An image forming apparatus may include a main body having a surface. The main body may accommodate a photosensitive member disposed away from the surface and along a conveying path and a fuser. The fuser may be disposed downstream from the photosensitive member along the conveying path and have a portion disposed further away from the surface than the photosensitive member. The fuser may include an endless belt and a nip plate. The nip plate may include a first surface with lubricant thereon that faces an inner surface of the endless belt, and a second surface that extends from an end of the first surface. The second surface may be spaced apart from the inner surface of the endless belt and include a furthest downstream portion of the nip plate.

1. Field
Aspects of the present invention relate to an image forming apparatus in an electrophotographic method and to a fuser of the image forming apparatus, and more particularly to an image forming apparatus equipped with a fuser in a belt fixing method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, an image forming apparatus in an electrophotographic method includes an image supporting body structured so that a developing agent such as toner can be supported, a transfer member that transfers the developing agent supported on the image supporting body to a recording sheet, and a fuser that thermally fixes the developing agent transferred to the recording sheet. In a known method used by a fuser, an endless belt (fixing film) is held between a nip member placed so as to face the inner surface of the belt and a rotating body (pressurizing roller) placed so as to face the outer surface of the belt, after which the developing agent is heated to melt it and the melted developing agent is fixed on the recording sheet in a process in which the recording sheet on which the developing agent is supported is conveyed while being held between the belt and the rotating body.
As for a fuser based on this method, a structure is known in which fluid guide grooves are formed in a surface, of the nip member, that is in contact with the belt to evenly distribute a lubricant used to enhance slidability between the nip member and the belt.
Because of design considerations for a recording sheet conveying path in the image forming apparatus, the nip member and rotating body are placed so that the contact portion of the nip member faces downward as in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-146964. In addition to this aspect, an aspect in which the contact portion of the nip member is oriented at an angle as indicated in FIG. 1 in U.S. patent publication no. 2009/0175645 has been practiced.
In the structure described in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2008-146964, a lubricant can be evenly distributed on the contact portion of the nip member, but there is no consideration for the lubricant flowing outwardly from the contact portion. If the lubricant flows outwardly from the contact portion, the lubricant may proceed along the smooth surface of the nip member and may turn back and enter the back of the nip member. As a result, the lubricant may contaminate the interior of the apparatus. In addition, if the amount of lubricant is reduced due to its outward flow, the slidability of the belt may be reduced. Then, the driving torque of the belt may be increased and the belt becomes more likely to slip. Furthermore, the apparatus may be deteriorated earlier than expected.
Particularly in the structure described in U.S. patent application No. 2009/0175645, in which the contact portion of the nip member is oriented at an angle, if the lubricant overflows from the contact portion of the nip member and enters the interior of the fusing device from the downstream end of the nip member, the lubricant may contaminate a heating element, a reflecting plate, which reflects radiant heat from the heating element, and other components in the fuser. This may lower the performance of the fuser.
Noting the issue of suppressing a lubricant from flowing out from the upwardly oriented contact portions of the nip member and other members in a fuser, particularly from the downstream end of the contact portion in a direction in which a recording sheet is conveyed (belt sliding direction), the inventors of this application repeated diligent study and devised the present invention.


The present invention discloses a remote control method, apparatus, and display apparatus. Said remote control method is applied in a remote control apparatus for remotely controlling display of one or more signal sources in a display screen of a display apparatus. Said method comprises: determining a layout control image, one or more windows being comprised in said layout control image; generating layout control information according to the layout of said one or more windows in said layout control image; and sending said layout control information to said display apparatus, so that said display apparatus sets correspondingly the layout of said one or more signal sources in the display screen of said display apparatus according to the layout of said one or more windows in said layout control image. Therefore, a user can implement flexible control operations of display configuration in a visual manner, and the user experience can be improved.

The present invention relates to the field of computer technologies, and more particularly, to a remote control method, a remote control apparatus, and a display apparatus.
With the continuous development of display technologies, sizes of display apparatus such as television sets, computer monitors and the like become larger and larger, and functions of them become richer and richer. The display apparatus able to display simultaneously multiple signal sources (i.e., display contents) in a display screen using means such as widgets and so on even appear.
Because of the unceasing promotion of functions of display apparatus, remote control operations for these display apparatus become more and more complex. However, nowadays, traditional remote controllers are still mainly adopted to perform remote control over these display apparatus.
It is hard to flexibly perform various control operations of display configuration on a display apparatus, such as enabling one or more signal sources to be displayed simultaneously in a display screen of the display apparatus, self-defining the layout of the signal sources in the display screen, quickly switching among the signal sources, and the like, by using the conventional remote controllers.
Therefore, a new type of remote control apparatus and method is required to enable a user to achieve flexible control over the display apparatus.

Remote control method, remote control apparatus, and display apparatus


A walk-behind power driven lawn mower having a front wheel steering system including a control mounted on the mower handle and a linkage system interconnecting the control and the front wheels of the mower so that in operation the mower may be steered to the right or left by the operator as the grass cutting operation proceeds. The control includes a lever for controlling the drive transmission to the rear wheels. Also disclosed is a locking tab attached to a pivoting wheel drive actuation handle which lockingly engages an operator presence bar in engagement when said wheel drive actuation handle is in engagement.

The present invention relates to walk-behind lawn mowers, such as power driven walk-behind lawn mowers, and more particularly to a novel walk-behind lawn mower whose front wheels may be steered by the operator during a cutting operation.
It is known that in walk-behind lawn mowers having no operable steering mechanism that the machine is designed to follow a straight course when no force is applied by the operator to the control handle. In order to steer the mower considerable force must be exerted by the operator to the control handle to guide the mower in the intended direction of travel. For example, to turn the machine from one direction of travel to another the operator must exert sufficient force downward and sideward on the control handle to skew the front end around into the intended direction of travel. Further, at every correction of course the aforesaid action must be repeated. The force required to turn the machine varies, dependent on the distribution of weight on the rear wheels and handle length and position of the particular lawn mower but will average between approximately 18% and 30% of the total weight of the machine.
In the prior art, it is known to provide a steering system for the rear wheel or wheels of a walk-behind lawn mower. This is illustrated for example in U.S. patents to Schantz U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,029,887 and 3,196,971 and Haseloff U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,780,504 and 4,024,695. However, such steering systems are limited in their ability to maneuver the mower to turn away from a closely adjacent fence, wall or ditch without striking the latter.

Walk-behind lawn mower with front wheel steering


An access point that supports downstream and upstream communication from and to a Modular Cable Modem Termination System (M-CMTS) core to and from customer premises equipment (CPE), respectively, implements an Upstream External PHY Interface (UEPI) protocol with the M-CMTS core for control of the upstream communication. The access point receives from the M-CMTS core first UEPI control messages comprising information to configure one or more pathways with the access point for data plane upstream communication and control plane communication. The access point transmits to the M-CMTS core second UEPI control messages including a spectrum management message to manage upstream spectrum between the access point and the M-CMTS core, and a range request message to request ranging information so that the CPE can transmit upstream packets within an upstream timeslot, wherein at least one second UEPI control message is forwarded from the (CPE).

DOCSIS is a protocol that is used to send digital video and data between a hub or headend facility (HEF), and a cable modem (CM), gateway, or a set-top box at a customer premise. DOCSIS originates and terminates via a cable modem termination system (CMTS) at one end and a CM at the other end. For downstream and upstream transport, the digital data are modulated onto a Radio Frequency (RF) carrier or channel using Quadrature Amplitude Modulation (QAM) techniques. There are two types of CMTS architectures: 1) a CMTS with an integrated physical (PHY) layer and 2) a CMTS with a distributed PHY, e.g., on a separate PHY shelf collocated with the CMTS or a remote PHY that is further downstream and closer to the customer's end equipment. The CMTS with a distributed architecture is referred to as a modular CMTS (M-CMTS). In this context a PHY refers to the physical modulation and upconverter technology, and is sometimes referred to as a coaxial media converter (CMC).
To facilitate some markets, a third CMTS architecture has been specified by the cable industry's governing body, CableLabs® that supports conventional video in addition to DOCSIS, and is referred to as a Converged Cable Access Platform (CCAP). When the QAM is physically removed from an integrated CMTS and placed downstream it is known as an edge QAM (EQAM) or downstream PHY device. Thus, the CCAP architecture allows DOCSIS and existing video distribution to be combined downstream, thereby allowing network component reuse to reduce overall costs. While providing a more modular architecture, these downstream physical layer devices have a disadvantage in that they each must be manually configured by a network administrator for many of their operating parameters and are not configured with an integrated upstream equivalent of their downstream capability.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Upstream external PHY interface for data and control plane traffic


