A printer controller for supplying dot data to at least one printhead module and at least partially compensating for errors in ink dot placement by at least one of a plurality of nozzles on the printhead module due to erroneous rotational displacement of the printhead module relative to a carrier, the printer being configured to access a correction factor associated with the at least one printhead module; determine an order in which at least some of the dot data is supplied to at least one of the at least one printhead modules, the order being determined at least partly on the basis of the correction factor, thereby to at least partially compensate for the rotational displacement; and supply the dot data to the printhead module.

When a printhead module is being mounted to a carrier, there is the possibility that the position of the printhead will be rotationally erroneous. Such errors arise due to the tolerances in the assembly process.
In cases where the printhead module is short, and particularly where it is the only module in the printhead, minor rotational errors may be acceptable. However, in the case of long printheads, the amount of error introduced to dot positions due to the erroneous rotational position of the printhead module relative to the carrier may reach noticeable, and therefore unacceptable (or at least undesirable) levels.
The problem is exacerbated when multiple printhead modules are laid end to end to form a printhead, such as a pagewidth printhead, due to the fact that some forms of rotational error will cause discontinuities between adjacent modules. In general, these discontinuities are more visible and objectionable than mere consistent skew across a single printhead module.
It would be useful to provide a printer controller for at least partially compensating for errors in ink dot placement due to erroneous rotational displacement of a printhead module relative to a carrier.

Printer controller for at least partially compensating for erroneous rotational displacement


An apparatus, system, and method for an optical shutter with a rotational axis in the light path of a projection device are disclosed herein.

Multimedia projection systems have become popular for purposes such as conducting sales demonstrations, business meetings, classroom training, and for use in home theaters. In typical operation, multimedia projection systems receive analog video signals from an input device and convert the video signals to digital information to control one or more digitally driven light valves. Depending on the cost, brightness, and image quality goals of the particular projection systems, the light valves may be of various sizes and resolutions, be transmissive or reflective, and be employed in single or multiple display configurations.
Current projection systems are capable of creating millions of colors by using light valve pixels to selectively transmit or reflect primary colored light through a projection lens for viewing. However, current projection systems have difficulty reproducing frames with wide ranges in luminances from deep black to bright white, while still providing adequate resolutions. This is particularly noticeable in frames primarily composed of image pixels on the darker end of the luminance spectrum.

Optical shutter with rotational axis in light path of projection device


A method of determining relevancies of objects to a search query includes associating multiple tags with multiple objects, recording bookmarks to the multiple objects, or both, and determining a relevance score for each of the multiple objects and a search query. One embodiment of the method combines full-text relevance algorithms with tag relevance algorithms. Other embodiments include statistical relevance algorithms such as statistical classification or rank regression algorithms. When a user executes a search query, a results list containing the objects is returned, with the objects organized based on the relevance scores. The objects are organized by, for example, listing those with the highest relevance scores first or by marking them with an indication of their relevance. Preferably, relevance scores for a tag-object pair are based on a number of times a term in the tag has been associated with the object, a number of tags associated with the object, a number of times that the tag has been associated with the multiple objects, a number of tag-object pairs that contain a term in the tag, a number of tag-object pairs that contain a reference to the object, or any combination of these.

Internet search engines are designed to locate desired information from amongst the vast amount of information contained across the Internet. Users describe the information they are looking for by entering queries containing search terms. The search engine matches the search terms against an index of Web pages using a variety of relevance calculations with the objective of identifying those Web pages that are most likely related to the information sought by the users. The search engine then returns a ranked list of hyperlinks to these Web pages, with links to those pages thought to be most relevant nearer the top of the list.
The objective of search engines is to deliver the most relevant Web pages for a given query. Search engines determine the relevance of Web pages using a variety of techniques by, for example, considering information contained within each page, such as the presence, density, and proximity of the search terms within the document, considering information relating to hyperlinks between the Web pages, or the behavior of the user, such as clicking on, browsing, or rating results or Web pages. These techniques may be applied separately or together in various combinations to achieve the best result.
The process of determining which Web pages are most relevant is very difficult because the number of Web pages on the Internet is very large and growing, and there are often a large number of Web pages that nominally satisfy the users' queries. As well, most users are not sophisticated in the process of creating and entering well-formed queries, so there is ambiguity in what type of information they are seeking. Therefore, determining which documents are most relevant to the query by comparing the words in the query to words in the documents provides results of limited accuracy.
When users browse or search the Internet, they may "bookmark" various objects, such as Web pages, images, topics, Weblogs (also called "blogs") or other objects by recording a reference to the object. These bookmarks may contain one or more "tags", consisting of one or more terms, which the user associates with the object, a hyperlink to the object (a Uniform Resource Locator or "URL"), a mechanism for recording the relationship, and potentially other information. These bookmarks assist the user in recalling the object and any tags to assist in recalling or communicating to others what the object bookmarked is about. For example, if a user visits a Web page that describes solar power panels for the roof, he might bookmark and associate a tag with the page using the term "solar power". He might also associate another Web page about a State solar power rebate program with the same tag using the term "solar power". As a result, the tag with the term "solar power" is associated with both Web pages.
There are several ways in which users might enter tags, for example using a server application, a small applet in the bookmarks toolbar, a browser plug-in or extension, a client application or some other application. Once tags have been entered, it is usual to allow users to search for these tags, in order to display those Web pages associated with the tags. To date, services have been created that allow users to search their own tags, or to search other people's tags.
Bookmarks provide some kind of indication that a user values an object such as a Web page, and tags additionally provide some kind of indication that a user associates a certain term or terms with the object. This information is potentially valuable in determining whether or not that Web page should be displayed as a result of a query from a search engine, since it is an indication of actual human interest in that Web page, and an association with a particular subject.
It would be desirable to have a search engine that considers the tags associated with various Web pages, images, blogs or other objects in determining which Web pages, images, blogs or other objects are relevant to the user's queries.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Systems for and methods of finding relevant documents by analyzing tags


A heat dissipating structure having different compactness assembled from a plurality of small heat dissipating fins, thereby forming heat dissipation areas having different spacing. The heat dissipating fins are stamp formed from single strips, and spacing of each of the heat dissipating fins is predetermined when assembling to constitute the structure. The heat dissipating fins are completed from a single stamping, and can be assembled to form heat dissipation areas of different spacing to accommodate a cool air flow being fanned from different oriented fans, thereby reducing obstruction and disturbance of the air flow and rapidly and smoothly guiding the air flow to other heat dissipating fins. Moreover, the heat dissipating structure enlarges area of heat circulation, thereby augmenting speed of heat diffusion, improving heat dissipation effect on heat emitting from computer electronic components, and enhancing functionality of the fan.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat dissipating fin structure having different compactness, which uses an assembly of a plurality of small heat dissipating fins to form heat dissipation areas of different spacing that can be arranged to match the direction of air flow being fanned from a fan disposed in various different orientations, thereby improving temperature lowering and heat dissipation functionality for computer electronic components.
(b) Description of the Prior Art
Because a large quantity of heat is produced by electronic components when running at high speed, thus, in general, heat dissipating fins are additionally installed on the computer electronic components in order to prevent the accumulation of heat and avoid overheating and subsequent damage to the electronic components, which would further affect operating safety of the computer, Moreover, a forced air convection from a fan is used to augment heat conduction of the heat dissipating fins, thereby lowering the high temperature of the computer electronic components and dissipating heat produced therefrom, thus maintaining stability of the electronic components. However, a general heat dissipating device sold in the present market, as shown in FIG. 1, is primarily structured to include a fan (2) additionally installed in an appropriate space at a side of heat dissipating fins (1). The heat dissipating fins (1) are arranged to assume a channel form, and spacings between the adjacent heat dissipating fins (1) form a plurality of hot air outlets (3). When the heat dissipating device is installed on a surface of heating electronic components, and when the fan (2) is running, cool air is blown towards air inlets (4) and guided into the heat dissipating fins (1), which dissipate heat energy being conducted upward from the electronic components, thereby achieving heat dissipation functionality. It is well known that when a fan is running the cool air produced is transferred all around, thereby expelling hot air, and prior art heat dissipating fins having equal specifications and dimensions, when mutually joined and assembled, draw in air from the fixedly disposed fan. However, because the air flow from the fan is obstructed by the heat dissipating fins themselves, thus, they are unable to quickly diffuse heat from the electronic components, which results in an aggregation of residual hot air within the heat dissipating device that is detriment to dissipation of heat from the electronic components within a host computer. Hence, in order to increase contact surface area between the heat dissipating fins and heating electronic components, some manufacturers have exerted all efforts in finding a method to reduce spacing between each of the heat dissipating fins. However, assembling the heat dissipating fins too dense together results in a reduction in heat dissipation effect of the heat dissipating fins, along with a corresponding decrease in effectiveness of the heat dissipation functionality of the heat dissipating device. Furthermore, users of high performance computers must tolerate the noise produced by heightened air pressure from the fan when running. Hence, the requirement for quietness cannot be ignored in the pursuit of high performance.

Heat dissipating structure having different compactness


The present invention is a method for improving the strength and quality of thermoplastic welds by annealing the weld following its formation at a temperature of at least about 500.degree. F. (i.e., about 125.degree. F. below the melt) for about 20 minutes to control cooling of the weld.

