, the reconstruction error of the points is orders of magnitude larger than the camera localization error, so that the assumption of motion smoothness is too weak for an accurate trajectory reconstruction.
Thus, a need exists for an improved method for 3D trajectory reconstruction in video surveillance system.


A discharge lamp in which ultraviolet radiation of short wavelengths can be advantageously cut and in which the amount of emitted light (i-line) of 365 nm wavelength can be increased is achieved according to the invention by providing a quartz glass arc tube that is coated with a plurality of coating layers which include a layer which has Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5 as the main component, and at least one additional coating layer which has a refraction coefficient which differs from the refraction coefficient of the coating layer having the Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5 main component. These layers act to prevent the reflection of light with a wavelength of 365 nm which is incident on the coatings on the arc tube and to cut at least 50% of the ultraviolet radiation having wavelengths of 230 nm or less. According to the invention, the coating layers can be provided on the outer side of the arc tube, on the inner side of the arc tube, or on both on the inner and outer sides of the arc tube.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a discharge lamp, especially a mercury lamp of the short arc type which is used to expose a semiconductor wafer and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a mercury lamp of the short arc type for a reduction projection exposure device of the stepper type which exposes a semiconductor wafer, mercury and an inert gas are encapsulated in an emission space which also contains a cathode and an anode opposite one another. Ultraviolet radiation is used which is emitted from the emission space. Hereinafter, this mercury lamp of the short arc type is called simply a lamp, for short. Conventionally, a g-line with a wavelength of 436 nm is mostly used. Recently, however, an i-line with 365 nm has been used according to miniaturization of the semiconductor.
Two disadvantages have been ascertained recently with respect to this lamp:
The first disadvantage is that ultraviolet radiation with short wavelengths is formed. However, it is necessary that no short-wave ultraviolet radiation be emitted since it reacts with the oxygen in the air, and thus, produces harmful ozone, and because it acts directly on the human skin and therefore is undesirable. If ultraviolet radiation of less than or equal to 200 nm is cut, which can also be called "filtering out", production of ozone can for the most part be prevented. To completely cut the ultraviolet radiation of less than or equal to 200 nm, there is a need for an absorption characteristic by which at least light with 230 nm is cut by at least 50%.
As processes for cutting of this short-wave ultraviolet radiation, there are conventional examples in which quartz glass is coated with titanium oxide (TiO.sub.2), or in which quartz glass which is doped with TiO.sub.2 is used as an arc tube. Recently, there has, furthermore, been a demand for cutting ultraviolet radiation with long waves.
A second problem is to increase the amount of light with 365 nm which is emitted from the lamp. Recently, in the semiconductor industry, exposure surfaces have been increasing in size in order to increase throughput in exposure processes. Furthermore, there is the tendency here that the required amount of ultraviolet light radiation per unit of surface area increases. Therefore, there is a need for a lamp with high power. However, such a lamp also has high heating power, for which reason a cooling device for keeping the temperature constant within the stepper also becomes very large and complicated. Consequently, it is a major problem to increase the amount of light with 365 nm while keeping the lamp power constant.
With regard to the first problem of cutting the short-wave ultraviolet radiation, 1) a process in which so-called doped quartz glass (or ozone-free quartz glass) is used, in which titanium oxide is mixed and dispersed into the above described quartz glass, 2) a process in which a diffusion layer of titanium oxide is applied to the inner surface of the arc tube by dipping and then burned in, as is known from Japanese patent HEI 4-34258, 3) a process in which the outer surface of the arc tube is coated with a glass layer which contains titanium dioxide and silicon oxide (SiO.sub.2), as is known from the Japanese patent HEI 5-70901, or similar processes have been reported.
In these processes, ultraviolet radiation of less than or equal to 200 nm can be cut by roughly 100% and the ultraviolet radiation of 230 nm by roughly 50%. As was described above, for complete cutting of the ultraviolet rays of a wavelength less than or equal to 200 nm, it is necessary, with respect to the ozone, to cut at least 50% of the ultraviolet radiation of less than or equal to 230 nm. It is, however, more desirable to be able to cut ultraviolet radiation with wavelengths of less than 230 nm without cutting the ultraviolet radiation of 365 nm wavelength which is necessary for exposure.
The second problem, i.e., the attempt to increase the amount of light with 365 nm, was conventionally approached by optimizing the encapsulation amounts of mercury and rare gas, by optimizing the shapes of the anode and the cathode, and by similar methods.
Conventionally, the first and the second problems were solved separately. However, these processes can only solve one of the problems. Here, therefore, the two problems could not be solved at the same time.
It is also noted that a so-called multilayer anti-reflecting coating is known in which, by alternating a plurality of coating layers containing Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5 with other coating layers on top of one another, a reflection characteristic for certain wavelengths is obtained.
With this multilayer anti-reflection coating, to increase the reflection factor of a certain wavelength (.lambda.), coating layers of a high refraction coefficient (for example, TiO.sub.2 with a refraction coefficient from 2.2 to 2.7 or Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5 with a refraction coefficient from 2.2 to 2.4) and with coating layers with a low refraction coefficient (for example, SiO.sub.2 with a refraction coefficient of 1.475 or MgF.sub.2 with a refraction coefficient of 1.38), as the optical layer thickness (nd), coating in a thickness of 1/4*.lambda. is performed in an alternating manner and a plurality of these layers are placed on top of one another.
In this technique, the desired reflection factor cannot be obtained with a small number of layers placed on top of one another. To obtain an essentially practicable reflection factor, coating conventionally had to be done with at least ten layers.
For example, Japanese patent HEI 2-18856 discloses a super-high pressure mercury lamp which is used for a stepper. Here, the technique of multilayer coating is described in which infrared light is reflected within the lamp in order to dispense with a filter or a cold mirror in the optical system.
Specifically, for reflecting light with a wavelength of 1000 nm with Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5 and SiO.sub.2 in a thickness of 250 nm, twelve layers of alternating coating are used and layers with a high refraction coefficient (Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5) with a thickness of 250 nm and layers with a low refraction coefficient (SiO.sub.2) with a thickness of 125 nm are placed on top of one another. Consequently, light with wavelengths of 800 to 1100 nm is reflected essentially within the lamp, and thus, a transmission factor of 0% is obtained.
Furthermore, Japanese patent HEI 7-19568 discloses a technique in which a hemispherical surface of a lamp is provided with a plurality of reflecting layers for reflecting light with a wavelength of 365 nm and in which light with a 365 nm wavelength is radiated from one half surface.
Specifically, a coating is produced with nine layers of Ta.sub.2 O.sub.5 and SiO.sub.2 with a thickness of 90 nm, with a layer thereof of a thickness of 100 nm, and then, with nine layers thereof with a thickness of 110 nm, and mainly light with a wavelength of 400 nm is reflected. It is known therefrom that essentially 100% of the light around 365 nm is reflected as a result.
In this prior art the desired light is reflected from the light which is emitted from the emission center in the arc tube, by mutual light interference as a result of the plurality of coating layers provided on the outer surface of the arc tube. Furthermore, an attempt is made here to transmit the desired light without losses by reflection while the undesired light is attentuated by reflection.

Discharge lamp having a plurality of coating layers


A filtering system for use in, for example, a radiological imaging in a mammography apparatus. The system has a roundabout carrying a set of filtration plates. Each filtration plate is held on the roundabout by a joint. In a parked or stationary position, each plate is vertically suspended and does not contribute to any unacceptable increase in the horizontal space requirement of an X-ray tube. Each filtration plate may be presented in turn before a window for the emission of X-rays from the tube. At this position, the plate is rectified about its joint in order to occupy one position, among several possible positions, that also makes it possible, in this way, to modulate the filtration capacity of the plate.

