A sensing system including a sensing device with cooperating electrical components which move relative to each other in response to a sensed environmental parameter to yield a reactance signal, which is transmitted to a remotely located processor having an oscillator for receiving the transmitted signal and generating a transduced signal whose value corresponds to the value of the environmental parameter.

1. The Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to remotely located sensing devices and systems for sensing environmental parameters such as for pressure, temperature and light changes, and to transducers for generating electrical signals corresponding to such remotely sensed environmental parameters.
2. State of the Art
A great many devices are known for sensing force and pressure values. For the purposes of the present discussion, the terms force and pressure can be considered interchangeable, and to include other force related values such as torque. Likewise, devices are known for sensing temperature and light parameter changes. Many of such devices are mechanical in nature, and many are electrical devices. While many of these devices have proven very effective for their intended uses, there remains a need in many areas for compact, reliable, effective, inexpensive and low power sensor and transducer devices and systems. For example, in U.S. patent application Ser. No. 834,609, filed on Feb. 28, 1986 and entitled "Warning Systems for Excessive Orthopedic Pressures", a non-invasive system for remotely monitoring the pressure beneath the cast on a part of the body is disclosed for warning when the measured pressure is approaching dangerous levels. That system should incorporate remote sensors which are compact enough to fit beneath the cast without requiring any modification to the cast's size or shape. Furthermore, the system, being battery operated and portable, must be reliable and effective to protect the patient, and still be of low power requirements and inexpensive. Although means are known for measuring pressures beneath casts, among the reasons why such means are not widely used are that they are invasive, difficult to use and their prohibitively expensive, particularly in view of the present absence of such systems in existing orthopedic procedures and because the addition of such systems would significantly increase the cost of the cast.
Aside from the medical application discussed above, there are other applications where a need exists for low cost, remotely located sensors to be utilized in transducer circuitry. For example, such need exists in the automotive industry. This need is discussed by Flynn, in his article in Product Engineering, August, 1978 (pgs. 43-49).
A number of electrical devices have been developed and described in the patent literature for detecting changes in environmental parameters. One such device is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,552,028. This patent discloses a single device for measuring force by a capacitive sensor.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,562,382 discloses a solid-state inverter including a multiple core transformer which is useful as a high frequency power source for use in connection with an electron discharge lamp.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,381,506, a single unit transducer apparatus is disclosed. This apparatus provides an electrical signal which senses motion of a component, e.g., a movable ring about a magnetically conductive core. This apparatus is designed for coupling to internal combustion engines.
In U.S. Pat. No. 4,156,223, an improved positional transducer is disclosed which utilizes an elongated, hollow, cylindrical tube of a magnetically saturable material, a sensing wire that runs through the tube parallel to its elongated axis and a pair of elongated, generally rectangularly shaped magnets of opposite polarity which are closely positioned adjacent diametrically opposite exterior portions of the tube. A similar positional transducer is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,958,203; however, the '223 patent is an improved version of the transducer disclosed in this patent.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,427 discloses a motion monitor particularly useful for monitoring infant respiration. The monitor comprises an oscillator driving an ultrasonic wave generator, a receiver for ultrasonic echoes, a phase detector for detecting phase shift between the outputs of the detector and an oscillator, and means for recovering the respiration envelope from the output of the phase detector.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,140,475 discloses a device for position and motion indication. The device includes a primary coil and a secondary coil coaxially aligned in an end-to-end relation and electrically connected in series, with an A.C. supply connected across the primary coil and a signal readout device connected across both the primary and secondary coils in series relation.
In U.S. Pat. No. 3,020,527, a position indicating system which will indicate the position of a device at a location remote from a movable device is provided. More specifically, a telemetric system is disclosed that may be employed expeditiously with an elongated tube which tube may act as a pressure wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,001,183 also relates to position indicator systems for sliding magnetic sleeves which operate within a completely enclosed vessel. Specifically, a remote linear position indicator is disclosed that has a sensing element positioned within a tubular magnetic wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,284,364 discloses a tensiometer for measuring thread tension while the thread is passing through the measuring device at a high rate. This device was designed for use in the fiber and garment industries.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,142,981 discloses a transducer device for producing digital electrical signals to measure the magnitude of force applied to the force sensing element. The force sensing element includes a load ring, and a means for applying a force to cause a deformation of the load ring. The patent also discloses employing an oscillator to produce a stable frequency within the frequency range of the oscillator whose frequency varies with the force applied to the load ring.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,206,971 discloses a force measuring apparatus wherein a frequency determining part of an oscillator is coupled to a spring member. The resilient deformation of the spring member caused by the forces to be measured produces frequency changes in the oscillator corresponding in magnitude to the deformation.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,522,858 discloses a snow-depth measuring device which permits measurement of small changes in the pressure of a liquid contained in a factory sealed chamber between two parallel plates, one of which is exposed to the snow fall. Attached to the outer frame of the device is a pressure transducer comprising bellows, a core piece and a coil, all enclosed in a housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,727,606 discloses a device for providing continuous monitoring of human respiration and heart rate comprising a fluid-type mattress located in contact with the human and producing pressure signals in response to the breathing and heart rate. A pressure transducer is provided for interpreting the pressure signals for application to an electronic circuit, or visual or audible recognition of the signals.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,791,375 discloses a device for sensing and warning of excessive ambulation force. The device is designed to be worn on a human foot, and may be used during recovery from orthopedic surgery of the lower extremity. The device comprises a fluid-containing load cell which deflects and changes its volume in accordance with the amount of load thereon.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,175,263 discloses a technique for monitoring the movement of an individual from a particular area. The device comprises a sealed fluid filled pad and comprises two distinct fluid areas or pressure sensing areas. Movement of a patient or a child is detected by the change in force or pressure exerted on the fluid.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,208,918 discloses a digital pressure sensor in which a first oscillator is associated with the pressure detector and a second oscillator of the same construction as the first is provided for determining a sampling period of the output signal of the first oscillator.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,259 discloses a device for detecting body function changes such as respiration and contractions of a woman in advanced pregnancy and labor. The device comprises a detector capsule having one wall defined by a resilient diaphragm for engagement with the abdominal wall and is connected to a variable volume compartment operably connected to a volume responsive transducer.
German Patent 737,882 discloses a position indicator which includes a movable magnetic sleeve about a core element containing longitudinal windings to vary inductance.
None of these above disclosures, however, teach or suggest the sensing means of the present invention. Also, a remotely located sensor from the transducing means of the type disclosed in the present application is not suggested by the teachings of the above discussed disclosures.
Other applications for pressure and the like monitoring systems, which might well be fulfilled upon the availability of compact, reliable, effective low power, portable and inexpensive remote sensors and associated transducer functions, involve measuring sport related values (e.g., measuring force applied to boxing gloves, boxing bags and running shoes; measuring total energy expended in bicycling; monitoring pressure in ski bindings and ski boots; measuring muscular expansion in a weight lifter); measuring the redistribution of body fluids in space or when subjected to varying and/or extreme gravitational forces; measuring weight; measuring pneumatic tire pressure, etc. Also, such a monitoring system may be useful for the remote monitoring of pressurized containers, e.g., fire extinguishers and gas containers used with analytical instruments and the like, respiration therapy, automotive performance, and monitoring fluid flow and fluid levels in industrial processes, to name a few.


Time-division switch under the control of a control arrangement in which at least one processor (3) and a clock (4) are associated and including a data bus (5) operation of which is time-shared between equipment access modules (2A to 2E) which are connected to said data bus. Each unit is provided with two content-addressable memories (6A to 6E, 7A to 7E) which are dynamically programmed by the control arrangement to send and to receive data with different frame structures during time slots the number and temporal positions of which are defined by said control arrangement on the data bus and on a particular time-division multiplex link (1A to 1E) linking the relevant equipment access module to the item of equipment it serves.

The development of digital techniques for processing all kinds of information and the installation of telecommunication networks enabling transmission of digital information at high throughputs has resulted in the introduction of a great variety of communication terminals which are adapted to be connected to a common type of telecommunication network to transmit on it at the same time and in particular digital forms information that may be of a highly diversified nature.
This variety in the nature of the information and the variety of user requirements in respect of information of the same kind has led to the design and implementation of telecommunication networks enabling the simultaneous presence and communication of terminals having transmission characteristics which, while necessarily compatible, may be very different, especially in terms of throughput.
In one known form of implementation telephone type telecommunication networks are built up using time-division switches interconnected by standardized time-division multiplex links, in particular links in accordance with Recommendation G.704 of the Comite Consultatif International Telegraphique et Telephonique (CCITT).
This recommendation defines various synchronization frame structures adapted to enable the transfer of digital signals arranged in the form of octets and in particular a frame structure catering for a throughput of 2.048 Mbit/s on a unidirectional link using 32 isochronous channels. Each channel is in corresponding relationship to a time slot of the same particular rank during each of the consecutive phases timing the synchronous operation of a link, the frame period being 125 .mu.s.
In a conventional implementation all the time-division switch inputs are designed to receive a time-division multiplex link as described above and the same applies to all the outputs while the control structure of a switch is designed taking into account the number of channels provided per link according to the standards.
This has the drawback that it does not always enable optimum operation of a switch when there are disparate requirements in terms of numbers of link channels and terminals connected to its ports, the assignment of the available channels being not entirely unrestricted.

