An adjustable furniture leg extension device for use in raising the height of a piece of furniture, such as a chair, table or bed. The device includes a base having a bottom surface for resting on a floor, and an adjustable support member received within the base. The support member includes an upper load-bearing surface on which the furniture leg may rest. A generally rigid stabilizing arm extends laterally from the base and includes a stabilizing foot having a bottom surface which is generally co-planar with the bottom surface of the base. The adjustable support member may include a rim extending upwardly from an edge of the load-bearing surface, the rim serving to help retain the furniture leg on the load-bearing surface. One such leg extension device is placed beneath each leg of the furniture item to be raised, with the respective stabilizing arms turned inwardly beneath the furniture item. The stabilizing arms of the extension devices may be connected to each other by a tether such as a rope or bungee cord.

Many elderly people have difficulty getting up from chairs, beds, sofas, etc. that sit too low to the ground. For such people the ability to dependably use the furniture in their homes can be critical to maintaining their independence. That is, for many such people, except for the difficulty in using their furniture they would be entirely capable of living in their homes. Because, however, such persons often cannot reliably get up out of a bed or a chair that sits too low to the ground, they often are unable to continue living in their homes with their existing furniture.
Several options become available in such situations. In some cases, the person is forced to move to some type of assisted living quarters, usually at significant expense and with personal dislocation. Another option is to replace the too-low furniture with taller furniture (or with furniture having remote control adjustments to help stand the person up); this, too, can involve considerably expense, and involves significant change that can be quite disruptive to many elderly people. Yet another option is to modify their existing furniture to make it taller. Usually it is difficult to actually replace furniture legs with longer legs. Modifications thus typically must be accomplished by extending the length of the existing furniture legs. Because of the variety of types and styles of furniture legs, such modifications are not easily accomplished. Moreover, to make sure that the extended legs are sturdy, leg extensions must be firmly secured to the existing legs. On a piece of fine furniture, this often can cause permanent damage or disfigurement to the piece of furniture.
A variety of furniture leg extenders have been proposed in an attempt to deal with the above problems. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 2,072,791 (Bear) depicts the use of an adjustable bed elevating device under each of the four legs of a bed. Each device consists of a round base supporting a set of generally vertical telescoping tubes, on top of which is mounted a circular cup. The cup is large enough to hold the castor wheel of a typical bed frame leg. While Baer's elevating devices do raise the bed significantly, they have limited stability because they are not secured in any way to the legs or frame of the bed (or to each other) and they are substantially taller than they are wide. Thus, if one "fell" into the bed, it could easily be rocked off of the leg extenders (often when elderly people sit down onto a chair or bed they are not strong enough to sit down in the normal smooth, controlled fashion, but end up "falling" the last several inches into the chair or bed). Also, when one gets up out of the bed, the normal tendency (particularly for the elderly) is to push not only down with ones hands but also backward, thus again creating a situation where the bed could easily be rocked off of the leg extenders.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,060,896 (Hobbins) depicts the use of four individual leg extenders on a chair having four generally straight legs. Each of Hobbins' leg extenders includes an elongated tubular member. The bottom of the chair leg rests on a support member extending out laterally from the tubular member. A portion of the tubular member extends upwardly along one or two sides of the chair leg, this portion of the tubular member being strapped tightly onto the leg to provide a secure connection between the leg and the leg extender. In order for this connection to be secure, however, the chair leg must have a generally constant external shape (e.g., square or round)--otherwise the fit between the chair leg and the leg extender would be loose and not entirely stable. Thus, Hobbins' device would not work well on a leg that has a castor or any significant curve near its bottom end (e.g., cabriole leg or legs with rims, ridges, fancy turnings or even a simple taper). Hobbins' device also depends heavily on the strength and rigidity of the strap securing the device to the leg--if the strap stretches or loosens, the weight of the chair (and the person sitting on it) will tend to urge the leg to slip off of the support member.
Several other inventors have attempted to solve the stability problems noted above by providing rigid mechanical connections among each of the four leg extenders used to raise chair. Examples of these proposed solutions are found, e.g., in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,215,382 (Stein), 3,952,983 (Crochet) and 5,333,825 (Christensen). Because different pieces of furniture have different leg spacing, however, these structures require some type of adjustment system to permit alignment of each of the leg extenders with its respective leg while nevertheless maintaining a rigid connection among the leg extenders. The adjustment mechanisms therefore provide significant extra weight and complexity to the device, and can be very cumbersome. Moreover, to prevent their adjustment mechanisms and connections from becoming overly heavy and cumbersome, they typically are designed only for use with furniture having legs spaced relatively closely together (i.e., typically just chairs).


A process for recovery of alkali values from trona in which trona is dissolved, the sodium carbonate in the feed solution is converted to sodium bicarbonate by introducing carbon dioxide, sodium bicarbonate is crystallized and separated from a mother liquor, and sodium bicarbonate in the mother liquor is converted to sodium carbonate by introducing air to form a recirculating dissolving solution which is used to dissolve the trona.

This invention relates to a method of recovering alkali values from trona ore. In particular, this invention relates to a process for producing sodium carbonate via sodium bicarbonate crystallization.
Trona ore is a mineral that contains about 90-95% sodium sesquicarbonate (Na.sub.2 CO.sub.3.NaHCO.sub.3.2H.sub.2 O). A vast deposit of mineral trona is in southwestern Wyoming near Green River. By conservative estimates, this deposit contains about 75 billion metric tons of trona ore.
The sodium sesquicarbonate found in trona ore dissolves in water to yield approximately 5 parts by weight sodium carbonate (Na.sub.2 CO.sub.3) and 4 parts sodium bicarbonate (NaHCO.sub.3). To recover these valuable alkali products, the trona ore must be processed to remove insoluble materials and other impurities.
One such valuable alkali produced from trona is soda ash (a commercial grade of sodium carbonate). Soda ash is one of the largest volume alkali commodities made in the United States. Soda ash finds major use in the glass-making industry and for the production of baking soda, detergents and paper products.
A common method to produce soda ash from trona is known as the "monohydrate process", which requires large quantities of water (a scarce and valuable resource in Wyoming) and energy. In that process, crushed trona ore is calcined (i.e., heated) at a temperature between 125.degree. C. and 250.degree. C. to convert sodium bicarbonate into sodium carbonate, drive off water of crystallization and form crude soda ash. The crude soda ash is then dissolved in water and the insoluble material is separated from the resulting solution.
This clear solution of sodium carbonate is fed to an evaporative crystallizer where some of the water is evaporated and some of the sodium carbonate forms into sodium carbonate monohydrate crystals (Na.sub.2 CO.sub.3.H.sub.2 O). The monohydrate crystals are removed from the mother liquor and then dried to convert it to dense soda ash. The mother liquor is recycled back to the evaporator circuit for further processing into sodium carbonate monohydrate crystals.
The monohydrate process has several disadvantages. Presently, the monohydrate process consumes considerable amounts of water. When the raw trona ore is calcined, the natural water content is evaporated. Yet after that water is evaporated off, more water must be added to dissolve the calcined trona.
In addition to consuming water, the monohydrate process consumes and wastes considerable amounts of energy. Calcining equipment, for example, has only about 50% energy efficiency. Much energy is also wasted in calcining simply to raise the temperature of the sodium carbonate in the trona up to the calcining temperature even though the sodium carbonate itself does not undergo conversion. Additionally, a significant amount of energy is wasted during calcining in evaporating the naturally occurring water in the trona.
Soda ash may also be produced from the "bicarbonate process." One advantage over the "monohydrate process" is that in the "bicarbonate process" the raw trona ore is not calcined. Rather, trona ore is first dissolved and then fed to a carbon dioxide absorber tower to convert the sodium carbonate dissolved from the trona into sodium bicarbonate. Then some of the sodium bicarbonate is crystallized and removed from the resulting mother liquor. The sodium bicarbonate crystals are calcined to convert to soda ash. The mother liquor is recycled to dissolve more trona.
Unfortunately, the bicarbonate process wastes energy by requiring a high liquor recycle ratio to dissolve the trona. This inefficiency is due to the high levels of sodium bicarbonate remaining in the mother liquor after the crystallization step. This is a limiting factor in the amount of trona that can be dissolved in it.
Therefore, there is a need for a process that avoids or minimizes the waste and inefficiencies of the traditional processes for making soda ash.

Method for recovery of alkali values from trona using air stripping


An improved seating apparatus for an aircraft comprising: a seat assembly; and a wedge lock device for securing the seat assembly to the aircraft without any rattle. In the preferred embodiment, the wedge lock device includes: a selectively adjustable force applicator for applying force to a force bearer; a force bearer for transferring force to an aircraft seat track; and a stud connected to the seat assembly. Also in the preferred embodiment, the seat assembly includes a seat leg.