A semiconductor memory device includes first to third wiring layers formed above a semiconductor substrate, extending in a first direction, and sequentially arranged in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, a plurality of active areas formed in the semiconductor substrate, and extending in a direction oblique to the first direction, first and second selection transistors formed in each of the active areas, and sharing a source region electrically connected to the second wiring layer, a first magnetoresistive element having one terminal electrically connected to a drain region of the first selection transistor, and the other terminal electrically connected to the first wiring layer, and a second magnetoresistive element having one terminal electrically connected to a drain region of the second selection transistor, and the other terminal electrically connected to the third wiring layer.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, e.g., a semiconductor memory device including a memory element capable of storing a binary digit by supplying currents bidirectionally.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, many solid-state memories for storing data on the basis of new principles have been proposed. In particular, a magnetic random access memory (MRAM) using the tunneling magnetoresistive effect is attracting attention as a solid-state magnetic memory. The MRAM is characterized by storing data in accordance with the magnetization state of a magnetic tunnel junction (MTJ) element.
In the conventional MRAM in which data is written by a magnetic field generated by a line current, the holding force increases when the size of the MTJ element decreases. This often increases the write current. The conventional MRAM described above cannot decrease the cell size for the purpose of increasing the capacity and decrease the current at the same time.
A spin-injection-type MRAM using the spin momentum transfer (SMT) write method as a write method capable of solving the above problem has been proposed. In this spin-injection-type MRAM, data is written by a current flowing through the MTJ element in a direction perpendicular to the film surface, and the spin direction in a free layer is changed by the direction of this current. Also, a memory cell comprises an MTJ element and selection transistor. For example, this selection transistor shares a source region with an adjacent cell in order to reduce the cell area.
When two selection transistors share the source region in the spin-injection-type MRAM, the source potential is supplied by a wiring layer by (1) forming a source potential line parallel to the gate electrode of the selection transistor, or (2) forming a source potential line perpendicularly to the gate electrode of the selection transistor. Method 2 has the problem that in an active area formed perpendicularly to the gate electrode of the selection transistor, no contact can be directly formed from the source potential line to the source region of the selection transistor.
As a related technique of this kind, a technique that improves the reliability and suppresses crosstalk by increasing the degree of integration in an MRAM in which data is written by using a current magnetic field is disclosed (Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2003-218326).


An assembly for mounting an auxiliary outboard engine on a boat has a support frame with attachment means for mounting the support frame in an inclined position between a transom of the boat and a rear edge of a bathing platform projecting outwardly of the transom. An engine mount is slidable up and down the support frame to move an outboard engine carried on the mount in use between a lowered operating position in the water and a raised stored position above the bathing platform.

Many motor boats which are used for fishing have a relatively powerful inboard engine for powering the boat. When fishing by trolling for example the boat is slowly moved through the water. The main inboard engine is not really suitable for this, although it can be used. However, a smaller engine would be more efficient. To this end an outboard engine is sometimes hung on the transom of the boat and run, with the main engine off, to slowly move the boat through the water when trolling. However, the outboard engine may overhang the stern of the boat by about 1 meter. This has a number of disadvantages. Firstly, there is a danger of damaging the outboard engine, particularly when manoeuvring the boat in confined spaces such as when mooring the boat for example. Also, the increased length means a longer mooring berth is required for the boat and this can increase the mooring charges.
It is known in the art, see for example GB 1 129 478, U.S. Pat. No. 4,668,197 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,279,602 to provide an auxiliary engine such as an outboard motor in a purpose-built compartment at the aft end of a boat. The outboard motor can be moved on a support frame between a raised stored position within a compartment and a lowered deployed position in the water for powering the boat. This arrangement requires the building of a compartment into the boat to house the auxiliary engine and generally would have to be incorporated in the boat design when building the boat. It would certainly be difficult to fit such a compartment to a boat after construction of the boat. Furthermore, considerable space is required within the hull at the aft end of the boat to accommodate the compartment. Such space is not always readily available, particularly for example when an inboard engine is provided in the boat as the primary propulsion system for the boat. In U.S. Pat. No. 6,390,864 there is disclosed a sliding mount for mounting an outboard motor on a boat. The mount can slide between a raised horizontal position on the deck and a lowered vertical position behind the transom to support the outboard motor in the water for powering the boat. Another outboard engine support is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 2,928,630 which is operable for sliding the outboard engine up and down on the transom of a boat between a raised position and a lowered in-use position. The support and the outboard engine overhang the stern of the boat in both the raised and lowered positions. The support when raised can be pivoted into the boat to invert the engine for maintenance if required.
The present invention is directed towards overcoming the aforementioned problems.


An X-ray fluorescence analyzer has a structure that defines a chamber (102). There is a window (103) to the chamber in a surface that is to come next to a sample (101) outside the chamber. The window (103) comprises a foil that is permeable to X-rays. A detector (104) receives fluorescent X-rays through said window (103). A low pressure source (508) is coupled to the chamber (102) and configured to controllably lower the pressure of a gaseous medium in the chamber (102) to a pressure value between 760 torr and 10 torr. The X-ray fluorescence analyzer maintains a lowered pressure of a value between 760 torr and 10 torr in the chamber (102) for the duration of an X-ray fluorescence measurement.

X-ray fluorescence is a measurement and analysis method in which incident X-rays coming from an X-ray source are allowed to hit a sample, causing electrons in the inner shells of constituent atoms to achieve excited states. When these excited states relax, the sample material emits fluorescent radiation at characteristic energies. Measuring the intensity and spectral characteristics of the fluorescent radiation with a detector allows deducing various facts about the material composition of the sample.
X-ray fluorescence analysis is commonly used for scrap sorting and other needs of metal industry, to quickly identify the composition of alloys. Problems may arise with light element constituents such as Mg, Si, Al, and others, because some of the characteristic X-ray fluorescence radiation of these elements comes at energies of only few keV (kiloelectronvolts). For example the K alpha line of Mg at 1.25 keV experiences heavy attenuation in air, so that in an analyzer device with an air gap of 0.9 cm between the sample and the detector something like 88% of the Mg-K radiation is attenuated before reaching the detector.
A prior art publication U.S. Pat. No. 6,909,770 B2 (Schramm et al.) discloses an X-ray fluorescence analyzer equipped with a chamber at the front part of the device, where the X-ray source and detector are located. The front wall of the chamber defines an opening, with a sealing mechanism around its edge. The sealing is pressed against a solid sample surface, which closes the chamber. A separate pump attached to the analyzer device draws all air out of the chamber. As examples of achieved conditions the document mentions a pressure range of 1 to 10-7 torr, or a more narrowly defined range of 1 to 10-2 torr. This reduces significantly the attenuation of X-rays in the free space between the sample and the detector, so said prior art device achieves a remarkable improvement in measuring fluorescent radiation at low energies.
A disadvantage of the prior art device is the additional clumsiness that the external pump arrangement introduces. The pump arrangement also draws a significant amount of electric energy, so that it needs a direct connection to an electric wall outlet. Therefore the apparatus is not well suited for field conditions. Additionally the apparatus is only applicable for analysing samples that have a smooth, solid outer surface, because otherwise it is impossible to seal the front end of the chamber tightly against the sample.

X-ray fluorescence analyzer having means for producing lowered pressure, and an X-ray fluorescence measurement method using lowered pressure


An LED display module is disclosed. The LED display module includes: an active matrix substrate including a plurality of control units; a plurality of pairs of solder bumps arranged in a matrix on the active matrix substrate by transfer printing; a plurality of LED chips including pairs of electrodes connected to the corresponding plurality of pairs of solder bumps and arranged in a matrix on the active matrix substrate by transfer printing; grid barriers formed on the active matrix substrate to isolate the plurality of LED chips into individual chip units; and a multi-color cell layer including a plurality of color cells and aligned with the active matrix substrate such that the plurality of color cells match the plurality of LED chips in a one-to-one relationship. The plurality of color cells include first color cells, second color cells, and third color cells disposed consecutively in one direction.

Full-color light emitting diode (LED) displays in which LEDs emitting light at different wavelengths are grouped into pixels have been proposed as potential replacements for displays using LEDs as backlight light sources. Each pixel consists of red, green, and blue LEDs or red, green, blue, and white LEDs. In such an LED display, red, green, and blue LEDs are fabricated in packages and are mounted on a substrate. However, due to the large distances between the constituent LEDs of each pixel, high-quality resolution is difficult to obtain. Pixels consisting of packages of LEDs are difficult to apply to micro-LED displays that have recently received much attention. LED pixel units have also been proposed in which red LEDs, green LEDs, and blue LEDs constituting one pixel are mounted in one package. In such an LED pixel unit, the distance between the adjacent LEDs (i.e. sub-pixels) in one pixel is small but the distance between the adjacent pixels is difficult to reduce. Further, light interference may occur between the red, green, and blue LEDs.
Thus, for the purpose of reducing the distance between pixels, an attempt has been made to fabricate an LED display module in which groups of LED chips, each of which includes red LED, green LED, and blue LED chips, are arrayed in a matrix on a substrate. It is, however, difficult to mount the LED chips at predetermined heights and intervals on the micrometer-sized substrate. Different heights and intervals between the LED chips mounted on the substrate deteriorate the color reproducibility of the LED display module. Wire bonding is necessary for electrical connection between electrode pads and the LED chips on the substrate but it takes at least tens to hundreds of hours to manufacture one product.
Particularly, in the course of mounting tens to hundreds of LED chips on the substrate, there is a high possibility that some of the LED chips may not be accurately located at desired heights from the substrate at desired positions on the substrate. In this case, a designed light emitting pattern cannot be achieved, resulting in poor color reproducibility. Further, the LED chips are required to emit light at various wavelengths and should be divided on the basis of wavelength. For example, the LED chips emitting light at different wavelengths should be divided into unit groups. Thereafter, the unit groups should be arranged, making it troublesome and difficult to fabricate the LED display modules.

