The present disclosure relates to one or a combination of an absorbent article's chassis, inner leg cuffs, outer leg cuffs, ear panels, side panels, waistbands, and belts that may comprise one or more pluralities of tightly spaced (less than 4 mm) and/or low Average-Dtex (less than 300 dtex) and/or low Average-Pre-Strain (less than 300%) elastics to deliver low Pressure Under Strand (less than 1 psi), while providing adequate Section-Modulus (between about 2 gf/mm and 15 gf/mm) to make the article easy to apply and to comfortably maintain the article in place on the wearer, even with a loaded core (holding at least 100 mls of liquid), to provide for the advantages described above. Further, the elastomeric laminates of the present disclosure outperform existing laminates currently used for disposable absorbent articles as it relates to one or more key parameters.

The present disclosure details elastomeric laminates comprising a greater number of elastic strands having a greater fineness and a closer spacing than has been previously disclosed or practiced in disposable absorbent articles. Further, the present disclosure details combinations of these elastic elements in groupings, including groupings with traditional elastics (e.g., strands, films, extruded strands, scrims, elastomeric nonwovens, etc.) that have not been previously disclosed.
These improved elastomeric laminates can be used as disposable absorbent article (for, example, taped diapers, pants, pads, and liners) components for fit and gasketing at the waist, legs, crotch and sides of the wearer to generally provide the greatest level of extensibility, the most comfortable wearing conditions, improved leakage protection and a better fit.
More particularly, these improved elastomeric laminates offer several advantages, including improved textures and less pressure of the elastic elements on the wearer's skin at a given modulus versus traditional elastic laminates known today. These improvements result in enhancing application (e.g., making pant articles easier to open for donning), fit, comfort and reduced marking of the wearer's skin. The inventive elastomeric laminates disclosed in this application perform better than traditional stranded and film versions of laminates known today.
Elastomeric laminates of the prior art have a number of consumer negatives that vary based on the laminate structure. For example, traditional stranded laminates used in absorbent articles known today typically comprise elastic elements of relatively high decitex (also referred to herein as "dtex") and relatively large elastic spacing, which when combined result in high pressure imparted by each elastic on the skin and large uncontrolled rugosities in the laminate both of which leads to increased skin marking, reduced comfort and a non-garment like appearance. Traditional stranded laminates typically comprise elastics spaced at least 4 mm apart primarily due to manufacturing limitations and handling of individual strands of elastics via separate material infeeds. With regard to extruded strands and/or extruded scrim materials, they are similar to many elastomeric films in that they typically comprise thermoplastic materials that undergo significant stress relaxation over time and thus do not maintain the proper forces at the waist and legs to provide proper initial and sustained fit and gasketing over the entire wearing time.
Regarding elastic film laminates, they are significantly more occlusive (i.e., less breathable, very low or no air permeability), resulting in greater hydration of the skin and as a result significantly reduced comfort and increased marking associated with the susceptibility of the hydrated skin to marking. Also, film based elastic laminates in general tend to have a higher modulus versus stranded elastic laminates, therefore being more difficult to apply to a wearer (making it difficult to open for donning), therefore requiring more sizes to cover a given fit range of wearers. It is also very difficult to create a force profile across the elastic film laminate or scrim based elastic laminate as they are typically formed via webs with relatively uniform properties.
There has therefore been a long standing unmet consumer need which is to create a product that delivers very low pressure on the skin, high level of breathability, adequate force for sustained fit, low modulus, high extensibility and a smooth uniform texture. Such an absorbent article would provide improved skin condition, skin marking, skin hydration, ease of application, ease of removal, improved sustained fit, improved gasketing, as well as improved body conformity and wearer comfort.
To deliver against all of the unmet consumer needs requires a complete structural redesign of the elastomeric laminates used in the absorbent article. The balance of elastic decitex, elastic strand spacing, number of elastics and elastic pre-strain required to deliver such a unique blend of properties requires elastic decitex that are very low, well below that of the prior art, disposed at elastic to elastic spacing that are also very low, also well below the prior art, which in turn requires a larger number of elastics well above that known in the prior art, and elastic pre-strains that are also low and well below nearly all of the known prior art. In addition to the very specific combinations of decitex, spacing, number of elastics and pre-strain required to deliver against the range of unmet consumer needs an additional factor of nonwoven choice, basis weight, composition, etc. is also critical to creating the overall desired structure. The specific set of criteria required to deliver against all of the aforementioned unmet consumer needs with a single product not only requires unique elastomeric laminate structures but it requires a new process, beamed elastic (a plurality of elastics formed on and delivered from a beam or spool), for delivery of such a large number of low decitex elastics, at low pre-strain and low spacing in order to achieve the right balance of laminate properties.
Applicants disclosure will evidence that these unique elastomeric laminates offer not only new structures, but also improved function that is dramatically different and better versus the prior art as shown by several consumer relevant parametric methods that have been employed—including the use of surface topography to characterize and dimensionalize the distinctly smooth texture. Surface topography also provides key insight into the Rugosity Frequency and Rugosity Wavelength which are both key parameters in defining and characterizing the texture and flatness of the elastomeric laminates of the present disclosure. In addition to the unique texture the elastomeric laminates must maintain a high level of breathability to ensure that the skin does not become overly hydrated and therefore ensure a comfortable wearing experience and to aid in prevention of skin marking. In order to assess the breathability Air Permeability (through air) testing is conducted to understand the volume of air that can pass through the structure. In addition, Water Vapor Transmission Rate testing is also conducted to assess how rapidly the laminate can pass moisture vapor that evolves from the skin. The unique structure of the elastomeric laminates of the present disclosure results in a laminate having reduced overall stiffness and improved flexibility as demonstrated by the Cantilever Bending test. In addition to improved flexibility, the unique structure of the elastomeric laminate has a low caliper at no extension and maintains a high percentage of the caliper (Caliper Retention Value) even when extended to a significant force. This uniform structure across the extension range is very different from structures of the prior art. The high Percent Contact Area, high Rugosity Frequency, Rugosity Wavelength amplitude and uniformity across the extension range also provides a perfect canvas for graphics. The graphics clarity is maintained in both an extended state and contracted state as demonstrated by the Graphics Distortion Ratio.
Such an approach to the best of our knowledge has never before been disclosed or attempted in the field of absorbent articles; hygiene articles, taped diapers, diaper pants, adult incontinence articles, menstrual products, etc.


In a Josephson device which can be employed as a sensor including superconductor for measuring an extremely weak magnetic field, a Josephson junction consisting of superconducting material is formed, and a covering layer consisting of ordinary conducting metal or semiconductor is formed on the Josephson junction. This enables the Josephson junction to be isolated from the oxidized atmosphere. Further, the covering layer is not to present any deterioration such as cracks even upon being subjected to a thermal hysteresis from very low temperature to ordinary temperature.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a superconductive Josephson device and a process for producing the same, more particularly to a Josephson device, such as a superconductive quantum interference device used as a sensor for measuring an extremely weak magnetic field, and a process for producing such a Josephson device.
2. Description of Prior Art
A superconducting quantum interference device includes a superconductive ring that couples with one or two Josephson junctions, and is used for measuring a magnetic field generated from the heart, eye ball, brain, and like organisms of the human body, and is abbreviated to a superconductive quantum interference device (hereafter reference to as SQUID).
The SQUID serves as a sensor for measuring such the extremely weak magnetic fields as are generated from the organisms. However, production of the device including the Josephson junction is conducted with the use of a fine processing technique, and the performance as a sensor directly depends on the error in the shape of the device after processing. Further, superconductive material to be used is material which will be oxidized over time while being used. When the superconductive material in use is oxidized, it affects the performance of the device as a sensor as much as deformation of the Josephson junction. Therefore, it is difficult to maintain the initial performance of the device when produced over time.
Conventionally, a surface portion of the Josephson junction is oxidized in advance to protect the Josephson junction from the atmosphere, thereby forming an oxide film on the surface portion. However, in the case where oxide is formed on the surface portion, oxygen progressively diffuses over time in a thin film layer of superconducting material, for example, Nb. As a result, there arises a problem in that a property of the device changes due to the reduced thickness of the Nb thin film.
The prior art covers the surface portion with synthetic resin material. In this prior art, a thermal expansion coefficient of the synthetic resin material differs greatly from that of the superconducting material. Accordingly, upon being subjected to a thermal hysteresis from liquid helium at a temperature of 4.2.degree. K. to ordinary temperature, minute cracks are caused in the synthetic resin material, whereby the SQUID is deteriorated.
In order to solve the foregoing problem and isolate the SQUID from the oxidized atmosphere, it can be considered to retain the SQUID in an atmosphere of inert gas, such as N.sub.2. However, this is not practical because it is difficult to prevent the leak.
Further, in the existing SQUIDS, it is difficult to form a uniform and exceedingly thin film of about 100 to 200 .ANG. in consideration of the current fine processing technique. Moreover, in the existing SQUIDS, it is extremely difficult to fabricate with minute length and width accurately and with satisfactory reproducibility in a processing which determines the size and shape of the junction. Therefore, the defect rate in production of the SQUID is extremely high.

