Disclosed are belt adjustment systems, particularly for wearing around a user's waist, that permit a continuum of belt loop sizes or a larger selection of belt loop sizes. The belt adjustment system includes an elongate belt member having a first end, a second end and a series of teeth positioned on an inner surface near the second end and a fixation member having first and second adjustment elements.

Conventional belt adjustment systems are limited in their ability to conform to a particular user's waist size. Belt adjustment systems conventionally secure a belt about a user's waist by relying on a series of equidistantly-spaced holes punched through an end of a belt. A hook of a belt buckle can be inserted through a hole to capture the end of the belt to secure the belt in a loop of a particular size. The spacing between each of the holes as well as the overall number of holes can vary for adjustment of belt size, but is generally limited by the minimal material that must remain between the holes. Conventional belt adjustment systems are limited to setting the size of the belt loop to discrete sizes based upon the spacing of the holes in the belt. If a user desires to set the belt to a loop size that is positioned between the holes in the belt, the user has to manually create an additional hole in the belt, which can be difficult and unattractive if not performed well. Alternately, the user must use the next smaller or next larger belt loop size relative to the desired size, which can be uncomfortable for the user.
Other belt adjustment systems are known that increase the flexibility of adjustment to a variety of waist sizes, but these adjustment systems are not typically fashionable or aesthetically pleasing.


An arthroscopic surgical apparatus for a minimum invasive surgery of the joint is provided. The apparatus includes: (a) a shaft member for insertion into a patient's body, the shaft member featuring a groove for receiving an operating rod therein; (b) a movable operating rod received within the shaft member; (c) a first jaw member connected to the shaft member; and a second jaw member connected to the operating rod, the jaw members for operating a body portion of a patient, the first and second jaw members being inter-connected by means of a jaw pivot; (d) a first handle connected to the shaft member; and a second handle connected to the operating rod, the handles for holding by a user, the first and second handles are inter-connected by means of a handle pivot. The apparatus preferably includes a blocking member for determining a maximal opening of the first and second handles, thereby determining a maximal opening of the first and second jaw members. The second handle is preferably connected to the operating rod by means of a readily replaceable shear pin received within two accommodating members such as screws. A color-coded identification system is provided wherein each tip member configuration is marked by a characteristic hand color and each shaft member configuration is marked by a characteristic knob color.

The present invention relates to an arthroscopic surgical apparatus and, more particularly to a surgical apparatus which enables a surgeon to safely, conveniently and efficiently conduct a minimum-invasive surgery of a patient's joint.
Arthroscopic surgical instruments such as hook punches, scissors and grasping forceps are well known in the art. However, the prior art fails to provide an arthroscopic surgical instrument having a mechanical means for assisting the surgeon to avoid accidental scratching of tissues adjacent the treated site. Rather, the accuracy of such prior art mainly depends on the manual dexterity and skills of the surgeon.
Further, the prior art provides arthroscopic surgical instruments having a shear pin for restricting the maximal load on the operating tip of the instrument. Such a shear pin is designed to break under a predetermined overload, thereby preventing breaking of the operating tip within the patient's body. However, the shear pin provided by such prior art is substantially fixed within the surgical instrument. Thus, when such a shear pin breaks it is necessary to disassemble other parts of the surgical instrument for replacing the shear pin. Such procedure is time consuming and cannot be carried out during operation.
Further, the existing surgical instruments fail to provide a means for assisting the medical team to immediately identify the type of surgical tool to be used so as to facilitate handling of various types of similar-looking tools during operation.
There is thus a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, an arthroscopic surgical apparatus which enables a medical team to safely, conveniently and efficiently conduct an arthroscopy surgery. Specifically, there is a widely recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, an arthroscopic surgical apparatus which includes a mechanical means such as a stop screw for assisting the surgeon to avoid accidental scratching of tissues adjacent a treated site. There is further a recognized need for an arthroscopic surgical apparatus which includes a readily replaceable shear pin which can be easily replaced by the medical team upon breaking. There is further a recognized need for an arthroscopic surgical apparatus which includes a means for immediately identifying the type of surgical tool to be used by a surgeon, thereby facilitating handling of several similar looking tools and thus improving the efficiency of the surgical procedure.


A light-emitting device is disclosed which includes a segmented active layer disposed between a segmented conductivity layer and a continuous conductivity layer, the active layer, the segmented conductivity layer, and the continuous conductivity layer being arranged to define a plurality of pixels, each pixel including a different segment of the segmented conductivity layer and the segmented active layer. A continuous wavelength converting layer disposed on the continuous conductivity layer is provided. A plurality of first contacts, each first contact being electrically connected to a different segment of the segmented conductivity layer is provided. One or more second contacts that are electrically connected to the continuous conductivity layer are also provided, the number of second contacts being less than the number of first contacts.

Light emitting diodes ("LEDs") are commonly used as light sources in various applications. LEDs are more energy-efficient than traditional light sources, providing much higher energy conversion efficiency than incandescent lamps and fluorescent light, for example. Furthermore, LEDs radiate less heat into illuminated regions and afford a greater breadth of control over brightness, emission color and spectrum than traditional light sources. These characteristics make LEDs an excellent choice for various lighting applications ranging from indoor illumination to automotive lighting.
Many LED-based lighting systems rely on a single light source. Selective full or partial light masking can modify direction or intensity of light projected by such systems or redirection of unwanted light into an absorber.

Monolithic, segmented light emitting diode array


In some embodiments, an electronic device receives an input corresponding to a request for information about a user-specified topic. In response, the electronic device displays information about media that is relevant to the user-specified topic, including concurrently displaying: a representation of respective media that is available for viewing on a first set of applications, the electronic device having a second set of applications downloaded on it, and a respective selectable user interface element associated with the respective media. In some embodiments, if the second set of applications includes at least one application in the first set of applications, the respective selectable user interface element is selectable to initiate a process for launching a respective application of the first set of applications.

User interaction with electronic devices has increased significantly in recent years. These devices can be devices such as computers, tablet computers, televisions, multimedia devices, mobile devices, and the like.
In some circumstances, such a device has access to media (e.g., music, movies, etc.) via one or more applications, and user interaction with such a device entails requesting to view that media. Enhancing these interactions improves the user's experience with the device and decreases user interaction time, which is particularly important where input devices are battery-operated.

Identifying applications on which content is available


A self-adjusting loading guide and restraint for guiding and restraining aircraft unit load devices includes a base and an arm substantially upwardly extending from the base. The arm includes a vertical restraint portion and guide member having at least one substantially planar guide surface that is pivotally connected to the arm, and is movable between a first guide position and a second guide position. When the vertical restraint portion is engaged with a stowed first unit load device, the guide member assists in guiding a second unit load device away from the first unit load device and the loading guide and restraint and into a stowage location that is adjacent to the first unit load device.

The commercial shipping industry relies upon proper handling of cargo containers. Containers known as Unit Load Devices ("ULDs") commonly are used to load cargo onto aircraft. ULDs are containers and platforms of various sizes and shapes, including box-like enclosures, pallets, and the like. ULDs are sized and shaped such that they can be compactly loaded together in an aircraft cargo compartment. ULDs are loaded onto aircraft and unloaded from aircraft using various types of automatic loading equipment in order to minimize loading and unloading time. Aircraft cargo holds often are provided with ball transfer units and rollers to facilitate movement of ULDs in the cargo hold as the ULDs are loaded and unloaded. In addition, various types of restraint mechanisms are used for restraining stowed ULDs within cargo holds during transit. For example, various types of restraint devices commonly are used to inhibit lateral, longitudinal and/or vertical movement of stowed ULDs.
Longitudinal, lateral and vertical restraint devices can be installed within the cargo system trays, or can be mounted directly to an aircraft structure for use in restraining stowed ULDs during transit. Often such restraint devices are configured to be recessed below the conveyor plane (generally coinciding with the bottom surfaces of the ULDs) when not in use, and to be selectively raised for engagement with loaded ULDs once the ULDs are in their stowed positions. At the forward and aft ends of a cargo compartment, fixed end stops commonly are used to at least partially restrain the forward-most and aft-most ULDs within the cargo compartment. In addition, restraints and end stops can be installed between containers and pallets when both containers and pallets are transported together.
ULDs are designed such that they compactly fit within a plurality of rows or lanes within an aircraft's cargo hold. Normally, the lanes are arranged such that only small gaps exist between ULDs in adjacent container lanes, thereby effectively maximizing the use of the available storage volume. ULDs are loaded onto an aircraft through aircraft cargo doors, and can be loaded in a predetermined order by cargo-loading lanes. The last ULDs loaded onto an aircraft must be inserted into a final cargo-loading lane that lies between ULDs previously loaded in adjacent container lanes or between a previously loaded ULD and an end stop.
Because a cargo-loading lane can be only slightly wider than a ULD it receives, inserting a ULD into a final cargo-loading lane between previously loaded container lanes or end stops (sometimes referred to as "threading the needle") can be difficult. Misalignment between a ULD and a final cargo-loading lane as the ULD is delivered through a doorway by automated loading equipment can cause the ULD to jam, possibly resulting in substantial delays and equipment damage. Large lateral guides are known for guiding ULDs through a doorway and into a final container lane. These large lateral guides extend across the doorway and act to funnel the ULDs toward the center of the doorway and toward the center of a final container lane. Often, however, such large lateral guides are unavailable, or cannot be installed on a particular aircraft or during a particular loading event. In such cases, a standard cargo restraint is used as a lateral guide for the final cargo container lane and is relied upon to center a ULD within the loading lane. Unfortunately, ULDs can impact and hang up on such restraints, sometimes resulting in damage to the impacted restraints and/or ULDs and delaying loading of the impeded ULDs.
Accordingly, there is a need for a new lead-in device and method for facilitating the loading of ULDs into a narrow cargo container lane. In particular, there is a need for a ULD lead-in device that is substantially more compact and is quicker and easier to install and operate than known large lateral guides. Preferably, the device and method should be compatible with known ULD loading and restraint equipment. In addition, the device and method should be adaptable to the cargo-loading lane bounded by adjacent ULDs and end stops, which can vary in their positions on either side of the cargo-loading lane.

