The present disclosure is directed to chemically-stable and pharmaceutically acceptable sildenafil oral spray formulations for the treatment of diseases such as pulmonary arterial hypertension and/or SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction, wherein the oral spray formulation has a pH of about 1.5 to less than 3.0. The present disclosure is also directed to methods for treating diseases such as pulmonary arterial hypertension and/or SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved sildenafil citrate tablets for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (WHO Group I) under the brand name REVATIO®. The recommended dose of REVATIO® is 20 mg three times a day.
Sildenafil citrate was first approved by the FDA for the treatment of male erectile dysfunction under the brand name VIAGRA®.
Sildenafil is reported to be a selective inhibitor of cyclic-GMP-specific phosphodiesterase type 5 (PDE5). Its effects in treating pulmonary arterial hypertension (and erectile dysfunction) occur by enhancing the downstream effects of nitric oxide (NO) mediated vasorelaxation. PDE5 is found in pulmonary vascular smooth muscle and the corpus cavernosum, as well as in tissues such as vascular and visceral smooth muscle and in platelets. Sildenafil increases cyclic-GMP (cGMP) by inhibiting PDE5. PDE5 is responsible for degradation of cGMP. As a result, sildenafil increases cGMP within pulmonary vascular smooth muscle cells. In patients with pulmonary hypertension, this can lead to vasodilation of the pulmonary vascular bed and, to a lesser degree, vasodilation in the systemic circulation (see, e.g., REVATIO® product literature).
In addition to its therapeutic benefits in diseases such as pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and erectile dysfunction, sildenafil is reported to be efficacious in the treatment of sexual dysfunctions associated with SSRI administration. See, e.g., Stimmel, G L, "Sexual dysfunction and psychotropic medications" CNS Spectr. (2006) 11:8(Suppl 9):24-30 and Wang, W-F et al. "Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the treatment of premature ejaculation" Chin Med J (2007) 120(11):1000-1006. Sexual dysfunctions are a main side effect of SSRIs, and include difficulties with libido, arousal, delayed or absent orgasm (e.g., anorgasmia in women), and delayed ejaculation, anejaculation, or erectile dysfunction in men. Ibid. In patients suffering from sexual dysfunction as a result of SSRI treatment, administration of sildenafil as adjunct therapy may improve and sustain arousal, for example, in the patient by increasing blood flow, and sildenafil is thought to exert an indirect beneficial effect on other aspects of sexual response via the same mechanism. See, e.g., Stimmel, G L. CNS Spectr. (2006) 11:8(Suppl 9):24-30.
Sildenafil has been proposed as a possible therapeutic in the treatment of a number of other conditions as well. These include female sexual dysfunction, including sexual dysfunction associated with menopause, such as difficulties with sexual arousal. See, e.g., Mattar, C N et al. "Care of women in menopause: sexual function, dysfunction and therapeutic modalities" Ann Acad Med Singapore (2008) 37:215-223. Other conditions for which sildenafil may provide a therapeutic benefit include high-altitude illness (see, e.g., Luks, A M et al CHEST (2008) 133:744-755), pain, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and irritable bowl syndrome (see, e.g., Sharma, R Indian J Med Sci (2007) 61:667-679 and Uthayathas, S et al. Pharmacological Reports (2007) 59:150-163).
Despite its effectiveness in treating diseases such as PAH and erectile dysfunction, the administration of solid oral sildenafil dosage forms may also cause undesirable side effects. At high dosages, the incidence of such side effects increase, for example, abnormal vision problems (ranging from blue or green halo effects to blurring), dyspepsia, nasal congestion, blinding headaches, flushing, redness, diarrhea, dizziness, rash, and urinary tract infection. Other more serious side effects may occur in some cases resulting from a physiological predisposition, adverse drug interaction or potentiation, or by drug abuse. Such side effects include syncope (loss of consciousness), priapism (erection lasting 4 hours or more), and increased cardiac risk (coital coronaries). In particular, hypotension crisis may result from the combination of sildenafil citrate and organic nitrates, causing death in some cases. Hence, its administration to patients who are concurrently using organic nitrates (such as nitroglycerin) in any form is contraindicated. Moreover, the long-term effects of large doses of sildenafil-containing drugs are unknown (Handy B., "The Viagra® Craze," Time, pp. 50-57 (May 4, 1998)).
Many drugs exhibit low bioavailabilities owing to extensive first pass metabolism. Differences in bioavailability may have profound clinical significance. Sildenafil citrate, for example, exhibits only a 40% bioavailability after oral administration via tablet form, of which the active metabolite accounts for about one-half.
Compared to the administration of solid oral dosage forms absorbed in the gastrointestinal tract, the oral cavity presents the possibility for more rapid and efficient drug delivery because of its rich vascular supply. The oral cavity exhibits a minimal barrier to drug transport and may result in a rapid rise in serum concentration of drug.
However, the formulation of dosage forms for administration to the oral mucosa often poses non-trivial problems. For significant drug absorption to occur across the oral mucosa, the drug must have a prolonged exposure to the mucosal surface and the formulation must be both chemically stable and pharmaceutically acceptable to patients.
WO 01/35926 discloses sildenafil dosage forms for non-oral use, such as nasal delivery. However, there is currently no commercially available dosage form for oral spray delivery of sildenafil.
Thus, there is an ongoing need and desire for discreet and convenient sildenafil dosage forms for the treatment of diseases such as pulmonary arterial hypertension and SSRI-induced sexual dysfunction, which are both chemically stable and pharmaceutically acceptable.

Oral spray formulations and methods for administration of sildenafil


A magnetorheological damper, wherein the damper comprises a housing that is at least partially filed with a magnetorheological fluid, and a magnetorheological valve disposed within the housing. The valve includes a magnetically permeable core having at least one coil reservoir formed therein, and at least one conductor coil, wherein each conductor coil is disposed around a portion of the core within a respective one of the coil reservoir(s). The valve additionally includes a fluid flow path adjacent the conductor coil(s). The fluid flow path is structured and operable to allow the magnetorheological fluid to flow adjacent the conductor coil(s). The valve further includes at least one coil cover, wherein each coil cover is disposed over a respective one of the coil(s) such that the respective coil is protected from exposure to magnetorheological fluid flowing through the fluid flow path.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
A critical performance criterion in control of a vehicle suspension magnetorheological (MR) damper is the control ratio. For high quality suspension performance, the MR damper needs to have a high control ratio. The control ratio is the maximum on-state force (e.g., the maximum force the damper can make with the fluid fully energized) relative to the minimum off-state force (e.g., the minimum force the damper can make with no flux acting on the fluid) for a wide range of damper velocities. Generally, to achieve a high control ratio it is desired to have an active length of a MR valve of the damper be as long as possible and an inactive length as short as possible. The active length is the section of the MR valve where the fluid is energized by a magnetic field, whereas the inactive length is the section of the MR valve where the fluid is not energized.
Known MR dampers typically have an energizing coil wherein the entire length of its external faces is exposed to the MR fluid within the damper. This subjects the coil to erosion by MR fluid and also defines a relatively long inactive length, e.g., an inactive length that is substantially equal to the length of the coil. Due to the exposed coil, the active length of most known MR dampers is typically about 50% of the longitudinal length of the valve, and hence, the inactive length of most known MR dampers is typically about 50% of the longitudinal length of the valve.


Method, system and computer program product are provided to increase the efficiency of the development of Java Enterprise Edition (J2EE) applications. A project may be divided into modules which may be developed by independent teams. The files within each module are classified as independent of resources in other modules or dependent. Independent files may be packaged into a single, integrated web application archive (WAR) file without further processing. Corresponding dependent files are compared and any conflicts are resolved. The resulting files may then be packaged into the WAR file.

Large software projects are frequently divided into separate components to be completed by independent development teams. For example, in Java Enterprise Edition (J2EE) projects, applications are typically divided into a presentation or user interface component, a business logic component and a data component, each completed by an independent development team. Separating the development of an application in this manner reduces the complexity of development by isolating each team from the effects of changes in other parts of the project implemented by other teams.
However, such a division of development effort may still be subject to unnecessary complexity in very large projects. Upon completion of the J2EE components, the presentation and business components are generally combined into a single archive (WAR) file. Although the two components could be packaged into multiple WAR files, separate packaging is not preferable because each WAR file has its own configuration data and/or runtime resources. Thus, WAR files will not be able to share resources, such as a context root (configuration data) or a session (runtime resource), with other WAR files.
Consequently, a need exists to independently develop the separate components of a project while integrating the components into a single logical component at runtime.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS MACHINES CORPORATION


A method allowing, from natural fat or oils, vegetable or animal, or from other glyceride mixtures, to obtain in a quasi-quantitative way fatty acid ethyl esters that can be used as gas oil substitutes, comprises the succession of stages as follows:                a stage (a) wherein the oil, the fat or the glyceride mixture is transesterified by ethanol using a soluble catalyst or a catalyst that becomes soluble during the reaction,        a stage (b) wherein the glycerin formed is decanted and removed, without requiring an excess ethanol evaporation operation,        a stage (c) wherein a second transesterification reaction is carried out so as to obtain a product whose ester content is at least 97% by mass,        a stage (d) wherein controlled neutralization of the catalyst is carried out,        a stage (e) wherein the excess ethanol is removed by distillation,        a stage (f) wherein the ester undergoes purification by means of water wash sequences, and        a stage (g) wherein the ester mixture is dried under reduced pressure.