(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to aircraft seating and, more particularly, to a wedge lock anti-rattle apparatus for securing a seat assembly to an aircraft.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Commercial aircraft passenger seats are retained on the aircraft floor by a standardized set of slotted tracks and mating locking devices at the front and rear of the seat legs. The locking devices must allow quick installation and removal of the seats, yet securely hold them in place without any "play" or rattle.
Due to interference with the aircraft carpeting and the seat mounting tracks, it is sometimes difficult to fully tighten the locking devices, resulting in loose seat installations or damaged parts. Also, special tools are often required to install or remove the fittings from the mounting tracks.
Traditionally, the front seat track locking device consisted of a threaded stud with a flat nylon washer, a threaded hexagonal or tabbed anti-rattle washer, flat washers and a self-locking nut that attach it to a bracket which is in-turn attached to the front of the seat leg assembly. A special tool is required to tighten or loosen the anti-rattle washer and sometimes interference from carpeting or the mounting track itself prevents the anti-rattle washer from being properly tightened.
Thus, there remains a need for a new and improved aircraft seat track anti-rattle locking device that requires no special tools to tighten, while, at the same time, secures the seat firmly to the seat track so that the seat remains secured without any play.


A Phase-Change Memory (PCM) device and a method of writing data to the PCM device are described. The PCM device includes a multi-phase data storage cell having at least a Set state and a Reset state that may be established using a heater configured to heat the data storage cell. A memory interface may be coupled with the heater configured to write data to the data storage cell, the data being represented by the Set or the Reset states. A write Reset pulse is used to place the data storage cell in the Reset state corresponding to a read value that is less than a read threshold. A write Set pulse that is a predetermined function of the write Reset pulse is used to place the data storage cell in the Set state. The PCM device may include additional intermediate states that enable each data storage cell to store two or more bits of information. Other embodiments may be described and claimed.

Memory is an integral part of any computing device for storing and retrieving information. Computer memory may be classified on different basis, such as amount of data (for example, mass storage versus cache memory), access (for example, random access memory versus read-only memory), technology (for example, magnetic versus optical), performance (for example, archival versus execution memory), and the like. With the ubiquity of computers and communication networks for personal and business use, the need for data storage has increased exponentially in recent years. This need is especially increased due to the abundance and constant production of multimedia data such as music, video clips, and pictures. Commensurate with increased use of memory is the increased need for reliability of storage medium and storage of data in absence of power. Relatively recent technologies used for solid-state storage of data, especially for mobile devices, include flash memories and phase-change memories (PCM) that retain stored information in absence of power. Set pulse, used to write a data bit to a PCM cell, may vary significantly from cell to cell in a memory array, potentially causing subsequent read errors resulting in data reliability problems.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Reliable set operation for phase-change memory cell


A method and system for determining surface feature characteristics (including position and dimensions) using slit detectors provides a low-cost and high-speed measurement system for inspecting a surface. The system includes multiple slit detectors positioned so that a feature on a surface scanned by the system is detected by at least two detectors that are rotationally offset from each other and from the direction of scanning, a scanning control system for providing motion to the surface of interest in relation to the detectors, and an electronic analyzer for computing characteristics (including position and dimensions) of surface features. The location of surface features along an axis perpendicular to the direction of motion of the surface is determined from the relative timing between the presence of surface feature within the slit detector fields and the dimension of surface features in a direction crossing the short axis of a slit detector field is determined from the relative length of time the features remain in the slit detector field.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to optical inspection and measuring systems, and more specifically, to an optical method and system for determining characteristics of optically recognizable surface features.
2. Description of the Related Art
Surface inspection systems are in widespread use in industries such as semiconductor and optical device manufacturing for verifying structures in design phases as well as during manufacturing quality inspection. Traditional surface inspection techniques rely on imaging a surface with multiple-pixel imaging systems and processing the resultant signals in order to detect features on the surface. A common surface inspection method uses a camera to capture an image of the entire surface of interest and processing the resultant two-dimensional image to identify surface features. The camera-based technique requires expensive equipment and complex image processing software or hardware. Further, the resolution of the system is limited by camera pixel count and size.
An alternative common method is surface scanning using a line array. The line array technique is generally less complex and expensive than imaging an entire surface. The resolution of a line array may be increased by increasing the pixel count or by joining multiple arrays. However, the scanning speed of the line array technique is limited by the access time required to address and read an intensity value from each pixel.
Inspection systems using a single detector element (point detector) have also been implemented, but while the cost of such elements is low and the access time of the detector is generally much higher than for a line array or camera, the time required for scanning and detecting resultant reflections from every unique point in two dimensions on a surface of interest limits the scanning speed of the point detector.
Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a low cost and high speed surface inspection system that does not require a camera or line array and that does not require a unique scan of every point on a surface of interest in order to detect surface features of the surface of interest.

Method and system for determining surface feature characteristics using slit detectors


A heat exchanger includes: a gas-refrigerant pipe; a header connected to the gas-refrigerant pipe; and heat transfer tubes connected to the header. The header includes: a first plate member; and a second plate member that is stacked on the first plate member in a plate-thickness direction. The first plate member includes a first opening that constitutes an internal space of the header. The second plate member includes a second opening that, together with the first opening, constitutes the internal space of the header. The internal space of the header communicates with the heat transfer tubes. A first direction is perpendicular to both the plate-thickness direction and a direction in which the heat transfer tubes are arranged. A width of a part of the first opening in the first direction is different from a width of the second opening in the first direction.

Hitherto, a refrigerant cycle device, such as an air conditioner, has used a heat exchanger constituted by connecting heat transfer tubes in which a refrigerant flows to a header.
For example, in a heat exchanger described in Patent Literature 1 (PTL 1), a header having a circular cylindrical internal space and a flow path for allowing a refrigerant that flows in the internal space to flow by being branched toward each flat tube is used.


Devices, systems, and methods for explosion resistance include an analysis compartment isolated from a control compartment. A feed-through extends between the analysis compartment and the control compartment for extension of cabling therethrough, the feed-through hermetically sealed to block against flow of fluids between the analysis and control compartments.

Field instruments, such as sensors and/or analyzers, can be important to various industrial devices, systems, and/or methods. In environments which involve or potentially involve explosive substances, such as alcohols and/or petroleum products, hazards of igniting the explosive substance can exists.
For example, instruments themselves may be involved with explosive substances, such as sensors for a production process, whether the explosive substances are within the precursor, intermediate product, incidental product, and/or final product. Additionally, the field environment for such instruments can themselves contain explosive substances, for example, gases, which could be ignited by the electronic equipment of the instruments and/or generally by an explosion originating from within the instruments. Accordingly, explosion management can be challenging.

Explosion management and methods thereof


A method for seamless gap filling is provided, including providing a semiconductor structure with a device layer having a gap therein, wherein the gap has an aspect ratio greater than 4. A liner layer is formed over the device layer exposed by the gap. A first un-doped oxide layer is formed over the liner layer in the gap. A doped oxide layer is formed over the first undoped oxide layer in the gap. A second un-doped oxide layer is formed over the doped oxide layer in the gap to fill the gap. An annealing process is performed on the second un-doped oxide layer, the doped oxide layer, and the first un-doped oxide to form a seamless oxide layer in the gap, wherein the seamless oxide layer has an interior doped region.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to semiconductor processing, and in particular, to methods for seamlessly filling gaps with high aspect ratio and a semiconductor device having seamless isolation structures therein.
2. Description of the Related Art
Typically, it is necessary in semiconductor processing to fill a high aspect ratio gap with insulating material. For example, like filling an inter-metal dielectric (IMD), inter-layer dielectric (ILD), pre-metal dielectric (PMD), and shallow trench isolation (STI) gap with un-doped oxide materials. As device dimensions shrink and thermal budgets are reduced, the seamless filling of high aspect ratio (AR) spaces (e.g., AR>4:1) has become increasingly difficult due to existing deposition process limitations. Currently, the method used for high aspect ratio (AR) gap-fill is deposition of an undoped oxide layer. Also, high density plasma chemical vapor deposition (HDP CVD) is used and a directional (bottom-up) CVD process.
Evolving semiconductor device designs and dramatically reduced feature sizes have resulted in several situations where HDP processes using current technologies may not be able to sufficiently fill high aspect ratio structures (e.g., AR>7:1). Therefore, an alternative to using CVD is atomic layer deposition (ALD). Adsorption of reactant gases are limited when using ALD and thin, conformal dielectric films with high aspect ratio features may be formed.
However, for sub 40 nm node technology, structures such as gaps or trenches with aspect ratios greater than 10:1 may be formed in a semiconductor device, and an undesired seam may be formed following gap-fill or filling of a trench using the ALD process. Thus, seamless gap filling is desired.