Self-adjusting ULD loading guide and restraint


An acoustic echo cancellation device includes: a first echo canceller which, using an input signal obtained from at least two microphones and a reproduced signal outputted to a speaker, produces a first pseudo echo signal which indicates a component of the reproduced signal contained in the input signal; and a second echo canceller which, using at least one input signal outputted from the at least two microphones and the first pseudo echo signal, produces a second pseudo echo signal which indicates a component of the first pseudo echo signal contained in the at least one input signal, and cancels an acoustic echo component of the at least one input signal using the second pseudo echo signal.

Conventionally, there has been known a microphonic two-way conversation system using a microphone and a speaker. In such a microphonic two-way conversation system, a voice which a talker on a sender side utters is inputted to a microphone on the sender side, is transmitted to equipment on the receiver side via a communication line as a sender signal, and is reproduced by a speaker on the receiver side. A voice reproduced by the speaker on the receiver side propagates a space on the receiver side, is inputted to a microphone on the receiver side, and is transmitted to the sender side. In such an operation, from the speaker on the sender side, a voice which a talker himself/herself utters and is transmitted through a lapse of a time during which the voice passes via the communication line and a time during which the voice propagates in a space on a receiver side is reproduced. The voice which propagates from the speaker on the receiver side to the microphone is referred to as an acoustic echo and brings about the deterioration of conversation quality.
Accordingly, in the microphonic two-way conversation system, an echo canceller which suppresses an acoustic echo is used.
Further, recently, to provide a more natural conversation environment, the development of a microphonic two-way conversation system which uses a plurality of microphones is underway (see JP 5826712 B2, for example).
However, in the above-mentioned prior art, it is difficult to reduce an arithmetic amount for removing an acoustic echo while maintaining a conversation performance. Accordingly, there is still a room for improvement.

Acoustic echo cancellation device, acoustic echo cancellation method and non-transitory computer readable recording medium recording acoustic echo cancellation program

PANASONIC INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY CORPORATION OF AMERICA


A permanent mold apparatus for accepting concrete, and a method of casting buildings and large dimensioned structures monolithically in situ. The mold apparatus encases the monolithic concrete structure, insulates the walls of the cast in situ concrete structure, and provides false ceilings under floor and roof slabs. The concrete is cast continuously to fill the mold apparatus to produce a homogeneous, jointless, protectively encased concrete structure. The mold apparatus includes self supporting panelized footing and foundation assemblies, cavity wall assemblies, column assemblies, truss-girder floor and roof slab platform support assemblies, and internal partition assemblies comprised of interlocking hollow panel members, end plates, perforated tie plates and connecting hubs that mechanically bond together to form a self-supporting, watertight, insulated permanent mold with openings and cavities and platforms into and onto which concrete fill is cast continuously in situ to produce a homogeneous, jointless concrete structure permanently encased and protected by the mold apparatus. The only part of the finished concrete structure not encased may be the floor and roof surfaces. The connection joints of the various panel and connecting members of the mold apparatus are interlocking tongue and grooves which removably slide into one another longitudinally but prevent disconnection in direction other than the longitudinal direction. Flexible filaments are provide that extend outwards from the ends of protruding tongue elements in the interlocking key/keyway assemblies to provide a water tight seal.

Concrete is a well known building material that has been used for many years. In most cases a footing or foundation excavation is made and temporary forms of re-usable panels are joined together forming a void into which concrete in its plastic state is placed. Some finishing and/or vibration to remove air pockets and make the exterior surfaces of the concrete smooth is performed before the concrete sets up or hardens. Commonly, steel rods are placed in the void space prior to casting the concrete for additional strength. Types, materials, techniques of use, and actual use of the strengthening steel rods and other such inserts and artifacts through foundations, walls, floors, and roofs are well known in the building arts and are only inferentially discussed herein. The forms are removed when the concrete is hard, and additional structures on top of the concrete foundation wall are built when the concrete is strong enough. Long walls are cast in sections, and the forms are stripped and used for the other sections thereby minimizing the number of forms used. Joints between adjacent sections are made water tight by use of membranes cast into the cold joint between wall sections.
The "foundation" of a building may include a wall, usually beneath the ground level with footing directly under the wall, and a slab adjacent to and/or integral with the footing. Other variations exist as known in the art. Hereinafter, foundation and/or footing refers to such a "foundation." Typically, after the foundation or footing is cast, the foundation forms are removed and temporary wall forms may be erected on top of the foundation. Usually, the strengthening rods extend out of the top surface of the footing so as to be included when the wall concrete is placed. This techniques binds the wall to the footing making a strong joint between the two. After all sections of the concrete wall have been cast and the concrete is hard and strong enough, the wall forms are removed and temporary floor and column forms are erected spanning the distance between the various walls. Shoring supports the forms and the concrete floor slab. The floor forms and shoring are again removed, and the wall forms erected on the hardened floor slab for the succeeding levels. The steps are repeated until the concrete frame of the building is completed.
The process just described for casting concrete structures has many advantages, but some issues remain. For example, since the concrete must sufficiently harden before the next wall section or stage can begin, there is a substantial time delay, normally requiring a week or more between wall sections, floor/roof slab placement on walls, or vertical concrete structures cast on slabs; even though steel rods traverse the horizontal and vertical joints that interface one concrete section to another, the joints exist. The forms must be treated, erected, tied together and braced, and then disassembled after casting and cleaned for each individual concrete placement, concrete joints and interfaces must be sealed and made water tight, the outside and inside surfaces of the concrete often must be insulated, sealed, protected and finished with other materials for esthetic and/or practical reasons, and skilled labor and specialized equipment is often necessary to complete each stage of finishing a concrete structure. The result is that such construction is labor intensive, time consuming and costly.
Thomas Edison, in the early part of this century designed and patented a method for casting a monolithic concrete structure in situ. Several houses were made and remain standing today. The described Edison processes had many limitations. One was that the molds weighed hundreds of tons and were cumbersome, unwieldy, difficult to erect and bolt together. These iron forms presented a significant problem for transporting, assembling and disassembling. Heavy trucks and cranes were necessary to handle the molds.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for molding, casting and encasing monolithic concrete structures in situ that is both practical and economical.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a monolithic concrete structure with substantially no cold joints between concrete footings, walls, floors and roofs.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a complete molded or cast concrete structure where the mold is light weight, easily handled and remains in place permanently, such that there is substantially no finishing work necessary for either the interior or the exterior surfaces of the concrete face after the casting operation is completed.
It is yet another object of the present invention to allow a mold for a structure to be self supporting without temporary bracing or shoring and erected in situ, and wherein concrete can be placed into said erected molds substantially continuously. Another object of the present invention is to provide a means for removably connecting adjacent mold panels and components in an interlocking fashion.
Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a water tight, insulated, molded monolithic concrete structure where both interior and exterior faces of the completed concrete walls, and ceilings beneath floor and roof slabs are finished when the casting operation is complete.
Another object of the present invention is to reduce the need for skilled labor, specialized equipment and material storage at the construction site.
Still another object of the present invention is to provide pre-installed utility service lines and outlets in the mold panels prior to erection of the mold at the building site.
Another object of the present invention is to reduce the cost and the time to construct in situ concrete structures.

