An open-celled cellulosic sponge contains a thermally insolubilized polyethyleneimine (PEI) capable of selectively removing dissolved ions from aqueous systems. By virtue of a cuboid configuration of critically selected dimensions, the insolubilized PEI is substantially uniformly distributed in useful amounts throughout the sponge.

1. Field of the Invention
This invention concerns an open-celled cellulosic sponge containing a water-insoluble polymer capable of selectively removing dissolved ions from aqueous systems.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The use of ion exchange resins for the absorption of dissolved ions is well known. Such resins are generally manufactured in bead form and are utilized in columns through which liquids are passed to interact with the beads. The beads are generally made of cross-linked polystyrene which is then chemically modified. Two chemical modifications of such resins are prevalent, namely: a resin having sulfonic acid groups and capable of exchanging positively charged ions (cations), and a resin having quaternary ammonium groups and capable of exchanging negatively charged ions (anions). Except for their selectivity for either cations or anions, such resins do not generally distinguish between different kinds of cations or anions as may be found in multi-component solute mixtures.
An ion exchange resin attached to an open-celled cellulose sponge is described in U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,916. Because such product is self-supporting and of potentially large size, it can be confined in retention means other than columns, and is substantially unaffected by water-borne suspended matter. In view of its physical characteristics, it is eminently suited for the treatment of flowing natural waters where high flow volumes and high sediment levels are encountered. The ion exchange resin of U.S. Pat. No. 4,332,916 is essentially a cation exchange resin chemically bonded to the hydroxyl groups of the cellulose of the sponge by means of a cross linking agent. Such bonding is accomplished at the relatively low temperature of 110 degrees C.
U.S. patent application Ser. No. 395,535, filed Aug. 18, 1989 U.S. Pat. No. 5,002,984 discloses an insolubilized polyethyleneimine (PEI) polymer deposited in situ within an open celled cellulosic sponge. The insolubilized PEI is generated by initially forming a water solution of PEI and an insolubilizing co-reactant, applying said solution to a cellulosic sponge, drying the treated sponge to remove water of solution, then curing the sponge at temperatures in the range of 130 degrees C. to 165 degrees C. The resultant insolubilized PEI is found to exhibit a unique mode of function wherein ions are absorbed based upon formation of a coordination complex involving repeating ethyleneamine units of the PEI.
It has been found however, that the relatively high temperatures and prolonged heating times of 20 to 80 minutes required to produce the insolubilized PEI cause thermal decomposition and oxidative degradation of the polymer and cellulose. It has also been found that treated sponges generally have a high loading of polymer in the peripheral regions, but have little or no polymer in the center region of the sponge. When the usual corrective measures were explored to remedy said problems, the resultant sponges had an unacceptably low add-on of less than 15% of polymer. When sponges of said Patent Application, prepared in sizes determined by commercially available sizes of cellulosic sponges, were utilized as a column packing to treat water, deformation of the sponges occurred, producing excessive impedance of flow. Although the metal-laden sponges may be eluted and re-used, or disposed of by incineration, it is sometimes desirable to dispose of the sponges in other ways. It has been found that the sponges of relatively large size were difficult to elute or burn, and were not readily amenable to other disposal routes.
It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a water-treating product comprised of an open-celled cellulosic sponge containing insolubilized polyethylenemine.
It is a further object of this invention to provide a water-treating product as in the foregoing object wherein said insolubilized polyethyleneimine is substantially uniformly distributed throughout the sponge.
It is a another object of the present invention to provide a product of the aforesaid nature which can be employed in a column configuration without undergoing deformation with attendant causation of increased impedance to flow of water.
It is a still further object of this invention to provide a product of the aforesaid nature having a content of insolubilized polyethyleneimine of at least 15%.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a product of the aforesaid nature readily amenable to disposal by compression techniques
These objects and other objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description.


A web session recording system comprising at least one server, the server comprising one or more network cards and at least one processing unit configured to: monitor one or more ports of the network cards, the ports being used for conducting a plurality of web sessions; and send web session recording enabling data relating to the web sessions to a data repository, for recording the web sessions; wherein the monitor and the send enable recording the web sessions without access to resources external to the server.

Various systems enable recordation of web sessions for various purposes. Such systems usually utilize port mirroring/span ports, network taps or any other network device that enables packet duplication, for transmitting the packets of the web sessions to be recorded to a data storage system for storage. Utilization of port mirroring or span ports can be performed when the operator of the web session recording systems has direct, or indirect, access to the network switch through which the web session packets to be recorded pass (as the switch needs to be configured to send the packets of the web sessions to be recorded to the web session recording system). Similarly, installation of a network tap (or any other network device that enables packet duplication in a similar manner) can be performed when the operator of the web session recording systems has direct, or indirect, access to the network through which the web session packets to be recorded pass (as the network tap needs to be installed on that network). However, in many cases, the operator of the web session recording systems has no access (neither direct nor indirect) to the network or the switch (or any other network device that enables packet duplication such as a network tap, a load balancer, etc.) through which the web session packets to be recorded pass.
Nowadays, many companies utilize cloud computing services, in which they can have a certain entity (such as Amazon, Google, Microsoft, Rackspace and others) allocate them with various hardware resources (such as servers, network resources, etc.) while such hardware resources are hosted at a site that is under the control of the entity that is allocating the hardware resources to the company that utilizes the cloud computing services. In many cases, a company can have its web server installed on such hardware resources that have been allocated to it. In such cases, recordation of the web sessions, conducted on a website hosted by such web server, by port mirroring or using a network tap, may be impossible.
There is thus a need in the art for a new method and system for recording web sessions.

System and method for recording web sessions


A method of loading a blast hole, the method comprising the step of applying a composition to a blast hole wherein the composition provides a barrier layer between an explosive loaded in the blast hole and water in the blast hole.

