A method used with spatial channel marking in a radio scanning technique that extends the conventional methods of channel marking to include information about the source of the signal. This information is stored on a per-channel basis whenever a mark is placed on a channel. On successive visits to a marked channel, a determination is made whether the source of the signal has changed. If a change is detected, the channel is immediately unmarked and a decode begins, even through a carrier may still be present. This provides for situations when an associated group member using a two-way radio begins transmitting while a radio of another group is transmitting and keeping the channel marked. An unsuccessful decode will result in re-marking and an update of the source information.

Radio scanning is typically an option included in a two-way radio that enables the user to rapidly receive or scan multiple frequencies in a predetermined order. This enables more than one frequency or channel to be monitored for incoming voice or data enabling the two-way radio to be versatile.
It is highly desirable for two-way radio equipment that utilizes a conventional scanning technique to scan radio channels at the fastest rate possible. This avoids lost syllables during speech and prevents "audio holes" or gaps of speech from being missed. If the radio must decode subaudible signaling, scan performance becomes degraded whenever "unqualified" channel activity is detected because the radio must spend up to 200 ms decoding the signaling. This problem is even further exacerbated when the radio operates primarily on a fixed set of itinerant or consumer channels. These channels are highly utilized especially in urban or industrial environments, and this increases the chance of scan-degrading unqualified channel activity. With regard to most commonly used conventional scanning techniques, these techniques operate by iteratively checking each channel in a list for a carrier.
As seen in prior art FIG. 1, the scanning sequence starts 101 where the receiver is set up on each specific channel 103. If no radio frequency (RF) carrier 105 is detected, the next channel is selected 107 and the receiver is configured for the next channel 103 in the list. Channels are scanned iteratively 103, 105, 107 from a list until a carrier is detected. Upon completion of scanning the list, the list is reset and scanning continues from the top of the list. If an RF carrier signal is detected 105, the receiver checks for a valid subaudible code 109 such as a private line (PL) or digital private line (DPL) multi-frequency tone. If no subaudible code is detected 111 the process begins again by selecting the next channel to scan 107. In the event that the proper subaudible squelch code is detected 111, the receiver is unmuted 113 and the proper information is received until no further RF carrier signal or subaudible code is present. After no further RF carrier signal or subaudible is present, the next channel in the scan sequence is selected 107.
Additionally in prior art FIG. 2, another conventional scan technique utilizes subaudible squelch coding and channel marking 200. Channel marking is used to "mark" a channel with an RF carrier and a non-matching subaudible squelch code, so future scans of a marked channel will not incur the delay associated with decoding the subaudible signaling. A loss of the RF carrier on a marked channel will cause the channel to become "unmarked," whereby full decoding will take place followed by a decision whether to receive the information. A counter for each channel keeps track of how many times the channel is "skipped" if it is marked, and if a limit is reached, that particular channel is unmarked. Those skilled in the art will appreciate the improved scan performance associated with this technique. In this technique, the scanning sequence starts 201 by setting up the receiver on the specific receiving channel 203. If no RF carrier 205 is detected the radio checks a list to determine if it is marked 207. If the channel is not marked. the next subsequent channel in the scan sequence is selected 209. If however, the channel is marked the proper steps are taken to unmark the channel 211 and clear the marked channel counter.
If an RF carrier is detected 205, a determination is again made as to whether the channel is marked 213. If the channel is marked a channel marking counter is incremented 215 for that channel and a comparison is made 217 to determine if a limit has been reached. If no mark limit has been reached the next channel in the scanning sequence 209 is selected. If however, the mark limit has been reached the mark and mark limit counter is cleared 221 and any associated signaling information is subsequently decoded 219. Thereafter, if no signaling information 223 is detected the channel is marked 225 and the next channel is selected in the scan sequence 209. If signaling information is detected, the data is received or the receiver is unmuted 227 until no further channel activity is detected 229.
If a carrier is detected, the radio will pause on that channel and will attempt to decode the private line (PL), digital private line (DPL) code or other signaling information. If the correct detection is made, the message will be received or the receiver unmuted; otherwise, the radio will resume scanning. If there are large quantities of "unqualified" activity, that is channel activity with a missing or non-matching signaling code, scan performance will seriously be degraded. This is due to the fact that the radio must continually stop on each channel and perform the time-consuming task of checking for subaudible signaling information. Previous radio scanning techniques have improved performance by "marking" a specific channel that has unqualified activity. This ultimately works to prevent unnecessary PL decodes. The scanning controller or "executive" simply checks the marked channel for loss of a carrier. When such a transition is detected, the channel is unmarked, so additional activity receives a full decode attempt.
Users of radios on business frequencies often work in small groups within a confined geographical area, such as a warehouse. It is not uncommon for such a group of people to be within the receiving range of another group legally assigned the same frequency. Typically the two groups will not interfere with each other due to selection of different subaudible squelch codes, but such interference can degrade scan performance, even with channel marking. Channel activity from another group using a different code will cause a scanning radio to mark a channel, which will cause a latency in receiving a valid transmission. The worst case involves the receipt of a valid message just after a channel has been marked from a user of another group. The valid message will not be received until the mark limit counter reaches its limit, which forces a decode. If the message is short, the message may not be received at all. Reducing the mark limit counter will reduce the latency, but will degrade scan performance.
Thus the need exists to provide a radio scanning method that utilizes a channel marking scheme for scanning efficiency but provides a means to minimize message latency on channels likely to have an abundance of unqualified activity.

Radio scan method with spatial channel marking


A planet-carrier for a mechanical reduction gear of a turbine engine, in particular of an aircraft, this planet-carrier having a rotation axis and comprising axes for guiding the planet gears that are arranged around and parallel with the rotation axis, each guiding axis having a general tubular shape of which the outer periphery comprises only two coaxial and adjacent cylindrical tracks of the respective rollers of two annular rows of rollers, wherein each axis has an inner periphery that is substantially bi-conical and comprising two coaxial and adjacent frustoconical surfaces, these inner frustoconical surfaces converging towards one another and extending respectively radially inside the tracks.

The state of the art comprises, in particular, documents WO-A1-2010/092263, FR-A1-2 987 416, US-A1-2010/304919, EP-A1-2 954 233, US-B1-9 927 021, EP-A1-3 489 550, EP-A1-3 333 459, DE-A1-10 2010 054870 and FR-A1-3 041 054.
The purpose of a mechanical reduction gear is to change the speed to torque ratio between the input shaft and the output shaft of a mechanical system.
The new generations of bypass turbine engines, in particular turbine engines with high dilution rates, comprise a mechanical reduction gear that drives the shaft of a fan. Usually, the purpose of the reduction gear is to transform the "fast" rotational speed of a power turbine into a slower rotational speed for the shaft driving the fan.
Such a reduction gear comprises a central pinion, termed sun gear, a ring gear and pinions termed planet gears, the latter engaging between the sun gear and the ring gear. The planet gears are supported by a chassis termed planet-carrier. The sun gear, the ring and the planet-carrier are planetary elements because the axes of revolution thereof are the same as the longitudinal axis X of the turbine engine. Each planet gear has a different axis of revolution, evenly distributed over a single operating diameter around the axis of the planetary elements. These axes are parallel with the longitudinal axis X.
There are several reduction gear architectures. According to the state of the art in the field of bypass turbine engines, the reduction gears are of the planetary or epicyclic type. In other similar applications, differential or "compound" architectures can be found.
In a planetary reduction gear, the planet carrier is fixed and the ring gear constitutes the output shaft of the device that rotates in the opposite direction to the sun gear.
In an epicyclic reduction gear, the ring gear is fixed and the planet-carrier constitutes the output shaft of the device that rotates in the same direction as the sun gear.
In a differential reduction gear, no element is rotationally fixed. The ring gear rotates in the opposite direction to the sun gear and the planet-carrier.
The reduction gears can comprise one or more gear stages. This gearing is achieved in different ways, such as by contact, by friction and even by magnetic fields. There are several types of gearing by contact, such as with straight or herringbone gearings.
The present disclosure proposes an improvement of a planet-carrier of a reduction gear with a simple, efficient and cost-effective solution to limit the risk of misalignment of the planet gears during operation.

