An apparatus facilitating packing of a racecar parachute using a pilot chute launcher, the apparatus comprised of a slotted metal plate, a pair of notched tabs, and a pair of extensions selected to removably couple with the notched tabs and the plate. In use, the notched tabs, notched sides facing away from one another, are positioned and affixed to opposing sides of a parachute bag bottom plate. The parachute and pilot chute launcher are packed into the parachute bag. The extensions are inserted into opposing slots on the plate, and by engaging the extensions with the notched tabs, the pilot chute launcher is compressed. A top and a bottom flap of the parachute bag is secured over the plate in a usual fashion. The extensions and the plate are sequentially removed, and the parachute is continued to be packed in the usual fashion.

Drag racing is a popular sport involving the operation of motorized vehicles, typically motorcycles and racecars, at very high speeds over a relatively short straight distance. One type of drag racing car is known as a funny car, and this type of car easily exceeds 300 mph over a quarter mile track. Given the great speeds of these racecars over a relatively short distance, parachutes are used to help slow the cars down safely. After the race is over, the parachute must be collected and repacked for the next race.
Packing a drag racing parachute is a tedious chore. The parachute is folded then stowed into a parachute bag that has been premounted on the racecar, with the opening of the bag generally facing sideways or horizontally. The parachute bag is a large sack with a bottom plate, and four generally triangular flaps on top that when folded so as to cover the top of the bag opening, a vertice from each flap crosses over the center of the bag opening. In turn, each of these vertices is formed with a grommet, and all four grommets align when the flaps are folded over the top of the bag. The top flap features a permanently attached loop of cord. After the folded parachute is inserted into the parachute bag, this top flap is first folded over the open top of the parachute bag, followed by the other three flaps. The loop is pulled through all the grommets, and a retractable end of a release cable is inserted into the loop. Either before or after packing the parachute into the parachute bag, a parachute launcher is also packed inside the bag prior to closing the flaps and securing with the release cable. After the parachute and parachute launcher are packed, the flaps of the bag secured, and the retractable end of the release cable inserted into the loop, the parachute is ready for use.
There are currently three common types of parachute launchers used: spring launchers, air launchers, and pilot chute launchers. All three launchers work in a similar fashion: the driver engages a parachute release cable, which releases the packed parachute from its parachute bag. Spring and air launchers both push the parachute out of the parachute bag and away from the vehicle, and are more convenient for one-person use but they have two serious drawbacks: (1) they are much more expensive compared to the popular pilot chute launcher without significant functional improvement; and (2) they are bulky when mounted. The pilot chute launcher works differently: the pilot chute launcher is permanently tethered to the parachute and is packed last into the parachute bag, and when the release cable is pulled by the racecar driver, the pilot chute launcher springs out of the bag first, pulling the tethered parachute with it. The pilot chute launcher is more economical than the spring and air launchers, but has one main drawback: it is awkward to pack as the pilot chute launcher is essentially a large, funnel-shaped spring attached to and placed over a parachute packed into a parachute bag, especially when the parachute bag is mounted to the racecar as the bag opening generally faces sideways or horizontally away from the racecar. The bulky spring design thus requires two people to pack the parachute bag: one person manually compresses the spring evenly against the packed parachute, while the other person secures the parachute bag flaps.
What is needed is an apparatus that evenly compresses the pilot chute launcher while packing a parachute, and a method of packing a parachute that allows a single person to quickly and easily pack the parachute along with the pilot chute launcher into a parachute bag.

Retainer apparatus for use with a pilot chute launcher and method for packing a parachute using a pilot chute launcher and retainer apparatus


A vacuum pump includes a gas inlet, a quick-rotatable rotor connectable with a flange of a multi-chamber vacuum installation which flange has a plurality of suction openings separated by separation walls, and a gas path separating structure which is located in the gas inlet of the pump, dividing the gas inlet in suction regions, and which seals, together with the separation walls, chambers of the multi-chamber vacuum installation.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vacuum pump including a gas inlet and a quick-rotatable rotor connectable with a flange of a multi-chamber vacuum installation, with the flange having a plurality of suction openings separated by a separation wall(s).
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a number of applications, several vacuum chambers arranged in a row and are connected with each other by bores having a small transmissive capacity. The gas pressure in the vacuum chambers is reduced from one end of the row of the vacuum chambers to another end. The bores are so formed that a particle beam can pass therethrough and, thus, through the row of vacuum chambers. The vacuum chambers with a low pressure often contain an analyzer, e.g., a mass spectrometer.
The state-of-the art discloses different ways of producing vacuum in vacuum chambers and maintain it there.
A first conventional way of producing and maintaining vacuum in a plurality of vacuum chambers consists in providing each vacuum chamber with its own flange. A vacuum pump, which is suitable for the pressure region, is then secured to the flange. This way is no acceptable because of high costs of a plurality of pumps. In addition, there is a need in compact apparatuses. This cannot be realized with a plurality of vacuum pumps.
A second conventional way is disclosed in German Publication DE-OS 43 31 589. This publication discloses a turbomolecular pump having a plurality of suction connections connectable with a respective plurality of vacuum chambers. The suction connections guide the gas to different, axially spaced parts of the rotor. Along the rotor axis there are arranged so-called rotor-stator packages that compress the gas. A high vacuum-side rotor-stator package produces a pressure ratio between its inlet and outlet. The inlet is connected with a first vacuum chamber. The outlet is connected with an inlet of the following rotor-stator package. In addition, the region between the outlet of the first rotor stator package and the inlet of the following rotor-stator package is connected with a second vacuum chamber. Because of the pressure ratio, which is produced by the first rotor-stator package and a poor transmissive capacity between the two, first and second, vacuum chambers the pressures in the two chambers are different. With a corresponding number of rotor-stator packages, several vacuum chambers can be evacuated at different pressures, with a rotor-stator package being associated with each suction connection. However, because the rotors operate with a rotational speed in the range of about ten thousand revolutions per minute, it is difficult to handle very long, in comparison with their diameter, rotors.
Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a vacuum pump for a multi-chamber vacuum installation and having a simplified construction while capable, at the same time, to maintain a pressure difference between at least two chambers.


The present invention is an environmentally safe composition of a non-toxic, edible, biodegradable skeet that is used for trap shooting. The skeet of the present invention is designed in such a way that it can be stacked, and to withstand the throwing force of the trap. The skeet is fabricated from a mixture of a binder, water and a filler. The binder is egg, the filler is an edible substance, such as bird seed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a composition for a skeet used in traps or the like, and more particularly to a skeet which is environmentally friendly by providing a skeet that is completely biodegradable, non-toxic and edible.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Target practice with fire arms is commonly done to improve one's aim. Various forms of practicing exists. One such form is to utilize skeet, which are also known as clay pigeons. These skeet are typically mechanically tossed in the air to allow a sportsmen to aim at the tossed skeet. To provide for a more realistic environment of a pigeon, or the like, flying through the air, these practices will take place in a wooded area generally inhabited by wildlife.
Once hit, the skeet will shatter and the remains will be left in the particular wooded area. Unfortunately, most skeet used today are designed and configured of clay which is toxic as well as non-biodegradable. This toxic and non-biodegradable material can be detrimental to the environment as well as to the wildlife which inhabits the particular area. Hence, attempts have been made to reduce, if not eliminate the toxic components of the skeet, particularly the clay.
One such skeet is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,581 issued to Goodson. In this patent there is disclosed a skeet that non-toxic, edible and most importantly, biodegradable. This skeet is composed of mainly sugar and bird seed. Though the results were satisfactory, the pigeons were costly, brittle, and limited in ingredients.
What is needed is a skeet which will overcome the deficiencies, drawbacks and shortcomings of prior skeet since none of these previous efforts provide the benefits intended with the present invention, such as providing a skeet which is economically feasible, durable, biodegradable, non-toxic as well providing a skeet whose aerodynamic characteristics are not sacrificed. Prior techniques do not suggest the present inventive combination of component elements as disclosed and claimed herein. The present invention achieves its intended purposes, objectives and advantages over the prior art device through a new, useful and unobvious combination of component elements, which is simple to use, with the utilization of a minimum number of functioning parts, at a reasonable cost to manufacture, assemble, test and by employing only readily available material.

Non-toxic, edible, and biodegradable skeet and method of making the same


Disclosed are a composition and method to treat or prevent antibody-induced anemia and particularly, autoimmune hemolytic anemia. The composition comprises a bisphosphonate and a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier. In a preferred embodiment, the composition comprises clodronate and a liposome carrier.

