A method and system provides a wide range of temporospatial patterns of electrical stimulation waveforms to be readily specified for respective channels of a multichannel cochlear prosthesis. The cochlear prosthesis includes a speech processor system and a cochlear stimulator. The speech processor system typically includes an external headpiece, including a microphone, coupled to a speech processor. The speech processor includes electronic circuitry, typically including a microprocessor, that converts acoustical signals sensed through the microphone to electrical signals, and processes the electrical signals in accordance with a desired speech processing strategy. The definition of simple or complex stimulation waveforms to be used as part of the selected speech processing strategy is facilitated, in a preferred embodiment, through the use of a template table stored in the speech processor. The rows and columns of the template table define time intervals and stimulation channels (and hence stimulation sites). The individual cells of the template table are programmed, e.g., using a laptop computer, to contain selected alphanumeric codes or characters, including null characters, that define the polarity and relative magnitude of desired stimulation patterns and waveforms that are applied to the defined stimulation sites at the indicated frame times. Alternatively, the stimulation patterns and waveforms may be specified in a list of spatial/temporal events.

The present invention relates to multichannel cochlear prosthesis, and more particularly to a multichannel cochlear prosthesis that offers flexible control of the stimulus waveforms.
Cochlear prostheses produce sensations of sound in deaf patients by direct electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. In modern, multichannel cochlear prostheses, several different sites are stimulated at various distances along the cochlea to evoke the different pitches of sound perception that are normally encoded by nerve activity originating from the respective sites. The patterns of electrical stimulation are derived from acoustic signals picked up by a microphone and transformed by a so-called speech processor that is programmed to meet the particular requirements of each patient. Several different schemes for processing the acoustic signal and transforming it into electrical stimuli have been developed and are well-described in the scientific literature and various patents. All of these schemes can be divided into two basic types on the basis of the waveforms of the electrical stimuli:
i) Analog waveforms, which are essentially filtered versions of the continuous acoustic waveform, usually involving dynamic range compression, bandpass filtering and scaling to the stimulus current ranges that evoke a satisfactory range of auditory sensations from threshold of perception to maximal comfortable loudness. This produces a rich but poorly controlled set of resultant waveforms.
ii) Biphasic pulses, which consist of a single cycle of a square wave in which current flows in one direction at a specified magnitude and for a specified brief period of time and is followed immediately by an opposite direction of current of a similar magnitude and duration. These pulses are most often delivered in sequence to various sites, with the instantaneous magnitude at each site proportional to some measure of the amount of energy present in a particular frequency band of the acoustic waveform. The result is an impoverished but precisely controlled set of stimulus waveforms.
Both of these stimulus waveform types have been selected because they are relatively easy to produce and modulate electronically for real-time encoding of speech and because they guarantee a charge-balanced alternating current at the electrodes, avoiding net direct current that is known to cause electrolytic damage to both electrodes and body tissues.
Recent findings regarding the complex biophysical phenomena associated with the electrical excitation of neurons and psychophysical phenomena regarding the interpretation of neural activity by the auditory nervous system suggest that the quality and intelligibility of speech percepts evoked by a cochlear prosthesis may be improved in a given patient by more specific manipulations of the electrical stimulus waveforms tailored to that patient. In particular, more complex sequences of polarities, with or without pauses between phases and sites, and with or without simultaneous current delivery at more than one site, appear to be desirable. There is thus a need in the art for a cochlear stimulation system that allows complex stimulation waveforms to be individually tailored for each stimulation site.
International Publication WO 91/03913 (Published Mar. 21, 1991), corresponding to International Application PCT/AU90/00407, filed Sep. 7, 1990, describes a multichannel cochlear prostheses that includes a speech processor coupled to a cochlear stimulator, and wherein the speech processor includes stimulation parameters stored in a random access memory (RAM). These parameters, as stored in RAM, are referred to as a MAP. An audiologist "generates" and fine tunes each patient's MAP using a diagnostic and programming system (DPS) The DPS is used to administer appropriate tests, present controlled stimuli, and confirm and record test results. Unfortunately, however, the controlled stimuli that may be administered during such tests is restricted, being generally limited to balanced biphasic pulses (i.e., biphasic pulses as shown in FIG. 5 or 6), having equal negative and positive phases) having variations in pulse amplitude, pulse width, and pulse rate.
European Patent Application 0 247 649 A1 likewise shows a multichannel cochlear prostheses that is very similar to that which is disclosed in the above-referenced International Publication WO 91/03913. However, insofar as can be determined from that which is disclosed, the controlled stimuli that may be administered by a suitable diagnostic and programming system (DPS), suffers from the same restrictions, i.e., only a limited number of parameters may be varied during such tests. The '649 European Patent Application thus fails to show or suggest that complex stimulation patterns can or should be individually tailored for each stimulation site.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,073,939 discloses a very structured dynamic time warping (DTW) apparatus for use in a speech processing system wherein stored template data is compared to uttered speech to find a best match.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,918,745 shows a multichannel cochlear implant system that employs a very precise time multiplexing scheme used between multiple channels through the use of analog switches. With this scheme, only the electrode coupled to the correct analog switch receives the audio signal for the appropriate channel at the appropriate time.
International Publication WO 95/01709 (published Jan. 12, 1995), corresponding to International Application No. PCT/AU94/00370, filed Jul. 1, 1994, shows a cochlear implant device wherein the stimulation is dictated by a predefined instruction set. The predefined instruction set includes only limited variations, such as the selection of different modes of stimulation and/or use of different electrode geometries.

Multichannel cochlear prosthesis with flexible control of stimulus waveforms


A computer system includes a chassis, a backplane coupled to the chassis and a card including a printed circuit board and an external connection bulkhead. The backplane extends in a vertical plane. The card has a major length and a minor width. The card is releasably connected to the backplane along the major length.

Computer systems typically include a plurality of input/output (I/O) cards which are connected to a horizontal backplane or motherboard. Such I/O cards additionally include cable bulkheads or faceplates that extend along a rear wall of a computer chassis and that include various connectors facilitating the connection of data and power cables to the computer system. Most I/O cards on the market today generally follow PCI/PCI-X specifications or standards.

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A technique for domain name resolution in a communication network having multiple overlapping address domains involves translating a destination host domain name into a destination host local address that is ambiguous within the communication network, and then translating the destination host local address into a unique destination host global address. A domain name system proxy uses a domain name system server in the destination address domain to translate the destination host domain name into the destination host local address, and uses a network address translator to translate the destination host local address into the destination host global address.

The present invention relates generally to communication networks, and, more particularly, to domain name resolution in a network having multiple overlapping address domains.
In today""s information age, communication networks are increasingly used for transferring information among a multitude of communication devices. As demand for communication services continues to grow, the demand on these communication networks for carrying increasing amounts of information at increasing speeds continues to grow. Therefore, communication networks are evolving to more efficiently handle these increased demands.
In a common networking model, a large communication network is typically constructed by segregating the multitude of communication devices into a number of subnetworks, and internetworking the subnetworks over a high-speed backbone network. In such a communication network, each communication device is typically assigned a network address that is used for routing packets between a source communication device and a destination communication device within the communication network. In order to permit efficient use of these network addresses, the communication network may be logically divided into multiple address domains. Network addresses are required to be unique within a particular address domain, but are not required to be unique across multiple address domains.
Before a packet can be transmitted from a source host in a source address domain to a destination host in a destination address domain, the source host must obtain the network address of the destination host. One way for the source host to obtain the network address of the destination host is through domain name resolution. Specifically, the source host is provided with a domain name that is associated with the destination host. The source host transmits a domain name resolution request message to a domain name system server, which translates the domain name into the network address of the destination host.
Unfortunately, when the communication network is logically divided into multiple address domains having overlapping network addresses, the network address of the destination host may map to multiple communication devices, in which case the network address does not uniquely identify one communication device within the communication network. Such an overlapping network address cannot be used as the destination address of a packet because it is ambiguous as to the destination communication device for the packet.
Thus, a need has remained for a domain name resolution technique for resolving ambiguous network addresses across multiple overlapping address domains.
In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the destination host domain name is resolved into a unique destination host global address by first resolving the destination host domain name into its corresponding destination host local address, and then translating the destination host local address into the destination host global address.
In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a domain name system proxy uses a domain name system server in a destination address domain to obtain a destination host local address corresponding to a destination host domain name, and then uses a network address translator to obtain a destination host global address corresponding to the destination host local address. The destination host global address is preferably specific to a source address domain from which the domain name resolution is initiated, specifically by a source host in the source address domain.

Domain name resolution in a network having multiple overlapping address domains


A method and device for cleaning contaminated surfaces with both water and steam. A water film is applied to the contaminated surface and steam sprayed into the water film while water is continued to be applied to the water film. In this way the steam is directed into the water film and through the water film onto the contaminated surface, whereby contaminates in the contaminated surface are removed.

