The present invention relates to a plating composition for electrolytic copper deposition, comprising copper ions, halide ions and at least one acid, at least one benzothiazole compound, at least one phenazine dye and at least one ethanediamine derivative. The present invention further concerns the use of above plating composition and a method for electrolytically depositing a copper or copper alloy layer onto at least one surface of a substrate.

Various methods and deposition solutions for copper plating are used to produce decorative bright and levelled surfaces, large surfaces for instance, on metals or plastic materials. Among others, they are used to form ductile layers, for example in the field of decorative coatings for sanitary or automotive equipment where there is a need for intermediate copper layers for subsequent deposition of different metal layers e.g. for corrosion protection and/or decorative layers.
A homogeneous and bright appearance is especially required for final metal layers on the surface of the substrate. The homogeneity of the appearance can be easily achieved on substrates which have no complex shape because the current density distribution during electroplating of the copper layer is within a narrow range.
Various additives known as brighteners, levelers, surfactants can be added which are responsible for the quality of the deposits in view of e.g. distribution of brightness and plain deposition and also for the characteristics of the deposition bath in view of applicable current density and bath stability.
The utilization of certain dyes as phenazinium compounds (or phenazine dyes as they are referred to in the art) and of the derivatives thereof for producing bright copper layers has long been known. These phenazinium compounds, which are described for example in DE 947 656 C1, are used as additives in a bath for the electrolytic production of copper coatings. Such dyes have certain disadvantages, in particular when used in large quantities. For example, if spilled they are difficult to remove and they are very expensive adding significantly to the cost of the copper plating process. Further, many commercial phenazinium compounds still contain certain amounts of the used starting materials which are often toxic such as aniline and nitrobenzene.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,518,182 B1 discloses the use of a copper electrolyte comprising Tetronic TR 704, Janus Black and MPS (example 2).
JP 2013-044035 A1 and JP 2013-044007 A1 report two-step plating processes wherein copper electrolytes are used comprising a brightener, an accelerator and optionally at least one of the following components a) a lubricant comprising a nitrogen-containing organic compound not belonging to amides and amino acids (b) a polymer surfactant or (c) chloride.
Additionally, some copper electrolytes described above do not allow the use of high current densities as is desired for electroplating. The additives described are only effective in a narrow range of current density.
For substrates having complex shapes and/or structured surfaces known methods and plating solutions are not sufficient. It is not possible to produce decorative bright and conformal surfaces that have no undesirable effects such as over-levelled structures, hydrodynamic defects, pittings and nodules. Furthermore, when using known solutions, it is not possible to achieve good levelling performance without compromising the bright appearance of the surface layer and using higher current densities. Especially small structures with protrusions, different deep recesses or increments show undesired different copper growth resulting in uneven surface appearance wherein the copper layer will not smoothly follow the shape of the structures.
Furthermore, it is often not possible to achieve a reproducible quality of particularly bright, i.e. mirror-polished, as well as well levelled and ductile copper deposits. Another shortcoming of the prior art is that the roughness of copper layers formed from copper electrolytes known in the art is not only too high for many applications but also quickly increases over the lifetime of the bath. Also, when substrates having defects such as scratches or other irregularities are used, it is of paramount importance that the copper electrolyte compensates for that at least in part and allows for smooth copper layers to be formed which ideally do not show the irregularities of the underlying substrates anymore.
The roughness of the copper layers may have an effect on the visual appearance of the copper layer, e.g. on their gloss. One explanation for the above-mentioned roughness increases may be the fast consumption of individual components in the electrolyte which can be partially overcome by replenishment thereof. However, the replenishment of such compounds has to be arduously adapted to this need as not all compounds are consumed in the ratio and an inaccurate addition of component may result in further undesired effects. An improvement of this arduous optimization is thus highly desired in the art.

Plating compositions for electrolytic copper deposition, its use and a method for electrolytically depositing a copper or copper alloy layer onto at least one surface of a substrate


Route guidance for vehicle navigation in which a destination in a category of places is searched for and guidance along a suitable guide route to the destination is performed. If the user's original purpose cannot be achieved even after reaching the destination, another destination in the same category of places is automatically searched for and guidance to the new destination is performed along a suitable guide route. If e.g. the category is convenience stores, then convenience stores within a certain range of the user's vehicle position are searched to find the nearest destination. A guide route to the destination is found (excluding congested roads or roads under traffic control on the basis of road traffic information obtained e.g. from ATIS). If the vehicle moves out of a certain range of the destination without stopping longer than a certain time period after entering within the range, another destination in the same category of places is automatically searched for and the vehicle is guided along a suitable route to the new destination.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicle navigation, and specifically to route guidance for vehicle navigation to one of a category of places.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a navigation apparatus installed in a motor vehicle has a map data storage device such as a compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM) or an integrated circuit (IC) memory card in which map data is stored, a display unit, and vehicle movement detection devices, such as a gyroscope, a receiver in a global positioning system (GPS) and a vehicle speed sensor, for detecting a current position and a current heading of the vehicle. Map data containing the current position of the vehicle is read out from the map data storage device, a map image representing an area around the actual vehicle position is drawn on the display unit on the basis of the map data, and a vehicle position mark (indicating the location of the vehicle) is also displayed on the display unit by being superposed on the map image. As the vehicle travels, the map image scrolls or the vehicle position mark moves while the map image is fixed on the display, so the driver can recognize where he is currently travelling at a glance.
Ordinarily, this kind of vehicle navigation apparatus includes a route guidance function, enabling the driver to easily drive to a desired destination without deviating from a guide route. This route guidance function uses a process of automatically searching for a shortest route from a starting point to a destination by simulation calculation using the breadth-first search method, the Dijkstra method or other methods using map data, storing guide route data representing the shortest route thereby searched out, displaying on a display screen a corresponding map image in the form of a thick line or in a color different from the color in which other roads are displayed, and, when the vehicle is within a certain distance from an intersection where the heading of the vehicle is to be changed, displaying an arrow indicating the desired course together with a map image representing the intersection, thereby enabling the driver to easily understand the optimal route to the destination.
Map data stored in the map data storage device, e.g. a CD-ROM, is sectioned by suitable longitude and latitude widths at reduced scales, for example, 1/12500, 1/25000, 1/50000 and 1/100000. In the map data, data pertaining to roads is stored as sets of coordinates representing vertices (nodes) in terms of longitude and latitude. Each road is defined by two or more nodes connected to each other; a connection of two nodes is called a "link". The map data is (1) a road layer for map matching and route search, including a road list, a node table, an intersection forming node list and an intersection network list, (2) a background layer for displaying roads, buildings, facilities, parks, rivers and so on in map pictures, and (3) a letter/symbol layer for displaying letters representing names of entities such as cities, towns and villages, roads, intersections, and buildings as well as map symbols.
Further, a CD-ROM for map storage has recently become available in which facilities and stores, such as parking areas, convenience stores and public restrooms, are each recorded as an element of a category of similar places. When a user selects a destination in a category of places (e.g., convenience stores) in the navigation apparatus using such a CD-ROM, the navigation apparatus can search out a convenience store located near the user's present vehicle position, so as to display a corresponding shortest route to the convenience store on the display unit.
However, even if the nearest convenience store is reached via a suitable guide route, there is a possibility of e.g. the store being closed. Then the user must search for another similar destination by resetting the category of places. There is also a difficulty in performing suitable navigation for example, if traffic congestion occurs on the route, or passage on the guide route is inhibited by traffic control. Further, a driver may be unable to park his vehicle after arrival at a parking area searched out by the navigation apparatus, if no space is available in the parking area.
On the other hand, an advanced traffic information service (ATIS) system using cellular telephony and a vehicle information and communication system (VICS) using a radio signal beacon, a light beacon or frequency modulation multiplex broadcasting, have been developed as systems that externally transmit traffic information directly to vehicle navigation apparatuses. The ATIS system is already in practical use in certain countries. Information provided by the ATIS includes (1) traffic congestion information, (2) accident information, (3) road construction information, (4) road closing information, (5) ramp/interchange closing information, (6) parking area full/empty information, (7) traffic regulation enforcement information, (8) traffic control information, and (9) administration information. With respect to the VICS, substantially the same information service is planned.
A navigation apparatus using the ATIS displays a congested road, for example, in red in the map image. A driver using such a navigation apparatus can avoid involvement in traffic congestion by driving away from a congested road displayed on the display unit. However, even when a destination is reached by suitable route guidance, if the driver wishes to go to another destination, e.g. another convenience store, it is necessary for the driver to again perform the destination category setting process.

