A method is provided for computing a composite image representing a focused image of an object in an application of machine vision in an optical inspection system. An image tessellated into focus regions is evaluated by region for fine feature sharpness. A sharpness image is computed for each focused region using a fine feature sharpness measurement. A focused composite image is computed by combining as a weighted average, the images at several focus settings, using the sharpness image at each focus setting as the weight. The focused composite image can be further analyzed, inspected, or otherwise processed.

This invention relates to the field of machine vision, and its application in obtaining an optimally focused image of an object under analysis. Specifically, the invention addresses a need for obtaining an optimally focused image under high magnification of a portion of a transparent or translucent surface that is not perfectly flat, though, it can be used to inspect the surface of virtually any object.
Inspection operations in an industrial environment are typically performed to characterize manufacturing operations, and to ensure that quality and product specification requirements are met. Many inspection operations can be extremely tedious for human operators performing manual inspection, and the application of machine vision is typically used to improve the consistency and accuracy of an inspection operation, while relieving an inspection operator from performing the task. For example, the application of machine vision-assisted inspection of fiber optic cable assemblies has recently been the subject of much development.
Fiber optic cable assembly operations require the inspection of fiber optic cable end faces to ensure that fiber connections do not degrade optical signal transmission. Scratches, cracks, and debris on critical areas of the interconnection interface may result in defective operation, or result in a degradation of performance. High-magnification inspection of the fiber end face is typically performed during assembly to inspect the condition and cleanliness of the fiber.
Inspection of the end face of a fiber optic cable is inherently difficult because of the properties and characteristics of the fiber. The regions of the fiber end face that require inspection are generally translucent, and exhibit low contrast of features when imaged for machine vision applications. The translucent nature of the fiber optic cable contributes to difficult lighting conditions since illumination intended for inspection of the surface also enters the fiber, and may reflect back into the machine vision system, causing image noise. Moreover, images of similar fiber ends typically appear significantly different under identical lighting conditions.
Automation of the inspection of fiber optic cable end faces using machine vision improves efficiency, and minimizes and/or avoids the subjectivity of human assessment. Effective implementation of machine vision in an automated inspection process requires a properly focused image of the area under analysis. However, since the fiber end surface is typically non-planar, it is difficult to acquire a single image of the fiber end surface for inspection that is optimally focused, because the depth of field at high magnification is typically less than the extent to which the surface is non-planar.
To provide an optimally focused image of planar fiber end surfaces, the prior art suggests the combination of images acquired at different focus planes in front of and behind an optimal focus position. While this method is effective for evaluation of surface features having a non-zero depth, its utility is limited to planar surfaces. Other known methods suggest the acquisition of multiple sectional images from a single focus setting, and combining the sectional images into a single combined image, though such an apparatus can be extremely complex.
Thus, a need exists for the capability of generating an image in an optical inspection system of a non-planar surface from a single image acquisition source.

Method for generating a focused image of an object

Cognex Technology and Investment Corporation


A switching regulator includes: a switching element that controlling supply of power supply voltage according to a control signal; a smoothing circuit smoothing the power supply voltage supplied via the switching element and supplying the smoothed power supply voltage as an output voltage to an output terminal; an error amplifier outputting an error signal according to a difference between the output voltage supplied to the output terminal and a reference voltage; a delta sigma modulation circuit generating a delta sigma modulation signal according to the error signal; and a power supply abnormality detection circuit outputting the delta sigma modulation signal as the control signal and detecting an abnormality in the power supply voltage based on the delta sigma modulation signal.

This invention relates to a switching regulator, and in particular to a switching regulator employing a delta-sigma modulation scheme as a switching scheme.
Recently, switching regulators are widely employed as power-supply devices in various types of electronic equipment for the reason that the switching regulators are advantageous in terms that they are small in size and have high efficiency, and can be highly integrated. These switching regulators usually employ a PWM modulation scheme as their switching scheme, whereas the use of a delta-sigma modulation scheme has been increased as well.
A power-supply device is required to detect an instantaneous drop in power supply voltage (instantaneous break) in order to protect a load supplied with power by the power-supply device and to protect the power-supply device itself.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-118651 (Patent Document 1) describes a technology in which a voltage at an internal circuit power supply terminal (VDD) is monitored, and switching operation of a switching element is stopped once it is detected that the monitored voltage has dropped below a predetermined voltage.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2009-100498 (Patent Document 2) describes a technology in which any instantaneous break in power supply voltage is detected by detecting that the ON time of a switching element has exceeded a predetermined value.

