A data processor has a general purpose register for storing arithmetic data and arithmetic results; an arithmetic device for MAC for performing a predetermined arithmetic operation by using the arithmetic data read from the general purpose register and outputting its arithmetic results to the general purpose register after a predetermined cycle; an arithmetic device for DIV for performing a predetermined arithmetic operation by using data read from the general purpose register and outputting its arithmetic results after a cycle longer than the predetermined cycle relative to the arithmetic device for MAC; and a temporary storing register for storing the arithmetic results outputted from the arithmetic device for DIV until the next arithmetic operation is terminated.

1. Technical Field to which the Invention belongs
The present invention relates to a data processing method and an apparatus thereof for performing an arithmetic operation by pipeline processing.
2. Prior Art
If one arithmetic device is arranged in an arithmetic unit capable of performing pipeline processing, no resource conflict is naturally caused when arithmetic results are written to a general purpose register for storing the arithmetic results. Further, when plural arithmetic devices are arranged in the arithmetic unit, such a resource conflict is not also caused when all arithmetic times (latency) of arithmetic instructions executed in the respective arithmetic devices are the same.
However, a latency such as division/extraction of the square root (SQRT), etc. is generally very large in comparison with latencies of other arithmetic operations. Accordingly, in the case of a construction in which a first instruction (hereafter, write this as MAC) and a second instruction (hereafter, write this as DIV) having many latencies in comparison with the first instruction are executed by separate arithmetic devices and these arithmetic results are written to one general purpose register, a writing conflict is caused since the arithmetic results are simultaneously written to this one general purpose register when two arithmetic operations are simultaneously terminated.
Methods of (1) the number of writing ports is set to be plural (in an arithmetic unit capable of simultaneously issuing plural instructions, etc.) (2) a subsequent instruction is stalled, are used to avoid the writing conflict.
In the following description, a conventional data processor will be explained by using a block diagram (FIG. 1) and a pipeline view (FIG. 2) showing an example in which a conflict is caused when two arithmetic results are written to a general purpose register. A method for avoiding this conflict will be also explained by using a pipeline view (FIG. 3) showing an example in which the conflict is avoided by using the above method of (2).
The conventional data processor shown in FIG. 1 has two kinds of arithmetic devices composed of an arithmetic device 101 for MAC and an arithmetic device 102 for DIV as an arithmetic unit for performing an arithmetic operation. This conventional data processor also has a general purpose register 103 of one kind for writing arithmetic results obtained by these arithmetic devices 101, 102. In this figure, a general purpose register 103 for writing and a general purpose register 103 for reading are separately written to easily see operations, but the actual general purpose register 103 is constructed by a general purpose register of one kind.
When an instruction is sent from an instruction sequence 104 (instruction contents will be described later) to a decoder 105, the decoder 105 designates an address for outputting arithmetic data to the arithmetic device 101 or 102 with respect to the general purpose register 103. Further, the decoder 105 judges which of the arithmetic device 101 for MAC and the arithmetic device 102 for DIV executes the arithmetic instruction. The decoder 105 then issues an arithmetic starting instruction to each of arithmetic executing stages (201, 202, 203 or 204, 205) of the arithmetic device executing the arithmetic operation through a latch circuit 106 every cycle.
When the arithmetic starting instruction is issued, arithmetic data are inputted from an output port 103A of the general purpose register 103 to the arithmetic device 101 or 102, and a predetermined arithmetic processing is performed every stage (201, 202, 203 or 204, 205). In the arithmetic device 101 for MAC, the arithmetic operation is terminated in a third cycle after the arithmetic data are inputted to this arithmetic device 101. Thereafter, arithmetic results are written to the general purpose register 103 in a fourth cycle via a selector 107 for writing the arithmetic results. In contrast to this, in the arithmetic device 102 for DIV, the arithmetic operation is terminated in a sixth cycle after the arithmetic data are inputted to this arithmetic device 102. In this arithmetic device 102, the arithmetic results are written to the general purpose register 103 in a seventh cycle via the selector 107 common to the arithmetic device 101 for MAC.
The instruction sequence is sequentially constructed by "MAC-a", "MAC-b", "DIV-a", "MAC-c", "MAC-d", "MAC-e", "MAC-f", "DIV-b", "MAC-g", "MAC-h", and "MAC-i". Here, "MAC-a", "MAC-b", - - - "MAC-i" show instructions of the same kind for executing the arithmetic operation in the arithmetic device 101 for MAC and writing the arithmetic results to the general purpose register 103. "DIV-a" and "DIV-b" show instructions of the same kind for executing the arithmetic operation in the arithmetic device 102 for DIV and writing the arithmetic results to the general purpose register 103.
A conflict at a writing time of the arithmetic results as a problem in the conventional data processor of FIG. 1 will be described by using the pipeline view of FIG. 2.
Respective executing stages of both the arithmetic devices 101 and 102 are mutually independent so that arithmetic instructions using pipeline processing can be basically executed continuously. Namely, the arithmetic device 101 has stage E1(201), stage E2(202) and stage E3(203) as executing stages, and the arithmetic device 102 has stage E1(204) and stage E2(205) as executing stages. However, as mentioned above, a time taken to perform the arithmetic operation in the arithmetic device 101 for MAC is three cycles and a time taken to perform the arithmetic operation in the arithmetic device 102 for DIV is six cycles. Accordingly, in FIG. 2, for example, MAC arithmetic instructions are sequentially issued and arithmetic processing is sequentially progressed in a period T11 from #4 to #7. However, the general purpose register 103 for writing the arithmetic results is common. Accordingly, as shown by 401! and 402! in FIG. 2, when arithmetic operations are simultaneously terminated in a cycle (#9 in the case of 401! previously located by one, arithmetic results begin to be simultaneously written (arrows 403, 404) in the next cycle (#10 in the case of 401! so that a conflict is caused.
Therefore, a conventional example using the above conflict avoiding method (2) not causing conflict as shown by 401! and 402! in FIG. 2 will next be explained by using FIG. 3.
Either one (here, instruction "MAC-e" (501) of the arithmetic device 101 for MAC) of timings of starting execution is shifted by one cycle (502 of #7 in FIG. 3) so as not to set the same timing at the writing stages of two arithmetic results. Thus, all the executing stages of the arithmetic device 101 for MAC become empty by one cycle (as shown by a dotted arrow 504) so that a blank of one cycle is formed at a write back stage (503) of #10.
Accordingly, the arithmetic results of "DIV-a" can be written back by using this blank write back stage (503) so that the conflict is avoided. The conflict of 402! of FIG. 2 can be avoided by similar countermeasures (505, 506 in FIG. 3).
However, there are the following problems in the conflict avoiding methods (1) and (2) of the above conventional data processor.
Namely, in the method (1) for setting the number of writing ports to be plural, the number of ports is simply increased and writing control, etc. become further complicated. In the method (2) for stalling a subsequent instruction, instructional execution is delayed by one cycle or more to write the arithmetic results so that an operating time of the arithmetic processing is late and performance of the entire data processor is deteriorated.

Arithmetic processor which latches data in a temporary register before the data is latched in a general purpose register


This invention describes a process for gene expression in plants utilizing translational vectors. Said translational vectors cause a gene of interest to be stably integrated into a transcriptionally active host genomic DNA such that the transcription of the gene of interest is controlled by a promoter of the host plant. Said translational vectors are preferably based on internal ribosome entry site (IRES) elements that are of plant origin.