Autoimmune hemolytic anemia (AIHA) is an autoimmune disease in which antibodies against the patients own red blood cells (RBC's) lead to their premature destruction (Ware et al., Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia. In: David G Nathan, Stuart H Orkin, ed. Hematology of Infancy and Childhood (5th ed). Philadelphia: W. B. Saunders; 1998:499–522, incorporated by reference herein in its entirety). Anemia can be sudden and life threatening, or more gradual in onset. Though most cases are idiopathic, association with other forms of autoimmunity, malignancy, or infection is common (Ware et al., ibid.; Schreiber J Rheumatol. 7:395–397 (1980); Diehl et al., Semin Oncol. 25:80–97 (1998); Saif, AIDS Patient Care STDS. 15:217–224 (2001)). AIHA occurs in both children and adults, with a wide age distribution.
AIHA can be mediated by IgG, IgM, or, rarely, IgA antibodies (Ware et al., supra). Most clinically significant cases, however, are caused by IgG antibodies (Ware et al., supra; NIH conference. Pathophysiology of immune hemolytic anemia. Ann Intern Med. 87:210–222 (1977); Hashimoto, Clin Rev Allergy Immunol. 16:285–295 (1998)). In these patients, autoantibodies bind to RBC's and lead to their uptake by splenic and hepatic macrophages via Fc receptors (Izui et al., J Exp Med. 173:15–30 (1994)). Though IgG antibodies can fix complement, the principle means of destruction of RBC's in these cases is via phagocytosis (Ware et al., supra; Fossati-Jimack et al., J Exp Med. 191:1293–1302 (2000); Fossati-Jimack et al., J Exp Med. 190:1689–1696 (1999)). Therefore, even though B-cells (often with T-cell help) are producing the offending autoantibody, macrophages are essential effector cells for the development of anemia. This fact is reflected in therapy for AIHA. Splenectomy and corticosteroids, mainstays of treatment, both ultimately interfere with the phagocytosis of opsonized RBC's, among other effects (Ware et al., supra; Izui et al., supra). Experimental therapy in animal models has also utilized the specific blocking of Fc-mediated uptake of RBC's by either genetic means or the use of anti-Fc antibodies (Hazenbos et al., Immunity 5:181–188 (1996); Hazenbos et al., J Immunol. 161:3026–3032 (1998); Meyer et al., Blood 92:3997–4002 (1998); Schiller et al., Eur. J Immunol. 30:481–490 (2000); Clynes et al., Immunity 3:21–26 (1995)).
The current mainstays of standard therapy for AIHA (e.g., transfusion, corticosteroids, and, eventually, splenectomy) have many drawbacks. Transfusion have well described risks which accompany their use in AIHA patients. Corticosteroids have a multitude of well-known, undesirable acute and chronic effects. They also have another shortcoming. The onset of action of corticosteroids is variable, frequently taking many hours (or days) (Ware et al., supra). In patients who present with very severe anemia this shortcoming is a major source of concern and potential morbidity. In multiple case series, patients such as these, presenting with severe anemia (hemoglobin less than 6 g/dl), are quite common (Sokol et al., Acta Haematol. 72:245–257 (1984); Buchanan et al., J Pediatr. 88:780–783 (1976); Heisel et al., Am. J Pediatr. Hematol. Oncol. 5:147–152 (1983)).
Splenectomy, another mainstay of treatment, has many drawbacks as well. The most obvious one is routine surgical morbidity and mortality. This makes splenectomy unavailable as a therapy for certain unstable or frail patients. Another drawback of splenectomy is its association with a life-long risk of fatal sepsis from encapsulated microorganisms (Bell, Semin Hematol. 37:22–25 (2000); Hansen et al., Pediatr Dev Pathol. 4:105–121 (2001)). Finally, splenectomy does not always alleviate AIHA, because hepatic macrophages may be responsible for a significant proportion of RBC consumption (Katkhouda et al., Ann Surg. 228:568–578 (1998); Akpek et al., Am J Hematol. 61:98–102 (1999)). In fact, the substantial role of hepatic Kupffer cells in the development of AIHA has been repeatedly shown in mice (Izui et al., J Exp Med. 173:15–30 (1994); Fossati-Jimack et al., J Exp Med. 191:1293–1302 (2000); Fossati-Jimack et al., J Exp Med. 190:1689–1696 (1999); Azeredo et all, J. Exp. Med. 195:665–672 (2002). The unpredictable efficacy of splenectomy is particularly concerning in light of the short term (surgical) and life-long (infectious) morbidity of this procedure.
Therefore, there is a need in the art for safer, more effective methods for treatment of autoimmune hemolytic anemia and related diseases.

Composition and method for treating autoimmune hemolytic anemia

National Jewish Medical and Research Center


A method of generating a pseudo-noise sequence without masking a linear feedback shift register (LFSR) generator is provided. An offset pseudo-noise sequence is generated at a desired offset from a reference psuedo-noise sequence by determining a corresponding initial state vector of the LFSR based on an arbitrary mask.

Pseudo-noise (PN) sequences, also referred to as PN codes, have been employed in various applications including data encryption and security, wireless communications, etc. For example, code division multiple access (CDMA) communications systems often employ PN codes to enable transmission of multiple signals using a common channel (e.g., over the same frequency band). A transmitter may transmit a data communications signal modulated by a unique PN code over a frequency band shared by the one or more other transmitters. The data communications signal may be demodulated by one or more receivers by demodulating the data communications signal with a local replica of the same PN code.
PN codes have the generally desirable characteristic that signals modulated and demodulated with the same PN code appear strongly correlated while all other signals modulated and demodulated with different PN codes appear as background noise. Accordingly, multiple signals transmitted over the same channel may be distinguished from one another by demodulating appropriately with the respective PN code employed during transmission of the signal.
Many applications, such as wireless communications, have benefited from the capability of PN codes to facilitate CDMA communications. Various groups in the telecommunications industry have developed the CDMA2000 standard, which provides provides, inter alia, PN codes that may be used in 3rd generation networks to deliver wireless and mobile services in a CDMA environment. Other standards exist including the Universal Mobile Telephone System (UMTS), W-CDMA, etc. Accordingly, multiple cellular devices may communicate simultaneously with one or more base stations over the same frequency band, thus preserving the frequency spectrum for other types and forms of wireless transmission.
PN codes may be generated using a linear feedback shift register (LFSR). Due to the relatively stringent time constraints often placed on PN code generation, LFSR generators have conventionally been implemented on dedicated hardware. For example, a conventional LFSR generator may be implemented on an ASIC or FPGA. However, hardware implementations may be expensive and/or inflexible.
In addition, the telecommunications industry has increasingly relied upon digital signal processors (DSP) to handle the various signal processing tasks and computations involved in data communications, for example, to handle the relatively large amount of computations required to support an expanding cellular communications network. Accordingly, it may be desirable to have a general purpose DSP capable of both handling traditional signal processing tasks and generating PN codes for data transmission in CDMA environments, or in other applications that utilize PN codes and may require PN code generators.

Fast linear feedback shift register engine


A common text framework for application programs having documents of primarily text and input devices for entering and editing text of such documents is disclosed. The framework provides for the interaction of applications and handlers for input devices, and includes a text store interface and a text input processor interface. The former interface permits an application having a document of primarily text to expose the document as an abstraction. The latter interface permits a handler for an input device to access the abstraction of the document and to insert additional text into the document.

A common application today is the entering, editing and manipulation of text. Application programs that perform such text operation include word processors, text editors, and even spreadsheets and presentation programs. For example, a word processor allows a user to enter text to prepare documents such as letters, reports, memos, etc. Other application programs include e-mail application programs, web browser application programs, etc.
While the keyboard has historically been the standard input device by which text input is performed into these type of application programs, it is currently being augmented and/or replaced by other types of input devices. For example, touch-sensitive pads can be "written" on with a stylus, such that a handwriting recognition program can be used to input the resulting characters into a program. As another example, voice-recognition programs, which work in conjunction with microphones attached to computers, also are becoming more popular. Especially for non-English language users, these non-keyboard type devices are popular for initially inputting text into programs, such that they can then be edited by the same device, or other devices like the keyboard.
A difficulty with the use of such input devices to input text into such programs is that there is no common mechanism by which to manage the text that these devices produce. Input device manufacturers, for example, develop drivers for the devices that output text in different ways, and thus interface with application programs in different ways. Application programs as well receive text input in different manners. Furthermore, within the prior art, input device drivers are one-way: they can only inject text into a document, and not, for example, view the text already within the document, which prevents them to some extent from having better accuracy in the text that they generate.
For these and other reasons, therefore, there is a need for the present invention.


The present invention relates to a pull-down control circuit and a shift register of using same. In one embodiment, the pull-down control circuit includes a release circuit and four transistors T4, T5, T6 and T7 electrically coupled to each other. The release circuit is adapted for causing the transistor T5 to be turned on and off alternately, thereby substantially reducing the stress thereon, improving the reliability and prolonging the lifetime of the shift register.