Route guidance for vehicle navigation apparatus to find alternate destination


It is determined whether each of objects separated from a plurality of objects arranged in a single page is character object or not, and with respect to an object determined as a character object, a ratio of pixels configuring a character in the determined object to all pixels in said determined object is calculated. A character object in which the ratio crosses a predetermined reference value, when the plurality of objects in the single page are scaled and arranged in accordance with a size of a sheet set by a user, is arranged in a different page.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus, particularly to an image forming apparatus with an adaptive automatic layout function for scaling and rearranging image data in accordance with a sheet size and a desired layout at the time of printing.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, when an image forming apparatus outputs the document created by a document processing apparatus or the like, print setting is performed. In print setting, an n in 1 print function of printing by allocating image data of n pages in a piece of paper, and a scaling function of fitting image data to a designated sheet size by scaling the image data have been frequently used.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-238289 proposes the method for restricting the character size of a document to be outputted not to be below a certain size. In this method, the lower limit of the recognizable character size differs depending on the kind of font and the kind of character (Japanese hiragana, Chinese characters and alphabets).
However, in the above described scaling function, when the image data is excessively reduced to be adapted into a determined area, the characters may become unrecognizable, and thin lines may not be printed.

Image forming apparatus with adaptive automatic layout function


The invention relates to a method for bringing about the transformation of a medium such as carbon dioxide or other gases or mixtures thereof into snow. In accordance with the invention, the aforementioned medium and the snow produced from it are caused to interact with surfaces of a snow-producing nozzle extending from a discharge orifice for the medium. The aforementioned medium, after exiting from the discharge orifice, is either permitted to expand into an elongated space which exhibits a uniform cross section. Or the medium is also permitted to act against a number of obstructions in the form of flexible bristles situated along the flow path of the medium as it flows out between the discharge orifice for the medium and an outlet for the formed snow. The produced carbon dioxide snow is intended for use in small animal pest decontamination. Means for producing snow are included in the invention.

The present invention relates to a method for bringing about the transformation of a medium such as carbon dioxide or other gases or mixtures thereof into snow.
When using carbon dioxide (CO2) or other gases or mixtures thereof for the purpose of being able effectively to cool surfaces and other spaces of varying size and nature, for example in order to kill harmful insects or other undesirable animals, it is important to be able to achieve a low temperature rapidly and effectively and to minimize the quantity of gas used. Previously disclosed methods, in which existing snow tubes are used, have not proved to be so effective, and an unacceptable cooling effect has accordingly been achieved. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,911,362; 5,027,546 and 5,349,778. In order to cool surfaces and spaces effectively so that harmful insects and other undesirable animals are cooled rapidly to kill them, it is necessary for the largest possible proportion of the gas used to be converted into snow, which, at the time of spraying, exhibits a low temperature, a good adhesive capacity and a high ability to cover the surfaces in question so that the insects are killed effectively.
The principal object of the present invention is thus, in the first instance, to identify a method which effectively solves the aforementioned problems efficiently and simply.
The aforementioned principal object is achieved by means of a method in accordance with the present invention, which is characterized essentially in that, for the purpose of being able effectively to cool surfaces and different spaces of varying size and nature in order to kill harmful insects or other undesirable animals, the aforementioned medium and the snow produced from it are caused to interact with the surfaces of a snow-producing nozzle extending from a discharge orifice for the medium, in that the aforementioned medium, after exiting from the discharge orifice, is permitted either to expand into an elongated space which exhibits a uniform cross section, or to act against a number of obstructions situated along the flow path of the medium as it flows out between the discharge orifice for the medium and an outlet for the formed snow, in conjunction with which the produced carbon dioxide snow is intended for the purpose of animal pest decontamination.
There are no previously disclosed means which permit the aforementioned desired object to be achieved, and use is made of snow tubes, which are seen to be not so effective from the patents referred to above, for example.
U.S. 4413756A presents insect control with snow formed by spraying through spaces whose width, and thus their volume, vary.
EP 0 891 945 A2 presents a snow spray nozzle which is formed by an obstruction in the form of a metal disc. This component is already present at the start of spraying of the medium in liquid form and accordingly only one side of it is in contact with the liquid phase, as distinct from bristles, which thus function in a different way in the snow forming process.
A further object of the present invention is thus also to identify means that are suitable for use in the performance of a method in accordance with the present invention and are intended primarily for use in animal pest decontamination.
The aforementioned further object is achieved by means in accordance with the present invention, which is characterized essentially in that a snow-producing nozzle comprises an orifice for the supply of medium at its inlet end, and in that a subsequent elongated space leading from it exhibits a uniform cross section, or in that a number of obstructions for the medium as it flows through are situated in the interior of the nozzle between the orifice for the discharge of the medium to the nozzle and the snow outlet from the nozzle.

Method to make snow for insect control and device for making the same


Steel which is particularly useful for making a razor blade of high corrosion resistance contains more than 0.45%, but less than 0.55%, of carbon, 0.4 to 1.0% of silicon, 0.5 to 1.0% of manganese, 12 to 14% of chromium and 1.0 to 1.6% of molybdenum all by weight, in addition to iron and inevitable impurities, and has a carbide density of 100 to 150 particles per 100 square microns as annealed. The razor blade has a Vickers hardness of at least 620 and a carbide density of 10 to 45 particles per 100 square microns, and preferably has a specific distribution of residual austenite content. The improved properties of the razor blade are achieved by an improved process of heat treatment which includes austenitizing the steel at a temperature of 1075.degree. C. to 1120.degree. C., cooling it to a temperature between -60.degree. C. and -80.degree. C. for hardening it, and tempering it at a temperature of 250.degree. C. to 400.degree. C.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to Cr-Mo stainless steel used for making razor blades and showing a high resistance to corrosion, to razor blades, and also to a process for manufacturing razor blades.
2. Description of the Prior Art
High carbon steel containing 1.2% by weight of carbon and 0.4% by weight of chromium was usually used for making razor blades. This material showed a high degree of hardness when heat treated and could make a blade having a high level of cutting quality, but had the drawback of being poorly resistant to corrosion and of rusting easily.
Every razor is normally used in a more or less humid environment. When it is used, it is brought into contact with corrosive substances, such as the constituents of sweat, soap, and a shaving foam. Moreover, the nature of water which is used for shaving, and the temperature of the place where the razor is used, are likely to promote the rusting of its blade. The high carbon steel razor blade was primarily intended for providing a high level of cutting quality, and did not usually withstand any repeated use under the conditions as hereinabove stated.
Therefore, 13Cr martensitic stainless steel has come to be used widely as a rust-resisting material for making a razor blade having a high level of cutting quality. Martensitic stainless steel containing 0.6 to 0.7% of carbon and 12 to 13% of chromium, both by weight, is used more often for making razor blades than any other stainless steel. This material has a hardness of, say, HV 620 to 650 when heat treated, and is superior to high carbon steel in rusting and corrosion resistance owing to the 13% Cr which it contains.
This material is, however, not completely free from the problem of rusting, either; when it is used for making razor blades, it is usual practice to form a coating of e.g. platinum, chromium or chromium nitride (CrN) on the surface of the material by sputtering to improve its corrosion resistance. Although the coating does certainly improve the corrosion resistance of the material, a razor blade made of this material still has an undesirably short life due to the corrosion which occurs at the grain boundary, and the rust which forms between the coating and the substrate. Moreover, the formation of the coating requires additional equipment and incurs an additional cost.
DE-OS 1 533 380 discloses low carbon stainless steel as a razor blade material having corrosion resistance. This steel contains 0.32 to 0.44% of carbon, 11 to 16% of chromium, 0.2 to 0.5% of silicon and 0.2 to 0.5% of manganese, the balance of the composition being iron. It contains at least 75% of martensite and has a Vickers hardness (HV) of at least 500 (as tested under a load of 0.5 kg), if it is austenitized at a temperature between 1080.degree. C. and 1135.degree. C., hardened by cooling to a temperature between -25.degree. C. and -50.degree. C., and tempered. This material is intended for making a blade-forming band for a "band" razor. The band razor has a magazine for holding a band in the form of a roll from which the band can be unwound little by little to supply a part defining a new blade each time it has been unwound. Although this low carbon and high chromium steel may be satisfactorily resistant to corrosion and be sufficiently tough to be wound into a roll, its hardness as heat treated is too low to enable the manufacture of a blade having a high level of cutting quality.

