When a print job described in JL (job language) is transferred from a host device via a communication medium, JL is interpreted by a JL parser, encapsulated PDL (page description language) is interpreted by a PDL translator, and image data to be printed is produced, and printed in a printer engine. When printing is completed, information on the paper output place is stored in a job information table. When an inquiry in JL is made from the host, on the basis of this, the job information table is retrieved, and answer data on the corresponding paper output place is returned to the host device, and informed to a user via display processing on the host device or the like.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a printing system in which a host device and a printer are connected via a communication medium and a print job produced in said host device is transferred to said printer to execute printing, a method for controlling the system, and a computer-readable memory medium which stores a control program for the system.
2. Related Background Art
Heretofore, as an output device for performing output processing of a host device such as a computer or a facsimile device, there has been a printer having a plurality of paper output places such as finishers and mailboxes. Also, there is a printer having a paper output place capable of stacking 500 sheets or more.
In case of a printer having a plurality of paper output places, a user (or an application of the host device) can specifically designate which paper output place he or she likes to output to. Also, if he or she does not particularly specifically designate, the host device side or printer side automatically outputs to any paper output place. Also, even in case that he or she specifically designate a paper output place, if the paper output place is filled with output papers, there is also a printer that automatically outputs to another paper output place.
There is a printer that is provided with an output paper stack quantity detection sensor at each paper output place, and there is also a case of being able to recognize whether or not papers output to the paper output place remains. In that case, if a user removes the papers placed on the paper output place, it can be recognized by the above output paper stack quantity detection sensor.
Also, there are many cases that a plurality of host computers uses a printer in common in a network environment. In that case, it is not unusual that they use a plurality of printers in common.
As the above, the paper output system itself of the printer has become complex differently from old one having a single paper output place. Also, if, in addition to that there are pluralities of hosts and printers in an environment, it is designed such as to perform some automatic control on outputting papers, there is the possibility that a user can not find which printer of a plurality of printers the output result which he or she has surely output, or even in case that he or she knows which printer, he or she forgot or can not find which paper output place it has been output to. In that case, there is the problem that hunting up the aimed printed result requires the more labor the more the system becomes complex.
Also, in view of the above problem, since printers can at least recognize the paper output place of the output destination of each print job, it may be possible to store this information in a memory, and inform the paper output destination in response to a user's inquiry or the like. However, for example, if information on all output jobs is maintained for any length of time, it requires infinite memory for maintaining. This is quite not a realistic method.

Printing system, method for controlling printing system, and computer-readable memory medium


A system for managing the amortization of a loan to a debtor includes memory, a data input module, a module for tracking principal reduction and a rate adjustment option module. The memory stores data identifying a debtor, the amount of a loan to the debtor, the principal balance of the loan, a rate of interest payable on the principal balance of the loan and the term of the loan. The data input module inputs the identifying data into the memory and records information identifying the time payments received from the debtor toward payment of principal and interest on the loan. The module for tracking the reduction in the principal balance of the loan also stores in memory the principal balance in response to the time payments. The rate adjustment option module resets the rate of interest on the principal balance in response to the debtor's election and within certain qualifying conditions. The rate of interest in the absence of the debtor's election and resetting is held fixed in the memory for the remaining term of the loan.

A lending institution such as a bank provides a loan to a debtor in return for periodic time payments at a set rate of interest. The time payments are due at predetermined payment intervals, typically every month, during the period or the term sometimes defined by the number of time payments term or period of the loan. The term is sometimes defined by the number of time payments. Part of each time payment is generally allocated to paying interest on the loan, and the remainder of the payment is allocated to reducing the amount owed, known as the principal balance of the loan, and any escrow deposits. The allocation between interest and principal varies with each time payment. Most of the initial time payments are allocated to interest, while smaller amounts which are allocated to principal increase as subsequent time payments are made throughout the term of the loan. The reduction in the principal balance by the time payments is known as amortization. Known methods of calculating interest rates and amortization payments are disclosed in "The Mathematics of Investing: A Complete Reference" by Michael Thomsett, pp. 23-40.
Modern lending institutions employ computer-based loan management systems which store and process information on loans to debtors. Known systems for managing loan amortization include a device for inputting data identifying a debtor, the amount of the loan to the debtor, the principal balance of the loan, the rate of interest payable on the principal balance of the loan and the term of the loan. The input device may be a keyboard, mouse or other peripheral device of a computing platform which operates in accordance with user interface software to transfer signals indicative of the identifying data to memory. The input device also receives and records signals indicative of time payments from the debtor for credit toward principal and interest on the loan.
The memory is a device, such as a conventional computer memory module, which stores the identifying data. As is known in the art, the above-described identifying data stored in memory are typically implemented as digital electrical signals which represent ASCII characters or binary numeric values.
In response to a time payment, a loan payment module receives the time payment signals and determines the appropriate allocation of the time payment between interest and principal in accordance with known amortization methods. A loan origination and administration module tracks the reduction in the principal by the time payment, and the reduced principal balance is stored in the memory. If a time payment is not received within a payment interval, the loan origination and administration module records the delinquency in memory and typically adds a late payment fee to the amount of the loan owed.
Financial loans may be classified as fixed-rate or variable-rate. In a fixed-rate loan, a prevailing interest rate at the time the loan is made determines the rate of interest for the entire term of the loan. In a variable-rate loan, a prevailing interest rate at the time the loan is made determines the initial rate of interest. However, at set dates the rate of interest of a variable-rate loan is adjusted in accordance with a time-varying interest-rate index, such as the rate of interest payable on Treasury Bills. Interest-rate indices typically fluctuate several times a year, and may fluctuate by substantial amounts during the term of a loan. Such changes in rates are beyond the variable-rate debtor's control, and may be to his advantage or detriment depending on whether the interest rate has decreased or increased on the adjustment date.
Conventional systems for managing the amortization of loans process signals indicative of each loan in accordance with fixed-rate loan processing methods or variable-rate loan processing methods. For example, for a fixed-rate loan, the signals indicative of the rate of interest of the loan remain fixed in memory. Similarly, for a variable-rate loan, the signals indicative of the rate of interest of the loan are automatically adjusted in accordance with signals indicative of a fluctuating interest-rate index.
A debtor having a fixed-rate loan may find that after receiving a loan at a fixed rate of interest, interest rates decrease substantially below the fixed rate associated with his loan. Naturally, the debtor prefers a loan with a low rate of interest so that the time payment amount will be as low as possible. Unfortunately, a drawback of a fixed-rate loan is that the debtor cannot automatically take advantage of decreases in interest rates. On the other hand, the fixed-rate debtor is not adversely affected by increases in interest rates which work against variable-rate debtors. Accordingly, known systems for managing loan amortization do not adjust the signals indicative of the interest rate on fixed-rate loans.
To take advantage of a decrease in interest rates, the fixed-rate debtor must refinance his loan, that is, re-apply, re-qualify and take out a new loan at the decreased rate of interest. Refinancing is a costly option which involves a number of fees, such as fees paid to the lending institution, attorneys and title searchers. Therefore, refinancing is not a viable alternative unless interest rates have dropped significantly below the initial interest rate associated with the fixed-rate loan. Accordingly, known systems for managing loan amortization do not automatically implement refinancing of a fixed-rate loan.
It would be advantageous to have a system for managing the amortization of a loan which automatically resets the rate of interest stored in memory in response to the debtor's election, yet holds the initial rate of interest stored in memory fixed in the absence of such an election. The present invention is drawn towards such a system.

System and method for managing the amortization of a loan


A toner supplying device includes: a toner density sensor for detecting a density of toner contained in a developer tank; a toner hopper for supplying toner to the developer tank; a toner cartridge for supplying toner to the toner hopper; and a control section, when a request to supply toner to the developer tank is made in accordance with a signal detected by the toner density sensor, for controlling a hopper driving motor and a cartridge driving motor so that (i) the toner hopper supplies toner to the developer tank and (ii) the toner cartridge supplies toner to the toner hopper. Thus, in a structure having first and second toner supplying sections disposed on top of each other, toner can be stably supplied to a developer tank.