Conventional cleaning methods are based in immersion of the surface of the article or substrate to be cleaned into a wet bath, filled with detergent for cleaning, and, for instance reinforced by ultrasound, or by immersion of the substrate in vapor atmospheres, or by mechanical treatment of the surface, for instance by brushing, spraying of water or detergent at high pressure from spray nozzles, or by vibrational excitation vibration (megasonic cleaning).
Particularly in chip manufacture, planarization is a process step that is gaining ever greater significance as the miniaturization of structures progresses. The structured surfaces of a substrate (for instance of a silicon wafer) are ground or lapped flat by a chemical-mechanical polishing step (or CMP processing step), using fine grinding agents (slurry). These grinding agents have an extremely small particle size, with the attendant disadvantage that after the grinding process, individual grinding particles still adhere to the machined surface and are partly embedded in the surface. After the grinding process, the surface must be freed completely of grinding agents and other contaminants so that the substrate can be further machined.
As already noted above, by means of brushes, water and by spraying water at high pressures of up to 50 bar, an attempt is made to remove the grinding agent residues. The brushes have the substantial disadvantage that they must be constantly wetted with water and that they gradually fill up with the removed grinding agents. The brushes must therefore be replaced regularly, which in turn has the disadvantage that by intervention with the cleaning station on replacement of the brushes, the cleaning station becomes contaminated. Mechanically treating the surface to be cleaned with the brushes also involves the danger that the surface will become damaged and in particular scratched. As a rule, the cleaning process with the brushes is followed by a further cleaning process in which water is sprayed at high pressure. If good results are to be obtained, the surface to be cleaned must be exposed to the spray for a certain period of time and stopped repeatedly, which makes for a long cleaning time.
The disadvantages of the conventional method will be listed again below. Along with major brush wear and hence high costs for the brushes, frequent brush changing involves a necessary intervention into the machine and hence a machine shutdown. Because the brushes become filled with particles, damage to the surface by scratching must be feared, and the fact that the brushes (the brush material is PFA sponge) are kept permanently wet means major consumption of deionized water. Moreover, designing the cleaning chamber with brush cleaning for cleaning both sides of the substrate is complicated and expensive. The contact pressure of the sponge brushes cannot be adjusted replicably. In high-pressure cleaning, there is the risk of electrostatic charging of the substrate, since nonconductive deionized water is used. With megasonic cleaning, the surface cannot be cleaned completely, especially after grinding processes.
From European Patent Disclosure EP0381435A2, a method and a device for washing printed circuit boards is known. Steam is sprayed at the boards at a temperature and a pressure at which the steam undergoes no change of phase.
Japanese reference JP-A 703 7866 discloses a device with which an article is exposed to an atmosphere of steam enriched with NO.sub.2.

Method of cleaning surfaces with water and steam


Provided is a process for manufacturing an insulating film for a semiconductor device. The process includes preparing a composition for forming an insulating film, wherein the composition comprises a) an organosilicate polymer and b) an organic solvent. The composition is coated on a substrate of a semiconductor device to prepare a coated insulating film, and the coated insulated film is dried and cured. Also provided are an insulating film prepared as described as well as a semiconductor device comprising the insulating film.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to low dielectric materials essential for a next generation electric device such as a semiconductor device, with a high density and high performance. More specifically, the present invention relates to a process for preparing an organosilicate polymer that is thermally stable and has good film-forming properties and excellent mechanical strength and crack resistance, and a process for manufacturing an insulating film using an organosilicate polymer prepared by the process.
(b) Description of the Related Art
The semiconductor industry is moving toward increasing device complexity, requiring shrinking geometric dimensions and higher component integration with greater dimensional densities in integrated circuit devices, e.g. memory and logic chips. This has led to an increase in the number of wiring levels and a reduction in wiring pitch to increase the wiring density. Current leading-edge logic processors have 7˜8 levels of high density interconnect, and interconnect line widths are scheduled to decrease to 0.1 μm around the year 2004.
As device dimensions shrink to less than 0.25 μm, propagation delay, crosstalk noise, and power dissipation due to resistance-capacitance (RC) coupling become significant. The smaller line dimension increases the resistivity of metal wires, and the narrow intermetal spacing increases the capacitance between the metal wires. Thus, although the switching speed of devices will increase as the feature size decreases, the interconnect delay becomes the major fraction of the total delay and limits the overall chip performance. Accordingly, in order to prepare a chip having high speed, a conductor having a low resistance and a dielectric material having a low dielectric constant should be used. In addition, the use of low dielectric material can remarkably decrease the power dissipation and crosstalk noise.
Recently, several semiconductor device manufacturers have put test products on the market that show improvements in their performance of 20% or more, using copper wiring with high electric conductivity instead of using the conventional aluminum wiring. A shift to use of new materials that exhibit low dielectric constant performance, for use in interconnects, has recently been undertaken. If the dielectric films between interconnect layers in integrated circuits can make use of these materials, the effect on operating speed will be the same as that which resulted with the switch from aluminum to copper technology. For instance, if the dielectric constant of the dielectric material is changed from 4.0 to about 2.5, IC operating speed will be improved by about 20%.
The interlayer dielectric material used in semiconductor integrated circuit devices is predominantly SiO2, which is generally formed using chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to withstand various processing operations associated with the conditions under which a dielectric is formed. The dielectric constant of silicon thermal oxidation films, which have the lowest dielectric constant, is on the order of 4.0. Attempts have been made to reduce the dielectric constant by introducing fluorine atoms into an inorganic film deposited by CVD. However, the introduction of fluorine atoms in large amounts decreases the chemical and thermal stability, so the dielectric constant achieved in actual practice is on the order of 3.5. Fluorinated oxides can provide an immediate near-term solution, and a shift to new types of insulating materials with sub-3 dielectric constant may be required.
One class of candidates is organic polymers, some of which have a dielectric constant of less than 3.0. Incorporating fluorine into such organic polymers is known to further lower the dielectric constant. Most organic polymers do not, however, posses the physico-chemical properties required for on-chip semiconductor insulation, particularly thermal stability and mechanical properties (sufficient to withstand back-end line fabrication temperatures within the range of 400˜450° C.). Few organic polymers are stable at temperature greater than 450° C. They also have a low glass transition temperature and thus elasticity thereof remarkably decreases at high temperatures, and they have a very high linear expansion coefficient. Since the temperature rises to 450° C. during semiconductor IC integration and packaging processes, the resulting low thermal stability and elasticity and high linear expansion coefficient can deteriorate the reliability of the devices.
Recently, in order to solve thermal stability problems of organic polymers, the development of organic silicate polymers using a sol-gel process has emerged. In particular, organic SOG (Spin On Glass), having a dielectric constant in the range of about 2.7˜3.3, has been proposed for use as interlayer dielectrics in which the side chain of an organic component (an alky group such as methyl) is bonded to the backbond chain of a siloxane bond. However, the organosilicate polymers show poor mechanical properties. For instance, polymethylsilsesquioxane shows crack formation during processing unless the film is very thin (often <1 μm), and shows low mechanical modulus due to the introduction of the alkyl group.
Miller et al. have reported a method of toughening the silsesquioxane material systems by incorporating a small amount of a polymeric substituents such as a polyimide. A method of mixing an inorganic fine particulate powder is known as a method for improving the mechanical strength of organosilicates. Although various systems have been proposed, there remains a need for a material having a suitable low dielectric constant and appropriate physico-chemical properties for use as an interlayer dielectric in the future generation of IC devices.

Organosilicate polymer and insulating film therefrom


A method of manufacturing nickel nanoparticles and nickel nanoparticles thus produced, having superior dispersion stability and smooth surface, by reducing after forming nickel-hydrazine complex in a reverse microemulsion, where the method includes forming an aqueous solution including nickel precursor, surfactant, and hydrophobic solvent, forming nickel-hydrazine complex by adding a reducing agent that includes hydrazine to the mixture, and producing nickel nanoparticles by adding a reducing agent to the mixture that includes the nickel-hydrazine complex.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing nickel nanoparticles, in particular, to a method of manufacturing uniform nickel nanoparticles having superior dispersion stability.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, according to the miniaturization of electrical machines and apparatus, it is highly required for electrical parts to be miniaturized. Accordingly, in case of Multi-Layer Ceramic Condenser(MLCC), the miniaturized that have high capacity are required, also in case of circuit boards, multilayer boards with high density and high-integration are required.
As to these MLCC and circuit board, precious metals such as silver, platinum or palladium have been used for inside conducting material or the electrode material. However, they are substituted with nickel particles for reducing production cost. In MLCC among these, a nickel electrode layer has lower density in comparison with the packing density of the molding product in the powder metallurgy and has higher degree of contraction according to sintering in curing than conducting layer, which cause high defective rate due to short of the nickel electrode layer or disconnection of wiring. To prevent these problems, the nickel powder should be fine particles, have a uniform narrow range of particle distribution, and exhibit superior particle distribution without agglomeration. For this, a method of manufacturing nickel nanoparticles having superior dispersion stability and uniform size is needed. However, the existing methods for manufacturing nickel nanoparticles could not provide nanoparticles having superior dispersion stability and uniformity of below 100 nm size.
According to an existing embodiment, though a method where particles are reduced by hydrogen under at a high temperature of about 1000° C. is provided, this method is not enough to be applied to internal electrode or internal wiring since its thermal history under a high temperature forces simultaneous generation and growth of particle so that the particles thus produced have a wide range of particle distribution and large particles of 1 micron among them. Further, according to another existing embodiment, though manufacturing of the micropowder having sub-micron level according to the wet reduction method is possible, the nanoparticles thus produced may be unequal due to plentiful variables of the reaction. Also the surface of the micropowder is not smooth, and though they may be produced in 200 nm-1 μm size, it is difficult to produce uniform particles of below 100 nm size.