Achievement of a desirable and stably inheritable pattern of transgene expression remains one of the major problems in plant biotechnology. The standard approach is to introduce a transgene as part of a fully independent transcription unit using a vector, where the transgene is under transcriptional control of a plant-specific heterologous or a homologous promoter and transcription termination sequences (for example, see U.S. Pat. No. 05,591,605; U.S. Pat. No. 05,977,441; WO 0053762 A2; U.S. Pat. No. 05,352,605, etc). However, after the integration into the genomic DNA, because of random insertion of exogenous DNA into plant genomic DNA, gene expression from such transcriptional vectors becomes affected by many different host factors. These factors make transgene expression unstable, unpredictable and often lead to the transgene silencing in progeny (Matzke & Matzke, 2000, Plant Mol Biol., 43, 401-415; S. B. Gelvin, 1998, Curr. Opin. Biotechnol., 9, 227-232; Vaucheret et al., 1998, Plant J., 16, 651-659). There are well-documented instances of transgene silencing in plants, which include the processes of transcriptional (TGS) and posttranscriptional gene silencing (PTGS). Recent findings reveal a close relationship between methylation and chromatin structure in TGS and involvement of RNA-dependent RNA-polymerase and a nuclease in PTGS (Meyer, P., 2000, Plant Mol. Biol, 43, 221-234; Ding, S. W., 2000, Curr. Opin. Biotechnol., 11, 152-156; lyer et al., Plant Mol. Biol., 2000, 43, 323-346). For example, in TGS, the promoter of the transgene can often undergo methylation at many integration sites with chromatin structure not favorable for stable transgene expression. As a result, practicing existing methods requires many independent transgenic plants to be produced and analyzed for several generations in order to find those with the desired stable expression pattern. Moreover, even such plants displaying a stable transgene expression pattern through the generations can become subsequently silenced under naturally occurring conditions, such as a stress or pathogen attack. Existing approaches aiming at improved expression control, such as use of scaffold attachment regions (Allen, G. C., 1996, Plant Cell, 8, 899-913; Clapham, D., 1995, J. Exp. Bot., 46, 655-662; Allen, G. C., 1993, Plant Cell, 5, 603-613) flanking the transcription unit, could potentially increase the independency and stability of transgene expression by decreasing dependency from so-called "position effect variation" (Matzke & Matzke, 1998, Curr. Opin. Plant Biol., 1, 142-148; S. B. Gelvin, 1998, Curr. Opin. Biotechnol., 9, 227-232; WO 9844 139 A1; WO 006757 A1; EP 1 005 560 A1; AU 00,018,331 A1). However, they only provide a partial solution to the existing problem of designing plants with a required expression pattern of a transgene.
Gene silencing can be triggered as a plant defence mechanism by viruses infecting the plant (Ratcliff et al., 1997, Science, 276, 1558-1560; Al-Kaff et al., 1998, Science, 279, 2113-2115). In non-transgenic plants, such silencing is directed against the pathogen, but in transgenic plants it can also silence the transgene, especially when the transgene shares homology with a pathogen. This is a problem, especially when many different elements of viral origin are used in designing transcriptional vectors. An illustrative example is the recent publication by Al-Kaff and colleagues (Al-Kaff et al., 2000, Nature Biotech., 18, 995-999) who demonstrated that CaMV (cauliflower mosaic virus) infection of a transgenic plant with the BAR gene under the control of the CaMV-derived 35S promoter can silence the transgene.
During the last years, the set of cis-regulatory elements has significantly increased and presently includes tools for sophisticated spatial and temporal control of transgene expression. These include several transcriptional elements such as various promoters and transcription terminators as well as translational regulatory elements/enhancers of gene expression. In general, translation enhancers can be defined as cis-acting elements which, together with cellular trans-acting factors, promote the translation of the mRNA. Translation in eukaryotic cells is generally initiated by ribosome scanning from the 5′ end of the capped mRNA. However, initiation of translation may also occur by a mechanism which is independent of the cap structure. In this case, the ribosomes are directed to the translation start codon by internal ribosome entry site (IRES) elements. These elements, initially discovered in picornaviruses (Jackson & Kaminski, 1995, RNA, 1, 985-1000), have also been identified in other viral and cellular eucaryotic mRNAs. IRES are cis-acting elements that, together with other cellular trans-acting factors, promote assembly of the ribosomal complex at the internal start codon of the mRNA. This feature of IRES elements has been exploited in vectors that allow for expression of two or more proteins from polycistronic transcription units in animal or insect cells. At present, they are widely used in bicistronic expression vectors for animal systems, in which the first gene is translated in a cap-dependent manner and the second one is under the control of an IRES element (Mountford & Smith, 1995, Trends Genet, 4, 179-184; Martines-Salas, 1999, Curr Opin Biotech., 19, 458-464). Usually the expression of a gene under the control of an IRES varies significantly and is within a range of 6-100% compared to cap-dependent expression of the first one (Mizuguchi et al., 2000, Mol. Ther., 1, 376-382). These findings have important implications for the use of IRESs, for example for determining which gene shall be used as the first one in a bicistronic vector. The presence of an IRES in an expression vector confers selective translation not only under normal conditions, but also under conditions when cap-dependent translation is inhibited. This usually happens under stress conditions (viral infection, heat shock, growth arrest, etc.), normally because of the absence of necessary trans-acting factors (Johannes & Sarnow, 1998, RNA, 4, 1500-1513; Sonenberg & Gingras, 1998, Cur. Opin. Cell Biol., 10, 268-275).
Translation-based vectors recently attracted attention of researchers working with animal cell systems. There is one report connected with the use of an IRES-Cre recombinase cassette for obtaining tissue-specific expression of cre recombinase in mice (Michael et al., 1999, Mech. Dev., 85, 35-47). In this work, a novel IRES-Cre cassette was introduced into the exon sequence of the EphA2 gene, encoding an Eph receptor of protein tyrosine kinase expressed early in development. This work is of specific interest as it is the first demonstration of the use of translational vectors for tissue-specific expression of a transgene in animal cells that relies on transcriptional control of the host DNA. Another important application for IRES elements is their use in vectors for the insertional mutagenesis. In such vectors, the reporter or selectable marker gene is under the control of an IRES, element and can only be expressed if it inserts within the transcribed region of a transcriptionally active gene (Zambrowich et al., 1998, Nature, 392, 608-611; Araki et al., 1999, Cell Mol. Biol., 45, 737-750). However, despite the progress made in the application of IRESs in animal systems, IRES elements from these systems are not functional in plant cells. Moreover, since site-directed or homologous recombination in plant cells is extremely rare and of no practical use, similar approaches with plant cells were not contemplated.
There are significantly less data about plant-specific IRES elements. Recently, however, several IRESs that are also active in plants were discovered in tobamovirus crTMV (a TMV virus infecting Cruciferae plants) (Ivanov et al., 1997, Virology, 232, 32-43; Skulachev et al., 1999, Virology, 263, 139-154; WO 98/54342) and there are indications of IRES translation control in other plant viruses (Hefferon et al., 1997, J. Gen Virol., 78, 3051-3059; Niepel & Gallie, 1999, J. Virol, 73, 9080-9088). IRES technology has a great potential for the use in transgenic plants and plant viral vectors providing convenient alternative to existing vectors. Up to date, the only known application of plant IRES elements for stable nuclear transformation is connected with the use of IRESs to express a gene of interest in bicistronic constructs (WO 98/54342). The construct in question comprises, in 5′ to 3′ direction, a transcription promoter, the first gene linked to the said transcription promoter, an IRES element located 3′ to the first gene and the second gene located 3′ to the IRES element, i.e., it still contains a full set of transcription control elements.
Surprisingly, we have found that translational vectors that are devoid of their own transcription control elements and rely entirely on insertion into a transcriptionally active genomic DNA of a plant host, allow recovery of numerous transformants which express the gene of interest. Even more surprisingly, such transformants could be easily detected even in host plants with a very low proportion of transcriptionally active DNA in their genome such as wheat. This invention is the basis of the proposed process that allows for design of transgene expression that is entirely controlled by the host's transcriptional machinery, thus minimizing the amount of xenogenetic regulatory DNA elements known to trigger transgene silencing. It also allows to control transgene expression in a novel way, by modulating the ratio of cap-dependent versus cap-independent translation.

Processes and vectors for producing transgenic plants


An organic EL device, comprising an anode and a cathode, and at least one organic luminescent layer comprising a compound of the formula:

Organic EL devices are know to be efficient and capable of producing a wide range of colors and are useful for many applications such as flat panel display.
Organic EL devices generally have a layered structure with an organic luminescent medium sandwiched between an anode and a cathode. The organic luminescent medium usually refers to an organic light emitting material or a mixture thereof in the form of a thin amorphous or polycrystalline film. Representatives of earlier organic EL devices are Gurnee et al U.S. Pat. No. 3,172,862, issued Mar. 9, 1965; Gurnee U.S. Pat. No. 3,173,050, issued Mar. 9, 1965; Dresner, "Double Injection Electroluminescence in Anthracene", RCA Review, Vol. 30, pp. 322–334, 1969; and Dresner U.S. Pat. No. 3,710,167, issued Jan. 9, 1973. In these prior arts, the organic luminescent medium was formed of a conjugated organic host material and a conjugated organic activating agent having condensed benzene rings. Naphthalene, anthracene, phenanthrene, pyrene, benzopyrene, chrysene, picene, carbazole, fluorene, biphenyl, terpheyls, quarterphenyls, triphenylene oxide, dihalobiphenyl, trans-stilbene, and 1,4-diphenylbutadiene were offered as examples of organic host materials. Anthracene, tetracene, and pentacene were named as examples of activating agents. The organic luminescent medium was present as a single layer having a thickness much above 1 micrometer. The voltage required to drive the EL devices was as much as a few hundreds volts, thus the luminous efficiency of these EL devices was rather low.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,356,429, Tang further advanced the art of organic EL device by disclosing a bi-layer EL device configuration. The organic luminescent medium in this bi-layer configuration comprises of two extremely thin layers of organic film (<1.0 micrometer in combined thickness) sandwiched between the anode and cathode. The layer adjacent to the anode, termed the hole-transport layer, is specifically chosen to transport predominantly holes only in the EL device. Likewise, the layer adjacent to the cathode is specifically chosen to transport predominantly electrons only in the EL device. The interface or junction between the hole-transport layer and the electron-transport layer is referred to as the electron-hole recombination zone where the electron and hole recombine to produce electroluminescence with the least interference from the electrodes. This recombination zone can be extended beyond the interface region to include portions of the hole-transport layer or the electron-transport layer or both. The extremely thin organic luminescent medium offers reduced electrical resistance, permitting higher current densities for a given voltage applied on the EL device. Since the EL intensity is directly proportional to the current density through the EL device, this thin bi-layer construction of the organic luminescent medium allows the EL device to be operated with a voltage as low as a few volts, in contrast to the earlier EL devices. Thus, the bi-layer organic EL device has achieved a high luminous efficiency in terms of EL output per electrical power input and is therefore useful for applications such as flat-panel displays and lighting.
For the production of full-color EL display panel, it is necessary to have efficient red, green, and blue (RGB) EL materials with proper chromaticity and sufficient luminance efficiency. A doped EL system based on the principle of guest-host energy transfer to effect the spectral shift from tris-(8-hydroxyquinolinato)aluminum (Alq) to the dopant molecules has been disclosed by Tang et al in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,292. The guest-host doped system offers a ready avenue for achieving such an objective, mainly because a single host with optimized transport and luminescent properties may be used together with various guest dopants leading to EL of desirable hue. It usually can be achieved by applying the three layer organic EL device that contains a light-emitting layer between the hole transport layer and electron transport layer that has been disclosed by Tang et al [J. Applied Physics, Vol. 65, Pages 3610–3616, 1989]. The light-emitting layer commonly consists of a host material doped with a guest material. The host materials in light-emitting layer can be electron transport materials, such as 8-hydroxyquinoline aluminum complex [U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,292], the hole transport materials, such as aryl amines [Y. Hamada, T. Sano, K. Shibata and K. Kuroki, Jpn. J. Appl. Phys. 34, 824, 1995], or the charge injection auxiliary materials, such as stilbene derivatives [C. Hosokawa et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 67(25) 3853, 1995]. The doped guest materials, also known as the dopant, are usually chosen from highly fluorescent dyes. In the three layer organic EL device, the light-emitting layer provides an efficient site for the recombination of the injected hole-electron pair followed by the energy transfer to the guest material and produces the highly efficient electroluminescence.
Alq is only suitable host for green and red EL emitters since its emission at 530 nm is adequate to sensitize guest EL emission in the green and red spectral region. In general, the host material in the light emitting layer should be as luminescent as possible and also the luminance wavelengths are desired to be in the blue or near the UV region. The latter attribute is important for down-shifting of the EL emission wavelength in a host-guest emitter layer that is able to produce blue, green, red, and white light output.
Shi et. al. in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,935,721 and 5,972,247 has disclosed organic electroluminescent (EL) element, that belongs to 9,10-di-(2-naphthyl)anthracene and 9,10-bis(3′5′-diaryl)phenyl anthracene derivatives derivatives, provides a thermally stable, glassy, and highly fluorescent materials in condensed thin film which dramatically exhibits different EL performance than that of 9,10-(diphenyl)anthracene derivatives. As a result, organic EL device employing these anthracene derivatives in light-emitting layer produce a bright blue emission and long operational stability. In accordance with the present invention, Shi et. al also taught that thiese anthracene derivatives are extremely useful for the production of full color EL display panel. With these anthracene derivatives as host materials, an appropriate EL hues or colors, including white, have also been produced by a downhill energy transfer process. For example, a green EL emission has been produced by doping into the anthracene derivatives with small amount of a green fluorescent sensitizing dye. This host-guest energy transfer scheme has been discussed in detail by Tang et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,292. A white EL emission has been produced by combination of two emissions. This scheme has been disclosed in detail by Shi et. al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,683,823.
In order to achieve the best performance of light output through the guest-host doped system, especially through the light emitting layer that consists of host and dopant materials. The dopant materials play an important role in term of enhance the light output efficiency, color purity and device operational stability. There are only a few of classes materials have been successfully used to produce blue emission. One of these is stilbene derivatives containing arylamino-groups. [C. Hosokawa et al., Appl. Phys. Lett., 67(25) 3853, 1995]. However, the liable arylamino-groups is not preferred in achieving desired device stability. Another is perylene and its derivatives used by Kodak. the small molecular size of perylene is not preferred in fabrication process. Modifying the perylene derivatives to increase the molecular size usually limited by spectrum shift away from pure blue emission.

Abstract: positioned between said anode and said cathode, and wherein:    R1, R2, R3, R4, R5, R6, R7, R8, R9, R10, R11 and R12 are individual substituents, each substituent is an individual group selected from the group consisting of hydrogen, halogens, and groups that contain 1 to 48 carbon atoms, and at least one group is not hydrogen.

The United States of America as represented by the Secretary of the Army


An electron emission device having various functional electrodes in addition to the electrodes serving to emit electrons includes: first and second substrates facing each other, and cathode and gate electrodes arranged on the first substrate within an effective electron emission area and including an insulating layer interposed therebetween. The electron emission regions are electrically connected to the cathode electrodes. At least one dummy electrode is arranged external to the effective electron emission area. At least one anode electrode is arranged on the second substrate. Phosphor layers are arranged on one surface of the anode electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electron emission device, and in particular, to an electron emission device and a method of manufacture thereof in which the electron emission device has various functional electrodes in addition to the electrodes serving to emit electrons.
2. Description of Related Art
Generally, electron emission devices are classified into a first type where a hot cathode is used as an electron emission source, and a second type where a cold cathode is used as the electron emission source. Among the second type of electron emission devices are a Field Emitter Array (FEA) device, a Metal-insulator-metal (MIM) device, a Metal-insulator-semiconductor (MIS) device, a Surface Conduction Emitter (SCE) device, and a Ballistic electron Surface Emitter (BSE) device.
In the FEA electron emission device, electron emission regions are formed by a material emitting electrons under the application of an electric field, and driving electrodes, such as cathode and gate electrodes, arranged around the electron emission regions. When an electric field is formed around the electron emission regions due to the voltage difference between the two electrodes, electrons are emitted from the electron emission regions.
The cathode and the gate electrodes cross each other while interposing an insulating layer, thereby forming a matrix structure. When the crossed region of the two electrodes is defined as a pixel region, the electron emission at the respective pixels is controlled by the scan signal applied to any one of the electrodes and the data signal applied to the other electrode. A square wave is applied to the cathode and the gate electrodes, the square wave having both Direct Current (DC) characteristics as well as Alternating Current (AC) characteristics. The square wave is a relatively high voltage, and has a short "ON" time that varies somewhat depending upon the number of pixels.
Accordingly, with the usual electron emission device, the driving waveform can be easily distorted due to the internal factors of the device, such as the internal resistance of the cathode and gate electrodes, and the electric potentials accumulated between the two electrodes. More particularly, among the electrodes receiving the scan signals, signal distortion can easily occur with the row of electrodes first receiving the scan signal and with the row of electrodes last receiving the scan signal.
When the signal distortion occurs during the driving of the electron emission device, unnecessary electron emission occurs at the signal-distorted pixels, or the necessary electron emission does not occur at the relevant pixels. As a result, the correct on/off control of the pixels becomes impossible, and a precise image display does not occur.
With most electron emission devices, the inner space thereof is exhausted to be in a vacuum state, and a remnant gas therein is collected and removed using a getter, thereby heightening the degree of vacuum.
The getters are classified into evaporable getters, and non-evaporable getters. The evaporable getter is well adapted for a vacuum display device with a sufficient inner space, such as a cathode ray tube, and has excellent remnant gas collection efficiency. However, most of the electron emission devices have a very narrow inner space as the distance between the front and the rear substrates thereof is 2 mm or less. Therefore, it is difficult to arranged a getter with a predetermined volume in a narrow inner space, and to apply the evaporable getter due to the narrow space between the electrodes arranged on the substrate. With the electron emission device, a non-evaporable getter is installed external to the display region, and activated to remove the remnant gas after the exhausting.
However, compared to the evaporable getter, the non-evaporable getter has a low remnant gas collection efficiency, and hence, it is difficult to increase the degree of vacuum. This makes the device structure and the processing steps complicated. Particularly with the FEA typed electron emission device using a carbonaceous material for the electron emission regions, the carbonaceous material easily reacts with a particular remnant gas, such as oxygen, and reduces the life span and the electron emission efficiency of the electron emission regions. Consequently, with the electron emission device using a carbonaceous material, the remnant oxygen-containing gas should be removed after the exhausting, and this is effected with gettering.