Conventionally, electrophotographic image forming apparatuses such as copiers, printers, and facsimile machines have been known. The electrophotographic method makes it possible to easily form a high-quality image, and therefore has been widely adopted by the various image forming apparatuses.
Generally, an image forming apparatus adopting the electrophotographic method carries out the following operations. Specifically, a surface of a photoreceptor containing a photoconductive substance is uniformly charged. The photoreceptor's surface thus charged is irradiated with light that is based on image information, so that an electrostatic latent image is formed. The electrostatic latent image thus formed is visualized by supplying toner to the electrostatic latent image, so that a toner image is obtained. The toner image thus obtained is transferred from the photoreceptor onto a recording medium. The toner image thus transferred onto the recording medium is fixed to the recording medium by heat, pressure, and the like.
Toner to be used for developing the electrostatic latent image is supplied from a developing device to the surface of the photoreceptor. The developing device includes a developer tank. The developer tank contains toner, and has a developing roller, a doctor blade, and a stirring roller. The developing roller is provided so as to make contact with the surface of the photoreceptor, has a surface on which a toner layer is carried, and supplies toner to the electrostatic latent image. The doctor blade includes a plate member provided so as to make contact with the surface of the developing roller, and regulates the thickness of the toner layer carried on the surface of the developing roller. The stirring roller carries out a rotation operation, so that (i) the toner is charged and (ii) the toner thus charged is supplied to an area surrounding the developing roller.
The developing device further includes a toner hopper serving as a toner supplying device. The toner hopper is designed to supply toner to the developer tank.
For example, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 168458/1988 (Jitsukaisho 63-168458; published on Nov. 2, 1988)), a plurality of toner amount sensors are provided on a side wall of a supplying tank (toner hopper) so as to be on top of one another, and a supplying roller is provided in a toner-supplying opening via which toner is supplied from the supplying tank. Moreover, the rotation speed of the supplying roller is controlled in accordance with the amount of toner remaining in the supplying tank which amount is detected by the plurality of toner amount sensors.
Further, in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 50778/1987 (Tokukaisho 62-50778; published on March 5)), a toner density sensor is provided in a developer tank, and a toner supplying roller is provided in a toner-supplying opening of a toner tank (toner hopper). Moreover, the rotation of the toner supplying roller is controlled in accordance with a result of detection carried out by the toner density sensor.
Meanwhile, in recent years, a toner supplying device including a toner cartridge has been commonly used for the purpose of increasing the level of convenience in supplying toner to a developer tank. According to such a developing device, as described in Patent Document 3 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 255727/2001 (Tokukai 2001-255727; published on Sep. 21, 2001)) and Patent Document 4 (Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 295975/1999 (Tokukaihei 11-295975; published on Oct. 29, 1999)), the toner cartridge supplies toner to a toner hopper, and the toner hopper supplies toner to the developer tank. In this case, the toner hopper functions as an adjuster by which toner supplied from the toner cartridge is smoothly supplied to the developer tank by appropriate amounts. Further, for the purpose of miniaturization of a developing device, a typical toner hopper is small, and can contain only a small amount of toner. On the other hand, for the purpose of reducing exchange frequency, a typical toner cartridge is larger than a typical toner hopper, and contains a larger amount of toner than does a typical toner hopper.
According to such a developing device, as described in Patent Document 3, a developer container (developer tank) is provided with a toner density sensor, and a toner hopper is provided with a remaining toner amount sensor. Moreover, when a shortage in toner in the toner hopper is detected by the remaining toner amount sensor, the toner cartridge supplies toner to the toner hopper. When a shortage in toner in the developer tank is detected by the toner density sensor, the toner hopper supplies toner to the developer container.
See a case where a two-step toner supplying device, in which, as described above, a toner cartridge (first toner supplying means) supplies toner to a toner hopper (second toner supplying means) and the toner hopper supplies toner to a developer tank, is arranged such that, as described above, the toner cartridge supplies toner to the toner hopper in accordance with a result of detection carried out by the remaining toner amount sensor of the toner hopper. In this case, toner may not be smoothly supplied to the developer tank. That is, slow detection of a correct remaining amount of toner or false detection of a remaining amount of toner may be caused depending on (i) a location at which the remaining toner amount sensor is disposed in the toner hopper, (ii) a direction in which toner is flowed, and (iii) the like. Alternatively, in cases where a large amount of toner is consumed for the purpose of printing a document having a high coverage rate or continuously carrying out a large amount of printing, the toner cartridge may supply toner to the toner hopper belatedly. In such a case, the density of toner contained in the developer tank becomes insufficient, and this causes a developing device to have a problem in carrying out a development operation. Such a problem becomes significant especially in an arrangement in which the toner hopper is miniaturized for the purpose of miniaturizing the device.
Therefore, it is an object of the technology described herein to provide a toner supplying method, a toner supplying device, a developing device, and an image forming apparatus each of which makes it possible to stably supply toner to a developer tank in an arrangement in which first and second toner supplying means disposed on top of each other are provided.

Toner supplying method, toner supplying device, developing device, and image forming apparatus with controlled toner supply


The invention relates to a pure water treatment method. According to the invention, once ultra-pure water has been obtained, it is treated by means of cavitation in a tank that is equipped with an acoustic antenna (3) comprising Tonpilz-type piezoelectric transducers which emit at least at the excitation frequency of the water molecules with a sound power that enables the cavitation threshold to be exceeded, taking account of the quantity of water to be treated.

Water is the most important chemical compound on the planet: 70% of the Earth's surface corresponds to the seas and oceans. The human body contains 65% of its weight as water and the Earth's atmosphere contains 0.001% water. In the human body, the blood contains 85%, the intestinal juice 99.3%, the gastric juices 99.4% and saliva 99.5% water, hence the importance of water in biological processes. An essential component of life on Earth, water is the preeminent solvent in industrial and biological chemistry. It should be pointed out that if in industry the purity of the water is essential, it is even more so in biology. Despite all research, the water molecule remains strange and poorly understood. There are in fact several types of water molecule, which means that water is a mixture of chemical compounds. The predominant molecule is H2O, but because of the isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen, there are correspondingly 18 kinds of water molecule. More particularly, there are small quantities of heavy water or D2O, which is a neutron moderator, whereas H2O is a neutron capture agent. Tritiated water, T2O, which is radioactive, is found in rainwater in very small quantities. With D2O biological reaction rates are lower and the physical constants are slightly different (the density of D2O is greater than 1).
In the Periodic Table of the Elements, oxygen is element No. 8 and is found on the second row of column VI. Corresponding to each element of the family in column VI is a hydrogenated compound:
O (oxygen)H2OS (sulfur)H2SSe (selenium)H2SeTe (tellurin)H2Te
In general, the physical and chemical properties of the elements of any one column are similar or change in a regular fashion. In the case of water, certain constants are unexpected: high values are found for the melting point, the boiling point, the latent heat of vaporization (Hv), the heat of melting (Hm) and the specific heat (Cm), and water has a maximum density at C and a high dielectric constant (∈r). These anomalies stem from the existence of particular bonds between water molecules in the solid state, in the liquid state and even the gaseous state (the number of anomalies is 38).
More particularly, the melting point and boiling point are abnormal for water compared with the family of hydrogenated compounds of the elements of the family in column VI.
H2SH2SeH2TeH2OTm−51° C.  −60° C.−85.6° C.   0° C.Instead of −100° C.Tb −2° C.−41.5° C.−60.7° C.+100° C.Instead of −80° C.
Moreover, in the case of the other liquids the density decreases linearly as the temperature increases, which is not true for water, except for at high temperature. The maximum density is observed at 4° C. at 1 atmosphere, here again because of its peculiar structure.
According to Dr. Lorenzen, an expert in biology, the water contained in sugared beverages, beer, etc. is not, or little, used by cells and is expelled directly via the kidneys.
Depending on the intracellular or extracellular medium, water adopts different configurations.
Each type of cell uses four principal types of configuration of water for its operation.
Water molecules grouped together in clusters or microclusters allow information transfer between cells: proteins of the information system are surrounded by nine rings consisting of microclusters. Therefore information can flow only if the water has a very particular structure—this structure is modified by temperature and the solutes that it contains.
It seems that the trimer (H2O)3 plays a predominant role in cell metabolism.
Water allows both assimilation during cell metabolism and waste transport, hence the need for pure water with a very low mineral content in order not to overload the electrolyte environment of the cell and modify the osmotic pressure therein.
In blood serum there are 80 g of proteins per liter and the viscosity is increased by a factor of two, while the presence of NaCl in the physiological saline does not modify this viscosity. Likewise, increasing the number of red blood cells in the blood increases its viscosity.
It therefore seems necessary that supply water be of the lowest possible mineral content so that it can fully play its bonded liquid role in exchanges with the cell.
The benefit of water with a low mineral content is that it can be much better assimilated by the cell and avoids overworking the kidneys to remove the minerals. This is because plants pre-assimilate the trace elements that the organism is incapable of assimilating directly (man and animals are heterotrophic, while plants are autotrophic).
Professor Schroder, a world authority on the subject of water, contests the recommendation for mineral-laden water for supply.
Moreover, although perfectly pure water has a pH of 7 at 25° C. and is very sensitive to external attack by acids or bases, mineral-laden water that contains hydrogenocarbonate ions is less sensitive, owing to a buffer effect.
The presence of calcium ions (Ca2+) and magnesium ions (Mg2+) gives the water a certain hardness characterized by its total hardness (TH). In the case of water for beverages, legislation imposes a total hardness such that: 15<TH>25, whereas perfectly assimilable water must have a total hardness TH.
From the same source, to use softeners is not recommended since replacing calcium and magnesium ions with sodium ions is not beneficial to health.
Water that contains silica and has also been demineralized may have a slightly acid pH.
Water and extracellular and intracellular exchanges:
In order for cell life to be maintained, many diverse substances must continually cross the plasma membrane. Sugars, amino acids and other nutrients must enter the cell so as to meet its energy requirements and sustain its growth; waste and other degradation products must be removed therefrom, as they are toxic for the cell. Ions must be transported in both directions, so as to maintain the ionic composition of the intracellular medium, which is very different from the surrounding medium—it is much richer in potassium ions and less rich in sodium ions. These inequalities lead to leaks (due to osmotic principles) which must be compensated for by transport, in the reverse direction, against the concentration gradient. All this entails intense two-way traffic across the plasma membrane (a continuous phospholipid double layer) involving diffusion phenomena (simple or facilitated diffusion) and active transport. Only water is capable of allowing this transport.
These notions show that the plasma membrane is an important structure for maintaining the concentrations of ions and molecules in the cell and for its biochemical isolation with respect to the outside or to other cells.
These exchanges across the cell membrane show the importance of water.