Method for manufacturing nickel nanoparticles


A method and system for processing biomass. The method uses an apparatus with a housing, a rotor inside of the housing, and a plurality of protrusions extending from the rotor. The method includes placing the biomass in a fluid medium, inducing cavitation within the fluid to partially separate the biomass, sending the biomass and fluid into the housing, rotating the rotor to further separate the biomass, heating the biomass and fluid, and maintaining the acidity of the fluid and biomass at a pH of between approximately 2 to 6. The system includes apparatus each having a housing and a rotor within the housing. One apparatus has abutting, alternating height protrusions extending from the rotor. Another apparatus has grooves formed in the rotor and an end wall of the housing. Another apparatus has two rows of protrusions extending from the rotor that are spaced apart no less than approximately 6 millimeters.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related in general to a method and system for processing biomass and more particularly to a method and system for processing corn.
2. Description of Related Art
It has long been desirable to quickly separate joined components without degradation of the individual components. Examples of joined components needing separation include grain components, contaminants from pure products, juice from solid biomass, and starch and protein from biomass. Corn, in particular, is a grain that is desirable to separate into its individual components without degrading the components. Corn endosperm is rich in starch and protein which are both valuable as separate components.
A typical process for separating or milling corn includes fermenting (steeping) the kernels in warm water and sulfur dioxide for about 35 to 50 hours. The fermentation process softens the corn for easier separation by mechanical processing, but it also degrades the components of the corn. Some of the components of the kernels typically dissolve or suspend in the acidic water and are subsequently discarded. Discarding these components results in less profit for the corn miller. Additionally, at the end of the milling process, the corn requires substantial drying due to the fermentation process.
After fermentation, a degerminator separates the germ, pericarp and endosperm through abrasion between the corn and degerminator, abrasion between the individual corn kernels and impact between the corn and degerminator. Conventional degerminators frequently break the germ and do not consistently provide complete separation of germ and endosperm. Conventional degerminators also do not separate the starch and protein within the endosperm. Thus, a typical corn milling process is relatively expensive, time consuming and inefficient.

Method and system for processing biomass


In a distributed printing system in which an original print job is divided into a plurality of distributed print jobs that are printed on a plurality of output devices, in order to stop outputting the pages subsequent to a predetermined page in the original print job, an instruction for outputting up to the predetermined page is inputted. It is determined which of the output devices outputs the distributed print job that includes the predetermined page. Based on this determination, an instruction to stop outputting the pages subsequent to the predetermined page is issued to the output device that outputs the distributed print job that includes the predetermined page.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to distributed printing in which a single print job is divided into a plurality of print jobs, which are output on a plurality of output devices. More specifically, the present invention relates to an information processing apparatus capable of controlling deletion of a distributed print job, a distributed printing controlling method, a program for causing the information processing apparatus to execute the distributed printing controlling method, and a computer-readable recording medium storing the program.
2. Description of the Related Art
In one distributed printing technology of the related art, a printing system comprised of information processing apparatuses and a plurality of output devices connected with each other via a network, such as printers and multi-function machines, for example, outputs data created by an information processing apparatus that is divided and distributed to a plurality of output devices to output the distributed data.
A basic example of such a distributed printing system will be described with reference to FIG. 12. FIG. 12 is a schematic diagram for showing that output data having a total of 300 pages of document data is distributed to printing devices 1201, 1202, and 1203 for distributed printing. In the example shown in FIG. 12, the output data is distributed evenly to the three printing devices so that each printing device prints 100 pages: the printing device 1202 prints pages 1 to 100; the printing device 1203 prints pages 101 to 200; and the printing device 1204 prints pages 201 to 300.
Such distributed printing allows output data having a large volume or output data including a mixture of monochrome and color pages to be distributed to optimal image processing apparatuses, thus improving the operating efficiency in light-printing applications or the like.
One distributed printing system that provides high user operability for distributed printing and facilitates printout management is shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2002-163086 (US-AA-20020030851). In the technique disclosed in this publication, original print data is distributed to generate a plurality of child print jobs for a plurality of printing devices based on a distributed print instruction from the user. The plurality of child print jobs corresponding to the parent print job (i.e., the original print data) are processed concurrently. Therefore, user-friendly distributed printing is achieved.
In the technique disclosed in the above-described publication, a print request is made to the plurality of printer drivers. Therefore, a plurality of print jobs (i.e., child print jobs) are issued to and printed on a plurality of printing devices.
In non-distributed printing, the print job is deleted when a number of pages up to a required page have been printed. On the other hand, in distributed printing, for example, when a user mistakenly performs an operation to print all pages although the user wishes to merely print up to a certain page of document data, the following problems occur.
[First Problem]
In the technique disclosed in the publication described above in which control is effected so that a user considers a plurality of distributed print jobs as a single job, if the corresponding print job is deleted when the last page of the desired pages has been printed, other child print jobs that do not include the last page can also be deleted at the same time.
This problem will be specifically described with reference to FIG. 13. In the example shown in FIG. 13, it is presumed that the user has mistakenly performed an operation to print all 300 pages of print data, where the print data is distributed evenly so that a printing device 1301 prints pages 1 to 100, a printing device 1302 prints pages 101 to 200, and a printing device 1303 prints pages 201 to 300. In a case where the user actually only wishes to print up to page 125, if the parent print job managed by a distributed print control application as described in the above referenced publication is deleted after printing page 125 on the printing device 1302 is confirmed, all child print jobs being processed by the printing devices 1301, 1302, and 1303 are deleted. As a result, the printing device 1301 only prints pages 1 to 25, the printing device 1302 only prints pages 101 to 125, and the printing device 1303 only prints pages 201 to 225. Thus, pages 26 to 100 are not printed.
Since the user wishes to print pages 1 to 125, another request to print pages 26 to 100 is required.
[Second Problem]
In order to independently process child print jobs on a plurality of printing devices, when a printing device has printed the last page of the required pages, the child print job processed on this printing device must be deleted. In this case, the user must know prior to printing which of the plurality of printing devices will handle a particular child print job and which child print job on which printing device is to be deleted. The necessity to know this information is an inconvenience to the user.

Information processing apparatus, distributed printing controlling method, program for causing information processing apparatus to execute distributed printing controlling method, and computer-readable recording medium storing program