Razor blade steel having high corrosion resistance and differential residual austenite content

Wilkinson Sword Gesellschaft mit beschrankter Haftung


A locking apparatus for locking a skateboard, snowboard, bicycle, or the like to a fixed object, such as a post or pole. The locking apparatus includes a "Y"- or "y"-shaped shackle with two legs, or an "E"-shaped shackle with three legs, each leg having a free end, and a locking cross bar with openings positioned to receive the free leg ends and a locking mechanism to lock the free leg ends of the shackle in the cross bar, thereby locking the locking apparatus. The shackle includes a first portion to receive the skateboard, snowboard, or bicycle, and a second portion to accommodate the fixed object. Security bolts are provided to secure the wheel trucks to the skateboard to prevent their removal while it is locker in the locking apparatus.

The invention relates in general to locking devices, and in particular to a locking device adapted for locking any of a skateboard, a bicycle, a snowboard, or the like to a fixed object such as a post, pole, or tree.
Skateboards are popular for both transportation and recreation. Technological advances over the past several years have made skateboards more expensive. This, and the interchangeability of parts between different skateboards, make skateboards prone to theft, either as a whole or in parts.
Security devices for skateboards are virtually non-existent. This is inconvenient for skateboarders because they must constantly carry or monitor their boards to avoid theft.
Locking devices such as chains and so-called "U-locks" commonly used for bicycle security are inadequate for use with skateboards. A loosely wrapped chain is sufficient for securing a bicycle since it can fit around both the frame of a bicycle and a fixed object such as a pole, tree, or bike rack. However, due to the relatively simple, unitary design of skateboards, which consist of a board and two wheel carrying wheel trucks mounted to the underside of the board, there is no comparable space through which to insert the chain. On the other hand, wrapping a chain tightly around the fixed object and the skateboard with sufficient tension to secure the skateboard could damage the board.
In recent years, U-shaped locks, or U-locks, have been developed to deter theft of bicycles, scooters, mopeds, motorcycles, etc. A U-lock is a locking device having a U-shaped shackle and a cross-bar. The U-shaped shackles includes a pair of ends which engage the cross-bar. One of the ends of the U-shaped shackle is typically disengageable from the cross-bar when the U-lock is unlocked to permit the other end of the shackle to pivot relative to the cross-bar in order to provide an opening to the U-shaped shackle such that the shackle may receive a portion of a bicycle frame and a stationary object such a bike rack.
The U-shaped shackle has two substantially parallel arms and a curved closed end. This shape maximizes the internal area of the shackle so that the frame tubes of two bicycles, or the frame tube and a tire of one bicycle, may fit in the same U-lock for improved security.
U-locks are inadequate to secure skateboards because the legs of the U-shaped shackle are too short to accommodate the width of the board and too wide to secure the combined thickness of the wheels and board.
For the foregoing reasons, there is a need for a locking device for securing skateboards.


A method and system assigns an image classification to a multi-level grey scale pixel value. The multi-level grey scale pixel value is modified based on an error generated by previously processed pixels and the image classification of the multi-level grey scale pixel and processed based on the assigned image classification to reduce the number of grey levels in the multi-level grey scale pixel value. An error is generated based on the processing of the modified multi-level grey scale pixel value and a portion of the error is diffused to a next pixel in a fastscan direction and a remaining portion of the error is diffused to pixels in a slowscan direction. The modified multi-level grey scale pixel value referred above includes an error from the previously processed neighboring pixels if the current pixel is classified as being processed as an error diffused pixel. The modified multi-level grey scale pixel value equals to the original pixel value if the current pixel is classified as being processed as a non-error diffused pixel.

Image information, be it color or black and white, is commonly derived by scanning, initially at least, in a grey level format containing a large number of levels, e.g.: 256 levels for black and white and more than 16 million (256.sup.3) levels for color. This multi-level format is usually unprintable by standard printers.
The term "grey level" is used to described such data for both black and white and color applications. Standard printers print in a limited number of levels, either a spot or a no spot in the binary case, or a limited number of levels associated with the spot, for example, four in the quaternary case. Since grey level image data may be represented by very large values, it is necessary to reduce grey level image data to a limited number of levels so that it is printable. Besides grey level image information derived by scanning, certain processing techniques, such as computer generation, produce grey level pixel values which require such a conversion.
One such method for reducing the grey levels of a pixel is conventional error diffusion. In conventional error diffusion, the video signal for pixel X is modified to include the accumulated error diffused to this pixel from previous threshold processes. The modified video signal value X is compared with a threshold value 128, assuming a video range between 0 and 255. If it is determined that the modified video signal value X is greater than or equal to 128, the process outputs a value to indicate the turning ON of pixel X. The process then calculates the error associated with the threshold process wherein this error, Y, is calculate as being X-255.
On the other hand, if it is determined that the modified video signal value X is less than the threshold value 128, a signal is output indicating that the pixel X is to be turned OFF. The process then produces the error, Y, which is calculated as being equal to the value X.
The error is multiplied by weighting coefficients and distributed to downstream pixels. Thus, the error from the threshold process is diffused to adjacent pixels.
In describing the error diffusion process, it is assumed that the video value is in a range between 0 and 255. However, any chosen range for the video signal can be utilized. As described above, in conventional error diffusion methods, the binarization of the pixel or the reduction of its grey level is determined by comparing a modified input with a threshold. The modified input video signal is the input video signal, V, plus an accumulated error term, e.sub.i, determined from the processing of previous pixels.
Although conventional error diffusion renders a quality image, the process has problems when utilized with a segmented image. More specifically, in a segmented document, there may be numerous non-error diffused regions where different image processing rendering is desired, such as screening or thresholding. In these "non-error diffused" regions, the error diffusion calculation is not conventionally generated. Such a situation, however, is not conducive when attempting to render a smooth transition when entering the border areas of error diffused regions since the error that should be used would be based upon the image context surrounding this area. In other words, the error propagated to a pixel should always be based upon the surrounding video information when calculating the error. Typically, when encountering this situation, the error information to be used as entering the error diffused area is assumed to be based upon a pure OFF page "white background", but this assumption renders undesirable artifacts in the non-error diffused and error-diffused interface area.
The present invention proposes a method in which the error inside of non-error-diffused area regions is calculated and stored, thereby improving the image quality of segmented documents that mix these two image processing techniques.

Method and system for processing image information using background error diffusion


The subject application is directed to a system and method for generating gift cards. Image data representing gift card formats is first generated on an associated display. A gift card is then selected and text data is received representing text associated with the selected gift card. Gift amount data is then received representing a fungible value associated with the selected gift card. Charge data associated with a cost associated with the gift amount is then received. Encoded data, corresponding to the gift amount, is then generated. Thereafter, a tangible gift card is generated in accordance with the selected gift card format and the received text. In accordance with one embodiment of the subject application, the encoded data is stored on a tangible medium on the tangible gift card.

The subject application is generally directed to generation of customized cards, and more particularly to customized cards wherein a gift value is associated with the card such that a recipient immediately receives it.
It is customary to give gifts on many occasions, such as birthdays, lifetime milestones, or holidays. Traditionally, gifts are accompanied by a greeting card which is directed to the person and the event. Often, particularly when greeting cards are being sent via the mail or when a particular gift item is not purchased, a card will be given along with a monetary gift, in the form of cash or a check. More recently, many retail establishments will also sell gift cards for set or selected values. Gift cards can be used like money at associated establishments. Gift cards are more limited in scope than cash or checks, but add an element of personalization to a gift.
Early gift cards were in the form of gift certificates for which a value was pre-paid and written on the certificate. An establishment would typically make a record of each certificate and its associated value in the event a certificate was lost, or to prevent counterfeiting or other fraudulent misuse. More recently, gift cards are handled like a credit card, having a similar size and shape. Once procured, a purchaser provides cash or credit information, and a corresponding value is placed on a magnetic strip on the gift card.
Modern day gift cards have advantages to purchasers insofar as they can be obtained in many different values for use in many or varied locations, such as with a pre-paid credit card. Merchants like gift cards insofar as they are relatively immune from fraud and tampering. Their similarity to credit cards allows for existing point-of-sale equipment to handle charges against their value to be made easily. In addition, any lost cards, or unused value results in "slippage" wherein there is pure profit to the issuer. Finally, many gift cards lose all or some value if not redeemed in a set period of time.
Like cash and checks, gift cards, including gift certificates, are typically coupled with a greeting card to commemorate an event associated with the gift. It is still incumbent on a giver to purchase a card, obtain a gift card of a selected amount, and give or mail it to the recipient. While some gift cards may come with holders into which the card may be inserted, these are often non-descript as to an occasion associated with the gift or otherwise relatively austere and impersonal. Whether given with a card or with a holder, there is still time and expense associated with producing a typical gift card, such as one having a magnetic strip, and preparing the card and gift for mailing.
Custom card kiosks are becoming more common. In such systems, a user can go to a screen and select and personalize a greeting card. Once completed to satisfaction, a completed card design is available to be printed. Once printed, it can be signed and mailed or otherwise given to an intended recipient. Conventionally, custom design cards, such as from a kiosk, are used in the same way as off-the-shelf cards.

