A base station transmits, in addition to a pilot channel, signals which are multiplexed with pilot symbols inserted in the respective signals in communication channels. As the transmission of the pilot channel as a reference signal for coherent detection is unnecessary with high power so as to attain high reliability, the pilot channel can be transmitted with low power by means of weight in comparison with the communication channel, so that interference with the communication channel of any other station is reduced. Moreover, accurate coherent detection can be made from the pilot symbol inserted in the communication channel on the mobile station side.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a CDMA cellular radio transmission system for use in digital cellular mobile communication and the like.
2. Description of the Related Art
In digital cellular mobile communication, a multiple access method means a line connection method when a plurality of stations simultaneously communicate with one another in the same band zone. CDMA, that is, Code Division Multiple Access is a technique in which multiple access is performed by means of spectrum spread communication for transmitting an information signal spectrum by spreading the spectrum over a band sufficiently wide in comparison with the original information band width and may also be called Spectrum Spread Multiple Access (SSMA). A direct spread method is a method of multiplying an information signal directly by a spread sequence code in the spread process.
Of the detection method in digital communication, a coherent detection method has excellent static characteristics in comparison with a delay detection method and is a method in which Eb/IO necessary for obtaining a certain mean bit error rate is lowest. Moreover, a coherent detection scheme with interpolation has been proposed to compensate transmission signal distortion due to fading (Masaichi Sanbe xe2x80x9cMethod of Compensating for Fading Distortion of 16 QAM for Land Mobil Communicationxe2x80x9d JECS Paper B-11, Vol. J72-B-II No. 1 pp. 7-15, 1989). According to this method, a pilot symbol 701 is, as shown in FIG. 7, inserted in an information symbol to be transmitted with each period T so as to make wave detection by estimating a channel transfer function, that is, the circuit condition. Further, a method which apply the above method to the direct spread CDMA has been proposed (Azuma, Taguchi, Ohono xe2x80x9cCharacteristics of Insert-Type Coherent detection RAKE in DS/CDMAxe2x80x9d JECS Technical Paper RCS94-98, 1994). There is also a pilot channel as a method enabling coherent detection in the direct spread CDMA. As shown in FIG. 8, in this method, one pilot channel 801 as a reference detection signal is continuously transmitted to be independent of channels for transmitting information data.
FIG. 4 shows the structure of a base station in a conventional CDMA cellular radio transmission system using a pilot channel. In a forward-link, transmission data (2) to (m) of mobile stations m-1 (1 less than m) are each spread by spread codes (2) to (m), and the spread data are then multiplies by weight before being multiplexed. A channel for use in transmitting the transmission data from each mobile station such as information data, control data and the like is called a xe2x80x9ccommunication channelxe2x80x9d. The aforementioned weight is used for transmission power control in the forward-link so as to add weight to transmission power among transmission channels. In a pilot channel 401, on the other hand, transmission data (1) 402 is spread by a spread code (1) 403 in a spread circuit 404, and the spread data is multiplied by weight W (1). The spread data in the communication channels 406 to 411 are then multiplexed in a multiplex circuit 412, and the multiplexed data is up-converted by a radio transmission unit 413 before being transmitted from an antenna 414. At this time, since no information needs to be transmitted with the transmission data (1) 402, it may be unmodulated data (totally 0 or 1).
FIG. 5 shows the structure of a mobile station in the conventional CDMA cellular radio transmission system using a pilot channel. As shown in FIG. 5, the signal received from an antenna 501 is down-converted in a radio reception unit 502. In a pilot channel 503, a phase estimation circuit 511 detects phase information 512 from the output of a correlation circuit 505, and transfers the detected result to the detection circuit 516 of a communication channel 513. In the communication channel 513, a detection circuit 516 subjects the signal inversely spread with a spread code i (i=2 to m) in a correlation circuit 515 to coherent detection on the basis of the phase information 512,and a binary value decision circuit 517 outputs reception data 518.
On the other hand, the pilot channel can be used as information other than coherent detection. In FIG. 5, reception power for each sampling (phase) is calculated in a power detection circuit 506 from the output of the correlator of the pilot channel 503, and a chip synchronous signal 508 is output by integrating (filtering) the reception power with a predetermined time constant in a chip synchronous circuit 507. This chip synchronous signal 508 is used to determine the phase of inverse spread with a spread code (i) 514 in the correlation circuit 515 of the communication channel 513. In the case of a system wherein any other cell transmits pilot channels and the same spread code (1) 504 is used with shifting the phase, it is possible to obtain other-cell signal level information 510 from the output of the power detection circuit via an other-cell monitor circuit 509. At this time, the transmission power of the pilot channel required to obtain the chip synchronous signal 508 and the other-cell signal level information 510 can be lower than the power required for coherent detection, because the output of the power detection circuit is integrated in the chip synchronous circuit 507 and the other-cell monitor circuit 509.
Moreover, Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication (kokai) No. 7-76049 discloses that the base station controls the directivity of a transmission antenna on a communication channel to make transmission so as to deal with the suppression of interference. FIG. 6 shows the situation in which the directivity is controlled. A base station 601 transmits signals to three mobile stations 602, 603, 604 while controlling the directivity of communication channels in the three directions of A, B, C. On the other hand, a pilot channel to be transmitted as a reference signal for coherent detection needs transmitting without directivity, because the pilot channel is commonly used for the communication channels. At this time, the propagating path of the pilot channel is different from that of the communication channel. Namely, as shown in FIG. 6, paths 605, 606 refer to the situation in which the pilot channel transmitted without directivity has propagated through the path different from that of the communication channel, that is, the communication channel transmitted to have the directivity A never pass through the paths 605, 606. Therefore, the phase information of the pilot channel signal differs from that of communication channel signal.
In the conventional multiple transmission of a pilot channel, it is necessary to transmit the pilot channel with relatively strong power with respect to any other communication channel which may interfere with the pilot channel in order to increase the reliability of the pilot channel and improve coherent detection performance. More specifically, with reference to FIG. 4, the weight W (1) 405 tends to become large in value (W1 greater than Max W2 . . . Wm) as compared with the communication channel. If, however, W (1) is increased, the reliability of the reference signal for coherent detection is increased on one hand but since interference with communication channels (of any other station) is also increased, there arises a problem resulting in lowering communication channel quality.
Moreover, when the base station controls the directivity of the transmission antenna on a communication channel basis, the phase information of the pilot channel is impossible to use for making the coherent detection of the communication channel since the phase information obtained from the pilot channel differs from the detection phase of the communication channel.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an excellent CDMA cellular radio transmission system capable of reducing the interference (interference among stations) which is given to a communication channel by a pilot channel in a base station, and making coherent detection on the side of a mobile station when the communication channel is transmitted by controlling the directivity of a transmission antenna.
A CDMA cellular radio transmission system using a direct spread CDMA method according to the present invention is comprised of a base station and a mobile station. In the base station, a pilot channel and output communication channels with a pilot symbol inserted therein are output, and the pilot channel and the communication channels are multiplexed at the same frequency so as to transmit the combination of the multiplexed pilot channel and the communication channels. In the mobile station, chip synchronization with a combination of a pilot channel and communication channels which are multiplexed and transmitted by the base station with pilot symbols inserted in the respective communication channels are obtained, and coherent detection is carried out by using the pilot channel inserted in the communication channel.
According to the present invention, the base station transmits, in addition to the pilot channel, the communication channel with the pilot symbol (known symbol) periodically inserted therein for the purpose of insert-type coherent detection, which makes unnecessary the transmission of the reference signal for coherent detection with high power so as to attain high reliability in comparison with the communication channel, whereby interference with the communication channel of any other station is reduced. Moreover, the phase of the inverse spread code in the communication channel is obtainable by detecting the chip synchronous signal from the multiplex signal transmitted from the base station. Even when transmission is made by controlling the directivity of the transmission antenna for each communication channel on the base station side, the phase of the inverse spread code in the communication channel is obtainable and by detecting the other cell signal information, the coherent detection can be made accurately from the pilot symbol inserted in the communication channel.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


An advertising placard unit (36) for use within a toilet tank (20) is provided. The unit (36) includes an advertising information-bearing placard (40, 40a) and connection structure (42, 50, 56) allowing secure coupling of the unit (36) onto an overflow tube (30) forming a part of the tank flush valve assembly (22). Preferably, the placard (40, 40a) is supported in an upstanding, oblique orientation above the tube (30) in such a manner as to not interfere with valve operation or placement of a lid (24) on the tank (20).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is broadly concerned with advertising placard units especially designed for use in conventional toilet tanks so as to provide a means of displaying advertising information about plumbing services. More particularly, the invention is preferably concerned with such placard units, and the combination thereof with an upstanding overflow tube forming a part of a toilet tank valve, wherein the placard unit includes an advertising information-bearing placard together with connection structure for securely coupling the unit to the overflow tube.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional household flush toilets are equipped with an upright, lidded water tank having therein a selectively operable flush valve assembly. The valve assembly may be of various designs, but includes a valve as well as an upstanding overflow tube which prevents flooding in the event that the valve does not close.
These flush toilets invariably require service from time to time in order to maintain them in working order. To give one example, the valve may become warn and continuously leak water. The first reaction of a homeowner to such a problem is to lift the toilet tank lid to examine the valve and attempt adjustments. Often however, an unskilled homeowner may be ill-equipped to deal with the problem and may conclude that the services of a professional plumber are needed. Because plumbing services of this nature are only infrequently needed, the homeowner must refer to a telephone or other service directory in order to obtain the telephone number and other pertinent information of a plumbing service company. Heretofore, there has been no way to display advertising or other information about plumbing services within the toilet tank itself, so as to facilitate a homeowner's contact with a plumbing service company.

