An eddy current imaging system includes an eddy current sensing coil positioned proximate a workpiece for scanning the workpiece to produce a signal indicative of the integrity of the workpiece for regions in an x,y array of data. Such a signal may be a complex impedance signal representative of the amplitude and/or the phase of the signal. Two data processing techniques are disclosed for enhancing the display of a flay in the workpiece. The first includes the step of calculating a spatial derivative of the amplitude and/or phase indicative signal from the coil and providing an image of the spatial derivative to produce a C scan of the spatial derivative. The second includes the steps of determining the regions of maximum ascent and/or descent of the signal for regions in the scan and calculating an impedance plane trajectory from the data array of path points for displaying a reconstructed optimum signal independent of path pattern.

This invention relates to an eddy current imaging system for detecting flaws and for measuring property characteristics of materials. More specifically, this invention relates to a method of eddy current testing wherein a C scan of a spatial derivative of the amplitude and/or phase of a probe signal is provided in either real time, or for post processing analysis. Still more particularly, this invention relates to a method of determining scanned image sections with maximum ascent or descent of detected data and calculating an impedance plane trajectory for displaying an optimum flaw indication signal independent of scan pattern. Still more particularly, this invention relation to a method and apparatus for displaying a first spatial derivative of the instantaneous phase of the impedance of a signal generated by scanning a material with a selected eddy current sensing probe, in combination with a reconstructed optimum scan path calculated as a function of the regions of maximum ascent or descent of the data and an impedance plane trajectory.
A number of non-destructive testing techniques have been developed for detecting and displaying information regarding the structural integrity of a member. Such techniques have included eddy current testing methods for detecting flaws and measuring property characteristics. Systems utilizing such techniques are commercially available. In the case of flaw detection, the proximity of a material flaw to the test coil causes a change in the complex impedance of the coil which is detected and decoded by electronic circuitry in the system. Once the test parameters of frequency, coil size and orientation have been set, the response with an axisymmetric coil is nearly solely a function of the spatial relationship between the flaw and the test coil. Thus, for any set of surface coordinates x, y, the test response is calculable.
Most eddy current instruments provide either a strip chart or a complex impedance phasor plot of the detected data from the test coil to the instrument. In either case, the dynamic response of the test coil is a function of its position, as previously indicated, and the dynamics of the motion of scanning. Since both of these types of response are basically presentations of an instantaneous impedance of the coil as a function of time, the dynamic signal is thus a function of scan speed and scan direction for the test coil relative to the test specimen, and particularly with respect to a flaw. In general, therefore, the approach used for flaw detection is to scan in such a manner that coil motion is perpendicular to the major axis of a flaw. However, in the general case, this presumes some a oriori knowledge of the location and extent of the flaw orientation. An advantage of this scanning motion is that the maximum contrast signal, i.e. one having the highest signal to noise ratio, results from the perpendicular intersect of coil path and flaw outline which thus facilitates flaw detection.
Prior systems have also included a display of the complex impedance of the signal from the test coil as a function of the position of the coil rather than as a function of time. Such a C scan display, as such a display is commonly referred to, usually depicts the amplitude of a component of the impedance, although some prior art systems have also displayed phase in a C scan mode. In either case, the actual spatial position is usually inferred from the temporal data using an assumption of constant scan velocity and the plot of either signal amplitude or signal phase versus x-y position is indicated.
In particular, an instrument available from Zetec referred to in the art as a MIZ-18 instrument produces C scan plots of amplitude of the test signal from the coil, or a time derivative of the amplitude of the test signal from the coil.
However, the interpretation of such signals is still based on spatial information, even though the amplitude, phase, and time derivatives of the amplitude are useful. Such systems which use time derivatives are dependent on an assumption of constant velocity, as noted above, to deduce the spatial relationship of a detected flaw, especially in the presence of background noise. By using the assumption of constant velocity to deduce position, it has been determined in another context that the image sections with the maximum ascent or descent of the test signal is a significant method for detecting subsurface flaws.
Thus, it has remained a significant problem in this art to provide a system in which the mechanical scanning system and the data acquisition parameters can be determined somewhat independently so that the scanning can be done in any convenient format such as a meander pattern or by raster scanning without sacrificing the quality of the test results. As a practical example where such an approach would be beneficial is the inspection of a structure such as an airplane wing. Mechanically, the easiest way to scan the wing is in a meander scan along the length of the wing with incremental indexing steps at the end of each stroke. Typically, flaws would emanate from rivet holes at any arbitrary orientatin and the above scan would be expected to miss some flaws due to poor signal to noise ratio conditions at certain flaw orientations. With such a scan pattern system, the locally optimum scan direction could be determined and this scan synthesized from the available date. In this manner, the optimum mechanical and signal criteria can be simultaneously satisfied.
Accordingly, it has also remained a significant problem in this art to provide a reconstructed optimum scan path based on scan data wherein the optimum path traverses a flaw edge in a given pixel at a right angle, or near thereto, for maximizing the signal-to-noise ratio.

Eddy current imaging system using spatial derivatives for flow detection


An electrical wrench includes a motor, a transmission mechanism, a ratchet assembly and a controlling member coupled to each other. The transmission mechanism is configured to provide idle travels. The ratchet assembly receives the rotating torque output by the transmission mechanism and drives the ratchet therein in a single direction. The controlling member is connected with the motor and controls the motor to rotate in the opposite direction when detecting the motor is stalled. The electrical wrench thus provides impacting action by electrical control and simplifies the mechanical structure of the tool, which not only reduces the manufacturing cost, but also prolongs the working life of the tool.

Electrical tools are presently being used in industrial manufacture and maintenance instead of manual tools. For example, an electrical wrench is used to fasten work pieces such as bolts or nuts. Sometimes during operation, a work piece can be locked when the electrical wrench tightens the work piece in an positive direction but it cannot be disassembled when the electrical wrench releases the work piece in a negative direction. The reason is that, when the electrical wrench is used to tighten the work piece, the output is changed from a high-speed state to stop state and thus a relatively large impacting torque is generated so as to tighten the work piece; but, when disassembling the work piece, the output is in a stalled state at the beginning, and the starting torque is relatively small, thus it is difficult to twist the work piece free.
At present, in order to resolve the above problem, a mechanical impacting assembly is added to the electrical wrench. The conventional impacting assembly comprises a hammer and an anvil, wherein the hammer is supported onto a spindle by a rolling ball arranged in a groove, and the anvil is driven by convex portions correspondingly arranged on the hammer and the anvil for generating an output. When the rotation of the anvil is blocked by resistance, the hammer will move axially backwards relative to the spindle against an elastic member arranged on the rear end of the hammer, and then the convex portions on the hammer and the anvil are staggered and restored rotatably under the biasing action of the elastic member, thus the convex portions on the hammer and the anvil come into contact again and an impacting action is generated. If the rotation of the anvil is blocked by resistance continuously, the above process is repeated so as to perform a continuous impacting action.
Arranging a mechanical impacting assembly in an electrical wrench may add to the number of members required in manufacture. Moreover, due to the continuous impacting action, there are high requirements for the mechanical accuracy and strength of the members. Thus, the electrical wrench provided with the mechanical impacting assembly greatly increases the manufacturing cost. In addition, the mechanical assembly may cause mechanical wear and damage on the device, thus the impacting efficiency will be decreased after a long time of operation and even the failure of the impacting action can occurred, thereby reducing the working life of the electrical wrench.


A medical vaporizer includes a liquid drug reservoir configured to receive and hold a liquid drug. A low power graphical display is configured to intermittently receive power. The low power graphical display is operable to visually present information and maintain the visual presentation of information in the absence of power. A controller is configured to intermittently receive power and upon receiving power the controller operates to determine a status of a medical vaporizer. The controller operates the low power graphical display to present the status of the medical vaporizer as visually presented information.

The present disclosure is related to the field of anesthesia delivery. More specifically, the present disclosure is related to medical vaporizers.
Medical vaporizers are devices that hold a volume of liquid drug exemplarily for use with an anesthesia delivery machine. The vaporizer operates to convert the liquid drug to a gaseous state. The delivery of the gaseous drug to the patient is facilitated by the interaction of the anesthesia delivery machine with the vaporizer.
Modern electronic vaporizers may not be considered compatible for use with a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machine if the vaporizer has an electronic LED or LCD display, due to the strong magnetic field associated with the MRI machine. Some previous solutions have relied upon electromagnetic shielding over the electronic LCD or LED display. Such electromagnetic shielding reduces the brightness and impairs visibility of the display. Additionally, if it is desired that the electronic display of the vaporizer be operational when the vaporizer is not connected to an anesthesia delivery machine, the vaporizer must also include a battery. However, this introduces further disadvantages, including battery charging, monitoring, replacement, and disposal.


