A low-cost and high productivity charging material is provided for use in the recharge or additional charge fabrication of single-crystal semiconductor by means of the CZ method. Common polysilicon rods utilized in recharge or additional charge fabrication have their end portions formed into ring grooves. A joint element is made of silicon. When the end portions of the rods contact, the joint element engages the grooves to connect the rods together along their longitudinal direction. The rods can have arbitrary length, whereas the total weight, including the joint element, must be adjusted by the length to be greater than those of the melted polysilicon and the suspending portions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to materials supplied for fabricating single-crystal semiconductor, and more specifically, to a recharging or additional charging material supplied for fabricating single-crystal semiconductor by the Czhocralsky method (CZ method).
2. Description of Related Art
The substrate of semiconductor devices is generally of high purity single-crystal silicon which is, in general, fabricated by the CZ method. In the CZ method, polysilicon is charged in the crucible of a single-crystal pulling apparatus, in which the polysilicon is melted by heaters arranged around the crucible. In the method, a seed, which is appended to a seed holder, is immersed in the melted polysilicon and rotated in counter to or in the same direction as that of the crucible, the single-crystal is formed when the seed holder is pulled from the crucible.
As the required dimensions of the semiconductor wafer increased, large single-crystal silicon rods with a diameter greater than six inches have become main stream in the semiconductor industry recently. Therefore, the dimensions of the single-crystal silicon pulling apparatus have accordingly expanded and the processing amount per one batch process tends to increase. However, the time required to fabricate the single-crystal silicon also increases as the apparatus dimensions expand. Moreover, certain pre- and post-formation processes, such as melting more polysilicon in a larger crucible before the fabrication of single-crystal silicon and cooling the crucible to an appropriate temperature for cleaning after the fabrication of single-crystal silicon, require more processing time. All these requirements reduce the efficiency of single-crystal silicon fabrication.
The recharge method is one way to improve the fabrication efficiency of single-crystal silicon. This method recharges polysilicon in the crucible and melts the recharged polysilicon when the single-crystal silicon has been pulled out. When the recharge method is utilized, the cooling time and cleaning time of the elements and chambers in the pulling apparatus can be saved, and the quartz crucible, which must be replaced after formation of a single-crystal rod in the conventional fabrication method, can be reused, thus reducing the manufacturing cost. Moreover, an additional charge method can be utilized to feed additional polysilicon into the crucible when previous charged polysilicon is melted, thus increasing the melt amount and facilitating the fabrication of a longer single-crystal silicon rods of larger diameter.
In the recharge or additional charge process, as the polysilicon rods are provided for charge material, one end of each rod has a ring groove which can append to an suspending jig attached to a pulling axis or pulling cable of the single-crystal pulling apparatus, thus feeding the rods into the melt in the crucible. When the recharge or additional charge method is utilized to fabricate single-crystal rods of a large diameter, the amount of melted polysilicon should be increased, therefore larger or longer polysilicon rods are required.
However, certain problems arise as the larger or longer polysilicon rods are utilized. The problems are as follows.
1. The manufacturing cost of larger polysilicon rods is generally much higher because of their low growth rate and of poor yield due to cracks occurred during the growing process. Moreover, any valve through which the polysilicon rod is inserted into the pulling apparatus limits the dimensions of the rod. For example, the inert diameter of the gate valve connecting the main chamber to the pulling chamber and the diameter of the regulation pipe for conducting inert gas from upper portion of the pulling chamber to the main chamber are quite small, thus limiting the dimensions of the rods in the pulling apparatus. When two polysilicon rods of general dimension are combined to be melted in the crucible, they are constrained by the minimal diameter of the valves that they pass through.
2. If the large-dimensional polysilicon rods are not preprocessed by heating before being melted or not cooled after they melted with more times than the times usually required, the rods may break and drop in the crucible, thus increasing the time required to melt the rods and reducing the efficiency. For example, a polysilicon rod having a diameter of 120 mm and a length of 510 mm drops at a speed of 100 mm/sec to a distance of 20 mm from the melt surface in a crucible. The diameter of the crucible is 18 inches, and in the crucible remains 25 Kg of melt. If the polysilicon rod is pre-heated for 30 minutes, it will crack, and most of it will fall into the melt. For if only 30 mm of the polysilicon rod remains, and the remaining portion is pulled at a speed of 50 mm/sec from the chamber, the remaining portion has a high temperature of 504.degree. C., with a variation of 58.degree. C. between the highest and lowest temperatures.
3. As compared with common rods, the enlarged rods and rods of specific length are more expensive. Moreover, utilizing the enlarged rods, after charging in the crucible, leaves end portions which require a plenty of time to make good of them.
4. Not only novel apparatus for suspending the enlarged polysilicon rods, but cleaning and handling apparatus are required, thus increasing the manufacturing cost.
5. As the rod dimensions are expanded, the workability becomes extremely worse in making grooves before cleaning, the chamber cleaning, handling in resolving step and other processing steps cannot be efficiently carried out.

Material supplied for fabricating single-crystal semiconductor


A SaaS system and methods for capturing dataflow integration and optimizing continuity of operation are presented. Consistent with some embodiments, the method may include receiving a dataflow, and calculating a plurality of attribute scores for the dataflow. The method may further include causing a client device to automatically store a dataflow from the dataflow in response to determining that at least a portion of the plurality of attribute scores are above a predefined threshold. The method may further include receiving a dataflow from a recording application associated with a client device and providing to the user of the client device dataflow-recording directions which are adapted to predetermined criteria that correspond to the purpose of dataflow-recording, the type of activity to be presented in said dataflow.

SaaS Web APIs are driving a new wave of workflow automation tools which up until now have only been taken up by a small handful of the potential customer market. Businesses and enterprise are starting to create workflow automation tooling by daisy-chaining SaaS APIs into a complete business process. According to surveys, nearly 70% of integration tasks will take place outside of an IT department in what is called a bottom-up evangelism. In a changing role, IT is becoming a provider of tooling and templates that help the business units to consume core data objects and resources with SaaS software, which allows relying less on their IT, and being able to act more agilely to provide services and new products that meet potential customer's changing digital media consumption patterns.
Allowing non-IT, non-coders to manipulate and experiment with the data in new ways brings new challenges. Complex business logic now reside in individual dataflows interconnected via SaaS APIs, where data from one dataflow may need to be validated, cleaned, filtered or re-calculated, and then injected into a second dataflow representing either a next stage of a business process, an external service in the cloud, or perhaps even entire ecosystems of apps for the digital business. Non-coders will be developing dataflows that require integrity, security, and being organized appropriately, and will be developing quickly without the tech getting in the way. In contrast to monolithic software developed in traditional life cycle with tightly integrated configuration management, SaaS dataflows are expected to be built by non-coders who may or may not be fluent in formal software configuration training. Nevertheless, should certain events occur that jeopardize the information systems comprise of these dataflows to accomplish its assigned mission, protect its assets, fulfill its legal responsibilities, and maintain its day-to-day functions, an organization that needs the information systems would be at risk from the potential impact. There is a need for do-it-yourself automation SaaS dataflow system that enables building dataflows faster, without developer help, where dataflows receive robust disruption protection with no code required.

Systems and methods for continuity of dataflow operations


An interpolation method for color correction generates correction signals Y, M and C from input signals R, G and B through interpolation. In this interpolation method, a triangular prism is selected from plural unit triangular prisms in RGB space, based on x, y and z coordinates of the input signals, a gradient factor and an intercept factor of the selected prism are read out from a memory, and correction data corresponding to the input signals is calculated through interpolation using the gradient and intercept factors from the memory, so that the correction signals are generated based on the calculated correction data.