It is to be appreciated that any discussion of documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the present invention. Further, the discussion throughout this specification comes about due to the realisation of the inventor and/or the identification of certain related art problems by the inventor. Moreover, any discussion of material such as documents, devices, acts or knowledge in this specification is included to explain the context of the invention in terms of the inventor's knowledge and experience and, accordingly, any such discussion should not be taken as an admission that any of the material forms part of the prior art base or the common general knowledge in the relevant art in Australia, or elsewhere, on or before the priority date of the disclosure and claims herein.
Many countries have a significant economic reliance on mining, particularly above ground 'drill and blast' mining of quarry rock, ore and coal. In Australia 2,500,000 MT of explosives are used per year for mine blasting. (1 m3 ANFO=0.8 MT; 1 m3 emulsion explosive=1.05 MT). At an approximate cost of AUD$1,000 per MT, in 2013 this represented expenditure of AUD$2.5 billion for Australian mines.
Blasting costs consume a large portion of any mine budget. An average coal mine in the Hunter Valley, Australia will consume AUD$40-50 million per annum of explosives and any savings in terms of cost or efficiency are keenly sought.
Large scale mining in open cut mines requires extensive blasting. As a first step, a large flat area (the blast 'bench') is prepared by drilling an array of holes up to 15 meters or more in depth and up to 300 mm or more in diameter. Mining and blast engineers determine the best pattern of holes to drill, the amount and type of explosive to load in each hole, and the sequence in which the holes should be detonated. This determination is based on data including geological information and the size of broken rock required.
The mining industry typically uses two types of explosives (i) bulk explosives comprising emulsion and/or a mixture of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil (ANFO) that can be pumped or loaded into drill holes, and (ii) packaged explosives, which comprise emulsion contained within a plastic 'sausage'. The 'sausages' are of various size to suite the application and may be from 25 to 100 mm diameter and up to a meter or more in length. They are loaded into a blast hole to form a column. 'Decking' may also be used to better distribute the energy released by an explosive. Decking typically consists of one or more layers of inert material, water or air, strategically located along the column of explosive.
Wherever possible, ANFO is used because it is the least expensive option compared with bulk emulsion (more expensive) or packaged explosives (most expensive). However, ANFO has limited use in wet locations or wet holes because water ingress causes the ammonium nitrate prill to disintegrate, it degrades explosive performance and generates toxic fumes—particularly NO, NO2 and CO. Many failed, incomplete or poorly performing blasts are due to water ingress into the explosive. Many attempts have been made to remove, or work around the presence of water in blast holes.
In the past, attempts have been made to create dry blast holes by soaking up all the water in the blast hole using super-absorbents, such as cross-linked acrylates or acrylamides. For example, British patent GB-2336863 describes a method wherein a chemical powder sealed in a bag is introduced to water in a blast hole, whereupon the bag dissolves, releasing the superabsorbent chemical powder that reacts with the water to form a gel. Typically the chemical powder is a superabsorbent chemical. These typically include for example, sodium polyacrylate.
Other attempts to counter the effects of water in blast holes have involved modified stemming. Blast holes are often 'stemmed' by loading an inert material onto the explosive column to contain the energy released by detonation or minimise the loss of explosive energy out of the collar of the blast hole. Crushed rock is a commonly used stemming material, but it is often inconvenient to have to quarry, crush, transport and load the crushed rock into individual blast holes. Drill cuttings, mud or clay are often used as alternatives.
Commercial stemming alternatives include gelled solutions of nitrate salts, or a formulation that contain nitrate salts, potentially causing nitrate pollution to the muck pile and adjacent ground water systems. As an alternative, Australian patent AU-718409 (corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 5,585,593) teaches the use of stemming comprising additives such as neutralised acrylic acid polymer or a neutralised mixture of sodium silicate and silicon oxide containing material or a combination of the two. This formulation in bulk or packaged form is nitrate free and thus, avoids contamination of ground water by nitrate salts.
In another approach noted by Zhen-Dong et al (Int. J. Rock Mech. & Mining Sci. 47 (2010)1034-1037), water-silt composite has been used to stem blast holes instead of pure silt. Upon detonation, the blast wave firstly affects the inner wall of the blast hole and tangential and radial tension stresses are produced. When the tension stresses exceed the ultimate tensile strength of the rock, cracks and gaps are created. Simultaneously, a huge load is generated on the inner wall of the blast hole by the reflection of the blast wave in the water. The rock is further deformed and displaced and gaps are created in the inner wall. As the water expands the gap disappears. The energy is transmitted among the rock and the rock is broken. Finally, water vapour with residual pressure issues from the cracks and quenches some of the dust.
One of the problems associated with prior art approaches to counter the effects of water in blast holes is that the additives can only absorb a finite amount of water, and they can diffuse or otherwise be mixed into the explosive column, adversely affecting explosive performance, which is commonly called 'de-coupling'. This is a particular problem when loaded blast holes 'sleep' for an extended period of time. The 'sleeping' time is the period between loading and firing a blast hole, and can become extended due to production delays, adverse (lightning activity) weather or bad firing conditions.
Myriad environmental issues are associated with mining, particularly the blasting activities required to break up rock and ore. Some of these environmental issues are also associated with adverse events during detonation of a blast hole and these include:                creation of unwanted fine dust ('fines'),        noise,        over pressure (air blast),        excessive ground vibration,        rifling (ejection of the explosive column to the atmosphere),        generation of hazards such as nitrous oxide fumes and asbestos fines,        irregular blast performance by the explosive, and        uneven rock break at the toe and along the length of the blast hole.
The need to control dust at mine sites has led to the development of dust suppression strategies for mine access roads, ore crushers, conveyors, transfer points and stockpiles, but hitherto there has not been an efficient method for dust suppression on a mine bench following a blast. In general, mining activities are halted until bulk dust created from the blast has settled, seriously detracting from mine productivity.
Efforts have been made to address the dust problem by blanketing the mine bench with water, foam or gel immediately prior to or after a blast. However, these have proved unsuccessful due to the difficulty of quickly, efficiently and economically blanketing the enormous area of mine benches, which may cover many square kilometers.
Air and/or water decking has been used to try to improve blasting based on the theory that contained water or contained air are both very efficient at absorbing and transferring energy. For example, attempts have been made to stem blast holes by loading a deck of packaged water on top of the in-hole explosive. The packaging is necessary to avoid water degradation of the explosive, particularly ANFO explosive. As an alternative, air decking, or combinations of air and water decking have been used with mixed results.
Canadian patent application CA-886121 teaches improved suppression of dust and fume generation by stemming blast holes with a gel of high water content containing organic ingredients, a preservative and optionally a wetting agent. The patent teaches the use of a gel produced from cellulose ether, alginate or materials containing methylcellulose, carboxymethylcellulose or from a polyacrylic acid or a derivative thereof.
International patent application WO 02/084206 teaches loading of a blast hole with explosive and a highly absorbent material to absorb water located within the blast hole. Preferred highly absorbent materials include super-absorbent polymers, such as starch graft co-polymers, cross-linked carboxymethyl cellulose derivatives and modified hydrophilic polyacrylates. The highly absorbent material may be loaded into the blast hole in water soluble packages or in free flowing powdered, granular, flake or fibrous form.
International patent application WO 2012/090165 relates to stemming material comprising a super-absorbent polymer and a semi-permeable membrane, soaked with aqueous liquid before or after being loaded in the blast hole, so that it expands into contact with the blast hole walls. The super-absorbent is preferably a polyacrylamide, polyvinyl alcohol, cross-linked polyethylene oxide, polymethylacrylate or a polyacrylate salt.
Accordingly, there is a need for a composition that can be readily modified and tailored to the characteristics of specific blast holes

Composition and method for blast hole loading


A structure for a transport path for a recording material within a transfer portion varies between a margin-less print mode and a normal print mode. A necessity of cleaning of a transfer member also varies between both modes. Thus, provided is an image forming apparatus in which the structure of the transfer portion is switched between the normal print and the margin-less print, and the margin-less print cannot be carried out with a structure of the transfer portion for the normal print. This is because, when the so-called margin-less print is carried out with the structure of the transfer portion for the normal print, there is a possibility that an image defect of a print image to be outputted is caused, or a stain of toner on a rear surface of the recording material is caused.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an image forming apparatus for transferring a toner image carried on an image bearing member onto a recording material.
2. Related Background Art
A conventional electrophotographic technology includes a technology for transferring a toner image carried on an image bearing member onto a recording material by passing the recording material between the image bearing member carrying the toner image and a transfer roller.
In the technology, U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,179 discloses a method by which a recording material enters a transfer nip. An image forming apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,179 includes a guide member for guiding the recording material toward a second transfer nip portion of an intermediate transfer belt. By providing the guiding member, a leading edge of the recording material is first brought into contact with the intermediate transfer belt, and then enters the second transfer nip portion in a manner that the recording material passes along the intermediate transfer belt.
On the other hand, in recent yeas, there is more demand for outputting a print including no margin on an edge of a recording material (hereinafter, referred to as "margin-less print") even by the image forming apparatus adopting the electrophotographic technology. A demand for the margin-less print as prints used for a poster, a leaflet, a brochure, a catalogue, a flyer, and the like is emerging. In addition, in the market, there is an increasing demand for an image forming apparatus capable of printing both the margin-less print and a normal print (print with margins on edges thereof).
However, the method in the image forming apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,179, by which the recording material enters the second transfer nip may cause a phenomenon in which the leading edge of the recording material scrapes off the toner image carried on the intermediate transfer belt in the case where the margin-less print is printed. The phenomenon in which the leading edge of the recording material scrapes off the toner image causes an image defect in which an image formed on the leading edge of the recording material is scraped off. In a case where the recording material secures a sufficient margin at the edge of the leading edge side, the image defect is less likely to be caused, but in a case of outputting the print including no margin, the image defect may be caused. Further, as in the image forming apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,179, in a case where a transfer member brought into contact with an intermediate transfer member is used, there may be caused an adverse effect in which toner running out of the edge of the recording material, which is contained in the toner image formed on the intermediate transfer member, is adhered to the transfer member. Then, the toner adhered to the transfer member soils a rear surface of the recording material. In other words, in the case where the margin-less print is printed with the structure of the image forming apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,516,179, the adverse effect which is not caused in printing a normal print (with margins on the recording material) is caused.


Watchband attachment to a wristwatch is described in which support structure having a pin mounted thereon is connected to the watch case. An end of the watchband is wrapped around the pin and includes a slot for passage of the support structure, which includes a channel between the pin and the watch case for passage of the watchband.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to improvements in means for attaching a watchband to a wristwatch.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In most wristwatches including a watchband, each end of the band is wound around a pin attached to twin spaced-apart supports connected to the case. The presence of these two supports on the case imposes a number of limitations on the aesthetic design of wristwatches. Accordingly it has been considered desirable to find a means for concealing these supports and, in general, any band-fastening device, in order to improve upon the aesthetic appearance of a wristwatch and band.
Thus, in Swiss Pat. No. 123,764 (Gerber), a wristwatch is proposed (FIGS. 1 and 2) with case 1 equipped with a T-shaped band-fastening part 2. This part is mounted on the watch case by it central member 3. Watchband 4 is wrapped around two side arms 5 of the band-fastening part and for this purpose has a slot 6 providing a passage for the central member. When watchband 4 is disposed in the plane of the case, it conceals T-shaped fastening part 2. However, when it is inclined with respect to the plane of the watch, as shown in FIG. 1, which is generally the case when the watch is being worn on the wrist, slot 6 and the corresponding support part are visible.


Motion furniture seating having an ottoman assembly including a main ottoman and a mid-ottoman and wherein each of the ottomans includes a foot supporting panel and side panels. When the assembly is retracted the mid-ottoman nests inside the main ottoman beneath the seat and when the assembly is extended the foot supporting panels lie in substantially the same plane as a continuation of the seat and the side panels extend downwardly from the foot supporting panels and essentially hide the mechanism which carries the ottomans and inhibits access to the mechanism by a child or animal so as to avoid injury.