Planet-carrier for a mechanical reduction gear of an aircraft turbine engine


A method for staining fecal specimens to diagnose stool parasites preserved with a non-mercury fixative wherein the preserved specimen is stained with a composition of iron hematoxylin stain and trichrome stain.

The present invention relates to a method for staining a fecal specimen preserved using a non-mercury based fixative. More particularly, the invention provides a method which utilizes a stain which is a combination of iron hematoxylin stain and trichrome stain for staining fecal specimens preserved in non-mercury based fixatives.
The most widely used method for detecting and identifying gastrointestinal parasites is the microscopic examination of fecal specimens in the laboratory. Ordinarily, a part of this microscopic examination involves staining the specimen in order to enable the clinician to differentiate between organisms which, unstained, are very difficult to distinguish with accuracy.
Because parasites are fragile and can change or deteriorate in the time which elapses before they are examined, specimens must be examined immediately or must be preserved with a suitable fixative. Timely collection and transportation of fresh stool specimens to the laboratory cannot always be assured and workload conditions and priorities in clinical laboratories frequently do not permit immediate examination of fresh specimens. Procedures such as incubation, refrigeration or freezing do not guarantee the recovery of all diagnostic stages of all parasites. Therefore, to prevent the degradation and loss of stool parasites from a specimen, fixatives are used to preserve the specimen.
Conventionally, mercury based fixatives have been used to preserve stool specimens for staining and microscopic parasitological examination. Stool parasites that have been preserved in mercury based fixatives provide good definition of the parasite upon staining. However, mercury based fixatives have a number of disadvantages associated with them that limit their use and have prompted laboratories to adopt non-mercury fixatives. In particular, the use and disposal of mercury is regulated under federal and state environmental laws.
Non-mercury based fixatives for parasitological examination have been developed in recent years in response to the health and environmental concerns associated with mercury based preservatives. These fixatives typically include non-mercury metals zinc or copper together with polymers such as polyvinyl alcohol. Specimens prepared in non-mercury based fixatives do not stain with the intensity, contrast and resolution compared to stained stool specimens which have been preserved in mercury based fixatives. This makes it more difficult and tedious to detect and identify the parasites. Accordingly, there is a need for a methodology for staining non-mercury fixed specimens which provides improved contrast and intensity.
Trichrome stain and iron hematoxylin stain are two stains frequently used in diagnostic parasitology. The trichrome stain works excellently with mercury fixed fecal specimens but does not work nearly as well when used with non-mercury fixatives. As a result, attempts have been made to find better stains for specimens fixed with non-mercury fixatives.
One prior art attempt to develop an improved stain is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,666,699 to Slifkin, which teaches a stain-fixative composition for enteric parasites for use with mercury-free and formalin-free fixatives. The composition contains Ponceau S Stain, Chlorazol Fast Pink BK Stain, Trypan Blue Stain, dimethyl sulfoxide and a non-mercury, non-formalin based fixative.
There continues to be a need for a method for staining stool parasite specimens which have been preserved in non-mercury based fixatives that produces significantly better overall staining quality, intensity and contrast.
The present invention is based on the discovery that iron hematoxylin stain and trichrome stain can be mixed and used effectively to stain fecal specimens preserved with non-mercury fixatives. Surprisingly, these two stains are not incompatible, they do not interact, they are not redundant, they intensify each other and in combination they stain fecal specimens with an intensity and resolution that is significantly better than can be achieved using either stain alone or in sequence. Whereas trichrome stain and hematoxylin stain when used alone with non-mercury fixatives give a low contrast microscope image which is difficult and time consuming to view and evaluate, when combined they yield an image which is intense and much easier to read and evaluate. The method of the present invention facilitates more accurate and precise detection of stool parasites by producing significantly better overall staining quality, intensity and contrast than previous methods for staining stool parasites preserved in non-mercury based fixatives.


A monopod support especially for video filming comprises a rod at the longitudinally opposite ends of which are provided a base and an attachment for a video-photographic apparatus, respectively. The rod is rotatable with respect to the base about a substantially longitudinal axis of the rod and at least one shock-absorbing element of the type having a viscous coupling is interposed between the base and the rod in order to damp the vibrations resulting from the rotational movement of the rod with respect to the base about the axis of the rod.

When filming is carried out with hand-held video cameras and the like, it is inevitable that it will be subject to shaking in the three axes of three-dimensional space. For this reason, the use of supports which serve to improve filming quality by minimising such shaking is strongly recommended. Of these supports, those having a tripod configuration offer the best guarantees of image stability. Tripod supports, however, have the unavoidable disadvantage of being very bulky and heavy whereas the bulk and weight are much more modest in so-called monopod supports in which the filming apparatus is mounted at the top of a rod which is generally telescopically adjustable and the opposite end of which rests on the ground. The angles of oscillation in the vertical plane containing the axis of the rod and about the optical axis of the objective are minimised because they are related to the fulcrum of the oscillation which is in this case at a distance from the apparatus, at the point where the monopod rests on the ground (base). This allows a drastic reduction in the oscillation about the corresponding axes.
On the other hand, the oscillating movement in the so-called panoramic axis, about the axis of the rod of the monopod, remains substantially unchanged. The annoying shaking discussed above therefore persists in this movement. For this reason, monopod supports have hitherto been used to some extent in the field of still photography but they have not enjoyed as much success in the field of video filming.

Monopod support especially for video filming


According to one embodiment, a switching power circuit compares a reference voltage with a feedback voltage of an output voltage, and controls the output voltage in accordance with the reference voltage, in which in a case where the output current is greater than a predetermined set current, the voltage of the reference voltage is decreased.

Conventionally, in a switching power circuit that performs voltage feedback control such that a feedback voltage is identical to a reference voltage, a configuration having an overcurrent protection function is known. In the overcurrent protection, for example, a switching transistor is turned off by the voltage feedback control, at the time of detecting an overcurrent in an overload state. However, in a case where the voltage feedback control is stopped at the time of the overcurrent protection, an output voltage is unstable, and thus, the operation of a device to which the output voltage is supplied is also unstable. For this reason, a switching power circuit that is capable of supplying a stable output voltage even during an overcurrent protection operation, and is capable of instantaneously returning to a normal state when an overload state is released is desired.