System and method for generation of customized cards having a gift value associated therewith


A method for forming a semiconductor device, the method includes providing a semiconductor substrate, applying a slurry to the semiconductor substrate, wherein the slurry was tested using a testing method includes taking a first undiluted sample from a top of the slurry; determining a first particle size distribution characteristic of the first undiluted sample; taking a second undiluted sample from a bottom of the slurry; determining a second particle size distribution characteristic of the second undiluted sample; and comparing a difference between the first particle size distribution characteristic and the second particle size distribution characteristics with a first predetermined value.

Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) is a conventional process used in the semiconductor industry to planarize a layer formed on a semiconductor substrate. During CMP, a polishing pad and slurry are placed in contact with the layer to be polished and the polishing pad rotates relative to the wafer. It is important that the slurry used is homogenous and of good quality. For example, if slurry particles aggregate while the polishing pad rotates the slurry particles may scratch the layer being polished and also cause residual particles and other surface defects.
To avoid defectivity problems a semiconductor manufacturer wants to make sure the slurry quality is meeting the CMP requirements. This means the slurry must be colloidaly stable or it cannot contain large aggregates resulting from its particles aggregation. Current analysis of the slurry involves incorrect or costly test methods. For example, the testing may be performed on a diluted slurry sample. Because the sample is diluted no aggregation is detected. However, the slurry may have aggregate problems when it is undiluted. The dilution of a slurry changes its concentration in electrolytes and increases the electrical double layer thickness around the particles. Therefore, the particles are stabilized against aggregation. If some particles aggregates are present before the dilution of the slurry, they are most likely to redisperse after this dilution because of this stabilization. That is why slurry dilution to detect aggregates is incorrect. Other methods are costly because they include testing the slurry by performing CMP processing to determine if the slurry is good. This wastes time, money, and resources. Indeed, performing CMP processing to test a slurry consumes silicon wafers, slurry itself, manpower and time before the acceptance of the slurry. If the slurry has to be discarded, the CMP testing slurry line must be purged and cleaned which represents an additive loss of resources. Therefore, a need exists for a method for testing a slurry prior to a CMP process.
Skilled artisans appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and have not necessarily been drawn to scale. For example, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figures may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help improve the understanding of the embodiments of the present invention.

Method for testing a slurry used to form a semiconductor device


When a shift lever is in a parking position, a rotation restriction index Jm2 is set based on a drive state of an engine or a first motor (S130, S160, S240, and S290). A current value based on the rotation restriction index Jm2 is set to a current command of the d axis in an electric angle when motoring of the engine in a stop state is started and a second motor is controlled such that the magnetic field direction of a stator of the second motor is fixed. This method can appropriately prevent a power shaft from rotating.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a vehicle and its control method.
2. Related Art
Conventionally there has been proposed such a vehicle including: an engine; a planetary gear unit which includes a carrier connected to the engine, and a ring gear connected to a drive wheel via a multistage automatic transmission section; a first electric motor connected to a sun gear of the planetary gear unit; and a second electric motor connected to a ring gear of the planetary gear unit (for example, see Patent Document 1). This vehicle starts the engine by motoring i.e., by rotating the first electric motor and the second electric motor in the same direction while the vehicle is being stopped with the operational engagement between the drive wheel and the ring gear being released by the multistage automatic transmission section.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2005-264762


The present invention provides a synthetic resin cap comprising: a cap body (4) having a top plate portion (2) and a cylinder portion (3) hanging from a circumferential edge portion (2b) thereof; an annular inside seal projection (12) to be fitted to a container mouth portion (21); a connector portion (15) formed between the top plate portion (2) and the inside seal projection (12); and an outside thin wall portion (16) formed on the top plate portion (2), and provides a closing device using thereof, and a container-packed beverage.

Conventionally, many conventional synthetic resin caps have been used provided a top plate portion and a cylinder portion hanging from the circumferential edge thereof, with an annular inside seal projection to be fitted into the container mouth portion protrudingly formed on the inner surface of the top plate portion (refer for example to Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 2002-211605).
FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B show an example of a synthetic resin cap having an inside seal projection, the cap 31 including a cap body 4 having a top plate portion 2 and a cylinder portion 3 hanging from a circumferential edge portion 2b thereof.
The horizontal score 6 demarcates the cylinder portion 3 into a main portion 8 and a tamper evidence ring portion (TE ring portion) 9 connected to the main portion 8 by bridges 7.
On the inner surface of the main portion 8, a thread portion 10 is formed for threaded engagement with a male screw 22 formed on an outer surface 21c of a container mouth portion 21.
On the inner surface of the TE ring portion 9 are provided tabs 11 that block movement of the TE ring portion 9 by locking to the container mouth portion when opening the cap 1.
On the inner surface 2a of the top plate portion 2 is formed an annular inside seal projection 12 to be fitted into the container mouth portion 21. On the outer surface of the tip portion of the inside seal projection 12 is formed an annular abutting convex portion 12a to abut the container inner surface 21a.
On the top plate portion 2 are formed an opening end seal projection 13 to abut an opening end face 21b of a container mouth portion 21 and an outside seal projection 14 to abut the outer surface 21c of the container mouth portion 21.

Synthetic resin cap, closing device, and container-packed beverage

Abstract: When the internal pressure of the container has risen, the top plate portion (2) is deformably swelled upward, and an inward tensile force is applied to the inside seal projection (12) by the connector portion (15). Since the outside thin wall portion (16) undergoes bending deformation, the portion positioned inside the outside thin wall portion (16) to undergo significant bulging deformation upward, and the slope of the top plate portion (2) at the portion where the inside seal projection (12) is formed is increased. Thus, the inside seal projection (12) is displaced inward, and gas in the container may be easily discharged to the outside.

Closure Systems International Japan, Limited


This invention is directed to deuterated aminocyclohexyl ether compounds and processes for preparing same and methods of using same.