The transesterification reaction using methanol and ethanol is well known to the man skilled in the art. It most commonly uses homogeneous catalysts, for example acid catalysts (sulfonic acids, sulfuric acid, etc.), as described notably in U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,411, various metallic compounds, for example metallic salts such as titanium, zinc, magnesium, tin, antimony or lead salts, and these metallic compounds can be used in form of alcoholates, alkyl derivatives or oxides. Preferably, owing to the high reactivity thereof, homogeneous basic catalysts of NaOH, KOH or LiOH type in solution in methanol are more particularly used, or directly alcoholates of these metals, or even certain carbonates such as potassium carbonate and sodium carbonate for example, as mentioned by Freedman B. Et al.: JAOCS 61 No. 10, p. 1638; by Pryde E. H., "Vegetable Oil Fuels", Proc. Int. Conf., Fargo, N. Dak., 1982, pp. 117-122; and in U.S. Pat. No. 2,383,602.
Transesterification in the presence of methanol is generally carried out in a single catalysis stage in the case of a batch reaction or at least in two catalysis stages in the case of a continuous operation using overflow reactors as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,354,878.
The ethanolysis methods described are few and much less effective than those using methanol. In fact, with ethanol and with the same alcohol/oil molar ratio than with methanol, it is impossible to obtain naturally separation of the glycerol formed (see notably U.S. Pat. No. 2,383,602).
The solvent power of ethanol being much higher than that of methanol, the consequence is that the glycerin formed during the reaction is made soluble. The conversion to esters is penalized thereby, which does not allow a high conversion in a single reaction stage to be obtained.
A second transesterification stage is thus necessary after removing the glycerin formed from the reaction medium.
Partial ethanol distillation or addition of a certain amount of water or of a third solvent such as a hydrocarbon, n-heptane for example, allows the solubility of the glycerin to be decreased and a sufficient amount thereof to be eliminated, which allows to reach a high conversion in the second catalysis stage. Another option allowing high conversions to be obtained consists in distilling under certain conditions and under reduced pressure the ethyl esters produced during the first transesterification stage.

Refined method for manufacturing ethyl esters from fatty substances of natural origin


A wheel assembly includes a wheel base and a side rim disposed about the wheel base. A recess is formed on an inside surface of the side rim. A cavity is disposed between the wheel base and the side rim. An air seal is disposed between the wheel base and the side rim. A locking mechanism secures the side rim in position around the wheel base. The locking mechanism is configured to prevent the air seal from disengaging with the inside surface and allowing air to exit the wheel assembly between the wheel base and the side rim when the locking mechanism is properly installed. The locking mechanism is also configured to permit the air seal to disengage the inside surface and allow air to exit the wheel assembly between the wheel base and the side rim when the locking mechanism is not properly installed.

Boltless aircraft wheels, also known as lock ring aircraft wheels, often comprise a wheel base, a side rim, and a single lock ring. The wheel base is typically coupled to the aircraft brake for applying torque to cause the aircraft to decelerate. The side rim is typically coupled about a circumference of the wheel base and is often at least partially in contact with a tire. A single lock ring is typically placed in between the wheel base and the side rim for retaining the side rim to the wheel base and transferring torque from the wheel base to the side rim. However, in applications having large brakes (e.g., those with wheel bases nineteen inches in diameter or greater), a wheel having a single lock ring may be prone to a wheel-skid. A wheel-skid is an event in which the tire and side rim continue to roll at ground speed while the wheel base is locked to the brake and not rotating. A wheel-skid is in contrast to a tire-skid, where the tire is stationary, and sliding, relative to the runway.
To reduce the likelihood of a wheel-skid, lock ring wheels may incorporate multiple lock rings. Depending on the geometry of the lock rings, multiple lock rings may have more contact points with the wheel base and the side rim than does a single lock ring. Increasing the number of contact points between the lock rings and the side rim, and between the lock rings and the wheel base, increases the number of pathways in which torque is transferred from the wheel base to the side rim. By increasing the number of torque pathways between the wheel base and the side rim, the possibility that the side rim will slide around the wheel base and produce a wheel-skid is reduced. However, if the multiple lock rings are incorrectly installed between the wheel base and side rim, or if one of the lock rings is not included in the assembly, the number of torque pathways between the wheel base and the side rim may be reduced and the ability of the remaining lock ring(s) to retain the side rim may be adversely affected. Detecting incorrect assembly of the lock rings with the wheel base and side rim may be difficult since the lock rings are confined between and mostly covered by the side rim and wheel base, impairing visual inspection of the lock ring assembly. Detecting incorrect assembly of the lock rings may also be difficult as the wheel may appear visually and operationally functional despite incorrect assembly of the lock rings.


A magnetically latchable device embodied as a battery pack or a platform. The battery pack includes a case, a magnetic component engaging the case to latch the case to a portable device, an alignment member separate from the perimeter of the case to mate with the portable device when the case is magnetically latched to the portable device, an electrical conducting contact disposed within an aperture of the case to be electrically coupled to a circuit housed in the portable device when the case is magnetically latched to the portable device, and a power source disposed within the case and electrically coupled to the electrical conducting contact. The platform includes a case, a magnetic component engaging the case to latch the case to a portable device, an alignment member separate from the perimeter of the case to mate with the portable device when the case is magnetically latched to the portable device, an electrical conducting contact disposed within an aperture of the case to be electrically coupled to a circuit housed in the portable device when the case is magnetically latched to the portable device, and a power jack disposed within an second aperture of the case to electrically couple a power source to the electrical conducting contact.

The present invention generally relates to latchable power sources and more specifically, to a magnetic latching of a first device housing or coupled to a power source to a second device housing a circuit to electrically couple the power source to the circuit.
An electrical circuit within a portable device, e.g., a television, a computer, a calculator, a CD/cassette player, a recorder, a telephone, etc., is sometimes electrical coupled with a rechargeable/replaceable power source housed in or coupled to a device that is latched to the portable device. The magnetic latching of the device to the portable device as known in the art requires a magnet that is sufficiently strong to align and maintain an electric coupling of the power source to the circuit. Such magnets can be expensive and relatively large, especially when the portable device is a miniature device. What is therefore needed is a magnetically latchable device that can properly align and maintain an electrical coupling of a power source to a circuit within a portable device without the use of expensive and relatively large magnets.

Magnetically latchable device for electrically coupling a power source to a circuit


An interference cancellation method and apparatus and also a filter are disclosed to cancel the interfering signals leaked to the receiving channel, and enable the receiving channel to suppress the transmitted signal. The method includes: dividing a transmitted signal into a first transmitted signal and a second transmitted signal, and then inputting the first transmitted signal into a first transmitting filter and inputting the second transmitted signal into a second transmitting filter symmetric to the first transmitting filter; adjusting the first interfering signal and the second interfering signal to make opposite phases of the signals; and combining the signals of opposite phases. The method provided herein can cancel the interfering signals leaked to the receiving channel, the receiving channel suppresses the transmitted signal effectively, and the interference caused by the transmitted signal onto the received signal is cancelled.

In duplex radio communication, to make a transmitter and a receiver in a frequency division multiplexing (FDM) system share an antenna, a duplexer needs to distinguish a transmitted signal from a received signal. Generally, the duplexer is composed of a transmitter filter, a receiver filter, a combinational circuit, and so on. The combinational circuit includes reactive components such as transmission line, resistor, and capacitor. The combinational circuit is essentially a phasing circuit that can reduce mutual impact between the transmitter filter and the receiver filter.
Generally, duplexers include cavity duplexer, dielectric duplexer, surface acoustic wave (SAW) filter, bulk acoustic resonator (BAR), and film bulk acoustic resonator (FBAR). The FBAR is a duplexer based on a bulk acoustic resonance technology, and converts the electric energy into acoustic waves to generate resonance through a converse piezoelectric effect of a piezoelectric film. The wave velocity of the acoustic wave is less than the wave velocity of the electromagnetic wave by about 5 orders of magnitude. Therefore, under the same working frequency, the size of the FBAR may be far less than the size of the electromagnetic-based dielectric porcelain device. Meanwhile, because the bulk acoustic wave has a greater power bearing capability than the surface acoustic wave, the FBAR has a better power capacity feature than the surface acoustic filter.
With development of communication technologies, the operator requires smaller and smaller size of the communication system. Especially, the emergence of new base station forms imposes more intense requirements on the small size of the system. Currently, many discrete devices in the radio part have been replaced. Especially, the discrete devices in the receiver, such as low noise amplifier (LNA), variable gain amplifier, and intermediate frequency filter, have been integrated into a radio integrated circuit. It is very significant to replace cavity duplexers with small-sized duplexers. In a multi-carrier transceiver, a high requirement is imposed on the duplexer suppression (namely, the ratio of signals leaked to the receiving channel to signals transmitted by the transmitter; smaller value of this ratio means weaker interference to the received signals). Traditional small filters can hardly fulfill the strict requirement imposed by the base station. Therefore, how to reduce the suppression requirement is a linchpin of reducing the size of the duplexer.
A solution to reducing the suppression requirement imposed by the transmitter onto the receiver in the prior art is to simulate interference cancellation. In this solution, an amplitude phase regulator adjusts the phase of the transmitted signal that is coupled from the transmitting channel in a interference cancellation channel, and outputs the signal; on the receiver side, the transmitted signal whose phase is adjusted by the amplitude phase regulator is overlaid with the transmitted signal leaked from the transmitting filter on the transmitting channel, thereby cancelling the interference caused by the transmitted signal onto the received signal.
The inventors of the present invention through their research find that in the prior art, due to the outband (band outside the transmitting band) filter feature of the transmitting filter on the transmitting channel, the outband amplitude and phase response fluctuates sharply, the delay changes sharply, but the receiving band of the receiving filter in the interference cancellation channel is a passband (a passband is a band outside the transmitting band of the transmitting filter), and the amplitude and phase response of the receiving filter is relatively constant compared with the outband amplitude and phase response of the transmitting filter on the transmitting channel. Therefore, even if the amplitude phase regulator can adjust the phase of the transmitted signal output by the transmitting filter on the interference cancellation channel, the phase of the transmitted signal is not necessarily opposite to the phase of the transmitted signal output by the transmitting filter on the transmitting channel after the phase is adjusted. Consequently, the interference caused by the transmitted signal onto the received signal is not cancelled, and even may be exacerbated. For example, due to the outband phase fluctuation of the transmitting filter on the transmitting channel, after the phase is adjusted by the amplitude phase regulator, the phase of the transmitted signal coupled from the transmitting channel is just the same as the phase of the transmitted signal output by the transmitting filter on the transmitting channel. In this case, the interference caused by the transmitted signal onto the received signal is not cancelled, and even increased drastically.