The present invention generally relates to an interpolation method and a color correction method using interpolation, and more particularly to an interpolation method and a color correction method using interpolation in which yellow, magenta and cyan signals are generated from red, green and blue input signals. The methods are applicable to color copiers and color facsimile machines.
A linear masking techniques is known as a conventional color correction method. In this linear masking method, yellow, magenta and cyan ink quantity signals Y, M and C are obtained from red, green and blue input concentration signals R, G and B, and a relationship between the ink quantity signals and the input signals is represented by the following formula.
Y=xcex110+all R+xcex112 G+xcex113 B
M=xcex120+xcex121 R+xcex122 G+xcex123 B
C=xcex130+xcex131 R+xcex132 G+xcex133 B xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
In the formula (1), a10 through a33 are correction coefficients whose values can be determined through a beast square method on measurement data obtained by scanning several color pattern data.
Although this linear masking technique is useful and application of the linear masking allows small-size color correction hardware to be designed, it is difficult to achieve accurate color correction when the linear masking technique is applied, because the ink quantity signals are very roughly defined in formula (1). In order to achieve accurate color correction, it is necessary to use a non-linear masking technique in which 2nd-order terms such as R2, R G, or G B are additionally incorporated in formula (1). In another case, higher-order terms are further incorporated for achieving very accurate color correction, and reproducing color images closely resembling the originals. When the non-linear masking technique is used, a relationship between the ink quantity signals Y, M and C and the input signals R, G and B is represented as follows.                               Y          =                      a10            +                          a11                                            xe2x80x83                                          R                        +                          a12                                            xe2x80x83                                          G                        +                          a13                                            xe2x80x83                                          B                        +                          a14                                            xe2x80x83                                          R              *              2                        +                          a15                                            xe2x80x83                                          G              *              2                        +                          a16                                            xe2x80x83                                          B              *              2                        +                          a17                                            xe2x80x83                                          R                                            xe2x80x83                                          G                        +                          a18                                            xe2x80x83                                          G                                            xe2x80x83                                          B                        +                          a19                                            xe2x80x83                                          B                                            xe2x80x83                                          R
                                  M          =                      a20            +                          a21                                            xe2x80x83                                          R                        +                          a22                                            xe2x80x83                                          G                        +                          a23                                            xe2x80x83                                          B                        +                          a24                                            xe2x80x83                                          R              *              2                        +                          a25                                            xe2x80x83                                          G              *              2                        +                          a26                                            xe2x80x83                                          B              *              2                        +                          a27                                            xe2x80x83                                          R                                            xe2x80x83                                          G                        +                          a28                                            xe2x80x83                                          G                                            xe2x80x83                                          B                        +                          a29                                            xe2x80x83                                          B                                            xe2x80x83                                          R
                                  C          =                      a30            +                          a31                                            xe2x80x83                                          R                        +                          a32                                            xe2x80x83                                          G                        +                          a33                                            xe2x80x83                                          B                        +                          a34                                            xe2x80x83                                          R              *              2                        +                          a35                                            xe2x80x83                                          G              *              2                        +                          a36                                            xe2x80x83                                          B              *              2                        +                          a37                                            xe2x80x83                                          R                                            xe2x80x83                                          G                        +                          a38                                            xe2x80x83                                          G                                            xe2x80x83                                          B                        +                          a39                                            xe2x80x83                                          B                                            xe2x80x83                                          R                                                          (        2        )
In formula (2), a multiplication sign xe2x80x9cxxe2x80x9d is omitted, a10 through a39 are correction coefficients whose values are predetermined through a least square method based on measurement data obtained by scanning a number of color patterns, and xe2x80x9cR * 2xe2x80x9d, for example, denotes the square of R.
Other conventional interpolation methods are applied to the color correction method in which color correction is carried out using interpolation so as to generate yellow, magenta and cyan ink quantity signals Y M and C from the input data of red, green and blue concentration signals R, G and B. In a first method of the conventional interpolation methods, RGB space is divided into plural unit cubes, color correction data is predetermined with respect to eight lattice points of each of the unit cubes, and color correction values corresponding to input RGB signals at intermediate points between two of the lattice points, are obtained through 8-point linear interpolation which is done using the predetermined correction data. When the linear interpolation is performed, it is required to calculate eight products and sums with the data. This first method has a problem in that it requires a long processing time for color correction and relatively complicated hardware. Also, in the case of the first method there is a problem in that on boundaries between adjacent unit cubes there exists a discontinuity in interpolation values calculated by the linear interpolation procedure.
A second interpolation method was proposed in order to eliminate the above described problems of the first method. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 58-16180 discloses such an interpolation method. In this second method, RGB space is divided into plural unit cubes and each of the unit cubes is further divided into plural small tetrahedrons. Color correction data is predetermined with respect to four vertex points of each of the tetrahedrons, and it is stored in a memory. A unit cube is selected from among the plural unit cubes based on the higher bits of data of input RGB signals (the higher bits denote, e.g., the most significant four bits of 8-bit data), and one tetrahedron is selected from the plural tetrahedrons included in the selected unit cube, based on the lower bits of data of the input RGB signals (the lower bits denote, hereinafter, e.g., the least significant four bits of 8-bit data). Color correction values corresponding to the input RGB signals are obtained, using the stored correction data, through linear interpolation with respect to the vertex points of the selected tetrahedron. Although the second method can be carried out by using a calculation formula which is simpler than that of the first method using 8-point interpolation, there is a problem in that hardware to which the second method is applied must have a relatively great size because of a relatively large number of multipliers required for calculating the color correction values.
Also, in order to eliminate the above described problems of the first method, a third interpolation technique was proposed. For example, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 2-206973 and xe2x80x9cColor Correction of Color Hardcopy by Interpolation using 4-neighborhood Pointsxe2x80x9d by K. Kanamori and H. Kotera, from a transaction of Institute of Picture Electronics Engineers of Japan (Gazou Denshi Gakkai-Shi), vol.10, no.5, 1989, p.319-328, disclose this third interpolation method. In this third method, RGB space is divided into plural unit cubes, each of the unit cubes is further divided into five small tetrahedrons, and color correction factors, which are predetermined with respect to four vertex points of each of the tetrahedrons, are stored in a memory. Based on the higher bits of data of input RGB signals, a unit cube is selected from the plural unit cubes, and one tetrahedron is selected from the plural tetrahedrons included in the selected unit cube based on the lower bits of data of the input RGB signals. Color correction values corresponding to the input RGB signals are obtained through multiplication/addition calculations done, using the stored color correction factors, with respect to the selected tetrahedron and the data of the input RGB signals. Although hardware for carrying out the third method uses only three multipliers and three adders, and the required hardware is of simple construction, there is a problem in that all the bits of data of input RGB signals are input to the multipliers, and the multipliers must have relatively great size.
In the above conventional interpolation methods, Y, M and C correction values, corresponding to lattice points on each tetrahedron, are determined by calculating, through a least square method, correction factors included in a non-linear function such as that represented by formula (2). The YMC correction values corresponding to the lattice points can be determined appropriately only if the number of small tetrahedrons into which RGB space is divided is great enough. Thus, only if such a condition is satisfied, the interpolation can be done within unit regions, so as to achieve very accurate color correction results. If the number of small tetrahedrons is not great enough, it is difficult to achieve accurate color correction through the above interpolation techniques. Also, in the cases of the above techniques, the YMC correction values corresponding to the lattice points of the tetrahedrons are determined regardless of whether or not the number of such tetrahedrons is large enough.
For determining the correction coefficients through the least square method, the above described methods use reference ink quantity signals measured by scanning color patterns which are printed with predetermined ink quantities, and concentration data obtained by decomposing the scanned data of the color patterns. The concentration data from the scanned color data is gathered densely in a diagonally extending central area of RGB space, which contains a diagonal line (R=G=B), and which concentration data does not exist uniformly in RGB space. The concentration data exists sparsely in peripheral areas of RGB space, which areas are located in RGB space at corners and peripheral portions distant from the diagonal line. FIG.1A shows such a distribution of the concentration data obtained from the printed color patterns in RGB space. In FIG.1A, concentration data 12 is gathered densely in a diagonally extending central area of RGB space adjacent to a diagonal like 11 (R=G=B) and little concentration data exists in peripheral areas of RGB space when the concentration data is obtained by scanning printed color patterns.
When approximate Y, M and C ink quantity signals are obtained by the non-linear function being applied to the whole of RGB space using the concentration data from the color patterns, there is a problem in that an excessively large amount of data is generated and in that divergence may occur with respect to lattice points, in the peripheral areas of RGB space, where the concentration data exists sparsely. Generally, a region in which concentration data generated from printed data exists is narrower than that in which concentration data generated from photographic data exists. FIG.1B shows a distribution of concentration data generated by scanning photographic data. In FIG.1B, the concentration data from the photographic data exists in a wider region of the RG plane, approaching the peripheral portions thereof, as indicated by a dotted line 13 in FIG.1B. In such a case, if Y, M and C ink quantities are preset with respect to lattice points in the peripheral areas as in the above conventional methods, there is a problem in that an irregularly corrected or unusual color may appear in the reproduced image. Such peripheral areas of RGB space are indicated by shading lines in FIG.2.
When the above conventional methods are used, color reproduction error and/or concentration difference can be reduced uniformly in the whole of RGB space. Such concentration difference, however, is not always lower than a prescribed level in local areas such as achromatic color areas or highlighted areas where a difference between original color and reproduced color is especially appreciable. Thus, there is a problem in that the conventional methods do not necessarily provide high-quality reproduced images.
Accordingly, it is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved interpolation and color correction method in which the above described problems of the conventional methods are eliminated.
Another and more specific object of the present invention is to provide an interpolation method which realizes a color correction hardware of simple structure, and carries out accurate color correction using a memory of small storage capacity.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide an interpolation method of the space-division type in which lattice point is appropriately predetermined corresponding to lattice points in RGB space.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a color correction method which improves the quality of a reproduced image corresponding to a peripheral area of RGB space.
A further object of the present invention is to provide a color correction method which improves the quality of a reproduced image corresponding to a local area of RGB space in which a color difference between the original image and the reproduced image is appreciable.
The above mentioned objects of the present invention can be achieved by an interpolation method for converting input color signals into correction signals, which comprises the steps of selecting a triangular prism based x, y and z coordinates of the input signals from plural unit triangular prisms into which XYZ space is divided, reading out lattice point data of the selected triangular prism from a memory in which predetermined correction data is stored, the correction data corresponding to lattice points of each of the plural unit triangular prisms, and calculating correction data corresponding to the input signals through interpolation of values of the lattice point data read out from the memory so that the correction signals are generated based on the calculated correction data. According to the present invention, it is possible to realize color correction hardware of simple construction and carry out accurate color correction using a memory of small storage capacity.
The above mentioned objects of the present invention can also be achieved by a color correction method for generating color correction signals Y, M and C from input signals R, G and B through interpolation, which comprises the steps of calculating a set of correction factors included in a linear function and a set of correction factors included in a non-linear function through a least square method based on plural color pattern data which is printed with predetermined ink quantities, and based on density data obtained by color decomposition of the plural color pattern data, determining correction signals Y, M and C, corresponding to lattice points in RGB space by using either the linear of the non-linear function including the calculated set of correction factors, setting the correction signals Y, M and C, determined by using the linear function, to a lattice point in RGB space when the lattice point is located in an area of RGB space in which the density data is lower than a predetermined level, and setting the correction signals Y, M and C, determined by using the non-linear function, to a lattice point in RGB space when the lattice point is not located in an area of RGB space in which the density data is lower than a predetermined level. According to the present invention, it is possible to attain high quality of reproduced image corresponding to a local area of RGB space in which a color difference between the original image and the reproduced image is appreciable.
Other objects and further features of the present invention will be apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Interpolation method and color correction method using interpolation