Switching regulator detecting abnormality in power supply voltage


Apparatus 10 discloses a submersible hydraulic powered pump for removing matter such as liquid, abrasive particulate, slurries or mixtures 12, from a sump or container. The pump has a housing 14 with an integral stand 16 projecting therefrom comprised of a plurality of legs extending to a base plate that will keep the pump spaced away from the ground and gauge the size of matter 56 allowed to enter the pump. Positioned within the housing base is an ingress aperture serving as the intake 50 for flowable matter into a chamber having an impeller assembly 52 driven by a hydraulically powered motor 18. The impeller assembly 52 comprises a plurality of perforated plates and an impeller plate 38 that allows for the release of trapped air through the impeller assembly's apertures at 46 to prevent the buildup of air and unwanted pressure gaps within the pumping lines also known as “air lock.” Additionally, the impeller plate 38 and impeller blades have an increased clearance 60 from the sides 58 of the housing 14 to prevent jamming of the impeller due to large particulate matter becoming lodged therebetween during rotation and also to more efficiently induce centrifugal motion about the drawn matter contained in the housing.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to pumps and, more specifically, to a submersible hydraulic powered pump for removing matter such as liquid, abrasive particulate, slurries or mixtures, from a sump or container.
The pump has a housing with an integral stand projecting therefrom comprised of a plurality of legs extending to a base plate that will keep the pump spaced away from the ground and gauge the size of matter allowed to enter the pump. Positioned within the housing base is an ingress aperture serving as the intake for flowable matter into a chamber having an impeller assembly driven by a hydraulically powered motor.
One of the unique features of the pump are a number of apertures placed in the impeller base plate to allow trapped air to escape, thus preventing the typical air block that effects the output flow rate if not preventing any output from occurring. This feature allows the pump to run dry, which in itself is a labor saving design in conditions where the sump source material is sporadically provided, currently requiring stopping and restarting the pump or the need for incorporating some sensor logic to detect pumpable source material to engage and disengage the pump.
As stated, the impeller assembly consists of a plurality of perforated plates and an impeller that allows for the release of trapped air through the impeller assembly's apertures to prevent the buildup of air and unwanted pressure gaps within the pumping lines also known as "air lock".
Additionally, the impeller plate and impeller blades have an increased clearance from the sides of the housing to prevent jamming of the impeller due to large particulate matter becoming lodged therebetween during rotation and also to more efficiently induce centrifugal motion about the drawn matter contained in the housing.
Another advantage of the present invention is the placement of the egress port transverse to the pump rotation, commonly referred to as a centrifugal pump where the slurry is ejected from the side of the pump housing, which in combination with the creation of a gap between the housing ingress port and the impeller blades allows for larger particulate matter to be directed to the output port without engaging the impeller blade.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are other pumps designed for moving fluid material. Typical of these is U.S. Pat. No. 3,230,890 issued to Yokota, et al on Nov. 15, 1963.
Another patent was issued to Daniel on Aug. 20, 1968 as U.S. Pat. No. 3,397,647. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 4,138,202 was issued to Eller on Feb. 6, 1979 and still yet another was issued on Apr. 17, 1979 to Arnold as U.S. Pat. No. 4,149,603.
Another patent was issued to Spruiell on May 26, 1981 as U.S. Pat. No. 4,269,566. Yet another U.S. Pat. No. 4,541,779 was issued to Birdwell on Sep. 17, 1985. Another was issued to Back on Apr. 26, 1994 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,306,124 and still yet another was issued on Mar. 25, 1997 to Moon as U.S. Pat. No. 5,613,845.
Another patent was issued to Birdwell on Apr. 1, 1997 as U.S. Pat. No. 5,616,009. Yet another U.K. Patent No. GB530,058 was issued Jackson on Jun. 2, 1939. Another was issued to Futros on Jun. 25, 1985 as Canadian Patent No. CA1,189,387 and still yet another was issued on Oct. 1, 2001 to Gluskin as Russian Patent No. RU 2,196,253C1.
A centrifugal pump assemblage comprising a main pump having a casing, a driving shaft, a main centrifugal impeller mounted on said shaft within a casing, a suction inlet and a discharge outlet communicating with said casing, an auxiliary pump having an auxiliary casing disposed in side-by-side relationship to the main pump casing, a common wall between said main and auxiliary centrifugal impeller, said driving shaft extending through the auxiliary pump casing, said common wall, said auxiliary impeller being mounted on said shaft within said auxiliary pump casing, said common wall having a central suction inlet opening therein providing communication between said main pump casing and said auxiliary pump casing, means on said shaft serving to restrict the cross sectional area of said central suction inlet opening, a discharge outlet from said auxiliary casing communicating with the suction outlet of the main pump casing, whereby dense fluid is discharged from said auxiliary pump casing to the suction inlet of said main pump casing, and a vacuum pump having a suction inlet in communication with said auxiliary pump casing, the pumping capacity of the vacuum pump being such that the vacuum developed thereby is overcome by the pumping action of the auxiliary pump.
A pump convertible to and from floating operation and dry base operation, comprising a float, a support carried by a float, a pump mounted on the support, and means releasably selectively securing the pump to one side of the support for floating operation and to the other side of the support for dry base operation.
The present hydraulic system for driving a submersible pumping unit has an above-ground pump for pumping oil through a hydraulic motor in the submersible pumping unit, and a check valve between the above-ground pump and that hydraulic motor to prevent the reverse flow of oil after the submersible pumping unit is turned off. A pressure regulating valve limits the oil pressure to the hydraulic motor. The inlet flow to the above-ground pump is filtered.
A system and method are disclosed which eliminates the use of a riser pipe in underwater drilling operations. The system includes a mud sump connectable to the top of a submerged wellhead and has a bottom with a mud inlet provided therein and an upwardly extending wall cooperating with the bottom to support a quantity of mud, the sump restricting the water to contact with only the upper surface of the mud as the mud passes upwardly through the mud inlet in the bottom. A hose, separate from the drill string, is used to carry mud to the surface of the water. A pumping means is used to pump mud through the hose in response to the quantity of mud supported within the sump to thereby return the mud to the surface of the water without the use of a riser pipe.
In the pumping of abrasive liquids, particularly drilling mud, the packing and seals of the centrifugal pump are quickly cut out, making replacement and down time a problem. The present invention utilizes the abrasive liquid being pumped to function instead of packing and seals, furthermore, the suction chamber is between the abrasive liquid forming the seal, within the sealing housing, and the primary impeller chamber.
A multicylinder, hydraulic-driven, dual arranged mud pump is disclosed. The preferred embodiment consist of dual mud pumping units arranged to be selectively operated as individual pumps, as two pumps whose output flow is in parallel, or as two pumps whose output flow is in series. Each mud pumping unit is comprised of plural pumping assemblies with each assembly consisting of a pair of separate end to end cylinders, one cylinder being arranged to be driven by a second cylinder with the one cylinder further being arranged to pump mud and the second cylinder being arranged to be reciprocally driven in a sequential manner by pressurized hydraulic fluid. The pressurized hydraulic fluid is supplied to all operating second cylinders from common pressurized fluid source with the pressurized fluid being distributed to and returned from the second cylinder by an independently operated distribution valve, the volume of pressurized fluid flow being employed to synchronize the stroke and control the stroke length of the second cylinder which in turn controls the volume of pumped mud.
A mud pump assembly has a housing having a motor-mounting face directly connected to a standard hydraulic drive motor. The pump housing supports and partially encloses a bearing assembly which supports the pump impeller shaft. A face-type impeller shaft seal is located between the bearing assembly and the impeller. The motor case completes enclosure of the impeller shaft bearing assembly. A motor case drain line is coupled to the mud pump housing for continuous pressure lubrication of the bearing assembly. In one embodiment, case drain fluid is returned from the mud pump housing to the hydraulic fluid reservoir for the hydraulic motor.
The present invention is relating to a circulating pump for pressurizing and circulating fluid in a system such as a boiler. An object of the present invention is to provide a circulating pump with a sub-impeller wherein a separate sub-impeller is provided below an impeller for moderating resistance occurring at the impeller due to pressure difference between an impeller chamber and an inside of the impeller during an operation of a pump so that power loss is prevented during a motor driving and a substance such as mud is prevented from entering a stator can. The circulating pump with a sub-impeller comprises a motor, an impeller and a pump housing. Below the impeller body, a sub-impeller with a plurality of radial blades is provided. The sub-impeller forces out pressurized fluid that has flowed below the impeller back from below the impeller radially while rotating. According to this, pressure difference between an impeller chamber and an inside of the impeller which makes the impeller rise toward a suction ring is reduced. Thus, loss of power consumed for overcoming the pressure difference is also reduced.
A multicylinder, double acting improved mud pump is disclosed. The preferred embodiment incorporates a hydraulic powered piston in a cylinder which connects with a piston rod which, in turn, drives a second piston in a cylinder adapted to pump fluid mud. The first piston is driven by hydraulic oil delivered under pressure to intake manifolds through an independently driven valving apparatus which times the delivery of the hydraulic fluid for the main power stroke and further times the discharge of the hydraulic fluid for the return secondary power stroke, the system being controlled independently of piston action in timing of multiple pistons in multiple cylinders by the valve system. Additionally, an intake valve delivers fluid mud at lower pressure on the intake side of the mud compression piston, and an outlet valve transverses with the piston rod to direct the outlet mud flow. Additionally, a mud piston is provided which defines a first compression chamber for receipt of incoming fluid mud and a second compression chamber for discharge of pressurized fluid mud. Additionally, the outlet flow valve being contained within the confines of the mud piston and additionally the unidirectional flow valve being operatively controlled by the movement of the mud piston driving rod.
Well drilling systems. STEVENS, A. H. (Jackson, Co., B.). Jun. 2, 1939, No. 16333. [Class, 85] A rotary well drilling system comprises a hollow drill string driven by a rotary table and supported by a hoist, a hydraulically actuated mud pump for forcing mud through the drill string, and a motive liquid system including a prime mover driving a pump supplying fluid to drive the mud pump, the mud pump comprising a cylinder containing both motive fluid and mud separated by a piston the opposed pressure faces of which are approximately equal. A steam turbine drives a multi-stage series-parallel centrifugal pump controlled by a cross-over and valves and delivering to pipe from which, through′ valve and needle control valve, supply is effected to a Pelton wheel driving the rotary table, through gearing. A hand-controlled balanced piston valve, controls supply from pipe to cylinders of a hydraulic hoist which has a stroke at least as long as a section of drill pipe and supports and feeds the drill string and valve controls supply to drive the mud pump comprising aligned cylinders <SP>1</SP>, and pistons, <SP>1</SP>, connected by a rod motive fluid being alternately admitted to the inner ends of the cylinders while the mud is drawn in and forced out of the outer ends. In another form, the hydraulic hoist is replaced by a two speed rotary draw-works driven by a Pelton wheel or a reversible radial-piston hydraulic motor. Specification 530,050, [Group XXVIII] is referred to.
This invention relates to a reciprocating power drive for a mud pump used in drilling wells, which exhibits no stall points. Power is taken from rods connected to the pistons of an automotive power steering apparatus, the steering gear now functioning merely to time the pistons. Hydraulic power is applied through a steering valve which is driven by a hydraulic motor which reverses direction under control of a pilot valve, which switches automatically when at least one of the pistons is adjacent its maximum or minimum positions.
Oil mechanical engineering; centrifugal multi-stage oil-well pumps for pumping formation fluid. SUBSTANCE: proposed stage of centrifugal oil-well pump includes guide apparatus and impeller mounted in this apparatus. Mounted on lower surface of drive disk are impeller blades; drive disk is provided with holes found between bases of blades. Lower edges of blades are open on side of upper disk of guide apparatus. On periphery part of upper surface of impeller drive disk there is shoulder where additional fins of impeller are located. Holes are made between axis of rotation of impeller and additional fins of impeller. Upper surface of impeller drive disk is located opposite lower disk of guide apparatus of next stage. Shoulder formed on peripheral part of lower surface of lower disk of guide apparatus of said stage is used for fitting lower fins of lower disk of guide apparatus of next stage. EFFECT: enhanced efficiency of crushing gas bubbles and mud inclusions.
While these pumps may be suitable for the purposes for which they were designed, they would not be as suitable for the purposes of the present invention, as hereinafter described.