Advertisement display for toilet overflow tube


A composition suitable for hair care which has excellent hair conditioning effects and provides a pleasant sensory feeling during use. The composition contains basic amino acids and high alcohols, and is preferably free of non-polymeric alkyl quaternary ammonium salts, which are irritating and poorly biodegradable. The composition may also contain cationic polymers to enhance the conditioning effects. Anionic surface active agents, ampholytic surface active agents, or both, may also be incorporated into the hair care composition in order to impart hair cleansing properties.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a hair care composition product containing (A) a basic amino acid derivative and (B) a higher alcohol as active ingredients. The composition may optionally contain (C) a cationic polymer and/or (D) an anionic surface active agent, an ampholytic surface active agent, or both, as additional active ingredients. The composition may be used, for example, to condition hair. The composition makes hair easier to comb, imparts a soft and moist feeling to the hair, and provides good sensory feel properties during use.
2. Discussion of the Background
When the hair is washed with a soap, a synthetic wash, detergent and the like, excess fat is removed during washing. As a result, the hair loses smoothness, a dry and hard feeling is produced, the combing property is decreased, and broken hair or split hair may be produced.
In order to eliminate these drawbacks, a hair care composition product, such as a shampoo or a rinse, contains ingredients that provide hair conditioning effects. Such a hair care composition which is most widely used is one containing a quaternary ammonium salt, such as a dialkyldimethylammonium chloride or a monoalkyltrimethylammonium chloride, as the main active ingredient.
These alkyl quaternary ammonium salts are electrically adsorbed on the surface of the hair, which is weakly acidic, whereby a good combing property and smoothness is imparted to the hair. However, the skin and the mucous membrane are heavily irritated by these salts, and the biodegradability thereof is poor.
Further, when the alkyl quaternary ammonium salts are used in combination with an anionic surface active agent, a water-insoluble salt is formed, decreasing solubility and sensory feeling during use. Thus, the use of the alkyl quaternary ammonium salts is limited when incorporating the same into a hair care composition, so the development of conditioning agents which may replace the alkyl quaternary ammonium salts has been in demand.
Known examples of conditioning agents other than the alkyl quaternary ammonium salts include alkylamideamine salts such as stearic acid diethylaminoethylamide and cocoyl arginine ethyl ester pyrrolidone carboxylate. These compounds exhibit low irritation and an excellent biodegradability, but have poor conditioning effects.
In recent years, consumers have had much interest in safety and environmental issues, and a hair care composition which has excellent conditioning properties and provides acceptable sensory feelings feeling during use which does not require alkyl quaternary ammonium salts have been in high demand.


A monomer composition characterized by being curable to form a resin suitable for optical products having a balanced refractive index and Abbe's number range and good tintability comprising a polyene monomer; a polyisocyanate, polyisothiocyanate, or an isocyanate monomer containing at least one isothiocyanate group; and a monomer having two or more active hydrogen groups such as polythiols, polyamines, and polyols. The invention also provides a special process for making the composition and for curing the composition to form a resin product.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to optic polymers and, in particular, to optical polymers prepared by reacting a polyene monomer, a polyisocyanate or polyisothiocyanate monomer and a monomer having at least two active hydrogen groups, and to a process for preparing such polymers and to optic products made from such polymers.
2. Description of Related Art
Polymeric materials are used extensively as substitutes for glass in optical products such as lenses. The use of polymeric materials over glass offers several practical advantages. Since polymeric materials have a lower density than inorganic glass, there can be a great reduction in weight of the optical product.
Additionally polymeric materials may offer great improvement over glass in terms of impact resistance. The improved processability and other characteristics such as tintability make polymeric materials especially attractive as a material for ophthalmic lenses. A variety of polymeric materials including polycarbonates, polystyrenes, acrylic polymers, polythiourethane, and polysulfones have already been used for optical applications. Each of these materials offers a somewhat different combination of physical and optical properties which lead to advantages and disadvantages for optical applications. For example, polycarbonate lenses typically show excellent impact resistance but are also characterized by poor scratch resistance and tintability and high chromatic aberration. Acrylic polymers have excellent optical clarity, but poor impact resistance and a relatively low refractive index. Polystyrenes are typically characterized by a relatively high refractive index, but also show a great deal of optical dispersion combined with poor impact resistance. Polysulfones have a high refractive index, but are typically colored and typically difficult to process.
Considerable research has been directed towards development of polymers with a combination of properties which make them well suited for optical applications. Generally, a high refractive index is of principal importance for an optical material since the use of a high refractive index material allows for production of thinner lenses when designing lenses of the same power and design. Reduction of edge thickness of the lens offers practical advantages in terms of weight savings and aesthetic reasons. Another important consideration for optical materials is optical dispersiveness. The value of optical dispersiveness is typically characterized by the Abbe's number. Materials with high Abbe numbers show little optical dispersiveness while materials with low Abbe numbers show high optical dispersiveness. A high Abbe number is desired for optical materials since this will lead to reduced chromatic aberration and better image clarity for a given lens design and thickness. Typically polymers with high refractive indices also possess low Abbe numbers. An Abbe number close to 40 is 20 considered to be high enough for desired eyeglass application. The two most common plastic lenses in the market, polycarbonate and CR-39 lenses, have shortcomings in optical properties. Polycarbonate lenses, for instance, have a relatively high refractive index of 1.59 and a relatively low Abbe number of 30.4. Lenses made of diethylene glycol bis(allyl carbonate)(CR-39 resin) have a low refractive index of 1.49 and an Abbe number of 58. Therefore, when using an optical material, it is very important to balance refractive index and Abbe number so that both are suitable for the end product. Optimally, both refractive index and Abbe number should be high.
Several other considerations are of importance for optical materials, especially for use in ophthalmic lenses. Tintability and impact resistance have both become especially important properties for ophthalmic lens materials. Polycarbonate lenses are known for their excellent impact resistance; however, polycarbonate is extremely difficult to tint. Polythiourethane lenses may also possess good impact resistance, but elevated temperatures are required for tinting which may lead to possible lens deformation. Therefore polymers having improved tintability properties over these optical polymers is desired.
Weathering stability is another problem for most plastic lenses, especially for polythiourethane based lenses. Free --SH groups at the end of the polythiourethane polymeric molecules are readily oxidized by oxygen over a period of time or at elevated temperature and the lenses will become yellow. It is also the intention of the invention to reduce or eliminate free SH groups to enhance the weathering stability. Additionally, properties such as optical clarity and transmittance, coloration, hardness, machinability, processability and the like must also meet certain property levels in optical materials useful for use in optical products.
A number of patents have been granted directed to optical resins.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,387 is directed to a S-alkyl thiocarbamate base lens resin obtained by reacting one or more --NCO containing compounds with one or more --SH containing aliphatic compounds. The patent discloses using a radical-polymerizable raw material in the reaction in small amounts depending what requirements would be imposed as a lens resin, so long as these additional components do not prevent the attainment of the object of the subject invention. Radical-polymerizable raw materials such as diethylene glycol bis (allyl carbonate) (DAC), an acrylic ester, a methacrylic ester or a styrene derivative along with its radical polymerization initiator may be used in small amounts in the reaction mixture.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,733 claims a high-refractivity plastic lens resin consisting essentially of a polymeric reaction product obtained by copolymerizing a polyisocyanate with a polythiol.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,780,522 claims an optical lens comprising a copolymer obtained by reacting an isocyanate with an --OH containing compound having two or more --OH groups.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,923 claims an S-alkyl thiocarbonate base resin 5 comprising reacting a polyisocyanate with at least one hydroxyl-containing mercapto compound.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,084,545 claims a plastic lens comprising the reaction product of one or more isothiocyanate compounds with one or more polyol, polythiol, or polythiol-hydroxy compounds.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,310,847 claims a polyurethane composition suitable for optical lenses which is made by reacting a polyisocyanate free of intermolecular sulfur atoms and an acylic saturated monomer having at least three reactive groups with respect to isocyanates per molecule. The reactive groups may be mercapto.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,047,576 is directed to a polymerizeable vinyl compound having a polythioether skeleton, which is prepared by addition-reaction of a polyene compound which is a specifically defined acryloyl or acryloyl amide having an aliphatic or alicyclic residue with at least one (1) polythiol compound in the presence of a basic catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,270,439 is directed to a method of producing a curable composition containing: 1.) a prepolymer having a polythioether skeleton made by addition reacting 4,4'-bis(methacryloythio) diphenylsulfide and a polythiol having the formula R--(SH).sub.m and 2.) at least one other vinyl monomer being copolymerizeable with the 4,4'compound in the presence of a base catalyst.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,352,757 claims sulfur compounds of the general formula [HS--R.sub.1 --COO]--.sub.n A where R.sub.1 is a linear or branched alkylene radical containing one to three carbon atoms and A denotes a hydrocarbon residue of valency n chosen from four particular aromatic and cycloaliphatic radicals. The sulfur compounds are used in the preparation of polythiourethanes by reaction of the sulfur compound and an aromatic polyisocyanate. The sulfur compounds are also employed for preparing polythioethers by reaction with a polyene monomer. Both the polyurethanes and polythioethers obtained from the subject sulfur compounds have properties which enable them to be employed in optics. It is also disclosed that the polythiourethane and polythioether polymers formed may be used alone or mixed for optical purposes such as the manufacture of ophthalmic lenses.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,120,721 is related to a liquid radiation curable composition useful for coating and imaging which comprises: 1.) an acrylic or methacrylic terminated, urethane containing polyene, 2.) a non-water soluble vinyl monomer diluent, preferably an acrylate or methacrylate monomer diluent, 3.) a polythiol containing at least two thiol groups per molecule and 4.) a photoinitiator. The composition on exposure to radiation, e.g., a UV light source, cures to a solid polythioether.
Bearing in mind the problems and deficiencies of the prior art, it is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide polymerizable monomeric compositions and polymeric materials having a combination of properties which are superior in many aspects to that of existing optical materials. It is another object of the present invention to provide a process for preparing optical resins having a superior combination of physical and optical properties. The terpolymer system described herein offers advantages over poythiourethane homopolymers in that the terpolymers have reduced yellowness, enhanced tintability and weathering stability, as well as a reduced odor in the uncured resin. The terpolymer system offers advantages over polythioether homopolymer systems in terms of enhanced impact resistance and an enhanced refractive index and Abbe number combination.
Still other objects and advantages of the invention will in part be obvious and will in part be apparent from the specification.