A data storage medium and data storage system with improved efficiency of formatting are provided. One illustrative embodiment of the present invention pertains to a data storage medium. The data storage medium includes a first zone having servo information written with a first frequency, a second zone having servo information written with a second frequency, and a guard band disposed between the first zone and the second zone. The use of different frequencies in different zones contributes to optimizing the properties of the data storage medium, and the guard band contributes to optimizing the usage of the different zones.

Data storage devices have tended to be made ever smaller, yet with ever greater storage capacity, as technology has advanced. Many applications require "micro" data storage devices that are one inch or smaller in diameter, and a fraction of an ounce in weight, for example. Applications for which micro data storage devices are well suited include hand-held or otherwise easily portable devices, such as digital music players, PDAs, digital still cameras and video cameras, and external computer memory, for example. Adapting data storage technology with optimum performance in current applications poses considerable technical challenges.
Embodiments of the present invention provide unforeseen advantages over conventional data storage systems, and provide superior performance characteristics.

Data storage medium with optimized servo format


A sound generating system in the embodiment of the invention includes an information processing terminal displaying a screen relating to a setting for controlling an electronic musical instrument determined based on a positional relation with the electronic musical instrument on a display screen and transmitting control information based on an operation performed on a touch sensor, and the electronic musical instrument performing the setting relating to sound generation according to the received control information to generate an audio signal based on the performed setting.

1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a technique of performing settings in an electronic device.
2. Description of the Related Art
An electronic musical instrument has many functions such as sound generation in various tones, automatic performance and so on. For these functions, various settings, for example, setting of a tone to be generated, setting of parameter of a tone, setting of automatic performance and so on are performed, and then processing in the electronic musical instrument is controlled according to the settings. The various settings are often performed using controls provided on a control panel of the electronic musical instrument. In this case, a larger number of controls are required with an increase in the number of available functions to make the control panel very complicated. Hence, a technique has been developed, in which a function assigned to one control can be arbitrarily changed so that an item to be set using the one control can be arbitrarily changed to another item (for example, Document 1).    Document 1: Japanese unexamined patent publication No. 2009-217027

Information processing terminal that displays information related to a function selected based on a positional relation, and system


An operating unit (12) with an insertion opening (11) through which a CD (29) is insertable. A device body (10) with a conveying roller 19 which conveys the CD (29); a lock and release mechanism (22) which locks/releases the operating unit (12) to/from the device body (10); a CD detector (20) which detects the CD (29) present in the insertion opening (11) before the lock and release mechanism (22) releases the operating unit (12); and a microcomputer (21) which causes the conveying roller 19 to load the CD (29) when the CD detector (20) detects the CD (29) present in the insertion opening (11).

The present invention relates to apparatus for attaching and removing an operating unit for a vehicle-mounted acoustic device to and from a mounting body of the acoustic device fixed to the vehicle, the operating unit being an element of the acoustic device and having an insertion opening through which a recording medium is passed.

Operating unit attaching and removing apparatus for a vehicle-mounted acoustic device


A voter cart capable of supporting a voting terminal in a portable, fully usable, and secure configuration. The cart is generally formed with a pair of opposing side rails joined together in a spaced-apart configuration and mounted on casters, and a voting terminal housing interspaced between the side rails. The voting terminal is seated atop a bottom shelf of the voting terminal housing at waist-level for easy wheelchair voter access thereto. The voting terminal is restrained against lateral and vertical motion, and yet there is full access to the voting terminal's control panels, doors, etc. Moreover, the particular design maximizes strength and usability, and yet keeps weight to a minimum with a framework that is as light weight as possible.

1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to accessories for voting terminals and, more particularly, to a specially-adapted voter cart for storage, transport, and use of a voting terminal in a more convenient and secure manner.
2. Background of the Invention
There are a myriad of existing storage and transport carts currently in use for a wide variety of applications. Some of these carts are adapted for carrying high-value electronic equipment, while others carry confidential high-security items. Voter carts for voting devices must combine both sets of attributes inasmuch as voting devices are high-value devices and require considerable security precautions. Moreover, voting devices can be heavy, thus requiring a very robust voter cart, but they must be thoroughly accessible by all persons, inclusive of physically disabled persons, from outside the cart.
Most polling precincts in the United States utilize voting booths with specialized balloting terminals. In the past, many precincts used terminals such as Datavote™ or Votomatic™, which required the voter to punch out a perforated rectangle (i.e., a chad) from a card using a stylus. There is a mask installed in the Votomatic™ that reveals certain holes that are aligned with ballot book pages in the recorder and which in turn correspond to names of candidates or issues. The punched card is then taken and inserted into a precinct ballot counter that is programmed to translate the hole and number to the particular candidate or issue.
Paper balloting can be hard to use for mobility impaired, vision impaired, and non-English speaking voters. Consequently, electronic balloting terminals are gaining popularity, and at least one or two are made available in each voting precinct. Indeed, the Help America Vote Act of 2002 has mandated that, beginning in 2006, each polling place have at least one voting machine that is fully accessible for persons with disabilities. Direct recording electronic (DRE) voting machines can fulfill this accessibility requirement. DRE voting machines typically entail a touch-screen ballot-marking machine with audio capability (usually via attached headphones). A DRE voting machine records votes, processes the data, and records voting data and ballot images in memory. After the election, the DRE voting machine produces a tabulation of the voting data stored in a removable memory component and as printed copy.
There are many manufacturers of DRE voting machines including Diebold Election Systems, ES&S, Sequoia Voting Systems, and Hart Intercivic. For example, the AutoMARK™ voter assist terminal by ES&S is a ballot-marking terminal sized at approximately 21″×26″×18″ when a fold-out 15″ full-color touch-screen display is deployed (and approximately 21″×26″×8″ when the screen is not deployed). Voters securely cast their vote for each race or ballot proposition simply through the touch of the screen or by way of audio guidance. When the voter inserts the ballot into the AutoMARK™, an electronic version of the ballot appears on the screen and can be read electronically to the voter. Upon the voter's direction, the AutoMARK™ marks the ovals on the optical scan ballot. Whether using a DRE voting machine or any other optical scan voting terminal, the voter is provided with a completed paper ballot that will later be inserted into an optical scan ballot counter for tabulation, after which the paper ballot is deposited into a sealed ballot box.
Voting precincts typically employ six to twelve voting booths. Delivering, setting up, monitoring, tearing down, and returning to storage all the voting equipment is a cumbersome task. Most precincts now either manually carry and transport the equipment or use standard voter carts similar to those that carry folding chairs. These generic voter carts normally comprise a simple platform mounted on wheels or casters to provide mobility. These carts may be provided with upwardly protruding side-rails to constrain the equipment. Such carts take no security precautions and do not provide on-board access to the equipment for voting use. One of the main functions of the voting terminal cart is to provide a secure environment to prevent theft or tampering of the items stored within the cart. Ordinarily, the equipment for each voting booth—one ballot-marking/printing system and voting table—is loaded onto the voter cart, and is then wheeled into position for use. Because the equipment is not accessible while on the cart, it must be unloaded, and the cart is then removed for voting. After voting, the process is reversed.
A voter cart that houses the voting terminal in a fully operable and accessible position—the voting terminal being approximately waist-level for easy access by standing or wheelchair voters—would be much more convenient. To properly mount a ballot-marking voting terminal to cart, robust mechanical restraints to protect against shifting of the equipment, robust security features to protect against theft or tampering, and full front and back access to the voting terminal are needed.

Voter terminal storage and transport cart


A method for charging an electric bicycle from the power supply of a motor vehicle. The motor vehicle is coupled via an electrical trailer connection and an electrical adapter to the battery of the electric bicycle. In order to provide anti-theft protection, the motor vehicle sends the battery a query signal relating to identification data of the battery via a communication channel. Subsequently, the motor vehicle listens in on the communication channel upon transmission of the identification data of the battery. For the case in which the motor vehicle receives incorrect identification data or no identification data from the battery, an alarm signal is output.

A method and a system according to the preamble for charging an electric bicycle from the power supply of a motor vehicle are known from DE 10 2010 039 855 A1. In this published document, a charging device is described, which can comprise components provided for data transmission in order to transmit operating parameters of a charge control into the interior of the vehicle. In particular, these components can be configured to transmit operating data of a voltage converter, of a charge regulator, of a discharge protector, of a surge protector, of a current measuring unit for detecting a charge current and/or of a charge current monitoring device for detecting the charge state of the charge control, for example, the current charge current, charge state, charge run, charge duration, battery voltage or temperature, a warning in the case of operating parameters outside of a normal range or the like.
From DE 10 2015 116 693 A1, a vehicle and electric bicycle charge monitoring interface is known. The subject matter of this published document is a vehicle system comprising the following: a charge interface which is configured to connect a bicycle battery, a processing device which is programmed to determine a charge state of the bicycle battery and to estimate the driving ranges of a vehicle and of a bicycle, and a navigation module programmed to generate a route to a selected target on the basis of the estimated driving ranges of the vehicle and of the bicycle.