So called "motion furniture" including reclining chairs have enjoyed great popularity in the furniture industry, and significant research and development work is constantly being conducted to improve both their comfort, function and design as well as to reduce their costs. One area that has been given particular attention recently is the footrest assembly in reclining chairs, which is stored under the seat when the chair is in the upright position and which is extended when the chair is in the reclined position. Footrest assemblies frequently include a lazy tong linkage mechanism which at its end supports a main ottoman that is oriented forward from and at the approximate height of the seat cushion of the chair when the chair is reclined. In more recent years, to increase the safety and comfort of the chair and to give the chair when in the reclined position a chaise lounge-type look, mid-ottomans have been added to the footrest assembly, which are disposed between the front edge of the seat cushion and the rear edge of the main ottoman when the footrest assembly is elevated. The mid-ottoman improves the comfort of the chair by providing support for the legs in the calf area, improves the safety of the chair by limiting access to the mechanism which can pinch the hands or clothing of the chair occupant or a limb or even the head of a small child who may be playing near the chair as it is being moved to the upright position, and improves the aesthetics of the chair by hiding some of the mechanical parts thereof.
In much of the prior art, the geometry of the footrest assembly creates a gap between the edges of the mid-ottoman and the front edge of the seat cushion and the rear edge of the main ottoman. Frequently, special upholstering is employed to close those gaps and in some instances to create the appearance of a continuous chaise-like seat and leg support when the chair is reclined. To provide proper storage for the mid-ottoman in most of the prior art designs, the mid-ottoman is substantially narrower than the main ottoman, and the mid-ottoman does not include upholstered side panels on each side of the chair. Consequently, the mechanism, is wholly exposed when the chair is viewed from the side. The geometry of the mechanism and the way in which the mid-ottoman is retracted beneath the seat and behind the main ottoman does not permit the mid-ottoman to carry side panels that at least partially cover the mechanism and generally enhance the beauty of the chair.
The principle object of the present invention is to provide a footrest assembly for reclining chairs, which has a mid-ottoman whose edges lie closely adjacent the front edge of the seat cushion and the rear edge of the main ottoman and which has side panels that at least partially cover the mechanism of the footrest assembly when the chair is in the reclined position so as to prevent a child from getting its head or extremities trapped in the mechanism.
Another important object of the present invention is to provide a footrest assembly that creates a chaise lounge-like look when the chair is reclined, at significantly less manufacturing cost than incurred with other designs.
Yet another important object of the present invention is to provide a very simple mid-ottoman subassembly that may be integrated into existing footrest mechanisms without appreciable modification of the lazy tong linkage that supports the main ottoman.
Yet another important object of the present invention is to provide a mid-ottoman subassembly that includes side panels that cover at least a portion of the lazy tong linkage when the footrest assembly is elevated.
Still another important object of the present invention is to provide a footrest assembly with wrap around main and mid ottomans.
Another important object of this invention is to provide a lazy tong linkage for footrest assemblies that causes the mid ottoman to nest within the main ottoman when retracted.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a linkage mechanism for footrest assemblies having both mid and main ottomans, which directly connects the two ottomans together to insure that they operate in unison and maintain the proper relationship with one another.


A circuit for selectively controlling the slew rate of a signal on a data line. A capacitor is connected at one end to a common terminal of a power supply and to a switching circuit. The switching circuit advantageously connects the capacitor to the data line in response to a control pulse, capacitively loading the data line so that slew rate is decreased. When the control pulse assumes a different state, the capacitor is connected by the switching circuit to a terminal of a power supply, and acts as a decoupling capacitor. The dual role of the capacitor provides for efficient circuit layout by utilizing one component in two functions.

The present invention relates to CMOS integrated circuit technology. Specifically, a circuit for implementation in CMOS technology is described which controls the slew rate of pulses on a signal line.
Digital devices such as microprocessor implemented products have time-sensitive signal paths which carry digital signals. Signal transistors comprising a digital signal along a signal path have a unique time synchronization with devices which are connected to the signal paths. One of the ways of controlling the time of arrival of a digital signal on a signal path is to control the slew rate of the signal transitions. A circuit which acts in response to a rising or falling edge of a digital signal transition may have its response delayed by decreasing the slope, or slew rate, of the rising or falling edge of the digital signal.
Various devices have been employed in the prior art to control slew rate by switching in another device in a signal path if the slew rate is too slow, such as is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,015,880. Other techniques for controlling slew rate include a feedback method as exemplified in U.S. Pat. No. 5,619,147. The circuits described in these patents are utilized as driver circuits, which match the impedance and reduce reflections of signals which are propagated on a signal path extending off chip, and require additional CMOS transistors to implement the slew rate control.
Slew rate control is required when operating certain CMOS circuits under high stress conditions, such as during Burn-In. During high stress conditions such as Burn-In voltages and temperatures are increased and the digital signal propagation speed and slew rate tends to increase, sometimes interfering with operation of the circuit. Decreasing the slew rate under these circumstances may restore the operation of the circuit.
Control over the slew rate also permits a reduction in noise coupling between signal lines. The faster signal transitions tend to propagate to other signal lines introducing noise on the other signal lines. By reducing slew rates it is possible to decrease this particular source of noise.

Circuit for controlling the slew rate of a digital signal

International Business Machines Corporation


A machine tool includes a cover member covering an upper open portion of a movable carriage and at least one chain member to connect the cover member to the carriage. The cover member hangs down the front surface of the carriage and forms a U-shape with the at least one chain member at the lower side of the carriage. Chips that are trapped on the inside of the cover member are discharged through an open portion when the at least one chain member is located at the lowest point of the U-shape through the movement of a column of the machine tool.

1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a machine tool having a column that is movable in at least one direction on a carriage, and more particularly to a machine tool having a cover member for covering an open portion on an upper surface of a carriage.
2. Description of Related Art
FIG. 11 depicts a related machine tool 101 having a main shaft head 106 that supports a tool 107 for processing a workpiece (not shown). A column 105 supports the main shaft head 106. The column 105 is located on a carriage 104 and is freely slidable along an axis in a forward and backward direction. The carriage 104 is freely slidable along another axis in right and left directions. The carriage 104 contains an open upper portion. The carriage 104 further includes a driving mechanism for moving the column 105. The driving mechanism includes a Z-axis feeding screw 117, a Z-axis feeding screw nut 116 and, a Z-axis guide 115, which are positioned in open the upper portion of the carriage 104.
The machine tool 101 includes cover member 131 that covers the upper opened portion of the carriage 104, as shown in FIG. 11. The cover member 131 prevents chips produced during processing of a workpiece and cutting oil from entering the driving mechanism. The cover member 131 follows the forward and backward movement of the column 105. One end 131A of the cover member 131 is secured to a front lower end portion 105A of the column 105, as shown in FIG. 11. The cover member 131 extends over the upper side of the carriage 104 and down the front side of the carriage 104. The cover member 131 is bent in U-shape and then fixed to the carriage 104, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12.
As described above, the cover member 131 hangs down at the front side of the carriage 104 and is fixed to the carriage 104, as shown in FIG. 12. This arrangement of the cover member 131, however, causes chips 144 to be trapped inside the cover member 131, as shown in FIG. 12. The trapped chips 144 prevent a smooth movement of the column 105.


An apparatus for controling a device by sound commands includes a microphone for receiving the sound command, and a processor for analysing the received sound commands and for determining the number of space-separated words or other interrupted sounds in a received sound command. The processor measures the time of interruption between the received sounds and determines that the end of a word has occurred if the interruption is above a first predetermined time period, and that the end of a command has occurred if the interruption is above a second, higher, predetermined time period. A control system controls the device in accordance with the number of space-separated words in the received sound command.

The present invention relates to sound-controllable apparatus for controlling a device by sound commands. The invention is particularly useful for controlling toy robots, and is therefore described below with respect to this application for purposes of example.
Many types of toy robots are known which include drives for driving the robot over horizontal surfaces, and other devices for performing other function, such as blinking lights, sound generators, and the like. Such robots generally receive their command signals by means of a wire link between the transmitter and the robot. The need for such a wire link not only limits the mobility of the toy robot, but also detracts from the entertainment value of manipulating such a robot. It has been proposed to control the robot by a wireless link, such as by the use of radio frequency commands, infrared commands or sound commands, but such systems substantially increase the overall cost of the toy robot.

Sound controllable apparatus particularly useful in controlling toys and robots


A tobacco filler is formed in a machine which turns out two trough-shaped tobacco streams whose concave sides face each other. The two streams are thereupon caused to merge and to form a single stream whose central portion is less dense than the outer layer. The single stream is then compacted in the wrapping mechanism of the machine so that its cross section matches that of a cigarette, and the resulting filler is draped into cigarette paper prior to subdivision into discrete cigarettes of desired length. The density of the central portion of the filler in each cigarette is less than the density of the layer which is immediately adjacent to the wrapper. This improves the burning characteristics of the cigarettes and allows for a reduction of the quantity of tobacco which is needed to make a cigarette exhibiting a desired firmness. The single stream can be formed around a mandrel which reduces the likelihood of penetration of tobacco particles into the central portion of the single stream ahead of the wrapping station and which can also serve to admit moisture, volatile flavoring agents and/or heated or unheated air into the adjacent particles of the trough-shaped streams or into the adjacent particles of the single stream.

The present invention relates to improvements in methods and apparatus for making rod-like streams of smokable materials, especially for making streams which consist of or contain natural tobacco, reconstituted tobacco and/or substitute tobacco and can be converted into the fillers of cigarettes or other rod-shaped smokers' products.
German Pat. No. 11 64 907 discloses a cigarette whose filler is formed with a centrally located longitudinally extending air channel. The cigarette is formed by inserting into the filler a stationary mandrel which serves to continuously admit into the surrounding portion of the filler a hardening agent in order to ensure that the axially extending channel remains intact upon extraction of the mandrel.
British Pat. No. 1,086,443 discloses a cigarette with a centrally extending cylindrical passage or with a core whose density is less than the density of the surrounding outer layer of the filler. This is supposed to slow down the rate of combustion and to reduce the temperature of tobacco smoke.