TOSHIBA ELECTRONIC DEVICES & STORAGE CORPORATION


In order to separate two classifiable materials, a material classifying apparatus includes a vibratory conveyor for conveying a fluidizable material from a material to be separated therefrom from an inlet end through a material separation section to an outlet end located downstream of the material separation section. A plenum chamber directs air upwardly through the fluidizable material and the material to be separated therefrom in the material separation section of the vibratory conveyor to cause fluidization of the fluidizable material and separation of the material to be separated therefrom by forming the material separation section to include a fluidizing deck for supporting the two classifiable materials while accommodating passage of air upwardly from the plenum chamber therethrough. With this arrangement and construction, the upper surface of the fluidizing deck has fluidizing zones for stabilizing the fluidizable material on the fluidizing deck to produce a uniform airflow through the fluidizable material to facilitate separation of the material to be separated therefrom upstream of the outlet end of the vibratory conveyor.

In many industrial applications, it is necessary and/or desirable to be able to separate two classifiable materials that have become or are naturally commingled.
As one example, a material may be utilized in an application such that it becomes contaminated but is otherwise reusable if it can be reclaimed. It is known that in almost all commercial settings it is important to economize in order to maintain competitive costs and, additionally, it is equally important to limit commercial waste that often presents significant expensive disposal problems. For these reasons, there have been significant efforts to develop techniques for reclaiming and/or separating materials in a cost effective and efficient manner.
For certain applications, there is a need to separate a heavier material from fines that are lighter in weight. This typically cannot be accomplished by utilizing an elementary technique such as screening inasmuch as the fines are commonly interspersed throughout the heavier material and, due to their lighter weight, the fines will not settle to the level of the screen to pass through leaving only the heavier material. As a result, it is recognized that applications of this type require techniques that are far more sophisticated.
Despite this recognition, it is also recognized that the competing considerations of cost and overall effectiveness are of paramount importance. It is likewise often a key factor that the technique for separation and recovery of classifiable materials be sufficiently effective to handle the volume of combined materials that are typically encountered in any particular industrial application(s). In other words, the technique must be capable of separating and recovering classifiable materials in a time frame compatible with the industrial application(s).
As one example, shot is utilized in the manufacture of castings to finish the castings by subjecting them to a shot blast treatment. This finishing technique is highly effective but, by its very nature, produces refuse in the form of fines and dust that must be separated from the shot if it is to be suitable for reuse. Still additionally, the large volume of shot that is required for shot blast treatments means that a significant volume of material must be reclaimed.
In order to achieve the reclamation of the shot as a reusable material in a timely manner, it is necessary to separate and remove the fines as a waste product in a high volume operation.
The present invention is directed to overcoming one or more of the foregoing problems and achieving one or more of the resulting objects.


A power transmission mechanism of a shaft and a hub, wherein a shaft tooth part having a plurality of linear spline teeth is formed at the end part of the shaft and a hub tooth part having a plurality of linear spline teeth fitted to the end part of the shaft is formed in the inner peripheral surface of a shaft hole in the hub. A first step part is formed by swelling the shaft tooth part toward the hub tooth part from a point (P1) horizontally moved from the center point (P0) of the shaft tooth part to a shaft shank side. On the ridge part side of the hub tooth part, a point is set at a position offset from the point (P1) horizontally to the opposite side of the shaft shank, and a second step part increased in a diameter from the point (P2) in the radial outer direction is formed.

On motor vehicles such as automobiles, there have been employed a set of constant velocity joints for transmitting drive power from an engine through a shaft to axles. Each constant velocity joint comprises an outer member, an inner member, and a torque transmitting member disposed between the outer and inner members for transmitting torque between the outer and inner members. The constant velocity joint includes a shaft/hub unit having a tooth assembly which comprises a shaft tooth section on the shaft and a hub tooth section on a hub, the shaft tooth section and the hub tooth section being held in mesh with each other.
In recent years, there have been demands for efforts to reduce circumferential backlash of constant velocity joints which is caused by the chattering of the power transmitting system. Heretofore, attempts have been made to reduce backlash between the inner ring and the shaft with a constant velocity joint having shaft serrations tilted at a torsional angle. Depending on the direction of the torsional angle and the direction of the torque load, the mechanical strength and service life of the inner ring and the shaft are likely to vary from product to product.
In the art of gears, technical concepts for crowning tooth surfaces have been disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2-62461, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 3-69844, and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 3-32436, for example.
The applicant of the present application has proposed a spline shaft wherein the crowning top is positioned where the stress is minimized when torque is applied to a region where, the spline shaft and a constant velocity joint mesh with each other, thereby preventing the stress from concentrating on certain regions and simplifying the overall structure of the spline shaft (see Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 2001-287122).

Power transmission mechanism of shaft and hub


A Read-Only semiconductor memory cell includes: a semiconductor substrate and a source and a drain formed on one surface of the substrate; a channel region, which is in between source and drain regions on the surface of the substrate, is controlled by X-control gate XCG and Y-control gate YCG which are formed on the surface of the substrate and isolated from each other and from source and drain regions and from semiconductor substrate through insulating films. Multiple levels of threshold voltages of the cells exist for ROM codes. The cell structure provide a means for accurate cell current during read, and is simpler for peripheral control circuit design and is contactless, fieldless, suitable for high reliable Mega-bit memory devices.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor memory devices, and in particular, to Read-Only Memory (ROM) cell and the method for manufacturing the same.
2. Prior Art
Various elements, such as fuses, diodes, and transistors have been used on semiconductor substrate to implement the storage of bit contents of 0's and 1's for computing, communication, data processing, and information storage. A simple method is to have or not to have fuse or diode links between each address lines and data lines that determines the states of 0's and 1's. At the transistor level, more variations have been reported. For examples, enhancement type transistors and depletion type transistors are arranged on rows and columns to differentiate between 0's and 1's of the Read-Only memory cell contents, or ROM codes. The existence of contacts or not on the drain areas of the transistors is another way to do it. Furthermore, two types of transistors of low and high threshold voltages can be used also.
As the density of the bits per chip increases, ROM cells become smaller and smaller and structures become simpler. One cell that is compact and small is generally called "Flat Cell". FIG. 1a is a top plan layout view of a partial array arrangement represented by six such cells, C1 C2 . . . through C6. The cross sectional views taken along lines 1b--1b and 1c--1c of FIG. 1a are shown in FIG. 1b and FIG. 1c respectively. Such a cell includes a P-type Silicon substrate 10 having N+ diffusion bitlines 12 on the surface of the substrate 10 thereof. In between each adjacent N+ diffusion bitlines 12 are the channel regions 14. ROM codes are implemented by implanting some of the channel regions 14 of the transistors to a higher threshold voltages for storing 0's together with lower threshold transistors for storing 1's. Polysilicon wordlines 18 formed on an insulating film 16 over the channel regions 14 and N+ diffusion bitlines 12. P+ implanted regions 20 are used for cell isolation. The schematic diagram of the six cells shown in FIG. 1a is shown in FIG. 2. Such Flat Cell offer excellent packing density and simple in cell arrangement. However, such cell requires rather complicated controls of the peripheral circuitry, see for examples, Okada, et al., "16 Mb ROM Design Using Bank Select Architecture", Symposium on VLSI Circuits, Tokyo, Japan, Aug. 22-24 1988, Digest of Technical Papers, pp. 85-86, or T. Yiu, U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,389, issued May 26, 1992. Also, a very sensitive sense amplifier design is necessary to read the cell current and critical process control in order to match the design tolerance.