Burst architecture time-division switch and equipment access module for use in a switch of this kind


A method, system and computer program product for foreground window determination of windows displaying applications in a displayed desktop. The present invention continuously resolves the issue of what program or process running or to be run in a window on the desktop is displayed in the foreground or focus window, thereby avoiding unintentional inputs to an application in a background window and unintentional switching of the application program presented in the foreground window of a windows-based operating system. The continuous resolution is made by determining if an initiated process has the special right for its window to become the foreground window; determining if the window associated with a process can take the foreground based on a set of predetermined process foreground rules and if the right was given with respect to the initiated process; determining if an initiated thread has the special right for its window to become the foreground window; and determining what window displayed or to be displayed is in the foreground when a thread requests for its associated window to take the foreground based on a set of predetermined thread foreground rules and if the right was given with respect to the initiated thread.

As will be better understood from the following description, the present invention was developed to provide more positive interaction with an operating system by avoiding unintentional switching of the foreground window of a windows-based operating system, which can cause inputs to be unintentionally sent to the wrong application program.
It is now common for operating systems to have a shell which provides a graphical user interface (GUI). The shell is a piece of software (either a separate program or component part of the operating system) that provides direct communication between the user and the operating system. The GUI typically provides a graphical icon-oriented and/or menu driven environment for the user to interact with the operating system.
The GUI of many operating system shells is based on a desktop metaphor. More specifically, the GUI is intended to create a graphical environment which simulates working at a desk. These GUIs typically employ a windowing environment with a desktop. The windowing environment presents the user with specially delineated areas of the screen called windows, each of which is dedicated to a particular application program. Application programs or processes presented in a window include sub-processes or threads that are displayed in separate windows. Each window can act independently, as if it were a virtual display device under control of its particular process or thread.
Windows can typically be resized, moved around the display, and stacked so as to overlay one another. In some windowing environments, windows can be minimized to an icon or increased to a full-screen display. Usually, the windows have a top to bottom order in which they are displayed, with top windows at a particular location on the screen overlaying any other window at that same location. The top-most window is the "focus" or "foreground" window and the process or thread associated with the focus window responds to the users'input. The user can switch other windows to the top by clicking with a mouse or other pointer device, or by inputting certain key combinations. This allows the user to work with multiple application programs in a manner similar to physically working with multiple paper documents and items, which can be arbitrarily stacked or arranged on an actual desk.
In present windowing environments, if a user is typing when a focus or foreground window change takes place, the user can, unintentionally, send keyboard input to a process or thread associated with the new foreground window. This may generate an unwanted action by the process or thread associated with the new foreground window and delay the user's completion of tasks related to the process or thread associated with the previous focus or foreground window. This typically happens when a process, other than the one the user is typing to, creates a thread that generates a message to be displayed in a message box or alert window and the thread requests the operating system to allow the message box window to take the foreground window position. When the operating system allows the foreground window request, the message box window takes the foreground window position and user interface actions, such as typing, are directed to the thread associated with the "new" foreground window. Such input (meant to go to the process or thread associated with the previous foreground window) might reply and perhaps dismiss the message box window before the user reads the message in the message box window, and sometimes even before the user sees the message box window at all. The result is a delay in the user interaction with the process or thread in the previous foreground window or the missing of meetings or other important activities because the associated notification was not properly received.
The present invention is directed to overcoming the foregoing and other disadvantages. More specifically, the present invention is directed to providing a method, system and computer product for effectively controlling the interaction of applications in a windows-based operating system.

Foreground window determination through process and thread initialization


A neural network based learning system for designing a circuit, the design system including at least one memory, at least one processor in communication with said at least one memory, said at least one processor configured to generate a mathematical model of the circuit, determine a structural definition of the circuit from the mathematical model, define a mapping of a plurality of components of the circuit to a plurality of neurons representing the plurality of components of the circuit using at least the structural definition, synthesize, on a hardware substrate, the plurality of neurons, and execute, using the synthesized plurality of neurons on the hardware substrate, at least one test using at least one optimization constraint to determine an optimal arrangement of the plurality of components.

The field of the disclosure relates generally to analog-to-information processors.
Information is often processed and stored in a digital format. The physical world, however, is analog by nature. Whenever information about the physical world needs to be captured, data conversion is required. Creating a digital interface to the physical world requires identifying sources of data and extracting information from those signal sources. Analog-to-digital converters (ADC) along with their counterpart, digital-to-analog (DAC) converters therefore play an important role in connecting the physical world and the information world. These analog-to-digital circuit interface design is, however, a labor-intensive and time-consuming process involving many design iterations and substantial resources.
Current design objectives include building an ADC as close as possible to an ideal ADC model. But non-ideal factors, however, prevents ADC design from approximating an ideal model perfectly which leads to circuit failure. Furthermore, advances in technology such as autonomous systems, robotics, dense sensory arrays, energy limited devices, and high-speed and high-resolution scientific computing increases the demand for high performing ADCs. As the demand for processing bandwidth and speed increases, conventional ADC design models using pre-defined ideal parameters are unable to satisfy the analog-to-information processing requirements for target applications.

System and method using neural networks for analog-to-information processors


In an exemplary embodiment, a capacity control valve includes: a valve main body 2 having a first valve chamber 7 through which a fluid at control pressure passes and which has a first valve seat surface 31A, and an interior space 4 through which a fluid at suction pressure passes; and a valve body 21 having an intermediate communication passage 26 for communicating the first valve chamber 7 and the interior space 4, and a first valve part 21C for opening and closing the intermediate communication passage 26 adjacent to the first valve seat surface 31A, wherein an opening area of the first valve part 21C is smaller than that of the intermediate communication passage 26. The capacity control valve is capable of simultaneously achieving reduction of a start-up time of the variable capacity compressor and improvement of responsiveness of capacity control at the time of control.