Optical terpolymer of polyisocyanate, polythiol and polyene monomers


An architecture for a reconfigurable network that can be implemented on a semiconductor chip is disclosed, which includes a hierarchical organization of network components and functions that are readily programmable and highly flexible. Essentially, a reconfigurable network on a chip is disclosed, which includes aspects of reconfigurable computing, system on a chip, and network on a chip designs. More precisely, a reconfigurable network on a chip includes a general purpose microprocessor for implementing software tasks, a plurality of on-chip memories for facilitating the processing of large data structures as well as processor collaboration, a plurality of reconfigurable execution units including self-contained, individually reconfigurable programmable logic arrays, a plurality of configurable system interface units that provide interconnections between on-chip memories, networks or buses, an on-chip network including a network interconnection interface that enables communication between all reconfigurable execution units, configurable system interface units and general purpose microprocessors, a fine grain interconnect unit that gathers associated input/output signals for a particular interface and attaches them to a designated system interface resource, and a plurality of input/output blocks that supply the link between an on-chip interface resource and a particular external network or device interface. Advantageously, the network minimizes the configuration latency of the reconfigurable execution units and also enables reconfiguration on-the-fly.

The desire by mission planners to implement viable space communication infrastructures that can facilitate the deployment of next-generation space-based networks creates numerous design challenges for today's spacecraft system engineers. These design challenges are compounded by increasingly demanding space applications and increased mission requirements, and also significant pressure to minimize the overall system costs. Generally, the trend is to implement less costly space communication systems while striving to transport more data to and from user applications. In this regard, a major problem encountered by system designers is that the existing space system architectures and associated design approaches fall short in meeting all of the new design and cost requirements being imposed. Therefore, a new space system architecture and design approach are needed that can provide an optimal balance in meeting existing and future space system design and mission requirements, especially in terms of cost, performance, reliability, flexibility, power consumption and weight.
A current trend in the space industry is towards a modular commercial off-the-shelf design approach. However, the use of off-the-shelf components (e.g., for payload processors, mission specific sensors, communication subsystems, etc.) from numerous different vendors creates a significant interface design problem that has not yet been adequately addressed. For example, the use of different interfaces between the vendors' components reduces the overall flexibility of the systems involved, and leads to increased non-recurring engineering costs (in terms of financial expenses, power consumption and weight). Also, this approach presents a significant design challenge due to rapidly changing standards, the scarcity of space-worthy off-the-shelf interface components, and the basic inflexibility of the network solutions that are available today. In this regard, refer to FIG. 1, which depicts a typical spacecraft system architecture for scientific applications that illustrates the above-described interface problems with the current off-the-shelf design approach.
FIG. 1 depicts a block diagram of a typical architecture for a state-of-the-art spacecraft system 100 using a conventional commercial off-the-shelf design approach, which includes a sensor suite (SS) subsystem 102, a payload data processor (PDP) subsystem 104, and a spacecraft control processor (SCP) subsystem 106. The SS subsystem 102 includes a plurality of sensors 108a-108d, the PDP subsystem 104 includes a plurality of payload data processors 110a-110c, and the SCP subsystem 106 includes a plurality of spacecraft control processors 112a-112c. As illustrated by this example architecture, the current design approach is to use standard point-to-point interfaces between the components of the SS subsystem 102 and PDP subsystem 104. Thus, interfaces 114a-114d are implemented as standard point-to-point interfaces using IEEE 1394 and 1355 high-speed serial links. Additionally, payload data processors 110a-110c in PDP subsystem 104 are implemented as commercial off-the-shelf computer processors, which are interconnected by a standard Compact Peripheral Component Interconnect (cPCI) backplane bus 116. Note that, as illustrated by this example architecture, a conventional solution for a typical SS-PDP interface is to implement one interface per sensor-computer pair.
Spacecraft system 100 depicted in FIG. 1 also includes two major interfaces 118, 120 that interconnect the PDP and SCP subsystems 104, 106. For this example, interface 120 is implemented with an IEEE 1394 serial link between SCP processor 112a and PDP processor 110c so as to exchange control information. Alternatively, interface 120 may be implemented with an IEEE 1355 serial link. Control information is also exchanged between processors 112a and 112b in SCP subsystem 106 using an IEEE 1394 serial link 122. Interface 118 provides data downlink, uplink, and cross-link transmission capabilities using a standard network communication protocol (e.g., ATM). At this point, it is important to note that all of the above-described system interconnects are defined early on in the design cycle, and that specific design remains fixed and inflexible throughout the life of the system involved. Consequently, such design inflexibility severely restricts a user's ability to redistribute data during missions, and also limits the types of applications that can be implemented.
In the types of systems illustrated by FIG. 1, software (rather than hardware) is used for management of the various protocols used. However, implementing such a software/hardware tradeoff leads to additional software development costs and an overall loss of computing power. Thus, there is a pressing need to develop a flexible network infrastructure that can facilitate the interconnection of system components using disparate interface standards, without also incurring an increase in processing overhead, design costs, and/or project risk.
Another problem that exists in this field is that significant advances in chip technologies and wire speeds in the commercial sector are driving a need for faster packet-processing devices, and protocols have become diversified to a great extent. However, two basic design philosophies have evolved to solve this problem. One approach emphasizes increased design flexibility, and the other emphasizes increased processing speed. For example, one such design approach is to use a "general purpose process" to handle network traffic in order to increase flexibility, but this increase comes at the expense of speed. A second approach uses Application-Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs) for network traffic processing functions in order to increase speed, but this increase comes at the expense of flexibility.
Ultimately, the significant increases in link speeds make "wire speed" processing unattainable with today's "general purpose processor" solutions. Also, the fixed nature of ASICs makes them too inflexible for many applications. However, vendors of processing system components (e.g., routing switches, edge switches, network interface cards, etc.) now realize that it is not enough to simply optimize their products for either flexibility or speed alone, because unless their products can provide the best features of both approaches, they will be incapable of meeting future market demands. Therefore, in order to meet these and other similar challenges, certain designers have been working to develop network devices (the field of "Network Processors") that should merge the best features of both flexibility and speed.
Nevertheless, although the developers of today's Network Processor designs have achieved some successes in solving certain flexibility versus speed optimization problems, there are still a number of significant problems to be resolved. For example, the existing Network Processor architectures rely on a conventional technique of merging a "general purpose processor" with relatively costly non-programmable ASICs. However, improvements in reconfigurable computing techniques using field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) offer additional flexibility for future Network Processor architectures, by providing a custom-made hardware solution that can be reconfigured and adapted for future in-space mission needs. Notwithstanding such improvements, a major drawback of this approach is that there is an inherent flaw in the design of FPGAs that significantly limits the amount of flexibility that can be obtained. For example, today's FPGA devices are composed of a large number of tightly-coupled, fine-grained programmable resources. However, the tightly-coupled nature of the programmable fabric of these FPGAs makes them fall far short of the goal of implementing all of the concepts of the reconfigurable computing paradigm, because the current FPGA designs are not scalable for implementing coarse-grained applications (e.g., in terms of physical interconnections and design engineer effort). Therefore, it would be advantageous to provide a network architecture that can be used, for example, for space-based applications, which efficiently integrates all of the elements required by the reconfigurable computing paradigm and provides an optimal balance between flexibility and speed. As described in detail below, the present invention provides a novel reconfigurable network that can be implemented on a chip, which resolves the above-described interface design problems and other related problems.


In a motor vehicle transmission multiple-disc clutch assembly, a waved ring-shaped spring is provided within an annular groove formed in the clutch piston held within the clutch housing. The waved spring preferably is formed from spring steel and has five upwardly directed segments and five downwardly directed segments. When inserted in the annular groove and not flexed or compressed, a portion of the upwardly directed segments extends above the upper surface of the outer rim of the clutch piston by between about 0.025 to 0.040 inch. The waved spring opposes axial forces exerted on the clutch piston and the clutch pack (plurality of clutch plates) at a rate of 200 to 240 psi for the first 0.030 inch compression until it is substantially flattened with the upwardly directed segments to a height even with the outer rim of the clutch piston. The waved spring is free of radially extending projections or tabs and is movable with relation to the clutch piston.

