A posture support garment comprises shoulder cap straps designed to pull the shoulders back thereby straightening the wearer's posture. The shoulder cap straps may be lined with silicone or some other appropriate material to grip or “grab” the skin at the area of the pectoral muscles or may be designed to cup the shoulders mechanically. This invention provides an effective posture enhancement while also providing a garment that is comfortable to wear all day. The posture support garment may be integrally designed and manufactured into a brassiere, T-shirt, bodice, or other top garment. The posture support garment may be worn by computer users or others concerned with detrimental genetic posture or the detrimental effects of everyday activity.

Many people experience pain in the shoulders, arms, back and/or neck due to poor posture—often from being hunched over working at computers (or indeed from genetic history). In addition to the pain—which can spread e.g., to elbows, wrists, and hands if not treated, people can suffer limited and stiff arm movement and deteriorating posture. Sufferers who may be at added risk are those with osteoporosis and women due to the weight of their breasts. These sufferers sometimes frequent chiropractors, massage therapists, physical therapists, and other practitioners to alleviate their pain and improve their movement. Sufferers also often resort to pain medication and muscle relaxers.
One method of attempting to relieve these sufferers is by "taping"—applying adhesive tape to the affected areas. However, such taping irritates skin and is designed only to help the patient "remember" to stand/sit up straight. There remains a need for a support brace that will offer real relief and will also be comfortable to wear for extended periods of time. There remains a need for a brace that will support the straightening of the spine as well as the pulling the shoulders back. Further, this support brace should be adjustable to fit wearers of various shapes and sizes but also so that the wearer can loosen or tighten the brace while wearing it throughout the day.


A wiring substrate can include a substrate material, which can have a first surface and a second surface. A plurality of first electrically conductive elements can be disposed on the first surface, and a plurality of second electrically conductive elements can be disposed on the second surface. Ones of the first conductive elements can be electrically connected through the substrate material to ones of the second conductive elements. A mechanism can be located in a first region, which can be a center region, of the second surface of the substrate material. The mechanism can be configured to engage a control member. First activation of the control member can apply an adjustable pulling force to the first region, and second activation of the control member can apply an adjustable pushing force to the first region. The mechanism can be or can include a threaded stud, and the control member can be or can include a threaded nut configured to engage the threaded stud.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to a probe card assembly, and more specifically to achieving a more planar relationship between the contact elements on a probe card assembly and a device under test.
2. Background Information
Individual semiconductor devices (dies) are typically produced by creating several identical devices on a semiconductor wafer, using commonly known techniques such as photolithography and deposition. Generally, these processes are intended to create fully functional integrated circuit devices, prior to separating the individual dies from the semiconductor wafer. However, physical defects in the wafer and defects in the processing of the wafer often lead to the presence of some defective dies on the wafer. It is desirable to be able to identify the defective dies prior to packaging or prior to their separation from the wafer. To perform such identification, wafer testers or probers are used to make pressure connections to connection pads bond pads) on the dies. The dies can then be tested for defects. A conventional component of a wafer tester is a probe card which has contact elements that effect the pre sure connections to the bond pads of the dies.
A probe card can be part of a probe card assembly, such as that which is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,662, titled "Method of Planarizing Tips of Probe Elements of a Probe Card Assembly," which is incorporated by reference herein. A probe card assembly according to U.S. Pat. No. 5,974,662 typically includes a number of components in addition to the probe card itself, such as an interposer and a space transformer. The interposer is disposed between the probe card and the space transformer and allows the orientation of the space transformer to be adjusted relative to the orientation of the probe card.
The space transformer permits a plurality of contact structures on one side of the space transformer to make contact with the terminals of an electronic component (e.g. bond pads on a semiconductor device) at a relatively fine pitch, while connections to another side of the space transformer are made at a relatively coarser pitch. In a preferred embodiment, the contact structures make contact with an active semiconductor device, such as a wafer. Such connections can be disrupted by slight variations in the planarity of the space transformer. Unfortunately, variations in the planarity of the space transformer can occur, for example, when the space transformer is manufactured. For example, an edge of the space transformer might be bent slightly or the center of the space transformer might be bowed.
FIG. 1 illustrates generally a prior art technique for adjusting the orientation of a space transformer. A space transformer 110 is shown with different sets of adjustment points on the bottom of space transformer 110. In one example, the adjustment points correspond to the locations of ball bearings that can be pressed against a back surface of space transformer 110 to adjust the orient tion of space transformer 110. In FIG. 1, three adjustment points 112a-112c are used to adjust the orientation of space transformer 110. Adjustment points 112a-112c are located along the periphery of space transformer 110.
The adjustment points shown in FIG. 1 can be used to deflect peripheral areas of space transformer 110, but they cannot be used to deflect non-peripheral areas, such as the center, of space transformer 110. The three points of adjustment shown in FIG. 1 define a plane which is approximately parallel to the plane of a front surface of space transformer 110. However, because there are only three adjustment points, they can adjust the orientation, but not the shape, of space transformer 110; geometric changes are made on only a low order (1st order polynomial). Furthermore, using ball bearings in conjunction with the adjustment points provides for the application of only a pushing force against space transformer 110, and in some instances, the pushing force is opposed by a spring member on an opposite side of space transformer 110.
In many instances, it is desirable to be able to apply a pulling or pushing force at a multiplicity of locations on a space transformer because the space transformer may require deflection or distortion over its surface to achieve better planarity and correct surface variations.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Apparatuses and methods for planarizing a semiconductor contactor


A sample holder for positioning and locking film for sample materials for spectroscopic analysis comprising a holder body having a cylindrical outer wall forming a cell adapted to contain the sample material and a ring member for biasedly pressing the film skirt against the cylindrical outer wall of the holder body in a first locking position. A locking bead around the ring member presses the film skirt into a locking groove around the cylindrical wall of the holder body in a second locking position. An optional third locking position is attained by a second locking bead around the biasable ring member pressing the film skirt into a second locking groove around the holder body. A method of assembling the film with the holder body and the ring member is also described.

The field of spectroscopy involves the measurement of the spectra of certain material being analyzed. Without going into detail here, which is well-known to those familiar with the art, it can in summary be said that an atom releases a quantum of energy that emits a particular wave length of the electromagnetic spectrum where bombarded by X-rays or at times by other regions of the electromagnetic spectrum.
The field of spectroscopy is that of high precision technology. The X-ray apparatus that is used to read or interpret the sample is finally dependent upon the quality of the presentation and preparation of the sample being analyzed because a precise geometry of distance is involved in the measurement process. Also, because of X-ray absorption factors, polyethylene or polypropylene films employed as X-ray transparent windows are fragile and very thin, ranging in thicknesses as low as between 0.00005 in. (0.0012 mm) to 0.00050 in. (0.013 mm).
A sample is positioned in a cylindrical sample holder that includes a holder body forming a cell adapted to contain the sample. A disposable sample holder is generally made of polyethylene or polypropylene and is generally intended to be discarded after a single use. A sample holder will range in size between diameters of 0.39 in. to 2.25 in. (1 mm to 57 mm) and have a height of about 1 in. (25 mm), although these dimensions will vary.
The first phase of the analysis is in the support and presentation of the sample for spectroscopy. In one type of holder, a very thin plastic film is placed taut as an X-ray transparent window across the circular end face of the body of the holder, and the skirt of the film is then secured to the outer wall of the body. The body is then inverted so that the window film face is positioned downwards. The holder cell is thereupon filled with the sample through the top open face of the holder body. A cap, which is not always necessary, can then be placed on the top open face to close the cell and form a complete holder of a body with a cap. The sample holder is then placed in a cell positioner of the particular spectroscopic apparatus being used, and the electromagnetic waves are applied upwardly to the downwardly positioned film face of the holder upon which the sample material is lying. The X-ray analysis may be conducted in an air, inert gas, or vacuum environment. The type of cap used, when a cap is necessary, varies in accordance with the environment and the type of sample being analyzed.
The precise geometry of distance encompassed by spectroscopic analysis is dependent upon the integrity of the film face that is tautly stretched across the bottom face of the cell of the holder. The sample material in the cell lies upon the film, which must retain a perfectly flat horizontal face, which in turn creates a perfectly flat surface of the sample material lying on the film. In addition the film must maintain a tight pressure fit around the base of the holder so as to create a seal that prevents any leakage of sample material, particularly a liquid or volatile sample, from the cell. Also, the thermal coefficient of the film and the sample can change considerably under the heat generated by the X-ray bombardment inducing shrinkage and/or expansion creating stress on the film.
Also, film can shrink or expand because of heat generated by X-ray bombardment. The coefficient of expansion of the film and the sample may vary, thus creating stress on the film.

Sample holder for spectroscopic analysis and method for mounting film to sample holder


The present disclosure relates to a polyamide molding composition including a semi-aromatic, semi-crystalline copolyamide and flat glass fibers that shows a low tendency to absorb moisture and thus maintains its excellent mechanical and optical properties also during storage and/or use.