This invention and embodiments thereof relate to a radiation emitting device and system and in particular an X-ray tube. More particularly, the invention and embodiments thereof related to a tube for a mammography apparatus which tube and apparatus may comprise an improved filtering system.
In radiology, particularly human radiology and particularly in mammography, an X-ray tube is used to irradiate a body and reveal an image of the irradiation on the side of the body that is opposite to the side on which the tube is placed. An X-ray tube comprises a cathode emitting electrons and projecting them at high speed onto an anode as a result of the very high voltage between the cathode and the anode. The anode, subjected to electron bombardment, emits X-rays, in general almost omni-directionally. An X-ray tube is normally shielded except at the position of an emission window through which the useful X-rays are emitted. Due to emission characteristics, variations in the high voltage and the more or less pure nature of the anode material, the frequency spectrum of the X-rays emitted is not a single value but a continuum around a central value.
Developments in radiology have led to attempts to confine this emission spectrum in a narrow band. Depending on hardness and frequency, the X-rays emitted are absorbed in the body by materials of different natures. To characterize a material, especially a tissue in the human body, it is then necessary to use the narrowest possible emission value around an expected value. Since the emitted spectrum is broad, this result is obtained by interposing filters in the path of the X-rays, before they reach the body to be studied. The filters which may be made of aluminum, copper, molybdenum, tungsten, beryllium or rhodium, or even an alloy of these substances, blocks certain parts of the radiation and lets through useful radiation that it is more appropriate to the examination to be made.
There is a known way of positioning a roundabout facing the emission window of the tube. This roundabout is typically a wheel with blades, each blade comprising a filter that, for a given rotational position of the wheel, takes a position before the emission window to bring about the expected filtering. The use of such a wheel is practical because it is not really possible to envisage the manual replacing of the filters at the emission window of the X-ray tube. Since the X-ray tube is subjected to very high voltage, it is necessary to take either preliminary precautions for disconnecting the tube (entailing a loss of time) or additional precautions of electrical installation (increasing the complexity of manufacture of the tube).
However, such a roundabout or filter wheel is not entirely satisfactory. First of all, especially in the context of mammography, this roundabout is a bulky accessory. In the context of a mammography, in practice, the patient places her head beside the x-ray tube side so that her breast can be in the path of the X-rays produced. Experience shows that the patient has to make contortions owing to the fact that the X-ray tube naturally takes up much space. The roundabout takes up even more space and its use is therefore undesirable.
Furthermore, in the field of mammography especially, such a structure is no longer satisfactory for another reason: for a given type of examination, a specific filter may be required. However, the absorption capacity of the filter has to be modified, firstly according to the size of the breast and, secondly, according to the nature of the examination made. In practice, placing a filter of variable thickness in the path of the X-rays does this. Taking five to ten possible thicknesses for each filter soon results in an excessively huge battery of available filters, given that each of these filters, owing to its quality, is particularly costly.

GE Medical Systems Global Technology Company, LLC


The present invention relates to a novel polypeptide having affinity for proteins partially including a CH1-CL domain forming a non-native three-dimensional structure and capable of being suitably used for detecting, immobilizing, or removing these proteins and relates to use of the polypeptide. Specifically, disclosed are a polypeptide consisting of an amino acid sequence represented by any one of the following formulas 1 to 3: (1) P-Q-x-I-x-L-x-[IL]-[NT]-[YW] (SEQ ID NO: 1), (2) Y-D-P-E-T-G-T-W-P-Q-x-I-x-L-x-[IL]-[NT]-[YW] (SEQ ID NO: 4), and (3) P-N-S-G-G-G-G-S-Y-D-P-E-T-G-T-W-P-Q-x-I-x-L-x-[IL]-[NT]-[YW] (SEQ ID NO: 7) (wherein x represents an amino acid residue; and brackets represent any one of the amino acid residues within the brackets), and a method of using the polypeptide to detect, purify, or remove a protein partially including a CH1-CL domain forming a non-native three-dimensional structure.