Deuterated drugs are widely used in studies of metabolism of drugs and toxic substances in humans and other animals. The deuterated forms of drugs often have different actions than the protonated forms. Some deuterated drugs show different transport processes. Most are more resistant to metabolic changes, especially those changes mediated by cytochrome P450 systems. Deuteration may also change the pathway of drug metabolism (metabolic switching). Changed metabolism may lead to increased duration of action and lower toxicity. It may also lead to lower activity, if the drug is normally changed to the active form in vivo. Deuteration can also lower the genotoxicity of the anticancer drug tamoxifen and other compounds. Deuteration increases effectiveness of long-chain fatty acids and fluoro-D-phenylalanine by preventing their breakdown by target microorganisms.
Deuterium (D) is a nonradioactive isotope which contains one additional neutron than the normally abundant isotope of hydrogen which does not contain any neutrons. Deuterium behaves similarly to ordinary hydrogen, but it can be distinguished from ordinary hydrogen by its mass using mass spectrometry or infrared spectrometry. Consequently, deuterated compounds have been long used in pharmaceutical research to investigate the in vivo metabolic fate of the compounds by evaluation of the mechanism of action and metabolic-pathway of the non deuterated parent compound. Such metabolic studies are important in the design of safe, effective therapeutic drugs.
Incorporation of deuterium for a hydrogen atom in a drug can give rise to an isotope effect that can alter the pharmacokinetics of the drug. This effect is usually insignificant if the label is placed in a molecule at the metabolically inert position of the molecule. For instance, deuteration, as exemplified by deuterated Rapamycin (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,503,921), Cyclosporine (see U.S. Pat. No. 6,613,739) or Nifedipine (see U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,514) has been reported to alter the pharmacokinetics of a drug. Forster et al. (Isotechnica, AB) have shown that deuteration can enhance duration of action.
Deuterium-labeling of a drug can alter its physico-chemical properties such as pKa and lipid solubility. These changes may influence the fate of the drug at different steps along its passage through the body. Absorption, distribution, metabolism or excretion can be changed. Absorption and distribution are processes that depend primarily on the molecular size and the lipophilicity of the substance.
Drug metabolism can give rise to large isotopic effect if the breaking of a chemical bond to a deuterium atom is the rate limiting step in the process. While some of the physical properties of a deuterium-labeled molecule are different from those of the unlabeled one, the chemical and biological properties are the same, with one important exception: because of the increased mass of the heavy isotope, any bond involving the heavy isotope and another atom will be stronger than the same bond between the light isotope and that atom. In any reaction in which the breaking of this bond is the rate limiting step, the reaction will proceed slower for the molecule with the heavy isotope due to kinetic isotope effect. A reaction involving breaking a C-D bond can be up to 700 percent slower than a similar reaction involving breaking a C—H bond.
More caution has to be observed when using deuterium-labeled drugs. If the C-D bored is not involved in any of the steps leading to the metabolite, there may not be any effect to alter the behavior of the drug. If deuterium is placed at a site involved in the metabolism of a drug, an isotope effect will be observed only if breaking of the C-D bond is the rate limiting step. There are evidences to suggest that whenever cleavage of an aliphatic C—H bond occurs, usually by oxidation catalyzed by a mixed-function oxidase, replacement of the hydrogen by deuterium will lead to observable isotope effect. It is also important to understand that the incorporation of deuterium at the site of metabolism slows its rate to the point where another metabolite produced by attack at a carbon atom not substituted by deuterium becomes the major pathway by a process called "metabolic switching".
It is also observed that one of the most important metabolic pathways of compounds containing aromatic systems is hydroxylation leading to a phenolic group in the 3 or 4 position to carbon substituents. Although this pathway involves cleavage of the C—H bond, it is often not accompanied by an isotope effect, because the cleavage of this bond is mostly not involved in the rate-limiting step. The substitution of hydrogen by deuterium at the stereo center will induce a greater effect on the activity of the drug.
Clinically relevant questions with respect to deuterium-labeled drugs include the toxicity of the drug and its metabolite derivatives, the changes in distribution or elimination (enzyme induction), lipophilicity which will have an effect on absorption of the drug. Replacement of hydrogen by deuterium at the site involving the metabolic reaction will lead to increased toxicity of the drug. Replacement of hydrogen by deuterium at the aliphatic carbons will have an isotopic effect to a larger extent. Deuterium placed at an aromatic carbon atom, which will be the site of hydroxylation, may lead to an observable isotope effect, although this is less often the case than with aliphatic carbons. In few cases, such as in penicillin, the substitution on the aromatic ring will induce the restriction of rotation of the ring around the C—C bond leading to a favorable stereo-specific situation to enhance the activity of the drug.
Side-effects with acute deuterium dosing have been shown to be transitory with no demonstrated evidence of permanent deleterious action. The threshold of deuterium toxicity has been defined in animals and is far in excess of concentrations conceivably used in human studies. The possibility that deuterium may have additional beneficial pharmacological applications can therefore not be excluded.
PCT Published Patent Application, WO 2004/099137 discloses a class of aminocyclohexyl ether compounds as being useful in the treatment of arrhythmias. One class of compounds disclosed therein are particularly effective in the treatment and/or prevention of arrhythmia, particularly atrial fibrillation.
There exists, therefore, a need to prepare deuterated compounds which can be used, inter alia, as standards or tracer molecules in biological or bioanalytical assays in order to determine the biological effectiveness and metabolic pathway for a class of compounds disclosed in PCT Published Patent Application WO 99/50225.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Deuterated aminocyclohexyl ether compounds and processes for preparing same


An exhaust volume for combustion gases from a motor vehicle engine comprises at least one exhaust duct delimited by a wall comprising an end segment, and at least one flange having a bearing surface. The flange delimits at least one exhaust gas inlet communicating with the exhaust duct. The exhaust gas inlet is delimited by a cannon connected to the flange, with the cannon being attached to the end segment. At least one outer neck is attached to the end segment. The end segment is arranged between the flange and the outer neck, with the end segment being pierced with at least one hole between the flange and the outer neck. The end segment, the flange, and the outer neck are being secured through the addition of a filler.

Such an exhaust volume is known from the patent application filed under no. FR 11 59216. This application describes an exhaust manifold in which waves can be arranged easily. The manifold described in that application comprises an exhaust duct and a flange, the flange including a cannon made up of a first segment extended by a second segment that is not as thick as the first segment, and is connected to the wall of the exhaust duct. The second segment of the flange and the wall of the exhaust duct are typically secured to one another by brazing. The wall of the exhaust duct covers the second segment over the entire height of said second segment. Due to the large size of the overlap, brazing allows a particularly strong connection of the first and second cannons to one another. However, patent application no. FR 11 59216 does not describe how to connect the duct to the cannon when the cannon is enclosed in a double cooling jacket, or more generally an outer neck.

Double-walled exhaust volume and corresponding manufacturing method


A charged particle apparatus, with multiple electrically conducting semispheric grid electrodes, the grid electrodes mounted in a dielectric mounting ring, with hidden areas or regions to maintain electrical isolation between the grid electrodes as sputter deposits form on the grid electrodes and mounting ring. The grid electrodes are mounted to the mounting ring with slots and fastening pins that allow sliding thermal expansion and contraction between the grid electrodes and mounting ring while substantially maintaining alignment of grid openings and spacing between the grid electrodes. Asymmetric fastening pins facilitate the sliding thermal expansion while restraining the grid electrodes. Electrical contactors supply and maintain electrical potentials of the grid electrodes with spring loaded sliding contacts, without substantially affecting the thermal characteristics of the grid electrodes.

Gridded, broad-beam ion sources, first developed for ion propulsion engines for spacecraft, are used in a variety of applications, such as ion beam etching (IBE), ion beam sputter deposition (IBSD), materials modification, and nuclear fusion technology. Ions are usually extracted from a discharge plasma by multi-grid ion optics. The plasma generator and the ion optics assembly are the two major components of the broad-beam ion source.
The plasma is usually generated by a type of high voltage glow discharge, hot-cathode discharge, vacuum arc discharge, or RF discharge. Ions extracted from the plasma are accelerated and focused into an ion beam by applying relevant potentials to an electrode in contact with the plasma and other grid electrodes (ion optics). The optimum number of grid electrodes is defined by application requirements, such as cost, weight, sensitivity to contamination of exposed surfaces by grid material, and beam collimation.
For many ion beam etch and ion beam sputter deposition applications, grid assemblies which provide low ion beam divergence are needed. Grid assemblies using three or more grid electrodes are preferable for this purpose. Such grid assemblies are able to provide low beam divergence over a wide range of beam current and beam voltage (ion energy). In addition, when operated under proper conditions, grid assemblies with three or more grid electrodes are not subject to grid erosion from charge exchange ions generated in the ion beam. For comparison, one and two-grid systems are mechanically simpler but have a limited range of operation at low beam divergence and are subject to grid erosion. Consequently, three-grid ion optics, with longer grid life, are more compatible with high purity materials processing requirements.
In a three-grid assembly, the grid in contact with the plasma is conventionally called the screen grid, and has a positive potential close to the plasma potential that defines the ion energy. The next grid downstream in the beam usually is set at a negative potential, and is called an accelerator grid. For low beam divergence operation, the absolute value of accelerator potential should not be greater than 0.3 times the value of the screen grid potential. The third grid is most commonly connected to ground potential, as are the target and chamber components. The third grid is called the decelerator grid.

Charged particle beam extraction and formation apparatus


The present invention relates to a filter device, especially for a fluidised bed system and particularly for use in the pharmaceutical industry, for separating particles larger than a separating grain from an amount of particles in a fluid flow. The filter device includes a housing and at least one filter portion. A part of the housing is mounted for rotational movement, and the filter portion is provided in the housing, whereby the filter portion is movable upon rotation of the housing. The present invention also relates to a method for separating particles using such a filter device.

