A method of manufacturing a semiconductor device with a steep retrograde profile. The threshold voltage adjust dopant layer and the punchthrough prevent dopant layer are formed in the substrate. All surface capping layers are removed from the active device regions and, the semiconductor device is placed in a chamber and a high vacuum is established after which an inert atmosphere is introduced into the chamber. The anneal to repair the damage to the lattice and to activate the dopant ions in the dopant layers is done in the inert atmosphere with the surface of the substrate maintained clean, that is, free from a capping oxide or other layer formed on the surface of the substrate.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a method of manufacturing semiconductor devices and more specifically, this invention relates to a method of manufacturing advanced sub-half-micron logic and non-volatile integrated circuit semiconductor devices having steep retrograde channel profiles using conventional dopants.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
To achieve the higher performances that are required by the end users of semiconductors, semiconductor manufacturers must provide faster and more complicated circuits on semiconductor chips. In addition, end users of semiconductors have demanded more functions in a smaller chip area. This, for example, has resulted in the requirement to increase the density of transistors on chips in each new generation of semiconductors.
Two of the major goals of MOSFET scaling are to increase the density and the speed of the integrated circuits in which the scaled-down devices are to be used. To increase the density of integrated circuits, the physical dimensions of the integrated circuits have to be reduced, which requires smaller channel lengths and widths. To increase the speed of integrated circuits, there are several parametrics that must be addressed. For example, one such parametric that must be addressed is the MOSFET saturation drain current I.sub.DSAT that must be increased to allow faster charging and discharging of load and parasitic capacitances. The long-channel MOSFET models derived for the pre-submicron long-channel MOSFETs predicted that I.sub.DSAT should continue to increase with a decrease in either the channel length L or the gate oxide thickness t.sub.ox. This seems to imply that only the limitations of process technology, i.e., not device effects, prevent the manufacture of smaller, higher-performing MOSFETs.
However, as process technology improved to the point where devices could be fabricated with gate lengths smaller than approximately 2 .mu.m, MOSFETs began to exhibit phenomena not predicted by the long-channel MOSFET models. Such phenomena are called "short-channel effects." One such unpredicted phenomenon is the effect of gate dimensions on threshold voltage V.sub.T. There are three basic short-channel effects on the threshold voltage of MOSFETs: (1) the short-channel threshold-voltage shift; (2) narrow gate width effects on threshold voltage; and (3) the reverse short-channel threshold voltage shift.
It has been found that as the channel length dimension L is reduced to less than 2 .mu.m, the difference between the threshold voltage predicted by the long-channel models and the actual measured threshold voltage becomes significant. Typically, the threshold voltage decreases as L is reduced. However, in some situations it has been found that threshold voltage initially increases with decreasing channel length, beginning at about L=2-3 .mu.m, contrary to what would be predicted. This phenomenon is called "reverse short channel effect" (RSCE), "V.sub.T roll-up," or "anomalous threshold behavior." After V.sub.T reaches a maximum value due to RSCE, at about 0.7 .mu.m, V.sub.T declines as channel lengths are further decreased. This decline is called "V.sub.T roll-off." It is theorized that the two-dimensional effects that are responsible for V.sub.T roll-off eventually overcome the effects causing V.sub.T roll-up and dominate at the shorter channel lengths. In fact, another observed unexplained short channel phenomenon is that the rate of V.sub.T roll-off with shorter L.sub.eff (effective channel length) is much faster than can be explained by the conventional models of laterally uniform channel doping. There have been different explanations for the roll-up effect; however, while several of the models seem to provide good quantitative agreement with experimental observations of the reverse short-channel effect, a consensus has not been achieved as to the cause of the reverse short-channel effect.
As the channel lengths have continued to decrease and have been scaled to 0.25 .mu.m and below, background and channel doping must be raised to values of 3.times.10.sup.17 ions per cm.sup.2 and higher in order to control the short-channel effects. This leads to reduced mobility and difficulty in obtaining a low threshold. To circumvent these problems, use of vertically, non-uniform channel profiles has been suggested and implemented. It has been shown that non-uniform channel doping results in better short-channel effects, that is, better V.sub.t roll-off characteristics and higher mobility. For best short-channel results, it is desirable to place the peak of the concentration profile as close to the surface as possible while still maintaining a low surface concentration. Because of the difficulty in obtaining a retrograde channel profile utilizing conventional manufacturing methods and conventional dopants, it has been proposed that alternative dopants be used to obtain and maintain the requisite non-uniform channel profile. One such proposal is the use of indium as a channel implant. The article "Indium Channel Implant for Improved Short-Channel Behavior of Submicrometer NMOSFETs" by G. G. Shahidi, Bijan Davari, Thomas J. Bucelot, P. A. Ronsheim, P. J. Coane, S. Pollack, C. R. Blair, B. Clark, and Howard H. Hansen, IEEE ELECTRON DEVICE LETTERS, VOL. 14, NO. 8, August 1993 discusses the benefits of using indium to achieve the desired channel profile and characteristics. The article "Re-examination of Indium implantation for a low power 0.1 .mu.m technology," by P. Bouillon, F. Benistant, T. Skotnicki, G. Guegan, D. Roche, E. Andre, D. Mathiot, S. Tedesco, F. Martin, M. Heitzmann, M. Lerme, and M. Haond, IEDM 95-897, IEEE 1995 suggests that the use of Indium for the NMOS has remained a big concern for such issues as post-implant damage and room temperature freeze-out of the dopants. The latter article discusses a reduction in channel doping in order to enhance carrier mobility, and an increase in the dopant concentration close to half the junction depth in order to control punchthrough and that, in turn, calls for the use of a retrograde doping profile. The article also states that for deep sub-micron devices, conventional dopants can no longer be used to obtain these types of profiles.
Therefore, because of the problems associated with the proposed alternative dopants, what is needed is a method of manufacturing a sub-half-micron semiconductor device with steep retrograde channel profiles using conventional dopants such as boron, phosphorus and arsenic.

Method for obtaining a steep retrograde channel profile


The present invention relates to methods for treating and/or preventing metabolic diseases comprising the combined administration of a DPP-4 inhibitor and a long-acting insulin. The invention further relates to a DPP-4 inhibitor for subcutaneous or transdermal use.

Type 2 diabetes mellitus is a common chronic and progressive disease arising from a complex pathophysiology involving the dual endocrine effects of insulin resistance and impaired insulin secretion with the consequence not meeting the required demands to maintain plasma glucose levels in the normal range. This leads to chronic hyperglycaemia and its associated micro- and macrovascular complications or chronic damages, such as e.g. diabetic nephropathy, retinopathy or neuropathy, or macrovascular (e.g. cardio- or cerebro-vascular) complications. The vascular disease component plays a significant role, but is not the only factor in the spectrum of diabetes associated disorders. The high frequency of complications leads to a significant reduction of life expectancy. Diabetes is currently the most frequent cause of adult-onset loss of vision, renal failure, and amputation in the Industrialised World because of diabetes induced complications and is associated with a two to five fold increase in cardiovascular disease risk.
The treatment of type 2 diabetes typically begins with diet and exercise, followed by oral antidiabetic monotherapy, and although conventional monotherapy may initially control blood glucose in some patients, it is however associated with a high secondary failure rate. The limitations of single-agent therapy for maintaining glycemic control may be overcome, at least in some patients, and for a limited period of time by combining multiple drugs to achieve reductions in blood glucose that cannot be sustained during long-term therapy with single agents. Available data support the conclusion that in most patients with type 2 diabetes current monotherapy will fail and treatment with multiple drugs will be required.
But, because type 2 diabetes is a progressive disease, even patients with good initial responses to conventional combination therapy will eventually require an increase of the dosage or further treatment with insulin because the blood glucose level is very difficult to maintain stable for a long period of time. Although existing combination therapy has the potential to enhance glycemic control, it is not without limitations (especially with regard to long term efficacy). Further, traditional therapies may show an increased risk for side effects, such as hypoglycemia or weight gain, which may compromise their efficacy and acceptability. Thus, for many patients, these existing drug therapies result in progressive deterioration in metabolic control despite treatment and do not sufficiently control metabolic status especially over long-term and thus fail to achieve and to maintain glycemic control in advanced or late stage type 2 diabetes, including diabetes with inadequate glycemic control despite conventional oral or non-oral antidiabetic medication.
Therefore, although intensive treatment of hyperglycemia can reduce the incidence of chronic damages, many patients with type 2 diabetes remain inadequately treated, partly because of limitations in long term efficacy, tolerability and dosing inconvenience of conventional antihyperglycemic therapies.
This high incidence of therapeutic failure is a major contributor to the high rate of long-term hyperglycemia-associated complications or chronic damages (including micro- and macrovascular complications such as e.g. diabetic nephrophathy, retinopathy or neuropathy, or cerebro- or cardiovascular complications such as e.g. myocardial infarction, stroke or death) in patients with type 2 diabetes.
Oral antidiabetic drugs conventionally used in therapy (such as e.g. first- or second-line, and/or mono- or (initial or add-on) combination therapy) include, without being restricted thereto, metformin, sulphonylureas, thiazolidinediones, glinides and α-glucosidase inhibitors.
Non-oral (typically injected) antidiabetic drugs conventionally used in therapy (such as e.g. first- or second-line, and/or mono- or (initial or add-on) combination therapy) include, without being restricted thereto, GLP-1 or GLP-1 analogues, and insulin or insulin analogues.
However, the use of these conventional antidiabetic or antihyperglycemic agents can be associated with various adverse effects. For example, metformin can be associated with lactic acidosis or gastrointestinal side effects; sulfonylureas, glinides and insulin or insulin analogues can be associated with hypoglycemia and weight gain; thiazolidinediones can be associated with edema, bone fracture, weight gain and heart failure/cardiac effects; and alpha-glucosidase blockers and GLP-1 or GLP-1 analogues can be associated with gastrointestinal adverse effects (e.g. dyspepsia, flatulence or diarrhea, or nausea or vomiting).
Therefore, it remains a need in the art to provide efficacious, safe and tolerable antidiabetic therapies.
Further, within the therapy of type 2 diabetes, it is a need for treating the condition effectively, avoiding the complications inherent to the condition, and delaying disease progression.
Further, within the therapy of type 2 diabetes, it is a need for sustained improvements in diabetic phenotype, glycemic and/or metabolic control, and/or (blood) glucose profile (preferably over long-term and/or during chronic treatment).
Furthermore, it remains a need that antidiabetic treatments not only prevent the long-term complications often found in advanced stages of diabetes disease, but also are a therapeutic option in those diabetes patients who have developed or are at risk of developing complications, such as renal impairment.
Moreover, it remains a need to provide prevention or reduction of risk for adverse effects associated with conventional antidiabetic therapies.