Spatially-separated heterodyne interferometer architecture is combined with monolithic glass construction techniques to provide a monolithic, spatially-separated, common-path interferometer. The monolithic interferometer includes multiple optical components bonded together into a monolithic structure. The bonded components provide both optics and structure for the interferometer, thereby producing a small, compact, and light-weight interferometry system. Beam splitters and combiners are provided on the interfaces between the optical components to direct and combine signal measurement, signal reference and local oscillator beams used in the interferometry system. The spatially-separated architecture reduces cyclic error values below those of polarization-separated interferometers. In addition, the monolithic architecture of the interferometer minimizes the impact of mechanical, thermal, and optical variations within the system.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to interferometry, and specifically to a monolithic, spatially-separated, common-path interferometer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Interferometry has applications in many fields where precise measurement of movement is necessary. Fields using interferometry include aerospace, semiconductors, and general metrology.
Traditionally, interferometers utilize polarizing beam splitters to separate a measurement beam from a reference beam. The measurement beam is then reflected off a measuring object and the reference beam off a fixed reference object. Subsequently, when the polarization separated beams are mixed together, the beams interfere with each other, creating an interference pattern or an interferogram. Such interferograms are extremely sensitive to relative changes in the paths of the measurement beam and the reference beam. Thus, a precise measurement of changes in distance can be made by measuring changes in the resulting interference pattern signals of an interferometer.
Polarization-separated interferometers, however, suffer from polarization leakage, which can introduce errors and limit the measurement resolution to approximately 1 nanometer. Existing interferometers are also large, complex devices that are cumbersome to deploy and difficult to align. In addition, they suffer from various mechanical, thermal, and optical variations within the many components that make up the interferometers.

Monolithic, spatially-separated, common path interferometer


A lens barrel capable of forming high-accuracy barrel body and simply adjusting a tilt and a position in an optical axis direction without using dedicated portions is provided. The lens barrel includes a front barrel and a rear barrel. An inner diameter of a portion, containing a focus lens of the front barrel, is 1.15 times or more as large as an inner diameter of a portion containing a zoom lens of the rear barrel. The rear barrel and the front barrel are coupled by a coupling screw. A convex portion has an adjustment face for adjusting a distance between the focus lens and the zoom lens and is formed on a coupling face of the front barrel. A convex portion includes a reference face serving as a reception portion and is formed on the rear barrel.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a plastic lens barrel for a projector, particularly to a plastic lens barrel where an entire length of the lens is more than 150 mm and a wide zoom lens having a super-wide angle is mounted.
2. Related Art
A projector enlarging and projecting an image on a screen by employing a projection lens is known. The projector is generally used in indoors, and thus a super-wide angle lens is used in a front lens, and a zoom lens including a lens group of a variable-magnification optical system is disposed as a rear lens. In a projection image, a size of image formed on a screen can be adjusted by changing a distance between the super-wide angle lens of the front lens and the zoom lens of the rear lens.
Barrel portions containing the lens are generally made of resin because of costs and weight. Hence, it is difficult to secure optical axis accuracy as a whole. For example, in a barrel provided with a wide zoom lens used in a projector having a screen size of 100 inch or more formed at a projection distance of 3 to 4 m, the entire length of the barrel increases, and thus it is very difficult to form the barrel in high accuracy. Particularly, in a case of a wide zoom lens used in a projector, a decrease in size is contrived by making a zoom lens group (a variable magnification optical system) of a rear lens have a small diameter. However, since a front group lens has the super-wide angle, a diameter of the front group lens increases. So the barrel containing them has a step since the diameter of the barrel is remarkably changed in a connection portion. The step in the lens barrel deteriorates stability in barrel formation, so that time and costs should be spent in order to secure size accuracy of portions in the lens barrel. In this case, sometimes the target accuracy may not be obtained even when time and costs are spent on the target accuracy.
As described above, when using the barrel having low accuracy in optical axis, quality of an image projected on a screen deteriorates. Hence, there has been a need to adjust an optical axis tilt and a position of the lens when the super-wide angle lens of the front group are built into the barrel.
In the following Patent Document 1 (JP-A-2003-329912), a method in which the tilt of a lens can be simply adjusted is provided. According to the method, by forming a plurality of positioning grooves on a lens abutting surface and installing an adjusting washer having two lens abutting portions projecting to an outside diameter side and one positioning portion on a circumference, it is possible to position the lens abutting surface and optionally make the tilt in an optional direction correctable.
As described above, in a barrel body where a lens having a super-wide angle is mounted and an entire length of the lens is more than 150 mm, diameters of the front lens and the rear lens are remarkably different from each other. Thus, the barrel has a step, and so there is problem that it is difficult to secure formation accuracy. By using the method disclosed in the Patent Document 1, even when optical accuracy of the barrel is corrected, it is needed that employing a plurality of expensive spacers in order to adjust the front lens, and there is a problem of spending unnecessary time such as attachment of the spacer and adjustment of sheet number.
It is an object of the invention to provide a lens barrel capable of improving accuracy in size at the time of forming without an increase in costs and simply adjusting a tilt and a position in an optical axis direction.


According to an aspect of the present invention there is provided a method of binding a security element to a device, comprising: generating a passkey to encrypt the security element, the passkey being a combination of attributes, and one of the attributes being a Device ID associated with said device. Preferably, the device is a mobile device. The combination of attributes may include the following: a) a build secret, the build secret consisting of a string which is generated when the software application is created; b) a salt, the salt consisting of a random string; wherein the build string and the salt are stored as non-printable strings within encryption code of the passkey.

The rapid increase in the use of online services for shopping, banking and other financial transactions has brought with it an increase in identity theft and fraud. The most common existing security techniques rely on the user having a password associated with an online identity (user name). However, schemes such as keystroke logging, phishing and similar techniques are used to improperly record or intercept passwords and the associated user names. Thus, the username/password data can be taken and used in fraudulent transactions, leading to loss of money, loss of time and loss of reputation, not only for the user whose identity was taken, but also for those parties who were fraudulently induced into believing they were transacting with the user.
The flaws in the username/password system have lead to the development of two-factor (also known as "strong") authentication systems. Two-factor authentication is based on two elements: 1) something the user knows (i.e. a password or PIN); and 2) something the user has (an authenticator, often a physical device referred to as a "fob"). The fob and the password are used together to provide an additional level of security, as either one, individually, is of no use without the other.
Despite the improved security, two-factor authentication is still of limited use due to the requirement of the hardware fob. Furthermore, each secure system requires its own fob, creating a problem for the user who then needs to keep track of the multiple fobs necessary for access to multiple services.
One method of two-factor authentication is the use of One-Time Password (OTP) authentication. Using OTP authentication, a new OTP value (OTP token) is generated for use on a per-event basis (e.g. each remote logon attempt) or on a time-window basis (e.g. once per minute). The user is typically required to use a fob, either to generate the OTP, or to contact the system and receive the OTP.
Ideally, the fob can be replaced by another device already carried by the user, such as a mobile phone or PDA, which stores a set of OTP credentials for use when access the secure system. However, this creates a new problem that must be addressed, namely, the requirement that the OTP credentials be properly encrypted and bound to the device.