Method and apparatus for making a rod-like filler of smokable material


A full color recording material which has, on a support, at least three silver halide photosensitive emulsion layers which have different color sensitivities and which contain a yellow coupler, magenta coupler and cyan coupler, respectively, and in which at least two of these layers are selectively spectrally sensitized to match semiconductor laser light beams of wavelengths greater than 670 nm, wherein said at least three silver halide photosensitive layers which have different color sensitivities each contains silver chlorobromide grains with a layer average silver chloride content of at least 96 mol %, and said silver chlorobromide grains have a silver bromide local phase of which the silver bromide content is higher than that of the surroundings and a method for forming color images wherein the recording material is imagewise exposed while being transported at a feed rate which matches the scanning rate with semiconductor light beams, and substantially continuously to the exposing, the material is subjected to a color development process wherein the time for color development using a color development solution is not more than 60 seconds, and the time for whole color development process including color development, breach-fixing, washing and/or stabilizing is not more than 180 seconds.

Techniques for the production of a hard copy from soft information are being used as a result of the recent progress which has been made with information processing and storage and with techniques for image processing, and as a result of the use of communication circuits. In addition, very high quality photographic prints can easily and inexpensively be provided as a result of the progress which has been made with silver halide photosensitive materials and compact, rapid and simple development systems (for example, the mini-lab system). Therefore, there is a great demand for that inexpensive hard copies with the high picture quality of photographic prints can be obtained easily from soft information.
Conventional techniques for the provision of a hard copy from soft information have included those, in which photosensitive recording materials are not used, such as the systems in which electrical signals and electromagnetic signals are used and ink jet systems. Other conventional techniques in which photosensitive materials are used include silver halide photosensitive materials and electrophotographic materials. In the latter case, there are systems in which recordings are made with an optical system which emits controlled light in accordance with the image information, and this enables not only optical system production, image resolution and binary recording but also multi-tone recording to be achieved. These systems are useful for obtaining high image quality. The use of silver halide photosensitive materials are more convenient than systems in which electrophotographic materials are used since image formation is achieved chemically. However, systems in which silver halide photosensitive materials are used must have photosensitive wavelengths which match the optical system, the stable sensitivity, latent image stability, resolution, color separation of the three primary colors, and rapid and simple color development processing with attention given to cost.
In the past, copying machines wherein electrophotographic techniques are used, laser printers, silver halide based heat developable dye diffusion systems, and Pictrography (a trade name: made by the Fuji Photographic Film Co.) which used LED's existed as a color copying technique.
Color photographic materials which use at least three silver halide emulsion layers with the usual color couplers are formed on a base. These layers are not exposed using visible light but at least two of the layers are sensitized to laser light in the infrared region. The fundamental conditions for these materials are disclosed in JP-A-61-137149. (The term "JP-A" as used herein signifies an "unexamined published Japanese patent application".)
In JP-A-63-197947, full color recording materials in which a unit of at least three photosensitive layers which contain color couplers is provided on a support are disclosed. At least one layer is formed in such a way that it is photosensitive to LED or semiconductor laser light, being spectrally sensitized in such a way that the spectrally sensitized peak wavelength is longer than about 670 nm, and with which color images can be obtained by means of a light scanning exposure and a subsequent color development process. More precisely, a method of spectral sensitization which is stable and provides high speed, and a method of using dyes are disclosed in JP-A-63-197947.
In the specification of JP-A-55-13505, a color image recording system using a color photographic material in which yellow, magenta and cyan color formation is controlled with three light beams which have different wavelengths, for example, green, red and infrared light beams, respectively, is disclosed.
The basic conditions for a continuous tone scanning type printer semiconductor laser output controlling mechanism are described by S. H. Baek on pages 245-247 of the published papers of the Fourth International Symposium (SPSE) on Non-impact Printing (Mar. 23, 1988).
Devices in which light-insensitive recording materials are used for obtaining a hard copy from soft information are effective for low image quality results, but it is virtually impossible to obtain photographic print type picture quality with A4 to B4 or smaller sizes which are normally used. Even though the cost per sheet is low, the cost is high when picture quality (for example, recording content:density.times.surface area) is taken into account. The image quality with electrophotographic systems is worse than that obtained with silver halide photosensitive material systems. Also the image forming process is more complex mechanically and it is difficult to obtain a hard copy in a stable manner.
On the other hand, high image quality is readily obtained with systems in which silver halide photosensitive materials are used, but the photosensitive materials themselves must be provided with photosensitive wavelengths which match the optical system, stable sensitivity, latent image stability, and separation of the three primary colors etc. The semiconductor lasers which are used in the present invention have a generating device which can be obtained inexpensively and which is more compact than that required with gas lasers. But, contrary to expectation, the emitted light intensity and the emission wavelength regions are unstable, and with a semiconductor laser light of comparatively short wavelengths, the modulation tolerance band of the current dependence of the emission intensity is narrow in practice and special steps must be taken in the silver halide photosensitive material to reproduce the excellent image quality of the silver halide photosensitive materials. First, the spectrally sensitized wavelength region of each photosensitive layer must be sufficiently wide (for example, 40 to 60 nm wide), and there must be little overlap of the sensitive wavelengths of the various photosensitive layers. For example, the difference in photographic speed from the other layers at the principal sensitive wavelength of a photosensitive layer should be at least 0.80 (logarithmic representation). Second, the latent image obtained with an exposure time of 10.sup.-6 to 10.sup.-8 second must be stable, and the gradation represented by a photographic characteristic curve must be sufficiently linear in the exposure region (represented by logalithm) above 1.0, and preferably in the exposure region above 1.5.
No mention is made of these important points in the afore-mentioned JP-A-55-13505 or in the aforementioned paper by Baek et al. The basic structure of the color photosensitive materials is disclosed in the afore-mentioned JP-A-61-137149 (corresponding to EP 183528), but there is no actual disclosure of the preferred means of achieving this structure. Practical performance cannot be obtained with the color photosensitive materials indicated in Examples 1 to 10. Moreover, there is no disclosure of a practical means of using these silver halide photosensitive materials.
Silver iodobromide emulsions, silver bromide emulsions and silver chlorobromide emulsions are known as silver halide emulsions used in silver halide photosensitive emulsions which can be exposed using laser light beams. The color development processing of full color recording materials should be rapid, taking not more than 60 seconds, to match the rapidity of the exposures which are made with an output device with semiconductor laser light beams used in the present invention. Silver halide emulsions which have a high silver chloride content are useful for this purpose. However, it is difficult to provide infrared sensitivity to wavelengths above 670 nm, and especially to wavelengths above 750 nm, with silver chlorobromide emulsions which have a high silver chloride content, especially when the silver chloride content is above 95 mol %. There are three reasons. First, the high speed is affected, and the production and storage stabilities are poor. It is especially difficult to obtain good linear gradation at high photographic speed and difficult to obtain a sharp spectral sensitivity distribution. Second, it is difficult to obtain high photographic speeds with short exposure times, for
example, of from 10.sup.-6 to 10.sup.-8 seconds. Finally, the adsorpability of a sensitizing agent on the silver halide grains is low. If color couplers and high concentrations of surfactants or organic solvents are present, a decrease of photographic speed and fogging are liable to occur during dissolution of the emulsion and ageing. Hence, the discovery of a technique which provides high photographic speed even when silver halide emulsions which have a high silver chloride content are used, and which provides excellent latent image stability with rapid processing is desirable.

Full color recording materials and a method of forming colored images


A slot antenna positioned on a substrate includes a grounding portion, a radiating portion, and a feeding portion. The grounding portion is positioned on the substrate. The radiating portion is parallel to the grounding portion and shaped like an irregular octagon. The radiating portion includes an irregular slot that is defined substantially in the center of the irregular octagon. The feeding portion electrically connects the radiating portion to the grounding portion for feeding electromagnetic signals.

1. Field of the Invention
Embodiments of the present disclosure relate to antennas, and particularly, to a slot antenna.
2. Description of Related Art
Recently, there has been significant growth in wireless communication technology due to a growing demand for wireless communication devices. Antennas are essential components in wireless communication devices for radiating electromagnetic signals. The frequency band and stability of antennas are especially key in the design of antennas.
Wideband slot antennas are very widespread in the research and application of antennas. Due to temperature variation, frequency offsets of slot antennas often occur. Consequently, slot antennas are required to have a wide and stable frequency band that is not affected by the temperature.


Method and system for testing communication devices via network connections. A request from a user in association with testing a communication device is received by a server. The request is with respect to a feature of the communication device that is being tested. The request is forwarded to a gateway that is responsible for facilitating the testing of communication devices. Upon receiving a response by the server from the gateway, the response is sent to the user.