The printer can improve the workability of storing and ejecting printing sheets in or from a storage tray. The printer includes a storage tray comprising a sheet storage case for storing a stack of a plurality of printing sheets with at least one of the sides of the storage case being opened and a cover for covering the sheet storage case, wherein the cover comprises a cover body and an moveable member supported by the cover body for freely opening and closing the opening of the sheet storage case. When the entire storage tray is disposed in the slot of the chassis, a pick-up block ejects one printing sheet at a time, and when a part of the storage tray is pulled out of the slot of the chassis, the moveable member can be opened or closed and the printing sheet can be stored in or discharged from the sheet storage case.

There are known printers that print on printing sheets such as printing paper or printing film by thermal transfer or laser. Usually, such known printers include a sheet storing block for storing a plurality of printing sheets in layers, a pick-up block for ejecting one of the printing sheets stored in the sheet storing block, a delivery block for delivering the printing sheet ejected from the pick-up block, a printing block for printing an image on the printing sheet delivered by the delivery block, and a discharge block for discharging the printing sheet on which an image was printed on at the printing block. Each block is disposed inside a chassis.
Such known printers may be a so-called horizontal type wherein a printing sheet is delivered from the storing block to the sheet discharge block so that the surface of the printing sheet faces the vertical direction or may be a dual-purpose type wherein the printing sheet is disposed horizontally or the printing sheet is disposed vertically so that the printing sheet is delivered from the sheet storing block to the discharge block as it faces the horizontal direction.
The dual-purpose type printer may be disposed according to the width of the installation location. In this way, the installation location of the printer may be flexibly selected, and the usability of the printer is improved.
Since the dual-purpose type printer may be disposed vertically, the installation area required for disposing the printer may be decreased. In particular, for computed tomography performed in a hospital, the printer may be adjoined to the tomographic apparatus or to a computer disposed in a medical examination room since a large installation area is not required. Hence, medical service may be speeded up and simplified.
For such a printer, a storage tray is disposed in the sheet storage block for storing printing sheets. The storage tray is disposed inside a slot on the chassis.
The storage tray may include a sheet storage case, which is a planular box with an opening for storing sheets, and a cover, which is for covering the opening of the sheet storage case (e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-101258). The cover is disposed to prevent the printing sheets from falling out of the sheet storage case. In particular, for a vertically disposed printer, a cover is required since the printing sheets can easily fall out of the sheet storage case.
When the storage tray including the printing sheets is disposed and fixed into the slot, the pick-up block ejects one of the printing sheets from the storage tray and the delivery block delivers the sheet to the printing block.
Printing sheets are ejected from or placed in the storage tray while the storage tray is pulled out of the slot.
As described above, to eject or insert a printing sheet from/into the storage tray of a known printer, the storage tray must be pulled out of the slot of the chassis and then the cover must be removed. The procedure for discharging or inserting a sheet of printing paper from or to the storage tray is troublesome and inefficient.
Moreover, once the storage tray is completely pulled out of the slot, it is difficult to put it back; thus, usability is low.
To store the printing sheets while the storage tray is completely pulled out of the chassis, the storage tray must be strong enough to support the weight of the printing sheets to be stored in the storage tray. For this reason, reinforcements might have to be disposed on the storage tray or the thickness of the components might have to be increased for reinforcement.


Metal sheet protected against corrosion by a silane treated inorganic aluminate coating. A thin aluminate coating was formed by immersing a galvanized steel sheet into an alkaline solution containing 0.005M dissolved aluminate for about 30 seconds. The sheet was dried to form an adherent aluminate coating having a thickness of at least 50 .ANG.. The aluminate coated sheet was immersed into a solution containing 1.0 vol.-% hydrolyzed organofunctional silane for about 5 seconds forming a silane film having a thickness of at least 20 .ANG. on the outer surface of the aluminate coating. Thereafter, the silane treated aluminate coated sheet was painted. The silane film formed a covalent bond between the outer paint layer and the inner aluminate layer. A steel sheet treated with the silane sealed aluminate coating had good corrosion protection, good paint chipping resistance and good paint formability.

This invention relates to a method of protecting metal with a nontoxic, relatively insoluble, inorganic, corrosion resistant coating. More particularly, the invention relates to a metal sheet having a silane treated aluminate coating. The coating is formed by a two step process including sequentially rinsing the sheet with an alkaline solution containing a dissolved aluminate and another solution containing a hydrolyzed organofunctional silane.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,108,793; incorporated herein by reference, relates to a two step process for forming a steel sheet having a silane treated inorganic silicate coating. The coating is formed by rinsing the sheet in an alkaline solution having a temperature of at least 25.degree. C. containing 0.005M metal salt. The sheet is dried to form a silicate coating having a thickness of at least 2 .ANG. prior to being treated with an aqueous solution containing 0.5-5 vol.-% silane. The silane treated silicate coating provides good corrosion protection on cold-rolled and metallic coated steel when the steel is pretreated with a phosphate conversion coating. For painted steels, the silane film forms an adherent bond between the paint and the silicate coating. When a phosphate conversion coating is not applied, however, the silicate coating may be brittle and have inferior adhesion to the steel.
It also is known to protect galvanized or cold-rolled steel with a silane treated alumina, silica and/or zirconia hydrate. The hydrate coating is formed by immersing the steel into a bath containing a suspension of the oxide particles. Such a hydrate coating generally is a thick, brittle coating that does not provide good paint chipping resistance or good formability. Another disadvantage is non uniformity of the coating because the rinsing solution must be constantly stirred to maintain the oxide particles in suspension.
As evidenced by the effort of previous workers, there has been a long felt need to develop a corrosion resistant coating for cold-rolled steel sheet as well as metallic coated steel sheet that has good paint chipping resistance and good formability. There also has been a need to develop a low cost corrosion resistant coating formed using environmentally safe coating solutions that can be disposed of inexpensively.

Metal sheet with enhanced corrosion resistance having a silane treated aluminate coating


A washed sand drying and handling plant (100) includes a belt feed hopper (1), a conveyor belt (2), a sand rinsing unit (3), a dewatering apparatus (4), a radial conveyor (5) and a sand drying and handling apparatus (6). The sand drying and handling apparatus (6) includes four vesssels or tanks (7). Each tank (7) is generally cylindrically shaped and has a cone-shaped base. Sand is held in the tanks (7) for a predetermined amount of time sufficient to allow the sand to dry to the desired level by gravity.

The present invention concerns washed sand drying and handling plant. Traditionally, after sand has been washed, it is allowed to slide down a chute onto a conveyor belt which then transports the sand to a stockpile. This just-washed sand usually contains about 22-26% w/w moisture content. Thus, the sand is still quite wet and it must be dried to about 8-10% w/w moisture content before it can be transferred to another stockpile using loading shovels or dumpers. This method of drying and handling sand is time consuming, labour-intensive and costly. It is necessary to wait about 14 hours before the washed sand can actually be used. Therefore, if the stockpile of dried washed sand available for use is small, it would be necessary to wait 14 hours before any further stocks of dried washed sand would be available for use.
The specification of DE-A-33 08 540 discloses an apparatus for the dewatering and drying of, for example, the sand from the sludge liquor of a gravel washing plant. The apparatus comprises two sludge separating stages which each comprise a horizontally extending tank container which has a collecting trough at its bottom end, parallel to its longitudinal axis, in which trough a worm conveyor rotates. The trough opens into an elevator ending in the region of a sludge drying container, which elevator likewise has a worm conveyor, each horizontal tank container bearing, in the upper region of its shell, an inlet basin for the sludge flow and an overflow basin for the sludge flow having reduced proportion of sludge.
The present invention seeks to alleviate the disadvantages associated with the above.
The present invention accordingly provides a washed sand drying and handling plant comprising: apparatus for washing with water sand with water; apparatus for dewatering the washed sand; apparatus for transporting the washed sand from the dewatering apparatus to a vessel adapted for storing the dewatered sand and enabling the sand to dry by gravity, the sand being held in the vessel for a predetermined amount of time sufficient to allow the sand to dry to the desired level wherein each vessel includes an inner membrane through which the liquid from the washed sand in the vessels drains. Preferably, the plant includes means for collecting and recycling the drained liquid to the dewatering apparatus.
Conveniently, the plant includes a plurality of said vessels, whereby when a first vessel is full, sand from the dewatering apparatus is delivered to a second vessel and so on.
The present invention also includes a conveyor by means of which the sand is deliverable from the dewatering apparatus to the vessel, the conveyor being moveable through an arc, so that the conveyor can be moved through a predetermined angle when the first vessel is full, resulting in the conveyor being positioned over a mouth of the second vessel and the dewatered sand being delivered to the second vessel.
Conveniently, each vessel comprises a tank having a cone shaped lower section with the inner membrane forming an inner wall of the cone and having a multiplicity of apertures to allow liquid to drain into a space between the inner wall and an outer wall of the cone.
Preferably, the membrane is provided on a removable filter element mountable within the outer wall of the cone.
Advantageously, a water supply is provided in the space between the inner and outer walls of the cone. More advantageously, the or each vessel is provided with a detector to ascertain when it is full.
Ideally, a moisture probe is located at the base of the vessel for determining when the sand is at the required moisture level.
Conveniently, a door is provided at the base of the or each vessel and a conveyor is located between the door or doors of the vessel or vessels, with the or each door being openable.
Advantageously, an adjustable chute is provided at the head of the transporting apparatus to direct sand into a vessel.
The present invention also provides a vessel for holding wet sand, the vessel including an inner membrane through which the liquid from the washed sand in the vessel drains, the vessel further including a conical base, a complementary shaped filter within the base spaced from the walls of the base to provide a drainage space between the filter and the base, whereby sand deposited in the vessel dries by gravity and without the use of a heat source.
The invention will now be described more particularly with reference to the accompanying drawings in which are shown, two embodiments of plant according to the invention.