A method and a machine for assembling a blister sheet and a linerboard, the board optionally having a flap. The blister sheet, the linerboard and the optional flap are flat stacked on top of one another; and the layers are subsequently heat sealed, preferably by means of thermal conduction or induction between a counter electrode and an electrode, continuously and in respective closed circuits, in order to produce cases for packaging such items as medicaments, electronic components, small tools, perfume samples or any other product which is to be enclosed in at least one bubble of the blister sheet.

The present invention relates to a method of assembly between:                a blister sheet having two plane main faces and comprising at least one product containment blister projecting on a first of said main faces, and        a linerboard having two plane main faces and comprising at least one hole for the passage of said blister,
the blister sheet and the linerboard being capable of occupying a defined relative position, in which a first of said main faces of the linerboard is laid against the first main face of the blister sheet, around the blister, and at least one of the first main faces being thermoadhesive or being made thermoadhesive,
said method comprising the succession of steps involving:
a) placing the blister sheet and the linerboard in said defined relative position,
b) applying to the blister sheet and to the linerboard, which occupy said defined relative position, a pressure for the mutual clamping of their first main faces and a treatment capable of making adhesive said first main face which is thermoadhesive or is made thermoadhesive, for the time necessary for bringing about a mutual thermoadhesion of said first main faces,
c) causing the application of said pressure and said treatment to cease.
Such a method is used, for example, in the pharmaceutical industry, in order to assemble a blister sheet generally comprising a plurality of blisters containing a respective dose of a drug, for example in the form of a tablet or of a capsule, together with a linerboard carrying particulars identifying the drug and, for example, particulars relating to its dosage or particulars making it easier to adhere to this dosage. Said method may also have applications in very different technical fields, such as the packaging of perfume samples, of electronic components or of small tools, these examples in no way being limiting.
In the present prior art, this method is employed:                either manually, that is to say, more specifically, by handlers who superpose the blister sheet and the linerboard in said defined relative position by hand, if appropriate turn down flat onto the second of the main faces of the blister sheet a flap initially placed in the extension of the linerboard, in order to carry out step a, then manually offer the assembly thus formed between the plates of a thermoadhesion press, manually command the application of pressing, generally for a predetermined time, thereby carrying out steps b and c, and then manually recover the assembly thus assembled after the opening of the press,        or automatically, corresponding, in fact, to an automation of the steps of the manual method which has just been described, especially with regard to the offer to the thermoadhesion press and the recovery after thermoadhesion which continue to employ an alternating movement.
This alternating movement of offer to the press and of recovery in the latter, even if it is carried out automatically, does not make it possible to achieve assembly rates as high as the possible rates for the production of the blister sheets and for the subsequent packaging of the assemblies respectively formed by a blister sheet and a linerboard mutually assembled, with the result that the operation of mutually assembling the linerboards, as it is currently carried out, slows the entire line for the packaging of a product from the placing under the blister sheet in the final packaging of the assemblies consisting of the blister sheets and of the linerboards mutually assembled.

Method and device for assembling a blister sheet and a linerboard


Pausing a graphic processing operation in order to continue processing a thread on a different desktop. When a graphic processing unit (GPU) is lost when a screen saver desktop is activated, the buffer containing the video frame that is currently being processed is discarded and a device is attempted to be created on the screen saver desktop which enables continued graphic processing.

Rendering effects on video frames of video files requires considerable processing resources from a computer's graphics processing unit (GPU). The rendering process often takes the computer significant time to complete. Thus, it is common for people conducting the video editing to leave the computer unattended while it executes the video rendering processes.
A computer contains several desktops when it is operating. The active desktop is the desktop that is displayed to a screen. The active desktop may be a working desktop upon which a computer operator actively inputs data, such as a desktop containing a word processing application, a screen saver desktop, a security desktop, and so forth. A screen saver desktop is desktop that becomes the active desktop when a computer doesn't provide an input signal, such as a keystroke or a movement of the mouse, to the computer for a period of time. The screen saver desktop may display a variety of images to the screen which sometimes require the operation of a graphics application in the background. The screen saver may also password protect the computer, requiring a user to enter a password before the screen saver desktop is replaced with the working desktop. Another desktop is a security desktop in which a computer operator actively locks the computer from unauthorized use. In order to gain access to a locked computed, a computer operator must first enter a password on the security desktop screen.
When computer operators perform video editing, it is common for them to leave the computer unattended while the computer performs rendering processes. While unattended, the computer will activate a screen saver desktop which may or may not require a password for clearing the screen saver. It is often the expectation of computer operators performing graphical editing processes that the graphical rendering processes being conducted by the computer will continue in the background when the screen saver is activated. However, the activation of screen saver desktops of prior systems can cause computer access to the GPU to cease, thereby preventing video rendering processes to continue. Thus, when an operator returns to the computer, the rendering process has not progressed toward completion as expected, but is stalled at the point when the screen saver desktop was activated.

Rendering with GPU during screen saver activation


A detection device, a detecting method for the detection device, and a detecting system are provided. The detection device includes: a first interdigital transducer and a second interdigital transducer, wherein the first interdigital transducer is arranged opposite to the second interdigital transducer, and a surface wave of the first interdigital transducer is transmitted in a direction toward the second interdigital transducer; and a reaction layer arranged between the first interdigital transducer and the second interdigital transducer.

In biochemical and pathogen detection, for example, detection of proteins, sugars, deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA), viruses, bacteria, and cells, usually the to-be-detected substance is in contact with a detection recognition element of a detection device, so as to detect the to-be-detected substance. However, it is often the case that the detection recognition element is not in sufficient contact with the to-be-detected substance, such that it fails to detect the to-be-detected substance, and thus a detection result is incorrect.

Detection device, detection method for detection device, and detection system


Particle beam systems and methods for interacting with a workpiece according to this invention include a work stage assembly and a first particle beam source. The work stage assembly is adapted a) for supporting a workpiece, b) for translating along a first axis, c) for translating along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, and d) for rotating about a third axis perpendicular to both the first axis and the second axis. The work stage assembly has a work stage axis substantially parallel to the third axis. The first particle beam source for interacting with the workpiece is supported by the work stage assembly. The first particle beam source has a first particle beam axis. In one embodiment, the first particle beam source is oriented so that the first particle beam axis forms an angle with the third axis. In another embodiment, the first particle beam source is tiltable from a first position, with the first particle beam axis substantially parallel to the third axis, to a second position, with the first particle beam axis forming an angle with the third axis. Thus, the particle beam system can etch and image a vertical cross-section of the workpiece without offsetting the work stage axis from the third axis.