LED display modules and methods for making the same


A biological sample containing a target nucleic acid is mixed with a primer, a substrate labeled with fluorescence, and DNA polymerase to prepare a test solution. After a nucleic acid amplification reaction is performed in a predetermined manner, the test solution is attached dropwise on a slide glass, which is mounted on a sample holder of an inverted fluorescence microscope. Data measured by a photomultiplyer are arithmetically operated by applying an autocorrelation function in a data processing apparatus. Based on the arithmetic results, quantification data for the target nucleic acid, are numerically or graphically displayed on a screen of a display apparatus.

Determination and detection of nucleotide sequences and measurement of molecular weights regarding nucleic acids such as DNA and RNA, are the most important analytical means in biochemical and molecular biological research, and recently, have also become an important tool in gene diagnosis and gene therapy. Generally, in the case where these analytical means are applied to biological test samples such as blood, urine, cerebrospinal fluid, and saliva, the analysis is performed after amplifying nucleic acid molecules present in an extremely small amount in the test sample to an appropriate concentration, in order to increase accuracy in the analysis. For example, in PCR (polymerase chain reaction), which is a very important gene amplification method, two types of primers work together in a plurality of amplification cycles. An amplified gene through appropriate amplification cycles is finally detected by subjecting the amplified sample to gel electrophoresis to separate them into fractions based on chain length (molecular weight), and then, determining the presence and absence of a fraction corresponding to a specific chain length.
In the PCR, a target nucleic acid is treated in the presence of DNA polymerase serving as a nucleic acid synthase, primers for initiating replication, and four types of bases (dATP, dGTP, dTTP, dCTP) serving as substrates for use in replication, under conditions in which a polymerizing reaction of the substrate molecules can take place. It follows that a complementary chain is synthesized by using a single-stranded DNA derived from the target nucleic acid as a template to form a double stranded DNA (dsDNA), resulting in amplification of the nucleic acid. As described, the PCR product amplified by co-working of two types of primers always forms a double stranded DNA (dsDNA).
The hybridization reaction using an oligonucleotide probe having a specific nucleotide sequence is used for determining a nucleotide sequence of the PCR product, namely, dsDNA. However, the hybridization reaction using the oligonucleotide probe has such problems that non-specific hybridization easily takes place because quick annealing must be repeated, and further, both DNA chains resemble the probe in nucleotide sequence.
As a quantitative method for measuring a total amount of dsDNA after amplified by the PCR method, some methods have been proposed hitherto. For instance, one of the methods is as follows. PCR is effected in a predetermined number of cycles using a sufficient amount of a PCR primer labeled with a marker molecule such as a fluorescent dye. The PCR product obtained through the predetermined cycles is subjected to electrophoresis to separate into a primer elongated by polymerase reaction and a free primer not elongated (Bound/Free separation). After the bound/free separation, a total number of fluorescent molecules is counted by a fluorometer. Also known is another method using, as the fluorescent marker, an intercalator (e.g. acridine orange, thiazole orange, oxazole yellow, etc.) which cannot emit fluorescence until it intercalates into the dsDNA during the amplification process. In this method, it is possible to measure the intensity of fluorescent which is emitted from dsDNA hybridized in a test solution only, without effecting the Bound/Free separation.
In the methods described above which measure a total fluorescent amount obtained from a whole test solution, the primers are used in a sufficient amount so as to cause no shortage of the primer during the nucleic acid amplification process of predetermined cycles regardless of an initial concentration of a target nucleic acid molecule. However, in the amplification reaction in the PCR method, various reaction curves are obtained depending upon not only the number (or amount) but also types of target nucleic acid molecules present in a test sample. It is therefore difficult for a conventional analytic method, which measures a total amount of the marker molecules attached to the amplified nucleic acids, to quantitatively monitor the reaction process. In particular, in the conventional PCR method, a signal derived from the free labeled molecules is eliminated and only a signal from the labeled primer hybridized with the target nucleic acid is measured, by removing free labeled molecules through the Bound/Free separation or by employing the intercalator. It is therefore impossible to monitor whether a particular free primer molecule is hybridized or not. Accordingly, in the conventional target nucleic acid analysis, it is impossible to perform quantitative analysis in the presence of a free primer molecule. Furthermore, since a total amount of fluorescence of the whole test solution is measured, the amount of the test solution must be increased in order to improve the sensitivity of the measurement. In addition, since the measurement cannot be performed until a nucleic acid is sufficiently amplified, it is almost impossible to detect a target nucleic acid in an earlier stage of amplification. More specifically, it is difficult to perform quantitative analysis for determining the number (or amount) of the target nucleic acids in the mid-stage of the PCR amplification process, let alone in the earlier stage of the process.
On the other hand, a technique has been lately developed for accurately determining micro-motions of individual target molecules by measuring fluctuation motion of the target molecule in fluid and applying an autocorrelation function. The method of this type is called as a fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (referred to as "FCS" hereinafter) since a fluorescent marker molecule is measured by an optical instrument. An arithmetical operation using the FCS for processing data regarding a biological material are disclosed by Kinjo et al., in which FCS is employed in a hybridization reaction between a labeled nucleic acid probe and a target nucleic acid molecule (Kinjo, M., Rigler, R., Nucleic Acids Research, 23, 1795–1799, 1995).
As a method for detecting a target gene by use of FCS, some reports have been recently provided. According to the report made by Oehlenschlager, F. et al. (Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93, 12811–12816, 1996), it is demonstrated that NASBA (Nucleic Acid Sequence Based Amplification) combined with FCS is an effective detection method for diagnosing HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus) in a serum. The NASBA method, which is a modified PCR method, requires an additional primer labeled with fluorescence as a probe other than two primers described above in the presence of three enzymes, i.e., T7 RNA polymerase, reverse transcriptase, and RNaseH.
As a more simplified method than the NASBA method, an amplified probe extension (APEX) using FCS has been reported from the same group (Walter, N. G. et al., Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA, 93, 12805–12810, 1996). Even in the simplified method, an additional primer labeled with fluorescence is also required as a probe, besides a set of a forward primer and a reverse primer. In an experiment of APEX, change in autocorrelation function value with time is observed after 26 cycles.
However, in both the NASBA method and the APEX method, since an additional labeled probe is required besides the materials for use in general nucleic acid amplification, reaction conditions becomes complicated, making it difficult to stably control an accuracy of analysis. Furthermore, since the probe molecule is labeled with a single fluorescent marker, a signal derived from a labeled free probe significantly reduces an S/N ratio. As a result, the detection sensitivity tends to decrease as the initial concentration of the target nucleic acid molecule decreases. Furthermore, many cycles of PCR reactions must be performed to ensure the detection.

Method of analyzing a target nucleic acid


A mass storage memory device is disclosed. The device includes a nonvolatile memory, a volatile memory configured to store logical to physical (L2P) data associating logical addresses of data stored in the nonvolatile memory with physical locations of the nonvolatile memory at which the data is stored, and a controller. The controller writes L2P data in the nonvolatile memory so the L2P data can be preserved through a power failure. The controller also writes L2P data stored in the nonvolatile memory to the volatile memory to rebuild the L2P table.

Mass storage systems are used to store large amounts of data. Important parameters of such devices include speed and reliability. The systems preferably operate without error for long uninterrupted periods of time. To accomplish this, the systems store system data in addition to user data. The system data may be used to recover user data which is lost because of, for example, a power failure or a hardware failure.
Some systems use RAID (redundant array of independent disks) technology. RAID technology uses multiple memory components to form a single logical memory storage unit. The stored data is distributed among the memory components, and includes the system data for data recovery. Depending upon what level of RAID technology is used, the system may be able to recover from multiple errors. For example, RAID technology may allow for recovery from multiple errors. For example, RAID6 technology allows for recovery from two errors.

Mass storage device and method of operating the same to back up data stored in volatile memory


The invention discloses a tool having a work plate which has a mounting area with a mounting opening for mounting the plate on a drive shaft of a drive, preferably an oscillatory drive, the mounting opening being suitably configured for being seated on the drive shaft, wherein centering elements, projecting toward the drive shaft, are provided for centering the tool on the drive shaft.

The present invention relates to a tool having a work plate which comprises a mounting area with a mounting opening for mounting the plate on a drive shaft of a drive, preferably an oscillating drive, the mounting opening being configured for being seated on the drive shaft.
A tool of that kind is known from U.S. Pat. No. 6,945,862.
The known tool is provided with a work plate comprising a mounting area with a mounting opening to be mounted on a drive shaft of an oscillating drive. The mounting opening is adapted for being seated in form-locking engagement on a plurality of flanks provided on the end of the drive shaft, and comprises curved sections adapted to the shape of the flanks. The number of curved sections is equal to twice the number of the flanks on the drive shaft.
It is possible in this way to mount and fix the tool on the drive shaft in different angular positions. This is of particular advantage in cases where the respective tool has a an oblong shape, for example, for the purpose of performing sawing operations using an edge arranged opposite the mounting opening.
In order to guarantee such adjustability, the number of curved sections provided on the mounting opening must be equal to an integral multiple of the number of flanks or driver elements provided on the drive shaft. If four driver elements, for example, are provided on the drive shaft, then the number of curved sections on the mounting opening must be at least eight in order to permit the position of the tool to be adjusted in steps of 45°. If finer adjustment, for example by steps of 30°, is required, the number of curved sections on the mounting opening would already be increased to twelve.
In the case of a relatively small diameter of the mounting opening it is, however, difficult to produce such a great number of curved sections, adapted to the corresponding driver elements of the drive shaft, and to adapt them to the driver elements of the drive shaft.
In particular when the tool is made from a relatively soft or ductile material, such as aluminum, sufficiently precise production of a the mounting opening with a great number of curved sections can hardly be guaranteed. Moreover, designing the mounting opening with a plurality of curved sections is no longer possible, if only for reasons of geometry, when a greater number of curved sections is required.
Although in that case it would be possible in principle to make the curved sections a little shorter, sufficiently precise seating of the tool on the drive shaft could no longer be guaranteed in that case.