A swash plate type variable capacity compressor used for an air-conditioning system for motor vehicle and the like includes a rotating shaft rotationally driven by the rotational force of an engine, a swash plate which is coupled to the rotating shaft so that its inclination angle may be varied, a piston for compression coupled to the swash plate, and the like, and changes the inclination angle of the swash plate, thereby changing a stroke of the piston and controlling a discharge rate of a refrigerant.
By appropriately controlling pressure within a control chamber and adjusting a balancing state of the pressure acting on the both surfaces of the piston by means of a capacity control valve which is driven to be opened or closed by electromagnetic force while utilizing a suction pressure of a suction chamber for suctioning a refrigerant, a discharge pressure of a discharge chamber for discharging the refrigerant pressurized by the piston, and a control chamber pressure of the control chamber (a crank chamber) containing the swash plate, the inclination angle of the swash plate can be continuously changed.
As such a capacity control valve, as shown in FIG. 7, known is a capacity control valve 170 including: a valve section having a second valve chamber 182 communicating with a discharge chamber via a second communication passage 173, a first valve chamber 183 communicating with a suction chamber via a first communication passage 171, and a third valve chamber 184 communicating with a control chamber via a third communication passage 174; a pressure sensitive body 178 which is arranged in the third chamber to extend and contract by ambient pressure and which has a valve seat body 180 provided at a free end in an extension and contraction direction; a valve body 181 having a second valve part 176 for opening and closing a valve hole 177 for communicating the second valve chamber 182 and the third valve chamber 184, a first valve part 175 for opening and closing the first communication passage 171 and a circulation groove 172, and a third valve part 179 for opening and closing the third valve chamber 184 and the circulation groove 172 by engagement and disengagement to and from the valve seat body 180 in the third valve chamber 184; a solenoid section S for exerting an electromagnetic driving force on the valve body 181, and the like (Hereinafter, it is referred to as a "conventional art". For example, see Patent Citation 1).
Then, in the capacity control valve 170, without providing a clutch mechanism in a variable capacity compressor, in a case where the need to change pressure in the control chamber (a control chamber pressure) Pc arises, the control chamber pressure can be adjusted by communicating the discharge chamber and the control chamber. Moreover, in a case where the control chamber pressure Pc is increased in a stop state of the variable capacity compressor, the suction chamber and the control chamber are communicated by disengaging the third valve part (a valve opening coupling part) 179 from the valve seat body (an engagement part) 180 and opening a suction side passage.
However, if the swash plate type variable capacity compressor is stopped and then is intended to be started after a long-time standing, a liquid refrigerant (the refrigerant which is liquefied by being cooled during standing) is accumulated in the control chamber (crank chamber), and therefore it is impossible to secure a set discharge rate by compressing the refrigerant unless the liquid refrigerant is discharged. Therefore, in order to perform a desired capacity control just after start-up, the liquid refrigerant in the control chamber (crank chamber) needs to be discharged as quickly as possible.
Thus, in the above-described conventional art, an auxiliary communication passage 185 is provided in the third valve part 179, and, via the auxiliary communication passage 185, an intermediate communication passage 186, and the circulation groove 172 from the third valve chamber 184, the third valve chamber 184 communicating with the control chamber and the first communication passage 171 communicating with the suction chamber can be communicated. Thereby, as shown by an arrow in FIG. 7, when the variable liquid refrigerant capacity compressor is started to air-condition, the liquid refrigerant is discharged to the discharge chamber via the suction chamber from the control chamber (crank chamber), and the refrigerant liquid in the control chamber is vaporized. Thereby, a cooling operation state can be achieved in one-tenth to one-fifteenth time compared to a capacity control valve without the auxiliary communication passage 185.
FIG. 7 and FIG. 8(a) shows a state that the solenoid section S is energized, an opening spring means 187 contracts, and the first valve part 175 is opened. On the other hand, FIG. 8(c) shows a state that, when the solenoid section S is in an OFF state, the first valve part 175 is closed and the second valve part 176 is opened by extension of the opening spring means 187, and the third valve part 179 is opened on receiving a suction chamber pressure Ps and the control chamber pressure Pc.
For example, at the time of start-up, the refrigerant liquid in the control chamber is vaporized, and the fluid at the control chamber pressure Pc flows into the third valve chamber 184 through the third communication passage 174. In this state, the control chamber pressure Pc and the suction chamber pressure Ps are high, the pressure sensitive body (bellows) 178 contracts, and the third valve part 179 and a valve seat surface of the valve seat body 180 are opened therebetween. However, a valve opening amount between the third valve part 179 and the valve seat body 180 has functional restrictions, and therefore vaporization of the refrigerant liquid in the third valve chamber 184 is advanced only gradually by this opening valve state alone. Thus, by providing the auxiliary communication passage 185 communicating with the intermediate communication passage 186, the refrigerant liquid in the control chamber can be vaporized rapidly.
Subsequently, when discharge of the liquid refrigerant in the control chamber (crank chamber) is finished, the control chamber pressure Pc and the suction chamber pressure Ps are decreased, and the third valve part 179 and the valve seat surface of the valve seat body 180 are closed therebetween. At the same time, the second valve part 176 becomes into an opened state from a fully closed state by the solenoid section S, and the fluid at the discharge chamber pressure Pd is supplied to the third valve chamber 184 from the second valve chamber 182, and thereby a differential pressure between the suction chamber pressure and the control chamber pressure is changed, an inclination angle of the swash plate is changed, and a stroke (discharge capacity) of a piston is controlled. Concretely, when the pressure of the crank chamber is decreased, the inclination angle of the swash plate is increased, and the discharge capacity of the compressor is increased. On the contrary, if the pressure of the crank chamber is increased, the inclination angle of the swash plate is decreased, and the discharge capacity of the compressor is decreased.
However, in the above-described conventional art, even if discharge of the liquid refrigerant in the control chamber (crank chamber) is finished and a control operation begins, and the third valve part 179 and the valve seat surface of the valve seat body 180 are closed therebetween, the third valve chamber 184 and the first valve chamber 183 are communicated by the auxiliary communication passage 185, the intermediate communication passage 186, the first communication passage 171, the circulation groove 172, and the first valve part 175. Therefore, even if the refrigerant is supplied to the control chamber from the discharge chamber in order to control the control chamber pressure, the refrigerant tends to flow to the suction chamber from the control chamber, and thus the control chamber pressure was not able to be rapidly controlled to a predetermined pressure.
This point will be described in detail with reference to FIG. 7 to FIG. 9. A Pc-Ps flow passage for communicating the third valve chamber 184 and the first valve chamber 183 consists of the auxiliary communication passage 185, the intermediate communication passage 186, the first communication passage 171, and the circulation groove 172, and an area Sa of an opening part of the Pc-Ps flow passage is constant as shown by a dotted line in FIG. 9. Moreover, a stroke of the valve body 181 at the time of discharge of the liquid refrigerant is Ls, a stroke of the valve body 181 when the solenoid is OFF is Le, and a stroke L of the valve body 181 in a control area is controlled so as to be Ls<L<Lm.
As shown by a solid line in FIG. 9, in the control area (Ls<L<Lm), the area of the Pc-Ps flow passage is almost constant regardless of the stroke of the valve body 181, and is narrowed only when a stroke Lm of the valve body 181 is exceeded. Therefore, in the control area (Ls<L<Lm) of the variable capacity compressor, even if the refrigerant is supplied to the third valve chamber 184 communicating with the control chamber from the second valve chamber 182 in order to control the pressure of the control chamber, the refrigerant tends to flow to the first valve chamber 183 through the Pc-Ps flow passage and the first valve part 175 from the third valve chamber 184, and thus the pressure of the control chamber was not able to be rapidly controlled to a predetermined pressure.
Moreover, in the above-described conventional art, in a control device for controlling the capacity control valve, the pressure sensitive body (bellows) 178 for sensing the pressure was arranged in the third valve chamber 184 communicating with the control chamber, and the control chamber pressure Pc was detected, thereby capacity control was performed. However, fluctuation in pressure according to the load of the variable capacity compressor rapidly appears in the suction chamber pressure Ps, and therefore it is preferred that the suction chamber pressure Ps is detected by the pressure sensitive body (bellows).