Permanent panelized mold apparatus and method for casting monolithic concrete structures in situ


An electro-pneumatic paintball gun preferably comprises a bolt assembly and a firing valve assembly that can be readily removed from the paintball gun. A bolt assembly preferably comprises a bolt sleeve. The bolt assembly is preferably removed by turning the bolt sleeve a predetermined rotational distance and then retracting the bolt assembly from a rearward opening in the paintball gun. The firing assembly preferably comprises a pneumatic piston rod and cylinder and a firing valve. A firing mass is preferably arranged on a rearward end of the piston rod. The forward end of the piston rod preferably engages the firing valve. The firing mass can include a groove for receiving a bolt linkage from the bolt assembly.

This application relates generally to paintball guns (or "markers"). The inventive principles disclosed in this application primarily relate to electro-pneumatic paintball guns and components for electro-pneumatic paintball guns, including, among other things, bolt and firing assemblies.
It is common for pneumatic paintball guns, including electro-pneumatic paintball guns, to use firing assemblies and bolt assemblies. For instance, in U.S. Pat. No. 6,349,711 (incorporated herein by reference) the firing assembly includes a firing valve actuated by a separate pneumatic ram assembly, and a bolt coupled to the pneumatic ram assembly through an externally-protruding removable bolt pin. To remove the bolt for maintenance or cleaning, the bolt pin is removed from the gun and the bolt is then allowed to slide out. This bolt pin is a separate part that must be kept track of during cleaning and maintenance.
To avoid loss of the bolt pin, some paintball gun manufacturers have provided bolt pins that do not completely separate from the bolt. These bolt pins typically release from the pneumatic ram assembly by an upward movement of the bolt pin, and can then be slid out of the paintball gun along with the bolt via a channel formed in the paintball gun body. These solutions still maintain an externally protruding bolt pin. Another approach has been to provide a hinged breech block. In this design, the bolt is arranged in the breech block with an integral, internal bolt pin. When a breech pin is retracted, the breech block is permitted to swing open by rotating about its hinge axis, releasing the bolt pin from the pneumatic ram assembly via this swinging movement. While this approach provides a completely internal bolt assembly, it suffers because the breech block may become loose over time and may fail to align itself properly or have a sloppy feel during play. Dirt and other debris can also enter into the breech through gaps between the breech block and the gun body.


A casket comprises an outer structure, a tray and an insert. The tray is formed of corrugated fiberboard having a corrugation extending in a first direction, while the insert is formed of corrugated fiberboard having a corrugation extending in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The casket has either a full lid or a split lid, and the lid is either flat or optionally curved. The structural integrity of the casket is improved by provision of side wraps, end wraps and pads inserted between each end wall and its respective end wrap. Methods of constructing the various alternative casket lids are also disclosed. Components are made of wood, corrugated fiberboard and foam.

Typically, caskets are manufactured in order to provide an aesthetic receptacle for the purpose of display of the deceased and use during funeral ceremonies. However, under certain circumstances, especially when cremation is desired, economy and a desire to facilitate cremation dictates that the casket be constructed of some material, such as corrugated fiberboard, which is both economical and easily burned. However, at the same time, the casket must be strong and substantial in construction.
Needless to say, in the past, the desire for an aesthetic casket has convicted with the desire to provide an economical and easily cremated receptacle, as well as the desire to provide a strong casket. Thus, there has been a need in the prior art for the development of a casket and method for manufacture, wherein the casket can be constructed in such a manner as to satisfy all of the latter competing interests.
The following are considered to be generally relevant to the art pertaining to the present invention: Statutory Invention Registration H1348-Linville et al; U.S. Pat. No. 3,729,786-Walding; U.S. Pat. No. 4,253,206-Cherry; U.S. Pat. No. 4,305,186-Cherry; and U.S. Pat. No. 4,730,370-Elder.


An electrical connector (100) includes an insulative housing (1), a metal shell (4), and a set of first contacts (2) retained in the insulative housing. The insulative housing has a base portion (111) and a tongue plate (112) extending forwardly from the base portion and being upright. The metal shell covers the insulative housing and forms a receiving space (41) with the tongue plate extending therein. The first contacts have first contacting portions (210) arranged in one row along a height direction of the electrical connector, first tail portions (220) extending outwardly beyond the insulative housing, and first connecting portions. The first contacts include a first pair of differential contacts (23) including an upper contact (231) and a lower contact (232) located under the upper contact. Total lengths of the upper and lower contacts (231,232) are substantially equal.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrical connectors, and more particularly to an upright electrical connector.
2. Description of Related Art
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is used widely in variety electronic devices as a standard and simple interface. The standard USB 3.0 receptacle comprises an insulative housing, a plurality of first and second contacts received in the insulative housing and a metal shell covering the insulative housing. The insulative housing has a base and a tongue extending horizontally and forwardly from the base.
As a miniaturized development of electronic industry, the standard USB 3.0 can not be satisfied the requirement of many electric devices because it need a large mounting space thereof. For adapting to the miniaturized development of the electric industry, another type of USB 3.0 receptacle which we said upright USB 3.0 receptacle is born. The upright USB 3.0 receptacle stands up for decreasing the mounting area thereof A tongue plate of the upright USB receptacle extends uprightly. The first contacts have stiff first contacting portions retained in the tongue plate and arranged in one row along a height direction of the electrical connector. The second contacts have resilient second contacting portions retained in the tongue plated and arranged in one row located behind the first contacting portions. The first contacts comprise two pairs of differential contacts and a grounding contact located therebetween. Each pair of differential contacts in the upright USB 3.0 receptacle comprises an upper contact and a lower contact located under the upper contact.
However, in each pair of the differential contacts, the upper contact has a total length longer than that of the lower contact. The upper and lower contacts with different lengths can not transmit signals synchronously, and that may cause signal skew or out of timing sequence.
Hence, an improved electrical connector is desired to overcome the above problems.


The disclosed is a transmission device including a plurality of transmission antennas for transmitting signals in the same channel at the same time point to a plurality of reception devices, characterized by including: a dedicated reference signal generator configured to generate dedicated reference signals for the respective reception devices; a data signal generator configured to generate data signals for the respective reception devices; a spatial multiplexer configured to spatially multiplex at least some of the dedicated reference signals and at least some of the data signals; and a transmitter configured to transmit the spatially multiplexed signals.