A process for cleaning processing equipment for beverages or foods including the steps of. (a) pumping a cleaning solution from its holding tank through the processing equipment in the absence of a pre-rinsing step, PA1 (b) collecting a first portion of the cleaning solution returning from the processing equipment into a recycling tank, PA1 (c) returning to the holding tank for the cleaning solution the main portion of the cleaning solution flowing through the processing equipment, PA1 (d) subjecting the first portion of the cleaning solution collected into the recycling tank to a separation process to provide a soil-rich concentrate and a low soil content regenerate, PA1 (e) transferring the regenerate to the holding tank for the cleaning solution, and PA1 (f) disposing of the soil-rich concentrate as waste.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a new process sequence for cleaning processing equipment for beverages or foods in the corresponding processing plants. Examples of such processing plants include milk-processing factories, breweries, factories for processing fruit juices and for the manufacture of preserved and deep-frozen foods. The new process affords economic and ecological advantages through an integrated recycling step.
2. Discussion of Related Art
The so-called cleaning-in-place (CIP) concept has been successfully adopted for the cleaning of such plants. This means that the equipment designed to receive and process foods or beverages is provided with its own installed cleaning system. The cleaning system generally consists of several storage containers for cleaning solution, for prerinse and post-rinse solutions and optionally for soiled water flowing back. The individual cleaning solutions are delivered to the equipment to be cleaned through valve-controlled pipes and are optionally pump-circulated up to the end of the cleaning process. The cleaning solutions themselves may either be strongly acidic or strongly alkaline, i.e. may have pH values of, for example, about 0 to about 2 or in the range from about 12 to about 14. Besides the acids or alkalis, for example sodium hydroxide, the cleaning solutions optionally contain other additives such as, for example, surfactants, defoamers, complexing agents and disinfectants. "Neutral" cleaners with a pH value in the range from about 4 to about 9 are also possible.
In the cleaning-in-place of processing equipment in the food- or beverage-processing industry, the emptied equipment is normally prerinsed with water to remove residues of product. The water soiled with the product residues is normally discharged into the main drains and is therefore lost to the rest of the process. Accordingly, the prerinse step costs water, time and also energy.
The prerinse step is normally followed by the actual cleaning phase in which the cleaning solution is pumped from its holding tank through the equipment to be cleaned and back into the holding tank. The cleaning solution circulates until the required cleaning effect is achieved. It becomes increasingly polluted by the soil removed from the processing equipment and, after a short time, has to be discarded or treated. In recent years, regeneration systems such as, for example, Alka Save or Niro Filtration Systems have been brought onto the market for treating the soiled cleaning solution. In these regeneration processes, soil components are removed from the cleaning solution so that its useful life is extended. However, this does not affect the actual cleaning process consisting of the prerinse, cleaning and post-rinse steps.
The actual cleaning phase is followed by rinsing with water to remove all traces of the cleaning solution from the processing equipment. The rinsing water accumulating contains residues of the cleaning solution and soil residues and, to save water, may be used as the prerinse solution as described in the foregoing. However, the tendency to reuse this water is on the decline for several reasons. There is a danger of microorganisms adapting to the cleaning and disinfecting chemicals present in the rinsing water. The germs present in the rinsing solution and in the corresponding storage tank proliferate and soil components accumulate. Accordingly, germs and soil are additionally introduced into the equipment to be cleaned in the prerinse step. This adversely affects the starting situation for cleaning and disinfection. If an acidic cleaning solution is used, the pH value of the rinsing solution is often around the isoelectric point of the proteinaceous soil to be removed. This makes cleaning very difficult.
The problem addressed by the present invention was to improve the cleaning-in-place process in such a way that the water, time and energy demands would be reduced and, in addition, the soil removed from the processing equipment would accumulate in a concentrated form so that it would be easier to treat or dispose of as waste.

Process for cleaning factory equipment with integrated prerinse


A dipole antenna (1) includes a first radiating trace (21) and a first grounding trace (31) respectively extending in substantially opposite directions, a second radiating trace (22) extending from an end of the first radiating trace in a direction which substantially perpendicular to the first radiating trace, and a second grounding trace (32) extending from an end of the first grounding trace in an opposite direction to the second radiating trace. The total length of the first and second radiating traces are ¼ operating wavelength of the dipole antenna.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an antenna, and in particular to a dipole antenna employed in a laptop computer, a portable electronic device or other electronic devices.
2. Description of the Prior Art or Related Art
When wireless communication technologies, such as WLAN standards, are applied in electronic devices such as notebook computers or portable game devices, antennas become indispensable components to these devices for wireless access. As a basic antenna structure, a dipole antenna is a popular choice for the RF engineer because it has features of low cost and is easy to design and test. A traditional dipole antenna usually includes a pair of linear dipole elements extending in opposite directions, which can get polarization in a single direction. But if the traditional dipole antenna is assembled in a Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) of a notebook or other portable devices, the receiving and transmitting capability of the dipole antenna could be better when the LCD is in a predetermined position (such as parallel to the ground), but also could be worse when the LCD is in a different position (such as perpendicular to the ground). So the open angle of the LCD relative to a panel of the notebook computer will affect performance of the dipole antenna or other single-liner polarized antenna assembled in the LCD.
U.S. Pat. Publication No. 20040012534 discloses a dual-band printed dipole antenna. The dipole antenna comprises a pair of dipole elements (212, 222) operated in a lower frequency and disposed on a substrate. The dipole antenna is formed into inverted-V shape to for impendence matching purpose. However vertical and horizontal polarization improvements are not considered simultaneously in this design.
Hence, an improved dipole antenna is desired to overcome the above-mentioned disadvantages of the prior and related arts.


There are provided a light source device where optical axes of a light source element and a lens are parallel and the element and the lens are disposed at a predetermined distance, a projector and a light source device fabrication method. A light source device includes a light source element having a flange portion and a cylindrical portion smaller in diameter than the flange portion, a light source element holder disposed abutting a rear of the flange portion, a collimator lens disposed at the front of the element, an annular member disposed between the element and the lens and of which a rear end face abuts a front surface of the flange portion and of which a front end face abuts a rear surface of the lens and a collimator lens holder which accommodates the lens in a hole portion.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a light source device, a projector and a light source device fabrication method.
2. Description of the Related Art
In these days, data projectors are used on many occasions as image projection units which project images including images of a screen of a personal computer and video images, as well as images based on image data which are stored in a memory card on to a screen. In these projectors, light emitted from a light source is collected on to a micromirror display element called a digital micromirror device (DMD) or a liquid crystal panel for projection of color images on to a screen.
Additionally, in association with propagation of personal computers and video equipment such as DVD players, such projectors have been finding a variety of applications from commercial presentations to domestic use.
Conventionally, the mainstream of these projectors has been those which utilize a high-intensity discharge lamp as a light source. In recent years, however, there have been made many developments and proposals on light source devices which use a plurality of semiconductor light emitting elements such as laser diodes together with associated optical components such as pluralities of lenses and mirrors.
Then, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application No. 6-36324 (JP-A-6-36324) proposes a light source unit using laser diodes as light source elements that facilitates the assemblage of optical components and which enables a highly accurate adjustment thereof while reducing the time required for bonding, thereby realizing the miniaturization of the light source device and the reduction in production costs thereof.
However, in the light source device proposed by JP-A-6-36342, although the positional adjustment of the light source elements is facilitated, the optical positional adjustment between the light source elements and associated lenses is not facilitated.

Light source device, projector, and light source device fabrication method


A capacitor charged beforehand is discharged according to a light surrounding a display unit. A data is decreased similarly to the voltage between the electrodes of the capacitor. A trigger signal is outputted if the data becomes equal to or less than a threshold value. A clock signal whose cycle of changing levels gradually becomes long is generated. A count value is updated at each change of the clock signal's level and the updated count value is outputted. The count value is sampled when the trigger signal is outputted.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a display device capable of measuring illuminance and widening a dynamic range of the measured illuminance.
2. Description of the Related Art
It is demanded to reduce an electric power consumption of an equipment having a display device. As for a liquid crystal display device, a method to reduce an electric power consumption is under study. The method is to decrease brightness of a backlight when a surrounding illuminance of a display unit is low, for example, at night. It is thought that an electric power consumption of an organic electro-luminescence display device can be reduced as well by decreasing brightness of light-emitting pixels when a surrounding illuminance is low, for example, at night. Specifically, there is a proposal to arrange a light sensor circuit in an area surrounding a display unit of such display device and use an output of the light sensor circuit to decrease a brightness of a backlight or pixels.
Liquid crystal display devices each having a light sensor circuit separated from a display panel are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Laid-open Nos. 1992-174819/1997-146073. However such separation makes it difficult to form devices smaller or thinner. To solve this, a technique of making a liquid crystal display device smaller or thinner by forming a light sensor circuit in a display panel is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-114315. Additionally, in the liquid crystal display device, a brightness of a backlight is controlled so as to measure an illuminance precisely.
By the way, in measuring an illuminance by the device such as the display device mentioned above, the following operation is done.
A preset count value is updated at each change of a clock signal's level. A trigger signal is outputted at time corresponding to the illuminance. The count value is sampled when the trigger signal is outputted. The sampled count value corresponds to the illuminance.
If a cycle of the change of the clock signal's level is short, a length of a period when the maximum count value becomes the minimum is short. Therefore, the count value can represent only a narrow range of an illuminance such as one from about 80 [lx] to about 1000 [lx] for example. That is, a dynamic range of an illuminance the count value can represent is as narrow as about 10 times.
Therefore, the display device can only be used in a room where an illuminance is low for example. Oppositely, the device can only be used outdoors where an illuminance is high for example. As a result, the convenience of the display device is ruined.
The present invention has been made in view of the foregoing points. An object of the present invention is to provide a display device capable of measuring an illuminance and widening a dynamic range of the measured illuminance.