Interference cancellation method and apparatus, filter device


Methods for improving memory retention properties of a polymer memory cell are disclosed. The methods include forming a first electrode, depositing a passive layer over the first electrode, forming a semiconducting polymer layer containing at least one semiconducting polymer with at least one charge carrier-binding group over the passive layer, and forming a second electrode. The charge carrier-binding groups can be incorporated into semiconducting polymers either as side groups or into the main chain of semiconducting polymers.

The proliferation and increased usage of portable computer and electronic devices has greatly increased demand for memory cells. Digital cameras, digital audio players, personal digital assistants, and the like generally seek to employ large capacity memory cells (e.g., flash memory, smart media, compact flash, or the like). Memory cells can be typically employed in various types of storage devices. Storage devices include long term storage mediums such as, for example, hard disk drives, compact disk drives and corresponding media, digital video disk (DVD) drives, and the like. Long term storage mediums typically store larger amounts of information at a lower cost, but are slower than other types of storage devices. Storage devices also include memory devices which are often, but not always, short term storage mediums.
Memory cells can generally be subdivided into volatile and non-volatile types. Volatile memory cells usually lose their information if they lose power and typically require periodic refresh cycles to maintain their information. Volatile memory cells include, for example, random access memory (RAM), DRAM, SRAM and the like. Non-volatile memory cells maintain their information whether or not power is maintained to the devices. Examples of non-volatile memory cells include; ROM, programmable read only memory (PROM), erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM), electrically erasable programmable read only memory (EEPROM), flash EEPROM, and the like. Volatile memory cells generally provide faster operation at a lower cost as compared to non-volatile memory cells. Nonetheless, to retain the information, the stored data typically must be refreshed; that is, each capacitor must be periodically charged or discharged to maintain the capacitor's charged or discharged state. The maximum time allowable between refresh operations depends on the charge storage capabilities of the capacitors that make up the memory cells in the array. The memory device manufacturer typically specifies a refresh time that guarantees data retention in the memory cells.
Each memory cell in a memory device can be accessed or "read", "written", and "erased" with information. Memory cells maintain information in an "off" or an "on" state (e.g., are limited to 2 states), also referred to as "0" and "1". Typically, a memory device is addressed to retrieve a specified number of byte(s) (e.g., 8 memory cells per byte). For volatile memory devices, the memory cells must be periodically "refreshed" in order to maintain their state. Such memory devices are usually fabricated from semiconductor devices that perform these various functions and are capable of switching and maintaining the two states. The devices are often fabricated with inorganic solid state technology, such as, crystalline silicon devices.
Because of the increasing demand for information storage, memory device developers and manufacturers are constantly attempting to increase speed, storage, retention, and retrieval for memory devices (e.g., increase write/read speed). At the same time, to reach high storage densities, manufacturers typically focus on scaling down semiconductor device dimensions (e.g., at sub-micron levels).
Therefore, a need exists in the art for systems and methods that provide for improved memory storage, retention, and retrieval.

Methods involving spin-on polymers that reversibly bind charge carriers


An image forming apparatus corrects pixel data subjected to various dither processes by using correction table information. The image forming apparatus forms a dot image having density gradation represented by a plurality of dots. Conditions of dots surrounding each dot in the dot image is detected. A correction of pixel data corresponding to each dot is performed in accordance with a difference in a density level of the pixel data between each dot and the dots surrounding each dot.

The present invention generally relates to an image forming apparatus and, more particularly, to an image forming apparatus such as a color printer or a color copy machine for forming a dot image.
A dither method or a tone production method by density pattern is well-known as a method for representing a halftone image by a printer. By using such a method, an image having a screen angle can be formed. Thereby, moire stripes can be eliminated, and uniformity in an average color can be obtained.
However, the dither method or the tone production method by density pattern has a problem in that a resolution in a printed image is decreased as a number of gradation levels is increased by increasing a size of a matrix.
In order to compensate for the above-mentioned drawback, Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No.3-80768 discloses an image forming apparatus using an image density correcting method using a multi-value dither method. In this method, multi-value image data is corrected by first correcting means, and the corrected multi-value image data is processed by dither processing means. Then, a density characteristic of the multi-value dither data obtained by the dither processing means is corrected by second correcting means in accordance with an output characteristic of a printer. Accordingly, this image forming apparatus can be operated with various printing characteristics.
On the other hand, an image forming apparatus such as a printer must be operate with various pseudo gray scale processes such as dither processes. However, in the above-mentioned conventional image forming apparatus, the density correction is performed by a single xcex3-correction means. Thus, the conventional image forming apparatus cannot perform different pseudo gray scale processes.
It is a general object of the present invention to provide an improved and useful image forming apparatus and method in which the above-mentioned problems are eliminated.
A more specific object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and method in which pixel data subjected to various dither processes can be corrected with a single correction table.
Another object of the present invention is to provide an image forming apparatus and method in which a reproducibility of a low-density part of a printed image is improved and a density gradation characteristic is stabilized.
In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, there is provided according to one aspect of the present invention an image forming apparatus for forming a dot image having density gradation represented by a plurality of dots, the image forming apparatus comprising:
detecting means for detecting conditions of dots surrounding each dot in the dot image; and
correcting means for correcting pixel data corresponding to each dot in accordance with a difference in a density level of the pixel data between each dot and the dots surrounding each dot.
In the above-mentioned invention, the correcting means may includes means for changing a degree of correction between the dots arranged in the horizontal and vertical directions with respect to each dot and the dots arranged in the diagonal directions with respect to each dot.
Additionally, the correcting means may correct a density level of pixel data corresponding to each dot by using values according to a developing characteristic of the image forming apparatus.
Further, the correcting means may include means for detecting dot information regarding the dots surrounding each dot from level information included in pixel data corresponding to the dots, and for converting the dot information according to previously prepared table information.
Additionally, the correcting means may calculate a correction factor based on dot information with respect to the dots surrounding each dot so as to perform a correction of each dot by using the calculated correction factor.
According to the present invention, a density level of pixel data corresponding to a focused dot is corrected based on a difference in density level between the focused dot and the dots surrounding the focused dot. Thus, an appropriate reproduction of a dot image can be achieved in response to a condition of the dots surrounding the focused dot.
Additionally, a degree of correction is changed between the dots arranged in the horizontal and vertical directions with respect to the focused dot and the dots arranged in the diagonal directions. Thus, for example, a reduction in a thickness of a diagonal line can be compensated for.
Additionally, if the correction factor is calculated after the pixel data corresponding to the dots surrounding the focused dot, an accurate correction can be performed. Further, by performing the correcting operation by using previously prepared table information, a high-speed correcting operation can be achieved.
Other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

Image forming apparatus and method for correcting density level of pixel data corresponding to each dot in a dot image


The variation in acoustic properties in soft tissues, such as biological tissues, as a function of strain may be modeled to improve elastographic measurements and to obtain direct measurements of strain or material properties and pre-stress.