An apparatus and a method for configuring an idle screen, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for analyzing functions of a terminal according to a user's environmental state, and configuring an idle screen in accordance with the analysis. According to the apparatus and method, when a change in a current environmental state is sensed while performing the selected terminal function, the terminal determines an environmental state information item corresponding to a changed environmental state, and updates the selected terminal function in a terminal function item corresponding to the determined environmental state information item. When there is a request for displaying an idle screen, the terminal determines a current environmental state item corresponding to the currently environmental state, extracts one or more terminal functions corresponding to the determined environmental state information item, and configures the idle screen using the extracted terminal functions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for configuring an idle screen, and more particularly, to an apparatus and method for analyzing functions of a terminal according to a user's environmental state, and configuring an idle screen in accordance with the analysis.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, in a terminal such as a mobile communication terminal, in order to utilize a function of the terminal, a user searches for an established path that allows the user to utilize the corresponding terminal function. Recently, however, as the functions supported by the terminal are diversified and increased in number, the user is forced to search the menu screen every time to utilize the various terminal functions. More recent terminals support a function allowing the user to configure an idle screen with shortcut icons of the terminal functions that the user intends to utilize. This allows the user to directly utilize the desired terminal function by selecting a shortcut icon associated with the corresponding terminal function among the shortcut icons on the idle screen without the need for searching a separate menu screen provided for the terminal functions.
In the configuration described above, when the user wants to utilize a function other than the terminal functions that he/she previously set on the idle screen, the user must reconfigure the idle screen to incorporate a shortcut icon for the corresponding terminal's function.
In addition, since the terminal functions that the user intends to utilize may undergo a change according to environmental state information of the user, such as time, position, weather and temperature, and/or state information of the user, such as the user's mood, the conventional terminal has difficulty in providing a desirable idle screen for the user.

Apparatus and method for configuring idle screen


A stable and high quality circuit forming substrate is provided even when the work size is increased in the circuit forming substrate. In a stacking step, prepregs that are B stage substrate materials, are arranged lined with respect to a first metal foil, and stacked on the first metal foil. A C stage substrate material is stacked on the B stage substrate materials. Further, the prepregs that are two or more B stage substrate materials, are stacked on the C stage substrate material and a second metal foil is stacked thereon.

Recently, with miniaturization and higher density of electronic equipments, a double-sided, multi-layer substrate is being more widely used than a conventional one-sided substrate for a circuit forming substrate for mounting electronic components, and a high density substrate in which a greater number of circuits and components can be integrated on a substrate have been developed.
FIG. 8A to FIG. 8E show manufacturing steps of the conventional circuit forming substrate. As shown in FIG. 8A, circuits 27a, 27b are respectively formed on one main surface and other main surface of core substrate material 21, individually. FIG. 8A shows a double-sided substrate formed with inter-layer connecting part 23 by conductive paste. Note that a multi-layer substrate may also be used other than the double-sided substrate. In addition to the conductive paste, various methods such as plating, soldering, or the like can be adopted for inter-layer connecting part 23.
Prepregs 22L and 22U are then arranged on the top and the bottom thereof so as to sandwich core substrate material 21, as shown in FIG. 8B. Conductive pastes 23a1, 23a2, 23b1 and 23b2 are arranged in via holes 24 of prepregs 22L, 22U. Copper foil 26L that is a first metal foil and copper foil 26U that is a second metal foil are respectively arranged on prepreg 22L side and 22U side. Since prepregs 22L, 22U contain half-cured resin, cooper foils 26L, 26U and prepregs 22L, 22U or prepregs 22L, 22U and core substrate material 21 are partially temporary pressure bonded with heater tool and the like in positioning. The positional shift in subsequent handling is thereby prevented.
Heat and pressure are then applied by the heat press device (not shown) to cure prepregs 22L, 22U to be integrated with core substrate material 21, as shown in FIG. 8C. Conductive pastes 23a1, 23a2, 23b1, and 23b2 are also compressed and cured, thereby exerting conductivity and electrically connecting the layers.
The extra portions at the end face of the circuit forming substrate are then cut to obtain a four-layer circuit forming substrate as shown in FIG. 8D, copper foils 26L, 26U at the surface are etching processed to form circuits 26L1, 26U1, and the four-layer circuit forming substrate as shown in FIG. 8E is obtained.
Depending on the application, solder resist for soldering is applied to the surface of the circuit forming substrate shown in FIG. 8E or gold plating or surface processing such as flux processing or soldering lever is performed on the surface of circuits 26L1, 26U1. Subsequently, the substrate is cut to the desired sheet size with a die, rooter process, or the like and provided to the circuit forming substrate in the assembly step of the electrical equipment and the like. Japanese Patent Publication, Japanese Patent Un-examined Publication No. H06-268345 is known as the conventional art document information related to the invention of the subject application.
However, in the method for manufacturing the circuit forming substrate described above, manufacturing constraints are restricted when attempting to increase the size of prepregs 22L, 22U. That is, jigs and the like cannot be contacted to prepregs 22L, 22U since non-cured conductive paste 23a1, 23a2, 23b1, and 23b2 are arranged. If contacted, the conductive paste spreads to the periphery, whereby drawbacks arise, for example, electrical short between the circuit and another circuit occurs or the reliability of inter-layer connection lowers.
Prepregs 22L, 22U must be stored in a hollow supporting jig so that conductive paste 23a1, 23a2, 23b1, and 23b2 are not damaged from the outside. When handling prepreg 22L, 22U during a stacking step, only the end faces thereof can be gripped, and thus is subjected to manufacturing constraints. The difficulty in handling task in the stacking step becomes higher as the size of prepregs 22L, 22U becomes larger. Thus, the reliability of the quality also becomes unreliable in terms of manufacturing the circuit forming substrate.
Furthermore, since positioning with circuits 27a, 27b on core substrate material 21 becomes difficult when the positions of conductive pastes 23a1, 23a2, 23b1, and 23b2 arranged in prepregs 22L, 22U vary, correspondence to miniature circuit forming substrate is difficult. The variation in the position of conductive paste 23a1, 23a2, 23b1, and 23b2 thus cannot be ignored as the size of prepregs 22L, 22U increases.
In order to reduce the manufacturing cost of the circuit forming substrate, on the other hand, increasing the size of prepregs 22L, 22U, that is, the work size in manufacturing is effective in terms of production efficiency. Thus, embodiment of a manufacturing method for stably manufacturing the circuit forming substrate having a large work size is desired.

Method for manufacturing circuit forming substrate


A plant and process are used to liquefy and purify a high pressure ethane feed stream. The plant includes a cascaded refrigeration system that refrigerates the ethane feed stream. The refrigeration system includes a propylene circuit, an ethylene circuit and a mixed refrigerant circuit. The mixed refrigerant circuit includes a refrigerant that includes ethane and methane. The plant includes a demethanizer that is configured to remove methane and other natural gas liquids from the refrigerated ethane stream.

Embodiments of the invention relate generally to ethane processing and more particularly, but not by way of limitation, to a steady-state process for liquefying and purifying a high pressure ethane stream.
Ethane is a natural gas liquid (NGL) that is primarily used as feedstock for petrochemical production and for ethylene plastic manufacturing. Ethane and other natural gas liquids are typically removed from natural gas at a processing plant and transferred to purchasers in pipelines. Because ethane boils at about −127° F. at atmospheric pressure, it is necessary to pressurize ethane for shipment by pipeline at practical temperatures (e.g., 800 psig at 70° F.).
Recently, it has become desirable to transfer ethane by ship to overseas markets. Due to the complexities of transferring liquids under elevated pressures, it may be desirable to transfer the ethane at near atmospheric pressures under refrigerated conditions. Embodiments of the present invention are directed at improved methods for an efficient process for producing a liquefied ethane stream at near atmospheric pressures and below boiling point temperatures.

Low pressure ethane liquefaction and purification from a high pressure liquid ethane source


An accelerometer comprises a proof mass, a first resonant tuning fork connected to the proof mass, a second resonant tuning fork connected to the proof mass, and a flexural lever leverage system supporting the proof mass above a substrate. The flexural lever leverage system enhances an acceleration force applied to the proof mass to cause a tensile force in the first resonant tuning fork which raises its resonant frequency, and a compressive force in the second resonant tuning fork which lowers its resonant frequency. The device may be fabricated using semiconductor-based surface-micromachining technology.

A resonant accelerometer is a sensor that responds to an acceleration force by producing a frequency shifted output signal. Quartz-based resonant accelerometers have been used in many commercial applications, including navigation-grade precision accelerometers.
Micromachined resonant sensors have been developed. The acceleration force amplification provided by these early devices has been limited by the leverage systems for the proof masses of the devices. Thus, to improve the response of micromachined resonant sensors, it is important to improve upon prior art proof mass leverage systems.
Some recent work has focused on micromachined resonant sensors in bulk silicon processes, but this class of sensor has not yet been pursued in a surface-micromachining technology. Surface-micromachining technology embeds a micromechanical device in an anisotropically etched trench below the surface of a wafer. Prior to microelectronic device fabrication, this trench is refilled with oxide, chemical-mechanically polished, and sealed with a nitride cap in order to embed the micromechanical devices below the surface of the planarized wafer. The wafer is then used as the starting material for integrated circuit fabrication in a conventional process, such as CMOS or BiCMOS. Thus, surface-micromachining technology allows a micromachined device to be combined with integrated circuitry in a single wafer.
In view of the foregoing, it would be highly desirable to provide a resonant accelerometer with an improved leverage system for enhanced force amplification. In addition, it would be highly desirable to provide a resonant accelerometer design that is compatible with surface-micromachining technologies.