The invention relates notably to a method for transmitting frames on a radio communication channel (RCC), the frames comprising a succession of bursts (B1, . . . , Bn) modulated with at least two different modulation schemes (M1, M2, M3) having different modulation efficiencies, each modulation scheme (M1, M2, M3) having a corresponding average transmitted power.

The present invention relates to transmission of frames on a radio communication channel, wherein the frames contain bursts modulated with different modulation schemes.
In radio communication networks, several modulation schemes can be used at the same transmitter depending on the receiver to which the data are destined. The modulation scheme may be, for example, determined for each receiver so that a predefined carrier to interference ratio is ensured. Usually, it is advantageous to select modulation schemes with different modulation efficiency, the modulation efficiency being defined as the number of data bit per modulation symbols. The higher the number of bit per modulation symbols, the more efficient the modulation. Indeed, a modulation with a high efficiency will be used to communicate with receivers located in a zone subjected to a low amount of interference while a more resistant modulation (i.e. with a lower efficiency) will be used to communicate with receivers located in a zone with a high level of interference.
FIG. 1 represents a simplified radio communication network where several modulations schemes M1, M2, M3 can be used for communicating between a base station 10 and several end-user radio terminals 11, 12, 13. Depending on the location of the radio terminals 11, 12, 13 or on the end-user profile, the core network associates an appropriate modulation scheme M1, M2, M3 with a corresponding modulation efficiency to each radio terminal respectively 11, 12, 13. As a consequence, base station 10 using TDM (time division multiplex) for communicating with radio terminal 11, 12, 13 sends frames containing bursts B1, B2, B3 . . . modulated respectively with modulations schemes M1, M2, M3 and destined respectively to radio terminals 11, 12, 13 . . .
Such mechanisms increase substantially the capacity of the network and are especially used in fixed wireless networks such as Local Multipoint Distribution Services (LMDS) networks. In fixed wireless networks, the end-users are not moving, the interference level affecting each user is thus easy to determine, and a static association of a modulation scheme to each user is easily possible. However, in mobile communication networks, such a mechanism is also possible provided the interference level experienced at each end-user radio terminal is reported to the core network at regular time intervals so that the modulation scheme is accordingly dynamically modified.
The data modulated with different modulation schemes (bursts) destined to different users are then encapsulated in a frame at the transmitter and transmitted on the air interface.
Usual modulation schemes can be represented by a modulation constellation. The term modulation constellation refers to the geometric representation of the modulation symbols constituting the modulation. Each point on the constellation represents the coordinates of a modulation symbol. Represented in a polar coordinate system, the constellation gives for each modulation symbol its phase and its amplitude. A characteristic value of a modulation is its average transmitted power, which can be calculated as the sum of the power (proportional to the square of amplitude) of each modulation symbol divided by the total number of modulation symbols. For example, the average transmitted power for a QPSK modulation equals 2*a2 if the modulation constellation comprises four modulations symbols belonging to the groups of (P;Q):=(+/−a;+/−a) (a being the amplitude of the signal), for a 16 QAM 10*a2 if the modulation constellation comprises sixteen modulations symbols belonging to the groups of (P;Q)=(+/−a;+/−a) (+/−3a;+/−a) (+/−a;+/−3a) (+/−3a;+/−3a) and for a 64 QAM 40*a2.
In a frame comprising bursts modulated with different modulation schemes, the average transmitted power observed at the scale of a frame varies (e.g. jumping from 2*a2 if a burst is modulated with a QPSK modulation to 40*a2 if the next burst is modulated with a 64 QAM and so on).
Varying average transmitted power has the disadvantage to cause unpredictable interference in the network that cannot be easily dealt with while trying to increase network capacity. Indeed, the average transmitted power variations may increase inter-symbol -interference.
A known solution is shown on FIG. 2 and consists in putting a multiplier stage 23 at the output of the digital part of the modulator 20 (i.e. after a mapping module 21 and a digital transmission filter 22) in the transmission chain to regulate the transmitted power and keep it constant. This multiplier stage 23 has the function of an automatic gain controller which selectively amplifies the bursts modulated with a modulation having a low average transmitted power while attenuating the bursts having a high average transmitted power to a predefined constant power value P.
The multiplier stage 23 must be controlled by the mapping module 21 in order to know which modulation has been applied to the current burst and as a consequence which gain it should apply to this burst. Then, the digital signal is supplied to a digital/analog converter 24 and transmitted on the radio communication channel.
This solution presents the disadvantage to require a complex control mechanism to synchronise the mapping module 21 with the multiplier stage 23. Indeed a delay must be taken into account to control the multiplier stage 23 what results in an increased complexity of the transmit chain by requiring additional ASIC gates in the transmitter.
Moreover, the inter-symbol-interference is not eliminated at the transition between two different modulation schemes and some symbols are lost between the digital transmission filter 22 and the multiplier stage 23. In order to improve this method, a preamble or guard symbols must be included between two bursts modulated with different modulations. This reduces the bad effects of the inter-symbol interference since the lost symbols are dummy symbols belonging to the preamble and not traffic data. However, such a solution reduces the capacity of the network since a part of the available bandwidth is used for the transmission of dummy symbols.
Moreover, this solution implies a double rounding operation: one rounding at digital filter 22 and one rounding at multiplier 23, which improves the quantization noise and degrades performances.
A particular object of the present invention is to provide a method for transmitting frames containing bursts modulated with modulation schemes having different modulation efficiency which generates a low inter-symbol interference and increases the capacity of the network.
Another object of the invention is to provide a transmitter for generating and transmitting frames according to the above mentioned method.

Method for transmitting frames comprising bursts modulated with different modulation schemes on radio communication channel

Abstract: The method according to the invention comprises the steps of:                mapping information to be transmitted to modulation symbols using one of the modulation schemes (M1, M2, M3);        filtering the modulation symbols using a digital transmission filter with a set of coefficients, the set being chosen from at least two sets of coefficients depending on the modulation scheme (M1, M2, M3) used at the mapping step, the product of the average transmitted power and the gain of the digital transmission filter being smaller than a predefined value for all modulation schemes (M1, M2, M3).


