A microwell plate comprises a skirt and frame portion having a top surface and a bottom surface, and having a plurality of holes; and a well and deck portion comprising a plurality of wells integrated with a planar deck; wherein the well and deck portion is overmolded or adhered onto the skirt and frame portion such that the plurality of wells extends through the plurality of holes in the top surface of the skirt and frame portion; and wherein the well and deck portion is formed from a thermoplastic composition including a poly(aliphatic ester)-polycarbonate comprising soft block ester units, derived from monomers comprising an alpha, omega C6-20 aliphatic dicarboxylic acid or derivative thereof, a dihydroxyaromatic compound, and a carbonate source.

Microwell plates are used for various microbiological, molecular biological, cellular biological, and immunological procedures. Due to the high number of samples in each microwell plate, the Society of Biomolecular screening and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) have published standards ANSI/SBS 1-2004 through 4-2004 for microwell plates concerning the particular dimensions and positions of wells or microwells, herein also referred to as vessels, for microwell plates having 96, 984, and 1536 wells. Microwell plates are used in particular for culturing of microorganisms or cells or for the Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR).
PCR is a process used to amplify and copy a piece of DNA sequence across multiple orders of magnitude and is a vital technique in the field of molecular biology. In the PCR process, the DNA fragment is mixed in aqueous solution with complementary DNA primers and DNA polymerase enzyme and the mixture is taken through several thermal cycling steps. This thermal cycling process separates the double-helix of the target DNA sequence and initiates new DNA synthesis through the DNA polymerase catalyst. A typical thermal profile for the PCR reaction is shown below in Table 1, where ° C. is degrees Celsius.
TABLE 1StepTime DurationTemperature (° C.)Initial Denaturation2minutes94-95Denaturation20-30seconds94-95Primer Extension1minute72Final Extension5-15minutes72
The PCR reactions are typically carried out in microwells in arrays from 8 to 96 wells and volumes of 0.2-0.5 milliliters (mL).
Efficient heat transfer through the walls of the microwell to the reaction solution is required for strict temperature control during the PCR reaction process. In order to achieve efficient heat transfer, the PCR trays are designed with very thin microwell wall thicknesses, such as around 0.2 mm. Injection molding of these thin-wall trays becomes a significant challenge since an extremely high flow material is required to fill the thin microwell walls. In addition, the material needs to have sufficient heat resistance to avoid deformation during the PCR thermal cycling step, and optical clarity is desired so the liquid volume level can be observed. Typically, a polypropylene such as PD702 from LYONDELL BASELL is used for injection molding of the PCR trays. However, polypropylene is subject to softening at elevated temperatures such as those used in PCR denaturation cycles, which can cause PCR or other microfluidic components to become excessively flexible during processing, and/or be subject to warping or other physical deformation, and/or leaking.
Furthermore, single-component microwell plates comprising polypropylene are not particularly suited for being handled by automatic devices because their softness makes it difficult for automatic devices to grip them and their low dimensional stability can have the consequence that the proportioning needles will contact the walls while being introduced into the vessels. Two-component microwell plates comprising a unitary plate comprised of a two separate components including a skirt and frame portion made of a first material and having a plurality of holes in the frame portion, and an overmolded well and deck portion having a plurality of wells that protrude through the holes of the skirt and frame portion, but the second material must still meet the above-described challenges.


A substrate is provided as a test fixture for burning-in and testing integrated circuit devices. The substrate contains a plurality of unpackaged integrated circuit dice arranged in a regular matrix of rows and columns. The substrate is partitioned into an array of rectangles which can be easily broken apart. One integrated circuit die is attached in each rectangle. The integrated circuits are bonded to conductive traces in their respective rectangular areas, and the conductive traces are connected to common locations at one side of the substrate. Voltages can be applied to all of the devices simultaneously by contacting the common locations at the edge of the substrate. This allows for burn-in of all integrated circuit devices on the substrate in parallel, after which they can be separated and used individually on printed circuit boards.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to electronic devices, and more specifically to fabrication of system subassemblies such as memory boards and memory modules.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Assembly and test of computer subsystems, such as memory modules and subsystems, can add a significant percentage to the cost of completed computers. It is important to complete the assembly and testing of subassemblies in a cost efficient manner in order to keep production prices for the subassemblies low enough for them to be sold at competitive prices.
With some systems, the integrated circuit devices which are used are not guaranteed to have a 100% incoming functionality. For example, it has been proposed to provide personal computer memory subsystems which are designed to use memory chips which are partially nonfunctional, and use error detection and correction circuitry to compensate for chip defects. An example of such a proposed subsystem is described in detail in co-pending patent application Ser. No. 07/722,937 titled MEMORY SUBSYSTEM.
It is known that integrated circuits generally tend to have a high percentage of failures very early in the lifetime of the devices. This phenomena is often referred to as infant mortality. Since a significant percentage of parts fail in a short period of time, it is common to subject integrated circuit devices to relatively severe operating CONDITIONS for a short period of time in order to force these infant mortality failures to occur. This process is often referred to as burn-in. Proper burn-in tends to be somewhat expensive because of the large number of test fixtures required, but can virtually eliminate failures of integrated circuit devices within the first few years of their operating lifetime. Parts which survive burn-in tend to function for a significant fraction of their expected device lifetime.
In the case of partially nonfunctional devices, such as the memory devices described above, the integrated circuit chips generally have not been subjected to burn-in. These chips were generally rejected at the wafer probe stage. Therefore, a system which makes use of such devices is preferably subjected to burn-in test procedures in order to find and remove devices easily subject to complete failure.
It would be desirable to provide a technique which helps minimize the overall assembly and test time and expense for subsystem assembly and burn-in. Such a system preferably provides a relatively high degree of parallelization during burn-in, and the ability to individually test the integrated circuit devices.


A method of quantizing pixel values in an image formed by a plurality of pixels, each pixel representing an optical density of the image at a location within the image, and having an original optical density value selected from one of a set of `c` original optical density values that has a number of members larger than a desired output set of `d` optical density values through a process of combined halftoning and cell-to-cell error diffusion. Initially, each pixel is modified with a pro rata portion of an error term determined for a previous halftone cell, or from the current cell in a previous interaction. A set of modified pixels, corresponding in position to an m.times.n halftone cell, are processed in accordance with a standard halftoning process, to derive a set of output pixels at one of d optical density levels. The calculated output density is used to address a lookup table having a stored set of empirical density values upon printing the dot represented by a halftone cell with the same count of optical density levels. The empirical density value for the cell returned from the lookup table is compared to a sum of the modified pixel values for the cell. The difference (which represents the difference in gray level input and the actual output) is directed on a weighted basis to the pixels of subsequently processed dots.

