N signals are transmitted from each of N transmitting units to a receiving unit every signal transmission cycle (N.gtoreq.2). In this case, N signal transmitting periods of N I-th signals and (N-1) I-th transmission short pausing periods for each of the I-th transmitting units are alternately placed in each of I-th signal grouping periods (1.ltoreq.I.ltoreq.N), and an I-th transmission long pausing period follows each of the I-th signal grouping periods to set one signal transmission cycle composed of one I-th signal grouping period and one I-th transmission long pausing period for each of the I-th transmitting unit. A time length of each first transmission short pausing period is equal to that of the signal transmitting period, a time length of each I-th transmission short pausing period is (2N+2I-5) times as long as that of the signal transmitting period, and a time length of the signal transmission cycle is 4N(N-1) times as long as the signal transmitting period. Therefore, there is no probability that two or more signals for the j-th transmitting unit overlap with two or more signals for the k-th transmitting unit (1.ltoreq.j.ltoreq.N, 1.ltoreq.k.ltoreq.N), and at least one signal not overlapping with any other signal is transmitted from each of the transmitting units to the receiving unit every signal transmission cycle.

1. FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates generally to a signal transmitting and receiving method, and more particularly to a method for transmitting signals from a plurality of transmitting units at prescribed intervals.
2. DESCRIPTION OF THE RELATED ART
A remote control system in which various apparatuses are remote-controlled is well-known as an example of a data transmission. In this remote control system, data is transmitted from a transmitting unit placed far apart from an apparatus to the apparatus through a space for the purpose of remote-controlling the apparatus, the transmitted data is received in a receiving unit placed in the apparatus and is decoded, and a signal corresponding to the decode data is transmitted to the apparatus.
In general, the remote control system is operated according to a data transmitting and receiving method in which pieces of transmission data are transmitted from a transmitting unit to a receiving unit at prescribed intervals. In a conventional data transmitting and receiving method, only a single transmission unit is operated. Also, even though a plurality of transmission units are operated the transmission units are not simultaneously operated in the conventional data transmitting and receiving method. In other words, in cases where a plurality of transmitting units placed in a limited area are simultaneously operated or in cases where a plurality of transmission signals overlapped with each other are transmitted from a plurality of transmitting units, it is impossible to decode the transmission signals overlapped with each other in a receiving unit of an apparatus. Therefore, there is a drawback that the apparatus cannot be remote-controlled.
To solve the above drawback, a first conventional data transmitting and receiving method in which a data transmission interval adopted in one transmitting unit differs from that in another transmitting unit is well-known. Also, a second conventional data transmitting and receiving method in which a plurality of transmission frequencies are used according to a frequency multiplexing method is well-known. Also, a conventional polling method in which a two-way communication is performed and a transmission timing at each of a plurality of transmitting units is regulated is well-known.
2.1. PREVIOUSLY PROPOSED ART
An example of the first conventional data transmitting and receiving method is described with reference to FIG. 1.
FIG. 1 shows a timing chart of three series of signals transmitted from three transmitting units according to the first conventional data transmitting and receiving method.
As shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of first signals S1 respectively having a signal width are transmitted from a first transmitting unit at first specific intervals, a plurality of second signals S2 respectively having the same signal width are transmitted from a second transmitting unit at second specific intervals, and a plurality of third signals S3 respectively having the same signal width are transmitted from a third transmitting unit at third specific intervals. The signal width for the first, second and third signals is called a signal transmitting period T, a period in which any first signal S1 is not transmitted is called a first signal transmission pausing period X1, a period in which any second signal S2 is not transmitted is called a second signal transmission pausing period X2, and a period in which any third signal S3 is not transmitted is called a third signal transmission pausing period X3.
In cases where the signal transmission pausing periods X1, X2 and X3 differ from each other, a part of the first signals S1 are not simultaneously transmitted with any second or third signal. That is, the part of the first signals S1 are transmitted to a receiving unit without overlapping with any second or third signal. Also, a part of the second signals S2 are transmitted to the receiving unit without overlapping with any first or second signal, and a part of the third signals S3 are transmitted to the receiving unit without overlapping with any first or second signal.
Accordingly, when the first, second and third signals are continued to be transmitted to the receiving unit for a prescribed period or more, even though the first, second and third transmitting units are simultaneously operated, the first, second and third signals can be reliably transmitted to the receiving unit.
2.2. PROBLEMS TO BE SOLVED BY THE INVENTION
However, because the transmission of the first, second and third signals to the receiving unit is performed when each of the signals is not overlapped with any other signal by chance, the first, second and third signals cannot be reliably transmitted to the receiving unit unless the first, second and third signals are continued to be transmitted to the receiving unit for a prescribed period or more.
Also, in cases where the number of transmitting units is increased, a probability that the signals are simultaneously overlapped with each other is increased, and there is a drawback that a probability that the signals are reliably transmitted to the receiving unit is decreased.
Also, in the second conventional data transmitting and receiving method, because a plurality of frequencies are used, there is a drawback that complicated circuits such as a modulation circuit, a synchronizing circuit and the like and expensive parts are required.
Also, in the third conventional data transmitting and receiving method, because two-way communication is performed between a pair of apparatuses, a transmitting unit and a receiving unit are required for each of the apparatuses. Therefore, there is a drawback that each of the apparatuses is manufactured in a large size and is expensive.

Method for transmitting signals from a plurality of transmitting units and receiving the signals

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


The present invention relates to fabricating a reticle or mask for use in an extreme ultraviolet (“EUV”) photolithographic process. The EUV reticle comprises a substrate, a planarizing layer formed over a surface of the substrate, and a reflective layer deposited in contact with the planarizing layer. The planarizing layer comprises a material that has superior surface flatness properties and provides a flat surface upon which the reflective layer is deposited. The planarizing layer is spin-coated onto the substrate and comprises a material such as an anti-reflective material, a dielectric material, or a polymer. Since the reflective layer is deposited over the flat surface provided by the planarizing layer, the reflective layer is not compromised by defects in the surface of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a reticle or mask used in a lithography process and, more particularly, to fabricating a reticle or mask for use in an extreme ultraviolet lithography process.
2. State of the Art
Lithography processes are commonly used to create features on a semiconductor wafer by transferring a pattern or image from a reticle or mask. The reticle, which contains the pattern to be transferred, is placed over the semiconductor wafer and light from a light source is transmitted through the reticle. For example, in extreme ultraviolet ("ELV") lithography, light is reflected off the reticle and projected through a series of mirrors onto the semiconductor wafer. The pattern on the reticle creates an image that is reduced in size and transferred to a photoresist layer covering the semiconductor wafer. The resist is then developed and the semiconductor wafer is etched and processed further to form the semiconductor device having the desired circuit pattern.
The wavelength of light transmitted through, or reflected by, the reticle determines the size of the features to be created on the semiconductor device. Generally, light of a shorter wavelength is used to more precisely and accurately create small features. For example, deep ultraviolet radiation is used to create semiconductor devices at 0.15 μm, but for semiconductor devices at 0.05 μm or lower, EUV radiation is used.
In EUV lithography, EUV radiation is directed from a light source onto an EUV reticle through a series of mirrors. The EUV radiation comprises light at a wavelength of approximately 3-50 nm. The EUV reticle comprises a substrate and multiple, reflective layers that are supported on the substrate. On top of the reflective layers is an absorbing layer that is patterned with a circuit design that absorbs some of the EUV radiation. The remaining EUV radiation is reflected by the reflective layers, through a series of aspheric mirrors, to produce a desired pattern on the semiconductor wafer. Since the reticle includes reflective layers, EUV radiation is not transmitted through the substrate. Rather, the EUV radiation is reflected by the reticle.
In order to achieve the desired accuracy and precision of EUV lithography, a surface of the substrate of the EUV reticle must be optically flat or free of defects. If the substrate surface is not flat, the defects may be propagated into the reflective layers and ultimately transferred to the photoresist layer of the semiconductor wafer. In other words, these defects may substantially degrade the image fidelity produced by the reflective layers. Defects on the substrate cause local perturbations in the reflective layers that will generate a phase difference in the light that is reflected at that point. The out-of-phase light will interfere destructively with the surrounding light and alter the desired image. The flatness of the substrate is measured by peak-to-valley flatness of the substrate surface topography. Currently, substrates exhibiting a 200-400 nm (2000-4000 Å) peak-to-valley surface flatness are available from manufacturers for use in EUV reticles. However, it would be desirable to use substrates having 50 nm (500 Å) or less peak-to-valley surface flatness to achieve the necessary performance. While 50 nm (500 Å) peak-to-valley surface flatness has been achieved for optics, this degree of flatness requires additional, expensive fabrication steps, such as abrasive polishing. These abrasive polishing steps may include chemical mechanical polishing ("CMP") or lapping techniques.
In addition to surface flatness, the substrate must also have a low coefficient of thermal expansion ("CTE"). If the substrate has a high CTE, heat produced by the EUV radiation and conducted to the substrate may cause the substrate to expand, thereby increasing the size of the reticle and features thereof as well as potentially causing distortion. Such changes to the reticle may affect the accuracy and precision of the image to be patterned onto the semiconductor wafer.
An optimal substrate would have a high degree of surface flatness, in order to achieve the desired reflectivity of the reflective layers, and a low CTE, in order to minimize expansion of the substrate. However, an inverse relationship exists between the surface flatness and thermal expansion properties of commonly used substrates. For example, silicon is commonly used as a substrate in EUV reticles because of its easily obtainable surface flatness characteristics. However, silicon has a relatively high CTE (2.5 ppm/° C.). Other substrates commonly used in EUV reticles include ultra-low expansion materials, such as ULE™ glass or ZERODUR™ glass ceramic. While ULE® glass has a low CTE (0.02 ppm/° C.), it has a high number of scratches or defects on its surface and, therefore, is not flat.
Since no single substrate has a high degree of surface flatness and a low CTE, various solutions have been proposed to achieve the desired combination of surface flatness and CTE. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,652 to Nguyen et al., a reticle blank with a high degree of reflectivity and a low CTE is purportedly disclosed. The reticle blank comprises a reflective layer formed over a flat, silicon substrate. A layer of low thermal expansion material is then formed on the reflective layer to ensure that the reticle blank will have a low CTE. The flat substrate is subsequently removed, leaving the reflective layer overlying the low thermal expansion material.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,159,643 to Levinson et al., a two-layer substrate is disclosed. A top layer of the substrate comprises silicon exhibiting the optical flatness suitable for EUV lithography. A bottom layer of the substrate comprises a low expansion glass, ceramic, or metal and has a CTE of less than 1.0 ppm/° C.
In U.S. Pat. No. 6,011,646 to Mirkarimi et al., a method of reducing stress between a reflective, multilayer film and an optic or substrate is disclosed. A buffer layer is disposed between the multilayer film and the optic or substrate to counteract the stress in the multilayer film. The buffer layer is asserted to prevent the stress from deforming the optic and is comprised of Mo/Si, Mo/Be, Mo2C/Si, Mo2C/Be, amorphous silicon, or amorphous carbon. The buffer layer is used in the optics of EUV lithography systems. A purported improvement to Mirkarimi et al. is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,134,049 to Spiller et al. The Spiller et al. method includes reducing the thickness of the total film by incorporating a stress-reducing layer system into the reflective, multilayer film.
In addition to the solutions discussed above, a substrate with a low CTE may also be smoothed by CMP techniques. However, CMP is expensive and increases the number of steps required to fabricate the reticle. Therefore, what is needed in the art is a less expensive method of achieving a sufficiently flat-surfaced substrate that may be used in an EUV reticle.