1. Regarding THP
Tomlinson Harashima Precoding (THP) is a technique in which under a situation where a receiver undergoes interference in data communication between a transmitter and the receiver, the transmitter previously knows the interference, previously cancels the interference from a transmission signal and then transmits the signal to the receiver. In this process, this method causes both the transmitter and the receiver to carry out a Modulo (remainder) operation to transmit and receive the signal in which an increase in transmission power due to the cancellation of the interference is suppressed (refer to later mentioned non-patent document 1).
First, a description will be given of the Modulo operation carried out by both the transmitter and the receiver in THP. The Modulo operation is a process of reducing transmission power by keeping the amplitude of a transmission signal within a certain range or less. To be specific, the Modulo operation is an operation in which both the transmission and reception sides add a signal being an integer multiple of a known value τ to an I-ch (In-phase channel) and a Q-ch (Qadrature channel) of the transmission signal by both the transmission and reception sides, and thereby convert the transmission signal into a signal within a range of [−τ/2, τ/2]. An example of the Modulo operation is shown in FIG. 17. In FIG. 17, the Modulo operation of shifting a signal represented as ● to a position of ∘, and of shifting ● to ∘ by adding a perturbation vector d(=(−2)τ+j*(−1)τ) to ●. Here, j represents an imaginary unit. Both the I-ch and the Q-ch of ∘ are within the range between the origin and [−τ/2, τ/2]. Thus, the Modulo operation is effective in keeping the amplitude of a signal within a certain range. Generally, if mean power of a modulation symbol is normalized to 1, a Modulo width τ is a certain value previously known by the transmission and reception sides, according to the modulation scheme. For example, τ=2√2 in QPSK, τ=8/√10 in 16QAM, and τ=16/√42 in 64QAM.
This Modulo operation enables transmission of a signal in which the increase in transmission power due to removal of interference is suppressed, even in an environment where the reception side undergoes a large interference. The Modulo operation is expressed as
                    [                  Formula                                                              1                ]                                                                                Mod            τ                                          (            x            )                          =                  x          -                                    floor              (                                                                    Re                                                              (                      x                      )                                                        +                                      τ                    2                                                  τ                            )                                    τ                    -                                    j              ·                              floor                (                                                                            Im                                                                    (                        x                        )                                                              +                                          τ                      2                                                        τ                                )                                                                τ              .                                                          (        1        )
Here, j represents an imaginary unit, Re(x) represents a real part of x, and Im(x) represents an imaginary part of x. In addition, floor(x) represents the largest integer below x.
Next, a principle of THP will be described. Assume that s is a desired signal and f is interference. The transmitter firstly subtracts interference f from desired signal s because THP is based on the assumption that interference f is previously known. However, since the signal s−f resulting from the subtraction normally has a large amplitude, transmission power will be increased if the signal is transmitted as it is. For this reason, the transmitter carries out the Modulo operation on the signal s−f and transmits the resultant signal expressed as Modt(s−f).
With this operation, the transmitter can keep the I-ch and the Q-ch of the transmission signal within the range between the origin and [−τ/2, τ/2], and thereby transmit a signal with less power than the case of transmitting the signal s−f. Here, assuming that a characteristic of a channel is 1 and ignoring the influence of noise, a reception signal is expressed as Modt(s−f)+f because the receiver undergoes interference f. By carrying out the Modulo operation on this reception signal, the receiver can detect the desired signal as in the following formula:[Formula 2]Modτ(Modτ(s−f)+f)=Modτ(s−f+f)=Modτ(s)=s  (2)
By thus carrying out the Modulo operation on the reception side as well, the desired signal s can be reconstructed on the reception side. The above is the mechanism of THP.
2. DL MU-MIMO THP
(Overall System Configuration)
As shown in FIG. 18, when a base station (BS) transmits signals to multiple mobile terminals (MTs) at the same time point at the same frequency, a multi-user interference (MUI) occurs usually. Downlink (DL) MU-MIMO (Multi-User Multi Input Multi Output) is a method of using THP to cancel the MUI with high power efficiency, and multiplexing multiple MTs.
DL MU-MIMO THP is a technique based on the premise that the BS knows all channel state information (CSI) of the MTs. This is because THP requires, as described above, that the BS being the transmitter know the interference that the MT being the receiver undergoes, and DL MU-MIMO THP requires that the CSI be used to calculate the interference.
Hereinbelow, a description will be given of configurations of a BS and MT in the DL MU-MIMO THP with reference to the drawings. Although a case of two MTs is used herein to simplify the description, a case of multiplexing any number of MTs by DL MU-MIMO THP can be implemented likewise (refer to later mentioned non-patent document 2).
(BS Configuration (2MTs))
The BS knows CSI for each of the MTs, and simultaneously transmits signals to two MTs at the same time point at the same frequency. At this time, as shown in FIG. 18, in order to prevent the two MTs (MT1, MT2) from interfering with each other, two types of interference affecting each other including interference by signals for MT1 interfering with MT2, and interference by signals for MT2 interfering with MT1 need to be cancelled. The BS cancels one of the two types of interference by THP, and cancels the other by multiplying the interference by a linear filter. FIG. 19 shows a concrete configuration example of a BS for achieving communication with the two MTs. Hereinafter, a description will be given of a configuration of the BS according to this configuration diagram.
(Configuration of BS)
First of all, encoders 101-1, 101-2 convert information bits for the respective MTs into error correcting codes, and input the coded bits for the respective MTs to modulators 103-1, 103-2. The modulators 103-1, 103-2 modulate the coded bits for the respective MTs inputted thereto, and generate modulated signals for the respective MTs. After generating the modulated signal for MT1, the modulator 103-1 inputs a modulation symbol for MT1 to an interference calculator 113 and to a linear filter multiplier 115. After generating the modulated signal for MT2, the modulator 103-2 inputs a modulation symbol for MT2 to an interference subtractor 107.
A linear filter calculator 117 calculates a linear filter and interference coefficient information by use of CSI known to the BS, and inputs them to the linear filter multiplier 115 and the interference calculator 113, respectively. Then, the interference calculator 113 calculates the interference that MT2 undergoes, by use of the interference coefficient information as well as the modulated signal inputted from the modulator 103-1 having generated the modulated signal for MT1, and inputs the interference to the interference subtractor 107. The interference subtractor 107 subtracts the interference that MT2 undergoes from the modulated signal for MT2, and then inputs the signal after the subtraction to a Modulo operation part 111.
The Modulo operation part 111 carries out the Modulo operation shown in formula (1) on the signal after the subtraction, and inputs the signal after the Modulo operation to the linear filter multiplier 115. In FIG. 19, the interference subtractor 107, the interference calculator 113 and the Modulo operation part 111 surrounded with a broken line are referred to as a nonlinear spatial multiplexer 105.
The linear filter multiplier 115 multiplies each of the inputted signal for MT1 and signal for MT2 by a linear filter. With this operation, a Null of the signal for MT2 is directed toward MT1, MT1 can be free from the interference of the signal for MT2.
Thereafter, the linear filter multiplier 115 inputs the signals after the linear filter multiplication to transmitters 121-1, 121-2. The transmitters 121-1, 121-2 perform digital-to-analog conversion on the signals after the linear filter multiplication, upconvert the signals to a carrier frequency and transmit the resultant signals to MT1 and MT2, respectively.
MT Configuration (2MTs)
MT1 and MT2 receive signals transmitted from the BS. Each MT performs reception processing on the reception signal by carrying out the same Modulo operation as the BS. The MT will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 20.
(Configuration)
A receiver 131 downconverts a signal received by an antenna AT from the carrier frequency to baseband and performs analog-to-digital conversion on the signal to generate a baseband digital signal. Then, the receiver 131 inputs the baseband digital signal to a channel compensator 133. The channel compensator 133 performs channel compensation on the baseband digital signal, and inputs the signal after the channel compensation to a Modulo operation part 135. The Modulo operation part 135 carries out the Modulo operation shown in formula (1) on the signal after the channel compensation, and inputs the signal after the Modulo operation to the demodulator 137. The demodulator 137 demodulates the signal after the Modulo operation and inputs the demodulation result to a decoder 141.
(Explanation of Theory)
As has been described with reference to FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the mechanism of DL MU-MIMO THP includes: using THP to remove one of two types of interferences caused by signals for MT1 and MT2 interfering with each other, and removing the other by multiplying the interference by a linear filter. Hereinafter, this mechanism of DL MU-MIMO THP will be described in detail from a theoretical aspect.
(Definition of Variable)
Assume that h11, h12 represent complex gain of channels from two antennas of the BS to MT1. Similarly assume that h21, h22 represent complex gain of channels to MT2. Using these values, a channel matrix H is expressed as:
                    [                  Formula                                                              3                ]                                                            H        =                              (                                                                                h                    11                                                                                h                    12                                                                                h                    21                                                                                h                    22                                                                        )                    .                                    (        3        )
In addition, assume that s1 and s2 are modulated signals for MT1 and MT2, respectively.
Linear Filter Calculation
As shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, the linear filter calculator 115 uses a linear filter to direct a null of a signal for MT2 toward MT1, to cancel interference by signals for MT2 interfering with MT1. The linear filter calculator 115 obtains this linear filter by performing QR decomposition on an Hermitian conjugate HH of the channel matrix H. QR decomposition is a method of decomposing an arbitrary matrix into a product of a unitary matrix Q and an upper triangular matrix R, and HH after the QR decomposition is expressed as:[Formula 4]HH=QR  (4)
Here, each of Q and R is a matrix including two rows and two columns, and R is an upper triangular matrix in which a component of second row first column is 0. The linear filter to be used in the multiplication by the linear filter calculator is the unitary matrix Q of formula (4). When HQ of a combination of the linear filter Q and the actual channel matrix H is considered as an equivalent channel, HQ is expressed as:[Formula 5]HQ=(QR)HQ=(RHHQH)Q==RH  (5)
As R is an upper triangular matrix, RH is a lower triangular matrix. Specifically, a component of first row second column of an equivalent channel RH is 0. Assuming that noise is 0, respective reception signals y1, y2 of MT1 and MT2 can be calculated as:
                    [                  Formula                                                              6                ]                                                                      (                                                                      y                  1                                                                                y                  2                                                              )                =                                            R              H                                                  (                                                                                s                      1                                                                                s                      2                                                                                )                                =                                                    (                                                                                r                        11                        *                                                                                0                                                                                r                        12                        *                                                                                r                        22                        *                                                                                )                                                          (                                                                                s                        1                                                                                s                        2                                                                                )                                      =                                          (                                                                                r                          11                          *                                                                                s                          1                                                                                r                            12                            *                                                                                s                            1                                                                          +                                                                              r                            22                            *                                                                                s                            2                                                                                )                            .                                                          (        6        )
Here, a component of row k column I of R is expressed as rk1. In addition, * indicates a complex conjugate. It can be seen from formula (6) that y1 does not include an s2 component. To be specific, the BS multiplies signals for MTs by the linear filter Q to prevent signals for MT2 from reaching MT1. In other words, The BS directs the null of the signal for MT2 toward MT1.
(Interference Calculation)
Having cancelled the interference by signals for MT2 interfering with MT1 by use of the linear filter, interference by signals for MT1 interfering with MT2 will next be cancelled by use of afore-mentioned THP.
As shown in formula (2), firstly, interference f needs to be calculated in order for the BS to perform THP. In this case, the value is found by assuming that f is interference after MT2 has performed channel compensation. According to formula (6), a reception signal z2 having undergone the channel compensation by MT2 is expressed as:[Formula 7]z2=1/r22*·y2=1/r22*·(r12*s1+r22*s2)=s2+r12*/r22*·s1  (7)
Since the interference component f indicates terms other than a signal s2 for MT2, the interference is expressed as:[Formula 8]f=r12*/r22*·s1  (8)
Here, f is obtained by multiplying a signal s1 for MT1 by coefficient r*12/r*22. This coefficient r*12/r*22 represents the interference coefficient information. The linear filter multiplier calculates the interference coefficient information and inputs the result to the interference calculator, and then the interference calculator calculates the interference f shown in formula (8) with the coefficient r*12/r*22 and the modulated signal s1 for MT1.
(THP)
The BS calculates a signal Modt(s2−f) by use of the interference f and the modulated signal s2 for MT2 in the interference subtractor 107 and the Modulo operation part 111, and inputs the signal to the linear filter multiplier 115. The linear filter multiplier 115 multiplies each of the signal Modt(s2−f) and the signal s1 for MT1 by the linear filter Q and calculates a transmission signal. In this configuration, the interference subtractor 107, the interference calculator 113 and the Modulo operation part 111 shown in FIG. 19 are referred to as the nonlinear spatial multiplexer 105. In addition, the process of calculating the signal to be inputted to the linear filter multiplier 115 by carrying out the interference cancellation and the Modulo operation on the modulated signal is referred to as nonlinear-spatial multiplexing.
(Reception Signal)
Replacing s2 with Modt(s2−f) in formula (6), the reception signal is found as follows:
                    [                  Formula                                                              9                ]                                                                                (                                                                                y                        1                                                                                y                        2                                                                                )                            =                                                                            HQ                                                        (                                                                                s                            1                                                                                Mod                                                                                (                                                                                s                                  2                                                                -                                f                                                            )                                                                                )                                                  =                                                      R                    H                                                                          (                                                                                s                            1                                                                                Mod                                                                                (                                                                                s                                  2                                                                -                                f                                                            )                                                                                )                                                                                =                                                                            (                                                                                r                            11                            *                                                                                s                            1                                                                                r                              12                              *                                                                                s                              1                                                                                +                                                                                r                                22                                *                                                            ·                              Mod                                                                                (                                                                                s                                  2                                                                -                                f                                                            )                                                                                )                                .                                                                        (        9        )
Here, MT2 carries out the Modulo operation after the channel compensation of the reception signal y2. Then, as shown in
                    [                  Formula                                                              10                ]                                                                                Mod                                                  (                                                            1                      /                                              r                        22                        *                                                              ·                                          y                      2                                                        )                                            =                                                          Mod                                                  (                                                                                r                          12                          *                                                /                                                  r                          22                          *                                                                                s                        1                                                              +                                          Mod                                                                    (                                                                              s                            2                                                    -                                                                                r                                12                                *                                                            /                                                              r                                22                                *                                                                                s                              1                                                                                )                                                                              )                                                                                =                                                          Mod                                                  (                                                                                r                          12                          *                                                /                                                  r                          22                          *                                                                                s                        1                                                              +                                          (                                                                        s                          2                                                -                                                                                r                              12                              *                                                        /                                                          r                              22                              *                                                                                s                            1                                                                                )                                                        )                                                                                =                                                                  s                  2                                            ,                                                          (        10        )
MT2 is able to detect the modulated signal s2 directed thereto. By similarly carrying out the Modulo operation after channel compensation, the modulated signal for MT1 can also be found.
                    [                  Formula                                                              11                ]                                                                                Mod                                                  (                                                            1                      /                                              r                        11                        *                                                              ·                                          y                      1                                                        )                                            =                                                          Mod                                                  (                                                                                r                        11                        *                                            /                                              r                        11                        *                                                                                s                      1                                                        )                                                                                =                                                          Mod                                                  (                                      s                    1                                    )                                                                                =                                                          s                1                                                                        (        11        )
As described above, both MT1 and MT2 are able to detect the signals directed to themselves.
3. Multistream Communication with MTs Having Multiple Reception Antennas
The above description has been given of a method of transmitting a single datastream at a time to different MTs. Meanwhile, as shown in FIG. 21, there is also a technique of using DL MU-MIMO THP to spatially multiplex MTs at the same time point at the same frequency, the MTs each having multiple reception antennas and performing multi-datastream communication by SU-MIMO (refer to non-patent document 3). With this technique, spatial resource can be used efficiently for MTs having multiple reception antennas as well. Hence, even when multi-stream communication is performed for a single terminal, the BS transmits a datastream for each MT after carrying out a Modulo operation thereon.
Regarding DRS (Dedicated Reference Signals)
In DL MU-MIMO THP, data signals are spatially multiplexed by DL MU-MIMO THP and transmitted to all MTs. Meanwhile, demodulation DRSs (Dedicated Reference Signals) for the respective MTs are transmitted by time division or frequency division where the DRSs for the MTs are divided and allocated to orthogonal radio resources (areas divided in time domain or frequency domain, which do not interfere with one another even when data signals or reference signals are allocated thereto).
For example, as shown in FIG. 22, a BS transmits a DRS for MT1 (DRS-MT1), a DRS for MT2 (MT-2) and so on by dividing them into different times, but transmits data signals by spatially multiplexing them by DL MU-MIMO THP. This is because if an MT receives a DRS spatially multiplexed by THP, the MT cannot carry out a Modulo operation on the DRS since the amplitude of the reception signal is unknown, and cannot perform channel estimation by use of the DRS which is transmitted after the Modulo operation (refer to Patent Document 1).
In the case of transmitting the DRS to each MT with an orthogonal radio resource, the BS transmits the DRS previously known to both the BS and the MT (represented as a complex number q on a signal plane). At this time, the BS transmits the DRS to only one MT with a single orthogonal radio resource, and does not transmit signals to other MTs. Accordingly, the MT can receive the DRS transmitted from the BS without being affected by interference, and can divide a reception signal point y of the DRS by q to obtain a channel h=y/q.
On the other hand, if the BS simultaneously transmits the DRSs to multiple MTs by spatial multiplexing using THP as in the case of transmitting a data signal, the MT cannot perform channel estimation. This is because the BS transmits the DRS after carrying out a Modulo operation thereon, and thus the signal to which the MT should refer is not q but the signal q with a perturbation vector d added thereto by the Modulo operation. Specifically, the reference signal is a point represented by q+d, and although the MT should divide the reception signal point y by q+d, the MT is unable to know the value of d in advance. Hence, the MT cannot estimate the value of channel h.
For this reason, DL MU-MIMO THP uses the orthogonal DRS instead of the method of spatially multiplexing the DRSs for the MTs (refer to later mentioned patent document 1).