1. Technical Field
The present teaching relates to methods, systems, and programming for telecommunications equipment testing or the like, for example, via network connections.
2. Discussion of Technical Background
With the advancement of telecommunications, the use of handheld devices has becoming increasingly ubiquitous. The industry has gradually shifted from massive production of desktop computers or laptop computers to massive production of a variety of handheld devices such as cellular phones, BlackBerry®, Personal Data Assistance (PDA), iPhone, etc. Traditionally, testing such devices after production is a laborious process and, hence, costly. In addition, due to the rapid development of various applications that handheld devices can support, it is common that new services or applications can be offered to users of existing devices. For example, in order to get such services, a user can take the device to a nearby shop to subscribe for the new service and to test whether new applications will run on an existing device properly. In this case, the personnel at the shop may assist the user to subscribe to the new service and test the device.
Traditionally, as a part of the process of testing applications on a handheld device, it is often necessary for a human tester to view information associated with a device being tested. Such information frequently relates to the features the device has, e.g., whether it has Visual VoiceMail (VVM), the billing system in which a Mobile Directory Number (MDN, i.e., the device's phone number) account information exists, the Mobile Equipment Identifier (MEID, i.e., the device's serial number) to which the MDN was assigned, the Account Number of the MDN, the effective date of the Mobile Telephone Number (MTN), the environments in which the MDN exists (e.g., Production and/or any of various Test environments), etc. To simulate a testing condition, it is also often necessary to make certain changes to some recorded features of a device being tested. For instance, to test whether a handset will properly support remote subscribing for the VVM service via the self-service feature, the VVM feature may need to be removed from the Class of Service (CoS) of an account to simulate a scenario in which a user is subscribing to VVM for the first time.
Due to the fact that there is likely sensitive data in both production and test environments, at least some of the features need to be tested in a secure manner, so that a tester is not allowed to inadvertently make unauthorized changes or update account information of existing customers of a service provider. Examples of information that should not be accessed by personnel performing the testing include the account information such as the incoming/outgoing calls of the device, or the unique identification of the device such as the MDN or MTN of the device. To ensure the security, in a conventional testing environment, either during the production or after service testing, permission to view such secure information and/or to make changes to secure features is typically provided only to a few authorized individuals, often accompanied with well-defined read/write access to such individuals. Given such a configuration, the testing process traditionally involves the following steps:                1. A tester (or the user) manually contacts an authorized individual, requesting either information associated with a device identified using an MDN or a change on a specific feature of the device        2. The authorized individual manually performs the task and then manually sends the response to the request back to the tester        3. The tester continues the rest of the testing based on the response from the authorized individual
The process is manual to ensure the security of the information passed to the tester. The manual aspect of the existing testing processes makes the process slow and inefficient. In addition, to ensure confidentiality of the information, it is usually the case that only a few individuals are given the authority to access such information, to filter it for security reasons and, hence, this makes the testing process not only slow and inefficient but also error prone, sometimes leading to substantial delay. Therefore, a simple, automated, and yet secure approach to streamlining a testing process is needed.

Method and system for secure mobile device number lookup and modification


A piggyback food container having a polymeric bowl forming a first food compartment and a removable cover thereover, a polymeric overcap on said bowl forming a central second food compartment and a peripheral wall, a breakaway juncture between this central compartment and the peripheral wall, enabling the wall to add volume capacity to the uncovered bowl.

This invention relates to a food container, and more particularly to a so-called piggyback type microwave container for separated food components to be mixed together prior to use
In general, piggyback containers capable of enabling separate food processing of the components and retention of the separated food components in individual compartments for ultimate mixing thereof are known in the art. In U.S. patent application Ser. No. 228,623, filed Aug. 4, 1988, U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,955 and entitled A SEPARABLE RECOMBINABLE MULTI-PART CONTAINER WITH SEPARATELY SEALED CHAMBERS, is disclosed a container wherein the separate food components are ultimately mixed together in the lower compartment just prior to use, the upper container serving as an overcap to close the lower container. That multi-part container included a special seam ring which projects upwardly around the periphery of the lower compartment so as to increase the volume capacity thereof for ease of mixing components. Increasing the volume capacity of the lower compartment is particularly advantageous to enable easy, rapid mixing of the two food components together therein, and subsequent processing such as heating in a microwave oven.


A spool valve including a valve body having a bore intercepted by at least two axially spaced ports and a spool reciprocally received within the bore and having two axially spaced lands separated by a groove, one side wall of the groove being adjacent one of the lands and defining a shoulder. At least one shallow metering slot is disposed in the other of the lands and opens to the groove through another side wall thereof opposite from the first mentioned side wall. The slot has an increasing depth in the direction toward the groove and a cross sectional area taken transversely to the axis of the spool at any point along the slot less than the area of the top of the slot from the point to the end of the slot remote from the groove. An additional slot is disposed in the shoulder and opens to the groove, has a ramp-like bottom, and a width different from that of the metering slot.

This invention relates to spool valves and, more specifically, to a spool valve provided with means whereby the action of flow forces is generally constant and/or balanced for any degree of opening of the valve.
The existence of flow forces in spool valves and their effects has long been recognized. Depending upon the particular valve construction, the flow pattern therethrough, and the pressures involved, flow forces may tend to oppose an operator opening the valve or act in concert therewith at widely varying values dependent upon spool travel. In many instances, for one position of the spool, the flow force may oppose the operator while in another position of the spool, it may aid the operator.
Consequently, precise control of the flow of fluid may be difficult to achieve to the desired degree because spool position will not be solely determined by a control force provided by an operator for the valve. For when the flow force is assisting the operator force, the total force operating on the spool will be greater than that provided by the operator alone and the total force may vary according to spool position. The same is true when the flow forces are acting in opposition to the operator force and, of course, when flow forces can act both in concert and in opposition to the operator force, dependent upon spool travel, accurate placement of the spool through operator force at all positions along the path of travel of the spool becomes exceedingly difficult to attain. Therefore, there is a real need for a spool valve wherein flow forces are substantially balanced and/or constant throughout the operating parameters of the valve.


An autonomous vehicle includes an autonomous driving system configured to produce a first brake control signal, and a contact sensor assembly mechanically coupled to an exterior surface of the autonomous vehicle. The contact sensor assembly is configured to produce a second brake control signal. A brake system is configured to control braking of the autonomous vehicle by prioritizing the second brake control signal over the first brake control signal.

An autonomous vehicle is a vehicle that is capable of sensing its environment and navigating with little or no user input. It does so by using sensing devices such as radar, lidar, image sensors, and the like. Autonomous vehicles further use information from global positioning systems (GPS) technology, navigation systems, vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle-to-infrastructure technology, and/or drive-by-wire systems to navigate the vehicle.
While recent years have seen significant advancements in autonomous vehicles, such vehicles might still be improved in a number of respects. For example, while autonomous driving systems are capable of quickly providing appropriate brake control commands to the vehicle's brake system—particularly during emergency braking situations—it might be advantageous in some applications to provide additional, redundant braking systems.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide improved brake systems and methods for autonomous vehicles. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and the foregoing technical field and background.

Contact sensor assembly for brake systems in autonomous vehicles


A method that includes obtaining, using a processor, image data from a target coating. The method also includes performing, using the processor, an image analysis to determine at least one sparkle point from the image data, and performing, using the processor, a hue analysis to determine a sparkle color from the sparkle point. The method further includes calculating, using the processor, a sparkle color distribution, and generating, using the processor, a coating formulation that is the same or substantially similar in appearance to the target coating.

Due to the nature of complex mixtures within coatings, it is sometimes difficult to formulate, identify, and/or search for acceptable matching formulations and/or pigmentations. In an ideal setting, an individual could view a complex coating mixture and determine the appropriate pigments within the coating mixture. However, in reality the pigments in a coating mixture may not be readily available in a set of toners of a paint system that is to be utilized to make a matching coating. Thus, a skilled color matcher has to make a determination as to whether the paint system contains appropriate offsets and, if so, must determine additional changes which need to be made to accommodate the offsets given that they are not identical matches to the original pigmentation.
A hypothetical solution to determining the composition of an unknown pigmentation is to read the unknown with a device that can search a database for the best matching coating formula within the database (or a device that can immediately create a new coating formula). However, such a solution is only hypothetical because systems are able to determine color or bulk effect pigment type, but generally cannot assist in determination of, for example, the specific pearl necessary for a coating formulation match.
Traditional techniques to evaluate the properties of complex coating mixtures include a variety of in plane viewing conditions (e.g., the J361 Recommended Practice promulgated by SAE International) combined with microscopic evaluation of a sample. Such approaches are generally not appropriately defined to address new effect pigmentations ire complex mixtures and are largely focused on textiles and only "obscurely" identified "out-of-plane" viewing angles with at least two light sources so that the effect pigmentations may be viewed properly. Other techniques involve using a spectrophotometer (e.g., in-plane multi-angle devices for effect samples and spherical devices for straight shade samples). However, new pigments are not able to be adequately characterized using such techniques due to the unique properties of Colorstream® pearls, colored aluminums, etc. For example, it may be challenging to view, for example, Colorstream® pigments and it may be nearly impossible to see coarseness of colored aluminums and, thus, a microscope may be required to adequately determine special effect pigments, which is a time consuming process and may not satisfactorily address application issues which modify the characteristics of the sample and the effect of the special pigments.
Other strategies have been developed using painted or virtual samples representing various textures, and then comparing those to unknown samples. Such techniques often require substantial user intervention and are subjective, which produces inconsistent results depending on the skill of the user.
Thus, a need exists for systems and methods that are suitable for analyzing complex coating mixtures having sparkle color.

This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.