Use of a planarizing layer to improve multilayer performance in ultraviolet masks


A dice-like toy composed of a polygonal body with main surfaces located in pairs opposite each other, which are respectively used as resting surfaces and as display surfaces. The main surfaces are arranged on the body in such a way that the axis of symmetry of oppositely located resting and display surfaces are inclined relative to each other. This results in a shape of the toy which, in contrast to conventional dice, no longer generates an essentially straight-line throw, but causes more direct and more abrupt directional changes in the course of progress because of increasingly occurring edges. In this connection, elliptical surfaces are particularly preferred as the main game surfaces, wherein the two elliptical main axes of oppositely located main surfaces extend perpendicularly to each other.

The invention relates to the field of toys and amusement devices, and in particular dice-like toys or game pieces which remain in a position at the end of a defined movement progression, wherein an indicator surface, which as a rule points upward, indicates a defined result or a defined symbol, from whose value it is possible to determine, for example, the progress of a game, but which can also be used without any other accessories for game and entertainment purposes.
A game of this type is disclosed in German Patent Publication DE 36 03 162 A1. This game includes throwing dice which differ from traditional dice only in that, in place of the six square lateral surfaces, six diamond-shaped lateral surfaces are provided, it being intended to give at least the impression that it is possible to achieve a desired result in a preferred manner by means of a certain behavior of the dice. In this case, the lateral surfaces constituting mutually opposed resting and indication surfaces are offset with respect to each other.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,465,279 provides a pentagonal dodecahedron put together from two halves, whose total of twelve resting and display surfaces are respectively embodied as pentagons. Oppositely located pentagons have the same display symbols (for example the same number). The goal of this construction is a statistically absolutely equal probability of the appearance of all display symbols. The "throwing characteristics" are relatively straight because of the large number of surfaces.
German Patent Publication DE 36 41 730 A1 discloses a similar toy, which is constituted by a polygon with a large number of main surfaces connected with each other by beveled edges, so that this polygon comes even closer to a sphere-like shape. In contrast to the subject of the first mentioned reference, it is intended here to make manipulation impossible because of the high degree of symmetry of the individual surfaces of the polygon and the sphere-like shape. The object of this reference also is to provide a multitude of surfaces, but to avoid surfaces of different size. This embodiment of the known object makes ball-like games possible, in particular when using appropriately large embodiments, and would therefore be classified as a toy which lies in a transition area between dice and a ball.


This method for controlling a motorized awning installation comprises:                during the deployment of a cloth, a step of supervising the tension of the cloth, and        a step of rolling up the cloth on a tube initiated automatically in response to a drop in the supervised tension, and stopped automatically before a perceptible folding of the arms for guidance of the cloth.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of motorized solar protection elements and in particular of awnings with arms, such as for example terrace awnings.
2. Brief Description of the Related Art
Existing installations of motorized awnings include an awning cloth and arms that can unfold for guidance of the cloth whose movement accompanies a movement for deployment or retraction of the cloth, the cloth being capable of being rolled around a tube set in motion by an actuator.
More precisely, an awning installation with arms usually comprises the following elements: a rolling tube, held at its ends in a case or by supports, foldable arms, an awning cloth and a rigid bar called a load bar. A tubular actuator makes it possible to motorize the installation.
The awning cloth is attached by one of its sides to the rolling tube inside which the tubular, actuator is located. This actuator rotates the tube and consequently makes it possible to roll up or unroll the cloth. The cloth is also attached on its opposite side to said load bar. The latter makes it possible to hold the cloth and, where necessary, is used to close the awning case when the cloth is in its retracted position.
The awning arms are attached on the one hand to the awning case (or to appropriate supports) and on the other hand to the load bar. They have at least one articulated elbow allowing them to fold or unfold. The arms are furnished, usually at the elbow, with springs that are tensed when the cloth is retracted.
Awnings with arms are usually deployed substantially horizontally. Thus, the cloth cannot be deployed only under the effect of the weight of the load bar. For deployment, the arms have a tendency, under the effect of the springs, to try to unfold. Accordingly, if the actuator releases the rotation of the rolling tube, the cloth is operated by the arms and the awning deploys.
When the awning is retracted, the actuator rotates the rolling tube which has the effect of pulling on the arms via the cloth to fold them.
The springs of the arms usually have a strong stiffness factor. Specifically, it is required that the awnings conventionally sold on the market are unrolled with the cloth under great tension, irrespective of the stopping position, for esthetic and technical reasons (no water pocket in the event of rain, more rigid holding and hence resistance to the wind, etc.).
These cloth tension stresses cause over time a distention and lengthening of the latter which may lead to carrying out readjustments.
The fully deployed position, also known as the "bottom end-of-travel position" is identified without abutment, usually thanks to a metering device. In the existing installations, this position also corresponds to a locking position in which the arms are unfolded beyond a position in which the segments of the arms are aligned. More precisely, in existing installations, each arm comprises at least two segments articulated relative to one another about an axis of rotation perpendicular to the plane of movement. An angle α is defined by the two segments in the plane of movement. This angle α increases as the cloth is deployed. The locking position corresponds to a position in which the angle α is greater than 180°. In this position, it is said that the arms are "braced". This locking position allows a good retention of the tension of the cloth, particularly relative to the wind.
On the other hand, the passing of this locking position, during the deployment or more particularly the retraction of the cloth, requires the actuator to be capable of developing a high operating torque.
Accordingly, the actuators designed for awnings with arms are dimensioned for a high torque that is globally necessary only for unlocking the arms, that is to say the transition from the locking position. The rest of the travel requires only a medium torque.
In addition, the whole awning must satisfy criteria of precision, sensitivity and sealing.
Because of these criteria, the motorization of the awnings is costly since the actuators must be powerful (from 25 to 120 Nm) and the metering devices elaborate.

Control method and awning installation controlled by this method


In a positive resist composition comprising (A) a resin component which becomes soluble in an alkaline developer under the action of an acid and (B) a photoacid generator, component (A) is a polymer of formula (1) wherein R1 is H, methyl or trifluoromethyl, R2 and R3 are alkyl, R4 is a monovalent hydrocarbon group, X1 is O, S or CH2CH2, X2 is O, S, CH2 or CH2CH2, n is 1 or 2, a1, a2, c, d1 and d2 each are from 0 to less than 1, b is from 0.01 to less than 1, and a1+a2+b+c+d1+d2=1. The resist composition forms a pattern with high rectangularity at an enhanced resolution when processed by ArF lithography.