The present invention relates to ultrasonic medical imaging and quantitative measurements and, in particular, to an improved apparatus and method for making ultrasonic measurements of tissue strain and stiffness.
Conventional ultrasonic imaging provides a mapping of ultrasonic echo signals onto an image plane where the intensity of the echo, caused principally by differences in material properties between adjacent tissue types, is mapped to brightness of pixels on the image plane. While such images serve to distinguish structure within the body, they provide limited insight into the physical properties of the imaged materials.
Ultrasonic elastography is a new ultrasonic modality that may produce an image revealing stiffness properties of the tissue, for example, strain under an externally applied stress, Poisson's ratio, Young's modulus, and other common strain and strain-related measurements.
In one type of elastography, termed "quasi-static" elastography, two images of the tissue in two different states of compression, for example, no compression and a given positive compression, may be obtained by the ultrasound device. The tissue may be compressed by a probe (including the transducer itself) or by muscular action or movement of adjacent organs. Strain may be deduced from these two images by computing gradients of the relative shift of the tissue in the two images along the compression axis. Quasi-static elastography is analogous to a physician's palpation of tissue in which the physician determines stiffness by pressing the tissue and detecting the amount of tissue yield (strain) under this pressure.
The process of deducing the shift in tissue under compression may start by computing local correlations between the images and then evaluating differences in echo arrival time for correlated structures before and after compression. Differences in echo arrival time are converted to tissue displacement (or strain, which is displacement normalized by length) at different points within the tissue by multiplying the difference in arrival times by the speed of sound through the tissue.
The tissue strain indirectly provides an approximate measure of stiffness. Tissue that exhibits less strain under compression may be assumed to be stiffer while tissue that exhibits more strain under compression is assumed to be less stiff. This approximation, however, carries with it an assumption of a constant stress field, that is, that the force of compression is uniformly dispersed within the tissue. Generally this is not true, but rather the stress in an elastic body falls off as one moves away from the compressor and increases at stress concentrations near stiff inclusions.
Accordingly, it has been proposed to improve elastographic measurements by comparing the deduced strains against modeled stress fields produced by a finite size compressor in a semi-infinite homogeneous medium. See, for example, Ponnekanti H., Ophir, J., and Cespedes I., 1992, "Axial Stress Distributions Between Coaxial Compressor in Elastography: An Analytical Model", Ultrasound in Med. & Biol., Vol. 18, No. 8, pp. 667-673.
A similar analytical model has been proposed for stress concentration near inclusions. See, Cespedes I., Ophir J., and Ponnekanti H., 1993, "Elastography: Elasticity Imaging Using Ultrasound with Application to Muscle and Breast In Vivo", Ultrason. Imag., Vol. 15, pp. 73-88.

Method and apparatus providing improved ultrasonic strain measurements of soft tissue


An image processing apparatus, determines, using a pixel signal included in a region referenced on a pixel of interest of a target image, a direction having a high signal correlation in the region, performs, using pixel signals from neighboring pixels of the pixel of interest based on a determination result, interpolation processing for interpolating a pixel signal of the pixel of interest, and performs reduction by reducing the number of pixels of the interpolated image, wherein the interpolation processing is executed according to a reduction rate used in the reduction, such that a high frequency component of the image decreases as a degree of reduction increases, while applying a weight to the pixel signal of a pixel, among the neighboring pixels, located in the direction determined as having the high correlation based on the determination result.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, and a non-transitory computer readable storage medium.
Description of the Related Art
In an image capturing apparatus such as a digital camera, when shooting a video or when displaying a live viewing image, it is desirable to reduce the size of pixels in an image signal and perform development processing as early as possible in the processing. The object is to reduce the scale of the development circuit and to suppress power consumption to a low level. The reduction processing at this time can be performed during readout by summing/thinning out pixels on an image sensor, or otherwise subsequently with the development circuit. Also, in the case in which the image size for video recording in full HD, QFHD or the like is different from the pixel size read out from the image sensor, enlargement or reduction of the size of pixels in the image signal is performed within the circuit, for example.
A decrease in image quality is brought about if reduction is performed using simple linear interpolation, for example, in order to reduce the image signal. In contrast, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-135598 and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-67214, a reduced image that has retained its sharpness is generated by determining the direction of change between pixels and performing interpolation on the thinned out pixels.
However, no method of interpolating pixels according to a reduction rate is described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2009-135598 or Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2006-67214, and therefore there is a concern that, depending on the reduction rate, the sharpness will deteriorate greatly and that a large amount of aliasing will appear. Particularly, in the case in which reduction is performed at a magnification approximating equal magnification, if a filter with a narrow pixel reference range is used the desired bandwidth limiting cannot be performed due to limitations of the filter characteristics, and the sharpness of the reduced image signal deteriorates. For example, there are cases in which aliasing appears.
In contrast, it is also conceivable to perform bandwidth limiting using a filter with a wide pixel reference range. However, if such a filter is mounted to a circuit, the memory capacity for holding pixel signal values used by the filter increases, and the scale of the circuit increases.

Image processing apparatus, image processing method, and non-transitory computer readable storage medium


A system for testing an integrated-circuit wafer, the system including a probe card having a probe needle and a probe body enclosing a pressure chamber. The probe body includes a unitary sidewall, a first end cap substantially closing a first end of the probe body, except for an outlet passage in the first end cap, and an inlet passage configured to introduce compressed gas into the pressure chamber. The probe needle is within the pressure chamber and is supported by the probe body. A free end of the probe needle extends through the outlet passage. The ends of the probe needle are separated by a first bend in the probe needle, which has a center of curvature that is located between the probe needle and a longitudinal centerline of the unitary sidewall. Methods of using a probe card are also disclosed.

During fabrication of a semiconductor device, electronic circuits are created on a semiconductor wafer, and the wafer is then diced into individual chips. Before dicing, the integrated circuits are generally subjected to electrical tests to determine if the circuits function properly. Typically, the wafer is mounted, such as by vacuum mounting, to a wafer chuck of a machine called a wafer prober. The wafer is brought into contact with one or more probe needles of a probe card. In this way, an electrical connection is made between contact pads on the wafer and the tips of the probe needles, allowing the integrated circuit to be tested for proper electrical function.
Due to the small distances and high voltages that might exist during the electrical tests of a semiconductor wafer, dielectric breakdown may be a problem. Some existing probe cards utilize Paschen's law to suppress the dielectric breakdown with pressure.
Embodiments of the disclosed technology address shortcomings in the prior art.
In the Detailed Description that follows, reference numbers of the pattern 1xx are generally shown in FIGS. 1A-1C, while 2xx reference numbers are generally shown in FIG. 2. Likewise, 3xx reference numbers are generally shown in FIG. 3, and 4xx reference numbers are generally shown in FIG. 4.

Probe card system for testing an integrated circuit


A voltage limiting device having gate and drain electrodes that include a serpentine configuration to form a pattern of breakdown corners at the traversals of the gate electrode over the drain electrode. The serpentine configuration may define a plurality of fingers. The number of breakdown corners determines the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the voltage limiting device. Either one of the gate electrode or the drain electrode may be configured in a manner to provide repeated traversals of one electrode over the other.

Circuits and devices for regulating a voltage level of a control signal in MOS transistors or the like are known. Voltage limiting devices and circuits may be used for protecting an EPROM or EEPROM or arrays of such devices, as in a PLD. During programming of an EPROM or EEPROM, a voltage limiting device controls the program voltage to prevent damage or misprogramming that could occur if the program voltage were to be allowed to increase beyond a predetermined value. Other applications for voltage limiting devices include use with structures, such as a transmission gate transistors, for which performance may be improved by providing a boosted voltage. A voltage limiting device may be used to control the gate of the transmission gate transistor so as to prevent the boosted voltage from reaching a level which would overstress the gate oxide of the transistor.
A top view of a grounded-gate voltage limiting device is shown in FIG. 1. A gate polysilicon layer 10 extends above a drain electrode 12 that is formed by diffusing n-type dopant into a semiconductor substrate 14. The semiconductor substrate is a p-substrate, which is held at ground potential. The areas surrounding the drain electrode 12 have an additional p-type implant to prevent lateral leakage to adjacent transistors. That is, the p-type implant is a field stop implant. The device may include a source 16, but no connections are made to the source, thereby allowing the source to "float."
While not shown, the polysilicon gate layer 10 is spaced apart from the drain electrode 12 by a gate oxide layer. An opening is formed in a dielectric layer, not shown, that is atop the drain electrode. The opening permits direct contact of a metallic interconnect 18 with the drain electrode.
The voltage limiting device of FIG. 1 is shown schematically in FIG. 2. The metallic interconnect 18 is shown as an input node. The input node may be connected to a source of a boosted voltage to regulate the voltage. For example, a program mode voltage for an EPROM may be regulated using the device. When the program mode voltage is sufficiently low, a breakdown will not occur and no current will flow from the drain electrode 12 to the grounded gate 10. Upon reaching the breakdown voltage, current begins to flow from the drain electrode to the substrate 14. The initiation of current flow limits the voltage at the input node.
Ideally, the device clamps the program mode voltage at the breakdown voltage of the device, so that any increase in power results in increased current while the voltage remains fixed. Steep current-voltage (I-V) curves are obtainable, but practical limitations prevent designers from achieving the ideal. Referring to FIG. 3, the breakdown voltage of the device of FIG. 1 is reached at approximately 13.8 volts. Below this voltage level, no current flows from the metallic interconnect 18 to the grounded substrate 14. Beyond the breakdown voltage, there is control of voltage increases, but the control is significantly improved only upon reaching approximately 15.3 volts. That is, the current-voltage (I-V) characteristics of the device are significantly improved after the voltage at the metallic interconnect 18 reaches 15.3 volts.
In many applications, the lower portion 20 of the I-V curve may have no adverse effect on the desired protection of other circuitry. Where the circuitry to be protected is able to withstand voltages up to 18 volts or more, the device of FIG. 1 may be reliably employed. On the other hand, circuitry that is damaged or rendered less reliable by voltage levels exceeding 14 volts are not provided adequate protection by the device of FIG. 1.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a grounded-gate voltage limiting device having improved I-V characteristics.

Voltage limiting device having improved gate-aided breakdown


A portable self-contained air distribution unit, and system incorporating same, are useful in assisting in the distribution of air within a vehicle. The unit comprises an elongate conduit having an inlet, an outlet and a top portion spaced from a bottom portion. A chamber is within the elongate conduit in airflow communication with the inlet and the outlet. A front flap is joined to the inlet of the conduit. The front flap is moveable between an open position and a retracted position and when the front flap is in the open position air flows into the inlet through the chamber and exits the at least one outlet. Various additional features may be combined as desired.