Pigment identification of complex coating mixtures with sparkle color


A semiconductor memory device includes a semiconductor substrate, a memory cell formed on the semiconductor substrate and including first and second transfer transistors, first and second driver transistors and first and second thin film transistor loads, and first and second word lines extending generally parallel to each other along a predetermined direction and respectively coupled to gate electrodes of the first and second transfer transistors. Each of the first and second thin film transistor loads include first and second impurity regions which sandwich a channel region formed by a semiconductor layer provided on the semiconductor substrate, and a gate electrode formed by confronting conductor layers and isolated from the channel region. The first driver transistor includes a drain which is coupled to one of the impurity regions of the first thin film transistor load and to a gate of the second driver transistor via a first connection region, and the second driver transistor includes a drain which is coupled to one of the impurity regions of the second thin film transistor load and to a gate of the first driver transistor via a second connection region. The first and second connection regions are independently provided and have the same structure.

The present invention generally relates to semiconductor memory devices and methods of producing the same, and more particularly to a thin film transistor (TFT) load type static random access memory (SRAM) and a method of producing such a TFT load type SRAM.
Up to now, the high resistance load type SRAM was popularly used. However, as the integration density improves and the number of memory cells increases, the current consumption increases and various problems are generated. In order to avoid such problems and with progress in the semiconductor technology, the SRAM having the TFT load has been realized. However, new problems are generated due to the use of the TFT load, and it is necessary to eliminate these new problems.
An example of a conventional method of producing the high resistance load type SRAM will be described with reference to FIGS. 1A through 1J and FIGS. 2A through 2F. FIGS. 1A through 1J are side views in cross section showing essential parts of the high resistance load type SRAM at essential stages of the conventional method of producing the high resistance load type SRAM. FIGS. 2A through 2F are plan views of the high resistance load type SRAM at essential stages of the conventional method of producing the high resistance load type SRAM. FIGS. 1A through 1J respectively are cross sections taken along a line which corresponds to a line Y--Y in the plan view of FIG. 2F.
In FIG. 1A, a silicon dioxide (SiO.sub.2) layer is used as a pad layer, for example, and a silicon nitride (Si.sub.3 N.sub.4) layer which is formed on the SiO.sub.2 layer is used as an oxidation resistant mask layer when carrying out a selective thermal oxidation (for example, a local oxidation of silicon (LOCOS)) so as to form a field insulator layer 2 on a silicon (Si) semiconductor substrate 1. This field insulator layer 2 is made of SiO.sub.2 and has a thickness of 4000 .ANG., for example.
Then, the Si.sub.3 N.sub.4 layer and the SiO.sub.2 layer which are used when carrying out the selective thermal oxidation are removed to expose an active region of the Si semiconductor substrate 1.
In FIG. 1B, a thermal oxidation is carried out to form a gate insulator layer 3 which is made of SiO.sub.2 and has a thickness of 100 .ANG., for example.
By carrying out a resist process of the photolithography technique and a wet etching using hydrofluoric acid as the etchant, the gate insulator layer 3 is selectively etched to form a contact hole 3A.
In FIGS. 1C and 2A, a chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is carried out to form a first polysilicon layer having a thickness of 1500 .ANG., for example.
Then, a vapor phase diffusion is carried out to introduce phosphorus (P) of 1.times.10.sup.20 cm.sup.-3 for example, so as to form an n.sup.+ -type impurity region 5'.
In FIG. 2A, the illustration of the first polysilicon layer is omitted for the sake of convenience.
In FIG. 1D, a resist process of the photolithography technique and a reactive ion etching (RIE) using CCl.sub.4 /O.sub.2 as the etching gas are carried out to pattern the first polysilicon layer and form a gate electrode 4. The gate electrode 4 becomes the gate electrode of a word line driver transistor.
An ion implantation is carried out to inject As ions with a dosage of 3.times.10.sup.15 cm.sup.-2 and an acceleration energy of 40 keV, so as to form a source region 5 and a drain region 6.
In FIGS. 1E and 2B, a CVD is carried out to form an insulator layer 7 which is made of SiO.sub.2 and has a thickness of 1000 .ANG., for example.
By carrying out a resist process of the photolithography technique and a RIE using CHF.sub.3 /He as the etching gas, a ground line contact hole 7A is formed. This ground line contact hole 7A cannot be seen in FIG. 1E.
In FIG. 1F, a CVD is carried out to form a second polysilicon layer having a thickness of 1500 .ANG., for example.
Then, an ion implantation is carried out to inject P ions into the second polysilicon layer with a dosage of 4.times.10.sup.15 cm.sup.-2 and an acceleration energy of 30 keV, and an annealing is carried out to reduce the resistance.
A resist process of the photolithography technique and a RIE using CCl.sub.4 /O.sub.2 as the etching gas are carried out to pattern the second polysilicon layer and form a ground line 8.
In FIGS. 1G and 2C, a CVD is carried out to form an insulator layer 9 which is made of SiO.sub.2 and has a thickness of 1000 .ANG., for example.
A resist process of the photolithography technique and a RIE using CHF.sub.3 /He as the etching gas are carried out to selectively etch the insulator layers 9 and 7 and form a load resistor contact hole 9A.
In FIG. 1H, a CVD is carried out to form a third polysilicon layer having a thickness of 1500 .ANG., for example.
A resist process of the photolithography technique and an ion implantation with a dosage of 1.times.10.sup.15 cm.sup.-2 and an acceleration energy of 30 keV are carried out to inject As ions into a part where a supply line of a positive power source voltage Vcc is formed and a part where the high resistance load makes contact with the gate electrode 4.
By carrying out a resist process of the photolithography technique and a RIE using CCl.sub.4 /O.sub.2 as the etching gas, the third polysilicon layer is patterned to form a contact part 10, a high resistance load 11 and a Vcc supply line 12.
In FIGS. 1I and 2D, a CVD is carried out to form an insulator layer which is made of SiO.sub.2 and has a thickness of 1000 .ANG., for example, and an insulator layer which is made of phosphosilicate glass (PSG) and has a thickness of 5000 .ANG., for example. In FIG. 1I, these insulator layers are referred to as an insulator layer 13.
A thermal process is thereafter carried out to reflow and planarize the insulator layer 13.
Next, a resist process of the photolithography technique and a RIE using CHF.sub.3 /He as the etching gas are carried out to selectively etch the insulator layer 13 and the like and to form a bit line contact hole 13A.
In FIGS. 1J and 2E, a sputtering is carried out to form an aluminum (Al) layer having a thickness of 1 .mu.m, for example. This Al layer is patterned using the normal photolithography technique so as to form a bit line 14. Those elements which are shown in FIGS. 1J and 2E but not yet described, such as "BL" will be readily understood from the description given later in conjunction with FIG. 3.
FIG. 2F shows the plan view of the essential part of the high resistance load type SRAM which is completed by the above described processes. In FIG. 2F, those parts which are the same as those corresponding parts in FIGS. 1A through 1J and FIGS. 2A through 2E are designated by the same reference numerals. However, for the sake of convenience, the illustration of the Al bit line 14 shown in FIGS. 1J and 2E is omitted in FIG. 2F.
FIG. 3 shows an equivalent circuit diagram of the essential part of the high resistance load type SRAM described above in conjunction with FIGS. 1A through 1J and 2A through 2F.
FIG. 3 shows driver transistors Q1 and Q2, transfer gate transistors Q3 and Q4, high resistance loads R1 and R2, a word line WL, bit lines BL and/BL, nodes S1 and S2, the positive power source voltage Vcc, and a negative power source voltage Vss.
The operation of this high resistance load type SRAM, the storage operation in particular, is carried out as follows.
If it is assumed that the positive power source voltage Vcc is 5 V, the negative power source voltage Vss is 0 V, the node S1 is 5 V and the node S2 is 0 V, the transistor Q2 is ON and the transistor Q1 is OFF. The potential at the node S1 is maintained to 5 V if the transistor Q1 is OFF and the resistance is sufficiently high compared to the high resistance load R1. The potential at the node S2 is maintained to 0 V if the transistor Q2 is ON and the resistance is sufficiently low compared to the high resistance load R2.
However, under the above described condition, a D.C. current flows from the positive power source voltage Vcc supply line to the negative power source voltage Vss supply line via the node S2, and the current value is inversely proportional to the value of the high resistance load R2.
When the integration density of the above described high resistance load type SRAM increases, the number of memory cells per chip increases and the current consumption of the entire chip would become very large if the current consumption per memory is not reduced. Hence, the D.C. current described above must be reduced, but in order to reduce this D.C. current, the values of the high resistance loads R1 and R2 must be set large. However, when the values of the high resistance loads R1 and R2 are set large, it becomes difficult to stably maintain the potential at the node having the driver transistor which is OFF, that is, the potential at the node S1 in FIG. 3.
Because of the above described background, the TFT load type SRAM which uses the TFT as the load in place of the high resistance load has been developed.
Next, a description will be given of the TFT load type SRAM. Similarly to the description given above in respect of the high resistance load type SRAM, a description will first be given of the method of producing the TFT load type SRAM.
An example of a conventional method of producing the TFT load type SRAM will be described with reference to FIGS. 4A through 4D and FIGS. 5A through 5D. FIGS. 4A through 4D are side views in cross section showing essential parts of the TFT load type SRAM at essential stages of the conventional method of producing the high resistance load type SRAM. FIGS. 5A through 5D are plan views of the TFT load type SRAM at essential stages of the conventional method of producing the TFT load type SRAM. FIGS. 4A through 4D respectively are cross sections taken along a line which corresponds to a line Y--Y in the plan view of FIG. 5D.
The processes of producing the TFT load type SRAM at the beginning are basically the same as the processes described in conjunction with FIGS. 1A through 1G up to the process of forming the load resistor contact hole 9A of the high resistance load type SRAM, and a description thereof will be omitted. The only difference is that a contact hole 8A shown in FIG. 5A is formed with respect to the ground line 8 which is made of the second polysilicon layer, so that a gate electrode of a TFT which is formed by a third polysilicon layer can make contact with an active region and the gate electrode 4 which is formed by the first polysilicon layer. Hence, a description will only be given from the processes thereafter. In FIGS. 4A through 4D and 5A through 5D, those parts which are the same as those corresponding parts in FIGS. 1A through 1J and 2A through 2F are designated by the same reference numerals.
In FIGS. 4A and 5A, a CVD is carried out to form a third polysilicon layer having a thickness of 1500 .ANG., for example.
Then, an ion implantation is carried out to inject P ions with a dosage of 4.times.10.sup.15 cm.sup.-2 and an acceleration energy of 30 keV.
Further, a resist process of the photolithography technique and a RIE using CCl.sub.4 /O.sub.2 as the etching gas are carried out to pattern the third polysilicon layer and form a gate electrode 15 of the TFT.
In FIG. 4B, a CVD is carried out to form a gate insulator layer 16 of the TFT, which is made of SiO.sub.2 and has a thickness of 300 .ANG., for example.
A resist process of the photolithography technique and a wet etching using hydrofluoric acid as the etchant are carried out to selectively etch the gate insulator layer 16 and form a drain contact hole 16A.
In FIGS. 4C and 5B, a CVD is carried out to form a fourth polysilicon layer having a thickness of 500 .ANG., for example. In addition, an ion implantation is carried out to inject impurities into the fourth polysilicon layer to form a source and a drain of the TFT.
A resist process of the photolithography technique and a RIE using CCl.sub.4 /O.sub.2 as the etching gas are carried out to pattern the fourth polysilicon layer and form a source region 17, a drain region 18 and a channel region 19 of the TFT and also form a Vcc supply line 20.
In FIGS. 4D and 5C, a CVD is carried out to form an insulator layer made of SiO.sub.2 and having a thickness of 1000 .ANG., for example, and an insulator layer made of PSG and having a thickness of 5000 .ANG., for example. In FIG. 4D, these two insulator layers are shown as one insulator layer 21, similarly as in the case of FIGS. 1I and 1J.
Then, a thermal process is carried out to reflow and planarize the insulator layer 21.
Next, a resist process of the photolithography technique and a RIE using CHF.sub.3 /He as the etching gas are carried out to selectively etch the insulator layer 21 and the like and to form a bit line contact hole.
A sputtering is carried out thereafter to form an Al layer having a thickness of 1 .mu.m, for example, and this Al layer is patterned by the normal photolithography technique to form a bit line 22. Those elements which are shown in FIGS. 4D and 5C but not yet described such as "BL" will be readily understood from the description given later in conjunction with FIG. 6.
FIG. 5D shows the plan view of the essential part of the TFT load type SRAM which is completed by the above described processes. In FIG. 5D, those parts which are the same as those corresponding parts in FIGS. 4A through 4D and FIGS. 5A through 5D are designated by the same reference numerals. However, for the sake of convenience, the illustration of the Al bit line 22 shown in FIGS. 4D and 5C is omitted in FIG. 5D.