Violet narrowband light Vn and green narrowband light Gn produced by a light source device are supplied to a complementary color type endoscope, and simultaneously applied to an observation object. In a complementary color type imaging device, first mixed pixels and second mixed pixels, which sense both of the violet narrowband light Vn and the green narrowband light Gn, are read out. The light amount ratio Z of the violet narrowband light Vn to the green narrowband light Gn is set in such a range as to make the light amount of the violet narrowband light Vn larger than the light amount of the green narrowband light Gn, and make a signal value of the second mixed pixel higher than a signal value of the first mixed pixel.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an endoscope system for performing narrowband light observation using a complementary color type imaging device, and a light source device used in the endoscope system.
2. Description Related to the Prior Art
In a recent medical field, diagnosis and treatment using an endoscope system, having a light source device, an electronic endoscope, and a processor device, are widely performed. The light source device produces illumination light and applies the illumination light to the inside of a human body cavity. The electronic endoscope images the inside of the body cavity irradiated with the illumination light by an imaging device, and produces an imaging signal. The processor device applies image processing to the imaging signal produced by the electronic endoscope to produce an observation image to be displayed on a monitor.
As an observation method used in the endoscope system, there is known narrowband light observation using special light (narrowband light) having a narrow wavelength band as the illumination light, in addition to normal light observation using normal light (white light) having a wide wavelength band as the illumination light. The narrowband light observation, for example, can improve visibility of a blood vessel pattern in a superficial layer of a mucosa membrane, though the blood vessel pattern is easily buried in optical information obtained under irradiation with the white light. Therefore, the narrowband light observation allows focusing attention on superficial blood vessels of the blood vessel pattern, and diagnosing the stage of a disease, the depth of a lesion, and the like from the state of the superficial blood vessels.
The narrowband light observation uses two types of narrowband light absorbable by hemoglobin in blood, that is, blue narrowband light having a center wavelength in the vicinity of 415 nm and green narrowband light having a center wavelength in the vicinity of 540 nm. As an imaging method in the narrowband light observation, there are known a frame sequential method in which the blue narrowband light and the green narrowband light are alternately applied and a monochrome imaging device captures an image whenever each type of light is applied, and a simultaneous method in which the blue narrowband light and the green narrowband light are simultaneously applied and a simultaneous imaging device having color filters captures an image (see U.S. Pat. No. 8,531,512 and US Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0141125). The simultaneous method is inferior in resolution to the frame sequential method, but has the advantages of preventing a blur in the image and structural simplicity of the endoscope system.
The simultaneous imaging device includes a primary color type imaging device having primary color filters and a complementary color type imaging device having complementary color filters. The primary color type imaging device is used in an endoscope system that places importance on color, because of being superior in color reproducibility, though inferior in sensitivity, to the complementary color type imaging device. On the other hand, the complementary color type imaging device, which is superior in sensitivity and inferior in color reproducibility to the primary color type imaging device, is used in an endoscope system that places importance on sensitivity. Since the primary color type imaging device and the complementary color type imaging device have both advantage and disadvantage, it is desired that an endoscope system of the future be available with both of a primary color type endoscope containing the primary color type imaging device and a complementary color type endoscope containing the complementary color type imaging device.
The U.S. Pat. No. 8,531,512 and the US Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0141125 disclose a complementary color type imaging device of a complementary-color checkered-pattern color-difference line sequential method having four types of pixels of magenta (Mg), green (G), cyan (Cy), and yellow (Ye). According to the complementary-color checkered-pattern color-difference line sequential method, pixel signals are read out by a field readout method in a state of mixing (adding) the pixel signals of two adjoining rows. More specifically, the pixel signals are read out in a state of four types of combinations, i.e. the Mg pixel and the Cy pixel, the G pixel and the Ye pixel, the Mg pixel and the Ye pixel, and the G pixel and the Cy pixel. The complementary-color checkered-pattern color-difference line sequential method has the advantage of ease of producing a Y/C signal and an RGB signal just by addition and subtraction of the signals of the four types of mixed pixels.
In the case of performing the narrowband light observation by the endoscope system described above, according to the primary color type imaging device, blue (B) pixels capture the blue narrowband light and green (G) pixels capture the green narrowband light, independently. Thus, the primary color type imaging device can produce an image that has high color separability and high visibility of the superficial blood vessels (high contrast between the superficial blood vessels and the mucosa membrane). On the contrary, in the complementary color type imaging device, each mixed pixel senses the blue narrowband light and the green narrowband light at the same time (i.e. mixture of colors occurs). This causes low color separability, and a blur of the superficial blood vessels due to the influence of scattered light deteriorates the visibility of the superficial blood vessels.
In relation to this problem, the U.S. Pat. No. 8,531,512 and the US Patent Application Publication No. 2009/0141125 describe that changing coefficients of a matrix operation for converting a Y/C signal into an RGB signal in accordance with characteristics and the like of color filters reduces color mixture. However, this matrix operation is performed in a signal processing circuit that performs an operation of mixed pixel signals, and each of the mixed pixel signals is a signal in which a blue narrowband light component and a green narrowband light component have already been mixed at the time of entering the signal processing circuit. Therefore, the matrix operation cannot radically improve the color separability and the visibility of the superficial blood vessels.

Endoscope system and light source device


Disclosed is a memory device using a multi-domain state of a semiconductor material, and more particularly to a magnetic memory device, in which a ferromagnetic layer for recording magnetic data serves as a sensing layer so as to have a simple structure, shorten a manufacturing process, and reduce the unit cost of production. The planar hall effect or magneto-resistance is used to measure multi-domain states so as to read data stored in a multi-level state.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a memory device using a multi-domain states of a ferromagnetic material, and more particularly to a magnetic memory device, in which a ferromagnetic layer for recording magnetic data serves as a sensing layer so as to have a simple structure, shorten a manufacturing process, and reduce the unit cost of production. The planar hall effect or magneto-resistance is used to measure multi-domain states so as to read data stored in a multi-level state.
The present invention relates generally to a memory device designed for memory or data storage. It also is related generally to electronic device which uses single or multi-domain states of ferromagnetic material for data storage. Particularly, this magnetic memory device is composed of thin ferromagnetic film which acts as recording layer as well as sensing layer, resulting in simple structure, shortened manufacturing process, and reduced cost of production. This device reads information data by measuring planar Hall effect or magneto-resistance on multi-domain states of ferromagnetic film and writes information data by external magnetic field generated by extra metal wires.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, magnetic memory devices have been recognized as memory devices, which can be substituted for dynamic-RAMs (DRAMs), static-RAMs (SRAMs), flash memories, etc., and will be widely used in mobile instruments, such as smart cards, mobile terminals, and portable telephones, as well as computers.
DRAMs, which are most widely used now, are volatile memories that lose all stored data when the power is shut off, and thus require a long time to operate the DRAMs back to in an initial state. In order to solve the above drawback, Fe (ferroelectric) RAMs are proposed. The Fe RAMs are in a commercially usable state, but require a high voltage in an initial state and have a complicated structure. Magnetic-RAMs (MRAMs) solve the above disadvantages. It has high operation speed at low voltage, and thus are prosperously researched now.
FIG. 1 is a schematic view of a conventional MRAM device.
With reference to FIG. 1, the conventional MRAM device uses a giant magneto-resistance (GMR) effect such that resistance is highly varied when two top and bottom magnetic layers interposed by a non-magnetic layer have different spin directions in comparison with the same spin directions. The device has a complex structure with the multiple magnetic layers based on a spin valve structure.
The conventional MRAM device includes a hard magnetic layer formed under a space layer and serving to perform a sensing function, and a soft magnetic layer formed on the space layer and serving to perform a storing function.
Here, the magnetization direction of the soft magnetic layer is written by applying current along word lines and a variation of resistance due to the magnetization directions of the two magnetic layers is sensed. Thus, the information bits according to the magnetization directions of two layers are written.
However, the conventional MRAM device has a complicated structure due to the multiple magnetic layers forming spin valves and layers firming word lines and read lines, thus having problems, such as a difficulty in a manufacturing process and deterioration in productivity.
Further, since data stored in one cell are 1 bit data representing "0" and "1", the conventional MRAM device stores a small amount of data in spite of the complicated structure.

Magnetic memory device using domain structure and multi-state of ferromagnetic material

