Casing 5 is formed with a recess 67 toward an internal space in which the internal components are not located. The recess 67 is formed with a gate portion 69 as a resin inlet for forming the casing 5, and a bleeder portion 68 which is opened during a sealing operation and then sealed.

The present invention relates to electric devices, and ore particularly to an electric device sealing structure having a characteristic casing structure.
In a conventional electric device, there is an electromagnetic relay constructed, for example, by mounting various internal components such as an electromagnet and a contact segment on a base and then sealing the structure in a casing. In this type of electromagnetic relay, as shown in FIG. 14, a casing 100 is formed with a gate portion 101, a bleeder portion 102 and a vent portion 103. The gate portion 101 is formed for injection molding. The bleeder portion 102 is formed to discharge internal air that expanded when sealing the underside of the base. It should be noted that the bleeder portion 102 will be sealed shut to prevent cleaning water from entering the inside during a later cleaning operation. Furthermore, the vent portion provides communication between the inside and the outside of the electromagnetic relay during operation so as to improve the life of electric components. More specifically, such communication prevents problems such as the wearing of contacts due to the generation of an electric arc between the contacts or a rise in temperature upon making and breaking of the connection between the contacts.
The gate portion 101, bleeder portion 102 and vent portion 103 each have an independent function and hence are conventionally formed in the casing 100 at separate locations. More specifically, the gate portion 101 and the vent portion 103 are arranged side-by-side in a substantially central area of the top wall, while the bleeder portion 102 is located at a corner of the top wall. Because of this reason, the structure of a mold for forming the casing 100 is intricate. Such an intricate structure inhibits the smooth flow of resin, which leads to the occurrence of inconveniences such as a short shot. In particular, during heat sealing of the bleeder portion 102, which is located at a corner, it is necessary to hold the casing by a supporting jig or the like so as to prevent the casing from tilting, resulting in poor workability.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an electric device sealing structure which has a casing that is simple fabric with superior moldability and workability.
As means for solving the foregoing problems, the present invention provides an electric device sealing structure for sealing an electric device by covering a base carrying internal components with a casing, wherein the casing is formed with a recess toward an internal space in which none of the internal components are located, the recess is provided at its bottom with a gate portion as a resin inlet for forming the casing and with a bleeder portion which is open during a sealing operation and sealed later.
With this construction, the casing has a simplified structure, and the mold for forming the casing also has a simplified structure. This allows resin to flow smoothly in injection molding, thereby assuredly providing a casing of a desired configuration.
A vent portion which is open when the electric device is in use may be also provided at the bottom of the recess.
This feature not only allows the gate portion, the bleeder portion or the bent portion to be suitably located for their purposes, but also enables a compact arrangement of internal components within the casing, thereby reducing the size of the structure.
It is preferred that the electric device comprise an electromagnetic relay having internal components including an electromagnet portion comprising a coil winding around an iron core with an intervening spool and a yoke integrated therewith, an armature disposed on one side of the electromagnet portion, a movable contact segment and a fixed contact segment disposed on the other side, and a card disposed above the electromagnet portion for transmitting the rotation of the armature to the movable contact arm, the card being shaped as a substantially rectangular frame to define the internal space in which the recess can be accommodated.
With this feature, the internal space in which the recess is to be formed can assuredly be formed even if the casing is reduced in size as an internal surface of the casing is positioned near any internal component in the casing.


A method and apparatus for overwriting data in a recording medium, such as a Blu-ray disc write-once (BD-WO), are disclosed. The method includes when receiving a plurality of data record commands for a previously recorded area within the recording medium, replacement recording the received data for each record command on a non-recorded area within the recording medium, and when the plurality of record commands occur in a continuous area within the recording medium, the data is recorded on a management area within the recording medium as a management information for the plurality of record commands.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a write-once recording medium, and more particularly, to a method and apparatus for overwriting data in a write-once recording medium.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
An innovative high density recording medium, such as a Blu-ray rewritable disc (BD-RE), for recording high quality video data and high quality audio data for a long period of time is expected to be developed and introduced to the market. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 1, the BD-RE has a lead-in area, a data zone and a lead-out area that are divided and allocated. The data zone has an inner spare area (hereinafter, referred to as "ISA") at its head portion and an outer spare area (hereinafter, referred to as "OSA") at its rear portion, which are divided and allocated.
The BD-RE records data in units of cluster. Herein, referring to FIG. 1, the BD-RE detects whether a defective area exists in the data zone while the BD-RE records data. When the BD-RE detects defective area in the data zone, the BD-RE performs a replacement record operation in which data recorded on the defective area is recorded on the spare area, such as an ISA, and the data recorded on the ISA is replaced for the data recorded on the defective area. Thereafter, the BD-RE records location information of the defective area and location information of the ISA as management information of a defect list in the lead-in area. Accordingly, when the defective area exists on the data zone, the BD-RE performs a replacement record operation in which data recorded on the defective area is recorded on the spare area. When reproduction is performed, the data recorded on the spare area is read and reproduced instead of the data recorded on the defective area so that data record/playback error can be prevented in advance.
Recently, the standardization of the Blu-ray disc write-once (BD-WO) has been discussed among related companies. Since a write-once recording medium can be recorded only once on its entire area, the write-once recording medium (e.g., optical disc) is not physically rewritable in contrast to a rewritable recording medium (e.g., optical disc). However, in the write-once optical disc, to edit recorded data, or to correct a corresponding portion, or for the convenience of a user or a host, overwriting operations may be necessary and an efficient method enabling data to be overwritten is needed to be developed.

Method and apparatus for overwriting data in write-once recording medium


A system that supports enhancement of device drivers written in distinct code sets, such as a 32-bit enhancement to a 16-bit existing driver is disclosed. The system defines a mechanism for the two device driver components to share information about their functioning, and for a device interface component to use that information so as to route calls to the device drivers based on their functional capabilities. The system can be implemented in a display device interface to support interaction between applications and video hardware components, which include enhanced device drivers.