Substituted 2-pyrrolidin-2-yl compounds corresponding to formula I

The present invention relates to substituted 2-pyrrolidin-2-yl-[1,3,4]-oxadiazole compounds, to methods for their production, to pharmaceutical compositions containing these compounds and to the use of these substances for producing pharmaceutical compositions, preferably for the treatment of depression, and to methods of treating depression.
Depression is an affectivity disorder, in which a depressive syndrome predominates, depression being associated with a depressive mood or indicating a sad disposition. The anti-depressants used for treatment are also important adjuvants for pain therapy (van Schayck et al., MMP 1998, Vol. 21, issue 10, 304–313; Jung et al., J. Gen. Intern. Med. 1997, 12/6, 384–389; Onghena and Van Houdenhove, Pain 1992, 49, 205–219; Feuerstein, Der Schmerz 1997, 11, 213–226; Rowbotham, The Pain Medicine Journal Club 1997, 3/3, 119–122), in particular for chronic pain conditions, as the prolonged burden of pain may lead to a depressive mood in the patient. This is particularly frequently the case in patients suffering from pain with cancer (Berard, Int. Med. J. 1996, 3/4, 257–259). As there have previously been no painkillers with a clinically relevant anti-depressive active component, the anti-depressants have to be added as a medication supplementary to the analgesic dose. As patients with chronic pain frequently require a large number of different medicines, the additional dose of the anti-depressant is a further burden to the organism. For this reason and to increase compliance, an analgesically effective substance with an anti-depressive active component would be particularly advantageous.
The basis of the anti-depressive efficacy is the inhibition of serotonin re-uptake.
Various substituted 2-pyrrolidin-2-yl-[1,3,4]-oxadiazole derivatives are known from the literature. Common to all of them is the fact that they are used for the treatment of neuronal diseases.
The synthesis of substituted 2-pyrrolidin-2-yl-[1,3,4]-oxadiazole derivatives has already been described by Borg et al. (J. Org. Chem. 1995, 60, 3112–3120), natural amino acids being used as the starting material and dehydration of diacylhydrazines taking place, and by Brain et al. (Synlett 2001, No. 3, 382–384), the cyclodehydration of 1,2-diacylhydrazines being carried out under microwaves using a polystyrene-supported dehydration agent. These syntheses are solid phase syntheses.
WO 01/04116 describes another way of synthesising pyrrolidine or piperidine derivatives for the treatment and prevention of neuronal diseases.
JP 2001247569 also describes the production of pyrrolidine or piperidine derivatives and their use for the prophylaxis and/or treatment of diseases, which are accompanied by damage to the nerves or neurodegeneration.

2-pyrrolidin-2-yl-[1,3,4]-oxadiazole compounds and their use as anti-depressants

Abstract: a method for their production, pharmaceutical compositions containing them, and methods of using them, especially for treating pain and/or depression.


A circuit board electrical connector for a circuit board having an attachment opening, which comprises a housing; an attachment leg having a metallic surface and projecting downwardly from the housing into the attachment opening; and a solder retention area in the attachment leg so that solder flows into an upper portion of the attaching opening.

1. Filed of the Invention
The present invention relates to circuit board electrical connectors.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese UM patent application Kokai No. 91071/92 discloses a circuit board electrical connector which comprises a contact element and an attaching leg, both bent in an L-shaped form so that their horizontal sections are brought into contact with a circuit trace and an attaching area on a circuit board for soldering. In FIG. 5, an opening 52 is provided in an attaching leg 51 so that the solder in the opening 52 increases the securing force. Similarly, in FIG. 6, a notch 54 is provided in an attaching leg 53.
In FIG. 7, an attaching leg 55 extends downwardly from a housing 56 through an attaching hole 58 of a circuit board 57, and solder is charged into the attaching hole 58 to secure the attaching leg 55 to the circuit board 57.
However, the attaching legs of FIGS. 5 and 6 not only tend to slide laterally prior to hardening of solder but also provide poor securing force. When the connector receives a large bending moment upon plugging, it is frequent that the soldering is broken.
In FIG. 7, the soldering has a strength higher than those of FIGS. 5 and 6, but it is still not fully satisfactory.


An apparatus for inactivating bioaerosol, comprising an enclosure having lumen walls forming a lumen, said lumen having a lumen input opening and a lumen output opening; a ventilator arranged for forcing an air flow through said lumen; in a cleaning section of said lumen, a source of ultraviolet light arranged to irradiate with ultraviolet light all the air passing through said lumen along a length of said cleaning section; an output muffler arranged for reducing a noise of said air flow in output of said lumen output opening; and a downstream turn section of said lumen, downstream said cleaning section of said lumen, arranged for changing a direction of said air flow such that no ultraviolet light in said cleaning section of said lumen is detectable at said lumen output opening.

An infectious aerosol is a collection of pathogen-laden water droplets or other particles in air. Aerosol particles may deposit onto or be inhaled by a person and contaminate that person. Infectious aerosol is generated by or from an infectious person. If the pathogen remains viable in the environment for some period of time, and the target tissues in which the pathogen initiates infection are accessible to the aerosol, aerosol transmission can take place. Aerosol transmission was for example evaluated for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome coronavirus and norovirus and was discussed for Mycobacterium tuberculosis, influenza, and Ebola virus.
An air purifier or air cleaner is a device which removes contaminants from the air in a room to improve indoor air quality. Commercially graded air purifiers can be manufactured as either stand-alone units or can be affixed to an air handler unit (AHU) or to an HVAC unit found in the medical, industrial, and commercial industries. Known air purifiers generally use filtration, with air being forced through a filter that physically captures bioaerosol and particles. Sources of ultraviolet light can be used to inactivate the bioaerosols captured by the filters. Drawbacks of filter-based air purifiers are that the filter needs to be cleaned regularly and also that forcing the air through the filter consumes a lot of energy, slows down the air flow, and is very noisy above given air speed. Such devices are not suitable for silently and efficiently inactivating bioaerosol that would be present in the air of a room.
US20180361007 discloses a battery-operated ultraviolet germicidal irradiation device adapted to be mounted in an air distribution duct, for reducing air-borne contaminants within air passing through the air-distribution duct. The battery-powered device is provided to be mounted in the duct by means of a permanent magnet, mounting clip or flange. The device needs to be mounted close to the discharge opening of the duct so as to be accessible to change the battery, which makes it difficult to prevent that at least a portion of the ultraviolet light emitted by the device can be seen from outside of the discharge opening of the duct. As the device is mounted in the duct after the duct is installed, it is further difficult to know where to attach the device in the duct to ensure that all the air that passes through the duct is irradiated with ultraviolet light. Such devices are not suitable for silently, safely or and efficiently inactivating bioaerosol that would be present in the air of a room.
There exists a need, for example in the movie industry, for a device and corresponding method that allow purifying noiselessly a large quantity of air such as the air of a movie set, while preventing any leak of ultraviolet light to the outside of the device.

Bioaerosol inactivator UVC antimicrobial reactor


An efficient filter circuit and method for filtering a loss of receiver signal prevents false signals caused by glitches. The short glitches that happen at the positive edge of the clock signal may be prevented from affecting the whole clock cycle. The false signal removal circuitry is effective against both false active high and false active low signals. A selectable majority determination block also measures the number of glitches or average signal strength to determine that a valid signal is present. A mininum pulse width of a glitch is settable.

The RxLOS signal is an output of the analog signal detection circuit of a typical SerDes (serializer/deserializer) core and indicates a loss of signal at the receiver of SerDes. The RxLOS signal can switch between logic 0 and logic 1 in a short period of time and may experience active high or active low glitches for a short period of time. These RxLOS signal glitches can erroneously trigger a set of events in the logic that the SerDes interfaces with. An active high glitch may erroneously indicate a loss of signal at the receiver and may cause the synchronization state machines in the interface logic to be reset. Similarly, an active low glitch may erroneously indicate a recovery of the lost signal at the receiver and may cause the synchronization of the state machines to go out of the reset state.
Glitches must be filtered before the RxLOS signal is used in the logic interfacing of the SerDes core. The size of the glitches that need to be filtered varies with the specific application of the SerDes core and with the protocol. Protocols that implement Out of Band (OOB) signaling like Serial-ATA (SATA) and Serial Attached SCSI (SAS) require that the glitches less than 106 ns wide be filtered while in protocols like FC (Fibre Channel) and Ethernet, glitches larger than 106 ns may need to be filtered.
Although some current circuits filter active high glitches and some current circuits allow the size of the glitches to be a variable, the capabilities of these circuits are limited. There is a need for circuits to filter both active high and active low glitches; especially, to handle the short glitches that may occur at the positive edge of the clock. There is also a need for a circuit that reduces the amount of on-chip real estate by minimizing the number of gates and/or switches.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a method of signal filtering and a filter circuit that efficiently and reliably removes both active high and active low glitches and allows adjustability of the idle period.

Efficient filtering of RxLOS signal in SerDes applications


The present invention relates to a hydrophilic nitrile rubber which is particularly useful in making photopolymer formulations for printing plates utilized in flexographic printing applications. The hydrophilic nitrile rubber of this invention is made by treating a standard carboxylated nitrile rubber with a sulfur trioxide/dimethylformamide complex. This invention more specifically discloses a process for preparing a hydrophilic nitrile rubber composition which is particularly useful in making photopolymer formulations for printing plates, said process comprising the steps of (1) reacting a carboxylated nitrile rubber with a complex of sulfur trioxide and dimethylformamide to produce a nitrile rubber containing sulfonated carboxyl groups and (2) reacting the nitrile rubber containing sulfonated carboxyl groups with a salt selected from the group consisting of sodium hydroxide and potassium hydroxide to produce the hydrophilic nitrile rubber.

