Thin film ferroelectric materials for use in integrated memory circuits, such as FERAMS and the like, contain strontium bismuth niobium tantalate having an empirical formula SrBi.sub.2+E (Nb.sub.X Ta.sub.2-X)O.sub.9+3E/2, wherein E is a number representing an excess amount of bismuth ranging from zero to 2; and X is a number representing an excess amount of niobium ranging from 0.01 to 0.9. The thin films demonstrate an exceptional resistance to polarization imprinting when challenged with unidirectional voltage pulses.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to thin film materials for use in integrated circuits and, more particularly, ferroelectric materials for use in integrated memory circuits. More specifically, the thin film ferroelectric materials are strontium bismuth niobium tantalate materials that remain essentially free of polarization imprinting even after long repetitions of unidirectional voltage pulses.
2. Statement of the Problem
It is well known that thin film ferroelectric materials may be used in a variety of nonvolatile random access memory devices. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,600,587 issued to Koike teaches a ferroelectric nonvolatile random access memory using memory cells consisting of a ferroelectric capacitor and a switching transistor. U.S. Pat. No. 5,495,438 issued to Omura teaches a ferroelectric memory that is formed of ferroelectric capacitors connected in parallel. The capacitors have ferroelectric materials of different coercive field values and, consequently, can use or store multi-value data. U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,409 issued to Nishimura et al teaches a nonvolatile memory including a ferroelectric layer that is polarized by the impressed voltage between two gates. The polarization or memory storage state is read as a high or low current flow across the ferroelectric layer, which permits nondestructive readout. U.S. Pat. No. 5,539,279 issued to Takeuchi et al teaches a high speed one transistor-one capacitor ferroelectric memory that switches between two modes of operation including a dynamic random access memory ("DRAM") mode and a ferroelectric random access memory ("FERAM") mode.
FIG. 1 depicts an ideal polarization hysteresis curve 100 for ferroelectric thin films. Side 102 of curve 100 is produced by measuring the charge on a ferroelectric capacitor while changing the applied field E from a positive value to a negative value. Side 104 of curve 100 is produced by measuring the charge on the ferroelectric capacitor while changing the applied field E from a negative value to a positive value. The points -E.sub.c and E.sub.c are conventionally referred to as the coercive field that is required to bring polarization P to zero. Similarly, the remanent polarization Pr or -Pr is the polarization in the ferroelectric material at a zero field value. The Pr and -Pr values ideally have the same magnitude, but the values are most often different in practice. Thus, polarization measured as 2 Pr is calculated by adding the absolute values of the actual Pr and -Pr values even though these values may differ in magnitude. The spontaneous polarization values Ps and -Ps are measured by extrapolating a linear distal end of the hysteresis loop, e.g., end 106, to intersect the polarization axis. In an ideal ferroelectric, Ps equals Pr, but these values differ in actual ferroelectrics due to linear dielectric and nonlinear ferroelectric behavior. A large, boxy, substantially rectangular central region 108 shows suitability for use as a memory by its wide separation between curves 102 and 104 with respect to both coercive field and polarization.
Presently available ferroelectric materials depart from the ideal hysteresis shown in FIG. 1. Researchers have investigated materials for use in integrated ferroelectric devices since the 1970's, but these investigations have not yet been commercially successful due to their departures from the ideal hysteresis. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,939,292 issued to Rohrer reports early studies of ferroelectric materials for use in ferroelectric memories were performed on Phase III potassium nitrate. In practice, potassium nitrate materials have such low polarizabilities and are so badly afflicted by fatigue and imprint that the materials are practically useless in microelectronic memories.
It is nearly impossible to find ferroelectrics that meet commercial requirements. The best materials for integrated ferroelectric devices are switched using a coercive field that can be obtained from conventional integrated circuit operating voltages, i.e., three to five volts. The materials should have a very high polarization, e.g., one exceeding twelve to fifteen .mu.C/cm.sup.2 determined as 2 Pr, to permit the construction of memories having sufficient densities. Polarization fatigue should be very low or nonexistent. Furthermore, the ferroelectric material should not imprint, i.e., the hysteresis curve should not shift to favor a positive or negative coercive field.
FIG. 2 depicts a hysteresis curve 100 next to curve 200. Curve 200 shows the effect of fatigue on curve 100. Fatigue reduces the separation between curves 102 and 104 defining central region 108. Central region 108 progressively becomes smaller and smaller with additional fatigue. This change in separation is due to the creation of point charge defects arising in the ferroelectric material as a consequence of polarization switching and the associated screening effect of the defects on the applied field. Thus, fatigue causes the ferroelectric material to wear out over time due to repeated polarization switching.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,519,234 issued to Araujo et al teaches that the fatigue problem of curve 200 is substantially overcome by the use of layered superlattice materials, such as the "layered perovskite-like" materials described in Smolenskii et al "Ferroelectrics and Related Materials," Gordon and Breach (1984). The layered superlattice materials are capable of providing a thin film ferroelectric material wherein the polarization state may be switched up to at least 10.sup.9 times with less than thirty percent fatigue. This level of fatigue endurance provides a significant advance in the art because it is at least an order of magnitude better than the fatigue endurance of other ferroelectrics, e.g., lead zirconium titanate ("PZT") or lead lanthanum zirconium titanate ("PLZT").
According to section 15.3 of the Smolenskii book, the layered perovskite-like materials or layered superlattice materials have three general classes:
(A) compounds having the formula A.sub.m-1 Bi.sub.2 M.sub.m O.sub.3m+3, where A=Bi.sup.3+, Ba.sup.2+, Sr.sup.2+, Ca.sup.2+, Pb.sup.2+, K.sup.+, Na.sup.+ and other ions of comparable size, and M=Ti.sup.4+, Nb.sup.5+, Ta.sup.5+, Mo.sup.6+, W.sup.6+, Fe.sup.3+ and other ions that occupy oxygen octahedra; PA1 (B) compounds having the formula A.sub.m+1 M.sub.m O.sub.3m+1, including compounds such as strontium titanates Sr.sub.2 TiO.sub.4, Sr.sub.3 Ti.sub.2 O.sub.7 and Sr.sub.4 Ti.sub.3 O.sub.10 ; and PA1 (C) compounds having the formula A.sub.m M.sub.m O.sub.3m+2, including compounds such as Sr.sub.2 Nb.sub.2 O.sub.7, La.sub.2 Ti.sub.2 O.sub.7, Sr.sub.5 TiNb.sub.4 O.sub.17, and Sr.sub.6 Ti.sub.2 Nb.sub.4 O.sub.20.
Smolenskii pointed out that the perovskite-like layers may have different thicknesses, depending on the value of m, and that the perovskite AMO.sub.3 is in principal the limiting example of any type of layered perovskite-like structure with m=infinity. Smolenskii also noted that if the layer with minimum thickness (m=1) is denoted by P and the bismuth-oxygen layer is denoted by B, then the type I compounds may be described as . . . BP.sub.m BP.sub.m . . . . Further Smolenskii noted that if m is a fractional number then the lattice contains perovskite-like layers of various thicknesses, and that all the known type I compounds are ferroelectrics.
Despite the tremendous improvements in low fatigue ferroelectrics attributable to layered superlattice materials, there remains an imprint problem that is typified by curve 202 of FIG. 2. Curve 202 shows that curve 100 can be imprinted or shifted to the right or left. This imprinting occurs when the ferroelectric material is subjected to repetitive unidirectional voltage pulses. The ferroelectric material retains a residual polarization or bias that shifts sides 102 and 104 in a positive or negative direction with respect to the applied field. Thus, curve 202 has been shifted in a positive direction 204 by repeated negative pulsing of a ferroelectric capacitor. A shift in the opposite direction could also occur due to repetitive pulsing by negative voltage. This type of pulsing represents what happens to the ferroelectric materials as a consequence of repeated unidirectional voltage cycling, such as the sense operations in FERAMs. Imprint can be so severe that the ferroelectric material can no longer retain a binary polarization state corresponding to a logical 1 or 0 value.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,592,410 issued to Verhaeghe refers to ferroelectric imprint phenomenon as `compensation.` The '410 patent teaches that the imprint problem can be reversed by pulsing voltage during the write cycle to return the hysteresis loop towards the unimprinted position of FIG. 100, as compared to curve 202. Thus, the imprint problem is reversed by special write operations in which the pulsed voltage is opposite the switching voltage. Still, the recommended voltage pulsing does not address the entire problem because the imprint phenomenon is a partially irreversible one. The observed imprinting reflects corresponding changes in microstructure of the ferroelectric crystal, e.g., the creation of point charge defects with associated trapping of polarized crystal domains. These changes in microstructure are not all reversible.
There remains a need for ferroelectric thin film materials that are, substantially free of the imprint problem.

Low imprint ferroelectric material for long retention memory and method of making the same


The objective of the present invention is to provide a method for obtaining a high purity disilicon hexachloride by removing a silanol with good efficiency from a disilicon hexachloride material containing the silanol as an impurity. The purification method for disilicon hexachloride of the present invention comprises a process for contacting a disilicon hexachloride material containing disilicon hexachloride and a silanol as an impurity with an adsorbent material such as activated carbon to remove the silanol. The method may further comprise a distillation process. The above processes are preferably performed in an atmosphere of an inert gas.