Polyamide compositions are frequently used for technical construction materials since they exhibit good toughness, rigidity and heat resistance, i.e., high performance retention of mechanical properties such as tensile strength (TS) to break and Charpy impact strength after thermal aging, high heat distortion temperature (HDT) and minimum distortion during injection molding. Areas of application of these compositions include, for example, interior and exterior parts in the automotive sector and in the area of other transport means, housing materials for appliances and equipment for telecommunications, entertainment electronics, household appliances, mechanical engineering equipment, equipment in the heating field and fasting parts for installations.
In order to exhibit the excellent mechanical properties, i.e. high rigidity and excellent toughness in addition to good heat resistance, the polyamide compositions comprise in addition to the polyamide resins reinforcing fillers, such as glass fibers (GF).
The glass fibers used in the polyamide compositions may have a circular cross section, also called standard (normal, round) glass fibers, as described for example in US2007/0117910 or US 2014/0275367, or a non-circular cross section, indicated as flat glass fibers.
The flat glass fibers can be used to reinforce a polyamide composition in place of standard glass fibers having a circular cross section, since flat glass fibers having a cross section whose major axis and minor axis have different values enable higher packing density at high degrees of reinforcement, resulting in higher flexural modulus, higher mechanical strength, especially along the direction of the fiber, and thus improve mechanical strengths and dimensional stability of the articles produced using the polyamide composition due to said geometrical advantages than the standard glass fibers.
The glass fibers have to be incorporated into the polyamide composition in a sufficient amount in order to meet the mechanical requirements as mentioned above.
WO 2015/193144, describes a polyamide composition which comprises a mixture of a semi-aromatic, semi-crystalline copolyamide and an aliphatic polyamide in combination with flat glass fibers. According to the teaching of WO 2015/193144 an amount of 12 to less than 20 wt.-% of flat glass fibers present in the composition is sufficient to provide a polyamide composition which fulfills the mechanical properties as required in the field of technical construction materials.
However, one insidious disadvantages of the polyamides compositions is that the polyamide compositions have the tendency to absorb moisture from ambient, which results in the change of their properties over time. The moisture may exist during different stages of the polymer processing; it may be absorbed from the surrounding atmosphere during storage and use. The moisture is known to affect a range of polyamide properties, in particular mechanical properties such as elastic modulus and strength, but also optical properties as for example gloss of the material and dimensional stability.
Hence, the present invention aims to provide a polyamide composition which shows excellent mechanical and optical properties, e.g. high rigidity, dimensional stability and excellent surface aspect, and which maintains these properties during storage and/or use.

Polyamide formulations comprising semi-crystalline copolyamide and flat glass fibers


An interactive desktop system comprising a work surface, a display device such as a projector for displaying images in a first area on the work surface, a camera for capturing images in a second area on the work surface, and an image processor, coupled to the display device and to the camera, said image processor being suitably programmed (a) for causing the display of barcodes on the work surface, (b) for causing the capture of said barcodes and, in dependence on the captured information, (c) for determining the position of said second area relative to said first area. The barcodes are displayed in a horizontal then vertical orientation, with an image capture in each display orientation being performed by the camera. This enables the camera's field of view within the displayed image to be determined. In an alternative embodiment, glyph codes may be used instead of barcodes.

It is known from EP-A-495 622 to use a camera-projector arrangement positioned above a desk, in order to enable a user to select functions to be performed by selecting items located within the field of view of the camera. A video camera or scanner is used to capture images of documents on a desk, and feedback information is displayed by means of a projection display. The functions include calculating and translating operations carried out on data (e.g., in a paper document) located on the desk. In such a system, camera and display must be kept in registration, and this involves calibration whenever the camera's field of view changes with respect to the display.
By way of example, when the user selects a word in a document, feedback must be displayed to confirm the selection, aligned precisely with the word. The position of the displayed information can be calculated if the size, orientation and position of the camera's field of view are known, relative to the display coordinate system.
Previous proposals for solving this calibration problem have used calibration marks projected onto the work surface. EP-A-622,722 discloses a calibration system which projects a thick cross or "plus" sign (+), and uses image morphology (see D. Bloomberg & P. Maragos, "Image Algebra and Morphological Image Processing", SPIE Conference Procs, San Diego, Calif., July 1990) to pinpoint the center of the mark in the frame grabber coordinate space. A cross (+) is projected at four successive points; and to calculate the mapping from the four points the techniques uses the following equations (see FIG. 4 of EP-A-622,722), EQU x'=c.sub.1 x+c.sub.2 y+c.sub.3 xy+c.sub.4 EQU y'=c.sub.5 x+c.sub.6 y+c.sub.7 xy+c.sub.8
where (x,y) are coordinates in the projected display, and (x',y') are coordinates in the frame grabber. With four point pairs, the set of simultaneous linear equations can be solved by Gaussian Elimination. Then, a fifth cross (+) is projected and its location is checked to make sure it is close enough to the position produced by the mapping. While this process deals with the keystoning and rotation effects caused by lack of alignment of the camera to the display, and the result is accurate to within one or two display pixels, it requires the user manually to specify the rough position of the camera's field of view, and is thus inappropriate for situations where the field of view is constantly or frequently changing.
There is therefore a need for a calibration technique which can be performed rapidly and automatically whenever the field of view changes. There is also a need for a calibration technique which is effective even when the work surface is cluttered with documents lying within the field of view of the camera. And there is also a need for a calibration technique which can cope with a wide range of fields of view.

Calibration of an interactive desktop system


A method and apparatus for generating a fifty percent duty cycle clock from a reference clock. The method and apparatus includes an edge generator, a controllable delay module, a duty cycle control loop module and a reset circuit. The edge generator is coupled to generate a clean edge of the reference clock. The controllable delay module is coupled to produce a delayed edge from the clean edge based on a duty cycle control signal. The duty cycle control loop module is coupled to generate the duty cycle control signal based on the delayed edge and the reference clock signals. The reset circuit is coupled to reset the edge generator to produce a second edge. The second edge is delayed by the controllable delay module to produce a second delayed edge such that the delayed edge and the second delayed edge constitute one period of the fifty percent duty cycle clock.

Communication systems are known to support wireless and wire lined communications between wireless and/or wire lined communication devices. Such communication systems range from national and/or international cellular telephone systems to the Internet to point-to-point in-home wireless networks. Each type of communication system is constructed, and hence operates, in accordance with one or more communication standards. For instance, wireless communication systems may operate in accordance with one or more standards including, but not limited to, IEEE 802.11, Bluetooth, advanced mobile phone services (AMPS), digital AMPS, global system for mobile communications (GSM), code division multiple access (CDMA), local multi-point distribution systems (LMDS), multi-channel-multi-point distribution systems (MMDS), and/or variations thereof. Each standard typically dictates the type of communication, type of encoding, type of modulation, channel access protocols, data rates, et cetera, to be performed by the wireless communication devices.
Depending on the type of wireless communication system, a wireless communication device, such as a cellular telephone, two-way radio, personal digital assistant (PDA), personal computer (PC), laptop computer, home entertainment equipment, et cetera, communicates directly or indirectly with other wireless communication devices. For direct communications (also known as point-to-point communications), the participating wireless communication devices tune their receivers and transmitters to the same channel or channel pair (e.g., one of the plurality of radio frequency (RF) carriers of the wireless communication system) and communicate over that channel or channel pair. For indirect wireless communications, each wireless communication device communicates directly with an associated base station (e.g., for cellular services) and/or an associated access point (e.g., for an in-home or in-building wireless network) via an assigned channel. To complete a communication session between the wireless communication devices, the associated base stations and/or associated access points communicate with each other directly, via a system controller, via the public switch telephone network, via the Internet, and/or via some other wide area network.
For each wireless communication device to participate in wireless communications, it includes a built-in radio transceiver (i.e., receiver and transmitter) or is coupled to an associated radio transceiver (e.g., a station for in-home and/or in-building wireless communication networks, RF modem, etc.). As is known, the transmitter includes a data modulation stage, one or more intermediate frequency stages, and a power amplifier. The data modulation stage converts raw data into baseband signals in accordance with the particular wireless communication standard. The one or more intermediate frequency stages mix the baseband signals with one or more local oscillations to produce RF signals. The power amplifier amplifies the RF signals prior to transmission via an antenna.
As is also known, the receiver is coupled to the antenna and includes a low noise amplifier, one or more intermediate frequency stages, a filtering stage, and a data recovery stage. The low noise amplifier receives an inbound RF signal via the antenna and amplifies it. The one or more intermediate frequency stages mix the amplified RF signal with one or more local oscillations to convert the amplified RF signal into a baseband signal or an intermediate frequency (IF) signal. The filtering stage filters the baseband signal or the IF signal to attenuate unwanted out of band signals to produce a filtered signal. The data recovery stage recovers raw data from the filtered signal in accordance with the particular wireless communication standard.
To ensure that data is properly transmitted and recaptured by wireless communication devices, the standard to which the wireless communication devices are compliant prescribes one or more data rates. Traditionally, the processing performed by a wireless communication device was done on a "one processing step per one clock interval" basis. As the need for greater speed of performance increased, many wireless communication devices employed parallel processing using co-processors and some further employed double edge processing.
As is known, double edge processing allows a processing device to perform one processing step on the rising edge of the clock and another processing step on the falling edge of the clock. To ensure that each processing step, i.e., the one on the rising edge and the one on the falling edge, have an equal amount of time to be completed, the processing device should be clocked by a 50% duty cycle clock. As is also known, if an imbalanced duty cycle clock is used (e.g., 60%/40% duty cycle clock), the processing of both steps must be completed during the shorter of the two portions of the clock (e.g., the 40% portion).
Because of the need for an accurate 50% duty cycle clock to improve performance of processing devices, including processing devices within wireless communication devices, many implementations of 50% duty cycle clocks have been developed. For example, a phase locked loop (PLL) may be used to produce a clock that is twice the desired clocking rate to produce the desired 50% duty cycle clock. However, PLLs are relatively complex circuits and, when implemented on an integrated circuit (IC), consume a relatively large portion of the IC real estate, which adds to the cost and power consumption of the IC.
Other 50% duty cycle clock implementations include some form of post processing or feedback processing to better control the duty cycle of reference clock. While such post processing and feedback processing provide a 50% duty cycle clock, they are relatively complex circuits and, when implemented on an integrated circuit (IC), consume a relatively large portion of the IC real estate, which adds to the cost and power consumption of the IC.
Therefore, a need exists for a 50% duty cycle clock that is readily suitable for implementation on an integrated circuit due to its minimal power consumption and economy of design.