It is critical for photopolymer composition utilized in making printing plates to exhibit a high degree of water swell which allows for easy scrub-off of that part of the printing plate which was not cured. In other words, it is important for the rubbery polymer employed in making the printing plate to be hydrophilic in nature. It is also highly desirable for the photopolymer compositions utilized in making printing plates to have a high degree of clarity so that ultra-violet light which is transmitted through a photographic negative can penetrate the composition and initiate cure. There are also certain mechanical requirements needed from such photopolymer compositions.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,045,231 discloses the utilization of polystyrene-polybutadiene-polystyrene triblock polymers in printing plates. U.S. Pat. No. 4,162,919 discloses the employment of styrene-isoprene diblock polymers and styrene-isoprene diblock polymers in flexographic printing plates. U.S. Pat. No. 5,344,743 discloses flexographic photosensitive printing plates which are made with formulations comprising triblock polymers of poly(vinylpyridine)-poly(butadiene) or poly(isoprene)-poly(vinylpyridine).
Certain carboxylated nitrile rubbers, such as Chemigum.RTM. NX775 carboxylated nitrile rubber which is sold by The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company, offer most of the physical requirements needed from a base polymer for printing plate photopolymer compositions. However, such carboxylated nitrile rubbers do not have adequate clarity and are too water-resistant for utilization in such applications. It is also important for carboxylated nitrile rubbers utilized in such applications to have a Mooney ML-4 viscosity of less than about 80.
Except for their inadequate clarity and water swell characteristics, the carboxylated nitrile rubbers disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,415,690, 4,435,535 and 4,452,936 would be suitable for utilization in making printing plate photopolymer compositions. U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,690 discloses the utilization of succinic anhydride derivatives as scorch inhibiting agents. U.S. Pat. No. 4,435,535 discloses the utilization of adipic acid as a scorch inhibiting agent and U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,936 discloses the utilization of oligomerized fatty acids as scorch inhibiting agents.
United States patent application Ser. No. 08/766,449 pending, discloses a carboxylated nitrile rubber which is suitable for utilization as a base polymer for printing plate photopolymer compositions. The level of methacrylic acid incorporated into this rubber is increased so as to be within the range of about 10 weight percent to about 20 weight percent to increase water swell. Ser. No. 08/766,449 pending also reports that it is critical for the coagulation process carried out in recovering the carboxylated nitrile rubber from the latex to be accomplished without utilizing polyelectrolytes, such as Nalco.TM. 108 polyelectrolyte, as coagulation aids. The utilization of at least one organic acid which contains at least three carboxyl groups, such as citric acid, in the carboxylated nitrile rubbers is also reported as being critical.
United States patent application Ser. No. 08/766,449 pending more specifically discloses a high clarity water-sensitive carboxylated nitrile rubber composition which is comprised of (a) a carboxylated nitrile rubber which is comprised of repeat units which are derived from about 30 weight percent to about 60 weight percent 1,3-butadiene, from about 30 weight percent to about 50 weight percent acrylonitrile and from about 10 weight percent to about 20 weight percent methacrylic acid and (b) from about 1 to about 10 phr of at least one organic acid which contains at least three carboxyl groups. The carboxylated nitrile rubber of Ser. No. 08/766,449 pending is reported to typically have a Mooney ML-4 viscosity of less than about 80.


Provided are a manufacturing method for a magnetic recording medium enabling efficient and reliable manufacturing of a magnetic recording medium with minimal surface roughness and good precision in recording and reading information, and a magnetic recording medium with a high degree of surface recording density and good precision in recording and reading information. The magnetic recording medium is constructed by forming a divided recording layer and the like onto a substantially flat base surface of a dummy, such that the base surface side of the dummy serves as a front surface, and a substrate is also attached, after which the dummy is removed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium, and to a magnetic recording medium.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a magnetic recording medium it is important to make surface roughness extremely minimal in order to increase precision in recording and reading of data. For example, in the case of a hard disk, a floating-type head has become mainstream. In order to obtain good precision in recording and reading, the surface roughness must be extremely minimal and the head flying height must by kept within a small range.
Conventionally, in the manufacturing process for the hard disk or other magnetic recording medium, a front surface of a substrate is polished or otherwise made flat and then a recording layer and then a protective layer and the like are layered onto this substrate by means of a sputtering method. This kept the surface roughness of the overall magnetic recording medium extremely small (e.g., see Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication Nos. H 5-314471, and H 9-231562).
However, even if the surface of the substrate is made flat, the surface roughness gradually increases in the course of layering the recording layer and the protective layer and the like on top of each other. Ultimately, the surface roughness of the magnetic recording medium overall exceeds a permissible range.
In recent years, in order to improve the surface recording density level, vertical recording type hard disks have increased. In this type of vertical recording hard disk, a soft magnetic layer which is thicker than the recording layer is provided between the substrate and the recording layer, causing the surface roughness of the magnetic recording medium overall to tend to increase.
Furthermore, as one possibility for a magnetic recording medium capable of achieving further increase in surface recording density, much attention is being given to a discreet type magnetic recording medium with a divided recording layer. However, in a discontinuous divided recording layer surface roughness is prone to increase.
By polishing the surface of the divided recording layer using a CMP (Chemical Mechanical polishing) method, it is possible to minimize the surface roughness of the discreet type magnetic recording medium. However, this approach has problems. In actuality, polishing of the thin divided recording layer is difficult to control, and chemical effects of the chemical liquids can cause degeneration of the divided recording layer and deterioration of its magnetic properties. Furthermore, using this type of polishing process reduces manufacturing efficiency.
Furthermore, as the surface recording density is improved the head flying height tends to be small. When the head flying height becomes small, the recording and reading in the magnetic recording medium become much less precise even if the surface roughness is of a size that would not have normally posed a problem conventionally.
The present invention has been made in light of the above-mentioned problems, and it is therefore an object of this invention to provide a method of manufacturing a magnetic recording medium capable of efficiently and reliably manufacturing a magnetic recording medium with little surface roughness and having good precision in recording and reading, and also to provide a magnetic recording medium with high surface recording density and good precision in reading and writing.

Recording medium having reduced surface roughness


A process cartridge usable with an image forming apparatus includes a developing cartridge including a toner inlet and a shutter to open and close the toner inlet, and a toner cartridge detachably mounted to the developing cartridge and including a toner supply port to correspond with the toner inlet when connected with the developing cartridge. The shutter may be moved in a direction in which the toner cartridge is connected when the toner cartridge is connected to the developing cartridge, thereby opening the toner inlet, and the shutter may be moved in a direction in which the toner cartridge is detached when the toner cartridge is separated from the developing cartridge, thereby closing the toner inlet. Accordingly, when the toner cartridge is separated from the developing cartridge, the toner inlet of the developing cartridge is closed, thereby preventing leakage of toner through the toner inlet.

1. Field of the Invention
The present general inventive concept relates to an image forming apparatus that uses an electrophotographic process, such as a copy machine and/or a printer. More particularly, the present general inventive concept relates to a process cartridge detachably mounted in the image forming apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
A process cartridge is an assembly of a developing unit and a toner unit. The process cartridge includes a photosensitive medium, an electrifying unit, the developing unit, and a cleaning unit integrally formed to be detachably connected with respect to a main assembly of an image forming apparatus.
Electrophotographic image forming apparatuses typically use the process cartridge, since the process cartridge is easily operated and does not require special skills.
The process cartridge comprises a developing cartridge, and a toner cartridge detachably mounted to the developing cartridge to supply a toner to the developing cartridge. FIG. 1 illustrates an image forming apparatus including a main body 1 that uses a process cartridge 10.
As illustrated in FIG. 1, the main body 1 has a cartridge seating portion 2 for mounting the process cartridge 10 therein. The process cartridge 10 comprises a developing cartridge 20 and a toner cartridge 30. The toner cartridge 30 and the developing cartridge 20 are illustrated separately in FIGS. 2A and 2B, respectively. FIG. 3 illustrates both the toner cartridge 30 and the developing cartridge 20 detachably mounted to each other as the process cartridge 10.
The developing cartridge 20 comprises a developing cartridge frame 21 having a toner inlet 21a. Other developing parts of the developing cartridge 20, such as a photosensitive medium rotatably mounted to the cartridge frame 21, are omitted from the figures.
The toner cartridge 30 comprises a toner cartridge frame 31 having a toner supply port 31a. The toner cartridge 30 comprises additional parts such as an agitator for agitating the toner stored in a toner chamber formed therein and for moving the toner toward the toner supply port 31a. However, these additional parts are also omitted from the figures.
As illustrated in FIG. 3, the developing cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 30 are detachably mounted to each other. The toner can be supplied by connecting the toner inlet 21a of the developing cartridge 20 to the toner supply port 31a of the toner cartridge 30 to correspond with each other.
The developing cartridge 20 and the toner cartridge 30 can be respectively mounted to the main body 1 of the image forming apparatus such that only the toner cartridge 30 need be replaced when the toner is used up. The toner inlet 21a of the developing cartridge 20 is initially blocked by a removable packaging lid, such as a plastic film, but is opened for use by removing the packaging lid. As a result, the toner inlet 21a is left open during and between uses of the image forming apparatus. When the toner inlet 21a is connected with the toner cartridge 30, a sponge seal attached around the toner inlet 21a is able to prevent the toner from leaking from the developing cartridge 20.
However, when the toner cartridge 30 is disconnected from the developing cartridge 20 (e.g., in a state that the process cartridge 10 is removed from the main body 1), the toner in the developing cartridge 20 may leak through the toner inlet 21a, which is in an open state. The leakage of the toner may lower the density of an image, and deteriorate image quality. Therefore, preventing the toner leakage from the developing cartridge 20 is necessary in order to improve the image quality.