The present invention relates to focused particle beam systems and methods for processing a workpiece, e.g., etching and imaging a cross-section of a workpiece.
Present focused ion beam (FIB) systems typically include an ion beam column oriented normal to the workpiece and a tilting work stage. Such systems can include an electron column offset from the normal to the workpiece. To image a cross-section of a workpiece using an ion column, existing systems etch a cavity in the workpiece and tilt the stage so that the ion beam can impinge on a side wall of the cavity.
Existing FIB systems which incorporate a tilting stage experience several problems. A tilting work stage, which is large relative to many of the other components of a FIB system, causes the system to be relatively bulky. Such a large bulk is disadvantageous because cleanroom fabrication space is expensive. A tilting work stage also causes an FIB system to be unstable because a tilting work stage can make an FIB system susceptible to low frequency vibration and gravity sag, as discussed further below. Disadvantageously, the vibration of and the changing configuration of a tilting work stage can interfere with the performance of a system component, such as a laser interferometer. Laser interferometry can be used to assist in accurate monitoring of the position of a workpiece.
Low frequency vibration can occur when a massive object, such as a tilting stage, is supported by bearings and held steady with a mechanism that behaves like a spring. Low frequency vibration reduces resolution of a focused particle beam system by adding uncertainty in the determination of the location of the target point, i.e., where the ion beam interacts with the workpiece.
When a large work stage assembly is tilted, gravity can bend components of the work stage assembly and the workpiece. Such bending is termed gravity sag. It is difficult to monitor gravity sag. Thus, gravity sag can lead to inaccuracy in determining the positions of the work stage and of the workpiece. Such inaccuracy can reduce the resolution of a focused particle beam system.
Existing configurations of FIB systems restrict access to the workpiece by other elements, such as an optical microscope. Further. existing systems do not allow for optimization of the working distance of particular ion and electron columns. In existing configurations with a focused ion beam oriented normal to the workpiece and an electron beam offset with respect to the normal, one can not achieve working distances that optimize the characteristics, e.g., resolution and current density, of the ion and electron beams, because the work stage and the tip of the ion column and the tip of the electron column physically interfere with each other.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide improved focused particle beam systems and methods for processing, e.g., etching and imaging a cross-section of a workpiece.
It is another object of the invention to reduce the footprint of a focused particle beam system.
It is another object of the invention to improve the stability of the work stage assembly of a focused particle beam system.
It is another object of the invention to improve the accuracy of a focused particle beam system.
It is another object of the invention to provide a focused particle beam system that allows for concurrent optimization of the working distances of a particle beam column and an electron beam column, the columns being oriented so that their target points are substantially coincident.
It is another object of the invention to provide a focused particle beam system that allows greater access to the workpiece by additional system elements such as an optical microscope.
Other objects of the invention will in part be obvious and in part will appear hereinafter.
One version of a particle beam system for interacting with a workpiece according to this invention, has a housing and an element for processing a workpiece contained in the housing. The processing element includes a work stage assembly and a first particle beam source. The work stage assembly is adapted a) for supporting the workpiece, b) for translating the workpiece along a first axis, c) for translating the workpiece along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, and d) for rotating the workpiece about a third axis perpendicular to both the first axis and the second axis. The work stage assembly has a work stage axis substantially parallel to the third axis.
The first particle beam source interacts with the workpiece supported by the work stage assembly. The first particle beam source is located above the work stage assembly and has a first particle beam axis. The first particle beam source is oriented so that the first particle beam axis forms an acute angle with the third axis. Thus, the particle beam system can etch and image a vertical cross-section of the workpiece without offsetting the work stage axis from the third axis.
Workpieces or samples, such as wafers containing semiconductor devices, can contain features or structures having aspect ratios of 15:1. Thus, when crosssectioning and imaging the cross-section of a workpiece containing such features or structures, the cross-section should be sufficiently vertical such that an individual feature""s aspect ratio is accurately reflected in the cross-section.
Further, for the purposes of this application, one axis is defined as offset relative to another axis when the one axis forms an acute angle with respect to the other axis.
For illustration purposes only, and not to be taken in a limiting sense, the above-mentioned first and second axes can define a horizontal plane and the above-mentioned third axis can be a vertical axis. In this case, the work stage assembly can be adapted a) for supporting the workpiece in a horizontal plane, b) for translating the workpiece along a forward/backward direction, c) for translating the workpiece along a side to side or along a right/left direction, and d) for rotating the workpiece about the vertical axis. The work stage assembly has a work stage axis substantially parallel to the vertical axis. The first particle beam source has a first particle beam source axis oriented to form an acute angle with the vertical axis. Thus the particle beam system can etch and image a vertical cross-section of the workpiece without offsetting the work stage axis from the vertical axis.
There are several embodiments of this version of a focused particle beam system according to the invention. The first particle beam axis can form an angle of about forty-five degrees with the third axis. The system can further include a second particle beam source for interacting with the workpiece, located above the work stage assembly. The second particle beam source can have a second particle beam axis. In one embodiment, the second particle beam source is oriented so that the second particle beam axis is substantially parallel to the third axis. In another embodiment the second particle beam source is oriented so that the second particle beam axis is offset relative to the third axis.
In another embodiment, the system can further include an electron beam source for interacting with the workpiece. The electron beam source is located above the work stage assembly and has an electron beam axis. The electron beam source is oriented so that the electron beam axis is selectively offset relative to the third axis.
There are still other embodiments of this version of a focused particle beam system according to the invention. The system can be configured so that the first particle beam axis and the electron beam axis each form an angle of about forty-five degrees with the third axis. Further, the system can be configured so that the first particle beam axis and the third axis form a first plane and the electron beam axis and the third axis form a second plane substantially perpendicular to the first plane. This system configuration is advantageous because the system can etch a vertical cross-section of a workpiece using the first focused particle beam source and can image the vertical cross-section using the electron beam without rotating the workpiece.
The system can be configured so that the work stage assembly includes a laser interferometer element for assisting in the accurate determination of the position of the workpiece. The laser interferometer can include a laser source, a beam splitter, at least one reference mirror, and at least one test mirror. The laser source directs laser radiation along a path in a first direction. The beam splitter is located in the path of the laser radiation from the laser source and transmits a first part of the laser radiation along the first direction, and reflects a second part of the laser radiation along a second direction. The reference mirror reflects back to the beam splitter the first transmitted part of the laser radiation. The test mirror reflects back to the beam splitter the second reflected part of the laser radiation and is located on said work stage assembly. Thus, the beam splitter combines the first transmitted part and the second reflected part of the laser radiation to form interference fringes that assist in the determination of the position of the workpiece.
The system can also be configured to include a gas injection source or an optical microscope or both. The gas injection source typically has a gas injection nozzle located above and in selected proximity to the workpiece. The optical microscope has an optical microscope axis and is oriented so that the optical microscope axis is substantially parallel to the third axis. One can use the optical microscope for so-called top-down wafer navigation.
The system can also be configured to include a work stage assembly that rotates more than twenty-five degrees, more preferably at least forty-five degrees and most preferably at least ninety degrees.
According to another version of the invention, the first particle beam source for interacting with the workpiece is tiltable from a first position, where the first particle beam axis is substantially parallel to the third axis, to a second position, where the first particle beam axis forms an angle with the third axis. With this arrangement, the particle beam system can etch and image a vertical cross-section of the workpiece without offsetting the work stage axis from the third axis.
A method for using a particle beam system to interact with a workpiece, according to one version of the invention, includes the steps of a) providing a particle beam system, b) placing the workpiece on a work stage assembly, and c) etching with the focused particle beam source a first cavity in the workpiece to expose at least a portion of at least one structure contained in a vertical crosssection of the workpiece.
The step of providing the particle beam system can include providing a work stage assembly adapted a) for supporting a workpiece, b) for translating the workpiece along a first axis, c) for translating the workpiece along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis, and d) for rotating the workpiece about a third axis perpendicular to both the first axis and the second axis. The work stage assembly has a work stage axis substantially parallel to the third axis.
The step of providing the particle beam system can also include providing a first particle beam source for interacting with the workpiece. The first particle beam source is located above the work stage assembly. The first particle beam source has a first particle beam axis. The first particle beam source is oriented so that the first particle beam axis forms an acute angle with the third axis.
Thus, the particle beam system can etch and image a vertical cross-section of the workpiece without offsetting the work stage axis from the third axis.
The step of providing a particle beam system can further include the step of providing an electron beam source for interacting with the workpiece. In this embodiment the electron beam source is located above the work stage assembly and has an electron beam axis. The electron beam source is oriented so that the electron beam axis is selectively offset relative to the third axis.
The step of providing a particle beam system can further include the step of providing the electron beam source and the first particle beam source with the first particle beam axis and the electron beam axis each forming an angle of about forty-five degrees with the third axis. Further, the first particle beam axis and the third axis can form a first plane and the electron beam axis and the third axis can form a second plane such that the first plane is substantially perpendicular to the second plane.
The above method can further include the step of imaging the vertical cross-section of the workpiece using the electron beam source.
The above method can further include the step of etching a second cavity in selected proximity to the first cavity so as to produce a transmission electron microscope (TEM) sample wall or lamella separating the two cavities. The TEM lamella can have first and second opposed sides. The first side faces the first cavity and the second side faces the second cavity. The method can further include the steps of bombarding the second side of the TEM lamella with electrons from the electron gun, and monitoring the change in secondary particle emission from the lamella while etching the second cavity to monitor the thickness of the lamella.
The method described above can further include the step of rotating the workpiece ninety degrees about the third axis to expose the vertical cross section to the first particle beam source subsequent to the etching step. Subsequent to the rotating step, the focused particle beam system can image the vertical crosssection of the workpiece using the focused particle beam source.
Another version of a particle beam system for interacting with a workpiece according to the invention includes a work stage assembly for supporting a workpiece and for orienting the workpiece in a plane. The work stage assembly has a support element adapted for translating the workpiece along a first axis, and for translating the workpiece along a second axis perpendicular to the first axis. The support element has a first side and a second side, and a positioning assembly coupled to the first side of the support element and adapted for rotating the support element and the workpiece about a third axis perpendicular to both the first axis and the second axis, such that the workpiece can be seated on the second side of the support element and translated in a plane and rotated about the third axis normal to that plane.
The system further includes a first particle beam source for interacting with the workpiece. The workpiece is supported by the work stage assembly. The first particle beam source is located above the work stage assembly and has a first particle beam axis. The first particle beam source is tiltable from a first position with the first particle beam axis substantially parallel to the third axis, to a second position with the first particle beam axis forming an acute angle with the third axis. Thus, the particle beam system can etch and image a vertical cross-section of the workpiece without tilting the work stage axis relative to the third axis.
These and other features of the invention are more fully set forth with reference to the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

