This invention relates to an inorganic colorant, to a paste made from that colorant by dispersing that colorant into a vehicle, and to a water based paint made using either these colorants or pastes. This invention involves an improvement of the dispersibility of the inorganic colorant into a dispersion medium by which that inorganic colorant, having polar groups on its surface, is treated by low temperature plasma polymerization of a substantially non-polar monomer to form a non-polar group on the surface of the inorganic colorant. The inorganic colorants, to which this invention is applied to improve their dispersibility, are of a wide variety of species. According to the invention, due to the great improvement in the dispersibility of the inorganic colorants, the possible range of formulation of inorganic colorant and the dispersion medium is enlarged.

The present invention relates to inorganic colorants, pastes containing such colorants dispersed therein, and paints containing the colorants and/or the pastes. In more detail, this invention relates to inorganic colorants which are useful for producing coloring coatings etc.; pastes, in which the colorants are dispersed beforehand, which are used in the production of paints etc.; and paints produced from the inorganic colorants and the pastes in which the colorants are dispersed.
As paints, there are so-called oil-based paints, which contain one or more organic solvents; water-based paints, wherein water is used instead of the organic solvent; and powder paints, in which a solvent is not used. Since the oil-based paints involve the use of an organic solvent which is harmful and volatile, there is a potential problem of pollution occurrence, such as air pollution, and there is the possibility of injury to the health of workers where the coating is being made or where it is being applied. Therefore, water-based paints and powder paints are in developing use.
In formulating a paint, usually one or more powdered colorant is ground in a vehicle of a dispersion medium, which comprises suitable resins, solvents and so on, to produce a so-called paste in which colorants are substantially uniformly dispersed, and then resins, solvents, and various kinds of additives are further added to the paste, if necessary.
Both organic and inorganic colorants have been used as the raw materials for paints. While the organic colorants are superior in color clarity, the inorganic colorants show high stability and are superior in heat-resistance, hiding power, and weather-resistance. Therefore, inorganic colorants are more often chosen for those uses in which durability is necessary.
From the standpoint of efficiency of production, a paste which contains a colorant in high concentration is at first prepared by using various types of dispersing means, and this paste is then diluted with a solution of a resin, which is selected depending upon the potential use, to get a paint. In this process, it is very important to disperse the colorant particles in a fine, stable condition and, for this, the colorant particles must have a good affinity for the resin molecules which comprise the paste. It is also important for the adsorbed resin to prevent flocculation of the dispersed colorant particles (that is to stabilize the colorantdispersion) by formation of an adsorbed resin layer on the colorant particle surface. Furthermore, paints and paint films have to possess and achieve certain performance criteria, such as gloss, hiding power, stability against settling, flooding, floating, and so on. In order to enhance these kinds of performance, fine dispersion of the colorant is necessary. Dispersibility of the colorant in the paint is improved as the affinity between the colorant and the vehicle increases, and the affinity between the colorant and vehicle is affected by the surface properties of the colorant.
The vehicle in which the colorant is dispersed is usually composed of resins as aforementioned. In the case where the resin molecule has an acidic functional group, such as a carboxyl group or a sulfonic acid group; or a basic functional group, such as a primary, secondary, or tertiary amino group, or an imino group, the resin molecule adsorbs the colorant by an acid-base interaction. Dispersion stability is therefore achieved when a basic functional group or an acidic functional group, respectively, is suitably introduced into the colorant.
In this connection, among the known methods which improve the affinity between the colorants and the resins, is the art wherein amphoteric resins are used to enhance the acid-base interaction between resins and colorants, see published U.S. Pat. No. 4,632,961 (Japanese Official Patent Provisional Publication, Showa 58-21,468), and the technology wherein acidity and/or basicity is imparted to colorants by plasma-treating to enhance the acid-base interaction between resins and colorants, see published U.S. Pat. No. 4,478,643 (Japanese Official Patent Provisional Publication, Showa 58-217,559).
In the series of water-soluble resin paints, the acidic or basic functional group has been consumed (neutralized) when the resin was dissolved into a solvent (water). It is generally difficult to utilize the acid-base interaction for the adsorption of the resin on the colorant.
In this series of paints, adsorption of the resin on the colorant is attained by hydrophobic interaction so that the free energy at the interface between the colorant and the resin is smaller than the free energy at the interface between the colorant and water. Since the inherent molecular skeleton of water soluble resins have low polarity, and organic colorants and carbon black have low polarity on their surfaces, the free energy at the interface between the colorant and the resin is small, and absorption of the colorant by the resin proceeds easily.
However, most inorganic colorants are composed of metal oxides, such as TiO.sub.2, ZnO, SiO.sub.2, Al.sup.2 O.sub.3, Fe.sub.2 O, FeO, and Fe.sub.2 O.sub.3, or of metals, such as Al, Cu, and Zn. Many hydroxy groups are formed on the surface of these colorants by the chemical or physical adsorption of water, which exists as humidity in the air. Because of this, the surface of inorganic colorants generally have high polarity and, for example when the polarity is indicated by the heat of immersion in water, the organic colorants, such as phthalocyanine blue and quinacridone red, and carbon black, show a polarity of about 0.1 J/m.sup.2 or less, whereas the polarity of the inorganic colorants, measured in the same way, are about 0.25 J/m.sup.2 or more. Thus, the inorganic colorant surface has a high polarity, so that the free energy at the interface between the colorant and the resin is large. A relatively unstable interface results, and resin adsorption does not readily proceed. Therefore, in order to increase the affinity between inorganic colorants, having such an inherently polar surface as above, and resins which have relatively lower polarity, the polarity of the surface of the inorganic colorant must be lowered. That is, in the series of water-soluble resin paints, since dispersion stability is mainly attained with the resin adsorption resulting from the hydrophobic interaction between the resin and the colorant (T. Kobayashi, T. Terada, and S. Ikeda, J. Japan Society of Colour Material, 62, 524 (1989)), the colorant surface has to be hydrophobic (low polarity) and thus, it is necessary to decrease polarity of the inorganic colorant surface.
Regarding the modification of the colorant surface, the following methods are exemplary of methods which have been recently been proposed:
as a wet method:
(1) treating the colorant surface with a silane coupling agent, or PA1 (2) treating the colorant surface with an aliphatic alcohol and a fatty acid, etc. at elevated temperature: and PA1 (3) vapor phase fluorination using a high temperature flow reactor (published in the Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Japan, 60, 2833 (1987)), or PA1 (4) polymerization of a cyclic silicone compound on the surface of a colorant (published in the proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Japan Society of Colour Material, 1986, 1B-10).
as a dry method:
In the said hitherto known methods for treating the surface of colorants, there has been some difficulty in selection of the treating conditions. Further, the cost of treatment is high. In method (2), the treatment is sometimes not possible the chemical properties of the surfaces of colorants. For example, surface treatment with an aliphatic alcohol is limited to those situations where the surfaces of the colorants are neutral or weakly acidic. In addition, if such treated colorants are used under aqueous conditions, the treated layer may be removed from the surface of the colorants by hydrolysis and, therefore, these colorants cannot be used in a water-based paint.
Method (3) needs to use such a high temperature, about 700.degree.-800.degree. C., for its reaction, that the hue sometimes changes due to exposure to such high temperature. As for method (4), applicable colorants and vehicles cannot be freely chosen because a special silicone compound is used.

Inorganic colorant, colorant-dispersed paste, and paint containing the same


The present invention provides a battery prevented from causing a short circuit between a positive and negative electrode plates and a method of manufacturing the battery. This battery comprises an electrode plate assembly having a plurality of positive electrode plates and a plurality of negative electrode plates which are alternately laminated with separators interposed one by one between them. Each of the positive electrode plates and the negative electrode plates is configured to be curved to the same side in a lamination direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a battery and a method of manufacturing the same.
2. Description of Related Art
Various types of batteries have been developed in recent years. For example, a nickel-metal hydride storage battery has rapidly come into wide use as a secondary battery with a high energy density and a high reliability.
This nickel-metal hydride storage battery has been known as e.g. a rectangular sealed nickel-metal hydride storage battery comprising an electrode plate assembly that includes a plurality of positive electrode plates and a plurality of negative electrode plates alternately laminated with separators interposed one by one between them, and a rectangular parallelepiped battery case containing the electrode plate assembly (e.g., JP-A-2001-313066, JP-A-2001-93505, and JP-A-2002-260719).
In the above nickel-metal hydride storage battery, the positive electrode plate includes for example a positive electrode plate produced in a manner that a positive electrode substrate made of foamed nickel (made by plating nickel on a skeleton surface of an urethane foam and then burning the urethane foam) is filled with a positive mix material containing a positive active material and so on. Further, the negative electrode plate includes for example a negative electrode plate produced in a manner that a negative mix material containing a hydrogen absorbing alloy and so on is filled in pores of a negative electrode substrate made of a nickel-plated steel plate and also coated on both surfaces of the negative electrode substrate. The electrode plate assembly includes for example an electrode plate assembly produced in a manner that a plurality of the positive electrode plates and a plurality of the negative electrode plates are alternately laminated with separators interposed one by one between them.
Meanwhile, the aforementioned positive electrode plates and negative electrode plates would not easily be formed in flat shape, which may be curved or warped. Thus, the positive and negative electrode plates constituting the electrode plate assembly include curved plates and uncurved plates, which are laminated with respective curves facing to opposite sides, resulting in an uneven distance between adjacent positive and negative electrodes. For instance, when such positive and negative electrodes expand or swell after repeated charge and discharge, each separator interposed therebetween may be compressed and, in particular, locally highly pressurized in a region where the opposite curves of the adjacent positive and negative electrode plates face to each other. In the region in which the separator is locally strongly compressed, the distance between the adjacent positive and negative electrode plates is short. This may deteriorate an insulation property of the separator between the positive and negative electrode plates, thus inducing a short circuit.

