An X-ray detecting apparatus for the detection and localization of ionizing X-ray or gamma radiation in radiography, the apparatus comprising: an X-ray detector including: conversion means for converting incident x-ray photons of an incident x-ray photon beam into detectable electrical charges; and amplification means for amplifying the electrical charges in the detector by an non-linear amplification gain factor the non-linear amplification gain being characterized by a decrease in amplification gain at high fluxes of incident x-ray photons; and amplification gain adjustment means configured to vary the amplification gain of the amplification means according to the emission parameters of an x-ray source providing the incident x-ray photon beam for the radio-graphic examination to be performed and/or the transmitted beam received by the detector from the x-ray source via the subject being imaged. A radiographic imaging device and a method of operating the radiographic imaging device are also presented.

Traditionally in radiographic imaging a beam of X-rays emitted by a source is directed through a subject to be examined, such as the body of a patient. The X-ray beam transmitted through the subject is detected by an X-ray detector and the resulting data provided by the X-ray detector is used to produce a representation in the form of an image of the internal structure of the subject. The absorption of the X-rays traversing the subject is linked to the density of the body tissues or the density of the material constituting an object under examination.
A difficulty often encountered in radiographic imaging of the human body, however, is the wide dynamic range of absorption of X-rays by the body. Curve 1 in the graph presented in FIG. 1 illustrates an example of the dynamic range of transmission of a typical beam of X-rays of 100 kV filtered by 2.5 of aluminium through a range of thicknesses of soft tissue. The range of tissue thicknesses under consideration may be extremely wide, especially in the case of an obese or overweight person. Typically the thickness of the abdomen is around 46 cm for a person of Body Mass Index (BMI) 46 kgm-2. The dynamic transmission range of the X-ray beam in a body can reach 3 to 5 decades depending on the BMI of the patient.
In digital radiography a radiographic image is constituted of pixels, each pixel corresponding to an element of detection or to a zone of detection. In order to generate an image, each detection pixel is provided with an electronic read-out which enables the electrical signal resulting from X-rays detected during a given integration time to be read. The electronic readout for each detection pixel usually includes a storage capacitor having a predefined charge storage capability. Typically each storage capacitor is dimensioned to be capable of storing the most intense charge signals, in particular those corresponding to a direct part of the X-ray beam (in which photons have been directly transmitted from the X-ray source to the X-ray detector without being absorbed by an object or body) from X-ray sources operating at a high energy (kVp) and high intensity (mAs). Such operating X-ray emission parameters are used, for example, in the radiographic imaging of corpulent bodies in which bone tissues located in deep anatomical zones of the body are being examined. The dynamic range of a quantum limited detector will be therefore defined by the ratio of the output signal corresponding to the direct X-ray beam, to the noise of the electronic readout. When the detector and readout have linear responses, the output signal is a linear function of the detector input signal. This means that anatomical areas of high absorption (for instance equivalent to 1 to 100 photons during the exposure time) having rich anatomical information, such as the bony structures for a musculoskeletal image, will be represented on the output image at the same finesse as areas of very high flux and low anatomical content, such as the skin. This is obviously not optimal for diagnostic needs and can lead to an increase in the dose administered to the patient.
During a radiography examination on a patient with low body corpulence or on an organ of low photon attenuation, the X-ray emission parameters are reduced to provide a less intense beam so that the dose received by the patient is minimised. In certain cases the intensity of the direct X-ray beam can be up to 200 times less than the intensity of the beam for the examination of bone tissues of a highly corpulent person. In these conditions the storage capacitor of the readout electronics only receives around 1/200 of the charge it is capable of accepting and the signal to noise ratio of the electronic read out chain is reduced by the same factor. If the detector or electronic readout is linear, this leads to a significant reduction in the contrast provided in the image and thus reduced image quality. In particular, anatomical areas of high absorption (for instance equivalent to 1 to 100 photons during the exposure time) will have an even lesser (200 times less) grey level range in the output image compared to the previous, high corpulence patient scenario. This is obviously detrimental to the image quality and leads to increasing the dose administered to the patient.

Radiographic imaging device and detector for a radiographic imaging device


Bundling multiple elongated articles comprises: loading the articles into a stationary bunk rack; positioning pairs of bundling members vertically against opposing sides of the articles in the bunk rack; wrapping flexible binding members around the bundling members and the articles in the bunk rack; tensioning and securing the binding members. Each pair of bundling members has a corresponding binding members positioned around them. Tensioning the binding members urges the bundling members against the opposing sides of the bundle, so that the bundle assumes a shape that is (i) substantially flat over portions of an outer bundle surface against the binding members and (ii) convex over portions of the outer bundle surfaces that are not against the binding members. Securing the tensioned binding members secures the bundle and the bundling members together. The elongated articles can assume an irregular arrangement over portions of a bundle cross-section.

Some examples of methods and apparatus for bundling and transporting cargo are disclosed in:                U.S. Pat. No. 2,012,220 entitled "Method of storing and dispensing lumber" issued Aug. 20, 1935 to Chambers;        U.S. Pat. No. 2,214,173 entitled "Shipping unit" issued Sep. 10, 1940 to Nebe;        U.S. Pat. No. 2,248,119 entitled "Method and apparatus for assembling and shipping rods" issued Jul. 8, 1941 to Reed et al;        U.S. Pat. No. 3,141,482 entitled "Core mill" issued Jul. 21, 1964 to Arness;        U.S. Pat. No. 3,157,424 entitled "Storage rack" issued Nov. 17, 1964 to Hall;        U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,583 entitled "Bundling of elongated articles" issued Nov. 30, 1965 to Robertson;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,639 entitled "System for shipping products and stabilizing them from shifting sidewise on vehicle" issued Dec. 14, 1993 to Ryder;        U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,468 entitled "Storage rack system" issued Apr. 13, 1999 to Holmes;        U.S. Pat. No. 6,050,761 entitled "Shipping container system for stabilizing flexible loads" issued Apr. 18, 2000 to Keip et al;        U.S. Pat. No. 7,794,188 entitled "Method, apparatus and system for pre-bunking cut timber and transporting wood residuals" issued Sep. 14, 2010 to Whitehead et al;        U.S. Pub. No. 2001/0029847 entitled "Rack for producing transport bundles of stacked lumber, and bundle production" published Oct. 18, 2001 in the name of Tweten; and        U.S. Pub. No. 2002/0009345 entitled "Cargo container" published Jan. 24, 2002 in the name of Clive-Smith.
"Peeler cores" are small diameter log remnants left over after a log has been "peeled" to yield thin plies for making plywood or veneers. They are a relatively low value wood byproduct; nevertheless, there is a market for peeler cores. Because of their small diameter and short length (relative to, e.g., unsawn logs), special arrangements must be made for their shipment (compared to, e.g., unsawn logs or finished lumber products). The low value of the cores puts a limit on the costs suppliers and purchasers are willing to bear to ship the cores.
In one conventional method for shipping peeler cores, custom made "bunk racks" are welded to flatbed trailers, in an arrangement similar to log truck trailers. The purchaser or supplier of the peeler cores, or a trucking company, must have such trailers custom made, which then spend much time sitting empty or partly filled at the core mill. The supplier fills the bunks with loose peeler cores and calls for trucks to pull out the bunk trailers once filled. The trucking company will often have an empty bunk trailer to bring and drop off when picking up the full trailer. This is a costly system for shipping peeler cores long distances, because it is effectively a two-way shipment (one way full and one way empty); typically the cost of freight for this method is double that of a one way haul.
In a conventional method disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,893,468, a storage rack system suitable for transporting peeler cores or other such elongated items includes mobile carriages (i.e., bunk racks) that can be detached from a trailer for filling while the trailer is used for other purposes. Once filled, the mobile carriages are secured to the trailer and transported from the supplier location to the purchaser location. However, the empty carriages still must be transported empty back to the supplier location. In another conventional method disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 7,794,188, a storage rack system suitable for transporting peeler cores or other such elongated items includes foldable or retractable bunk members that enable the trailer to be used for other purposes. The trailer is still tied up while it sits empty or only partly filled at the supplier location.
In other conventional methods disclosed in, e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 2,248,119, U.S. Pat. No. 3,220,583, or U.S. Pat. No. 5,269,639, peeler cores or other elongated items are "unitized" into a regular, polygonal bundle, in some cases with supporting members strapped to the bundle to maintain its shape. Such regular bundles can be loaded onto standard flatbed trucks or trailers for shipment, thereby eliminating the two-way shipment costs associated with methods described above. However, assembling the regular arrays of articles required for these methods is quite time consuming and labor intensive, often to an extent that substantially negates any savings realized in the shipping costs.
It would be desirable to develop methods that enable more economical bundling, loading, and shipping of peeler cores or other elongated articles.