A silicon halide such as dichlorosilane is conventionally used as a starting material for silicon semiconductor. Recent years, the possibility of disilicon hexachloride has been considered to be expected as a CVD material for depositing silicon nitride layer at a low temperature compared with this dichlorosilane.
However, disilicon hexachloride, by whichever method it may be produced, contains a silanol as an impurity. So a high purity disilicon hexachloride is required for forming silicon nitride layer stably and a purification method for removing an impurity such as a silanol is demanded. If the impurity content is high, a deposition rate of silicon nitride may slow down. In addition, the impurity may be taken in the layer to lead a problem where a homogeneous layer may not be formed.
The purification method of a silicon chloride compound is disclosed, for example in JP-A H02-153815. This literature discloses an example where a chloro polysilane material is subjected to a contacting with activated carbon and then a distilling to purify.

Method for purification of disilicon hexachloride and high purity disilicon hexachloride


A method of grinding a wafer includes positioning a wafer beneath a grinding wheel and aligning the wafer and the grinding wheel. The method further includes contacting a grinding surface of an outer base of the grinding wheel with the wafer while rotating at least one of the wafer and the grinding wheel, contacting a grinding surface of an inner frame of the grinding wheel with the wafer while rotating at least one of the wafer and the grinding wheel, without changing the alignment between the wafer and the grinding wheel, and tilting one of the wafer and the grinding wheel relative to the other during at least one of the first and the second contacting steps. The method also includes removing the wafer from the position beneath the grinding wheel.

Silicon wafers are used as the substrate to build the majority of semiconductor devices. Manufacturing of silicon wafers starts with growth of single crystal silicon ingots. A sequence of processes is used to turn a silicon ingot into wafers. A wafer can be a complete wafer or a sliced silicon (substrate) wafer. The process typically consists of the following steps: slicing, edge profiling or chamfering, flattening (lapping or grinding), etching, and polishing. Grinding is a flattening process for the surface of silicon wafers, not for the edges.
On the front side of a wafer, semiconductor devices are built. The back side of a wafer is typically thinned to a certain thickness by grinding. Such grinding the back of the wafer is simply called backside grinding, usually done by a diamond wheel. In backside grinding, the removal amount is typically a few hundred microns (in wafer thickness), and it is typically carried out in two steps: coarse grinding and fine grinding.
Coarse grinding employs a coarse grinding diamond wheel with larger diamond abrasives to remove the majority of the total removal amount required, as well as a faster feed rate to achieve higher throughput. For fine grinding, a slower feed rate and a fine grinding wheel with smaller diamond abrasives are used to remove a small amount of silicon.
A conventional grinding tool typically has multiple grinding modules, which are used to grind the backside of a semiconductor wafer 1 in various stages of the grinding process. Coarse grinding is done with a first grinding wheel at a first stage or station, and fine grinding is subsequently done with a second grinding wheel at a second stage. Movement between the two different stages or stations causes delay and mis-alignment issues that can impact the cost and quality of the overall process.
The drawings, schematics, and diagrams are illustrative and not intended to be limiting, but are examples of embodiments of the invention, are simplified for explanatory purposes, and are not drawn to scale.

Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, Ltd.


A foamable pharmaceutical composition and a method of treating corticosteroid-responsive dermatoses of the skin are disclosed. The foamable pharmaceutical composition comprises a corticosteroid compound as an active ingredient; a quick-break foaming agent including an aliphatic alcohol, water, a fatty alcohol and a surface active agent; a buffering agent; and a propellant. The foamable composition is disposed within a pressurizable container that comprises an aerosol valve assembly including a dip tube communicating with a valve orifice through which the foamable composition is dispensed and an actuator to start and stop dispensation. The valve assembly dispenses a conically-shaped spray at a rate of about 2 to about 0.3 g/sec and provides a foam having a density of about 0.12 to about 0.25 when sprayed at a distance of about 5 to about 10 cm from the valve orifice onto a glass surface that is at ambient room temperature.

Corticosteroids, particularly in the form of the ester derivative compounds, are used, inter alia, in the treatment of skin diseases in humans, such as eczema, infantile eczema, atopic dermatitis, dermatitis herpetiformis, contact dermatitis, seborrhoeic dermatitis, neurodermatitis, psoriasis and intertrigo. Formulations containing such active substances have conventionally been applied to the skin site in the form of alcoholic solutions, lotions or creams.
However, lotions and creams can be too viscous to permit efficient penetration of the active substance to the epidermis, and solutions have a tendency to evaporate before penetrating the epidermis. In addition, conventional cream bases can be irritating to the skin, particularly over the often long exposure that is required, and the fluidity of lotions often makes the physical application difficult to control. Moreover, it is necessary to rub such formulations into the target site to improve the penetration of the active substance into the epidermis, an action that itself can produce irritation.
There has therefore been a very real need in the treatment of skin disorders requiring treatment with corticosteroids for improved formulations which target the most effective corticosteroid to the skin site with improved delivery of active, substance with decreased inconvenience and irritation, and increased ease of use for the patient. One such improvement has been in the product sold under the name Olux® (clobetasol propionate) Foam 0.05%. Olux® Foam 0.05% contains clobetasol propionate in a thermolabile hydroethanolic foam vehicle pressurized by a hydrocarbon (propane/butane) propellant. This product is described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,126,920.
The product label, inter alia, instructs morning and evening applications that can be effected by inverting the pressurized container and dispensing a small amount of the hair mousse-like foam (up to a maximum of a golf-ball-size dollop or one and a half capfuls) into the cap of the can, onto a saucer or other cool surface, or to the lesion, taking care to avoid contact with the eyes. Dispensing directly onto hands is not recommended (unless the hands are the affected area), as the foam will begin to melt immediately upon contact with warm skin. Small amounts of the foam are suggested to be picked up with fingertips and gently massaged into affected area until the foam disappears.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,029,659 and U.S. Pat. No. 6,730,288 both to Abram that are titled "Mousse Composition" and U.S. Pat. No. 8,460,641 to Larm et al. describe aerosol foaming compositions for dermatological use. The Abram compositions are described as a mousse, whereas a Larm et al. composition is described as an oil in water microemulsion or sub-micron emulsion that can be dispensed "as an aerosol foam or mousse" (col. 16, lines 35-36). A composition of each patent is said to contain at least one occlusive agent such as one or both of petrolatum and mineral oil, one or more lipophilic surfactants, water, at least one hydrophilic surfactant, a non-surfactant water-soluble amphiphilic agent such as a diol or polyol, a pharmaceutically active ingredient that is poorly water-soluble such as betamethasone valerate or clobetasol propionate, and a propellant. A composition of the three patents can also contain an organic solvent.
Each of these patents is listed in the FDA "Orange Book" in conjunction with a product called "Olux-E®". This product is to be indicated for the treatment of inflammatory and pruritic manifestations of corticosteroid-responsive dermatoses in patients 12 years and older. The active ingredient is 0.05% clobetasol propionate. The instructions for use of Olux-E® indicate that the aerosol container be shaken, and inverted to dispense the foam into the palm of one's hand. The dispensed foam is then to be applied to the affected area in a thin layer and the foam gently rubbed into the affected area until it disappears into the skin.
The Olux® (clobetasol propionate) Foam 0.05% product is a particularly efficacious product, but is somewhat inconvenient and cumbersome to use because of the requirement for container inversion to dispense the foam and the related difficulties in dispensing the foam into the container cap, the stiffness of the dispensed foam that can require excessive rubbing and irritation on use, and the wastage involved in dispensing the foam into the product cap and scooping out the dispensed foam with the user's fingers to apply it to the affected area. The present invention provides improvements in these areas, while maintaining the desired pharmaceutical results.


The invention concerns an image database comprising a plurality of tables each including fields concerning at least image acquisition conditions, and/or sample identification, the tables being connected to one another in accordance with selected relationships. Each image acquisition comprises a control for displacing the sample-holder, parameters of the filtering means or parameters of the processing means, and an input for values of each acquisition parameter in the corresponding fields of the database tables. The imaging apparatus comprises a consultation unit for interrogating the image database with a request containing at least a criterion corresponding to at least an acquisition parameter, to select images fulfilling said criterion and to display said resulting selected images. The consultation unit comprises processing and analysing means for processing the resulting acquired images, and related data, retrieved or derived from processing said images.