The present invention has a specific application in the area of computer display systems. In part, it stems from addressing the constraints on the development of complex user interfaces within existing computer systems. When creating an application program for a computer, the design of the user interface is a major concern. In developing the user interface, the programmer typically has to include code to capture input from the user and provide output using the computer's peripheral devices. The interaction between an application and input/output peripheral devices can vary significantly depending on the type of application and sophistication of the user interface. In a spreadsheet program, for example, the application needs to be informed when the user has updated a cell in a spreadsheet so that it can update the spreadsheet and display the proper result. Since the display changes rather infrequently and does not contain complex graphics in this example, the performance of the underlying software and hardware that controls the user interface is less critical. As such, the programmer can rely on high level or generalized interfaces to peripherals without being particularly concerned with the performance of the user interface aspect of the program.
The user interfaces of many of today's multimedia applications, however, are significantly more complex and have rigorous performance requirements. Multimedia applications include, among others, games, video, and animation. In multimedia games, for example, the interaction between the application and peripherals is critical to achieving a highly interactive and realistic user interface. The interaction between the application can include not only reading input from a joystick and displaying images, but can also include mixing audio files to generate sound effects, rendering three dimensional animation using a graphics accelerator, decompressing and playing video, and updating the display image fast enough to depict realistic scenes.
To control peripheral devices in this manner, the application program can attempt to control the peripheral devices directly or can perform operations through a software interface. A software interface provides access to certain services through a specified set of operations which can be invoked by the application to request the services. For instance, an interface to sound effect services might include operations to "prepare a sound for playing," "start playing a sound," and "wait until a sound has finished playing." In response to a request for a particular service, the interface attempts to provide the service by taking steps to control the underlying hardware. In effect, the interface does what the application would have to do if it were to try to control the hardware directly. In addition to communicating with the hardware, an interface sometimes provides some resource contention management so that applications running in the computer can share access to the limited hardware resources. An interface may be developed as a device driver, e.g., the software that communicated directly with the hardware, or it may be a software component that works between the device drivers and the application.
For the vast majority of applications, application programmers rely on some form of software interface to interact with the computer's peripherals. Programmers typically rely on software interfaces to the peripherals so that they can focus on the specifics of their application rather than on the specifics of controlling a particular device. Unfortunately, many of today's software interfaces cannot provide the level of performance that multimedia applications demand.
There are a number of software products on the market today that provide interfaces between application programs and peripheral devices. These interfaces are sometimes characterized as low or high level interfaces, and device independent or dependent. A high level interface is one whose operations request big-picture strategic services, such as "start playing this sound" or "display this document." A low level interface is one whose operations request tactical services specifically, such as "tell the sound card at I/O (input/output) address 220 to point its DMA buffer to memory address 1000000" or "tell the video card to copy the 64.times.64 pixel region from a location starting at address 0000001 to a location starting at 1000000 in video memory." In general, a high level interface may be easier for a programmer to use, but a low level interface may provide better performance and direct access to specific functionality. Ease of use at the high comes from having fewer details to take care of, while better performance at the low level comes from taking advantage of special cases the hardware handles well.
The terms "device independent" and "device dependent" refer to the extent to which the interface is specific to a particular piece of hardware. Device independent interfaces provide operations that are not specific to a particular brand of hardware device. Instead, the operations hide the detail of the hardware from the application and take care of these details internally. Such interfaces are usually written for a certain type of device, such as video cards. In contrast, device dependent interfaces provide operations to control specific features of a particular piece of hardware. To write an application using a device dependent interface, the application developer has to have a detailed understanding of how the specific hardware operates. Such interfaces are often referred to as device drivers.
Hardware dependence is usually not favored because it is not flexible to changes in the underlying hardware and can often lead to resource contention problems. Applications written for a device dependent interface can be rendered obsolete by updates to the underlying hardware, and commonly do not work for more than one brand of peripheral.
In general, high level interfaces tend to be device independent because they hide details, whereas low level interfaces tend to be device dependent because they reveal details. For instance, "play a sound" does not rely on the details of any sound card, but "tell the sound card at IO address 220 . . . " obviously does.
While device independent, high level interfaces are generally easier to use for the reasons explained above, they typically are unable to provide the performance and functionality needed for certain types of applications. High level interfaces are often not sufficient for game applications and other multimedia applications because they are often incapable of achieving the desired performance. Games demand higher performance because they must achieve a high degree of user interactivity and visual realism. A game application typically has to collect rapidly changing user input, compute its impact on the current scene, and display the corresponding images and playback sounds with imperceptible delay.
Since many peripherals have their own computing resources, such as processors and memory, performance can be improved by off-loading some tasks to the peripheral rather than consuming the resources of the host CPU. For example, a video card may have special purpose hardware that can copy pixels much faster than the CPU. A high level interface may not take advantage of this particular feature or may include additional layers of code that consume valuable CPU cycles and time before the operation is even started on the peripheral. Thus, without a low level interface to expose these resources to the application, they are not fully exploited.
One example of an operation that is especially important in multimedia applications is the process of drawing images for display. To achieve better performance, it is often necessary to manipulate a video card directly. Video cards typically provide a write-able address register that stores a pointer to area in the video card's memory holding a screen-sized display image. In order for an application to control this register directly, the application must have specific information about the card and must keep track of the specific address location of the display image stored in the video card. In addition, the application must keep track of timing information of the display monitor so that it can properly instruct the video card to display an image at a specified location. Because of all the details that the application needs to track to control the video card, the process of generating a display image is complex and limited.
Another major constraint on the development of multimedia applications is the fact that software interfaces to the display peripherals have traditionally been written with 16-bit instruction code ("16-bit code"), which was supported by earlier 16-bit processors. Although 32-bit instruction processors, such as the 386/486/Pentium.TM. processor provided by Intel Corporation, have been available for several years, it is only recently that 32-bit operating systems have been widely used. Applications written to take full advantage of these processors' capabilities are written in 32-bit instruction code ("32-bit code"). Increased processing speeds are usually achieved by the 32-bit applications. However, the cost of converting applications from 16- to 32-bit can be significant, so many application programmers will not convert older programs, but will develop completely new programs with 32-bit code. Because of the prevalence of 16-bit applications, new processors generally run in both a 16-bit and 32-bit mode so that both types of applications can be supported. In order to support both types of applications, the processor, as well as the operating system controlling the processor, must take special steps to manage the interaction between the various applications.
In particular, it is common for application modules to call other applications or services to carry out specific functions. When the code sizes differ, the process of making such calls is referred to as "thunking." A brief explanation of this process is provided so that the benefits of the present invention can be better understood.
As an example, the Windows.RTM. family of operating systems from Microsoft Corporation (the assignee of the present application), include 32-bit code bases referred to as Win32s, Windows 95 and Windows NT. Each of these platforms supports 16- or 32-bit applications and multitasking systems, e.g., more than one process can be running at any given time, although they have to share certain system resources. Because 16-bit processes multitask cooperatively with respect to each other, 16-bit applications are often written with the assumption that they will not be interrupted by other processes until they explicitly yield the 16-bit scheduler. In contrast, 32-bit applications are written with the expectation that they can wait on 32-bit synchronization objects without impeding the progress of other processes. If code that is written under these different assumptions is mixed, care must be taken to avoid deadlocks or errors due to unexpected reentrancy.
Each of the Windows 32-bit platforms employs one or more thunking mechanisms. This table summarizes the thuniking mechanisms provided by the different Win32 platforms.
______________________________________ -Win32s-+-Windows 95-+-Windows NT- Generic Thunk X X +--------+---------+--------+ Universal Thunk X +--------+--------+--------+ Flat Thunk X +--------+--------+--------+ ______________________________________
Generic Thunks allow a 16-bit Windows-based application to load and call a Win32-based DLL on Windows NT and Windows 95. Windows 95 also supports a thunk compiler, so a Win32-based application can load and call a 16-bit DLL. Win32s Universal Thunks allow a Win32-based application running under Win32s to load and call a 16-bit DLL. Specifically, the Flat Thunk in Windows 95 allows 16-bit code to call 32-bit code and vice-versa. A thunk compiler has to be written by the application developer to support the Flat Thunk. To use the thunk compiler, a thunk script is created, which is the function prototype with additional information about input and output variables. In addition to Flat Thunks, Windows 95 supports the Windows NT Generic Thunk mechanism. At least one modified thunking method is described in an application owned by the assignee of this case, having Ser. No. 08/338,646, entitled "Method and system for calling one of a set of routines designed for direct invocation by programs of a second type when invoked by a program of the first type."
While these system thing mechanisms are provided, there are still some difficulties to address when a call is made from a 16- to 32-bit process. While a process is executing 32-bit code, it is possible for other processes to enter 16-bit code, possibly reentering the 16-bit code that was thunked from. That is, entering a 16- to 32-bit thunk ("thunking up") releases the 16-bit subsystem for use by other processes, e.g., 32-bit processes. Thus, 16- to 32-bit thunks are not recommended if the code cannot be reentered. In addition, thunking up is not recommended inside callback functions passed to a third-party dynamic linked library, unless it is documented that the code calling the callback function is reentrant. Thus, in mixed processes, it is preferable not to make such calls simply because of the unpredictability of continued processing. In contrast, thunking down, e.g., from 32-bit to 16-bit code tends not to be problematic since 32-bit code is usually written to take advantage of system safeguards to manage this type of communication. One result of the thunking phenomenon is that it is somewhat difficult to partially modify an application or its components if the result is a mix of 16- and 32-bit code.
Display system architectures are prime examples of the evolution of 16- to 32-bit processes. Ever since the introduction of the Windows operating system, software interfaces, including specific device drivers, the graphical device interface ("GDI") and the device independent engine ("DIBengine", which was first included in Windows 95), have been written with 16-bit code. (The Windows display subsystem is described in detail in chapter 6 of Windows 95, by Adrian King.) However, recent versions of the main portions of the Windows operating system have been written in 32-bit code. As a result, the Windows system display requests from an application to a display device generally require a transition from 32-bit code to 16-bit code, e.g., a thunk, in order to access the device driver.
Thus, in existing computer systems, such as personal computers ("PC"), certain inefficiency in processing can be attributed to the continued use of 16-bit code, and the overhead required to process calls between 16- and 32-bit components. In addition, application programmers must deal with the potential uncertainty introduced by mixing 16- and 32-bit code applications without the use of special precautions. In the example of user interface intensive multimedia applications, certain enhanced or improved display functionality is available to the application if 32-bit code is used, but that 32-bit code must operate efficiently and safely vith the existing 16-bit interfaces. The present invention is directed to improving the interaction of applications and devices that utilize a combination of 16- and 32-bit components.


Apparatus for rapid, ultra sensitive and automatic counting of flourescent biological cells such as microorganisms, carried by a solid support such as a filter.