An FM radar system of more simple construction, smaller size, lower cost and improved performance is provided in which circulators of any type in the prior art are eliminated by constructing a transceiver comprised of a transmitting part and a receiving part, each formed on a common dielectric plate and having a dedicated transmitting antenna and a dedicated receiving antenna respectively. The antennas comprise planar array antennas, in contrast to the solid antennas used in prior art systems. The planar array antennas are also formed on the single dielectric plate. The transmitting part comprises a plurality of transmission antennas and a plurality of frequency multipliers coupled to said transmission antennas. The receiving part comprises a plurality of receiving antennas which are coupled to a plurality of switches through a plurality of mixers, frequency multipliers, and low noise amplifiers.

The present invention relates to FM radar systems, and in particular, to FM radar systems for use in collision avoidance systems.
A radar system which is mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile and used in conjunction with an alarm system to detect and warn of potential frontal and rear end collisions, must have high resolution and a minimum range of several decimeters. For this reason, it has been recognized that for use in collision warning systems, frequency modulated-continuous wave (FM-CW) radar systems are preferred over conventional pulsed radar systems. Further, as the longest required range of detection is roughly several hundred meters, it is preferred to utilize a beam having a frequency of about 60 GHz. The reasons for this are that beams having a frequency in the 60 GHz range are easily attenuated upon propagation, and that the use of such beams avoids interference with microwave transmission systems already in existence.
An exemplary prior art FM Radar System is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,181,037 entitled "FM Radar System." FIG. 4 is a block diagram of that system. As shown, a voltage of a triangular wave form is produced by sweep circuit 121, which operates under the control of timing control circuit 120. The triangular wave form voltage is supplied to a variable frequency oscillator 110 to produce a microwave FM signal. The FM signal is divided into two parts, each of which is supplied to an up-converter 112 or 113 respectively. The up-converters 112 and 113 convert each part of the divided signal to a microwave FM signal having a frequency in the range of about 20 GHz. Each of the converted FM signals is supplied to one of four frequency triple multipliers 114a-114d or one of four frequency triple multipliers 115a-115d successively through either of switches 122 or 123 which operate in sync with a timing signal supplied from the timing control circuit 120. FM mm-wave signals having a frequency of about 60 GHz, which are output successively from frequency triple multipliers 114a-114d, are supplied to antennas 118a-118d through circulators 116a-116d. The signals are then radiated from the antennas 118a-118d successively.
In addition, FM mm-wave signals which are output successively from frequency triple multipliers 115a-115d, are supplied successively to a first input terminal of mixers 117a-117d. FM mm-wave signals, which are reflected from a target and received by antennas 118a-188d, are supplied successively to a second input terminal of mixers 117a-117d through circulators 116a-116d. Beat signals, which are output successively from mixers 117a-117d, are supplied to detecting circuit 119 through switching circuit 124. The operating frequencies of local oscillators of the up-converters 112 and 113 are set to different values to shift the frequency of the beat signals output from mixers 117a-117d to a frequency range high enough to reduce interference from 1/f noise.
Since wave guide type circulators 116 are used in the FM radar systems of the prior art, an example of which is illustrated in FIG. 4, the size of prior art systems becomes large and the systems become expensive. Size of FM radar systems can be reduced by using microstrip type circulators instead of wave guide type circulators, however, the use of microstrip type circulators substantially increases the cost of an FM radar system.
In addition, it will be noted by those skilled in the art that sufficient isolation to suppress interference between transmitter and receiver cannot be realized using microstrip type circulators. Finally, microstrip type circulators have a large insertion loss.


Compounds, compositions and methods are provided for modulating the expression of glucagon receptor. The compositions comprise oligonucleotides, targeted to nucleic acid encoding glucagon receptor. Methods of using these compounds for modulation of glucagon receptor expression and for diagnosis and treatment of disease associated with expression of glucagon receptor are provided.

The maintenance of normal glycemia is a carefully regulated metabolic event. Glucagon, the 29-amino acid peptide responsible for maintaining blood glucose levels in the postabsorbative state, increases glucose release from the liver by activating hepatic glycogenolysis, gluconeogenesis, stimulating lipolysis in adipose tissue, and stimulating insulin secretion. During high blood glucose levels, insulin reverses the glucagon-mediated enhancement of glycogenolysis and gluconeogenesis. In patients with diabetes, insulin is either not available or not fully effective. While treatment for diabetes has traditionally focused on increasing insulin levels, antagonism of glucagon function has been considered as an alternative therapy. As glucagon exerts its physiological effects by signaling through the glucagon receptor, the glucagon receptor has been proposed as a potential therapeutic target for diabetes (Madsen et al., Curr. Pharm. Des., 1999, 5, 683–691).
Glucagon receptor is belongs to the superfamily of G-protein-coupled receptors having seven transmembrane domains. It is also a member of the smaller sub-family of homologous receptors which bind peptides that are structurally similar to glucagon. The gene encoding human glucagon receptor was cloned in 1994 and analysis of the genomic sequence revealed multiple introns and an 82% identity to the rat glucagon receptor gene (Lok et al., Gene, 1994, 140, 203–209.; MacNeil et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 1994, 198, 328–334). Cloning of the rat glucagon receptor gene also led to the description of multiple alternative splice variants (Maget et al., FEBS Lett., 1994, 351, 271–275). Disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,776,725 is an isolated nucleic acid sequence encoding a human or rat glucagon receptor (Kindsvogel et al., 1998). The human glucagon receptor gene is localized to chromosome 17q25 (Menzel et al., Genomics, 1994, 20, 327–328). A missense mutation of Gly to Ser at codon 40 in the glucagon receptor gene leads to a 3-fold lower affinity for glucagon (Fujisawa et al., Diabetologia, 1995, 38, 983–985) and this mutation has been linked to several disease states, including non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (Fujisawa et al., Diabetologia, 1995, 38, 983–985), hypertension (Chambers and Morris, Nat. Genet., 1996, 12, 122), and central adiposity (Siani et al., Obes. Res., 2001, 9, 722–726).
Inhibiting glucagon function by antagonizing the glucagon receptor has been proposed as a therapeutic target for diabetes. Currently, there are no known therapeutic agents which effectively inhibit the synthesis of glucagon receptor and to date, investigative strategies aimed at modulating glucagon receptor function have involved the use of antibodies, peptidyl antagonists, and small molecules. In addition, targeted disruption of the glucagon receptor gene in mice has shown that, despite a total absence of glucagon receptors and elevated plasma glucagon levels, the mice maintain near-normal glycemia and lipidemia (Parker et al., Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 2002, 290, 839–843). Patent application WO 02/45494 (Allen et al.) discloses transgenic mice comprising mutations in a glucagon receptor gene. Also claimed are agonists or antagonists of glucagon receptor, agents that modulate the function, expression or activity of a glucagon receptor gene, methods of identifying such agents, methods of ameliorating conditions associated with impaired glucose tolerance, methods of identifying agents that affect obesity, weight gain, diabetes, methods of treating obesity or diabetic conditions, and phenotypic data associated with a transgenic mouse comprising a mutation in a glucagon receptor gene.
A glucagon-neutralizing monoclonal antibody has been described that antagonizes glucagon-stimulated signal transduction in part by binding to the glucagon binding site of the glucagon receptor (Buggy et al., Horm. Metab. Res., 1996, 28, 215–219). An antibody which specifically binds to the amino acid sequence of a glucagon receptor has been disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,770,445 (Kindsvogel et al., 1998).
Several peptidyl antagonists of glucagon receptor have been reported in the art. Six glucagon analogs with N-terminal modifications were designed to have a higher affinity than glucagon for the glucagon receptor (Zechel et al., Int. J. Pept. Protein Res., 1991, 38, 131–138). Two somatostatin analogs have been reported to be inhibitors of glucagon secretion (Rossowski and Coy, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun., 1994, 205, 341–346).
Many small molecules have been examined as glucagon receptor antagonists including: [(+)-3,5 diisopropyl-2-(1-hydroxyethyl)-6-propyl-4′-fluoro-1,1′-biphenyl (Bay27-9955) (Petersen and Sullivan, Diabetologia, 2001, 44, 2018–2024), a series of alkylidene hydrazides (Ling et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 2002, 12, 663–666), a series of 4-aryl-pyridines containing both a 3-[(1R)-hydroxyethyl] and a 2′-hydroxy group (Ladouceur et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 2002, 12, 3421–3424), a series of 5-hydroxyalkyl-4-phenylpyridines (Ladouceur et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 2002, 12, 461–464), a series of triarylimidazoles (Chang et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 2001, 11, 2549–2553), a series of 2-pyridyl-3,5-diaryl pyrroles (de Laszlo et al., Bioorg. Med. Chem. Lett., 1999, 9, 641–646), several substituted benzimidazoles (Madsen et al., J. Med. Chem., 1998, 41, 5150–5157), and a series of pyrrolo[1,2-a]quinoxalines (Guillon et al., Eur. J. Med. Chem., 1998, 33, 293–308).
There remains a long felt need for additional agents capable of effectively inhibiting glucagon receptor function. Antisense technology is an effective means for reducing the expression of specific gene products and has proven to be uniquely useful in a number of therapeutic, diagnostic, and research applications. The present invention provides compositions and methods for modulating glucagon receptor expression.