In the recent drive for higher integration and operating speeds in LSI devices, the pattern rule is made drastically finer. Active efforts have been made on the development of microfabrication technology using deep ultraviolet and vacuum ultraviolet lithography. The photolithography using a light source in the form of a KrF excimer laser of wavelength 248 nm has reached a level enough to play a main role in the commercial production of semiconductor devices. Investigations are made on the use of an ArF excimer laser of wavelength 193 nm in order to achieve a further reduction of feature size, and the technical challenge has reached the pilot production of some devices. Since the ArF excimer laser lithography has not matured as the micropatterning technology, a number of problems must be overcome before it can enter the commercial phase of device production.
Resist materials adapted for the ArF excimer laser lithography must meet several characteristics including transparency at wavelength 193 nm and dry etch resistance. As the resist material satisfying both the requirements, JP-A 9-73173 and JP-A 9-90637 disclose resist compositions comprising as a base resin a polymer of (meth)acrylic acid derivative having bulky acid-labile protective groups as typified by 2-ethyl-2-adamantyl and 2-methyl-2-adamantyl. While a number of resist materials have been proposed since then, most of them are common in that the resin used has a highly transparent backbone and a carboxylic acid moiety protected with a tertiary alkyl group.
While these resist materials suffer from many problems, a shortage of resolution is regarded a fatal deficiency in forming micro-size patterns. Specifically, tertiary alkyl groups which are often used as the protective group for carboxylic acids are generally less reactive, and their performance is absolutely short in the application where a high resolution is required as in forming fine trenches. Reactivity can be enhanced to some extent by increasing the temperature of heat treatment following exposure. However, the elevated temperature encourages acid diffusion, thereby exacerbating pattern density dependency and mask fidelity. An overall evaluation does not reach the conclusion that the resolution performance is enhanced.
As a protective group having a relatively high reactivity, JP-A 2006-96965 discloses the use of protective groups of methylene acetal type. The use of protective groups of methylene acetal type has advantages including improved sensitivity and enhanced resolution, but suffers from the drawback that light leakage from exposure site has a substantial influence, inviting the undesired results of film slimming and degraded pattern rectangularity.

Positive resist compositions and patterning process


The present invention relates to an alloy for bonding wire used to connect a semiconductor chip and a lead frame and, more particularly, to a gold-based alloy for bonding wire of a semiconductor device which is excellent in the strengths at room temperature and under hot conditions after bonding, capable of controlling the ball size to be smaller in bonding, and preventive of a short between wires, the gold-based alloy for bonding wire of a semiconductor device being characterized by containing 0.5 to 5.0 wt. % of Pd, 5 to 50 wt.PPM of Ba, each 1 to 10 wt.PPM of at least one selected from the group consisting of Be and Ca, and Au for the rest, thereby having excellent strengths at room temperature and under hot conditions after bonding, controlling the size of a ball smaller, and preventing a short between wires.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an alloy for bonding wire used to connect a semiconductor chip and a lead frame and, more particularly, to a gold-based alloy for bonding wire of a semiconductor device which is excellent in the strengths at room temperature and under hot conditions after bonding, capable of controlling the ball size to be smaller in bonding, and preventive of a short between wires.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The material generally used for the bonding wire of a semiconductor device is made of an alloy prepared by adding elements (hereinafter, referred to as "dopant") of several PPM or several scores of PPM to the at least 99.999% highly purified gold, and its mechanical properties depend upon the type and amount of the dopant to be added.
To select a wire appropriate to the characteristic of package is of great importance since there are so many kinds of semiconductor packages and each type of wire has its bonding methods.
As the semiconductor chips have been highly miniaturized and the semiconductor mounting techniques with high density have been rapidly developed in recent years, the number of terminals to be connected with bonding wire becomes increased, and accordingly, the gap between the pads gets much smaller in addition to the miniaturization of bonding pad itself. There is thus an increasing demand for bonding wire satisfying the above requirements.
The following characteristics are required in accordance with the trend of semiconductor package as described above.
First, the bonded wire is required to be high in the strengths at room temperature and under hot conditions with the gap between bonded wires getting smaller, so as not to be bent or get curved.
Second, it is needed to control the ball size smaller in bonding, bring the bond strength excellent after bonding, with reduction in the gap between the pad to be bonded. Moreover, the increased bonding length and decreased bonding gap demand us to minimize the sweeping of epoxy-mold wire for the prevention of a short between the wires.

Gold-based alloy for bonding wire of semiconductor device

Byongsan-ri, Kangsang-myon, Yangpyong-gun, Kyungki-do


Systems, methodologies, media, and other embodiments associated with planning a response to an unplanned event are described. One example computer implemented method includes solving a model with no unplanned events applied, modifying the model by applying an unplanned event to the model, freezing a plan up to the unplanned event effective date, and solving the modified model. A plan associated with the modified model may then be provided as an output.

An enterprise planning system (EPS) may be used by manufacturing companies, distribution companies, and so on, to facilitate managing, for example, supply chain risk. A conventional EPS facilitates planning steady state operations for an enterprise. A conventional EPS may therefore model supply chain entities including, for example, suppliers, manufacturers, distribution channels, warehouses, supply, demand, transportation, and so on. The model may include representations of costs, capacity, and other entity attributes. The model may be extended into the future to deal with a planning interval known as a "planning horizon". Entity attributes may change over the planning horizon. Some changes may be known (e.g., seasonal fluctuations) while others may be unknown (e.g., plant shutdown due to flu outbreak).
A conventional EPS may use techniques including, for example, linear programming, heuristics, constraint programming, and so on, to build a plan based on the modeled entities. The plan may seek to meet business objectives including minimizing cost, maximizing profit, maximizing customer service, and so on. However, a conventional EPS may be suboptimal with respect to accounting for, simulating, and/or pre-planning for unplanned events including, for example, weather (e.g., hurricane, tornado), civil unrest (e.g., riot, demonstration), political unrest (e.g., coup), shortages, currency fluctuations, "Acts of God" (e.g., tsunami, fire, flood), and so on.
As access to worldwide markets increases and supply and outsourcing opportunities grow, manufacturing and distribution companies continue to expand their operations globally. The global operations may be tuned with respect to minimizing work in progress (WIP), optimizing just in time (JIT) delivery, and so on. Although there are benefits to global operations and streamlined inventory control, there are also global risks that can threaten the success of their operations. To manage these risks, companies may seek to understand the impact of unplanned events on operations. Based on this understanding, companies can then make appropriate investments in the supply chain flexibility and redundancy. These investments may make the difference between success and oblivion.

Planning a response to an unplanned event


The high-nitrogen compound of the formula

Carbon nitrides have interesting mechanical, optical, and tribological properties. These super-hard diamond-like materials have low densities, are extremely wear resistant, and are generally chemically inert. Carbon nitrides are used in biocompatible coatings for medical implants, battery electrodes, gas separation systems, corrosive protection, humidity and gas sensors, and other applications. The applications for carbon nitrides generally depend on particle size and texture and on the relative nitrogen content of the carbon nitride.
An extensive effort has been focused on the synthesis of precursors and the development of methods to control the size, regulate the texture, and increase the nitrogen content in carbon nitrides.
There have been recent reports describing the use of energetic "high-nitrogen" compounds for preparing carbon nitrides. High-nitrogen compounds are a relatively new class of energetic compounds whose energy is largely derived from their very high positive heats of formation that result from the large number of energetic N—N and C—N bonds in these compounds. SCHEME 1 shows the formulas of three high-nitrogen compounds (DAAT: 3,3′-azobis(6-amino-1,2,4,5-tetrazine); BTATz: 3,6-bis-(1H-1,2,3,4-tetrazol-5-ylamino)-1,2,4,5-tetrazine; and TAG-AT: triaminoguanidinium 5,5′-azobis(1H-tetrazolate)) and their associated heats of formation.

High-nitrogen compounds that contain polyazido groups possess even higher heats of formation. In general, however, compounds with polyazido groups are extremely sensitive to spark, friction, and impact (H50) and generally exhibit poor thermal stability. Therefore, applications for these types of compounds tend to be limited. Gillan, however, has reported the preparation of carbon nitrides C3N4 and C3N5 from 2,4,6-tri(azido)-1,3,5-triazine [1]. The formulas of 2,4,6-tri(azido)-1,3,5-triazine and another high-nitrogen compound having polyazido groups are shown in SCHEME 2 below, along with some data related to their melting points, decomposition temperatures, heats of formation, and sensitivities to spark, friction, and impact.

Other reported preparations of carbon nitrides using other types of precursors generally involve applied pressure, high temperature and/or shock compression, and the products obtained are often nitrogen poor materials that are occasionally contaminated with hydrogen-containing by-products [2–8].
High-nitrogen compounds with better thermal stability and less sensitivity to spark, friction, and/or impact than known precursors would be better precursor materials for carbon nitrides.
There remains a need for better precursor materials for carbon nitrides.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide better high-nitrogen compound precursor materials for preparing carbon nitrides.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method for preparing carbon nitrides from high-nitrogen compounds.
Additional objects, advantages and novel features of the invention will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objects and advantages of the invention may be realized and attained by means of the instrumentalities and combinations particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

Preparation of high nitrogen compound and materials therefrom

Abstract: was prepared. Pyrolysis of the compound yields carbon nitrides C2N3 and C3N5. The carbon nitrides vary in their density, texture, and morphology.


A method of controlling silica reinforcement in a curable silicone composition having a desired property related to the silica reinforcement comprising adding to the curable silicone composition a volume fraction of reinforcing silica filler sufficient to provide the desired property, where the volume fraction is determined by use of a regression analysis equation relating the volume fraction, Carman surface area (CSA), and Burnauer-Emmet-Teller surface area (BET) of the reinforcing silica filler to the desired property.