Korea University Industrial & Academic Collaboration Foundation


A system for gasification of carbonaceous deposits below the ground surface comprising: an injection well assembly comprising one end positioned at the ground surface and the opposite end of the injection well assembly located within the carbonaceous deposit; a production well assembly comprising one end positioned at the ground surface and the opposite end of the production well assembly located within the carbonaceous deposit; a non-vertical reaction shaft assembly located within the carbonaceous deposit a distance below ground surface, the non-vertical reaction shaft having a length and comprising an injection end in communication with the end of the injection well assembly located within the carbonaceous deposit and a production end in communication with the end of the production well assembly located within the carbonaceous deposit; and a mobile electric device configured to move within the non-vertical reaction shaft assembly. A method for gasifying underground carbonaceous deposits using an electric device.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to underground gasification of carbonaceous deposits. More specifically, the invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for the recovery of fuel products from subterranean deposits of carbonaceous matter using a mobile, electric device in a horizontal well-bore.
2. Background of the Invention
It is estimated that approximately 50% of existing coal is located too deep within the earth to be mined conventionally. Due to regulatory, safety, and environmental demands, some mining operators are being forced to close their mines, leading to a decrease in the productivity of traditional coal production in particular, and for coal use as an energy source in general. This has led to research on the feasibility of underground coal gasification, UCG.
Underground gasification has several inherent advantages over conventional mining, including the avoidance of safety and health hazards related to the underground mining of coal, avoidance of the environmental impact which occurs during strip mining of coal, avoidance of problems of spoil banks, slag piles and acid mine drainage. Additionally, UCG has demonstrated an ability to recover coal from seams unsuitable for conventional mining techniques.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,776,638, Hahn describes a method for electro-thermal and electrochemical underground conversion of coal into oil and by-products. The method comprises inserting an underground probe into a bore hole until the probe is in close proximity with a coal seam. A mixture of air, steam, an electrolyte, and a suitable catalyst is supplied to the probe via a feed supply line, and the mixture is sprayed directly on the coal seam through a passage in a nozzle. Tunnels of limited horizontal reach, about 100 to 150 feet in length, are formed by advancing the probe away from the vertical well bore in a substantially horizontal direction into and through the coal seam during conversion. Products are removed from the same vertical well bore.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,067,390, Camacho et al. describe an apparatus and method utilizing a plasma arc torch as heat source for recovering useful fuel products from in situ deposits of coal, tar sands, oil shale, and the like. When applied to a coal deposit, the plasma torch is lowered in a vertical shaft into the deposit and serves as a means for supplying heat to the coal and thereby stripping off the volatiles. The fixed carbon is gasified by reaction with steam that is sprayed into the devolatilized area and product gases are removed from the same vertical shaft. Umbilicals are provided for carrying electrical power, plasma gas, and cooling water. The plasma arc torch operates in a transferred mode wherein the arc is attached to an external forwardly-placed, axially aligned torch-mounted electrode.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,450, Gash et al describe an underground coal gasification process containing a system of injection and production wells. The injection well is positioned at an angle with respect to horizontal of less than the angle of repose of loose coal and char for the particular coal seam, and the production well is positioned at an angle with respect to horizontal of greater than the angle of repose, but less than 90°. Each cavity in the operation can be individually valved to injection and production pipelines where a number of cavities are used in one coal seam. An oxygen-containing gas mixture is injected into the seam through the injection well and combustion products removed from the production well. An excess of oxygen-containing gas such as air or oxygen, or a mixture thereof, steam and oxygen, or carbon dioxide and oxygen is introduced to form a highly volatile and combustible combination within the coal deposit. This is ignited by electrical means or by the introduction of pyrophoric mixtures. In U.S. Pat. No. 4,662,443, Gash et al describe use of an air-blown underground coal gasification plant to produce low-BTU gas and an oxygen-blown plant for the production of product gas from which synthetic natural gas may be produced.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,422,505 to Collins describes a method for gasifying subterranean coal deposits by positioning a cased injection well to extend from the surface into the coal deposit with the injection well extending horizontally through the lower portion of the coal deposit with the horizontal portion of the well being cased with a perforated casing; positioning an injection tubing within the injection well; positioning a production well to extend from the surface to a point near the lower end of the injection well; igniting the coal deposit; gasifying a portion of the coal deposit between the bottom of the production well and the lower end of the injection tubing well by injecting a free-oxygen containing gas into the coal deposit through the injection tubing and recovering product gases through the production well and thereafter gasifying a second portion of the coal deposit by withdrawing the injection tubing a selected distance and thereafter injecting free-oxygen containing gas into the coal deposit and recovering product gases from the production well. By the process of this invention, the use of vertical gas injection wells is eliminated. The invention purports to utilize no coolant. Desirably, a high temperature alloy (e.g., stainless steel) injection nozzle is positioned on the lower end of the injection tubing.
Little progress has been made in processes for in situ gasification of coal in the past two decades primarily due to a lack of economic incentives. There remains the risk of potential environmental contamination of near-surface potable aquifers, due to working within proximity to the surface. There remain challenging technical problems such as the inability to adequately control the process. One particular technical problem is the ability to achieve high reaction temperatures at low cavity pressures, and thus the production of product gas of desired quality and quantity.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a safe and effective system and method for recovering energy from deeper carbonaceous deposits. In certain embodiments, the system and method should reduce the number of injection and/or production wells, thus minimizing surface disturbance, product leakage, and other negative environmental impact, should also allow for much deeper extraction of carbonaceous deposits, and/or should allow for higher reaction temperatures and pressures, and the control of these and other process parameters.

System and method for recovery of fuel products from subterranean carbonaceous deposits via an electric device


A truck bed accessory for accommodating weights and stored articles. At least one panel is adapted to be situated between the wheel wells of the truck and over the rear axle of the truck. A receptacle is defined within the interior of the main panel over the rear axle. A weight holder for disposition in the receptacle includes a plurality of weight receiver bins adapted to secure weights therein so that the weight over the rear axle can be varied to increase traction. When the weight holder is not in use, the accessory can store other articles for covered transport.

1. Field of the Invention
The instant invention relates to accessories for the beds of pick-up trucks. Particularly, the present invention is a truck bed floor panel which is adapted to hold weights for improving the traction of the truck and which also serves as a removable cargo storage device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Pick-up trucks have a tendency to slip and lose traction during periods of rain or snow because of the minimal weight applied to the rear axle. These vehicles obviously have the weight of the engine and transmission positioned primarily over the front two wheels. This leaves comparatively little weight in the rear for urging the drive wheels to maintain traction on slippery roads. The problem is compounded when the truck bed or storage space is completely empty. Adding to the downward force applied over the vehicle's rear axle would improve handling and control in slippery conditions.
To combat this lack of rear tire grip, some pickup owners add weight to their truck beds in the form of sandbags, firewood, or cement blocks. The added weight improves traction for the tires on slippery road surfaces. Unfortunately, these loose weights also have a tendency to spill or bounce around within the bed with every sharp turn or sudden deceleration. This can be a nuisance to the pickup driver and might also damage the bed and any cargo being transported.
Other stabilizing inserts are known in the art, which typically are water-fillable devices or weight means incorporated directly within a non-removable bed liner. U.S. Pat. No. 5,080,418 provides an insert arranged for complementarily mounting within a pickup truck bed, wherein the insert includes a planar wall construction, with a ribbed top wall to enhance strength and traction of the top wall. The organization defines a central cavity coextensively directed through-out the insert, with a fill plug directed to the top wall and a drain plug directed through and removably mounted relative to the rear wall to permit fluid filling of the cavity to provide weight and enhanced stabilizing of the pickup bed.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,159,902 teaches a vehicle bed liner apparatus including a peripherally sealed flexible top wall and flexible bottom wall for containing a quantity of ballast liquid, e.g. water.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,330,227 shows an apparatus composed of a plurality of elongated containers each with a predetermined rectangular cross-section and an inner peripheral surface with sidewalls and hold down surfaces.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,796,914 demonstrates a protective bed liner with ballast means incorporated in the liner for at times providing stability and traction for the truck in which the protective liner is positioned and which ballast means can be provided at very little additional cost over and above the normal cost of a conventional type of protective bed liner. The ballast means includes a hollow compartment formed in the bottom wall of the protective liner and defining a ballast chamber therein. A filling opening is provided for permitting liquid ballast to be inserted in the ballast chamber.
Utilizing water-filled ballast systems in times of frigid weather is an inconvenience and a hazard. Furthermore, when the ballast liquid freezes, the weight of the system can not be varied, and indeed results in an immobile accessory. These systems also impact the use of the truck bed itself because they are high-profile, cause variants in the surface of the truck bed, and could be subject to puncture. Furthermore, traction systems are not always desirable, so the implementation of the weights directly into a non-removable liner is problematic. There is a need then for an easy-to-use panel system which is low profile but would still enable various loads to be carried without interference. Among other attributes, in the off-season, the product is easily removed and stored, and even during use, the weight system can be removed from the product to reveal added, covered storage space, as follows.