Image information, be it color, black or white, is commonly generated in a bitmap format where the bitmap comprises a plurality of gray level pixels, i.e. pixels that are defined by digital values, each value representing a gray level among a number of gray levels. Thus, in an 8 bit system, 256 levels of gray are present, where each level represents an increment of gray between black and white. In the case of color bitmaps, where three defining colors or separations each include 256 levels of information, there may be more than 16 million colors defined by a gray bitmap.
Usually, bitmaps in such a gray level format are unprintable by standard printers. Standard printers print in a limited number of levels, either a spot or a no spot in the binary case, or a limited number of levels associated with the spot, for example, four in the quaternary case. Accordingly, it is necessary to reduce the gray level image data to a limited number of levels so that it is printable. Besides gray level information derived by scanning and computer generated images, certain processing techniques such as those described, for example, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/821,125, entitled "Method for Image Conversion With Error Diffusion", by R. Eschbach, produce gray level pixel values which require conversion to a limited set of "legal" or output values.
One standard method of converting gray level pixel image data to binary level pixel image data is through the use of dithering or halftoning processes. In such arrangements, over a given area having a number of gray pixels therein, each pixel of an array of gray level pixels within the area is compared to one of a set of preselected thresholds (the halftone cell). The effect of such an arrangement is that, for an area where the image is gray, some of the thresholds within the halftone cell will be exceeded, while others are not. In the binary case, the pixels or cell elements for which thresholds are exceeded are printed as white, while the remaining elements are allowed to remain black. The effect of the distribution of black and white over the cell is integrated by the human eye as gray. Dithering or halftoning presents problems, however, in that the amount of gray within an original image is not maintained over an area, i.e. the error arising from the difference between the threshold value and the actual gray level value at any particular cell is simply thrown away. This results in a loss of image information. Halftoning also introduces coarse quantization artifacts which are visible in the image areas where the scene has little variation. This is also known as "banding". Clustered halftoning, usually required for electrophotographic printing, produces a monotonically growing halftone dot that can be calibrated for printing to compensate for dot gain. However, clustered halftones have a tradeoff between image sharpness and quantization of gray levels.
In the ARIES (Alias Reduction and Image Enhancement System) method of halftone reproduction, described by P. Roetling in "Halftone Method With Edge Enhancement and Moire' Suppression," J. Opt. Soc. Amer. Vol. 66, No. 10, pp. 985-989, October, 1976, image information initially has a set of halftone screen values for a cell added to the information. A uniform threshold value is applied to the screened information, to produce an output value. The average gray value over the cell area of the input image is compared to the average gray value over the cell area of the output image. See, also, U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,536 to Roetling and U.S. Pat. No. 4,633,327 to Roetling. In this way, the error between original and output is minimized over each halftone cell. The banding artifact, however, is not reduced.
Algorithms that convert gray images to binary or other number of level images attempting to preserve the local density exist, and include among them error diffusion, as taught, for example, in "An Adaptive Algorithm for Spatial Greyscale" by Floyd and Steinberg, Proceedings of the SID 17/2, 75-77 (1976) (hereinafter, "Floyd and Steinberg"). Another, more elaborate method that enhances edges of image would be the error diffusion techniques of U.S. Pat. No. 5,045,952 to Eschbach. Additional modifications to the error diffusion algorithm taught by Floyd and Steinberg have been proposed, e.g.: a different weighting matrix, as taught, for example, in "A Survey of Techniques for the Display of Continuous Tone Pictures on Bilevel Displays" by Jarvis et al., Computer Graphics and Image Processing, Vol. 5., pp. 13-40 (1976), and in "MECCA-A Multiple-Error Correction Computation Algorithm for Bi-Level Image Hardcopy Reproduction" by Stucki, IBM Res. Rep. RZ1060 (1981). Modifications of the error calculation and weight allocation have been taught, for example, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,924,322 to Kurosawa et. al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,339,774 to Temple, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,955,065, to Ulichney.
Error diffusion attempts to maintain gray by making the conversion from gray pixels to binary or other level pixels on a pixel-by-pixel basis. The procedure examines each pixel with respect to a threshold, and the difference between the gray level pixel value and the output value is forwarded to a selected group or set of neighboring pixels, in accordance with a weighting scheme. A problem noted with the use of the standard error diffusion algorithms for printing applications is the production of large numbers of isolated black and/or white pixels which are nonprintable by many types of printers. The algorithm taught by Billotet-Hoffmann and Bryngdahl, Proceedings of the SID, Vol. 24/3, (1983), pp. 253-258, shows a dither matrix used as a threshold for error diffusion, to alleviate the problems of undesired patterns generally produced by the error diffusion algorithm. A method to overcome the printability problem is taught by U.S. Pat. No. 4,654,721 to Goertzel, where a method is shown to convert a continuous tone image to a bilevel pixel image. The total error generated in one halftone cell is distributed to a predetermined number of adjacent halftone cells. In this way, printable images are generated, while the banding artifact is reduced, by alternating between fixed output cell patterns. Because of an inherent lack of partial dots in this process, evidenced as a loss in sharpness, edge detection and sharpening was included. See, also, "Digital Halftoning in the IBM 4250 Printer" by Goertzel et al. (Goertzel), IBM J. Res. Develop., Vol 31, No. 1, January, 1987. Additionally, the cell to cell error diffusion requires an offset that exactly corresponds to the halftone cells, Goertzel does not use Floyd and Steinberg error diffusion, instead introducing a random number generator to determine error weighting. Halftone dots are treated as fonts, and partial dotting is not used. U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/583,337 to Shiau, and Ser. No. 07/775,201 to Fan, teach the use of similar methods to reduce a continuous tone image to a multilevel pixel image with diffusion of error between adjacent halftone cells. Fan considers the distinction between partial dots and full dots in determining error distribution.
In the MAE (Minimum Average Error) method of error diffusion described in "Images from Computers", by M. Schroeder, IEEE Spectrum, March 1969, pp. 66-78, a different error diffusion method is introduced, which determines error as a function of the original image and the output image (as opposed to the original image modified by error from previous pixels, and the output image). The result is less worming artifacts than Floyd and Steinberg, but a less precise gray tone reproduction.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,055,942 to Levien suggests another pixel based error diffusion scheme where the dot size in a screened image can be varied by applying a hysteresis constant and recursion techniques known from adaptive screening, to allow adjustment of image coarseness by adjustment of the hysteresis constant.
All of the references cited herein are incorporated by reference for their teachings.

Clustered halftoning with dot-to-dot error diffusion


A magnetic toner for use in electrophotographic development which can be endowed with high performance by subjecting it to surface treatment with hot air in its dispersed state. The magnetic toner is used in an electrophotographic system including a development process in which an electrostatic latent image is formed by using a photoconductive drum having a stationary magnet therein, and thereafter the magnetic toner is sucked in a toner sump by magnetic force, whereby non-image area toner is recovered by an electrode roller, and the electrophotographic system including a recycle process of the residual toner. The magnetic toner is capable of realizing high-quality image development and stable recycle of residual toner by subjecting the magnetic toner to surface treatment with hot air.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a magnetic toner for use in an image development apparatus such as a copier, printer, facsimile, and the like.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As a development method in an electrophotographic technique, there have been available conventionally a cascade development method, touchdown development method, jumping development method, and others. Among these methods, the cascade development as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,105,770 has been known as a development method in which developer is sprinkled directly onto a photoconductor. The cascade development method was used for the first time in a practical copier for electrophotography.
Further, in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,574 disclosed is a development method in which mono-component toner is jumped onto a photoconductor by applying an AC bias voltage to a developing roller thereby to effect development. In this U.S. Patent, the AC bias voltage to be applied to the developing roller is used for the purpose of activating the movement of the toner, where it is described that the toner jumps to image areas and returns on the way to non-image areas on the photoconductor.
As an improvement of the AC bias application technique, there is disclosed a jumping development method in the Japanese Patent No. Publication 63-42256 (published in 1988). In this jumping development method, the toner is supported by a toner support member, and on the toner support member there is provided a doctor blade for regulation of a rigid body or elastic body at a minute distance from to the support member. The toner is formed into a thin layer by the doctor blade and transferred to a developing section, where the toner is deposited on the image areas of the photoconductor with the AC bias application. The technical concept of the Japanese Patent Publication 63-42256 differs from that of the U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,574 in that the toner is moved reciprocatingly at image areas and non-image areas.
As is known, in these development methods, the toners for use in electrostatic charge development are generally composed of resin components, coloring agents of pigments or dyes, and additive components such as plasticizers and charge control agents. As the resin components, natural resins or synthetic resins are used solely or by mixture as the case may be.
However, there has been desired a further improvement in quality of copied images and their long-term stability of image quality in recent years.
Moreover, nowadays, from a viewpoint of environmental protection, it is necessary to regulate unlimited disposal of industrial wastes. It is also important to recycle the wastes.
With the conventional constitutions and methods as described above, it has been well known to those skilled in the art that the cascade development is no good at reproduction of solid blacks. Another problem is involved in the cascade development in that the system for the development method would be large in scale and complex in structure. Further, the developing device as disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 3,866,574 has a drawback that high precision is required for the system, which leads to a complex structure and high cost. In the jumping development method, it has been indispensable to form an extremely uniform thin layer of a toner on a toner support member carrying a toner layer. In this method, another problem has been frequently involved in that there occurs a so-called sleeve ghost development in which there remains hysteresis of the preceding image of the toner thin layer formed on the toner support member, which causes an afterimage to appear in the resulting image. The method also has a problem that a complex equipment and high cost are required, disadvantageously.
Therefore, the applicant of the present invention has previously proposed a new electrophotographic system for development which is smaller in size and higher in performance without using a doctor blade. The development process in the new electrophotographic system is implemented by providing a photoconductor containing a stationary magnet, and an electrode roller having a magnet opposed to the photoconductor at a specified spacing. Thus, by this development method, it becomes possible to reproduce solid blacks with fidelity, free from occurrence of sleeve ghost, allowing the system to be further reduced in size, simplified in construction, and lowered in cost.
To improve the quality of images by using this development method, however, there is a need for even higher performance of toner properties. In this development method, since no doctor blade is provided for regulating the toner into a thin layer, the toner is transferred to the development field which is defined by a space of a narrow gap between the photoconductor and the electrode roller, without being formed into a layer. As a result, the place and space needed to obtain a desired charge amount for the toner to be triboelectrified is restricted to only a small one, so that the toner is required to have higher charging characteristic than in conventional one. It is the fluidity and electrical resistance of a surface of toner particles which affects the toner's high charging characteristic. Fluidity can be defined by apparent density, and the surface resistance can be defined by a dielectric loss.
The fluidity of the toners used in the conventional mono-component development or two-component development has drawbacks such that non-uniformities would occur in solid-black image areas and half-tone image areas and besides background fogs would increase in non-image areas. This phenomenon can be found remarkably in toners having low fluidity. This can be attributed to the fact that toners with low fluidity cannot afford satisfactory amounts of triboelectrification due to low possibility of contact with the developing member. Moreover, there arises non-uniformities in the triboelectrification performance among individual toners, so that uniform toner chargeability cannot be obtained. On the other hand, toners keeping high fluidity exhibit uniform contactability with the developing member, so that a high level of charge amount can be obtained, in which case high-quality images can be obtained.
For enhancement of fluidity of toners, there has been taken a measure of increasing an adding amount of additives such as silicon oxide, which is a fluidity imparting agent. However, if additives of such as silicon oxide are increased in quantity, the fluidity increases with an increasing amount of additives, while suspended particles of silicon oxide also increase in amount such that the silicon oxide is implanted as cores into the photoconductor by urging force of a cleaning blade, resulting in flaws. As a result, there would occur a phenomenon of filming that silicon oxide or toner adheres onto the photoconductor. Meanwhile, the suspended particles of silicon oxide adhere to solid black areas, bringing about white dots. In consequence, increasing the amount of silicon oxide results in disadvantages in many respects, offering no solution to the problems.
Conventional magnetic toners have magnetic materials internally added in the binder resin. The toner is pulverized to be finely divided. In this process, since the magnetic material that is lower in electric resistance than the binder resin is exposed on the toner surface, therefore the charges obtained through triboelectrification are likely to leak, such that the magnetic toner encounters difficulty in obtaining large amount of charges, to a disadvantage.
As a further aspect, earth environmental protection has come up to an issue of great significance in recent years. In conventional copiers, laser printers, laser facsimiles, and the like, a toner is developed on the photoconductor in the development process and then transferred onto paper in the transfer process. In these processes, a part of the toner remains on the photoconductor. The part of the remaining toner is swept down in the cleaning process. The cleaned-off toner results in residual toner. In the conventional methods, especially in the mono-component development, the residual toner is wasted, which can not be recycled.
In recycling the residual toner swept off the photoconductor in the cleaning process for once more development, the toners in the conventional method will result in non-uniform charge distribution if the residual toner is mixed with unused toner within the developing unit, such that wrong sign toner of reversed magnetic polarity increases, causing deterioration of the quality of copied images.
Further, the conventional mono-component development is implemented in the arrangement that a toner-layer doctor blade of an elastic body or the like is provided, spaced from the toner support member at a narrow gap or in slightly contact therewith, where a toner thin layer is formed on the toner support member. In this arrangement, it is likely that agglomerations of the residual toner bring about clogging in proximity to the toner-layer regulator blade, causing white voids. The residual toner may have silicon oxide buried into the toner by the pressure involved in the cleaning blade process, resulting in changes in the adhesion state of the silicon oxide or in defects or cracks of the toner. This accounts for deterioration of the fluidity of the residual toner. Such toner that is lowered in fluidity tends to bring about agglomeration. Those factors present difficulties recycling of toner.
The above-described situation results in not only the impossibility of effective utilization of resources, but may cause pollution of the environment as well. Consequently, it is a problem of great urgency to recycle the residual toner for re-utilization of resources, in terms of the environmental protection.