A semiconductor device comprises a semiconductor substrate; a transfer transistor including a gate electrode formed on the semiconductor substrate through a gate insulation film, and a first diffused layer formed in the semiconductor substrate on both sides of the gate electrode; an insulation film which covers an upper surface of the transfer transistor and in which a contact hole reaching the first diffused layer is opened; a capacitor formed on the insulation film and connected to the first diffused layer through the contact hole; a second diffused layer formed in the semiconductor substrate below the contact hole and being the same conduction type as the first diffused layer; and a third diffused layer formed in the semiconductor substrate below the contact hole, formed extending to a region which is deeper than the first and the second diffused layers, and having the same conduction type as the first diffused layer. The semiconductor device of this structure can solve both problems of unstable impurity diffusion from the storage electrode into the semiconductor substrate, which results from an interface state, and mitigation of the electric field mitigation in the storage node, whereby the DRAM can have improved data retention characteristics.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a method for fabricating the semiconductor device.
A DRAM (Dynamic Random Access Memory) is a semiconductor memory device comprising cells each including one transistor and one capacitor and which can be large-scaled and highly integrated, and various structures of the DRAM have been conventionally proposed.
The general structure of the DRAM will be explained with reference to FIG. 41. FIG. 41 is a sectional view of the general DRAM cell.
A cell of the DRAM is constituted by one MOSFET (Metal Oxide Semiconductor Field Effect Transistor), and one capacitor. The capacitor is constituted by a storage electrode 128, a dielectric film 130 and an opposed electrode 132. The storage electrode 128 is connected to the source/drain diffused layer 112 of the MOSFET. A bit line 120 is connected to the source/drain diffused layer 110.
A charge stored in the capacitor is outputted to the bit line by turning on the MOSFET and is amplified by a sense amplifier (not shown) to be judged a signal "1" or "0".
However, a charge stored in the capacitor decreases by leak current mainly due to the p-n junction. Accordingly, the so-called refresh operations of rewriting a signal of the cell at a certain time interval are necessary. With a short data retention time of the cell, frequent refresh operations are necessary with a result of large electric power consumption. Thus, it is important for the DRAM that a large interval between the refresh operations, i.e., respective cells have a long data retention time.
Then, a method for fabricating the general DRAM will be explained with reference to FIGS. 42A-42D and 43A-43C. FIGS. 42A-42D and 43A-43C are sectional views of the general DRAM in the steps of the method for fabricating the same, which shown the method.
First, a device isolation film 102 of a thick oxide film is formed on a p-type silicon substrate 100 by LOCOS (LOCal Oxidation of Silicon) to define an active region 104. A p-well may be formed in the silicon substrate 100 before or after the device isolation film 102 is formed.
Then, a gate oxide film 106 is formed in the active region 104 by thermal oxidation, and then a conducting layer of a laminated film structure of, e.g., polycrystalline silicon and metal silicide which is to be a gate electrode 108 is grown and is patterned to form the gate electrode of a MOSFET. The gate electrode 108 also constitutes a word line.
Subsequently, an n-type diffused layer which is to be a source/drain diffused layer 110, 112 is formed by ion implantation. For example, phosphorus (P) ions are implanted at 30 keV acceleration energy and a 2.times.10.sup.13 cm.sup.-2 dose (FIG. 42A).
Then, an insulation film is grown on the entire surface and is etched by RIE (Reactive Ion Etching) to form a spacer 114 on the side walls of the gate electrode 108 (FIG. 42B).
Next, an insulation film 116 is formed on the entire surface, and a contact hole 118 is formed on one of the source/drain diffused layer 110. The insulation film 116 functions as an inter-layer insulation film.
Subsequently, a bit line 120 connected to the source/drain diffused layer 110 through the contact hole 118 is formed (FIG. 42C).
Then an insulation film 122 is formed on the silicon substrate (FIG. 42D), and a storage electrode contact hole 124 is opened on the other source/drain diffused layer 112 (FIG. 43A). The insulation film 122 functions as an inter-layer insulation film.
Next, with the insulation film 122 as a mask, n-type impurity ions are implanted in the silicon substrate immediately below the storage electrode contact hole 124 to form a diffused layer 126.
Subsequently, a storage electrode 128 connected to the source/drain diffused layer 112 through the storage electrode contact hole 124, a dielectric film 130 and an opposed electrode 132, and a capacitor constituted by the storage electrode 128, the dielectric film 130 and the opposed electrode 132 is formed.
Thus, a memory cell comprising one transistor and one capacitor is formed.
Then, an insulation film 134, a metal interconnection 136, a cover insulation film 138, etc. are formed, and the DRAM shown in FIG. 41 is formed.
The capacitor formed thus stacked on the MOSFET is called a stacked capacitor.
Techniques for implanting n-type impurity ions into the substrate immediately below the storage electrode contact hole 124 after the storage electrode contact hole 124 is opened are described in, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 06-61451 and Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 09-69616.
In Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 06-61451, in the contact between the storage electrode 128 and the silicon substrate 100, the impurity diffusion is unstable from the storage electrode 128 into the silicon substrate 100, depending on a state of the interface, with a result that a data retention time becomes short. As means for solving this problem, the technique of implanting in advance impurity ions in the silicon substrate 100 in the storage electrode contact hole 124. This corresponds to the diffused layer 126 in the method for fabricating a semiconductor device shown in FIGS. 42A-42D and 43A-43C.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 09-69616 discloses the technique of retaining an impurity concentration low below the storage node by an impurity implanted through the storage electrode contact hole 124 to make a concentration gradient blunt, whereby an electric filed intensity at the junction is mitigated to obtain improved data retention characteristics. It is already known in, e.g., Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 06-61486 that an electric field of the storage node is mitigated to thereby obtain improved data retention characteristics.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 62-238661 discloses the art of forming an n-type diffused layer of a low concentration below a heavily doped n-type diffused layer.
However, the above-described conventional semiconductor device structures and the method for fabricating the same are insufficient in the following points to make the data retention time of the capacitor long.
Firstly, by simply implanting ions through the storage electrode contact hole 124 the above-described two problems, i.e., the unstable impurity diffusion from the storage electrode 128 into the substrate due to interface states, and the electric field mitigation of the storage node cannot be solved.
Secondly, the technique of implanting ions through the storage electrode contact hole 124 cannot mitigate the electric field only immediately below the storage electrode contact hole 124. However, junction leak, which causes decrease of a data retention time can occur in all the diffused layer. Accordingly, decrease of the junction leak only immediately below the storage electrode contact hole as in the above-described conventional semiconductor device fabrication method is still insufficient.
Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 62-238661 discloses a lightly doped n-type diffused layer is provided but does not detail its arrangement. If the lightly doped n-type diffused layer is provided by photolithography using a resist film as a mask, the lightly doped n-type diffused layer is displaced due to displacement or other causes of the photolithography, which rather causes device disuniformity.

Method of making a DRAM with a transfer transistor


A tomographic image generation apparatus includes a light source unit configured to emit light to be used for scanning an object; an optical control unit configured to control a direction of propagation of light; an optical coupler configured to divide and combine incident light; a plurality of optical systems optically connected to the optical coupler; and a modulation and correction device configured to modulate and correct the light to be used for scanning the object. The modulation and correction device may be disposed between the optical control unit and the optical coupler, or may be included in an optical system that irradiates light onto the object among the plurality of optical systems. The modulation and correction device may only modulate light that is reflected to the object.

1. Field
This application relates to tomographic image generation apparatuses having a modulation and correction device that can generate a more precise tomographic image by increasing a penetration depth in an object and a magnitude of a signal generated from the object, and methods of operating the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Tomography is a technique for capturing a tomographic image of an object using a penetrating wave. Tomography is used in many fields. Therefore, the demand for obtaining more precise tomographic images is also increased. In particular, in medical fields that are directly related to human life, a technique for generating a more precise tomographic image is an important issue.

Tomographic image generation apparatus having modulation and correction device and method of operating the same

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology


The invention relates to an auxiliary-handle fixture for a modular headliner of an automobile, which enables an easy mounting and nevertheless guarantees a firm securement of accessaries.

The present invention relates to an auxiliary-handle fixture for a modular headliner of an automobile, and more particularly to a new auxiliary-handle fixture for a module type headliner of an automobile which enables an easy mounting and nevertheless guarantees a firm securement of accessaries against loosening or detachment after mounting.
Generally, a plurality of auxiliary handles are provided on upper positions of both sides inside an automobile for passengers to grip, wherein these handles are positioned inside the car, particularly at inner side of a headliner and fixed on a body panel through certain fixtures.
Conventionally, automobile manufactures installed the auxiliary handles on body panels one by one after attaching headliners on the inside of cars. Because this method adds to the burden of increasing assembling process for car manufactures, in recent years a modular method is employed, wherein when car manufacturers receive headliners already attached with the above-described auxiliary handles made by cooperating companies, the car manufacturers install them on body panels in a one-touch manner.
As a representative form of auxiliary-handle fixtures used in such a modular method is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, those fixtures are formed of metal panels cut in predetermined form followed by bending, wherein in the base area, there are provided base portion 50 positioned between the body panel 10 and the headliner 20 and in the front or tip portion, there are provided hook portion 51 integrally bent from the base portion 50 and fitted in the holes 15 of the body panel 10. When the hooks 51, which are each provided, on respective opposite sides, with wedge-formed supporting pieces 53 spreading toward the base portion 50 from the tip portion, are inserted in the holes 15 of the body panel 10, the supporting pieces 53, in a compressed state, are coupled in the holes 15 of the body panel 10 and subsequently expanded by their own elasticity to engage with the body panel 10 for securement. As shown in Figures, however, in order to help the fixtures 5 coupled in the holes 15 of the body panel 10 to be secured and prevented from play, the supporting pieces 53 are provided, on the end parts, with bending portion 54, which are so formed as to be bent inwardly up to the free ends.
However, the fixtures of this type are associated with the problem that the supporting pieces 53 tend to experience a play as the bending portion 54 get flat or contracted, or even can come off the body panel 10 in extreme cases, when the auxiliary handles 30 connected to fixtures 5 are pulled, because the fixtures 5 are so secured that the bending portion 54 of supporting pieces 53 are tightly held against the inner circumferential surfaces of holes 15 in the body panel 10 but in a somewhat collapsable manner.
The present invention is intended to resolve the above-described problem and thus the object of the invention is to provide a new auxiliary-handle fixture for module type headliner of an automobile which enables an easy mounting and nevertheless guarantees a firm securement of the handle against loosening or detachment after mounting.
The above-described object is achieved according to an aspect of the invention by an auxiliary-handle fixture for a modular headliner of automobile, mounted in a coupling hole 15 of the body panel 10 for fixing an auxiliary handle 30 positioned inside a headliner 20, comprising a body 4 having a central threaded hole 48, a plurality of elastic coupling pieces 40 extending outwardly from the front portion of the body 4 in a spreading manner to the base portion of the body 4 and capable of contacting, with their ends, to the outer surface of the body panel 10 after insertion through the coupling hole 15, and a plurality of supporting pieces 45 bent at the base portion of the body 4 to extend outwardly toward the front portion of the body 4 to thereby elastically bear on the inside surface of the body panel 10 after mounting, wherein in assembling on the body panel 10, the ends of the coupling pieces 40 interfere with the outside surface of the body panel 10 for firm fixing and the end portions of the supporting pieces 45 elastically bear on the inner surface of the body panel 10 for prevention from play.
Preferably, the coupling pieces 40 and supporting pieces 45 are radially arranged around the central threaded hole 48 of the body 4 at predetermined circumferential angle and each pair of the coupling pieces 40 and supporting pieces 45 is arranged overlapped in view of the axial direction of the threaded hole 48.
Preferably, each pair of the coupling pieces 40 and supporting pieces 45 are disposed in opposite direction of the central threaded hole 48 of the body 4.