The use of composites in primary structure in aerospace applications is limited today because of the relatively high cost. A significant contribution to the total cost is the assembly cost where the precured composite elements are assembled, drilled, and fastened. The necessary design for mechanical fastening complicates the structure, especially in thin sections, because of the need for access to both sides of the bond line.
While composites might be adhesively bonded, cocured, or welded, these connecting processes generally produce bonds that rely upon the resin matrix for strength. The bond line lacks any reinforcing material to help with load transfer. These bonds generally have modest strength, and are susceptible to disbonding with shock impact or other "out of plane" forces affecting the assembly. Such forces often arise in environments prone to vibration.

Post-weld annealing of thermoplastic welds


Embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to a support ring that supports a substrate in a process chamber. In one embodiment, the support ring comprises an inner ring, an outer ring connecting to an outer perimeter of the inner ring through a flat portion, an edge lip extending radially inwardly from an inner perimeter of the inner ring to form a supporting ledge, and a substrate support extending upwardly from a top surface of the edge lip. The substrate support may be a continuous ring-shaped body disposed around a circumference of the edge lip. The substrate support supports a substrate about its entire periphery from the back side with minimized contact surface to thermally disconnect the substrate from the edge lip. Particularly, the substrate support provides a substantial line contact with the back surface of the substrate.

Field
Embodiments of the disclosure generally relate to a support ring to support a substrate in a process chamber.
Description of the Related Art
In the processing of substrates, such as semiconducting substrates, the substrate is placed on a support in a process chamber and suitable processing conditions are maintained in the process chamber. For example, the substrate can be heated in a controlled heating cycle to thermally process the substrate. The substrate can be heated, for example, by an array of heating lamps disposed above and/or below the substrate in the chamber. Thermal processing can be used, for example, to anneal a layer that has been ion-implanted on the substrate, perform thermal oxidation or nitridation processes, or perform thermal chemical vapor deposition processes on the substrate.
It has been observed that variations in temperature gradients across the substrate can result in non-uniform processing of the substrate. Non-uniform temperatures occur at different substrate regions due to non-uniform convection or conduction heat losses from regions of the substrate in contact with the support (or other chamber components) and substrate regions not in contact with the support. The temperature gradients in the substrate can be reduced using a substrate support ring that extends inwardly from the chamber wall and surround a periphery of the substrate. Specifically, the substrate to be thermally processed is supported on its periphery by an edge of the support ring having an annular lip contacting the edge of the substrate. The support ring effectively expands or pushes out the temperature gradients in the substrate from the substrate periphery to the outer edges of the support ring. The overlapping of the substrate and the support ring also prevents or minimizes the leakage of the high-temperature radiant energy from the radiant heat source (typically disposed above the substrate) around the edge of the support ring on either its inner or outer side.
Support rings having an annular edge can fail to provide adequate temperature uniformity across the substrate in rapid heating rate processes, for example, processes having heating rates of at least about 200° C./second in a rapid thermal processing (RTP) system. In these processes, the difference in heating rates between the support ring and the substrate generates temperature gradients along the periphery of the substrate become unacceptably high during the heating process step. The substrate may also experience temperature variations caused by azimuthal variations in solid-solid thermal contact, largely by virtue of variable surface finish and planarity/flatness between the substrate and the support ring. In certain situations, since the substrate and the annular lip of the support ring overlap near the edge of the substrate, it is difficult to achieve uniform temperature profile near the edge by measuring and adjusting the temperature of the substrate alone. It is particularly difficult to achieve temperature uniformity across the substrate especially when the substrate is heated at reduced pressure (e.g., 3 Torr). This is because the contact resistance at the overlapping area between the substrate and the support ring is much larger at lower pressure (since flow through the intimate contact points is dominant), causing the temperature profile at edge of the substrate to be significantly higher than that at the central area.
Accordingly, it is desirable to have an improved support ring that prevents or minimizes thermal coupling between the substrate and the support ring so that the support ring does not generate excessive temperature gradients in a substrate during thermal processing.

Minimal contact edge ring for rapid thermal processing


A substrate removably attached to a container that can be linked electronically to the operating stations in a laboratory and/or removed and subsequently attached to a document or another container. More particularly, the substrate is a partitioned label with human readable information and electronically readable information.

1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to containers or vessels for collecting fluid samples from patients, that comprise means for containing and sharing information about the contents of the fluid samples in the container and the patient. More particularly, this invention relates to a means that is removably affixed to a vessel or container that can be linked electronically to the operating stations in a laboratory and/or removed mechanically and subsequently attached to another document or container.
2. Description of Related Art
Test specimens are typically collected by a medical technician, preferably at a medical facility, for testing in a container. Specimens, such as blood, are placed in containers called blood collection tubes and transported or shipped to a test facility together with test request documents.
It is important that once the specimen is collected in a container, that the donor of the specimen is properly identified. Incorrect identification could result in various misdiagnosis. Any indication that the specimen is not properly identified would require recollection. The test facility matches the blood collection tubes and test request documents received from the medical facility, performs the prescribed tests indicated by the test request document on the specimens and reports the test results to the medical facility.
Often, a physician may request multiple tests for one patient. Therefore, tests carried out by a test facility involve several thousand items, and the sizes and shapes of the containers that hold the specimens also include several dozen types. Therefore, laboratory facilities can be faced with managing thousands of requests per day. This presents many challenges in assuring that results are accurately transcribed back to the requesting physician and then ultimately to the patient.
In current laboratory settings, there are several ways that a container containing a specimen can arrive in a laboratory. For example, a container is transported from the collection site with a separate document such as a test request to the testing facility. The personnel at the testing facility receive these separate items and begin processing them together. This can involve entering data from the test request into a computer that electronically links test request information to information about the patient that is already available in the computer system. Additional steps may include obtaining some type of label and attaching it to the container.
These processing steps are subject to human error which could result with inaccurate information and tests results. Therefore, a need exists to link patient, test specimen and test request information that is efficient, cost effective, will enhance the accuracy of reporting test results and will eliminate the need for secondary labeling of containers.
Currently, collection containers are over-labeled with an identifier to control and monitor the specimens prior to and during processing. In most cases, and for those laboratories using integrated, automated systems for specimen processing, the identifier is a barcode.
There exists a need to improve the efficiency of systems for specimen processing whereby information can be easily found on the collection container.


A method of applying inductive heating to join an integrated circuit chip to an electrical substrate using solder bumps including applying a magnetic field to a magnetic liner in thermal contact with a solder bump on the integrated circuit chip. The magnetic field causes Joule heating in the magnetic liner sufficient to melt the solder bump, which has a lower portion embedded in a first dielectric layer and an upper portion at least partially embedded in a second dielectric layer. The lower portion is in electrical contact with a conductive pad, the first dielectric layer is above the conductive pad and the second dielectric layer is on top of the first dielectric layer. The duration of application of the magnetic field is controlled to achieve a joining temperature that is approximately halfway between the storage and operating temperatures of the integrated circuit chip.

The present invention relates to a fabricating a semiconductor package, and more particularly, to joining an integrated circuit chip to an electrical substrate by localized heating of one or more solder bumps.
An integrated circuit chip (hereinafter "chip") may be joined to an electrical substrate (hereinafter "substrate") using a plurality of solder connections to form a semiconductor package. The chip may generally be silicon and the substrate may be a composite substrate, a laminate substrate, or an organic laminate substrate. The solder connection may generally be formed from a lead-free tin based solder alloy.
An example of the solder connection includes controlled collapse chip connection (also known as C4 or flip-chip connection). Generally, solder connections may include an array of small solder balls on the surface of the chip before the chip is joined to the substrate. More specifically, each individual solder connection may include a bonding pad on the chip, a solder bump, and a corresponding bonding pad on the substrate. A typical joining sequence may begin with depositing or applying a plurality of solder bumps on a plurality of bonding pads on the chip. The plurality of solder bumps are then heated to a temperature sufficient to cause them to reflow. Next, the chip, including the plurality of solder bumps, is aligned to and placed on a chip site on the substrate. In doing so, the plurality of solder bumps contact a plurality of corresponding bonding pads on the substrate. The plurality of solder bumps are again heated to a temperature sufficient to cause them to reflow. The final solder connections may electrically connect and physically join the chip to the substrate to create a semiconductor package.
As presently practiced, techniques used to form the solder connection and join the chip to the substrate may subject the components of that package to a joining temperature in excess of 240° C. for as long as a few minutes. The joining temperature should be high enough to cause the solder alloy to reflow and join the chip to the substrate, as described above. In general, the chip and the substrate may have very different coefficients of thermal expansion (CTE). When the semiconductor package is cooled from the joining temperature to room temperature, the substrate may shrink more than the chip. This mismatch between coefficients of thermal expansion may cause some of the solder connections to experience shear stress proportional to the difference in the displacements of the chip relative to the substrate. Generally, solder connections located at or near a perimeter of the package experience the most stress. The shear stresses may be large enough to deform the solder connection and sometimes even cause the solder alloy to separate from the chip. In some instances, the solder connections may remain physically connected to the chip and the shear stresses may cause a top part of the chip to crack, in turn breaking wiring layers. Sometimes cracks may extend into the chip and cause further failures and defects.