Various air distribution devices exist in the art for assisting a vehicle's air distribution system in distributing air to compartments in the vehicle. However, these devices have several drawbacks, including: they often comprise multiple components that must remain interconnected in order to operate properly; they are rigidly attached to the existing vehicle air distribution system; they have limited application due to their structural configurations; they address limited needs; and/or, they are often prevented from operating in their ordinary intended environment. Accordingly, an air distribution unit and system is needed which overcomes these drawbacks and can provide other features as desired.
The vehicle air distribution devices disclosed in the prior art do not offer the flexibility and inventive features of my air distribution unit and system. As will be described in greater detail hereinafter, the features of the present invention differs from those previously proposed and overcome the drawbacks of those devices.


The main object of the present invention is to provide a patch package structure including a patch containing a physiologically active ingredient and a package housing the patch, which is capable of stably retaining the physiologically active ingredient in the patch during preservation. This object can be achieved by employing the following constitution.

Patch is a convenient and effective dosage form used for protection of a wound or administration of a physiologically active ingredient to living organisms. However, since its form is flat and plane and has a large surface area, the quality of patch is susceptible to influence from the environment outside the patch. Hence, the package structure thereof needs to be improved.
JP-A-2001-9985 discloses a patch package structure using a package comprising a low density polyethylene (hereinafter to be referred to as "LDPE") layer, and an LDPE layer comprising an inorganic filler dispersed therein, an aluminum foil and a high density polyethylene (hereinafter to be referred to as "HDPE") layer laminated in this order on the LDPE layer. However, such patch package structure may decrease the content of a physiologically active ingredient in the patch, since the innermost layer of the packaging member is made of LDPE, which absorbs the physiologically active ingredient. In addition, since the LDPE layer has poor rigidity, when a physical impact from the outside is applied to the packaging member, the patch easily suffers from the impact.
An adhesive layer of a patch may contain an organic liquid component for the purpose of plasticization of an adhesive or controlling adhesiveness of an adhesive layer to an adhesion site, controlling transdermal absorbability of a physiologically active ingredient when an adhesive layer contains the physiologically active ingredient, and the like. In a patch containing such organic liquid component, the content of an organic liquid component may decrease during preservation in a packaging member and the desired adhesiveness and transdermal absorbability of the physiologically active ingredient may be difficult to obtain.

Abstract: To be specific, the present invention is a patch package structure including a patch 1 having an adhesive layer containing an organic liquid component, and a packaging member 51 housing the patch, wherein the packaging member 51 includes a first package 11, the first package 11 including an acrylonitrile resin layer 12, a moisture-absorbing layer 13 formed on the acrylonitrile resin layer 12, and a moisture impermeable layer 14 formed on the moisture-absorbing layer 13, and the acrylonitrile resin layer 12 is provided on the proximal side of the patch 1.


A cooling system includes an internal combustion engine, a coolant pump in fluid communication with the internal combustion engine, and a liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger configured to receive coolant from the internal combustion engine via the coolant pump. The cooling system also includes a bypass valve connected downstream of the coolant pump, the bypass valve configured to close a fluid path that connects the coolant pump and the liquid-to-liquid heat exchanger.

Internal combustion engines, and especially internal combustion engines for use in marine applications, are frequently designed as large, high-output systems used to provide propulsion or generate electrical power. These systems generate significant amounts of heat, and require cooling to maintain a suitable operating temperature. Marine engines frequently employ water-to-water heat exchangers in which a first liquid coolant is cooled with a second liquid coolant, which can be seawater or fresh water. Cooling systems for these internal combustion engines include a series of loops for circulating the liquid coolant. Some marine engine systems employ an individual coolant-supplying pump for each of these loops, such that a first pump supplies seawater for heat exchange, a second pump supplies coolant (e.g., fresh water and/or coolant) for cooling cylinders of the engine itself, and a third pump supplies liquid coolant for cooling other components of the engine system (e.g., an intercooler for reducing the temperature of compressed air).
While these systems provide sufficient cooling capacity under the engine's rated load, the use of three separate pumps involves the use of significant space and cost. Two-pump systems can address these challenges, but introduce other problems. For example, consolidating pumps that supply coolant to the engine and to the air system in a single pump increases the likelihood of overcooling of the internal combustion engine, as cold water for the air system can be slow to warm during startup and under low load, resulting in engine temperatures that are undesirably low. Overcooling during startup, low load, or other conditions, can lead to overcooling that results in reduced engine performance, accelerated wear, or even damage to the engine.
An engine coolant system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,325,219 ("the '219 patent") to Stang et al. The coolant system in the '219 patent has a series of coolant loops, including a first loop that supplies coolant to an engine and a second loop that supplies coolant to an aftercooler, the second loop including a thermostat that can direct coolant through a branch that avoids the radiator. While the engine coolant system described in the '219 patent may be useful for systems that include an engine radiator, it may not be useful for marine systems and systems including liquid-to-liquid heat exchangers as part of a cooling system for a marine engine.
The systems and methods of the present disclosure may solve one or more of the problems set forth above and/or other problems in the art. The scope of the current disclosure, however, is defined by the attached claims, and not by the ability to solve any specific problem.

Systems and methods for preventing engine overcooling


An analysis element for analyzing both amounts of glycated hemoglobin and total hemoglobin in an aqueous liquid sample to determine glycated hemoglobin content ratio in the sample. The element comprises a substrate layer for receiving a reaction mixture after the completion of an immunological reaction between the glycated hemoglobin in the sample and an enzyme-labelled antibody against the glycated hemoglobin, and a reagent layer. The substrate layer contains a non-diffusible substrate which forms a diffusible material in the presence of the enzyme of the enzyme-labelled antibody, the activity of the enzyme being effected relative to the steric hindrance due to the immunological reaction. The reagent layer contains a reagent composition for reacting with the diffusible material to form a dye detectable colorimetrically in a wavelength range which is not effected by an absorption spectrum of the hemoglobin. The total hemoglobin retained in the substrate layer and the dye formed in the reagent layer are colorimetrically analyzed separately, and the glycated hemoglobin content ratio is calculated from respective values. An analysis method using this analysis element is also provided.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an analysis element for measuring glycated hemoglobin (HbA.sub.1, also referred to as hemoglobin A.sub.1) content ratio, by which amount of glycated hemoglobin and total hemoglobin are simultaneously and separately analyzed and the glycated hemoglobin ratio is calculated. The present invention also relates to an analysis method of glycated hemoglobin content ratio using this element. Particularly, the present invention relates to an analytical element for measuring the glycosylation level of hemoglobin by analyzing the amount of hemoglobin A.sub.1c, which is one of classes of glycated hemoglobins, and total hemoglobin simultaneously and the glycosylation level of hemoglobin is calculated, and relates to the analysis method of the glycosylation level of hemoglobin using this element.
2. Description of the Related Art
Hemoglobin (Hb) is a respiratory pigment present in erythrocyte, which is largely responsible for oxygen transport. A hemoglobin molecule comprises four polypeptide subunits (respectively two .alpha. chain systems and .beta. chain systems), each subunit is formed by association of one globin protein and one heme molecule which is an iron-protoporphyrin complex. Major class of hemoglobin (more than 90%) found in normal adult hemolysate is adult hemoglobin (HbA: also referred to HbA.sub.0 for distinguishing from glycated hemoglobin HbA.sub.1 described hereinafter) having .alpha..sub.2 .beta..sub.2 subunits composition; and trace components such as HbA.sub.2 (.alpha..sub.2 .delta..sub.2) are also found in normal adult.
Among classes of adult hemoglobin HbAs, there is known a glycated hemoglobin (HbA1, also referred to as glycosylated hemoglobin), which may be further classified fractionated into HbA.sub.1a1, HbA.sub.1a2, HbA.sub.1b, and HbA.sub.1c with an ion exchange resin fractionation. All of these subclasses have the same primary structure, which is stabilized by formation of an aldimine (Schiff base) by the amino group of N-terminal valine in .beta. subunit chain of normal hemoglobin HbA and glucose (or, glucose-6-phosphate or fructose) followed by formation of ketoamine by Amadori rearrangement.
In particular, glycated hemoglobin bound with glucose is called HbA.sub.1c (glycosylated hemoglobin, hereinafter also referred to as hemoglobin A.sub.1c), and comprises main portion of glycated hemoglobins. The content ratio of glycosylated hemoglobin is proportional to blood glucose level, and ranges 3-6% in total hemoglobin Hb of normal human adult, though it can go up to 15% in that of diabetics. Hence, determination of the amount of glycosylated hemoglobin HbA.sub.1c is considered to be a good index for carbohydrate metabolism control. In addition, since ketoamine formed by a non-enzymatic reaction with blood glucose is stable, this glycosylated hemoglobin HbA.sub.1c is never decomposed during the life of erythrocyte (120 days in average). Thus, the amount of hemoglobin A.sub.1c in blood is understood to memorize blood glucose levels of last 1 or 2 months. Accordingly, blood glucose levels of the last two months or so can be estimated on the basis of the ratio of HbA.sub.1c to total hemoglobin Hb. Analysis of the hemoglobin A.sub.1c in blood is used as a measurement enabling long-term control of blood glucose level, whereas blood glucose level which goes up for a temporary short period after eating is used as an index of a short-term blood glucose level.
Although a hemoglobin A.sub.1c analysis has been conventionally performed by column chromatography using HPLC (high pressurized liquid chromatography) or mini columns, the column method not only requires an expensive measuring apparatus for exclusive use, but also takes time for the analysis, and thus was not suitable for clinical examinations in which a number of specimens are to be handled.
In recent years, HbA.sub.1c analyses by a turbidimetric immunoassay method or ELISA (enzyme labelled immunosorbent assay) have been proposed (e.g. Unexamined Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 277967/1988 and 46566/1991). However, measurement operation of prior art is complicated, and the analysis requires skill. In addition, there is inconvenient in that the total hemoglobin Hb amount has to be measured by another method although the HbA.sub.1c content ratio is possible to be analyzed by the above mentioned method. Similar problems are also raised in the analyses of glycated hemoglobins other than HbA.sub.1c. Hence, there is a demand for more simple and rapid method for analyzing the ratio of HbA.sub.1c or other glycated hemoglobin to total hemoglobin with high sensitivity.