The analysis of biological samples, food samples, potable water samples and pharmaceutical products for the presence of microorganisms is important and has important ramifications for safety, quality regulations and public health. For instance, recent outbreaks of food borne illness, implicating cheese and other dairy products contaminated with pathogenic bacteria, underscore the need for rapid methods for microbiological analysis.
In the traditional plate technique, a sample to be analyzed is cultured and the resulting colonies counted. The results of the test are obtained after a growth period ranging from a minimum of 1 day to as much as 7 to 8 days. In this technique, the growth period provides at one time, the distinction between viable and non-viable organisms, as well as the magnification of the signals from the viable organisms, to facilitate their detection at low concentration.
There is a crucial need for more rapid, more sensitive and more automated methods, for industrial as well as medical applications.
Rapid methods have been developed which are based on measuring the consequence of the metabolic activity of the microorganisms on a bulk property of the sample, such as impedance. All of these methods, called indirect methods, suffer from reduced sensitivity and still require culturing when the detection of low levels of contamination is required.
Other methods based on the direct counting of microorganisms have been developed recently. Among these, the direct epifluorescent filter techniques (DEFT) may be cited. In this technique the specimen to be analyzed is caused to pass through a filter which retains the microorganisms. The microorganisms are then made fluorescent and counted by visually analyzing the filter surface with an epifluorescence microscope. In this method, particles of interest are generally labelled with a fluorescent dye, such as acridine orange or other more specific dyes.
The visual analysis is tedious and complicated: first, because in the absence of a growth phase the organisms are quite small (requiring high power magnification for their detection), and second because the total area of the filter is so large that an impractical number of high power fields are required to cover the whole filter. Thus, typically only a small part of the filter is visually examined (less than 10%). This makes the technique inappropriate for sterility testing, where one single microorganism on the total filter has to be detected.
An additional problem with the DEFT technique is discrimination between the searched microorganisms and other particles, which are naturally fluorescent, that may have also been concentrated on the filter.
As a result of these problems, the repeatability and accuracy of the DEFT method are generally lower than that of the plate count methods. Other limitations of the DEFT include, low sensitivity, fading of intensity and operator fatigue, from prolonged use of the microscope.
The use of the epifluorescent microscope fitted with an image analyzer, in view to improve the DEFT technique has also been reported. However, although this is effective in eliminating subjectivity and operator fatigue, it is still limited by the fundamental problem that the organisms are small and the area to be covered is large.
In order to better understand this problem, it is useful to note that in electronic imaging systems the resultant image is made up of individual picture elements (pixels). In the current state of the art of electronic imaging, even the best video cameras can only form images of as many as 100,000 or 1 million pixels. However, the diameter of a single microorganism is typically around 1 .mu.m while the diameter of the filter is 25,000 .mu.m. Thus, if we consider one pixel to be the size of a microorganism, it would take 625 million pixels to cover the entire filter.
As a result either a single picture element (pixel) must be made much larger than the dimensions of a single microorganism or the analysis must include many sequential images. However, neither of these approaches is satisfactory. In the first case, the sensitivity of detection is lowered while, in the second case the time and complexity of analysis are limiting factors.
Another known means to improve the DEFT technique which may be considered is the use of a scanning confocal epifluorescence microscope. In this apparatus, a small laser spot is used to sequentially illuminate each element of the image field, while a detector positioned behind a small pinhole is also focused on the same element. The image is then formed from the detector signals in a manner similar to that described above for an electronic imaging system. In the optimum design of such an apparatus the dimensions of the illuminating spot is less than or equal to the dimensions of the smallest particle to be detected, and the dimensions of the pinhole is equal to or smaller than the dimensions of the illuminating spot.
The use of this known technology of scanning confocal microscopy is also not appropriate for this application, for at least the following reasons:
1) As stated above the ratio of the size of the filter to the area of the microorganism is greater than 100 million. Thus either a spot much larger than the organism must be used (with attending loss of sensitivity) or the scan time must be impractically long. PA1 2) In practical industrial samples, the membranes are both thick and not flat. Thus the microorganisms may be trapped at different levels in the pores of the filter membrane. As a result the region of the filter wherein the microorganisms of interest are trapped is not sufficiently well defined along the optical axis to permit the focusing optics to limit the depth of field which is a result of the insertion of a pinhole in front of the detector. PA1 3) An apparatus based on the above technology, performing high resolution scan of the entire filter would be very complex and expensive, and hence not practical for routine use. PA1 scanning a solid support on which a specimen potentially containing microorganisms has been deposited, the said sample having been subject to fluorescent staining, with an incident beam from a laser, forming a laser spot on the solid support, said laser spot being substantially greater than the microorganisms to be detected, said laser spot size being comprised between 4 and 14 .mu.m, wherein the distance between two scanning lines is such that each element of the support is scanned at least twice, by partial overlapping of adjacent scanning paths and is preferably less than half the dimension of said laser spot size; and simultaneously: PA1 detecting the resultant fluorescent light at least at one wavelength, by selecting only detected signals exceeding a given threshold (=samples), for instance a dynamic threshold, wherein a set of adjacent samples on a scan-line represents a feature; PA1 establishing a set of correlated-features by a line-to-line correlation of individual features, by comparing features on each pair of adjacent lines in time-synchrony, counting the number of lines over which said set of correlated-features occur, each set of correlated-features forming an event, and eliminating any single uncorrelated-features; PA1 correlation is considered as existing when one or more samples within the two features under comparison are detected in the same position on said pair of lines. The number of lines over which said set of correlated-features occur is counted, and thereafter used in size discrimination; PA1 comparing said correlated-features on each pair of adjacent lines in time synchrony, at least at two different wavelengths .lambda..sub.1 and .lambda..sub.2, for selecting the correlated-features having an emission intensity ratio at said two wavelengths lower than a predetermined number, being specified that if the emission ratio at said wavelengths generated by any correlated-samples is greater than a predefined value, the complete event is eliminated; PA1 making a size discrimination of retained events and selecting those having a size corresponding to a microorganism; PA1 determining if for retained events after size discrimination, the events energy profile in three dimensions is within predetermined Gaussian shape criteria and rejecting events not within said predetermined Gaussian shape criteria. Such analysis is for instance performed by a software curve-fitting algorithm. All events within the criteria are accepted as microorganism for the final count; those outside the criteria are classified as noise (dust or other contaminants on said solid support); PA1 counting said remaining events to determine and to count exclusively the microorganisms present on said solid support. PA1 determining the length of each event by counting the number of samples, by starting with the sample appearing first on the scanning direction on whatever feature of said event occurring the earliest, continue to include the sample appearing last in the scan direction on whatever feature ends last, said counting taking as one sample all the correlated samples on different scan lines, PA1 determining the width of said event by counting the number of adjacent lines covered by the same event and PA1 eliminating events for which the number of said counted samples is greater than a predetermined number A, and/or the number of said adjacent scan-lines is greater than a predetermined number B. PA1 collecting microorganisms from a specimen on a solid support, such as a filter membrane; PA1 labelling said microorganisms with a dye selected from the group constituted by vital dyes, viability markers, fluorescence substances carried by antibodies or nucleic probes, or generated by an enzyme linked probe system, capable, when excited, to produce an emission fluorescent at a wavelength .lambda..sub.1 ; PA1 scanning said solid support with an incident beam from a laser, forming a laser spot on said solid support, said laser spot being substantially greater than the microorganisms to be detected, said laser spot size being comprised between 4 and 14 .mu.m, wherein the distance between two scanning lines is such that each element of the support is scanned at least twice by partial overlapping of adjacent scanning paths and is preferably less than half the dimension of said laser spot size, and simultaneously: PA1 detecting the resultant fluorescent light at least at one wavelength, by selecting only detected signals exceeding a given threshold (=samples), wherein a set of adjacent samples on a scan-line represents a feature; PA1 establishing a set of correlated-features by a line-to-line correlation of individual features, by comparing features on each pair of adjacent lines in time synchrony, counting the number of lines over which said set of correlated-features occur, each set of correlated-features forming an event, and eliminating any single uncorrelated-features; PA1 correlation is considered as existing when one or more samples within the two features under comparison are detected in the same position on said pair of lines. The number of lines over which said set of correlating-features occur is counted, and thereafter used in size discrimination; PA1 comparing said correlated-features on each pair of adjacent lines in time synchrony, at least at two different wavelengths .lambda..sub.1 and .lambda..sub.2 for selecting the correlated-features having an emission intensity ratio at said two wavelengths lower than a predetermined number, being specified that if the emission ratio at said wavelengths generated by any correlated samples is greater than a predefined value, the complete event is eliminated; PA1 making a size discrimination of retained events and selecting those having a size corresponding to a microorganism; PA1 determining if for retained events after size discrimination, the events energy profile in three dimensions is within predetermined Gaussian shape criteria and rejecting events not within said predetermined Gaussian shape criteria. Such analysis is for instance performed by a software curve-fitting algorithm. All events within the criteria are accepted as microorganism for the final count; those outside the criteria are classified as noise (dust or other contaminants on said solid support); PA1 counting said remaining events to determine and to count exclusively the microorganisms present on said solid support. PA1 determining the length of each event by counting the number of samples, by starting with the sample appearing first on the scanning direction on whatever feature of said event occurring the earliest, continue to include the sample appearing last in the scan direction on whatever feature ends last, said counting taking as one sample all the correlated samples on different scan lines, PA1 determining the width of said event by counting the number of adjacent lines covered by the same event and PA1 eliminating events for which the number of said counted samples is greater than a predetermined number A, and/or the number of said adjacent scan-lines is greater than a predetermined number B. PA1 evaluation of the number of adjacent samples on a scan line (=feature), PA1 line to line correlation and PA1 number of correlated features in view to make a "size discrimination" as defined hereabove and to provide an accurate detection of microorganisms. PA1 the fluorescent response on any single scan line must be large enough to exceed a predetermined noise threshold; PA1 a feature must be detected with a predetermined degree of overlap on at least two consecutives line scans. PA1 dynamic thresholding of signal level: the data processing system continuously monitors background noise level, and adjusts the threshold level which features must exceed to be regarded as significant. This allows the system to tolerate variation in the behaviour of the membrane (solid support), both from membrane to membrane, and over the area of a single membrane; PA1 line-to-line correlation of signals: in order to be assigned as microorganism, features must be present on at least two scan lines; PA1 use of a green fluorescence spectrum shape for feature discrimination (red/green signal level). A feature detected in the green channel must have a corresponding red channel signal small or nil, as predicted from the shape of the green fluorescent marker emission spectrum. A higher level of red channel response will cause the feature to be rejected; PA1 signal discrimination: signals must be present for a predetermined number of scan points in order to be acceptable. Short signals are rejected as noise; PA1 correlated features comprising above a predetermined number of samples or above a predetermined number of lines (i.e., either along a given scan line, or across several line scans) are rejected. PA1 a laser light source for emitting an incident light beam, cooperating with means for focusing said laser beam into a laser spot, the dimension of which on a solid support is substantially greater than the microorganisms to be detected and counted, said laser spot size being comprised between 4 and 14 .mu.m; PA1 scanning means for directing the light from said light source onto said solid support to spotwise irradiate the microorganisms to produce fluorescence spots, wherein the distance between two scanning lines is such that each element of the support is scanned at least twice, by partial overlapping of adjacent scanning paths and is preferably less than the dimension of said laser spot size; PA1 means for detecting and photoelectrically converting said emitted fluorescence at least at two different wavelengths .lambda..sub.1 and .lambda..sub.2 ; PA1 means for discriminating and eliminating non-bacterial fluorescence including a digital signal processor and a plurality of optic paths for selecting at least two emission fluorescence wavelengths; PA1 signal processing means for establishing sets of correlated-features by a line-to-line correlation of individual features, by comparing features on each pair of adjacent lines in time synchrony, counting the number of lines over which said set of correlated-features occur, each set of correlated-features forming an event, and eliminating any single uncorrelated features, occurring only on one line; comparing said correlated-features on each pair of adjacent lines in time synchrony, at least at two different wavelengths .lambda..sub.1 and .lambda..sub.2, for selecting the correlated-features having an emission intensity ratio at said two wavelengths lower than a predetermined number, being specified that if the emission ratio at said wavelengths generated by any correlated features is greater than a predefined value, the complete event is eliminated; making a size discrimination of retained events and selecting the events having a size corresponding to a microorganism; determining if for retained events after size discrimination, the events energy profile in three dimensions is within predetermined Gaussian shape criteria and rejecting events not within said predetermined Gaussian shape criteria, and counting said remaining events to determine and to count exclusively the microorganisms present on said solid support.
Thus, in summary the known means of electronic image analysis either through the use of a video camera, a scanning apparatus, or combinations of these techniques are not suitable to the automation of the DEFT technique principally because of the large ratio between the size of the filter and the size of a single microorganism.