Bundling and transporting elongated articles


A plug connector has a housing with a cap, the cap having a lever which can adopt a first position and a second position. In this case, the housing is opened in the first position of the lever and closed in the second position of the lever. Furthermore, the plug connector has a locking device which can adopt a blocking position which is intended to lock the lever in the second position. The locking device is elastically movable out of its blocking position into a release position in order to unlock the lever in the second position. Furthermore, the locking device is elastically movable out of its blocking position into an overload position in order to unlock the lever in the second position if a force exerted on the lever exceeds a set value. In this case, the overload position differs from the release position.

Electrical plug connectors and plug-connector systems are known in diverse embodiments from the prior art. There are plug connectors in which a lever has to be thrown in order to close a housing of the plug connector and/or to produce an electrical connection. It is also known to lock such a lever in its closed position by means of a locking mechanism. In order to move the lever which is locked in the closed position back into its open position, first of all the locking mechanism has to be released. It has been shown that incorrect operation of such plug connectors, for example an attempt to move the locked lever into the open position without releasing the locking mechanism beforehand, can result in damage to the locking mechanism and hence to the entire plug connector.
The object of the present invention is to provide an improved plug connector. This object is achieved by a plug connector having the features of claim 1. Preferred developments are set forth in the dependent claims.
A plug connector according to the invention has a housing with a cap, the cap in turn having a lever which can adopt a first position and a second position. In this case, the housing is opened in the first position of the lever and closed in the second position of the lever. The plug connector further has a locking device which can adopt a blocking position which is intended to lock the lever in the second position. Furthermore, the locking device is elastically movable out of its blocking position into a release position in order to unlock the lever in the second position. Furthermore, the locking device is elastically movable out of its blocking position into an overload position in order to unlock the lever in the second position if a force exerted on the lever exceeds a set value. In this case, the overload position differs from the release position. Advantageously, with this plug connector the lever is also released from the second position when the locking device has not previously been moved into the release position, but a force exerted on the lever exceeds a set minimum value. This advantageously avoids damage to the locking device, the lever or other components of the plug connector which would otherwise be a risk. Advantageously, the plug connector is then still functional even after incorrect operation or inadvertent opening of the lever.


A data transmission method is achieved by transmitting a contents data transmission request from a host device to a module; by dividing a first contents data into a plurality of blocks in the module; by transmitting the plurality of blocks from the module to the host device; and by combining the plurality of blocks to produce a second contents data. A plurality of data buses are used for the transmission of the contents data transmission request and the plurality of blocks.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to data transmission in an electronic device. Particularly, the present invention relates to a data transmission method and an electronic device in which a host device and a module carry out the data transmission method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a digital broadcasting television set and a personal computer, it is necessary to protect the contents from illegal copy. For this purpose, it is general to employ a method of encrypting the contents by use of a specific key, as described in Japanese Laid Open Patent publication (JP-P2004-109177A).
However, even implementation of dedicated hardware and software for encryption, there still remains a risk that the contents are copied and decrypted when a general-purpose bus that is officially standardized is used. In the general-purpose bus, terminal numbers for data transmission and reception are defined. Accordingly, if data transmitted on a line between the terminals related to the data transmission is recorded, the data could be decrypted and copied by trying various decryption methods.
Through the spread of the digital broadcasting television, it would be anticipated that enhancement of contents data protection is indispensable. Thus, electronic devices such as a personal computer, a video recorder, a PDA (Personal Digital Assistance), and a mobile terminal having a function of receiving the contents data are required to have a function of preventing copy of the contents data.
As described above, the copy of the contents data is often carried out by recording a data packet stream flowing through the general-purpose bus. Therefore, one countermeasure is to use a special bus that is not the general-purpose bus. However, this causes heavy loads in terms of development and maintenance of the electronic device.

Data transmission method and electronic device using the same


A fluid pressure responsive capacitive transducer (20) having a lowered manufacturing cost is shown in which a sheet (10) of cast or roll compacted tape material having a selected thickness is partitioned into a multitude of rectangular substrates portions (16) and another sheet (12) having another selected thickness is partitioned into a like number and sized diaphragm portions (18) and are processed in sheet form to apply capacitor plates and associated conductive traces as well as a sealing and spacing glass layer. At least one sheet is then separated into groups, generally comprising one, two or four portions, and pairs of groups of substrates and diaphragms are held together and heated to seal the transducers. Groups of more than one portion of the first and second sheets are then separated into individual transducers.

This invention relates generally to pressure sensors and more particularly to pressure responsive variable parallel plate capacitive transducers. Such transducers are shown and described, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,716,492, assigned to the assignee of the present invention. In that patent a capacitive pressure transducer is shown having a thin ceramic diaphragm mounted in closely spaced, sealed, overlying relation to a ceramic base, with metal layers deposited on respective opposed surfaces of the diaphragm and base to serve as capacitor plates arranged in predetermined closely spaced relation to each other to form a capacitor. Transducer terminals connected to the capacitor plates are arranged at an opposite surface of the transducer base and a signal conditioning electrical circuit connected to the transducer terminals is mounted on the transducer. A cup-shaped connector body of electrical insulating material is fitted over the electrical circuit and is secured to the transducer by a housing sleeve which has a port for exposing the transducer diaphragm to an applied fluid pressure. The diaphragm is movable in response to variations in fluid pressure applied to the diaphragm to vary the capacitance of the capacitor in accordance with the changes in applied pressure and the electrical circuit provides an electrical output signal corresponding to the applied pressure.
In order to maximize the economies of mass production to lower the transducer cost and thereby make such transducers economically feasible for a wide number of applications including many previously served by low cost mechanical transducers, a standard size package is selected small enough to be received in a large number of applications yet large enough to provide a reliable signal. The size of the package determines the maximum size of the capacitor plates which, along with the gap between the plates, determines the capacitance signal. This results in limiting the size of the capacitor plates to a smaller size than would be ideal for many applications and relying on the electrical circuit to properly condition the signal. The circuit on the other hand requires a minimum level of capacitance in order to effectively condition the output signal and this in turn affects the size of the gap required between the capacitive plates to produce the minimum capacitance level. In transducers of the type disclosed in the above referenced patent, gaps between plates were in the order of 1-17 microns and more recently gaps in the order of 1-30 microns have been used effectively.
Transducers made in accordance with one of the embodiments described employ a flat diaphragm element secured to a flat base in selectively spaced sealed relation thereto by disposing a layer of a mixture of glass frit including spacing elements such as spheres or rods of a selected diameter between the diaphragm and the base along their peripheries. The glass frit is selected to be fusible at a first temperature at which the spacing elements remain unfused and the mixture is then heated to the fusing temperature of the frit to secure the diaphragm to the base at a spacing therebetween determined by the diameter of the spacing elements.
The diaphragm and base are typically made by taking conventional material, such as alumina, provided in powdered form coated with an organic binder and pressing the material into generally cylindrical configurations of appropriate thicknesses in a die. The diaphragms and bases must then go through a series of screen printing and firing operations to apply the capacitor plates and associated electrically conductive traces and the spacing and sealing glass pattern.
Although the diaphragm and base members are typically processed in batches of thirty or more at a time the individual members must be loaded and aligned into fixtures a number of times during the processing. This results in a labor and/or capital intensive product. Further, in order to obtain consistent, repeatable results from one transducer to another it is important that the diaphragm and base have a high degree of flatness. As a result, the parts particularly the bases, must be subjected to a grinding operation which adds appreciable cost to the finished product.

Pressure transducer apparatus and method for making


Methods and apparatus are provided for improved long preamble formats in a multiple antenna communication system having N antennas. According to one aspect of the invention, a preamble having a legacy portion and a high throughput portion is transmitted (or received) on each of the N transmit antennas, wherein the legacy portion comprises a legacy long training field and the high throughput portion comprises at least N high throughput long training fields, wherein the N high throughput long training fields are transmitted in N time slots using an N×N orthogonal matrix. The orthogonal matrix can be, for example, one or more of a Walsh matrix and a Fourier matrix. The N time slots can optionally comprise a single symbol.