The so-called antibody drugs, which utilize monoclonal antibodies for therapeutic applications, have annual sales of more than 30 billion dollars and are the largest biopharmaceutical products and the fastest growing segment in the entire pharmaceutical industry. Until now, 23 full-size monoclonal antibodies have been launched, and some of which are already blockbusters with annual sales of more than one billion dollars. The drug candidate monoclonal antibodies whose clinical trials were initiated from 1995 to 2007 have more than tripled, and the number has continued to grow further (Non Patent Literature 1).
With the progress of clinical application of antibodies, as next generation antibodies, low-molecular-weight antibodies, such as Fab regions, are also being developed as a form of antibody molecules having higher tissue penetration or of antibody molecules with a reduced manufacturing cost (Non Patent Literature 2). As of 2015, three products of Fab regions have been approved as therapeutic antibodies by the FDA. It is expected that such low-molecular-weight antibodies will continue to be developed to complement disadvantages of high-molecular-weight IgG antibodies.
With such growth and expansion of the antibody drugs market, research and development relating to the creation and improvement of molecules having affinity for antibodies have been actively conducted. This is because such molecules are useful for research, manufacture, and analysis of antibodies and so on, particularly because a great demand is expected in affinity purification and quality control at the time of manufacturing antibody drugs.
Currently, research and development of various approaches on polypeptides having affinity for antibodies are being conducted, and some of which will be described below.
Suzuki et al. used a phage library displaying linear peptides of 7 or 12 residues on filamentous bacteriophage M13 for identifying a plurality of polypeptides having affinity for the Fc region of human IgG and measured whether affinity for the Fc region is present or not by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) (Patent Literature 1). They produced a peptide as the common sequence extracted from the identified plurality of polypeptides and validated the binding of the peptide to human IgG and also validated the affinity for the Fc region of IgG derived from a horse, a sheep, a rabbit, a guinea pig, a goat, a cat, a dog, a bovine, a pig, and a mouse by ELISA.
DeLano et al. used a phage library displaying cyclic peptides represented by Xaai Cys Xaaj Cys Xaak (wherein i, j, and k are integers satisfying i+j+k=18) circularized through disulfide bonds on filamentous bacteriophage M13 to obtain a plurality of cyclic peptides of 20 residues which competitively react with protein A derived from Staphylococcus aureus for binding to human IgG. They further produced a cyclic peptide Fc-III which consisted of 13 residues as the common sequence extracted from these peptides and found that the peptide had a competitive inhibition ability of Ki=100 nM in a competitive reaction with protein A (Non Patent Literature 3) and disclosed that in an experiment using rabbits, the Fab half-life in vivo could be improved by fusing the Fab fragment, which is the antigen binding site of IgG, with Fc-III (Patent Literature 2). Dias et al. produced FcBP-2 by introducing further circularization into this cyclic peptide Fc-III by using Pro residues in the D- and L-forms and succeeded in increasing the affinity (binding dissociation constant of Fc-III: KD=185 nM) for IgG up to KD=2 nM (Non Patent Literature 4).
Fassina et al. performed screening of a synthetic tetrapolypeptide library represented by (Arg Thr Xaa)4 Lys2 Lys Gly having a branched structure due to the Lys residue to produce a protein A mimetic (PAM) peptide competing with protein A (Non Patent Literature 5). It was demonstrated that TG19318, which is one of PAM peptides, has affinity of KD=300 nM for rabbit IgG and further that IgG contained in serum of a human, a bovine, a horse, a pig, a mouse, a rat, a goat, or a sheep can be purified by affinity chromatography using immobilized TG19318 (Non Patent Literature 6).
Ehrlich et al. used a phage library displaying linear peptides of 7 or 12 residues on filamentous bacteriophage M13 to isolate a peptide having affinity for a pFc′ fragment obtained by pepsin digestion of humanized IgG (Non Patent Literature 7), as in the method of Suzuki et al.
Krook et al. used a phage library displaying linear peptides of 10-residue length on filamentous bacteriophage M13 to produce a peptide having affinity for the Fc region of human IgG. They confirmed by ELISA that this peptide had high affinity for IgG derived from a human or a pig (Non Patent Literature 8).
Verdoliva et al. performed screening of a synthetic peptide library represented by (Cys Xaa3)2 Lys Gly into which a branched structure due to the Lys residue and circularization due to the Cys residue are introduced, for mouse monoclonal IgG to produce peptide FcRM having affinity for the vicinity of the hinge region. They further reported construction of affinity chromatography on which this FcRM was immobilized to purify mouse or human derived IgG (Non Patent Literature 9).
Watanabe et al. used an artificial protein library including 10-residue microprotein chignolin and random amino acid sequences (Patent Literature 3) for increasing the affinity of a linear peptide, which shows low affinity for the Fc region of human IgG, to improve the affinity by 40,600 times without having a cyclic structure and produced a 54-residue polypeptide AF.p17 having a high affinity of KD=1.6 nM (Patent Literature 4 and Non Patent Literature 10).
Sakamoto et al. used a phage library displaying cyclic peptides represented by Cys Xaa7-10 Cys on T7 bacteriophage to produce a peptide having affinity for the Fc region of human IgG (Non Patent Literature 11). The peptide produced by them differs from the above-mentioned IgG affinity peptides produced so far in that the peptide recognizes an Fc region forming a non-native three-dimensional structure caused by acid treatment, not an Fc region having a native three-dimensional structure. Ito et al. disclosed that this peptide can be used to investigate the contents of non-native three-dimensional structures generated by acid treatment included in human antibody drugs, immunoglobulin preparations, and IgG reagents (Patent Literature 5).
Watanabe et al. used an artificial protein library including 10-residue microprotein chignolin (Patent Literature 3) to produce 25-residue artificial protein AF.2A1 having affinity for the Fc region of human IgG (Non Patent Literature 12). AF.2A1 had high specific affinity for the Fc region forming a non-native three-dimensional structure occurring by, for example, acid treatment, heat treatment, or reducing agent treatment and strictly distinguished between the native three-dimensional structure and the non-native three-dimensional structure of the Fc region (Patent Literature 4).
As described above, multiple IgG affinity peptides have been developed, but the molecular diversity thereof is not sufficient. This is because IgG is constituted as a hetero-tetramer composed of heavy chains each constituted of four domains VH, CH1, CH2, and CH3 and light chains each constituted of two domains VL and CL and thus has a complex structure constituted of six domains in total. In implementation of, for example, detection, purification, immobilization, analysis, or removal of antibodies or the like, antibody affinity molecules having characteristics suitable for respective use situations are necessary. Specifically, the antibody affinity molecules needed are those having appropriate characteristics in terms of, for example, the site of an antibody or a protein including an antibody domain to which the molecule binds, the degree of the specificity of molecular recognition, the ability to distinguish differences not only in amino acid sequences but also in changed three-dimensional structures, the degree of strength of the affinity, the ability to control binding/dissociation by, for example, a change in solution conditions, the solubility and stability, and the possibility of mass production.
Along with the expansion of the antibody drugs market, further sophistication of analytical techniques and separation/purification techniques targeting antibody molecules has been highly desired.
With regard to the analytical techniques, as techniques strongly desired for future advancement, particularly expected are development in three areas: (1) an analytical technique on molecular heterogeneity accompanying post-translational modifications including glycosylation, (2) an analytical technique on molecular heterogeneity accompanying a change in the three-dimensional structure of an antibody, and (3) an analytical technique on molecular heterogeneity accompanying formation of associate/aggregate (Non Patent Literature 13). It has been reported that antibody molecules form a non-native three-dimensional structure, called alternatively folded state (AFS), different from the usual native three-dimensional structure by various physical or chemical stresses (Non Patent Literatures 14 and 15). Such a non-native three-dimensional structure not only results in loss of activity of the antibody but also may cause protein aggregation. As a result, not only a reduction in drug efficacy but also risks that cause side effects due to induction of immunogenicity are suggested (Non Patent Literature 16), and the analytical technique on the non-native three-dimensional structures of antibodies is required to develop as an indispensable technique for quality control of antibody drugs (Non Patent Literature 17).
Examples of the analytical technique that can reveal the molecular shape or three-dimensional structure of a protein include X-ray crystal structure analysis, nuclear magnetic resonance, electron microscope, analytical ultracentrifugation, isoelectric focusing electrophoresis, dynamic light scattering, circular dichroism spectrum, and liquid chromatography (Non Patent Literature 17). Although the analytical techniques have respective advantages such as analysis accuracy, high throughput of measurement, and detection sensitivity, in general, analysis accuracy and throughput are in a trade-off relationship, and no spectroscopic and chromatographic methods satisfy both requirements. For example, X-ray crystal structure analysis and nuclear magnetic resonance, which can provide information on three-dimensional structure with atomic-level precision, need analysis time on the order of several months. In contrast, dynamic light scattering and liquid chromatography, which can complete the measurement in a few minutes, cannot detect a minute change in the molecular structure and trace incorporation. Accordingly, it is required to solve the problems related to compatibility between analysis accuracy and throughput of the analytical techniques.
On the other hand, as an antibody separation/purification technique, an affinity chromatography technique using a molecule having specific affinity for an antibody as a binding ligand is used. As the binding ligand for this application, natural proteins derived from bacteria, such as protein A and protein G, or artificially produced antibody affinity molecules are used. Although it is possible to bind/collect antibodies by these affinity molecules, most of the molecules have affinity for the native three-dimensional structure or non-native three-dimensional structure of the antibody Fc region (Patent Literatures 1 to 5 and Non Patent Literatures 3 to 12), and cannot specifically distinguish between the native three-dimensional structure and the non-native three-dimensional structure of the CH1-CL domain, which is the constant region of an antibody Fab region.

Polypeptide exhibiting affinity to antibodies forming non-native three-dimensional structure

NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF ADVANCED INDUSTRIAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY


A power connector includes a main body, a first conductive terminal, a second conductive terminal, a third conductive terminal, and an insulating separation member. The first conductive terminal, the second conductive terminal and the third conductive terminal are disposed within the main body and arranged in a non-parallel manner. The insulating separation member is disposed within the main body, and arranged between the first conductive terminal, the second conductive terminal and the third conductive terminal for separating at least two of the first conductive terminal, the second conductive terminal and the third conductive terminal from each other.

Power connectors are widely used in electric networks, power transmission systems, power distribution systems, power supply systems, electronic devices, and the like. The power connectors are used as interfaces of delivering and receiving electricity. For example, a power supply and a power cord are connected with each other through a power connector assembly. Generally, the power connector assembly includes a power plug and a power socket. Via the assembly of the power plug and the power socket, electric connection and power transmission are achieved.
With increasing development of science and technology, more and more electronic devices are designed in views of power-saving efficacy. Recently, the power distribution and supply system for a large-sized data processing apparatus (e.g. a data center). Since high-voltage DC power distribution and supply system could provide stable power at reduced power loss and reduced cost, the high-voltage DC power distribution and supply system is gradually adopted. In the high-voltage DC power distribution and supply system, the conventional power connector usually fails to comply with the electric safety standard. Once the conventional power connector is used in the high-voltage DC power distribution and supply system, some components are readily damaged. Moreover, in the power distribution and supply system, electric arc is readily generated at the moment when two power connectors are coupled with each other or detached from each other. The generation of the electric arc may result in damage of the system load.
For complying with the electric safety regulation, there is a need of providing a power connector and a power connector assembly for use in a high-voltage DC power distribution and supply system.

Power connector having a signal detecting terminal on a separation member


The low level tripod configuration of this invention consists of an additional leg being attached to the tripod at or near the head of the tripod. Typically, a tripod holds a camera or any other optical device at specific heights above the ground. Usually the height can be set at anyplace between about 14 inches to about six feet. However, if a close up shot requires the camera to be in a lower position, the tripod can not be set for a lower position. Therefore, in accordance with this invention, an additional leg is added to the top portion of the tripod using various type of attachment methods. In this manner, the tripod can be set on the additional leg and two of the original legs of the tripod in a generally horizontal position. The camera or other optical device can be placed at any position from ground level to the height allowed by the tripod by using the configuration of this invention. The additional leg can be attached and locked in a range of positions. One embodiment has the additional leg stored within one of the three original tripod legs. The additional leg is simply removed and inserted through a hole on the upper portion of the tripod using various configurations and locked into a set position by a locking bolt. A leg spread bracket is also provided for applications that require additional support when the tripod is used in a horizontal position. This may be necessary for added stability when in a horizontal position.