The present invention relates to the imaging of samples and to the management of the images with the aid of an integrated and polyvalent relational data-base.
Its general application is to the acquisition and quantitative analysis of images and, more particularly, to the applications of the life sciences based on the high-resolution and high-speed identification and measurement of DNA (deoxyribonucleic acid).
One particular application for it is, for example, in studies involving immunofluorescence, cytogenetics, applied genomics, cytology, molecular biology, histo-cytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and molecular pathology etc.
Numerous apparatuses for imaging biological samples by fluorescence are already known. In the patent FR-A-2532756, for example, there is a description of an apparatus for imaging by fluorescence, in which an excitation light beam is directed onto a sample arranged on a sample holder. The radiation emitted by the sample thus excited is directed towards detection means. The signals detected are then processed to acquire a corresponding image of all or some of the sample observed. In the case of fluorescence, the excitation beam is filtered in terms of wavelength in order to select the radiation of use for producing the phenomenon of fluorescence, while the radiation emitted is filtered in order to stop the radiation of no significance to the phenomenon of fluorescence.
The prior art also includes imaging apparatuses (in the patent U.S. Pat. No. 4,122,518 CASTLEMAN et al, for example) which furthermore comprise an electronic control unit capable of adjusting the displacement of the sample holder. Generally, the images acquired are stored in digital form in a database. With the aid of such a database, the user is able to perform tasks of data processing, of recognition of objects and of their classification (karyotyping). In practice, the user selects an image by its file name, which offers little possibility of sorting. Moreover, management of the database is generally limited to a single, relatively static, application with little possibility of development, which is awkward in terms of its interactivity with the user.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Imaging apparatus associated with an image database


An image scanning device is provided for reading an image of an object. The image scanning device includes: a linear image sensor outputting an image signal corresponding to a received image; an imaging lens positioned between the object and the image sensor; a scanning system rotatable through a predetermined scanning range around a predetermined axis parallel to the line of image receiving elements to scan an image of the object onto the image sensor; a focusing system for adjusting a focusing condition of the image scanning device; and a controller which, based on an image signal from the image sensor, adjusts the focusing system to set an in-focus focusing condition for a portion of the object located at a substantially central portion of the scanning range. The image scanning system may be set to the center of the scanning range and the controller, using image signals from the image sensor, may monitor the contrast of the image while adjusting the position of the imaging lens until the contrast is maximum.

The present invention relates to an image scanning device that is provided with a linear image sensor and a scanning system for capturing a two dimensional image of an object.
A conventional image scanning device of this type includes a linear image sensor, such as a CCD (Charge Coupled Device) sensor, which includes a predetermined number of photodiodes (representing pixels) arranged in a line and aligned in a predetermined direction. The image scanning device also includes an imaging lens for forming an image on the image sensor. The image sensor captures an. image of one line (a scanning line) of the object and the scanning system operates to scan the object with the linear image sensor such that the linear image sensor captures a plurality of scanning lines until an image of the entire object is captured.
Generally, the scanning system operates such that the image sensor is driven in a direction perpendicular to the alignment direction of the image sensor.
In one conventional image scanning device, the imaging lens is combined with the image sensor as a scanning unit. The scanning system then operates such that either the scanning unit is driven to scan the object ("flatbed scanner") or the object is driven such that it is scanned by the scanning unit ("portable-style scanner"). In the first case, the object is placed, for example, on a transparent plate, and then the scanning unit is moved relative to the transparent plate. Generally, the transparent plate is located closer to the scanning unit, and the range of movement of the scanning unit must generally be as large as the object such that the image scanning device is large and bulky. In the second case, since the object is moved past the scanning unit, a structure for moving the object must be provided. A well-known example of such a scanner is generally provided with a sheet feeder, and the object is generally a sheet of paper. Also in this case, the object moves past at a relatively close position to the scanning unit.
There is also known another type of scanning system with which an image of an object apart from the scanning system can be captured. In such a scanning system ("camera-style scanner"), an imaging lens is provided that forms an image of the entire object and then the image sensor is moved along a line representing the position of the image formed by the imaging lens. In such a system, the imaging lens is required to have an effective diameter corresponding to a diagonal line of the object. Such an image scanning device may be bulky and the imaging lens may be expensive to manufacture. Further, the system must have enough internal space to allow the movement of the image sensor and the moving mechanism therefor.
Still further, with such a scanning system, it may be necessary to provide a distance measuring device or the like in order to perform focusing. However, the addition of a distance measuring device or the like increases the size and cost of the image scanning device.


A line-width measurement adjusting method, which is used when first and second electron beam intensity distributions for measuring a line width are produced from intensity distribution images of secondary electrons obtained respectively by scanning a first irradiation distance with an electron beam at first magnification, and by scanning a second irradiation distance with an electron beam at second magnification, includes the step of adjusting the second electron beam intensity distribution of the electron beam at the second magnification such that the second electron beam intensity distribution is equal to the first electron beam intensity distribution of the electron beam at first magnification. The second electron beam intensity distribution may be adjusted by increasing or decreasing a second irradiation distance when producing the electron beam intensity distribution.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a line-width measurement adjusting method applicable to line-width measurement of a pattern using a scanning electron microscope, or more specifically to a line-width measurement adjusting method and a scanning electron microscope capable of avoiding fluctuation in a measured value when changing magnification.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Measurement using a scanning electron microscope has heretofore been applied to a line-width measuring method of a pattern. Here, a scanning electron microscope is configured to scan an electron beam scanning range by irradiating incident electrons, to acquire secondary electrons emitted from a sample by using a scintillator, to convert a quantity of electrons thus acquired into luminance, and to display a surface image of the sample on a display device.
In the case of managing characteristics of a semiconductor device with use of this scanning electron microscope, it is a general practice to check whether or not a line-width of a pattern is formed in the size within a design standard. The management of the pattern line-width is typically executed in accordance with the following procedures. After displaying a predetermined range of a resist pattern formed on a semiconductor wafer on a display device, an electron beam is focused and irradiated on a measurement point in the displayed range to acquire a waveform of luminance distribution based on secondary electrons reflected from the measurement point. Then, a high-level width in the waveform of luminance distribution is determined as a line width. A judgment is made as to whether or not this line width falls within an acceptable error range. If the line width is within the acceptable error range, a subsequent etching process is executed. In contrast, if the line width is out of the acceptable error range, the wafer is sent back to a process for forming the resist pattern.
In this way, the line-width measurement of the pattern is important in the manufacturing process of the semiconductor device, and various methods for accurately measuring the line width have been proposed. In general, a position where a slope of luminance corresponding to a quantity of secondary electrons becomes the maximum is defined as an edge position of the pattern.
Meanwhile, as another technique related thereto, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open Publication No. Hei 5 (1993)-296754 discloses an edge detection method of determining, as an edge position, a position where a secondary electron signal becomes the minimum.
As described above, the line-width measurement of the pattern with a scanning electron microscope employs the method of determining the position where the slope of luminance becomes the maximum as the edge position or the method of determining the position where the secondary electron signal becomes the minimum as the edge position.
Here, there are cases where measurement is performed by using the magnification of observation of different numbers of times, and where measurement is performed with the beam diameter of the electron beam in different size when a scanning direction or a measurement device is changed. These cases may cause a problem that different measurement results are obtained from the same measurement object.
When rescaling the magnification of observation, the measurement results may vary as follows. For example, use of the high magnification of observation causes an electron beam to travel in a short distance per unit time as compared to the case of use of the low magnification, whereby a range irradiated with the electron beam for a certain period of time is reduced. Generally, the detected edge position changes according to the size of the range irradiated with the electron beam, and this produces differences in the measurement result of the line width. For this reason, the measurement result of the line width varies between the case of high magnification of observation and the case of low magnification of observation.
Meanwhile, changes in the beam diameter causes the range irradiated with the electron beam to also vary. As similar to the case of resealing the magnification of observation, this also produces differences in the measurement result of the line width even when the same line width is measured.
In order to deal with these problems, a countermeasure has been taken heretofore in which the observation error is corrected by firstly acquiring correction data on the line width in each scale of the magnification of observation, and then by using the correlation in the correction data. Moreover, in the case of the changes in the beam diameter, the line width of the same sample is measured either in different scanning directions or with different measurement devices, and then beam diameter is readjusted when the measured values are different. However, it is troublesome to prevent the measurement results of the line width of the same pattern from varying, and difficult to execute the line-width measurement process efficiently.

Line-width measurement adjusting method and scanning electron microscope


A fiber lay-up apparatus and method includes one or more fiber sources from at least one fiber supply wherein a fiber may be fed under tension to provide a pre-stress to the fiber. The fiber lay-up apparatus may include a resin impregnator for impregnating a fiber with a resin. The fiber may be impregnated under pressure to reduce friction, to provide a motive force to move the fiber through the impregnator, or to enhance control over impregnation. The fiber may be shaped by a fiber shaping unit including one or more active or passive shaping members that provide enhanced control over the shape and placement of the fiber as the fiber leaves the fiber lay-up apparatus. A cutting element for cutting a fiber as it is being layed-up may be positioned proximal to the one or more shaping members, and may enable the fiber lay-up apparatus to end the lay-up of one fiber (or set of fibers) and begin the lay-up of a new fiber (or set of fibers) without delay. A UV or other curing element may be provided downstream from the cutting element. A splicing unit may be employed to detect when a fiber supply is exhausted, and may splice a trailing end of an exhausted fiber supply to a leading end of a new fiber supply to provide a continuous (or substantially continuous) fiber feed. The splicing unit may also splice at least one sensor into a fiber being fed from the at least one fiber supply to provide information about the fiber either before, during, or after the fiber is layed-up.