Battery and method of manufacturing the same


A method and apparatus for polishing a thin film on a semiconductor substrate is described. A polishing pad is rotated and a wafer to be polished is placed on the rotating polishing pad. The polishing pad has grooves that channels slurry between the wafer and polishing pad and rids excess material from the wafer, allowing an efficient polishing of the surface of the wafer. The polishing pad smoothes out due to the polishing of the wafer and must be conditioned to restore effectiveness. A conditioning assembly with a plurality of diamonds is provided. The diamonds have predetermined angles that provide strength to the diamond. This allows for an optimal rotation speed and downward force in effective conditioning of the polishing pad, while reducing diamond fracture rate.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor wafer polishing apparatus and, more specifically, a conditioning assembly for a polishing pad of a semiconductor wafer.
2. Discussion of Related Art
Semiconductor chips are manufactured by forming consecutive layers on a semiconductor wafer substrate. Raised and recessed formations can create undulations in a film. The undulations have to be planarized to allow for further fabrication.
Layers are usually polished in a process known in the art as "chemical-mechanical polishing" (CMP). CMP generally involves the steps of placing a wafer on a polishing pad with the layer to be polished on an interface between the wafer and the polishing pad. The wafer and the polishing pad are then moved over one another. A slurry is introduced on-the polishing pad. The polishing pad has a textured surface so that movement of the wafer and the polishing pad over one another, in conjunction with the slurry, results in a gradual polishing of the layer.
After polishing a certain number of wafers, the material of the slurry and of the wafer eventually build up on the polishing pad so that the polishing pad becomes smooth. The smoothing of the polishing pad lessens the effectiveness on the surface of the wafer, resulting in a decrease in the polishing rate, or uneven polishing over the surface of the wafer. Therefore, conditioning of the polishing pad must occur.
The polishing pad is subsequently conditioned to redistribute the slurry. A conditioning assembly is moved over the surface of the polishing pad, contacting the surface of the polishing pad with a downward force. The conditioning of the polishing pad generates grooves therein, roughening the polishing pad and allowing for the effective removal of excess material, restoring the polishing feature of the polishing pad.

Method and apparatus for conditioning a polishing pad


A transfer device for passing material between two different fluid environments which uses a multi-passageway rotor member rotatable about a vertical axis and interposed between upper and lower ported members. Each passageway (or chamber) passes through the rotor and has a major axis parallel to the vertical axis of the rotor. Rotation of the rotor brings each passageway successively into fluid communication with the upper ported member whereby the passageway is filled with material, then to at least one position where the passageway is not aligned with either ported member, and finally to a position where the passageway is aligned with the lower ported member and the material is transferred to the second environment. The rotation may be continuous or incremental, and the fluid environments are maintained in isolation from each other. Methods of transferring solids, and a solids transfer system in a steam hydrolysis and drying plant are also disclosed.

In our New Zealand Patent Specification No. 229080 (European equivalent Application No. 90304922.9 and Australian equivalent Application No. 55013/90) there is disclosed a process of preparing a hydrolysed lignocellulosic material, the full content of which is hereby incorporated by way of reference.
The present invention could have application in such a process/system between different pressure situations or in improved versions thereof. Indeed, the present invention can provide an alternative in many situations to the very expensive and high upkeep "Bauer valves" (Sprout-Bauer inlet rotary valves manufactured and sold by Andritz Sprout-Bauer Australia Pty. Limited of 22 Princes Highway, Dandenong, Victoria 3175, Australia), or any such other rotary devices or devices that do not involve rotary chambers and which are used by default in the absence of an economic way of feeding materials from one vessel to another.

Material transfer device with multi-chamber rotor


A system for regulating the temperature of multiple areas within a facility using multiple energy savings devices (ESD) that each regulate the temperature of individual rooms or areas within a facility having a central heating and cooling plant. The device includes a fan and thermostats to control the temperature in each room. A first thermostat is located within the energy savings device to activate a fan only when a baseboard-heating element, cooling element or conduit provides a pre-selected sufficient temperature level range to activate a fan. Another thermostat is located remotely in each room and communicates to each ESD to deactivate the fan when the temperature in any room exceeds or is less than the desired temperature level. The desired temperature level may be higher or lower than a main thermostat setting that controls the central heating and cooling plant, in accordance with a heating or cooling mode, respectively.

FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional single zone (i.e., whole house) forced air heating and cooling system, which typically employs a single central heating and cooling plant 11 with respective conduits 15 and 17 to transfer the heated or cooled air to all the various areas or rooms 10, 18 and 19 serviced. In such systems, a single (main) control thermostat 20 and heating/cooling mode control 22 is typically located in one of the cooled or heated areas or rooms serviced (e.g., room 10) to control the temperature of an entire facility or household 13. In conventional hot water heat systems, boiler and/or water cooler is employed to heat or cool water which is circulated pipes (which would augment or replace conduits 15 and 17) to heat exchangers (not shown) located in various rooms 10, 18 and 18. Like forced air systems, the single (main) thermostat 20 and mode control is typically located in one of the many heated or cooled rooms to automatically control the temperature for the entire facility or household 13.
In the above systems, conduits 15 and 16 transfer the heated or cooled fluid or air to each area or room 10, 18 or 19 serviced. Such systems are limited in that they fail to adequately provide for the automatic, individual temperature control in each of the rooms or areas. For example, dampers 16 are often utilized to alter airflow within the supply conduit 15 to balance the heating and cooling throughout the facility or household 13 to more evenly heat/cool the facility. In an attempt to overcome the limitations of the single zone systems of FIG. 1 and to conserve energy many homes have multiple zone heating and cooling systems, each zone being a subset of the entire facility 13. These systems require the installation of separate heating/cooling plants 11 for each zone. While more efficient than single zone systems, such systems are disadvantageous due to the prohibitively high costs of installing separate heating/cooling plants and conduits or pipes for each zone.
Another disadvantage of conventional single zone systems is that in homes that employ a single main thermostat 20 for all the rooms 10, 18 and 19, all of the rooms are heated or cooled to substantially the same temperature without any provision to control and maintain the individual room temperatures during the period of use or non-use. This condition results in the wasting and excess use of energy. For example, because the facility thermostat 20 is in room 10, it is not possible to raise the temperature of room 18 to 70° F. while maintaining the other rooms 10 and 19 at 60° F. It is not possible to do so as the heating plant 11 will turn-off when room 10 reaches 60° F., which will be before room 18 reaches 70° F. Dampers 16 or room vents (not shown) may be adjusted to divert warm air to room 18, however, this too fails to accurately vary and control the individual room temperatures. Other systems, such as that described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,105,927 to Zelczer et al. disadvantageously require flow control devices that close the fluid flow.
In view of the foregoing, there is a need for a device that will individually control room temperatures in facilities having a conventional heating/cooling plants. There is also a need for a device that reduces energy consumption with minimal compromise in comfort. Further, there is a need for the device to operate in both heating and cooling environments, baseboard heating systems, and forced air systems. Yet further, the device should be relatively cost effective in achieving these needs. The present invention provides such a system.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Heating and cooling energy saving device


A system is provided where a number of representative video snapshots are displayed on a timeline indicating a position to jump to in a video using control buttons, such as fast forward, reverse, or a timeline scroll bar. The video snapshots are obtained by opening a low resolution connection to a video server to receive forward looking video segments. The forward looking video segments are summarized and the representative video snapshots are selected and displayed to provide a reference frame for the user to select a timeline position, or snapshots directly linked to positions in the higher resolution video. Backward looking video segments may be similarly summarized from the low resolution connection, or alternatively from video previously played. As the video progresses, new forward looking video segments are received and new representative video snapshots are summarized and displayed in close proximity with the video being played.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to access and finding a position in video or other data streams. The invention is more particularly related to referencing a position within the data stream to a portion of the data stream that serves as a reference marker. The invention is still further related to building reference markers from a low resolution data stream to reference positions in a full or higher resolution data stream. The invention is more particularly related to a video navigation and building timeline markers to reference positions in a video data stream.
2. Discussion of the Background
Modern video playback devices include features for positioning a point in the video for viewing, including any of fast forward, reverse, etc. FIG. 1 illustrates a conventional video playback device 100 that includes a video display area 102. A timeline 105 shows a current position of the video being displayed, and standard VCR controls, including play 115, Fast Rewind 120, Fast Forward 125, Step Back 130, Step Forward 135, etc., are provided. Any of the standard VCR controls may be utilized to position the current video playback point, or a user may drag the playback point button on the timeline to find a position in the video. However difficulties arise in finding specific positions within a video.
Some systems solve the problem of finding positions in a video by providing, in addition to a video flow, various snapshots extracted from specific points in the video. These snapshots are utilized to provide reference markers to the video position from which the snapshots were extracted.
FIG. 2 illustrates a conventional video playback mechanism having snapshots that reference positions in a video being played back. If a user wants to jump forward, the snapshots provide a frame of reference from which the user can select a position in the video. If a snapshot shows a particular scene the user is interested in, the user simply moves the playback point slide control knob on the timeline to a position associated with that snapshot. If the scene a user is interested in is not shown, the user may simply use a related scene to judge a position to begin a search for the desired scene.
Video clips, movies, and television programs are now increasingly being made available over networked devices including the Web. Often, such media is made available in a streaming format. Streaming formats begin sending the video, and a user beings playing the received video stream before an entire video is received.
Generally, streaming playback devices include the same standard VCR controls as found in typical video playback devices. However, most video provided today does not include indexed snapshots that allow a user to easily identify and select portions of video for viewing.