According to one aspect of the invention, a memory array and a method of constructing a memory array are provided. An insulating layer is formed on a semiconductor substrate. A first metal stack is then formed on the insulating layer. The first metal stack is etched to form first metal lines. A polymeric layer is formed over the first metal lines and the insulating layer. The polymeric layer has a surface with a plurality of roughness formations. A second metal stack is formed on the polymeric layer with an interface layer, which is thicker than the heights of the roughness formations. Then the second metal stack is etched to form second metal lines. Memory cells are formed wherever a second metal line extends over a first metal line.

1). Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an electronic assembly and a method of constructing an electronic assembly.
2). Discussion of Related Art
Ferroelectric polymer memory chips, like other integrated circuits, are formed on semiconductor wafers. An insulating layer is typically formed on the wafer first. A lower set of electrodes is formed on the insulating layer over which a polymeric layer is then deposited.
After the polymer is cured and/or annealed, a series of topographic formations, or a "roughness," manifests on the surface of the polymeric layer. These formations can be on the order of the thickness of the substrate and can include valleys, which extend to the lower electrodes and/or insulating layer below.
An upper set of electrodes is then formed on the polymeric layer. The conductive materials, typically metals, used in the upper electrodes are highly reactive with the polymer. If these materials make contact, a chemical reaction may begin which leads to the failure of the device. Typically, an interface layer is formed between the upper electrodes and the polymeric layer to prevent such contact from taking place. However, such interface layers are typically only approximately 50 angstroms thick, and due to the severity of the topography of the polymeric layer, the interface layer is often not thick enough to protect the polymer from reacting with the metals of the upper electrodes.

Ferroelectric polymer memory with a thick interface layer


The recent invention provide an organic electroluminescence display device with color purity adjustment, particularly white purity increased, without increasing formation processes. For each of unit pixels formed on an insulating film INS formed on a principal surface of a glass substrate, a bank BNK is provided on a bottom electrode BEL being a pixel electrode. The bank BNK has the shape of a bank that surrounds a pixel concerned, for each of pixels, and an organic electroluminescence light emitting layer is charged within a region surrounded by the banks BNKs. Between the banks BNKs, a green light emitting layer (G light emitting layer), a blue light emitting layer (B light emitting layer), and a red light emitting layer (R light emitting layer) are provided. At the same time as the formation of these color light emitting layers, light emitting layers of three colors, the green light emitting layer (G light emitting layer), the blue light emitting layer (B light emitting layer), and the red light emitting layer (R light emitting layer) are stacked on a region of a white pixel to form a white light emitting layer (G+B+R). An upper electrode UEL is formed over the green light emitting layer (G light emitting layer), the blue light emitting layer (B light emitting layer), the red light emitting layer (R light emitting layer), and the white light emitting layer (G+B+R light emitting layer).

The present invention relates to organic electroluminescence display devices, and more particularly to an increase in brightness in an organic electroluminescence display device with organic electroluminescence elements of plural colors stacked on an insulating substrate that makes full color display.
As display devices of flat panel type, liquid crystal displays (LCD), plasma display panels (PDP), field emission displays (FED), and organic electroluminescence displays (OLED) are commercially practical or in the stage of a study for practical use. Particularly, the organic electroluminescence display devices are greatly promising as a representative of display devices of spontaneous emission type that are thin and light in weight. The organic electroluminescence display devices are classified as a so-called bottom emission type and a top emission type. The present invention is described with respect to organic electroluminescence display devices of an active matrix type. However, a light emitting layer structure holds true for organic electroluminescence display devices of a simple matrix as well.
FIGS. 7A and 7B are drawings for explaining the structure of an organic electroluminescence display device of bottom emission type. FIG. 7A is a sectional view for explaining an overall structure, and FIG. 7B is a sectional view for explaining the structure of a unit pixel. In the organic electroluminescence display device of bottom emission type, a thin film transistor TFT is provided on the principal surface of an insulating substrate SUB being preferably a glass substrate, a first electrode or one electrode (hereinafter referred to as a bottom electrode or a transparent electrode (ITO, etc.) as a pixel electrode) BEL is formed via a contact hole formed on an insulating film INS. The bottom electrode BEL is formed independently for each of unit pixels.
A bank BNK formed from an insulating material is provided over the region in which the thin film transistor TFT is formed, separates one adjacent unit pixel from another, and serves to accommodate an organic light emitting layer ILL that emits light on application of an electric field. A reflective metallic electrode as a second electrode (common electrode) or another electrode, that is, an upper electrode UEL is stacked over the organic light emitting layer ILL. The insulating substrate SUB having organic electroluminescence elements thus constructed on its principal surface is isolated by a sealing can CAV from the external atmosphere, and is sealed with a sealant such as an adhesive. A desiccant DSC is stored in the inside sealed by the sealing can CAV.
By applying an electric field to between the bottom electrode BEL as an anode and the upper electrode UEL as a cathode, carriers (electrons and positive holes) are injected to the organic electroluminescence elements composed of organic multilayer films, and the organic multilayer films emit light. Light emitted from the organic electroluminescence device is emitted as display light via the insulating substrate SUB. A full-color image is displayed by arraying a plural number of color pixels in a matrix form, which are the red (R), green (G), and blue (B) unit pixels of the organic electroluminescence elements.
FIGS. 8A and 8B are drawings for explaining the structure of an organic electroluminescence display device of top emission type. FIG. 8A is a sectional view for explaining an overall structure, and FIG. 8B is a sectional view for explaining the structure of a unit pixel. In the organic electroluminescence display device of top emission type, the bottom electrode BEL corresponding to one electrode of the above-described organic electroluminescence display device of bottom emission type is constructed with a reflective metallic electrode, and the upper electrode UEL being another electrode is constructed with a transparent electrode such as ITO, organic multilayer films emit light when an electric field is applied to between the both, and the emitted light L is emitted from the upper electrode UEL. In the top emission type, a transparent plate being preferably a glass plate is used as the sealing can in the bottom emission type, and desiccant DSC is a transparent material or disposed in a portion that does not cut off display light. Other parts of the structure are almost the same as those in FIGS. 7A and 7B.
Technology is known for displaying full-color images in combination of color filters of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) with a white organic electroluminescence element, instead of organic electroluminescence elements of red (R), green (G), and blue (B).
In Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2004-311440, an R-G-B-W method is disclosed by which an organic electroluminescence element of white (W) is added to organic electroluminescence elements of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) to increase display brightness.
In the R-G-B-W method disclosed in the Japanese Patent Laid Open No. 2004-311440, separate organic electroluminescence films to emit light of red (R), green (G), blue (B), white (W) are formed with the same layer thickness, and four organic electroluminescence film formation processes such as evaporation are required. Since a conventional organic electroluminescence film to emit white (W) light is generally formed from a mixture of luminescent materials of two colors, an emission spectrum tends to be gentle and color balance adjustment (color purity adjustment) is difficult. In the case of an organic electroluminescence display device with color filters of red (R), green (G), and blue (B) combined with a white organic electroluminescence element, since part of light emitted from the organic electroluminescence elements is absorbed by the color filters, light extracting efficiency decreases.

Organic electroluminescence display device having red, green, blue and white pixels


The present invention relates to turbomolecular vacuum pumps and an arrangement for reducing or eliminating an accumulated static charge in the rotor caused by an interaction of the rotor with either electrically charged or neutral particles in the pumped media. Electrical charge exchange between the rotor and the electrically grounded stator is effected through a wire or other means of electrical contact, or through charge emission devices such as a field emission tip. In either case, electrostatic charges in the rotor are reduced or eliminated.