Apparatus and methods for manufacture and use of composite fibers in general are known. Many drawbacks exist with the known apparatus and methods.
In recent years, many industries including, but not limited to, the aerospace, automotive, marine, wind energy systems, furniture, telecommunications, transportation, residential construction, architectural applications, and fossil fuel exploration industries have increasingly demanded more inexpensive materials with better and/or more customizable material properties. These material properties may include, for example, strength, weight, elasticity, directional strength, geometrical capabilities, or other engineering design capabilities. Composite materials, such as fibers, have proven to be especially useful to manufacturers with material property requirements similar to those outlined above.
Several techniques, such as pultrusion, spray lay-up, vacuum bagging, resin transfer molding, and automated tape placement, for example, have been used to manufacture components using composite materials. However, these and other known techniques may be limited in their range of applicability because of limitations in at least one material property capability. For example, spray lay-up provides for speedy manufacture at a reasonable price, but may only be capable of incorporating short fibers into a manufactured component, which may limit design control over many mechanical material properties. Similarly, pultrusion manufacture is economical and may provide good control over material properties of a manufactured component, yet it is often limited by the component geometries that may be produced. These and other drawbacks exist.

Apparatus and method for manufacture and use of composite fiber components


An image sensing apparatus includes an image sensor for sensing an optical image and converting the optical image into an electrical signal, and a white balance control circuit for controlling a white balance condition of the electrical signal. A limiting device limits a control range of the white balance control circuit, and a changeover switch changes over the limiting device to selectively change the control range of the white balance control circuit.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an image sensing apparatus which senses an image of an object to be photographed and is arranged to form and produce a color image signal corresponding to the image of the object.
2. Description of the Related Art
There has been known a technique for automatically adjusting the white balance of an image sensing apparatus such as color video camera on the basis of the signal output of an image sensor. The automatic white balance adjustment is accomplished, for example, by automatically controlling amplification factors for R and B signals produced by the image sensor in such a way as to bring closer to a given reference value the integration values of color-difference signals obtained by converting R, G and B signals produced by the image sensor.
However, in a case where a major part of the image sensing plane of the color video camera is occupied by the color of some object such as the image of a colored object or an object in front of a colored wall obtained in close-up shooting with the color video camera, the adoption of the above stated automatic white balance adjustment method results in white balance adjustment to an unnatural color. For example, if the white balance adjustment deviates toward green or cyan, the color thus obtained is greatly disagreeable to the human eye in terms of visual sensation. It has been, therefore, considered very important for the automatic white balance adjustment to solve this problem.

Variable white balance control circuitry for selecting the appropriate range in accordance with the photographic mode


Arithmetic processing circuits in a circuit in a floating point processor having a fused multiply/ADD circuitry. In order to avoid waiting cycles in the normalizer of the floating point arithmetic, control logic calculates in an extremely early state of the overall Multiply/Add processing. Parts of the intermediate add result are significant and have to be selected in the pre-normalizer multiplexer to be fed to the normalizer by counting the leading zero bits (LAB) of the addend in a dedicated circuit right at the beginning of the pipe. LAB is added to the shift amount (SA) that is calculated to align the addend and is then compared with the width of the incrementer. If the sum of (SA+LAB) is larger than the width of the incrementer, which is a constant value, then no significant bits are in the high-part of the intermediate result, and the pre-normalizer multiplexer selects the data from a second predetermined position, otherwise from a first predetermined position.

The present invention relates to arithmetic processing circuits in a computer system and, in particular to a circuit in a floating point processor having a fused multiply/ADD circuitry.
Arithmetic processing circuitry for binary numbers of latest prior art typically employs floating point arithmetic in accordance with the IEEE 754 standard. Floating point arithmetic, used in addition, multiplication, and division, first normalizes the binary numbers to be added, multiplied, or divided by shifting the binary numbers until, for a positive number, the first non-zero digit (i.e., 1) is immediately to the left of the radix point such that the mantissa part of the binary numbers is greater than or equal to one and less than two. A negative binary number will have leading ones. Thus, to normalize a negative number, the number must be shifted so that the first zero is immediately to the left of the radix point.
For multiplication, the normalized binary numbers are then multiplied and their exponents are added. For division, the normalized binary numbers are divided and their exponents are subtracted. For addition and subtraction, the normalized numbers must be shifted (i.e., aligned) so that their exponents are equal, then the numbers are added or subtracted.
To normalize a binary number, the number of leading zeros (for a positive number) or leading ones (for a negative number) must be quickly determined so that the number of shifts of the binary number can be quickly performed for the next arithmetic operation. Ideally, the leading one count or leading zero count (LZC) is performed in parallel with the arithmetic operation so that shifting can be performed immediately after the arithmetic operation.
A fused ADD/multiply (FPU) circuitry of the above type and operation is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,993,051.
For providing a very fast arithmetic processing circuit for generating said binary number, calculating the number of leading ones or zeroes in the number, and then shifting the number to produce a normalized binary result for a next floating point arithmetic operation, it is proposed in said US Patent to implement a combined leading zero anticipator (LZA) and leading one anticipator (LOA) connected to an output of a carry save adder (CSA) of said Multiply/Add circuitry, said combined leading zero anticipator and leading one anticipator calculating leading ones or leading zeros of an output of said adder in parallel with said adder adding said sum and carry bits, whereby the LZA input comes from the CSA adder.
Thus, as it is illustrated in FIG. 1 (prior art) in the above cited US Patent a fused multiply add Floating point unit implementation is disclosed, in which the addition of the addend B and the product A*C is split into an addition part 14 where the operands are overlapping and an incrementer part 16, where they are not overlapping.
If the exponent of the addend is greater than the exponent of the product, and both operands are normalized, then the addend would be aligned that way that the part that does not overlap the product comes down through the incrementer, and the significant part of the intermediate result would be located somewhere in the range of at position 1. All bits in the low part are only relevant for the sticky.
If both operands are normalized, and the addend exponent is equal or smaller than the product exponent, then the both fractions of the operands overlap in that way that the significant part of the intermediate result has to be taken from the adder output at position 2. Non-relevant bits are located in the high part of the intermediate result 17.
In such type of prior art FPU circuitry designs the controlling of the normalization 20 is done out of long LOA and LZA vectors, that are available too late. They do not utilize the possibility to calculate and use the information in which parts of the intermediate result bits of significance come down.
In regard of continuously increasing clock rates of processor units and thus shorter processing cycles the before-mentioned approach has the drawback that the output of the Leading Zero Anticipator (LZA) circuitry is provided too late, especially if the processing data width is high (for example double precision) in order to coincide with the output produced from the CSA. Thus, the information, if or if not a leading zero or leading one, respectively, is present in the leading part of the aligned addend (aligned with the product) is not produced although the teaching of the cited US-patent already considers the parallel calculation of the LZA unit with the ADD operation to be an advantage over the respective prior art associated with the cited U.S.-patent.

High-sticky calculation in pipelined fused multiply/add circuitry

International Business Machines Corporation


An image forming device is provided that includes a first establishment unit configured to establish a connection with a server, a termination unit configured to terminate the connection with the server established by the first establishment unit, a detector configured to detect a connection request issued by the server, and a second establishment unit configured to establish a connection with the server in response to the detector detecting the connection request issued by the server.

Technical Field
The following description relates to one or more techniques for an image forming system that includes a server and an image forming device configured to establish a connection with the server and perform printing in the state connected with the server.
Related Art
An image forming system has been known that includes a server and an image forming device, which is configured to establish a connection with the server and perform printing under the condition that the connection therebetween is maintained.
As an example of the known image forming system, a technique has been known in which when performing a copying operation with a multi-function peripheral (MFP), a user reads out identification data of the user's ID card, sends the read identification data to a print limiting server to perform authentication, and issues an instruction to start the copying operation at any moment after completion of the authentication. Further, in the exemplary known technique, the MFP notifies the print limiting server of logout after a lapse of a predetermined time period since completion of the copying operation.

Image forming device, server, and image forming system


The present invention provides a film-form base having one or more sugars or sugar alcohols dispersed as fine particles therein, and also provides a film-form preparation containing the base and a drug. The base is produced by dispersing, in an organic solvent having a solubility parameter of 9.7 or higher, an edible polymer soluble in water and the organic solvent, and particles of one or two or more compounds selected from the group consisting of mono- to hexasaccharide sugars and sugar alcohols thereof which have an average particle size of 0.1 μm to 60 μm and are insoluble in an organic solvent. The present invention can therefore provide oral film-form base and preparation which have a rapid dissolution profile in the mouth and sufficient film strength, and provide a reduced sticky sensation attributed to the water-soluble polymer in the mouth and an improved feel when handled with the fingers.

