Methods and apparatus, including computer program products, for a framework for composite applications. A computer-implemented framework for a composite application includes an object access layer to exchange data with enterprise base systems and to present the data to a composite application through a uniform interface, a business object modeling layer including a business object modeler to provide a user interface (UI) for constructing a business object, and a service layer to enable services to the composite application, the service layer including a collaboration services module to enable collaboration services to the composite application, the business object modeling layer linking at least one of the collaboration services associated with the business object to the business object.

The present invention relates to data processing by digital computer, and more particularly to a framework for composite applications.
Integration platforms, such as the SAP Enterprise Portal for integrating heterogeneous information technology (IT) assets, can include a framework for a composite application, and use, among other things, object oriented programming (OOP), wherein objects, in particular business objects, are manipulated in business applications.
An integration platform such as the SAP Enterprise Portal enables generic services for collaboration with and/or between users, the services including, for example, subscriptions, rating, voting, discussion, comments and so forth. These generic services have evolved out of document-based content management systems. A problem with such services is that while they can be applicable to a particular business object, they are not necessarily directly applicable for other business objects. In particular, the generic services require customizing in order to be applicable to other business objects. For example, depending on a business context, a system-based conversation thread can be perceived by a user as a variety of processes, e.g., a decision making process, a brainstorming session, an evaluation, a negotiation, a coordination, an audit trail, and so forth. Generic services are unable to adapt to the actual work intent of the collaboration in terms of naming and function set.

Framework for a composite application and a method of implementing a frame work for a composite application


A biomagnetism measurement device includes a tubular body, an inflatable portion inflatable upon supply of gas, and a magnetic sensor portion that detects a magnetic field from outside the tubular body. The inflatable portion is located at a required region of the tubular body, and the magnetic sensor portion is fixed to an inner wall of the inflatable portion. The tubular body and the inflatable portion include the same material, and the wall thickness of the inflatable portion is thinner than that of the tubular body.

Recent advances in diagnostic imaging systems including those used in the magnetic resonance imaging method (MRI) enables image-based diagnosis of compressive lesions in the spine and disordered areas in the peripheral nerve. However, some of the cases in which compressed areas are clearly indicated on images are actually asymptomatic. For this and other reasons, reliable diagnosis of dysfunctional areas in the spine/peripheral nerve is difficult when image-based morphological information alone is used. Therefore, the neurofunctional diagnosis method using an electrophysiologic approach is still an indispensable method of examination.
As an approach for accurately diagnosing a disordered area, known is measurement of the nerve evoked potential by the inching technique. However, accurate evaluation of a nerve function through the body surface is difficult because the electric current may strongly be affected by the surrounding tissues at a nerve deeply distant from the body surface, in particular at the spine.
Therefore, methods of measuring a spine evoked potential have been proposed in which an electrode is placed in the vicinity of the spine during an operation, or a catheter electrode is transdermally inserted into the epidural space or the subarachnoid space before an operation. However, these methods may impose a tremendous burden on patients, and may also damage the spine upon performing puncture. For these reasons, they are hardly convenient methods of examination to obtain a diagnosis, and thus a simpler electrophysiological approach is desired.
As a simple electrophysiological approach, a biomagnetism measurement system has been proposed, including: a bed 101 on which a subject lies on the back; and a biomagnetism measuring device for measuring a biomagnetism from a measurement target area in the subject from outside the body of the subject, in which the biomagnetism measuring device has a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) fluxmeter, and electrically stimulates a nerve tissue of the subject at a high frequency (for example, see Patent Document 1). This biomagnetism measurement system 102 can measure a biomagnetism from a measurement target area without inserting a catheter electrode and the like.
Further, a method has been proposed in which a SQUID fluxmeter contained in the front end of a catheter is allowed to approach a deep area in the body cavity to measure magnetism (for example, see Patent Document 2). According to the approach described in Patent Document 2, magnetism can be measured at a location much closer to the spine, leading to even more improved detection accuracy for a disordered area.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. 2006-304851
Patent Document 2: Japanese Unexamined Patent Application, Publication No. H01-151438

National University Corporation Tokyo Medical and Dental University


A driving circuit includes a first switch, a first driver and a second driver. The first switch has a first terminal coupled to a first voltage. The first driver includes a second switch and a third switch. The second switch has a first terminal coupled to a second terminal of the first switch, and a second terminal coupled to a first capacitor. The third switch has a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the second switch, and a second terminal coupled to a second voltage. The second driver includes a fourth switch and a fifth switch. The fourth switch has a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the first switch, and a second terminal coupled to a second capacitor. The fifth switch has a first terminal coupled to the second terminal of the fourth switch, and a second terminal coupled to the second voltage.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates in general to a charge recycling method and a driving circuit and a low power memory using the same, and more particularly to a charge recycling method capable of reducing the power consumption, and a driving circuit and a low power memory using the charge recycling method.
2. Description of the Related Art
FIG. 1A (Prior Art) is a schematic illustration showing a Y pre-decode driving circuit 100 of a conventional memory. Referring to FIG. 1A, the Y pre-decode driving circuit 100 includes a first pre-decode driver 101 and a second pre-decode driver 102. The first pre-decode driver 101 includes a first switch Q1 and a second switch Q2. The second pre-decode driver 102 includes a third switch Q3 and a fourth switch Q4. Each pre-decode driver has to drive several corresponding select transistors (not shown) in a Y multiplexer (YMUX) in a memory, so each output node of pre-decode driver corresponds to a parasitic capacitor, the output node YP1 of the first pre-decode driver 101 corresponds to a first parasitic capacitor CAP1 and the output node YP2 of the second pre-decode driver 102 corresponds to a second parasitic capacitor CAP2. In addition, each select transistor in the YMUX substantially corresponds to one bit line.
The first pre-decode driver 101 is controlled by a first address select signal A1 to drive the corresponding select transistors, and the second pre-decode driver 102 is controlled by a second address select signal A2 to drive the corresponding select transistors. FIG. 1B (Prior Art) shows waveforms of time V.S. voltages of the address select signals A1 and A2, the output nodes YP1 and YP2 and the parasitic capacitors CAP1 and CAP2 of the Y pre-decode driving circuit 100. Before the time instant t, the memory controls the second pre-decode driver 102 through the second address select signal A2, and the second pre-decode driver 102 selects the desired bit line in cooperation with a bit line driver (not shown in FIG. 1A). At this time, the second address select signal A2 turns on the third switch Q3 and turns off the fourth switch Q4, the second parasitic capacitor CAP2 is charged to a designed voltage POWER, the first address select signal A1 turns off the first switch Q1 and turns on the second switch Q2, and the voltage level of the first parasitic capacitor CAP1 is the ground voltage GND.
At the time instant t, the memory wants to select a next bit line. Thus, the memory controls the first pre-decode driver 101 through the first address select signal A1, and the first pre-decode driver 101 selects the desired bit line in cooperation with the bit line driver. At this time, the first address select signal A1 turns on the first switch Q1 and turns off the second switch Q2, and the first parasitic capacitor CAP1 is started to be charged until the voltage thereof reaches the designed voltage POWER. Next, the second address select signal A2 turns off the third switch Q3 and turns on the fourth switch Q4, and the second parasitic capacitor CAP2 starts to discharge until the voltage thereof reaches the ground voltage GND.
In the Y pre-decode driving circuit 100 mentioned hereinabove, the first parasitic capacitor CAP1 is charged by a voltage supply via the first switch Q1. Then, the second parasitic capacitor CAP2 discharges the charges, which flows away through the fourth switch Q4. The charges discharged from the second parasitic capacitor CAP2 cannot be utilized in the process of charging the first parasitic capacitor CAP1, and are thus wasted.

Driving method and driving circuit and low power memory using the same


Stable, macroscopic single-crystal chiral liquid crystal compositions are described. The compositions include a single-crystal chiral liquid crystal material on a patterned surface. The patterned surface seeds a particular crystallographic orientation at the substrate-liquid crystal interface. Also described are methods of forming the single-crystal chiral liquid crystal compositions.

Blue phases (BP's) represent chiral liquid-crystalline states where molecules spontaneously form structures of double-twisted cylinders. Such cylinders then adopt crystalline arrangements that are ultimately responsible for the materials' colors. Blue phases appear in a narrow range of temperature, between the isotropic (I) and cholesteric (Chol) states. In the so-called blue phase I (BPI) and blue phase II (BPII), the double-twisted cylinders are arranged in a cubic crystalline structure with a body center cubic (BCC) or a simple cubic (SC) symmetry, respectively. Such structures are accompanied by the formation of ordered networks of topological defects that reflect light in the visible range. A third blue phase, the so-called blue phase III (BPIII), exhibits a disordered structure. The highly ordered morphologies of BPI and BPII gives rise to unusual physical properties, including a high viscosity, Bragg reflection of visible light, a finite shear modulus, and a fast optical response—much faster than that of traditional nematic liquid crystals. These properties are desirable for a range of technologies including those involving photonic materials, electro-optical devices, and biological sensors. However, applications of BPs to date have been limited because blue-phase specimens are generally polycrystalline and have many small multi-platelet domains, each one reflecting light according to its orientation, which affects the intensity of the Bragg reflections and the operating voltage. Blue phase monodomain specimens are polycrystalline specimens where small crystalline platelets (e.g., about 10 μm) have the same lattice plane parallel to the substrate. They can be produced using electric, thermal or surface treatments. However, the grain boundaries between platelets interfere with performance. It has not been possible to create macroscopic specimens of single-crystal blue phases with a specific crystallographic plane orientation.