Display device capable of measuring an illuminance and widening a dynamic range of the measured illuminance

Toshiba Matsushita Display Technology Co., Ltd.


A photo mask includes a mask pattern formed by using a mask exposure pattern to exposure a mask substrate, the mask exposure pattern being formed by adding a proximity effect correction pattern to a design pattern that is a pattern image of design data, the design pattern having a first portion extending in a first direction and a second portion extending in a second direction that is oblique to the first direction, the correction pattern having a first correction portion added to the first portion and a second correction portion added to the second portion, and an edge portion of the second correction portion being shaped to incline to extend in the first direction or a direction orthogonal to the first direction.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a photo mask used for exposure to form a pattern of a semiconductor device on the sample, and in particular, to a photo mask having an improved proximity effect correction pattern for an oblique line pattern, and a method of manufacturing the photo mask. The present invention also relates to a method of generating mask data used to manufacture a photo mask.
2. Description of the Related Art
In the prior art, a photo mask is used for light exposure in order to form a device pattern on a semiconductor wafer. The photo mask is produced using an electron beam lithography technique. The electron beam lithography technique uses electron beams to draw a design pattern of a semiconductor device on a mask substrate. A problem with the electron beam lithography technique is that when resolution is close to its limit, a proximity effect or the like may prevent an actual design pattern from being formed on a mask substrate. To solve this problem, a proximity effect correction pattern is added to the design pattern so as to accurately form a desired pattern (refer to, for example, Jpn. Pat. Appln. KOKAI Publication No. 2002-83757).
However, such a method has the problems described below. Since the proximity effect correction pattern is added to the design pattern, the number of figures used for shot divisions for electron beam drawing increases. This increases the time required for the drawing and the amount of data required. Consequently, data handling becomes difficult and other various problems may occur. Further, for example, fine figures that require a resolution higher than the one used may be generated at, for example, edges of the correction pattern. Thus, disadvantageously, these figures may not be resolved on the mask, the accuracy of defect inspections may decrease, or inspection throughput may decrease.
Further, when the pattern of the photo mask is transferred to a wafer by optical lithography, the optical proximity effect may curl edges of a pattern formed on the wafer or may thicken or thin the pattern. Consequently, the pattern formed on the pattern may differ from the original pattern. Thus, an OPC (Optical Proximity Correction) technique is required to add a correction pattern to the pattern to be formed on the photo mask in order to correct the optical proximity effect.
Accordingly, to more precisely create mask data for electron beam drawing, it is necessary to add, to a design pattern, both a correction pattern for correcting the proximity effect when the pattern is drawn on the photo mask, and a correction pattern for correcting the proximity effect when the pattern is transferred to the wafer. In this case, the above problems, including an increase in the number of figures and the generation of fine figures, are more significant.
Thus, in the prior art, when a correction pattern is added to a design pattern in order to correct the proximity effect, this may increase the number of figures required and thus the time required for drawing or may produce very fine figures that are not actually resolved. The increase in the time required for drawing may lead to a decrease in drawing throughput. The generation of fine figures may contribute to reducing the inspection throughput.

Photo mask, method of manufacturing photo mask, and method of generating mask data


A method and apparatus for operating quantized power converters in a phase staggered power sharing array is disclosed. The number, N, of active converters in the array is automatically determined. The converter operating at the highest frequency is determined and awarded driver status. The system operating frequency is set to approximately N times the highest converter operating frequency and synchronous phase staggered timing signals are sent to the remaining converters. A method and apparatus for detecting faults and automatically reconfiguring the array are disclosed.

This invention relates to operating switching power converters in a phased power sharing array. Recently, power converter modules which convert power from an input voltage source for delivery to a load have become popular. One type of converter module is a quantized converter in which the amount of energy transferred from the source to the load during each converter operating cycle is finite and bounded within relatively narrow limits. Such converters adjust to changes in line and load conditions by changing their operating frequency. See "Forward Current Switching at Zero Current," U.S. Pat. No. 4,415,959, incorporated here by reference, for a more detailed discussion of quantized zero-current switching converters.
In certain quantized converters, such as half-wave zero-current switching converters, output power varies predictably with switching frequency. Power sharing between converters in an array therefore may be achieved by synchronizing the switching frequencies of the converters. Power-sharing converter arrays allow for delivery of higher power levels to a load than is possible with a single converter. See "Power Booster Switching at Zero Current", U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,020; "Enhancement-Mode Zero Current Switching Converter", U.S. Pat. No. 5,079,686; and "Synchronization of Power Converter Arrays," U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/631,890, filed Apr. 16, 1996; all of which are incorporated here by reference, for additional background information concerning power-sharing converter arrays.

Operating switching power converters in a phased power sharing array


A permanent non-erasable memory stores formatting data and command bit patterns for a plurality of devices of different categories manufactured by different manufacturers to be controlled by the remote control transmitter incorporating the memory. To select the correct format, the user activates an enter initiate key, thereafter a key to indicate the category of the selected device, and thereafter two digits which together signify the manufacturer and model number. The keyboard output signals resulting from activation of the keys are stored in RAM in the microprocessor controlling the remote control transmitter's operation. The stored values in RAM constitute an address for the memory. Under microprocessor control, the data read out from memory is then applied to the transmitter driver circuit to cause the properly formatted device control signal to be transmitted.

At present, many home appliances are available which can be remotely controlled by the user. For example, a television set can be turned on and off, a channel can be selected, a video cassette recorder controlled to play or record, etc. However, each manufacturer effects this control differently. The bit pattern required to carry out a given operation differs for different manufacturers. Similarly, the basic format, such as the bit timing, the number of bits per word, the width of the pulses, the modulating frequency, if any, applied to each pulse, the presence of, length of, and format of start, lead, or trailer pulses and the number of correct receptions of a particular command required to activate the appliance to carry out the selected operation varies from manufacturer to manufacturer. The basic format may also be different for different model numbers of the same manufacturer.
Further, control of, for example, a video cassette recorder frequently requires the ability to control a related appliance, e.g. a television set, in conjunction therewith. At present, viewing a recorded program requires use of two individual remote control units, particularly if the recorder and the television set are not made by the same manufacturer. If the home is equipped with cable television, or if other appliances such as, for example, an oven can be remotely controlled, the number of required remote control transmitters becomes excessive.
Although some universal remote control transmitters with which devices of different categories and manufactured by different manufacturers can be controlled are known, these are not entirely satisfactory. All "universal" remote control transmitters have the required formatting and bit patterns data permanently stored in memory. The data for controlling the particular device must thus be read out from this memory. In some universal remote control transmitters this requires a relatively awkward setting of switches, while a time consuming process of scanning all device control signals permanently stored in the transmitter must take place in others.

Universal remote control transmitter with simplified device identification


A synthesis of 1,3-dioxolane nucleosides that includes condensing a 2-0-protected-5-0-acylated-1,3-dioxolane with a purine or pyrimidine base in the presence of a titanium containing Lewis acid to provide predominately the desired .beta.-isomer in the C1'-position of a 1,3-dioxolane nucleoside.. A process for the resolution of a racemic mixture of 1,3-dioxolane nucleoside enantiomers is also disclosed that includes the step of exposing the racemic mixture to an enzyme that preferentially catalyzes a reaction in one of the enantiomers.