A liquid crystal display (hereinafter "LCD") includes an LCD panel formed with liquid crystal cells and pixel elements with each associating with a corresponding liquid crystal cell. These pixel elements are substantially arranged in the form of a matrix having gate lines in rows and data lines in columns. The LCD panel is driven by a driving circuit including a gate driver and a data driver. The gate driver generates a plurality of gate signals (scanning signals) sequentially applied to the gate lines for sequentially turning on the pixel elements row-by-row. The data driver generates a plurality of source signals (data signals), i.e., sequentially sampling image signals, simultaneously applied to the data lines in conjunction with the gate signals applied to the gate lines for aligning states of the liquid crystal cells on the LCD panel to control light transmittance therethrough, thereby displaying an image on the LCD.
In such a driving circuit, a shift register is utilized in the gate driver to generate the plurality of gate signals for sequentially driving the gate lines. To lower down costs, there have been efforts to integrate the shift register into an LCD panel. One of the efforts, for example, is to fabricate the shift register on a glass substrate of the LCD panel using an amorphous silicon thin film transistors (aSi TFTs), and/or low temperature polycrystalline silicon thin film transistors (LTPS TFTs).
FIG. 8 shows schematically a block diagram of an LCD 800 driven with data driver 811 and an a-Si shift register 812 having a plurality of stages S/R. The control signals 813 of the shift register includes six clock signals, CLK1, CLK2, . . . , and CLK6, a start signal, ST, applied to the first S/R stage, and a reference voltage, VSS. The shift register 812 is configured to generate a plurality of gate signals, G1, G2, . . . , Gi, according to the control signals 813 to activates pixels 814 in each row via the gate lines 815. The data driver 811 is configured to generate a plurality of data signals, D1, D2, . . . , Dj, an according to an image data, which is input to pixels 814 via data lines 816 to generate a corresponding display frame.
FIG. 9 shows a circuit diagram of a conventional a-Si shift register stage 900 having a pull-down control circuit 910. The pull-down control circuit 910 includes four transistors T4, T5, T6 and T7 electrically coupled to each other and is adapted for controlling the pull-down transistors T8 and T9. As shown in FIGS. 10 and 11, for such a configuration, in operation, the voltage difference, K(n)−P(n), between the voltages at the nodes K and P is periodically in a high voltage level for very long time. Accordingly, the transistor T5 is turned on for the durations of the high voltage level. However, when a high voltage is continually applied to the transistor T5 for a long period of time, the characteristics of the transistor T5 may deteriorate due to stress thereon and thus the transistor T5 may not function properly, thereby reducing the reliability of the shift register.
Therefore, a heretofore unaddressed need exists in the art to address the aforementioned deficiencies and inadequacies.

Pull-down control circuit and shift register of using same


A feed element and a parasitic element are formed on the ends of a board. The feed element is formed on the surface of the board, and the parasitic element is formed on the back of the board. A circuit region of the board is mounted with a radio communication circuit. The feed element is connected with a signal line, and the parasitic element is connected with a GND line. A slit is provided between the feed element and the circuit region, and a slit is provided between the parasitic element and the circuit element.

1. Field
The embodiment relates to a radio apparatus and a configuration of an antenna in the radio apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Along with the popularization of radio communications in recent year, various radio communication apparatuses (such as cellular phones, cordless telephones, wireless communication PC cards, small radio devices, and mobile radio apparatuses) have been in wide use. Among those apparatuses, small radio devices particularly are desired to have an antenna installed in their cases. For that reason, in order to realize reduction in size, weight and thickness, a configuration in which antennas are formed utilizing circuit boards.
Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 08-204433) that is one of the known arts describes a configuration in which antennas are formed on a dielectric substrate. A pair of a microstrip line and a GND line are formed on the front surface and back surface of the dielectric substrate. On the front surface of the dielectric substrate, an antenna element is formed at the end of the microstrip line, and on the back surface of the dielectric substrate, another antenna element is formed at the end of the GND line. These antenna elements constitute a dipole antenna. Note that the configuration in which an antenna is formed utilizing a circuit board requires only a few number of components and a few mounting processes, and therefore the implementation time can be reduced.
The conventional antenna did not have a sufficient resonant frequency bandwidth. In particular, for the WiMAX that is expected to be widely popularized in the future radio communications, an antenna with a wide resonant frequency band has not been developed. Here, the resonant frequency band is not specified, but is for example defined by a range of a frequency band in which VSWR (Voltage Standing Wave Ratio) is smaller than 2.
When the resonant frequency band of an antenna is narrow, the antenna characteristics could be degraded only by a small external factor. For example, when a metal conductor is present near the antenna (e.g. placing a radio apparatus on a metal table), the resonant frequency band of the antenna may be changed. In such a case, the frequency of a desired wave becomes out of the resonant frequency band, with the result that the desired wave cannot be received. In order to reduce the size of the radio apparatus, an antenna has to be arranged near a high-frequency circuit. In such a case, the antenna characteristics are subjected to the influence of noise from the high-frequency circuit. For that reason, preventions such as a shield cover are implemented. At that time, if the resonant frequency band of the antenna is narrow, the required antenna characteristics sometimes cannot be obtained and transmission characteristics/reception characteristics are easily degraded. In order to secure desirable transmission characteristic/reception characteristics, large current is required to amplify signals, which would cause a problem in reducing power consumption of the radio apparatus.


An image forming apparatus includes a printing section, an operation control section, a post-processing section, and a delay time calculating section. The operation control section is configured to control an operation of the printing section. The post-processing section is configured to perform post-processing of a recording paper sheet subjected to printing by the printing section. The delay time calculating section is configured to calculate a delay time in a printing process to be generated by the post-processing performed by the post-processing section. When the delay time calculated by the delay time calculating section is equal to or longer than a predetermined first time period, the operation control section controls the printing section to perform a printing operation at a predetermined printing speed higher than a normal printing speed.

The present disclosure relates to image forming apparatuses and particularly relates to a technique for changing the printing speed.
There have emerged image forming apparatuses with so-called post-processing sections. In such an image forming apparatus, a printed recording paper sheet can be subjected to post-processing, such as stapling.
When any post-processing, such as stapling, is performed, the interval between recording paper sheets being fed needs to be made longer than when no post-processing is performed, which generates a delay time in a printing process. Once such a delay time is generated in one print job, the delay time will be reproduced in subsequent print jobs.


An apparatus to be controlled has a storage and information relating to the free storage space of the storage. A control apparatus for recording information in the storage of the apparatus to be controlled by controlling the apparatus to be controlled acquires the information relating to the free storage space of the storage.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to free storage space management in a broadcasting apparatus. For example, the invention relates to a free storage space management apparatus and method in a broadcasting apparatus which can correctly manage the free storage space of a recording means and makes it possible to continue the control by selecting another usable broadcasting apparatus at the time of a control failure in a case where a plurality of users perform manipulations by simultaneously using plural pieces of broadcasting equipment with a control apparatus provided with a function of synchronizing free storage space values and a function of retrying recording area securing.
2. Description of the Related Art
A broadcasting business AV (audio-visual) server system (also called a video input/output apparatus or a video recording/reproducing apparatus) will be described below as an example of broadcasting apparatuses. Such a system is operated with an assumption that it is simultaneously used by a plurality of users with the use of a plurality of terminals.
Further, such a system is designed with an assumption that it will be used for direct broadcast of commercial messages and news programs. Therefore, to prevent a broadcast accident, such an apparatus is required to have a function of continuing the control by using anther usable apparatus even at the occurrence of a failure in an equipment control.
FIG. 1 shows a conventional broadcasting apparatus. A control apparatus 1000 controls an apparatus 1002 to be controlled through a control 1001 (control command). The apparatus 1002 to be controlled has a storage 1003 as a recording means. This conventional system is designed with an assumption that the free storage space of the storage 1003 of the apparatus 1002 to be controlled decreases when it receives a control 1001 of the control apparatus 1000.
However, there is a case that the free storage space of the storage 1003 of the apparatus 1002 to be controlled decreases asynchronously with the control 1001 of the higher-rank control apparatus 1000. For example, the free storage space of the storage 1003 of the apparatus 1002 to be controlled decreases when another control apparatus 1004 uses (indicated by numeral 1005) the free storage space of the storage 1003.
This causes discrepancy between free storage space information held by the control apparatus 1000 and that held by the apparatus 1002 to be controlled. That is, the actual free storage space of the storage 1003 is smaller than the free storage space of the storage 1003 that is recognized by the control apparatus 1000. As a result, there may occur a phenomenon that the control apparatus 1000 fails to secure a necessary recording area in the storage 1003 through a control 1001. In this case, the operation of the broadcasting apparatus is suspended.