Multiple transmit and receive antennas have been proposed to provide both increased robustness and capacity in next generation Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN) systems. The increased robustness can be achieved through techniques that exploit the spatial diversity and additional gain introduced in a system with multiple antennas. The increased capacity can be achieved in multipath fading environments with bandwidth efficient Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) techniques. A multiple antenna communication system increases the data rate in a given channel bandwidth by transmitting separate data streams on multiple transmit antennas. Each receiver receives a combination of these data streams on multiple receive antennas.
In order to properly receive the different data streams, receivers in a multiple antenna communication system must acquire the channel matrix through training. This is generally achieved by using a specific training symbol, or preamble, to perform synchronization and channel estimation. It is desirable for multiple antenna communication systems to co-exist with legacy single antenna communications systems (typically referred to as Single Input Single Output (SISO) systems). Thus, a legacy (single antenna) communications system must be able to interpret the preambles that are transmitted by multiple antenna communication systems. Most legacy Wireless Local Area Network systems based upon OFDM modulation comply with either the IEEE 802.11a or IEEE 802.11g standards (hereinafter "IEEE 802.11a/g"). Generally, the preamble signal seen by the legacy device should allow for accurate synchronization and channel estimation for the part of the packet that the legacy device needs to understand. Previous MIMO preamble formats have reused the legacy training preamble to reduce the overhead and improve efficiency. Generally, the proposed MIMO preamble formats, for example, in accordance with an IEEE 802.11n standard, include the legacy training preamble and additional long training symbols, such that the extended MIMO preamble format includes at least one long training symbol for each transmit antenna or spatial stream.
A number of frame formats have been proposed for evolving multiple antenna communication systems, such as MIMO-OFDM systems. In one proposed MIMO frame format, each transmit antenna sequentially transmits one or more long training symbols, such that only one transmit antenna is active at a time. As the transmit antennas are switched on and off, however, the temperature of the corresponding power amplifier will increase and decrease, respectively. Generally, such heating and cooling of the power amplifier will lead to "breathing" effects that cause the transmitted signal to have a phase or magnitude offset, relative to the desired signal.
It is therefore desirable to have a continuous transmission from all transmit antennas to avoid temperature related signal "breathing." Thus, in further proposed MIMO frame formats, orthogonality is maintained using cyclic delay diversity (CDD), Walsh coding or tone interleaving across the different transmit antennas. The CDD short training symbol, however, cannot measure the received signal power with sufficient accuracy. Thus, additional backoff is required in the RF chain and additional dynamic range is required in the digitization process. Likewise, the tone interleaved design is not fully backwards compatible with a number of existing 802.11a/g devices that use short training for timing synchronization or use time domain channel estimation.
In a system that does not include legacy devices, or desires greater efficiency at the expense of losing backwards compatibility, the preamble does not need to include fields intended for legacy devices. Thus, a short preamble format has been suggested for reducing the overhead associated with the preamble in such environments. A need therefore exists for improved long and short MIMO preamble formats and training techniques that provide reduced preamble overhead.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for improved long preamble formats in a multiple antenna communication system


A charging station comprises a processor programmed to receive a vehicle identifier identifying a vehicle from a first digital entity; receive a payment authentication from a second digital entity; electronically identify an account associated with the vehicle identifier and the payment authentication; verify payment rights confirming a right to use the account to pay; and responsive to successful verification, activate the charging station to charge and process payment from the account.

Public charging stations for plug-in electrified vehicles/electric vehicles can vary significantly in their operation, user interface, and payment method. Charging stations may have different manufactures, and may be operation by different charge providers, each with a unique procedure for connecting to the charger, establish payment, initiating the charge, and informing the user of the charge progress.

Automatic plug-and-pay with multi-factor authentication for fueling vehicles


An impact driver capable of boring and having an excellent usability is provided. An anvil(8) is arranged so as to slightly move in the axial direction. A first cam(29) having cam gears(30, 30 . . . ) is externally provided at the anvil so as to be integral with the anvil(8). At the rear of the first cam(29), a second cam(31) having cam gears(32, 32 . . . ) and further having cam gears(36, 36 . . . ) at its outer circumference is externally provided to the anvil(8) so as to be rotatable. At the backward position of the anvil(8), the cam gears(30, 32) contacts with each other. On the other hand, in the cylindrical portion(27) of the hammer case(5), an engaging pin(37) capable of engaging with an engaging gear(36) of the second cam(31) is provided. The engaging pin(37) can change its location by the rotative operation of a mode-change ring(40), whereby a percussion mode and a non-percussion mode is selected.

This application claims the benefit of Japanese Patent Application No. 2004-34016 filed Feb. 10, 2004, the entirety of which is incorporated by reference.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an impact driver capable of applying rotation and the intermittent impact operation to an output shaft.
2. Description of the Related Art
An impact driver includes a rotation impact mechanism provided between a motor housed in a housing and an output shaft protruding from the housing so as to transfer a motor torque to the output shaft as well as apply the impact operation to the same in the rotative direction in accordance with increase of a load on the output shaft. For example, Japan Published Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-273666 discloses a rotation impact mechanism in which a spindle rotated by a motor is connected to a hammer through cam grooves and balls, and an anvil (an output shaft) attachable to and detachable from the hammer in the rotative direction is provided in front of the hammer, whereby rotation of the spindle is transferred to the anvil through the hammer. With this structure, when a load on the anvil exceeds a predetermined value, the hammer moves backward along the cam grooves to temporarily disengage from the anvil, and thereafter it moves forward by a coil spring biased to the front along the cam grooves to reengage with the anvil. By repeating the above operation, it is possible to apply the intermittent impact operation to the anvil in the rotative direction.
The above-described impact driver is generally used for screwing with a screw or a bolt etc. Thus, when it is used for screwing an anchor bolt on a material to be processed like a plaster board etc., a percussion drill is used first for boring and then an impact driver is used to screw the anchor bolt into a processed hole. This means that a user has to handle two separate tools in turn, which are, the percussion drill and the impact driver. Consequently, it is troublesome to exchange tools and therefore usability might be reduced.

Impact driver having a percussion application mechanism which operation mode can be selectively switched between percussion and non-percussion modes


Aspects of the present invention relate to ion implantation systems that make use of a vapor compression cooling system. In one embodiment, a thermal controller in the vapor compression system sends refrigeration fluid though a compressor and a condenser according to an ideal vapor compression cycle to help limit or prevent undesired heating of a workpiece during implantation, or to actively cool the workpiece.

In the manufacture of semiconductor devices and other products, ion implantation systems are used to implant dopant elements into work pieces (e.g., semiconductor wafers, display panels, glass substrates). These ion implantation systems are typically referred to as "ion implanters".
FIG. 1 illustrates one example of an ion implantation system 10 having a terminal 12, a beamline assembly 14, and an end station 16. Generally speaking, an ion source 18 in the terminal 12 is coupled to a power supply 20 to ionize a dopant gas and form an ion beam 22. The ion beam 22 is directed through a beam-steering apparatus 24, and out an aperture 26 towards the end station 16. In the end station 16, the ion beam 22 bombards a work piece 28 (e.g., a semiconductor wafer, or a display panel), which is detachably mounted to an electrostatic chuck 30. Once embedded into the lattice of the workpiece 28, the implanted ions change the physical and/or chemical properties of the workpiece. Because of this, ion implantation is used in semiconductor device fabrication and in metal finishing, as well as various applications in materials science research.
Absent countermeasures, during the ion implantation process energy can build up on the workpiece 28 in the form of heat as the charged ions collide with the workpiece. This heat can warp or crack the workpiece, which may render the workpiece worthless (or significantly less valuable) in some implementations.
In addition, even if the workpiece is not rendered worthless, this undesired heating can cause the dose of ions delivered to differ from the dosage desired, which can alter the functionality from what is desired. For example, if a dose of 1×1017 atoms/cm3 are desired to be implanted in an extremely thin region just below the outer surface of the workpiece, unexpected heating could cause the delivered ions to diffuse out from this extremely thin region such that the dosage actually achieved is less than 1×1017 atoms/cm3. In effect, the undesired heating can "smear" the implanted charge over a larger region than desired, thereby reducing the effective dosage to less than what is desired. Other undesirable effects could also occur.
In other instances it might be desired to implant at a temperature below ambient temperature, to allow the chuck to be cooled to very low temperatures. For these and other reasons, cooling systems have been developed. Although cooling systems are known in some respects, such as in plasma processing apparatuses, it is extremely difficult to integrate a vapor cooling system into an ion implanter due to the mechanical density of components near the workpiece. For example, electrostatic chucks in ion implanters are often considerably more complicated that those used in run-of-the-mill plasma processing apparatuses. Consequently, the inventors have developed techniques for cooling electrostatic chucks in ion implantation systems, which can reduce undesired heating of workpieces undergoing implantation.

Vapor compression refrigeration chuck for ion implanters


An electronic article surveillance tag comprises a reradiator element, a nonlinear element connected electrically to the reradiator element, and an electrical ground plane member connected electrically to the nonlinear element. The reradiator element, the nonlinear element and the ground plane member are in electrical series circuit connection. The reradiator element and the ground plane member define a monopole antenna upon incidence on the tag of high frequency energy for reradiation of the high frequency energy and further define a dipole antenna upon incidence on the tag of energy of frequency substantially lower than the high frequency energy. An electronic article surveillance system in accordance with the invention comprises a transmitter-receiver arrangement disposed aside an area to be controlled for transmitting a first high-frequency signal into the area, a transmitter disposed aside the area and generating a second frequency signal of substantially lower frequency than the first frequency for establishing in the area an electrostatic field, a tag for attachment to an article to be subject to surveillance, the tag being responsive to the incidence thereon of energy of both the first and second frequencies to transmit a composite thereof and receiver apparatus disposed aside the area for receipt and detection of such composite signal and for generation of an output signal indicative of such detection.