Resonant accelerometer with flexural lever leverage system

The Regents of the University of California


Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcNPV) is a baculovirus widely employed as a vector for the expression of foreign genes and pest control. Although baculoviruses efficiently replicate in the nuclei of arthropod cells, the dynamics and mechanism of DNA replication within the infected cell are still poorly understood. Thus, to study such viral DNA replication, the availability of peptide ligands specific for DNA-binding protein (DBP) is needed. This work resulted in the selection of peptide ligands specifically binding to DBP for AcNPV from the FliTrx™ random peptide display library, which entails the amplification, cloning of the DBP gene from AcNPV, the construction of the expression plasinid for DBP, and the expression and purification of the recombinant His.Tag AcNPV DBP which was used as a target molecule for the selection of the peptide ligands. The affinity of peptide ligands was measured by ELISA procedures. The novelty and advantage of this invention is the monospecificity quality of the peptide ligands specific for AcNPV DBP which is valuable for diverse applications in basic as well as applied research.

Baculovirus, including Bombyx mori nucleopolyhedrovirus (BmNPV) and Autographa californica nucleopolyhedrovirus (AcNPV), are a diverse family of arthropod viruses that are characterized by large (80 to 180 kb) circular double-stranded DNA (ds DNA) genomes and rodshaped enveloped virions. Both BmNPV and AcNPV are widely employed as vectors for the expression of foreign genes and pest control [1]. The advantage of the baculovirus-insect cell gene expression system in the protein production is that post-translational modifications are similar to those found in mammalian cells [2]. BmNPV has a 128,413 bp-long circular double-stranded DNA genome which encodes 136 potential genes [3]. The organization of the BmNPV genome closely ressembles that of AcNPV [4] which is the most extensively studied baculovirus. Mikhailov et al. [5] have purified and characterized a DNA-binding protein (designated DBP) from nuclear lysates of BmN cells (derived from Bombyx mori) infected with BmNPV. BmNPV DBP contains 317 amino acids and has an apparent molecular mass of 38 kDa. BmNPV DBP is encoded by the open reading frame 16 (ORF 16) located at nucleotides 16189 to 17139 in the BmNPV genome. This ORF is a homolog of AcNPV ORF 25 (96% homology), the product of which has not been identified so far. BmNPV DBP is found to bind preferentially to single-stranded DNA (ssDNA). The DNA binding site of DBP is estimated to be about 30 nucleotides per protein monomer. BmNPV DBP is capable of unwinding partial DNA duplexes in an in vitro system. Also, BmNPV DBP is found to be an early gene product during viral DNA replication (4–6 h postinfection) and it is one of the components of the multiprotein complex (with LEF-3 and IE-1) of the core replication machinery [6]. Thus, DBP appears to be crucial for viral DNA replication. Although baculoviruses, including BmNPV and AcNPV, efficiently replicate in the nuclei of arthropod cells, the dynamics and mechanism of viral DNA replication within the infected cell are currently poorly understood.
Mikhailov et al. [5] have purified the BmNPV DBP, and they, as well as Okano et al. [6] have studied the mechanism of viral DNA replication within the infected cell by using the rabbit polyclonal antibodies against an N-terminal six-His.Tag DBP. However, rabbit polyclonal antibodies are not adequate enough to recognize DBP specifically; monospecificity is needed to study the evolution of DBP and its role during viral DNA replication. Therefore, obtaining peptide ligands specific for DBP is necessary to address this issue, the reason for which the present research was initiated. Compared to the rabbit polyclonal antibodies against an N-terminal six-His.Tag DBP used by Mikhailov et al. [5] and Okano et al. [6], the peptide ligands specifically binding to DBP could be used as a valuable specific tool for diverse applications in basic as well as applied research.
The work reported herein provides the method for the amplification and cloning of the DBP gene from AcNPV, the construction of the expression plasmid for His.Tag AcNPV DBP, and its expression in BL21 (DE3) E. coli cells as well as the purification of the obtained recombinant His.Tag AcNPV DBP by using a column of Ni-NTA His.BindR Resin. The obtained purified His.Tag AcNPV DBP is then used as a target molecule for the selection of the peptide ligands specific for DBP from the FliTrx™ random peptide display library.
The FliTrx™ random peptide display library technique has the most desirable properties of available peptide selection technologies [7]. Understanding interactions between macromolecules is a central theme of biology—with these molecules, complementary in the surface character and shape, usually defining both the specificity and the strength of mutual interactions. Previously, the best method for precisely defining these contact surfaces was to determine the tertiary structure of an interacting complex by X-ray diffraction or by multi-dimensional NMR techniques. However, these approaches are time consuming and are not always feasible. Smith [15] and other researchers [16, 17] thus tried to pioneer a different method and succeeded in enabling huge population of diverse macromolecules to be screened, and specific members of these populations were selected on the basis of their binding affinity to an immobilized target. In this technique, DNA sequences encoding highly diverse libraries of short peptides are fused to the 5′-ends of bacteriophage coat protein genes. Following expression, these fusions were folded and assembled, exposing the random peptides on the bacteriophage surface. The phage/peptide libraries were then given the opportunity to bind to an immobilized target protein, typically a monoclonal antibody; and phage displaying peptides that interact specifically with the target were selectively retained through a washing procedure. Retained phage particles were eluted and then submitted for additional technique; its variations were applied to map a wide range of protein-protein interactions [18–22]. Although the peptide sequence information derived from these studies is useful, the ability to perform structural studies on the obtained peptides is limited both by the low expression levels of phage coat protein genes and by the character of the peptides selected by these systems, which are usually unconstrained molecules possessing many degrees of conformational freedom. To address both of these problems, Lu et al. [7] recently developed an alternative to Smith's display method [15], the FliTrx™ random display library technique. This approach entails the use of the bacterial flagellum to display random peptide libraries on the surface of E. coli. The entire coding sequence of E. coli thioredoxin (trxA) was inserted into a dispensable region of the gene for flagellin (fliC), the major structural component of the E. coli flagellum. The resulting fusion protein (FliTrx) was efficiently exported and assembled into partially functional on the bacteria surface. A diverse library of random dodecapeptides was displayed in FliTrx on the exterior of E. coli as conformationally constrained insertion into the thioredoxin active-site loop, a location known to be a highly permissive site for the insertion of exogenous peptide sequences into native thioredoxin.

Selection of peptide ligands specific for baculovirus DNA-binding protein from the FliTrx™ random peptide display library


A toner supply device for preventing adverse influence caused by a charging failure of toner without scattering toner and generating ozone due to corona discharge and realizing low potential development according to an ETH phenomenon. The toner supply device is provided with the specific electrostatic toner transport substrate on which a plurality electrodes are disposed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine or a printer, and more specifically, to a toner supply device for supplying toner to an electrostatic transport member which carries the toner to a developing position with an electrostatic force and a developing device including the toner supply device.
2. Related Background Art
An image forming apparatus such as a copying machine, a facsimile machine, or a printer is constructed to form an electrostatic latent image on a latent image carrying member such as a photosensitive member, to visualize the electrostatic latent image as a toner image using a one-component developer composed of toner, or a two-component developer composed of toner and carrier, and to directly transfer the toner image to a recording medium such as a transfer paper or indirectly transfer the toner image to a transfer paper via an intermediate transfer member such as an intermediate transfer belt. An example of such an image forming apparatus is disclosed in JP 9-197781 A and JP 9-329947 A. In the prior art image forming apparatus, toner on a surface of a developer carrying member such as a developing roller is transported to a developing to develop an electrostatic latent image on a photosensitive member.
However, there is a problem in the image forming apparatus that that the toner adheres and sticks to the surface of one of the photosensitive member and the developing roller due to friction therebetween to adversely affect an image in quality. In addition, the toner at an developing position is electrostatically moved by a potential difference between the surface of the developing roller and the electrostatic latent image on the photosensitive member. In this case, this potential difference has to be considerably large because, prior to electrostatically moving the toner, the toner should be applied with a force which can overcome an adhesive force between the toner and the developing roller due to a Van der Waals force, an image force so that the toner is released from the adhered state.
On the other hand, an image forming apparatus for developing a toner image without using a developer carrying member such as a developing roller is disclosed in JP2002-341656A. The prior art image forming apparatus is constructed to transport toner to a developing position in an Electrostatic Transport & Hopping (ETH) phenomenon which occurs on a surface of an electrostatic transport substrate on which plural electrodes are disposed at a predetermined pitch. In the ETH phenomenon, energy in a phase shift electric field acting on powder or fine particles is converted into mechanical energy so that the fine particles themselves are dynamically varied. In other words, the ETH phenomenon causes the fine particles to jump with a component in a traveling direction owing to the phase shift electric field on the surface of the electrostatic transport substrate so that both the movement or carrying in a direction along the surface of the substrate and the movement or hopping in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the substrate are performed. Therefore, when the toner on the surface of the electrostatic transport substrate is carried to the developing position while eliminating the adhesive force in the ETH phenomenon, a desirable low potential development, which cannot be expected in the developing device of the structure using the developer carrying member, can be realized. For example, it is also possible to selectively adhere toner to an electrostatic latent image which has a potential difference of only several tens of volts betoween an image portion and a non-image portion of the electrostatic latent image.
In the developing device of the prior art image forming apparatus, however, a sufficiently charged toner cannot be supplied to the electrostatic transport substrate, with the result that a satisfactory development can not be performed. Usually, toner can be charged due to friction by an agitator in a toner hopper or a doctor blade when the toner is drawn up to a surface of a charging roller from the toner hopper. However, there is a problem that the toner cannot be charged sufficiently by the agitator or the doctor blade with such a low friction.
To solve the problem, the toner may be charged by a corona discharging device. However, it is likely that a large quantity of toner is scattered by impact caused. by the corona discharge. In addition, since ozone is generated by the corona discharge, this is not preferable for the environment.
Moreover, it is to be noted that a developer should be supplied to a photosensitive member such that the developer is distributed uniformly over an entire length of the photosensitive member. Thus, conventionally, a toner agitating and transport screw device having a spiral screw formed on an outer periphery of a main shaft is used for agitating and transporting toner to a toner supply device. Examples of such a toner agitating and transport screw device are disclosed in JP 2001-331024 A, JP 2001-331025 A, and JP 10-221937 A, or JP 3319844 B.
However, as an amount of toner consumption per unit time in a developing device of a recent image forming apparatus increases in accordance with an increase in copying or speed, it has been demanded to supply toner rapidly and mix and agitate the toner sufficiently in short time to increase a charging amount of the toner to a suitable level for development. However, the prior art agitating and transport screw device having a screw-like vane cannot meet such a demand for the developing device of the recent image forming apparatus.