Josephson device formed over a recess step with protective layer


Embodiments of the present disclosure are directed to vehicle communication systems, in particular, toward contention resolution on a shared medium in vehicle communication systems. The present disclosure can provide a modified version of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 standard to handle physical layer (PHY), and data link layer's (DLL) media access control (MAC) of the wired communication links in the vehicle communication subsystem utilizing a shared medium and half-duplex mode. As a result, the modified MAC and PHY may provide fair access and deterministic latency for shared access to the medium of vehicle communication systems independent of the offered network load.

One or more associated components in vehicle communication systems may send and/or receive signals across a communication network. Components, such as sensors, cameras, displays, and other components, generally called data terminal equipment (DTE), intercommunicate via the communication network to make decisions capable of assisting in driving operations, e.g., autonomous or semi-autonomous control. Typically, ethernet communications are utilized for in-vehicle networks, which communicated in half-duplex mode, i.e., only one component transmits at a time. Current methods to handle multiple components transmitting at the same time, called a data collision or, more simply, "collision," and require components to wait a random "back-off" period, and retry transmitting, which may be a prolonged time period due to local contention cycles before being able to transmit successfully. When a collision occurs, many legacy receiver implementations ignore the received data after the collision signal is asserted. New physical layer (PHY) behavior may utilize the collision signal to defer transmission when there is no collision. This behavior results in potential loss of a frame because a legacy receiver will ignore a frame that may have been successfully received. An undetected frame loss can degrade user experience for some applications or cause control functions of the vehicle to be impaired, which may result in the vehicle being slow to respond to a situation that may put the vehicle, occupants, and/or others in jeopardy.

Method, system and device for network communications within a vehicle


A light-emitting device includes a support substrate; a light-emitting stacked layer; transparent-conductive bonding layer; and a semiconductor contact layer. The light-emitting stacked layer includes a first semiconductor layer; an active layer; and a second semiconductor layer, wherein a polarity of the first semiconductor layer is different from that of the semiconductor layer. A first pad is formed on an exposed portion of the first semiconductor layer and a second pad is formed on the semiconductor contact layer. A polarity of the semiconductor contact layer is different from that of the second semiconductor layer.

1. Technical Field
The present disclosure relates to a light-emitting device, and more particularly, to a light-emitting device having a transparent-conductive bonding layer.
2. Description of the Related Art
Light-emitting diodes (LEDs) have been applied widely to optical display devices, traffic signals, data storing devices, communication devices, illumination devices, and medical apparatuses. In a conventional LED 1, it includes an n-type semiconductor layer 12, an active layer 14, and a p-type semiconductor layer 16 sequentially formed on a substrate 10. A portion of the active layer 14 and the p-type semiconductor layer 16 are removed to expose a portion of the n-type semiconductor layer 12. An n-type electrode 11 and a p-type electrode 13 are formed on the n-type semiconductor layer 12 and the p-type semiconductor layer 16 respectively as FIG. 1 shows. A sheet resistance of the p-type semiconductor layer 16 is larger than that of the n-type semiconductor layer 13 so current spreading ability of the n-type semiconductor layer 12 is better than that of the p-type semiconductor layer 16. Thus, current cannot spread uniformly in the p-type semiconductor layer 16. Light emitted from the active layer 14 is extracted in a light-emitting region, and the light-emitting region is confined close to the p-type electrode 13 in top view because current cannot spread uniformly in the p-type semiconductor layer 16.
The LED 1 can be connected with other elements to form a light-emitting apparatus. FIG. 2 illustrates a schematic view of a conventional light-emitting apparatus. A light-emitting apparatus 2 includes a submount 20 with a circuit 202; a solder 22 on the submount 20, wherein the LED 1 is adhesively fixed on the submount 20 by the solder 22; and an electrical-connecting structure 24 electrically connecting the n-type electrode 11 and the p-type electrode 13 with the circuit 202. The submount 20 can be a lead frame or a mounting substrate for circuit design and improving heat dissipation of the light-emitting apparatus 2.


A socket structure is provided and includes a circuit board, an insulating base, a pin and a conductive component. The insulating base is disposed on the circuit board and includes a first side and a second side opposite to each other. The pin is disposed between the first side and the second side. The conductive component is connected between the circuit board and the insulating base and includes a first arm, a second arm and a connecting part. The first arm and the second arm are connected to each other through the connecting part. The first arm is fixed on the second side of the insulating base and connected to the pin and includes a first fixing end connected to the circuit board. The second arm includes a second fixing end connected to the circuit board.

With the rapid development of science and technology today, sockets are now widely used in various electronic devices in life. Different from other internal components, the socket served as a power input medium is directly influenced by the external environment. Therefore, the durability of the socket is the key to the long-term stable operation of electronic equipment.
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view illustrating a conventional socket structure. The conventional socket structure 9 includes a circuit board 91, an insulating base 92, a pin (not shown), a conductive component 94 and an auxiliary conductive component 95. The pin is disposed within the insulating base 92. The conductive component 94 is disposed on a side of the insulating base 92. An end of the conductive component 94 is fixed to an end of the pin by riveting. The conductive component 94 includes a fixing end (not shown) fixed to the circuit board 91 by welding for providing an electrically conductive medium.
Since the conductive component 94 of the conventional socket structure 9 is welded to the circuit board 91 only through a single fixing end, it lacks sufficient strength to resist stress caused by plugging and unplugging frequently. Therefore, the welding joints connecting the socket and the circuit board 91 are easily being cracked or even separated. When the electronic equipment is operated under the situation of welding joints cracked continuously, the resistance of the welding joints is increased. Moreover, temperature of the welding joints is increased accordingly when the current passes therethrough. It results in damaging the internal components or reducing the lifespan, and even a risk of causing a fire.
Therefore, there is a need of providing a socket structure capable of eliminating the internal stress applied thereto and ensuring the stability of the electrical connection thereof.


A control method for die cast machines, which performs multi-step injection speed control depending on a plunger position of an injection cylinder apparatus, the control method comprising the steps of; storing setting values of injection speeds of respective speed steps such as low injection speed and high injection speed and speed change-over plunger positions such as a high speed injection starting position preliminarily in memories; measuring actual values for the injection speed and speed change-over plunger position in actual casting by a speed operation unit and a high speed injection starting position detecting unit; obtaining average values of the actual values in actual castings of a predetermined frequency by an average value operation unit; and correcting control values for the injection speed and the speed change-over plunger position in next casting to be performed.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a control method for die cast machines and more particularly to a control method for die cast machines which carry out multi-step injection speed control depending on positions of a plunger of an injection cylinder.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Generally, in die cast machines, hydraulically driven injection cylinders are utilized. An injection plunger of the injection cylinder apparatus is advanced at a low injection speed to start injection of molten metal to mold cavities. If the injection plunger advances up to a predetermined position, the injection plunger is advanced at a high injection speed to achieve high speed injection of molten metal to the mold cavities. The multi-step injection speed control is achieved in this manner. In other cases, the injection plunger is advanced at medium injection speeds between a low speed advancement interval and a high speed advancement interval.
Injection speeds of respective speed steps such as the low injection speed and the high injection speed and speed change-over plunger positions such as the high speed injection starting position have each appropriate value which is determined depending on mold data and casting condition data. The multi-step injection speed control is carried out so as to drive the plunger at this appropriate value.
The injection speeds of the respective speed steps such as the low injection speed and the high injection speed are controlled by means of hydraulic pressure control on the injection cylinder apparatus. Thus, actual injection speeds may be changed due to changes in oil temperature and the speed change-over plunger position may be changed due to a delay in action of a low speed--high speed change-over valve of hydraulic system.
However, because generally the injection speed of the die cast machine is high speed, it is difficult to perform feedback compensating control for the aforementioned multi-step injection speed control. Actually, there have been never seen any die cast machines which perform the multi-step injection speed control in feed-back compensation type.
Thus, conventionally correction of speed change-over plunger positions have been achieved depending on sense of operators. Usually corrections of the injection speeds of respective speed steps have not been performed.


Provided is a video management apparatus and a method for event recording using the same, which are capable of reducing loss of video data in an event recording. The video management apparatus performs an event recording in cooperation with a network camera to transmit a first frame with basic information of video data and a plurality of second frames with changed information of the video data. The video management apparatus includes a buffer unit to store the first and the plurality of second frames, and eliminate the stored frames according to an external control signal. The video management apparatus further includes an event recording unit to save the first frame and at least one of the second frames stored in the buffer unit, and when detecting an occurrence of events, and frames transmitted from the network camera after the detection of the occurrence of events on a storage medium.