Cargo and weight holding truck bed accessory


The present invention enables a recording condition closer to an optimum to be obtained even for media unknown to a drive. The present invention provides a method that is especially effective for the case where it is applied to a code identification scheme, such as PRML in which code identification is performed on the basis of information on the amplitude of an RF signal. A condition for a recording pulse comprised of a top pulse, an intermediate pulse and a last pulse is configured in a predetermined order, that is, a reference condition is first determined by a test recording involving an examination of recording quality and changes in conditions for a power and a pulse width, then a condition for the last pulse is determined by a test recording using the reference condition, and subsequently a condition for the intermediate pulse is determined using the reference condition and the last pulse. A phase shift is corrected by a test recording using the recording pulse obtained by configuring the above conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
The field relates to a device and a method for optical recording and a signal processing circuit,and more particularly, to a device and a method for optical recording and a signal processing circuit that are capable of optimizing a recording condition depending on the compatibility between a medium and a drive.
2. Description of the Related Technology
For recording onto an optical information recording medium such as CD-R or DVD-R (hereinafter referred to as "media" or a "medium"), the compatibility between a medium to be recorded on and a device to be used for recording (hereinafter referred to as a "drive") depends on each combination of them. This may be caused by the medium side factor wherein the optimum recording condition is varied by the difference in a recording material comprising the medium or the film formation variation during production, or by the drive side factor wherein the optimum recording condition is varied by the difference in a pickup device and/or a semiconductor laser comprising the drive or assembly variation during production. In fact, a suitable recording condition exists for each combination of a medium and a drive due to the combination of those factors.
Accordingly, in a conventional method, ID information on a medium type identifiable by a drive is stored in the medium as well as a recording condition prepared for each medium type is stored in the drive. When recording is actually performed, the ID information stored in the medium is read from the medium loaded to the drive, and a recording condition related to the ID information is used.
However, in the conventional method, suitable recording conditions can be selected for pre-verified known media, but prepared recording conditions may not be adequate to accommodate unknown media that are not pre-verified. Further, depending on the change in the recording environment such as a recording speed, disturbance, or change over time, the prepared recording conditions may not be adequate even for known media.
A method contemplated to accommodate such an unknown medium is described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications No. 2003-30837 and No. 2004-110995
As described in the paragraph [0020] of the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-30837 as " . . . a phase error relative to a channel clock is detected for every recording pattern. A recording compensation parameter adjustment section 12 optimizes an emission waveform rule on the basis of the detection result at the phase error detection section 11," a method of detecting a phase error by comparing with a channel clock and of correcting the phase error is disclosed.
Also, the paragraph [0024] of the document describes that "Next, a test pattern for determining an emission waveform rule is recorded. The area wherein the test pattern is recorded is reproduced, and the relationship between a prepared emission waveform rule and a phase error amount is examined. In other words, the phase error amount in the combination of the length of each mark and the length of each space immediately before the mark is measured. An emission waveform rule wherein the phase error amount becomes zero is estimated from the measured phase error amount, whereby a desired emission waveform rule is determined . . . ", disclosing a method for measuring a phase error amount for every combination of a mark and a space, and then estimating an emission waveform rule wherein the phase error amount becomes zero (see FIG. 8 and FIG. 12).
The method disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-30837 is effective for optimizing a strategy because a correction is made based on a phase error of a recording pattern.
Also, the paragraph [0045] of the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-110995 describes that " . . . a top pulse corresponds to a 3T period and a non-multipulse corresponds to a 8T period are generated integrally (consecutively) . . . " and the paragraph [0046] of the document describes that " . . . the laser power for a write pulse is adjusted in two levels, and when the ratio between a laser power (a height value of the top pulse) Ph and a laser power (a height value of the non-multipulse) Pm is optimum, an optimum power can be obtained . . . ", suggesting the effectiveness of optimizing the Ph/Pm ratio.
On the other hand, the adoption of PRML (Partial Response and Maximum Likelihood) method has been examined as a code identification scheme in a high-density recording system using a blue laser. The PRML method requires configuring a recording condition using a metrics different from that in a conventional slicing method in order to provide a high-quality recording because code identification in the method is performed on the basis of information on the amplitude of an RF signal obtained by reproducing a recording pattern.
With regard to methods for configuring a recording condition on the basis of information on the amplitude of an RF signal, the following patent documents are known: Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-13978, 2004-280876, 2003-15129, 2004-63024, 2004-213759, and 2004-152473.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-13978 and 2004-280876 disclose methods in which conditions for a top pulse, an intermediate pulse, and a last pulse are determined using an asymmetry as an indicator. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-15129, 2004-63024, and 2004-213759 disclose methods for determining a recording pulse condition based on the difference between an ideal waveform on the assumption of PRML and a reproduced waveform obtained from an actual recording. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-152473 discloses a method for determining a start position of a top pulse using an asymmetry as an indicator as well as widths of a top pulse and an intermediate pulse using a jitter as an indicator.
However, because the method disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-30837 involves, as conventional methods, a fine adjustment of a prepared strategy stored in a drive, it is difficult to provide favorable recording quality for media to which prepared strategies are not applicable.
Also, in the method disclosed in the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-110995, as described in the paragraph [0067] of the document, the initial values of Ph and Pm are tentatively set based on values stored in a drive or a medium, and then the Ph/Pm ratio is calculated. Accordingly, as in the case of the Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-30837, it is difficult to provide favorable recording quality for media to which the tentatively set values are not applicable.
Furthermore, in the methods of Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-13978 and 2004-280876, because conditions for a top pulse and a last pulse are simultaneously determined using the same indicator, the shortest pulse that is most likely to cause an error is not optimized. Accordingly, the methods are amenable to disturbance and likely to cause an error, and therefore cannot easily provide a high-quality recording system with a large recording margin.
The methods disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2003-15129, 2004-63024, and 2004-213759 also cannot easily provide a high-quality recording system with a large recording margin, similar to the methods in the Patent Documents 3 and 4, because a correction is made only for each of commonly known pulse shapes and therefore it is difficult to identify which part of a pulse shape is effective for which indicator.
The method disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2004-152473 also cannot easily provide a high-quality recording system with a large recording margin, similar to the methods in the Patent Documents 3 and 4, because the widths of a top pulse and an intermediate pulse are simultaneously determined using a jitter as an indicator although a start position of the top pulse is determined using an asymmetry as an indicator.
It is therefore the object of the present invention to provide an optimization method of a recording condition depending on the compatibility between a medium and a drive, which is especially effective for the case where a code identification scheme is assumed, such as PRML in which code identification is performed on the basis of information on the amplitude of an RF signal.

Optical information recording device, optical information recording method, and signal processing circuit


The invention relates to data communication via a plurality of communication networks, such as IP, ATM, STM, PLMN, etc, networks, and in particular to selection of networks for connectivity. A system is provided in a first network for receiving and holding information from other second networks relating to provided services, quality of services and cost, and for transmission of corresponding information from the first network to the other second networks so that selection of second networks for data transmission may be performed in accordance with criteria defined in the first network, such as desired quality of service, cost, etc.

Until relatively recently, network operators built and configured their networks to carry voice traffic only. Each residential subscriber needed one telephone line at the most, and it was used for speech. By the end of the 20th century, fixed and mobile telephony and data communication had evolved largely existing in separate worlds of networks. These worlds shared the same types of transmission facilities and a growing part of the telephony traffic was constituted by dial-up Internet access. Broadband access mostly occurred as high-speed data circuits for large enterprises.
Each of these known networks has its own management systems, its own resources for switching, transport and access, and its own terminal types. Each operator takes responsibility for everything in the supply chain, from subscriber access to service creation and delivery across a fully owned network infrastructure.
However, network operators are challenged by increasing end-user demands. An end-user wants to phone, e-mail, surf, download, stream, and conference at all times of the day and at the same time. Simultaneously, the number of operators are increasing and the competition between operators has increased.
When a user wants to establish a communication channel, e.g. to make a telephone call, conduct a video conference, watch a movie, play a game, chat, search databases, etc, the user typically requests the operator of the network to which he is a subscriber, in the following the first network, to establish and maintain a communication channel between the user and the desired other participants in the requested communication session. The specific operator may however route the data of the communication through other operators' networks, in the following designated second networks. Typically, the operator of the first network selects the second network based on geographical position of the communication participants, the type of service, desired quality of service, and cost.
The competition is most evident in the multiplicity of services and tariffs from each network operator. The tariffs vary not only between destinations but also according to the nature of the contract signed between the subscriber and the operator, the time of day, the duration of the communication, the data rate, the amount of data transferred, the type of data, method of payment, promotions, etc.
Thus, the increasing number of operators, services, complex tariff structures, and different levels of quality of service have created a need for a system for automatic selection of networks for appropriately routing of the data or information of the requested communication session.
The operators compete on business parameters, such as cost, quality, service, interconnect agreements, security, etc. An operator's income is generated by a number of different sources. Income from the connectivity layer is generated by taxation of the media stream, e.g. the transmitted amount of data, the reservation of necessary resources, etc. By careful selection of the second network for connectivity based on business parameters, the operator can increase his profit.
In WO 00/02400 a routing network for use in a telecommunications network is disclosed, comprising a plurality of networks, and in which said routing network has at least one switch for routing traffic to a required destination via another network according to a routing table. The routing network has call routing data management means including: means for monitoring a plurality of parameters associated with the other networks in the telecommunications network; means for determining a routing table for each switch in said network based on the monitored parameters; and, means for controlling the switch or switches according to the determined routing table.
FIG. 1 schematically illustrates a prior art set-up of a communication channel for a communication session. In this example, the communication session is a telephone conversation. The networks 1–5 are IP networks or ATM networks. At the start of the session, session control communication channel 6 is set up, e.g. including negotiation of codec and exchange of connection points. Next, the data payload communication channel 7 or connectivity path 7 is set up as a bearer for transport of the media stream. The boarder elements 8 that reside at the edge of the respective networks establish the bearer 7. The best effort method may be used, or, routing tables for a label switch router may be manually configured.
In a multi-protocol label switching (MPLS) architecture, the boarder elements 8 of FIG. 1 are considered to be ingress/egress nodes. The networks 1–5 contain a number of label switch routers, and a label distribution protocol (LDP) is used to exchange routing information. Constraint based routing within a MPLS network can secure a bandwidth or other service class characteristics of a trunk, but it cannot secure corresponding resources for an individual communication session. Furthermore, MPLS does not provide means for selection of networks in accordance with criteria defined in the first network.