System and method for video navigation and client side indexing


An image processing device has a main unit, a storage unit, a first processing unit, a second processing unit, a first determination unit, and a first replacement unit. The storage unit is provided in the main unit that stores a color image having ground color and different color from the ground color, the color image being formed by color-pixels including a ground color pixel and a different color pixel, the ground color pixel having the ground color, the different color pixel having the different color. The first processing unit scales down the color image to produce a first gray-scale image which is simply represented by brightness having a plurality of brightness values, the first gray-scale image being formed by first gray-scale pixels. The second processing unit determines the brightness value of each of the color pixels to produce a histogram showing a distribution of the color pixels with respect to the brightness. The first determination unit determines a first threshold level based on the histogram to distinguish the ground color pixel from the different color pixel. The first replacement unit compares the brightness value of at least one of the color pixels with the first threshold level to detect the ground color pixel, the first replacement unit replacing the detected ground color pixel with a white color pixel to produce a processed color image, the white color pixel having white color.

In recent years, in order to record characters and/or a graphic written on a whiteboard or a blackboard as electronic data, a digital camera or a camera phone is sometimes utilized. Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2006-121488 discloses a printer which processes color data obtained by taking a photograph with a digital camera. The printer reduces the number of gradation values of a color image inputted to the printer. This is because the inputted color image is originally provided with a large number of gradation values. As a result, a color image data of a smaller size is generated. Small-sized data is suitable for data transfer by e-mail or wireless communication.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2000-36909 discloses an electronic blackboard which scans an image on a screen. The screen is included in the electronic blackboard. The read mage is then recorded on a recording sheet. In order to stabilize the quality of the image to be recorded, regardless of light source intensity and the density of the original image, the electronic blackboard can change a threshold value used for image reading.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 4-362850 discloses a color separator which color-separates the image obtained by reading an original image put on a white screen. The screen is included in the electronic blackboard. The color separator obtains monochrome image data by reading characters and/or a graphic written/formed in black and red on the screen. The color separator uses a monochrome image sensor represented by pixels having a brightness value in the range of 0 to 255 (256 values of gradation). The color separator determines the brightness value of each pixel to create a brightness histogram showing the relation between brightness value and the number of pixels at each brightness value. Based on the pixel distribution shown in the density histogram, the color separator achieves separation among the following colors of pixels: black, white, and red.
If the color image is obtained by photographing a whiteboard, the color image contains pixels having the ground color of the whiteboard. Since dust or dirt adheres to the surface of the whiteboard, the pixels which have the ground color do not represent perfect white. In order to print the color image, therefore, additional ink or toner is required for the ground color. On the other hand, if a color image is obtained by photographing a blackboard, since the ground of the blackboard has a color near black, a large amount of toner or ink is consumed for printing the color image. The problem is that, ink or toner is wastefully consumed for the ground color of an image, although the ground color is not significant information.
In addition, the color image printed on a recording sheet is disadvantageous. Such an image sometimes cannot obtain a printed result having a good visibility, due to dust or dirt adhering to the surface of the whiteboard or the blackboard.


The present invention provides novel anhydrous polymorph forms of 2R,3S,4R,5R)-5-(6-(cyclopentylamino)-9H-purin-9-yl)-3,4-dihydroxytetrahydrofuran-2-yl) methyl nitrate (Compound A), a selective adenosine A1 receptor agonist with a number of therapeutic uses including the treatment of elevated intra-ocular pressure. Also provided are methods for the preparation of the anhydrous polymorphic forms of compound A, pharmaceutical compositions and methods of treatment.

Compound A is represented by the following structure
    [2R,3S,4R,5R)-5-(6-(cyclopentylamino)-9H-purin-9-yl)-3,4-dihydroxytetrahydrofuran-2-yl)] methyl nitrate,
Compound A is a selective adenosine A1 receptor agonist and is of particular use in the treatment of elevated intra-ocular pressure as described in PCT/US2010/033112 (published as WO2010/127210).
Compound A can be prepared using the procedures described in U.S. Pat. No. 7,423,144, US 20090062314, and WO2010/127210 all of which are herein incorporated by reference in their entirety.
Many pharmaceutical solids can exist in different physical forms. Polymorphism can be characterized as the ability of a drug substance to exist in two or more crystalline phases that have different arrangements and/or conformations of the molecules in the crystal lattice.
Polymorphs of a pharmaceutical solid can have different physical and solid state chemical properties. The most stable polymorphic form of a drug substance is often used because it has the lowest potential for conversion from one polymorphic form to another.
A particular crystalline form of a compound can have physical properties that differ from those of other polymorphic forms and such properties can influence the physico-chemical and pharmaceutical processing of the compound, particularly when the compound is prepared or used on a commercial scale. Such differences may alter the mechanical handling properties of the compound, such as dispersion in a blend of solid formulation excipients or within a suspension formulation. Polymorphs are also known in some cases to have different chemical stability profiles and different solubility of the solid material. As a result of these potential polymorph-specific physiochemical differences, the discovery of new polymorphic forms provides a new opportunity to improve the manufacturing or characteristics of a pharmaceutical end product.
Further, new polymorphic forms of a drug substance can display different melting point, hygroscopicity, stability, solubility and/or dissolution rate, crystallinity, crystal properties, and formulation handling characteristics, which are among the numerous properties that need to be considered in preparing medicament that can be effectively administered, they can materially impact the quality of a pharmaceutical product. Furthermore, regulatory agencies require a definitive knowledge, characterization and control of the polymorphic form of the active component in pharmaceutical dosage forms if it is in the solid state.
Compound A is under development by the Applicants for reducing intraocular pressure. The Applicants have found a number of polymorphs of Compound A that are useful for controlling certain desirable formulation properties. In particular two anhydrous forms have been identified, isolated and characterized.

Anhydrous polymorphs of [(2R,3S,4R,5R)-5-(6-(cyclopentylamino)-9H-purin-9-yl)-3,4-dihydroxytetrahydrofuran-2-yl)} methyl nitrate and processes of preparation thereof


In a piezoelectric element, a piezoelectric film, a first electrode film provided on one surface of the piezoelectric film, and a second electrode film provided on the other surface of the piezoelectric film form a layered structure, an outer contour of the first electrode film and an outer contour of the second electrode film are positioned outside an outer contour of the piezoelectric film as viewed in a layering direction, an organic resin film is in contact with the piezoelectric film, and generation of noise is suppressed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an angular velocity sensor using a piezoelectric element.
2. Related Background Art
As angular velocity sensors used for controlling attitudes of moving bodies such as vehicles, typically, ones having various shapes such as an alphabetical H-shaped one, a pillar-shaped one, and a tuning fork-shaped one are known.
These angular velocity sensors are configured from a base, a drive electrode part, and a detection electrode part. Electrode parts for input/output extraction to/from an outside are provided on an upper surface of the base. The electrode parts for input/output extraction are connected with the drive electrode part and the detection electrode part with electrode wires and electrode pads. Each of the electrode parts includes a piezoelectric element having a piezoelectric film. The piezoelectric film sandwiched by an upper electrode and a lower electrode, of the piezoelectric element, has piezoelectric characteristics, and causes distortion when being applied a voltage and causes a potential when mechanically distorted. By use of the characteristics, the piezoelectric element excites the drive electrode part of the angular velocity sensor. When an angular velocity is applied to the angular velocity sensor, the drive electrode part is distorted by Coriolis' force, and a potential is caused in the detection electrode part, accordingly. By detecting of the potential, the angular velocity provided to the angular velocity sensor can be detected. Note that the angular velocity sensor is mounted on a base or the like, then connected with an external circuit by wire bonding or the like, and packaged with an IC that is a processing circuit, thereby to become the angular velocity sensor.
As the piezoelectric element used in such an angular velocity sensor, for example, Patent Document 1 has proposed a piezoelectric element in which a first surface (lower surface) of a piezoelectric body, on which a first electrode (lower electrode) is provided, is formed into a shape having a contour at an outer side than a contour of a second surface (upper surface) of a piezoelectric body, on which a second electrode (upper electrode) is provided, the contour being projected on the first surface (lower surface), the first electrode (lower electrode) is formed into a shape that is the same as or larger than the contour of the first surface (lower surface), and the second electrode (upper electrode) is formed into a shape that is the same as or smaller than the contour of the second surface (upper surface), thereby to effectively prevent a short circuit between the electrodes without increasing resonance performance of the piezoelectric element.
(Patent Document 1) Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2010-135595 A


Systems, devices, media, and methods are presented for transmitting shared visual content between networked devices with a linked source for the visual content by accessing and presenting visual content, receiving a network location for a network resource associated with the visual content, linking the network location to the visual content to generate linked visual content, and cause presentation of the linked visual content in a draft message within a graphical user interface.