1. Technical Field
The present invention relates to a video management apparatus and a method for event recording using the same capable of reducing loss in video recording based on an occurrence of events.
2. Related Art
As known in the art, network cameras transmit video that is captured in a compressed form to a video management system (VMS) via a network because of the constraint of network bandwidth. In the field of video compression, video consists of an I-frame (Intra frame) followed by a number of P-frames (Predicted frames). The I-frame is used as a requisite reference or key data in video decoding. I-frames have more data than other frames and thus may have an effect on designing network bandwidth and storage space of the video management system depending on how often the I-frames are transmitted.
Meanwhile, the video management system may rather employ event recording methods than real-time recording methods, as shown in, for example, the Korean Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 2013-0124757 (published on Nov. 15, 2013).
An event recording method requires a certain time to get video after requesting it from video sources such as network cameras, which results in that a portion of the video to be recorded may be lost for the certain time.
In order to solve the above mentioned problem, the video management system utilizes pre-event recording methods.
A pre-event recording method refers to an approach to continue a pseudo-recording even in a situation where no event occurs, and pseudo-recorded information may be used as actual recorded information upon the occurrence of events, which may prevent the loss of the recorded material in the event recording method. In the pre-event recording method, the time for the pseudo-recording may be set by a user or as a default value to the video management system.
In the pre-event recording method, the longer the time for the pseudo recording is, the more the storage space of the video management system may be wasted. Therefore, it is common to set the time for the pseudo recording time as short as possible.
For a short pseudo recording time, however, any key frame, which is requisite in a video decoding, i.e., any I-frame may not be available during the short pseudo recording time, which makes the video recording abnormal.

Video management system and method for event recording using the same


In a process chamber (1), in which various processing steps in the manufacture of semiconductors can be carried out, there is arranged a rotationally drivable rotary head (3) which serves as a holder for a substantially disc-shaped object to be processed (W), e.g. for a wafer. Furthermore, at least one applicator (50, 51, 52, 53) is provided in the process chamber (1) for the provision of a medium which acts on the object to be processed (W). Means (4) are arranged radially around the rotary head (3) for the journalling and for the driving of the rotary head (3).

The invention relates to a process chamber in which various processing steps in the manufacture of semiconductors can be carried out in accordance with the preamble of the independent patent claim.
Several processing steps in the manufacture of semiconductors, in particular in the manufacture of integrated semiconductor circuits, take place in such a manner that the wafer (a disc on which a large number of such integrated semiconductor circuits are arranged) is rotated in a process chamber. In addition to this it is often necessary to carry out the individual steps under clean room conditions. In the individual processing steps, in particular media such as liquids (e.g. etching liquids, cleaning fluids, photosensitive resists, developers, etc.), vapours (e.g. metallic vapours or liquid vapours etc.), gases (etching gases, oxygen for oxidation, flushing gases, protective gases, etc.), suspensions (e.g. for the production of passivating layers and other thick film layers), molten polysilicon, electromagnetic waves, ion beams and yet others are applied to or act on the wafer respectively. Several selected processing steps will be briefly mentioned in the following in an exemplary manner which take place in a process chamber in which the wafer is rotated.
For example a photosensitive resist can be applied from a liquid nozzle (or else from a spray can) to the rotating wafer, such as is described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,395,803. Alternatively, it is also possible to apply the photosensitive resist to the wafer at rest and then to rotate the latter, as is for example described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,822,639.
As a result of the increased surface tension at the edge of the wafer, slight super-elevations often occur here, which must be removed. This takes place in that a solvent is applied to the rotating wafer in the peripheral region, as is e.g. described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,176. This processing step can for example also be combined with the application of the photosensitive resist, which is described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,773,083.
In another processing step for example suspensions are applied and passivating layers thereby produced on the wafer. In this, in a manner similar to the photosensitive resist coating, for example liquids with smallest glass or silicon dioxide particles are applied, which then produce the passivating layer. Processing steps of this kind are for example described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,376,176 or in U.S. Pat. No. 5,328,871. In layers produced in this manner a processing step is likewise required in which edge super-elevations are removed (as e.g. described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,785).
It is furthermore also possible to produce thin film layers on rotating wafers, e.g. of silicon dioxide, of metals or of carbon (DLC=Diamond-Like Carbon). For this purpose the wafers are coated by means of known procedures such as for example the CVD (Chemical Vapour Deposition) process or the PVD (Physical Vapour Deposition) process. In these processes the homogeneity of the coating of the wafer can be advantageously influenced through the rotation of the wafer, in particular when the wafer rotates very rapidly, e.g. with speeds of rotation up to 16,000 rpm. Methods of this kind are described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,630,881.
Furthermore, methods of this kind are also suitable, for example through the application of molten silicon to a rotating plate, to manufacture polycrystalline silicon wafers, in a manner similar to that already described in the production of the xe2x80x9cthickxe2x80x9d layers. This is e.g. described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 4,561,486.
Furthermore, it is also possible to apply liquid or gaseous solvents to a rotating wafer for the removal of coatings, e.g. for the removal of photosensitive resists. This is described e.g. in U.S. Pat. No. 4,749,440 or in U.S. Pat. No. 4,510,176.
Moreover, it is also possible to exploit the rotating wafer for various etching processes. This is advantageous in so far as a homogeneous etching speed is therein achieved over the entire wafer, which can be of importance in particular in order to avoid an under-etching. If for example etching liquid is applied to the rotating wafer from a nozzle, then a homogeneous etching film develops, which is uniformly renewed in a manner which is controlled by the liquid supply. This is described for example in U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,903,717 or 4,350,562. Alternatively, it is also possible to allow the wafer to rotate on a liquid film, as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,350,562.
In other etching processes, etching vapours or etching gases are used for the etching of the wafer, as is described for example in U.S. Pat. No. 5,370,741, in U.S. Pat. No. 5,174,853 or in U.S. Pat. No. 5,248,380. The wafer which is exposed to these vapours or gases is likewise rotated during the etching process. In this etching process it is also possible to etch both sides of a wafer at the same time (U.S. Pat. No. 4,857,142). In the so-called xe2x80x9cplasma etchingxe2x80x9d process a gas which is ionised with the help of an electrical field (xe2x80x9cplasmaxe2x80x9d) is used for the etching. This is for example described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,230,515. In all the described etching processes it is advantageous when the wafer is rotated.
Furthermore, it is also possible to carry out ion implantations on rotating wafers. In this the wafer, which rotates with a speed of rotation of about 500-1500 rpm, is bombarded with ion beams. For this a plurality of wafers are normally arranged on a rotary plate, as is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,745,287.
Further processing steps with rotating wafers relate to the washing of the wafer (xe2x80x9cspin rinsingxe2x80x9d) similarly as in xe2x80x9cspin etchingxe2x80x9d, in which the wafer is charged with a cleansing liquid, e.g. with water of highest purity. The drying of the wafer is also possible in this manner: Liquid residues are hurled outwards by centrifugal forces (xe2x80x9ccentrifugal wafer dryerxe2x80x9d), see e.g. U.S. Pat. No. 4,300,581.
Although only a selected number of processes or process steps respectively have been described above, there are numerous further process steps or processing steps respectively of this kind which are carried out in a process chamber with rotating wafers. In this, various mediaxe2x80x94among them radiation is also to be understoodxe2x80x94such as liquids, suspensions with solids, gases and vapours, electromagnetic fields, ion beams etc. are applied to the wafer as a rule with the help of applicators such as nozzles and nozzle systems (heads with a large number of nozzles), tube systems, radiation sources, electrodes, heating elements and heat radiators.
In this the wafer is at least individually rotated, or else a plurality of wafers are rotated in common with the help of a corresponding rotatable holder apparatus. This holder apparatus is designated in the following as a rotary head for the sake of simplicity. The rotary head, which holds and rotates the wafer, is often driven via a rotating shaft most often from below, sometimes also from above. In this the rotating shaft is introduced into the inner space of the process chamber via a seal from below or from above. The drive motor is located as a rule outside the inner space of the process chamber in order to keep the inner space of the process chamber free from contaminations (clean room conditions) and to protect the motor against corrosion.
The applicators (nozzles, nozzle systems, tube lines, electrodes, radiation sources, etc.) are necessarily located above or below the rotary head. Only in exceptional cases (application of gases) is it possible to treat the wafer from both sides. In every case, however, the driving of the rotary head from below or from above represents a restriction in regard to the arrangement of the applicators.
This manner of driving and journalling the rotary head also represents an additional restriction for the supplying of the wafer or wafers respectively. The wafer (the wafers) canxe2x80x94when the rotary head is driven from belowxe2x80x94not be supplied from below. The supplying from above is mostly also not possible due to the arrangement of the applicators, so that in such cases the wafer can practically only be supplied from the sidexe2x80x94stated more precisely, from laterally above the rotary head. This makes the centering of the wafer considerably more difficult and in addition limits the freedom of the arrangement of the applicators because, of course, the free access from the side up to the centre of the rotary head must be ensured.
The object of the invention is thus to propose a process chamber in which different processing steps can be carried out in the manufacture of semiconductors, in which process chamber the named spatial restrictions with respect to the arrangement of applicators are not present. The supplying of the wafer should also be more simply possible than in known process chambers.
This object is satisfied by a process chamber such as is characterised by the features of the independent patent claim. In particular, a rotationally drivable rotary head is arranged in the process chamber which serves as a holder for a substantially disc-shaped object to be processed, e.g. for a wafer. Furthermore, at least one applicator is provided. in the process chamber for the provision of a medium which acts on the object to be processed. Arranged radially around the rotary head, means are provided for the journalling and the driving of the rotary head. This radial arrangement enables, depending on the arrangement of the applicators, the wafer to be supplied centrally from below or from above and thus facilitates a centering of the wafer.
Furthermore, it is possible through the radial arrangement of the means for the journalling and for the driving around the rotary head to process the introduced wafer both from above and from below without this being excluded by a drive shaft or the like.
The means for the journalling and the driving of the rotary head are preferably formed in such a manner that they journal and drive the rotary head without contact; in particular these means comprise a magnetic bearing/drive unit, which is often designated as a xe2x80x9cbearing-free motorxe2x80x9d.
In this the magnetic bearing/drive unit can comprise a stator which is arranged outside the housing of the process chamber and the rotary head can be arranged inside the housing, with the (non-magnetic) housing wall forming a tubular gap, which seals the inner space of the housing against the outside. Through this, on the one hand, the gap between the rotary head and the stator can be kept small (which has a greater stiffness of the bearing as a result when the flux is the same); on the other hand, a possibly corrosive medium always remains in the inner space of the housing and can not penetrate to the outside.
In an exemplary embodiment of the process chamber in accordance with the invention all six degrees of freedom of the rotary head, namely the two degrees of freedom of the displacement in the bearing plane, the axial displacement, the two degrees of freedom of tilting and the rotation, can be actively controlled. This enables a very precise positioning of the rotary head in regard to each of the degrees of freedom, but is naturally more complicated and expensive from the point of view of the electronics than the two following variant embodiments.
In one of these variations two degrees of freedom of the rotary head can be actively controllable, namely the two degrees of freedom of the displacement in the bearing plane, whereas the other four degrees of freedom are passively stabilised. This reduces the cost and complexity in the electronics; in return, however, the axial displacement, the rotation and the two degrees of freedom of the tilting are merely passively stabilised. As concerns the axial displacement and the tilting of the rotary head, this means that a rotary head which has been deflected out of its passively stabilised position with respect to one of these degrees of freedom is brought back into its stable position through reluctance forces as long as the deflection is not greater than a threshold value. When this threshold value is exceeded, however, a stable journalling of the rotary head is no longer provided. As concerns the rotation, this means that the rotary head can be e.g. magnetically coupled to the bearing stator and this bearing stator itself is designed to be rotatable. As a result of the magnetic coupling, then, the rotary head is co-rotated when the bearing stator is rotated.
In another, particularly preferred variant, three degrees of freedom of the rotary head can be actively controlled, namely the two degrees of freedom of the displacement in the journalling plane and the rotation, whereas the other three degrees of freedom, namely the axial displacement and the two degrees of freedom of the tilting are passively stabilised. Through this, on the one hand, the cost and complexity of the electronics is still comparatively low; on the other hand, however, the stator need not be designed to be rotatable, but rather the rotary head can be driven rotationally by means of a rotary field.
In an advantageous embodiment of the process chamber in accordance with the invention the rotary head is designed in such a manner that the object to be processed can be connected outside the inner space of the process chamber to the rotary head in such a manner that it is held by the latter. The object to be processed can then be brought into the inner space of the process chamber together with the rotary head. This has the advantage that a precise positioning of the object, e.g. of the wafer, relative to the rotary head can take place outside the process chamber, where the rotary head is better accessible. In addition it is possible in this manner to connect the wafer only a single time very precisely to the rotary head and then to pass on the unit formed by the rotary head and the wafer from one processing station to another processing station without it being necessary to position the wafer anew on another rotary head. This can take place within a system of process chambers which are connected by locks in order that the clean room conditions are not violated in the mean time, with the degree of cleanliness continually increasing in successive process chambers.
The rotary head can be designed in such a manner that the object held by the rotary headxe2x80x94e.g. the waferxe2x80x94can be charged from both sides by a medium which is provided by the applicator. This is advantageous in so far as for example both sides of the wafer can be processed at the same time. The processing of the two sides can however also take place sequentially. In any case it is possible to process both sides of the wafer without it being necessary to rotate the wafer for this, such as is the case when itxe2x80x94as in a large number of the apparatuses from the prior art discussed in the introductionxe2x80x94lies in contact on a rotary plate with a drive shaft.
The rotary head can be designed substantially in the shape of a ring for this. In the interior of the rotary head however a disc with passage channels can also be fitted in, with the object to be processed, e.g. the wafer, being held at a distance from this disc by the rotary head. This disc can form a nozzle system through which the wafer can be charged e.g. with vapours or gases.
In another embodiment of the process chamber the rotary head can be designed substantially in the shape of a disc and the object to be held can be held in a central region of the rotary head. The rotary head is designed to have a declination in the peripheral region around this central region in order that a liquid which is applied to the object to be processed, and which flows outwardly over the object to be processed when the rotary head is rotationally driven, can run off over the peripheral region of the rotary head.
In a further development of this variant the rotary head has, around the peripheral region which is designed with a declination, a tub for the liquid which has passage openings at its base for the liquid which is caught in the tub. This variant is advantageous in so far as thereby the air gap between the rotary head and the stator can be kept small; on the other hand, the liquid need not also run off through this gap, which is small as it is. Instead, the liquid can be caught in the tub and can run off through the passage openings in the base of the tub.
In a further exemplary embodiment of the process chamber the rotary head which serves for the object to be processed, e.g. for the wafer, has means with the help of which a depression is conducted to the object to be processed which sucks the object to be processed firmly onto the rotary head. This can preferably even take place outside the inner space of the housing of the process chamber so that the wafer can be positioned on the rotary head at an easily accessible location and then sucked on. Once sucked on, the rotary head together with the sucked on wafer is then transported into the inner space of the housing of the process chamber. For the production of a depression at the rotary head which serves as a holder, for example a vacuum pump can be provided, which is preferably fed inductively.