A carrying and shipping case for cutting blades which comprises a case including at least first and second spaced apart opposing side panels where the first and second spaced apart opposing side panels define an intervening interior blade securing area when the case is in a closed condition. A blade support surface is disposed within the case interior above the interior surface of the first side panel. And, at least one clamp is disposed within the case interior for securing the blade in contact with the blade support surface. The clamp is typically temporarily secured to the first case side panel and includes a first contact surface to engage a top horizontal surface of a cutting blade disposed on the blade support surface and a second contact surface to engage a vertical surface of the cutting blade. A blade contact surface is disposed above the blade support surface. The blade contact surface is typically disposed at an inclined angle relative to the blade support surface for providing an abutment surface for a beveled edge of a cutting blade.

Cutting blades are used extensively in paper cutting machines used in the printing industry. The cutting blades used in paper cutting machines and other machines used in production printing facilities require frequent re-sharpening to maintain a cutting edge on the blade which is able to produce high quality cuts. The cutting blades used in these machines are both expensive and heavy, creating difficulty if the blades need to be shipped periodically for sharpening service.
Although cutting blades of this type are not extremely fragile, the blades must be handled carefully during shipping to avoid damaging the blades. Such damage could include bending the blade or breaking off a portion of the edge of the hardened steel or stainless steel blade. Damage to a blade can result in a long machine down time while a new blade is found. A delay such as this adds a considerable expense to the replacement of an already expensive blade.
The excessive weight adds to the difficulty of shipping cutting blades for sharpening service. Because of the weight of these blades, there is an obvious difficulty in their handling. The difficulty is even greater when taking into account the sharp edge that exists on the cutting blade. The weight of the blade will easily force the blade through anything that accidently comes in contact with the blade should the blade be dropped or mishandled. The risk of injury to workers involved in the handling and shipping of these cutting blades is obvious.
Despite the difficulties associated with handling and shipping cutting blades for sharpening service there are currently no cases commercially available that assist in these frequent procedures. Currently most cutting blades are shipped in wooden crates or boxes that offer only a small amount of protection to the cutting blade during transport and often require the use of threaded holes in the cutting blades that are required for reassembly of the blade into the machine in which it operates. Using the threaded holes during transport can damage these threads which are quite difficult to repair in hardened steel or stainless steel blades. Furthermore, the wooden crates are brittle and may easily break under the weight of a heavy cutting blade if dropped. Should a sharp, heavy cutting blade break through the wooden crate the blade could be irreparably damaged and severe injuries could also result. The cutting blades are also difficult to load into wooden crates which often open only on a single end of the crate. The difficulty in loading a heavy, sharp cutting blade into the end of a wooden crate presents many obvious risks to workers engaged in this procedure.
For the foregoing reasons there is a need for a carrying and shipping transport case for cutting blades that allows cutting blades to be shipped with out the potential that the blade could be damaged if the case were dropped or otherwise mishandled. There is a further need that the case would maintain the blade within the interior of the case should the case be dropped or mishandled. There is a further need that the case allow a blade to be secured within the case without using threaded holes on the blade which are critical to the proper reassembly of the cutting blade within printing machines such as paper cutters. There is an additional need for a case that allows the user to easily place and secure a heavy, sharp cutting blade into the interior of the case and to be able to secure the blade within the case without any difficulty, thus limiting the risks involved in this procedure.
There is an additional need for a case that can accommodate the varying bolt hold patterns and blade sizes of various manufacturer's blades.

Carrying and shipping case for cutting blades


A charge pump circuit for a high side drive circuit and a driver driving voltage circuit that stably output a voltage when input voltage is low. The charge pump circuit includes first and second transistors, first and second capacitors, and first to third diodes. The first capacitor has a high voltage side, connected to a load driving power supply voltage via the first diode, and a low voltage side, connected to the load driving power supply voltage via the first transistor or grounded via the second transistor driven in synchronization with the first transistor. The high voltage side is supplied, via the third diode, with a low side drive voltage that is as an output voltage of a low side charge pump, and functions to output high side drive voltage to a high side pre-driver circuit via the second diode.

The present invention relates to a charge pump circuit for a high side drive circuit and a driver driving voltage circuit, which are applicable to bridge configurations, such as a half bridge and a full bridge.
Bridge configurations, such as a full bridge and a half bridge, are used as drive circuits for driving motors and other devices. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2000-82946 describes a drive circuit having a full bridge (H bridge) configuration that is effective for use in a wide range of power supply voltages. Such a full bridge drive circuit includes a high side metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) transistor and a low side MOS transistor. The drain terminal of the high side MOS transistor is supplied with power supply voltage for driving a load. The source terminal of the low side MOS transistor is grounded. A drive output terminal OP is formed at a connecting node between the high side MOS transistor and the low side MOS transistor. The subject that is to be driven (drive subject) is connected to the drive output terminal OP. Further, a pre-driver circuit is connected to the gate of each MOS transistor.
The voltage supplied to the gate of each MOS transistor may be raised using a charge pump circuit including a plurality of capacitors. Such a charge pump circuit is used to supply voltage to a circuit that requires voltage that is higher than the supply voltage, such as a motor driver. FIG. 6 shows an example of the charge pump circuit. The charge pump circuit includes capacitors C11 and C12, and switches S1, S2, and S3. At time CLK, the switch S1 is activated, the switch S2 is inactivated, and the switch S3 is grounded. This charges the capacitor 11 and generates a capacitor charge voltage Vc. The capacitor charge voltage Vc is controlled by changing the length of the time CLK. When the time CLK is long enough, the capacitor charge voltage Vc is equal to input voltage Vin (Vc=Vin).
At time CLKB, the switch S1 is inactivated, the switch S2 is activated, and the switch S3 is switched to the side of the voltage Vin so that the capacitor charge voltage Vc and the input voltage Vin are in series. As a result, the output voltage is equal to the sum of the capacitor charge voltage Vc and the input voltage Vin (Vout=Vc+Vin). When the capacitor charge voltage Vc is equal to the input voltage Vin (Vc=Vin), the charge pump circuit outputs an output voltage that is two times greater than the input voltage (2vin). Further, when the charge pump circuit includes n stages of capacitors, the circuit outputs an output voltage that is n+1 times greater than the input voltage ((n+1)Vin).
The switches S1, S2, and S3 are usually formed by MOS transistors, which have low on-resistance. However, in a charge pump circuit used to drive a load with a high power supply voltage, the gate to source voltage of a MOS transistor may become extremely high and cause gate oxide breakdown. To prevent this, diodes may be used as the switches S1, S2, and S3 in lieu of MOS transistors.
However, when diodes are used, rising voltage (Vd) causes a voltage drop (Vd). This does not occur when using MOS transistors. Voltage drops occurring in the switches S1 and S2 amount to 2 Vd. The load driving power supply voltage is normally greater than 2 Vd. Thus such a voltage drop would not cause any problems. However, when the load driving power supply voltage decreases, the voltage drop may disable the driving of the high side charge pump circuit. In such a case, the threshold voltage for a transistor in a high side drive circuit would not be obtained. This would destabilize switching.

Charge pump circuit for high side drive circuit and driver driving voltage circuit


A method for formation of a shared secret key using a key matrix and a corresponding authentication protocol are described. The shared secret key formation scheme is a method in which sets of secret device keys are formed from arithmetic operations on matrix keys of a key matrix. The contents of the key matrix are held in confidence by the certification authority. The selection of which matrix keys to use is based on a key selection vector assigned by the certification authority. From the secret device keys, a shared secret key may be formed in accordance with a selected authentication protocol.

1. Field
The invention relates to the field of data security. In particular, the present invention relates to a method and apparatus for generating cryptographic keys using a key matrix.
2. Background Art
In today's society, it is becoming more and more desirable to transmit digital information from one location to another in a manner that is clear and unambiguous to a legitimate receiver, but incomprehensible to any illegitimate recipients. Accordingly, such information is typically encrypted using one of two commonly used cryptographic techniques: public key cryptography and symmetric key cryptography.
In symmetric key cryptography, a commonly possessed, symmetric key is used to encrypt and decrypt a message transmitted between a legitimate sender and a receiver. Such encryption and decryption is performed through well-known conventional algorithms such as Data Encryption Standard (DES). Although symmetric key cryptography is computationally simple, it relies on both parties maintaining the secrecy of the symmetric key. Also, the management of symmetric keys tends to be complex. Simply stated, if each sender needs a different symmetric key to communicate with each legitimate receiver, it is difficult, if not impossible, for use by businesses having a large number of employees. For example, in a business of 1000 employees, a maximum of 499,500 (1000×999/2) keys would need to be managed, provided that each employee is capable of communicating with any another employee within the business.
In general, public key cryptography involves the use of a public key and a private key (collectively referred to as a "key pair") which are two separate, but related keys. Normally, the public key is publicly available and widely used for encrypting a message directed to the owner of the key pair. The private key is maintained in confidence and usually is used for decryption of incoming encrypted message. As a result, public key cryptography tends to be more secure than symmetric key cryptography, but it is more cumbersome and computationally intensive. The intense computations tend to prevent consumer electronic devices and other lower performance devices from using public key cryptography.
Diffie-Hellman Key Exchange, a hybrid cryptographic technique developed in the late 1970s (U.S. Pat. No. 4,200,770), allows two or more parties to exchange information over a public channel to form a secret that is known by all parties involved, but of which eavesdroppers cannot infer. While generation and use of the "secret" achieves the simplicity of symmetric key cryptography, its calculation is also computationally intensive. Diffie-Hellman involves the calculation of the secret through modular exponents over very large prime modular fields (e.g., 1024-bit binary numbers).
On or around 1985, elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) was proposed. ECC involves the translation of cryptographic techniques from modular exponentiation to scalar multiplication over an elliptic curve over a finite field. ECC helped alleviate the mathematical strain of performing these cryptographic calculations on smaller-sized integers to provide, in theory, a comparable level of security as that of the modular exponentiation over much larger-sized prime fields. However, this is only a partial performance improvement over modular exponentiation, and it also adds further to the complexity of implementation due to the extensive mathematical calculations involved.
In light of the foregoing, it would be desirable to develop a cryptographic technique that provides the security advantages of public key cryptography without the disadvantages of being cumbersome and computationally intensive. Furthermore, it would be desirable for the cryptographic technique to seamlessly work with revocation protocols to protect the system from reverse-engineering attacks.