A method and apparatus for producing single mode random fiber ring laser by inducing random distributed feedback in a short section of the fiber ring to thereby enable single mode lasing while reducing frequency jitter and relative intensity noise. The random distributed feedback maybe achieved through deep refractive index modulation at a series of randomly distributed laser-irradiated points inscribed along the length of the induced random distributed feedback fiber. The laser-processed random distributed feedback fiber maybe incorporated into the fiber ring in conjunction with a variable optical attenuator and band pass optical filter for enhancing the single mode operation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to random fiber lasers. More specifically, the present invention is directed to high performance single-mode fiber lasers.
2. Related Art
In many conventional single-mode random distributed feedback (RDFB) laser systems the long length of a feedback fiber required for generation of random distributed feedback based on Rayleigh backscattering results in a high intensity noise and frequency instability thus degrading the performance of the RDFB laser. It would be highly desirable to have a randomly distributed feedback feature for realizing narrow linewidth single-mode lasing without incurring excessive intensity noise and frequency jitter in the laser signal.

Frequency-stabilized random distributed feedback fiber ring laser with low intensity noise


The present invention provides for creating description files used to configure components in a distributed system. A computer or program developer accesses an application type. The computer or program developer accesses a hardware specification. The computer or program developer identifies relevant registers from the hardware specification that are to be manipulated to implement the application type. The computer or program developer generates a description file that corresponds the relevant registers to the application type.

1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally configuring components in a distributed system. More particularly, embodiments of the present invention relate to creating description files used to configure components in a distributed system.
2. Background and Relevant Art
Nearly all computing devices include a processor and one or more registers. Registers are used to temporarily store data that is to be or has been processed by the processor. For example, when a computing device is to perform an addition operation, each input value is first stored in a register. The processor then retrieves the input values and calculates the sum of the input values. Then sum is then stored as an output value in a register. Execution of appropriate software at a computing device can cause values to be stored in and retrieved from registers.
In many computing environments, direct access to registers is not needed. For example, in a home or office computing environments, most users have no knowledge (and probably do not care) how registers operate. In these computing environments, system software (e.g., an operating system, compiler generated instructions, etc.) automatically controls access to registers. Automated control of registers allows users to operate most, if not all, applications (e.g., word processing, electronic mail, etc) without having knowledge of register operation.
Even programmers that program in high-level languages (e.g., C++, C#, Visual Basic) do not necessarily have to have any knowledge of register operation. For example, a programmer could write source code that multiplies two numbers together without having to include instructions that expressly reference any registers. During compilation of the source code into computer-executable instructions (e.g., machine code), the compiler would include additional computer-executable instructions for appropriately accessing registers.
However, in some environments, more direct control of registers is beneficial. For example, in network testing environments, network testing devices may need to be precisely configured for operation in many different (and sometimes adverse) network conditions. Configuring network testing devices can include modifying various configuration options based on current testing needs. Often, configuration options are represented by values stored in network testing device registers. Thus, a technician or administrator can change the values of network testing device registers to configure a network testing device. Since changes to network testing device registers may occur quite frequently, network testing devices often include software for interfacing directly with network testing device registers.
Development of register manipulation software for interfacing directly with network testing device registers typically includes a system programmer developing a series of functions for accessing appropriate registers. For example, a network testing device may be configured with a clock speed register for changing the network testing device's clock speed. Accordingly, the system programmer can develop a customized set clock function that directly accesses and changes the value stored in the clock speed register. Internal to the set clock function would be a hard-coded value representing the address of the clock speed register.
Register manipulation software can also include a number of other customized functions for changing other network testing device options (e.g., protocol, transmission speed, buffer sizes, etc). Accordingly, internal to each of these other customized functions would also be a hard-coded value representing the address of an appropriate register. Thus, as the number of configuration options increase, so does the number of customized functions included in a network testing device's register manipulation software. A coding error in any one customized function can cause a network test to fail or otherwise operate improperly (e.g., capture incorrect network traffic, store captured data in an incorrect buffer, etc). Since a customized function is typically utilized for each configuration option, network testing devices with increased numbers of configuration options have a corresponding increased chance of operating improperly during a test.
Therefore systems, methods, and computer program products that facilitate more efficient development of register manipulation software would be advantageous.

Creating description files used to configure components in a distributed system


A plasma reactor includes a honeycomb electrode in which a plurality of cells that function as gas passages are partitioned by a partition wall, and a discharge electrode. The honeycomb electrode includes a first gas circulation section that allows a first gas to pass through, and a second gas circulation section that allows a second gas to pass through. The plasma reactor causes the first gas introduced into the first gas circulation section of the honeycomb electrode through the space between the electrodes to undergo a reaction while causing a plasma discharge between the honeycomb electrode and the discharge electrode, and allows the second gas to be introduced into the second gas circulation section of the honeycomb electrode to transfer heat of the second gas to the first gas circulation section to promote the reaction of the first gas.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a plasma reactor that includes a reaction section that allows gas introduced into a honeycomb structure to undergo a reaction by generating plasma, and a heat-supplying gas circulation section, and a plasma reaction apparatus.
2. Description of Related Art
A silent discharge occurs when disposing a dielectric between a pair of tabular electrodes and applying a high alternating-current voltage or a periodic pulse voltage between the electrodes. Active species, radicals, and ions are produced in the resulting plasma field to promote a reaction and decomposition of gas. This phenomenon may be utilized to remove toxic components contained in engine exhaust gas or incinerator exhaust gas.
Technology that mixes hydrocarbon fuel and air, reforms the mixture using a catalyst, and supplies a reformed gas containing hydrogen to an internal combustion engine has been known (see JP-A-2006-265008, U.S. Pat. No. 7,131,264, and U.S. Pat. No. 7,240,483). Combustion that occurs in the internal combustion engine is promoted by utilizing a reformed gas containing hydrogen so that exhaust gas can be reduced.

Plasma reactor and plasma reaction apparatus


Fixtures composed of a combination of a metallic core coated with a fused plasticized vinyl chloride coating and an overcoating barrier which shields the coating from atmospheric exposure possess superior resistance against outdoor weathering. The overcoating barrier protectively shields the plasticized vinyl chloride coating from microbiological and sunlight induced degradation. The fixture maintains the compositional integrity and appearance of a freshly manufactured fixture notwithstanding prolonged exposure to normally deteriorative weathering (e.g. bright sunlight, hot and humid) conditions. If desired, the protective barrier may include tractive imparting components which prevent slippage and improve upon surface traction. Thermosetting resins and especially the electrostatically applied powders particularly afford effective overcoating barriers for protectively shielding the plasticized vinyl chloride coating from degradation.