Method and system for charging an electric bicycle from the power supply of a motor vehicle


A method of modifying the amount of at least one biochemical component in a plant comprising expressing Qua-Quine Starch (QQS) in the plant, the wild-type of which does not express QQS; a transgenic plant, or part thereof, which comprises and expresses QQS as a transgene and in which the amount of at least one biochemical component is modified; a tissue culture of regenerable cells of the transgenic plant; a vector comprising a nucleotide sequence, which encodes the coding sequence of QQS, operably linked to a non-native promoter, which promotes expression of the nucleotide sequence in a plant, which is other than Arabidopsis; and a method of producing a food or industrial product from a plant.

Plant storage products include starch, lipid and protein. Different plant species differ in the kinds and relative proportions of storage products. Grain seeds, for example, comprise mainly starch, whereas oil seeds comprise mainly oil, and other seeds, such as soybean seeds, comprise mainly protein.
The pathways that produce starch, lipid and protein are connected by key intermediates. For example, hexoses, such as glucose, are precursors of starch synthesis and end products of starch degradation. Hexoses also can be converted to pyruvate, which can lead to (i) the production of acetyl-CoA and malonyl-CoA for fatty acid de novo synthesis, fatty acid elongation, polyketide formation, and isoprenoid synthesis and (ii) the biosynthesis of amino acids.
The ability to alter plant storage products, particularly for crop plants, has been a goal of plant breeders and those employing recombinant DNA techniques. Mike Rankin, a Crops and Soils Agent for the University of Wisconsin (UW), recently reported that Roger Borgers, a soybean specialist with UW has made a good case that low protein soybeans are costing the soybean industry as a whole due to discounted pricing for U.S. soybeans, which are comparatively low-protein, on the world market. According to those at the UW, soybeans from South America are valued more highly, and priced accordingly. Reportedly, one bushel of U.S. soybeans yields 21 pounds of protein and 11.4 pounds of oil, whereas Brazilian soybeans yield 24 pounds of protein and 13 pounds of oil. Rankin opines that more emphasis needs to be put on developing varieties with higher protein content, particularly given that there is a wide variation in soybean protein content within U.S. geographic regions (0.6-2.0%, depending on the year) and among varieties (32.3%-38.1% in Wisconsin). In this regard, the western Corn Belt and Wisconsin do not fare as well as other regions in the U.S., such as the southeast. Significant is that yield is not reduced with higher protein and oil content. In this regard, Baker et al. (Poultry Science 90: 390-395 (2011)) reported that soybean meal produced from high protein or low oligosaccharide varieties of soybeans have a greater nutritional value than soybean meal produced from conventional varieties of soybean and, therefore, could be fed in smaller amounts to broiler chickens.
Recently, the qua-quine starch (QQS) gene (locus ID At3g30720; GenBank Accession Nos. EU805808.1 and NM—113075.4) was found to have an effect on plant biochemical components in Arabidopsis. The QQS gene encodes a protein that contains 59 amino acids, has no known function, has no sequence similarity to other proteins in Arabidopsis or other organisms, has no known catalytic motifs, and no known structural motifs. Analysis of the QQS promoter indicates that it has a CCA1 binding site motif (AAAAATCT) at position-734, a TGA1 binding site motif (TGACGTGG; bZip transcription factor function) at position-504, an UPRMOTIFIAT motif (TGACGTGG; unfold protein response) at position-504, an ABRE-like binding site motif (GACGTGGC; ABA function) at position-503, and an ACGTABREMPTIFA20SEM motif (ACGTGGC; ABA function) at position-502. QQS RNA transcripts increase during pollen development (from uninucleate microspores to bicellular pollen to tricellular pollen to mature pollen) in WT (WT) Arabidopsis, reaching peak levels in mature pollen. In wild type (WT) Arabidopsis, activity of the QQS promoter as determined using the β-glucuronidase (GUS) gene reporter system is evident at 2 days after imbibition (DAI) in hypocotyls and root tips. As seedlings grow, QQS expression expands to the vasculature, mesophyll cells, hydathodes, and trichomes of leaf blades and petioles. Microscopic dissection indicates no expression is detected in shoot meristem; the dark GUS staining in the shoot tip is associated with the adjacent vasculature. GUS activity is higher in mature leaves compared to young emerging leaves; it consistently appears somewhat unevenly distributed, and is predominantly located in the vasculature; this pattern is maintained throughout development. QQS expression is low in flower buds; however, by flower opening QQS expression is evident in pedicels, sepals, filaments, mature pollen, stigma papillae and styles, but not in petals. During silique development, QQS expression rises in the stigma papillae and style, and becomes apparent throughout the maternal tissues of the silique wall and receptacle. QQS is expressed in roots throughout development. Expression is highest in the root tip, specifically the root cap, columella cells and peripheral cap, and to a lesser extent in the root meristem region, but not in the epidermis. QQS is expressed at the site of lateral root initiation, and in the root tip and vasculature during its emergence; as the lateral root matures, expression remains detectable throughout the root cortex vasculature. GUS activity driven by the QQS promoter was higher in the Atss3 (starch synthase 3) single mutant than in WT under virtually all conditions. Expression was detectable throughout the entire seedling at 2 DAI, as well as later in development, in particular in leaves, flowers and roots. Although the general pattern of expression is similar in the Atss3 mutant and WT, QQS is expressed ectopically in petals in the Atss3 mutant. QQS RNA accumulates neither in the nucleus nor in the plastids. Expression of QQS promoter-GUS in the Atss2/Atss3 double-mutant background was more nuanced, but was in general similar to or somewhat lower than that in WT throughout leaf development. QQS transcripts increased seven-fold during the diurnal cycle in the Atss3 mutant compared to WT Arabidopsis; QQS protein levels also increased in the Atss3 mutant compared to WT Arabidopsis. Analysis of QQS RNAi (interfering RNA) mutants showed that starch content increased 20-30% at the end of the light cycle (about the same increase as observed in Atss3 mutants) due to increased starch biosynthesis and not decreased starch degradation; there was no difference in starch content at the end of the dark cycle. Starch content decreased to WT level within four hours of the dark cycle. All of the above examples are described in Li et al., Plant Journal 58: 485-498 (2009).
In view of the foregoing, it is an object of the present disclosure to provide materials and a method of modifying the amount of at least one biochemical component in a plant. This and other objects and advantages, as well as inventive features, will become apparent from the detailed description provided herein.

Materials and method for modifying a biochemical component in a plant

IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY RESEARCH FOUNDATION, INC.


The cleat includes a bridge supported by first and second columns. Both columns include two wings with bottom support surfaces. A horn is integral with each column and extends away from the bridge. An illumination module cavity with an open top is formed in the bridge. A cavity bottom includes a light aperture that passes through the bridge. An illumination module with a transparent case is pressed into the illumination module. A light emitting diode inside the case directs light downward through the light aperture. A photovoltaic cell array in the top of the case energizes the diode.

Cleats are secured to watercraft for attachment of mooring lines. During periods of reduced visibility illumination has been found to be helpful. Locating cleats in the dark is much easier if the cleats are illuminated. An illuminated cleat can also indicate a person's location on a watercraft and thereby potentially prevent the person from falling from the watercraft.
Cleats have been illuminated by tubes filled with trinium gas, incandescent lamps, and by light emitting diodes. The trinium gas is radioactive. The gas has become too expensive due to government regulations. Incandescent lamps require electricity. The electricity can be provided by a generator or by a battery. Both sources of electricity require wires that pass through a bore through the deck or other structure of a watercraft. Wires deteriorate in high moisture conditions. Holes bored through a watercraft deck can leak when a sealant deteriorates. Batteries need to be recharged from time to time or to be replaced.
Light emitting diodes fail from time to time. Replacement of failed light emitting diodes can be difficult or even impossible. The time required to replace a diode, when replacement is possible, may be significant. Multiple tools may be required. Supplies such as solder and sealants may also be required.


The system makes it possible to control and treat gas emanations inside a wastewater access shaft. The system includes a cover with at least one pivoting part, which is normally closed, having a substantially horizontal rotation axis and able to allow solid and/or liquid matter falling onto the main upper surface of the cover to pass toward the bottom of the access shaft. The cover also includes a raised part that has at least one lateral wall and includes a plurality of orifices situated vertically above the main upper surface of the cover. The orifices define an outlet of a gas-emanations circuit formed between the underside and the top of the cover. An air filter is arranged across the circuit. The filter is moistened by a liquid that comes from a reservoir in order to treat the emanations.