Method for binding a security element to a mobile device


In a bearing device in which a free end of a shaft body to which a rolling bearing is mounted is bent outward in its radial direction into a shape to be pushed against an end face of an inner ring of the rolling bearing so as to prevent the rolling bearing from falling out, a raceway surface of the inner ring of the rolling bearing is subjected to hardening treatment, and another portion of the inner ring is made of raw material which is not hardened. With this arrangement, the caulked portion formed by the caulking plastically deforms the relatively soft inner peripheral corner of the inner ring and as a result, the caulked portion and the inner peripheral corner are adhered to each other strongly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a bearing device such as a hub unit for a vehicle comprising a shaft and a bearing and a rolling bearing mounted to the shaft body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Referring to FIG. 7, in a conventional hub unit, a double row angular contact ball bearing 82 with vertex of contact angles outside of bearing is fitted and mounted around a shaft portion 81 of a hub wheel 80. A free end of the shaft portion 81 is bent outward in a radial direction by rolling-caulking. The bent caulked portion 85 pushes an outer end face of an inner ring 84 of the bearing 82. With this pushing operation, the bearing 82 is fixed to the hub wheel 80 to prevent the bearing 82 from falling out from the hub wheel 80.
Before the free end of the shaft portion 81 is caulked, the free end has a shape of a cylindrical portion. This cylindrical portion is rolling-caulked using a caulking jig. With this operation, the cylindrical portion of the shaft portion 81 is bent outward in the radial direction to form the caulked portion 85 so that the inner ring 84 is prevented from falling out.
In such a hub unit, an entire outer surface of the inner ring 84 of the bearing 82 is subjected to hardening treatment. Therefore, in order to enhance a resisting force against the falling-out phenomenon of the bearing 82, it is necessary to set a caulking load stronger.
On the other hand, if the caulking load is excessively strong, a raceway surface of the inner ring 84 is affected and there is an adverse possibility that rolling characteristics of the bearing 82 is deteriorated. Therefore, it is necessary to set the caulking load appropriately.


An endoluminal prosthesis for placing in a body passage of a patient, includes a ureteral stent, the ureteral stent having a generally tubular housing having a proximal end and a distal end and a lumen longitudinally disposed therethrough, with cation-exchange resin beads disposed within the tubular housing, and at least one anchoring mechanism disposed on a distal end of the tubular housing, where at least one retention screen is disposed within the lumen of the ureteral stent configured to retain the plurality of beads.

Minimally-invasive surgery has evolved to a point where procedures that were unimaginable a few years ago are now routinely performed on a daily basis. Indwelling ureteral stents have been widely used for years. Such stents are placed in the ureter, which is the duct between the kidney and the bladder, for the purpose of establishing and/or maintaining an open, patent flow of urine from the kidney to the bladder.
Nephrolithiasis is a condition in which one or more calculi or stones are present in the kidneys. Kidney stones affect 3-5% of the world population and 80% of the stones are calcium-based; calcium oxalate being predominant. Other stones are made up of calcium phosphate, uric acid, cystine or struvite (magnesium ammonium phosphate). Small crystal aggregates are typically excreted from the body via passage in urine. Once the aggregrates grow to a certain size (3 mm) however, they can cause obstruction of the ureters due to urolithiasis.
Ureteral stents may be used to retain patency of the ureteral lumen and to continue normal urinary drainage following the treatment and removal of stones and calculi from kidneys and ureters. To treat this condition, several individual steps are involved. In one procedure, these steps include placing a relatively narrow wire guide through a urethra and bladder, and then through the ureter and into the kidney. After the wire guide is placed, a catheter is run along the wire guide, dilating the body passage (the urethra and the ureter) as it moves down the wire guide. The access sheath also dilates the body passages as it moves from outside the body, through the urethra, and into the ureter, down the desired location, and into or very near the kidney.
The physician may then remove calculi and stones through the access sheath, using a grasper, a retrieval basket or other device. The access sheath protects the ureter from repeated passage of the retrieval device while the stones or calculi are removed. After the stones are removed, the ureteral stent may be placed into the ureter through the access sheath, using the catheter or a pushing tube to position the stent.
Lifetime risk of nephrolithiasis in the developed world is 10-15%, and is higher elsewhere (20-25% in the Middle East). In the US, nephrolithiasis is estimated to occur in up to 10% and 5% of the male and female population respectively, result in medical costs of $2.1 billion annually. 70% of those who experience nephrolithiasis will have recurrence of stones even after surgical removal. Once recurrent, the subsequent risk of relapse is raised and the interval between recurrences is shortened. Crystallization of calcium and magnesium salts is the chief culprit in the formation of kidney stones.
The typical ureteral stent can be composed of various radiopaque polymers, including polyethylene, silicone, polyurethane, and thermoplastic elastomer. These stents are retained in the ureter by a retentive anchoring portion, such as a curved shape, pigtail, coil, J-shape, or hook configuration, at either end of the stent that engages the walls of the bladder and the kidney, respectively. The stent is resilient to allow it to be straightened for insertion into a body passageway and returned to its predetermined retentive anchoring shape when in situ. There can be problems, however, with ureteral stents, as urine may fail to drain through the stent. This may be due to a number of reasons, such as extrinsic compression of the stent or blockage of the drainage mechanism of the stent by encrustation. Furthermore, there can be problems associated with migration of the ureteral stent from the original implantation site either upward into the kidney of the patient or downward into the bladder of the patient.


A method and apparatus for maintaining a relatively constant temperature of a working fluid in an evaporator of a refrigeration system by providing a constant volumetric displacement compressor and a heat exchanger for exchanging heat between the high pressure and low pressure portions of a refrigeration circuit to superheat, and hold substantially constant, the temperature of the refrigerant entering the compressor. In doing this, the pressure of the refrigerant in the low pressure portion of the circuit, including the evaporator, and the mass flow rate of the refrigerant remain substantially constant. As a result, the temperature of the saturated refrigerant in the evaporator remains substantially constant.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to refrigeration systems and, more specifically, to maintaining a relatively constant temperature of refrigerant passing through an evaporator, where the evaporator is exposed to a variable thermal load.
2. Description of the Related Art
In common refrigeration systems that operate at constant evaporating temperature under variable cooling load, the refrigerant is compressed in a variable speed compressor and then cooled in a condenser. After the refrigerant is cooled in the condenser, it is passed through an expansion device, or valve, to lower its pressure. The cooled, low-pressure refrigerant then enters an evaporator where the refrigerant absorbs thermal energy as its phase changes from a liquid to a vapor. Subsequently, the refrigerant in the evaporator is drawn into the compressor and re-cycled through the circuit.
Electronic components, such as microprocessors and laser diodes, perform better and more reliably when they are maintained at a constant, low temperature. Commonly, a refrigeration system is used to cool these electronic components by placing the evaporator near the components to absorb the heat that they produce. The heat produced by and emanating from these components may change over time depending on several factors. In order to maintain these components at a relatively constant temperature, the refrigeration system must be able to increase or decrease its cooling load in response to these changes.
To adjust the cooling load provided by the refrigeration circuit, the compressor may be cycled on and off which essentially starts and stops the working fluid from flowing through the circuit. However, cycling a compressor in this manner creates difficulties in the compressor lubrication system causing premature wear. Further, turning the refrigeration cycle on and off in this manner allows the temperature of the electronic components to fluctuate substantially. These substantial temperature swings may cause soldered connections to break or cause undesired condensation on the components.
Alternatively, variable speed compressors can be used to adjust the flow rate of the working fluid in the circuit to provide a variable, yet continuous, cooling load to the evaporator. However, variable speed compressors emit a variety of frequencies during operation which may cause nearby electronic components to malfunction. Further, variable speed compressors typically require additional electronics and hardware to convert AC power to DC power, thus increasing the cost of the refrigeration system.
What is needed is a refrigeration system which is an improvement over the foregoing.

Variable cooling load refrigeration cycle


Procedures and systems for avoiding undesired trespass may be deployed in host processors that use storage arrays with automated fail-back and fail-over functions. In one embodiment, a method may synchronize path records in a storage array with path records in a host processor. The method may detect a failure of a first data path through a first controller on the storage array to a logical unit (LUN) on the storage array. In response to the failure, the host processor may initiate a failover on the storage array of the LUN, so that the LUN is accessed through a backup controller on the storage array. The host processor may also issue commands to pin the failed-over LUN to the backup controller. For example, the host processor may issue commands to set the default owner of the LUN to be the backup controller.