A multiple-disc clutch uses a series of annularly shaped friction discs to transmit torque or apply braking force. The discs have internal teeth that are sized and shaped to mesh with splines on the clutch assembly hub. In turn, this hub is connected to a planetary gear train component so gearset members receive the desired braking or transfer force when the clutch is applied or released. The multi-disc clutch assembly is the means by which gears within the transmission are selectively engaged and disengaged from either the crankshaft or the transmission case.
Multiple-disc clutches have a large drum-shaped housing which holds all other clutch components, such as the cylinder, hub, clutch piston, piston return springs, seals, pressure plate, clutch pack and snap rings. The clutch pack consists of a series of clutch plates and composition plates, and a thicker plate known as the pressure plate or clutch backing plate. Sometimes friction discs are sandwiched between the clutch plates and the pressure plate.
The clutch plates have tabs extending radially outwardly around their outside diameter to mate with the axially aligned channels or grooves formed in the inner rim of the clutch drum. When the tabs are held within the grooves, they prevent substantial relative movement between the clutch plates and the clutch drum. Clutch plates must have perfectly flat outer surfaces. They are specifically machined to promote a coefficient of friction to help transmit engine torque.
The pressure plate or clutch backing plate has tabs extending radially outwardly around the outside diameter also to mate with the channels in the clutch drum. The pressure plate is usually held in place with a large snap ring. The stroking piston forces the engaging clutch pack against the fixed pressure plate. Because the pressure plate cannot move or deflect, it provides the reaction to the engaging clutch pack.
Examples of prior art multi-disc clutch assemblies are shown in the following patents: U.S. Pat. No. 4,958,753; U.S. Pat. No. 4,592,455; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,226,319.
In addition, two examples of prior art multi-disc clutch assemblies are shown in FIGS. 1-4. In the prior art GENERAL MOTORS.RTM. THM 400 automatic transmission, illustrated in attached FIGS. 1 and 2, a clutch piston 46 is provided between the inner surface of the clutch drum housing 12 and the composition plates 32 and flat steel clutch plates 34 of the clutch pack in the clutch drum assembly 10. A waved steel ring 24 is provided between the clutch piston 46 and the bottom clutch plate 34 or composition plate 32. The ring 24 defines an axial opening that fits around the inner rim 18 of the clutch drum housing 12 and has radially outwardly extending tabs or projections 26 that fit within the axial grooves 20 defined in the inner surface of the outer rim 16 of the clutch drum housing 12. The waved steel ring 24 further defines axially downwardly extending portions 28 and axially upwardly extending portions 30. Clutch backing plate 38 (sometimes also called the pressure plate) nests against one of the clutch plates 34 and is held in place by snap ring 44. Clutch backing plate 38 defines an axial opening that fits around the inner rim 18 of the clutch drum housing 12, and the plate 38 has radially outwardly extending tabs or projections 42 that fit within the axial grooves 20 defined in the inner surface of the outer rim 16 of the clutch drum housing 12.
When an axially directed pressure of a sufficient force (due to the stroking piston) is applied against the waved steel ring 24, the downward and upward projecting portions 28, 30 of the ring 24 may be flattened out to cause a greater frictional engagement between the surfaces of the ring 24 and the surface of the adjacent composition plate 32 or clutch plate 34 and the surface of the clutch piston 46. The reacting forces of the ring 24 cause the clutch to apply more gradually to prevent a bump or lurch at the end of a gear shift. Because the tabs 26 of the waved steel ring 24 are held within the axially extending grooves 20 of the clutch drum housing, the waved steel ring 24 cannot rotate when subjected to the axial force in combination with the rotational frictional forces.
Another prior art clutch arrangement is shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The ACURA.RTM. INTEGRA.RTM. 4Sp Hydraulic transmission includes a clutch drum assembly 50 having a clutch housing or drum 52 defining an annular open cavity 54 between an outer rim 56 and an inner rim 58. Axially extending grooves 60, sometimes called clutch plate channels, are formed in the inner surface 62 of the outer rim 56. A clutch piston 66 is held within the open cavity defined by the clutch housing 52. The clutch piston 66 has an axial opening 68 that fits around the inner rim 58 of the clutch housing 52, and has an annular groove 70 disposed in its upper surface. A spring washer 64 having an inner edge, an outer edge, an upper surface and a lower surface, is held within the annular groove 70 with a portion of its lower surface contacting the clutch piston. One clutch plate 72 of a series of clutch and composition plates 72, 76 forming the clutch pack abuts against a portion of the upper surface of the spring washer 64. Each of the clutch plates 72 has radially outwardly extending tabs 74 that fit within the axially extending grooves 60 in the inner surface 62 of the outer rim 56 of the clutch housing 52. The composition plates 76 have radially inwardly extending teeth 78 that selectively mate with splines provided on the transmission shaft (not shown). A clutch backing plate 80 (sometimes called a pressure plate) nests adjacent to the last clutch plate 72 of the clutch pack, and is held in place by snap ring 90. The clutch backing plate 80 has an annular open cavity 82 that fits around the inner rim 58 of the clutch housing 52, and has radially outwardly extending tabs 84 that fit within the axially extending grooves 60 in the inner surface of the outer rim 56 of the clutch housing 52.
The spring washer 64 is inwardly dished so that its upper surface slopes downwardly from its outer edge 65 to its inner edge 63. Typically, the spring washer 64 is inserted into the annular groove 70 so that the upper surface is adjacent to a clutch plate 72 and the inner edge and a portion of the lower surface contact the annular groove 70. The spring washer 64 opposes axial forces exerted on the clutch piston 66 (due to the stroking piston). When those forces are high enough, however, the spring washer 64 may be flattened out within the annular groove 70 of the clutch piston 66. It has been found that frictional contact between outer edge 65 of the spring washer 64 and the facing surface of the adjacent clutch plate 72 cuts a groove or otherwise causes excessive wear in the adjacent clutch plate 72. This wear causes a small loss of the axial spring force applied to the clutch plates, which in turn causes undesirable slippage between the clutch piston and clutch pack, eventually leading to clutch failure.
Alternately, the spring washer 64 may fit within groove 70 in an inverted position such that the outer edge 65 and a portion of the nominal lower surface contact the annular groove 70 and the inner edge 63 and nominal upper surface contact the adjacent clutch plate 72. In this configuration, frictional contact between the inner edge 63 of the spring washer 64 and the facing surface of the adjacent clutch plate 72 cuts a groove or wears the surface of the clutch plate 72.
An object of the present invention is to provide a clutch assembly in which the proper axial forces are exerted on the clutch plates and clutch piston without causing undesirable excessive wear on the surfaces of the clutch plates. A further object of the invention is to provide a waved ring spring formed without mating tabs or projections that is held within the clutch piston in the clutch housing without restriction on its rotational movement within the clutch housing.

Automatic transmission clutch drum assembly with waved ring spring


A high density optical disc having a track pitch of 0.85 .mu.m, a shortest pit length of 0.49 .mu.m, a pit depth of 100 nm, and a pit width of 0.35 .mu.m is rotated at a linear velocity of 2.4-2.8 m/s such that the same is optically reproduced by a laser beam having a wavelength of 635 nm which is converged to a spot size of 0.9 .mu.m by an objective lens having a numerical aperture of 0.6. Accordingly, data is read from the optical disc at a transfer rate of 5.6 Mbps.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an optical disc and an optical disc player. More specifically, the present invention relates to an optical disc such as compact disc (CD), laser disc (LD), photo-magnetic disc and etc., and a reproducing apparatus thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a prior art 12 cm CD with a conventional standard format, as shown in FIG. 1, a shortest pit length (a pit length of 3T) of an EFM demodulation is approximately 0.97 .mu.m (at a time that a reproducing time is 60 minutes), a pit width is approximately 0.7 .mu.m, and a track pitch is approximately 1.6 .mu.m. In a player for reproducing a conventional standard format CD, the CD is rotated at a linear velocity of 1.2-1.4 m/s, and by utilizing an objective lens having a numerical aperture of 0.45, a laser having a wavelength of 780 nm and a spot size of 1.4 .mu.m is irradiated onto a track of the CD, whereby audio data is reproduced at a transfer rate of 1.4 Mbps.
In recent years, in accordance with the development of a short wavelength laser, it becomes unnecessary to make a track pitch equal to the track pitch of the prior art. On the other hand, in order to record a video signal, it is necessary to increase a recording density on the disc. Especially, in a case of a digital video disc and etc. utilizing MPEG2 that will become a standard in the near future, it is desired that a high-density reproduction of four times the density of the conventional standard format becomes possible.
As a response to such a requirement, in an article titled as "Development of Quadruple Density Compact Disc", p. p. 174-177 or a collection of papers in JAS conference '90, a CD in which a recording density is made quadruple the recording density of the conventional standard format is proposed, in that by utilizing an argon ion laser having a wavelength of 457.9 nm, and an objective lens having a numerical aperture of 0.93, a track pitch is made 0.8 .mu.m and a recording linear velocity is made 0.7 m/s. The quadruple density CD is reproduced with a beam spot size of 0.75 .mu.m by utilizing an air-cooled compact argon laser having a wavelength of 488 nm and an objective lens having a numerical aperture of 0.6.
According to the prior art, it is possible to make a large recording density of a CD. However, in the prior art, since the air-cooled compact argon laser is utilized for reproducing the CD, it is impossible to make a disc player compact. In other words, the prior art can not be utilized for a miniaturized disc player.
Furthermore, in the prior art, since the argon laser having a wavelength of 488 nm is used, it is impossible to reproduce a CD on which data is recorded according to a conventional standard format. More specifically, in general, a pit is recorded with a pit depth of .lambda./4n (.lambda.=wavelength, and n=refractive index.apprxeq.1.5). Therefore, in a case of the conventional standard format, a pit is recorded with a pit depth (approximately 112 nm) applicable to a wavelength of 670 nm. On the other hand in a case of a wavelength of 488 nm, a pit depth of approximately 81 nm is suitable. Therefore, if the CD of the conventional standard format is reproduced by the argon laser having a wavelength of 488 nm, a phase difference between an irradiated light and a reflected light at a surface of the disc does not become 180 degrees, and therefore, a level of a reproduced signal becomes small. As a result, the CD of the conventional standard format can not be reproduced by the argon laser having a wavelength of 488 nm. In other words, in the prior art, there is no compatibility for a high-density disc and a low-density (conventional standard format) disc.