Apparatus for rapid and ultrasensitive detection and counting of microorganisms by fluorescence


The purpose of this invention is to provide a material-moving device suitable for loading, unloading, and transporting at least one item thereon by a single person. The material-moving device includes a platform portion for holding at least one item thereon, at least two pairs of wheels rotatably attached to the platform portion in a manner that enables the front perimeter edge to pivot for easy loading and unloading the items onto the platform portion. The device also includes an elongated handle attached to the platform and an auxiliary handle movably attached to elongated handle in a manner effective to allow a single user to control the pivotal movement of the material-moving device while simultaneously gripping at least one item being loaded or unloaded onto said platform portion.

Material-moving devices, including carts, wagons, hand-trucks, and dollies have been used for years to transport loads which are often too heavy or cumbersome to carry by hand. The standard hand-truck has a L-shaped frame with wheels located at the vertex between a vertical handle and a flat horizontal platform. When in the vertical position, the user is often able to readily locate the platform under the item to be lifted. This platform, while providing relatively good leverage when tilting and lifting loads over the wheels, is not practical for transporting items longer than the length of the vertical handle. When high-profile items are loaded onto the platform, they are often placed directly in the way of the operator making the hand-truck difficult to maneuver safely. For example, in the nursery profession hand trucks are often used to transport potted plants; however, the operator often gets caught in the foliage of these larger plants. Moreover, tilting the load during transport can cause spillage or damage thereto.
Carts, wagons, and dollies usually consist of a level platform raised a predetermined distance off the ground depending on the design of the tires. This level surface is advantageous in that it is not tilted and thus, not prone to spillage. Moreover, these types of material-handling devices are not generally limited in the height of the item being moved. However, in order to load or unload heavier items more than one user must vertically lift the item onto the platform. Obviously heavy lifting of this sort can lead to bodily injuries (e.g., pulled back, muscle strain, etc.) In addition, the use of more than one person is an ineffective use of resources. Often these types of material-handling devices are rigidly fixed together for enhanced stability so that they afford little adjustability to accommodate various sized persons.
As a consequence of these aforementioned problems, it is an object of the present invention to provide a material-handling device that provides a single operator the ability to lift an item onto the platform of the device safely. Moreover, the present invention maintains the neutral postures of the back, shoulders, and knees of the user, thereby significantly reducing injury potential. In addition, the material-moving device of the present invention is designed to provide adjustability to accommodate persons of different heights and preferences (e.g., left- or right-handed user).


A refrigerator includes water storage tank (17) disposed at a higher place inside the door, water feeder (16) placed on a front face of the door, and water feeding tube (18) coupling tank (17) to feeder (16). Tube (18) slants upward from water feeder (16) to storage tank (17).

FIG. 9 shows a conventional refrigerator, in which pump 7 is placed on water storage tank 6 accommodated in shelf 5 disposed inside door 1. Chilled water in tank 6 is supplied from water feeder 8 (not shown) placed on the front face of the door to the outside of the refrigerator via feeding tube 9 and pump 7. The pump and its accessories occupy some place, so that a place supposed to store food is eliminated.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


One aspect of the present invention relates to a method of hormone replacement in mammals, which method comprises the oral administration of an estrogenic component and a progestogenic component to a mammal in an effective amount to prevent or treat symptoms of hypoestrogenism, wherein the estrogenic component is selected from the group consisting of substances represented by the above formula in which formula R1, R2, R3, R4 independently are a hydrogen atom, a hydroxyl group or an alkoxy group with 1-5 carbon atoms; each of R5, R6, R7 is a hydroxyl group; and no more than 3 of R1, R2, R3, R4 are hydrogen atoms; precursors capable of liberating a substance according to the aforementioned formula when used in the present method; and mixtures of one or more of the aforementioned substances and/or precursors. Another aspect of the invention concerns a pharmaceutical kit comprising oral dosage units that contain the aforementioned estrogenic component and a progestogenic component as well as an androgenic component.

In hormone replacement therapy (HRT), sometimes also referred to as estrogen replacement therapy, estrogens are administered to prevent or treat symptoms resulting from estrogen deficiency or hypoestrogenism. Hypoestrogenism can occur in both females and males, and can lead to disorders and ailments such as osteoporosis (loss of bone mass), arteriosclerosis, climacteric symptoms such as hot flushes (flashes), sweats, urogenital atrophy, mood disturbances, insomnia, palpitations. Estrogen deficiency has also been associated with cognitive disturbances and Alzheimer's disease.
Hypoestrogenism, and in particular chronic hypoestrogenism, is frequently observed in (peri-)menopausal and post-menopausal women. However, it can also result from hypogonadism or castration, as well as from primary ovarian failure, treatment of e.g. breast cancer with aromatase inhibitor and gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogue treatment of benign gynaecological diseases such as endometriosis, adenomyosis, uterine fibroids (leiomyomas), dysmenorrhoea, menorrhagia and metrorrhagia.
HRT employs continuous administration of effective amounts of an estrogen for prolonged periods of time. The administration of estrogens has been associated, however, with endometrial proliferation in women and it is now widely accepted that "unopposed" estrogen therapy substantially increases the risk of endometrial cancer (Cushing et al., 1998. Obstet. Gynecol. 91, 35-39; Tavani et al., 1999. Drugs Aging, 14, 347-357). There is also evidence of a significant increase in breast cancer with long-term (10-15 years) use of estrogen therapy (Tavani et al., 1999. Drugs Aging, 14, 347-357; Pike et al., 2000. Steroids, 65, 659-664).
In order to counteract the negative effects of unopposed estrogen therapy, adjunctive progestogen treatment is nowadays commonly applied. Regular progestogen administration is believed to inhibit the continual estrogen stimulation of the endometrium through an anti-proliferative effect and appears to reduce the incidence of endometrial carcinoma in post-menopausal women receiving estrogen replacement therapy (Beral et al., 1999. J. Epidemiol. Biostat., 4, 191-210). Such an adjunctive treatment, generally using synthetic progestogens, is given either in continuous combined regimens with estrogen, or added sequentially, typically for about 14 days each month, to continuous estrogen treatment.
Endogenous and exogenous estrogens fulfil important central nervous and metabolic functions in the female organism: normal estrogen levels make a decisive contribution to a woman's well-being. Notwithstanding the widespread use of estrogens in HRT methods, there are still some unsolved problems. Known estrogens, in particular the biogenic estrogens (i.e. estrogens naturally occurring in the human body), show serious pharmacokinetic deficits. Biogenic estrogens such as estradiol, estrone, estrone sulphate, esters of estradiol and estriol become bioavailable only to a very low degree when taken orally. This degree may vary so much from person to person that general dosage recommendations cannot be given. Fast elimination of these estrogens from the blood is another related problem. For instance, for the main human biogenic estrogen 17β-estradiol the half-life is around 1 hour. As a result, between separate (daily) administration events, blood serum levels of such biogenic estrogens tend to fluctuate considerably. Thus, shortly after administration the serum concentration is usually several times higher than the optimum concentration. In addition, if the next administration event is delayed, serum concentrations will quickly decrease to a level where the estrogen is no longer physiologically active.
The most important synthetically altered estrogenic steroid is 17α-ethinyl estradiol (EE). This estrogen is hardly used in HRT methods because prolonged administration of EE has been associated with an increased risk of thromboembolism, which is deemed to be particularly detrimental in menopausal and post-menopausal females. Apart from EE, mestranol has been used in a few cases; mestranol is a "prodrug" that is metabolised to EE in the organism. When applied orally to humans, EE has a much better bioavailability than the biogenic estrogens mentioned above, but its oral bioavailability varies to a large extent from individual to individual. Several authors have pointed to this as well as to the fact that concentrations in the blood proved to be highly fluctuating after oral application of this substance.
In addition to pharmacokinetic problems, the known estrogens also show pharmacodynamic deficits. After resorption from the intestinal lumen, orally applied active ingredients enter the organism via the liver. This fact is of specific importance for estrogenic agents as the liver is a target organ for estrogens; oral intake of estrogens results in strong estrogenic effects in the liver. The secretion activity that is controlled by estrogens in the human liver includes increased synthesis of transport proteins CBG, SHBG, TBG, several factors that are important for the physiology of blood clotting, and lipoproteins. If biogenic estrogens are introduced to the female organism while avoiding passage through the liver (e.g. by transdermal application), the liver functions mentioned remain largely unchanged. Therapeutically equivalent doses of biogenic estrogens, when applied orally, result in clear responses of hepatic parameters, such as increase of SHBG, CBG, angiotensinogen and HDL (high density lipoprotein). These hepatic effects of estrogens are also observed when equine estrogen formulations (so-called conjugated estrogens) are used. Ethinyl estradiol and diethylstilbestrol (DES) have an even greater hepatic estrogenicity. Elger et al., J. Steroid Biochem. Molec. Biol. (1995), 55(3/4), 395-403, have reported that EE or DES have much higher hepato-cellular than systemic estrogenicity: in relation to FSH-secretion inhibitory activity these estrogens are 4-18 times more active in the liver than estrone sulfate.
The aforementioned deficits are of considerable clinical significance when commonly known biogenic and synthetic estrogens are applied. Consequently, there is an as yet unmet need for estrogens that do not display these deficits and which can suitably be administered orally in HRT methods to effectively replace endogenous ovarian secretion of estradiol, i.e. to treat or prevent symptoms of hypoestrogenism.