FIG. 6 shows an equivalent circuit diagram of an essential part of the TFT load type SRAM described in conjunction with FIGS. 4A through 4D and 5A through 5D. In FIG. 6, those parts which are the same as those corresponding parts in FIGS. 4A through 4D and 5A through 5D are designated by the same reference numerals.
FIG. 6 shows transistors Q5 and Q6 which are load TFTs used in place of the high resistance loads R1 and R2 shown in FIG. 3.
Next, a description will be given of the operation of the TFT load type SRAM, and the storing operation in particular.
If it is assumed that the positive power source voltage Vcc is 5 V, the negative power source voltage Vss is 0 V, the node S1 is 5 V and the node S2 is 0 V, the transistor Q6 is OFF when the transistor Q2 is ON and the transistor Q5 is ON when the transistor Q1 is OFF. The potential at the node S1 is maintained to 5 V if the transistor Q1 is OFF and the resistance is sufficiently high compared to the transistor Q5 which is ON. The potential at the node S2 is maintained to 0 V if the transistor Q2 is ON and the resistance is sufficiently small compared to the transistor Q6 which is ON.
Under the above described condition, the resistance of the load transistor Q5 or Q6 changes depending on the stored information, and thus, the problems of the high resistance load type SRAM is eliminated. That is, it is possible to carry out a stable information storage operation. The channels of the transistors Q5 and Q6, that is, the channels of the load TFTs, are made of polysilicon. The crystal state of the polysilicon which forms the channels is considerably poor compared to the single crystal, and a current easily leaks even when the transistor is OFF. Such a leak current increases the current consumption of the chip, and it is desirable to make the channel as small as possible.
On the other hand, as may be readily seen from FIG. 4D, the bit line 22 which is made of the Al layer is provided at the top layer of the TFT load type SRAM. In addition, the channel of the load TFT exists immediately under the bit line 22 via the insulator layer 21 which is made of PSG or the like.
But according to this construction, the bit line 22 which is made of the Al layer can be regarded as a gate electrode of a transistor, and the underlying insulator layer 21 can be regarded as a gate insulator layer of this transistor. In addition, the potential of the bit line 22 which is regarded as the gate electrode varies between 0 v (Vss) and 5 V (Vcc). As a result, the TFT which should be OFF, that is, the transistor Q6 becomes nearly ON, and the leak current increases and the parasitic effect becomes notable.
Accordingly, a double gate structure TFT load type SRAM was developed in order to eliminate the above described problems of the TFT load type SRAM.
According to the double gate structure TFT load type SRAM, the above described problems of the TFT load type SRAM are eliminated by interposing the third polysilicon layer of the TFT load type SRAM described in conjunction with FIGS. 4 through 6 between the fourth polysilicon layer and the bit line 22 which is made of Al. Particularly, a fifth polysilicon layer forming a second gate electrode which has the same pattern as the gate electrode 15 of the TFT is interposed between the Al bit line 22 and the fourth polysilicon layer which forms the source region 17, the drain region 18, the channel region 19, the Vcc supply line 20 and the like.
FIGS. 7A through 7C are side views in cross section showing essential parts of the double gate structure TFT load type SRAM at essential stages of the conventional method of producing the double gate structure TFT load type SRAM. The processes of producing the double gate structure TFT load type SRAM at the beginning are basically the same as the processes described in conjunction with FIGS. 4A through 4C up to the process of forming the source region 17, the drain region 18, the channel region 19 and the Vcc supply line 20 of the TFT load type SRAM, and a description thereof will be omitted. Hence, a description will only be given from the processes thereafter. In FIGS. 7A through 7C, those parts which are the same as those corresponding parts in FIGS. 1 through 6 are designated by the same reference numerals.
In FIG. 7A, a CVD is carried out to form an insulator layer 23 which is made of SiO.sub.2 and has a thickness of 500 .ANG., for example.
A resist process of the photolithography technique and a RIE using CHF.sub.3 +He as the etching gas are carried out to selectively etch the insulator layer 23 and to form a contact hole 23A with respect to the drain electrode 18 of the TFT.
In FIG. 7B, a CVD is carried out to form a fifth polysilicon layer having a thickness of 1000 .ANG., for example.
Then, an ion implantation is carried out to inject P ions into the fifth polysilicon layer with a dosage of 4.times.10.sup.15 cm.sup.-2, for example
A resist process of the photolithography technique and a RIE using CCl.sub.4 /O.sub.2 as the etching gas are carried out to pattern the fifth polysilicon layer and to form a second gate electrode 24 of the TFT.
In FIG. 7C, a CVD is carried out to form an insulator layer which is made of SiO.sub.2 and has a thickness of 1000 .ANG., for example, and an insulator layer which is made of PSG and has a thickness of 5000 .ANG., for example. As in the case shown in FIG. 4D, these two insulator layers are shown as one insulator layer 25 in FIG. 7C.
Thereafter, a thermal process is carried out to reflow and planarize the insulator layer 25.
Next, a resist process of the photolithography technique and a RIE using CHF.sub.3 /He as the etching gas are carried out to selectively etch the insulator layer 25 and the like, and to form a bit line contact hole.
In addition, a sputtering is carried out to form an Al layer having a thickness of 1 .mu.m, for example, and this Al layer is patterned by the normal photolithography technique so as to form a bit line 26.
As described heretofore, the SRAM started from the high resistance load type, evolved to the TFT load type, and further evolved to the double gate structure TFT load type. However, as may be seen by comparing FIGS. 1A through 1J with FIGS. 7A through 7C, and FIGS. 1J and 7C in particular, the number of polysilicon layers has increased by two from the high resistance load type SRAM to the double gate structure TFT load type SRAM, and the number of mask processes have increased by four.
Next, a description will be given of the other problems of the conventional double gate structure TFT load type SRAM.
FIG. 8 is a plan view showing an essential part of the conventional TFT load type SRAM at an essential stage of the production process thereof. In FIG. 8, those parts which are the same as those corresponding parts in FIG. 5A are designated by the same reference numerals.
FIG. 8 is similar to FIG. 5A, and three kinds of contact holes H1, H2 and H3 are provided with respect to one memory cell. This means that each of the three contact holes HI through H3 must be formed by three or four processes, and moreover, the structure is different among the contact holes HI through H3. More particularly, the n.sup.+ -type impurity region 5', the first polysilicon layer, the third polysilicon layer, the fourth polysilicon layer and the fifth polysilicon layer must be mutually connected at the contact hole H1. The n.sup.+ -type impurity region 5', the first polysilicon layer, the third polysilicon layer and the fifth polysilicon layer must be mutually connected at the contact hole H2. Further, the n.sup.+ -type impurity region 5', the first polysilicon layer and the fourth polysilicon layer must be mutually connected at the contact hole H3.
In other words, the layer which is to be etched when forming the contact hole for making contact with the fifth polysilicon layer which becomes the second gate electrode 24 of the TFT, is the gate insulator layer 16 of the TFT which is provided between the fourth polysilicon and fifth polysilicon layers for the contact holes H1 and H3. On the other hand, the layer which is to be etched is the insulator layer existing in (the third and fourth polysilicon layers)+(the fourth and fifth polysilicon layers) for the contact hole H2, and this layer which is to be etched for the contact hole H2 is considerably thick compared to the layer which is to be etched for the contact holes H1 and H3.
Hence, the contact hole H3 is conventionally constructed to mutually connect the n.sup.+ -type impurity region 5', the first polysilicon layer, the third polysilicon layer, the fourth polysilicon layer and the fifth polysilicon layer, so that the contact holes H3 and H1 may use the same construction. That is, the contact holes H1 and H3 are constructed to mutually connect the n.sup.+ -type impurity region 5', the first polysilicon layer, the third polysilicon layer, the fourth polysilicon layer and the fifth polysilicon layer. In addition, the thickness of the insulator layers are made approximately the same where possible to realize approximately the same etching at the two contact holes H1 and H3. On the other hand, the contact hole H2 is constructed to mutually connect the n.sup.+ -type impurity region 5', the first polysilicon layer, the third polysilicon layer and the fifth polysilicon layer. As may be seen from FIG. 5B, the fourth polysilicon layer cannot be arranged at the contact hole H2, because the source electrode of the TFT formed by the fourth polysilicon layer and having a different potential is arranged extremely closed to the contact hole H2. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to match the thickness of the insulator layers at the contact holes H1 and H2.
In order to improve the production yield of the double gate structure TFT load type SRAM which is extremely fine and has a large integration density, it is necessary to reduce the number of contact holes per memory cell. In addition, when forming the contact hole, the control of the etching becomes complex if the thickness of the insulator layer which is to be etched differs depending on the contact hole, and the margin of the process becomes small. That is, it is difficult to improve the production yield of the fine semiconductor element unless there is only one kind of contact hole which is to be formed simultaneously and the number of contact holes is relatively small. For example, if the non-defective rate Of one contact hole is denoted by p and the total number of memory cells is denoted by N, the non-defective rate P as a whole can be described by the following for the case where three contact holes are provided with respect to one memory cell. EQU P.sub.3 =(P.sup.3).sup.N =p.sup.3N
The non detective rate P as a whole can be described by the following for the case where two contact holes are provided with respect to one memory cell. EQU P.sub.2 =(P.sup.2).sup.N =p.sup.2N
If p=0.999999 (that is, 99.9999% are non-defective), for example, P.sub.3 =99.7% and P.sub.2 =99.8% for N=1024 (1 kb), and P.sub.3 =4.3% and P.sub.2 =12.3% for N=1024.times.1024 (1 Mb). Therefore, the larger the value of N is or the larger the integration density is, the larger the effect the number of contact hole has on the production yield of the double gate structure TFT load type SRAM.
On the other hand, although not directly related to the double gate structure TFT load type SRAM, a description will be given of the problems which are generated when forming extremely fine semiconductor elements.
FIG. 9 is a plan view showing an essential part of a semiconductor device at an essential stage of the production process thereof, for explaining the formation of a field insulator layer which surrounds an active region using a selective thermal oxidation.
FIG. 9 shows an oxidation resistant mask layer 31 made of Si.sub.3 N.sub.4, a field insulator layer 32 made of SiO.sub.2, an edge 32A of the field insulator layer 32, and an active region 33. In addition, "a" and "b" indicate the lengths of the bird's beaks, and "x" indicates the width of the oxidation resistant mask layer 31.
Generally, the width of the active region 33 becomes greatly dependent on the pattern of the bird's beak when the width of the active region 33 becomes 1 .mu.m or less. Particularly as shown in FIG. 9, when the oxidation resistant mask layer 31 includes a dead end pattern, the length "b" of the bird's beak which projects becomes extremely large. The width of the active region 33 should originally be equal to the width "x" of the oxidation resistant mask layer 31, but the width of the active region 33 becomes narrow due to the generation of the bird's beak.
FIG. 10 shows the relationship of the lengths "a" and "b" of the bird's beak. As shown in FIG. 10, the length "b" of the bird's beak which projects greatly increases when the width of the oxidation resistant mask layer 31, that is, the width of the original active region becomes 1 .mu.m or less.
FIG. 11 is a plan view similar to FIG. 2A. In this SRAM, the area of the region where the active region and the first polysilicon layer make contact, that is, the areas of regions 34 and 35 shown in FIG. 11 are narrowed by the bird's beak, and a satisfactory contact can no longer be obtained at these regions 34 and 35.
Most of the problems described above can be eliminated by a split word line type SRAM which was not popular due to the various disadvantages thereof. Hence, a description will now be given of the problems of the split word line type SRAM.
FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an essential part of a conventional split word line type SRAM. This split word line type SRAM includes an active region 41, a word line 42 which is made of a first polysilicon layer, a gate electrode 43 which is also made of the first polysilicon layer and forms the gate electrode of a driver transistor, a buried contact region 44, a contact hole 45, ground lines 46 and 47, and bit lines 48 and 49 made of a metal. WL is shown in brackets to indicate the word lines 42, and BL and /BL are shown in brackets to respectively indicate the bit lines 48 and 49.
According to this split word line type SRAM, two word lines WL are provided with respect to one memory cell as indicated by the word lines 42. This is the reason this SRAM is called the split word line type. The symmetrical characteristic of the memory cells is satisfactory and only two contact holes are necessary per memory cell to achieve the contact between the first polysilicon layer and the active region 41. However, there are problems in that the area of the memory cell is large compared to the three kinds of SRAMs described above and three kinds of metal interconnections are required per memory cell. For these reasons, the split word line type SRAM has not become popular, and no further developments were made to improve its integration density.