Distributed computing systems are an increasingly important part of research, governmental, and enterprise computing systems. Among the advantages of such computing systems are their ability to handle a variety of different computing scenarios including large computational problems, high volume data processing situations, and high availability (HA) situations. Such distributed computing systems typically utilize one or more storage devices in support of the computing systems operations performed by a processing host computer. These storage devices may be quite numerous and/or heterogeneous. In an effort to aggregate such storage devices and to make such storage devices more manageable and flexible, storage virtualization techniques are often used. Storage virtualization techniques establish relationships between physical storage devices, e.g. disk drives, tape drives, optical drives, etc., and virtual or logical storage devices such as volumes, virtual disks, and logical units (sometimes referred to as LUNs). In so doing, virtualization techniques provide system-wide features, e.g., naming, sizing, and management, better suited to the entire computing system than those features dictated by the physical characteristics of storage devices. Additionally, virtualization techniques enable and/or enhance certain computing system operations such as clustering and data backup and restore.
FIG. 1 illustrates a simplified example of a computing system 100. The members of the computing system 100 include a host processor ("host") 130. Thus, host 130 is typically an individual computer system having some or all of the software and hardware components well known to those having skill in the art. In support of various applications and operations, host 130 may exchange data over, for example, a network 120, typically a local area network (LAN) such as an enterprise-wide intranet, or a wide area network (WAN) such as the Internet. Additionally, network 120 provides a communication path for various client computer systems 110 to communicate with host 130. In addition to network 120, host 130 may communicate with other computing hosts over a private network (not shown).
Other elements of computing system 100 may include a storage area network (SAN) 150 and storage devices such as a tape library 160 (typically including one or more tape drives), a group of disk drives 170 (i.e., "just a bunch of disks" or "JBOD"), and an intelligent storage array 180. As shown in FIG. 1, host 130 is coupled to SAN 150. SAN 150 is conventionally a high-speed network that allows the establishment of direct connections among storage devices 160, 170, and 180 and host 130. SAN 150 may also include one or more SAN-specific devices such as SAN switches, SAN routers, SAN hubs, or some type of storage appliance. SAN 150 may also be coupled to additional hosts. Thus, SAN 150 may be shared between the hosts may and allow for the sharing of storage devices between the hosts to provide greater availability and reliability of storage. Although host 130 is shown connected to storage devices 160, 170, and 180 through SAN 150, this need not be the case. Shared resources may be directly connected to some or all of the hosts in the computing system, and computing system 100 need not include a SAN. Alternatively, or in addition, host 130 may be connected to multiple SANs.
FIG. 2 illustrates in greater detail several components of computing system 100. For example, storage array 180 is illustrated as a disk array with two input/output (I/O) ports 181 and 186. Associated with each I/O port is a respective storage controller (182 and 187), and each storage controller generally manages I/O operations to and from the storage array through the associated I/O port. In this example, storage controller 182 includes a processor 183, a memory cache 184 and a regular memory 185. Processor 183 is coupled to cache 184 and to memory 185. Similarly, storage controller 187 may include a processor 188, a memory cache 189 and a regular memory 190. Processor 188 is coupled to cache 189 and to memory 190.
Although one or more of each of these components is typical in storage arrays, other variations and combinations are well known in the art. The storage array may also include some number of disk drives (logical units (LUNs) 191-195) accessible by both storage controllers. As illustrated, each disk drive is shown as a LUN, which is generally an indivisible unit presented by a storage device to its host(s). Logical unit numbers, also sometimes referred to as LUNs, are typically assigned to each disk drive in a storage array so the host may address and access the data on those devices. In some implementations, a LUN may include multiple physical devices, e.g., several disk drives, that are logically presented as a single device. Similarly, in various implementations a LUN may consist of a portion of a physical device, such as a logical section of a single disk drive.
FIG. 2 also illustrates some of the software and hardware components present in host 130. Host 130 may execute one or more application programs 131. Such applications may include, but are not limited to, database administration systems (DBMS), file servers, application servers, web servers, backup and restore software, customer relationship management software, and the like. The applications and other software not shown, e.g., operating systems, file systems, and applications executing on client computer systems 110 may initiate or request I/O operations against storage devices such as storage array 180. Host 130 may also executes a volume manager 133 that enables physical resources configured in the computing system to be managed as logical devices. An example of software that performs some or all of the functions of a volume manager 133 is the VERITAS Volume Manager™ product provided by VERITAS Software Corporation. Host 130 may take advantage of the fact that storage array 180 has more than one I/O port by using a dynamic multipathing (DMP) driver 135 as well as multiple host bus adaptors (HBAs) 137 and 139. The HBAs may provide a hardware interface between the host bus and the storage network, typically implemented as a Fibre Channel network. Host 130 may have multiple HBAs to provide redundancy and/or to take better advantage of storage devices having multiple ports.
The DMP functionality may enable greater reliability and performance by using path fail-over and load balancing. In general, the multipathing policy used by DMP driver 135 depends on the characteristics of the storage array in use.
Active/active storage arrays (A/A arrays) permit several paths to be used concurrently for I/O operations. For example, if storage array 180 is implemented as an A/A array, then host 130 may be able to access data through one path that goes through I/O port 181 and through a separate second path that goes through port 186. Such arrays enable DMP driver 135 to provide greater I/O throughput by dividing the I/O load across the multiple paths to the disk devices. In the event of a loss of one connection to a storage array, the DMP driver may automatically route I/O operations over the other available connection(s) to the storage array.
Active/passive arrays with so-called auto-trespass mode (A/P arrays) allow I/O operations on one or more primary paths while one or more secondary path is available in case the primary path fails. For example, if storage array 180 is implemented as an A/P array, then the storage array 180 may designate a primary path and a secondary path for each of the LUNs in the storage array. Storage array 180 may designate controller 182 as the primary controller for LUNs 191, 192, and 193. Communication between these LUNs and host 130 would then be directed though controller 182, I/O port 181, SAN 150, and one or both of HBAs 137 and 139. These elements would together form a primary path for LUNs 191, 192, and 193. A secondary path would be designated as a redundant backup path. The secondary path would include the other controller 187, I/O port 186, SAN 150, and one or both of HBAs 137 and 139.
While controller 182 and the associated elements may be designated as the primary path for some of the LUNs, controller 186 and the associated elements may be designated as the primary controller for other LUNs. For example, LUNs 191, 192, and 193 may have a primary path that includes controller 182 and a secondary path that includes controller 187. At the same time, LUNs 194 and 195 may have a primary path that includes controller 187 and a secondary path that includes controller 182.
In an A/P array, controllers 182 and 187 may take steps to restrict host 130 from using both paths to communicate with any single LUN. Instead, to communicate with a LUN the host normally uses only one of the available paths. This path may be called the active path; the remaining path may be called the passive path. This arrangement allows the controllers 182 and 187 to more readily manage data traffic and caching for their respective LUNs. When a host communicates with a LUN over a path that is not the path designated for use with that LUN, the communication is considered a trespass on that path.
In the event that the primary path for a LUN fails, a host will need to turn to that LUN's secondary path until external measures have successfully corrected the problem with the primary path. Initially, the primary path for a LUN is designated as the path to be used for communication with that LUN. After a host detects that a primary path for a LUN has failed, the host may switch paths and attempt to communicate with the LUN on its secondary path. The storage array would then detect that communication as a trespass on the secondary path. In an active/passive array with auto-trespass mode, the storage array interprets this trespass as an indication that a primary path has failed. The A/P array may then respond by switching controllers for that LUN, so that the secondary path is designated as the path to be used for communication with that LUN. The host can then communicate with the LUN over the secondary path until the primary path is restored.
This process of the host and the storage array switching paths in response to failure of the primary path may be known as a fail-over. Similarly, the process of the host and the storage array switching back to the primary path after the restoration of the primary path may be known as a fail-back.
In active/passive arrays with auto-trespass mode, the controllers may be configured to automatically perform a fail-back when a trespass is detected on a primary path—that is, when the secondary path has been designated as the path to be used, but I/O is received on the primary path. The A/P array may interpret this situation as meaning that the primary path has been restored. In response, the A/P array may designate the primary path once again as the path to be used.
Active/passive arrays may alternatively be configured without an automated response to trespasses. For example, active/passive arrays in explicit fail-over mode (A/PF arrays) do not have these automated responses. A/PF arrays typically require a special command to be issued to the storage array for fail-over to occur. The special command may be a SCSI command or a Fibre Channel command, and may be tailored for the type of storage array being addressed.
Active/passive arrays with LUN group fail-over (A/PG arrays) treat a group of LUNs that are connected through a controller as a single fail-over entity. Fail-over occurs at the controller level and not at the LUN level (as would typically be the case for an A/P array in auto-trespass mode). The primary and secondary controllers are each connected to a separate group of LUNs. If a single LUN in the primary controller's LUN group fails, all LUNs in that group fail over to the secondary controller's LUN group.
Yet another type of storage array employs Asymmetric Logical Unit Access (ALUA). ALUA arrays may include two controllers and may allow I/O through both the controllers, similar to the arrangement in A/A arrays, but the secondary controller may provide a lower throughput than the primary controller. For example, if storage array 180 is implemented as an ALUA array, then the storage array 180 may designate a primary path and a secondary path for each of the LUNs in the storage array. Storage array 180 may designate controller 182 as the primary controller for LUNs 191, 192, and 193, and may designate controller 187 as the primary controller for LUNs 194 and 195. Controller 182 may then serve as a redundant secondary controller for LUNs 194 and 195, and controller 187 may then serve as a redundant secondary controller for LUNs 191, 192, and 193.
ALUA arrays may generally support fail-over and fail-back in response to a failure and a restoration of a primary path. The fail-over and fail-back in ALUA arrays may be SCSI command based, as described above for A/PF arrays. Alternatively, the fail-over and fail-back may be I/O based, such as described above for A/P arrays. In various types of ALUA arrays, the fail-over is generally at the LUN level. Each LUN undergoes fail-over only when a trespass is detected on the secondary path for that LUN. This approach may avoid unnecessary fail-overs in situations where a primary path experiences only a temporary failure.
Fail-backs, however, are generally performed at a group level in ALUA arrays. ALUA arrays define groups for the LUNs within the storage array. Fail-backs may be performed for an entire group of LUNs when a trespass is detected on the primary path for any of the LUNs in the group, since fail-backs generally improve the performance of a LUN. Thus, if storage array 180 is implemented as an ALUA array, then when storage array 180 performs a fail-back for LUN 192, the storage array may also perform a fail-back for other LUNs (e.g., LUNs 191 and 193) in the same group.
To coordinate the fail-back of LUNs in a group, an ALUA array may maintain two records for each LUN. One of the records may designate the default path to be used for access to the LUN. A second record may be used to designate the current path to be used for the LUN. Initially, the ALUA array may decide which of the available paths should be used as the default path for a group of LUNs. The ALUA array may then set the current path for those LUNs to be the same as the default paths. When a fail-over occurs for one of the LUNs, the ALUA array may change the current path to be the backup path for that LUN. Meanwhile, the record of the default path indicates which path should be monitored so that a fail-back can be performed once the default path has been restored.
Various aspects of ALUA arrays may lead to drawbacks in the operating environment. For example, an ALUA array may be configured to wait before performing a fail-over for idle LUNs. Thus, there may be some delay before an ALUA array performs the fail-over for idle LUNs that are assigned to a failed path. This delay may help the storage array to avoid unnecessary fail-overs in situations where a primary path experiences only a temporary failure. However, the delay in failing over idle LUNs and the group-fail-back approach may lead to inconsistencies between the records of the ALUA array and the records of the host.
Because of this delay, it is possible for the records of an ALUA array to indicate that one path is the current path for a LUN, while the records of a host may indicate that another path is the path to be used for that LUN. In various implementations of ALUA arrays, the amount of delay may not be readily ascertained by host processors using the ALUA array. Thus, when a host initiates communication with a formerly idle LUN, the host may not be able to ensure that the host uses the same path as designated by the ALUA array for that LUN.
The inconsistencies between the records in the storage array and the records in the host may have undesirable consequences. For example, a host may trigger an undesired fail-over or a fail-back by unintentionally communicating with a LUN on a path that is not considered current by the storage array. It would therefore be helpful to have tools for reducing or preventing mismatches in the records of LUN assignments between host processors and storage arrays.