Communication system, transmitter, receiver and communication method


A vertical thin-film transistor (V-TFT) inverter circuit and a method for forming a multi-planar layout TFT inverter circuit have been provided. The method comprising: forming a P-channel TFT with a gate, a first source/drain (S/D) region in a first horizontal plane, and a second S/D region in a second horizontal plane, different than the first horizontal plane; and, forming an N-channel TFT, adjacent the P-channel TFT, with a gate, a third S/D region in a third horizontal plane, and a fourth S/D region in the second horizontal plane, different than the third horizontal plane. Forming a P-channel TFT includes forming a P-channel top-drain vertical TFT (TDV-TFT), and forming an N-channel TFT includes forming an N-channel TDV-TFT.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to integrated circuit (IC) and liquid crystal display (LCD) fabrication and, more particularly, to a CMOS inverter circuit enabled through the use of vertical TFTs (V-TFTs) configured in a multi-planar layout.
2. Description of the Related Art
The size of TFTs formed in liquid crystal display (LCD) processes are limited by the resolution of large panel photolithography tools. Currently, the resolution of feature sizes is about 0.5 microns (um) and larger. High-speed circuit operation requires a TFT capable of high drive current and low parasitic capacitance. These characteristics are obtained by shrinking the device size, especially the transistor channel length. For example, conventional production CMOS technology uses transistor channel lengths of 90 nanometers (nm), and lower, for very high-speed operation.
FIGS. 1A and 1B are a schematic drawing and a plan view, respectively, of a conventional inverter circuit (prior art). The most basic logic element is an inverter, consisting of an N and P channel transistor as shown in FIG. 1A. A common arrangement for fabrication of an inverter circuit uses planar transistors is shown in FIG. 1B. These transistors have a channel length (L) equal to 0.8 microns. Note that the width of the P channel device is larger than the N channel device because of the higher drive current of N channel transistors. In most cases the P/N width ratio is about 2.
The above-mentioned Related Application discloses a V-TFT with a very short channel length. It would be advantageous if the size of simple CMOS circuits, such as an inverter, could be made smaller using V-TFTs.
It would be advantageous if the size of an inverter circuit could be made smaller, with a more compact topology, by taking advantage of the non-planar features of the V-TFT.