A press seal-type lamp is provided in the form of a bulb portion and a press seal extending therefrom. The bulb portion contains at least one filament from which extends a first lead wire and a second lead wire. The first and second lead wires are sealed within and extend from the press seal. A length of each lead wire is folded over the press seal and caused to extend into a respective groove formed in the press seal.

It is known to provide vehicles with press sealed lamps where the contact leads extend from and are folded back over the press seal. For example, it is known to provide such lamps in the form of wedge lamps. One example of a press seal wedge lamp is known generally in the industry as an S-8 . The S-8 is an incandescent light bulb in the form of a generally spherical bulb having a press seal extending therefrom. The bulb contains a filament which is supplied with electricity through two lead wires sealed through the press seal. Similarly, two filament, four lead wire lamps are also commonly made. In a single filament lamp, typically one lead wire extends from the end of the press seal and is folded back over one surface thereof, and a second lead wire extends from the end of the press seal and is folded back over an opposite surface thereof. In use, the press seal is inserted or wedged directly into an electrical socket which contains spreading finger-like contacts which engage respective lead wires to provide mechanical and electrical connection to the lamp. Such lamps are commonly used in automotive interiors, dashboards, signal lamps and the like.
One problem that has occurred during use of press seal lamps is that when the press seal is inserted into the electrical socket, engagement of a lead wire with a finger-like contact sometimes tends to force the lead wire out of alignment. Misalignment may also be undesirably effected as a result of inserting the lamp into the socket at an improper angle or by inadvertently twisting the lamp during insertion. A lead wire which has been displaced tends to cause lamp failure as a result of improper contact between the lead wire and the socket contacts. Such failure may be intermittent or permanent. In addition, a displaced lead wire may provide a lamp which can only be loosely fitted in the socket the result of which is that the lamp tends to fall free. Efforts to reinsert the lamp tend to further bend the lead wire which compounds the problem.


A system and method for protecting data from external threats includes a computer system having a plurality of input/output units, a key device that is removably mated with one of the input/output units, a processor, a local memory, a primary bulk storage device, a secondary bulk storage device, a first communication unit and a second communication unit. A method includes performing software and hardware verification of a first and second user password, and selectively engaging each of the bulk storage devices and communication units when the system is in one of a protected mode and an open mode.

The statements in this section merely provide background information related to the present disclosure and may not constitute prior art.
Every time a computer connects to the internet, it is in danger of being exposed to malicious activities such as malware, spying, hacking etc. It is also true that internet access is a necessity for conducting daily activities of a business and personal nature. For an individual, personal information needs protection. For companies, spying or malware are a constant problem to contend with. Generally, companies spend millions of dollars and time to devise ways to protect their digital files and other such information that is under their control.
To combat information theft, some work places isolate particular computers, such as bank teller terminals, for example, from accessing the internet. However, other computers at such institutions (e.g., internet banking) require a connection to the internet.
In this regard, there are many known methods for preventing unauthorized access and data loss. Several conventional steps involve the use of passwords, anti-malware programs, computer history and tracking deletion programs, and virus protection programs. Although these methods and programs provide some level of protection, there are many new reports of unauthorized access and data loss each year.
With regard to the above noted software solutions, the conventional means of activating the same is to utilize a password. This password is compared in software and once verified provides the password holder with full access to the system and its defense programs. In this regard, most conventional passwords must be short enough for a user to remember and enter each time. Unfortunately, passwords consisting of between 6 and 8 characters can be easily cracked by a hacker with a sufficient computing power and, once the unauthorized user obtains the password, they can take full control and lock out the authorized user and/or change the computer defense systems. However, longer passwords have their own risks because they are extremely difficult to remember, thus causing many users to write them down in a place that can be easily found by others.
To solve all these inconveniences contained in the state of the art, the present invention provides a novel system and method for protecting data from external threats, as outlined in the following description.