Telecommunications applications and devices can provide communication between multiple users using a variety of media, such as text, images, sound recordings, and/or video recording. These applications may transfer message content between two users. Information describing a source for the message content, aspects of the message content, or commentary relating to the message content is transferred in separate messages distinct from the message content being shared. Where the message content is being transmitted in a first application and the source, aspects, or commentary relating to the message content originates in a second application, telecommunications applications rely on device operating system functions such as copy and paste to copy the source, aspects, or commentary from the second application to the first application.
The headings provided herein are merely for convenience and do not necessarily affect the scope or meaning of the terms used.

Network resource location linking and visual content sharing


A system for handling files containing digitized images, such as digitized bank checks. Four digitized image-files are obtained for each check: front and back at the beginning of a process, and front and back at the end of the process. Four digital signatures are generated, one for each image-file. The four image-files are to be consolidated into a single composite file. However, for technical reasons, the content of the image-files must be altered somewhat. Thus, if the image-files are later extracted from the composite file, the extracted files will not correspond to the original image-files, and will produce different digital signatures. The invention allows the original image-files to be accurately extracted from the composite file.

Recipients of bank checks deposit the checks in the recipients'bank accounts. The depositary banks then transmit the deposited checks to a central clearing station, which in the United States managed by a division of the federal government.
FIG. 1 illustrates a stack 3 of paper bank checks which represents checks collected at the clearing station. One check 6 is shown in detail. The clearing station undertakes a check-clearing process, wherein accounting is done to settle accounts among the banks involved. The clearing house then distributes the checks to the banks on which they were drawn.
Recently, with the advent of inexpensive, high-speed digital computation, and because of various governmental regulations, a movement has originated to eliminate the distribution of the paper bank checks. Instead, optical scanners are used to generate digitized images of the checks, and the digitized images are then distributed electronically to the drawee-banks. The paper checks 3 in FIG. 1 are then held in long-term storage, in case they are needed.
FIGS. 2-5 illustrate conceptually the digitizing process. Each check 6 is divided into pixels 9, as in FIG. 2. FIG. 2 is a simplification: the number of pixels actually used is much larger than that indicated by the Figure.
Each pixel is assigned a value, or number, which indicates optical properties of the pixel. For example, if grey-scale photography is used, then the number indicates the relative greyness of the pixel, on a scale ranging from pure white to pure black. FIG. 3 provides an illustration, and shows three pixels 9. If a pixel is pure black, and if one byte is associated with each pixel, then the pixel is assigned the number 255. If a pixel is pure white, it is assigned the number zero. If a pixel is grey, it is assigned a number between 1 and 254, depending on the degree of greyness.
The numbers for the pixels are arranged in a convenient sequence, such as that suggested by FIG. 4. The top row of pixels is assigned positions 1 through 37 in the sequence. The second row is assigned positions 38 through 74, and so on.
Thus, each bank check is, in effect, converted to a sequence of numbers, such as the sequence shown in FIG. 5, wherein B(1) refers to the first byte in the sequence, and represents the grey-scale value of pixel number 1 in FIG. 4. Byte B(2) in FIG. 5 represents the value of pixel number 2 in FIG. 4, and so on. The sequence is shown as terminating in B(10,000) because ten thousand is considered a good estimate of the total number of pixels currently used to digitize a bank check.
The sequence of numbers of FIG. 5 will be termed the "image-data" of the check.
Once the image-data is generated, copies of the original check can be produced from the image-data. The copies can be displayed on a computer screen, printed on paper, or both, using known methods.
However, in order to produce accurate copies, certain technical information must be known about the original image-data. For example, the actual size of each pixel 9 in FIG. 2 must be known, to create a copy of the same size as the original.
As a second example, the length and width of the image, in pixels or equivalent, must be known. As a third example, it must be known whether the pixels represent color-values (not discussed herein), grey scales, or other representations. As a fourth example, it must be known whether the image-data is compressed and, if so, what compression algorithm was used.
This technical information, and other technical information, is generally attached to the image-data. Various file formats have been developed which package the two groups of data together, namely, (1) the image-data and (2) the technical information.
One file format which has achieved widespread usage is the Tagged Image File Format, or TIFF. A specification which defines the TIFF format is available from Adobe Systems, San Jose, Calif., USA.
Some banking systems have adopted the TIFF format for storage of the digitized images of their bank checks. In addition, some of these banking systems store four images of each check within the TIFF file. A first image corresponds to the front of the check, and a second image corresponds to the back of the check, as it initially arrives for processing. Later, during the check-clearing process, additional information can be added to the check, such as routing information. Two additional images, front and back, are created of the modified check, thereby explaining the total of four images.
The TIFF convention, or standard, allows these multiple digital images to be stored in a single data file. The use of a single file, as opposed to four separate files, provides convenience of handling, since only a single file must be named and tracked, as opposed to four files.
The Inventors have identified potential problems in this single-file approach to storage of multiple images, and have developed stratagems which reduces the problems.

Digitized bank checks validated by digital signatures


An apparatus for compressing audio data is provided. An audio signal is sampled and divided into divided audio signals in a plurality of frequency bands. A predetermined process is applied to ones respective of the divided audio signals and a characteristic value for each of the divided audio signals is calculated after the predetermined process. An adaptive bit allocation circuit repeatedly allocates a number of bits to each of the divided audio signals based on the characteristic value and a bit rate of the input audio signal. The adaptive bit allocation circuit detects the frequency band containing one of the divided audio signals having a maximum characteristic value within a selected frequency range. A unit number of bits is repeatedly allocated to the one of the divided audio signals and the characteristics value is modified based on the unit number of bits. A counting member counts the number of allocated bits for the one of the divided audio signals. A detection range control member selects the frequency range used in the detection process in accordance with the bit rate of the input audio signal and the number of allocated bits that have been counted.