In the area of particle formation, coating and granulation it is well known to use different techniques involving a fluidised bed apparatus. Basically, fluidisation is the operation by which solids are transformed into a fluid like state through suspension in a gas or liquid. If a fluid is passed upward through a bed of fine particles at a certain velocity, the frictional force between particles and fluid will just counterbalance the weight of the particles. In this state, the vertical component of the compressive force between adjacent particles disappears, and the pressure drop through any section of the bed about equals the weight of fluid and particles in that section. At this fluid velocity, the bed is just fluidised. Higher fluid velocities might lead to states where the fluid for example forms bubbles or gives rise to a turbulent motion in the solids. At even higher velocities, the fluid will entrain solids out of the bed and bring them along in its upward motion. The term fluidised bed is used when referring to different kinds of such beds.
When the fluid in a fluidised bed entrains large amounts of solid particles, a steady state can be achieved by collecting the entrained particles and returning them to the bed. Up to a certain amount of entrainment, a cyclone that is provided inside the vessel carrying the fluidised bed can provide the necessary collection and re-entry of particles for retaining steady state conditions in the vessel. Such a system is often referred to as a fluid bed. When bigger cyclone collectors must be provided outside the bed, such a system is often called a fast fluidised bed. Both these systems are circulating fluidised beds, and they are thus useful in different processes for particle treatment, as the particles will circulate several times in the system.
Within the pharmaceutical industry, fluidised beds are often used for granulation or coating of a product. Granulation is typically performed by spraying droplets of a liquid on particles, which are kept in the fluidised state. The particles will then tend to stick together, agglomerate, either by means of a binding agent in said liquid, or by a slightly dissolving effect from said liquid. Coating is usually performed by spraying a solution of coating agents onto the particles. In both granulation and coating processes it is important that conditions, such as the temperature, are such that the agglomerates or coatings will dry quickly enough so that unwanted agglomeration will not appear. On the other hand if drying of the agglomerates or coatings happens too quickly, unwanted spray drying of the material might appear.
An application of a circulating fluidised bed is described in the document U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,603, Kern, Jr. The fluidised bed apparatus revealed comprises a container wherein a fluidised bed is arranged. The particles are disposed above a perforated plate through which the fluid, in this case hot air, is allowed to pass. The entrained particles in the resulting fluidised bed are subjected to coating by means of a nozzle extending into the container and from which coating material is sprayed. The entrained particles and the fluid are sucked into a cyclone separator. The cyclone separator is provided in connection to the container and arranged to re-enter the entrained particles to the fluidised bed, and to lead off the remaining fluid. The particles will thus circulate from the bed to the separator and back. Each time a particle passes the nozzle, it will be sprayed with coating material and thus grow in size and weight. At a certain weight, the particle will be too heavy to be entrained with the fluid. Instead, it will fall down through the fluidised bed and be collected there. The process could of course be interrupted prior to that any particles reach such a size, and the particles collected directly from the bed. This kind of apparatus may be used for granulation instead of coating of particles. A granulation liquid will then be sprayed from a nozzle instead of a coating material.
The function of a cyclone separator is based on the action of centrifugal forces. These forces are produced by accelerating the fluid with the entrained particles onto a circular track provided around a vertical cyclone axis. The centrifugal force acting on each particle will increase with increasing particle size, so that larger particles will be flung against the wall of the separator and slide downwards to an outlet, which in this case would open towards the fluidised bed. Smaller particles will follow the fluid flow all through the separator and usually leave the cyclone through an opening in the separator ceiling. The specific grain size at which the particles start to separate from the fluid is often called the separating grain. The dimensions of the cyclone as well as what kind of fluid or particles used will be some of the parameters affecting the size of the separating grain.
Cyclone separators are widely used, although showing several disadvantages. Unevenly distributed coating on the particles may appear because of the swirls that will occur in the gas flow when passing the cyclone. Furthermore, the efficiency of a cyclone separator is low when separating very small particles, such as dust of spray-dried material from the coated/granulated particles. The dimensions of a specific cyclone offer only one separating grain, resulting in a narrow fraction of separated particles. Recycling must always be provided.
To avoid the problems related to the cyclone separators commonly used, several other devices have been proposed. In the document EP-B1-0 572 356 a fluidised bed apparatus is described provided with at least one vertical cartridge filter projecting into the fluidised bed container. The filter has a fabric filtration member, i.e. comprising a textile fabric. When such a filter has collected a certain amount of small particles, it must be cleaned unless the fluid flow through the filter will be severely restricted. In this case the filter is washed with a liquid cleaning agent. The filter is pushed upwards and out of the container in order to be washed. This is time-consuming and interrupts the operation of the fluid bed apparatus. In other documents, for example U.S. Pat. No. 5,766,281, Luy et al. and U.S. Pat. No. RE32 307, Glatt et al, different cleaning procedures are proposed, such as gas cleaning combined with wet cleaning or vibration cleaning of the filters. Filtration members made by paper or textile fabric have an additional disadvantage in that they have low strength and therefore they might be damaged when cleaned or blown out.
Particles clogging in the filter structure are a problem, which gives rise to the need of cleaning the filters. This is especially pronounced when dealing with small solid particles, such as unwanted dust of excess spray-dried material. Even if cleaning sometimes can be made during operation of the process, the fluid flows will be disturbed, and the overall efficiency will be decreased.
Other known techniques for particle separation are deflectors or fixed nets. For a fixed net, the separating grain is always decided by the mesh size, and problems with particles clogging the net do usually appear. The use of deflectors in for example a fluid passage can not be used for separating very small particles, since these will continue the travel in the passage along with the fluid. An additional end filter is therefore required for filtering off small particles.


To provide an amplification type solid state image pickup device enabling lower noise, higher gain, and higher sensitivity than any conventional amplification type solid state image pickup device. A solid state image pickup device according to the present invention includes an arrangement of a plurality of unit pixels each of which includes at least: a photodiode for accumulating a signal charge generated by an incident light; and an amplifying MOS transistor receiving the signal charge at a control electrode, amplifying the signal charge and outputting an amplified signal, wherein: the amplifying MOS transistor is formed in a first semiconductor layer of a first conductivity type which is the same conductivity type as source and drain of the amplifying MOS transistor, the first semiconductor layer has an impurity concentration lower than that of the source and drain, and the first semiconductor layer is depleted between the source and drain at least during an amplifying operation of the amplifying MOS transistor.