A method, apparatus and program storage device for managing dataflow through a processing system is disclosed. A buffer monitor maintains and monitors a buffer full threshold to control the write throughput to a data bus.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates in general to computer buses, and more particularly to a method, apparatus and program storage device for managing dataflow through a processing system.
2. Description of Related Art
A conventional computer system typically includes one or more central processing units (CPUs) and one or more memory subsystems. Computer systems also include peripheral devices for inputting and outputting data. Some common peripheral devices include, for example, monitors, keyboards, printers, modems, hard disk drives, floppy disk drives, and network controllers.
One of the important factors in the performance of a computer system is the speed at which the CPU operates. Generally, the faster the CPU operates, the faster the computer system can complete a designated task. One method of increasing the speed of a computer is using multiple CPUs, commonly known as multiprocessing. However, the addition of a faster CPU or additional CPUs can result in different increases in performance among different computer systems. Although it is the CPU that executes the algorithms required for performing a designated task, in many cases it is the peripherals that are responsible for providing data to the CPU and storing or outputting the processed data from the CPU. When a CPU attempts to read or write to a peripheral, the CPU often "sets aside" the algorithm that is currently executing and diverts to executing the read/write transaction (also referred to as an input/output transaction or an I/O transaction) for the peripheral. As can be appreciated by those skilled in the art, the length of time that the CPU is diverted is typically dependent on the efficiency of the I/O transaction.
Although a faster CPU may accelerate the execution of an algorithm, a slow or inefficient I/O transaction process associated therewith can create a bottleneck in the overall performance of the computer system. As the CPU becomes faster, the amount of time executing algorithms becomes less of a limiting factor compared to the time expended in performing an I/O transaction. Accordingly, the improvement in the performance of the computer system that could theoretically result from the use of a faster CPU or the addition of additional CPUs may become substantially curtailed by the bottleneck created by the I/O transactions. Moreover, it can be readily appreciated that any performance degradation due to such I/O bottlenecks in a single computer system may have a stifling affect on the overall performance of a computer network in which the computer system is disposed.
As CPUs have increased in speed, the logic controlling I/O transactions has evolved to accommodate these transactions. Thus, most I/O transactions within a computer system are now largely controlled by application specific integrated circuits (ASIC). These ASICs contain specific logic to perform defined functions. For example, Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) logic is instilled within buses and bridges, which govern I/O transactions between peripheral devices and the CPU.
Peripheral component interconnect (PCI) provides for communicating between a host computer, systems memory and various devices or adapters, such as devices on the bus, plug-in cards, or integrated adapters. A PCI bus system typically interconnects a large number of electronic devices. The system must maintain, manage and communicate bi-directional data from one device to another device or several devices at once. Each device may output different voltage levels while maintaining capability to read data on the bus. One reason for the difficulty of continuously increasing bus speeds to match the continuously increasing processor speeds is that input/output buffers coupled to the busses must often operate across a wide variety of operating conditions. For instance, the performance of an input/output buffer changes with respect to conditions such as process, voltage and temperature.
Today, PCI logic has evolved into the Peripheral Component Interconnect Extended (PCI-X) to form the architectural backbone of the computer system. PCI-X logic has features that improve upon the efficiency of communication between peripheral devices and the CPU. PCI-X 2.0 is a new, higher speed version of the conventional PCI standard, which supports signaling speeds up to 533 megatransfers per second (MTS). Revision 1.0 of the PCI-X specification defined PCI-X 66 and PCI-X 133 devices that transferred data up to 133 MTS, or over 1 Gbyte per second for a 64-bit device. The PCI-X 2.0 revision adds two new speed grades: PCI-X 266 and PCI-X 533, offering up to 4.3 gigabytes per second of bandwidth, 32 times faster than the first generation of PCI.
PCI-X 2.0 is built upon the same architecture, protocols, signals, and connector as traditional PCI. The reuse of many of the design elements from the conventional PCI and PCI-X 1.0b standards eases design and implementation migration. Migration to PCI-X 266 and PCI-X 533 is further simplified by retaining hardware and software compatibility with previous generations of PCI and PCI-X. As a result, new designs can immediately connect with hundreds of PCI and-PCI-X products that are currently available. The combination of backwards compatibility and ease of migration provides investment protection for customers, developers, and manufacturers of existing PCI and PCI-X technologies as they migrate to PCI-X 266 and PCI-X 533.
PCI-X 2.0 also includes new features that will enhance applications in the future. It defines a new 16-bit interface width specifically designed for those applications that are constrained by space, such as embedded RAID controllers, or portable applications. PCI-X 2.0 also expands the device configuration space for each device-function to 4 Kbytes, and defines a new Device ID Message transaction to enable simplified peer-to-peer transactions for applications such as streaming-media.
PCI-X capable devices may include a scheduler to implement transaction ordering rules to determine which transaction in a queue will be handled next. To maximize data throughput on the PCI-X bus it has been found that write operations are best. Further, to maximize throughput with writes, small writes may be gathered together in a temporary buffer so that they can be burst on the PCIX bus as one large write. The speed and availability of the PCIX bus with respect to the CPU bus as well as the increase of stored data due to gathering may cause the buffer to fill. This may cause stalls at the processor (CPU) or cause data overwrites. To prevent the full buffer condition, a processor may gather writes in the buffer too slowly or not optimize the bursting of such writes.
It can be seen that there is a need for a method, apparatus and program storage device for managing dataflow through a processing system.

Method for managing data flow through a processing system

International Business Machines Corporation


A polar solvent solution of the present invention is a polar solvent solution in which a solute containing a polyamine acid is dissolved in a polar solvent. An inorganic salt is added to the solution, and a mole ratio of moisture to the inorganic salt in the solution is 2.5×m×n or less, where m represents the number of cations forming the inorganic salt and n represents a charge number of the cation. A production method of the present invention is a method for producing the above solution, including: changing at, least one of a moisture content and a content of the inorganic salt in the solution to adjust a viscosity of the solution. Thus, the present invention provides a polar solvent solution whose viscosity can be easily adjusted to a desired value and thus enables stable spinning and casting when used as dopes for spinning, film, etc., and methods for producing the same.

Polar solvents such as dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) can dissolve substances such as polymers easily, so they are used for acrylic fiber polymerization and acrylic fiber spinning solutions, or as solvents for polyimide polymerization, etc. The inventors of the present invention have proposed application of the polar solvents as solvents of polypeptides such as spider silk proteins and silk proteins in Patent Documents 1 and 2. Further, the inventors of the present invention also suggest adding inorganic salts to the polar solvents to increase the solubility of polypeptides in Patent Documents 1 and 2.

Polar solvent solution and production method thereof


A visual assistance guide system for placement of a disrupter device for explosive ordinance disposal includes a checkerboard base and adhesive containing areas on the base. One of the adhesive containing areas is used to secure a disrupter device on the base. The checkerboard pattern helps position of the disrupter device (preferably done with a robot) at the proper standoff distance from the package targeted for disposal. Other adhesive areas are located so that a detonation line or shock tube emanating from the disrupter device can be secured to the base in the proper position.

In the prior art, disrupters are used in various forms to neutralize a potentially explosive package so that the package does not detonate in its intended and harmful way. High speed water jets or cannons or other projectiles have been used to break apart the package. Other devices have water-filled components that minimize harmful impact when the package is neutralized.
Another kind is a mineral water bottle (MWB) that contains water and an explosive charge. In use, the bottle is positioned adjacent a target package. One end of a detonation line or shock tube is inside the bottle and interfaces with the charge. The shock tube then runs from the bottle to a remote location where shock tube is used to detonate the explosive charge in the bottle to neutralize or dispose of the targeted package. In certain instances, a robot or unmanned device positions the bottle in a desired location, and controls placement of the shock tube as well. In other instances, a human can position the bottle and the shock tube. The robot can also control the remote detonation under direction from the robot operator, or a human can directly control detonation.
While the use of these types of mineral water bottle disrupters is effective in neutralizing a target package, the placement and operation of the bottles is not without problems. In many instances, the terrain is not flat, and it is difficult to position the bottle in an upright manner. Also, when using robots, lasers are often used to identify where to place the bottle, and environmental conditions can sometime affect the accuracy of the placement. Also, accurate placement using a robot requires intense training and this increases overall costs for these types of operations. Further, because a detonation line or shock tube must run from the disrupter device to a remote location, the line presents the opportunity for its accidental tugging of pulling, whereby the bottle can be upset from its location, and the placement procedure then must be repeated.
Accordingly, a need exists for improved techniques for placing disrupter devices when neutralizing packages. The present invention solves this need by providing a visual assistance guide system, which allows a robot or human to easily, quickly, and accurately locate a disrupter in a desired location regardless of the type of terrain or other environmental conditions.

Visual assistance guide system for disrupter placement and method of use


A method and composition for treating equine anhidrosis wherein a therapeutically effective amount of a composition of tyrosine, cobalt and iodine present as kelp is administered to the anhidrotic horse. The therapeutically effective amount of tyrosine is twice-daily dose of at least about 500 mg of tyrosine per 900 pounds of weight. The weight ratio of cobalt to tyrosine is in the range of about 0.0045-0.0055 and the weight ratio of kelp to tyrosine is in the range of about 0.00025-0.00030. Alternatively, lecithin can be added to the tyrosine to achieve a weight ratio of lecithin to tyrosine in the range of about 1.8-2.2.