Multi-planar layout vertical thin-film transistor inverter


Various arrangements for determining whether a liquid is in contact with a nebulizer element are disclosed. A nebulizer element may be energized with an electrical signal at a measurement frequency. An impedance of the nebulizer element may be measured, thereby obtaining a measured impedance value. The impedance value may be compared to a stored impedance value. Based on the comparison, it may be determined whether the liquid contacts the nebulizer element.

Embodiments described herein relate to nebulizers. In particular, the embodiments described herein relate to measuring the impedance of a nebulizer element to determine whether the nebulizer element is in contact with a liquid.
A wide variety of procedures have been proposed to deliver a drug to a patient. In some drug delivery procedures, the drug is a liquid and is dispensed in the form of fine liquid droplets for inhalation by a patient. A patient may inhale the drug for absorption through lung tissue. Such a mist may be formed by a nebulizer. Operation of a nebulizer without a liquid present may result in damage to the nebulizer.


A trench capacitor formed with a bottle etch step has a polygonal cross section produced by forming thermally oxidizing the trench walls with thinner oxide at the corners of the trench, then performing the bottle etch step with the nitride in place, thereby extending the trench walls laterally only outside the corners, so that the distance of closest approach between adjacent trenches is reduced while the length of the perimeter is maintained.

The field of the invention is that of forming trench capacitors in integrated circuits, in particular in DRAM arrays.
Workers in the field of the fabrication of DRAM arrays constantly strive to reduce the amount of area occupied by a memory cell in order to keep up with the constant shrinkage of lithography dimensions.
A technique that has been developed extensively is the fabrication of the storage capacitor in a very deep trench (about 8 microns in current practice) that has been etched into the semiconductor substrate.
The capacitance of a trench capacitor is proportional to the area of the trench walls and therefore to the product of the trench depth and the transverse dimensions.
Shrinking the transverse dimensions is a requirement of reducing the cell area. Increasing the depth becomes extremely difficult, if not impossible, as the trench technology shrinks to 100 nm generation and beyond. Increasing the depth means increasing the process time and increasing process cost.
One known technique in the art is to set the dimensions of the upper portion of the DRAM cells to reflect the need for contacts and bitlines and meanwhile to expand the transverse dimensions of the capacitor itself in the lower portion of the area that, on the surface, is occupied by contacts and other elements of the cell. This lateral expansion is referred to as "bottle etching", since the cross section of the cell resembles a bottle, with the lower portion being wider than the neck.
This process has been carried out to the limit when adjacent cells are in danger of making contact.
Thus, the art needs a method of forming a trench capacitor that maintains a given pitch, while increasing the area of the capacitor formed in the semiconductor substrate.

Method and structure for enhancing trench capacitance

International Business Machines Corporation


This present invention discloses a bifunctional adsorptive material capable of adsorbing both cations and anions in aqueous phase, obtainable by synthesizing aluminum ion doped SBA-15 molecular sieves from P123 triblock copolymers, tetraethoxysilane, and aluminum isopropoxide to obtain multiple cationic active adsorption sites, and by grafting large sterically hindered organic groups onto the surface of Al-SBA-15 to obtain multiple anionic active adsorption sites. This kind of adsorptive material has two types of adsorption sites for ions of opposite charges. The large sterically hindered organic groups prevent spontaneous recombination reaction between the two types of adsorption sites, enabling the adsorptive material to have excellent adsorption capacity for wastewater treatment involving both cations and anions.

This present invention, wherein a bifunctional adsorptive material capable of adsorbing both cations and anions in aqueous phase and a preparation method thereof are disclosed, belongs to the field of sewage treatment.
In recent years, a growing number of the world's rivers, lakes, and groundwater aquifers have been severely contaminated by industrial pollutants, seriously impacting the environmental safety. Among various methods for environmental remediation, adsorption technique is widely used and most effective. For the treatment of wastewater containing soluble inorganic contaminants, existing adsorption methods typically involve separate steps where ions of opposite charges are removed by separate types of adsorptive materials. For example, the adsorptive materials with multiple acidic sites are used to adsorb cations, while the adsorptive materials with multiple basic sites are used to adsorb anions. Such stepwise methods are clearly not very effective even for a simple water treatment system, let alone for the treatment of water contaminated by diversified ions. Moreover, it is very difficult to achieve excellent purification result with such stepwise methods because the factors such as humic acid concentration, pH value, ionic strength, temperature and dissolved oxygen cycle can cause charge transfer, hydrogen bonding and hydrophobic effect to occur among different ions and groups, leading to phenomena including adsorption, complexation, desorption and migration and transport of ions on adsorptive materials. Furthermore, such methods are cost ineffective and time consuming because the adsorption, separation and recovery treatments must be carried out in steps. Therefore, materials with multiple cation and anion adsorption sites offer better purification solutions for the treatment of wastewater containing inorganic pollutants.
Mesoporous molecular sieve (SBA-15) provides an ideal matrix for bifunctional adsorptive material due to its large surface area, uniform pore size, stable framework, easy for doping and surface modification. This present invention takes the advantages of the properties of SBA-15, dope it with Al-ion to obtain multiple cationic active adsorption sites, and graft large sterically hindered organic groups onto its surface to create multiple anionic active adsorption sites. The invented material is thus capable of adsorbing both cations and anions. The large sterically hindered organic groups prevent spontaneous recombination reaction between the two types of adsorption sites, thereby enabling the adsorptive material to have excellent adsorption capacity for wastewater with both cations and anions.

Bifunctional absorptive material capable of absorbing both cations and anions in aqueous phase


A shifting tool includes a body having a longitudinal axis and a structure engaging member supported by the body. The structure engaging member is configured to engage and shift a structure within a tubular. A puncture device is supported by the body. The puncture device is configured to engage a barrier within a flowbore of the tubular in a direction of the longitudinal axis.

In the resource recovery industry, resources are often recovered from boreholes in formations containing the targeted resource. A plethora of tools are used in such operations, many of them needing to be actuated remotely. When a sleeve within the borehole needs to be moved, one conventional method for shifting the sleeve includes running a shifting tool within the sleeve and aligning keys of the shifting tool with corresponding recesses in the sleeve. While this method of shifting a sleeve is effective, different shifting tools need to be provided for sleeves having different recesses.
The art would be receptive to improved and/or alternative shifting tools and methods for operating within a tubular.

Shifting tool having puncture device, system, and method


A polymerizable liquid crystal compound is represented by Chemical Formula 1:

1. Field
This disclosure relates to a polymerizable liquid crystal compound, and a compensation film, an antireflective film, and a display device including the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A display device such as a liquid crystal display (LCD) and an organic light emitting diode (OLED) display includes a polarizing film attached to the outside of the display panel. The polarizing film only transmits light of a specific wavelength and absorbs or reflects other light, thus controlling the direction of incident light on the display panel or light emitted from the display panel.
The polarizing film generally includes a polarizer and a protective layer for the polarizer. The polarizer may be formed of, for example, polyvinyl alcohol (PVA), and the protective layer may be formed of, for example, triacetyl cellulose (TAC).
The polarizing film may be bonded with a compensation film, and thus, may play a role of an antireflective film to prevent reflection of light flowing in from the outside. The antireflective film may be formed on one side or both sides of a display device and may have an influence on visibility of the display device.
On the other hand, an optical film including a liquid crystal composition containing a liquid crystalline compound has recently been used in an optically compensating a liquid crystal display (LCD) to enlarge its viewing angle.
To form an optical film, this liquid crystalline compound is dissolved in an organic solvent and then coated. However, when the liquid crystalline compound has low solubility in an organic solvent, surface characteristics of the optical film may be deteriorated.
Thus, there remains a need for a polymerizable liquid crystal compound having excellent solubility in an organic solvent in order to produce a film having improved film workability and excellent stability of a liquid crystal phase.