1. Field of the Invention
The preset invention relates to a solid state image pickup device and a camera provided with a solid state image pickup device.
2. Related Background Art
Up to now, CCDs have been widely employed as solid state image pickup devices because of their high SN ratios. Meanwhile, development of a so-called amplification type solid state image pickup device is under way, the device excelling in low power consumption and high usability. The amplification type solid state image pickup device is configured such that signal charges accumulated in a photodiode are introduced to a control electrode of a transistor in each pixel and an electric signal according to a signal charge amount is amplified and output from a main electrode of the transistor. In particular, a so-called CMOS sensor employing a MOS transistor as a transistor well matches a CMOS process and enables on-chip driver circuit and signal processing circuit. Accordingly, development of the CMOS sensor is being eagerly pursued.
FIG. 5 is a circuit diagram showing a typical example of a CMOS sensor pixel. In FIG. 5, reference numeral 1 denotes a unit pixel; 2, a photodiode for accumulating signal charges generated due to incident light; 3, an amplifying MOS transistor for outputting an amplified signal according to a signal charge amount; 4, a floating diffusion (hereinafter, referred to as "FD") region receiving the signal charges and connected with a gate electrode of the amplifying MOS transistor 3; 5, a MOS transistor for transferring the signal charges accumulated in the photodiode 2 to the FD region 4; 6, a resetting MOS transistor for resetting the FD region 4; 7, a selecting MOS transistor for selecting an output pixel; 8, a control line for applying pulses to a gate of the MOS transistor 5 and controlling a charge transferring operation; 9, a control line for applying pulses to a gate of the resetting MOS transistor 6 and controlling a resetting operation; 10, a control line for applying pulses to a gate of the selecting MOS transistor 7 and controlling a selecting operation; 11, a power supply line connected to a drain of the amplifying MOS transistor 3 and a drain of the resetting MOS transistor 6 and supplying a power supply potential to the transistors; 12, an output line to which an amplified signal of the selected pixel is output; 13, a constant-current MOS transistor operating as a constant current source and constituting a source follower in corporation with the amplifying MOS transistor 3; and 14, a wiring for supplying to a gate electrode of the constant-current MOS transistor 13 such a potential as allows for a constant-current operation of the constant-current MOS transistor 13. The unit pixels 1 are two-dimensionally arranged in a matrix shape to constitute a pixel region of a two-dimensional solid state image pickup device. In such matrix arrangement, the output line 12 serves as a common line for pixels in respective columns, and the control lines 8, 9, and 10 serve as common lines for pixels in respective rows. Signals from the pixels in a row selected by the control line 10 are only output to the output line 12.
Next, an operation of the pixel is explained in brief. For the pixels in the row where the selecting MOS transistor is turned ON by the control line 10, a pulse is first applied to the control line 9 to reset the FD region 4. The amplifying MOS transistor 3 and the constant-current MOS transistor 13 constitute a source follower. Thus, an output potential according to a reset potential appears in the output line 12. Next, when the signal charges accumulated in the photodiode are transferred to the FD region 4 by applying a pulse to the control line 8, a potential of the FD region 4 changes by a voltage according to the signal charge amount. The potential change is reflected in the output line 12. The reset potential appearing in the output line 12 involves a threshold voltage variation of the amplifying MOS transistor 3, and noise such as reset noise generated in resetting the FD region 4. In light of this, the potential change according to the signal charge amount corresponds to a noise-free signal. In the two-dimensional CMOS sensor, the output line 12 is connected with a read-out circuit for eliminating the noise and taking out only a signal. With regard to the read-out circuit, some structures are proposed including one where the noise is eliminated with a clamp circuit, and one where the noise is eliminated by separately holding noise and (noise+pure signal), and introducing each to a differential amplifier at the final stage during horizontal scanning (reading). However, such structures do not directly relate to the present invention, and hence a detailed description thereof is omitted here.
Next, a sectional structure of a portion corresponding to the photodiode and amplifying MOS transistor of the pixel is shown in FIG. 6. In FIG. 6, reference numeral 15 denotes an N-type semiconductor substrate; 16, a P-type well; and 17, an N-type semiconductor region which is formed in the P-type well 16, constitutes a photodiode together with the P-type well 16, and accumulates signal charges generated due to incident light. Denoted by 18 and 19 are N-type semiconductor regions formed in the P-type well 16 and serving as a drain and source of the amplifying MOS transistor 3, respectively. Reference numeral 20 denotes a gate electrode of the amplifying MOS transistor 3; 21, a thick oxide film for element isolation, that is, so-called LOCOS; 22, a channel stopper made from a P-type semiconductor layer with the same conductivity type as that of the P-type well 16 and formed directly below the LOCOS 21; 11, a drain wiring connected with the drain 18; and 23, a source wiring connected with the source 19. The signal charges accumulated in the N-type semiconductor region 17 are transferred to the FD region 4 during a transferring operation. An N-type impurity concentration in the N-type semiconductor region 17 is set so as to turn the region into a depletion region just after the transfer.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2000-150848 (FIG. 7) discloses a solid state image pickup device where a p-type buried layer is formed at a predetermined depth in an n-type substrate. A photoelectric conversion part is formed in a upper portion of the n-type substrate about the p-type buried layer.
However, the aforementioned conventional CMOS sensor encounters a problem in that so-called 1/f noise is generated from the amplifying MOS transistor 3 to increase a noise level in the entire sensor. Also, in general, the amplifying MOS transistor 3 is operated as a source follower, but the following problem arises here. That is, a potential of the P-type well 16 is set to a fixed value, which drops a gain at the time of source follower operation due to a back gate bias effect, lowering a signal level. The signal charges generated downstream of the photodiode are not always absorbed in the photodiode but are likely to be absorbed in the FD region 4 and the N-type source/drain of the amplifying MOS transistor 3, the resetting MOS transistor 6, and the selecting MOS transistor 7 in the pixels in a certain probability. As discussed above, there is a problem in that the signal charges are absorbed in components except the photodiode, resulting in low sensitivity.
Also, in the pixel structure as disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-150848, an amplifying MOS transistor provided in a pixel is formed in a well whose conductivity type is opposite to that of its source/drain. Hence, it is impossible to form a depletion region below a channel formation region unlike the present invention nor to minimize a substrate bias effect to a satisfactory level. Accordingly, the 1/f noise cannot be sufficiently reduced, and the gain of the source follower cannot be designed to be up.

Solid state image pickup device including an amplifying MOS transistor having particular conductivity type semiconductor layers, and camera using the same device


A self-propelled vehicle alternator used both as a generator and as an electric motor for starting the engine of the vehicle. A coil-carrying rotor and a multiphase stator connected to a bridge of diodes and switches for rectifying and controlling the phases cooperate for selective operation as a generator or starting motor. A control unit for the switches recognizes a code signal transmitted by a code transmitter and controls the phases of the stator to cause the alternator to operate as an electric motor and start the engine only if it receives a code signal from the transmitter authorizing starting.

Conventionally, the starter motor of a self-propelled vehicle is a DC electric motor designed, on starting, to drive the shaft of the engine, e.g. by means of a sliding pinion that meshes with a driving ring carried by said shaft.
As is known, it is easy to start an engine by driving its starter by short circuiting the vehicle's contactor.
So solve this problem, it is known to fit vehicles with immobilization systems that prevent the engine from being started until an unlocking code signal has been received, e.g. by a computer controlling injection to said engine.
Nevertheless, injection computers are still not widespread, so at present few vehicles are fitted with such immobilization systems.

Alternator used both as a generator and as a motor for starting the engine of a self-propelled vehicle


A communication system having multiple devices each corresponding to a respective communication system is mounted on a moving vehicle. One or more devices that are usable at a present vehicle position and that are available at a communication receiving end are automatically identified by a controller in the on-board communication system. One or more devices to be actually used are selected from among those devices that are usable as well as available. A user may set communication conditions including those placing priority on a communication time or charges. A communication device to be actually used, or an order of use of plural devices may be determined according to the set conditions.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a communication system mounted on a vehicle, the system having multiple communication devices which are selectively used.
2. Description of Related Art
Various communication devices in an Intelligent Transport System (ITS) field, such as devices corresponding to a Vehicle Information and Communication System (VICS) and an Electronic Toll Collection (ETC), are going to be mounted on an automotive vehicle in addition to a conventional automotive cellular phone. A communication system using satellites for efficiently managing an operation schedule of commercial vehicles is already in the market. In such a system, communication via satellites is utilized in addition to surface communication by a conventional telephone. Also, a Dedicated Short Range Communication (DSRC) system that is to be used in communication between a vehicle and roadside devices is now being developed. Under these circumstances, various communication devices corresponding to respective systems will be used in a vehicle in the near future.
When multiple communication devices are mounted on a vehicle, it is very important to select an appropriate device for actual use, because a position of the vehicle always changes and all the devices are not necessarily usable at a given vehicle position. Therefore, it is highly desirable to provide a system to help a user to select the appropriate communication device at a given situation. Moreover, such selection has to be done in consideration of various factors, such as urgency of communication, amount of data to be transmitted and charges for the communication.
The present invention has been made to solve the potential problems mentioned above, and an object of the present invention is to provide a system which helps a user to select appropriate communication devices from among multiple devices mounted on a vehicle in accordance with varying vehicle positions. Another object of the present invention is to provide a system in which communication is performed under desired conditions including communication time and charges. Yet another object of the present invention is, when plural devices are selected, to determine an order of use of the selected devices.
A communication system that includes multiple communication devices is mounted on a vehicle. The communication devices respectively correspond to various communication systems, such as a DSRC, a middle range, a stationary satellite, a cellular phone and a low orbit satellite communication system. The on-board communication system also includes a controller to select one or plural communication devices which are most appropriate in a given situation from among the multiple communication devices.
Ever-changing vehicle positions are detected by a vehicle position detector, and information showing a present vehicle position is fed to the controller. The controller selects one or more communication devices that are usable at the detected present vehicle position, considering field intensity at that position. The controller also specifies one or more communication devices that are available at a communication receiving end. Both the usable devices and the available devices are memorized in memories. One or more communication devices to be actually used are selected from among the devices that are usable at the present vehicle position as well as available at the receiving end.
Preferably, the on-board system further includes a device for setting communication conditions according to user""s preference. Conditions, such as a condition under which a communication time has priority and a condition under which communication charges have priority, may be set by a user. When there are plural pieces of data to be transmitted, those data may be classified into a few classes according to their urgency, so that the urgent data are transmitted first. When there are plural devices that are selected to be used, a user may select one device from those for actual use, or may set an order of use. Alternatively, the order of use may be determined by the controller based on the conditions set by the user.
According to the present invention, a communication device that can be appropriately used at the present vehicle position is efficiently selected from among multiple communication devices mounted on a vehicle. Also, the communication between a vehicle and arbitrary locations including other vehicles can be efficiently performed, taking into consideration urgency and user""s preferred conditions.
Other objects and features of the present invention will become more readily apparent from a better understanding of the preferred embodiment described below with reference to the following drawings.