Focused particle beam systems and methods using a tilt column


In the case where a predetermined subject can be detected from an image with a first detection method but cannot be detected with a second detection method, an in-focus direction of a subject detected with the first detection method is determined during a focusing operation. In the case where, when the predetermined subject becomes detectable with the second detection method, the in-focus direction of the predetermined subject detected with the second detection method has been determined by a determination unit, the focus-detecting operation is started using the determined in-focus direction. Speeding up of the focus-detecting operation that utilizes subject detection results is thereby realized, while suppressing any drop in the image quality of recorded images.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an automatic focus detection apparatus and a control method for the same, and more particularly to an automatic focus detection apparatus that performs focus detection using subject detection results and a control method for the same.
The present invention also relates to an image pickup apparatus to which such an automatic focus detection apparatus and a control method for the same are applied.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the autofocus (AF) control of video cameras and the like, a TV-AF system that detects an in-focus position based on the sharpness (contrast) of image signals generated using an image sensor is widely used. The TV-AF system, specifically, is a system that generates AF evaluation values indicating the degree of contrast with regard to image signals captured at different focusing lens positions, and searches for a position of the focusing lens at which contrast is maximized based on the AF evaluation values as the in-focus position.
Also, automatically detecting a region (subject region) having a specific pattern such as a person's face, for example, from an image, and performing exposure and focus detection on the basis of the detected subject region is known. The specific pattern is not limited to a person's face. For example, an image processing apparatus and method that detect an upper half of a person's body are proposed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-211311.
On the other hand, in order to speed up the focus-detecting operation, a method has been proposed in which search driving of the focusing lens is performed before image capture and the position of a subject that should be in-focus is specified from the AF evaluation values acquired in a plurality of focusing areas (AF frames), and then a focusing operation is performed utilizing this position at the time of image capture (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-191084).
In the case where a human body detection method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-211311 or the like is utilized, detection can be performed even if a person has his or her back turned or with a subject that has accessories or the like on his or her face. However, detection error is higher than with face detection, and the AF frame could possibly be set to an unintended subject.
On the other hand, in the case where the subject that should be in-focus differs before and after image capture, the method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2010-191084 does not enable the focus-detecting operation to be sped up. Also, there is a problem in that the focusing lens is also driven to positions away from the in-focus position when search driving is performed during image capture in the case of moving image capture, resulting in blurred images being recorded.

Automatic focus detection apparatus, control method for the same, and image pickup apparatus


A laser processing machine is provided in which a machining tool is automatically exchanged with a laser processing tool to be mounted to a processing head thereof to perform machining operations such as tapping to works. A machining tool 70 which is exchangeably clamped to a mounting section 510 of a processing head 50 of a laser processing machine has a body 720 and a piston member 730 in the body 720, and the piston member 730 supports an air motor 740, a reducer 750, a tool chuck 760, and a tap 762. Air is sent to the air motor 740 from an air source 551b by switching a valve, and an assist gas for a normal or reverse rotation is sent from an assist gas source 554b to the upper portion of the piston member 730, so that a tap is lowered to perform tapping to a work.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a laser processing machine having a processing head to which a laser processing tool and a machining tool can be exchangeably mounted.
2. Description of the Related Art
Japanese Patent Open-Laid No. 4-201142 Publication (Patent Document 1) and Japanese Patent Open-Laid No. 5-57549 Publication (Patent Document 2) disclose a laser processing machine which has a separate machining tool for punching, tapping, drilling and the like in addition to a laser processing head. Japanese Patent Open-Laid No. 6-304755 Publication (Patent Document 3) discloses device for exchanging torches.
One object of the present invention is to provide a laser processing machine having a processing head to which a laser processing tool and a machining tool for reamering, drilling, hairlining, grinding and the like can be automatically and exchangeably mounted.