This invention relates to a method of controlling silica reinforcement in a curable silicone composition having a desired property related to the silica reinforcement, the method comprising adding to the curable silicone composition a volume fraction of reinforcing silica filler sufficient to provide the desired property, where the volume fraction is determined by use of a regression analysis equation relating the volume fraction, Carman surface area (CSA), and Bumauer-Emmet-Teller surface area (BET surface area) of the reinforcing silica filler to the desired property.
It is recognized in the art of elastomer reinforcement that filler properties play a major role in determining elastomer Theological and mechanical properties. In general, viscosity or plasticity of the uncured elastomer, and yield, stress, durometer, and modulus of cured elastomers increase with increasing BET surface area. An important reinforcing filler used in silicone elastomers is amorphous silica. Two types of amorphous silicas are used, fumed and precipitated, with fumed silica use predominating. Like other reinforcing fillers, silicas are typically specified by BET surface area. BET surface area is determined by the Bumauer-Emmet-Teller method, which is based on nitrogen adsorption, and is described in The Journal of the American Chemical Society, 60 p. 309 (February, 1938). Nitrogen adsorption measures the surface areas of the individual, spherical, primary particles of silica.
Although BET surface area can be quantitative predictor of performance of some non-silica reinforcing fillers in hydrocarbon-based elastomer, it is less useful in predicting the effect of silica reinforcing fillers on properties in either hydrocarbon-based or silicone elastomers. Machurat, et al., in U.S. Pat. No. 4,251,281 teach that silica particles having considerably different BET surface areas can give similar properties in organic elastomer. More recently, Okel and Waddell reported in Rubber Chemistry and Technology, 68 p. 59 (March-April 1995) that, for precipitated silica fillers used in high consistency silicone elastomer, no single physical property of the silica could be used to predict silicone elastomer performance. Similarly, in silicone elastomer formulations containing fumed silicas, different silicas that have the same BET surface area measurement can give different Theological and mechanical properties in silicone sealant formulations. Therefore, new methods of specifying silica characteristics are needed to improve the consistency of silicone elastomer properties.
The Carman surface area is a measure of the structure level of particles. The term structure, in this instance, refers to the tendency for spherical particles to form clusters or aggregates. The method for measuring Carman surface area (CSA) is described by H. Carman and P. Malherbe, J.Soc.Chem.Ind.,London 69, 134 (1950). A known weight of silica is compressed into a pellet of known dimensions and density. Air flow through the pellet is then measured. The reported CSA is the relationship between the air flow and the compressibility of the aggregates. Depending on the aggregate structure, voids of various sizes are formed within the pellet. These voids control the air flow through the silica. High structure fumed silicas have smaller, open branched chain aggregates and high Carman surface area values. For instance, a highly structured aggregate with many fingers will closely compact, forming small voids. In turn, the air flow rate will diminish, yielding a higher CSA. Low structure fumed silicas have a large grape cluster-like aggregates and low CSA values. Depending upon manufacturing conditions such as flame temperature and feed rate, a broad range of CSA values, and therefore aggregate shapes, can be prepared for a silica having a given BET surface area.
CSA has not previously been recognized as an important parameter in characterizing silicas for use as reinforcing fillers in silicone elastomers. Recently, however, H. Cochrane and C. S. Lin, in Rubber Chemistry and Technology 66(1) pp. 48-60 (1993), "The Influence Of Fumed Silica Properties On The Processing, Curing, And Reinforcement Properties Of Silicone Rubber," investigated the effect of varying fumed silica properties including load, surface area, silica structure level, and surface pretreatment levels, on the silicone elastomer processing, curing, and cured physical properties. Structure level was measured with by CSA. They found that increasing the silica structure level at a constant BET surface area gave elastomer compounds with increases in plasticity, creping, crosslink density, modulus yield point, and durometer.
The use of regression techniques to analyze data is well known and applied to various fields of science and engineering. Regression procedures use the values of one or more independent variables (the x values) to predict the value of a dependent variable (the y value). The independent variables are the known, or predictor, variables. When the independent variables are varied, they result in a corresponding value for the dependent, or response, variable.
To perform a regression analysis, data on properties for several known samples is collected and a regression analysis equation is generated that describes the relationship of the properties to each other. A multidimensional regression equation may or may not be graphically represented, and the regression equation may be non-linear. In these cases, the equation that provides the best fit for the data is typically determined by several iterations, and may be assisted by use of a computer program. Once the equation that describes the relationships between properties for known samples is determined, that equation can be used to predict unknown properties in new samples. The known properties of the new samples are used in the equation, and the equation can be solved for the value of the unknown properties. For example, Dechene et al. in U.S. Pat. No. 5,367,260 teach a method by which physical properties of thermoplastics are measured by NMR techniques and related back to the flow rates of those plastics.
The use of regression analysis of physical properties of silica to predict the performance of silicone rubber has not been studied extensively. However, Okel and Waddell, supra, did analyze 25 properties of precipitated silicas on fourteen silicone rubber performance characteristics. They concluded that, for precipitated silica, a combination of (BET) surface area, oil absorption, particle size, pH, adsorbed moisture, residual sodium and/or residual salt can qualitatively predict the physical performance of high-temperature-vulcanized, high-consistency, precipitated silica-filled silicone rubber.
The use of the silica parameters defined by Okel and Waddell, supra, to control properties in fumed silica-filled silicone rubber is not particularly practical. For fumed silica, properties such as residual sodium are not relevant because fumed silicas are not produced from the acid neutralization of a metal silicate in the manner that precipitated silicas are. Furthermore, the parameters only describe the characteristics of the silica, and do not provide any ability to adjust a silicone elastomer formulation to achieve desired silicone elastomer properties for a given silica.
An object of this invention is to provide a method of controlling a Theological or physical property of a given silicone elastomer composition of known silica volume fraction by selecting the BET and CSA of a silica. A further object of this invention is to provide a method for adjusting the amount of silica in a silicone elastomer formulation to provide a desired physical or rheological property when the CSA and BET are known.

Control of rheological and mechanical properties of silicone elastomers containing silica filler


A data output circuit is composed of first and second differential MOS transistors, first and second cascade MOS transistors, first and second outputs, and first and second resistor elements. The first and second differential MOS transistors receive first and second input voltages on the gates, respectively, sources of the differential MOS transistors being commonly connected. The first cascade MOS transistor is connected between the first differential MOS transistor and the first output, and the second cascade MOS transistor is connected between the second differential MOS transistor and the second output, gates of the first and second cascade MOS transistors being commonly connected. The first transistor element is connected between a ground line and the commonly connected gates, and the second transistor element is connected between a power supply line and the commonly connected gates.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data output circuits integrated within LSIs, such as data output buffer circuits. More specifically, the present invention relates to data output circuits suitable for outputting data on transmission lines through connection slots.
2. Description of the Related Art
The progress in semiconductor technologies has enhanced the use of high-performance computers in various applications. Computers are necessarily designed to be suitable for users' purposes. One approach for improving suitability of computers for users' purposes is to incorporate a set of CPU boards, each used for data processing, on a backplane board in a computer system, as disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. H08-6676A.
In order to achieve high-speed operation, high speed data transmission is required in the computer system. This necessitates high transmitting speed through data transmission lines on the backplane board, and high operation speed of data output circuits disposed on CPU boards.
Such circumstances require data output circuits to incorporate high-speed, low-power consumption MOS (Metal Oxide Semiconductor) transistors. Such MOS transistors are often required be operated on the low power voltage. Although exhibiting high operation speed, low-voltage transistors suffer from inferior endurance against the overvoltage and surge. Therefore, overvoltage and surge protection is an important issue for a CPU board incorporating data output circuits composed of low-voltage transistors.
FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram showing a typical structure of a conventional data output circuit. Referring to FIG. 1, the data output circuit includes a pair of differential transistors: NMOS transistors 101 and 102. Sources of the NMOS transistors 101 and 102 are connected to a drain of an NMOS transistor 103 through a node 111. The NMOS transistor 103 functions as a constant-current source operating on a bias Vs1 applied to the gate. The source of the NMOS transistor 103 is connected to the ground line gnd.
A drain of the NMOS transistor 101 is connected to an output terminal OUTB and a resistor 105 through a node 113, while a drain of the NMOS transistor 102 is connected to an output terminal OUT and a resistor 106 through a node 114. The resistors 105 and 106 are connected to a drain of a PMOS transistor 104 through a node 112, and the source of the PMOS transistor 104 is connected to a power supply line Vdd. A bias Vc1 is applied to the gate of the PMOS transistor 104, and the PMOS transistor 104 functions as a variable resistor. Here, the power supply line Vdd is provided with a power supply voltage of 3.6V.
Irrespective of the fact that 3.6V is supplied as the power supply voltage, low-voltage transistors typically have a rated operation voltage of 1.3V, and an absolute maximum rating of 1.6V. In the conventional data output circuit, low-voltage transistors are used as the NMOS transistors 101 and 102 and the NMOS transistor 103 for achieving high-speed operation.
In a normal operation of the data output circuit shown in FIG. 1, the voltage between the drain and the gate of the NMOS transistor 101 is equal to or less than the rated operation voltage, that is, 1.3V, when the "Low" level (0V) is developed on the input IN, and the "High" level (1.3V) is developed on the input INB. In some cases, however, an overvoltage may be applied to the output terminal OUT (or the output terminal OUTB) when the CPU board is pulled out from the backplane board without cutting off the power supply of the backplane board. This undesirably causes the voltage between the drain and gate of the NMOS transistor 101 to exceed the absolute maximum rating of 1.6V of the NMOS transistor 101. For example, the voltage between the drain and gate of the NMOS transistor 101 is increased up to 1.8V when a voltage of 1.8V is externally supplied to the output terminal OUTB with the input IN pulled down to the "Low" level (0V)". This undesirably causes an overvoltage to be applied to the NMOS transistor 101, and may result in undesirable failure of the NMOS transistor 101 through the gate-oxide breakdown. Additionally, due to the limitation of the rated operation voltage of the low-voltage transistors, the data output circuit shown in FIG. 1 can not output signal levels over the rated operation voltage of the NMOS transistors 101 and 102 even during the normal operation; this undesirably restricts the use of the data output circuit.
The use of high-voltage MOS transistors, such as multi-oxide transistors, for the NMOS transistors 101 and 102 within the data output circuit shown may achieve effective overvoltage and surge protection; however, this undesirably hinders high speed operation of the data output circuit due to the reduced gain of the high-voltage transistors. Additionally, the use of high-voltage transistors for the NMOS transistors 101 and 102 undesirably prohibits the data output circuit from outputting signals of low DC levels. Further, the use of high-voltage transistors undesirably necessitates a high power supply voltage to allow the data output circuit to operate at high speed.
In order to protect the NMOS transistors 101 and 102, as shown in FIG. 2, high-voltage transistors 201, and 202 may be cascade-connected to the NMOS transistors 101 and 102, respectively. The gates of the high-voltage transistors 201, and 202 is provided with a fixed bias Vc2. The data output circuit of FIG. 2 achieves overvoltage and surge protection using the cascade-connected high-voltage transistors 201, and 202.
The data output circuit of FIG. 2, however, undesirably requires an increased size for the high-voltage transistors 201, and 202; in order to avoid the gain being decreased, the high-voltage transistors 201, and 202 are undesirably required to have an increased gate width. This prohibits the high-speed operation of the data output circuit due to the increased parasitic capacitance of the high-voltage transistors 201, and 202.