Reversal electrophotographic developing method employing recyclable magnetic toner

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


A calibration method suitable for highly precise and highly accurate surface metrology measurements is described. In preferred embodiments, an optical inspection tool including a movable optics system is characterized in terms of position and wavelength dependent quantities over a range of motion. Once the position-dependant quantities are determined at various wavelengths and positions, they are stored and used to interpret data from test wafers having an unknown metrology. Free of position-dependent variations and other information pertaining to the measurement system, the accuracy of the resulting wafer measurement more closely matches the precision of the tool than existing techniques. In particular embodiments, a portion of the characterization of the optical system is accomplished by using tilted black glass to provide a non-reflective reference.

There is considerable interest across several industries in developing metrology systems for precisely and accurately measuring physical properties of surfaces, and thin films deposited on surfaces. Optical techniques are often preferable because they can be performed during a manufacturing process without contacting a test article. Typically, an apparatus measures light before and after interacting with a test surface. Surface properties may then be inferred according to a theory of the interaction and an understanding of the operating principles of the apparatus.
To be useful, a metrology system must be precise as well as accurate. Precision refers to a capability to make fine measurements. Accuracy, in contrast, refers a difference between a value obtained from measurement and a true value of the physical property being measured. Generally, a highly precise system is not necessarily highly accurate.
Obtaining high accuracy typically requires understanding system characteristics both theoretically and through calibration. In many applications, however, detailed characterization of the entire measurement system is difficult, or impractical, or simply unwarranted by the desired accuracy of the measurement. Thus, high precision measurements are often not as accurate as they could be because a user interprets a measured signal with a technique that simplifies the operating principles of the measuring apparatus.
Two trends in the semiconductor industry point to a need for improved calibration techniques. First, there is an ever-present trend toward higher measurement accuracy arising from demands for thinner films and more stringent process standards. For example, the currently recommended upper bound on uncertainty in reflectivity measurements is 0.1%.
Second, there is an important trend toward integrating process and metrology tools by locating metrology tools closer to manufacturing process lines. Presently, most metrology systems "stand alone," physically removed from the process tools. Away from the process line, space is not at an economic premium. Accordingly, most "stand-alone" metrology systems opt for immovable optical heads and motion stages that move a test article under the optics. Fixed to a massive frame, the optical systems of stand-alone devices are stable over long periods of time. In contrast, integrating metrology and process tools drives designs having movable optics because space is at a premium near the process line and movable optics significantly reduce the size of a metrology device's "footprint." As compared to fixing the optical head and moving the test article, however, moving the optical head over the test surface requires closer attention to the manner and frequency of calibration because of the movements.
Two examples of common approaches to calibration illustrate the technical problem addressed by this invention. One simple calibration method regards that a signal S relates to a physical quantity of interest Q by:S=αQ  (Eqn. 1)In Eqn. 1, α contains information from the measurement system and Q is the physical quantity of interest. With this simple relationship between the signal and the quantity of interest, one can remove the information relating to the measurement system and arrive at a relative determination of Q by taking the ratio of two independent measurements
                                          S            2                                S            1                          =                              Q            2                                Q            1                                              (                  Eqn          .                                                    2                )            Comparing the two equations, above, the factor α dropped out in Eqn. 2. Thus, if a relative determination of the desired quantity suffices for the purposes of the measurement, it is not necessary to know the characteristics of the measurement system embodied in the factor α, including any position-dependencies.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,813 exemplifies the approach, above, by teaching a method for determining a relative reflectance of a wafer with dual beam reflectometer. See col. 2, lines 31–41. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,813, knowledge about the reflectometer characteristics, such as optical efficiencies, detector gains and noise is not necessary to arrive at a relative reflectivity of the wafer. Such information "drops out" because of the ratio, above. Relative reflectivity is useful, for example, in monitoring process consistency on a wafer-to-wafer basis. For an absolute determination, U.S. Pat. No. 5,747,813 teaches further use of ratios to reference to a known standard. See col. 2, lines 31–41.
Relative measurements are simple, convenient and adequate for some uses. Often, however, a measurement system behaves in a more complicated manner than Eqn. 1 suggests. For example, one may interpret a signal S as relating to a physical quantity of interest Q by:S=αQ+β  (Eqn. 3)
In Eqn. 3, α and β both relate to the measurement system. Comparing Eqn. 3 to Eqn. 1, just one additional factor, β, disallows simply forming a ratio from two experiments to remove the information about the measurement system. The factors relating to the measurement system simply do not drop out from a ratio.
In curve fitting, one presupposes a mathematical form of a family of curves and determines coefficients that fit data points "best." Common mathematical forms include polynomials, often with many terms. FIG. 1 illustrates the curve fitting approach. FIG. 1 includes data points 100, and curves 110–130. The data points represent signal values at a corresponding value of the physical quantity of interest. The different curves are for different possible mathematical forms that "fit" the data.
FIG. 1 shows that many different orders of polynomials "fit" the data, even when there is no position dependence. This is a drawback in that a range of curves that fit the data is an uncertainty that may limit the accuracy of a measurement. If the range of curves is substantial compared to the desired accuracy of the measurement (0.1% or less in the semiconductor industry), a more rigorous interpretation of the data is useful, if not essential. Moreover, with moving optics, the calibration problem is significantly complicated because of position-dependencies.
Therefore, because of new demands for movable optical systems with position-dependent characteristics and a continuing broad demand for greater accuracy, there is a need for calibration techniques and associated components that enable detailed, position-dependent characterization of a metrology system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Method and apparatus for position-dependent optical metrology calibration


A process for deoiling wastes is disclosed. The process is integrated with a refinery and utilizes a refinery intermediary hydrocarbon stream as a solvent to recover waste oil for reprocessing in the refinery and to produce waste solids, which are either reused or disposed for landtreatment.