Certain research and manufacturing processes require the use of a process chamber with high vacuum. For example, in semiconductor wafer processing, vacuum is used during many thin-film deposition and etching operations, primarily to reduce contamination. In such processes, pumps capable of producing a "high vacuum" of 10−6 Torr or lower are useful to assure adequate pumping speed at process pressure, and to allow for a low base pressure for cleanup between steps.
Several currently-available vacuum pump configurations are capable of producing and maintaining a high vacuum. One design, the turbo-molecular vacuum pump, is frequently used in both manufacturing processes and in research instrumentation. A conventional stage arrangement of a turbo-molecular vacuum pump includes a stack of alternate rotors and stators. Each stage effectively comprises a solid disc with a plurality of blades depending (nominally) radially inwardly or outwardly therefrom. The blades are evenly spaced around the circumference of the disc and angled "about" radial lines out of the plane of the disc in the direction of rotation of the rotor stage.
The turbo-molecular vacuum pump is inefficient or inoperable outside the molecular flow realm. For that reason, a commercially available vacuum pump may contain, in addition to several turbo-molecular stages, one or more molecular drag stages and one or more regenerative stages placed between the turbo-molecular stages and the pump outlet.
Turbopump rotors are frequently designed with partial or full magnetic levitation bearings. In certain instances, ceramic or other contact bearings are provided on the fore-vacuum side, and radially stabilizing permanent magnetic bearings are provided on the high-vacuum side. In certain high-vacuum applications, full magnetic levitation bearings are used to suspend the rotor. In those cases, the radial position may be regulated via a permanent magnet stabilizer, or may be regulated electronically. Electromagnets are also used to maintain the axial position of the rotor.
The level of vibration of the rotor in such a case is very low because there is no direct contact with the casing. Further, the rotor may be automatically compensated for out-of-balance vibration, reducing vibration of such rotors by a factor of 10 as compared with a similar rotor supported by ball bearings.
Other advantages of magnetic levitation bearings as compared with mechanical bearings are the absence of oil on the fore-vacuum side, and the lack of wear and resulting maintenance. For all the above reasons, magnetic levitation bearings are the suspension of choice in turbomolecular pumps designed for high and ultra-high vacuum applications.
Strong circumstantial evidence suggests that magnetically levitated rotors in turbomolecular pumps can acquire very high potentials through charge accumulation. The origin of the charge is most likely negatively charged process plasma dust. This dust exchanges its charge upon collision with the rotor, where every collision contributes an incremental amount of charge to the rotor. The rotor is thus charged to high electrical potentials. The electric field associated with the electrically charged rotor exerts a repelling force on dust particles which are caught in the non-uniform electric field at the inlet of the turbo pump to form a particle cloud. These particles may create device defects and decrease the process yield.
An additional contribution to the charge on the rotor may come from tribocharging. Tribocharging is the result of a charge exchange process when dissimilar materials come in contact with each other. For example, a person accumulates charges on the body by walking across a carpet. When contact is made with a grounded item, a discharge occurs, giving the person a shock. In the case of a Mars lander, particles in a dust storm have been known to cause an exchange of electrons, resulting in charge buildup. The amount of charge accumulation depends on the nature of the two materials that come into contact with each other and their ability to dissipate charge.
While a charged conductor distributes charges throughout the body, a charged dielectric maintains local charge distributions. In each case, the primary condition for accumulating charge is that one material is insulated from another, thus preventing recombination of the charges.
As discussed above, the rotor of a turbo-molecular pump is often magnetically levitated, and thus electrically isolated from the surrounding, grounded stator. Even pumps without magnetic levitation often have rotors suspended by ceramic bearings, also insulating the rotor from ground. Given a flow of non-ionized gas over the rotor, a static charge might accumulate on the rotor of the turbo-molecular pump during operation due to tribocharging. The materials that are present (gas species and turbo-molecular pump rotor material) and the absence of a conducting path between the charges will determine the amount of accumulated charge.
Additionally, pumping of ionized gases and dusty plasma also results in charge accumulation. Ions and charged particles contribute to the charge accumulation on the rotor by transferring their charge upon collision. The net charge on the rotor is the result of all these processes.
The build-up of a sufficiently high net charge on the rotor will result in a sudden discharge. The voltage at which discharge occurs depends on the amount of accumulated charge, the pressure, and the distance between the two oppositely charged surfaces.
Plasma physics theory explains the discharge of accumulated charge as the onset of self-ionizing electron flow triggered by an ionizing event. Self-ionizing electron flow is triggered when one electron flows, initiating the release of further electrons through impact with another atom, creating a cascade of electron release. The resultant positive ions then reinitiate further electron flow when they impact the electrodes holding accumulated charge. The onset of self-ionizing electron flow depends on the gas species, the materials that are holding the charge, the pressure, and the distance between the two materials.
Paschen studied the phenomenon of breakdown voltage through a series of experiments in which a pair of electrodes were placed in a vacuum. A voltage was applied to the electrodes. The voltage at the point of breakdown was measured. Paschen found that the breakdown voltage depends on the gas species, the distance between the electrodes, the material of the electrode, the shape of the electrodes and the pressure of the gas. A series of curves were thereby developed for a combination of materials and conditions. Townsend's equations provide for a numerical calculation of the breakdown voltage once certain parameters of the gas species and electrode materials are known.
A typical Paschen curve 110 for tungsten conductors in argon gas is shown in the plot 100 of FIG. 1. A breakdown voltage 111 is plotted against a product of pressure and gap width 112. Independent of conductor material or gas species, Paschen curves have a similar shape in which the breakdown voltage will be minimum at some intermediate pressure-distance product. From the graph of FIG. 1, for a 0.3 mm gap the minimum voltage will be approximately 115 V at a pressure of 16 Torr. For nitrogen, the minimum voltage would be closer to 250 V.
All Paschen curves have a minimum breakdown voltage for a certain pressure-distance combination. Considering a fixed gap, pressures below the minimum voltage point will result in an exponentially rising breakdown voltage approaching infinity. Thus, the system exhibits signs of a perfect vacuum. Pressures greater than the minimum voltage point result in ever increasing breakdown voltages. The converse is also true. However, in interpretation of a fixed pressure with variable distance, the graph should be interpreted only in the case where the distance is large and decreasing.
Turbomolecular pump rotors are operated under conditions wherein a gap or insulating ceramic bearings are present between the rotor and ground, electrically isolating the rotor. Relative movement between the rotor and particles in the pump results in charging which, as noted above, can contribute to several problems including trapping particle dust. There is therefore presently a need to provide an improved turbo-molecular pump incorporating a solution to the problem of accumulating charges on the rotor during operation. To the inventor's knowledge, no such pump is presently available.

Turbomolecular pump with static charge control


A method of programming a memory cell of a nonvolatile memory device by executing a plurality of program loops comprises detecting whether a loop count or a level of a program pulse to be applied to the memory cell is within a specific range, wherein the specific range is an operation section in which a level of a current peak flowing into the bitline increases up to a reference value or more, charging a bitline of the memory cell at a first charging speed or a second charging speed slower than the first charging speed according to a result of the detection, and applying the program pulse to a wordline of the memory cell.

The inventive concept relates generally to semiconductor memory devices, and more particularly to a nonvolatile memory device and related programming method designed to reduce a current peak.
Semiconductor memory devices can be roughly divided into two categories according to whether they retain stored data when disconnected from power. These categories include volatile memory devices, which lose stored data when disconnected from power, and nonvolatile memory devices, which retain stored data when disconnected from power. Examples of volatile memory devices include DRAM and SRAM, and examples of nonvolatile memory devices include flash, PRAM, RRAM, and MRAM.
Among nonvolatile memory devices, flash memory devices have achieved increasing popularity in recent years due to attractive features such as relatively high storage capacity, efficient operating speed, relatively low cost, and relatively high durability. Accordingly, flash memory devices are currently used to provide nonvolatile data storage in a wide variety of electronic devices, such as computers, cellular phones, smart phones, digital cameras, camcorders, voice recorders, MP3 players, personal digital assistants (PDAs), handheld PCs, game machines, fax machines, scanners, printers, etc.
Due to the ever increasing demand for flash memory devices, researchers are engaged in continual efforts to improve the storage capacity, speed, reliability, power consumption, and other performance characteristics of flash memory devices.

Nonvolatile memory device capable of reducing a setup/precharge speed of a bitline for reducing peak current and related programming method


Processes for providing nitridation on a workpiece, such as a semiconductor, are provided. In one example implementation, a method can include supporting a workpiece on a workpiece support. The method can include exposing the workpiece to species generated from a capacitively coupled plasma to provide nitridation on the workpiece. The method can also include exposing the workpiece to species generated form an inductively coupled plasma to provide nitridation on the workpiece.

Plasma processing is widely used in the semiconductor industry for deposition, etching, resist removal, and related processing of semiconductor wafers and other substrates. Plasma sources (e.g., microwave, ECR, inductive, etc.) are often used for plasma processing to produce high density plasma and reactive species for processing substrates. Post-implantation photoresist, post-etch residue, and other mask and/or material removal have been accomplished using plasma dry strip processes.
Various plasma sources are known for achieving certain plasma process requirements. Multi-frequency capacitively coupled plasma (CCP) sources have been used for independent control of ion energy and plasma density. Inductively coupled plasma (ICP) sources combined with RF bias have also been used, for example, to provide independent control of ion energy and plasma density. ICP sources can easily produce high-density plasma using standard 13.56 MHz and lower frequency RF power generators.

Beijing E-Town Semiconductor Technology Co., Ltd.