Computer system and method for protecting data from external threats


A machine for compacting organic material such as silage and inserting the compacted material into an elongate elastic bag. A rotor positioned at an inlet of a tunnel propels and compacts the material. A barrier positioned in the tunnel strategic to the rotor restricts the flow of material directly into the bag. The barrier forces the material to flow through the barrier and upwardly over the barrier to insure complete filling of the bag. The barrier may be immovable or may be arranged to be pivoted to alter the resistance to the material flow.

For the purpose of describing the invention, the material to be bagged and stored is assumed to be silage although other materials may benefit from the invention. Silage is a clingy type of material and does not readily flow. The conventional process of bagging silage involves placing of the silage material into a hopper of the bag filling machine where it is fed into a rotor at the inlet to a chamber referred to as a tunnel. The back of the tunnel is open and a bag secured to the tunnel receives material directed from the hopper and through the rotor into the tunnel.
Simply inserting the material into the bag is not satisfactory as the material will simply fill a bottom portion of the bag. Not only is such filling an inefficient use of the bag volume, but the loose-fitting bag is subject to easier tearing and the silage itself does not cure properly.
Previously, packing or compacting of the silage in the bag was accomplished by providing an adjustable backstop for the bag which releasably closes the end of the tunnel. The tunnel is designed to direct the flow of the material from the rotor to shove up against the closed end of the tunnel and then back fill the tunnel until it is completely filled. Further filling creates sufficient pressure to cause the backstop to release incrementally whereby the material compacted inside the tunnel is incrementally released into the bag.
The provision of the adjustable backstop involves considerable mechanism including cables that hold the backstop against the bag end, the cables being wound around drums mounted to the bag filling machine. The drums have brakes that resist unwinding of the cable but which release the cable when subjected to a predetermined pressure. An alternative to the use of a backstop as described above is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,297,377. In this patent, cables are positioned in the path of the material inside the bag and tunnel. The cables are anchored to each side of the tunnel and the material is simply pushed up against the cables. The cables interfere with free flow of the material but resistively allow the material to flow between the cables and within the bags.
Whereas the cables provide increased packing of the material as compared with a free flow condition, the arrangement has many defects. There is minimal control of how or when the materials flow through the cables. The cables being flexible will open up (become further spaced apart) in response to different flow forces which is but one of the disadvantages encountered.

Device and method for compacting agricultural material in a storage bag


A light source unit includes a substrate mounting a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED's) for irradiating beam to an object. The substrate is formed of a material having high heat conductivity and the unit includes a chip resistor mounted on the substrate and heat generation controller for heating the substrate with heat generated in the chip resistor upon supply of power to the chip resistor. The plural LED's are arranged in the form of an array on the substrate and a plurality of the chip resistors are arranged linearly along the array of LED's.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light source unit including a plurality of light emitting diodes (LED) for irradiating beam to an object. The invention relates also to a technique of controlling temperature of the light source area of such light source unit when the unit is employed in an apparatus, such as a film scanner, for obtaining image data.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the case of e.g. an image scanner section employed in a color copier for obtaining image data from an original document, according to the conventional image scanner section, an illuminating module using white LED's irradiates a beam on the document and the beam reflected from this document is then guided through mirrors, lenses to be impinged in focus on a 3-line sensor. This illuminating module includes a plurality of white LED's spaced apart with a predetermined distance therebetween and arranged linearly. A power supply system is provided for supplying power to the plurality of LED's from a PWM (pulse width modulation) control circuit. Further, a plurality of resistors acting as heat generating elements are provided adjacent the plural LED's. There is provided a further power supplying system for supplying power to the respective resistors from a different PWM control circuit than the above-mentioned PWM control circuit. These together make it possible to desirably set the light emission distribution of the LED in a main scanning direction and to desirably set also the heat generating amount of each of the plural resistors along the main scanning direction. In this conventional technique, there are also provided a plurality of temperature sensors disposed along the array of the LED's so that the plural resistors may be controlled respectively, based on result of detection by these temperature sensors. For this type of conventional technique, reference is made to e.g. Japanese Patent Application "Kokai" No.: Hei. 2002-281240 (paragraphs [0029]–[0033], paragraphs [0068]–[0072], and FIG. 10) ("Document 1" hereinafter).
A further type of conventional technique is known from Japanese Patent Application "Kokai" No.: Hei. 2001-45225 (paragraphs [0038]–[0051] and FIG. 3) ("Document 2" hereinafter), though this document does not describe control of light source temperature. This document discloses a film scanner including a light source comprising LED's and adapted for obtaining image data from a photographic film. In this, a plurality of LED chips for emitting rays of R (red), G (green), B (blue) and IR (infrared) are mounted in correspondence with each of the colors on an aluminum substrate. The rays from the LED's are guided via such optical components as a half mirror, a dichroic mirror, etc. onto the photographic film. The beam transmitting through the film is guided via a zooming lens to be impinged on an area-sensor type CCD sensor.
When a light source unit including LED's is employed in such scanner for obtaining color image, as described also in the afore-mentioned Document 1, i.e. Japanese Patent Application "Kokai" No.: Hei. 2002-281240, precision temperature control needs to be effected in order to maintain a predetermined amount of light from the respective LED's and also to maintain a predetermined light emission spectrum.
Then, in the case of the construction including a plurality of temperature sensors in correspondence with the LED's, in the technique of Document 1, the heat generating elements (resistors) are arranged in the vicinity of the LED's. In operation, the heat from each heat generating element is caused to affect each corresponding LED, thereby to maintain this LED at a target temperature. Therefore, for independent drive of each of the plural heat generating elements arranged along the array of the LED's (main scanning direction), the construction requires the PWM control circuit for controlling each heat generating element. This results in not only increased complexity of the circuit and physical enlargement of the entire apparatus, but also in cost increase due to the large number of components required. Especially if the heat from the heat generating element is caused to affect the LED, though not contemplated or described in Document 1, it will be needed to take into consideration such factors as radiation of heat from the heat generating element, conduction of heat through the atmosphere, conduction of heat from the heat generating element through the substrate on which the element is mounted. Then, when the heat generation amount from the heat generating element is adjusted, there will occur a certain delay in the effective transmission of this to the LED.
On the other hand, if other type of light source such as a halogen lamp, a xenon lamp is employed as the light source unit for use in obtaining color image data, this tends to invite some non-uniformity in the color temperature and/or heat generation. In order to avoid these inconveniences, Document 2 has confirmed the usefulness of the use of at least three kinds of LED's as the light source unit for irradiating the red, green and blue beams. In particular, in the case of an apparatus, such as a film scanner, which needs to obtain beam of each wavelength with high precision over a relatively wide range of visible light, it is desired that the apparatus can achieve no non-uniformity in the amounts of light and appropriate color temperature over the entire visible light range. However, the solution proposed by Document 2, i.e. Japanese Patent Application "Kokai" No.: Hei. 2001-45225, requires the heat generating elements for the temperature control and the PMW control circuits for controlling these elements respectively. Hence, it will be understood that this solution is not practical or insufficient in terms of desirable compactness of the entire apparatus and cost reduction.


A soil shear testing device having a frame with a first plate and a second plate spaced apart from the first plate and fixed with respect to the first plate for defining a gap therebetween, the first plate having a first plate aperture formed therein and the second plate having a second plate aperture formed therein and being coaxial with the first plate aperture. A movable plate being insertable into the gap, having a movable plate aperture formed therein, the moveable plate being insertable into the gap into a receiving position where the moveable plate aperture is coaxial with the first and second plate apertures for allowing the device to accept a soil sample column, the gap having a depth for permitting the movable plate to be displaced past the receiving position for shearing the soil sample column at two separate shearing planes defined by opposite sides of the moveable plate.

Engineers frequently need to test physical soil parameters in order to calculate slope stability. Existing devices apply a vertical load, then find maximum corresponding horizontal load which causes failure. By changing a load acting upon the sample and plotting points of normal stress σ (Sigma), shear stress τ (Tau), and drawing a failure envelope line through them—cohesion and angle of internal friction may be determined—using the Mohr-Coulomb formula, as described in ASTM D 3080-98. (ASTM Designation: D 3080-98 entitled "Standard Test Method for Direct Shear Test of Soils Under Consolidated Drained Conditions" published by ASTM, 100 Barr Harbor Drive, PO Box C700, West Conshohocken Pa. 19428-2959 www.astm.org). Existing laboratory direct shear test machines have significant size, with table top machines being 30 to 44 inches in length, are heavy, with a weight or 140 to 180 pounds are relatively expensive $12,000 and are essentially immobile. These machines typically have carriage movement, required by known arrangement of the machine, which necessarily introduces errors, due in large measure to the friction of the carriage wheels when high vertical loads are imposed. Moreover, there is a lower limit of horizontal displacement, usually about one ten-thousandth of an inch, below which, surface finish limitations prevent meaningful readings from being obtained.
As practiced in the art, soil properties for one type of material need to be determined only once. However, on one construction site location different soil types may be found at different depths. Within one site different soil types may be present at different locations at the site. When these different soil types are encountered, testing must be performed to ensure safety, which means equipment and operators are idle waiting for authorization from the job site professional engineer that it is safe to proceed. The present invention greatly reduces costs which were previously accrued due to the testing requirements. The present invention is a portable soil testing device, that does not require electricity or batteries, that is implemented at the job site and satisfies the long felt need which was recognized, persistent and not solved by others to evaluate soil conditions at the construction site or other remote location quickly and easily.