Auxiliary handle fixture for modular headline of automobile

Abstract: The invention comprising a body 5 having a central threaded hole 48, a plurality of elastic coupling pieces 40 extending outwardly from the front portion of the body 5 in a spreading manner to the base portion of the body 5 and capable of contacting, with their ends, to the outer surface of the body panel 10 after insertion through the coupling hole 15, and a plurality of supporting pieces 45 bent at the base portion of the body 5 to extend outwardly toward the front portion of the body 5 to thereby elastically bear on the inside surface of the body panel 10 after mounting, wherein in assembling on the body panel 10, the ends of the coupling pieces 40 interfere with the outside surface of the body panel 10 for firm fixing and the end portions of the supporting pieces 45 elastically bear on the inner surface of the body panel 10 for prevention from play.


An apparatus is provided for everting a tubular pipe lining material for rehabilitating an existing pipe. The apparatus has a sealed storage container storing a rotary body around which the pipe lining material is wound in a roll. An electric motor undergoes rotation in a first rotational direction to rotate the rotary body to wind the pipe lining material on the rotary body and undergoes rotation in a second rotational direction opposite to the first rotational direction. An eversion nozzle is attached to the storage container for everting the pipe lining material. When fluid pressure is supplied into the storage container to pull the pipe lining material out from the storage container and evert it via the eversion nozzle, the electric motor is caused to rotate in the second rotational direction due to the pulling out of the pipe lining material and to function as an electric generator to brake the pullout of the pipe lining material.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for everting a lining material, and more particularly relates to an apparatus for everting a tubular pipe lining material to repair a deteriorated existing pipe by lining the inner surface thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A pipe lining method has been proposed and is already offered for practical application for cases in which an existing pipe, such as a sewer pipe, a gas pipe, a communication cable duct, an electric power cable duct, and the like, that is buried underground has deteriorated, wherein the existing pipe is repaired by lining the inner surface thereof without digging up the existing pipe.
As one example of the abovementioned pipe lining method, it is known to carry out construction using a pipe lining material made of a tubular resin adsorbing material impregnated with an unhardened liquid setting resin and with the outer surface thereof covered airtightly with a plastic film. With this construction method, a lining eversion apparatus is used to evert and insert a pipe lining material inside the pipeline by fluid pressure and, in a state wherein the pipe lining material is expanded by the fluid pressure and pressed against the inner surface of the pipeline, the setting resin impregnated in the pipe lining material is subsequently cured.
Normally, the pipe lining material is flattened and stored in a sealed container in a folded state. One end of the pipe lining material stored in this sealed container is bent outwardly, attached to the outer circumference of the open end of an eversion nozzle connected to the sealed container, and the lining material is inserted into the pipeline while everting it by the action of the fluid pressure inside the sealed container. Such a method is, for example, disclosed in Japanese Published Patent Application No. 2003-165158.
Nevertheless, the conventional lining material eversion apparatus has a disadvantage in that the pullout resistance during eversion is large and thus requires a large eversion pressure because the pipe lining material is stored so that it is folded in the storage container prior to eversion.
In addition, there is a problem during the pullout in that the pipe lining material of the folded upper part fluctuates vertically with the amount of pullout because the pipe lining material is stored folded, and the pullout is consequently not performed smoothly.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an apparatus for everting a lining material capable of smoothly everting a pipe lining material with little pullout resistance during its eversion.

Apparatus for everting a lining material


A method for testing circuit elements at one or more manufacturing stages comprising receiving, at a circuit verifier a fingerprint of at least a circuit element to be manufactured, wherein the fingerprint further comprises at least an expected output corresponding to at least a test input, transmitting, from the circuit verifier the at least a test input to the at least a circuit element, receiving, at the circuit verifier at least a test output from the at least a circuit element, and comparing, by the circuit verifier the at least a test output to the at least an expected output of the fingerprint of the at least a circuit element.

Manufacturing components requires honesty in the design and production process so as to provide reliability on which users of manufactured components depend. Breaches of security in the production process can occur, whereby manufactured components can become corrupted by malicious actors, including people working at manufacturers or other participants in the supply chain. As a result, security of hardware, and systems supported by the hardware, can be compromised in ways that are difficult to detect or remedy.

Apparatus and methods for testing circuit elements at one or more manufacturing stages


Ionization systems, methods of using ionization systems, ion source systems, methods of using ion source systems, and methods of ionization, are described herein.

Mass Spectrometry (MS) is a 100-year old technology that relies on the ionization and fragmentation of molecules, the dispersion of the fragment ions by their masses, and the proper detection of the ion fragments on the appropriate detectors. There are many ways to achieve each of these three key MS processes, and this gives rise to different types of MS instrumentation systems having distinct characteristics.
Four major types of ionization techniques are commonly used to both break apart a larger molecule into many smaller molecules and at the same time ionize them so that they can be properly charged before mass dispersion. These ionization schemes include Electrospray Ionization (ESI), Electron Impact Ionization (EI) through the impact of high-energy electrons, Chemical Ionization (CI) through the use of other reactive compounds, and Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption and Ionization (MALDI). Both ESI and MALDI also serve as means for sample introduction.
In particular, the electrospray ionization technique is a technique for spraying a sample molecule (which is brought into an ionic state by acid, or the like, in the solution) by applying a high voltage; forming liquid droplets (mist) on the order of microns, in which many solvent molecules are combined with protonated or ionized molecules; and spraying a liquid to dry and remove the solvent, followed by introducing the ions to an appropriate mass analyzer.
Each ion will have a corresponding mass-to-charge (m/z) ratio, which will become the basis to mass dispersion. Based on the physical principles used, there are many different ways to achieve mass dispersion, resulting in mass spectral data. A few of the commonly seen configurations include magnetic sectors, quadrapoles, Time-Of-Flight (TOF), and Fourier Transform Ion-Cyclotron Resonance (FT ICR).
However, there is a need in the art for novel ionization sources.