1. Field of The Invention
The present invention relates to an apparatus for compressing audio data to be used for data compression in an audio data compression/decompression system for compressing the audio data for transmission or recording and decompressing the audio data for reproducing the transmitted or recorded data, and more particularly to a high efficiency encoding apparatus for compressing the audio data at a high compression factor and a high efficiency.
2. Description of The Related Art
Prior art references related to the present invention are:
Document 1: JP-A-4-250722 PA1 Document 2: JP-A-5-19798 PA1 Document 3: JP-A-5-37395 PA1 Document 4: ISO/IEC 11172-3, 1993 Information Technology-Coding of moving picture and associated audio for digital storage media at up to 1.5 Mbit/s, Annex C, p.p.66, 70-72
Various methods for efficiently coding (data compressing) an audio signal are known such as those disclosed in the above Documents 2 and 4. One example is a band division coding system (sub-band coding system) which divides a digital audio signal into a plurality of frequency bands for coding.
In the band division coding system, an input digital audio signal is sampled at a predetermined sampling period and the following band division coding is applied to the audio signal sampled in each sampling period. First, the sampled audio signal is transformed into audio signals of a plurality of frequency bands by a filter bank circuit and the signals contained in the respective frequency bands are subjected to floating by a floating process circuit. The floating process is a process to modify levels of signals contained in each frequency band by using a common coefficient to raise precision in a subsequent quantization process. For example, a process to normalize the signals contained in each frequency band based on a maximum absolute value therein may be used as the floating process. The common coefficient used in the modification in the floating process, or the signal used as a reference of the normalization when the normalization is used as the floating process is referred to as a floating coefficient.
The input audio signal is applied to a signal characteristic calculation circuit for determining its signal characteristic. An allocated bit-number, i.e. the number of bits to be used for representing the audio signals contained in each frequency band, is determined based on the signal characteristic and a predetermined number of bits per unit time i.e. a predetermined bit rate, which is separately inputted, to be used for representing the compressed audio signal.
A quantization circuit provided for each frequency band quantizes the audio signal, after the floating process, contained in the frequency band based on the allocated bit-number as determined for the frequency band thereby to output encoded data. In this manner, the encoded data of the audio signal contained in each frequency band is produced.
The signal characteristic calculation circuit and the adaptive bit allocation circuit have been known as disclosed in, for example, the above Documents 1 and 3. To fully understand the present invention, some explanation is added below. First, a circuit configuration of a prior art adaptive bit allocation circuit is explained with reference to FIG. 7. The adaptive bit allocation circuit allocates the number of bits to be used to represent the compressed audio signal to each band so as to enhance a signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) of the audio signal contained in each band or to reduce the noise level.
As shown in FIG. 7, the adaptive bit allocation circuit includes a memory circuit 1, a maximum value detection circuit 2, a bit distribution circuit 4 and a signal-to-noise ratio modification circuit 5. The signal characteristic determined by the signal characteristic calculation circuit, or for example, a signal representing a magnitude of a signal energy of the audio signal contained in each frequency band is applied to a terminal 61 and stored in the memory circuit 1.
The maximum value detection circuit 2 detects a maximum of the energy values of the audio signals contained in all the bands stored in the memory circuit 1 to determine the band which contains the maximum. The bit distribution circuit 4 allocates a unit bit to the band containing the maximum. Namely, it increments the number of bits to be used to represent the audio signal contained in the band containing the maximum by the unit bit, for example, one bit. Each band is initially allocated with "0", for example, as the number of bits to represent the audio signal contained therein. Then, the signal-to-noise ratio modification circuit 5 calculates a modified value corresponding to the enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio by the increment of the unit bit and modifies the energy value, as stored in the memory circuit, of the audio signal contained in the band containing the maximum by the modified value. The modified value corresponding to the enhancement of the signal-to-noise ratio (S/N ratio) is a modified value based on the decrease of a relative noise due to the increment of the number of bits to represent the audio signal by one bit and it is calculated by a predetermined formula. A specific method for determining the modified value is well known and the explanation thereof is omitted.
In the bit distribution circuit 2, the total number of bits distributed to the audio signals contained in each band is checked, and if it is within a range of the bit rate indicated by the bit rate signal applied to the input terminal 11, the detection of the band containing the maximum is further repeated and the distribution of the unit bit is continued. In this manner, the bit length to be used to represent the audio signal contained in each band is determined by the total number of bits distributed to the band and it is outputted from the terminal 12.
The signal characteristic determined by the signal characteristic calculation circuit may be the magnitude of the energy for each band. Alternatively, an allowable noise spectrum for each band may be used by utilizing an audible masking effect. A prior art configuration therefor is explained with reference to FIG. 8.
The masking effect refers to a phenomenon in which certain sound is masked by other sound by the human auditory characteristic so that it is not audible by the human. The masking effect includes a temporal masking effect in which the masking occurs by signals which are close on a time axis and a simultaneous time masking effect in which the masking occurs by signals which are close on a frequency axis.
Even if a noise is contained in the masked portion, the noise is not audible by the masking effect. Thus, the noise within the range which is masked in the actual audio signal is considered as being permissible.
As shown in FIG. 8, the digital input data is applied through an input terminal 48 to the energy calculation circuit 51 for calculating the energy for each band. In the energy calculation circuit 51, the data is divided into a plurality of frequency bands in the same manner as in the filter bank circuit and the energy for each band is calculated based on the audio signal contained in each band by, for example, calculating the root-mean-square value of the amplitude.
A peak amplitude may be used instead of the energy. Alternatively, the signal representing the floating coefficient 46 may be used for this purpose.
Then, in the subtraction circuit 56, an absolute threshold, which corresponds to the minimum human auditory characteristic and is output from a minimum auditory characteristic table circuit 52, is subtracted from the signal energy of each band outputted from the energy calculation circuit 51.
In a masking effect modification circuit 57 in a stage following the subtraction circuit 56, the masking effect is modified for the permissible noise spectrum. The masking effect is modified by subtracting the permissible noise spectrum from the signal energy. The resulting characteristic signal is outputted to the adaptive bit allocation circuit through an output terminal 61.
FIG. 6 shows an example of the energy of the band, the absolute threshold and the masking threshold. In FIG. 6, the band is divided into 18. The energy at a certain time of each band calculated by the energy calculation circuit of FIG. 8 has a distribution pattern as shown by "E" in FIG. 6.
The absolute threshold which represents the human auditory characteristic has a distribution pattern which is high at a high frequency and also at a low frequency as shown by AS. The subtraction circuit 56 produces a difference between the energy E and the absolute threshold AS. The masking threshold by the masking effect is calculated by the masking characteristic calculation circuit 53 and has a distribution pattern as shown by MS in FIG. 6.
The masking effect appears at an area which is closer to a peak of the spectrum. By taking its affect into consideration, the masking effect modification circuit 57 of FIG. 8 modifies the permissible noise spectrum AS by MS and the bit allocation is carried out by utilizing the resulting permissible noise level AS+MS. The circuit parts constituting the signal characteristic calculation circuit of FIG. 8 are known and detailed description thereof is omitted.
In the prior art audio data compression apparatus, the amounts of calculation in the filter bank process, the floating process, the quantization process and the signal characteristic calculation process are substantially constant independent of the bit rate.
However, in the distribution of the bits to each band, the number of bits to be handled is larger and the amount of calculation is larger as the bit rate higher. As a result, the larger the bit rate is, the longer the processing time of the compression of the entire audio data compression apparatus is.
Further, the method of calculating the permissible noise spectrum by using the signal characteristic calculation circuit of FIG. 8 involves a problem such that although a high quality of sound is attained by utilizing the human auditory characteristic, the calculation of the permissible noise spectrum requires a large amount of calculation independent of the bit rate.


A novel apparatus is provided for facilitating the transfer of signals from a computer for the external setting of reception frequency parameters and other operating conditions of a radio receiver having a memory which is programmable according to data in the form of an electric pulse signal. The apparatus includes an interface circuit operatively coupled between the computer and the memory of the receiver. The interface circuit converts respective signal levels of the data into the electric pulse signals enabling data transfer and communication between the computer and the memory of the receiver. An improved flat-type, reversible connector is used between the interface circuit and the receiver. The connector has upper and lower surface portions, and is operatively coupled to a receptacle in the receiver. The connector has pairs of vertical connector conductors, each individual vertical conductor of each pair being connected to each other, within the respective surface portions and are arranged so that the mutually connected pair of conductors are positioned at both sides of a center conductor. The receptacle has contacts adapted to simultaneously contact the conductors on either of the surface portions of the connector, respectively. The contacts of the receptacle are connected in the same manner as the conductors of the connector, wherein the connector can be inserted into and connected to the receptacle in a reversible manner.

The present invention presents a novel system for setting reception frequency parameters and the like of a radio receiver. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel system for externally setting reception frequency parameters and other operating conditions of a radio receiver, such as a scanner, without the need for, or the use of, reception frequency parameter and other operation conditions setting circuits within the scanner.
In a typical scanner, which can scan and receive a plurality of selected frequencies, the setting of the reception frequencies and other operating conditions is usually performed within the physical structure of the scanner itself, requiring an additional circuit for programming the reception frequencies, etc., in addition to a circuit for performing the primary receiver function of the scanner. As a result, the cost of such scanner is necessarily increased by the additional circuitry required, and further adding to an overall limitation in the desired miniaturization of the scanner configuration.
The present invention overcomes the shortcomings of the prior art by providing a novel system in which data for setting the reception frequency parameters of the scanner is inputted from an external data source into the scanner, this data is then written into a memory of the scanner providing operating reception frequency parameters, etc., to the scanner. Therefore, by utilizing this novel system, the need for the provision of such reception frequency parameter, etc., setting (i.e., "programming") circuit within the scanner itself is eliminated.
Another problem arises, however, pertaining to the connection device utilized for the connection of the external data source to the scanner. A usual connector for an electrical connection of the external data source to the scanner brings about a sacrifice for a degree of freedom in design relating to the outer casing of a miniaturized scanner, as well as necessity for special attention to the connection of the connector of the external data source to the connector of the scanner.
In order to remedy the connection device problem, the novel system of the present invention utilizes a reversible connector arrangement which is suitable for use in a miniaturized scanner. The reversible connector provides an easy to use and simple connection between the external data source and the scanner without the need for any additional apparatus or special attention as to use. This reversible connector provides simple insertion and connection to a scanner receptacle with no sacrifice of a degree of freedom in design for the outer case or configuration of the miniaturized scanner.
Furthermore, it is preferable to use a conventional personal computer, as means for programming and operating the scanner, because no special apparatus need be developed in conjunction with the computer for that purpose.
The present invention allows for the desired overall miniaturization of the scanner's configuration, while simultaneously negating the need for the provision of reception frequency parameter setting circuits within the scanner. Additionally, the computer requires no special apparatus to be developed for use in conjunction with the system, resulting in a convenient, compact, easy to use miniaturized scanner at a lower cost.


A positioning terminal for generating position information of an object being transported includes a radio frequency identification (RFID) module for storing status information of the object relative to at least two predefined locations, and a communication module for sending position information of the object to a control center. A controller reads the status information from the RFID module at predefined intervals, and controls activation of the communication module based on the status information.