Modulation of glucagon receptor expression


An in situ method for forming a bypass capacitor element internally within a PCB including the steps of arranging one or more uncured dielectric sheets with conductive foils on opposite sides thereof and laminating the conductive foils to the dielectric sheet simultaneously as the PCB is formed by a final lamination step, the conductive foils preferably being laminated to another layer of the PCB prior to their arrangement adjacent the dielectric sheet or sheets, the dielectric foils even more preferably being initially laminated to additional dielectric sheets in order to form multiple bypass capacitive elements as a compound subassembly within the PCB. A number of different dielectric materials and resins are disclosed for forming the capacitor element. A dielectric component in the capacitor element preferably includes dielectric material and thermally responsive material, the thermally responsive material either forming a carrier for the dielectric material or formed as two separate sheets on opposite sides of a sheet of the dielectric material.

Printed circuit boards (PCBs) are commonly formed with internal power and ground planes which are connected with surface devices such as integrated circuits mounted on the PCBs. In the operation of the PCBs, it is commonly necessary to compensate for voltage fluctuations arising between the power and ground planes in the PCBs, particularly when sensitive devices such as integrated circuits are mounted on the board and connected with the power and ground planes for operation.
Voltage fluctuations of the type referred to above are commonly caused by the integrated circuits switching on and off, the fluctuations resulting in "noise" which is undesirable and/or unacceptable in many applications.
A preferred solution to this problem has been the provision of capacitors connected directly with the integrated circuits and/or with the power and ground planes in the vicinity of selected integrated circuits. Initially, surface capacitors were formed with the surface devices or separately mounted upon the surface of the PCB and connected with the respective devices or integrated circuits, etc., either by surface traces or by through-hole connections, for example.
Surface capacitors of this type were generally effective to reduce or minimize undesirable voltage fluctuations for the devices. However, surface or bypass capacitors have not always been effective in all applications. For example, the capacitors may tend to affect "response" of the integrated circuits or other devices because the capacitors have not only a capacitive value but an inductive value as well. In this regard, it is well known that inductance arises because of currents passing through conductors such as the traces or connectors coupling the capacitors with the devices or power and ground planes.
Furthermore, the integrated circuits or other devices are a primary source of radiated energy creating noise from voltage fluctuations in the PCBs. Different characteristics are commonly observed for such devices operating at different speeds or frequencies. Accordingly, the, PCBs and device arrays as well as associated capacitors must commonly be designed to assure necessary noise suppression at both high and low speed operation.
The design of PCBs and device arrays as discussed above are well known to those skilled in the art of printed circuit board design. For purposes of the present invention, it is sufficient to realize that the use of surface mounted capacitors which are individually connected with the integrated circuits or devices substantially increase the complexity and cost of manufacture for the PCBs as well as undesirably affecting their reliability.
In order to overcome these limitations or for other reasons, a number of capacitive PCBs have been provided in the prior art. Initially, U.S. Pat. No. 4,775,573 issued Oct. 4, 1988 to Turek disclosed a multilayer printed circuit board having conductive and dielectric layers deposited on a surface of the board in order to form a bypass capacitor for devices mounted on the board.
More recently, U.S. Pat. No. 5,010,641 issued Apr. 30, 1991 to Sisler disclosed a method of making a multilayer printed circuit board with a fully cured dielectric material positioned between power and ground plane layers therein.
Still further, U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,069 issued Jan. 7, 1992 to Howard, et al. and assigned to Zycon Corporation, the assignee of the present invention, disclosed a capacitive printed circuit board including a capacitor laminate therein to provide a bypass capacitive function for devices mounted or formed on the PCB.
The printed circuit board variations disclosed above were suitable for their intended purposes. However, there has been found to remain a need for further improvements in methods for forming such PCBs and particularly for forming capacitive PCBs of the type disclosed by the Zycon patent noted above.

Capacitive PCB with internal capacitive laminate


The present disclosure relates to methods of treating diseases states such as lysosomal storage diseases and/or neurodegenerative diseases. Also disclosed are one or more compositions that may be useful for one or more of the disclosed methods, including compositions that may comprise acid β-glucosidase (GCase) protein comprising one or more mutations, peptides of acid β-glucosidase, and DNA vectors and cell lines related to acid β-glucosidase peptides or proteins.

For integral lysosomal membrane proteins, specific peptide sequences are essential for their delivery to the lysosomes. These are the M6P-independent targeting systems that rely on peptide sequences and not M6P or other carbohydrate recognition systems. Inherent in the original concept of the lysosome, as described by deDuve (1), is an essential mechanism to localize or target specific proteins/enzymes to this subcellular organelle. Goldstein and Brown were awarded a Nobel Prize for their discovery and elucidation of specific receptors on cells for the uptake of extracellular low-density lipoproteins into the cell and delivery to the lysosomes (2, 3). Later this concept of receptor-mediated endocytosis was generalized to include not only extracellular ligand-receptor interactions, but also the essential need for such a system within cells for delivery/targeting of newly synthesized proteins to the lysosomes. One such system was elucidated by Kornfeld and coworkers (4) and Sly and coworkers (5, 6) and is now known as the mannose-6-phosphate (M6P) system. This M6P is used by many of the soluble proteins for their delivery to the lysosomes. The deficiency of the ability to attach M6P to such proteins results in the secretion of several dozen proteins from the cell and a progressive multisystem fatal disease termed MLII/MLIII (7).
M6P and mannose receptor systems form the essential basis for the delivery of administered recombinant proteins for the treatment of the so-called lysosomal storage diseases (8). Production of lysosomal proteins for delivery to specific affected tissues is completely dependent upon understanding what receptor is critical to those tissues for uptake, internalization, and delivery of the therapeutic proteins to the lysosomes (8). For example, the mannose-receptor is significantly represented on macrophages and other cells of the reticuloendothelial system (RES). Gaucher disease has its major disease manifestations in macrophages and the RES. Effective enzyme therapy was developed based on the ability to create recombinant acid β-glucosidase, the defective enzyme in Gaucher disease, with mannose terminated oligosaccharide residues (9, 10). For Fabry disease, Pompe disease and Mucopolysaccharidoses I, II, and VI, recombinant enzymes with M6P oligosaccharides have become the standards of care for the treatment of these diseases (e.g. 11, 12). The successes in treating these formerly fatal and severely debilitating diseases have been documented extensively. The total sales of enzymes for the treatment of these diseases now exceed $5 B annually.
There remain several membrane associated, not integral membrane, proteins that appear to have a completely different system for targeting to the lysosomes. One such protein is an enzyme, termed acid β-glucosidase, which is defective in Gaucher disease, the most common lysosomal storage disease (13). Acid β-glucosidase (also referred to as D-glucosyl-N-acylsphingosine glucohydrolase, glucocerebrosidase, GCase, assigned Enzyme Commission No. EC 18.104.22.168) is a lysosomal exoglycosidase for β-glucose-terminated sphingolipids (14,15). Insufficient activity of GCase is causal to the variants of Gaucher disease, a common lysosomal storage disease (16). The human or mouse genes, GBA1 or Gba1, respectively, are about 7.5 kb and contain 11 exons, which encodes a highly (˜86% identical/92% similar) conserved amino acid sequence. Over 300 mutations of various types have been found in association with the variants of Gaucher disease and some have clear prognostic value for affected patients (17). Each of the resultant different single amino acid substitutions lead to GCases with altered catalytic, stability, or both defects (e.g., 18). GCase is translated from mRNAs into a protein that contains two functional, in tandem, leader sequences that differ in length, either 39 (SEQ ID NO 24) or 19 amino acids (19). The preferred initiation codon is not known.
Mature GCase is a glycoprotein of 497 amino acids (FIG. 3, SEQ ID NO 2) that is produced by co-translational glycosylation of four of five N-glycosylation sequences (N463 not occupied) of which only N-19 is essential for the formation of a catalytically active conformer (20). The enzyme also has properties of a membrane associated, but not transmembrane, protein. Unlike most soluble lysosomal proteins that are trafficked to the lysosome by the mannose-6-phosphate (M6P) receptor system (21,22), GCase contains little if any M6P (23). Newly synthesized unglycosylated GCase is not secreted out of cells nor is enzyme secreted from I-Cell fibroblasts, which are deficient in the enzyme needed for M6P (21). Thus, the targeting to the lysosome of newly synthesized, intracellular, GCase is not oligosaccharide dependent (24).
Like the M6P targeting systems, non-carbohydrate-mediated lysosomal targeting disruptions lead to multisystem fatal diseases (8, 9). Lysosomal Integral Membrane Protein 2 (LIMP-2) has been identified as a trafficking receptor for GCase (23, 25, 26). LIMP-2 is a 478 amino acid, 85 Kd glycoprotein protein that is also known as SCARB-2/CD36L2. This protein is present in the ER, Golgi, endosomal, lysosomal, and plasma membrane compartments of cells (26, 27). As the name indicates, LIMP-2 is an integral membrane protein with N- and COOH-terminal transmembrane domains, and a luminal domain (ldLIMP-2) that binds GCase (23) and potentially other proteins. LIMP-2 binds to GCase in the ER (pH-6.8) and the enzyme remains bound to LIMP-2 during its transport through the Golgi, trans-Golgi network, and endosomal compartments. LIMP-2 delivers GCase to the lysosomes after an acidic pH-modulated dissociation of the receptor and ligand in the late endosomal compartment with liberation of GCase. This dissociation is mediated by LIMP-2 histidine 171 (28). No other proteins have been identified to bind to LIMP-2 inside of cells.
LIMP-2/SCARB-2 is also a scavenger receptor on the plasma membrane that binds peptide sequences of viruses, in particular enteroviruses (e.g. EV71), for internalization, lysosomal delivery and degradation (29-32). The ligand amino acid sequence of EV71 for human LIMP-2 has been identified within VP1 (30), which has no homology to GCase sequences. The corresponding receptor sequence on LIMP-2 is between amino acids 144-151 (28). Other LIMP-2/SCARB-2 protein ligands that bind at the plasma membrane include KCNQ1, KCNE2, and Megalin (33).
Humans and mice with mutations in the LIMP-2 gene develop characteristic neurologic and renal diseases, but do not exhibit gross findings of Gaucher disease, i.e., GC storage or Gaucher cells (33, 34). The human diseases associated with LIMP-2 mutations are termed the action myoclonus-renal failure syndrome (34). LIMP-2 deficient cells in humans and mice exhibit excess secretion of GCase out of the cells and into plasma or culture media, but little GC accumulation in tissues (34, 23). LIMP-2 variants have also been implicated as potential modifiers in the development of Parkinson/Alzheimer diseases (35, 36, 33), as have GBA1 mutations (36-39). Disruption of appropriate trafficking of GCase to the lysosome may provide a mechanistic basis for the impact of GBA1/Gba1 mutations in the modification of α-synuclein metabolism and its role in Parkinson disease (37, 38, 40). The impact of LIMP-2 on the expression of Gaucher disease and both GCase and LIMP-2 variants as modifiers of synucleinopathies highlight the importance of understanding the interactions of GCase and LIMP-2 and the localization of synthesized GCase to the lysosome.
Thus, there remains a need for methods and compositions effective for treating lysosomal storage diseases related to defects in the acid β-glucosidase pathway such as Gaucher disease. Further, there is a need for treatments of disease states related to dysregulation of synuclein metabolism that may result from, or be exacerbated by, disruption of appropriate trafficking of GCase to the lysosome, such as neurodegenerative disease states including Parkinson disease, Alzheimer disease, and Lewy body disease. Finally, there remains a need for improved methods of synthesizing recombinant GCase, which can subsequently be used to treat disease states resulting from deficiencies in this enzyme. The instant disclosure seeks to address one or more of these needs.