High density optical disc and optical disc player


Provided is a high-strength stainless steel spring exhibiting a good workability and having a high load characteristic. Thus, the high-strength stainless steel spring of the invention has an chemical component containing 0.04 to 0.08% by mass of C, 0.15 to 0.22% by mass of N, 0.3 to 2.0% by mass of Si, 0.5 to 3.0% by mass of Mn, 16 to 20% by mass of Cr, 8.0 to 10.5% by mass of Ni, 0.5 to 3.0% by mass of Mo, and the balance of Fe and inevitable impurities, and when the average diameter of the coil is represented by D and further the diameter of the steel wire is represented by d in the case that cross sections of the stainless steel wire are in a complete round form or the value obtained by subtracting the average coil diameter from the outer diameter of the coil is represented by d′ in the case that the cross sections of the stainless steel wire are in a form other than the complete round form, the spring has a spring index D/d or D/d′ of 2 to 6.

As materials for a high-strength spring member to which a high load is applied, there have hitherto been a piano wire and a Si—Cr steel oil tempered wire for cold working, and a Si—Mn based steel wire for springs, etc. for hot working.
These high-strength materials each have a problem that the corrosion resistance is low. As a method for improving the corrosion resistance of a spring, painting, corrosion-resistant plating treatment or the like can be supposed. However, Si—Cr steels and Si—Mn steels cannot be subjected to plating treatment since it is feared that delayed fracture is generated therein. About a piano wire, chromate treatment, which is the most effective corrosion resistance treatment therefor, has been regulated on the basis of environmental problems in recent years. Thus, the treatment has been desired to be changed to an alternative treatment wherein no hexavalent chromium is used. Practically, only painting is a solution about the corrosion resistance. Drawbacks of these surface treatments are in that the treatments need to be conducted after a material is made into a spring form, and thus the treatments become batch treatments, whereby an increase in manufacturing costs cannot be avoided; and when the surface of a material is injured during the use of the material as a spring, corrosion advances from the injure as a starting point.
A solution against this problem is a method of adopting stainless steel as a spring material. According to this method, painting and surface treatment can be omitted; therefore, costs for manufacturing the whole of a spring can be controlled into a low value although material costs increase by the adoption of stainless steel. However, austenite stainless steel, which is particularly good in corrosion resistance, may not give a sufficient strength.
The problem that high-strength materials have is not limited only to corrosion resistance. The materials have a problem that the workability is low because of the high strength. When a spring that can resist a high load is designed, it is necessary to make the spring index thereof small in order to make the spring constant high. FIG. 3 are views for explaining a conventional spring index. When cross sections of a steel wire are in a complete round form, the average coil diameter D representing the distance from the central line of one of the cross sections of the steel wire to the central line of another and the diameter d of the steel wire are used to represent the spring index by D/d, as illustrated in FIG. 3(a). When cross sections of a steel wire are not in a complete round form, the value d′ obtained by subtracting the average coil diameter D from the coil outer diameter D′ is used to represent the coil index by D/d′, as illustrated in FIG. 3(b). A material of a spring is required to have a high workability when the spring index thereof is made small. Accordingly, the toughness is insufficient, and it is feared that cracking or seizure is generated.
As a prior art about the workability, suggested is a method of quenching and tempering steel in a wire form once, subjecting the steel to coiling, and again quenching and tempering the steel (see JP-A-2000-213579 (Patent Document 1), and JP-A-2003-073737 (Patent Document 2)). This is a method of using the quenching and tempering in the steel wire form as a treatment wherein importance is attached to toughness; subjecting the wire to coiling; and using a treatment wherein importance is attached to strength when the second quenching and tempering are carried out. This method certainly makes it possible to manufacture a high-strength spring in a state of a product that can resist a high load. However, costs increase by the two thermal treatments although the toughness problem is solved. Furthermore, the above-mentioned corrosion resistance cannot be improved.
In order to attain an enhancement in spring strength, a spring having a rectangular section or a spring having an elliptical section may be used in recent years (see JP-A-09-133168 (Patent Document 3), and JP-A-63-034335 (Patent Document 4)). This is because a large energy can be obtained within a restricted space since this method makes it possible to decrease the adhesion height. However, about a steel wire having such a section, a part of the inside of the section is locally worked; thus, when the wire is subjected to wire drawing work and spring work, a risk that a shortage in the toughness is generated increases.
Patent Document 1 JP-A-2000-213579
Patent Document 2 JP-A-2003-073737
Patent Document 3 JP-A-09-133168
Patent Document 4 JP-A-63-034335

High-strength stainless steel spring and method of manufacturing the same


A space heater for a motor vehicle contains a burner with a combustion air fan. A series resistor (24) is provided for partial load operation. This resistor (24) is arranged in a housing (2, 6) which surrounds the electric motor (4) driving the fan wheel (14) of the combustion air fan (1) and through which combustion air is passed for cooling the electric motor and the resistor (24). The resistor (24) is soldered to a printed circuit board (20) located radially on the housing, downstream of a combustion air passage opening (22) designed as a cutout in the printed circuit board. The printed circuit board preferably carries a sound-absorbing plate (34) with a cutout (36) in the area of the resistor.

Various embodiments of space heaters for motor vehicles and other mobile units have been known. A distinction is made basically between space heaters using air as the heat carrier and space heaters using water as the heat carrier. Another classification is based on the type of the burner. Practically all types of burners have a combustion air fan.
To control the amount of heat supplied by the operation of the space heater, the burner can be switched on and off at certain time intervals. If the heating capacity required is relatively low, it is more favorable for economic reasons and for reasons of environmental protection to operate the burner in partial load operation only. A series resistor can be inserted into the circuit of the electric motor, so that the electric motor and consequently also the fan wheel will only rotate at reduced speed only.
It has hitherto been common practice to arrange this resistor for the partial load operation in the feed lines leading to the electric motor, outside the housing of the unit. The resistor was exposed there to harmful environmental effects (water, dirt), and even to the risk of possible mechanical damage. It was therefore necessary to protect this resistor.
The electric motor has a considerable electric power consumption even in the case of a space heater for relatively low heating capacity. The difference between the full power and the partial power of the electric motor must be converted by the electric resistor into heat during partial load operation. Therefore, a relatively large resistor with large surface was usually used in order to rapidly remove the heat generated.
It has been known especially in connection with liquid fuel heating devices, especially vehicle space heaters, that an electric motor rotating a fan wheel is optionally operated in full load operation and in partial load operation by means of a series resistor. DE 29,31,936 A1 contains the special suggestion that the glow plug intended for the ignition process, which is arranged in the wall of the burner housing, be used as the series resistor. The glow plug arranged downstream of the burner is arranged in the multiwall housing such that part of the glow plug is located in the heating air stream, another part of the glow plug is located in the waste gas stream, and the tip of the glow plug extends into the burner chamber.
It can be determined from the prior-art FR-PS 2,302,426 that an electric resistor serving to control the speed of an electric motor in an electric fan drive is arranged in a common housing with the driving electric motor and in the air stream of a cooling fan. Such an arrangement is expensive and is not applicable in a vehicle auxiliary heater.


A pipe cutter having dual outer knives and a method of using the same is disclosed. The outer knives are mounted on knife positioners capable of swinging the outer knives into a pipe in an arc to overlap with a knife positioned inside the pipe. The method includes the step of simultaneously swinging the outer knives into a continuously rotating pipe in an arc having a rotational direction opposite the rotational direction of the pipe.

This invention relates to an improved apparatus for producing spirally formed pipe. More particularly this invention relates to a pipe cutting apparatus having dual external cutting knives for cutting spirally formed pipe rapidly and efficiently.
A large potential for small diameter spiral pipes exists in the filter market, such as for use in automobile oil filters. These filters typically have a perforated inner metal cylinder that is approximately one inch in diameter. Because spiral pipes such as those used in oil filters need to be accurately and cleanly cut in large quantities, a pipe forming and cutting apparatus capable of fast and accurate cuts is necessary.
There are several known ways to form and cut a pipe. A pipe may be formed by spirally or helically winding a continuous strip of metal and joining adjacent edges of the wound strip to form a spiral lockseam in the pipe. In some pipe forming and cutting machines, the spirally formed pipe is cut by moving a knife outside the pipe into an overlapping position with a knife inside the pipe. Other types of spiral pipe forming and cutting machines use multiple knives or rotate the knives around the pipe to cut the pipe into sections.
Increased cutting speed in a spiral pipe forming and cutting apparatus is desirable in order to increase pipe production capabilities. One type of pipe cutting machine uses a single rotatable knife in a fixed position with respect to the pipe. The spiral pipe makes a full rotation before a cut is complete using this type of pipe cutting machine. Pipe cutting machines using a knife or knives that rotate around the pipe while cutting are generally more complicated and expensive than pipe cutting machines using fixed knives.
Accordingly, a spiral pipe forming and cutting apparatus is necessary that can improve productivity and sever a continuously formed spiral pipe rapidly and efficiently. Furthermore, a pipe cutting apparatus capable of cutting pipe lengths shorter than the width of the metal strip used to form the spiral is desirable.