Developing device using electrostatic transport member


The present invention provides an apparatus for efficiently transporting or dispensing transport objects including not only particles but also liquid samples. A liquid in a first liquid transport pipe (3) is fed at a liquid feed velocity (V1), and a liquid droplet is formed toward an open end of a second liquid transport pipe (4) disposed with an air gap (11) in between. The particle is released into the liquid droplet, so that the particle is enclosed in the liquid droplet. Suction with a liquid feed velocity (V2) is applied to the inside of the second liquid transport pipe. Since the relationship between V1 and V2 is V1<V2, the liquid droplet, after reaching the open end (10) of the second liquid transport pipe, is sheared off by suction, thereby forming a liquid section in the second liquid transport pipe. Thus, the particle in the liquid section, held under surface tension on a gas-liquid phase boundary, can be transported into a particle array container with stability in conjunction with the liquid section.

With the genome project going forward, there has been an active move afoot to grasp a living organism at the DNA or protein level for examination for disease or understanding of the phenomena of life. To examine the status of gene expression is effective for the understanding of the phenomena of life or the investigation of the workings of genes. A probe array, namely, a DNA chip or a protein chip, having many DNA probes or protein probes partitioned according to the type of probe and immobilized on the surface of a solid body such as slide glass, has come into use as an effective method for examination of the status of gene expression. Chip making methods include a method that involves synthesizing a designed sequence of oligomers, base by base, with many compartmented cells, using photochemical reaction and lithography that is widely used in the semiconductor industry (Science 251, 767-773 (1991)), and a method that involves implanting plural types of probes, one by one, in compartments (Science 270, 467-470 (1995); and Nat. Biotechnol. 18, 438-441 (2000)).
With any of these methods, the fabrication of the chip requires the immobilization of the DNA probes or the protein probes on each array, or the base-by-base synthesis of the oligomers if specialized for the DNA probes; hence the fabrication takes time and effort, resulting in high costs. Also, the probes are generally mounted as liquid droplets on the surface of the solid body, which in turn involves problems in that there is compartment-to-compartment variation, that it is not easy to make varying combinations of the types of probes, and that manipulation is not easy for a user, and so on.
To solve the above problems, there has been a proposal of a probe array, namely, a particle array, having a collection of plural types of particles, which are prepared by immobilizing the DNA probes or the protein probes on the particles (Clinical Chemistry 43, 1749-1756 (1997); Nucleic Acids Research 30, e87 (2002); and Description in U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,540). The advantage of the probe array using the particles is that the probe array can be fabricated without particle-to-particle variation in probe density since a probe immobilization method utilizing chemical reaction in a solution can be employed.
For the DNA chip or the protein chip, a method that involves identifying the type of probe by any one of the point of oligomer formation and the point of probe spot is adopted. Meanwhile, for the probe array using the particles having the probes immobilized thereon, any one of a method using a color-coded particle for each probe (Clinical Chemistry 43, 1749-1756 (1997); and Description in U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,540) and a method that involves identifying the type of probe by the sequence in which the particles are arranged in a capillary or in a micro fluid channel chip (Nucleic Acids Research 30, e87 (2002); Japanese Patent No. 3593525; and Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-17224) is adopted.
For the conventional DNA chip or protein chip, for quantitative analysis of plural types of probes contained in a test sample, the reaction with the oligomers or the DNA or protein probes immobilized on the chip is allowed to occur, which takes from half a day to a day. On the other hand, for the probe array in which the particles are arranged in the capillary (Nucleic Acids Research 30 e87 (2002)), namely, the particle array, the test sample is forced to flow into and through the capillary. Since the particle array is more likely to enable a reduction in gene testing time as compared to the conventional method, it is measuring technology capable of not only being used in a relatively large-scale clinical test center but also being used for in-hospital or on-the-spot summary measurement, namely, Point of Care Testing (POCT). For example, the particle array can be expected to come into use as a means for quickly detecting a foreign gene that does not exist in a pathogenic microbe genome in itself, for an infection or bacteria test or the like for which a prompt diagnosis is urgently required.
For practical use of the particle array adopting the method that involves identifying the type of probe by the sequence in which the particles are arranged in the capillary (Nucleic Acids Research 30, e87 (2002)), the establishment of a method for selecting any given probe-immobilized particle in accordance with what purpose a test is used for and thereby arraying the particles as desired is essential, and thus, there have been proposals of several methods. For example, the methods include a method that involves effecting the flowing of the particles into the capillary, utilizing the flow of liquid, while performing individual control of the particles one by one (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 11-243997), and a method in which only one particle selected from among plural particles introduced in conjunction with a solvent is held on a sheet having formed therein a microscopic hole that admits only one particle, and the sheet is moved, with the particle held thereon, to the position of a channel formed in any one of the capillary and a flat sheet, whereby the particles are arranged (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-346842). However, these methods have a problem with reliability or usability because of often taking in the particles unsuccessfully under the influence of air bubbles.
Therefore, there has been a proposal of a method that involves using a particle capturing nozzle to capture, and manipulate, only one particle on its tip suction unit from within a container stocked with plural particles having probes of one and the same type immobilized thereon in conjunction with a solution (Japanese Patent No. 3593525; Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-17224; and Analytical Chemistry 75, 3250-3255 (2003)). This method enables arraying the particles in intended sequence.    Patent Literature 1: Description in U.S. Pat. No. 6,023,540    Patent Literature 2: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. Hei 11-243997    Patent Literature 3: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-346842    Patent Literature 4: Japanese Patent No. 3593525    Patent Literature 5: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2005-17224    Non-patent Literature 1: Science 251, 767-773 (1991)    Non-patent Literature 2: Science 270, 467-470 (1995)    Non-patent Literature 3: Nat. Biotechnol. 18, 438-441 (2000)    Non-patent Literature 4: Clinical Chemistry 43, 1749-1756 (1997)    Non-patent Literature 5: Nucleic Acids Research 30, e87 (2002)    Non-patent Literature 6: Analytical Chemistry 75, 3250-3255 (2003)

Method of liquid droplet formation and transport apparatus therefor and particle manipulating apparatus


A system for detection and avoidance may include an image capture system configured to be connected to a vehicle, the image capture system being configured to obtain and transmit images, and a detection system configured to communicate with the vehicle and/or an operator of the vehicle, the detection system being configured to receive the images, process the images to identify an object, determine whether the object will potentially strike the vehicle, generate a strike avoidance report including information indicating that a potential strike will occur and an avoidance command to avoid the potential strike in response to a determination that the potential strike will occur, and send the strike avoidance report to a vehicle management system.

Many modern commercial aircraft are designed to withstand impacts with small objects (e.g., birds) without affecting the safe operation of the aircraft. While impacts with certain small objects may not generally affect the safety of the aircraft, such impacts may have effect on the aerodynamic performance of the aircraft or create other inconsistencies of operation.
Furthermore, aircraft regulatory rules may require a diversion or turn back of the aircraft or enhanced inspections of the aircraft if an object strikes the aircraft even if the strike does not result in any damage. As a result, mid-air impacts may result in significant costs for an airline and other aircraft operators.
However, impacts with small objects may be a safety issue for certain non-commercial aircraft. For example, unmanned aerial vehicles and other relatively small aircraft may have less capacity to carry systems and structures that are resistant to damage from a bird strike. A bird strike may cause a significant issue for aircraft with stealth capabilities by causing inconsistencies in the coatings or other features than make the aircraft stealthy.
Additionally, even a relatively small object can cause significant surface damage to the aircraft. For example, a small bird colliding with an airplane (e.g., at takeoff or cruising speeds) may impact with a force of about two tons or more.
The majority of historical bird strikes occurred at altitudes below 3000 feet. Typical current bird detection and avoidance systems and schemes are ground based (e.g., dogs, falcons, air cannons, and radar systems) and are ineffective at distances beyond an airport and do not protect from mid-air strikes throughout the movement envelope.