Lysosomal protein targeting sequence and therapeutic applications of same


A lubricant applicator for disposing lubricant onto a metal surface. The lubricant applicator generally includes a combination holder and dispenser. Lubricant is disposed from the same portion of the combination holder and dispenser as the lubricant was inserted, in the rear portion of the combination holder and dispenser. A dispensing system applies constant force to the rear portion of the combination holder and dispenser so that lubricant is disposed from the rear portion and out of the front portion of the combination holder and dispenser. Lubricant, generally in the form of a stick, can therefore be easily replaced without removing the applicator from its location or without removing its mounting arrangement. Various applications and mounting arrangements for the lubricant applicator are disclosed, as is a method for providing a lubricant applicator.

For many years, there has been a desire for lubricant applicators in numerous applications, particularly involving heavy machinery or locomotives. In particular, for over fifty years railroads and transit systems have tried to reduce destructive wear to wheel flanges that occurs on various cars and parts of the system. Wear is caused when a wheel flange contacts the gauge face of the track when the car is passing through a curve and when the car moves sideways while in a straight or tangent track. Heavier loads also add increased load stress and wheel flange wear. In the prior art, the use of grease or oil applied directly to the flange of a wheel, often with a spray, has been unsatisfactory because of major maintenance problems and difficulty in controlling where the grease or oil is applied. To overcome these difficulties, solid stick lubricant applicators with constant force or coiled spring pressure have been used. However, these still require much maintenance and their reliability in withstanding a harsh working environment has not been shown. One of the problems of maintenance of these systems is that pre-existing mounting members are often attached to a locomotive car in proximity to a wheel flange. The way that existing mounting members attach a lubricant holder and dispenser, so that lubricant is dispensed from the front of a holder and dispenser, the whole holder and dispenser must be removed in order to change a lubricant stick. This is very time consuming and requires the availability of specialized tools at the scene. What is desirable, then, is a more reliable, less maintenance intensive, solid lubricant applicator that can be easily installed on a number of pre-existing or other mounting brackets.


The reasoning system by knowledge activation of the present invention stores shallow knowledge and deep knowledge in memories. The reasoning by the reasoning mechanism is executed using the shallow knowledge. In case of the shallow knowledge to be used in the reasoning is not stored, the deep knowledge is used in the execution of the reasoning. Based on the information which is obtained by the execution of the reasoning, shallow knowledge is newly acquired. The reasoning system by knowledge activation needs only a short time for reasoning. Even in the case where shallow knowledge which is necessary for fast reasoning is not stored, the execution of the reasoning is possible, and new shallow knowledge is easily obtainable.

1. Field of the Invention
the present invention relates to a reasoning system by knowledge activation for automatic generation of rules to execute rapid reasoning for solving problems, and composing method thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A reasoning system by knowledge activation having a knowledge obtaining mechanism, a failure diagnosis system for mechanical systems (Jyoho Syori Gakkaishi 30.5 (1989)) and a knowledge base system (JP-A-63-271534 (1988)) having a function for generating new logically correct rules from conventional knowledge have been disclosed. The failure diagnosis system described above is a system for discovering failed members based on structure of apparatus and behavior of composing members, and the system generates knowledge relating to failure of the composing members by eliminating candidates in normal condition from a group of failed member candidates enumerated from data of reasoning process. And the knowledge based system described above prepares new knowledge by the conversion of conventional knowledge stored in a knowledge base in another logically equivalent expression form.
The above described systems have an advantage to generate knowledge which is not ready previously and to enable the knowledge be utilized for solving problems. However, it is necessary for a reasoning system by knowledge activation to have a mechanism to generate selectively effective new knowledge for solving problems when a function to generate knowledge is provided to the reasoning system by knowledge activation. Reasoning system by knowledge activation without the function described above have following problems.
a) The quantity of knowledge is increased because of generation of unnecessary knowledge. PA0 b) As the result, reasoning using the knowledge needs long time for collation of condition. PA0 c) Computer memories having large capacity are necessary for storage of a large quantity of knowledge.
Thus, for a large scale reasoning by knowledge activation system, the effective knowledge to solve problems, or in other words, whether or not the generated knowledge is able to reach a solution with the least amount of steps is a crucial point.