The present invention relates to a low level tripod configuration and more particularly to a type of tripod configuration that allows positioning of a camera or other optical device at a low level for close up viewing or photography of low lying objects.
Tripods of various designs are well know in the field of photography and are also know and used in other applications using various other optical devices. Tripods are used for telescopes and microscopes for viewing distant and near objects, respectfully. Tripods are also used in construction with levels and transits. All of these applications at times may require the optical device to be set at a very low level. However, the typical tripod only allows a lower height of about fourteen inches at the best. Some tripods the minimum height may even be greater.
A need exists for a stable positioning of an optical device at levels at or near the ground. Close up photography of objects setting on the ground is the most prevalent example. An object setting on the ground can not have a close up photograph unless the camera is setting very near the object. A typical tripod does not allow the camera within about fourteen inches of the object. Therefore, the configuration of this invention allows a tripod to position a camera, or other optical device, at or near ground level.
Other applications may also require the low level position afforded by this invention. Take for example a microscope used to observe small objects in nature that are on the ground. The configuration of this invention would allow the microscope to be placed near the object for better viewing. During construction a level or transit could also be positioned at low levels to overcome obstructions in the line of sight or could be used in places where height of the typical tripod could not be used, such as in a crawl space or under some structure. The configuration of this invention overcomes these problems.
There have been other attempts at solving these problems such as a low tripod by itself, tripods with flexible legs, and tripods with attachments that connect to the lower portion of the tripod legs. All of these work to one extent or the other. However, they all require additional equipment to be carried, are inconvenient, bulky or not very user friendly and may not be very easily attached or detached. This invention overcomes these objection.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an low level tripod configuration that is adapted to provide the capability of positioning an optical device at level at or near the ground. With the low level tripod configuration of this invention it has been found that an optical device can be placed at any position from a low near ground level to the highest position allowed by the tripod. This invention provides the lower range of positioning not previously available with a standard or typical tripod.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved low level tripod configuration that is adaptable to virtually any tripod now or later known in the art, and to provide the tripod with the low level positioning made available by this invention.
A further object of the present invention is to provide an low level tripod configuration that is adaptable to many different tripods by different means to satisfy the consumers and their desired to minimize cost and inconvenience. These various means substantially increases the availability and acceptability of this invention.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide a low level tripod configuration in which the cost of implementing the configuration is modest in light of the benefits achieved. Any photographer that takes low level close up photographs may have equipment and supplies worth a small fortune. The cost of the various embodiments contained herein are very modest compared to the cost of other equipment. By having the various embodiments, there is a configuration that will be within the budget of even the most cost conscience photographer.


A device for controlling a braking force of the vehicle has a braking force boosting control portion that increases the braking force in response to a detection of a possibility of a collision with an obstacle in the driving course of the vehicle, and a boost-reducing control portion that controls the boosting control portion so as to reduce the braking force when a steering operation is executed by a driver of the vehicle as compared to a braking force to be generated when no steering operation is executed. The braking forces on individual wheels are reduced depending upon the lateral force on the corresponding wheel. In the device, the precrash safety braking operation does not interfere with the steering operation of the driver so that the steering controllability may be ensured while the vehicle is slowed down.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a device for controlling a brake of a vehicle such as an automobile, and more specifically, to such a device that increases braking forces applied to wheels of a vehicle for avoiding a collision with an obstacle in front of the vehicle.
2. Description of Prior Art
For safety in driving a vehicle, a device for detecting a risk (possibility) of a collision with an obstacle has been equipped on an individual vehicle. Such a device monitors a distance and a velocity of an obstacle (e.g. another vehicle) in the vehicle's driving course relative to the vehicle with e.g. a radar sensor system provided near the front or head lights of the vehicle. When the distance (relative distance) between the vehicle and obstacle getting close to each other at a relative velocity becomes too short, namely when a risk of a collision is detected, the device will warn the driver of the collision, prompting him to slow down his vehicle by a braking operation and/or to change the vehicle's driving course by a steering operation. Some of recent devices make a vehicle slow down in response to a detection of a possibility of a collision by applying a braking force to the vehicle automatically (irrespective of the driver's braking operation) or by boosting up the factor of a braking pressure to a brake pedal depression. These braking controls are often referred to as "Precrash Safety Control". Examples of such devices are seen in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publications (JP) Nos. 60-91500, 6-298022, 10-297452 11-203598, and 2002-59820.
Braking operation in the precrash safety control should be started when a relative distance is long enough for slowing down, and preferably, stopping a vehicle before colliding against an obstacle. As readily understood, the longer relative distance is required at the higher relative velocity for avoiding a collision with an obstacle. Further, JP 6-2988022, filed by the same assignee as the present application, has revealed that a distance required for avoiding a collision with an obstacle also depends upon ways of avoiding a collision. In this publication, using a simplified model, calculated as a function of a relative velocity were the shortest relative distances required for avoiding the collision only by braking operation (collision Avoidable Limit by Braking: BAL) and only by steering operation (collision Avoidable Limit by Steering: SAL), respectively. Then, it has been found that, qualitatively, BAL is shorter than SAL in the range of low relative velocity and vice versa in the range of high relative velocity, showing that, at a high relative velocity, a collision can be avoided by appropriate steering operation even when the relative distance falls below BAL.
It should be also considered in determining the timing of starting the precrash safety control that the braking operation may reduce a lateral or cornering force available on a wheel, so that premature and excessive braking operation would deteriorate the steering controllability or the course-tracking ability of a vehicle, leading to restriction of the driver's steering action for avoiding an obstacle. Thus, for fully ensuring the steering controllability, in the device shown in JP6-298022, automatic braking operation is executed only when a relative distance is shorter than both BAL and SAL, and thereby the driver can steer his vehicle as long as any effective way of avoiding a collision is available. JP 11-203598 modified the device in the aforementioned publication such that, in the range of low relative velocity, automatic braking operation is started at a certain braking level when a relative distance falls below SAL.
In the devices as described above, a collision would be effectively avoided as long as an appropriate steering operation is executed or executable by the driver. However, in the range of high relative velocity, the automatic braking operation, executed after the relative distance falls below SAL, would be too late to stop a vehicle before colliding against an obstacle because SAL is often far lower than BAL. In the range of low relative velocity, the stronger braking force or the rapider braking operation would be required for the higher relative velocity at which the relative distance falls below BAL. Strong or rapid braking operation often causes a rear-end collision with a following vehicle.
Further, in the aforementioned publication, no braking operation is executed unless the steering operation is ineffective for avoiding a collision because braking operation would reduce the steering controllability. However, the braking operation is not always harmful in steering operation for avoiding a collision. For instance, when a relative distance falls in the range below BAL but above SAL at a high relative velocity, the precrash safety braking operation at a certain level would reduce the relative velocity, resulting in the increase of the time for a vehicle to reach to an obstacle, so that the driver may steer the vehicle more easily for avoiding the obstacle. At a low relative velocity, theoretically, the lowering of the relative velocity by the precrash safety braking could recover the ability of steering operation for avoiding a collision.
It should be also noted that the steering controllability may be ensured unless excessive braking forces are applied on wheels. A lateral force generated on a wheel varies within the maximum available frictional force on the wheel, depending on a steering angle controlled by the driver's operation. Thus, a braking force may be increased until the resultant force of the lateral and braking forces reaches to the maximum frictional force, while ensuring a cornering force requested by the driver through his steering handle, i.e. the steering controllability.
Accordingly, the precrash safety control may be improved to function more effectively for avoiding a collision with an obstacle and/or reducing damage upon collision, considering the relation between the steering controllability and effects of the braking operation.