At present, orally administered drugs are marketed as solid preparations such as uncoated tablets, coated tablets, capsules, powders, and granules; liquid preparations such as liquids and emulsions; and the like. Orally disintegrating tablets and rapidly dissolving oral films are already on the market as preparations that disintegrate in the mouth and are absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract.
Orally administrated film-, tape-, or sheet-form preparations that are to be disintegrated or dissolved by saliva without being chewed are already available as ten or more over-the-counter drugs (OTC drugs) overseas. In Japan, those preparations are available as one ethical pharmaceutical, as well as over-the-counter drugs.
The following Patent Documents teach technologies relating to such film-form preparations. Patent Document 1 discloses a base for a preparation which is obtained by dissolving, in a solvent, hydroxypropyl cellulose or a mixture of hydroxypropyl cellulose with polyvinylpyrrolidone, and a tannin substance, and then removing the solvent. Patent Document 2 discloses a film-form troche which is obtained by laminating a coating layer (a) containing a water-soluble, non-hygroscopic polysaccharide and a softener, a drug layer (b) containing a drug and an edible water-soluble polymer, and a drug layer (c) containing a drug, an edible water-soluble polymer, and a tannin substance in the order of (a), (b), (c), (b), and (a). Patent Document 3 discloses a rapidly dissolving film-form preparation which contains a drug and an edible polymer substance, has a film breaking strength of 200 to 3000 g/φ 7 mm and a film tensile strength of 200 to 3000 g/15 mm, and melts within 60 seconds in the mouth. Patent Document 4 discloses an oral film preparation that contains one of a pregelatinized starch and pullulan; an enzyme-modified starch; and a plasticizer. Patent Document 5 discloses a soluble film preparation which contains an active ingredient having a water solubility of about less than 1 g/4 mL at room temperature, and has a moisture content of about less than 15 wt %. Patent Document 6 discloses a film-form preparation which contains a drug, an edible water-soluble film forming agent, and low-substituted hydroxypropyl cellulose with a molar substitution degree of 0.05 to 1.0. Also, Patent Document 7 discloses a technology of preparing a rapidly dissolving preparation, which rapidly disintegrate or dissolve in the mouth or the like, by dissolving or dispersing a drug, saccharides, and polyvinylpyrrolidone in an organic solvent, and then removing the organic solvent.
However, the film-form bases and preparations having been disclosed up to now are produced by dispersing or dissolving a drug in a water-soluble polymer and, sugars or sugar alcohols are used for some of those bases and preparations (Patent Document 3 and Patent Document 4). In production of such bases or preparations, sugars or sugar alcohols to be used are in the dissolved in a solvent or recrystallized. For this reason, those conventional oral film-form bases or preparations give a sticky sensation attributed to the water-soluble polymer when applied in the mouth or when handled with the fingers. Patent Document 7, which relates to a rapidly dissolving preparation, teaches neither a technology of dispersing fine particles of saccharides nor production of a film-form preparation.    Patent Document 1: JP 7-187993 A    Patent Document 2: JP 2001-288074 A    Patent Document 3: JP 2004-43450 A    Patent Document 4: JP 2005-21124 A    Patent Document 5: JP 2007-528876 T    Patent Document 6: JP 2008-169138 A    Patent Document 7: JP 11-116465 A

Oral film-form base and oral film-form preparation


A system and method for authentication of a communication device is disclosed. A system that incorporates teachings of the present disclosure may include, for example, an authentication system can have a controller element that receives from a communication device by way of a packet-switched network an authentication request comprising a first identification (ID) of a gateway and a second ID of the communication device. The gateway and at least one network element of the packet-switched network can be provisioned to have a physical association with each other such that other network elements of the packet-switched network deny services to the gateway when the gateway attempts to operate outside of said physical association. From said physical association and the aforementioned IDs the controller element can authenticate the communication device. Additional embodiments are disclosed.

Identity theft over the Internet has been and continues to be an issue faced by service providers and its subscribers. As common communication devices such as home or office phones migrate to the Internet for data as well as voice communications, a risk arises that private information associated with these communication devices (e.g., a Media Access Control address, serial number, etc.) can be stolen and used to program counterfeit devices to access communication services of subscribers without authorization.
A need therefore arises for a system and method for authentication of a communication device.

System and method for authentication of a communication device


A ball valve includes a valve body, a cap, a disk spring, a driven member, and a spherical body. The disk spring and the driven member are disposed in the cap such that the driven member is urged by the disk spring to displace, thereby causing the driven member to push PTFE washers to come in contact with the spherical body.

Not applicable.
Not applicable.
The present invention relates generally to a valve, and more particularly to a ball valve.
As shown in FIG. 1, a prior art ball valve 60 includes a main body 61 and an auxiliary body 62. The main body 61 is provided in the interior with a rotary shaft 1, a spherical body 2, and two washers 3. The prior art ball valve 60 is defective in design because the auxiliary body 62 and the main body 61 must be separated to facilitate the repairing or maintaining of the ball valve 60. The separation of the auxiliary body 62 from the main body 61 is a time-consuming chore. In addition, the washers 3 are susceptible to wear and deformation due to the mechanical friction between the washers 3 and the spherical body 2. The wear or deformation of the washers 3 can result in leakage of the prior art ball valve 60.
The primary objective of the present invention is to provide a ball valve which is free of the deficiencies of the prior art ball valve described above.
In keeping with the principle of the present invention, the foregoing objective of the present invention is achieved by a ball valve comprising a main body, a cap, a disk spring, a driven member, and a spherical body. The disk spring and the driven member are disposed in the cap such that the driven member is urged by the disk spring to displace, thereby causing two PTFE washers to come in contact with the spherical body.
The features and the advantages of the present invention will be more readily understood upon a thoughtful deliberation of the following detailed description of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings.

47-2 Ju-Yi Rd., Hsi-Chi Li, Ta Chia Township


An aerial vehicle is outfitted with two or more digital cameras that may be continuously calibrated. The aerial vehicle may include one or more markings provided on portions of a frame, a control surface or another component that are within fields of view of the digital cameras. Based on an initial calibration of the digital cameras, intrinsic and extrinsic parameters of the digital cameras may be determined. Using the intrinsic and extrinsic parameters, locations of the markings may be determined. Subsequently, after the aerial vehicle has engaged in flight operations, images captured of the marking may be used to determine whether the digital cameras remain properly calibrated, and whether images captured using the imaging devices may be relied upon in determining ranges to objects or for any other purpose. A correction factor may be generated based on any differences between projections of the markings within the respective images.

Aerial vehicles are frequently equipped with one or more imaging devices such as digital cameras which may be used to aid in the guided or autonomous operation of an aerial vehicle, to determine when the aerial vehicle has arrived at or passed over a given location, or is within range of one or more structures, features, objects or humans (or other animals), to conduct monitoring operations, or for any other purpose. Aerial vehicles may be outfitted with imaging devices in any manner, e.g., by embedding or mounting imaging devices to one or more external surfaces of frames, motors, propellers, control surfaces, appurtenances or extensions, or other features.
Stereo ranging (or stereo triangulation) is a process by which distances or ranges to objects may be determined from digital images that are captured using imaging devices, such as digital cameras, that are separated by a fixed distance. For example, by processing pairs of images of an environment that are captured by imaging devices, ranges to points expressed in both of the images (including but not limited to points associated with specific objects) may be determined by finding a virtual intersection of pairs of lines extending from the respective lenses or sensors of the imaging devices through representations of such points within each of the images. If each of the images is captured substantially simultaneously, or if conditions of the environment are substantially unchanged when each of the images is captured, a range to a single point within the environment at a given time may be determined based on a baseline distance between the lenses or sensors of the imaging devices that captured such images and a disparity, or a distance between corresponding representations of a single point in space expressed within both of the images when the images are superimposed upon one another. Such processes may be completed for any number of points in three-dimensional space that are expressed in both of the images, and a model of such points, e.g., a point cloud, a depth map or a depth model, may be defined accordingly. The model of such points may be updated as pairs of images are subsequently captured and processed to determine ranges to such points.
In order for cameras to be operated in pairs for stereo ranging, the cameras must be calibrated. During calibration, intrinsic parameters such as those that are internal and associated with the camera in a particular configuration and allow the camera to be mapped between camera coordinates and pixel coordinates within an image frame, may be determined. Likewise, extrinsic parameters, or parameters that are external to the camera and define the camera's location and orientation with respect to the real world, may also be determined.
As with other imaging systems, stereo ranging systems necessarily depend on digital cameras or other imaging devices that are properly calibrated in order to operate effectively. During flight operations, aerial vehicle frames are typically subjected to shocks from contact with other objects, such as debris, landing surfaces, or other vehicles, as well as adverse environmental conditions (e.g., airflow, wind, weather or the like), vibrations due to operations, or the like, which may cause temporary or permanent changes in the alignment, orientation or condition of imaging devices mounted thereto or embedded therein. Because imaging devices of stereo ranging systems must be rigidly aligned in pairs, changes in the alignment, orientation or condition of the digital cameras may lead to severe image quality degradation. For example, where the imaging devices of a pair are not aligned in parallel and vibrating synchronously, depths or ranges determined from the imaging devices are ineffective or useless.

Self-calibrating stereo camera pairs provided aboard aerial vehicles


A bolt includes a main-bolt head, a threaded shaft, and a deformable-bolt head component. The main-bolt head has a recess. The threaded shaft extends from the main-bolt head. The threaded shaft has an external thread wrapped therearound. The deformable-bolt head component has an outer flange and an interior threaded bore. The outer flange of the deformable-bolt head component is coupled to the main-bolt head such that a relief space is formed between the deformable-bolt head component and the recess.