Data output circuit with improved overvoltage/surge protection


A scanning device for providing a radiation scan to an article is disclosed. The scanning device includes a housing, a transport system and a radiation attenuation system. The housing has a entrance port and an exit port and encloses a radiation analysis unit. The transport system is configured to move the article from the entrance port, through the housing and to the exit port. The radiation attenuation system is supported at one of the entrance port and the exit port. The radiation attenuation system includes at least one substantially rigid panel rotatable relative to the housing and a counter balance coupled to the panel to at least partially offset the weight of the panel.

The present disclosure relates generally to systems for shielding and/or attenuating radiation generated by a scanning device (e.g., an x-ray scanning device, etc.). More particularly, the present disclosure relates to systems for shielding and/or attenuating radiation generated by a scanning device used to monitor, inspect and/or treat food products, such as meat.
Analysis of objects using radiation scanning devices has become increasingly important in recent years. For example, scanning devices are used in airports, schools, government buildings and the like to detect potentially dangerous devices and/or contraband contained within packages, baggage, briefcases, purses, etc. Such scanning devices are capable of detecting the presence of explosives or other prohibited items. Scanning devices are also used in industry to monitor, inspect and/or treat various production products. One category of production products for which inspection is especially important is food products.
It may be desirable to monitor and/or control various food properties including, but not limited to, weight, temperature, amount of contaminants, nutrient levels, fat levels, and/or carbohydrate levels. This is especially true with respect to meat products or foods which contain animal-originating meat components. Meat products must be carefully inspected to ensure that the meat has the desired properties. Such properties include but are not limited to weight of the meat, meat yield (i.e., percentage of fat verses percentage of lean), meat tenderness, the effective atomic number of the meat, and the amount of contamination.
Scanning devices are based on the principle that a primary radiation beam is affected by the various components of the objects being scanned in distinct, measurable ways. In general, a primary radiation beam is directed at the object being scanned. The primary radiation beam passes through the object to ultimately impinge upon one or more sensors. A certain percentage of the radiation energy is absorbed by the object. The amount of energy absorbed depends on the density and atomic number of the object. As a result, the detected radiation attenuation provides an indication of the absorbed energy on the irradiated objects. Due to the absorbed energy being relative to the atomic number, it can be used in the object discrimination process.
While radiation is a valuable tool for applications wherein objects are being monitored, inspected and/or treated, the use of radiation may require certain safeguards due to the hazards associated therewith. Scanning devices not only expose an object to radiation, but often expose people near the scanning device (e.g., operators, technicians, baggage handlers, security personnel, etc.) to radiation (e.g., primary beam, secondary or scatter radiation, etc.). Although the amount of radiation exposure that people near the scanning device receive during a single scan may not be harmful, people near the scanning device for a number of such scans may suffer damage due to the cumulative effect of radiation. Accordingly there continues to be a need to provide improved radiation attenuation for scanning devices.

Radiation attenuation for a scanning device


A TRIAC dimmable light-emitting diode (LED) driver circuit is disclosed, compromising: An alternating-current (AC) voltage connected to a rectifier bridge; An LED load, which is connected to an inductor or a transformer, a power MOS transistor, a low voltage MOS transistor and a current sensing resistor. The LED driver also compromises: a peak current comparator which is used to compare the voltage between a current sensing resistor and a reference voltage; a maximum on-time timer, which is used to detect the on time of the low voltage MOS transistor. When the voltage on the current sensing resistor is higher than the reference voltage or the on time of the low voltage MOS transistor reaches the preset time of the maximum on-time timer, the low voltage MOS transistor is turned off.

FIG. 1 (Prior Art) is a diagram of a conventional TRIAC dimmable LED driver. As shown in FIG. 1, an alternating-current (AC) voltage source 101 is in series with a TRIAC dimmer 102, and is connected to the input terminal of a diode bridge 103. The diode bridge 103 rectifies the input AC voltage and generates a sinusoidal voltage on capacitor C1. Resistor R4 and capacitor C2 generates a DC voltage to start up the control IC 104.
The transformer T1 has three windings, including a primary winding connected with capacitor C1 and the drain of the power M1, a secondary winding connected with a rectifying diode D1 and a secondary output capacitor C4, and an auxiliary winding connected with a supplying diode D2 and the circuit ground.
After the circuit starts up, the auxiliary winding powers up the control IC 104. At the same time, the auxiliary winding provides the rectifier diode D1 zero-crossing current information and the output over voltage information.
The prior art usually contains a resistor divider R2 and R3, which is used to detect the TRIAC phase cutting angle.
The prior art also contains a bleeding resistor R1 and a bleeding switch M2 . When the input current of the flyback converter is small, the control IC 104 turns on the bleeding switch M2, providing enough holding current for the TRIAC dimmer.
The prior art has the following disadvantages:
First, the bleeding resistor R1 and bleeding switch M2 dissipate too much power, losing the LED driver efficiency and inducing too much heat . The LED driver suffers from high temperature and low reliability.
Second, the control circuit is complex, and the system cost is relatively high.

Shanghai Bright Power Semiconductor Co., Ltd.


Various systems and methods for selecting resources (such as of a distributed storage system) for detection of file system mounts of storage devices. For example, one method involves obtaining first information by performing an access of file information. The file information indicates attributes of data blocks stored by a storage device. The storage device includes the storage information. The first access is performed at a first time. The method also involves obtaining second information by performing another access of the file information, at a second time. The method also involves calculating a difference between the first information and the second information. The method involves determining, based on the difference, whether the device was dismounted between the first time and the second time.

As businesses increasingly rely on computers for their daily operations, managing the vast amount of business information generated and processed has become a challenge. Most large businesses have a wide variety of application programs managing large volumes of data stored on many different types of storage devices across various types of networks and operating system platforms. These storage devices can include tapes, disks, optical disks, and other types of storage devices.
Performing various operations on the vast amount of data stored by such distributed storage systems has its complexities. Businesses can employ various tools to perform data backup, snapshots, and other file operations. However, some of these storage devices can be removable, allowing a storage device to be moved between different computing devices. Thus, accompanying this flexibility in distributed storage is the complexity of managing data stored by a large number of devices, including some devices that can be moved between various computing devices.
While the embodiments of the application are susceptible to various modifications and alternative forms, specific embodiments are provided as examples in the drawings and detailed description. It should be understood that the drawings and detailed description are not intended to limit the embodiments to the particular form disclosed. Instead, the intention is to cover all modifications, equivalents and alternatives falling within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Detection of file system mounts of storage devices


A heat exchange module comprising a number of substantially parallel and spaced apart heat exchange elements is provided. One or more surfaces of the heat exchange elements may be coated with a dessicant. The module can be manufactured so that first and second surfaces of the module are curved. The module may be used as part of a face mask or other garment that positions the module within the respiratory air stream of a user. The module may be inserted in a mesh sleeve provided as part of the garment. The module may also be used as part of other forms of clothing that protect the face and in protective helmets, or as part of outdoor or survival equipment.