Electron emission device including dummy electrodes


In a semiconductor device manufacturing method, an interlevel insulating film is formed on a silicon substrate. A trench is formed in the interlevel insulating film. A lower underlying film made of a tungsten-based material is formed by thermal chemical vapor deposition to cover a bottom surface and side surface of the trench. An upper underlying film made of a tungsten-based material is formed by thermal chemical vapor deposition on an entire region on the lower underlying film. A copper film made of copper fills the trench. The upper underlying film is formed in accordance with thermal chemical vapor deposition by supplying a tungsten source gas and the other source gas such that the other source gas is supplied in an amount lager than that of the tungsten source gas. The lower underlying film is formed in accordance with thermal chemical vapor deposition by increasing a content of the tungsten source gas to be larger than to that of the other source gas in formation of the lower underlying film.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device manufacturing method and, more particularly, to a semiconductor device manufacturing method using a tungsten-based material to form an underlying film for a copper interconnection.
In order to realize a high degree of integration and high speed in a semiconductor integrated circuit, various improvements have been proposed. As the interconnection width and interconnection interval are decreased, the interconnection delay adversely affects the circuit performance and the interconnection causes electromigration, leading to a serious decrease in reliability. Some signal delay due to the interconnection is caused by the interconnection resistance.
Some signal delay is caused by the interconnection capacitance among the interconnections integrated at a high density. To decrease the interconnection capacitance that causes signal delay, the interconnection must be micropatterned not only in the lateral direction but also in the direction of thickness. Therefore, when the signal delay caused by the interconnection capacitance is to be suppressed, the current flowing through the interconnection increases, which tends to cause electromigration.
In order to solve this problem, copper with a lower electric resistance has been replacing aluminum to form an interconnection.
When copper is used as the interconnection material, it is diffused in the silicon oxide to adversely affect the transistor element. Also, a copper interconnection has poor adhesion properties with respect to an insulating film.
For this reason, when using copper as the interconnection material, an underlying film is generally used to prevent copper diffusion and to improve the adhesion properties between the interconnection and insulating film (interlevel insulating film).
A conventional interconnection structure forming method using copper will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. 6A to 6D. In this case, a copper interconnection forming method in accordance with the so-called damascene will be described.
First, as shown in FIG. 6A, an interlevel insulating film 902 is formed on a silicon substrate 901 having elements such as a MOS transistor (not shown), and a trench 903 is formed at its predetermined portion.
As shown in FIG. 6B, an underlying film 904 for copper diffusion prevention described above and the like is formed on the interlevel insulating film 902 including the bottom and side surfaces of the trench 903.
Copper is formed on the underlying film 904 to fill the trench 903 and to form a film that covers the entire surface of the underlying film 904, thereby forming a metal layer 905, as shown in FIG. 6C. This copper film formation is performed by, e.g., plating.
Subsequently, the metal layer 905 on the interlevel insulating film 902, which is above the trench 903, and the underlying film 904 are removed by, e.g., chemical-mechanical polishing to form an underlying film 904a on the side and bottom surfaces of the trench 903, and a copper interconnection 905a is formed through the underlying film 904a, as shown in FIG. 6D.
Tungsten nitride is regarded as a promising material to form the underlying layer for the following reason. An underlying film must be formed on a three-dimensional surface with a trench and the like with a good step coverage. In the above case, the underlying film must be formed with a thickness as uniform as possible not only on the bottom but also on the side surface of the trench. Therefore, a material that can be formed by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) to provide a good step coverage is suitable to form the underlying film. From the above viewpoint, tungsten nitride described above, which can be formed by CVD and have good barrier characteristics to suppress copper diffusion attracts attention as the underlying film material.
Although tungsten nitride has a good step coverage and good copper diffusion suppressing performance (barrier characteristics), as described above, it has poor adhesion properties with respect to an insulating film used as the interlevel insulating film.
It is, therefore, the principal object of the present invention to provide semiconductor device manufacturing method which, when a copper interconnection material is placed in a trench through an underlying film, improves adhesion properties with respect to an interlevel insulating film while maintaining the good step coverage and barrier characteristics of a tungsten-based material.
In order to achieve the above object, according to the present invention, there is provided a semiconductor device manufacturing method comprising the steps of forming an interlevel insulating film on a semiconductor substrate, forming a trench in the interlevel insulating film, forming a first thin film made of a tungsten-based material by thermal chemical vapor deposition to cover a bottom surface and side surface of the trench, forming a second thin film made of a tungsten-based material by thermal chemical vapor deposition on an entire region on the first thin film, and filling an interconnection material comprised of copper in the trench, wherein the first thin film is formed in accordance with thermal chemical vapor deposition by supplying a tungsten source gas and the other source gas such that the other source gas is supplied in an amount larger than that of the tungsten source gas, and the second thin film is formed in accordance with thermal chemical vapor deposition by increasing a content of the tungsten source gas to be larger than that of the other source gas in formation of the first thin film.

Semiconductor device manufacturing method for a copper connection


This disclosure describes, in part, techniques for utilizing global models to generate local models for electronic devices in an environment, and techniques for utilizing the global models and/or the local models to provide notifications that are based on anomalies detected within the environment. For instance, a remote system may receive an identifier associated with an electronic device and identify a global model using the identifier. The remote system may then receive data indicating state changes of the electronic device and use the data and the global model to generate a local model associated with the electronic device. Using the global model and/or local model, the remote system can identify anomalies associated with the electronic device and, in response to identifying an anomaly, notify the user. The remote system can further cause the electronic device to change states after receiving a request from the user.

As the processing power available to devices and associated support services continues to increase, it has become practical to interact with users in new ways. In particular, it is becoming practical to interact with users through speech. Many devices are now capable of receiving and responding to voice commands, including personal computers, smartphones, tablet devices, media devices, entertainment devices, industrial systems, voice-based assistants, and so forth. In some instances, a user may interact with a device using such voice commands in order to cause the device to control another device, such as by powering on or powering off the other device.

State detection and responses for electronic devices


A docking apparatus for connecting a portable computer to an expansion device, comprises an elongated flat bar having two unitary stop bars at two opposite ends thereof at right angles for holding a portable computer therebetween. The stop bars have dowels on back faces thereof respectively fastened in holes on an expansion device for positioning, the flat bar relative to the expansion device. The elongated flat bar has two output terminals on a back face thereof respectively connected to two input terminals on the expansion device, and a plurality of input terminals electrically connected to the output terminals for connecting the output terminals of a portable computer to the flat bar.

The present invention relates to a docking station apparatus, and more particularly, the present invention relates to a docking station apparatus for connecting an unmatched portable computer to an expansion device.
Various portable computers are known and in use for the advantages of mobility. However, a portable computer is still no match for a desk-top computer in functions. In order to increase the functions of a portable computer, expansion apparatus may be used. For example, the "Portable Note-Book Computer Expansion Device" as disclosed in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 696,758, now approved, was designed for this purpose. Because an expansion device is to be used in connecting a specific apparatus to a specific model of computer, its usage is limited.

Docking station apparatus for portable computer


A method for producing infrared ZnS domes comprises forming green body by CIP and sintering by hot pressing. In the present invention, the pressure transfers through inert particles hence distributes uniformly while the shape of the dome is controlled by a lower punch head. The ZnS ceramic domes produced by the method of the present invention are of uniform infrared properties with high yield.

Infrared detection technology plays very important roles in the modern national defense technology, such as missile guidance, infrared observation, targeting, and other areas. Infrared dome is an important component for the missile seeker, which protects the internal components of the system and transfers the infrared signal at the same time. ZnS is common material for both mid-wave and long-wave infrared domes because of its wide transmittance range. At present, chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and hot pressing sintering are the main methods for ZnS manufacture. The CVD method can yield products with good optical quality, but the growth period is long and the cost is high. The CVD method is suitable for the growth of flat products but have difficulty for domes with cavities.
Hot pressing sintering, another technique for producing ZnS, is short in production cycle. However, the method is suitable for flat sheet with uniform thickness. FIG. 1 shows the schematic section view of the existing technology for ZnS production by hot pressing sintering.
The hot pressing mold 20 consists of outer die 23, upper punch 21, and lower punch 22. The flat pressing ZnS product is restricted in the space surrounded by outer die 23, upper punch 21, and lower punch 22. During the sintering process, the hydraulic pressure is transmitted to the upper punch 21 and the lower punch 22, and hence compresses the products. However, for uneven samples, especially for the domes with cavities, the main issue for hot pressing sintering is the difference in compress ratio, resulted from the variation of thickness along the pressing direction. The thin part with large compress ratio is compressed strongly, while contrary for the thick part. So, such difference will leads to pressure variation, as well as micro-structure and property variation on products. Generally, the pressure of ZnS hot pressing is very high. For example, in "Hot pressing polycrystalline ZnS," New Inorganic Materials, 1978, 45-47, ZnS with transmittance at 8-14 μm was prepared by hot pressing sintering under 300-400 MPa at 700-850° C. JP61-205659 (1986.9.11) discloses the hot pressing of infrared polycrystalline ZnS under 146-292 MPa at 770-965° C. Under such high pressure, the difference in compress ratio will often causes residual stress and cracks. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain infrared transparent ZnS domes with uniform micro-structures and properties. In the present technology, high temperature alloy materials are usually used as hot pressing mold, such as GB934421A (hot pressing polycrystalline zinc sulfide, the Journal of inorganic materials 1973-3-25), metal molybdenum, GH4049, K403, GH4037, pyromet 625, etc. The purity of ZnS powders for infrared materials is no less than 99.95% with metal ion impurity content <0.01%, according to the disclosed prior art.
JPH07242910A discloses a hot pressing sintering method using flowable particles to transfer pressure, in which the products are embodied in high melting point particles. However, in the method, the compress ratios are different in pressure direction and the vertical direction. Secondly, the method cannot be used in the manufacture of sintered bodies with cavities, such as the domes, because of different compress ratios. Furthermore, the products need to be pre-sintered without pressure in the method. However, the cubic ZnS transforms to hexagonal wurtzite phase when the temperature is elevated up to 1020° C. The ZnS powder cannot be pre-sintered evidently under the transform point without external pressure. Hence, the method cannot be used to manufacture infrared ZnS domes.