Method and apparatus for the generation of cryptographic keys


Techniques and methods related to strained NMOS and PMOS devices without relaxed substrates, systems incorporating such semiconductor devices, and methods therefor may include a semiconductor device that may have both n-type and p-type semiconductor bodies. Both types of semiconductor bodies may be formed from an initially strained semiconductor material such as silicon germanium. A silicon cladding layer may then be provided at least over or on the n-type semiconductor body. In one example, a lower portion of the semiconductor bodies is formed by a Si extension of the wafer or substrate. By one approach, an upper portion of the semiconductor bodies, formed of the strained SiGe, may be formed by blanket depositing the strained SiGe layer on the Si wafer, and then etching through the SiGe layer and into the Si wafer to form the semiconductor bodies or fins with the lower and upper portions.

A typical metal-oxide-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MOSFET) may include a semiconductor (for example, silicon), electrodes to contact a source region and a drain region, and an electrode to contact or couple with a gate. A FinFET is a MOSFET built around a thin strip of semiconductor material (generally referred to as the fin) extending upward from a plate shaped substrate. One end of the fin is the source region, while the opposite end of the fin is the drain region. The middle area of the fin forms a channel region which is covered by a gate dielectric and a gate electrode. The conductive channel of the device resides on the outer sides of the fin beneath the gate dielectric. Specifically, current runs along and within both sidewalls of the fin (the sides perpendicular to the substrate surface) as well as along the top of the fin (the side parallel to the substrate surface). Because the conductive channel of such configurations essentially resides along the three different outer, planar regions of the fin, such a FinFET is sometimes referred to as a trigate FinFET. Other types of FinFET configurations are also available, such as so-called double-gate FinFETs, in which the conductive channel principally resides only along the two sidewalls of the fin (and not along the top of the fin). A complimentary metal-oxide semiconductor (CMOS) has dual fins, one fin for a p-type transistor (the PMOS), and another fin for an n-type transistor (the NMOS). The dual fins are separated by an insulating oxide layer on an integrated circuit for example. The carrier mobility on such fin-based transistors may still be improved.

Method of fabricating CMOS FinFETs by selectively etching a strained SiGe layer


The present invention is to provide a remote boot technique for realizing a remote boot easily. A common storage system 100 comprises: when a demand for the remote boot is received from a terminal unit A 200A, means for sending a program for collecting hardware information and software information of the terminal unit, to the demanding terminal unit A 200A; when the hardware information and the software information are received from the demanding terminal unit A 200A, means for creating registry information by using those information; means for sending a program necessary for the boot processing to the demanding terminal unit A 200A according to the registry information; and means for managing a license of the program properly.

The present invention relates to a common storage system shared by a plurality of terminal units and to an information processing system having the same and, particularly, to a common storage system for making a remote boot possible for those terminal units and to an information processing system having the same.
There is a mode, in which a plurality of terminal units shares a storage unit for storing an operating system (hereinafter referred to as "OS") and an application program, by a network connection. The iSCSI (Internet Small Computer Systems Interface) protocol is known as connection method. The SCSI protocol for accessing the storage unit is used as a communication protocol on the network such as the Ethernet.
In case the terminal unit is provided with a remote boot function, the OS and the application program can be loaded from the storage unit having a control function. By connecting the terminal unit having the remote boot function and the storage unit through the iSCSI protocol, it is possible to realize a terminal unit, which need not be provided with an auxiliary storage unit. This terminal unit is called the "diskless terminal unit" or "diskless system".
In case the kinds of the individual terminal units are different in the remote boot of the diskless terminal unit, OS programs for every kinds are prepared on the common storage unit. At remote boot execution, the terminal unit has to read out the OS program file matching the kind of the terminal unit. This method is exemplified by one using the MAC (Medium Access Control) address. The MAC address is assigned to the terminal unit, the common storage unit having the control function and a LAN board mounted on a server. In this method, more specifically, a plurality of OS program files placed over the common storage unit are matched with the kind of the terminal unit, the directory stored with the OS program file group for the kind of the terminal unit are discriminated, and the remote boot is done by using the OS program file group under the directory. This method is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. H6-332716 and U.S. Pat. No. 240,955.
Like the general terminal unit, moreover, the terminal unit for executing the remote boot described above is allowed to use most OS software under a license contract. Here, the software means the OS and the application program. The license contract is coarsely classified into two kinds. One has a mode, in which the license contract is made by fixing the user so that the software is installed for use on an arbitrary terminal unit. In another method, a unit of software is purchased under a license by an enterprise. The enterprise is responsible for the users, the number of user licenses and of the terminal units. Especially in the latter case, the method for the user to use software without any consciousness and to provide the license is disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2002-006975, for example. If the stock of the license is examined and found exhausted in case the software is demanded by user, the method uses the software, as not installed yet, on the terminal unit and settles the payment automatically with little load on the manager by automating the newly purchasing procedure.

Common storage system shared by one or more computers and information processing system having the same


A new and distinct cultivar of Azalea plant named `Lavender Lace`, characterized by its large, vigorous and dense plants that are very freely branching; very uniform symmetrical and mostly upright plant habit; uniform flowering numerous, large, showy, ruffled, single flowers; lavender-colored flowers that resist fading; and excellent postproduction longevity with plants maintaining good flower substance for about four weeks in an interior environment.

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Azalea, botanically known as Rhododendron hybrida, an evergreen greenhouse-forcing type, and hereinafter referred to by the name `Lavender Lace`.
The new Azalea is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the inventor in Alva, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new Azalea varieties having uniform plant habit and uniform flowering, numerous flowers, good foliage retention during the cooling and forcing periods, and excellent postproduction longevity.
The new Azalea originated from a cross made by the inventor in Alva, Fla., of an unnamed selection of Rhododendron mucronatum as the female, or seed, parent with the proprietary Rhododendron hybrida breeding selection code number 0227 as the male, or pollen, parent.
Compared to plants of the female parent, an unnamed selection of Rhododendron mucronatum, plants of the new Azalea have a more uniform plant habit and darker, more intense flower color, and better flower color retention.
In addition to flower color and form, plants of the new Azalea are more uniform and symmetrical than plants of the coral double hose-in-hose-flowered proprietary selection code number 0227. Additionally, leaves of plants of the new Azalea are lighter in color and more pubescent than leaves of plants of the code number 0227.
The new Azalea was discovered and selected by the inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., on Jan., 1992. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable flower color, profust and uniform flowering, uniform plant habit and good postproduction longevity.
Asexual reproduction of the new Azalea by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., has shown that the unique features of this new Azalea are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.
The new Azalea has not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength, light intensity, nutrition and water status without, however, any variance in genotype.


The present invention relates to a line converger comprising a label dispenser and to a method for converging a row of at least three packages into a single lane and for applying a label to each package before the packages leave the line converger.

DE 10 2010 017 821 A1 discloses a line converger for converging separate packages, which are conveyed in parallel on several lanes, into a single lane of successive packages.
DE 41 35 106 C2 discloses a labeler that applies labels to packages conveyed in succession on a conveyor belt located below the labeler.
In a packaging plant comprising a line converger for converging a multi-lane format of packages from a thermoform packaging machine into a single lane as well as a labeler for labeling the packages downstream of the line converger on a single-lane conveyor belt, the line converger and the conveyor system including the labeler are arranged in succession and have, in combination, a large footprint in the conveying direction.


The backrest (2) of an automobile vehicle seat includes a framework (21), a padding (3), a padding cover (4) covering the front face and the sides of the backrest and a padding screen (7) for the rear face of the backrest. It includes a rigid back panel shield frame (6) with at least two lateral sides (62) and a bottom side (63), the said shield frame being adapted to be attached to the framework (21) of the backrest to cover the lateral edges of the framework and a bottom part of the rear of the backrest, the shield frame (6) including towards an inner edge at least one groove (64) adapted to accommodate and hold an edge (44) of the cover and an edge (71) of the screen, the said cover covering the shield frame.