Preventing undesired trespass in storage arrays


A menu is provided in a telephone call. The menu provides a plurality of destination options including a first destination option for a residence of a family, a second destination option for a first member of the family at a first location other than the residence, and a third destination option for a second member of the family at a second location other than the residence. A first selection of one of the destination options is received in the telephone call, and the telephone call is routed to a first telephone number corresponding to the first selection. Thereafter, an originating dual-tone multi-frequency trigger is detected. The telephone call to the first telephone number is interrupted, a second selection of the destination options is received, and the telephone call is routed to a second telephone number corresponding to the second selection.

800-numbers and other toll-free telephone numbers are used for receiving telephone calls which are to be toll-free to calling parties. Any monthly and per-minute usage fees for incoming calls to a toll-free telephone number are charged to its subscriber.
Personal 800-number services are available to allow toll-free calls to be placed to a subscriber's home. Existing personal 800-number services are directed to one telephone number, which is usually the subscriber's home telephone. Since the subscriber is billed for incoming calls to his/her personal 800-number, the personal 800-number is typically made known to a limited number of persons. For example, the personal 800-number may be made known only to select relatives and friends.
Personal 800-number services are beneficial for individuals, such as business travelers, who wish to avoid hotel surcharges and collect call rates when calling home. Personal 800-number services are also beneficial for receiving calls from friends or relatives who do not have the financial wherewithal to keep in touch by telephone. A family with one or more children may establish a personal 800-number so that a child can make a toll-free call to home. This allows children away at college, for example, to make toll-free calls to home. The personal 800-number is also beneficial in emergency situations where a child, having no means of payment (e.g. coins or a calling card) for a pay telephone, needs to call a parent at home.

Methods, system and article for providing a family telecommunication service using an originating dual-tone multi-frequency trigger


In a sheet forming part 2 of a soft capsule manufacturing apparatus 1, a drum drive system 27 which forms a gelatin sheet 13, and a pickup roller drive system 28 which peels off the gelatin sheet 13 are constructed to drive separately from each other. In the drum drive system 27, a film-sheet forming drum 23 is driven by a first motor 271, while in the pickup-roller drive system 28, a pickup roller 24 is driven by a second motor 281. The first motor and the second motor are controlled in speed separately from each other, so that the film-sheet forming drum rotates at a suitable speed for forming film sheet on the peripheral surface and the pickup roller rotates at a suitable speed for peeling off the adhered film sheet on the peripheral surface of the film-sheet forming drum, whereby gelatin sheet jamming and double-rolling on the film-sheet forming drum, which would be caused by too weak peeling force of the pickup roller, and gelatin sheet damage between the pickup roller and the film-sheet forming drum, which would be caused by too strong peeling force.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for Manufacturing soft capsules.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is conventionally known that soft capsules, with material such as medicines charged inside capsule films, formed from animal materials such as gelatin and from vegetable materials such as starch, are in common use mainly for medical and pharmaceutical products. Such soft capsules are generally manufactured by using rotary type manufacturing apparatuses as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-221267.
As disclosed in the above document, a rotary type manufacturing apparatus consists of a sheet forming part that forms a gelatin sheet from a gelatin material, and a capsule forming part that forms capsules from the gelatin sheet. Two gelatin sheets formed in the sheet forming part are inserted between a pair of die rolls of the capsule forming part and are heat-sealed, while, a material is filled in between the gelatin sheets. The gelatin sheets are die-cut into a capsule shape with dies on a die roll outer peripheral surface, and thus, a soft capsule charged with the material inside the gelatin film is completed.
Explaining the sheet forming part in the conventional manufacturing apparatus in more detail, a sheet forming part 50 is constructed by a spreader box 51, a film-sheet forming drum 52, and a pickup roller 53 as shown in FIG. 9.
The spreader box 51 has the function of storing a fixed amount of a raw gelatin material 11, and adhering the gelatin material 11 on the film-sheet forming drum 52 by thinly spreading it thereon. The film-sheet forming drum 52 has cooling water circulated therein and is rotatably supported, and forms a cooled and solidified gelatin sheet 13 by blowing dried cold air to the gelatin material 11 while rotating the gelatin material 11 adhered on the drum surface. The pickup roller 53 peels off the gelatin sheet 13 adhering to the film-sheet forming drum 52 and transfers the gelatin sheet 13 wound on the roller outer periphery to a capsule forming part at the subsequent step by rotation of the roller. The sheet forming parts 50 are provided by being paired at both left and right sides of the die roll, and the two gelatin sheets 13 and 13 formed by a pair of sheet forming parts 50 and 50 are transferred to the die roll.
In the sheet forming part 50 as described above, the drive system has the structure in which a drum drive system 60 which rotates the film-sheet forming drum, and a pickup roller drive system 70 which rotates a pickup roller, are provided to be linked with each other as shown in FIG. 10. Namely, in the drum drive system 60, a timing belt 64 is looped over both a pulley of a speed reducer 62 connected to a motor 61 and a drum shaft input pulley 63 at a drum shaft center, and the film-sheet forming drum 52 is rotated by transmitting the rotation of the motor 61 to the drum shaft input pulley 63 via the timing belt 64.
Meanwhile, a drive source of the pickup roller drive system 70 is the same motor 61 as the film-sheet forming drum 52, and a drum shaft output pulley 71 sharing the shaft center with the drum shaft input pulley 63, and a pickup roller input pulley 72 are connected via an idler 73. Namely, a timing belt 75 is looped over both the drum shaft output pulley 71 and an idler shaft input pulley 74 with a small diameter, and a timing belt 77 is looped over both the pickup roller input pulley 72 and an idler shaft output pulley 76 with a large diameter. Accordingly, the rotational force which is transmitted to the drum shaft via the speed reducer 62 from the motor 61 is further transmitted to the pickup roller input pulley 72 via the idler 73, and thereby rotates the pickup roller 53.
However, in the conventional manufacturing apparatus, a linking drive method which links the drum drive system 60 and the pickup roller drive system 70 as described above is adopted in the sheet forming part 50, and therefore, the following problem occurs.
From the viewpoint of enhancing production efficiency of soft capsules, it is necessary to increase the rotational speed of the pickup roller 53 to transfer the gelatin sheet 13 supplied to the die roll at a high speed, but for this purpose, the rotational frequency of the motor 61 that is the drive source has to be increased, and with this, the rotation of the film-sheet forming drum 52 is increased in speed. However, when the film-sheet forming drum 52 is rotated at a high speed, the gelatin sheet 13 adhering to the drum surface does not dry in time, and the trouble that the gelatin sheet 13 which is hardly peeled off with the pickup roller 53 is rolled in the spreader box 51 occurs.
When such a trouble occurs, operation of the apparatus is temporarily stopped to remove the gelatin sheet 13 rolled into the spreader box 51, and the rotational frequency of the motor 61 has to be decreased to restart the operation, which causes significant reduction in productivity. An additional important factor of the above described trouble is that a variety of materials including vegetable materials such as starch are applied for soft capsule film, instead of animal materials such as gelatin contained in cows, pigs and fish, in recent years. The vegetable materials require various drying time from raw liquid material to film sheets, due to their differences in viscosity and temperature at film-sheet forming process. Another factor is speedup of the rotation of the film-sheet forming drum 52, for higher productivity.