Pipe cutter with dual outer cutting knives and method


The invention relates to a method for manufacturing chips composed of at least one electrically conductive material. Such a method comprises the following steps:                deposition, on a support, of an alloy comprising at least the electrically conductive material and a second material;        exposure of the alloy to plasma etching, in order to cause the desorption of the materials of the alloy not forming part of the composition of the chips, that is at least the second material but not the electrically conductive material;        formation of chips composed of at least said electrically conductive material.

In the field of micro- and nanotechnologies, the trend is to reduce the size of the components and to increase their integration density. This trend must necessarily be followed by the interconnection technologies (conductive films and adhesives, flip-chips (1), etc.), for which the pitches are increasingly small.
A first example relates to the flip-chip which is a highly advantageous technique for hybridizing components, for example on read circuits (FIG. 1). Compared with other techniques such as wire-bonding, it serves to obtain a high interconnection efficiency and to make the components operate at high frequency. Moreover, this collective technique serves to obtain a self-alignment of the components (FIG. 2).
The present method for producing indium chips is illustrated in FIG. 3. The quantity of material required for the formation of the indium chip is deposited by lift off on a metal bump, and the board is then heated to a sufficient temperature to remelt the indium: the metal then assumes its chip shape.
This embodiment involves a delicate technological step, lift off, which requires the use of thick resins and a good control of their profile, and also a remelt step to obtain the actual indium chip. The chips have a typical diameter of about 10 μm, with a pitch of 15 μm, as shown in FIG. 1. With this technique, it becomes difficult to obtain smaller chips, with high densities.
For finer pitches and/or smaller chip sizes, other production methods, such as conventional photolithography, with plasma etching of the indium (with a carbon chemistry) or electrolytic growth, are used. However, these embodiments have not reached maturity today.
A second example relates to the field of anisotropic conductive films/adhesives. These adhesives contain particles which, crushed by thermocompression, cause a vertical conduction. In this field, it is also necessary to use increasingly thin films, with increasingly dense interconnections. At present, Anisotropic Conductive Films (ACF) which have the smallest conductive particles are products with 3 μm diameter particles.
The technical problem that the present invention proposes to solve is therefore to provide a method for manufacturing flip-chips having the desired structural characteristics, in particular having a smaller size, and a high density per unit area.
A further object advantageously pursued by the present invention is to offer a method which eliminates the photolithography steps used in the prior art.

Method for manufacturing metal chips by plasma from a layer comprising several elements


In a method of driving a display panel, a first data voltage having a first potential difference with respect to a reference voltage is outputted to pixel units of the display panel during a first frame which the data voltage has a same polarity with respect to the reference voltage as a data voltage of a following frame, and a second data voltage having a second potential difference less than the first potential difference is output to pixel units of the display panel during a second frame in which the data voltage has a polarity with respect to the reference voltage that is reversed with respect to a data voltage of a following frame.

1. Technical Field
Example embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method of driving display panel and a display apparatus for performing the method. More particularly, example embodiments of the present invention are directed to a method of driving a display panel that enhances display quality of a three-dimensional (3D) stereoscopic image and a display apparatus for performing the method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a liquid crystal display (LCD) apparatus displays a two-dimensional (2D) image. Recently, display apparatuses capable of displaying a three-dimensional (3D) stereoscopic image have been developed, in response to consumer demand for 3D stereoscopic images in games, movies, etc.
In general, a display apparatus displays a 3D stereoscopic image using the binocular parallax of two human eyes. For example, since two human eyes are spaced apart from each other, images viewed at different angles are received by the brain and processed therein. Thus, a brain may perceive a single stereoscopic image.
A stereoscopic image display apparatus may be classified as either a stereoscopic type with an extra spectacle, or an auto-stereoscopic type without the extra spectacle. A stereoscopic type of display may be further classified as an anaglyph type or a liquid crystal shutter stereoscopic type. For the anaglyph type, a viewer wears a pair of glasses having blue and red lenses respectively for each eye. For the liquid crystal shutter stereoscopic type, a left-eye image and a right-eye image are alternately displayed, and the viewer wears a pair of glasses which sequentially open or close a left-eye or right-eye liquid crystal shutter that are respectively synchronized with the periods of the left and right-eye images.
In general, an inversion method is used to enhance afterimage characteristics in a display apparatus. The inversion method may be classified into either a dot inversion method or a frame inversion method. In a shutter stereoscopic type using a frame inversion method, the left-eye and right-eye images are driven using time-division multiplexing, and thus a polarity of the data voltage changes. Thus, a luminance difference may occur between the left-eye image and the right-eye image.

Method of driving a 3D display panel with enhanced left-eye image and right-eye image luminance difference and display apparatus for performing the method


A semiconductor laser comprises an active region (12) which, in response to a pumping energy applied thereto, can produce a stimulated emission of radiation with a central wavelength (λ) in the far infrared region, and a confinement region (16, 18, 22) suitable for confining the radiation in the active region (12), and comprising at least one interface (16a, 16b, 22a) between adjacent layers that is capable of supporting surface plasmon modes generated by an interaction of the interface with the radiation. The confinement region (16, 18, 22) comprises a wave-guide layer (16) which is delimited on opposite sides by a first interface and by a second interface (16a, 16b). The guide layer (16) is doped in a manner such that the first and second interfaces (16a, 16b) are capable of supporting the plasmon modes, respectively, and is of a thickness (d) such as to bring about the accumulation of the plasmon modes in proximity to the first and second interfaces (16a, 16b), outside the layer (16), and substantially a suppression of the plasmon modes, inside the layer.

It is generally known that the 1-10 THz frequency region (also defined as far infrared) is difficult to reach with sources based on semiconductor devices or, more generally, solid-state devices (R. E. Miles et al., Terahertz Sources and Systems, NATO ASI Series, Kluwer 2001). In fact, electronic components based on the oscillation of free charges, such as Gunn diodes or resonant tunnel-effect diodes, can reach frequencies of about one hundred GHz at most. At the other end of the spectrum, conventional diode lasers operating on optical transitions from the conduction band to the valence band of the semiconductor material are typically limited to visible or near/middle infrared frequencies (>30 THz).
There is, however, very great technological interest in this region of the spectrum in view of the many requirements in the fields of spectroscopy, of wireless communications, and of the production of images for medical purposes or security checks. In fact, the particular transparency or opacity characteristics of various substances within this frequency range are very suitable for the examination of biological tissues (in a manner similar and complementary to X-rays) or for use in surveillance operations in which it is necessary to examine objects that are concealed from view by garments or plastics containers. Finally, the transparency of construction materials and the large bandwidth available make these frequencies an optimal choice for intra-building communications of the future.
In principle, the quantum-cascade lasers (QCLs) that have recently been developed offer the capability to generate electromagnetic radiation in the far infrared range. These are, in fact, unipolar devices operating on transitions between sub-bands of states belonging to the same conduction band, resulting from the quantum confinement of the electrons in a substantially two-dimensional heterostructure (J. Faist et al., Science 264, 553, 1994). The energy separation between these sub-bands, and hence the frequency of the photons emitted, therefore depends mainly on the thickness of the semiconductor layers in which the electrons are confined and not on the electronic structure of the original material. In the current state of the art, QCLs have been produced to cover the entire middle infrared range up to a maximum wavelength of 24 μm (12.5 THz) (R. Colombelli et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 78, 2620, 2001). However, the production of a QCL operating in the THz range has remained impracticable up to now for various reasons. In the first place, there is the need to develop wave-guides of thicknesses (about 10 μm) compatible with the QCL growth system (molecular-beam epitaxy or MBE), which can effectively confine radiation of much longer wavelengths (˜100 μm) without increasing optical losses to prohibitive values. In the second place, there is the need to design the active region in a manner such as to ensure the population inversion that is necessary to compensate for the cavity losses. This latter need is more complex than in conventional QCLs owing to the fact that the energies involved become less than that of the optical phonon. This completely changes the dynamics of the non-radiative relaxation processes and requires a different approach on which to base the creation of the electronic structure.
In the current state of the art, there are therefore only QC devices that are capable of spontaneous emission at the frequencies of interest herein (with powers of the order of tens of pW in the THz range), without any evidence of laser effect or, even less, of gain (M. Rochat et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 73, 3724, 1998 and J. Ulrich et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 19, 2000).
The present device, like other semiconductor lasers, is composed of an active material in which the electromagnetic radiation is generated by virtue of electron injection. This is introduced into a wave-guide which is capable of confining the radiation in the particular region of space which is occupied by the active material and which defines the lateral dimensions of the optical cavity that is necessary for the operation of the laser. Given the two-dimensional characteristic structure of the active regions of QCLs, it is necessary to implement a planar wave-guide which provides for the confinement of the radiation in the direction in which the semiconductor material is grown, leaving the definition of the cavity in the perpendicular directions simply to the processes by which the device is produced (lithography, etc.). At visible or near and middle infrared frequencies, this wave-guide is generally produced by enclosing the active material between two or more layers of a different semiconductor with a lower refractive index. As is known, by virtue of the principle of total internal reflection, a wave-guide generally called a dielectric wave-guide, with operation similar to optical fibres, is thus produced. However, this approach cannot be used for frequencies in the THz range (wavelengths of about 100 μm) since it would require thicknesses of the semiconductor layers of the order of or greater than the wavelength, which are absolutely impracticable for the growth techniques (MBE, MOCVD) that are generally used. Moreover, since injection devices are involved, the semiconductors used must have a predetermined level of doping to ensure optimal transport properties. This would result into very high losses by absorption since the absorption coefficient "k" of the free carriers in a doped semiconductor is proportional to the square of the wavelength and thus becomes enormous in the far infrared range (P. Y. Yu and M. Cardona, Fundamentals of Semiconductors, Springer-Verlag, Berlin, 1996). Recently, owing to the development of QCLs with wavelengths greater than 15 μm, a new wave-guide based on surface plasmons, has been used (C. Sirtori, et al., Opt. Lett. 23, 1366, 1998; A. Tredicucci et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 2164, 2000). Surface plasmons are optical modes that are confined at the interface between two materials with dielectric constants of opposite sign such as, for example, a metal and a semiconductor. They are TM-polarized (and are therefore very suitable for QC lasers which emit TM-polarized light) and have an electric-field profile with the maximum at the interface and an exponential decay on both sides in the direction perpendicular to the surface. If ε1 is the dielectric constant of the metal and ε2 is that of the semiconductor, the penetration of the surface plasmon into the two materials is given by:
                              δ                      1            ,            2                          =                              λ            2                                                                                      Re                                                  [                                                            ɛ                                              1                        ,                        2                                                                                -                          1                                                                                ɛ                            1                                                    +                                                      ɛ                            2                                                                                ]                                                                                  -              1                                                          (        1        )
The penetration into the metal layer will thus be less the more negative is its dielectric constant [Re(ε)=n2−k2]. This aspect is important because the metal is notably absorbent (k>>1) and too pronounced a penetration of the optical mode would cause unacceptable losses. This explains why wave-guides based on surface plasmons are effective only for lasers of sufficiently long wavelength (λ>15 μm), in which the dielectric constants of the metals become ever more negative (k2>>n2).
The order of magnitude of the loss in surface plasmon wave-guides formed in QC lasers of longer wavelength is about one hundred cm−1 (A. Tredicucci et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 76, 2164, 2000; R. Colombelli et al., Appl. Phys. Lett. 78, 2620, 2001). Moreover, from the formula given above, since the dielectric constant of the semiconductor is relatively small and almost exactly real, it also seems clear that the penetration into the semiconductor is approximately inversely proportional to that into the metal (and in the far infrared range may thus also become very considerable). These characteristics mean that a surface plasmon wave-guide of the type used up to now is also not usable with success for a THz laser.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