A person working at cold temperatures (for example 40° F. or less) under winter conditions or staying outdoors under very cold conditions, e.g., in arctic areas, has to breathe in great amounts of cold, dry air. This is not only unhealthy, but also substantially increases the loss of heat of the person as the body tends to warm up the inhalation air to the temperature of the body, and this amount of heat is removed from the body with the exhalation air. In addition, dry inhalation air has a disadvantageous effect on the normal moistness of the mucous membranes of the respiratory passages.
The detrimental effects of breathing cold air, particularly for people with medical problems such as cardiac conditions, angina, and asthma, and the benefits of heating inhaled air, have been recognized for many decades. Respiratory heat exchangers are intended to transfer heat, water vapor, or both between incoming and outgoing ventilation airstreams so as to keep the user warm. Through natural breathing of the wearer, the airstream is alternately directed through the entire exchange device first in one direction and then in the opposite direction.
Known heat transfer devices have been described as falling into one of three categories: (1) those designed primarily for the exchange of sensible heat; (2) those designed primarily for the exchange of latent heat; and (3) those designed to exchange both sensible and latent heat (the so-called "enthalpy exchangers"). To maximize the benefit of respiratory heat exchangers, it is desirable to choose a heat exchange material that is capable of providing high sensible and latent heat exchange efficiencies. Devices that heat and humidify inhaled air with exhaled air by passing the air though an exchanger fabricated from either foil, a nonwoven resilient porous fibrous organic polymeric material, a foraminous heat conductive material, or a continuous strip of wire netting wound helically are known. Other such devices provide a strip of thermally insulative material retained within a bandanna and positioned adjacent the mouth of a user. The use of metal, wool, uncoated metal strips, certain coated Kraft papers, and other fibrous cellulose materials tend to be unsatisfactory because the latent heat exchange efficiency of these materials is relatively poor, as compared to the sensible heat exchange efficiency. Inhaled air has been heated with electrical heating elements and with heated water. Inhaled air has also been heated by devices that obtain heat from portions of the human body rather than external power sources.
Widespread use of a device for warming air that is breathed in requires that the device be relatively small, lightweight, and inexpensive. Currently, there is widespread use of devices that cover the face in cold weather. Some such devices incorporate a heat exchange respiratory device. Available devices, however, are either unwieldy, very heavy, very expensive to manufacture, or not durable. In addition, none provide for the most efficient use of a heat-exchanging medium. Therefore, it can be appreciated that there exists a continuing need for a new and improved heat exchanger that can be used for maintaining warmth in a wearer. In this regard, the present invention substantially fulfills this need.


A soft-bit de-mapping device and method of generating soft bits for decoding quantizes a log-likelihood ratio (LLR) value for a received value using functions bits and channel parameter bits to generate the soft bits. The function bits are generated by quantizing an LLR function for the received value, which includes modifying an original curve of the LLR function to a modified curve such that a segment of the original curve with the lowest slope is protected in the modified curve for a fixed equal quantization step-size. The channel parameter bits are generated by quantizing a channel parameter for the received value to generate channel.

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) technology is getting very popular in modern communication systems since the OFDMA technology can efficiently support multiple mobile stations with limited bandwidth and easily provide Quality of Service (QoS). The OFDMA technology is a multiple access version of orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing (OFDM). OFDM is a modulation technique for data transmission based on frequency-division multiplexing (FDM), which uses different frequency channels to transmit multiple streams of data. In OFDM systems, a wide channel is divided into multiple narrow-band subcarriers, which allow orthogonal modulated streams of data to be transmitted in parallel on the subcarriers.
In OFDMA systems, multiple subscribers can simultaneously use different subcarriers for signal transmission. Thus, in an OFDMA system, multiple data bursts can be transmitted from a base station to multiple mobile stations in the same time frame but allocated in different frequency subcarriers. Consequently, an OFDMA system can support multiple mobile stations using different subcarriers.
In OFDMA systems employing certain forward error correction (FEC) schemes, such as convolutional codes and convolutional turbo codes, the decoder performance can be improved by using soft bits (or reliability information) rather than using hard-decided bits. For instance, soft bits are used as inputs for turbo decoding and Viterbi decoding that are based on Maximum A Posteriori (MAP) and Maximum Likelihood (ML) decoding rule, respectively. Given a quadrature amplitude modulation (QAM) constellation, one commonly used metric for de-mapped soft bits is log-likelihood ratio (LLR). Implementing exact LLR is a demanding task, especially for high-QAM modulated signals. Also, when the received bits involve any scaling, e.g., by channel, in addition to added white Gaussian noise (AWGN), these effects must be taken into account when generating the soft-bits. In terms of fixed-point implementation, the required number of bits to represent soft information needs to be minimized, because in general soft bits and some of their derived metrics are stored in memory, while soft decision decoders are decoding entire sequence of bits from the received packet.
Thus, there is a need for a soft-bit de-mapping device and method of generating soft bits for decoding that reduces the required number of soft bits to represent reliability information.

Soft-bit de-mapping device and method of generating soft bits for decoding


Methods for in vitro diagnosis of type I allergy comprises the steps of contacting an immunoglobulin-containing body fluid sample from a patient suspected of having type I allergy with a variant or fragment of the mature protein, amino acids 25-260, of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 1, which variant or fragment shares epitopes for antibodies with the mature protein, amino acids 25-260, of the polypeptide of SEQ ID NO: 1; and detecting the presence, in the sample, of IgE antibodies specifically binding to the variant or fragment. The presence of such IgE antibodies specifically binding to the variant or fragment is indicative of a type I allergy in the patient.

Dog dander is a common cause of indoor allergy with symptoms including rhinitis, conjunctivitis, bronchial inflammation and asthma. Dog allergens can be detected not only in houses where dogs are kept as pets but also in other places such as schools and day care centres where dogs are not present on a regular basis (1).
Allergy to dog is accompanied and dependent of sensitization to proteins released from dog hairs and dander. In cases of suspected allergy to dog, the clinical investigation includes assessment of sensitization by skin prick or specific IgE antibody measurement using extract of dog hair and/or dander. A laboratory immunoassay for specific IgE, such as a Phadia ImmunoCAP, can detect most cases of sensitization to dog using natural dog dander extract due to favourable assay conditions and a large solid phase available for allergen attachment.
Dog hair and dander extracts contain a complexity of allergenic and non-allergenic proteins (2, 3). Three dog allergens have so far been identified and studied in detail: Can f 1, Can f 2 and Can f 3. Can f 1, a member of the lipocalin protein family, with reported molecular weight of 21-25 kD, was first purified by de Groot et al. (4) and later cloned and expressed as a recombinant protein (5). Can f 2 belongs to the same protein family but is a protein distinct from Can f 1 (4, 5). Can f 3, dog serum albumin, is a relatively conserved protein demonstrating extensive cross-reactivity to other mammalian albumins (6).
Of the known dog allergens, Can f 1 is the most important, binding IgE antibodies from approximately half of dog allergic subjects (7). About 20% of dog allergic subjects display IgE binding to Can f 2 but most of these are also sensitized to Can f 1. Although 30-40% of adult dog allergic individuals may show IgE binding to Can f 3 (2, 8), the specific clinical relevance of mammalian serum albumins is uncertain.
It has been known for a long time that major allergens relevant to allergy to rodents, such as mice and rats, are present in the animals' urine and these have been isolated and extensively characterized (9-13). IgE antibody binding to activity has also been reported to exist in urine of other animals, including cats and dogs (14), but no allergen has been purified from urine of these animals and characterized at a molecular level.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.


This invention describes the design and method of installation of wild animal highway warning reflectors. The reflector consists of a transparent plate having a flat light entrance surface and a backside reflection surface from which the reflected light is dispersed. The rear surface is comprised of many reflecting toric surfaces arranged vertically and horizontally side-by-side. The new design of the toric surfaces and the unique method of installing the reflectors provide complete reflected light coverage for all variations of roadside terrain to warn wild animals that wish to cross a highway at night. To an animal each reflector glitters with colored light. As a vehicle passes, animals see an unnatural, sequence of lights coming from a plurality of reflectors located along both sides of the highway. Installation of these warning reflectors adjacent to highways where wild animals frequently cross has led to a considerable reduction of the number of accidents.

1. Field of Invention
This invention pertains to a highway reflector designed and positioned to warn wild animals of approaching vehicles. Properly located warning reflectors are optical means particularly intended to avoid traffic accidents between moving vehicles and wild animals at night. Many serious accidents occur near forested areas when animals such as deer are struck by fast-moving vehicles while crossing unlit highways during night time hours.
2. Description of Prior Art
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,814,500 a deer warning reflector is described consisting basically of a prism plate which is sealed in a housing so that it is watertight. The erection of these warning reflectors for deer have led to a considerable reduction of the number of accidents. These reflectors work on the principle of diverting the light rays from oncoming vehicles by means of internal reflection off of a planar prism. The top surface is curved to disperse the light. These warning reflectors have the disadvantage of consisting of several individual parts which give rise to high production and assembly costs. They also do not allow for variation in light ray reception and reflection by simple adjustment of the optical elements.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,045, a division of U.S. Pat. No.4,252,409, another warning deer reflector is described. This reflector has also been shown to be effective in reducing accidents. It is similar to the invention described here in that it consists of transparent plates with certain kinds of toric surfaces. However, to achieve adequate roadside light coverage, two distinctly different types of these reflectors are required, one for flat terrain and another for hilly terrain. This makes manufacturing and installation more complicated and costly because the hilly terrain reflectors have a relatively small horizontal light coverage and need to be installed very close together to be effective. Also, the reflectors are to be installed adjacent to and directed away from the highway rather than directed across the highway. As described below, there are very important advantages to installing warning reflectors with particular reflecting characteristics to direct reflected light across the highway.