This invention is in the area of organic chemistry, and in particular provides a stereoselective synthesis of 1,3-dioxolane nucleosides.
In 1981, acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) was identified as a disease that severely compromises the human immune system, and that almost without exception leads to death. In 1983, the etiological cause of AIDS was determined to be the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). In December, 1990, the World Health Organization estimated that between 8 and 10 million people worldwide were infected with HIV, and of that number, between 1,000,000 and 1,400,000 were in the United States.
In 1985, it was reported that the synthetic nucleoside 3'-azido-3'-deoxythymidine (AZT) inhibits the replication of human immunodeficiency virus type 1. Since then, a number of other synthetic nucleosides, including 2', 3'-dideoxyinosine (DDI), 2',3'-dideoxycytidine (DDC), 3'-fluoro-3'-deoxythymidine (FLT), 2', 3'-dideoxy,2', 3'-didehydrothymidine (D4T), and 3'-azido-2', 3'-dideoxyuridine (AZDU), have been proven to be effective against HIV. A number of other 2', 3'-dideoxynucleosides have been demonstrated to inhibit the growth of a variety of other viruses in vitro. It appears that, after cellular phosphorylation to the 5'-triphosphate by cellular kinases, these synthetic nucleosides are incorporated into a growing strand of viral DNA, causing chain termination due to the absence of the 3'-hydroxyl group.
Both DDC and D4T are potent inhibitors of HIV replication with activities comparable (D4T) or superior (DDC) to AZT. However, both DDC and D4T are not efficiently converted to the corresponding 5'-triphosphates in vivo and are resistent to deaminases and phosphorylases. Both compounds are also toxic.
The success of various 2', 3'-dideoxynucleosides in inhibiting the replication of HIV in vivo or in vitro has led a number of researchers to design and test nucleosides that substitute a heteroatom for the carbon atom at the 3'-position of the nucleoside. Norbeck, et al., disclose that (.+-.)-1-[(2.beta., 4.beta.)-2-(hydroxymethyl)-4-dioxolanyl]thymine (referred to below as (.+-.)-dioxolane-T or DOT, see FIG. 2), a 1,3 dioxolane nucleoside, exhibits a modest activity against HIV (EC.sub.50 of 20 .mu.m in ATH8 cells), and is not toxic to uninfected control cells at a concentration of 200 .mu.m. Tetrahedron Letters 30 (46), 6246, (1989). In light of the fact that this compound exhibits efficacy against HIV and has very low toxicity, it is desirable to develop suitable synthetic protocols for preparing a wide variety of analogs and isomers of this compound.
To market a nucleoside for pharmaceutical purposes, it must not only be efficacious with low toxicity, it must also be cost effective to manufacture. An extensive amount of research and development has been directed toward new, low cost processes for large scale nucleoside production. 2', 3'-Dideoxynucleosides are currently prepared by either of two routes; derivatization of an intact nucleoside or condensation of a derivatized sugar moiety with a heterocyclic base. Although there are numerous disadvantages associated with obtaining new nucleoside analogues by modifying intact nucleosides, a major advantage of this approach is that the appropriate absolute stereochemistry has already been set by nature. Obviously, this approach cannot be used in the production of nucleosides that contain either nonnaturally occurring bases or nonnaturally occurring carbohydrate moieties (and which therefore are not prepared from intact nucleosides), such as 1,3-dioxolane nucleosides.
When condensing a carbohydrate-like moiety such as a 1,3-dioxolane with a heterocyclic base to form a synthetic nucleoside, a nucleoside is produced that has two chiral centers (at the C1' and C4' positions, see FIG. 1), and thus exists as a diastereomeric pair. Each diastereomer exists as a set of enantiomers. Therefore, the product is a mixture of four enantiomers. It is often found that nucleosides with nonnaturally-occurring stereochemistry in either the C1' or the C4'-positions are less active than the same nucleoside with the stereochemistry as set by nature.
It is well known in the art that the stereoselective introduction of bases to the anomeric centers of carbohydrates can be controlled by capitalizing on the neighboring group participation of a 2-substituent on the carbohydrate ring [Chem. Ber. 114:1234 (1981)]. However, dioxolanes do not possess an exocyclic 2-substituent and, therefore, cannot utilize this procedure unless additional steps to introduce a functional group that is both directing and disposable are incorporated into the synthesis. These added steps would lower the overall efficiency of the synthesis.
It is also well known in the art that "considerable amounts of the undesired .beta.-nucleosides are always formed during the synthesis of 2'-deoxyribosides" [Chem. Ber. 114:1234, 1244 (1981)]. Furthermore, this reference teaches that the use of simple Friedel-Crafts catalysts like SnCl.sub.4 in nucleoside syntheses produces undesirable emulsions upon the workup of the reaction mixture, generates complex mixtures of the .alpha. and .beta.-isomers, and leads to stable .delta.-complexes between the SnCl.sub.4 and the more basic silylated heterocycles such as silylated cytosine. These complexes lead to longer reaction times, lower yields, and production of the undesired unnatural N-3-nucleosides.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method for the synthesis of a variety of 1,3-dioxolane nucleosides that includes condensing a 1,3-dioxolane moiety with a purine or pyrimidine base through a process that provides high .beta.-stereoselectivity at the C1' position.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a method for the resolution of racemic mixtures of 1,3-dioxolane nucleosides at the C4'-position.

Method of synthesis of 1,3-dioxolane nucleosides


A cover body of a vehicle air bag apparatus, being comprised of a covering portion which is formed integrally with an interior panel body and which has a door portion defined by a tear seam formed in a back of the interior panel body, and, a backing portion joined to a back of the covering portion. The covering portion is made of polyolefin resin having a flexual elastic modulus of from 1500 to 3500 MPa, a tensile strength of from 17 to 40 MPa, an Izod impact strength of from 3.0 to 15.0 kJ/m2, and an elongation of 400% or less. The backing portion is made of thermoplastic olefin which is softer and has a greater elongation. The backing portion is comprised of a reinforcing portion at a back of the door portion, a surrounding base at the back of the covering portion, and a hinge portion joining the reinforcing portion and the surrounding base.

The present invention relates to a cover body for an air bag apparatus which is integrally formed with an internal panel of a vehicle. This invention is applicable particularly, but not exclusively, to a cover body for an air bag apparatus to be used for a front passenger seat, the cover body being formed integrally with an instrument panel.
Instrument panels located below the front window of a vehicle have been designed as instrument panels with hidden seamlines, which have an integrated air bag apparatus comprising an air bag and an inflator stored inside the instrument panel. Within the instrument panel, a lower portion of the air bag apparatus is fixed to a steering member disposed along the direction of the width of a vehicle, and an upper portion thereof is attached to a pair of attaching members consisting of a back and front member which are formed integrally with a rear of an instrument panel.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication 2001-39254 discloses an air bag apparatus wherein a door portion is formed in a portion of an instrument panel directly covering an air bag between a pair of attaching members by the instrument panel itself being sectioned by a tear seam formed in a closed-loop shape on a back surface thereof.
By forming the door portion in the instrument panel itself in this manner, an outer appearance of the instrument panel is maintained in an attractive state, as compared to forming an opening in the instrument panel and emplacing a separately formed lid which closes the opening and opens upon deployment of an air bag. An aluminum backing member is formed on a back inner side of the door portion, the backing member extending past the tear seam to beyond the door portion. When the air bag inflates, the inflation force of the air bag pushes the entire door portion by pushing through the backing member, and the door portion is torn along the tear seam and the door portion is torn away. The torn away door portion swings outside to a front outer side of the instrument panel with a portion of the backing member directly under the tear seam acting as a hinge portion, and from the opening formed by the severed door portion, the air bag inflates into the interior of the vehicle.
However, according to the above related art, since the backing member joined to the back side of the door portion of the instrument panel is metal (in the above example, aluminum), the inflation force of the air bag does not directly act on a portion of the tear seam which is covered by the backing member. That is, as the backing member is formed from metal and is therefore not soft, it is not possible for the inflation force of the air bag to directly act on the portion of the tear seam covered by the backing member. Rather, the tear seam is torn by force being exerted through the entire metal backing member, which produces an indirect pushing effect against the entire door portion. Therefore, it is necessary for the air bag apparatus to use an inflator for inflating the air bag which is large-size and high-powered, in order for the tear seam to tear properly with certainty. Such a solution is a disadvantage with respect to weight and cost
To solve this problem, Japanese Patent Provisional Publication 2002-347556 by the present applicant discloses an air bag apparatus wherein the backing member is made from a plastic material. Specifically, the backing member is made from a soft resin material, and the location of the backing member directly under the tear seam receives the inflation force of an air bag, is pushed up, and easily deforms, thus allowing a pushing-up force to act directly against the tear seam. In more detail, a thermoplastic olefin elastomer resin is used as material for the backing member, the resin having a flexual elastic modulus of 6000 kgf/cm2 or less, preferably 4500 kgf/cm2 or less, and as an embodiment, 2800 kgf/cm2.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication (Heisei) 9-109816 discloses an arrangement where an instrument panel doubles as a passenger-side air bag cover, and a reinforcing portion is disposed on a back side thereof. Materials for the instrument panel and reinforcing portion in this combination are preferably a polyolefin and olefin elastomer, respectively. Specifically, the instrument panel is polypropylene resin which has an elongation of more than 300%, a flexual elastic modulus of more than 20000 kgf/cm2, a temperature of deflection under load of more than 120° C., and an Izod impact strength at 23° C. of more than 15 kg·cm/cm. The reinforcing portion is made of an olefin elastomer which has a flexual elastic modulus of more than 3000 kgf/cm2, and an Izod impact strength at −40° C. of more than 20 kg·cm/cm.
Japanese Patent Provisional Publication (Heisei) 8-48204 discloses a two-layer cover for a gas bag module where hardness of the first layer is in a range of approximately Shore D hardness 32 to 43, and hardness of the second layer is in an approximate range of Shore A hardness 45 to 80.
Also, in an instrument panel with hidden seamlines having an air bag apparatus integrally formed therewith as in the above examples, a bent groove portion is formed in the backing member which is directly under a location to constitute the hinge of the door portion.
A backing member made of thermoplastic polyurethane foam is disposed on a back side of a door portion, and extends beyond a tear seam and beyond the door portion. Due to the inflation force during deployment of an air bag, the entire door portion is pushed up by force exerted through the backing member, and the door portion is torn along the tear seam and is completely torn away. The torn away door portion swings outward to an outside of the instrument panel with a portion of the backing member directly under the tear seam acting as a hinge, and from an opening formed by the severed door portion, the air bag expands into the interior of a vehicle.


The present invention relates to the field of fibrosis and inflammation and more particularly to the use of ADAM12 (A Disintegrin and Metalloproteinase 12) inhibitors to prevent or treat inflammation-induced fibrosis. The present invention also relates to the use of ADAM12 as a marker for inflammation-induced fibrosis and to the ablation of ADAM12 expressing cells as therapeutic approach to interfere with the development of pro-fibrotic cells.