In many applications, it is desirable to have a threaded nut fastened on a threaded bolt that can withstand high torques and correspondingly high preloads without the bolt/nut fastener failing (e.g., shearing or popping off of the bolt head). Conventionally, a nut is fastened on a threaded shaft of the bolt, which applies a preload force to a joint. The joint typically includes two items (e.g., plates) being secured or bolted together by the bolt/nut fastener. The preload force causes the bolt shaft to stretch along its central axis and also holds and/or bolts items together (e.g., by way of the bolt head and nut exerting opposing clamp forces on the items). However, the conventional use of nut and bolt fasteners concentrates the preload force at the point where the shaft meets the head of the bolt, which can be the weakest point of the bolt and most susceptible of failing. The present disclosure is directed to solving these and other problems by providing a high torque bolt with an improved head-shaft joint that permits the bolt/nut fastener to be torqued to apply relatively higher preload forces.


A positioning device includes a swiveling shaft, at one end of which an element to be positioned may be attached, a swivel drive, made up of a rotor, which is movable relative to a stator, a position measuring device, made up of two parts movable relative to each other, and a roller bearing, which includes several rolling elements. The rotor of the swivel drive and a first part of the position measuring device are connected to the shaft in a rotatably fixed manner. The rolling elements are made of a ceramic material.

Positioning devices of this type are often used in servo track writers (STW), in which the tracks for magnetizable hard disks are formatted or written. For this purpose, a positioning device in the STW swivels a shaft, to which a swivel arm is attached. At its end, a write head is provided, which is ultimately moved by the swivel motion of the shaft and is positioned in a highly precise manner so that as many tracks as possible per unit surface area of the hard disk may be configured. The number of tracks set up per unit surface area or unit diameter (tracks per inch) is a measure for the storage capacity of hard disks. For this reason, efforts are permanently undertaken to achieve a track allocation that is as tight as possible. For a hard disk manufacturer to be able to configure hard disks with a dense track allocation in an economical manner, it must be possible to position the swivel arm of the STW in an exact manner within a very short time (seek and settle time).
The publication "Servo Track Writing Technology" (Fujitsu Sci. Tech. J., 37, 2, pages 220 to 226) of December 2001 describes positioning devices, in which the position of the swivel arm is scanned by a separate scanning unit. In this instance, there is considerable expenditure involved in positioning the scanning unit relative to the swivel arm.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,796,542, an air bearing is used in a servo track writer to increase the running smoothness and to reduce the seek and settle time. Air bearings of this kind may require a highly precise and costly manufacture and a permanent compressed air supply.
Conventional positioning devices may have the disadvantage that they either have a comparatively costly design and/or may be disadvantageous in terms of precision and seek and settle time.


An electrophoretic display device is provided, in which an image update period is constituted with a reset period including at least a stirring pulse for stirring electrophoretic particles and a compensation pulse for suppressing accumulation of the residual DC component and with a set period including a set pulse for applying, to intended pixels, a voltage of polarity for making transition to black or white for a prescribed amount of time according to a next image. The voltage waveforms for each display gradation are so designed that a period where a positive voltage is applied to a counter electrode and a period where a negative voltage is applied do not overlap with each other, and a compensation pulse is applied after the stirring pulse which sets all the pixels of the display unit to a white or black base state. Thereby, changes in the display state are not visually recognized.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an electrophoretic display device and a driving method thereof. More specifically, the present invention relates to an electrophoretic display device and a driving method thereof, with which afterimages and ghosting are not generated and inverted images (negative images) are not displayed when updating images.
2. Description of the Related Art
As a display device capable of conducting an action of "reading" without stress, electronic paper display devices referred to as electronic books or electronic newspapers are being developed. The electronic paper display device of such type is required to be thin, light in weight, hard to be broken, and low in power consumption. In order to satisfy those demands, a reflective display medium having a display memory characteristic is generally considered as advantageous. An electrophoretic display device, an electronic powder type element, a cholesteric liquid crystal element, and the like are known as such display media. Recently, an electrophoretic display device using two or more kinds of charged particles has drawn an attention. Hereinafter, a display device using an electrophoretic display element is simply referred to as an "electrophoretic display device". However, it is to be noted that the concept of the "electrophoretic display device" includes the type of display device using an element that provides display by migration of charged particles, such as an electronic powder type element. The basic principle of the electrophoretic display device is that a liquid cell (electrophoretic layer) containing charged particles is sandwiched by transparent electrodes, and the reflectance of the display surface changes by migration of the charged particles caused by adding a voltage. Recently, an active matrix driving type electrophoretic display device using a film-type electrophoretic layer on which a great number of microcapsules filled with charged particles and a solvent and using a TFT glass substrate has been put into practical use. This electrophoretic display device is constituted by stacking a TFT glass substrate, an electrophoretic display element film (electrophoretic layer), and a counter substrate in this order. In the TFT glass substrate, TFTs as a great number of switching elements arranged in matrix, pixel electrodes, gate lines, and data lines connected to each of the TFTs, respectively, are provided. Further, the electrophoretic display element film is formed by filling microcapsules of about 40 μm in a polymer binder. In the solvent inside the microcapsules, two kinds of nanoparticles charged in plus and minus, i.e., white pigment such as titanium oxide particles charged minus and black pigment such as carbon particles charged plus are confined in a dispersedly floating manner. Further, a counter electrode (also referred to as a common electrode) for giving a reference potential is formed on the counter substrate.
The operations of the above-described active matrix drive type electrophoretic display device are executed by migration of the white pigment and the black pigment vertically through applying voltages corresponding to pixel data between the pixel electrode and the counter electrode. That is, when the positive voltage is applied to the pixel electrode, the white pigment charged minus is gathered to the pixel electrode while the black pigment charged plus is gathered to the counter electrode. Thus, assuming that the counter electrode side is the display surface, the area (pixel) on the display screen corresponding to the pixel electrode to which the positive voltage is applied turns out as black display. In the meantime, when the negative voltage is applied to the pixel electrode, the black pigment is gathered to the pixel electrode and the white pigment is gathered to the counter electrode. Thus, the corresponding area (pixel) on the display screen turns out as white display. Further, the migration amount of the charged particles can be changed through changing the voltage applying time and the extent of the voltage, so that it is possible to provide halftone (gray) display (e.g., Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication 2009-276763 (Patent Document 1)). As described, it is possible to display characters, images, and the like through controlling the voltages to be applied for each pixel electrode.
However, when voltages corresponding to a next image are simply applied to the pixel electrodes at the time of updating the displayed image with the electrophoretic display device, the history of the previous image affects the next image, which is visually recognized as an afterimage. Therefore, it is being tried to cancel the history of the previous image by, for example, providing the so-called reset period in which white/black display is repeated in all the pixels on the display screen once, white-black inverted image is displayed in a next image, etc. Therefore, the voltages applied to the pixel electrodes at the time of update include not only the voltages corresponding to prescribed display colors but also voltages in the reset period, and change for the period (time) during the update of images. A series of voltages applied to the pixel electrodes from the start to the end of the update of the image are referred to as a voltage waveform at the time of updating the image.
Further, it is known to cause deterioration in the display quality such as having afterimages, ghosting, and the like with the electrophoretic display device when DC (Direct Current) components are accumulated (residual electric charges are generated) by repeating the update of the images. As a driving method which suppresses the accumulation of the DC components, there is a driving method which zeros the total amount (time-integrated voltage value) of the voltages applied to the pixel electrode. Japanese Patent Application Publication 2008-509449 (Patent Document 2) and Japanese Patent Application Publication 2007-512571 (Patent Document 3) disclose examples of the driving method which zeros the total DC components. FIG. 61 shows examples of the waveforms disclosed in Patent Document 2. Each graph of FIG. 61 shows the waveform of the voltage given to the pixel electrodes when updating the image, in which the lateral axis is the time (seconds) and the longitudinal axis is the applied voltage (V). Expression of [R1 R2] in FIG. 61 is a symbol while defining the display before updating the image, i.e., the initial state, is R2 and the display after updating the image, i.e., the final state, is R1. That is, FIG. 61 shows the total of sixteen voltage waveforms of transitions in four gradations including gray display.
Specific examples of the expression [R1, R2] are shown in the followings.    [1 1]: Transition from black (gray level 1) to black (gray level 1)    [3 1]: Transition from black (gray level 1) to light gray (gray level 3)    [4 1]: Transition from black (gray level 1) to white (gray level 4)
Details of each waveform will be described by referring to the [1 4] waveform as an example. The [1 4] waveform is constituted with: a first reset pulse of +15 V and 0.5 seconds, which drives the pixels to black; a second reset pulse of −15 V and 0.5 seconds, which drives the pixels to white; and a set pulse of +15 V and 0.5 seconds, which drives the pixels to black. The [1 4] waveform achieves transition from the gray level 4 (white) to gray level 1 (black), i.e., achieves update of an image. Referring to FIG. 61, the total DC of the voltages applied to the pixels in a single-time update of the image is zero in the waveforms of [1 1], [2 2], [3 3], and [4 4]. In the meantime, as in the case of the [1 4] waveform, for example, there is a waveform having deviation in DC component with a single-time update of the image. Those waveforms are so described in Patent Document 2 that the total DC becomes zero by conducting the update of images for a plurality of times.
Further, FIG. 63 shows examples of the waveforms disclosed in Patent Document 3. FIG. 63 shows the typical waveforms used at the time updating the images from white to white, from light gray to light gray, from dark gray to dark gray, and from black to black, in which R1, R2 are the reset pulses, GD is a gray scale drive pulse, and ED is a polar drive pulse (pulse that drives the optical state of pixels from one of the polar optical state to the other polar optical state). Patent Document 3 refers to FIG. 63 and describes that the net DC of each gray scale transition (state between the intermediate gray optical state and the intermediate gray optical state such as the state between light gray and light gray or between dark gray and dark gray) at the time of updating the image, i.e., the product of the voltage and the time at each pulse, is zero. Further, it is also described that the net DC becomes the minimum for each polar transition (e.g., between white and white, between black and black).
However, with the electrophoretic display device driving method which prevents the conventionally generated after images and ghosting and increases the display quality, an inverted image of the displayed image and an inverted image of the image to be displayed next are displayed in the reset period at the time of updating the image. This gives a sense of discomfort to the user.
For example, the inverted image displayed in the reset period will be described by using the Driving Example shown in FIG. 61 and the display example shown in FIGS. 62A and 62B of Patent Document 2. FIGS. 62A and 62B illustrate the changes in the display screen when the image is updated with the waveforms of FIG. 61 in the display matrix of 6×8 pixels. FIG. 62A shows the expression of the gray level, the initial image before updating the image, and the final image after updating the image. As described above, the expression of [R1 R2] shows the transition between the gradations used in Patent Document 2. Note that black is expressed as B (gray level 1), white is expressed as W (gray level 4), and [4 1] shows the transition from black to white.
FIG. 62B shows a midway state during update of the image by the waveform of FIG. 61, the display screen after 0.5 seconds passed from the point of applying the first reset pulse, and the display screen after 1.0 seconds passed from the point of applying the second reset pulse. As shown in FIG. 62B, the display screen after 1.0 seconds passed from the point of applying the second reset pulse becomes an almost white-black inverted image of the final image. The change speed of the display state of the electrophoretic display device such as the transition time from white to black, for example, is more gradual compared to the case of the liquid crystal display device and the like. Thus, the white-black inverted image after 1.0 seconds shown in FIG. 62B including the changes before and after is sufficiently recognized by the eyes of human beings. Therefore, the user is to visually recognize the inverted image of the image displayed next every time the image is updated, thereby giving a sense of discomfort to the user.
Further, in the Driving Example shown in FIG. 63 of Patent Document 3, the display state of almost an white-black inverted image of the final image is displayed at the end of R1 (reset pulse). This occurs because the polarity of R1 is the opposite polarity of the pulse to be applied at last for forming the final image shown in FIG. 63. As described above, the transition time of the particles of the electrophoretic display device is generally gradual. Thus, the user also comes to visually recognize the white-black inverted image also in the Driving Example of FIG. 63, thereby giving a sense of discomfort to the user.
As described above, one of the reasons why the inverted image is recognized is that the migration time of the particles is slow. Further, the reset pulse is required for increasing the display quality, so that the image according to the voltage applied in the reset period is to be visually recognized. However, to zero the total DC component for increasing the display quality is to execute the transition reversed from the final transition, i.e., to apply the voltage that is of inverted polarity of the voltage applied in the set period in the reset period for the same length of time. That is, when a waveform of zero total DC is simply devised, an inverted image is generated as a result. As will be described later, the inventors of the present invention have done eager studies to find the driving method which can achieve zero total DC and generate no inverted image, and have achieved the present invention.
Further, in the Driving Example of Patent Document 2, the polarities of the set pulse and the reset pulse vary depending on the display gradations (gray levels) as in the waveforms shown in FIG. 61. Therefore, when employed to the active matrix drive, an instantly large driving capacity is required for the drive circuit that supplies the voltage to the pixels. For example, it is assumed that two pixels such as a pixel making transition from black to black [1 1] and a pixel making transition from white to white [4 4] are in a relation of being adjacent to each other by being connected via a same voltage supply line and connected sequentially to selection lines for selecting switching modules. In that case, a radical change in the potential of the voltage supply line is required at the time of supplying the reset pulse, i.e., −15 V for the [1 1] pixel and +15 V for the next [4 4] pixel. Further, at the time of supplying the set pulse, a radical change in the potential of the voltage supply line is also required at the time of supplying the reset pulse, i.e., +15 V for the [1 1] pixel and −15 V for the next [4 4] pixel. It is necessary for the drive circuit to satisfy this demand. However, when a large scaled screen and high definition thereof are more advanced, the driving capacity to be required becomes larger as well. Thus, in order to correspond to the large scaled screen and the high definition thereof, a waveform that does not require a radical change in the potential, i.e., drive with suppressed power consumption, is required.
The present invention is designed in view of the above-described issues. An exemplary object of the present invention is to provide an electrophoretic display device and a driving method thereof, with which the DC component can be made zero in the driving waveforms in total, afterimages and ghosting are not generated, and inverted image is not displayed at the time of updating the image. Further, an exemplary object of the present invention is to provide an electrophoretic display device and a driving method thereof, which require low power consumption by employing a waveform that does not require a radical change in the potential.