Reasoning system by knowledge activation and composing method of same


A crossed dual tag includes two tags each of which comprises, on one plane, a dipole antenna formed with conductors, a feeding part to which an IC chip is connected at the center of the dipole antenna, and a loop-shaped inductance part that is formed between the dipoles of the dipole antenna and connected to the dipoles of the dipole antenna in parallel with respect to the feeding part. The two tags are crossed at right angles, and stacked to contact as closely as possible so that the loops of the inductance parts overlap as wide as possible. A reader/writer of an RFID system sequentially switches the surface of a circular polarized wave of a wireless signal between forward and backward directions, and reads information written to a user memory area from the tag that responds more strongly.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a crossed dual tag the communication distance of which with a reader/writer is extended by crossing two linear polarized wave tags at right angles, and to an RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) system using the crossed dual tag.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, RFID systems are put into practical use as a non-contact authentication technology for recording various items of information about a person or an object in an IC (Integrated Circuit) chip of an RFID, and for wirelessly reading the information with a reader/writer.
The RFID is generally referred to as wireless tag or merely as tag although it is called in a variety of ways.
A tag is composed of a metal antenna formed on a plane of a sheet, a film, etc. with a thickness of approximately 0.1 mm, and an IC chip connected to the feeding point of the antenna.
Normally, an IC chip is extremely small, and its thickness and area size are on the order of 0.2 mm and a 1-mm-square respectively. An antenna connected to the IC chip is formed as a dipole antenna pattern, and its communication wave generated by a resonant current is a linear polarized wave.
In an RFID system, a reader/writer transmits a signal of a wireless radio wave of approximately 1 W, the side of a tag receives the signal and returns information within the IC chip as a response signal to the side of the reader/writer, and the reader/writer reads the information.
The tag does not include a battery. When the tag makes an approach to the reader/writer, an electric current is generated by the resonation of the antenna of the tag with the radio wave emitted by the reader/writer. Only at this moment, the circuit of the IC chip operates to transmit the information therein to the reader/writer.
The antenna on the side of the reader/writer is formed to emit a circular polarized radio wave for enabling a communication with the tag generating a linear polarized wave for its communication regardless of any direction of the orientation of the tag.
UHF (Ultra High Frequency) ranging from 860 to 960 MHz is applied as the radio wave used for this transmission. For example, UHF of 952 to 954 MHz is used in Japan.
A communication distance between the reader/writer and the tag is approximately 3 to 5 m under an ideal condition although it depends on the gain of the antenna of the tag, the operational voltage of the IC chip, an ambient environment, or the like.
The antenna of the reader/writer makes a communication by using a circular polarized radio wave, whereas the antenna of the tag makes a communication by using a linear polarized wave. Therefore, power produced by resonating with the radio wave received from the reader/writer, namely, the power received from the reader/writer is one half of that in the case where the tag is assumed to generate the circular polarized wave.
Transmission power is attenuated in inverse proportion to the square of a distance. Therefore, the above described actual communication distance 3 to 5 m is reduced to 1/√2=1/1.41 of that in the case where also the tag generates a circular polarized wave.
As the tag intended to merely emit a circular polarized wave, a configuration where two dipole antennas are crossed at right angles, two feeding terminals for connecting one of the dipoles of one dipole antenna to one of the dipoles of the other dipole antenna and for connecting the other dipole of one dipole antenna to the other dipole of the other dipole antenna are provided, and an IC tag and a circuit having a phase difference of π/2 are connected between the two feeding terminals is proposed (for example, see Patent Document 1).
When the tag is implemented as the tag generating a circular polarized wave as described above, the two orthogonal dipole antennas using linear polarized waves must be connected with the circuit having the phase difference of n2, namely, a 90° phase shifter.
The tag normally has a simple structure implemented by directly connecting a dipole antenna pattern to a small IC with an area size of an approximately 1-mm-square. Therefore, the structure that requires a 90° phase shifter in addition to the IC as disclosed by Patent Document 1 leads to an undesirable increase in an overall cost.
Additionally, the technique disclosed by Patent Document 1 is the tag configured specifically for generating a circular polarized wave, in which the dipole antennas are crossed at right angles and prevented from being separated, and connected to the IC tag and the 90° phase shifter. This tag must be specifically designed and manufactured with dedicated process steps, leading to lack in the degree of arbitrariness of design.    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Published Unexamined Application No. 2003-249820

Crossed dual tag apparatus and system using crossed dual tag apparatus


In a method of manufacturing a MRAM device, a lower electrode is formed on a substrate. A first magnetic layer, a tunnel barrier layer, and a second magnetic layer are sequentially formed on the lower electrode layer. An etching mask is formed on the second magnetic layer. An ion beam etching process in which a first ion beam and a second ion beam are simultaneously emitted onto the substrate is performed to form a MTJ structure including a first magnetic layer pattern, a tunnel layer pattern, and a second magnetic layer pattern from the first magnetic layer, the tunnel barrier layer, and the second magnetic layer, respectively, the MTJ structure has no by-products remaining after the ion beam etching process is performed.

1. Field
Exemplary embodiments relate to methods of manufacturing a magnetoresistive random access memory (MRAM) device. More particularly, exemplary embodiments relate to methods of forming a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) structure including a magnetic material containing, e.g., a transition metal and methods of manufacturing an MRAM device using the same.
2. Description of the Related Art
A related art MRAM device may execute writing and/or reading operation at a high speed and have non-volatile characteristics. The MRAM device may have an MTJ structure including a magnetic material, e.g., a metal having a magnetic characteristic. The magnetic material may not be easily etched. Therefore, a time for etching the magnetic material may increase. Also, process failures may be generated during etching the magnetic material.

Methods of manufacturing a magnetoresistive random access memory device


A dynamic random access memory (DRAM) is provided. The dynamic random access memory includes a deep trench capacitor disposed in a first trench of a substrate, a conductive layer disposed in a second trench of the substrate, a gate structure, and a conductive layer disposed on the surface of the substrate at two sides of the gate structure. The depth of the second trench is smaller than the depth of the first trench, and the second trench partially overlaps with the first trench. The conductive layer disposed in the second trench is electrically connected with the conductive layer of the deep trench capacitor. The gate structure is disposed on the substrate. The conductive layer at one side of the gate structure is electrically connected with the conductive layer disposed in the second trench.

1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates to a memory device and a manufacturing method thereof. More particularly, the present invention relates to a dynamic random access memory and a manufacturing method thereof.
2. Description of Related Art
When the semiconductor industry enters the deep sub-micron process, the size and dimension of devices keep decreasing, and for the conventional dynamic random access memory (DRAM) structure, the space that can be used for capacitors is increasingly smaller. On the other hand, due to the huge size of computer application software, the memory capacity needs to become larger. For the trend that the dimension of the device is reduced and the memory capacity needs to be increased, the manufacturing method for the capacitor of the conventional DRAM must be modified to meet the trend.
DRAMs can be classified into two types according to their capacitor structures: one is the DRAMs having stack capacitors, and the other is the DRAMs having deep trench capacitors.
FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional DRAM having a deep trench capacitor. Referring to FIG. 1, the DRAM includes a deep trench capacitor 10 and an active component 20.
The deep trench capacitor 10 is disposed in the deep trench 102. The deep trench capacitor 10 includes a bottom electrode 104, a capacitor dielectric layer 106, a conductive layer 108, a collar oxide layer 110, a conductive layer 112, and a silicon nitride layer 114. The bottom electrode 104 is disposed at the bottom of the deep trench 102 in the substrate 100. The conductive layer 108 is disposed in the deep trench 102. The capacitor dielectric layer 106 is disposed between the sidewalls of the deep trench 102 and the conductive layer 108. The conductive layer 112 is disposed in the deep trench 102, and above the conductive layer 108. The collar oxide layer 110 is disposed between the sidewalls of the deep trench 102 and the conductive layer 112. Further, an isolation structure 116 is disposed in parts of the collar oxide layer 110 and the conductive layer 112, and in the substrate 100. An oxide layer 118 is disposed in the deep trench 102, and above the deep trench capacitor 10. Further, a silicon nitride layer 114 is disposed between the collar oxide layer 110 and the oxide layer 118.
The active component 20 is disposed on the substrate 100. The active component 20 includes a gate structure 120 and source/drain regions 122. The gate structure 120 includes a gate dielectric layer 124, a gate 126 and a cap layer 128. The gate dielectric layer 124, the gate 126 and the cap layer 128 are sequentially disposed on the substrate 100. The source/drain regions 122 are disposed in the substrate 100 at both sides of the gate structure 120, and the source/drain region 122 at one side is connected with the silicon nitride layer 114.
When a read operation is performed on the DRAM, the current in the deep trench capacitor 10 flows to the source/drain region 122 through the silicon nitride layer 114, passes a channel region 130 under the gate structure 120, and then flows out through a contact plug (not shown). However, when the level of integration is increased and the device size is reduced, the channel region 130 under the gate structure 120 is also shortened, and a short channel effect is generated, thereby influencing the device performance. Moreover, the silicon nitride layer 114 is used as a buried strap window (BS window), resulting in a high resistance of the buried strap, which also influences the device performance. Further, when there is a positive voltage in the deep trench, the substrate outside of the BS window forms a channel, which causes the device to generate leakage current.


A high performance radio frequency receiver includes an isolated transconductance amplifier with large binary and stepped gain control range, controlled impedance, and enhanced blocker immunity, for amplifying and converting a radio frequency signal to multiple electrically isolated currents; a pulse generator for generating in-phase and quadrature pulses; a crossover correction circuit and pulse shaper for controlling a crossover threshold of the pulses and interaction between in-phase and quadrature mixers; and a double balanced mixer for combining the RF signal with the pulses to generate an intermediate frequency or baseband zero intermediate frequency current-mode signal. The intermediate frequency signal and second order harmonics may be filtered with a high frequency low pass filter and a current injected complex direct-coupled filter. IIP2 calibration of the in-phase and quadrature channels may be optimized using the isolated transconductance amplifier.

1. Field
The present embodiments relate generally to communications, and more specifically, to radio frequency receivers in communications.
2. Related Art
Radio frequency (RF) receivers used in modern communication systems may support multiple modes and networks, such as 3G wideband code division multiple access (WCDMA) and 2G Global System for Mobile communications (GSM), using time division multiple access (TDMA). A received RF signal in a certain mode may be translated into a specified frequency band and processed to retrieve the information contained in the RF signal. For example, an RF receiver may amplify, filter, and mix an analog received RF signal into in-phase (I) and quadrature (Q) signals that may be converted into digital signals for further processing.
The multiple modes may utilize the same RF receiver architecture but have different frequency ranges and linearity, noise figure, and sensitivity requirements. Noise figure is a measure of degradation of a signal-to-noise ratio caused by components in the RF receiver. A WCDMA system has full duplex functionality where separate receive and transmit signals may be active simultaneously. A higher power transmitted signal may leak into the receive signal in such a system. To relax linearity and noise requirements due to the transmit signal leakage, a conventional WCDMA system may include a surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter prior to a mixer and downstream processing stages. In addition, a conventional WCMDA system may include a low noise amplifier (LNA) to meet sensitivity, noise figure, and gain control requirements. Using a SAW filter, LNA, amplifiers, and other components may result in increased die size, current drain, cost, and complexity, and reduced performance of an RF receiver.
When a RF receiver receives a two-tone continuous wave or amplitude modulation modulated signal, second order intermodulation distortion (IMD2) may be generated. As IMD2 increases, the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and second order input intercept point (IIP2) may decrease, resulting in degraded performance of the RF receiver. In a conventional RF receiver, separate I and Q mixers may combine a received RF signal with I and Q pulses generated from a local oscillator. The received RF signal may be connected to the I and Q mixers from a common node, where the I and Q channels may interact because the I and Q mixers are not electrically isolated. This interaction may allow a DC offset and imbalance on one channel to amplify the DC offset and imbalance on the other channel, resulting in an increased overall DC offset and imbalance and degraded IIP2.
When the received RF signal is connected to the I and Q mixers from a common node, calibration of the IIP2 levels of the I and Q channels to optimal levels may be difficult. Because the mismatch and imbalance in each channel may be different, optimizing one channel for optimal IIP2 level may adversely affect the IIP2 level of the other channel, and vice versa, resulting in overall sub-optimal performance. The combined mismatches and imbalances of the channels may also fall outside of the range of calibration. IIP2 calibration may therefore be limited when attempting to optimize both I and Q channels in a conventional RF receiver topology. In addition, adding additional stages to achieve better isolation can increase die area and current, and create additional gain in front of the mixer, which can degrade the input referred IIP2. An additional stage can also create a voltage mode combining point, create additional local oscillator feed thorough paths, and add another block for potential mismatch.