Tissue injury initiates a scarring process involving stromal cell activation and expansion. Initially beneficial, persistent stromal cell activation and proliferation generate pro-fibrotic cells and accumulation of extracellular matrix, which compromises organ recovery. Inflammation is an important initiator of the fibrosis but the cellular origin of pro-fibrotic stromal cells and their mechanism of activation remain unclear.
During inflammation, stromal cells regulate lymphocyte recruitment and survival through the secretion of specific chemokines and cytokines, resulting eventually in the clearance of inflammation, this phase is usually named the acute phase of inflammation. Disruption of this homeostasis can lead to chronic inflammation and its corollary of severe illnesses, such as tissue fibrosis.
Fibrosis is the formation of excess fibrous connective tissue during the reparative and reactive process following tissue damage and inflammation. As major components of fibrosis, pro-fibrotic stromal cells play a critical role in the maintenance of chronic inflammation and often preclude full organ recovery, and in some cases can induce organ failure. This can lead to severe illnesses of major impact on public health such as liver cirrhosis, scleroderma, heart and pulmonary fibrosis, atherosclerosis, and asthma. The formation of tissue fibrosis is currently considered to be an irreversible process, which is poorly modulated by anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive drugs. The mechanisms leading to the formation of tissue fibrosis has remained elusive and therefore has prevented the elaboration of an adequate therapeutic treatment.
The inventors have described previously the emergence of a stromal population of cells (gp38+ lymphoid stromal cells) that massively proliferate and provide key survival, chemotactic and morphogenic factors for the development of lymphocyte permissive tissue during ontogeny and inflammation (Peduto et al., Journal of Immunology, 2009, 182:5789-5799). They have shown that these stromal cells are not recruited from circulating precursors but develop from tissue-resident cells that remained to be characterized.
ADAMs (A Disintegrin And Metalloproteinase) are a family of cell surface multidomain proteins having key roles in the ectodomain shedding and processing of growth factors, cytokines, receptors, adhesion molecules and other molecules from the plasma membrane. This process has emerged as an important posttranslational regulator of the function of many cleaved substrate proteins, including EGF-receptor ligands and TNFα. In addition to protease activity, several ADAMs possess cell binding and cell signalling properties due to their non-catalytic domains. More than 30 members have been identified in the ADAM family with a broad tissue distribution and have been involved in several cellular processes. Due to their ability to rapidly affect key signalling activities between cells and their environment, ADAM family members could conceivably contribute to pathogenesis including tumorigenesis, especially if their function is dysregulated. Therefore, they are making up the majority of pharmaceutical targets currently undergoing preclinical and clinical evaluation (Moss et al., "ADAMs: Targets for Drug Discovery", Current Pharmaceutical Design, 2009, 15(20):2270-1).
ADAM12 is an active protease involved in the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor (EGFR) and insulin-like growth factor (IGF) receptor signalling, and plays a role in tumor progression (Peduto et al., Oncogene, 2006, 25:5462-5466). ADAM12 is also involved in several diseases such as arthrosis, cardiac hypertrophy and neurodegenerative diseases (Jacobsen & Wewer, Current Pharmaceutical Design, 2009, 15: 2300-2310).
There is still a need to provide tools, markers and inhibitors for inflammation induced fibrosis.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

ADAM12 inhibitors and their use against inflammation-induced fibrosis


A low-power-consumption semiconductor device and a driving method thereof where a clock signal generation is controlled. A transmission and reception control circuit to control signal communication with an outside; a ring oscillator control circuit to detect an edge in a receiving signal and control a ring oscillator; a clock generation circuit to generate a clock signal based on the ring oscillator; and a logic circuit to operate based on a clock signal are included. During signal communication between the transmission and reception control circuit and the outside, the ring oscillator operates and a clock signal is output from the clock generation circuit when the ring oscillator control circuit detects an edge in a receiving signal, and the ring oscillator stops and output of the clock signal from the clock generation circuit stops when transmission of a reply signal from the transmission and reception control circuit to the outside is terminated.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor device and a driving method thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
In recent years, an individual identification technology using electromagnetic waves for wireless communication has attracted attention. In particular, as for a semiconductor device which communicates data by wireless communication, an individual identification technology using a semiconductor device utilizing RFID (radio frequency identification) which is also referred to as an RFID tag, an IC (integrated circuit) tag, an IC chip, an RF tag, a wireless tag, or an electronic tag has attracted attention. The individual identification technology using such a semiconductor device utilizing RFID has been used for production, management, or the like of an individual object, and application to personal authentication has been promoted.
Such a semiconductor device operates based on a signal which is received from an outside of the semiconductor device. Specifically, a signal output from a transmitting circuit of an external device is input to a receiving circuit provided for the semiconductor device such as an RFID tag.
In general, a signal that is transmitted from an external device to a semiconductor device includes a signal which is formed of only a carrier wave and a signal in which a carrier wave and a data signal are combined. When the semiconductor device receives a signal from an outside of the semiconductor device, a clock signal to operate the semiconductor device is generated.
However, in a period during which the semiconductor device communicates the signal (the signal which is formed of only a carrier wave or the signal in which a carrier wave and a data signal are combined) with the external device, a period during which a clock signal is needed for operation is a period from the start of analysis processing, arithmetic processing, or the like of a receiving signal with a logic circuit provided in the semiconductor device to transmission of a reply signal to the external device; that is, the period during which a clock signal is needed for operation is the case where the signal in which a carrier wave and a data signal are combined is received as a receiving signal.
Thus, in a conventional semiconductor device, even in a period during which a clock signal is not needed (a period during which the signal which is formed of only a carrier wave is received), a means for generating a clock signal, such as a ring oscillator is driven; consequently, large electric power is consumed for generation of the clock signal.
As a method for reducing the loss of power consumption, a communication terminal in which a clock signal which operates fast and a clock signal which operates slow are used and generation of the clock signal which operates fast is stopped in the case where there is no need of a clock signal has been proposed (e.g., Patent Document 1: Japanese Published Patent Application No. Hei11-215043).

Semiconductor device and driving method thereof

Semiconductor Energy Laboratory Co., Ltd.


According to the present invention, there is provided a metal oxide film resistor which has an insulating substrate, a metal oxide resistive film having at least a metal oxide film having a positive temperature coefficient of resistance and/or a metal oxide film having a negative temperature coefficient of resistance, and/or a metal oxide insulating film. The metal oxide film resistor is not affected by moisture or alkali ions in the insulating substrate. The resistance of the film itself does not change. The metal oxide film resistor is extremely reliable.

As shown in FIG. 8, the metal oxide film resistor generally comprises a rod-like insulating substrate 1 of mullite, alumina or the like, a metal oxide film 10 of tin oxide or antimony doped tin oxide (ATO) which is formed on the surface of said substrate, metallic cap terminals 5 and 6 which are pressed in both ends of said substrate, leads 7 and 8 welded to said terminals, and a protective film 9 formed on the surface of the resistor.
By the way, considering materials which can be used as a metal oxide film, the single phase of tin oxide has a too large resistivity and an extremely large negative temperature coefficient of resistance, and therefore, the using conditions are strictly limited and said single phase of tin oxide has no practical use. For such reasons, generally, ATO having a small resistivity and a TCR of positive or nearly 0 is put to practical use as a material of the metal oxide film. In these materials, the carrier density is high. During the rise of the temperature, the scattering effect of the carrier due to the lattice vibrations is larger than the increase of the carrier density due to the excitation energy of heat, and therefore, the TCR is positive and the metallic electric conduction can be obtained. Thus, generally, the material having a small resistivity has a high carrier density and a TCR which is positive or nearly 0. On the other hand, the material having a large resistivity has a low carrier density and a TCR which is negative and large.
The method for producing a metal oxide film resistor as described above generally includes a chemical process for forming a film such as a spraying and a chemical vapor deposition. According to these methods, the vapor of aqueous solution or organic solution containing stannic chloride and antimony trichloride is atomized to the rod-like substrate 1 of mullite-alumina in the furnace in which the temperature is 600.degree. to 800.degree. C., to form ATO film (metal oxide film 10) on the surface of the substrate. Then, the metallic cap terminal 5 and 6 are pressed in both ends of the substrate 1. While the substrate is rotated, a part of ATO film is trimmed with a diamond cutter or a laser to obtain the desired resistance. The leads 7 and 8 are welded to the cap terminals 5 and 6. Thereafter, the protective film 9 of resin is formed to obtain a metal oxide film resistor. The final resistance of the resulting metal oxide film resistor as achieved in such a way is generally 10 .OMEGA. to 100 k .OMEGA. depending on the thickness of ATO film and the turn number of trimming in the case that the size of the substrate is constant.
According to the conventional method for regulating resistance, in order to obtain a metal oxide film resistor having a final resistance of 100 k .OMEGA. and more, the thickness of ATO film may be reduced or the interval of trimming may be narrow.
However, in the case of the conventional construction, the resistivity of ATO film is about 1.times.10.sup.-3 .about.1.times.10.sup.-2 .OMEGA..multidot.cm, and therefore, the thickness of the film must be reduced considerably to raise the resistance value. At this time, because of the distortion of the film itself and the increase of the ratio of the depletion layer in the surface of the film to the whole film, there was a problem that TCR was liable to be negative and large.
Further, because of the low initial resistance of ATO film, in the case of requiring the final resistance of 100 k .OMEGA. and more, the turn number of the trimming with a laser must be increased, with the result that the trimming requires extremely much time and the interval of trimming is too narrow. And therefore, there was another problem that the trimming of the film was physically impossible.
As described above, if the thickness of the film is too thin or the interval of the trimming is too narrow, the cross-sectional area of the electric conduction path is reduced and the area in contact with the outside is increased. Because of electrical stress, humidity or the like, the resistance of the film itself changes under the influence of moisture and the alkali ions in the insulating substrate. And therefore, it was difficult to obtain a reliable metal oxide film resistor.
Then, it is an object of the present invention to provide a reliable metal oxide film resistor which is not influenced by moisture or the alkali ions in the insulating substrate and in which the resistance of the film itself does not change.

Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.


Method for analyzing a circuit composed of MOS devices. The method can be used to direct MOS devices in static and dynamic circuits and involves identifying an undirected MOS device that connects nets. Functions of the nets that cause each net to be logic values are defined as a function of inputs to the circuit. The defined functions can include pulldown functions or both pullup and pulldown functions. A set of rules is used to determine the direction of a signal that flows through a device and applies defined functions. The rules for analyzing static devices may differ from the rules for analyzing dynamic devices. Devices that are determined to have uni-directional signal flow can be directed. Additionally, devices having bi-directional signal flow and uni-directional observability can be directed.

Custom logic circuits are typically expressed as a netlist of undirected MOS devices. In such circuits, a signal often flows through a given MOS device in only one direction. For such devices, it is not necessary to analyze the possibility that signals flow in the opposite direction, thus simplifying analysis of the circuit. Determining which MOS devices have uni-directional signals can be very useful in several Electronic Design Application (EDA) applications, such as switch-level timing, fault grading, and logical abstraction of the circuit's function for equivalence checking, Automatic Test Pattern Generation (ATPG) and simulation acceleration. With logical abstraction, for example, EDA tools can represent a circuit as a graph. The nodes of this graph represent nets, and the edges represent MOS devices. The number of paths through the graph that must be examined can be greatly reduced if the direction of a signal through a MOS device is known. Several known methods are used to direct MOS devices. While these methods have been effective to some degree, they can be improved.
One known method requires a user to manually assign directions to MOS devices. Manually assigning directions, however, places unnecessary burdens on the user, and is not time and cost efficient. Further, manually assigning directions is more likely to result in direction errors, which can cause simulation tools to generate incorrect results.
Another known method is using local topological checks, which direct MOS devices according to a set of rules. For example, a rule may state "A MOS that links to grounded net A to another net B will be directed from A to B." Systems that use rule sets, however, typically have a relatively large number of rules, e.g., about 12 rules. Further, local topology checks cannot direct many types of devices that are found in real circuits. Another shortcoming of local topographical checks is that EDA tools often use rules that are heuristic, i.e. not always correct or accurate, thus causing occasional direction errors and misdirected devices, which must be manually corrected by a user. Additionally, these methods are limited since they analyze local structures and cannot infer the direction of MOS devices based on a global circuit structure.
An additional known method of directing MOS devices is using global checks, which build a connectivity graph. The graph has a node for each net in the circuit, and each MOS device is represented as an edge between the nodes that the MOS device links. Nodes that can be driven from outside the circuit are marked as input nodes, including power and ground nets. Nodes that can drive a device outside the circuit are marked as output nodes. MOS devices are directed based on the existence of paths though the graph. A MOS device linking nets A and B and represented by edge E may drive a signal from A to B if a path in the graph starts on an input node, travels through E from A to B, and ends on an output node. Edge E can be directed if such a path exists in only one direction through E.
Global path check methods, however, can be incomplete. For example, they can leave directable devices undirected, thus resulting in wasted effort by an EDA program. Global check techniques also do not check that the paths they identify are sensitizable, i.e., there exists some input to the circuit that causes the path to conduct a signal. Therefore, these methods can fail to assign direction when a path exists through a MOS device in both directions, but all paths in one direction are not sensitized. Global check methods can also be improved to address this assignment shortcoming by checking for false paths and eliminating the identified false paths from consideration, however, such methods may not be accurate when the circuit is a dynamic circuit that includes pre-charged nets.
Other known methods combine local topology checks with global path checks. Such methods, however, fail to provide a complete system, and may nevertheless require a user to manually assign directions.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a method for directing MOS devices so that circuit analysis is simplified, more time and cost efficient, and more accurate. There also exists a need for a method that eliminates false positives in direction assignment and ensures that direction assignments are safe for all input conditions. Further, the method should detect false paths and be applicable to a wider range of circuits without requiring a user to manually assign devices or correct direction assignments. Methods should also be applicable to both static and dynamic circuits.
Embodiments of the invention fulfill these unmet needs.

Method for analyzing circuits having MOS devices


There is provided a method of a server system including identifying a first token and a second token based on an identifier received from a first external information processing apparatus, acquiring data from the first external information processing apparatus with use of the first token, generating a document from the acquired data, transmitting the second token to an authentication processing apparatus, acquiring a verification result of the second token from the authentication processing apparatus, and transmitting the generated document to a second external information processing apparatus with use of the second token.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a technique of a server system and a control method.
2. Description of the Related Art
Conventionally, techniques for authentication using an access token have been disclosed.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-251709 discusses a technique in which an image forming apparatus issues a token to a terminal apparatus, and the terminal apparatus is authenticated by the image forming apparatus with use of the issued token. Further, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2009-251709 also discusses a technique in which the token is verified by the image forming apparatus.


Embodiments provide techniques for device power management in wireless networks. For instance, an apparatus may include a power management module, and a transceiver module. The power management module determines a beacon interval and a wakeup interval. The transceiver module to send a transmission to one or more remote devices that includes the beacon interval and the wakeup interval. The beacon interval indicates a time interval between consecutive beacon transmissions of the apparatus, and the wakeup interval indicates a time interval between when the apparatus receives two consecutive beacons from a peer device.

Wireless communications capabilities are increasingly being integrated into portable devices, including laptop computers, handheld devices (such as personal digital assistants (PDAs)), and mobile phones. The integration of such capabilities can provide users with anywhere and anytime connectivity to information resources.
Power consumption is a key feature for such devices. For instance, lower power consumption levels correspond to increased operational times between necessary battery charging sessions. As a result of this, the device user's experience may be enhanced.
Wireless mesh networks operate in accordance with a decentralized and collaborative approach. For instance, the Institute for Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) 802.11s standard provides for wireless networks composed of multiple devices (called mesh points). These devices form links among them. Moreover, information can be routed through these links in accordance with various routing protocols.
Current drafts of IEEE 802.11s (such as IEEE 802.11s Draft Standard 1.08) provide power management mechanisms that aim to conserve device power. However, these mechanisms often result in undesirable network operations.


The disclosure provides a computer-implemented method and system of reducing commodity usage by providing tailored consumer information to the consumer. The method utilizes neural network and machine learning techniques to calculate and cluster statistical data to classify the premises for desired observable condition, including the presence of a programmed thermostat. A score is determined that corresponds to at least one of: (i) a present state of an observable condition, (ii) a non-present state of the observable condition, and (iii) a degree of a condition of the observable condition, to provide tailored consumer information associated to the consumer's usage of the commodity.

Heating, cooling, and conditioning the environment condition of a building generally account for a substantial portion of energy usage within a residential building. Occupants of residential buildings may employ programmable thermostats (also referred to as setback thermostats or clock thermostats) to control or adjust the temperature set-points in the buildings. The building occupants may program their programmable thermostat to reduce the heating or cooling operation over a portion of the day, for example, when the premises are vacated or when the occupants are asleep. A programmable thermostat may also include control devices that receive a control signal, including a temperature set-point or a setback signal, via a communication port from an external source, to control or adjust its set-point or to temporarily disable its heating or cooling function.

Thermostat classification method and system


The general field of the invention is that of display systems comprising an image projector and an associated display screen, the said display system being designed to be used by an observer situated at a given location, the said display screen comprising two transparent and substantially parallel faces, the said display screen comprising, on at least one of its transparent faces, a plurality of regularly distributed light-scattering patterns. The image projector according to the invention illuminating the screen under a plurality of angles of incidence determined by the position and the size of the display screen, the said angles of incidence being centered on a mean angle of incidence, the scattering patterns comprise a diffractive structure in order to diffract the light rays having at least the mean angle of incidence in one or more directions corresponding to the said given location of the observer.