Sewage networks are places where various foul-smelling, toxic and/or explosive gases may circulate. These gases generally originate from the decomposition of organic matter and have a tendency to escape via the access shafts (also known as "manholes") in the form of gas emanations. They may be more abundant in hot weather. These gas emanations may cause people on the surface discomfort or even health problems.
It is generally not possible to seal the access shafts without creating other potential problems. Ventilation is even often essential in order to prevent excessive quantities of gas from accumulating at certain points in the sewage network.
Most modern sewage networks have separate pipes for the foul sewage and the storm water. The storm drain access shafts are closed at the top only by a grating or even a slot of varying widths running along the curbside. These openings are notably able to accommodate rainwater or water from melting snow in order to remove it from the surface and convey it to somewhere where it can be disposed of. The foul sewage access shafts are generally closed by a cover the openings of which are far smaller, notably in order to minimize the amount of gas emanations to the surface.
In spite of this, storm drain access shafts may emit foul-smelling, toxic and/or explosive gases for various reasons, notably in places where the infrastructures use older so-called "combined" sewer storm drain networks. These networks have pipes through which both rainwater and foul sewage circulate. However, because the storm water access shafts of these combined networks need to be used to collect rainwater, their upper opening needs to remain uncovered in all weathers.
Various devices have been proposed in the past to lessen the odors emanating from the drains. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,846,274 describes a biofilter which is fitted into an access shaft in order to reduce or eliminate odors therein. U.S. Pat. No. 4,586,941 and EP Patent No. 952263 B1describe devices of a similar kind Other devices also exist.
Many of the known devices may be complex to install or alternatively may entail significant investment. Others use filters which have a tendency to become blocked after a certain time. Active charcoal filters are particularly sensitive to this. It is also difficult to prevent debris, solid or otherwise, from entering the access shaft. These debris may, for example, be sand, dirt, gravel, etc. Some devices may then become blocked or less effective. They will therefore require more intensive and costly maintenance.
Another potential problem is the presence of stagnating water within the access shafts. This water may encourage the hatching-out of mosquitoes or other undesirable insects. Certain insects may carry diseases, for example the West Nile Virus to name but one. It is thus desirable to restrict access by insects to the stagnant water in the bottom of the access shafts.
It is therefore clear that improvements in the technical field concerned were needed.

System and method for controlling and treating gas emanations inside a wastewater access shaft


A string of nonvolatile memory cells are formed with control gates extending between floating gates, control gates and floating gates separated by tunnel dielectric layers. Electron tunneling between control gates and floating gates is used for programming. A process for forming a memory array forms odd numbered floating gates from a first layer and even numbered floating gates from a second layer.

This invention relates to nonvolatile memories with floating gates and methods of forming and operating nonvolatile memories with floating gates.
Nonvolatile memory systems are used in various applications. Some nonvolatile memory systems are embedded in a larger system such as a personal computer. Other nonvolatile memory systems are removably connected to a host system and may be interchanged between different host systems. Examples of such removable memory systems include memory cards and USB flash drives. Electronic circuit cards, including non-volatile memory cards, have been commercially implemented according to a number of well-known standards. Memory cards are used with personal computers, cellular telephones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), digital still cameras, digital movie cameras, portable audio players and other host electronic devices for the storage of large amounts of data. Such cards usually contain a re-programmable non-volatile semiconductor memory cell array along with a controller that controls and supports operation of the memory cell array and interfaces with a host to which the card is connected. Several of the same type of card may be interchanged in a host card slot designed to accept that type of card. However, the development of the many electronic card standards has created different types of cards that are incompatible with each other in various degrees. A card made according to one standard is usually not useable with a host designed to operate with a card of another standard. Memory card standards include PC Card, CompactFlash™ card (CF™ card), SmartMedia™ card, MultiMediaCard (MMC™), Secure Digital (SD) card, a miniSD™ card, Subscriber Identity Module (SIM), Memory Stick™, Memory Stick Duo card and microSD/TransFlash™ memory module standards. There are several USB flash drive products commercially available from SanDisk Corporation under its trademark "Cruzer®." USB flash drives are typically larger and shaped differently than the memory cards described above.
Different types of memory array architecture are used in nonvolatile memory systems. In one type of architecture, a NAND array, a series of strings of more than two memory cells, such as 16 or 32, are connected along with one or more select transistors between individual bit lines and a reference potential to form columns of cells. Word lines extend across cells within a large number of these columns. An individual cell within a column is read and verified during programming by causing the remaining cells in the string to be over driven so that the current flowing through a string is dependent upon the level of charge stored in the addressed cell.

Methods of forming and operating NAND memory with side-tunneling


To reduce a current loss through a channel and improve electron mobility, a first semiconductor layer and a second semiconductor layer (sequentially formed on a semiconductor substrate) have different lattice properties. The first semiconductor layer and the second semiconductor layer may be etched to form a first semiconductor pattern. A third semiconductor layer having a lattice property substantially identical to that of the first semiconductor layer may be formed over the first semiconductor pattern. The third semiconductor layer may then be etched to form a second semiconductor pattern. A gate may be formed on the second semiconductor pattern. The contact surface between the second semiconductor pattern and the gate pattern may consequently increased to reduce a current loss. Further, the lattice properties may be changed to improve electron mobility of the semiconductor layers.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device or a method of manufacturing a semiconductor device. Embodiments of the present invention are capable of reducing current loss in a semiconductor device by increasing the contact surface between channel and a gate. This reduction of current loss may be accomplished by improving electron mobility by manipulating lattice properties of the channel.
2. Description of the Related Art
Transistors are semiconductor devices with great utility and are necessary in modern computers. Transistors are also used in communication systems, such as telephone systems and the Internet. Over time, modern computers and communication systems have continuously improved. Improvements include the miniaturization of devices, the increase in speed of devices, and lowering of power consumption of devices. These improvements have allowed computers and telephones to be much more powerful, while also becoming more affordable.
Two techniques that are used during semiconductor device manufacturing are scaling down and integration. Scaling down and integration of semiconductor devices (e.g. transistors) may be achieved by downsizing structures of the semiconductor devices. As semiconductor devices become smaller and are downsized, more semiconductor devices can be included (i.e. integrated) in a single chip. Further, downsizing decreases the time needed for electrons to pass through a transistor, which reduces processing time of a transistor. In other words, downsizing allows a transistor to work faster. Downsizing also minimizes the quantity of electrons flowing through a transistor. By minimizing this quantity of electrons, power consumption of a transistor is also minimized.
High integration, high speed, and low electric power consumption of transistors have improved transistor performance. A minimum width of the semiconductor transistor has evolved from 10 μm in 1971, to 0.25 μm in 1997, and to 90 nm in 2003. Over the past 30 years, transistors have been downsized by a factor of about 50. Further, transistors have been integrated by a factor of about 10,000. Chip speed has improved by a factor of about 1,000. Currently, transistors having a width of about 90 nm are being researched and transistors having a width of about 65 nm are contemplated.
The following are examples of transistors with different dimensions. A transistor having a width of about 0.13 μm has a gate width of about 70 μm on a 200 mm diameter wafer. A transistor having a width of about 90 nm may have a gate width of about 50 nm on a 300 mm diameter wafer. A transistor having a width of about 65 nm may have a gate width of about 35 nm on a 300 mm diameter wafer.
There are some advantages of a process for manufacturing a semiconductor having a transistor with a width of about 90 nm over the process for manufacturing a semiconductor having a transistor with a width of about 0.13 μm. High speed and low electric power consumption transistors may be produced, based on fabrication techniques of a gate oxide layer having a thickness of about 1.2 nm, a gate having a width of about 50 nm, and utilization of strained silicon. Manufacturing costs of semiconductor devices may be reduced by using wafers having diameters of about 300 mm. Despite the rapid progress of semiconductor technology, a typical transistor in a chip remains a Metal Oxide Silicon Field Effect Transistor (MOSFET). The fundamental principle of semiconductor transistor operation (which is characterized by an equation of motion of drift diffusion of an electron as a particle) continues to govern design, despite the transistor being downsized by more than a factor of 50. In other words, the MOSFET fabrication technique is still considered when downsizing techniques are developed.
Some complications exist in fabrication techniques of MOSFETs having a width less than about 0.1 μm. For example, when a width of a transistor is about 10 nm, in view of physics, a quantum mechanical movement of electrons may dominate and the transistor may not operate. This complication may arise due to an electron in a small-scale transistor acting as an individual charge. One proposed solution to this complication is to modify the presently used MOSFET fabrication technique to reduce a short channel effect or side effects due to a quantum effect. Another proposed solution to this complication is to develop a nano-scale device involving a quantum mechanical operation theory which emerges from the classical MOSFET operation theory.
There are some obstacles in manufacturing techniques of CMOS transistors, having widths less than about 0.1 μm. These obstacles may be due to limited space charge layers, tunneling effects, and/or non-uniform doping. These obstacles may arise during lithography, forming gate oxide layers, forming shallow source/drain extensions, and/or forming halo pocket/retrograde wells in small-scale parameters. Consequently, a high permittivity gate oxide layer substitute for SiO2, a technique for improving gate delay, a technique for reducing scattering on a surface between a gate oxide layer and a channel (to increase electron mobility and maintain high driving current) have been researched without producing significant results. However, strained silicon may be used in the semiconductor device during manufacturing of a transistor having a width of about 90 nm.
FIG. 1 is an exemplary graph illustrating an increase of electron mobility using strained silicon in a semiconductor device. The graph of FIG. 1 is a result of a strained silicon semiconductor test conducted by Intel Corporation. In FIG. 1, the vertical axis represents an effective mobility and the longitudinal axis represents a vertical effective field. FIG. 1 illustrates the effective mobility of a general silicon semiconductor 10, strained silicon with silicon-germanium having about 15% germanium atom concentration 15, and strained silicon with silicon-germanium having about 20% germanium atom concentration 16.
Generally, a semiconductor device is operated in a range between about 500 and about 600K V/Cm. Silicon semiconductor 10 exhibits about 270 cm2/V°s of electron mobility. When the silicon is strained with the 15% silicon-germanium 15, the electron mobility is about 450 cm2/V°s. Likewise, when the silicon is strained with the 20% silicon-germanium 16, the electron mobility is about 480 cm2/V°s. As illustrated, when an active silicon layer is strained with a silicon-germanium epitaxial layer having about 17% germanium atom concentration, the electron mobility increases by over 70%. The semiconductor devices exhibited in FIG. 1 are tested in a two-dimensional way. A matching technique of the strained silicon with the transistor in a three-dimensional way has not been developed, prior to the present invention.
A two-dimensional method of improving the transistor speed using strained silicon in a semiconductor device has been known. In order to improve the transistor integrity and speed, it is required to reduce semiconductor device scale or develop a three-dimensional method. Reducing the semiconductor device scale has some limitations since the shape description technique for an integrated circuit has not been secured in a scale less than about 100 nm. Thus, it is preferable to adopt a three-dimensional device. When the channel width is below about 90 nm, however, a short channel effect and a current leakage through the gate oxide layer may occur. The short channel effect indicates a reduction of an effective channel length due to a diffusion of n-type or p-type impurity atoms in the channel by a heat treatment at a high temperature. When the effective channel length is reduced, a short circuit occurs between the source and the drain in the device having the gate with a minute length.
Poly gates are formed on three faces of the channel transistor in the CMOS structure. The transistor having this structure is called as a Tri-Gate device. The Tri-Gate device may decrease the short channel effect that frequently occurs in a single gate. As is described above, the Tri-Gate device using the strained silicon is very powerful for embodying the transistor having the width less than about 90 nm. However, prior to the present invention, Tri-Gate devices have not been utilized in conjunction with strained silicon.