A cost effective and environmentally sound method for quickly removing liquid from surfaces of a substrate under manufacture without leaving behind substantial residue (e.g., silicon elements from the substrate, commonly known in the field as “water marks”). The process includes first providing a substrate (e.g., a semiconductor wafer, glass flat panel, or disc media), which has undergone one or more liquid-based processes (e.g., cleaning, scrubbing, rinsing, etc.). An upper surface and a lower surface of the substrate are then subjected to vacuum suction, thereby removing liquid thereon. An apparatus for removing liquid from surfaces of a substrate is also provided. The apparatus includes a plurality of vacuum application members configured for applying vacuum suction to surfaces of a substrate, thereby removing liquid therefrom. The vacuum application member includes, for example, vacuum slots configured for disposition in proximity to the substrate surfaces and/or at least partially porous tubes configured for moving contact with the substrate surfaces. The apparatus can process one substrate at a time or remove liquid from multiple substrates simultaneously.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to substrate drying technology and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for removing liquid from semiconductor wafer surfaces under manufacture.
2. Description of the Related Art
The manufacturing of semiconductor devices (e.g., integrated circuits or flat panel displays) typically involves subjecting a substrate (e.g., a semiconductor wafer or glass flat panel) to a series of thin layer formation, patterning, ion implantation and liquid-based processes. Consequently, it is often necessary to remove liquids from surfaces of the substrate following the liquid-based processes (e.g., liquid-based cleaning, scrubbing, and rinsing processes). Such liquid removal processes are referred to as "drying" processes and the associated apparatus typically referred to as "dryers."
Conventional drying methods and apparatus include (a) spin-rinser methods and apparatus wherein a substrate is rinsed with a liquid (e.g., water) and then spun at a high speed to remove liquid from its surfaces; (b) isopropyl alcohol (IPA) vapor methods and apparatus wherein IPA vapor is employed to displace the liquid and then is itself evaporated from the surfaces and (c) Marangoni methods and apparatus wherein a solvent meniscus is used to displace liquid from substrate surfaces.
Conventional methods and apparatus for removing liquid can leave residue, which was dissolved in the liquid, behind on the surfaces of the substrate. The presence of such residue on the substrate surface is commonly referred to in the field as a "water mark." These water marks are believed to include various silicon-based solid materials such as silicon dioxide (SiO2). Water marks are created due to the presence of silicon elements from the substrate which have been dissolved in liquid drops and appear after removal of the liquid drops from the surface of the substrate.
Conventional drying methods and apparatus can be expensive to purchase, operate and maintain. Furthermore, the use of solvents (e.g., IPA) in many conventional drying methods and apparatus presents an environmental problem in terms of emission control and disposal.
Still needed in the field, therefore, are a method and apparatus for quickly removing liquid from surfaces of a substrate (e.g., a semiconductor wafer) without leaving behind substantial residue (e.g., water marks). In addition, the method and apparatus should be cost effective and environmentally sound.

Method and apparatus for removing liquid from substrate surfaces using suction


In one aspect, an apparatus for stimulating and/or monitoring a nerve is described herein. In some embodiments, the apparatus comprises a top substrate layer, a bottom substrate layer in facing opposition to the top substrate layer, and a channel disposed between the top substrate layer and the bottom substrate layer. The apparatus further comprises a plurality of electrodes disposed on one or more interior surfaces of the channel. Additionally, the channel is defined by the top substrate layer, the bottom substrate layer, and a retaining wall extending at least partially between the top substrate layer and the bottom substrate layer. The retaining wall retains the nerve within the channel.

Virtually all physiological functions are regulated by neural activity. Accordingly, in the field of bioelectronics, it is frequently desirable to interface nerves in a living organism with an apparatus or device that may be used to stimulate or monitor the nerves. Unfortunately, some current bioelectronics devices suffer from one or more disadvantages. For example, some existing devices can be used only with large nerve branches and/or must be placed on the cortical brain surface. Such locations within the patient can be associated with the regulation of many different physiological functions. Accordingly, some existing devices can provide inconsistent results and/or obscure specific pathways of neural control. Additionally, some current devices are invasively penetrating of the nerve, suitable for use with only severed nerves, and/or difficult to use with nerves having a small diameter, such as a diameter of less than 500 μm. Therefore, there exists a need for improved bioelectronics devices and methods of stimulating and/or monitoring nerves that overcome one or more of the foregoing deficiencies of previous devices and methods.

Apparatus and method for nerve stimulation and/or monitoring

Board of Regents, The University of Texas System


In a pseudo random pattern generation circuit having a normal input operation mode, a boundary scanning operation mode and an inherent pseudo random pattern generation mode, output stage selectors are provided to supply input data as output data without modification in the normal input operation mode. In addition, flipflops are provided to hold the data in the boundary scanning operation mode, so that the data held in the flipflops are not supplied as output signals. Thus, in the normal input operation mode, the data processing speed is increased, and in the boundary scanning operation mode, the data just before the boundary scanning operation mode is maintained without being outputted to an internal circuit of the LSI chip.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a pseudo random pattern generation circuit, and more specifically to a pseudo random pattern generation circuit incorporated in a LSI (large scale integrated circuit) chip and capable of generating a test pattern which is used for checking an operation of an internal circuit within the LSI chip.
2. Description of Related Art
In the prior art, this type of pseudo random pattern generation circuits have been configured to have a normal input operation mode functioning as a buffer outputting a received input data without modification, a boundary scan mode for checking only wirings between internal circuits of the LSI chip, and a pseudo random pattern generation mode for an inherent test pattern.
For example, a typical conventional pseudo random pattern generation circuit of four bits have been comprised of four flipflops, four selectors controlled by operation mode signals so as to supply a signal to an input of the four flipflops, respectively, and an exclusive-OR gate receiving an output of selected ones of the four flipflops and outputting an signal to the selector of the most significant bit.
In the normal input operation mode, four input bits are selected by the four selectors, respectively, and outputted without modification so as to latched by the four flipflops, respectively, so that the four input bits are supplied as output data to an internal circuit of the LSI chip.
In the boundary scan mode, a data signal outputted from an adjacent boundary scan buffer is inputted through the selector of the most significant bit to the associated flipflop of the most significant bit, whose output is supplied through the selector of the second most significant bit to the associated flipflop of the second most significant bit. An output of the flipflop of the second most significant bit is supplied through the selector of the third most significant bit to the associated flipflop of the third most significant bit, whose output is supplied through the selector of the least significant bit to the associated flipflop of the least most significant bit. An output of the associated flipflop of the least most significant bit is supplied as an shifted-out data to another adjacent internal circuit of the LSI chip.
In the pseudo random pattern generation mode, the circuit operates similarly to the boundary scan mode, except that, in place of the data signal outputted from an adjacent boundary scan buffer, an output of the exclusive-OR gate is supplied through the selector of the most significant bit to the associated flipflop of the most significant bit, and the outputs of the four flipflops are outputted as the output data. Therefore, the selector of the most significant bit is of a three-input type, while the other selector is of a two-input type.
In the above mentioned pseudo random pattern generation circuit as mentioned above, when the data shifted through the flipflops in the boundary scan mode is shifted out from the circuit, the outputs of all the flipflops are outputted as the output data to the internal circuit of the LSI chip, with the result that the internal circuit is caused to operate. Because of this, the preceding internal condition cannot be maintained in the LSI chip, and therefore, after the checking, when the operation is returned to the normal operation mode, the operation is confused.
In addition, in the normal input operation mode, since the input data is transferred through the selector and the flipflop, a delay of one clock cycle occurs until the input data is outputted to the internal circuit of the LSI chip, and therefore, the processing speed lowers.