Outdoor furniture and fixtures exposed to public use and vandalism generally require an extremely durable structure. Such outdoor furniture and fixtures are often constructed of steel so as to provide the necessary structural strength and durability. Steel furniture and fixtures are prone to rust if not adequately protected against rusting. It is conventional to paint outdoor metallic fixtures with protective coatings so as to enhance the aesthetic features and protect the metallic furniture and fixtures against rusting. It is also conventional to paint such furniture and fixtures with paints formulated with thermoplastic film-forming substances. Unfortunately, the painted coatings are thin and prone to scratching or paint removal which mars the appearance and exposes the underlying metal to rusting.
Recreational picnic benches and tables, outdoor playground equipment, outdoor furniture, and other similar outdoor fixtures (generally referred to as fixtures herein) are exposed to extensive wear and tear and, therefore, by necessity require a very durable protective coating. Accordingly, more durable protective coatings than the conventional thermoplastic painted coatings is needed. It has, heretofore, been conventional to coat such outdoor furniture, and fixtures with a relatively heavy coating or overcoating of plasticized polyvinyl chloride generally known as plastisols, so as to provide more durable protection against physical wear. Unfortunately, polyvinyl chloride (PVC) coated fixtures, when exposed to sunlight and outdoor weathering conditions will inherently undergo chemical, physical and microbiological decomposition. Although pieces freshly coated a polyvinyl chloride coating typically exhibit a superior external appearance, exposure to hot and humid conditions (especially when disposed at a horizontal positioning) may result in rapid deterioration of the protective coating. This surface deterioration first appears as small black spots that slowly spreads over time. Subsequently, the PVC surface deterioration progresses to an "alligator hide" appearance. Such surface deterioration is often due to either fungal attack or ultraviolet (UV) degradation. Certain atmospheric borne corrosive chemicals, such as those commonly associated with acid rains, will also cause deterioration of the PVC coating.
Fungal attack is most prominent in hot and humid condition, such as commonly prevelant in southeastern section of the United States. Evidence of this phenomena is a "blackening" of vertical and horizontal positioned surfaces. Various types of microorganisms (particularly fungus), usually from the soil cling to the PVC surface, consume the plasticizer, culture and spread. Within months this can appear as an ever enlarging black area. A fungal retardant formulated in the polyvinyl chloride composition will inhibit or arrest fungal growth; however, it is expensive and usually entails a toxic fungicide such as arsenic.
Ultraviolet (UV) degradation prominently occurs in hot and arid conditions such as commonly prevalent in the southwestern section of the United States. A special type of ultraviolet degradation usually occurs only on horizontal surfaces and involves a slower degradative process than fungal deterioration. According to certain researchers, UV degradation may be attributed to the following factors:
A. Dirt accumulates and remains on horizontal PVC coated surfaces; PA1 B. Dirt extracts (absorbs) plasticizer which accumulates on the surface; PA1 C. Plasticizer is then degraded and photosynthesized by the sunlight; and PA1 D. The degraded plasticizer catalytically degrades the fused PVC coating. PA1 a) priming the metal base of the fixture so as to provide a primed metal base with a primed surface adapted for applying the polymeric coating; PA1 b) coating the primed surface with a plasticized polyvinyl chloride coating composition to provide a metal base product coated with the plasticized polyvinyl chloride coating; and PA1 c) applying an overcoating barrier to the product so as to protectively shield the polymeric coating from atmospheric exposure.
Formulating the PVC coatings with UV screeners will retard the UV degradation but will not effectively overcome the UV degradation problem.
Consequently, plasticized polyvinyl chloride coatings will typically undergo extensive discoloration and exhibit a dramatic change in external appearance upon exposure to these adverse weathering conditions. As indicated, these deterioration problems are accelerated by humid and warm climatic conditions, such as commonly prevalent in the southeastern regions of the United States of America. Metal furniture and fixtures coated with a protective polyvinyl chloride coating in such regions often become marred in appearance with pronounced blackened spots, which upon further weathering and aging, will become grotesquely discolored and unsightly in appearance. Attempts to formulate the coatings with fungicides and other microbiological preservatives have been ineffective. There exists a need to effectively protect plasticized polyvinyl chloride coatings formulated with conventional plasticizing reagents from chemical, fungal and UV degradation.
These degradative problems are compounded in outdoor playground equipment such as elevated decks, bridges, and ladders coated with the PVC. Treading upon the surface by children at play contributes to dirt accumulation and often wetness which conditions are particularly conducive to PVC degradation. Moreover, the surfaces may become slippery and unsafe especially when wet. Such slippery surfaces are accident prone and can be dangerous to young children. In PVC coated playground equipment there not only exists a need to protect PVC surfaces from degradation but a need to improve upon surface traction, thus improving safety by reducing potential accidents caused by slipping.


A diverter assembly according to the present invention includes a generally horizontal conveying surface, a pair of flipper assemblies, and an actuator for substantially concurrently actuating the flipper assemblies to an actuated position whereby the flipper assemblies are collinear. A driven diverting surface is defined on each flipper assembly wherein an article on the conveying surface is diverted when the article contacts one of the flipper assemblies when the flipper assembly is in its actuated position.

The present invention pertains to article diverters and, in particular, to high-speed diverters. Although the invention finds particular application to the diverting of baggage, such at airport baggage handling systems, or the like, the invention may find other applications.
Diverters for irregularly shaped articles, such as baggage, share many of the same goals and challenges that diverters for regularly shaped articles, such as boxes or containers, face. One goal is to sort the articles at a high rate so that the diverting or sorting function does not significantly slow the throughput of the articles. Another goal is to minimize damage to the articles being diverted. The faster the rate of the throughput, the greater the challenge this becomes.
Similar to boxes and containers, baggage can vary in their weight, size, and centroid location. In contrast to boxes or containers, baggage can vary greatly in their shape and composition. For example, baggage may include a relatively rigid suitcase, a duffle bag, a ski bag, a golf bag, or the like. Some baggage, such as duffel bags, is malleable. When pushed they may change shape or roll. This variation in shape and malleability of these irregularly shaped articles makes sortation even more challenging than sortation of regularly shaped articles. For example, baggage may be more susceptible to damage than articles, such as containers, because of the material forming the baggage, such as in the case of duffle bags, does not absorb any significant impact. Furthermore, given the variation in size and shape of baggage, larger articles, such as large trunks may topple over the diverter when diverted by many conventional diverters. Furthermore, baggage may include straps or loose handles, which can be easily snagged or caught up in a diverter assembly.
Consequently, there is a need for a diverter that can divert a variety of articles, including regularly shaped or irregularly shaped articles, at a high speed of sortation without the attendant problems associated with conventional diverters.


A demodulator alignment method and apparatus (400) employs an alignment signal generator (401-405) to generate an alignment signal (417) in response to a modulation reference signal (413). The alignment signal (417) is demodulated by a demodulator circuit (402), having a voltage controlled delay element (404) to produce a demodulated alignment signal (419) having distortion components. The demodulated alignment signal (419) is then coupled to a filter (406) which isolates the distortion components. A detector (408) is then employed to detect the isolated distortion components. Next, an error amplifier (410) compares the detected distortion to a reference (430), generates an error signal (450) and applies the error signal (450) to a sampling circuit (412). The sampling circuit (412) samples the error signal (450) and applies the sampled error signal (460) to the voltage controlled delay element (404) as a correction voltage in order to minimize the distortion components at the demodulator output (419) during data recovery.

The use of quadrature demodulator circuits to assist in data detection is well known in the data communications art. Quadrature demodulators typically employ delay elements whose frequency of operation must be aligned with the input signal (i.e., carrier signal) center frequency in order to avoid distortion at the demodulator output. Since this alignment has heretofore been a manual operation requiring human interaction, the process may be fairly characterized as highly subjective and prone to error.
Another concern with manual demodulator alignment procedures is the inability to maintain their integrity over long periods of operation. Factors such as mechanical stress and thermal cycling tend to degrade a demodulator's performance over time. Consequently, periodic realignments, while undesirable and costly, are nonetheless necessary to insure proper performance.
Based on the foregoing, a need exists for a demodulator alignment method and/or apparatus that continuously aligns a demodulator circuit thereby avoiding the shortcomings of the prior art.

Demodulator alignment method and apparatus


A solid-state image pickup device includes a semiconductor substrate in which photoelectric conversion units are arranged. An insulator is disposed on the semiconductor substrate. The insulator has holes associated with the respective photoelectric conversion units. Members are arranged in the respective holes. A light-shielding member is disposed on the opposite side of one of the members from the semiconductor substrate, such that only the associated photoelectric conversion unit is shielded from light. In the solid-state image pickup device, the holes are simultaneously formed and the members are simultaneously formed.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solid-state image pickup device and a method of making the same.
Description of the Related Art
Solid-state image pickup devices have recently been proposed which include an optical waveguide in order to increase the quantity of light incident on a photoelectric conversion unit.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-141873 discloses a solid-state image pickup device having a light-receiving area where pixels receiving light from a subject are arranged and a light-shielding area where light-shielded pixels are arranged. In the solid-state image pickup device illustrated in FIG. 1 disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-141873, a first high refractive index region, serving as an optical waveguide, is disposed just above a first photoelectric conversion unit positioned in the light-receiving area. A second high refractive index region is disposed between a second photoelectric conversion unit positioned in the light-shielding area and a first interconnect disposed so as to cover the second photoelectric conversion unit.
The solid-state image pickup device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-141873 has the following disadvantages. First, the magnitude of dark current of each pixel in the light-receiving area may differ from that of each pixel in the light-shielding area. The reason is that the structure of the optical waveguide of each pixel in the light-receiving area markedly differs from that in the light-shielding area. Specifically, the upper surface of the first high refractive index region, serving as the optical waveguide of the pixel in the light-receiving area, differs from that of the second high refractive index region, serving as an optical waveguide of the pixel in the light-shielding region, in the level relative to a semiconductor substrate as illustrated in FIG. 1 of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2007-141873. Accordingly, those regions differ from each other in the cross-sectional area.
Second, the parasitic capacitance of an interconnect for signal transmission of each pixel in the light-receiving area may differ from that of each pixel in the light-shielding area. The reason is that the structures of interconnects in the light-receiving area markedly differ from those in the light-shielding area. Specifically, the structure of a first interconnect closest to the semiconductor substrate in the light-receiving area differs from that in the light-shielding area.
Third, the extent of damage caused by a making process in the light-receiving area may differ from that in the light-shielding area. The reason is that a process of forming the optical waveguide of each pixel in the light-receiving area differs from that in the light-shielding area.
The above-described first to third disadvantages may increase the difference in noise between pixels in the light-receiving area and pixels in the light-shielding area.