Process cartridge usable with an image forming apparatus and including a shutter


A window restraint device includes a mesh screen having an upper end and a lower end. The restraint device includes an upper attachment device, such as a clip or strap, coupled to the screen upper end for removable attachment to an automobile door frame. The restraint device also includes a lower attachment device, such as a suction cup, coupled to the screen lower end for connecting the lower end of the screen to an automobile window. Neither the upper or lower attachment devices interfere with normal operation of the vehicle window, nor do they restrict a pet from normal movement within the vehicle. The restraint device may also include a spring-loaded reel from which the screen may be extended from or retracted into. The spring provides tension between upper and lower ends of the screen.

This invention relates to window restraint devices and, more particularly, to a window restraint device for restraining pets within a vehicle that installs to the frame of a vehicle door and window while still allowing the window to be selectively opened and closed and without restricting the pet's movement.
Dog owners frequently take their pet, such as a dog, along during car trips and, in fact, prefer to allow their dog to move freely about the vehicle's interior space. Allowing the dog to be unrestrained during vehicle travel, however, can be dangerous in that the dog may be thrown about or even out of an open window if the vehicle is involved in a traffic accident or during a fast or sharp turn.
Various devices have been proposed in the art for restraining a dog within a vehicle. Although assumably effective for their intended purposes, the existing devices and product proposals completely restrain the pet from moving about the vehicle or are mounted to the vehicle car door in a manner that prevents the vehicle window from being selectively opened or closed.
Therefore, it would be desirable to have a window restraint device that keeps a dog from accidentally falling out or being thrown out of a vehicle window. Further, it would be desirable to have a window restraint device that enables a dog to move freely about the interior space of a vehicle. In addition, it would be desirable to have a dog restraint device that does not interfere with normal raising and lowering of a vehicle window.


To provide a display device whose display can be recognized even in dark places or under the strong outside light. The display device performs display by controlling the number of gray scales in accordance with the intensity of outside light, which means a display mode can be switched in accordance with the data to be displayed on the display screen. A video signal generation circuit is controlled in each display mode in such a manner that it directly outputs an input video signal with an analog value, outputs a signal with a binary digital value, or outputs a signal with a multivalued digital value. As a result, gray scales displayed in pixels are timely changed. Accordingly, clear images can be displayed while maintaining high visibility in various environments, in the wide range from, for example, dark places or indoors (e.g., under a fluorescent lighting) to outdoors (e.g., under the sunlight).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device having a display screen for displaying text, still images, moving images, and the like. In addition, the invention relates to a technique for improving the visibility of a display screen in various usage environments.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, a so-called self-luminous display device is attracting attention, which has pixels each formed with a light-emitting element such as a light-emitting diode (LED). As a light-emitting element used in such a self-luminous display device, there is an organic light-emitting diode (also called an OLED (Organic Light-Emitting Diode), an organic EL element, an electroluminescence (EL) element, or the like), which has been attracting attention and used for an EL display (e.g., an organic EL display). Since the light-emitting element such as an OLED is a self-luminous type, it is advantageous as compared to a liquid crystal display in that high visibility of pixels is ensured, no backlight is required, high response speed is achieved, and the like. The luminance of a light-emitting element is controlled by the value of current flowing therein.
As a method of controlling gray scales (luminance) in such a display device, there are a digital gray scale method and an analog gray scale method. In the digital gray scale method, gray scales are expressed by controlling on/off of a light-emitting element in a digital manner. On the other hand, as for the analog gray scale method, there is a method of controlling the light-emission intensity of a light-emitting element in an analog manner, or a method of controlling the light-emission time of a light-emitting element in an analog manner.
In the digital gray scale method, only two states of a light-emitting element can be selected, which are a light-emission state and a non-light-emission state; therefore, only two gray scales can be expressed. Thus, the digital gray scale method is often used in combination with another method to achieve multi-gray scale display. As a method for achieving multi-gray scales, a time gray scale method is often used in combination (see Patent Documents 1 and 2).
As examples of a display which expresses gray scales by digitally controlling a light-emission state of pixels in combination with the time gray scale method, there are an organic EL display using a digital gray scale method, a plasma display, and the like.
The time gray scale method is a method of expressing gray scales by controlling the length of light-emission periods or the number of light-emitting operations. That is, one frame is divided into a plurality of subframes, and each subframe is weighted in the number of light-emitting operations, the length of light-emission periods, or the like, so that the total weight (the sum of the light-emitting operations or the sum of the light-emission periods) is varied between different gray scales, in order to express each gray scale.
Thus far, such display panels have been required to provide high image quality, and display panels having functions of automatically or manually adjusting brightness or contrast have been in widespread use. For example, there is a liquid crystal display device having a function of adjusting visibility of gray scales by changing the transmissivity of liquid crystals (see Patent Document 3).    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-324958    [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-343933    [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2003-186455
However, although a liquid crystal panel exhibits excellent visibility in the indoor environment with an illuminance of 300 to 700 lx, it has a problem in exhibiting a significantly low visibility in the outdoor environment with an illuminance of 1,000 lx or higher. There is a panel called a reflective liquid crystal panel which has a structure where the outside light is reflected by a pixel electrode; however, it has low image quality under an indoor fluorescent lighting; therefore, it cannot solve the essential problem. That is, it has been impossible to ensure high visibility in various environments in the range from, for example, dark places or indoors (e.g., under a fluorescent lighting) to outdoors (e.g., under the sunlight).

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


Message and signaling information (ni, si) of partial line bundles (TLB1..3) of a line bundle (LB) of a communication system (KS1..3), which line bundle have a central signaling channel (CCS), are switched to additional communication systems (KS1..3) via an ATM communication network (KN). The message information and signaling information (ni, si) are allocated cell-by-cell to virtual channels (VC1..34) of a virtual path (VP1..3) representing a partial line bundle (TLB1..3). The signaling information (si) transmitted in the central signaling channel (CCS) is separated according to partial line bundles, and, after the switching via the ATM communication network (KN), is inserted into the central signaling channel (CCS) of an additional line bundle (LB).

Current communication systems that switch according to the time division multiplex method, in particular narrowband switching equipment, are connected with one another via individual narrowband fixed connections or narrowband line bundles. Narrowband connections represent in particular PCM-oriented connections, that is, digitized telephone connections or connections that transmit digital information with a transmission speed of up to 64 kbit/s. Narrowband line bundles are formed through multiplexing of the message and signaling information of several narrowband connections, whereby standardized line bundles comprise 24 or 30 narrowband connections and a transmission speed of 1544 kbit/s or 2048 kbit/s. The signaling for the multiplexed narrowband connections is transmitted in an additional narrowband connection, generally known as a central signaling channel. The individual narrowband connections or line bundles provided between the communication systems are switched via fixed connections provided by public or private network operators.
In the future, communication networks operating according to the asynchronous transfer mode (known to those skilled in the art as ATM communication systems) are provided for the switching or, respectively, transmission of the message and signaling information of line bundles in particular. For this purpose, it has been proposed in the relevant standardization committee (ATM Forum) in a CES (circuit emulation service) standard to insert the combined message and signaling information of line bundles into cells and to switch them transparently via permanent virtual connections of an ATM communication network. The cells provided for a switching in a communication network comprise a cell head (header) having 5 bytes, and a use part (payload) having 48 bytes. The message information to be switched is inserted into the payload using intermediate memories. The header contains in particular the routing information, the virtual channel and path information and the call reference number. Using the routing information, the cells are switched via the ATM communication systems of the ATM communication network. A switching of individual narrowband connections from a line bundle via the ATM communication network to different communication systems is not provided.