The present invention relates to a method and composition for treating equine anhidrosis.
Equine anhidrosis, first reported in British thoroughbreds taken to tropical colonies early in this century, is also known as "nonsweating", "dry-coat syndrome", "blowing" or "puff disease" and is manifested by ineffective sweating in response to appropriate stimuli. Sweat evaporation is the primary cooling mechanism for horses when the ambient temperature exceeds the body temperature. Anhidrotic horses have compromised thermoregulatory function and are in great danger of hyperthermia. Normal equine rectal temperature is about 99.5-101.5.degree. F.; if asked to perform at extremely high ambient temperatures, anhidrotic horses have been known to achieve rectal temperatures of 108.degree. F. and may collapse and die if raced. Providing shade or decreasing activity gives these horses minimal relief.
Anhidrosis appears to be precipitated by heat stress in humid environments in horses that have perhaps never previously experienced such conditions. Owners and veterinarians report that over a period of weeks or months, affected horses first show either profuse or delayed sweating and then gradually lose the ability to sweat altogether. Surveys in Florida revealed that anhidrosis can affect horses of all ages, breeds, colors, and affects both native horses and animals undergoing acclimatization. Anhidrosis is equally prevalent in horses at all levels of exercise, from idle pleasure horses to racehorses.
Clinical features of anhidrotic horses and hypohidrotic (deficient perspiration) horses include rapid breathing (tachypnea), the most common sign reported, fatigue and loss of hair (alopecia), especially of the face. Some animals may have a decreased appetite or decreased water consumption and poor performance. Secondary signs include changes in the proteinaceous secretion along with sweat which leads to dull hair coat, hair loss, scales and pruritus. Residual sweat areas include the crest, the neck, brisket and perineum.
The pathogenesis of anhidrosis is unknown. The lack of sweating could be due to a number of possible flaws in a complex sequence of events from central nervous stimulation ("CNS") through sweat stimulation and secretion, to delivery of sweat to the skin surface. The inability to produce or deliver sweat in response to the stimulus of tropical heat may include: (1) changes in gland stimulation either due to not enough central stimulus from CNS or an interruption in the neural stimulation; or (2) changes in gland or duct function, due to impaired gland response or changes in the secretory process, which impairs delivery of sweat to the skin surface; or (3) metabolic derangement of fluid, electrolyte losses, or an endocrine disturbance.
Studies of the ultrastructure of the sweat gland of such horses indicate that the condition, induced by continuous climatic stress, results from a gradual failure of the mechanism of sweat production and culminates in secretory, or sweat gland, cell degeneration. As reported in Jenkinson et al., Effects of Season and Lower Ambient Temperature on the Structure of the Sweat Glands in Anhidrotic Horses, Equine Vet.J (1989), 21(1), 59-65, histologically, the secretory cells become thin, in some cases less than 50% of normal size. In addition, the thinner cells generally contain few cytoplasmic granules and often contain large lysosomes. Removal of the thermal stress under controlled and/or natural environment has resulted in restoration of the activity of sweat glands on most anhidrotic horses studied. Early studies of anhidrosis demonstrated that the secretory failure is associated with a progressive reduction in the response of the glands to catecholamines.
Sweat glands have been classically divided into the categories eccrine and apocrine, on the basis of mechanism of secretion. The sweat glands in the horse are associated with hair follicles and have been classified as apocrine. Involvement of myoepithelial contraction in extrusion of sweat seems to vary among species, but sweat secretion is known to be continuous in cattle and horses.
Both apocrine and eccrine sweat glands are under control of the sympathetic nervous system. Pharmacologic studies strongly suggest the apocrine glands are controlled by the adrenergic sympathetic system, characterized by nerve fiber endings which secrete the synaptic transmitter substance norepinephrine, also known as noradrenaline.
Experimentally, sustained generalized sweating can be stimulated in the horse by intravenous administration of epinephrine, or localized by intradermal injection of epinephrine. Equine sweat glands respond most vigorously to beta-2-adrenergic stimulation. Sweating can be suppressed by a beta-adrenergic blocker (propanolol) but not by a beta-1 antagonist (metoprolol) when followed by epinephrine administration, which supports this observation. Beta-2-agonist (terbutaline, clenbutarol, etc.) are safely used as sudorific agents to test anhidrosis.
Hormonal studies have not been conclusive. Base line levels of thyroid hormone appear to be normal in anhidrotic horses. Circulating epinephrine concentrations are higher in anhidrotic than in normal horses, which may be of major significance in determining the pathogenesis of the disease.
Anhidrotic horses have been treated in the past with sodium chloride, iodine, potassium, and thyroid hormones. However, such treatments have not generally proven useful. The present knowledge about equine anhidrosis thus fails to include an effective method and composition for treating the affliction.

Method and composition for treating equine anhidrosis


Methods and apparatus are provided for encoding a pixel domain image with hidden data by modifying the histogram of the pixel domain image to make space for such hidden data.

This application is directed to methods and apparatus for data hiding in an image and, more particularly, to lossless and reversible data hiding in the spatial domain.
In the field of data hiding, pieces of information represented by the data are hidden in the cover media (e.g., a pixel image). In other words, the data hiding process links two sets of data, a set of the embedded data and another set of the cover media data. The relationship between these two sets of data defines different applications. For instance in covert communications, the hidden data are irrelevant to the cover media. In authentication, however, the embedded data are closely related to the cover media. In these types of applications, invisibility of hidden data is an important requirement. In most cases, the cover media will experience some distortion due to data hiding and cannot be inverted back to the original media. Indeed, some permanent distortion occurs to the cover media even after the hidden data have been extracted.
In some applications, such as medical diagnosis and law enforcement, it is desirable to reverse the marked media back to the original cover media after the hidden data are retrieved for consideration. The marking techniques satisfying this requirement are referred to as reversible, lossless, distortion-free, or invertible data hiding techniques. Reversible data hiding links two sets of data in such a way that the cover media can be losslessly recovered after the hidden data have been extracted. This provides an additional avenue of handling the two different sets of data.
Many of the existing data hiding techniques are not reversible. For instance, widely utilized spread-spectrum based data hiding methods have been disclosed in the following publications: J. Cox, J. Kilian, T. Leighton, and T. Shamoon, "Secure Spread Spectrum Watermarking for Multimedia," IEEE Trans. on Image Processing, Vol. 6, No. 12, pp. 1673-1687 (December 1997); and J. Huang and Y. Q. Shi, "An Adaptive Image Watermarking Scheme Based on Visual Masking," Electronics letters, 34(8): 748-750 (1998). These techniques, however, are not invertible owing to truncation (for the purpose to prevent over/underflow) error, and round-off error.
Another well-known least significant bit-plane (LSB) approach is discussed in J. Irvine and D. Harle, Data Communications and Networks: An Engineering Approach, West Sussex, England: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. (2002). This approach is not lossless owing to bit-replacement without "memory."
Another category of data hiding techniques is quantization-index-modulation (QIM), which is discussed in detail in B. Chen and G. W. Wornell, "Quantization Index Modulation: A Class of Provably Good Methods for Digital Watermarking and Information Embedding," IEEE Transactions on Information Theory, Vol. 47, No. 4, pp. 1423-1443 (May 2001). This technique is not distortion-free owing to the quantization error.
Although most of the current digital watermarking algorithms are not lossless, some recent marking techniques have been reported as being lossless. For example, two methods carried out in the image spatial domain purport to be lossless. The details of these methods may be found in U.S. Pat. No. 6,278,791 (the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference) and J. Fridrich, M. Goljan and R. Du, "Invertible Authentication," Proc. SPIE, Security and Watermarking of Multimedia Contents, pp. 197-208, San Jose, Calif., (January. 2001). In the '791 patent, the marking is carried out in the spatial domain. The method uses modulo 256 addition to embed a hash value of an original image for authentication. The technique is reversible because of the modulo 256 addition; however, the modulo 256 addition also may produce some annoying salt-and-pepper noise due to grayscale flipping over between 0 and 255 in either direction. The Fridrich approach also operates in the spatial domain and losslessly compresses some selected bit-plane(s) to leave space for data embedding. Since bookkeeping data are also embedded as overhead, the method is reversible. The amount of hidden data, however, is quite limited because the bias between binary bits, 0s and 1s (the tendecy the have more 0's or more 1's in the data) is not significant in the several lower levels that include the least significant bit-plane (LSB) in the spatial domain. The lack of bias was probably not a problem in the Fridrich approach because it is directed towards data authentication instead of data embedding.
A purportedly lossless marking technique has also been developed in the transform domain, as is discussed in detail in B. Macq and F. Deweyand, "Trusted Headers For Medical Images," DFG VIII-D II Watermarking Workshop, Erlangen, Germany, (October. 1999). This reversible marking technique was developed in the transform domain and is based on a lossless multi-resolution transform and the patchwork theory. It also uses modulo 256 addition. Since each block, say, an 8×8 block can only be used to embed one bit, the amount of hidden data that may be achieved is quite limited. More details concerning the patchwork theory may be found in W. Bender, D. Gruhl, N. Morimoto and A. Lu, "Techniques for Data Hiding," IBM Systems Journal, Vol. 35, No. 3-4, pp. 313-336 (1996).
Yet another marking technique is discussed in detail in C. De Vleeschouwer, J. F. Delaigle and B. Macq, "Circular Interpretation on Histogram for Reversible Watermarking," IEEE International Multimedia Signal Processing Workshop, France, pp. 345-350 (October 2001). The capacity of this method, which is based on the idea of patchwork and modulo 256 addition, is also limited except that it is expected to exhibit some robustness against high quality JPEG compression.
A reversible marking technique that is suitable for a large amount of hidden data is discussed in detail in M. Goljan, J. Fridrich, and R. Du, "Distortion-free Data Embedding," Proceedings of 4th Information Hiding Workshop, pp. 27-41, Pittsburgh, Pa., (April 2001), also in U.S. patent application Ser. No.: 2003/0081809 (the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference). The amount of hidden data achievable by this technique, however, is still not large enough for many applications, such as medical applications. Indeed, the pay-load ranges from 3,000 bits to 24,000 bits for a 512×512×8 grayscale image, i.e., from 0.011 bits per pixel (bpp) to 0.092 bpp as the PSNR of the marked image versus the original image is 39 dB. This technique first segments an image into non-overlapped blocks, and then introduces a discriminating function to classify these blocks into three groups: R(egular), S(ingular) and U(nusable). It further introduces a flipping operation, which can convert an R block to an S block and vice versa. A U block remains intact after the flipping operation. By assigning, say, a binary 1 to an R block and a binary 0 to an S block, all R and S blocks are scanned in a chosen sequential order, resulting in a binary sequence. This binary sequence is losslessly compressed and the compressed sequence is saved as overhead for late reconstruction of the original image. In data embedding, the R and S blocks are scanned once again and the flipping operation is applied whenever necessary to make the changed R and S block sequence coincident with the to-be-embedded data (another binary 0 and 1 bit stream) followed by the overhead data. While successful in reversible data hiding, the payload is still not large enough for some applications, as indicated above. Another problem with the method is that when the embedding strength increases in order to increase payload, the visual quality drops severely due to annoying artifacts.
To increase payload dramatically, a new lossless data hiding technique based on integer wavelet transform is discussed in detail in U.S. patent application Ser. No.: 60/527,900, filed Dec. 5, 2003, entitled Methods and Apparatus for Lossless Data Hiding, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. Because of the superior decorrelation capability of the wavelet transform, the selected bit-plane compression in high frequency subbands creates more space for data hiding, resulting in a higher payload than that in the method described in U.S. patent application Ser. No.: 2003/0081809. Specifically, for a 512×512×8 image, 5,000 bits to 80,000 bits can be embedded, i.e., the payload is from 0.019 bpp to 0.31 bpp while the PSNR of the marked image versus the original image is guaranteed above 48 dB. In addition, the integer wavelet transform, a second generation wavelet transform, helps to avoid round-off error. To achieve reversible data hiding, a histogram modification is applied during pre-processing to prevent over/underflow. This histogram modification causes, however, a lower PSNR of the marked image versus the original image though there are no annoying artifacts.
It is noted that reversible data hiding has attracted more and more attention recently and more and more algorithms are being developed. Another example is the technique reported in M. U. Celik, G. Sharma, A. M. Tekalp and E. Saber, "Reversible Data Hiding," Proceedings of IEEE 2002 International Conference on Image Processing, Vol. 2, pp. 157-160 (September 2002). Still a further example is the technique reported in J. Tian, "Reversible Data Embedding Using a Difference Expansion," IEEE Transactions on Circuits and Systems for Video Technology, vol. 13, no. 8, pp. 890-896, August 2003.
Accordingly, there are needs in the art for new methods and apparatus for achieving lossless marking that can embed a relatively large amount of data, while keeping a high visual quality of the marked images.