Estrogenic compounds in combination with progestogenic compounds in hormone-replacement therapy


A retainer assembly and tool combination for holding and releasing the shank of a punch includes a triangular retainer body with a punch opening extending through the body. An elongated locking ball hole intersects the axis of the punch opening and a locking ball is movable in the hole to engage tear-drop shaped ball receiving recess formed on the shank of a punch. A generally rectangular ball release access slot is formed in the retainer body through one side wall of the retainer in intersecting relation with the ball receiving hole with its longer axis aligned parallel with the axis of the shank opening. A notch is formed in the wall of the ball hole in opposed relation to the access slot and forms a latching ledge. A ball release tool is proportioned to fit within the access slot and has a pointed end with a ball lifting tapered surface. The terminal end is undercut to form a latching surface which is proportioned to be received in resting relation on the notch ledge. The tool may be inserted within the retainer body for holding the ball elevated by the tool at a released hands-free position.

This invention relates to punch retainers and release tools where the retainer is of the kind which employs a locking ball cooperating with a ball groove formed on the side wall of the shank of a punch, such as shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,197,368 which issued Mar. 30, 1993, the disclosure of which is specifically incorporated herein by reference.
Metal punches are commonly retained in the body of a punch retainer by a diagonally movable locking ball. The locking ball is received in a diagonal ball hole and is spring biased into a seated position, in which a portion of the ball is partially received within a tapered ball groove or tear-drop shaped recess formed in the side wall of the shank of a punch. In removing the punch from the retainer, the locking ball is lifted out of its seated position against the bias of the spring, by a release tool. Formerly, a release tool had to be inserted through a small access opening in the lower face of the retainer body and an upward force on the release tool caused the ball to ride upwardly in its diagonal hole against a spring and out of locking engagement with the punch shank, thereby permitting the punch shank to be withdrawn.
In our patent '368, as identified above, embodiments are shown of arrangements by which a release tool may be inserted from a lateral position through an access slot in a side wall of the retainer. The access slot extends into the opening defined by the ball hole and a portion of the slot is below the lower circumference of the ball. The ball may be lifted by a tool from a seated position, by prying or by movement of the ball along a cam or inclined nose surface of the release tool.
Our patent '368 also describes the locking arrangement between the ball and the tear-drop shaped recess formed on a lateral side of the punch shank. The locking ball contacts the punch shank at two laterally spaced locations, while an opposite surface of the ball contacts the ball hole at a third location. In order to provide for access to the ball within the ball hole for lifting, it is important that the access slot be arranged and configured in such a manner that it does not intersect or interfere with either of the three ball contact locations.
Applicants' assignee, Dayton Progress Corporation, has for many years made and sold punch retainers of a unique and distinctive appearance in the form of a trilateral bodied retainer under the trademark True Position.RTM., the shape of which is also registered as U.S. Trademark Reg. No. 1,507,804. This retainer body incorporates a particularly compact arrangement of punch shank recess, locking ball hole, retainer body mounting holes, and dowel pin locating bores. The True Position.RTM. retainer has a pair of transversely positioned bolt holes, and also has a pair of dowel pin locating bores in addition to the ball hole and the punch shank receiving bore.
The grouping and number of such holes and bores through the body preclude the use of a ball release access slot of the kind which extends through the retainer body from one lateral side to the other, as shown in FIGS. 7, 8 and 11 of our patent '368. There is accordingly, a need for a ball lifting and retaining mechanism for punch retainers having a trilateral shaped retainer body.


Disclosed is a cap for a cosmetic bottle. The cap for the cosmetic bottle includes a coupling member provided at the upper end thereof with a plurality of moving bars, a button member provided at an inner surface thereof with a plurality of moving grooves so that the moving bars are vertically inserted into the moving grooves, a pumping part being coupled with a lower end of a pumping member, an elastic member interposed between the coupling member and the button member, a rotating member rotatably coupled with an outside of the coupling member, an adjusting member rotatably inserted into an inner surface of an upper end of the rotating member, a button member outputting unit to allow the button member to vertically move up or down if the rotating member is rotated, and a coupling unit to couple the rotating member with the coupling member or the adjusting member.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a cap for a cosmetic bottle. In particular, the present invention relates to a cap for a cosmetic bottle, in which a consumer can personally adjust an amount of a solution contained in the cosmetic bottle to a necessary extent and can use only the required amount of the solution according to the necessary extent.
In addition, when a cap is coupled with the cosmetic bottle so that the cosmetic bottle is closed, a button member is hidden, so that a fine outer appearance of the cosmetic bottle is formed. When the cosmetic bottle is open, the button member appears while the pipette is sucking the cosmetic solution.
In addition, according to the cap of the cosmetic bottle of the present invention, a user can personally adjust and set a required amount of cosmetics to be once-used, thereby minimizing the waste of a surplus cosmetic solution occurring as amounts of cosmetics to be used once are different according to users.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, women wear makeup so that their faces are shown gorgeously and beautifully.
Cosmetics may be classified into basic cosmetics, makeup cosmetics, cosmetics for hair, fragrances, and functional cosmetics. The cosmetics are classified into cream type cosmetics, powder type cosmetics, or liquid-phase type cosmetics according to the states thereof, and stored in vessels suitable for the state of thereof.
The cosmetic vessel receives basic cosmetics, makeup cosmetics, or functional cosmetics so that a consumer can conveniently use the cosmetics.
In general, the basic cosmetics are received in a basic vessel having a narrow or wide entrance. In contrast, since the functional cosmetics are extremely slightly used and high-priced, the vessel of the function cosmetics is made a great difference from a typical cosmetic vessel in terms of the cap structure as well as the directions for the cosmetic vessel so that the functionality of the function cosmetics can be ensured.
In other words, most function cosmetics such as an eye cream are received in a vessel having the form of an extruded tube. The cosmetic vessel having the form of the extruded tube does not require the fine adjustment in the amount of cosmetics to be used. In addition, since the cosmetics received in the cosmetic vessel having the form of the extruded tube are low-priced products, a user may not be greatly careful in relation to the used amount of cosmetics. Accordingly, even if the cosmetics are received in the extruded tube, a great influence is not exerted on marketing and public relations.
In other words, when the functional cosmetics received in the extruded tube are almost consumed, the extrusion pressure of the extruded tube is greatly reduced. Accordingly, even if a user discards the extruded tube having extra cosmetics, the user is not reluctant to discard the extruded tube having extra cosmetics.
In addition, after most cosmetics received in the extruded tube have been primarily discharged on a hand of a user, the cosmetics are secondarily applied to the hand or a body part of the user. Accordingly, the user is not greatly reluctant to waste the slight amount of cosmetics that may occur according to the used amount and the directions for the cosmetics as described above.
However, functional cosmetics are produced and sold at a high price. Accordingly, if a user does not directly apply the functional cosmetics to a target, but applies the functional cosmetics to the target after applying primarily the cosmetics to the hand of the user, since most functional products have volatility, the function cosmetics may be wasted from the time point at which the user applies the cosmetics to the hand of the user. Accordingly, it is natural that the consumer using the high-priced product seriously thinks the problems related to the functional cosmetics.
Therefore, in order to solve the above problem, according to the related art, in the case of high-priced cosmetics, especially, cosmetics having the form of a solution or liquid-phase cosmetics, a pipette separately provided from the cosmetic vessel or a pipette integrally formed with the cosmetic vessel is provided, so that only the required amount of cosmetics can be directly applied to a target through the pipette.
However, according to the enhanced method of the related art, in order to use the solution received in the cosmetic vessel, a consumer personally carries out a pumping operation to press a press member to use the solution received in the cosmetic vessel. Accordingly, since a slight amount of solution or a great amount of solution may be introduced into the pipette, another cosmetic waste problem may occur.
In addition, the amount of cosmetics sucked into the pipette may be varied according to the method of using the cosmetics, the taste, or the habit of the user using the high-priced cosmetics.
In other words, on the assumption that an amount of cosmetics once sucked into the pipette is 1, the amount of cosmetics used by a predetermined consumer may be 1, the amount of cosmetics used by another consumer may be ½, and the amount of cosmetics used by still another consumer may be ⅓. Accordingly, a consumer using cosmetics having an amount less than 1 unintentionally may use cosmetics remaining in the pipette. Accordingly, the consumer may regard the unexpected use of the cosmetics as the waste of the cosmetics.