Various techniques are already known to achieve the padding of the rear face of the backseat.
According to a first embodiment, the padding consists of a flexible textile screen which can be an integral part of the cover and which is thus simultaneously put in place with the padding of the front face of the backrest. The padding is done by fitting the cover assembly over the backrest and maintaining the cover by pull rods and clips attaching them to the framework or to the suspension mat which acts as support for the backrest padding. The textile screen can also be added to the rear face, independent of the cover which then covers only the front face and the sides. The screen is for example clipped to simple attachment sections attached to the framework of the backrest and onto which the edges of the cover can also be clipped. With this first embodiment with a flexible textile screen, it is difficult to ensure good attachment quality especially in the finishing zones at the bottom of the backrest and, in addition, installation requires many attachment parts such as fasteners, tie-downs, etc.
According to another embodiment, the padding of the rear face of the backrest consists of a textile screen stiffened by a flat rigid insert which is clipped onto the framework, the edges of this screen covering the edges of the cover installed previously.
According to a third embodiment, the rear face of the backrest entirely consists of a plastic shell the lateral edges of which can extend beyond the sides of the backrest so as to cover the edges of the cover and their means of attachment to the framework, the said cover being installed previously. The rear face can also consist of a stiff plastic shell attached first to the framework, the cover then being installed and held by clipping the edges of the cover over the periphery of the said shell. The appearance and the stiffness of these shells do not allow market requirements to be met.
Generally, these various techniques all have disadvantages for obtaining thin backrests, especially the impossibility to simply obtain screens or rear faces the shape of which is optimised to obtain a minimum volume of the backrest and a maximum gain in space for the knees of the passengers located behind the seats concerned.


A method and a system for charging management are applied in an electronic device. The system includes a sensing unit, a detecting unit, a signal output unit, a receiving unit and a processing unit. By the method, when the sensing unit senses an external power source inputted to the electronic device, the detecting unit detects a current electric quantity of a battery of the electronic device. The processing unit actuates the signal output unit to provide an operating interface for a user to issue a command through a hot key or an application program selection control window. After the receiving unit receives the command from the user, a required charging mode is activated according to the user's requirement. Therefore, problems resulted from battery removal such as inconvenience and failure of an uninterruptable power mechanism are solved, and a battery charging frequency is reduced to prolong the battery lifetime.

Lately due to progress of the electronic technology, portable electronic devices have been developed rapidly with more and more varieties and functions, and thus become widely popular for consumers. The portability of electronic devices primarily attributes to maturation of the battery technique.
For a present-day laptop computer, as shown in FIG. 1 illustrating a conventional charging technique, when an AC (alternating current) adapter is used to input an alternating current to the laptop computer, the laptop computer enters a charging mode instantly without producing any notice message. However, when the AC adapter inputs the alternating current to the laptop computer, if a user does not wish the laptop computer to be charged by the alternating current in order to reduce unnecessary times of charging and prolong the battery lifetime, it is usually to remove the battery from the laptop computer to prevent charging.
However, the above battery removal method causes significant inconveniences to the user. For example, frequent battery removal may easily result in damage to a battery base and contact terminals, and failure of an uninterruptable power mechanism. Furthermore, due to alteration in weight distribution of the laptop computer, lifting a laptop cover is no longer an effortlessness task, and a portion of a laptop support base is provided on a battery cover in a current design of many laptop computers, such that the battery removal would cause infirm support of the laptop base and inconvenient operation for the user.
Accordingly, some manufacturers have tried to overcome the drawbacks caused by the above conventional technology. A solution is to provide a control circuit for detecting an electric quantity of the laptop battery so as to charge the battery when the electric quantity is below a certain preset value; on the other hand, the battery would not be charged if the electric quantity is above the certain preset value. Although such method may effectively reduce a frequency of charging the battery, the preset value is a default value and uneasy to be modified. This makes the charging process not flexible and not able to satisfy the user's timely requirements.
Therefore, the problem to be solved here is to provide a technique for battery charging management, which allows a user to determine whether to charge a battery of a laptop computer according to a practical requirement so as to effectively reduce a frequency of battery insertion/extraction and avoid various inconveniences caused by battery removal.

Method and system for charging management


A method for forming a three-dimensional multi-level conductive matrix structure for a flat panel display device. In one embodiment, the present invention forms first pixel separating structures across a surface of a faceplate of a flat panel display. The first pixel separating structures separate adjacent first sub-pixel regions. In this embodiment, the first pixel separating structures are formed by applying a first layer of photo-imagable material across the surface of the faceplate. Next, portions of the first layer of photo-imagable material are removed to leave regions of the first layer of photo-imagable material covering respective first sub-pixel regions. Then, a first layer of conductive material is applied over the surface of the faceplate such that the first layer conductive material is disposed between the aforementioned regions of the first layer of photo-imagable material. The present invention then removes the regions of the first layer of photo-imagable material leaving only first pixel separating structures formed of the first layer of conductive material, disposed between the first sub-pixel regions. The present invention performs similar steps in order to form second pixel separating structures between the second sub-pixel regions. The second pixel separating structures are formed substantially orthogonally oriented with respect to the first pixel separating structures and, in the present embodiment, have a different height than the first pixel separating structures. In so doing, a three-dimensional multi-level conductive matrix structure is formed.

Sub-pixel regions on the faceplate of a flat panel display are typically separated by an opaque mesh-like structure commonly referred to as a "black matrix". By separating sub-pixel regions, the black matrix prevents electrons directed at one sub-pixel from being "back-scattered" and striking another sub-pixel. In so doing, a conventional black matrix helps maintain sharp resolution in a flat panel display. In addition, the black matrix is also used as a base on which to locate structures such as, for example, support walls.
In one prior art black matrix, a very thin layer (e.g. approximately 2-3 microns) of a conductive material is applied to the interior surface of the faceplate surrounding the sub-pixel regions. Typically, the conductive black matrix is formed of a conductive graphite material. By having a conductive black matrix, excess charges induced by electrons striking the top or sides of the black matrix can be easily drained from the interior surface of the faceplate. As an additional benefit, a conductive black matrix allows one to control the electric potential on the faceplate. Additionally, in a field emission-type flat panel display, by having a conductive black matrix, electrical arcs occurring between field emitters of the flat panel display and the faceplate will be more likely to strike the black matrix. By having the electrical arcing occur between the black matrix and the field emitters instead of between the sub-pixels and the field emitters, the integrity of the phosphors and the overlying aluminum layer is maintained. Unfortunately, due to the relatively low height of such a prior art conductive black matrix, arcing can still occur from the field emitter to the sub-pixel regions. As a result of such arcing, phosphors and the overlying aluminum layer can be damaged. As mentioned above, however, the black matrix is also intended to prevent back-scattering of electrons from one sub-pixel to another sub-pixel. Thus, it is desirable to have a black matrix with a height which sufficiently isolates each sub-pixel from respective neighboring sub-pixels. However, due to the physical property of the conductive graphite material, the height of the black matrix is limited to the aforementioned 2-3 microns.
In another prior art black matrix, a non-conductive polyimide material is patterned across the interior surface of the black matrix. In such a conventional black matrix, the black matrix has a uniform height of approximately 20-40 microns. Thus, the height of such a black matrix is well suited to isolating each sub-pixel from respective neighboring sub-pixels. As a result, such a black matrix configuration effectively prevents unwanted back-scattering of electrons into neighboring sub-pixels. Unfortunately, prior art polyimide black matrices are not conductive. As a result, even though the top edge of the polyimide black matrix is much closer than the sub-pixel region is to the field emitter, unwanted arcing can still occur from the field emitter to the sub-pixel regions. In a prior art attempt to prevent such arcing, a conductive coating (i.e. indium tin oxide (ITO)) is applied to the non-conductive polyimide black matrix. ITO coated non-conductive black matrices are not without problems, however. For example, coating a non-conductive matrix with ITO adds increased complexity and cost to the flat panel display manufacturing process. Also, the high atomic number of ITO components results in unwanted back-scattering of electrons. Furthermore, ITO has an undesirably high secondary electron emission coefficient, .delta..
In yet another approach, (described in a commonly-owned, co-pending U.S. patent application to Drumm, filed Mar. 31, 1997), capillary action is used to define the shape of a black matrix structure. In such an approach, rows and columns of photoresist structures are formed on the surface of the faceplate of the flat panel display device. The photoresist structures are formed on the faceplate directly overlying the areas which are to be used as sub-pixel regions. Conductive material is then applied between the photoresist structures, and is slightly hardened. In this approach, physical properties of the conductive material (e.g. viscosity, surface tension, density, and the like) determine the height and shape of the black matrix structure formed between the rows and columns of the photoresist structures. However, the physical properties of the conductive material may not allow for, or may prevent, the formation of a black matrix structure having particular physical dimensions.
Thus, a need exists for conductive matrix structure having sufficient height to effectively separate neighboring sub-pixels. A further need exists for a conductive matrix structure which reduces arcing from the field emitters to the sub-pixels. Still another need exists for a conductive matrix structure which does not have the increased cost and complexity, the increased back-scattering rate, and the undesirably high secondary electron emission coefficient associated with an ITO-coated black matrix structure. Yet another need exists for a conductive matrix formation method which is not highly dependent upon the physical properties of the material used to form the matrix structure.