On-board communication system having multiple communication devices


A demodulation circuit for demodulating an FSK signal comprising a long bit having a long bit period and a short bit having a short bit period comprises a bit boundary detection section for detecting a bit boundary timing of each bit, and a bit determination section for making determination for each bit such that a particular bit is determined to be a long bit when a threshold time period has passed during a period from a bit boundary timing at a leading end of the bit to a bit boundary timing at a trailing end of the bit, and a particular bit is determined to be a short bit when the threshold time period has not passed during a period from a bit boundary timing at a leading end of the bit to a bit boundary timing at a trailing end of the bit.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a demodulation circuit for demodulating an FSK signal which comprises a long bit pulse and a short bit pulse.
2. Description of the Related Art
An example of an FSK signal is described with reference to FIG. 5. As shown in FIG. 5, an FSK signal comprises a long bit, which has a long bit period, and a short bit, which has a short bit period. Note that a bit period is a combination of a period with a bit pulse and a period without a bit pulse. Each bit contains a single pulse having a certain length.
In the example of FIG. 1, a long bit contains a pulse having a long length, while a short bit contains a pulse having a short length. Either one of the long or short bits is set to a binary code "1", while the other is set to a binary code "0".
As described in Japanese Patent Laid-open Publication No. Hei 9-294143, for example, typical structures of a conventional FSK signal demodulation circuit may include one in which frequency variation is set correlated with voltage variation using a frequency discriminator so that bit determination, namely, determination as to whether 1 or 0, is made based on voltage variation, and another in which a duty ratio of each bit is determined using a clock signal in synchronism with an FSK signal in order to perform bit determination.
Although these demodulation circuits can exhibit preferable demodulation performance, they have a problem of a complicated circuit structure that is large in size.


Power reduction is achieved either statically or dynamically within domino logic circuits. For static power reduction, representative input signals to the logic circuit are analyzed and any variation from purely random signals is detected. The domino circuit is then configured, if possible, to utilize less power for input signals having a higher probability of being received. As an example, a domino adder circuit is configured with predischarged carry nodes, rather than precharged carry nodes, individual logic cells to exploit input signals which often include numerous leading zeros. For dynamic power reduction, actual individual input signals are analyzed to determine whether power reduction can be achieved by either selecting between two preconfigured domino circuits or by modifying the input signals prior to routing through a single domino logic circuit. In the latter case, inversion of the input signals may result in power savings. In a specific example, a domino adder is provided. The input signals are analyzed to determine the percentage of pairs of ones or zeros in the input signals. If primarily composed of zeros, the input signals are routed through a domino circuit configured with logic cells with predischarged carry nodes. If the input signals are primarily ones, the signals are inverted, then routed through the domino circuit. Method and apparatus embodiments of the invention are described.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention generally relates to integrated circuits (ICs) and in particular to ICs incorporating dynamic or domino logic circuits.
2. Description of Related Art
A static CMOS gate is a fully complementary logic gate (with P and N devices configured to implement a desired logic function). A dynamic CMOS gate consists of an N-device logic structure having an output node precharged to V.sub.cc with a single clocked PMOS device and being conditionally discharged (evaluated) by a set of n-devices connected to V.sub.ss.
The clocked PMOS device has a gate connected to an input clock signal. When the clock input is active, the output node is "precharged" through the PMOS device to V.sub.cc. When the clock input is inactive, the output node is conditionally discharged (evaluated) through the N-devices to V.sub.ss. The set of N-devices implement the logic function.
Dynamic or domino logic units are referred to as being "dynamic" because operation of the unit is controlled dynamically by the input clock signal. The logic units are typically arranged in a plurality of stages, each having logic cells such as NAND gates, NOR gates, etc., with each stage separated by an inverting stage. With this arrangement, input signals applied to the first stage while the clock signal is active trigger operation of the remaining stages in sequence yielding a domino-like signal propagation effect within the logic unit--hence, the alternative name "domino" circuit.
One of the requirements for correct operation is that during the evaluate phase, the inputs to the N-device can only change from a non-active to an active state. Otherwise, the output could be corrupted, and there is no set of PMOS devices to pull it back up. This is done by providing inverting stages which are typically provided between each logic stage to facilitate proper precharging and evaluating of the individual logic units active during the precharge phase.
FIG. 1a illustrates a domino NAND gate cell 30. (A subsequent inverting state is not shown in the figure.) As can be seen, the NAND gate stage 30 includes a single PMOS device in combination with a pair of NMOS devices. Stage 32 is a sustainer which includes an inverter and a PMOS device. The sustainer offsets any charge leakage which might occur. The domino NAND gate of FIG. 1a is referred to as an "clocked" domino gate because the input clock signal is connected to an N-device in series with N-devices of the domino logic cell. The N-devices connected to clock prevents a power path between V.sub.cc and V.sub.ss during the precharge phase.
FIG. 1b illustrates a clocked domino NOR gate cell 50 and a subsequent sustainer stage 52.
In use, dynamic or domino logic units operate in two phases--a precharged phase and an evaluate phase. During the precharged phase, logic cells of the domino circuit are precharged. During the evaluate phase, input signals are applied to the inputs of each of the logic cells and the clock signals is activated. Depending upon the inputs, some of the logic cells of the domino circuit may need to discharge to pull the output line of the logic cell from high to low, thereby sinking current from the power supply. Other logic cells, however, within the domino circuit may not need to discharge and therefore will not sink significant current. Consider, for example, an AND circuit configured using domino circuitry. If the AND gate is precharged to provide a default output logic value of 1, and the input values are (0 0), (0 1) or (1 0), the AND gate will need to discharge the output line to pull the output line from logic 1 down to logic 0, thereby drawing significant power. If, however, the input values are (1 1), then the output line need not be discharged and it will retain its precharge value and no significant amount of power is drawn by the AND gate. Similar principles apply to other logic cells such as OR gates, NOR gates and NAND gates.
Thus, the actual power drawn within a domino circuit during each evaluation phase depends upon the input signals received during the evaluation phase. In designing domino circuits, it is generally assumed that individual binary value input signals will be distributed more or less at random over a period of time. Moreover, for a complex domino circuit incorporating numerous logic cells, it is generally assumed that about half of the cells will need to be discharged during each evaluation phase. Accordingly, the average power requirements for a complex domino circuit are typically determined by assuming that half of the logic cells of the circuit will need to discharge during each evaluation phase.
A domino logic unit has the advantage over conventional static CMOS logic units in that less overall circuit space is required than a static CMOS circuit because only a single PMOS device is required within each logic cell containing a set of NMOS devices. This represents a significant savings in circuit space over static CMOS circuits which require a PMOS device for each NMOS device. Domino CMOS circuits are also often significantly faster in operation than static CMOS circuits.
A significant disadvantage, however, of domino logic circuits over static CMOS logic circuits is that considerably more power is consumed by the domino device, despite the presence of the clocked PMOS transistors. A static CMOS circuit switches at most only once a cycle. Also, within a static CMOS logic circuit (having a path between V.sub.cc and V.sub.ss) power is only drawn by each logic cell (requiring a logic transition) only during the time it takes for the complimentary PMOS and NMOS devices of the cell to switch states which is typically very quick. A domino circuit consumes more power because it can switch twice every cycle, once during precharge and once during evaluate. Also, a domino circuit has a path between V.sub.cc and V.sub.ss for the period where the clock overlaps with the inputs resulting throughout power spent in that period.
Largely because of the generally higher power requirements of the domino circuit over a CMOS circuit, domino circuits are not widely employed within state of the art integrated circuits. Accordingly, it would be desirable to provide an improved method for implementing domino circuits which reduces the amount of power required by the domino circuit thereby yielding a domino circuit providing a more practical alternative to a CMOS circuit. It is to that end of the aspects of the invention are drawn.

Method and apparatus for reducing power usage within a domino logic unit


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1. Field of the Invention
This device refers to the field of health supplements more practically one to improve brain function and activity.
2. Background
With the speed of today information highway improved brain function is vital. There are very few supplements that are designed specifically to assist in brain functioning and those that do not work very well.
There is still room for improvement in the art.