Method of forming an image pickup device having two waveguides and a light-shielding member


The invention relates to a sprocket assembly for mounting on a driver of a rear wheel hub of a bicycle. By means of a threaded element, a sprocket cluster and a separately embodied ring element are axially clamped together, and a rotation-coupling device is provided between the sprocket cluster and the ring element. Knurled teeth features on the threaded element and ring element prevent the loosening of the threaded element. Through the separate embodiment of the ring element and sprocket cluster, the respective most suitable manufacturing methods can be used for the two parts and, in the event that the sprocket cluster is manufactured by means of machining methods, the knurled features on the ring element can also be produced in a cost-effective and precise manner through shaping methods.

The invention relates to a sprocket assembly for mounting of a driver on a rear wheel hub of a bicycle. The multiple sprocket assembly includes a cluster of sprockets of different sizes for engaging a chain and for transferring a force introduced by the chain to the hub, with the possibility of shifting the chain from one sprocket to another by means of a derailleur.
In some conventional multiple sprocket assemblies, a cassette or multiple sprocket cluster part with a plurality of separate sprockets with different diameters and numbers of chain teeth is arranged on a driver of a hub via a spline-type interface. The teeth of each sprocket engage alternatingly with the chain upon actuation of the derailleur and transfer a torque from the pedaling forces of the rider to the driver via an inner profile that connects the sprockets to the driver splines. Each of these sprockets therefore individually transfers the torque to the driver, as a result of which each sprocket must be stronger and heavier both in the area of the profile of the sprocket and in the sprocket arms due to the lateral forces as a result of the usually misaligned chain.
To meet different requirements, for example in cycling, as designs become lighter and the demand for precision becomes greater in conjunction with a further increase in the number of gears, the basic approach of constructing multiple sprockets in a single piece was achieved.
For instance, such a multiple sprocket arrangement is known from EP 1 972 539 in which the sprockets are arranged in a conical support structure in which tubular sections and disc-shaped sections alternate in a stepped manner and teeth arranged on the periphery thereof are designed to engage with the roller chain. The support structure can be embodied with very thin walls, the minimum thickness of which is defined above all by the manufacturing tolerances.
In multiple sprocket arrangements comprised of individual sprockets, the individual sprockets are each non-rotatably connected to the driver. A torque-transferring profile, typically in the form of castellations or projections, is located on the inside of the each sprocket and creates a positive connection between the individual sprocket and the driver. Moreover, several adjacent individual sprockets can be joined together into a sprocket cluster by screwing them together with spacer rings positioned therebetween to ensure that a defined spacing is maintained in the axial direction between the individual sprockets. This makes it easier to mount a connected cluster of sprockets onto the driver, which is necessary in the event of tooth wear on the sprockets and permitting replacement with new sprockets. The smallest individual sprocket is given a special task to secure attachment of the cluster to the driver.
For the axial fixing of the sprocket cluster, an attachment screw is typically used which is screwed with its external thread into an internal thread on the driver. Tool surfaces on the attachment screw enable engagement of a tool on same in order to apply torque to the attachment screw to tighten or loosen it.
During pedaling operation, the driver and the sprocket cluster rotate under and through the chain, which engages on the sprocket at a constant angle of inclination, and the point of applied force of the tensile force of the chain on the sprocket cluster changes constantly at the interconnection of driver and sprocket.
The internal diameter of the sprocket cluster is greater than the external diameter of the driver so that it is possible to mount the sprocket cluster by pushing it axially onto the driver.
When the sprocket cluster undesirably rotates with respect to the driver, the sprocket cluster therefore rolls off on the outer circumferential surface of the driver (i.e., slippage) and, in doing so, tends to rotate about a lesser angle than the driver. As a result of the restricted rotation between sprocket cluster and driver through engaging projections on the sprocket cluster, a back-and-forth flexing movement of the sprocket cluster with respect to the driver occurs. This undesirable flexing movement can contribute to the loosening of the attachment screw, causing the attachment screw to come unscrewed, resulting in the loss of a secure connection between sprocket cluster and driver. As a countermeasure, knurled elements both on the attachment screw and on conventional smallest sprockets have proven expedient. The knurled elements are arranged with a radial extension in relation to the axis of rotation of the sprocket and engage each other as a result of the axial abutment between an abutment on the driver on the one hand and the head of the attachment screw on the other hand. If a flexing movement of the smallest sprocket now occurs with respect to the driver within the limits predetermined cooperating knurled elements, the attachment screw can no longer loosen. Rather, it moves together with the back-and-forth movement of the smallest sprocket during the abovementioned flexing movement, because the knurling prevents greater movement than that between the smallest sprocket and the attachment screw.
The individual knurled elements are aligned radially to inhibit loosening rotation between the smallest sprocket and the attachment screw. In the case of a smallest sprocket that is manufactured by means of punching and reshaping, the shaped elements are stamped in as well, for which purpose complementary shaping elements are present on the corresponding stamping tools. The production of the shaped elements occurs incidentally as part of the tool that forms the overall sprocket, as it were, without carrying out additional processing steps that might have a negative impact on manufacturing costs.
The situation is different with sprocket clusters that are produced by means of manufacturing methods involving machining. In that case, shaping work steps are first performed through lathe machining steps and subsequent milling operations in which the shaped elements of the knurled teeth cannot be produced in an incidental manner. Rather, other additional processing steps would have to be performed, with the associated additional processing times and costs. It is especially disadvantageous here that the shaped elements of the knurled teeth, due to their radial alignment, are not conducive to a milling operation, much less to lathe machining.


An accordion-folded calendar sheet printed on a continuous web of paper has sufficient blank spaces adjacent each date thereof to allow the user to record notations and has transverse perforations which separate the calendar paper into consecutive two-week increments. The calendar sheet is foldable at each fourth perforation and disposed in a holder to display an eight-week portion of the calendar web. With the passage of time successive increments can be arrayed in coplanar orientation for simultaneous viewing of eight-week portions of the calendar web which displays the current date as well as previous and subsequent weeks without having to flip between pages of the calendar.

Most conventional calendars are arranged to enable the simultaneous viewing of one complete calendar month and viewing any subsequent or preceding month usually requires the flipping of pages of the calendar. Additionally, there are many types of recording or diary calendars which are printed to include blank spaces for each day that are large enough to allow the user to record meetings, appointments or diary entries thereon.
Presently available calendars have several disadvantages, one being that the calendars do not enable ready reference to entries made before or after the current month. With such calendars, the user would therefore have to turn the pages of the calendar one way or the other in order to view the preceding or subsequent weeks. While it is not uncommon for calendars to have additional months displayed on each page, invariably the additional months are too small for adequately recording appointments or other diary type entries. Indeed, most such multiple month per page calendars are designed simply to enable one to reference dates preceding or following the current month.
The conventional calendars which provide the most space for the user to record appointments and the like, are those which display for simultaneous visual reference only a single week or month at a time. Thus, the user who may desire to view at the same time the current time period as well as the preceding and subsequent time periods, is forced to flip the several pages back and forth.


A semiconductor device according to an embodiment of the present invention includes a plurality of chip regions and a plurality of chip rings. The plurality of chip regions include semiconductor integrated circuits each having a multilayered wiring structure using a metal wiring, and are formed into independent chips. The plurality of chip rings has the multilayered wiring structure using the metal wiring, and surround the respective chip regions. The plurality of chip rings are electrically connected to one another.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor devices such as a logical large-scale integrated circuit (logic LSI), a memory LSI represented by a dynamic random access memory (DRAM) and a static random access memory (SRAM), and an LSI constituted of a bipolar transistor.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, wirings have been miniaturized and multilayered, and accordingly copper (Cu) has been frequently used as a wiring material for a purpose of lowering resistance of a wiring layer. As a method of forming a copper wiring, an electrolytic plating process which is advantageous in forming fine patterns has been usually used.
In the electrolytic plating process, for example, as shown in FIG. 1, a method is adopted in which a current is supplied to a plurality of inner chip regions 11 from terminals 22 contacting a peripheral portion of a wafer 10, and copper is deposited on seed-Cu which is a seed layer constituting a seed in forming a film of copper. Since seed-Cu also functions as a current supply path at the time of plating, the film is formed on the whole surface of the wafer by a sputtering process before the plating.
However, in recent years, the miniaturization of the wiring has further proceeded, and seed-Cu itself has been thinned in a very small thickness of 50 nm or less. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, a resistance value of seed-Cu 19 on a barrier metal 18 increases, and a voltage drop amount is large in a wafer middle portion as compared with the peripheral portion of the wafer. As a result, a fluctuation in the thickness (plating film thickness) of copper deposited on seed-Cu 19 also increases.
Additionally, as techniques for suppressing the fluctuation of the thickness of copper deposited on seed-Cu, a method in which a current supply source is newly disposed in the wafer middle portion, a method in which a resistance distribution of a plating solution is controlled in a wafer surface and the like have been proposed.
However, in the former method, dust is generated on the wafer, and in the latter method, the plating solution or a plating device has to be remodeled.