The present invention relates to an alkali-free glass having a strain point of 725° C. or higher, an average thermal expansion coefficient at from 50 to 300° C. of from 30×10−7 to 40×10−7/° C., a temperature T2 at which a glass viscosity is 102 dPa·s of 1,710° C. or lower, and a temperature T4 at which a glass viscosity is 104 dPa·s of 1,320° C. or lower, the alkali-free glass including, in terms of mol % on the basis of oxides, SiO2: 66 to 70, Al2O3: 12 to 15, B2O3: 0 to 1.5, MgO: more than 9.5 and 13 or less, CaO: 4 to 9, SrO: 0.5 to 4.5, BaO: 0 to 1, and ZrO2: 0 to 2, in which MgO+CaO+SrO+BaO is from 17 to 21, MgO/(MgO+CaO+SrO+BaO) is 0.4 or more, MgO/(MgO+CaO) is 0.4 or more, MgO/(MgO+SrO) is 0.6 or more, and the alkali-free glass does not substantially contain an alkali metal oxide.

The following characteristics have conventionally been required in various substrate glasses for a display, particularly substrate glasses having a metal or an oxide thin film formed on the surface thereof.
(1) In the case where an alkali metal oxide is contained, alkali metal ions diffuse in the thin film, resulting in deterioration of film characteristics. For this reason, alkali metal ions are not substantially contained.
(2) A strain point is high such that deformation of a glass and shrinkage (thermal shrinkage) due to structure stabilization of a glass can be minimized when exposed to high temperature in a thin film formation step.
(3) A glass has sufficient chemical durability to various chemicals used in semiconductor formation. Particularly, the glass has durability to buffered hydrofluoric acid (BHF: mixed liquid of hydrofluoric acid and ammonium fluoride) for etching SiOx or SiNx, a medicinal solution containing hydrochloric acid used for etching ITO, various acids (nitric acid, sulfuric acid and the like) used for etching an metal electrode, and an alkaline of a resist stripping solution.
(4) Defects (bubble, striae, inclusion, pit, flaw and the like) are not present in the inside and on the surface.
In addition to the above requirements, the recent years are under following situations.
(5) Reduction in weight of a display is required, and a glass itself is required to have small density.
(6) Reduction in weight of a display is required, and decrease in thickness of a substrate glass is desired.
(7) In addition to the conventional amorphous silicon (a-Si) type liquid crystal display, a polycrystal silicon (p-Si) type liquid crystal display in which heat treatment temperature is slightly high has began to be produced (a-Si: about 350° C.→p-Si: 350 to 550° C.).
(8) A glass having small average thermal expansion coefficient is required in order to improve productivity and increasing thermal shock resistance by increasing a temperature-rising rate in a heat treatment for liquid display preparation.
On the other hand, dry etching progresses and requirement to BHF resistance is becoming weakened. Many glasses conventionally used are glasses containing 6 to 10 mol % of B2O3 in order to improve BHF resistance. However, B2O3 has the tendency to decrease a strain point. The following glasses are exemplified as an alkali-free glass that does not contain B2O3 or contains B2O3 in small amount.
Patent Document 1 discloses SiO2—Al2O3—SrO glass that does not contain B2O3. However, a temperature required for melting is high, and this causes difficulty in production.
Patent Document 2 discloses SiO2—Al2O3—SrO crystallized glass that does not contain B2O3. However, a temperature required for melting is high, and this causes difficulty in production.
Patent Document 3 discloses a glass containing B2O3 in an amount of from 0 to 3% by weight. However, an average thermal expansion coefficient at from 50 to 300° C. exceeds 40×10−7/° C.
Patent Document 4 discloses a glass containing B2O3 in an amount of from 0 to 5 mol %. However, an average thermal expansion coefficient at from 50 to 300° C. exceeds 50×10−7/° C.
Patent Document 5 discloses a glass containing B2O3 in an amount of from 0 to 5 mol %. However, thermal expansion is large and density is also large.
To solve the problems in the glasses described in Patent Documents 1 to 5, an alkali-free glass described in Patent Document 6 is proposed. The alkali-free glass described in Patent Document 6 has high strain point, can be formed by a float process, and is considered to be suitable for uses such as a display substrate and a photomask substrate.
A production method of high quality p-Si TFT includes a solid phase crystallization method. However, to carry out the method, it is required to further increase a strain point.
On the other hand, to comply with the demand in glass production process, particularly melting and forming, a glass is required to have lower viscosity, particularly lower temperature T4 at which a glass viscosity is 104 dPa·s.

Alkali free glass and method for producing alkali free glass


A method of providing a comestible plant material taken orally by coating a micronized plant material with a first layer of polysaccharides or proteins, then a second layer of polysaccharides or proteins is disclosed. A bi-encapsulated plant material produced by this process is also disclosed.

It is often desirable to coat plant materials for use in orally utilized compositions in order to improve the acceptability of the product to the consumer. There exists a need for such a coating to improve the "mouth feel," taste, texture, appearance, smell, flavor and flavor delivery or other attributes of the plant material, and thereby make the product more acceptable to the user.
In particular, there exists a need to encapsulate plant materials, such as smokeless tobaccos, including chewing tobacco, dry snuff and moist snuff. Some users of chewing tobacco and/or snuff compositions notice certain negative flavor characteristics associated with bitterness, astringency, acridness, tobacco flavor, and aftertaste; thus there is perceived a need to treat the compositions with a variety of flavors to overcome the negative taste characteristics sometimes associated with them.