Split channel receiver with very low second order intermodulation


A modular electronic device where (predominantly) sealed modules are aligned and attached/connected in pre-determined sequences, forming a robust block-like structure with extendable function: Control and/or inter-module communication are implemented without direct electrical interconnect, by non-contact means such as (magnetic, inductive, light, infrared, radio frequency, sound, ultrasound, or other non-contact means). This device's inter-module power transfer may be with or without direct electrical contact, or devices may be internally powered. Power transfer through inductive/transformer action where one or more alignment pins are used as transformer core is one potential implementation. Modules may be liquid filled to facilitate cooling and/or crush resistance to high-pressure environments.

Conventional approaches to packaging electronic devices and systems have significant limitations when it comes to operating while in harsh environments. Exposed electrical interconnections make electronic devices and systems susceptible to various environmental stresses: electrostatic discharge (ESD), corrosive substances, immersion in a liquid, or simply shorting, bending, or crushing electrical contacts can degrade, damage, or even destroy an electronic system or device.
High voltage transients from ESD and other sources are known for their ability to damage electronic components, especially at risk are components used in transmitting and receiving data communication signals. Systems that use exposed interconnects for data communications are therefore at risk from ESD or other high voltage electrical discharges; this is why data communication signals that have exposed electrical interconnects are often protected from high voltage discharges by solid state transient suppression devices: Zener diodes and other high voltage transient suppression devices have been available in the marketplace for decades, they provide protection from voltage transients by limiting voltage; these components start conducting when the voltage on an its input exceeds a certain specified voltage, and act to limit voltage at that point by conducting current through themselves, away from sensitive components input/output structures; these devices help protect even sensitive electronic components input/output structures. These transient suppression devices are limited, they have voltage, current, and power ratings, if any of these ratings is exceeded they themselves can breakdown, or these transient suppression devices may fail to operate fast enough; when this happens electronics connected to them can also be damaged.
Since sensitive input/outputs electronics can still be damaged by high voltage transients even when protected by transient protection devices, new methods for extending the range of electronic devices and systems begins by eliminating data communication signals that are directly electrically connected from being exposed to the environment, and also may include non-contact power transfer between modules.
Furthermore direct electric interconnections are universally metallic; they can be degraded or damaged by various mechanisms that include corrosion, and shorting. Salt water and caustic substances can easily corrode metallic interconnections over time or even short metallic interconnects immediately rendering them non-functional; since directly connected metallic interconnects are susceptible to such environmental contamination by simply eliminating them problems like shorting and corrosion of the metallic interconnects are eliminated.
Even "Rugged" or "Ruggedized" electronic devices and systems that are designed to be operated in various harsh environments cannot typically be expanded while in a harsh environment without exposing conductive surfaces including electronic components or electrical contacts to the harsh environment, as they also frequently use directly connected electrical interconnections.
Typical rugged electronic devices and systems can be put into one of three classes:                1. They have to be opened to add new electronic hardware.        2. They have exposed electrical interconnects protected from ESD by solid state transient suppression devices.        3. They are not designed to be expanded.
Another aspect to background of this invention relates to the fact that data communication components (especially high speed data communication components) with directly connected electrical signals are much more susceptible to damage than are components in electrical power systems that have directly connected electrical connections: since components that transfer data communication signals are designed to be very sensitive to small fast changes they are built using small delicate structures and electronics used in power distribution are built using larger more robust structures that respond more slowly. This is especially true when considering ESD as an environmental hazard: data communication input/output structures (especially high speed data communication structures) are very susceptible to damage from ESD where power connections are relatively immune to common ESD events.
The invention described within this specification is an article of manufacture, an extensible electronic system or device, where a plurality of modules align and connect in pre-determined sequences and where electronic modules do not have to be opened up to add new functionality to the electronic system or device.
Various embodiments of this invention are described within this specification, where each embodiment has certain specific characteristic that include: one or more alignment mechanism, one or more attachment mechanism, one or more Non-contact, without electrical contact data communication mechanisms (electronic components; transmitters, receivers, or transceivers), and optionally one or more non-contact power transfer mechanisms. Also since data communication components with exposed directly electrical connections are much more susceptible to damage than are directly connected exposed power components; directly electrically power connections may also be used in this invention.
This is a divisional, continuation in part of related prior art from the same inventor that was restricted by a USPTO restriction requirement; this specification contains species that were not elected in the same inventors prior art proceedings and also contains new matter that is also related to the same prior art.

Extensible robust modular electronic device without direct electrical connections for inter-module communication or control


In a safety device for a motor vehicle, an air-bag is provided having a gas inlet to receive gas from a gas generator. One or more straps pass from a point on the bag spaced from the gas inlet to a fixed point. Apparatus are provided to release the strap in response to a predetermined signal from a sensor.

THE PRESENT INVENTION relates to a safety arrangement and more particularly, relates to a safety arrangement for use in a motor vehicle. The safety arrangement comprises an air-bag.
It has been proposed previously to provide an air-bag in a motor vehicle to provide protection for the occupant of a vehicle in the event that an accident should arise. Typically, such an air-bag is inflated by a gas generator which is activated by a sensor responsive either to an impact on part of the vehicle, or to deceleration of the vehicle in excess of a predetermined limit.
It has been proposed previously to provide two gas generators for one air-bag (DE-A-4,032,757), only one gas generator being activated if the occupant of the vehicle to be protected by the air-bag is wearing a safety belt, but both gas generators being activated if the occupant of the vehicle to be protected by the air-bag is not wearing a seat belt. It has also been proposed to provide an air-bag with two gas generators (DE-A-4,341,500), only one of the gas generators being activated when the occupant of the motor vehicle to be protected by the air-bag is leaning forwards at the moment that the air-bag is to be inflated, but both of the gas generators being activated when the occupant of the vehicle to be protected by the air-bag is in the correct position.
If only one gas generator is used to inflate an air-bag that is associated with two gas generators, when the bag is inflated it is only "partially" inflated, and consequently the position and condition of the bag will be very indefinite and uncontrolled.


A leno thread tensioner (26, 26A, 26B) is positioned upstream, as viewed in the movement direction of the leno threads (9, 10), of a leno selvage former (1) for tensioning the leno threads especially during change-over of the leno thread. Additionally, or instead, a leno thread spreader (23) and detour member is positioned downstream of the leno selvage former for preventing intertwining of the leno threads before they are bound into the leno selvage.