Static random access memory device having thin film transistor loads


A cooling system for a vehicle sensor module includes an active internal gas circulation system and a cold plate. The sensor module includes a light detector sensor disposed in a sealed housing. The housing is at least partially transparent. A cold plate is disposed on an end of the housing, and seals the housing. The active internal gas circulation system is disposed within the housing, and defines a first fluid flow path across the cold plate.

Vehicles rely on sophisticated sensors to provide an associated computer or controller with location and situational awareness information such as the relative position of other vehicles, and the location of the autonomous vehicle relative to the traffic lanes. Certain externally located sensors are contained in one or more containers or housings on an exterior of the vehicle, with one exemplary location being a roof of the vehicle. Given such a location, the sensors are incorporated into a module including a hermetically sealed container or housing that receives and protects the sensors from fouling due to dust, humidity, and other contaminants. In such a location, the sensor modules are exposed to a wide range of extreme environmental conditions. In particular, an interior of the housing can become very hot, in excess of 100° C. Exemplary conditions that can lead to such in-housing temperatures include an ambient temperature of 43° C. in combination with a solar load of 1000 watts per square meter (W/m2). Such sensors typically have a significantly lower preferred temperature operating range of approximately 20-25° C. However, with the sensors being in the sealed housing, direct convective air cooling of the sensor is not possible.

Cooling system for vehicle sensor modules


A stator, including: a one-way clutch with at least one slot opening radially outward from an outer circumferential portion of an outer race; and a blade assembly including first and second separately formed, stamped blade segments rotationally connected to the one-way clutch via the at least one slot. The blade segments are fixedly connected at respective outer circumferential portions. In one embodiment, the stamped blade segments include respective portions disposed in the at least one slot and disposed radially inward from respective blades for the respective blade segments. In one embodiment, the stator includes at least one rivet disposed in the at least one slot and fixedly secured to first and second portions of the first and second stamped blade segments, respectively, the first and second portions located radially inward from blades for the first and second stamped blade segments, respectively.

The use of a two-part stator blade is disclosed in commonly-owned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/728,066, filed Mar. 23, 2007. The use of a two-part stator blade would be enhanced if means were available to interface the blade with a wider variety of one-way clutches.
Thus, there is a long-felt need for a means of interfacing a two-part stator blade with a wider variety of one-way clutches.

Interface for a stamped stator and a one-way clutch