System and method for detection and avoidance


An X-ray system comprises: (a) a source providing an X-ray diverging beam having treatment and imaging angular portions; (b) one or more lenses transforming the treatment portion of the X-ray beam into a converging beam directed to a target; (c) a first shutter located between the X-ray source and the target in the imaging portion of the X-ray radiation; the first shutter being selectively openable such that imaging portion of X-ray beam reaches the target; and (d) a detector configured to detect at least a portion of the imaging radiation after the imaging radiation has interacted with the target to provide imaging information of the target.

X-ray radiation can be used for a wide range of applications, including X-ray therapy and X-ray surgery, various X-ray imaging applications, sensing and detection applications. In these and other applications, the X-ray radiation is directed to a target which can be a tissue or other object at a desired location. It is desirable to properly aim the X-ray beam to a desired point or location on the target in many applications.

Imaging-guided delivery of X-ray radiation


A suppressor is structured by an ion exchange section being structured by an eluate path forming member forming an eluate path and a regenerant path forming member forming a regenerant path being stacked across an ion exchange film, and a heat-conductive heat block covering the outside of the ion exchange section. A separation column, the suppressor, and an electrical conductivity meter are accommodated in a common constant temperature bath. The inside of the constant temperature bath is feedback-controlled by a temperature control section so as to be maintained at constant temperature.

An ion chromatograph introduces a sample into a separation column and separates the sample into component ions, and then, guides an eluate from the separation column into an electrical conductivity meter cell and detects the electrical conductivity, to thereby detect component ions. At this time, in order to reduce the electrical conductivity of the eluate by removing nontarget ions in the eluate from the separation column and to enable highly sensitive measurement, a suppressor is arranged between the separation column and a detector (see Patent Document 1).
As general suppressors, those that suppress the electrical conductivity of the eluate by a column filled with ion-exchange resin as a filler, and those that suppress the electrical conductivity of the eluate by arranging an eluate path and a regenerant path that face each other across an ion exchange film, and causing an eluate and a regenerant to flow through the paths are known. However, these suppressors have the following problems.
First, the electrical conductivity meter is very sensitive to temperature, and thus, there is a problem that an electrical conductivity signal changes even by a slight variation in the temperature of liquid that is introduced into the cell or the ambient temperature, appearing as a noise in the chromatogram.
Also, since the detection sensitivity is determined by the S/N ratio, the detection sensitivity is increased to the extent that the noise is smaller, even if the output signal of the detector with respect to the density is the same. The degree of change in the electrical conductivity by the temperature is greater as the electrical conductivity of liquid is higher. In the case of an ion chromatograph, in order to separate an ionic sample using a separation column containing ion-exchange resin, a highly ionic eluate is indispensable, and as a result, the electrical conductivity of the eluate is increased. Accordingly, although the electrical conductivity of the eluate from the column, that is, background electrical conductivity, is suppressed by the suppressor, it is not possible to completely eliminate the background electrical conductivity. Accordingly, there is a problem that, when the temperature of the suppressor changes due to a change in the ambient temperature of the suppressor, the temperature of the eluate from the suppressor also changes, and the background electrical conductivity of the eluate is changed under the influence, and the measurement accuracy is reduced.


A local interconnect structure includes a substrate having a dielectric layer and at least one semiconductor contact structure embedded in the dielectric layer. An electrically conductive material is deposited in a non-eroded contact trench that defines at least one electrically conducive contact via. The contact via extends from a first end that is flush with an upper surface of the dielectric layer to a second end that contacts the at one semiconductor contact structure. A local conductive material layer is formed in the dielectric layer and contacts the first end of the contact via. The non-eroded contact trench includes sharp upper corners formed at approximately ninety degrees with respect to the first end of the contact via.

The present invention relates generally to integrated circuits, and more specifically, to integrated circuit interconnect structures.
Integrated circuits (ICs) are typically fabricated from one or more layers of different materials. Some layers, such as polysilicon layers, are used to form semiconductor devices, while other layers, such as patterned metal layers, provide electrical connections between semiconductor devices. Referring to FIG. 1, a conventional intermediate interconnect structure 100 is illustrated following deposition of an optical planarization layer (OPL) 102. The intermediate interconnect structure 100 includes one or more dielectric layers 104 configured to isolate one or more metal contacts such as, for example, source/drain (S/D) metal contacts 106 and gate metal contacts 108. The OPL 102 is typically used as a masking layer to form one or more local metal layers (M0) (not shown).
Local contact vias are typically formed in the dielectric layer 104 so as to establish contact between the metal contacts 106/108 and a respective local metal layer (M0). For example, a first set of trenches 110 are formed through the dielectric layer 104 in preparation for forming a first set of local contact vias (CA) intended to contact the S/D metal contacts 106. Similarly, a second set of trenches 112 are formed through the dielectric layer 104 in preparation for forming a second set of local contact vias (CB) intended to contact the gate metal contacts 108. When filling the trenches 110/112 with the OPL 102, however, a portion of the OPL's upper surface 114 located above the contact trenches 110/112 is formed non-planar with respect to the remaining upper surface 114 of the OPL 102 due to the depth of the contact trenches 110/112. As shown in FIG. 1, for example, a portion of the OPL upper surface located above the trenches 110/112 may become concaved thereby forming a crater region 116 in the OPL 102. Thus, the crater region 116 region may have a first height (H1) that is below a second height (H2) of the remaining OPL upper surface 114.
A photoresist layer 118 is typically deposited on the OPL upper surface 114 and patterned in preparation for forming the local metal layers (M0) (See FIG. 2). However, the crater regions 116 cause over-etched corners 120 in the M0 pattern 122. Following the removal of the OPL layer 102, the over-etched corners 120 cause the formation of eroded CA and/or CB contact trenches 124, i.e., contact trenches where the corners 126 are not ninety degrees (see FIG. 3). The eroded contact trenches 124 can lead to electrical shorting (i.e., short-circuit paths) between the subsequent local metal layer M0 (i.e., the metal layer formed after filling the M0 patterns) and any underlying contact levels.

Local interconnect structure including non-eroded contact via trenches

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


There is provided a stand for a display device. The stand includes a base unit supporting the display device. A main link unit is hinged between the display device and the base unit. A pair of auxiliary links is eccentrically connected to hinges of the main link unit at different positions. A torsion spring includes at least one end connected to the pair of auxiliary links for applying an elastic force to the pair of auxiliary links. The main link unit has a smaller thickness, and thus the size of the stand can be reduced. The stand allows for convenient and smooth operation of the display device. Further, since the spring has a simple structure, the stand can be manufactured through a simple process with less cost. Furthermore, the outer appearance of the stand can be simple.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a stand for a display device, and more particularly, to a stand for a display device having an enhanced elastic member for the stand so as to be provided with a small main link and to be smoothly movable.
2. Description of the Related Art
A typical stand for a display device includes a base unit placed on a horizontal surface and a main link connecting the base unit to a monitor main body of the display device. The main link has a lower end rotatably supported by a pair of brackets fixed to the base unit, and an upper end connected to the monitor main body and allowing adjustment of the monitor main body to a desired tilting angle.
A recent stand further includes a auxiliary link that facilitates unfolding of the main link. Generally, the auxiliary link includes two parallel link members and a tension spring (also referred to as a spring) disposed between the two link members.
The function of the spring will now be described. When the stand is place on a horizontal surface in an upright position, the shape of the spring is not changed. However, when the stand is folded, the spring is stretched. Thus, when the stand is unfolded, the link members of the auxiliary link are pulled toward each other by the elastic force of the spring, thereby rapidly returning the stand to the upright position.
As mentioned above, the spring formed on the auxiliary link is generally disposed between the link members. The spring has a thickness of at least 1 cm to exert a tension force when the stand is unfolded.
Further, the link members of the auxiliary link must be thicker than the spring in order to stably support the spring. Therefore, the thickness of the main link is disadvantageously thick since the auxiliary link is thick.
Furthermore, since the spring installed on the auxiliary link is thick, the stand is not smoothly unfolded.


The method for producing an optical member of the present invention includes: a step (1) of applying a lower layer resin and an upper layer resin; a step (2) of pressing a die against the lower layer resin and the upper layer resin from the upper layer resin side, so as to form a resin layer including an uneven structure on a surface thereof; and a step (3) of curing the resin layer to form the polymer layer, wherein the lower layer resin contains an amide group, the lower layer resin has an amide group concentration of 1.5 mmol/g or more and less than 5 mmol/g, and the polymer layer has a minimum storage modulus E′ of 1×108 Pa or higher and 1×109 Pa or lower at a bottom temperature of 110° C. or higher and 210° C. or lower.