Multi-level conductive matrix formation method


A method for forming a p-n junction in silicon carbide includes the steps of amorphizing a portion of a monocrystalline silicon carbide substrate, implanting dopant ions into the amorphous portion of the substrate and then recrystallizing the amorphous portion to thereby form a substantially monocrystalline region including the dopant ions. In particular, the amorphizing step includes the steps of masking an area on the face of the monocrystalline silicon carbide substrate and then directing electrically inactive ions to the masked area so that an amorphous region in the substrate is formed. Accordingly, the amorphous region has sidewalls extending to the face that are substantially orthogonal to the bottom edge of the amorphous region. Once the amorphized region is defined, electrically active dopant ions are implanted into the amorphous region. The dopant ions are then diffused into the amorphous region and become uniformly distributed. Next, the doped amorphized region is recrystallized to obtain a substantially monocrystalline doped region. If the region surrounding the recrystallized region are of opposite conductivity type, a vertically walled p-n junction is formed.

As is well known to those having skill in the art, monocrystalline silicon carbide is particularly well suited for use in semiconductor devices, such as integrated circuit semiconductor devices and power semiconductor devices. Integrated circuit semiconductor devices typically include many active devices such as transistors in a single semiconductor substrate. Power semiconductor devices, which may be integrated circuit devices, are semiconductor devices which carry large currents and support high voltages.
Silicon carbide has a wide bandgap, a high melting point, a low dielectric constant, a high breakdown field strength, a high thermal conductivity and a high saturated electron drift velocity compared to silicon, which is the most commonly used semiconductor material. These characteristics allow silicon carbide microelectronic devices to operate at higher temperatures and higher power levels than conventional silicon based devices. In addition to the above advantages, silicon carbide power devices can operate with lower specific on-resistance than conventional silicon power devices. Some of the advantages of using silicon carbide for forming power semiconductor devices are described in articles by K. Shenai, R. S. Scott, and coinventor B. J. Baliga, entitled Optimum Semiconductors for High-Power Electronics, IEEE Transactions on Electron Devices, Vol. 36, No. 9, pp. 1811-1823 (1989); and by coinventors M. Bhatnagar and B. J. Baliga entitled Analysis Of Silicon Carbide Power Device Performance, ISPSD '91, Abstr. 8.3, pp 176-180 (1991).
Many of the processes for forming microelectronic devices require the formation of P-N junctions in a semiconductor substrate. Conventional techniques for forming P-N junctions in semiconductor substrates include, for example, in-situ doping during the growth of semiconductor layers, implantation and diffusion of deposited dopant species, as well as other conventional techniques. For semiconductors such as silicon, it is possible to obtain P-N junctions well beneath the surface of the substrate using diffusion since diffusion rates for dopants in silicon are relatively high even at relatively low temperatures on the order of 1000-1200 degrees Centigrade. Accordingly, it is possible to obtain P-N junctions in silicon as deep as 1-3 microns. In silicon carbide, however, the diffusion coefficients of conventional P and N-type dopants are small in the temperature range of 1000-1200 degrees Centigrade. In fact, temperatures on the order of 1500 degrees Centigrade and higher are generally required for diffusion to occur at appreciable rates.
For example, in an invited paper by R. J. Trew, J. B. Yah and P. N. Mock, entitled The Potential of Diamond and SiC Electronic Devices for Microwave and Millimeter-Wave Power Applications, Proc. of the IEEE, Vol. 79, No. 5, pp. 598-620 (1991), temperatures on the order of 1900 degrees Centigrade were specified as being required for the diffusion of N or P-type dopants in silicon carbide. Unfortunately, this extreme range of temperatures is not compatible with the fabrication of integrated semiconductor devices having multiple layers of different conductivity type material. These temperatures are also considerably above the melting point of SiO.sub.2, a diffusion masking material having no commercially acceptable alternative for high temperature processing. Given these limitations, it is generally accepted that P-N junction formation arising from epitaxial growth or ion implantation with boron (B) or aluminum (Al) (p-type) or phosphorus (P) or nitrogen (N) (n-type) is most suitable for silicon carbide.
Unfortunately, although there has been a general acceptance of ion-implantation as a technique for forming P-N junctions in silicon carbide, problems including out-diffusion of dopant species, the precipitation of defect clusters, and the formation of electrically active line and point defects causing poor dopant ionization are encountered in the formation of lateral MESFETs and MOSFETs. For example, in an article by J. W. Bumgarner, H. S. Kong, H. J. Kim, J. W. Palmour, J. A. Edmond, J. T. Glass, and R. F. Davis, entitled Monocrystalline .beta.-SiC semiconductor Thin Films: Epitaxial Growth, Doping and FET Device Development, 1988 Proc. 38th Electronics Components Conf., pp. 342-349, solid phase epitaxial re-growth of the amorphous regions caused by the implantation of boron was achieved by annealing at 1600 degrees Centigrade for 300 seconds. However, defect clusters of precipitates and vacancy loops formed near the center of the amorphous regions within the implanted region. Subsequent annealing at 1800 degrees Centigrade for 300 seconds promoted virtually defect free regrowth, but SIMS analysis revealed almost complete out-diffusion of the implanted boron ions.
The implantation of P or N-type dopant species also results in the formation of an implant profile having a peak concentration below the implant surface. As well understood by those skilled in the art, the implant profile can generally be approximated by a Gaussian curve, or for greater accuracy, a four-moment Pearson-IV curve. However, even after annealing, which may cause diffusion away from the peak concentration region, a non-uniform doping profile in the N or P-type region is present. Accordingly, it is difficult to achieve a great degree of uniformity in regions formed by ion implantation.
Thus, notwithstanding the general acceptance of ion-implantation as a technique for forming regions of P and N-type conductivity in silicon carbide, problems still exist in obtaining substantially monocrystalline silicon carbide regions with uniform doping throughout.

Method for forming a p-n junction in silicon carbide

North Carolina State University at Raleigh


The coating and developing system carries a substrate delivered to a carrier handling block to a processing block to form a film on the substrate by a coating block included in the processing block, carries the substrate through an interface block to the exposure system, processes the substrate having the exposed film by a developing process by a developing block included in the processing block and returns the thus processed substrate to the carrier handling block. A direct carrying means is superposed on the coating block and the developing block to carry a substrate having a surface coated with a film from the carrier handling block directly to the interface block. A test substrate can be carried to the exposure system to inspect the condition of the exposure system even in a state where the coating block and the developing block are under maintenance work.

A series of processes for forming a resist pattern on a substrate, such as a semiconductor wafer (hereinafter referred to simply as "wafer") is carried out by a resist pattern forming system including, in combination, a coating and developing system for applying a liquid resist to the surface of a substrate to form a resist film and developing the exposed resist film, and an exposure system.
A coating and developing system disclosed in, for example, Patent document 1 includes a film forming block including coating modules for processing a wafer by a coating process before the wafer is subjected to an exposure process, and a developing block including developing modules for processing the wafer processed by the exposure process by a developing process. The coating block and the developing block are superposed. Each of the coating block and the developing block has one end connected to a loading/unloading port and the other end connected to an exposure system by an interface block. This known coating and developing system performs the coating process and the developing process separately to enhance throughput.
The resolution of the exposure system has been improved in recent years. According to the present status of art, the exposure process is capable of achieving a resolution on the order of several tens nanometers by using, for example, an ArF light source (argon fluoride light source). However, the position of a point where light is to be focused is sensitively affected by, for example, the expansion or contraction of a holding member included in an optical system due to a slight change in the environmental condition caused by changes in the atmospheric pressure and weather. The quality of a resist pattern is greatly dependent on such a change of the position of a point where light is to be focused. Therefore, the exposure system needs to be inspected and adjusted frequently, for example, in one day.
There is a tendency to lower the cleanliness of a clean room to reduce the operating cost of a plant. Therefore, the inspection of the exposure system is performed by carrying a test wafer from the carrier handling block of the coating and developing system into the exposure system by the carrying system of the processing block without opening the maintenance door of the exposure system. The coating and developing system mentioned in Patent document 1 needs to use either the coating block or the developing block to carry the test wafer to the exposure system. Therefore, the periodic or occasional inspection and adjustment of the exposure system cannot be done if the coating block and the developing block are under maintenance work or are out of order. Thus the test wafer is carried into the exposure system for the inspection and adjustment of the exposure system after the completion of maintenance work for the coating block and the developing block. Consequently, wafers cannot be processed immediately after the completion of maintenance work for the coating and the developing block, which is one of causes that reduce the throughput of the coating and developing system.
It is an important theme to start up a newly installed semiconductor device fabricating line in a short time. The configuration of the system disclosed in Patent document 1 does not permit the adjustment of the exposure system unless the adjustment of the carrying system of the coating block or the developing block is completed. Since the exposure system has many adjustment items requiring fine adjustment, the adjustment of the exposure system takes a long time. Consequently, it is difficult to reduce time necessary before starting up the semiconductor device fabricating line.
Patent document 1: Jpn. Pat. No. 3337677


Frame construction for a firearm (10) with a frame (18) and a slide (12) constrained to move longitudinally between a forward and a rearward position but which is also removable from the frame. A recess (39) in the side of the frame contains the Kammer trigger mechanism (26, 38) that is accessible through a side opening (40) in the frame. A thin side plate (42) drops over the side opening and is held at its side edges and bottom edge by flanges (50) an the side plate overlapping congruent grooves in the frame and is held in place an top by the slide. After removing the slide in the conventional manner, the side plate can be slide upwardly and removed using a finger cutout (48) in the side plate.