Portable device for direct shear express field test


A handover source AP among APs in a system has a RAM 203 storing a MAC address of a VoIP terminal performing a VoIP communication, holding status information indicative of a holding state, and data on the number of in-call terminals. A CPU 202 monitors all transmitting/receiving frames and packets of a VoIP terminal connected to a LAN so as to judge whether or not the connected VoIP terminal is disconnected. When the terminal is disconnected, it is judged whether or not a MAC address of the disconnected VoIP terminal is stored in the RAM 203 and whether or not holding status information is stored in the RAM 203. When the MAC address is stored in the RAM and the holding status information is detected, a holding notification request command is transmitted to all APs. When the terminal is not disconnected, it is judged whether or not a holding notification response command is present in the packet. When the command is present, the holding status information is deleted and the number of in-call terminals is reduced.

This invention relates to a VoIP terminal speech quality control system and method that can guarantee speech quality without failing in switching back even if a VoIP terminal is resumed after holding and further that can secure a speech band at a handover destination AP even if the VoIP terminal hands over during holding, thereby guaranteeing speech quality without failing in switching back even if the VoIP terminal is resumed after the holding, and further relates to a program that causes a computer to execute such a method and a recording medium recording such a program.
In real-time communications such as VoIP (Voice over IP) communications in the conventional wireless LAN (Local Area Network) system, a band of an access point (hereinafter referred to as an "AP") is congested to cause delay or discard of packets as the number of communications increases, so that there occurs a phenomenon such as pauses in communication. Therefore, it has been difficult to perform comfortable communications.
For solving such a problem, there is known, for example, a technique that provides a limit to the number of VoIP calls under the control of the same AP and transmits a Dis-Association frame to an outgoing call (or an incoming call) of a VoIP terminal exceeding the limited number to refuse communication, thereby preventing exceeding the limited number to realize high-quality speeches.
That is, under the control of the AP having the call number control function, holding is not recognized as a call and, when the number of calls reaches the maximum, i.e. the limited number, a call is disconnected or released after resumption subsequent to the holding.
As related prior art, see a prior art document (Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. Hei 05-284097).
However, the foregoing conventional technique has the following problems.
In an environment where a single AP is present, a RTP (Realtime Transport Protocol) communication is not performed when a terminal is in holding. Therefore, the number of calls is reduced by one. Then, when the number of calls reaches the maximum during the holding, a Dis-Association frame is sent in reply to an outgoing call (or an incoming call) in resumption subsequent to the holding, so that a handover occurs. Accordingly, after AP searching, a Dis-Association frame is received again and, finally, switching back is disabled due to time-out. This problem is solved if the AP has a SIP (Session Initiation Protocol) proxy function. However, adding the SIP proxy function to the AP causes a high cost due to advanced hardware functionality. Further, there also arises a problem that connectable SIP servers are limited.
On the other hand, in an environment where a plurality of APs are present, when a terminal hands over from one AP to another during holding, if the number of calls is full at the handover destination AP, resumption after the holding is disabled and thus the communication is disconnected. This problem can be solved if there is a product having a WLAN controller adapted to control between the APs. However, there arises a problem that this product causes a high cost.


A system is provided implementing an extremely high speed link allowing selection of either twisted pair (or like media) and fiber media in a single local area network to provide a high speed multimedia local area network. A high speed transmission link for twisted pair, coaxial cable media or the like is provided including a transmitter with a conversion device for receiving fiber optic data interface signals intended to drive a fiber optic data interface and for converting said fiber optic data interface signals into high speed transmission link signals of a form suitable to drive a shielded twisted pair medium. A receiver is provided including reconversion apparatus for regenerating the signal received from the shielded twisted pair medium back to an adequate signal level. The transmitter conversion device includes a buffer cooperating with an equalizer and a filter for forming the high speed transmission link signal. The equalizer provides frequency domain compensation for the characteristics of the shielded twisted pair medium. The filter rejects signals outside a band of data signaling. The receiver reconversion apparatus includes a filter connected to said twisted pair medium to reject signals outside a band of data signaling and to limit radiated emissions and a buffer for regenerating the signal received from the shielded twisted pair and filtration by said filter and regenerating the signal back to an adequate signal level.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates in general to local area network implementations and more particularly to the Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) defined by the ANSI X3T9.5 standard.
2. Brief Description of Related Prior Art
The standard which defines FDDI specifies a local area network based on point-to-point fiber optic links arranged to form a ring. Extremely high data rates are involved: The data rate on these links is 100 megabits per second, encoded to run at 125 megabauds. Given the extremely high data rate, the standard specifies only fiber optic media implementations of the network.
Lower speed networking standards have been specified to run on lower cost copper media. For example, IEEE standard 802.5 specifies networks which are similar in concept to the FDDI. These networks run at 4 or 16 megabits per second (8 or 32 megabauds after encoding) on a shielded twisted pair medium. This IEEE standard 802.5, also known as a token passing ring network is also implemented as a series of point-to-point links connected to form a ring. Other standards, such as IEEE standard 802.3 10Base-T, specify an unshielded twisted pair medium for up to 20 megabaud signaling.
Fiber optic media has some desirable aspects for communication systems. For example, fiber optic media provide high security, as compared to copper media with their associated radiated emissions. Fiber media provide capacity for speeds up to gigabauds. Additionally, fiber media can support link distances up to two kilometers. Unfortunately, the costs associated with these media are very high.
Copper media, such as twisted pair, provide a much more cost effective solution for shorter links. Efficiency for short links is extremely important as studies have shown that most links in a typical local area network are less than 100 meters in length. Accordingly, the need to link distances up to two kilometers is often not a significant consideration. The high costs of the fiber media may often be a very great consideration.


Rapid thermal annealing for heat-treating a semiconductor substrate is provided without damaging the substrate surface After the semiconductor substrate is placed in an annealing apparatus having an incoherent light source, an inert gas containing a very small amount of an oxygen gas is introduced into the annealing apparatus, while applying an incoherent light to the substrate surface from the incoherent light source. In this case, the oxygen concentration in the inert gas is defined by 10 to 1000 ppm.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a method of making a semiconductor device, and more particularly to rapid thermal annealing of a semiconductor substrate by radiation of incoherent light.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a manufacturing process of a semiconductor device, rapid thermal annealing (hereinafter, referred to as RTA) of a semiconductor substrate has been used. The advantages of RTA lie in: first, since rapid heating and cooling are performed, it is possible to heat-treat a semiconductor substrate for a short time with an accuracy of second unit; and second, since semiconductor substrate is transferred to and from a heating furnace at a low temperature near the room temperature, an atmosphere of the heating furnace is accurately controlled during heating. In the heat-treatment of semiconductor substrates using an ordinary electric furnace, outside air enters into the furnace due to entrainment with transfer of the semiconductor substrate into the furnace. Accordingly, a problem of oxidizing the substrate may often occur, which should not occur. RTA is especially effective to avoid this problem, because RTA enables the heat-treatment in the inert gas atmosphere under the condition of the residual oxygen concentration being as low as almost zero. Conventionally, in the heat-treatment by RTA, a low concentration of residual oxygen has been considered as an advantage in controlling the atmosphere.
The application of RTA includes the activation of ion implantation layers, the elimination of crystal defects in the diffused layers, and the formation of resistor layers with low resistance by heat-treating a semiconductor substrate, having a region containing a high concentration impurity, in an atmosphere of inert gas such as nitrogen. In such applications, it is possible to heat-treat the semiconductor substrate without oxidation.
In the actual manufacturing process semiconductor devices, however, a problem arises in heating an exposed substrate. Particularly, when a semiconductor region having an impurity concentration of 1.0.times.10.sup.19 cm.sup.-3 or more and formed in a semiconductor substrate is heat-treated by RTA in a nitrogen atmosphere, impurity atoms and atoms constituting the substrate will be removed from the surface of the exposed semiconductor region. This results in a nonuniform sheet resistance of the semiconductor region after the heat-treatment by RTA, which makes it difficult to form a low resistance element in the semiconductor substrate. The nonuniformity of the sheet resistance results inevitably from heat-treatment of an exposed substrate, but not from variation in the temperature of heat-treatment. Additionally, in a nitrogen atmosphere, heat-treatment at as high as 1100.degree. C. or more will create surface roughness in the substrate regardless of impurity concentration. Such nonuniformity of the sheet resistance and surface roughness (hereinafter, generically referred to as damage to the substrate surface) have an undesirable effect on the uniformity and reproducibility in the manufacturing process of semiconductor devices.