Electrophoretic display device and driving method thereof


A method, system, and computer program product to transfer data between two application data structures by copying a data gather scatter program (DGSP) from an exporting process address space where a first data structure is located, to a location in shared memory visible to an importing process address space; assembling a parameter set identifying the data structure; starting a data gather scatter-redistribution machine (DGS-RM) in an importing process space where a second application data structure is located; passing the first parameter set, the DGSP copy, and a second parameter set identifying a second application data structure and a second DGSP to the DGS-RM; and creating master and worker stack machines. The master stack machine identifies a contiguous chunk of the first data structure. The worker stack machine identifies contiguous chunks of the second data structure representing the same number of bytes as the contiguous chunk of the first data structure and transferring to (from) one or more identified chunks of the second data structure from (to) the single chunk of the first application data structure.

Message Passing Interface (MPI) defines a standard application programming interface (API) for using several processes at one time to solve a single large problem, or a "job," on a multiprocessor and often multi-node computer (i.e., commonly one process per CPU across 1 or more multi CPU nodes). Each job can include multiple processes. A process can also commonly be referred to as a task. Each process or task can compute independently except when it needs to exchange data with another task. The program passes the data from one task to another as a "message." Examples of multiprocessor computers are, e.g., an IBM eServer Cluster 1600 available from IBM Corporation, Armonk, N.Y., and supercomputers available from Cray, Silicon Graphics, Hewlett Packard and the like.
The primary purpose of a Data Gather Scatter Program/Data Gather Scatter Machine (hereinafter referred to as DGSP/DGSM or DGSM) is to provide an efficient, portable solution for handling MPI datatypes in MPI operations. DGSM is described in the co-pending, commonly-assigned herewith, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/517,167, entitled "Data Gather/Scatter Machine," filed on Mar. 2, 2000, the entire disclosure of which is herein incorporated by reference. It is important to note that any API that allows data of arbitrarily complex discontiguity to be described for the purpose of copying it could also use the DGSP/DGSM techniques. All MPI message passing is performance sensitive so efficient treatment of MPI datatypes is crucial. Some MPI operations, such as MPI-1 sided and MPI-IO, require that the representation of a datatype, defined by the application at one task of a MPI job, be interpreted at another task. Thus, portability of the representation is also required.
The DGSP/DGSM mechanism involves compiling a low level "program" (DGSP) for each MPI datatype the application constructs. This DGSP can be used in the task where it is created or delivered to another task. When delivered to another task, that other task can run the DGSP. A DGSP is run on a stack "machine" (DGSM) implemented in software to interpret the layout of a datatype and handle the data transfer.
The DGSP is a compact, portable and general representation of any MPI datatype, consisting of five basic DGSM instructions: COPY, MCOPY, GOSUB, ITERATE and CONTROL. Since the underlying communication subsystem for which the original DGSM was developed provides a buffered contiguous data stream between tasks, a basic DGSM assumes that at least one of the two buffers it performs on is contiguous. One of these "buffers", the one which can be discontiguous, is normally an application defined data structure rather than a usual communication buffer. DGSM executes a gather from a discontiguous buffer (an application data structure) to a contiguous staging buffer, or a scatter from a contiguous staging buffer to an application data structure.
In certain shared memory optimizations, the data of a data structure belonging to one task, defined by a datatype created at that task needs to be copied into a data structure at some other task on the same OSI (Operating System Image). The datatype defining the data structure belonging to the second task has been created only at the second task. Each datatype is available only within the address space of the task where it was created. The datatype created by each task will have been compiled into a DGSP, also available only within the address space of the task where it was created. A common solution for a data transfer between two discontiguous application data structures having non-uniform data layouts is to stage the transfer through a contiguous intermediate buffer. When the data structures belong to different tasks, the intermediate buffer must be in shared memory which is addressable by both tasks.
In this approach, data is first gathered from the source application buffer into the intermediate buffer and then scattered from the intermediate buffer to the destination application buffer. The DGSP/DGSM mechanism can be applied to both the gather and the scatter. Since the intermediate buffer size is always limited, buffer reuse has to be supported in a fill/drain cycle. The basic DGSM is designed to be activated repeatedly, each time being told how many bytes to process. The state of the machine at the end of one activation is retained so the next activation can resume, with respect to the application buffer, where the previous activation left off. To allow reuse of a single staging buffer or of a pool of staging buffers, each activation of the DGSM is provided with a new pointer to space in the intermediate buffer along with the number of bytes to be copied. At the data source side one DGSM gathers the requested number of bytes into the intermediate buffer. Then at the data destination side another DGSM scatters a specified number of bytes from the intermediate buffer to a discontiguous application data structure. One DGSM runs in each process and each DGSM depends on the DGSP and other information created within the address where that DGSM runs. A few variables in shared memory allow the gather DGSP to tell the scatter DGSP that the staging buffer has been filled so the scatter can begin. Later, the scatter DGSP tells the gather DGSP that all data from the staging buffer has been scattered and the buffer may be overwritten with more data. The cycle can continue until all data has been transferred via the staging buffer. There is no distinction between a DGSP to be interpreted for source (gather) or for destination (scatter) DGSM runs. The DGSP "machine instruction" COPY differs for gather or scatter only in which direction it copies the specified number of bytes.
FIG. 1 illustrates the structure of this prior art staging buffer approach. A discontiguous source application data structure 100 containing chunks of contiguous data with gaps in between is copied to a contiguous intermediate buffer 102 by way of a gather DGSM 103. The gather function uses a state cache 105 and a source DGSP 107 to control its progress. Next, a scatter DGSM 104 is used to write the data contained in the contiguous intermediate buffer 102 to a discontiguous destination application data structure 101. A state cache 106 and destination DGSP 108 are used to control the progress of the scatter function. A set of variables 109 in shared memory is used by both DGSMs 103 and 104 to allow them to take turns with fill/drain of the contiguous intermediate buffer 102.
Since each byte is copied twice in going from the source to the destination, this solution is inefficient in terms of time taken for data transfer and CPU demand; especially when the size of the data to be transferred is large. More severely, any memory system bandwidth bottleneck is double stressed by this two stage approach. Therefore a need exists to overcome the problems with the prior art as discussed above.