Analysis element and method for analyzing glycated hemoglobin content ratio


The invention is related to an electromechanical power steering system (1) for vehicles whose servomotor (5) is positioned in the passenger compartment (2) in order to protect it from negative effects, such as mud, oil, fuel or similar which customarily exist in the engine compartment.

The invention is related to a power steering system for vehicles.
A power steering system of the general kind of this invention is disclosed in German patent application DE-A-3,824,424. In this power steering system the servomotor is positioned coaxially or beside the steering column, however it is positioned in the engine compartment of the vehicle.
This can create problems for the power steering system because of possible soiling of the engine compartment and with regard to elevated temperatures in the engine compartment which may have detrimental effects on the electric servomotor.
In particular in heavy commercial vehicles, such as soil moving machines and similar vehicles, the functional parts are subject to heavy soiling because they are accommodated in the engine compartment which is generally not closed for cooling purposes. An individual mud protection means for specific functional parts is generally expensive, although it is necessary in order to maintain certain parts in operative condition in the known systems.


Microfeature devices, microfeature workpieces, and methods for manufacturing microfeature devices and microfeature workpieces are disclosed herein. The microfeature workpieces have an integrated circuit, a surface, and a plurality of interconnect elements projecting from the surface and arranged in arrays on the surface. In one embodiment, a method includes forming a coating on the interconnect elements of the microfeature workpiece, producing a layer over the surface of the microfeature workpiece after forming the coating, and removing the coating from at least a portion of the individual interconnect elements. The coating has a surface tension less than a surface tension of the interconnect elements to reduce the extent to which the material in the layer wicks up the interconnect elements and produces a fillet at the base of the individual interconnect elements.

Conventional microelectronic devices are manufactured for specific performance characteristics required for use in a wide range of electronic equipment. A microelectronic bare die, for example, includes an integrated circuit and a plurality of bond-pads electrically coupled to the integrated circuit. The bond-pads can be arranged in an array, and a plurality of solder balls can be attached to corresponding bond-pads to construct a "ball-grid array." Conventional bare dies with ball-grid arrays generally have solder balls arranged, for example, in 6×9, 6×10, 6×12, 6×15, 6×16, 8×12, 8×14, or 8×16 patterns, but other patterns are also used.
Bare dies are generally tested in a post-production batch process to determine which dies are defective. To protect the dies during testing and other post-production processes, a protective coating is formed over the surface and/or edges of the dies. One drawback of forming the protective coating on conventional dies is that the coating material can interfere with the connection between the solder balls and the contacts of a testing device and, accordingly, result in false negative tests and the loss of good dies. Thus, there is a need to improve the process of forming the protective coating on bare dies.
In other applications, bare dies and various other packaged dies can include an underfill layer across the surface of the dies to (a) protect the dies from moisture, chemicals, and other contaminants, and (b) enhance the integrity of the joint between the individual dies and the corresponding substrates to which the dies are subsequently attached. The underfill layer can be formed on the die before the die is attached to the substrate, and the layer typically has a thickness of between approximately 70 and 90 percent of the height of the solder balls on the die.
One drawback of conventional processes for depositing underfill across the die is that the underfill material also wicks up and may cover the top of the solder balls. Consequently, the underfill typically does not include dielectric filler particles because if the particles were to become trapped on the tops of the solder balls, the particles would impair the subsequent electrical connection between the die and the substrate. It is, however, desirable to use underfill with filler particles because the particles increase the rigidity of the underfill to provide a more robust package. Accordingly, there is also a need to improve the process of depositing underfill material on dies.

Microfeature devices and methods for manufacturing microfeature devices


Methods for culturing cancer cells in vitro using a three-dimensional scaffold, scaffolds that include the cultured cancer cells, and methods for using the cultured cancer cells and the scaffolds that include the cultured cancer cells in anticancer therapeutic drug development.

In vitro studies are an essential component of the initial screening for any anti-cancer therapy, allowing for high-throughput, cost-efficient exploration of potential therapeutics. However, traditional in vitro cell culture on two-dimensional (2D) tissue culture substrates fails to simulate the structure of the tumor microenvironment (TME) present in vivo (i.e., complex cell-cell organization and extracellular matrix (ECM)-cell interactions, which have significant effects on cell phenotype and malignancy). Cells in 2D culture are forced to adhere to a rigid surface and are geometrically constrained, adopting a flat morphology which alters the cytoskeleton regulation that is important in intracellular signaling, and consequently can affect cell growth, migration, and apoptosis. Moreover, organization of the ECM, which is essential to cell differentiation, proliferation, and gene expression, is absent in 2D cultured tumor cell models. These limitations of 2D cultures often result in biological responses to drugs and potentially curative treatments in vitro strikingly different from what is observed in vivo. The ideal in vitro TME model should provide a platform for in vitro drug screening that will better translate to in vivo testing by mimicking both the spatial arrangement of cells and ECM signaling found in tumors in vivo, resulting in the expression of the native in vivo phenotype in these cells.
Often in vitro results often do not translate well to in vivo systems. As a result, costly in vivo animal models remain the most sophisticated and faithful models of the disease. The development of anticancer drugs has been hindered by the lack of effective tumor models that closely mimic the human disease.
Three-dimensional (3D) culture systems are designed to bridge the gap between in vitro and in vivo cancer models. These 3D systems are intended to increase cancer cell malignancy and retain the in vivo phenotype by mimicking the structure of the tumor microenvironment. Natural extracellular matrix materials such as collagen, fibrin, and the commercially available Matrigel matrix (BD Biosciences) have been used, but these animal-source products are expensive, and can potentially transmit pathogens. Synthetic polymers such as poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) have also been studied, but they can release acidic degradation products that are toxic to cells, and negatively affect experimental results.
A need exists for improved in vitro models of human cancer that will allow researchers to reduce in vivo experiments by in vitro pre-testing that will defray costs, shorten experimental time, provide a much more controllable environment, and reduce loss of animal life. The present invention seeks to fulfill this need and provides further related advantages.

Chitosan-alginate scaffold cell culture system and related methods

University of Washington through its Center for Commercialization


The invention concerns a powder metal composition comprising an iron based powder and a lubricant and/or binder comprising at least one secondary amide of the general formula: R1—NH—CO—R2, wherein R1 and R2 are the same or different, straight or branched, saturated or unsaturated aliphatic hydrocarbon groups. The invention further concerns a method of making green bodies of the powder metal composition according to the invention, a method of producing a bonded iron-based powder composition, as well as the use of the at least one secondary amide as a lubricating and/or binding agent for iron based powders and the use as a die wall lubricant.

Metal powders are used in industry for the manufacture of metal products by compacting the metal powder in a die under high pressures, ejecting the compact from the die and optionally sintering the product. In the majority of powder metallurgical (PM) applications a lubricant is comprised in the powder in order to provide the necessary lubrication action between powder particles during compaction and between the die and the compact during ejection from the die. Lubrication achieved by a lubricant included in the metal powder is referred to as internal lubrication in contrast to external lubrication, which is achieved by applying a lubricant to the walls of the die, wherein the powder is compacted. Insufficient lubrication during ejection results in excessive friction between the compact and the die resulting in high ejection energies and damage of die surfaces and product surfaces.
Internal lubrication is achieved by using special lubricants. Normally these lubricants are admixed with the iron or iron-based powder in the form of a powder. Some lubricants may also be used for binding additives, such as e.g. alloying elements, to the iron or iron-based particles. In these cases the lubricants thus work as binding agents and reduce or eliminate segregation of the additives during shipping and handling.
Commonly used lubricants for PM applications are metal soaps, such as lithium and zinc stearate. A disadvantage with this type of lubricant is that oxides of the metals in the lubricant contaminate the inside of the sintering furnace as a result of release of metals from the lubricant during sintering, another problem is that stains may be formed on the component after sintering. Another commonly used lubricant is ethylene bis stearamide (EBS). Stains may also be formed on the component after sintering when using this lubricant, but to a lesser extent compared with using e.g. zinc stearate. As lubricants strongly affect compacting and sintering properties of metal powders optimization of amount, composition and structure of the used lubricant is of vital importance to obtain high and consistent densities and good surface finishes of the produced parts.


An imaging lens substantially consists of six lenses of a negative first lens, a negative second lens, a positive third lens, a positive fourth lens, a negative fifth lens and a positive sixth lens in this order from an object side. When a curvature radius of an object-side surface of the fourth lens is R8, and a curvature radius of an image-side surface of the fourth lens is R9, and an Abbe number of the material of the third lens for d-line is νd3, and an Abbe number of the material of the fifth lens for d-line is νd5, the following conditional formulas (1) and (6) are satisfied:−0.61<(R8+R9)/(R8−R9)<0.44  (1); and38.1<νd3+νd5<45.1  (6).