Methods and apparatus for reversible data hiding through histogram modification


Provided is a method for the preparation of polycrystalline silicon in which, in conducting preparation of polycrystalline silicon by the Siemens method or by the monosilane method, no outer heating means is necessitated for the core member (seed rod), onto which polycrystalline silicon is deposited, from the initial stage of heating, the deposition rate is high and the core member seed rod can be used repeatedly.

The major currents of conventional methods for manufacturing high-purity polycrystalline silicon are the Siemens method and the monosilane method. These methods are methods in which a starting-material silane gas is supplied to the interior of a high-temperature reaction furnace from a nozzle installed in the bottom part of this sealed reaction furnace, and polycrystalline silicon is manufactured by the deposition or growth of silicon effected by the pyrolysis or hydrogen reduction of the starting-material gas on the surface of a solid silicon rod (silicon seed rod or core) disposed inside the furnace.
The starting-material silane gas that is used is a chlorosilane expressed by the formula ClnSiH4-n (n is an integer from 0 to 4) which is refined to a high purity; this may be monosilane, trichlorosilane or tetrachlorosilane used alone, or may be a mixture of these compounds. However, in the Siemens method, trichlorosilane (n=3) is the main compound used, while in the monosilane method, monosilane (n=0) is the main compound used. The silicon obtained by the pyrolysis or hydrogen reduction of these starting-material gases at a high temperature has the same composition as the silicon seed rod (hereafter referred to as the Si seed rod) set beforehand inside the furnace; accordingly, this silicon has a uniform high purity from the center part to the outer circumferential part. Since this silicon has a purity that is essential in the semiconductor industry, it is called the semiconductor grade polycrystalline silicon (SEG-Si).
In spite of the fact that the Siemens method belongs to a pre-war invention, this method makes it possible to obtain uniform high-purity polycrystalline silicon with constancy; accordingly, the basic conditions of this method remain unchanged today. The reaction equation in the case of trichlorosilane is shown below.SIHCl3→(thermal decomposition)→Si(polycrystalline silicon)
Quartz glass has been used as the material of the initial-stage furnace (bell jar) in the Siemens method. However, as the demand for polycrystalline silicon has grown, the size of the reaction furnace has been increased in order to increase the productivity, and currently, metallic bell jars made of corrosion-resistant metals such as carbon steels and high-nickel steels are at the startline of their use. Furthermore, modifications such as mirror finishing, silver plating or the like of the inside surfaces of the furnace have been used as a means for facilitating easy and uniform temperature control inside the furnace and preventing the loss of thermal energy due to heat radiation (Patent Document 1).
Meanwhile, with an increase in the size of the reaction furnace, the number of seed rods has increased, and the length of the rods has also increased. Accordingly, the yield of high-purity product with good quality and a uniform size has degraded. Furthermore, there have been various proposals in the past regarding improvements in the starting-material gas supply nozzle structure, improvements in the position and structure of the waste gas discharge port (Patent Document 2, Patent Document 3) and elsewhere as a measure for improving the uniformity and smoothness of the rod shape.
In the monosilane method, monosilane (SiH4) is the starting material. The thermal decomposition reaction of monosilane differs from the thermal decomposition in the Siemens method (thermal decomposition temperature 759 to 950° C.) in that this reaction is accompanied by the production of a silicon dust. As in the Siemens method, the core material is an Si rod. Since the polycrystalline silicon obtained uses monosilane as the starting material, there is no chlorine contamination, so that the purity is higher than in the Siemens method; this polycrystalline silicon is used mainly as a base material in the manufacture of single crystals by the FZ (floating zone melting) method.
Meanwhile, with regard to the methods for the manufacture of polycrystalline silicon for use in solar cells, various methods for purifying metallic silicon, fluidized bed reactions and the like have been proposed; however, for the reasons described later, these methods have not been adapted for practical use.
In the Siemens method, purified silane gas is subjected to the pyrolysis or hydrogen reduction inside a sealed vessel that is resistant to contamination, so that SEG-Si is formed. Accordingly, this method offers the advantage of easily producing a high-purity product. However, since the diameter of the Si seed rod on which the silicon polycrystals are deposited following the pyrolysis is extremely slender at around 5 mm, the surface area which is available for deposition in the initial stage of the reaction is so small that this method suffers from the drawback of a slow deposition rate.
Furthermore, the resistivity of the Si (Si rod) is large, i.e., 1 kiloohm-cm or higher so that it is difficult to pass current through the rod at room temperature. Accordingly, when the reaction is initiated, it is necessary to heat the seed rod from outside by means of a preparatory heating device up to a temperature that enables heating by passage of electrical current. Not only is a special high-voltage power supply device required for this heating, but a large amount of electric energy is consumed; as a result, this is a factor that increases the cost.
A method using a slender core rod comprising a metal such as Mo, W, Ta, Nb or the like with a high recrystallization temperature instead of the Si seed rod used in the Siemens method is also widely known (Patent Document 4). However, in cases where (for example) a simple metal of Mo is used, because of thermal expansion, electrical vibrations or the like caused by electric heating, or if the reaction temperature exceeds the recrystallization temperature (900° C.) of Mo the rod becomes flexible, and then forms recrystallized particles of the cubic system, becoming embrittled so that deformation readily occurs in response to the load, thus causing the silicon product obtained to assume a bent shape, sometimes resulting in contact with adjacent carrier core rods, so that the electric circuit is short-circuited, causing the reaction to be interrupted.
In the case of a Ta simple metal, embrittlement occurs as a result of a reaction with hydrogen at a high temperature, and in the case of Nb and W simple metals, the recrystallization temperature is 1150° C. or higher, but the impact strength drops, so that both metals suffer from problems relative to the strength.
Furthermore, in the case of SEG-Si obtained by using a slender core rod comprising metals such as Mo, W, Ta, Nb or the like, the core part must be removed by some method following completion of the reaction. Accordingly, it is recommended to use a "slender" core rod. However, since the core part that is embrittled following completion of the reaction is brittle and tends to crumble, it is difficult to remove this core part completely from the SEG-Si under visual inspection. Moreover, the following problem has also been encountered. Namely, these metals cause diffusion into the silicon that is deposited and grown, thus causing a deterioration in the purity of the product. Furthermore, a product that has once been used cannot be reutilized, so that the use of these expensive carriers is likewise not a satisfactory method in respect of cost, and has not reached the stage of practical use.
On the other hand, except for the high cost, the Siemens method is an indispensable technology for the manufacture of high-purity polycrystalline silicon. Accordingly, it will be understood that, if the productivity of the initial stage of the reaction in the Siemens method can be improved as described above, high-purity polycrystalline silicon can easily be obtained at low costs.
Since the polycrystalline silicon obtained by the monosilane method uses monosilane as the starting material, there is no chlorine contamination, and this polycrystalline silicon has a higher purity than that obtained by the Siemens method, and is used mainly as the base material for manufacturing single crystals by the FZ method. Products manufactured by the FZ method have a uniform diameter, and have a large diameter that is as close as possible to the diameter available when a single crystal is formed. Furthermore, such products contain no impurities such as infusible powders or the like, and in cases where a product with no bending is required, various modified techniques have been proposed for this purpose. For example, a method in which the gas flow rate through the furnace is stipulated in order to remove the boundary film that accumulates around the heating filament in order to accelerate the deposition of silicon (Patent Document 5), a method in which the reaction gas is fed over the cooling wall of a dust catcher together with the associated silicon powder in order to prevent deposition and admixture of an infusible powder (Patent Document 6), a method in which a major portion of the reaction mixture leaving the decomposition vessel is recycled into the supply line of the decomposition vessel in order to accomplish the decomposition of monosilane at an effective rate (Patent Document 7), a method in which the filament core wire interconnection bridge is constructed from tantalum, molybdenum, tungsten or zirconium so that the temperature does not become excessively high during the passage of electric current through the system (Patent Document 8) and others have been proposed.
However, in cases where the member is constructed from one of the metals cited in Patent Document 8, as is described above, recrystallization occurs at 1200° C. or higher, so that the member becomes brittle, thus making reutilization impossible.
Furthermore, monosilane readily takes fire; accordingly, not only is an extensive security apparatuses are required for the handling of this gas, but, since a fine powder is produced as a by-product during the reaction, the yield is low, and the drawback of a high manufacturing cost is encountered.
Various methods were proposed and tested in the past as the method for the exclusive manufacture of a (high-purity) polycrystalline silicon as the base material for use in solar cells. The ultimate object of such methods is to provide a high-quality product at low costs. In particular, although there is a desire for an inexpensive high-purity silicon base material exclusively for use in solar cells, there is regrettably no such exclusively usable base material source to be found.
Currently, the polycrystalline silicon base material that is used in solar cells is found in "low-grade SEG-Si" obtained as a by-product from processes manufacturing semiconductor-grade polycrystalline silicon or IC-grade silicon wafers, lump-form scraps (tops, tail portions, crystal side surface shavings of single crystal boules, crucible residues) or Si wafer scraps. However, there are limits to the amount of by-product scraps available, and in recent years, this amount has tended to decrease, so that the guaranteed supply sources with constancy for polycrystalline silicon in the development of solar cells has become a major problem.
In order to achieve a low cost, it is necessary that the starting material be inexpensive, and there have been many attempts to ensure this. One of these attempts is to purify metallic silicon (MG-Si) or by-product silicon from the semiconductor industry. For example, methods in which purification is accomplished by spraying a plasma jet gas at the surface of molten silicon with a plasma gas (Patent Document 9, Patent Document 10, Patent Document 11), a method using a direct-current arc furnace (Patent Document 12), and a method utilizing an electron beam, are known. Furthermore, numerous means have been proposed such as a method in which silicon debris discarded from the semiconductor industry are purified by a unidirectional solidification treatment (Patent Document 13), methods in which purification is accomplished by adding an inert gas and an active gas or a powder such as CaO or the like to molten silicon (Patent Document 14, Patent Document 15), methods in which purification is accomplished utilizing a difference in the boiling points with MG-Si placed under reduced pressure (Patent Document 16, Patent Document 17) and the like. However, no method producing satisfactory results using the starting materials obtained by these methods has yet been rendered to practice.
As for the reasons that it is difficult to purify molten silicon, the fact that silicon atoms readily form stable compounds with other atoms is also one factor; however, the main reason is that the p-type impurity B (boron) cannot easily be removed from silicon. The solid-liquid distribution (segregation) coefficient of B with respect to Si is close to 1, i.e., 0.81. Accordingly, separation and purification cannot be accomplished by a solid-liquid separation method such as unidirectional solidification or the like. Complete treatment of the system as a whole is difficult even if the boiling points differ, the blowing in of a gas or the like is utilized.
The method of purification relative to B is that it is a method in which "metallic silicon" is chemically reacted with "hydrochloric acid" to form a silane gas followed by distillation or adsorption to separate and purify the chlorinated boron formed by the reaction of B+HCl. The purified silane gas containing no impurities is then reduced to produce high-purity SEG-Si. The method of the present invention is usually called the gas purification method; the Siemens method and monosilane method are also each a variation of this method. Both of these methods involve numerous manufacturing processes and consume large amounts of energy; accordingly, the methods suffer from the drawback of a high cost, and there are problems in using these methods for the starting materials in solar cells.
Thus, with regard to the removal of B, gasification or cutting by distillation is the most reliable method. The gasification of B also results in the gasification of other impurity elements found as a solid solution in the Si, with these elements being removed by the difference in the boiling point. Methods known as the gasification methods besides the above-mentioned Siemens method and monosilane method include a fluidized bed reaction. In an externally heated reaction furnace, the starting materials (trichlorosilane+hydrogen) are supplied from the lower part of the reaction furnace, fine particles of Si are caused to be fluidized through the furnace, and the product is deposited to grow on the fluidized particles, so that polycrystalline silicon is produced. Following the reaction, the gas is discharged from the upper part of the furnace (Patent Document 18, Patent Document 19). The purity is six-nines (99.9999%) or higher, and satisfies the requirements for the solar cell grade.
In this method, a high-purity product can be obtained at a low cost; however, since the reaction is performed using an externally heated reaction furnace, Si is deposited and grown even on the inside surfaces or the reaction tube, so that a continuous reaction cannot be performed, and an increase in the size of the reaction tube presents a bottleneck, and the method has unfortunately not yet been adapted to practical use.
It is seen from the above that, if it is desired to obtain polycrystalline silicon having a high purity, the gasification method is superior. Furthermore, the difference in the starting materials used for semiconductors and solar cells is a difference in purity; in the former case, a purity of eleven-nines (11N) or higher is reportedly sufficient, while, in the latter case, it is sufficient if the purity is of six-nines (99.9999%) (5 orders of magnitude lower) or higher. Accordingly, it is seen that, if a method can be developed which satisfies the target purity, provides a cost that is levels lower than that of the former method, and enables constant supply, this can provide an "exclusive starting material source for solar cells".    [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 6-41369    [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-139891    [Patent Document 3] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 6-172093    [Patent Document 4] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 47-22827    [Patent Document 5] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-123806    [Patent Document 6] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 8-169797    [Patent Document 7] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-127617    [Patent Document 8] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-150298    [Patent Document 9] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 63-218506    [Patent Document 10] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-338108    [Patent Document 11] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-139713    [Patent Document 12] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-37602    [Patent Document 13] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-270814    [Patent Document 14] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-16504    [Patent Document 15] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-330815    [Patent Document 16] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 64-56311    [Patent Document 17] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-116229    [Patent Document 18] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-145020    [Patent Document 19] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 57-145021