A firearm, and in particular an autoloading or automatic firearm, is equipped with an external hammer that can be cocked to the rear and engaged with a sear and then tripped by squeezing the trigger which engages the sear by means of linkage releasing its engagement to the hammer (single action letoff). Alternatively, the hammer can be drawn to the rear for release and firing by squeezing the trigger without first cocking the hammer. This is accomplished through the linkage system engaging the hammer with the trigger for the aforementioned purpose; pulling the hammer rearward and releasing it before it can be engaged by the sear (double action letoff).
This invention relates to firearms functioning in the aforementioned manner incorporating a hammer spring, usually located in an area behind the magazine well in the frame and consisting of various components to accomplish the single action and double action letoffs. Historically, it is not recommended that anyone but an accomplished gunsmith work on these mechanisms as they are complicated and improper assembly or disassembly is very likely to occur. Usually, tools are required to disassemble the firearm, so as to gain access to the hammer trigger mechanism or action of the firearm. The invention addresses these issues by accomplishing the same objectives but with basic components that anyone with an aptitude for mechanics can easily understand, and enables access easily to the hammer trigger mechanism without the need of tools.
Accordingly, one object of the present invention is to provide a simplified frame construction giving access to the hammer trigger mechanism for a firearm.
Another object of the invention is to provide a simplified construction for gaining access to the firearm action without the need of tools.
Another object of the invention is to provide an improved frame construction which simplifies cleaning or repair of the hammer trigger mechanism.

Frame construction for with removable side plate


To detect a malfunction of a light-emission driving unit that drives a light emitting element in a light-emission driving device. A malfunction detection device is provided to the light-emission driving device including the light-emission driving unit that supplies a light-emission current for causing the light emitting element to emit light during a light-emission period during which the light emitting element is caused to emit light. The malfunction detection device provided to this light-emission driving device detects, on the basis of a voltage of an output terminal, a malfunction of the light-emission driving unit, the output terminal being a terminal in the light-emission driving unit that supplies the light-emission current for causing the light emitting element to emit light during the light-emission period, the terminal supplying the light-emission current.

In the past, a distance measuring device for measuring the distance to a subject has been used in an imaging apparatus such as an in-vehicle camera. As the distance measuring device, for example, a device for measuring the distance by measuring the time until the light reflected from a subject is detected since a laser beam is applied to the subject is used. In such a device that applies a laser beam to a subject, a malfunction detection device for preventing excessive application of the laser beam due to a malfunction or the like is required. This is for protecting a subject such as a person.
As such a malfunction detection device, for example, an LED short-circuit detection circuit for detecting a short-circuit of an LED chip in a light source in which a plurality of light-emitting diode (LED: Light Emitting Diode) chips is connected in series has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Literature 1). In this LED short-circuit detection circuit, a short-circuit of the LED chip is detected by comparing the applied voltage of the LED chips connected in series and the voltage of the node between the chips with each other.

Malfunction detection device, light-emission driving device, and light emitting device

SONY SEMICONDUCTOR SOLUTIONS CORPORATION


One or more compounds are administered against one or more kinds of parasites and/or one or more diseases caused by such parasites, against one or more kind of Mycoplasma and/or one or more diseases caused by such Mycoplasmas and/or against one or more of the following indications or infections (a) hairy leukoplakia, (b) oral candidosis, (c) mouth ulcerations-aphthous/herpetic/bacterial, (d) fungal candida, (e) human papilloma virus, (f) molluscum contagiosum, (g) squamous oral carcinoma, (h) Kaposi's sarcoma oral lesions, (i) periodontitis, (j) necrotizing gingivitis, (k) orofacial herpes zoster, and (1) rotaviruses. The present invention furthermore provides specific formulations including such compound(s).

The haemoflagellate parasites of man, despite their close taxonomic relationship within the family Trypanosomatidae, a shared range of morphological types, and common elements of structure and biochemistry, cause a diverse variety of diseases including African and American trypanosomiasis, and leishmaniasis (a person was reportedly exposed to leishmania while in Ireland, an area previously thought to be free of leishmania). This diversity is partially a reflection of the different extracellular and intracellular sites of development adopted by these trypanosomatids. Currently available compounds for use against such parasites suffer from various drawbacks, most notably their unacceptable toxicity.
A considerable effort is currently underway to find more efficacious and less toxic compounds for the clinical treatment of leishmaniasis and trypanosomiasis. A proliferation of studies on the chemotherapy of Leishmania and rational biochemical approaches in studies on Trypanosoma brucei have recently produced promising new leads, but many of the problems associated with the treatment of South American trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease) remain intractable.
Hairy leukoplakia is apparently unique to patients infected with HIV. It consists of white warty like projections occurring particularly on the lateral aspects of the tongue and the cheeks. Its cause is unknown, but electron microscopic studies suggest that a virus (possibly Epstein-Barr or the human papilloma virus) may be implicated. Although it is usually painless, its unsightliness worries many patients.
One of the hardest problems confronting the physician dealing with a patient with HIV antibodies is the difficulty of predicting which patients will progress to AIDS. But there are both clinical features and laboratory markers which may help. Clinical features of a poor prognosis are oral candidosis, herpes, herpes zoster, hairy leukoplakia, and the presence of fever, malaise, diarrhoea, or weight loss.
It is believed that human infection by the family of retroviruses known as HIV is deleterious to the health of infected persons. Examples of viruses which are currently believed to belong to the HIV family are the lymphadenopathy-associated virus (LAV) and the human T-lymphotrophic virus type III (HTLV-III). LAV and HTLV-III, which were discovered independently of each other, are now known to be the same virus and are referred to as HIV-I. Although much is known about modes of transmission of such viruses from person to person, (THE NATURAL HISTORY OF HIV INFECTION IN A COHORT OF HOMOSEXUAL AND BISEXUAL MEN: A DECADE OF FOLLOW UP. Nancy A. Hessol, G. W. Rutherford, A. R. Lifson, P. M. O'Malley, Dept. of Public Health, San Francisco, CA) there is currently controversy regarding particular interactions between the virus and the host cells in which they reside. Generally, a person who is infected by HIV develops antibodies to the virus and at some point, the immune system of the person becomes damaged and becomes ineffective in defending the body from diseases. This condition has come to be known as Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. Eventually, because of the immune deficiency of his or her body, an AIDS patient is overcome by one or more of a group of opportunistic infections, for example, Kaposi's Sarcoma and pneumocystis.
There is evidence that macrophage/monocyte infection is a factor in the progression of HIV infection, in initiating the brain damage that is known to occur in AIDS patients, and in triggering the collapse of the immune system as evidenced by eventual profound depletion of T4 lymphocytes. It has been demonstrated using anti-HIV p24 antibody that monocyte/macrophages can be infected with HIV. Up to 70% of cells from individual donors could be infected (Crowe et al., AIDS Research and Human Retroviruses 3, no. 2, (1987) 135). Nicholson et al. have proposed an HIV-III /LAV-induced effect in monocyte function rather than (or in addition to) an intrinsic defect in surviving T cells to account for observed abnormalities in T cell assays that are monocyte-dependent such as pokeweed mitogen-induced antibody synthesis and proliferative responses to soluble antigens. These T cell assays have previously been reported as abnormal even when assayed as T cell subsets (The Journal of Immunology, 137, No. 1, (1986) 323).
Since it is well established that one of the first events that occurs when a foreign material (for example, a virus) enters the body is its uptake by mononuclear phagocytes, it is conceivable that these cells represent a primary target for HIV. Gartner et al. have shown that virus production by HTLV-III/LAV infected macrophages was high and long-lived, indicating that these cells may play a role in virus dissemination and persistence. They have demonstrated HTLV-III/LAV replication in macrophages was fully productive in the situations they evaluated (Science 233 (1986) 215).
Salahuddin et al. observed that in-vitro pulmonary macrophages can be infected with HTLV-III and appear to be less susceptible to the phytopathic effects of this retrovirus, which suggests that tissue macrophages should be considered as potential reservoirs of HTLV-III in-vitro (Blood 68, No. 1, (1986) 281).
Ho D.D. et al observed normal blood-derived monocytes/macrophages were found to be susceptible to infection in-vitro by HTLV-III. In addition, HTLV-III was recovered from monocytes/macrophages of patients infected with this virus. It was postulated therefore that HTLV-III-infected monocyte/macrophages may serve as a vehicle for the dissemination of virus to target organs and as a reservoir for viral persistence, as has been shown for other lentiviruses, including visna virus and caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (J. Clin Invest. 77, (198) 1712).
Anti-viral agents which inhibit replication of viruses have been known since the mid 1960's. (PROSPECTS FOR THE PREVENTION AND THERAPY OF INFECTIONS WITH THE HUMAN IMMUNODEFICIENCY VIRUS. Markus Vogt, Martin S. Hirsch, Infectious Disease Unit, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Boston). Several hundred or more of these agents are now known but azidothymidine (AZT, zidovudine) is the only drug which has received approval from the Federal Drug Administration in the United States for treatment against the virus of people with AIDS. The use of AZT in the treatment of AIDS patients suffers from many deficiencies. AZT is very expensive. Treatment with AZT often causes side effects in persons being treated with it and often the side effects are so severe that treatment with it must be halted altogether. (DEVELOPMENT OF HIV-VARIANTS WITH HIGHER RESISTANCE AGAINST AZT UNDER TREATMENT WITH AZT. F. Zimmermann, L. Biesert, H von Briesen, Klinikum der Universitat, Frankfurt, FRG.) The long term effectiveness of treatment with AZT of AIDS patients is still unknown, although it is believed that AZT treatment will not result in the elimination of the virus from the body of an infected person. There is evidence that AZT-resistant strains of HIV are developing in AIDS patients being treated with AZT (F. Zimmermann and L. Biesert).
As a further background to particular aspects of the present invention, the compound N.sup.6 - (.DELTA..sup.2 -isopentenyl) adenosine, (IPA), which has formula Ia, illustrated below, has been used previously in clinical trials involving the treatment of cancer. (CYTOKININS AS CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS, Annals of the New York Academy of Science, 25, 225-234 Mittleman, Arnold et al. (1975)). IPA is a naturally occurring compound. For example, it has been shown to be an anticodon-adjacent nucleoside in certain t-RNAs (N.sup.6 - (.DELTA..sup.2 - ISOPENTENYL) ADENOSINE: THE REGULATORY EFFECTS OF A CYTOKININ AND MODIFIED NUCLEOSIDE FROM t-RNA ON HUMAN LYMPHOCYTES. Biochimica et Biophysica Acta, 281:488-500. Gallo, Robert C., et al. (1972)). IPA has been shown to have cytokinin properties, (Mittleman, et al.) to inhibit the growth of human leukemic myeloblasts, to inhibit the growth of cultured lymphocytes stimulated by phytohemagglutinin (PHA) at certain concentrations and to stimulate the growth of cultured lymphocytes stimulated by PHA at lower concentrations (Gallo, et al.). Further, IPA has been used in clinical experiments on humans as a chemotherapeutic agent (Mittleman, et al.).