Application and utilization of Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) in the fields of physical distribution, load distribution, and product manufacturing are known. An RFID device is also called an IC tag or a radio frequency tag, and generally includes a small antenna and a very small IC module which is provided with a memory. Data can be read from or written to the memory using an RFID reader/writer.
In the field of transportation involving the use of aircrafts, there is a need to track and record the freight transportation route. One way to satisfy such need is the use of Global Positioning System (GPS). Specifically, a GPS terminal is attached to a freight including a GPS module and a communication module for transmitting and receiving the position information obtained by the GPS module to and from a control center.
However, origination of signals from a GPS terminal from within an aircraft is legally prohibited. Therefore, it is required that the function of the GPS terminal be validated only during land transportation. As such, the GPS module and the communication module of the GPS terminal are manually invalidated before the start of transportation by an aircraft. These modules are manually validated again when the land transportation starts again.
For solving a part of this problem, a technology is known in which sensors are used to inactivate the GPS terminal when the terminal is determined to be within an aircraft. However, this technology is not provided with any means for detecting the transfer of the GPS terminal to the outside of the aircraft.
Moreover, even if it is possible to use various systems including the GPS terminal to detect whether the terminal is within an aircraft, it is desirable to restrain the operation of the terminal when inside of the aircraft. It may also be possible to suspend and activate the GPS terminal with reference to information relating to the operation time of the aircraft by storing that information into the GPS terminal. However, if the actual operation time is changed from the stored information, there is a risk that the GPS terminal will be activated during the flight.

Method and apparatus for generating position information


Various endeffector designs are disclosed for handling semiconductor wafers. For instance, an endeffector for handling wafers at a relatively low temperature is disclosed along with an endeffector for handling wafers at a relatively high temperature. Both endeffectors include uniquely designed support members that are configured to only contact a wafer at the wafer's edge. The endeffectors may also include a wafer detection system. The endeffector for handling wafers at relatively low temperatures may also include a pushing device that is used not only to position a wafer but to hold a wafer on the endeffector during acceleration or deceleration of the endeffector caused by a robot arm attached to the endeffector. As designed, the endeffectors may have a very slim profile making the endeffectors easily maneuverable.

In general, an integrated circuit refers to an electrical circuit contained on a single monolithic chip containing active and passive circuit elements. Integrated circuits are fabricated by diffusing and depositing successive layers of various materials in a preselected pattern on a substrate. The materials can include semiconductive materials such as silicon, conductive materials such as metals, and low dielectric materials such as silicon dioxide. The semiconductive materials contained in integrated circuit chips are used to form almost all of the ordinary electronic circuit elements, such as resistors, capacitors, diodes, and transistors.
Typically, the substrate that is used to form integrated circuit chips is made from a thin slice or wafer of silicon. During production of integrated circuit chips, the semiconductor wafers are typically kept in carriers called cassettes. The wafers are separated from one another in the cassettes in a stacked arrangement. The wafers are transported in and out of the cassettes individually using wafer handling devices, which are also known as endeffectors. The endeffectors may be attached to a robot arm which moves the endeffectors in one, two or three directions.
The endeffectors are designed to enter the cassette in between a pair of adjacent wafers and to pick up one of the wafers for transfer into, for instance, a processing chamber. In the processing chamber, the semiconductor wafer is subjected to one of various processes. For instance, in the processing chamber, a chemical vapor deposition process, an etching process, an annealing process, and/or an epitaxial growth process may occur.
During the transport of wafers, care must be taken to ensure that the wafers are not damaged or contaminated. Thus, there have been many efforts in the industry to design endeffectors and robot arms that are capable of carefully transporting wafers in a very precise manner. Although many improvements have been made in the area of wafer handling, however, further improvements are still needed. For example, many wafer handling tools are relatively large and bulky in order to accommodate many of the instruments that are now attached to the tools in order to more precisely transport wafers. The size of the endeffectors, however, limit the speed at which the endeffectors are transported and accelerated. Further, relatively large endeffectors require that the processing chamber contain relatively large openings for receiving the endeffectors and the wafers carried thereon.
In view of the above, a need currently exists for further improvements in the design of endeffectors and robot arms. Further, a need exists for a relatively slim product design that not only ensures accurate wafer control but that can integrate a wafer detection system and a wafer pushing mechanism that may be used to grip wafers during transportation. A need further exists for a relatively slim endeffector design that may be used when handling cold wafers or when handling hot wafers.

Endeffectors for handling semiconductor wafers


Systems and methods for multivariate Artificial Intelligence (AI) smart cards are provided. An AI smart card may include, for example, pre-stored policy data that may be utilized as a portion of multivariate input by a suite of AI modules to formulate and analyze a claim of loss.

There are currently two (2) basic manners in which customer interactions requiring complex decision making may be carried out. First, a customer may conduct live telephone or online chat conversations with a human Customer Service Representative (CSR). These conversations are often enhanced and/or preceded by utilization of an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system to triage and/or route the customer's query. Unfortunately, as human staffing is an expensive resource, many customers may experience long wait times and/or poor quality of service. Long wait times, in particular, often dissuade customers from becoming involved with the decision-making process and/or delay the process. In cases where timely information is important for result determination, such delays often lead to mistakes and associated economic losses.
In the second manner of customer interactions, advancements in smartphone technology have provided for mobile platforms via which customers may skip human-to-human interactions (and the attendant queues thereof) by submitting queries via mobile applications. While the promise of such a technology-enhanced option was originally high, it has failed to remedy the problems with the query process. Smartphone applications must be coded to provide menus and specific questions to customers so that they may be properly guided through the process, for example. However, even leveraging the best marketing research has failed to generate menus and questions that substantial portions of a customer base find intuitive. Confusion with mobile device applications increases the frequency of incorrect data entry, which, in turn, leads to inaccurate decision-making results. Inaccurate results cause economic errors which do harm to either or both of the customer and the entity to which the customer has submitted a query.

Systems and methods for multivariate artificial intelligence (AI) smart cards


Provided are a porous structure for forming anti-fingerprint coating capable of providing a self-cleaning function to a surface of a substrate, a method of forming anti-fingerprint coating using the same, an anti-fingerprint coated substrate prepared by the same method, and a product including the same. When the porous structure including a lipolytic enzyme is formed on the surface of the substrate, contaminants decomposed by an enzyme are absorbed into a pore, and thus anti-fingerprint coating may be more effectively performed to remove detectable contamination from a surface of the substrate. As a result, contamination by fingerprints on the surface of a display device, the appearance of an electronic device, or building materials can be effectively reduced.

Contamination caused by fingerprints is one of the most frequent contaminations occurring on various display devices, high-glossy electronic devices or building materials. Such contamination is clearly visible and causes an exterior defect on a product. Recently, as the fingerprint contamination on a surface of a display device has increased with the development of touchscreen interface technology of electronic devices, there is an increasing demand for resolving the problem of the fingerprint contamination on the surface of display devices.
However, until now, no technology actually realizing anti-fingerprint coating has been developed, although anti-contamination coating has just been developed in the sense of easy cleaning.
For example, WO09/72738 discloses a anti-fingerprint coating composition for a stainless steel external case of an electronic appliance, which contains 10.6 parts by weight or less of an additive composed of 27.6 to 36.2 parts by weight of polysilicate, 10.6 parts by weight or less of any one selected from epoxy and vinyl resins, 21.2 to 42.6 parts by weight of colloidal silica, at least one selected from the first group consisting of —OH, —NH2, and —COOH, and at least one selected from the second group consisting of —CnF2n+1 and —SiR3.
U.S. Patent No. 2002/0192181 discloses an anti-contamination composition, which includes a cured or crosslinked polymer having no perfluoropolyether moieties, and a fluid fluorinated alkyl- or alkoxy-containing polymer or oligomer.
However, the above-mentioned anti-contamination film uses fluorine-based coating, such that a contaminant transferred to its surface is easily wiped due to low surface energy. Since the anti-contamination film does not have a function of self-cleaning, that is, a function of actively reducing transfer of fingerprints or decomposing fingerprints, the appearance may not be improved without wiping the contaminant off.
A conventional anti-fingerprint film can be applied only to a steel plate used for an external case, and has a limit in application to a product requiring high light transmittance such as a display device.
Meanwhile, a coating solution, a coating layer, and a coating method using the same were also developed in the self-cleaning sense using an enzyme. However, the coating solution, layer and method have been developed to prevent adherence of marine microorganisms to the bottom of a ship, but not to reduce contamination caused by fingerprints on display devices, the appearance of electronic devices, and building materials.
For example, a self-polishing, anti-contamination coating composition is disclosed in U.S. Patent No. 2008-0038241, and a method of preventing contamination of an underwater device by marine microorganisms is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,998,200.
That is, in the self-cleaning sense using an enzyme, the conventional coating solution, layer or method has a mechanism of previously removing an adsorbent material produced by marine microorganisms to prevent marine microorganisms from adhering to the bottom of a ship or removing a contaminant with the adsorbent material, but this mechanism is not associated with the decomposition of the fingerprint contaminant.
As far as the present inventors know, there is no technology of anti-fingerprint coating in the self-cleaning sense, which can be used to provide an anti-fingerprint property to the surface of a display device.

Porous structure for forming anti-fingerprint coating, method of forming anti-fingerprint coating, substrate comprising the anti-finger-print coating formed by the method, and product comprising the substrate


The present invention provides a semiconductor integrated circuit device having an SRAM in which leak current is reduced. In an SRAM comprising a plurality of memory cells each constructed by a storage in which input and output terminals of two inverter circuits are cross-connected and a selection MOSFET provided between the storage and complementary bit lines and whose gate is connected to a word line, a substrate bias switching circuit is provided. In normal operation, the substrate bias switching circuit supplies a power source voltage to an N-type well in which a P-channel MOSFET of a memory cell is formed and supplies a ground potential of the circuit to a P-type well in which an N-channel MOSFET is formed. In the standby state, the substrate bias switching circuit supplies a predetermined voltage which is lower than the power source voltage and by which a PN junction between the N-type well and the source of the P-channel MOSFET is not forward biased to the N-type well, and supplies a predetermined voltage which is higher than the ground potential and by which a PN junction between the P-type well and the source of the N-channel MOSFET is not forward biased to the P-type well.