Free storage space management apparatus and method


A trim panel for a vehicle interior provides a distinctive ambient lighting effect. The trim panel has an opening therein and an illuminated insert panel is mounted on the trim panel within the opening. The insert panel is molded of a clear plastic material and has a front face located in the opening and a painted or other rear reflective surface. The insert panel has a clear plastic edge wall located beyond the opening of the trim panel. A light pipe extends alongside the clear plastic edge wall and directs light into the clear plastic edge wall so that the light reflects within the clear plastic material and onto the rear reflective surface of the insert panel to illuminate the insert panel over its entire surface area facing through the opening of the interior trim panel.

It is known in motor vehicles to provide trim panels that cover the interior structure such as the instrument panel and the door panels. In order to provide ambient lighting within the vehicle passenger compartment, it has been known to shine a light onto such panels, or to mount a light fixture on the panels to cast light into the passenger compartment.
It would be desirable to provide a vehicle interior trim panel which could itself be illuminated in order to glow in the dark and thereby provide a distinctive and highly decorative ambient lighting effect in the passenger compartment of a motor vehicle.


A device for the temporary storage of clothing articles with a base unit consisting of a top having an opening in the center, a bottom and four sides of which the two opposite sides are solid and the sides adjacent to those have openings of varying sizes and a hinged storage bin which is positioned in one of the openings in one of the four sides of the base cabinet. A fitting is set into the opening of the top surface in which a tube fits. A frame with a plurality of hooks is attached to top end of the tube. A plurality of bars are arranged in the open side of the base unit at different elevations in relation to the bottom of the base unit allowing for the storage of foot wear articles.

The present invention addresses the need for the temporary storage and organization of clothing articles and other household items. Various devices have been disclosed in the prior art such as clothing trees, valets, clothes hampers, shoe racks, etc. These devices satisfy the needs of the user for the temporary storage of clothing articles. However, each device addresses a separate storage issue. The present invention is intended to be an all in one device for the temporary storage of virtually any article clothing.
During the evening, this device affords a storage container for soiled clothing, a sloped rack for the storage of shoes and a rectangular frame with hooks for hanging articles. The top surface is an excellent area for men to empty their pockets and can even be used to provide an additional area for the storage of toiletry articles.
Today's exercise and health conscience individuals will find the clothing rack particularly useful. Persons who jog or exercise and then shower and dress for work or dinner can use the Clothing Rack to store their street clothing during exercise periods. After exercising, jogging shoes, exercise suits and such can be stored on the Clothing Rack until the next period of exercise.
Further, this device can be used in the laundry room, kitchen, laundry, shop/garage, and pool/terrace for the storage and organization of items used in those areas of the home. Also, it can be used for the storage of refuse which is of current concern.


A single-lens reflex camera with a full-aperture metering part includes a lens having an automatic diaphragm part, a lens mount, and an information transmitting part for transmitting information for full-aperture metering error compensation, and a camera body having a lens mount attachment part to which the lens mount of the lens is detachably attached, information receiving part for receiving the information for full-aperture metering error compensation from the information transmitting part of the lens, and a mode setting part for selecting one of various exposure modes including an automatic exposure mode. When the information receiving part receives no information for full-aperture metering error compensation from the information transmitting part in a state where the lens is attached to the camera body, the mode setting part enables the automatic exposure mode to be set, and the automatic diaphragm part forcibly sets an aperture to a full-aperture condition.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an improvement of a single-lens reflex camera of the TTL full-aperture metering type with which the lens can be exchanged.
2. Description of the Related Art
Single-lens reflex cameras of the TTL full-aperture metering type with which the lens can be exchanged have been conventionally known.
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a camera body 1 of the single-lens reflex camera, and FIG. 2 is a top view showing the camera body 1. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 denotes a lens mount attachment part; 3, a shutter button; 4, a strobe housing part; and 5, a quick-return mirror. In FIG. 2, reference numeral 6 denotes a main power switch; 7, a liquid crystal type display part; and 8, a hot shoe.
A camera lens mount 9 shown in FIG. 3 is attached to the lens attachment part 2, and includes a camera lens 10, an aperture ring 11 and a driving force transmission mechanism (not shown) for focus drive of the camera lens 10. The camera lens mount 9 also includes a plurality of aperture blades 12 and six electric contact pins 9a to 9f. On the other hand, the lens mount attachment part 2 includes seven electric contact pins 2a to 2g, and five of those seven electric contacts 2a to 2g are connected to the electric contact pins 9a to 9e of the camera lens mount 9.
The camera body 1 thus organized is adaptable to various types of camera lens mounts 9 that are attached to the lens mount attachment part 2 of the camera body 1.
Table 1 shown below indicates the combinations of the full-aperture F No. and minimum F No. of the camera lens to be mounted onto the lens mount attachment part 2. The information on the full-aperture F No. and the minimum F No. is represented by the combinations of H (high) and L(low) levels of the electric contact pins 9a to 9e so that the full-aperture F No. (Fmin) and the minimum aperture F No. (Fmax) are given to the camera body 1 side. Among those electric contact pins 9a to 9e, for example, three electric contact pins 9a to 9c are allocated to the full-aperture F No. (Fmin) whereas two electric contact pins 9d and 9e are allocated to the minimum F No. (Fmax).
TABLE 1 ______________________________________ Fmax 2 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 Fmin 3 2 1 H H L L L H H L ______________________________________ L L L NG 1.2-22 1.7-32 2.4-45 L L H NG 1.4-22 2-32 2.8-45 L H L 1.2-16 1.7-22 2.4-32 3.5-45 L H H 1.4-16 2-22 2.8-32 4-45 H L L 1.7-16 2.4-22 3.5-32 4.5-45 H L H 2-16 2.8-22 4-32 5.6-45 H H L 2.4-16 3.5-22 4.5-32 6.7-45 H H H 2.8-16 4-22 5.6-32 8-45 ______________________________________
The camera lens mount 9 also includes an aperture linking rod 13 that is rotated by the aperture ring 11, and the lens mount attachment part 2 also includes a coupled rod 14 that engages with the aperture linking rod 13. The camera is designed in such a manner that a resistance AVVR of a volume (not shown) changes with the movement of the coupled rod 14, and that a change of the resistance AVVR of the volume is detected to detect the aperture value equivalent of the camera lens. The aperture blades 12 are constantly urged in the minimum aperture direction by a spring means (not shown) disposed inside of the camera lens mount 9 in such manner that when the aperture ring 11 is at a position "A", the aperture blades 12 are in a minimum aperture state in the condition where the camera lens mount 9 is removed from the camera body 1.
Numerical values indicative of the F Nos. corresponding to the aperture values are marked at each of predetermined angles on the aperture ring 11, and symbol "A" indicative of control at the camera body side is marked at a position past the minimum aperture value in the direction along which the aperture ring 11 is rotated. The lens attachment part 2 also includes an engaging lever 16 that engages with a rotating lever 15 of the camera lens mount 9 in such a manner that the aperture blades 12 are rotated by the rotation of the rotating lever 15. When the camera lens mount 9 is rotated after the camera lens mount 9 is attached onto the lens mount attachment part 2, the rotating lever 15 engages with the engaging lever 16, and when the camera lens mount 9 is further rotated in the same direction, the rotating lever 15 is rotated in the full-aperture direction so that when the camera lens mount 9 is set in the lens mount attachment part 2, the aperture blades 12 becomes in the full-aperture condition.
When in the condition where the camera lens mount 9 has been attached onto the camera body 1, the aperture ring 11 is rotated in a direction indicated by an arrow Q from the position "A" indicative of control at the camera side to a position "M" indicative of control at the lens side, that is, toward the position marked with the numeric values indicative of the full-aperture F No., the aperture linking rod 13 is rotated so that the coupling rod 14 is rotated in accompaniment, to thereby change the resistance AVVR of the volume. As a result, the aperture value equivalent is transmitted as described above. In this example, if the aperture ring 11 is positioned at the position "A", the electric contact 9f changes from "H" to "L" in level, to thereby transmit the information indicating that the lens is at the position "A" to the camera body 1.
When the aperture ring 11 is rotated in the angular range corresponding to the numerals indicative of the F Nos. and then set manually to a desired aperture value in a state where the camera lens mount 9 has been removed from the camera body 1, the aperture blades 12 is rotated according to the rotation of the aperture ring 11, to thereby set the aperture blades 12 to an opening angle corresponding to the desired aperture value.
In the single-lens reflex camera thus organized, a metering switch is turned on so that metering is performed in the full-aperture condition when the shutter button 3 is depressed halfway. If an automatic exposure mode has been selected, calculations related to automatic exposure are executed according to an aperture-priority mode, a shutter-speed-priority mode, a program-priority mode or other modes.
For example, when a standard lens (with an F No. of 1.4 and focal length of 50 mm) is mounted onto the camera body 1 under the conditions where the aperture-priority mode is set, the exposure value is Ev, the metering output is Bv, the film sensitivity is Sv, and the aperture value is Av, the shutter speed Tv is calculated in principle by the following equation. EQU Ev=Bv+Sv=Av+Tv
If a lens other than the standard lens is mounted onto the camera body 1, the metering output Bv determined for a subject of a certain luminance through the standard lens differs from the metering output Bv determined for a subject of the same luminance when the lens other than the standard lens is mounted because the full-aperture F No. values differ between those two lenses. To give this difference in metering output as compensation information, the conventional device is designed such that an angle from the full-aperture position is shifted as shown in Table 2, and only angle information is transmitted to the camera body side.
TABLE 2 ______________________________________ ##STR1## ______________________________________
Table 2 indicates a case where a lens with an F No. of 2.8 and focal length of 100 mm is mounted, for example, as an arbitrary other lens shown in Table 1. For example, when the full-aperture F No. of the arbitrary lens is selected to be "8", the calculation described above is executed upon deeming that the full-aperture F No. 4 was selected with the standard lens.
This arrangement is convenient in that compensation can be performed for each lens other than the standard lens by interlocking with an aperture setting member without transmission of the full-aperture metering output error information as independent information to the camber body 1. That is, when the lens mount 9 of each lens is attached onto the mount attachment part 2, the full-aperture metering error information can be compensated by only the angle information (resistance AVVR).
In recent years, a new type of camera is being developed with which the characteristic information on the lens characteristics (full-aperture F No., minimum aperture value information, focal length information, full-aperture metering error information, etc.) are transmitted to the camera body only by a communication means. Although the volume is abolished in this new type of camera, when an old type of lens adapted to the old type of camera with a volume and having no communication means is mounted, it is impossible to obtain the full-aperture metering error information as angle information, with the results that the metering error occurs, and an appropriate exposure is not obtained when photography is performed in the automatic exposure mode.
In the case where a new type of lens adapted to the new type of camera is mounted on the camera of the old type, and the new type of lens has no aperture linking rod, no full-aperture metering error information likewise is provided as angle information, with the results that a metering error occurs, and no appropriate exposure is obtained when photograph is performed in the automatic exposure mode.
In those cases, an exposure error occurs with the new type of camera if photography in the automatic exposure mode is carried out with the control at the camera body side being set to the automatic exposure mode and the position of the aperture ring of the lens side being set to a position (position "M") other than the position "A" that signifies control at the camera body side. Thus, measures must be taken to disable selection of the automatic exposure mode or to cancel the selection of the automatic exposure mode or perform release lock if the automatic exposure mode is selected, etc. However, for a user, it is preferable in terms of ease of use to be able to execute photography in the automatic exposure mode.