Petroleum refineries have need to dispose of wastes comprised of oily sludges (oil-solid or oil-solid-water mixtures) produced in wastewater treatment facilities and hydrocarbon storage tanks. Most of these wastes are considered biodegradable and can be disposed of at landtreatment sites. Landtreatment (landfarming) is a low cost disposal method for such wastes. However, certain types of oily sludges cannot be landtreated due to the biorefractory nature of the oil contained therein. For example, some refinery tank bottom sludges (e.g., coker hot slop tank sludge and cat fractionator bottoms sludge) contain viscous oil and high levels of biorefractory polynuclear aromatic components, which are not suitable for disposal through landtreatment. Removal of biorefractory oil from oily sludges in order to make them suitable for landtreating could be an attractive waste management option. However, conventional deoiling processes and services are costly and in some cases do not achieve the desired result. For example, extraction-based technologies using high hydrocarbon gases (C.sub.3 to C.sub.5) and special solvents rely on recovery and recycle of the solvent, and may leave asphaltene fractions of the oil on the solids.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a flexible low cost process for rendering waste oily sludges suitable for landtreatment. Alternatively, some kinds of sludges may be rendered usable, for example, sludges composed of coke fines can be converted into solid fuel material. It is a further object of the invention to be able to handle oily sludges containing biorefractory and/or asphaltenic oil fractions. It is a still further object to displace any biorefractory oil in the sludge with a biodegradable oil.
The prior art discloses various processes for treating oily sludges. U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,021 to Cole et al. discloses mixing an oily sludge with light hydrocarbons passing through a conduit. Solids, water and oil are separated in a drum. The oil is heated in a vessel and distilled in a tower to separate heavy oil and recirculate the light oil. The solids are used for landfill.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,014,780 to McCoy mixes an oily sludge with a diluent recycle oil and heats the mixture with steam to recover the oil and form dry solids for a landfill. U.S. Pat. No. 4,097,378 to St. Clair discloses mixing sludge with oil and then treating the same with recycle oil. U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,453 to Mraovich discloses filtering coke from oil wastes mixed with a diluent oil. U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,048 to Atherton et al. prepares sludge fines for a landfill by mixing the sludge with a hydrocarbon diluent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,264,453 addresses the treatment of coal tar wastes and uses a non-aromatic diluent with surfactants to render the wastes (coke fines, viscous oil, water) amenable to separation by filtration. U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,021 uses butane, pentane or their mixture as a solvent and requires a high temperature (300.degree.-400.degree. F.) and a high pressure (500-600 psig) separation of solvent from waste oil. U.S. Pat. No. 4,686,048 uses a hydrocarbon type solvent having a boiling point when mixed with water of less than 212.degree. F. In addition, it requires mixing of filtered cake with 100% to 1500% water, and distilling the mixture to remove the residual solvent from the solids.
Various patents disclose combining a waste sludge with a refinery stream. U.S Pat. No. 4,206,001 discloses a process for separating solid and liquid materials in an FCC rundown tank to permit liquids to be returned to refinery process streams. The process comprises the addition of a selected refinery stock, preferably kerosene-like, into the rundown tank, followed by washing of solids with an aqueous solution, and subsequent settling to separate the aqueous and organic phases. U.S. Pat. No. 2,487,103 teaches adding a heavy naphtha fraction to sludge, followed by addition of water for hydrolysis and phase separation. U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,021 discloses mixing refinery sludges with light hydrocarbons to deoil the solids, followed by gravitational separation and steaming of the separated solids to remove the light hydrocarbons. Other patents in this area include U.S. Pat. No. 2,413,310; U.S. Pat. No. 3,079,326; U.S. Pat. No. 1,092,386; and U.S. Pat. No. 1,092,386.

Rendering oily wastes landtreatable or usable


An organic light-emitting display apparatus includes a substrate, a first electrode disposed on the substrate, a pixel-defining layer which is disposed on the substrate and the first electrode and in which an opening which exposes a central part of the first electrode is defined, an interlayer which is disposed on the first electrode and comprises an organic light-emitting layer; and a second electrode disposed on the interlayer, where a sidewall of the opening comprises a bumpy structure in which a plurality of bumps is disposed.

1. Field
One or more embodiments of the invention relate to an organic light-emitting display apparatus and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
An organic light-emitting display apparatus is a self-emission display which is formed by using an organic light-emitting diode ("OLED") which generally includes a hole injection electrode, an electron injection electrode, and an organic light-emitting layer formed therebetween. The organic light-emitting display apparatus emits light when an exciton, generated when a hole injected from the hole injection electrode and an electron injected from the electron injection electrode are combined, drops from an excitation state to a ground state.
Since the organic light-emitting display apparatus, which is a self-emission display, does not need an additional power source, the organic light-emitting display apparatus may be driven with a low voltage and may be formed as a light film. Additionally, the organic light-emitting display apparatus provides high-quality characteristics such as wide viewing angles, high contrast, and rapid responses. Thus, the organic light-emitting display apparatus has gained attention as a next-generation display apparatus.

Organic light-emitting display apparatus and method of manufacturing the same


Systems and techniques for alignment with latent images. In one implementation, a method includes detecting a location of a latent image on a substrate, repositioning the substrate based on the detected location of the latent image, and patterning the substrate.

This disclosure relates to alignment using latent images.
In order to successively pattern a substrate using lithography or other fabrication processes, the features in each pattern must generally be properly aligned relative to the features of both prior and successive patterns. Misalignment between features in different patterns is generally termed "overlay error" and can be caused, e.g., by reticle misalignment, reticle-to-wafer misalignment, uncompensated rotation of the wafer and/or reticle, uncompensated physical changes in the wafer, and other discrepancies.
Many systems for patterning substrates include one or more alignment devices to minimize overlay error. For example, a patterning system can include a wafer pre-aligner that receives a semiconductor wafer and coarsely aligns the wafer (e.g., to within +/−10 μm or so) such that alignment marks on the wafer are within the capture range of finer alignment devices. Examples of such finer alignment devices include wafer alignment systems that compare the intended and actual location of the wafer after pre-alignment and correct wafer misalignment down to fractions of micrometers. The accuracy of such systems is typically below 300 nm, but some commercial systems can achieve accuracies below 50 nm.
Like reference symbols in the various drawings indicate like elements.


The invention comprises a system for a bicycle or similar vehicle to allow shock isolation at the location of the seat or handle bar mounting or other locations. The suspension system includes a hydraulically actuated system as well as a variable rate progressive dampening assembly. The hydraulic fluid is also utilized to lubricate the moving portions of the system to promote proper function and extend the useful life thereof. The system also has a variable spring preload to accommodate different sized riders. The system is cost effective and yet extremely durable and may be retrofit for use with existing bicycles.

This invention relates to a suspension system for a bicycle or the like to improve the riding comfort thereof. More particularly, the invention relates to a shock absorbing system for use at the seat, front forks, frame or other location on a bicycle to form a suspension system to dampen shocks incurred during riding.
The comfort of the ride on bicycles or other similar vehicles has escalated in importance as the popularity and use of such vehicles has expanded. For example, bicycles are now manufactured which are known as mountain bikes or ATB's (All Terrain Bicycle) which are constructed to be used in off-road environments. In these particular situations, the comfort of the ride is particularly important. The comfort is also important with road use of bicycles as the length of the ride is usually significantly longer.
A variety of suspension systems have been developed for bicycles or the like. These include shock absorbing means coupled with the frame of the bicycle and to the wheels thereof so as to absorb shocks imposed on the wheels during riding. These systems usually provide relative movement between the wheels and the frame of the bicycle.
Other proposed systems to isolate shocks imposed on bicycles and similar vehicles have included the mounting of coil springs onto the bottom of the seat on which the rider rests or to the seat frame to cushion shock to some degree. Other systems provide relative movement between the seat of the bicycle on which the rider will be supported and the frame of the bicycle, to thereby absorb shocks imposed on the bicycle and to provide a smoother ride. In such systems, disadvantages have been found to exist in that exposure to the atmosphere subjects the apparatus to corrosion which will limit the life expectancy and functioning of the apparatus. Similarly, attempts to limit rotation of the shock absorbing posts in such apparatus include structure which is also exposed to the environment and may gather dirt or other debris, thereby inhibiting shock absorbing capabilities. It has also been found that the device has no dampening means by which the rider can vary the amount of dampening provided by the system and are therefore not be effective over a wide range of riders which may utilize the system and over a broad range of road or off-road conditions. Alternatively, some suspension designs include relatively complex toggle systems to yield relative movement between the wheels of the bicycle and the frame. These systems have not provided the performance characteristics desired.
The various designs have been found to be disadvantageous for various reasons such as binding or restricted movement due to non-lubrication, exposure to atmospheric conditions, lack of adjustability or flexibility in the control of the shock absorber characteristics. Other problems with prior art suspension systems are found in the strength and durability of the systems in use with bicycles or the like. For example, a shock isolation system adapted to mount the seat or front forks of the bicycle thereon is subjected to various loading including lateral loading which imposes structural requirements to meet such loads. In attempting to provide the structural strength in the shock absorbing system, the weight of the shock absorbing system has proved to be prohibitive in view of the strong emphasis placed upon decreasing the weight of the bicycle. At the location of the front forks, it is imperative that the structural integrity of the shock isolation system be maintained, while not increasing the weight of the bicycle to any great degree. Various prior art systems which have been developed for use at the front fork location of the bicycle have not provided a great deal of shock absorbing capabilities, or have been complex and generally ineffective.


A system and method of inspecting a chicken piece comprising generating an image for the chicken piece, identifying a defect type, a defect location and an area of each defect on the chicken piece based on the image, and grading the chicken piece into one of a plurality of grades based on the defect type and the area.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Presently, the primary method of detecting visual defects on a piece of poultry, involves poultry processing line inspectors manually inspecting a piece of poultry in a batch on a table or while the piece moves down the processing line. Some defects are visible from the top view of a piece moving down the processing line, but others require picking up the piece and turning it over to view both sides or obtain a much closer view for small defects. With the targeted processing volumes of poultry processing lines, manual visual inspection requires many inspectors that are unable to inspect but only a percentage of pieces moving down the line. Therefore, defects may be missed.