Shanghai Institute of Optics And Fine Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences


A firearm magazine loader includes a housing and a magazine guide. The magazine guide is at least partially received within the housing. The magazine guide defines a magazine guide cartridge portal that is proximately aligned with a housing guide cover channel. The magazine guide coordinates the movement of a guide slide coupled to the housing. The magazine guide cartridge portal receives the firearm cartridge and the guide slide maneuvers the firearm cartridge into the firearm magazine.

Firearm magazines are usually loaded with ammunition by hand, which is a tedious manual process. The process of hand-loading requires a fair amount of manual dexterity and finger strength. Generally hand-loading a detachable magazine requires the use of both hands; one hand to hold steady the magazine body and the other hand to align the cartridge for insertion and apply pressure to feed the cartridge through the tapered edges on the magazine portal. The hand-loading process is slow and laborious. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a firearm magazine loader that is: (1) simple to assemble, (2) simple to prepare, and (3) simple to operate for loading cartridges into a detachable firearm magazine.


The reference character 5 denotes a supporting shaft holding base, which holds the lower end of a supporting shaft 103 coated with fluororesin with a small frictional coefficient. The reference characters 107a and 107b are tracking magnets bipolar-magnetized in the right and left direction, which are fixed to a fixing base 1 by bonding. The character 108 denotes a mirror for reflecting a light beam 2 incident from the front in the vertical upward direction. The character 6 denotes a lens holder formed of a plastic material, or the like, with light weight and high stiffness, which holds objective lenses 3 and 4 corresponding to a plurality of optical information recording media with different substrate thicknesses and different recording densities at positions eccentrically displaced by almost equal distances from the supporting shaft 103.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to objective lens driving devices and optical information recording/regenerating devices, and particularly to an objective lens driving device and an optical information recording/regenerating device for recording or regenerating information to a plurality of optical information recording media of different kinds with different substrate thicknesses, different recording sensitivities, etc. in a single optical information recording/regenerating device.
2. Description of the Background Art
Optical information recording/regenerating devices have widely spread which optically record and regenerate information using a laser beam such as a semiconductor laser beam, as a light source. In an optical information recording medium used in such a device, e.g., in a read-only compact disc, information is carved in the form of spiral unevenness at intervals of about 1.6 .mu.m on a 1.2 mm thick polycarbonate substrate. The laser beam is applied onto the information surface through the 1.2 mm thick polycarbonate substrate to detect information as a change in intensity of reflected light.
Generally, it is common that the laser beam is applied through a transparent substrate by the optical information recording/regenerating devices as described above, but optical information recording/regenerating media having substrate thicknesses and information track pitches different from those of the compact disc are appearing in order to achieve recording densities higher than that of the compact disc. However, to regenerate such optical information recording media with different substrate thicknesses and track pitches with a conventional optical information recording/regenerating device has been extremely difficult or impossible.
This is due to the following facts: First, since the objective lens for condensing and applying the light beam onto the optical information recording medium is designed so that the aberration becomes the smallest for the thickness of the used substrate, large aberrations occur for a substrate with a different thickness and a light spot which is condensed enough to regenerate information is not formed. Second, the difference in track pitch means a difference in recording density of the optical information recording medium, so that recording and regeneration of information are difficult without using an objective lens dedicated for that recording density.
One method for solving this problem is to switch objective lenses to adapt to different optical information recording media. A conventional optical information recording/regenerating device, however, has an objective lens driving device which is finely movable for focus adjustment and tracking adjustment, but the objective lens driving device does not have a function of switching objective lenses adapted to the respective different optical information recording media.

Optical information processing device having switchable optics for use with plural media types


A support bracket for holding interior components of a vehicle includes a base plate and an add-on module, which are engageable with each other to facilitate replacement and maintenance.

In passenger transport vehicles often numerous installations are provided for several purposes. These are often accompanied by supply or data cables or supply ducts, which may be fixed to an interior wall of the vehicle. While bulky and heavy installations are usually supported on structural components, such as frames, lightweight installations are often installed through brackets attached to the interior wall.
In case the vehicle comprises a vehicle body or a fuselage that is based on fiber reinforced plastics material, it is known to include brackets to the skin by bonding them directly to the material. However, brackets may be damaged during the operation of the vehicle due to vibration or acceleration induced loads and a replacement is required. The replacement of directly bonded brackets is time-consuming and requires the lot of effort. The brackets must be released from their installation position by destroying the bond and by reworking the surface. Afterwards, a new bracket has to be bonded to the skin again.

Support bracket for holding interior components of a vehicle


A coating composition in the form of a one or multi-part system, and method of applying such a composition under conditions of controlled humidity, for use in coating device surfaces to control and/or improve their ability to release bioactive agents in aqueous systems. The coating composition is particularly adapted for use with medical devices that undergo significant flexion and/or expansion in the course of their delivery and/or use, such as stents and catheters. The composition includes the bioactive agent in combination with a first polymer component such as polyalkyl(meth)acrylate, polyaryl(meth)acrylate, polyaralkyl(meth)acrylate, or polyaryloxyalkyl(meth)acrylate and a second polymer component such as poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate).