Data gather scatter—redistribution machine


A camera according to the present invention is a camera which feeds a film from a film feed opening of a patrone chamber and it includes a film feeder for feeding the film drawn from the film feed opening to a spool chamber through a film exposure portion, a detector for detecting whether or not the fed film passes through the film exposure portion, and a controller for controlling operation of the film feeder in response to an output of the detector.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to cameras and particularly to a camera capable of automatically winding up a film contained in a film patrone or a film cartridge.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a conventional camera, a patrone chamber or a cartridge chamber has only a function of containing a film patrone. In loading a film in a camera, a back cover is at first opened for example, and the film patrone is put in the patrone chamber. Then, the user holds by hand the film outside the film patrone and sets the film in a course from the patrone chamber to a film spool via a film exposure portion. After that, the film is advanced by manual operation of a winding lever by the user, or by operation of an automatic film winding device after closing of the back cover and so on.
According to the above described prior art, when a film is to be loaded in the camera, handling of the film is troublesome, since the user has to set the film in a prescribed position or inserts the film into an opening of the film spool. This problem exists not only in a camera in which a film is manually wound, but also in a camera provided with an automatic film winding device.
In order to solve such problem of the prior art, the assignee company of the present invention proposed in Japanese Patent Laying Open No. 62-156641 (U.S. Pat. No. 4,870,437) a camera capable of automatically winding up a film contained in a film patrone and having a compact patrone chamber.
Even the above mentioned camera proposed by the assignee company of the present invention has an insufficient function from a viewpoint of automatic loading. In such a camera, a film lead is automatically fed over the film exposure opening to the spool chamber, and on that occasion, it happens that the film lead falls in the exposure opening or catches on an end wall of the opening. If the film feeding operation continues in that condition, the film might be damaged or trouble in the film feeding device might occur.

Camera having an automatic film loading mechanism


A propylenic resin which is a homopolymer of propylene or a copolymer of propylene, has (i) intrinsic viscosity [.eta.] measured in decaline at the temperature of 135.degree. C. in the range of 0.5 to 10 deciliter/g and (ii) content of insoluble fraction in boiling n-heptane (W) in the range of 10 to 99 weight % and shows (iii) relation between relaxation time of rubber component measured by pulse NMR at the temperature of 30.degree. C. [T.sub.2H.sup.R (30): .mu.s], relaxation time of rubber component measured by pulse NMR at the temperature of 80.degree. C. [T.sub.2H.sup.R (80): .mu.s] and the content of insoluble fraction in boiling n-heptane (W) satisfying the following equations: EQU T.sub.2H.sup.R (80).ltoreq.670-2.2.times.W EQU T.sub.2H.sup.R (80)/T.sub.2H.sup.R (30).ltoreq.8.8+0.086.times.W. and a propylenic resin composition comprising (A) 10 to 95 weight % of the propylenic resin, particularly a propylenic resin which is at least one kind selected from a homopolymer of propylene and copolymers of propylene containing 4 mol % or less of other olefinic units, and (B) 90 to 5 weight % of a propylenic random copolymer having intrinsic viscosity [.eta.] measured in decaline at the temperature of 135.degree. C. in the range of 0.5 to 10 deciliter/g and containing 10 to 80 mol % of olefinic units other than the propylenic unit are disclosed. The polyolefinic resin and the composition have high heat resistance and excellent mechanical properties in a wide range of modulus, show small temperature dependence of the mechanical properties and do not cause stickiness on the surface of molded articles.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a polyolefinic resin and a composition comprising said resin, particularly a propylenic resin composition. More particularly, it relates to a polyolefinic resin and a composition comprising said resin having high heat resistance and excellent mechanical properties in a wide range of modulus, showing small temperature dependence of the mechanical properties and not causing stickiness on the surface of molded articles.
2. Description of the Related Arts
A polyolefinic resin is required to have a modulus varied in a wide range depending on application. Design of the resin, such as suitable selection of kind of olefin, was heretofore adjusted to satisfy the requirement for the wide range.
However, particularly when modulus of the resin is low, problems that characteristic mechanical properties of the resin are deteriorated and that stickiness of the surface of molded articles that is considered to be caused by the low molecular weight of the resin cannot be avoided are found depending on the temperature of application.
It is known that an excellent resin having a good balance of stiffness and impact strength at low temperature can be made of polypropylene resin in the form of block copolymer. However, an extremely large amount of a comonomer has to be contained in the copolymer to achieve very high impact strength at low temperature. It is inevitable that surface properties and heat resistance are significantly deteriorated by the extreme increase of the content of the comonomer even though impact strength is increased. Thus, improvement of these properties has been desired.
The present inventors developed soft polypropylene resins having specific structures before (Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Nos. 1991-14851 and 1991-168234). However, although these polypropylene resins have excellent mechanical properties as thermoplastic elastomers and heat resistance improved to some degree, improvement on (1) stickiness at the surface of polymer powder and molded articles during the production processes and (2) change of mechanical properties depending on temperature has been desired.

Polyolefinic resin and a resin composition comprising said resin


A system and method is provided for generating and executing specialized code executables. The system includes a virtual subsystem that processes a generic code image and logs information relating to an operating environment of the virtual subsystem. The logged information is employed as feedback to generate a specialized native executable, wherein the specialized native executable is utilized to provide improved performance of the virtual subsystem. The specialized native executable is selected for execution by the virtual subsystem by matching a current operating environment setting with the logged information.

Computer systems are driven by machine-readable instructions encoded in binary format, wherein the encoding depends on the hardware platform executing the instructions, and ultimately, according to an instruction set of a platform processor. Humans, however, often design programs according to human understandable/readable computer instructions in the form of source code, wherein compilers, or other tools such as assemblers, convert the source code into machine-readable instructions. These tools have steadily increased in performance and sophistication as technology has advanced. As one example, a standard native or static compiler generally inputs all available source code for a particular program and generates an executable image of instructions for a particular hardware platform. As program sizes and the amount of source code increases, however, the time to compile large code sources can become excessive. Thus, costs associated with developing large programs can increase as the size of the program increases for no other reason than time is expended waiting for the compiler to complete or build executable code images. This problem can be exacerbated when a small change in a source program requires a re-compilation of some, if not all portions of the entire source program.
Another issue relating to static compilers is that a separate compiler and subsequent compilation process may be required for each hardware platform that a particular source program is to be executed on. Thus, a program written in C++ to be operated on a desktop personal computer would likely be re-compiled by a different compiler in order to operate in a workstation UNIX environment, for example. In order to address compile time and re-compilation issues, other types of compilers and execution models have been developed. As an example, intermediate language compilers have been developed that convert source code written in many different languages (e.g., C++, BASIC, Pascal) to an intermediate language that operates in a virtual environment sometimes referred to as a virtual machine. This provides a layer of abstraction to the source code that enables a single code source to execute on multiple hardware platforms and operating environments. Thus, the virtual machine converts the intermediate language into the particular instructions required of the platform. Although platform independence and reduced development time is generally achieved by this model, some program performance is sacrificed when converting the intermediate language to machine-dependent instructions. Thus, a tradeoff exists between higher performance program operations provided by standard native compilers and the compilation and development time benefits provided by intermediate language systems. Consequently, there is a need for a system and methodology to provide program performance approaching that of native compiled systems while also providing the development benefits of intermediate language systems.

System and method providing on-demand generation of specialized executables