Methods and apparatus for detecting defects for poultry piece grading


Multiple simultaneous network connections from a single PPP connection may be accomplished by utilizing a gateway in the following manner. A first network connection is established between the gateway and a first network. A first real network address for the user is then received, the first real network address assigned by the first network. Then, the gateway may establish a network session between the gateway and a second network and receive a second real network address for the user, the second real network address assigned by the second network. A virtual network address may be assigned to the user for network address translation purposes. Additional network connections may be added in a similar manner. Network address translation is then performed on packets traveling between the user and any of the network sessions. This allows each of the simultaneous network connections to gain the benefits of network address translation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the field of computer networks. More particularly, the present invention relates to managing multiple network connections from a single PPP link while performing network address translation.
2. The Background
The Point-to-Point protocol (PPP) is a data link protocol that provides dial up access over analog or digital transmission lines. PPP provides many advanced features, including error detection, support of multiple protocols, negotiation of IP addresses at connection time, and authentication. There are three main features of PPP. The first is that it provides a framing method to delineate the end of one frame and the beginning of the next one, in order to handle error detection. The second is a link control protocol for bringing lines up, testing them, negotiating options, and bringing them down again when they are no longer needed. This is known as the Link Control Protocol (LCP). The third is a way to negotiate network layer options in a way independent of the network layer protocol to be used. Thus, the method chosen may have a different Network Control Protocol (NCP) for each network layer supported.
PPP is commonly used as the data link protocol between a user and an Internet Service Provider (ISP) or access point. This is usually accomplished through the following method. The personal computer of the user is instructed to call the ISP through a modem. After the ISP""s modem receives the call and establishes a physical connection, the personal computer sends a series of LCP packets in the payload field of one or more PPP frames. These packets, and their responses, comprise the negotiation of the session, and set the PPP parameters to be used during the session.
Once the negotiation is complete, a series of NCP packets are sent to configure the network layer. Typically, the personal computer wants to run a TCP/IP protocol stack, so it needs an IP address. The NCP for IP may then be used to assign an IP address to the user (dynamic assignment of IP addresses is now common for dial-up users). At this point, the personal computer has become an Internet host and may send and receive IP packets, just as a hardwired host could. When the user has finished, NCP is used to tear down the network layer connection and free the IP address. The LCP is then used to shut down the data link layer connection. Finally, the personal computer hangs up the modem, releasing the physical layer connection.
There are currently eleven types of LCP packets. These types are illustrated in Table 1 below, along with the direction in which they travel (from Initiator (I) to responder (R) or vice-versa) and their description.
In recent years, xe2x80x9cintranetsxe2x80x9d have been rising in popularity, especially with large companies. An intranet is an internal network that serves only a specific type of person (such as employees of a corporation, or students at a school). The intranet is usually not accessible to the general public. Intranets have become popular mainly because they allow for much more productive communication between users within the network,
even when the users are dispersed over a wide geographic area (such as in multi-national corporations).
FIG. 1 is a block diagram depicting the typical connection to an intranet. Personal computer 10 connects through a link 12 to an Internet service provider (ISP) or access point (AP)14. The ISP or AP 14 then connects through link 16 to the Intranet 18.
Many entities that maintain intranets, however, have also wanted to offer users access to the Internet or to other intranets as well. There were, however, a limited number of ways that this could be accomplished. The first, and most simple, way would be for the user to first terminate the existing PPP connection between the PC 10 and the ISP or access point 24. Then the user could log into a second intranet or to the Internet. The major drawbacks of this solution are obvious. It does not allow for simultaneous connection to two intranets, or to one intranet and the Internet, thus limiting the productivity of the user. Additionally, it requires termination of the PPP link between the PC and the ISP, thus using up valuable time on the user""s end, as he has to re-initiate a connection process.
The second way an entity could offer access to a second intranet or to the Internet is to have a preconfigured connection from the intranet to the second intranet or Internet, such that communications between the user and the second intranet or Internet pass through the intranet. FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating a connection to the Internet 62 through an intranet 58. A user at PC 50 maintains a PPP connection 52 to ISP 54, which is connected to the intranet 58. Intranet 58 is then connected through link 60 to the Internet 62. The drawback of this solution is that the traffic from the user at PC 50 to the Internet 62 passes through the intranet 58. This increases the traffic traveling through the intranet 58 and poses a security risk to the information sent via the intranet 58.
One major drawback of PPP, therefore, is that it is designed as a point to point protocol, meaning that it is designed for use between two endpoints. Therefore, it is currently not possible for a user to connect to two independent endpoints simultaneously (such as an intranet and the Internet, or to two independent intranets) using a single PPP link.
What is needed is a method by which a user may connect to two independent endpoints simultaneously using a single PPP link.
Multiple simultaneous network connections from a single PPP connection may be accomplished by utilizing a gateway in the following manner. A first network connection is established between the gateway and a first network. A first real network address for the user is then received, the first real network address assigned by the first network. Then, the gateway may establish a network session between the gateway and a second network and receive a second real network address for the user, the second real network address assigned by the second network. A virtual network address may be assigned to the user for network address translation purposes. Additional network connections may be added in a similar manner. Network address translation is then performed on packets traveling between the user and any of the network sessions. This allows each of the simultaneous network connections to gain the benefits of network address translation.

Multiple network connections from a single PPP link with network address translation


In an earth boring device of either the impact ram or static type wherein the device is driven forwardly either by the impacts of an impact piston or by a forward pressure exerted on the device through a rod, directional control of the device is achieved by arranging a plurality of pressure fluid ejecting nozzles on the head of the device symmetrically with respect to its longitudinal axes, and by individually controlling the pressure and/or amount of pressure fluid supplied to each nozzle to deflect the device in one direction away from what would otherwise be its forward drive path.

For the laying of cables and pipes in the ground small tunnels of diameters in the area of about 45 to 200 mm are needed in front gardens, under streets, railways, waterways and established surfaces, which tunnels are often made by means of percussive or impact boring devices. The displacement heads of customary devices of this type can exhibit quite good displacement and crushing characteristics resulting from special head shapes. They however are not controllable in their forward direction, so that in the case of simple devices of this type no possibility exists for controlling them around a curve or to correct for their deviation from the desired path.
To avoid these disadvantages different solutions have already been proposed. So it is known from DE-A-39 11 467 to provide an inclination on the forward side of the earth boring device. This inclination presses the head of the device toward one side upon penetrating the ground. To achieve a straight run such a head has to be continuously rotated about its longitudinal axis. Thereby the inclination during the forward movement of the device presses the device in sequence upwardly, to the right, downwardly and to the left, so that in the event of a uniform rotation of the head the device as a result moves in a straight line. A head with such an inclination has indeed no longer the necessary crushing and displacement characteristics making possible forward movement in inhomogeneous and firm types of ground.
To reduce the resistance at the point of the device head and to ease the forward movement of the device in certain cohesive and sandy types of ground it has already been proposed to break up or entirely wash away the ground directly in front of the device head by a strong fluid jet. In keeping with this, in US-A-4 674 579 an earth boring device is known which is asymmetric in the front and has an outlet for a fluid jet directed from one side and inclined to the axis of the device. Since the ground in the area of the fluid jet is deflected or washed away the ground in this area presents the least resistance to the earth boring device. Upon its forward drive the earth boring device therefore deflects in the direction of the fluid stream. Thereby it influences the forward movement direction of the device. For straight movement this bore head much like that of the above described device with an inclined head has to be continuously rotated. A disadvantage of this solution is that the mechanism required for rotating the head does not stand up long against the rough drive conditions. This is especially true for so-called ram boring devices wherein the dynamic hammer impacts needed for the advancement of the earth boring device are so strong that the elements for guiding and rotating the head become worn out in short time.
The same disadvantages are present in the earth boring device with symmetrical head known from US-A-4 714 118, on which several asymmetrically arranged jet nozzles are provided. These nozzles are either all opened or all closed. For straight path movement the bore head must again be rotated.
An earth borer is known from US-A-3 365 007 in the boring head of which nozzles are formed for the discharge of boring fluid. The fluid discharge through these nozzles can be controlled. Since the boring head for penetration into the ground must be rotated it must be stopped to change the boring direction. After the stopping of the boring head by controlling certain nozzles the ground is washed away in the desired place. When the borer is again driven, it moves into the washed out space and thereby deviates in the desired direction from its previous boring direction. A change of direction during the forward drive is in this case, however, not possible.
An earth borer according to US-A-3 746 108 also has the same disadvantage. It differs from the known solution of US-A-3 365 007 in that the jet nozzles on the boring head are arranged asymmetrically and are not selectively controllable. To be able to change the boring direction, again the boring head must be stopped and so oriented that the nozzles point in the desired direction. After the washing away of a lateral space the drive of the borer can again be resumed.