Semiconductor device and method of manufacturing the same


The present invention relates to compounds for the treatment of diseases related to DUX4 expression, such as muscular dystrophies, wherein the disease is facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD). It also relates to use of such compounds, or to methods of use of such compounds.

Serine/threonine kinases (EC 126.96.36.199) are a class of protein kinases that are promising drug targets for small molecule inhibitors. Due to their involvement in signaling pathways in eukaryotic cells, inhibition of serine/threonine kinases is likely to have relevance to the treatment of diseases such as cancer, diabetes, and a variety of inflammatory disorders.
Casein kinase 1 (CK1, also known as CSNK1) belongs to the serine/threonine kinase family. CK1 isoforms are involved in Wnt signaling, circadian rhythms, nucleo-cytoplasmic shuttling of transcription factors, DNA repair, and DNA transcription (Eide E J, Virshup D M (2001) doi:10.1081/CBI-100103963). In mammals, the enzyme exists in seven isoforms: α, β, γ1, γ2, γ3, δ, and ε, all having a similar kinase domain. Through phosphorylation of different substrate proteins, these isoforms are able to activate, stabilize, inactivate, or destabilize the functions of these substrate proteins, thus regulating their functions. For example, a tumor suppressor factor p53 and an oncogene mdm2, which are both important proteins for controlling abnormal cell growth, are substrates of CK1.
Mammalian casein kinases such as casein kinase 1γ, casein kinase 1δ, and casein kinase 1ε are important regulators of various cellular growth and survival processes including Wnt signaling, circadian rhythms, and DNA repair. They have a kinase domain similar to those of other isoforms. However, their N-terminal and C-terminal domains are different from those of other isoforms. The C-terminal domain has a plurality of autophosphorylation sites, and is considered to be involved in regulation of autoenzyme activity. Phosphorylation of p53 by casein kinases such as casein kinase 1δ or casein kinase 1ε leads to a change in the interaction between p53 and mdm2. It has also been known that casein kinase 1δ and casein kinase 1ε are involved as a regulatory protein associated with the formation of a spindle as a central body during cell division, and that casein kinase 1δ and casein kinase 1ε are involved in apoptosis mediated by TRAIL (tumor necrosis factor-related apoptosis inducing factor) and Fas. It has been further reported that inhibition of casein kinase 1δ or casein kinase 1ε by a nonselective CK1 inhibitory compound IC261 reduces pancreatic tumor cell growth in vitro and in vivo (Brockschmidt et al., 2008, DOI: 10.1136/gut.2007.123695). Hence, CK1 inhibitors have been developed and investigated for various important phenotypic and therapeutic effects.
WO2011051858 discloses CK1 inhibitors (both δ and ε) useful in the treatment and/or prevention of diseases and disorders associated with the central nervous system. These inhibitors form a series of substituted imidazole compounds, more specifically a series of 4-aryl-5-heteroaryl-1-heterocycloalkyl-imidazoles and related analogs. Both their synthesis and IC50 values for CK1 δ and ε are reported, the latter of which generally fall in the nanomolar range. A closely related family of CK1 inhibitors is disclosed in WO2012085721.
WO2015119579 discloses a family that also features an azole core, namely a family of 2,4,5-tri-substituted azole compounds for use as CK1 inhibitors. The inhibitors are used for inducing or enhancing the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells into cardiomyocytes via CK1 inhibition. Synthetic pathways for obtaining the inhibitors are disclosed, and the inhibitors are shown to generally have IC50 values in the nanomolar range as CK1 δ ands inhibitors.
EP2949651 discloses a family of derivatives of substituted benzothiazoles that act as CK1 inhibitors, and their use is coupled to the treatment and/or prevention of diseases mediated by CK1, especially inflammatory, neurological, psychiatric, neurodegenerative and/or ophthalmic diseases and certain regenerative processes. Methods of synthesis are provided, and the inhibitors were shown to have nanomolar inhibitory activity on CK1 δ and ε.
WO2009016286 discloses 6-cycloamino-3-(pyrid-4-yl)imidazo[1,2-b]pyridazine derivatives useful as protein kinase inhibitors, particularly as CK1δ ands inhibitors. Their synthesis is described in detail, and the capacity of the CK1 inhibitors to inhibit the phosphorylation of casein by casein kinases 1δ and ε was evaluated according to the procedure described in US2005/0131012, revealing IC50 values in the nanomolar range.
WO2015195880 discloses a family with a similar core, namely substituted bicyclic pyrazoles useful as protein kinase inhibitors. Synthetic strategies for obtaining the inhibitors are described, and the resulting CK1 inhibitors were shown to be effective on CK1 δ and ε. A particular relevance is indicated for the treatment of cancer.
Facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD) is the most prevalent hereditary muscular dystrophy. Symptoms begin before the age of 20, with weakness and atrophy of the muscles around the eyes and mouth, shoulders, upper arms and lower legs. Later, weakness can spread to abdominal muscles and sometimes hip muscles with approximately 20% of patients eventually becoming wheelchair-bound. Patients currently rely on treatment of symptoms like pain and fatigue, involving the use of pain medication, cognitive therapy and physical exercise, sometimes supplemented with medical devices used to maintain the patient's mobility. Furthermore, increased scapular function may be obtained by surgical treatment of the scapula. At best, these interventions remain symptomatic in nature and do not affect disease progression, illustrating the need for a therapy that is able to modify disease progression.
Significant progress has been made in recent years in the understanding of the molecular basis of FSHD. This resulted in the identification and characterization of the fundamental genetic lesions causing FSHD, giving rise to a new pathogenesis model in which epigenetic de-repression of the Double Homeobox 4 (DUX4) retrogene in muscle cells triggers pathology by initiating a transcription deregulation cascade that causes muscle atrophy, inflammation, and oxidative stress, which are key features of the disease. DUX4 shares similarities with transcription factors and it is normally abundantly expressed in germ cells of human testes, while being epigenetically repressed in somatic tissues. There is the wide support for the pathogenesis model in which gain-of-function of the DUX4 gene in muscle cells underlies FSHD etiology (Lemmers et al., 2010, DOI: 10.1126/science.1189044; Sharma et al., 2016, DOI:10.4172/2157-7412.1000303, Snider et al., 2010, DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1001181; Tawil et al., 2014, DOI: 10.1186/2044-5040-4-12).
FSHD is sometimes divided in two subtypes, namely FSHD1 and FSHD2. FSHD1 is associated with large deletions within a DNA tandem array (D4Z4) that is located in the subtelomeric region of chromosome 4q35. Each of the D4Z4 repeats contains a copy of the DUX4 gene, which is normally silenced in somatic tissues of healthy individuals. Healthy, genetically unaffected individuals are defined as having between 10 and 100 D4Z4 repeat units on both 4q chromosome arms, whereas individuals with FSHD1 have between 1 and 10 D4Z4 repeat units on one 4q chromosome arm. The deletions of D4Z4 repeats that characterize FSHD remove a substantial portion of regulatory chromatin from this region, including several hundreds of histones and a significant amount of CpG-rich DNA. These elements are essential in the establishment of DNA methylation and heterochromatin and their loss significantly alters the epigenetic status of the D4Z4 array. The contraction of D4Z4 is by itself not pathogenic. Only when the contraction of D4Z4 occurs on a disease-permissive 4qA allele, containing a polymorphism that could affect the polyadenylation of the distal DUX4 transcript, the altered epigenetic context is associated with alternative splicing and increased expression of DUX4 in skeletal muscles of FSHD1 patients. In the much rarer form FSHD2, the cause is a mutated form of an epigenetic factor such as SMCHD1 or DNMT3B. In this form as well, the D4Z4 region is hypomethylated and muscle cells are characterized by a de-repressed DUX4 protein. Both forms of FSHD converge on undue DUX4 expression. It has therefore been suggested that FSHD1 and FSHD2 are on a continuum, rather than being separate (Van den Boogaard et al., 2016, DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.03.013).
DUX4 acts as a transcription factor whose expression initiates a transcription cascade resulting in progressive muscle cell dysfunction and death, and ultimately to overt pathology (Kowaljow et al., 2007, DOI: 10.1016/j.nmd.2007.04.002; Vanderplanck et al., 2011, doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026820; Geng et al., 2012, DOI: 10.1016/j.devce1.2011.11.013; Yao et al., 2014, DOI: 10.1093/hmg/ddu251; Wallace et al., 2011, DOI: 10.1002/ana.22275). In healthy individuals, DUX4 is expressed in the germline, but is epigenetically silenced in somatic tissues. In FSHD patients, burst-like DUX4 expression in only a small fraction of myofibers causes myocyte death ultimately leading to muscle weakness and wasting (Lemmers et al., 2010). In the simplest terms, DUX4-overexpression is a primary pathogenic insult underlying FSHD, and its repression is a promising therapeutic approach for FSHD. In support of this, short repeat sizes are generally associated with a severe FSHD phenotype. Moderate repeat contractions have a milder and more variable clinical severity. A very rare subtype of FSHD, named FSHD2, is characterized by a moderate repeat contraction (>10 repeats remaining), and is associated with mutations in the SMCHD1 gene or in the DNMT3B gene. Also in FSHD2, the D4Z4 region is hypomethylated and muscle cells are characterized by a de-repressed DUX4 protein. Patients with less than 10 D4Z4 repeat units that also have a mutation in SMCHD1 have a very severe clinical phenotype, illustrating that a combination of repeat size and activity of epigenetic modifiers, both contributing to derepression of DUX4, determines the eventual disease severity in FSHD.
Campbell et al. (2017, DOI 10.1186/s13395-017-0134-x) screened a selection of chemical compounds with known epigenetic activities as well as the Pharmakon 1600 library composed of compounds that have reached clinical testing to identify molecules that decrease DUX4 expression as monitored by the expression levels of DUX4 target gene mRNAs in immortalized FSHD skeletal muscle cell cultures. They identified several classes of molecules that include inhibitors of the bromodomain and extra-terminal (BET) family of proteins and agonists of the beta-2 adrenergic receptor. Their studies suggest that compounds from these two classes suppress the expression of DUX4 by blocking the activity of bromodomain-containing protein 4 (BRD4) or by increasing cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels, respectively.
Because of its causative role in FSHD, suppressing DUX4 is a primary therapeutic approach for halting disease progression. This approach could also be useful for treating other diseases, such as cancers including acute lymphoblastic leukemia (Yasuda et al., 2016, doi: 10.1038/ng.3535) and sarcomas (Oyama et al., 2017 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-04967-0; Bergerat et al., 2017, DOI: 10.1016/j.prp.2016.11.015), etc. However, the mechanisms behind DUX4 expression are poorly understood and corresponding drug targets are poorly defined. As a result, there is no treatment for FSHD at present, and there is a need for compounds and compositions that can be used to suppress DUX4 expression.