In an electronic article surveillance (EAS) system of known type, a transmitter-receiver arrangement is disposed aside an area to be controlled and transmits a first, high-frequency, signal into the area. A separate transmitter furnishes a second signal of substantially lower frequency (commonly referred to as the E-field or electrostatic field signal). Reradiators, typically comprising a dipole and a nonlinear element, are responsive to the incidence thereon of both transmitted signals to transmit a composite thereof and detection of such composite signal in receiving apparatus indicates the presence of the reradiator (security tag) in the controlled area. Such system is further described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,895,368 and 4,139,844, commonly-assigned herewith and incorporated herein by this reference.
The reradiator is incorporated in parent structure customarily referred to as an EAS tag or marker. There is a continued need to reduce the size of such tags. The fundamental problem in producing a small tag flows from the frequencies used in the above-described EAS system, especially the high frequency, which is in the microwave band, e.g., 915 MHz. Tags are most practical when made near one-half wave long, which is approximately 6.5 inches at 915 MHz. Making a tag shorter than such half-wavelength causes it to become electrically too short. The resulting capacitive reactance, combined with the capacitive source impedance of a diode, makes such designs complicated as impedance matching becomes very critical.
Existing solutions use a combination of narrow and wide foil areas or make use of diode leads to overcome capacitive reactances. These methods require much space and either make the tags long, or when tag elements are folded back to reduce length, will make them wide.
One prior art effort is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,642,640, commonly-assigned herewith and to which incorporating reference is hereby made. In the '640 patent, a narrow serpentine foil section is used for impedance matching. The principle underlying the reradiator element of this patent is that of an non-symmetrical dipole, which is folded back to conserve length.
A second prior art effort is set forth in U.S. Pat. No. 4,736,207, commonly-assigned herewith and to which incorporating reference is hereby made. In the '207 patent, the impedance matching is again achieved by narrow foil sections along the edge of the tag. In this case, the narrow sections also form part of the reradiating RF element of a symmetrical dipole principle. Again, as in the '640 patent, part of the pattern is folded back to conserve space.
From the foregoing, it will be understood that the EAS industry would evidently be aided and abetted by tags which are effective in respect of detectability with reduced lengths and widths.

Electronic article surveillance system and tag circuit components therefor


A static random access memory (SRAM) includes a first bitcell and a second bitcell. The first bitcell includes an aging transistor and the second bitcell includes a non-aging transistor. An aging sensor is coupled between the first bitcell and the second bitcell to determine an amount of aging associated with the aging transistor. In one aspect, the amount of aging associated with the aging transistor is determined based on a difference between a voltage or current associated with the aging transistor and a voltage or current associated with the non-aging transistor.

There are several different types of memory devices and/or systems used in caches for computing environments, each having its own advantages and disadvantages. A static random access memory (SRAM) is commonly used in applications where access speed is a consideration. A conventional SRAM includes an array of bitcells. One traditional bitcell, i.e., a 6T bitcell, has two p-channel metal oxide semiconductor (PMOS transistor) transistors and four n-channel metal oxide semiconductor (NMOS) transistors.
In an SRAM bitcell, when writing data there is at least one NMOS transistor and at least one PMOS transistor that is subject to aging. One aging mechanism is called bias temperature instability. Bias temperature instability can be negative or positive, depending on the type of complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) transistor.
For example, a PMOS transistor commonly experiences negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) whereas an NMOS transistor commonly experiences positive bias temperature instability (PBTI). Negative bias temperature instability (NBTI) occurs when a PMOS transistor device continually experiences a negative bias across its gate oxide, with a low drain to source voltage. Positive bias temperature instability (PBTI) occurs when an NMOS device continually experiences a positive bias across its gate oxide with a low drain to source voltage. Aging due to both positive and negative bias temperature instability is currently the dominant aging mechanism in SRAM.
In an SRAM, VDD is the upper rail supply voltage or operating voltage, whereas VDDMIN can be characterized as the lowest voltage at which an SRAM bitcell can be reliably read from or written to for a given time. That is, VDDMIN is the voltage just above the voltage at which the first SRAM bitcell begins to fail. Foundries that create SRAM bitcells provide a conservative flat guard band for VDDMIN as commonly VDDMIN may increase due to aging in the SRAM transistors. Because the flat guard band is conservative, since it has to take into account the worst possible scenarios—i.e. the worst case stress conditions, worst case temperature, effects of aging, etc., what is needed is a technique to measure aging of an SRAM.

Aging sensor for a static random access memory (SRAM)


Method and apparatus, including a computer program product, implementing techniques for displaying visible representations of project objects associated with a media project, the project objects having characteristics; and in response to a user action that identifies at least one of the characteristics, altering the visible representation of at least one of the project objects based on the identified characteristic.

This description relates to media management interfacing.
In some digital versatile disc ("DVD") authoring program interfaces, for example, project objects (e.g., a video file) are organized in a flat data structure or a hierarchical data structure. Icons representing the objects can be moved around in a displayed representation of the data structure. The icons can be grouped into folders, for example, a "Menu" folder and an "Asset" folder. In another example, the user can create a "DVD Features" folder and place the icons of the menu, timeline and asset project objects for a particular DVD feature in the "DVD Features" folder. The folders can be expanded or collapsed, for example, by clicking on an arrow displayed next to the "Menu" folder to hide or display the icons in the "Menu" folder.

Media management interfacing with refined data structures


The present invention provides for a container that has a base and a pair of side walls extending upwardly therefrom, the side walls having a concave portion and a plurality of apertures. Partitions are positioned between the side walls, each having tabs at each end which extend through the side wall apertures. Locking strips extend through the slots in the tabs of the partitions and are positioned in the concave portions of the container side walls. In an alternative embodiment, each locking strip has a locking member to prevent movement of the locking strip.

Traditionally containers, and especially containers with partitions for holding and/or separating products for storage or shipment, were manufactured by placing plurality of partitions in a U-shaped pad which formed the base and side walls of the container. The partitions typically had a pair of slots, positioned at opposite ends of the partition, and rising from the bottom of the partition. These slots were adapted to engage corresponding slots in the side walls of the U-shaped pad, which descended from the top of the side walls of the U-shaped pad. The far end portions of the partitions outside of the slots would then be folded over and sonically welded to the side walls of the U-shaped pad. In this style of container, the exterior dimensions of the container would be increased by twice the thickness of the partition due to the folded over portion of the partition outside each of the side walls of the U-shaped pad. For example, if the partition had a thickness of ¼″, after the partition was folded over and attached to the side walls of the U-shaped pad, the overall outside width of the container would be increased by at least ½″ to account for the thickness of the partition on either side of the container. When multiple containers were positioned next to one another, as would be the case in shipping or storage, the space between these containers was unusable. Again, in a case where the thickness of a partition was ¼″, there would be ½″ of space wasted between containers stacked side by side. Such wasted space is obviously undesirable in both a shipping and storage context, as wasted space costs the shipper or the storer additional cost as more space is required to store or ship the same amount of product. In addition, the process of sonically welding the partitions to the outside walls of the U-shaped pad adds cost.
An alternative method of constructing such a container is to use a container with a locking strip which would secure the partitions to the side walls of the U-shaped pad. In this type of container, the partitions did not have slots, but rather had tabs at each end which were adapted to extend through slits in the side walls of the U-shaped pad. The tab on either end of the partition contained an aperture that would allow for a locking strip to slide through and secure the partitions to the U-shaped pad. In a typical example, the tabs would extend approximately ½″ from the exterior of the side walls of the U-shaped pad, to allow for adequate space for the locking strip to slide through. While this style of a container had the advantage of eliminating the cost associated with the sonically welding partitions to the sides of the container, it had the disadvantage of increasing the overall outside width of the container, which again increased the amount of space that would be wasted in shipping or storage. For example, if the tab of the partition extended ½″ outside the exterior wall of the U-shaped pad, when two containers were put side by side, approximately an inch of unusable or wasted space would result between the containers. This increases shipping or storage costs as more space is needed to ship the same amount of product.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a container that reduces the cost involved in attaching partitions to the side walls of a container. Another object of the invention is to provide a container that minimizes the unusable space between containers when they are positioned next to each other during shipping or storage. It is yet another objective of the present invention to maximize the internal storage space in a particular container while minimizing the exterior dimensions of that container.