Method for switching narrowband partial line bundles between communications systems via an ATM communication network


A light guide member which guides video light includes a peripheral area forming portion extending to the outside of an effective light flux guide portion which is an area through which an effective light flux of the video light passes, and thus for example, even when ghost light resulting from components generated by unintended reflection or scattering in a position such as a side surface forming portion of the light guide member may be generated, the side surface forming portion can be separated from the effective light flux guide portion.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a virtual image display device which presents a video formed by an image display element or the like to an observer, and particularly, to a virtual image display device suitable for a head-mounted display which is mounted on a head of the observer.
2. Related Art
Various systems have been proposed as an optical system which is incorporated in a virtual image display device such as a head-mounted display (hereinafter, also referred to as HMD) which is mounted on a head of an observer. (for example, JP-A-2002-116799).
As for virtual image display devices such as an HMD, it is desirable to increase an angle of view of video light and to reduce a device weight. Particularly, it is important to reduce a thickness in a visual axis direction of an observer and to move the center of gravity closer to the observer, in order to improve a fit.
When a field of view of an observer is completely covered and only video light is thus viewed, the observer cannot grasp a state of an external world, and thus uneasiness is caused. Furthermore, a new use such as virtual reality is generated by showing an external world and a video in a superimposed manner. Therefore, it is desirable to use displays which display video light in a superimposed manner without disturbing the field of view of the external world.
In virtual image display devices, it is necessary to prevent the generation of ghost light resulting from video light and the like, in order to visually recognize a good image and an external image. Particularly, when a see-through function for displaying external light and video light in a superimposed manner is provided, ghost light may be generated due to not only the video light, but also the external light, and thus a countermeasure for ghosting is more important. Furthermore, it is thought that when trying to secure optical paths of the external light and the video light under the circumstance where the devices have a form similar to glasses and are reduced in size, a position where ghost light is generated is formed even by, for example, a slight optical path deviation which is caused by an error of the product. Furthermore, it is also thought that an observer moves the direction of eyes to see an external world in a see-through mode. In this case, the observer may not see ghost light when seeing an image from the front, but may see the ghost light when moving the direction of eyes.
For example, JP-A-2002-118799 proposes that a frame-like light-shielding member is provided so that flare light and ghost light do not reach eyes of an observer. However, when the light-shielding member is provided as in the case of JP-A-2002-118799, necessary light may be blocked according to alignment upon arrangement, and ghost light may be generated due to components reflected on a side surface of the light-shielding member. Particularly, when a see-through function for displaying external light and video light in a superimposed manner is provided, it is also necessary to consider the occurrence of ghosting by the external light, in order to suppress the generation of the ghost light. Thus, the countermeasure for ghosting using the light-shielding member may be insufficient.


A head positioning device in a disc storage system is constructed of individual flat components, particularly of ceramics which are individually ground or lapped to their final dimensions before connected with one another. Individually, the flat components comprise positioning arms, spacers and carrier arms. Head carriers are fixed to the free ends of the head positioning arms by means of pins of memory metal permitting removal of the head carriers. Read/write heads for recording and retrieving information are fixed to the removable head carriers. The carrier arms are arranged for receiving positional magnetic units. The spacers are arranged between the positioning arms and the carrier arms.

In disc storage systems, as technical development continuously moves to higher storage capacities, the mechanical construction of the head positioner device must likewise be improved. A typical high capacity disc storage system includes a plurality of discs which are stacked on a centrally located spindle. Compact construction of the device requires minimal disc separation between the stacked discs. Fast access to the information stored on the discs requires a low inertia positioner with a short settling time and good damping characteristics after positioning. With a fast servo for positioning, the positioner should be constructed to have high resonant frequencies with good signal following properties and a short response time. Two different types of positioning devices are known: namely, linear positioners and rotational positioners.
A linear positioner is moved radially with respect to the disc by means of an actuator pulse system during track selection. A rotational positioner is rotatably mounted on a positioning axis arranged parallel to the axis of the disc stack. The rotational positioner has on one side of the positioning axis positioning arms for carrying the read/write heads and on the other side of the positioning axis a pair of carrier arms. The carrier arms carry either a coil which influences a fixed magnet or a magnet, in which case the coil is fixed.
In more recent constructions of a positioner device, a monolithic body with integral positioning arms and integral carrier arms has been used, which is conventionally known as an "E-block". Such an E-block has the advantage that smaller inner stresses arise and the number of connections is minimized, so that the time required to position the arm is short.
With increasing miniaturization of the disc storage system and the positioning device, the manufacture of a monolithic E-block is, however, exceptionally difficult, laborious and accordingly expensive.
It accordingly is the problem of the invention to create a positioner in which the advantages of the monolithic E-block can essentially be maintained but in which the necessary high precision of the complex structure can be achieved in a simpler and accordingly more cost favorable fashion.

Positioning device for positioning a read/write head of a disc storage system


The invention disclosed relates to a new class of abscisic acid (ABA) analogs of formula I ##STR1## wherein one of R.sub.1 is alkenyl, alkynyl, aryl, cycloalkenyl, other farther substituted carbon chain including deuterium containing residues, and carbon containing substituents with heteroatoms and halogens and the other is methyl, and wherein the five member carbon side chain includes a methyl group at C3, with C5 attached to the ring as shown, including a trans double bond at the C4-C5 position, or a triple bond at this position, and either a cis or a trans double bond at the C2-C3 position, and R.sub.2 is CH.sub.2 OH, CHO, COOH, COO alkyl, or derivatives thereof, and wherein the cyclohexanone ring double bond may also be reduced and to a novel process for synthesizing such ABA analogs.

This invention relates to a new class of abscisic acid (ABA) analogs which have been altered at the 8'-or 9'-carbon atom, and to a novel process for synthesizing such ABA analogs.
1. Background
Abscisic acid is a plant hormone that regulates diverse aspects of plant growth including development and germination of seeds, transpiration, and responses to stress. ##STR2## abscisic acid, (+)-ABA (with numbering system for carbon atoms and conformation representation)
The hormone itself has found limited use as an externally applied plant growth regulator because of uptake and stability problems and because of cost.
Moreover, examination of the mechanisms of ABA action, identification of receptor proteins, and cellular localization of the hormone have been restricted by rapid turnover of the hormone in plants. Similarly, agricultural uses of applied ABA have been limited by rapid metabolism of the hormone in the plant.
In plants, the predominant pathway (see below) of metabolism of (+)-ABA involves hydroxylation at the 8' position affording 8'-hydroxyABA (2) which undergoes cyclization by attack of the 8'-hydroxyl group onto the enone system producing phaseic acid (PA, 3). The intermediate hydroxylated ABA compound 2 has rarely been found in plant extracts, most probably because it readily cyclizes during manipulation. Phaseic acid (3) the more readily isolable ABA catabolite, has little or no activity in most assays. ##STR3##
2. Description of the Prior Art
Recently, new ABA analogs bearing a methoxy group on either the 8' or 9'-carbon atom have been synthesized and tested by Hirai's group in Japan (Y. Todokori, N. Hirai and K. Koshimuzuz. 8' and 9'-methoxyabscisic acids as antimetabolic analogs of abscisic acid Biosci. Biotech. Biochem 1994 58: 707-715); S. Nakano, Y. Todoroki, N. Hirai, and H. Ohigashi. Synthesis and biological activity of 7'-, 8'- and 9'-alkyl analogizes of abscisic acid Biosci. Biotech. Biochem. 1995 59 699-1706). These compounds were found to have potent activity, depending upon the assay. Their results suggest that modifying the geminal dimethyl groups in some instances does not prevent the molecule from being perceived as ABA-like, and the authors postulate that the alterations prevent rapid metabolic breakdown by enzymes that degrade ABA.
However, the syntheses that they used are not practical. Their procedure for the methoxy derivatives takes 15 steps, with one reaction that gives a mixture of double bond isomers, and another that gives a mixture of diastereomers at the 1' and 6'- carbons. The yield of racemic methyl ethers, as a mixture with the trans forms, i.e. four compounds, is calculated from their experimental results to be 0.22%. The alkyl analogs are synthesized by similar routes and overall poor efficiency.
Two groups have synthesized 8'-fluorinated ABA analogs that have potent biological activity (Y. Todoroki, N. Hirai, K. Koshimizu. 8', 8' difluoro- and 8',8', 8'- trifluroabscisic acids as highly potent long lasting analogues of abscisic acid Phytochem. 1995 38: 561-568. B. T. Kim, Y. K. Min, T. Asami, N. K Park, I. H. Jeong, K. Y. Cho and S. Yoshida. Synthesis and biological activities of new fluorinated abscisic acid. Bioorganic and Medicinal Chem. Lett. 1995 5 275-278). In both cases the syntheses are lengthy and not practical for plant growth regulator applications.