Many surgical interventions require the placement of a medical device into the body. While necessary and beneficial for treating a variety of medical conditions, the placement of metal or polymeric devices in the body gives rise to numerous complications. Some of these complications include: increased risk of infection; initiation of a foreign body response resulting in inflammation and fibrous encapsulation; and initiation of a wound healing response resulting in hyperplasia and restenosis. These, and other complications must be dealt with when introducing a metal or polymeric device into the body.
One approach to reducing the potential harmful effects of such an introduction is to attempt to provide a more biocompatible implantable device. While there are several methods available to improve the biocompatibility of implantable devices, one method which has met with limited success is to provide the device with the ability to deliver bioactive compounds to the vicinity of the implant. By so doing, some of the harmful effects associated with the implantation of medical devices can be diminished. Thus, for example, antibiotics can be released from the surface of the device to minimize the possibility of infection, and anti-proliferative drugs can be released to inhibit hyperplasia. Another benefit to the local release of bioactive agents is the avoidance of toxic concentrations of drugs which are sometimes necessary, when given systemically, to achieve therapeutic concentrations at the site where they are needed.
Although the potential benefits expected from the use of medical devices capable of releasing pharmaceutical agents from their surfaces is great, the development of such medical devices has been slow. This development has been hampered by the many challenges that need to be successfully overcome when undertaking said development. Some of these challenges are: 1) the requirement, in some instances, for long term release of bioactive agents; 2) the need for a biocompatible, non-inflammatory device surface; 3) the need for significant durability, particularly with devices that undergo flexion and/or expansion when being implanted or used in the body; 4) concerns regarding processability, to enable the device to be manufactured in an economically viable and reproducible manner; and 5) the requirement that the finished device be sterilizable using conventional methods.
Several implantable medical devices capable of delivering medicinal agents have been described. Several patents are directed to devices utilizing biodegradable or bioresorbable polymers as drug containing and releasing coatings, including Tang et al, U.S. Pat. No. 4,916,193 and MacGregor, U.S. Pat. No. 4,994,071. Other patents are directed to the formation of a drug containing hydrogel on the surface of an implantable medical device, these include Amiden et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,221,698 and Sahatjian, U.S. Pat. No. 5,304,121. Still other patents describe methods for preparing coated intravascular stents via application of polymer solutions containing dispersed therapeutic material to the stent surface followed by evaporation of the solvent. This method is described in Berg et al, U.S. Pat. No. 5,464,650.
However, there remain significant problems to be overcome in order to provide a therapeutically significant amount of a bioactive compound on the surface of the implantable medical device. This is particularly true when the coated composition must be kept on the device in the course of flexion and/or expansion of the device during implantation or use. It is also desirable to have a facile and easily processable method of controlling the rate of bioactive release from the surface of the device.
Although a variety of hydrophobic polymers have previously been described for use as drug release coatings, Applicant has found that only a small number possess the physical characteristics that would render them useful for implantable medical devices which undergo flexion and/or expansion upon implantation. Many polymers which demonstrate good drug release characteristics, when used alone as drug delivery vehicles, provide coatings that are too brittle to be used on devices which undergo flexion and/or expansion. Other polymers can provoke an inflammatory response when implanted. These or other polymers demonstrate good drug release characteristics for one drug but very poor characteristics for another.
Some polymers show good durability and flexibility characteristics when applied to devices without drug, but lose these favorable characteristics when drug is added. Furthermore, often times the higher the concentration of drugs or the thicker the application of polymer to the device surface, the poorer the physical characteristics of the polymer become. It has been very difficult to identify a polymer which provides the proper physical characteristics in the presence of drugs and one in which the drug delivery rate can be controlled by altering the concentration of the drug in the polymer or the thickness of the polymer layer.
Applicants have previously provided an implantable medical device that can undergo flexion and/or expansion upon implantation, and that is also capable of delivering a therapeutically significant amount of a pharmaceutical agent or agents from the surface of the device. Applicant's issued U.S. Pat. No. 6,214,901 and published PCT Application No. WO 00/55396 provide a coating composition that comprises at least one polyalkyl(meth)acrylate, as a first polymeric component and poly(ethylene-co-vinyl acetate) ("pEVA") as a second polymeric component, and describe the use of such compositions for coating an implant surface using any suitable means, e.g., by dipping, spraying and the like.
While certainly suitable for their intended use, Applicants have found that devices coated with such compositions have the potential to exhibit properties with detectable, and undesirable, variability, for instance, when evaluated using an "accelerated bioactive release" test method, or a "bioactive agent elution" test method, as described herein. It would be helpful to find ways of affecting, and preferably controlling, the potential for such variability, in order to provide coated devices with uniform properties.
Various other references relate to the use of coatings to provide implantable medical devices with bioactive agents. See, for instance, US 20020007213, and published PCT Application Nos. WO 200187372, WO 200187373, WO 200187374, WO 200187375, WO 200187376, WO 200226139, WO 200226271, WO 200226281, WO 200187342, and WO 200187263
Finally, Applicant's corresponding US application, filed on a date even herewith and having Attorney Docket No. 9896.129.10, describes the use of one or more aromatic poly(meth)acrylate polymers selected from the group consisting of polyaryl(meth)acrylates, polyaralkyl(meth)acrylates, and polyaryloxyalkyl(meth)acrylates as the first polymeric component in such a composition.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Bioactive agent release coating and controlled humidity method


A method for adding an additional layer to an integrated circuit, the method including providing an integrated circuit having an interconnect layer, depositing, over substantially all of an exposed surface of the integrated circuit, an additional layer of material whose conductivity can be altered, and selectively altering the conductivity of a first portion of the additional layer by selective annealing, to produce a sub-circuit in the additional layer, the sub-circuit being in operative electrical communication with the integrated circuit. Related apparatus and methods are also described.

Security integrated circuits, commonly known as "security chips", are of use to those wanting to protect information, data transmissions or value (typically monetary). These security chips protect data by storing it in secure memory or transmit data securely through the use of cryptography implemented on chip. There are many reasons for using these products including secure banking cards, secure access systems and secure personal identity systems. It is known in the art to protect these chips from invasive attacks whereby criminals and other agents attack the card to try to obtain, change or use secret information on the card.
One type of attack involves trying to place contacts onto internal chip nodes in order to read internal data traffic. This may be achieved by probing, using fine needles to break through the surface passivation to reach the fine metal tracks. Alternatively focused ion beam (FIB) may be used to deposit pads of metal onto the tracks for subsequent probing or bonding by wires. However it is achieved, measuring the signals on internal chip nodes represents an attack, and if successful this attack may render the chip and entire system on which it is based, insecure.
Shields to protect a chip from the above attacks exist at present; they are typically divided into two categories, active and passive. Passive shields are simple metal layers over all or part of the circuit and are designed to prevent viewing and probing. Passive shields may be removed by chemical, plasma or other techniques without changing the operation of the circuit. In other words, a passive shield works to deter attackers by making viewing more difficult initially, but will not actively defend itself against removal.
Active shields may look similar or may look more like a network of lines covering all or part of a circuit. If a line or part of the shield is removed, severed or short-circuited to another line, the breach is detected and the chip halts some or all functions.
Active shields may still be breached using, for example, the following technique. An active shield line is identified as above the circuit element to be attacked. The shield line is bypassed using the ability of the FIB system previously mentioned. The bypass is in the form of a diversion track added in parallel to the original shield track. The original shield track may now be removed leaving the new bypass to fool the detection circuit. No circuit break is detected.
The following references are believed to represent the state of the art:
U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,918 to Gat et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,583,011 to Pechar;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,766,516 to Ozdemir et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 4,920,402 to Nakaya et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,336,624 to Walden;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,468,990 to Daum;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,783,846 to Baukus et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,821,582 to Daum;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,571 to Rollender et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,866,933 to Baukus et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,930,663 to Baukus et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 5,973,375 to Baukus et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,064,110 to Baukus et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,117,762 to Baukus et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,294,816 to Baukus et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,360,321 to Gressel et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,661 to Baukus et al;
U.S. Pat. No. 6,720,656 to Matsumoto;
US Published Patent Application 2001/0033012 of Koemmerling et al;
US Published Patent Application 2002/0173131 of Clark JR et al;
PCT Published Patent Application WO 97/29567 of Fortress U & T Ltd.;
PCT Published Patent Application WO 01/50530 of Koemmerling et al;
PCT Published Patent Application WO 01/54194 of NDS Limited;
EP Published Patent Application No. EP 0 585 601 of Hughes Electronics Corporation;
EP Published Patent Application No. EP 0 940 851 of Hughes Electronics Corporation; and
An article entitled "Infineon Introduces Chip Card Controllers for Improved Security of Electronic Identity Cards and Passports", available on the World Wide Web at www.infineon.com/cgi/ecrm.dll/jsp/showfrontend.do?lang=EN&BV_SessionID=@@@@0590998578.1109855404@@@@&BV_EngineID=ccchadddmlfiddkcflg cegndfifdfoh.0&content_=NEWS&content_oid=107623&news_nav_oid=9979.
The disclosures of all references mentioned above and throughout the present specification, as well as the disclosures of all references mentioned in those references, are hereby incorporated herein by reference.

Method for shielding integrated circuits


A semiconductor die is mounted to a die receiving area, which is defined by inner ends of conductive leads to which the die is connected. The die is temporarily retained in a substantially fixed position relative to the die receiving area by various techniques for the purpose of permitting bond wires to be attached between the conductive leads and the die. Preferred techniques include employing a mechanical chuck, dispensing an adhesive between the die and its die receiving area, and forming an ultrasonic bond between the die and the die receiving area. Once electrical connections between the die and the conductive lines are formed, the die need not be retained in a fixed position, as the electrical connections will provide sufficient support for the die. Accordingly, conventional die attach techniques, which expose the semiconductor die to substantially elevated temperatures, are avoided. Further, dies so mounted, which are not firmly anchored in accordance with conventional the attach techniques, are not subjected to mechanical stresses resulting from a difference in die thermal expansion between the die and its die receiving area.