A semiconductor device packaged in three dimensions comprises a first thin film device, a second thin film device, and a third thin film device, each of the first, second, and third thin film devices comprising a first insulating film, a first electrode formed over the first insulating film, a second insulating film formed over the first electrode, first and second thin film transistors formed over the second insulating film, wherein the first thin film transistor is connected to the first electrode through a first contact hole, a third insulating film formed over the first and second thin film transistor, a second electrode formed over the third insulating film, wherein the second electrode is connected to the second thin film transistor through a second contact hole, and a fourth insulating film formed over the third insulating film and the second electrode.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device, and in particular, it relates to a method of manufacturing a thin, flexible (having a flexible property) semiconductor device. Further, the present invention relates to a method of reducing parasitic capacitance which is generated between wrings formed on differing layers through insulating films. Note that the term semiconductor device in this specification indicates general devices which function by utilizing semiconductor properties, and that in particular, the present invention can be suitably applied to integrated circuits using elements having SOI (silicon on insulator) structures in which a semiconductor layer is formed on an insulator, to active matrix liquid crystal display devices structured using thin film transistors (TFTs), to active matrix EL display devices, and the like. The term thin film device indicates an electronic device containing a thin film transistor (TFT) structured using a semiconductor thin film, and at least one element from amount elements such as wirings, conductive layers, resistors, and capacitive elements in this specification.
2. Description of the Related Art
Integrated circuits using elements having SOI structures in which semiconductor layers are formed on an insulator exist as one kind of semiconductor device. It is possible to have little parasitic capacitance, and to have high operation speed, by forming semiconductor layers on insulators.
One type of semiconductor device is an active matrix liquid crystal display device. Structures in which a substrate on which thin film transistors (TFTs) are formed and used as switching elements of pixels (TFT formation substrate), and a substrate on which an opposing electrode is formed (opposing substrate) are joined, and liquid crystals are injected in a gap between the substrates, is prevalent for active matrix liquid crystal display devices. The voltage applied to the liquid crystals can be controlled for each single pixel by the TFTs formed on a transparent substrate such as glass, and therefore active matrix liquid crystal display devices have clear images and are widely used in office automation equipment, televisions, and the like.
Further, active matrix EL display devices are known as one type of semiconductor device. Active matrix EL display devices have a structure in which an EL material is sandwiched between two electrodes, and an electric current flows, thereby causing light to be emitted. The electric current flowing in the EL material can be controlled for each single pixel by using a plurality of pixel transistors, and therefore an image is clear.
The level of integration for these types of semiconductor devices is increased and becoming minute. Parasitic capacitance which is generated between wirings of a semiconductor device leads to electric signal propagation delays, and this hinders high speed operation and accurate electric signal propagation. There are two types of parasitic capacitance, one which is generated between wirings formed on the same layer, and one which is generated between wirings formed on different layers through an insulation film.
If the level of integration is increased, the distance between wirings formed on the same layer becomes smaller, thereby increasing the parasitic capacitance. Wirings may be moved to different layers in order to reduce the parasitic capacitance between wirings formed on the same layer. Namely, the integration level of wirings on the same layer is spread among several layers. Lowering the parasitic capacitance which is generated between wirings formed on different layers, through an insulation film, contributes to an improvement in the overall integration level of the semiconductor device.
There are methods such as making, insulation films thicker and increasing the distance between wirings, and using insulation films having a low dielectric constant, in order to reduce the parasitic capacitance generating between wirings formed on different layers through an insulation film. However, if the insulating film is made thicker, then not only does it become more difficult to form an opening portion in the insulation film in order to make a conductive connection between wirings, but there are also cases in which problems such as conductive layers formed by sputtering, for example, breaking in the inside of the opening portion, or being unable to ensure a sufficient film thickness, with the resistance therefore becoming large. Further, insulation films having lows dielectric constants have a likelihood to develop problems relating to film quality, such as resistance to heat and permeability, and manufacturing problems such as dimensional changes due to etching. For example, although dependent upon the etching conditions, the hole diameter may become larger to approximately 1 μm for a case in which a 1 μm thick acrylic is used, and there may be damage in improving the overall level of integration of the semiconductor device.
In addition, there is a method in which the formation order of the conductive layers used for forming the wirings is changed. For a case structuring integrated circuits, having two layers of wirings for making the conductive connection between elements, by top gate transistors, the following order of formation is normally used: active layer; first insulation film (gate insulation film); first conductive layer (gate electrode); second insulation film (first interlayer insulating film); second conductive layer (first wiring); third insulation film (second interlayer insulating film); and third conductive layer (second wiring).
If the structure is changed to the following: first conductive layer (second wiring); first insulation film (lower portion insulation film); active layer; second insulation film (gate insulation film); second conductive layer (gate electrode); third insulation film (first interlayer insulating film); and third conductive layer (first wiring); then the distance between the first wiring and the second wiring becomes large, and the parasitic capacitance generating between the wirings can be reduced.
The distance between the first wiring and the second wiring becomes large in this case, and problems relating to openings and the conductive connection can be prevented through the active layer, for example. However, even with the same second wiring, with the latter case a material able to withstand the film formation temperature of the subsequently formed active layer and the thermal activation temperature of injected impurities must be used, and the same materials cannot always be used by the former and latter cases. For example, Al is often used as a wiring material having a low resistivity, but its resistance to heat is low, and it cannot be used in the latter case.
Note that, within this specification, an electrode is a portion of a wiring, and the terms wiring and electrode are used separately for convenience. However, the term wiring is always contained within the word electrode.
Semiconductor devices like those stated above are recently being used in portable devices and the like, and there are demands to make the portable devices thinner, lighter, and more flexible (flexible property). The major portion of the thickness of a semiconductor device is the thickness of its substrate, and the substrate may be made thinner in order to make the portable device thinner and lighter. However, if the substrate is made thinner, then manufacturing becomes difficult due to trouble in photolithography processes caused by warping of the substrate during, manufacture, and substrate breakage more easily occurring during transportation of the substrate. A light, flexible display device can be manufactured, provided that a semiconductor device can be manufactured on a transparent plastic substrate or the like, but this has not yet been accomplished due to problems such as the heat resistance of plastic substrates.
Further, high speed operation of electric circuits and accurate propagation of electric signals can be performed for reducing the parasitic capacitance which is generated between wirings formed on different layers through an insulation film, thereby being able to use wiring materials having a low thermal resistance, such as Al, which have not been able to be used.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


A non-contact power supply device of an electronic lock includes a power supply unit and an electronic lock, and the power supply unit is oppositely provided with a power supply member and a power-receiving member. The power supply member is connected with a power source, able to produce a radio-frequency signal, while the power-receiving member can induce and receive the radio-frequency signal to form electronic energy to be supplied to the electronic lock for operation. Thus, the power supply member and the power-receiving member can carry out wireless signal transmission to have electronic energy supplied to the electronic lock for locking and unlocking a door, able to avoid the trouble that the battery unit of a conventional electronic lock must periodically replaced with a new one.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a non-contact power supply device of an electronic lock.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Conventional locks are mainly of mechanical-typed structure. In recent years, electronic science and technology have been progressive greatly, and such electronic control systems as fingerprint identification systems, chip induction systems and the like are also applied to door locks to make up electronic locks for enabling people to lock and unlock a door relying on personal special fingerprint or chip induction, needless to employ a key.
Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional electronic lock 1 to be assembled on a door plank 2 includes an electronic controller 3 installed between two door knobs 4 and provided with in the interior with a battery unit 5 connected with the electronic controller for supplying the electronic controller 3 with electrical energy needed by operation of the electronic lock 1.
The conventional electronic lock 1 is installed therein with the battery unit 5 for supplying the electronic controller 3 with electrical energy; however, when the battery unit 5 runs out of power, the electronic controller 3 will be unable to function for controlling the electronic lock 1 to lock and unlock a door. Therefore, the battery unit 5 has to be periodically replaced with a new one to avoid the battery unit 5 exhausting power and making the electronic lock 1 unable to function, thus resulting in much inconvenience in use.

Non-contact power supply device for an electronic lock


An improved vehicle wheel alignment system having a voice interface configured with an induction-pickup microphone associated with an earpiece and adapted to receive voice signals from a vibration transmitting anatomical structure associated with an operator. A central processing unit in the vehicle wheel alignment system is configured with one or more software objects to process received data signals representative of acoustic signals acquired through the induction-pickup microphone to identify one or more spoken commands, and to execute operating instructions associated with the identified spoken commands.