A high voltage switch device includes a plurality of switches installed between a high voltage power unit and a plurality of developing units. A plurality of cams are disposed on a cam shaft corresponding to the respective switches. The switches are selectively turned “on” and “off” as the cam shaft rotates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high voltage switch device, and a multi-pass image forming apparatus having the same. More particularly, the present invention relates to a high voltage switch device that selectively supplies high current to a plurality of devaluing units, and a multi-pass image forming apparatus having the high voltage switch device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an electrophotographic color image forming apparatus forms a color mage by forming an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive medium charged with a uniform electric potential by emitting a beam onto the photosensitive medium. The electrostatic image is developed with a toner of a predetermined color, and transferred and fixed onto print paper. Toner colors generally used in the color image forming apparatus are yellow (Y), magenta (M), cyan (C), and black (K). Therefore, to adhere the four toner colors on the electrostatic latent image, four developing units are required. A high voltage (that is, over hundreds to thousands of volts)for developing bias for adhering the toners onto the photosensitive medium and for supply bias for supplying the toner to the developing rollers are supplied to the developing units.
Methods of forming a color image include a single path method in which four exposure units and four photosensitive mediums are used, and a multi-pass method in which a single exposure unit and a single photosensitive medium are used. A color image forming apparatus adopting the single pass method takes approximately the same time for color printing and black and white printing, and, thus, is usually used in a high-speed color image forming apparatus. However, because it has four exposure units and four photosensitive mediums, the price of the color image forming apparatus adopting the single pass method is high. Thus, a color image forming apparatus operating in a relatively low speed includes a single photosensitive medium and a single exposure unit and adopts the multi-pass method in which exposing, developing, and image transferring are repeatedly performed for each of the colors to form a color image on an intermediary medium and to transfer the color image onto print paper.
In an image forming apparatus using the multi-pass method, the four developing units operate sequentially. Thus, a device for sequentially transmitting the rotation force of a driving motor to the four developing units is required. A multi-pass image forming apparatus is desired, such as for inkjet printers for small office and home office (SOHO) use, as well as for color image forming apparatuses for home use. Thus, miniaturization and low cost of the multi-pass image forming apparatus are important. A conventional high voltage switch device selectively connects four switches using four axial type solenoids. The conventional high voltage switch device is expensive and large. Additionally, when the solenoid is turned "on," heat is generated, thereby reducing durability.
Accordingly, a need exists for an improved high voltage switch device that reliably controls high-voltage current transmitted to a developing unit of a multi-pass image forming apparatus.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

High voltage switch device and multi-pass image forming apparatus having the same


A common rail directly actuated fuel injection valve is disclosed with a hydraulic transmission device that is fluidly isolated from the fuel so that the hydraulic fluid can be different from the fuel. This arrangement is particularly suitable for valves that inject a gaseous fuel, but can also be beneficial for use with liquid fuels. According to the method, the hydraulic fluid is pressurizable by the fuel pressure to reduce differential pressures and leakage, in addition to assisting with operation of the hydraulic transmission device. The method further comprises detecting the position of the valve needle for more accurate control of rate of fuel injection during an injection event.

Modern diesel engines typically use a common rail fuel system that employs a fuel pump to supply diesel fuel at injection pressure to a plurality of fuel injection valves for injecting the fuel directly into each cylinder. That is, common rail fuel injection valves do not intensify fuel pressure inside the fuel injection valve. An advantage of common rail fuel systems is that fuel pressure and fuel injection events can be controlled independently of engine speed.
Known common rail injection valves are hydraulically actuated, whereby a control chamber filled with hydraulic fluid is used to control valve actuation. Generally, hydraulic fluid is held at pressure in the control chamber to hold the valve in an open or closed position. For example, the pressure of the hydraulic fluid in the control chamber can be employed to hold the valve needle in the closed position, and to open the fuel injection valve a control valve can be operated to drain the hydraulic fluid from the control chamber, allowing the fuel injection valve needle to move to an open position so a fuel injection event can occur. When the control valve is closed, the hydraulic pressure in the control chamber rises and causes the injection valve needle to move to the closed position to end the fuel injection event.
The control valve typically uses a solenoid actuator, but piezoelectric actuators can also be employed, as disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,062,533 and 5,779,149.
A disadvantage of hydraulically actuated fuel injection valves is that it is not possible to control the operation of the control valve to move and hold the fuel injection valve needle to an intermediate position between the closed position and the fully open position. Such fuel injection valves use means other than controlling needle lift to influence the fuel mass flow rate into the engine cylinders. For example, some hydraulically actuated fuel injection valves employ spill ports to drain fuel from the nozzle fuel cavity to influence the fuel mass flow rate into the combustion chamber.
Recent developments have been directed at using the mechanical strain produced by piezoelectric, magnetostrictive, or electrostrictive transducers to provide the mechanical movement to directly actuate the position of the injection valve needle. Fuel injection valves of this type are referred to herein as "directly actuated fuel injection valves". Examples of directly actuated fuel injection valves are disclosed in co-owned U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,298,829, 6,564,777, 6,575,138 and 6,584,958. In these injection valves, a strain-type transducer can be activated to convert energy from one form to produce a mechanical strain. That is, a piezoelectric, magnetostrictive, or electrostrictive transducer can be activated to produce a mechanical strain that correlates directly to a corresponding movement of the valve needle.
Some advantages of directly actuated fuel injection valves over hydraulically actuated fuel injection valves include: (a) the high force that strain-type transducers can generate; (b) the substantially instantaneous displacement upon activation; and (c) the flexibility of being able to modulate the mechanical strain by simply modulating the energy applied to the actuator, allowing the valve needle to move to, or be held in, any intermediate position between the closed and fully open positions. For example, if the actuator is a piezoelectric actuator, the amount of mechanical strain can be determined by controlling the charge applied to the piezoelectric material. If the actuator is a magnetostrictive actuator, the amount of mechanical strain can be determined by controlling the strength of the magnetic field applied to the magnetostrictive material. Accordingly, with directly actuated fuel injection valves it is possible to use the actuator to manipulate needle position to control the mass flow rate through the fuel injection valve, allowing more flexibility to control the combustion process to improve combustion efficiency and/or reduce engine emissions.
With piezoelectric, magnetostrictive, and other strain-type actuators, the stroke is generally much smaller than the stroke that can be provided by hydraulic or solenoid actuators. Accordingly, it is known to employ a means for amplifying the stroke of a strain-type actuator. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,550 discloses a directly actuated fuel injection valve that employs a hydraulic displacement amplifier. The '550 patent discloses an arrangement that fluidly isolates the fluid in the hydraulic displacement amplifier from the fuel, but the fuel pressure is not employed to pressurize the hydraulic fluid. A disadvantage with this arrangement is that there is a greater likelihood of cavitation in the hydraulic displacement amplifier if the movement of the actuator causes the fluid pressure to drop below the fluid's vapor pressure. Another disadvantage is an increased likelihood of leakage into or out from the hydraulic displacement amplifier if there are significant differential pressures across the seals that seal the hydraulic displacement amplifier.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,909,440 discloses a fuel injection valve that comprises a piston actuated by a piezoelectric element. The piston operates on a control chamber that is filled with fuel. A rear face of the piston is subjected to high-pressure fuel to cancel out the forces acting on the piston from fuel pressure residing within the control chamber. The '440 patent claims that this arrangement allows more precise control of the opening and closing of the needle because the piston's movement is not influenced by variations in fuel pressure.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,697,554 and 4,813,601 (FIG. 3) disclose directly actuated fuel injection valves that employ piezoelectric actuators and hydraulic displacement amplifiers. The arrangements disclosed by these patents have their fuel cavities fluidly isolated from the hydraulic displacement amplifier system, which includes an amplifier chamber, which, in each case is in restricted fluid communication with a low pressure reservoir via "restrictor gaps". The '601 patent also includes a complicated check valve arrangement for replenishing the hydraulic fluid in the amplifier chamber. In both cases the fuel pressure is not used to influence the fluid pressure in the hydraulic displacement amplifier.
The '554 patent discloses an arrangement whereby hydraulic fluid can flow between the hydraulic displacement amplifier and the low pressure fluid reservoir to compensate for the effects of differential thermal expansion within the fuel injection valve. This feature that can be advantageously incorporated into hydraulic amplification systems. However, thermal and wear effects may not be completely compensated for by such systems and the amplified movement of the injection valve needle may not track the movements of the actuator accurately. To control the movement of a valve needle to follow a predetermined waveform to thereby control fuel mass flow rate and the combustion characteristics, an accurate method of compensating for the thermal and wear effects is needed.

Common rail directly actuated fuel injection valve with a pressurized hydraulic transmission device and a method of operating same


A locking device for a door, or the like, with a fixed frame and a leaf includes a main lock and a leaf-restraining device on the leaf, with a driving pin of the leaf-restraining device being engageable with a gap limiter installed on the fixed frame. The main lock and the leaf-restraining device are connected to each other in such a manner that, from the main lock the driving pin can only be disengaged from the gap limiter by operating the latch of the main lock by means of a locking element.