A voltage control apparatus which is robust against disturbances such as variations in solar radiation amount around a solar cell, and has quick response, has a voltage detection unit (4) for detecting the voltage value of a battery power supply (1), a power conversion unit (2) for performing predetermined conversion of electric power supplied from the battery power supply, and supplying the converted electric power to a load or a commercial AC system (3), an output setting unit (5) for setting the output value of the power conversion unit on the basis of the voltage detection value, and a control unit (6) for controlling the power conversion unit on the basis of the output setting value. The output setting unit is constituted by a target voltage setting unit (51) for setting the target voltage value of the battery power supply, and an output calculation unit (52) for calculating the output setting value on the basis of the deviation between the voltage detection value and the target voltage value.

The present invention relates to a voltage control apparatus and method for a power supply and, more particularly, to a voltage control apparatus and method for a power supply such as a solar cell.
In recent years, more people are showing growing interest in global environment and energy problems such as global warming, exhaustion of fossil fuels, radioactive pollutions caused by nuclear power plant failures and radioactive wastes, and the like. Under the circumstances, a solar cell is expected promising as an inexhaustible, clean energy source. However, since the output voltage of a solar cell or the like varies largely depending on the solar radiation amount, temperature, and operation voltage, it is required to adjust the load when viewed from the solar cell so as to always output maximum electric power. For this purpose, a method in which the optimum operation voltage of a solar cell is pre-set, and the actual operation voltage is determined to track the pre-set voltage has been proposed. Also, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-85312, a so-called hill-climbing method in which the operation voltage or current of a solar cell is varied slightly, and variations in electric power at that time are checked to determine an operation voltage, has also been proposed.
However, as exemplified in FIG. 1, the operation voltage of the solar cell responds quickly to variations in solar radiation amount, and when the solar radiation amount abruptly varies, a voltage control apparatus that uses a conventional feedback control system constituted by a comparator, an integrator, and the like cannot often track the optimum operation voltage. In order to suppress the influence of abrupt variations in solar radiation amount, adjustment for setting, e.g., relatively large parameters such as a proportional gain is performed, or a differentiator is added. However, in this case, the influence of noise may become serious, and so the operation may become unstable.
When optimum operation point tracking control is performed, the operation voltage or current of a solar cell is varied slightly, and variations in electric power at that time are checked. At this time, a wrong operation voltage command may be issued unless a constant operation voltage is set, resulting in operation errors.

Voltage control apparatus and method for power supply


Provided are a DLL circuit having a coarse lock time adaptive to a frequency band of an external clock signal and a semiconductor memory device having the DLL circuit. The DLL circuit includes a delay circuit, a replica circuit, and a phase detector. The phase detector generates a first comparison signal used by the delay circuit to delay an external clock signal in units of a first cell delay time or a second comparison signal used by the delay circuit to delay the external clock signal in units of a second cell delay time. The DLL circuit delays the external clock signal by the cell delay time adaptive to the frequency band of the external clock signal, and thus can perform an accurate and rapid coarse lock operation for the entire frequency band.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a semiconductor memory device, and more particularly, to a delay locked loop (DLL) circuit having a coarse lock time which adapts to a frequency band of an external clock signal by delaying the external clock signal by different cell delay times, and a semiconductor memory device having the DLL circuit.
2. Description of the Related Art
Synchronous semiconductor memory devices use a synchronization circuit for accurately synchronizing the phase of an internal clock signal with the phase of an external clock signal in order to prevent degradation of high-frequency operation performance. In general, a DLL circuit is used as the synchronization circuit for the synchronous semiconductor memory devices.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram of a conventional DLL circuit.
Referring to FIG. 1, a DLL circuit 100 includes a buffer 150, a delay circuit 110, a replica circuit 130, and a phase detector 140.
The buffer 150 buffers an external clock signal CLK. In response to a comparison signal XCOM, the delay circuit 110 generates an internal clock signal ICLK that is obtained by delaying an output signal of the buffer 150 by a predetermined time. The delay circuit 110 has a plurality of delay cells (not illustrated) that are connected in series.
The replica circuit 130 delays the internal clock signal ICLK by a data-path delay time, which is the time taken for the output data of a memory (not illustrated) to be outputted through a data path to an output pad, in response to the external clock signal CLK. The phase detector 140 generates the comparison signal XCOM corresponding to a phase difference between the external clock signal CLK and an output signal DQ_R of the replica circuit 130.
FIG. 2 is a timing diagram illustrating the conditions for transition from coarse lock to fine lock in the conventional DLL circuit illustrated in FIG. 1. In FIG. 2, DQ_R denotes an output signal of the replica circuit 130 and DQD_R denotes a signal that is obtained by delaying the output signal DQ_R by a predetermined time.
Referring to FIG. 2, the DLL circuit 100 compares the external clock signal CLK, the signal DQD_R, and the output signal DQ_R to perform a coarse lock operation. When a rising edge of the external clock signal CLK is in a lock window TW, the DLL circuit 100 performs a coarse lock operation. On the other hand, when a rising edge of the external clock signal CLK is not in a lock window TW, the DLL circuit 100 ends a coarse lock operation and starts a fine lock operation.
That is, when a rising edge of the external clock signal CLK is in a lock window TW (denoted by B), the DLL circuit 100 generates an ENDSTAGE signal to transition into a fine lock mode. On the other hand, when a rising edge of the external clock CLK is not in a lock window TW (denoted by A), the DLL circuit 100 further delays the internal clock signal ICLK by one delay cell (1 cell delay).
The lock window TW denotes a delay difference between the signal DQD_R and the output signal DQ_R. The ratio of a coarse lock time to a fine lock time changes depending on the size of the lock window TW. That is, when the size of the lock window TW increases, the coarse lock time decreases and the fine lock time increases. On the other hand, when the size of the lock window TW decreases, the coarse lock time increases and the fine lock time decreases.
In general, a DLL circuit for a memory system is designed to be optimal for a high-frequency operation. That is, a DLL circuit optimized for a high-frequency operation is designed to have a narrow lock window. However, because a DLL circuit for a memory device operates in a wide frequency band, the use of the DLL circuit optimized for the high-frequency operation increases a coarse lock time for a low frequency, which may lead to a shortage of the lock time.
In addition, because the DLL circuit optimized for the high-frequency operation is designed to have a small cell delay, a long time is taken for the coarse lock for the low frequency.

Delay locked loop circuit having coarse lock time adaptive to frequency band and semiconductor memory device having the delay locked loop circuit


The present invention relates to substantially pure FXR1 and FXR2 proteins and isolated nucleic acid molecules encoding the same. Recombinant expression vectors comprising nucleic acid sequences that encode FXR1 and FXR2 protein are also provided. Antibodies which bind to an epitope of FXR1 or FXR2, or FMR1 protein are also provided. The present invention also relates to methods of screening individuals for FMR1 deficiency using antibodies or nucleic acid molecules of the invention and pharmaceutical kits for accomplishing the same.