Compounds for treatment of diseases related to DUX4 expression


A method and equipment is used to transmit and/or receive time delay-intolerant information over a communication system. The information is transmitted in aggregated form. A plurality of packets representing time delay-intolerant information is combined to form an aggregate packet. The aggregate packet is formed based on user service requirements while maintaining time delay requirements of the information. The size of the aggregated is formed from a negotiation between the transmitting equipment and receiving equipment. Because of the use of an aggregated packet less scheduling of packets is done and the aggregated packet can be transmitted at a rate different than the fixed rate of the time delay-intolerant information. The equipment comprises transmit equipment and receive equipment. The transmit equipment contains an aggregator that combines a plurality of packets based on user service requirements. The packets to be transmitted are retrieved at the fixed rate of the time delay-intolerant information. The size of the aggregate packet can be determined on a static or dynamic basis. The receiving equipment contains a de-aggregator circuit that receives aggregated packets and generates individual packets from the received aggregated packet. The generated individual packets are retrieved from the de-aggregator at the fixed rate of the time delay-intolerant information.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to transmission and reception of real time information over communication networks.
2. Description of the Related Art
Certain types of communication signals conveyed over communication systems have the characteristic of being time delay-intolerant. These signals are typically referred to as real time signals, which have strict time delay constraints. The communication system over which the time delay-intolerant signals are conveyed typically comply with the time delay constraints of such signals. Packet switched communication systems convey packets of real time information and other information to and from various nodes where packets carrying real time information comply with the time delay constraints of such information. Packet switched communication systems are communication systems in which the communication signals are converted into one or more packets that are configured as per the protocol being followed by the communication system. The protocol is a set of rules and procedures for initiating, maintaining and/or terminating communications between any two nodes of a communication system. A protocol is usually part of an established standard promulgated by standards bodies such as industry groups and/or governmental agencies. The owner of the communication system, i.e., a service provider, is usually an entity such as a local telephone company or an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or both that operates, controls and maintains the communication system that provides communication services to users of the system.
A packet typically is a group of bits comprising a header portion that contains signaling information and another portion called the payload, which contains the information being conveyed. Packets also have a trailer portion, which contains error correction information that allows a receiver to determine if the packet is received with errors. The signaling information is used by the protocol to regulate the routing and processing of the packet as it travels within the communication system. The header and trailer portions of a packet represent overhead information. Packets to be transmitted in a packet switched communication system are scheduled by the system and are transmitted as per their scheduled times. The scheduling as well as the actual transmission of packets of real time signals or packets carrying real time information have to comply with the time delay constraints of such signals or information.
Examples of real time signals include voice and video signals, both of which can be conveyed over a packet switched communication system in a certain manner to comply with their time delay constraints. The Internet is an example of a packet switched network; the Internet complies with a suite of IP (Internet Protocol), which routes the transmission of packets. VoIP (voice over IP) is one type of delay-intolerant information that can be conveyed over the Internet. Packets of real time signals have to be transmitted at a constant interval for which they have to be scheduled at a fixed time interval. The fixed time interval is a direct consequence of the time delay constraint of these real time signals. Real time signals such as voice and video signals are generated as a flow of information that have a certain constant rate of information flow, which should not be interrupted. The constant rate of flow ultimately defines a constant time period that elapses between each packet transmission. A transmitter transmits real-time packets at a constant rate and a receiver wants to receive these packets at the same constant rate.
Packet data networks are prone to arbitrary inter-packet delays. To ensure packets arrive at a receiver at a constant rate, communication systems typically have used buffers. However, these buffers, also known as "jitter buffers", are located within the receiver end-point or at an intermediate point from where onwards the rate of flow of the packets can be ensured. These buffers temporarily store a set of packets before they are transmitted at a desired rate of flow to the receiver.
In wireless packet data networks such as 1×EV-DO(1×Evolution Data Only), 1×EV-DV(1×Evolution Data and Voice), and HSDPA (High Speed Downlink Packet Access), and similar communication systems standards data users are scheduled. In scheduled systems, the available data rate is typically dependent on criteria such as channel availability, channel conditions and user priority; therefore the available data rate or the available frequency at which data can be transmitted may be less than the required data rate for real-time packet transmission. Also, because of the fixed rate transmission of real-time packets, the system is not able to take advantage of higher channel capacity availability. As a result of the aforementioned disadvantages, the capacity of the system is often adversely affected.
What is therefore needed is a technique for conveying (i.e., transmit and/or receive) real time information over a communication system that reduces the adverse effects on capacity and efficiency of the communication system.

Packet aggregation for real time services on packet data networks


Disclosed herein is a process to prepare a poly(carbonate-co-urea) copolymer comprising reacting in the melt: (a) a dihydroxy reaction component comprising a dihydroxy compound, (b) a diaryl carbonate reaction component comprising a diaryl carbonate, (c) a urea reaction component comprising a urea compound in the presence of (d) a transesterification catalyst during at least part of the reaction and removing a phenolic byproduct to produce a poly(carbonate-co-urea) copolymer, wherein the urea and dihydroxy compounds are reacted in a molar ratio: (total moles of urea compound)/((total moles of urea compound)+(total moles of dihydroxy compound)) of less than or equal to 0.5.

The present invention relates to poly(carbonate-co-urea) copolymers containing both carbonate —(O(C═O)O)— and urea —(N(C═O)N)— linkages and to a melt transesterification method of preparing these same copolymers. Although many methods of preparing polycarbonates are known, for example, solution, interfacial, melt transesterification, or solid state polymerization, polycarbonates are generally produced commercially through one of two types of processes: an interfacial process (so named because it involves reaction at a water/organic solvent interface) or a melt transesterification process (so named because the monomers are reacted in a molten, rather than dissolved, state). In the melt transesterification process, dihydroxy compounds such as bisphenol A are reacted with a carbonic acid diester. The carbonic acid diester is typically diphenyl carbonate. More recent patents have described using carbonic acid diesters that are more reactive than diphenyl carbonate, which are referred to herein as "activated" diaryl carbonates.
It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,182 to prepare polyurea (polycarbamide) and other nitrogen-containing homopolymers and homo-oligomers by a polymerization reaction of piperazine (six member aliphatic heterocyclic rings having two opposing secondary amine groups) or imadazolidine (5 member aliphatic heterocyclic rings containing a urea group) compounds in solution with carbonates, imidodicarbonates, diesters, and diisocyanate compounds. The disclosed method in U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,182 is limited to the preparation of polyurea homopolymers and homo-oligomers however. Therefore the polymers disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,182 do not contain any carbonate linkages. Although such polyurea materials were reported to have useful anti-flaming and self-extinguishing properties, they apparently lacked many of the desirable properties of polycarbonates such as ductility and optical transparency. For example, most of the example reaction products in U.S. Pat. No. 4,336,182 were reported to be brittle and/or easily crushed, and none of the examples were reported to be transparent. In addition, solution polymerization methods are less desirable industrially for the preparation of polycarbonates due to the additional processing equipment and steps required to remove any residual organic solvent to the extremely low levels required so that such polymer properties as color, stability and mechanical properties are not negatively impacted.
It is known from U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,793 to prepare poly(carbonate-co-urethane) block copolymers containing urethane —(N(C═O)O)— groups in the form of polyurethane blocks. The method of U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,793 does not result in the preparation of poly(carbonate-co-urea) copolymers containing both carbonate —(O(C═O)O)— and urea —(N(C═O)N)— linkages however. In addition, the method of U.S. Pat. No. 3,450,793 actually requires two separate polymerization steps: one to make the polyurethane block, and a second polymerization to react the polyurethane blocks together with dihydroxy compounds and phosgene or bis-chloroformates or carbonic acid diesters.
Therefore there is still a need for poly(carbonate-co-urea) copolymers compositions containing both carbonate —(O(C═O)O)— and urea —(N(C═O)N)— linkages and to a melt transesterification method for preparing such copolymers.