This type of locking device is known from DE 3,503,466 C2, which concerns a locking device for a door in which the main lock is designed as a connecting rod lock with a connecting rod which is connected to the bolt-operating device. The connecting rod is used, on the one hand, to mechanically connect the main lock with at least one auxiliary lock which is separate from the main lock, and each of which has one auxiliary bolt. Because the main lock is connected with at least one auxiliary lock by means of the connecting rod, on operation of the bolt of the main lock, the auxiliary bolt(s) is/are also operated from the main lock by means of a key. Therefore, when the bolt of the main lock is slid out, the auxiliary bolt of at least one auxiliary lock is also slid out (with corresponding displacement of the connecting rod in one direction), and when the bolt of the main lock is retracted, the auxiliary bolt of at least one auxiliary lock is correspondingly retracted (with displacement of the connecting rod in the opposite direction).
The leaf-restraining device of the known locking device, also referred to in the following as a door-restraining device, has a handle with which the driving pin can only be moved back and forth between the release position and the driving position from the inside of the door, and with which, in the present case, it can be retracted and/or slid out.
With the driving pin positioned in the driving position, it would be possible to open the door from outside only up to the maximum possible gap position of the leaf, unless a means were provided for moving the driving pin into the release position from the outside of the door. So that the driving pin can be moved from the locked position into the driving position from the outside of the door, and so that the door can therefore be completely opened from the outside as well, in the known locking device, the door-restraining device is connected to the main lock via the connecting rod, which is also provided in order to connect at least one auxiliary lock to the main lock. For this purpose, the connecting rod has a cam which is attached to the connecting rod in the area of the door-restraining device, which is positioned on one side of the driving pin in a first position when the bolt is retracted and on the other side of the driving pin in a second position when the bolt is slid out. When the bolt is slid out or retracted, the cam is therefore moved between the first and second position. When the driving pin is positioned in the driving position, the cam cooperates with an adjoint piece on the driving pin and moves the driving pin into the release position during its movement between the first and second position, i.e., retracts it into the door-restraining device.
The above explanations clearly show that in order to move the driving pin from the driving position to the release position, it is necessary to close the main lock in order to slide the bolt in or out. If the driving pin is in the driving position, but the bolt has not been slid out, the bolt must first be slid out in order to operate the driving pin by means of the locking element and/or key from the main lock, i.e., the locking device must be closed so that the cam on the connecting rod passes the driving pin and thus moves the driving pin into the release position. Now, however, the locking device is closed, and it must again be opened, i.e., the bolt must also be retracted again.
In this configuration, therefore, a complete locking cycle is required in order, from the main lock, to move the driving pin from the driving position to the release position by means of the locking element. This considerably impairs the normal procedure of opening a door by means of a lock, etc., from outside, because one ordinarily simply inserts the key into the lock and turns it in the opening direction until the latch is retracted, and before this, if applicable, the bolt must be pulled in before the door can be opened. In the above-described configuration, one must first turn the key in the locking direction in order to move the driving pin into the release position, and only then can one turn it in the ordinary opening direction in order to open the door. From an ergonomic standpoint, the above-described procedure is extremely unfavorable in opening the door from the outside. The configuration described below also clearly shows that the known locking device is ergonomically unfavorable, such that a situation can easily arise in which improper operation of the locking device adversely affects security.
Let us assume that a person wishes to open an apartment door equipped with the known locking device, wishing to open the door only slightly, keeping it secured with the door-restraining device, for example, because someone unknown to the person has rung the doorbell. In this case, the person will move the driving pin to the driving position by means of corresponding operation of the door-restraining device. Provided that the door is not bolted, the door can now be opened by operating the door handle, etc., in order to operate the latch, and the door is secured by means of the door-restraining device against opening farther than the maximum possible gap position. However, if the door is bolted, i.e., if the bolt of the main lock has been slid out, one must first unbolt the door in order to open it, i.e., retract the bolt. In doing so, however, the driving pin is again placed in the release position. The door can now be freely opened if the latch is operated. In order to restore the security function of the door-restraining device, the person must therefore reset the door-restraining device so that the driving pin is again placed in the driving position. However, a person may easily forget to reset the door-restraining device. On many occasions, the very persons who have a particular requirement for the protection afforded by the door-restraining device, such as children or elderly people, may find it too difficult to operate the known locking device in the proper manner in order to provide sufficient security.
Another possibility of faulty operation in the case of the known locking device should be mentioned. It is possible that a person who wishes to open the door only slightly may attempt to keep the driving pin in the driving position by correspondingly holding a handle, knob, etc., of the door-restraining device in place, while this person, if necessary, unbolts the door, i.e., retracts the bolt of the main lock. However, if the driving pin is held in the driving position, the connecting rod is also blocked from being moved in the unbolting direction, because the cam must pass by the driving pin. This makes it either impossible or very difficult to unbolt the door against the force exerted on the handle of the door-restraining device.
The above examples clearly show that the known locking device is extremely disadvantageous from an ergonomic standpoint and that it allows the possibility of erroneous operation which may seriously impair security.
The object of the invention is to provide a locking device of the aforementioned type which can be operated in an ergonomically favorable manner and which largely eliminates any possibility of erroneous operation which would impair security. In order to achieve this object, in the invention, the driving pin can only be moved from the driving position to the release position from the main lock by operating the latch by means of the locking element.

Locking device with a leaf-restraining device


Provided is an electronic musical instrument comprising: an input device for inputting sound generation instructions of tones at predetermined pitches; a tone generation device that generates tones with predetermined pitches based on sound generation instructions inputted by the input device; a specifying device that specifies a plurality of sound generation instructions inputted by the input device in a predetermined period as a sound generation instruction group; a sorting device that sorts the plurality of sound generation instructions composing the sound generation instruction group specified by the specifying device in a predetermined pitch order; and a control device that controls generation of tones by the tone generation device such that tones corresponding to the sound generation instruction group are generated in the order sorted by the sorting device.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electronic musical instrument, including a sound source module, for generating sounds.
2. Description of the Related Art
Electronic musical instruments such as synthesizers and the like can generate tones with various kinds of tone colors. When performance of a natural musical instrument is emulated by an electronic musical instrument, it is necessary to make the tone colors to be faithfully imitated to tone colors of the natural musical instrument. In addition, the performer needs to understand characteristics peculiar to the musical instrument and needs to perform while operating user interfaces of the musical instrument (such as, for example, the keyboard, the pitch-bend lever, the modulation lever, the HOLD pedal and the like) during a performance. Therefore, when a performer attempts to imitate performance of a certain musical instrument, using an electronic musical instrument, the performer needs to have sufficient understanding of the characteristics of the musical instrument to be imitated, and is required to have high-level skills in performance technique to make full use of the user interfaces according to the characteristics during performance.
For example, in a strumming performance technique, which is one of the performance techniques for a guitar, the strings are strummed in a manner to generate tones of notes composing a chord in the order of pitches. When a strumming performance is to be imitated by an electronic musical instrument, it is necessary for the performer to depress keys of the keyboard in a manner that tones composing a chord are successively generated from the low pitch side to the high pitch side or, in reverse, to depress keys of the keyboard in a manner that tones are successively generated from the high pitch side to the low pitch side. In addition, the performer needs to instantaneously perform the operation of depressing keys in the pitch order, such that it requires high-level performance keyboard technique to imitate a strumming performance.
Japanese Patent No. JP 3671545, also published as counterpart U.S. Pat. No. 5,804,755, describes a technology to control generation of tones in upstroke and downstroke based on performance data prepared in advance.

Sorting a plurality of inputted sound generation instructions to generate tones corresponding to the sound generation instruction in a sorted order


A photoresist film superior in etch resistance and PED stability, as well as transmittance to deep UV, having a backbone of polymethylmethacrylate grafted with piperidine moiety of which the nitrogen atom acts as a base.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates, in general, to a photoresist film for deep ultra violet (UV) and, more particularly, the use of a matrix resin of graft copolymer which has a desired combination of high transmittance of the backbone to deep UV with the etching resistance of the grafting moiety. Also, the present invention concerns a method for forming a photoresist film pattern by use of the photoresist film.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Usually, in order to form a pattern in a semiconductor device, a photoresist film is, first, coated on a layer to be etched and, then, patterned by exposing and developing processes. The resulting photoresist film pattern serves as a mask in etching the underlying layer.
As the integration degree of semiconductor devices becomes higher, finer photoresist film patterns are required. To satisfy this condition, chemical amplification resist films have been developed, which are found to be superior in resolution. However, the chemical amplification resist films have, in fact, not played a sufficient role in the fine pattern process using deep UV because they lack sufficiently high resolution, sensitivity, etch resistance, thermal stability, post exposure delay stability and process latitude.
A typical photoresist film comprises a matrix resin, a photo acid generator, and other additives. The matrix resin is required to be soluble to the solvent in use and show high thermal stability and low absorbance to the exposure wavelength in use in addition to having excellent etch resistance. In particular, this property is most important to photoresist film.
Matrix resins containing aromatic compounds show high etch resistance, but also high absorbance to ArF (193 nm) . In contrast, non-aromatic matrix resins have a high absorbance property to ArF (193 nm), but show poor etch resistance. These contrasting weak points are one of the most troublesome factors retarding the development of excellent photoresist films for ArF.

Photoresist film for deep ultra violet and method for forming photoresist film pattern using the same

Hyundai Electronics Industries Co., Ltd.