Method for manufacturing polycrystalline silicon, and polycrystalline silicon for solar cells manufactured by the method

Abstract: The method for deposition of high-purity polycrystalline silicon, at a high temperature, onto a white-heated seed rod in a closed reaction furnace by pyrolysis or hydrogen reduction of a starting silane gas supplied thereto, is characterized in that the seed rod is a member made from an alloy having a recrystallization temperature of 1200° C. or higher. It is preferable that the alloy member is of an alloy of Re—W, W—Ta, Zr—Nb, titanium-zirconium, or a carbon-added molybdenum (TZM) in the form of a wire member having a diameter of at least 0.5 mm, a plate member having a thickness of at least 1 mm or a prismatic member, or a tubular member having a diameter of at least 1 mm, wall thickness of at least 0.2 mm with an inner diameter not exceeding 5 mm, that the plate member, wire member, prismatic member or tubular member has a tapered form and further that the tubular member is a tapered duplex tube.


A method and system are disclosed for compensating a mass air flow signal produced by a mass air flow sensor in fluid communication with an air intake passageway of an internal combustion engine. A mass air flow signal produced by the mass air flow sensor is monitored and an expected oxygen concentration of exhaust gas produced by the engine is determined. A compensation parameter is determined as a function of the expected oxygen concentration and a measured value of the oxygen concentration of the exhaust gas. A compensated mass air flow value is determined as a function of the mass air flow signal and the compensation parameter.

It is known that mass air flow signals produced by conventional mass air flow sensors may drift over time so that the corresponding mass air flow values computed from the mass air flow signals may become increasingly inaccurate. It is therefore desirable to compensate for variations of the mass air flow signals produced by conventional mass air flow sensors.

Mass air flow sensor signal compensation system


Methods for the deployment of an image servicing platform over a mobile wireless network are described. A mobile multimedia service controller (MMSC) includes a video gateway that is capable of transcoding among different video formats supported by an imaging service platform. The MMSC can be connected over a network to a download server that provides updates to a transcoder application and a video image application.

Directly digitized still images and video requires many "bits." Accordingly, it is common to compress images and video for storage, transmission, and other uses. Several basic methods of compression are known, and very many specific variants of these. A general method can be characterized by a three-stage process: transform, quantize, and entropy-code. Many image and video compressors share this basic architecture, with variations.
The intent of the transform stage in a video compressor is to gather the energy or information of the source picture into as compact a form as possible by taking advantage of local similarities and patterns in the picture or sequence. Compressors are designed to work well on "typical" inputs and can ignore their failure to compress "random" or "pathological" inputs. Many image compression and video compression methods, such as MPEG-2 and MPEG-4, use the discrete cosine transform (DCT) as the transform stage. Some newer image compression and video compression methods, such as MPEG-4 static texture compression, use various wavelet transforms as the transform stage.
Quantization typically discards information after the transform stage. The reconstructed decompressed image then is not an exact reproduction of the original.
Entropy coding is generally a lossless step: this step takes the information remaining after quantization and usually codes it so that it can be reproduced exactly in the decoder. Thus the design decisions about what information to discard in the transform and quantization stages is typically not affected by the following entropy-coding stage.
A limitation of DCT-based video compression/decompression (codec) techniques is that, having been developed originally for video broadcast and streaming applications, they rely on the encoding of video content in a studio environment, where high-complexity encoders can be run on computer workstations. Such computationally complex encoders allow computationally simple and relatively inexpensive decoders (players) to be installed in consumer playback devices. However, such asymmetric encode/decode technologies are not ideal for many emerging video monitoring devices and applications in which video messages are captured and encoded in real time in devices with limited computational resources.

Methods for deploying video monitoring applications and services across heterogenous networks