An optical reflective star device having a number of ports for distributing each signal fed to a port over the other ports. Said optical reflective star device is made up a number of star elements and comprises a number of reflectors provided at reflection points in the reflective star device. At least one of the reflectors is an orthogonal polarisation reflector.

The paper mentioned above describes the construction of various star configurations and also the advantages of lower losses of the star configuration compared with the bus configuration. A star configuration is therefore being used to an ever increasing extent in LAN networks.
In the paper mentioned, reflective star devices are given preference over transmission star devices since, in the first-named devices, the number of glass fibres, and therefore the components associated therewith, is reduced by a factor of two compared with the transmission star device. Instead of separate inputs and outputs for a transmitting and a receiving device, the reflective star device has ports which each serve both to input and output the signals to the reflective star device from a transmitting and receiving device. The various connections could in that case be provided with diplexers for separating the transmitted and received signals.
The known reflective star device is made up of a number of star elements, for example 3 dB coupling devices, transmission star elements or reflective star elements which distribute a signal fed to a port of such a star element over the other ports thereof. Reflectors are connected to a number of ports of the elements to create reflection points.
If a signal is fed to one of the ports of the reflective star device, said signal is distributed over the other ports thereof, but a reflection signal is also presented via the feed port to the transmitting and receiving device connected thereto. It is generally known that certain lasers are extremely sensitive to externally injected light, in particular if said light has a frequency near the characteristic optical oscillation frequency. In addition, such lasers are especially sensitive to reflections in their own polarisation direction and less sensitive to reflections having a perpendicular polarisation. In a conventional reflective star device, the signal also reflected to its own port may have any random polarisation.
One of the standard solutions used is to couple lasers badly into the glass fibre, with the disadvantage of a large power loss. Another standard solution is to use optical isolators for all the lasers, with the result that a large number of additional components are necessary, and in particular one optical isolator for each port.

Optical reflective star device having one or more orthogonal polarization reflectors


A distributor (100), a falling film evaporator and a refrigerating system. The distributor includes: a sprayer (110), the top of the sprayer being connected to a falling film evaporator inlet (230), and the bottom of the sprayer being provided with spray holes (111); and an orifice plate (120) disposed at a lower end of the sprayer and provided with multiple distribution holes (121), wherein a centrifugal gas-liquid separating element is disposed in the sprayer and is configured to separate a refrigerant entering the sprayer through the evaporator inlet into a gas phase and a liquid phase. In the distributor, the centrifugal gas-liquid separating element is disposed in the sprayer, so that a two-phase refrigerant entering the sprayer through the evaporator inlet can be better separated under dual effects of the gravity and the centrifugal force.

Compared with a conventional shell-and-tube evaporator such as a flooded evaporator or a dry evaporator, a falling film evaporator is mainly advantageous in a relatively low refrigerant charge quantity and higher heat transfer efficiency. In order to implement the foregoing effects, such falling film evaporators in the existing design generally have a complex distributor structure to achieve a better gas-liquid separation effect and uniform distribution of a liquid-phase refrigerant. The complex structure further results in increased manufacturing costs of parts. It is necessary to reduce the structure design difficulty and manufacturing costs of falling film evaporators in order to enhance the applicability of the falling film evaporators. Therefore, how to balance the refrigeration performance and the product costs becomes an urgent technical problem to be solved in this field.

Distributor, fall film evaporator and refrigeration system


The invention relates to a process of processing a radiation-curable composition with an additive-manufacturing technique comprising a radiation-curing step, the radiation-curable composition comprising mercapto-functional Component A comprising at least three mercapto moieties, crosslinker Component B with at least three vinyl or allyl moieties, photo-initiator(s) Component C for initiating a curing reaction between Component A and Component B, wherein the radiation-curable composition does not comprise urethane (meth)acrylate oligomers in an amount of more than 4 wt. % with respect to the whole composition. 3-dim articles which can be produced are typically transparent and have adequate mechanical properties. The radiation-curable composition is in particular useful for producing clear-tray aligners for dental and orthodontic purposes.

Thiol-ene based formulations for dental use are generally known.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,100,929 (Jochum et al.) describes visible light curable hard or elastic dental materials based on organic polythiols and organic poly-enes and acyl-phosphine as photo-initiator. Specific examples given are trimethylolpropan tris(mercaptoundecanoat) or pentaerythritol tetrakis(mercaptopropionate) in combination a diallylfunctionalized ethyleneglycol butylene glycol copolymer or triallyltriazintrion and an acyl phosphine photo-initiator.
US 2010/0304338 A1 (Cramer et al.) describes UV curable elastomeric impression materials based on thiolfuntioncalized polysiloxanes and vinlyfunctional materials in combination with a radical initator. Examples given only describe the usage of vinlyether such as triethyleneglycol divinyl ether or multifunctional polyester vinyl ether.
WO 2015/069454 (Dow Corning) describes a shear-thinning UV curable composition of mercapto-functionalized silicones in combination with a silicone based and one organic vinyl component resulting in optically clear materials. The application also includes a method of ink-jet printing such formulations.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,882 (Jacobine et al.) describes a stereolithography method for building a 3-dim article, wherein the liquid resin is a thiol/ene formulation comprising a first component having a plurality of norbornene groups and a second component having a plurality of thiol groups.
US 2017/0291357 (Fong et al.) describes thiolen/ene based inks in combination with 5 to 60 wt. % oligomeric (meth)acrylates for use in stereolithography.
US 2017/0007362 A1 (Align Technology) describes a crosslinked polymer useful in orthodontic appliances. The crosslinked polymer comprises a first repeating unit derived from a urethane (meth)acrylate oligomer and a second repeating unit derived from a vinyl or thiol monomer.
US 2016/0145392 A1 (TODA et al.) relates to an ene-thiol based curable composition including a certain thiol compound and an ene oligomere having an acyclic or aromatic ring structure and two more ethylenically unsatureated groups in the molecule with a number average molecular weight of 500 to 20,000 in terms of polystyrene. The composition can be cured by photopolymerization or thermal polymerization and is said to be useful e.g. as coating material, adhesive, sealing agent.
US 2014/0216649 A1 (Woods et al.) relates to a thiol-ene curing composition, which cure upon exposure to UV light and/or heat. The curable composition include a vinyl polymer bearing alkenyl or thiol terminal functional groups and a crosslinking agent having the opposing functionality.