Poly(carbonate-co-urea) copolymers and melt transesterification method of preparing these copolymers


A tampon including a compressed pledget of absorbent material. The tampon has a body portion and a longitudinal axis, wherein the tampon includes at least one patterned impression with one or more design elements oriented substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis, wherein at least one design element is formed by contact with at least one corresponding pattern including at least one lead in portion. A method and apparatus for making the tampon are also disclosed.

Tampons are generally compressed absorbent structures typically shaped and sized to fit into a body cavity, such as, for example a human vagina. Often, due to the processes used for making tampons, the outer surface of the tampon, including the outer surface of the insertion end, the withdrawal end and/or the main body, may be relatively rough, uneven, crenulated, and unattractive. Such characteristics in the surface topography of a tampon may provide the user with a negative impression of the product, especially when seen prior to use. For example, the insertion end of a tampon is often visible to a user prior to application, such as, e.g., with a digital tampon and/or a tampon provided in an applicator that at least partially displays the outer surface of the tampon. Furthermore, surface topography of tampons, such as, e.g., the insertion end, may affect tampon performance, such as, for example, fluid absorption characteristics and/or user comfort during insertion.
Accordingly, it may be desirable to provide tampons that have a relatively attractive surface, such as the insertion end, withdrawal end and/or main body, prior to use. In addition, it may be advantageous to have a tampon with one or more portions with improved fluid absorption characteristics. Further, it may be desirable to provide a tampon that is more comfortable for the user to insert. Further still, it would be desirable to provide an apparatus and/or method of making a tampon that provides a tampon with at least one relatively appealing portions. It would also be desirable to provide a tampon that is more comfortable for the user to insert. Moreover, it would be desirable to provide a tampon with improved absorption properties during use.


The present invention provides a polarizing holographic reflector module useful in the manufacture of a holographically-illuminated liquid crystal display assembly by combination thereof with a partial LCD stack. The polarizing holographic reflector module is substantially quadrangular in shape and comprises a reflective holographic diffuser, a light polarizer, a pressure sensitive adhesive, and a removable protective liner. A method of manufacture is also provided wherein a web of polarizer material having a linear or downweb orientation is roll-to-roll laminated to a web of angularly offset reflective holographic diffusers.

Electro-optical display devices are the object of considerable research efforts. Of the various display systems that have been developed, devices utilizing liquid crystals, in particular, have drawn commercial interest. For example, liquid crystal devices have found popular utility in display applications such as wrist watches, calculators, laptop computers, personal digital assistants, and the like.
Compositions characterized as liquid crystals include a wide range of materials. The different electrical and optical properties exhibited by these liquid crystalline materials make possible a number of mechanisms for light modulation. Such mechanisms include phase transitions, dynamic scattering, and field effects, all of which are well known in the art.
Field effect devices are of particular utility. The effect that is commercially most significant at present is the rotation of polarized light by a twisted nematic liquid crystal alignment and the disappearance of this effect when an electric field is applied across the device. Twisted nematic liquid crystal devices typically comprise a suitable liquid crystal composition confined between two optically transmissive plates, the plates having transparent conductive films affixed to their surfaces facing one another in the device. The alignment of the surface layers of the liquid crystal in the "off" state of the device is determined by the interaction of the liquid crystal composition with the confining surfaces of the display device. The orientation of the surface layers of the liquid crystal is propagated throughout the bulk of the composition. The nature of the alignment determines the off-stage optical properties of the device and the manner in which the liquid crystal molecules will be reoriented by an applied electric field.
To effect orientation of a confined liquid crystal, the internal surfaces of the conductive plates of a sandwich display device can be prepared by unidirectionally rubbing the surfaces prior to fabrication of the device. The liquid crystal molecules immediately adjacent to each rubbed surface tend to orient themselves in the same direction as the rubbing. By arranging the opposing conducting plates with the axis of the rubbed surface at, for example, right angles to each other, the liquid crystal molecules at points intermediate the two plates will orient themselves to a degree which is a function of the distance from the two plates. Accordingly, in this example, the liquid crystal will align itself in a continuous spiral path that twists through the 90.degree. angle between the opposing plates.
If the light-rotating liquid crystal "sandwich" is mounted between a pair of crossed light polarizer elements, polarized light will pass into the device and be rotated through a 90.degree. angle as it is transmitted through the twisted nematic crystal composition from one surface of the device to the other. Due to the 90.degree. light rotation effected by the twist of the liquid crystal, the polarized light will be set to pass through the second crossed polarizer mounted on the opposing side of the display. In the prior art, it is known that by positioning a light reflector behind the second polarizer, the polarized light can be reflected back through the second polarizer to pass through and be rotated by the confined liquid crystal and then exit out the first polarizer where it was introduced.
When an electric field is applied across the liquid crystal composition between the two conductive plates, the twisted orientation of the liquid crystal is obliterated as the molecules align themselves with the applied field. As the liquid crystal is untwisted, polarized light entering the device through the first polarizer will no longer be rotated 90.degree. as it is transmitted through the liquid crystal. Therefore, the non-rotated light will be unable to pass through the second polarizer which is set correspondingly crossed to the first polarizer. Selective application of voltages across discrete segments of the liquid crystal device can readily accomplish patterns of bright areas (no applied electric field, resulting in reflected light) and dark areas (applied electric field, resulting in no reflected light).
In conventional liquid crystal devices, backlighting and edgelighting are oftentimes the greatest source of power drain. To reduce the energy requirements of such devices, it has been found that displays adequately viewable under ambient light can be provided by replacing conventional light source elements with a brightly reflective holographic diffuser, the reflective holographic diffuser comprising either a volume phase reflection hologram diffuser, or --to accomplish achromaticity--the combination of a volume or surface holographic transmission diffuser and a reflection layer. See, U.S. Pat. No. 5,663,816 (Chen at al.) and U.S. Pat. No. 5,659,408 (Weyon). Although substantial differences exist among the varieties of liquid crystal display devices employing such passive holographic illuminating means, in respect to their operation generally, polarized ambient light passing through a liquid crystal display element is intercepted and reflected by the reflective holographic diffuser, the reflected light being retransmitted as diffused light toward and through the liquid crystal display element, typically with gain within a predetermined viewing angle.
While the commercial popularity of holographically-illuminated liquid crystal display devices continues to develop, desire to raise certain efficiencies in respect of the display's manufacture yet provides further avenues for improvement. In particular, in accomplishing gain and a desirable light diffusion pattern, the reflective holographic diffuser will characteristically manifest an optical asymmetry with a definite top-bottom orientation, an orientation that must be maintained in manufacture to accomplish operative predefined display parameters. However, the polarizer elements in LCD display devices also have a predefined operational axis.
Under current manufacturing processes, the rear polarizer and reflective holographic diffuser are incorporated separately, and consequently, compelling the adoption of separate alignment procedures. Aside from increasing the costs of manufacture, these additional procedures introduce the possibility of misalignment, hence, increasing the possible number of defective or otherwise unusable display units. Further, inasmuch as polarizing material is oftentimes supplied commercially on a supporting carrier substrate, the overall bulk of the finished product is correspondingly increased by the thickness of said substrate.

Polarizing holographic reflector module and method for the manufacture thereof


A method of compensating an OLED display device having light-emitting elements that change with use, comprising the steps of: a) using the device to display images; b) sequentially displaying an ordered series of calibration images, wherein each of the calibration images have one or more corresponding flat fields, at least one of the corresponding flat fields of each calibration image of the ordered series has a different luminance value, and the calibration images are arranged in the ordered series so as to reduce perceived luminance discontinuities; c) measuring and recording current used by the display for each sequentially displayed calibration image; d) calculating compensation parameters based on the measured currents; e) compensating an input image using the compensation parameters; and f) displaying the compensated input image.