Fragile X mental retardation syndrome is one of the most common human genetic diseases and the most common cause of hereditary mental retardation, affecting about 1 in 1200 males and 1 in 2500 females. Reviewed in Oostra, et al., (1993) in Genome analysis: Gemone mapping and neurological disorder, Vol. 6, K. E. Davies and S. M. Tilghman (Eds.), Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory Press, New York, pp. 45-75 and Nussbaum, R. L. and Ledbetter, D. H., (1995) in Metabolic Basis of Inherited Disease, C. R. Scriver, et al. (Eds.), McGraw Hill, New York, 7th Ed., pp. 795-810. The syndrome is characterized by mental retardation (average I.Q. of 20-60) and varying degrees of autistic behavior, macroorchidism in adult males, characteristic facial features and hyperextensible joints. Hagerman, R. J., (1991) in Fragile X syndrome: Diagnosis, treatment, and research, R. J. Hagerman and A. C. Silverman (Eds.), Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, pp. 1-68.
The gene directly responsible for fragile X syndrome, FMR1, is located at Xq27.3. Verkerk, et al., Cell, 1991, 65, 905-914. The nucleotide and amino acid sequences of FMR1 are set forth in SEQ ID NO:1 and SEQ ID NO:2, respectively. The 5' untranslated region of the FMR1 gene contains a polymorphic CGG trinucleotide repeat, 6-60 repeats found in normal individuals, which can be amplified to hundreds or thousands of copies in affected patients. Verkerk, et al., Cell, 1991, 65, 905-914; Oberle, et al., Science, 1991, 252, 1097-1102; Yu, et al., Science, 1991, 252, 1179-1181; Fu, et al., Cell, 1991, 67, 1047-1058. Fragile X syndrome usually results from expansion of the CGG repeats leading to hypermethylation of the CpG island adjacent to FMR1 and loss of transcription of the FMR1 gene. Pieretti, et al., Cell, 1991, 66, 817-822. Indeed, affected patients usually do not have detectable FMR1 protein. Siomi, et al., Cell, 1993, 74, 291-298 and Verheij, et al., Nature, 1993, 363, 722-724. The FMR1 mRNA and protein are expressed in many tissues, but particularly high levels are found in the brain and in tubules of the testes which are two of the major organs affected in fragile X syndrome. Hinds, et al., Nature Genet., 1993, 3, 36-43; Devys, et al., Nature Genet., 1993, 4, 335-340; Abitbol, et al., Nature Genet., 1993, 4, 147-152; and Bachner, et al., Nature Genet., 1993, 4, 115-116.
FMR1 knockout mice have been generated. These knockout mice lack normal FMR1 mRNA and protein expression and show enlarged testes, impaired cognitive function, and abnormal behavior. This animal model supports the central role of FMR1 in fragile X syndrome and it may serve as a valuable tool for the elucidation of the physiological role of FMR1. Bakker, et al., Cell, 1994, 78, 23-33.
The FMR1 protein contains motifs characteristic of RNA-binding proteins, namely two KH domains and an RGG box (Siomi, et al., Cell, 1993, 74, 291-298; Ashley, et al., Science, 1993, 262, 563-566; and Gibson, et al., Trends Biochem. Sci., 1993, 18, 331-333), and has been shown to bind RNA in vitro (Siomi, et al., Cell, 1993, 74, 291-298; and Ashley, et al., Science, 1993, 262, 563-566). Importantly, the RNA-binding activity of the FMR1 Ile-304.fwdarw.Asn mutant (which changes a highly conserved residue in the KH domain) that was found in a patient with severe fragile X syndrome (De Boulle, et al., Nature Genet., 1993, 3, 31-35), is impaired (Siomi, et al., Cell, 1994, 77, 33-39). Together, these findings suggest a strong connection between fragile X syndrome and the RNA-binding activity of FMR1. However, the cognate RNA target of FMR1 and its precise functions have not yet been elucidated.
PCT Publication WO 90/05194, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a probe that is used to detect fragile X syndrome. The probe consists of a nucleic acid fragment that is hybridizable with the human X chromosome at the region Xq27.3-DXS52.
PCT Publication WO 91/09140, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a probe for the detection of fragile X syndrome. The probe comprises at least 17 contiguous nucleotide bases.
PCT Publication WO 92/20825, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes nucleotide sequences and cosmids used to detect fragile X syndrome. The nucleotide sequences correspond to the FMR-1 gene.
PCT Publication WO 86/05512, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes DNA probes that recognize the polymorphic locus of the q28 region of the X chromosome.
PCT Publication WO 93/15225, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes a method of amplifying and detecting specific GC-rich nucleic acid sequences by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which may be used to detect individuals with fragile X syndrome. The method determines whether the number of CGG repeats in the test individual's X-chromosome are characteristic of a normal, carrier, or afflicted person. Such a method is used to amplify and detect the GC-rich region of the FMR1 gene.
PCT Publication WO 92/12262, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes DNA sequences that may be used to detect individuals with fragile X syndrome. The DNA sequences span the fragile X site on the human X chromosome.
PCT Publication WO 92/14840, which is incorporated herein by reference, describes nucleic acid fragments containing mutations associated with the fragile X syndrome that may be used to detect individuals with mental retardation.
There remains a need for reagents, kits and methods useful in the identification of individuals suffering from fragile X syndrome. There is a need for reagents, kits and methods useful in the identification of individuals suffering from FMR1 deficiency without misdiagnosing an individual's condition due to cross-reactivity with fragile X related proteins.

Antibodies specific for fragile X related proteins and method of using the same

The Trustees of the University of Pennsylvania


A densimeter is provided that is mounted on the side of a conduit carrying a fluid flow. The densimeter consists of an inlet and an outlet scoop which are immersed into the fluid flow through the conduit. A portion of the fluid flow enters into the first scoop and is directed into the densimeter where the fluid's density is measured and then exits through the exit scoop back into the fluid flow in the conduit.

This invention relates to a densimeter and more specifically to a densimeter that can be mounted on a pipeline or other conduit carrying a fluid stream for measuring the density of the fluid.
A typical densimeter consists of a U-shaped vibrating tube having two ends and a driving force unit. The drive force unit maintains the tube's natural vibration through an electrical feedback driving circuit and supplies an output signal of the same frequency as the tube vibration. This response frequency is inversely related to the fluid's density. Thus, the density of the fluid can be calculated based on this response frequency. A temperature sensor, preferably a resistance temperature detector (an RTD sensor), is attached directly to one of the tube's end. The sensor supplies temperature information for making corrections to the measurements. The vibrating tube is calibrated for density, temperature and pressure and specific coefficients are developed which need to be used for the purpose of calculating the density of the fluid.
The U-shaped tube is housed in a casing. Two elbow shaped tubes extends from each end of the tube and extend beyond the casing. The measure of the fluid flow through the pipeline is "broken," i.e., divided into two sections. The first elbow of the densimeter is connected to the upstream section while the other elbow is connected to the downstream section of the pipeline. Thus, fluid from the upstream end of the pipeline flows through the densimeter and into the downstream section of the pipeline. The disadvantage with this type of densimeter is that it requires that the pipeline be broken, i.e., it is designed for in-line installation.
As such, there is a requirement of a densimeter that can be mounted on a pipeline without the need for breaking the pipeline.


A method of operating an engine having a hotter and colder airstreams separately controlled to a cylinder is provided. The method controls valve timing during a transition in operating modes to provide improved operation.

Internal combustion engines may operate in a variety of combustion modes. One example mode is homogeneous charge compression ignition (HCCI), wherein an air and fuel mixture achieves a temperature where combustion occurs by autoignition without requiring a spark being performed by a sparking device. In some conditions, HCCI may have greater fuel efficiency and reduced NOx production compared to other combustion modes. However, combustion modes such as HCCI may be limited under some conditions, since a substantial amount of heat and pressure may be needed to produce combustion. Further, transitions into and out of the HCCI mode may present various control issues.
One approach to enable operation in a variety of combustion modes is described in U.S. 2005/0183693. In this example, a cylinder with cam profile switching is used to provide operation in both HCCI and SI combustion.
However, the inventors herein have recognized a disadvantage with such an approach. For example, during the transient conditions of SI/HCCI transitions in the above system, the cylinders may experience incorrect cylinder air amounts, residual amounts, and/or fuel charge amounts.
In one approach, the above issues may be addressed by a method of operating an engine having at least one cylinder, comprising: directing a first air stream to a first intake valve of the cylinder; directing a second, separate, air stream to a second intake valve of the cylinder, said first stream at a higher temperature than said second air stream; during a first mode, operating with said first intake valve providing more airflow than the second intake valve; varying a timing of at least one of the first and the second intake valves during the first mode when transitioning to a second mode; and during the second mode, operating with said first intake valve providing less airflow than the second intake valve, and varying a timing of at least one of the first and second intake valves after transitioning from the first mode.
In this way, in the HCCI mode of operation, the mass and temperature of air in the cylinder and the intake cam timing (e.g. the intake valve closing—IVC—angle) are varied to achieve a high or the highest possible fuel economy and/or emissions at the given engine speed and torque (e.g. as determined by the amount of fuel burned). Likewise, in the SI mode the spark timing and intake cam timing may be varied for the same purpose. To achieve smooth transients from one mode to another and reset the after treatment system if necessary, a set of operations may be performed that includes positioning the throttles and cam timing prior to the mode switch and restoring the optimal schedules appropriate for the new mode after the switch. This approach takes advantage of the relatively low sensitivity to the IVC of the amount of air trapped in the cylinder when IVC is close to TDC relative to the sensitivity when IVC is close to the middle of the compression stroke. Thus, this approach is enabled by the longer duration of the dominant (cold stream) intake valve in the SI mode compared to the valve duration(s) in the HCCI mode. By varying the valve timing of at least one of the intake valves, the absolute amount of air and/or the initial charge temperature may be rapidly varied, thereby providing improved operation when changing combustion modes. Further, by providing at least some heated air during a spark ignition mode, a ready reserve of heated air may be maintained.
Note that in the above approach, cam actuated valves may be used, where various types of cam lobes may be connectable to an intake valve. For example, a tappet may be connectable to one of a plurality of cam lobes, wherein a particular cam lobe is selected by varying the position of the cam lobe via cam profile switching. In another approach, a switchable tappet may be reconfigured to provide different contact points for selecting one of a plurality of cam lobes.
In another embodiment, the method may further include varying an amount of fuel delivered to the cylinder during the transition in response to the varied timing. In this way, it is possible to account for the variation in fuel pushback during the timing variation of the transition.
Note that various modes may be provided such as, for example, homogeneous charge compression ignition, compression ignition, homogeneous spark ignition, stratified spark ignition, and spark assisted compression ignition, among others. Further, an air stream of a higher temperature may be provided through heat addition via a heat exchanger and/or by cooling the other intake air stream to achieve a lower temperature.


A method and system for providing enhanced services for a network. The enhanced services use information about the network which is available to a subnet of communicating processors (such as a set of routers), collectively executing a common distributed technique for disseminating that network information. The router subnet collects network topology information and provides a service using that network topology information, responsive to requests from non-routers coupled to the network (such as a set of host processors). The router subnet also collects information advertised by hosts coupled to the network, and disseminates that host information to substantially all routers, using the common distributed technique for disseminating network topology information. The host information may comprise information about server processes available at the originating host (such as what services are available and to which users those services are available), or may comprise information about client processes operating at the originating host (such as which users are operating those client processes and which services they desire).