Process of processing a radiation-curable thiolen based composition with additive-manufacturing technology


There are provided a static electricity chuck which can vary the temperature of a wafer in a short time without adversely effecting throughput, and a wafer stage having the static electricity chuck. The static electricity chuck includes a dielectric member 4 formed of insulating material, an electrode 5 of conductor which is disposed at the lower side of the dielectric member 4, and a heater 6 which is disposed at the lower side of the electrode 5 and heats the dielectric member 4. The wafer stage 1 includes the static electricity chuck which is provided on a metal jacket having cooling apparatus.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a static electricity chuck which is used to adsorptively hold a wafer in a manufacturing apparatus for a semiconductor device such as an etching device or the like, and a wafer stage having the static electricity chuck.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, a technical requirement for the micromachining in a super LSI technique has been increasingly severer. For example, with respect to an etching treatment, it is indispensable to use a treatment method which can achieve both a high-precision micromachining which suppress a dimensional conversion difference as much as possible, and a high selection ratio to a back layer.
It is well known that when materials other than oxide film are subjected to a plasma etching treatment, a so-called side wall protection film is used to ensure an anisotropic shape. That is, when reaction products generated during the plasma etching treatment are re-dissociated in plasma, and these re-dissociated materials are deposited as various kinds of deposits such as organic polymer, etc. on the side walls of a pattern to thereby form a side wall protection film. The side wall protection film thus formed serves to protect the side walls from being etched.
As described above, the side wall protection film is formed by the deposits which are generated from the reaction products. Therefore, when a pattern formed by an etching treatment is convex, the thickness of the side wall protection wall is relatively larger as the width of the pattern is finer, and thus the whole pattern width is liable to be still smaller than a desired width. Accordingly, as described above, the fineness of each pattern is promoted, and if the pattern width is small (narrow), the dimensional precision of the pattern thus obtained is reduced when the anisotropy of the etching is achieved by using the side wall protection film.
In order to solve the above disadvantage, a technique of performing an etching treatment while exhausting at high speed has been recently attempted and considered to ensure the dimensional precision. In this high-speed exhausting process, a pump having a higher exhausting speed than a conventional etching treatment apparatus is secured, and the conductance of etching gas is improved to shorten the residence time of the etching gas during the etching treatment, whereby the re-dissociation of reaction products in plasma is suppressed during the etching treatment. According to the high-speed exhausting process as described above, the amount of deposits which are generated by the re-dissociation of the reaction products can be greatly reduced, so that the absolute value of the dimensional conversion difference and the dispersion thereof can be remarkably suppressed.
However, in the high-speed exhausting process as described above, the reaction products are quickly exhausted, resulting in reduction of a supply source for forming a side wall protection film. Therefore, a side wall protection film is not formed at a sufficient thickness, and the anisotropic shape is not sufficiently ensured. Accordingly, there occurs a new problem that the precision in shape of a pattern obtained when an overetching is carried out is lowered.
That is, when a substrate-applied bias is lowered to ensure the selection ratio to the back layer in the overetching process, occurrence of side etching or notching is unavoidable because the side wall protection film is thin and thus weak. On the other hand, when the applying bias is increased to ensure the shape precision, the selection ratio to the back layer is lowered.
In view of the foregoing, a low-temperature etching technique for cooling a wafer so that the temperature of the water is reduced to zero degree or less in the etching treatment is proposed as a technique which can solve the trade-off problem between the selection ratio and the shape precision as described above and achieve both the selection ratio and the anisotropic shape. This low-temperature etching technique is proposed by K. Tsujimoto, et al. in "Proceedings of Symposium on Dry Process" pp 42-49 on 24th and 25th of Oct. 1988 in Tokyo.
According to this technique, radical reaction is suppressed by reducing the temperature of samples to keep the anisotropy even under a low substrate-applied bias.
However, this low-temperature etching technique has the following disadvantages.
First, it is difficult to process those materials like W polyside for which reaction products have different vaporization pressures. If the temperature of samples are reduced to a low temperature suitable for etching of polysilicon to etch W polyside because reaction products such as WCl.sub.x, WO.sub.x Cl.sub.y, etc. which are generated by the etching treatment of WSi.sub.x have low vaporization pressure, it would be impossible to perform the etching of WSi.sub.x.
Secondly, .DELTA.T (the difference between a set temperature of a sample stand and wafer temperature) increases during the etching treatment That is, for example, in a contact hole processing work, the setting of the low temperature is effective to ensure the selection ratio to the back layer of Si, however, the low-temperature setting induces the contact hole to be tapered in shape due to excessive deposition of polymer. Therefore, as described above, it is difficult to set the low-temperature condition, and incident energy must be increased to dissociate Si--O bonds in the contact hole processing work, resulting in increase of .DELTA.T.
Accordingly, in the low-temperature etching treatment as described above, the etching must be performed at an incompletely low temperature.
In order to solve this disadvantage, it may be considered that the set temperature of a sample such as wafer or the like is varied between materials whose reaction products are different in vaporization pressure, or between an just etching treatment and an over etching treatment. However, if the set temperature is varied in the midst of the etching treatment, the throughput would be reduced, and it is inconvenient on cost.
Accordingly, there has been required a mechanism which can vary the temperature of a wafer in short time with no effect on the throughput, that is, which enables quick temperature reduction and increase.

Static electricity chuck and wafer stage


Apparatus and methods are provided for testing and analyzing a plurality of stream sources to monitor for an upset condition in one of the stream sources. A manifold is provided having a plurality of manifold inlets and a manifold outlet. A plurality of sampling devices for sampling the plurality of stream sources are coupled to the manifold inlets to provide stream samples to the manifold. A controller is in electronic communication with each of the plurality of sampling devices for providing test samples in the manifold. The controller alternately operates the sampling devices in (1) a sequencing mode in which each test sample is a stream sample from one of the plurality of sampling devices or (2) an averaging mode in which each test sample is representative of an average of the stream samples from the plurality of sampling devices. An analyzer is coupled to the manifold outlet to receive the test samples from the manifold and analyze each test sample for the presence of the upset condition.

1. Field of Invention
The present disclosure relates to sampling methods and apparatus, and more particularly to sequencing and averaging multiple sampling methods and systems.
2. Prior Art
Continuous online analysis of components in liquid and gas streams is a common practice in industry today. For example, routine sampling and analysis is conducted in power plant smokestacks, liquid waste streams, industrial process streams, the head space in storage vessels and many other sources. Because analytical monitors and instrumentation are quite expensive, it is often desirable to share an analyzer bank with multiple sample streams. This is usually accomplished by one of two methods—sequencing or averaging.
In sequencing, the analyzer tests each sample in sequence, on a time share basis. A controller or multiplexer system may utilize a programmable logic controller (PLC), distributed control system (DCS) or a computer to sequence through multiple sample chambers, each obtaining samples via valve-controlled orifices. An example of a sequencing sampling system in shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,910 (Jordan). Averaging systems involve feeding multiple input samples into a central manifold or header and mixing the samples prior to analyzing the mixture. A control device, such as a needle valve, is used to precisely control the flow of each sample into the manifold. The combined mixture is then analyzed to provide an average reading for all of the samples.
Either of the above two methods works fairly well in the absence of an upset condition. However, when a problem arises with one of the sampled streams, both prior art systems have difficulty in quickly locating the stream that is out of specification. In the case of sequencing, the upset condition will not be detected during the time that the analyzer is testing other samples. If the streams being analyzed are potent, toxic, flammable, radioactive or otherwise dangerous, the delay in detecting an upset condition could have serious consequences. An averaging system could also involve a substantial delay in finding an upset condition, because the samples are all mixed before being analyzed. Moreover, it may be difficult to even detect the presence of a problem sample because each sample is substantially diluted with other samples before being analyzed. Accordingly, new methods and apparatus are needed to quickly and accurately locate an upset condition in a stream flow using a multiple stream analyzer.