Reverse-taylor cone ionization systems and methods of use thereof


A process for producing a fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer, comprises polymerizing a fluorine-containing acrylate or methacrylate in a solution phase formed of an organic solvent and dissolved therein a monomer containing a fluorine-containing acrylate or methacrylate having a polyfluoroalkyl group having 6 to 16 carbon atoms. A non-halogen type solvent is used as the organic solvent and the fluorine-containing acrylate or methacrylate is so polymerized that a polymer-containing liquid phase comprised of the fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer formed with progress of polymerization and the organic solvent is separated from the solution phase.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a process for producing a fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer.
2. Description of the Related Art
In order to impart good surface properties such as releasability, stainproofing, water repellency and oil repellency to the surfaces of various adherends, it is common to apply coating agents containing a fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer.
Such a fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer is known to include polymers obtained by polymerizing fluorine monomers such as acrylic or methacrylic acid esters (both herein inclusively xe2x80x9cacrylate or methacrylatexe2x80x9d) having a polyfluoroalkyl group or perfluoroalkyl group having 6 to 16 carbon atoms. In this instance, the fluorine monomers are mostly copolymerized with non-fluorine monomers, and their copolymerization is widely carried out by solution polymerization or emulsion polymerization making use of general-purpose solvents.
Such copolymerization of fluorine monomers with non-fluorine monomers can make resultant copolymers highly soluble in the general-purpose solvents and also can achieved a low material cost, but on the other hand tends to make greatly poor the properties such as releasability and stainproofing that are inherent in fluorine-containing polymers.
Accordingly, when importance is attached to the properties inherent in the fluorine-containing polymers, the fluorine monomer must be used in a large proportion in the total monomer. Usually, the fluorine monomer must be in a proportion of at least 70% by weight in the total monomer.
Now, when polymerization is carried out under such conditions that the proportion of fluorine monomer in the total monomer exceeds 70% by weight, it is not preferable to employ emulsion polymerization which makes use of a surface-active agent in a large quantity. This is because the surface-active agent used may bleed to coating film surfaces to cause a deterioration of surface properties of coating films formed of fluorine-containing polymers.
One may contemplate employing bulk polymerization as one of polymerization methods, which, however, has a problem on the controllability of polymerization reaction, and also has a problem that the polymer is obtained as a hard mass that is difficult to handle, and is apt to turn into a gel when dissolved in a fluorine type solvent. Thus, it is not practical to employ the bulk polymerization.
Accordingly, it follows that solution polymerization is employed when polymerization is carried out under the conditions that the proportion of fluorine monomer in the total monomer exceeds 70% by weight.
In the solution polymerization, it is necessary to use a solvent capable of dissolving the fluorine monomer and also dissolving the fluorine-containing polymer formed. Such a solvent can not be any commonly available general-purpose solvents not capable of dissolving the fluorine-containing polymer, and fluorine type (PFC) or chlorine-fluorine type (CFC) solvents such as trichlorotrifluoroethane, metaxylene hexafluoride, tetrachlorohexafluorobutane and FC-726 (available from 3M) are used (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 61-23656 and Japanese Patent Publication No. 1-42983).
Since, however, the fluorine type or chlorine-fluorine type solvents are very expensive solvents compared with commonly available general-purpose solvents, there is a problem that they hinder the reduction of production cost for fluorine-containing polymers. To solve this problem, one may contemplate using the fluorine type solvent in a relatively small quantity (e.g., in an amount not more than 200 parts by weight) based on 100 parts by weight of the total monomer. This, however, may cause an increase in solution viscosity with progress of polymerization to not only make agitation very difficult but also make it very difficult to take out the resultant polymer from the reaction vessel.
The fluorine type or chlorine-fluorine type solvents have another problem that they are considered to destroy the ozone shield present in the sky on the earth and cause a rise of the earth s surface temperature. Thus, it is strongly required not to use them for the purpose of the conservation of terrestrial environment.
The present invention intends to solve the above problems the prior art has had. Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to make it possible to produce a fluorine-containing polymer having the fluorine monomer in a high proportion, by the use of commonly available general-purpose solvents without use of fluorine type solvents and chlorine-fluorine type solvents.
The present inventors have discovered that, when a non-halogen type solvent is used, a polymer-containing liquid phase comprised of (i) a fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer formed with progress of polymerization and (ii) an organic solvent, with which the polymer is saturated, can be separated from the solution phase by controlling the type and amount of the solvent used, and when so polymerized as to cause such phase separation the reaction mixture containing the fluorine-containing polymer can be well stirred even when polymerized without use of any fluorine type solvent or chlorine-fluorine type solvent, so that the fluorine-containing polymer can be produced in a good efficiency. Thus, they have accomplished the present invention.
More specifically, the present invention provides a process for producing a fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer, which comprises polymerizing a fluorine-containing acrylate or methacrylate in a solution phase formed of an organic solvent and dissolved therein a monomer containing a fluorine-containing acrylate or methacrylate having a polyfluoroalkyl group, wherein;
a non-halogen type solvent is used as the organic solvent and the fluorine-containing acrylate or methacrylate is so polymerized that a polymer-containing liquid phase comprised of the fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer formed with progress of polymerization and the organic solvent is separated from the solution phase.
This and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention are described in or will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention.
The present invention will be described below in detail.
The process for producing a fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer according to the present invention is a process comprising polymerizing a fluorine-containing acrylate or methacrylate in a solution phase formed of an organic solvent and dissolved therein a monomer containing a fluorine-containing acrylate or methacrylate having a polyfluoroalkyl group.
In this process, a non-halogen type solvent is used as the organic solvent. Hence, the problem on production cost and the problem on terrestrial environment do not occur which may occur when the fluorine type or chlorine-fluorine type solvents are used.
In the production process of the present invention, the fluorine-containing acrylate or methacrylate is so polymerized that a polymer-containing liquid phase comprised of the fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer formed with progress of polymerization and the organic solvent is separated from the solution phase which is uniform at the initial stage of the polymerization. Hence, the polymerization reaction can be made to progress in a good efficiency while keeping the polymer from turning into a gel during the reaction. The reason therefor is unclear, and is presumed as follows:
Because of the controlling of the type and amount of the non-halogen type solvent, the reaction mixture that forms a uniform solution phase at the initial stage of the polymerization is separated into two phases, a lower-layer phase and an upper-layer phase. The lower-layer phase is a polymer-containing liquid phase in which the resultant fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer is contained in a large quantity and the organic solvent and fluorine monomer stand molten into the polymer in the quantities corresponding to their respective solubility. The upper-layer phase is a solution phase in which the fluorine monomer and an oligomer are dissolved in the organic solvent. Then, the polymerization separately proceeds in each phase, during which the respective components are kept in equilibrium by their diffusing movement, as so presumed.
Having been passed through such a polymerization process, the polymer-containing liquid phase that is rich in the fluorine-containing polymer is kept in a low viscosity during the polymerization reaction irrespective of a very high polymer concentration. Hence, the polymer-containing liquid phase can be stirred with ease until the polymerization is completed, and also the polymer thus formed can be simply taken out from the reaction vessel.
Having been passed through such a polymerization process, the polymer can also be obtained at a rate of polymerization that is high within a controllable range, and also can have a high degree of polymerization, but not so high a degree of polymerization as to turn into a gel. This is presumably because the polymer concentration in the polymer-containing liquid phase is sufficiently high enough to realize a high degree of polymerization, whereas, with regard to the rate of polymerization, the monomers consumed must be fed from the solution phase and hence the rate of their diffusion determines the rate of polymerization, so that the polymerization reaction does not run away. In this sense, the solution phase is presumed to function as a storehouse of monomers after the phase separation.
In addition, having been passed through such a polymerization process, the solution phase at the end of polymerization is comprised of an excess solvent having not completely being dissolved into the polymer formed, the fluorine monomer and the oligomer. Hence, the solution phase can be simply separated from the polymer-containing liquid phase. Also, when the quantity of the organic solvent is set a little smaller, most of the solvent is absorbed in the polymer-containing liquid phase at the end of the polymerization. Hence, the solution phase can be formed in a very small quantity, so that the polymerization reaction can be made to proceed in a good efficiency.
Incidentally, when substantially only the fluorine monomer is used, the polymer-containing liquid phase can be solidified into a waxy mass in many cases in the state it contains the organic solvent. In such cases, the fluorine-containing polymer can be readily taken out of the reaction vessel, and may be pulverized, followed by removal of the organic solvent to obtain a pulverized product of the fluorine-containing polymer with ease.
In the production process of the present invention, usable as the fluorine monomer is a fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer having a polyfluoroalkyl group, represented by the following Formula (1) or (2):
Rfxe2x80x94Xxe2x80x94OCOCHxe2x95x90CH2xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(1)
xe2x80x83Rfxe2x80x94Xxe2x80x94OCOC(CH3)Hxe2x95x90CH2xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(2)
wherein Rf represents a polyfluoroalkyl group and X represents a spacer group.
Here, the polyfluoroalkyl group represented by Rf may preferably have 6 to 16 carbon atoms. This is because those having less than 6 carbon atoms make the resultant polymer tend to dissolve in the general-purpose solvent to make it difficult for the reaction mixture to be separated into the two phase, and those having more than 16 carbon atoms make the monomer itself available only at a greatly high cost to make it difficult to obtain polymers having properties good enough for the cost. Here, as examples of the polyfluoroalkyl group represented by Rf, it may include straight-chain or branched perfluoroalkyl groups represented by the following Formula (3) or (4):
CF3(CF2)nxe2x80x94xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(3)
(CF3)2CF(CF2)mxe2x80x94xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(4)
wherein n is a number of from 5 to 15, and m is a number of from 3 to 13.
It is also possible to use perfluoroalkyl groups a part of the fluorine atoms of which has bee substituted with a hydrogen atom(s).
In the monomer of Formula (1) or (2), there are no particular limitations on the spacer group represented by X, and any spacer groups used in commonly available monomers may be used, including, e.g., an ethylene group and ethyl (N-alkyl)sulfamides represented by Formula (5):
xe2x80x94SO2N(CpH2p+1)xe2x80x94CH2CH2xe2x80x94xe2x80x83xe2x80x83(5)
wherein p is 3 or 4.
In the present invention, the content of the fluorine monomer, i.e., the fluorine-containing acrylate or methacrylate in the total monomer may be appropriately selected in accordance with the intended properties of the polymer. However, its use in a too small content may not only make it impossible for the polymer-containing liquid phase to be separated, but also make the fluorine-containing polymer itself have poor properties in releasability or the like. Accordingly, it may preferably be in a content of at least 70% by weight, and more preferably at least 90% by weight.
As the non-halogen type solvent used in the present invention as the organic solvent, it is preferable to use an organic solvent having an intermediate solvent power, which is capable of dissolving the fluorine monomer, but is, with respect to the fluorine-containing polymer, neither a good solvent capable of dissolving the polymer in a free ratio nor a poor solvent almost not capable of dissolving the polymer or almost not capable of being dissolved into the polymer.
Such a non-halogen type solvent may include ketones or esters as those preferably usable. In particular, it is preferable to use at least one selected from the group consisting of ethyl acetate, propyl acetate, acetone, methyl ethyl ketone and methyl isobutyl ketone.
To specify any of these non-halogen type solvents, when the SP (solubility parameter) value (Polymer Handbook VII-519, Third Edition, 1989) indicating the degree of polarity is taken into account, a solvent preferably showing an SP value of from 8.0 to 10.5, and more preferably from 8.5 to 9.5, may be used as the non-halogen type solvent. Incidentally, fluorine type solvents commonly show SP values of 8 or below.
Among the non-halogen type solvents having SP values within such a range, those capable of being dissolved into the fluorine-containing polymer in an amount ranging from 10 to 50% by weight at polymerization temperature may preferably be used.
If the non-halogen type solvent is used in a too small quantity, the polymer-containing liquid phase may have so high a viscosity that the reaction mixture can be stirred with difficulty. If it is used in a too large quantity, no practical reaction rate may be attained and also residual monomers and oligomers may be formed in a large quantity. Accordingly, it may preferably be used in an amount of from 10 to 200 parts by weight, and more preferably from 20 to 150 parts by weight, based on 100 parts by weight of the fluorine monomer, the fluorine-containing acrylate or methacrylate.
In the production process of the present invention, a polymerization like the suspension polymerization may be carried out in an atmosphere of inert gas such as nitrogen gas, by the use of a known radical polymerization initiator (e.g., azobisisobutyronitrile, di-t-butyl peroxide and dibenzoyl peroxide) and at a temperature of preferably from 30 to 100xc2x0 C., and more preferably from 45 to 85xc2x0 C.
The polymer-containing liquid phase obtained as a result of the above polymerization solidifies upon cooling when the fluorine monomer is in a very large proportion of, e.g., 90% by weight or more, in the total monomer. Accordingly, the product thus solidified may be pulverized to readily obtain a powdery fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer.