An image pickup device designed to always ensure improved facility with which an object is recognized even in a manual exposure control mode. The image pickup device includes an exposure control device capable of being selectively set in one of an automatic mode and a manual mode, and an operating member for starting processing and storage of an image signal. In this image pickup device, to achieve the above-mentioned effect, an image obtained in the automatic mode is displayed immediately before the operation of the operating member even in a case where photographing is performed in the manual mode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image pickup device capable of operating in a mode selected from a plurality of exposure control modes including a manual exposure control mode, and to a computer-readable storage medium on which a program for controlling the image pickup device is stored.
2. Related Background Art
Recent automated cameras have a system for automatically determining the amount of exposure by using a central processing unit (CPU) incorporated in the camera. Such a system enables easier photographing in each of an aperture value priority mode, a shutter speed priority mode, a mode of photographing based on a predetermined program diagram (program), etc.
Some electronic cameras using an image pickup element such as a charge-coupled device (CCD) are designed so that the image pickup element is also used as a photometric sensor for the purpose of reducing the manufacturing cost. In such cameras, since the image pickup element is used as a photometric sensor, signals representing data, for example, on image brightness, colors, and sharpness are extracted from an image imaged on the image pickup element, and control operations, such as automatic exposure, white balancing, automatic focusing and strobe light control are performed on the basis of the signals.
An image imaged on the image pickup element is output through an image output device, such as an electronic view finder using a liquid crystal display (LCD) or the like, or a video output device. When an operator checks the image imaged on the image pickup element, for example, by outputting the image through the image output device, exposure control for maintaining the main object at a certain brightness level is required.
On the other hand, the operator can make the camera perform automatic exposure control after selecting at least one of desirable exposure control values: an aperture value AV, a shutter speed TV, and a sensitivity SV and selecting one of exposure control modes, such as an aperture value priority mode and a shutter speed priority mode. The operator can also make the camera perform exposure control with values all set by the user in a manual mode or the like.
The operator can also make the camera perform automatic exposure control in a photographing mode in which a shutter speed or an aperture selection effect can be obtained while no exposure control value is designated, e.g., a high-speed shutter mode using a program diagram such that a higher shutter speed is set, or a landscape mode using a program diagram such that a smaller aperture value is set.
The operator can also make the camera perform light control during photographing using a strobe in such a manner that photometry is performed when a strobe does not emit light to an object and when the strobe emits light as a pre-emission to the object, and the reflectivity of the object is computed from the difference between the two photometry results to determine the quantity of light to be emitted at the time of actual photographing. It is, of course, possible for the operator to perform a manual control operation for determining the quantity of light to be emitted by the strobe.
However, in taking a picture of an object under some conditions, including a selected exposure control value, there is a possibility of failure to display an image on an image output device suitably enough to ensure sufficient facility with which the image is framed.
In particular, a photographing operation that presupposes the use of strobe light may require an underexposure setting, depending on the quantity of strobe light. In such a case, if exposure control is performed without regard to the underexposure condition, the image is displayed in a dimmed condition on the image output device and cannot be easily framed.
For example, in a case where there is a difference between the aperture value AV, the shutter speed TV and the sensitivity SV set with respect to an object in automatic-exposure photographing and the aperture value AV, the shutter speed TV and the sensitivity SV set with respect to the object in photographing with strobe light, a difference in brightness of the images output to image output device may occur between these two photographing modes. In contrast to automatic exposure, a certain amount of underexposure is ordinarily set in photographing with strobe light by considering the superimposition of the quantity of strobe light on an object. Therefore, when the aperture value AV, the shutter speed TV, etc., are set with respect to an object in photographing with strobe light, the amount of underexposure may be considerably large, depending on conditions relating to the object.

Image pickup device with automatic and manual exposure control modes for image signal and image display to display an image based on an image signal obtained in automatic or manual exposure control


An apparatus and method for providing switched power to an AMOLED is disclosed. During certain time intervals, voltage and/or polarity provided to active devices such as thin film transistors (TFT) driving the AMOLEDs may be changed to reverse polarity or differ in absolute magnitude of voltage. During a subsequent time interval, the changed power may be changed again and/or reverted to an original state. It is emphasized that this abstract is provided to comply with the rules requiring an abstract which will allow a searcher or other reader to quickly ascertain the subject matter of the technical disclosure. It is submitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpret or limit the scope or meaning of the claims.

Many displays useful for presenting information are based on light emitting diodes, including organic light emitting diodes (OLED) and active matrix organic light emitting diodes (AMOLED).
Typically, drive voltages of OLEDs rise with time during operation. The OLED's brightness tends to decay and the voltage variation of the node which connects OLEDs to their driving thin film transistors (TFT) also affect the operation of that TFT.
Once the voltage of the TFT varies, e.g. its drain or source voltage, the driving current of the TFT decreases under the same grey-level data input. This all tends to decrease the brightness of the display over time.
Referring now to FIG. 1, in typical methods for driving OLED displays, the system power VDD is always higher than VSS, because typical OLEDs can be turned on only in this state. Further, VG, the gate voltage of a TFT, is always between VDD and VSS. In this state, the TFT will accumulate electric charges gradually and the lifetime of the OLED will concurrently be decreased gradually. However, this method is not desirable for use with displays using AMOLED displays.


An electrokinetic method is disclosed for treating an electrically conductive material including hazardous contaminants, e.g. spent pot liner (SPL), to render such material non-hazardous.

The present invention relates to a system and method for removing charged species present as contaminants in electrically conductive material. More specifically, the present invention provides a system and method whereby soluble salts are electrochemically/electrokinetically separated from an electrically conductive material contaminated therewith, thus enabling the safe disposal and/or recycling of the residual electrically conductive material.
When electrically conductive materials are utilized in harsh chemical environments, ionic species present in the environment often become incorporated in the conductive material. This is especially so when the conductive material is simultaneously exposed to elevated temperatures approaching 1000xc2x0 C. For example, the Hall process for converting alumina to aluminum employs an electrolytic cell or xe2x80x9cpotxe2x80x9d constructed of a steel shell lined with a non-conductive insulating brick with an inner liner of conductive carbon. The cell holds a molten cryolite-alumina electrolyte. The carbon bottom of the electrolytic cell is covered by a pad of molten aluminum and functions as a cathode. The anodes are carbon structures suspended in the electrolyte. During electrolysis, alumina is reduced to aluminum at temperatures in the range of 930xc2x0 C.-980xc2x0 C. The aluminum thus produced is deposited on the metal pad and oxygen, which is produced at the anode, reacts with the carbon to form carbon dioxide. Over a period of several years, the pot liner becomes degraded and breaks down. This is due, in part, to migration of salts from the electrolyte bath into the pot liner, which ultimately causes it to fail. The failed pot liner material is known in the industry as spent pot liner (SPL).
SPL material contains a relatively small but significant amount of cyanide (ranging from about 0.03-0.6 weight percent), a few heavy metals and substantial amounts of sodium and fluoride salts. Fluorides may comprise up to 20 weight percent of SPL material. The cyanide results from the thermal processing used during aluminum production and the fluoride is a component of commonly used aluminum flux compounds. Recent industry estimates indicate that more than 230,000 tons of SPL material is produced each year. Because of its cyanide content and high concentration of leachable fluoride, SPL material has been listed as a hazardous waste by U.S. federal and state environmental authorities. Current federal regulations and those of many states require that SPL material be treated to remove toxic cyanide and leachable fluoride constituents before it can be placed in a landfill disposal site.
Removal of the cyanide and fluoride constituents of SPL material would improve the value of the material, changing it from a hazardous material to a useful product of commerce. For example, decontaminated SPL material may serve as a valuable carbon source, which could be comminuted and burned in a commercial boiler. Moreover, SPL material contains other valuable, recoverable material that can be recycled, including, without limitation, cryolite and aluminum.
Various approaches have been proposed for rendering SPL material non-hazardous. These have included chemical treatment, pyrolysis, oxidation and agglomeration in a fluidized bed, combustion, roasting, as well as combinations of the foregoing. Many of these processes are described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,927,459 and 5,683,663. For various reasons, these processes have not been shown to be entirely satisfactory, either due to the capital expense involved or the inability to meet the increasingly strict standards imposed by U.S. federal and state environmental authorities for landfill disposal.
More recently, a vitrification process has emerged as a commercially viable solution to the SPL disposal problem. However, this approach does not allow for the recovery or recycling of valuable constituents of SPL materials.
From the foregoing background, it will be appreciated that a need exists for a process for decontaminating SPL material which is effective in meeting federal and local environmental standards for disposal and enables recycling of economically valuable constituents of such materials, if desired.
In accordance with the present invention, a system and method are provided for removing charged species from contaminated electrically conductive materials. Although the present invention is particularly adapted to the removal of cyanide and fluoride salts from SPL materials, it can be implemented efficiently and cost effectively for treatment of a wide range of contaminated electrically conductive materials.
The system of the present invention comprises an anode compartment including an anode, a cathode compartment, including a cathode and a treatment zone which is in fluid communication with the anode and the cathode compartments for containing the contaminated electrically conductive material undergoing treatment. The anode compartment, cathode compartment and treatment zone are arranged so that a voltage gradient applied between the anode and the cathode produces an electrical current that flows through the material in the treatment zone. This current induces water and charged species to migrate from the material undergoing treatment toward either the anode compartment or the cathode compartment, depending upon whether the charge of the contaminant is positive or negative.
The system of the present invention may, if desired, include a pH controller for monitoring and adjusting the pH of the treated material.
The method of the present invention comprises providing an electrochemical/electrokinetic apparatus in which a sample of the contaminated electrically conductive material to be treated is deposited in the treatment zone of the above-described apparatus. A voltage gradient is then applied between the anode and the cathode of the apparatus. The voltage gradient causes an electrical current to flow between the cathode and the anode through the material to be treated. The current induces water and charged species within the material undergoing treatment to migrate either towards the anode or towards the cathode, depending upon the predominant surface charge of the material undergoing treatment and whether the ionic species constituting the contaminant are negatively or positively charged. The movement of water and charged species causes the charged species to be concentrated in certain areas of the apparatus where they can then be isolated.
The process of the invention can be used to both extract hazardous contaminants from electrically conductive materials, such as SPL materials, and to destroy them.
The residue resulting from the above-described process may be further treated to recover constituents having economic value, such as carbon, cryolite and aluminum, e.g., in the case of SPL materials. The recovered constituents can readily be recycled into usable products.
The foregoing process affords technical, economic and regulatory advantages as compared with existing and emerging processes proposed for treating SPL materials.