Polymerizable liquid crystal compound, and compensation film, antireflective film, and display device including the same

Abstract: wherein, in Chemical Formula 1 groups and variables are the same as defined in the detailed description.


A cocrystal containing the 1′R-diastereomer and the 1′S-diastereomer of sofpironium bromide at a ratio of 1:3 (Form CO), a crystal mixture (for example, Form B) containing Form CO and a crystalline form of the 1′R-diastereomer (Form MN), and a method for preparing sofpironium bromide, which is suitable for manufacture of the crystal mixture are provided. Form CO and a crystalline form of sofpironium bromide containing Form CO (for example, Form B) have superior stability without hygroscopic property, and accordingly they can be preferably used as a raw material of medicaments.

It is preferred that drug substances of medicaments can be industrially obtained as a high-purity and physicochemically stable form. In addition, from a viewpoint of handling or storage, it is particularly preferred to be obtained in a physicochemically stable crystalline form.
Acetylcholine is known as a major neurotransmitter of living bodies, and has various actions, and the perspiration activity based on activation of sweat glands is one of such actions. Anticholinergic agents are useful as therapeutic agents for hyperhidrosis because of inhibition of the actions of acetylcholine. BBI-4000 (Sofpironium bromide) is known as an anticholinergic agent useful for therapeutic treatment of hyperhidrosis (Patent document 1).
Sofpironium bromide is a quaternary ammonium salt compound represented by the following formula (I) (BBI-4000, (2R,3′R)-3′-(2-cyclopentyl-2-hydroxy-2-phenylacetyl)-1′-(ethoxycarbonylmethyl)-1′-methylpyrrolidinium bromide).
The stereochemistry at each of the 2- and 3′-positions of sofpironium bromide is identified as the R-configuration, but the stereochemistry of the quaternary nitrogen thereof at the 1′-position is not identified.
More specifically, sofpironium bromide is a mixture of (2R,3′R,1′R)-3′-(2-cyclopentyl-2-hydroxy-2-phenylacetyl)-1′-(ethoxycarbonylmethyl)-1′-methylpyrrolidinium bromide represented by the following formula (I-a):
(in the specification, the aforementioned 1′R-diastereomer is henceforth also referred to as "compound (I-a)") and (2R,3′R,1′S)-3′-(2-cyclopentyl-2-hydroxy-2-phenylacetyl)-1′-(ethoxycarbonylmethyl)-1′-methylpyrrolidinium bromide represented by the following formula (I-b):
(in the specification, the aforementioned 1′S-diastereomer is henceforth also referred to as "compound (I-b)").
Non-patent document 1 and Patent document 2 describe the methods of preparation of the compounds (I), (I-a), and (I-b), and describe a method of performing N-alkylation reaction of an amine compound represented by the following formula (II):
((2R,3′R)-3′-(2-cyclopentyl-2-hydroxy-2-phenylacetoxy)-1′-methylpyrrolidine (in the specification, the aforementioned amine compound is henceforth also referred to as "compound (II)" or "(2R,3′R)-CPMA-MP") with ethyl bromoacetate in acetonitrile to obtain a crude product of the compound (I), and then fractionating the compound (I-a) and the compound (I-b) by using column chromatography (chloroform/methanol).
The compound (I) obtained by this preparation method is a crude product. Although Non-patent document 1 does not mention a content ratio of the compound (I-a) and the compound (I-b) in the crude compound (I), it is described that the compound (I-a) was obtained in 19% yield (isolated yield), and the compound (I-b) was obtained in 28% yield (isolated yield) by column chromatography. However, in spite of the column chromatography purification, the purities of the compound (I-a) and the compound (I-b) obtained by this preparation method are low, in addition, properties and crystalline forms thereof are not described. Therefore, it is not considered that the compound (I), the compound (I-a) and the compound (I-b) obtained by this preparation have profiles suitable for a drug substance of medicaments.
Patent document 3 describes the method of performing N-alkylation reaction of the compound (II) with methyl bromoacetate in acetonitrile, and then adding a methylene chloride solution of the resulting crude compound (I) into diethyl ether to obtain precipitates. However, it is doubtful that the compound (I) can be prepared by reacting methyl bromoacetate with the compound (II). Even if the compound (I) can be prepared, Patent document 3 does not describe properties of the aforementioned precipitates of the compound (I), and it also does not describe a crystalline form and purity of the compound (I). The method of preparation described in Patent document 3 includes repetition of 3 times of the step of obtaining precipitates. Such method requiring the above procedures cannot be industrially applied, and methylene chloride and diethyl ether used therein are not industrially preferred solvents. For these reasons, it cannot be considered that the aforementioned precipitates of the compound (I) described in Patent document 3 have physicochemical properties and characteristics suitable for the drug substance of medicaments, and therefore, it is difficult to industrially prepare the compound (I) by this preparation method.
In the aforementioned prior art references, sofpironium bromide is prepared as the compound (I), i.e., a mixture of diastereomers (epimers), because the stereochemistry of the 1′-position cannot be controlled in the N-alkylation reaction. In addition, no references disclose nor suggest any crystalline form of sofpironium bromide, high-purity sofpironium bromide, and preparation methods thereof.
In general, few cases have been known where drug substances of medicaments consist of a mixture of diastereomers, and almost no general procedures or successful examples for obtaining a crystalline form having a profile suitable for drug substances of medicaments, have been known. In the aforementioned prior art references, sofpironium bromide is prepared as a mixture of diastereomers. However, the references do not disclose nor suggest the crystalline form thereof. Moreover, these references do not absolutely disclose nor suggest any crystalline form of sofpironium bromide having a profile suitable for a drug substance of medicaments, as well as preparation method for obtaining such a crystalline form.

Crystalline form of sofpironium bromide and preparation method thereof


A method for providing a video buffer includes reserving an incremental video buffer in system memory, and controlling the use of a dedicated video buffer and the incremental video buffer to provide a composite video buffer.

This invention relates to computer video controllers.
In personal computers, display of information is typically handled by a dedicated video controller with an associated dedicated video memory. One portion of the dedicated video memory has a frame buffer which corresponds to the pixels to be displayed on a computer monitor. Other portions of video memory can include motion video buffers, buffers for discrete icons (such as cursors, or "pop-ups" displaying system functions like battery life, and the like), and other buffers.
The frame buffer is typically organized in a standard 256K by 16 bit memory architecture, written by a particular width video memory interface. For example, a 32 bit wide video memory interface can access a one megabyte frame buffer, while a 64 bit interface can accommodate a two megabyte frame buffer. The amount of memory required for a given frame buffer, though, is determined by the resolution and dimensions of a given display. For example, a 1024 by 768 pixel display with 16 bits per pixel color depth requires a 1.5 megabyte frame buffer. To accommodate that display, a 2 megabyte dedicated video memory might be required, but this use would "waste" 0.5 megabytes of memory.
Computer manufacturers and users face the choice of paying increased costs to have more dedicated memory to handle higher-resolution displays (and possibly waste extra memory), or accept lower resolution displays. This choice is becoming more important as manufacturers are integrating the video controller and its dedicated video memory all on the same semiconductor die: choice of memory size becomes fixed during manufacture.

Composite video buffer including incremental video buffer


Disclosed is a composition of a negative-type photosensitive polyimide which is solvent soluble, which is excellent in adhesiveness, heat resistance, mechanical properties and in flexibility, which shows characteristics of alkali-soluble highly sensitive negative-type photoresist upon irradiation with light, The composition according to the present invention comprises a photo radical initiator and a solvent-soluble polyimide which shows negative-type photosensitivity in the presence of the photo radical initiator.