Semiconductor device with different lattice properties


A positive working light-sensitive composition comprising (a) a compound capable of generating acids through irradiation of actinic rays or radiant rays, (b) an organic base and (c) an alkali-soluble polymer. The composition is highly sensitive to light in wider wavelength region and highly resistant to aging. It can easily be produced and can hence be easily available.

The present invention relates to a positive working light-sensitive composition which makes it possible to form a presensitized plate for use in making a lithographic printing plate (hereunder referred to as "PS plate"), proof sheets for process printing, figures for overhead projectors or fine resist patterns required for making integrated circuits (IC) of semiconductor elements.
As so-called positive working light-sensitive materials which are made soluble by irradiating with actinic rays, for instance, in making lithographic printing plates, there have been known o-quinonediazide compounds and these compounds have practically been utilized widely for preparing PS plates or the like. Such o-quinonediazide compounds are disclosed in various publications inclusive of U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,766,118; 2,767,092; 2,772,972; 2,859,112; 2,907,665; 3,046,110; 3,046,111; 3,046,115; 3,046,118; 3,046,119; 3,046,120; 3,046,121; 3,046,122; 3,046,123; 3,061,430; 3,102,809; 3,106,465; 3,635,709; and 3,647,443.
These o-quinonediazide compounds are decomposed by irradiation with actinic rays to form 5-membered carboxylic acids and they are thus made alkali-soluble. In these applications of the light-sensitive material, such properties of the compounds are utilised. However, their light-sensitivity is insufficient. This problem arises because it is difficult to optically sensitize the o-quinonediazide compounds and their quantum yield essentially never exceeds 1. Further, light wavelength for exposure is fixed and light sources are limited. It is difficult to impart safety under white light. In addition, the absorption of light in Deep-UV region is great and thus it is not suitable for applications in which light of short wave length is used to enhance the resolution of a photoresist.
Many attempts have been made to improve the light-sensitivity of light-sensitive compositions containing o-quinonediazide compounds. For instance, examples of such attempts are disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication for Opposition Purpose (hereunder referred to as "J.P. KOKOKU") No. Sho 48-12242, Japanese Patent Un-examined Publication (hereunder referred to as "J.P. KOKAI") No. Sho 52-40125 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,307,173.
Recently, there have been proposed some positive working light-sensitive compositions free of o-quinonediazide compounds. One example thereof comprises a polymeric compound having o-nitrocarbinol ester groups as disclosed in J.P. KOKOKU No. Sho 56-2696. However, such a composition does not provide high sensitivity for the same reasons as those discussed above in connection with o-quinonediazide compounds.
On the other hand, as pattern-forming methods used in making electronic parts such as semiconductor elements, magnetic bubble memories and integrated circuits, there have been widely employed methods in which photoresists sensitive to ultraviolet and visible rays are used. The photoresists are classified into two groups, one of which is negative working type ones whose exposed portions are made insoluble in a developer by irradiating with light, and the other of which is positive working ones whose exposed portions are, on the contrary, made soluble in a developer. The negative working type ones are superior in sensitivity to the positive working ones and adhesion to a substrate and resistance to chemicals required in wet etching are also excellent. Therefore, the use of negative working resists is one of the mainstreams of photolithography. However, the line width and the distance between lines of patterns become smaller as the degree of integration of semiconductor elements and the packaging density thereof are increased. In addition, dry etching techniques have been adopted as a means for etching substrates. Thus, the photoresists should have high resolution and high resistance to dry etching. For this reason, positive working photoresists are mainly utilized recently. In particular, there have been exclusively used alkali developable positive working photoresists mainly composed of alkali-soluble novolak resins as disclosed in J. C. Strieter, Kodak Microelectronics Seminar Proceedings, 1976, p. 116, since they are excellent in sensitivity, resolution and resistance to dry etching.
However, it is required to make much smaller size of patterns to thus achieve much higher packaging density and degree of integration accompanied by the recent increase in multifunctionality and high functionality of electronic devices.
Under such circumstances, there have been proposed light-sensitive compositions comprising a combination of a conventional o-quinonediazide light-sensitive material and a silicone polymer such as polysiloxane or polysilmethylene which is made alkali-soluble, for instance, those disclosed in J. P. KOKAI Nos. Sho 61-256347, Sho 61-144639, Sho 62-159141, Sho 62-191849, Sho 62-220949, Sho 62-229136, Sho 63-90534 and Sho 63-91654. Further, a light-sensitive composition comprising a combination of a polysiloxane/carbonate block copolymer and an effective amount of an onium salt is disclosed in J. P. KOKAI No. Sho 62-136638. However, it is very difficult to produce these polymers owing to the operation of making them alkali-soluble. Further, the resistance to aging of these polymers is not sufficient.


A system and method to remotely activate a procedure, preferably to Reload, a transceiver unit powered with an Ethernet cable. The system and method includes a power source including circuitry to reverse the polarity of voltage for a desired amount of time to a detection circuit in the transceiver unit. Upon successful detection, a reload circuit preferably in the transceiver unit activates the Reload procedure in the transceiver unit.

Transceiver units are utilized to send and receive signals over a medium. The transceiver unit may include a "Reset" button and a "Reload" button. The Reload button on a transceiver unit may be physically inaccessible when the transceiver unit is placed inside an enclosure (for example for weatherproofing) and/or on a remote location, such as a roof or tower.
One method of attempting to position the Reload button in a more conveniently accessible location is to have one of the power wires of a two wired system that is connected to the transceiver unit be dedicated to the Reload button information. However, this method is disadvantageous, because removing one of the dedicated power wires reduces reliability in providing data and power to the transceiver unit. Another problem is that the such method is not compatible with the utilizing an Ethernet cable that complies with the EEE 802.3af standard.
A need therefore exists for a method and apparatus for remotely triggering the reload button function of a transceiver unit that is positioned in a location that is not easily accessible.