Pseudo random pattern generation circuit


Provided is a method and an apparatus for controlling inter-cellular interference in a heterogeneous network (HetNet) system, in which a macro cell and femto cells coexist. The apparatus for controlling inter-cellular interference overbears a control channel of the macro cell. The control apparatus determines an interference candidate resource, which is subject to inter-cell interference control, on the basis of the control channel. The control apparatus transmits an interference control message including information on the interference candidate resource.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to wireless communications and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for controlling inter-cell interference in a heterogeneous network (HetNet) system.
Related Art
In 3rd generation partnership project (3GPP) long term evolution (LTE)—Advanced, a small cell such as a femto cell or a pico cell is introduced to meet the traffic requirement for wireless data which are abruptly increased.
In addition, various situations causing interferences due to the coexistence of a macro base station which is a large base station and the femto base station and the pico base station which are small base stations in a cell are organized, and researches for solving it have been vigorously progressed.

Method and apparatus for controlling inter-cellular interference in HetNet system

RESEARCH & BUSINESS FOUNDATION SUNGKYUNKWAN UNIVERSITY


To enable a circuit configuration to be easily changed over depending on whether a recoil starter is present or absent. A battery charged by a generator driven by an engine, a charging circuit for charging the battery by the generator, and a drive electric power supply circuit for supplying engine drive system loads with electric power generated by the generator, are provided. In a system having a recoil starter, a contact configuration is adopted in which, when an ignition switch is changed over to a recoil start position, the charging circuit is disconnected and the drive electric power supply circuit is connected. The disconnection of the charging circuit may be conducted by use of a charging inhibition relay. The charging inhibition relay is formed as a sub harness, and, in a system not using the recoil starter, the sub harness is replaced by a sub harness in which the charging inhibition relay is not mounted.

Various systems are known in which a generator is driven by an engine, such as vehicles, boats and portable generators. In these systems, a battery is charged with electric power generated by the generator, and the engine is started by electric power supplied from the battery. However, where the battery has been completely discharged or its capacity has been lowered, there may be cases where the generator is driven by use of a human-power starting device such as a recoil starter and a kick device, and the engine is started by the power generation output of the generator.
Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2004-282831 describes an electric power supply system for a vehicle in which a kick starter is provided as a human-power starting device. This electric power supply system is so configured that when the battery is in an abnormal condition, a battery control relay and a load control relay are turned OFF, and then a kicking operation for starting the engine is conducted. With the battery control relay and the load control relay turned OFF, the electric power generated by the kicking operation can be prevented from being exhausted in the form of a flow of current to the battery or other loads irrelevant to the starting of the engine. The electric power is supplied preferentially to a fuel supply system, an ignition system and the like indispensable for driving the engine.
The electric power supply system for a vehicle described in Japanese Patent Laid-open No. 2004-282831 has a configuration in which a control relay capable of selecting the part(s) to be supplied with electric power generated so as to inhibit the charging of the battery at the time of starting, for example, is provided in order to secure an engine starting performance during starting of the engine by the kick starter. However, such a control relay is not needed in a vehicle that does not include a kick starter, a recoil starter or the like. There may be cases where, for example, vehicles of the same model differ in specifications according to their destinations, and some of them have a recoil starter but others of them do not have a recoil starter. In manufacturing such vehicles, it is troublesome to separately produce circuit boards including a control relay and circuit boards not including the control relay, on the basis of each vehicle. In view of this, it is desired to facilitate the separate manufacturing of vehicles having a control relay and vehicles not having the control relay.

Electric power supply system for vehicle


Data cataloging has become a necessity for empowering organizations with analytical ability. Conventional cataloging systems may fail to provide proper visualization of data to the different stakeholders of an organization. The present disclosure provides a hierarchical dynamic cataloging system so that visualization of data at different levels would be possible for different stake holders. In the present disclosure, a hierarchical structure of algorithms and multiple stake holders along with relevant metadata is generated. Further, a catalog is generated by performing a mapping across components comprised in the hierarchical structure and identifying relationship across the components based on mapping. The catalog gets dynamically updated and provides a dynamic view of the algorithms and associated metadata to the multiple stakeholders of an organization. Further, the disclosure supports reuse of already developed algorithms across multiple applications and domains resulting in optimization of resources and time.

The rapid development in technology requires industries to provide a gradual combination of traditional manufacturing and industrial practices. This may include utilizing platforms such as large-scale Machine-to-Machine (M2M) and Internet of Things (IoT) deployments. These platforms may help manufacturers and consumers by providing increased automation, improved communication and monitoring, along with self-diagnosis and new levels of analysis to provide a truly productive future. Analytics is one of the major pillars for serving this purpose in organizations.
Analytics as a service on top of any platform such as IoT helps in empowering organizations with analytics capability. Among the various types of analytical services, IoT analytical services requires the involvement of multiple stake holders. Analytical modules of organizations for providing analytical services should be visualized in such a manner that they can add some value for the customer in terms of ease of use. Conventional systems may fail to provide proper visualization of analytics modules to different stakeholders within, or outside of organization.

Methods and systems for hierarchical dynamic cataloging


The present invention provides a viscosity stable, quick curing aliphatic hot melt polyurethane adhesive. The adhesive is prepared by reacting a hot melt polyurethane prepolymer comprising an unblocked aliphatic polyisocyanate and a polyol with a catalyst comprising 1,8-diazobicyclo(5,4,0)undec-7-ene or salt or blocked compound thereof.

The present invention relates to an adhesive composition, and more specifically a hot melt polyurethane adhesive composition.
There are a number of commercial laminates and materials which must be bonded together using equipment wherein rapid cure rate is critical. However, this improved cure rate cannot come at the expense of a decrease in thermal stability.
One way to improve cure rate is to utilize catalysts such as organo tin and bismuth catalysts, e.g., dibutyl tin dilaurate, dimethyl tin distearate, zinc stearate and mixtures thereof. The use of these catalysts, however, typically results in the loss of thermal and viscosity stability. An alternative is suggested in EP 0 668 302 wherein it is proposed to use a 2,2'dimorpholino-ethyl ether or di(2,6-alimethylmorpholinoethyl) ether catalyst to catalyze polyurethane reactive hot melt adhesives. Another alternative is suggested in U.S. Pat. No. 4,515,846 to McKinney et al., and relates to a carpet backing composition comprising a urethane composition, a thermoplastic composition and two catalysts. The catalysts are a conventional catalyst (e.g., dibutyl tin dilurate) and a delayed action heat activated catalyst (e.g., metal salts of dicarboxylic acids, acid salts of amines, and imidazole derivatives).
U.S. Pat. No. 4,524,104 to Hagio proposes an adhesive composition comprising an acrylic copolymer having NCO-reactive groups, a blocked polyisocyanate and a catalyst such as 1,8-diaza-bicyclo(5,4,0)undec-7-ene (DBU). The composition is useful as a pressure sensitive adhesive. There is, however, no disclosure of using an unblocked polyisocyanate.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,558,917 to Markusch et al. relates to a polyurethane carpet backing comprising polyisocyanates of less than about 2.4, an isocyanate group content of 25 to 30 percent and a urethane group content of 2 to 6 percent and comprising polymethylene poly(phenylisocyanate), from about 5 to 25 percent of 4,4'-methylene bis(phenyloisocyanate), and from about 20 to 50 percent of 2,2'- and 2,4'-methylene bis(phenyl-isocyanate).
There, however, remains a need for a catalyst that provides for rapid curing of aliphatic hot melt polyurethane compositions derived from unblocked polyisocyanates without adversely affecting thermal or viscosity stability or both.