Typically, a large number of integrated circuits are formed on a silicon wafer. The silicon wafer is then sliced into individual "semiconductor dies" (also referred to as "semiconductor chips") which are then packaged for use.
A "semiconductor device package" typically includes a semiconductor die having a number of bond pads for the purpose of making electrical connections to the integrated circuitry of the die, and is mounted such that the bond pads are exposed. Bond pads, which provide input/output ("I/O") connections to a die, are typically placed along the edges of the die. Inner ends of conductive lines (also referred to as conductive traces, bond fingers, lead fingers or leads) are disposed around the periphery of the die such that they form an array of connection points surrounding the die. A die is typically mounted or attached in a die-receiving area of the semiconductor device package, that is, the area defined by the inner ends of the conductive lines.
Once the semiconductor die is attached, bond pads of a semiconductor die are connected to the connection points provided by the inner ends of conductive lines in one of several ways. Very thin bond wires, usually formed of aluminum or gold, are often used to connect the connections points on a one-for-one basis with the bond pads on the semiconductor die. Tape-automated and solder bump bonding techniques have been employed to connect to the semiconductor die.
Conductive lines extend outward from the die-receiving area, ultimately ending at the external pins of the semiconductor device package, for interfacing with external circuitry and providing electrical connection therewith. The semiconductor device package may be mounted in a socket on a circuit board, typically with additional components.
In the past, dies have been anchored to die receiving areas in an effort to preclude any movement of the die. This is to prevent the die from moving while forming connections between the die and the connection points of the conductive lines. Various die attach techniques have been used. Typical techniques involve interposing an adhesive substance between a die and the die receiving area. In some instances, other die attach materials have been used which were heated in order to form a bond between the die and the die receiving area. Conventional eutectic die attach techniques deposit a layer of gold on the back of a die and mount the die over a layer of gold-silicon provided in the die receiving area. Such techniques provide a bond formed between the die and the die receiving area when exposed to elevated temperatures above 425.degree. C. Other conventional die attach techniques have employed polymers (such as epoxy materials), glass, silver filled glass, and solders, as die attach materials. Placement of the die attach material and its subsequent heating have been burdensome and laborious tasks. Conventional die attach techniques require a manufacturer to incur the cost of die attach materials, such as gold and silver filled glass, which adds to the manufacturing costs. As a result, conventional die attach techniques have been relatively expensive.
One drawback of conventional die attach techniques has been the requirement of heating a die attach material to cure it, because this step in the process also exposes the semiconductor die to elevated temperatures. Ever decreasing geometries of circuit elements are available on a die. In the past, elevated temperatures have caused those circuit elements to fuse together, rendering the die inoperable. Moreover, the structural integrity of the die itself may be compromised by the thermal stresses applied to the die when the die is exposed to elevated temperatures.
Anchoring a die to a die receiving area poses several problems. Heat is inevitably generated during operation of circuitry on a die. The problem of heat dissipation is especially relevant in semiconductor dies that have a high lead count (e.g., high I/O) or which operate at high speeds, both of which may contribute significantly to the generation of heat by the die. Efforts to deal with heat have included the addition of heat sinks bonded to the die. Semiconductor dies generally expand when heated. The rate of expansion is usually a different rate than the expansion of any of a heatsink or other structure to which the die is bonded. At elevated temperatures (or at temperatures significantly different from the temperature at which the die was attached), such differential rates of expansion can cause mechanical stresses which can crack the die (which is relatively brittle), resulting in complete failure of the die.
Conventional semiconductor die attachment techniques have not been altogether satisfactory, and leave room for significant improvement. A technique for mounting semiconductor dies is needed that overcomes the shortcomings of conventional die attachment techniques.

Technique for mounting a semiconductor die


A bicycle chest support movable between a first position under the bicyclist's chest and to a second non-use position away from under the bicyclist, such structure having a chest support member pivotally mounted on an adjustable support column which in turn is pivotally mounted on the bicycle's handle stem.

1. Field of the Invention
The device of this invention resides in the field of bicycles and more particularly relates to a device for supporting the chest of a bicyclist when riding a bicycle.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Bicycles with handles that curve downward for grasping enable a bicyclist to position his/her body in a low, aerodynamic position. Bicycle accessories referred to as Aerobars have been developed to enable a bicyclist to remain in such low position with elbows resting on supports and with a projection extending forward which the bicyclist can grasp for steering control. Maintaining a low, aerodynamic position for long periods of time is difficult for a bicyclist and causes the rider's shoulders to hunch upwards, causing tension and strain in the back and torso of the rider. Fatigue builds up over time in the bicyclist who supports his body on either handlebars or on Aerobars.


The invention concerns a process and an apparatus for producing hollow bodies of thermoplastic material by means of extrusion blow molding. A tubular preform of plasticised material is expanded beyond parts of a blow molding mold enclosing it, by means of increased external pressure, wherein the preform, prior to closure of the mold halves, is spread transversely with respect to the extrusion direction and in a separation plane of the blow molding mold, in such a way that it extends between the lateral edges of the mold cavity of the blow molding mold. Prior to removal of the article from the blow molding mold, the bulge portion produced after closure of the blow molding mold is cut open along its length at each of the two sides of the mold at the respective edges extending in the extrusion direction.

One form of process for producing hollow bodies of thermoplastic material, as can be found for example in German specification DE-AS No 1 178 580, provides that a tubular preform of plasticised material is expanded between parts of a blow molding mold enclosing the preform, by means of an increased internal pressure within the preform. Prior to closure of the mold halves to constitute the closed mold cavity, the preform is spread transversely with respect to the extrusion direction and in a separation plane of the blow molding mold, so that the preform extends beyond the lateral edges of the mold cavity. With that process, the preform is drawn apart by means of spreading mandrels, immediately prior to closure of the blow molding mold, in such a way that the preform extends substantially over the entire width of the mold cavity before the mold halves are closed. That process is used primarily for producing hollow bodies of a flat cross-section in which the width of the hollow body is a multiple of its depth.
If the production of such articles involves extruding a usual tubular preform of circular cross-section, then expansion of the preform in the blow molding mold entails extremely detrimental distribution of the material in the wall of the finished product as the tube constituting the preform has to be very greatly stretched in one direction during the expansion procedure whereas it undergoes scarcely any stretch at all in a direction perpendicular thereto.
In order to alleviate irregularities which are produced in that fashion in terms of the wall thickness of the finished product, above-quoted DE-AS No 1 178 580 involves spreading the tube constituting the preform prior to closure of the mold halves, in the separation plane of the blow molding mold. That provides that the initial configuration of the tubular intermediate article, which in itself is unsuitable for flat products, is suitably modified prior to the blow molding mold being closed. In this process the tubular preform is initially extruded over spreading mandrels which extend approximately over the entire height of the blow molding mold. Moving the spreading mandrels away from each other transversely with respect to the extrusion direction in the separation plane of the blow molding mold causes the preform to be spread out flat in the desired configuration. The mold halves of the mold are then closed. Prior to removal of the finished article from the mold the spreading mandrels have to be removed again therefrom. For that purpose the spreading mandrels are withdrawn from the bulge portion formed in the molded component outside the mold, in the extrusion direction.
It will be appreciated that this is difficult, particularly when producing large components of a preform length of one meter and more, as an appropriate amount of space has to be provided for the stroke movement to be performed by the spreading mandrels in the extrusion direction, while on the other hand there is a risk that the operation of withdrawing the mandrels after the blow molding mold is closed may take so much time that the material entirely or partially hardens around the spreading mandrels, and that would cause considerable difficulty in withdrawing the mandrels. For that reason the above-outlined process of DE-AS No 1 178 580 has not been put to use in a true practical context.
As an alternative to that procedure the preform can be expanded prior to closure of the blow molding mold, by a pre-blowing procedure.
It will be noted however that, in the production of large blow moldings, that procedure gives rise to problems insofar as a comparatively long period of time is required until the air has escaped from the preform, before the blow molding mold is closed. The larger the blow molding, the correspondingly longer is the cycle time that this entails, and that is not desirable for reasons of cost and in part is not truly practical from the technical point of view.

Process for producing hollow bodies of thermoplastic material and apparatus for same


A method to park a vehicle using a parking assistance system, a target position of the vehicle within a parking space is automatically determined. A parking process of the parking assistance system is considered successfully ended when the vehicle reaches the target position. In order to carry out the parking process of the parking assistance system, a steering intervention in a steering system of the vehicle is automatically activated. A state that prevents the target position from being reached is automatically detected during the parking process. Depending on the state, the target position is newly determined and the parking process is continued with the newly determined target position.

According to the prior art, see, for example, DE 10 2007 009 745 A1, it is known to change a parking path as a function of an obstacle which is sensed during the parking.
In contrast, the present invention successfully concludes a parking process even if an obstacle makes it impossible to park on an originally planned position within a parking space.
This is achieved by means of a method for parking a vehicle as claimed in claim 1, by means of a parking assistance system as claimed in claim 6 and by means of a vehicle as claimed in claim 8. The dependent claims disclose various embodiments.

Method for parking a vehicle and corresponding parking assistance system and vehicle


A method and an arrangement for the detection of a coil in an electronic circuit, which is operated with a direct voltage lying within a prescribed voltage range, and in which the coil together with a condenser forms an electrical oscillating circuit.

The present technology, in general, concerns a method and an arrangement for the detection of a coil in an electronic circuit, which is operated with a direct voltage lying within a prescribed voltage range, and in which the coil, together with a condenser, forms an electrical oscillating circuit.
Circuits of this kind are in widespread use. In particular, they are operated in a voltage range between ground and a usually positive supply voltage, which is made available from an external voltage source or by means of a condenser present within the electronic circuit with appropriate voltage stabilisation. In the context of this document a coil is understood to be an electrical component with inductive properties and a condenser is understood to be an electrical component with capacitive properties, which together are able to form an electrical oscillating circuit.