Flat-panel display devices, for example plasma, liquid crystal and Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) displays have been known for some years and are widely used in electronic devices to display information and images. Such devices employ both active-matrix and passive-matrix control schemes and can employ a plurality of light-emitting elements. The light-emitting elements are typically arranged in two-dimensional arrays with a row and a column address for each light-emitting element and having a data value associated with each light-emitting element to emit light at a brightness corresponding to the associated data value.
Active-matrix electroluminescent devices typically employ thin-film electronic components formed on the same substrate as the light-emitting elements thereof to control light emission from individual light-emitting elements thereof. Such thin film electronic components are subject to manufacturing process variabilities that may cause such components to have variable performance. In particular, the voltage at which thin-film transistors turn on ("threshold voltage") may vary. Low-temperature polysilicon (LTPS) devices have a short-range variability due to the variability in the silicon annealing process used to form such devices. Amorphous silicon devices typically have a long-range variability due to variabilities in the silicon deposition processes. Further, threshold voltage properties of such thin-film devices may changes significantly with use over time, particularly for amorphous silicon devices. Typical large-format displays, e.g., employ hydrogenated amorphous silicon thin-film transistors (aSi-TFTs) to drive the pixels in such large-format displays. However, as described in "Threshold voltage instability of amorphous silicon thin-film transistors under constant current stress" by Jahinuzzaman et al in Applied Physics Letters 87,023502 (2005), the aSi-TFTs exhibit a metastable shift in threshold voltage when subjected to prolonged gate bias. This shift is not significant in traditional display devices such as LCDs because the current required to switch the liquid crystals in LCD display is relatively small. However, for OLED applications, much larger currents must be switched by the aSi-TFT circuits to drive the organic materials to emit light. Thus, OLED displays employing aSi-TFT circuits are expected to exhibit a significant voltage threshold shift as they are used. This voltage shift may result in decreased dynamic range and image artifacts. Moreover, the organic materials in OLED devices also deteriorate in relation to the integrated current density passed through them over time so that their efficiency drops while their resistance to current increases.
One approach to avoiding the problem of voltage threshold shift in aSi-TFT circuits is to employ circuit designs whose performance is relatively constant in the presence of such voltage shifts. For example, US20050269959 A1 entitled "Pixel circuit, active matrix apparatus and display apparatus" describes a pixel circuit having a function of compensating for characteristic variation of an electro-optical element and threshold voltage variation of a transistor. The pixel circuit includes an electro-optical element, a holding capacitor, and five N-channel thin film transistors including a sampling transistor, a drive transistor, a switching transistor, and first and second detection transistors. Alternative circuit designs employ current-mirror driving circuits or voltage to current conversion circuits, that reduce susceptibility to transistor performance, e.g., US2005/0180083, US2005/0024352 and WO2006/012028. Other methods, such as taught in US20040032382, WO2005/015530, and WO2006/046196, employ photo-sensors in pixel-driving circuits and employ feedback control so that pixels emit a desired amount of light regardless of organic material or transistor performance. However, such designs typically require complex, larger and/or slower circuits than the two-transistor, single capacitor circuits otherwise employed, thereby increasing costs and reducing the area on a display available for emitting light and decreasing the display lifetime.
Other compensation methods are described in the prior art to mitigate the effects of changing organic material properties and changing thin-film transistor properties. One group of compensation methods attempts to prevent the problem from occurring, for example by employing reverse-biasing to undo thin-film circuit changes. For example, US20040001037 A1 entitled "Organic light-emitting diode display" describes a technique to reduce the rate of increase in threshold voltage, i.e. degradation, of an amorphous silicon TFT driving an OLED. A first supply voltage is supplied to a drain of the TFT when a first control voltage is applied to a gate of the TFT to activate the TFT and drive the OLED. However, a second, lower supply voltage is supplied to the drain of the TFT when a second control voltage is applied to the gate of the TFT to deactivate the TFT and turn off the OLED, whereby a voltage differential between the drain and the source when the second control voltage is applied to the gate is substantially lower said first supply voltage. This reduces degradation of the TFT. However, such schemes typically require complex additional circuitry and timing signals, thereby reducing the area on a display available for emitting light and decreasing the display lifetime and cost. Alternatively, by increasing the size of organic light-emitting elements or placing a maximum on the current that passes through the organic elements, degradation may be decreased. However, these methods have limited utility in that the degradation problem is not solved but rather reduced.
Other techniques employ external compensation to mitigate the effects of changes in the display device. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,995,519 describes an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display comprising an array of OLED display light-emitting elements, each OLED display light-emitting element having two terminals; a voltage sensing circuit for each OLED display light-emitting element in the display array including a transistor in each circuit connected to one of the terminals of a corresponding OLED display light-emitting element for sensing the voltage across the OLED display light-emitting element to produce feedback signals representing the voltage across the OLED display light-emitting elements in the display array; and a controller responsive to the feedback signals for calculating a correction signal for each OLED display light-emitting element and applying the correction signal to data used to drive each OLED display light-emitting element to compensate for the changes in the output of each OLED display light-emitting element. However, this design also suffers from the need for additional circuitry in each active-matrix pixel.
It is known in the prior art to measure the performance of each pixel in a display and then to correct for the performance of the pixel to provide a more uniform output across the display. U.S. Pat. No. 6,081,073 entitled "Matrix Display with Matched Solid-State Pixels" by Salam granted Jun. 27, 2000 describes a display matrix with a process and control means for reducing brightness variations in the pixels. This patent describes the use of a linear scaling method for each pixel based on a ratio between the brightness of the weakest pixel in the display and the brightness of each pixel. However, this approach will lead to an overall reduction in the dynamic range and brightness of the display and a reduction and variation in the bit depth at which the pixels can be operated.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,473,065 B1 entitled "Methods of improving display uniformity of organic light emitting displays by calibrating individual pixel" by Fan issued 20021029 describes methods of improving the display uniformity of an OLED. In order to improve the display uniformity of an OLED, the display characteristics of all organic-light-emitting-elements are measured, and calibration parameters for each organic-light-emitting-element are obtained from the measured display characteristics of the corresponding organic-light-emitting-element. The calibration parameters of each organic-light-emitting-element are stored in a calibration memory. The technique uses a combination of look-up tables and calculation circuitry to implement uniformity correction. However, the described approaches require either a lookup table providing a complete characterization for each pixel, or extensive computational circuitry within a device controller. This is likely to be expensive and impractical in most applications.
Copending, commonly assigned U.S. Ser. No. 11/093,115 describes a method for the correction of average brightness or brightness uniformity variations in OLED displays wherein the brightness of each light-emitting element is measured at two or more, but fewer than all possible, different input signal values. While brightness or luminance measurements may be practical in a manufacturing environment, and thus appropriate for initial display calibration, they may be problematic after the display is subsequently put into use and thus less practical for performance of aging compensation.
US2006/0007249 discloses a method for operating and individually controlling the luminance of each pixel in an emissive active-matrix display device including storing transformation between digital image gray level value and display drive signal that generates luminance from pixel corresponding to digital gray level value; identifying target gray level value for particular pixel; generating display drive signal corresponding to identified target gray level based on stored transformation and driving particular pixel with drive signal during first display frame; measuring parameter representative of actual measured luminance of particular pixel at a second time after the first time; determining difference between identified target luminance and actual measured luminance; modifying stored transformation for particular pixel based on determined difference; and storing and using modified transformation for generating display drive signal for particular pixel during frame time following first frame time.
WO 2005/057544 describes a video data signal correction system for video data signals addressing active matrix electroluminescent display devices wherein an updated electrical characteristic parameter X is calculated for each drive transistor by measuring actual current through a power line in comparison to expected current determined using a model and a previously stored parameter value, where subsequent video data signals are corrected in accordance with the calculated parameter X. Calculation of characteristic parameters based on assumed pre-determined performance relationships, however, may require consideration of many parameters having complex interactive relationships, and further may not accurately reflect actual device performance.
US 2004/0150590 describes an OLED display comprising a plurality of light emitting elements divided into two or more groups, the light emitting elements having an output that changes with time or use; a current measuring device for sensing the total current used by the display to produce a current signal; and a controller for simultaneously activating all of the light emitting elements in a group and responsive to the current signal for calculating a correction signal for the light emitting elements in the group and applying the correction signal to input image signals to produce corrected input image signals that compensate for the changes in the output of the light emitting elements of the group. While this technique is useful and effective, the problem of measuring the currents while the display is in use without causing the user to perceive luminance discontinuities, or other objectionable display artifacts necessary for performing the measurements, remains.
There is a need, therefore, for an improved method of measuring and compensating for changes in the performance of light-emitting elements in an OLED display device.

Method and apparatus for compensating aging of OLED display