Hyperabas: biologically active abscisic acid analogs with unsaturated carbon substituents at the 8'-methyl or 9'-methyl carbon atoms


All power generating member for generating a torque needs a transmission for randomly controlling the torque. Most of current transmission utilizes the engagement of gears having different gear rates or frictions as a medium. The transmission according to the engagement of gears generates the transmission the transmission shock and the transmission utilizing the friction as a medium has a limit caused by the friction. In order to resolve the problems, it is suggested to construct elements which may move in position in gears to distribute the torque to a low speed line or a high speed gear line in the constant engagement state, thereby realizing the continuous speed change from the high speed to the low speed or vise versa. Such a continuously variable transmission is applicable to vehicles and heavy equipment utilizing an internal combustion engine as a power generating source and any other vehicles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vehicle transmission, and more particularly to, a continuous variable transmission for realizing the continuous variable transmission of a vehicle via gears by converting a torque output from an engine properly according to the driving speed of the vehicle.
2. Background Art
The driving force for driving a vehicle is generated from an internal combustion engine, which is formed in a small size but outputs a large scaled force. The internal combustion engine has, however, disadvantages that a maximum torque area changes in a small range, and a rotation force of the engine is maximum at a medium speed. In order to resolve these problems, it is necessary to develop a transmission for using power effectively and maximizing the change of the torque area.
Even though a transmission for carrying out the transmission by the engagement between gears having different gear rates from each other and a transmission for utilizing friction as a medium have been suggested, there are still problems such as the transmission shock and the friction. Therefore, there is a continuous demand on an ideal transmission.
Many manufacturers are concentrated on the development of such transmissions so far. for obtaining a solid and effective transmission, which is easy to repair at a low cost.

Gear-type continuously variable transmission


The present invention provides a comprehensive detection device and method for a cancerous region, and belongs to the technical field of deep learning. In the present invention, a cancerous region detection network is trained for preprocessed and annotated CT image data to predict bounding box coordinates of a cancerous region and a corresponding cancer confidence score; a clinical analysis network is trained for preprocessed clinical data with a cancer risk level to predict a cancer probability value of a corresponding patient; and a predicted cancer probability value is weighted to a predicted cancer confidence score to realize a comprehensive determination of the cancerous region. The present invention can detect a cancerous region with high accuracy and high performance.

Due to a high fatality rate, cancer has long been a great threat to human life and health. In particular, liver cancer and lung cancer have always been cancers with a very high fatality rate in recent years. Generally, a patient, when discovering that he/she has related symptoms, is actually in the middle or advanced stage of cancer. Medical imaging diagnosis is an effective medical means for early screening of cancer. However, a cancerous region reflected on a medical image at an early stage of cancer is often small, and is difficult to be distinguished from surrounding non-cancerous regions. In addition, there are a large number of images produced during a screening process, and thus even radiologists with rich experience may have misdiagnosis and missed diagnosis due to a huge work load.
In view of the above situation, the computer-aided diagnosis (CAD) system has become the most powerful assistant for radiologists. The detection method based on traditional machine learning uses information about histogram of oriented gradients (HOG) and boundary operators to extract some low-level image features. However, this method depends heavily on manual intervention and prior knowledge and has a quite low execution speed. Fortunately, with the landmark 2012 as a turning point, medical imaging detection methods based on deep learning have become popular in recent years. Depending on the powerful feature extraction capability of a convolutional neural network (CNN), a deep learning method can handle higher-order semantic features than a traditional machine learning method, and has showed significant accuracy improvement, especially in the field of digital images.
According to different overall algorithms and frameworks for detection, the detection methods based on deep learning can be divided into anchor-based single-stage and two-stage detection methods and anchor-free keypoint detection methods. The anchor-based single-stage and two-stage detection methods use pre-defined prior boxes or anchor boxes, which is equivalent to sliding through all possible target locations on a feature map in an exhaustive manner. The anchor-based single-stage detection method strives to achieve forward propagation at one fling, and directly achieves regression and classification starting from a prior box, which has a high execution speed. The anchor-based two-stage detection method adopts a coarse-to-fine detection mechanism to filter out most of irrelevant anchor boxes on a background region through region proposals, which has a low detection speed, but a high accuracy. The anchor-free keypoint detection methods focus on outputting high-response features at key points (such as corner points and center points) of a target and further accurately locating a final detection box based on these points. However, in either of the two methods, the single-source input of medical images is fed to a CNN for forward inference detection, and an occurrence probability of false positives (a non-cancerous region is predicted as a cancerous region) is still high. In other words, the improvement only for a detection network can achieve limited accuracy improvement.
Existing related patents, such as Chinese patent CN201911201347.1 (a method and device for detecting a breast lesion) and Chinese patent CN201910520291.X (a method for detecting diabetic retinopathy (DR) based on a deep residual network), restrictively focus on using scanned medical images of a specified organ or tissue as an input of a neural network to realize the detection of a lesion. However, there is currently no relevant method to input clinical measurement information as an additional data source into a neural network for text analysis and use results thereof to further modify and improve an output of the neural network.

Comprehensive detection device and method for cancerous region


A semiconductor memory device and the method therefor is disclosed, in which memory cells having a transistor that has a source, a drain and a gate electrode, and a capacitor that has a storage electrode electrically connected to the source of the transistor, a dielectric layer and a plate electrode are formed on a semiconductor substrate in an orderly shape. In the memory cell, a covering layer is formed over the entire semiconductor region, except for an area defined to form the storage electrode, so as to be both insulated from the lower structure and the storage electrode. Accordingly, not only is prevented the phenomenon that data stored in a cell capacitor is destroyed by the residue of a polycrystal silicon layer, but also the surface thereof can be flattened in advance, limited only by the thickness of the polycrystal silicon layer.

The present invention relates, in general, to a semiconductor memory device and the manufacturing method therefor and, more particularly, to a high density semiconductor memory device and the method thereof in which an electric characteristic is prevented from being destroyed by the residue of polycrystal silicon produced during the manufacturing process for either a stack type or a stack-trench type of capacitor.
Because the current state of technology in manufacturing high density memory devices is limited, a variety of problems occur as the memory cell density is increased. With regard to current etching technology, the problem is particularly acute because of a severe surface bending that increases with the increase in the number of manufacturing process steps undertaken.
In some situations when etching a material coated on a flat surface, consideration is not given to the creation of a possible new material by a chemical reaction which might occur between the coating material and the coated material or substance comprising the surface, and concern about a residue of coating material remaining on the surface after etching is not needed.
However, when the surface being etched is not a flat one, but instead contains a multitude of bends and curves, the situation is totally different. This is due to a phenomenon that occurs in which the thickness of the material coated on the curved surface becomes locally varied.
When a material having a fixed step coverage is coated over any shape of surface, its thickness is consistent on a flat surface, whereas it is not consistent at the parts of the curved surface. In other words, at either an edge or a wall of the step coverage, the coating material will be thinner, whereas it will be thicker in the corner where the wall of step and base meet.
When removing a coating material which has formed as described above, by using etching techniques, the coating material often remains in the corners at the end of the etching process. This is attributed to the excessive thickness of the coating material in the corner.
Materials which remain, even after the etching process has ended, are referred to as residue. This residue seriously obstructs operation of the memory device by forming stringers that act as electrical paths between the active regions formed on the substrate, and result in unwanted electrical conductivity between elements that should be isolated from each other.
The phenomena explained above, i.e., residue and stringers, is a problem which is evident primarily in the wiring process and is rather serious in any process in which a conductive material is used. It is especially problematic in a memory cell that is more highly integrated, and therefore the need to solve this problem become even more urgent.
In a DRAM (used as an acronym for "Dynamic Random Access Memory" throughout this description), and particularly in the stack type capacitor structure, a part of the polycrystal silicon layer coated to form a storage electrode must be removed in the process for limiting that storage electrode to a cell unit. However, since the polycrystal silicon is coated on a semiconductor substrate whose surface is curved near the gate electrode or bitline, the polycrystal silicon does not get completely removed from the corner portions of the curve during etching, which results in "stringers" of polycrystal residue being formed. These stringers serve as a bridge linking storage electrodes together between cells and cause problems such as storing inverted data in a memory cell, and degrading the memory storage characteristics of the cell.
Referring to FIG. 1A through FIG. 1C, an explanation of problems occurring in the process of manufacturing a stack type capacitor by using the conventional method is given herein. The sectional views as seen in these figures shown some of the sequential procedures for manufacturing a conventional stack-type capacitor, having a cylinder shaped storage electrode.
A transistor having source 14, drain 16 and gate electrode 18 is formed at an active region of a semiconductor substrate 10 and a bit line 20 is also formed to be connected with the drain 16. A contact hole for contacting with a storage electrode is formed by penetrating the surface of the source 14. A first polycrystalline silicon layer 100a, having been doped with an impurity, is formed over the whole surface of the semiconductor substrate on which the contact hole was formed. Here, the impurity is of the same type as that of the source region 14 as shown in FIG. 1A.
The whole surface of the semiconductor substrate on which the layer 100a has been formed is coated with an insulating layer, such as polyimide, TEOS(Tetia-Ethyl-Ortho Silicate), or the like, in such a manner that a flat surface is formed. Here, the thickness of the insulation layer 30 determines the height of the cylinder in the cylindric form storage electrode, which becomes the standard for measuring the cell's capacitance. Next, a sensitive film pattern is formed on the insulating layer using a mask pattern for forming a storage electrode, and by way of anisotropic etching, a part of the insulating layer is removed to form an insulating layer aperture in order to form the cylinder shaped storage electrode.
A second polycrystalline silicon layer is formed over the whole surface of the semiconductor substrate on which the aperture has been formed. Anisotropic etching is then performed, leaving a spacer consisting of the second polycrystalline silicon layer on the side wall of the insulating layer aperture. Because the first and second polycrystalline silicon layer have different etching rates for the anisotropic etching, only the second layer is removed at the lower part of the insulating layer aperture, whereas the first layer still remains and becomes shaped into linkage with the space (as shown in FIG. 1B).
The insulation layer 30 is removed by wet etching and a part of the first polycrystalline silicon layer is also removed by using a mask pattern for forming a storage electrode, thereby determining each cell and completing the cylindric shaped storage electrode that was formed by the first and second polycrystalline silicon layers. Next, a dielectric material having a high dielectric constant, such as, T.sub.a2 O.sub.5 or the like, is thinly coated over the entire surface to form a dielectric layer 60. A third polycrystalline silicon in deposited over the entire surface of the dielectric layer 60 to form a plate electrode. Cell capacitors C.sub.1 and C.sub.2, comprising storage electrodes 100 and 200, dielectric layer 60 and plate electrode 70, are completed (see FIG. 1C).
These prior art attempts to achieve an increase in the cell capacitance of the cylindrically shaped capacitor by forming an additional spacer having the second polycrystalline silicon layer on a base plate electrode consisting of the first polycrystalline silicon layer, has met with limited success. This is due to the fact that the degree of thickness of the first polycrystalline silicone layer formed in the curves on the semiconductor substrate created by sub-structure i.e., gate electrodes, bit line, and field oxide layer, (curves as shown in FIG. 1C bitline nook), impedes its complete removal even after the etching process is completed. Consequently, the first polysilicon layer residue 101 remains.
The residue, as shown in FIG. 1C, forms stringers that bridge connections between the cells at the nooks of the substrate surface, causing such problems as diverting the data stored in each cell sent to different cells via the bridging "stringer" connections and, deteriorating the device's overall reliability. Accordingly, the problem of residue removal occurring during the manufacture of capacitors remains a task that needs to be resolved in order to improve reliability, especially in the case of structuring capacitors of the stack type in a memory device.