1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to enhanced network services using a subnetwork of communicating processors.
2. Description of Related Art
A computer network having more than one possible message delivery path, such as for example a network of computer networks (an "internetwork"), generally comprises a set of processors which have the task of routing each message from its source to its destination. These processors (herein called "routers", but sometimes called "bridges", "brouters", or other terms) generally interoperate using a common distributed routing technique. For example, (1) routers generally exchange information about routing conditions in the network, so as to globally inform all routers of conditions which are detected locally, (2) routers generally each route messages according to the same techniques using the same routing technique.
The collection of routers (herein called the "subnet" of routers) thus has access to a rich collection of distributed information about the status of the network needed for routing messages therein, including detailed and up-to-date information about the network topology, relative distance measures in the network, administrative policies in force in the network (such as, for example, network "firewalls" or routers which will route only a subset of messages), and other information. It would be advantageous to provide at least some of this distributed information to applications which might use it to provide enhanced services. Examples of such enhanced services, and how they would be provided, are described herein.
The router subnet also provides a powerful and available resource for distributing other information, not strictly required for the task of routing messages in the network, such as, for example, relative load at each host in the network. It would be advantageous to disseminate this information and provide at least some of it to applications which might use it to provide enhanced services. Examples of such enhanced services, and how they would be provided, are described herein.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a method and system for enhanced network services using a subnetwork of communicating processors.
The following U.S. patent(s) or other documents may be pertinent:                R. Srinivasan, "RPC: Remote Procedure Call Protocol Specification Version 2", Network Working Group RFC 1831 (August 1995).
The pertinence of the related art will also be apparent to those skilled in the art after perusal of this application.

Enhanced network services using a subnetwork of communicating processors


A tape transport mechanism that senses the end of a tape while minimizing but not eliminating back tension at the tape-feeding end. Excessive back tension causes uneven transport in fast forward or rewind. Insufficient back tension causes slack that makes sensing the end of a tape impossible. Both result from keeping the torque identical on both takeup and feed reels. The mechanism automatically switches the torque as the tape reverses so that the takeup reel always has a higher torque than the feed reel, thereby insuring that the tape end is sensed and that tape transport is even regardless of speed.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a tape transport monitoring device of a tape player which detects the end of a tape by detecting rotation of a pair of reels for taking up a tape, more particularly, to a tape, transport mechanism which is capable of automatically adjusting, at the tape-takeup end and the tape-feeding end, the torque of the reel blocks and a detecting portion for actuating tape end detecting means.
2. Description of the Prior Art
As described, for example, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 145749/1986, a conventional tape player of this type has a pair of reel blocks for taking up a tape, rotary disks in friction contact with the pair of reel blocks and rotated together with them, a rotation detection arm oscillated by rotation of the rotary disks, and tape end detecting means for detecting a tape end by detecting the cessation of oscillation of the rotation detection arm. Rotation of the reel blocks stops when a tape has been taken up to the end so that the rotation detection arm, which is rotated by the rotary disk in friction contact with the reel block at the tape-takeup end, ceases to rotate, thereby actuating the tape end detecting means. According to this conventional structure, tension of the reel blocks at the tape-takeup end and the tape-feeding end are identical, hence tension of the rotary disks rotated by means of friction contact with their respective reel blocks, are identical.
With a tape player having the above conventional structure, wherein rotary disks rotated by friction contact with the reel block at the tape-takeup end and the reel block at the tape-feeding end respectively have identical torques, unless considerable pressure is applied to the rotation detection arm which is connected through friction to the reel block at the tape-takeup end, it is not possible to actuate the rotation detection arm to detect a tape end at the tape-takeup end. However, if the rotation torque of the rotary disk at the tape-feeding end, which is in frictional contact with the reel block at the tape-feeding end, is identical to that of the other torque, it makes the rotation torque at the tape-feeding end excessively large. As a result, when a button or switch is operated to actuate the fast forward or fast rewind operation, the operation is not always conducted smoothly due to back tension at the tape-feeding end, which causes uneven transport of the tape. On the other hand, in cases where there is no or little back tension at the tape-feeding end, a tape may slacken and be caught between a pinch roller and a capstan, thereby making detection of the tape end impossible.
In order to solve the above problems, the present invention has as its object the provision of a tape transport mechanism of a tape player which is capable of automatically switching the magnitude of the torque so that the torque of the reel block at the tape-takeup end and the rotary disk corresponding thereto is always greater than the torque of the reel block feeding out the tape and the rotary disk corresponding thereto. This ensures detection of a tape end, and conveys a tape evenly in the fast forward mode with the absolute minimum necessary back tension at the tape-feeding end.

Tape transport with differential torque between takeup and feed reels


Two methods are used to produce diaryl trisubstituted triazines. In the first method, cyanuric chloride is first reacted with a 4-alkoxybenzylamine. The product of this reaction is then reacted with a resin-bound amine, such as 4-alkoxybenzylamine, to ensure that the final compound will be bound to a resin. The product of this reaction is then reacted with boronic acid to produce a trisubstituted diaryl triazine. In the second method, cyanuric chloride is reacted with a benzenealkanethiol. The product of this reaction is then reacted with a resin-bound amine, such as 4-alkoxybenzylamine, to ensure that the final compound will be bound to a resin. The product of this reaction is then reacted with m-CPBA to form a sulfone, which is then reacted with a 4-alkoxybenzylamine to form the desired trisubstituted biaryltriazine.

Aryl-aryl bond formation has elicited much interest in modern organic synthesis. This axially chiral bond is often found in natural products such as alkaloids (Bringmann et al., 1995; Furukawa et al., 1983; Bringmann et al., 2001), such as vancomycin, and is prevalent in biologically active parts of pharmaceuticals (Gallant et al., 2002; Sasaki et al., 2003, Hotzel et al., 2002) and agrochemical specialties (Ikegaya et al., 1999; Hatanaka et al., 1996), as well as in materials science (Bringmann et al., 1997; Lee et al., 2002; Messner et al., 2000). Development of a synthetic method for designing similarly structured compounds has been aided by advances in transition metal catalysis, namely, palladium-catalyzed cross-coupling reaction (Larock et al., 1995).
The present inventor has developed a unique orthogonal solid phase synthetic pathway for preparing a highly pure trisubstituted triazine library, in which three types of building blocks were assembled by chemically orthogonal reactions (Moon et al., 2002; Bork et al., 2003; Chang et al., U.S. Ser. No. 10/267,043, filed Oct. 9, 2002, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference). A series of compounds from the library, tubulyzines, demonstrated a significant biological activity by inhibiting tubulin polymerization (Moon et al., 2002). However, in this approach, bond formation was restricted to amine or several alcohol functionalities around the triazine scaffold.
The vinca alkaloids, including vinblastine and vincristine, have been used for treating cancers such as leukemias and lymphomas for a long time, and taxol derivatives have recently been used for treating breast cancers. However, these drugs are inherently toxic, especially neurotoxic, and the compounds are low in solubility and are not readily available in quantity. As most of the lead compounds originated from naturally occurring sources (plants, sponges, mollusks, bacteria), chemical modification might be a straightforward approach for improving the activity and properties of the drugs while reducing side effects. Serious efforts have been made to synthesize derivatives of vinca alkaloids, colchicines, taxol, and related compounds, but modification of the complicated natural products without adversely affecting utility has so far been difficult.
Solution-phase Suzuki couplings of heterocyclic aryl halides, such as halopyrimidines (Schomaker et al., 2001; Cooke et al., 2001), halopyridines (Zhang et al., 1998), halopurines (Ding et al., 2001; Havelkova et al., 2001), and halotriazines (Cooke et al., 2001; Janietz et al., 2002) have been studied in the literature. The Suzuki coupling has been further extended to solid phase (Hassan et al., 2002) both in halopyrimidines (Wade et al., 2003; Ding et al., 2002) and halopurines (Ding et al., 2002; Brun et al., 2002) yet has not been developed for the triazine scaffold.

Solid phase synthesis of novel biaryl triazine library by suzuki cross coupling


A process for the production of an over based alkaline earth metal phenate (sulfurized, unsulfurized or a mixture thereof), in which the process comprises the steps of: effecting reactions among phenols, dihydric alcohols and an alkaline earth metal reagent (alkaline earth metal oxide or hydroxide or a mixture thereof), or among these compounds further mixed with sulfur and/or water; removing an excess of the dihydric alcohols and at least an excess of water by distillation; and subsequently treating resulting distillation residue with carbon dioxide, wherein the improvement resides in that the carbon dioxide treatment is carried out in the presence of water in an amount of from 0.01 to 1.0 mol per 1 mol of the alkaline earth metal reagent. Preferably, the carbon dioxide treatment is carried out in the presence of 0.1 to 0.7 mol sulfur and 0.1 to 1.0 mol water per 1 mol of the alkaline earth metal reagent.. The process of this invention is industrially advantageous because the alkaline earth metal phenate obtained by the process has a high basicity and an easily handleable low viscosity and is useful as a high quality detergent for a lubricating or fuel oil.