The present invention relates generally to vehicle wheel alignment systems having a computer or central processor configured to receive information from an operator to be utilized in performing a vehicle service, and more particularly, to a vehicle wheel alignment system having a computer or central processor configured to receive operator voice instructions utilizing a contact microphone to reduce ambient noise interference.
Traditional vehicle wheel alignment systems utilize a system controller or central processor, typically a general purpose computer configured with wheel alignment software, which is connected to one or more vehicle wheel alignment angle sensors. General purpose computers, as utilized in vehicle wheel alignment systems typically include a variety of conventional input and output devices, such as keyboards, pointing devices, printers, displays, and audio components. Traditional vehicle wheel alignment sensors comprise sets of angle transducers which are mounted to the wheels of a vehicle undergoing an alignment service, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,489,983 to McClenahan et al., herein incorporated by reference. Alternatively, vehicle wheel alignment sensors may comprise a camera system designed to observe either the wheels themselves, or targets mounted to the vehicle wheels, to generate images from which alignment angles may be determined, as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,870,315 to January, herein incorporated by reference.
In addition to requiring wheel alignment angle information from individual wheel alignment sensors, a wheel alignment system or other vehicle service system central processor requires information identifying the type of sensors which it is utilizing, information related to the vehicle undergoing service, and information identifying the manner and format of any output provided to the operator or technician. These various pieces of information are traditionally entered into the central processor manually, via the conventional input devices such as the keyboard or mouse. During a vehicle wheel alignment procedure, a technician further interacts with the central processor by manually selecting choices presented by the central processor on a display, or by performing actions in response to directions provided on the display.
As manual entry of information and selection of choices can be time consuming and repetitive, it would be advantageous to provide a vehicle wheel alignment system wherein information can be exchanged between the operator or technician and the central processor in a voice form, thereby eliminating the need for the technician or operator to frequently return to the location of the display or manual data entry input devices.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,085,428 to Casby et al. for "Hands Free Automotive Service System" describes a voice control system for an automotive service system including a headset microphone, through which a technician can communicate voice commands to an item of automotive service equipment. Within the automotive service equipment, a speech processor module receives signals from the headset microphone, converts the voice commands into digital instructions which can be processed by a system controller, and additionally converts data from the system controller into synthesized voice for communication to the technician through an audio speaker.
It has been found that the use of a headset having either a single air conducting or air interface microphone is cumbersome to a vehicle service technician who may be frequently required to operate within the confined space underneath a vehicle raised on a lift rack. Further, in an automotive service environment, air conducting or air interface microphones pickup and convey high levels of ambient background noises, such as engine noise, background conversations, and air-operated tools to the automotive service equipment computer, requiring either significant signal processing to extract specific operator voice commands, or numerous repetitions of a single voice command by an operator. Background noises can additionally cause the automotive service equipment to react as if the operator had spoken a voice command when in fact, none had been spoken.
Accordingly, there is a need for a voice interface to a vehicle wheel alignment system which is capable of distinguishing operator spoken voice commands from ambient and transient background noises without the need for an operator to frequently repeat commands, and which does not require extensive signal processing of audio signals to identify a spoken command for association with specific vehicle wheel aligner operating instructions.

Voice controlled vehicle wheel alignment system


A barrel adjustment and retaining assembly includes a barrel body having an end surface, a seat body having a protrusion, a limiting component and an adjustment barrel. The seat body is movable relative to the barrel body. The protrusion is moved toward the end surface when the seat body moves from a pre-assembly position to an assembly position. The limiting component is clamped between the protrusion and the end surface to deform such that an outer diameter of the limiting component is increased when the seat body moves from the pre-assembly position to the assembly position. The adjustment barrel is sleeved slidably on the barrel body. The clamped limiting component is confined within a hole portion of the adjustment barrel.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a barrel adjustment and retaining assembly, more particularly to a barrel adjustment and retaining assembly applicable to a variable-focus flashlight.
2. Description of the Related Art
Barrel adjustment and retaining assemblies have been widely developed in various applications in daily life, for example, a focus-adjustable flashlight that allows the user to adjust the relative position of an optical lens and an internal light source so as to provide a variable-focus effect from a wide floodlight to a narrow beam, or a finderscope that includes an eyepiece (or called an ocular lens) and an objective lens. The eyepiece is movable relative to the objective lens for conforming with different users.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conventional barrel adjustment and retaining assembly includes a barrel body 11, an adjustment barrel 12 that has a large inner diameter (d1) and a small inner diameter (d2), that is sleeved on the barrel body 11, and that is movable on the barrel body 11 along an axial direction of the barrel body 11, a seat body 13 including a protrusion 131 and threaded to the barrel body 11, a light emitting element 14 disposed in the seat body 13, an optical lens 15 disposed in the adjustment barrel 12 and aligned with the light emitting element 14 along the axial direction, and a cover 16 threaded to the adjustment barrel 12 so as to secure the optical lens 15 to the adjustment barrel 12.
Since the protrusion 131 is made of a rigid material, and must have a diameter that is smaller than d1 and larger than d2. That is, during manufacture, a demand of a high-precision is required for the protrusion 131.
Moreover, since the seat body 13 is made of metal, the adjustment barrel 12 is likely to be damaged during relative movements between the protrusion 131 of the seat body 13 and the adjustment barrel 12, vibration and collision occur therebetween. Furthermore, during assembly, the barrel adjustment and retaining assembly is assembled in the following steps of: (a) sleeving the barrel body 11 in the adjustment barrel 12; (b) threading the seat body 13 on the barrel body 11; (c) connecting the optical lens 15 to the adjustment barrel 12; and (d) threading the cover 16 on the adjustment barrel 16. It should be noted that the steps must be done in a specific sequence, and therefore the assembling process is relatively difficult and time consuming. Moreover, the number of the components is relatively large and therefore the manufacturing cost is relatively high.

Barrel adjustment and retaining assembly


A leadframe having a metallic substrate and comprising layers of plated material, and a method of manufacturing said leadframe are provided. The substrate is plated with a layer of oxidizable material comprising nickel and a noble metal is selectively plated on the layer of oxidizable material. Thereafter, an exposed portion of the oxidizable material that is not plated with the noble metal is passivated to enhance adhesion of an encapsulation compound molded to the leadframe.

During the production of semiconductor devices, leadframes are traditionally used as a cost-effective way to mount and process a plurality of semiconductor dice or chips concurrently. Each leadframe typically has a plurality of die pads for mounting the said chips. The leadframe also acts as a means to electrically connect the chip to external devices via leads of the leadframe. Bonding wires are connected to electrical contacts found on the chip and said leads of the leadframe in a process known as wire bonding. The wires usually comprise gold, aluminum or copper material.
After the chips are mounted onto the leadframe and the bonding wire connections are made between the chips and the leadframe, each chip has to be protected from the environment by encapsulating it with a plastic molding compound, such as epoxy molding compound ("EMC"). Each encapsulated chip constitutes a semiconductor package. The multiple semiconductor packages are then diced or singulated to form individual semiconductor devices.
It is important that adhesion between the leadframe material and the molding compound is strong. In the case of copper-based leadframes, adhesion may be reduced due to a layer of copper oxide forming on the surfaces of the leadframe. The problems associated with this occurrence include delamination of the encapsulant, liquid trapped beneath the encapsulant during packaging and/or liquids seeping or vapors condensing under the encapsulant, leading to mold failure. These problems are addressed in various ways in the prior art. For example, the problems are described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,946,518 entitled "Method for Improving the Adhesion of a Plastic Encapsulant to Copper Containing Leadframes". This patent teaches improving the adhesion of plastic encapsulants to copper leadframes by exposing the copper leadframes to an active oxygen ambient at temperatures below the leadframe annealing temperature. This strengthens any native copper oxide present on the leadframes without increasing the thickness of the leadframes.
In another example, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,459,103 entitled "Method of Forming Lead Frame with Strengthened Encapsulation Adhesion", the leadframe is plated with copper strike and the copper strike is exposed to an oxidizing agent to form a layer of cupric oxide (CuO) that promotes adhesive bonding between the plastic mold and the leadframe.
The above approaches make use of exposed copper on the surface of the leadframe that is oxidizable to form copper oxide in the form of black oxide or brown oxide, which are good adhesion promoters for enhancing adhesion between the leadframe and the molding compound. However, there are certain types of leadframe widely used in the industry that have multiple layers of material plated onto the leadframe, such as pre-plated frames ("PPF"), so that it is not possible or feasible to have a layer of exposed copper that may be oxidized. One type of PPF leadframe is disclosed in European patent number 474,499 entitled "Lead Frame for a Semiconductor Device". The leadframe described has a palladium or palladium-alloy film formed directly on the leadframe or indirectly on the leadframe via an underlying nickel layer. A silver or gold film is further formed on the palladium or palladium-alloy film. These additional layers of material are meant to enhance bondability and solderability of the leadframe surface.
A straight-forward way of manufacturing a PPF leadframe with plated nickel, palladium and gold layers would be to fully plate the leadframe with a layer of nickel film, followed by a layer of palladium film, and thereafter plating it with a layer of gold film. FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional illustration of a PPF leadframe 100 of the prior art comprising full platings of nickel, palladium and gold on a copper-based substrate 110. The leadframe 100 comprises an external leads portion 102 and an internal leads portion 104. Located centrally of the internal leads portion 104 is a die pad 106 on which a semiconductor chip is to be mounted. The die pad 106 and inner leads portion 104 are located in an encapsulation portion 108 that is to be substantially encapsulated with molding compound during molding. The leadframe substrate 110 is fully plated with a layer of nickel 112, followed by a full plating of a layer of palladium 114 and thereafter, a full plating of a layer of gold 116. The problem with this manufacturing approach is that molding compound does not adhere well to nickel, palladium or gold. Without any special mechanism to promote its adhesion, adhesiveness is weak.
Therefore, another prior art construction tries to overcome this disadvantage by selective plating of the nickel, palladium and gold layers in order to expose the underlying copper-based substrate. FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional illustration of a PPF leadframe 120 of the prior art comprising selective plating of nickel, palladium and gold on a copper-based substrate 110. The substrate 110 is selectively plated with a layer of nickel 112, so that some areas of the substrate 110 located within the encapsulation portion 108 are exposed. A layer of palladium 114 is then selectively plated over the layer of nickel 112 leaving the same areas of the substrate 110 exposed. Thereafter, a layer of gold 116 is similarly plated over the layer of palladium 114. The exposed copper in the areas of the substrate 110 that are not covered by plating can then be oxidized to form copper oxide to promote adhesion of the molding compound.
Although this approach is workable to improve adhesion, it is expensive because it involves multiple steps of mechanical masking to selectively plate the nickel, palladium and gold layers. Furthermore, this approach is difficult to implement on a large scale to mass production of such leadframes. An alternative approach of implementing selective plating with the application of photoresist instead of mechanical masking may improve speed and scalability, but incurs high costs.