Process for producing fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymers

Abstract: This process enables production of a fluorine-containing acrylic or methacrylic polymer having a fluorine monomer in a high proportion by the use of a commonly available general-purpose solvent, without using any fluorine type solvent.


This invention provides a safety apparatus for a stapler, the safety apparatus comprises a first plate having a hook and a first opening, wherein when the first plate is in a first position, the hook engages a driving blade for preventing the same from driving out a staple, a second plate substantially parallel to the first plate and having a second opening, a pin having a first and second end, and a first spring urging the pin downward with the first end of the pin protruding from a bottom of a housing body of the stapler and the second end of the pin below the second plate, wherein when the housing body is pressed against an object, the first end of the pin is pushed into the housing body, and the second end of the pin is inserted into both the first and second openings.

The present invention relates generally to staplers, and more specifically, to safety apparatus for spring-powered staplers.
A key for a staple to have good penetration is its entry speed. A spring powered stapler uses a spring to store energy. Upon a release of the stored spring energy, a staple can be driven out at a great speed. However, a fast exit staple may shoot like a bullet when not pointing at an object intended stapled. This may pose a safety concern for the spring powered stapler. As such, what is needed is a safety apparatus for the spring powered stapler.

Safety apparatus for spring powered staplers


A heat-sensitive recording material comprising on one surface of a substrate a heat-sensitive coloring layer comprising a leuco dye and a color developer,

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a heat-sensitive recording material which has an excellent anti-frictional charge property as well as an excellent water resistance and an ability to suppress image-color degradation.
2. Description of the Related Art
A heat-sensitive recording material is a recording material having a structure in which a heat-sensitive coloring layer (hereinafter, also called as 'heat-sensitive recording layer'), where a color is developed by heating, is formed on a substrate such as paper, synthetic paper, and resin film. A thermal printer having a built-in thermal head is used for heating, for the color development.
A method for recording on the heat-sensitive recording material has advantages that it is able to record in a short time by using a comparatively simple apparatus without having a need to perform processes such as developing and fixing as well as its low cost, as compared with other methods for recording. The method for recording on the heat-sensitive recording material is used in many fields: POS field such as perishable foods, boxed meals, and prepared food; copying field such as books and documents; communication field such as facsimile; ticketing field such as ticket vending machines and receipts; and aviation industry such as baggage tags. Among these fields, the method for recording on the heat-sensitive recording material has been used at a rapid pace particularly in POS field for products such as boxed meals and prepared food where hot food is a main selling point as well as for products such as ham which is served cold, and perishable food which is prone to get wet at a low temperature.
In such heat-sensitive recording material, from a view point of properties as recording paper such as dimensional stability, physical strength, and insolubility in water, synthetic paper and plastic film are largely used as a substrate. Particularly, film substrates such as synthetic paper are largely used for applications such as labels for food which is served cold, and baggage tags, and special applications such as labels for sticking on test tubes and beakers used in research laboratories.
However, a film substrate such as synthetic paper has an higher electrical resistance as compared to that of paper, and therefore, static electricity tend to be produced easily due to the friction with components such as a platen roll and a thermal head while running the synthetic paper in a printer during printing. As a result, defects during running such as jamming of the paper and a trouble such as damage of the thermal head tend to occur easily.
Such static electricity is produced mainly by a frictional charge between the platen roll and the heat-sensitive recording material. Therefore, measures such as applying an antistatic agent on a rear surface of the heat-sensitive recording material, which comes in contact with the platen roll, have been taken. Examples of such antistatic agent include: (1) inorganic salts such as sodium chloride, (2) anionic polyelectrolytes such as sodium polystyrenesulfonate, and (3) conductive metallic compounds such as conductive zinc oxide and tin oxide.
However, the inorganic salts such as sodium chloride in (1) and the anionic polyelectrolytes such as sodium polystyrenesulfonate in (2) have a low antistatic effect corresponding to the used amount. In addition, these agents have shortcomings such as being sticky in high humidity and easily dissolved in water.
Moreover, regarding the conductive metallic compounds in (3), although they do not have temperature dependence and show an effect with a minute amount, they have a drawback in terms of chemical safety being used as a heat-sensitive recording material. Particularly, in the fields of POS labels, tags and CAD, various properties such as physical strength against bending and tearing, dimensional stability, and insolubility in water are sought to be satisfied at the same time because of the object of application. However, the above-mentioned compounds are not capable of satisfying sufficiently all these properties.
As a means to solve these problems, heat-sensitive films in which delivery problems of feeding multiple sheets due to static electricity and paper jamming are solved by using a styrene copolymer of an aliphatic quaternary salt in an under layer and a back layer, and which have strong paper-quality strength are proposed (Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (JP-A) Nos. 62-032080, 01-097679 and 01-291981).
Moreover, JP-A Nos. 06-234270, 2000-263935 and 2002-248864 propose heat-sensitive recording materials in which the trouble during paper delivery and the stickiness are dealt with by providing at least one of the back layer and an under layer which includes one of a polymer of a quaternary salt and an acrylic ester copolymer, and a polymer of a quaternary salt, a water soluble resin, and a water resisting agent as a main component, and further which has excellent water resistance are proposed.
However, in these related arts, a quaternary salt styrene based polymer (a block copolymer of styrene having an aliphatic quaternary ammonium group with a styrene monomer) is used as a quaternary salt polymer. This quaternary salt styrene based polymer has a shortcoming that the density of a print image is degraded during preservation (particularly under high temperature conditions) after printing. The mechanism of this image color degradation has not been clearly known, but it is considered that the quaternary salt styrene based copolymer which is used in the under layer is scattered up to a heat-sensitive coloring layer in a high-temperature environment with easy mass-transfer conditions where a bonding of a leuco dye and a developer is inhibited in some way.
Moreover, such type of color degradation is observed even when the quaternary salt styrene based copolymer is used in the back layer. For example, when the back layer and a front layer (protective layer) come in contact in a rolled form and when samples after printing are stored in piles, the quaternary salt styrene based copolymer comprised in the back layer scatters to the front layer (protective layer) with which the quaternary salt styrene based copolymer is in contact and gives rise to a similar phenomenon of color degradation.
To deal with such image color degradation, the quaternary salt styrene based copolymer, as described in JP-A No. 02-155688, was considered to be a material with which the color degradation cannot occur easily than with other antistatic agents. However, when preservation in a severe environmental conditions such as high temperature conditions and high humidity conditions is taken into consideration, there is still a lacking factor and a further improvement and development is still expected to be done in the present situation.

Abstract: wherein the heat-sensitive recording material comprises a layer which comprises a copolymer of a (meth)acryloyloxyalkylammonium salt and styrene; and the layer which comprises the copolymer of the (meth)acryloyloxyalkylammonium salt and styrene is at least any one of a back layer, an under layer and a protective layer.


A system and method for removing perspective distortion from an image of an object (112) moving along a transport device (114) having a top surface (124) is disclosed. A line scanner (110) to create a first image of an object. The first image is composed of a plurality of scan lines, each having a resolution. Each of the scan lines is then rescaled, so that the resolution of each scan line is equal to the resolution of every other scan line. Each of the scan lines is processed in two halves so that the center lines of the scan lines are co-linear after rescaling. The line scanner is optionally configured to vary its field of view as a function of the distance between the line scanner and the portion of the object being scanned.