Various optical members having antireflective properties have been studied (for example, Patent Literatures 1 to 4). In particular, optical members including a nanometer-sized uneven structure (nanostructure) are known for their excellent antireflective properties. This uneven structure has a continuously varying refractive index from the air layer to the substrate, thereby capable of reducing the reflected light significantly.

Method for producing optical member and optical member


A highly integrated central processing unit employs a single external physical bus having first and second protocols to support an L2 cache and a general purpose peripheral interface respectively, to avoid bond-out of the CPU bus to the external world and to steal unused bandwidth for L2 cache accesses while maintaining a standard peripheral bus interface.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to computer systems, and more particularly to a system and method of interfacing a highly integrated microprocessor to a secondary level (L2) cache.
2. Description of Related Art
The trend with integrated circuits, particularly microprocessors, is for greater integration of sub-systems onto a single die which were traditionally provided for off-chip. As a consequence, integrated circuit die sizes are increasing--requiring larger packages. Moreover, another consequence of the increased integration is the so-called "pad-width limited" phenomenon wherein the required interconnections between the die and the outside world have increased to a point where package size and peripheral bond pad widths are approaching theoretical limits.
As way of further background, the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus is a widely adopted protocol for use as a so-called "local" or "mezzanine" bus to couple external devices, such as, but not limited to, a video display adapter or memory controller, to a central processing unit (CPU) core without interfering with activity on the immediate "CPU bus". Accordingly, ancillary activities can take place substantially simultaneously without inducing much latency into CPU core execution. The PCI-bus protocol is described in, among other places, the PCI Local Bus Specification Rev. 2.0, dated Apr. 30, 1993, by the PCI Special Interest Group, Hillsboro, Oreg., and the Microprocessor Report article entitled Local Buses Poised To Enter PC Mainstream, dated Jul. 8, 1992, by Michael Slater and Mark Thorson, both herein incorporated by reference.
While the local or mezzanine bus such as the PCI bus provides a decoupled, high bandwidth (with respect to an ISA bus) communication channel with the CPU core, its speed has not kept up with the internal speed of the CPU core. This is due, in part, to the somewhat cumbersome protocol required to support a wide range and variety of peripherals. Currently, for example, the PCI-bus is specified for 33 MHz operation while internal CPU core speeds are exceeding 100 MHz. Additionally, the communication channel bandwidth provided by the local or mezzanine bus tends to be utilized in disjointed temporal chunks--leaving large portions unused.
In traditional microprocessor systems designs, the level-two "L2" cache resides external to the CPU core along with external support logic. The L2 cache is typically coupled to the CPU core through the external CPU bus (address, data, and control lines) and is controlled by the external support logic. This type of L2 cache configuration (along with PCI-bus support circuitry) is exemplified in the Microprocessor Report article entitled Intel Unveils First PCI Chip Set, dated Dec. 9, 1992, by Michael Slater, and in the Microprocessor Report article entitled Digital Reveals PCI Chip Sets For Alpha, dated Jul. 12, 1993, by Linley Gwennap. A drawback with this L2 cache configuration is that the CPU bus must be made external--compounding the required number of pins, pad-width limitations, and packaging size limitations.
Another L2 cache configuration is exemplified in the Microprocessor Report article entitled Intel's P6 Uses De-coupled Superscalar Design, dated Feb. 16, 1995, by Linley Gwennap. This configuration employs the so-called Multi-Chip-Module (MCM) wherein two or more separate die are included in one physical package. In the particular case of the P6 microprocessor, the L2 cache resides on a separate die from the CPU core and is coupled together by a dedicated L2 cache bus rather than the CPU bus. A drawback with this configuration is that the L2 cache type and size must be fixed at the time of manufacture of the MCM. Another drawback with this configuration is that the entire MCM must be scrapped if either the L2 cache or the CPU core is defective. Yet another drawback with this configuration is that the dedicated cache bus must be bonded internally within the package between the CPU core and the L2 cache--increasing the package size and cost.
As a way of further background, the PCI Local Bus Specification Rev. 2.0 defines optional cache support pins (SBO# and SDONE) for cacheable memory. This approach however, has at least two limitations. First, the SBO# and SDONE pins are intended only to support cache memory local to a PCI master device on the PCI-bus which typically is separate and disenfranchised from the CPU core. Secondly, adherence to the PCI-bus protocol throttles L2 cache performance.
As a way of yet even further background, integrating a PCI-bus master and support logic into the CPU requires additional die space and more importantly, an addition of a minimum of forty-nine external pins. Consequently, up until now, integrating a PCI-bus and supporting an L2 cache (requiring access to the CPU bus or a dedicated bus) has been impracticable due to pin, pad width, packaging, and cost limitations.
Accordingly, it can be seen that there is a need for a system and method of interfacing an L2 cache to a highly integrated central processing unit employing a local bus without limiting L2 cache performance, while maintaining a general purpose local bus that is compatible with a standard protocol.