A method for manufacturing an inkjet recording head includes an ejecting step, a measuring step, dividing step and applying step. The ejecting step ejects test ink droplets and print ink droplets from nozzles. The measuring step measures ejection results of the test ink droplets. The dividing step divides a plurality of nozzles into a plurality of groups based on the ejection results. The applying step applies a group-based polarizing voltage determined for each group to the piezoelectric elements belonging to a corresponding group to polarize the piezoelectric elements so that ejection results of the print ink droplets fall in a predetermined range.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an ink jet recording head for recording a high-quality image at high speed with high reliability and an ink jet recording device equipped with the recording head, a manufacturing method of the recording head of the inkjet recording device.
2. Description of Related Art
For recording a high-quality image at high speed with high reliability by using a multi-nozzle on-demand ink jet recording head in which a lot of nozzles are integrated, it is important to reduce variations in the ink drop discharge speed or the ink drop weight among nozzles.
In an on-demand ink jet recording head according to push-type piezoelectric element system, a wall of an ink pressurizing chamber having nozzle apertures is formed of a diaphragm. By pushing the diaphragm with vertical vibrations of rod-like piezoelectric elements, the volume of the ink pressurizing chamber is decreased to discharge the ink drop. Conventionally, in the on-demand ink jet recording head according to push-type piezoelectric element system, in order to reduce variations in the ink drop discharge speed or weight among nozzles, the accuracy of components such as the piezoelectric elements and the ink pressurizing chamber is improved, or assembling accuracy of bonding of each part and the like is improved.
However, according to the above-mentioned method, there may cause disadvantages such as an increase in costs of parts and assembling time. On the contrary, Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2001-277525 discloses a method of reducing variations in the ink drop discharge speed or weight among nozzles by properly adjusting the polarization level of piezoelectric elements. According to this method, although it requires adjustment costs in a head manufacturing process, variations in the ink drop discharge speed and weight can be improved without adding any part or circuit.
However, according to the method disclosed in Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-277525, the ink discharge speed needs to be measured while varying a polarization level of each piezoelectric element in order to adjust the ink drop discharge speed of each nozzle of a recording head to a target speed. For this reason, since it takes time to measure the ink drop discharge speed and adjust the polarization level of the piezoelectric elements to a proper value, sufficient cost down and improvement in productivity cannot be achieved.

Method for manufacturing inkjet recording head of inkjet recording device


A semiconductor thin film according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: a polycrystallized semiconductor thin film formed by applying laser light to an amorphous semiconductor thin film; and crystal grains arranged into a lattice shape with a size that is about ½ of an oscillation wavelength of the laser light.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor thin film and a thin film transistor which have a high degree of crystal orientation, a method of manufacturing the same, and a manufacturing device of a semiconductor thin film.
2. Description of Related Art
A liquid crystal display device (LCD) as a typical example of existing thin panels is a power-saving, compact, and lightweight device. The LCD has been widely used for a monitor of a personal computer or a monitor of a portable information terminal device by utilizing the features. In recent years, the LCD has found its application in the field of television, and replaced conventional cathode-ray tube. However, the LCD has a problem that view angle and contrast are limited and high-speed response for displaying moving pictures is difficult. As a next-generation thin panel device that overcomes the above problem, an EL display device has been used. This device is a electroluminescence type display device that uses a light emitter such as an EL element for a pixel display portion. As described above, the EL display device is self-luminous with wide view angle, high contrast, and high-speed response as features that the LCD does not have.
In the display devices, a thin film transistor (TFT) is used as a switching element. As the TFT, a MOS TFT with a semiconductor thin film has been frequently used. The TFTs are classified into an inverted staggered type, a top-gate type, and the like, and the semiconductor thin films are classified into an amorphous semiconductor thin film and a polycrystalline semiconductor thin film. An appropriate one is selected there from in accordance with applications and performances of the display device. Many small panels employ a polycrystalline semiconductor thin film because an aperture ratio of a display region can be increased, and a TFT can be downsized. As a method of forming the polycrystalline semiconductor thin film, an amorphous semiconductor thin film is first formed on a silicon oxide film (SiO2 film) as a base film, and then applied with laser light to turn the semiconductor thin film into a polycrystalline film (see Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2003-17505).
As another known method, the polycrystalline semiconductor thin film is formed and then a TFT is manufactured. More specifically, a gate insulating film made of SiO2 or the like is formed on a polycrystalline semiconductor thin film to form a gate electrode. Next, impurities such as P (phosphorus) and B (boron) are doped into the polycrystalline semiconductor thin film through a gate insulating film to form source/drain regions. Further, the source/drain regions mean conductive regions containing impurities in the polycrystalline semiconductor thin film. The source region is connected to a source electrode, and the drain region is connected to a drain electrode later. Here, a region between the source/drain regions is a channel region. Subsequently, an interlayer insulating film is formed to cover the gate electrode and the gate insulating film. Then, a contact hole is formed in the interlayer insulating film and the gate insulating film to reach the source/drain regions of the polycrystalline semiconductor thin film. A metal film is formed on the interlayer insulating film and patterned to be connected to the source/drain regions formed in the polycrystalline semiconductor film to thereby form the source/drain electrodes. After that, a pixel electrode or EL element is formed to be connected with the drain electrode to thereby complete a TFT.
Further, in the case of forming a polycrystalline semiconductor thin film by a known method of applying a laser to an amorphous semiconductor thin film, crystal grains having a random size of about 0.2 to 1.0 um are arranged in the formed film. If a TFT is manufactured with a polycrystalline semiconductor thin film having various crystal grain sizes (crystal size), TFT characteristics vary because the number or size of crystal grains in a channel varies in accordance with a position of the TFT. For that reason, TFT characteristics vary. In the case of using a TFT having varying characteristics in a pixel or peripheral driving circuit, a voltage or a current written to each pixel thereof varies. The variations look like display unevennesses to a user, and display characteristics are deteriorated.
Thus, studies have been made of how to equalize randomly varying sizes of crystal grains and suppress variations in TFT characteristics. For example, "AM-LCD2000" (Y. Nakata, A. Shimoyama and S. Horita, p 265-268) describes that second harmonics of Nd:YAG laser (hereinafter referred to as "YAG-2ω laser") are applied while a substrate is kept at 350° C. in a vacuum chamber, and then the substrate is rotated by 90° and irradiated with YAG-2ω laser again to thereby obtain crystal grains that are arrayed in a lattice shape at almost regular intervals. In the case of manufacturing a TFT with the thus-formed polycrystalline semiconductor thin film, the size or number of crystal grains in a channel can be equalized. Thus, variations in TFT characteristics are supposedly suppressed.
However, this method requires irradiation of the semiconductor thin film with the laser twice and thus is inappropriate to mass production. Further, the resultant crystal grain size is about 0.5 um that is substantially equivalent to a laser emission wavelength. Such a large crystal grain size causes deterioration of TFT reliability. This is because carriers accelerated by an externally applied electric field are repeatedly ionized by collision at a crystal grain boundary or in crystal grains to form an electron-hole pair. Alternatively, an internal defective level that is caused by enforced growth of crystal is increased, leading to deterioration in characteristics.