Leno selvage forming devices are known in the art for example from German Patent Publication DE 25 38 135 C2 (Wueger), published on Mar. 11, 1976 and based on U.S. Ser. No. 500,792, filed Aug. 26, 1974. Further, reference is made to German Patent Publication DE 28 11 275 A1 (Cornellier), published on Sep. 21, 1978 and based on Canadian Patent Application No. 273,993, filed on Mar. 15, 1977. Each of these known devices comprises two coils or spools for supplying leno threads. The leno threads are pulled off these leno coils for the selvage formation along the edge of the fabric. The leno forming components are driven in synchronism with the loom drive or are preferably combined with the loom drive, however concrete features as to the drive and control are not disclosed in these two publications. In German Patent Publication 25 38 135 C2 tension springs (54) take up slack in the leno threads between the respective thread guides (47, 51) and eyelets (48) and (52) leading the leno threads into the leno forming device. Thus, the tensioning is effective downstream of the thread guides (47, 51) as viewed in the feed advance direction of the leno threads. In German Patent Publication 28 11 275 A1 the leno thread eyelets are positioned at the end of spring tensioned arms (44) and (46). The spring tension is applied to these eyelet carrying arms by a spring (92) the bias of which is adjustable.
European Patent Publication EP 00 20 796 A1 (Koch et al.), published on Jan. 7, 1981 discloses a leno thread supply mechanism for a loom in which tension is applied to the leno threads substantially in the same manner as in German Patent Publication 28 11 275 A1 in that the eyelet carrying arms for guiding the leno threads are spring-biased by a helical spring (55), the tension of which is adjustable. The drive for the leno forming device is not shown in any detail.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,399,880 (Moessinger), issued on May 7, 1946 discloses a leno selvage device including a rotatable leno disk, the drive for which is derived from the central loom drive. Details regarding the tensioning of the leno threads are not disclosed except that the supply coils for the leno threads are provided with a brake mechanism for maintaining the leno thread tension between the leno supply spool and the leno disk.
The above described conventional devices for forming a selvage do not comprise any leno thread guide elements that are reversible in their rotation. The difficulties of maintaining the proper thread tension in the leno threads when the leno disk reverses its rotational direction, are thus not addressed in the above discussed references.
German Patent Publication DE 195 48 955 C1 describes a leno selvage forming device in which the rotational axis of the rotor extends in parallel to the warp threads. The device is arranged outside the space occupied by the heald frame or heald shafts. Due to this position of the selvage forming devices the resulting selvage is positioned with a spacing between the selvage proper and the outermost warp thread. Such a selvage former is rather involved and hence economically not feasible. Another embodiment in the German Patent Publication DE 195 48 955 C1 discloses the positioning of the leno selvage former with is rotational axis at an angle of preferably 45.degree. to the direction of the warp threads. Such positioning requires a detour roller for the leno threads, but has the advantage that the selvage is formed directly next to the outermost warp thread in the fabric. It is not quite clear, however, whether the detour roller is mounted for rotation or whether it is rigidly mounted, nor whether the detour roller is driven. It is not disclosed how any accumulation of twisted leno threads upstream of the detour roller is avoided, nor are the problems of properly forming the leno shed and how to avoid leno thread breakage addressed. The above mentioned detour roller contributes to the twisting of the leno threads.
Tests were made by the applicants with leno selvage formers having a rotating thread guide element including a detouring guide for the leno threads. These tests have shown that a fixed detour guide does not result in properly forming a leno thread shed in synchronism with the formation of the loom shed, nor with the weft thread insertion. This is particularly true when leno threads are used having a quality standard Nm200/1 which are substantially not stretchable, and have a substantial tearing strength. As a result, the weft thread ends are not properly bound into the selvage or not bound into the selvage at all.
This due to the twisting or intertwining of the selvage threads at the fixed detour guide. If the detour guide itself is cylindrical and mounted for rotation it is not possible to fully exclude an unintended rotation in the reverse direction of the roller. Such reverse direction rotation may be caused, for example by loom vibrations. In such a case the proper formation of the leno shed is prevented so that the insertion of the weft thread into the leno shed is also disturbed.
German Patent Publication 195 48 955 C1 discloses a leno former with a hollow shaft arranged at a right angle to the direction of the warp threads. Two guide elements spaced from each other are mounted on the hollow shaft. Here again a tension compensation for the leno threads is not provided for as the threads travel from the supply spools to the fabric although tension variations occur with each detour of the leno threads. Thus, again a proper formation of the leno shed is not assured. As a result, the weft insertion can collide with the leno threads, which at the time of arrival of the weft thread are not properly tensioned. These difficulties occur alike for the conventional arrangement of the rotational axis of the leno former at 90.degree. and at 45.degree. to the direction of the warp threads unless attention is paid to the proper tensioning of the leno threads.


An apparatus and associated methods to perform intelligent transmit power control with subcarrier puncturing in a multicarrier wireless communication channel is generally disclosed.

A multicarrier communication system such as, e.g., Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM), Discrete Multi-tone (DMT) and the like, is typically characterized by a frequency band associated with a communication channel being divided into a number of smaller sub-bands (subcarriers herein). Communication of information (e.g., data, audio, video, etc.) between stations in a multicarrier communication system is performed by dividing the informational content into multiple pieces (e.g., symbols), and then transmitting the pieces in parallel via a number of the separate subcarriers. When the symbol period transmitted through a subcarrier is longer than a maximum multipath delay in the channel, the effect of intersymbol interference may be significantly reduced.
By simultaneously transmitting content through a number of subcarriers within the channel, multicarrier communication systems offer much promise for high-throughput wireless applications. Conventional techniques for increasing system throughput, i.e., the amount of content the channel can carry at any given time, emphasize the identification and exploitation of "good" subcarriers (e.g., those that offer a threshold data rate at or above a threshold performance characteristic (e.g., signal to noise ratio SNR)) over "bad" subcarriers, which are deactivated. The remaining, active subcarriers, are then processed to reach an "optimal" Shannon "water-filling" solution. Such conventional techniques are typically computationally expensive and do not provide a commensurate improvement in system throughput.

Apparatus and associated methods to perform intelligent transmit power control with subcarrier puncturing


Disclosed in certain embodiments is an electron donor for a polyolefin polymerization catalyst. In some embodiments, a solid catalyst component includes a metal component and the electron donor that form a catalyst on a support.

The performance of catalysts used in polyolefin polymerization is typically evaluated in terms of xylene solubles content, melt flow, and polydispersity of the resulting polymer. Traditional catalysts, however, often result in high xylene solubles content of the resulting polymer, and it is difficult to dynamically adjust the xylene solubility during the production process with such catalysts. Moreover, such catalysts suffer from low hydrogen response (i.e., chain termination in response to introduction of hydrogen during the reaction), which limits the ability to adjust physical parameters of the resulting polymer, such as melt flow.

Electron donor for polyolefin polymerization catalysts and uses thereof


A method and system for providing true failsafe control of an electronic braking system by a train control system which controls a switch that supplies power to the electronic braking system. When the train control system determines that it is necessary to activate the train's brakes, it controls the switch so as to remove power to the electronic braking system, which results in activation of the train's brakes. In highly preferred embodiments, the switch is of a type that is normally open and that requires the presence of an electrical signal to close the switch to supply power to the electronic braking system. In such embodiments, any loss in power to the train control system will result in a loss of signal to the switch, thereby causing activation of the train's brakes.

In the early days of railroads, train brakes were operated by brakemen who would go from car to car and manually activate and deactivate the brakes on the train. Having brakemen on each train added to the expense of operating the train. This added expense led to the development of air brakes by, among others, George Westinghouse.
For much of the previous century, the most common form of braking system was the air brake system. In this system, pressurized air is distributed via an air brake pipe system to each brake caliper on each train. The brake calipers are designed such that the brake shoes engage the train wheel to stop the train if the pressurized air flow is disrupted. These systems typically include what is referred to in the art as a "P2A" valve, which is used for a "penalty" braking. Penalty braking, which is distinct from emergency braking, is the activation of the train's brakes to stop the train when the train is operating, or about to be operated, in an unsafe manner. The typical P2A valve is connected to the brake pipe and typically provides for a full service application of the brakes at the service rate when opened. The P2A valve is electrically controlled, usually employing a solenoid. This allows the P2A valve to be controlled by an overspeed signal from a speed indicator connected to the train's axle drive tachometer, by a penalty brake signal from a cab signal system, or by an alerter. These air brake systems that include a P2A valve are failsafe in that any loss of air pressure in the brake lines (whether due to a leak in the brake line or a failure in the air pump), or any disruption in power to the P2A valve, results in the brakes activating and the train being brought to a stop safely.
More recently, electronic braking systems have appeared. These systems electronically control the application of the brakes. These systems are required to be failsafe by the federal government in that any loss of power to the electronic braking system must result in the train brakes activating to stop the train much in the same way that any loss of power to the P2A valves would result in activation of the train brakes.
In addition to electronic braking systems, train control systems are also known in the art. Train control systems are systems that control the movement of a train by controlling the locomotive's engine/motor and brakes to ensure that the train is operated safely. These systems come in two varieties: active and passive. Active control systems are systems that are primarily responsible for controlling movement of the train. In contrast, in passive control systems, a human operator is primarily responsible for controlling movement of the train and the passive control system only assumes control if the operator attempts to operate the train in an unsafe manner (e.g., exceeding a maximum allowable speed, entering an occupied block, etc.). Types of train control systems include Cab Signal, Positive Train Control, Positive Train Stop and others. The assignee of the present application, Quantum Engineering, Inc., markets a Positive Train Control system under the mark TRAIN SENTINEL™.
In order for a train control system of any type to be capable of stopping a train, it must be capable of controlling the train's braking system. These electronic braking systems are typically integrated, sealed units that are not easily modified. Thus, in the past, it has typically been necessary to enlist the assistance of the manufacturer of the electronic braking system to modify the electronic braking system to allow for a penalty application of the brakes by a train control system.
Typical electronic braking systems provide an RS-232 interface through which a train control system can send a request to activate the brakes. However, such a system is not failsafe. For example, if the connection between the train control system and the RS-232 interface is broken, or the RS-232 interface on the electronic braking system fails, a brake activation request message from the train control system to the electronic braking system will not be received by the electronic braking system and the brakes will not be activated, leading to a potentially dangerous situation.
Moreover, even if the brake activation request message is received, the electronic braking system may experience a delay in responding to the message. Any delay can, of course, result in a catastrophe. There is yet another problem associated with a potential delay. Some known train control systems, including the Train Sentinel system sold by the assignee of the present invention, will prevent a train from taking an improper action (e.g., entering a block which the train is not authorized to enter) by calculating in advance precisely when a penalty brake application must be applied to avoid the improper action, and then causing the penalty brake application to occur at that time if the operator has not acted to avoid the improper action. The possibility that an electronic braking system will delay in activating the brakes in response to a penalty brake activation request message means that the penalty brake activation request message must be sent in advance of the time in which the brakes need to be activated—in other words, a safety factor must be added to account for the delay must be provided. There are two problems with such a safety factor: 1) it is difficult to determine how large the safety factor must be, and 2) in those instances in which there is no delay, or in which the delay is less than the safety factor, the brakes activate prematurely. Premature penalty brake activation can be very annoying to the operator and can be costly because the train will stop well short of the intended point and because of the lost time required to stop and restart the train.

Failsafe electronic braking system for trains