Rapid thermal annealing for semiconductor substrate by using incoherent light


The present invention provides a polyester film superior in heat resistance, chemical resistance, insulation property and thermal dimensional stability, and suitable for application to fields associated with boiling or retort treatment, which require tenacity, pinhole resistance, bending resistance, bag breakage resistance on dropping, impact resistance and the like, fields requiring thermoforming or vacuum forming, and various uses such as packaging bags for water-containing food, pharmaceutical products and the like.

Films made from polyester represented by polyethylene terephthalate resin have been extensively applied to various uses in view of the mechanical property, heat resistance and the like. However, they are not suitable for some uses because of the inferiority in flexibility and molding processibility. On the other hand, since films made from polyamide represented by 6-nylon are superior in flexibility, pinhole resistance and gas barrier property, they are applied to many uses such as food packaging materials and the like. However, due to poor dimensional stability against moisture absorption, they cannot be easily applied to food packaging uses and industrial uses involving boiling treatment and retort treatment.
Therefore, a polyester film having flexibility, which is one of the features of polyamide film, has been considered. Most of these films acquire flexibility based on the use of a polyester copolymer in a part or the entirety of the constituent resin. However, since they show degraded strength and elastic modulus, which are mechanical properties, problems may occur during post-processing such as printing and the like.
In view of the above, a flexible film made from crystalline polyester has been studied and, for example, films comprising polyethylene terephthalate resin and polybutylene terephthalate resin are known (Patent References 1, 2, 3). In these films, prevention of the incidence of problems during post-processing has been tried by decreasing thermal shrinkage by conducting heat setting after completion of biaxial orientation. Since the difference in the melting points between polyethylene terephthalate resin and polybutylene terephthalate resin is about 30° C., heat shrinkage cannot be suppressed sufficiently, which in turn necessitates many limitations during post-processing.
Moreover, since these film are free of an easily adhesive coating layer, problems occur in that easily adhesive property of ink becomes degraded, stability of gas barrier property becomes defective after boiling treatment and the like, since a vapor-deposited layer formed of metal or inorganic oxide shows poor adhesion and so forth. In addition, problems of whitening and the like occur unless conditions for forming an easily adhesive coating layer are optimized.                Patent Reference 1: JP-A-2002-037993        Patent Reference 2: JP-A-2002-179892        Patent Reference 3: JP-A-2002-321277

Abstract: [Solving Means] The polyester film characteristically shows an initial elastic modulus in at least one direction of 2.5-10 GPa, an impact strength of 40-10000 J/mm, a thermal shrinkage in at least one direction at 150° C. of −0.5% to 6%, a haze of 0.001% to 7%, and an absolute value of the difference in the thermal shrinkage between the longitudinal direction and the transverse direction of not more than 1.1%.


A reversible thermosensitive recording medium having a supporting substrate and a reversible thermosensitive recording layer formed on the supporting substrate, having the ratio, of two values of light intensity scattered by the recording layer at large angles and small angles, of more than or equal to two, the ratio of the two numbers of particles of low-molecular-weight organic material with the large size to small size, of more than or equal to 2%, and the ratio of the two numbers of the particles with the small size to the total particles, of more than or equal to 10%, is provided which has improved display quality and excellent durability for repeated recording and erasing cycles over an extended period of time.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reversible thermosensitive recording medium. Preferably, the invention recording medium is capable of recording and erasing images repeatedly by reversibly changing between a transparent state and an opaque state by changing the temperature of the recording medium. This invention also relates to a method for producing the medium.
2. Discussion of the Art
A variety of information recording media have been developed to comply with the demands for expanding and diversifying the volume of the information recorded and yet conserving resources and reducing environmental problems. Reversible thermosensitive recording media have been attracting much attention recently over other recording media, due to advantages such as the reversible temporary recording of image information and erasing the information on demand at relatively low cost without complicated developing steps.
As conventional examples of reversible thermosensitive recording media, there is known a recording medium in which a low-molecular-weight organic material such as a higher fatty acid is dispersed in a matrix resin such as vinylchloride-vinylacetate copolymer with a relatively low glass transition temperature, ranging from approximately 50.degree. C. to less than 80.degree. C. (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Applications 54-119377 and 55-154198).
There is also known a reversible thermosensitive recording medium containing a low-molecular-weight organic material with its concentration increased in the direction of the thickness towards a supporting substrate of the medium (Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H5-8538).
In order to extend the temperature range of the transparent state, a reversible thermosensitive recording medium is disclosed, having a periodic structure of the particles of a low-molecular-weight organic material, which are dispersed in the form of discrete domains in the matrix resin and constituting a phase separation structure with a periodic distance of 1.5 microns or more in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application H6-72032.
However, display quality in its opaque state and durability of high quality image formation for repeated cycles of the reversible thermosensitive recording media were still insufficient from practical point of view.

Reversible thermosensitive recording medium and method for producing the medium


A connector-coupling detecting structure which can surely detect and prevent incomplete coupling of connectors by means of opening and closing operation of their covers. A couple of covers with a freely opening and closing mechanism are provided on one connector and abutting portions relative to an end portion of the other connector are provided at base portions of the covers, wherein the covers are pushed by respective spring members in their opening directions. The abutting portions push the other connector, being in a state of incomplete coupling, with pressure due to the spring members in a connector-uncoupling direction. Pushing inclined-walls relative to a rear step portion of the other connector are formed on the covers. A provisional engaging means is provided between the connectors and a final engaging means is provided between the covers. Thus, the connector-coupling detecting structure which can surely detect and prevent the incomplete coupling of the connectors by means of opening and closing operation of their covers can be realized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector-coupling detecting structure wherein incomplete coupling of connectors can be surely detected and prevented by means of opening and closing operation of their covers.
2. Description of the Prior Art
FIGS. 6 and 7 show a prior art connector-coupling detecting structure disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Registration Application Laid-open No. 5-57776.
In this structure, a male connector 45 with a hood 44 is completely coupled to a female connector 43 on equipment 42 side by means of a cylindrical cover 41.
A cam-like inclined guide 46 and a locking portion 47 following the inclined guide 46 are formed at a base portion of the female connector 43, and an engaging projection 48 relative to the inclined guide 46 is formed inside a front end portion of the cover. And, an abutting wall 50 relative to a rear end portion 49 of the male connector 45 is formed inside the cover 41. The cover 41 is installed outside the male connector 45.
The engaging projection 48 of the cover 41 slides along the inclined guide 46 of the female connector 43 by provisionally coupling the male connector 45 to the female connector 43 and by rotating the cover 41 clockwise, while the abutting wall 50 of the cover 41 pushes the male connector 45 in a connector-coupling direction and then, as shown in FIG. 7, complete coupling of both the connectors 43,45 is achieved and the engaging projection 48 engages the locking portion 47.
In the aforementioned prior art structure, however, it has been difficult to visually check the locking of the cover 41, that is, it has been difficult to detect completion of fitting of the cover 41 and complete coupling of the connectors 43,45, in case that the locking portion 47 is located in a narrow place near equipment.


A lipcare cosmetic composition containing as ingredients an emollient including castor oil, a wax, a suspending agent, a coloring agent, and as an additional ingredient, an organosilicon compound. The improvement resides in increasing the durability of lipcare products by including an alkylmethylpolysiloxane having the formula ##STR1## in which x has a value of 1-300; y has a value of 1-50; and z has a value of 5-50.

This invention is directed to personal care products, and more particularly to a cosmetic composition in the form of a lip care preparation containing certain alkylmethylsilicone copolymers. Inclusion of these alkylmethylsilicone copolymers in compositions formulated for the care of the lips has been found to contribute to the durability, and hence the increased wearability of lip products.
Lipstick is one of the most widely used decorative cosmetic preparations. The primary duties of lip care preparations including lipsticks are to prevent the drying and cracking of the lips, to impart color to pale lips, to alter the shape of the lips, and to match lip color with the color of hair, accessories, or clothing. Its handy form enables a female to renew her make-up repeatedly throughout the day, and to achieve a fresh look, or to add a protective coating.
Consumers expect a lip care product which can be applied effortlessly, which produces an even coating on the lips of a desired thickness, and which possesses a reasonable amount of durability and life expectancy.
Such lip care products run the gamut from a lip fix which is used as a base before applying a color lipstick, a lip gloss which is applied last and provides the lips with a strong stylish sheen, to a lip contour pencil which frames the lips with a line. Because many lip care products include color, staining of various items which come into contact with the lips is always a potential and otherwise undesirable feature. Therefore, whatever the form of the lip care product, durability is one of the important expectations of a successful over the counter cosmetic lip care product.
The alkylmethylsilicone copolymers of the present invention have been found to meet this need for increased durability of lip care cosmetics.

Silicone containing lip care cosmetic composition


A time-division multiplex switch (100) switches a hierarchy of data rates. It sets up higher-rate connections not as a plurality of individual lowest-rate connections but as one or more time slots in each one of a plurality of sequential frames (40,50) that correspond to that higher rate in each superframe (30). A time-slot-interchange switching element (131,141) of the switch utilizes a plurality of physically or logically distinct double-buffered data memories (301,302,303) each corresponding to a different one of the superframe and different-size ones of the frames. Reading and writing of each of the data memories' buffers alternates with the corresponding one of the superframe and different-size frames; reading of a data memory's buffer immediately follows writing of that buffer. Information from all incoming time slots is written into each one of the data memories, but only information corresponding to the data rate of an individual data memory's corresponding frame size is read from that data memory into outgoing time slots. A control memory (305) maps memory locations of the data memories to output time slots. A corresponding control architecture in a switching element ( 1700) of a time-multiplexed switch (120) uses a control memory (1701) that maps input ports to time slots of an output port.