Rapid curing aliphatic hot melt adhesive


The present invention relates to a method of forming a metal line of a semiconductor memory device. According to the present invention, after a drain contact plug formed within an interlayer insulating film protrudes, a nitride film is formed on the top of the drain contact plug, and a trench etch process is then performed using the nitride film as an etch-stop layer. Therefore, loss of the interlayer insulating film formed between a source contact plug and a metal line can be prevented, and generation of a short circuit between the metal line and the source contact plug can also be prevented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of forming a metal line of a semiconductor memory device, and more specifically, to a method of forming a metal line of a semiconductor memory device, wherein generation of malfunction, which is caused due to a bridge generating between a metal line electrically connected to a drain contact plug, and a source contact plug, can be prevented.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Generally, in semiconductor memory devices, as wiring technology for forming a metal line, technologies in which a conductive film is deposited on an insulating film and is then patterned to form a metal line by means of a photolithography process and an etch process has been widely used.
This metal line serves to transfer an externally applied driving voltage (bias voltage) to an underlying semiconductor structure layer. In order to electrically connect the metal line and a predetermined semiconductor structure layer, a contact plug is needed.
In NAND flash memory devices of the semiconductor memory devices, a source contact plug (SRCT) and a drain contact plug (DRCT) are formed as contact plugs. The source contact plug serves to connect a source region and a predetermined metal line, and the drain contact plug electrically connects a drain region and a predetermined metal line.
Hereinafter, a conventional method of forming a metal line of a NAND flash memory device will be described with reference to FIGS. 1a to 1h, and FIGS. 2a to 2f. In this case, FIGS. 1a to 1h are cross-sectional views taken in a Y axis (a bit line direction), and FIGS. 2e to 2f are cross-sectional views taken in an X axis (a word line direction).
Referring to FIG. 1a, a semiconductor substrate 10 in which a gate electrode 16, and a source and drain region (not shown) are formed is provided. In this case, it is assumed that the gate electrode 16 includes a tunnel oxide film 11, a floating gate 12, a dielectric film 13, a control gate 14 and a conductive layer 15 for convenience of explanation.
Spacers 17 are formed on both sidewalls of the gate electrode 16. A nitride film 18 and an interlayer insulating film 19 (hereinafter, referred to as "first interlayer insulating film") are then formed on the entire structure including the spacers 17 in a sequential manner. The first interlayer insulating film 19 is then polished.
Referring to FIG. 1b, a source contact mask (not shown) is formed. The first interlayer insulating film 19 is etched by means of an etch process using a source contact mask by using the nitride film 18 as an etch-stop layer. A strip process and a cleaning process are then performed to remove the nitride film 18, which is exposed through the patterned first interlayer insulating film 19, while removing the source contact mask, thereby forming a source contact hole 20 through which the source region is exposed.
Referring to FIG. 1c, a source contact plug 21 connected to the source region is formed so that the source contact hole 20 is gap-filled. An interlayer insulating film 22 (hereinafter, referred to as "second interlayer insulating film") is then formed on the entire structure including the source contact plug 21.
Referring to FIGS. 1d and 2a, a drain contact mask (not shown) is formed on the second interlayer insulating film 22. An etch process using the drain contact mask is implemented to remove the second interlayer insulating film 22 and the first interlayer insulating film 19, thus forming a drain contact hole (not shown) through which the drain region is exposed. Thereafter, after a conductive layer for a drain contact plug is deposited so that the drain contact hole is gap-filled, a polishing process is performed to form a drain contact plug 23.
In this case, the second interlayer insulating film 22 is recessed in a predetermined thickness by means of the polishing process, and a thickness of the second interlayer insulating film 22 becomes thin accordingly.
Referring to FIGS. 1e and 2b, a nitride film 24 is formed on the entire structure including the drain contact plug 23.
Referring to FIGS. 1f and 2c, an insulating film 25 (hereinafter, referred to as "third interlayer insulating film") is deposited on the nitride film 24.
Referring to FIGS. 1g and 2d, after a trench mask 26 is formed, an etch process using the trench mask 26 is performed to pattern the third interlayer insulating film 25.
Referring to FIG. 2e, a cleaning process is implemented to remove the nitride film 24, which was used as the etch-stop layer in the etch process. Thereby, a trench 27 through the drain contact plug 23 is exposed is formed.
Referring to FIGS. 1h and 2f, after a conductive layer is deposited on the entire structure so that the trench 27 is gap-filled, a polishing process is performed to form a metal line 28 that is electrically connected to the drain contact plug 23.
In the conventional method of forming the metal line of the NAND flash memory device, which has been described with reference to FIGS. 1a to 1h and FIGS. 2a to 2f, the thickness of the second interlayer insulating film 22 that provides electrical insulation between the metal line 28 and the source contact plug 21 is reduced twice. As shown in FIGS. 1d and 2a, in the polishing process for forming the drain contact plug 23, the thickness is firstly reduced. Next, the thickness is secondly reduced by means of over-etch (see 'A' in FIG. 2e) that is performed so as to remove residue, which is generated in the removal process of the nitride film 24 for forming the trench 27 in FIGS. 1g and 2e.
As such, if the thickness of the second interlayer insulating film 22 reduces, a bridge is formed between the metal line 28 and the source contact plug 21. This is because the thickness of the second interlayer insulating film 22, which provides electrical insulation between the metal line 28 and the source contact plug 21, becomes thin. The drain contact plug 23 and the source contact plug 21 are typically formed parallel to each other, and the metal line 28 intersects the top of the source contact plug 21 at an angle of 90° with the second interlayer insulating film 22 therebetween. This is because if the thickness of the second interlayer insulating film 22 reduces, a bridge is generated between the metal line 28 and the source contact plug 21. This makes fragile insulation margin between the source contact plug 21 and the metal line 28. Thus, if a bridge is generated between the source contact plug 21 and the metal line 28, a device operate erroneously.

Method of forming metal line in semiconductor memory device


In a first aspect, a lithography apparatus may comprise a mask designed using optical proximity correction (OPC), a pulsed laser source, and an active bandwidth control system configured to increase the bandwidth of a subsequent pulse in response to a measured pulse bandwidth that is below a predetermined bandwidth range and increase a bandwidth of a subsequent pulse in response to a measured pulse bandwidth that is above the predetermined bandwidth range. In another aspect an active bandwidth control system may include an optic for altering a wavefront of a laser beam in a laser cavity of the laser source to selectively adjust an output laser bandwidth in response to the control signal. In yet another aspect, the bandwidth of a laser having a wavelength variation across an aperture may be actively controlled by an aperture blocking element that is moveable to adjust a size of the aperture.