A method of forming a sidewall spacer on a gate electrode is described. The method includes generating a first plasma from a silicon containing precursor and oxide precursor, and forming a silicon oxy-nitride layer on the sidewall of the gate electrode. The method also includes generating a second plasma from the silicon containing precursor and a nitrogen precursor, and forming a nitride layer on the silicon oxy-nitride layer. The silicon containing precursor can flow continuously between the generation of the first and the second plasmas. Also, a method of forming a sidewall spacer on the side of a gate electrode on a substrate. The method includes forming an oxy-nitride layer on the sidewall, and forming a nitride layer on the oxy-nitride layer, where the substrate wafer is not exposed to air between the formation of the layers.

Many modern semiconductor devices are composed of MOS (Metal-Oxide-Semiconductor) transistors and capacitors, in which the MOS transistors generally include a source, drain, and gate. The gate is sometimes called a gate stack because it may include a plurality of components, such as a gate electrode and an underlying gate dielectric. Sidewall spacers (also called spacers, or spacer layers) may be adjacent to the gate structure and usually include an oxide layer and a nitride layer component.
Spacers serve a number of functions in the formation of semiconductor devices. One function is to prevent the migration of dopants from the source and drain regions (and halo sections) upward into overlying layers (e.g., oxide layers such as the gate oxide layer, etc.). When dopants (e.g., boron) migrate upward it sets up concentration gradients in the underlying source or drain region, which can cause parasitic junctions that increase power consumption by the transistor. Spacers act as a barrier to this type of dopant migration.
The spacers may also serve to shield the gate electrode and halo sections of the transistor from subsequent dopant deposits, such as when the source and drain regions are being formed. The sidewall spacer layers covering the gate electrode and halo sections prevent dopants in the processing chamber from migrating into these regions as the source and drain regions are formed.
Conventional spacers are made by forming silicon oxide (SiO2) and/or silicon nitride (Si3N4) layers in low pressure chemical vapor deposition processes (LPCVD). In such LPCVD methods, a nitrogen-containing gas is reacted with a silicon-containing gas to deposit silicon-nitride on the substrate. LPCVD processes typically occur at operating temperatures of about 600° C. to about 800° C. At these temperatures, lighter dopants like boron can undergo significant thermal diffusion, cause the dopant region to expand or shift, and reducing the dopant concentration in the desired dopant region. Thermal diffusion can also cause dopant regions to move closer and even overlap with each other, causing short channel and punch-through effects. Thus, it is desirable to develop new, lower temperature spacer formation techniques that do not cause as much thermal diffusion of the deposited dopants.
Conventional sidewall spacers typically include a robust silicon nitride layer that can trap dopants like boron and prevent them from diffusing into the gate electrode, implant region, etc. Unfortunately, Si3N4 films have relatively poor dielectric qualities (k values of about 7.0 or more) which can increase the time constant (RC) for activating the gate electrode and slow the speed of the device. The dielectric qualities of the spacers may be improved by combining the high-k nitride layer with a lower-k silicon oxide film (e.g., k values of 4.0 or less) to lower the overall k value of the spacer. However, the silicon oxide film is relatively permeable to dopants like boron, limiting the extent to which SiO2 can substitute for Si3N4 in the spacer layers. Thus, there is a need for spacer layers with improved dielectric qualities and dopant diffusion characteristics. These and other issues are addressed by embodiments of the present invention.

Boron diffusion barrier by nitrogen incorporation in spacer dielectrics


The present invention is a system and method for forwarding packets in order. A first packet may be received for forwarding. Subsequently, a second packet may be received for forwarding. A first memory request corresponding to the first packet is sent. A second memory request corresponding to the second packet may be sent prior to receiving a first memory reply corresponding to the first memory request. The first packet is forwarded prior to forwarding the second packet. In this novel manner, bandwidth in a network apparatus may be utilized with greater efficiency while maintaining packet ordering.

The internet has revolutionized the movement of information for both commercial and personal business. Fantastic technical advances in the communications arts have fueled the tremendous growth of the internet and networking in general. The growth fueled by these advances has in turn become a catalyst for greater innovation.
One area receiving a great deal of attention is the routing, or switching of information among various networks, or different segments of a network. The devices which perform these operations are typically known as routers or switches.
A principal function of a router or a switch is to move information, usually in the form of packets, particularly Internet Protocol, or IP, packets, from one network, or segment of a network, to another. The different networks or segments may frequently be of different types of media, e.g., coaxial cable versus fiber optics, and may often be of differing data rates or capacity. Often, the different network segments go to different physical locations, for example, different parts of a building, or distinct geographical regions. Frequently, too, information destined for multiple networks or segments may be received from a single network or segment.
Consequently, sending data to the right network or segment, along with controlling the flow, e.g., not attempting to send more data to a network or segment that it can handle, are of critical importance in the function of a network router or switch.
Receiving packets into a queue, and sending them out when a receiving network or segment is capable of accommodating such packets is a well known method of controlling the flow.
In the prior art, it is well known to request an allocation or space in a receiving queue associated with a receiving network or segment. This request is commonly known as a memory or buffer request. When a buffer for a receiving network or segment is able to actually receive a packet, it typically sends a message to the sending function to indicate its readiness. This reply is known as a memory or buffer reply. In response to such a buffer reply, a sending function transfers a packet to a receiving function associated with an outbound network or segment of a network.
FIG. 1 illustrates a prior art sequence of processing a packet. Packets are received and temporarily stored in a queue 100. When a packet, for example packet 0 (110) reaches the head of queue 102, it is ready to be forwarded. After packet 0 (110) has been successfully forwarded, packet 1 (111 ) will move to the head of the queue, and so on.
The mechanism of queue 100 ensures that packets are forwarded in the order in which they are received. Many types of multi part messages, for example streaming audio, may be severely degraded if their original packet order is not maintained throughout transmission. Further, processing packets in order ensures the equitable allocation of fixed resources within a network device or among networks. For example, if a packet processing device forwarded a packet to any receiver that was ready, as opposed to forwarding packets in order, a high bandwidth receiver could effectively monopolize the resources of the forwarding packet processing device to the detriment of packets intended for other, slower receivers. Such packets could enter a detrimental state of suspension, even if the receiving network had available bandwidth. For these reasons and others, processing packets in order is considered a critical attribute for switches and routers.
Still referring to FIG. 1, when packet 0 (110) reaches the head of queue 102 position, a buffer request 0 (120) is generated and sent to a receiving buffer (not shown). The receiving buffer, in general, will be busy, for example receiving packets from other sources or sending packets out via an associated network interface. Consequently, there will typically be a period of latency 122 prior to the receiving buffer's readiness to receive a packet.
After period of latency 122, when it is ready, a receiving buffer will reply to buffer request 0 (120) with a buffer reply 0 (124) message, indicating that it is ready to receive packet 0 (110). Upon receiving buffer reply 0 (124), packet 0 (110) is sent to the receiving buffer.
After packet 0 (110) has been successfully sent to a receiving buffer, packet 1 (111) moves to the head of queue 100, and the process repeats. As shown in FIG. 1, buffer request 1 (130) is not sent until packet 0 (110) has completed being sent. There will typically be a latency period 132, which in general is a different amount of time that latency period 122, followed by a buffer reply 1 (134) and ultimately the sending of packet 1 (111), which is not shown.
Unfortunately, in the prior art, the sequence of sending a buffer request, waiting until a receiving buffer is ready, receiving a buffer reply, and sending the designated packet requires an undesirably long time to complete. A packet would not be sent until a corresponding buffer reply was received. A second cycle of sending a buffer request, receiving a buffer reply, and sending a designated packet would not be initiated until after a current request, reply and transfer cycle has successfully completed. This restriction has a desired effect of sending packets in proper order, but imposes a severe latency penalty. In the prior art, this latency period 122 is lost. The latency effectively reduces overall bandwidth within the router or switch, which in turn reduces the number of packets it may route or switch on external networks per unit time.