1. Field of the Invention
The field of the invention is that of display devices projecting an image onto a semi-transparent screen. These devices allow an image to be displayed in front of the user in superposition on the external scene. One of the possible areas of use is the display of information in vehicles, more precisely in the cockpits of aircraft and, in particular, in the cockpits of aircrafts which have large window surface areas.
2. Description of the Prior Art
These display systems allow the attention of the user to be kept on the environment surrounding him/her, while at the same time giving him/her access instantaneously to additional information. In the case of the driving of a vehicle, having information displayed in the visual field of the external environment avoids the user having to search for this information on screens conventionally situated on his/her dashboard.
Various technical solutions exist allowing an image to be projected onto a semi-transparent screen. The most common solution is illustrated in FIG. 1. It consists in projecting the image produced by a projector P emitting in the visible spectrum onto the surface of a transparent scattering film E. The diffuser scatters the projected image towards the eye Y of the observer, while at the same time remaining relatively transparent and thus allowing the outside to be viewed. The compromise between transmission and scattering is not simple to find. Scattering films are dedicated to the projection of advertisements onto the display windows of stores. However, the technique is above all used at night, in other words under low ambient lighting conditions. In the daytime, this technique yields mediocre results. Indeed, as can be seen in FIG. 2, the film E scatters the sunlight S in all directions (straight banded arrows in FIG. 2). The transmission of the light is represented by a succession of chevrons in this figure. The film then appears milky, the transparency is limited, the efficiency in reflection and the brightness of the projected image remain low and basically unsatisfactory.
Accordingly, in the application FR 2 986 624 entitled "Optical projector with a semi-transparent projection screen", the applicant provides a display screen comprising a plurality of patterns scattering the light regularly distributed over a transparent surface, where these patterns can comprise a reflecting surface coating. With respect to the previous systems, the semi-transparent screen of this projector both possesses a high transparency and yields a high brightness of the projected image, while at the same time having a limited diffraction.
However, the light rays coming from the projector and scattered by the screen all have a known angle of incidence. In the same way, the illumination by sunlight can only come from certain directions, certain parts of the cockpit forming a natural mask. However, the previous screen is isotropic and does not take into account, in a precise manner, the variations in angle of incidence of the light rays coming from the projector in such a manner as to optimize the efficiencies of scattering towards the eye of the observer.

Display system comprising a screen comprising an array of diffractive patterns


A curtain assembly for hanging a shortened, lighter curtain from existing curtain ceiling tracks. The assembly uses adjustable height hangers to connect the commercially available track to existing curtain systems and a lightweight disposable curtain to hang therefrom. The brackets to attach the track to the room walls and one bracket allows for the vertical insertion of the curtain hooks onto the track. A quick load bracket gathers the curtain hooks for vertical installation through the brackets. The curtain can be installed simply and quickly by one person without a ladder.

Hospitals are notorious for getting sick people sicker. This is understandable as they are filled with a plethora of germs. The frequent touching and sometimes hasty grabbing by medical personnel and patients leads to the outer surfaces of such articles as partition curtains, washroom handrails/grab bars, patient bed bedrails, IV pumps, wheelchair arms, transit beds/undercarriage, stretcher undercarriages/handles, crash carts, and pole stands, dirty and infected with germs. These eventually become breeding grounds for a haven for substances potentially causing medical problems for a patient. For example, a doctor or nurse may have blood, medical waste, or other unclean substances on his or her gloves as contact is made with any of the above. Often the most touched surfaces of a patient's room are rarely cleaned or disinfected.
The Center for Disease Control receives roughly 1.7 million reports of Healthcare Associated Infections (HAI), which annually are attributed to over 99,000 deaths in the USA. Partition curtains are one of the most frequently touched objects in a patient room, are rated the sixth highest high risk touchpoint, and they are considered a key transmission point for cross contamination. They are typically infected with VRE [43%], CDIFF [4%] and MRSA [22%] after just 4 weeks after installation.
Partition curtains are often not cleaned or changed with optimal frequency. Much of the problem lies in the design of the entire curtain assembly from the curtain's size and fabric to the method and height of hanging. Additionally, most hospitals lack viable protocols for the systematic exchange and cleaning of cubicle curtains. This, in part, is due to the intensive labor to replace a complete curtain assembly due to design flaws.
Most American hospitals mount their cubical curtain tracks to the ceilings of the room. Since these are commercial buildings, the ceilings exceed 8 feet and thus the curtain panels are high, heavy and unable to be installed without ladders. The unmanageability of these large, non-standardized curtain panels, the height at which they are hung, the lack of documentation regarding prior curtain replacements, and the need to quickly turn over patient rooms leads to neglected curtain replacements. As a result, often curtains are cleaned only once or twice per year, and by this time the accumulation of infectious material may result in the entire curtain assembly needing replacement.
Henceforth, a system to address germ aggregation on cubical curtains would fulfill a long felt need in the medical industry. This new invention utilizes and combines known and new technologies in a unique configuration to overcome the aforementioned problems and accomplish this.


The present invention provides a solder-mounted board which realizes reliable mounting of a component thereon; a method for producing the board; and a semiconductor device. The solder-mounted board includes a substrate; a wiring layer; a solder pad for mounting a component by the mediation of the solder; and an insulating layer which covers the wiring layer such that at least the solder pad is exposed, the wiring layer, the solder pad, and the insulating layer being provided on at least one surface of the substrate, wherein the insulating layer is formed of a first insulating layer provided on the substrate and the wiring layer, and a second insulating layer provided on at least a portion of the first insulating layer.

Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a solder-mounted board on which a component is mounted by means of the solder; to a method for producing the board; and to a semiconductor device.
Background Art
Soldering is widely used for mounting, on a board, a component employed for, for example, a semiconductor device such as an LSI or WLP (wafer level package).
Such a soldering process will now be described with reference to drawings.
FIG. 6 shows the case of employing a mounting board 100 including a substrate 101; wiring layers 102 and mounting pads 103 which are provided on the substrate 101; and a solder resist 104 provided so as to cover the entire wiring layers 102 and a portion of the mounting pads 103 (FIG. 6A). A cream solder 105 is applied to the mounting board 100 (FIG. 6B), and solder bumps 106 are formed through reflowing (FIG. 6C). Subsequently, a flux 107 is applied to the mounting board 100 (FIG. 6D), and then a component 110 is applied onto the solder bumps 106 (FIG. 6E), followed by reflowing, to thereby mount the component 110 on the mounting board 100 (FIG. 6F). Thereafter, the flux is removed through washing (FIG. 6G), and an underfill 108 is charged between the mounting board and the component (FIG. 6H).
FIG. 7 shows the case where a component is mounted directly on a mounting board without use of a cream solder. A mounting board 100 similar to that described above is provided (FIG. 7A), and a flux 107 is applied thereto (FIG. 7B). A component 110 is applied to (FIG. 7C) and mounted on the board through reflowing (FIG. 7D). Subsequently, the flux is removed through washing (FIG. 7E), and an underfill 108 is charged between the mounting board and the component (FIG. 7F).
FIG. 8 shows the case where a process is simplified by employing an adhesive containing a flux (see, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open (kokai) No. H04-280443). In this case, a mounting board 100 similar to that described above is provided (FIG. 8A), and a flux-containing adhesive layer 109 is formed on the board (FIG. 8B). Subsequently, a component 110 is applied to the adhesive layer 109 (FIG. 8C) and mounted through reflowing (FIG. 8D), followed by curing of the adhesive layer 109 (FIG. 8E). In this case, charging of an underfill is omitted.
With recent high-density mounting of components on a board, in such a soldering process, the connection pitch between the components and the board is reduced, and the aforementioned SMD design may cause various problems.
For example, the process shown in FIG. 6 may cause problems in that the pitch of openings in the solder resist is reduced, and thus the cream solder provided on the board falls off, resulting in mounting failure, and in that the solder flows upward during reflowing due to a high opening aspect ratio of the solder resist 104, resulting in poor mounting reliability. In addition, this process may cause a problem in terms of variation in size of solder bumps of each pad. Meanwhile, the process shown in FIG. 7 or 8 (i.e., the process employing no cream solder) may cause a problem in that the solder of the component 110 does not reach the mounting pads 103, resulting in connection failure, which problem is associated with the relationship between the size of solder bumps of the component 110 and the opening aspect ratio of the solder resist 104.
Problems associated with recent high-density mounting of components arise not only in the mounting process, but also in the aforementioned mounting board 100 itself.
In the case of high-density mounting of components on the mounting board 100, when the size of openings in the solder resist 104 is reduced, development of the solder resist 104 may become excessive or insufficient, and problems may arise in that, for example, the solder resist 104 itself is deformed, and cracking occurs in the solder resist 104 after mounting of the component 110. When the elastic modulus of the solder resist is reduced for solving such problems (e.g., cracking), migration is likely to occur between the wiring layers 102. In the case of a substrate having wiring layers on both surfaces thereof, due to the difference in area between the wiring layers provided on the top and bottom surfaces of the substrate, the amount of the solder resist 104 applied to the top-side wiring layer may differ from that of the solder resist 104 applied to the bottom-side wiring layer, resulting in a problem in that the substrate is likely to warp through curing and shrinkage.
Also, in association with high-density mounting of components on the mounting board 100, the underfill provided for reinforcing connection portions of the component 110 mounted on the board 100 may flow outside the component 110 due to the presence of a gap between the component and the board after connection, and the amount of the resin charged below the component 110 may become insufficient (i.e., some portions may fail to be charged with the resin), resulting in poor reliability. Particularly in the case of the process shown in FIG. 8 (i.e., the process in which the underfill resin is provided in advance), since resin easily flows outside the component, the problem of shortage of the resin below the component becomes even more significant.
In order to solve such a problem, there has been proposed a flip-chip mounting board in which a wide connection pad is provided, and wiring width is reduced, so as to reliably connect the connection pad to a component (see Japanese Patent No. 3420076). Since the board according to the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent No. 3420076 has this configuration, when solder powder is melted, molten solder gathers on the wide connection pad, and intended solder bumps are formed on the surface of the connection pad, whereby a component can be reliably connected to the connection (mounting) pad.
Meanwhile, there has been proposed a technique for preventing the aforementioned charging failure of an underfill, in which the opening of an insulating film is enlarged to the outside of the outline of a mounting component, and a wiring layer is provided in an inner region of the mounting component (see Japanese Patent No. 3390664).
However, this technique cannot be applied to the case where a connection portion is present not only at the periphery of the component, but also at the center thereof.