Administering particular compounds against various parasites, mycoplasmas, other indications and other infections


An exemplary PCB includes a first reference layer, a first signal layer, a second signal layer, and a third signal layer in that order, a first differential pair is arranged in the first signal layer in edge-coupled structure and references the first reference layer, a distance between the first signal layer and the second signal layer is greater than a distance between the first reference layer and the first signal layer, a second differential pair is arranged in the second signal layer and the third signal layer in broad-coupled structure. The PCB has a high density layout of transmission lines.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printed circuit board (PCB), and particularly to a PCB with a high density layout of transmission lines.
2. Description of Related Art
Differential pairs are often used in a multi-layer PCB to transmit signals. Referring to FIG. 2, a conventional PCB has edge-coupled differential pairs 17, 18 defined in signal layers 12 and 15 respectively to transmit signals, the differential pair 17 includes two transmission lines 171 and 172, the differential pair 18 includes two transmission lines 181 and 182. In order to achieve high signal quality, the layers 11, 13 above and below the differential pair 17 are set as reference layers, and the layers 14, 16 above and below the differential pair 18 are set as reference layers. In the PCB of FIG. 2, there are four layers 11, 13, 14, and 16 acting as reference layers, only two layers 12 and 15 acting as signal layers.
Referring to FIG. 3, another conventional PCB has edge-coupled differential pairs 27, 28 and 29 defined in signal layers 22, 23, and 25 respectively. A reference layer 21 is disposed above the differential pair 27, a reference layer 24 is disposed below the differential pair 28, and reference layers 24 and 26 are disposed above and below the differential pair 29 respectively. In the PCB of FIG. 3, there are three layers 21, 24, and 26 acting as reference layers, and three layers 22, 23 and 25 acting as signal layers. Because in the conventional PCB, the edge-coupled differential pairs are used to transmit signals, there must be at least one reference layer disposed near the signal layer where the differential pairs are defined to obtain good signal quality, at least one inner layer of the PCB is occupied as the reference layer, therefore the density of the layout of transmission lines is not maximized.
What is needed, therefore, is a PCB with a high density layout of transmission lines.


An appliance for correcting a malocclusion in a mouth of a user, the appliance including a generally U-shaped upper body having an anterior portion configured to be adjacent to upper incisors and a posterior portion located rearward to the anterior portion, the upper body having an outer perimeter and an inner perimeter that is located interior to the outer perimeter; a generally U-shaped lower body having an outer perimeter, the outer perimeter of the lower body having an anterior portion adjacent to lower incisors and a posterior portion located rearward to the anterior portion of the lower body, wherein the lower body has a lower labial shield extending along the outer perimeter of the lower body; and lingual protrusions extending generally upward from the posterior portion of the inner perimeter of the upper body, the lingual protrusions being configured to contact a palate of the user as the appliance is worn within the mouth of the user.

The present invention relates to the correction of sleep-disordered breathing caused frequently by partial or complete reduction of the pharyngeal airway. Often mouth breathing allows the tongue to be displaced posteriorly and tends to partially or completely reduce the airway. Open mouth breathing while sleeping can be influenced by a reduction of nasal breathing capacity. Often this is due to excessive adenoid swelling, a naturally narrow nasopharynx or to the obstruction of the nasal airway. The expansion or widening of the maxilla can significantly improve nasal breathing capacity, which can also contribute to the correction of oropharyngeal reduction and mouth breathing.
There are other more invasive procedures to advance the maxilla. One such procedure is to place screws into the maxilla to enable an anterior force to reposition the upper jaw in a forward position with elastic or rubber band force. Another procedure is to cement brackets to the upper teeth and to place an exterior device called a reverse headgear onto the face that is attached to the maxillary appliance with elastic force. Other procedures often involve intraoral forces involving elastic rubber bands using the mandibular dentition as an anchorage unit to advance the maxilla or maxillary dentition. This procedure is termed Class III elastic force.
If it is determined that the reduced airflow through the nasal airway is due to nasal obstruction, surgical alteration of swollen turbinates, a deviated septum or polyps is often recommended. A plastic device that can be preformed and designed to utilize forces within the oral cavity by using the force of the tongue in a forward direction to advance the maxilla is an easy and simple solution to nasopharyngeal restriction. In a similar way, advancement of the mandible can prevent closure of the oropharyngeal airway all with the same oral appliance.
Typically, a diagnosis of a narrow nasopharyngeal or velopharyngeal airway is made by a lateral cephalometric radiograph where the pharynx can be measured regarding its width or square area. As stated previously, nasopharyngeal restriction can be due to adenoid tissue swelling or a thickened and large uvula. However, the airway may be naturally narrow and in such cases, can be corrected by moving the maxilla in an anterior direction.
By using the force of the tongue, it is not necessary to create this force by using other teeth, such as the lower dentition, as anchorage to counteract the elastic force against the maxilla. Another technique to open the airway by moving the maxilla in an anterior direction involves what is called a reverse headgear. There are different ways that this is accomplished. The simplest way is to use elastic force against the upper fixed appliance with cemented brackets on the maxillary dentition. Another alternative to reverse headgear appliances is to attach the elastic force from the same facial mask with hooks or screws surgically attached directly to the maxilla itself. This type of reverse headgear is difficult and uncomfortable to wear, and the bone-supported screws are invasive and involve a surgical procedure. This technique, however, is very efficient in moving the maxilla in a forward direction and opening the nasopharyngeal airway.
Other techniques for expanding the nasal cavity by increasing airflow, such as by using a rapid expansion appliance (RPE), involve expanding the posterior maxillary arch. While such devices may leave the patient feeling as if they can breathe better through their nose, the devices require an invasive procedure that opens the midpalatal suture, as well as the installation of a midline palatal screw that is cemented to the teeth in the upper arch. Despite its invasive nature, the technique is very efficient at expanding the pallet, yet is usually restricted to patients that involve considerable expansion, for instance, greater than 6 mm. Moreover, the technique is not easily used on younger patients (e.g., below about four years of age) or on individuals where the intermaxillary, mid-palatal suture has closed (e.g., at about 15 years of age in females and about 17 years in males), as there is a remote possibility of fracturing other sutures, particularly in the cribriform area of the brain.
To create the expansion with an RPE appliance, the palatal screw is activated by quarter turns twice in the morning, which is equal to about 0.5 mm. Within three days, it is possible to observe an opening in the midline between the two upper central incisors with a slight space that indicates that the mid-palatal suture is opening with the procedure. For this procedure to be most effective, the maxillary intermaxillary suture should be open and capable of widening with relative ease.
Myofunctional therapy is another approach for the correction of breathing difficulties, such as improper tongue position, abnormal swallowing, mouth breathing, snoring, lack of nasal breathing, thumb sucking, improper resting tongue posture, and bruxism. However, as myofunctional therapy requires motivation and practice, it is often difficult getting young patients (e.g., less than four years of age) to achieve successful results, particularly as such patients often lack the necessary levels of cooperation and practice. To obtain about 1 to 2 hours of practice per day can be difficult and there remains many hours during the day, and especially at night, when the patient is not practicing proper function to obtain meaningful improvement. As a result, myofunctional therapy has little effect on the advancement of the maxilla.
It would be helpful, considering the advantages and disadvantages of the several above techniques, to have an appliance that can advance the maxilla to open up the nasopharyngeal airway, as well as to widen the upper posterior arch, which has the possibility of increasing nasal breathing. The present invention is intended to improve upon and resolve some of these known deficiencies of the art.

Oral appliance for advancing the maxilla and opening the nasopharyngeal airway