Leadframe with enhanced encapsulation adhesion


A compact, self-contained portable computing apparatus is provided which is completely supported by a user for hands-free retrieval and display of information for the user. The computing apparatus includes a voice-recognition module, in communication with a processor, for receiving audio commands from the user, for converting the received audio commands into electrical signals, for recognizing the converted electrical signals and for sending the recognized electrical signals to the processor for processing, the voice-recognition module being supported by the user. The computing apparatus further includes a display in communication with the processor for receiving information from the processor and for displaying the received information for the user, the display being supported by the user whereby the user may operate the computing apparatus to display information in a hands-free manner utilizing only audio commands.

The present invention is generally related to computers, and more particularly to a hands-free, user-supported portable computer having a head-supported eye piece display and voice-recognition capability.
Today, many printed publications, particularly technical manuals, are being replaced by electronic technical manuals (ETM) and interactive electronic technical manuals (IETM). Such ETMs and IETMs are essentially electronic databases which are typically housed in conventional computers having a keyboard for user input and a full-sized monitor for information display. An operator may use the computer in order to access and display data stored in the ETMs and IETMs for a variety of uses including troubleshooting and repair/replacement of a system, subsystem or component thereof.
ETMs and IETMs are particularly useful in service and repair industries wherein technicians often require detailed information from technical manuals to repair and service malfunctioning devices. For example, ETMs and IETMs are useful in automobile repair centers wherein service personnel find it necessary to access information in automobile technical manuals in order to service malfunctioning automobiles. Additionally, ETMs and IETMs are useful in military service centers wherein military technicians often require access to information in military technical manuals to service and repair malfunctioning weapon systems. In such scenarios, it is more efficient to access information from ETMs and IETMs rather than printed publications since the printed publications may be voluminous.
As noted above, ETMs and IETMs are traditionally stored in and accessed from conventional computers having keyboards for operator input and full-sized video monitors for displaying data. Such computers are often located in service areas adjacent to the devices being repaired. In operation, maintenance personnel move back and forth between the computers and the devices being repaired in order to retrieve data required to service the devices being repaired. Such movement between the computers and the devices being repaired represents a considerable amount of time and effort spent for the purpose of retrieving data from the ETMs and IETMS. Therefore, conventional computers are not efficient devices for storing ETMs and IETMs since such conventional computers result in inefficient data delivery of the information in the ETMs and IETMs to operators.

Hands-free, user-supported portable computer


An article storage facility includes a storage rack configured to store a semiconductor wafer and a reticle, and a storage and retrieval transport apparatus. The storage rack includes a first accommodation unit configured to store a wafer container for containing the semiconductor wafer, and a second accommodation unit configured to store a reticle container for containing the reticle. The storage and retrieval transport apparatus includes a holding unit configured to hold a top flange formed at an upper portion of the wafer container to support the wafer container in a hanging state. A flange portion configured to allow the storage and retrieval transport apparatus to hold the reticle container using the holding unit to support the reticle container in a hanging state is formed at an upper portion of the reticle container.

Such article storage facilities are used to store semiconductor wafers and reticles that are used during exposure of the semiconductor wafers. Specifically, the stored semiconductor wafers and reticles are retrieved from the storage rack before being transported to an exposure process apparatus.
Incidentally, although the exposed semiconductor wafer is transported to another processing apparatus for the next process, that semiconductor wafer may be put back and stored in the storage rack or stored in another storage rack for temporal storage.
The reticle that has been used is typically put back and stored in the storage rack.
JP 2000-91401A (Patent Document 1) discloses an example of such an article storage facility.
In the configuration of Patent Document 1, a semiconductor wafer that is contained in a wafer container is stored on a cassette shelf in a storage rack, and a reticle is directly placed and stored on a reticle shelf in the storage rack or a reticle that is placed on a reticle carrier is stored on the reticle shelf. An empty container that has the same style as that of the wafer container is stored in the storage rack.
A storage and retrieval transport apparatus includes a cassette hand for holding the wafer container, a reticle hand for holding the reticle carrier, and an opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the lid of the empty container having the same style as that of the wafer container.
When the wafer container is moved out of storage, the storage and retrieval transport apparatus transports the wafer container from the cassette shelf to a storage and retrieval location.
When the reticle is moved out of storage, the storage and retrieval transport apparatus previously removes from the storage rack the empty container having the same style as that of the wafer container, and opens the lid of the empty container. Next, the storage and retrieval transport apparatus puts the reticle or the reticle carrier carrying the reticle that has been removed from the reticle shelf, into the empty container whose lid is opened, and thereafter, closes the lid of the container, and transports the container to the storage and retrieval location.
Although Patent Document 1 does not describe the process of moving the wafer container into storage in detail, the wafer container may be moved into storage by the storage and retrieval transport apparatus transporting the wafer container from the storage and retrieval location to the cassette shelf.
Also, the reticle may be moved into storage as follows. The storage and retrieval transport apparatus may receive from the storage and retrieval location the container containing the reticle or the reticle carrier carrying the reticle, open the lid of the received container, extract the reticle or the reticle carrier carrying the reticle from the container whose lid has been removed, and transport the reticle or the reticle carrier carrying the reticle to the reticle shelf. Thereafter, the storage and retrieval transport apparatus may close the lid of the empty container from which the reticle or the reticle carrier carrying the reticle has been extracted, and place the empty container in the storage rack.
Also, although Patent Document 1 does not describe a specific configuration that allows the cassette hand to support the wafer container or a specific configuration that allows the reticle hand to support the reticle or the reticle carrier, the drawings of Patent Document 1 suggests that the wafer container may be placed on and supported by the cassette hand, and the reticle or the reticle carrier may be placed on and supported by the reticle hand.
Incidentally, Patent Document 1 illustrates that the wafer container has a top flange at an upper portion thereof.
Patent Document 1 describes, although not in detail, an article transport facility in which the wafer container, or a container containing the reticle or the reticle carrier carrying the reticle, is transported to a semiconductor exposure process apparatus as the exposure process apparatus by an automated overhead transport vehicle.
In the article storage facility of Patent Document 1, it is difficult to move the reticle out of or into storage, and the storage and retrieval transport apparatus has a complicated configuration, and therefore, an improvement has been desired.
Specifically, the process of moving the reticle out of storage requires the step of removing the empty container from the storage rack and opening the lid of the empty container, the step of putting the reticle or the reticle carrier carrying the reticle that has been removed from the reticle shelf, into the empty container whose lid has been opened, the step of closing the lid of the container, and the step of transporting the container whose lid has been closed to the storage and retrieval location. Therefore, the reticle cannot be quickly moved out of storage.
The process of moving the reticle into storage requires the step of receiving the container containing the reticle or the reticle carrier carrying the reticle from the storage and retrieval location, and opening the lid of the container, the step of extracting the reticle or the reticle carrier carrying the reticle from the container whose lid has been opened, and placing the reticle or the reticle carrier carrying the reticle on the reticle shelf, the step of closing the lid of the container from which the reticle or the reticle carrier carrying the reticle has been extracted, and the step of placing the container whose lid has been closed in the storage rack. Therefore, the reticle cannot be quickly moved into storage.
In addition, the storage and retrieval transport apparatus needs to include the cassette hand for holding the wafer container, the reticle hand for holding the reticle carrier, and the opening and closing mechanism for opening and closing the lid of the empty container having the same style as that of the wafer container. Therefore, the storage and retrieval transport apparatus has a complicated configuration.

Article storage facility and article transport facility


A system is disclosed which allows for an electronic discussion group user to communicate with another user who speaks a different language. Machine translators and other software are incorporated to translate messages, thereby creating parallel discussion groups in different languages.