System and method for speculatively issuing memory requests while maintaining a specified packet order

Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P.


A liner hanger assembly to run-in a liner on a liner hanger, cement the liner in place and set the liner hanger in one trip. Then, a wellbore treatment process can proceed while the running string remains downhole or via a second trip. The liner hanger assembly includes a liner hanger running tool and a liner hanger.

In non-monobore completions there is often a requirement to install a larger, uphole (often called surface) casing to provide hole support and a larger bore for other equipment. In such completions, there may be a liner with a smaller diameter installed below the larger casing inside the openhole. To anchor and seal this liner within the wellbore from surface an established practice is to set the liner on a liner hanger above the casing shoe of the uphole casing. A substantial number of applications leave the liner in an open hole bore beneath the casing but there is also a common requirement to cement the liner in place. Hence the ability to cement through the liner hanger is an important feature.

Liner hanger and method for installing a wellbore liner


A connector for holding an internal muntin assembly away from a perimeter spacer of an insulating glass assembly until the assembler is ready to affix the muntin bar to the perimeter bar using an attachment device. The connector includes a positioning tab for holding the muntin bar away from the perimeter spacer to allow positioning of the muntin bar assembly until the positioning tab is moved relative to a baseplate so that the attachment device, such as thick double stick tape, is pressed to the perimeter spacer.

It has become a design trend for windows to include a grill to enhance the aesthetic look of the window. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,686,814 (Anderson) shows false muntin bars 20 and 22 positioned on a window.
Many different methods of attaching the grills to the window frame were developed. In U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,590 (Digman et al.), an end connector was shown (see FIGS. 3 and 4) for connecting a muntin bar to a window frame (see FIG. 1). The end connector included a spine, a stabilizing end, fins, a platform 38 and pins. The stabilizing end was inserted into open ends of the muntin bar and engaged with the holes to hold the bar in place. End connectors in U.S. Pat. No. 5,678,376 (Poma) and U.S. Pat. No. 6,425,221 (Reichert) operated in a similar manner.
A problem with the prior art approach was that it required the drilling of many holes in the window frame or glass frame. This involved much labor and could lead to broken seals in insulated glass packs.

Muntin bar connector with positioning tabs


A semiconductor substrate (100) is acquired by forming a mask with a target thickness on a major surface of a single-crystal silicon substrate, implanting oxygen ions to the major surface at a high temperature, forming a surface protection layer for blocking oxygen on the major surface, performing annealing, and then stripping off the mask and the surface protection layer. A silicon dioxide layer (102) has a first tip surface (102a) corresponding to an area where the mask has not existed and having a relatively long distance from the major surface (100a), and a second top surface (102b) corresponding to an area where the mask has existed and having a relatively short distance from the major surface (100a). As this major surface (100a) is polished by a predetermined quantity, a semiconductor substrate is provided in which only a part of a single-crystal silicon substrate is a SOI substrate.

Conventionally, in view of improvement in performance efficiency of a transistor, a SOI technique of using a single-crystal silicon layer provided on an insulating layer for forming a semiconductor device has been attracting attention, and for example, many attempts to form a MOSFET (metal oxide semiconductor field-effect transistor) on a SOI substrate have been made.
Types of a MOSFET formed on a SOI substrate are classified into fully depleted SOI (FD SOI) with a relatively thin SOI layer and partially depleted SOI (PD SOI) with a relatively thick SOI layer, depending on the difference in thickness of the SOI layer. Of these types, the fully depleted SOI can suppress the leakage current between the source and drain but its parasitic resistance is increased by the reduced thickness of the SOI layer. Therefore, the fully depleted SOI is suitable for configuration of a logic circuit but not suitable for high-power circuit configuration. On the other hand, the partially depleted SOI has characteristics opposite to those of the fully depleted SOI. Therefore, the partially depleted SOI is suitable for high-power circuit configuration but is not suitable for configuration of a logic circuit. Accordingly, a SOI corresponding to circuit configuration is to be selected.
Recently, because of higher packing density and multi-functionality of semiconductor devices, a circuit including components (electronic devices) suitable for the fully depleted SOI and components suitable for the partially depleted SOI mounted on a single substrate, that is, so-called mixed loading circuit, has been increasingly demanded and development of a hybrid substrate having a SOI layer with partially different thickness has been conducted.
Moreover, for the purpose of reducing power consumption of semiconductor devices, many attempts have been made to mount a CMOS (complementary MOS) transistor or the like, which is a combination of the above-described MOSFETs, on a SOI substrate. Also in such cases, attempts to form a CMOS transistor and a large-capacity memory such as a DRAM (dynamic random access memory) on the same substrate (mixed loading LSI) have been made in order to cope with very high-speed and broadband data transfer. However, since a DRAM is not easily mounted on a SOI substrate because of its structure, fabrication of a partial SOI substrate in which only a part of a single-crystal silicon substrate where a CMOS transistor is mounted is a SOI substrate has been demanded.
In view of such backgrounds, a technique of forming a mask layer on the surface of a single-crystal silicon substrate, then implanting oxygen ions and performing heat treatment, thus manufacturing a SOI substrate having a SOI layer with partially different thickness, has been proposed, for example, in JP-A-2003-124305.
Also, a technique of combining etching and selective epitaxial Si growth (SEG) or the like to form a SOI substrate only at a part of a single-crystal silicon substrate, thus realizing mixed loading of a logic circuit and a DRAM cell, has been disclosed on a web site.
(http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2002—06/pr_jl1201.htm)
Moreover, a technique of forming an ion blocking mask on the surface of a single-crystal silicon substrate and then implanting oxygen ions, thus manufacturing a semiconductor substrate in which a SOI substrate is formed only in an area where the mask has not been present, has been proposed in JP-A-2003-197882.
However, in the technique described in the above-described JP-A-2003-124305, a mask layer is formed, then ion implantation and heat treatment are performed, and the mask layer is removed after that. Therefore, the degree of surface oxidation during the heat treatment varies depending on the presence/absence of the mask layer, raising a problem that flatness of the surface of the semiconductor substrate cannot be maintained.
The technique disclosed on the above-described web site includes a complex process, and it also has a problem that handling of a boundary between a single-crystal silicon layer newly formed by selective epitaxial Si growth and the original silicon dioxide layer and single-crystal silicon layer is complicated.
In the technique described in the above-described JP-A-2003-197882, oxygen ions are implanted only in the area where the mask has not been present. However, when it is assumed that the existence density of silicon atoms in the silicon crystal is 100, the existence density of silicon atoms in the silicon dioxide is 44, and therefore the volume expands to approximately 2.27 times (100/44 times) when the silicon is oxidized into silicon dioxide. Therefore, the technique has a problem that damage such as cracking occurs in the circumferential part of the silicon dioxide layer.

Method for manufacturing semiconductor substrate and semiconductor substrate


An azoamide compound of the formula: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 through R.sup.4 are independently an alkyl group; X is an alkylene groupl Y is --O-- or --NH--; and n is an integer of 2 or more, is effective for producing a macroazo compound, which is a useful initiator for producing block copolymers.