The invention generally relates to an improved method for removing perspective distortion from digital images in optical scanning applications, such as bar code scanning or optical character recognition (hereinafter "OCR") systems.
CCD cameras and other imaging equipment are commonly used in industry as part of identification systems which image and interpret bar code or character information on products and packages as well as product dimensioning systems.
Referring to the drawings, wherein like numerals designate like elements throughout, FIG. 1 illustrates one such application. An optical scanning apparatus 1 which comprises a line scanner 10 (i.e., an electronic imaging device that scans images of 1×N pixels) which is configured to image a box 12 as it proceeds along a conveyor belt 14 having a top surface 24 in a leftward direction of travel 16. As the box 12 moves along the conveyor belt 14, the imager 10 takes a series of images along a linear scan line 18 which are electronically compiled into a resultant image 26 (shown in FIG. 2).
By way of further illustration, FIG. 2 shows an example of a resultant image 26 of the box 12 taken with the line scanner 10. As is evident from FIG. 2 the upper front edge 22 of the box 12 appears larger than the lower front edge 20. As can be seen in FIG. 2, the resultant image 26 is distorted in the sense that the portions of the box 12 which are further away from the line scanner 10 appear smaller than the portions of the box 12 which are closer to the sensor 10. This effect is illustrated by the different widths of the lower front edge 20 and upper front edge 22 of the box 12. The width of the upper and lower edges 20 and 22 are, in fact, equal.
Perspective distortion presents a problem in bar code, OCR, and other identification applications because such distortion can have a detrimental effect on the ability to accurately read the bar codes and/or characters which are to be identified.
Referring again to FIG. 1, previous attempts to rescale images captured by the imager 10 to eliminate perspective distortion have involved the use of a zoom lens in combination with dimensioning device (not shown), which dynamically measures the distance D1 between the imager 10 and the point 30 on the box 12, which is intersected by the scan line 18 of the imager 10. The zoom lens is adjusted before each scan line is taken, which compensates for perspective distortion as the box 12 moves along conveyor belt 14. The zoom lens rescaling method is not ideal because it requires constant movement of a mechanical component, the zoom lens, which limits the scan rate of the camera and potentially reduces the reliability and useful life of the camera.


A computer readable medium storing executable instructions includes executable instructions to: receive a continuous stream of database transactions; form batches of database transactions from the continuous stream of database transactions; combine batches of database transactions with similar operations to form submission groups; identify dependencies between submission groups to designate priority submission groups; and apply priority submission groups to a database target substantially synchronously with the receipt of the continuous stream of database transactions.

Organizations move data between different databases. For example, this may be done for data backup purposes or to share data across different databases and applications. Traditionally, this has been mostly accomplished in batches, where a batch is a set of tasks. Currently, batch processing is performed periodically, for example on a daily basis. Commonly, the batch processing is performed on a table-by-table basis.
Traditional batch methods are undesirable in many ways. Examples of these shortcomings are highlighted in a number of examples. In these examples, assume data is moving in one direction from a "source" database S to a "target" database T.
Take as an example a bank which holds customer balances in a BALANCE table in database S. A customer C has a balance of $500, which is recorded in BALANCE. Now C attempts to withdraw $400 at 11 am. The banking application checks the BALANCE table in S, allows the transaction and updates the customer's balance to $100 ($500−$400).
Now suppose that database S crashes in the middle of the day and the bank decides to use the backup database T as its database of record. Now customer C attempts to withdraw $300. Assume that database S is backed up to database T once per day at 2 am. This means that instead of reflecting the correct current balance of $100, the database reflects an old (stale) balance of $500, which does not include the transaction at 11 am. As a result, the new withdrawal will be mistakenly authorized.
This is a very obvious example of the shortcomings of a batch approach. Another shortcoming with the batch approach is the temporary lack of transaction consistency. For example, if two tables are updated as part of a single transaction, but applied in different applications when moving data from S to T, this violates the "all or nothing" aspect of database transactions. Another problem is a temporary lack of referential consistency in the database. It is possible that an "order detail" record could be inserted into T before the corresponding "order master" record to which the detail belongs exists in the target. Another problem is that it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to move the entire database S to T, in a reasonable amount of time.
For these reasons and others, logical data replication systems came into being. These systems are able to detect and move the latest changes to tables, rather than entire tables or sets of data, enabling the data in T to keep much more closely in sync with data in S (often as low as a second or less, rather than a day or more, behind); this is often accomplished by reading database transaction logs for the latest changes. Data replication systems preserve the sequence of the application of new operations into T as they occurred in S. They also preserve the original transaction integrity, which assures that unless all items in a transaction are successfully applied to T, they are all rolled back. Data replication systems also preserve referential integrity. For example, they guarantee that if an order detail record is being inserted into T, than the corresponding order master record exists
Despite the advantages of logical data replication systems, they also face a number of challenges. Performance is one challenge. The application which inserted data into S may have had many simultaneous transactions active and working in parallel. The replication system may be single threaded in order to assure that the original order remains intact, but in doing so, gives up much of the parallelism and performance of the source system, resulting in stale data in T. For performance reasons, a replication system may break up the workload of the transaction stream by table. For example, the ORDER_MASTER table in T may be inserted by one apply process and ORDER_DETAIL by a second process. In this case, it is possible to violate both transaction integrity and referential integrity constraints.
In view of the foregoing, it would be highly desirable to provide improved transaction data processing techniques. In particular, it would be desirable to provide more efficient techniques for applying database changes from a source to a target, while preserving both transactional and referential integrity rules.

Method and medium for combining operation commands into database submission groups


An anti-theft case for products, particularly for compact disks, video cassettes, music cassettes, and the like. The anti-theft case is adapted to occupy as little space as possible during product exposition and to prevent unwanted twisting forces against it. The case is equipped with a locking and unlocking device completely inserted inside the case and cooperating with the case and a moving abutment member to lock the product into the case. The case is further equipped with anti-twisting structure to prevent unwanted extraction of the products by violent and abrupt torsion forces.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention refers to an improved anti-theft case, particularly for compact disks, videocassettes, musicassettes and the like, that is of use for these objects when they are exposed and marketed in different types of shops.
2. Discussion of the Background
Different types of anti-theft cases are known in the art, the most relevant one for the present Application being that disclosed in document EP-A0402822, assigned to the same Applicant, that is the preamble of Claim 1. Such anti-theft case is characterized by the following features:
it is composed of a box shaped substantially as a parallelepiped and equipped with an insertion window for a cassette next to at least one of its faces;
this window leaves at least two wall bands next to two opposite sides of the face;
the length of the box room, along the cassette insertion direction, that is between such two sides, is greater than the length of the cassette itself;
a moving abutment member cooperating with a cassette head is provided inside the box in the area of one of the two wall bands: this abutment member can alternatively assume an active abutment position, advanced towards the cassette, and a passive retired position from the cassette; and
a locking and unlocking device to take the moving abutment member from its active abutment position to its passive retired position.
This prior art anti-theft case has been a relevant step forward in the art, providing a simple solution for final users with a strong anti-theft capacity. However, for current user needs, this case shows the following fields of improvement:
a) users of this type of anti-theft cases, that is music shops, supermarkets, ipermarkets, etc., need to show to the people purchasing their products the maximum possible number of products, and therefore require that anti-theft cases occupy as fewer space as possible: in this respect, the appendix for the locking and unlocking device of this case is an increase in overall dimensions in some cases where it is possible to do without it;
b) in case of attempted thefts, through a particularly strong blow given to the container for the locking and unlocking device, this latter one can be made jump off its seat inside the moving abutment member and then the spring pushing force with which such abutment member is equipped is enough to make it come out of the case, making the article inside it accessible to thieves;
c) particularly in case of attempted thefts in anti-theft cases containing videocassettes, the case can be further subjected to a torsion force, that sometimes succeeds in breaking the case, or that it is enough to make the article therein come out.
Document WO 97/05113 (Necchi Pietro) deals with a reduced-encumbrance anti-theft case, whose main object is however that of being able to allow stacking one empty case above the other in order to occupy less space during shipment and storage of huge amounts of cassettes, and not during exposition thereof when cases are with a product.
Object of the present invention is solving the above prior-art problems by providing an improved anti-theft case that, in addition to providing a case that is practical to use and substantially protects the articles therein, has an extremely compact outside shape, that is identical to the one of the product contained therein, so that the product-case assembly is almost unique and has final overall sizes that are reduced to a minimum, these requirement being mandatory for a correct operation.
Another object of the present invention is providing an improved anti-theft cases whose closure means are particularly strong and adapted to prevent any violent action from succeeding in removing the articles contained therein.
The above and other objects and advantages of the invention, as will appear from the following description, are obtained by an anti-theft case as claimed in Claims 1 and 7. Preferred embodiments and non-trivial variations of the present invention are claimed in the dependent Claims.

Anti-theft case, particularly for compact disks, video cassettes, music assettes and the like