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an imaging lens and an imaging apparatus. In particular, the present invention relates to an imaging lens appropriate for use in an in-vehicle camera, a camera for a mobile terminal, a surveillance camera, or the like using an imaging device, such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) and a CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor). Further, the present invention relates to an imaging apparatus including the imaging lens.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, the size of an imaging device, such as a CCD and a CMOS, became very small, and the resolution of the imaging device became very high. Consequently, the size of the body of imaging equipment including such an imaging device became small. Therefore, reduction in the size of an imaging lens to be mounted on the imaging equipment is also needed in addition to excellent optical performance of the imaging lens. Meanwhile, lenses mounted on an in-vehicle camera, a surveillance camera and the like need to be structurable in small size and at low cost, and to achieve a wide angle of view and high performance.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2005-221920 (Patent Document 1), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-171597 (Patent Document 2), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2006-349920 (Patent Document 3), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-164079 (Patent Document 4), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2007-249073 (Patent Document 5), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-134494 (Patent Document 6), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-243709 (Patent Document 7), Japanese Patent No. 2599312 (Patent Document 8), Specification of U.S. Pat. No. 7,023,628 (Patent Document 9), Specification of U.S. Pat. No. 7,768,719 (Patent Document 10), Specification of U.S. Pat. No. 7,933,078 (Patent Document 11), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-160479 (Patent Document 12), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2008-076716 (Patent Document 13), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-092797 (Patent Document 14), Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2009-092798 (Patent Document 15), and Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2010-009028 (Patent Document 16) disclose lens systems consisting of six lenses. The lens system is usable in a camera on which a small-size CCD is mounted, and uses a plastic aspheric lens.


The present invention is directed to a series of silicone containing polymers that contain photostabilizers that act as photo stabilizers for Ultra Violet radiation. The polymers of the present invention are multi functional sun screening additives that allow in addition to photostabilizing the active sunscreen agent found in sunscreens, additionally provide high levels of UV protection in a cosmetically elegant base. The compounds are made by the reaction of a benzatriazole compound and a methyl ester silicone compound.

The formulation of a high performance sunscreen product requires many ingredients. Most important of which is the sunscreen active. Since sunscreens are considered by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a drug, the actives that can be used are carefully regulated. Some of these materials do however experience photodegradation in formulation. It is the minimization of this type photodegradation issues that the present invention is directed.
Ultraviolet radiation from the sun or artificial sources can damage materials and/or coatings containing photoactive substances, such as photoactive polymers, pigments and dyes, by altering chemical bonds in the structure of the polymer, pigment, or dye. This photodegradation can lead to color fading, loss of gloss, and/or loss of physical and protective properties of a photodegradable or photoactive polymer or coating. Understandably, photostabilizing or photostabilization is the process or effect of preventing the photodegradation of photoactive substances. In particular, photostabilizing can be increasing the light fastness of a composition, preventing yellowing, or color formation, and delaying or preventing photochemical reactions that adversely affect photoactive substances.
One method to protect photoactive substances is through the use of UV filters; one class of materials particularly suited to act as a UV filters are naphthalate polyesters, for example those patented by this assignee. Naphthalate polyesters are suitable UV filters because they have very high extinction coefficients and subsequently low transmission of ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Additionally, the incorporation of naphthalates into polyester polymers increase the polymer's thermal and structural stability, decrease the polymer's gas permeability, and dramatically block the transmission of UV radiation through the polymer. The UV filtering and improved physical characteristics have led to the use of naphthalate polymers and blends in a wide range of applications including beverage and personal care product packaging, protective screening films, sail cloth fiber and as an additive stabilizer in sunscreens and cosmetics.
While efficiently absorbing UV radiation, naphthalates dissipate (emit) the absorbed energy through fluorescence. Fluorescence is a type of luminescence in which an atom or molecule emits radiation, i.e., a photon, in passing from a higher to a lower electron state, as described in my co-pending application Ser. No. 11/891,280 filed Aug. 9, 2007, herein incorporated by reference. The term is restricted to phenomena in which the time interval between absorption and emission energy is extremely short. This fluorescence can be a positive attribute in enabling the ready detection of naphthalate containing polymers or in the development of fluorescent coatings and inks. Alternatively, the high absorption of UV radiation can produce color formation or yellowing after exposure to UV light. Although this yellowing may not impact mechanical and physical properties of the polymer, it is generally undesirable. The fluorescence, color formation, or yellowing phenomena are of concern especially in packaging of products when the product's appearance is to be as close to its natural state as desired. For example, in the packaging of foods and beverages, if food or beverages were inside a poly(ethylene-2,6-naphthalene dicarboxylate) ("PEN") container they may appear unnaturally colored.
Quenching fluorescence eliminates or reduces photon emission by providing an alternative pathway for the excited state energy, such as radiative loss (heat), or intersystem crossing to an excited triplet state. Methods to quench fluorescence in PEN have been disclosed, for example see references cited in U.S. Pat. No. 6,001,952. These examples disclose the use of o-chlorophenol to quench PEN fluorescence in chloroform solutions. Dissolving PEN in a chloroform solution to disperse a fluorescence quencher, however, is not practical since the PEN must have a low molecular weight to dissolve in the chloroform solution and only very dilute PEN solutions can be prepared.
Other compounds used to quench naphthalate fluorescence include: benzotriazoles, cyanoacrylates, benzophenones, and benzoxazinones (JP Pat. No. 08225672); cyclic imino esters or quinoxalines (EP Pat. No. 0711803); and benzylidene compounds (U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,617,374, 4,707,537, and 6,001,952). Many of these examples are disadvantageous because they require postproduction coating of fluorescent materials, show inadequate reduction in the fluorescence from fluorescent materials, or are only effective in very dilute solutions. Accordingly, there is a need for naphthalate compositions having a reduced fluorescence without deleteriously affecting the physical properties of the polymer.
The absorption of ultraviolet light by a chromophore-containing organic molecule causes the excitation of an electron in the chromophore moiety from an initially occupied, low energy orbital to a higher energy, previously unoccupied orbital. The energy of the absorbed photon is used to energize an electron and cause it to "jump" to a higher energy orbital, see Turro, Modern Molecular Photochemistry, 1991. Two excited electronic states derive from the electronic orbital configuration produced by UV light absorption. In one state, the electron spins are paired (antiparallel) and in the other state the electron spins are unpaired (parallel). The state with paired spins has no resultant spin magnetic moment, but the state with unpaired spins possesses a net spin magnetic moment. A state with paired spins remains a single state in the presence of a magnetic field, and is termed a singlet state. A state with unpaired spins interacts with a magnetic field and splits into three quantized states, and is termed a triplet state.
In the electronically excited state, the chromophore-containing organic molecule is prone to degrade via a number of known pathways and, therefore, can absorb little or no additional UV light. To photostabilize an electronically excited chromophore-containing organic molecule in order to provide sufficient UV protection, it must be returned to the ground state before it undergoes a photochemical reaction destructive to its UV absorbing capability. There are known photostabilizing sunscreen additives, such as Octocrylene, methylbenzilydene camphor, and the esters or polyesters of naphthalene dicarboxylic acid of this assignee's U.S. Pat. Nos. 6,113,931; 6,284,916; 6,518,451; and 6,551,605, all hereby incorporated by reference, that are capable of quenching excited triplet state energy. Alkoxy crylenes, particularly methoxy crylenes, return chromophore-containing organic molecules, particularly butyl methoxydibenzoylmethane (Avobenzone), octyl methoxycinnamate (Octinoxate), and octyl salicylate (Octisalate), from both an electronically excited singlet state and excited triplet state back to their ground state, thereby photostabilizing the UV-absorbing organic molecules.
A compound known to those skilled in the art is iscotrizinol. This material sold under the trade name Unasorb ET by 3V Sigma, has the following structure and identifiers.

The product has the following properties reported by 3V Sigma the manufacturer.
Chemical and Physical CharacteristicsINCI Name:Ethylhexyl TriazoneIUPAC Name:4,4′-[[6-[[4-[[(1,1-dimethylethyl)amino]-carbonyl]phenyl]amino]-1,3,5-triazine-2,4-diyl]diimino]bis-, bis(2-ethylhexyl)benzoateCAS Number:154702-15-5Empirical Formula:C48H66N6O6Molecular Weight:823.0Appearance:Whitish PowderMelt Point:<132.0Specific Extinction:(at 314 nm in Ethanol)Solubility(% w/w at 25° C.)PEG-7 Glycerylca. 10Cocoate:Diisopropyl Adipate:ca. 9C12-15 Alkyl Benzoate:ca. 4Caprylic/Capricca. 4Triglyceride:Isopropyl Palmitate:ca. 2Mineral Oil: <1
The referenced works establish the long felt need for photostabilizing polymers that are both efficient and effective. The need is primarily in the region of UVA. It is to this area that the current invention is directed. The specific polymers of the present invention result in products, which not only ameliorate the inherent photo instability, but also form films on the surfaces to which they are applied which are water resistant and stay in place increasing effectiveness and efficiency.
All references cited are incorporated herein by reference.