Electrochemical system and method for rendering contaminated electrically conductive material nonhazardous


Disclosed is an esterification reaction product which is capable of gelling both an oil agent and a cyclic silicone or a volatile dimethylpolysiloxane, or both an oil agent and a nonvolatile dimethylpolysiloxane. Also disclosed are a gelling agent contacting the esterification reaction product, and a cosmetic preparation containing the esterification reaction product or the gelling product and having an excellent feeling of use. Specifically, the cosmetic preparation contains, as a gelling agent, an esterification reaction product which is obtained by esterifying a component A that is a polyhydric alcohol or a condensate thereof, a component B that is a saturated dibasic acid having 10-28 carbon atoms, a component C that is a linear saturated fatty acid having 16-28 carbon atoms, and a component D that is a branched saturated fatty acid having 8-28 carbon atoms at a blending ratio (component A:component B) of 1.0 mole:0.10-0.20 mole.

The formulation form of a cosmetic preparation may be multifarious ranging from liquid preparations to solid preparations, and formulation forms requiring gelation or solidification make use of gelling agents or the like.
As conventionally used gelling agents, there are known glyceryl behenate/eicosanedioate, 12-hydroxystearic acid, dextrin fatty acid esters, sucrose fatty acid esters, inulin fatty acid esters, acylated cellobiose, dibenzylidene monosorbitol (DBMSA), amino acid-based gelling agents, fatty acid metal salts, silicic anhydride, organically modified clay minerals, fumed silica, alumina, crosslinked organopolysiloxanes, and the like.
Meanwhile, in regard to cosmetic preparations, various silicone compounds such as cyclic silicones, volatile dimethylpolysiloxanes and non-volatile dimethylpolysiloxanes, or oil agents such as alcohols and ester oil agents, is used as a purpose of improving feeling of use and the like.
In regard also to the cosmetic preparations having such silicone compounds such as cyclic silicones, volatile dimethylpolysiloxanes and non-volatile dimethylpolysiloxanes or oil agents such as alcohols and ester oil agents incorporated therein, formulation forms requiring gelation or solidification similarly make use of gelling agents.
As for the gelling agents for silicone compounds such as cyclic silicones, volatile dimethylpolysiloxanes and non-volatile dimethylpolysiloxanes, inulin fatty acid esters have been developed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). Furthermore, as for the gelling agents for alcohols, ester oil agents and the like, esterification products of glycerin or the like with linear saturated fatty acids having 2 to 28 carbon atoms and aliphatic saturated dibasic acids having 12 to 28 carbon atoms, have been developed (see, for example, Patent Documents 2 and 3).    Patent Document 1: JP-A No. 2004-300094    Patent Document 2: JP-A No. 7-126603    Patent Document 3: JP-A No. 7-126604

Esterification reaction product, gelling agent containing the product, and cosmetic preparation containing them


A method for wavefront measurement of optical imaging system based on grating shearing interferometry, the grating shearing interferometer comprising: a light source and illumination system, an optical imaging system to be tested, a one-dimensional diffraction grating plate, a two-dimensional diffraction grating plate, a two-dimensional photoelectric sensor and a computing unit. The one-dimensional diffraction grating plate and the two-dimensional diffraction grating plate are respectively placed on the object side and the image side of the optical imaging system to be tested. By collecting N sets of interferograms with a

The grating shearing interferometer has the advantages of common path, no need for extra ideal reference, high precision, high sensitivity, and simple structure. The phase-shifting interferometry is introduced, where a series of interferograms with different phase-shifting amounts are acquired by moving the grating laterally, and then the wavefront aberration of the system under test is obtained.
For shearing interferometer, the high-precision phase retrieval is the promise for obtaining high-precision wavefront measurement.
Unlike the two-beam interferometry, in the interference field of the shearing interferometer, due to the diffraction of the grating at the object plane, there are multistage high-order diffraction beams, and interference can occur between these high-order diffraction beams. Although the coherence of the light source is modulated by using an incoherent light source and a grating at the object plane, the interference between the high-order diffraction beams is suppressed, and the interference field is simplified to some extent. However, interference of high-order other than ±1st-order beams and 0th-order beam still exists on the receiving surface of the detector, which seriously reduces the phase retrieval precision.
J. Braat et al., "Improved Ronchi test with extended source," Journal of the Optical Society of America A., Vol. 16, No. 1, pp:131-140 (1999), proposes a grating shearing interferometer improved by an extended light source, which uses only the interference between ±1st- and 0th-order diffraction beams for phase retrieval, without considering the influence of high diffraction orders. As the numerical aperture of the optical system to be tested continues to increase, more and more high-order diffraction beams occur in the system. When the method is used for phase retrieval, a large number of system errors is introduced, which seriously reduces the phase retrieval accuracy.
Yucong Zhu et al., "Shearing Interferometry for at wavelength wavefront measurement of extreme-ultraviolet lithography projection optics," Jpn. J. Appl. Phys., 42, pp. 5844-5847 (2003), discloses filtering high-order diffraction beams by using a double-window mask to ensure that only 1st- and 0th-order beams participate in the two-beam interference. The disadvantage of the method is that when the shear direction or the shear ratio is changed, the mask filter needs to be replaced synchronously, resulting in inconvenient measurement operation and increasing the complexity of the mechanical structure.
Both Yucong Zhu et al., "Method for designing phase-calculation algorithms for two-dimensional grating phase shifting interferometry," Applied Optics, 50(18), pp.2815-2822 2011) and Chinese Invention Patent No. 201410360070.8 use interference between ±1st- and 0th-order beams for phase retrieval. The commonality of the two is that the phase retrieval accuracy is improved to some extent by eliminating the influence of ±3th- and ±5th-order diffraction beams on the phase retrieval through a certain algorithm. However, for the presence of ±7th- and higher-order diffraction beams, the method still cannot eliminate the effects of these high-order diffraction beams.
For measurement system of shearing interferometer with large numerical aperture, there is no grating shearing interferometer system without high-order diffraction beams which is simple in structure and convenient to operate, and there is also no phase retrieval algorithm and method for eliminating high-order diffraction beams.

Method for wavefront measurement of optical imaging system based on grating shearing interferometry

Abstract: 2        π    Nphase-shifting interval (where,

Abstract: N    =          2                    (                              fix                                      (                                                ceil                                                        (                                          1                      /                      s                                        )                                                  2                            )                                +          1                )              ,s is the shear ratio of the grating shearing interferometer), combined with a certain phase retrieval algorithm, the influence of all high-order diffraction beams on the phase retrieval accuracy is eliminated, and finally the wavefront measurement accuracy for the optical imaging system is improved.


A gear includes teeth 3 to be engaged with teeth of a corresponding gear to transmit a rotational motion, in which a form (b) of a tooth root side of each tooth 3 includes: a first curved surface c which smoothly connects with a tooth surface a having an involute curve and has a profile represented by a curve which is convex in a direction opposite to the involute curve of the tooth surface a; and a second curved surface d which smoothly connects with the first curved surface c and has a profile defined by a quadratic function having a curve being convex in the same direction as that of the first curved surface c. Therefore, a stress generated on the tooth root side at the time of engagement with the teeth of the corresponding gear can be reduced, and the strength of the teeth can be increased.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a gear including a plurality of teeth to be engaged with teeth of a corresponding gear to thereby transmit a rotational motion between two shafts, and in particular, relates to a gear having a tooth profile that can reduce a stress generated on a tooth root side at the time of engagement with teeth of a corresponding gear and can increase a strength of teeth of the gear, and relates to a manufacturing method therefor.
2. Description of Related Art
Conventionally, numerous attempts have been made to increase a strength of teeth of a gear used in a power transmission mechanism, such as in an automobile, a precision machine, and the like.
This kind of gear includes a ring gear with teeth and tooth spaces, in which the teeth can be brought into engagement with a corresponding gear (pinion) via tooth flanks, in which the tooth flanks, after a final engagement point of the pinion, from a tooth top toward a tooth bottom, compared to standard tooth flanks, are made to approximate a trochoid, described by the pinion and projected into a normal section, the tooth spaces being embodied in cross section in the form of a pointed arch in the region of the tooth bottom (see, Published Japanese Translation of PCT Publication for Patent Application No. 2004-519644, for example).
However, in the gear disclosed in Published Japanese Translation of PCT Publication for Patent Application No. 2004-519644, since the tooth space between adjacent teeth is embodied when viewed in cross section in the form of the pointed arch in the region of the tooth bottom, a triangular-pointed recess hole is formed in the tooth bottom. In such a gear, a stress might tend to be concentrated to the recess hole of the tooth bottom during the engagement with the teeth of the corresponding gear, and accordingly, damage might be caused by the increased stress generated thereon. Thus, it is required to increase the strength of the entirety of the teeth, including the tooth bottoms.
Therefore, in view of the above problems, an object of the present invention is to provide a gear having a tooth profile that can reduce the stress generated on the tooth root side at the time of engagement with the teeth of the corresponding gear and can increase the strength of the teeth, and to provide a manufacturing method therefor.

Gear and manufacturing method for the same