System and method of polarity reversal for reload detection


A method of processing a telephone call that includes creating an email notification of the telephone call if the telephone call to a telephone number registered to receive email notifications is determined unanswered and sending the email notification based on information associated with the registered telephone number.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a system and method for telecommunications. More particularly, the present invention relates to a system and method for email notification of unanswered telephone calls.
2. Background Information
When a person relocates to a new address or is traveling on vacation or on a business trip, the person may miss telephone calls placed to the person's home or office telephone number. Further, if a person is traveling on vacation or on a business trip, a subscriber's wireless communications device may not be supported in the vacation or business trip location(s).
In conventional telephone communication systems, when a telephone company's subscriber is away from his local telephone number (i.e., home or office telephone number) or his wireless communication device is not supported in a location, a party calling the subscriber at the local telephone number or wireless telephone number will be forced to leave a message on a voicemail or will simply have to try calling the subscriber again at a later date.
Unfortunately, the subscriber may not be able to access their voicemail. For example, the cell phone of a U.S. subscriber generally does not work in South Korea. As a result, the subscriber may not be able to obtain information about unanswered calls or voicemail messages in these situations.

System and method for email notification of unanswered telephone calls


Disclosed is a porous polyethylene hollow fiber membrane of large pore diameter which have (a) rectangular pores formed by microfibrils that are oriented in the lengthwise direction of the fibers and joint portions that are composed of stacked lamellae, the pores being contiguous with each other from the inner wall surface to the outer wall surface of the hollow fiber membrane to form a stacked, multicellular structure, (b) an average pore diameter ranging from greater than 2 .mu.m up to 10 .mu.m as measured with a mercury porosimeter, (c) a porosity of 75 to 95%, and (d) an air permeability of not less than 8.times.10.sup.5 l/m.sup.2 .multidot.hr.multidot.0.5 atm. This hollow fiber membrane can be produced by melt-spinning polyethylene, annealing the resulting unstretched hollow fiber under specific conditions, and then cold-stretching and hot-stretching the annealed hollow fiber under specific conditions.

Porous hollow fiber membranes consisting of polyethylene and having a membrane structure formed from stacked rectangular pores are conventionally known, and the details thereof are disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent publication Nos. 35726/'88 and 42006/'88. It is disclosed in the former that, when a high-density polyethylene having a melt index of 1 to 15 and a density of 0.960 g/cm.sup.3 or greater is melt-spun at a spinning draft of 1,000 to 10,000, the spun hollow fibers are cold-stretched at a stretching speed of not less than 50% per second, and the cold-stretched hollow fibers are hot-stretched at a temperature of 80 to 125.degree. C. until a total amount of stretching of 400 to 700% is attained, the resulting porous hollow fiber membranes have characteristic rectangular pores, an average pore diameter of 0.5 to 2 .mu.m as measured with a mercury porosimeter, a porosity of 30 to 90% by volume, and a blue dextran rejection of less than 90%. However, the average pore diameters of the porous hollow fiber membranes described in the Examples of this patent are at most 0.82 .mu.m. In Japanese Patent Publication No. 42006/'88, it is disclosed that, when polyethylene is melt-spun at a spinning draft of greater than 2,000 with a spinning cylinder, 5 to 30 cm long, installed beneath the spinneret, and the spun hollow fibers are stretched until a total amount of stretching of 100 to 400% is attained, the resulting porous hollow fiber membranes have a water permeability of 100 to 2,000 l/m.sup.2 .multidot.hr.multidot.760 mmHg, a human serum albumin permeability of not less than 30%, and a blue dextran rejection of not less than 90%. Thus, the hollow fiber membranes provided by the latter patent have a smaller pore diameter than those provided by the former patent.
Moreover, it is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No 86902/'86 that porous hollow fiber membranes having pore diameter of 0.1 to 1.0 .mu.m are produced by forming pores according to the stretching method. These porous hollow fiber membranes are characterized by the fact that the microfibrils oriented in the lengthwise direction of the fibers are broken to a substantial degree. Thus, the pore diameter is increased by breaking the microfibrils to expand the rectangular pores in the lateral direction. As a matter of actual fact, however, the resulting porous hollow fiber membranes have a pore diameter of at most 10 .mu.m.
Furthermore, a hydrophilic composite porous membrane consisting of a porous matrix formed of a polyolefin and a coating layer formed of an ethylenevinyl alcohol copolymer is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 271003/'86. It is described in the claims of this patent that its average pore diameters is within the range of 0.02 to 4.0 .mu.m. With respect to pore diameter, however, the technique disclosed in this hydrophilic composite porous membrane never exceeds the technical level of the aforementioned Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 35726/'88 and 86902/'86. In fact, the hollow fiber membranes obtained in the Examples of that patent have an average pore diameter of 0.25 to 0.70 .mu.m.
Thus, porous hollow fiber membranes consisting of polyethylene and having rectangular pores whose average diameter exceeds 1.0 .mu.m have not been available in the prior art.
Generally, porous membranes are broadly divided into hydrophilic membranes and hydrophobic membranes according to the properties of the material. Known examples of hydrophilic porous membranes include cellulose, cellulose derivatives, polyvinyl alcohol, ethylenevinyl alcohol copolymers and the like. Hydrophilic porous membranes are characterized by the fact that, since the pore surfaces thereof are hydrophilic, they are easily wettable with water and permit the filtration of aqueous solution without any special pretreatment.
However, hydrophilic membranes have the disadvantage that, when they are in the wet state, they show a reduction in mechanical strength and that they undergo a high degree of swelling with water. Moreover, hydrophilic membranes have the additional disadvantage that, when they are dried from the wet state, they are reduced in membrane properties and are liable to deteriorate.
On the other hand, when hydrophobic porous membranes are used as they are, water cannot easily permeate therethrough. Accordingly, a hydrophilizing treatment is required in order to enable hydrophilic liquids including water to permeate therethrough. A variety of methods have been studied especially in connection with hydrophilization by surface modification of polyolefin membranes. It is to be noted, however, that hydrophilizing methods which have been proposed for film-like materials having smooth surfaces cannot be simply applied to the hydrophilization of porous membranes having complex surface configurations.
Well-known methods for hydrophilizing porous polyolefin membranes include the organic solvent wetting and water substituting method in which the entire surfaces, inclusive of pore surfaces, of a porous polyolefin membrane are subjected to a wetting treatment with an organic solvent having good miscibility with water, such as an alcohol and ketone, followed by substitution of water for the organic solvent; the physical adsorption method in which a hydrophilic material such as polyethylene glycol or a surfactant is adsorbed on the surfaces of a porous membrane to impart hydrophilicity to the porous membrane (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 153872/'79 and 24732/'84); and the chemical surface modification methods in which a hydrophilic monomer is held on the surfaces of a porous film and then exposed to radiation (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 38333/'81) or a porous structure consisting of a hydrophobic resin is subjected to a plasma treatment (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 157437/'81).
In the organic solvent wetting and water substituting method, however, it is necessary to keep water around the porous membrane at all times and, therefore, its handling is troublesome. The reason for this is that, once water is lost from pores during storages or use, the part having such water-free pores regains hydrophobicity and no longer permits the permeation of water therethrough. Although the physical adsorption method is simple in operation, the hydrophilic material may come off while the porous membrane is used for a long period of time. Therefore, this method cannot be regarded as a fully satisfactory hydrophilizing method. Moreover, the conventional chemical surface modification methods are also disadvantageous. Whether a porous membrane is exposed to radiation or subjected to a plasma treatment, it is difficult to hydrophilize the membrane uniformly in the direction of its thickness. If it is attempted to effect uniform hydrophilization over the entire thickness of a porous membrane which has a large thickness or is in the form of hollow fibers, the matrix of the porous membrane is unavoidably damaged or reduced in mechanical strength.
It has also been proposed to hydrophilize a hydrophobic porous membrane by previously treating it with a saponification product of an ethylene-vinyl acetate copolymer, i.e., an ethylene-vinyl alcohol copolymer (Japanese Patent Laid-Open Nos. 125408/'86 and 271003/'86).
It has also been proposed to produce hydrophilic porous hollow fiber membranes having hydrophilized pore surfaces, by melt spinning a blend of two different polymers, stretching the spun fibers to cleave the interfaces between the different polymers, and then subjecting the resulting microporous hollow fibers to an after-treatment such as hydrolysis or sulfonation of the side-chain groups present in the constituent polymers (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 137208/'80).
In addition, there have been proposed porous polyolefin membranes having a hydrophilic polymer held firmly on the pore surfaces thereof, and a production process thereof (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 190602/'88). More specifically, this patent provides hydrophilic porous membranes comprising porous polyolefin membranes having a hydrophilic crosslinked polymer, which is composed of monomers including diacetone acrylamide and a crosslinkable monomer, held on at least a part of the pore surfaces thereof. Such hydrophilic porous membranes can be produced by holding monomers including diacetone acrylamide and a crosslinkable monomer on at least a part of the pore surfaces of a porous polyolefin membrane, and then polymerizing them by the application of heat.
However, since all of these methods use a conventional porous polyolefin membrane as the starting material, the performance of the resulting hydrophilized porous membranes is insufficient for fields of application requiring a high permeation flow rate. That is, in order to obtain a hydrophilized porous membrane having a high permeation flow rate, an increase in the pore diameter and porosity of the starting hydrophobic porous membrane needs to be considered in combination with hydrophilization.
In the fields of precision filtration and air cleaning which require a very high filtering flux, membranes and nonwoven fabrics having a pore diameter of the order of microns and a high porosity are being used. Porous hollow fiber membranes having rectangular pores are characterized by the fact that, as described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 35726/'88, they have high permeability to gases and liquids and they are less liable to clogging because of their membrane structure formed from stacked rectangular pores. However, the performance of such porous hollow fiber membranes having rectangular pores is still insufficient for fields of application requiring a very high filtering flux and a low pressure loss, such as bacteria-free and dust-free air filters, dust-removing filters for various gases, and sterile water filters. The reason for this is that their pore diameter is too small and their porosity is too low for use in such fields.
On the other hand, hydrophilizing treatment with an alcohol or a surfactant provides only temporary hydrophilization. Moreover, if a porous membrane having such a hydrophilizing agent attached thereto is used for filtering or other purposes, the alcohol or surfactant migrates to and contaminates the purified water. Accordingly, it is necessary to wash off the hydrophilizing agent thoroughly before use. On this occasion, the pore surfaces regain hydrophobicity if the porous membrane is dried. Thus, once the porous membrane is hydrophilized, it is necessary to replace the hydrophilizing agent with water and thereby keep its pore surfaces in contact with the water at all times.
The method descried in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 38333/'81 can provide permanent hydrophilization, because the groups developing hydrophilicity are chemically fixed to the porous membrane. However, the need of exposure to ionizing radiation requires large-scale equipment, provides rather low process stability, and involves a risk of causing damage to the membrane material. Thus, it is difficult to manage and control the process steps.
In the method described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 137208/'80, the hollow fiber membranes produced by melt-spinning a blend of different polymers and then stretching the spun fibers to make them porous generally have a low porosity. Moreover, this method requires an after-treatment for hydrophilization, such as hydrolysis or sulfonation, which makes the process complicated.
Moreover, even if the technique of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 38333/'81 is applied to the hollow fiber membranes of Japanese Patent Publication No. 35726/'88, the resulting hydrophilized hollow fiber membranes have only a submicron pore diameter. With respect to pore diameter, the techniques disclosed in the hydrophilic composite porous membranes of Japanese patent Laid-Open Nos. 125408/'86 and 271003/'86 never exceed the technical level of the aforementioned Japanese Patent Publication No. 35726/'88 or the like. In fact, the hollow fiber membranes obtained in the Examples of those patents had an average pore diameter of 0.25 to 0.70 .mu.m.
Furthermore, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 190602/'88 discloses hydrophilic porous membranes comprising porous polyolefin membranes having a hydrophilic crosslinked polymer, which is composed of monomers including diacetone acrylamide and a crosslinkable monomer, held on the pore surfaces thereof.
However, the performance of these porous membranes having a crosslinked polymer held on the surfaces of rectangular pores is still insufficient for fields of application requiring a very high filtering flux and a low pressure loss, such as the filtration of aqueous solutions and aqueous suspensions, the preparation of purified water for use in electronic industry and the like, and the sterilization of raw water for use in the manufacture of pharmaceutical preparations. The reason for this is that its pore diameter is too small and its porosity is too low for use in such fields. If permanent hydrophilicity could be imparted to a porous hollow fiber membrane exhibiting a membrane structure formed from stacked rectangular pores capable of providing excellent filtering efficiency and, moreover, having a large pore diameter and a high porosity, great contributions would be made to frontier industrial fields through achievement of energy saving and creation of an ultraclean environment.