The present invention relates to an azoamide compound excellent in the solubility in various solvents and useful as a polymerization initiator and the like; and to a novel macroazo compound having in one molecule two types of azo groups different from each other in the decomposition activity.
In the recent years, polymeric compounds have progressed from general purpose polymer to functional polymer, and block polymers which can be expected to manifest various functions effectively are being watched with interest. In such a state of things, an attempt to prepare a block polymer by the use of an azo compound was proposed, and a straight chain high-polymeric azo compound having a plurality of azo groups on the main chain obtained through an alternating polycondensation of an azo compound and a bifunctional compound was reported in JP-A-64-62318. However, the polymeric azo compounds reported in the above-mentioned patent gazette were made of a single azo compound, and therefore the azo groups existing on the main chain are all identical with each other in the decomposition activity. Thus, in order to leave a desired portion of the azo groups undecomposed in the first step of polymerization and to use the undecomposed portion of azo group in the second step of polymerization, it was necessary to control the temperature and time of polymerization strictly in the first step of polymerization. Further, the starting azo compound was inferior in solubility, so that no sufficient function as a polymerization initiator could be exhibited.
With the aim of solving these problems, an azo compound obtained by subjecting two kinds of azo compounds different in decomposition activity to a condensation reaction was reported (U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,763,129, No. 3,868,359, No. 3,649,614, No. 3,956,269, etc.). Such azo compounds, however, had at most 2 or 3 azo groups in one molecule, and therefore when such an azo compound was used as a polymerization initiator, the following difficulties arose: (1) a polymer of high molecular weight was difficult to obtain, (2) when the number of azo groups was 2, only an AB type polymer could be obtained, while when the number of azo group was 3, only an ABA type polymer could be obtained (A is a segment derived from a monomer A and B is a segment derived from a monomer B, hereinafter the same), (3) a number of radicals derived from the initiator, not participating in the polymerization, were formed, and (4) the kind of monomer which can be polymerized by this method was limited, because the azo compound was low in solubility in itself.

Macroazo compound, a process for its production, a macroazo initiator, and a process for its use


Providing for wireless communication involving supplemental wireless nodes is described herein. By way of example, prior signaling is employed between a macro base station and a set of associated supplemental nodes to support pending wireless communication with a user terminal. In some aspects, the prior signaling can include control or data traffic transmitted to or received from the user terminal. In addition, the supplemental nodes can synchronize transmission or reception of the control or data traffic transmissions with similar transmission or reception of the macro base station. In some aspects, the supplemental nodes can also replicate pilot signal transmissions on OFDM symbols employed by the macro base station for pilot signals, to give consistent downlink channel for both traffic and pilot signals. Accordingly, the user terminal observes consistent pilot transmissions over various time slots, as well as concurrent traffic transmissions that can generally be decoded with a common reference signal.

I. Field
The following description relates generally to wireless communications, and more particularly to facilitating pre-signaling supplemental wireless nodes to enhance wireless coverage in a network deployment.
II. Background
Wireless communication systems are widely deployed to provide various types of communication content, such as voice content, data content, and so on. Typical wireless communication systems can be multiple-access systems capable of supporting communication with multiple users by sharing available system resources (e.g., bandwidth, transmit power, . . . ). Examples of such multiple-access systems can include code division multiple access (CDMA) systems, time division multiple access (TDMA) systems, frequency division multiple access (FDMA) systems, orthogonal frequency division multiple access (OFDMA) systems, and the like. Additionally, the systems can conform to specifications such as third generation partnership project (3GPP), 3GPP long term evolution (LTE), ultra mobile broadband (UMB), or multi-carrier wireless specifications such as evolution data optimized (EV-DO), one or more revisions thereof, etc.
Generally, wireless multiple-access communication systems can simultaneously support communication for multiple mobile devices. Each mobile device can communicate with one or more base stations via transmissions on forward and reverse links. The forward link (or downlink) refers to the communication link from base stations to mobile devices, and the reverse link (or uplink) refers to the communication link from mobile devices to base stations. Further, communications between mobile devices and base stations can be established via single-input single-output (SISO) systems, multiple-input single-output (MISO) systems, multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) systems, and so forth.
A recent technological advancement in wireless communication is the integration of relatively small, low power base stations or wireless access points within existing macro base station deployments. These low power base stations can be governed by a nearby macro base station, or can be treated as independent base stations by a wireless network. Typically, low power base stations can be deployed indoors, such as within a shopping mall, office building, apartment complex, etc., to provide targeted cellular coverage to a given building, or dispersed outdoors within poor coverage areas, for instance, to provide targeted cellular coverage for a particular geographic region. These base stations have multiple advantages for supplementing a macro deployment. First, small low power base stations are generally less expensive than full macro base stations, and can supplement a macro deployment at lower cost. Second, because these base stations typically transmit at much lower power and over shorter ranges, a supplemental deployment of low power base stations can be tailored to limit interference to a surrounding network.
Various types of supplemental or low power base stations exist. One common example is a relay node. A relay node refers to a base station-like entity that may or may not be coupled to a wired backhaul. Further, the relay node is generally a low power base station with small coverage area in relation to a typical 50 watt or similar macro base station. In addition, the relay node is typically subservient to and controlled by one or more donor macro base stations.
In operation, a relay node receives data over-the-air from a donor base station, and can forward that data to an access terminal (AT) served by the relay node (and by the donor base station). The relay node can forward the data to the AT utilizing the same wireless spectrum as the donor base station (an in-band relay), or can receive the data on a first spectrum and retransmit that data on a second spectrum (an out-of-band relay). The in-band relay is often a half duplex entity, that can either transmit or receive in a given time frame, but not both, whereas the out-of-band relay can often be full duplex, capable of simultaneous reception and transmission (on different frequency bands).
In addition to the general characteristics described above, several variations of relay nodes exist. For instance, a transparent relay node refers to a relay node that is not visible to, or is not recognized as a separate entity by, the AT. Rather, the transparent relay is indistinguishable from the donor base station, at least from the perspective of the AT. Transparent relays, therefore, typically just repeat cell identity information, acquisition and synchronization information, and so on, of the donor base station. One common function of the transparent relay is to boost transmit power of the donor base station. In some cases, the transparent relay can decode, filter, and then retransmit those signals, to provide a higher quality signal, as opposed to just providing an increase in signal amplitude. One particular relay, called an incremental redundancy relay (an IR relay), can monitor base station scheduling messages over-the-air, and identify data or control traffic intended for the AT. The IR relay can demodulate downlink data sent by the base station and can assist in subsequent hybrid automatic repeat request (HARQ) transmissions of the downlink data to the AT (e.g., if the AT indicates that a portion or all of the data is not received). Similarly, the IR relay can decode uplink data transmissions from an AT and can assist in subsequent HARQ transmissions of the uplink data. Because the IR relay generally observes a better signal to noise ratio (SNR) for this traffic than the AT, it can decode the traffic earlier and reduce timing for subsequent HARQ transmission (as compared with HARQ transmissions of a more distant base station).
Although relay nodes have several advantages, some drawbacks and design challenges do exist concerning integrating these entities into a macro deployment. For instance, half duplex nodes have fewer transmit and receive resources, due to the nature of half duplex operation. This tends to reduce efficacy of the relay node and can lower potential loading capabilities (e.g., how many ATs can be served concurrently). In addition, complexities arise in managing control signaling between the base station and relay node, or between the base station and ATs, since ATs are generally configured to look for certain control signals in particular time slots, some of which may not be available as transmission slots to a half duplex relay node. These and other challenges are the focus of current research in wireless networking.

Pre-communication for relay base stations in wireless communication


Pharmaceutical formulations and methods for the topical and/or transdermal delivery of imiquimod, including creams, ointments and pressure-sensitive adhesive compositions to treat dermatological disorders, namely, viral infections, such as Type I or Type II Herpes simplex infections and genital and perianal warts, actinic deratosis and superficial basal cell carcinoma, and to induce interferon biosynthesis to achieve an antiviral effect, with shorter durations of therapy, than currently approved for imiquimod by the Food & Drug Administration (“FDA”).