Semiconductor thin film, thin film transistor, method of manufacturing the semiconductor thin film, method of manufacturing the thin film transistor, and manufacturing device of semiconductor thin film


The present invention provides cyclic power changing patterns for transmissions in different sectors of a cellular system. The cyclic power changing patterns define unique patterns in which transmission power levels change over a period of time slots or within a group of sub-carriers. Each sector has a unique pattern, so that interference information monitored by the user elements, which are supported by base stations, are indicative of the interference contributions from adjacent sectors. Based on these interference contributions and the cyclic power changing patterns associated with these sectors, the base stations can schedule transmissions to the user elements during time slots or in sub-carriers to minimize the impact of interference from the adjacent sectors and to efficiently support dynamic needs of the individual user data packets according to QoS requirements.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, a cellular communication network 10 is supported by numerous base stations 12, which are capable of facilitating wireless communications throughout corresponding cells 14. Generally, each cell 14 is divided into numerous sectors 16, wherein the base stations 12 will have dedicated transmit and receive capabilities for each sector 16. A base station 12 may provide any number of sectors 16 to form a cell 14. For example, there are three sectors 16 forming each cell in FIG. 1, and nine sectors 16 forming the cell 14 in FIG. 2. User elements 18, such as mobile telephones, wireless personal digital assistants, wireless modems, and the like, will facilitate bi-directional wireless communications with the transmitter and receiver electronics associated with a certain sector 16, in which the user element 18 is located. Given the need for cells 14 and sectors 16 therein to be adjacent to one another, a user element 18 serviced by a first sector 16 in a first cell 14 will likely be subjected to transmissions to other user elements 18 from other sectors 16 in the first cell 14, as well as from other cells 14.
The ability of a user element 18 to overcome interference from other sectors 16 and cells 14 is generally a function of the transmit power of those sectors. The higher the power of the signal directed to the user element 18, the easier the user element 18 is able to overcome such interference from other sectors 16 and cells 14. Accordingly, as a user element 18 approaches sector or cell boundaries, the power level associated with the transmitted signal decreases, and the amount of interference from other sectors 16 and cells 14 increases.
Various techniques have been proposed to minimize the impact of such intercell and intracell interference. Unfortunately, these techniques generally provide insufficient coverage at the edge of cells and impose significant penalties on system capacity and throughput, or are very costly and complex to implement. Accordingly, there is a need for a relatively efficient and cost-effective technique for minimizing the impact of intracell and intercell interference.


A driving and resistance device for stationary bikes includes a frame including two boards between which a flywheel is located, a shaft extends through the flywheel and the two boards. A driving wheel is mounted to the shaft and drives the flywheel. The driving unit includes a first belt, a second belt, an idle wheel unit, an intermediate wheel unit and a passive wheel, the passive wheel is connected to a sleeve which is secured to the shaft. The driving wheel is driven by rotating the cranks on two ends of the shaft and the first belt, the intermediate wheel unit, the second belt, the passive wheel, the sleeve and the flywheel are driven in sequence. Because the driving wheel and the flywheel share the same shaft so that the driving and resistance device is compact.

A conventional stationary bike 6 is shown in FIG. 7 and generally includes a frame 62 with a driving device 61 connected thereto and the driving device 61 includes a driving wheel 611 mounted on a first shaft 621 and a flywheel 63 is connected with a second shaft 623. A belt 612 is connected between the driving wheel 611 and the flywheel 63. Two cranks 622 are connected to two ends of the first shaft 621 and are rotated by the user to drive the driving wheel 611. Some stationary bikes include a magnetic resistance device 64 and/or an electric power generation device 65. The magnetic resistance device 64 generates a resistance force to the flywheel 63 to provide the exercise purpose. The power generation device 65 includes a stator 652 and permanent magnets 651 which move relative to the stator 652 to generate electric power which powers the control panel 66 and the magnetic resistance device 64.
The driving device 61, the flywheel 63, the magnetic resistance device 64 and the power generation device 65 have to be installed to the frame of the stationary bike 6 according the profile and shape of the frame, this requires a lot of time and skilled persons. Besides, the first and second shafts 621, 623 require a large space so that the stationary bikes are bulky and occupy large transportation space.
The present invention intends to provide a compact driving and resistance device for stationary bikes, the flywheel and the magnetic resistance wheel share a common shaft so that the stationary bikes can be compact and the assembly time can be reduced.

Compact driving and resistance device for stationary bikes


Methods, apparatuses and computer readable media are described that manage transmit power levels for a wireless device connected to a network access system of a wireless network. Processing circuitry in the wireless device obtains a target average transmit power level. Based on estimates of an actual average transmit power level for a sliding window of a past time period and the target average transmit power level, the processing circuitry determines a target transmit power level, a duty cycle percentage, and a transmit pattern of transmit on frames and transmit off frames for a future time period. The processing circuitry sends to the access network system signaling messages indicating non-zero valued buffer status reports for the transmit on frames and zero valued buffer status reports for the transmit off frames. Non-zero values correspond to actual amounts of pending uplink data, while zero values are sent irrespective of actual uplink buffer status.

Wireless communication devices continue to evolve to provide users with higher data throughput based on newer generation wireless communication protocols using various radio access technologies, and to provide users with increased functionality integrating various features in a multi-capable device. A wireless communication device can include support for a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) Long Term Evolution (LTE) wireless communication protocol, e.g. LTE Releases 8 and 9, current LTE-Advanced (also referred to as LTE-A) Releases 10 and 11, and future LTE-Advanced (also referred to as LTE-B) Releases 12 and beyond. High data throughput and advanced functionality (e.g., high density display screens) can place greater demands on limited battery resources available in the wireless communication device. Power consumption of the wireless communication device can be monitored and regulated to ensure an extended battery life under various operating conditions. Transmission circuitry in wireless communication devices can consume significant amounts of power, particularly when transmitting at high transmit power levels to achieve high data rates and/or to overcome high levels of interference and/or noise that can impact the performance of signal decoding at a receiving wireless access network system, e.g., a base station or an eNodeB of an LTE wireless network.
Transmit power levels for a wireless communication device can be controlled at least in part by signaling messages received from a wireless access network system to which the wireless communication device is connected. The wireless access network system can determine uplink transmit power control commands to ensure that signals received at the wireless access network system can be decoded properly and also to minimize interference of transmissions by the wireless communication device into other wireless communication devices in the same cell or in neighbor cells. The transmit power levels required for uplink transmissions can depend on a target data rate and on radio frequency channel conditions at the wireless access network system to which the wireless communication device communicates. When operating in a shared bandwidth wireless system, e.g., an LTE wireless access network, the wireless communication device can be allocated radio frequency resources during which to transmit in the uplink direction. The wireless communication device can request resource allocations by communicating various signaling messages that can provide information about uplink transmission requirements to the wireless access network, e.g., buffer status reports that can indicate amounts of data pending transmission in the uplink direction. Transmitting at lower data rates, e.g., by requesting fewer radio resources, can provide only limited transmit power savings, as the wireless access network can choose a radio resource allocation for the wireless communication device that requires continuous (or nearly continuous) transmission by the wireless communication device at a lower but steady data rate. Thus, transmit power control management for transmission circuitry in wireless communication devices can be improved upon.

Managing power consumption of transmission circuitry in a wireless communication device