The present invention relates generally to the technical field of electronic communication over a computer network and, more particularly, the present invention relates to multi-lingual electronic communication in the form of parallel electronic discussion groups.
In the field of the present invention there are basically two types of electronic network communication in use today: electronic mail and bulletin board systems. Electronic mail is a way of sending messages to another computer user (possibly located at a remote site) through the use of a modem. Electronic mail is generally used to send messages to other computer users about any subject. A bulletin board system (BBS) may be run from a computer that uses a special program to allow other computers to call it, by use of a modem, ordinarily over standard telephone lines. A BBS acts as a storage facility, where people calling from their computers can post or receive messages and send or receive program files. A BBS is usually subdivided by topics so that users with similar interests can send information to other users of similar interests. These related groups of messages are referred to as topics, message areas, Forum.RTM. (a registered trademark of CompuServe Incorporated) or conferences (i.e. a particular BBS may contain numerous related groups of messages such as on the subjects of travel, sports, stamp collecting, etc. . . . ).
BBSs are distinguishable from electronic mail in that BBSs are used for posting messages of a particular group of computer users who have similar interests but these posted messages are not ordinarily addressed to any particular user. BBSs are also used by some computer users who wish to just read posted messages and other information, without having to post a reply message. For example, a person in Columbus, Ohio, who is preparing for a vacation, may access a BBS on travel, through his home computer, and post a message asking for the best places to go skiing in the United States. Other network users with an interest in travel may read the message from the person from Columbus, and then reply with their opinion about where the best place is for skiing. There are thousands of BBSs available to computer network users on a wide variety of subject areas.
As the number of computer networks being accessed by international users increases, the number of online discussion groups for users with similar interests, from different countries, also increases. For example, a person in France may access a discussion group on international law, to obtain information about trade laws. Assuming that the French person is only familiar with the French language, the French person cannot send a message that would be understood by a German speaking user or an English speaking user. Thus, the need arises for an electronic discussion group which can be utilized by foreign language speaking users.
Language translation software is currently available, however, to Applicants' knowledge, it has only been used for purposes of electronic mail, in online services environments, where the identity and language of the person receiving the message is known. For example, if a French person wants to send a message to Bob Smith, who is American, the French person can send the message through a French to English machine translator on the network. However, there is currently no successful implementation of language translation software in an environment such as an electronic public discussion group which may have an unknown group of users of different languages. For example, if a French speaking person wants to access a travel discussion group, run from a BBS in New York, and inquire into the best places for mountain climbing in the world; currently, the French person can translate his message to the discussion group in only one other language (e.g. English). Thus, only people who can read English or French would understand and be able to reply to the message. A person in Japan, who does not have command of the English language and has valuable information relating to mountain climbing in Japan, will not understand the message posted in English and will not be able to respond to the inquiry. Additionally, if the French person cannot read English, he will not understand replies posted to the discussion group in English.
The present invention is a system of parallel discussion groups operated in conjunction with a message collection/posting software program, data filter software program, and a machine translation software program. The present invention comprises a number of discussion groups running in "parallel"; one group for each language being used in the discussion groups. The individual discussion groups all contain the same information, in the same order; the only difference being that each parallel discussion group is written in a different language.
In the present invention, once a user logs onto a particular parallel discussion group he or she may then choose his or her language preference. If the user's language preference is set to French, the French version of the discussion group will be accessed. Messages posted to a discussion group will be periodically collected, translated to the other languages, and then posted to those respective target language discussion groups. The collection and posting of the messages will be accomplished by the Message Collection/Posting Software which forms a part of the present invention. The new messages which are collected on a periodic basis are sent to a commercially available Machine Translation (MT) software for translation. Messages are batch processed automatically at the network site and without human intervention. The translation takes place at a remote site so user actions are minimized. Users simply specify a language preference that is communicated to the network in order to take advantage of the present invention.
Before the input text is actually submitted to the MT software, the input text is passed through a filter software program which preprocesses the data before it is submitted to the MT software. The filter identifies and marks strings which are best left untranslated by the MT software, such as personal names, company product names, file and path names, commands, samples of source code, and the like. By marking these strings, the filter notifies the MT software to leave those strings untranslated. These strings are then linked to a preceding "hookword". Hookwords are automatically inserted then deleted in post-processing and are contained in dictionaries with a part-of-speech and other grammatical features to effect rearrangement of the word in the target language. Once the translation process is complete, the translations are collected and posted, by the Message Collection/Posting Software, to the target language discussion groups at the same location within the message structure as the original version of the message. The pre-processing, translation, and post-processing functions are all performed automatically in accordance with a batch process that executes on a periodic basis at the network site.
Thus, some of the messages on a French version of a discussion group will have been originally written in French whereas many will be translations of messages which were originally written in a different language. Each of the messages translated from another language version of the parallel discussion group may contain both the translated message and the original language text. For example, a message originally written in the English version of the discussion group and translated to the French version may be shown on screen with the original English text in addition to the French translation.
The primary object of the invention is to create a structure and process to enable discussion group users, of different languages, to communicate with one another. In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, this object is accomplished through an automatic batch process that executes at a remote site. No human intervention is required for the pre-processing, translation, or post-processing functions. Additionally, users simply specify a language preference to realize the benefits and advantages of the present invention. Further objects and advantages of this invention will become apparent when viewed in light of the following drawings and detailed description.

System for parallel foreign language communication over a computer network


An image-scanning apparatus for scanning an original in an image-reading area to output image data, includes, a platen on which the original is placed, a reference plate which has a reference color, and a scanning device for optically scanning the reference plate and the original placed on the platen to provide a first optical image and a second optical image. The image-scanning apparatus also has a receiving device for receiving the first optical image and the second optical image so as to output electrical signals, a setting device for setting a correcting amount on the basis of the electrical signals, a correcting device for correcting the scattering of the electrical signals to output the image data, a calculating device for calculating a pre-running length corresponding to a predetermined speed, the scanning device is accelerated in a pre-running portion corresponding to the pre-running length so that the scanning device reaches the predetermined speed, a determining device for determining that the reference plate is sufficiently included in the pre-running portion, a control system for controlling the scanning device and the setting device corresponding to the detecting operation of the determining device so that the scanning device performs the scanning operation efficiently.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image-scanning apparatus which has a shading correction function and a reference plate used for making a reference data for the shading correction.
2. Description of the Related Art
Image-scanning devices which have a CCD sensor for converting an optical image into an electrical signal are very popular. The electrical signals are subjected to a shading correction circuit before providing image data. The shading correction circuit corrects the scattering of the electrical signals. This type of image-scanning devices are, for example, disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,206,501. This image-scanning device has a reference plate, and generates a reference data by using the reflected light quantity from the reference plate. The shading correction circuit performs a shading correction operation on the basis of the reference data. The image-scanning device radiates a light to the reference plate before an image-scanning operation, and makes the reference data.
Recently, as disclosed in, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,720,729, image-scanning devices which have a so-called zoom indicating function have been provided. This type image-scanning device indicates an image-reading area by a scale arranged on a carriage, and the carriage is positioned at a place under a platen before the scanning operation. This function is very helpful especially, for an operator who is not familiar with the image-scanning device, because the carriage indicates the position at which an original should be placed.
However, when both the shading correction function and the so-called zoom indicating function are adopted, the time period it takes to scan an original image is long because the carriage has to move from the position at which the carriage indicates an image-reading area, to the reference plate before starting the scanning operation.

Image-scanning apparatus with a shading correction function


A detachable transportation seat assembly for facilitated and secure attachment to the rear row of a mass transportation vehicle, which is releasable and replaceable as desired to enable access to vehicle componentry under the rear seat, or behind the rear wall. A pivot bar on the front of a single or a collection of rear row vehicle seats projects to cooperate with a pivot hook retention bracket, to facilitate removal of the seat or seats, or, alternatively, to facilitate the restoration of the seats for use by passengers.

Historically, seats in the back row of transit buses and motor coaches were not required to include safety belts. If the rear row of seats did utilize safety belts, they were typically lap restraint belts that extended across the passenger's lap, which belt assemblies were connected directly to the vehicle's adjacent seat environment on either side of the seat, with or without components capable of restraining the passenger's upper body for shoulder restraint, in the event of a crash.
More recently, government regulations have gone into effect that now require each seating position, including seats along the rear row of certain coaches or transit buses—to not only include lap-type seat belts, but also to include three-point (3PT) safety belts capable of restraining the shoulder or torso of a passenger. A 3PT safety belt is one where the safety belt, when fully deployed, is capable of restraining a passenger at three separate axis points, one on either side of a passenger's lap and one over the passenger's left or right shoulder. These types of 3PT safety belts are known in the automotive industry and are now common to passenger vehicles. In addition to requiring installation of 3PT safety belts, the regulations also require that the 3PT safety belt to meet certain testing guidelines—as to how much load force or "pull" the safety belts must endure without breaking or detaching.
While the 3PT safety belts may typically be mounted to the bus directly, such as by attachment to the vehicle's sheet metal surfaces, partitions, wheel wells or vehicle side walls adjacent a seat, those safety belts securement locations typically require re-testing every time a seat securement location is altered or moved. To minimize the need for such repetitive, costly safety belt testing, in view of the many types of vehicles and seat configurations for those vehicles, all aspects of the 3PT safety belt may advantageously be attached directly to the seat. This configuration is referred to as an "all belts to seat" configuration or an ABTS-type seat. Under current guidelines, employing an ABTS configuration does not require re-testing of the safety belts when a fully integrated seat, belts and all, is merely moved and replaced. This minimization of retesting is significant especially as it relates to seats that may be covering hatches, panels or other openings in the vehicle that may permit access to mechanical portions of the bus, such as the engine, battery, or radiator compartment, from inside the bus. It is not unusual for an access panel to be positioned under or behind the back row of seats in a bus or coach for that purpose of such access to address repair, removal, testing or inspection of a vehicle's mechanical drive system.

Detachable transportation vehicle seat assembly