Silicone polymers containing UV photostabilizing groups


A progressive distributor for lubricants, and in particular for central lubricating equipment, includes a row of metering elements and a base plate made up of individual feed components or segments provided with apertures and conduits for lubricant supply to the metering elements. To meet, in practice, requirements for exchanging the metering elements at minimal equipment and assembly costs, an intermediate plate is provided between the metering elements and the base plate. The metering elements are detachably connected, preferably screwed, to the intermediate plate, and the intermediate plate is detachable connected, preferably screwed, to the base plate.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a progressive distributor for lubricants, in particular for use in central lubricating equipment, which includes a series of metering elements and a base plate made up of individual feed components or segments provided with apertures and conduits for lubricant supply to the metering elements.
2. Description of Related Art
In progressive distributors of the type used in central or one shot lubricating equipment, the lubricant which is to be moved to the particular lubrication point controls its discharge or conveyance by means of pistons present in the metering elements of the progressive distributor, the pistons being displaced by the lubricant.
One such progressive distributor is known from a brochure issued by DROPSA SPA, Milan entitled "2nd-generation modular progressive distributor SMO-SMX". A number of the metering elements (also called modules) are provided. Each metering element is detachably screwed on a so-called base plate which is constituted in turn by individual components of which the purpose is to guide the lubricant to the metering elements, i.e., the modules, and there to move returned or released lubricant to the particular discharges. While the metering elements may be detached per se from the base plate and be exchanged with corresponding new ones, and the associated conduits need not be detached in the process, it is nevertheless a drawback that in some cases of progressive-distributor malfunction it is a fairly complex matter to ascertain which of the detector elements is defective, and hence which one causes the particular malfunction or failure, and most of all, to do so on site. To find out, all metering elements must be unscrewed individually and be sent to the shop, and a corresponding number of new metering elements must be screwed onto the base plate at the site. This procedure is complex and requires considerably assembly work on site, and such work is known from experience to be time-consuming and hence correspondingly expensive. Such expenditures are avoided only when it is known on site which metering element must be exchanged, for instance for a controlled change in lubricant conveyance using another metering element, and only then is it possible to unscrew deliberately the particular metering element and replace it with the new one.
Another progressive distributor is known from the brochure ZENTRALSCHMIERANLAGEN #0094.07.85 from Eugen Woerner GmbH & Co, Wertheim, D-6980, wherein a distributor in one block is detachably screwed on a base plate and in principle operates as the above metering elements. However, this block distributor forms a single unit which can only be screwed as a whole onto, or be detached from, the base plate. In the event of one defect, the entire block distributor must be unscrewed from the base plate. If a malfunction occurs that cannot be localized on site, the entire block distributor can be brought into the shop to search for the malfunction and meantime another block distributor may be used on site. In those cases however in which it might be otherwise desired to exchange only part of the block distributor, for instance on account of the above mentioned change in lubricant supply, a new block distributor must nevertheless be installed which provides the desired change at the particular location. Because of the use of another block distributor, substantial equipment costs are incurred.

Baier & Koppel GmbH & Co., Prazisionsapparate


A printer which is configured to automatically transmit data, such as critical and non-critical printer data, and route that data through at least one of a plurality of communication channels and services, such as via e-mail or mobile wireless equipment (e.g. an Internet-ready pager, a Personal Communications Service (PCS) phone or a wireless Personal Digital Assistant (PDA)). Preferably, the printer is configured such that it can be programmed and controlled from a remote location. Preferably, the printer is configured such that new label formats can be added from a remote location, and label formats stored in the printer can be viewed and modified from a remote location. Preferably, the printer is also configured such that barcode rendering algorithms can be downloaded to the printer from a remote location, and such that printer settings can be viewed and modified from a remote location, and thereafter can be downloaded to the printer and/or to other printers in a network to facilitate cloning.

The present invention relates generally to printers which are configured to print labels, tags or the like, and more specifically relates to a printer which is configured to print labels, tags or the like and provides many advantages over the prior art.
It is advantageous to prevent printer downtime, or at least keep downtime to a minimum. Oftentimes, printers which print labels, tags or the like, such as barcode printers, are used in mission-critical applications. In such circumstances, when a printer goes down, it can be quite costly. For example, if a printer configured to print shipping labels runs out of ribbon or otherwise becomes effectively non-functional, it is possible that several hundred boxes will be placed into inventory without identification. In this case, every hour that the system or printer is unavailable can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars or more in lost productivity. Hence, it is advantageous to prevent printer downtime, and in mission-critical applications, it is generally economically imperative.
Prior art printers are not configured to automatically notify someone, such as an Information Technology (IT) manager who may not be located in close proximity to the printer, when there is a problem. As such, to keep downtime to a minimum, it is imperative to continually monitor a printer on site, and even then downtime may be substantial. For example, in the case where there is an assembly line with an industrial barcode printer at the end of the assembly line, and the ribbon of the printer runs out, the operators on the assembly line may or may not notice right away that the printer has run out of ribbon. Once the problem has finally been detected, it may take awhile for the new ribbon to be located and installed in the printer, resulting in substantial downtime for the assembly line.
Some prior art printers have a web-server therein which provides that an IT manager can remotely view a web page that contains some basic information about the printer. However, these prior art printers do not provide for the unsolicited transmission of critical and non-critical printer data and the routing of that data through a plurality of communication channels to an IT manager. For example, these printers do not automatically send important printer data to an IT manager via e-mail, an Internet-ready pager, a Personal Communications Service (PCS) phone or a wireless Personal Digital Assistant (PDA), thereby enabling the IT manager to respond to a problem or potential problem immediately, even though the IT manager may not have been actively monitoring the printer at the time. Instead, printers which have a web server therein are configured such that the IT manager must pro-actively monitor the printer and use a device which supports JAVA, such as a personal computer, to check on the status of the printer. Furthermore, even if a problem is detected by the IT manager in this manner, these printers do not provide that the IT manager can thereafter correct the problem by remotely interfacing with the printer. For example, prior art printers also do not provide that an IT manager can remotely access and modify a program which is operating within a printer's operating system. Therefore, if a change needs to be made to the program, the IT manager must access the program in the printer on site, using a computer connected to the printer's serial or parallel port, and this process must be repeated for each printer which the IT manager wants to re-program.
Still further, prior art printers do not provide that an IT manager can view and modify a label format from a remote location. Printers which are adapted to print labels, tags and the like, do so according to a pre-determined, pre-programmed format. For example, a printer which is configured to print shipping labels may be configured to print a shipping label in a format wherein the shipping company's logo, name and address is printed in the upper, left-hand corner of the label and the receiving company's name and address is printed at the center of the label. If the format of the label is to be changed (for example, if the shipping company's logo or address has changed), the IT manager must change the label format on site. After changing the label format, the IT manager typically has the printer print a label to determine whether the label looks acceptable. If not, the IT manager changes the format again, and has the printer print another label. This trial and error process may have to be repeated several times and may take a substantial amount of time. Additionally, if the IT manager wants to change the label format for several printers, the IT manager must repeat the process for each printer.
Presently, there are many different barcode standards being used. Additionally, sometimes a barcode standard is changed (i.e. updated). Prior art barcode printers are configured such that an IT manager cannot remotely download a new or updated barcode rendering algorithm into the printer. Instead, prior art printers are typically sold having one or more barcode rendering algorithms resident therein and, in order to add or update a barcode rendering algorithm, an IT manager must obtain the necessary software, and load the new or updated barcode rendering algorithm into the printer on site, using a computer connected to the printer's serial or parallel port, and this process must be repeated for each printer. Additionally, prior art printers are not configured such that an IT manager can download a barcode rendering algorithm, such as from a printer manufacturer's web site, and thereafter download the barcode rendering algorithm to one or more printers.
Finally, prior art printers are not configured such that an IT manager can remotely access (i.e. upload) the settings of a printer, change the printer settings, and download the new printer settings to the printer or to other printers. Hence, the printer settings of prior art printers cannot be modified remotely, and prior art printers are not configured such that they can be cloned (i.e. to contain the same printer settings) quickly and easily from a remote location.

Printer for printing labels, tags or the like


Provided is a gas sensor including a substrate, a sensing electrode extended in a first direction on the substrate, and a plurality of heaters disposed in a second direction crossing the first direction on the substrate. The plurality of heaters is separated at both sides of the sensing electrode. The plurality of heaters includes graphene.

The present disclosure herein relates to a sensor and a manufacturing method thereof, and more particularly, to a gas sensor and a manufacturing method thereof.
Recently, according to the remarkable development in semiconductor industry, various microsensors and microheaters are under development. Since a semiconductor gas sensor has high sensitivity and low production unit cost, lots of applications thereof is expected. However, the thermal efficiency of the semiconductor gas sensor may be deteriorated. For example, the gas sensor needs a heater essentially. High power consumption restricts the application of the gas sensor. The reality is that the gas sensor is not practically applied in a field having restricted power supply such as a mobile device like a cellular phone, or a wireless sensor node. Thus, developments on a gas sensor including a high temperature heater of low power are actively conducted.
A general micro gas sensor may be a sliced portion micro gas sensor. The sliced portion micro gas sensor may include a heater layer on a substrate and a sensing layer on the heater layer. The heater layer may heat the sensing layer to activate. A common gas sensor includes a heater layer of a metal material and a sensing layer, and may be opaque. In addition, the heater layer of the metal material and the sensing layer may be weak to bending.

Gas sensor and manufacturing method thereof

ELECTRONICS AND TELECOMMUNICATIONS RESEARCH INSTITUTE