Method and arrangement for the detection of a coil


Methods, systems and computer program products for identifying virtual machines that perform inconsistent with a profile are provided. Methods may include collecting initial virtual machine data corresponding to multiple virtual machines. Multiple virtual machine profiles are generated and each of the virtual machine profiles is associated with one of multiple virtual machine types. Ones of the virtual machines are associated with one of the virtual machine profiles based on the virtual machine data. Additional virtual machine data corresponding to ones of the virtual machines is collected. The additional virtual machine data is analyzed to detect a deviation of one of the virtual machines.

The present disclosure relates to computer systems, and in particular to managing virtual machines that are deployed in a virtualized computer environment.
Virtualized computer environments, which may include cloud computing systems, composite information technology systems and computer cluster systems, are used to provide computer resources or other computing resources to end users. In a cloud computing environment, the physical hardware configuration is hidden from the end user. Cloud computing systems may include servers, network storage devices, routers, gateways, communication links, software (e.g., applications, operating systems, web services, etc.), and other devices. However, because the physical hardware and software platforms on which cloud computing system is implemented are hidden within a "cloud," they can be managed, upgraded, replaced or otherwise changed by a system administrator without the customer being aware of or affected by the change.
In a typical cloud computer environment, applications may be executed on virtual machines, which are isolated guest operating systems installed within a host system. Virtual machines are typically implemented with software emulation, hardware virtualization, or both. A single hardware and/or software platform may host a number of virtual machines, each of which may have access to some portion of the platform's resources, such as program code processing resources, storage resources, display resources, communication interfaces, etc.
Virtual machines may be configured and/or implemented to perform specific tasks, operations or functions or to execute specific applications or types of applications. Performance of virtual machines, both individually and aggregately, may rely on the virtual machines performing in accordance with a specific configuration. As such, performance of virtual machines in a cloud computing environment may be compromised by deviations in virtual machine behavior.

Identifying virtual machines that perform inconsistent with a profile


The present invention relates to cellular mobile radio systems, and more especially it relates to Code Division Multiple Access, CDMA, cellular mobile radio systems, particularly to transmission power control in such systems. A method and apparatus for transmission of compensated TPC commands when a substantial loop delay is experienced for one or more user equipment entities is disclosed.

Transmission power control, TPC, transmitting single or multiple TPC bits from a radio base station, RBS, to a mobile station, MS, or vice versa informing the receiving party to increase or decrease the transmission power level, optionally by a specified amount, is previously known.
Transmission power control compensates for signal fading and interference dynamics at a receiver. Closed loop power control according to prior art is described in relation to FIG. 1. In closed loop power control received pilot channel signal to interference ratio, SIR, is measured at the receiving end (RBS for uplink). The level of the SIR equals the SIR or a quantized value thereof. The level of the SIR is compared with a target level. Information on the outcome of the comparison is fed back in the reverse direction in the form of TPC commands. Radio wave propagation and power control processing introduces a delay in the feedback loop. To achieve a feedback loop with minimum (one slot) delay, transmission power should be measured, responded to and controlled within one slot. The transmitting end adjusts transmission power in response to received TPC commands. The receiving end receives, at a propagation delayed time, a pilot signal transmitted at the adjusted level, closing the power control loop. If the level of measured SIR is larger than the target level, the receiving end transmits a command towards the transmitting end (MS for uplink) to decrease the power at the transmitting end. If the level of the measured SIR is smaller than or equal to the target level the transmitting end is correspondingly instructed to increase the transmission power. If the level of the measured SIR is close to equal to the target level interchanging commands of transmission power increase and decrease are transmitted to keep the transmission power close to constant. The command to increase or decrease transmission power is sent by means of one or more TPC bits. A TPC command determined accordingly and within a predetermined one slot loop delay, irrespective of whether it refers to uplink or downlink power control, is called a regular TPC command in this patent application.
In FIG. 1, an optional, dependent on slot format and link direction, TFCI field represents a Transport Format Combination Indicator for use e.g. when several simultaneous services are included.
3rd Generation Partnership Project (3GPP): Technical Specification Group Radio Access Network, Physical Layer Procedures, 3G TS 25.214 v3.3.0, France, June 2000, specifies in annex B.1 that timing of an uplink dedicated physical channel, DPCH, is delayed by 1024 chips from the corresponding downlink DPCH to maximize cell radius within which one-slot control delay can be achieved. In the sequel this maximum radius is referred to as the one-slot distance to the base station. Basically, according to the 3GPP technical specification a TPC command comprises one bit, indicating a power increase or decrease. However, the invention does not exclude basic TPC commands comprising more than one bit. Further according to the 3GPP technical specification, during soft handover there is one such basic TPC bit or TPC command for each of the links involved, to be combined into a TPC command. Consequently, the concept "TPC command" comprises both such basic and combined TPC commands. The 3GPP Technical Specification also describes out of synchronization handling. Briefly, poor quality link sets are indicated to be out of sync. Regarding uplink power control, the MS shall shut its transmitter off during downlink out-of-sync conditions. If the receive timing for any link, during soft handover, drifts to lie outside a valid range, information shall be provided, so that the network can adjust downlink timing. Regarding downlink power control, during out-of-sync periods the TPC command transmitted shall be set as "1", i.e. it shall indicate a power increase.
European Patent Application EP0955735 discloses a method, and base and mobile stations for locating transmission power control data and pilot data in relation to each other within a slot taking into account, processing delays and propagation delays and slot offsetting between uplink and downlink.
None of the cited documents above discloses a closed loop transmission power control, TPC, with the location of TPC data within a slot fixed for two or more slots in relation to pilot symbols, the power control being adaptive to loop delays varying to be larger than or smaller than the duration of one slot.

Method and system of transmission power control


Provided is a robot system which includes: a robot; a controller controlling the robot and causing the robot to operate in a plurality of operation modes; and a display device attached on the robot and caused by the controller to operate in patterns in accordance with the operation modes, the patterns being different from one another. The display device includes: a sheet-like base part being deformable in a shape in accordance with an outer surface of the robot and having flexibility; one or more display parts fixed on the base part; and a fixture maintaining the base part in a state in which the base part is attached on the outer surface of the robot.

A robot which includes a display device incorporated into a movable part to display an operating state of the movable part has been known (for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2016-043457). As the display device, a ring light including LEDs arranged in positions surrounding the whole circumference of an end effector as the movable part is shown therein.


A method of searching for availability of an entity for purchase or reservation. The method comprises the steps of searching for an entity matching a search criterion to obtain a list of entities, wherein the or each entity comprises a parameter having a predetermined availability; automatically searching for one or more available parameters associated with the or each entity at substantially the same time; incrementally generating a list of each entity and one or more available parameters associated therewith to generate a list of entity and available parameters as the automatic search provides one or more results, and displaying the list as it is generated for selection by a user of a predetermined combination of entity and parameter.

There are many kinds of booking system in the travel industry or in the entertainment industry, which allow a user to find a specific seat or room by means of a searching system. For example, in the travel industry, if the user wants to book a room in a hotel through a website, the process is as follows. At first, the user has to enter criteria in the required fields on the website in order to launch a first request to obtain a corresponding list of hotels matching the criteria. Thus the booking system displays an exhaustive list of all hotels matching the criteria. These hotels generally have at least one available room. The list of the hotels comprises the name of the hotels and a price per night, which is an indication price. This indication price, also called the "starting from" price, is a specific price dedicated to the online booking engine being used. If the user wants to check if other prices are available outside the particular online booking prices, the user must send a new request to each hotel in the list of hotels to obtain for each hotel the other rates and corresponding services if required. This process is a sequential process which has many drawbacks for the booking system and the user. In fact, this sequential search requires a significant amount of time to display the first list of all matching hotels at a first time. Also, the server at the booking system needs to be able to manage a significant amount of data in order to display the whole list of results or hotels that match the search criteria.
Certain solutions exist in order to limit the amount of displayed hotels in the results list. US 2004/0249684 describes a solution where the booking system always stores availability data sent by the in-house booking system of a specific hotel. Thus when a user makes a request, the results presented show a combination of the hotel chosen and a corresponding available room in the result list. The available room may also have an indication of a specific rate and available services at the hotel. However, there is only one price displayed for each hotel, which is generally the lowest applicable price. Furthermore, as the booking system of a specific hotel only transmits availability data through a polling communication, the user may encounter discrepancies whilst selecting the rate. In fact the rate may no longer be available or the prices may have changed and the user has to re-check the real time availability information for the selected room. Therefore the user may not always have the correct availability information or it may require additional time to obtain this information. The user may also not have all the available rates for each hotel.

Method and system for searching availability of an entity for purchase or reservation