Interfacing an L2 cache to a single bus having alternative protocols


A method for transmitting a physical channel in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) communication system capable of carrier aggregation is provided for supporting aggregation of carriers having different TDD configurations. The communication method of a terminal in a TDD radio communication system accomplishing broadband through carrier aggregation of primary and secondary cells, of which aggregated carriers have different TDD Uplink-Downlink (UL-DL) configurations, includes receiving Physical Downlink Shared Channel (PDSCH) through the secondary cell, and transmitting acknowledgement information corresponding to the PDSCH to a base station, where acknowledgement information is transmitted on a Physical Uplink Control CHannel (PUCCH) of the primary cell.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a mobile communication system. More particularly, the present invention relates to a method for transmitting a physical channel in a Time Division Duplex (TDD) communication system capable of carrier aggregation which supports aggregation of carriers having different TDD configurations.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, research is being actively conducted on Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiple Access (OFDMA) and Single Carrier-Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) as high speed data transmission techniques over radio channel. Multiple access techniques are used to allow multiple users to share the radio spectrum by allocating distinct time-frequency resources carrying data or control information to respective users, i.e., maintaining orthogonality.
One of the significant features of the mobile communication system is to support scalable bandwidth for providing a high speed wireless data service. For example, the Long Term Evolution (LTE) system is capable of supporting various bandwidths, e.g., 20/15/5/3/1.4 Mhz. Meanwhile, the LTE-Advanced (LTE-A) system can support high data rate transmission over a wide bandwidth up to 100 MHz for a single User Equipment (UE) with carrier aggregation. The mobile carriers can provide their services with one of the available bandwidths. A UE can operate with various capabilities of minimum 1.4 MHz bandwidth up to 20 MHz bandwidth.
In order to support the high data rate transmission, the LTE-A system uses bandwidth wider than that of the LTE system while preserving backward compatibility to the legacy systems for supporting the LTE UEs. This means that it is required for the LTE terminals to attach to the LTE-A system to receive service.
For the backward compatibility, the system bandwidth of the LTE-A system is divided into a plurality of sub-bands or Component Carriers (CC). In the LTE-A system, the component carriers are aggregated for the high data rate transmission for transmission/reception of the data generated per component carrier. Accordingly, the LTE-A system is capable of providing LTE UEs with high speed data transmission service using the transmission/reception processes of legacy LTE system per component carrier.
The component carriers or cells are classified into a Primary Cell (PCell) and a Secondary Cell (SCell) according to their importance in view of the UE. From the UE's viewpoint, there is one PCell, and other cells of the UE are SCells. In the current LTE-A system, the uplink control channel can be transmitted only in the PCell while the uplink data channels can be transmitted in both the PCell and the SCells.
Typically, the scheduling information for the data to be transmitted on the component carriers is transmitted to the UE in Downlink Control Information (DCI). The DCI is generated in a different DCI format according to whether scheduling information is of uplink or downlink, whether the DCI is compact DCI, whether spatial multiplexing with multiple antennas is applied, and whether the DCI is the power control DCI. For example, the DCI format 1 for the control information about downlink data to which Multiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) is not applied includes the following control information.                Resource allocation type 0/1 flag: It notifies the UE of whether the resource allocation type is type 0 or type 1. Here, type 0 indicates resource allocation in a unit of Resource Block Group (RBG) in bitmap method. In LTE and LTE-A systems, the basic scheduling unit is a Resource Block (RB) representing time and frequency resource, and RBG includes a plurality of RBs and basic scheduling unit of type 0. Type 1 indicates allocation of specific RB in RBG.        Resource block assignment: It notifies the UE of RB allocated for data transmission. At this time, the resource expressed according to the system bandwidth and resource allocation scheme is determined.        Modulation and coding scheme: It notifies the UE of modulation scheme and coding rate applied for data transmission.        Hybrid Automatic Repeat reQuest (HARQ) process number: It notifies the UE of a HARQ process number.        New data indicator: It notifies the UE of whether the transmission is a HARQ initial transmission or retransmission.        Redundancy version: It notifies the UE of redundancy version of a HARQ.        Transport Power Control (TPC) command for a Physical Uplink Control CHannel (PUCCH): It notifies the UE of a power control command for PUCCH as uplink control channel.
The DCI is channel-coded and modulated and transmitted through Physical Downlink Control Channel (PDCCH).
FIG. 1 illustrates a self-scheduling scheme according to the related art. FIG. 1 illustrates a case where an evolved Node B (eNB) schedules downlink data for a UE with two aggregated carriers (CC#1, CC#2) in the LTE system.
Referring to FIG. 1, a DCI 1 101 to be transmitted on a CC#1 109 is generated with a format defined in the legacy LTE, and channel coded and interleaved as denoted by reference number 103 so as to be carried in PDCCH 105. The PDCCH 105 carries the scheduling information about the Physical Downlink Shared CHannel (PDSCH) 107 as the data channel allocated to the UE on the CC#1 109.
A DCI 111 transmitted on a CC#2 119 is formatted as defined in the legacy LTE standard, channel-coded, and interleaved as denoted by reference number 113 to generate PDCCH 115. The PDCCH 115 carries the scheduling information about a PDSCH 117 as the data channel allocated to the UE on the CC#2 119.
In the LTE-A system supporting carrier aggregation, the data and/or DCI for supporting the data transmission can be transmitted per component carrier as shown in FIG. 1. In order to secure a high reception reliability of the UE, DCI can be transmitted on another component carrier different from the component carrier carrying the data. This is referred to as cross-carrier scheduling and described with reference to FIG. 2.
FIG. 2 illustrates a cross-carrier scheduling scheme according to the related art. FIG. 2 illustrates a case of the scheduling operation to a LTE-A UE capable of using aggregated component carriers CC#1 209 and CC#2 219.
Referring to FIG. 2, the CC#2 219 experiences significant interference compared to CC#1 209 such that it is difficult to satisfy a predefined DCI reception performance requirement for data transmission on the CC#2 219. In this case, an eNB may transmit the DCI on the CC#1 209 under the assumption that the UE knows that the DCI carrying the scheduling information about the data transmitted on CC#2 219 is transmitted on the CC#1 209.
Since any error occurring in data transmission can be corrected later through HARQ, there is no problem in transmitting data on the CC#2 although significant interference exists thereon. In order to make it possible to operate as above, the eNB needs to transmit a Carrier Indicator (CI) indicating the component carrier targeted by the DCI along with the DCI indicating the resource allocation information and transmission format of the scheduled data. For example, CI='000' indicates CC#1 209 and, CI='001' indicates CC#2 219.
Accordingly, the eNB combines a DCI 201 indicating resource allocation information and transmission format of the scheduled data 207 and carrier indicator 202 to generate an extended DCI, performs channel coding, modulation, and interleaving as denoted by reference number 203 on the extended DCI to generate PDCCH, and maps the PDCCH to the PDCCH region 205 of CC#1 209. The eNB also combines a DCI 211 indicating the resource allocation information and transmission format of data 217 scheduled on CC#2 219 and a carrier indicator 212 to generate an extended DCI, performs channel coding, modulation and interleaving as denoted by reference number 213 on the extended DCI to generate PDCCH, and maps the PDCCH not to a PDCCH region 215 of CC#1 219 but to a PDCCH region 205 of CC#1 209.
The TDD system uses a common frequency for uplink and downlink which are discriminated in time domain. In the LTE TDD system, the uplink and downlink signals are discriminated by subframe. In the LTE system, the subframe has a length of 1 ms, and 10 subframes form a radio frame.
The distribution of uplink and downlink subframes can be adapted to the traffic load so as to be in a time domain symmetrically (i.e., an equal number of DL and UL subframes) or asymmetrically (i.e., downlink heavy or uplink heavy).
TABLE 1Uplink-downlinkSubframe numberconfiguration01234567890DSUUUDSUUU1DSUUDDSUUD2DSUDDDSUDD3DSUUUDDDDD4DSUUDDDDDD5DSUDDDDDDD6DSUUUDSUUD
Table 1 shows TDD configurations (TDD uplink-downlink configurations) defined in an LTE standard. In Table 1, subframe numbers 0 through 9 indicate the indices of subframes constituting one radio frame. Here, 'D' denotes a subframe reserved for downlink transmission, 'U' denotes a subframe reserved for uplink transmission, and 'S' denotes the special subframe.
The Downlink Pilot Time Slot (DwPTS) can carry the downlink control information as the normal subframe does. If the DwPTS is long enough according to the configuration state of the special subframe, it is possible to also carry the downlink data. The Guard Period (GP) is the interval required for downlink-to-uplink switch and its length is determined according to the network configuration. The Uplink Pilot Time Slot (UpPTS) can be used for transmitting UE's Sounding Reference Signal (SRS) for uplink channel state estimation and UE's Random Access CHannel (RACH).
For example, in a case of TDD uplink-downlink configuration #6, the eNB can transmit downlink data and/or control information at subframes #0, #5, and #9 and uplink data and/control information at subframes #2, #3, #4, #7, and #8. Here, # indicates a number or an index. Special subframes #1 and #6 can be used for transmitting downlink control information and/or downlink data selectively and SRS or RACH in uplink.
Since the downlink or uplink transmission is allowed for a specific time duration in the TDD system, the timing relationship among the uplink and downlink physical channels needs to be defined, such as control channel for data scheduling, scheduled data channel, and HARQ ACKnowledgement/Non-ACKnowledgement (ACK/NACK) channel corresponding to the data channel.
As described above, when multiple cells are operating with different TDD UL-DL configurations, the HARQ ACK/NACK transmission which has to be carried in a specific uplink subframe of the PCell does not occur synchronized to the TDD UL-DL configuration.
Therefore, a need exists for a method for transmitting a physical channel in a TDD communication system capable of carrier aggregation which supports aggregation of carriers having different TDD configurations.
The above information is presented as background information only to assist with an understanding of the present disclosure. No determination has been made, and no assertion is made, as to whether any of the above might be applicable as prior art with regard to the present invention.

Mobile communication system and channel transmission/reception method thereof


According to the present invention, a method is provided enabling an analog modem to dial out while a dial tone is interrupted or stuttered due to at least one unheard message at a Central Office for a subscriber to Call Answer is provided . Call Answer is an automated voice messaging system which causes the dial tone of a phone line connected to the modem, to be either interrupted or stuttered when a message is waiting for the subscriber. Users of the present invention are able to receive on-line access faster than users of the prior art. The method of the present invention implements a software program within the modem. By comparing the elapsed length of the dial tone with two predetermined time values (a maximum and a minimum), the method detects the presence and status of the dial tone and informs the modem of the status of the dial tone. Provided that a dial tone is present, whether uninterrupted, interrupted or stuttered, the modem proceeds to dial out.

Prior art modems suffer from the disadvantage of requiring steady uninterrupted dial tone in order to dial out. The presence of at least one unheard message in a voice mailbox for a subscriber's line, in connection with which a central office Call Answer feature has been activated, causes an interrupted or stuttered dial tone on the line. In order for the modem to dial out, the interrupted or stuttered dial tone must be returned to its regular uninterrupted state, which requires the subscriber of the phone line to retrieve unheard messages from the voice mailbox. The inability of prior art modems to dial out in the presence of interrupted dial tone imposes delays in modem activation and frustration for the modem user who wishes to have quick access to on-line features via the modem.

Method of operating a modem in the presence of interrupted dial tone


A control knob device that may be used in a vehicle to control audio volume or the like includes a shaft connected with a knob cap, an elastic member pressed by the shaft to be elastically deformed, and a switch located adjacent to the elastic member. The switch includes a switch part configured to output a signal upon a deformation of the elastic member. A deformable member deformed by a load greater than that when the elastic member is deformed and the switch outputs the signal, is configured to change a relative position between the knob cap and the shaft.

1. Field
Embodiments of the present invention relate to a control knob device, and more particularly, to a control knob device used in a vehicle or the like to control e.g., audio volume.
2. Description of the Related Art
A knob configured to turn on/off power, control volume, or change frequency is provided at a front panel of an audio-video (AV) system, which is installed in a vehicle, to protrude by a predetermined height.
In general, the height of the knob protruding from the front panel is 11 mm or more, and this is because the knob should protrude by the predetermined height or more so that a user may operate the knob manually. The protruding height of the knob may be 14 to 15 mm to provide a satisfactory feeling when a user operates the AV system.
However, the European automobile safety standard (ECE R-214), which defines vehicle internal components, defines that a component such as a switch and a pushing knob formed of a hard material should be reduced to a length of 9.5 mm or less, or should be chipped off for passengers' safety, when a vertical load having a certain force (37.8 daN) is applied thereto. The Indian automobile safety standard (IS15223:2002-4.1.5) also requires the above conditions. This is to prevent physical damage which may occur when a driver's head collides with the highly protruding knob.
The automobile-related industry has made continued efforts to satisfy the automobile safety standard having the most stringent conditions and also to satisfy the user's operation and esthetic preference. As part of these efforts, a design in which the front panel around the knob was recessed to be inclined was applied to improve feeling when the user grips the knob. However, the design had a problem in that the overall esthetic feeling of a vehicle interior was reduced, and satisfaction was not sufficient with the recessed portion. As another part of the efforts, it was considered to allow the knob break and contract at the time of collision. However, this caused inconvenience and repair cost due to the broken knob.
Korean Paten Publication No. 10-2009-0009466 discloses a shock absorbing structure of a knob for a vehicle audio system, which is capable of absorbing a shock having a certain pressure applied to the knob configured to operate the vehicle audio system and thus minimizing passenger injury due to contact with the passenger.