Porous polyethylene hollow fiber membrane of large pore diameter, production process thereof, and hydrophilized porous polyethylene hollow fiber membranes


A phase shifter subarray which is useful with a phased array antenna, includes a plurality of phase shifter elements which have substantially equal finite lengths and which are mounted on a ferri-magnetic substrate. An electrical coil is disposed around selected portions of the substrate and a common feed is connected to each of the phase shifter elements to transmit energy through the phase shifter elements to the radiating elements of the antenna. A driver is connected to the coil, and the driver is activated to induce a magnetic flux in the selected portions of the substrate. This flux influences that part of each phase shifter element which is mounted in the selected portions of the substrate and, consequently, the phase of the wave energy which passes through the influenced part of each phase shifter element is shifted to predictably direct the beam radiated from the antenna. For one embodiment, each phase shifter element is bifurcated into first and second segments with the respective first segments being of different length. For this embodiment the flux influences only the first segments of the phase shifter elements. In another embodiment, the phase shifter elements are not bifurcated and, instead, the coil is tapered on the substrate to influence different lengths of each phase shifter element.

As is well known, a phased array radar includes an antenna with an array of identical radiating elements, such as waveguides, horns, slots, or dipoles. Phased array radars typically include a power supply having electronic means for altering the phase of power which is fed to each of the radiating elements. By properly controlling the alteration or shift in the phase of this power at each radiating element, the shape and direction of the radiation pattern can be altered without mechanical movement and with sufficient rapidity to be made on a pulse-to-pulse basis.
In general, phased array radars are extremely sophisticated electronic devices which incorporate precision components that will make the radar capable of achieving high target resolution with minimal delays in response time. Obviously, in order to achieve these capabilities the interaction between various components in a phased array radar must be carefully engineered. In particular, the interaction of various components with the phase shifter elements must be carefully engineered. Indeed, in order to increase precision, it is normally the case that each phase shifter is connected directly to the power feed and has a dedicated driver. This is so in order to minimize any additive effect the phase shifters may introduce into the radar system. At millimeter wave frequencies, however, the physical size of the components become so diminutive that their physical interconnection can pose a significant problem. There are, however, many potential applications for phased array radars using millimeter wave frequencies where relatively slower response times are tolerable, and where high target resolution is not essential.
An example where the performance characteristics of a phased array radar can be somewhat relaxed is a collision avoidance radar for relatively slow moving vehicles. In such a case, the ability of a phased array radar to change the direction of its radiated beam and thereby sweep across a particular area is still important. Some delay in response time, however, may be acceptable. Further, it will typically be the case that lower signal to noise ratios can be tolerated. In sum, the present invention recognizes there are many applications where a phased array radar can be extremely useful even though it may have less precise performance capabilities than are typically necessary for other, more specific, applications.
With the above in mind, the activation of individual phase shifters between the power feed and each of the radiating elements of the antennas became a design consideration of major importance to the present invention. With the knowledge that a circularly polarized wave is easily influenced by a magnetic flux field, the present invention recognized that though there are some inherent losses involved, each phase shifter in a phase shifter subarray need not have a dedicated driver. Specifically, the present invention recognizes that a plurality of phase shifter elements can be ganged together and differentially influenced by a common flux field.
In light of the above it is an object of the present invention to provide a phase shifter subarray for use in directing the beam of a phased array antenna which consolidates similar type components in order to simplify the interaction of different components. Another object of the present invention is to provide a phase shifter subarray for use in directing the beam of a phased array antenna which uses a single current mode driver to accomplish deflection of the radiated beam by driving all of the phase shifter elements in series. Still another object of the present invention is to use a common electrical coil for creating a flux field that differentially influences the phase shifters in the subarray to direct radiation from the antenna. Yet another object of the present invention is to provide a phase shifter subarray for use in directing the beam of a phased array antenna which tolerates relatively low signal to noise ratios during target acquisition. Another object of the present invention is to provide a phase shifter subarray for use in directing the beam of a phased array antenna which is reliable for use as a collision avoidance radar on relatively slow moving vehicles. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a phase shifter subarray for use in directing the beam of a phased array antenna which is relatively easy to manufacture, is simple to use, and is comparatively cost effective.

Single element driver architecture for ferrite based phase shifter