Time-division multiplex (TDM) circuit-switching techniques have been in widespread commercial use for quite some time. Central to typical prior-art TDM arrangements is the notion of a "frame" divided into a predetermined number of time slots. The frame has a fixed, predetermined duration, and individual duplicate frames follow each other in sequential succession. Thus each time slot recurs at a fixed frequency, or rate, referred to herein as the "frame rate". For example, if the frame has a duration of 125 .mu.sec, each time slot recurs at a rate of 1/(125.times.10.sup.-6) sec=8 KHz. Each communicating frame is assigned to one or more time slots and, when the time slot(s) occur, the channel is enabled to place data on and/or remove data from the TDM medium (e.g. a communications link or a switching fabric). The traffic of the different communicating channels is thereby interleaved on the TDM medium. If a plurality of non-adjacent time slots within a single frame is assigned to a channel, that channel's traffic is also interleaved inside each frame with the traffic of other channels.
In recent years, standards have been developed for the transport of broadband communications. Among these are the Synchronous Optical Network (SONET) and the similar Synchronous Digital Hierarchy (SDH). The expected growth in synchronous transport facilities based on SONET and SDH supports a need for more efficient synchronous switch fabric architectures. The modular byte-interleaved structure of SONET is based on Synchronous Transport Signal level 1, or STS-1, format, in which overhead plus payload results in a rate of 51.840 Mb/s. The STS-1 frame consists of 90 columns by 9 rows of bytes, or 810 bytes, with a frame rate of 125 .mu.s. The first three columns in the frame are devoted to transport overhead (TOH), while the remaining 87 columns carry the payload, including one column devoted to path overhead (POH). 87 columns of payload constitute a Synchronous Payload Envelope (SPE). However, an SPE can cross frame boundaries, and is allowed to float anywhere within the payload-carrying portion of one or more contiguous frames to accommodate the semi-synchronous nature of the transport facilities. For switching of rates below the STS-1 rate, a switch assumes that the path overhead has been aligned with the first column following transport overhead.
Super STS-1 signals (STS-N) are formed by byte-multiplexing the N constituent STS-1 signals, with the resultant bandwidth being N times that of the STS-1 rate. Conversely, sub STS-1 signals are transported in Virtual Tributaries (VTs), of which four sizes are defined at present, namely VT1.5 (1.728 Mb/s), VT2 (2.304 Mb/s), VT3 (3.456 Mb/s) and VT6 (6.912 M/b/s). To accommodate mixes of VTs, the VT-structured STS-1 SPE is divided into 7 VT groups, with each group occupying 12 columns of the 9-row frame structure; 2 columns remain unused and are referred to as STUFF columns. A VT group may contain 4 VT1.5s, 3 VT2s, 2 VT3s, or 1 VT 6. Both the super STS and sub STS signals retain the frame rate of 125 .mu.s.
FIG. 2 shows a 3-dimensional representation of an STS-12 frame as an illustrative example. There are 12 vertical planes which represent the 12 STS-1s, each composed of 90 columns and 9 rows, for a total of 9720 bytes. Vertical columns may be grouped to form Virtual Tributaries (VTs), as shown by the four regularly-spaced columns representing a VT2 in position #3. While a VT2 requires 4 regularly-spaced columns, as shown, a VT1.5 requires 3 regularly-spaced columns, a VT3 requires 6 regularly-spaced columns, and a VT6 requires 12 regularly-spaced columns. Finally, a DS-0, corresponding to a 64 kilobits-per-second rate, appears as a single byte within one row and column. There are a maximum of 774 DS-0s per STS-1, some of which may be used for additional overhead functions; 756 DS-0s are available for traffic transport.
The three component sub-rates of an STS-N frame--STS-1, VT, and DS-0--may be switched independently by three separate switching fabrics, each dedicated to switching one of the sub-rates. But this is inefficient in the amount of equipment used: it requires demultiplexers at the inputs to the switching fabrics to separate the sub-rates, a separate switching fabric for each sub-rate, and multiplexers at the outputs from the switching fabrics to combine the switched sub-rates back into STS-N frames. The use of a single switching fabric for all sub-rates is therefore preferable.
Given a switching fabric capable of switching multiple rates within an STS-N format, one is faced with the problem of efficiently setting up multirate calls through such a fabric. One approach is to treat a call of any given bandwidth as multiple DS-0 calls. Although this is a flexible approach, the disadvantage is that a path-hunt and a path-setup must be performed individually for each DS-0 call. For example, a single STS-1 call would require as many as 810 individual path hunts and control-memory-setups. This is inefficient both in terms of the amount of time required for the path hunting and the number of control communications required to set up the individual paths. There is an associated need for switching elements that are adapted for efficient multirate application.

Multirate, sonet-ready, switching arrangement


In an approach for calculating one or more access paths during bind time, a computer receives a query. The computer identifies one or more access paths for processing the received query, wherein the one or more access paths include steps associated with retrieving data from a database based on the received query. The computer calculates resource costs associated with processing the received query on the one or more identified access paths based on one of more of: resources utilized to perform steps associated with processing the received query, and system statistics associated with the one or more identified access paths.

The present invention relates generally to the field of databases, and more particularly to evaluating multiple access paths for optimization.
Relational database management systems (RDBMS) manage relational databases that store data by organizing the data into predefined data categories in the form of related tables also known as relations. Relationships between tables in relational databases are identified through the use of primary and foreign keys. A primary key is a special relational database column, or combination of columns, designed to uniquely identify all table records. The foreign key, while also a column or group of columns in a relational database, references the primary key of another table thus providing a cross-reference link between the data in the tables. The remaining table structure includes columns, also referred to as fields, denoting one or more predefined data categories and rows, also referred to as a record that contains a unique instance of the data respective to the columns. As the relational database is a collection of data items organized as a set of formally-described tables, minimal assumptions are included regarding how the data is related, or how the data will be extracted from the database. Therefore, due to the minimal assumptions, the data in a relational database can be accessed or reassembled in many different ways without reorganizing the relational database tables in order to meet the specifications of a user.
The data within a relational database may be accessed by the user through queries (i.e., requests for information). In a relational database query, the query specifies both tables and conditions that link the tables. The query results are generated by accessing relevant data within the relational database and manipulating the data in a way that yields the requested information. To process the query, the data may be acquired by the relational database management system by accessing the relational database in different ways through different data structures and in different orders. Due to the variations, the time expended to process the query depends upon the selected query plan or access path. Query plans identify an ordered set of steps to access data in the relational database whereas an access path refers to the path (e.g., query plan) chosen by the system to retrieve the data after executing a structured query request.
Query optimizers attempt to determine the most efficient way to execute a given query by considering possible query plans. Due to the structure of a relational database, more than one query plan may be possible. Query optimizers form a set of query plans by examining the possible access paths (e.g., primary index access, secondary index access, full file scan) and various relational table join techniques (e.g., merge join, hash join, product join) that may be employed to access the data requested by the query. Cost-based query optimizers evaluate the resource footprint for the set of query plans and utilize the cost assessment as the basis for plan selection. The cost is a number that represents the estimated resource usage for a query plan. Query optimizers determine the cost of query plans by using a mathematical model of query execution costs that rely on estimates of the cardinality or number of tuples (e.g., number of elements of the set) flowing through each edge in a query plan. Query optimizers utilize the costs to estimate a runtime cost of evaluating the query in terms of the number of I/O operations required, CPU path length, amount of disk buffer space, disk storage service time, and interconnect usage between units of parallelism, and other factors determined from the data dictionary. The query optimizer then selects the query plan with the lowest associated cost to utilize to acquire the data requested by the query.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Access path optimization through system statistics

International Business Machines Corporation


A wall-hanging anchor has a plurality of mounting holes located at respective peripheral ends of a main body, and has a pluralities of mounts including a sawtooth mount defined in part by adjacent first ends of the front side and the back side, the adjacent first ends being separated by a sawtooth open space configured to receive a sawtooth article. A rope mount is defined in part by adjacent second ends of the front side and the back side, the adjacent second ends being positioned symmetrical to the adjacent first ends relative to a central axis of the main body. A key-hole and D/V-ring swivel mount is defined in part by a movable peg inserted through a central hole located at the central axis of the main body.

In a home, office, or studio environment, hanging on a wall a picture, frame, or other product is often a challenge. For example, typically, different wall mounts and/or different hanging methods are required for each hanging product. In turn, the different requirements for hanging various products generally translate into frustration and increased expenses associated with the hanging of different hanging product. By way of a specific example, a picture A requires a mount A and a picture B requires a mount B, with mount A being different and requiring a different tool, equipment, and method than mount B.
Thus, there is a need for providing a single, holding device and method that prevents or reduces the above and other problems.