THz semiconductor laser incorporating a controlled plasmon confinement waveguide

INFM Istituto Nazionale per La Fisica Della Materia


A RF microwave connector for telecommunication has a central terminal with a guiding groove and a fixing groove. The diameter of the cross section of the guiding groove is larger than the diameter of an inner wire of a coaxial cable and the diameter of the cross section of the upper end of the fixing groove is smaller than the diameter of the inner wire. The inner wire is thrust in the fixing groove by the walls of the fixing groove to cause the combination of the central terminal and the inner wire to be more stable and the connector to have better signal transmission quality by thrusting the inner wire into the fixing groove.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electric connector, and more particularly to a radio frequency microwave connector for telecommunication.
2. Description of Related Art
Taiwan Patent No. M271,298 and the corresponding U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/037,201 entitled with "RF microwave connector for telecommunication" applied by the applicant of the present invention discloses a RF microwave connector for telecommunication comprising a female terminal in which the female terminal has a main body. Two face-to-face contact sheets used for clamping a male terminal are respectively extended from two sides of one end of the main body and an arc-shaped clamping section is disposed on another end of the main body. Whereby, two edges of the clamping section are allowed to bend oppositely smoothly to clamp an inner wire of a coaxial cable firmly in the operation of combining the clamping section with the inner wire.
Another Taiwan Patent No. M276,372 and the corresponding U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/115,108 entitled with "RF microwave connector for telecommunication" applied by the applicant of the present invention discloses a RF microwave connector for communication comprising a male terminal in which the male terminal has a main body. A projecting portion used for inserting in a female terminal is extended from on end of the main body and an arc-shaped clamping section is disposed on another end of the main body. Two edges of the clamping section are symmetrically curvedly bended. Whereby, two edges of the clamping section are allowed to bend oppositely smoothly to clamp an inner wire of a coaxial cable firmly in the operation of combining the clamping section with the inner wire.
When a connector disclosed in either of both Taiwan patents is used, the female terminal or the male terminal is first caused to combine with a coaxial cable and then combine with a plastic insulator and a metal housing. Such kind of two-steps processing way rather wastes time and increases the production probability of flawed products.
Please refer to FIGS. 1A, 1B and 1C. A manufacturing method of a conventional connector comprises allowing an insulator 11 to combine with a central terminal in a hollow portion thereof. A groove 111 and an upward extended and bendable sheet 112 are disposed on the upper end of the insulator 11. A first clamping sheet 121 and a second clamping sheet 122 are connected with the central terminal at the upper end thereof. The first clamping sheet 121 is mounted in the groove 111 of the insulator 11. One end of the second clamping sheet 122 is connected with one end of the first clamping sheet 121 and another end of the second clamping sheet 122 is installed above the first clamping sheet 121. Moreover, a metal housing 13 is allowed to combine with the insulator 11. A buckling part 131 is combined with the metal housing 13 at one side thereof. Multiple pairs of tags 132, 133, 134 and 135 respectively disposed toward two sides of the buckling part 131 are disposed thereon as FIG. 1A shows. Furthermore, an inner wire 21 of a coaxial cable 20 is allowed to mount in the groove 111 and installed beyond the first clamping sheet 121. An inner insulation layer 22, grounding wire layer 23 and outer insulation layer 24 of the coaxial cable are respectively outside the groove 111 as FIG. 1B shows. Furthermore, the clamping part 131 is bended 90 degree to draw toward the rim of the upper end of the metal housing 11 to cause the inner wire 21 to be sandwiched between the second clamping sheet 122 and the first clamping 121 and the sheet 112 is pressed against the upper side of the second clamping sheet 122 to allow the second clamping sheet 122 not to contact with the buckling part 131. Next, the sheet pairs 132, 133, 134 and 135 are further bended to cause the sheet pairs 132 and 133 to fasten the metal housing 11 and the sheet pares 134 and 135 respectively to fasten the grounding wire layer 23 and the outer insulation layer 24 as FIG. 1C shows.
According to the assembling manner of the connector mentioned above, the coaxial cable 20 and the central terminal are together caused to combine with each other when the buckling part 131 is bended; it is time saving. But, the structure only utilizing the first clamping sheet 121 and the second clamping sheet 122 to clamp the inner wire 21 is rather not stable; it will influence the signal transmission quality. Besides, if an improper pull force is exerted on the coaxial cable when the connector is used, it is rather loosed easily.


Systems and methods for improved fault coverage of logic built-in-self-tests (LBISTs) in integrated circuits (ICs) by determining weighting and/or seed values to be used in generating pseudorandom test bit patterns for each channel to optimize fault coverage. In one embodiment, a method includes generating a pseudorandom sequence of bits, applying a weighting value to the sequence, propagating the weighted sequence through one or more levels of logic, and capturing the resulting data. Metrics are then applied to the captured data to determine the suitability or optimality of the weighting value, and an optimal weighting value is selected. This may be performed for a plurality of trial values for each of a number of channels to obtain a set of weighting values for the different LBIST channels. The method may also include determining a seed value for the pseudorandom bit pattern generator.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to test methods, and more particularly to systems and methods for providing improved fault coverage of logic built-in-self-tests in integrated circuits by controlling the composition of the test input patterns.
2. Related Art
As digital devices (e.g., integrated circuits) have become more complex and more densely packed with logic gates and other electronic components, the need for effectively testing these devices has become more important. As the complexity of these devices increases, there are more and more opportunities for manufacturing defects to occur, thereby impairing or impeding the proper operation of the devices. The testing of these devices is becoming increasingly important. With respect to the testing of devices, and more particularly manufactured integrated circuits (ICs), one mechanism that is very useful is a built-in self test (BIST). This may also be referred to as a logic built-in self test (LBIST).
BIST and LBIST methodologies are generally considered part of a group of methodologies referred to as design-for-test (DFT) methodologies. DFT methodologies involve incorporating features into the actual designs of the circuits to facilitate testing of the circuits. BIST methodologies involve incorporating circuit components into the design of the circuit to be tested, where the additional circuit components are used for purposes of testing the functional portion of the circuitry.
In a typical LBIST system, LBIST circuitry within a device under test includes a plurality of scan chains interposed between levels of the functional logic of the device. Typically, pseudorandom patterns of bits are generated and stored in the scan chains. This may be referred to as scanning the data into the scan chains (during a scan shift phase). After a pseudorandom bit pattern is scanned into a scan chain, the data is propagated through the functional logic to a subsequent scan chain (during a functional phase). The data is then scanned out of the subsequent scan chain and compressed to reduce storage and bandwidth requirements, for example, through the use of a multiple input signature register, or MISR (during a scan shift phase) This test loop is typically repeated many times (e.g., 10,000 interations,) with the results of each test loop being combined in some manner with the results of the previous test loops. After all of the scheduled test loops have been completed, the final result is compared to a final result generated by a device that is known to operate properly operated in an identical test (using identical input data processed identically.) Based upon this comparison, it is determined whether the device under test operated properly.
Because the use of pseudorandom patterns is not deterministic (e.g., it does not test each and every possible combination of inputs, states and outputs), it does not provide the simple result that the logic circuit either does or does not have any defects. Instead, it provides a level of confidence that the logic circuit does or does not have defects. The greater the number of inputs and states that are tested (i.e., whose outputs are compared to expected values), the higher the confidence level that any defects have been identified by the testing. The number of random test patterns that are needed to achieve a particular level of confidence that the logic circuit contains no defects depends on the design of the logic circuit. This non-deterministic testing approach is typically easier and less expensive to implement than a deterministic approach.
In some conventional LBIST systems, the pseudorandom patterns may be weighted. Without weighting, the number of 1's in a random pattern is likely to be very nearly the same as the number of 0's. Weighting can be implemented in order to cause the generated pseudorandom pattern to have more 1's than 0's, or vice versa. For instance, it may be desirable to generate an input test pattern that has 30 percent 0's and 70 percent 1's. The weighted input test patterns may provide improved fault coverage in testing functional logic that may, during normal operation, have many inputs that are 1's (or many inputs that are 0's). If the coverage of each LBIST test can be improved, the amount of LBIST testing which needs to be performed to achieve a desired confidence level (that a device under test has no defects) can be reduced, thereby reducing test time and cost.
Conventionally, a single weighting value is applied to all of the pseudorandom input bit patterns. This weighting value (as well as the seed value for the pseudorandom pattern generator) is typically determined by empirical methods (e.g., trial and error). It would be desirable to provide improved systems and methods for determining optimal weighting for the pseudorandom bit patterns and optimal seed values. What defines optimal (i.e., best,) for a given device of use of a device, can vary. Means for determining optimal weighting would be even more desirable in an LBIST system (not known in the prior art) that utilizes different weighting values for one or more of the different channels (scan chains).