Sequencing and averaging multiple sample system


A method for fabricating a semiconductor device using an etching stopper film without increasing a number of steps of photoetching and without degrading the device characteristics. A MOS capacitor having a small coefficient of voltage is formed by forming a thick oxide film which is different from a gate oxide film of a MOS transistor to be formed on the same substrate and by implanting impurity of an amount which will not destroy insulation right under the oxide film. At this time, the electrode of the MOS capacitor is formed by the same layer with that of the gate electrode of the MOS transistor to equalize the height of both the electrodes.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device and more particularly to a structure of a novel capacitor suited for an analog circuit and to a novel manufacturing method of the same.
2. Description of Related Art
It is desirable to use a device whose bias dependency (gate bias) is small for a capacitor used in an analog circuit because it is required to operate at high speed.
FIG. 1 is a sectional view of part of a known semiconductor integrated circuit device used for an analog circuit, in which a MOS type field effect transistor (hereinafter referred to as a MOS transistor) and a two-layered poly-capacitor are formed. A field oxide film 102, i.e. a device separating region, made of LOCOS or the like is formed on the surface region of a semiconductor substrate 120 made of a P-type silicon or the like. In this known device, an N-type well region (N well) 101 is formed in the semiconductor substrate 120, a P-type MOS transistor (PMOS transistor) is formed on the device region of the N well 101 and a MOS capacitor is formed on the field oxide film 102 in the N well 101. A P+ source/drain region 117 of the two-layered poly-transistor is formed in a device region surrounded by the field oxide film 102. A gate oxide film 108 is formed on the part between the P+source/drain regions 117 by means of thermal oxidation, for example. A gate electrode is formed on the gate oxide film 108.
The gate electrode is composed of a first poly-silicon film 109 directly formed on the gate oxide film 108, a third poly-silicon film 114 formed on the first poly-silicon film 109, and a tungsten silicide film 115 formed on the third poly-silicon film 114. Meanwhile, a first electrode 119, made of a poly-silicon film, of the capacitor is formed on the field oxide film 102. Then, a silicon oxide film 121 which becomes a dielectric film is formed on the first electrode 119. A second electrode is formed on the silicon oxide film 121. The second electrode is composed of a second poly-silicon film 112 directly formed on the silicon oxide film 121, another third poly-silicon film 114 formed on the second poly-silicon film 112 and another tungsten silicide film 115 formed on the third poly-silicon film 114. A BPSG (Boron-doped Phospho-Silicate Glass) film 118 for example is coated on the semiconductor substrate 120 so as to protect the two-layered poly-capacitor and the MOS transistor. The surface of the BPSG film 118 is flattened by means of CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing), for example. A metal wire 122 on film is coated further on the semiconductor substrate, thus completing the semiconductor chip.
In the semiconductor integrated circuit, the voltage coefficient of the capacitor using the semiconductor substrate such as silicon as one electrode thereof is decided by a thickness of an insulating film between the capacitor electrode and the substrate and concentration of impurity implanted to the surface of the silicon substrate. The voltage coefficient degrades when the thickness is thinned and when the concentration is lowered. However, with the increase and further micronization of the integration of LSIs, it is required to thin the thickness of the gate oxide film of the MOS transistor in order to suppress a short channel effect. In the capacitor using the oxide film having the same thickness with the gate oxide film of the MOS transistor as the insulating film, the impurity concentration of the semiconductor substrate cannot exceed a solid solubility limit of the impurity within silicon and the insulation of the oxide film formed thereon also degrades when the concentration is too high, so that it is necessary to suppress the concentration to a certain degree. In such case, when positive or negative voltage is applied to the capacitor electrode, a depletion layer is formed on the silicon substrate side and the substantial thickness of the oxide film fluctuates due to the fluctuation of the applied voltage, thereby increasing the coefficient of voltage of the capacitance.
On the other hand, although an electrode such as a poly-silicon film different from the gate electrode may be used, for example, for the lower electrode of the capacitor in order to minimize the coefficient of voltage, the height of the capacitor forming region is thickened as compared to the gate electrode forming region by the thickness of the lower poly-silicon film as shown in FIG. 1 as a result. Further, it is essential to use a polishing process such as the CMP method as described above which does not involve heat treatment as the flattening technology in order to advance the micronization in the future. However, there arises a problem in such case that the upper electrode part of the capacitor, whose stepped structure differs, is exposed on the surface and the insulation with the upper aluminum wiring layer cannot be maintained as shown in FIG. 1.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to solve the aforementioned problems by providing a semiconductor integrated circuit device which allows a high precision MOS capacitor to be formed without changing the performance of the MOS transistor formed on the same semiconductor substrate.
Further, it is another object of the present invention to provide a method for fabricating the semiconductor integrated circuit device which allows an interlayer insulating film formed on the MOS transistor and the capacitor to be readily flattened by equalizing the height of the MOS transistor and the capacitor to be formed on the same semiconductor substrate.
In order to solve the aforementioned problems, according to the present invention, a MOS capacitor whose coefficient of voltage is small is formed by forming a thick oxide film which is different from a gate oxide film of a MOS transistor to be formed on a same semiconductor substrate and by implanting impurity right under that by a degree without breaking the insulation. At this time, an electrode of the MOS capacitor is formed by the same layer with a gate oxide film of the MOS transistor to substantially equalize the height of both electrodes.
The high precision capacitor can be formed without changing the performance of the MOS transistor to be formed on the same semiconductor substrate. Further, an interlayer insulating film to be formed on the MOS transistor and the capacitor may be flattened readily by equalizing the height of the MOS transistor and the capacitor.
That is, according to one embodiment of the present invention, the semiconductor integrated circuit device includes a semiconductor substrate; a MOS type field effect transistor having a first silicon oxide film formed on the semiconductor substrate as a gate insulating film; and a capacitor having a second silicon oxide film formed on the semiconductor substrate as a dielectric film, a first electrode composed of the semiconductor substrate and a second electrode formed on the second silicon oxide film; where the second silicon oxide film is thicker than the first silicon oxide film.
Also, in another embodiment of the present invention, a semiconductor integrated circuit device has the semiconductor substrate; the MOS type field effect transistor having a first silicon oxide film formed on the semiconductor substrate as a gate insulating film; the capacitor having a second silicon oxide film formed on the semiconductor substrate as a dielectric film, and a first electrode composed of the semiconductor substrate and a second electrode formed on the second silicon oxide film; where the second silicon oxide film has a thickness which reduces a voltage dependency of the capacitor and which is thicker than the thickness of the first silicon oxide film.
An inventive method for fabricating a semiconductor integrated circuit device includes: forming a dummy gate oxide film on the surface of a semiconductor substrate on which a field oxide film is formed; implanting channel ion into a region of the semiconductor substrate where a MOS type field effect transistor is to be formed; forming a high concentrate impurity diffusing region by implanting impurity to a region of the semiconductor substrate where a capacitor is to be formed; forming an oxide film for a capacitor on the surface of the semiconductor substrate after peeling off the dummy gate oxide film; leaving the oxide film only in the region where the capacitor is to be formed and removing the oxide film at the region other than that; forming a gate oxide film on the surface of the semiconductor substrate; depositing a poly-silicon film including the gate oxide film on the surface of the semiconductor substrate; diffusing impurity in the poly-silicon film; depositing a conductive film on the poly-silicon film; patterning the poly-silicon film and the conductive film to form a gate electrode and a capacitor electrode at one time; and depositing an interlayer insulating film on the surface of the semiconductor substrate and then flattening the interlayer insulating film by a CMP process.
Another inventive method for fabricating a semiconductor integrated circuit device includes forming a dummy gate oxide film on the surface of a semiconductor substrate on which a field oxide film is formed; implanting channel ion into a region of the semiconductor substrate where a MOS type field effect transistor is to be formed; forming a high concentrate impurity diffusing region by implanting impurity to a region of the semiconductor substrate where a capacitor is to be formed; forming a gate oxide film on the surface of the semiconductor substrate after peeling off the dummy gate oxide film; depositing a first poly-silicon film on the semiconductor substrate; leaving the first poly-silicon film and the gate oxide film only in the region where the MOS type field effect transistor is to be formed and removing the poly-silicon film and the gate oxide film formed at the region other than that; forming a oxide film for a capacitor on the surface of the semiconductor substrate; depositing a second poly-silicon film on the semiconductor substrate; leaving the second poly-silicon film only in the region where the capacitor is to be formed and removing the second poly-silicon film formed at the region other than that; removing the capacitor oxide film formed on the first poly-silicon film; depositing a third poly-silicon film on the first and second poly-silicon films on the semiconductor substrate; diffusing impurity in the third poly-silicon film; depositing a conductive film on the third poly-silicon film; patterning the first, second and third poly-silicon films and the conductive film to form a gate electrode and a capacitor electrode at one time; and depositing an interlayer insulating film on the surface of the semiconductor substrate and then flattening the interlayer insulating film by a CMP process.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description. It should be understood, however, that the detailed description and specific examples, while indicating preferred embodiments of the invention, are given by way of illustration only, since various changes and modifications within the spirit and scope of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from this detailed description.

Semiconductor integrated circuit device with MOS transistor and MOS capacitor and method for manufacturing the same


An apparatus in the treatment of stock passed to a headbox of a paper machine or equivalent includes at least two stock chests (10a1, 10a2). Stock (M1) from a first stock chest (10a1) is passed along a line (a1, a2) to a hydrococyclone plant (20) in the short circulation of the paper machine or equivalent. An accept line (a3) of the hydrocyclone plant is connected with a stock line (b1) of the stock (M2) fed from a second stock chest (10a2), and a combined stock flow is passed along a line (b2) to the headbox (100) of the paper machine or equivalent. A method in the treatment of the stock passed to a headbox of a paper machine or equivalent is disclosed.

The invention relates to an apparatus and a method in the treatment of the stock passed to a headbox of a paper machine or equivalent.
Centrifugal cleaning is needed in paper machines for separation of sand and contaminants. With today's technology, the cleaning efficiency of centrifugal cleaning deteriorates when the fiber consistency of the pulp suspension exceeds 1 percent. This limits the increasing of the feed consistency of the stock to be fed to the headbox. In practice, the slotted screen technique has made it unnecessary to use centrifugal cleaning for separating reject fibers, such as shives. A hydrocyclone plant is placed in the short circulation of the paper machine, where the flow rates are high, as high as 2000 l/s. To be operative, centrifugal cleaning requires a pressure difference of 120-150 kPa. In that connection, all (about 5) steps of the hydrocyclone plant require pumps, which represent as much as about 25 percent of the energy consumption of the short circulation. At a flow rate of 2000 l/s, the power consumption of centrifugal cleaning is about 1200 kW. A typical amount of fiber reject from centrifugal cleaning is about 0.1-0.2 percent of production. The loss of the filler pigments coming with coated broke is at its worst about 0.5 percent of machine production.
A filler recovery system is often incorporated in connection with the centrifugal cleaning of the short circulation. In addition to filler, the system must also process other rejects, such as fiber reject and sand, coming from the short circulation. In that case, the efficiency of the filler recovery system is not best possible.
Concepts are known in which the cleaning of the stock has been transferred from the short circulation to pulp lines. The consistency (about 3 percent) of the broke system is, however, not suitable for separation of sand with hydrocyclones.
When centrifugal cleaning is in the pulp line (e.g. chemical pulp, DIP or TMP), these pulps need not be cleaned again any more, but the debris, sand and non-disintegrating coating sheets of paper coming to the broke system via pulpers should be treated by means of hydrocyclones.

Apparatus and method in the treatment of the stock passed to a headbox of a paper machine or equivalent