Method for the directional control of an earth boring device as well as apparatus for making earth bores


The invention relates to alignment of an interferometer module for use in an exposure tool. An alignment method is provided for aligning an interferometer to the tool while outside of the too. Furthermore, the invention provides a dual interferometer module, an alignment frame use in the alignment method, and an exposure tool provided with first mounting surfaces for cooperative engagement with second mounting surfaces of an interferometer module.

The invention relates to alignment of an interferometer module for use in an exposure tool. Exposure tools comprising an optical column and a target carrier for carrying a target to be exposed and for moving said target relative to said optical column, often comprise an interferometer for accurately determining the position of the target within the exposure tool. In order to work properly, such an interferometer must be aligned with other parts of the exposure tool, e.g. with a mirror on said target carrier and/or a mirror on said optical column. When replacing the interferometer, for instance for performing maintenance thereon or for upgrading the tool, the replacement interferometer must be aligned relative to said exposure tool, in particular relative to the mirrors in the tool onto which the interferometer emits its beams. The time required for such an alignment procedure increases the downtime of the exposure tool when replacing an interferometer.
It is an object of the invention to provide an interferometer module, method and exposure tool for reducing downtime during replacement of the interferometer in the exposure tool.

Alignment of an interferometer module for use in an exposure tool


Use of transaction agents to perform distributed transactions. According to one embodiment of the invention a coordinator transaction agent that includes an itinerary and a state machine is instantiated. The itinerary indicates a plurality of network elements and the plurality of network elements is in communication with the coordinator transaction agent. The coordinator transaction agent causes itself to be replicated onto the plurality of network elements according to the itinerary. Each of the replicated transaction agents causing an indication of their replication to be communicated back to the coordinator transaction agent. The coordinator transaction agent coordinating operations of the state machine in each of the replicated transaction agents to implement a distributed state machine.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of network computing. More specifically, the invention relates to using transaction agents to perform distributed transactions.
2. Description of the Related Art
Providing services to "network elements" (e.g. Switches; Routers; Application Servers; File Servers; End-user Workstations; participants in a TDM ring using SONET/SDH BLSR or UPSR etc.) in a networking environment may consist of many tedious and burdensome tasks.
Circuit Creation
Overview
For example, one method of providing connectivity between "switching network elements" (e.g., routers; switches; gateway servers; participants as nodes of a TDM ring using SONET/SDH and BLSR or UPSR; etc.) is to build a network circuit connection. Network circuit connections provide dedicated connectivity between switching network elements, thereby insuring reliable network throughput and availability along the connection. The process of building a circuit between two or more switching network elements is called network provisioning. Some of the steps associated with provisioning include route selection, physical provisioning, and equipment interconnection. However, today's heterogeneous networking environment makes establishing a circuit connection a tedious task, brimming with potential pitfalls, resulting in a high probability of network failures.
FIG. 1 illustrates how remote circuit provisioning is used to build a circuit by transmitting provisioning instructions to remote switching network elements. In this scenario, a technician connects remotely to a first switching network element 120 from a Graphical User Interface (GUI) 110 running at a remote location. While remotely connected to the first switching network element 120, one may execute a set of instructions to the switching network element 120, instructing the switching network element to provision a cross connect from the first switching network element 120 to a second switching network element 130.
Thereafter, the technician would similarly connect to the remaining switching network elements (switching network element 140, switching network element 150, and switching network element 160), in turn, performing similar operations until a complete circuit connection is built across the network. Depending on the number of network elements, this may become a long process. Since the circuit connection is fully set up in a given switching network element before moving onto the next, what are referred to as partial circuits are created until the last switching network element is processed to complete the circuit.
Additional Detail
A more detailed description of circuit provisioning follows. The traditional circuit provisioning process generally begins with selecting a network route or path to have provisioned. Route selection may include examining a network topology map in order to view the network bandwidth. Here, a manual check may be performed at each switching network element to determine if network bandwidth is available to make the circuit connection feasible. If bandwidth is available, then each switching network element along the path is provisioned. If bandwidth is not available, then an alternate path is selected or new switching network element(s) deployed within the network to provide additional bandwidth.
Primarily, a switching network element routes data within a network and/or from one network connection to another network connection. When provisioning a circuit a "cross connect" is executed within a switching network element to direct an input from the input facility of a first network connection to an output facility of a second network connection. A facility is a set of channels within a switching network element used in connecting the two network connections.
Typically, to provision a switching network element from a remote location, a remote connection is first established with the remote switching network element. A message to disable a first necessary facility is sent to the switching network element. This is followed by a check for a network failure and a check to determine if the connection to the switching network element has failed (e.g. server down, command failed, etc.).
Subsequent to the confirmed disabling of the first facility, a message to disable a second necessary facility is sent to the switching network element and again a check for a network failure is performed. Thereupon, a check for a disconnect failure to the switching network element is again performed.
After both facilities are disabled, a cross connect message is sent to the switching network element to generate the cross connect between both facilities. Then, a check for a network failure is performed, followed by a check for a cross connect failure (server down, command failed, etc.).
Following the programming of the cross connect, a message is sent to enable the first facility. Thereupon, a check for a network failure and an enable failure are performed. If successful, a message is sent to enable the second facility. A check for a network failure is again performed and then a final check is done to determine if an enable failure occurred.
Problems
A mistake to the provisioning of the circuit connection (e.g. wrong determination of network bandwidth) causes problems. Additionally, a mistake may cause the connection between the remote location and one or more of the network elements to be broken. If so, the remote location cannot be used to undo what was done. Rather, the effected switching network element will need to be corrected on location. At a minimum, these mistakes may require the technician to undo at least some of the installed cross connects.
Problems also materialize when an error occurs while un-provisioning a circuit connection. Un-provisioning, which provides for the termination of circuit connections, suffers deficiencies similar to provisioning mainly because un-provisioning also requires the manipulation of each network element to complete the task. For example, if a network technician fails to remove a circuit cross connection from a network element, then that part of the circuit will appear to be in service on a network topology map when, in fact, it is available and has no traffic going across it. Therefore, during subsequent attempts to provision a connection the circuit will appear to be in use, causing one to select a different path when in fact the connection is available. Due to this inaccuracy, inefficiencies develop, causing bottlenecks and delays along certain network paths and potentially no network traffic along others.
Worse yet, if network bandwidth is indeed available but hidden, network managers may prematurely schedule network elements to be upgraded or overlaid, causing an additional inefficient use of resources in time and cost.
Even if a network technician correctly provisions or un-provisions the circuit connection, other similar problems may present themselves if the technician delays or completely foregoes updating the topology map to show the provisioning or un-provisioning of the circuit.
Software Installation/Upgrade
Another example of the burdensome and overwhelming tasks of providing services in a distributed network environment includes installing/upgrading software on remote network elements. Typically, in a decentralized software environment each network element has its own individual copy of a software application resident upon its hard drive. When installing new software applications or software upgrades, software technicians must install in each individual network element the new applications or upgrades. Whether remotely or manually on location this scenario is problematic if the installation or upgrade of the software is an "all-or-nothing deal." For example, in a file-sharing environment, the upgraded software may not be compatible with the older version software. Here, if only some of the network elements upgraded receive the software, file sharing between upgraded and non-upgraded network elements may be hindered until all network elements have been upgraded or the upgraded network elements are restored to the original version. This scenario is especially unacceptable if file-sharing is essential to the user's business.


In an embodiment of the present disclosure, a white organic light-emitting diode is provided. The white organic light-emitting diode includes an anode, a cathode, and a composite light-emitting layer formed between the anode and the cathode, the composite light-emitting layer including a first host layer, a second host layer, and a dye layer formed between the first host layer and the second host layer, and the dye layer including at least two dyes.

Currently, in widely-adopted OLED devices, the light-emitting layer thereof is formed by mixing host and dopant. Each dopant needs to go with its appropriate host material and the ratio therebetween tremendously influences the efficiency of OLED devices. However, it is extremely difficult to control the concentration and uniformity of the dopant. In order to resolve this problem, sophisticated and complicated equipment is required which correspondingly increases the cost of production. Therefore, development of an OLED device with a simple manufacturing process, and improved efficiency is desirable.
In a conventional light-emitting layer formed by mixing host and dopant, the ratio between host and dopant and the uniformity of dopant need to be considered. Since the whole host can emit light, the light-emitting area may be transferred with the alteration of operating voltage. When manufacturing a white OLED device, a light-emitting layer comprising various mixtures of host and dopant or one host doped with two or more dopants is required. However, the light color of the white OLED device is altered with the operating voltage or brightness. Therefore, when manufacturing a white OLED device, only the precise control of parameters and the use of sophisticated equipment can improve the yield.

INDUSTRIAL TECHNOLOGY RESEARCH INSTITUTE


A battery control system and method for a battery of a vehicle includes a battery for supplying electrical power to a plurality of loads of the vehicle and a controller that receives a battery signal representative of a condition of the battery, an ignition key signal representative of a state of an ignition key of the vehicle, and an engine signal representative of a state of an engine in the vehicle. The controller selectively electrically connects/disconnects the plurality of loads of the vehicle and the battery based on at least one of the battery signal, the ignition key signal, and the engine signal. An interface provides information on at least one of the battery and a connection state between the plurality of loads and the battery.