The compound 1-isobutyl-1H-imidazo[4,5-c]-quinolin-4-amine, known as imiquimod and commercially marketed in the U.S. under the brand name Aldara®, is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,338 and described therein as an antiviral agent and as an interferon inducer, which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. A variety of formulations for topical administration of imiquimod are also described therein. This U.S. Pat. No. 4,689,338 is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety
U.S. Pat. No. 4,751,087 discloses the use of a combination of ethyl oleate and glyceryl monolaurate as a skin penetration enhancer for nitroglycerine, with all three components being contained in the adhesive layer of a transdermal patch, wherein this U.S. patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,411,893 discloses the use of N,N-dimethyldodecylamine-Noxide as a skin penetration enhancer in aqueous systems, wherein this U.S. patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,722,941 discloses readily absorbable pharmaceutical compositions that comprise a pharmacologically active agent distributed in a vehicle comprising an absorption-enhancing amount of at least one fatty acid containing 6 to 12 carbon atoms and optionally a fatty acid monoglyceride. Such compositions are said to be particularly useful for increasing the absorption of pharmacologically active bases, wherein this U.S. patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,746,515 discloses a method of using glyceryl monolaurate to enhance the transdermal flux of a transdermally deliverable drug through intact skin, wherein this U.S. patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,238,944 discloses topical formulations and transdermal delivery systems containing 1-isobutyl-1H-imidazo[4,5-c]quinolin-4-amine, wherein this U.S. patent is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Methods of treating dermatological disorders and inducing interferon biosynthesis with shorter durations of imiquimod therapy


A transfer device including an image carrier; a transfer member disposed facing the image carrier; a transfer electrical field generator including a direct-current (DC) power source to generate a DC voltage and an alternating current (AC) power source to generate an AC voltage; and a controller. The transfer electrical field generator forms the transfer electrical field between the image carrier and the transfer member using the DC voltage and the AC voltage, to transfer the toner image on the image carrier, charged to a predetermined polarity, onto the recording medium. The controller controls the AC voltage source so that, the AC voltage output from the AC voltage source when a leading edge of the recording medium is positioned in the transfer electrical field is set larger than the AC voltage when the portion of the recording medium other than the leading edge is positioned in the transfer electrical field.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a transfer device and an image forming apparatus incorporating the transfer device, such as a copier, a facsimile machine, a printer, or a multi-functional system including a combination thereof
2. Description of the Related Art
Related-art image forming apparatuses, such as copiers, facsimile machines, printers, or multifunction printers, having at least one of copying, printing, scanning, and facsimile capabilities, typically form an image on a recording medium according to image data.
In electrophotographic image forming apparatuses, an electrostatic latent image, which is obtained by forming optical image data on an image carrier (e.g., a photoconductor) that is uniformly charged in advance, is rendered visible with toner from a development device. An image is formed on a recording medium by transferring the visible image directly or indirectly onto the recording medium (e.g., transfer sheet) via an intermediate transfer device and fixing the image thereon.
There are two types of transfer devices, a direct-transfer type and an intermediate transfer type. In an image forming apparatus containing the direct-transfer type transfer device, a toner image is formed on an image carrier (e.g., a drum-shaped or belt-shaped photoconductor) that then directly transfers the toner image onto a recording medium using a transfer member (e.g., a transfer roller).
Alternatively, the toner image is formed on the photoreceptor and then primary-transferred onto an intermediate transfer member (e.g., an intermediate transfer belt) serving as a second image carrier, after which the toner image on the intermediate transfer member is secondary-transferred onto a recording medium by the transfer member.
In above-described intermediate transfer device, when a high-asperity sheet, such as Japanese Paper, is used as the recording medium, a pattern of light and dark shading conforming to the surface condition of the recording medium may easily appear in an output image. This shading pattern appears because the toner is transferred poorly to concave portions on the surface of the recording medium, and as a result, the density of toner at the recessed portions is less than that at the convex portions. In order to solve this problem, instead of using a secondary bias composed only of a direct current voltage, a bias may be used in which a direct current voltage is superimposed on an alternating current voltage, thereby preventing the shading pattern from occurring.
Moreover, by varying the composition of the applied transfer bias voltage depending on the surface roughness and electrical resistivity (comparable to thickness) of the recording medium, deterioration in toner transfer efficiency due to too strong an electrical field generated by the transfer bias current and consequent uneven image density can be avoided. However, as the AC electrical field is strong, the discharge ability of the toner image and the recording medium become strong. If the AC electrical field is excessive, the toner image on the image carrier, charged to a predetermined polarity, is discharged, and the transfer efficiency may be reduced.
However, in a transfer device in which the toner image on the image carrier, charged to the predetermined polarity, is transferred onto the recording medium using the transfer electrical field, an electrostatic field may be formed between the recording medium and the image carrier, because the recording medium is charged by the transfer electrical field. Then, the recording medium cannot be separated from the image carrier, which causes the recording medium to be jammed.
In general, the image carrier curves sharply away from a recording medium transport path immediately downstream from a transfer zone in which the transfer electrical field is formed. Therefore, even if the recording medium is charged by the action of transfer, the rigidity of stiff recording media such as cardboard can overcome the electrostatic attraction between the image carrier and the recording medium. As a result, the recording medium goes straight without being attracted to the image carrier and bending with the curve, which prevents the sheet from jamming.
However, with pliant recording media having weak rigidity, such as thin paper, the electrostatic attraction between the recording medium and the image carrier may be stronger than the rigidity of the thin paper. Therefore, the recording medium tends to adhere to the image carrier and bend with the curve, thus deviating from the transport path and resulting in jamming.

Transfer device and image forming apparatus


When playing back audio/video streams, many playback devices try to recreate the audio and video clocks used for encoding. One means typically employed to recreate such clocks includes the use of a Phased Locked Loop (PLL) circuit. The audio and video should remain synchronized. However, many reasonable cost PLLs cannot recreate the exact video clock used for encoding. The synchronization of the video to the audio can be resolved by adjusting one or more of the dimensions (or other variables) that define the video being recreated. Changing the dimensions (or other variables) of the video allows for an adjustment of the output frequency of the PLL to a value that can be implemented.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to synchronizing video.
2. Description of the Related Art
When playing back audio/video streams, many playback devices try to recreate the audio and video clocks used for encoding. One means employed to recreate such clocks includes the use of a Phased Locked Loop (PLL) circuit.
The classic PLL includes a Phase Detector and a Voltage Controlled Oscillator (VCO). FIG. 1 provides an example of a PLL that includes Phase Detector 200 connected to VCO 202. Phase Detector 200 is a device that compares two input frequencies (f1 and f2) and generates an output that is a measure of their phase difference. If the frequency f1 differs from f2, the error signal from Phase Detector 200 causes the frequency of VCO 202 to deviate in the direction of f1. The PLL of FIG. 1 also includes dividers 204, 206 and 208. The input signal (In) is first sent to divider 204, where its frequency is divided by F. The output of divider 204 is provided to Phase Detector 200. The output of the VCO 202 is provided to divider 208, which divides the output frequency of VCO 202 by O. The output of divider 208 is the output (Out) of the PLL. The output of VCO 202 is also sent to divider 206, which divides the output frequency of VCO 202 by B. The output of divider 206 is the second input to Phase Detector 200.
The dividers 204, 206 and 208 divide the frequency of the signal they receive. FIG. 2 provides an example of an input signal 310 that enters a divider, which divides by 3, and a signal 312 that is the output of that divider. The signal 312 has a frequency that is one third of the frequency of signal 310. If, for example, signal 310 is the input to divider 204 and F=3, then signal 312 would be the output of divider 204.
When f1=f2 (with regard to the PLL of FIG. 1), the frequency of the output of divider 204 is equal to the frequency of the output of divider 206, and:
            In      F        =          VCO      B        and            Out      =              VCO        O              ,  where In is the frequency of the input signal, Out is the frequency of the output signal, and B, F, O are the divider parameters for the PLL. The equations can be solved for Out:
  Out  =            B                    (        IN        )                    F                    (        O        )
Thus, Out is a function of In, determined by the PLL ratio B/(FO). A designer can, therefore, design a PLL to provide a certain output frequency in light of a particular input frequency by choosing the appropriate divider parameters B, F and O. Unfortunately, not all PLLs can provide a reasonable output waveform for every combination of divider parameters. Such limitations are due to device characteristics, and vary among different designs. As a general rule, the higher the integers in the numerator and the denominator of the PLL ratio, the poorer the quality of the resulting PLL output. For example, a PLL with a ratio of 6/1 should be easier and cheaper to make than a PLL that has a ratio of 1001/167.
Audio/video streams usually include an exact relationship between the number of audio samples encoded per unit of time and the number of images to be displayed. For example, a DVD transport stream may have a 48 kHz audio sample rate along with a (60/1.001) Hz video refresh rate. Thus, it is usually recommended that the audio and video clocks be generated from the same clock reference so that the ratio between the two clocks remains constant and drift between the audio and video clocks is avoided. However, because it may not be possible to implement every combination of divider parameters it is difficult to recreate both the exact audio clock and the exact video clock from the same clock source using some PLLs.
Because video data is conveniently grouped into frames, it has been easier to adjust video than audio. Therefore, typical designs include a source clock and PLL that exactly recreates the audio clock used for encoding. However, most reasonable cost PLLs in such systems cannot recreate the exact video clock that was used for encoding. Thus, over time, the playback application must add or drop frames (or audio samples) to maintain audio/video synchronization. This can be noticeable to the consumer.
Thus, there is a need to better synchronize video with the audio.

Video synchronization by adjusting video parameters