Solder-mounted board, production method therefor, and semiconductor device


A copper clad laminate and a method to manufacture the same are provided. In one general aspect, a copper clad laminate include a first copper clad layer on a first surface of an insulating layer, and a second copper clad layer on a second surface of the insulating layer. The second copper clad layer includes polymer resin layer, a second copper layer, and a carrier foil layer.

Field
The following description relates to copper clad laminates and a method to manufacture a printed circuit board using the same.
2. Description of Related Art
In accordance with development of electronic devices with smaller sizes and lighter weights, high-speed communications and mass communications have been highly demanded. Further, demands on miniaturization of electronic components, increases in a number of components, and increases in a number of inputs and outputs have been also increased. Because electronic devices have gradually been lightened, thinned, and miniaturized, printed circuit boards have limited areas to mount electronic components, and high-density wiring-patterns are required.
A high-density circuit pattern is formed on an outer-layer circuit of a build-up layer rather than on a core layer on which an inter-layer circuit is formed because the inter-layer circuit is usually formed around a ground or power patterns and also materials used to form the inter-layer circuit are suitable for a tenting process or a modified semi-additive process.
The tenting process allows forming circuits easily using a subtractive process which eliminates unnecessary parts though an etching process, but it is limited in that, formation of fine-line circuit patterns is not possible. The modified semi-additive process allows forming circuits with line/space (L/S) 15/15 μm or greater on a thin seed layer by etching a copper foil. However, the modified semi-additive process still has technical problems to form circuits being less than L/S 15/15 μm. An embedded pattern process may need to be improved to bury a prepreg and increase adhesion with circuits in order to form fine-line patterns being less than L/S 15/15 μm.
Forming fine-line patterns of less than L/S 15/15 μm may be performed using a semi-additive process. The semi-additive process forms circuits using a plating process and does not cause a line-width difference between the upper part and lower part of the circuits. However, the semi-additive process has complicated processes and further requires an electroless plating process. Because the prepreg, which is a generally used core material and composes a cooper clad laminate, has a low plating adhesion. As a result, it is not suitable for forming patterns using the semi-additive process.
Forming fine via holes is also required to form high-density circuits in addition to forming fine patterns. Because it is difficult to form holes with 40 μm or less with a general CO2 laser, a YAG laser or a pico-laser is used. However, a YAG laser or a pico-laser is more expensive compared to the CO2 laser.

Copper clad laminates and method for manufacturing a printed circuit board using the same


An auxiliary eyeglass frame is provided with a position-adjustable device pivotally securing to the bridge. The position-adjustable device includes a mounting block, at least one magnetic piece is provided in the mounting block, two through bores are respectively provided adjacent to the left side and right side of the at least one magnetic piece, each through bore is provided to receive one fixing piece and one pivotal connecting article, and the pivotal connecting articles are disposed on the bridge of the auxiliary eyeglass frame.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an auxiliary eyeglass frame which is supported by and engaged with a primary eyeglass frame with hidden magnetic attachment structure, and more particularly to an auxiliary eyeglass frame, which is provided with a position-adjustable device at the bridge, so as for the auxiliary eyeglass frame to be conveniently raised up for storage or moved down for use alternatively.
2. Description of the Related Art
The inventor of the present invention had invented eyeglass frames with hidden magnetic attachment structure. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, at least one magnetic piece 10b is respectively provided in the bridge 10a of an auxiliary eyeglass frame 10 and in the bridge 20a of a primary eyeglass frame 20, so as to have a beautiful appearance and to prolong the service life of the magnetic pieces.
However, while the auxiliary eyeglass frame 10 is detached from the primary eyeglass frame 20, it is troublesome for a wearer to find a proper place to store up the auxiliary eyeglass frame 10.

Auxiliary eyeglass frame with a position-adjustable device


A MEMS package includes a first board, a second board and a laminate material. The first board includes a lower metallic trace, a metallic diaphragm and a through opening. The lower metallic trace is located on the lower surface of the first board, and the metallic diaphragm is disposed on the lower metallic trace. The second board includes an upper metallic trace and a metallic electrode. The upper metallic trace is located on the upper surface of the second board, the metallic electrode is disposed on the upper metallic trace, and the metallic electrode is corresponding to the metallic diaphragm. The laminate material is disposed between the lower and upper metallic traces, and includes a hollow portion for accommodating the metallic electrode and metallic diaphragm, wherein a sensing unit is formed by the metallic electrode, the hollow portion and the metallic diaphragm, and is corresponding to the through opening.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a MEMS package, and more particularly to a MEMS package including a first board, a second board and a third board formed by the manufacturing process of the PCB.
2. Description of the Related Art
Micro-electro-mechanical-system (MEMS) components are gradually applied to many electronic circuits and a variety of micro sensors. For example, the MEMS components can be electro-mechanical motors, radio frequency (RF) switches, pressure transducers and accelerometers.
Referring to FIG. 1, it depicts a conventional microphone-type MEMS package 10. The package 10 includes a silicon substrate 12, an annular supporting wall 14, a capacitor 16, an operation element 18 and a cap 20. A cavity 22 is formed by the annular supporting wall 14 and the silicon substrate 12. The capacitor 16 and the operation element 18 are mounted on the silicon substrate 12 and located in the cavity 22. The cap 20 is mounted on the annular supporting wall 14 and covers the cavity 22. The cap 20 includes a through hole 24 for conveying external sound into the package. The capacitor 16 is a MEMS component and corresponding to the through hole 24, whereby the capacitor 16 is adapted to be driven by sound so as to receive a vibration signal. The operation element 18 converts a non-electric signal to an electric signal. The capacitor 16 is constituted by two metallic thin films (not shown) and a dielectric layer (not shown) located between the two metallic thin films, and thus it is necessary that the capacitor 16 is formed on the silicon substrate 12 by a plurality of photo-mask, photolithography and etching processes. However, the manufacture cost is high because the package is formed by the above-mentioned photo-mask, photolithography and etching processes.
Accordingly, there exists a need for a MEMS package and a method for manufacturing the same, being capable of solving the above-mentioned problems.

Micro-electro-mechanical-system package and method for manufacturing the same

Advanced Semiconductor Engineering, Inc.


A shift lever apparatus includes a detent pin, and the distal end portion thereof is attached to a shift lever so as to be movable in the direction of coming into and out of contact with the shift lever. A lever guide is formed with a transition sliding surface on which the distal end of the detent pin slides along the operation of the shift lever on the back surface thereof. A gate portion is provided on the transition sliding surface, and limits the direction of movement of the detent pin in the direction practically matching the selecting direction by coming into contact with the distal end portion of the sliding detent pin. Accordingly, the direction of movement of the shift lever is limited only to the direction practically matching the selecting direction by a force transmitted from the gate portion via the detent pin when the shift lever passes through a transition guide groove.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shift lever apparatus of a motor vehicle and, more specifically, to a shift lever apparatus for changing gear in a transmission.
2. Description of the Related Art
A shift lever apparatus for changing gear in an automatic transmission of a motor vehicle disclosed in JP-A No. 2000-168388 is known. With the shift lever apparatus as disclosed in JP-A No. 2000-168388, it is difficult for a driver to transmit an operating force in only one of the widthwise direction and the front and rear direction in terms of the vehicle to a shift lever when changing the gear, and the shift lever is adapted to be capable of moving between shift positions even when the shift lever is operated in an oblique direction which is slightly inclined with respect to the widthwise and the front and rear directions of the vehicle. Therefore, for example, when attempt is made to shift the shift lever from the parking position (position P) to the drive position (position D) in an automatic transmission area, the shift lever may pass over the position D unintentionally and be shifted to shift positions in a manual transmission area (position − or position +).
In order to avoid the erroneous operation as described above, the shift lever apparatus disclosed in JP-A No. 2000-168388 is configured in such a manner that a first front and rear transfer channel linearly connecting the position R and a midpoint between the position R and the position N and a connection transfer channel linearly connecting the midpoint and the position N in the automatic transmission area are connected at an acute angle. Accordingly, the possibility that the shift lever passes over a second front and rear transfer channel linearly connecting the position N and the position D when an attempt is made to shift the shift lever from the position P to the position D or when an attempt is made to shift the shift lever to a shift waiting position to the position N is reduced, so that the erroneous operation as described above is effectively prevented.
However, with the shift lever apparatus disclosed in JP-A No. 2000-168388, a driver must shift the shift lever consciously in the direction inclined with respect to the widthwise direction of the vehicle in the automatic transmission area. Therefore, the driver may have an uncomfortable feeling and hence the shift feeling is deteriorated when operating the shift lever until he or she gets used to the operation in the oblique direction.