Method of making a semiconductor memory device having improved electrical characteristics


A method and apparatus for optically examining an object in a contactless manner, in which light successively impinges upon the surface of an object being examined. The different sources of light strike the object surface at different angles of incidence and reflect off the surface and are then able to be measured by an image sensor which produces a plurality of image data sets having different contents. In this way, a first image data set is produced with the incident light from which form-independent or non-topographical characteristics, such as color errors, can be derived. Form-dependent or topographical characteristics, such as scratches, are derived from a second image data set formed with glancing light or oblique light. Before the form characteristics are derived from the first image data set, it is essential that the distorting influences of form-independent characteristics are eliminated from the first image data set via the second image data set. Furthermore, the apparatus is embodied as a portable manual apparatus, which is placed by hand, in an approximately light-permeable manner, on the surface of the fixed object, or is displaced in contact with the surface.

1. Technical Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a procedure and apparatus for touch-free examinations of objects, especially regarding their surface character.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Procedures and appliances, employing a touch-free technique to examine the surface character with the aid of optical resources are already existing. Surfaces may be illuminated using rays of light or oblique light to illuminate the surface from a flat or oblique angle, simply by localising and quantifying superjacent soil particles, unevenness, rough spots, processing traces etc. This relies on the fact that depending on the specification of such deviations compared to the target surface character, more or less intense bright/dark spots can build up i.e. due to illuminated and shaded edges, which in turn allows to draw conclusions about the three-dimensional surface character.
This proceeding is adequately known under the term ray of light or oblique light procedure, i.e. DE 197 16 264 A1. In reverse it is also used in a simplified manner for the production of topographic maps in order to provide a flat map with the impression of a plastic landscape with the help of an imaginary incidence of light. The desired effect is also known as shading or shadow plastic. Generally speaking there is a functional relationship between the angle of incidence, the three-dimensional orientation and the position of the sub-area, especially its inclination, height and the angle of emergence of reflected light. The reflected light is recorded as gray scale information with the means of an opto-electronic sensor primarily vertically inclined to the surface, i.e. a line or matrix sensor, and then transferred to digital image processing. This procedure is particularly well-suited for punctual, linear or frequently re-occuring surface deviations, such as soiling and scratches for example.
A strip light procedure projecting a geometrically defined pattern (for example bright and dark strips) with the help of a light source onto the surface of an object is also known. Depending on the specification of surface elevations and depressions, the projected pattern is deformed. For example, on a sub-area more exposed to the light source, strip width and distance are reduced. On the other hand, on a sub-area less exposed to the light source, i.e. a depression, width and distance are increased. A three-dimensional surface model may be derived from the pattern's deformation via suitable algorithms, after the reflected light has also been gathered with an opto-electronic sensor and its readings have been transferred to digital processing analysis. This procedure (also known from the DE 197 30 885 A1), which is also called coded light or projection procedure, is particularly well suited if a detailed surface structure with a corresponding light/dark contrast range is non-existent—for example on a smooth surface with large-area curvatures. Depending on the surface character, the emitted light of the light source is reflected from the surface by both the rays of light and the strip light procedure. The brightness and gray scale dispersion, which is being gathered by an image sensor, correlates more or less closely with this surface character.
However, these well-known procedures and appliances show a disadvantage: They can only supply three-dimensional surface features i.e. geometrical surface data of the object. Moreover the functional correlation between brightness dispersion and surface character only strictly apply to a surface with constant material qualities. The measurement result may turn out to be false when the surface combines various adjacent materials with different photometric or shape-independent features such as reflection, transmission and absorption parameters. This means that an overlap in the desired brightness dispersion of the above mentioned procedure occurs in case of surface character deviations with brightness data of multicolored, patterned or mottled surface segments that do not deviate from the target surface character, which complicates the assignment of the resulting brightness data to a distinct shape (for example an edge with an x incline) or a distinct material (for example soiling of the surface independent and material specific gray tone y).
The DE 198 39 882 includes a lighting system for color matching of coated car body surfaces intending to obtain surface features on the one hand and surface independent features on the other hand (for example material specific parameters such as chrominance errors) through differently arranged and implemented light sources. There is a differentiation between a basic lighting set, which hits the car body surface at a 45-degree angle of incidence and which is used as a working light for repairs and the detection of chrominance and polishing errors, and a structural light set with special implemented linear light sources that also emit at a 45 degree angle and helps to detect surface deformations, i.e. dents. Vehicles to be examined are directed through the large and stationary light set where mechanics do repair jobs and work on manual color matching of the car body surface. It becomes complicated, however, when a person needs to change the perspective in order to detect the different types of errors and is therefore no longer able to check one and the same surface segment. If the person wants to check the same surface segment for both types of errors he/she has to choose another position. Moreover this method only allows the assessment of either non-topographical types of errors (i.e. soiling or chrominance errors) or topographical types of errors (i.e. dents). A combined assessment is not possible. This may be compared to replacing visual observation with a camera a person is using instead. Altogether this procedure appears difficult and complex in its implementation and is only practical for glossy surfaces. The dimensions of the lighting set only facilitate its stationary operation.
In addition, the DE 35 40 228 A1 includes a description and a procedure for the implementation of controls for soldering points which works like this: From various angles of incidence, light is directed at the soldering points of a pcb and the reflected light from the soldering point is gathered by one or more B/W image sensors. This way, a majority of images with various informational content, depending on the angle of incidence, is generated. The accuracy of the soldering point structure may then be assessed with the help of a computational synthesis of the images. The reason for a decision (after the shape-independent characteristics have already been generated) whether (only if a distinct shape of the soldering point could not be assessed) there is a spot of minor solder, a circuit without solder or pcb material is the way in which the combination of shape characteristics or shape-independent characteristics is taking place—whereby the examination is always based on the same material.
A combined data processing for the reduction of shape-independent impacts of errors is not planned at this point. The arrangement itself consists of a stationary housing in which several light sources are set up to emit at various angles towards the soldering point. The housing is also equipped with a lighting aperture directed at the soldering point as well as a second aperture through which several cameras can gather the light reflected by the soldering point. The mobile pcb with soldering points arranged on the X/Y table is underneath the housing or its lighting aperture. This arrangement is disadvantageous as it is only used for stationary operation e.g. in a production line. Furthermore, just like with the housing's second aperture, the distance between the housing and the pcb is prone to extraneous light.

Method and apparatus for a touch-free examination of objects, particularly regarding the surface character of the same