The present invention relates to a semiconductor integrated circuit device and a technique effective when used for a semiconductor integrated circuit device having, for example, a static RAM.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-344979 (Patent Document 1) discloses an invention for solving a problem such that leak current in an off state increases due to decrease in threshold voltage of a transistor as a device becomes finer by supplying negative voltage to a word line to which the gate of an accessed (selected) transistor is connected at the time of standby. Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. Hei 6(1994)-216346 (Patent Document 2) discloses an invention in which threshold voltage is set to be high in advance, at the time of operation, small voltage is supplied in a forward bias direction to a substrate so that the threshold voltage decreases, and operation is performed while assuring desired operating speed. At the time of standby, power source voltage and ground potential are supplied to the substrate to perform operation with the high threshold voltage, thereby reducing leak current.


A solar mirror panel (10) has a first sheet-like stiffening member (12) having a reflective surface, a second sheet-like stiffening member (18), and a spacer member (16) of resin bonded wood composite located between the first and second members (12, 16).

Sunlight is a source of "renewable" energy that may be captured for human use using various techniques. One method of concentrating light is to use reflective (mirrored) optics. Mirrors are moved to track the sun with either single or dual axes of movement, focussing light to a receiver where some sort of energy collection or conversion process is carried out.
When dishes are used the mirrored surface preferably follows a desired surface to a relatively high degree of accuracy so that the focal area is relatively small and the efficiency high.
Typically the mirrored surface is made up of a large number of individual mirrored panels but may be a single panel.
A solar thermal power plant may require hundreds or thousands of individual mirror panels. Accordingly, the cost of each panel has a significant influence on the overall cost of the solar thermal power plant.

Solar mirror panels and their manufacture


A display device has a display panel, a frame, and an elastic spacer arranged on the periphery of the display panel in parallel to the edge of the display panel. The elastic spacer is arranged between the display panel and the frame, and the hardness of the elastic spacer is varied along the length-side direction of the elastic spacer.

The present invention relates to a display device; and, more particularly, to a technique for effecting support for a display panel in a display device so as to reduce warping of the display panel.
A display device, such as a liquid crystal display device, includes a liquid crystal display panel for displaying an image. The liquid crystal display panel is formed of a pair of substrates, such as glass sheets, that are disposed so as to mutually oppose each other via liquid crystal, with numerous pixels being disposed in the spreading direction of the liquid crystal.
A pair of electrodes is disposed in each pixel of the liquid crystal display panel, and the light transmissivity of the liquid crystal of the pixels is controlled by an electric field generated between these electrodes. For this reason, a light source is necessary in order to perceive an image on the liquid crystal display panel. Ordinarily, a backlight is disposed at the back surface of the liquid crystal display panel, so that the light from the backlight passes through the pixels of the liquid crystal display device and reaches the observer.
Moreover, the liquid crystal display panel, the backlight and other members are modulized using several frames, whereby the position of the backlight or the other members with respect to the liquid crystal display panel is regulated, as described for example in JP-A-9-22000. Thus, it is unavoidable for the liquid crystal display panel to include places that come into contact with the frames at portions thereof. Spacers (elastic spacers) comprising an elastic agent, such as rubber, are located at these portions to suppress mechanical stress with respect to the liquid crystal display panel.