A shape measuring apparatus of this invention includes a light source for generating light beams including two different frequency components, a first optical system for extracting a reference signal from the light beams including the two frequency components, a second optical system for reflecting one of the light beams including the two frequency components by a reference surface, reflecting the other light beam by a measuring region of a surface to be measured, and causing the two reflected light beams to interfere with each other, a photodetector having a plurality of photodetecting elements to detect the interference light beam from the optical system, a housing for holding at least a part of the optical system and the photodetector, an actuator for changing a relative position of the housing and the surface to be measured, and a length measuring device for detecting position information of the housing. An element corresponding to a light beam vertically reflected by the surface to be measured is selected from the photodetector. A measured signal is detected by adding output signals from the selected element and neighboring elements thereof. A distance between the housing and the surface to be measured is controlled in an optical axis direction such that a phase difference between the reference signal and the measured signal is held constant. A shape of the surface to be measured is measured from position information of the housing when the relative position of the housing and the surface to be measured is changed in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shape measuring apparatus and a shape measuring method and, more particularly, to a shape measuring apparatus and a shape measuring method suited to accurately measure an aspherical shape, which is difficult to measure by a general interferometer, among other shapes of smoothly continuous objects such as lenses having comparatively large diameters, mirrors, and metal molds used in the fabrication of semiconductor devices.
2. Related Background Art
Conventionally, many interference apparatuses using interference phenomena of light are used to measure object surface shapes such as an aspherical shape. FIG. 12 is a schematic view showing the main components of a surface shape measuring apparatus disclosed in "Optics", Vol. 12, No. 6 (December 1983), pp. 450-454.
Referring to FIG. 12, this apparatus includes a Zeeman laser 901 as a light source, a beam splitter 902, polarization beam splitters 903 and 904, .lambda./4 plates 905a and 905b, an objective lens 906, a reference surface 907, a work (object to be measured) 908, a work stage 909, a focus detector 910, and beat signal detectors 911a and 911b.
In FIG. 12, two light components f1 and f2 emitted from the Zeeman laser 901 as a light source, polarized in directions perpendicular to each other, and having slightly different frequencies f1 and f2 are split into two parts by the beam splitter 902. Light components passing through the beam splitter 902 are spatially separated by the first polarization beam splitter 903.
Of these light components, the light component f1 travels straight, passes through the second polarization beam splitter 904, and is converted into circularly polarized light by the .lambda./4 plate 905a. This light so strikes as to be focused on the surface of the object (work) 908 by the objective lens 906. The light is returned to the objective lens 906 by so-called cat's eye reflection and converted into linearly polarized light by passing again through the .lambda./4 plate 905a. This linearly polarized light enters the second polarization beam splitter 904 such that the polarizing direction of the light is rotated 90.degree. from that of the linearly polarized light before the reflection.
A special coating is formed on this polarization beam splitter 904. Accordingly, the polarization beam splitter 904 splits the returned light into two parts, transmits one part to the first polarization beam splitter 903, and reflects the other to the focus detector 910.
By using a signal from the focus detector 910, the objective lens 906 is moved by servo control in an optical axis direction indicated by the arrows such that the light is always focused on the surface of the work even if the work moves in a direction perpendicular to the optical axis.
On the other hand, the light component f2 reflected by the polarization beam splitter 903 is converted into circularly polarized light by the .lambda./4 plate 905b. This circularly polarized light is reflected by the reference surface 907 arranged on the work stage through the lens and the mirrors and returned to the polarization beam splitter 903. Since the light passes again through the .lambda./4 plate 905b, this light is converted into linearly polarized light whose polarizing direction is rotated 90.degree.. Therefore, the light propagates to the beat signal detector 911b through the polarization beam splitter 903.
The light reflected by the work 908 and returned to the polarization beam splitter 903 also propagates to the beat signal detector 911b. Therefore, this light interferes with the light reflected by the reference surface 907, and the beat signal detector 911b detects a measured beat signal (F1-F2).
The light components f1 and f2 immediately after being emitted from the light source 901 are reflected by the beam splitter 902 and caused to interfere with each other to obtain a reference beat signal by the beat signal detector 911a. The phase difference between the measured beat signal obtained by the beat signal detector 911b and the reference beat signal obtained by the beat signal detector 911a is measured. This phase difference is integrated by a phase difference when the work 908 is scanned in the direction perpendicular to the optical axis. In this manner, the surface shape of the work 908 is measured.
The surface shape measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 12 obtains wave surface information of reflected light of light focused on the surface of the object 908. In this method, if a small dust particle or flaw is present on the object 908, the reflected light is scattered. This extremely changes the amount and phase of light returning to the detector 911b and makes the measurement difficult to perform. Consequently, an integrating counter error occurs to interrupt the measurement at that point.
Another conventional shape measuring apparatus is shown in FIGS. 13 and 14. FIG. 13 is a schematic view showing the major parts of a three-dimensional shape measuring apparatus proposed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2-11084. FIG. 14 is a view for explaining a part of FIG. 13.
Referring to FIG. 13, two light components f1 and f2 emitted from a Zeeman laser 601 as a light source, polarized in directions perpendicular to each other, and having slightly different frequencies are partially guided to a photodetector 604 by a beam splitter 603. The photodetector 604 detects a reference beat signal. The light components passing through the beam splitter 603 enter a first polarization beam splitter 605. Of these light components, the light component f2 is reflected upward, condensed by a lens, and reflected by a fixed mirror 607 to reach a photodetector 608 through a lens and the polarization beam splitter 605.
The other light component f1 travels straight through the polarization beam splitter 605, passes through an objective lens 613 through a half mirror HM, and reaches the surface of a work (object to be measured) 609. The light is reflected by the surface and returned to the first polarization beam splitter 605 through the forward optical path. The light is then reflected by the first polarization beam splitter 605 to reach a photodetector 608 and interfere with the light f2. Consequently, a measured beat signal is detected.
By integrating a frequency difference .delta.f between the reference beat signal obtained by the photodetector 604 and the measured beat signal obtained by the photodetector 608, an optical path length change of the light components f1 and f2 is measured. That is, a displacement (shape) in the optical axis direction of the work (object) 609 is measured.
In the surface shape measurement shown in FIG. 13, the measured beat signal cannot be detected unless light is always focused on the surface of the work 609. In this apparatus, therefore, a part of the reflected light from the work 609 is guided to photodetectors 611 and 612 via the half mirror HM. The positions of the objective lens 613 in an optical axis direction (Z) and a direction (X) perpendicular to the optical axis are servo-controlled such that light is always incident in the normal direction of the work 609 and kept focused on the surface of the work 609.
In this state, the work 609 is rotated (.theta.) about its axis of rotational symmetry by a driving means 623 and at the same time moved in a radial (X) direction. In this manner, a position where the light is incident is scanned in a cylindrical coordinate system (X-.theta.-Z system) to measure the entire surface shape of the work 609.
Additionally, as shown in FIG. 14, a work rotation axis 624 is inclined by an angle .beta. in the X and Y planes to measure the work by using the full-aperture angle of the objective lens 613. This enables the measurement of a work having a large plane inclination.
In the measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 13, however, measurement errors of the surface shape of the work 609 are caused by, e.g., rotation errors of the work rotating stage and position read errors of the work radial direction moving stage. Accordingly, the measurement accuracy limit is dominated by the mechanical kinetic accuracy.
Furthermore, the embodiment by which a large inclination angle is measured by inclining the work rotation axis 624 to the radial direction movement axis has the following problems.
(A-1) Work support deformation is increased by oblique application of gravity.
(A-2) A large space in the apparatus is occupied by a work, and this increases the size of the apparatus.
(A-3) When a system for measuring and correcting the kinetic accuracy of the rotating stage is added, measurements based on external standards become difficult to perform because the rotating stage involves radial movement.
(A-4) It is difficult to automatically attach and detach a work.

Shape measuring heterodyne interferometer with multiplexed photodetector aaray or inclined probe head


The present invention provides a cable or the like clamp member 120 to guide and protect a flexible cable or the like. The cable or like guide and protection is flexible and the clamp member 120 is adaptable to adjust to the thicknesses, number, and layout of cables to be clamped. The cable or the like clamp member 120 is attached to at least one of a fixed end part to be mounted on a stationary side and a moving end part to be mounted on a moving side of a cable or the like protection and guide device for storing and protectively guiding cables C. The cable or the like clamp member 120 comprises a comb-tooth unit member 122 for clamping the cables; and a comb-tooth unit receiving member 121 with comb-tooth installation slide mechanisms 121b for slidably engaging and installing the comb-tooth unit member according to the bending state of the cables.

Conventionally, as this kind of cable or the like clamp member for cable or the like protection and guide device, a mounting unit provided at the moving end part or the fixed end part located at an end of the cable or the like protection and guide device is known (for example, refer to Patent Document 1).
In general, if a cable is protectively guided by the cable or the like protection and guide device without clamping both ends of the stored cable to the ends of the cable or the like protection and guide device, slippage in motion is caused between the stored cable and the device, for example, when the device is moved in accordance with a moving part of an industrial machine, and the stored cable may be rubbed with the cable or the like protection and guide device or with another stored cable within a cable storage space and damaged by sliding wear or the like.
Therefore, measures have been taken in the past to use a cable or the like clamp member such as the mounting unit disclosed in the above-mentioned document to clamp the stored cable to the cable protective device at both ends thereof, thereby suppressing the slippage in motion between the stored cable and the cable protective device in the movement of the device as much as possible to prevent the damage of the stored cable.
Patent Document 1 is Japanese Patent Publication No. 2001-504199.

Cable or the like clamp member for cable or the like protection and guide device