The present disclosure generally relates to battery control systems and methods for vehicles, and particularly relates to a battery control system and method for a vehicle having an engine (e.g., an internal combustion engine).
New vehicle models continue to be responsive to consumer demands for an ever increasing number of electrically powered features and devices. These features and devices add an additional burden to the vehicle's battery and thus more consideration is needed for maintaining the battery. Examples of such features and devices are memories for preferred positions of electrically adjustable devices, such as seats and mirrors, and memories for other electrically powered devices, such as radios having tuning presets. Still other examples include clocks, user specified navigational information, etc. The foregoing examples of features and devices that tax the vehicle's battery are normally of the type that cannot be manually isolated from the vehicle's battery by the driver. In addition to these, electrical components and devices of a vehicle can be inadvertently left on when their use is no longer desired and/or the vehicle is unattended. Obviously, this can further stress a vehicle's battery.
When a battery is overly discharged (such as by powering too many devices and features and/or inadvertently powering a device for an extended period without being recharged), the battery may no longer hold sufficient charge such as may be necessary, for example, for starting an internal combustion engine of a vehicle, if so equipped. Moreover, as the battery ages, it may become more susceptible to such over discharging, as vehicle batteries are known to degrade over time and with repeated cycles of charging and discharging. Accordingly, it is desirable to maintain a healthy battery condition by monitoring the loads on the battery and selectively electrically connecting and/or disconnecting such loads under certain operating conditions.


An improved THz detection mechanism includes a heterojunction thyristor structure logically formed by an n-type quantum-well-base bipolar transistor and p-type quantum-wellbase bipolar transistor arranged vertically to share a common collector region. Antenna elements, which are adapted to receive electromagnetic radiation in a desired portion of the THz region, are electrically coupled (or integrally formed with) the p-channel injector electrodes of the heterojunction thyristor device such the that antenna elements are electrically connected to the p-type modulation doped quantum well interface of the device. THz radiation supplied by the antenna elements to the p-type quantum well interface increases electron temperature of a two-dimensional electron gas at the p-type modulation doped quantum well interface thereby producing a current resulting from thermionic emission over a potential barrier provided by said first-type modulation doped quantum well interface. This current flows over the p-type channel barrier to the ntype quantum well interface, thereby causing charge to accumulate in the n-type quantum well interface. The accumulated charge in the n-type quantum well interface is related to the intensity of the received THz radiation. The heterojunction-thyristor-based THz detector is suitable for many applications, including data communication applications and imaging applications.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to semiconductor device structures. More particularly, this invention relates to semiconductor devices made with modulation doped quantum well interfaces that operate to detect high frequency electromagnetic radiation.
2. State of the Art
Satellite communication systems are now pushing into the sub-millimeter wave region in the quest for greater data throughput. With the upcoming wireless revolution and the anticipated demand for Internet services from almost anywhere, there will be significant demand for higher frequency carriers and modulation capability commensurate with these bandwidths. For future military terrestrial communication channels, the THz region (100 GHz-10,000 GHz) offers greatly enhanced capability. For satellite/ground and helicopter/ground links it avoids many of the problems of atmospheric scattering and absorption and adverse climatic conditions found in bandwidths up to 300 GHz. In addition, large toxic molecules of biological and chemical agents have resonances in the THz region and the detection of certain (chemical) weapons and explosives would be enabled. Furthermore, standoff detection (which involves passive and active methods for sensing of chemical and biological material when the sensor is physically separated from the site of interest) could be achieved by monolithic integration of a detector of electromagnetic radiation in the THz region (100 GHz-10,000 GHz), referred to herein as a THz detector, with data processing circuits providing a rugged, compact and portable sensor offering critical human protection.
State-of-the-art FET devices, such as High Electron Mobility Transistors (HEMTs), have conventional electronic cutoff frequencies in the 150-200 GHz range for channel lengths of 0.1 mm. Several reports discuss the possibility of using plasma resonance of the two-dimensional electron gas (referred to herein as "2D gas") at the modulation doped interface in a HEMT to implement a THz detector. See i) W. Knap et al., "Resonant Detection of Subterahertz Radiation by Plasma Waves in a Submicron Field-Effect Transistor," Applied Phys. Letts., Vol. 80, No. 18, May 6, 2002, pg. 3433-3436; ii) M. I. Dyakonov et al., "Plasma Wave Electronics: Novel Terahertz Devices using Two Dimensional Electron Fluid," IEEE Trans. Elec. Dev., Vol. 43, No. 10, October 1996, pg. 1640-1645; and iii) M. Shur et al. "Terahertz Sources and Detectors Using 2D Electronic Fluid," IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, Vol. 48, No. 4, April 2000, pg. 750. However, the mean free paths necessary for plasma resonances requires sub-0.1 μm transistor structures or cryogenic cooling to below 77 K. Such small transistor structures and cryogenic cooling substantially increases the manufacturing cost of the THz detector. Furthermore, there is no input/output isolation in the HEMT configuration since the channel must absorb the radiation as well as interface to another electronic device.
Other reports have suggested additional mechanisms by which the 2D gas at a modulation doped interface may function as a THz detector. In Barbieri et al., Hot-electron Multiquantum Well Microwave Detector Operating at Room Temperature," Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 23, No. 2, 1995, pp 250-253 and Barbieri et al., "Broadband Microwave Detection with a Novel 2D Hot-Electron Device," Superlattices and Microstructures, Vol. 23, No. 5, 1998, pp. 1079, a structure similar to a Quantum Well Infrared Photodetector (QWIP) device is used to generate a photocurrent due to incident electromagnetic radiation in the THz region. The mechanism of response is the thermionic emission of electrons from the confined state to the continuum due to electron heating of the 2D gas, i.e. the 2D gas was heated preferentially to the lattice. In K. S. Yngvesson, "Ultrafast two-dimensional electron gas detector and mixer for terahertz radiation," Appl. Phys. Lett., Vol. 76, No. 6, February 2000, pp 777, thermionic emission of electrons from the confined state to the continuum due to electron heating of the 2D gas in a HEMT structure is used to produce a detector and mixer for THz radiation. The problem in utilizing such QWIP and HEMT device structures is that of extracting a useable signal from the device. More specifically, when the 2D gas is heated by an antenna connected thereto, there is no place for photocurrent to flow. In other words, there is no way to efficiently remove photocurrent from the device.

Thz detection employing modulation doped quantum well device structures


The present invention is an apparatus for holding a first cable and a second cable in communication on an object. The apparatus includes a first member for holding a first end of the first cable and a second member for holding a second end of the second cable. The second member is disposed in a predetermined adjacent relationship with the first member such that the first and second ends are abutted up against each other and can communicate a signal therebetween. The apparatus also has means for affixing each of the first and second members separately to the object in the predetermined adjacent relationship. Preferably, the cables are fiber optic cables and the signal is light. In an alternative, the first and second members are fixedly attached to a spring base. The spring base is for maintaining the members in the predetermined adjacent relationship such that the first and second ends are abutted and can communicate a signal therebetween when the object is on the apparatus.

The Light-Gard.TM. system is known to protect valuable objects against theft by connecting them to a cable which carries a signal. In order to steal an object, the cable usually must be broken. An alarm is typically provided for alerting the appropriate people when the signal is received which indicates the cable has been broken. Such an alarm system is the Minatronics Light-Gard.TM. product.


This description deals with a medical device, specifically a prosthetic intervertebral disc having a compressible core and at least one cast, polymeric end plate.

The intervertebral disc is an anatomically and functionally complex joint. The native intervertebral disc is made up of three component structures: (1) the nucleus pulposus; (2) the annulus fibrosus; and (3) the vertebral endplates. The biomedical composition and anatomical arrangements within these component structures are related to the biomechanical function of the disc.
The spinal disc may be displaced or damaged due to trauma or disease. As a result of such displacement or damage, the nucleus pulposus may herniate and protrude into the vertebral canal or intervertebral foramen. That deformation is commonly known as a herniated or "slipped" disc. The protrusion may press upon one or more of the spinal nerves exiting the vertebral canal through the partially obstructed foramen, causing pain or paralysis in the area of the spinal nerve's influence.
One method of alleviating this condition involves surgically removing the involved disc and fusing the two adjacent vertebrae. In this procedure, the removed disc is replaced by a spacer and secured to the neighboring vertebrae by screws, plates, and rods. Although "spinal fusion" evidences excellent short-term results, long-term studies show that the procedure eventually leads to degenerative changes in the spine, particularly at adjacent still flexible, spinal discs. As a result of the fused segment's increased stiffness, adjacent discs incur increased motion and stress. In the long term, this change in the mechanics of the spine causes those adjacent discs to degenerate.
Prosthetic intervertebral discs are now used as alternatives to spinal fusion. Various artificial intervertebral disc designs are extant; many share the goal of mimicking the kinematics and load-sharing properties of the natural intervertebral disc. Two such design categories are ball-and-socket joint type discs and elastic rubber or elastomeric discs.
Artificial discs of the ball-and-socket type usually include a pair of concave metal plates and a rounded core. One of the concave metal plates is attached to the upper vertebra and the other is attached to the lower vertebra. The concavities within the metal plates cooperate with and will rotate with respect to the rounded core. The ball-and-socket type disc allows free rotation between the adjacent vertebrae between which the disc is installed. Such discs do not share any of the load placed on the spine as the spine bends.
Such ball-and-socket discs have very high stiffness in the vertical (or compressive) direction. That is to say that they are more incompressible than the natural disc. As a result, although these prosthetic discs allow flexion of the spine where a fused disc does not, the structure of these discs still causes adjacent spinal discs to absorb extra compressive loads and still allows eventual and early degeneration of those discs.
Another common artificial disc design includes an elastic rubber or elastomeric polymer body embedded between a pair of metal plates. The disc is introduced into the surgically emptied region between two adjacent vertebrae by affixing the two metal plates to those two vertebrae. In this design, the elastomeric polymer body is bonded to a rough, porous interface surface on each of the metal plates. This disc design is able both to absorb vertical, compressive shocks and to bear loads in that direction. However, the interface between the elastomeric polymer body and the metal plates is subject to peeling or severance due to the nature of the junction.
The prosthetic devices described here generally include a compressible core, perhaps containing gel or polymeric materials, and at least one cast end plate, typically polymeric and typically binding or affixed to a structural component that is peripheral to that core. The casting material may also be structural in nature, e.g., epoxies and the like.