Systems and methods for improved fault coverage of LBIST testing


An electron beam exposure mask comprises a mask body and a plurality of unit patterns each having an opening pattern iteratively formed in the mask. The mask body has a thickness profile controlled based on the opening density of the pattern in the mask area.

(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mask for use in a projection electron beam exposure and, more particularly, to a projection exposure mask capable of forming a uniform pattern on a semiconductor wafer by correcting a proximity effect.
(b) Description of the Related Art
With the development of LSIs, the line pattern formed on the semiconductor device has become rapidly finer and finer. An electron beam exposure technique is expected to provide a finer pattern designed with as low as 0.25 .mu.m design rule in the next generation semiconductor devices.
FIG. 1 shows a known projection electron beam exposure system in a block diagram. The projection exposure system comprises a first mask 3 having a rectangular opening 3A for passing a rectangular electron beam 50A and a second mask 6 having a patterned opening in the area aligned with the rectangular opening 3A of the first mask 3 for passing a patterned electron beam 50B. The patterned electron beam 50B passed by the second mask 6 is irradiated onto the surface of a semiconductor wafer 11 to transfer the pattern 6B of the second mask 6 in a reduction projection scheme onto the surface of the semiconductor wafer 11 applied with a resist film thereon. The first mask 3 functions for defining the size of the electron beam used for a single exposure step, wherein the size of the electron beam 50A is slightly larger than the area for the pattern of the second mask 6.
The second mask 6 used for fabrication of a memory device, wherein a unit pattern is iteratively formed in the whole cell area, generally has a size corresponding to the size tor the unit pattern. The patterned electron beam 50B passed by the second mask 6 forms a latent image in the unit area on the resist mask in a single exposure step.
Alternatively, the second mask 6 may have a plurality of unit patterns, such as 6A to 6E shown in FIG. 2, which are derived from the design data for an LSI. Or, the size of the patterned area may correspond to the chip of the LSI, wherein the second mask has a single patterned opening for the entire chip area of the LSI.
Back to FIG. 1, the electron beam 50 emitted from an electron gun 1 passes through a blanking electrode 2, the first mask 3, a shaping lens 4, a shaping deflector 5, the second mask 6, a reduction lens 7, a main deflector 8, an auxiliary deflector 9 and a projection lens 10 to be incident onto the semiconductor water 11 fixed on a stage 12. The patterned electron beam 50B passed by the second mask 6 is reduced in size by the reduction lens 7, deflected by the main deflector 8 and the auxiliary deflector 9 to be incident onto the specified portion of the semiconductor wafer 11.
The computer (CPU) 14 selects a specified pattern data out of a plurality of pattern data stored in a pattern data storage device 17, stores the selected pattern data in a memory 17, and operates for processing using the stored data. Specifically, the stored data is transferred from the CPU 14 through a controller 16 to the blanking electrode 2, shaping deflector 5, main deflector 8 and auxiliary deflector 9 for irradiating the patterned electron beam 50B onto the specified portion of the semiconductor wafer 11.
The electron beam exposure system as described above has an advantage over the conventional electron beam exposure system using a variably shaped electron beam in that the number of beam shots is reduced down to 1/10 or 1/100 compared to the conventional electron beam exposure system. As a result, the time length necessary to the exposure is reduced to improve the throughput of the exposure.
FIG. 3 shows an example of a unit pattern 20 iteratively transferred onto a semiconductor wafer by using the opening pattern 6A in the second mask of FIG. 2 to form a memory cell array 18. In this process, there arises a defect called "proximity effect" wherein the pattern density difference involved between the central part and the peripheral area of the cell array 18 provides different pattern dimensions between the central part and the peripheral part of the photoresist due to the change in the exposure intensity from adjacent openings.
FIG. 4 shows the relationship between the width (L.sub.1 in FIG. 3) of a line in the photoresist pattern and the distance of the location of the line from the edge of the cell array. For example, the exposure mask which provides a width of 0.2 .mu.m for a line in the central area of the cell array provides a width as low as 0.1 .mu.m in the peripheral area. Since the exposure intensity is not generally changed in the projection exposure process, the proximity effect involves a critical problem.
Patent Publication JP-A-4-26012 proposes to solve the proximity effect in the projection exposure process for a semiconductor chip by changing the pattern size in the second mask. FIG. 5A shows a plurality of unit patterns in the second mask proposed by the publication, and FIG. 5B shows the cross-section taken along line B--B in FIG. 5A. The proposed mask 26 has a larger size in some of the unit patterns 26A used for the peripheral area of the cell array compared to the unit pattern 26B used in the central area of the cell array.
It involves a complicated procedure, however, to select one of the unit patterns 26A and 26B depending on the location of the electron beam in the exposure step using the proposed exposure mask 26.
Patent Publication JP-A-5-335221 proposes another solution for the proximity effect, as shown in FIG. 6, wherein a main pattern 36A and an auxiliary pattern 36 B are formed on a single second mask 36. An auxiliary exposure or GHOST exposure is effected, after a main exposure step, by using the auxiliary pattern 36B having a zone opening for exposing the peripheral area of the chip.
The proposed technique, however, increases the number of exposure steps to thereby reduce the through-put of the exposure.

Mask for use in a projection electron beam exposure


The invention concerns a modified enveloped virus wherein said virus has at least one anti-tumor, tumor-specific peptide non-genetically attached to or inserted in/through the viral envelope; a pharmaceutical composition comprising same; and a method of treating cancer using same.

The current paradigm for effective cancer therapeutics is the enhancement of the activity and increase in the amount of tumor infiltrating tumor-specific T-effector cells. These T-effector cells, named CD8+ T cells, specifically cytotoxic T cell lymphocytes (CTLs) are a critical component of the protective immune response against tumors. These tumor-specific CTLs can be found in tumor tissue and there is a clear correlation between the amount of tumor-infiltrated CTLs and patient survival.
A recent approval of antibodies targeting immune checkpoint molecules such as PD-1, PD-L1 and CTLA-4, which function to interrupt the negative feedback systems within the tumor microenvironment to enhance pre-existing anti-tumor immune responses, have been met with tremendous clinical excitement. The use of these immune checkpoint inhibitor antibodies can create durable responses in 10-20% of cancer patients. However, the remaining 80-90% of patients are not responding due to the lack of anti-tumor immune responses or other immune suppressive aspects of the tumor microenvironment. To broaden the patient population responding to checkpoint inhibitor-therapy we have developed an enveloped viral vector platform called PeptiENV for augmenting or generating a broad anti-tumor immunity and to recruit tumor-specific T-effector cells into the tumor microenvironment.
Advantageously, by treating patients with a combination of immunostimulatory PeptiENV viruses and immune checkpoint inhibitor antibodies we expect to increase the amount of responders to the immune checkpoint inhibitor therapies.
This patent application describes a PeptiENV platform, which includes a novel method for coating and inserting immunomodulatory peptides onto a viral envelope which can then be readily cross-presented on antigen presenting cells. Currently there are no methods for non-genetically attaching peptides onto the viral envelope with a view to activating the immune system. WO2005/060541 teaches anti-viral peptides that are inserted into a viral coat for the purposes of disrupting the viral membrane and destroying same.
Some viruses have viral envelopes covering their protective protein capsids. The envelopes are typically derived from portions of the host cell membranes (phospholipids and proteins), but include some viral glycoproteins. They may help viruses avoid the host immune system. Glycoproteins on the surface of the envelope serve to identify and bind to receptor sites on the host's membrane. The viral envelope then fuses with the host's membrane, allowing the capsid and viral genome to enter and infect the host. In addition to entering the host cell via fusion of the viral and host cell membranes, some viruses can alternatively use endocytosis as an entry mechanism.
Essentially, we have found a novel way of boosting anti-tumor immunity at the expense of anti-viral immunity using known therapeutic and clinically approved viruses.

Non-genetic modification of enveloped viruses