Pulsed lasers, such as KrF excimer lasers, ArF excimer lasers and molecular fluorine (F2) lasers, are often used in conjunction with a lithography tool to selectively expose a photoresist in a semiconductor wafer fabrication process. In these processes, the mask and optics in the lithography tool are typically optimized for a particular laser wavelength. More specifically, the tool is typically optimized for a particular center wavelength. For a variety of reasons, the center wavelength of the light exiting the laser may drift over time and, thus, a feedback network may be employed to detect the center wavelength exiting the laser and modify one or more laser parameters to correct the wavelength as necessary.
Recently, optical proximity correction (OPC) has been employed to more exactly obtain a desired exposure pattern on the resist by selectively changing the sizes and shapes of corresponding patterns on the mask. More specifically, OPC perturbs mask aperture shapes to systematically compensate for nonlinear feature distortions arising from optical diffraction and resist process effects. Common types of OPC may include: (1) the introduction of serifs, hammerheads and tomahawks in the mask pattern to reduce corner rounding and line-end shortening in the resist pattern; (2) the use of notches to control linewidth accuracy; and (3) the use of sub-resolution assist features (SRAFs, or scattering bars) for narrow gate geometries.
Heretofore, efforts have been drawn largely to reducing the spectral bandwidth of the light exiting the laser source to ever smaller dimensions. In short, large bandwidths have been troublesome because, as indicated above, lithography tool optics are generally designed for a specific center wavelength and chromatic doublets are generally unavailable at the wavelengths of interest, e.g., 248 for KrF sources and 193 nm for ArF sources. More recently, and more particularly with the recent use of OPC, the design rules used to generate complex masks require bandwidth stability rather than mere bandwidth reduction. As used herein, the term "bandwidth stability" means controlling bandwidth within a spectral range having both a maximum acceptable bandwidth value and a minimum acceptable bandwidth value.
In one type of arrangement used to measure the wavelength and spectral bandwidth of a laser, a portion of the emitted light is made incident upon an etalon. The etalon creates an interference fringe pattern having concentric bands of dark and light levels due to destructive and constructive interference by the laser light. The fringe pattern may then be optically detected by a sensitive photodetector array (PDA). In the fringe pattern, the concentric bands surround a center bright portion. The position of the bright center portion of the interference pattern can be used to determine wavelength to a relatively coarse degree, such as to within 5 picometers (pm). The diameter of a light band is then used to determine the wavelength of the laser output to a fine degree, such as to within 0.01-0.03 pm. Also, the width of a light band may be used to determine the spectral bandwidth of the laser output.
In one method commonly used to characterize spectral bandwidth, the bandwidth at 50% peak intensity is measured. This definition of bandwidth is referred to as full width, half maximum (FWHM). Another definition of bandwidth, sometimes referred to as spectral purity, involves measuring a spectrum width where a selected percentage of the entire spectral energy is concentrated. For example, a common indicator is E95 which corresponds to the spectrum width where 95% of the entire spectral energy is concentrated.
Various methods can be used for wavelength tuning of lasers. Typically, the tuning takes place in a device referred to as a line narrowing package or line narrowing module. A typical technique used for line narrowing and tuning of excimer lasers is to provide a window at the back of the discharge cavity through which a portion of the laser beam passes into the line narrowing package. There, the portion of the beam is expanded in a beam expander and directed to an echelle grating that is aligned at a Littrow angle relative to the expanded beam. The grating reflects a narrow portion of the laser's untuned broader spectrum back into the discharge chamber where it is then amplified. With this arrangement, the laser can be tuned to a target center wavelength by changing the angle at which the beam illuminates the grating. This may be done by adjusting the position of the grating or providing a moveable mirror in the beam path.
Modern gas discharge lasers may be operable at a relatively high repetition rate, e.g., four to six kilohertz, and modem advancements are pushing this number higher. In a typically lithography procedure, the lithography tool may demand a burst of pulses, e.g., for exposing a particular mask position. As used herein, the term "burst of pulses" and its derivatives means a continuous train of pulses demanded by the lithography tool at the operable repetition rate of a discharge laser. A typical burst of pulses may include, but is not limited to, about 100-300 pulses. The termination of a burst of pulses may be achieved by terminating electrode discharge in the laser, the use of an appropriate shutter, or other suitable techniques known in the pertinent art. Thus, an active control system may alter a pulse characteristic within a burst of pulses by measuring a characteristic of a first pulse within the burst and using the measurement to alter a characteristic of at least one other pulse in the burst of pulses.
Typical industry specifications may require a laser output having an average center wavelength or average bandwidth (FWHM and/or E95) averaged over as a series of pulses referred to as a "pulse window". A typical pulse window may be, for example, 30 pulses, and, in general, may be shorter than a "burst of pulses". Thus, an active control system may alter a pulse characteristic within a pulse window by measuring a characteristic of a first pulse within the window and may be the measurement to alter a characteristic of at least one other pulse in the pulse window. Another level of active control is referred to as "pulse to pulse" control. In this technique, an active control system may measure a characteristic of a pulse and use the measurement to alter a characteristic of the very next pulse exiting the laser after the measured pulse.
With the above considerations in mind, Applicants disclose systems and methods for actively controlling the bandwidth of a laser during a burst of pulses.


A scene is imaged from a plurality of points of view to generate plural images each including an image value and distance for each picture element. The images are converted to a principle point of view to generate a non-standard image that accounts for hidden objects in the scene from the perspective of the principle point of view by including multiple image values and distances for each picture element. The non-standard image is then converted to generate a plurality of display images, each having a different display point of view. The display images are individually displayed at corresponding display elements arrayed in a display panel for viewing. A lens at each display element fans out the display image and thus restricts the amount of the image visible at any given perception point to produce true three-dimensional images. An application of the system is disclosed for effectuating a virtual conferencing facility. Furthermore, disclosure is made of the generation or modification of three-dimensional images in the non-standard image format.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to three-dimensional imaging systems and, in particular, to the camera systems, image data manipulation systems and image display systems necessary for taking, generating, transmitting and reproducing true three-dimensional images.
2. Description of Related Art
The most commonly recognized example of three-dimensional image perception is that experienced with human vision. Although each eye views the same scene, the horizontal displacement between the eyes allows each eye to view that same scene and any objects located therein from a slightly different perspective. For example, one eye will see slightly more around a corner or curved surface of a viewed object than the other eye. Breaking up the viewed scene into a plurality of picture elements reveals that corresponding elements viewed by each of the eyes are slightly displaced horizontally from one another due to the depth of (or distance to) the object. The brain receives the displaced images from each eye, and compares and combines (i.e., converges) the images to perceive differences in distances between the various objects in the viewed scene. This visual effect is commonly referred to as stereoscopy.
Considerable effort and expense has been invested in the development of methods and systems for processing taken two-dimensional images so as to permit viewers to perceive the taken images in three dimensions. Such methods and systems commonly utilize eye-to-eye parallax to provide depth information by taking two-dimensional images from two slightly different perspectives. The images are individually viewed by different eyes to produce stereoscopic effects by means of blinker-like shields or binocular apparatus worn about the eyes.
As an alternative to separate eye display of the two slightly different perspective two-dimensional images, the images are instead overlaid on each other as an analglyph and displayed on a single screen. The images are separated from each other for human viewing and stereoscopic perception through the use of spectacles having a different coloring or polarizing filter for each eye. In yet another alternative, the two images are alternatively displayed on a single screen with the eyes of the observer alternatively occluded by spectacle mounted shutters actuated in phase with the alternating image display to produce a stereoscopic effect.
Each of the foregoing three-dimensional imaging solutions effectively produces three-dimensional images for viewing, but inconveniently requires the use of some sort of apparatus (like spectacles) to be worn about the eyes of the viewer. A further drawback experienced with such solutions is that the viewer is limited to the point of view from which the images are taken for experiencing the three-dimensional effect. True (i.e., multi-point of view) three-dimensional viewing where the sides of objects as well as objects hidden behind other objects are revealed by lateral viewer movement with respect to the taken images is not possible using any of the foregoing methods.
Three-dimensional images may be produced without use of viewer worn apparatus by means of a parallax barrier strip or sheet of parallel lenticular lenses. In such a system, the differing perspective images are cut into a plurality of vertical columns and interleaved to form a single, combined image. The parallax barrier strip or sheet of parallel lenticular lenses is overlaid on the combined images and functions to restrict each eye to the viewing of a different one of the interleaved images. The viewed images are then converged by the brain to give the perception of depth. This system, however, produces images with a limited viewing angle in that movement of the viewer left or right of off-center produces either a flat image or causes a reversal in the image from orthoscopic to pseudoscopic where the far and near are replaced with each other. The viewing angle limitation of a parallax barrier strip or sheet of parallel lenticular lenses becomes more pronounced when three or more differing perspective two-dimensional images are interleaved to form an autostereogram. Furthermore, true three dimensional perception of the imaged scene is not always possible, or is limited in scope as the images used to construct the combined image are usually taken from the same point of view or very few different points of view.
The foregoing systems and methods for producing stereoscopic three-dimensional photographic images have been extended to video or motion picture images. For example, the outputs of two spaced apart television cameras or motion picture cameras viewing the same scene have been directed to or projected on a display for stereoscopic viewing using binocular, alternating display, filtering or parallax apparatus. Although equally as successful as their photographic counterparts in producing three-dimensional effects, these systems also suffer equally from the same drawbacks as experienced with three-dimensional photographic images, including the limitation concerning the provision of only a single, or very limited number of points of view.
Accordingly, there is a need for an imaging and display system and method for generating true three-dimensional images.

True three-dimensional imaging and display system