Display device with elastic spacers having varying widths and hardness


A master carrier for magnetic transfer having a data region and a servo pattern region that has a pattern of fine projections arrayed in the track direction thereof in accordance with the preformat signal information to be transferred onto an in-plane magnetic recording medium is disclosed. The data region has a projection formed of a material such as carbon-based material that differs from the material of the servo pattern region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a master carrier for magnetic transfer, which has a projection pattern for digital information transfer to magnetic recording medium, and in particular to the projection pattern of such a master carrier.
2. Description of the Related Art
With the recent increase in information data in the art of magnetic recording media, generally desired are inexpensive, mass-storable and rapid-accessible media capable of recording many informations and preferably capable of reading out the necessary site within a short period of time. For example, high-density magnetic disc media are known that are used in hard disc devices and floppy (registered trade mark) disc devices. A tracking servo technique plays a significant role in realizing the mass storability of such media, which is for driving a magnetic head to accurately scan even narrow tracks and to reproduce signals as a high S/N ratio. Discs are preformatted to record tracking servo signals, address information signals and reproduction clock signals at predetermined intervals in one circle of each disc, and a recording head is so designed that it can read these preformatted signals and can therefore correct its own position to accurately run on the track of each disc.
In general, servo signals (servo patterns) include a preamble (synchronization signal), a gray code (track number signal) and a burst signal (head positioning signal) that are formed in that order from the top of a servo frame, and a data region follows their region. The burst signal has a part where it is recorded as shifted by ½ track width from the track center line, and the other servo signals are recorded on the track center line to a whole track pitch width. The data region is narrower than the recording width of servo signals, and a guard band part where no signal is recorded is formed in the area adjacent to the outer and inner tracks.
At present, every disc is preformatted one by one by recording the signals one by one thereon, using a dedicated servo recording device. For example, the servo recording device is equipped with a magnetic head that has a head width of about 75% of the track pitch. First, the magnetic head is kept in adjacent to a disc, and the disc is rotated once in that condition to thereby write a pattern thereon that corresponds to the outer ½ track width. Next, the magnetic head is moved inside by a half track pitch width of the disc, and a pattern that corresponds to the inner ½ track width is written on the disc in the next rotation thereof. In that manner, the one-track signal is formed on the disc.
The servo recording device is expensive, and takes a lot of time for preformatting discs with it. Therefore, the preformatting process takes a major part of the production cost of discs, and it is desired to reduce the cost.
Accordingly, a method of preformatting discs in a mode of magnetic transfer has been proposed, in place of preformatting them one by one for one by one track thereon. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 6,347,016 discloses magnetic transfer techniques. For magnetic transfer, a master carrier is prepared, which has a projection pattern corresponding to the information to be transferred onto magnetic disc media such as slave media, i.e., magnetic recording media. The master carrier is kept in intimate contact with a slave medium and a magnetic field for transfer recording is applied to them, whereby the magnetic pattern corresponding to the information (e.g., servo signals) that the projection pattern of the master carrier carries is recorded onto the slave medium. The process enables static recording, not changing the relative position between the master carrier and the slave medium. According to the process, therefore, accurate recording of preformat data on slave media is possible, and the time necessary for the recording may be extremely short.
For improving the transfer quality in the above-mentioned magnetic transfer process, it is important to solve the problem of how to keep the master carrier and the slave medium in intimate contact with no gap between them. In other words, if they are not kept in good intimate contact with each other, then no magnetic transfer may occur in some region. The magnetic transfer failure will cause signal failure of the magnetic information transferred onto the slave medium, and the transferred signal quality is thereby lowered, and when the recorded signal is a servo signal, then it could not satisfactorily attain its tracking function and the signal-reading reliability thereof may therefore lower.
FIG. 5 is a plan view for explaining the positional relationship between a servo pattern region and a data region of a magnetic transfer master carrier. In the drawing, M5 is a magnetic transfer master carrier; S1, S2, S3, S4, S5, . . . each are a servo pattern region; and D1, D2, D3, D4, D5, . . . each are a data region. In the drawing, the regions are drawn wide for better visibility. In fact, however, one region has a center angle of about 2 degrees. Further, the servo pattern region S1, . . . is drawn wider in some degree than the data region D1, . . . In fact, however, the difference between them is much larger than that in the drawing. FIG. 6, FIG. 7, . . . that are described below each show the cross-sectional view of FIG. 5 in the T1 direction thereof.
FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing a condition of magnetic transfer onto a slave medium from a conventional magnetic transfer master carrier. (a) is the master form before transfer; and (b) is the master form during transfer.
In the drawing, M6 is a conventional magnetic transfer master carrier; S is a slave medium; S1 and S2 each are a serve pattern region; and D1 and D2 each are a data region. As seen in the drawing, the conventional magnetic transfer master carrier does not have a projection in the data region D1, D2, and therefore an air layer L1 is between the carrier M6 and the slave medium S.
In the magnetic transfer process illustrated, the master carrier and the slave medium are kept in contact with each other for preformat signal formation. As in FIG. 6(a), the magnetic transfer master carrier M6 is kept in contact with the slave medium S, and then the gap between them is degassed to be in the condition as in FIG. 6(b) in which an external pressure P is applied to the master carrier M6 and only the preformat signal projections are kept in contact with the slave medium. In this, therefore, the preformat signal projections undergo high-order distortion while they are in contact with the slave medium. Specifically, the sites m2 and m4 with no projection formed therein are warped and deformed, and therefore, the sites m1 and m3 with projections formed therein are influenced by the deformed sites, and are therefore deformed as in the drawing. As a result, accurate magnetic transfer onto the slave medium becomes impossible owing to the high-order distortion of the preformat signal projections, and the quality of the transferred slave medium is therefore low. In addition, the projections of the servo pattern region are also gradually changed and collapsed, and the material of the curved site is fatigued, and to that effect, the durability of the master carrier is problematic.
When the master carrier M6 is repeatedly brought into contact with the slave medium S, then the lubricant in the slave medium S and the contaminant in air may adhere to the master carrier M6. The lubricant and the contaminant thus having adhered thereto are difficult to remove from the master carrier, and also to that effect, the master carrier could not ensure good durability.
On the other hand, a different type of master carrier that does not form an air layer between it and a slave medium is known, for example, as in JP-A2001-126247 and JP-A11-273070. The master carrier of the type is so designed that the data region thereof is formed to the same height as that of the servo pattern region thereof in producing it, and a magnetic layer is embedded in only the servo pattern region, and, as a result, the height of the servo pattern region is made the same as that of the data region.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a magnetic transfer master carrier common to JP-A 2001-126247 and JP-A 11-273070.
In the drawing, 50 is a servo pattern region of a magnetic transfer master carrier; 51 is a non-magnetic support; and 52 is a ferromagnetic thin film.
For producing the master carrier, a resist is applied to the surface of the non-magnetic support 51, exposed to light, developed and etched to form a groove pattern on the non-magnetic support 51, and a ferromagnetic thin film 52 is formed on it. Next, the remaining resist and the unnecessary ferromagnetic thin film are removed to obtain the servo pattern region 50 as in FIG. 7(a).
Specifically, the magnetic transfer master carrier 50 is so designed that its surface is flat and a ferromagnetic layer is embedded in it. When the master carrier is kept in contact with a slave medium on the side of the ferromagnetic layer thereof, then the two can be kept in intimate contact with each other with no gap between them, and ensure good magnetic transfer between them. Since the master carrier of the type has no projection on its surface, its durability is good and its life is long.
JP-A 2001-126247 and JP-A 11-273070 may clarify the constitution of the servo pattern region of the master carrier disclosed therein, but have no description relating to the data region thereof. From the production method for the master carrier, it may be presumed that the non-magnetic support 51 itself may serve as the data region of the master carrier. If so, the magnetic transfer master carrier having the servo pattern region and the data region presumed from Patent References 1 and 2 will be as in FIG. 7(b).
In FIG. 7 (b), M7 is a magnetic transfer master carrier comprising a servo pattern region and a data region; 51 is a non-magnetic support; 52 is a ferromagnetic thin film; S is a servo pattern region 50; and D is a data region. When the thickness of the master carrier in the servo pattern region is represented by d1 and those in the data region is represented by d2, then d1=d2.
The surface of the magnetic transfer master carrier M7 is flat as illustrated. Therefore, when this is kept in intimate contact with a slave medium, then no air layer is formed between the data region D and the slave medium. In that condition, this is free from high-order distortion that is caused by only the contact of the preformat signal projections with the slave medium as in FIG. 6. Accordingly, the master carrier of this type may ensure accurate magnetic transfer onto slave media, therefore having the advantages of good durability and long life.
However, the magnetic transfer master carrier M7 of FIG. 7 does not have a projection pattern in the servo pattern region thereof, and therefore the boundary between the magnetic region and the non-magnetic region is difficult to clarify. In particular, when magnetic powder adheres to the flat non-magnetic region, then this will rather interfere with accurate magnetic transfer onto slave media. Another problem with the master carrier M7 is that it requires a step of embedding the magnetic region 52 into the non-magnetic region 51.
Another type of magnetic transfer master carrier as in FIG. 8 may solve the problem. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a condition of magnetic transfer onto a slave medium from a magnetic transfer master carrier. (a) is the master form before transfer; and (b) is the master form during transfer.
In the drawing, M8 is a conventional magnetic transfer master carrier; S is a slave medium; S1 and S2 each are a serve pattern region; and D1 and D2 each are a data region.
As seen in the drawing, the magnetic transfer master carrier M8 is characterized in that a projection T1, T2 is formed to be the entire data region D1, D2 thereof, and its height is the same as that of the projections in the servo pattern region S1, S2. Accordingly, when the master carrier of the type is attached to a slave medium, then an air layer like L1 as in FIG. 6(a) is not formed between it and the slave medium S attached thereto, like in the case of FIG. 7. Therefore, even when a pressure P is applied to the master carrier during magnetic transfer with it as in FIG. 6(b), there occurs no high-order distortion that may be caused by the contact of only the preformat signal projections of a master carrier to the adjacent slave medium. As a result, the master carrier of the type ensures accurate magnetic transfer with it, and has the advantages of good durability and long life.
However, the projection in the data region of the magnetic transfer master carrier of FIG. 8 is formed of the same magnetic support as in the servo pattern region thereof, and therefore, the master carrier of the type is unfavorable since the data region thereof may also undergo magnetic transfer at the same time when the servo pattern thereof is subjected to magnetic transfer onto slave media.
Accordingly, the master carrier must be specifically so designed that the data region thereof does not undergo magnetic transfer while the serve pattern thereof is subjected to magnetic transfer onto slave media. For it, for example, the servo pattern region and the data region of one and the same master carrier may be so synchronized that the master carrier may receive a magnetic field only in the servo pattern region thereof but not in the data region thereof while it is driven for magnetic transfer onto slave media. However, controlling the master carrier to that effect is complicated and troublesome.
Common to the two magnetic transfer master carriers of FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, another problem is that there exists no groove passing in the radial direction, in the boundary between the projections-having servo pattern region and the data region of the two.
The master carrier of the type as above, in which the projection of the data region is formed of the same non-magnetic support as in the servo pattern region and has the same height as that of the servo pattern region, has the advantage of good intimate contact with a slave medium with no gap between them, but naturally, it does not have any other function, such as a cleaning function of absorbing a lubricant released from a slave medium attached thereto.
Even when a flat master carrier is attached to a flat slave medium, the two could not always be in completely intimate contact with each other in the entire surface thereof, and air bubble islands may be formed in the area where air discharge by suction is delayed, and if so, they may rather cause magnetic transfer failure. The magnetic transfer master carriers of FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 could not repel such air bubbles.


Access to data and resources in a multi-tenant computing system is managed by tagging the data and resources with attributes, as well as by tagging users with attributes. Tenant-specific access policies are configured. When an access request is received from a workload, a policy decision engine processes the attributes that are tagged to the requesting workload (e.g., user, application, etc.) as well as those tagged to the requested data or resource, given a relevant tenant-specific policy. An access decision is provided in response to the access request, and the access decision can be enforced by a tenant-specific enforcement system.

Computing systems are currently in wide use. Many computing systems host services that are accessed by multiple different tenants. Each tenant may be a separate organization, so that the data and some resources for the different tenants are maintained in isolation from one another.
In some current systems, organizations store relatively large amounts of structured and unstructured data in remote server environments (such as in cloud-based data stores that are accessed through hosted data store services). Tenants often store data directly to cloud storage systems, and also through software applications that are cloud-enabled applications.
At the same time, it is not uncommon for such tenants to have a relatively large number of users that need to access the data. As these users spend time in the organization corresponding to the tenant, their roles and project responsibilities can change, expand, and retract. Similarly, at different points during the lifecycle of a project, the organization may wish to enable collaboration between different groups in the organization. This may naturally lead to expansion and contraction of the scope of the audience that needs access to data, as well as the types of access needed, at different times.
The discussion above is merely provided for general background information and is not intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Controlling access to cloud resources in data using cloud-enabled data tagging and a dynamic access control policy engine


Electronic testing devices such as multimeters, and probes therefor. The probes may have off-device display devices attached thereto. The display devices may be non-detachably attached to the probes. In an aspect, conductive pathways to carry probe signals and display signals may be run in parallel or be integrated and may be coupled with a common port or hole of the electronic testing device. In an aspect, a hinge may be used to attach the display devices to the probes. In an aspect, the display device may be attached to a side of the probe to facilitate viewing of the display by a user.

1. Field
An embodiment of the invention relates to an electronic test instrument. More particularly the embodiment relates to a multimeter.
2. Background Information
Various multimeters, their properties, and their uses have been discussed in the literature. FIG. 1 shows an exemplary digital multimeter. The digital multimeter has a digital display screen on the main device. Coupled with the multimeter are red and black colored probes, shown here in different grayscale, that a user may use to test an electrical system. In a representative method of use, a user may contact terminal portions of the probes with an electrical system under test and read test results from the digital display screen on the main device.
One potential problem that the inventor has recognized is that the display screen may be inaccessible for viewing when the user is handling the probes. This may be particularly true when the main device portion of the multimeter is placed on a surface or attached to the user (e.g., clamped to a belt).
Another potential problem that the inventor has recognized is that the user may divert his attention away from the probes while trying to read results from the digital display screen and may unintentionally move the terminal portions of the probes. This may lead to an erroneous measurement or potential damage of the multimeter if the probe contacts a high voltage or current line. More importantly this may potentially place the user in danger.

Multimeter having off-device display device and selection device