Prosthetic intervertebral discs having cast end plates and methods for making and using them


A cooling system for internal combustion engines provides directed flows of heated or cooled coolant to various engine components and/or accessories as needed. By providing directed flows, the overall coolant flow volume is reduced from that of conventional cooling systems, allowing for a smaller capacity water pump to be employed which results in a net energy savings for the engine. Further, by reducing the overall coolant flow volume, the hoses and/or galleries required for the directed flows are reduced from those of conventional cooling systems, providing a cost savings and a weight savings. Finally, by preferably employing an impellor type water pump, the expense of an electric water pump and its associated control circuitry can be avoided. The direct flows are established by a multifunction valve which, in a preferred implementation, comprises a two-plate valve wherein each plate is operated by a wax motor.

Cooling systems for internal combustion engines in vehicles typically comprise a water jacket and various galleries in the internal combustion engine through which coolant, typically a mixture of water and ethylene glycol, is circulated. The coolant is heated by the engine and averages temperatures in the engine (which would otherwise vary significantly from place to place) and is then passed through a heat exchanger to dissipate waste heat to the surrounding atmosphere. After rejecting some heat through the heat exchanger, the coolant is returned to the engine for another cycle.
In addition to the water jacket, galleries and heat exchanger (typically in the form of a radiator), modern cooling systems often include a variety of other components such as heater cores, which are supplied with heated coolant to warm the interior of the vehicle, and lubrication oil and/or transmission oil coolers which are used to remove heat from the oils to enhance their operating lifetimes and/or performance.
Conventionally, these cooling systems typically consisted of one or two loops through which the coolant circulated with minimal control, other than a thermostat, which restricted the flow of coolant through the radiator until the engine had reached a desired operating temperature, and a control valve which would enable or disable the flow of coolant to the heater core depending upon whether it was desired to supply heat to the interior of the vehicle.
More sophisticated cooling systems, such as that taught in U.S. Pat. No. 6,668,764 to Henderson et al. have been proposed. The Henderson system is intended for use with diesel engines and employs a multiport valve in conjunction with an electrically operated coolant pump to provide a cooling system with several coolant circulation loops. By positioning the multiport valve in different positions and operating the electric water pump at different speeds/capacities, different functions can be performed by the cooling system. For example, at engine start up in cold ambient temperatures, all coolant flow through the engine can be inhibited. Once a minimum engine temperature is achieved, a flow of coolant can be provided to a passenger compartment heater core. Once a higher engine operating temperature has been achieved, or a specified temp has been exceeded, a flow of coolant can be provided to a lubrication oil heater core to assist the lubrication oil in achieving a desired minimum operating temperature, etc.
While the cooling system taught in Henderson provides operating advantages, it still suffers from some disadvantages in that it requires an electrically operated coolant pump with a relatively high capacity to meet worst case cooling conditions. In zero flow, or restricted flow, conditions the electric coolant pump must be electrically shut down as such pumps typically cannot be operated under zero flow conditions without damaging the pump. Further, such pumps are more expensive to manufacture, control and maintain than are mechanical coolant pumps and can be more subject to failures. Further, the cooling system taught in Henderson requires both a lubrication oil cooling heat exchanger and a lubrication oil heating heat exchanger to be able to raise the temperature of the lubricating oil of the engine to a desired minimum operating temperature and to then assist in cooling the lubricating oil.
It is desired to have a cooling system which provides for more sophisticated heating and cooling strategies without requiring electrically operated coolant circulation pumps or other expensive components.

Vehicle cooling system with directed flows


A flow rate measuring apparatus capable of accurately measuring a mass flow rate of an exhaust gas, includes a laser distributor causing a sheet-like laser to move in a laser introduction duct. An imaging device takes images at specified times. A processor calculates, based on the images, motion vectors of an exhaust gas for a period at a plurality of positions in each image; averages the motion vectors into one motion vector; and calculates the Y-components of the averaged motion vectors in the images as movement amounts of the exhaust gas, an arithmetic mean of the movement amounts as a representative movement amount of the exhaust gas, an actual flow velocity of the exhaust gas from the representative movement amount, an actual flow rate of the exhaust gas from the actual flow velocity, and, based on the actual flow rate, a mass flow rate of the exhaust gas.

Conventionally, as a flow rate measuring apparatus for measuring a mass flow rate of a gas, widely known is a differential pressure type of flowmeter having a pitot tube, an orifice plate or the like, an ultrasonic type of flowmeter having an ultrasonic sensor, a laminar flow type of flowmeter having laminar flow elements with a plurality of tubes, a hot wire type of flowmeter having a heater (hot wire), and the like.
However, in the case of measuring a mass flow rate of an exhaust gas from an engine of a car and the like, the flow rate measuring apparatus mentioned above should not be used.
This is because the exhaust gas has properties that (1) matters (e.g. water drops into which vapor condenses, unburned fuel, and engine oil) other than a gas component are present therein, (2) a flow velocity thereof widely varies depending on a temperature, a rotational speed of the engine, and the like, (3) pressure pulsation proportional to the rotational speed and the number of cylinders of the engine occurs, and (4) a flow thereof becomes imbalanced because of a bending portion of an exhaust duct, and these properties of the exhaust gas shown at (1) to (4) disable the flow rate measuring apparatus mentioned above from accurately measuring the mass flow rate of the exhaust gas.
Patent Literature 1 discloses an apparatus which performs PIV (Particle Image Velocimetry) processing to analyze fluid flowing through a duct.
The apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1, at each of two points in time apart from each other at a minute time interval, irradiates the inside of the duct through which the fluid flows with a sheet-like laser, and at the same time, takes an image of a section of the internal space of the duct cut by the sheet-like laser. Then, the apparatus calculates movement amounts of particles of the fluid on the basis of the images taken at the two points in time. By using the movement amounts of particles of the fluid calculated in this manner, a mass flow rate of the fluid flowing through the duct can be calculated.
Though the apparatus disclosed in Patent Literature 1 can take an image of any place in the duct, in the case of measuring the mass flow rate of an exhaust gas, the apparatus cannot accurately measure the mass flow rate of the exhaust gas because of no consideration of imbalance of fluid flow.


A lumped impedance transforming directional coupler including a first reactive element, a second reactive element coupled to the first reactive element at a first port, a third reactive element coupled to the second reactive element at a second port, a fourth reactive element coupled to the first reactive element at a third port and to the first reactive element at a fourth port, and the first, the second, the third, and the fourth ports each coupled through a first, a second, a third, and a fourth capacitor, respectively, to electrical ground, the reactive elements and the capacitors providing impedance transformation. Alternate embodiments include a lumped element directional coupler arising from a distributed impedance transforming directional couplers with a pair of transmission lines one-fourth of a wavelength of a center operating frequency in length, and a second pair of transmission lines three-fourths of that wavelength in length.

This invention relates in general to the field of directional couplers and, in particular, to directional couplers which incorporate the function of impedance transformation.
Branch line hybrid couplers are often used in a typical transistor amplifier combiner or balanced mixer. These couplers are traditionally designed with four, 50-ohm ports to match the system impedance. However, radio frequency (RF), microwave, and millimeter-wave frequencies active devices used in power amplifiers, mixers, or other applications in which the coupler may be found may present impedances in the range of approximately 1 to 200 ohms.
The range of impedances which the coupler must accommodate typically necessitates the use of impedance transformers that, in either the distributed or lumped domain, increase the size, weight and insertion loss of the device.
Thus, what is needed is a practical, economical directional coupler which incorporates the function of impedance transformation. The relatively small size transforming directional coupler would be realizable in monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) form.

Impedance transforming directional coupler