Photosensitive resin compositions are classified into A) polarity-changing type wherein the polarity of the exposed regions is changed so that the solubility thereof is changed, B) cutting type wherein chemical bonds are cut by exposure and the exposed regions are solubilized, and C) cross-linking type wherein cross-linking reaction proceeds so that exposed regions are insolubilized. The polarity-changing type may be used as either positive-type or negative-type composition depending on the composition of the developing solution. The cutting type may be used as positive-type composition, and the cross-linking type may be used as negative-type composition in theory. The cross-linking type photosensitive materials have a disadvantage in carrying out microscopic processing with high resolution that the exposed regions are swollen by the developing with an organic solvent.
In recent years, the molding materials used for overcoating flexible printed circuits, interlayer insulation films of multilayer substrates, insulation films and passivation films of solid elements in semiconductor industry, as well as the interlayer insulation materials of semiconductor integrated circuits and multilayer printed circuit boards are demanded to have good heat resistance. Further, the need to attain higher densification and higher integration demands photosensitive heat-resisting materials.
The semiconductor substrates which are used as semiconductor integrated parts in microelectronic industry are covered with photoresists. Photoresist relief structures are formed by forming images and subsequent development of the photoresist layers. The relief structures are used as the masks for preparing circuit patterns on the semiconductor substrates. By this processing cycle, the relief structure of a microchip can be transferred to a substrate.
Photoresists include two different types (positive-type photoresist and negative-type photoresist). These are different in that the exposed regions of the positive-type photoresist is removed by development so that the non-developed regions are left on the substrate, while the exposed regions of the negative-type photoresist are left as the relief structure. The positive-type photoresists have intrinsically high image resolutions so that they are suited for production of VLSIs (large scale integrated circuits).
Conventional positive-type photoresists contain a type of novolak resin which is soluble in aqueous alkali and a photosensitive quinone diazide which decreases the solubility of the resin in alkali. When the photoresist layer is irradiated, the quinone diazide is photoexcited so as to be converted to carboxylic acid, so that the solubility in alkali of the exposed regions is increased. Thus, by developing the photoresist with an aqueous alkali, a positive-type photoresist relief structure is obtained (USP 36664735 etc).
The characteristics of the photoresist compositions used in industries are the solubility of the photoresist in the solvent to be applied, the photosensitization rate of the photoresist, the developing contrast, the solubility of the developing solution acceptable from the view point of environment, adhesiveness of the photoresist, dimensional stability at high temperatures, and abrasion resistance.
The photoresist relief structures obtained by the exposure and development are usually subjected to heat treatment (postbake) at a temperature of 120° C. to 180° C. The purpose of this treatment is to promote the adhesiveness of the photoresist with the substrate, curing of the photoresist structure, and removal of all of the remaining volatile components to decrease the erosion in the subsequent etching step.
However, in plasma etching, the substrates are subjected to a temperature higher than 200° C. The photoresists containing as the base a novolak resin and a stabilizing improver cannot be thermally stabilized at a temperature of not lower than 180° C.
Polyimide resins are resistant to high temperature of about 400° C. and are stable to chemicals. Therefore, they are useful in forming heat-resisting photoresist layers.
Conventional polyimide photoresists are negative-type photoresists. The system of the negative-type photoresists is based on polyamic acid polymer having photoreactive side chains. However, this basic material has problems in that it has a poor storage stability, a very slow sensitizing rate, and an excess structural shrinkage after development and curing (the rate of shrinkage after baking is about 60%). With this composition, to attain a high resolution, exposure of about 10 minutes is necessary. Further, high concentration solutions thereof for forming thick films have especially poor storage stabilities (Tsuguo YAMAOKA et al., Polyfile 2, 14(1990).
It was shown that during the formation of the positive-type images, the polyimide composition having a weight average molecular weight of about 100,000 is dissolved in an alkaline solution and is converted to a composition having a weight average molecular weight of about 3000 (Takafumi FUKUSHIMA, Hiroshi ITATANI et al., Abstract of 49th Meeting of The Society of Polymer Science, Japan, (2000, Nagoya).

Negative photosensitive polyimide composition and method for forming image the same


Methods, systems, and devices are provided that may facilitate multibeam coherent detection and/or speckle mitigation. For example, some embodiments provide for multiple simultaneous independent speckle realizations in light reflected from an actively illuminated target while also may simultaneously provide reference beams inherently aligned to each speckle. These tools and techniques may facilitate coherent detection of light returned from a target. In some cases, this may provide the basis for substantial speckle mitigation. With the addition of illumination phase or frequency modulation and/or intelligent algorithmic methods, some designs may utilize the multiple speckle returns to actively mitigate speckle noise, and can further be used to separately measure speckle phase to implement interferometric resolution surface tilt measurement and/or surface imaging. These tools and techniques may be utilized for other purposes related to multibeam coherent detection and/or speckle mitigation.

Coherent optical systems may face a variety of different issues. For example, some coherent optical systems may face issues with regard to speckle fading in coherent detection. Speckle noise and phase uncertainty may also limit system performance for many coherent optical systems. Applications where speckle may be an important performance factor include but are not limited to: vibrometery, Doppler velocimetry, interferometric distance measurement, optical communications, and monochromatic imaging. Typically, these applications can include active illumination by a long coherence length source such as a laser.

Methods, systems, and devices for multibeam coherent detection and speckle mitigation


To provide a semiconductor device that enables to suppress a defect density of a gate insulating film of an MISFET, gain a sufficient electric characteristic thereof, and make an Equivalent Oxide Thickness (EOT) of the gate insulating film 1.0 nm or less. The MISFETs are formed to have the gate insulating film formed on a main surface of a silicon substrate, and a gate electrode formed on the gate insulating film, wherein the gate insulating film includes a metal silicate layer formed by a metal oxide layer and a silicon oxide layer and the metal silicate layer is formed so as to have concentration gradients of metal and silicon from a silicon substrate side toward a gate electrode side.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a manufacturing method thereof and specifically to a technique effectively applied to both of a Metal Insulator Semiconductor (MIS) type field effect transistor (MISFET) and a manufacturing technique of the same.
With the trend toward high speed and highly integrated semiconductor integrated circuits, it is required to make a gate insulating film of an MISFET thin. However, when an silicon oxide film with a low dielectric constant that is used a gate insulating film is made thin, there arises the problem that a gate leak current increases owing to direct tunneling.

Semiconductor device and manufacturing method thereof

National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology


A method of shifting and fixing an optical frequency of an optical resonator to a desired optical frequency, and an optical resonator made by such a method are provided. The method includes providing an optical resonator having a surface and a refractive index, and obtaining a coating composition having a predetermined concentration of a substance and having a refractive index that is substantially similar to the refractive index of the optical resonator. The coating composition inherently possesses a thickness when it is applied as a coating. The method further includes determining a coating ratio for the surface of the optical resonator and applying the coating composition onto a portion of the surface of the optical resonator based upon the determined coating ratio.

The ability to precisely control the optical frequency of an optical resonator (e.g. a high-Q dielectric whispering gallery resonator) is what determines their value as a photonic component. There is a well-developed technique for permanently fixing the eigen-frequency of an optical resonator by completely coating the surface of the optical resonator with a fine-tuned thickness but this technique requires extremely-precise manufacturing processes. There is also a known technique which temporarily shifts the optical frequency of an optical resonator by the application of a high-voltage to the optical resonator. This technique allows the optical frequency to be temporarily shifted with high-precision but random voltage deviations can undesirably shift the eigen-frequencies of the optical resonator which thereby introduces unwanted noises into the optical resonator.
Accordingly, there exists a need to precisely and permanently fix the optical frequency of one or more optical resonators to a desired value without the need for highly precise manufacturing techniques.

Method of shifting and fixing optical frequency of an optical resonator, and optical resonator made by same

The United States of America as represented by the Administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration


A method to control storage into and depletion from multiple energy storage devices. The method enables an operative connection between the energy storage devices and respective power converters. The energy storage devices are connectible across respective first terminals of the power converters. At the second terminals of the power converter, a common reference is set which may be a current reference or a voltage reference. An energy storage fraction is determined respectively for the energy storage devices. A voltage conversion ratio is maintained individually based on the energy storage fraction. The energy storage devices are stored individually with multiple variable rates of energy storage through the first terminals. The energy storage is complete for the energy storage devices substantially at a common end time responsive to the common reference.

1. Technical Field
Embodiments herein relate to storage of electrical energy (e.g., in a bank of multiple batteries) from electrical power sources, and power delivery (e.g., from the bank of multiple batteries) to an electrical network.
2. Description of Related Art
Load balancing of electrical power refers to various techniques to store excess electrical power during low demand periods for subsequent release when demand for electrical power increases. Storage of electrical energy from the electrical network may be performed within and/or outside the electrical network. For example, the storage of electrical energy may involve the customer and/or be performed on customer premises. For example, a storage electrical heater stores thermal energy during the evening, or at night when electricity is available at lower cost, and releases the heat during the day. Replenishing energy during off peak times may require incentives for consumers to participate, usually by offering cheaper rates for off peak electricity.
Load balancing may include customer owned energy storage/delivery systems operating at times independently from the electrical network and/or working in concert with the electrical network. Customer owned energy storage/delivery systems may include various energy sources including wind turbines, photovoltaic arrays, and/or fuel cells which may be independent and/or integrated with the battery storage. Customer owned energy storage/delivery systems may also be utilized to sell and deliver electricity back to the electrical network during peak demand on the electrical network.

Method and apparatus for storing and depleting energy