In general, two processes are used for the introduction of sulfur into a phenate: a process in which an alkylphenol is firstly converted into its sulfide from using sulfur chloride or the like and the sulfide is then made into a metal salt; and another process in which sulfurization is carried out using elemental sulfur at the time of metal addition reaction or after metal salt formation. The present invention belongs to the latter sulfurization process. A number of methods for the production of an over-based phenate in which the latter sulfurization process was employed have been reported for a long time, such as a process by which an over-based phenate containing alkaline earth metals in two times or more higher amount than the theoretical amount can be produced with a single metal addition reaction. For example, Hori and Hayashida as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,123,371 have found that an unexpectedly highly basic alkaline earth metal phenate can be produced by carrying out the above reaction in the presence of excess phenols.
In addition, Hori and Ueda et al. as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,518,807 have found that conversion ratio of an alkaline earth metal reagent into final product per one reaction can be increased markedly without requiring the use of excess dihydric alcohol by the addition of an appropriate amount of water to a reaction system in which phenols, a dihydric alcohol and an alkaline earth metal reagent or an admixture thereof with sulfur are allowed to react with one another.
Contrary to the generally used processes in which an alkaline earth metal reagent is used in a large excess to an alkylphenol in order to obtain an over-based product, the just described two processes were successful in producing an over-based phenate by the use of a large excess of an alkylphenol against an alkaline earth metal reagent. In consequence, these two processes are advantageous in that kinds of reaction materials to be used can be limited to the minimum.
These processes, however, have disadvantages in that it is extremely difficult to produce an over-based sulfurized phenate having a higher basicity than those of the prior art products and, even if an over-based phenate is produced, the product cannot be handled easily because of its extremely high viscosity. Improvement of the basicity to a higher level than the prior art products and simultaneous decrease in the viscosity will have markedly large economic effects, because not only an over-based phenate can be handled easily but also its amount to be added to lubricating oil and therefore the amount of the expensive alkylphenol can be reduced.

Process for producing over-based alkaline earth metal phenate


An embodiment of the present invention is a method of transmitting a multibeam jamming signal of an array antenna and including: a signal receiving operation of receiving a radar signal from a plurality of radars; a signal analysis operation of analyzing the received radar signal and identifying an angle and frequency of the signal; a control phase value calculating operation of calculating a control phase value of each array path of the array antenna for each of the identified angles; and a multibeam jamming signal transmission operation of calculating a multibeam jamming signal based on the calculated control phase value and transmitting the multibeam jamming signal for each identified frequency.

Electronic attack technology is an important technology that may protect friendly forces from enemy radar threats. These electronic attacks are generally known as jamming, and are applied to jet fighters and battleships. In general, because jamming systems must respond to multiple threat signals from various angles, when transmitting the jamming signal corresponding to each threat by dividing time, the jamming systems steer and radiate the beam.
FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of a conventional time division beam steering jamming system.
Referring to FIG. 1, it may be seen that the conventional time division beam steering jamming system according to FIG. 1 is a jamming system that steers beams using four array antennas. The jamming signal generated from the jamming signal source is up-converted to the frequency of the incident threat signal. At this time, the frequency generation unit generally selects the frequency of the threat signal from a number of local oscillators LOs.
The signal of which frequency is increased is branched to each array antenna, and depending on the angle of the threat signal, a phase shift amount corresponding to each phase shifter is applied and transmitted through each array antenna. The threat objects that transmit the threat signals receive the jamming signal of a maximum size from the angle at which the threat objects are located. According to the existing time division beam steering jamming system, there is a limitation that only one frequency and one beam steering may be set at the same time.
The array antenna is designed in that a single antenna is insufficient when it is necessary to sharpen a beam pattern more than a conventional parabolic antenna. In particular, if the array antenna is arranged in a two-dimensional matrix rather than a single line, the beam steering may be controlled more precisely in three dimensions, and a strong beam pattern that spreads further away by combining the radiated power of each antenna may be generated.
In order to sharpen the beam pattern despite the limitation that only one beam steering setting is possible, a beam steering jamming system including a conventional array antenna has to include a switching configuration that selects one of the frequencies of the threat signals from a plurality of local oscillators.
In FIG. 1, the number of array antennas is limited to 4 for convenience of explanation, but depending on the embodiment, the number of array antennas constituting the beam steering jamming system may be less or more than four. In addition, for convenience of description, the amplifier and filter generally applied to the RF circuit in FIG. 1 are omitted.
FIG. 2 shows a diagram of temporal characteristics of a time division beam steering jamming signal generated by the time division beam steering jamming system described in FIG. 1.
Referring to FIG. 2, when using the time division beam steering jamming system as shown in FIG. 1, it may be seen that jamming signal outputs for four threat targets of different frequencies located at different angles appear at different times. That is, as shown in FIG. 2, because the conventional time division beam steering jamming system steers and outputs a single frequency jamming signal at the same time, as the number of threatened targets increases, there is a problem in that the simultaneous response power is significantly reduced.

Method for transmitting multibeam steering jamming signal, and transmitting system for implementing method


A device and method for aspirating bone barrow. The device includes a double syringe assembly having a distal syringe and a proximal syringe coupled to the distal syringe. A plunger includes a distal end disposed within a barrel of the distal syringe and a proximal end disposed within a barrel of the proximal syringe. A needle assembly is coupled to the double syringe assembly and includes a needle having an outer tube and an inner tube disposed within the outer tube. Upon actuation of the plunger, the distal syringe aspirates bone marrow through the outer tube of the needle and into a chamber of the distal syringe. At the same time, the proximal syringe injects fluid through the inner tube of the needle at the same rate in which the bone marrow is aspirated.

Extraction of bone marrow has many medical uses, and employment of treatments that make use of bone marrow concentrate are increasingly being used in physician office settings under local anesthetic. Typically, such extraction procedures produce some discomfort and anxiety in patients, which may lead to limited use even in cases when it would be advantageous to the patient. For example, more recently it has become increasingly common for physicians to perform aspirations of bone marrow in office settings, where patients are awake and under only local anesthetic. A high amount of anxiety can accompany this procedure, which results from the patient anticipating pain. The expectation of pain can lead to patients opting not to elect care that could prevent the necessity for more severe interventions in the future, such as surgical repair of joints.
More specifically, the majority of pain and discomfort is experienced while the marrow is being aspirated. When aspiration occurs, negative pressure is created in a lumen of the bone. The negative pressure acts against the force of the aspiration device. As a result, many patients experience peak discomfort during this period. For example, patients often report a sensation of cramping, which in the case of aspiration from the posterior superior iliac spine (a very common point of entry to the marrow space) can happen anywhere and everywhere from the gluteus muscle, down the leg, and into the feet.
In addition to causing patient discomfort, negative pressure during aspiration slows the rate at which the physician can withdraw the bone marrow. Furthermore, application of excessive aspiration force when aspirating can cause damage, such as hemolysis, to the bone marrow sample via sheer stress or other forces.

Device and method for aspirating bone marrow


A draper cutting platform for use with an agricultural harvester includes a pair of side platform sections, with each side platform section including a side belt. A center platform section is disposed in an area between the side platform sections. The center platform section includes at least one alignment device and at least one latch. A center conveyor assembly is removably attached to the center platform section, and carries a center belt. The center conveyor assembly includes at least one mating alignment device and at least one mating latch.

An agricultural harvester such as a combine includes a head and a feeder housing which remove the crop material from the field, gather the crop material and transport the crop material to a separator. In the case of thinner stemmed crops such as soybeans, wheat, etc. which may be cut with a sickle bar carrying a plurality of knives, the head may also be known as a cutting platform. The separator removes the grain crop material from the non-grain crop material. The grain is cleaned and deposited in a grain tank. When the grain tank becomes full, an unloading auger which is positioned alongside the combine during harvesting is moved to the unloading position in which the auger extends approximately perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the combine. The combine drives alongside a vehicle into which the grain is to be unloaded, such as a semi-trailer, and the unloading auger is actuated to discharge the grain into the vehicle.
A cutting platform may generally be of two types. One type typically has a sheet metal floor with a dual feed auger near the rear of the cutting platform for feeding the crop material longitudinally to the feeder housing. A cutting platform of this type with auger feed is more common.
Another type of cutting platform, also known as a draper platform, utilizes a flat, wide belt, referred to as a draper or draper belt to convey crop material. The arrangement and number of belts vary among platforms. One style of draper platform has two side belts that convey crop material longitudinally, to the center of the platform, where a center belt moves the crop material laterally into the feeder housing. Each belt is wrapped around a pair of rollers, one being a drive roller and the other being an idler roller. An example of this type draper arrangement is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,202,397, which is assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
An advantage of a draper platform is that larger amounts of crop material can be transported without plugging, etc. For example, with wide platforms approaching 40 feet or even larger, the amount of crop material transported to the feeder housing can be substantial. With an auger feed platform, the crop material may bind between the auger and the back wall of the platform. In contrast, with a draper platform, the crop material is carried on top of the belt with less chance for plugging.
With a draper platform as described above, it is known to have a draper platform which may be operated either as a harvester or a swather. When configured as a harvester, the center section in front of the feederhousing which carries the center belt is in place between the side sections. When configured as a swather, the center section is removed from the draper cutting platform. This allows the crop material from each side section to be deposited in the open area between the side sections, forming a windrow as the swather moves forward.
A problem with a removable center section on a draper platform is that it is difficult and time consuming to align and attach the center section to the frame and cutterbar assembly. This process typically takes multiple personnel to accomplish, and results in a loss in productivity.
What is needed in the art is a draper cutting platform which may be operated either as a harvester or a swather, with simple and fast conversion between the two.

Center conveyor front coupler for a draper cutting platform